Emett's Escapades

One Sad Thing About Toy Story 3

2010-06-29T08:33:00.000-06:00

I took the girls to watch Toy Story 3 the other day. Sierra is a huge Toy Story fan. She wants to decorate her room like Toy Story. For Christmas last year all she wanted was Buzz Lightyear and Woody. When we went to Disneyland, she didn't want to meet the princesses, she wanted to see Toy Story characters. She learned how to write Andy's name before her own. She's a nut about it.

We stayed through the credits and then I looked over at Sierra and asked her what she thought of the movie. She responded, "There's just one sad thing." Then she got huge tears in her eyes and started to cry the saddest cry. I tried to comfort her asking what was wrong. She said through her tears, "I just want to watch it again!"

The Ultrasound Results Are In and It's A.......

2010-06-23T22:30:00.000-06:00

BOY!!!! We are so excited. I don't know if we will know what to do with a boy around our house with all the estrogen here, but we can't wait to learn. Now for a name....hmmmm....that will be tough. We can come up with so many girl names we both like, but our boy names lists are very different. If we leave the naming to Sierra, it would be Fred (from Scooby-Doo), Andy (Toy Story), or Dash (Incredibles). Those are her favorites.

Savannah has had her heart set on a girl, but when the ultrasound technician declared, "It's a boy", Savannah said to dad, "I think I can like a boy."

Being a Mother

2010-05-10T14:03:00.003-06:00

I have a friend, who like me, became a mother through adoption. She spoke in church a couple years ago on Mother's Day and I could relate to her words. She said, "I used to cry every Mother's Day because I was not a mother. Now I cry every Mother's Day because I am a mother."
Every mother out there knows the joys and pains that come with motherhood. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

I always wanted to be a mother. That is what I wanted to be when I grew up. After Steve and I had been married only 2 months, we learned that I was pregnant. We were very happy about the pregnancy because my doctor had told me I would most likely need to use fertility drugs to conceive. Our son, Dakota was born too early weighing only 1.5 pounds. We were blessed to know him on this earth for 25 hours before he was called back to Heaven.

We tried and tried to conceive again. We used fertility drugs with no success. After about 3 years of this, we decided to adopt. Adoption was something we always talked about and was another way of creating a family. A few months later, Madison was born four years almost to the day of Dakota's birth. We were so thrilled to be parents.

When Madison was 18 months old, we decided to try to adopt again. We did all of our paperwork and waited...and waited....and waited. After 2 years of waiting, I learned that I was pregnant again, but the excitement was short-lived as I miscarried 6 weeks into the pregnancy. I was very heart-broken, but I knew that there were more children waiting to join our family in one way or the other.

When Madison was 5, Sierra and Savannah were born. After 3 + years of waiting for another adoption, our dreams were finally realized again (times 2). Sierra and Savannah were such a joy to us and Madison just loved having two babies to help care for. While we were waiting, we would pray every night for our child's birthmother to find us and place her baby with us. Whenever it was Madison's turn to pray, she would pray for her baby sisters to be born soon. When we took Madison to Disneyland when she was 3, she threw a coin into Snow White's wishing well and wished for 2 baby sisters. For her birthday that year, she got twin dollies to play with. She knew all along that 2 sisters would come to our family.

Then, about 2 years ago, we had the feeling that our family still was not complete, which led us on a journey across the Atlantic to Ghana, where we found Lilly. She has been a blessing to us. She has taught us a lot about survival, determination, and sharing what little you have with others.

This year I have 6 more centimeters (and growing) to be grateful for. We thought after Lilly, we were probably done with building our family, but were surprised to find out early this Spring that we are expecting again. I am 12 weeks into this pregnancy and have had 4 ultra-sounds already. Everything looks great. The baby's heartbeat is strong and he/she is growing at a normal rate. We are so thrilled.....as well as a bit scared. I am seeing a specialist in high-risk pregnancies and he will stitch my cervix closed in a couple of weeks to hopefully prevent an early appearance of this baby. We told the kids and they are excited about having a new baby in the family. Sierra and Madison want a brother; Savannah and Lilly want another Diva like themselves. We won't know for a few more weeks, but can't wait to find out. Steve and I just want a healthy child. I'm not sure if we would know what to do with a boy after 4 girls, but we could learn. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers who read my blog!!!

One Year Anniversary

2010-03-17T13:12:00.009-06:00

March 17, 2009 was such an amazing day for our family. It is the day I stepped off an airplane with our new daughter, Lilly. I remember going down the escalators to the luggage return and seeing my dear Husband, 3 daughters, grandparents, and a couple others waiting to greet us. Lilly had been so tired after the long trip, but perked right up and was so excited to see Dad again and to meet the others for the first time. There was so much love and excitement. It is hard to believe it has been a year already!

I've been reflecting back on the last year and the time leading up to our adopting Lilly. The months prior to meeting her were filled with excitement and wonder. We were so excited to have found her, we were anxious to meet her, we were in awe at the guidance we received from Heavenly Father that led us together. Of course we were busy out of our minds trying to get all the important necessary documents together. We were nervous to travel (separately) to a country neither of us had ever visited.

Steve's favorite memory of his time in Ghana was staying right at Luckyhill. What a blessing it was to be able to experience firsthand the life our daughter was living. She was happy. She was loved. She was well-cared for. She was being educated. Steve loved to hear the children sing at night after dark when there was nothing else to do because of unreliable electricity. He enjoyed talking to the children at Luckyhill and listening to their dreams and aspirations.

I really enjoyed getting to know Lilly and her family in Ghana. One of the things I love about Ghanaians is their sense of "family". You take care of your "brothers and sisters" even if they are not brothers/sisters in a biological sense. Lilly's birthmother calls me "mother" when we speak on the phone. She always refers to Steve as her "brother".

We are so grateful to the many people who helped us on our adoption journey...from those in the States to those in Ghana.

This year has gone by so fast because we have been so busy. Aside from some of the initial adjustment issues (see this post) http://emettsescapades.blogspot.com/2009/06/adjusting-and-bonding.html the transition has gone better than expected. Lilly is such a social butterfly who loves to make friends and meet new people. She is doing very well in school. First term, she had some difficulties with counting and rhyming. We played rhyming games every time we were in the car and she would get so frustrated at "not getting it." I would say: "See rhymes with tree. What else rhymes with tree?" She would ask, "Leaves?" Sierra would shout out "bee, three, free, me!!!" I would tell Sierra to let Lilly try. We would try and try. She finally got it. She is now reading on level and counts to 100 without hesitation. She is good about doing her homework and likes to color.

She loves all American food now, except for her aversion to melted cheese. She has grown so much. She was wearing size 5 when she got here and is now out-growing her size 6X clothes and is ready to move on to 7/8.

We are thankful that we had the courage to listen to the voice of the Spirit telling us we had a child on the other side of the world and feel very blessed to have her in our home. She is worth the mountains of paperwork and the uncomfortable/nervous feelings we had about doing something new. We hope we are the kind of parents she deserves to have. There is something very special about her and we know the Lord has a work for her to do.

I hope someday she will return to her native country and have the opportunity of meeting once again the people who cared for her for many years. Her memory of the language has faded. I bought a journal when she first arrived so we could write down as many of her memories as she cared to talk about. At first, she didn't want to talk about Ghana. I think she just was trying to fit in with her new American lifestyle. But eventually, she would reminisce. We now have several stories in her journal, stories told from a 5 year old point of view. I don't know how accurate some of them are, but it is what she remembers. We wrote them down in hopes that she will always cherish these memories, as they too will fade with time.

Here she is a year ago today.

Here she is today. What a beautiful daughter!

Lilly's First Christmas in America

2010-01-05T20:25:00.020-07:00

I've had a lot of friends ask me about Lilly's first Christmas with our family. We thought it would be nice to include any tradition she may have had in Ghana for Christmas, but when we asked her what she did on Christmas in Ghana, she said they did nothing. She is starting to forget many things about her life in Ghana, so we weren't sure if she has forgotten or if Christmas was just like any other day for her. To give her something Ghanaian at Christmas time, we made bracelets out of the beads I purchased in Ghana for all of the girls' teachers. They turned out really pretty.

No Christmas in Salt Lake City is complete without a visit to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. It was cold and crowded, but very enjoyable, especially to a girl who has never seen so much electricity used in one place.

Our other girls took care of giving her the 411 on Santa. They taught her the words to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and would sing it anytime they thought she was doing something she shouldn't be doing. Lilly quickly picked up on this and it became the "tattle-tale" song of the season.

We took Lilly to sit on Santa's lap and she wasn't afraid or shy at all. She asked for a bubble gum machine. Madison wanted Pixos. Sierra asked for Buzz and Woody and Savannah also wanted a bubble gum machine.

Madison who is 10 and still a believer, asked me one day why Santa didn't take toys to the children at the orphanage. She had a party at school and they had discussed Christmas traditions in various countries. So I told her that they don't celebrate Christmas with Santa in Ghana. But I just couldn't get her question out of my mind. I kept thinking about how deserving of toys the children of Luckyhill are. When Lilly first came here, she didn't really even know how to play with toys. But toys have helped her develop her creativity and imagination so much in this short time. I wish I could send a toy for each child at Luckyhill. At our home, we are blessed enough to have everything we need and can afford to give into the wants we all have from time to time. At Luckyhill, the needs of the children are not always met, so the wants aren't even discussed. It made me feel conflicted about Christmas.

We enjoyed the break from school and were able to do some acts of service and we tried to help the children understand the true reason for Christmas. We always read the Christmas story from the Bible. Our ward Christmas party focused on the spiritual nature of Christmas. We reserve a special place in our living room for nativities. I was glad to have 2 nativities from Ghana to display.

Christmas Eve was exciting for the kids. They got presents left at the door by Rudolf (pajamas and slippers), so they knew it was time to go to bed, Santa was on his way.

It was fun for Steve and I to watch the magic Christmas morning. The kids loved their gifts from Santa and played and got along so well with each other. Lilly got a makeup kit, with mostly lip gloss in it (because she loves being a girl). She was so good about sharing it with Savannah, who is another princess. I wish I had the before picture of Lilly and Savannah smearing lip gloss all over their faces like it was foundation. I only have the after picture of Savannah trying to get it off before anyone notices.

I think Lilly was a bit overwhelmed on Christmas day. She loved it, but it was a lot to take in. She had a bit of a melt down when she opened a gift from Grandma. She got this really neat glow-in-the dark art set. Madison got Pixos. Lilly decided she also wanted Pixos and began crying (we call it the death wail) and throwing her art set around. I tried to see this from her perspective. She has never had gifts given to her like this and so she hasn't grown up accustom to it. I took her to my room and we talked about how she was feeling. We talked about gratitude and how Grandma may feel right now. I explained that she knows what Pixos are, but she doesn't know how fun her gift is because she has never seen something like it before. She calmed down and we gathered it all together and figured out how to make the light work and of course she loved it. She apologized to Grandma and thanked her for the gift.

Lilly really has come such a long way in a short amount of time. She has had to improve a secondary language, adapt to a new culture, blend into a new family as a middle child, and learn new rules. Nothing in her life now is like it was in Ghana, except for the occasional chicken and rice for dinner (with an American flare). She is one remarkable, adaptable little girl that we love more and more each day!

What Are The Odds?

2010-01-04T20:21:00.003-07:00

We currently own 3 cars. We only have 2 drivers. So, what are the odds that all 3 cars are broken down at the same time? Maybe we should buy lottery tickets, because we beat all odds...and yes, we are a bit odd too. :)

The timing chain is going out on Steve's commuter car. We decided since it already has 175K miles on it, we wouldn't repair it. So we purchased a used car for Steve to use as his commuter. Two weeks after purchasing it, the transmission went out. So we still have his old car with a $1400 repair and his new (used) car with a $1200 repair. (We found a used transmission to replace the other one saving us some money.)

Today when the van wouldn't start and I didn't know how I was going to get the twins to preschool, I told them that I wished we had a horse and buggy. I guess they understood my frustration because Savannah told her friend at school, "Today my mommy doesn't like cars."

Here's hoping that tomorrow I will like cars again!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-23T13:10:00.001-07:00

New Family Pictures

2009-12-18T13:16:00.009-07:00

We decided it was way past time to get new family pictures taken. So here they are. They look so great hanging on our walls : ) Sierra is on the left in the family picture and the individual ones, which means Savannah is on the right. What photogenic girls we have.

Be Where You Are

2009-11-22T16:36:00.003-07:00

A friend taught me what this simple phrase means. It means:

When you are in the car with your children, be with your children not with your to do list rattling in your head.

When you are at church, focus on the message being taught.

When you are on date night with hubby, listen to him and enjoy your time together rather than thinking about the bills that still need paid.

I have thought of this simple phrase many times in my life. Sometimes it is a motto that is easy to live by, other times I am easily distracted from what really matters.

In my days before becoming of a mother, I longed for the day that the pitter-patter of little feet would fill my home. But I really tried to focus on the message, "Be where you are." I enjoyed the years that Steve and I had as a couple to enjoy each other and to really work on our relationship. We had a lot of fun. We made sure to plan something we both enjoyed often to distract us from the woes of infertility and childlessness.

Being a mother is wonderful, but it is also difficult. Some days I wonder if I am totally insane to have all these children and sometimes secretly, I wish for more. Some days I look at the mirror I just cleaned that is now smeared with toothpaste and fingerprints and wonder why I work so hard. Sometimes I fantasize about what life would be like if we didn't have any children. In my fantasies, I'm sure we would be rich (living on two incomes, my dream job, my dream house, etc.). I dream of the places in the world where we would vacation. I think of how much less laundry there would be and how the house would always be clean.

But then, I think about how empty the house would be. How unfulfilled my life would be. I would miss out on:

The joy of helping a child with homework and seeing that they get it now.

Arms wrapped tightly around my neck with a sweet little voice saying, "I love you mom."

