A pretty quiet day...

Not much to report today. I went to the Eban House around 10 am and stayed there until about 5pm. When I arrived, Selina was sleeping and slept until about noon and so I took the opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the other kids. I took them outside in small groups and we had a great time just taking some pictures!

Selina woke up and so I fed her lunch. She was wearing a white dress and so I asked the aunties if I could just take the dress off while she ate and save them the trouble of changing her afterwards! Then with her dress off, she discovered that the liked the feeling of putting the water in her mouth and letting it drip down her chest and stomach. I couldn't blame her, it is Africa and it is hot. I am sure it felt good. I thought it was a rather brillant idea although we don't want it to become a habit so I had to discourage her from being innovative.

Most of the other kids napped right after lunch and so I had a few hours with just Selina and a few other kiddos. I went in the classroom and grabbed a few books. We were looking at the books together and then she would get down and go grab something else and then come back again with the book and want me to read it to her. When I say read it to her, I mean that loosely. She has not had the reading experience yet of having books read to her and discussing what is on each page and pointing at things like we tend to do with our kids in the states and so she does not have the stamina for an entire book although I can really think she will enjoy having books read to her as she did better than I expected and kept coming back for more.



We also rolled a ball around to eachother for awhile. It was fun. She really enjoyed rolling the ball back and forth. We sat a few feet away from eachother and I spread my legs out. It was cute as once I did this, she also did the same so our feet were touching. She would giggle as she rolled the ball.



I stayed until she got really tired. I was holding her but she couldn't fall asleep and so I had the aunties put her down for a nap. I would ask to do it myself but there is a guest in the room she sleeps in that I do not want to disturb. I know the aunties can put her down much quicker and with less disruption than I would doing it for the first time! I will be going over there in the morning to go to church with them so I decided to call it a night and come back and get a few things done. I also was anxious to see if Molly made it home which she did after a delay that caused her to have to be put up in a hotel for a night in New York!

I am scheduling some of the things I still want to do while I am here. I called Brother James who was with my great uncle Father Fran. He was so excited to hear from me and so we set it up that I will go to McCarthy Hill on Tuesday. Edward will drive me and we will go to see the last house he lived in, visit the cemetary where he is layed to rest and will have lunch together. I can't wait to hear all Brother James has to say about Father and his time here in Ghana. I can tell that he will be wonderful to talk to!

I am also planning my trip to the orphanage for children affected by HIV. I am thinking that I will go next Saturday. I still have to finalize that but that is what I am hoping for.

I also want to figure out my plan for helping at the Kasoa Orphanage. I will start working on that Monday. A food donation was made by Chalene about 10 days ago so we agreed that I would wait a little longer before I go so I can bring a little bit of food along with the other items I am planning on.

I am hoping that through my conversation with Brother James, that I will be able to identify others that need help and so I have saved some monies for that purpose.

I am feeling much more content today. The bonding with Selina is going much better than I expected. I prepared for the worst (against the advice of all my neighbors who recently read "The Secret" for their bookclub book) and so I am quite pleased with where we are at. The one on one time is really valuable and so I enjoyed our time together today as the kids napped.

I think this has to be hard on Selina though as we are at a point where I interact with her differently than the aunties. I think I probably allow her to get a way with things they would not because I am trying to bond with her and at the same time I don't allow her to do other things that they let her do.

One big example of that is the first bonding experience we had was when we were sitting at a table and looking at a book. She started dropping the book. Me wanting to show her that I am here for her and will help her, kept picking up the book. I would say "uh,oh" when she dropped it and it got to a point when we were laughing about it. It was actually the first thing we laughed together about! In my toddler adoption book, it mentioned this stage and how it is important for Selina to know I am here for her. So in honor of this stage, I picked the book up about 40 times! So now she enjoys dropping things looking at me and saying "uh,oh". Or anytime anyone in the house drops something, she says "uh,oh". This also was one of her first consistant words besides "more". So anyway she is still dropping things although I am now working my way out of this purposely dropping things for me to fetch! I am working on showing her how to set something down "gently" or if she drops it, I encourage her to go and get it. This little dropping things will go away but I am sure it is not as fun for the aunties to suddenly have Selina dropping or even sometimes throwing things around!

This has to be hard for a child that is not yet two to understand. When in doubt, I refer to the aunties at this point because I leave every night and she is in their house with them and without me at times. I know that every parent goes through this when adopting children but if you are adopting a child that is seven or eight, they will more easily understand that things are different with different people than Selina can. I am starting to really look forward to being at the point where I can take her to be with me. It will be easier to be with her alone and to be able to be consistant and have me being the one caring for her 100% of the time. Don't get me wrong, it will also be tiring and a little difficult while we are here in Ghana. I am just feeling more prepared for it. I have been through several crying tantrums with her and am feeling more comfortable in dealing with them- this was something I was nervous about before coming here. They are really not that bad for a two year old! I do know it will be different when she is with me though and I still have some questions about her schedule and such that I need to be asking!

The difficult part...

So I got to see Selina today and just left there at about 6:30 tonight. It was really hard to leave this evening. Selina was just kind of crying more the last two nights as many kids do before going to bed.

I want to stay later to help put her to bed but I have all these things I have to figure out in order to do so. I am here alone now so how late do I leave out the door by myself to walk to catch a cab to go back to my hotel? What is the latest I feel safe to do this on my own? I can only get dinner at Rye Manor until 7pm so if I stay I miss dinner. I only eat twice a day so I am hungry by 7pm. I don't want to go eat dinner before that as then I miss Selina eating and her bath and I help or do what whenever I can.

So here is my daughter who is does not fully understand she is my daughter and is struggling between wanting to be with me and wanting me to leave her alone and I make the decision to leave. I know she will be fine and will go to bed like she has done so every night since arriving at Eban House in January but she is my daughter. To just walk away hurts so much and doesn't feel right.

I know I will be taking her home soon and all that stuff I can tell myself but to have a daughter that is two and to leave her to go to bed without you is just getting harder now that she is beginning to trust me and love me more.

This is just hard sometimes and this was one of those nights....

The Aunties Party...

So today I hosted my big shindig for the aunties at the Eban House to thank them for all they do for the kids and to show my appreciation especially for how far they have helped Selina to come since she entered the home in January.

