Lido

Today we took a trip to Latvian Frankie's Fun Park at the edge of town, where bus loads of tourists come in in droves, speaking all different languages. We have seen very few Asian tourists and zero African or African-American people in our time here. There are also very few red-heads (unless you count the fire-engine dye-job variety). Interesting to observe who lives here and who vacations here. Several bus loads of teen campers may have been a youth group. Made me want to pray for Frank and Chad.

There is an enormous buffet at Lido that gave us a good chance to sample Latvian dishes cafeteria style. My sausage turned out to be a meatloaf which was tasty. The kids chose chocolate covered strawberry mousse cakes for dessert, which were good. Standing "in line" with international groups is a cultural experience all by itself, as each line merged into a sea of humanity. This is not unlike trying to feed your family at Disney World without a sit-down reservation.

Hearty meat and potatoes

Then we went to their park to get our jump on. I even took a turn today. Couldn't figure out how to flip in the safety harness.

First couple times around: "I am scared!" in thickly-accented English.

Towards the end: I am not scared!

Standing at the ticket booth line, I remembered why my family never goes to the Sparkleberry Fair at home where you need to pay for each attraction individually. We look forward to going to Carowinds with friends when we return on "bring a large family on your discount friends passes" day.

Even with the cost factor, it was significantly more entertaining than toss the balloon and (Will's favorite) watch the spit fly out of the re-inflated balloon day, yesterday.

Today we are thankful that Edgars came to fix the wi-fi and that the sun was shining. We feel so connected to you! All's right in the world.

 

Will work for gummy bears

Our visit went well.

Linda, our Tukums orphan court director, says that she has seen all that she needs to see, so no second visit is necessary. We'll see her again on July 5th.

Natalia and Will sign that they would like to proceed with the adoption.

Andy and I answer a few questions but mostly we listen to an hour's worth of conversation in a language that we don't understand...with the exception of a few words like dokumenti. I wonder if this is what it will be like for our children to sit through school all day in the fall...just a rush of words going by, with only one or two landing in the comprehension zone at a time.

 

Today it rained all morning and by three in the afternoon, I was starting to get an insane case of cabin fever. As I put on my shoes, Andy looked up and said, "Where are you going? What's the plan?". He would have been more than happy to stay in and read business books.

"Plan? I have no plan. I just need to be somewhere else for a little bit, even if it rains."

Happy Latvian Ladies don't seem to notice the rain

With a half-insane wife on his hands, and kids all declaring that they want to come with me, he did the right thing and herded everyone out the door with me. We walked under umbrellas to the Boulangerie Bonjour and had a pain chocolate (croissant). Our wi-fi fizzled out at the house around noon, so we needed to find a source for Andy to check in to work. He has been hovering next to a salon downstairs all afternoon off and on in the rain trying to catch their signal.

After my cafe fix, we meandered through back street and rediscovered a crafts market we've seen only once. I asked the shopkeeper if it was like a farmers' market that was only open on certain days, but she said no, they were there all the time. We have been looking for a week and just now ran across it again. Still don't really know our way around the narrow cobblestone streets and curving alleys of Old Town that well. I love my crocheted beret.

For dinner, my old world heart won out and we had Pankukas at a Latvian creperie instead of another pizza night for the kids. This might be good tradition for our future gotcha days...pancakes for dinner night.

Then back through a park for more trampoline jumping to burn off some energy (and carbs). They were soaked through when it was over, but happy.

When we came home I bribed Will to complete one page of his handwriting practice book by offering one gummy bear for every completed page. He was happy to finish letter A and call it a day. (Brennan was exactly the same at that age.) Natalia saw what was going on and wanted in on the action. She seems to be more motivated by the reward concept and churned out page after page with great comprehension. Then Laurel wanted to know what she needed to do to earn her gummy bears. I couldn't come up with an academic challenge for her here if I tried without wi-fi so we chose fitness challenges...one gummy bear for a set of 25 sit-ups, 5 push-ups on your toes, or 50 alternating lunges. She wasn't that thrilled with the arrangement, but we tried to explain that what is challenging to Will, is not a challenge to her at all. I did the reps with her but she still preferred the academics. Sometimes I think I will need an advanced degree in motivation to do my mothering job well. Everything will not be the same for our kids. I hope that understand that quickly.

