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.