We are home!

Wow! The last 24 hours are a bit of a blur.  I just took the most wonderful long hot shower of my life! ;-)

Yesterday morning we checked out of our hotel and went to see our children at the social worker's home.  It was a Ghanaian holiday and yet our sweet social worker was caring for our children in her own home and hosting us all day long. She is one of the most selfless, sacrificial and genuine people I have ever met. She works very long hours and cares for the "least of these" everyday. There is no doubt her reward in heaven will be so great because that is where she has stored up her treasure. Our lives are SO MUCH RICHER for the week we spent with her and we will always be grateful for the love she shows to our children and so many others.

She has prepared the kids for the day ahead and they knew that when we arrived they would be leaving her home and heading back to the orphanage to stay for awhile until Mommy and Daddy could return for them. This discussion had taken place several times over the week.  We all tried our very best to explain that the paperwork takes some time and we would be working very hard to come back as quickly as possible.  Our son is very smart and he has tried every way possible to negotiate a better way. He has told the social worker that she should make the papers now and let them go to America. Oh, if only it were that easy! He has asked, "what will happen if we just go without papers?" His little mind is trying so hard to come up with a better solution and unfortunately there isn't one. Needless to say when it was time to leave the social worker's home both of our children had pretty major meltdowns. The day did not start out well.  They wanted nothing to do with Adam or I and they really just wanted to cry and yell, so that is what they did. They were both forcibly put in the car and we started our long drive with a car full of tears.

About halfway to the orphanage we stopped to eat and finally had a pleasant time together. I was able to dance with our little girl and twirl her around. We shared lots of smiles and giggles. Our son loosened up and began playing and being silly. Thank goodness we had this time on our last day! I was  beginning to think our final day would be all tears and gloom.

When we got to the orphanage the kids were happy to show their photo books to all their friends and pass out some treats that we had brought. We enjoyed visiting with the pastor and his wife who run the home and then we left with some more tears. It was not great. Thank you for your prayers! I feel certain they have carried us home. We traveled all night and landed in NY very early this morning and then continued on to Atlanta.

We have enjoyed showing Liz and Cael all the photos and videos. It was so amazing to see the videos and photos from yesterday and I looked down as I was still wearing the same clothes. It seems like a week ago already and it was only yesterday. Clearly, that shower was needed and those clothes needed to be shed. ;-)

I am not allowed to post pictures and videos on any sort of public forum until we receive our official adoption order which will hopefully be next week. However, I am going to try and send a private message with all the footage before then. I'll let you know when I send it and then if you didn't receive it you can let me know. I know everyone is anxious for pictures and I am anxious to show off my babies!!!!! I hope it will be soon!!

We are so grateful!

Sunday in Ghana

This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!

This morning our driver picked us up at 8am and we went to pick up our social worker and children to go to church. We attended International Gospel Church in Accra, Ghana and it was awesome! To see a few thousand Ghanaian believers raising their hands and voices in praise of God was overwhelming at times. Many of these people have so little and yet their faith is massive. Adam and I both had moments of tears to see these beautiful people living out their faith. We feel so thankful and blessed that the heritage of our children is rooted in the gospel of Christ.

We were excited to recognize many of the songs and learn a few new ones.  The pastor was excellent and the entire service was on television.  We learned they even have a few community groups in America but none very close to us.  It really reminded us of Passion City Church back home. The children were not with us for the worship service but they were in the children’s church and nursery. They were both very hesitant to go in at first but they were fine when we picked them up at the end.