Hearing my child own up to something they did wrong without being reminded to say "I'm sorry."

Butterfly kisses on my cheek followed by plenty of giggling.

Cuddling a sick child that just needs mommy and a warm blanket.

Reading bedtime stories, even though it is way past bedtime and this is the 5th story we've read.

What good is a clean house if there are no children to fill it? Today, I am grateful to be where I am....in a bit of a messy house, but with 4 beautiful girls and a wonderful, very patient man by my side.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

2009-11-20T14:30:00.002-07:00

Our family was featured in our local newspaper for National Adoption Month. A reporter came to our home and interviewed me and Steve, then the photographer came a few days later to take some pictures of our family. Here's the link, if you're interested in reading the article.

http://www.transcriptbulletin.com/pages/full_story/push?article-A+Labor+of+Love%20&id=4557787-A+Labor+of+Love&instance=home_hometown_left

Birthday Highlights

2009-11-19T22:55:00.025-07:00

Five of the six of us have birthdays falling within 1 month and 3 days of each other. We really get tired of cake in October/November. I made 4 cakes and cheated for my own birthday and bought pie.

(I don't have pictures of Madi's soccer jersey cake because we couldn't find the camera. When I did find it, there were lots of crazy pictures of all four girls.....close ups of their noses, tongues, feet, and silly faces....now I know where the camera was! :) I am posting the silly faces to use as blackmail in the future when boys they like show up.

Here are some fun photos of our birthday celebrations. Lilly's party was on Halloween, so I'm including Halloween pics too.

Lilly was Raggedy-Ann, Sierra was a knight, Savannah was a bat girl, and Madi was Coraline.

Here's to the Birth Mothers who have Blessed our Lives

2009-11-09T13:29:00.014-07:00

There are 3 very special people we honor in our home. These people came into our lives as children came into our family through adoption. Their names are spoken in our home with respect and awe. Their love for their child(ren) is praised and admired.

We met Amanda, Madison's birth mother 10 years ago when Madison was 19 days old. We met her at LDS Family Services in Illinois. We were all nervous to meet. We wondered what she would think of us and whether she would want to change her mind about placing her daughter with us. She had signed placement papers a few days before and was grieving for the child she hadn't seen in 5 days. We had a very nice meeting with Amanda and her mother. We felt such a mix of emotions that day. We were thrilled to be parents. We were overwhelmed at another woman's grief, and in awe of her love and willingness to do what she felt was in the best interest of this little soul that was just placed in our arms. We left with an increased desire to make Amanda part of our family, if only through sharing our lives through letters and pictures. We felt that someday Madison and Amanda would meet again. Amanda left thinking she would maybe never hear from us again. She had entrusted us with everything yet had no expectations from us in return.

Over the years, we communicated with Amanda through letters. When Madison was 3, we sent her our email address and access to a website where she could view pictures online. When Madison was 5, we visited Amanda in Illinois. We met Madison's birth father and his family as well. When Madison was 7, we met Amanda's father and mother, brother and extended family. They have all made our family part of theirs and we have made them part of ours. There have been other visits and we have enjoyed everyone of them.

Amanda is an amazing person and is such a great advocate for adoption. We love you Amanda and just can't imagine our life without you a part of it.

The twins' birth mother wanted a closed adoption. Since I don't have her permission to blog about her, I will just call her "N". In September 2004, our case worker with LDS Family Services called us and told us about twin girls due in December. Their birth mother was working with a different adoption agency in Utah and this adoption agency didn't have many adoptive families to show the birth mother. She asked if we would be interested. We had had many calls like this before, but things never worked out. We had been waiting to adopt for over 3 years. This time, it just felt right. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I just had this feeling....

I met with the case workers at Children's Service Society of Utah and filled out some paperwork and gave them a letter for "N" and some pictures of our family. I felt really good when I left and again felt like these babies were meant to come to our family. They told us that "N" was due at Christmas, but would likely deliver early because they were twins. They thought she would deliver by Thanksgiving.

We waited anxiously to hear something about the twins. But we didn't get a call. In November, I finally called CSS of Utah to see if "N" had picked a different family. They told me she still had not chosen, but they would let me know one way or the other when she had. On November 16th, I got a call around noon from a case worker saying that "N" was in labor and would be delivering today. She asked if we would like to come up to the hospital and finish our paper work. We were so excited that "N" had picked our family.

We quickly did some shopping. We bought a necklace to give "N" with the girls' birthstone. We made arrangements for someone to watch Madison and headed up to the hospital. We finished filling out mountains of paper work and finally decided we better eat something. While we were in the cafeteria, we got a call saying they were born at 8:00 PM. We hurried to the nursery, but they weren't in there yet. We waited and watched as they brought in two beautiful babies. We watched through the window for a few moments while the case worker and the hospital staff worked out an agreement to allow us to be in the nursery with them. We went inside and helped weigh them and bathe them. They were so beautiful.

It was about 11:00 PM and we hadn't left yet. The case workers had gone for the night. "N" had indicated that she did not want to meet us. Then a nurse came into the nursery with a young woman in a wheelchair. It was "N". We wondered what we should do. We introduced ourselves and told her how grateful we were to her for choosing our family to adopt these beautiful children. We thanked her for giving them the gift of life. We told her how much each of them weighed and how we could already tell them apart. She told us she was glad we were their mom and dad now and that she would not interfere in their lives. We told her she needed to have time alone with them and we would leave. She told us not to go too far, she didn't want them to be alone after she left, but she would like some time.

The next day, "N" asked the case worker if we could come to her room and have a visit. We were thrilled and cherish the time we spent getting to know her. We asked her if she had any names in mind for the girls. She didn't, but she loved the names we picked, Sierra and Savannah. "N" was a beautiful, strong woman who wanted her children to be in a home where they would have 2 parents and would be loved and well-cared for. We assured her we would do this. We gave her all the pictures we had taken the night before and told her we would write if she wanted us to. We have never heard from "N" since then, but we respect her wishes and hope and pray that she is happy and doing well.

Ruth is Lilly's birth mother. When Lilly was 4 months old, her father died suddenly. Ruth was very young and life if very difficult in Ghana. Ruth cared for Lilly for several years and provided for her the best she could. When Lilly was about 4 or 5, Ruth took her to Luckyhill Children's Home where Lilly would receive regular meals and an education. Ruth visited Lilly nearly every day and when she could spare a bit of money would buy yogurt for her. Ruth's mother works at Luckyhill helping care for the younger children. Lilly's grandmother took good care of her. Ruth is currently working at Luckyhill cooking meals for the children. We are so glad we were able to meet the people who loved and cared for Lilly for so many years. They are very good and generous people. We are able to call Ruth every once in a while and send letters and pictures to her with other families traveling to Ghana. We love them and know that the reason Lilly has adjusted to her new home and family so well is because she was loved before. She doesn't have bonding issues because she was loved and cared for before she came here.

Love Makes a Family.
It's our family motto. It's the love of these birth mothers that built our family and the love we share with one another that makes our family complete.

Gratitude

2009-11-04T09:56:00.001-07:00

I wrote this post Oct. 10th, but wanted to wait until November to publish it because it is National Adoption Month.

We would like to express our gratitude to Lois Martino who helped us with our adoption of Lilly. She was recently nominated and won the 2009 Hall of Fame Award for Families Supporting Adoption (FSA). She was so deserving and gave a very humble speech upon accepting the award. She said that she is the lucky one because she knows she is doing what the Lord wants her to do. She is truly amazing.

Adoption touched her life when she adopted her daughter, Lily from Ghana 10 years ago. She has given back 100 fold. She has helped so many children find their families. She has dedicated much of her life, without pay, to help guide families through the adoption process in Ghana. As a result of these adoptions, all of the children at Luckyhill are benefiting with better nutrition, a nearly completed school, dorms, beds, medical care, etc.....things we simply take for granted.

THANK YOU LOIS for bringing "our Lilly" home. We are forever grateful and in your debt.

We would also like to thank Kingsley and Gloria Eshun. They are incredible people who are such great examples of sharing and serving others. They opened a school called King's International school as a business to provide for their family. Many of the children who began attending the school were orphans. So the Eshuns started taking these children into their own home and founded the Luckyhill Children's Home. They house around 20 orphans and have found foster homes for about 60 more within the community.

Kingsley works non-stop helping families facilitate adoptions, running the school, serving in the bishopric, helping anyone who stops by from the community, and I could go on and on and on. Gloria cooks 3 meals a day, including breakfast and lunch for 300 students at the school. She does the laundry, watches the children, does the food shopping, and has dedicated her life to this work as well.

We are so thankful for the kind of care Lilly received while she lived in the Eshun home. She was loved and provided for and this has made her transition into our family much easier for all of us.

THANK YOU KINGSLEY AND GLORIA for everything you do. I know the Lord smiles on your work and will bless you abundantly!!!

Several Months....Catching Up

2009-10-20T11:16:00.008-06:00

I've been so lame about blogging lately that I thought I'd just catch you up by photos of the last several months. I hope you enjoy!

Summer camping trip.

BONDING!!! (A.K.A. getting into face paints w/o permission.)

Madi made the competition soccer team!

New hairdos for the three youngest. First time I have taken them to a salon.

We had Lilly sealed to us in the Salt Lake temple in August. She is now officially part of our "forever family"! It was a rainy, windy, wet day...so not many pictures.

Madi's birthmom and grandparents came for a visit. It was so fun showing them around!

First day of school! (They chose to wear matching outfits. They did this for about the first week of school. I guess it got old after that.)

Sierra and Savannah joined a soccer team. Lilly has chosen swim lessons beginning in November.

What Does Drdl Spell?

2009-10-02T11:45:00.004-06:00

Lilly is in Kindergarten now and loving it!!! She is learning that letters have sounds and sounds make words. The other day she showed Steve the word she had made.....drdl.

Steve looked and looked and couldn't figure out what it said. So he asked her what it spells. She said "durdle" in her still to be heard Ghanaian accent....in case you're still wondering what it spells, it spells turtle.

Another funny story. She came home the other day and was so excited to tell me that she got to move her clip to orange, her favorite color. I didn't understand what her clip was. Madi heard her though and told me that each classroom has clips with each child's name on it. If you do something wrong, you get a warning and move your clip to yellow. A second warning means you move your clip to orange and you miss recess. The third warning, you move your clip to red and you have to go to another classroom for "think time".

So, Lilly was so proud that she got her clip to her favorite color! I asked her what she was doing to move her clip to yellow. She was talking really loudly in the hallway on the way to the library. The second warning was because she wasn't listening to the teacher in class, she was talking to her friend instead. So, she understands why she moves the clip, but it just doesn't serve as a determent because she just loves orange.

Does the Dentist Cut Hair?

2009-08-26T15:12:00.004-06:00

I caught Sierra talking on her pretend cell phone yesterday. She was talking to Daddy. She said, "Mom is making me clean my room and it's just horrible. Maybe you should take Mommy to the dentist and cut off all her hair if she doesn't be nice and buy me a treat."

What can I say? It had definitely been a rough day. She spilled nail polish all over the carpet and then refused to clean up her room even with my help. She is a strong-minded one!
...counting the days until preschool starts....three hours per day, four days per week....(just maybe I'll have more time to blog).

Summer Fun #2

2009-07-06T17:10:00.010-06:00

Forgot the camera...no pictures...again. But we had a good time. We went to a new park near Steve's parents' home, then met up with Steve for lunch. After lunch, we went to the Salt Lake City library. This place is so cool.

The kids loved riding the elevator, even Madi who hates them rode it 3 or 4 times. It is a glass elevator with 6 levels. The children's section has its own floor. The kids really liked the attic and cave where they enjoyed playing hide-and-seek and listening to me read stories.

There is a door that leads outside from the children's section where there is a waterfall. They enjoyed feeling the water with their hands and feet. We also walked to the roof of the library from the bottom. There is a curved wall (shown below) with steps leading to the roof. There is a garden and benches at the top with beautiful views of downtown Salt Lake.

Total cost for the day was $12 for lunch, $2.50 for parking. FUN DAY!!!

Cindy's Wedding

2009-06-30T12:21:00.009-06:00

Steve's parents are now officially empty-nesters. The last of Steve's siblings got married. Congratulations Cindy and Justin!

(Of course, our girls are thrilled to have a new uncle.)

The girls were counting down the days until they could wear their pretty dresses, except Sierra, who would have preferred wearing a tie like Dad.

To Throw a Tooth...or Money

2009-06-29T16:35:00.004-06:00

Lilly lost 2 teeth in 3 days. She told us in Ghana, they throw the tooth on the roof. We told her in America, the Tooth Fairy comes and takes the tooth and leaves money in its place. Any guess which she wanted to do? ....SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!

She didn't understand what in the heck the Tooth Fairy wanted her teeth for. Madison told her that she builds tooth castles with them. She seemed OK with that. (Doesn't she look adorable with her "long, flowing" braids? She loves them!!!)

Congratulations Madi!!!

2009-06-20T10:16:00.007-06:00

I have to be a mom and brag a bit about Madison. She scored in the top 10% nationally on the Iowa Tests in Math, Science and Total Composition. She is such a good student and loves learning. She never needs me to tell her to do her homework....she just does it on her own. She is very self-motivated and driven to learn.

She also just made a competition soccer team. She has been playing recreational soccer since she was 4 and just loves it. We are happy for her. She will get better coaching on a comp team and I think she will really be able to improve her skills. The competition league held a soccer clinic where the coaches could watch the girls who were interested in the team run through some drills, then the team coach attended one of Madi's rec games to watch her play. He said he liked what he saw and wants her on his team. Practices start in July.

Congratulations Madi! We are proud of your accomplishments!!!

Summer Fun Trip One

2009-06-19T10:19:00.003-06:00

For summer vacation this year, we are not going anywhere big or expensive. We have decided to take little day trips here or there each week to keep costs down.

So our first summer trip was riding a train. (Sorry...no pictures....the camera was left in the car.)

