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!!