Today was, well, interesting. Things have been a little crazy over here. I expected things to be hard at times, and today was definitely one of those days. Most of our issues so far have to do with someone named Hallie though, not Flor.
We got up after a short night's sleep due to a block party/music fest that went on from 1:30 am to 3 am. The music was blaring just outside our window and there was a bunch of people just sitting around in cars doing who knows what. The cops finally came and broke up the party at 3. No thanks to them, our night was rough! Getting three kids fed, bathed, and dressed in the morning is a chore in and of itself, but add to that the cleanup involved after every meal, and whoa! It takes all morning! Luckily, there are two of us for now as we are adjusting to the three kids. It will be another adjustment when it is just me and Devin is working!
We took our daily trip to the MegaMaxi in the morning and then came home in time to Skype with Kirston. We have enjoyed our nearly daily Skype's with her and the kids. They are a great support to us. This was the first time they were able to see Flor, so that was fun.
After lunch and naps, we re-cleaned the children (also a daily occurrence), and then got ready to leave the apartment to go visit our friends the Broaddus' and the Harlans (who are both also here adopting.) While preparing to leave, Jace was on the floor in our bedroom and Devin and I were both out in the family area, when Hallie left the bedroom and LOCKED THE DOOR! Much freaking out happened in the ensuing minutes as Jace screamed from one side and we frantically tried to get the door open from the other. Devin tried carding the door, using random keys, and using every knife in the apartment. He would have just kicked in the door, but Jace was sitting right on the other side, so that probably would have hurt a bit. We called the owner of the apartment to see if he had a key to the door (no dice) and shortly after his father arrived (the owner of the building) with a huge box of random keys. He said, "It has to be one of these!" Seriously, I should have taken a picture of the box, but at the time that was the last thing on my mind. There was probably 200 keys in there. We began trying each and every key and quickly realized the effort was likely to be in vain. I tried to call the Police (Andres, the owner of the apt. had given us a list with the police's phone number on it when we arrived. I thought it was funny at the time since I didn't think we would EVER need that. Well, here we are 6 days in and I have already called! That doesn't bode well for the future...) but the policeman hung up on me when I asked if anyone there speaks English. I wasn't about to try to explain the situation in Spanish- that would have been a joke! Andres' father arrived back a while later and said that he had called a locksmith. Phew. The locksmith arrived and the first thing he did was pull out a card to try to card the door. He quickly realized that wasn't going to work and pulled out the big tools. Finally, the door opened and poor little Jace was saved. He was in there about 30 minutes or so total. It was sad, sad for this mama. And believe me, Hallie was in big trouble.
We finally made it out the door after that ordeal and arrived at Stephanie's apartment in one piece. Another family, the Shinnerers, joined us there (the Harlans are staying there right now), and then we walked with all the families a few blocks to an English Fellowship Church. They were having a Christmas Eve service. We enjoyed the music (Flor LOVED it...she was dancing and bobbing her head), but had to leave as the sermon started because the kids were starving and exhausted. It was nice to actually get into the Christmas spirit a little bit with the songs. There are quite a few local wards here, so we will go to Church again tomorrow in the morning and I am sure that will be nice also.
We came home, had dinner, and got the kids in bed. We were able to Skype with my dad and family at his house while they opened their presents for Christmas, so that was really great. It was nice to feel like we were a part of it.
I didn't take too many pictures today, but here are just two cute ones.
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| When we got to Stephanie's apartment, Hallie noticed that all the little girls were dressing up for the church service. She, too, wanted to wear a dress (of course), though we told her that we didn't bring one for her to their apartment. A little while later, she came out wearing this. She had gone to Jenna, the seven year old, who helped her get Allie's (age 15) dress on (she normally wears it with leggings.) Then Hallie borrowed some of Jenna's silver sparkly shoes (way too big!) and out she came. Ready to go. That Hallie...she sure knows how to get what she wants! So yes, she wore a 15 year old's clothes to the service. Lovely. She was in heaven because it "drags on the ground" (like she wants her wedding dress to be). |
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| Hallie and Adriana in front of the Christmas tree. We have no tree, nor decorations at our apartment and it makes Hallie sad. We are going to the same apartment tomorrow for lunch, so that will be great as it is very festive! Adriana is adorable-- she is the little girl that Erin and Zac Harlan are adopting. |
1 comment:
I'm so happy that we got to skype with you tonight! Your apartment looks nice and cozy. I can't wait to chat when the kids are awake. How are the clothes fitting Flor? I hope they are ok. We missed having you around for Christmas, but I know that you're doing the right thing and are in the right place. Love ya!
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