A Visit to Marley Farms

On our day off today, I found the perfect place to take the kids... Marley Farms. This awesome farm is only a few miles away from us and I can't believe that I did not find out about it until recently.


According to their website... Marley Farms was founded in May of 2007 by Shea and Jessica Hillenbrand. The 25-acre farm has 135 stalls for indoor or outdoor boarding, four well-maintained arenas and new pasture turnouts.

There is also a petting zoo that the Hillenbrands make available to local youth groups that includes a variety of animals, including goats, camels, kangaroos, tortoises, llamas, as well as several other rescued animals. Shea and Jessica opened their hearts and farm to include this petting zoo for their non-profit organization, Against All Odds.

What is really cool too is that Shea Hillenbrand is a professional baseball player. Kman met him and another player who was also there today working on the farm. They will be holding a baseball camp there over spring break that I think we will have him participate in. For Cater, they have an animal rescue that adopts out dogs and all the animals there are rescued from across the country and so she was in her element as she loves animals and wants to have her own animal rescue someday. They will have a camp for kids that want to learn about the animals over break that I think we will have her do. And of course, Selina and Kwame had a good time with the animals. Kwame was a little nervous of some of them at first but came around quickly. So fun.

I just can't believe what a fabulous place exists so close to us. We spent a few hours just hanging out with the animals and talking to wonderful people there. A great day!

Kwame goes to school...

Kwame and his kindergarten teacher.

It was hard to decide what to do regarding school for Kwame. Several of the other kids that have come home from the same adoption center in Ghana have wanted to go to school very soon after coming home, especially if they see their siblings going to school. This is what happened with Kwame.

TR and I stayed home with him the first week and we did different things together over that week and just spent time together without the other kiddos (they were at school). One of the things we did was take him to his school. The principal took him on a tour and then I had asked the special ed and reading specialist to do a few quick curriculum based assessments with him so we could get an idea of where he is at academically. In doing so, we learned his strength is math and that for reading, he could read some sight words but did not have skills to sound out unfamiliar words. We decided to have him start in kindergarten. Even though I feel I could have caught him up academically to be in first, he gets nervous and overwhelmed easily socially and so I felt that the skills the kindergarten teacher works on with the class in this area would be very helpful for Kwame.

After that week, Kwame wanted to go to school as I expected would happen. I still was home with him for two more weeks before I had planned to go back to work.

So during that second week he was home, I started transitioning Kwame to school. On the first day, we went and met the class. I explained that Kwame is new to America from Africa and that he was excited to have friends and to learn about life in America. The kids were great and very welcoming to him. We stayed a few minutes to participate in circle time and then left.

It just so happened that on the second day, the class was going on a field trip to a local farm and park. It was the perfect opportunity for Kwame to get to meet his classmates and get to know them a little better. We met the class at the farm together and following the farm tour, Kwame wanted to go to the park for lunch and play so we did that also. It worked out perfectly as he met some kids that he took an immediate liking too and had a great time playing with them.




Over the next few days, Kwame went to school part of the day. That following week, we tried a full day and while he did okay one day, the next day, he got very overwhelmed after lunch. He was tired and he wanted me to come and get him.

I started doubting my decision to have him start school so quickly after coming home. His wonderful teacher and I decided to have him transition more slowly and only stay half a day for a bit.

Over the next three weeks, we have slowly extended Kwame's day and it has worked out beautifully. He loved having me come and get him after lunch the first week we did this, but then he started feeling more comfortable in school and wanted to do centers (which was what the class was about to do when I came to get him). The second week, we had him stay for centers and then the third week we extended the day one more hour. To help out with the transition, on different days, TR or I would go and volunteer in the class in the afternoon or would stay longer with him. Some days Kwame wanted to stay a little longer and on other days, he was exhausted. One day, when I got there, he was so tired that I waved my hand in front of his face and he didn't even look at it! Poor boy! Now mind you once he got in the car, he did perk right back up but he did take a little nap that afternoon!

The week before our winter break, Kwame made it two entire days and left only an hour early the other days.

