Better late than never...

I realized that I never finished the story of our trip. Our last hurdle was getting the Visa for Hannah. We were told that there was a possibility of getting a rude Serb who didn't like the idea of foreigners adopting 'their' children (even though 'they' don't want them). Were we going to have to jump through more hoops and not have the right paperwork, etc. I was still stressed out.
We went to the American Embassy and fortunately got a friendly Serb. We heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed we didn't have to deal with any issues on that front. The next hurdle was how long it would take to get Hannah's Visa. There were signs everywhere that said "Don't ask for an expedited Visa. We have no control over how long it takes, blah, blah, blah." We had hoped to change our flight and go home early, but we had to wait to see.
At one point during the paperwork, our processor excused himself and left for a few minutes. We didn't think anything of it. Then, instead of the same man, another man returned in his place. He was a young man who was obviously American as he said to us, "So, you're from Layton, huh?" What?! Dumbfounded, we replied, "Yes, and where are you from?" His reply - "Provo". Unbelievable. We ended up talking for a while and learned that his brother was married to my doctor's daughter. Ha ha! After we talked a little bit more, he got up and said, "I'll be back in about 15 minutes with your daughter's Visa". We just sat and stared at each other. And yes, about 15 minutes later we walked back out onto the streets of Belgrade with everything we needed to take our daughter home. Well, except rescheduled flights!
Thank you for returned missionaries who go back to the land of their service to continue to perform miracles for others. I will never doubt the hand of God in this entire adoption process.
So, instead of flying home on November 10th, we flew home on November 4th - 2 days after our trip to the Embassy. Our entire trip was less than 3 weeks, and our whole adoption process took 15 days.

Part II: The Trip Home

I think I've been avoiding writing this part of the journey because it was probably the hardest part of the whole journey. Seriously.
We got up at 4:00am to go to the airport. We flew from Belgrade to Frankfurt in a little over an hour and with almost no problems. Now for the hard part - a 9 hour flight to Chicago. Hopefully the kids would sleep most of the way. Yea, right. It was horrific. Keep in mind that Hannah wouldn't let John touch her, so I had to carry her and take care of her the whole time. She is very big and heavy. She has just been ripped from the only life she has ever known. She is on an airplane for the first time, not understanding why she can't get up and run around everywhere. I am so grateful for patient and kind flight attendants who let us wander around the back area, look out the window and let Hannah sit and lay on the floor. One attendant even came to us and said, "Have you received your ice cream yet?" and then brought the 4 of us bowls of chocolate ice cream. Nobody else got ice cream (in coach, anyway). There were times when Hannah screamed and pulled hair and hit and kicked and scratched and I thought I would not live through it. Please let all these tantrums wear her out to where she will sleep. That would be a 'no'. So 9 hours seemed like 19, and when we arrived in Chicago (Hannah instantly became a US citizen - hurray!) I wanted to weep for joy that we were back in the United States, and weep for sorrow that we still had 5 more hours to go before we got to Salt Lake City. I didn't know if I could do it. Thank goodness that Xander was an angel, but still John could have handled him.
For some reason when we went through security at Chicago they told us that Hannah didn't have a ticket. What was the piece of paper we had? They didn't know, but it wasn't a ticket. Oh my gosh. We had to go all the way back to a ticket counter and figure out the problem. Apparently they had to see her Visa, etc. now that she was in the United States. Okay, with ticket now in hand, we were off to the security line again. Fortunately, the agent told us to bypass everybody when we had her ticket and just come back up to her. It was great for us, but not for the people who were 'cut' in front of. You want to see grown people act like children, go to an airport. Anyway, we got on our flight to go home. It was a little puddle jumper that is 4 seats across. Hannah and I sat together but she was so tired she was delirious. I was able to get her to sleep but I had to hold her. My arms were asleep and absolutely killing me. I tried to move her to her seat and she woke up - screaming bloody murder. She hit me and scratched me and pulled my hair some more and wouldn't settle back down. The other passengers were trying to ignore it (nice try) and when she finally settled down and went back to sleep (me holding her), a man came up to me with his Tablet computer and asked if she might want to watch a movie. I told him she had fallen asleep again but I thanked him for his offer. I was so touched by his small act of service. He said he had kids and knew what it was like. It meant a lot to me and the reason that I mention it is because sometimes we think the little things we do have no significant meaning, but you never know how your kindness might be needed. It also took me over the edge of my sleep-deprived, exhausting journey. I started to cry and I sat there for the rest of the flight with tears streaming down my face. I couldn't wipe them away because I was holding Hannah. When we landed in Salt Lake City, I was still crying and sat there until the last person got off the plane. We made it. Perhaps a little broken, bruised, scratched and tired, but we made it.
My mom came to pick us up from the airport and we drove home. She took quickly to my mom sensing that she was a grandma (how do kids do that?). I wondered how Hannah would do in a car seat (fine) on the ride home and I wondered how she would do in a new bed in a new place. I was gearing up for another wave of tantrums. When we got home she walked (and ran) around checking out her new digs. Then we went upstairs to her room, with her leading the way. She instinctively knew her room and went immediately to her closet and checked out all her clothes and shoes. We let her get comfortable and then I put on her pajamas and put her in her crib. I stayed with her and held her hand until she peacefully fell asleep. She seemed to know that she was finally home.

