Moving right along. . .

For now, things seem to be moving right along! We were able to complete our dossier for Little Lady #3 last Monday and, on Tuesday afternoon, we sent it on its way:

Proof that Richard is a part of this process as well! Here he is with our completed dossier, very happy to be bidding it farewell!

"You know we're crazy right!?"

"I mean, really NUTS!"

Our dossier arrived in Bulgaria on Friday afternoon and, because it has already been translated, will begin the authentication process tomorrow (today, of course, is a Bulgarian holiday). We are hopeful that it will be filed and registered with the Ministry of Justice on Monday (5/31) and we are praying that we will receive our official referral for Little Lady #3 by next Friday (6/4). We learned last week that it is unlikely that we will travel the first two weeks in July as we had hoped, as there will be another family traveling in that time slot. Instead, it looks like we will be traveling towards the middle/end of July. Once we have received the official referral we will be able to make firm travel plans. I am looking forward to finally having a date set in stone (well, as set in stone as a date can be in the adoption world)!

Our "Pieced Together By Love" fundraiser has, once again, left us humbled and awed by the amazing outpouring of love and support from our family, friends and even strangers! In just one week we have raised $350 and have added 52 names to our puzzle:

We are so grateful for each and every one of you! Just writing your names down on these puzzle pieces brings tears to my eyes! What an amazing gift it will be to hang this on our wall as a daily reminder of all of the amazing people who stood behind us and made it possible for us to bring our precious girls home! We are truly blessed!

Pieced Together By Love

*PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR NEW POSTS*

When we began this journey we prayed that we would be able to complete these adoptions without incurring any additional debt. Through the hand of the Lord, a lot of hard work and the support of our wonderful friends, family and even strangers, we have watched, in humility, as the needed funds have always been there when we needed them, without incurring any additional debt!

As we near the end of our journey we find that we are once again, just short of the mark. We will be bringing our lovely ladies home in just six, short weeks!

We are calling our final fundraiser "Pieced Together By Love." Here is how it works:

We have purchased a 500 piece puzzle featuring one of my favorite pictures of the Savior by artist Del Parson:

For every $5 donation, the name of the donor will be featured on the back of a puzzle piece. Each donor will only have their name listed once, but every additional $5 donation by the same donor can be made in someone elses name (for example, if you have a family of five, you can make a $25 donation and each family member's name will be listed on a puzzle piece).

Each $5 donation will also enter you into a gift card giveaway. We will be giving away five $25 gift cards (iTunes, Visa, Target, Amazon and Toys R Us) at the end of our fundraiser. So, if you donate $5 your name will be entered into the giveaway once, if you donate $25, your name will be entered five times, etc.

If you aren't able to offer your financial support we understand. There are still several ways that you can get your name on a puzzle piece and entered into our gift card giveaway. Help us get the word out! Post our fundraiser information on your blog, your Facebook page, Twitter, etc. and earn an entry in our giveaway and a piece on our puzzle (make sure you leave a comment to let me know that you have done so).

Once our puzzle is complete we will seal it and hang it on our wall as a reminder of the outpouring of love, support and encouragement that we have received as we have worked to bring our girls home. We are truly humbled each and every day by the number of people who have supported us throughout this process and we know that, for many of you, seeing our girls come home is just as much a victory for you as it is for us. We are SO grateful to each and every one of you! Without your love, support, encouragement and prayers this would not be possible.

So, for a quick recap:

For a $5 donation you will receive your name on our puzzle and an entry into our gift card giveaway.

Each additional $5 donation will be another entry into the gift card giveaway and, if you so desire, the name of a friend/family member on our puzzle.

Also, for every mention of our fundraiser on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. your name will be entered into the gift card giveaway and, if it has not been already, added to the puzzle.

There are several ways to donate:

You may donate directly to us by clicking on the "Pieced Together By Love" chip-in on the sidebar. This is linked directly to our paypal account and will come to us immediately upon donation.

You may also donate directly to our Reece's Rainbow grant fund by clicking on the green button on the sidebar (under "Make a Tax-Deductible donation). Follow the link and the instructions provided. Donations can be made via paypal or mail (be sure to let me know if you have chosen to donate this way as sometimes it takes a week or two for the donation information to be reported to me). These donations are tax-deductible.

If you would like to donate by check, please contact me at desisdelights@gmail.com for our mailing address.

We will provide photo updates of our puzzle as it is pieced together so that everyone will have the opportunity to see how amazing it is when so many people link together in love and support of one another!

Another one bites the dust

Friday was a wonderful day of celebration! We danced, we sang, we jumped for joy, enjoyed some celebratory "sisters" ice cream at our favorite ice cream shop, and of course, got down on our knees and thanked our Heavenly Father over and over again for His guiding hand in this process and the many mighty miracles that He has worked to get us to this point.

