Leaving on a jet plane

Today is the day!!! My mom and I will head out to Ghana today! It is surreal- I still have a few things to do, but I wanted to post a goodbye and thank you for all your prayers and birthday wishes. It makes it so much easier to leave my family here when so many people have offered up their help; especially since both my mom and I will be out of town! :) Daron has it covered though and I know the kids will probably be in better hands. Lately, I have been so focused on getting the rest of our family home to us!



I just got off the phone with the guest house where we will be staying. They had gotten my email, but didn't respond! ;) He has it all ready he said and our suitcase that we left there (with all of Fia and Kwame's things) is still there-that is a relief! We thought we would only be leaving it a week of so....



Well, I would love prayers for a safe travel, a wonderful reunion with the kids, a huge time of bonding with both myself with the kids and their grandma, ease into taking care of them full time, continued grants coming in to help defray the adoption cost, and most importantly that the certified birth certificate that we have is suffice for the original that was lost of Kwame's . We need this for the visa interview on Monday. I also ask for prayers that we really get an interview on Monday and that they are able to process our visas by Thurs.



My prayer is that I lift all these things up to God as I leave and I ask him to take away any worry (that can sometime creep in), I ask him also to watch over my family here, keep them safe, and bring us all home together as a family of seven next week! Thank you God for this wonderful gift you have given our family! Amen!

Soon!

One more day until we leave....my mom and I are leaving in a day and I can't believe it! We are going to go for our visa interview at the US Embassy in Ghana with our AAI representative on Monday morning and we will hopefully get our visas by Thurs. Tomorrow we will buy our tickets and it will be a done deal. I have been dragging my feet to actually buy them since they didn't get an interview yet. I really want to get over there to my children and at the same time I am trying to guard my heart! I will fill you in more tomorrow if we bought the tickets, but most likely we will be on our way soon! Please pray for a clear path from this way out!

Nothing is easy in adoption...but it is worth it!

Hello Friends and Fam,
Just updating to ask for prayer that doors open this week to go smoothly for their visa appts. at the US Embassy in Ghana. Fia and Kwame went to get their medicals for the visas today and they are going to try and get an appt. for Wed. or another time this week for the actual visa interview that is needed for the visa(does that make sense? Not unless you are in the adoption process probably!). Anyway, my mom and I are still planning on leaving on Friday, unless there is a big hang-up. On Friday we found out that the agency didn't have Kwame's birth certificate because it was lost with his initial paperwork at the passport office. Not the agency's fault, just another thing that is holding us up and not making this smooth sailing. They are hoping that a certified copy will suffice for the visa interview, but again, keep praying. My mom and I have our tickets on hold and they can be cancelled on Thurs. if we need. If we don't get the visa interview this week, it could be next week. Right now we are thinking that we will still travel and if we need to stay a few extra days, we will just enjoy them with my kids in tow! What is wonderful about this trip, is that we can take custody of them once we are there! It will be so wonderful to see their smiling faces again and reassure them that they are loved! I miss them so much. Please pray that doors open!! (Have I said that already???)

54 days

Our tickets are on hold and most likely my mom and I will leave on Friday to go and bring Fia and Kwame home! Even though we leave on Friday, most likely we won't even see them though until Sunday morning. I can't even imagine that in a week I will be holding my two youngest children again that I will not have seen for 54 days (but who's counting?) and introducing them to their Grandma for the first time. Ohhh- I can't wait!! Please pray that all the planning and preparation goes well on our side this week and that in Ghana, all the pieces fall into place for the visa.

We are bringing a couple extra bags for donations, so if you have any diapers, formula, pull ups, underwear, sandals, or tennis shoes, please feel free to drop them by. You can also give cash to either my mom or I and we can buy some of these items over there as well. Thanks again to all that donated items last time we traveled, it was so wonderful to bless the orphanages with your gifts!

Celebration!

We had fun telling the kids today that their sister Fia's passport came in today! Ella came home from kindergarten first and when we told her on the walk home, she started jumping up and down. Then she said, "Good thing I added that on about her passport onto my prayer this morning!" ;) So cute! Then, I had to restrain myself from running up to the school to tell the older kids, but kept busy by blogging and facebooking instead. When Justus and Greta got home, we told them that we should have a good dessert tonight for our celebration. Greta quickly asked what we were celebrating and all I had to do was give them a look and they knew!

