Our last few days...

Our last few days with the girls were filled with joy, fun, grandparents, tears, laughter, fear, and love! 
The girls were so excited to have Grandma and Papa come back to visit before they left.  They were counting the days until they arrived and swarmed them with hugs when they walked in the door.  I know they would have really like to see some more of the extended family again before leaving but the distance just didn't allow it to work out. 
We took them skating for the first time...it was hilarious.  I actually think Valya may have skated once before.  She did fairly well from the beginning but Roxy was very unstable. Randy and I had to take turns holding her up.  Other than the skates hurting their ankles, they had a great time and didn't want to leave when it closed.  Randy and I were exhausted and ready to go... :)

 

 

 Packing up was emotionally exhausting...the girls cried and laughed and kept talking to each other in Ukrainian.  Then would burst out in tears and then next minute be laughing.  We weren't sure what was going on but we laughed and cried right along with them.  It was hard for them to separate what they wanted to keep and what they wanted to leave here.  They more than enough to fill their two large suitcases and two backpacks, so we had to help them downsize.  The weight limit was another challenge.  We finally weighed the bags after packing and repacking and they were to heavy.  Disappointed, the girls had to leave more of their things here to get to the 50 lbs.  It was very hard for them!

 

The night before we had to leave for Minneapolis, we were able to take some great photos.  We had been printing photos for the girls all along and adding them to a photo album for the girls to take with them.  Hopefully when I send these of our family all together, the girls will receive them.  I have been told that getting mail to the orphanage is not always so reliable. 
These girls have captured our hearts, and I know letting them go at the airport is not going to be easy.