As Friday drew to a close it was time to put our game faces on once again so that we could focus on getting our third little ladybug home too. We spent today running to and fro getting our dossier certified and apostilled and I am very happy to say that another dossier is COMPLETE! We will be bidding it a fond farewell and sending it on its way to Bulgaria tomorrow and hope that it will be in the hands of our facilitator by the end of the week!

Fortunately, because we were able to scan and email the dossier to Toni prior to sending it (and because she translated an almost identical dossier for us just a few months ago) she has already been able to translate most of it and we are hopeful that we will be able to submit everything to the Ministry of Justice next week and, if we are lucky, we may be able to receive our official referral next Friday! YAY!

Our hope is to combine our pickup trip for Alayna and Lily with our first trip for our third little lady. Our projected travel date. . . .the first two weeks in July!

The verdict is in. . . .

I just received a phone call from our attorney in Bulgaria and. . . . .

I AM NOW OFFICIALLY THE MOTHER OF SEVEN!!!

Hallelujah!!! I have to admit, with so little time for Social Services to prepare and mail the requested reports, I was expecting to hear that court would be rescheduled (I know, "ye of little faith") and, when there was no news from Bulgaria waiting for me in my inbox this morning, I was convinced that was the case. But when the phone rang at 9 am and I heard Toni's voice, I knew that the Lord had worked another mighty miracle!

And now, I would like to OFFICIALLY introduce my two beautiful daughters:

Alayna Svetelina Rieben

Lilyana Claire Rieben

Is there any doubt that my Heavenly Father loves me!? Not in my mind! Now. . .time to celebrate!

Be Still

In just a few hours, in a courtroom in Sofia, Bulgaria, the judge who has been assigned to our case will deliver her ruling.

This will be the first time that I have not been present during the decision-making process. This will be the first time that I have no say in the proceedings, the first time that I will not be there to explain why we long to make these beautiful little girls a part of our family, to explain to the judge just how much potential they possess and just how loved and cherished they already are and always will be. How I long to be in that courtroom to be a voice for my beautiful little girls. Although we will not be there for the proceedings, we have been blessed with an amazing attorney who knows our hearts and who cares for our girls just as deeply as we do. She WILL be a voice for our family and for our girls and, if it comes down to it, we know that she will fight for us. Still, the fact that the decision will be made while we are sleeping (yeah right!) over 5000 miles away has been difficult.

The judge will rule in one of three ways. She will either grant the adoptions (assuming the Social Services reports made it to court on time. . .at this point, we do not know), reschedule the hearing (assuming the reports did NOT make it to court on time) or she will deny our petition (this decision would be appealed). Despite the uncertainty, one thing is sure. Though we will not be there when the decision is made, we know that the Lord will. "I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron" (Isaiah 45:2).

As I go to bed tonight I am at peace because I know that the Lord is guiding this process and that He will go before us and make the crooked places straight. I am ready to heed the admonition, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalms 46:10) and trust that, whatever the outcome of this hearing, all will be well because the Lord is in control.

We Like to Keep Things Interesting. . .

When we first began this process in February 2009, I felt impressed to ask our social worker to approve us for three children. At the time, I felt confident that we would be bringing home two children, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that I needed to ask for approval for three, so I did and our social worker approved.

Some of you may recall that, just a few days before our dossier was submitted to the Ministry of Justice, we were committed to bringing three children home- Lily, Alayna and a little boy with arthrogryposis. Just three days before our dossier was submitted, we learned that our little boy's mother had withdrawn consent for adoption and that we would no longer be able to bring him home. The news was devastating. The Ministry of Justice gave us the opportunity to commit to another child prior to submitting our dossier, but, after a lot of prayer and discussion, we made the decision to move forward with the girls. It was terribly hard for me to accept that decision. We were approved for three, we had room for three in our home and in our hearts and we had almost raised the funds to bring three children home, but we knew that we needed to move forward with the girls and so we did.

But, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were leaving someone behind.

While I was in Bulgaria visiting Alayna, I met a wonderful little boy with arthrogryposis and fell in love! While still in Bulgaria, Richard and I made the decision to pursue him as well, if he was registered and available to be adopted. As soon as I returned home and after I had completed all of the necessary paperwork for the girls, we began working on assembling another dossier (because the official referrals of the girls had already been issued, the pursuit of another child is considered a separate adoption which meant we had to start from the beginning). Two weeks after I arrived home, we received the news that another family had committed to bring this little boy home. We were very happy for him, but, of course, sad that he would not be joining our family.

