~Things have been so crazy…I’m behind on blogging…so here we go…let me get you caught up!
The girls recovered from the Chicken Pox! Praise the Lord…we can move forward! The next step after being matched is completing paperwork and Skyping! (I highly recommend recording your Skype session, it is crazy how fast you forget little details!)
As we waited on the Skype date we quickly started filling out paperwork.
-We sent in acceptance letters to our agency and the orphanage. A few other documents were needed for each child- USCIS 1. I-800, I-864W, DS-230.
Then we finally got a date to Skype! This was the first time we were able to talk with our girls! We had seen pictures and video but had not “met” them. We were VERY anxious! It was exciting but we didn’t know what to expect. During the Skype there was an interpreter there for us, so the girls were really watching her to see what we were saying. They were cautious but full of smiles. They had cute questions ready for us.(Like…what was our favorite color) After lots of questions were asked, they wanted to see their room. They were curious about many things they saw, especially the touch lamp. It was so cute to see how excited they were. They really wanted to know how to turn the lamp on. When we ventured over to show them their clothes, they were all smiles and shouted….Vestidos!!!
We also learned that:
-they love pink
-dinosaur coloring books will be in our near future
-love fruit and veggies
-they were holding their dolls we got them
-they asked when we were coming
-when they recognized their sister, their eyes just lit up
-they love music
One week later we were privileged enough to Skype again! We were prepared this time with a few Spanish phrases. To our surprise the interpreter moved over and let us speak to our daughters. They wanted them to focus more on having a conversation with us instead of the interpreter. So, we asked our few questions and then it was just awkward! My husband and I made a good team. I came up with conversation starters and he spoke the Spanish. We were able to show them many things that our friends had blessed them with and they were much more talkative.
One week after that we Skyped for the last time! We were all set up to talk to them and then we found out that they were at school. So, we had a nice conversation with their psychologist. This was a great time for us to ask questions and find out things that might help us transition. This was invaluable. So, after school they let them Skype for an hour. We had a conversation without the interpreter helping us. This was a little more difficult because we had already asked so many questions in our last visits. One thing that really touched my heart as a teacher, was when my husband read Green Eggs and Ham in Spanish. Our oldest daughter started to read it with him. It was precious! They know when we are coming and we are thankful for a staff that helps them understand the transitions that are coming.
Specifically Chosen 