CHOCOLATE PEANUT FROGS

They Are My Happiness

2011-05-18T04:14:00.000-04:00

April 6th

2011-04-06T22:58:00.020-04:00

What is so important about April 6th?

April 6th in History

0: Earliest recorded solar eclipse
1789: US Congress begins regular sessions in Federal Hall, NYC Lobbyists only arrive later
1830: Mormon church founded in the United States
1896: First modern Olympic games begin in Athens, Greece
1909: The North Pole reached for the first time, by American Robert Peary
1917: The United States enter World War I
1965: Early Bird, world's first commercial communication satellite, launched

April 6th Birthdays

0: Jesus (according to scholars' estimates, Religious leader)
1483: Raphael, Italian painter
1671: Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French philosopher
1866: Butch Cassidy, American 'Wild West' outlaw
1874: Harry Houdini, Famous escape artist
1928: James Watson, American scientist who discovered DNA structure
1929: Andre Previn, American conductor

April 6th in Church History
1830: The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized.

1853: The cornerstone of the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated.

1877: The St. George Utah Temple was dedicated (the first temple built in Utah).

1893: The Salt Lake Temple was dedicated by President Wilford Woodruff .

2000: The Palmyra New York Temple was dedicated.

2011: Kofi was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We are proud parents and are so happy that Kofi has made the decision. He worked hard, studied it out, and made the decision for himself.

Congratulations, dear son!

We are truly blessed to have you as our child!!

God has been good!

New Job, New Home, Early Christmas

2010-12-15T20:57:00.001-05:00

Christmas arrived early this year for our family.

We had to make a special request to Santa to come early.

~~~~~~~~~~

Several months ago, like many of the other thousands before us, and after us, we lost our job due to the economy's cut backs. Despite the ill timing (as I think it always is for anyone to lose a job)

We were not scared - we trusted in God to lead and guide us.

Lead and guide us he did - all the way to the other side of the continent.

So we have but a few weeks before we need to be moved.

~~~~~~~~~~~

So, that led us to ask Santa to come early since we would be in transit when the rest of the country was celebrating Christmas.

It began with an early visit to sit on his lap and discuss the desires of childhood.

Kofi, our ever wise and practical child,

asked for socks, shoes, and just a few little toy people to play with his cars.

Sufi, our more impetuous and fanciful child asked Santa for candy canes and green hotdogs.

Although, he did recieve a couple of toys, the grin of satisfaction only came out when he saw the candy cane in his stocking.

Kofi was thoroughly pleased with his little people...and candy canes.

The biggest candy cane there ever was.

It will take months for these two to eat it.

Pabbi and Mamma are glad to have this part of Christmas over and have the space to focus on packing. However, on Christmas day we can fully devote the day to our Lord and Saviour...even in transit.

But no matter what and where we are this holiday season,

WE WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Forever Family

2010-09-28T23:23:00.060-04:00

It is amazing at how fast time flies.

It is amazing how much our babies have grown.

It is amazing all the things we do and have done in such a short time.

But the following was one of the most amazing days we had.

We visited our

Temple in D.C.

We are a Forever Family.

A night shot of the D.C. Temple.

The Christus Statue at the Vistor Center.

In the past year and a half we have struggled and blossomed as we have strengthened our family bonds.

It has not been easy to forge these bonds, but we are seeing many successes.

We are blessed in our
faith
of
eternal
and
forever families.

Happy 1st 'Gotcha" Anniversary

2010-03-19T02:08:00.000-04:00

March 18th/19th is the celebration of our 1st 'Gotcha' Anniversary = the day we all arrived home in the U.S. All of us can hardly believe how fast time has flown.

It has been ONE year since our boys came home. A year ago four of us boarded a planie in Ghana and headed to the U.S. ONE year ago we put a screaming child into his first car seat, the other child realized he had never felt cold be so COLD. Both had their first American meal of W.endy's chicken nuggets and fries at 12:30 am MST. -they were hungry after flying for 17 hours, and being enroute for an exhausting 24 hours.

What a day of nerves, excitement, exhaustion, and a feeling of "Finally - at last."

The last year has been filled with ups and downs, lots of smiles and tears, tantrums and tickles.

Although, we have been a family for only a year, we feel like we have always been together.

At this time, we want to thank everyone who helped us build our family. We could not have made it without your help and support. Thank you for eveything!!!

The following posts are filled with pictures looking back over the year and our most recent shots.

ENJOY!!!!

We certainly have!

Our Family: Then and Now

2010-03-19T02:07:00.000-04:00

March 19th, 2009

March 18th, 2010

Looking Back - March 18th 2009 - Flying Home

2010-03-19T02:06:00.001-04:00

March 18th, 2009 we began our adventure home to the U.S. Waiting in the Ghana Airport.

Sufi was thrilled to see the planes. He squealed in delight. I still can't beleive those sores on his face. He was quite the little trooper to fly for so long while suffering.

Kofi waiting patiently, anxiously, nervously, and excitedly for his first plane ride.

Settling in for the long flight. Kofi couldn't believe how big the plane was. We had described and prepared him the best we could - but nothing can take the place of seeing something for yourself.

Sufi eyeing the camera - he wanted to play.

Kofi feeling tired but to excited to sleep. He later did fall asleep and slept for most of the flight home.

We are on a truck being transported from the plane to the concourse. Sufi can't get enough of the planes.

Kofi a little wary but curious about the whole process.

Our first meal at home consisted of french fries and chicken nuggets. What better way to indoctrinate children into an american style of childhood.

This year, for our 1st "Gotcha" Anniversary we celebrated
with chicken nuggets and french fries
to recall our first american meal together.

Looking Back - First week at home

2010-03-19T02:05:00.000-04:00

Our first week home we were busy trying to find a routine and adjust to being a family of four.

Kofi LOVED his bed.
He didn't have to share a room or a bed anymore.

Sufi was quite discontented.
He ended up in our bed for several weeks - he refused to sleep alone.
Poor guy - his face sores did not help. Sufi found comfort being on our backs.
Especially when food was being prepared.

Kofi loved going to the store and trying on some suits for church.

We love this face.
Awww... food = comfort

Sufi loved to cuddle up to mamma.
He hated being let go.This is pre-haircut for Kofi.

Sufi was happy to stand in the kitchen - with hope food was coming his way.
He also enjoyed watching Kofi get a haircut.

Mid-haircut.
We could hardly believe all that was underneath that hair -
dirt and yes, a bug.

His hair in a bag for remembrance and a clean looking head.
He was happy for the cut.

Kofi's so glad when Pabbi comes home -
he jumps into his arms for joy!

While making dinner Sufi steals some food.Sufi after a bath.
He loves water and bathing.

Looking at these pictures sure bring back memories -
It also helps us to see how far we have come in a year.

There have been moments we weren't sure we could survive.
There were moments that brought tears to the boys' eyes and ours.
There were moments where we wept wishing things were better and more idyllic.
There were times we wondered what we should do.

But there were moments when we knew we couldn't survive without the boys.
There were moments where we all laughed until tears came flooding out.
There were times when little arms wrapped around our necks and we knew things couldn't get better than at that moment.
There were times we knew that we were doing exactly what we should.

We have healthy and happy children who are embracing life
and
we love embracing life with them.

Looking Back...Kofi

2010-03-19T02:04:00.000-04:00

March 2009 - March 2010

Looking Back...Sufi

2010-03-19T02:03:00.000-04:00

Looking Back...A year of togetherness

2010-03-19T02:02:00.000-04:00

Happy 1st 'Gotcha' Day!!!

2010-03-19T02:01:00.000-04:00

Peep...Peep...from the Silence

2009-09-04T17:18:00.007-04:00

Amazing how time flies.

Already it is September.

So much has changed.

So much is the same.

We are moved in,

but still living from boxes.

Pabbi LOVES his new job. He is already promoted and secure. Everyone loves him!

He has recovered from an unexpected knee surgery and is busy.

Mamma stays busy cleaning, unpacking, and lots and LOTS of One on One with the boys.

It is vital for attachment and security.

Kofi has decided after weeks and weeks and weeks of contemplation (and lists and lists)

to change his name.

His has longed to change his name for quite sometime -

his only worry was that changing his name he would forget Ghana. After explaining that remembering Ghana was not based on his name he was so relieved -

he could do what he desired

with

"NO FEAR".

Sufi is growing in leaps and bounds.

He finally made the "Zero" percentile of his age group in weight!

He walks as if he always had, he is potty training himself - faster than we can, and he is desperate to speak and gets frustrated that he can't!

Life is moving fast and before we know it - it will be a new year.

Until then we will enjoy our favorite season of FALL.

We send our love and regard to you all -

you are not forgotten even in our silence!

Radio Silence...

2009-06-18T17:24:00.010-04:00

I wasn't sure what to title this post - so many came to mind:

We'll Be Back After These - Moves

Coming to the End of a New Era

Turning over a New leaf

Coming to the End of a Chapter

End of Times

Changing Paces

Whatever.

You get the point, right?

This blog is going on a silent retreat for some time.

For how long?

Who knows.

Is it because we are new parents and have no time?

NO.

Is it because we don't want to stay in touch with our fellow bloggers?

NO.

Is it because I have better things to do?

NO.

It is because our move has brought us into a whole new world -

well, actually it is an Old World.

We are living in a place where internet and other communications are limited.

We are living in the country far enough away from "Town," that modern technology and conveniences are limited. Even cell service is shoddy at best.

Living far from town will make running to the internet at the Public library a rare occasion. Impossible?

No.

But time will be limited.

And it looks as if blogging will take a back seat to other things.

It makes me sad. I had wanted to share more of our experiences of coming home after our adoption. Of sharing the good and the difficult. I had hoped to stay in touch and learn as much as I could from those of you out there who have been my inspiration for so long. I had hoped our story would inspire someone else on their journey.

But the Lord has put us on this path - a very different path than we had planned on being. I am excited to look forward and see what I can learn.

We hope to find some way to get internet access so that maybe we can continue sharing, but there are no promises. We are taking things one step at a time.

So instead, for a little while at least, we are going to take the time to get back to basics:

basics of living life with little technology and lots of time for other things.

We are loving our new little cottage, with lots of land to run and play on,

(now if only the rain will let up).

Our house is cute, simplistic, and cozy.

Our neighbors are few and far.

Pabbi has a 10 minute walk to his new job, rather than a 30 minute drive one way.

Kofi will have trees to climb, and a pool to swim in!!! (How lucky are we!)

Sufi will be able to stretch his legs and curiosity without the fear of cars and public!

Mamma will have the pitch black nights with croaking frogs to soothe her to sleep after a long day in the fresh air and sun!

We love suburban life; but we are glad for the country living after the past six months of constant change and stress (maybe we should include the last 7 years of hard studying and constant moving).

How long we will live here, is not determined.

Maybe in three months you will here some peeping from us, and the possibility of another move (Mamma prays that this is NOT so).

Maybe it will be a year or so.

We will try to get to our emails once in awhile -to keep up communication the best we can.

I will try to post if time and space allow it - but don't bet on it.

Sign up to recieve emails (see sidebar ---->) when and if I post - that way you won't have to keep checking if I do or don't post. I'll also try to check in once in a while.

But until our circumstances change, just know you are in our hearts! We thank you for sharing our journey. Thank you for inspiring us. Thank you for being a part of our world!

So until later comes, farewell.

Below are some recent pictures of our two boys!

Sufi has learned to hush a crowd.

Sufi has graduated from riding backwards to riding forward in his car seat. This is a relief for all, as we do a LOT of driving. This also means he has finally put on enough poundage to make this change...barely - but enough!

He has also learned the signs to Eensy weensy spider...

While Pabbi and Mamma get ready he struts around in his Sunday suit
(minus the shirt that wrinkles easily - which we don't put on until last minute).

Here he is in his Sunday suit. Such a cutie!!!

Grandma made this suit for him.

This is our goofy Kofi.
His feet used to be as tough as leather. But since coming home, he has only wanted to wear shoes and his tough feet are softening and becoming sensitive - this makes more fun for tickling them!!!

He loves clowning around!!!

He is also very - Cool!

Striking a pose.

He is handsome in his Sunday Suit!!!

How cute is this kid. He just melts my heart!

Kofi can't wait until he too can graduate from a booster seat to nothing. He is quite the lightweight -so we will see.

The two boys - Kofi loves his picture taken, Sufi doesn't.

Again,

Signing off for now,

Hope to be back soon!

Learning to Play...

2009-05-27T15:31:00.000-04:00

What child does not love to play?

What child does not know how to play

(other than soccer)?

Ours!

Kofi is a smart

loving

helpful

wonderful

son.

He is mature for his age in so many ways.

This has its pros and cons.

It also has made his parents have to re-think how they see their children.

One thing that shocked us about Kofi,

was his inability to really

"Play."

He spends most of his time working and thinks that is what FUN is.

What normal family deals with this problem!
Most fantasize that their children love to work and think that work IS play.

