Kernave, Final Good Byes and the US Embassy

I think my Lithuanian/junk food diet has caught up with me. Saturday I woke up not feeling well at all. At least it was raining outside ... gave us a good excuse to stay in ... not that I really needed another one.

Sunday we had lunch and then took off for Radviliskis to pick up the girls. On the way we decided to take a slight detour and see the "mysterious mounds" of Kernave. This is an ancient hillfort site. It was actually pretty interesting for just being five man-made hills and the area was beautiful! The museum was closed, but I'm sure it would have been interesting with all the artifacts they've dug up from the area. I really enjoy history, so I'm glad we stopped.

We got to the girl's orphanage and Kornyte met us outside and brought us to their room. There was a bunch of people standing outside in the hallway, carrying various bags. Audrute locked up the room and back downstairs we all went. We stuffed everything in the car and then the girls said their final good byes to everyone gathered. Everyone was teary-eyed. It was so sad to watch. But it was also pretty quick. Soon Robertai was saying we better go and we all climbed in the car and waved good bye as we drove away. The girls soon fell asleep for the entire car ride back to Vilnius. KC and I were glad that we had given the girls the candy and glow sticks we had brought for their "farewell party" ... we didn't have the party, but the girls were able to share with their friends and from the pictures it looks like they had a good time on their own. We stayed up a bit late and the girls showed me some of their school awards and photos. I was glad to see that they have a few pictures of their birth family.

Today KC and I took the car back for the final time! Yeah! It's nice not to have that to think about anymore. Driving here isn't bad (with GPS!), but it's not that fun either ... especially getting around Vilnius! Out on the highway there are tons of cops and speed traps. There are signs that tell you that you are leaving, say, a 70 kph zone, but they don't tell you what the new speed is. We actually got pulled over once while leaving Radviliskis. Since we didn't speak Lithuanian and he didn't speak much English, we got away with a good finger shaking. :)

Anyway, this afternoon Elona took us to the US Embassy. The first lady made sure all of our paperwork was in order and then we waited. Luckily we brought UNO with us and we played while Elona watched. That made the time go much quicker and finally it was time to see the Consular. He made us all raise our right hands and say yes, the paperwork was all true and correct ... I was wondering how he thought Kornyte had any idea what he was talking about, but he seemed satisfied. He went through the paperwork, asked us a few questions ... more out of his curiosity than anything else and off we went. As soon as we left the secured area we were called back in because they had forgotten to get Audruta's fingerprints. All the people were very nice, except for one grumpy security guard, but even he wasn't too bad. As we were leaving I was wondering where the Marine guards were ... I didn't see any! I always loved that part of "The Saint" movie where Elisabeth Shue's character is running to the Embassy gates yelling, "Open the gates, I'm an America!". I guess that just wouldn't happen anymore ... the bad guys could grab you while you're being searched outside the gate by a guy in slacks and a polo. Oh well. ;)

Tomorrow we have to pick up the girls passports and visas from the Embassy and update some paperwork for the property that the girls partially own and then we should be done! DONE! Hallelujah! At least as far as the stuff we have to do here. There's some more paperwork to do once we get home, but I don't want to think about that just now. We have a few more days here in Lithuania, a LOOOONG day of travel and then we will be home! Hurray! KC and I are looking forward to being home in our own environment and all four of us are looking forward to being in a normal routine.

Keep the girls in your prayers as everything they have ever known is going to change!

Viso!
Michele

Random Photos

Our first day together.













KC and the girls at the Tower in Vilnius.

















Soviet-era park ... sorry if the graffiti is swearing at you! ;)












Amphitheater where the country holds it's huge singing festivals.












More fun at Trakai Castle.

































Audrone & her friend, Vismante ... Samantha :) Both girls have dots over the "e" in their names ... making it an "a" sound.



















KC & Kornyte ... one of our favorites!
















Elona told us these were "healthy snacks for kids". What are they? Mini cheesecakes! Yum! We need these in America! The close-up one has jello pieces in it ... the first flavor I tried. There is also strawberry, vanilla, coffee, poppy seed, etc.













Audrone, Kornelija & Ingrida.













Kornyte & her teacher. Craft fair in Radviliskis.


















Dropping the girls off at the orphanage.













Vegetarian pizza Siauliai style. KC finally finds a truly spicy pizza in Lithuania.















More photos of the dense Hill of Crosses.



























