Money raised: Check (well, for the most part... but we were not concerned.)
Room Prepared: Check (well, unless she actually hated the color pink)
Mentally Prepared: Check (well... as much as we could be)
It was the day before Anna arrived when it finally hit me. She was going to arrive the NEXT DAY! Our house was a mess, Aden was being a grump, and though I was excited as could be... I realized, I didn't have much time to finish getting the rest of the house ready to go!
That day was a bit of a blur. I'm pretty sure I went grocery shopping, but wasn't sure what I was getting. I had run through the training manual to the page where it talked about what foods they eat in Eastern Europe... but then on the blogs and Facebook posts, some people would write about how their host child wouldn't touch a supposedly "favorite" food. I stocked up on yogurt. Even if she wouldn't eat it, I would! Cheese, sauerkraut, bread, a bag of chips, spaghetti, and hot dogs were also on the list. Aside from food, I grabbed a box of (name brand) gallon-sized Ziplock bags... You probably don't want to know why, but you'll find out later.
After shopping, un-grumpifying Aden, and making sure everything was as prepared as it could be... I tried to sleep, but all my new Facebook friends who were also hosting were welcoming their kids that night; so I found myself constantly reading the updates on the New Horizons group page, watching the pictures pop up of the parents meeting their host child they had already fallen in love with, and trying to spot Anna at the airport. Which, a friend of mine spotted her for me! She was coming!! She was at one airport, then I spotted her at the New York airport! She was getting closer!! She actually spent her first night in the US in New York, along with her chaperone and a few others coming to this area. I had to force myself to sleep.
Josh was up around 3am, I believe. He went into work early so he could get a half-day in before 9am. While he was at work, I packed up Aden's bag and got his stuff ready for Nanna's house (we decided not to take him with us to the airport). Then I anxiously got ready, made some sandwiches and packed some other snacks in a bag.
When Josh got home from work, we drove to my parent's place and dropped Aden off. We also took their car because it was more reliable than ours. Right away, I went to the car and tucked the gallon-sized Ziplock bags into the pouch on the back of the passenger side (anyone see where I'm going with this?) and made sure the box was open and readily available.
I laid some blankets and pillows across the back seat put the paper bag of food on the seat as well. I knew she'd be tired and wanted her to feel comfortable in the car.
Shortly after 9:30 we headed to the airport. We had to be there at 1pm to meet with our airport coordinator and we had to get her a welcome gift at some point too. I was planning on getting her flowers but didn't want to take them on the car ride lest they wilt during the drive! Nothing says "Welcome!" like wilted roses! So we planned to stop at a shop in the airport and pick some up.
Well, we arrived at the airport closer to 1pm than we wanted... and there was no flower shop in site. Uncool.
We had to do something!!! So we went to the incredibly overpriced shop at the airport, found a little stuffed monkey that made a ridiculous noise if you pressed its foot, and had "MINNEAPOLIS" written across its chest! Ugh. It was going to have to do! The only good thing about it was that she couldn't read English - so she'd have no clue what it said!!
While at the airport, we met a few of the families that were also hosting. I was eager to meet them as we had been Facebook friends for a while, but never met in person.
It was nearing arrival time and Shari, the airport coordinator went to greet the kids and chaperone at the gate... We waited.
I was getting so excited, I was shaking. After what seemed like FOREVER, we saw some little people walking closer all wearing red shirts. That was them! They were a level up, so I tried to pick out Anna but wasn't certain until she came down the escalator and I saw the blue coat I saw in the pictures the night before! She was here!! She was so close!!
HOLD ON!
Do I give her a hug straightaway!? What do I say!? She doesn't know English!
She was getting closer...
Do I just shake her hand? Do I give her a big bear hug or a small side hug? Is she going to like us!? What is she going to think of this ridiculous monkey!?
I made the decision quickly-
Make contact immediately. Let her know you love her, care about her, and will be a comfort and security for her.
So I started walking towards her and as she approached us I said, "Hello Anna, Welcome," and I wrapped her in my arms. From that moment, I didn't let her go... and she, just as happily, clung to me. I handed her the monkey. She liked it... especially the annoying noise it made. Josh said hello and she nodded and said hello back to him. She wasn't distant, but she wasn't quick to bond with Josh at the airport. That was okay. Josh was fine with that and he was wonderful in how he responded to her. Neither of us had any idea what she had been through, so we were watching her responses to us and taking our cues from there. Josh knew that she would have to have some time to get comfortable with him.
We had to get a group picture and she just hung on to me. I didn't mind. Once that was done, Josh carried her bag and I held her hand as we walked to the car. Once we got to the car, I opened the door and showed her the plastic bags. She looked at me funny. Ugh.
They told me at training I might have to do this... So I grabbed a bag, opened it, and pretended to throw up - noise and all.
She half laughed, and was half mortified.
"No, no, no!" She said. She smiled. "No."
PHEW! That was a relief! If I understood her correctly... she doesn't get car sick!
Apparently, many MANY of the children who are hosted have a very bad time with car sickness. They walk everywhere and are rarely in cars in their country! It is totally understandable, and I was ready to deal with it... but it was kind of my greatest fear. Silly, I know. I had prayed so fervently that she wouldn't get car sick. We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us!!
I got her settled into the car and we headed home. I used google translate on my phone to let her know it was a long drive home and that she should eat and sleep if she wanted to. She just sat there. Silently. She kept her hands folded in her lap and was so quiet. I didn't want her to get car sick so I didn't want to use my phone much to talk, so Josh and I talked a little so she could just get comfortable hearing us talk. Every so often, I'd translate something or ask her something... but we mostly let her just be quiet. Eventually, she ate the food in the bag and rested her head on the pillow.
When we arrived home, my parents and Aden were there to welcome her. We brought her in and she was quick to be kind to them, but we could tell she was exhausted.
My parents left and it was just us.
Now what?
Bath.
I took her hand gently and showed her around the house, showed her her room, and showed her the bath tub. I showed her how to turn the water on from cold to hot and how to plug the tub. I showed her the soap, shampoo, conditioner, and where the towels were. She was excited!
We let her take a bath for as LONG as she wanted, but she was quickly in and out. I had set out some new pajamas for her and she was happy to wear them.
She found Aussie, our dog, to be the highlight of entertainment for the night.
We were pleased to see her smile and laugh as she chased the dog around the house and scratched his belly when she caught him.
We let her get comfortable and settled in and by then it was time for bed. We tucked Aden in and had her come in his room with us. We all prayed together and said goodnight to Aden. We let her stay up just a little bit later and then we tucked her in, just as we did with Aden. I gave her a kiss on her forehead and said, "I Love You." She just smiled. Josh stayed back by the door to give her space but said goodnight.
She was still pretty quiet.
She was asleep quickly.
So were we!
We decided for the first week at least to sleep downstairs on our couch since both the kids' rooms were down there. We had a few reasons for this, but it was mostly so she would feel safe knowing we were just outside her door if she needed us.
It was a great first day. Since we were not sure what to expect, we were pleased with the outcome!
So we slept. We all slept. I had a feeling this was going to be a very wonderful experience for all of us.