But Kofi, he doesn't really understand the concept of toys and playing.

He is most adept at pulling toys apart and reducing them to their minimal size.

He is most adept at fiddling with anything -

whether it is a peice of plastic wrapping or paper found on the floor.

Give him anything round and ball shaped and he will soon be kicking it like a soccer ball.

But playing - that is a whole new art

that we are trying to teach him.

This is best exemplified from Kofi's visit to his Grandma and Grandpa.

His grandparents live in Wyoming,

in the country,

in a cabin on the river.

It is good old fashioned hard work that keeps things moving where they live.

While Kofi was there, several tons of sand were delivered.

This was to be laid down to prevent huge pits in their driveway.

Grandpa and Grandma were going to take their time in laying it just right.

As they worked, Kofi jumped right in!

(working hard to lay the sand)

After some time of working, and when a break was due, the Grandparents took a break and told Kofi to just play in the sand.

Yet, he continued to work.

Grandpa gave him a matchbox car and told Kofi to play with it in the sand. Kofi seemed to be baffled as to what to do. So Grandpa and Grandma had to show him how to make roads and buildings, and to drive this little toy car and
just play.

After some time, Kofi started to catch on.

Yet, it still took
encouragement

over the period of a several days to get Kofi to "let go" and

just play.

And as Grandparents do,

they SPOILED him.

They bought him more matchbox cars, gave him some butcher paper to draw his own roads, gave him large buttons to use as buildings,

and now

Kofi and Sufi

FIGHT

over it all!!

We really are a NORMAL family!

Here are some more shots of Kofi's visit to his grandparents.

While he was there they really did spoil him with individual attention and taking him to see the wonders that the West has.

Cowboys and Indians.

Pioneers.

Wildlife.

such as deer, moose, mountain lions, eagles, and buffalo.

Dinosaurs.

Museums.

Sledding.

Snow.

Water aquariums.

Libraries.

Adventures in living off the land.

He LOVED it.

This is Kofi seeing Buffalo for the first time.

He had been told over and over that they were these huge animals.

He saw one lying down and scoffed,

"They aren't so big."

Then it stood up and his eyes grew and grew!

Can you guess what he is doing here?

Yup!

Riding a horse as he once was promised he would do.

Okay, so not a horse - but a mule counts...

Doesn't it?

He doesn't know the difference!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for teaching Kofi so very much!!!

These Feet Were Made For Walking...

2009-05-21T17:31:00.007-04:00

The day before Pabbi arrived in Ghana, to pick us up and bring us home, the most amazing thing happened.

Sufi took his

First - without assistance - Steps!

He was about four steps from me and took them before he fell into my arms; the rest of us who witnessed these steps stared in shock and awe. It was so unexpected and so out of the blue. It was so sad that Pabbi missed his first steps

by a day.

But that seemed to be the end of the walking.

He insisted on crawling.

He would pull himself up and walk as long as he was holding onto something; he would even freestand, but walking by himself seemed to be the one time only.

Sufi just thought it was funny whenever we tried to practice walking with him, but he would just fall into a laughing heap on the floor. For a few weeks, he would take anywhere from 2-4 steps at random moments, but if anyone looked his way, he would get shy and throw himself into a giggling heap on the floor. We resigned ourselves to the fact that we would have to wait until HE was ready. I fugured it would be an overnight event!!!

Then this last weekend we went to the store to get a baby gate to help contain our enthusiastic crawler. We pulled a smaller gate down and were a little worried that Sufi could flip himself over it. So we stood him up next to the gate to measure him. After, our assesment, I left Sufi holding onto my pants, as Pabbi and I talked. At one point, I realized Sufi had let go. I looked down expecting to see him crawling off...instead we all stood dumbfounded as we saw this:

(This is a re-enactment of what we saw, we were too dumbfounded to grab the camera fast enough.)

Then he grabbed an item off the lowest shelf and did this...
(this is not a reenactment, we actually grabbed the camera by this point)

What was the item he grabbed:

A PAIR OF SHOES!

This boy knows what he wants and needs for his future!

Over the next several days he started doing laps around the house
(don't mind the boxes and bags - again we are in temporary living quarters - ergo "living out of boxes").

What did he grab there at the end...

yes, his booster seat.

This baby LOVES his food!!!

And HIS WALKING!!!

Looks like we are going to need more than the one baby gate!

He just will not be contained!

Way to Go SUFI!!!

Changing Things Up

2009-05-20T17:31:00.009-04:00

We disappeared for awhile...

Can you guess why?

Does this give you a clue?

We just made a trek of 2,331 miles across the U.S. in FOUR days.

After Graduation, Pabbi was hired on in a small sleepy town on the east coast.

This move was a sudden change for us.
It happened right after returning from Ghana, final exams, and Graduation.

It was a difficult thing to leave behind our friends and family,

but

We are so blessed to have work especially in the current economic climate.

This move has impacted us for certain;

in fact,

we realized we have just undergone

several

MAJOR

life changes

in a short space of time.

We have adopted
We have become parents to not just a baby but an eight year old.
We have left behind schooling (Graduation)
and have now entered the professional world (Real Job)
We have made a major move, leaving behind family, friends, and familiarity.

To be honest, these life changes have been difficult, frustrating, tiring, and overwhelming.

Nevertheless,
we are here now,
settling down and we are finding some peace.

We are still in temporary housing and are looking forward to moving into something more long term very soon.
Until then we are waiting patiently and enjoying the small moments of life.

Personal Note: NIAW

2009-04-28T02:01:00.001-04:00

One in every six couples will deal with infertility.

There are millions of couples dealing with infertility.

We are one of them.

Infertility is life changing.

It can be traumatic.

It is a deep wound that not many will acknowledge nor heed.

Hopefully, NIAW can help make others aware of the impact infertility has on

an individual,

a couple,

and a family.

As a blogging buddy said:

(and I will adapt to our situation)

Adoption cured our childlessness

It didn't cure our Infertility.

While, Pabbi's and my intent before marriage was to adopt in the future,

we never thought that it would happen when it did.

We never suppossed that our first children would be adopted.

We had planned to have biological children first.

When we discovered our infertility,

it was such a shock

and

broke our hearts.

We have never been through anything more painful in our lives.

Even more shocking was the lack of support and understanding we received.

We were looked down on, by those who thought we should immediately start a family.

We were told by others all the

"remedies"

(ex: adoption, IVF, just relax, try this herb or that, etc.)

for our heartache.

Our pain was minimized as we were told that having children was not all is was cracked up to be and we were better off with out them.

Even some of our friends and family deserted us in our time of need.
We were treated as ignorant fools because we did not have children and could not possibly "know" anything about them.

We looked into the few options we had.

We tried some.

Others we were strongly impressed not to do.

We hit a brick wall and

decided to come to terms and

be at peace with our childlessness.

We did not want to bring children into our home as a "cure" for our grief.

We felt we needed to grieve our loss before moving on.

We learned to cope.

Then one day last spring,

about this time,

a feeling grew.

We felt impressed to look into adoption in Africa.

We were led and guided by God.

We now have the 2 beautiful sons who bring us much joy and happiness.

This is not to say that our pain is completely gone,

that we are any less sensitive to our grief,

or that we don't still yearn for lost dreams.

Infertility is a lasting struggle.

However,

I have learned so much about

myself,

my husband,

my relationships to family and friends.

I have a deeper understanding of others' grief and pain

- and not just the obvious ones.

I hope that through all this that the Lord has been able to refine me to better serve Him.

For those of you who have never experienced the pain of infertility,

please educate yourself.

Please be there for those who suffer with infertility.

Please don't desert them.

Don't treat them as less than yourselves.

Don't brush away their pain.

As Christ taught,

"Mourn with those that mourn."

Here is a brief article to read called

Infertility Etiquette.

It is an enlightening article to read.

Included is a brief and helpful Do's and Don'ts

to help others understand how to respond to couples who deal with infertility.

We have found ourselves in each one of these positions.

We know (at least hope) that most people were well intentioned with their advice.

But if only those who had encountered us would have understood how their advice and actions added to our pain.

Our hearts go out to all those who suffer with infertility.
We wish that no one else had to suffer through this grief.
Our prayers are with you as you search for peace in your life
with or without children.

May God bless you in His wisdom!

Visit with a Friend

2009-04-20T21:50:00.006-04:00

This past Wednesday, we got together with Friends; namely a friend from the orphanage.

Lilly and Kofi were good friends back in Ghana. It was only appropriate that their adoptions were done almost hand in hand. Lilly made it home two days before Kofi.

Since being home they have had a few chances to talk on the phone in Fante. Boy, is that a kick to see! Kofi has the phone in hand while running around, laughing, and talking at the top of his voice as fast as he can. He was so happy to talk with her!

They haven't had a chance to see each other until just the other day.

At first, they both seemed very shy and did not even want to talk with each other

(despite their mothers' encouragment).

But by the end of the visit they were running around playing and happy.
It was fun!!!

Brotherly Love (HOME)

2009-04-19T22:55:00.007-04:00

Without other children constantly around these two have become each others'

playmate

and

friend.

Things that brothers should be!

They enjoy together:

Horseback rides,

Building Blocks,
waiting for Mamma,
walks to the Park,
photo moments,

playing,

Laughing,

and much much more.

Doing these things together has helped the

brotherly bond

deepen.

Brotherly Love (Ghana)

2009-04-19T22:29:00.005-04:00

Sufi and Kofi playing one afternoon, after school at the orphanage. Usually Kofi played or worked with the other boys after school, and the girls took Sufi. But there were those rare moments where the two brothers played together. It warms a mamma's heart!

Here is the fun in action.

("And then there he is" refers to a cute little boy who vied for my attention anytime Samuel was out of my arms.)

Although, the brothers did not spend most of the day together, they did at night (at least for a couple of weeks). This is the bed the three of us would share on those hot hot nights. Let's just say Mamma got little sleep between the added heat and kicking by both boys.

But again, there were those moments that touched Mamma's heart.
They were both sound asleep when I walked into the room and saw this.

ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY

2009-04-19T02:55:00.006-04:00

One month ago today we drove into our driveay early early.

It was good to be home, and yet a little strange.

We were no longer

just the two of us;

we were now a

Family

Four.

So much has happened this last month:

a gazillion Doctor appointments (well it felt like that - between physicals, immunizations, and trying to clear up the infection on Sufi's face, it seemed like an awful lot of trips to the Doctors),
adjusting to not sleeping regularly (despite our comfortable bed),
phone calls galore from all those who wanted to catch up,
catching up on bills and errands,
trying to catch up on emails and blogs ;),
shopping for neccesities for the boys,
Pabbi running off across the country for a job interview,
accepting said job,
beginning preparations to move across the country by the end of April,
travel to see friends and family,
family dropping by,
Adoption Shower,
dealing with the crazy weather which kept us homebound
the beginning of Finals for Pabbi,
keeping up with daily stuff
adjusting to being a larger family

and so much more!

It has been a crazy crazy month.

But I wouldn't have it any other way!!

It is so good to be home and to have such a beautiful family!

Pleading and Praying for Help

2009-04-16T03:18:00.008-04:00

This little boy is William.

He is 9 years old.

He is an orphan.

He needs help.

A few weeks ago he sustained severe burns on his feet and his condition is critical.

Having been a burn victim myself I understand the severity of this situation. But his is even more dire. I was able to recieve good medical care which helped me to recover in time. William does not have the medical care that is necesary to recover from these burns. Right now he can not walk. He is in extreme pain. He cries all day in anguish because there is no pain medication to help him deal with it. The biggest worry is the possible infections that could happen. If this happens...well - I don't even want to think about what could happen.

He is such a sweet boy.

But there is hope.

One of the adoptive mothers who is a nurse will be leaving her family here to attend to William for a couple of weeks in hopes to stave of infections, help him with the pain, and in hope to get him walking again.
What is needed is bandages, medical supplies, and money to attend to his needs.

But instead of re-writing the messages and information I would like to direct you to these blogs for more full information and updates on his conditions and needs. Please click on the following and follow the Links to learn more.

And please, if you can help please follow the instructions or spread the word so others can help.

Adoptive Mom/Nurse who is going to help.

If at the very least, please pray for William and his sister Patience (11 years).

She too, is orphaned. She has been a great help, and I am sure a huge consolation for her brother. I fell in love with her during my time there; and am so saddened that they are going through this terrible trial.Our prayers are with you both!

Sofi Snapshots

2009-04-06T16:03:00.007-04:00

Sufi is trying to adjust to his new changes. He still prefers to be held and within eyesight of Mamma (going to the bathroom has been a difficult challenge for the both of us). His face is doing much better and is on the end of the healing phase. Between his face, cutting in 4 new back teeth the past two weeks, and catching a bad cold the past few days, he is doing well.

Here are a few snapshots when Sufi is content and happy.

Eating always brings a smile to his face. If you want to hold him without him crying and screaming to go back to Mamma, better have some food in hand!!

