The Last Post - Happy Birthday Dad

It's hard to believe that here I am, one more time writing the last post in this chapter in my life. We have found our daughters, lost for all those year in a tiny farm house in Latvia. I can't begin to understand the complexities that has led us down this road. Little did I know that the one single question I had utter to Ilze and Sheri a little over a year ago would somehow find its way back to us in that third week of April of this year. "Would you be interested in adopting Natalija". Without even seeing a photo of her or knowing any medical information I did not even have a single question in my mind about her being my child. 

Now, here I sit, looking out my window at the cobblestone streets below and I realize I have the perfect family. Our adoptions, completely different from one another, share the same common thread of love. That single thread that will weave the most beautiful tapestry in the years to come without forgetting their past. Our girls have shared a difficult life together, but somehow have fond memories of that early childhood. Who knows, that may change in the years to come but right now we let them enjoy what memories they have and one day, if they learn the truth may they have open hearts to forgive and realize it had nothing to do with them. 

Once again, the air has turned cold. There is a bite in the air that tells the restaurant owners to roll up the sidewalks and wait till the spring thaw to bring them sidewalk cafes back out. The frost from my breath tells me, it's time. As much as I look forward to the return home and seeing my family, my pups and feeling the warmth in the air I will truly miss my time being here.  Not only is Riga a beautiful old city but the people and their way of life. Yes, I am not a fan of the "man purse" but that is just the way things are here. I can do without the hordes of smokers but that is another part of life here. It's fun picking out the Russians from the Latvians and watching the women try to walk in high heel shoes on cobblestone streets. Adventure is right out my door and I'm lucky I have a family that seeks adventures.   Also a cherished custom is that ‘downtime’ here is truly downtime. A day off actually means a day off, not a day to run a million errands.  I believe this part  meant so much to Sheri who tries like so many Americans to pack as much into one day as possible.  It has been a pleasure watching Sheri decompress the last month and really enjoy the Latvian lifestyle.   Despite the cold I know Sheri will truly miss this special time as she re-enters the working mother environment, but hopefully with a few lessons learned.

But mostly, I will miss my Latvian family, we will all miss Ilze. She has done so much for Sheri and I. My words cannot articulate the sincere gratitude and love we have for you. You have help build our family and made our dreams come true. Both of my girls adore you and that alone is enough for me. I don't think we can ever repay you for your help, kindness and simply being our friend. I hate saying goodbye so I will simply say, till we see each other again.  We have also really enjoyed the time spent with Ilze’s family, a group of beautiful souls, but with Ilze as their mother we expect nothing less.

There are a few people that I have never spoken about, their biological parents. We have very little information on them and what we do know is simply pieced together from old reports. But as I think about my two daughters I can't imagine the thought of ever losing them or having them taken away from me.  The absolute grief that would rip my heart apart would haunt me for the rest of my life. The only salvation would be knowing my girls were loved and taken care of.  I have no way of contacting them and if I did I don't think I would. To be honest, I have no love or hate for them. I don't know them or their circumstances or what events took place so long ago. But if I had a chance to write them without them knowing who I was, I think these are the words I would choose.

Dear Bio-Parent,

I'm not sure of the exact reasons you had to give up your precious daughters but I know it must have been a heart-breaking decision on your part, whether through your own fault or another. The Ancient Greeks have a name for this: "Agape Love". This kind of love is called "the selfless love. This was a love that you  show family members or distant strangers. Agape was later translated into Latin as caritas, which is the origin of our word "charity." You have shown Agape love in the truest sense.

For whatever those reasons are, I am so thankful that it was Sheri and I that found our long lost daughters. Oh sure, not biologically but in ways you probably won't understand. To us, there is no difference. These two girls are as much a part of us as if we had given birth to them ourselves. From the moment they were born they have always been ours and we thank you for bringing them into life.

Families are not defined by our genes but rather built, shared, nurtured and maintained through love. My favorite quote goes something like this: "Not flesh of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, that from the moment you were born you didn't grow under my heart but IN IT".

Just so you know we are head-over heels, passionately, heart-palpitating, madly, deeply, time stands still, in love with these girls, our daughters.  It is our hope that one day you can relish in the girls’ triumphs from afar. Knowing that your charity was the greatest gift you could have given them whether it was through your own action or someone else’s.

Should the day come, somewhere in the future, that these girls want to know about their birth parents and eventually seek you out. It is my hope that you are the kind of person(s) they thought you were – that may be; good, bad or indifferent.  Because in the end it’s only my girls’ hearts that matter. Should they ask me about you and why you did the things you did. I will not belittle you in any way. No child should ever think about their bio-parents like that. In return, I would ask you to spare their hearts for it is knowledge that they seek.

- their Father - Bobbi

It’s approaching 10:30pm now and in 5 ½ hours our Taxi will be here to take us away. We just left Ilze and her three boys for a farewell celebration at the top of the Blu. There was no better way to end this adventure than with the ones we cherish the most.  This trip was more about family and friends than it was about anything else. Ilze holds a very special place in our hearts and both Sanija and Natalija adore her beyond words.   Sheri and I said tonight that we would not have appreciated this trip as much had we not walked through the experience of our first adoption with Sanija.  It’s an old cliché but what a difference a year can make.  And as a side, this final day here is Riga just happens to be the birthday of my dad, who not only helped in more ways than he will ever know, but would have loved these girls just as much as we do.  With that, Sheri and I toasted dad, not only to say ‘happy birthday, but to say ‘thank you, we love you and we think you would be proud.”

This will be my last post. I want to thank all those who have followed our tremendous journey with us. Your love for our two girls is inspirational and Sheri and I thank you. I sincerely hope that sometime in the distant future my words will once again be read for the first time by a young lady who goes by the name Nata. I hope my words will saturate her heart with the love that her forever Mommy and Daddy has for her.

We love you Natalija

Embassy visit

It’s hard to express this state of the ease our family is in.  There are no more OC visitations, no more court hearings and no more appointments to be kept.

The morning started out pretty relaxing as the only two things we had to accomplish today. Running out to the United States of America embassy and to start the actual packing up all the stuff we have either brought with us or purchased here.

 I’ve come to realize that  our youngest daughter has the attention span of a knat.  We asked her to complete one job and we needed to remind her of that job no less than 10 times after she originally started.  Natalija we have come to realize does not waste a single item.  Every scrap of paper whether or not it was cut up or crumpled somehow made it into her “go home pile”.  This included, the toilet paper rolls, melted wax, pieces of used blue paper tape and anything else that could be used in the future for an art project. Mommy had a fun time throwing out crumpled paper, toilet paper rolls, melted wax and a whole host of other useless items.

