Four plus three from Poland

TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY!!!

We awoke at 5:45 AM (think it was still Sunday in Alabama) so we could all be sure to shower, dress, and fed before our 6:45 departure. We stopped to pick up a government official involved in the adoption so she could ride down with us. It was about 70 KM to Jawor. The country side was so beautiful with lots of farms. We enjoyed most of the trip on a wonderful highway (have I said how much I truly appreciate our interstate system back in the states!!).

When we arrived at the orphanage, we met with the director and the children's caregivers for about 45 minutes. They asked us things like:

Why do you want to adopt?
Where do you live?
Will the kids be homeschooled?

They then went through the children's medical history, family history, educational levels, behaviors, etc... They were very open and answered all our questions. They seemed to have a real concern about the kids and they were very happy that they were being adopted. This orphanage had 32 children but had 10 kids adopted in the last month (all but ours were local adoptions). They told the kids two weeks ago that we were coming. The kids were very excited and had been counting down the days on their calendar. Note: the orphanage was very clean, organized, and the caregivers were very nice.

Then we were able to meet the kids for the very first time. The two oldest came in first. Robyn and I were over to one side and quickly got down on our knees so we could be eye level with the kids. They were a little shy but slowly walked over to us and gave us leaning hugs (we hugged and they leaned). Then the youngest came in. She was a bit overwhelmed and confused but her older sister gave her reassurances. Robyn had brought a few gifts and candy. The candy really helped break the ice. Our four children were so sweet and let Robyn and I have a few minutes before they walked over to give hugs and smiles. After a few minutes, we were moved to a private room to have more time with the kids. The government lady, our adoption translators (Sasha and Alex), and a lady from the orphanage moved over to a corner so we could have time with the kids. Before long, all the kids were playing tag and laughing together. We did puzzles and played with other toys. After a while, we walked down the street with the kids to have lunch. We think it was the first time they had ever been in a restaurant. The older two kids played with our other four while the youngest enjoyed sitting in Robyn's lap. After lots of food and laughter, we headed back to the orphanage. We said goodbye and received lots of hugs and kisses. By then, we were all being called tata (daddy), momma, sista, and brothas. We had been officially adopted by these three precious children. So amazing!! We told them we would be back tomorrow to pick them up and travel to Warsaw. They were ready to go! So after more hugs and kisses, we headed back to Wroclaw for the evening. Sasha and I made a quick trip to a department store to buy car seats and a stroller.

We now have our three from Poland :)

God is so good.