After church we went back to our social worker’s house so I could learn how to make our children’s favorite meal, banku. It was a fun experience. First we mixed corn dough and cassava dough together and then added a little salt and enough water to mix it up into a smooth liquid. Then we put it on the stove and continued to stir it as it boiled and thickened. Eventually it turned into a very thick paste and we were able to spoon it into little baggies and form them into balls.  We also made pepe which is very similar to American salsa. We put some tomato, onion, green pepper and salt into a bowl and mashed It with a round pistol until it was very mushy. Our American food processor would be an easy and quick way to get the same effect but our sweet hostess worked so hard at it. She also took a red fish and a tilapia fish seasoned with garlic, onion, and pepper and fried it in some oil to serve with the banku. These fish are fried whole with the heads and tails and skin. She put them on a plate with some fresh onion and peppers on top. Then, we all washed our hands in a bowl of water and proceeded to eat. No utensils required in Ghana…your hands are used for all items on this table. I really enjoyed the banku. I can see why my kids like it so much.  It is really a lot like grits except a smoother and thicker consistency. After you break off a piece and roll it around in your fingers for a bit then you dip it in the pepe and enjoy. Yum!  We also enjoyed picking apart the fish and our son and hostess both thoroughly enjoyed the fish heads. Most of the time they even eat  the bones. Usually there is nothing left on the plate.  (We have watched our son and hostess eat chicken bones, goat bones, and fish bones during this trip.)

These food items would normally be a meal but we didn’t prepare enough for a meal. We just used it as a training cooking session. So after we ate this little “snack” we headed to the Accra mall to walk around and play and eat a real meal.  Our daughter was acting very cranky and in need of a nap so we left her with the nanny and headed out with our son, the social worker/hostess, her son and the driver. The mall was very similar to the mall in America although it was much smaller and had a grocery store attached to it.  In the middle of the mall was a play area for the kids and for a small fee they could play for 30 minutes. It was very interesting to see our son walk in hesitantly unsure of what to try. He rode a little electric train and then a merry go round. When he looked at the large bounce house structure with a climbing wall and a slide he shook his head “no” and walked away.  We encouraged him to try it and he kept shaking “no”. Finally, Adam took him over to the entrance and gave him a little push in.  Of course, after he did it once he was hooked and went around and around several times. We really enjoyed watching him play and smile. After the play time we ate Chinese food. Yes! We ate Chinese food in Ghana! Actually our son requested Foofoo so we grabbed that at the restaurant next door and then settled in for some Chinese food.  It was all very delicious. We got some ice cream for dessert and brought some home for our little girl too. She was happy to see us and happy to have her ice cream. I got a few snuggles before we left them for the night.

I am already dreading our goodbye for tomorrow.  It makes my tears start even now as I type this. Please pray for us tomorrow. It will be a very long and difficult day.

Our plan is to get the kids some new shoes and then drive to their orphanage and spend some time there. We will leave in the afternoon to head back to the airport and catch our flight at 10pm. We will land in NY on Tuesday morning and then take a flight to GA where we will be so excited to see Cael and Liz! The next 48 hours will be full of many emotions!

God grant us wisdom and peace. Please comfort us in our sadness and be with our children when we leave. Please keep them safe and healthy and show them your love and our love through others. Please make this process go quickly and allow us to bring them home soon. Thank you for loving us so amazingly and for being the most perfect Father to all of these orphans and to us. Amen

Saturday in Ghana

It really feels like we have been here a long time.  To think it has only been 3 days is very shocking to us! We are really getting to know our kids well and each day we love them more and more.

-Our son can eat more in one meal than his mama. That boy loves to eat and he especially loves a Ghanaian dish called banku. It comes as a white round ball wrapped in cellophane. It is soft and mushy but a little pliable.  He pulls off a piece and rolls in into a ball in his fingers and then he dips it into a sauce that is similar to salsa. Adam and I enjoyed it as well.

-Our daughter loves rice.  She will eat all kinds of rice but if there are any vegetables in it she will pick them all out. She also loves chicken and fish.

-Our son has become an expert at Subway Surfer. ;-) He also is learning so many manners in how to ask mom for her phone politely.

-Our daughter has become an expert accessory. She clings to mom's neck and doesn't often let go. Legs around my waist and arms around my neck and off we go. Thankfully she is a little peanut so carrying her isn't too difficult. By the end of the day though I am tired. There will be time to break her of this habit but for now we only have 2 more days and I am loving all the close snuggling time.