Hanging out while Kofi gets his haircut!

Bathtime is his second favorite activity!

Here he looks quite American don't you think?
We are preparing to go off the the Doctor's.

Pabbi is the better chef in the family, and one way to keep Sufi from screaming until dinner is to take him for a ride during preperations. However, here he snuck a fry from one of the plates Pabbi was preparing. No wonder why Sufi likes to help make dinner!

And despite the fact, the Sufi does not like watching TV he loves to play with the remotes and pretend he knows what he is doing!

A Kofi Klip

2009-04-06T15:23:00.003-04:00

Before leaving Ghana, Kofi's other caretakers wanted to give him a haircut. But due to time (or lack thereof) he came home with a headful of hair. Within a few days, and after some begging on his part, it was decided he needed a haircut.

Kofi's before shot!

The mid-cut shot!

After all the hair is gone -but what is that spotting his head? Some is dead skin -Most of it was dirt! And he had had several baths before this haircut. Even Mamma did a thorough scrubbing of his hair-but apparently not good enough! However, that was not even the biggest surprise. While picking up his clippings, I noticed one of his curls moving.

YIKES!

It was not a curl...

but a spider!!!!

His curls are so tight and woven that this spider had been making a nice home since Ghana.

Here is the handsome boy!
He is quite jubilant!!!

He likes to have his head shaved and clean!

Unsung Woman (Ghana)

2009-04-06T14:00:00.008-04:00

During my stay at the orphanage (children's home and school), I learned to appreciate alot of things I took granted: regular running water, electricity, variety of food, comfort of soft furniture, stove, microwave, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and so much more. Things that are such a part of my life, but I hardly notice the ease it gives to my daily living.

During my two month stay there, I learned to appreciate not only the comfort I had back home, but the strength and endurance that the women in Ghana have. They would do all the chores I did back home, but they would do it without the appliances or convenience that make my life easier. On top of that, they did it for 200 children (only a portion of which are orphans, the rest are students).

One of the women, who you hardly ever hear about, was my salvation in so many ways.

Her name is Madam Salina.

(Madam pictured here with Abraham. Madame is actually holding 18mos Kobi on her back. They are preparing for day at the beach with the orphan children.)(Unfortunately, I lost alot of pictures and video due to computer and camera failure and so do not have the other photos or video of this wonderful woman!)

This is a woman who was up before I was (and I was up at the break of dawn), who went to bed after I did, and worked endlessly cleaning, cooking, and caring for the children (especially those under the age of five) as well as helped me clean and take care of Sufi and myself.

Every day she insisted on sweeping and mopping my room, even when I protested. She would take Sufi's clothing and bedding (that he had pooped all over -nightly) to wash before I could even finish feeding breakfast to Sufi and eating myself. She ensured that after my clothes had been hung to dry, that they were folded and put back in my room. She often bathed Sufi along with the other children, and when I was ill she took on caring for Sufi without hesitation.

This was all in addition to the fact that she fed the youngest five children all their meals, washed and bathed these children morning and night, changed diapers, swept and mopped the main house and the grounds around, washed clothes for most of the children (and that is ALOT of laundry on a daily basis and takes hours to do), help monitor the students, cooked meals over coals or logs, and so much more. There was hardly a moment when she sat down to relax. Yet, she was always so happy, never complained, and was always asking how else she could help me.

I never thought of myself as a lazy or slow worker. But watching Madam put me to shame. My admiration of her is so great. She does all that I do, at home, without the luxury of appliances and other conveniences that I take for granted. Not only does she do it without these things but she does it for so many more people and children than I do.

So for those, who go to the orphanage,

look for Madam Salina and know that she is

MY HERO!!!

ADOPTION SHOWER

2009-04-04T02:24:00.003-04:00

Dear Friends are throwing the

Gudmundsson Family

an adoption shower.

You are invited to attend this Open House.

Come celebrate the adoption of these two precious boys.

The Woman Inside (HOME)

2009-03-24T13:26:00.003-04:00

Second Day at home:

I had been up all night with Sufi, who had been crying and screaming, and I was exhausted. Pabbi, the good hubsand that he is, took both boys downstairs to feed them and play with them. Yet, I kept hearing the cries and screams.

Then suddenly there was silence.

Just the soft tones of voices talking.

How had Pabbi managed to stop Sufi from crying.

I had to know.

I walked down the stairs and this is what greeted my eyes.

Pabbi was making sandwiches and Sufi was calm being carried in a way he is used to.

This is now a common sight around our house when Pabbi takes both children.

Ahhhhhh, the peace and quiet!

Now for an update on the adjustment of the boys.

Kofi is doing SO SO SO very well. He is stuck to Pabbi like glue. He loves his new home, his new room, and the way of life. He has jumped into helping around the house and being patient as we adjust to being parents. He has had a constant smile on his face. He still is trying to adjust to the sleeping schedule. He literally falls asleep about 4:30 -5:00pm everyday and then is up in the middle of the night. The food adjustment is going well, then again Pabbi and I are not pushing the vegetables yet.

Yesterday, we went to the store to buy some food. Amongst the purchases was broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, and celery. I was explaining to him that he would need to start eating these vegetables this week because they would make him healthy and strong. He immediately started pouting and protesting. I tried hard not to laugh at his pain. I calmed him down telling him we would just start off tasting them and finding ways to prepare them so that he would like them.

Sufi is having a much harder time taking to his new home. He is more clingy than ever. He is back to crying most of the time and not relaxing. I have been worried, and exhausted with this. It wasn't until yesterday when we went back to the Dr. for a check-up that I realized that this attitude may not be just adjustment issues- but rather that the meds he is on is adding to the anxiety.

Our second day home, we took Sufi to the Dr. to find out how to deal with sores on his face that were spreading down his arm and neck. In Ghana, we were told it was Heat Rash, but I had never seen it spread so fast and react so badly to creams and medications. So I worried it might be something else. The Dr. was a bit baffled and unsure what it was. He did not think it was heat rash and that is might actually be a staph infection. He referred us to the Dermatologist for a diagnosis. The dermatologist also was unsure what it was. He couldn't tell whether it was staph, a virus, or what? He boldly said that he was not up to date with skin issues in Ghana. They tried to take a sample from Sufi, who was not having any of that. So the Dr. gave us an antibiotic, anti-viral medication, and creams to help bring the infection down. I was warned that he might have to be committed to the hospital for 24 hour watch if this did not improve in three days.

Luckily for us, there has been no new outbreaks, and Sufi's face looks SO much better. It doesn't seem to itch and bother him like it was before. The color is back and he seems more content. Now I wait for when he is done with the meds and can have some space to calm down and adjust to his new life.

Until then, if you meet me in the street and I look dazed and frazzled, or you visit me and my home is in chaos, or you call me on the phone and I can't seem to pay attention, don't mind me, I think I will be better adjusted when the crying and screaming calms down!

The Woman Inside (GHANA)

2009-03-24T13:14:00.003-04:00

Pabbi and I had planned, for a long time, to take time while in Ghana to walk the Canopy Walk located in Kakum National Park. Despite the fact that we both have a fear of heights we decided we wanted to brave the walk.

In order to make the walk one of us had to carry Sufi on our back, we both thought Pabbi the better choice. Not because he is stronger, but because he is sure footed. Raised in Iceland, one has to be sure footed as you leap around amongst the lava rocks. There were several options on how to carry him, but Pabbi thought the Ghanaian woman's style of carrying babies was BEST.

Within minutes of joining the group we heard giggles from the women who observed Pabbi carrying Sufi Ghanaian style. I think he felt a bit of pride from not shying away from this task!

So we set out to across the high Canopy walks.

There were 7 swinging bridges total: 3 short and 4 long.

It is quite a view high up above the trees.

Scary and exhilarating all at the same time!

Sufi loved the walk. In fact, he kept reaching out and and grabbing the ropes. After the walk he was exhausted (being carried around takes alot of energy you know) and quickly fell asleep.

On the way down we passed a few classes of girls who giggled non-stop or who pointed and exclaimed "Oh!" when they saw Pabbi carrying Sufi Ghanaian style. I bet they don't usually see men doing this. I had a hard time not laughing at all the surprised responses when Pabbi passed them by!
At the beginning of our excursion there was a woman who giggled at Pabbi carrying Sufi (who by the way was not liking it because he was not with Mamma), but she was helpful in calming Sufi and encouraging all the way. Her name is Peace (I just love the Ghanaian names). She was just a delight to get to know. She was there with her mother and brother braving the canopy walk. At the end she asked us to remember her, which would be no problem for us!
She is a wonderful woman!
(L-R:Mamma, Pabbi, Peace, Saviour, Peace's Mother)

Home At Last

2009-03-19T15:03:00.008-04:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I know this has been a long time in coming...

So we would like to announce we are

Home at Last and as one Big Family!!

We have doubled in size and boy is it great!!

I have tried over the past two months to get information out to all of you and every attempt was foiled at one point or another!

But we are home and settling in.

We will catch you up on the news and fun as best as we can, just remember we now have two children to chase after and so our plentiful computer time will be more limited.

Here we are at the Ghana airport waiting to board.

Both boys were looking out the window at the planes and loving it.

Such excitement!

On the plane waiting for take off!

One of these days we will fill you in on the adventures of getting to the airport. Both boys traveled really well!! Even sweet little Sufi only had two melt downs (change is more difficult for him). We had really worried he would cry the whole time (crying is his favorite activity) but he did AWESOME. We think he loved the feel of the plane and the noise!

Home at last and sort of rested.

We are in Mamma and Pabbi's room.

We just woke up and decided for a family picture! Kofi LOVES his new room and his bed!!!

Sufi is currently sharing the bed with Mamma and Pabbi (until we get some things straightened out). Here you see him in more of his natural state!!! He is such a Mamma's boy - and has wanted to be held the whole time we have been home.
Don't worry about his face. He has a heat rash that got out of control (his scratching at it has not helped). He has an appointment with our Doctor tommorrow so we hope to see his face clear and more at ease very soon!!!

We want to thank the director, Abraham, and L.M. who helped us build our family. They have spent SO much time and energy helping us bring our boys home. We seemed to hit every roadblock possible and thensome, and due to that, they put in overtime in helping us sort through the whole thing. We are ever grateful for the patience and never-ending support and encouragement. The work is hard and they were ever willing to do it when our strength was spent! We are forever grateful to you!!

We also want to send out a Thank You to everyone who has supported us and helped us bring our boys home. We know we would not have been able to do this without your help.

We also want to thank our dear friend, Kristin who decorated our home for the boys return and made things so nice to come home to!!

We love you and Thank you all!!!

We will be seeing more of each other!

Ghana Get'Ya

2009-01-27T00:50:00.009-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

As you may already know, Mamma is now in Ghana.

She was supposed to keep us updated with pictures and news of all the children,

but is currently having some difficulty getting on the internet.

The difficulty consists of two main reasons;

first, electricity to power the computer

and second, internet access.

Well, what do you expect... this is Africa.

Anyway, after much pains-taking suffering,

she has been able to send some news and pictures.

They are of some of the other children there for adoption.

These are (starting from left to right)
Marion, Dorothy, Precious (smallest), Vida, and Elizabeth.

These three boys are Junior (front),
Abi (back), and Enyinda (middle).

Abi and Kobe are brothers and love Mamma to bits.

Junior looks as if he has just

solemnly sworn to be up to no good (don't you think).

Pre-Ghana Panic

2009-01-15T21:46:00.009-05:00

Last WEEK... we sent off for my visa.

What a nerve-racking moment that was -
who LIKES to depart from their PASSPORT?

NOT I!

But it was necassary.

Upon delivering it to the Postman I made sure to have my tracking numbers to track the package to New York and the number to track it on the way home.

We were notified it arrived in New York

Saturday -

and of course un-deliverable to the Consulate (non-working day).

Monday -

it was delivered at 2:11 pm.

Whew!!!

It made it!!!

I expected to have it back in 24 hours.
That is what we paid for.

24 hours passed and my package was NOT even in transit.

I checked my Visa status -still not mailed.

WHAT??!!???

I called Wednesday (yesterday)

...no answer.

Pabbi calls -

they answer (he is quite the charmer...)

They don't know what he is talking about. They have no such package.

But it was delievered at 2:11 he insisted.

Nope.

It was LOST!!!!!!!!

We expected lost, or misplaced, or ignored, or unexpected required docmuents

...IN GHANA.

But not New York!!!

Panic ensued.

We tried to call the Post Office but after three times of getting nowhere, Pabbi calls back the Ghanaian Consulate and asks if there was a potential it was delivered to another office.

He spoke to a supervisor.

After an hour of panic they found it.

Delivered to another office and laid aside.

Today at 9:24 am it arrived at our Local Post Office.

Tonight WE rest easy as my passport and visa REST on our bed-

in plain sight!!!

"DON'T BE GIVING ME THE EVILS!!!"