We drove to Salt Lake, parked our car and bought a group pass on the Frontrunner commuter train to Ogden ($10 for me, my four children, plus a friend for Madi.) We got off in Ogden with the intent of touring the free Disney Train (promoting the new movie "A Christmas Carol"). When we arrived, we learned it was a 2 to 3 hour wait to tour the train, so we decided to have lunch in Ogden and go back to Salt Lake.

When we returned in Salt Lake, we played in the fountains at Gateway. The kids had so much fun in the water. Here is a picture of Madison and her cousin at the fountains from our trip there last summer.

Ghana in Our Home

2009-06-15T13:39:00.008-06:00

I thought it was important to have some items from Ghana in our home. Here are the items I bought in Ghana to display.

Beautiful hand-made beads.

These dolls all are carrying a baby on their back. Women in Ghana sell things on the streets and usually carry their goods on their head.

This doll also has a baby on her back. Each of my girls have one wearing a different color of dress.

Cloth nativity set.

This nativity is carved out of a common wood in Ghana, although I don't remember the name of the wood.

A special thanks to Kathy who helped me in my shopping! She did such a great job. I especially LOVE the beads she picked out for me to make bracelets with!!!

Stealing with a Kiss

2009-06-12T12:14:00.004-06:00

Savannah is our girlie girl. She loves dressing up, looking pretty, and is a little princess. Often when she sees me wearing lipstick, she steals it from my lips by kissing me.

Sunday at church, she was sitting on my lap and gave me a big kiss and stole my lipstick. She immediately showed Lilly that she was now wearing mom's lipstick. She asked Lilly, "Do you want some lipstick too?" Lilly said yes. I thought Savannah would direct her to my lips, but instead Savannah planted a big kiss on Lilly and shared her stolen lipstick with her sister.

Aawww....the adjustment is going so much better....no more worries about germ sharing.

Adjusting and Bonding

2009-06-01T16:45:00.004-06:00

I have really meant to make a blog entry about adjusting and bonding, but just haven't gotten around to it. Partly that is because I am still adjusting and it seems like I always have more laundry to do and more house to clean and more taxi driving to do to get the kids here and there. And then the other reason I haven't done it is because it was a bit discouraging....at first.

When we first brought Lilly home, as I said before, she and Madi really hit it off. That lasted for several days, then Madi would say, "Does Lilly have to follow me around everywhere?" "Can't I play with my friend without Lilly coming too?" Honeymoon over.

That being said, Madison and Lilly still get along well, meaning no fighting, playing well together, and enjoying sharing a room together. Lilly always wants to share the same bed with Madison too. I think she was used to sleeping close to someone all the time. She doesn't like to be in her own bed alone. And she is a bit afraid of the dark which surprises me since it is SO dark in Africa at night with no electricity or flashlights.

The adjustment to having a new body in the house was the hardest on the twins which took me by surprise. I should have expected it and should have done some more reading and talking with others who didn't follow birth order in their adoptions. I thought since they were twins and had each other, they wouldn't feel as threatened by a new sister who is older and bigger than they are. Boy was I WRONG.

They were very jealous of the attention she received. They were pretty mean to her sometimes. They always had something to criticize her about. They were ruthless. As a parent, this was very difficult because we wanted Lilly to feel a part of our family. We wanted her to feel welcome and loved. After a few days, Lilly said she liked everything about America except her 2 younger sisters. There was always fighting. Biting. Hitting. I wondered "What have we done?" We tried time-outs, taking away privileges, etc., but that only seemed to make things worse because now Sierra and Savannah thought they were always in trouble because their new sister kept telling on them.

Sierra and Savannah were afraid that they would get Lilly's germs if they touched her. Steve kept encouraging the girls to play together and we played all kinds of games that included physical touch. Games like ring-around-the-rosies, duck duck goose, etc. This seemed to work and we started to see some progress.

Steve took 2 weeks off work (paternity leave...we love the company he works for!) and we did some fun things as a family. We thought it was important to do some activities that would create memories that included Lilly. We went to the Children's Museum. We went to the Zoo. We went to an indoor amusement park. We went on an Easter egg hunt and met the Easter Bunny. We had picnics together and other fun things. One day, we decided to stay home for the day and do some catching up on cleaning and organizing the children's bedrooms since we had just moved them all around. Part way through the day Lilly said, "Dad, I want to ride a roller coaster." We laughed at this and thought we had probably misled her about life in America. I think she came to expect these major family fun days everyday.

Now speaking as a mother, it was really different for me to bond with a 5 year old than it was to bond with a baby. When we adopted our other 3 children, they were infants. I bonded with Madison very naturally and I would say instantly. It took a little longer to bond with the twins because they were preemies and in the hospital for a month. Then when they were home, I was not getting much sleep and still so worried about them. We had already lost a son who was born prematurely and I think I was afraid of bonding with them and then losing them too. But it still only took a few weeks caring for them to bond with them. With an infant, I was always holding them, kissing them, feeding them, caring for them in every way. With a 5 year old, it is different. She is very independent and doesn't want me to help her bathe, dress, eat, etc. She is not used to physical affection...hugging, kissing, being held. I don't think it has been a part of her life up until now. She is warming up to the idea of a hug and a bedtime kiss, but it was weird for her at first.

Lilly has been here now for two and a half months and things are SO much better. Madison still gets along well with her. Lilly has learned to give her some space when her friends come. Sierra and Savannah like having her as their sister now. They still fight sometimes, but more like sisters than enemies :). I see them standing up for each other now. Sometimes Sierra will side with Lilly instead of always take Savannah's side and vice-versa. Sometimes they play really well as a threesome. Now I say, "Look what we've done instead of What have we done." We have created a family. I can't imagine our lives without Lilly a part of it. We know she was meant to join our family and the trial of adjusting has been worth it.

Update on Children at Luckyhill

2009-05-29T20:56:00.009-06:00

I think it is time to give an update on some of the children from Luckyhill that I have previously mentioned on my blog. I have had several people ask, so here it goes.

William has recovered remarkably from the burns on his legs. Here is the before and after pictures:

God has a way of working miracles. Because William's story was told, his parents were found. A family in Utah is adopting both William and Patience.

Vida, Steve's favorite, is being adopted by a family in Texas.

Kobe has also found his family. His family lives in Utah and are adopting a girl about Lilly's age as well as Kobe. They are an answer to my prayers. We seriously considered adopting Kobe and didn't understand why our answer from God was no, until we learned that this family's answer was yes. God is good.

I also want to tell you about two incredible boys. I am just going to copy this from another adoptive mother's blog because she tells their story so well and has created an adoption fund in their name for children with special needs. Here is their story.

I have struggled HARD CORE the last two weeks with how to make the biggest impact for the kids at Lucky Hill. Some will be adopted, some won't, some should be, some shouldn't. It's so hard. How do you reconcile those choices? How do you REALLY help? Two little boys inspired me and taught me what life is all about. Abeku and Aninda came to Lucky Hill starving. Abe (pronounced Ah-bay) is at least 7 years old. He is the size of my three year old. His brother Aninda is probably 4-5 years old and is the size of an 18 month old. They lost their parents and, we think, spent a long time caring for each other. Each morning I handed out granola bars to all the kids. It was a routine. I went to these two first. And even though I handed one to each of them every. single. morning, if Abe got it first he would RUN to Aninda and split his granola bar in half, just in case there wasn't going to be enough food that day. After a few days of witnessing this, and hearing their story, I know that Abe saved Aninda while they were on their own. He kept him alive. Can you imagine that responsibility? The responsibility of being 6 years old, watching your parents die, and knowing that your brother will be next if you don't stop it from happening. So you give your own food to do it? Abe is my hero.

The starvation has left lasting effects for these boys that will make Special Education necessary to their long term success. Special Education that can only be found in the U.S. What can we do for these boys? I prayed, brainstormed and finally came up with the idea for Abe's Fund. A no interest loan fund for the adoption of kids like Abe and Aninda, kids who need to come here for medical reasons. The fund will replenish itself as parents pay back what they have borrowed. This encourages people to adopt children with medical needs, because it makes the adoption practically free. But, the fund creates change for EVERY child like Abe and Aninda. Watch this video. If these boys touch your heart the way they did mine, please donate today.

I'm telling their story in hopes that somewhere their family will find them. They were always the first children to greet me as I pulled up in Kingsley's car, reaching their arms up for a hug. They are very loving children and have a soft spot in our hearts.

Feeling So Blessed

2009-05-26T14:28:00.004-06:00

We are so humbled and grateful to the many friends and family who helped with the yard sale. We had SO many donations of great stuff and yummy goodies for the bake sale! We had many helping hands in getting ready for the big event. It went better than expected and we had high aims!!!

I should have taken some pictures of the day, but was just too busy to go and get the camera. The sale officially started at 8 AM. At a bit after 9:00, Steve came to me and said, "The clock in the living room really is right! It really is only 9. We started setting up at 6:00 and by 9:00 had sold so many items already. As people realized this was a fundraiser, they went home and brought more things for us to sell, so even though we sold a lot, there was always more to sell.

We are donating some of the proceeds to our favorite orphanage...Luckyhill of course, and the rest will go toward our adoption loan. Thank you again to everyone who made this a big success!!!

...And What Does Daddy Say?

2009-05-10T00:08:00.004-06:00

Steve and I were working in the yard today, (technically yesterday, since it is now after midnight). One of our many tasks was checking the sprinkler system to see if any sprinkler heads needed to be replaced and to adjust them as needed. Savannah saw the water come on and asked if she could "go swimming" in the sprinklers. I told her it was too chilly so not today.

A few minutes later, she comes outside with her swimsuit on and asks me to help her fasten the strap in the back. I said, "Savannah, what did Mommy say about swimming today?" She didn't answer, so I added, "Mommy said 'no'".

To this she responded, "And what does daddy say?" That pretty much sums it up at our house. Needless to say, moments later Sierra and Lilly joined her outside with their suits to "swim" in the sprinklers. : )

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Adoption Fundraiser!

2009-05-06T10:21:00.006-06:00

We, with the help of our great next-door-neighbors, are organizing a yard sale and bake sale to help pay some of our adoption expenses. The sale will be May 23rd. If you have anything you would like to donate, please drop them by my house anytime before the 23rd or contact me and we can pick them up.

If you want to make some goodies for the bake sale, send me an email or post a comment on the blog, so I can be in touch. Thanks for all the love and support!!!

Final Part of My Trip to Ghana

2009-04-27T14:18:00.001-06:00

Sunday, March 15th

We went to church on Sunday. It was Ward Conference. I was impressed at how well-behaved the children were at church. The older children, especially Vida helped with the younger children. I was also impressed that everyone from Luckyhill was on time. It seems I am always running late on Sunday with only 3 kids to get ready...now 4. : )

The church building is located just across the street from the Triple X restaurant, so not too far to walk from the school.

I got a bit emotional listening to all the Ghanaian voices singing together. They were singing "Ere You Left Your Room This Morning, Did You Think to Pray?"

As they were singing the words I kept thinking about how difficult life is in Ghana. I thought about the faith Ghanaians have. I remembered the signs all over Accra of various businesses with names like, "The Lord is My Shepherd Hair Salon" or "Love Thy Neighbor Furniture". Even though life is hard for many of the people of Ghana, so much so, that they choose to give their children to Children's homes and orphanages so they won't go without food and shelter, the people still seem happy. I think it may be because of their tremendous faith in Christ.

Tears came to my eyes and I had to stop singing as they sang the words, "When sore trials came upon you did you think to pray?" I don't even know about sore trials in comparison to what many of these saints have been through. Many of the members of the ward live in the Liberian Refugee Camp. I can't even imagine what life has been like for some of them.

Relief Society meeting was fun. The lesson was on strengthening marriage and family. It was interesting to hear about family life in Ghana and to know that some of the same challenges we face, they also struggle with. An example of this was a discussion they had about being honest with your husband about the income you make and planning or budgeting together how the money should be spent instead of hiding it and spending it as you see fit.

After church, I walked home with some of the children. It was a nice day. I got to speak with Steve several times during the day because he was trying to help reschedule flights for Stephanie and company.

Monday, March 16th

I had an evening flight. I stressed all day about whether I'd make it to the airport on time. Kingsley had to go to the Cape Coast area to pick something up. After experiencing transportation in Ghana, I was worried. An American woman who lives in Ghana and volunteers at Luckyhill had agreed to have me come to her place on Monday. She was going to take me shopping for souvenirs, let Lilly swim in the pool, and then take me to the airport.

Kingsley was trying to be back in order to take me to her house, but when he got back, he was having car troubles (imagine that!). He got a friend who has a tro-tro to meet us. With the extra room, Lilly's mother Ruth decided to come into Accra with us. We had to be at the embassy before 5:00 to pick up Steph's boys' visas so they all came along too.

We didn't make it too far when the stick shift completely fell off the tro-tro. The driver was literally holding it in his hand. So we pulled into a mechanic shop and they agreed to fix it for us right away. We were stopped for about an hour. Now we would be in Accra at the worst part of traffic. I was still very nervous.

We miraculously got to the embassy at about 10 minutes to five. I called Kathy (the American) again to let her know where we were. She said to still come by her place. She lives somewhere between the airport and the embassy. I had called her as we were leaving Luckyhill to let her know we were just leaving and I wouldn't have a lot of time. She had already ordered some items for me, so I told her I would still meet her to pay her and pick up the goods. She has a friend who makes dolls and nativity sets. She had this friend come to her house so I could pick out just what I wanted. Kathy was wonderful. I was so happy to have some items from Ghana to cherish over the years. I want Lilly to have little bits of Ghana in her home here.

We made it to the airport and I said an emotional good-bye to Ruth and Kingsley. I am so thankful for all that Kingsley did to make our adoption possible. He was heaven-sent. I was also very grateful to Abraham who helped me get things done to get a visa in time. Then there is Ruth. There just are not words to express the gratitude I feel for this woman. She is remarkable. She never wavered in her decision to let Lilly be adopted to an American family. She really wants what is best for her and we are honored to be able to provide a home for Lilly. Ruth is a true example of selfless love.

