Polish Adoption Adventures
UPDATE – 3 LESS ORPHANS!
Initial Post
First Update
Polish Adoption AdventureAn email from Rebekah to her family and friends:
Date: 3.31.2016
“This morning the court guardian gave us permission to take the kids into our care. It was quite an adventure, but we are beginning to settle in. Vicky and Krystian helped me set the table and cook hot dogs and a salad, and they are watching television now (moment of peace!). They were thrilled with their new tooth brushes and pj’s. It seems that Vicky is very self-directed and neat. She immediately went to her room and started organizing her clothes and books on the dresser. She was excited to use my hair dryer. The boys, not so much with the organizing. But we did at least put the clothes away in drawers. And they are very excited to eat cereal tomorrow morning. So far, the kids see it as a camping adventure and are settling right into family life. Who knew?”
Second Update
An email from Rebekah to her family and friends:
Date: 04.05.16
“I haven’t updated the past couple of days because I’ve been skyping with some of you, but wanted to keep the “blog” going. There is never a dull moment here in Poland. Today we took a cab to the mall, where the kids had burgers at McDonald’s. Then they went to Tesco and bought backyard paddles, more legos, balloons, coloring books, and a sewing project, since our regular toys are getting a little played out. It was actually really sunny and around 70 degrees and we were having a great time in the yard with our new toys when Victoria wanted to show me something. Chicken pox. Luckily, Krystian had it a couple of weeks ago and Voitek got the shot, so we are anticipating this as our only illness on the trip, though you never know. We are giving her a lot of Motrin and are going to find some Polish Calamine lotion tomorrow.
We went walking on the beach yesterday and saw some wealthy Polish people eating at a hotel restaurant inside. So we decided to stay outside. But it was pleasant…the kids had pancakes and fries and John and I had hamburgers. I think we will be taking some more walks there over the coming weeks, though trying not to do anything too much so it stays interesting.
We hope everyone is doing well and relish in your Skypes and e-mails. Miss and love everyone very much!”
Third Update
An email from Rebekah to her family and friends:
VICTORIA’S BIRTHDAY
It is Victoria’s birthday today. She made herself a cake, which was really more like yogurt and grapes, and served it to us this morning. Then we all went out to lunch at the other restaurant in town that’s open in April. She had nalesnike with chocolate ice cream. The boys had fries, orange juice and cola. Voitek attempted an adult-sized hamburger, and made it pretty well through.
John wanted me to mention his feats of strength this week, so I will tell you all about them. First, we had to print out pictures for the court date, and he somehow figured out how to do this at a Polish photomat where the instructions were not in English. Second, Voitek lost part of his brand-new toy because he shot it over the fence of a yard by the main road. He was crying, and John jumped over the fence from an entrance around the block to retrieve it. He is real, ladies and gentleman, not just a fictional hero.
We had ice cream and sang “stolat” to Victoria tonight. She is learning the words to “happy birthday,” though I think she is a little unsure of how to sing them. Tomorrow, the kids’ foster family is coming by to celebrate, after which we have to start packing for Tuesday. We will be sure to let everyone know when we have our final court date on Wednesday!
Fourth Update
An email from Rebekah to her family and friends:
Date: 05.06.16 | WARSAW WONDERS
We went to Olde Town in Warsaw today, where we toured the Royal Palace, which was built in the 1400s, destroyed by the Nazis, and rebuilt in 1971. There were lots of shops and we treated the kids to pizza and ice cream. Voitek was talking nonstop to the cab driver, as he does with pretty much anyone we meet who speaks Polish. Hopefully he will be just as comfortable with English soon. Later, we bought them some kites for 7 zlotes each, but two of them are already broken. There were some tears but I guess you get what you pay for.
Yesterday we went to a dinosaur museum. On Monday, we are going to the notary public to sign some papers, the embassy to get check-ups for the kids, and somewhere else to update their photos. We are hoping to book our flights home soon.
Miss everyone very much!
FINAL UPDATE
Happy adoption is final day! It has been 14 days since our court date, so today is the day the kids our officially ours. Lots of families celebrate “gotcha day” with cake and little presents every year.
Tomorrow or Friday the new birth certificates will be collected, after which we will get the kids’ Polish passports. After we have those, we can get their American visas and fly home. We are waiting to see the spelling on their birth certificates before we book our flights, but we are hoping to leave next Friday evening.
We went to the doctor’s on Monday and everything seems to be going well. Woitek needs to go to the eye doctor and Wiktoria has a cavity, plus their immunizations need to be updated, but that can all be taken care of when we get home. We went to the Warsaw zoo yesterday and the kids enjoyed the hippotorium.
Hope everyone is well and looking forward to seeing you soon!