2009-01-09T00:52:00.012-05:00

Preperations havebeen ensuing in our household

preperations to go to Ghana.

SPEAK NO EVIL

Mamma suffered unspeakable pains at the dentist's. The office and equipment was so old and broken that she got seriously homesick for Helga, her Icelandic dentist.
Hopefully, there will be no more evil-speaking of dentist's from this mouth.

HEAR NO EVIL

Then she got a haircut that is virtually unheard of. Mamma is not an ordinary woman, who pampers herself at the slightest whim. So this was a real treat for the eyes, but not the ears. Now, we don't want to hear any naysayers... the woman looks SO fine!

SEE NO EVIL

Then we ventured into the unforeseeable future and sent of the visa application. This was a true leap of faith, because we don't have control over the government.
However, we can envision a bright and prosperous future.

This post update was provided by Pabbi.

The COUNTDOWN...

2009-01-06T04:07:00.007-05:00

TWELVE DAYS.

That is how much time I have to wrap things up and be ready to leave.

It's been SIX DAYS and I still can't get over the fact that I will soon be on a plane, and soon be in a country I have never been to, and soon have children in my arms. It is so exciting, I don't even know what to focus my energy and excitement on.

In the end I just end up

DAY DREAMING.
One minute I am busy trying to figure out all the details of applying for a visa, deciding what to pack, or what I need to do before I go.
The next minute I catch myself daydreaming about what it will be like to be with our boys, the simple feeling of holding them in my arms and telling them I love them.
After thinking about the boys, my mind then moves onto preparing everything here for when we bring them home.

My mind just races.

It does not want to stay on any one thought.

Then everything becomes a blur!

The 18th is fast appraoching.

I just need to focus!!!

The Whisper of Gratitude

2009-01-02T18:20:00.011-05:00

Have you ever had something so important to say and share, but knew that all the words you could say, sentences you could write, and expressions you could utilize
could never articulate the feelings in your heart?

I have such a secret!

One moment I want to shout it from the rooftops and the next I want to keep this thing and ponder it in my heart.

One minute I am so humbled to have been blessed as such, and the next I feel so unworthy to have received such a miracle.

On one hand I want to do all that I can to repay such generosity myself, and the next I know I just need to be on my knees thanking God and praying that He will be able to make up the difference because I can not.

Nothing I can say, write or do will ever come close to the feelings I have. I have thought this over for a couple days and still find myself at a loss for words to explain this miracle…this blessing.

I will try:
The week before Thanksgiving, Pabbi and I felt that I needed to go to Ghana and right away. I planned to leave around the 15th of December. I would stay in Ghana until our adoption was completed: whether it took several weeks or several months. I am at a point in my life that there was no reason (other than my sweet husband) to stay here and wait. I could go be with our boys, and help out with all the children. It would be a great way to understand and experience our sons’ culture and nation. It would give us time to bond on their turf, so to speak. I had a flexible job (I work online and can do so from anywhere in the world). We were set.

We called L.M. and she too felt this would be a wonderful idea.

Two days after Thanksgiving, I found out I was being laid off due to the recession. I was baffled. We had felt so strongly that that is what the Lord wanted for us to do. But now it seemed impossible.

I prayed.
Without my job we would be fine in covering our bills, but we would have no extra to save up for airline tickets or the rest of our fees in Ghana. We went over everything and realized we had enough for either the fees or one airline ticket, from what was left of the generous donations we have received (i.e. the donations left after the fees and paperwork we have already paid for).
With prayerful hearts, we decided that we should put aside that money for the fees in Ghana and focus on getting airline tickets for the four of us. I was at peace and felt confident that we would be able to raise money or sky miles in the near future.
As December 15th came and went and we were not able to raise money, my heart started to become heavy. Soon Christmas was upon us & we had barely come up with ¼ of what we needed for just one ticket. Christmas passed & the miracle we had hoped for did not appear.

I continued to pray.

This time, I prayed not for help, but for guidance on what to do. Again, I felt that I needed to go soon to Ghana. My frustration brought on desperation and sorrow:
I wept.

Then December 31st I received a phone call from a woman, whose family is also in the process of adopting from the same orphanage in Ghana. She and her husband had sky miles they wanted to give us.

Enough for one whole ticket.

I was dumbfounded.

She stayed on the phone with me until she had booked a ticket for me to leave.
I was grateful.
I was amazed.

However, it wasn’t until after our phone call, and after talking with my husband that it hit me!!!

And, I wept.
Not for sorrow, but for that sweet joy and amazement that filled my heart; for gratitude; for relief that a prayer had been answered. It was then several thoughts and feelings flooded through me.
How could this family, who were in the same boat as us, give their miles away, when they too, one day soon, need airline tickets to bring their child home? How could she make such a sacrifice, when adopting is filled with so many already? How could I reciprocate? How would I ever be able to thank her, her husband, and their family?

I again prayed and thanked God for angels and blessings that come so unexpectedly and from unexpected places.

I wanted to publicly thank and name this wonderful woman, her generous husband, and her kind family. But not all angels want their names to be publicized.

If you are desperate to know them by name, let me know.
I will whisper in your ear the identities of these heavenly beings. I will whisper with such gratitude and with a heart so full, that my whispers (or my shouts) of thankfulness could never express what they have done for ...

my husband,

myself,

and our future family.

New Year - New Beginnings!!!!

2009-01-01T03:16:00.003-05:00

Insert "Joy To Everyone This Christmas"

2008-12-24T17:36:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!
May this seaason bring you peace and joy from.

From our Family to Yours!!

PS. To download this song or video go here.

Chapter Thirty-One: All Is Quiet....

2008-12-07T15:17:00.007-05:00

A friend the other day commented, "It sure has been quiet on the blogs lately."
And it has been.

There just has been no news from the eastern front and that causes the western front to wait.

With the director of the orphanage out of the country (he was asked to speak at an international conference in Kenya, regarding issues for orphans) and elections, and the holidays not much has been moving -thereby not much for anyone to blog about.

I am going to be so relieved that the Ghanaian elections are over (they are happening today) because I think it has really affected the timeline of the process. And this year has been overlypacked with politics (this included our elections here in the states).

I also think I will be relieved when the holidays are over (no I am NOT a Grinch; holidays just cause delays - and I feel like our delays have been long enough.

In addition, I am also relieved to know the director is back at the orphanage (one week later than originally planned). Knowing he is there gives me a sense of peace.At this point there will be hardly any news until we hear of our court date!
We are praying that it will be soon!

Chapter Thirty: Lullaby

2008-11-26T03:36:00.003-05:00

Artist: Josh Groban
Album: Awake
Year: 2006
Title: Lullaby

For an actual video performance and explanation to creating the song go here.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Fire (National Adoption Month)

2008-11-20T23:39:00.006-05:00

I am quickly finding out that adoption is very much like Family History & Genealogy.

Once the fire is lit, it becomes an all consuming presence in your life.

It permeates your life in so many ways, and the desire to spread this love, this passion, is almost unstoppable.

Now that we are adopting it seems everytime I turn around, I see so many children who need families, and so many couples who want children. If only we could bridge the gap. If only our hearts would open up to more possibilities.
Being infertile, I have met and know numerous couples who long to have children. Who would do just about anything to bring children into their lives. However, most see this vision in the form of a young baby - an infant, one who they can watch grow and thrive. I know this longing!

I know this hunger!

I know this desire!

Yet, now that I am involved in adopting - not infants - but young children (a one year old and a 6.6 yr. old) I realized the limits we set for ourselves that can be so confining.

Adopting an older child is something I had NEVER thought I would do at this early stage of our marital life. Previously, I had put a limit on what age I would be open to adopting.

But the Lord softened my heart and I became open to possiblities I never considered.

How grateful I am for that!!!

I was just talking to L.M. the other day and we were marveling at how many of us are adopting children who do not live up to our previously 'idealized' or 'limited' notions. Yet, none of us would change a thing. We quickly realized and know that the children we are adopting are OUR children and that they fit into our lives so well.

Only God could have known.

I was telling her that when we started looking into adopting, I insisted to Pabbi, that we should not adopt children over the age of 2 years old. No budging on that. Soon we felt we should stretch it to 2.5 years old. Then the final and absolute oldest child we would consider was NO older than 4 years old.

Now look at us, we are adopting a 6.5 year old, and I am so glad that my heart was softened and my options were opened. I think we would have missed out on a beautiful and wonderful miracle in our lives. In fact, the Lord knew what we needed. I know He knows what all His children need no matter their age or circumstance.
This month, I have been reading alot about the focus of National Adoption Month "Answering the Call - You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care who would love to put up with you."

This focus has really touched me.

A blog that I often stalk has posted several listings for different organizations that have photolistings of "waiting to be adopted" children, both nationally and internationally. My heart breaks for many of them. Most of these children have special needs (mild to severe) and are much older than most couples would adopt.
Yet, these children still need the same thing an infant does- A family. A place where they can feel secure and grow and thrive. These children have really touched my heart, and I do hope that when Sufi and Kofi are home and we are settled, that we will look again into adopting, and that our hearts will not be limited by age or need.

Of, course this blog posted again recently, a beautiful video set to the music of Steven Curtis Chapman's song "All I Really Want for Christmas."At first I wasn't paying attention to the lyrics, but when I did I had to find them and read through them. I then went and found the original music video. They are so beautiful and poignant, and I would encourage you to read them and watch the video (see below post).

Below are the links to several different adoption websites' photolistings (taken from Instantly Mama) that you might want to pray over.

Take time to look at the children who are waiting - especially with an open mind.

Maybe some of you who are not thinking of adoption, might start thinking about adopting. Maybe some of you who are looking to adopt but are only looking for infants, might change your mind and consider adopting older children -

Maybe your children are waiting for the mom and dad you are!

Please take time and pray for these children to find families

AND

ask God if you are to be involved in anyway!

Children Here in the US:

Adopt US Kids

Northwest Adoption Exchange

TARE

CHASK
Utah's Adoption Connection

Kid Search State by State

In Other Countries:

For Basic Information

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Adopting.org

Insert: "All I Really Want for Christmas"

2008-11-20T23:21:00.002-05:00

Well, I don't know if you remember me or not
I am one of the kids they brought in from the home
I was the red-haired boy in an old, green flannel shirt
You may not have seen me, I was standing alone

I didn't come and talk to you 'cause that's never worked before
And you'll probably never see this letter, anyway
But just in case there's something you can do to help me out
I'll ask you one more time

All I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in
A shoulder to cry on if I lose, shoulders to ride on if I win
There's so much I could ask for, but there's just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas is a family

Well, I guess I should go ahead and tell you now
If it's really true about that list you have
Somehow I always seem to end up in a fight
But I'm really trying hard not to be bad

But maybe if I had a brother or a dad to wrestle with
Maybe they could teach me how to get along
And from everything I've heard, it sounds like the greatest gift on earth
Would be a mom

All I want for Christmas is someone who'll be here
To sing me happy birthday for the next 100 years
And It's okay if they're not perfect or even if they're a little broken
That's alright, 'Cause so am I

Well, I guess I should go, it's almost time for bed
Maybe next time I write you I'll be at home

`Cause all I really want for Christmas is someone to tuck me in
Tell me I'll never be alone, someone whose love will never end
Of all that I could ask for, well, there's just one thing I need
All I really want for Christmas is a family

Lyrics to New, Original Songs on "All I Really Want for Christmas"
by Steven Curtis Chapman (2005 Sparrow Records, EMI CMG)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Something in the Mail.

2008-11-19T17:15:00.012-05:00

Today I decided to walk out to our mailbox instead of wait for Pabbi to bring in the mail.
I just needed a break from working so I thought a few minutes won't hurt.

Guess what I found amidst our collection of mail?
This large envelope from the USCIS.

I could hardly contain myself, so I ran back to our place and ripped it open.

WoHOOOOOOO!!!!!
It was our APPROVAL of the I-600a!!!

The Government says we are approved to adopt two healthy boys up to the age of 7.

Hmmmm, wonder who that might mean!!!!
Just in case you forgot; or if you need to smile!!!
here are their Pictures again! :)

This note is for those wondering about time frames on the turn around for the I-600a (here in Utah).
Getting our approval today means our I-600a took 4 weeks to be processed before receiving our approval. We filed on the 21st of October -so it technically has been 4 weeks and One day.
That was with getting our fingerprints done the same day as filing it.
Another adoptive mother and I had wondered if it would make a difference if you were fingerprinted the same day (like us) or if you waited (like she had to). It seems to not matter. Hers took about 4 weeks. Ours took four weeks.
Hope that helps some of you!

Chapter Twenty-Six: HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

2008-11-18T00:02:00.005-05:00

Today was Sufi's FIRST Birthday.
We decided to celebrated it with cake, a ballooon, and even gifts.The cake was a special treat:
Our local grocery store gives a free cake for a 'First' Birthday.
The gifts, he'll recieve when he comes home.
(Can't you see what fun parents we will be - giving a 1yr. old books!) We Love you Sufi and can't wait to celebrate your next birthday together as a family!