Despite this news, I STILL couldn't shake the feeling that we were leaving someone behind.

A few weeks ago, our attorney received the files of several children listed on the Waiting Children's List. Among those children was a little girl from Lily's orphanage. While visiting Lily, I had the chance to meet and spend time with the children in her group. Among them was a beautiful little girl with mild cerebral palsy. Oh how I had wished I could bring her home as well. Based on the location, diagnosis and age of the little girl in the file, I wondered if it might be the same little girl in Lily's group. The picture included with the file was more than two years old and, though it didn't look exactly like the little girl I had seen, it was similar enough that I was almost certain it was her. How I longed to bring her home.

Two weeks ago, while Richard was attending a Scout camp out, I found myself on my knees. I pleaded with the Lord to confirm to my heart that this was the little girl I had met at the orphanage (if it was) and more importantly, if this little girl was the "missing piece" that my heart seemed to be searching for. An hour later, before heading to bed, I pulled up Reece's Rainbow to look at her picture one more time, but as soon as I clicked on the link I saw another sweet face staring back at me. A familiar face. The face of the little girl in Lily's group (who had just been added to the photo listing mere minutes before I sat down at my computer). That was all the confirmation I needed to know that this little girl WAS the child my heart had been search for and that we were supposed to be bringing her home.

A few days later (last Monday), we made the official commitment! Because we had already begun the process of putting together a second dossier for the little boy I met while in Bulgaria, our dossier was almost complete. We are still waiting on a few things from our homestudy agency and our placing agency, but we are hoping to have everything notarized and apostilled on Friday so that we can send our second dossier on its way by Saturday or Monday!

We are hopeful that we will be able to combine our pickup trip for the girls with our first trip for our third little girl and hopefully, we will have all three girls home by the end of the year!

Yes, we know we are crazy, but we love it and we feel incredibly blessed to be bringing these THREE amazing little girls into our family!

And now, introducing. . . . .

Little Lady #3

PS- Keep scrolling for an update on our court date

We Need Your Prayers!

I know, I know! I REALLY need to stop with the disappearing acts, but have no fear, I am still here and I am still stressed!

In the way of an update, our dossier DID make it to court, and quickly. It did not happen on April 28th as we had hoped, but it was there by the 30th and the potential disaster that we had been concerned about was, fortunately, averted! Last Wednesday morning, as the kids and I were heading out the door for Philadelphia, we received our court date! Our hearing has been scheduled for THIS FRIDAY, May 14th at 9:30 am (Bulgarian time)!

We are, of course, ecstatic that we received such a quick court date, however, with the good news, often comes the bad. Though we received a quick court date, the judge that has been assigned to our case has also requested additional paperwork. Fortunately, nothing is required on our part. Unfortunately, the requested paperwork is reports, completed by Social Services in the girls' respective towns, stating whether or not the girls are visited by birth parents or other relatives and if adoption is in the girls' best interest.

The concerns: The first concern with this request is the amount of time that Social Services has to complete the reports and get them to court (both towns are far enough away from Sofia that the reports must be mailed and they MUST be to court by the time of our hearing). Because there was a national holiday in Bulgaria (St. Georges Day) at the end of last week, Social Services could not begin preparing the reports until Monday. We received word from our attorney this morning that Lily's report has been completed and mailed, but she has been unable to get an update on Alayna's report because Social Services in her town will not take her calls (though the Director of the orphanage did call on Monday to say that Social Services had contacted her). If both of the girls reports are not at the court by 9:30 am on Friday morning, our hearing will have to be rescheduled. We are praying that both reports will arrive in time, but there is a very good chance that they will not and that the hearing will be rescheduled. If it is, we are hopeful that, since the judge was so quick to issue our initial court date, she will be equally quick in rescheduling.

Our second concern is that Alayna's birth mother and several of her relative DO visit her. When we arrived at the orphanage in March to meet Alayna, the Director informed us that her birth mother and grandparents visit twice a year (usually on her birthday and at Christmas). While surprised to learn this, I was happy to know that Alayna had known the love of her birth mother and her grandparents and hoped that we might be able to send them regular updates and pictures so that they could remain a part of her life. I will admit, after losing Little Boy when his birth mother made the decision to withdraw consent for adoption, I was very nervous about the possibility that Alayna's mother might choose to do the same, but the orphanage director tried to calm my fears by explaining that her mother had never expressed a desire to remove her from the orphanage.

Obviously two visits a year does not compare to having a permanent home and family and much-needed medical care (and all involved in this situation know that adoption IS in Alayna's best interest. . .if she is not adopted she will remain in the orphanage, will not receive the medical care that will help her meet her full potential and, once she reaches adulthood, despite the fact that she is very smart and very able, she will be placed in an adult institution), but the decision now rests with Social Services and, ultimately, the judge assigned to our case.

