Ghanaian Food = Spaghetti Factory

It's spring break over here right now so we gathered a group of AAI-Ghana families from Washington to meet up. Look at all the kids! This is only three families-ha!- with one of mine missing, as well as two kids that aren't even home yet from Ghana to their forever tribe! This family has been riding a roller coaster with the last part of their adoption and these two beautiful kids have been waiting and riding it even longer to come home, so please keep them in your prayers to get all the glitches worked out and visas in hand. This family is more than ready to be reunited!

We were planning on meeting up at a Ghanaian restaurant together in Tacoma and tasting some familiar dishes. Unfortunately, I was the 'planner' of this group and I can confidently say that I won't be going into the meeting planning business anytime soon(at least I won't have any positive references!) I picked a restaurant, read the reviews (one even from this month, mind you!), called and left a message about the size of our group, BUT I never heard back from them and when I pulled up at the restaurant-IT WAS SHUTDOWN!!! Ugh. I went next door and the shop said that they closed down two weeks ago and opened something else in Seattle. Oh boy, I thought-one of the families that we were meeting just drove a couple hours -30 minutes past Seattle to come here. I felt bad. So....what to do with 12 kids and 6 adults? The Spaghetti Factory!

We had a great time connecting with the two families. As I said, one family was still waiting for their children from Ghana and the other had brought home their daughter a couple months ago. Fia and Kwame actually hadn't met this beautiful friend yet from the same orphanage since they had missed each other by a couple of weeks. They did have shared Aunties though and many friends, so it was and will be a great connection to have. Plus, her family is pretty cool too. You know, I would have loved to get a picture of them, but they are camera shy and skeptical of getting on the blog. I guess Mr. & Mrs. K just didn't want to become Blogstars today! ;) (just giving them a hard time)
As you can tell, Fia didn't want to be in the picture. I take that back, she just didn't want to smile. So, I just told her NOT to smile and then that's when the smile came. I am SO in for it with her!

Chat with the Chapmans

Yesterday was a very special day. It started out great by having Swedish pancakes with my family in the morning and ended just as great by going on a hot date to a favorite eatery with my husband. What happened in between was also great and so special, and definitely not a typical day for us. We got to meet up with Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman!


Literally minutes after I wrote the last blog post, I got a call from my mom saying that Mary Beth had called and said that Steven was going to come to town later in the week and we should meet up then so we could meet him too. I was so excited. It isn't too often that you get to meet people like the Chapman's in a casual setting, and not standing in line waiting for an autograph. I was thrilled that we would be able to meet them both and tell them how thankful we were for the role that they have played in our lives.

We decided to meet at a park and it was perfect. When they walked up, it was amazing how laid back and REAL they were. There was no part about them that said, " I am a Christian Rockstar or I am the wife of a Christian Rockstar!" They were friendly, genuine, down to earth, open, interested in our story, humble, and their love for God and their family oozed out of them. I was impressed, and so was the rest of the family. God works in very mysterious ways and it was amazing to see how God gave us a special present by being able to meet and thank them for loving orphans and financially helping us bring Fia and Kwame home through Show Hope.

Our neck of the woods is different from the Midwest and the south. For the most part, I don't think many people out here in the Pacific Northwest really follow the Christian Music scene. Of course, we do have friends that do and I am not saying that no one does, but it is definitely a smaller following compared to what I am used to from growing up in the Midwest. So, I think it was a surprise for Mary Beth when she and my mom met and they realized there was that connection with Show Hope and my mom knowing the Chapman's story. They even said that their meeting with my mom and hearing our story was a blessing for them. Seriously? How cool that God orchestrated that.

I have to say that I am so thankful for my mom. Without her, this never would have happened. She genuinely cares about people and truly loves to get to know the people she meets out in the community and who come into her work. She is a great conversationalist and I think it is so awesome that God also blessed her in this instance by meeting a family who she respects and has followed musically for many years.

Wow! What a special day. I know I am not explaining it half as well as how it really felt for me. God was definitely there and it will impact me for many years. Daron, the kids, and I will forever remember our conversation. It was a God thing and I can't wait for Fia and Kwame to understand the significance of the meeting as they get older.

