New friends, Old friends, and Old Town...

Heading to the movies!

Meeting Inese!

Meeting the Matheny's!

Today was a busy, exciting and full of blessings kind of day. We started out at a decent hour and had a nice quiet breakfast in. We decided that it would be a good day for a movie because it was going to be rainy and besides, we needed something new to do that would take up some of our day. Sometimes, the days seem like they will never end...
We headed out in the drizzle and walked to the Forum Cinemas to see a movie. It's about a ten minute walk and we enjoyed walking arm in arm through the streets. We got to the theater and found out that the movie we wanted to see, Johnny English, wasn't playing for another two hours! So, back out into the pouring down rain! We stopped by Rimi (a frequent stop for us) and picked up a few things we needed for the apartment (water, eggs, juice, etc.). We were looking forward to meeting up with our "Old Friend", Inese this evening after the movie, so we cleaned up a bit around the apt and chatted with Bob's mom back in the States on FB. And, back to the movies we walked! We had a really great time. Johnny English was hilarious and Lilia was just about rolling on the floor laughing! The theatre here is awesome, with super good food, comfy seats and lots of choices.
We headed back to the apt again and soon enough, Inese arrived for her visit! It was so amazing to finally meet her! For those of you who do not know about this amazing lady, let me fill you in...Inese used to work with Lilia in her orphanage and she became our source of connection to Lilia back in January through another friend and host-momma in the States (thanks, Stephanie Norman!). Anyway, we have grown to know and to love her as a friend over this past year and were very anxious to finally meet her! So, at 4:00 she arrived and we began a nice visit with her. About 20 minutes into our visit, our Latvian cell rang! Now, we are not very popular here in Latvia, but suddenly we feel like we are. I should back up and tell you that the world of adoption is a small one with close connections made very quickly sometimes between adoptive families. Also, Daina, our attorney had called us last night and asked if we would be interested in meeting another family who is here right now to adopt a sibling group and they are from Wisconsin. We of course said "Yes!". So, we had been given their contact information and had e-mailed them this morning early. So, here is Michele (the adopting mom) on the phone and their family is right outside of our building in Doma Square! Of course, I invited them right up! Party at the Callens!!!!
What a fun evening of meeting "old friends" and "new friends" in this beautiful old town!



The markets

I'm typing this post with only one hand because my other one has been held captive by my beautiful new daughter, and I love it! It has been such an amazing two days here in Latvia with her, I'm going to go back to yesterday...Thanksgiving! What a day of thankfulness it was for us! We all slept in, way in! Lilia didn't get out of bed until noon! We had a great breakfast together of eggs, toast and sausages.Then we got ready to head to the markets to grab all the "fixings" for our Thanksgiving meal. What an amazing place the markets are! 4 huge hangars connected together and full of vendors!! It's unbelievable really, and we all loved it! We are finding that there are so many places here that Lilia has never seen, so many things that she has never experienced and we are thrilled to be able to experience them with her!
So, we headed home with all of our goodies to make dinner together. We decided to have our "Latvian chicken" with homemade cranberry sauce, cucumbers, mashed potatoes, pastries filled with cheese and spinach and some yummy desserts. Lilie was such a big help and we had so much fun working together in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving was full of laughter and joy for all of us. We were able to talk with our children back home in America and know that they are being well cared for and loved in our absence. We were able to be with our daughter here and watch her heal and find joy in being loved and cared for. We were able to celebrate our marriage and the life that we are sharing together which God has filled to overflowing with love, love for Him, for one another and for our 4 beautiful children that He has seen fit to bless us with. We are so thankful for this past year and all that He has brought us through together. There has been much joy, many sorrows, and tons of love!!! And as we shared these things with Lilia and taught her about this American holiday called Thanksgiving, I was overwhelmed by how great His love is!
Again this morning we slept in until 11 o'clock! It's crazy how late we can sleep here. At home Bob is up by 6 or 7 at the latest every morning and I am up by 7:30 or 8:00. However, once we're up our days are full of activity. There is so much to do here. Shop after shop, tourist attraction after tourist attraction, restaurant after restaurant...you get the picture?! Today, we walked up the street to a great little pancake place for lunch/breakfast and then headed over to St. Peter's to ride the lift to the top of the steeple to see the view of Riga. It was a fun experience and Lilia loved being able to do this. We walked around some small outdoor markets and enjoyed all of the beautiful handmade clothes, jewelry and other items. Lilia and I LOVE these little markets and vendors and shops!

What a day!



The fog! This was when we were nearly
on the ground!