We KNOW that our Heavenly Father is guiding this process and that His timing and His plan are perfect. Please pray with us that the girls' reports will arrive in time for our hearing on Friday and that the heart of the judge will be softened so that she will grant the adoptions.

And while you're at it, please pray for the stomach ulcer that MUST be forming as I type and the poor hairdresser (likely my mom) who will be responsible for dying my hair once this is all said and done ;-)

Progress Report

Hello! Remember me!? I am the author of this blog, though that may not be apparent due to the lack of blog posts this past month+. While I HAVE been busy over the course of the past month and there have been many unexpected twists and turns to keep life exciting (keep reading), what has really kept me from blogging is the fact that, whenever I stop to think about my girls, the world seems to come to a grinding halt and I am reminded of (what seems like) the vast amount of time that still separates me from them. I thought that I would handle this separation with much more grace, but I am failing miserably! I miss my little ladybugs. I am aching to hold them and longing to bring them home.

Despite my moping, we have managed to make significant progress. Our I800 applications, along with supporting documentation and fee, were received at the Texas facility on March 10th. Unfortunately, there they sat until March 26th when they were finally mailed to the Hague Office in Missouri for processing.

On March 22nd, I received an e-mail from Toni containing the girls' visa pictures! Every time I need a good laugh, I pull these up on my computer! My sweet little ladybugs look like little convicts and I just can't help but laugh every time I see them!

Alayna and Lily's Mug Shots!

On the evening of March 24th, while I was at the library gathering books for the following week's preschool lesson plans, I received a frantic call from my husband. Evan had fallen, face first, off of the couch and Richard was afraid he had broken his leg. I rushed home, came to the same conclusion, gathered Evan up and headed to the ER where we were immediately taken back to a room. Xrays confirmed our suspicions. Evan's right femur had snapped like a match upon impact. He was admitted to the hospital that evening with plans for surgery the following day. Due to his age and the nature of the fracture, the orthopedic surgeons made the decision to place him in a spica cast (a cast that goes from mid-chest all the way down his right leg) instead of doing surgery, so, on the evening of March 25th, Evan was taken into the operating room and, under general anesthesia, his leg was set and he was casted. He was released from the hospital on March 26th with an estimated time of 6-8 weeks in the cast.

Evan- All smiles on Easter Sunday! Nothing gets this boy down! He truly is my hero!

On March 31st, with Richard out of town on business for the week, I packed up the car, dropped Evan off at a friends (he wasn't quite up for a road trip yet) and traveled to Philadelphia with my other four munchkins in tow. Unfortunately the insurance authorizations for Joshua and Evan's new wheelchairs were set to expire on the 31st and, despite Evan's injury, our insurance company refused to extend the authorizations and informed us that, if the wheelchairs were not delivered by March 31st, we would have to start the approval process over again (we have been waiting for these chairs since June 2009 (long story) and there was NO WAY I was going to start over again). So to Philadelphia we went! We returned on April 2nd and, after what has been a whirlwind start to 2010, we enjoyed a quiet, relaxing Easter weekend as a family!

When we returned from Philadelphia, we also learned that we had received our I800 approvals on March 31st. One step closer!

On April 3rd, Evan had a follow-up appointment with his orthopedic surgeon. His xrays revealed his leg to be healing quickly and properly and we were given the good news that the cast would likely be removed at his next appointment (May 3rd), a full week ahead of schedule. For any of you who have experienced the joys of a spica cast, you will know that this news brought with it MUCH rejoicing!

On April 6th our I800 approvals were cabled from the National Visa Center to the US Embassy in Sofia.

On April 7th, all five kids and I took a little "field trip" around the great state of Ohio to finish up the last of the adoption paperwork. We started at the Greene County Courthouse in Xenia, Ohio where we received county certifications (the "extra step" required in some states to confirm that the notary who notarized your documents is, in fact, a notary).

Outside the Greene County Courthouse

From there we traveled to the Madison County Courthouse in London, Ohio to county certify our updated police clearances.

On the steps of the Madison County Courthouse

After this stop we took a quick break to enjoy lunch at Wendy's where we enjoyed the normal stares and proclamations of awe and wonder from our onlookers (we are quite a spectacle, I admit)! After lunch we traveled to the Secretary of State's office in Columbus, Ohio where all of our documents received apostilles (the Secretary of State's certification that the Clerk of Courts, who certified that the notary is, in fact, a notary, is in, fact the Clerk of Courts in said county. . confusing and slightly redundant, no!?).

