Our prayers are being answered in bigger and better ways than we ever could have imagined! First, we have started receiving responses from our Letters of Support and there are no words to describe how humbling and utterly awesome it is to receive the kind of support we are getting from our family and friends. I wish there was a way to adequately express how much we truly and deeply appreciate the gifts we have been given. I hope and pray that someday I can make someone feel the way we have felt when we open the envelopes. Thank you to everyone who has been so generous with prayers and monetary gifts.
We visited Hillcrest Elementary today, where the girls will both go to 6th grade. We met with the principal and both their teachers. They will be on the same "team", which means they will have the same two teachers, but at different times. They will have recess and lunch together, too, and do the same work. I was so nervous about how the girls would be accepted, but now I have such a peace about it. The teachers were amazing and excited about learning more about Latvia. They are going to be so nice to work with! We took pictures of the classrooms and the school, so we can show them on our trip. We all agreed that the sooner they start in their normal school routine the better. We will be using Skype to talk to the classes while we are in Latvia, too, so the girls can get to know their classmates and teachers. I hope they will be excited to go to school in America! They gave us a math book so we could see what kinds of things they are expected to know. I hope I remember how to do 6th grade math!
Still no travel dates. I am starting to feel like we are in complete limbo until we know something! I don't want to plan anything one minute and then the next minute I feel like there is so much to plan for the rest of this month so we can have February free and clear.
And have I mentioned how ready I am to see my girls again?????
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Snow Days and Basketball
Well, we ended up having snow days on Thursday and Friday, which was great! I have decided I function better if I go to bed at midnight and get up at 8:00. Too bad my family has to be out of the house by before 8!
We were only able to play outside in the snow for a little bit on Thursday, it was so cold and I was worried about the girls being out for very long. I think it took us longer to get bundled up then the time we were out. They did get some good sledding in all over our yard, but unfortunately the snow we have is not good for building snowmen.
Ryleigh had 4 basketball games this weekend and they lost them all. It's frustrating for us to watch and we probably complain way more than we should. I am proud of Ryleigh for her heart and for her effort. She takes it so serious, which is probably part of the problem, but nevertheless, I love watching her play. I am anxious to see if Daniela will want to play, too!
We talked to the big girls this morning! They said it is very cold there, school is good, and they are ready to come home. We tried to tell them that we found out who their teachers are (Mrs. Admire and Mrs. Dickerson) but not sure if they understood. We are meeting with the teachers on Tuesday to talk about their education plan. We have a great first impression, as they have talked to their classes about the girls and the kids are excited to follow our trip and get to know the girls. They will both be in 6th grade, on the same team, but different teachers. They will have the same work, but won't be together in class. This will hopefully encourage them to learn English quickly! I know they will do well!
I packed most of Agnese's clothes on Friday! It's so exciting! I also got our list finalized for names. One list with middle names to go with Agnese and Daniela, one list with first names to go with A and D as middle names and the last list is two completely new American names. I can't even begin to guess if they will want to change their names, but we will be prepared whatever they choose to do!
We are hoping we get travel dates this week so we can get moving on getting plane tickets and hotel reservations and we can start to plan all the things that need to be figured out while we are gone. I am imagining what it will be like to see the girls again. I am sure they have grown. I can't wait to hug and kiss them!
We were only able to play outside in the snow for a little bit on Thursday, it was so cold and I was worried about the girls being out for very long. I think it took us longer to get bundled up then the time we were out. They did get some good sledding in all over our yard, but unfortunately the snow we have is not good for building snowmen.
Ryleigh had 4 basketball games this weekend and they lost them all. It's frustrating for us to watch and we probably complain way more than we should. I am proud of Ryleigh for her heart and for her effort. She takes it so serious, which is probably part of the problem, but nevertheless, I love watching her play. I am anxious to see if Daniela will want to play, too!
We talked to the big girls this morning! They said it is very cold there, school is good, and they are ready to come home. We tried to tell them that we found out who their teachers are (Mrs. Admire and Mrs. Dickerson) but not sure if they understood. We are meeting with the teachers on Tuesday to talk about their education plan. We have a great first impression, as they have talked to their classes about the girls and the kids are excited to follow our trip and get to know the girls. They will both be in 6th grade, on the same team, but different teachers. They will have the same work, but won't be together in class. This will hopefully encourage them to learn English quickly! I know they will do well!
