Yes, we're home! We began our trip at 6:30 AM Bulgarian time on Saturday and landed at the Minneapolis airport around 9:30 PM CST time on Saturday. However, there were about 27 hours in between and almost all of them were in daylight! Wow! This being our first international trip, that was amazing to me! The travel went very smoothly, and we're thankful for God orchestrating every detail of our trip.
We were so glad to see Jocylin and Cherith again, and it seems the feeling is mutual. Mark and Amy did such a great job taking care of them, and we're so thankful. The house was clean, laundry was done, and the girls were sleeping soundly in their beds when we arrived home on Saturday night. We took part of the day today (Monday) to have a picnic and visit the zoo for some much needed family time. John will return to work tomorrow.
We're now trying hard not to succumb to the jet lag. I'm really not sure what time zone we're in! We've been waking up around 5:00 in the morning with our stomachs ready for lunch! We'd appreciate your prayers for us as we try to stabilize for the challenges that lay ahead in the next few months. Thank you!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday
This morning we went to the notary office to sign official paperwork accepting Victoria's referral. We also officially gave her the new name of Victoria Faith Isenberg. It was special to finally sign these documents. The process from here will be to diligently work on and wait for her immigration paperwork to be completed. In the US, approval of her immigration will probably take about 3-4 months. On the Bulgaria side of things, there will be a court hearing during our absence, other documents to sort through, as well as Victoria's visa to file for. We are hoping to return for her at least by February 2011. Right now, that seems like an eternity, but I know it will most likely seem faster when we get into the thick of what our lives hold for us at home.
Our visits with Victoria today were much the same as other days: coloring, play dough, picture flashcards, family photo book, Legos and treats. Victoria had her picture taken for her visa application this morning. We met her physical therapist and watched as Victoria climbed and descended two flights of stairs independently! Amazing! We've also been encouraged to let Victoria walk alone as much as she can. For short distances, she does well holding on to nothing! Her physical therapist told us that Victoria has been so diligent with her therapy and has made astonishing accomplishments. She's right!
It was hard to leave Victoria this afternoon. She seemed to be fine when we left, but we were told that she'll miss us when we don't show up tomorrow morning. She knows that we are leaving so that we can get ready to take her home with us in a few months.
We've been anxiously looking forward to being with Jocylin and Cherith again, especially since we closed the last chapter on our visit here in Bulgaria. We need to leave the hotel at 5:00 AM Bulgarian time (9:00 PM at home) and hope to be touching down in Minneapolis at 9:30 PM CST. We'd appreciate your prayers for our trip.
Let me take a minute to thank all of you who have supported us in this adoption. Your support has been such a help and encouragement to us. God has provided for our every need. Every bill is paid so far! Amazing! God is growing our faith day by day as we trust Him to direct and provide, and we're thankful to be able to share these blessings with you. Thanks to all of you who have supported us in so many different ways!
Our visits with Victoria today were much the same as other days: coloring, play dough, picture flashcards, family photo book, Legos and treats. Victoria had her picture taken for her visa application this morning. We met her physical therapist and watched as Victoria climbed and descended two flights of stairs independently! Amazing! We've also been encouraged to let Victoria walk alone as much as she can. For short distances, she does well holding on to nothing! Her physical therapist told us that Victoria has been so diligent with her therapy and has made astonishing accomplishments. She's right!
It was hard to leave Victoria this afternoon. She seemed to be fine when we left, but we were told that she'll miss us when we don't show up tomorrow morning. She knows that we are leaving so that we can get ready to take her home with us in a few months.
We've been anxiously looking forward to being with Jocylin and Cherith again, especially since we closed the last chapter on our visit here in Bulgaria. We need to leave the hotel at 5:00 AM Bulgarian time (9:00 PM at home) and hope to be touching down in Minneapolis at 9:30 PM CST. We'd appreciate your prayers for our trip.
Let me take a minute to thank all of you who have supported us in this adoption. Your support has been such a help and encouragement to us. God has provided for our every need. Every bill is paid so far! Amazing! God is growing our faith day by day as we trust Him to direct and provide, and we're thankful to be able to share these blessings with you. Thanks to all of you who have supported us in so many different ways!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Thursday
This morning we were able to see Victoria's physical therapy session. Her physical therapy has been amazing! The physical therapist has helped her to learn how to walk and use her hands! The physical therapist actually invited us to her home if ever we came back with Victoria to visit Bulgaria -that's how attached she is to the little girl she has worked with for so many years. She said that at first she would spend so much of her day with Victoria that Victoria started to call her "Mamma", now they spend an hour per day together.