Since winter break, he has been attending full days. He is doing a really good job. He has started testing us all a little, but is responding well to redirection. At school, some of the things that he gets to take a time out to reflect on are pretending to play the drums on a child's head with pencils, crawling across his desk and tripping a classmate. It happens most in the afternoon when he is a little more tired and the class is at a time when their activities are a little less structured (centers).

Kwame is really loving school. He is very diligent and conscientious about completing his homework. He has already made a lot of progress in reading. I think that part of his excitement and success has been due to us slowing extending his day. He does receive services from the English as a Second Language Teacher as well as from the Reading Specialist. He will start in a friendship group with a few other children from his class and the social worker.

I do think that my decision to put him in kindergarten instead of first grade was a good one so far. The first grade class is larger and there is one teacher while his class now has a teacher and assistant. We are also very blessed in that his teacher had Cater last year and was excited to get Kwame in her class. She really has helped make his transition smooth and has set up an environment in which the kids are excited to have Kwame in class and have been helpful to him. She also helps the class when things happen as a result of Kwame's limited time here and because of his past experiences.

One example of this is when he started horsing around with another boy. The boy got a little scared because Kwame was a little more physical than he was used to. Kwame did not understand and kept being more physical and was laughing. As a result, the kids started saying that Kwame was mean and that he hurt the other child (really the child was just a little scared). The teacher did a wonderful job talking to Kwame and helping him understand that he scared his friend and has to be more gentle and also spoke to the class about how Kwame was not mean and is used to playing a little differently and that he is still our good friend. It is the little things like this that make a huge difference in whether or not his transition and school experience are positive. While another teacher could be a little frustrated when things like this happen, instead, his teacher and I recognize that this is normal and keep in constant contact with each other. Sometimes we laugh about the things he does and says because he is pretty dang funny, even when he is testing the waters- which he has been doing a little of lately!




Hindsight is 20/20 but if I had to do it over again, I would have probably waited a week or two longer to start him. With that said though, it don't know how he would have been that week or two not going to school. I am so glad we have slowly transitioned him into the school. The academic demands and social demands are just a lot for an adopted child and by lunchtime, he was just exhausted. TR and I were fortunate that the school and our employers worked with us to make this happen.

I think that slowly transitioning him has made a huge difference in Kwame's attitude about school. Now he loves school and each night asks if tomorrow is a school day. One day he could not go because he had walking pneumonia. He was really disappointed and told me the doctor was joking and that he was not sick!

As much as Kwame is learning, his classmates are learning too. They have learned a little more about Africa and adoption. I have had classmates parents come up to me and tell me how their child talks about Kwame at home. Another classmate apparently prays for him nightly. I love that and feel so fortunate that Kwame is in such a wonderful school with a fabulous teacher and sweet classmates. I enjoy watching him so excited about going to school and learning.

Transitions...

We are asked all the time, "How are the kids doing?" My response lately has been, that everyone is a little displaced and we are looking for our normal.

We are transitioning into a family of six. The kids are all trying to find their place. It is going better than we expected. It is just a tiring time as everyone needs mom and dad right now!

I have worked on this post for a few days, typing than erasing what I have typed. There is so much to share that I don't know where to start. I can't possibly get every thing down so I will share what I have time to get down in my next few posts.

What I can say is that this is a tiring time as anyone that has gone through adopting an older child when there are other children in the home can tell you. I am behind on lots of things because just functioning is harder than usual right now. TR and I are needed so much extra and going through the day is emotionally draining because it is so wonderful at times and so hard at times.

Like Selina did when she first came home, Kwame got overwhelmed easily the first month. He could go out on one trip a day it seems before he was done and wanted to go home and play soccer or ride his bike. So if it was a doctor day, we did that and planned for that to be our only outing. His brain is processing so much and observing so much, he just got tired quickly.

The way that Kwame reacts when he is overwhelmed is that he just closes down. He may get quiet or may cry and mumble to himself. He just seems to get uncomfortable in his own skin and will move around a lot.