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Waiting Period Begins (aka: Sent our Dossier Off!)

2008-11-15T21:15:00.005-05:00

We finally have a dossier done and it is on its way to Ghana.

It is such a big sigh of relief.

Now the "Waiting Period" begins.

In Ghana, our dossier will be given to the Social Welfare Officer who will invesitgate to make sure this is the right match. Then he will go to court. The Judge will then finalize that decision by giving an adoption decree (we hope). During this time the boys' will need to get their passports. If the decree is given, and if the boys get their passports, then the ball will be back in our court; namely we will then be ready to go to Ghana to file our I-600 and get visa's in order to bring the boys home.

So until then we are going to wait.

Chapter Twenty-Four: African Children's Choir

2008-11-09T11:52:00.003-05:00

A few weeks I came across a post on a blog that I have been stalking of a family who had recently adopted three beautiful Ghanaian children. I have been following their story for the past several months. The mom had posted a video of the African Children's Choir and then commented how she hoped to be able to take her children to a performance in her area.

I watched the video and was quite moved. But the link she had to the choir wasn't working and I didn't have time to track it down and I did not give much more thought to it. A few days later, she posted about the family's experience going to the performance. I think what struck me most was that after the performance, her daughters showed her the moves and steps they did know. This told me that some of the dances performed came from Ghana, which excited me.

I then became determined to know more. She posted the link for the Choir again, which I followed. I also checked out Youtube for more videos. The more I saw, the more I longed to go. Lucky for us, there was a performance on the November 8th in Salt Lake. I was so excited that I talked to Pabbi about it. He then watched the videos and said we HAD to find a way to go.

We notified several others, who are in the Utah area and adopting from same children's home, of the performance coming up. L.M. and daughter wanted to go, and Narda and Steve also said they wanted to go. In fact, Steve and Narda were able to get us discount prices, which was great! (Thanks Narda and Steve). Then my Aunt and Uncle said they would like to go as well. So our group of eight went and we really enjoyed the performance!!!

Not only were these children so very talented...their performances really moved us. This is the 35 choir since they began touring back in 1984. Check out their website for more information on the choir, their purpose, and performance dates in your area.
Near the end of the performance, they sang Africa's anthem as all the flags of the continent were lowered. It was very moving!
We hope, that sometime in the future, we will be able to learn the dances and songs, from Ghana, that they sang, and teach them to our boys.
Very Inspiring!

Chapter Twenty-Three: NATIONAL ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH

2008-11-05T13:07:00.010-05:00

In 1976, Governor Mike Dukakis of Massachusetts proclaimed Adoption Week to bring awareness to the need for adoptive families for children in the foster care system. President Ford followed this proclamation by announcing the first National Adoption Week. In 1990, this one-week was extended to the full month of November. Throughout the Nation, different states and organizations have a plethora of activities, campaigns, and observances. Amidst the month long celebrations there is an actual National Adoption Day (this year it is November 15, 2008).

Each year there is a specific theme and focused promotion of a particular need or topic in adoption. One year it may be a focus on Special Needs adoption, or adopting teenagers, or domestic adoption, or foster parenting, or intercountry adoption, etc.. This year's theme is: "Answering the Call - You don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent. There are thousands of teens in foster care who would love to put up with you."

This month is a month to get active in educating ourselves and others about adoption and about issues surrounding adoption. It is also a time to get active in advocating and promoting laws that will help adoption (ex: a friendly adoption workplace, etc). It is a month to collect donations, volunteer, sponser children who need to be adopted or support a family who is currently in the process of adopting. It is a time to celebrate multicultural families, develop new traditions, and give thanks for our families. For a month full of activites to celebrate National Adoption Awareness go here.

For more information on the history of this month, activites, resources, and ideas go to adoption.com or google National Adoption Awareness month. I would encourage each of you to be aware of the adoption scene.

There are millions and millions of children - more than 130 million - both domestically and internationally, who need a home, security, and love. All of us can help in some way, some form, some how. Let's give a hand to adoption.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Hit a Wall

2008-11-01T17:04:00.010-04:00

It finally happened.

I have hit a wall.

The wall of patience.

I am so done with being patient!

I want my boys home...and RIGHT NOW!!!!!

I can even tell you the moment I hit this wall and I can't seem to figure how to get over it!

I am tired of waiting.

I am tired of worrying.

I just want to move onto the next step already.

I was wondering when this was going to hit me... and hit me hard.

If there is one thing I have learned from dealing with infertility is that I don't have control and I just need to be patient and take one step at a time. I need to focus on that one step ONLY or I can go bonkers. I have been doing a real good job of being able to focus and not look to far ahead. But I am seeing that the closer we get the faster I want to run to the end.

I can't wait to hold my boys in my arms and say "I love you". I can't wait to read books with Kofi, and rock Sufi to sleep. I can't wait to celebrate the holidays with the boys and watch their faces (or incredulous looks). I can't wait to go to the park in the summer or sit at home and drink hot chocolate in the winter with the boys. I can't wait to make new traditions with them. I can't wait to kneel by their sides and pray with them. I can't wait to be there to cool their heads when they are sick all the while worryin about how they are feeling. I can't wait to watch them with their Pabbi play games while I sit by and watch. I can't wait to watch them grow and learn and become all that they can be. I can't wait to be a mother. I can't wait to be a family!

I feel like I have waited so long for all of this as it is! Waiting to conceive was so difficult and fruitless. The waiting and hoping we would have children has felt so overwhelming...and now to know there ARE two little boys that will soon join our family...but it will take more time feels too much. One minute they feel so close and the next I realize these two boys are all the way across the world. I wish I had the money to jump on a plane RIGHT NOW and race to them and stay with them until all of the paperwork and governments have placed things right.

But I can't. I sit and wait. I wait to be approved to be a mother. I wait for a judge to say, "Yes you can be a family". I wait for paperwork to be signed so that we can finally be in the same country. I wait and wait and wait. And hope. And pray. And plead that it will all work out quickly and not drag on for many more months or years.

But I don't feel like I can take one more breath and wait anymore.

I know it is required and my wanting this will not change anything...but these emotions are still happening! I can hardly think for wanting this so much! I want to be a mother in action -not waiting. If I had a set date...would that help? I doubt it.

I know the answer is to pray, have hope and faith the God knows what is needed for me and for those two beautiful boys across the world, not just for now but for eternity. But this moment seems like an eternity to me. I can't wait for the day I can look back and smile at how I feel now, and know it was ALL worth the waiting! I look forward to that day!

But for now, I will have to be content at looking at these faces and know that I love them.

And I will continue to pray:
for them,
for us,
for peace.

Chapter Twenty-One: PRAYING for PASSPORTS

2008-10-30T14:17:00.004-04:00

One of the big steps to bringing the boys home will be getting their Ghanaian Passports.

Lately there has been trouble getting passports for anyone in Ghana.

Some say it is due to passports that were stolen a few months back. (Check out this link for the stolen passport story: http://allafrica.com/stories/200808190664.html). We have heard that although they recovered the stolen passports, that until the investigation is finished they won't be issuing anymore passports.

Some wonder if it is not due to upcoming elections and the impact it is having on government offices (slowing things down etc.).

We just know that passports are not being handed out. Only a few are being trickled through and there seems to be little rhyme or reason to it.Whatever the case is, we can't bring the boys home unless they get theirs. We are praying desperately that they will get them soon, and that there will be no hang ups or waiting until the passports come through. Maybe we are getting a little ahead of ourselves on this topic, due to the fact we still have not sent our dossier (we are in the process of putting it together) or even have gone to court. But for some reason this issue has been laying heavily upon our minds.

Your faith and prayers that the boys will get their passports soon would be much appreciated.

We love you boys!!!

Chapter Twenty: YARD SALE The Sequel

2008-10-27T14:37:00.006-04:00

Last Week's Yard Sale was such a hit, and we had so much left over, we decided to do another Yard Sale. Several people contacted us to let us know they still wanted to donate more items. During the week we continued to recieve these items and prepare for the next sale. This time we changed locations. Friends of our friends volunteered to host the sale in their front yard. In fact, we want to send out a special thanks to Kay and Kay Long for loaning us their yard! I also want to thank June and Kristin for helping us again with our yard sale.

The morning started out quite chilly. But gradually warmed up.
It ended up being quite a nice day.

The amount of clothing donated was phenomonal!

We hope to send some of the leftovers straight to the orphanage for the children.

More large pieces of furniture were donated later in the day.
These are just a few of the pieces we started with.

It was still quite early when these pictures were taken. But we had hardly started laying out things (at 7:30 am) when we had people already showing up to shop!

This is June (left) and Kay (right). This is my dear friend Kristin.
You may be wondering what we are doing. The glove that Kristin is trying to shove her hand in was donated; the lining of the glove had been pulled out seperately than the outer shell. We were trying to line the fingers of both pieces together. All in all we were able to raise another $595.36.
Again we want to thank everyone who was able to donate items and those who were able to come and purchase items.
We feel truly blessed by the Lord through the hands and hearts of others!

Insert: Just a Reminder

2008-10-24T18:12:00.007-04:00

Just wanted to post a reminder about our Yard Sale ...Tommorrow!!!!

* We will continue accepting donated items at 652 West 800 North, Provo - until 9 pm tonite. (We need to have time to mark and transport these items for tommorrow)

* The actual Yard Sale info:
Date: 25 Oct. 2008
Time: 9:00 am
Place: 337 North 800 East, Orem

We hope to see you there!

Chapter Nineteen: Homestudy Approval & The I-600A Run Around

2008-10-21T19:14:00.013-04:00

We have been pulling our I-600A together for a while now. We had just to wait for our homestudy approval. We finally recieved that on Friday the 17th. Pabbi and I were so thrilled! It came the day before our Yard Sale. By the end of the weekend we felt so elated from our success and from having the homestudy done!

We could now set up an appointment for the I-600A and our fingerprinting.

Our appointment was for 7:40 am Tuesday. We stayed up the night before reviewing all the paperwork and requirments over and over. (Here one can see our neuroticism and perfectionism especially when dealing with Immigration Offices -we have had to in the past and we get such mixed results...we don't leave anything for chance). We felt prepared! We had our paperwork fully done and we set our checkbook with the paper so as to not forget it.

We pulled ourselves out of bed, bright and early to make the 40 minute trek north. We arrived about 30 minutes early (again - neurotic). We waited patiently and we were promptly called to the window at our time. The man who helped seemed like he too had been pulled out of bed early and did not seem to happy about that. He barely glanced at our paperwork and then asked for the money order. In the paperwork it says we could use a moneyorder or a check - we had chosen to go with the check. He looked at us and said "Money Order only." We were dumbfounded. He stamps our appointment paper, hands us back our paperwork, and said "Come back when you have the money order."

We left a bit shocked. It was not even 8:00am and where were we supposed to find a money order that early!?!

Not far was a grocery store...their counter did not open until 10:00am. We looked in the phone book for a Western Union. We found one about 10 minutes away. We drove all the way over there only to be told they don't make money orders from personal checks or Visa's. Only Cash. But there was an ATM across the street we could try.

We ran to the ATM across the street and started pulling money out. It soon denies us from withdrawing (We now know that our bank protection against stolen cards and large ATM cash withdrawels work). We were unsure what to do. We aren't too familiar with the area and unsure where to go. We go back to Western Union ask if they would cash a check. They will cash a personal check - for 5% of it! That was out of the question.

Then an idea! Where is the nearest Wal-mart? Not too far actually. So we ran over there and with no trouble or questions, they use our Visa and make us a money order! (I know some of you readers are anti-Wal-Mart but sometimes they can be quite the lifesaver)!

So we run back to the Office and we wait a few minutes before we are summoned back to the window, and to the same man.

He takes the check and paperwork while we stand silently. Then my eye catches something. Right there on his desk is paperwork with personal checks attached.
WHAT?!?! Others can use personal checks but we had to take over an hour to hunt down a money order. I try to keep a smile on my face...don't want to upset the man who stands between us and our future!

We wait while he keeps typing away at the computer in silence. After a what seemed like forever, he talks to a co-worker about how he can't find Pabbi in the computer. I try not to get to nervous. Finally, he finishes and hands us the paperwork for the fingerprinting...I look at the time and date...November 5th!!
Ugghhh!!!

But before I can say anything he says, "Go to the [fingerprinting office] and tell [so-&-so] that I sent you, and that you should get printed today. Otherwise you would have to wait until November 5th." Such relief flooded through me - I didn't want to have to push too hard for early fingerprinting. I was worried about poking the snake...who turned out to be quite nice..most likely just tired.

We drive over to the office and are fingerprinted in no time at all. I thought it was weird that they set up appointments etc. because they are busy...yet there was NO-ONE there to be printed except us!

