Orphan Court and our first 2 days - sorry it's long!!!

Sorry we didn't post yesterday. It was such a full day that we were so tired after Liga went to bed that we went to bed. Ok, so here is the play-by-play!

We were picked up by Daina and her son @ 8:40 to head to the court. When we arrived we met our interpretor, a beautiful and tall girl that spoke amazing English (guess that's why she's an interpretor). We waited for all the Orphan Court ladies to take their places and then we were ushered into this room with a large table with 3 ladies, a social worker in chairs to our left and the secretary at a small table to the right. Daina, Joe, Interpretor and I sat in front of the large table. They asked all the questions Daina said they would ask. "Do we know and understand all of her medical history? Are we willing to help her with those conditions? What are our plans while here? What was our visit like the day before with Liga and foster family? They read all our rights and responsibilities and we accepted them. Then asked Daina if she had anything else - Yes, that we are able to see Dr. @ US Embassy next week to get a clear undestanding of everything in her medical notes. None of them felt confident or capable to speak about the terms used. So they agreed that we should see the Dr. and also that a Passport could be started immediately for her to travel home with us!!!! We were asked to step outside and while we were waiting Liga and her foster mom, Maia arrived. When we were asked back in, they gave us temporary guardianship of Liga from that moment until March 8th, when we will have court again. We have scheduled the social worker visit for Mon 10am and the passport appt for Mon 5pm. We also have an appt with the Dr. at the US Embassy on Wed 1pm.

Liga was so happy when she arrived and I joked with Joe that she was so excited and ready to leave, I thought she was going to pee her pants. She smiled from ear to ear and told the interpretor and Sandra that we were her parents. She gave Maia a hug goodbye and we were wisked off by Daina. Maia kept saying God Bless You during the entire exchange. It is evident that she loves Liga and the other children that have been or that still are in her home. Liga is the 9th child to be adopted in her home. It is because of her that Liga knows that Jesus loves her!!!!

When we arrived home, she was so excited. She went from room to room, bouncing down the hallway. She was so thankful for her room and her belongings. She kept asking, "Liga's?"!!!! Yes!

We colored and started a puzzle and put her few belongings that she brought with her away. We went on walk to the Photo shop and had her passport/visa pictures taken. We then went to the grocery store and got a few days of groceries. She enjoyed picking some of her favorite foods out. One thing she picked, I'm not realy sure what it is but it looked like a pasta/tortellini thing and I thought we could cook it according to directions tonight and have hamburger patties with it. But after checking out the packaging I realized that it is a fruit dumpling. In fact this one is Cherry. Anyway, I don't have any seasonings besides ketchup, so it should be interesting. I have string cheese, so we have some concoction of hamburger/spaghetti/cheese! Then for dessert, the Cherry Dumplings with a little sugar.

Joe walked to McDonald's for our dinner last night. It's a good 15 min walk from here but she has NEVER eaten at McDonald's before. Just a note: she is the least picky person I've met besides Joe. PRAISE GOD!!!! I know that alot of children refuse to eat anything besides cucumbers, sour cream, hot dogs and pasta.

Then it was bedtime. She took a bath and got ready for bed. We skyped with the kids and she was in awe of the whole event. Keegan, Micah and Ethan were very friendly with Liga and she kept saying "hello" (she knows as much English as I know Latvian)!!! Ethan did fine this time until we said it was time to go. Then the waterworks started. It is so hard to see him struggling so much. I know he isn't "working" it, he truly is the child.

This morning she woke up like a golden retriever (yes, we have dog personalities for the morning - are you a bull dog?). We ate breakfast, got dressed and enjoyed a very cold walk around Old Town Riga. We went into a few shops and then stopped in McDonald's for lunch. I know, I know that's twice in 2 days but we were cold and hungry and the look on her face was priceless. She ordered a Happy Meal and was completely overwhelmed with excitement. We ate and then headed home.

When we got home, Joe went to the gas station for some milk, juice and other drinks. Only, he didn't get milk, he got what is called Kefir. FERMENTED MILK!!!! It is sooo sour and awful. Apparently it's used in sourdough bread or cold borscht. I'm thinking that $2.00 is wasted. Oh well!!!! Guess we'll get some tomorrow.

Tonight I taught Liga how to knit and she took to it perfectly. She's already knitted a foot of scarf. She didn't want to put it down. We also made a paper "Family Quilt" - it has different pieces of constructio paper with pictures of her new family, right down to the dogs. She wrote the Latvian word for who they are: sister, brother, etc. And I wrote their names. We hung it up so she can see them everyday (besides skype) and learn their names.

Well, this is amazingly long and I'm sure I've bored all 3 of the readers of this blog. Thank you if you made it this far.

Liga is truly an amazing little girl. She is always happy and knows how to entertain herself if needed, she seeks approval and loves to be loved. She allows both of us to show her love in various ways like: Joe painted her nails and brushed her hair last night. She let me braid her hair and rub her back. She is using the term Momma and Daddy everytime and she is our daughter.

love you all --- Goodnight from Latvia!!!