We read a notice that our apartment building will not have hot water from July 2-5.... Might be our stinkiest July 4th ever!

With no ability to post our blog tonight, we realized that I must make a great sacrifice and go off to the Double Coffee by myself for some smoothie time... I mean to find an Internet connection. :-)

Betsy, start praying again (and add hot water, or good sports to the list:-)

Goodnight all.

 

What to do?

5 little monkeys.....

 

Wake up, discover that the kids have eaten nearly every scrap of food in the kitchen.

Declare the kitchen off limits while parents are snoozing.

UNO

Spoons

Tangrams

Grocery shopping

Food prep/ clean the kitchen/ wash the clothes

See if the jeans are dry after three days.

Figure out what the strange smell in the kitchen is. Mildewing clothes?

Read Stellaluna to the kids and watch the YouTube video (the book is better)

Watch Scooby Doo or Tom and Jerry on YouTube

Dollar Store mosaics

Fold more paper airplanes

Walk in the rain to eat lunch at T.G.I. Friday's. Sticker shock... $3 for extra honey mustard to dip your chicken in...that beats the McDonalds ketchup packet surprise...eat outside but seat kids away from tshirts displayed in store window across street

Argue over who gets the bent balloon stick

Take an electronics break

Teach the kids cats cradle string games

Action Bible Story/ quiet time/ Bible study

Take a walk...go down a few different streets

Note where the pancake restaurant is for another day's outing

Play in the park/ feed the ducks

Blog or journal, send and read emails...try to think of something else to blog about

Skype with the kids, talk to the sitter

Take some pictures

 

Make something out of pipe cleaners

Color, cut shapes out of paper

English flash cards, math on the computer, Barbie phonics

Search Pinterest for interesting educational games that you can actually play on the iPad...wish I could bake those delicious looking banana bread squares

Suduko, crosswords, word searches

Make some hot tea. Argue over who gets which teacup.

Hide and go seek (really...in a small apartment)...Where's Will?

Wrestle and pretend to be a superhero

Gymnastics/ pee wee Pilates

Help someone who is whining, pouting, or just plain frustrated...talk about entitlement issues

Girls play "restaurant" and cook instant soup for our dinner. We leave a tip.

Look on the web for something to do on the expat women's site...wish I had packed my yoga mat for yoga in the park day


Figure out if we really want to go to Jurmala

Wonder what to offer the visitors tomorrow for a snack. Wonder if the kids ate the cookies I hid for that purpose.

Rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to walk 20 minutes to go to the gym across town (A) and who stays home to do Zumba....not as motivating around the coffee table and chairs....note that exercise bands are still folded up in my drawer a week later

A takes W back to the park to burn off some small boy energy

Baths...an empty yogurt cup is still pretty entertaining to a six year old boy


Bedtime kisses and prayers


Argue over who sleeps where tonight

Remember that you have a digital copy of a library book that is about to expire and stay up late two days finishing it.

Sleep in to recover

Tell yourself you don't need a snack when it's 1am and you still can't sleep

What to do when you've already done all that? Wonder what your friends are doing and get up to check email one more time.

 

Faith like a Child

There have been many questions on this adoption journey that I have not known the answer to.

Mom (former flight attendant) : What kind of plane are you flying in?

Me: Ummm, I don't know. I could probably google it, or search my email.

(answer- from Columbia: a 2x2 CRJ200 ev..in Laurel's words, not too impressive, then a big one with 5 seats in the middle, then a 3x3)

Interested friends: How long is the flight?

Me: Ummm, I don't know. We'll get there at 5pm tomorrow. (12 hours flight time)

Concerned family member: How will N and V feel about you changing their names since they are already older children?

