A Blessed 4 Months!!

Hollis Selfie at the end of a Camping Trip - 2014

  Hello!! I apologize for the delay in updating the blog.  Our entire family has had a busy summer....you know; regular life and adopting a beautiful daughter and all! HAHA

All and all we have had a very busy summer.  As soon as we returned from Bulgaria, we were in full swing of baseball and did not finish the season until mid-July.  Then it was time to take some time off for a family vacation.  Then next thing we knew Amy and all three kids were back in school (Amy teaching and the kids learning).

Enough with the excuse of a busy summer!  You all want to hear how Zoya is adjusting to being a Hollis.

Where to start......oh yeah, from the end of the last blog.

Our friends and family threw a shower for Zoya and it was a beautiful day!  It was such a pleasure to see all the love and support for Zoya's new beginning.  She loved all the attention!  She received many gifts of toys and decorations for her room.  She would open a new gift and ask, "Ha Зоя?" (pronounced nă Zoya, and translated "for Zoya?").  You could see the excitement in her face when we would tell her yes, it is for Zoya.  A child that pretty much had nothing of her own and had to share everything now has her own things.  She even had to share her clothes at the orphanage.  Not any more!  All this was just for her!  She is now a princess in her mind!  She was very appreciative as well, telling everyone thank you.  And I am pretty sure all those that attended received multiple hugs!  Thanks to all that came see Zoya!

Zoya enjoyed the baseball season, not because she wanted to play or watch baseball, but because many of our friends would be in the stands and she could play with their kids.  It is so cool to see other children play with Zoya even though they do not share the same language.  The other kids would all try to speak basic Bulgarian to her.  So every now and then you would hear other kids saying Da for yes and Neh for no.

Communication improves every day.  During the first couple of months, we communicated well, but had to rely quite a bit on Google translate to get our point across.  For the basics, even though Zoya spoke in Bulgarian and we spoke in English, we knew what each other were trying to say.  During the last month, communication has improved greatly!  Amy and I only need to use the translator for things we have never discussed.  Zoya more and more is using English words when talking.  I joke that some of her sentences are in Bulgenglish.  Today, Amy asked her what an apple was in Bulgarian because we had forgotten, and Zoya had almost forgot as well.

Zoya started summer school in July and she absolutely loved going to school.  We were so happy that Sunset Elementary, the same school Amy teaches at and where Coen attends, was offering the 6 week summer program.  This was summer school to help children keep on track and hold onto the education normalcy.  So we decided that this would be a good step in getting Zoya prepared for the actual school year.  We decided to start Zoya in the 3rd grade.  She is 5th grade age, but as I may have stated in a prior blog, she could not read or write Bulgarian.  In orphanages, the tendency is not to ensure all the children progress with their education.  They just ensure they make it to and from school.  There is no accountability ensuring that homework is completed and/or if they progress as they should.  Zoya was tested when she started school and her education level was at a pre-kindergarten level.  Summer school was a true positive for Zoya.  Not only did she enjoy school, she was getting prepared for the school year.  School started mid-August and Zoya started in the 3rd grade, but spends the majority of her day with the special education teacher.  In all, Zoya has done well in school.  The positives are that she is progressing with her education.  It can be difficult at times, but she is progressing.  In regards to behavior, she is pretty good.  There have been times when she has acted out in displeasure, but most of the time she displays good behavior.  When she gets tired and frustrated she starts to shut down.  If she is held accountable and there is perseverance in instruction, she continues to try.  If she is allowed to get out of working, she takes that opportunity.  The downside of being in special education is that there can be multiple types of personalities and attitudes.  A couple times, Zoya has tried to act like one of the other children in class that is in continuous trouble.  After Zoya learned that the teacher will just go get mommy down the hall and that daddy and mommy do not appreciate bad behavior, she has been much better.  Zoya does aim to please, so that is a true positive in her education and behavior patterns.  In summary, Amy and I have told all, whether it be her teacher or any adult, treat her as they would their own child.  Just because she spent her life in an orphanage and is the new kid, she needs to be treated and taught the same as every child.  If you show favor or become lax, she will take advantage of it and will think she does not have to try hard and can act in less desirable ways.  Zoya spent her first 10 years without structure and stability.  Now that her life is stable, we pray her education will strive in the way she needs.  Her recent test show that she has improved to kindergarten plus 6 months.  This is a definite improvement and we are so proud of our Zoya!!!  She is a smart and intelligent child!  It is only a matter of time.