Well, you know the rest of the story. We made it home safe and sound and now stay tuned for some entries on bonding and adjusting!!!!

An Orphan At Luckyhill Needs Your Help

2009-04-19T15:57:00.009-06:00

A little boy named William was badly burned a few weeks ago. He is an orphan from Luckyhill. The same orphanage were we adopted Lilly. His sister is Patience who I have mentioned in previous blog entries.

He ran into a field that had been burned and I guess it was still smoldering. Here are some pictures of his feet.

Kingsley has done what he can for him. He has gone to the hospital and has been treated by a doctor, but this is costly and they are not keeping his feet bandaged the way they should. A pediatric nurse from the States who happens to be adopting a child from Luckyhill is going over to take care of him and to train the staff of Luckyhill how to care for his burn until it is fully healed. She is trying to gather needed supplies or money to cover some of the medical costs for William.

If you are able, please send monetary donations payable to Luckyhill to Lois Martino. A little bit goes a long ways in Ghana.

LUCKYHILL
C/O LOIS MARTINO
3220 East Horse Thief Dr.
Heber City, UT84032.

If you would rather donate supplies, please visit Becky's blog fullplatemama.blogspot.com to see what is still needed. You can leave me a comment or email me and I will send you her address.

Thanks for your help. This little boy needs all the love he can get!

Part 2 (Finally) My Trip to Ghana

2009-04-13T17:44:00.027-06:00

OK. I am getting a lot of pressure to continue my blog. I've just been so busy with the transition to life as a family of 6. But I have a few minutes, so here we go.

Thursday, March 12th

Another trip into Accra. This time I had the medical reports and an appointment for 1:00. We didn't make it there until 2:00, but they let us in anyway. They took my medical reports and gave me a blue slip to come back in tomorrow for the Visa!!!

We had the craziest taxi ride from Accra to the "Triple X" restaurant. I had just commented earlier that with all the taxis we had used, we had always had good drivers. Not the case this time. The traffic was horrible in Accra. We got stuck in a big traffic jam. There are always people selling their goods to people in cars. They walk right in the roads and weave in and out of the traffic. They carry things on their heads and I was always amazed at this. It is very convenient to buy things this way especially when stuck in traffic. This was usually how I ate breakfast and lunch. I would buy a frozen yogurt...very yummy!!! Anyway, back to the taxi driver. As traffic started moving again, the street vendors were trying to weave out of the way. Our driver hit a girl and didn't even think twice about it. It was just a bump on her hip, but I could tell it hurt her, but she continued to walk out of the way and he didn't apologize or anything. I was in the front seat and I couldn't even watch for most of the trip. He was always on the bumper in front of us.

When we got back to Luckyhill, we sat outside and visited for awhile. I was hoping for a shower, so I excused myself. There was no water, so I decided to wait until morning and went back outside to continue visiting. Celina saw that I had returned and must have figured there was no water. She filled a large bucket and carried it into the house, then came and got me and told me my shower was ready. She is so amazing. She is such a hard worker and very thoughtful. So, I had my bucket shower and it felt good to be clean again.

Friday, the 13th (my lucky number)

Kingsley works so hard. I can't believe the hours this man puts in. He rarely goes to bed until after 11 or 12 and he is up at 4 or 5 going again. He has done so much running around trying to make sure everything works out so that we (myself, Stephanie and Friderick) can all get our children home next week. He has left a lot of the running into Accra for us to do, so he could go the opposite direction to collect other needed documents. He also is trying to coordinate the volunteer work and construction at Luckyhill. I am equally impressed with his wife Gloria. She has 4 children plus another 20 or so that she is caring for in her home. She also works nonstop cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. They are amazing.

We went to the embassy again today. I got Lilly's Visa!!! I was so happy. The other good news was that Stephanie's boys would have their visas by Monday or Tuesday. HOORAY!!!

We got back to Luckyhill early. Kingsley really wanted to play soccer with us. We got the chance. Fridays at the school is more of a recreational day. So all the children were outside playing volleyball, soccer, and other games. I didn't really want to play soccer at first, but Kingsley talked me into it. I'm glad he did. It was fun, but way too hot and humid to be running around!!! I think I drank a gallon of water afterwards. Here's a video clip of me playing....not so well. Steve likes the part where I try to kick the ball and miss! : )

Stephanie, Friderick and I were hoping to make it to Cape Coast. Kingsley was going to drive us there, but something else came up that he had to attend to, so he arranged a taxi for us. We stayed in a nice resort called Moree Beach House. It was right on the beach and had a restaurant and nice rooms. We did get ripped off by the taxi driver who told us that Kingsley had arranged for us to pay 80 Ghana cedis for the trip...(about $57). We couldn't get through to Kingsley to verify this, so asked the resort manager how much it should cost. He said it is 80 cedis from Cape Coast to Accra. Luckyhill is right in between. We were only able to get the price down to 70 cedis.

We ate dinner then went to our rooms. We had a beach house that had 2 bedrooms and shared a bathroom. It cost 60 cedis for the night ($43). It was so nice to have a shower. It was so nice that I took 2 showers : ) I had to make up for all the missed ones.

Lilly is standing outside our rooms. Ours was the first beach house. This was the ocean view from our front door.

Saturday March 14th

The resort manager arranged for a taxi to meet us at 8:00 AM to take us to some of the Cape Coast sites. First we went to Kakum National Forest. It is a rain forest and was beautiful. We went on the canopy walk. You walk on 7 suspension bridges over the trees. I think we were about 200 feet above the ground in some places. Lilly was a bit scared at first and went really slowly, but she got braver and began walking faster.

After the canopy walk, we went to Cape Coast Castle. It was built in the 1500's and is still in great condition. I really enjoyed our tour of the castle. It is a sad part of history as this is where the captured Africans were held until they boarded ships for Europe, America, or the Caribbean during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade. I am glad they have preserved this as a part of Ghanaian history.

In Everlasting Memory

Of the anguish of our ancestors.

May those who died rest in peace.

May those who return find their roots.

May humanity never again perpetrate

such injustice against humanity.

We, the living, vow to uphold this.

When we finished our tour, the taxi took us back to the resort. We paid him $10 cedis/hour for the time he spent taking us around places. He said he would take us back to Luckyhill for 40 cedis if we needed a ride. (Yep, the first guy was charging us double!)

We ate lunch and then played at the beach. Lilly loved the beach. She had fun letting the waves hit her ankles and collecting sea shells.

After a long, but fun day, we were anxious to get back to Luckyhill. Kingsley was planning on coming for us, but that didn't work out, so we had our driver come back. He was such a nice man. On the ride back to Luckyhill, we were talking about adoption and he asked if I would adopt one of his children. It is sad that people have such a hard life there. This country is beautiful and could be a wonderful tourist attraction. Ghana has gold, oil and diamonds and should be a rich country, but I guess the wealth hasn't been well-managed. People who work hard still live in poverty.

On the way back to Luckyhill, the taxi broke down. Our driver tried to fix it, but a belt broke and it couldn't be fixed. He flagged down another taxi who agreed to tow him back a few miles to a service station. This new taxi driver offered to take us the rest of the way to Luckyhill, but he was charging too much and wouldn't agree to split the 40 cedis with our first driver. We called Kingsley and he came to get us.

When Kingsley arrived, he had brought a German man with him. So there were 5 adults and 2 children squished into his little Hyundai. About 5 miles into the ride, he blew a tire. The spare tire was flat. We flagged down a tro tro. Kingsley put the spare tire in and had them drop him off at a service station and we stayed on the tro tro to Luckyhill. I was so tired and just wanted to get back. When we got to our stop the tro tro driver was trying to charge us 4 times the price it should have been. I had ridden on tro tros enough to know the price. I was not giving in this time and he knew he was asking too much. I stood there and argued with him for a while until the other riders finally told him to give in and accept the price I offered. One victory for the Abrunis (white people).

When we got back to Luckyhill, I went straight to my room, thinking the children were probably all in bed. The next thing I knew Kobi was standing in my room wanting me to pick him up. He was in such a good mood and was so cuddly with me, it cheered me right up. The other thing that cheered me up was running water!!! I got a shower, which was great after spending time on the beach.

My Trip to Ghana Part 1

2009-04-01T10:20:00.000-06:00

Saturday/Sunday, March 7th/8th

I left for Ghana. I flew from SLC to Chicago. My brother lives in the Chicago area, so his family picked me up at the airport and we went out to lunch. It was nice seeing them for a while. I flew from Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany. Then from Germany to Nigeria, then on to Accra, Ghana.

I have never experienced such bad turbulence in all the time I have flown. There was a thunderstorm in Accra. We had to circle Accra for over an hour in the turbulence. It felt like we were free-falling. People on the airplane were screaming. We started to land, but just before touching down, the pilot pulled up back to 5000 feet. He got on the PA and said that there was too strong a tail wind and we had to turn around and land the opposite direction with a head wind. So, more turbulence. Everyone on the plane applauded as we finally landed.

I met up with Kingsley. By the time we made it to the school, all the children were sleeping. I would have to wait until morning to meet Lilly.

Monday, March 9th

There was no water when I got in Sunday night and still no water Monday morning. Because of the rain the day before, no one had filled buckets either, so there was no chance of cleaning myself up. I did the best I could with wet wipes.

We had to leave at about 5 AM to get into Accra before the traffic. They woke Lilly up to come with us, since we had to get her medical exam and labs done for her Visa. She was very quiet in the car. She fell asleep about half way to Accra. Kingsley dropped us off at the Acai House Clinic, then took Stephanie to the airport to pick up her husband. Lilly warmed up to me at the clinic. All went well with the exam. We finished and then went for a walk and bought a soda to drink as we waited for Kingsley to come back for us. We also had to go to another clinic for her labs. It was a long day in Accra. We ate dinner at the "Triple X" restaurant near the school (not the type of restaurant you are thinking based on the name...lol!)

We didn't get back to the school until after dark, but the children that live there were still up. It was fun meeting them. They are so friendly and love meeting new people. It was quite the warm welcome! The water and power were working, so I finally got a shower!

Tuesday, March 10th

We went to the embassy first thing in the morning. Stephanie and Friderick had an appointment. I did not, but was hopeful that they would see me anyway. Steve emailed for an appointment the day before, but hadn't received a reply.

The guards at the embassy know Kingsley, so they allowed me entrance. They told Kingsley to have me wait until 8:30, then go to the window and see if they would see me. I went to the window at 8:30 and they pulled my file, had me pay my $400 Visa fee, then had me wait to be called to see the Consular.

When I was called by the Consular, he looked over my paperwork, took my originals, then asked me for my medical results. Since the tests were performed the day before, they weren't ready yet. He gave me a return appointment to bring in the test results.

We returned earlier from Accra because Kingsley had to meet with the Attorney and Social Welfare to fix some wording in our adoption decrees. The decrees did not say the children could leave Ghana even though it states the children may reside in the jurisdiction of the adoptive parents. My Consular didn't say anything about it, but Stephanie's did.

It was nice spending time with the school children. I really enjoyed all of them. It is fun watching them play games and sing. They are such happy children.

I especially like Patience and hope she is adopted soon. She is 11 and adorable, if anyone out there is interested.

I spent some time with Kobi. I just love this little guy. He followed me around, calling me "mother" in Fante. He took a liking to me and cried when I tried to give him to Patience so I could shower. (There was no running water, so I had to shower from a bucket.)

I also spent time with Lilly's mother Ruth, grandmother Celina and Celina's sister Doris. I also met Celina's daughter Doris.

(First picture below: Lilly with her Aunt Doris. Second picture below: Left to Right: Ruth, Celina, Doris-Celina's sister. Front: Lilly)

I tried to do my laundry, but Gloria just laughed at me and said white people don't know how to do laundry in Africa. I worked along side her, but anytime I washed something and put it in the rinse bucket, she rewashed it for me the "right way." She is very funny and a nice woman.

Wednesday, March 11th

Today was our 14th wedding anniversary. I never would have dreamed we would spend it on 2 different continents. Steve set his alarm for 1:00 AM so he could wish me a happy anniversary before I left for the day. What a great anniversary present! It was so nice to hear his voice. I didn't think we would get the chance to talk since Kingsley was not going with us to Accra, so I wouldn't have access to his cell phone.

We spent the whole day collecting things for the embassy. I only needed Lilly's medical report, but Stephanie needed some other documents as well, so we went on the "paper chase". We were so grateful to have her friend Abraham's help. He arranged transportation for us and made sure we got everything we needed.

This was the first day I experienced public transportation in Ghana. We rode a tro tro (van for about 20 people) to Accra. The first tro tro broke down not far from the school. The second tro tro decided he was not getting enough riders to continue his original route. The third tro tro took us to a busy open market in Accra. Abraham's brother is a taxi driver so he met us and took us around Accra to collect the documents we needed.

We couldn't get into the embassy to turn in our medical reports because it was Wednesday and our appointment letter said it was an open appointment for Tuesday, Thursday or Friday.

We rode a bus back to Luckyhill, ate at the "Triple X" and then walked back to the school.

Here is Steve's favorite Luckyhill child, Vida age 11. She is so fun and a hard worker. If you are interested in adopting her, Steve is requiring that you live within an hour drive of Tooele ;) I saw her carrying the laundry on her head and then Kobi wanted her to pick him up, so she reached down with one hand, scooped him up on her hip and kept walking. By the time I got my camera to take a picture, she had put him back down.

Welcome Home

2009-03-19T16:53:00.007-06:00

Wow, are you all impressed with Steve, or what? He blogged while I was gone, he kept the house clean, (with some help from my mom), did some cooking, and made our homecoming very special!!! What a man! I was so glad to see him.