(btw, the kids did ask for their autographs in the end. Greta was most interested in Mary Beths!And Ella was excited to hear more about his CinderELLA song he wrote for his daughter's wedding. When we got home and she heard it again, she said, 'Oh, this is him? I didn't know he sang THAT song'-as it is one we often hear on the radio)

Crossing My Fingers For a Coffee date with Mrs. Chapman

Here is another little thing that I am thankful for:

This week, when my mom was working at Possum's Boutique, she was chatting it up with one of the customers. The lady said she was visiting from Tennessee and as they got talking more she said that she adopted her youngest three girls from China, but her youngest daughter had passed away recently. It was then that my mom thought this story sounded familar and asked her what her last name was; she introduced herself as Mary Beth Chapman(aka-Mrs. Steven Curtis Chapman)! If you don't know who they are-google them. They are an amazing family, with amazing talent, that unfortunately has had to endure one of our worst fears as parents. They seriously are amazing though. His song, "I Will be Here" honestly meant SO much to me in the high school years and it was constanty playing in my room. I even remember leading a group devotion at camp around that song. I have listened to his music since I was a teenager, but more recently, followed them for what they do in the world of international adoptions, and we even applied for a grant-and GOT ONE for part of Fia and Kwame's adoption.

Side note: The Chapman's have a organization called Show Hope, formerly Shaohannah's Hope,(I have it in my sidebar) that gives out grants for international adoption.

My mom was able to share with her that we adopted our youngest two from Ghana and that their organization actually gave us a grant! I think that is so cool that she was able to share that with her and show her pictures of two children that they really did help bring home to us. I got chills. I am so thankful for them, as well as Ibsen (another amazing organization in WA), and some family members that really surprised us and helped us along the way to bring home their new family. The story really could stop here and that would be amazing enough for me, but it didn't stop.

They kept talking and my mom said it was too bad I wasn't there with the kids so that we could meet her. Mary Beth said that she would love to meet us if the timing worked out, so she gave my mom her number -SERIOUSLY! What if my mom was a stalker? Just teasing mom. She said that it might work to meet later in the week too because then her husband might be in town and we could meet up with both of them. HA! I am hoping, but I am also trying to be realistic. It is now Thursday and we still haven't heard from her. I am crossing my fingers though, I would love to meet them and thank them in person. If not, it is still a really cool thing that my mom got to meet them and share what a difference they have helped make in our lives!

Sometimes it's the Little Things...

that make you cry(the good tears).

When we planned our trip to Vancouver to check out all the Olympic hubbub, one of the things I was looking forward to was picking up a pair of the Olympic mittens that everyone in Canada was sporting. Well, as you know we never made it up to Canada on the first try because of the accident, but when we went that next weekend, all of the adult mittens were sold out! Believe me, I dragged my family to the department store where you can stand in line just to get into the store to browse at all of the Olympic wear. When we got in, the rumors were correct. The mittens were sold out. I was bummed, but it was definitely not the end of the world.

Two weeks later, my mother and father-in-law came to visit us. They had just been to Arizona the weekend of our accident and met some ladies at the airport that were coming back from the Olympics. They got talking to them and told them our story. After the flight, one of the ladies came up to Daron's mom, Mary, and gave her a pair of the red mittens. She said that she had bought an extra pair and wanted to give them to us. Wow-thank you! I hadn't even told Mary that I wanted them and it was an amazing 'little thing' that meant something larger to not only Mary(she was so touched by this ladies' generosity to strangers), but it meant SO much to each of my family members when they surprised us with them last week. My kids knew how much I wanted them. They knew we searched for them. They saw how the little things really can be huge blessings and make us smile.

We had a great time with M & M. Fia and Kwame got to help make caramel rolls and they loved every minute of it. We also spent time swimming at the hotel they stayed at a few nights so the kids could enjoy the pool. The all-you-can-eat seafood buffet was also a bonus! This weekend, Justus played his last game of basketball, so that was fun to be able to bring them there too.

Justus and Grandpa share a common love of grapefruit and it has become a special breakfast treat for them to share when we are together with them. How cute is that? They also took Maynard squidding. They caught two, so luckily I didn't wait for my calamari dinner, but they were great and I think this is looking to become a favorite pastime in our home.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend that we got to spend together. The kids are so blessed to have two sets of grandparents and two great-grandmothers that are a part of their lives that are great examples of faith and love. Thank you M & M for making it a priority to come out here and spend time with us a couple times a year. We love you!

