Tuesday -Thursday :)

Wow. What a whirlwind this trip has been. Ok we went to the sda on tuesday, with the warning that they may not give us the referrals for both children on the same day. which meant either a day delay or having to take the train out to the children's city to accept one child, then go back to the sda and do it again
:( well luck was on our side and Serge works miracles so they did give us both referrals! But they mentioned that there was a problem with Benji's paperwork, and if it can be fixed they will fix it quickly but if it cant......well then he will be unadoptable! My heart stopped . Not just for us, but for HIM he would live out his life in a very scary place-then cementary (that is exactly how it was explained to me )
2nd lucky break was the paperwork was fixable and cars zoomed all over the city to make it happen ! Amazing folks who work so very hard. From Andrea all the way across the ocean to this team. Dedication.
Wednesday we picked up our referral packet with Lacey and her hubby, after having lunch with Becky and her hubby :) So cool to meet so many Reeces Rainbow families bringing home kiddos I have prayed over and advocated for . We took the train wednesday night, thank goodness for Nicko , I wouldnt want to navigate that train station alone..busy busy and people move FAST. Our train car was nice , sleep a few hours but was up for most of the trip.Very loud, rumbling and shakey. Michael took motion sickness meds which were a life saver for him.
Thursday- Bright and early we were met by Fr. Andrew picking us up. From there we dropped our luggage off and zoomed to the orphanage for an 8:30 meeting with the director. She was very sweet and started to cry at the end . She said we made her so happy adopting children with Down syndrome when we have all healthy children because she believes they are angels of love and see's that we do to. It was so nice to see she loves the kids and is so happy to see them go to families.
After our chat, we ran (seriously, have you seen how fast Marina walks? :)  to see BENJI!! My sweet boy peeked out of his room and waved at us, then they told him "mama" and he walked right up to me and wrapped his teeny arms around me. OH MELT MY HEART ! We are so in love. He is tiny, more like a 2-3 yr old. I kissed his cheeks and he smiled and closed his eyes, then leaned in for more kisses. What a sweet baby. The head doctor and the caregiver said he is the most loving special sensitive boy there and they all love him so much. They are so happy he is going home to a family . I gave him his stuffed monkey, he sat it down on the floor and when it fell over he scolded it and sat it back up then patted its head. Too cute. I brought a tiny backpack with little toys, and he quickly unzipped it and sat to play with the cars. When he was done he put them all back in and zipped it up. I left a little plane with him, the cargivers said they would remind him mama and papa gave it to him and are coming back soon.
Then after goodbyes (paka!) we ran thru the rain to Taya's baby house. She was squeaking and fussing when they brought her out, and they said she doesnt like strangers.I could tell her nurse didnt want to let her go, but slowly gave her to me, and as soon as I gave her a baby einstein toy that plays music she smiled and giggled and just played it over and over. Oh she loves kisses on her neck. She laughs then waits for me to do it again :) She is small also, both the kids hair is cut really short :(
But they look healthy just tiny. Benji seems to be developing well but Taya is delayed. I would guess more like a 18 month old then a 4 year old. I was right they did think she had a heart condition at one point but she was cleared of it, due to the rules here they can not remove it from her chart for  4-5 yrs so she is stuck in a low activity /low stimulation group. Its ok I know she will just blossom at home with her siblings. AND Mama and Daddys kisses :)
After quick visits we spent the rest of the day running all over the city doing paperwork. Marina is an amazing little firecracker. She works so very hard, I am in awe of her energy. By 5:30 we were almost falling asleep in the car , so after the last paper was notarized we all went to dinner at a local place and the food was delicious!
Shower and bed for us now. Tried to skype with the kids, but alas the computer isnt on ....again :(
Love you guys! Miss you!! You will love your new baby brother and sister !
pictures later.
Hugs!

