Day #2 (Monday) We met K and W

(I hope to be able to get you all caught up in posting updates from each day with some more detail. We still have not found a way to get the pictures posted, but for now, we will try to describe a bit more of this amazing experience)

We had our first local breakfast which was really pretty good, and we were told that the children would be arriving soon. We all went outside to pace anxiously around the courtyard. This was a very strange feeling. We are standing out in the middle of this secure courtyard on the other side of the world waiting to meet our two children. What would we say? What would we do? What will they think? How in the world will these two children be anything but petrified? How can we show them in our first impression that we have loved them for months and they don’t even know us?
All of a sudden, the large main gates of the compound opened up and two old vehicles pulled in. The drivers got out and opened the doors and out came 5 beautiful little children. They were tiny, scared, shy and very, very quiet. We recognized K right away, and Erica and I came down to greet her and were just so amazed at how blessed we are to see her standing right there in front of us. She looked even more beautiful than her picture and stood there like a little princess even though she wore an old blue dress which was 2-3 sizes too big. W was wearing blue jean overalls with a bright yellow shirt on underneath – again 2-4 sizes too big. He looked like the littlest gentleman. They were both so shy and so very, very quiet. We said “hello” and introduced ourselves as “Mommy” and “Daddy” although that felt very odd. We just kind of asked a few questions to which they both gave a very short head nod. It felt very awkward out in the public courtyard with the drivers, social workers, other guests and other united families standing there so we went inside with them. Erica held K's hand and I picked W up to carry him up the stairs. He was such a very little boy, but I couldn’t believe how cute he was.
We sat down with them in the living room (which was about 100 degrees) and showed them some of the things we had gotten for them. We took our first pictures with them and although we were sweating so badly, they loved to see pictures of themselves. We went back to our bedroom to spend some time together. We laid a couple outfits out on the bed that we brought for K, and she picked one out she really liked (a green linen skirt and tank top). It was so hot that W needed to get out of the overalls and into something much more comfortable. It was odd helping two little children who we just met to get changed, but they didn’t hesitate to change.
They were both so quiet until W saw something in one of the suitcase that he thought was candy. He pointed and said his first words to us with the tiniest little voice "candy”. We gave them both lollipops and they both smiled for the first time. This was also the first time we saw how kind K is to her little brother because when she saw that he finished his first, she bit off some from hers and gave the rest of it to him. We began to show them the photo books we brought of our other children K&K, our house, Golden Girl and the rest of our life. One picture had Kaiya’s laying on a couch with her baby which she named "blue baby" and when we told K, she repeated it, so her first word to us was “Blue Baby”.
We gave W two toys which he has not put down which is a toy cell phone, and a big rubber ball. When we gave K a little doll we had brought for her, one of the first things she did was take the hair and braid it. They began, very slowly, to open up a little bit
We got to have lunch with them and supper, and they eat every single bite of food, and the scraps that we didn't eat. They use utensils very well and the food that dropped off of W's spoon, he used his tiny little hands to make sure it was eaten. In between, we just played with them, tried to get them to speak some and tried to get them to open up. They were the most mild mannered children you could imagine. They said very little throughout the day, and when asked any question gave a short nod of the head. they are both so very cute. What a blessing from God. We gave them their first shower that night, and it was obvious they had never seen running water in a shower before - they squealed with joy as they showered for the first time. After they were cleaned up, we put them down to bed and prayed with them. It brought me to tears to pray with our new children for the very first time. I can't believe we are here, with them, and could kiss them goodnight.