Talked with Gertrude

Today is the day seven children are coming to Georgia for the Christmas hosting. As you know, we were unable to get Gertrude this time around. I asked her if Kristine and Olegs (her friend from the home) left today for America and she answered "yes" in a really sad voice. When I asked if she was sad she couldn't come, she answered again, a sad "yes." Poor baby! It must be hard to see her friends go, the same ones that came over the summer, and have to stay there. Especially at Christmas. It would be so special for her to be here and I know she would have such a great time.

Still no news. No news is good news?? I don't know! Maybe in Latvia no news is just no news.

Anyway, I have e-mailed with some of the families receiving their kids today. They are SO excited! We are going to get together with Ilga, the chaperone, and will spend some time with Gertrude's friends, Kristine and Olegs. Kristine's hosting parents have a court date on Jan. 29 for their first trip to Latvia to adopt Kristine. They are really happy..they had some delays as well and the whole thing was set back a few months. So, things are finally rolling for them. We pray Kristine will soon be here permanently and that Gertrude won't be too far behind!

Could Be a While

We received an e-mail from attorney, Agnese, that the next step will be for the case to go to District Court to terminate Gertrude's dad's rights. After that, she said "if the judgment will be effected on" then the Ministry will be involved again and work toward getting Gertrude cleared. I am not sure why she said "if" the judgement....I don't know why there would be any question. This is difficult when you don't even know what's supposed to happen, let alone how long it will take! I told Agnese we will try to be patient and not contact her too often. She did say it will not happen very quickly but she doesn't know how long. We are hopeful it will all be done and we can pursue and complete the adoption before our dossier expires. If not, that will be more work and expense for us to have that redone. Also, the sooner we can have Gertrude home, the better for all of us.

Court Decision on Dad

On December 5, 2006, the Orphancourt made a decision to deny rights to Gertrude's father. This is what we were hoping for! Not to say of course, that we are happy to keep a father from his daughter, but from what we have heard about the dad, life with him would be a bad and possibly dangerous place for Gertrude to be. Now we have to wait for the rest of the legal process, which we believe is to have another court date to officially terminate his rights, check out his side of the family to see if anyone wants to care for Gertrude, then if nothing comes of that, clear her again for adoption. We are not sure how long this will take, but we are learning patience through this whole ordeal! We just hope Gertrude is ok. She is probably very confused, as her dad has filled her head with fantasies of her coming to live with him, sharing the family name, and now that isn't going to happen. This has to be hard on Gertrude, even if he is not someone that is healthy for her. He is still her dad and I'm sure she loves him no matter what has happened in the past. Now, I say that, not really knowing what has happened in the past! We just have to guess based on bits and pieces of information we get. This information seems to add up to an unhealthy and potentially dangerous situation for Gertrude so this decision is probably for the best.

As I said in an e-mail to many of our supporters, we have received information that Gertrude and her half-sister have been visiting her parents regularly and there is an emotional attachment there. We hope that Gertrude will be with us one day but are not sure what is best for her. Possibly being adopted in country would be best, so she could more easily maintain a relationship with her family. However, an adoption within her country is unlikely. So, we just continue to pray that whatever is best for her is what will eventually be the outcome. Gertrude is a precious little girl that deserves a happy life and however that can be attained is how it needs to be. I would like to share a response I got to this e-mail from a friend who led a Bible study I was in recently. I just met her at the Bible study and we don't know each other that well, but she has been such an encouragement to us. Here is what she wrote:


Your prayer for the outcome that is best for Gertrude reminds me of the story in 1King 3:16-27, where the king had to decide which of two women was the "real" mother. When the king commanded that the child be cut in two, the true mother "was filled with compassion for her son" and she pleaded with the king to give her son to the other woman. I believe God will do what is best for Gertrude. I pray that the eventual ruling will be the same as this story... 27 Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. ....she is his mother." I know how much you love Gertrude and I believe God will honor your love for her. I'm praying!

This last statement is reminiscent of another comment I received just before we got Gertrude for the hosting. Another hosting parent, that now has their adopted daughter with them, told me she "knows I am Gertrude's mother." She didn't know exactly why but she felt very strongly about this before any of us had even met Gertrude. This gives us hope that one day this will be true in the full sense of the word. However, if we are not her parents legally for some reason, in our hearts she is ours. We will continue to pray for her, call her, write and send gifts to her, and be her "American family" for as long as she will have us!