This afternoon, we brought window sun catchers to paint, and Victoria painted every one that we let her. She is a very diligent girl, and she enjoys working with her hands. The sun catchers are sitting on our window sill drying so we can bring a few of them tomorrow for her to keep and remember our times together. We'll also let her keep some of the other things that we brought to play with, along with a photo album of our family, and a baby doll. We can't believe this week is going so fast. It will be so hard to say goodbye to this little girl that we've already attached to tomorrow, but we're trusting that God knows best.
This afternoon, we brought window sun catchers to paint, and Victoria painted every one that we let her. She is a very diligent girl, and she enjoys working with her hands. The sun catchers are sitting on our window sill drying so we can bring a few of them tomorrow for her to keep and remember our times together. We'll also let her keep some of the other things that we brought to play with, along with a photo album of our family, and a baby doll. We can't believe this week is going so fast. It will be so hard to say goodbye to this little girl that we've already attached to tomorrow, but we're trusting that God knows best.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Wednesday
We had another good day today. We continue to acquaint ourselves with Victoria. She is definitely enjoying showing off her new daddy and mommy. The caretakers of the orphanage remind her often about the process of this adoption--how Daddy and Mommy will have to leave for a while to get things ready and then they will be back to bring her home. She also knows that she will have to leave the orphanage. It is becoming more apparent to us how hard this will be for Victoria. We are really turning her world upside-down. We know that this is God's will, though, for our family and for Victoria, and we must continue to trust His leading. We are already trying to plan ways to make this transition easier for Victoria and our family and will be working diligently on this in the next few months.
During our visits, we went outside today and played on the orphanage playground. It seems Victoria enjoys being outside as much as Jocylin and Cherith do--a lot! We were able to sit down with her and go through some picture flashcards. She even repeated the English words that we said! She surprised us today by saying some things that she picked up from us: "no" and "this one". She is a very bright girl; at this rate, I don't think it will be too long before we can understand each other. We hope to see Victoria's physical therapy tomorrow as her therapist was not available during our visits today.
We also found out that Victoria has an older half-brother who has already been adopted and a 2 year old half-sister who was just taken into the orphanage. The sister is not available at this time for adoption, but our translator/adoption facilitator is going to ask the orphanage director to see if we can visit with this little girl briefly while we're here, just so that we can remind Victoria about her. We may not be permitted to do this. We'll see.
We can't believe that we have only two days with Victoria left before we head home! It has gone so fast. As anxious as we are to go home, it's going to be very hard to leave Victoria behind. We're working to keep things in perspective. We are so thankful that God has directed our steps and provided for our every need.
During our visits, we went outside today and played on the orphanage playground. It seems Victoria enjoys being outside as much as Jocylin and Cherith do--a lot! We were able to sit down with her and go through some picture flashcards. She even repeated the English words that we said! She surprised us today by saying some things that she picked up from us: "no" and "this one". She is a very bright girl; at this rate, I don't think it will be too long before we can understand each other. We hope to see Victoria's physical therapy tomorrow as her therapist was not available during our visits today.
We also found out that Victoria has an older half-brother who has already been adopted and a 2 year old half-sister who was just taken into the orphanage. The sister is not available at this time for adoption, but our translator/adoption facilitator is going to ask the orphanage director to see if we can visit with this little girl briefly while we're here, just so that we can remind Victoria about her. We may not be permitted to do this. We'll see.
We can't believe that we have only two days with Victoria left before we head home! It has gone so fast. As anxious as we are to go home, it's going to be very hard to leave Victoria behind. We're working to keep things in perspective. We are so thankful that God has directed our steps and provided for our every need.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday
Tuesday was our second day with Victoria. She has become much more confident with us already. She talked quite a bit more on our visits there today. Every day we have had about 1 1/2 hours with her in the morning and in the afternoon. We've found that she really is the orphanage "princess" and owns a piece of every caretaker's heart. It will be very hard for them to see her leave, but we've heard more than once that they are so happy for Victoria to have us adopt her. They know that this is best. They have given Victoria such good care. Her physical therapist has given her daily treatments since Victoria has been in the orphanage and has made some amazing strides with her. She says that Victoria is very dedicated and will do anything that she is asked to do. Victoria is known to be a happy, gentle, obedient girl.
