She's here!

I know I'm behind on this post, but we've been a bit overwhelmed lately. :)

Evija made it here safely! I will try to post a few photos next week. Some of you out there have rose colored glasses on in regards to orphan care. If you would like to continue with those on, please stop reading here and check back with me another time. Those of you who don't mind a tiny dose of edited reality, read on.

Things were off to a rough start. Evija greeted us with her arms crossed and quiet for the first few days. We quickly found out she understands little English and doesn't feel comfortable trying to speak it. Therefore she's had to endure our less than perfect Latvian grammar and our slowness in speech. It's been almost 12 years since we lived in Latvia, so Travis and I are more than a little rusty. And our kids don't speak Latvian at all. I feel for her. She had just traveled 4,500 miles to meet strangers, then have to stay in a hotel room with them. It's no wonder she was scared and less than happy to see us. Then her first impression of America was the New Jersey Turnpike. I don't care what Pat Mahoney says, that part of NJ is like the unshaved armpit of America. In addition to the smoking factory scenery and bumpy roads, her silence and unwillingness to communicate other than with body language (arms crossed and looking away) made for a VERY long first two days. We got home from our 7 hour miserable car ride and our thoughts were along the lines of, "What have we done?" and, "At this rate, this is going to be a looooong month."

Also, in the first few days, we had to deal with practical stuff, like introducing deodorant, toothbrushes, and American underwear sizes, and other feminine hygiene products. Yay me. The orphanage sent her with one and a half outfits for her month long stay (one pair of pants and 2 shirts.) Trying to navigate clothing purchases and some other female stuff within the first 2 days did not endear Miss Evija to liking me. I smiled a lot, tried very hard with the language, used my pocket translator, and my Latvian friend Marika translated some emails for me. We got through it. Introducing our household routines (like this is a dishwasher, these are the foods we eat, and here's how we do laundry, etc.) has been fairly smooth. She seems to catch on to our ways and she has an appreciation for how easy those things are here. (If only all American teens realized this!)

And I must point out the positive side: Evija is a trustworthy young lady! She's been respectful of our stuff, she's complied with bedtimes, basic rules, and such. After doing foster care, we're well aware of what we could be dealing with. I don't have to worry about her destroying things, wandering the house at night, or trying to hurt our kids. Compared to some kids who have lived with us over the years, Miss Evija's shyness and reluctance to bond right away is a cake walk (very easy) for us. So when it comes to obeying rules and being safe, Evija gets an all important A+.

So far, things are getting better each day in the shyness category. She opened up to Emily first and they have bonded. I'm so proud of how Emily relentlessly went after Evija and forged the first connection. My daughter is growing up to be a woman of breakthroughs someday!!! She's well on her path. Then Nathan showed her our rope swing and they became fast friends. Just yesterday, Evija bonded with Travis and initiated communication with him. Yes. He had to wait (and try) 5 days for that. I'm still waiting. It hasn't happened with me yet. Please understand, Travis has been at work, the kids at school, and me at home with Evija the whole time. She's not warmed to me very much and doesn't enjoy talking much with me yet. Maybe it's the language barrier? However, if you know me, you know I'm pretty good at communicating. That kind of rejection is hard to take on my heart, but I'm standing in faith that my day will come soon. Who knows what's behind her hesitancy, but I'm going to keep trying different things and bless her with Love.

This morning, Evija got to have a dose of all the Lontzes home! We have a Saturday morning brunch routine that we enjoy very much. In the past, our Saturday brunch cooking is one way we break in new foster kids and see how they react to the "real us". Well, we decided to try it today with Evija. We all broke into different jobs and cook together as we talk 90 miles an hour all squished in the kitchen at once, bumping into each other and laughing our heads off. I'm VERY happy to report that she did well with that! She helped set the table and assisted with Emily's job of scrambling eggs. And SMILED!! YAY!

We're seeing her beautiful smile more and more as this goes on. She enjoyed the Lighthouse (hilarious!) Christmas pageant last night and she delivered Angel Tree gifts with us this morning. We'll see how she does with Grace tomorrow. I discussed church a little 2 days ago because of the Trivett's nativity scene on route 3. There will be many many new things to discuss and do in the coming weeks. It should be fun to show her around and let her explore American museums and culture, etc. We hope she enjoys meeting our friends (and their kids) soon too.

So all in all, we're doing all right. Things were off to a less-than-hoped-for (quiet)start, but we're seeing the ice melt and slowly we're all bonding. We like her very much! Any prayers would be appreciated. Pray for safety, clear communication, and blessings! I may not be able to write as often as some would like, but I'm doing my best. And we DO APPRECIATE all of you who are encouraging us along the way! Thank you!