He has turned our mourning into dancing

I haven't blogged in a few days because there has been a lot of stuff going on with us. The girls were told by their one of their teachers on Friday that if they did not come home with us to America that she would be their guardian. Of course this is one of the only people to ever show them attention so it was a dream come true to them. They became very difficult with us at that point because we were fighting for them. Being defiant, and rude and saying very bad things and just refusing to listen because they felt threatened by our desire to fight for them tooth and nail. This weekend was a nightmare and heartbreaking all at the same time. We were very sad to see these things happening but know it was their defenses coming out. It's tragic for these children really.  They live in a broken system where too much power is given to young children that are incapable of making life long decisions.  Today our attorney came and picked them with us up and took them back to the orphanage where they didn't give us a second glance or even say good bye. It was heart wrenching but it we know that God has gone before us and this was all a part of His plan. In that we are finding a little peace.

The attorney that works for us here in Latvia has been amazing to say the least. She works her tail off for these families. I am sure the woman must not sleep. As soon as I spoke to her yesterday that this wasn't going to work out she said "I know the perfect child for you. I have spoke with this girl and she very much wants a family". Danny and I were open to meeting her because God set us on this journey to care for orphans and that is what we are going to do. This girl is in foster home and the foster mom says she is a very sweet, kind girl that likes to help with cooking and cleaning and help with the small children. Our boys don't even want to do that :) Could this be real?

So we left the orphanage and went to meet Viktoria (Vika). All I can say is WOW! In the first five second this sweet child showed us more love and affection that we saw all summer long. She calls out "MOM! DAD!" and gives us big, strong hugs. The foster mom served us a wonderful spread of fruits, crackers, and tea and Vika wanted to fix everything for us. She was very inquisitive about our life at home and what it will be like for her and asked about the boys and if they will like her. Danny and I are just shocked at the difference in behavior and honestly feel relieved. This child gave us another big hug when we left and looked us both in the eye and said I LOVE YOU! It was so sweet :) Vika is 13 years old and was tickled to know that she will be the only daughter in the house. LOL. Oh, and she likes pink! Yeah!!!

The courts worked super fast to get us a referral on her and court dates set. Ordinarily they require you to spend three weeks in country with the child for a bonding period but they have agreed to shorten it to just two weeks since we've been through such a fiasco and need to get back to work. So we are going to be here a little longer than originally planned but it's all working out for the better.

Back to court tomorrow morning but in the mean time let us introduce Vika to you.