Our first two days...

So far, Laura has adjusted beautifully. She rarely says anything, probably because she knows we won't understand her :) But she smiles and nods a lot. The only picture I received of her before hosting was her in boy pjs, but that obviously is NOT her at all, because she is loving all things girly and sparkly. Her favorite thing is to go through Lucy's jewelry box and put on everything.

Our First Day:

Up and dressed for the day! Laura likes to get dressed IMMEDIATELY upon waking. I, however, prefer to stay in my pj's half the day :)

She is a pro at Memory. I think Lucy has met her match. (no pun intended)

The swingset was a huge hit! I am so grateful for this beautiful weather!

Lucy has introduced her to the world of Disney Princesses. Laura put Lucy's Belle dress on while they watched the Princess sing a long.

DANCING! This was precious to watch.

Laura slept great, and even napped with Lucy for a bit in the afternoon. I think her clock is still off a bit, even though she hasn't acted sleepy at all. There were a few sad and awkward moments the first day, as Laura seems very unfamiliar with playing. She would stand in the middle of the room, unsure of what to do. With some guidance and leading though, she has improved a lot in just two days and has even begun to pull toys out on her own and play with them. (Seems like such a strange thing to say, as most children can completely destroy a playroom in 2 minutes flat)

We heard her laugh for the first time today :)

Day Two:

Craft time while Annie napped! I got these little wooden boxes for them to decorate.

The finished products. Laura's on the right. Hmm...looks like we need to work on Lucy's painting skills.

Checking out the tire swing for the first time! She loved it!

This cracks me up.

Swinging with new friends!

She counted to six today in English!

Laura is a very sweet girl and seems to be content and grateful for everything. She's a pretty good eater so far too, but especially loves fruit. At first she followed Lucy around like a shadow, but she has been a little more independent today and I think understands that she doesn't HAVE to do whatever Lucy is doing.

She is handling visitors VERY well, so please feel free to stop by if you want to meet her :)

Looking forward to learning more about this sweet girl!

Laura's Arrival

I wanted to show a couple of videos that I took of us meeting Laura for the first time. The first video is just after she went through customs and she's introduced to us by one of the Project One Forty Three staff members, Tammy. The second video is quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. Lucy, completely unprovoked and on her own, was physically attached to Laura from the moment we met her. She had her right hand wrapped around her back, her left hand on Laura's arm, and her head resting on Laura's shoulder...and her classic cheesy grin across her face (I didn't have a chance to get any of this from the front though). I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

She's here!!

I'm gonna keep this short and sweet because we are all very tired :)

We met Laura after waiting a LONG time for the flight to arrive and for the kids to all go through customs. They warned us that the kids would be very stand off-ish and possibly not want anything to do with us at first, so that's what I was expecting. Laura walked right up to us and gave me the biggest bear hug ever and I couldn't help but start crying. From what very little we know about her, she is such a sweet natured little girl.

Meeting Laura!

Lucy was seriously all over her. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. She had her arm wrapped around hers and her head resting on Laura's shoulder, completely unprovoked. What. In. The. World. If that doesn't make you cry, nothing will.

Laura got really scared when we got to the car and cried the whole ride home. Epic fail on my part....LOSING the freaking parking ticket. Seriously who does that. Oh and apparently you can't just pay the outrageous fee and be on your way.....you have to sit there in the car, with a screaming foreign child, while the ticket lady (or whatever they're called) writes up a report, takes pictures of your license, and calls the Keeper of All Tickets on the phone. It was horrendous.

Once we got home Laura was back to her sweet self. We got her dressed in her new, warm, cozy pjs, tucked her into bed after singing her a few songs, and she was out like a light. We are so thrilled that she is here!!

As I sit here this morning and wait to hear if one or both girls got on their plane, I am thinking and wondering if we know what the heck we are doing. I drifted over to the Proverbs 31 Ministries website for women that I read every morning as my devotional, and this verse is at the top of my devotion for today:

"Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the KING will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Matthew 25:37-40

Oh Heavenly Father, we are ill-equipped and unworthy, and we ask for Your guidance and presence as we care for these girls. As our small group leader prayed over us "Fill our home with an overwhelming sense of your Holy Spirit. May these children walk into a place where it is unmistakably marked by the God of Hope, Healing, and Restoration."