Our flight home went well. Lilly was so good, especially for 30 hours of travelling. The hardest part came in Denver. Our flight from Germany left late, so we arrived late in Denver. There were 2 other international flights that arrived just before us. So we had a little less than 2 hours to make it through customs, re-check our baggage, and make our flight to SLC. The line for customs was very long, but moved at a steady rate. Because Lilly had an immigrant visa, we were escorted to an area to wait for someone to open our packet and stamp her visa. There were about a dozen people already waiting and only 1 man there to process them all. After a few minutes another man came in. I walked up and asked if there was any chance I would make my flight in 50 minutes. The first man said, "Probably not." The new worker asked for Lilly's name and grabbed her packet and took us next. An answer to my prayer.

We went and picked up our luggage and then had to go through and show our passports again. We rechecked our luggage. The man at the United Airlines counter said to take the train to the B concourse, but didn't say what gate. We hurried to the security line and went through. We ran for the train and made it to the B concourse. I saw a departure board and saw that our flight was leaving from B-94. There were 95 gates in the B concourse and ours had to be 94!!!! We ran so fast all the way there using the moving sidewalks to help with our speed. Lilly was great about it. We made it just as they were closing the doors.

When we arrived, Steve and the girls were waiting for us. Grandpa and Grandma Emett, Grandma Gene, my brother Glade (who works at the airport), my sister LaNell and her son Tyson were all there too. Lilly had fallen asleep on the plane, so she was a bit quiet until she saw Madison. Then they were the best of friends and didn't stop talking all the way home.

Steve and the girls had decorated the house with streamers and balloons and I think Lilly was amazed at our home and everything she saw. She went from room to room exploring for a while before we got everyone settled down for bed. She and Madison shared a bed that night. Lilly woke Madi up at 1:00 AM telling her she was hungry and wanted Wendy's food. We had stopped at Wendy's to grab dinner for Lilly and me before going home. (By the way, she didn't like chicken nuggets, just fries). So she got up and ate some cold french fries. I heard them up at 5:00 AM. I got up and told them they had to go back to bed. They did, but then were up again at 6:30 having a tea party.

All-in-all, she is adjusting fine, outside of going to the bathroom on the neighbor's lawn. We of course had a talk about that afterwards. She hasn't loved the food, but is willing to try everything. She had rice with spaghetti sauce and tuna fish for lunch today and ate that pretty well...sounds gross to me, but I guess it was more like home than a peanut butter sandwich.

I kept a daily journal while I was in Ghana, so I will go back through and list the highlights later when I have more time.

5 months and 2 weeks and together at last

2009-03-17T22:19:00.002-06:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Narda and Lilly have made it home safely. Everyone is so happy but very tired so we'll try and get pictures up soon.

Thanks everyone for your support and prayers! We have seen so many miracles in this process and have been so blessed.

Steve

Today is the Day

2009-03-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

Well Narda and Lilly are on their way and I'm counting down the hours and minutes (20 hrs from when this post goes live). We decorated the house for the big homecoming for family home evening tonight and I don't think the girls have had so much fun in some time. It really lifted their spirits to know that Mom was really going to be coming home.

Hopefully soon for all of our sakes Narda will pick things up and we will have normal quality Blogs for everyone. I'm sure she has some great pictures, stories and learning's to share. And it will be fun to share the homecoming.

Maybe I'll get a few brownie points for blogging in her absence :)

Good news!

2009-03-13T23:30:00.009-06:00

I just wanted to give a few quick updates from my latest conversations with Narda, but first the good news, We have a VISA! I couldn't contact Narda today as she's not near a phone, but I got confirmation from 2 sources that the VISA was received this morning. So everything is in order and they will leave Ghana Monday evening and arrive home Tuesday evening. So just a few days more until I get to see Lilly again and we'll be together as a group for the first time.

Up until today her trip was very busy. She had traveled every day of her visit too Accra thus far. She told me she had she had spent so little time at the school that she had only eaten 2 meals there so far. I later found that was twice as many showers as she's been able to take as the water has been out for most of her visit. It sounded like she's hardly had a chance to catch her breath. She has just loved her time with Lilly and has bonded very well with her. She sounds so happy despite the crazy schedule and lack of sleep.

I did get word that she left for Cape Coast to spend Friday and Saturday. She was so looking forward to visiting Cape Coast and the Rain Forrest, so she's getting her wish. I'm sure she'll enjoy staying in a nice hotel for a night and getting a good shower. It will be nice for her to no longer have to worry about everything comming together and now she can relax and enjoy.

Sunday she has been invited over to Lilly's uncles house to meet the family and have a little get together. She was so happy to see where her family lives and learn more about her roots.

So all is well with the Emetts and we feel very blessed and happy! Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts.

Akwaaba Ghana

2009-03-08T14:57:00.003-06:00

Akwaaba is Welcome in Ghana.

I just got off the phone with Narda and she has arrived safely. She did say the plane stopped in Nigeria (don't know if that was scheduled or not, it was news to me) and it delayed her getting in a little bit. She did meet successfully with Kingsley and they just started the drive to the school. She sounded releaved to have arrived and to have met up with Kingsley. She sounded tired and the first words from her mouth were "That was a long flight".

Now the adventure begins. Please pray for her and Lilly to make it home safely on the 17th. I'll try and keep you all updated on her experiences as I hear from her.

Mr. Mom

2009-03-07T22:17:00.005-07:00

I saw Narda off this morning and thus began day one as Mr. Mom. I was feeling so good about my first day in action until this evenings trip to the grocery store. We must have hit the point of the twins missing their mother and a lack of sleep due to our crazy schedule. I think another 5 minutes in the store would have done me in, but we survived if even just barely.

I nothing else I just wanted to post something while she was gone to shock her. I'll try and keep everyone updated as I get news of her travels and experiences. Hopefully all goes well and she and Lilly will be here on St. Patricks day.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-03-04T11:25:00.002-07:00

I'm goin' to Ghana!!! I leave on Saturday. I will arrive in Ghana Sunday evening. I'm hoping to visit the embassy Monday morning, although Kingsley has already started the work on our Visa for us. If all goes well, I'll leave Ghana on Monday, the 16th and have Lilly home the evening of the 17th...wearing green (don't want her to be pinched on arrival by three eager sisters...lol).

This has been a remarkable journey thus far. It has been a great reminder to us of the love Heavenly Father has for our family and this sweet little girl in a remote area of Ghana. We are so glad we followed the promptings of the Spirit and never looked back. We are also grateful for all the friends we have made in the process and for their unselfish, loving guidance, service and encouragement.

I don't think Steve will keep up on the blog while I'm gone, but you never know...he's always full of surprises, so check back in on occasion. I'll blog again when I get home with our daughter!!!

YAHOO!!!!

2009-03-02T07:49:00.003-07:00

YAHOO!!!! This is what Steve yelled at 6:40 this morning from downstairs. He thought it would wake me up, but he was wrong. He had to come upstairs, wake me up to tell me the news: "Our I600 has been approved!

This means the embassy is finished reviewing our adoption and we can now apply for Lilly's visa and I can bring her home. I will be going to Ghana soon. I'm looking up flight information to see how soon I can get there. We are so excited! It only took the embassy 7 business days to approve it.

I can't wait to bring this beautiful daughter of ours home!

Steve is Home

2009-02-28T16:30:00.016-07:00

Steve got home on Friday night (almost Saturday morning)...his plane landed just before midnight! It was so good to see him. I first noticed how tan he was, then I noticed that he lost weight...8 lbs in less than 2 weeks. Not a bad diet plan. :)

He had a wonderful time. We talked until 2:30 in the morning and then slept for 4 hours, then talked for another 4 hours about his trip before going to Salt Lake to pick up our girls at Grandma's and Grandpa's.

Here are some pictures from his trip.

This is Steve's first look at Lilly. Several kids swarmed the car when they pulled up. Lilly is on the right (in gingham).

This is Lilly with her mother, Ruth.

And here she is with her Grandmother.

A couple more cute pictures of her. She tried on Steve's glasses. Steve told her, "Now you look like the teacher" to which she giggled.

We got a really good deal from Maceys on pop rocks, so Steve took 100 bags to share with the children. He said it was fun to watch them eat it. Their favorite way to eat it was to dump it into water, watch it pop, then drink the "juice". Here is a picture of Samuel and Kobi eating them. He said they were popping all over their cheeks and hands, but they loved them!!!

These are some of the children at Luckyhill. They liked having their pictures taken.

They are adding on to the school right now. They have the second level on this building and now need the roof.

The school has 2 huge storage tanks for water. Good thing too, since sometimes the water shuts off and there is no running water. They went for 2 or 3 days without running water while Steve was there. People from the community would come to the school to get water from the storage tanks. The people in Ghana carry things on their head. He said this girl was probably only 16, but she has about 5 gallons of water on her head!

This is where Steve went to church on Sunday. The church is near the Liberian refugee camp.

Kid Magnet

2009-02-25T13:11:00.004-07:00

Madison could add her Dad to the "sticks" column on her magnet science fair project. (See entry below).

I just received these pictures from the Larsen family. They are adopting a girl from Luckyhill. They just returned from Ghana. I laughed when I saw these pictures since Steve looks a bit like the Pied Piper. (Maybe he had candy???)

Sticks...Doesn't Stick

2009-02-23T22:16:00.003-07:00

Madison decided to do a project for the Science Fair this year. She partnered with her friend from next door, Hanna. They did their project completely on their own. They used a magnet and then tested items from around the house and took a digital picture of their results. They made a poster listing what sticks and what doesn't stick.

They ended up winning 1st place for their age group. Way to go Madi and Hanna!!!

Success at the Embassy

2009-02-19T19:24:00.005-07:00

Steve was able to file the I600 today. He also has Lilly's passport in hand!!!! He met a lady from Utah at the embassy who said her I600 was approved in 1 day....but then she had a letter from Senator Hatch and Lois said she has been waiting since October for it, so I'm not sure of the full story.

Now I'll be checking my email several times a day anxiously awaiting our approval! Once we have it, I'll be off to Ghana!!!

Steve has really enjoyed the spirit he feels at Luckyhill. He said when he arrived back to the school one night, the children were singing hymns. It's something else to hear them sing, I guess. He has also been attending devotional at 5:00 each morning. It's a good thing it's dark in the room, since he is sitting in the corner with misty eyes.

I talked with several of the children on the phone today...Dorothy, Sandra, Junior, and Patience. They had never spoken on the phone before, so they liked saying "hello" and hearing my response. Steve said he has already talked the older boys into playing pranks on me during my visit. I'm just afraid the pranks may include spiders, frogs, mice and lizards since I hear there are plenty of them around!!! Just what the kids need to learn from Steve.....how to be a tease : )

Another Update!

2009-02-17T14:06:00.002-07:00

I talked with Steve again. They didn't have all the paperwork needed to file the I600 today. They have another appointment on Thursday. Kingsley is going to try to meet with the lawyer tomorrow to get the rest of the paperwork they need.

Steve is having so much fun. I can hear it in his voice. He is so impressed with all of the children. He says they are really special kids. He is definitely in his element. He loves interacting with children and really wanted to be a school teacher.

He said it is hard taking pictures because all the children, especially the younger ones, surround him any time he gets out the camera. But he has managed to get some good ones. (I can't wait to see them!!!)

Saviour isn't as shy as he thought she would be. She is getting better at sharing his attention with the other children. I guess the first day, she was a bit jealous when he tried to talk to or play with any of the others. Yesterday Steve said he had met Saviour's Aunt and Uncle. Today he said he found out it is actually her mother and the uncle is a member of their tribe, but not literally an uncle.

We sent some of Madison's old soccer shoes with him. He said the kids loved having them. Since there were only 2 or 3 pair, they have split them up with each other....each child wearing one shoe, so they would go further. (I don't think these children will have issues with sharing, like my kids do!!!) So any of you reading my blog...if you have any old soccer shoes, I can take them with me when I go! (Hopefully in about 2 weeks).

Steve is in Ghana

2009-02-16T12:32:00.006-07:00

Steve left Sunday morning for Ghana. I just spoke with him. He said that Saviour is beautiful and a good little girl. He met her aunt and uncle. I guess her uncle works at the school. Saviour was a bit jealous when she saw a pair of shoes in Steve's suitcase that another family had sent for their daughter. I guess she wanted a pair of shoes too. She fell asleep in Steve's lap tonight. (I am so jealous, but happy she is with her daddy!!!)

It's probably good Steve and I are travelling separately. Last night, we were driving to Steve's parents' house for Sunday dinner and I looked in the rear view mirror at Madison. She had such a sad look on her face. I asked her what was wrong, then the flood gates opened. She started crying and said, "I just miss daddy!" To this Sierra replied, "I like it when dad is gone." So after only 12 hours away from us, the kids had mixed emotions. I don't think they would do well with both of us away.

There is a little boy named Kobi who is 15 to 18 months old. I have been thinking that maybe he is supposed to join our family as well. We decided not to make a decision about another child until we have both been to Luckyhill and met the children there. So, I asked Steve if he had met Kobi yet. He said yes but that he hasn't been able to hold him. He calls Vida (an 11 year old girl there) "mom" and follows her around. Here is a picture of Kobi and Vida.

We Have An Adoption Decree!!!

2009-02-10T14:01:00.002-07:00

Yes!!! We have our adoption decree. Friday I got a call from Lois saying that the judge's father passed away, so no court on Friday. It had been rescheduled for today. This morning I got a call from her that everything went well and we have our adoption decree. YEAHHHHH!!!

Steve is flying out on Sunday. He will get there on Monday and hopefully be able to submit the I600 on Tuesday, the 17th. We are so happy that Lilly is officially our daughter.

Court Rescheduled

2009-02-03T19:45:00.009-07:00

We don't have the adoption decree we were hoping for today. Someone who needed to appear in court today was running late. By the time they arrived, court was already in session, so our adoption case was moved to Friday.

