Be Still My Heart

Please be patient with us...we are trying to get information and pictures out little by little :).

We already have over 100 pictures of Alina! We saw her briefly this morning (green dress) before we completed A LOT of paperwork. We were able to go back and spend two hours with her this evening (pink shirt and pants).

I have details to share tomorrow, but what I can say briefly is that we met a little girl today who melted our hearts. We met a little girl who is full of potential. She is busy, and sharp, and curious and adorable. While she is not talking a ton, she understands everything that is said to her in Russian! (She did say "book" for us, though.) This is the first picture of us with her, taken by our facilitator, Marina:

Here are a few other of the many photos we took today of our "little tank":







Alina LOVED the photo book of her new family. She kept wanting to go back into the room and show it to her groupa and caretakers. Actually, she wanted to show them all the toys we brought along. She LOVED the phone and her daddy's Blackberry--she tried to take off with it :).

She carried the photo book, though, with her wherever she went. Her caretakers let her keep it with her overnight :).

When we were leaving, one of the women asked her to come back and give mama and papa a hug goodbye. She turned right around and stretched her arms out to me and gave me a huge hug. She then gave Chris a huge hug.

We can't wait to see her tomorrow! We will post more as soon as we can!