-Our son loves to pick on his sister and then she copies eveything he says to make him mad. They are very typical siblings and this normalcy makes us feel happy.

Today we got to sleep in! Yay!  We were desperate for a good night's sleep. When we woke up our hotel security guard took us for a walk down the road to see the local river.  It was a beautiful view and we really ejoyed seeing all the locals out doing their early morning chores.  Many people passed by carrying their water on their heads. It is truly remarkable how much we take for granted in the states. One thing that was really ironic to me was the lady carrying a huge jug of water on her head and texting on her cell phone. True!

I really enjoyed passing out some smarties and lolipops to the local children. They were hesitant to take them at first but when their moms gave them the OK then they were all smiles. We also gave out some bubbles and raisins.  All of these things were very foreign to the children living near our hotel.

Speaking of our hotel, the road leading up to it is the bumpiest road I have ever encountered.  I am not exaggerating! There are divots and crevaces in this road that might be small mountains and we are driving up and down them everyday, several times. It is getting a bit old especially when our sweet girl gets sick. Again today she emptied the contents of her stomach all over herself and me. Thankfully, we were on our way to the beach and we were able to shed our nasty clothes and clean up.

We met the kids from the orphange at the beach today and had a wonderful time.  The highlights included:
-meeting all of the children that our kids have been living with for the past 3 months.
-meeting the house moms and dads and volunteers who have been taking care of our children.
-playing with all these very sweet kids who are starving for love and attention.
-watching Adam throw the boys into the waves as they giggled and yelled. (many of them were stark naked, by the way). ;-)
-feeling my little girl still snuggled around me or close to my leg holding my hand the whole day even while the house mother who speaks her language and has been caring for her for 3 months is standing right there.
-buying our son a coke and watching as he shared it with all of his friends. They each took a small swig.

After the beach we went to a wonderful place for dinner and enjoyed trying the banku and some other delicious dishes. Adam got the fish and chips. It was quite different from what we are used to as the fish was whole...head and all. He enjoyed it!

Following dinner we drove about an hour to the orphange and saw where are kids have been living.  It is full of many wonderful people and a lot of love. Certainly the conditions could be better but for a rural village in Ghana it is not so bad. The kids did not mention staying and were anxious to leave when the time came. They are staying in town this week while we are here at the home of their social worker who is with us all the time. We would do anything to bring them home with us now. But as it stands they will be in the orphange for another few months. We know they are in good hands and our reunion will be sweet when it comes. Tonight when they dropped us off at our hotel both kids really wanted to stay with us. That is not acceptable at this stage in the process so we kissed them goodbye and sent them with the social worker. This is preparing us for Monday night when we fly back to the U.S. It will be difficult.

We are so tired after this long day and very excited to sleep tonight. I am once again borrowing this computer so you will have to wait for all the pictures until we return to America. Sorry!!

Thank you so much for your prayers. I am confident they are keeping me from puking on these roads and my back from breaking with all this carrying. ;-) Adam is also doing great!

We Passed Court!

Today we woke up early once again to head to Cape Coast for court.  Thankfully the judge was feeling well enough to come into work today and we were the first case called back to her chambers.  We sat on a couch with our new children and waited patiently as they deliberated our case.  It was VERY stressful.  The first words that the judge spoke were, "It says in the law that for cases of adoption the new parents must live in the country for 2 years before the adoption is final."  Adam and I looked at each other and felt a bit of panic.  We were already profusely sweating and this discussion did not make us feel any better.  Thankfully, this is just a normal process of discussion and within 15 minutes our lawyer had everything cleared up and explained to the judge.  Bethany has been so well organized with our paperwork and the proceedings that they felt very confident that we would pass. After the stressful, HOT 15 minutes the judge said, "These children will now be known as Gabriel Thompson and Debora Thompson.  Yay!!!!!  We are so thrilled!!!!!

