Embassy Day 1 and an Update on Anya!

After our marathon of sleeping yesterday, as expected, Ryan and I could not sleep last night. I was up by 4 am and Ryan was up and at em by 5 am. Since we were being picked up by our facilitator at 8:30, we decided to make the most of our early morning and go find a cafe that was open for breakfast. We made our way through the early morning rain (with our new trusty umbrella!) to Coffee Time, off of Independence Square. I enjoyed a yummy Vanilla Machiatto and orange crepes, and Ryan stuck with an espresso. It was a delicious way to start our day!

 Ryan's espresso

Orange crepes

My scrumptious Vanilla Macchiato!

Following breakfast, we picked up our friends who had business to do at the embassy as well, and headed across town to our little piece of America:) We thought our facilitator would be going in with us, but when we got there, he informed us that he would be waiting outside...and we were flying solo! We honestly felt like chickens with our heads cut off, we had no clue what we were doing:) We finally made it to the right side of the ticket windows that we were supposed to be on, and waited our turn to be seen....much like at the social security office or DMV back home. When it was our turn at the ticket window, we were trying to hand the poor lady all kinds of forms that we weren't supposed to. We finally pulled out the correct forms that she needed out of our massive folder...thank goodness we brought every single piece of paper we thought we *might* need with us. 

So the handy dandy form that we turned in was a form called the i600. We turned in its predecessor, the i600a, back in March with our immigration paperwork. As we stood there, turning this in, the lady said, "So your child has already turned 16?" We said, "Yes, in July of this year". She then preceded to tell us that we were supposed to have turned in this i600 prior to her 16th birthday. Trying not to completely freak out, we told her that we had been told that only the i600a had to be turned in prior to her 16th birthday. She told us to wait a moment, and went to converse with another embassy employee. She finally returned to the window and told us that there was a 180 day window between filing the i600a and the i600. As it turns out, we came on the 180th day. She informed us that had we come TOMORROW then we would have been unable to adopt A. I cannot begin to describe the shock that Ryan and I were in. I mean....seriously. To be cutting it that close was nothing short of a miracle. Even the embassy lady said, "it is like something from above that you are here today and not tomorrow". We could not have agreed more!!

So, what was supposed to be a relatively uneventful trip to the embassy turned out to be quite nerve wracking. Thankfully we think everything is all set and ready to go there. The only thing that is worrying us at the moment is that we spelled A's new middle name a different way then what it is spelled on her court paperwork, etc. I know it seems crazy that we can't remember how we spelled it, but her new middle name has 2 common spellings and we know how we are planning to spell it, we just hope we put it the right way on all the different sets of paperwork:) When you are stressed out, your mind can play evil little tricks on you, and make you second guess everything you have done!!

After the embassy, we stopped by the notary for Ryan to fill out a little paperwork allowing me to finish everything up once he returns home after court, and then we headed to lunch. We ate lunch at a yummy Mediterranean cafe called La Med, right around the corner from our apartment. They served delicious bread and hummus while we waited on our order. Ryan ordered a Chicken Carbonara and  I ordered the Pasta Arrabiata. Both were fantastic!

 Pretty views of our little neighborhood

We were hoping to visit some sites we have not been to yet after lunch, but I was so tired from our lack of sleep last night, that we decided to head back to the apartment to rest. The rain helped aid in this decision as well. After a restful afternoon, we met our sweet friends for dinner at our favorite little Turkish/Tartar restaurant Krym. I ordered a dish called "Pot". The only description for it was a "tasty little miracle". I had no clue what that was, but how can you not try something with a description like that?!? Ryan ordered the Lagman soup that I had the night before last, along with Susme...a bean and noodle dish. As always, our meal did not disappoint:)

 Menu from our favorite restaurant Krym

Ryan's dinner...Lagman soup and Susme

My little pot of tasty miracle:)

Tomorrow we head to our daughter's region to see her and prepare for court on Friday!! Please pray that we have safe travels and that our court preparations go well. 

Now, for the update on Anya.....I cannot begin to describe to you how thrilled I am to be able to tell you that I found out this morning at 4 am that Anya has a family coming for her!!! Talk about an awesome wake up call!!! This sweet family has been praying over Anya for several weeks, and they feel that she is meant to be in their family forever. I cannot introduce you to them just yet, as they are still in the process of notifying their family and close friends. I can tell you that Anya is going to be one loved girl, and this family has already begun to prepare for her future within their family. Later this week, I, along with Ryan and A, will have the privilege of telling Anya about her family, and showing her pictures of her new family. Please join me in praying for both this sweet family and for Anya as they learn about each other and get to know each other. Pray that Anya will be willing to accept the love of her new family quickly just as they already love her as their own. 

Thank you to each of you who prayed for Anya and shared her story. It is because of all of you that Anya has a family coming for her!!!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13