Trip Two

What a difference a direct flight makes! We got here Sunday morning with all our bags in just over 9 hours. We packed for one additional person and managed to pack 2 bags lighter than the first trip, which was a great relief. I slept through most of the day and night, getting up to eat dinner and take a walk to town with Travis. Monday we went to see a round of doctors which took about 4 hours. Each of the 8 doctors were given gifts (chocolate and cognac mostly) so that we could take the VIP route and not wait in line like everyone else. The hospital here and the clinic are not quite* the standards Americans would expect, but all in all the doctors were very friendly and happy for us.

Today we went to see our little girl and it was a great visit. My worries about tomorrow’s court proceeding melted away when we saw her, knowing that God has our family in His very capable hands. She is 19 months and is already potty-trained. Her hair has gotten longer and she has cute blond curls, with a set of dimples when she smiles! She prefers raisins to crackers and still is hesitant being near Travis, although we’ve heard that it’s common for girls to warm up to their dads soon after they come out of the orphanage. We took a lot of photos and video today too which is priceless. We both felt more comfortable with this particular visit, singing and goofing around with our little girl like our translator wasn’t in the room.

Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. we appear for court before the judge. The social worker at Konakova’s orphanage prepped us for several questions that may be asked of us, and we were told to remain calm and confident, with no crying or passing out (more on that later).