Smiles

Just wanted to post some pictures of some smiles in our house the last few days!(I realize I need to take some of Justus too!) We are having a fun time exploring all the new things in our neighborhood and town. Fia loves pointing out the mountains and whenever she spots them, she says "Mommy, look!- Mountains. I wanna go there!" They both also love the boats that they see in the marina. We had a tantrum the other day from a certain little girl because I wouldn't stop to go and look at the boats on our way home from somewhere. We will have to bring them to Grandpa's boat before he sells it; they will love it!

The only real issue that we are experiencing right now is still naptime with Kwame. He hates going to bed and we have tried all sorts of things. Really, he just wants to sleep in our bed, but with 5 kids, we can't start that now! The last 24 hours have actually gone pretty smoothly and so we are crossing our fingers. I think 'toffee', known to us as M&M's, was what worked for bribery of no crying. So, hopefully it will work at naptime today too!

Week 2 with kids Home

Sorry that I haven't posted in almost a week for those that are far away and want to see the kids. Actually, we haven't really been out in town much yet, so those that are close haven't probably seen the kids yet either. We had a great time with Grandma in town and then this week the kids also got to meet their Uncle Brad and spend time again with Aunt Ingrid, Kaia and Lola. I love seeing my family with the kids - they love them so much already too. The cousins had a fun time playing together and Lola(3yrs.) even tried speaking in Twi!! It was so cute; I wish I would have witnessed it, but I guess Lola heard Fia and Kwame talking to each other and she looked at them and said, "that's funny!" Then she started to speak to them in her version of Twi- so cute!!

I brought the youngest kids over to Seattle for a doctors appt. and also made an appt. for Fia to get her hair cut and done. I think she really liked it; after all, it was an Aveda Salon! I definitely won't be doing that too often, but it was very reasonably priced for a first good shampoo, hair cut, and style. The stylist also had me try doing things; so it was a bit of hands on learning. They loved the ferry ride over and in between appts., we went to go and meet Great Grandma Gwen. They loved meeting her and I think she loved hearing them sing 'Jesus Loves Me.' Hopefully we can spend more time with her soon.

Yesterday we had our first of three post placement meetings with our social worker and it went well. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was very laid back and she just wanted to meet the kids, hear about our travels, and witness our family in action. Hopefully there wasn't too much she was worried about!

I have really enjoyed this last week and a half with our new family of seven. Normal is a little different than it was before, but I sure love it- all the kids are really becoming a sibling unit and I think Daron and I have been a good team together. We got to go out already on a date too! When Mary was here, we went out on Valentine's after the kids were all in bed. It was so nice to go out and enjoy each other at a great, new little restaurant in town. I wasn't sure if we would feel up to leaving already, but it was really nice for Daron and I since we are used to getting a decent amount of time just for ourselves. We are so thankful that she was able to come and meet the kids and help out with meals at night. She told me to post this picture of her cooking- it didn't always go as smoothly as we would hope!!! I am sure she had at least two kids under her though, so it wasn't entirely her fault. :) Grandma also got to be here to see Ella perform some of her Norwegian dancing at a nursing home on Valentine's Day. She did a great job-it was my first time seeing her perform; what a cutie!

It has also been great to have Grandma Bev and Grandpa Gordy live near and be here to play with the kids and give the older three some extra special time right now when we are focusing more on the younger two. We are so blessed to have our family and friends love us through this wonderful process!

Grandma Mary's Here!

Grandma Mary's Here! Grandma Mary came to visit yesterday from MN to meet her newest little grandkids. The older three have been so excited to see her and they passed on that excitement to Fia and Kwame too. When she walked in the door, Fia ran right up to her and then wanted to take her to show her the picture of both Maynard and Mary. Grandma is very loved here and it is so much fun to see the little ones join in with all the love!

The last few days the kids have been eating us under the table here. They loved beef stroganoff last night(the older three not so much) and everytime I walk in the kitchen they say they want food or water. I think we will see some change in their weight very soon! ;) To give you an idea of how small they are, they weigh the same amount that Justus did at 6 months-25 lbs(although he was huge)!

