Shower & Church Visit

Our adoption shower will be this Saturday, March 19th from 2-4 p.m. at Pleasant View Bible Church in the fellowship room. Things that would be useful to us are posted on the Ukrainian Princesses blog. The girls won't be there as this type of event is one thing that usually proves to be overwhelming for newly adopted kids.

Last night we visited church with the girls so they could meet the families of our small group and see what their Wednesday night classrooms look like. We came late so we could make an abbreviated first visit. They were excited that their cousin, Alisa could show them around.

When we first drove up to church, they were a little freaked out by the cemetery that is located beside the old church building. It took some time to answer questions and calm them down. After we went inside the new building I had motioned for them to be quiet as we went downstairs towards where our small group meets. Maria's eyes got big as she asked, "What's down there?" I don't know if she was expecting a crypt.

They met the adults in our small group, then saw their classrooms and finally met the kids from our small group. By the end of the evening, they were clinging to me and asking to go home. Although they were a bit overwhelmed by the end of the visit, they had the trip home to calm down. When we got home we pulled out the church directory and to our surprise, they were able to pick out nearly everyone they saw, even if they didn't remember many names.

So far today, no major meltdowns (although Maria asked to take a nap at 11:00 am this morning - strange!) so it seems like our first visit was a success.