Introducing Zofia Lynn Weyers!

Court went very well and the end result was definitely in our Favor! We feel so blessed to be able to announce that the "Gem" is now apart of the
Weyers Family Forever!

We traveled to Warsaw immediately after court and have arrived into our new apartment. It has two bedrooms, a great big bathtub, a washing machine/sort of dryer, Internet, is in the heart of Old Town and was last rented by another adopting couple. The apartment is directly above a wonderful bakery and the thought did cross my mind…..I wonder if they deliver? But I couldn't bring my self to ask…..In reality, I didn't know how!

Some things have changed in Warsaw from the last time we were here, and at the same time many things have remained the same. We have planned for a 2.5 hour private walking tour of historic Warsaw and look forward to the fresh reminder of all the monuments. We have already walked to the Hard Rock Cafe and seen the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown solider, so we are definitely getting settled.

There is still so much to do!     Spring is trying to emerge and we look forward to seeing the sun more and enjoying the warmer weather.   Here are a couple more of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks!

A Little Cabin Fever in an apartment in Poland

During the last week we have developed a little cabin fever for good reason.   We had to take the Gem to a pediatrician because a cough developed that worsened and had me very concerned.  The outcome?
 Bronchitis and a severe inflamed throat and a lot of different medications which we  had to look up on the Internet to know the active ingredient and how to administer!    I yearn to call our pediatrician at home and talk so she can work her magic with the Gem and help put me at ease.   I trust those who are helping us to provide care for the Gem are doing everything  they can and everything I have since read on the Internet says Bronchitis needs TLC the most.   Lee and I can provide this and we will with all our heart.

The High for the week was tonight.   The Gem was unusually active at bed time (which I thought was a good sign) and reached out to Lee and I and grabbed our pointer fingers and tugged.   We both got up and walked.   Really, we followed and went on this magical  trip through the apartment. The bond for  me, at least increased by 100 times  and I felt such honor to hold her trust in my hand.   What a moment and what a memory.  As my brother-in-law would say.......Enjoy making Memories!!   Oh, we are!

Our First Social Worker Visit and More.....

We survived our first social worker visit ….and it really wasn’t all that bad! I had visions of Adam and Aggie fighting or pushing our Gem down and general kid craziness…….But I thought it went really well! We answered some basic questions about our bonding period thus far, our routine, and if we were happy. The last question was an obvious yes.

We have really been blessed with our arrangement in Ostroda. It is a beautiful, picturesque vacation town that surrounds a huge lake with a brick boardwalk that runs about ½ of the lake. Right now there are often about 20 men ice fishing in the morning and by afternoon we always see at least one windsurfer. We did see someone biking across the lake and thought that was a little strange. We discovered the BEST pastry shop that serves fabulous donuts in the morning and cookies in the afternoon. It tops Starbucks with some incredible frothy latte’s. One day we had two in one day and the women behind the counter just smiled at Lee and I as if to say…..the two of you deserve it with three! LOL! I was extremely happy that day because I was very WIDE awake.  This might be our little secret to success.

We take two walks a day in the morning and afternoon to feed the ducks and swans and to go the Sklep for supplies. Our refrigerator is the size of a college dorm appliance and holds just enough for one day of rations. I always wait outside the Sklep  with Adam and Aggie in our Kid SUV and Lee goes in and purchases the groceries with the Gem on his back in our Kelty Kid backpack. He says the people who work there are finally warming up to him and smiling because they are getting down his routine. I wonder what they will think when one day ….the American with the Gem on his back all of sudden stopped coming?

In the afternoon we  work on Adam and Aggie’s lesson plans from school and watch at Doc McStuffin at least once a day. If any of you know the TV show, it comes in DVD form and  is about the cutest thing ever. I have all the songs memorized. “Time for a checkup!”

We have had our ups and downs comforting the Gem. The first couple of days were a  little tough. Lots and Lots of crying. We have a child who only stops crying if held. I know some of you have commented about your arms being so sore…. I get it now! I wake up in the morning like you with oh, so, sore arms!! We had to make a trip to the ER  also because of a violent vomit attack (all over Lee) We were fearful it was the flu because of a low grade fever, however, I think I knew …..and my mommy gut was telling me it was a lot of emotion coming out   We have been better for few days and there are more smiles now than stone faces.   Even though nights can still be very scary for the Gem, we  drink formula at bedtime (which surprised me at age 2 the Gem was still doing this but I am not making any changes) and go fast to sleep soon thereafter.

We had prepared Adam and Aggie for this adventure prior to leaving by talking about the adoption whenever we could, With that being said we are still seeing a bit of regression in behavior . Aggie will occasionally retreat until Lee can sit with her for awhile and reassure her that mommy and daddy love her very much. Adam has occasionally says.. “can we go home now?” and gets sort of mad when we explain as gently as we can why we can’t.

No one really smiles here, but that is not new to us.   Just a difficult adjustment for someone like me who say Hello to all.   And they are still as pushy as ever in the grocery stores!

Other than that, we are plugging along and trying to eat as many delicious pierogies as possible!!

A few more weeks to go!   Hope all is well at home and with you!

The first 5 days...or so.

The first 5 days .... or so... .and I have completely lost track of what day it is.

