US Embassy, etc

Today was a good day--there were some new experiences, some testing of boundaries, and lots of giggles & hugs.

We started the day with a long walk around Tirane. Mila had her camera ready for EVERY photo opportunity (over 500 on her camera as of last count!). This little camera has been a good transitional tool for her--she has control over something in a world that is totally upside down for her. I'm actually excited to print many of her photos out for her so she has a living record of the start of her new life from HER perspective.   

We know exactly 17 people in Albania and we just happened to bump into the one Albanian adoptive family we "know". This lovely woman and her husband opened their home & hearts to one of our favorite little dudes at the baby orphanage. I am so very happy to see him in a loving family in his native country and his momma is particularly proud of her new son. <3 

We wandered around Tirane and introduced Mila to some of the cultural landmarks of her country:

Isaac snuck in a ride on a merry-go-round! Whoah horsey!

A picture of Mila taking a picture of me taking a picture of her :)

 Annie made sure to climb the Skendenbeg statue again!

We had our formal interview with the US Consulate this afternoon to approve Mila's entry into the US. It was surprisingly quick without any issues whatsoever (the first time in any step of this process!).  For 12 months I have been keeping meticulous track of every scrap of adoption paperwork and expertly organized it into an expanding folder with color coding and alphabetization--I can't tell you how prepared I was to show this work of organization art off. But they didn't even ask for it! Like, not one solitary piece of paper. I was crushed!  "Ok Miss, you are good to go. Your daughter's Visa will be ready by Friday."  But, but...what about my folder??  Nothing.  *sad face*

Mila has had a series of very lovely Sisters who have known and loved her well. The current Mother Superior over Albania was working at the baby orphanage when Mila arrived, and then was at the institution in Shkodra when Mila lived there.  Mother Superior called this morning asking for a final visit with the girl she has helped raise. Mila was so excited to see her old friend and they chatted easily about Mila's new life ahead of her. I am again so very thankful for these women who serve the Lord by serving His most vulnerable, including my daughter. 

We ended the evening with a trip to a local park with our missionary friends. Isaac loved the running and jumping and outsided-ness of it all...Mila, not so much.  Astroturf, rope ladders and see-saws are overwhelming when you've never seen them before!  I keep telling her how brave she is. So many new things are being presented to her and she is processing it all to the absolute best of her ability. 

Mila got a hold of my phone and got a good one of our missionary friends <3 

It's hard to believe but we are half way done with our trip already! Our schedule is keeping pretty busy which is good to keep Mila distracted, but now I can tell both my children "four more days and we are going on an airplane"
Mila's response: eyes gazing off into the distance with a somewhat giddy sigh "Avion..."
Isaac's response: "YEAHHHH. Airplane!"

My goofballs.

The First 24 Hours

We've made it through our first full day together. The emotional pendulum is all over the place, but we expected that. Grief is an unpredictable force and I've prepared my heart (and Isaac's as much as possible) for the path ahead of us in the coming days, weeks and even years. Adoption is wonderful Gotchya Day pictures and beautiful redemption stories...but it is coated with loss, pain, grief and tears. Mila is old enough to enjoy the beauty of having a new mommy and family, but she is also aware of the separation from those who have loved her so very well. Her tears were deep and real as we left her favorite Sisters, but she let me comfort her which is a huge.  We were able to distract her through a big dinner with friends, but the tears returned as the reality of now living with her new family came to be. There are times when nothing can be done except walking along side a loved one as they grieve...

The morning welcomed it's own trauma during her blood draw and immunization appointment. For two hours she fought but she snuggled into me when it was done. Mommy is here. It's all done. Mommy is here. If she (and the people at the clinic) only knew how brave she really is.  So much as been asked of her and she never gave permission to this painful journey she is now on. 

The afternoon was redeemed with a new play dough set she picked out herself and shared with her brother. Quiet playing became creative then music was added, then the smiles started showing again. The evening was ended with a fit of giggles as she looked at photos from her new camera--hers alone to document anything she wants, all by herself. (She has a pretty good eye!!)

We'll walk slowly on this path of grief, aware that any rock, crevice and turn will become it's own battle, but we walk confidently in God's grace that is given for today. We'll claim every victory no matter how small and point back to the Lord of All that has offered Himself whole to walk this road with us. 