This morning we had the opportunity to meet Victoria's physical therapist and talk to her about Victoria's treatments. We will be able to watch her receiving her treatment tomorrow, and I hope to learn her routine so that I can do it at home until we arrange for a physical therapist in the US. It was very special to see during our meeting how Victoria sat on John's lap so contentedly. She just admired his face, played with his hair, felt his whiskers, and buttoned and unbuttoned his top button. She seems to already be bonding to him in the special way that Jocylin and Cherith already have. The afternoon visit was more low key as we played with various things that we brought with us.
We're still trying to adapt to the 8 hour time difference (hence I'm up at 1:00 Bulgarian time writing this). It's sometimes hard to stay energetic during our visits. All in all, we've had a good day, and we're looking forward to another one tomorrow.
This morning we had the opportunity to meet Victoria's physical therapist and talk to her about Victoria's treatments. We will be able to watch her receiving her treatment tomorrow, and I hope to learn her routine so that I can do it at home until we arrange for a physical therapist in the US. It was very special to see during our meeting how Victoria sat on John's lap so contentedly. She just admired his face, played with his hair, felt his whiskers, and buttoned and unbuttoned his top button. She seems to already be bonding to him in the special way that Jocylin and Cherith already have. The afternoon visit was more low key as we played with various things that we brought with us.
We're still trying to adapt to the 8 hour time difference (hence I'm up at 1:00 Bulgarian time writing this). It's sometimes hard to stay energetic during our visits. All in all, we've had a good day, and we're looking forward to another one tomorrow.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday
Monday was an incredible day. We woke up, both of us with butterflies in our stomachs. You wouldn't think it would bother two grown adults to want to impress a five year old girl so much! We settled for a granola bar instead of the hotel breakfast, prayed together and found our guide in the lobby. Our hotel is only a 10 minute walk from the orphanage. We found (just by watching) that you have to be really careful not to trip on of the the many bumps or holes in the sidewalk (there's really not much of it intact) or get run down by the cars that don't wait for pedestrians. We arrived at the orphanage and were pleased right away. The grounds are not elaborate, but everything is clean, bright, and adequate. It seems that the caretakers truly care for the children. We began in the director's office, a nicely decorated room with a desk and laptop and two leather red doors studded with decorative nails said to be from the communism era that ended in Bulgaria only 20 years ago. We were not able to ask many questions because the director is away until Wednesday, so we waited for them to finish dressing our little girl before we could see her.
I really can't describe yet how I felt when I first saw her for the first time - it was all so amazing. She was obviously nervous, but very brave. We were told that she knew she was meeting her daddy and mommy. She came in with assistance, holding her caretakers hand for balance and shuffled in the door. Her blue eyes were wide. I reached out for her, and she came over to me. She asked us who we were and we told her, "Daddy and Mama". She gave a little smile. I tried not to tear up as I gave her a hug that she did not reject. She was fine with sitting on my lap, and I held her and hugged her and kissed her as gently as I knew how for the first few minutes as we got acquainted. As we were talking through a translator, we found out that Victoria likes to color - and does she ever! I had brought a little coloring kit in a pencil box with me, and when I took it out of my bag, she was hooked. Jocylin would agree with her new sister first color choice: purple! We continued to talk and color for about an hour. John held her too and she was fine with that. Then it was time to go. We gave our new daughter a hug and kiss goodbye, and she went off for her lunch and naptime. We would see her again at 4:00.
Our guide has been so helpful. We spent the remaining time exchanging currency, having lunch and getting a little rest. Walking is a primary mode of transportation, and we've really enjoyed being able to get a taste of Bulgaria while on foot. Burgas is a nice city with a population of about 200,000. It is on the coast of the Black Sea which we will visit one of these days. The main employment here is for tourism, but, as we do where we live, Burgas has four seasons. This make summertime the busiest for them. We're told that people from many different European countries make this their vacation spot - especially people from Germany and Russia.
At four, we returned to the orphanage. Victoria smiled when she saw us and came right away. She reached for John's hand to help her right away, and then mine. Caretakers were asking her (in Bulgarian, of course) who we were, and she would say each time, "Daddy, Mama" with smile. She was obviously very proud that she had her own now! We were told that the children are told that someday their family will come for them. It was somewhat sad to see all of Victoria's peers look at us with longing eyes. One little boy cried and reached out to us as if to say, "Me too! Me too!" I wish we could take them all home!
We had another nice visit with Victoria playing with the coloring kit and Playdough that we had brought. We were able to see her bedroom - a bright, cheerful room with twenty or so cribs lined up in a couple rows. She was very proud of her space and let us take a picture of her in her bed. Then it was time to go--more hugs and kisses goodbye. We stopped by a little grocery store to buy a few snacks, for our stomachs still on a different time zone and said goodbye to our translator for the day near our hotel. We went to a very nice restaurant that was recommended to us and enjoyed our dinner (the dessert was fabulous!). We have been enjoying having the evenings to ourselves on this trip with some much needed time together after the busyness of the last couple of weeks. We're so thankful to the Lord for His assurance in this. It gives us confidence to see His hand working in this.