I arrived at the house about 10 am and then Abigail (who works in the office) and I went to get the food for the party. That may sound like an easy task but it took us over two hours. Yes,I bought chicken and fried rice from Southern Fried Chicken for the ladies as well as a soda and to get a taxi to get us there, have it made and bring it back took about two hours. Our taxi driver insisted on going to the Southern Fried Chicken (picture a big Kentucky Fried Chicken with pizza, sandwiches, ice cream etc) that was in Tema because he thought traffic was bad to go to the one that is closer. So we went to SFC in Tema for a total of $17 round trip- I thought it was kind of funny that I paid $17 and spent two hours to basically go to KFC in Ghana! I didn't picture that happening before I left but today it seemed totally normal and not surprising!

It was a beautiful overcast day and the drive was lovely. We drive along the beach on the drive to Tema which I loved. We also passed the church where Father Fran was the priest from 1988 to 1996 (Our Lady of Mercy) and where he retired from. Of course I did not have my camera as I did not think to bring it to buy chicken so I did not get a picture!

We arrived back at the home and started the party at two. About 10 aunties were there at the beginning and a few more joined as it progressed. We did this while the kids napped. We started with lunch. I brought my Ipod and docking station and so I put on some music that I thought the aunties would enjoy. As I returned to the table they were looking at me kind of strange. Then one of them (I have to get her name as she is in the office and is a hoot) all of a sudden says, "Are we dancing?" not in a happy way but in a way that I realized they were all afraid I was going to insist we dance since I was the one that brought the chicken dance, hokey pokey and electric slide to the home. I assured them that we only dance at the "night parties" and that they were safe. I think they were relieved.

After lunch I showed them all the supplies I had brought including about a dozen polishes, emery boards, foot files, lotions, buffing blocks, nail brushes, cutical things, etc. Some of them were a little quiet at first but within about 30 minutes everyone was doing nails. Most of them did each others nails.



One of the aunties Ruth, told me she wanted me to do hers so I gave her my best full on pedicure. As soon as she got up, another auntie sat down so over the next few hours, I did four pedicures! Muna who is in charge at the home spent about an hour and a half doing a manicure and pedicure on the funny one who will have a name tomorrow as soon as I get it. She did a diagonal pattern with half her nail pink and half a purple. Did I mention I had greens, purples, silver, gold as well as the standard reds, browns and peach polishes?



I also had brought some Jelly Belly jelly beans to share with them although once we started touching our feet not many were eaten- I don't think (I was too busy doing my pedicures). I will have to remember not to serve finger foods if I ever hostess an appreciation pedicure party again.

All in all, I think the party was a success. I know that Auntie Comfort loved the way I massaged her feet- (don't get any crazy ideas about me massaging feet TR- this was a once in a lifetime thing I did here!!) she just kept thanking me!



I just want to say that for some of the aunties that work in the Eban House, to do this is not easy. One was telling me how she travels two hours each way to get there. She leaves by six am and takes three different taxis for two hours in traffic to arrive to work by 8 or 8:30 and then when the day is over, she takes three more taxis to get back home. She does this because she likes her job and enjoys working in the adoption field. She would like to go to school to get a degree in Marketing but for now, is happy to be working for our adoption agency as she earns money for school. Can you imagine taking three taxis to get to work and having the trip take two hours? I would say it is unbelievable but it is the reality for at least two of the women I have met so far...

So to the aunties... As I said after we prayed over our Southern Fried Chicken...
On behalf of the other mothers who I have already heard sing your praises and for myself, we want to thank you for all you do for our children. I am especially grateful for what you have done for Selina. She came to you unable to walk and you cared for her, fed her and loved her. She is the girl she is today because you were here and because you made a difference. This is something I will never forget and will always be thankful for. So this party is for you!

On my own...

Molly left early this morning. Edward and Percy came to get her which was nice. They were not planning on coming back towards our guesthouse and so I said goodbye and she drove off. I will miss her as it was so wonderful to have your best friend with you to talk to. I did send her with my picture card from the camera and so my pictures are at least headed home! She took a video of when I first met Selina and I was so thankful as I watched it as it is so obvious she initially wanted nothing to do for me. Her body language could not be saying "go away" any clearer and now she will easily come to see me.

Last night she moved into the phase where she has decided that I belong to her and no other kid can sit on my lap. Thoroughout the evening, she came over and pulled four different kids off my lap. Sometimes it was so she could sit there and other times it was just so when she looked over from across the room, my lap was vacant. It was funny to see her face when she saw someone on my lap. She got this look like "watch out". They were watching a movie and sometimes she would come sit on my lap and point to the TV and I would tell her what we were looking at and she would try to say the words herself. Sometimes she would just lay back and I would sing the "Barney Song" and she would just move her head to the beat. I give her a kiss during the song and a few times, she would put her lips to my face immediately afterwards. She was eating a juicy fruit of some sort at the time and so I ended up with a sticky face with fruit pulp on it- it was beautiful! At other times, she was happy to sit across the room but she would look over to see what I was doing. TR- make sure we have a Dora DVD on hand as she really loves to look at Dora and that is a word that she can say pretty well!

Now that she has learned that the word "more" makes things happen, she loves to use it. I lift her up high to get closer to the fan and she leans her head back, laughs and says "more". That is a hard one as doing this about 20 times in five minutes gets a bit tiring!! It is neat as I remember when Kman and Cater were at this point in learning to communicate. I am looking forward to getting a few different words to stick. You can see that she is trying to learn and absorb so much that she will forget a word the next day that I had taught her previously.

Selina does still have her moments. She will get upset about something and start crying. Since people don't like to really see crying here, you can tell that the staff is a little distressed when she cries and tries to do whatever to make her happy. Molly and I found it interesting as she was tired last night and a bit weepy over little things. At one point she was crying because she could not have Molly's camera. She started crying. I tried to distract her with something else but it was not working. An auntie came over and basically pleaded with her to stop crying and then wiped the tears from her eyes with her hands. Selina stopped as instantly as the tears were wiped almost as if with the tears gone, it was over. Molly and I couldn't believe it. She came over and started talking to me like nothing had just happened! I told Molly that this will probably not work for me in the states but I sure will try!

It is a new adventure everyday going to see Selina. I am so thankful for the progress that we have made. She is at a point where sometimes she wants an auntie and sometimes she wants me. I did not know if that would happen prior to me leaving the home with her and so I am so encouraged!

Thursday was truely a beautiful day and so I look forward to see what today brings...

Jennine

You (and Percy) did it!!!

Um, Hello, WE HAVE A PASSPORT!! WOO HOO! I could not believe it came the day after I asked for prayers for it. Percy came to pick us up this afternoon and the first thing he says is, "I have a passport!" I repeated, "you have it?" twice and then I started cheering. First I got a little teary eyed but they are not crazy about tears here so I instead said, "Percy, I could pick you up, twirl you around and give you a big hug right now!!" He laughed at that one. What great news! Now I just need my I600 and then I can apply for the visa! Yea!

