Today, Wednesday February 23 - we went to the US Embassy approved Dr. Caunes! She was a very nice lady and interacted well with Liga. She did a basic examination of Liga, as well as read over all her documents/medical history reports.

Here's what we were told:
Liga suffered from a hemorage (sp) at birth. She was the 2nd twin born at 30 weeks, weighing only 2.2 lbs. She was put into an orphanage for infants/children that will never be mentally capable of living on their own. In spite of that diagnosis, she thrived and improved as she got older. The Dr. said she will never be 100% mentally or socially. She said to not expect her to be a rocket scientist but to encourage the areas that she is gifted in - singing, dancing, sewing, home economics. while doing her exam, she noticed her thyroid was significantly enlarged and told us to seek out a Dr. as soon as we returned home. On the positive side she said that she is progressing physically, which says the thyroid my just be enlarged and not effecting her terribly. She said her biggest "handicap or invalidity" is her eyesight. It has not improved over the last several years but it hasn't gotten worse, so it may be stable for the time being. She said that Liga has learned how to cope with her issues and has turned into a useful person in society. She has exceeded anyone's expectations and is a very happy child.

Many of these things we knew before we even came here and when we were in court on Friday, they asked us if we still wanted her, even though she would have problems or she wasn't perfect. We decided long before we came that no matter the child we found when we arrived - she needed a Mommy & Daddy. End of story!!!! We know that God has paved the way for this adoption. She needs parents and we have the room in our hearts and home for her. Her siblings at home in America are excited to hug her and get to know her. They laugh with her on skype, they sing to each other, they tell each other that they love them. If that isn't God I don't know what is!!!!!!!!!!

On a less serious note: Liga is working on her 2nd scarf and we will finish it tomorrow. She is so proud of herself. It's a beautiful scarf and she loves to show it off! She also got to dance with Joe yesterday. She twirled around and couldn't stop smiling & giggling!




We also worked on "school stuff". She practiced writing her lowercase letters. The typically write in all caps. If they use the lowercase it's in cursive but they don't have a Y or a W, so we need to work on those.

She also went and got the phonics book with beginning sounds and words. I'm not as fond of the these cards because they don't have pictures. So... I have to demonstrate (somehow) or make a sound that relates to the card. We also worked on shapes, colors and numbers. She is doing very well. When she skyped with her foster family she was showing off all that she had learned in English! Her foster mom & brother understand and can speak a little english.

She has tried new foods, like grilled ham & cheese sandwiches, american pancakes & syrup, caramel popcorn and homemade chicken noodle soup. She likes most things and the few things she doesn't like, neither Joe or I like them.

Tomorrow is a lazy day. Usually afternoons are pretty laid back and relaxed.

We do have to pick a few things up at the store but we will knit, color, do some school work and work on our puzzle. She is so patient with the silly puzzle. Note: don't buy puzzle from Family Dollar or the Dollar Tree. They may be cheap but they don't hold together very well. You get what you pay for!!!! We will finish it but it's going in the trash when we are done!!!