One day to go!

Hello friends,

Yep, we're pretty much in countdown mode. Today was our second to last day and was a pretty easy going one. Thankfully it came at a good time. Poor Abby got hit with the stomach bug last night and had a rough go of it today. So, today was TCOAD (Take Care Of Abby Day). And, after a good day's rest she seems to be coming around really well. I think Kiersten summed up our day best. When I asked her at bedtime to tell me the favorite part of her day she said, "Seeing mommy get better." I could not agree more.

In effort to keep out of Abby's room so she'd have some peace and quiet, we had to get creative. The girls decided to go swimming. It is an outside pool. It is a little windy. It was misting all day. And it is at most 50 degrees. The pool is not heated. Needless to say, the girls froze. But, they wanted to do it. Maddie's answer to my bedtime question was, "the hot bubble bath after swimming!"

The girls also watched a couple movies at our blog station. See above as Luke Skywalker gets ready to take on Darth Vader.

Tomorrow we go on a tour of downtown. That should be a lot of fun. Then Ab and I have a couple more appointments to get Malea's visa and US citizenship wrapped up. Then, tomorrow night we pack to come home to the good 'ol United States of America! We can't wait.

As far as Malea goes, she's doing awesome. Many of our friends' children are not sitting up, not eating, and are really fussy. We are not encountering any of those issues with Malea. In fact, she seems unusually developed and is eating like a champ. Other children her age and older are just beginning to sit up on their own and many do not hold onto toys. Malea has a death grip on toys and is standing and crawling in the past couple days. Not sure how to explain that unless her orphanage experience was uniquely developmental. Regardless, she is noticeably progressing each day.

The only issue we have with Malea is her sleeping habits. I find myself wishing she could not stand when at 2:00 in the morning I see her peeking over her crib rail at me. I try to be invisible hoping she does not see me but without fail her stare is joined by a cry that you all can probably hear! My first remedy idea for her sleep dysfunction was to let her sleep in the lobby but Ab caught me as I got to the elevator. As it turns out forty five minutes of holding, walking, and a bottle seems to do the trick. Ab and I have decided our first order of business back home is to work on her sleeping habits. If anyone has any pointers, let us know! By the way, I know what you're thinking and yes - that cute little bugger sleeping in the picture CAN be a stinker!

I believe tomorrow night will be out last post. It feels weird to say that - hard to believe. This is an amazing trip and despite the tummy problems we are loving every minute of it. God is so good.

Sheri - thanks for the Lucy's recommendation. We hit that joint and had some great American food. And, never thought a 7-11 would be a diet staple, but turns out they have some good grub there as well (remember, it's all relative). Thanks to you and others who have been to the White Swan for the pointers!

Good night (hopefully) from the Spears