The other family we were with also passed court for their daughter and we all went and celebrated with a nice meal together.  We all felt very relieved and excited! We drove 3 hours back to the hotel and got to have our first REAL fun of the trip.  We took the kids swimming and we had a blast!!!  I have some awesome pictures to share but I am borrowing a computer from the hotel where we are staying and the pictures are not accessible here.  I promise I will post pictures as soon as I am able.

The best and hardest conversation of the day was this:
Son: "Daddy, will you bring me home to America in 2 weeks?"
Dad: "No, son, it will take a bit longer than that. We have to get your passports and visas."
(Adam took our passports out and showed him what they look like.) "These things take time."
Son: "So 2 weeks you will come back?"
Dad: "It will probably be 6 weeks or a little more but we will come back as soon as we can."
Son: "Well can you go to America and get my bike and bring it back so I can ride it while I wait?"

Sweet boy!!!

Tonight our son did not cry as he said goodbye to us but he did confirm we would be seeing him in the morning and I would be charging my iphone for the night. ;-)  He also squeezed Adam's neck for a VERY long time....there has been a lot of bonding going on.  Today he also taught me a lovely song in the van that I was able to video record.  I will look forward to sharing it on here soon.

For now, we are going to go to bed and enjoy a full night's sleep.  Tomorrow we are hoping to meet up with the children from the orphange where our kids live.  They will be at a nearby beach.  From there, we will go back to the orphanage and meet our children's friends and caregivers.  We are very excited!

We already love these children so much and are very excited to get them home! Thank you so much for you love and prayers!!!  We can feel every bit of them!

Our First Update from Africa

Wow!  Have we only been in Africa for 24 hours?!?!  This is going to be a long update because this has been a very long and wonderful day!

We got to Atlanta International Airport with plenty of time to spare and make it to JFK very easily.  We did not have seats assigned to us for the JFK to Accra flight because the flight was so full and we ended up arriving at the ticket counter very close to boarding time so we were concerned that we might both be sitting in middle seats apart from each other. Well……God gave us an incredible gift! The lady at the ticket counter said, “I am about to make your day” and then she proceeded to give us boarding passes that said First Class, premium seating. My mom and dad had already offered to pay a pretty steep charge so that we could sit in economy comfort seats if we ended up being stuck apart and I know they were really praying for us to be together on the very long flight. God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine and He did! We flew 10 hours in amazing recliners with sweet staff catering to our every need.  It was really quite overwhelming to us!

I am so thankful we were able to sleep so well and so much on the flight because when we arrived in Accra at 1pm Ghana time we met our kids for the first time!!!  We didn’t expect them to be there. What a gift!  Although they were slightly hesitant at first, within minutes they were in our laps . They are not very quick to smile but when they do it sure does make it worth the wait.  They both have big beautiful smiles!

We gave them both photo books and they really enjoyed looking through all the pictures and talking about who is in each picture. We had pictures from the orphanage in there and they told us all the kids’ names. We had pictures of our neighborhood and home, which they love.  In fact, when we got to the page with the neighborhood bike parade from the fourth of July last year our son exclaimed,, “I LIKE THAT!” He talks all the time about the bike waiting for him in America.  I guess we better get one soon. ;-) (Our neighborhood has already agreed to get them bikes….thanks neighbors!!!)

After looking through her photo book, our daughter fell fast asleep in my lap. We drove about an hour to our hotel and she slept the whole way. Our son is in IN LOVE with the iphone. He really enjoys playing Subway Surfer and Bike Mania. ;-) They both LOVE chewing gum. (Extra brand, peppermint). It is funny how much they love the gum. Our son will put a couple pieces in his mouth and chew it forever. Our daughter, however, will break off a very tiny piece from the stick and eat it for a little while and fold up the rest really neatly in the wrapper. Then she will give it to me and break off another little piece.  She wants to make it last. ;-)

After checking into our hotel we joined two other Bethany families for a meal at another local hotel. On our way there our poor little girl did not feel well and ended up throwing up several times in the car. She was in my lap so we both ended up pretty covered in vomit. We bonded. I will leave it at that.

