Welcome to the Wright Home!

Here I sit on my bed with the sweetest angel in my arms. Hannah is spending the night tonight! She's actually doing very well.

Back up to today. It was another day where there was 1 thing planned, but a whole lot extra that gets added as the day goes along. The Embassy needed 4 pictures, a different size than the 4 previous pictures we've gotten. We had to hurry because we needed to meet Giorgi with the pictures, all the documents to obtain a visa for Hannah, money for the visa, and our passports. We also were trying to hurry to see the Hauflers before they took off for the Holy Land. We were fortunate enough to spend a bit of time with them, and they got to meet Hannah. Of course she is a cute in person as in pictures! There were extra papers for them to sign, so I left Lika with them and took Hannah back home. She has had some major car action with little fun with it. I did see her start to test when I was the only one with her. Things she'd not been doing she started again. I know what's going on, so it's ok.

Back to the hospital to get Lika, and off to lunch at the .... machahala. Did you think it was going to be somewhere else? Had to get my fix.

There is a bridge that is very new, not quite finished, in fact, that doesn't really fit with the looks of old Tbilisi (I can say that because a very fine Georgian friend said so herself) but is really neat looking. It's called Freedom Bridge. Today we finally walked on it. The view from the bridge was very nice, and Lika got some pictures on the camera with the card that doesn't fit in my computer.

Lika's grandma lives in the same neighborhood as Hannah, so we went to visit for a bit. Her grandma is 83 years old, worked as a pharmacist for 40 years, as it a sweet lady. She was highly offended that we came and didn't eat much. I did eat just to please her, but it was obvious it wasn't enough. Her uncle lives with her grandma, and is a very interesting gentleman. He was in a car accident when he was 10 and ended up blinded and fatherless as a result. However, he's a writer and the director of the Union of Disabled People, I think. He helps organize events for children with disabilities and is trying to learn more about technology that can help blind or disabled people. He helped with the curriculum of Braille books here, and writes plays for the radio. One of the things I wanted to get before I left was a book in Georgian. I got one of his books! He told stories of the Georgian people and their hospitality, even to enemies, and one of the stories in his book. As is the Georgian custom, he used some of his fine cognac and made toasts to me, to America, to American women, and I forgot the last one. I wrote them down, but they're in the bedroom when Hannah is supposed to be sleeping. (However, all I hear is Dae dah, dae do, dae dah. Over and over....) He was reading Faulkner's diary on the computer in Russian this morning. Way to not let disabilities slow you down!

We were planning to get Hannah after her nap so she'd be rested, have a few hours to relax at the apt, and be ready for bed. First, we had to go to the Dr's office to get immunization records, then to the Social Services Agency to pick up some paper work for the embassy, then to get Hannah. She was quite ready for a pe pe-a ride and didn't want to wait around while we visited at the house.

I'm having a little trouble with the car thing, but we'll get over it. I felt like I was in a wrestling match. I'd say it was a fight I could choose not to deal with, but it's so unsafe to not hold her in some way.

When we got to the apt, she was interesting but not overwhelmed. Lika stayed for about an hour so we could get comfortable. Coloring was great fun for her, and I had some new twistable crayons that fit her hands nicely. I try to let her do as much as possible on her own, and getting the crayons in and out of the package was much more difficult than picking them out of the cup as she'd done at home.

We called Grandma, who couldn't say much, but learned to say "ho" and "baca baca." Yes and goodbye. She was thrilled to hear Hannah's voice, and Hannah instantly got that the screen with the magic jack meant bae bo. We finally got in touch with Buddy after Lika left, and she was calling him bae bo for a while. One of the guys working with him heard "mah mah" and got a kick out of that.

A little side not, yesterday, Buddy didn't hear from me because I was talking to my mom and I couldn't switch over, so he called my dad to see if he'd heard anything. Isn't that sweet? AND he read my blog and liked it. Never happened before. Maybe I should leave the country more often. Or not.

Hannah also got to brush her teeth tonight. Not something she's done before, but it seems she's seen it done, because she was doing a pretty good job on the front. Mom is making an appointment with a ped. dentist today.

One thing she doesn't like is sitting on a big potty. Guess what? Airports and airplanes have one size fits all potties. So, tonight I put her on the potty. And she cried. I held her and spoke softly and soon she said "peesh peesh" and went. Oh, what praise she got for being so brave!
I could tell she was getting tired, and I asked if she was ok in Georgian (thank God for Survival Georgian!) and she said "ho." We skyped with the kids, who were very excited. The kept saying "Ga mar jo bat", which is hi. Hannah said it back, but as I pointed to each sibling, she would say their name, too. Fun for all.

Then it was time for bed, and I turned out the lights (lights are on in other rooms) and laid her down, after I told her in Georgian to go to sleep. She got this frightened look in her eyes and started to whimper. I sang to her and stroked her forehead, which helped a little. I thought I'd sit in the dark and blog so she'd feel more comfortable. Then she started playing with her phone and doing the "dae dah" thing. The phone is gone and I'm sitting on the floor in the living room. She did finally say peesh peesh, and it was a good thing I believed her. But we're back to the dae dah thing and I'd really like to get some sleep. Was so hopeful she'd just fall asleep within a reasonable time and sleep all night long. 45 minutes later and in spite of yawns I heard, she's still not giving up.

Well, the night was short last night, and I need to head for bed. More yawning in the bedroom, so it could be coming soon...

Looking forward to another great day tomorrow and the new mercies that come with the morning.