Today was Molly's last day. We went to the art market in Osu as she really wanted to check it out. It was not super busy but the merchants all talk to you at the same time and want you to visit their booth. I felt rude but you cannot possibly visit every booth and talk to everyone that talks to you when five are doing so simultaneously! I picked up a few things as did Molly so that was fun.

After that we went to lunch at Frankies which is a sit down place with very American food. I had heard that Anita loves Frankies so I thought we would go there to celebrate. Molly and I split a burger and fries. The place had many Americans and visitors and I actually found that I did not like that as much. I kind of missed being the only white person. It felt weird to be in a room with so many white people in Africa. Lunch was good and the place had airconditioning so that was nice.

After that we went and purchased some things to donate to a local orphanage that is a block away from Eban House. This house has about 25 kids and is actually the home that held our first kids in the program while Eban House was located. I recognized the place from pictures. It was nice to see the kids. They sang for us and were so sweet. One boy about six sat next to me the entire time and just touched me. It was obvious he is not used to white people and had to touch me. He then got interested in the moles on my arms and so I explained that sometimes white people have little moles. He decided to count the moles on my arms and apparantly there are over 115 although he did count some numerous times. He started raising my sleeve and such so we had to stop at the 115 and call it good.

Before we left I told the kids that I loved hugs and wanted to give a big hug to any kid that wanted one. A few came up immediately to claim their hug while others looked at me realizing that I am slightly crazy!! It was cute because by the end, pretty much everyone had requested their hugs!

I am bummed as Molly leaves in the morning. It was great having her and I will miss her so much!

I have a lot to get ready for as I am hosting a party for all the aunties from the Eban House tomorrow afternoon. Before I left America I bought about a dozen nail polishes and manicure/pedicure sets and goodies to go with it. I got green, purple, and silver along with the normal colors. We will be having a special lunch that I am buying for them and then painting our tootsies. It will be a great way to thank them for all they do for the kids and have done especially for Selina. I am excited to see how the party goes. I am hoping it will be a hit. I am prepared to paint toes for those that haven't done it before or can't reach them for one reason or another so this should be a hoot! I will also leave all the polishes and stuff behind for them to share or use there- whatever they want!

That is it for now as I want to go hang out with Tenille!!

Jennine

Captain and Tenille

A story from the coast...

At the coast, the staff was really nice. The guards were especially friendly to us as we would see them by the pool, on the walkway or when we went on the beach. There was one guard named John that Molly made friends with when she was by the beach one day waiting to meet up with me (I was on the internet).

When I got over John started asking me questions as he would like to be a teacher and he was excited to find out that I am in education. I answered his question and encouraged him to go for it and reach his dreams.

We saw John several times over the next few days and said "goodbye" to him a few times as we kept thinking we were leaving.

On our last day, I had walked back to the room for a moment by myself and encountered John on the walk. He came up to me and was all excited. Our conversation went like this...

John: I heard that you are the captain of the boat.
Me: What
John: I heard that you are the captain of the boat, I want to be on your boat.
Me: What boat.
John: The boat, you are the captain. I want to be on your boat. I would like for you to hire me to work for you on your boat.
Me: laughing... You don't want to be on my boat? It is crazy on my boat!
John: I am very serious. I want to be a teacher and I want to come to America and to work on your boat.
Me: I am sorry, I am a teacher but I do not hire the people that work for us. I can't hire anyone. I do know though that you will be a great worker for whatever boat you work on...

It always makes me sad to hear people want to come to America. We have so much in comparison that it is hard when people say these things to us. Especially someone so kind and who seems to be such a hard worker. He is working as a guard to save up money to go to school to be a teacher. You wish that everyone had the opportunities that you have had. At the same time though, it is not wonderful for everyone in America and there are many poor here but people from other countries don't see that. They see the people that can afford to go to Africa that have enough to live come there. They think that we have it all in America and that life is wonderful there. In comparison, it seems that it is much easier as these people work so hard for so little.

I encouraged John to keep up the hard work and to keep going for his dream of being a teacher. I think he would be a fabulous teacher and I told him to keep studying. He really wanted to contact us but we took his email address instead. I wished him well.

Now I had to go back to Molly to inform her that people think that I am the captain of our ship.

I told Molly that it appears that I am the captain of our ship. She said she had heard of this from someone before but did not know what it meant and if they think we really have a ship or if it is a metaphor.

I told her that I thought it must be a metaphor and that for some reason, people think between her and I that I am the boss- hence the title Captain. I then explained that if that were the case that she can be Tenille from the singing duo "Captain and Tenille" from the 1970's. I also said that they sing a song called "Bananas" or something like it that basically says, "Bananas, bananas, I think I'm going, bananas, bananas, I think I'm going bananas" That will be our theme song on our ship.

So since then, that is our theme song and we are Captain and Tenille. I have had to ask her to grab a few things for me when I was holding Selina or because I wanted to borrow or have something of hers (ie a soduku puzzle) so I will say, "Tenille, can you please give me a ...."

It has given us a good chuckle and reminded me of the times when my sister and I were young that we would listen to that album and dance around the house all crazy to the "bananas" song!!

Just thought I'd share this morning as I am still thinking about our encounters with John and what a kind young man he is...

We are leaving soon, hopefully to do a donation to a local orphanage and to go to the market for a little shopping. It is slightly raining on and off as it has been all night so it is pleasant out but that will soon be replaced by humidity... so the forecast calls for more sweating!!! Surprise! :-)

Jennine

Wednesday Night

Molly and I returned from a seven hour visit to the Eban House, it was wonderful. We got to spend some time with some of the children and get to learn more about them and so that was really nice. The most rewarding thing was that Selina and I had a fabulous day. Here are some of the highlights:

*She now says "more" she wanted some of my water and I gave it to her and would not give her more until she said more. She learned this quickly and now walks around saying more when she wants something instead of pointing and making nonsense verbalizations.

*She raised her hands for me to pick her up and so I did and held her. She put her head down and fell asleep on my shoulder. It was so sweet and so I sat down on the couch with her this way for about an hour. I can't believe how easily she fell asleep-truely amazing. Neither Kman or Cater did this at that age.

*She let me carry her several times. I taught the kids the electric slide holding her the entire time.

*She learned that the "fan" is above her and so if I say fan she looks up. I said "van" when they came back from a trip out and she immediately looked at the fan.

*Taught her to say "Dora" she showed me the video and within a few minutes she was able to say Dora.