At the meal, we really enjoyed getting to know our kids and also connecting with other families and their adoptive children as well as the social workers. We learned a few things about our kids during this time. Our son loves to eat! He ate several pieces of fried chicken and rice and some of Adam’s chicken kabob. Then he asked another little girl next to him if she was done and ate the rest of her chicken, too. He is going to be big and strong! He also loves to swim. There was a pool next to the restaurant and as soon as the meal was done he was taking off his pants and asking to swim. He was so happy when we said yes and he swam until they closed the pool for the day. Our first challenge in parenting was getting him out of the pool. He is not still swimming so I guess we were successful? I’m sure we will do even better next time. ;-)

Both of our kids also LOVE to dance. At the meal there was some music playing softly in the background and they both showed us some pretty amazing dance moves. It was very cute and funny. Our daughter has mostly been attached to me and a little more hesitant with Adam.  Although, at the pool he was sitting on the side and she ran into his arms and stayed there for a while. She was not at all interested in swimming.

This morning was our scheduled court date in Cape Coast.  Since that is about 2-3 hours away and our children’s orphanage is also very far away  our children spent the night at the social worker’s house.  We would have loved to have them with us at the hotel but it is not allowed by our agency on this trip.  They both asked  begged the social worker to stay with us which made us feel really good. Our daughter cried as I put her in the backseat but she had the photo book so at least she could look through the pictures.

In order to get to court right when it opens we needed to leave our hotel at 5am this morning. Needless to say, after spending the night on a plane (even with amazing seats!) and then having a busy, fun day with our kids, we were anxious to get some rest before waking up at 4:30am. Unfortunately our power was out right when we got back.  We used a flashlight to fumble around and took some VERY quick , cold showers and went to bed. The hotel manager knocked on the door a little after midnight to tell us the power was back on and we could turn on our air conditioner. Adam didn’t even know where he was when I told him to answer the door. Poor guy.

4:30am came quickly and we loaded a large van with our family and kids, another family and their daughter and the social workers, Bethany worker and driver to make the drive to Cape Coast. Our daughter slept the whole way and our son played Subway Surfer most of the way.  I also convinced him to play a few rounds of “Spot It”.

We were all dressed up in nice clothes and while we waited for court to open we took a little walk to the beach (Pictures to come when we are allowed).  As court opened we found seats in the back and waited patiently.  Adam and our son walked around the building a few times before our son decided to go back to the van and fall asleep. ;-) Did I mention in was like 98 degrees outside and the van was off!  We opened all the doors and windows but he was soaked with sweat. After waiting about 2 and a half hours we were told that the judge was sick today and would not be hearing any cases. Thankfully, we were assigned a court appointment for tomorrow. Please pray that the judge will be present and we will get our adoption approval very quickly.  The other family that we are staying with is flying out tomorrow night so it is VERY important that things happen efficiently.  Monday is a holiday here so if our cases aren’t tried tomorrow then we will be required to use the Bethany Power of Attorney to take care of court for us next week. As it is, we will be heading out in the morning at 5am again to make the drive to Cape Coast and try for court again.

Since we were in Cape Coast with some time to spare we all went to the Castle to see the heart of the former slave trade. Our tour was amazingly insightful and gut wrenching.  The conditions that the Africans endured in this castle before being deported to slavery in America is absolutely devastating.  As we felt exhausted and very hot, we quickly realized we are in no position to complain about anything. We are so thankful to have that perspective. We were also able to drive along the coast and take in the beautiful scenery. There were MANY street vendors and people walking along the roads. Our driver was very aggressive and made some “chicken-game-like” passes on the two lane roads. It was quite an adventure!

