Court Decree

We are still waiting for the court decree to be completed and signed.  This is the first step in the final process to get Genti home and is necessary before we can proceed further.  Since the courts in Albania are closed for the month of August, we would appreciate your prayers that this decree would be signed this week so we don't have to wait until September to get our son home. We know with God all things are possible so are trusting in Him to complete this process.

Three Weeks at Home

We arrived home on July 8 to many hugs and no luggage (all was lost en route).  Fortunately, both bags were delivered (with gifts inside) the next day.  The kids were glad we were home and glad their gifts weren't lost forever.  The first two weeks have gone by fast and it is time again to prepare for our return visit to Albania on July 30. After prayful consideration, it will be Teresa and our second oldest son, Samuel, who will be returning.
We will be busy this week with VBS, painting Genti and Nicholas' bedroom, planning a going away party for the kids in Albania, and preparing our children here for another time of separation. We are all looking forward to this being our last visit to Albania for this year and very much looking forward to getting Genti home so we can begin to live as a family under the same roof!  We would greatly appreciate your prayers that all would go well with all that is to come, beginning with the signing of the adoption decree this week!  We will write again once we are in beautiful Albania.

Preparing For Home

In our final few days here in Albania, we were not only slowly packing up but we took Genti to a few more tourist locations, the first being a carnival called "the Seven Dwarfs" as it had a Albanian Disney theme.  Initially, Genti was curious about the rides but not interested in getting on one.  There was a trampoline so we decided to force the issue as we have a tramp at home that we hope he will eventually enjoy.  As I took his shoes off, he screamed and protested.  I tried to reassure him in English (not very effective).  I held him for the first jumps and eventually he was squealing with delight as he jumped alone.  Trying to get him to leave when the time ran out was almost as difficult as it was trying to get him on!  Eventually he rode several different rides, enjoying every minute.  Hie favorite seemed to be the bumper cars.

Yesterday, we drove out to the airport.  Although we didn't see but one plane, he was comfortable in the environment and loved the electronic sliding glass doors.  He didn't seem to care much about the plane that landed but it may have been too far away to have been easy to pay attention to.  Nonetheless, we are excited for him to come home with us in a few weeks and not anxious about his reactions to new places anymore.  Praise the Lord for all the work He has done to get us this far!

Tomorrow we will have to say goodbye to Genti for a few weeks and fly home to the rest of our children.  It is bittersweet!

Finally, the Fourth!

Today we had our final court appearance and it is also our final week in Albania.  As much as we are looking forward to seeing our children in South Dakota, we are sad to know we have to try to explain to Genti how much we care about him and that we have to be gone a short time before we can return to keep him with us forever.

Our court appearance was unremarkable: official people, official documents, and an interpreter.  In fifteen days (Albania’s legally mandated period after any court decision during which anyone may appeal the decision), Genti will legally be our child.  As we prayed before the court appearance today, we were reminded not to just utter a sigh of relief when all has gone well, but instead to praise and thank our heavenly Father!  All our prayers for our family (including our newest son) He has so graciously and mercifully answered and to Him be all the glory!

Although we are thinking of our SD home, we are still sight seeing with Genti in Albania.  We regularly walk to our favorite bakery for treats. (Dad and Genti get akullore/ice cream while Mom tries a new bakery treat each visit.) Yesterday we walked to a nearby park that is a national memorial as well.  A large statue of “Mother Albania” is central with beautiful landscaping and walkways all around.  We were surprised that the park usually has locked gates. (We slipped in between broken fence and hiked up a dirt path to get to the area, the way most Albanians enter as well.)  We learned it is kept locked up in order to minimize vandalism. We are planning a few more outings into Tirana with Genti before our departure on Friday.

 Teresa is in front of the Tirana skyline 

Mother Albania looks over Genti 

Teresa, Genti & Garet visit the Mother Albania park

When we are not out sight seeing we spend our time in the BATI, the dormitory style building next to Genti’s group home that we call home in Albania.  The other children are always curious about where Genti goes and what we do so we had them all come for a visit one morning.  After putting away all breakables and electronics, it was a mini-free-for-all.  The kids checked out all the toys, rode Genti’s bicycle, colored, and eventually had a snack.  Teresa was able to share American coffee with the two staff and visit, as both knew a little English. (Most coffee in Albania is Turkish coffee, very different but Teresa likes it.)  We all had fun and made a mess.  The children are adorable, well cared for physically, but each are in need of a family!

Genti welcomes his friends to the BATI

 "Fred" (not his real name) reads to "Fred" (not her real name)

 Fred & Fred ride Genti's bicycle (not their real names - but it is really a bicycle)

We hope all in America enjoyed the July 4^th celebration.  We looked at the US Embassy website last Friday to see if there would be any type of celebration and realized they had already done it Thursday night, June 30!! Drats!  (Garet thinks it's ridiculous to celebrate the "4th of July" on June 30th - Teresa respectfully disagrees with him) Happy Fourth of July anyway!!