Before long it was time to meet up with Ilze to drive out to the embassy to submit the paperwork for Nata’s visa.  We had a fun time with her telling her we were going to the United States today.  I don’t think she believed to us when we told her as soon as we got through security it would be a lot warmer in the compound.  She looked at me with disbelief but you could tell in the back of her mind she was thinking.

After our interview her visa was granted and we will be able to pick it up tomorrow afternoon.  Ilze however, said she would pick it up and bring it out to us.  On the way home the girls apparently asked her if her family could meet with us tomorrow night for our farewell ice cream sundae at the top of the Blu.  We look forward to spending more time with Ilze and her beautiful family.  Since the kids are close in age it’s been fun to see them interact.

I forgot to mention that before we left Nata and I had to go visit the dressmaker to pick up her custom made traditional Latvian costume.  The ladies that worked there remembered us from last year and the dress made for Sanija.  As we left the store all of the workers came to say goodbye with huge smiles on their faces, Nata to waved to them.

With our morning tasks done and the visit to the embassy completed we now have to get down to business and really figure out how we were getting all this stuff home.  We worked for many hours and could only manage to get two suitcases packed and weighed.  Our airlines only allow bags to be no more than 50 pounds each.  If you do the math, that gives us 200 pounds.  But by the looks of things we have 300 pounds of stuff, including 100 pounds of doll stuff.

The girls were bouncing off the ceiling so we decided to get a late dinner and let the girls come home to watch a Disney movie while Sheri and I continued to pack.  I really should say Sheri continued to pack as I got a little distracted watching, “A Bug’s Life”. 

It’s about 11:00pm here and we just put the girls to bed.  I think Sheri still has the idea that we’re packing more tonight.  I would normally agree and we have a ton of work to do but I have hit the wall.

Nata is so excited to get to what she refers to as, her home.  She must have  asked me 10 times today when we’re leaving to go.  Sanija has also mentioned that she is ready to go home as well.  She absolutely loves being in Latvia but I think she now realizes that her life is in America.  Both girls are so proud to be Latvian and Sheri and I you will do whatever we have in our power to make sure they never forget their roots.

So much of their conversation has been about seeing their extended family such as Michaela and Savannah along with funny Uncle Tim and their favorite Aunt Jayne.  Nata looks forward to meeting Grandma and Papa G and seeing her Grandma R and insists that Grandma Rossini made her a promise to stop smoking.  Now Mom, I would hate to be you if that promise is not filled. You will certainly feel the wrath of Natalija.

Serendipitous

Serendipitous

As you well know today was the day if for the Rossini’s.  Today we would find out if the courts would grant Nata an extended stay as the process to adopt her continues.

The morning would start out with a walk to the Radisson Blu for the morning buffet leaving a few hours for the four of us to get ready for the hearing.

The girls looked  outstanding as usual and you all know how much I love wearing those choking devices and those feet impaling bricks that men wear on their feet.  It was nearing 1 (the court hearing was at 1:30) and we still had not heard from the Ilze, so to save time, we walk down to the corner to meet up with her.

There are points in time that are unexplainable by anyone’s definition.  Today would be one of those moments in time that would be serendipitous by the any definition of the word.  As we stood there waiting for Ilze a to arrive, from around the corner a familiar face would greet us.  It was no other than the person that worked so incredibly hard for us and our attempt to adopt Sanija.  Could it really be Irda?  It was and we were incredibly surprised and happy to see her.  For those who recall our blog for Sanija. Irda was the head orphan’s court judge that would meet us for the evaluations during that month long period on our first adoption.  It was Irda that created the options that would allow Sanija to travel to the United States before making her final decision to be adopted.  It is the same Irda that fought for us so well on that dreaded, horrific 6 hour+ second court visit on trip two where we almost lost Sanija thanks to politics that were initiated by none other than the foster family.   The same Irda that took so much verbal abuse from the judge and the very same person who is still dealing with the ongoing legal and criminal battle against the old Foster parents.

Now she was standing in front of us with the most wonderful smile you could imagine as she stared at Sanija.  Many hugs and “thank you’s” were exchanged between all of us.  Much of the conversation was between her and Sanija that we did not understand because we do not speak Latvian.  But we can certainly see by the look on her face that she was so proud of Sanija and her accomplishments.  She was there for so much of Sanija’s uncertainty about being adopted I could only imagine how elated she must have been.   We later learned from Ilze that Irda told her that Sanija was not even the same person that she remembered from last year.  It’s one thing to see pictures and read updates but it’s a completely different experience when you get to see firsthand how a very tough and long adoption process was well worth all of the challenges when you see a child blossom to such great extent like Sanija has this past year.   The genuine happiness that comes from Sanija now is beyond priceless when you really think about Sanija’s background and her own adoption story.

Finally, Ilze showed up in the continued to walk towards the orphans court with Irda.  But before long she had to leave us.  I can’t help but think that we will more than likely never see her again.  I sincerely hope she knows deep down in our heart how much she means to us and how much we appreciate all the work she has done for us to help create this family.

But now it was time for our court date.  As we waited in the hallway for our invitation to enter the court Nata’s orphans court representative, the one who was conducted all of the interviews, got a chance to wish us all the best of luck and for a wonderful future.

When you think of these two ladies that have done so much to help create this family I can’t help but to have complete gratification for the work they have done.  I sincerely hope that as the years passed they can look back at their lives and realize that joys they have brought to us.

As the door opened only Sheri and I along with our Attorney/Ilze were asked to come in.  I felt a little sorry for Sanija as I know she wanted to be part of this.  This time however, Sheri and I were ready for the type of questions they would soon be asking us.  One by one as the questions were thrown we had the answers.  The three representatives in front of us seemed impressed as we did not stumble or falter on anything.  As I sit here dictating this message I can’t help to compare this visit to Sanija’s visit.  Wow, they are both completely different and yet so similar.

With our line of questions completed they asked Nata to meet with them alone.  She was only in there for few minutes before the doors opened and she joined us in the hallway.  I asked her, what did they ask and her response was, “oh nothing”.  Not that it was one of the most important questions asked of her in her short life but that’s the answer we got.

Sheri and I were invited back into the room where there would be the final verdict.  We could tell by the looks on their faces that we’re going to have a positive decision and that’s what we got!  It’s official that they will allow Nata to travel to the United States, under our care and supervision until such a time that the adoption period can be finalized within the next few months.

Although Sheri and I pretty much knew what the outcome would be we were still relieved that care and supervision were granted to us.  As we were walking down the street coming home from the orphan’s court I think Nata asked if we could leave tomorrow to go home.  I think she was a little confused when we told her we would be in the United States tomorrow.  She told us we needed to get home and pack until we told her that the United States embassy in Riga is considered part of America.