Orphan No More

Introducing Kamila Naomi White...our sweet flower of hope. No longer an orphan, ward of the state, or resident of an institution. Mila is forever a child of the King, the daughter of my heart, sister, granddaughter and friend. She is forever KNOWN.

I asked to be dropped off at the apartment we lived in for 60 days and to walk that Holy path to the orphanage one last time.  We picked up our friends along the way so very thankful to have our Albanian brothers & sisters walking along side us.  Seems Mila was not waiting ONE.MORE.MINUTE and literally RAN the last 50 yards into my arms!

Kamila Naomi...YOU. ARE. LOVED. FOREVER <3

365 Days Later

It's been 365 days since I said yes to Albania...more accurately "GO for Albania" according to my 2017 calendar!  

There was no way to anticipate the journey that we would be on up to this point! This is when I am glad the Lord holds things back from us from time to time. When you don't know where you are going, you can't get anxious about the ride...just trust the driver. 

The original Albanian Team is together again and boards the plane bright and early tomorrow morning. Thankfully, all this crazy flying back & forth gave us enough airline miles to have our favorite Annie join us again.  I felt strongly that we all started this journey together and we should end it together. We left Albania last time in such a hurry full of confusion & hurt. I'm excited we can redeem our time there this time and fill our 'leaving Albania' memory tank with joy and longing for the people we love there...and with a new daughter & friend in our midst as well. <3 

Specific prayer requests:

*Travel mercies. We have a LONG day of travel on Saturday, including layovers in Chicago and Vienna. We'll need to be somewhat refreshed and have all our luggage with us when we arrive in Albania on Sunday afternoon as rumor is we will be again going straight to the orphanage to pick our girl up. 

*Miraculous bonding of our sweet girl to us as her new family. She has the benefit of knowing us and of a few Skype calls over the last 90 days, but we are also the family that comes and leaves. :(  We need now to convince her heart that this family stays together FOREVER.  

*Peace over my girl's heart as she separates from all that she has ever known, including some lovely women who have cared for her for the length of her life. She has already left her Nana & three lifelong roommates in Shkodra and has been brought down to the baby orphanage in Elbasan to await our arrival. The Sisters there also know and love my girl. Please pray over all of their hearts as they grieve.  We are making arrangements so regular contact can be maintained, which I am excited about.  

*Continued knitting of Isaac and his sister together. Isaac is about to graduate from only child to sibling and my girl is moving from an institution of 57 residents bustling with Sisters, caregivers and visitors to a home of three. They both will have big adjustments to make and I'll need wisdom to walk them both through it. 

*Miraculous understanding of communication. My girly has been getting English tutoring and I'm still trudging through Albanian learning but the language barrier reality is about to hit our home HARD. It's been my prayer that the Holy Spirit would open all of our hearts & minds to understand each other as we wait for the right words to come. At this point we have no way even judge her level of need for speech therapy so we'll be winging it big time. 

*Continued building of relationships in Albania. We'll be able to spend time with our dear Albanian friends, another American adoptive family currently in country, the Sisters at the orphanage, as well as the nurses at the maternity hospital that cared for my girly way back when. I'm sure there will be others as we remain open to any opportunity the Lord has for us, even on this short trip. 

*Mercy on our flight HOME.  This will be my girly's first airplane ride...you know, a good starter flight--around the EARTH. We've arranged an overnight layover in Germany then a polar flight direct to Seattle to make life as easy as possible, but there are a lot of unknowns. Isaac is a stellar traveler. I'm praying that she can find flying as enjoyable as he does. 

*Transitioning HOME. Life starts anew with jet lag and medical appointments straight out of the gate. I know it will be hard; grief, frustration, anger, pain for all of us is expected. I'm praying for the Holy Spirit to be actively present in all of our interactions as we adjust to our new normal. Even joy to overflow from our growing family.

*Favor with work.  My split leave has been approved...kind of. I was anticipating part of this next leave to be unpaid, but now I'm being told that insurance benefits will be held back as well while I"m home navigating the world with a child with medical needs. I don't even have the breathe to fight this one so my hands up are in the air; God is just going to have to provide for us through it all. 