Before school started, we took time to go camping.  Camping is one of our family favorite things to do.  We love nature and getting away from daily life and distractions.  We camped for four days at Monjeau Peak, near Ruidoso, NM.  The four days were awesome!  We dealt with some rainy weather, but that did not dampen our fun together.  Zoya got to experience many more "Firsts."  Zoya got to go fishing, sit by the campfire and roast marshmallows, and of course eat her first smore.  Zoya even got to go for her first hike in the mountains.  We learned quickly that Zoya's opinion to hiking was less pleasurable.  She kept wondering where are we going and when to we get there.  For her sake, the rain started to come in and we had to cut our hike short.  Again this was a great time with the whole family!!

Zoya got to celebrate her first Independence Day for America on the 4th of July.  It was so cute hearing her walk around the house saying it is America's birthday!  She enjoyed the fireworks and playing with sparklers.  She looked so pretty in her red, white and blue!

I took Zoya to the eye doctor for her first examination in the states.  In Bulgaria, they did an exam and they were going to put her in glasses.  When we arrived to pick to get her, we noticed she was not wearing glasses.  When we inquired about her glasses, they said Zoya intentionally lost them as they were bulky and heavy.  I am pretty sure they were free or very cheap glasses and not kid friendly or comfortable.  Zoya does have a lazy left eye and after ten years, her brain has started to just rely on focusing with her right eye.  The exam went well, long, but well.  The staff was absolutely wonderful at the Eye Site.  In fact, they even started to speak some Bulgarian by the end of the exam.  Zoya has been fitted with glasses and must wear them all the time, except when on the playground.  The glasses should help her left eye strengthen and may eventually correct her overall focusing.

Zoya has been to the dentist and I will not get into to many details, but we are pretty sure she will be an expensive child in regards to her teeth.  In short, she will need to have braces in the future.  But first, Dr Simmons is having to research something we have not seen before.  Zoya's front two teeth are fused together.  Next step is to see if the two teeth share the same root, or just fused above the gums.  Not sure of the fix, if any, but all will be good.  Zoya is already a beautiful girl, so regardless if her teeth can be 100% corrected she will continue to be beautiful!

Zoya has also gone to our pediatrician for one vaccination and a general physical.  All is well with her health.

Zoya loves going to church as well.  She loves being around the other kids!  One Sunday she was ill with a horrible cough and congestion so we decided she should stay home.  She agreed to the decision but after I left the room and came back she had tears in her eyes.  It broke our heart!  She was so sad she was not able to go to church.

As you can read above, we have had a very busy four months and I most likely forgot to share all the stories.  But the reality is that our life with Zoya is a blessing!  The relationship between Stephen, Coen and Zoya is amazing!  It is like they have been brothers and sister their entire lives.  Stephen and Coen are such great brothers!  They help Zoya out when she needs help and play with her when she is bored!  Zoya looks up to her brothers and likes to spend time with them; even if it is only to watch them do their thing.  With Coen and Zoya only 3 months apart in age, they are exactly what you would expect from a brother and sister.  They aggravate each other (in a fun way), support each other and most important, laugh together!  My, and Amy's, favorite sound in the world is hearing our children laugh.  You can hear them laughing in the same room, in their bedrooms and in the back seat of the car.  It is such a contagious laugh!  If you want to put a smile on my face....have a laughing child near me!  But the thing that has made me respect Stephen and Coen the most...They love their sister, Zoya and they look after her.  They always make sure she is ok!  They know that Zoya is our little princess and their job is to help protect her.  Without hesitation, they look after her best interest!

As I just said, Zoya is my little princess!  I tell her as often as I can that she is my princess and in return I get that smile I love to see!  Amy and I love hearing her say "I yuv you!"  She struggles with her "L's"  but it warms your heart regardless!

While typing this blog, Zoya has done more than she was probably able to or allowed to do in her whole life.  She has spent time playing with her brothers and cousins.  She has been sitting at the table practicing her writing by spelling all our names, her grandparents' names and her cousins' names (and doing very well with it).  And I just heard her ask Amy..."Mom, can I have a snack?" all in English.

Life is good in the Hollis house!  Our love for each other is stronger every day!  And watching Zoya live with the life she deserves is priceless!!  GOD is GOOD!!