Oh, and we also were able to give out our new daughter's name officially for the paperwork: Victoria Faith Isenberg.
I really can't describe yet how I felt when I first saw her for the first time - it was all so amazing. She was obviously nervous, but very brave. We were told that she knew she was meeting her daddy and mommy. She came in with assistance, holding her caretakers hand for balance and shuffled in the door. Her blue eyes were wide. I reached out for her, and she came over to me. She asked us who we were and we told her, "Daddy and Mama". She gave a little smile. I tried not to tear up as I gave her a hug that she did not reject. She was fine with sitting on my lap, and I held her and hugged her and kissed her as gently as I knew how for the first few minutes as we got acquainted. As we were talking through a translator, we found out that Victoria likes to color - and does she ever! I had brought a little coloring kit in a pencil box with me, and when I took it out of my bag, she was hooked. Jocylin would agree with her new sister first color choice: purple! We continued to talk and color for about an hour. John held her too and she was fine with that. Then it was time to go. We gave our new daughter a hug and kiss goodbye, and she went off for her lunch and naptime. We would see her again at 4:00.
Our guide has been so helpful. We spent the remaining time exchanging currency, having lunch and getting a little rest. Walking is a primary mode of transportation, and we've really enjoyed being able to get a taste of Bulgaria while on foot. Burgas is a nice city with a population of about 200,000. It is on the coast of the Black Sea which we will visit one of these days. The main employment here is for tourism, but, as we do where we live, Burgas has four seasons. This make summertime the busiest for them. We're told that people from many different European countries make this their vacation spot - especially people from Germany and Russia.
At four, we returned to the orphanage. Victoria smiled when she saw us and came right away. She reached for John's hand to help her right away, and then mine. Caretakers were asking her (in Bulgarian, of course) who we were, and she would say each time, "Daddy, Mama" with smile. She was obviously very proud that she had her own now! We were told that the children are told that someday their family will come for them. It was somewhat sad to see all of Victoria's peers look at us with longing eyes. One little boy cried and reached out to us as if to say, "Me too! Me too!" I wish we could take them all home!
We had another nice visit with Victoria playing with the coloring kit and Playdough that we had brought. We were able to see her bedroom - a bright, cheerful room with twenty or so cribs lined up in a couple rows. She was very proud of her space and let us take a picture of her in her bed. Then it was time to go--more hugs and kisses goodbye. We stopped by a little grocery store to buy a few snacks, for our stomachs still on a different time zone and said goodbye to our translator for the day near our hotel. We went to a very nice restaurant that was recommended to us and enjoyed our dinner (the dessert was fabulous!). We have been enjoying having the evenings to ourselves on this trip with some much needed time together after the busyness of the last couple of weeks. We're so thankful to the Lord for His assurance in this. It gives us confidence to see His hand working in this.
Oh, and we also were able to give out our new daughter's name officially for the paperwork: Victoria Faith Isenberg.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
We're 5,000 miles away...
We're here! We just arrived in our hotel a couple of hours ago in Burgas, Bulgaria after 4 plane rides and over 30 hours of travel from start to finish...and need I say only 2 hours max of sleep! We also just lost 8 hours. Yes, we're heading to bed very soon, but just wanted you all to know that we're here. It is 10:30 in Bulgaria as I write this.
We meet our little Victoria tomorrow morning at 9:30. We're told that she is the orphanage's "princess". I'm sure she will be greatly missed in Bulgaria when we can bring her home in 4 months. We were also told that she is very bright and that she has been enrolled in kindergarten this year. This is somewhat unusual because orphanage children often have delays - in this area and others. I can't wait to tell you what she is like!
Our accommodations are very adequate and our guide/translator is very helpful. Thank you for your prayers; we have felt God working through every one of them.
We meet our little Victoria tomorrow morning at 9:30. We're told that she is the orphanage's "princess". I'm sure she will be greatly missed in Bulgaria when we can bring her home in 4 months. We were also told that she is very bright and that she has been enrolled in kindergarten this year. This is somewhat unusual because orphanage children often have delays - in this area and others. I can't wait to tell you what she is like!
Our accommodations are very adequate and our guide/translator is very helpful. Thank you for your prayers; we have felt God working through every one of them.
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