UPDATE:

Sadly, Inese will not be coming. She was inconsolable at airport security and the social workers thought it best for her not to go. I am grieving for her, but excited that Laura will get to be a child and get a break from taking care of her sister all the time. We know God is in control and His plan for these girls is bigger than what we can see.

Prayers for Inese

Please pray for little Inese, our 3 year old host girl.

I have been emailing back and forth the past week or so with the hosting coordinator and the social workers are very concerned with Inese's behavior and how she will handle this trip. She is extremely fearful of people, has serious trust and attachment issues, and frequently has outbursts of crying and screaming. They are worried about how she will act when she is here, in a new and stressful environment (at least for the first few days).

I can handle anything for a month (or that's what I'm telling myself). If I have to hold her and rock her alone in a room for a month then I'll do it. But I don't want her trust issues to be hurt further by this trip. Please pray that the Lord will calm her spirit, as only He can, and that His perfect plan for her life will begin to unfold. I am praying that we are a part of this plan, but only He knows that. I can't help but feel a connection to these girls already.

Laura is coming either way, which we are thrilled about. The current plan is to bring Inese to the airport and see how she reacts there. Hopefully she gets on the plane. If not, then that's what's supposed to happen and we are confident that God is in control.

8 months and some randoms...

Annie is 8 months old, our host girls arrive in LESS THAN A WEEK, and life is getting busier and busier as Christmas approaches! Whew its been quite a crazy month preparing for everything coming up in our already hectic lives. We are so blessed and grateful though.

I don't think a sweeter baby exists....she is just the most cuddly, lovable little thing and I can't get enough of her.

trying to crawl away :)

At 8 months:

- is FINALLY on a straight 4 hour schedule. I didn't know if it was ever going to happen, but it did. In her own, sweet little time :)

- wears size 3 diapers, size 9 mo, 12 mo, or 6-12 mo clothes

- has grey blue eyes

- has two teeth and knows how to use them. She's a biter, people.

- Annie is SO ticklish....its the cutest thing

- she is on the move!!!

- her crawl is hilarious. Lucy's crawl was ALL arms, no legs. Annie's is a little arms, a little legs, and a LOT of booty. She gets to where she needs to pretty quickly. She is so happy that she can crawl around and move on her own. She's content to play by herself on the floor all day, as long as she can see me or Lucy

gettin into her toy bin

- still prefers mommy over anyone else (and really, can you blame her?)

- has had a few finger foods: puffs, scrambled eggs, and avocado; she loves feeding herself and often thinks she can eat things that she can't :)

- is giving kisses. Sweet, open mouth, drooly kisses :)

- is learning a few signs to help with highchair manners. When I make her do the sign she thinks its funny. Which is just ONE more difference between her and Lucy because when I was teaching Lucy signs she would fight me and scream. Annie just laughs.

- her favorite book is Good Night Moon. She grins as soon as I open it

- is sitting up in the bath now with big sister

Sweet Annie Faith :)

In other news, we pick our host girls up from the airport next Tuesday night! Praise the Lord, our hosting fees were covered at the VERY last minute by lots of generous donations. We are so grateful to all of you. We are still in desperate need of clothes and shoes for the 6 year old. If you have any then please email me, jannaelain@gmail.com we would also love grocery gift cards or Target/Walmart gift cards for food, clothing, and gifts for while they are here. We have been blown away by people's generosity and it has really challenged us to give more willingly of our time, resources, and money.

And just because I think Lucy is hilarious, I have to share what she said to me today. I asked her if she would help me put up some Christmas lights. Her response was, "Sure! Anything for the family!"

Geez...there is way too much personality in this house.

What I'm reading right now...

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson has literally changed my life.....and I just discovered her blog a few weeks ago! I love this woman and her heart for raising children to love the Lord and love their families. I wish her conferences were on the east coast, but if any of you live in Colorado, Texas, or California then check out her conference. She and her husband are amazing. Oh what I would give to pick her brain apart in person!