A Comforting Reunion

      The first week of winter hosting is in the books. I will have to say it has been very comforting to have Masha back in our house. Maybe the best sleep Liz and I have gotten since she left. Despite the massive language barrier she just seems to fit, looks and personality. Airport pick up was way less stressful this year as we were met with huge hugs. Masha did not release her hug on me until her baggage came around to be picked up. The first week has been busy as we told her to bring absolutely nothing so we could fit more with her to send back. She brought nothing! Wednesday and Thursday were spent clothes shopping, she picked up right where she left off being very picky. We did manage to get 3 pairs of jeans, sweat shirts, and yes a dress (More on that later). Carley and Keira instantly took up were they left off with Masha and have not left her side. The best part is Masha enjoys them and has yet to be annoyed by the over stimulation. Masha is very good at making sure she gives each equal attention. She is just as sweet as the last time we hosted her. I really felt we may have somewhat of a different experience since she would already be comfortable with us. I guess realistically I am waiting for the I am not sure what to do moment. Hopefully we never have it during hosting.

     Friday and Sunday were all about the girls in my house events. Friday night Liz hosted a mother daughter ornament exchange. This was a bit too much for Masha as she did not want to come out of her room. Although I can not imagine why with 30 women and children probably talking about her and she has no idea what they are saying. With a little coaxing from Liz she came downstairs for the exchange game. This is the first time we have had to make her do anything, and she handled it well. The second event was the Nutcracker Ballet. The question here is, would we get Masha in a dress? The answer is after Liz using her mom voice she complied, and before I knew it I had 4 beautiful girls standing in front of me in the living room for pictures. Masha had never been to a ballet, and loved it. I even managed to stay awake through the whole thing. It was good to know we did not use up all the first experiences on the first trip.

     Overall our second hosting experience is just as much of a blessing if not more. It has confirmed to us that we have made the right decision to continue forward even if the results do not end up what we would like them to be. It still continues to be a roller coaster as we find more occasions where our agency and facilitator have dropped the ball. We have even found out that official paperwork could have been filed back during our initial hosting that would have given us her status long ago legally. I am still trying to figure out why we were not given this option in the beginning even if it took 8-12 weeks.  We also find ourselves trying not to have a bitter feeling about how the entire process went down.  The next three weeks are going be all about making the best out of the time we get.   Hopefully a Christmas miracle will happen, and we can figure something out soon.

A Bitter/Sweet Visit

     I have not been very good at keeping up our blog lately as we have not really received much in the way of positive news when it comes to Masha Nicole.  I did not start this blog to sound critical, bitter, or extremely negative, but looking at my last several entries that is exactly what it looks like.  I would love to take back the last few entries, but every feeling, frustration, or injustice is absolutely true.  I want it to be out there so people know not to expect a nice perfectly smooth process.  This is the one time in life where I would expect the worst and hope for the best. 
     Now for the good news and what this blog was created for.  Masha will be here tomorrow night at 11pm, and we get her for 4 weeks before we have to send her back again.   We are going to try to only focus on the positives while she is here even though a few days I am sure we will end up with some sobbing.  Masha has been texting us all day with her Ukraine version of Yippie I think, so we know she is as pumped as we are.  After we pick her up we have given her the option to stay in a hotel or head straight back to Oklahoma, which will be a 3 hour drive.  She wants to head straight home so she can see the girls first thing when they woke up in the morning.  I am pretty much sure the drive will consist of Masha and Liz sleeping while I drive.   Even though they will be sleeping I think it will bring a level of comfort I have not had since she left.    
     This is a very bitter/sweet visit at the same time though.  We still very much want to bring Masha in as part of our family, and I believe she wants it even more so.  She has almost been in panic mode as of late because her best friend is currently being adopted out of the orphanage right now, and we were suppose to be there at the same time getting Masha.  We actually even received travel dates for next week to go, but she is not available.  I know at some point we will have to broach this topic while she is here, and it is going to be extremely difficult.  I have been praying that the right things to say will come to me, because right now I have nothing.   Best case scenario is we can get her next November with a more realistic time being right before her 17th birthday in March.  That is if the Ministry of Magic actually got her in the system.  We have made the decision to ride this out as long as the road will take us and then some to get Masha here.  We just hope and pray when we get to the end of the road we end up with happy addition to our family, Masha Nicole.