Almost.....I-800 and girls room!

Currently we are waiting to file our I-800. (Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relative) An application is filled out for each girl and along with the application we have to include the following documents in Polish and English. Birth certificates, termination of parental rights, approval from the Polish central authority and a statement from our agency stating that everything is true and correct, and the girls social and medical history. We have everything except for the girls medical in Polish. Hopefully we will have it this week.

We also had to send it the I-864 (Affidavit of Support)...this proves that we can financially take care of the girls and that won't become wards of the state. This form was a little confusing because it is not geared towards adopting but rather for the people who are sponsoring an adult relative to come the US. I was told this was implemented for adoption because of the Hague.

In the meantime we are keeping busy getting ready for their arrival. Their room is almost complete...just needs a few more decorations. Since they have always slept in the same room and pretty much the same bed, we decided to keep them in the same room for the time being. Of course the question is who gets the top bunk? Their foster father informed us yesterday that the younger one told him she gets the top bunk. (and if you knew her, that comment is not surprising at all) We thought we would let the older one choose...what do you all think?

We were able to Skype with the girls yesterday. The week before they asked if we had toothbrushes for them (of course we didn't)...but this week when they asked if we had toothbrushes we were able to show them Dinsey Princess toothbrushes and toothpaste. I even bought them some Strawberry Shortcake Band-aids. Of course they wanted to see their clothes again and toys again.

Hopefully we will have some more news to post this week!

Love Skype

We got to Skype with the girls both last Sunday and today. It was wonderful! Even though we can't fully communicate with them it is wonderful to see them and good for them to see us. They always ask to see Scooter and then they just want to see things around the house. Last week they asked to see our toys. Well, we don't have many toys yet so to improvise we showed them Scooters toys. After we hung up tata ran over to Toys R' Us and bought them a Disney Princess indoor tent and a few other toys. So today we were able to show them the tent, they seemed to love it. We showed them their room which is painted....but that is it. Hopefully the furniture will be here in 2 weeks so we can show them then.

The foster father told us today that now when the foster mother asks them to clean their room, the younger one says "I don't have to because this is not my house, my house is in the USA" She is a very smart little girl.

While it is so wonderful to talk to them and we wouldn't trade it for the world....it is hard when the foster father tells us they ask everyday when we are coming back and that when they see an airplane they ask if we are on the plane!

After the first Skype, prayers quickly changed from "please help us get to Poland as quickly as possible because we want to be with the girls" to "please watch over the girls and let them know we will be there as soon as we can"

We are hoping to the get the paperwork in the next day or two so we can file our I-800.

Home 1 week

I can't believe it has already been one week since we returned home from Poland. After we landed last Sunday, we went to the car to repack Vito's suitcase and then I dropped him off for a flight to Florida. He came home for one night and back out for a few more days. I went to work on Monday....don't know how I made it through it. The first part of the week is kind of a blur. I think I am finally back on track.

I was reminded that now comes the time to practice patience. So since there is nothing I can do right now (adoption paperwork wise) I found other ways to keep myself busy. I painted the girls room and started painting the playroom. I went to several different stores looking for Disney balls the girls love, but had no luck. I bought them each two outfits and when Vito got home we went shopping for bedding, curtains, and some other fun stuff!

While all of this was fun...the best part of the week was an email from the girls foster parent. We emailed a couple of pictures of us in the house. We wanted the girls to see where we eat and where we cook meals. He emailed us back and said they were so excited and the younger one said she will run and play in the yard and the older one said she wants to come right now. They asked if we had toys, books, and clothes. He asked what they wanted tell us, and they said "we love you mum and papa" The younger one also recognized Scooter in one of the pictures and remembered his name. So this was why I immediately went out to buy some clothes. I wanted to send them a picture. I also want to send them a picture of their room(of course that will be a few more weeks.)

I have a question for your all....did any of you make a "life book" or some sort of memory book for your child? I want to do something and need some ideas. I used to scrapebook a little, but I am just afraid I don't have the time. I was thinking of doing something digital. Any ideas. Also we were asked not to post any pictures of the girls yet...but if any of you would like to see some pictures, I would love to send them your way. Just send me your email!

Backpacks we left with the girls on our last visit! They loved them!

Picture of the clothes I emailed them!

Picture of the clothes I emailed them!

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!