This morning while waiting for Lois's call, I couldn't sit still, so I went shopping. What else is a girl to do? Eat Chocolate??? Don't worry, I only bought stuff we need for our trip. I picked up our anti-malaria medication, sunscreen, mosquito repellent, and travel-size everything from laundry soap to first aid kit. I also picked up vitamins for Lilly. (She's a bit anemic, so I thought Steve could start her on some vitamins with 100% daily iron .) Here's my stash of goods.

I spent a lot more today than yesterday and I got a lot more yesterday. My friend called me yesterday and told me there was a sale at Sweet Pea (a store in Tooele like Kid-to-Kid). They had 3 tables set up and you could fill a bag for $5. Also their $1.00 rack of clothes was only 25 cents. I spent a total of $6.25. I got 30 items. When I totalled what those items should have cost it was $116. I can really pack a bag. I'm sure my packing skills will come in handy trying to take all the donations we have received to the orphanage. :)

Oh, and by the way, her official name (at least on the adoption decree) is: Lilly Anita Saviour Emett. Try saying that 5 times fast!!!

Court Date in Ghana

2009-01-30T15:29:00.002-07:00

We've known for a while now that our case for adopting Saviour is ready to be presented in court in Ghana. It was supposed to take place by the end of this week. I guess it was postponed to Tuesday though. Kingsley doesn't expect any issues at all....so hopefully we will have an official adoption decree by Tuesday!!!

Steve is planning on flying out within a few days of hearing we have an adoption decree. Our Visas (good for 2 years in Ghana) came today. Steve will file the I600 with the American Embassy when he goes, then he will spend time with Saviour, getting to know her in her environment. He will volunteer at the orphanage/school too and maybe do a little sight-seeing. I am not going to Ghana until we know Saviour has a Ghanaian passport and we have received word from the embassy that the I600 cleared. When I go, I will need to file paperwork for her Visa. I will stay for a couple of weeks with her too, then bring her home!!!

With all the confusion about Saviour's name, we were going to let her decide what she would like to be called. But we just found out we need to give the official name to Kingsley by Monday. Maybe we will be calling Saviour this weekend to discuss it with her. It's just hard to get her to talk on the phone, so I don't know if we will have much luck getting her to tell us what name she likes.

We got another email from Stephanie today...and more info about Saviour. Here is what she had to say:

"Saviour Anita has been a brave girl this week. She was taken to the clinic with 3 others and sent through a round of testing. When it came time to draw blood I thought I was going to cry for her. They poked and dug around and could find no vein. They finally went through her hand (where they put an IV) to draw blood. She held her eyes but did not shed a tear. Then she boasted later she was brave despite the ordeal. This girl is unabashed. She is now bold enough with me to demand chocolate or whatever else I have or she thinks I have. She loves to come around and play with my hair. She was upset that my hair was cut (she had seen pictures from when it was long). The new German girls have incredibly long hair and the other night she played hair salon. She has a fascination with hair and long hair. She wants long hair desperately. Last weekend a relative took her to get extensions and she likes it, but it is all braided and she wants "flowing" hair. She is quite clever and her English is pretty good. She is helpful with Samuel and likes to play with me (of course there is that hope I will bring out the candy!) She is so fun. Her measurements are 45" tall, chest 22" waist 22" Hips 25" neck to shirt length 19" hip to ankle 24" underarm to wrist 12" wrist 4.5"."

So there's your update. I can't wait to see a picture of her with extensions. I can't believe her hair is long enough for extensions....last picture I saw it was very short.

Saviour Anita's Name and Personality

2009-01-29T13:24:00.001-07:00

Our friend Stephanie is staying at Luckyhill right now. Here are a few things she has told us about Saviour Anita:

As related by Stephanie's husband:
"So, why is Anita Saviour only called Anita on her birth certificate? Well, simply because there was a mistake made on her birth certificate, so it is missing the name Saviour. Despite that, everyone still calls her Saviour, or Anita, or both. Steph said that even though she is shy, she follows her around everywhere and that she is very beautiful. That also goes for many of the other children, they are also shy and beautiful."

From Stephanie:
"Saviour Anita (how most call her) follows me around and loves when I rub her head. She is beyond fascinated with my hair and said she wants hair like mine. She is constantly playing with it when I sit down. She likes to stand behind me. All of the kids (and adults asked why I cut it and like it long) - but especially Saviour."

I think she will be disappointed that Madi had her hair cut!

Here is a picture that Lois found. She thinks it was taken back in May. The little boy next to her is named Christopher and he is also 5. Although they look a bit alike, we have been told they are not related.

Vaccines and Used Cars

2009-01-22T10:28:00.007-07:00

We have to have the Yellow Fever vaccine before we can send off our Visa application for Ghana. I called around to several doctors and got the same answer. They don't have Yellow Fever vaccines...you'll have to go to a travel clinic. So I called around some more and found a travel clinic at the University Hospital that could get us in the next day.

Steve and I went together. Beforehand in the car, I told Steve we should only get the Yellow Fever and maybe Typhoid vaccines here, then we could go through our insurance to get any others we need.

The nurse called us in and went over a ton of information about Ghana. She went through each disease it was possible to contract there and how to avoid it. She also said things like, if you get (name of disease) there is a 80% death rate.

Needless to say, we were no longer surprised that there are so many orphans in Ghana. We also thought we better update all of our vaccines.

Steve got 7 injections. I got 6. The bill was just over $1200 for the two of us!!! We still need to fill our prescriptions for the anti-malaria medication. I am allergic to minocycline and so I can't take the cheap medication, Doxycycline....I have to take Malarone which costs $5 per pill and she said I'll need 22 pills.

After we left, I told Steve it was a bit like buying a used car. You go into the dealership expecting to pay the agreed upon price, but by the time you leave, for some reason, you pay a whole lot more!!!

On a more positive note, we have some new pictures of Saviour. The Westerbys are a family who just adopted from Ghana. They spent some time at Luckyhill and sent some pictures to us. Isn't she just so pretty....and yes, her ears are pierced. I have a feeling Savannah will want hers done too.

Charlie Brown-iest

2009-01-19T14:19:00.005-07:00

We got a Wii for Christmas. One of the activities you can do is create people called Miis. We've had fun creating all our family and friends as Miis. I created a Mii that we decided to call Charlie Brown because of the resemblance.

We created this Mii shortly after Christmas and I had forgotten about it. Sunday morning we were eating breakfast and Sierra told me that Savannah kept changing all the Miis. Savannah spoke up and said, "Madison got mad at me because I changed Charlie Brown." I asked how she changed him. She replied, "I made him brown like me. He is supposed to be brown. He's the Charlie Browniest!"

Here is her new Charlie Brown Mii.

Hair Day

2009-01-13T15:43:00.009-07:00

(I wrote this on the 13th and am just getting around to posting it. I had a hard time getting pictures of their hair for the post....still not the best pics, but you get the idea.)

Saturday was hair day at the Emett house. Madison has been begging me to cut her hair short. I have been reluctant because:

1) Her hair is the longest it has ever been.

2) It's so easy to pull into a pony-tail for a quick hairdo.

3) She looks so much like her birth mom with her hair long like that.

But I gave in and began cutting. I put her hair in a pony-tail, then cut off about 5 to 6 inches. When I took out the elastic, her hair had a cute A-line. I trimmed it up to make it even and then let her take a look. She came back and said one word, "SHORTER!" So, I pulled it into a pony-tail again and cut off another 2 to 3 inches. She seems to really like it and it does look cute on her, though it makes her look even older to me.

(I know hot chocolate and swimsuits sound like a funny combo in January!)

Then it was Steve's turn. He has been cutting his own hair lately because I had surgery on my hand in November and my ankle in December. His cut went as usual....just starting to see more gray hair. ;)

I usually keep the twins' hair in extensions. I cut them out in September or October and they haven't had them since. They hate getting their hair combed everyday, so the big advantage to the extensions is that I only have to spray their hair each day with some moisturizer/oil spray. I have done extensions a couple of ways:

1) I have used synthetic hair that is straight and unbraided and then I braid that into their natural hair. This takes about 8 hours for each child. I burn the ends (of the synthetic hair) with a lighter and usually have very tender fingers afterwards, but the extensions last for 6 to 8 weeks.

2) I have also done latch-hook extensions. You buy the synthetic hair already braided and curly. I cornrow their hair and then hook in the curly braids with a latch-hook. It only takes 4 hours to do and it looks really cute, but doesn't seem to last as long....probably because I am not great at cornrowing.

I have read about yarn extensions from people on Yahoo Groups and on blogs. I decided to give it a try. The method of braiding is about the same as #1 above, but no lighter (no burnt fingers) and easier to work with. I also read that their natural hair is able to breathe better and there is less breakage when you remove the extensions.

I started Savannah's hair on Friday. I conditioned it well, moisturized it and sectioned it off. I did just some simple 2-strand twists in each section, so she had a cute hairdo for the day. This took about 2 hours. On Saturday, I began the extensions. I cut all the yarn in advance. I started her hair around 1:00 and worked on it until about 4:00. I had to go to work, so I called it a day. I got home from work at 1:00 AM Sunday morning and worked on the extensions again while she slept. I finished at 3:15 AM. The next morning before church, I cut them all to make them the same length (about 30 minutes). So all in all, it took about 7 hours.....maybe a little less since I gave her breaks during the day when I worked on it.

It looks great and it is so easy now that it is done. She calls it her "Madi hair". I'm not sure why. Maybe because she can put it in a pony-tail now???

Now I just need to schedule a time when I can go without sleep so I can do Sierra's! :)

Text Me!

2009-01-11T16:16:00.008-07:00

What's up with conversation hearts these days? You know, those cute pastel hearts with a little Valentine's Day message. When I was young, they said things like:

"Best Friends"
"I Love You"
"Say Yes"
"Kisses"
"Hug Me"
"Be Mine"

I was at Walmart, my favorite store, (yeah right), when I saw a package of conversation hearts. I thought it would be fun to send some with my friend Stephanie to the Luckyhill orphanage. After all, they speak English and this would probably be something fun for them. Maybe she could tell them about Valentine's Day and how you leave a secret message for someone you love or admire and have the kids write a note to someone and eat some candy. (I always come up with what I think would be a great plan in my head and for some reason they never end up being very practical.)

I started to read the messages on the hearts. Some that I read were:

"Text Me!"
"You Rock"
"Email Me"
"You're Cool"
"Fax Me"
"Get Real"

There went that great, but not so practical plan!

So, if you read this blog...... "Comment Babe" ......Really, I'd love to hear from you!
"BFF" ;)

Christmas at the Emett's

2009-01-03T14:59:00.027-07:00

I just love Christmas. I love winter. I think it is so beautiful right after it snows, especially at night when the moon is shining and the newly fallen snow sparkles like a million stars. Luckily, we had a beautiful white Christmas this year.

On Christmas Eve, we have some traditions. We always go to a restaurant for an early dinner. Then we go to the cemetery and light candles on the graves of our loved ones....our son, Dakota, my father, and my grandparents are all at the same cemetery. Then we go home, eat pulla (a Finnish sweet bread) and drink hot chocolate while we tell the story of Jesus' birth. Then we open a couple of gifts, Rudolph drops off presents at the front door, (pajamas), and the kids try to fall asleep, usually with much difficulty because of the anticipation.

This year we had to skip lighting the candles at the cemetery because I had ankle surgery just a week before and couldn't go traipsing through the snow. So, we went for a drive to see Christmas lights instead.

We thought our Christmas was going to be a bit different this year because we are saving money for our adoption. I have a part-time job in the evenings and Saturdays as a grocery clerk to help fund the adoption. We decided we were not going to dip into this adoption fund at all to pay for Christmas. So, we began shopping early at second-hand stores and found some great deals. We also shopped through classified ads and found exactly what Savannah was asking for. When I went to pick up the princess castle, I saw that the woman had a daughter who was obviously adopted. So we began to talk about adoption. She adopted her daughter from Vietnam when she was a baby. I told her about Lilly and our plans to adopt her. She was very kind and gave me an even better deal on the castle.

On Christmas Eve as we looked around, we knew that the kids would be so happy about our finds and what "Santa" had left them. Savannah asked for a princess castle. Sierra asked for a basketball and a diamond. Of course, every time she sat on Santa's knee and made her request, Santa glanced up at us with a look that said, "Good luck with that!" Madison asked for a volleyball.

Before the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve, we let them open their gifts from Madison's birth families. They opened gifts from Nana Pat and Papa Mike and from Grandma Holly and Grandpa Marc and then we let them open the gifts from Amanda. Amanda gave them a Wii and some games to go with it. Madison opened it and started yelling, "We have a Wii, we have a Wii!!!" I guess she knew what to do with a Wii. I think Steve is enjoying the Wii as much as the kids. I should admit that I LOVE to play too....it's a lot of fun and good exercise....my arm was so sore after playing baseball and golf. :)

The highlight of Christmas Eve for Steve and I was our phone call to Ghana. It was so great to talk with our sweet little girl and hear her say, "I love you." We wanted to send her a little Christmas gift, but as we thought about her circumstances, we decided against it. She lives in Kingsley and Gloria's home with their four children and about 20 other orphans. We felt it wouldn't be right to send something for her and not the others. So we were going to send candy to all of them. But after all was said and done, we decided to send money so that Kingsley can buy what the kids really need. (If anyone wants to make a donation to Luckyhill Orphanage, you can do so on the Luckyhill site. Any little bit helps. Our dollars go a long way in Ghana.) http://luckyhillorphanage.org/donations.html

Christmas morning was fun watching the kids enjoy their presents. Sierra saw the basketball hoop right away and then asked, "Where's my diamond?" I told her to look around some more. She found the large gem (pink glass, cut like a diamond) and smiled so big and said, "Thank you mommy thank you, thank you." After thanking me, she also graciously thanked Santa.