*At lunch she ate holding the fork herself (it is usually held for her). I fed her lunch and dinner by scooping it for her at lunch and allowing her to put it in her own mouth. They were having banku and a thicker soup and so the banku stayed on the spoon well (banku is a kind of almost raw doughy bread) which made it a good choice to practice on. The red/orange soup was another matter. Basically she needed a bath and to be changed by the end of the meal which probably did not excite the staff but what can you say when I say "Look how fabulous is this, Selina used the spoon on her own. What a great accomplishment. She got a little dirtied but wow, how great is this?" So we cleaned her up. For dinner we scooped food together and I helped focus on how she held the fork. It was a success. She also ran out of water. Molly offered to get her more as she was getting some for Ishi. I said, "no, Selina will ask when she wants some." About a minute later, Selina noticed her water was gone and tossed her cup. Then she looked at me and said "more". I said "Go get the cup and I will get more". She got the cup, I got her more water.

*I went in with her to bathe twice and we learned the word light, played "this little piggy", and said "honk" when I squeezed her nose and she squeezed mine. I changed her and put her shoes on.

She is really loving to learn more words and looks to me now to teach her what things mean. She is not remembering all of the words day to day but is loving to hear the words for things. She can produce a lot of the sounds and that is great. She has some crying spells when she has a need and can't get it met but they don't get worse, she calms down within a minute or so. I am not used to that!

It was a really nice day!

Edward stopped by to see us and I think all is well regarding us leaving early. He is taking us to make a donation tomorrow at a local orphanage and then we are going to the Accra market. It is Molly's last day as she leaves early Friday morning so we want to get these two things done. I will really miss her but I have been lucky to have her with me as long as she has been!

Back in Accra

Hello,
First of all, congratulations to Kman!! His recreation baseball team, The Red Sox, won the championship Tuesday night! They were seeded number 6 out of 8 and beat the number one seeded team! I love it when the underdogs win and am so happy that these boys did it! What an accomplishment! I am so proud of Kman for having a hit and for catching a foul ball over his shoulders- Kman- You rock buddy! I was cheering here in Africa for you!! RED SOX RULE!! You little baseball dude you!! I tried to call at 4 am (which would have been right after the game) to talk to Kman to see how the game went but my phone needed a card and so I couldn't! I got two cards today and so I will be calling you guys! I love you Cater and can't wait to talk to you! I miss you so much and hope you are having fun with Grandpa today!

Molly and I finally made it back to Accra! It involved us having to make a difficult decision. We left on Tuesday without Edward. His car had been in the shop since Saturday and we were supposed to leave on Sunday morning. On Sunday he was supposed to meet him for breakfast at 7am and he called at 6:20 and said that the car was not ready and it was broken and could we stay another night. We said that was fine and layed by the pool all day Sunday and relaxed.
On Monday we were supposed to meet at 11am to leave and he showed up at 12:30 and explained that the car was in the shop and asked if we could stay until Tuesday and that we would leave then. He said that he was going to have Percy (the driver) come to Cape Coast and after dropping Chalene off and that we would go back on Tuesday with him or him and Percy. We were not thrilled about staying one more day but it seemed for sure that we would leave on Tuesday and that Percy was coming and so we said that was fine.
We offered to treat the two of them to breakfast on Tuesday and so we had plans to meet at breakfast at 7am. We sat at breakfast until 8 and then sat in the lobby until 9 and then went to the room and he called at 10. I guess he cancelled having Percy come because he thought the car was better and when he went to drive it that morning it there was another problem and so he took it back to the shop. At 10 he said that we would be ready to go in two hours.
We waited in the room until 1pm and had not heard from him. We really did not want to stay another night and we knew that Edward would not want to drive in the dark and would not want to leave much past 2pm.
His phone was "locked" and so we could not call him but had to wait for him to call us this whole time. So we were faced with staying another night possibly or having Edward drive us in a car that was straight from the shop that may or may not be fixed with no phone (Chalene had mine so we did not have one either)to call anyone if there was a problem.
We asked at the front desk if they had a driver and they said they have used the same driver for 11 years and he is safe, his car is rented and he has airconditioning. We could leave in 10 minutes.
We decided to do this. We figured that this way Edward did not have to worry about us and could leave the coast whenever the car was fixed and he felt safe to. Edward felt so bad for the inconvienence and has been so kind to us, we know this was difficult on him.
I should also mention that I had a problem with something I ate Monday night and was having to use the restroom more than usual that morning. I was scared to death to leave but ate only bread for breakfast and at one o clock, I felt that I could safely go the four hours without stopping on the side of the road to do my thing. Remember there are no McDonalds here to go potty at! Did I mention that in America that I don't even like to use public restrooms so trying to go on the side of the road is several steps beyond my comfort zone. I was afraid that if I ate more, I could get worse and so the time to go was now.
So we hired the driver, paid the rest of the hotel bill and told them to give Edward the message and left... I can only tell this part as it is over and I am okay now mom!! :-)
The safe, airconditioned ride actually had no airconditioning and we had to listen to blasting talk radio most of the way but thankfully we made it into Accra before this man's car broke down. Yes you read right, it basically died on the road and he coasted into a gas station. We then had to unload our things and get a taxi to take us the rest of the way to Teshie Nungua.
So we arrived back at Rye Manor and thanked God. We went straight to Eban House so we could let them know we made it back so they could get a message to Edward. I guess his car did end up working and he also made it back to Accra that evening. I am happy of that and we knew it was a possibility. If we did not leave though, we feel it would not have worked out that way and we would have stayed another night. We felt that we would make the wrong choice whatever we did but one would have us in Accra and one would have us at the hotel. So the good news is that the three of us are back in Accra!!
It was just a very difficult decision to make to leave like that. I was missing Selina, Molly was going a little stir crazy and there were a few things she wanted to do before she leaves Friday morning.
The good news of this is that when I went to the Eban House, I had the best time yet with Selina. I held her a few times. She said "mama" and we laughed. I fed her again and we played games as she ate. I taught the kids the "Chicken Dance" before I left and if I started humming it, Selina would start waving her arms like a chicken! I was showing the aunties and they were laughing very hard. It was very cute.
It actually felt for the first time the closest I have felt to being her mom. It is very hard and I had a LONG time at the coast to think and worry about it but it is difficult when the child that comes to you the least and wanted nothing to do with you is the one you are taking home. Everyone else would sit on my lap and talk and play with me and Selina is by far the hardest to get through to. I can tell myself again and again that it will work out and feel confident that it will in time but that doesn't mean that it is still emotionally draining when you are trying to be with your child in front of all these people at the home and it is difficult. So to have had those moments last night were really so needed for me. Especially after a rough day of having to make the decision to leave, the car breaking down and not feeling well. They put a video on and Selina sat in my lap for awhile and pointed and got so excited at what was on the "tele". She will like to watch movies which will be fun as Cater does also. I can picture them laying down on our big bean bag watching movies together. Selina has quite the personality and is a little ham. I have a feeling that once she settles in and sees what she does that people find cute, that she will be doing that all the time! She also loves to have her picture taken. I have a few of her opening her eyes really wide and smiling really big. They are precious.
So I still don't know anything on the 1600 which is the paperwork I am sitting here waiting to be processed. I think Percy will call today. I have another problem though that I did not think would be a problem that is turning out to be a definite concern. I don't have Selina's passport. This is something that was supposed to come "the next day" since a few weeks before I came. The odds given to me about getting it in time were in the high 90's and so I came. Well now it appears the man that signs the passports is not at his desk for some reason and that is all we are waiting for. I can't file the visa without it so at this point if I do get the I600 it doesn't do me much good. My update yesterday from Mona was a "maybe this week" which is the worst projection yet. If my I600 is actually done in 10 working days, it would be done by next Tuesday or Wednesday. Now remember when I get the I600 and passport, I am not home free- I still need to apply for the visa. Visa's are only issued on Fridays so if I get the paperwork in early enough in the week it may be done that Friday, if not, the next Friday. That is where I am at paperworkwise. Please say a prayer for the passport as I am concerned about that now. I cannot control this situation so I only can wait and see how it works out and have faith.