When he does this, I can usually pick him up and rock him and talk to him for a bit and he usually calms down or if he is tired, he will eventually fall asleep. It is hard to see him get upset but I am thankful that I know when it is happening and he is allowing me to comfort him the majority of the time.

In comparison to Selina, he was much easier as at this point in transitioning than her as Selina was inconsolable. She kicked, hit and screamed loudly for up at an hour at a time. It took weeks before she would let us touch her when she was having a tantrum. It was hard as we felt so helpless but at least we can help Kwame now especially when he communicates what he needs or wants. I expected Kwame to get physical with us but he hasn't.

Then a couple of weeks ago, Kwame started testing us more. He would do something and then look at me with this look on his face that said, "What are you going to do about this?" Then if he got in trouble, he would melt down. Sometimes the meltdowns were his typical meltdowns but sometimes it seemed he almost faked a meltdown to try to avoid getting in trouble.

This testing is hard because I have to decide how to handle each situation. Do I respond in a more strict and firm way or in a more nurturing way? I had to make a call to try to figure out why he was doing what he was doing and then respond based on what I believed he was trying to achieve. If I felt he was testing me, I needed to be firm and let him know that behavior was unacceptable but if he just wanted attention or was truly confused, I needed to be understanding and let him know that he just needed to let me know he needed me. Sometimes I made the right call and sometimes I blew it- I feel bad when I blow it.

Thankfully this is all getting easier as we get to know Kwame better and he gets to know us. We are learning how to quickly help him when he starts to get in a funk and when he just needs to have time to grieve. His life is becoming more predictable and so he is feeling more comfortable with his routine.

He is really doing so well overall, much better than we expected. He is such a resilient child, he amazes us. He is definitely a mommy's boy and needs time to snuggle with mommy every day. He is such a cuddler, I love it! It really helps with the bonding that he wants to be held and rocked every day. His eye contact with us is getting better as at first, he barely looked at us when we were close to him or were talking to him. We have not pushed this a lot but are just giving it time and it is getting better all the time.

Kwame is a huge blessing to our family. I love watching the relationships between Kwame and each of his siblings. I am off for a few weeks for the holidays so I will look forward to taking some time and discussing his transition in more detail... Stay tuned I think I am back!LOL

Mama found a grungy wall!

I just love the pictures of families that many photographers do where they are standing in front of really cool looking walls. So I am driving down the road about five miles from my house and find this wall. I couldn't think of anything else for the next week except dressing up my kids to coordinate with the wall and going there to take pictures.

Today was the day! I actually ironed their jeans and bribed them with the lure of the dollar store if they took nice pictures in front of the wall mommy found...

They did pretty good!

Please cover Jenni in your prayers

I have been following the blog of Jenni (The Comfy Place) for a few years now. She started her blog showing her beautiful crafts and scrapbooking and then she was diagnosed with cancer. She has battled it bravely but the doctors predict she will be called home in the next day or so.

Jenni, you fought such a courageous battle and have suffered so much pain. You have reminded me of what is important in life. In the end, cancer may have defeated you but not before you touched the lives of so many and made a difference in this world. I can't imagine the joy you will have dancing without pain and watching over your beautiful children.

May God Bless you and be with you.

2 Corinthians 4:16-15:8
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

The moment I met him...

I was so nervous the few minutes before I met Kwame. After all these months of knowing he was my son and not really knowing him, I was finally about to meet him.

It was really weird for me to be the third one in the family to meet him. Usually it is the mom that carries the baby and gets to know him or her before giving birth. With Selina, I spent a month with her in Africa and got to know her before bringing her home. This time, TR and Kman met and got to know Kwame for a week before I met him. I was excited for them and the bond that the boys in the family shared for having that experience but it was just so unnatural that I did not know Kwame first.

I think I got nervous right before meeting him because he is older. I looked in my closet and could not decide what to wear to meet my new son. I wanted to be comfortable but not too casual. I had on black capris and a mostly black top at first but decided that might be a little too much black and kind of satanic for meeting a child to wear so much black. At the last minute, I put on my jean capris with the black shirt because they were comfy and I realized that I will remember what I wear more than Kwame probably. I laughed at myself for trying on three different things and wishing I had painted my tootsies as my polish was coming off.

