I think my fears of the unknown were getting to me all day on Sunday. And I believe it was attacking Aleks too. He was in a really grumpy mood and didn’t really have much nice to say all day. We both were working through our emotions and I was not really looking forward to what the next day would be like. Later that evening, we had dinner with our new friends and Aleks was able to see one of his caregivers one last time. The dinner changed in the feelings of the day and I was very thankful for that. We laughed, the universal language, and Kevin and Aleks were invited to make cappuccinos behind the counter.

It was a joy to see each of us together having fun and chatting with friends.

On Monday morning, we headed out to get photos made for Aleks’ visa and to pick up a few things from the store, then headed back to the apartment to wait… It was late afternoon when we were picked up to journey to an apartment were Aleks remembers visiting a few years ago. He has been telling us about family he would visit and a woman he calls “babushka” – grandmother in Russian. As we arrived, I didn’t really know what to expect,  my stomach was in knots and I could not speak, for the fear of tears overflowing. As we walked up to the door of the apartment building, Aleks seemed excited and we stepped into an elevator the size of a shoebox…not fun!!! As we stepped off, he ran to the door and knocked. An short, older man, balding with glasses and a short round woman stood at the door. They give Aleks a hug and started chatting. I stood at the doorway for a second and the woman motioned us into her home to visit. We sat in a small narrow living area with a sports channel as our background noise. The man and woman chatted with each other and with Ginta and Aleks. We sat. Then Ginta asked us if we would like to know anything about Aleks or the family. I really didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to ask. The man started to talk to us and Ginta translated. He told us that he was Aleks’ great uncle and his sister was Aleks’ grandmother. Not what Aleks told us…he thinks they are grandparents. The man, Igar, explained that Aleks’ grandmother had died before he was born. He stood up and pulled out a few photos from a near by drawer…they were photos of Aleks’ dad with his grandparents. He pulled out a picture of Aleks’ dad, a wedding photo from a first marriage. Then there was one of Aleks around three years of age. They did not want to give it to me because it was the only picture they had of him, so I took a picture of it for us to keep.

The man explained that Aleks’ dad worked as a seaman. And worked on the boats. They explained that Aleks had a good life as a young boy, but when his dad lost his job they started drinking and things got really bad. I know there was a lot said, but not sure if it was all that easy to translate to us. We were told the man read about Aleks’ dad’s death (murder) in the paper and had to come and identify him. Not really easy to hear, for any of us.

The woman spoke too, and started to cry. She said it was hard…and I cried with her. But not for the same reasons…I cried, because my son, has family here in the same town just a few blocks away from where we are staying and they have not cared for him, loved him, hugged him…been a part of his life.

The woman, got up and asked if we wanted tea or coffee. And we headed into the kitchen area for Nestle instant coffee…yep! They asked us a few questions and why we wanted to adopt Aleks. We explained and Aleks told all about America…

The family has twin sons living at home. I think they are in their twenties. They managed to “look us up” on the internet and even did a Google earth search on where we live…They came out of a back room and asked us questions about Atlanta and Canton…that was a little strange for me…

But time was up for our visit and we took several photos of the family that Aleks knew here in Liepaja.

The man walked us outside and gave Aleks a kiss…then we were off…

Thankful for another move in the direction of a forever home!!!!