We've Arrived!!

Mere Di Ta! That means ah....'Good Afternoon' in Albanian :) We have survived a very long flight over, but it was fun to see the clouds beneath us in the airplane :) We are slowly making progess with Roksana (Hannah Grace). You'll see from these photos that she mostly likes to give us glaring peeks :) The bonding process is s-l-o-w-e-r than we thought and much more difficult. The first day, Monday we met her shortly after we arrived. We were worn out from the flight and nerves, but we were so anxious to meet her. However, we do not think she had the same feeling for us! :) As you will see in the photos, she mostly likes to give us glaring stares and quick peeks.

....Yesterday, Tuesday, we played with all the children here at the orphanage and tried to get closer to Hannah. (I should say that she DID blow us a kiss and smile even on the first day, but that was from a distance...a mile or two away ;). She played well will me in the sand box, and would peek over my shoulder at Bob sitting...a mile away :) She is ADORABLE! It is so hard to not just pick her up and hold her, but she really doesn't want that at all yet. She sometime, uh, well...lots of the time cries when we get too close or a care giver leaves.

...Today, Wednesday is a new day. We both are feeling more rested, but the nerves are still raw. Hannah let me lift her up to a window and then pick her us to put her down...I held her a bit before putting her down. She cried when I held her, but she also almost put her head on my shoulder...but just for a second ....and then she came to her senses :0 She cried. Once she intentionally brushed her hand on my leg...my cup ran over :)

WE are trying hard to not get discouraged. The staff (house parents) are PHENOMENAL with their encouragement. We are so grateful for Kathy and Bob and their children's help!

Thank you all for your prayers. WE do FEEL them :) God is AMAZING and is so GRACIOUS to care for us, especially through loving, caring brothers and sisters in Christ.

Love to all!
Bob and Lori