Zoya enjoying her first 4th of July!

Homecoming

Amy, Zoya and I left our apartment in Sofia on May 17, at 5am (Friday, May 16, 8pm MST). Twenty-eight hours later, midnight in Carlsbad, we arrived at our house, Zoya's forever home!

Now let me summarize our 28 hours of travel:  All three of us did not get a full night of sleep before our early morning rise.  Zoya was over excited and Amy and I were making sure all our bags were packed and ready to go.  Our 4am wakeup came quick.  Though Zoya should have been tired, she was up and ready to go.  She repeated over and over that we were headed to America and she would see Stephen and Coen.  When I say repeated, I mean repeated hundreds of times!!  It was so cool.  Maya and Ivan picked us up right at 5am and we headed to the Sofia airport.  The airport was packed and of course the kiosks were having issue, but after several hiccups of getting in the system, we were checked in.  Now it was time to say goodbye to Maya and Ivan.  Again, we were so ready to come home, but it is always hard to say goodbye to friends.  We then proceeded through security and passport check.  The passport check was our first time to show proof that Zoya was our adopted child.  All went well and we were so glad Maya showed us step by step process of what all the passport checks will need to see and what immigration in the states would need to process Zoya.  We arrived at our gate in plenty of time.  If I have not mentioned in prior posts, Zoya is impatient.  She kept asking "what we were waiting for, the plane is right there."  We over and over repeated that we had to wait until the plane is ready.  After several impatient requests, Amy Google Translated what we thought was "We cannot go right now...." because the plane was not ready, however, Zoya understood it as "We are not going now."  She almost collapsed to her knees and started to sob and pretty much went into a panic. Amy and I were confused at first until we caught on to what she was saying, and we both quickly started punching in a new translation into Google Translate.  We finally got the correct translation out and as quick as she sobbed, she was back to saying "Going to America!"  and of course; "What are we waiting for?"  Finally, we made it on the plane.  In short, the flight to Frankfurt is about 2 hours, had a short wait in Frankfurt and then had a 10 plus hour flight to Dallas.  Zoya, could not have been any better!  She was an angel!  Amy and I were so proud of her!  Zoya was not only a great passenger, she did not sleep one minute of the flight.  As with most children, if they do not sleep, you do not sleep.  Amy and I were so tired by time we got to Dallas.  And we still have a 7 hour drive ahead of us.  But first, we have to go through passport check and then go to the immigration processing station.  Two and a half hours later, Zoya was a US citizen based on her IH3 visa.  Finally, we arrived at our car and the long drive started.  Guess who fell asleep minutes after getting on the freeway....yep, Zoya and Amy were snoring!  We stopped in Abilene for Whataburger and Zoya's first meal in America.  Then the drive continued....

At midnight, Amy called her mom to let her know we were pulling into town.  She told us that the boys were waiting up for us.  I think Amy and I perked up immediately knowing we would be able to see Stephen and Coen!  We woke Zoya up and we pulled into the driveway.  Zoya knew immediately from pictures, this was her HOME!  We all got out of the car and headed to the front door, but before we could get in the door, we could hear the boys running down the street from Mamaw's house so we waited for our warm greeting!  That is when we witnessed a heartwarming event and something I will not ever forget!  Zoya saw Stephen first and ran towards him, just like in the movies, Stephen and Zoya ran into each other's arms and hugged.  She squeezed him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  Seconds later, Coen came behind Stephen on a skooter and Zoya ran to him and the two of them hugged tight and she kissed him on the cheek!  It was so beautiful!!

We then went into the house and regardless of how tired we were, Zoya was now experiencing her first ever bedroom.  She was also so excited to have her brothers.  The three of them went on for about an hour before we all started to wind down for the night.

We have been home now for over a week and all we can say is that Zoya has continued to bless us!  We are trying not to overwhelm Zoya in any way, but based on her reaction and response to everything to this point, we are not sure if she get's overwhelmed.  She has been very friendly with all our family and friends.  We arrived back in the states at a very busy time.  It was the last week of school and our nephew, Nick graduated so we had lots of family in town.  We took Zoya to the school Amy teaches at and where Coen attends.  It is also the school Zoya will attend next year.   All the teachers and students that have supported our adoption were so excited to meet her and likewise, Zoya was so excited to meet them.  I also took her to CNB, the bank I work at as they have all been wanting to meet her.  She gave everyone hugs and it was nice to see how well she is doing around everyone.