Overall the transition has been going really well. We have pretty much stayed in and the kids haven't really been in a public setting yet; just trying to get used to home and our family. They are loving the snow, looking at the water and boats, taking walks, seeing Ella come off the bus, getting dressed in their clothes, reading books, playing with puzzles, and taking baths, and of course, mealtime! They still aren't sleeping really well though and that has been the hardest par of the transition. They wake up in the middle of the night; sometimes still sleepy and sometimes not! Last night 4/5 of the kids all woke up with a nightmare or something! I am definitely not used to that and if you see me in public it will explain the dark circles! The kids are all getting along really well and it is so much fun to see them interact with each other. They take care of each other and they are sad when the older three head to school. It isn't all peachy though and Fia did have to come out last night after we had put the kids to bed to say that Ella was being naughty!

Both Grandma Bev and Mary decided to get Fia and Kwame the Bitty Baby twins. They have been having so much fun playing with them and Fia realized today that her dress matches the babies; you should have seen the smile! It was also fun to see her take the blanket that my grandma had made her and tie it around her to hold the baby on her back, as they do in Ghana. So cute!

Their First Snow!

We woke up today to a little dusting of snow; just enough to show the kids what it is and let them make a couple snow balls. They really enjoyed it and had fun seeing everything look a little different outside today. The kids have really done great the last couple of days. So many new things for them-even little things like socks and two layers of clothing! They are so fun to listen to when they speak Twi to each other and they are also cute when they repeat what we are saying. We have had to tell them that we don't eat our chicken bones in America and that caused a meltdown at one point. The other meltdown was when Kwame wanted to wear Fia's Hello Kitty socks and she didn't want him too. Luckily they fit in with eating PB&J and Cheerios already. They also loved our eggs, the baked potato bar last night at church, green beans and salmon. I still can't get them to eat much fruit; it wasn't really in their diet before I don't think. Either that or they just don't like it!

Fia's favorite thing to wear is her UWHuskies Girls Volleyball sweatshirt that she got from Uncle Erik. She doesn't want to ever part with it-she even wants to sleep in it(maybe she is just cold)!

Kwame loves his big brother and makes sure that Justus is doing whatever he is doing. Luckily the thrill hasn't worn off of having a little brother for Justus yet! Well, I will update more later, but I wanted to post a couple new pics from today in the snow

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We are all home!

We made it home yesterday with no problems!!! The kids were fantastic on the airplanes for all the traveling that they had to in airports for the first time in their lives. All of our flights were on time, the flight attendants were great and the first crew from Ghana to Germany brought my mom and I out some champagne from first class. Kwame slept the whole first leg from right before we took off, through our short stopover in Lagos, Nigeria(we don't get off the plane), all the way until we were outside our gate in Germany waiting for our stroller! That was almost 8 hours and I didn't even have to use any melatonin! They both actually fell asleep right when we arrived at the Accra airport and the man at the luggage checkpoint kept asking why they were sleeping. I think he was a little nervous that we had drugged the children and we were taking them out of their country unwillingly. I woke them up a little for him; I guess that was good enough. The whole process at the Ghana airport after that went really smoothly and the people at the passport checkpoint were so interested in why we would adopt. I showed him pictures of all seven of us in Ghana together and he loved seeing that we brought our family there to meet the kids. He was wonderful! I wouldn't be surprised if he would adopt one day; he seemed so touched by the idea.

When we arrived in Germany, we had about 5 hours there for a layover and it was still early morning so all of us were a bit tired. My mom and I indulged ourselves in ILLY lattes and we were loving that! Nothing like one of the best places in Europe to have coffee from(I have been regretting not getting it since we were there in December).