Monday STILL AT THE COAST!!

Okay, it is Monday and it appears that we will be here another day. Again, this place is beautiful but I was looking so forward to getting back and seeing Selina and the kids at Eban House and to start working on my donations.

Molly and I got up had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and waited in the lobby for Edward, and waited and waited and waited. He walked up about an hour or so late and we knew by the absence of the car, this was not a good sign for our return trip.

So the car may take longer than anticipated so Percy the other driver will come to the coast tonight after he drops Chalene off at the airport. We will leave early in the morning. Molly and I will treat the two of them to a good breakfast first! This means that I will not get to see Chalene before she leaves which also bums me out. The sadder thing though is that Edward is a hard working man and we feel bad as he feels so badly about all of this. He could not stop apologizing and we know this repair is costing him more money. He offered to pay for our hotel the extra two nights but of course we will not allow him to do this.

So Molly and I took our stuff back to the room and waved another hello to all the staff we just had said goodbye to! We got on our shoes and went for a hike along the beach to the Elmina Castle. It is also a holiday here in Ghana so there were many people playing on the beach. Many people appoached us and said hello. Everyone was kind. Some people asked us for things but I did not want to start handing things out and draw a crowd. There was a cute kid wearing a Ghana shirt of the flag and so I asked to take his picture. He asked for something and so I gave him a Clif energy bar which seemed to excite him. He walked off smiling with his bar. Another kid approached us and wanted us to take his picture as he saw our camera. I said of course and so he went to smile and then all of a sudden made me stop while he got his dead fish from the bucket. It was his catch and he wanted it in the picture. It was lovely. Then he immediately wanted to see the picture but I let him know that he could see it after he returned the dead fish with the eyes that looked at me back to the bucket!!

Molly and I spent five hours at the pool yesterday looking at the waves on the beach and will be returning there now as we are hot from our walk.

I did not let people know that they can read about Chalene's trip at www.my7passions.blogspot.com. She lives five minutes away and is adopting two sweet twin girls from the Eban House. She is doing two trips instead of one long one like me so she has been in Ghana the last week. She did report today that Selina is getting more comfortable with her and her sister and seems especially willing to be held and played with at night (she is probably too tired to resist!) so it looks like I will need to plan to be there in the evening!

To Laurel and Cheri- I will pass your message on to Edward. He is wonderful and will be glad to hear all is well with you! To Kristin Jag- no latte, no tea- I am sorry to report that I am in a sort of "detox" if you will. I miss my tea from Wildflower Bread Company and my ice coffees so much but lets look at the bright side only three or so more weeks to go!! :-)

I do want to mention some of my favorite things that I am glad I brought for future families that will travel here:
My neck pillow from Target. I have used this to sleep on the plane in the airport terminal and I use it at the hotels as they provide one pillow and I am a two or three pillow girl!
My Ipod alarm clock docking station. I bought this last minute at Walmart for about $35 for my ipod and I can't tell you how much joy it brings me plus it has the time and an alarm. It is small and easy to use. I can't tell you how happy I am with it!
The Mary Kay Facial Cloths my mom threw in my pile last minute. I just used the last one but they were awesome as they were basically disposable washcloths. They do not give you washcloths here and those cloths did not have any soap or substance on them so I was able to use my facial cleanser and body cleanser on them. Thanks mom!!
Energy Bars: They really eat only twice a day here and so sometimes in the afternoon you can get a little hungry. I got the clif ones from Costco. To this point, this is the only bit of chocolate I have had that is dark and yummy. I was brilliant to get ones with chocolate- in them as they don't melt. Edward had his first one the other day and really seemed to like it so if you are with him, don't forget to pack him one!

What I wish I would have brought:
A sleep sheet: Molly has one and it is basically two sheets sewn together and you sleep in it. I do not have one. I don't like to sleep all in the covers so I sleep on the bed with a blanket. The one at Rye Manor is a little warm and it has lots of fishing like strings as it is coming apart and so when I get in bed if I don't turn it the right way, my toes get caught up in the strings. One night I went to get out of bed and all these strings were attached to my toes and started making the trip to the bathroom with me!
Hankerchief- Don't remember if it is on the list of things to bring but you will sweat unlike you have ever sweat before and so a nice hankerchief would do you good!

To Kman and Cater- I hope you had a good day with Aunt Julie and that you are feeling better Cater. I love you both and will call you when I get back to Rye Manor!

Happy Memorial Day

Jennine

A rainy lazy Sunday at the Cape Coast

Hello all,
I am still at the Cape Coast and it looks like we will be here another day as the car is in the shop and it is raining on and off.

The Cape Coast is beautiful and I love the sounds of the ocean waves and so it is not a bad place to be stuck!

Yesterday on Sunday, we were able to visit the Cape Coast Castle which is different from the Elmina Castle- they are both here in this area. The Cape Coast Castle is the one from which many slaves were brought to America. Again, it was so unbelieveable to be in the very rooms where so many Africans suffered and died. It makes it so much more real than the history books that we studied growing up. The conditions that the slaves were in at Cape Coast were so horrible and they were there often for six months. It is just so sad that this happened. So sad.