Losing focus! Standing outside the Secretary of State's Office! Have I mentioned how AMAZING my kids are for allowing me to drag them around the state on adoption-related errands!?! And that they even profess to love it!?

Once the apostilles were complete, we made our way to Fairborn, Ohio where we stopped at our friendly UPS Store and mailed said documents to Bulgaria, after which we all breathed a sigh of relief as we realized that our days of signing, notarizing, certifying and apostilling documents for this adoption had (hopefully) come to a close!

On April 8th, our Bulgarian attorney went to the US Embassy in Sofia to complete the provisional filing of the visa's and today (April 12th) the Embassy issued our Article 5 letter and our remaining documents arrived in Bulgaria (a few days late and few gray hairs later). Tomorrow our documents will be translated and on Wednesday they begin the authentication process. As long as things go according to plan (which, of course they won't, simply because I said that ;-)), our authenticated documents should be submitted to the MOJ on Monday, April 19th.

From there we must obtain two signatures at the MOJ in order for our documents to be released to the court. The first signature is of the MOJ's attorney. The second signature is from the Minister herself. There is no time line for this step in the process. We are, however, praying that we will obtain those signatures and that our documents will be released to the court by a very specific date (April 28th), for a very important reason (I will explain later). The chance is slim, but it does exist. If you could remember this in your prayers we would be deeply grateful.

Once the signatures are obtained our documents will be released to the court where we will be given a reference number and will be assigned a judge. Please pray that we are assigned an adoption-friendly judge who will process our case quickly and without request for further documentation (there should be no need, but this is up to the individual judge). Once we are given a reference number and assigned a judge we will receive a court date.

As you can see, at this point, this process is entirely out of our hands. Fortunately, we know that the hand of the Lord is the one that is, and always has been, guiding this process and we trust completely that all will work according to His plan and in His time.

There's No Place Like Home

Home sweet home! I arrived home around midnight on Saturday. Richard met me at the airport and, after a LONG day of traveling, what a welcome surprise to walk into a beautifully clean house full of peacefully sleeping children! My husband is such a gift!

My last visit with Alayna was a good one. We looked through pictures and went over names and faces again, drew more pictures and talked about when I would return to bring her home. During our Thursday afternoon visit Alayna asked if I would visit her on Saturday. I explained to her that I had to return home on Saturday, but that I would come back for her soon. She told me that she would cry when I left. It broke my heart! Toni explained to her that we would have to complete a few more documents before I could return to bring her home, but that we would work fast so that she could come home soon. To help quantify the time, Toni told her that, once she had finished first grade, I would return for her.

I left her on Friday with lots of hugs and kisses, her photo album, her bear, and a promise that I would return for her as quickly as possible. I already miss her terribly! Fortunately, the deep longing to return for my girls has motivated me into getting this next round of paperwork and approvals done as quickly as I possibly can.

My I800 with supporting documentation is ready to go and will be mailed first thing tomorrow morning! I am praying that the approval will be swift! Once the approval is issued it will be wired to the US Embassy in Sofia who will issue a letter to the Ministry of Justice stating that we may proceed with the adoption. More signatures are needed from the Minister after which our case will then enter the courts and a judge and a court date will be assigned. Once the adoption has been declared final in court, we will be able to proceed with obtaining new birth certificates and passports and Richard and I will travel to pick the girls up. On average, this next phase takes 3-5 months to complete. We are hoping that we will be able to return to bring them home by the beginning of June.

I promised videos once I returned home so here is the first installment! I accidentally uploaded both Alayna and Lily's videos into the same montage so you will have to watch the entire video to see both girls! All of the videos I have of Alayna are of her singing. This girls LOVES to sing (and she loved to watch her videos and sing along after I recorded them). Lily's videos generally consist of her giving me the stink face and then ignoring me (she LOVED operating the camera but didn't care much for being the subject)! I hope you enjoy my little ladies as much as I do!

Homecoming #1

Love reckons hours for months, and days for years; and every little absence is an age. ~John Dryden

The Kids and I (mainly I) spent the day cleaning up the house. It's 7:15, the kids are fed, in bed, the dishes are done, the laundry is folded, the floors cleaned and just for good measure the cars are washed.

Val should be touching down in Dayton four hours from now and we're very excited to have her home. The kids missed their mother and I missed my wife.

Back Home.

***Written By Richard***

Well, the trip is almost over and right now Val is spending her last sleep-filled hours in Sofia. Everyone's heard a lot about what's been going on over in Bulgaria but while Val's been on her advendute, I've been enjoying the other and of the adventure back here at home.

Over the two weeks since Val left we've been staying busy. We've had bedtimes, quiet times, and mealtimes. We've had one week of work, and one week in training. We've had a few illnesses and we even spent the evening in the ER collecting a few stitches.

