day 4....gotcha

today was the big day!

we took a taxi to the sna to pick up the social worker, then off to the orphanage. baby girl lives in a very rural area with much poverty. her orphanage is very clean and the workers have a huge heart for the children there.

she knew we were coming and was ready to greet us. she loved her brown-eyed baby and diaper bag, she carried it with her all day long. we gave gifts to the nuns who will distribute them to the workers. we sat in a formal reception area and visited. she came right up to me and let me hug and kiss her. she was a little afraid of her papa, but that is fairly normal.

after a while, the social worker suggested we take her to a park. i want to you block out any idea of what you might think a park looks like, no swings or slides here. a low-fenced area at the center of town, with fountains, statues, and flowers. not much to do. she played a little game of chase with the boys, tried to climb everything in sight, picked a few flowers. then she got brave and darted out of the park, i caught her and brought her back, much to her dismay. she was not too fond of the fact that i picked her up and made her obey, but safe is safe. that ended the park experience. we took her home for lunch and a nap.

we ate at an interesting restaurant. we ordered 4 different authentic peruvian dishes and have lived to tell about it. actually the goat was our favorite. jim tells me he will not eat cuy, but marisa and i are planning to sneak it to him. shhhh....don't tell.

i spent most of lunch worrying about how the morning didn't go really great. marisa was so encouraging, explaining that things were going pretty typical. not to worry, she will be ready when the time comes.

the afternoon was much better. emma showed us around the home, her bed, her friends. we handed out candies, which the children loved. i sent her some smarties in a care package that she received on her birthday, so the kids were all excited to have those again.

tomorrow we plan to pick her up in the morning, take her with us until around 2 or so and then take her back. shoe shopping for zapatos bonitos. something sparkly and that lights up, not my favorite shoe, but i am sure she will be thrilled.

this morning we were up at 2:30 for a 6:00 flight. saying i am exhausted would be an understatement. so an soon as i can post some of the pics, i am turning in.

ciao!