Follow the Leader

Post Olympic Post

It has been awhile since I have blogged, but I thought I better write a quick hello and tell you that all is well. Mostly. I think I have spent every night for the last couple weeks searching for a new car online. Unfortunately, I have wasted all this time and I don't have a new car to show for it. Ugh...hopefully the research will pay off though, right? In the meantime, my computer also got taken over by some virus and it was out of commission for a few days.

Below are some pics of our trip to Vancouver B.C. We ended up driving up there about a week after the accident so we could get over our fears AND of course, experience Vancouver during the Olympics. We had a great time! The border crossing was quick, parking was easy downtown, and it ended up being a nice day around the city. I found myself even searching for the famed Olympic mittens to no avail.
Can you spot the torch in the background?

Fia holding an Olympic torch.

My foot long Parisian hot dog at the creperie. I went there to get my second crepe of the day(chocolate/caramel), but saw this and couldn't resist! Yum! Oh, and of course, an illy coffee too!


Watching the women's U.S vs. Canada hockey game LIVE. ;(
Below are a couple pics of us at the Scandinavian center in Vancouver. We were told the King and Queen of Sweden would be there. Of course, it ended up being a private party for the evening, but I had fun seeing the center anyway...and speaking a little Swedish!

Altogether, we had a great time. It was just real nice to get away with the family, get our minds off the accident, and be in beautiful Vancouver!

Big Red needs a Friend

Thank you so much for all the messages, calls, emails, etc.... We are actually all doing so much better today. Of course, we are aching and a little slow moving, but all in all, we are actually thankful for the aches and pains, as they are SO minor. I am SO glad that aches and pains are our biggest worries physically.

Now that the weekend is almost over, will finally be able to talk to our insurance tomorrow and get an idea of how much they will give us for the car. It is a complete bummer. Our van was new when we bought it five years ago and we didn't have payments anymore. My prayer is that we get a good insurance package for the van that will allow us to get another car that is just as good or in better condition than ours was!

Oh, and while we are praying....let's pray to take care of this quickly-at least faster than the last time we had to look for a car. I think that is a fair request right? It took us almost two years to replace the Jetta(click here to read about that demise). Then, a few months after that, we had more bad luck with our cars. While we were camping at Yosemite, our van got broken into by a bear-seriously!!! You can read about that here, if you are bored. Now, almost two years later, this week, we finally bought a second car-yep- and it is actually a truck,'Big Red', as the kids named it. It is older than my marriage(my new favorite line), but it seats six and we paid cash(and looks pretty good too)! We were very excited about it!...for a couple of days. Wow. The timing of it, huh? We actually had two cars for 4 days! Now we are down to one again, and unfortunately it doesn't fit our whole family-ha!! Oh well, I don't mind walking.

Even if we get another car, there is no story that can beat the last ones, right? I bet ALL cars for sale are actually getting scared we are going to pick them! Honestly though, I hope we live a very dull, boring CAR life for the REST of MY LIFE! I never want to write another blog post about a car! Except happy ones.

No More Swagger Wagon

Wow. Today was not what we were expecting. Most importantly, we are ALL fine and SO THANKFUL to be alive-all SEVEN of us walked away from a very scary crash. Thank you LORD!

Today we got up early to drive up to Vancouver for the day to check out all the Olympic hubbub. On our way to the ferry, while still in town, we were hit by a car that was coming at us from the other direction. We were both going probably 40-50mph(I actually have no idea-just guessing). The car in front of us tried to swerve first, but got nicked and spun into the ditch(thankfully he is going to be okay, too). Then we realized that the car was coming straight at us still when only a few feet away and there was no where to go with a guardrail on our passenger side. The impact all went into the front of the car and the driver's door. The dash and door got pushed in and down and it is amazing that Daron was able move his legs and crawl out the back. That moment before the hit was the worst feeling and during it I pleaded for us to be okay. As soon as the airbags went out and deflated(so fast that I don't even remember it), I turned to Daron and then to the kids after I heard him talk. Honestly, the turn back to the kids was the scariest thing I have ever done-but, they were ALL okay! Wow-tears of joy, fear, shock were unstoppable.

