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Saturday, September 1, 2012

We're Here and have met Brigita!!

Sorry its been so long but I haven’t really had access to internet and we have been on the go. Liz (my good friend) arrived here on August 30. We stopped at the store, got settled into the apartment, met up with Valerie and Tyler Kirkland for a little bit, then showered and basically vegged out. We were in bed by 8:30pm. We were so exhausted. The flights were not bad but were long!! The longest one from Newark, NJ to Frankfurt, Germany had some very inconsiderate people in front of us that felt they should recline their chairs all the way back the entire. Poor Liz’s knees were crushed against the back of the chair. Being short this was not a problem for me. But the TV screen was directly in front of our eyes. I have never watched TV so close. The flight attendants had to pull their chairs up for them so we could eat. As soon as they were eating, they would recline again, whether we were finished or not. It was not fun! Brigita’s country is beautiful! We have mostly just seen things while driving. We are staying in a beautiful resort town outside the capital and her orphanage is about 4 hours away. We left the next morning to go see Brigita. Oddly I did not feel very nervous about meeting her. It mostly just felt surreal still. I have seen the outside of her institution and the people there so many times on videos I had found. But seeing it in person still felt weird. But what was most surprising was the child they brought to me. I was waiting for a little, listless girl. What came in was nothing little and nothing listless. Brigita has grown so much. I brought 3T clothing but am guessing she is a size 5/6 maybe. She is about 3 ½ feet tall! Her hair now reaches her shoulders. She is absolutely beautiful. She was scared when she walked in but quickly reached over to climb in my lap, then promptly boxed me in both ears LOL!!! She loves to do this and thinks it’s funny. She is quite the little imp. She also thinks biting is funny. Luckily she doesn’t do that as often. She will hit anyone that gets within reach of her but mostly on the sides of the face. She also does this to herself. She tries to run off and also thinks this is funny. She is very active and tries to climb everything. We were told she was not “very into what is happening around her.” Wrong!! She is completely aware of what is going on she just doesn’t always care. She does have some attention issues. We were not allowed to take her from the orphanage yet because we have not had orphan court. But we were invited to stay at the orphanage as long as we wanted. The only problem is they wanted our attorney/facilitator person to stay as well b/c of the communication issues. So, we stayed in an apartment at the orphanage and they kindly fed us dinner and breakfast too. It was very well prepared and good for orphanage food. They fixed everything up nicely. We got to meet some of the other children but there was no one to translate for us so the kids would just walk off. But the kids knew Brigita’s name (its actually a nickname of her real name). I met Veronika from RR. She seems really sweet and takes care of the younger children. Also, Brigita’s hearing does not seem as bad as I had expected. She definitely has issues with hearing but there were things I wouldn’t have expected her to hear that she did I’m getting cold b/c we are having to sit outside to get internet access. We are going to go buy new clothes for Brigita tomorrow and do some adult and touristy stuff with the Kirklands since we can’t see or get the kids until Tuesday. We all go to court on Tuesday and hopefully get our kids that day!! We can’t wait to get the kids together and spend time together. And I’m excited to have Valerie and Tyler’s expertise and advise! So, here’s the pictures! Brigita first walking into the room! See how big and scared she is...
Climbing into my lap for the first time!
Boxing me in the ears (the first of many; you should have seen how red my cheeks and ears were afterwards)
But still likes to snuggle
My favorite picture! She's actually tired. This was right before going back to her group for bed.
She loves to have you hum, sing, or make noises into her ears. She makes lots of noises, clicks, sounds, etc.
She loves to swing!

16 comments:

  1. Oh She is beautiful! And I'm so glad to read that she is healthy and growing. :) Ya'll look like a match made in heaven!

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  2. LOVE the pics <3 so glad its going well for you!! Can't wait for my updates :)

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  3. Such precious pictures!!!!!
    So overjoyed for you and Brigita!

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  4. Dee, I don't think she looks very big at all! Just a sweet little snuggler - absolutely the perfect size for you!

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  5. Yay!!! So great to see Brigita finally in your arms- just beautiful!

    Praying always!

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  6. What a lovely little girl! It looks and sounds as if she's had excellent care, too - how nice that you can stay right where she is living! That's very generous of the orphanage (or its staff, I should say :-)). I hope the rest of your time in Brigita's country continues to go well.

    And I hope Brigita can come home soon - prepare for life to get very busy once that happens!

    Best wishes,
    Susan in Ky
    Cousin to 2 from EE

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  7. She is absolutely beautiful!!!! :) And so big, oh my goodness! Thank you so much for the post and the pics. So glad you're having a good trip! Can't wait to hear more!!!!! :)

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  8. Thanks so much for sharing this experience with us. I will share with Blaine and Jacque...

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  9. Awesome Dee! Y'all look like y'all are having such a good time. She seems sweet in a tomboy sort of way... every daddy's dream of having a girl who doesn't mind a little rough housing sort of thing. I'm so thankful she warmed up to you quickly.
    Dee, you know how you said that she likes for you to make noises in her ears? Well, I bet she would really love one of those books where you record yourself reading a story to her and every time she opens the book, she hears you telling the story. Please keep us posted. :)

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  10. My 3 year old saw your favorite picture, and said "I love that face!" Me too! Congrats!

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  11. Oh LOOK at her! She looks fantastic!!

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  12. I am so happy for you. She is beautiful! Sweet, Sweet Girl.

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  13. OH MY GOSH!!!!! HOLY CRAP!!! AHHHH!!! I am soooo excited to see her walking and how big she got and that smile. She looks soo good. I'm so excited!!

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  14. Thank you so much for sharing!

    She is BEAUTIFUL! I loved reading about your trip and will be thinking about you guys on Tuesday!!

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  15. YAY!! Thrilled for you! What a pretty girl, she is!

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