Day 2 with Temenujka

This morning we went grocery shopping for some food to make for lunch with Temenujka. We also decided to have a small Birthday celebration for all of the birthdays that we have missed with our girl. We picked up a cake and some balloons. 

 

I love all of the snow here. Those are mountains in the distance! We are tempted to move to Bulgaria and live in one of these villages.

 

Day 2 was wonderful with Temenujka. We were able to spend most of the day with her, 10am - 6pm. And as the day progressed, she seemed more relaxed and more herself. I heard her laugh for the first time and it was adorable!

We started off our time by talking about the childhood of Tyler and myself. She was invited to share some thoughts about her life and we learned a bit more about her. She had a grandmother in the same village and she loved her. There was even talk of her going to live with her, until the grandmother died suddenly due to cancer. This poor girl has had so much pain in her life!

 

Temenujka was the honorary mayor for one day due to her excellent character. 

 

The director of this center for family type accommodations, Naina, and me. She owns this house and it is over 100 years old. She runs this non-government organization and has been working with orphans for forty years. She inspires me! I told her that I would love to do what she is doing one day. She said to look her up when all of my kids are grown, and see if we can arrange something. :-)

Next we blew up some balloons and got out some party hats to celebrate all of Temenujka's past birthdays. We brought out a cake and sang to her. We gave her birthday drawings from her siblings back home. We gave her a watch that she set on our time, so she will know what time it is for us after we leave. She seemed to enjoy it, despite all of the focus being on her. She is such a shy girl. 

 

 

Next I helped Temenujka make a shopshka salad, which has tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, and cheese. It is a very Bulgarian salad! Temenujka is quite the cook. They said she can make many dishes all by herself. In fact, she made traditional Bulgarian rolls for our lunch today. And they were amazing! This girl is so talented. 

 

This girl peels cucumbers with a knife! She has some awesome skills in the kitchen. 

 

Some yummy chicken and rice. 

 

The rolls that Temenujka made. They were delicious!

 

 

Look at that smile! I love this girl. 

 

So after lunch, we had a dance performance by Temenujka (and three other kids) that Temenujka choreographed. Then she plugged her MP3 player into the computer and played her current favorite song on it: I Love You Like A Love Song, Baby, by SELENA GOMEZ. 

 

Apparently she really likes that song, because she played it three times in a row. Ha ha. We had so much fun dancing with her! At one point, Tyler knelt down on the floor and he was exactly her height!

 

During lunch, Naina was telling us about how the kids have chores that they do everyday. With a full table of food and many people eating, I commented that I felt badly for whoever had dishes today. The reply was that Temenujka did! Ha ha. So Tyler and I helped her to clean all of the dishes. She was so positive about working hard and she did a great job. It was fun to help her. 

 

Next we played pick-up sticks, Spot It, and Uno with all of the other kids. Then later on, Temenujka asked to play pick-up sticks again. She is really good at it!

Some photos of the laundry room and bathrooms on the main floor. 

 

And they still use a trash can to put the toilet paper in. It is hard to not throw it in the toilet!

 

First visit with Temenujka

Last night I slept until about 3am, and then it was a struggle to sleep anymore. Part of it was the anticipation for today in meeting Temenujka and the other part was jet lag. 

We met Maggie for breakfast in the lobby. We had some sliced sausage, toast with butter and Bulgarian cheese, milk, and some oatmeal that I had brought along on the trip. It was delicious! Side note: the bread doesn't make me sick. I guess I am only allergic to American gluten? 

 

 

The orphanage director joined us and we talked about Temenujka's history. It was very informative and also easy to see how much Naina loves Temenujka. I could tell that she is living in a good place, and she was emotional in her excitement for us to be coming to adopt Temenujka. She said that she was also awake at 3am in anticipation for today!

Life is made up of moments, and the moment that I met Temenujka will forever be one of those cherished moments. 

 

The front of her orphanage, which is actually called a family house, where there are only five children living there with caretakers. 

 

Some fun Christmas decorations! I have seen that Christmas decorations are up many places here in Bulgaria. 

Okay, back to meeting Temenujka. When I saw her, I introduced myself (in Bulgarian!) and Tyler did the same. She smiled and then started to cry. We went off to a room on the side to give her some space and take off our coats and gloves. The next thing I know, she is running up to me and giving me the biggest and tightest hug. I held her tight and lifted her off the ground. It was a beautiful moment that I have replayed in my mind many times since this morning. 