We were supposed to go to a funeral. We were so excited as the family knew we were coming and were happy to have us join in the festivities. Molly and I were really looking forward to it. We went to the area where the funeral party was set up and there was music blaring. The music was very upbeat and positive. The focus was on that the deceased was in a better place and so this was a time to party. Not only do they party but it is a place for singles to meet. Basically if you are on the lookout for a mate, you go to a funeral. I told Edward of how TR and I met on a blind date. He said his family would not approve of meeting a marriage partner on a blind date. He said he would have to tell his family they met at a funeral instead and that they would prefer that. So anyway, the funeral was rained out and they started packing up.

I picked up Selina's traditional outfit which was sewn the night before by a kind woman that did not want pay to do this for me. Anyone who knows me knows that will not work for me and so she accepted a monetary gift as I told her I would be so happy if she would go and get beautiful material to make something lovely for herself. She was very pleased. I also took her picture with the outfit. She cleared the area, brought her sewing macine out and pretended to be sewing in the picture which I thought was a hoot. She was so pleased to have her picture taken and then to get to see herself. She smiled so big to see herself. It was a wonderful memory.

Molly and I missed the drummers. We had heard that there were drummers on the beach on Friday and Saturday nights. We were so excited to go and see them. Apparantly there are no drummers here, no one remembers there being drummers and we seem crazy for asking if people were going to play the drums on the beach. We were bummed about that as we were looking so forward to it.

We also had a laugh about tipping. I guess you are supposed to leave a tip at the hotel here on the bed when you leave the room for the staff when they clean. We did not know this and so the first day, we were missing one hand towel and the second day we only got a bath mat and no hand towels and no bath towels. Coincidence- you decide but we called and asked for towels which came a few hours later. We had already left the room but we left a note with a tip for the towels. We got back and had extra towels. This morning the lady that cleans our rooms approached me in the walkway to ask if we were leaving. I explained our delay, verified that she cleaned our rooms the last few days and gave her a tip. I think the world is all good and we are at peace again here.

I also want to comment on menus here. Menus are an idea of what things may be on the menu. In waitress terms a lot of things are "86" (out of stock). The description of food is again, a general idea of what may come to your table. Case in point, ordered beef last night that was supposed to have onion rings on top (which sounded so tasty), it comes- no onion rings. I say, "Does this have onion rings and the server looks at me like I am crazy. Another example, pizza is on the menu here at this really nice resort so Molly is all excited to order the vegeterian pizza. She orders it and the server says, "we don't have the recipe for pizza" Nevermind that there are six different kinds of pizza on the menu. In further analyzing Molly and I feel that maybe he confused recipe with ingredients but it was funny nonetheless. Our final example was the chocolate cake.

On the second night, I noticed that there is a dessert menu and it says, "chocolate cake with sauce". I almost started crying I was so happy and realized my menu from the night before was missing the dessert page. So I ask if there is chocolate cake and the server says "no". I quickly regroup but decided we would go to dinner earlier the next night in hopes that there is chocolate cake. We do and the server says there is chocolate cake. I salivated for my first bit of real chocolate on this trip and was so excited for my chocolate cake with sauce. When it arrives, it is not dark chocolate and gooey as the cake of my dreams was, it was four pieces of loaf bread that tasted slightly of chocolate. The sauce- again the server looked at me like I was crazy when I asked about it.

The thing is that you don't care when this happens as outside these doors people are struggling to make the money they need to eat for the day. We are so spoiled with the wonderful things we have and how fortunate we are that the money we pay here at this resort for one meal can feed another person here for a long time. When you put it all into perspective it does not matter but I did want to mention it as something to note for the other families that will be traveling here soon. "Don't see chocolate cake on the menu and salivate thinking about it for two solid days!!"

Molly and I are just hanging out today enjoying the light rain showers. We watched a soccer match on TV and I believe we are going to do sudulo puzzles and race again. Molly does not like to race but I convinced her it would be fun so after some coaxing she agreed. She did win and so now she is up for more racing. I am a little rusty and sometings in the middle, I can't help but think, "HMM, what can I do when I get back to Eban House with Selina that might make her feel more comfortable with me?" so I am a little distracted but even if I wasn't Molly is faster- we do know from college that she is also smarter than me so this is to be expected- I am okay with it!!

Tomorrow is a holiday in Ghana and so we plan to travel back to Teshie and to our hotel. We were going to go to the market but I don't think it will be open. I am hoping to get to see Chalene before she leaves tomorrow. I was looking forward to getting a day together at Eban House but I guess that was not meant to be.

I look forward to getting back to the kids as we agree that we miss them. I will have lots of time to spend there and so I hope to get more information on them for the adoptive families that are waiting for more news of their children. We have a family that is adopting a sibling group of four. Two boys and two girls ages 8,6,4 and 2. Meeting these children, all I have to say is that she is so blessed- adding four kids to a family might be a scary thought to many of you but to meet these kids-you know in an instant that all will work out and God has blessed you beyond measure with not one but four beutiful and bright children. It is the same thing with a group of three siblings we have here. Two girls that are eight year old twins and a four year old boy. This group of three was actually on a wait list for a short amount of time before finding a family and these kids are so awesome. I have got to spend a lot of time with the twins as they love to talk and I could steal them and bring them home. They are so beautiful, so much fun and just love life. I am looking forward to getting to know their younger brother more as he is a little quieter- he does not come up and sit on my lap and start talking to me like his sisters!

I am looking forward to getting to spend time with Selina. I have come up with some ideas of different things I can do and ways to try to help her feel more comfortable with me. It is a litle hard when your child is the one that has the hardest time going to new people and trusting them but this is not uncommon in adoption and so we just need to work on it which is why I am here for longer. I know it will all work out given time and she will get used to us.

I best be going as it is 6 dollars an hour here for the internet!! I hope to get to post more when I return to the Rye Manor. Have a fabulous Memorial Day!

Talk to you soon,
Jennine

Friday in Ghana

Hello, it is Friday here in Ghana. I can't remember where I left off from before so if I repeat myself, I apologize...

Yesterday on Thursday, we woke up early and headed to the coast. The traffic in the city can be so slow. It would be very hard for me to drive here. You have to be so cautious and alert as there are people and animals wandering on the sides of the road throughout the entire drive. Add to this pot holes and the other drivers and it is really crazy! I get slightly nervous at times as to whether or not the animals and people will move far enough to the side so we don't hit them. They always seem to. It is especially nervous when the women on the side of the road are carrying heavy things on their heads such as about 10 1.5 liters of water and soda. I don't know how they do it but I find myself saying little prayers that the load stays on their head and they don't lose it as we are passing by inches away from them at 50 miles per hour! There are these signs that basically say don't drive tired and I was telling Edward (our driver) that I don't know how anyone can be tired driving or as a passenger with all this action so close to the car!