Throughout the week, we see all the "FIRSTS" for Zoya.  From riding a skooter, to jumping on a trampolene, to playing with different toys, and to eating different foods.  She is not shy to try anything.  She is very coordinated and picks up new tasks easily.  She will try new foods (we are not shocking her with any thing crazy or spicy).  She is amazing!

Now, in a few years, Zoya will probably be mad at me for putting this in a blog, but I feel it is a huge accomplishment.  One of the issues the orphanage staff told us was that she occassionally wets the bed at night.  In Sofia, 8 of the 10 nights, Zoya did have an accident during the night.  Some were legitamate accidents, and some did not appear to be accidents, but on purpose.  That is when Amy and I had a thought that in the orphanage, they may not have been able, or allowed, to leave their rooms during the night and that at times may have just wet the bed out of necessity and not just accident.  So we asked Ivan to explain to her that it was ok to get up and go to the restroom.  So he did and she understood now that it was ok to get up at any time.  She still had an accident, but there were no more "on purpose" messes.  We are more proud to say that since she has been home, here in Carlsbad (nine nights), she has had Zero accidents!!  She is so comfortable in her home and in her own bed!

Zoya is understanding us more and more.  While she may not be able to speak English back to us, she is understanding English quickly.  She is starting to say some things in English and we praise her and encourage her when she does.  This summer Amy will work with her regularly and prepare her for the next school year.

Amy and I thank God for blessing us with two beautiful and supportive sons and now with a beautiful daughter!!  We are a very happy and loving family of FIVE!!  We are truely BLESSED!!  Also, thank you everyone that has supported us through out our journey!!  It is so cool seeing people wear our Love shirts.  We are also so overwhlemed with support from everyone!  We love you all for everything, expecially, the love and support from our family!!

It Is Final!

On May 15, Amy and I went to the US Embassy in Sofia for our Interview to get Zoya's Visa to enter the U.S. approved.  As soon as the interview was complete, we were told her visa would be ready the next day.  As of about 4pm Sofia time, May 16, Zoya's passport included her Visa and was picked up at the US Embassy.  About an hour later we met up with Maya, our Bulgarian adoption representative, who had Zoya's passport and we had a celebretory dinner.  At the dinner, we received all the final documents regarding Zoya!  Our adoption is complete!  PRAISE GOD!!!!!

Now that I have shared all the great news, I would like to share our experiences over the last couple days with Zoya.  In short, they have been great!!  As mentioned before, Zoya is quickly getting more and more comfortable with Amy and I as her parents.  She is such a joy!! Her laugh is very contagious, so I tickle her as often as I can!!

We did however have one of those moments all parents experience with their children, and that is a deliberate disobedience to something that has been repeated over and over.  Amy and I (and Ivan) have explained to Zoya that when we are walking near streets and especially when we are crossing a street, that she must hold one of our hands.  Zoya does not have much experience around cars and traffic.  The village she is from may only have a few cars, and with the exception of the orphanage worker's cars, I never saw another vehicle.  The first busy street we crossed, Zoya almost broke out of my grip and she put herself in danger of being hit by a car.  Therefore, since then we have been adamant that she hold one of our hands.  Well yesterday, Amy and I along with Zoya were returning back to the apartment from lunch and I pointed out a dog sleeping on the sidewalk.  Zoya has not been around many animals/pets, so she is fearful of them, so when I pointed at the dog, she yanked her hand out of my hand and darted across the street.  Fortunately, the car coming down the street was about a 1/4 a block away and Zoya was not in dire danger.  However, it scared Amy and I to death.  As all parents should do, we had to really get onto her about how that was not a good thing and she could have been seriously hurt.  So we punished her by taking away some of her toys and gave her a stern lecture.  At the end, we requested that she apologize, but at first she did not quite understand what we were trying to say (again, the language barrier was in play).  Eventually, Amy got the point across, but Zoya decided to be a little stubbarn and would not apologize.  She could also sense that Amy and I were not pleased with her disobedience.  We gave her the option, apologize or go to bed.  She refused to apologize.  As Amy, took Zoya to her room, she started to realize our displeasure and started to weep (this is something Zoya does not do...cry.  Even the orphanage stated she rarely cries, even when she gets hurt).  Zoya, then decided it was time to apologize to me for braking away from my hand and being disobedient.  Zoya came up to me and as she started to apologize she started to cry uncontrollably.  You could legitamately see the sincerity in her apology!!  As an orphan, you can tell she, as with other orphans, have it in their mind that they would be taken back to the orphanage if their paremts were unhappy with them.  Her teary apology broke my heart!!  I gave her a major hug and had to fight back my own tears.  Amy and I then explained that the reason we have rules is to protect her!  We want to protect her because we love her!!  While it was a tough situation, it was a major milestone for all of us!