You haven't lived until you've lived off another country's gas station junk food. Bready twinkie anyone?










Back in Vilnius ... the European Cultural capital for 2009.












Today all we had to do was meet with Edita (from the Family Law Center) who brought us to a notary to sign over power of attorney to our lawyer, Egle. Our fingerprint paperwork finally came through to the Embassy here in Vilnius, so thank you for your prayers! I hope you enjoyed the photos! Sorry the captions don't line up with the photos ... arg! It took me forever to get it this close!

Michele

Did You Miss Us?

Hello All! Sorry we haven't written in a few days ... KC and I have basically been in the rental car for four days! Yuck! So I will catch you up on what we've been doing!

Monday: The four of us drove northeast, past Utena, to visit Ingrida! She is a sweet and lovely girl who is being adopted by the Vance family. Her orphanage is out in the middle of nowhere and yet there are 50 kids residing there. We took Ingrida back to Utena (the closest, largest town) for lunch and a little shopping from the Vance's. She was pretty quite, but her and Audrone got along quite well. The best part of the day was being able to connect Ingrida with the whole Vance family via Skype! This was the first time they were able to talk in person which should help with that always awkward first day together ... at least a little! Ingrida told us that she was quite nervous about the court date, so Audrone told her all about our experience. I think that helped her feel a little better about it. It was so hard to leave Ingrida behind! I just wanted to take her with us and deliver her to the Vance's now! It was so great to see and spend time with this girl whose photo I had seen months ago in the Bethany magazine!

Tuesday: We all staggered out of bed in time to leave at 7 am ... blah! Another lady from the Family Law Center (where Elona & Egle work), Rasa, joined us for our trip to Siauliai to get Audrone's birth certificate and then to Radviliskis to get Kornelija's birth certificate. The drive is about 2.5 hours one way. When we got to Siauliai, Rasa said she would go alone, leaving us with nothing to do and no idea how long we had to do it. From what we were told all 4 of us had to be there. Ha. First order of business was finding a bathroom. The tourist information center didn't have one (nice), but directed us to the closest public WC. When I walked into the stall, my whole being went "GREAT" ... squatty potties and no toilet paper. Just like at the KGB prison. After that lovely experience we spent our time walking along the pedestrian mall and eating an early lunch. I even took it for the team by ordering another coffee so we could continue to sit at the restaurant. Luckily, soon after that, Rasa was done. Everything seems to take longer with Audrone's paperwork because she is 16 ... at least everything worked out.

In Radviliskis, there was a community craft fair going on in front of the building where Rasa had to go, so at least we had something a little more interesting to do. We even got to meet one of Kornyte's teachers ... she was very happy for the girls, but said she would miss Kornyte very much. Rasa was able to get Kornyte's birth certificate a lot faster, so we then went to apply for their passports. This we were unable to do that day (why??), so we dropped the girls off at their orphanage for a few days to say their good byes and we were off to Vilnius.

Wednesday: KC and I got up early again and headed back to Radviliskis to apply for the girls passports. The girls had to be there too, so they were not able to go to the Kaunas Zoo with all there friends ... bummer! Their social worker, Robertai who was at our court hearing, helped us with this process so Rasa didn't have to drive back again. At first Kornelija's new last name was not showing up in the computer and then the people said that Audrone still needed her ID card (updated, of course) ... both Elona and Robertai had been told earlier that this was not the case. So we had to pay some more money and get the updated card. Governments ... they're the same everywhere! Arg. We were told to be back at 11 am the next day to sign for and get the passports.

KC and I decided to then go up to the Hill of Crosses ... which is just outside of Siauliai ... that's right, we could have done this yesterday, but I only thought of it as we were leaving. Oh well. The Hill of Crosses. What can I say? I guess I was just expecting it to be bigger. It is this swell on the ground where people have been staking crosses for some time. The Soviets tried bulldozing it down, but the independent spirit of the Lithuanian people could not be suppressed. They continued putting up the crosses despite Soviet occupation. There is a stairway running right up the middle, all the way over the hill. It is a small enough hill that my asthma didn't even kick in like at the Hill of 3 Crosses in Vilnius! There were layers upon layers of crosses, mostly with a sad Jesus still hanging there. I wondered what God thought of the place. Interesting, but I'm glad we didn't make the trip solely to see this sight.On the way back to Vilnius, the car's battery light came on so we had to switch cars when we got back. Fun! At least we didn't break down in the countryside!