We had an enjoyable time with our kids in the car. They are definitely interacting with us a lot and really seem to be enjoying us. Our daughter has become my little parrot.  She likes to repeat everything I say. We did some flash cards while waiting in court today and she beautifully repeated all the items on the cards. “elephant” “frog” “cat” “Fish” She learned how to do a fish face.  She counts in English when we climb stairs. She LOVES to be held and I have carried her almost all the time that we are together but today when I got tired I convinced her to hold my hand.  

Neither of our children speak English very well but our son certainly does a lot better than our daughter. We are so thankful for our social worker who speaks their language and helps immensely! She is keeping the children at her home again tonight. She is a lovely lady that works very long and hard hours to help orphans find their forever home. WE are so thankful for her!

When we got back to the hotel tonight our daughter was asleep in the van and our son insisted on staying with us. His social worker told him that was not possible and as Adam hugged him he cried so hard. I hugged him and kissed him through his tears and assured him we would see him in the morning. He has said numerous times that he wants to go home with us now.  WOW!!! This mama walked away from the van with tears matching her sweet boy.

Tomorrow will come quickly. Alarm set for 4:30 am AGAIN. Please pray for a well and present judge and for us all to pass court. We are doing well and definitely feel your prayers! I know for sure that Dramamine is not the only thing helping my severe motion sickness on these crazy roads with our aggressive driver. The power of prayer is amazing!  We are so thankful for each of you and we are feeling so thankful for these precious two children God has given us. We are so excited to introduce them to Liz and Cael!  

We're heading to Africa....tomorrow!

Praise God! Our visas made it to Marietta in the wee hours of the morning and I drove to the FedEx facility first thing this morning to pick them up.  We were approved and now have our passports with visas in hand!

Unfortunately now all of the flights for today are VERY out of our budget so we will be flying tomorrow. (Tuesday)  We will land in Accra at 1:05pm on Wednesday and hopefully get to spend a few hours with our kids before going to court on Thursday to adopt them!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support during this time of wait and labor pains. We covet your prayers as we continue this journey and look forward to updating you with lots of info and pictures soon.

My sister is driving with her kids today to spend the week taking care of Liz and Cael.  Thank you Aunt Judy!!!

To God be the Glory!

This evening as Adam and I were packing the car for our drive to DC tomorrow I decided to check the Fed Ex tracking number for our return postage paid overnight envelope that we had sent with our visa applications.  (I have checked it so many times over the last week that it is almost second nature to type in those numbers. I stopped checking after 5pm Friday because the embassy isn't even opened on Fridays and our friends couldn't pick ours up on Friday.) Well, I just checked it again for kicks and......

IT SHIPPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday evening at 5:27pm our package left DC and started making it's way to us! It is scheduled to arrive at our home on Monday by 3pm. We are hesitant to book flights yet because we are not positive they approved our visas....they are allowed to deny them with no reason given.  But, we have put a flight on hold to leave Atlanta on Monday night if the visas are approved!

We are hoping to be in Ghana on Tuesday night and spend the day with our sweet kiddos on Wednesday and adopt them on Thursday!!!!!

We are amazed and overwhelmed by this change in events.  We were ready to fight for our visas at that embassy in DC and God has totally given us this amazing gift!

We had already come to a position of complete surrender to His plan and truly trust that He's got this whole thing worked out. Truthfully, if the visas come and they have been denied we will continue to surrender and trust. To God be the glory!

Beyond Disappointed

Good news and bad news....

Our friends got their visas but couldn't get ours. We are so happy for our friends.  They will be flying to Ghana tonight and meeting their daughter.  Please pray for them as they travel.

There had been no indication that they would have a problem getting ours if they got theirs. So we have some decisions to make.

We have cancelled our flight today and are processing some of our options. Please pray that we will make the best decisions. Regardless of what we decide, we will not be in Ghana in the next few days and we will be pouring much more time and money into getting our kids home.

Honestly, I am struggling right now.  I KNOW God has this and I KNOW we will look back on this time and see His hand all over it. I KNOW His plans are great and I KNOW I am resting in His plans.