Our good friend Keely has been invaluable in watching the kids during the day while I've been at work and in training. I'd also like to thank the friends and parents who took time out of their busy schedules to check in with Val and I. A thank you also goes to our friends who provided meals on several occasions, such a small act meant so much to me.

So as I get ready to head to bed tonight, here are some pictures I wanted to share from the past two weeks:

This is how most of the kids spent the first week. They were all very tired from a tumultuous week before Val left and it took them a week to recover and get back into better shape.

The most famous incident of the past two weeks. Lukas was playing during naptime and ended up getting in a fight with a desk. Needless to say, he lost. 10 Stitches at the ER.

Jacob showing off the knit cap that Keely made for him.

Evan letting me know what he thinks of my cooking.

Joshua, just being adorable.

Maren with her best friend. Note the knit cap with the cute little flower.

Lukas (pre-stitches) show off his moves.

Whew!

This morning we explained to Alayna that I will be her mommy. She was thrilled and we all breathed a sigh of relief! She immediately started calling me mama and, this morning, while we were watching a Sesame Street DVD, she gave me two HUGE hugs! Again, I melted! The biggest indicator of her acceptance of having a mama and joining our family came when we returned for the afternoon visit. She had drawn me another picture. In this picture there were two houses, connected by a road. One was hers (and Baba Marta's!) and one mine. She had also colored and completed a maze where a little girl was walking through a field of flowers to her house where her mama was waiting. I asked Alayna if the little girl was her and she was coming home to mama. She said yes :-)

Alayna's picture

Finding her way home to Mama!

Although she has always been relatively comfortable with Toni and I, today she really came out of her shell. She sat on my lap, gave me hugs and always sat right next to me whenever we were playing. She sang for us again (she loves for me to record her singing and to watch herself when she is done. . .I promise to share once I am home) and she even showed us a little of her goofy side! She had us all doubled over in laughter many times!

This afternoon, at her request, we played beauty shop! I brought hair clips, a child-sized makeup kit and some nail polish (thank goodness for Toni's brother Alex who ran to the store during lunch and picked these things up for me!) and we did each other's hair, makeup and nails. We also completed a few more necklaces and bracelets for several of her friends (who are also very excited that Alayna has a mama. . .every time they see her they ask what she and mama are doing). Maren is going to be in heaven having a sister who will love doing all of these things with her.

Alayna, skillfully applying her green eye shadow!

Mommy doing Alayna's nails

Alayna doing mommy's nails!

My turn for eyeshadow! Bright blue!

"This is great!" Alayna giving her thumbs up!

She continues to amaze me with how smart she is! Yesterday morning I showed her how to spell her name in English and she copied it beautifully. Today, she wrote it by herself without having to look! Wow! This girl is one smart cookie!

Alayna is such and amazing girl! It is going to be so hard to leave her on Friday, but I know that, once I am home, I will finally be able to start the final steps to bring my girls home!

Mommy and Alayna (yes, I am as exhausted as I look!!)

Why we do what we do. . . .

People often ask us why we adopt or why we have chosen to have the number of children we do at such a young age (26 and 30 for those who are curious). Simply put, who wouldn't want to be inspired and amazed every day of their lives (and, of course, we are NUTS. . .but we LOVE it)!? Because honestly, every one of my children inspire and amaze me each and every day. What a privilege and a blessing it is to be given the honor to know and associate daily with such incredible people. To see the world through the eyes of a child. . .amazing! To love as purely, completely and unconditionally as a child. . .amazing! To truly see people and not race, religion or (dis)ability. . .amazing! The scriptures teach us to "be like unto little children" and so, selfishly perhaps, I have chosen to surround myself with the experts! What greater teachers of compassion, faith, hope, charity and Christ-like love could there be!?

Why do I bring this up? Because everyday I have spent getting to know Lily and Alayna has been equally amazing! These girls are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G and I am truly humbled that I have been chosen to be their mom.

Today's visits with Alayna were wonderful. Although both visits were still supervised, the psychologist sat in the back of the room and only stepped in when Alayna or Toni addressed her personally, which gave me a chance to spend more one-on-one time with Alayna. We spent more time coloring (this girl LOVES to color and is very detail oriented. . .there is not a white spot on the page when she is done with it!). We also made necklaces for her and her friend, Sashka. What she enjoyed the most today however, was looking through her photo album! Once she had looked through it several times, she asked me if I had more pictures. At the time I didn't have any with me, but during our break between visits I downloaded all of my Facebook pictures to my computer and she spent the first half of our afternoon visit looking through all of the pictures on the computer. She LOVED it (I did too!).