Thursday: KC and I drove back to Radviliskis this morning and picked up the girl's passports and Audrone's ID card. All that paperwork that we had to get notarized and apostilled for this specific occasion was not even looked at. I guess we've got ourselves some souvenirs! I'm rolling my eyes right now. We said a quick hello to the girls and then were on our way back to Vilnius to meet with Elona. She took the birth certificates (which have us as the girls' mother and father ... on their birth certificate ... I just find that odd) and passports so she could get the medical paperwork from the clinic where we took the girls earlier. We found out that the US Embassy here in Vilnius still has not received our updated fingerprints (more eye rolling), so hopefully that will get straightened out before our appointment on Monday to get the girls' visas. After that we switched back to our old rental car with it's new alternator, had dinner at the Double Coffee and we are done for the day! It's been a long 4 days in the car and we are glad to have a couple days "off" ... tomorrow we have to fill out all our paperwork for the Embassy ... yeehaw!

The Lithuanian countryside is beautiful! There are vast amounts of open farmland and tons of woods! There aren't very many fences, so people just picket their cows and horses out in the fields. The farms are quaint with usually one or two cows and a big garden with lots of apple trees. There are tractors, but there are also horse and wagons! I love that! There are bus stops on the highway that seem to be out in the middle of nowhere. People (even the elderly) walk or bike a lot here! There are also people sitting along the side of the road selling a little fruit, vegetables or baskets. A lot of the side roads off the highway are just dirt roads and the houses are not very big. All together it makes for a lovely country ... we like it!

Please pray that our updated fingerprint paperwork will show up at the right place! Also keep the girls in your prayers as their time in Lithuania is quickly coming to an end. Even though we have had all these ups and downs and hoops to jump through, we know that we are following God's plan and can see Him working to make this all happen! Thanks for all your prayers, support and comments! Your comments really do lift our spirits!

Viso gero ir geros dienos! (Good bye and have a nice day ... at least that's what I think it says ;)
Michele

The Long (day) & Short (blog) of It

Today was our last non-scheduled day for a while. We hung out at the apartment until almost 2pm, when I was just about ready to burst from boredom. Then we took a taxi to the Akropolis. We were going to have the girls try Chinese food, but there was actually a long waiting line there, so we settled for Japanese. It wasn't very good. Oh well. We watched the movie "Up" which was all in Lithuanian and then the girls went ice-skating. KC and I walked around for awhile and bought a couple of books on Lithuania. Now we are home. Not much of a day, but tomorrow should be fun. We'll be visiting with Ingrida ... we are hoping to get her on Skype with her soon-to-be family, the Vance's! Pray that we can find a place to get online!!!

Wow, I really can't think of anything else to tell you right now and my laundry is almost done, so I better go hang it to dry! Hope everyone is doing well!

Michele

The KGB and Our First Parental Pop-Quiz

Today we went to the Holocaust Museum and KGB Genocide Museum. We had originally thought to visit this place while the girls were at the orphanage, but needing something to do we tried it today. Audrone does like history so we weren't too worried about her getting bored. We walked around trying to find the museum, but the online map we had checked had it in the wrong location! So helpful. At one point there was another couple looking around and I decided to ask them if they were looking for the museum as well. I was 98% sure that they spoke English ... the reason? They were both wearing running shoes! Ha ha! My hunch worked ... they were English speaking Scots in search of the museum. I thought we could join forces, but they didn't seem like they wanted to so off we went. We walked through a park because the map had the museum right smack in the middle of a green space, but no luck. Finally we asked a man who was reading on a park bench. I'm pretty sure he didn't have any teeth. He directed us to the other side of the major road we had just come from and said to look for the green sign. The green sign ended up being the tourist information center. That worked! Apparently the two museums have been combined into one and is located on the backside of the courthouse where we were yesterday! Go figure.

The museum was quite interesting. They had two floors of displays and a lower level contained the KGB prison. The displays were very well done with photos and personal effects both from the Soviets and Lithuanians. It was sad to see all the families who were deported to Siberia and knowing that some of them were still alive! I find it so crazy that this was not that long ago! Anyway, the creepiest part was the prison/torture/execution floor. There were several small cells with metal cots and a couple of tiny solitary confinement cells (see photo above). There was a padded room used for torture and for those who had gone crazy from the torture. There was also a couple of rooms that the Soviets would flood with ice-cold water, then make the prisoner stand on a small raised platform ... when they lost their balance they would fall into the icy water. A couple of times I lingered a little too long and when I looked around I was all alone. It was not a good feeling and I thought how scary it would be to be in there after dark. All in all, it was very interesting and we were glad that we went.

