Dentist

We are headed to the dentist in the morning with Alina....everyone say a little prayer that she doesn't need much done. She went through enough last summer! I'll update after our appointment.

A great day a the zoo!

We got up early this morning so we could take the kids to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC. It was a HIT! My boys had been there before but we had never taken Alina. It was HOT...but this zoo is perfect for hot days. There are many indoor exhibits in the a/c. It was great to see all the animals and I finally got the see the Koalas AWAKE! :) Feeding the birds was a favorite of Davis and Alina's. I didn't think we were going to get them out of there. We took a lot of pictures, but here are a few from our day at the zoo!

feeling complete

What an awesome day! I'm so blessed to have Alina back in my house! Thank you to all of you that offered support in any way. I couldn't have done it without all of you. :)

We waited for what seemed like FOREVER at the airport. They landed early...but you never know how long it will take them to come through customs. It was after 5pm before we saw her face coming down the ramp from "incoming international flights". I barely recognized her with her long hair down and not in braids. She HAS grown. She saw Steve first and went straight to him and gave him a HUGE hug. I was so close to crying....but I held it together. She was very quiet at the airport and for the ride to dinner. But it didn't take long (before we got our food at Fudruckers) for her to open up! :) It felt like we didn't miss a beat from where we left off last year!

She brought back her same suitcase that we sent her home with last year. It was SO heavy! We got home to realize 90% of it was GIFTS!!! Just like last year...she brought little for herself (a few pair of underwear, pjs, one shirt and 3 dresses). Not even a toothbrush. She even brought a gift for our dog! It melted my heart and made me sad all at the same time as she kept handing me stuff out of her suitcase. She brought a game (kinda like Bingo) for the boys and we played a short game before we took baths and went to bed. She was asleep by 10pm and I'm curious to see how long she sleeps in the morning.

My family feels complete again! :D

The journey has begun!

Alina is officially on her way to America! It started today with a 9 hr bus ride from Mogilev to Moscow. Their flight left Moscow at 9:50pm our time. They will fly from Moscow to Germany...then Germany to here. She lands at 3:30pm tomorrow in Charlotte!

Once she gets here she will have spent 13 hrs in the air.

It will be 10:30pm Belarus time when she gets here.

PLEASE pray for safe travels for her and all the other children that are traveling with ABRO this week.

We can't wait to see her!

tick tick tick

Time is ticking away....Monday will be here before we know it. Alina's flight comes in at 3:30pm. I can't wait to see her smiling face as she walks down the ramp for incoming international flights. I know her time here is going to fly by...it seems like we just started fundraising to get her here..yesterday! Friday my priority is to get her room set up. I don't have much to do in there...but I feel like I need to have a goal. The boys are VERY excited about her coming back. I think we will make signs for her bedroom, balloons and I bought her an "American Girl" type doll that will be wrapped and on her bed when she gets here on Monday night.

Please think of all the children all day on Monday as they take their LONG journey to the US. SAFE TRAVELS!

Here is the visa picture we received...she has definatly grown. I'll do my best to update this blog while she is here. The boys have both made All Star baseball so we will be very busy. I promise to do my best!