Screeeeching Halt

Well, we had a great trip to Latvia for a short time, but had an abrupt end to our visit. I have included some pictures here so you can see our precious girls and that we did go to Latvia, even though we are farther behind in the adoption than we were when we left. Please ignore the dates on some of them. Our digital camera has a bit of a problem keeping track of the date! So, about our setback... four hours after going to court with Gertrude and gaining temporary custody of her for the 2 weeks, her biological dad showed up to the Orphan Court with a birth certificate naming him as father. He claimed he wants to take her out of the children's home to live with him. Apparently, two weeks before we got there, Gertrude's mom and this man (maybe dad) went to the records office, told them this was dad, and had a new birth certificate issued. Once they had this "father" they said we cannot retain custody for the two weeks, and the following day we went back to court and gave custody back to the children's home. No more need for us to stay in Latvia, so we came home a week early. It was pretty devastating, as we thought we'd have her the whole time and we'd be halfway through having her permanently when the 2 weeks were over. But, on Tuesday after court, Gertrude went back to her home, and received a new last name, "Kivlina." Now the court is investigating her dad, and on Dec. 5 is a hearing to decide if he should have rights. From what we hear, he lives in a drug house, he drinks, and obviously has not taken care of his daughter for the last 10 years. It looks like they will probably rule against him, but we won't know for sure until Dec. 5 is over. We are praying for whatever is best for her, which from what we think we know, terminating his rights would be best.

While we were with Gertrude, we had a great time. We got her Friday right after we got to Latvia so we had her for 3 almost 4 days. At the children's home we got to meet her sister, who is a beautiful girl and she was very sweet. We planned to take her sister, Agnese, with us the following weekend to stay with us and go to the water park, but unfortunately that next weekend never happened...we were on a plane to Atlanta instead. Ok, back to Gertrude...the Friday before we left she spent the day with us until about 8:30 that evening. We had a great time in Latvia, and many of our friends that were here over the summer, as well as some other great people, took us under their wings, showed us around and transported us here and there. Latvia is definitely a different kind of place, but it was a great experience. We stayed in a really nice apartment with most of the modern conveniences.

Gertrude had a great time but she is very confused as to what she wants to do. She feels a loyalty to her parents and sister, to stay in Latvia. She also loves us and America and wants to be adopted. She is easily influenced by those around her, and seems to want for herself whatever those that she is with at the time tell her. It makes us a little nervous because if we are able to pursue adoption, she may waver as to what her decision is. Supposedly the Orphan Court gives them the right to decide, but at such a young age they largely make the decision for them. However, it still could cause problems and delays if she is unsure. We plan to bring her home after our next 2 week visit, so she is with us between court dates. Many of the families that have adopted recently have been able to do that, and we plan to do so as well if they will give us that permission. We think this will help her to be more comfortable with the adoption and to be away from negative influences during the adoption process.

We pray we will have her with us one day soon. She is such a precious little girl, and so deserving of a better life. Also, she and Tena get along so well, they are like best friends and sisters. Tena took the bad news of our adoption obstacles very well, and she is optimistic that this will all work out. We sure hope she is right!!

Probably won't be back to update the blog until after Dec. 5 when the court makes its decision regarding her dad. Hopefully will have good news!

We're Off!

Well, things have been so incredibly busy since we got our court dates. I have been to Wal-Mart and Target at least three times in the last three days, getting all sorts of things we need for our trip, mostly warm clothes which we don't really need here! We are leaving tomorrow afternoon and I just now realized I haven't been keeping up with the blog. So many things to do, it was the last thing on my mind.

We are having some problems with our laptop so don't know if we'll have internet. If we do, I'll try to keep up some with the blog so everyone can know what is happening.

We found out recently that we will be able to get Gertrude on Friday, the day we arrive, to stay with us for the duration of our trip. Normally you have to wait till court (which isn't until Monday) when they give you temporary custody, but the orphanage director has agreed to let us have her early. We are really happy about that. Tena is so excited, she can't wait to see Gertrude, but I think her favorite thing right now is missing school. Even though her teachers gave her a lot to do over the course of two weeks, she feels like she is on a great big vacation from school while everyone else has to go.

Jennifer Peters, and Helen Vipase, two people very involved with the orphans and hosting program, have lined up some people to be "facilitators," while we are there. Most of them are on Helen's staff and we have their numbers so we can call them to take us places, translate for us, etc. Transportation isn't easy there and some of the couples that have gone before us have actually had to walk to at least one of their court appearances (2 1/2 miles in a foot of snow!) So, hopefully we can avert that by calling on these women.

