DAY FIVE

Today was Romeo's 12th birthday! It probably wasn't his first choice to be traveling, but we did try to celebrate the day! I thought the kids would be up at the crack of dawn, but they slept until about 7 a.m. I, on the other hand woke up at 4:30 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. Oh well. As predicted, the first activity of the day was swimming with Dad. Roselyn stayed behind with me to help pack. We had our own little birthday celebration in the room and Romeo also got several calls during the day (i.e. Grandpa and Grandma Mork, sisters...). He is such a happy kid. A little quirky sometimes, but awfully happy. You will love him!!

We left for the airport around 12:30. I was wondering how it would go but it was great. No problem with security or paperwork. The biggest issue is ALWAYS trying to keep Rodrigo on a short leash. He is very independent and afraid of NOTHING so walking out into a street would not phase him in the least. We have already had lots of talks about holding hands and sticking together. He has a zest for life and we are learning more about this cute little boy of ours.

Anyway, the flight was uneventful. Both of the boys got window seats and were thrilled. I sat next to Rigo and tried to keep him occupied for the one hour flight. My life has definitely taken a turn. Instead of the usual Midwest Living magazine in my lap, I was holding a Richard Scarry book and a dot-to-dot book. To be honest, it felt alright and we had a good time!

The ride to the guest house took about an hour. All of the kids fell asleep en route. How sweet to see Rodrigo leaning against Romeo. Allen and I have noticed that our kids watch out for each other. They have become close through their journey together. It makes me glad that we adopted three children. It will give them strength as the years go by.

We ate dinner at the guest house. We sat with some people who started asking questions about our family. I know that they didn't mean to be rude, but they started talking about our children in the third person. I was surprised at my reaction to this. We had been warned about this but I didn't really think it would happen so soon. Allen kept trying to shift the conversation to something else, but it was kind of awkward. Both Allen and I have already become rather protective of these three children of ours. One additional note - Roselyn, Romeo and Rodrigo sat so patiently during this dinner conversation. I couldn't believe it. We were both very proud of them!!

Last thing of the day was to go swimming again. This time we all went. It was fun and felt very refreshing. We have more shopping to do tomorrow and plan on ice skating as well. (Go figure!) Should be another busy day. It was very scary a few days ago to think of being on our own with our kids but now that we are "flying solo" we are doing ok. Allen and I are very impressed with how far our kids have come the past 3 years. They are generally very happy, polite and considerate kids. We feel very blessed to call them our sons and daughter. We have a long way to go, but wow, if only you could see them. Oh, yeah... I guess you WILL see them...and you will be amazed!! Enough rambling. Thanks for checking in!