OH MY! That about sums up this day...where do I begin? First, I will go back I guess and finish up yesterday. So, as we were about to touch down in Riga, I saw exactly what I thought I would see...FOG and lots of it. We were nearly on the ground before we could see ground, but once we could it was so beautiful! Forests and countryside everywhere. It was like a fairytale. It was easy to get out of the airport and we quickly found our "angel", Venita. She is the woman who helps manage the apartment we are staying in when the owner is out of the country. She had promised to meet us at the airport so that she could help us find a taxi and get to the apartment. What a tremendous blessing this was! First of all, I don't know the first thing about taxis, I also had no idea where we were going (just the address), and lastly I know no Latvian!!! So, Venita was truly like an angel for us. She took care of everything and I officially LOVE that woman! We spent a short while settling into the apt and then headed to the bank to exchange some money for Lats so that we could eat and go to the market. We ate a yummy pizza (simple bacon) at Charlie's Pizza which is just 3 doors down from our apt. We also had some delicious fried dumplings. We couldn't believe how cheap it was to eat there! 5 lats!!! SCORE! We also ventured through Old Town to the Galerija and shopped at Rimi (a small grocery store). By this time, I was EXHAUSTED! So, we headed back to the apt and we went to bed at 6:00! After a 4 hour "nap" we were up and ready to talk to the kids on the phone at 11:00. Thanks to my new friend Melatonin, I was able to go right back to sleep and slept until 6:00 a.m.

Our first time with Lilia at court

Here we are, finally TODAY!! COURT DAY!!!!
So, Daina and her son picked us up at 8:45 to head to court. I was excited, nervous and well...very nervous. But, Daina has this amazing way of putting you at ease. By the time we pulled up to the court, I wasn't at all nervous. She had explained that we would get to see Lilia at 9:00! That we would then meet with the social worker from the orphanage to discuss her history and answer any questions. We stood in the hallway waiting for them to arrive and pretty soon there she was peeking around the corner of the stairwell!!! I went straight to her and we hugged, she looked so amazing! Oh, how I missed that girl! And, then things got a little...crazy...
Lilia kept looking past Daina and the rest of us, down this small hallway. Finally, she just simply walked away from us as we were entering a small conference area. I asked where she was going and Daina went to see. Things got a little hectic from there, but we quickly found out that her mom and grandma had been sitting in that hallway where we met the entire time and she was going to them! Oh my! I was floored! Bob and I just looked at each other and I said to Daina, "is this normal?" to which she replied "NO!" After much fuss and lots of translation, etc we were able to get Lilie into the room and it was decided that they would stay in the hallway until we were done at which time Lilie would be allowed to say "goodbye" to them. Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable situation for Bob and I. Daina was none to happy about it either. But, we want Lilia to have closure and to feel comfortable so what do you do?
Court itself went very well! Thank you, God!!! Lilia was very positive and happy. Everyone was kind and not too intimidating. ;) In no time at all they placed her in our custody and then it was time to go back to the hallway to say goodbye. We waited (very patiently) and after a few minutes she was done. She became a little emotional when I asked her how it went and if she felt okay? I don't know what was said between them, but I get the impression that she's made to feel rather guilty and like she is the bad person in this situation. Bob and I are praying that she is able to put distance between her and this woman who has caused so much stress and turmoil in her life. We know that in the months to come, keeping distance between them will be a great challenge and that Lilia may be rather mad at us from time to time. We are already taking steps to protect her here and we will continue to do so at home.
It is a fine line we walk, one that must be respected and handled with great care, we are up for the challenge.
We tried our best to enjoy the rest of the day. We did some sight-seeing and shopping together, spent some quiet time at the apt and went out for a celebration dinner at TGIFridays (yes, there's one just down the street here!). We thoroughly enjoyed our cheeseburgers and fries and had a lot of laughs. Just what we needed tonight!

Our travels...