We picked up the mugs that we had painted today (they turned out quite well) and returned to the apartment. The girls' friend Samantha (that's not really her name, but it sounds pretty darn close) was in town today. We weren't sure what the plan was, but it turned out really well. They showed Samantha the Blink game we had brought (thanks Kim S! They really like the fast pace of that game!) and stayed at the apartment for a little while. As they were leaving to go walk around (which we had already told them was okay with us), KC asked Audruta if they were going to eat dinner and gave her some litas (Lithuanian currency). I think she really appreciated that and they both gave us hugs on their way out. KC and I realize that these girls are pretty independent and used to hanging out with their friends around their home town, so we were really not too worried. KC and I went to the Rimi (small grocery store nearby) and then had dinner at the Double Coffee. It was strange not to have the girls with us, but also easier in that I wasn't constantly wondering if they were bored, hungry, happy, etc, etc ... etc.

Well, they just returned and Samantha said good bye. They said they would be gone 2 hours and they came back 15 minutes early. It was a good testing ground for all of us ... I think we were all happy with the results.

I think I will go watch some Lith TV with the girls before bedtime! :) Thanks for all your prayers and comments! We love knowing that there are so many people out their supporting us!

Viso!
Michele

Labas! Yogurt or milk in a bag, anyone? How about a dried frog? The exhibits from Trakai castle were in Vilnius today ... this was the apothecary booth.

Today we met Egle and our interpreter at court at 9:30 am. There was a bit of confusion as our interpreter had a later time written down and some fax came through completely blacked out. We had no idea what was going on which is always a bit disconcerting. :) Finally the judge came in and we all stood while she read her final verdict. Our interpreter was whispering to us in English and again we were not sure about the 40-days until we asked later. The way they say it is confusing because they call it "allowing the enforcement of our appeal". Why can't they just say, "she waived the 40-days" ... oh well! The judge officially approved of the adoption and waived the 40-day waiting period!!! Hallelujah! The four of us will be flying home on September 4!

After we left court, Egle took us to the Family Law Center where we planned out the rest of our trip with Elona. Of course the girls are sad to be leaving their friends so quickly. We told them that it is important to us for them to spend time with their friends before we leave because we know how important it is to them.

So, it was decided that on Tuesday, when we drive to their home town to get their birth certificates, that the girls will stay at the orphanage for a few days. This gives them time to say their goodbyes to friends and family. It seems that everyone is happy for the girls, so we aren't too worried about being away from them. Plus, KC and I could use some downtime ... it's hard to keep thinking of things to do! And yes, Steve Moyer, we are bored! Ha ha! There is only so many times that you can walk through the merchant stalls in Old Town, run after the frisbee in the park, and watch Spanish soap operas and German police shows (Cobra 11) dubbed in Lithuanian. At least there is also CSI New York and I've even been happy to have Will and Grace come on. Oh, and the Lithuanian soap opera is filmed in Vilnius, so sometimes you get to see places where we've actually been. Do I sound pathetic yet? Not the type of shows that I'm proud to say my 10-year-old is watching! Okay that was a weird sentence ... my 10-year-old! WEIRD! :)

Well, I better get going ... I need to figure out what to do for the next two days! Monday we will rent another car and drive to a different orphanage to visit Ingrida ... the young girl that our friends, the Vance family, are adopting! That should be fun ... we heard that she was excited and we are hoping to get as many pictures and video for them as we can without making her uncomfortable! I'll do my best, Michelle! :)

Please keep the girls in your prayers as they have to say goodbye to everyone this next week! Also keep Kornyte in your prayers as she works on her English ... we had a little melt down earlier ... poor girl!

Viso! (Bye!)
Michele

Court Day.