But I also KNOW my heart is sad that I am not meeting my kids this weekend. I KNOW I am disappointed that this process is taking longer than I'd hoped. I KNOW I am so frustrated to be at the mercy of an embassy that seems to have no regard for visa applications.

God is bigger than all these things. I KNOW that too.

So....I think we are going to drive to DC on Sunday and pester the embassy until we get our visas. FUN TIMES!

Prayers appreciated....

No visas

Our friends left the Ghanaian Embassy around 5:30pm tonight with nothing. :-( We are so disappointed that we will not be flying to Ghana tomorrow.

We are still hopeful.  Even though the embassy is closed on Friday they have told our friends to come back tomorrow at 1pm.

Right now we are going to cheer Elizabeth on in her end of the season gymnastics performance.

Prayers appreciated for visas tomorrow, sleep tonight and travel hopefully on Saturday!!!

Crazy day!

Well....still no visas.  Our friends who drove all night to get there arrived at the Ghanaian Embassy at about 6:30am this morning.  The embassy opens at 8:30am.  At 10:00am they texted they would know more by 1pm.  At 1pm they said they finally got to the window and the man said he did not handle mailed applications but he would put them through to the mail room.

The Embassy closes at 3:30pm and is closed on Fridays.  It is now 4:14pm. Our friends texted at 3:33pm and said, "We may have progress but it would be a major miracle!!!! No exaggeration. Details later ... Pray.... I know you are."


So....we are still praying and waiting.  Thank you so much for your prayers and support.  We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of thoughts and prayers.  We feel great peace as we wait!

I hope to be sending out another update VERY soon.

No Visas Yet

We are feeling discouraged today because our visas did not arrive and they did not ship out. It is not looking good for our travel on Friday.

There is another family traveling with us who is adopting a little girl from Ghana.  They also mailed their expedited visa application on the same day and have not received anything back.  They have decided to drive to DC tonight and go to the Ghanaian embassy tomorrow with the hopes of picking up  all of our visas.  If they are successful they would overnight them to us and we would hopefully fly out on Friday as planned.

I share this with you so you can pray

1. For the safety of our friends as they drive all night.
2. For God's favor at the embassy tomorrow, that they can get all 4 visas.
3. For peace as we wait
4. For wisdom in how to best handle our flights and court date if we can't get the visas tomorrow.

IF you choose to pray with us you should know that regardless of the outcome we KNOW God has this plan in His hand. We will give Him praise and glory with or without visas tomorrow and with or without a flight on Friday. His ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. 

So....we pray, and hope for what we think is best and then we trust! 

Here we go....I type this to remind myself of things I know but still struggle with.  Trust me, this girl is not feeling peace, hope and trust right now. She is praying for God's power to be made perfect in her weakness.  

Here I am God...I am weak and things are completely out of my hands...I DO trust you. Please give us clarity and direction as we take one step at a time. 

I will update tomorrow...

Prayers requested

When God called us on this journey we knew it would not be an easy one and we were, and still are, OK with that. 

Up to this point things have been so smooth....even getting a call for court 2 months before expected!!!

We recognize that God has orchestrated every step of this process and so we trust His timing and plan. 

Late yesterday afternoon the US Embassy posted this statement:

Ghana

May 13, 2013

Alert: Government of Ghana Suspends Intercountry Adoptions

The Government of Ghana has temporarily suspended processing of all adoption cases, including intercountry adoptions, pending Ghana’s review of its current adoption procedures. The U.S. Embassy in Accra is seeking further clarification of the scope and duration of this temporary suspension by the Government of Ghana and how this suspension may effect pending adoptions. The U.S. Embassy will continue processing adoption cases already approved by Ghanaian authorities.

The Department of State will continue providing updated information on adoption.state.gov as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children’s Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States, or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States. Email inquiries may be directed to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.

We don't know what this really means for us, but there are many factors involved that help our situation (the agency we are with, our current status in the process, etc.) 

The truth is not a lot has changed from our perspective....

We are not in control and we know that God is!