Better get going..lots of packing still to do, etc. We are looking at 12 hours and 20 min. of traveling tomorrow..should be fun!!

Told Gertrude the News

I spoke with Gertrude yesterday and said we are coming to Latvia on November 10. She answered with her usual "yes" but it was a definitive and excited one. I asked if she is happy we are coming and I got another excited "yes." We are working feverishly to prepare for our trip. There is so much to do it is mind-boggling but we're getting there! Besides the normal packing for a trip, there is gifts to get for orphanage directors and kids in the orphanage, phones to use in Europe, adaptors and converters, and the list goes on! Plus all the normal tasks of daily living before we go.

We got an e-mail today from the Minstry today actually naming Gertrude. Now we are sure we're getting the right child! The subject was "warrant" which automatically made my heart jump a beat, because I usually equate that word with "warrant for your arrest" or a "search "warrant" but it was a warrant to allow us to get acquainted with adoptable child, Gertrude Liepina. So, of course we replied that we accept and wish to proceed. Soon we will see our little girl. It is hard to believe we are actually going but it's coming fast!

We're Going to Latvia!

So, where were we? Ok, we received the e-mail from the Ministry in Latvia giving us rights to adopt a girl age 7-11 years. On Wednesday we received another one describing Gertrude as the girl they had available for us, and we replied that we accept. Then yesterday, Oct. 27, Agnese e-mailed us our court dates---my birthday was the 26th so this was a great present! We have dates of Nov. 13 and Nov. 24, which is excellent. This means we will only have to be there 2 weeks total. Usually the court dates are exactly 2 weeks apart, so you end up being gone over 2 1/2 weeks. Tena will only miss 8 days of school, when we originally thought she might miss 3 weeks. This is because one of the weeks we are there is Thanksgiving week, when she doesn't have school anyway, and our court dates are 3 days closer together than we thought . Scott will only miss 2 weeks of work. It is really working out well. We found airfare on Travelocity and for all three of us we are only spending $2,300.00 It might sound like a lot but the fares seem to be generally closer to $1.000 each so I think we made out. We are a little concerned about where we are staying, however. Our attorney has found a place for us that is suitable and sounds nice but you never know. We know of 2 places that are decent (one that is actually "nice") that others have stayed in but may not be available. So, who knows what we'll be looking at? We hope to have internet access but not sure of that either. It is much easier to communicate that way we have been told.

Tomorrow we will call Gertrude and tell her we will be there on the 10th and she will stay with us. I have been told she will not have to go to school during that time so we will have her with us all day! We are happy for that for 2 reasons..we get to spend more time with her, and we don't have to go through the hassle of getting her to/from school every day. Transportation there is not nearly as convenient as it is in the U.S. and it could be a real bear taking her and picking her up every day.

We're excited to see Gertrude and the place she has called home for the last five years. Also to meet her half-sister. This will be an interesting experience in this country. The stories we have heard are amazing...I get the feeling we'll have a good time but will be very ready to come home after the 2 weeks! So, lots to do to get ready to go and not much time to do it in. Better get busy!

Official Notice

Well, we finally received an "official" document from the country of Latvia. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, we received an e-mail from the Ministry of Family Affairs that we are now approved and have "rights" to adopt out of the Republic of Latvia, a girl age 7-11 years old. They are required by law not to mention a particular child's name, but they have her name and personal code (like our SS #) and we will be matched to Gertrude in the end. Basically this letter shows that our dossier was in order and it looks as though we will be suitable parents in their view. Next, they should contact us that they have a child for us, and we will accept, then the dossier will go to the Orphancourt. We expect to be assigned our court dates within a week!!

Dossier Translated, It's getting Closer!

We received some great news from our attorney today. Our dossier has been translated and sent to the Ministry. Also, the social worker at the orphanage is going to notify the Ministry that Gertrude is now available for international adoption. The Ministry(of Family Affairs) is the department that matches the adoptive parents with a child. Once they have our dossier, and the social worker tells them the orphancourt decision was to allow her to be adopted abroad, they will officially match us with Gertrude. Then the documents will go to the orphancourt and they will set a court date. The dossier was translated in one week which is faster than I have ever heard of this being done! Usually it takes at least a week and a half, sometimes two weeks.