The second flight was great too, for the most part, but I was more crabby and tired-sorry mom! I think the kids were tired from traveling, a little perplexed in everything and they both want to do everything at the same time as the other. In a lot of ways, they act more like twins than I had imagined. I guess it was how Justus and Greta were with each other too, but I had forgotten and I don't quite know how to distract/change their minds as well as I could with the others. For instance, Fia had to go to the bathroom and then Kwame said he did too. So I was bringing Fia and Kwame decided he would start crying. He doesn't cry much, but when he does, it is a very sad wail that I didn't want the whole plane to hear....I was trying not to lose it here because once he starts crying, it is hard to make him stop unless he gets his way! There is a fine line for me for letting him get his way just because I don't want him to cry on the plane and then not letting him think I am a pushover. So, I just went quick with Fia to make the point(there was already another kids crying!;) so I didn't feel as bad)! I do have to say that there was no more crying over bathrooms, but for the next 6 hours, whenever one had to go the the bathroom, the other did too and it seemed like it was at least every hour! The encouraging thing is that I shouldn't have to spend too much more on diapers! I think that they are almost trained!

When we arrived into Seattle the kids and I went down to get into the customs line that we needed to go into. We were first in line but then they had to go to the bathroom again!!Ha ha-by this time, I went with them because I didn't want a breakdown, but we had to give up our space in line. When we came out, we had to wait in line for our turn, but eventually we had two little ones that became US Citizens!! Pretty cool experience! After getting our bags, going through another checkpoint, putting our bags back onto the conveyor belt to go out to the baggage claim, and riding the tram, we were finally able to look up the escalator to our FAMILY looking at us!!! Ahhh-what a relief!!WE were finally home and together as seven! Besides our family, Grandpa was there, Auntie Ingrid, Kaia, Lola, our Cousin Mat and cousins Claire, Simon, and Penny! It was wonderful to see everyone, and know that we were finally HOME!! Many prayers of thanksgivings were heard yesterday and I thank God for safe travels, our family being together now, and a smooth last couple of days with no problems traveling! I have a post of Thurs. that I will finish later and post after the fact.

The kids were great going in the van and Kwame was just quiet and looking around. Fia was laughing away in the back with whatever her big brother would do. He would just look at her and she would start to laugh-it was pretty cute! We got to the ferry and were one of the last cars allowed on, so it was nice to be our way and not have to wait in line. My parents were also on the same ferry so we went upstairs and were able to experience a first ferry ride together. When we went back in the car, Fia wasn't so sure about car seat, but she did it. I explained that until you are 18, you have to be buckled up in the US! ;) Seriously though, she will probably be in the car seat longer than the other three! As we pulled into our home, they had both fallen asleep, so we woke them up and the kids ran inside to go and show them their rooms that they have been talking about for so long. My dad had brought some balloons to the airport and they became a hit with all the kids and they played with them for an hour as Daron made dinner and I watched and rested on the couch; I could barely keep my eyes open. After dinner (cheeseburgers) and a scoop of ice cream, we got pjs on and they loved playing with Great Grandpa J's marble shoot. It was so fun for us to watch them since all of our kids have loved it; as well as almost every child that comes over. Fia had the best smile as she got her pillow ready with Great Grandma Eleanor's(G.G)blanket she made, as well as her baby doll right there. She loved playing with Ella's bitty baby, and wouldn't hardly let it go. Luckily when Grandma Mary comes, she will get her own to play with since the Grandma's went in together to get one. Before we finished saying prayers, she was out and as I went into the boys room, Kwame was already sleeping! They were so tired and slept until about 4 when Kwame woke up and wanted to come with us and about 15 minutes later Fia did too. Fia just woke up now at 8:15! They both loved scrambled eggs and sausage! I think since we are meat eaters in this family, they will be just fine!

Now that they are awake, I better get going. I have the best husband that had the house cleaned, then he cooked us dinner and this morning breakfast and coffee. We are going to have our devotions now and start living as a family of 7!

Fia & Kwame Are Coming Home!