After we were printed and climbed into the car, Pabbi looks to me and says, "Do you realize that filing the paperwork and getting printed took less than an hour and yet we spent over an hour just tracking down a money order?"

The irony of that one!

All in all...we are done with this step and are now ready to put together our dossier! I wonder what new adventures this next set of paperwork will present. We will be sure to keep you posted!

Chapter Eighteen: YARD SALE SUCCESS!!!!

2008-10-20T18:29:00.002-04:00

We had had the idea to have a yard sale to raise money for our adoption process a couple months ago. But I have to say I thought we were being overly ambitious...as neither one of us have ever held a yard sale...nor did we have that much to sell. We kept mulling the idea over with friends and family who rooted us on. We planned to have it on the 11th of Oct. but were snowed out of that idea. Then we planned for the 18th and we were blessed with incredible weather.

Because we had never done a yard sale we asked a good friend of ours to help. We want to give our thanks to Kristin, and her parents June and Henry, as well as Stacy their grandaughter, for helping pull this together for us. Not only did they collect donations from their area, but they spent all day Friday bringing donated items they collected to our place, and then they sat and helped us price everything! It was tiresome work, and seemed never-ending because the donations kept coming in all day long - which we are ever so grateful for. Then despite a late night of working they showed up super early the next morning to help run the sale!

Without them we would have never been able to manage.

In addition, we would be negligent if we did not add another dear friend who came and ran a refreshment table as well as stayed late to help clean up. Thank you Katie!

We also want to thank two families who volunteered their front yards to us to host this sale.

This is a picture of the carport early Saturday morning.

But the donations did NOT stop coming in.
They kept pouring in all day. I felt that just as we sold things, more things came in and filled up their spot.
If I wasn't so busy I think I might have broken down and wept tears of joy and gratitude.
But donations did not just come in the form of items to sell. I was shocked when we recieved monetary donations on top of items being bought. I want to thank each and everyone of you who not only donated items, but those of you who came and bought items, and those who donated money in addition.
Your generosity has truly been a miracle for us.
At the end of the day (7:30 pm...people just kept coming and coming) we raised twice what I thought would be possible. We were able to raise $2,326.56. I still can't believe such a large amount!!! The Lord has truly blessed us through the hands and generosity of others!

And... IT IS NOT OVER.
The pictures below are items we have left to sell. Not only that, so many have contacted us and told us they still have things they would like to donate.

So in all humility, and with much gratitude, we will be doing an other Yard Sale this coming Saturday (October 25th). A wonderful couple has volunteered their yard in the Orem area where we will be having our next Yard Sale.
YARD SALE

October 25, 2008
@
337 North 800 East
Orem, Utah
starting at 9:00 am.

For those who still have things they would like to donate, we will be receiving items until 9:00pm Friday, the 24th at our place:
652 West 800 North
We thank you for your generosity.

Again, THANK YOU Everyone!!!

Chapter Seventeen: Big Brother

2008-10-15T19:04:00.005-04:00

Many of you already know we are adopting another child - a boy.

His name is Kofi and he is 6 years old.

He is such a beautiful and sweet child (according to those who know him.)
We have had the blessing of being able to talk to him on the phone (I of course wept most of that conversation). Just hearing him talk...melted my heart.

Look at this picture..doesn't he melt your heart too? We are both ecstatic to have the option to adopt more than one. We have always wanted a large family..and we hope this is only the beginning. The story of him joining our story is a miracle in and of itself. Much like with Sufi, we just knew that he was suppossed to join our family when we heard about him.
Here are the two brothers together!

Chapter Sixteen: Pictures of Baby Sufi

2008-10-10T21:01:00.008-04:00

As was mentioned in a previous post, L.M. went to Ghana in September. While she was there, she was able to meet and play with the children at the orphanage. Of course she was able to spend time with our baby boy Sufi. Here are a few of the pictures she sent us.

Such concentration...
You can't hardly see, but he has two baby teeth on the bottom.

I wonder what he is looking at.
Isn't he so adorable?!?!!!
We were also able to learn when he was born for certain...he is a Scorpio.
With every picture and every step closer to bringing him home, our hearts fill with such an immense joy.
We love you Sufi!

Chapter Fifteen: Yard Sale

2008-10-10T01:10:00.003-04:00

After a few weeks hiatus, we are back and ready to begin blogging again about our adoption process. Some wonderful blessings happened during this time that we would be remiss if we did not acknowledge them. We have been recieving more donations from some of the most unlikely places. We are truly truly blessed. Many who have donated are truly giving of the widow's mite (St. Mark 14:41-44). We are so grateful for their sacrifice. Thank you everyone who has been so kind and willing to help us!!! We have been blessed to raise over half of what we need to bring Sufi home. We are more and more amazed as we see the Lord work through others to bring about such a beautiful miracle.

We are continuing raising money by having a yard sale.
We were going to have it this weekend, but due to a potential 'snow' we are going to postpone it to the 18th. This will also give us more time to gather materials and recuperate from being gone. We have already had so many donate to this sale, and again we are ever so grateful. Many have even dropped things on our porch anonymously, while we were out. I don't know who you were, but we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!!!!

For those of you who live in the area, we will be having our yard sale at:

640 West 800 North
Provo,

We will be starting at 9:00 am and going until everything is sold... or at least until late afternoon.

We will continue to recieve donated items until the end of the sale. You are welcome to drop items off whenever you can or schedule a time when we can pick them up from you.

Again THANK YOU for your support and love!

Chapter Fourteen: Homestudy...Check! The Next Step Is...

2008-09-14T23:51:00.010-04:00

It is done!!!!!

We had our homestudy visit this past Thursday. We are so glad to be done with that. It was quite stressful leading up to it, but then before we knew it...it was over!

After Pabbi came home from his internship this summer we wanted to do a huge 'Fall Cleaning' before he went back to school. So we started uprooting every room in our place, cleaning it thoroughly and putting things back. Of course, it didn't get done before school started again; as did his new internship. I tried to do things as best as I could, but did not get too much done. So our apartment looked in total disarray creating a bit of panic to settle in. Lucky for us, a dear friend came to help clean the day before the homestudy; but even after she left we still had the dreaded room: office/storage room upstairs - the room that would become ours, so Sufi could have our room. Thursday morning, I woke up so so sick! I had had a cold the week before that I thought I kicked (and had passed onto Pabbi) but Thursday morning I woke so ill! Sneezing, coughing, body aches, headache, and fever. I persevered and with Pabbi's help we cleaned that office so it at least could show that it had potential to be a bedroom.

By the time the Social Worker came, I was exhausted, yet strangely calm! She came in and we talked for almost two hours. We laughed, joked, informed, and discussed all that needed to be talked over. She was an incredible woman. In fact, she has 12 children herself, from all over the world. She really knew what she was doing. Before she left, she said she just needed to see our kitchen, and that she would not need to go upstairs through the rest of the rooms (we were dumbfounded and somewhat disappointed). We know she could tell the size of the upstairs by the downstairs layout (our apartment is not that complex). Later Pabbi told me he wanted to herd her upstairs to show off our hard work!

All in all everything seemed to go real well. She said that all she needed was to await a final confirmation from Iceland on his background check and then she could write up the final report. We kind of got the feeling we would be approved, but we will keep praying that this feeling is indeed accurate.

THE NEXT STEP

We were told to start focusing on the I-600a and the Dossier for Ghana. So that is what we are doing. But once we get our homestudy report things are going to be going fast. So not only do we need to get this paperwork done, but our attention now needs to focus on doing some serious FUNDRAISING. If things go well, and as fast as Jessica's pace went, we have about a month and a half to two months tops to raise all the money we need. We have about $3,050 and need to raise another $7,000 so that all this can really actually happen!!!!!

It brings tears to my eyes and my heart swells thinking that in just 3 months I will FINALLY be a mother, that Pabbi will FINALLY be a father.

We Love you Sufi!

Chapter Thirteen: Homestudy Panic

2008-09-09T21:15:00.008-04:00

This post is merely a way to document my fear (with a hope that in reality I can look back and laugh at being so afraid). But I am terrified! Our homestudy is on Thursday and I am terrified we will be rejected/not approved to adopt! Plus, there is still so much to do before we have this appointment and the hours are ticking away faster than we can move.

I think our greatest fear is that we are still poor students. Yes, we know here in Happy Valley, that most parents are poor and that they have two or three children on a budget that only one person should be able to survive on. But the reality is that the Government requires much more before giving permission to become an adoptive parent. I think it is sad because we do well, and don't need much, but we fear our documents may say otherwise. So our fear stands and will probably stand until both our homestudy and the USCIS (INS) clears us. It is interesting we haven't yet feared our ability to fundraise what we need for the 'process' itself; we have full confidence in God that we will be able to. But we lack that faith when it comes to proving we have enough to care in the long run. We do have to do our part. At this point it is all on pure faith!

We are not too concerned about our Social Worker coming to talk to us. We are actually excited to meet her, and ask our billion questions.
We are concerned, because she will come into our apartment and well, we had started an in-depth 'Fall Clean" before school started for Pabbi, and well, did not quite make the deadline of getting finished before he started. So I have been trying to patch up and put things back together before Thursday! Yikes! Will she come and think we are filthy or that we are too clean?

I know, I know we just need to

It is just soooo hard, when something so important is riding on us and our fear of failing will rip the one most beautiful thing going in our life right now.

Please pray for us, and that all will go right; that we will be approved in our homestudy and that the USCIS will also say we are good enough!

Chapter Twelve: Gifts for Samuel

2008-09-06T23:03:00.002-04:00

Because L.M. is going to Ghana, we couldn't resist sending some things for Sufi. We wish it were us being sent to go be with him; but we will settle sending these few things.

This first idea was taken from another adoptive parent, who created and sent a book to their little girl.

A few sample pages:

He will have a home...
He will have a mamma and a Pabbi
That Love him.

He will have a Grandma Kay and a Grandpa Lynn
who love him very much.
He will have an Afi and an Amma in Iceland
that love him very much. We will be a happy family.
This is a dog and a baby cougar (BYU).

An adoptive mother gave us a great idea to get stuffed animals and sleep with them in our bed for a week or so, to pick up 'our scent' and then when Sufi plays with these, he can become familiar with how we smell. We had alot of fun sleeping with these two in our bed.

This is an outfit we hope that will fit.
We chose colors that we hoped would not look to dirty
after wearing and washing.Notice, the shorts are the same?
We only sent one pair of shorts and three shirts.
We do hope that the clothes fit, and when we pick Sufi up,
we will leave these outfits behind to be used by any other children who can fit into them.

We also sent a book. Isn't it so cute.
We hope L.M. and other children will be able to read this to Sufi.
We also sent a Poof ball for Sufi to play with.
We hope Sufi will love these and that he will enjoy sharing them with the other little children.

We can't wait for him to come home!

We Love You Sufi!

Chapter Eleven: Another Miracle

2008-08-31T14:34:00.003-04:00

Friday we talked with L.M., who tells us she was talking with the orphanage director, who told her that he felt strongly impressed we needed to pick up the pace in our adoption process. I too, had been feeling this way, but discounted it, thinking that I was just being overly-anxious to bring Sufi home. We have been trying to pace ourselves in this process, because we are still students, and have so much already going on. But this was like a fire being lit under us. We decided to call the director ourselves to talk with him about what he would like us to do; plus we had questions of our own about our little boy.

So we make the call. Our questions about Sufi could not be answered because the director was not near the files on the children (he does deal with over 300 children). So we asked what it was he would like us to do to pick up the pace. He of course said to get our homestudy completed. Then he did say, if we sent part of our fees, he could get a jump start on tracking down the birth certificates and all the documents needed for his side of the work. He wasn't sure what the costs might be, but said to call back and he could give more specific details.

The next morning we call, our hearts anxious. We had been discussing how it was we would be able to come up with the fees right away. We also were anxious to find out more information about Sufi. The first part of our conversation, we discussed where Sufi had been born. What he did know was that Sufi had been born in the Central Region of Ghana. He gave some specific names we couldn't quite catch (we will be reciveing this information written down for out benefit). We found out that Sufi speaks a language similar to Fante (we think he said it was Gomoa...our brains still can't wrap around all of it, especially by phone). This may not seem like alot of information, but every little ounce we recieve feels like such a blessing. More could not be said until the director is able to track down the documents.

Our conversation soon turned to fees. Due to happenings in the adoption realm of Ghana, it is now very important to hire an attorney in addition to a social worker over in Ghana. Certain countries were becoming unhappy with Ghana for not demanding interim adoptions, as the law states a judge might require. Judges in Accra are now expected to be making most adoptions interim adoptions (meaning we would have to return in two years before the adoption was final). This has scared many prospective adoptive families.

So to be on the safe side of things, the director and L.M. decided we better have an attorney helping, and that we should start going to the judge in the Central Region (where the orphanage is located) instead of going into Accra. This caused some of the fees to increase (though I was surprised at how little it was...but it was still a moderate increase). We don't mind, it was jsut an unexpected amount to have so suddenly and on such short notice.

