THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! WOW!! We are so thankful to those that are helping us help others in Ghana by giving monetary donations or helping us fill our suitcases...
Our family:Gene and Laura Meyer, Tom and Kathy Davidson, Gene and Mary Warne, Noel and Elaine Simmons, Joanne and Lyn Simmons, Kristen Spencer and Scott Sanders, Kristen and Gray Fontenot,
and friends: Ginny Westerby, Char Fujino, Pam Bradley, Rebecca Dorsett, Bryan Thomas, Mark Wagner, Todd Muilenberg, Bonnie Cross, Mary Garcia, Fran Klein, Chris Hall, Colleen Gaba, Chief John Cocca, Director Helen Gandara- Zavala, Commander Burl Haenel, Kevin/Christine Furia, Ginger/Jeff Golden, Doug/Diane Montemayor, Bill/Mary Ita Smyth, Chief Sean Duggan, Kim Miller, Cody/Carla Standage, Mike Hanafin, Pat Lomonaco, Terri Terlazzo, Donna Mulvey, Steve Capone, Bruce/Marcy Fredette-Roman,
Denise/Mike Mueller, Molly Lyons, Dr. Matt Jones, Coach Michael Doerr, Gloria Roberts, Paul/Nicole Rogers, Brooke Scritchfield, Monty Thomas, Soccer teammates- Jason, Edward, Jack, Gunnar, Jarret

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I am headed home!!!

I filed for and received the visa approval yesterday!! It was not without some unnecessary drama but in the end, I had it!! I guess I am the first one to file and get it that day! They wanted to give it to me on Friday but I asked them nicely if I can get it earlier as my kids at home miss me. They checked and told me to come back in the afternoon to pick it up! Praise God!!

So after two and a half hours on the phone and waiting for Delta to call back, we have flights for Friday! I will fly on a Friday the 13th that will never end as I leave early in the morning from Ghana and because of the time differnce, I will also arrive home on Friday the 13th. I also have Selina as a lap child because I cannot pay the extra $1200- $1500 they want for her to have her own seat. I just can't do it- we will make it through. So in short, I will have a toddler on my lap for the longest Friday the 13th I will ever experience!! Please say a little prayer for us!!

In the meantime, I take custody today. I am having little treats after lunch and then Selina and I head to a really nice local hotel for three days. It actually is a five star resort which is a nice place to start your new life! Thanks to their willingness to negotiate on the price, I am saving a lot of money so we splurged!! We need some good bonding before the plane ride as TR said!!

I may not be on internet as much or as long as I will have Selina with me from here on out so I will try to post a quick note to keep everyone updated until I arrive home!

Thank you to everyone that has said prayers for me. This really could not have gone much faster and I believe it is in large part for all of you who have checked in with me and prayed for us. My bonding with Selina is so much better than I ever expected at this point.

Another father is here visiting his daughter and yesterday Selina went up to him and was showing him her book and pointing so this gives me lots of hope for her to meet TR and the kids! She just seems much more comfortable with people and strangers in general. She will still grab on to me but given a minute or so, she starts to relax.

Also thank you to all you that donated. I am spending the last few hundred dollars and will update more on what we did when I return. We were able to make a difference to many people here and for you to trust me to do that and to make a donation to help those here that needed it- I am really so appreciative of your generosity! :-)

So I am off to get some last minute shopping done before the party...

Have a great day...

thanks again...

Jennine

Sunday, June 8, 2008

A wonderful day...

Selina and I had a really wonderful day. I arrived at the home early this morning as I wanted to take her to church at the Catholic Church in Tema where my great uncle was before he retired. He was there from 1987- 1996.

We arrived for church before the mass and so I went and met with the priest there. Selina had fallen asleep in the car and was still sleeping.



I asked the priest to baptize her and so he did. She will have a formal baptism when she gets home but in the meantime, I feel better that she has been blessed! I also asked to have the mass said for my grandmother.