The kids were beside themselves and the excitement is still going on now(It would actually have been better not to give a certain someone any more sugar, but ice cream was promised so I had to follow through). Daron stuck a roast in the crock pot right away after we found out our news this morning and we had a wonderful candlelit dinner with our roast, a favorite bean and edamame salad(a recipe thanks to Heather), and a bottle of Cakebread Cellar wine I have been saving for a special occasion. Yum!! Right now I am obviously blogging, Greta is cheerleading! :), and Justus, Ella, and Daron are playing a game of Othello. Thanks for the congrats today-we are beyond thrilled and when Becca asked what the kids thought, I thought it warranted it's own post and a picture.

On a side note: I haven't heard about any of the other three passports that I know my blogging friends are waiting for today. Please continue to pray for theirs so that we can have multiple celebrations going on this week!

On another side note: if you look close on the picture, you may see your Christmas picture hanging in the background! Also, the notes on the plates at each place setting were a surprise written by Greta that said, " We git to tack Fia and Nana home-Yeh!!!" It was so cute to have them on all our plates and see how excited the kids were.

Best Birthday Present Ever-Fia's Passport!!!

WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT! WE GOT IT!!! Can you tell I am more than excited?!!! I received a phone call about an hour ago from Anita, our coordinator, who happens to be in Ghana right now. Of course when I answered the phone, I started babbling because when I saw the international number pop up, I was so hopeful that it was good news. I also have to admit that I answered it when I was driving, so I pulled over as soon as I could! ;) She said that they got Fia's passport and that they were going to bring the kids in for the medical appt. that they need for the visa tomorrow. I think they will probably have a visa interview early next week and hopefully get the visa by Friday next week!

I have been crying with Daron, shaking, jumping up and down with Ella, you name it! Most importantly, I have been shouting out thanksgivings and praises to God that we finally get to be blessed and trusted to bring these two wonderful gifts into our family. I so very thankful and RELIEVED that it is finally time for them to be able to come home.

Earlier in the week we actually reserved tickets for next Friday the 30th to travel. We had to do that to get an itinerary for my mom's visa application. Secretly, and maybe not that secretly, I have been hoping it would work out this way so that we could really travel then and arrive there on the 31st, which is my birthday!! How cool is that? I think it is going to work out to be able to go and be with my two newest children and start the rest of our lives together on my birthday. Wow!!! I feel so overwhelmed by excitement right now.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for lifting our family up in so many prayers. I am beyond humbled by how many of you have been praying for our family and these passports!

Thank you for Donations!

So..I have been home now for awhile and have only posted some random pictures so far of the donations that were given that we could take over to Eban House and to another orphanage in Ghana. We had three separate donation drives that we focused on when going out there and we were so thankful and blessed by the outpouring that we received. You truly made a difference-thanks!

When Daron was first there, we heard about their need for a new oven/stove top. The one that they had in Eban House that they were using to cook for at least 35 people/3 times a day, had a stove top that was hardly working and the glass on the oven door wasn't even there! A small group of people heard about this from Daron's hometown in MN, and they donated the whole amount in one day for a new one! Below are pictures of the old and the new:

Pretty cool, huh? The aunties were so excited to cook the first meal on it, which was the goat that we bought for them! Did you know that they cook the whole goat? They cook it with the hair, the skin, the TEETH!! Daron and Justus ate the heart-yuck! And since Daron and I bought the goat, he was offered the head, but he declined it and passed it on to the 'man of the house,' Percy. Luckily for me, I was hanging with the kids and didn't realize all that was cooked in the stew, otherwise I maybe wouldn't have eaten it and I for sure wouldn't have made the kids try it! ;)

There were also lots of families from two of our local elementary schools that brought donations into the school for us to bring. Other people from the community also contributed that weren't part of the schools. We were able to fill up 6 bags of donations (I think that is right, I can't remember anymore!) for us to share between the two orphanages where our children have spent most of their lives. Thank you to all the families, teachers, and children that shared just a little, so we could bring alot over to them.

mosquito nets for the beds

When my mom and I head over in the next few weeks(hopefully!), I am not going to be able to bring as many bags again, so we will fill up with what we can and then I hope to bring over some money to buy more diapers and/or formula when we are there. If you would like to contribute to this, please let me know! Before leaving, I will find out if there are any more specific needs.

