We are finding our natural rhythm to the day. I visit the orphanage in the morning and spend time with my girly. When I come home at lunch, Isaac and I can play, work on his homework, take a nap/rest and prep for our afternoon family visit. If the weather is cooperating, we walk the 3/4 mile to the store and produce market to stock up on 2 or 3 days worth of groceries; getting another 10-14L of water is almost a daily occurrence...as is ANOTHER watermelon! Annie has become our resident creative chef. She found a recipe for 3-ingredient nutella brownies (delicious!) that we were able to share with the Sisters, and she literally cheese-grated a frozen watermelon to make watermelon slushies (Isaac ate all of it before any of it made it to our glasses!). Mom has tweaked available foods to make some rock solid cheeseburgers and rice & bean tacos. We've tried some other home favorites and just added "Albanian" to the front of the recipe to declare "we really have no idea how this is going to turn out" (ie: Albanian nachos--not a winner). Thankfully, in the very limited frozen food availability we've found chicken nuggets, which Isaac will eat whether they are Albanian or not.
We have to get a bit more creative in the evenings. Wi-fi has been difficult to get consistently and unfortunately the technology/entertainment we brought either doesn't work or needs the wi-fi. Tonight we escaped the heat by piling into the one bedroom with some air conditioning and streamed a movie with the little bit of wi-fi that we could get. #classicmissions
My girly is doing well. She had a bit of a shut down today after I needed to redirect her, but this time it was only 20 min of shut down instead of 70. That is progress! What's even better is her willingness to feel safe with me afterwards. She is learning to trust <3
DAY 12:
We arrived at the orphanage this morning for a family visit to a surprise orphanage field trip to the park and some errands needed for my girly's court paperwork. It's been my prayer from the very beginning that the hearts of my children would be knit together. Isaac has been an only child his entire life, never needing to share the love of his primary caregiver and has struggled greatly with separation anxiety. She has never known the undivided love of a mother figure and is about to go through a major adoption/trauma transition that can permanently impact how she ever connects with people again. Then add 6 years of age difference, two different languages and down syndrome to the equation and relationship checkbook doesn't exactly balance well. But God. Isaac has done amazing well with his new sister. He asks for her daily and enjoys showing her new things, but she has struggled sharing this new mother she was just given. Today at the park was a hopeful insight into what I hope their relationship will be. Touching. Cooperating. Together. THIS. IS. SUCH. A. BIG. DEAL.
My girly even adventured onto the slide by herself. Her mobility is hindered by what I suspect is an undiagnosed congenital hip issue that was missed at birth. She struggles to walk for any length of time and stairs give her trouble, not to mention any kind of outdoor activity. Repeatedly climbing to go down the slide at the cheers of her mother & little brother was a really big deal...and she knew it!
For us, we are celebrating completing 2 weeks in Albania by checking into a local hotel and soaking in their air conditioning and wi-fi for a few nights. We have struggled with the heat and now that we are starting to feel better (my cough still lingers), an Albanian stay-cation seemed like a good way to let our bodies rest a bit. Plus...Albanian FOOD!
Now THAT is an antipasto plate!
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