Well, we finally have our kids!!  We are so thankful and happy!  I thought that I could never smile as big as I did yesterday...and I smile ALOT!  We picked up Chelsea and Cody yesterday.  There were many tears from the caretakers and all were a little nervous but they are ours at last!! Cody's care taker said, "please don't hurt him!"  Can you imagine??  I couldn't believe that she would think such a thing!!  After all we have been through to get to where we are, they are a deep treasure!  I can't believe how much we love them already!!  Jessica and Chelsea are inseperable!!  They even slept together last night.  So did Mikey and Cody...all hugs and smiles!  You wouldn't believe how big the dinner table was!!  Our hostess Marina returned from Michigan yesterday, so she was there with a toast to family and health!  Chelsea put her necklace on right away and has not taken it off.  I know that I am not going in order, but there is so much to say, and so much that happenned.

OK---

THE MEETING: We went to the orphanage and had a wonderful meeting with the director and Assitant director.  Mikey is in  love with the Assistent Director!  He played and played with her.  It is amazing because he has been terribly shy most of the time!  It was the 3rd time he saw her and the second time he ran to her and jumped in her arms.  She is very sweet!!  The director is wonderful as well!  I can't say the same for the lawyer, he doesn't smile and isn't friendly.  Oh well, there has to be one!  We signed the papers and headed to the camp to get our children!!  Thom and Tommy stayed behind do to lack of room.  Jessica and Mikey wouldn't hear of waiting to see their new brother and sister and needed to be there for the event.

THE CAMP: Sasha drove the 30 minutes to the camp, joking about the roads and his driving.  He has actually learned where the potholes are!  So we get to the camp and our 2 favorite older boys come out to greet us and take us to the kids.  We went to go get the kids and Chelsea was not in her dorm.  So we went to the other dorm, and she wasn't there either!!! My heart was out of my chest!! Finally we found her in Cody's dorm with the caretakers.  The caretakers were in tears and it was obvious that Chelsea had been too.  AS the caretakers talked with us, I started crying too.  Their loss is deffinately our gain, but it is hard to know that we are taking away children that they love so much.  It was certainly a bitter sweet day.  Anyway, when she saw us she started smiling and came straight to me.  She seems to have closed that chapter and started on the new one of her life!  Cody was shy as always.  He eagerly came to me with his cute little grin.  He told Iina (formerly known as Star) that he was happy to be with his new family and that it is OK to be leaving the caretakers.  They were all smiles as we pulled away from the camp.  Then I looked up and saw our 14 year old friend, the boy, in tears.  I was moved!!  Was he crying because he too wishes to leave with a forever family?  Because he would miss the kids? US? Happy for the kids?  I don't know, but it is a picture that will stay with me for a VERY long time.

GOING HOME:  So, on the way home, it was wonderful.  Chelsea was exhausted and just wanted to put her head on my shoulder and hold my hand.  She looked so peaceful and happy!  Cody was on my lap and very allert.  He was watching everything with so much wonder and amazement.  The word "WOW" is deffinately a universal word!  He was amazed the most when we came out of the hills and he saw the valley below us.  Everytime he would relax and lean against me, he would see something and sit straight up again and talk excitedly.  I wish I could understand, but I know in my heart what he was saying.  When we got home, our wonderful Lianna and Anna had dinner prepaired for us.  Marina, our host, had returned.  We had a great meal with Kognac for toast.  (Luckily this time it is only the second time we were expected to drink!)  We were all so happy!  Then it was time for a rest.  We said good night and headed up stairs.  Iina came up a bit later to talk about today.  She said that it was the first time she saw a bit of panic in my eyes.   She was right!  I was in a very fancy house, not childproof by the way, with 5 kids in a large but confined area!!  How could I keep these excited, exhausted children from celebrating until all hours of the night??  Everything was new and wonderful for us all!  Cody and Chelsea took turns finding Thom and I's laps and plopping confidently down on them for a cuddle and kiss.  It was amazing!!  GOD IS TRULY WONDERFUL AND FAITHFUL...NOT TO MENTION SMART!  We definately consider this a match made in heaven!!  Finally, we had them cleaned up, PJs on, and in bed.  The girls wanted to sleep together and so did the boys.  You should have seen the hugging that was going on!!  Somehow we all fell asleep.

TODAY:  Our friend Denis, the taxi driver, met us to fairy the Hobbs clan wherever we desired.  We could have been anywhere but we decided to go to the market to get swimsuits for the kids.  He then took us to the park with the kids rides for some out door fun.  The children had a blast!!  Chelsea is not very daring.  She wouldn't ride most of the rides, but she enjoied screaming with the others.  Cody is a daredevil!!  He will try anything!! (And yet he's shy???)  He squeeled in delight at the little roller coaster.  Then they did one that goes high in the air and side to side.  He would scream in fear one second and squeel with delight the next.  We didn't know if we should stop the ride or not.  At the end he clapped.  Then he and Jessica and Tommy went on the Yo-yo and everything else.  It was a great day!  Now they are swimming in the pool at the house.  I ran out so that I could post for you guys. What a time it has been with so many blessings!!

PRAYER NEED: We know that we have been tremendously blessed in this process, and couldn't ask for more or better.  However; we have a  prayer need.  As I said last post, we have had issues with the tickets.  TOMMY'S TICKET IS LOST IN CYBER SPACE!~!!  I think the travel agent screwed up AGAIN!!!!  I am trying to get ahold of him and Delta and will keep trying as soon as I leave here.  Thom is still very upset that he is letting his work down.  They haven't called, so I hope they are OK.  We are really trying to get back.  Being stuck for extra time is not fun.  Please pray for tickets to open up so that we can go home!! IF  NOT, we will make the most of it and spend time bonding...maybe it is another of God's Blessings?!

Love, The Hobbs'