Today, May 16th, we explained to Zoya that today is our last day in Bulgaria and we are headed to America tomorrow.  Zoya has been non-stop excited!! She cannot stop talking about it!  I think every stranger that walked by was told that she is headed to America!!  The excitement in her face and heart have been awesome to see!!

While today is our last day in Bulgaria and Amy and I are so excited to get Zoya home and to be with our two beautiful boys, Stephen and Coen, it is also bitter sweet.  We are also leaving behind new friends.  Ivan, Mihaela and Maya will all be missed!!  We have joked that we will start the adoption process to adopt Ivan, but looks like we will have to pass as Mihaela, Ivan's girlfriend says no!

We are so happy though to be headed home.  We miss our family so much and we cannot wait to show off our newest family member, Zoya Angelova Hollis!!  She will fit in perfectly as God has placed us all together to be a family!  Zoya is a gift from God and we will cherish her forever!

Stephen and Coen; we love you and can't wait to introduce to you, your new sister.  Along with Mom and Dad, your job as big brothers are to protect and love her!

We are headed home!!!!

The Learning Curve!

Amy and I are now finishing our 4th day being Zoya's parents and while it has been a very blessed time, both Zoya and us have had a some adjusting to do.  First, there is the language barrier.  Amy has been doing a fairly good job retaining some words and phrases to help in communicating.  I have been limited to a few words here and there, and Zoya just laughs at my attempts.  Something else...Just as I had to learn in India, head nodding is opposite of what us Americans understand.  Up and Down means "No," and side to side means "Yes."  Again, Zoya laughs at my attempts to understand this difference.  

Each day Zoya is learning more and more of what she can get away with, but the testing is continuous.  When we must get onto her, she just laughs at us until she realizes the seriousness of our tone and face.  All in all, I think we are being effective in teaching her that we are in charge as parents.

Lastly, though Zoya is 10 years old, Amy and I feel as if we have a toddler in the house (Sofia apartment) again.  Zoya has had extremely limited experiences in her life.  Amy gave her probably one of her first baths of her life (probably only had showers at the orphanage) on Thursday night.  On Friday night, Amy let Zoya be a child and just splash and have a great time!!  Though, I was not allowed to this party, it will be one of my favorite memories.  Zoya was laughing so much it was amazing to hear!!  All I could do is laugh from my seat in the living room!  Once the bath was complete, Amy comes out of the bathroom soaked to the bone!  Not to mention that the bathroom needed some mopping!  Now each night when we say it is time to put PJ's on, she give us the hand signalling that it is bath time.....and the suckers we are, Amy takes her to the bathroom for a bath!  It is also very cute to watch her and Amy blow dry her hair (even I have helped with her hair).  Back to the toddler experience; we have to watch what we leave down.  Her curiosity is rampant and she gets into everything.  So we must keep anything harmful out of reach.  This morning she saw me shaving my head and later in the morning, I wondered what was taking her so long in the bathroom, and as it is with most children, the quieter they are the more scared you get.  Finally, I ask if all is ok and as she exits the door, one side of her face is covered in shaving cream.  Oh, the life as a parent!  Amy and I are just so excited for her, and as long as she does not get hurt, we are happy she is experiencing new things.....I am just glad she could not reach my razor!

Since my last post, we have had some fun being tourist as well as parents.  On Friday, along with Ivan, we walked around Sofia and toured the Archaeological Museum and the Temple Sveta Sofia.  On Saturday, we took Zoya to her first movie in a movie theater.  We watched Rio 2 in Bulgarian.  And the movie would not be complete without a jumbo popcorn, large bag of M&M's and a soda.  After the movie we went shoe shopping and bought Zoya some new shoes.  Not 100%, but Zoya may have been just excited about the new shoes as she was about the movie.