After we said goodbye to Ilze but before going to our celebratory lunch one thing had to be done first……  And that was……..  I needed to get out of these ridiculous clothes.

As we sat in the steak hoous the girls enjoyed as flavorful Shirley temple.  At the end of the meal, although we did not ask for it, our waitress brought to our table four small desserts.  She told us these were a gift from her because in the two years she has been a waitress she had never seen two parents teach their kids manners while being in a restaurant and that she really appreciated it.  There were a few more compliments she paid us but you know how much I hate tooting my own hornJ  Despite that gift and subsequent compliments let’s be truthful, our kids NEVER went out to eat before with meeting us (Sanija) or being hosted (Nata) and they still have much to learn about manners in nice restaurants but we have promised each other that by the time that we are old and gray (ok may just old) that these two will fully understand the importance of manners and respect.

Sheri wanted some time alone, after lunch, two pick up a few gifts for the girls.  So, what does that mean?  That means I get the girls alone for a little while and what or where do you think my girls wanted to go?  Yup, back to ride the 5D movies.  We also stepped into the dressmaking shop to confirm we would be able to pick up Nata’s dress tomorrow.

With a little less than 2 hours to prepare the girls would be heading to the BlackHead House to watch a violin concert with Ilze and one of her boys.  I was supposed to go but the accidental injury I sustained from the kick in the ribs from Sanija last night has me in a bit of pain.  I don’t think I have a broken or cracked a rib but I do think I have some interior swelling of some non-important organ that should be better by tomorrow or the following day.  It is difficult to lean forward, cough and sometimes breathe without feeling some amount of pain.  Therefore, I knew I would be both antsy and uncomfortable during the performance and decided not to go.  Now, you may think it had to do with wearing the suit and tie to the performance but really it had nothing to do with, wink-wink!

It’s now a little past 9:00 PM here and it seems so quiet without my two Tasmanian devils to keep me occupied.  As I’ve looked around the room all I could see are the memories of this past month.  We have given birth to a nine year old girl who calls us mommy and daddy.  Soon we will be heading home and the month we spent here in Latvia will be a fond memory. 

The Last Visit

10/18/16

The Last Visit

Well, according to everybody…..nobody slept well last night. Not sure why.

The morning came quickly as the orphan’s court representative was coming by at 9:30 in the morning.  With the girls cleaned up and ready to go we sent them off to our local bakery to pick up some goodies for our third and final OC visit.

The meeting started out as usual with some normal “how you doin’” type questions.  Interestingly enough, she was actually watching the interaction between Nata and Sheri and myself to some regard and taking notes.  Later on, she asked us, or I should say, told us that Nata seems much more attached and physical with us on this third visit.

But soon enough we got right down to business as the girls played in our bedroom.  We found the first half hour of our portion of the meeting to be both informative and really had nothing to do with the adoption of Nata but rather information and questions regarding the old Foster parents.

As the OC lady does not speak any English she speaks in her native tongue of Latvian and Ilze a translates it into English for us.  At the time we did not know she was asking questions about the old Foster parents but when word I had pick-up on this sounds very similar to a word is “criminal”.  For a moment my heart stopped but continued to listen to the rest of her statement before it was translated to us. To find out she was actually speaking about the old Foster parents and the criminal investigation that is ongoing.  Once again, as the topic is very sensitive I will not be talking about those questions or statements within this blog.

Eventually, the questions got right back on track with what did we do this a third week with Nata.  Other questions involved were there any behavioral issues and most importantly did we want to continue with the adoption.  I know that the last question they must ask us but I had to chuckle because for me it would be like someone asking me if I breath air?

After 45 minutes the girls were asked to come back into the room and Sheri, Ilze and I left the room.  She spoke with the girls for about 20 minutes and eventually we were asked to return.  It is great hearing the responses that Nata gave the representative.  Things were asked like do you want to be adopted by them?  Do you understand you will be living in America and so on and so on.  The representative said she was a resounding yes and every question she was asked of her regarding the adoption.

And interesting side note was last night when Sheri was laying down with the girls Nata asked if we could leave tomorrow to go home to San Diego.

We were not really worried about her responses to the representative.  Apparently, during a jovial line of questions the representative had asked are if she wanted for them to find her and another Foster family.  Once again she looked at the recent representative and said, “no way this is my mommy and daddy”.

At the conclusion of the third visit the representative told us that we were very good parents and a few other comments that really warmed our hearts.

With the meeting done and still needing to get Nata some shoes for tomorrow’s court visit we set off to our local mall to see what we could find.  To make a long story short, we found nothing and eventually went home.  But before going home we had to stop off at the toy store for the umpteenth time this month.  Nata is wonderful about spending other people’s money for her to give guests to everyone.  On the way home I asked her why does she likes to give so much.  I already knew the answer but I wanted to hear it for her.  Her reply was, “I never ever had the chance to give gifts to anyone at the Foster parents home”.  “I’d like giving gives because it makes other people happy and I feel good”.  So here’s how it translates in parent talk. “I will keep buying her gifts to give other people.”

Another interesting point that the OC representatives brought up had a lot to do with Andre, Nata’s brother.  She had asked us, and we agreed 100%, that if and when she was ready to speak about Andre we would be open to it and seek any needed professional help.  So on the way home I asked are if there was anything she wanted to talk that about that involved Andre.  She said no but I reminded her again that we both have very similar stories and I completely understand where she is coming from and what the emotions she may have.  When I told her about the death of my brother her questions involved how long ago was it?  How old was I?  And are you still sad?  We all know she wants to talk more about that but from all the years of not being allowed to have her own opinions or comments, at this time she will not open up to anybody.  But we’ll keep working with her and we will give her the help she needs to come to terms with Andre’s death, unlike the old foster parents.

By the time we got home, around 3:00, Sanija had the lot of schoolwork to complete.  It was almost 8:00 tonight when she finished her work.  Meanwhile, ‘my student’ (Nata) worked on writing out, in English, her Christmas list.  Just to give everybody a heads up her Christmas present list is simply to buy anything that is Barbie related.

Knowing the girls did not do much in the way of physical activity today at 8:00pm we put on YouTube videos of Just Dance videos.  The girls took to the dance floor for about an hour until an accidental kick to my ribs put a kibosh on the evening’s entertainment.  That was not my idea but rather Sanija as she tends to take little things like this to the extreme.  By this time it was off to wash-up and say our nightly thankfuls.  For Sheri and I, we are beyond thankful that this time around we already know Nata’s response whereas last year this time we were strategizing with Ilze and the Orphan’s Court about how we could best work through Sanija’s challenges and fears. 

