After a very long trip and the first night of sleep trying to get acclimated to the time change, we set off on our first day.  Long walk this morning along Manila Bay at  7 am.  Many people were already out and about exercising in most every nook and cranny that they could find.  The pending heat of the day prompts people to start early to beat the heat.  The sounds and smells of the city are hard to describe. First, it's hot and the air is thick with humidity that's in the 90% category.  Traffic early in the morning is bumper to bumper.....not sure where everyone is going.  The smells on the street are best described as pungent.....a blend of exhaust, stagnant water and humanity....sounds terrible.......but so typical of this beautiful country.

Met the kids today.......I'm sure that I was as anxious that they were.  Their curious eyes measured us up and down wondering who we were and how we could be a part of their lives?  I wondered the same thing. I hope and pray that we can do them justice.  I hope that we can accurately tell their stories, that we can describe their smiles, their fears, likes and dislikes and their hopes and dreams of what a family means to them.  I hope that we can represent them with honesty and integrity....with our heads helping our hearts to connect them with a forever family.