So much has changed since my last post! We were given a court date of May 15th in Liepaja Orphan Court. That meant flying from Jackson, MS on May 13th...Mother's Day! We had an early morning flight out of Jackson and Michael drove us to the airport. We caught our flight to Charlotte, NC, then to Dulles in DC, Frankfurt, Germany, and final destination of Riga, Latvia. Once we arrived in Riga, we waited (and waited, and waited) for our bags, but they never came! The Lufthansa customer service was awesome! They gave us emergency kits and began tracking our bags. We took a taxi to Avalon Hotel in Old Riga. After checkin, we were so exhausted so we laid down for a while before dinner. By the time I woke up, the tummy was wreaking havoc and supper was a no-go! One bag arrived late Monday night and Tuesday we started off with a wonderful breakfast downstairs. We ventured out to exchange money for Daina and miscellaneous expenses as well as on a mission to find flowers for the girls. Daina was set to meet us at 10:00 am at the hotel to drive us to Liepaja for court. We found a great outdoor market not far from the hotel and bought 6 beautiful, purple tulips. After packing, we headed downstairs to meet Daina. I had never seen a picture of her, nor her us; so when she walked in we didn't recognize each other for a while...then she walked over and I met one of the sweetest people in Latvia!!! We were in the capable hands of her son as he drove us to Liepaja to reconnect with the girls! There were so many emotions as we neared Liepaja and Daina kept us engaged in conversation. As we approached the city, Daina told us about her first impressions of Liepaja, but then went on to tell us how much those impressions changed as she got to know the people and area.
Liepaja is an amazing town! It did not take long for us to fall in love with that place! We went straight to court and followed Daina's lead as she worked the system. We went into a modest but very functional court room with large windows looking over neighboring rooftops. Not long after, the judge and assistants entered and court proceeded. Daina explained all that was being said, we answered questions, and then the door opened and the girls came in with their foster dad! It was so awesome to see them again!!! We completed court and we were granted permission to keep the girls with us for the next 3 weeks while in Latvia. With that, we gathered the girls suitcases, crammed them into Daina's car along with ours, and headed to Kaleja Maja, a converted attic apartment in a Blacksmith house that was built in the 1800's.
Kaleja Maja was an amazing home away from home! There was a kitchen with a small refrigerator, sink, and 2 burner propane cooktop. The kitchen was also set up with two beds for additional sleeping space. Two seperate bedrooms and a small bath completed the apartment! But, at least we got to cook 2 meals a day in the apartment instead of having to eat out each meal. The girls claimed their room, but after seeing a small bug in the original timber walls, they moved on to the kitchen sleeping space!
For the next 3 weeks, we had the most amazing time in the girls hometown. We rode bicycles all over town, played in the Baltic Sea, met their friends and family, and got to enjoy seeing where the girls grew up! We completed all of our required visits with our social worker and court, and headed to Riga to secure the girls Visa's. The US Embassy in Riga is a very secured compound near Spice Mall. Our first trip there was with Daina; Our second trip was just me while Mark and the girls stayed at the mall to shop. With Visa's in hand we prepared to fly home! It was so exciting to be completing that leg of our jouney with our girls at our sides! Even an overnight delay in DC was enjoyable with them with us! So, off to Jackson on June 2, a day late, but all in God's time!
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