Here are a few of the gifts that I received from Nata. 

Nothing Happened

Well, where do I start…………Okay, I’ll start here, we did nothing today. There you have it. Check out the next post tomorrow!

Actually, Sanija had lots of school work today. Because of our schedule for the remainder of the week, we have had to double up on most of her schoolwork.  Plus, don’t forget about the extra work Sheri has assigned her in spelling. She started today around 10am and did not finish till 3pm. She was a good sport about it but I think she is ready to get back to school to a more……..let’s just say, forgiving teacher.

Meanwhile, Nata joined me on a field trip to explore…….breakfast. Then we explored the wilds of the Galleria. And, what’s at the Galleria, yep, that toy store that all the cashiers know us. In fact, we earned a frequent flyers card.

But today the cleaning lady was coming by to get the apartment ready for our meeting with the Orphans Court on Tuesday. I’m not really sure…exactly what she cleans but…..oh well, at least she does the toilets.

But in preparation for the cleaning lady we did have the girls start to “break down” many of the art projects that lined our wall, hallways and bedrooms. Nata’s doll are no longer spread out in 3 different rooms but are all together now, in her room. Countless brochures that Nata has taken from EVERY single brochure stand has finally been thrown away. This is the start of the end and on Wednesday the official start of “Packing Day” will begin.

Meanwhile, Sanija continued her studies till she left. It was about 3pm when we left for the big mall to find a nice outfit for Nata to wear to court. All she has are the very colorful summer dresses we bought for her in July.  I’ll tell you, finding a dress for her is difficult to say the least. Where to find nice dresses for a girl, age nine, that wears a size 6 toddler clothes. We did manage to find a pretty red dress but could not find any shoes for her. Oh yes, I forgot. They need to buy tall black boots like Mommy and Sanija wear. Okay, where to find high black boots (like mommy and Sanija) when this kid wears shoes that would fit a Barbie doll.  We finally gave up and will pick the search back up tomorrow after the meeting.

We did get home late and Sanija still needed to upload (3) three of her travel journey entries into her school documents file. Finally, around 9pm she finished and we attempted to put the wild savages to bed. We failed miserable the first time and had to regroup for another assault.  We fared no better but did manage to put the girls down around 10:15pm.  Actually it was a bit fun as the girls wanted me to make up a story that involved two characters from different movies, such as; Nemo and Rapunzel or a duck-billed platypus and the three little pigs. Let me just say, my work should have been recorded for all to hear…….if you were deaf.

That’s it! Nothing more.

To be honest, I feel bad as my story’s lack the same intrigue and suspense as last year. But as I have said before. This adoption is a slam dunk. We have no surprises, no conflict, no uncertainty, no……whatever. Nata keeps referring to San Diego as her home and refers to us as her forever Mommy and Daddy. She’s always saying “Sanija is now my real sister”.

Big Lido

By this time next week we will be home in San Diego. Wow, has that much time really flown by? I guess it has.  We have one more court visit on Tuesday, a court hearing on Wednesday and an Embassy visit on Thursday, a Visa pick-up on Friday and then we are done.  I can’t believe how much different this adoption was than Sanija’s. There is nothing even remotely the same except for friends and we’re in Latvia. But other than that…..,,,,,,,nope! That’s it.  Sheri and I have said many times that the way this trip has gone so far was what we had anticipated our first trip with Sanija was going to be like.

With Sanija it was a constant rollercoaster ride with backstories and obstacles at every turn. Those old FP really made life difficult and so confusing for our poor Sanija. Unlike this adoption, Nata was ready to be adopted the moment we landed in Latvia.  From the first HUG she accepted us as her forever Mommy and Daddy and there was never a doubt in her mind.  With this adoption we never had to worry about if we were bonding with her. We did that back in San Diego during the hosting period.

Basically, this was a visit to spend the required amount time in Latvia. Don’t get me wrong, we enjoy our time here (including time with Ilze and her beautiful family) and I think for Sheri, she not only gets to spend time with the girls but also gets her away from her 14 to 16 hour work days.

Anyhow, today would be an exciting day for the girls. Today, we were meeting up with Nata’s new foster family and Ilze was joining us at Big Lido. I think I’ve mentioned Big Lido before but it’s a huge buffet and carnival type rides and attractions outside. Yes, o u t s I d e !!!

The girls all cleaned up we headed for our nearby taxi stop. Let me give you a little advice. If you ever travel to Riga. They have several taxi cab services. Be careful who you choose. Let me give you an example. When we drove out to Ilze’s yesterday (white cab company) it cost us $15 euros but to get home (Panda) it only cost us $5 euros.  The lesson here: use Panda.

Anyhow, back to my story. As we were nearing Big Lido I asked Nata if she was excited to see her new foster family again and she shook her head and said, “no”. She then smiled and said, “I’m excited to see Ilze”.  Both Sheri and I looked at each other in a bit of disbelief.  Since we set up this meeting two weeks ago, she said she was excited but now, she didn’t really care. On the ride home she did say she was glad to see Vanessa and Anastacia. Both were other foster girls at the house.

We entered BL about the same time Ilze did and upon the girls seeing her, they both took off on a sprint to give her a hug. What the girls had obviously forgot was Ilze had a bad back and was still in pain. We got a little chuckle as we saw Ilze kind of back up against a pole as two screaming girls charged her.

Soon we found the other family and sat down to the buffet. I was hoping that our two girls and her 5 foster children along with the adults would mix it up a little bit. But, nope. They sat at one end of the table and we sat at the other. We would have thought Nata would have sat by her old foster brother and sisters but again, Nope! She sat between Sheri and Ilze and really didn’t interact with their family very much. Sheri, Ilze and myself tried to make conversation with the foster family but it was more work than a free flowing conversation. I was sitting next to Vanessa who speaks broken English pretty well. I like Vanessa and wish we could do more for her. She’s 16 and at any time could leave the foster care program. But she really has nowhere to go.

Near the end of lunch, ansay (as best I can spell it) (younger foster girl) started to again make eye contact with me as she did when we visited the foster home for the first time. Soon, Anastacia joined in and we played a little hide and sink via eye contact. Soon all the kids went outside to play while the adults stayed in the warm building. Before long the conversation stalled and I suggested we go visit the kids.  We had earlier given our girls 20 euros a piece for rides and game to be used on all the kids. As there were three “older” kids and the younger kids, Sanija wanted to take off with one of the boys and girls to do their thing. This left the youngers with us and immediately Anastacia took to me. Although she spoke no English Anastaca grabbed my hand and led me off leaving the others wondering where we were going. She wanted me to take her to the galloping toy horses. Well, that was that! Anastacia did not leave my side for the next hour. She held my hand, wanted me to pick her up, wanted hugs, would turn around and wait for me, wanted to be picked up again.  To be honest, I felt kinda bad. Not only to my girls (who I hope were watching and getting jealous) but to the foster mother who was actually adopting Anastacia.  Thank God for that or we would be pursuing a third adoption.