Side note: L.M. decided to go to Ghana. She is leaving on the 9th of September. We will be sending our fees with her.

We figured we would find a way to come up with the money. We hoped and prayed the Lord knew what was needed. We had raised some money, but we also have the homestudy, and documents required on the 11th. We decided to take out a short term small loan and hope we could pay it off later when we had done some serious fundraising.

After our phone call, we headed out to run some errands, and dropped by our mailbox. In the mailbox, was a letter from a dear dear friend. In this letter was a check with a large donation. I was shocked and so grateful. This friend, has a large family of her own, and I was surprised they could make such a wonderful and blessed sacrifice to help us out. This donation definately will help keep us from having to borrow so much money at one shot.

We want to give public thanks to her, her husband, and family; they had mentioned they wished to be anonymous - in fact, she did not even want to let us know they had donated the money, but did not know a 'safe' way to ensure we recieved the money (we now have Paypal up and running to aid those who wish to stay anonymous).

So Thank You so much for being a miracle in the Lord's hand!!!!
We are so grateful to you and your generosity. We feel so blessed and so grateful, words can not express how we feel.

Chapter Ten: L.M. is going to Ghana

2008-08-30T21:19:00.009-04:00

I am so excited:
L.M. is going to Ghana.

While she is there, L.M. is going to take our dear baby Sufi, strap him on her back (as the Ghanaian women do) and go around doing all that she needs to do.

She is going to find out what the orphanage needs, and how we can all help to improve the conditions for the children!!!!

She is also going to meet the team (Orphanage Director, the Social Worker,and now a Lawyer) who helps families adopt. Due to some changes in adoption proceedures on that end, interim adoptions seem to be more likely in the future. This means that we will need to use a lawyer after all to ensure we can get final adoptions there.

Also, it has been decided to take our adoption cases before the judge in the Central Region (where the orphanage is), instead of into Accra.

L.M. has felt that to better help us families to adopt, and to know what the school/orphanage needs, she should go and see for herself. It has been ten years since she has been in Ghana; although she has often wanted to go, the time didn't seem right. Now is the right time!!!

I am just mostly glad that she is going to be with our boy; she is a relative after all!!! We just found out that she and Fridrik are related. We felt from first meeting L.M. she was family. Now we know she is, albeit somewhat distant.
It brings tears to my eyes, knowing that "family" will be over there with our baby boy, taking care of him, playing with him, loving him, kissing him, and hugging him.

We send our love baby boy:
We love you with all our hearts!!

Chapter Nine: A PLEA FOR HELP.

2008-08-30T16:48:00.009-04:00

Help us bring Sufi Home!

Dear Everyone,

We are writing to ask for your help. To make a long story short, we are adopting a little boy from Ghana. His name is Sufi and he is about 8 months old. He is currently living at an orphanage near Accra, the capitol of Ghana. We are currently working with the owner of the orphanage, who is taking care of the adoption process on that end. Because this is a private adoption the majority of the money for the adoption process will do direclty towards the orphanage and its 300 occupants.

For more information on the orphsnage, please visit ??? .
Also for the whole story of Sufi & more information, visit http://www.thebookofsamuel.blogspot.com/ .
We would also be happy to explain this spirit led journey we have been called to embark upon. Please email us at lovingacrossborders@gmail.com with questions and/or concerns.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. No, we do not excpect you to baby sit, change dirty diapers, or take Sufi to the doctors. But a donation through our blog or by mailing us a check would be a great blessing. Fundraising help would also be greatly appreciated. PLEASE pass this on to anyone who might be interested and feel free to call or write us any time.

So far, this amazing journey has been led by the hand of the Lord. It will be exciting to keep you informed of the progress and miracles that will unfold as we proceed. Thank you so much for your support and prayers!

Yours truly,
Mamma and Pabbi

Chapter Eight: Homestudy Appointment

2008-08-28T03:25:00.005-04:00

We finally have a homestudy appointment set up for September 11th.
I can hardly believe it: and I am scared.

We orginally going to go through another agency and social worker; but things did not work out with her. The final straw was when she said she would not approve us for more than one child and absolutely would not for a non-related child. We had hoped to keep our options open to adopt more than one, and since Sufi is an only child that meant we would have to adopt a non-related child. I have to admit though, that everytime Pabbi would talk with this particular person, I would get sick to my stomach and just felt very uncomfortable.

So we counseled with L.M. and she recommended a social worker who worked with them 10 years ago, and also worked with Shelley. We decided to give her a try. We called this woman and immediately felt she was the one we should work with. although, she did say she would caution against adopting more than one, she would talk with us and check out our situation. That is all we ask, is a a bit of openess.

So she sent us the paperwork back in the end of July, & boy was I shocked: it was an eighth of the paperwork, & her cost was half the price. But this does not mean she is any less thorough (I have read reviews, & talked with others about it). She is very effecient & prompt. We sent in most of our paperwork & documents, the only thing we have to wait on is our final check in Iceland. I was amazed that she even recieved background checks on me from RUSSIA so quickly!!!

I think L.M. is right, that you really have to shop around for a social worker, because not everyone is going to click with the same person. These social workers are here to help and they are going through our lives with a fine tooth comb. It isn't easy to let a stranger into your home to inverstigate you, and so you have to find someone you are comfortable with. I think we found that in this woman!

I do worry that we won't be "good enough" to adopt, or that as 'poor students' we won't qualify. I often ponder why it is at this time the Lord has directed us to adopt; why not wait another year when we might be more settled (well, Pabbi will have graduated) and stable. But I won't question, and we WILL act, but it is taking alot of faith to hold on and hope we are going to be approved to bring our son home to us. So I worry and then pray I have enough faith.

After our homestudy, we wait to be approved and then we take on the next big task of battling with the USCIS (used to be called INS).

So until then we are...to become parents.

Insert : I Saw What I Saw...

2008-08-27T17:09:00.005-04:00

This is a beautiful video, that L.M. shared with us, and I had to post it here as well.

Chapter Seven: Miracles

2008-07-31T19:38:00.013-04:00

It seems every time we turn around another miracle has happened in this process of adopting Sufi.

The first post discussed several of them.
But one I had not written down, I would like to share.
(This story is related as it was told to me secondhand, and as I can remember the details.
So not all details are 100% accurate. But the fact of the timing is.)

One women (Shelley), who just went to Ghana and adopted two beautiful girls: Kekeli and Precious (ages 14 & 9), was key in a major miracle for us in finding Sufi.

In June, Shelley was supposed to fly out with her brother-in-law to Ghana, to adopt their girls from Hohoe Christian Orphans Home in the Volta Region. While she was going to be in Ghana, she planned to go to our orphanage for a day. The Director had been a key in helping her in her adoption process.

However, after the first leg of the trip, Shelley found herself at the New York airport. It was there that Shelley discovered that her visa for Ghana was not multi-entry as she had thought it was. This meant she could not continue on to Ghana. In tears and frustration, she had to say goodbye to her brother-in-law who went on without her to Ghana.

Frantic, Shelley called L.M. who helped her decide what to do next. She wasn't sure if she should return to Utah, to try and fix things, or if she was suppossed to do something else. Shelley was advised to go the the Embassy there in NY and see if they could work her visa issue out.

So she went, and they did. It all worked out for her to continue on to Ghana, just a day behind schedule. It was this day delay that allowed us to get our first glimpse of our son.

See, if Shelley had gone on the day she had originally planned (the day before this photo was taken), there would be no photos of Sufi. He had arrived just that morning of the day this photo was taken. That is why even the director did not know who this baby was, at first, or what the situation was. I consider this an incredible miracle.

Her delay and sorrow turned into our joy and blessing!

Shelley at the orphanage.

Thank you Shelley!
Thanks for the sacrifice you made and the photos you sent.

We thank God, for creating such miracles to bring families together. I am still amazed at how so many blessings come in such unexpected ways. We just know that there will be many more to bring our family together.

Chapter Six: The Diagnosis

2008-07-28T15:11:00.012-04:00

The diagnosis for Sufi's illness is Malaria.
We kind of expected that diagnosis, but now that we know for certainty it makes it even harder not to be with him.

I know malaria is pretty serious, but I have to admit, I did not know that much about the disease, nor what effects it has. So I did some research. I was a bit shocked to know how bad it was, and to know that there really is not an immunization for this disease. I also was shocked at how prevalent this disease is, even in our current times.
I stand educated!

Malaria

is a serious, infectious disease spread by certain mosquitoes. It is most common in tropical climates. It is characterized by recurrent symptoms of chills,fever, and an enlarged spleen. The disease can be treated with medication, but it often recurs. Malaria is endemic (occurs frequently in a particular locality) in many third world countries. Isolated, small outbreaks sometimes occur within the boundaries of the United States.

Causes

Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted from one human to another by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. In humans, the parasites (called sporozoites) migrate to the liver where they mature and release another form, the merozoites. These enter the bloodstream and infect the red blood cells.after red blood cells rupture.

Malaria Life Cycle

The parasites multiply inside the red blood cells, which then rupture within 48 to 72 hours, infecting more red blood cells. The first symptoms usually occur 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, though they can appear as early as 8 days or as long as a year later. Then the symptoms occur in cycles of 48 to 72 hours.

The majority of symptoms are caused by the massive release of merozoites into the bloodstream, the anemia resulting from the destruction of the red blood cells, & the problems caused by large amounts of free hemoglobin released into the circulation

Malaria can be cured with prescription drugs.
The type of drugs and length of treatment depend on the type of malaria, where the person was infected, their age, whether they are pregnant, and how sick they are at the start of treatment.
World ViewMalaria is not a serious problem in the United States.The picture is far more bleak outside the territorial boundaries of the United States. Malaria infects between 300 and 500 million people every year in Africa, India, southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and Central and South America. About 2 million of the infected die each year. Most of the cases and almost all of the deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. At the present time, malaria kills about twice as many people as does AIDS. As many as half a billion people worldwide are left with chronic anemia due to malaria infection. In some parts of Africa, people battle up to 40 or more separate episodes of malaria in their lifetimes. The spread of malaria is becoming even more serious as the parasites that cause malaria develop resistance to the drugs used to treat the condition.

http://www.malariahotspots.co.uk/files/images/MH_L1_facts_map.gif

According to the World Health Organization, each year nearly 500 million people become infected with malaria, and nearly three million, mostly children, die from it. Areas around the world facing the greatest risk, shown reddish brown, harbor some of the world's most impoverished people.

Sites to check out and learn more:

Malaria article -Health Line,

Healthline,

Malaria FACTS,

Frequently Asked Questions about Malaria,

Medline Plus info on Malaria,

Center for Disease Control and Prevention,

and more.

Now I know this sounds bleak, and horrible, but we are not despairing. He was given medication and is already doing so much better! Out of this we learned a little more about Sufi's personality. Apparently as sick as he was, he was quiet, amiable, did not complain at all, and not in the least bit colicky. They could hardly tell he was sick, except for the coughing and fever. The director said he is quite the hardy boy!

We are still praying for him, and hoping he will recover quickly and completely. We will continue to pray that he does not relapse, nor contract it again (anyone can get it over and over again).

Chapter Five: In Hospital

2008-07-26T18:44:00.014-04:00

Thursday, we recieved a message from teh orphanage director,

that we should call him. So we called him.

The director let us know that little Sufi is in the hospital with a cough and fever.

He is not sure what he has, but he wanted to let us know as soon as possible. He said he would be visiting Sufi, Friday evening or Saturday at the hospital.

He then was going to get ahold of us in the next few days to let us know what Sufi had, and what needs to be done.

It was amazing how our parental instincts kicked in. We wished we could be near him, and hold him until he was better. We both are hoping it is nothing too serious, and merely a cold/flu that most children get. It is hard enough to not be there, but to know he is not up and about playing with the other children, is beyond words. We just know we are being challenged to have faith that the Lord is wathcing over our baby boy. We, just have to trust in that.

We are praying that he will soon be well and happy. We ask those of you watching this blog to please pray for Sufi, and that he will recover quickly.

Sufi, get better soon! We love you!

Chapter Four: What's in a name?

2008-07-22T18:43:00.033-04:00

We have often heard the adage written by Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet :

"What's in a name?That which we call a rose
by any other name would smell as sweet."

Yet, many believe a name is highly important; and that if named something different, we would eminate different personalities and characteristics.

In the scriptures
we see the importance of a name.
Many prophets names were changed to represent important concepts, ideas, and teachings. Many reliogious people name their children after thse in the scriptures in hope that their children become good and righteous.

As a genealogist,
it is interesting to watch the name patterns,
because the names meant something important
and connects the past and the future for most families.

Some believe our names are the cornerstones of our personality
and that they tell alot about who we are and who we will become.
Social science research has found that the names we are given a birth carry substantial pyschological weight;
and that we define our very selves by these names.