Making necklaces

Mommy and Alayna looking at pictures from home!

When we were preparing to leave after our morning visit she told us that she would have a surprise for us when we returned. When we arrived at the orphanage this afternoon, she came into the room with a HUGE smile on her face and presented me with a picture she had drawn and some beautiful flowers! Again, my heart just melted into a puddle on the floor! Not only is she a fantastic artist, but her handwriting is incredible. She writes her name beautifully in Bulgarian and even copied it perfectly when I showed her how it was spelled in English. Let me tell you, nothing is going to hold this little lady back!

The picture and flowers Alayna gave to me. The house, she informed us, is Baba Marta's!

Alayna showing me the back of the picture where she had written her name (Her Bulgarian name is Tsvetelinka).

She sang for me again today (several times) and I was able to capture it on video (she is definitely not shy about singing in front of people). Unfortunately, it is taking forever for the video to upload, so I will have to wait to share that until I get home.

At the request of the orphanage director, Toni and I introduced ourselves as guests who had come to visit yesterday (the director felt it would be best to ease into telling Alayna that I am her mama and that she will be adopted. . . .Because there are several families in the process of adopting from the same orphanage, we didn't want to burn any bridges so we have gone along with this for now). Right now, she knows me as Valerie, the nice lady with the "magic bag" full of fun things! Tomorrow we are going to share with her that I am going to be her mama and that she will be coming home with us in a few months. I do not think that she is completely unaware of what is going on (there have been many adoptions from this orphanage, so the children likely know why I am here), but I am praying that this will be good and welcome news for her. The transition from an orphanage to a family is likely to be very difficult for her, but I am praying that she will take the news well and be excited about the thought of joining our family. Your prayers, as always, are greatly appreciated!

Chestita Baba Marta!

First and foremost, please allow me to introduce:

ALAYNA JEAN RIEBEN

Isn't she adorable!? Like Lily, she is tiny, but she is so full of life and personality! We arrived in Lukovit this afternoon and went straight to the orphanage. The orphanage itself is a very old facility, but as soon as I got out of the van I could hear children laughing and that sound never ceased the entire time we were there. They may not have much at this orphanage, but the children are happy and they are loved.

We met with the director and two of the orphanage social workers first. They told us a little about Alayna and asked about our family. They shared their information and observations about Alayna and told us that they had prepared her for our visit by letting her know that she would have special guests today (they didn't want to jump right into adoption and mama quite yet, which is probably good)!

Today is Baba Marta, a Bulgarian holiday/tradition to welcome in Spring. A celebration was planned at the orphanage and we were invited to attend. The celebration took place in the gym and it was decorated with balloons and martinitsa. All of the children at the orphanage attended and it was wonderful to see them all laughing, playing and celebrating together (let me tell you, these are some incredible, incredible kids). Several of the children (including Alayna) had memorized poems and narratives explaining the holiday and its traditions.

All of the Martinitsa I collected today!

After the celebration had concluded we were taken to the room we would be using for our visits with Alayna. A few minutes later she came into the room and we introduced ourselves (we had talked to her briefly during the celebration, but no formal introductions were made). She asked if she could draw a picture and so I retrieved my coloring books and crayons from my "magic bag." They psychologist was also in the room with us (and will be for all of our visits. . .orphanage policy). While she was coloring, several of the other children kept sneaking into the room and managed to sweet talk their way into the "magic bag." About halfway through the visit, the orphanage director and one of the social workers joined us, so we had quite an audience for our first visit! Slightly overwhelming :-)

I spent most of this first visit observing and I am already head over heels for this beautiful little girl. Despite the number of people in the room and the fact that Toni and I were strangers (and that I speak a foreign language), she never seemed overwhelmed. She counted to 20 for us several times and even dazzled us with her math skills (math is her favorite subject). The psychologist even convinced her to sing for us (and it absolutely melted my heart). She is very focused (she was completely engrossed in coloring and didn't miss a single detail on the page), incredibly smart and determined. Her physical limitations (scoliosis, absent right fibula and contracted right knee) are her only special needs.

(Engrossed in her work (She named Strawberry Shortcake, "Doll" and told us that she was dreaming of love. She further clarified by telling us that love meant getting married! She and Maren will get along well!)

I look forward to spending this week getting to know all about her! Today I took more of a back seat, which was hard because I was ready to jump right in, but I hope to have the opportunity to bond with her despite the language barrier and our constant supervision. There is no doubt in my mind that Miss Alayna is going to be a wonderful addition and blessing to our family.

Chestita Baba Marta!