Alright, now I have some time. I'll do the best to relate our experience in court. Yesterday we sat in the office at the family law center and our court lawyer, Egle, gave us the sequence of events. It is pretty formal and I knew we were just going to have to blunder through. We stayed up a little late last night playing card games. Kornelija is pretty competitive. We have been playing a lot of UNO. My favorite part was when Kornelija looked at me with a smug little grin and dropped a draw 4 card. Followed closely with a little high pitched Ha Ha. We all laughed and I grabbed her by the ankle with my right hand and lifted her into the air and gave a little high pitched Ha Ha of my own. We all had a good laugh at that too. Especially Kornelija, hanging up side down by one leg. She loved it. After the games were over everyone went to bed. We let the girls sleep as long as they wanted this morning. It's better to be sleeping than waiting for court. So they finished their breakfast at noon and then started to get ready. We met Elona just before 2 and took a taxi to the court. When we got there we met Egle our lawyer and she introduced us to a very nice woman who would be acting as our interpreter for the hearing. Also there was the social worker from the girls orphanage, a woman who it sounds like is in charge of all the social workers in the region where the girls live, and another woman who is from the Lithuanian Adoptions Services the larger over all agency. The girls left to have a private conversation with their social worker and we waited. After the girls returned we were brought into the court and seated at a large table to wait for the judge. The room was not to big and just consisted of mainly two tables arranged in a T shape. On the top of the T were 3 chairs. The judge sat in the middle one. Then down one side sat our lawyer, Michele, our interpreter, and then me. The 3 ladies I wrote about above sat across from us. The hearing started with some formalities where we stated that we do not object to the judge we were assigned and then it was my turn to speak. At the base of the T shaped tables was a lectern. So standing at the base of the tables facing the judge I put my left hand on a copy of their constitution and swore to tell the truth or pay a 1000 lita fine. At 2.5 lita's to the dollar not much of a fine for lying in court but that's not really the point. I then gave my speech about how we decided to adopt and chose these girls, also how we are able to provide for them and why we are asking to have the 40 waiting period waved. She asked me a couple of questions. She wanted clarification about the names we chose for the girls. In Lithuania middle names are not common. We kept their first names and used their current family name as their middle name and gave them our family name. This seemed to be a little confusing to the judge that they could have 2 family names. But after clarifying that they would only have our name as their family name and that we chose to keep their family name as their middle name to help preserve their identity and heritage she understood. She then asked about how we chose these girls because only Kornelija was up for adoption. Audrone had consented to be separated from Kornelija because she knew that Kornelija stood a much greater chance of having a family if she was not tied to a 16 year old girl. She didn't think anyone would want them both. So only Kornelija's picture and profile went out. When we explained that originally we didn't know about Audrone but that when we heard that they were going to split the sisters we asked it we could adopt Audrone as well. Then I sat and Michele took the stand. She stated that she agreed with everything I said and elaborated a little more on their schools, our experience with the youth at our church and that we are very excited to have them as part of our family. She did great and was calm, cool and collected. After Michele sat we heard from all 3 of the social workers sitting across from us and they all gave their consent to the adoption. They talked back and forth with the judge for quite a while and then we were asked if we wanted to remain in the court while the judge spoke with the girls or if we thought it would be better if we waited outside the room? I said that it would probably be less intimidating with less people in the room so our lawyer, interpreter and 2 of the ladies across from us left and the girls went in. We all waited in the hallway. Their social worker stayed and they discussed their feelings. Audrone told us later that the judge asked them some unexpected questions as well as the expected, do you want to go, questions. She asked them what we have been doing while we are in Vilnius and did they know if we had any pets? The girls also told the judge that they are nervous about coming to America and that they would like to maybe wait the 40 days so as to be able to spend some more time with their friends. This is in our opinion not the best choice for us or them but we understand that they don't see that this wait will cost us additional thousands of dollars to come back and get them later. But they did understand why it would be a good idea to come back with us now to start school. When they were finished they left and we came back in. We weren't briefed very well on what the closing statements needed to consist of. I knew that I needed to re-affirm our desire to adopt the girls and ask the court to approve their name changes but I didn't get that I needed to ask the court to approve me as their father. So the interpreter is whispering instructions to me and I'm fumbling for words. It was all very awkward. Michele just got to stand up and in essence say "ditto what he said" and then she was done. Then the judge made some closing remarks and stated that she would give her decision on the 40 day waiting period on Friday. So even though the girls were a little apprehensive about leaving in a couple of weeks the judge may still rule to waive the 40 days because it is in the best interests of everyone involved. Court was adjourned and everyone stood as the judge left. We weren't even sure what the verdict was until we asked Elona. She told us that the adoption part was complete and in our favor and that Friday we would find out when we can bring them home. Then we returned to the apartment and changed into some more comfortable clothes. We were all hungry and we decided to go to an Italian restaurant not to far from where we are staying. The Gorgonzola pasta sounded good to me but the girls couldn't find much of anything they wanted to eat. So I asked if they wanted to go somewhere else and then after a big sigh of relief they said yes. So we went to the Can Can Pizza place that we have eaten at several times now. Lithuanian pizza is really pathetic but they love it and as hard for us as court was it was much harder for them. They definitely deserved to choose what they wanted to eat after all that. They did great. After we ate we headed to the little grocery store and picked up a few supplies then back to the apartment for some more UNO and Fill or Bust. Tomorrow we start all the visa application paperwork and medical stuff. This adventure is not over yet. Keep praying.
Thanks for all your support.
KC.