Later in the evening, we successfully connected with the boys via Face Time.  Zoya and the boys were able to see and talk to each other for the first time!!  It was so good to see the boy's faces!!  But I think the time was so good for Zoya! She even told Stephen and Coen (Amy figured it out.....again, she is amazing at understanding Zoya) that she wished they were here so she could hug and kiss them!  Then she said those precious words, Obicham te (I love you) to the boys!!  It was so cool!!  Zoya was so excited to see them and she talked about it constantly.

Today, we went for a tour of the Boyana Church (боянска църква) and the National Museum of History (национален исторически музей).  The tours of these two venues were amazing......for Amy, myself and Ivan.  Not so much for Zoya.  As with 99% of all children, museums and historical sites are not all that interesting.  None the less, there were at least playground equipment near both and she got to have some fun.  As I have stated in prior posts, Ivan has a Bachelors in History so we do not just walk around, we get an education.  It is so cool to learn so much about Bulgaria and its rich history!!  So many of the museum items go back as far as the 17th century BC.  The National Museum of History takes you to the early BC years and as you make your way around this large museum, you eventually make it to recent history.  Amy and I are always in AWWWWW!!  We thank Ivan for all our tours!!

Going back to Zoya not having much fun in the museums and other historical sites, she has really enjoyed the playground equipment we find.  It is obvious she has not had much time on some of the equipment and can get scared at times.  But that is when I get so proud of her.  If I am with her and show her that all will be ok, she will give it a try (most of the time) and she proves she can do it.  The smile on her face when she does something new is priceless!!

As with our first trip, the Bulgarian cuisine is very good!  We have eaten many different things (again, we are so happy Ivan is with us most of the time to help us order).  Today, I had ox toungue.  I even convined Amy to try it and she admitted it was good and tender.  I have had beef tongue in the past, so now I can take ox tongue off my list of new foods.  Near our apartment is a tiny market with fresh fruit and veggies (it is like a small convenient store as well).  The fruit and veggies come from a nearby so it is all fresh.  All I can say it is absolutely wonderful and the best tasting fruit and veggies we have ever eaten.  The staff at the market is very nice and helpful.  I think the novelty of having some Americans come in the store often is neat to them.

Well, this post went longer than I expected and I know it may not been as exciting as prior post, but it is good for Amy and I to look back on our experience here in Bulgaria.  This blog also serves as our future reminder of our first days with Zoya!  If the last 4 days are an indicator of our future......We are so excited!  God has blessed us dearly with two wonderful boys and now a wonderful daughter!!  Today is Mother's Day!  All I can say is....Stephen, Coen and Zoya have an Angel for a Mom!!  She is the most wonderful person I know!  She is not only my best friend, she is the most wonderful wife and mother of all three of our children!!  Obicham te Amy!!  Thank you for all you do!!  Happy Mother's Day Amy!!

The Start of A New Chapter

May 6, 2014 seemed like it would never get here, and then the next thing we knew, it was upon us and we had to get prepared for the next step in our journey.  We got the boys over to my parents late on the 5th and then we went home to finalize our preparations.  I do thank God for the wake up call the next morning as we needed to leave town early and I apparently turned the alarm off instead of getting up when we originally planned.  However, we did get on the road on time.....at 3:45am.  Our drive to Dallas was smooth (Amy got some rest and I managed to stay awake the whole way).  25 hours after jumping in the car, we were at the Sofia airport picking up our luggage.  Besides the happiness to see all our luggage arrive with us, it was so awesome to have to bring additional luggage; A suitcase with Zoya's clothes and toys.  We then met up with our translator, Ivan, and our driver, Dimo, and headed to our rented apartment.  After settling in, Amy and I took advantage of some quiet time and caught up on some necessary rest!!

.....That leads us to the next chapter of our lives!!

Thursday, May 8:  Ivan and Dimo picked us up from our apartment at 7:30am and we headed to the village of Gavril Genovo.  After our 2 1/2 hour drive, we made the familiar turn down the road to Zoya's orphanage.  The butterflies really started to hit Amy and I as we headed through the gate and towards the door.  That is when we see Zoya in the front window and we could see her familiar smile!!  The door opened and out came Zoya.......A big hug erased all the butterflies!  We finally have Zoya in our arms again!!