I am so thankful for our safety. I am so thankful for all the people who were there right away to help get the kids out and help 'think' for me. I am so thankful that we were still close to town and the rescue teams were quick. I am so thankful that we could all shiver outside and WALK to a warm car. I am so thankful for all my family and friends that have offered to help(and to those that already have)!

I am NOT thankful for now losing our Swagger Wagon(Toyota Sienna)! Man, it was nice to have two cars for two days! Oh well, maybe we are meant to be a one car family. Either way, we will now wait to see about our insurance on Monday and HOPE that Toyota's really do hold their value so we can get close to what a new one costs. One thing is for sure, the airbags, seat belts, and body of the car really did do wonders to keep us safe (of course I am SO thankful for God's provision in it all too), so I definitely do not want to skimp on safety with our next car. Another Sienna is sounding good-and with the kids being so scared of this happening again, I think I TRUST them

But all in all, our car, my homemade mug, my favorite sunglasses, are NOT important. Sure, it's a bummer, but NOTHING compared to losing a family member or being critically injured! We are so grateful.

We did all go to the hospital to get checked out. Four of us needed x-rays, but they all turned out great. That was another miracle. For the next few days I know we will all be sore and our bruises will become even more colorful and beautiful. Hopefully, we will be back to normal real quick!

Lastly, sorry to close friends and family reading about this for the first time on here(or on facebook). I just didn't feel like calling everyone and talking too much about it. It will get easier, it was just so overwhelming today.

Below are some pics to see of the van if you are interested in stuff like that. Kwame was sitting directly behind Daron and he is actually feeling the best of anyone....except for his tongue, which he bit. ;)

Date with Dad

How cute is this? Our town parks and rec. puts on a very fun and usually sold out 'Daddy/Daughter' dance around Valentine's day. This is the first time that our crew was able make it work, so Daron decided to take Greta and Ella this year and Fia will get her turn with one of the girls next year.
Greta and Ella had a fantastic time and Daron really set the stage so well by literally driving around the block, ringing the doorbell, and bringing the girls corsages for their date. They felt so special! It was so cute to see their excitement build as they got ready(they didn't want Daron to see them until they were READY!) and I also realized even more how awesome their dad is!

Another positive note...he is helping to set the bar high for how they should be treated when they are older and really go on a date. Hopefully they won't settle for less than they deserve.

Home for a Year!!

Last February 6th, Fia and Kwame arrived in Washington with my mom and I. They left everyone and everything that was familiar to them and came to a brand new place, with brand new everything! Looking through the pictures from a year ago today were such a mixed bag of emotions. Ghana is a beautiful place with beautiful people. I am not sure how much Fia and Kwame remember of it unfortunately, as much as we try. As hard as their lives were, they also had so much love. Just looking at the pictures remind me of that and my heart aches for their loss, even in the midst of all the joy. And the JOY, wow, my heart is full now that they are home with us. Here are a few pics of our last day in Ghana and our first day in America.

Giving hugs and saying goodbye, for now. These four kids are actually ALL now in America!

This beauty, Miss M. stole my mom's heart and she has been in the orphanage longer than anyone else so far. There is a family that is paper chasing for her now, so PLEASE pray with us that it works out-her heart's desire is to have a family that LOVES HER!
Miss L became a fast friend of mine and I SO wish we lived closer to each other. She is a woman of faith and I truly look up to her. I pray I can see her another day soon. Her little guy is just the sweetest, huh?

Saying goodbye to the staff and kids was almost unbearable. I fell in LOVE with everyone there and wished our countries weren't so far apart. I knew they all loved Fia and Kwame and it must have been so hard to watch them go. I think only 6 of the kids in the picture are still there, and 5 are coming to WA soon. Of course, there are many more kids at Eban House that need forever families. Currently, there are a few boys ages 2-8(I think) that are referral ready and just need families to call their own. Of course, they are beautiful! Please let me know if you are interested or email anita@adoptionadvocates.org

My mom took this picture as we left Eban House....

I was SO blessed to have my mom along on the trip-she was amazing and it was so special for the kids!Here we are. Waiting for the plane from Ghana-via Nigeria-to Frankfurt. Relaxed and past all the check points. Ahhhhh.....
They were so happy to see daddy once we came up the escalator.

First family photo of the seven of us in WA.
Lounging around...ready for bed on our first night home together.

February 6th-it will always be a special day to remember!