We talked w/Gertrude this morning and she was very quiet, and there were a lot of people talking in the background. She wasn't as excited and she didn't say much. We asked her about Halloween and if she is going to dress up. She said "yes" but we are not even sure they have Halloween there. We have received conflicting information on that. So, the ups and downs continue with our phone calls to Latvia! I'm sure she enjoys hearing from us though...it is just a nice reminder to her that she is loved. That is something she and all these kids over there really need. So, if we don't necessarily get that much out of each phone call, we believe that she does, and we are happy to brighten her day a little.

Talk with Gertrude-She May Understand What's Happening

Well, our dossier is now in the hands of our attorney (whew!!) She will take it on Monday to get translated, which will take 1 1/2 to 2 weeks.

We talked with Gertrude today and she answered the phone and sounded very happy, and said "hi, I'm playing Monopole!" We played "Monopole" (Monopoly) here a lot with her last summer. We told her we think we will be in Latvia in November and that she will stay with us in an apartment. We said we would have lots of fun and we would go to the waterpark. She was very responsive to us and seemed to understand more this time for some reason (maybe my Latvian is getting better!) I asked her if it is cold there and she said yes, and "gray." We looked up the weather on the internet for Riga, Latvia after we got off the phone and it said it was 52 degrees and rain showers. So, seems we talked weather successfully! I think she may understand some of what is happening with her case because she seems more excited these days. As it gets closer we are getting more excited. We looked up airfares to Latvia and apartments in Latvia just to see what we're looking at. Seems fares are going down. Apparently fall/winter must be low season in Latvia. Guess not too many people want to travel to a place where it's dark almost 12 hrs a day and 10 degrees for vacation!

Dossier sent, Gertrude Cleared!

Finally, action is happening! There was an orphancourt session on Tuesday, Oct. 3, to clear Gertrude for international adoption. According to our attorney it was "positive" and she should receive written documentation by the end of this week. We sent our dossier in Tuesday, Oct. 3, same day as her clearance. Everything was ready to go by Friday, Sept. 29, except the Department of Family and Children's Services had never run their check on us even though they had our consent for almost 2 months. We had to wait, and call, and fax, to get them to finally do it, and it was faxed to our home study agency Tuesday morning. I picked it up, got everything apostilled, went home, and sent it out. What a relief to have that gone (although I am nervous about it until I hear the attorney has it in hand!)

The dossier will take about 2 weeks to translate. Now we just have to wait, and soon we will hear of a court date. Hopefully we will hear tomorrow that the dossier has arrived.

A Better Talk

Today we talked with Gertrude and she answered the phone much more animated and she also asked "what're you doing?" to me and to Tena when she answered. I am wondering if she might know that things are moving along for her adoption. I'm sure it seems very surreal while they are living day to day in the orphanage, and have seen other kids leave and be adopted but never them. We talked about what sports she is involved in at school and how the weather is in Latvia, and if it dark all the time there yet. We all talk to her over Skype, an internet phone service which costs us 15 cents per minute to talk to Latvia. We speak through a microphone and hear Gertrude through the speakers, so we can all talk and listen together. I am thinking of having a friend's Latvian son come over one day and just tell her some of the things we want to say to her (for example, when we get our court date, that we are coming and she will be staying with us) and such. I may have to pay a small translating fee but I think it would be worth it! Everytime we talk to her we miss her more and can't wait to go on this trip, and especially can't wait till this process is over and she's home. It's amazing how we can love a child so much that we only had for one month, but that just tells me this is God's plan and meant to be.

Moving Fast!

Wow, things seem to moving so fast now that we have contacted our attorney in Latvia. Even though we have not, and cannot officially retain her until our home study is complete and dossier sent in, she has worked and sent me several e-mails updating us on the progress of Gertrude's clearance. The latest is, there is a court date set for October 3 to make the decision to clear her. We do not attend and Gertrude does not attend. Gertrude's relatives have already been interviewed. Unless there is any change in a relative's consent to let her come here, she will be cleared on the 3rd. This is MUCH quicker than expected. The attorney said it is possible we will be able to travel for our first court date as early as the end of October!!

We talked with Gertrude on her birthday. We sang to her (in English) and said Happy Birthday (in Latvian). I told her that next year she will have her birthday in America with us and she said "yes" as she always does, but it was a much more enthusiastic and excited yes. By George, I think she got it!

