Thank you - such inadequate words.

Families who adopt will be quick to admit that without a support system, it would be a nightmare. On the roller coaster ride of adoption, prayers carry you through when paperwork, court dates, passports and visas are added into the mix of emotions of longing to get your child(ren) home. The fact that your "at home" family is cared for and you are upheld in prayer whilst being away from home is such a blessing.

In Ghana:

With Samuel's adoption I was away for 3 weeks - our girls stayed at home in Zimbabwe with George and Lizzie (his sister) came to stay with them. In Ghana Samuel & I stayed with 2 precious families who covered us in love and prayer daily. God even sent Chris to travel back with me - his extra weight allocation, as well as help getting around the airport both in Ghana and Johannesburg was a blessing.

With Michael's adoption I fully intended for Samuel & me to stay in a guest house for the duration of the adoption - approx 1 month :) However I did not take into account that on day 3 in Ghana I would have a "mini breakdown" :( - being separated from his family was hard for Samuel, having to share Mommy with a new baby surrounded by other BH babies only added to his level of insecurity. Then there was Michael - I have never had to learn to "love & leave" a baby at the same time. My brain knew the importance of the transition period, my heart though was a different story.

One of the generous families last year, was Samuel's foster family and without hesitation the Paul family opened their arms and home to Samuel & me. They loved on Samuel and "mothered" me - it was amazing to be part of this family. Together with other families that we still know in Ghana, they prayed for the process and Mariette was in court with me. She and her family took care of Samuel when Michael's paperwork had to take priority. They will forever be part of our family and there is no words to say thank you for what they have done for us in both adoption processes. We can't wait for our "holiday coffee dates"!

George arrived in Ghana at the end of August in order to fly home with the boys and me. I had already booked us into a lodge, but again we were blessed by the generosity of friends. This family offered their home whilst they were away on business and holiday respectively - I know its an old photo, but it was the only one I had:) It was wonderful for Samuel and Michael to be with George in a home environment. It is amazing to think that we already know this family for almost 7 years -they were already in Ghana when we arrived - what a blessing they have been to us :) - then and now!

This photo was taken when we left Ghana in February 2009 and most of the people in it are still in Ghana and were there for us now. Their love & prayers; open arms & homes; countless cups of coffee; tissues to dry tears and lots of laughter carried us through this journey.

The evening we left Ghana, God brought one more person from last year across our path. Unfortunately he was camera shy :) As I was walking in around in the departure lounge with Samuel & Michael - Samuel was in fact running with me trying to catch up - a heard a familiar voice. It was Chris, yes same as last year ! He was again on a business trip, returning home on the same flight as us - of course we felt that this was God's way of just rounding off our trip.

To our "extended families" (which includes our prayer warriors around the world) - thank you will never be enough. Your unconditional love for our family is awezim!

In South Africa:

Back home in South Africa an amazing Oupa, Ouma & my sister, Gretch took in the 3 girls and completely changed their routine to accommodate the girls.

Oupa & Ouma tackled home schooling in their stride - they did "voice" certain concerns regarding Algebra that is not what is used to be; Chemistry being Greek and Spanish not necessarily a language to learn when you are more "mature" :)

Gretch spoilt the girls with proper girly things like shopping, shopping, more shopping and then some :) Many late night talks about our changing family setup and lots of hugs.

My brother, who stays in the Strand, near Cape Town, dropped in for a visit whilst we were away as well as the weekend we returned from Ghana. Our girls love him to bits and he seldom has a quiet moment when they are around :)

Adoption involves an entire family, without each member's unconditional love and support it would be pretty daunting. We are blessed with a family who have accepted and loved our 2 new sons from day one; a family who has been there for our girls when they felt insecure during each adjustment period; an Oupa & Ouma who is a phone call away and who can dry tears even over the phone :)

We love each of you so much. Thank you will never be enough.

Sometimes we have to let go, never easy

A precious family is going through a heart wrenching process

of having to let go.

Tim, Felicity & Natani came back from South Africa a little over a month ago

and although Tim was still very frail, he felt stronger than before.

However the past few days Tim has had various setbacks and

they really need the power of prayer to carry them through this time.

Especially Natani is finding it difficult to understand that God has brought

about healing, even if it is not physical healing.

" Lord, we know that Tim is precious in Your sight.

We know that You love him.

Our prayer Lord, is that Felicity and each of Tim's children

will experience Your presence and peace in a mighty way.

We ask Lord that You strengthen them in the decisions that they

have to make regarding Tim.

Cover them in Your love.

Amen"

Saying Goodbye to Ghana...... for now

Bernard, Samuel & I arrived back in Accra on Thursday, 2 September at about 9am. We went straight to BH to finalise the last paperwork, signing Michael's release form and collecting his clinic cards, Social Welfare Reports etc. Michael was going home!

Saying goodbye to two people who were instrumental in growing our family was not easy. Both Bernard and Romana have a passion for children in need. They actively live out what God has laid on their hearts in terms of these precious jewels in our world. The need will always be greater than the help they can offer, but that doesn't stop them. Each day brings new challenges, but each day also brings surprising joys & blessings.

There are many others who work in this beautiful country to help those less fortunate. People who dedicate their lives to serving others. We have so much - so much to give; so much to learn; so much of God's never ending love to share.

God moves mountains in Accra

Whilst I was up North for the day with Michael, George (who arrived in Accra Saturday 28 August) & Samuel were in Accra waiting under a tree at the Passport Office for Michael's passport.


Sunday, 29 August, we stood up in church for prayer for travel mercies, not only for my Wednesday / Thursday trip North but also for our return to South Africa on Thursday night.
As we stood in front of the congregation, the pastor explained that we were standing in faith as we had no passport, thus no visa and also no red ribbon embossed adoption court order.