Me: Ummm, I don't know. I assume they won't mind a bit since I changed my name to be a part of is family and haven't thought twice about it.

Curious gym member: Why do you have to stay three weeks?

Me: No idea. I think it has to do with the court date schedules.

C.G.M. : What will you be doing in between the first and second court dates?

Me: Hopefully seeing the sights. Our Latvian librarian friend insists that we must go to Jurmala (yourrrrr-muh-lah) and see the Baltic Sea.

Incredulous bystander: Why are there three trips?

Me: Can't remember. I think I read about it in the enormous packet our adoption agency sent us, but I can't remember anti about it. We'll find out when we get there.

I spoke with a friend last Sunday who likes to know all the details. It must seem a little bit crazy. But, we are taking steps of faith, one day at a time. We understand completely that we are at the mercy of those who know more than we do, and are indebted to their guidance and counsel.

For those who think, by personality, that they could never deal with all the unknowns of a faith journey, I assure you that God is faithful.

Or, is God calling you to take a step of faith of another kind? Take the first step.

 

 

Sabbath, Day 8

Today marks the beginning of week two. On Tuesday, an official from the court will visit us and see how we are getting along as a family.

Next Friday we will travel back to the orphan court for more paperwork, apply for a visa, and prepare to come home in two weeks. But, all the other days we are hanging out waiting. We have already walked circles around the city and are wondering how to use our days. We are missing Brennan and Mary Jayne and are thankful that Mom is taking such good care of them. We are missing the routine of church on Sundays, and being able to go to the gym or watch a show in a language that we understand. After about one week, we are usually ready to pack it up and head home to our own beds, but God has something for us here, so we will try not to wish it away. Here's what we do when we are not walking around the city....waiting for it to quit raining.

Andy promised the kids that we would go to McDonald's for breakfast, but we learned from the Internet that they don't serve breakfast here (just muffins). Last night we walked all over the city to find a place called Lulu's pizza that we had read about in a guidebook. We found it, but guess what? It was closed for the holiday. There was no sign on the door, but Latvians would have understood why. Lucky for us, there was another pizza restaurant on the next corner.

A walk in the rain

McDonald's for lunch....about the same menu, but they charge 30 cents for each ketchup packet.

My allergies are doing much better today, thanks for your prayers, the rain, and meds.

We spent the afternoon figuring out why our blogging program didn't work anymore. We struggled because the google homepage comes up in Latvian and I had to translate every line of the credit card interaction. Several hours later...we're back on. Makes me greatly appreciate Google translate.

Natalia told me that she knew how to make "soap". I was very surprised until I realized that she meant "soup" and was ready for dinner (smile). She and Laurel both like to help cook. Instant soup is about all we're fixing around here, but I'll try to teach them more when we get home.

 

 

 

Same, but different...Names, Families, and Friends

Same, but different. As Natalia and I have worked on her math and writing, she is having to unlearn many of the things she has done for years. We use the same alphabet and numerals, but with some differences. Her number one looks like our seven. Her number nine looks like our lowercase letter g. Her letter J makes a Y sound. There is no letter W or Q. E and I are tricky. Think about it, how do you know the difference between a capital letter I and a lowercase letter l ? You recognize a typed lowercase "a" as well as the kind of "a" that we print. Lots of information to take in. How did we ever learn to read and spell in English?

Words that Will already knows. Thanks for the loan Gennie!

I pray for our children that they will be able to adjust with ease as they step into our culture, language, and way of doing things. So far they are adusting beautifully. We showed them our Latvian adoption documents. As far as the courts are concerned, I am Terina Vilhoita Deivisa married to Endru Ficpatriks Deiviss. (Andy's name is even written two different Latvian ways in the same document, but Natalia says that's a typo.) So, when we had them practice their American names, there wasn't any issue at all. "See? My maiden name, Wilhoit, is Vilhoita in Latvia. Your name, Vilnis, is Will in America." In practice, though, all the names are floating around. Andy goes through them all. "Will! Vilnis!..." I prefer the diminutive, Vilnie, when he is acting like a small upset kindergarten boy. (Like when his sister got honey on her bread and he didn't. "Look, Vilnie, it's right here.")