Please be patient with me!

Okay, I have been chastised by more than one person for 'just dropping everybody' after we got home.  I need to remind you of a couple of things: 1) I don't like to write, and 2) I am now the mother of a 2-year-old and I am exhausted 24/7.  I WILL update this blog and fill in all the gaps, but right now I am loving every minute of being Hannah's mommy and watching Alexander be the best big brother ever!

In a nutshell, she is absolutely, totally, 100% so happy that sometimes she doesn't know what to do with herself. 

I am posting some pictures taken of her recently.  So, until next time, enjoy.

One day, I let her choose what she wanted to wear.  How do you not just LOVE that smile?!

What a sweetheart!

This morning, Hannah raided Xander's closet and put the hat on by herself.  Ah, those eyes.

So busy!

Sorry, but the past couple of days have been very, very busy.  I will update all the details after we get home.  In a nutshell, our last 'hurdle' was getting the immigrant Visa for Hannah from the American Embassy.  There was a possibility of getting a Serb who wasn't friendly towards children being adopted internationally, or having to wait for the Visa to be issued.  There was a miracle within a miracle on that one.

Stay tuned.

Ciao for now!

She's Got....Personality

I just wanted to briefly write down some of the things we have observed so far about Hannah:

5 Things she loves:

1.  Food.  I have only found 2 things she won't eat: grapes and oranges.
2.  Drinks.  Any kind.  At any time of day.  
3.  Baths.  She and Xander had a water fight tonight and she thought it was great.
4.  Music.  She likes to listen to it, she also likes to sing, and she likes me to sing to her.
5.  Mommy's undivided attention.  'Nuff said.

5 Things she doesn't like:
1.  Going to Sleep. Once she's asleep, she's great.  Just getting her to buy into the idea......
2.  Any kind of dirt or crumb on her hands.
3.  Being told she can't type on daddy's computer. 
4.  Being blamed for everything by Alexander.  Yep, it's started already. :)
5.  Mommy having the nerve to think she can eat a meal without feeding it all to her; or pay attention to anyone else for even a second.

Observations about Hannah (and I know some may be said of any 2-year-old, but still):
1.  She loves to tease and she's funny, too!
2.  She loves to be cuddled - yeah!
3.  She loves to be tickled and will let me know when she wants to be tickled.
4.  She wants to eat pretty much all the time.  She loves yogurt.  Yesterday we went to the store and she was upset about going into the store.  I picked her up and carried her inside, then when we got back to the dairy section I was looking for milk and turned around and she had filled the basket with yogurt and was quite proud of herself.
5.  When we go outside to go somewhere, she immediately says, "high" and wants me to pick her up.  I tell her she's fine and she can walk and she's pretty good for a little while before she tries again.
6.  She has learned to sign "more" and uses it without prompting.  We are now working on "please".
7.  She calls me "mama", "mommy", or "mom".
8.  If I try to change her diaper and she's not wet, she'll refuse to lay down.  Today she brought me a diaper and laid down.  Sweet.
9.  She is curious about everything.  E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
10.  She is loving and sweet and kind and happy and so very cute!

A Final Journey within our Journey

This morning we went back to the orphanage for the last time.  As we rode the elevator up to Hannah's floor, I asked Alexander if he thought she'd be mad at us.  He said, "She's going to be really mad with you, mom, but not with me and dad.".  Turns out he was right.  She didn't want to have anything to do with me.  I was a traitor who had earned her trust and then violated that trust by leaving her again.  I was heartbroken.  I picked her up (she still screamed and tried to get away) and tried to talk to her.  I told her why we had to leave her at the orphanage and that she was now our little girl and we would never leave her again!  She calmed down, but she still would not look at me. 