After we hugged, she hugged Tyler. The facilitator translated her words that she had been waiting for so long for us to finally come and she couldn't contain her emotions once we were here at last. Tyler and I  have been nervous, also. We want for her to like us and to want to be a part of our family. It was very emotional for us all. 

After our initial meeting and hugging, we were taken to the kitchen where Temenujka brought out a special bundt cake - which was delicious! - that she made especially for us. And here is a photo of our sweet girl.

 

Isn't she beautiful?? We think she is such a gem of a girl. She fixed up her hair all pretty and even wore the red turtleneck shirt underneath her pink jacket. The caretakers said that she keeps all the gifts that we sent in the package (that we mailed to her in December) in a special box in her room. She was able to show us her room, also. 

 

She has framed some pictures of our family on her wall. She also said that the day that our package arrived was the best day of her life to date, until today. 

 

Look at her adorable hair! She said she wants to be a hairdresser when she grows up. She can fix my hair anytime. She is so short! I expected her to be taller. But she will fit right in with my short kids at home. Ha ha. 

The social worker came over and we had a long conversation about an array of topics with Temenujka. I felt bad for her. At one point she had three separate people talking with her. I could sense how overwhelmed she was with it all. I tried very hard to look at various things when she looked over at me. I know that she is trying to learn my face. She was so pleased that we were there. I love each smile she gave me. 

Tyler juggled for everyone and I also sang in Russian (the closest song to Bulgarian that I have). Temenujka wanted to know more about her siblings in America and wanted to know our daily schedule. We gave her some drawings from her siblings that are for her birthday - which we will miss being with her - and then she wanted to know more about our birthday traditions and other holidays. She had drawn some pictures for us, also. She is so thoughtful. Her favorite subject is art. 

She is especially excited about sharing a room with Anna and getting to know her. I asked her what colors she wanted in a quilt and she said red, yellow, and blue, in light colors. I told her that I would make her quilt before she gets home. 

She said that when she saw the first name that we had chosen for her - Sarah - that she loved it right away. She is excited to have this American name. 

We walked down to a cafeteria for lunch. Temenujka held my hand as we went. My heart melted each time she looked up at me. More precious moments with MY precious girl.

She ordered some chicken soup and meatballs with French fries and some apple juice. She ate maybe half of it all. All of the ladies from the orphanage that came with us ordered soup and bread, and none of them finished their food, either. Do people just not eat much here? I don't know. 

By this time, Temenujka was checking out due to all of the stimulation of the day. We went back to the family house and gave her the MP3 player with English music, some candy, and a notebook to journal her feelings from today - and the rest of our time with her -  until we pick her up. We are hopeful that the good feelings from today will sustain her during our separation until she is home with us at last. 

 

We couldn't be more excited about getting to know Temenujka over the new few days. And we are already wishing that she could just come home with us. 

Bulgaria

Greetings from Bulgaria! After a year of waiting, we are finally here at last. The first flight we took was to Frankfurt, Germany, and then on to Sofia, Bulgaria. 

 

Keith helped me get Ducky-Mo-Mo ready for our flight. 

 

Ready to go!

 

Eating a sandwich before boarding our flight to Frankfurt, Germany. 

 

We are ready to go! This flight was full of all kinds of international people. I met a gal from Italy and a man from Romania (who I was initially afraid of, as he was big and burly and looked like he could inflict some serious pain on anyone, but when I asked him about his homeland, he was super kind and told me all sorts of things.)

 

Ducky-Mo-Mo wishes he could sleep better on the plane. #8hourslong

 

I was incredibly impressed with a flight attendant who tracked down this gluten-free meal for me. I didn't even know it was an option to order a gluten-free meal and she was so kind and helpful. I intend to contact United Airlines to dote on her good service. 

 

On the airport tram in Frankfurt. 

 

They had this area in the airport where you could take pictures with huge paintings. I thought this one was lovely. I don't know what it depicts, though. 

Our flight to Sofia was only a couple of hours. After getting about 2 less-than-great hours of sleep on the first flight, I got another hour of sleep on the second flight. Once we arrived in Bulgaria, I wanted to soak up everything about the country, so I didn't get any more sleep. Running on adrenaline!

We picked up our luggage and our facilitator, Maggie, was waiting for us by the car rental place. We were issued a purple SUV (doesn't a purple vehicle scream tourist?) and away we drove to Pazardzhik. 

