Lori and Mikayla are Here!!!

Lori Dunn and her daughter, Mikayla, arrived on Thursday for their 11-month stay with us. For those of you who don't know who these wonderful people are, Lori was Graham's assistant in school in Nashville for four years, and I like to refer to her as Graham's second mother. She also worked for our family as a babysitter/nanny for those four years. Mikayla is Lori's soon-to-be eight-year old daughter, and Virginia's best friend. Lori and Mikayla are like family, and we feel incredibly blessed to have them here with us to share this great experience.

There really are few people, if any, in this world, that Graham loves more than Lori. They have something very, very special. As excited as Wes and Virginia were to see Lori and Mikayla (and they were VERY excited -- counting down days, hours, and then eventually, minutes), I think that they may have been more excited to see the expression on Graham's face when he saw Lori. We told Graham that Lori was coming, but we weren't sure whether he was processing this rather abstract concept or not. However, when we walked through our front door with his most favorite person in the whole world, he was just unbelievably happy. He did the usual laughing, jumping up and down, and hugging on Lori, but the funny thing was how he literally walked around her in circles most of the afternoon just looking at her and smiling. It was wonderful to watch, and I am thinking that it must have made Lori feel pretty special, too.

Graham's current therapist/assistant, Jamie, will return to the states on September 2nd. She's been really great for Graham, especially given her amazing musical talents -- he's loved all of the singing and piano playing that she has done with him. When Jamie leaves, Lori will begin going to school with Graham and doing therapy with him at home. Mikayla will attend the same school that Graham attends (a British international school) and Wes and Virginia will go back to the International School of Belgrade, which is more of an American-style international school here in Belgrade. We'll be juggling 4 kids, but with three adults, so we should be able to handle it!!

Today, we're attending a "Welcome to Belgrade" cookout/swimming party for all of the new/recent arrivals to the Embassy. The party will be held at the Marine House, which is across the street from the Ambassador's residence. The Marines are responsible for security of the Embassy here in Belgrade and around the world, and in every post, I believe, they have their own house where they all live (kind of like a frat house!). I don't know whether this is the case in other places, but here at least, they frequently host parties and gatherings at their house, which is complete with a pool and a volleyball court (sand and all!) So, this will be a fun opportunity for Lori and Mikayla to meet some other Embassy families and kids.

Wishing each of you a happy and safe weekend!

Erin