We do this too in our country. Think about it. Tommy grows up to be Tom, but his birth certificate says Thomas. We will introduce him as "Will" to American friends, but don't expect Natalia to start calling him something different. Natalia is just a one letter change since American would mispronounce her name as Natali-JAH.

They don't use middle names here. Our adoption attorney has no idea why Vilnis had two last names. We assumed Kastello was a middle name and are keeping it, but it may have been something like families who hyphenate their kids' last names.

So, as far as we can tell, the name change thing is not a big deal. A much bigger deal is leaving everything and everyone they know behind. Natalia has something like a Facebook account here and has been emailing her school friends goodbyes. She showed us pictures of her "old" (foster) families. I am praying especially for her that God would surround her with caring new friends at church and at school, so that she will not grieve that loss for long. Families of rising fifth grade girls, be watching out for us. Will is still young enough that he goes with the flow over big things (like moving to America), but loses it over little things...like "It's time to leave the park now."

Thanks for praying with us over things both large and small.

Wonder what our new names in heaven will be? (Revelation 2:17)

 

Same but different, learning how to live here

Some of you have been asking about several things about our stay here. I'll try and post today to answer some of those questions.

It has been interesting living here noting all the things that are almost the same but different. It took Laurel a while to figure out how to flush the toilet and not spray water all over the bathroom with a handheld shower. It took both Andy and I looking together to figure out how to work the stove to heat up a bowl of soup. There is no place to leave a tip if you use a credit card in a restaurant, but they gladly accept a few lats on the table. You do not hand money directly to a merchant, but place it on a little tray beside the cash register. (We figured that out by watching Natalia.)

Laundry hanging out to dry in the kitchen

(Laura and "Gabriella", Andy would like you to know that he does help with these.)

A woman with a heart for adoption named Inese helped us find this apartment. Daina says that we are really lucky because many of the apartment buildings are much less modern and it is hard to find an apartment at all in the summertime when people are vacationing here. We are right across the river from cruise boats that regularly bring loads of people around on tours through the city. We've thought about listening in on the tour guides, but so far, they've all been speaking other Baltic languages.

Our apartment has luxury items such as a heated tile floor in the bathroom (which is probably really appreciated in the VERY COLD winter). But there are other things which we consider standard, such as a dryer that are missing. I would have to become an avid ironer here, or invest in a dry weave fabric wardrobe. At home I give most things a quick shake out of the dryer and that's good enough for trips to the gym and Target, but that wouldn't fly here with the crunchy clothes and wrinkles.

We have sparkly light fixtures and a zebra rug, but I would have preferred a noise-muffling fan in the bathroom since we are in close quarters.

This is my favorite bathroom sign:

Bring some change (20 santims) for the W.C. at the park to unlock the door if you (or your kid) has a tiny bladder.

I once locked myself into the bathroom in our apartment before I figured out that you have to turn the lock around two times before the door will open.

 

In the name of economy, or perhaps because most of the time it is frigidly cold and therefore unnecessary, there is not always air conditioning in stores. There is a different style of casement windows for ventilation. Things like bread and water are very reasonable, but clothes, gas, and souvenirs are very pricey.

Every restaurant we have been to has offered communal colored pencils instead of crayons to use while the kids are waiting. Drinks are served without ice (which is a good thing since we are advised by our travel nurse not to drink the tap water). It seems to be perfectly acceptable to let birds fly into your restaurant and build nests above customers' heads while they are dining. Gives everyone some entertainment while they are waiting.



We've already mentioned the brown bread, sodas, and bring your own bag policies. There are "hypermarkets" at the edge of town, but be prepared to carry your groceries if you are staying in town without a car. (Thanks Gennie for the fold-em-up sack. We use it everyday.)

You might find a tv show in English but it will be dubbed over in Russian or Latvian too.

Somethings are different, but we really have all that we need and more.

Vive la difference