The visas are in hand and they are on the way to the airport!
-Daron

Wednesday

(Written Wednesday night)
Today was a wonderful day! There was nothing to stress over and we decided that we wanted to put the hot weather to good use and pretend we were actually just here for a tropical vacation. It was a day full of rest, relaxation, and we have the sunburns to prove it; as we decided to try out another great Ghana hotel that has a day pass for their pool. This time we tried out Labadi Beach Hotel. I don’t know if it was a lot quieter than La Palm because it was a weekday and not a weekend, but it was wonderful. The hotel has a great pool that is very shallow at one end and progressively gets deeper-much like any natural body of water. The staff here was very attentive and laid back at the same time. They brought out chilled wash cloths to cool us off and if I even as much as glanced at the menu, they were on top of it! We got to eat some great transitional food for our trip back home: a cappuccino, fruit plate, chicken & veggie tortilla (it actually wasn’t my favorite), smoothies, and penne pasta! The restaurant even had rolls that they brought out before dinner! Up until today, I hadn’t had any dairy and maybe just one small piece of bread on the whole trip-I miss my carbs and dairy in the form of a latte!

The kids were really great today as we continue to bond as part of our family. There have been a couple of times when I have had a quick thing to take care of without them and I have left them with my mom and they have actually been sad while I was out. When I came home after a short trip to Eban and knocked on our door, I heard “Mommy, mommy, mommy!” It was a great sound to hear as they seem to really be getting that I am their mom. They have really bonded well with my mom too and they love going to Grandma, but at this point, it is good to see that they see a difference between mom and grandma. My mom has been such a life saver. There is no way it would have gone this smoothly here without her. She is a wonderful gift to me and the kids and I am so blessed that I got to share this time with her.

Fia and Kwame loved swimming again today. They are very much loving swimming, so it was fun to watch. Kwame seemed a little nervous about the waves when we walked out to the beach, but with the pool he was fine. The things they like and dislike with food really perplexes me. I ordered a fruit platter and they would not touch it! It was fresh pineapple, mango and cantaloupe!! Kwame liked the pasta, but Fia wouldn’t even touch it! They both loved the beef patty that came with the pasta and I was more than willing to share it! Fia loved the chicken in the tortilla that was really spicy, but she was picking out the green onions from the fried rice yesterday. It will be interesting to see what they think of airplane food!

So, tomorrow we will head to the embassy for an appointment time of 2:00 to pick up the visas, hopefully. I pray that they are all ready and accounted for. We have a few small things to do in the morning, but otherwise we are mostly packed, the other three are asleep right now and I am finishing up writing my novel for the evening. If all works out, you should hear from me on Friday night saying that we arrived back home! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers-we REALLY appreciate it! Oh, and I keep forgetting, to my friends that I am on yahoo email with, I haven’t been able to pull it up since Tuesday morning (my time). So…if you have written and I haven’t responded, it is because I can’t get it to open. Pictures are also not opening as fast as I would hope, so I haven’t been able to post any new ones. I promise I can add some when I get home.

Last but not least, there are some amazing children in Eban House. I never would have thought I could have adopted an older child before I came here. I thought a 3 and 4 year old were old enough, but I was wrong! If we didn’t already fill up our van (and no I am not getting another car, Johnene), I would be so tempted to adopt them if I could. There are some children that are just purely beautiful on the inside and out and they are mostly part of sibling sets with some up to around 10 years old. Whoever adopts these children will feel so incredibly blessed!

Signing off (hopefully) from Ghana,
Kristin

Tuesday-long again! ;)

