First Taste of the Performing Arts

Meeting the Blue Fairy

Last Sunday afternoon our little princess visited a new world - the land of fairies and make believe. She witnessed her first live ballet performance in Seattle. As if, getting dressed up like a princess wasn't enough excitement, this was over the top, fabulous!

Grasping the hand of my childhood friend DiAnna (who works for Pacific Northwest Ballet, and who supplied the tickets) we entered the stage door and into a room full of dancers. Crossing that threshold into this room - lead us straight into another world already in progress, leaving Devi star struck and speechless! The room was a chaotic blur of bright colors of every shade, as all were in various stages of readying their costumes, applying make up and stretching in preparation for the show.

First stop - make up. Plopped up onto the make up table, Devi held perfectly still as DiAnna carefully dusted her cheeks with real blusher, otherwise known as fairy dust. Mingling with the sets on stage, Devi got to sit at Jepedo's work bench and take a bow center stage. Our final stop before taking our seats, was a visit with the mystical Blue Fairy who was so sweet to take time with our awestruck Devi giving her a hug and kiss before floating away.

Poised on my lap, Devi took in every inch of the theater and the people filling it to near capacity. Finally, the lights began their slow descent and the crowd quieted preparing for the the curtain to raise. In that final quiet moment before the music began, Devi loudly asked, "Are we in church?" which brought giggles and snorts from the adults sitting around us. I must admit it was pretty funny :)

Never at a loss for words, she inquisitively asked over and over, "What is Pinocchio doing, mommy?" If it wasn't Pinocchio, it was another of the many characters... "What is ______doing, mommy?" Insert any character, piece of the set or object and I'm sure we heard it about 10 times!!! There was a lot of shhhhes going on :) but she managed to endear the hour long performance with one small, "I have to go potty" break.

Most of the performance was spent bouncing in my lap to the rhythm of the music. I knew Devi was in her element, enjoying this new experience immensely. Several times during the show, she would pause from moving with the tempo to look back at Pat and I to share a moment. In the darkness all that was recognizable was the pearly white glow of her huge smile grinning up at us. A motherhood moment - this vision of our sweet little girl connecting with something that brings her joy is a scene I hope never fades from my memory. What a fun fun day...thanks DiAnna!!

Waving Hello through the magic mirror

Thanks DiAnna!!!

Is This Old Hat?

Retrieving the mail always makes one's heart skip a beat when the stack of letters contains an envelope from the US Department of Homeland Security. In that envelope were our appointments to have our fingerprints taken, yet again, joining our I-800A form already in progress in the hopes that we will become approved as desirable guardians of an orphan for a second time.

Yesterday at 11am we arrived at the appropriate office, prepared to moo, as before, in the long wait in a herd of people waiting to complete various citizenship tasks. We brought books to read and a change-filled pocket to stuff into the waiting room vending machines for "nourishment" throughout the day. Much to our surprise, the procedure has improved, streamlining the process since our first adoption. We were in and out of the office so fast that we never had an opportunity to even crack a book.

Looking back, we were so incredibly nervous the first time; I even brought our whole adoption 3 ring binder in addition to the simple appointment letter and driver's license they require, just to play it safe. This time we openly chatted up our experience with the fingerprinting technicians who were eager to hear that we are attempting a second adoption. We also shared that we will probably be back, as we have yet to know very many adopting families, ourselves included, who have managed to complete an adoption before the expiration date on their fingerprints.

What fascinated me most about this place the first time holds true today - the diversity of people entering this facility. In the mere 45 minutes spent in this office, countless countries were represented giving one just a small sample of our neighbors sharing the borders of Washington state. Concentrating on the hum of the conversation, you could hear an assortment of languages spoken - some recognizable, others not. We saw a rainbow, at a glance, of colored clothing in various styles not indigenous to the Pacific Northwest and yet, all of these people have somehow come to find this place as Home. Amazing.