We got into Warsaw  Friday on a foggy afternoon, both outside and internally.    Adam and Aggie slept about 8 hours of the 9 hour flight, Lee slept about 4 hours, and I slept what felt like about 2.   There was quite a bit of turbulence about 1/2 way through the flight and  the kids and Lee were sitting in a row of three and I was in front of them  in between two men who did not offer their arms to me to grip tight every time the plane bounced around!  LOL!

On Saturday, we had the wonderful pleasure of meeting Sean and Margaret and their very, very  sweet boy, from Match Made in Heaven.   Let me assure you it truly is a Match!  They have a wonderful apartment in the heart of Old Town  in Warsaw and  we have made arrangements to rent it as well.   The best part is it is only one block from COFFEE HEAVEN! Most will remember our routine last time around ALWAYS started off with a 25  minute morning  walk to Coffee Heaven.  Now it will be a 2 minute walk! 

On Sunday our favorite driver, Grzegorz  drove us the three hours to Olstzyn and we settled in at the  Warminski Hotel.   We walked to the completely packed  KFC at the mall and got dinner.  We stuck out like a sore thumb the minute we opened our mouths!!

On Monday we connected with Magda and went to the Adoption Center to meet the director and psychologist and then FINALLY we drove 40 minutes to Ostrada to meet the sweetest little gem in the whole world.  Adam and Aggie introduced themselves just as we had rehearsed.  "Hi, My name is Aggie, I am your big sister, do you want to play with me?"   and Adam likewise.  I was so proud of him when he got the "big brother" part correct, because we had been struggling getting that right!

We spent a wonderful afternoon with the Foster Family and were treated to a very yummy lunch.   We learned a lot and I took tons of notes.   What an incredibly, loving family and Lee and I feel so blessed to have them a part of this story.  

At the end of the day, we checked into our apartment, exhausted and still battling jet lag, however, we made a run to the grocery store for supplies and unpacked the rest of the evening.  

Now what day is it??   On Tuesday we had another fabulous visit and explored the town a bit.

Wednesday was Court day.  Thank you to all my friends and family for praying for calmness at 6 am in the morning.   I truly felt the power as we stepped into court at 1:00 pm.   It lasted 2 hours and I was on the stand for 40 minutes.  The Lawyer commented that I did a really good job!   Lee was on the stand for the same amount of time.

Following court we came back to the apartment, the foster mom tenderly hugged the precious gem and left. Let the Bonding begin!  We will be back in court on March 6th !

Oh, and it has snowed EVERY day we have been here :)

 

T - 8 Hours

On February 25, 2010 I wrote:
 We are ready. Not "ready as we will ever be" or "it's as good as it's going to get". We are ready. I even had a little "Nesting" time this morning and vacuumed the whole house! We will walk out the door today prepared for the journey ahead, encouraged by family and friends and blessed by God. There has been an amazing amount of symbolism this past week which has left Lee and I taking turns giving each other a wink and a squeeze of the hand as if to say....."Wow, God was really speaking to us right then and I am with you, honey, we can do this!" Thank you. Thank you to all our family and friends for your willingness to handle last minute errands, to pray for us, and to love and support us. It takes a village. 
We are ready and We Are On Our Way to Poland!

Funny how 3 years later it still hold true…….Our bags are packed, I have vaccumed, Lee is  squeezing my hand, and God is still speaking to us. 

We are ready and We Are On Our Way to Poland…..Again!! 

The Latest News

FAA grounds Boeing 787s to address battery fires

Go figure that we are booked on a 787.   Does everyone remember the last time we were booked on a flight out of  Poland?.. a Volcano stopped us and all of Europe! 

(we were delayed  one week due a no flying restriction becuase of air quality and an Erupting Volcano in Iceland)

Well, …It will all be okay.  Everything will be fine.  :)

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

We are down to the home stretch and somehow I find myself in the uncomfortable spot of becoming overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done.      How can that be? I’ve been through this before, I should be ready!     I try so hard to constantly think ahead and when I do I just think of more that needs to be done.       We will be in Poland for 9 weeks. We have been given the opportunity for one trip, but a long one at that. 9 weeks!

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay. 

Thursday after work I went to get groceries for the basics… milk, eggs, and couple of other dairy products, after which I ran into the house and started dinner, kindergarten homework, baths, bed time stories, prayers, oh and then laundry. The next morning I had a quick doctor appointment before work and hopped into my car at 7am.  As I turned the corner I heard something fall over in the back of my car……What was that? Oh, No………I forgot to take my GROCERIES into the house last night!!! Are you kidding me? Someone please tell me they have done this! LOL!!

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

We had our travel call last night and are very pleased with our accommodations for the first 4 weeks. We haven’t nailed down where we will be in Warsaw, but

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay. 

Lee & I  elected to work up until the day before we leave to save accrued time for our longer trip. My new piece of advice to couples in this process is TAKE MORE THAN ONE DAY Off before leaving. You need to have a couple of days to “take it all in, re-group, and rest” .

It will all be fine. Everything will be okay.

Have you figured out what my Mantra is yet? And What do you say when you talk to yourself?

It was Adam’s 6th birthday last week!   We had a good time!