September 29, 2010
Today was Lilyanna's last day in the orphanage. We pick her up tomorrow morning and then we head back to Lima in the afternoon. Today was a kinda bitter/sweet day. We of course are very happy that our daughter will permanantly be with us after tomorrow. It was a bit sad as we said goodbye to some of the children that Lilyanna has been living with for this past year. Most of them are not available for adoption at the moment but we hope they get their abandonment decrees so that they can be a part of a loving family too.
We had a going away party today at the orphange and the children had so much fun. They were spoiled with roasted chicken, cake and lots of good food. We gave them their coats and they seemed to like them alot. What they really liked though was the hats that our friend Linda made them. I've never seen children get so excited over hats! Linda, if you are reading this then just know that your labor was not in vain. You won their little hearts with those hats! Oh, and they also loved the candy we gave them as well. Our hearts are going out to the orphange mother who has raised our child this past year. Being foster parents we know first hand how difficult it is to let go of children that you help raise. We could tell that she was sad even though she was trying to act happy. We gave her some pictures and some gifts that she was very happy to receive.
We were able to spend time with Lilyanna at the hotel for several hours today. She is teething big time and she also has a cold and what seems to be an ear ache. We could tell that she was not feeling her best but she still remained very calm and happy. She made major progress today!! She learned how to put food in her mouth and she also learned how to hold and drink a sippy cup with handles. We were so proud!
So, since tonight is the last night that we are technicallly childless, we are going to celebrate BIG time! By going to bed early :)
Good night all! Hugs!
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
Another wonderful day!
September, 28
We went to the orphange this morning to find our daughter taking her morning nap. We stood over her crib for a minute and just watched her sweet little face as she slept. She opened her eyes, looked straight at us and gave us the biggest smile and tried to climb out of her crib to reach us. It did wonders for this momma's heart. We took her from the orphanage to our hotel where we had her until late afternoon. She hadn't had a bath in 15 days so that was first thing on our agenda. She LOVED her bath. We brought bath toys that our friends bought her (Jeanette and Art :) and she just loved playing with them. After her bath we were able to feed her and then we played until we took her back to the orphanage. She feel asleep on our laps as we traveled back to the orphange....I finally understand why parents love to watch their children sleep :)
We are so amazed at the work that God has done in her heart to prepare her for this moment. The social workers and psychologist are amazed at how quickly she is bonding with us. We are very happy of course :) She does have delays for her age but we were expecting it given that she has been in an orphanage. She cannot crawl yet, cannot feed herself, and is not talking (tons of laughing, smiling, a giggling) but it will all come to her quickly. She is a very happy baby. The orphange has done an amazing job in giving her TONS of love which is a major answer to our prayers. We could not have asked for a better orphange for our child. For ten years we have been praying for our children and now I can finally see how God has been answering our prayers.
Tomorrow we have a big fiesta at the orphange. It's Lilyanna's going away party that we our throwing for her orphange family. We bought a cake, 4 big roasted chickens (a big treat for the children and mother), we were able to purchase coats for each child (Linda, your hats will be given out tomorrow as well), and some toys. We also bought some very nice gifts for the orphange mother to show our appreciation for her caring for our child this past year of her life. We will be removing Lilyanna from the orphange on Thursday morning before we all travel back to Lima where we will be for the next several weeks.
Much love to you all! Enjoy today's photos :)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
We went to the orphange this morning to find our daughter taking her morning nap. We stood over her crib for a minute and just watched her sweet little face as she slept. She opened her eyes, looked straight at us and gave us the biggest smile and tried to climb out of her crib to reach us. It did wonders for this momma's heart. We took her from the orphanage to our hotel where we had her until late afternoon. She hadn't had a bath in 15 days so that was first thing on our agenda. She LOVED her bath. We brought bath toys that our friends bought her (Jeanette and Art :) and she just loved playing with them. After her bath we were able to feed her and then we played until we took her back to the orphanage. She feel asleep on our laps as we traveled back to the orphange....I finally understand why parents love to watch their children sleep :)
We are so amazed at the work that God has done in her heart to prepare her for this moment. The social workers and psychologist are amazed at how quickly she is bonding with us. We are very happy of course :) She does have delays for her age but we were expecting it given that she has been in an orphanage. She cannot crawl yet, cannot feed herself, and is not talking (tons of laughing, smiling, a giggling) but it will all come to her quickly. She is a very happy baby. The orphange has done an amazing job in giving her TONS of love which is a major answer to our prayers. We could not have asked for a better orphange for our child. For ten years we have been praying for our children and now I can finally see how God has been answering our prayers.
