We are in love!!!

First we just want to say thanks to everyone for reading our blog and offering such kind words. It really means a lot.

As you know we finally made it to Poland. Because of the delay we were set back one day. We had our meeting with the adoption officials Friday morning and it went well.

The first meeting was nothing less than amazing. Right when we walked in the door they grabbed our hands and led us up to see their cat and her kitten. We sat down with them and did puzzles and colored. They then asked if we would go outside and play with them. We ran, pushed them on a swing, ran, played with their balls, ran, played on a slide, ran, played in the sandbox, and ran. As you can see we ran a lot, they LOVE to run! The younger one has so much energy, she is full of life and loves to preform. She loves to dance and sign. She immediately took to Vito! The older one took a little longer to warm up to us. She is kind of quiet, very cautious but sweet as can be! When we came back in the afternoon, and when we drove up to the house they were waiting for us by the gate....our hearts melted. They were a lot more comfortable with us during the second visit....and like first visit we just had a ball playing with them.

Today we were able to visit them in the morning and the afternoon. During our morning visit they foster parents told them we were going to be their new mama and tata.....and when we came back in the afternoon they were calling us mama and tata! Talk about emotions.

What a wonderful two days. Here are some things we learned about them.

They love to wear skirts with tights.

The older one does not like bread and the younger one does not like potatoes

They love chocolate cookies, french fries, and the color pink

They love baths I even got to bathe them :)

The girls have spend most of their lives living with the same foster family. They were so welcoming...it is hard to put into words how at ease they made us feel. They are wonderful people and we are so grateful they have raised two beautiful girls! We are so thankful for them.

We are heartbroken to leave the girls but know they are in a wonderful place until we can return. We are also excited to get home and complete the paperwork so we can return ASAP!

We are in love!!!!

We made it to Poland!!!!!

Our flight left the next day to Frankfurt. We arrived there only to find out our connecting flight had been cancelled. They booked us on the last flight out (10:20) Since we know had a day in Frankfurt we were able to spend the afternoon with Vito's sister and her kids. She packed up the kids and so graciously picked us up at the airport and took us to see where they live. It was so nice to spend time with them, even if just for a little bit. Before she took us back to the airport we visited this cute German town. Some of it was 2000 years old. It has so much character and great German food. Vito got his pretzel fix. Thanks again Rebecca...you guys are awesome! I was still very skeptical about our flight to Poland.....but needless to say, it went and we are in our hotel room right now and could not be happier!

6 hours in Germany

Pretzels!!!!

Vito and his sister!

Us and the kids! Thanks for showing us around!

Fun at the airport!

Vito with our tickets to Frankfurt....so proud!

My BBC Friend.....he reported on the story all day long...he was one of about 20 reporters we saw

Vito staying connected....checking flights and Skyping parents!

The craziness of the Frankfurt airport.....it was pure madness!

Is it Groundhog Day??

Well...thank you for everyone's thoughts and prayers...our adventure continues!! The pilot came out and gave a speech that he might not get us to Germany...but definitely southern Europe (Vito was hoping Italy :-)) We were okay with this. The pilot came back out as we began to board letting us know they found some dust in the engines. He wasn't sure if it was Volcano Dust or just regular dust. He ordered the engine inspected, 30 minutes turned into an hour 1/2, which turned into an 8 hour thorough inspection of the plane. Short answer...we are in downtwn Toronto (again :-) ... we were here yesterday!) but at least tonight we are on Lufthansa's Tab. Our bags are still in the belly of the plane...and we will hopefully resume our seats tomorrow. They bussed all 350 of us together...so we are all out together. Lufthansa has been wonderful...they have given us bags with the essentials we need, room, dinner, breakfast etc... If all goes well...our 5 days in Germany will turn into 5 hours...we will not get to see Vito's sister...but we should have 5 hours to catch our flight to Katowice.
The saga will continue.......

Are we lucky or stupid?

Well .... We are on one of the first planes to Europe. We leave at 645 tonight on lufthansa to frankfurt. We will still need our flight into Katowice to leave on time on Wed. Please pray for us that we are able to meet our little girls on Thursday morning.

Our Trip to Germany!!

The Crowded Lufthansa Check in Line

The German Flag is everywhere!

We Rented a fine example of German Engineering!
You probably figured out the truth....

Okay... We are joking. The top picture is of the Toronto Airport...The entire area of the International Check In is just empty, no passengers, few airport workers, and news people with cameras who seem to love the drama. We spent the first night near the airport but after Friday's flights were cancelled with no end in sight...we realized this was completely out of our control. We could have moped around the airport or stayed in a no fun hotel by the airport...BUT we chose to make lemonade out of lemons. We rented a car (I asked for a German Car, they laughed and gave me a Chevy Malibu.) We headed a couple of hours away to Niagra Falls and found a great deal on a room with a beautiful view of the Falls.



We saw the sights, walked and hiked many miles, and actually are having a good time. Although we say we are "stuck" in Canada, The people have been very nice and we have made the best of it. We still have the car, are now exploring a different area of Toronto and are praying that the flight we booked on Lufthansa Monday night goes. We fear if it is cancelled we will go to the back of the line...which is probably another week delay...and would be forced to reschedule. We are doing everything we can to get to Poland by Wednesday to meet the girls on Thursday.

Made it to Toronto....but

After a week of getting everything ready to leave, we left. We made it to Toronto, went to check in for the rest of our flight.....only to find out that all flights had been cancelled to Europe because of the Volcano. So here we are not really knowing when we will get there. The good thing is we don't have to be in Poland until next week....the sad thing is we were going to visit Vito's sister and her family in Germany for a few days. I do know one thing....tonight we will get much needed sleep!

Pinky Promise

In light of the recent events I have done a lot of pondering. My heart goes out to those who died on the airplane. What a horrible tragedy. I hope all of their families are able to find peace in the midst of such a sad time.

My heart also goes out to that little Russian boy. He had no control over how he was brought up in Russia, he did not ask to be adopted, and I am sure he did not ask to be sent back to Russia. How could he....he was only 7. This story breaks my heart on so many levels. Not only for him, but for all of those who are trying to adopt from Russia. There are so many kids who need good homes and so many good people to adopt them, it is unfortunate that this lady's actions will slow down the process. As I think about her, I keeping asking "why didn't she talk to anyone about what was going on?"

The pinky promise-I know it will be virtual, but I promise to be there for all of my adopting friends! This support group has been amazing and I can't imagine how this process would be with everyone. The story above just shows how important a support group is after the adoption is complete. I know life gets crazy once you get home, but I would love it if we could "pinky promise" to be there for one another even after we bring our little ones homes!

P.S. I love the fact that those of you who are already home with your children, take the time to read and comment on my blog.....and I am sure the others who are in the process would agree. It means more than you know!!!!

You are not going to believe this......

and




We can hardly believe this oursleves......we are going to meet our two beautiful little girls next week. We couldn't be more excited and can't wait to meet them. Life has all of the sudden become crazy, so much to do before we leave!