"To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:3

The Burckhard Family

The Burckhard Family

Friday, February 18, 2011

Day Two.....Amazing!

We had an amazing day today!

To start off the day, we went to the Ministry Office to get Nathan's referral. I believe there were 12-13 people all around a table. It felt like a grown-up, foreign IEP process. Ha Ha!

Nathan's Social Worker updated us briefly on some of Nathan's background. My mind is very fuzzy right now, so I will post the details later. I am excited to share the rest of the news with you....

Right after the meeting, we headed out for a three-hour drive to the south of Serbia where Nathan's foster family lives. We met the social worker and two of his center's worker's at the house. It was just so surreal as we approached the front door with his foster Mom saying "Mama & Tata....".

There were even more people there as we all crammed into the living room with Nathan. Let me say he is even more beautiful in person!

He has been with the family for the past two years or so and has grown quite attached to them. He has two older foster sisters who were also there. They shared lots of little tidbits with us as they both spoke very good English. The funniest thing of all is that they told us that his very favorite thing is Lady Gaga!!!! And, while we we sat there, wouldn't you know it, but on comes Gaga herself. He danced and showed his moves.

He loved to play with our FLIP camera, our digital camera, and Kevin's phone. We gave him a monkey and some "sweets"...which he loved!
Then, much to our surprise, our facilitator Jasmina asked us to go and get an outfit out of the car for him as we were going to try and take him today. The oldest sister helped me get him dressed and put on his little coat. His foster mother has a very hard time with it all. I gave her a bracelet with a heart engraved in Latin saying "Love Conquers All." She cried and cried. I had to turn away or I would have lost it too.

All was fine with Nathan leaving with us until we were outside the gate to their house. He wanted to run back, but Kevin bent down and gently picked him up while he was crying very louldy. We all hopped into the vehicle and headed off to his birth city. He only cried for a few minutes and then settled in on the SW's lap. I must admit I was a bit worried that he might not take to us....

We then arrived at our hotel, went up to our room, and noticed that Nathan had a dirty diaper. In true teamwork fashion, we changed his diaper and then he was totally fine being with us! Whatever it takes, we say!


We had a wonderful dinner at the hotel with our new friends.
It was a wonderful Serbian meal of pickled vegetables, bread, appetizers, and meat. Yum! And the best part of the whole evening was THIS.....As you can see, my little cup was full!

We gave him a bath,
a bottle of milk, and settled down for the night.
Praise the Lord for such an amazing day!

16 comments:

  1. How exciting that you got to take him with you!!! Praying for a smooth transition for all of you!! He is beautiful Paula!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sitting here in tears of joy for you and Kevin. He reminds me of Grace. I am praying everything goes smooth for you three and a safe return home...
    Take care and hurry home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. He is beautiful, Paula! Looks like love to me!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is one amazing day! He's a doll, you guys. Praying for easy transition and good attachment. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wonderful first day with your new son!
    Lots of prayers beings said here for a smooth process.

    Blessings,
    Angie

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it! He looks fantastic!! What a blessing for you guys!! Thanks for the pictures of your beautiful, handsome, adorable new little man!

    I don't know that you'll have a spare moment for this, but I pulled up our meeting with Dean's foster parents in China. You might get a kick out of reading it. The first part isn't funny but it is similar to what you guys experienced. The second part is kinda funny, though. If nothing else, it'll make you glad you didn't run into THAT.

    http://wherelearningflows.blogspot.com/2009/01/foster-parents.html

    Enjoy your day with your sweet boy!!

    Jill

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can see why you wanted to skip the details about the "IEP" type meeting. Wow! I can't imagine what it felt like to take your son so soon after meeting him. He sure is handsome. God bless you all on the rest of your journey.

    ReplyDelete
  8. He is just precious!!!! I'm so excited for your family! The bracelet was a wonderful idea for the foster mom too.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, you're making me all teary-eyed!! I love the pictures -- amazing that you have him with you already! (So different than the long process for Bella, my goodness!)

    He's a beautiful boy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh Paula what a beautiful picture of the three of you!! And while he is in your lap brought tears to my eyes!! I am so happy for you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. He is stunning.....so happy for your day. Hope you do away with Lady Gaga once you get home. I am so happy for you all!!!

    Stephanie Lynch

    ReplyDelete
  12. That is amazing! So far it looks pretty good! I think it funny that he loves Lady Gaga... he will have some cousins that will laugh at that! :-) Wow! We can't wait to meet our new little nephew/cousin!!! XX00XX

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hooray!
    He sounds lovely.
    I'm glad to hear things are going so well and I can't wait to meet the little guy in person.


    P.S. In the dinner picture of the three of you, Nathan puts Justin Bieber's hair to shame.

    P.P.S. As much as I don't want to admit this, Gaga has a similar affect on me. Every time I hear one of her catchy beats I can't help but dance. I'm so pleased that N and I already have something in common.

    ReplyDelete
  14. He is precious!!!! He is going to love being in your family!

    ReplyDelete
  15. We are praying for the three of you as you become a family! We are so excited for you! Glad you are there and he is finally in your arms. the Olsons

    ReplyDelete
  16. I can't tell you how much your comments mean to me! Those of you who have adopted internationally know how "alone" you feel at times. Your love and support are definitely felt here! Please continue to pray for things to go smoothly! Love you all..... Paula

    ReplyDelete