After delivering gifts to the orphanage and finalizing paperwork, Zoya said her goodbyes to the orphanage for the last time!  Zoya held our hands and we walked to the car.  Though, it was another 2 1/2 hours in a car, it was so cool to have her fall asleep in my lap!! We arrived back in Sofia and met Maya, our Bulgarian adoption representative (and Ivan's boss and Dimo's mom) at the immigration center to start Zoya's passport process.  While, I may be biased, Zoya's passport photo blows all other identification photos out of the water.

It was then time for a late lunch.  We found a nice pizzaria down the street from our apartment.  We ordered a couple of pizzas thinking we would bring the left overs back to the apartment for later.  Nope, that did not happen.  First, I have a pizza addiction and I can pretty much put down more pizza than any person should eat in one sitting.  But found out, Zoya can hold her own, as she put down four slices and a small plate of spaghetti.

After lunch, we said goodbye to Ivan for the rest of the day.  Amy and I are now alone with Zoya for the first time ever.  It is time for us to be her parents and for her to be a daughter in a loving family!!  It is also time to see how well we can communicate with each other.  Zoya does not speak English and while Amy and I are trying, we do not speak much Bulgarian.  It has been a little over 5 hours and God has continued his blessings as we have been able to pass the communication test.  While we do not understand all she is telling us in speech, we do understand what her needs are by action and constant interaction.  Amy has done a fantastic job creating ways to teach Zoya and for us to learn from her.  I am always amazed with Amy and her interaction with children!!  Zoya has definitely tested her limits with us and we have had to ensure boundaries are not to be broken or compromised.

It has been such a glorious day!! Amy and I have been able to hold and hug our precious Zoya!! Holding hands while walking down the street are memories that will last forever!!  Amy gave Zoya a bath and put her in brand new PJ's.  It is so cool to see Amy with our daughter, making her all pretty; blow drying her hair and putting bows on her head!  It is getting late and it is time to put Zoya to bed (and Amy and I are about to fall over asleep)!!!

Please continue to pray as this chapter in our lives will last forever!!  Thank you all for your support!!

It Is Time!

First, I am sorry for the delay in updating our blog.  We have been waiting for final approvals and confirmations.  Now, Amy, myself and the boys can say..."It is time!"

On March 28th, Amy and I received the Bulgarian court's approval to adopt Z (Soon, we will be able to use her name).  After approval, we only had to wait a week for the approval to be officially filed into the system.  The next steps have been to prepare our trip to Sofia to finalize the adoption.  With Easter and other Bulgarian holidays, we had to wait until May to travel.  

I am so happy to say we have bought our airline tickets to leave the States on May 6th, and get to Sofia on May 7th.  We then will go get Z from the orphanage and she will be with us the rest of our lives!!!!!!  That is just so amazing to say!!

We must be in Sofia for ten days to complete all the necessary steps to finalize the adoption and the steps to allow her into the US.  While I am not sure of all we have to do, we are confident our agency in Bulgaria will guide us all the way.  We have also rented a two bedroom apartment in Sofia for our time there.  We cannot wait to start bonding and being the loving and caring parents Z has always deserved!  

God has brought us together, and while Z had to start life and live in an orphanage for her first 10 years, He has always planned on Amy and I being her parents!  We are so proud to be her parents and cannot wait to provide her a home!  Her brothers are so excited to meet her!  To hear them say "sister" is so heart warming!  Coen gave up his large room and took a much smaller room so Z could have his old room.  We have started to prepare her room so any 10 year old girl would be happy (Stephen helped paint).  We have painted it her favorite color, yellow.  Amy had bought a nice comforter for the bed, and she painted her dresser pink.  We have started to buy her clothes to fill her closet and drawers.  We have appreciated all the support in getting her wardrobe all set!  I now get to hear Amy say "Oh this is adorable, or this is so cute" all the time now.  With a house full of boys, those words were rarely used!  I also came to realize, I may have to learn how to brush a little girl's hair......

The adoption journey can be a trying time and can pull on the emotions, but it has been such a blessing!  Every step has proved to be in God's hands!!  Even when we get Z home, the journey will not end, but will start a new chapter.  A chapter we are ready to start!  Thank you all again for your support!  The financial support and most importantly, your prayer support has helped bring us to Z and we will have her home soon.  We will be home with Z on May 17th!  What a glorious homecoming that will be!

God bless you all and I cannot wait for you all to meet our precious Z!!

