Day 2.

Happy Labor Day! I haven't slept in til' 10:30 in a long time so my labor day truly was a day of rest from my labors. I am grateful that our RR friends (4 other RR families are here too) called because we just may have slept in even longer. We were told to be ready by 11:15 for our appointment at noon. Luckily I got in the shower right after our wake up call because at 10:45 we got a call saying that our driver was outside waiting! We rushed out the door, found the taxi driver who was waiting for us and we were off! Once we got in the car, he asked where we were going? (In his own language of course.) I had no idea. I had no address. I quickly made a call and she was able to tell him where to take us. We reached a stopping point and he pointed in the direction we needed to go. I thought he pointed to a building that ended up being a museum and Mark thought that he pointed to another yellow building down the road. I quickly made a call, again, and she pointed us in the right direction. We were able to see other RR families, so we knew we were in the right spot. As we were all standing outside, we were given instructions and that's when my my heart sank! One of the instructions was to have our passports ready. PASSPORTS! I hurried and looked at Mark and asked if he brought them, but neither of us did. Just a minor, OK major detail that we forgot. I totally threw Mark under the bus, sorry sweetie. I just assumed he would have brought them but he had no idea because I never let him know. That's what happens when you're in a rush! Anyway in the end we were able to show our drivers licenses but talk about panic attack! I'll tell you one thing though, we will never forget our passports again! After a few minutes we were brought into the building, walked upstairs and were taken into a room. We were asked a few questions, received more information about Susan and we were able to swap the picture that was in her file with the one that we had. So now we have a photo of her when she was younger. I won't make it public because I am not sure that I can this early in the game but I can say she is a cutie! We were were given a few details about her bio parents, where she was born, her birth date, but that was really it. We'll find out more when we visit the orphanage. Just knowing those few more details about her and seeing the other picture makes me love her even more. Tomorrow, Tuesday we will return to the same place as today's appointment to pick up our referral and on Wednesday we will visit her orphanage. We were told that after Wednesday, we will be able to use the metro system to go to and from her orphanage. Our apartment is within walking distance from the metro station and her orphanage is about a 10 minute walk from the metro on the other side. I still can't believe we are in the same city that she was born and resides in. One more day until we hold her in our arms!

Outside our SDA appointment.

A view from our stroll.

Mark looking very serious,or European as he put it.

After our appointment we went to lunch with the other RR families and our facilitators. Then we went back to our apartment and rested. We ventured out before the sun went down to get familiar with our surroundings and did a little bit more shopping. Now we are back getting ready to eat some pasta and enjoy a nice garlic baguette. We are really lucky to have some of the same amenities as home. Full kitchen, shower, and cable TV. We have quite a few channels in English and that makes being in an unknown world not so unknown. It is beautiful here. Feels a lot like England to me. I think all European countries have the same feel. We feel comfortable and safe and I am glad that we have each other! Love you Cole, Beck, Kate and Liam! Hang in there mom! Love you all! Oh and Beck have a fabulous first day of Kindergarten! You'll have so much fun I just know it!