So we made it to the airport on time which was an accomplishment considering I felt it necessary to have the van washed really good on the way so he wouldn't learn it usually looks like we live in it for at least a few days! Since we arrived early, we actually had a few minutes to spare before the boys landed.

I think Cater was nervous too and wanted to make a good impression as she was being especially helpful with Selina and was watching down the corridor saying, "I think they are coming everytime anyone headed our way!"


I could only see feet and the bottoms of legs initially but when I saw the little brightly patterned Ghana pants, I knew the time was finally here.


I immediately started crying which I told myself not to do many times over the previous few days as I did not want to scare him by crying right away. Oh well, welcome to your world little man, mom cries easily!!LOL


Kwame was so sweet as he immediately ran up and gave me a hug! There is discussion that goes on in the adoption world about if you love your adopted child right away or if it takes time. For some it does take time and so there is a term that is used "fake it until you make it" about how if those feelings are not there, you fake it because eventually as time goes on, you will love your child.

I feel fortunate because that did not happen with either of my children. I loved Kwame from the moment I saw him and once we got the referral for him, I loved him even more. When the courts declared he was our son, I loved him like I did my other children. For me, the difference was that I did not know why I loved him. I didn't know yet what personality traits and things about him, I would love the most but I was excited to find out.

So here he was, this amazing child that just traveled for nineteen hours and he was really here and was hugging us. Kwame was a little quiet for a few seconds and then started asking for his sister Selina. He heard her name around the adoption center quite a bit before coming home as she is from there also, so he was excited to meet her!



The kids spent a few moments talking before Selina decided to have a huge tantrum on the ground right there (something about wanting her shoes off or something like that!) I think she was a little overwhelmed. Bless Kwame as he immediately tried to help his new sister! She decided to continue to be upset right through our first family picture at the top of this post (which is why she is not looking at the camera- she refused!)

Thankfully every thing looked better from atop her brothers shoulders so we made it out of there without further incident!


So there you have it, I loved our little man from the moment I met him. He is sweet and sensitive yet loud and passionate at times. He LOVES soccer and riding his bike! He loves his mom and likes to argue with Selina about how I am his mom and not her mom which is all fun and games unless one of them is tired!

As we walked out of the airport last Friday as a family of six, I am sure the witnesses thought to themselves that we have our hands full! I am blessed though because we do and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Kwame is home!!

The boys arrived home on Friday. It was so wonderful to have Kwame run up and give me a hug right away. He is such a sweet boy. I will share more about his homecoming and the boys time in Africa in the weeks to come but I wanted to share pictures and let you know that it is going very well over here. We are transitioning but it is going better than expected. Kwame fits in perfectly. We are blessed he is our son...

Coming Home!!!

TR, Kman and Kwame are on their way home! I am so excited I am finally less than 12 hours away from meeting my son! While I am so happy for me, I am prayerful that Kwame is doing alright. I can't imagine how exciting yet scary all this is for him right now as he gets further and further away from all that is familiar to him and gets closer to a different life with his new family. I pray that God will be with him and will help comfort him as he makes this transition.

A Good Time at the Coast

I actually got to speak to TR for about half an hour this morning.

They are doing well. They are in Cape Coast now.

Today they made it to one of two of the slave castles and the Kakum National Park. I wanted you to get a feel for Kakum National Park.

Here is a description...
Located in Kakum National Park in the West African country of Ghana, Africa's only canopy walkway is suspended 100 feet above the ground, offering you what is truly a bird's eye view of the rainforest. At this height, you don't have to be an expert to identify the colorful patterns of tropical birds as they glide through the forest below you.

You don't even have to climb to get onto the walkway. It starts at ground level, and as you walk along, the land below you slopes into a valley, and you find yourself twelve stories up in the forest canopy. The horseshoe-like pattern of bridges — made of steel cable, netting, and narrow wooden planks — are connected by tree platforms that serve as observation points for viewing the rainforest. You circle back to complete your tour on level ground.