(Written Tues. evening)
After this morning, today was stress-free! I keep forgetting where I left off, but I know I wrote about the important things with us getting our visa approved and hoping to get them in hand on Thursday @ 2:00!!! I have to say; the more I think about the last couple of days, I can really see God’s hand in it all. The way that we were able to go into the embassy with ease, get the phone call at the end of the day yesterday, and the interactions with the embassy staff- I know that there were prayers heard and answered by giving me the emotional tools I needed to get through it and to open doors for us (literally and figuratively)!
We decided to take a rest right when we got back from the embassy after waking up so early. I actually went to Eban to tie up some loose ends and post on the blog, but my mom and the kids stayed back and slept. When they got up, we went with our friend Lucy to lunch at guess where??-yep, the Ultimate ( I am going to be so sick of fried rice and chicken, but we really haven’t felt like getting in a taxi to travel to eat). Then Lucy was our escort to the Arts and Culture Center that is a large outdoor craft market. This is something that Daron did when he was here, but I pretty much avoided this stuff with the 5 kids when we didn’t need to do it. I wish I could just browse through the whole place like an outdoor mall without the vendors yelling out to me, “hey, you looking for a shirt, I’ve got it! …you like the fabric, I can give you a real good price for it…..you are my sister, so I will give it to you for a deal, I am just looking out for you!” Ahhhh- I can not handle this kind of stuff! My mom, on the other hand, loved it. If it wasn’t so hot and the kids weren’t starting to lose it, I am sure she could have stayed a bit longer and found some other keepsakes. I did get the two shirts Daron had wanted, a couple more small things, and we were on our way! I used the sling for the first time and it was a relief-thanks Heather H! Nana (it is what most call Kwame here- Nana Kwame) loved being in it and resting until the end of our shopping extravaganza when I think he was getting hot and his sister found some other mischief to get into that he thought looked like more fun. If we didn’t have Lucy, it would have been much worse; she is Ghanaian, so with her there she could help us figure out if the prices were way off or not.
It has really been fun to get to know some of the people in the neighborhood – the shopkeepers know which soda we will ask for, the restaurant smiles when we come in again for a second meal of the day, the pastor asks how the adoption is going, the children of the community yell out our names when we walk by. I love that about Ghana! The people are wonderful….so as much as the arts and culture center was hard, that is how they do things here, there is no price tag on anything! They are just doing what is normal to them here. I am just not used to it- and as someone who has been called a people pleaser one or two times in her life, I found myself saying sorry every other second while we were shopping and having a hard time resisting for fear of hurting their feelings.
At the end of the day, I had to discipline the kids a couple of times. Daron was really happy to hear that when I told him, so I am glad someone was. I guess he thinks it is more real then, which is true. The kids are really so good, but they are testing boundaries and I don’t blame them. I can only allow so much for fear of causing a scene here, but I know we will have to get down to business when I get home.
Tomorrow is our last full day and we plan to just go and relax at a pool again. Neither of us want to do any shopping and we should try and distance ourselves from Eban house to prepare the kids for not seeing their friends any longer. Thurs. morning our plan is to get Fia’s hair done one last time before I need to take charge(so scared here and excited at the same time), then we will say our final goodbyes here and be on our way to the embassy. We will be packed up and ready to head to the airport if all goes well. So…not sure if you will hear from me any more until we get back- I will have to play it by ear.
A couple last things:
1)Hi to all my mom’s friends who are reading the blog- you should say hi and leave a comment so she knows who “stopped by”!
2) I think reading my blog has “tuckered” some of you out not because of the emotion in the writing, but because of their lengths! Sorry, but this is probably longer…
3) Some have asked when they can meet the kids. We are so excited for everyone to meet them, but it would probably be overwhelming at the same time if I started them off on my normal social schedule. I am not saying that I will be a shut in, but you won’t see me hosting anything for a little while. We will probably ease into the day to day things, so maybe just say hi and introduce yourself when you see the kids around town. They are actually pretty shy with the folks around here at first, so they just look at many people kind of blankly when they speak to them. Once they feel comfortable, they start jabbering! Please don’t take it personally if they don’t say hi- we will work on it, but even when our ‘angel’ at the embassy gave them candy, they wouldn’t say anything. It will be wonderful when they feel comfortable and aren’t in shock enough to just “be” a part of our family and do the things we normally do. In the meantime, we will just continue to bond and get ourselves used to each other. I am so blessed by all of your friendships that I can hardly wait to have you meet our newest Jags.
4) Please continue to pray with us that we do get our visas as expected on Thurs. and we have an uneventful trip home!

We got the appt! Visas on Thurs.