So, I have a little time this morning and thought that blogging about some of our travel adventures would be fun. First, let me just say that Bob and I are NOT travelers! We both have only flown ONCE and it was a nonstop commuter flight to Orlando! (I know that doesn't really count since we didn't even have to pick up our luggage!). Anyway, you can imagine how much of a learning curve there was for us as we made this trip 4,000 miles, and 3 flights away from our home!
First stop, Pittsburgh International Airport...no problem! We got there in plenty of time, made it through check-in where we met a young woman who has two sisters adopted from Eatern Europe, made it through security (no body scans or pat-downs, woo hoo!), had lunch and found our gate! We departed on time and arrived in Newark early!!!
Second stop, Newark...okay, this is where we started to see our "innocence"! So, we had a 3 hour layover here (which ended up being 4, because we were early from our first flight). So, we hung out on the councourse, had some Starbucks, read, listened to music and called home to say "hello"...we continuously checked the board for our gate but it wasn't being announced. Let's just say that by 5:00, we were getting pretty nervous and Bob had this "gut feeling" (God speaking?) that he should go to the information desk and ask about our flight. Thank you God, because we were in the wrong part of the airport and we needed to go like a mile, through security and find our gate! Our flight was departing at 6:10!!!! So, we hoofed it across the airport, through security (with one body scan-Jamie) and to our gate just as they were boarding our section!!!! [long sigh.........]
The flight from Newark to Frankfurt was "tight" and I don't mean time-wise, I mean it was economy class and there was no room to move! I was in the middle of Bob and I really nice guy from Paris. I'm glad he was nice, because we were VERY close for 6.5-7 hours! Between drinks, snacks, dinner, movie, and breakfast...I didn't get much sleep. That would have been fine accept for the time change which made it 7:00 a.m. when we arrived rather than 1:00 a.m. I was tired, and here were all these wonderful German's wide awake starting their day! So, again we were ahead of schedule! This time we knew to immediately find our where departures were and get there! Oh my goodness, Frankfurt's airport is huge!! We walked for what seemed like miles to get to our departure gate, but at least we had lots of time! 
Our last flight was quite an adventure as well. We were drive across the tarmack by shuttle bus to get to our plane. It was small and overcrowded. We were late getting off because they had loaded some of the wrong passengers! Oh my! But, alas we made it to Riga! 30 minutes late, exhausted and thrilled to  be here!!!!

Our day of rejoicing

First, let me apologize for the silence since August 23rd. I know just how difficult it is to tolerate "silence". We have been waiting, without any word from the courts since our paperwork all arrived in their hands months ago. But, today we received our referral!!!! For those of you who have not adopted, you may not know what this is or what it means. So, let me explain...
Today we received a referral from the Orphan Court "introducing" us to our future daughter. We were given information regarding who she is and her history and asked if we would "accept" this referral?! YES, YES, a million times YES!!! This is nearly the last step in the waiting part of this process. Now, we wait (for a shorter period of time) for an invitation to travel to her country and meet with the court officials.
As I responded to that e-mail this morning, the reality of what we are doing hit me. We have committed to loving, teaching, raising this child as though she were "born to us"! I said it before, and I believe it's worth repeating again, I love ALL of my children. Whether I have physically birthed them or God has birthed them in my heart, they are mine! I talked to Bob about this today when he stopped by the house for lunch. I asked him what he would do if we got there, met with the courts, found out that there were things we did not know about her? What if???? And do you know what my beautiful husband who has the most amazing heart for God said? He said "It would make no difference to me!" You see, we cannot take lightly this gift of another child being added to our hearts and our home. We cannot assume that all will be perfect, that there will not be struggles and heartaches. What we must do is love Lilie "as though she were born to us"!!! And she was, she was born into our hearts. Placed there by a loving God who knew before we did that she was ours. And so, come what may, we will love her. We will accept her and we will do all that is necessary to teach her about the love of her Savior.
Today is a good day! In the midst of our rejoicing however we must remember those who still wait. We must remember those children who are still orphans, waiting for a family to love them, accept them and teach them about the love of their Savior! I have spent a great deal of time today rejoicing and praising God for his goodness, and I have also spent a great deal of time today praying for those families and children who still WAIT!

Waiting...

       I know that this may sound strange, since we have been waiting for over 7 months...but, I feel like the true "waiting" has finally begun! Today, I mailed the last official piece of paper needed by Latvia. So, as of right now, we wait. We wait for a referral, we wait for a court date, we wait to be able to board a plane and fly to another country where our daughter is also...waiting!
       Still, there is never really a time where there is nothing to do but wait. The anticipation of making this journey and all that needs to be done to prepare is overwhelming at times. We are trying to do all that we can to prepare ourselves and our children. It's ironic really, that we must say "goodbye" to our children here at home this time, so that we can reach the child who we've had to say "goodbye" to twice before...we are so thankful that it will be such a short one! It's amazing how much we are able to get done in such a short period of time when it is required of us as well. Gathering funds, making arrangements for children, pets and our home to be cared for, and preparing documents, and the list goes on and on.
        It is remarkable really, how much peace we have been able to have in the midst of all of this. All of the things that would normally make me fall to pieces with worry and fear, have no control over me. Bob and I have spoken so much recently about how God has been working out every detail. We are so glad to be able to wait, even while we keep moving, with a sense of peace. We rest in the knowledge that He is working out every detail, and so we keep moving forward and...waiting! 

Adoption Journey Update...How far we've come!

                                  



Our Jigsaw Puzzle!



