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Today has been a much better day for Miss Lily. After a good night's sleep, Lily and I laid in bed this morning for about an hour while I ran my fingers through her hair (she LOVES this) and snuggled. Loved walking into our hotel room this afternoon and seeing our pillows lined up! While Richard went downstairs to get breakfast for us, I gave Lily a bubble bath. At first she was not quite sure about it, but after about a minute she sat down and started splashing and playing with the bubbles until they all disappeared. After baths and breakfast we decided to take Lily for a walk. She was thrilled to ride in the stroller and to finally be outside. We walked down to see some of the historical sites (Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Russian Church, etc.), then grabbed some lunch at McDonalds (we generally try to avoid McDonalds and enjoy the local cuisine when we are in other countries, but, because food is an issue for Lily and we knew she would eat the fries, we decided to stick with what...

Today was an emotionally exhausting day for everyone. As much as I would like to report that Alexis walked back to her group with an understanding smile on her face and Lily walked out of that orphanage never to look back, that is just not how things went down today. Let's face it, adoption is rarely all sunshine and roses. Fortunately, we understood that when we signed up! We were able to visit with Alexis for about an hour this morning. I knew from the moment that she walked into the room that this visit would be different. While she normally runs down the hall yelling our names and burst into the room and into our arms, today she simply walked into the room, stopped and stared at us. She absolutely knew what would be happening today and she was not at all happy about it. For the most part, she kept her distance from us today and throughout the visit she would ask us again and again why we were taking Lily and when we would be taking her. We were able to catch a small glimpse of ...

Today was our last full day of visits with Alexis and tomorrow we will have to say a temporary goodbye to a beautiful little girl who has completely stolen our hearts. My heart is breaking just thinking about leaving Alexis behind. Of course, it will also be an incredibly joyful day because Lily will finally be free to walk through the front doors of her orphanage and her new life will begin. I am so excited I can hardly wait! The roller coaster of emotions continues. The girls are blessed to be in a wonderful orphanage (as wonderful as an orphanage can be of course). The children here are well-fed, well-dressed, and very well loved. They receive therapy (physical, occupational and speech) on a regular basis and even celebrate birthdays and holidays (complete with gifts and goodies). The psychologist at this orphanage is a gift! She works primarily with the older children in the orphanage,but she also takes the time to hold the babies and provide needed stimulation for them which helps...

From the first time I met Lily, all she has ever wanted to do is walk through the front doors of her orphanage, get in the car and leave this life behind. She loves to stand in the window and watch the cars come and go and she is constantly asking when she will get to "go in the car." This morning she stood in the window again, watching the world around her from "behind bars", and it struck me that, in just a few short days she will finally be free of those bars. Free to run, free to play, free to fully experience all of God's amazing creations and free to finally get in that car and go. . ..home. Freedom is near my sweet girl and I cannot wait for you to taste it! We had another wonderful day with Lily and Alexis and I cannot help but feel blessed and privileged by the opportunity that I have to be their mommy. When they bring the girls to us for our visits I can hear Alexis coming from a mile away! "Mamo? Mamo! Kuhde? (Mommy where are you?)" and wh...

I already love the relationship that Richard and Alexis have developed. They both love to tease each other and, even though they don't speak the same language, they always seem to know what they other is trying to say. This video puts a smile on my face every time I watch it! Enjoy!

Alexis Rayna Rieben It has been an incredible, incredible day and that doesn't even begin to describe the joy and gratitude we feel! We started the day by officially meeting Ladybug #3, to be known from this time forth as Alexis. I had the opportunity to meet her earlier this year while visiting with Lily, but didn't get to spend much one-on-one time with her then. Let me just say, this girl is NUTS and we absolutely adore her. Our Heavenly Father could not have picked a more perfect child for our family! She is so full of personality and she kept us laughing all day long. She and her daddy had an especially good time together today and I think that they are going to be two peas in a pod! She is loving, outgoing and bossy (watch out Maren) and she is SO excited to have a mommy and daddy. We heard the words "Mamo" and "Tate" (tah-te) (mommy and daddy) no less than 500 times today. I can only imagine how good it must have felt to finally be able to have a mom...

We made it! Although the flights were long and we are exhausted, we arrived with all of our baggage, and without incident. Flying high with Flat Stanislav Richard and Flat Stanislav waiting to board the plane in Dayton Toni and her brother Marty met us at the airport and dropped us off at the hotel where we showered and napped. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Sofia enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. How I have missed Bulgaria and how excited I am to be able to share this experience with my husband this time around! Tomorrow morning we will have the opportunity to attend a small branch of our church. We are really looking forward to spending time with the wonderful church members/missionaries here in Sofia. Tomorrow afternoon we will leave for Stara Zagora and on Monday we will begin our visits with Ladybug #3 and get to see sweet Lily (though, she will remain at the orphanage until Friday at her director's requesst). I cannot wait to see my girls again...

In just over 12 hours, we will leave for the airport. As the song goes, "all our bags are packed, we're ready to go!" Two backpacks, a duffle, a Ukrainian "carpet bag" filled with orphanage donations, and a stroller for Alayna. For those of you adopting older children unable to walk, this umbrella stroller is AWESOME! It is The First Years Ignite and it can hold up to 50 lbs. and is very sturdy (50 lb. Lukas helped us test it out), but lightweight and folds up nicely for travel. We won't be able to bring Alayna's wheelchair home with us, so this stroller will be priceless, especially as we navigate the airports! Although this week has been busy and, at times, chaotic, we managed to finish all that needed to be done this afternoon and we were able to spend the evening relaxing and enjoying our last night as a family of seven! In addition to the packing, I also managed to finish one of the quilts I have been working on for the girl's room. It is now r...

It has been an exhausting and emotional week of preparation. Preparation for our trip, but more importantly, preparation for transitioning two more children into our family. Having been through this process before, I know that we will have to hit the ground running once we return home. Hit the ground running with two little girls who will, no doubt, be experiencing some level of grief and trauma from having their lives turned upside down (regardless of whether that change is positive) and five other children who have been without their mommy and daddy for two weeks. Doctors appointments, visits from the social worker, paperwork and another round of fingerprints (for the adoption of Ladybug #3) already occupy the first week home. In anticipation of the chaos that is sure to ensue upon our arrival home, I am working hard to ensure that our newest little ones will arrive home to a peaceful, loving and organized home where the focus, despite our crazy schedule can be on helping them transi...

This afternoon I sat down at my computer, opened my email and found this waiting for me: My beautiful Bulgarian princess, Alayna, soaking up some sun and daydreaming of mama (okay, I doubt it, but a mama can dream right!?)! My friend Amanda and her husband Tim are currently in Bulgaria meeting their two Bulgarian sweethearts. Their daughter-to-be, Gloria, is in the same orphanage as Alayna and they were kind enough to snap this picture for me and send it my way! What a gift! Needless to say, I have been staring at it all afternoon. I dream of the day when I can finally have this little lady in my arms forever and see her sweet face every single day! After such a long journey, that thought seems so surreal, but in just a little over two weeks, that dream will finally be a reality! I can't wait!