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