The feeling I was getting from the foster mother is that she didn’t really care for the generosity that Sheri and I along with our girls were giving their kids. I had offered to pay for many games but the FM would turn it down. I think I understand. Maybe she was trying to control the kids’ expectations, Maybe a cultural thing, maybe it was an American thing with money. I really don’t know but I do understand she had her reason.

After about an hour, the foster family headed home. We stayed around with Ilze as the girls still wanted to play a few games. I’m not sure of this magical power that Ilze has but our girls really love her. In fact, on the ride home Nata asked if she could go back with us to San Diego.

The day was still early and the girls started to play with some of the prizes they won at BL.  The girls turned into popsicles when they spent 45 minutes on our balcony blowing bubbles and watching them float throughout the street below. The best part was watching all the people below looking up and then waving to our two girls. So cute!

Having a little time to ourselves and Sanija wanting to practice babysitting, Sheri and I did something we have not done in a long time, except for those vacations to Italy, we went on a short but sweet date. Down the block was a wine bar Sheri wanted to try out since we got here. What a great idea, a self-serve wine bar. Basically your given a card which you insert into a wine machine. You pick the wine you want, out of a bottle, press how much you want (S/M/L) and waala…your wine glass is filled. At the end you give your card to a cashier and she rings you up. I think our entire bill was less than 17 euros. By the way, you’ll love this, at Big Lido we paid for our family (4) plus the foster family (7) at an select an item buffet, which means you pay for what items are on your plate and the entire bill was……..a wopping 41 euros. Can you believe that. In the grand ol’ USA that meal would have cost over $200 buck-a-roonies.

Before tucking in our two wild creatures tonight, it was decided that we need to own 100 minions. Of course, this was after watching “Despicable Me”.

You probably noticed that the blog was particularly long this evening. That’s what happens when I have time in the day to write rather than at 9:30 at night when I’m tired.

Ilze Day

There was only one item on our dance card today. At 12 o'clock we were headed to Ilze’s for a relaxing Saturday.  The girls had made “thank you” cards for Ilze and some brought some LOGO gifts for Ilze's boys.

Knowing it only takes 20 minutes to get there we caught a cab around 11:30 and we knew we were in trouble when two people (cab drivers) were using their GPSs and could not find it. Soon when one driver said to the other “blah blah blah” and he told us he knows exactly where it is.  Once again we knew we were in trouble when he crossed the bridge because to get to her home you don't cross any bridges. Soon he realized his mistake and started to turn around but then he kept losing his GPS signal.  We would drive a couple of blocks pullover he would load in the address again and tell us I know exactly where it is and then a block or two and his GPS would go out again. This happened four times.  Finally I got  on the phone with Ilze and handed it to our driver.   As Nata is usually in the backseat with us she looked at us and told us the driver was speaking Russian. Little did we know at the time that Ilze speaks Russian as her second language and English as her third language.  Who knew? Soon we arrived at her familiar house and saw her youngest boy waiting for us at the door.

It was great seeing her entire family again and we got a tour on the updates they have completed on their remodel since the last time we visited in May.  She has been in the process of remodeling for over a few years and within the next few months she plans on completing the job.  Yeah!!

Sheri and I along with the girls were also introduced to a new type of table game similarly called…..called….doesn’t matter what it is called. In American we had a similar game call Curems…or something like that, but unlike our Curems it has its own set of rules and skills.  After a game or two, Sheri and I teamed up to take on Ilze and her husband. Each team starts with eight bones, as they call it (or at least that is how it translates in English).  When they shot their last shot Sheri and I still had seven bones to go. Not what you would consider our stellar championship moment.

Beside a full spread of chips, veggies, cheese and other snacks she made homemade smoothies that the girls and especially Sheri love. It is made out of the fruit that I can't remember what its name is but they grow it on their farm [insert from Sheri, it’s call seabuckthorn]. Delicious!

Before long and way too early to leave our company we had to go.  It was so wonderful seeing Ilze in a non-work related environment.  She has a great husband and three wonderful kids. We only wish that they were our neighbors in San Diego. The hardest part about returning to home is knowing that Ilze will be 5000 miles away from us.  We honestly don't think of her as our attorney but rather a friend that has helped us in more ways than she probably knows.    

This morning before we left I was having a bit of a difficult time with Nata and her showing me respect.

So I needed to have a little talk with her. I let her know by her pulling away from me and running to Mommy for everything actually hurts my feelings.   We spoke for a while and eventually mommy joined in and she said she understood.

Well after we got home there were still a couple of errands we need to do. Sanija wanted to take mommy out to get a few gifts without Nata around. So I took Nata and we did our own thing.   Whatever we said in the morning she completely remembered in the late afternoon as she was sweet and loving. She held my hand walking down the street, said “I love you Daddy” about a half of dozen times.

We got back before the others did and once again she was saying and doing all the right things. She even asked me or I should say told me, “I'm trying to be better am I doing a good job?”

                                                                                                    

It actually brought tears to my eyes and a chuckle to my heart. Without saying much I simply gave her a huge hug and a kiss on the forehead and said “yes honey, that's exactly what I've always wanted to see out of you”

“I will give you the world and all I want from you is love”. “And I will always love you”. She asked then, “Can you take me the place where no street but boats” (She was talking about Venice Italy…insert Sheri’s cheering right now J) There was a little bit more conversation about it but I told her I understand where she came from but that's not the important thing right now. The important thing is that she remembered and she tried and she wanted to make sure she was doing a good job.  

My oldest daughter also knew I was sad this morning and when her and mommy went out she purchased with her own money a tiny Pascal (Lizard from Tangled) for me.

Before bed, we all sat down together and watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Nata this time sat between Sheri and I and I felt great. Although…….she may have been doing it for the one hour foot massage. Only kidding, it was one and a half hours.

Seriously, toss him an old pair of sweats

It’s about 9:30 pm when I started writing this post. And unfortunately, it pretty much sets the tone of the story from this point down. Let me just say, “I HATE men in tights”! That’s what I said about a year ago. Wanna know why? Culture! Both Sheri and I want to introduce the girls to everything under the sun. White-water rafting, skiing, archery and yes….ballet! I understand it’s graceful and a style of dance…..but why do the men have to wear tights. I mean, come on, really!? Nobody had an old pair of sweats lying around.  Now watching my sister-in-law is one thing and I would go see her performance whenever we could but to go and see complete strangers, is a whole other thing. It’s just not my cup of tea. On a side note: I hate tea as well!