We were in the same situation with Samuel's adoption, but then I only left Accra the Saturday, 5 working days - we are talking max 4 working days here!! BUT nothing is impossible for our God!


Monday saw us again handing in our passport application early and told more than halfway through the day to "go come" the next day to "pick" a letter that needed to be signed by the Registrar confirming our adoption. Tuesday after many hours, we had the official passport receipt and the wait was on. But no success, we had to leave empty handed at about 5pm.

To me it is amazing how perfect God's timing is.

On Wednesday whilst Michael was closing one chapter in his life story, God opened the new one. George received his passport a little after 2pm, the visa & official ribbon adoption order were both in his hands by 4pm.


God's timing is always perfect - 1 September is Spring Day in South Africa, a day of celebrating new life & growth. Michael's paperwork came full circle, giving him a new life.

God moved a paper mountain in 3 days!!

Trip North - 1 September

I'm at a loss for words for this post. Those who have adopted children from Ghana and who have done the family visits up in Northern Ghana, will know that words can't begin to describe the emotional impact of such a visit.

I am fortunate to have gone North during the rainy season, it is beautiful & green. During the dry season, it is a different story - it is not an easy place to live. However even the water in the rainy season can be an enemy as roads, crops and houses are flooded with water from Burkino Faso.

Michael has a grandmother and two uncles who loves him very much. It was humbling to travel with Bernard and Pastor John to visit them.

I'm so blessed by their acceptance of me as Michael's Mommy & our family as his new family.

Bernard was a blessing on this trip. He helped to explain to the family where Michael would be staying; explained our family setup (a Ghanaian brother had them smiling) and he also explained how we intend to foster Michael's Ghanaian heritage.

As we started our walk back to the car, I looked back at Michael's home with a heart overflowing with a love for his people, now also our people, because for a family to love a child so much............

Adoption Day

We were already in week 3 of my stay in Ghana and foolishly I compared it to last year's time frame - which meant I thought I would be on my way home already :)

Having lived in Ghana for 5 years, having been part of the adoption family circle - yes, I should have known better. Also I tried to do things my way instead of waiting, leaning on the only source during a process like this - GOD!

I tried to "bargain" with God in my quiet time, Samuel was really missing his family and he had already been sick the whole time with a tummy bug, but nothing happened. No surprise there :)

I took this photo of Mariette & the boys dancing on the Thursday morning, thinking of how much I have to dance for - I felt ashamed at not trusting God for all we needed for this process.

Already God had provided an amazing family with whom we stayed - they showered Samuel with love; supported me in so many ways and opened their home unconditionally. We had friends and prayer warriors across the world praying with us for all aspects of the process.

Shortly after the dancing photo, literally minutes, the lawyer phoned and asked us to come to court immediately as the judge had reviewed our file & will hear our case if we could get there within the hour.

Laughter, tears, chaos all in one as we got everyone dressed; phoned everyone we knew whilst sitting in the traffic to start praying & ran around at the Circuit Courts trying to find Court 10 - no, they are not in an orderly "line". Again God was good - we found the court, Fati found us just as I thought we were in the wrong place and in we went.



Mariette & I sat scarcely breathing, quietly praying throughout the presentation of our case.
The boys must have known "this was it" as they were equally quiet.
And then the order: "Adoption granted, travel outside of Ghana granted" - words cannot explain, you have to be there.
By lunch time we were home, in awe of how our planned quiet day at home turned out!!

At LIFE group that night, we celebrated a God that loves us beyond words.

Michael's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Michael !

What a privilege to be there for our son's 1st birthday! We received Samuel into our home as a foster child 2 weeks before his 1st birthday, so it was important for us that I be there for Michael's big day too.

And following his older brother's example, Michael also had a super delicious Bake Shop Classic Teddy Bear cake. Anyone who lives in Accra can tell you that that is the best cake shop in town :)

We celebrated with his BH family on the day after the big day - the children made this day very special with their singing & dancing.

At the end of a big day.

Ghana here we come

On 24 July we started our "2010 adoption journey" with a car & trailer loaded to capacity - enough school material to keep the girls busy for at least a month; enough clothes for 3 teenage daughters for the same time frame & everything I could think of that either they or Samuel & I would need for our time away from home - yes, pretty much everything except the kitchen sink!

The first week we spent in South Africa getting the girls settled with my parents and finalizing our Ghana trip. Despite not having a court date, George & I decided that Samuel & I would travel to Ghana on Saturday 31 July. This is definitely not the way it is normally done, but we wanted me there for Michael's 1st birthday (3 August) and we also felt that we needed to show our commitment to our new son. The absolute leap of faith part is that we booked return tickets for the end of August, trusting that all court orders, passport, etc would be finalized by then.

So on 31 July Samuel & I boarded the plane to Accra, he is truly a seasoned traveller. He had no trouble entertaining himself or others on this his second long flight (6 hours). Of course our biggest bonus was that the Paul family was also on the flight - they fostered Samuel for 4 months - and as they sat in the same row as us, Samuel really had a super fun trip!

I do admit that stepping off the plane was an emotional experience, it was as if bringing Samuel "home" - despite knowing that it would not be easy - was like coming full circle. I absolutely love the way God has used Samuel even on this trip to bring joy & hope.

After church on Sunday, 1 August, we met up with Romana & the BH family and were introduced to our new son / brother. I must admit Samuel was a little apprehensive and the fact that Michael was initially not the "cuddle" type, did result in very few smiles for the camera. Mommy though was overjoyed.

We did get some hugging towards the end of our visit when Samuel realised Michael was not leaving with us - my heart was broken. To me it is still amazing how God can fill one's heart with love for a forever child in the instant that you see them the first time.