Tomorrow we have a big fiesta at the orphange. It's Lilyanna's going away party that we our throwing for her orphange family. We bought a cake, 4 big roasted chickens (a big treat for the children and mother), we were able to purchase coats for each child (Linda, your hats will be given out tomorrow as well), and some toys. We also bought some very nice gifts for the orphange mother to show our appreciation for her caring for our child this past year of her life. We will be removing Lilyanna from the orphange on Thursday morning before we all travel back to Lima where we will be for the next several weeks.
Much love to you all! Enjoy today's photos :)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
A very good day!
Monday, September 27
The afternoon visit went very good so it's looking like we will be taking her out of the orphange tomorrow. I posted more pics for you to enjoy. Hugs
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
The afternoon visit went very good so it's looking like we will be taking her out of the orphange tomorrow. I posted more pics for you to enjoy. Hugs
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
She's Absolutely Beautiful!!!
Monday, September 27
Right now she's taking a nap so we took the opportunity to eat and rest a bit from no sleep last night. We spent all morning at the orphange and things when amazingly well. She is a very, very calm child. She warmed up to us immediately with no problems at all. We took her for a walk and played with toys and we were able to feed her a bit. Everyone including the psychologist and social worker were amazed at how well she did. It seems as though God has really prepared her little heart for this moment. We will be returning to the orphanage in a few minutes to spend the rest of the day with her. If things go as well as they did this morning then we will be able to take her out of the orphanage tomorrow. Yay!! I must go now but I'll post more this evening.
And this is what you have all been waiting for :)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
Sorry, I didn't have any time to edit anything and not enough time to upload very much. I'll be posting more later. Hugs!!!
Right now she's taking a nap so we took the opportunity to eat and rest a bit from no sleep last night. We spent all morning at the orphange and things when amazingly well. She is a very, very calm child. She warmed up to us immediately with no problems at all. We took her for a walk and played with toys and we were able to feed her a bit. Everyone including the psychologist and social worker were amazed at how well she did. It seems as though God has really prepared her little heart for this moment. We will be returning to the orphanage in a few minutes to spend the rest of the day with her. If things go as well as they did this morning then we will be able to take her out of the orphanage tomorrow. Yay!! I must go now but I'll post more this evening.
And this is what you have all been waiting for :)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gid23517188
Sorry, I didn't have any time to edit anything and not enough time to upload very much. I'll be posting more later. Hugs!!!
Safe Arrivals
Sunday, September 26
We are so happy to be here in Puno. We are grateful for a very safe travel thru the mountains and that so far we have had minimal altitude sickness. Tomorrow morning we leave at 7:45 a.m. to meet the social worker who will take us to the orphange and introduce us to our little girl. We should be at the orpahanage by 9:00 to see her. So exciting!! If she responds well to us then there is a chance that we can take her out of the orpahanage to spend time with her at our hotel. If she is crying and scared then we will spend the day with her at the orphange.
I'm back tracking a little bit to Saturday so that you can meet family and friends here in Peru. The pictures tell the best story.
These are good friends from Peru. We had a big reunion on Saturday and had a HUGE feast with the family that we are staying with. Very good times!!
This is Henry's cousin. The little girl is wearing a hat that our good friend Linda made by hand (Linda, you will be Tia Linda to our little girl :) She LOVED the hat!!
Henry's Grandma.
Henry's sister. Also wearing one of Linda's hats (She loved it too!!)
Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and support. We will be posting pics a.s.a.p. Love to you all!!
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