I come to realize that I have two completely different girls. Half way through the second act one started to make faces at me. Oh yeah, Sheri was sitting between us and I don’t think she really found our antics too funny. Now, sitting in the aisle seat was Nata that seemed to have drifted away with the dancers on stage. She asked what was my favorite part and I told her “When the curtain fell”. If I took a moment to think about it my answer would have been more…….supportive.

The ballet was our big ticket item for today. Sanija had about four hours of schoolwork which does cut into our day. Her teacher only assigned about two hours of work a day but with her ESL skills it really takes about four hours to complete.

I once again work with Nata on her education but today I thought I would break her away from the books and online studies to work on her conversational English and item identification. We would walk around the apartment and I would point to an item as she would have to tell me what it was. I tried to tell her that the brush was really a dinglehopper but she knew that one. I tried!

Before we left for the ballet the girl showered and put on their best clothes. We decided to go down to the Steak Hoous and wrestle up some grub and we ended up meeting another American family who are here on trip 1 adopting their second boy.  It’s a bit funny how Sheri and I recognized this couple seating across from us. We just knew that they were adopting. Their one boy didn’t look anything like them, in fact, he looked pretty much Russian. For a teenagers (14) he sat there too….ridged, too stoic.  As we said our goodbyes the mother recognized our names for our Lat Fam face book page.  

There was a point where our girls got very excited today. It was when Ilze called. Looks like we will be meeting them out at their home tomorrow afternoon.  We look forward to seeing the progress they made on their home and of course, their boys. Not….the progress on their boys, on the house. Did I make that clear?

By this time next Friday, our bags should be packed for our 4:30am arrival at the airport to head home to warmer weather. Even Nata thought it was cold out tonight. We have a busy next week ahead but eagerly look forward to returning home not only to much warmer weather but to our three furry loves that we miss dearly (and Sheri will finally be able to really start her Fall baking, and yes, with her pumpkin spice).

Testing Day

Excitement and adventure are always the best ways to start your day. But, this was not one of those. It was yet another school day. Sanija had not one but two tests today. Distractions come easily for Sanija as I teach Nata. You see, I’m not what you would call the pinnacle of parents schooling their kids. When I try to teach, don’t ask me why, but Professor Daddy comes out. Professor Daddy is a mix of Barney the dinosaur, deputy Barney Fife and Bill Nye. If you don’t know who Bill Nye is….do a google search. I can be somewhat……..load, some may say a little A N I M A T E D and a whole lot of fun. Not the best atmosphere for taking a test. Therefore, I gathered my entire class of 1 and we headed out for a little more shopping. Of course, Sheri asked me to pick up the one item that they do not sell in the whole of Latvia…….a measuring cup!  Ten stores later I did manage to find one. Jump forward a few hours: I got a chuckle when Sheri used an American recipe in a European Country. Can you guess why…..tic toc, tic toc….times up! American uses a different weights and measurements than Europe does Pounds, ounce to liters and so on.   Back to the story. While out I realize Nata thinks every time we head to the galleria it means we stop at the toy store to buy something. Well, not this time. I held my ground! On a side note; the new troll she got is very cute and the book mark for Mommy is something we needed and my new Sven reindeer was perfect for me and Sanija new Shopkins was also perfect. But, I held my ground like…..like………Custer’s last stand! Okay, bad example but a perfect analogy.

But there was a cute story related to it. Nata wanted to get me a gift but didn’t want me to see…..as she kept staring at it and told me I need to go away.  Gee, I wonder what it will be.  In fact, she made me leave the store. I had to tell the cashier that Nata had my credit card and would be paying for four items. After it was bagged I would come in a sign the slip.  Both cashier thought this was the funniest thing as one of them could barely control her laughter. As I left, both girls had smiles from ear to ear and one said, “I hope I have a daughter like that”. Now say it with your best Latvian accent.

By the time we got home, a couple of hours later Sanija had completed her tests and everybody wanted to go out for lunch. Sheri has been pretty rigid with Sanija’s school work but during the time that we have been in Riga Sanija has learned how to spell  A LOT of new words, which she is very proud of.  Another thing that we have noticed is that both girls are making much better food choices (thanks Sheri for the non-stop healthy teaching sessions.)  This is not to say that the girls do not get their fair share of treats, including French fries, as they surely do, but they are both a lot more aware of why and what certain foods can do over the long haul.  Now we just need Michaela (our 4 year old niece) to introduce Nata to kale and kombucha this Christmas (Sanija already likes to enjoy a good glass of kombucha with Sheri J)  Since I have never tried it I have no further comment.  Even with that Nata still has a LONG way to go but the attitude is changing…yeah!!

When we home, the girls worked on arts and crafts for a few hours before Sheri embarked on making the healthy homemade chocolate…pumpkin…oatmeal…cookies! Sanija joined in right away including researching the conversions so that their first attempt at these cookies was not a complete failure (end result – cookies were delicious and Sheri FINALLY was able to make a seasonal pumpkin treat--  but I had Nata enthralled with sculpting and making Hollywood style masks using latex. She must have watched 5 youtube videos on the subject. When all was said and done Nata made me promise to teach her to make a mask when we get home to San Diego. ( I love that she refers to San Diego as home).

During the cookie making process I was casting youtube music videos to our television. The girls were dancing and singing for hours before it was time to settle done and have another “Family Movie Night”. Tonight’s film: American Girl: Lea to the Rescue.  I know thing both Sanija and Nata are ready to set out on an adventure where you eat bugs for dinner.

We just tucked them in and I taught the girls to new games. Does anybody remember “elephant fighting”? What about Indian wrestling?  Sheri thinks I was just making up those games so if anybody remembers them, send Sheri an email!

Girls to myself

A beautiful and crispy cold morning would be the start of the day. At least for me today started with the mental preparation for return back to San Diego.  As I sat by myself staring out the window in my Chinese restaurant around 10 this morning absorbing the heat that seemed to penetrate through the panes of glass the overwhelming feelings of our return to San Diego seemed to me by only thoughts.

Returning home with my complete family is only ten days away.  2/3 of this trip is complete and has been an overwhelming success. Unlike our trip last year, this adoption trip has never had the uncertainty of our first. From day one, Nata was ours and no convincing her to become part of this family. In fact, from day one she called us her family, Mommy, Daddy and Sanija of course was her “real” sister.

