Discoveries and Adjustments

So parenting is tough - I don't think anyone with a brain in their head would dispute that.  Parenting preschoolers is tough and exhausting - another well documented fact.  Parenting preschoolers who speak not a word of English and have been spoiled for a majority of their lives is darn near impossible - especially in a foreign country.  The girls are AWESOME - don't get me wrong, but anytime they have to go to sleep is difficult and we had honestly forgotten just how much trouble this age can manage to find.   NOTHING is sacred - Eric has "lost" his bookmarks out of his books several times, hairbows have gone missing, Michael's backpack was commandeered from day 1, toys get thrown, one sister hits another one, someone falls off the furniture that they had been told repeatedly not to jump on, one steals the other one's toy, tell mom "ne" aka "no" and run in the other direction, open the door to the apartment and try to escape while mom is dealing with one of the other sisters, they pull all of the clothes out of the cabinets and take all of the bedding off of the beds all in about 7.2 seconds.   "M" has much shorter hair than her 2 sisters.  I had kind of wondered about that and Eric and I talked a little about it in passing but this week we figured out why her hair is probably so short - little miss has an affinity for scissors.  I didn't realize that there was a pair in a drawer next to our bed where she was "taking a nap".  When I went in to check on her she had a nice little snippet of hair that she was trying to hide before she was busted.  A hair-cutter, just what I need!  "N" has decided that Michael is her least favorite person on the planet (which is RIDICULOUS since he is an absolute sweetheart to her) and will NOT sit by him or hold his hand when we are walking somewhere.  Unfortunately for her, she has 2 little sisters who need mom and dad's supervision a little more often so she is stuck with him often.  We had quite the little meltdown as we left the American Embassy today when she had to sit in the back seat with him and later we had our facilitator warn her that she WOULD be sitting next to him on the airplanes because Mom and Dad would be needed with her little sisters.  Her basic response was - I think I'll just stay in Bulgaria. ;) (Not really, but that's what her look said).  Of course then we get back to the apartment and she has as much fun chasing him and playing with him as the other 2 do.    I'm so tired and I am having to relearn some of my "coping techniques" from when Michael and Charity were this age :)
I'm also thrilled beyond belief that we got the 3 coolest and most adorable kids in this whole country - sorry to disappoint all of you guys still waiting for your referrals ;)  They are full of energy, no doubt, but they are also incredibly loving to us and each other, they are hilarious and they appear to really enjoy being a part of a family.  They jump right into anything we are doing with both feet - even laundry and after dinner clean-up.  
We are ready to come home and figure this stuff out in the comfort of our own home.  We had our Embassy appointment this afternoon - painless, and the girls' visas will be picked up tomorrow afternoon. We get to have lunch with our Bulgarian friends tomorrow so that will be fun.  We stayed with them for most of our first trip over here and I know they are excited to meet our girls.  We are scheduled to leave on Saturday morning and arrive home at 6:55 pm that same day - not that we are eagerly awaiting that or anything.   One more day....

Whirlwind of a week...

I always admire God's sense of humor.  No sooner had a posted on our blog about traveling to get our girls at the end of October and I get a phone call asking if we can be there at the end of SEPTEMBER!  Yes - do the math.  I got a phone call on Monday asking if we could be there on Sunday which means leaving on Saturday.  That's about 5 1/2 days to get packed for 6 people and get everything lined up to leave 3 children at home.  So we said, "Sure, no problem!"  Called our travel agent and grandma and I writing this post with one of my newest girls sitting on my lap.  It still seems surreal.  We hopped a flight on Saturday afternoon...

and killed time in Chicago playing a little Phase 10 (a favorite at our house).

We had a 45 minute layover in Munich which bummed Michael out since his favorite soccer team is there and he was really hoping to blow some money in the gift shop.  We at least got a picture in front of the window so we have his silhouette in Munich :)

We were picked up from the airport and taken to our apartment.  It is a 2 bedroom right near city center and is PERFECT for this trip.  2 bedrooms and lots of toys - what else could we need.    

We drove over and got the girls at about 10:30 this morning and have been on the go ever since.  Leaving was pretty emotional.  The girls were honestly loved there so it was hard for the babas (volunteer grandmothers) and workers to see them go.  It was tough on "N" as well.  She is old enough to understand what is going on a little so she was crying as we left.  She was her normal self about 1/2 an hour later and has been fine since but I'm sure there will be bouts of homesickness over the next few months

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This afternoon we had medical appointments and passport photos and applications.  We are playing it low key and staying in this evening.  It's been a heck of a week and we need to rest :)