Last night

I’ve already fallen behind on my goal of posting every 2 days.

On Monday, we picked up the boys and went to have their passport and visa photos made.  They both did very well sitting for the pictures.  We picked up some groceries and came back to our hotel room to have lunch.  They both eat really well.

Since it was nice out that afternoon – close to 28°F and no wind – so we decided to walk to the church we attended on Saturday to take some pictures.  The doors were unlocked so we walked into the church.  Aaron and Sam walked over to a side chapel where Aaron knelt down to say a quick prayer.  Sam followed Aaron’s lead and knelt beside him before trying to make the sign of the cross.  He got the shoulder to shoulder part.  I see a priest in the making J.

church ceiling

Church exterior

Front door

George went with us to the foster parent’s house.  Aaron and I wanted to ask them questions about the boys.  The foster parents are very nice and we can tell that they really care for the boys.  I started crying at one point thinking how the boys have spent most of their lives with the foster parents and everything they have done for the boys.  I know they love each other very much.  I am so grateful that the boys were placed with them.

On Tuesday – Valentine’s Day – we visit the boys’ school along with the foster parents and Adam.  They are in the same class. We have to wait for about 10 minutes at the school because they are having a mid-morning snack.  The foster mother points out some of the boys’ work hanging on the wall.  Each child is assigned a different picture to show them where to hang coats, etc.  I notice that Sam’s picture is an umbrella and Drew’s picture is a tree.  I see a little bathroom and peek inside.  Boys and girls use the same room.  It has 3 stalls with curtains instead of doors and 3 small sinks.  I see the sinks are similar in size to the bidet in our hotel bathroom and it clicks in my mind why Sam is always trying to wash his hands in the bidet.  I noticed 2 long shelves above the sinks with cups and toothbrushes in the cups for each child.  The boys immediately find their cups and fill them water for a drink.  Then the foster mother picks up their cups and toothbrushes to take them back with her.  An older lady comes out from an office and talks to the foster mother.  The lady goes back in the room and re-emerges with a camera.  She takes many pictures of the boys and then has Adam take pictures of her with the boys. 

                Now it’s time to go into the classroom.  All the children sit on one side of the room on a large rug.  The teacher is talking to them while Drew and Sam play with some Play-Doh.  It is a light gray color and looks homemade.  Then all the children sing a song to the boys and they play a game with them.  Aaron and I are laughing because some of the children remind us of people we know.  The older lady keeps talking to Adam and then he will tell us that she is apologizing because it is poor school, but it’s really pretty nice.  It is very clean and there are a lot of toys and books for the kids.  It’s a free-for-all for about 10 minutes.  There are only 7-8 girls and 15-16 boys.  Some play quietly but there are a couple boys running around and sliding on the floor.  Finally, it is time for us to leave.  The teachers begin crying and hugging the boys.  Several kids come up to hug or shake hands with Drew and Sam.  As we walk to the car, we hear a knocking on a window and turn to see all the kids standing behind a large window waving and saying goodbye to the boys.  I can see the teachers crying and it makes me cry too.  The boys are subdued on the drive into Miskolc and I think this is the first time that they realize that this adoption is a big event.  We had lunch in our hotel room before playing for a little while and then taking a nap.

Wednesday – February 15th – We wake up to a beautiful snow falling in Miskolc.  There has been snow everywhere, but this is the first fresh snow we have seen.  We go to pick up the boys this morning and the foster mother has several things laying out for us to choose.  We all feel that it will be good for them to have some familiar clothes and toys with them.  The day is much the same – plaza, lunch in room, nap and return.  Aaron and I give the foster family their gifts.  They are so appreciative and the mother cries a little and keeps telling the translator that they are thankful for everything.  I tell her how grateful we are for them.  The boys are very good “little gentlemen”.

                Aaron and I go out to eat and we talk about how much our lives will change in 24 hours.  It will be difficult – we know that.  We are lucky to have the Hungarian Elvis singing and playing keyboard in our restaurant and he provides some comic relief.  It will be very hard to drive away from the foster home tomorrow night – it will be the last time that the boys will see them.  We wonder when they will realize what it means and how difficult it will be when they ask for the foster parents. 

Thursday morning, we will go to the government office to get custody of them.  Then we will travel to Budapest to meet with the US consulate.  The plan is to pick up the boys around 6pm.  Our lives will never be the same.