Showers (of tears) today, praying for sunny outlook tomorrow

Dad's copying Ellie's tongue of concentration

Elisona’s mood matched the weather today, slightly overcast with periodic showers. She still hasn’t kicked whatever has been ailing her and today was poking again at her ear which makes us think she may have an ear infection. Her usually voracious appetite was tempered at lunch time as she pushed her cup away after only drinking about a quarter of its contents. Obviously it was hard for mom and dad to know that Ellie wasn’t feeling well and not be able to do much to help her. Supper went a little smoother (it was her favorite banana concoction) and we settled down in the play room for about an hour with a Fisher-Price xylophone/piano toy. The first time she realized she could hit the keys and make a sound was like she had won the lottery. The hour varied between gently plucking the xylophone bars to loudly pounding on the keys interspersed with curious glances at dad’s funny noises.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day with a full entourage of visitors arriving from Tirana at about 10:30 for a farewell party like this orphanage has probably never seen. It is at this time that we will be able to give the gifts that were given by our thoughtful Asbury friends, as well as other gifts we brought to show our appreciation for the orphanage staff. I’m sure there will be plenty of photos and maybe even a video (if we can upload one) from the day’s festivities. We’re a bit concerned about the travel with a sick girl, so you can pray with us about that. We’re also praying about the details of the paper chase involved in getting Ellie’s Albanian passport. God has gone before us every step so far and we believe that he is going before us still.

It may be hard to sleep tonight! Tomorrow is a day for which we’ve been waiting for more than a year!