As I sit here writing this part of this passage my mind is still focused on our return to San Diego. In fact, Sheri just left me and the girls to go Christmas shopping. The kids asked “why” they weren’t going and Sheri response, “Sometimes mommy need to shop without “Mommy, I need to go the bathroom, I want to go to the toy store, I’m bored, can I get this, can I get this and the very popular, Mommy, can I get this”.   The girls didn’t seem to mind as the girls and I are set to go the pool (indoor) at 4pm.

They had a busy morning as yesterday we gave them the day off from doing schoolwork. Therefore Sanija had almost double the amount of work. There were no tears today and according to Sheri, she did a good job. We have actually added “spelling” to her schoolwork as we have come to realize (by teaching her here in Latvia) that she needs a lot of work in that subject. Let me give you an example: altar vs. alter  But that’s not all.  She doesn’t was an altar is. So, not only does she need to know the spelling of both and also needed to learn what an altar is.   Now, I want you to multiple that by….by…… A LOT!   This is just one of the obstacles we learned by being on this trip.

Nata on the other hand is my responsibility when it comes to schoolwork. Those who know me may see the irony in this.  Sheri and I decided it should be this way as when we return to America, as I will be spending day and night with her, the same I did with Sanija when she first came to join us.

I’ll take a break right now and get back to you later tonight after we get home from swimming.

It’s about 10:30pm our time and we just finished our Family Movie night and tucked our girls in bed. Hopefully they will sleep easy from the swimming we did earlier. It took us about 20 to 25 minutes to find Aqua Dreams and it was out in Booneville. For those who don’t know where Booneville is, it’s right next to where the heck am I.  It cost me about 20 euros (about $20 bucks) to get there and don’t forget the 12 Euros getting back.  Admission was $25 for Nata, Sanija and I. Basically, it was a very old hotel’s swimming pool filled with a kids swimming class which turn into an old folk water yoga that took up almost the entire pool. They boasted about the 80 degree water temps which fell……..slight…short (he said with  sarcastic undertones in his voice). There was a Turkish sauna that we could not enter because the old ladies took up all 3 spots on the bench. The steam sauna was no better. After about an hour and a half I did managed to get the girls out of the pool for the drive home. Let’s just say we will not be putting that on the top of our travel advisor – must do’s!

But what was so great about the adventures is that it was just me and my two girls. As Nata forgot most of her swimming lessons in SD I held her most time. As Sanija was trying to play tricks on her in the water, Nata relied on me for her safety. This was a first as Sheri was not around. I could have easily stopped Sanija……..but why would I? I was the hero / safety for Nata.

As the girl did not have dinner we picked up Mommy back at the apartment and walked to our local TGIFridays. Yes, they have a TGFI here in old Riga.  Nata is so attached to Sheri, in fact, it was Nata that wanted to go pick up Mommy and even if I had decided to go to TGIF without Sheri, Nata would have simply run home anyhow.   Nata will always seek out Sheri’s hand when we walk anywhere and snuggles with Sheri every time she can. Kinda like last year. I’m the plate of chopped liver that sits on a plate that nobody wants. But this is what a male can expect from kids living with no loving / affectionate foster father. What I should have really said is with their old foster parents.  The good news is that during the movie tonight Sanija actually snuggled with me ON HER OWN for the first part of the movie!!!!

Well, it’s about 10:45pm right now and this pup is tired. My sleeping pills are not working and I find I typically go to bed around 2 to 3 ish, sleep very light till around 6, then flop around in bed till 9ish before I realize I’m not going to fall asleep and get up anyhow.

Good night all!

Two down - One to go!

The day started early as we arose with the penguins. I would have said chickens but it is too cold here.  At 9:30 AM we had our second orphan’s court visit.  The girls did a great job of helping us out by running to our local market to purchase water for tea and walking to our local bakery to pick up some morning pastries.

As usual, Ilze showed up a few minutes early.  The girls were so excited to see her they ran down five flights of stairs to open the door for her.  It was one of those moments where I’ve looked at Sheri and said, Our girls have never been so excited to see us like that!  Anyhow, as she entered you could tell she was in quite a bit of pain.  Apparently, she had a lower back injury which I can completely related with.  Several times during that meeting she had sneezed and you could feel the pain shoot up her back.  Soon the orphans court representative had shown up in the meeting got underway.
Once again she spoke to us for about an hour.  Outside of the normal questions like what had occurred this week, how are you getting along and have you had any problems with Nata.  But there was also the series of questions about the old Foster parents.  Please excuse me for not listing those questions as they were of the personal nature and only meant for immediate family.  What I can tell you is that the Foster parents were fighting the court’s decision to terminate their standing as a Foster home.  They have also asked us that if anything comes up the with the girls or therapist to please forward those reports on to them.

With our questions completed it was time for her to interview the girls.  Once again, besides the normal questions they had asked the girls about their time at the old Foster home.  Sheri and I were and still are concerned that it might trigger some bad responses from Sanija.  But knowing how the old Foster parents were those questions could possibly save of another child from being at the home then we will deal with any repercussions it may have on Sanija.

At the end of the court visit which took about 2 hours the court agreed that everything was positive and we’re still a go.  We have one more court visit next Tuesday which then all the information and reports are compiled and on Wednesday we will have our second official court visit.  The great news is that once again Nata told the OC representatives that she wants us to adopt her.

After the representative had left, Ilze stayed around a while to learn about some of the math and English programs that are online that Sanija uses for school.  Although the girls were a bit playful I know they enjoyed showing Ilze just how they work and what they do.  Almost all of you have read the blog about Sanija’s adoption from last year.  In those readings you know what Ilze meant to Sanija.  Well, those same exact feelings are now shared with Nata.  This is a credit to Ilze for the type of person she is.  I don’t know what it is but Ilze possess some sort of magical power that makes the children she works with fall in love with her.

We can tell Nata is getting very excited about leaving for, as she puts it, her home in San Diego.  Today alone, she must have brought up San Diego 5, 6 maybe 10 times.  Soon we will be on our way back home, just over a week to go.  The orphan’s court, Ilze and the US Embassy are all working quickly to allow us to leave very soon after the last court date in order to allow Sanija to return to school earlier.

As a celebration for the positive second OC visit Sheri and I set up a scavenger hunt that took the girls all around old Riga which included a photo shoot at some wonderful landmarks around town.  Each girl was given clues to find the next location and if they found the correct location a photo would be taken and I would give the girls a thumbs up which meant success.  They were then handed the next clue and so on and so on and so on.  Once all other tasks were completed there was a reward of a chocolate ice cream sundae at the top of the Radisson Blu with a view that overlooks the entire city.