We woke up at 5:30 this morning to head into Accra for our Visa appointment. When the lady called last night, she said that we would be on the docket, even though we didn’t have a paper with our appointment time on it. I was a little nervous when we got to the embassy and before you could walk in the door, you had to show them your appointment slip. When it was our turn, the man looked for both my kids names and mine and it wasn’t on the list. I was getting very nervous! Traffic wasn’t as bad as we expected, so we got their sooner than Percy, so I was wondering what they would tell me. A few minutes later after the guard went through the rest of the line, he told me to follow him inside. We had to empty all our bags of electronics, food, and drinks. Then we had to go through security and I think my bag had to go through at least three times because they kept finding hidden electronics in pockets (phone, us phone, ipod, camera, flashlight). Once I made it through I felt like the heavens parted! J I knew it was such a big deal to get inside; not such a good thing to feel when it is your own embassy, but we only encountered one American there. They called us up pretty quickly and luckily Percy had come a few minutes later, because we were just given the information yesterday but I wasn’t told to do anything. A few of the forms weren’t filled out, so he quickly did it and was pretty much ready when the lady called us up. They mostly spoke in their village language, so I didn’t understand much. I would insert myself when I felt it was needed and she was happy to see me with the kids. After about 20 long minutes, she said everything was in order and I could go and pay for the visa and they would call me for the interview! I thought that was the interview, but Percy said the next part was easy. About 30 minutes later we were called up for our meeting. The man at the window asked Percy why he was there since I was there, and eventually excused him. I thought, oh no, this is going to be rough. We started small talk and he went onto say that he noticed my husband went to Fuller and that he lived by there and I think took a class. Then I mentioned Chicago and he said he went to Wheaton there! I about died! I told him that I went to North Park and that’s where my husband and I met. Wheaton is North Park’s biggest rival, so that was fun for us. He quickly said everything was in order after he checked it out and that they would do their best to get the visas ready for Thursday at 2:00. We need to be at the airport around 5. Ahhh….I had a huge sigh of relief and thanked the man and we were on our way! Wow! I am so thankful that the interview went so well, our documents were in order, and we are hopefully going to be coming home on Thursday!!! Thanks for all your prayers and words of encouragement! I am so thankful to read them when I get a chance.

I will try and write more later…. I need to go and be with my kids!

Monday Night

(Written Monday night)

We had a day that was completely up and down. We hurried and woke up early today to go and try and meet at the embassy. When we got halfway there, it was evident from talking to our coordinator and the embassy that we weren’t going to get an appointment today, so we just turned around. It left us a little down, to say the least, but we both were trying to put up a front that we were okay. My mom and I were starting to get worn down by the heat, the food, things not going as we hoped, etc…but instead were trying to focus on the fact that we were with the kids. We hung out in our room for the morning, then headed out to an early lunch at The Ultimate, a nearby joint. My mom and I had fried chicken and French fries and each had a Orange Fanta in a bottle. The kids had Fufu in a light soup with meat. The fufu is a doughy ball- that they just loved. My mom couldn’t look at it, she was feeling so sick at the time and neither of us could touch our fries. The heat and the difference in food can really get to you, but I think the worrying was attacking our stomachs too. We went back for naps, then headed over to play at Eban House. Kwame wasn’t too sure about taking a nap. He has gotten used to playing in the morning, eating lunch, and going swimming (we did that a couple of days when the whole family was here in December and then did it yesterday). Anyway, he went over to show me his swimsuit and I said no, we were taking naps. Then he started with his chicken arm again! ;) It is hard not to laugh, but it was actually the first time he started crying with me. Mefia was ready for a nap, so this time she was easy!

I went to Eban first to go and try and email/call the embassy/send the emails/blog, etc. while the kids at Eban were napping too. It was fun to be able to see my family on the video phone for a few minutes and let them see the kids here too, since of course, everyone woke up write when I was getting connected! (Good and bad- it was hard to hear then).