Church was about two or three hours. It was a sea of Africans and Selina and I. I say this as I had to walk from the back of the large church to the front for communion and to give my offering and everyone looked at me. Kind of like when you get married and you are the bride. It was a nice mass though and several people came up to greet me and remembered Father Beem and were happy that I had come. The priest ended up saying that mass for my grandmother and so it was nice to have had her remembered while I was there.



Selina woke up for a large part of church but was still tired which made it interesting. She started babbling loudly. It doesn't go over quite as well in Africa- I was getting a little extra attention and so we went right out the door and I was able to easily watch the mass from the overflow area. It worked out beautifully. She fell asleep again prior to church ending!

After that, I had our taxi driver, Augustine, take us to two of the hotels that I am considering staying at with Selina. Augustine was so good today and helpful. He took us to church and waited the three hours, drove us to check out the hotels and waited for us when we went to lunch. He also said that he had his brother go get a gift for Kman because he wanted to give him something. I don't have the gift yet as it is coming from another region of Ghana. So here he is- a taxi driver in Ghana that makes probably about $30 a month after he pays for gas and pays the man who owns the car and he is buying something for Kman? Another example of how kind people here are!



Now to some people, it may not matter what hotel I stay at, but those who know me, know how I can be when I get an idea in my head! I wanted it to be a nice comfortable place where Selina and I can have some room. The first hotel was exactly what I wanted. It was all on one level and is spread out with walkways and grass so we can walk around. There is a HUGE pool area with about six pools including a kids pool that had about 10 little kids playing in it. It also had a fountain in it. There are three restaurants there- including one with Ghanian food (for Selina) and one with American food (for me). There are tons of big chairs everywhere to sit. It was just what I wanted.

The second hotel is multiple stories in which there are a lot of steps to get where you are going. This may not seem like a big deal but Selina can barely manuever a few steps still so she would have to be carried up and down most of the places we went at this hotel. I want her to be in a place where she can get around easily and independently if she wants to walk on her own and run around. So there is not much space to walk around and no grassy areas. There is a pool with a smaller kids pool but it was deserted wheras the other one had a tons of families around. So to make a short story long- I will have wait to find out the prices but I plan on staying at the nicer hotel!

We ate lunch at the second hotel and it was okay.



We had the interesting experience of a lizard waiting for Selina's table scraps. Yes, not just one but a few showed up at different times during the course of the meal which made me eventually eat with my legs elevated (a good thing to exercise the legs while eating pizza though). Selina liked the first lizard well enough but by the third was a little concerned and sat in the corner of her chair!



Selina also peed on me. She woke up right when we got to the restaurant and as she woke up, I felt a warm sensation on my clothes! Oops, the adoption center accidently sent her in the wrong size diaper (they had a few extra infant sized diapers in the room with Selina's)so needless to say, she had some overage!

Thankfully I had brought not only diapers that fit but an extra outfit for her. As for me and my clothes we just had the potty! With all the sweating I do, what is the difference anyway? I was able to rinse the spot so I was fine! Just one of the bonuses of parenting- you gotta get peed on and puked on at least once by each of your kids so we got at least one of them out of the way!

It was funny as the house mother at first acted like I was crazy and Selina's diaper size was the right one until she went to look and saw that there were two sizes out! Then she felt bad but I gave her a hard time and we had a good laugh about it!

I go to start the visa process tomorrow. I am not sure how it all goes but I will know soon enough! I called the airline and asked about flight availability and prices and all looks good for me to leave on Friday or Sunday. I prefer Friday but won't know for sure until Tuesday.

It was such a great day with Selina that when I was at the hotel, a part of me just wanted to call the house and say, we are staying here! I am really ready to take custody but I also have to consider Selina and the aunties at the home. I started telling the ladies last night that Selina's last day will probably be Tuesday. They were surprised at first as they don't really keep up with where everyone is at in the process and all the details. A few just nodded and looked at me and I could tell that they were trying to keep their composure. I am glad that they know and can spread the word as it is obvious she is really loved here. They are the ones that saw her come in unable to walk or say anything. They have taught her to walk and have watched her flourish in their care. I know that the day or two that I wait will mean a lot to the aunties and Selina will just be at a place where she is loved and cared for a day or two more. I know that she will get some extra love and attention as everyone has their time with her.