BECKY

Hey fb me or email me, so i can get your phone number here in EE. I tried to email you but your addy didnt work for some reason.
Maria :)

Monday's Adventures

We seriously slept in on monday. We woke up around 12 :) gotta love that! We made some yummy ;P turkish coffee had a slice of ham and cheese on on bread and breakfast was done. Sarah called after their SDA appt and we met up for some adventures! What a blast to have another couple here to have fun with. We walked all around, saw so many cool things, all the neat churches, Saint Sofia, Saint Michael, and ? There is another big one right next to the sda office . Really amazing to see these beautiful churches that have stood strong against so much destruction around them.
At the square we had a gentleman named Richard come up and aks Greg, if we lost. He was a film producer from Canada that has been coming to this country for 10 years. What an amazing guy, with a wealth of history and stories to tell. He gave us a walking tour that lasted several hours and was  very cool. He was such a gentleman he wouldnt even let us pay him or give him a tip ! He said he enjoyed the day and the beer so all is well. Amazing man. Let me tell ya though, this is one HILLY city! We stopped and had a water break, bought a beer for Richard then we were off again. The only time we got a bit nervous was when Richard wanted to put us in a car with any regular dude who was willing to drive us since that is so much cheaper. I appreciate that is how the locals do it, but us Americans  would rather pay a few more bucks and be alive thank you very much. Sarah and I were much happier in a real cab :) which was very cheap btw. We ate dinner at a local cuisine resturant across from the TGIF and it was delicious. 2 full dinners for $11.00
~oh we met Masha and Autumn with their parents ! What a dollbaby that masha (mallory and peach) Is ! I could have scooped her up and just hugged her all day.
After that we walked with sarah and gregg and Lacey and her hubby to a toy store then thru the underground walk ways which are neat. Then home (in the dark ;) and fell into bed by 9 right after we skyped with the kiddos :) LOVE YOU GUYS!

Ok, had our SDA appt this morning. Next blog...I will leave you will this there were Surprises, scares, oh my.


saying goodbye to our 2 oldest kiddos. Yes it was hard and there were some tears. Love you guys!

 Meeting my amiga Angie in Chicago was such a treat ! Love ya!

 This is us after the awful fligh to germany. we felt as bad as we looked :(

 our apartment its small but cute and NO BUGS :)

 see the little teeny window washers waaaaay up there !

us in the square I believe there are underground stores under the dome.

HUGS!

Made it here !

**Just skyped with our kids and parents ! How wonderful to see my babies ! I love you guys so much and miss you !!

We had our bags packed and ready to go. I climb into to bed to realize I  didnt pull our passports out yet. Jump up at 1 am..to look for them and cant find them ! So my luck right? Finally after searching I found the whole passport folder right where it should have been. DUH! In my sleep deprived state I missed them :)back to bed at 2 just to get up at 5am.
Up early and off to the airport :) check in was a breeze. First flight to chicago a breeze. Slept and was ready to meet my amiga Angie Hill :):) we met in Guatemala while adopting Boo and she was adopting reyna :) super nice hugging her again. Thank you for taking time to come and see me !! love ya!

Then we got to our flight with Lufthansa . Well let the nightmare begin !! Lets just say, just because you have a uniform on doesnt mean you get to make up rules! I will share more later on that, but I will say he made us almost miss our flight! We were actually the last one on ;(  The nightmare didnt end there as the flight was the most cramped ,uncomfortable and sweaty (ick) flight I have ever been on. 9 hours of misery. DIDNT SLEEP A WINK.  We were so miserable. Lacey and Sarah were on our flight too, and they can back me up on this. It was awful.
Layover in Germany was fine. Boring but fine. Flight out was wonderful. Soft seats, leg room, air conditioning ! We all fell asleep shortly after take off :)
We are in our Eastern European country now. Niko met us at the airport. We had another weird do to or not to do thing cme up in the airport, that we have to double check...I think we were given the wrong info, but need to make sure. Oye. Keeps ya hopping !
The city is really nice with lots of trees and old buildings, and fancy buildings. Lots of folks walking around. Our apartment is really quaint with lots of open windows, lace curtains and wood floors. Very sweet. hit a grocery store for some goodies. that was fun ! Trying to match up the animals or pictures on the package to what might be inside :)
SDA appt (where we see the kids files and commit to meet them) is tuesday . After that we should be on a train to the region where our kiddos are to meet them , Wednesday night. I think we are going to meet some Reeces Rainbow families for lunch or dinner tomorrow. There are several of us here which is so fun!

HUGS!!

We are OUTTA HERE !

I hope to blog while we are gone in Eastern Europe PICKING UP OUR NEW BABIES !!!!

Taya and Benji wont know what to do with so many kisses and squeezes :):)

I ask for your prayers, for my heart ..leaving my children is SO VERY HARD. And for my flights, we have a flight to chicago, then germany, next  ...a Country in Eastern Europe ;)   
And pray for my children to be ok with mama and daddy gone :)

"We will not leave you as orphans"

I will  post if i can on facebook and blog :)

HUGS!!!