Steve's family came to our home and spent the afternoon with us. All of the grandkids live near us in Tooele, so a few years ago we started spending Christmas at our house instead of all of us bundling up the kids and driving to Salt Lake. We had a wonderful Christmas lunch and then opened more presents from Grandparents and Steve's siblings.

Later that evening, I called and talked with my mom who is serving a mission in Georgia, and each of my siblings. I reflected on how blessed and how rich our lives are because of our association with so many wonderful people, both family and friends.

When I think about Lilly Anita Saviour, I just want her to be here with us so badly. I want to have her home! I know that our Father in Heaven wants to have us home too. I marvel at the love He has for us. He wants us to come home so much so, that he sent His only Begotten Son to this earth to show us the way. I am so indebted to the Saviour for His life and death which paves the way for each of us to make it Home again to our loving Heavenly Father.

I love the video below. It was made by our Church, but someone took out the sound from the original video and added Amy Grant's song "Breath of Heaven". It's beautiful!

Anita/Saviour/Lilly is 5

2009-01-01T15:02:00.000-07:00

We learned some new information about Anita/Saviour/Lilly on Christmas Eve. Her birthday is November 1, 2003...so she just turned 5. The twins' birthdays are November 16, 2004...just a year apart. We really were (not so secretly) hoping that she would be older than the twins and ahead of them in school.

I am really hoping we will get her home by early Spring, so that she can have a month or two going to the Early Learning Center and summer school before starting Kindergarten in the Fall. I think that would help her out with her English and she is used to going to school anyway.

We talked with her a little after midnight our time Christmas morning. She has such a sweet little voice. She even said "I love you" which of course melted our hearts.

As for the adoption process itself, Kingsley said that they are working on our papers. He asked us when we are coming to Ghana and Steve told him after our adoption is approved by the court. We have a friend going to Ghana this month to stay until March. We are excited about that because I think it will be easier for us to communicate with her through email to understand what is going on. I still have a hard time understanding Kingsley and I think he has a hard time understanding us. This also means maybe we will get some more pictures of Anita.

Which reminds me....Kingsley said her name is Anita Torde. Kingsley calls her Saviour. We asked him where she got the name Saviour, but didn't really understand what he was saying. So we still don't know why she goes by both names....and we still don't know what we will be calling her. I called her Anita on the phone when I talked to her, but Steve called her Saviour. She responded to both of us.

Here is a new picture of her. It's the same picture; I just cropped the one on the right so you can see her face better. What a doll!!!! Madison sent her the bracelet she is wearing and Madi was thrilled when she saw that she was wearing it.

Christmas at Temple Square

2008-12-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Do you ever picture the perfect family night out? I thought we should take the girls to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights. I envisioned awe-inspiring adventures and great memory making time with our girls.

We picked the night, the first Sunday in December...not too cold yet...we were planning on being in Salt Lake City anyway...why not?

What we didn't know is that the first Sunday in December is the Christmas Devotional/Fireside held at the Conference Center on Temple Square. We learned about this while visiting Steve's parents before going to Temple Square. We could have postponed our plans, but it is a lot of work finding 6 pairs of warm boots/shoes that match, 6 pairs of gloves and/or mittens, a minimum of 3 hats, long pants (opposed to the short ones the twins had been insisting on wearing all week) and coats for all. Not to mention a wagon and blankets.

Steve's dad got roped into driving us and dropping us off so we wouldn't have to find parking. First on the agenda was to see the life-sized nativity. Usually there is music with the Tabernacle Choir singing and a narrator telling the story of Jesus' birth. But since the devotional was in process, there was no sound. Madison and I wanted to take pictures as the various sections were lit up, but Steve was worried the twins would get bored and needed to keep moving. He thought I heard him say to meet him at the doors to the Visitor Center when we were finished. I thought he said he would be right back. Anyway, we got separated.

Just when I told Madi, there was no way we were going to find them, we heard Savannah's very familiar cry. You know, the one she uses in public when things are not going her way. We were inside the Visitor Center with the Christus statue. Steve had the twins out of the wagon and we spent the next several minutes chasing them up and down the escalators.

Here is a cute picture I took of Madi by a tree in the Visitor Center. Right after this picture, Savannah managed to unplug something and the tree was no longer lit. :(

We went up to the Christus along with about 200 other people, then decided we should go back outside....just as the devotional was getting over...oops. There were people everywhere, just outside the Visitor Center. We managed to get into the flow of people traffic and just kept moving. We decided we should go to the Plaza where it may be less crowded and luckily that was a good move.

By this time, I was ready to go and had given up on the picture perfect night out with the girls. But we persevered and the night ended pretty well. The kids did enjoy the lights and we managed to still have 3 girls, 6 pairs of warm boots/shoes that match, 6 pairs of gloves and/or mittens, 3 hats, long pants, and coats for all. Not to mention a wagon and blankets.

Recipe for Hair Goop

2008-12-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

I've had a few requests for this recipe, so here it is:

Proclaim Curl Activator Gel (32 oz)
3 Cocoa butter sticks (1 oz)
Proclaim bees wax (4 oz)

Place cocoa butter sticks in a large glass bowl along with half a jar of bees wax. Microwave until they are liquid.
Add about ¾ jar of curl activator.
Mix vigorously with a spoon until the mixture looks like vanilla pudding (smooth and thick).
Add remaining curl activator.
(If you don’t microwave the bees wax well enough, it will clump when you add the cold curl activator. If this happens, put the whole solution in the microwave for 4 minutes, then begin to mix again. Then add the remaining curl activator, once the mixture is mixed well and cooled. Apply to wet hair and style using shingling process described on curvesalon.com.

Good Luck!

Homemade Hair Goop

2008-12-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

I just LOOOOVVVE Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme for Sierra's and Savannah's hair. It is a moisturizer and it works really well and smells good too....but it costs $32 for 8 oz. In December they have a 2 for the price of 1 deal making it $32 for 16 oz...plus shipping ($16.35). Since we are trying to keep a tight budget so we can afford to travel to Ghana and complete this adoption, I decided to try a recipe I found that is supposed to be very similar to Miss Jessie's buttercreme and curly pudding (another product I have bought that defines curls).

So I spent just over $10 at Sally's and bought the ingredients. It made about 40 oz. of creme...it doesn't smell as good as Miss Jessie's, but so far I like how it is working on their hair...nice and soft and not brittle. If any of you with black children want to try it, let me know...I have plenty to share! :)

(Miss Jessie's in front...my concoction in back.)

I-600A Approval Received

2008-11-29T12:21:00.001-07:00

Today we received our approval letter for our I-600A. It only took them 2 weeks to process!!! There is one problem with it; they have me listed as Steve's spouse on page 1, but on the attachment where it tells us when our fingerprinting expires, it lists someone else as Steve's spouse. I know we live in Utah....but I'm pretty sure I'm the only one! :) I'll have to email our contact, and see if we need to do anything about that.

We also learned that Saviour actually goes by Anita. When I talked with Kingsley on the phone, I thought he was calling her something else, but I just thought I didn't understand his accent...lol. I think we will talk to her and see what she wants to be called...Anita, Saviour, or Lilly before we make any changes to her name.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving! We enjoyed spending time with Steve's family.

Do You Want to Hear Saviour's Voice?

2008-11-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

We have some new pictures of Saviour and a video too! Thanks Jessica!!! It's kind of funny that lately we have just been referring to her as Saviour instead of Lilly. The twins won't call her Lilly...only Saviour. I guess we'll see what happens when we actually meet her. She's wearing orange in all the pictures. :)

Here is what Jessica said about her:

"She is really sweet and she loved the book you sent. She looked at it over
and over and over. She was running around to show all the kids her family. She
would point to Steve and tell them he was her dad, then she'd turn to your
picture and tell them you are her mom. She would say you are coming soon to see
her. She loved the pics of Madi. She kept asking me when Madi was coming. And
she got a kick out of the twins. It was really cute."

Jessica said she is good friends with Comfort, the other girl in the video and they were always playing together. Comfort is being adopted by a family in Washington. Here's a link to their blog. http://adoptingfromafrica.blogspot.com/ It is quite a miraculous story about Comfort's adoption. She needs heart surgery and found just the right family to help her.

What Will I Be Thinking This Thanksgiving?

2008-11-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

I talked with Lois (she's helping us with our adoption) on the phone last night. One of the things she told me was that they now have enough money to feed the children breakfast at Luckyhill. While on the phone, I was thinking, "That's so great. They have extra money from these adoptions and now the kids get porridge in the morning." Then I got off the phone and couldn't fall asleep. I was thinking about how much I complain about the price of gas, food, utilities, etc. I was thinking about how much I take for granted having clothes to wear and 3 square meals a day, not to mention a hot shower every morning and electricity to make everything in my life easier!!! I was thinking about how much excess I have in my life.

Today at church, our Relief Society lesson was on a talk President Thomas S. Monson gave in conference last April called "Abundantly Blessed". I sat there thinking about all of my blessings. The list is quite large. I realized that I don't always show my gratitude to others like I should. I don't tell Heavenly Father often enough how thankful I am for such a blessed life. But even as ungrateful as I have been, He has still seen fit to continue to bless me and my family.

I thought about coincidences. So many times, something happens and I think, "What a coincidence!" As I considered this today in light of receiving blessings, I realized that a coincidence is just evidence of God's handiwork. I know it wasn't just coincidence that I met Jessica on a Yahoo group who just happens to be adopting from Ghana, and who just happens to live 30 miles away, and who just happens to be a member of the same Church, and who just happens to know someone who lives 60 miles away who would be willing to help us with an adoption, and who just happens to know of an orphanage in Ghana called Luckyhill.......

I believe that Heavenly Father loves little Saviour so much and he loves Steve and I so much that he helped us find one another....and that is what I will be thinking about this Thanksgiving!

Twins' Birthdays

2008-11-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sierra and Savannah turned 4 on Sunday, the 16th. I can't believe it's been four years since we first saw them. I was remembering how sick Sierra was after she was born with necrotizing enterocolitis and spinal meningitis. It really is a miracle she is still with us. Savannah is on the top, Sierra on the bottom.

We have been blessed to have them as part of our family, even with all the mischief they manage to find :D
Madi is such a good big sister, then and now!!!

We celebrated their birthday at Steve's parents' house where they got plenty spoiled with gifts and cake and ice cream. I think their favorite present was tools. When Steve was working on finishing the bathroom, they would always take off with his tools. They were thrilled to have their own set. After they opened them, they wouldn't open anything else for quite awhile. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Savannah top, Sierra bottom.

Savannah top, Sierra bottom.

Our Paper Work is in Ghana!!!

2008-11-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

We had our homestudy on Thursday, November 6th, which went well. I kept thinking that I needed to hurry up and get our dossier put together. We had a lot to do still gathering all the required documents. The hardest one to nail down was a notarized letter verifying Steve's employment. It wasn't hard really, it just took some time and some follow-up on his part to make sure it was notorized and official looking enough.

Anyway, Wednesday, the 12th, Jessica called me. (She's adopting Sarah/Adjoa from Luckyhill.) She told me she was going to Ghana on Sunday morning, the 16th and could take things over there for us....So the race was on to get it all ready.

I emailed our social worker and asked if it was possible to have our homestudy ready by then. (I had proof-read it the night before.) She said "Yes. It will be ready tomorrow." So, Steve picked it up on Thursday. We needed the finalized homestudy for the dossier and also so we could file our I600A telling the U.S. we intend to adopt an orphan.

Friday Steve took the day off and we made an appointment with the US Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services to file the I600A. I learned from Stephanie (adopting Samuel and Godfrid from Luckyhill) that they only accept money orders even though their webpage goes into great detail about how they accept personal checks. So I was prepared with a money order in hand made out to the Department of Homeland Security for $837. We got to the office and felt a bit like we were in a foreign country. We went through security and waited in the waiting room. When our name was called, the gentleman behind the counter looked at the money order and said that he couldn't accept it because the fee was $830. I really wanted him to just keep the change, but he said we would have to come back. Of course the credit union that issued the money order is in Tooele and we were in Salt Lake. I went to a credit union in SL where we have another account and fortunately, they allowed me to deposit the money order in my account and then they issued one for the correct amount.

We went back and had to wait for awhile because the man had gone to lunch. Finally, we finished there and went over to another location to be finger-printed. So, now we are just waiting our approval on that.

We got back to Tooele, went to a notary to notarize any and all papers we thought might need it and then went to a copy center to make 7 copies of all documents...4 for Ghana and 3 for us. I stayed up until 1:00 AM compiling all copies and triple-checking to make sure nothing was amiss.

Saturday we delivered Saviour's book, an outfit, teddybear and necklace that Madi made to Jessica along with our adoption fee and the dossier. So, now the adoption process can begin in Ghana. We are happy to have our part complete.

Saviour's Book

2008-11-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

I have so much to post about, but have been way too busy!! So I'll start with Saviour's book and post a few more times this week.

We wanted to create a book for Saviour to help her understand what is going to be happening with her adoption. Steve thought it would be a good idea to turn it into a purse, so she could carry it around with her easily if she wants to. So, here it is:

Walking in the Light of God

2008-11-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

We had our home visit by our social worker Thursday and it all went well. We should have our completed homestudy this week!

Saturday night we went to a concert by the African Children's Choir. It was wonderful. I loved watching the children perform songs and dances from Africa. They ended with "Walking in the Light of God." I love it. Our kids love watching it over and over on youtube. Enjoy!!!

We also got to meet Lois and her daughter from Ghana, Lily. They met us at the concert. Lois is fun to talk with and Lily is beautiful. We also met another couple adopting from Luckyhill. So, it was a great night. I can't wait to meet Saviour and hear her little voice again! The way things are going with passports in Ghana, I am not as optimistic that we will be able to bring her home in January or February. I'm guessing it may be more like April or May. We will get everything done on our end and then leave it in the Lord's hands and pray that the process will go smoothly in Ghana.