*For God to be glorified THROUGH IT ALL. This has been my prayer from the beginning. No matter what happens, who we met or what we did that the absolute truth of who God is would radiate from our family story. The trials of the last 5 months have given ample opportunity, but we continue to pray that HIS WILL would be done and HIS LOVE to shine, not ours. 

Thank you again for all your lovely physical, financial and prayer support. We literally could not have done this without you!  For those in the Seattle area, please feel free to join us at the airport on Monday 10/29 about 2pm for our American grand reveal as a family of three <3 

Soaking in Fall

We are on the plane to the other side of the world in less than a week, and honestly I have no idea what life is going to look like for us when we return with our newest family member: jetlag, transition, medical appointments, school testing, navigating language & cultural barriers, and walking into the holidays in the midst of it all. Isaac and I are soaking in every ounce of Fall that we can before we hunker down for our new normal. 

Boo!

Happy Fall from this crazy kid of mine <3

Pun'kin Patch As A Family of Two

I thought last year would be our last year to the Pun'kin patch as a family of two...but THIS year definitely is.   She will be HOME before the end of the month. HALLELUJAH.  

A weirdly warm day and a day off school was perfect for an afternoon at the pun'kin patch. The mountain was even out!

 I had to institute a new rule this year...if you can't carry it, we can't bring it home.  Turns out he can carry 12.4lb pun'kin as far as the scale, then it somehow ended up becoming MY pun'kin.  Stinker.

I'm so excited for our Spooner Farms 2019 photo!

She KNOWS (Albanian Intermission Day 79)

Skyped with this precious girl early this morning...she KNOWS her flam-ly is coming. She KNOWS in 10days she'll have a mommy forever. She KNOWS she is getting on a plane to her new house in America. Its all wonderful...and overwhelming for a little heart. Please keep her and her caregivers & friends in your prayers. They are starting the grieving process as my girl starts her transition into her new forever. The Lord has placed some pretty incredible people in my daughter's life who have loved her well despite the circumstances. They all have deep threads in the tapestry of my sweet girl's life. 

Jesus Went In... (Albanian Intermission Day 75)

The tooth fairy was on double duty last night after Isaac lost BOTH his top teeth at once! Rumor is that baby teeth fall out in the order and speed that they came in, which means after his second bottom tooth pops out we should get ready for 14 visits from the tooth fairy in the next 12 months. Wowzers! 

Seems my girly had a loose molar during our first weeks together and I didn't know it. Strangely enough, "Hello my daughter, do you have any loose teeth?" hadn't yet come up in my Albanian language learning CDs. Remind me to email a complaint.

I popped in on a Monday morning for a visit and the young woman who came with my girly from her home orphanage as her helper was attempting to tell me the story of the tooth--pointing and gesturing into my daughter's mouth (who stood quietly with her head tipped back & mouth agape and her eyes flying between her helper and I as we poked around her mouth). One of the Sisters walked in on this scene laughing:

Her tooth fell out during communion yesterday.  Jesus went in...and her tooth came out!

She had to make room!!

hahaha!  I'm telling you these Sisters are awesome!

Two of our dear Sister friends

I'm not up to speed on Catholic communion but I'm pretty sure that it's SIN that we are all purging, NOT our own body parts.  But...I guess when you've had a pretty good week and nothing specific comes to mind you offer what you have available!

God Provided...Again

Ten thousand dollars. That's what we needed to return to Albania and bring my daughter HOME. Flights, boarding, lawyer fees, etc. All unplanned for in this crazy-twisty road that has been our adoption journey.  How in the actual world...?

But God. 

An unexpected matching grant from Brittany's Hope for TWICE the original amount they offered us before we left for the other side of the world in May (we had to decline the original amount as we didn't have time to honor the requirements).   If we could raise five thousand, they would give us ten thousand. Oh my goodness!!! Except...now we have to find $5,000. *sigh* Might as well be the initial $10,000. 

But God. 

A little craft bazaar and an art drawing and a lot of prayerful anxiety = $5,025. We did it!!! 

God did it. He provided EXACTLY what we needed.

He always does. Always.