Here is a video of it. TR and Kman did fine. Kwame was a little scared but made it across the seven bridges.



It was awesome as I was able to hear the boys laughing and playing in the background the entire time TR and I were on the phone. TR says they are getting along well and having a blast!

They all are doing well except TR has a slight stomach ache. That also happened to me and a few days of Imodium helped so he is hoping it is the same for him!

He leaves the Coast in the morning and heads back to Accra. In Accra, He will get to hang out with J and his dad, Jason. He is very excited about getting to see them. They hope to go to the Art Market together and maybe some swimming!

TR and the boys leave to come home in a few days so their trip is winding down.

He is still spending the rest of his donation monies and has given most if not all of his supplies away. As it turned out, he did not get to make all the trips he planned and get all the things he wanted to get done but we are super happy with what he has accomplished there. Most of all, the boys are all getting to know each other and are enjoying themselves.

TR described Kwame as curious, inquisitive, talkative, adventurous and respectful. He is eating and sleeping well and when TR has to correct him on something, he is doing well with it. I was concerned he might get really upset to be corrected and might be really sensitive to it but TR says he is doing really well so far. We are so blessed! I can't wait to get them all home as the girls and I are so excited to meet him! Thankfully only a few more days in which I have tons to do!!!

A Great Day in Ghana...

TR and the boys had a great day in Ghana!
First of all, my Kman turned 10 today in Ghana! Happy Birthday to my wonderful son. I am so proud of you for who you are and all you accomplish...


They started off going to Tema for church mass at Our Lady of Mercy which was the last place that my great uncle, Fr. Fran, served. TR said it was really great because the priest there knew my great uncle as did several of the parishners. At the church mass, they prayed for Kwame and for Kman (since it was his bday!).

Tema is a neighboring city to where our adoption center is. I always loved driving there or through there as the road to Tema is lined with the ocean and it is beautiful.. The day I took pictures of the drive, it was rainy...



After church, TR decided he wanted to take the boys to La Palm which is a really nice hotel. I don't know if the president stayed there or at the hotel just as nice next door to La Palm but in Ghana, it is of that caliber.
La Palm has many nice pools and restaurants, a little ice cream shop etc. I stayed there for three nights with Selina and loved my time there.

So TR tells the driver, "La Palm" but instead was taken to "La Beach" which is a touristy beach. He decided they would stay there and said they had a blast. He decided to wanted to take the boys to La Palm for dinner but I sounds like someone came up to Kwame and before TR knew it, Kwame had ordered dinner! I am laughing as I picture someone talking to Kwame in his native language and the next thing is dinner being served as TR tries to figure out how that happened! So he said their dinner was good and they still made it to La Palm for some ice cream before heading back to their much cheaper guest house for the night.

Here is a short video from You Tube of the beach that I believe they were at..


So it sounds like the boys are doing great together! TR said the boys have even gotten in trouble together which I find totally adorable!

Tomorrow they are headed to Cape Coast for two days of sight seeing and fun! Their trip includes the following...

They are staying at a hotel that looks fun

They plan to visit Kakun National Park which features rope bridges going across the rainforest. Here is my friend Molly who went to Ghana with me last summer on a bridge..


and Elmina and Cape Coast Castles. I also visited these slave castles. It is so hard to hear about how Africans were treated during this dark part of our history. You read about it in school and hear but to see the actual rooms that men and women were in was hard. I have included my pictures from these castles below.


I am glad the boys are headed to the coast. Through the contacts and groups I am involved with regarding our adoption, I have met an American woman who lives in Ghana about half of the year and runs a non profit helping send students to school. She lives on the coast and has helped TR plan his trip to get there. It has been so helpful to have that contact and I am excited the boys will get to meet Kathryn as she seems like a wonderful woman!

So that is today's adventure and what is planned for the next few days!!

TR has a phone!!

I am so excited as TR got the phone working so we were able to chat a few minutes...

