9 Days ... {Miranda Arrives!}

What a miraculous night! After a long wait and over 24 hours of travel for our sweet host girl, we were able to meet Miranda!!

It was fun to arrive at the airport and see all the other families, many who we met at training, with their signs and New Horizons t-shirts. Everyone was anxious but, the flight was delayed flying out of JFK so we all hunkered down for a long night of waiting. 

Ava Mae made bracelets to pass out to the families ... red and white, which are the colors of the Latvian flag.

All the kids found friends ... Devin announced at one point - "well it's time for me to go meet some boys my age and find out who they are hosting".

Finally, shortly before Midnight our host kids arrived to cheers and lots of clapping. There was a little more waiting ... each family was called individually to meet their child{ren}. We watched with joyful anticipation ... then we spotted who we thought was Miranda. We held up our sign and she smiled this huge smile and then started crying. I didn't know what to think at first but, realized quickly, we were all on the verge of tears and I cannot imagine after traveling for 24 hours and getting ready to meet a family and leave the comfort of your traveling group who all speak your language, what she was thinking. Then our name was called and we rushed forward ... I could not wait to hug her {I will post a video soon}. Then quick pictures for the Latvian court and off we went. We made a quick potty stop and then to the car. I showed her our translation cards and she said immediately she was thirsty. We had water bottles and snacks ... she just wanted a drink and a banana. Thankful for google translate - we were able to let her know it was a very short ride home {so many families had 2+ hours back}.

At home, we introduced her to our pets, showed her the room we had prepared and asked her if she wanted to take a shower. Hand gestures to show her shampoo, face soap, body soap, etc. and a quick lesson how to work the shower. A quick tour of our home after the shower and then we were all off to bed but, not before Miranda let us know she had gifts she wanted us to open. Sweet girl had brought us Latvian chocolates and a clock. It was such a sweet moment! To be continued ...