Her sweet, sweet caregiver had dressed her in a hand chosen outfit and tried to find her some nicer shoes for her farewell day, but couldn't find any that were her size.  She gave Alexander some fruit from the fridge (everyone gives Alexander things, which is so thoughtful).  We put on her coat and hat, got her purse, said "Ciao!" to the caregivers and her roommates and other children, and we left.  Again, Hannah was not happy about leaving - she had been tricked by this routine before.  She rode cautiously on my lap in the car (she still wasn't looking at me) and when we got to the apartment, she started crying again and I had to pick her up and carry her inside the apartment. 

It took awhile, and she wouldn't let me leave her side, but she finally forgave me and we are best of friends again.  She seems to be even more relaxed than she was the first time she was with us here.  She is watching Alexander and mimicking things he does, or she wants to do what he's doing, like go out onto the veranda.

I'm a little worried about what will happen when we leave the apartment again to go somewhere.  Hopefully, she won't think we're taking her back again.  I also think it may be quite a while before John and I are able to have a date night.

Right now she is taking a nap, along with Alexander, and now, John.  All kids asleep at the same time?  I must be a miracle mother!  I wouldn't go that far, but I will say this:  A miracle is anything that shows forth the power of God.  It is a miracle that I am Alexander and Hannah's mother.  And for this, and for all the miracles that have happened and continue to happen in my life, I am extremely grateful.

Surprise!

Gotcha!

And now, officially introducing for the first time, Helena Zorich!  Yep.  The minister signed our papers yesterday and our official adoption ceremony was today.  When we get back to the United States we will adopt her again and officially change her name to Hannah Lee Zorich.

Today we got up at 6am to leave at 8am for the town of Smederevo.  Hannah's birth parents live in this town and their center for family services was in charge of her case, so they were the officials for our ceremony.  Then, because Hannah was born in Belgrade, our translator went all the way back (45 km) to get Hannah's new birth certificate.  Once she had that she came all the way back again so we could apply for Hannah's passport in Smederevo.

A view of Smederevo from atop the fortress

The ceremony was so nice and intimate.  We were in a conference room with J, our translator, the center supervisor, their lawyer, the assistant director, and another assistant.  They had drinks and some yummy pastries and goodies for us.  Alexander had Pepsi and pizza rolls at 9am.....he was a happy boy.  Everyone got to say a few words to us about how happy they were for us and for Helena.  We read over the documents to make sure everything was spelled right and we signed the forms and it was done.  She was ours.  The supervisor had written a very nice verse for us about how wonderful it is that was are able to adopt Helena and give her a good home and he wished us the very best.  It was a lot more eloquent than that, but that was the overall idea.  We then received congratulations from everyone (you kiss the cheek 3 times in Serbia) and they gave me a HUGE beautiful bouquet of flowers, some gifts for Hannah and some gifts for Alexander. 

Red roses and Stargazer Lillies - the same that were in my wedding bouquet

Cars and puzzle pieces for Xander

 After the ceremony we had to wait for the birth certificate to come back so we spent the next couple of hours having a tour of the town.  We went inside the beautiful St. George Serbian Orthodox church, climbed the 15th century fortress built by Đurađ Branković, walked through the town square and strolled along the Danube River walkway. 

Atop the fortress, and the Danube river

Fortress Wall

We found the 300 Fitness Club.  If you join, you will look like this!

We then took the documents to the police department to apply for Hannah's passport.  When we were done we went to eat at a newly opened restaurant called "View".  It sits right on the Danube and we had fish soup and 3 different kinds of fish that were caught from the river.  One kind of fish (I forgot the name!) came whole and we just had to pull the spine out and eat the rest of the fish - there were no other bones.  All of the food was delicious, even the home made seasoned croutons and the Schwepps Bitter Lemon drink I had.  Seriously, how do we get this stuff in the states?!  After the fish was completely gone, we were all full, but somehow Baklava got ordered and I was elected to eat it.  I'm still not sure how that happened, but I was willing to make the necessary sacrifice. 

Fish head - yum!

The Danube from the restaurant 'View'

We were all so tired on the drive back to Belgrade, but I was mesmerized by the beautiful scenery and resisted the temptation to close my eyes so I could see what was next.  So many times I wish I could have taken a picture of the beautiful hills and trees, vineyards and orchards, homes, and tractors driven by little, old men with their wives riding on the trailer hitched on the back.  Alexander, however, slept almost the entire way.  Now he is wide awake and playing with his new toys (a red car and some neat puzzle pieces he can build with).  John is in bed asleep.  He didn't fall asleep until after 4am, so he was running on less than 2 hours of sleep today.  I'd say he did very well and is deserving of a long, peaceful night's sleep.  And he'd better enjoy it because tomorrow we go to get Hannah for good.  Anybody have any successful ideas of how to get a 2-year old to sleep without the aid of a crib? :) 

It was one of my favorite days ever - not just here in Serbia - and we are so grateful for all those who made the day wonderful for us.  It will be another day that we will not forget.