The boys are having a wonderful time. I could hear Kman and Kwame talking in the background and I got to speak to them for a moment. I spoke to Kman first and it was so cute to her him say, "Kwame, do you want to talk to mommy?" He said "Yes" and got on and said, "Hello Mommy!!" as if he had been in our family forever. He was so sweet and sounded so relaxed yet excited.

I simply asked TR how Kwame is and if he seems to fit right in and he said, "Oh yes, without a doubt". I did not ask more as I know we will get to chat more and I will get to hear all the details when they get home and we are alone but it is so comforting to hear that TR is doing well and having fun with his boys!

Here is where they are currently staying, I stayed here with Selina last year. The room has a little air conditioner in it that was like heaven after a long day with no air or after a few hours in Ghana traffic!!



Today he was so excited to have been able to make a donation at a local orphanage. His driver helped him secure a truck and the filled it up with different food items, donations he had brought with him and a water tank as he was told they needed one to have access to water.

He said they really did not have much. Prior to him arriving, it was reported that the 26 kids there ages six and up share three toys, two dolls and a ball. Kman and Kwame gave them all soccer jerseys and brought four good new balls for them to play with. Additionally TR learned that they did not have electricity there and the cost to get it really was not much so TR paid for that.

TR was so excited to have been able to help and said that the people he met at this orphanage, CKO, were very polite, thankful and faithful in their love and belief in God. He felt blessed to have been able to help them and wanted me to pass on to all of those that donated, that he is so thankful as he felt he was able to make a significant difference because of your generosity. He sounded so happy on the phone as he told me about his experience, he was so so excited.

We only spoke a few minutes as he wanted to call all our contacts and plan his trip to the coast in the next few days... He is also taking the boys to the Catholic Church where my great uncle was a priest for many years. It is nice as the church is nearby so it is an easy trip to make. He will ask for the priest to say a prayer over Kwame as I did for Selina before I brought her home last year. You can my experience at the church here.


I also want to update you on Kwame's friend "J" who has been with Kwame as they waited together for their passports. I told you about them here. Well, J got his visa the same day as Kwame and his dad is leaving for Ghana in two days! TR and J's dad will be together in Ghana for two days and the boys will be able to hang out with their dads and Kman! Here is a pic of J, his dad, and Kwame.


Aren't our boys so handsome?!! How fabulous is that to know the boys are going home at the same time! Thank you God for that!


Thank you for checking in and again for your prayers and donations! I will post more when I hear more!

What TR had to say this morning...

"When we arrived, Kwame came running out of the house and leapt into my arms shouting "Daddy, daddy". It was incredible..."

I am so glad that he had such a wonderful experience. I have read that sentence a few dozen times today. I feel so relieved and at peace. Of course I want to know what happened after that and what happened with Kman and Kwame but like a typical man, his email was pretty short.

I do know that Kman played soccer this morning for 20 minutes before complaining it is hot and he was tired...that made me smile as he plays in our AZ desert here in the summer for a few hours at a time so he is used to it being pretty hot. I am sure he is just still exhausted from the flight and the experience so far so I am hopeful he gets good sleep the next few nights. Plus even compared to AZ, Africa is hot so it is not surprising.

I am so happy for them all and just pray that they are having a good time and enjoy getting to know each other.

I will update when I get to talk to TR and get all my questions answered- as you can imagine, I have a few!

Thank you for keeping up with us and keeping us in your prayers...

It's a Beutiful Day!!!

Okay, here is what you need to do...
1. Click on the video
2. Turn it up
3. Do a dance
4. Read below



We have Kwame's visa....

TR and Kman are in Ghana...

and are with Kwame now...

The adoption process to bring him home is over....

It IS a BEAUTIFUL DAY

This morning as TR and Kman were flying into Ghana, our adoption coordinator was given news that the visa process was complete.

TR was given the news that the visa that we needed was done right as he was picked up at the airport.

On my end, I found out the visa was done and it was confirmed that TR and Kman were in the car with our driver and on their way to the adoption center at the same time...

I was so excited... our family is officially complete.

We have in the process to adopt since April 2007 straight.

