Day 9

Ready to go!

Today was our last full day in Bulgaria. Plamena brought us Bozi’s passport, visa and all the documents we would need to get out of Bulgaria and into the States with our newest Little Tiny. After she left, we were getting ready and Bozi found the phone for the intercom from downstairs. He would answer the phone, say "Hello" and say "Ciao Ciao," blow kisses and hang up. It was hilarious. We fed our goofy pants a snack and headed out. 

We went to the cute little playground near our apartment, where Bozi quickly won over the people by telling them “Ciao Ciao” (Bye-Bye) when they left and blowing lots of kisses until they were completely out of sight. How did we end up with this sweet little boy? Then we walked to the pedestrian street to do some shopping, see Ani and keep Bozi awake through nap time. Our plan was to skip nap, put him to bed early and wake him up about 3:15 am to be picked up at 3:30 am to head to the airport. He did surprisingly well all day for no nap. He was definitely tired and a little cranky, but I’ve seen worse. I’ll let you traveling parents know how this goes and if it’s worth it. It could totally backfire. 

We shopped till we dropped. I found the pottery I was looking for to make gyuveche. I found the rose oil a friend of mine asked me to grab while I was here. She adopted from Bulgaria as well. We found fun souvenirs. I enjoyed my last shopska salad. It was delicious. I have to find that cheese somewhere, feta is not going to cut it. The girls ate McDonald’s and experienced the bathroom where you have to type in a code to get in. Kev bought me banista and the girls gelato. Ani, our translator, came to see us at lunch to say good-bye. I love making new relationships and I am so excited when they seem like they will last. I am thankful for her, and for her taking such good care of us this week and last visit as well.

Bozi loved shopping as much as his daddy!
We headed back to the apartment. I had a very delirious little boy who was a giggling maniac. The girls are ALWAYS giggling maniacs so they partied until it was time to eat. We ate dinner and had our first big scare with choking. I swept his throat and Kev fished the piece of food out. I’m so anxious to get Bozi the therapies he needs as soon as possible. He needs occupational therapy to help with chewing, physical therapy for his hyper-mobile joints and he has what we call "power surges" that I want our pediatrician to check out. Hopefully, there is nothing neurological going on and it’s just excitement. We wound him down at 7 and got him into bed. The girls followed soon after. Now we have to pack everything and attempt to get some sleep. 

Sometimes you get to the end of a season just to realize the next season is starting. Starting tomorrow we venture back to the States. We have a new addition and our new season of life is officially starting. These days here in Bulgaria are a weird in-between of adjustment and survival. Tomorrow, we will fly back to D.C. and figure out our next steps.

I’ll let you know how tomorrow goes!
We love Ani!



Comments

Heather Mitchell said…
Praying for your family as you travel home. Praying for travel mercies and toddler mercies from all:) Our trip home was hard but so worth being home again. I have to admit I’m going to miss your posts in country. I so miss Bulgaria. Miss the Vesta staff and their amazing hearts to service their adoptive families. I miss the people, the beautiful big sky, the mountains. I miss Shopska salad and oh the cheese!! I am so with you on the cheese. Feta is not going to cut it for me either. Sending our love from California! Praying for the transition to home and family life. Praying for your home and community also♥️