Maggie is absolutely fantastic. She loves working in a job that makes a difference and she truly cares about the children. She spoke a lot about our triplets and their files and potential situations and their strengths, etc. We are so thankful that she will be with us on our trip! 

Bulgaria is beautiful! I didn't know there were so many mountains here. And there's tons of snow - which I love! We checked in to our lodging (see photos below) and then we went to a restaurant for dinner. I was able to practice some of my Bulgarian, saying благодаря and добре, at appropriate moments. :-)

 

Ducky-Mo-Mo is exhausted!

 

 

 

The whole bathroom is a shower! 

 

 

My first Bulgarian meal: meatballs and mashed potatoes. Tyler ordered the beef stroganoff - both meals were tasty! I am always a bit nervous when eating in foreign countries, because the food doesn't always agree with me, but this meal started it off on the right foot. 

The music playing at the restaurant sounded like a mix between middle eastern music and Indian music, with a mix of Latin flare and some accordion, also. Very interesting! 

In Bulgaria, the people shake their head yes and nod their head to say no - the opposite of us! I am trying hard to not shake or nod my head at all, so I won't confuse anyone. Something else I noticed, is that they don't just shake or nod their head, they also swing it a little bit, similar to people in India. It is fun to watch!

The people here have much darker complexions than we have seen in Ukraine and Russia. Maggie says that the Ottoman Empire's control for 500 years brought about many inter-marrying. I am still trying to understand the cultural castes here, as I know the Roma people are generally looked down upon in Bulgaria. It seems like the people are either very white and Caucasian with light eyes or they have darker skin with black eyes and hair. 

 

Tomorrow we are meeting with Temenujka for the first time! I am having trouble sleeping - what with jet lag and also anticipation - but I hope that our first meeting will go very well!

Written Referrals for the triplets

After finding out that we could mail off a box of small gifts and pictures to our Bulgarian triplets, I mailed off a big box to Bulgaria. For those wanting to know how much it costs to ship to Bulgaria, this may give you an idea. #wortheverypenny #reassuringmykidsisimportant#loveisontheway

Three sets of flash cards are made up. I hope these help to bridge some of the communication barriers.

How did this guy get a mustache?! This is "Michael."

Such a handsome boy! This is "John."

My sweet little princess! This is "Sarah."

This is a Christmas card that "Sarah" made for me. Isn't it lovely? I really wish that I could have seen them prior to Christmas, but January is coming up quick!

Written Referral and Travel Timeline for Trip #1

We have good news! Our written referral has been received! Hooray!! The next step is to schedule our first trip to Bulgaria. We had been hoping to go in December, but there just isn't enough staff to accommodate our family this month. And so, we are scheduled to travel next month! It's not as soon as we would like, but we are looking forward to going and meeting our Bulgarian "triplets" in a few short weeks. And we have some holidays to keep us occupied, which should help a little.

In other news, I started taking Bulgarian lessons on www.italki.com and it has been interesting! I love a good challenge in learning a new language - so wish me luck!

Verbal Referral

We were happy to receive our verbal referral last week. Now we wait for 2 weeks to get our written referral. Once we have that, we can make travel arrangements. We hope to leave in early December. We have also received letters from Temenujka and Georgi! Hooray!

Here is one:

Hello, dear family! I was very happy when I received the letter from you and the photos of your family. Dear Jill and Tyler, I can’t wait to meet you all. I am looking forward to meeting you. I am fine. I attended a camp in the mountains close to the town of ***. The holiday house there is located in a quiet and beautiful spot. We visited many places of interest – the *** monastery, the Natural History museum in the village of ***, the towns of ***, *** and ***. It is very beautiful there, just like the park around your house. Jill and Tyler, I am impatient to meet you. I got acquainted with the members of your family. I liked you a lot. I am looking forward to joining your family. I am so excited. I’ve wanted for many years to have a family of my own, parents to love me and respect me as well as brothers and sisters to play with. Dear Jill and Tyler, I love cooking, going for a walk, riding a bike and going to the beach. My favorite color is red and my favorite flower is rose. I think it will be pleasant for us to spend our time together. I will help you with the household chores and with preparing meals. I am currently working on compiling the recipes for my favorite Bulgarian meals. I am becoming familiar with opera singing and classical music. I am interested in learning English because it is important for me that we will be able to understand one another. My biggest dream has always been to have a large family. Jill and Tyler, thank you for your wish to accept me as a member of your family. I am looking forward to our first meeting. We don’t know one another yet, but I love you! Respectfully, Temenujka