Family of 4.

OK. We're done with court, the girls and the judge agreed to the adoption. Yeah..... Praise God. And thank you to everyone who has been praying. I don't have time to write more now but I'll give all the details later.
Love KC and Michele.

A Bittersweet Day

Labas! (Hi!) Sorry we didn't post yesterday ... we didn't end up doing too much. We tried going back to the bead shop and then going to the market, but both were closed ... because it was Monday? I guess!? So we did a lot of walking, criss-crossing Old Town. We went to a couple of book shops and found Kornita a few books ... one to help her with English and another about origami (she keeps coming up with all these folded works of art ... boats, frogs, etc ... we figured this was perfect for her!) Audruta was looking for a specific book, but neither shop carried it, so we will keep looking. We went to McDonald's for lunch (Audruta has only been there once and Kornita has never been there). What did they order? French fries. KC got a Big Mac ... aka "Big Tasty". Ha ha! Later we stopped at a coffee shop (Vero Coffee ... which actually has grande to-go coffee!) for iced mochas and we ordered the girls milkshakes. They had never had a milkshake before and from their smiles, I believe they were a hit! For dinner we tried a restaurant that our friend, Neringa, recommended called Marceliukes Kletis. What did Kornita order? French fries! Audruta ordered potato pancakes stuffed with meat (a common Lithuanian dish). I tried to order cepelini (zeppelins ... potatoes stuffed with meat ... another common dish), but they were not serving that just then. So KC and I both got "chicken pieces on skewer with sauce". It also came with rice and the sauce was some sort of yogurt mixture ... sounds weird, but it was good! According to KC, the portions here are just right for women and children. ;)

Today we met with Elona and our other lawyer, Egle. They are both very nice ladies! I was very nervous as this would be a deciding moment for Audruta. Don't get me wrong, it ain't over till the fat lady sings, but today would give us a good indication of where things stood. The verdict so far? They will come to America with us! This has not been an easy decision for Audruta. She is old enough to know how big of a deal this really is and she is, of course, sad about leaving everything she knows behind. Elona and Egle talked with the girls, telling them what to expect during the court hearing tomorrow. Then KC and I talked with Egle and found out what we needed to do. Sounds like we are just suppose to speak from our hearts, so even though we will be nervous, it should be fairly easy. I guess we'll see.

After the meeting, we went to CanCan Pizza for lunch ... I really wanted Kornita to eat something other than french fries! Then we went to the bead shop which is just a few doors down and made necklaces for the caregiver that the girls are closest to, Lima (yes, as in lima bean). During lunch Audruta started to cry when we asked her about her friends and I told her that it was okay to cry and be sad, we understood. So we also made necklaces for her two closest friends, Angelica and Samantha. Kornita must hang out with them too because she didn't have anyone she wanted to make necklaces for, but she helped Audruta.

Once back at the apartment, KC asked to see what they had made, so the girls showed him the necklaces. Then Audruta volunteered to show us her friends online! They have a site similar to FaceBook. The girls showed us all their friends and pictures of themselves. We both felt good about them sharing that with us. We also found out that Audruta has had a boyfriend for about 2 years ... no wonder the decision to go to America was so difficult! Two years is a long time for a teenager! We were also glad to see that she already has a good way to keep in contact with her friends ... we want to be very supportive of that since her friends are so important to her.

Well, now we are at the apartment. KC is reading and the girls are watching TV. We are trying to balance all of our activities with some downtime so we don't get too tired. It really is exhausting being out of your normal routine and we've all got this huge change ahead of us. Downtime is a good thing!

Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers! We have definitely felt them! Our court date tomorrow (Wed) is at 2:30 pm our time ... that would be 4:30 am Wednesday morning for you ... if you're an early bird! The girls are still able to change their minds too, so we appreciate all your prayers and support! It definitely helps knowing that we have such a wonderful group of family and friends that are praying with us!

Labas vakaras! (Good evening!)
Michele

Labas! Yesterday we took a taxi to the car rental place which was good because I'm pretty sure we never would have found it otherwise! Their website was very sophisticated with about 20 cars to choose from and optional GPS units were available. KC ordered the car online, but when the guy called back all he had was 2 cars and a "we can probably do that" for the GPS. So started our adventure. Once we figured out the GPS we were very grateful to have it ... otherwise we might have ended up at the Russian front! Getting out of the city was a bit tricky and we found out just how bad the girls' motion sickness is ... poor Kornita! KC had given Audruta a Dramamine which helped her so she was fine. We asked if they wanted to go back to the apartment, but Kornita was feeling a bit better and wanted to keep going.

There was a festival going on a the castle ... demonstrations of old trades and knight fights. It was pretty fun! Kornita got her picture drawn and we bought her a traditional headpiece ... a little princess! She is so cute! I have a feeling that Audruta is trying to be careful about us spending too much money on her ... or maybe she just didn't see anything that she liked ... who knows! We stayed at the festival for a few hours and then headed back to the car. KC showed the girls how far the seaside was on the map and it was decided that we would go back to the apartment. It was a good choice ... it's no fun being carsick!

Once we were back, we went for a walk to see if the pharmacy was open and if they had motion sickness meds. On the way we past the town square where they were having a concert of traditional singing, complete with traditional clothing. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera with us, but we stayed and watched for awhile. Then it was to the Double Coffee for dinner! Yes! I got my mocha and it was wonderful! Ha ha!

We were all pretty tired and went to bed a bit earlier than usual. Audruta and I both slept in a bit later too! ;) So today, after having breakfast at around 11:30 (a scrambled egg, potato & ham mix that they weren't too sure of at first), we decided to walk up to the Hill of 3 Crosses. The hike was pretty steep, but the view overlooking Old Town was great! Once we were back down, we got some ice-cream and played a little frisbee in the park. The park is quite large and has lots of trees. There were tons of people out for a Sunday stroll.

I think we are all a bit weary of not being in our normal routines, so we came back to the apartment to just hang out and do some laundry. After awhile we taught the girls how to play "Fill or Bust". They liked it very much and they are both pretty competitive. KC is making tacos for dinner ... we brought taco seasoning packets from home! Ah, smells good!

Please keep the girls in your prayers as they (especially Audruta) have an impossible decision to make in the next couple of days. I cannot imagine leaving everything and everyone I know behind to go with people who are practically strangers to a place I know little about. It's got to be tough.