So, we will continue to pray and keep our fingers crossed that there will be no complications between now and Oct. 3 and she will be free to be adopted internationally after that time. We contacted our social worker to see if she can get our home study completed ASAP so we can get our dossier in around the same time as Gertrude's clearance.

Documents at the Orphan Court!

Agnese spoke with Gertrude's social worker and the orphanage has done their part to start the process to clear Gertrude, which I think is just sending documentation over to the Orphancourt. She also spoke with the orphan court and they have received the documents from the orphanage. Now they can formally start the process to clear Gertrude for international adoption. They did not tell Agnese if they have spoken with any family members yet. Family has to consent for Gertrude to be adopted abroad. Now that we know Gertrude has agreed, we have to wait for the relatives to agree. This is truly a scary and stressful time for us! The whole process of clearing her, if all goes well, should take 1-1.5 months. We could travel to Latvia anytime after that.

Tomorrow is Gertrude's 10th birthday. Our little girl is growing up. Seems like yesterday she was only 9! We will give her a call and hopefully will get to wish her a happy birthday ON her birthday. We talked to her on Monday, and told her that it was Pop's birthday that day. She gave an excited little gasp. I THINK she understood what I said. I did say it in my best Latvian! One of the other families is traveling for their first court date and will be their for their future daughter's 9th birthday. Wish we could be there for Gertrude's but hopefully she knows we are with her in spirit and that we really want to spend her birthday with her. Well, next year we will have that privilige and the next and the next...!

Tidbits of News

We talked with Gertrude again on Sunday, Sept. 10. I really don't think she understood anything we said. The English has all but disappeared it seems, so it was hard to communicate. However, she stayed on the phone with us for almost 10 minutes as we pummelled her with questions and told her we love and miss her. She always responds "I love you." If that's all she can say in English, that will do for now!

I received an e-mail from Ilga Lasmane, one of the chaperones that was here in the summer. I had e-mailed her to ask if she knew anything about the status of Gertrude's clearance for international adoption, and that we hadn't received official word that she had agreed to be adopted. She wrote me right back, and said she talked with Ilga Grintale (Gertrude's orphanage director) that day and she will do "all things for Gertrude and send the documents herself." What I gather from that is that the paperwork had not been started for whatever reason (because she did mention that Kristine, the other girl being adopted, had her papers at the orphan court already). Kristine was interviewed the same day as Gertrude. So, I think somehow the ball may have been dropped with Gertrude but this gives us reason to believe all is well and things will start moving.

We had our last interview yesterday (Wed, Sept. 13) with our social worker and then it will probably be about 2-3 weeks after that and we can get our dossier apostilled and sent over to Latvia! I e-mailed the attorney over there yesterday and she said it will be a pleasure and she will be happy to represent us. We have heard wonderful things about her from the other families. I asked her in the e-mail if she knew anything about Gertrude's status for international adoption and she said that at one time Ilga Grintale had mentioned Gertrude when talking about adoption but they did not talk much about it because it wasn't "actual." I think that means that they didn't consider it "serious enough" since no lawyer had been retained yet or something. Who knows, this is all so complicated when dealing with another country!! The attorney, Agnese, said she will go over to Gertrude's children's home on Monday and gather all the information she can and get the process moving. So, all signs point to everything being a go as far as Gertrude is concerned.

Good Weekend of Communication

Well, the Labor Day weekend has ended and we had a bit of activity for the last couple days. We went home to Michigan for my niece's wedding. We had a great time and some nice cool weather! While we were there, we checked our e-mail and we had one from Gertrude! We were very excited. She said thank you for our letter and she hadn't received her Birthday present from us yet. She said she wore the dress and white shoes we got her while she was here on her first day of school and everyone said she looked very beautiful. She said that she loves and misses us very very very much. It was a very sweet letter and wonderful to hear from her this time instead of us just contacting her. We called her on Sunday and asked her if she would like to come live with us in America. Her answer was a high pitched squeal "yes!" Then I asked if she would like us to adopt her and got the same squeal response then she went off for a minute and was talking with her friends. She came back and said something about telling her friends. I have a feeling she is excited! We haven't gotten formal word back from the Latvian Ministry of Family Affairs but I think that the paperwork is in process to clear her for international adoption. That is what Helen had intimated anyway. We had a great little visit though and this time she was surrounded by her friends who sounded very excited to be there for this phone call from abroad.