Sofia

It appears as though the exhaustion of the past few years finally caught up with me yesterday! I went to bed at 10 pm Friday evening and didn't wake until 1 pm on Saturday. I cannot recall a time in my life where I have ever slept for so long, but it was a very much needed, much appreciated rest! Fortunately yesterday was a rainy and windy day, not very conducive to exploring the city, so I didn't feel quite as guilty for not getting out to explore!

It is a beautiful day in Sofia and, this morning, I had the chance to go to the city's center and see some of its most popular attractions.

The following is the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world. My pictures certainly do not do it justice (if you click on the link above you can see more pictures and read more about its history)! The inside of this church is absolutely breathtaking (unfortunately no pictures are allowed inside the cathedral so you will just have to take my word for it). The choir was singing while I stood inside and their beautiful music filled the cathedral. Every wall (and ceiling) is covered in beautiful paintings depicting the life of Christ and the atmosphere inside is one of complete reverence.




This is the St. Sofia Church, one of the oldest Eastern Orthodox churches in Bulgaria:
Next is the Russian Church, also known as St. Nikolai (again, much better pictures and history if you click on the link). This church was built in 1914 and was named after the Patron Saint of the Emperor who ruled Russia at the time (Nicholas II).


The following statue depicts Russian soldiers who helped to liberate Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire in 1878. On March 3rd, Bulgarians celebrate Bulgarian National/Liberation Day. The day they were finally freed from Turkish rule.


This is the St. Cyril and Methodius National Library.

In front of the library you will see many vendors. These vendors are selling Martinitsa (red and white yarn adornments, given to family and friends to wear as a way of sending off Winter and welcoming in Spring). Tomorrow, March 1st, is Baba Marta (the official name for the holiday. . .its translation is Grandmother March). People wear the martinitsa until they see the first signs of Spring at which point many people hang them in the trees (I saw many martinitsa from previous years hanging in the trees as I walked around). This is a tradition that we hope to implement in our family as well!

Sofia is a beautiful city, rich in culture and history. Although my time in the city is limited, I have greatly enjoyed drinking it all in! We will be leaving Sofia early tomorrow morning to head to Lukovit, where I will meet Little Lady #2! It has been a year since I first saw my sweet little girl's face in a picture and I cannot wait to finally hold her in my arms and get to know the amazing little person behind that picture!

Bittersweet

Today was my last day with sweet Lily. Our time today was bittersweet. Today was the birthday of a little boy in her group and there was going to be a party to celebrate. She didn't want to miss it and so she came to me this morning crying. She cried for most of our visit (she thought she was missing the party), but the sweet part of our time together was that she came to me and allowed me to hold and comfort her while she cried. Generally I do not like to see my children sad or hurting and Lily is no exception, BUT it was wonderful to be the person she came to for love and comfort. I held her, rocked her and rubbed her back while she cried and, despite her unhappiness, it was a wonderful bonding moment for both of us.

Fortunately, Lily did NOT miss the party! When it was time, her caregiver came and invited us all to join them for the festivities. They sang to the birthday boy, gave him hugs, kisses and some small gifts and then enjoyed sweets from the bakery, music, dancing and even sparklers. The smiles and excitement radiating from these kids was infectious and I had such a wonderful time playing, dancing and laughing with them. How wonderful to see that these children are loved and celebrated on their birthdays (that is not the case in SO many orphanages). And how wonderful to know that, when Lily turns 7 in a few weeks, that she will be celebrated as well (in her current home at the orphanage AND across the ocean in her new home)!

Once the party was over it was time for us to go. I hugged and kissed Lily goodbye and left her with her bear and photo album until I return to bring her home. It was hard to walk away and leave her there, but knowing that she is in a good orphanage where she is well loved and cared for made it easier (while I will miss her everyday at least I will not have to worry as much about her). I can't wait to get started on the next step to bringing her home.

We started on the road to Sofia as soon as we left the orphanage. Bulgaria really is an incredibly beautiful place and I was like a little kid with my nose pressed against the window trying to take everything in as we drove back to the city. We stopped at the half-way point to get something to drink and to put air in the tires. While we were at the gas station we were accosted by Gypsies (Roma) who wanted to tell us our fortunes. It was very interesting and, while Marty was being informed of all that his future would hold, I took the opportunity to ask Toni a little more about the Roma culture (I will share more about that in a later post).

We arrived in Sofia this afternoon and I am now settled in my hotel. The hotel is wonderful and the food, of course, is amazing (you were right Kelly, the chicken soup with lemon was FABULOUS!). Sofia is a fascinating city and I am looking forward to getting out and exploring this weekend. The following pictures were taken from my hotel balcony. The mountains surrounding the city are amazing. I wish I could get a better picture of them, but my camera just cannot do them justice!

Flat Stanislav offers his greetings from Sofia!