Even different cultures and countries have patterns and traditios in naming their children.
Russians are usually named after saints.
Everyday of the year is named after a particular saint: if you are born that day, you usually inherit that name.
In Iceland they have a specific
national registrary of names that you can name your children. If a name does not show up, then you can't name your children.
This is to preserve the "Icelandic" names.
(Currently, Pabbi's name is not on the registrar,
so no one can be named that.)

In Ghana, they name children according to the day of the week,
and they are also given a English name.

(I took the following info from a fellow adoptive mom)

"The Ghanaian Day Name is the name assigned to the child born on a specific day of the week which also includes characteristics of the child born on the specific day of the week. This day name also, called the Kradin name, is carried on throughout the life of the child, and amazingly accurate as horoscopes in the western world."

Day of Birth

Name

FEMALE MALE

Monday

Adwoa, Adzo, Ajoba, Ejo (female)

Bobo, Jojo, Kobie, Kojo, Kwodwo (male)

Tuesday

Abena, Abla, Araba (female)

Ebo, Kobena, Kwabina (Male)

Wednesday

Aku, Akuba, Ekua, Ekuwa, Kuukuwa (female)

Kuuku, Kwaku, Kweku (male)

Thursday

Aba, Yaa, Yaaba, Yaayaa (female)

Ekow, Yao, Yaw, Yokow (male)

Friday

Afi, Afua, Efie, Efua (female)

Fifi, Kofi, Yoofi (male)

Saturday

Ama, Awo (female)

Ato, Atoapem, Kwame, Kwamena (male)

Sunday

Akosua, Esi, Kisi (female)

Akwasi, Kwesi, Siisi (male)

Day of Birth

Description

Monday

Calm, tranquil, and cool (like icewater), skillful and adept under pressing conditions

Tuesday

Warm, gentle, eloquent and compassionate

Wednesday

Mischievous, vicarious, vigilant and daring

Thursday

Eager for battle, a big rock in one's pocket, skillful in dealing with people

Friday

The wanderer, adventurous, wisdom and tenacity

Saturday

Possesses the medicine for snake bites, able to reverse crisis, thorough and painstakingly scrupulous, Saturday is also God's Day

Sunday

Tail of the Animal, protection from flies and danger, very protective of others and patient

(What day were you born on? Which Ghanaian name would you choose?)

I feel a person named particularly can live up to the meaning of their name;
or at the very least feel that it holds great importance and values that s/he may posses.
Our names do impact us.

We love the name *Sufi and truly think it is no coincedence that he is named as such.

God has heard our prayers and blessed us with him.

We do hope as we learn more about him, we will find out his Kradin name as well.

We love you Sufi!

*Name has been changed

Chapter Three:The Orphanage

2008-07-19T18:55:00.013-04:00

Like I mentioned before, the first time I called L.M.,
she had just recieved pictures from Shelley.
L.M. immediately popped some of these off to me,
while I was talking to her.
The rest she gradually sent.

But it was these first few pictures
that I just had to know about
the baby boy (Sufi).
He looked so familiar to me.

The rest of the photos
touched a soft spot in my heart.
I just have to share
Look at the conditions they are in,

yet, I have heard this orphanage is
much better off than many others.

Look at all the kids faces...so adorable!

In this photo Sufi looked so sad... but when I cropped and enlarged it,
not so sad...
just ever soooo cute!!
What big beautiful eyes.

The buildings look so in disrepair.
Yet, all these kids look so happy!
I wish I could bring them all home with me!
See Sufi in the background...so attentive!
No words can express this picture!!
Wow! What a group of Happy faces!
The schoolroom,
again Sufi's in the back being held.
Shelley.

This school/orphanage caters to so many
children of all different ages!I think this is the director and his wife,
but I could be so wrong about who she is.
Look at the boys in the background!
Such a cute picture.
I don't know anything about it,
it was sent to me in the group of photos;
I couldn't not post it.
Such a beautiful baby.
The kids.
There you have it.

Chapter Two: New Pictures!!!!

2008-07-18T18:50:00.007-04:00

L.M. just sent me these pictures of Sufi today.
A couple who volunteers at the orphanage took these pictures and sent them to her.

These pictures are so much more clear.
The other pictures are cut and blown up to size.

I am amazed at how a few weeks makes a difference.
He has so much more hair and looks older.

He has a face of an angel!

He looks a little sad in this one, or maybe upset,
but still so adorable!!!
Although, it will be many months before we have him in our arms,
I feel at peace that he is being well taken care of.
I know the Lord is watching out for him!

We love you Sufi!

Chapter One: The Beginning

2008-07-16T20:56:00.030-04:00

We are going to have a son!!!

His name is Sufi

and he is 7 months old.
He is from Ghana.

We hope to have him in our home by the end of the year!
This has been a miracle all the way around.

Pabbi and I had finally given up hope of having children.
IVF was too expensive and the chance of success was slim to none. Adoption was the last thing on our mind.We had investigated adopting from here in the states, but again, it is so expensive and soooo risky. We know many who were going to adopt and the birthparents changed their mind, or the baby never made it through birth, leaving these couples broke, in so many ways. We knew we could not undergo such a strain. We had quickly dismissed the thought of adopting internationally was too way out there, to even consider it in our condition.

We were exhausted.
We had undergone so many failed treatments, and we were emotionally, mentally, physically, and financially ehxausted. We decided to settle on being happy as just the two of us.

But a few months ago, I had been watching movies and reading books set in Africa. All of which discussed and portrayed the plight of the children in many regions of Africa. My heart wept for these children who were abandoned and lived with so little. We had all this love and no one to pour it upon. Pabbi felt much the same as I did, when I told him how I felt. We don't have alot, but we do have each other, and as poor as we are as students, we have so much more than those dear souls in many areas of Africa.

We felt we should at least look into adopting from Africa! We didn't have to respond or act right away. We felt we should just take our time and look at our options and the situation. Pabbi would be done with school in one year and what did we have to lose? We only had to gain!

We heeded these promptings, and started asking around.
One of my friends, Cherish, had been to Kenya a number of times doing humanitarian aid. She had sent me pictures and told stories of her adventures in Africa. I was sure she would know about orphans and who to talk to. I asked her if she knew what the situation was with the orphanages and adoption in Africa. She told me of another friend of mine (Jenn), whom I had not seen in quite some time, but who had just come back from Ghana. She was engaged to a Ghanaian, and while she was there had been to the orphanages.

When I talked with Jenn she told me of her fiancé, Abraham, who was good friends with a man who actually owned and ran an orphanage near the capitol city Accra.

The Director had started the orphanage which was begun in 2001, and serves around 80 children,
plus 300 that come there for school!

So we contacted this man via email.

We asked a number of questions, as we did not even know how or where to begin the process of adopting. He gave us contact information for a woman named L.M. who was helping other couples in the Utah area with the adoption process. She lives in Heber, a city on the other side of the mountain from Provo.

I called her.
I introduced myself and Pabbi. L.M. had just recently started working full time to help the Director find homes for these children, as well as help couples on this side of the adoption process. In telling her our story we discovered that she was also of Icelandic descent. We do not think this to be coincedence. It seemed the more we looked, the hand of the Lord became more and more clear.

L.M. told me that she and her husband had adopted the director's 4 yr old niece, 10 years ago. She talked of the joy she had found in her daughter. She also emphasized that the Lord has a hand in bringing our children to us in a number of ways. I loved that. I felt very much the same. Up to this point I could not understand why I would be so cruelly denied having children. I had always wanted to raise a very very large family. Pabbi felt the same.

L.M. was quite excited to talk with me!
She told me she had just been going through pictures of the orphanage that morning, from a woman named Shelley. Shelley had just returned from Ghana the night before, after picking up two girls from Ghana. Due to this and my call, L.M. was quite enthusiastic and excited to tell me about the children, and her experiences. It lit a fire within me!

L.M. and I also talked about the process and what would be needed.

She said the cost would be minimal, not including airfare and the home study. This money, however, is going straight to the orphanage and the paperwork/legal fees. None of that money was going into the hands of the director or L.M.’s. This comforted me. I had always disliked the idea of an agency etc., because it made me feel like I was ‘buying’ a child, not adopting. Knowing that the orphanage was getting that money for taking care of the children directly was so wonderful.

L.M. then asked what we were looking for.
I told her we wanted a boy and as young as we could have. She became quite excited about this. She told me she had just been looking through the pictures when she came upon a picture of a young baby boy. She did not know anything about him and would have to call to find out more. The director later told her he didn’t know who she was talking about, but would find out. L.M. sent me the picture(s). This little boy looked exactly like I had imagined. I sent the pictures to Pabbi, and then told L.M. we would wait to hear from her.

When Pabbi came home for the week, from his internship, we became excited and decided to call the orphanage director ourselves and see what we could find out. The director told Pabbi that this little boy was 7 months old, and that his mother was giving him up. The father would not acknowledge this boy as his, and the mother could not afford to raise him. He then said his name was "Sufi*."

I heard Pabbi repeat the name, "Sufi", and I started bawling!
In all these past years of discussing having children, Pabbi and I had only chosen 3 names for our children. Two were boy’s names, and one was a girl’s. One of those names was Sufi.

Hannah, from the bible, has always been a heroine to me. This woman had suffered with infertility but longed for children. After many years of suffering she was blessed with children. I have always held onto the hope I would one day be blessed as well. Due to this favorite bible story of hope and blessings, we named our blog the Book of Samuel, as a reminder that God does remember and the blessing of children comes from Him.

Pabbi talked more with the director about what the situation was.
Pabbi then mentioned to him that I had been thinking of going to Ghana with Jenn, in the end of October. (I was originally going to go be with Jenn, and just scope out the orphanage and the children.)

The director said we might be able to even pick up little Samuel at that point! I was in shock!

We could have our son by the end of October at the earliest! We hope for then, but plan to get him at the end of the year. We have so much to do before he comes; it will all depend on how fast we can get it done. So the rest is left up to us. We need to raise that large amount of money
and we need to pass the home-study;
which we are willing to do.

It will just take time.

So that is the beginning of our story.
We are sure there will be more will follow.

*Most names have been changed on this blog to protect identies.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT FROGS

They Are My Happiness

April 6th

New Job, New Home, Early Christmas

Forever Family

Happy 1st 'Gotcha" Anniversary

Our Family: Then and Now

Looking Back - March 18th 2009 - Flying Home

Looking Back - First week at home

Looking Back...Kofi

Looking Back...Sufi

Looking Back...A year of togetherness

Happy 1st 'Gotcha' Day!!!

Peep...Peep...from the Silence

Radio Silence...

Learning to Play...

These Feet Were Made For Walking...

Changing Things Up

Personal Note: NIAW

Visit with a Friend

Brotherly Love (HOME)

Brotherly Love (Ghana)

ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY

Pleading and Praying for Help

Sofi Snapshots

A Kofi Klip

Unsung Woman (Ghana)

ADOPTION SHOWER

The Woman Inside (HOME)

The Woman Inside (GHANA)

Home At Last

Ghana Get'Ya

Pre-Ghana Panic

"DON'T BE GIVING ME THE EVILS!!!"

The COUNTDOWN...

The Whisper of Gratitude

New Year - New Beginnings!!!!

***Insert*** "Joy To Everyone This Christmas"

Chapter Thirty-One: All Is Quiet....

Chapter Thirty: Lullaby

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Fire (National Adoption Month)

***Insert***: "All I Really Want for Christmas"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Something in the Mail.

Chapter Twenty-Six: HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Waiting Period Begins (aka: Sent our Dossier Off!)

Chapter Twenty-Four: African Children's Choir

Chapter Twenty-Three: NATIONAL ADOPTION AWARENESS MONTH

Chapter Twenty-Two: Hit a Wall

Chapter Twenty-One: PRAYING for PASSPORTS

Chapter Twenty: YARD SALE The Sequel

***Insert***: Just a Reminder

Chapter Nineteen: Homestudy Approval & The I-600A Run Around

Chapter Eighteen: YARD SALE SUCCESS!!!!

Chapter Seventeen: Big Brother

Chapter Sixteen: Pictures of Baby Sufi

Chapter Fifteen: Yard Sale

Chapter Fourteen: Homestudy...Check! The Next Step Is...

Chapter Thirteen: Homestudy Panic

Chapter Twelve: Gifts for Samuel

Chapter Eleven: Another Miracle

Chapter Ten: L.M. is going to Ghana

Chapter Nine: A PLEA FOR HELP.

Chapter Eight: Homestudy Appointment

***Insert ***: I Saw What I Saw...

Chapter Seven: Miracles

Chapter Six: The Diagnosis

Chapter Five: In Hospital

Chapter Four: What's in a name?

Chapter Three:The Orphanage

Chapter Two: New Pictures!!!!

Chapter One: The Beginning

Insert "Joy To Everyone This Christmas"

Insert: "All I Really Want for Christmas"

Insert: Just a Reminder

Insert : I Saw What I Saw...