She Finally Knows

We were told a couple days ago by Helen that it is ok to talk freely to Gertrude now about adopting her as she now knows. That is great because we have wanted to whenever we talked to her but couldn't. Helen said the paperwork has been started. I assume that means to clear her for international adoption. She may not need to have a formal interview. Her friend Kristine, who also said "no" to adoption in March has said "yes" now, and her adoptive parents received a letter from the Ministry of Family Affairs stating this. They got a reply now because the Ministry just recently got their request to adopt and replied after the kids were asked again in August. Our letter came before the kids were asked again. I don't know if I will receive another letter stating she has changed her mind or if they will just start the process. A letter would be nice, but if we know the paperwork is getting started, that's good enough!

We had our 2nd and 3rd interview for our home study and our last one will be on Sept. 14. She will come to our house and meet Tena. It shouldn't be too long after that she will have it written up. We do have to attend 2 classes, one on Sept. 16 and another on Sept. 23, that are on adoptive parenting so I'm not sure if those have to be completed before she starts writing up the Home Study. We'll find out but hopefully not.

Some encouraging news!!

We spoke with Helen in Latvia today and she said the orphanage director, Ilga, had asked Gertrude how she would feel about living in America and Ilga said Gertrude was very excited about the prospect. She doesn't know if Ilga intimated we were pursuing adoption or she approached her with it as a hypothetical question. So, we still can't mention it to Gertrude and this was not her formal interview, but it is exciting that she had such a positive response. I am feeling much better about this impending interview. Also, Ilga had said how happy Gertrude was and how this trip had been so wonderful for her and she could tell she was so much more open and more confident than she was before. It is so good to hear this. She also told us this about 2 other children from this orphanage that came with the hosting and are being pursued for adoption. One of them especially, an 11 year old boy named Olegs, who was so shy and quiet (and I can vouch for it because I've met him!) is a totally different person now. Very confident and talkative. It is amazing what bringing a little light and love to a child will do to change their whole perspective and opinion of themselves. It is a blessing just to be able to play a part in that, let alone adopt them and change so much more for them!!

The director of the Ministry of Family Affairs (the main man of this department) actually contacted Ilga and told her he had a request for some of her kids there and that she needs to do the necessary steps to set up a formal interview. So now, the orphanage director and the Ministry are on the same page trying to achieve the same goal. Things are looking up!

Talk with Gertrude and Home Study

We talked with Gertrude again today! It was another "yes, yes, no" conversation but she did speak a little bit. When I asked what she was doing she said "playing Barbies." I asked if she was playing with Kristina (her friend that also was here) and she said yes. I asked if Agnese wanted to talk and she said yes, then no. She talked with Tena and she told her about Barbies also. Tena told her she loved her and she said she loved her too, same with me. In case you're wondering, Scott wasn't able to talk this morning so he missed out! Mostly I asked a lot of questions, if she is ready to start school, how is Agnese, does she remember her room here. I told her I bought strawberries and thought of her, also bananas and that she is my little monkey. We would tease her when she was here about being a monkey because she ate so many bananas. She said "no" to being my monkey, then backtracked and said "yes!" So, it was great to talk with her but again, she didn't say much!

We had our first interview for our home study on Friday. It went very well. Our social worker is very nice. Her two children are adopted and they are from Korea. We have another appointment Aug. 30 then we'll have our last one a week or two after that. Then she said it might only take her a couple weeks to write it up! This is moving very quickly. We have an appointment to get our fingerprints taken on Sept. 14. If all goes as planned (I wonder what the chances of that are??!!) then we could be done with everything and ready to send our dossier in by the end of Sept or early October. Which means, we could travel as early as November! We are still waiting to hear if they have interviewed Gertrude again and she has agreed to be adopted. All this is very exciting but it is hard waiting and persevering without knowing for sure. It's hard to believe this rests on a 9 year old girl's decision about something so important and life changing. We just have to trust God it will all work out according to what is best for all of us. Which we hope, of course, is that Gertrude becomes ours!

We will call Gertrude again next week. Our plan is to call every Saturday at 9:30, then if there is no answer, Sunday at 9:30. So far it's worked out well.