Wigs, wine, and more whining from me!

Today I got the privelege to take my friend, Tracie, to her 2nd chemo appt. Tracie has been diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and I am so impressed with her strength and determination to fight this cancer! I mean seriously, do you realize that she has been asked to give up coffee? In Seattle?? In the winter??? All kidding aside, she amazes me! I am so thankful to have her in my life and I pray that the chemo kills the cancer quickly so that she can get back to feeling good enought to do whatever she wants with her family and maybe having a little wine and coffee with her friends! Johnene and I both brought her to the appt. today, and if it didn't sound so WRONG to say we had 'fun' at the chemo appt., I guess that is what I would say! :) Fun isn't the right word, I know, but I can't think of one that works. We were able to laugh over ugly wigs and bad scarves in catalogs, as well as other things that are proabably bad taste. All in all, I hope we were able to be serious when she needed and distract her with laughter when she needed that too.

I love my girlfriends!

On adoption news.......there is none. Thought I better at least tell you that so that you aren't wondering over the weekend. Hopefully Monday we will have some news since our adoption coordinator is heading over to Ghana right now for the next couple weeks. Maybe there will be some movement while she is there and we can get a phone call rejoicing over the final passport. I know I keep asking, but I would still love prayers for Fia's passport, as well as for the three other families that are waiting to pick their children up too.

My prayers for Fia's passport!

Well, no word today on Fia's passport. We just don't quite understand it all. As you may remember, Fia's passport was done while Daron was in Ghana and it has been on a director's desk on lock down ever since. This director has her own agenda we believe and is just refusing to let some of them out. Five passports from our agency were released last week, one being Kwame's, but they were by different directors. If you remember, Kwame's passport was lost in the office, so when we were in Ghana last month, we reapplied for it and his came out now before Fia's. I am sure that you are getting the feel that we just can't predict anything, so we have no idea when we will get Fia's. Who knows?

What I do know, is that my kids are always on my mind. I can not go a few minutes without thinking about them. I go to sleep thinking about them, wake up in the night thinking about them, and the first thing I do in the morning is check my email to see if there is any news. Every time I think of them, I say a prayer; it is either a plea for the passports, a prayer of thanksgiving for my children, one of hope that they know we are coming back for them, or a prayer that they are safe and healthy. There are at least two others adopting from Ghana that are now just waiting for passports of their children to travel too.

I would just ask that you pray with me for:
*All of the passports that are done and ready, to be handed over to the families/agencies that are waiting for them so we can bring our children home!
*Pray for the directors (all of them) that they will feel led/moved to hand over all the passports completed or soon to be completed and be friendly about it.
*That wherever either of Fia's passports are in the process (and the others that are waiting) that it/they can be finished this week and that all the equipment, electricity, etc. is working to process these correctly and efficiently-with NO mistakes on them.

My personal good news is that we have decided that I will be the one to go back to Ghana to bring home our children. YEA!! It has been something that I really felt strongly about. Daron was able to really bond with them for the three weeks before I got there and when I came, I had the three oldest kids. I would do it that way again if I had the chance, but I am really going to cherish this one on two time with the kids before we come home. The other big news it that I don't have to go alone. My mom is coming with me!! I think it will be wonderful for her to see where her grandchildren are from, experience this with me, and as Ella told her, "you need to take care of your daughter when you are there." So cute! It will be wonderful to have my mom with me and to go through this amazing time together. Fia and Kwame are going to be so blessed when they get to know all their grandparents! They are lucky to have two sets that are very involved and already love them so much. They also have three great grandma's that are praying for them daily and excited to meet them. How wonderful!

So...there you have it! If you see me talking to myself this week, I am probably actually having one of my discussions with God begging for our little ones to be able to come home.

My Kids

Okay, I miss these kids! In case you missed seeing their pictures too, I thought I would post from our last night with them. I love this picture of my boys. We told Kwame to smile and show his teeth-he took us literally! The picture of Daron and the girls is just precious too-they all love being by their dad! We took them for the afternoon to the Dutch Hotel for some swimming and dinner afterwards. We splurged on the dinner because the hotel was paying the bill for all of our troubles with the internet and bugs in our room(got taken care of the first night). Daron and I had some fantastic seafood, wine, and a fried plantain appetizer that I forgot the name of-it was all yummy! The four youngest all had chicken nuggets and fries, while Justus had a huge bowl of spaghetti(we talked him out of chicken nuggets).