I feel as if the biggest weight has been lifted off of me. I was joking with my coworkers and asking them if I looked skinnier because I felt so much lighter!

I am so happy for my boys to enjoy the next week in Ghana, having a wonderful time and getting to know each other in Ghana, where Kwame is comfortable- the place he knows as home.

What I realized as I thought about it is that we had Kman, our oldest child, 10 years ago on Saturday. It has been almost 10 years to the day and our family is complete. Ten years of building our family... a life time of loving each other...

God is good!

Now I am waiting as patiently as possible to hear from TR and how today went...

Going, Ghana, Gone!!!

TR and Kman are Ghana bound! Thank you to all those that have made donations, TR and Kman are so excited to put them to good use! I look forward to keeping you updated while they are there. Unfortunately I probably won't get pictures while they are there but I should get emails and phonecalls. Woo hoo, our son is coming home!

The suitcases are out and we are filling them up!!

We are down to our last few days! Our suitcases are filling up and TR and Kman are just about ready to leave!

We have collected some goods including toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss from our family Orthodontist, Dr. Matt Jones... enough for FIFTY children!! Thanks Dr. Matt!

We also have collected some vitamins and pain relievers from several of TR's coworkers.

Kman loves soccer...

Here he is this season at one of his league games. He has been playing on a club team for about four years now and loves it. He decided he wanted to help kids in Ghana get to play futbol too by handing out jerseys and balls. So far, he has collected about 80 jerseys with a few more coming! This would not have been possible without the assistance of his teammates and friends from the Arsenal Soccer Club. Thanks to some of the families that have spread the word as we received many of the jerseys from a local high school! Kman was so excited to look at all the jerseys tonight as we washed them and folded them up to pack!



Our monetary donations are now over $2000!! We are so excited! This will allow us to do several things in Ghana to help orphans and those who need help. We know we will make a donation at the one orphanage we have mentioned in previous posts and I am working out details to get to the orthopedic center which is also the location of where my great uncle is laid to rest. I also am working on a few other things so I am confident we can easily spend any money given to us to help others as once you get to Ghana, it is easy to see where there is need and to lend a hand...

TR and Kman did get their visa back and so they are set to go! We are hopeful Kwame will get his visa to come home with us this week. While we did not get a visa pick up date yet, we were told to have our power of attorney go to the embassy starting Tuesday this week to see if it is ready... Once we have that visa, we are home free!

A huge thank you to those that are helping to fill our suitcases with donations or are clicking on the donate button above and sending some money our way to use to help others in Ghana. No donation is too small and even $5 can purchase a nice amount of water to give to an orphanage. Plus, just think, if you donate, how fun will it be to be a part of helping others and to wait to see where your donation goes and who it helps! Last year we were able to purchase an arm for a boy who did not have one... who would have thought they could be a part of changing a boy's life like that?

I know we are talking a lot about the donations lately and are putting out there what we are trying to collect. We only have a few days left and so I feel I need to try to do the best that I can to collect all the donations that we can. As you may recall from older posts that it is very important to our family to not just go to Ghana and adopt a child but that we also want to help those children that will not be adopted. It is estimated that there may be up to 1 million orphans in Ghana. Ghana is the size of Oregon and there may be 1 million children that do not have parents. That breaks my heart and we feel that we need to do something to help those left behind. We are blessed to be able to do so and feel that we are honoring our children to help those in the same situation that our children were once in.

Thank you all so much again for being a part of helping us to do so!

Kwame is not alone...

Kwame and his friend "J"

Kwame has been in the adoption center for over a year now. The way our timing went and because some things took us longer than other families, Kwame has seen friends come in and go to America. Even several kids that came after him left earlier.

Kwame has had one friend that has been there with him pretty much the entire time. The same week we received the referral of Kwame, J also found his family. While we seemed to get stuck along the way each step, J kept moving along and it seemed he would go home long before Kwame did. God must have had another plan though because Kwame's adoption timeline caught up to J. Then our family and J's family ended up waiting together for the boys passports for months.