Good night!
Michele

It's now Saturday morning and again I'm up long before everyone else. This is a great time to collect my thoughts and relate the events of yesterday. We started the day with an experiment. We had asked Elona if there were any plays or operas that we might be able to see while we are here. She came back with some names, addresses and times but no real descriptions. So, we decided to try one and just show up. We Google mapped "Beauty and the Monster." It looked to be around a mile away and was starting at noon. With no idea how much it would cost or if it was a professional production or high school play we set off. We walked for a long time and must have walked right by it but we didn't see anything that looked like it could possibly be a theater and we couldn't find the address. We ended up walking through a good sized park. Lots of big pine trees and it reminded me of home. Once noon rolled around and we had made our way out of the park we asked the girls if they wanted to go to the Akropolis to do some shopping for some nicer clothes that they could wear to court. They said that sounded like fun so we called a taxi and headed for the mall.
We spent the next couple of hours walking around going from store to store. The girls haven't had the luxury of being materialistic. Audrone would much rather be playing soccer than shopping. Eventually they both found clothes that they liked. I couldn't stand going into the stores with them and just following them around so I would wait outside on one of the benches or chairs and when they would find something they liked and Michele purchased it they would then bring it out and show it to me. Kornelija was so cute. She got a little dress with butterfly prints, blue tights, and new shoes. She had the biggest smile when she was showing me what she had chosen. Now that the hard part was done we asked them if they wanted to go ice skating. In the center of the mall there is a good sized ice rink. They have actually been ice skating before and love it. Audrone is very coordinated and was good on skates. Kornelija was good too but a little more hesitant to get up too much speed. They skated for quite a while. Michele and I sat and had some tea at a Japanese restaurant that was at one end of the rink with a nice view and took some video. After the girls were done and had a nice rest at the restaurant we headed to the super market attached to one end of the mall. We picked up a few more things to eat and a DVD that the girls picked out. Ratatoolie. Then we headed for home. We decided tonight would be dinner and a movie night so we ate while we watched. It seems animations are quite a bit easier to dub and so we could watch it in Lithuanian with English subtitles.
We called Elona to get a better idea of the sequence of events leading up to the court date so we could plan for the weekend and what we would be doing until next Wednesday's court appearance. She asked us what our plans are and we told her that Saturday we plan to rent a car and drive to Trakai Castle and then on to the coast for the rest of the weekend and return on Monday so that we can meet with our other lawyer on Tuesday morning for the court prep. She thought that sounded good and asked how the girls were doing. We thought everything was fine. We seem to be getting along great. After we went to the water park things didn't seem near as awkward and the girls seem to be having a great time. But when Elona spoke with them and asked them if they wanted to go to America they were still undecided. To us it seems like it would be so obvious what the best choice is. But asking a 16 year old girl to leave her family, (as crappy as they are) friends, and school to go off to some foreign land with a couple you barely know has to be scary. These girls are standing at a crossroads on their lives. One way seems to be the safe and familiar way they have been going and the other is a drastic change in direction that is totally unknown. They agreed to the adoption initially but now faced with actually having to stand in front of a Judge is a different story. We could use your prayers. Both for the girls and for us as this has been a pretty good blow to our morale.
But today we are off to a festival at the castle and then off to the coast. They are delivering the rental car soon. Can't say I'm looking forward to driving in this city but I think it will be okay. I don't know if we will have internet while staying on the coast but I'll try and write again as soon as we are able.
Love you all.
KC and Michele.

Yesterday after everyone was awake we had a quick breakfast and then decided to spend the day hanging around old town. We went for a walk down to the park and climbed up to the tower. It's a great overlook and we can see much of the town. The contrast of old beautiful Vilnius and ugly Soviet arcitecture is really intersting. That's the tv tower off in the distance. After we climbed back down we decide to try and play Frisbee in the park. The girls are both pretty athletic and took to it easily. They seemed to be having fun and I think we played for around an hour. I showed them a couple different ways to throw and we even had a couple rounds of off hand throwing. That got a few laughs from the girls as left handed I have no skills. After that we decided to go for lunch. We decided to try a restaurant that was recommended in the blog of our new Aussie friends the Sifko's. They also adopted 2 sisters from Lithuania. If you read their comments on the last post they are Team Siffy. (The comment from your girls to ours was very thoughtful and we can't tell you how much we appreciate the encouragement.) The restaurant is called Bistro 18. Michele google mapped the address and found that it is not far from where we are staying. After I explained to the waitress that it would be better if she explained the kids menu in Lithuanian the girls ordered. We had no idea what they chose other than it had something to do with potatoes. So, Kornelija had a well balanced lunch of French Fries. Audrone at least had a chicken kabob with her fries. Michele and I had the lunch special that consisted of tomato soup and linguini for Michele and cod fish for me. When I tasted the soup I immediately looked at Michele and said "this is spaghetti sauce." The girls laughed. Add noodles and it would have been great spaghetti. It was still good as a soup and we enjoyed the meal very much.
After lunch we decided to go to a little shop that we found last time where you can paint your own pottery. It is right next to the bead shop where you can make your own necklaces that we took Lina to. It was all closed and dark so we went to the bead store and I read while the girls made necklaces. As it turns out the two shops are owned by the same person and they opened the pottery store for us. We all painted mugs. They are going to take around 2 weeks to be fired but we have the time. I think it cost around $60 but you can't put a price on the memories we are making. I think the girls really enjoyed it and those mugs are made of gold as far as we are concerned. After we finished we went back to the apartment and played Uno. It is a card game the girls are very familiar with. It thundered and stormed outside pretty good and was a good time to be indoors. We made dinner and watched some tv. It amazes me how good Audrone's English vocablulary is. She did a great job of explaining what was happening on the Lithuanian version of COPS Vilnius. And that was pretty much the end of the day.
I hope everyone is well back home.
KC