Right now we are smiling at the realization that we are no longer wethreezees.  We are now a family of four and we're going to need another email address to go with it.  Let the ideas begin!

And to our little miracle daughter, whom we have waited for so very long - GOTCHA!

Wow!

Two days ago we were asked if we wanted to try taking Hannah home with us and we said yes.  Approval was needed and we thought we might have it by that afternoon, but we didn't get it until later.  Yesterday we went to the orphanage and got ready to take her back to our apartment with us.  Since we didn't know how this would play out, we tentatively planned on bringing her back at 6pm.  Hannah was very excited to get her coat on and go outside, and she got into the taxi just fine.  She started dancing to the music the cabbie had on his radio and waved to all the other cars.  We got to our apartment and walked up the steps to go inside.  She was not happy about going inside the apartment.and I had to pick her up to take her inside.  I took her on a tour of the apartment, but she still kept taking me by the hand trying to take me to the door to leave.  I guess she decided not to fight it and began to explore the apartment.  In doing so, she began to be  very comfortable and came out of her shell more than we have ever seen.  She was playing with Alexander, getting into everything she could, babbling, pointing, smiling, laughing.  We were amazed.  It was like she was home. :)

So, it became time for bed and she started acting tired.  I took her into the bedroom thinking she would go right down.  Ha ha ha!  She started exploring everything on my nightstand - the Ipod, the books, the plane tickets I was using as bookmarks, the lamp that she kept wanting turned "On!".  (Other English words she knows are: mama, tickle, and banana, and I taught her how to sign 'more' and 'please'.  She loves using 'more' (she has quite the appetite) and she thinks signing 'please' is funny.).  Okay, so going to bed didn't work very well, so we went back out to the family room.  We watched 'Far and Away' and then tried again.  Yea, right.  I was a little nervous that she might not like that she was in a new place trying to go to sleep, so I played pretty gentle.  Then it got to be 11:30pm.  She was not about ready to settle down, so I had to help her along.  I held her and she kept trying to get away and this happened over and over.  She was crying and I realized that she was being a two-year old and testing me.  After a few minutes, she cried out, 'mommy' and I told her, 'mommy's here'.  That was when she went limp onto my chest, sound asleep, and she slept all night long.  Xander took these two pictures.  He's quite the photographer!

She woke up this morning at 8:00 and went right into the kitchen and opened up the refrigerator.  Apparently, it was breakfast time.  She had yogurt, toast, milk and juice.  I thought I'd better change her diaper - and she kind of put up a fuss.  The reason?  She was dry!  Then it was time to explore some more.  She loves to turn the lights on and off; she loves to put the dishes into the sink; she loves toy cars and her musical purse; she loves to dance (which is so funny, of course); she loves to tease; she loves to stick her feet in my face when I change her pants; she likes me to tickle her (she's ticklish everywhere); and she likes me to hug her and to hug me. 

She and Alexander are interacting like brother and sister.  She has allowed him to play with her and approach her without any reservations.  She watches him and then wants to do what he's doing.  John went and bought a package of diapers and Hannah decided she needed to take them all out.  Alexander decided that would be a fun thing to do, too.  In a few minutes, there were diapers everywhere.  They took a bath together and it was so cute to watch them.  Alexander LOVES his sister and she is starting to love him. 

 

She is becoming more comfortable with John.  She let him feed her a banana last night and she let him hold her hands while they danced together.  Today she gave him one of her diapers (she usually doesn't go near him), and we showed her how to give him a 'high five' and she would give him one whenever he asked.

Tonight we had to take her back to the orphanage.  Just as she didn't want to enter the apartment yesterday, she didn't want to leave today.  I had to pick her up and take her outside.  She was fine while we walked and sang while we were in the taxi.  She was fine when we entered the orphanage and I put her pajamas on and put her in her crib.  Then we were kissing her goodbye and telling her we'd see her later when the tears started.  I've never seen a lower lip stick out so far!  She cried and we had to leave immediately or I wouldn't have been able to take much more.  We walked back to our apartment and when we sat down to eat dinner, we talked about how much we missed her already.

It will be very soon when we get to be together forever.  That is if she ever forgives us for taking her back tonight.  :)