I was excited to get to the Cape Coast as this was one of my great uncle's favorite places to be. I can see why, the beach here is really beautiful. The Cape Coast is not too far from McCarthy Hill which was the last place he was living as a retired priest. When we passed McCarthy Hill, Edward said that it is where the rich lived so I have a feeling that his final retirement home was a little nicer than previous places he lived which made me feel good. I look forward to calling and setting up the time to go around with his driver and to see some places where he worked as soon as we get back from the coast.

When we arrived at the coast, we immediately went to the Elmina Castle which was one of the places used to hold Africans until they were transported to other countries as slaves. As I expected, this was very sad to see. It was hard to hear about how the 6 to 7 million Africans that went through this castle were treated. To see and be in the actual dungeons they were in and where so many died, was emotional. These rooms were dark, hot and had such little ventilation. I have always had a hard time hearing about the horrible ways in which human beings have treated each other in the past and even how they still do. This castle was something that once seeing, you will never forget.

Edward joined Molly and I for dinner last night which was wonderful as he was is a wealth of information. We so enjoy the stories he shares with us about Africa. He is from the same tribe that Selina is from and so it is good to hear about his people, the Ga tribe. He is a little shy and quiet but I think he gets a kick out of the conversation that goes on between Molly and I as we have been such good friends for so long.

Today we woke up and went to the bridges at Kakum National Park. It is a series of seven suspended very high one person bridges that you go over. It is not for those afraid of heights. As in my typical fashion to be the one in the family that does not take as many risks, I did not go on the bridges. TR can do that when he goes to Ghana and I promised Edward that TR will be our family representative to conquer the bridges. Molly, who is afraid of heights decided to do it and overcome her fear. She did a beautiful job, I am so proud of her and now I owe her a Guiness Beer that she will enjoy at dinner to celebrate a fear overcome!! Yea Molly!

We also went to the market today and I purchased material from which a traditional dress will be made for Selina. I am happy with the bright fabric I chose and cannot wait to see the dress which should be ready tomorrow or Sunday. I also purchased a few smaller instruments so that the kids can have their own little band when we get home. It should be lovely!!

Tonight, we will enjoy dinner with Edward and there will be drummers drumming on the beach which our hotel is on. Molly and I have been looking most forward to the drummers, and can't wait to experience it! After that it is ladies night, disco music at the hotel, but I am not sure that we will partake in that! There is a nice large group here from the University of Texas that we have met. Molly bonded with a few of them on the bridges and so if we see them, we would love to chat with them more as they have enjoyed two weeks here in Ghana so we want to hear about what they have seen!

I must go freshen up before the drumming...

To Cater and Kman- I love you!! I can't wait for an update on how you are doing! I hope you all have a fabulous three day weekend and I plan to check back in tomorrow...

Jennine

Embassy Appointment and Update

Hello, I tried to get on my blog from the internet cafe and was unable to for some reason so I am sorry for the delay in posts.

I had my embassy appointment to file the paperwork that I will be here waiting for to process. The appointment seemed to go well and the woman that I had to talk to was pleasant enough. At the end she said we will know in 10 working days. If that is really the case, that would be fabulous (or Fabu) but I don't want to get my hopes up so I will look at that as an idea of when we could know. Remember from there we file for the visas and so even if it is in 10 days, we still have about a week wait for the visas.

We are hanging in there. Molly and I feel we have our bearings a bit more and feel more comfortable even though we stick out whereever we go. Our hotel is so wonderful, I really can't say that enough as we feel so secure there. There are two younger women that work there and take great care of us. Adwoa and Mommy. Yes, her name is Mommy. It is kind of funny to say, especially when there is a huge (okay 7 to 8 inch) lizard in your room and you would like for it to be removed. We go downstairs going, "Mommy, mommy, there is a big lizard!" Thankfully there was a young man that took a hand broom and come up to our room. I looked at him, the broom and the lizard and thought, "this will never work" as his plan was to open the window and shoo it out the window. In reality, his plan was executed beutifully and we were spared big lizard guts on the floor. We have a small lizard that comes in and out of the room. We consider him a friend though and have not requested he be removed.

Selina is doing better. Today we had a few moments. At one point, I was teary eyed as we pointed at her and said Selina and then pointed at me and said "mommy". She actually said "mommy" and then we would clap. It was so wonderful. It was a breakthrough moment. Bonding with her will take time but she does so well with the staff here and when she smiles at you it just melts your heart. She actually did smile at me and with me so I felt so good and proud of her for starting to trust me a little.

Tomorrow Molly and I head to Cape Coast. I have heard it is beautiful and the food is good so the joke is that any time we need something, I say, "We will get it at the coast," like the coast is going to have a big mall like Scottsdale with all the things I can't find here. It will be fun to see how much the Cape Coast compares to what I have built it up to be in my mind!!

I have to run as I am thinking that this computer is needed again. To Kyle and Catey- I love you so much and I can't wait to see you! Keep having fun and I will talk to you soon.

Thanks for the prayers everyone and kind comments on the last post!
I love all of you AAI parents and your kiddos just got their welcome bags and the excitement went on for the better part of an hour. They are all so happy- so happy! We documented it well!

Jennine

I am here!!!

Molly and I made it to Ghana after a little excitement trying to leave New York. Appantly there was a little problem with a temperature gage and we had to turn back after dumping tons of fuel over New York and get a new plane. I will tell more about this later as it can be it's own post but that is not what is most important now!