This will continue to be our perspective until we get these kids home and until we finish our job as parents, for that matter. 

Please pray for:

-Our visas to get here before Friday, without them we cannot leave.

-The court approval to go smoothly on Thursday, May 23.

-our time with our new children to be sweet and awesome

-My sister as she cares for her four kids and Liz and Cael next week

-Safe travel and good health

-the US Embassy to approve our adoption in a timely manner despite this recent statement. 

Thank you friends!  We couldn't do this without you!!!

Mom X 4

This time next week I will be meeting my 2 new kids for the first time in person.  It is a thought that makes my heart beat a little quicker and my eyes fill with instant tears. 

Today is Mother's Day. I already know the joy of being a mom and I love it.  But, today as I celebrate that wonderful job that God has blessed me with I cannot help but consider that if all goes well next Thursday in court that blessing will be times 4! ;-)

Liz and Cael bring me so much joy. They asked me this morning if I had to pick an age that I loved them best which age would I pick. 

"Well, when you were little newborn babies, I thought 'this is the best age ever'. 

And then when you were just learning to crawl, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then during those early walking years, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then when you were two and three and talking with such sweet voices and thoughts, I thought, 'this is the best age ever'.

Then when you were four, I just loved your independence yet innocence. I got to have you at home and hang out with you everyday, I thought, 'this is the best age ever.'

And now that you are 11 and 9........I wish you were five."

That's really what I said on the way to church this morning, in response to their question. We all laughed our heads off and then I explained that really dad and I have often said to one another "this is the best age ever!" over the years.

We have missed the first 5 years of our sweet new daughter's life and the first 6 years of our precious son's life so we will have a lot of "bests" to look forward to. There is no question, Liz and Cael are going to be such amazing role models to their new siblings. The way their speak and act and treat others is a shining example of Christ and that is what we hope to be to these new children. 

My mommy heart is bursting with joy times 4 today!

 

My way are not your ways

There is one thing you can count on in the adoption process...things will not likely go according to your plan.

We accepted a referral for two precious kids on April 17th...

Our Sources:  "Ghana requires 3 months from the signed placement letter until court date".

Us: "We have seen other families get quicker court dates why do we have to wait 3 months?"

Our Sources: "Those families likely adopted waiting children that had already been in the system for a little while so they were given an earlier date. We will let you know when your placement letter has been signed and then your court date will likely be about 3 months from then."

Us: "Ok...looking forward to court at the end of July.".......April turns to May and no signed placement letter...."OK..looking forward to court sometime in early August."

EMAIL MESSAGE MAY 3, 2013 (STILL NO SIGNED PLACEMENT LETTER) "You have a probable court date of May 23rd. We will let you know more soon."

Us:................................... (a little speechless)...........Thank you God!

That is AMAZING of course! We weren't expecting it until late July at the EARLIEST. Besides that being the last week of school here and crazy life plans, it is also the weekend of the Legacy Retreat in Orlando. Phew!  They will be fine without me but I am having a hard time getting my mind to settle down. So many details to pull together for court, Liz and Cael back home, the Legacy Retreat....plus I am going to meet my new kids in 2 weeks!!!!!!!!  Kinda freakin' out here! Clearly this is God's plan because it is miraculous timing but my human mind is having a really hard time trying to keep up. ;-)

All night as I tried to sleep one verse kept going around and around in my mind:

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so our my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

All this time I was praying for patience to wait as I thought it would likely drag on and instead God went turbo speed on us!  Now I am praying for peace and clarity and trust. He is good all the time!

Today I booked two plane tickets to Accra, Ghana and we will be there ready to meet our precious kids on May 18th. Please pray for our visas to be processed efficiently and for our travel to go smoothly.  Pray for our time with our new children, for the first meeting to be sweet and for our week with them to make up for the first 5 and 6 years of their lives that we have missed.  We also ask for prayer on May 23rd as we go to court to officially adopt our sweet kids.

Feeling overwhelmed, satisfied, grateful and incredibly blessed today!