Have a great evening...




Jennine

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Thank you...

If you read my last post and prayed at all it worked!! My headache is gone (I also would like to give a big thanks to the 4 advils I took!). I also just spent a few hours with Selina and we had a great time! She can now make a few more sounds including a more consistant "d" and when she ate, she held the spoon herself and scooped her own food most of the meal without too much mess!

The last two days have been hard. Yesterday I visited the Kasoa orphanage and saw conditions that bring me to tears just thinking about it. I saw pictures before but seeing it in person and after rain with standing water- It is something that you just can't walk away from and forget. It will forever be in my mind and if you know me, you know just how sensitive I am and so this is just heavy on my heart right now.

I also went today to an orphanage for children affected by HIV. They either have it or have family members with it. While conditions are not great here. They are better than Kasoa. I really like the orphanage director, Edem. He met with me here at my guesthouse the first day I was here and then I saw him at the orphanage this morning. He called me this evening to thank me again and to let me know how he has already spent the monetary part of our donation. It was very kind of him and we agreed that we will keep in touch. I took some of the most beautiful pictures of the kids there today and I am excited to share a few with you.

I am just praying that they will give me a good idea of how long I will be here when I go to the visa appointment on Monday so I can make the most accurate guesses on flights and hotel accommodations! I will be taking custody of Selina as soon as I can get every thing arranged- and you know me once I get going on something so it will be quickly after my appointment! I am really excited to get to be alone with Selina and together 24/7 although I think the nights will be a challenge at first!

I will post more when I get a chance in the next day or two. I am still really tired and need to work on some paperwork for Monday so I will have every thing set for my appointment and can get every thing done to take custody of Selina!! I am hoping to take her to a Catholic Church tomorrow morning so hopefully that will work out!

Thanks again for the prayers and especially to Mary and Erica for going shopping for her!! You are so funny! :-)

Jennine

Quick update...

Hello, just wanted to let everyone know that all is well with me. I did the donation at Kasoa yesterday and traveled to do a donation at Hardthaven today.

I am exhausted as both days were over ten hours and I am mentally spent right now as well as sporting a huge headache from little sleep last night.

I am heading out to see Selina. I will try to post tonight if I can.

Yesterday morning I got an email letting me know I can take custody of Selina when I wanted. Yesterday afternoon, I was told on the phone that I should have really taken custody of her Wednesday. It is hard to be told you are not doing something the way that is wanted when you did not know how it was supposed to be done and you are getting told different things by different people. I originally thought it was preferred if you took custody once the visa is issued and I had planned to stay a few extra days after the visa was issued to transition with her in my care here for that reason.

At this point, I am trying to get to the visa appointment so I can get a sense of when I will get the visa so I can make all the appropriate arrangements as I don't know if I am here for three more days or 10 more days and it makes a difference in what I will do with Selina for all this time and where we will stay.

I am excited to take custody of her but am just trying to make the arrangements now as fast as I can to help ensure as smooth as a transition as possible.

To my friends and family, please say a little prayer for me as it has been a hard two days.


Thanks,
Jennine

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Still in shock...

I think I am still in shock that the I600 was approved. I think they expected me to come in the office doing the happy dance this afternoon but I think a part of me still is confused about what happened. I am excited but supposedly this happened last week so while it is new news I am confused about the documents and such needed this week. I am just nervous and new to this process. I think I will be more excited when I go to get turn in the visa paperwork and am sure that the I600 really was approved and I am on the next step! I tend to try to protect myself as adoption is really not for the weak of heart!

I had a wonderful afternoon with Selina. She was in a really good mood and we all played outside. The kids really love going outside and Selina loves playing on the playground equipment that so many of you helped provide through the fundraiser that Chalene and I did in January. Here are some pictures of her having a good time. She is such a ham and loves to pose for the camera! Look at that face!