The kids at Eban House are so great as well as these aunties. They have taught them some songs, games, etc, and the kids just love singing and dancing for you. Today a couple of cuties were singing “I’m a little teacup” for me and then it goes into this whole medley- so cute! One of the aunties was also teaching the little 4 and under kids their numbers today up to nine. I wasn’t too impressed until I heard them all spelling the numbers too! I know my kids at home were not spelling the number eight at 3! Anyway…it is fun to see the things the kids know, and then just realize some of the basics that they don’t. For instance, when we have taken the kids out to eat, it has been interesting! (I obviously realize they they don’t have restaurant etiquette, but it is still fun to see) Anyway…they eat everything that I would never eat: the bones, the fat, the whatever it is????, but when they don’t like something, they just take it out of their mouth and throw it on the floor! Kwame did that with a tiny piece of carrot that was in his fried rice. He was a fast learner though and now just takes it out of his mouth and puts it on his plate! ;) I don’t which is better, I didn’t have to see it when it was on the floor.

Around 5 o’clock our time, I received a call from the embassy that we got written on the docket for tomorrow and we are to be there real early! Almost instantaneously, my mom and I were feeling better and celebrating! That is about the time that my mom started playing red light, green light, a Ghanaian version of duck duck goose, etc. We stayed around until close to dinner, visited with our friend, Lucy, who lives nearby and said some prayers of thanksgiving with her and her mom, ate at the Ultimate for dinner, and then went back to get ready for tomorrow. We were feeling good and ready to take on tomorrow now!

Kwame and Fia are really doing great. I can’t imagine how it would be for them right now- so many emotions I would think. Kwame has started to give us kisses now ( I think my mom taught him) and Fia is still reluctant. They like to receive them, but not as easy to give. It isn’t part of the of the Ghanaian culture to kiss, but I can’t resist!

Well, I need to get to bed( I am writing this in my room and will post when I have internet), tomorrow is a big day!

Much love!

We got an appointment!!

Okay...so thanks for the prayers the last couple of hours!!!I have been not able to sleep the last couple of nights and today as I took a nap(yes-that was nice and what else can you do when it is so hot with toddlers?) ...anyway, as I took the nap I was praying and just asked God to take away my worry, to just help me to trust in Him more and just let it be. I have still had a little bit of panic, but for the most part, not as much. Well, just a few minutes ago, I received a call back from the embassy(which they said they wouldn't do) and told me that they can fit me in for an appointment in the morning at 7:30. So if anyone is still up at 11:30, you can say a prayer for me and our appointment that all goes well and that the doors are open. The good news is that we received the birth certificate that we were needing just today, so now I will have that to go there with and it should even be better. I will pray that they can get this visa issued really fast and we can come home on Thursday!

I got to speak to my family today on the video phone. It was good to see their faces as I was a little down. My mom is so wonderful here. She is outside now playing red light green light with the kids and a couple of aunties, as well as some other games.

Dad, I heard you weren't feeling well, maybe someone can make him some soup! ;)

Miss you all and love you!

Monday

We weren't able to get an appointment today for our visa and I am trying my hardest to get one for tomorrow. Please pray!!! If I don't get an ulcer from all this stuff, that would be great! ;) I am so happy to be with my kiddos- they are so wonderful and worth all the craziness, of course. Please just pray that we get an appt., they say they are so busy at the embassy. I have put a message in with them to call me back and hopefully we will hear back from him or at least they will email a reply on when we can meet.
I will write more later! Love you all and thanks to all the birthday wishes I got from everyone-it was so amazing to receive so many emails this morning! I miss everyone! It was so much easier to be here with Daron here taking care of all the details- I have such a wonderful husband! This time around I am blessed to have my mom here because she is so helpful with the kids and a great support to me!

JJ-can you email me your email address again, I can't find it!

We're here!