In the time we have waited and prayed for our boys together, we have become friends. J's family lives in Oregon. They are a wonderful, wonderful couple and we are looking forward to keeping our boys in touch with each other. We have even talked about the dads meeting up with the boys and taking them to a baseball game together. We are sorry that their adoption has also taken much longer than they ever anticipated too. If it was God's plan for both of these boys to wait a little longer to come home, I find comfort in knowing our boys were not alone and have been together the last year.

We were so excited that our family and J's family got the news that the boys received their passports on the same day and we were excited and hoped that maybe we would end up in Ghana together picking up the boys.

We both had a little set back that makes it appear that we may not travel at the same time after all. They are still working on getting their set back fixed as we are also waiting for the visa pick up date for Kwame.

We would appreciate any prayers that both of our boys get to come home at the same time and that that time is next week. It would be so wonderful and comforting for the boys to get to go home at the same time as they have been together on this journey to finding their forever family together...

Seven days!!!

Seven days and counting...
Donations and offers of donations are coming in and we are getting closer to having things fall into place so TR and Kman can actually leave next Wed!

TR mailed the visa for him and Kman on Monday to Washington DC and is will arrive back tomorrow! How is that for quick? Of course we paid about $100 in postage there and back but at least it was worth it and we are getting it in time!

Kman is collecting soccer jerseys and will purchase some soccer balls in Ghana as he wants to give them out at a few orphanages. His soccer club as well as a local High School have really spread the word and it sounds like he will have enough to hand out!

Kman's orthodontist, Dr Matt Jones is donating toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss. We are thrilled to pick it up tomorrow as it will be enough to help all the children at the orphange we are making a donation at!

We have been especially blessed by TR's workplace. While some people knew about his adoption, after consideration he decided to send out an email to his entire workplace and we have been blessed by their support and encouragement.

We are so excited not only to be going to get our son but to be able to once again help others when we are there. For those that know us, you know how important it is for us to not only adopt but to do something to help some of the other orphans in Ghana. Thank you so much for helping us to help them!

Eight more days...

g2-47 from AAIGhana on Vimeo.

...so now can you understand how we can have fallen in love with a child we have not met yet?

Getting ready to leave... and helping us help others...

This is the first picture I have of our son from September 2008...
Here is one of the most recent I have of him as another visiting mom reads him a letter we wrote him...

We are so excited as we are getting ready to head to Ghana to get Kwame. We have purchased our tickets and are just waiting to hear our visa pick up date. Once we have that date which will hopefully be in the next few weeks, we will know if we can actually leave or if we have to change our flights. We are hopeful we get to fly out as scheduled...
I have been crazy busy around the house nesting. We had a garage sale today which helped us make a little money to help with costs once in Ghana. The boys room is almost ready. I tore it apart and am almost done putting it back together.
I am so thrilled as TR will bring out the suitcases tonight so I can pack Kwame's things and start getting donations ready.
As I did last year when we went to Ghana, I added a donate button on the sidebar for those that want to help us help those in Ghana. Last year, we collected over $3500 in money so that we could do some different projects when I was there. To read about what I did with that money, go here. If you visit the post, summarizes our projects but links you to the individual posts that go into detail on each of the donations made.
TR and Kman will be going to Ghana and hope to be able to do a few things when they are there to make a difference for those in Ghana. I have some ideas of what we would like to do and am very excited. This year our personal finances are much tighter (as this is our second adoption in two years) and so in advance we want to thank those of you inspired to help us help others. All of the money you donate will go directly towards helping others as we did last year.
As plans fall into place, I will update the blog and plan to update throughout TR and Kman's trip so check back in with us! Woo Hoo, our son is coming home!!!

Praise God, We have a Passport!!

We received the fabulous news this morning that our son now has a passport! We are thrilled beyond belief and I took one minute to celebrate before I moved on to planning for the next steps!
We just now need the visa and then TR and Kman can go to Ghana to bring Kwame home! We are hoping to have him home in the next month!
I am so excited to have so much to do to get ready for Kwame's arrival!
We are so thankful that our time has come and that our son will be coming home...

Stay tuned because now it really gets fun