Tasty Treat!

WARNING!!!- I am uploading this purely for my friend Tracie to see and unless you are a parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt, or cousin (I may be pushing it here) of the cooks below, you can just skip watching it(ie.-very long/cute only if related). As the mother of 'Cook Ella', I think it is very cute. I am sure 'Cook Alyssa's' mom will love it too. That said, it is a four minute video of the girls and their cooking show, Tasty Treats. Yesterday, they were playing and wanted to make nachos by themselves for a snack. I said sure and was kind of listening from the other room. All of a sudden I realized that they were pretending they were on a cooking TV show, so I then went and video taped them. Super cute. I am glad I have it for when they are older and hosting their own show someday! ;) For some reason, I couldn't get the clearer version to upload-so you get the grainier one!

We Got One!!!!

***update 1/6/09***Just in case you are looking for an update on Fia's passport, we got no news today. Hopefully tomorrow!(That is what they say in Ghana-whether or not there is any basis to it I am learning). We were told yesterday that Fia's is still on one of the director's desks that is supposedly anti-adoption and that it is on "lock down." Not sure what that means(besides that obvious) and with the upcoming changing of the staff after the recent Presidential election, what that will mean. Will hers and the others be handed over, filed away, thrown out???? Not sure, those are just the thoughts that are in my head. I am still reminded that I AM NOT IN CONTROL!! So, all I can do is to just keep praying.....I want my children home!!!

The Jags are jumping up and down here with tears of joy streaming down to the news that we got Kwame's passport! We woke up to a late start to school with the snow so we all went sledding first near our house. I couldn't sleep last night and was praying through the night for some movement with the passports. I let God know I was angry, but I was still trusting and hopeful something would happen. It took all my restraint not to ask Daron to call and ask if there was any news, but after sledding, I couldn't resist anymore and asked. I tried to not get my hopes up, but while I was getting ready and he was in his office looking for the number, my heart skipped a beat and I couldn't help get my hopes up again. All of a sudden, I heard Daron yell out a Woo hoo!!! They had Kwame's passport! Tears started coming down and we all started screaming............

Hopefully tomorrow will bring some more good news. We are so thankful for the gift of one passport right now and hope that Fia's will follow suit! If you would, we would LOVE your prayers today that the people in the passport office want to finish Fia's passport, and all others that are waiting, as soon as they can!

Happy 2009!

Wow- I can't believe that it is already 2009! Remember when we were all bracing ourselves (or pretending not to be) for the millennium and what that would bring? Now we are way into our 2000's and the 90's are long gone.

We rang in our new year with the privilege of Daron marrying our friends, Andy and Lisa. It was a small and beautiful wedding. The bride was gorgeous, of course, and the new couple looked so happy! Afterwards they had an intimate reception for their family and close friends that, luckily for me, included food made by some fabulous chefs. The only regret is that I left before getting one of the cupcakes that they had from the Wallingford Trophy Cupcake Bakery(featured in Martha Stewart). We ended the evening playing games and hanging out with our kids and my family at my parents house.

2008 was a year of loss with our Great Grandma Greta, cancer with my Uncle Scott (and healing), additions to our hearts and family(Fia and Kwame), birth of a niece(Ida), lots of wonderful memories with our family and friends, a trip to meet our children in Ghana, and sadness as we had to leave them behind.

2009 is a year of hope for me and our family. For one, we hopefully will receive those pesky passports that are bringing so much grief to me right now. Who would have ever thought that I would be praying for passports and for the people that work in a Ghanaian passport office? Well, however long I have to wait, I am looking forward to this new year with my family and friends.

I am also hopeful for my dear friend, Tracie. A couple weeks ago she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Her two kids are Justus and Ella's buds that we do most all sports with, carpool with, and have many playdates with. Tracie was the one that I have to thank(or curse) for pushing me to do the Danskin Triathlon last year. Tracie is an amazing strong woman and I am so thankful she is in my life. She luckily found the cancer early on, so everyone is hopeful that a year from now, she will have a clear bill of health. Right now though she is beginning chemo and I can't even imagine what she is going to be dealing with and feeling. Please keep her and her family in your prayers as she begins her treatments and also for total healing.

As we begin a new year, I wish you all a year of health, healing, love, fun, friends, and family!
Happy 2009!