Hello Everyone! (Written Sunday eve)
My mom and I made it safely to Accra with no problems! The flights were long, but all of our connections went well and I can’t complain about anything. Well…except maybe most of the movies were the same as the ones from Nov./Dec.! ;) Our driver from AAI was outside the airport waiting for us, along with about 500 other people! It is really quite a site- they have the walkway out of the airport sectioned off as if you were walking along the red carpet. People are on the sides with signs, calling out to you, and trying to get your attention; in other words, I felt a bit like I should start the beauty queen wave! Luckily for my mom, I didn’t humiliate her and we just connected with our driver and were on our way!
We got to our resort, as my mom was calling it, by 9PM on Sat. Thank goodness for her flexibility and ability to adjust here. Our room is clean, but there are no frills….no air conditioning, cold shower water, no shower curtain, a tv with three channels of snowy Ghanainan soap operas, and water that you can’t drink. The flipside is that we are a block from the orphanage, the staff is so friendly, the rooms are really clean, and the rooms are under $20! We got a pretty good nights sleep and woke up around 7 to start our day.
Sunday morning right away we headed over to Eban House. As soon as we walked in the gate, I heard someone say, “Mefia’s mommy is here!” I was so nervous how the kids would respond, but they had huge smiles on their faces when they saw me and they came right up to give me hugs! While I was reconnecting with them, my mom got bombarded by the rest of the orphanage! I think all the kids were hoping that she was coming to be their mom. They just loved her. They wanted to do her hair, help her take pictures J, have her dance with them, etc….it was cute. Eventually, I decided I could share my kiddos with her and they went to Grandma very willingly. We decided to go to the children’s church with the kids before we took custody of the kids. So, after about an hour at the home, we all walked down to the local community church. We stayed in with the kids, even though I think the adults would have preferred we go in to their service. I was contemplating it until Fia held on my arms and shook her head that she didn’t want me to leave. I told her I wouldn’t leave her anymore and we stayed put. Three little boys, Jephet, Jeph, and Prince, were all vying for who got to sit on my mom’s lap. It was so cute- little miss Eliza also loved getting her attention too. Prince and Eliza are siblings, and Connie, it was so adorable to see how Prince looked after his little sister-he was so great with her! To the other parents that are waiting to bring home their kids, Emma and Gloria were doing great too. I told all the children who have referrals that their parents love them and can’t wait until they meet them and hopefully it won’t be long. Emma was a great friend of our Justus’s, and he wanted to know right away if we brought the kids. Justus told me that I needed to play soccer with them since he wasn’t here, but they were already in their church clothes, so hopefully tomorrow when we stop in, we will be able to for a couple of minutes. Emma has the best smile and laugh and thought it was funny to see my mom dance! That just made her want to do it more, so they had fun teasing each other. Jukat and Jeptet(sp?) were in great spirits and loved the hugs we gave them. They are so sweet and it is great to see how they look out for each other as well. Stephen stole my mom’s heart. She just kept trying to make him smile, but he wouldn’t give into her. He is such a little peanut and seems very laid back-I think my mom was thinking of taking him in her carry-on, if she could.

We decided to go to a pool in the afternoon with the kids at a hotel that is nearby called La Palm. La Palm is a multi-star hotel on the beach that advertises their prices starting at $300 for two or more. Luckily, you can just pay a day rate and use their pool. We had a great time swimming in the kiddie pool, taking naps in the shade, and having some pretty decent food. At the end of the day, we came back to our room, cleaned up and started our first bedtime routine. The kids loved getting showered, lotioned, brushing their teeth, finding their pjs, and reading books, but when I put them on their bed, that wasn’t quite as fun. They didn’t start crying but Kwame did this arm thing that he also did when I told him I had to go back home in December (remember that Daron?). It’s this shrug with one of his arms bent like he is about to do the chicken dance, but instead he does it with an upset face. I think it is his way of showing me that he is really mad (and I think it is a three year olds way of flipping me off! –oops!) Fia pouted and sat at the end of the bed. I am not sure if they were mad that it was time for bed, they were in a new surrounding, or that they weren’t going to bed in my bed. I just laid with them for a little while and all was well after that.
So….sorry this is so long. I am typing while everyone is sleeping in hopes of being able to get to an internet café in the morning to post this. Tomorrow we are going to the embassy with Percy in hopes of having a visa interview. Please pray that we are able to get our interview tomorrow with no problems and we can get our visa within a couple of days. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes- we are doing great and so happy to be with the kids now!
Much love,
K