Testing 1, 2, 3

I know I did a few posts yesterday and then went silent on you. Sorry! We lost our internet connection last night and regained it today. Let's see. Where did we end? Oh yes, with the potty training. Well, for 2 days now, HG has worn just panties around the house--no other clothes. The girl doesn't even know her own body (not necessarily the parts, but you can tell that she isn't used to seeing or feeling her own arms, legs, stomach, etc.). In two days, she has had only 1 accident and it was my fault. She told me "pee pee" but I wasn't fast enough getting her back to the potty as we were outside playing on the backside of our house. She pooped in the regular/big potty this morning and then did it again in her little potty this afternoon. I have continued to put a diaper or pull up on her for naps and night time and she does wet then, but, knock on wood, it has been great. She is just so darned proud of herself. We're proud of her too.

The title of this post, however, reflects the last 2 days as well. Testing me. Not in a bad behavior way but in a way to see if I am going to respond and comfort her. I'll have to see if I can capture this poor pathetic look on film because it's something else. She sticks that bottom lip out, jibber jabbers about "it", and points to the offender--HM and HV. There usually is not any real tears, just this crying sound. Drama Queen. I, of course, come to her aid as we all try not to laugh. I have explained to HV and HM that HG has never been "babied" or been allowed to be SOMEONE's baby. Yes, she was a baby, but she wasn't someone's baby and so she is trying to learn and see if we're going to stick it out and meet her needs. They understand but don't necessarily like being at the end of her pointing finger. I can't say that I blame them. She hasn't been quite as dramatic today as yesterday so perhaps she is already realizing that I am the protector and I will be there. She calls for me when something happens--"Nonny! Nonny!" Nonny is closer to Mommy than Nina, which if you remember is what she called me initially, and so I'll take it. :) She still doesn't leave my side much or doesn't want me out of her sight, but that's ok. Like I said, at least she is already seeing me as the protector and the role of the parent.

CASE UPDATE

Without going into too many specifics, we were hoping for a baby step yesterday and WE GOT IT! Yeah! We have three BIG STEPS coming up on Monday. This won't allow us to come home immediately, but it will make us so much closer to the finish line. I ask you to pray this weekend for:

1. HG's mom, M--she is involved in 2 out of the 3 steps on Monday. Please pray that she will indeed be where she needs to be on Monday to carry out those steps.

2. My contact with M is through a person named N. N is a money hungry woman, always wanting me to reimburse for off the wall expenses related to bringing M to the designated appointments. I am in agreement to pay for the necessary expenses or the agreed upon expenses but please pray that N's heart will be softened, even if just for a day, and that she will do the right thing for the sake of HG's adoption. M has not appeared for two scheduled appointments previously and N always has an excuse for it. We will make an attempt to contact N on Sunday, reminding her about the appointments on Monday.

3. Pray that there will be a peace surrounding everyone involved on Monday. There's nothing "scary" going on but it's nerve-wracking and time consuming and peace would make the day be so much better/easier.

4. Pray that I will continue to be reminded that God's in charge of the timing here. He knows the limitations I have here due to my work and the girls for school. I have continued to be reminded through song and study to BE STILL. When you live like we are currently, I find it is easier to BE STILL but then my mind can begin to wander and the devil can creep in on me, creating doubts and fears. Please pray that I will remain grounded with God.

I will, of course, update you all as soon as the Monday happenings occur. It's possible that it will spill over into Tuesday but we pray that EVERYTHING can happen on Monday as we have planned.

Here are some pics from the last few days.

This fountain and "park" are just outside our back gate. I've been telling the girls I should take their picture by it but the water has been off for the last few days. The first photo is my favorite.

Can you tell what we did this morning? Yep, that's the potty chair on the front porch, ready for usage. I'm quite certain that this was HG's first time with sidewalk chalk. I took a wet rag outside with us because I knew she wouldn't like that chalk on her hands. She didn't at first and kept coming to me to wipe it off. She got used it, as you can see from the second picture below. Oh, the housekeeper told me today that HG was fat. I thought that was funny. Being fat here is a bit different than in the US. It's a bit more flattery because it shows you live well enough to eat well (read over indulge here). She does look chunky in the belly, but she weighs just 34 pounds.

We hope you all have wrapped up a good week. We're slowly feeling better here. HM's cough is almost gone. HG's still taking her antibiotics, but you can tell she feels much better. I've been a bit slow to bounce back, but hopefully the antibiotics I picked up yesterday will do the trick. Unfortunately, I only got 3 pills of Zithromax in one box for a whopping Q350 (which is over $40). I have only one more to go, so I will probably have to go buy more. HA told me today of another farmacia to try that might have a generic form that doesn't cost as much.