As I mentioned earlier, I did meet Selina's birth mother. I am glad that I did this and that we had time to talk to each other. She does not speak English and so Percy interpreted for us. It was a nice conversation. Her mother gave me a picture of her with Selina and another one of just her from when she was a bit younger. I gave her a picture album that has pictures of Selina and us as well as the last photo of her and Selina.

Selina's past and the circumstances leading up to her needing to be adopted are something that TR and I have decided that we will not be sharing many details about. It will be Selina's story in the future. We are confident that we adopted a child that was in definite need of a home. As many of you do know, she came into the home unable to walk or talk and in definite need of better nutrition. Thankfully she is doing really well today and I am confident that with more help, she will continue to make the remarkable progress she has made in the past six months.

On a side note, I met Selina's mother at Selina's first school. This school happens to be run by Percy (Percy wears many hats). It is a free school for children whose parents cannot afford to send them to school. Percy told me about a new boy that is at the school that was born with only one hand and forearm. I got a picture of Percy and this sweet boy. Now that I just happen to come across a wonderful place that helps kids with missing limbs yesterday... I can only think that this boy was shown to me today for a reason. Please pray God has a hand (and arm :-) in this and that I am supposed to help him get into this special program.

I600 APPROVAL

We have been approved for the I600! Anita called me today while I was meeting with Selina's mother. Apparantly we were approved last week... You read correctly... last week.

I don't quite understand the mix up as Percy said that on Monday when he took them the paperwork that they said that it was still in process but when Anita called they said it had been approved last week.

Either way, I am getting closer to bringing Selina home! We will go file for the visa on Monday morning first thing. I will kindly ask them to issue it for me as soon as possible hoping that it will be done next Friday. If it is done next Friday, I am free to leave with Selina after that.

The meeting with Selina's mother went well.

I will update more later as I have not seen Selina today and am anxious to get over there!

Thank you God- for bringing us one step closer!!





Jennine

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Selina's back...

Selina returned to the house this evening right after dinner. Poor girl, she was hot and tired.

The best that Anita and I can figure out is that they wanted to see or verify her "special needs". There is a question on the I600 about if the child has a special need or something to that effect and since all her medical paperwork refers to her intial inability to walk and weakness in her legs, we listed that she has weak legs. So maybe they wanted to see her legs. Either way, they gave her a full exam and were done with her. Hopefully every thing will move along now!

I was happy because when she returned, I went up to her and she immediately let me hold her and put her head on my shoulder. It was so sweet. I now take it for granted that she once had such a hard time with me. When I get back, I will have to show the video Molly made of us meeting for the first time. It was really sad. Her body language was saying, "get away from me!". She would not even look at me!

She does get stubborn that way. When I was feeding her rice with vegetables, she wanted only the rice. If I tried to sneak a vegetable on the spoon, she immediately turned her head and shook it! Nevermind that she has eaten vegetables every other day that I have fed her- tonight, she wanted none!


So my next few days might be busy. I am supposed to go and see Selina's school and meet her mother tomorrow. Friday I go shopping for donations in the morning and go deliver them to Kasoa Orphanage in the afternoon. On Saturday, Percy and I are supposed to go to the HIV positive orphanage to make a donation. The trip on Saturday will be about three hours each way. I have already strongly suggested and offered to pay for a rental car for the drive on Saturday which Percy seemed good with. I am going to try to reduce the chances of breaking down! We will see how it all goes! I am excited to be working on making the donations here. As you all know, it was very important to me to do things to help other children that are here that may never be adopted. I can't wait to share with you what I have done!

I want to thank those of you that are praying for me. It really means a lot to me that I have so much support from home! This includes all my family and friends that are helping to take care of Kman and Cater as well as my AAI friends that are with me in spirit almost 24 hours a day thanks to the insomniacs! Another parent is coming to meet her daughter on Saturday and I can't wait to have someone to chat with and see at Eban House!

I have been here 18 days already and have been away from my family for 20! I can't believe it! I miss you guys so much!

Kman and Cater- I am sending you lots of love and I bought you both a little present the other day that I will be so excited to give you when I get home!!

Have a great evening!

Jennine