Finally talked to Gertrude

The kids finally got back from camp and a time was set up for us to call Gertrude on Friday. I was the only one home (Scott out of town and Tena at school). She has already forgotten a lot of her English but she understood a lot of the questions I asked her. Mostly I just asked her how she was, did she go to camp (she said no, I think she thinks I was asking if she was at camp), is she swimming, etc. I told her I missed her and she said "thank you" and I told her I loved her and she said "I love you" in her sweet little accent. I told her Allie misses her and I asked her if she missed Allie and she said yes. Allie is our dog, by the way. She said yes to missing Pop and Tena also.
Then today, Sunday, we called again and we all got to talk to her. She was sounding a bit more animated but still "yes, no" answers and not really any conversation. She asked if I wanted to talk to her sister. I did and her sister speaks fairly good English. I told her we love Gertrude very much and that we miss her and that Gertrude told us about her. I asked her what she does there and she said she plays football, basketball and swimming and she likes horses. I told her horses scare me, I fell off one and she laughed. She seems very sweet. I asked her if she wants to come visit America and she said she did. She answered that she got our letter, her but not Gertrude. We actually wrote Gertrude and wrote a note in there for her (Agense) so I think she might be saying she read the letter, not Gertrude. I told her I bet she is a great big sister and she hesitated then said "yes." I said "sometimes?" and she said "yes. I asked to talk to Gertrude again and she said "yes" but then hung up. Communication still tricky! I'm glad I got to talk to her though. I'm hoping Agnese has gotten some feel for who we are and that we are willing and happy to write and talk to her and include her as much as we can in our family. We want that for her and for Gertrude and it will help when they both have to make a decision of how each of them feels about Gertrude being adopted in another country with us.

We are hoping they will get Skype, Helen said they are working on it, a digital video communication where we can actually see each other. We have it now, when they get it at the orphanage it will be a free call. Communication with another language will be much easier when we can see each other! Tena and Pop both talked to Gertrude a little bit, with much the same conversation of yes and no. So, it was great to talk to her. Once they have Skype it will be much nicer and will help the next several months got by easier before she's ours.

Adoption Drama

Well, we have been very busy compiling paperwork, going to our doctor's, getting police background checks, letter from our accountant, etc. for the adoption. We had a big scare a few days ago when we got an e-mail from Lavian Family Affairs saying they cannot clear Gertrude for international adoption right now because she had said "no" to foreign adoption back in March when interviewed. I didn't notice "March" at first and thought they had just interviewed her. It was devastating and I was sick to my stomach and cried. I told Scott and he had us go back and re-read the letter and we noticed she was interviewed in March before she came to visit. We called Helen (one of the chaperones that was here that works with the orphans & courts) and she assured us most kids say no when they are interviewed out of the blue like that. Gertrude has been at camp since she returned to Latvia and just got back Aug. 17 so they will interview her again soon. Helen is going to talk to her to make sure she knows she will not lose contact with her sister if she is adopted. We (especially me!) are very anxious but trying to stay calm, pray and trust God through this. We are moving ahead with the paperwork, with the expectation we will soon hear some good news.

A couple days ago we sent in our first batch of paperwork--our home study (not all of it but enough to get started with interviews, etc.) and our I600A to our government (which had to wait for our corrected birth certificate and marriage license delaying us about 3 weeks), which we finally got. We have our first appointment with our social worker next Friday Aug 25 for the first of four interviews to complete the home study. This is so exciting! Things are finally moving along. We just keep praying for that one crucial bit of news, that Gertrude is ready to be adopted and move to America.

The First Steps

After just three weeks of hosting Gertrude, we knew she was our daughter. We started on our paperwork just a few days ago and it is a bit overwhelming! However, we will forge ahead so we can have our girl back in the U.S. and in our home.

Our first accomplishment (our so we thought) was sending in the first form to our government, the I600A. It was quite simple and only required copies of birth certificates and marriage license, which we had. Only problem was, Scott's name was spelled with one "t" on both of these documents. We called INS and they said it would get rejected. So, we are having all that changed which will delay our first step in getting this processed about two weeks. We are remaining calm, though, and we are in process!

We have not spoken with Gertrude yet. The day after they arrived, all the children went to camp for almost a month. Quite a long trip but probably better than staying at the orphange the rest of the summer! We miss her a lot and as soon as we can will call and write. Her birthday is Sept. 21 and she will be 10 so have to think about what to send her...it has to go out early to get to Latvia in time. We don't know if she is aware yet that we are pursuing adoption but the kids have talked about it with each other. Seems they're all planning on coming back for Christmas even though none of us know if that will work out (all depends on when we will be slated to travel to Latvia).