Loving and Missing our Z

It has been 16 weeks since we last saw "Z" and we sure miss her!  The adoption can seem like an endless process, but we know the adoption is in God's hands and He has His perfect plan.  In our last blog post, I shared that our file was given to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice on January 31st to review our adoption.  This process takes approximately 30 days.  What we did not realize at the time is that after the Judge reviews the file and turns it to the court, it may take a couple of weeks to set a court date and that date may be 4 to 6 weeks later than that.  Again though, the adoption is in God's hand and He knew Amy is completing her Masters in Education and completing her dossier.  Therefore, God is allowing her to focus on her studies before our next trip.  Amy should have her dossier submitted and Masters completed by the end of March.  She will be so relieved to have this behind her!!  Based on time lines, there is the possibility our court date will be set around Easter.  While, we do not have a court date, nor know if Easter will be the approximate date, but I received chills when I looked at the calendar and saw Easter.  If you remember, or have read past blogs, our fourth day with Z, we toured the Klisurski Monastery of St. Cyril and St. Methodius.  While there, we wanted to get a small present for Z as this monastery was near her birth place of Berkovitsa.  When we asked what would be a nice gift from the monastery, the nun stated that Z's name represented "To Live," like the resurrection.  How cool is that! 

Our precious Z turned 10 on March 6.  We hope she had a blessed birthday!!  On her birthday, the Judge turned our file (Agreement to adopt Z) over to the courts.  Now we just wait the week or two to get a court date.  Once we have the date, we can plan our travel!!  YAYYYYYYYYY!!

Not only do adoptions take a long time, they are very expensive as well.  While God has blessed Amy and I financially, we have depleted most of our savings during the process.  We have some close friends also adopting and they did a fundraiser that not only helped raise money, but it created adoption awareness.  We loved the idea!!  So we contacted Fund the Nations and designed a t-shirt (pictured above).  About 2 weeks into selling our shirts, we have been blessed with many t-shirt sales and donations!!  We will continue to sell throughout March.  We are overwhelmed with joy on how our friends and family have supported us through our adoption!  We thank all those that have supported us!  We hope the t-shirts create awareness on the importance of adopting the world's orphans (domestically and internationally).  The t-shirt reads:  "Adopt Bulgaria (Bulgaria written in Bulgarian). Love Makes a Family."

Please continue to support us and all those adopting by keeping us in your thoughts and prayers!  We love you all and cannot wait for everyone to meet our precious Z!!  

Obicham Te Z!!

Adoption Update

Well it has been quite some time since I last posted to the blog.  For the most part, it is because Amy and I have been in wait mode.  However, the process has been in motion since we returned from Bulgaria back in November.


As soon as we returned from Bulgaria, Amy and I completed the I-800 application.  This process was estimated to take 30 days, and almost to the date, we received the I-800 approval in the mail around Christmas time.  Then the National Visa Center (NVC) letter came in the mail about 10 days later.  We now had all the information necessary to complete the visa application (DS-260).  The DS-260 was then submitted and within a week we received notification from Children of All Nations, our adoption agency, that the US Embassy in Bulgaria received all our documents.  The next step was for our Bulgarian representative, AMOR, to make an appointment with the embassy for an interview on our behalf.  AMOR was successful at scheduling an interview quickly and afterwards, heard the interview went well.  The very next day, the embassy provided to AMOR our article 5 letter.  The AMOR then took our file, including the article 5 letter and had it translated and legalized.  On January 30th or 31st, the AMOR submitted our documentation to the Bulgarian Ministry of Justice.


That brings us to today....


As of now, we are waiting for the judge to make a final ruling on our adoption!  This process generally takes one month, but it is dependent on the judge and his/her schedule.  So it could be sooner, or it could be longer.  The most important thing is that it is in God's hands and we are nearing the end of our wait!


We sure miss "Z"!!  We cannot wait to hold her again and bring her home to her forever family!!  I look at her picture(s) daily and am so excited to squeeze her in my arms and hold her tight!!  Obicham Te "Z"!!!


Amy and I sure need to get her room ready!  We are going to paint it her favorite color, yellow.  Amy bought her a beautiful comforter for her bed!  Between Amy and her mom, Cindi, "Z" will have a complete wardrobe!  Plus we have received several bags of clothes from friends and we appreciate the love and gifts!!


Please continue to pray that our journey follows God's plan and we will have "Z" home soon!!  I also ask everyone to pray for all the orphans and adoptive families!!  The need is great and I pray that all the orphans will find the necessary love of a forever family!!


Love you all!!