            It has been very busy past 7 months for our family. As many of you know, this past Christmas we hosted Lilia, a 13 year old orphan from the country of Latvia. Our family decided to bring the mission field into our home during this holiday season to teach our children a valuable life lesson, that giving of ourselves was more important than getting gifts. We also felt very drawn to the idea of impacting the life of an orphan through simply sharing our home, our love and our faith with a child who desperately needed to know that someone cared! The bible tells us to “go” and share God’s love, to “give” without expecting anything in return and to “love” as Christ loves us without any stings attached. So, on December 13, 2010, Lilia entered our home (and our hearts). Since that day, so much has happened, it would be nearly impossible to share all of it with you here. However, on January 15, 2011, when she boarded that plane and flew back to her country we knew without a doubt that she was to be our daughter and so our journey into the wonderful world of adoption began!

            Here we are 7 months later and 2 hosting visits with Lilia behind us. We have completed our homestudy and been “approved”, we have gotten passports, background checks, immigration approval and completed a dossier…All together we have spent countless hours and nearly $12,000 to get to where we are. God has been amazingly good to us. Through the kindness and generosity of others, we have raised nearly all of this money! It has been so amazing to watch how God supplies every need at just the right time. What a wonderful way for our children to learn about faith and God’s promises. Being able to spend 5 weeks with Lilia this summer was such a blessing. Our children were missing her nearly as much as we were and it did them so much good to spend that time with her. While she was here, Lilia was able to go with us on a trip to Harrisburg to have her dossier paperwork “apostilled”. This was a great experience for her that not many adoptive children get to be a part of. She was also there when I mailed all of this paperwork to a family who would hand deliver it to Latvia for us. Her excitement was overflowing. She is so happy to know that she is loved and wanted by us. Seeing us actually putting everything together and the confirmation that the adoption is really happening changed her world.

            So, as I sit here writing this today, we are on the final leg of this process and I would like to share our current needs with each of you so that you may be praying for us and supporting us in whatever way you feel lead. We exhausted our adoption fund to send the dossier and have it translated, and so we truly need to begin fundraising again. Our paperwork has now all arrived in Latvia, is being translated and submitted to the courts. Which means, that in the immediate future, we will be traveling to Latvia to meet with the courts and the embassy and, hopefully, bring Lilia home! While this is very exciting, it is also a little scary for us as we need over $10,000 to travel! We are certain that God will provide all that we need just when we need it, just as He has all along. However, we have continued to do our part by saving, selling whatever we can, and coming up with fundraiser ideas. We plan to continue these efforts trusting that God will move in the hearts of others and open doors for us financially.  

            We hope that you will consider supporting us in some way, either through prayer or giving, or both. Many of you have been so faithful in your support of us already and we want you to know how much we appreciate it. If you feel lead to give, here are some ways that you may do so:

-We have an adoption fund set-up through PNC Bank called “Love for Lilie” and money can be deposited into this account by anyone, anywhere in the US.

-We are having a jigsaw puzzle made from a family photo taken by our dear friend, Amy Craig who is a photographer. We are “selling” pieces of this puzzle for $5 a piece. Each piece will have one name written on it (we suggest buying one for each family member) and when it is assembled we will frame it and hang it in Lilia’s room as a reminder of all of those who helped bring her home! If you would like to buy a piece, please send us cash or a check made out to Love for Lilie with a note that includes the name or names you want written on the piece(s). Our address is 609 Spring St. Scottdale, PA 15683

-We are selling t-shirts through an adoption fundraising website called Adoption Bug. The link to our personal “store” is www.adoptionbug.com/loveforlilie

-We also have a coffee fundraiser going on at www.justlovecoffee.com/loveforlilie

-We will be selling Delallo hoagies again the second weekend of Sept. (the 10^th and 11^th)! This has been a very popular and successful fundraiser for us. Hoagies are made fresh on Saturday and Sunday and will be available for pickup/delivery on either of these days. They are made with all premium bread, meats and cheese from Delallos and include provolone, Virginia ham, hard salami, lettuce and tomato. If you are interested in buying and/or selling hoagies for us, please contact us immediately by phone or e-mail (724-806-0117 or fivecallens@zoominternet.net).

We have even more ideas and suggestions for fundraisers that we may be doing in the future, stay tuned.

Again, thank you all for your love, encouragement and support!! We truly couldn’t do any of this without those who God has brought alongside of us and words will never be able to express to you how much we appreciate each of you. We anticipate that we could be traveling to Latvia as early as September or October, so please keep us in prayer as we have a lot of preparation and planning to do before that time.

With love and gratitude,

The Callen Family

(Bob, Jamie, Rachel, Nathan, Jackson, and Lilia)