I have been to the adoption center and have been able to meet our beautiful daughter Selina. She is cautious of us but has not cried! I expected her to cry and possibly hit her head and we had no tears so I considered this first meeting a success.
She is so adorable and is loving with the staff and so I can't wait until she gets to know us and is that way with us. I am taking it really slow and am just hanging out with the other kids and always looking at her and waiving and smiling.
She is just like her pictures- and for her size, she should fit perfectly into the things I brought for her so that is a relief. I could go into all kinds of detail but will just say that I know that I am so happy and pleased and I know that TR and Kyle and Catey will be so happy with their sister and she will love them (as soon as she gets to know them)! She will be shy at first- I bet.
For the other adoptive parents- I am in love with all the kids that are here. They are all so kind and wonderful. To the new parents with referrals- your children are all beautiful and so kind. Fabu- I just have to tell you (since I know your original request- that every thing works out and you will be so excited to meet your children)- You did good!!
The Rye House is wonderful. The airconditioning is a blessing you can't put a price on (but if you did, it would abe about $50 a night). When Molly and I walk into the room, we just sigh. We feel safe here and are doing well.
I already met with the man from the HIV children's home and will be going there next week possibly. I am bringing rosarys as the children attend Catholic Church and will probably help as he wants to start a farm so they can live off the land more.
Molly and I leave for the coast on Thursday and will be there until Sunday.
The internet is shotty here so if you don't hear from me, don't worry. I will post when I can. If you have something to tell me, email me or comment.
Thank you again to everyone that donated. Being here, I can tell you that your money will be used for much more here and is so needed, I can't wait to tell you more about what I will be doing with it!
Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to keep Molly and I as well as Chalene and her sister who arrive tomorrow.




God Bless,
Jennine

Donation Update: A HUGE Thank you!!!

I am in complete awe over the amount of money that I have with which to help children in Ghana. My latest total with still more coming in is......

$2300

Can you believe it?!!! I was hoping that I would be able to bring $1000 but thought that would be a stretch but to have $2300 is incredible!!

I want to thank those who have donated so far for trusting me to take the money you are donating and to do some good things that will directly impact these children. If you still want to donate, just click on the "Donate" button on the right. TR will be notified via email of your donation and he can let me know so I can add it to my total. I will accept donations as long as I am in Ghana! :-)

I already will be meeting with a director from this orphanage (Hardthaven) on Monday to discuss what we can do to help them out. I also plan to meet with a representative from this organization (SPANCO) to hear about their projects. I plan on using the largest amount of money though for the orphanage in the pictures below from my last post. Of all the things I have heard of, they are in the most need.

Thank you again for your very generous donations... May God bless you and help guide me to use this money in the best possible way. Together we will make a difference!!

Please consider helping...

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean.

But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. Mother Teresa

It is really important to me to be able to spend a portion of my time in Ghana helping the people there. I would love to help children especially. There are over one million orphans in Ghana. I am adopting one but there are so many more that are living in troubling conditions. I am so excited to be able to be in Ghana for several weeks (4-8) It will give me a lot of time to get to know people and to get a feel for those places I can help to make a difference.

Unfortunately, I will not have much room at all in my luggage to bring donations. What I plan to do instead is to bring money that I can use to purchase things in Ghana to help those places I have decided to donate to. By doing this, I am also helping the economy by buying goods locally.

Here are a few of the places I plan to visit...


ORPHANAGE IN KASOA...
There is an orphanage in Kasoa which is about an hour or so away from the AAI adoption center (Eban House). This orphanage is home to over 50 children. Until recently they ate one meal a day which provided little nutrition. They are in need of so much that it will be easy to see what is needed but hard to figure out what will help the most. Thankfully our adoption agency, AAI and some adoptive families recently put word that monetary donations are needed for a water borehole and extra food to supplement their diets. These things have been provided for the near future. I would like to go in and help with other things that are needed for their classroom and care. This orphanage has asked for help from our adoption agency in placing children for adoption and there are several children in our adoption center from this orphanage now. Since are planning to adopt another child in the future, there is a chance that we have a son that we do not yet know about at this orphanage.


To help you to understand the conditions at this orphanage...


Their classroom...

The alley outside their class...

A bedroom...

The kitchen....
HIV ORPHANAGE IN GHANA....
I also plan to visit an orphanage for HIV positive children and for those who are orphaned due to loss of their parents from AIDS. HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death in Africa and the majority of those that die from AIDS are adults who often time leave children behind. In many cases these orphaned children are not wanted by family members because their parents had AIDS or the children are unable to be cared for by family members because they do not have the means to do so. Either way these children end up alone and unable to attend school as they need to work to care for themselves and in many cases their siblings. An orphanage was established in Ghana to help care for some of these orphaned children.


DONATION TO HONOR FATHER FRAN...
I also plan to travel to some of the places that my Great Uncle Father Francis worked during his 53 years in Ghana. He was a priest at several parishes, helped open a few schools and touched the lives of many people. I will be meeting his driver and those that knew him. Through my travels tracing his footsteps, I plan to make a donation to a school or orphanage that was meaningful to him. I look so forward to these travels and helping to make a difference to those that knew Father.

Please consider helping me help others by making a donation that I can take with me to Ghana to help some of those in need. If you have always had the desire to help out in Africa but were not sure where to help or that the money will actually make it to those that need it- here is your chance. I will use it to help and will let you all know how I spend the donated funds. If you would like for your donation to go to one of the project more than another, just let me know. The money you donate will go directly to helping- none of it will be for my use or anything related to our adoption.

My goal is to collect $1000 by the time I leave! I know that goal is big but ask anyone who knows me- I dream big and I know there is so much to do there!!

I do have a paypal button on the side that you can make a donation at. If you would prefer to mail it to me, please email me at arizonadavidson@yahoo.com and I will send you my address.

Thank you for considering helping me to make a difference. It would mean so much to me. I know that when I am in Africa, I will see many things that will break my heart. This will be so hard on me. With the adoption, we have a little money set aside for me to use to help others when I am there but I want to do so much more than what I can afford to do alone. With your assistance, you can save me from calling TR and telling him I just spent all my hotel or travel money helping others and now we have no money left!!

Waiting...

I am getting closer to traveling. We are still waiting for our adoption decree. This paper is needed to complete the process to bring Selina home as. The courts have said she is ours, now they just need to fill out the piece of paper putting it in writing...

I am getting ready so that when the decree comes, I will have as little as possible to do. I am planning now on leaving on May 14 and if we don't get the decree at the beginning of the week, I will just move my plans ahead one week. I have learned that I need to be patient and flexible so I am trying to do just that as things will work according to God's plan, not my plan. If God likes my plan and wants me to go on the 14th, it will happen. If not, I will readjust.

If I was on a treadmill (which reminds me that I really should be on a treadmill)- I am doing a quick walk right now as far as my speed in completing all these projects I need to get done. When I get the call that we have the decree, I will go into a whole new mode and will work at a new speed that would short out the treadmill. Given that I will do that, it is probably best I don't have the decree yet. With the passing of my grandmother this week, I am still trying to get through until her services on Tuesday. I am just easing back into my planning tonight and trying to relax a little and get things around the house back under control given that I have been gone most of the week.

I look forward to getting some good news in the near future so that I will have real travel dates and plans on my new travel blog!! Until then, sit back and enjoy the music- sometimes we need to just take a moment and sing a song! :-)