I packed most of Agnese's clothes on Friday! It's so exciting! I also got our list finalized for names. One list with middle names to go with Agnese and Daniela, one list with first names to go with A and D as middle names and the last list is two completely new American names. I can't even begin to guess if they will want to change their names, but we will be prepared whatever they choose to do!
We are hoping we get travel dates this week so we can get moving on getting plane tickets and hotel reservations and we can start to plan all the things that need to be figured out while we are gone. I am imagining what it will be like to see the girls again. I am sure they have grown. I can't wait to hug and kiss them!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Jumping through Another Hoop!
Today was a wild day! You could tell the snow storm was coming by the behavior of the kids at Bright Beginnings! Not that they were naughty, just excited and silly! It started snowing about 3:00 and was really pretty coming down! And, we have a snow day tomorrow! Hip! Hip! Hooray!
In all the excitement we got an email from An Open Door this afternoon that our letter from the Ministry of Latvia was ready for us to read over and confirm that we "want these children". Unfortunately, the letter was no where to be found in the email or attached or in another email, so it wasn't until tonight that we finally received it via email. We didn't really know what to expect, but it was pretty much a letter saying that they had received our paperwork and they have two children who fit the description of what we requested (we couldn't name the girls specifically in our homestudy). They wrote a paragraph about each girl and suprisingly they did a perfect job! Whoever wrote it must know them well and we are thankful that somebody takes the time to get to know who they are, what they like, and their behavior. We obviously called Cathy and told her YES, we accept this referral! One more hoop we have jumped through on this journey!
I think I am ready to start packing! I can go ahead and get the girls' clothes picked out and the games and activities we want to take. There will be so much to do to get ready to leave for two weeks that I think I should get started! Plus, this is the part I am really looking forward to! What I am not looking forward to is being away from the little girls for that long. Reagan hugged me so tight and cried the day we got the call about traveling in February and said, "Mommy, I'm really going to miss you." Talk about breaking my heart. I need to plan some fun little thing for them to do to help the time go quickly. My mom will be staying with them so they can stay pretty much in their daily routine. I was thinking of doing a paperchain countdown with little things for them to do. It will be a relief when we have all four girls home and we can start our life as a family of six.
We mailed out letters of support this week and our hope is that the people who receive them will not be offended that we are asking for prayer and financial support. It is very humbling to ask, that is for sure.
In all the excitement we got an email from An Open Door this afternoon that our letter from the Ministry of Latvia was ready for us to read over and confirm that we "want these children". Unfortunately, the letter was no where to be found in the email or attached or in another email, so it wasn't until tonight that we finally received it via email. We didn't really know what to expect, but it was pretty much a letter saying that they had received our paperwork and they have two children who fit the description of what we requested (we couldn't name the girls specifically in our homestudy). They wrote a paragraph about each girl and suprisingly they did a perfect job! Whoever wrote it must know them well and we are thankful that somebody takes the time to get to know who they are, what they like, and their behavior. We obviously called Cathy and told her YES, we accept this referral! One more hoop we have jumped through on this journey!
I think I am ready to start packing! I can go ahead and get the girls' clothes picked out and the games and activities we want to take. There will be so much to do to get ready to leave for two weeks that I think I should get started! Plus, this is the part I am really looking forward to! What I am not looking forward to is being away from the little girls for that long. Reagan hugged me so tight and cried the day we got the call about traveling in February and said, "Mommy, I'm really going to miss you." Talk about breaking my heart. I need to plan some fun little thing for them to do to help the time go quickly. My mom will be staying with them so they can stay pretty much in their daily routine. I was thinking of doing a paperchain countdown with little things for them to do. It will be a relief when we have all four girls home and we can start our life as a family of six.
We mailed out letters of support this week and our hope is that the people who receive them will not be offended that we are asking for prayer and financial support. It is very humbling to ask, that is for sure.
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