Jordan watch – day 2

Pictures added below!

By Brian: I do feel better tonight than I did this afternoon. Going to get up a little bit early to be at the orphanage about 8 to get Jordan! I am excited about that. Can’t wait to wrap him in that turtle blanket.

Mom and Dmitri talked most of the way from Sofia to Varna about Bulgarian history and world issues. It was interesting to hear from Dmitri. But I was mostly just trying to doze. The country side is much browner and barer this time. It’s cold and dry. We see vendors selling onions by the road. Guess it ain’t cherry season no more.

We met with Nina tonight for a short visit. I wanted to stay longer but it was getting late. Misha and Theo came up to see us. They were shy but still just as boisterous as ever. Nina was very sweet, serving us tea, asking about Rachel and Jordan. She gave us a huge bag of nuts and what look like plum pits. As we left she gave mom a long hug and prayed over her. It was special. I wish we could give them more… they have been such an encouragement to us, showing us God’s love and the Bulgarian hospitality.

From Tami: What do you do when you are visiting the lady who let your son and daughter-in-law stay in her house months ago – she and you hug like best friends and she starts praying for you in Bulgarian. Wow! Cry? Say amen with her? Pray for her too but quietly because you are listening to her words that you don’t understand but you know are from the heart? Yes! What an amazing lady. Pray many blessings on Nina, her husband and 2 beautiful children. Thank you Brian and Rachel for allowing me to go on this amazing trip. Tomorrow, we pick up Jordan and drive the 7 hours back to Sofia.

Back to Brian:
Tomorrow is the big day! It is so weird to be adopting. Unlike getting pregnant and carrying a child, where Rachel would do most of the hard stuff, and where we don’t necessarily know what day we meet the baby, in this case we met Jordan 6 months ago, we know we get him tomorrow, and a lot the responsibility for the first week will be on me! It is quite daunting. I’m so glad mom is here to help.

Speaking of which she a better photo blogger than me so you may have to wait for Rachel to steal her pictures before seeing what we did today.

Added from Rachel: Pictures taken from Tamera’s facebook and posted here too! We missed talking with Brian here this morning as we were in church when he made it back to the hotel for Skype time. 🙁 Hoping to catch him tonight as he’s getting ready to go pick up Jordan! Oh, that DOES excite me! Girls and I are doing good at home. The times when Brian’s usually gone anyway are ok… the times when he’s usually here are the hardest. Driving home from church. Going to bed at night. Rolling over to the warm side of the bed, but it’s cold. But the girls have been good, we have been healthy and friends have been amazing. One day at a time!

Pictures from Tamera’s facebook along with captions:

Down the street from the hotel in Sofia:

First meal in Bulgaria. Chicken sandwich with french fries, cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage, yogurt sauce, and chicken pieces. We both only ate about half. It was good.

The market where we got water. .69 levs. In the airport a water less than half that size was 3.00 levs!
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View from hotel in Sofia:

Yummy tomato (with breakfast):

Happy to be eating! Blood sugar was 113 this morning! Yeah!!!!

Brian’s breakfast – scrambled eggs, tomato, bacon?, grapefruit, pastry that tasted like french toast, and bread and honey. Yum! (breakfast served by Budapest Hotel in Sofia)

Tamera’s breakfast – Scrambled eggs, mushrooms, bacon?, ham & cheese, yogurt sauce, crescent and peach jam (whole peaches), butter and milk. Great breakfast. Ate it all – so hungry!

In the van on the way to Varna from Sofia. Taxi in Sofia. (Can you read it? It’s pronounced taksi!)

The country side is beautiful – brown though. I saw sheep with their sheep herder, a horse and cart with 2 people on the cart, and cows with a cow herder?.
Sorry – these are through the window in a moving van.
It was so cold that there was a hard frost on the tops of the hill/mountains. (hills to us, considered a mountain range there)

We went through several tunnels on the way to Varna.

There were several small towns/villages along the way… think we saw a lake and a resort. (this is just a piece of countryside)

Shopska salad and cheese wrapped bacon for Lunch at Happy Bar and Grill:

Hotel room in Varna. (I’m sure this was a welcome sight!)

Still the hotel room in Varna. Won’t take a picture of the bathroom this time. It pretty much looks like the other one.

Brian is tired, I think. Dinner – Brian had chicken soup. See my cute Pepsi bottle? (Yes, I would agree that that is a tired Brian face. Hope you both slept really good and feel encouraged, excited and joyful today!)