A Call To Ghana

2008-11-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

We talked to Kingsley yesterday after church. We were supposed to talk to Saviour (Lilly), but with the time change here, it made it 8:00 PM there and she was already in bed. Kingsley said she gets up at 4:35 AM for family devotional and school starts at 7:00. It was nice talking to Kingsley. He was just called to the Bishopric, so he's even busier than before. He said that Saviour is beautiful, quiet, well-behaved and respectful. He told us we could call back at 8:00 in the morning their time.

So, we got up at 1:00 AM and made the call. I talked to Kingsley while he walked to her school class to get Saviour and then I talked to Saviour. I am guessing this is her first time ever being on a phone. She didn't say much, just answered "yes" or "OK" to the things we said. Madison wanted to get up to talk, so she talked and of course Steve talked to her. It was fun to hear her little voice. I don't know how much she understands about these people who call themselves "mom" and "dad," but hopefully the book we are making to send with Jessica will help her understand better.

It Was a Tight Race

2008-10-31T14:40:00.001-06:00

Phewf....that was so close! 76 total votes....25 for Lily, 25 for Lillie, and 26 for Lilly. So LILLY it is! I must say that no matter how the poll went, I intended to go with Lilly anyway for a few reasons.

1) Steve says I always ask for opinions, then do it my way anyhow, (which is mostly true).
2) There are more letters from Luckyhill in the name Lilly ;)
3) And most importantly, I like how Lilly looks in cursive...lots of curly letters, kinda princess-like....very important! Go ahead try it out; it's a fun name to write...lol.

Lilly is Waving to You

2008-10-29T07:12:00.000-06:00

I just got this great picture of Lilly. She's the one in the center waving. Isn't she just so adorable. Look at that smile. Lois found this picture as she was looking at the pictures she took at the school. I just want to give her a big hug and kiss!

Good news. Jessica's adoption is final as of yesterday! She will be going to get her little girl (Sarah Adjua) very soon! We are going to send a book with her to give to Saviour Lilly with pictures of our family, house, dog, etc.

We are having our home study visit on the 6th. Once we get our copy of the home study, we can send off our dossier (Ghana paperwork) and file our I600A (U.S. paperwork).

5 Things You Can't Do When You Have Twins

2008-10-24T13:09:00.000-06:00

5. Watch Jay Leno. My favorite time of night...the children all nestled, snug in their beds. When we turned off the TV, we heard crying coming from the family room downstairs. Upon investigation, we found Savannah lying on the Love Sac holding a brick of cheese, 3 raw eggs and the remote to the TV. She was crying because she couldn't get her movie to start. :)

4. Yard Work. You would think this could be manageable because the kids can play on their bikes while you work. But since weeding flower beds means your back is turned, they have a tendency to disappear. Our neighbor 3 houses down came over and informed us they were swimming in their baby pool....stark naked! Their clothes were so wet, we ended up flinging them over our shoulders and doing the walk of shame home with bare bottoms exposed to the world. One passer-by started chuckling and we just said, "don't ask!"

3. Go to the store, especially Wal-mart. Problem #1...Wal-mart doesn't have carts for 2. This means one child can ride where a child is meant to ride, with a seat belt. The other child must ride in the cart portion with no seat belt. Problem #2...The child w/o the seat belt continually hangs one leg out of the cart ready to jump at all times, even though you've told that child numerous times to sit down and hold still. Problem #3...child in seat belt is jealous of the freedom of child in cart and cries to be let out of the seat belt until you relent. There are many other problems....use your imagination....many of them have to do with squished bread, and clean ups on aisle 10, etc. ;)

2. Home Improvement Projects...we placed the toilet where it would be installed just to make sure we had enough tile down before grouting. We stated at least 3 times to both Sierra and Savannah that they were not to pee in this toilet...."it's not ready yet." Yes, you guessed it, the next morning when my friend came over to help me grout, there was pee in the toilet! YUCK!!

1. BLOG...they helped themselves to the cereal while I was blogging...I guess the floor was hungry too, since that is where the majority of the milk and cereal ended up!

Yes, we know what we are doing adding another 3 year old to our family. I figure that my time is already consumed with watching two, what's one more? I ran into a lady at a park who had triplets that were only a year old. I felt for her. I figure it is better to get triplets at the age of 3 or 4 when they can all walk by themselves and are potty trained.

Our Paper Pregnancy

2008-10-24T11:08:00.000-06:00

A lot of couples refer to adoption as a "paper pregnancy". There really is a lot of paperwork to do and we are finding it is even more so with international adoption. We have completed all of our paperwork for our home study and should be having a visit soon from the social worker.

I really wanted to have the bathroom finished downstairs before our home visit and thanks to friends who are handy (Teree Bentley and Chris Olson), I think we'll make it! ;)

We heard from Lois the other night. Saviour has been told she is being adopted and is happy about it. We are going to send a book with pictures of our family, house and dog to her with Jessica when she goes to get her 2 year old sometime soon.

While we are waiting for our home study to be completed, we are gathering documents needed for the dossier. We send a dossier of various documents (home study, birth certificates, pictures, medical information, etc.) to Ghana for their approval of us as an adoptive family. We also have to file a form with the INS to get permission to bring Saviour to the U.S. as an immigrant. We also need to get passports and visas....so lots still to do, but coming along.

We are going to be having an adoption yard sale in the early spring to help pay for this adoption. So start gathering things you don't want anymore...we'll take them off your hands. Our 2-car garage is already half full of items for the yard sale that have been donated! Thanks to everyone for your kind words and support of our family. We love you!!!

Madi, the 9 Year Old

2008-10-14T08:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Madison's 9th birthday. It was a great day. She had school, even though it was Columbus Day. I took doughnuts in for her class as a birthday treat. After dinner, she opened presents (Lego's and clothes). Steve is soooo happy that he gets to play with Lego's....with all girls, who'd have thought?

We had our neighbors over for birthday cake and ice cream. She wanted a soccer ball cake, so this was my attempt. The phone rang off the hook for her that evening with calls from her birth mother, Amanda, Amanda's parents-Grandma Holly and Grandpa Marc, and her birth father's mom-Nana Pat. It's so great to be able to share these special days with them. We always love hearing from them.

We will celebrate her birthday on Sunday with Steve's family. My mom is still on her mission, but sent her a birthday card and money to go shopping with. It's hard to believe sometimes that it was nine years ago that she came into our lives. She has grown so much and is such a good girl.

Steve's sister got married

2008-10-11T08:06:00.000-06:00

Steve's youngest sister Shelly got married yesterday. It was a great day for a wedding. We were worried that it would be raining/snowing, but alas, the weather cooperated. She made a beautiful bride. As she came out of the temple for pictures, someone from another wedding party said, "OK, that bride looks like she is about 12 years old." I told her she is 28 and I don't think she believed me. She married Dave and they seem to be a great match. They get asked how tall they are everywhere they go....so I'll tell....Dave is 6'8" and Shelly is 5'2". I just love weddings and always cry. It was really neat that all of Steve's family was able to be inside the temple together.

I liked something that the man who married them said. He had them look into the mirrors in the sealing room (the mirrors are located on opposite walls of each other). He told Shelly to look at Dave and Dave to look at Shelly through the mirrors. He asked how many images they could see. They answered that they could see many. The mirrors cause this effect, making it seem there is no end. Then he told each of them to look at themselves. He asked how many images they could see. They answered, "only one." He went on to say that is how it is in marriage, when we focus on each other, we see things in an eternal perspective, but when we think only of ourselves, we can only see the here and now. How true that is!

New Information

2008-10-08T07:26:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of Saviour with Kingsley. I think you get a better perspective of her size in this picture. She looks like an older 3 to me. We don't know when her birthday is, but will hopefully find out soon. It looks like they are preparing a meal in the "kitchen" in the background.

We learned from Lois that Saviour speaks English!!! That will definitely help with the transition for her. We also know that she was abandoned by her mother...I would guess due to poverty.

A lot of you have asked when we will bring her here. It will take about 4 to 6 months to get all the paperwork done. Maybe January or February??? Now that we have seen her, we just can't wait.

We decided to use a different social worker. The first one I contacted costs almost twice as much as others. The second one has never sent me any paperwork and has never done an international homestudy for Ghana. The social worker I talked to yesterday was very nice. She said it shouldn't take too long, especially since we have a current domestic homestudy with LDS Family Services. She could come out to our house within a couple of weeks. I was impressed with her over the phone and she has done homestudies for Ghana before, which is a plus.

YIKES...Now we've really got to get finished with our home improvment projects. We are hoping to at least have the bathroom finished downstairs before she comes for the homestudy. We have all the stuff to finish it sitting in our garage just waiting to be installed. We need to grout the tile, install the cabinet, then the plumber will come and install the sink and toilet and fix the tub so the jets work....something got unattached.....hmm....maybe the twins? lol. Then, we just have to cover up the front of the tub to hide the motor and put tile there, hang the light, mirror, etc. and we are done! I'm not saying that Steve isn't a "handyman", but if any of you are, come on over! :)

Triplets???

2008-10-06T17:00:00.000-06:00

A lot of our friends and family have commented on how much Saviour looks like Sierra and Savannah. Here is a side-by-side picture of Sierra, Savannah, and Saviour. The picture to the right is of Sierra with a similar hairdo. What do you think??? Triplets born on 2 different continents? LOL :)

Meet Lily

2008-10-04T16:09:00.000-06:00

We really thought we would be adopting a boy from Ghana since there are already way too many girl hormones in our house....but it's a girl!!! We are adopting Saviour. We are naming her either Saviour Lillian or Lillian Saviour, but will call her Lily, Lillie, Lilly....not sure how to spell it yet??? Suggestions anyone???

We fasted Thursday and Friday and went to the temple on Friday evening. We were praying to know if we should adopt Dorothy, Saviour, or a boy we hadn't seen yet. As I was sitting in one of the rooms of the Salt Lake Temple, I looked down and glanced at the slip of paper I was holding listing the name of the person I was doing the temple work for that evening. (For those who are not members of our church, once we have completed our own temple ordinances, we then serve in the temple for those who have passed on who did not get the temple ordinances while alive.)

The name on my paper was Lillie. Suddenly I knew. My heart started beating so fast and I felt the Spirit pour thoughts into my head. I knew we were going to adopt Saviour and we would call her Lily. When Kingsley described Saviour over the phone to Lois, he told her that her spirit was so much like his niece's. His niece was adopted by Lois and her name is Lillian. We haven't met Lillian yet, but Lois said there is something about her that draws people to her and that you can feel the Light of Christ within her. The thought also occurred to me that a lily is a symbol of Easter and this little girl is named after the Saviour....the reason we rejoice at Easter.

In another room of the temple, I began to remember the words to the song, "Consider the Lilies of the Field". I am posting a video of the Mormon Tabernacle choir singing this song. It's always been one of my favorites. As I thought about this song, I realized that Heavenly Father is watching over all of us. He knows and loves Saviour and he knows of our desire to build our family through adoption. He is taking care or each of us. I know He will watch over our "Lily" until we can bring her home!!

How Do You Pick?

2008-10-03T12:26:00.000-06:00

So, we are trying to select which child we should adopt. This is so much harder than I thought. I guess I just figured that seeing a picture of our child would give me goose bumps. One little girl stood out to me. Her name was Precious. She is on the left. I think it was her smile and the light in her eyes. But I kept thinking as I looked at her that someone was going to adopt her, but not us. The next day, Lois called and said that someone had seen her and knew right away they were supposed to adopt her.

We looked at some of the other children and an 8 year old, Dorothy caught Steve's attention and an 11 year old, Patience had Madison's eye.
Then Lois emailed me another photo. It's a little 3 year old girl, named Saviour. When I pulled up her picture, I immediately thought she looked like Sierra and Savannah. Then, I heard the rest of the story. Lois just got home from Ghana. While she was there, she showed Kingsley a picture of our family. The next day, he wanted Lois to take Saviour's picture for us. We have not met Kingsley, but from what we have heard, he is very close to the Spirit and receiving spiritual promptings is a daily occurrence for him.

Lois called me later and told me that she had just spoken to Kingsley and he said, "I am not saying whether she is or isn't Saviour's mother; I am saying that she (meaning me) knows who Saviour's mother is." He also said that he knows Saviour is supposed to come to Utah...No pressure, right???

Steve and I have been fasting about this and are going to the temple tonight. We hope our searching will bring the answers. We haven't even seen any pictures of boys yet...lol.

We Are Adopting From Ghana

2008-10-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

I guess it's time to start blogging to share our Ghanaian adoption journey. We decided to adopt internationally back in July. We saw a show about child slavery in Haiti, which led us on a path to international adoption. We decided not to adopt from Haiti, due to some challenges in Haiti right now slowing down adoptions there.

As Steve looked at options, he called me from work one day and said, "How about Ghana?" I joined an Adopt Ghana Yahoo group and sent out an email introducing our family and asking how we should go about adopting from Ghana.

I got a reply from someone in the process, named Jessica on July 23rd. She guided us to a school/orphanage called Luckyhill. We came to find out that Jessica lives in Utah too and that the person who will help us here in the U.S., Lois, lives in Heber, UT. Lois adopted from Ghana 10 years ago. She adopted Lillian who was the niece of a man named Kingsley. She has remained in contact with Kingsley all these years. After Kingsley married, he and his wife Gloria started a school for children in Ghana. The goal was to provide education to those who otherwise may not obtain it due to poverty or other circumstances. There are now 300 children attending the school and approximately 80 of them are orphans.

After speaking with Jessica and Lois, we felt that we were being led by the Spirit to Luckyhill. All the pieces were coming together too easily. As we fasted and prayed to know if this is what we should do, we felt strongly that this is the direction we should take. So.......

Now we are beginning the process. We have seen some pictures of some of the orphans and are going crazy at the idea of having to pick just one. :(
They are beautiful children and we would love to bring them all home. Our neighbor said we should just buy a 15 seat van and fill her up! LOL.