And here is the other one:

Hello , Tyler and Jill! I will be very happy to be a member of your family. I am very happy for Anna, Keith, Iryna, Calvin. As well as for the dog. My favorite color is blue. I love drawing, riding a bike, listening to music, watching TV, playing soccer and basketball. I like playing games on a touchscreen phone. I live in Bulgaria, in ***. I am from *** but I have been in *** for 5 years now. I attend a summer camp at the seaside every year. It is very beautiful there and I also love swimming!!! There is a swimming pool at the camp, we swim there, play games and I like that very much. This year we went on another camp! It was nice and our camp was in the forest. We went hiking in the mountains and we saw a waterfall that was 80 meters high. Bye! I will be happy to see you!!! In the heart: Tyler, Jill, Silas, Iryna, Anna, Maggie, Keith, Calvin, Georgi!!!!

We received this note and photo: 

Last week one of our psychologists - ***, was accompanying an adoptive family who are adopting from the same orphanage in which Georgi resides at present. She recognized him and had the chance to talk with him a little bit.  She shared her impressions that Georgi is very shy and quiet but also extremely excited about the Pierce family's upcoming visit. He wrote a letter for them and he had prepared a teddy bear to send over to them.

Isn't he so handsome? And he got this teddy bear for US. #meltmyheart

We are so excited to meet our kids!

Update on Ukrainian Home Study

We were recently told by our home study agency that they are planning to close down their office in our state. And so we are now looking for another home study agency to finish up our Ukrainian home study and to also do the post placement visits for our Bulgarians.

I have contacted a few agencies and none of them allow us to pursue two countries simultaneously. I am going to keep looking, but if I cannot find an agency that will allow this, then we will have to put our Ukrainian adoption on hold until after we bring home our Bulgarians. 

This news has been hard to swallow! But we are trying to move forward one step at a time and we are still very much committed to adopted from both countries. The only thing that concerns us is about the timing. My husband is active duty in the Air Force and we will be moving in less than two years. We are hopeful that that will allow us enough time to bring home the Bulgarians and then be able to complete the process for the Ukrainians. But, if not, then we will have to wait until our next move to begin a home study for Ukraine, as you cannot transfer home studies from state-to-state. 

An upside for this change is that Tyler will be able to travel with me to Bulgaria for the first trip. And then he will have enough leave next year to travel with me to Ukraine. That is a huge blessing. However, we were hoping to visit Ukraine in between the two trips to Bulgaria - so as not to leave our newly adopted Bulgarians when we travel to Ukraine (which seems likely at this point), but God is in charge and He will help us through that when we get to that point. 

As for an update on Bulgaria: I wish that I had one. The dossier is there and has been for over a month. I hope to receive our travel dates very soon. We thought it would be in October, but now we are thinking it will be in November. Stay tuned...

Pierce Family Adoption Video

My best friend, Sarah, made a video about our family and our upcoming adoption. I hope you enjoy this video. I cry every time I watch it.

To make a donation towards our adoption, click here.

The Dossier is on its way!

Here is Tyler...just waiting for the notary to finish our paperwork. Adoptions involve lots of paperwork. Oh, and waiting, too.

Update on Ukraine: the home study is in the final editing process and we have already started on the dossier for Ukraine.

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to ask! Hopefully I can answer them. 

I

Iryna and Keith accompanied me to get some documents apostilled for the Bulgarian dossier.

Here I am mailing our precious Bulgarian dossier! Once it arrives, it will be translated into Bulgarian and then we should receive our travel dates for our first trip to Bulgaria. We are hoping the dates will be in October.

The triplets say YES

Finally an update on our adoption! We received word that all of the Bulgarian triplets have said "YES" to our coming to visit them/officially starting the adoption process. I am calling them triplets because they are all thirteen years old and have birthdays all within two months. 🎁

Sarah and John have no reservations about this adoption (thus far), but Michael said he wasn't 100% sure that he wanted to be adopted, but he wants to meet with us, etc, so we will continue as planned to go visit all three kids. If it feels right for him, then he will become a Pierce family member. ❤️

The first trip will *hopefully* happen this fall. The Bulgarian home study is complete and Tyler and I are working on the dossier. Today we took fingerprints for the I-800a form (part of The Hague adoption process for Bulgaria).