By the time we got home the girls made a very healthy dinner with the help of Sheri to explain why eating carbohydrates at night is not the healthiest of choices.  It was music to Sheri’s ears when Nata said “I want to be healthy”.   They also needed to complete today’s entries on their travel journals.  Finally, it was Nata choice for what family movie we were watching tonight.  For her despicable me 2 was the selection of choice.

Finally, around 9:30 we put the girls to bed. For both us and the girls it was a very exciting day and another hurtle we overcame.

All over town

Tonight’s  blog will be short as I have a tremendous headache.

Woke up to an absolutely beautiful and sunny day. When it’s not raining and has clear sky’s, it’s beautiful out!

Although and it was a school day there was lots of fun in store.

In preparation for tomorrow’s second orphans court visit we had our place cleaned by cleaning service. Sanija still needed to work on her schoolwork and Nata still had her assignments to complete as well.  Before the cleaning lady arrived I still needed the girls to pick out the mess they had around the apartment.  I have learned that Nata is wonderful and avoiding work.  The girl after my own heart.

  At 1:30 all the girls had a scheduled nail appointment.  This gave me enough lead the time I need it to work on the scavenger hunt that the girls would be going on tomorrow.  I walked around town and found 14  land marks that I wanted to get photos of the girls in front of.  Knowing that they would not want to take photos of themselves all day long by turning it into a scavenger hunt where photos were required I knew I could get the photos I want it.  While exploring, I surprisingly found parts of Riga that I had never seen before.

I met up with two girls around 3:30 back at the apartment.  They still needed to get lunch so we decided to eat at fat pumpkin.  Soon afterwards, there was still some shopping that we needed to do, according to Sheri.  I didn’t realize that purse shopping was considered essentials that we needed for the apartment.

By the time we got home it was family movie night and Sanija picked Hotel Transylvania. 

I don't Beleive

 It’s a broken record…it’s raining……..repeat.

So let’s forget about the rain that is keeping us indoors…….What should I talk about? Well, it is Sunday so that mean, BRUNCH! Did I forget to mention that it is cold out…No, I didn’t? Well, it’s still cold out. We set out for the “Blu” as we now call it. It’s about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. By the time we got home the girls needed to update their travel blogs.

I have to take a break for a second to tell you about Nata’s manipulative powers. When we received the court papers describing Nata they spoke of her powers to get what she wants. Now, these powers are useless when it comes to daddy, here’s why? All it takes for either of my girls to get what they want from me is to smile and say. “I love you daddy”. Yep, I’m a pillar of strength! But for Sheri, she is steadfast, cut and dry, my word is the law.  That is true unless you throw in a 4 foot ball of cuteness who is very cunning. Sheri gave Nata 2 options and in no way was she getting the third option. Let’s just say, Sheri is with Nata right now….doing the third option. Oh Sheri, you collapsed! If you can’t say no to her, who can?

Okay, back to my story. After the travel journals were updated it was playtime for the kids, and I’m including daddy when I say kids. Eventually, after one twisted ankle, Sheri took the girls out for about an hour to do a little Christmas shopping. Upon their return it was fitness time, which included climbing the stair eight times (up and down 5 flights of stairs equaled 1-time)  and a whole host of knee-bends, push-ups and jumping jacks.

As I did not have a chance to eat lunch with the girls I decided to go to my new favorite Latvian Chinese Wok-to-Walk restaurant. That was not what made it special. What made it so special is that my youngest daughter, Nata, wanted to join me.  Together, we had fun running down the street and playing LavaShark (I’ll explain later). But having my youngest with me, there was no-way I was going to go home after eating. So we walked through our local Galleria and went shopping. Nata wanted to get something special for Sanija, Mommy and me. When we walked into the toy store (this is how sweet she is) she put a doll back on the shelf I said I would buy her in exchange for two smaller dolls. One for her and the other Sanija. My vocabulary does not have the words to verbally tell you just how much she loves Sanija.  It is simply the sweetest thing in the world.  Keep in mind, this child never got gifts and what dolls she does have are second hand. For her to give up a $15 doll for (2) two - $3.99 dolls shows that her wants don’t even come in as a close second to her love for Sanija. Still hunting for a gift for mommy, Nata went into just about every store and was getting frustrated. Until she found the flower shop. She picked out the flower, paid the cashier and managed to pocket the change from daddy. She was soooooo excited to give them to mommy, we ran the entire way back to the apartment.

Before bedtime the girls really wanted to watch Nanny MePhee Returns. The second film in the two film series. Sheri once again made some healthy popcorn for the girls before putting them to bed.

Our pre-bed ritual is something we have done since our first night with Sanija a year ago. Basically, we do a group family hug followed by individual kiss from everybody. Then all of us give 2 “gratefuls” from the day’s events.  I’m grateful for this or we did that or anything really. Then we recently added that the girls need to give us two things that we don’t know about them.  Some of them have revealed a lot. I would tell you but……well, that’s for our family only – sorry!

It got exciting when during Sanija’s reveal, Nata stool up with a panic look on her face, kinda yelled and ran into the bathroom. I, along with the others, jumped up and ran with her. She ran to the sink and started spitting out blood and there was a lot of it. After a few seconds with blood dripping from her mouth she muttered, “my tooth came out”. Within seconds she spit out the tooth in her bloodied hand. Eventually, we got the bleeding to stop, cleaned her up and got her off to bed. I didn’t want her to lay down because of swallowing the blood so we all sat up and talked awhile.  When I told her I personally know the tooth fairy she told me there was no such thing as the tooth fairy because she always puts her tooth under the pillow and she never comes.  Well, that’s gonna change tonight, I’ll tell you! We cleaned up her tooth, placed it right to her favorite pig stuffy and said, “We’ll see”.

During our post tooth talk Sheri brought up a subject that I’m so grateful she did. I’ve had my feelings hurt to many times to mention. The girls and I have tons of fun together but when it comes to simply “loving” things I am usually the outsider. Example; during tonight movie if I would go to put my arm around Nata , or Sanija for that matter, would typically pull away. If I tried to have Nata snuggle up with me she would lean forward to the edge of the couch or go get something from the kitchen. After a while it starts to take its toll and I get a little frustrated….and the girls know it. So Sheri told the girls that she understands that the men in their lives were not affectionate or loving to them as they were growing up. She also asked the girls if they had ever heard the term, “Daddy’s Girl” which neither one did. She went on to explain that she was a Daddy’s girl and it’s a very special relationship between a father and a daughter. And, that someday if they give me a chance they will have the privilege of becoming a “Daddy’s Girl”.  I let the girls know that I understand as well and I will be there for them for the rest of my life. I know it will take time and I promise to be as patient as I can be. “Now, give me a hug and kiss and go to bed!