So far...

The last few days have been nothing short of amazing. The only things missing are my other kids. It is hard to leave them and we are longing for Abigail more now than ever in so many ways. I could never have imagined things would be going this well with the kids. Our days for now consist of 2 visits a day with the kids (one time with Nathan and Eli and one without). Then we walk to the mall and use the Internet. We won't get to visit them tomorrow so we are going to try to explore a bit more.

Some things here feel very European and comfortable for us. Some things are very different. We are having a good time remembering all those European cultural things we had forgotten over the past 10 years and learning the specific features of this culture. We have found the people here generally friendly and proud. They don't smile at you like in the south, but don't let that fool you. They are warm and friendly. We have felt very welcome. Our biggest difficulty is the language/alphabet. Since the letters are different we can't even really guess as to what signs say etc. We can pick up quite a few words now in conversation but we have a hard time trying to learn more because of the alphabet. We are communicating with the kids really well regardless.

The kids. I know that is what you are really interested in, but first for my friends. You are cracking me up with the wardrobe comments. I do in fact own clothes that aren't t shirts and blue jeans. I just don't in general wear nice clothes to the park or playdates or the places you usually see me lol. Expect t shirts and jeans when I get home.

Things continue to go really well with the kids. Grace the parrot is really smart. She repeats most of the English words we say. She remembers everything. And she is terrified of bugs. Terrified. She distinguished between another little girl's momma and her own today. That is huge. She makes great eye contact, checks to make sure I am following her around, loves to give hugs, hasn't tried to leave to play with the other kids or adults, and is just doing really well. She plays with michael's beard and can point to her nose when asked in English. She loves to be pretty. And I hear she is opinionated with her clothes. Love it. She cries when we leave her. It breaks my heart. And oh the squeals when we come back.

Malachi is a worker. He really reminds me of my nephew in features and mannerisms. Even his ears are like my nephews. He is now grinning and running for a hug when we pick him up. He doesn't cry when we leave him but he stands and stares and waves. He has become quite the daddy's boy and is much more chatty. He is calmer and loves to do his work-whatever that is at the moment. He can focus on one task for a long time. He is repeating english words too now and is checking in while he plays. He has become a hugger although he wants less touch than Grace. And today he kept wanting to touch my face. Today I was talking to him and mentioned Nathan and Eli and he lit up. He remembered! He started saying Nathan, Eli, Anna Faith, and Samuel.

Nathan and Eli met them for the first time yesterday and it went really well. Both kids were really cautious at first but by the end of the visit, both were playing well and having a great time with Nathan. Grace kept rubbing Eli's head. Malachi didn't seemed overly interested in Eli but he watched from a distance. He would tell me if Eli needed me every time. We are showing them pictures of the others and that is their favorite thing to do-look at pictures of home. They love all books, but especially those picture albums.