Cita!

So Adjoa has totally bonded to the dogs. She loves them! It's so cute to watch her interact with them. She always makes sure to say goodbye and hello to them as we are coming and going from the house, and they are the first thing she looks for in the morning.

The last couple of days, she has been wanting Eden to sleep with her!

Here's a quick video of her playing with Cita.

Letters from Seattle Sorensons

Adjoa's cousins sent some super cute letters today - well, we received them today. Rus and Kristy and family also sent some super cute clothes: 3 shirts and 2 pairs of pants.

I'm pretty sure she made the shirts - they have these cute "Adjoa" girls appliqued on the front. Adjoa calls them her "Adjoa" shirts. When I ask her what she wants to wear she grabs one of the shirts and says "Adjoa!"

She's sporting one of the shirts and the cute jeans the Berrett's sent in this video.

Thanks all - Adjoa loved her letters and clothes!

Andy, Thank You!

Andy, from Robert's work, gave Adjoa a broom. She uses it daily - I try not to read into it too much. {You know, my African child, who spent 2 years surrounded by and playing in dirt, thinks my house needs cleaning.}

Anyway: An-deee! Thank you!

Bonding Time with Adjoa

Sorry I've been totally lame in my posting lately. We've been so busy around our house - what with my work, Robert's deadlines at work, our new addition, everyone wanting to meet our new addition, and taking time for Robert, Adjoa, and me to bond.

Here are a couple videos of 'lotion time.' It happens twice a day, and with the cold weather we've been having, we try to make it quick so she doesn't realize how cold it is to be naked and have lotion smothered all over your little body. She's a trooper!

You'll get to see a bit more of her personality in these.

Escapee!

Being silly

I love this one - you can see how well she's doing with Eden already. Adjoa will go up to Eden and give her a hug, lean against her, and kiss her. It's really cute. I'm so proud of her for adapting so well.

First Sunday at Church and Hands Down the Most Adorable

Only time for a quick post of Adjoa's first Sunday outfit.

Yes. This is the cute little outfit I purchased on Ebay for something like 8 bucks.

You can post a comment if you want, but I already know how seriously cute she is! lol.

Mama's Little Helper....Oh How I've Longed to Say Those Words!

And truth be known, she's a pretty good little helper!

She has also lectured me when I'm cooking {apparently I don't know how to do that correctly!}

Taken over folding the clothes

Insisted on cleaning up her messes when she eats

Pointed out any flaw in her clothes, a string I missed when sweeping, a spec of milk that spilled onto her hand. . . well, you get the idea.

Here's a quick video of her sweeping. This was her first full day with us at home. I got out the broom to sweep and she took it from me and insisted on doing it herself. Later, Robert tried to sweep and was met with the same stubbornness.

Hey, I'm all for stubbornness when it's my child wanting to clean!

You'll also note, I hope, that she adjusted VERY quickly to Eden. After the terror of the first introduction, we were a little worried. All for no reason, it turned out. Just one day later Adjoa was at least tolerating Eden's presence. Poor Eden. She just pinned away, following Adjoa with such longing in her eyes. It was truly pathetic and oh so endearing!

Here's the Story of How Adjoa Came Home and How I Was Able to Keep it a Surprise

{Ok, ok, so I'm cheating and I"m pre-dating this post. It's actually several days later, as any of you who have checked this blog for the full story lately will know. I'm taking poetic license}.

We got a phone call on Tuesday. A local friend from the Ghana adoption community knew of 2 families traveling in Ghana. She had contacted them through one of her friends, and they had agreed to bring Adjoa home with them. When we got the call, they already knew about the plans and Kingsley was on his way to take Adjoa to them.

She's shy at first, so I thought it would be very important for her to spend a little time with them before loading up on the plane.

The best part is that both families live close to us, so all we had to do was drive to our airport and meet them!

{Well, that, and get the house ready and go buy all the things you put off purchasing until you actually have a child: underwear, socks, shoes, toothbrush, etc.} Tuesday night and Wednesday were VERY busy for us. Which was good. I would have driven myself crazy if I had any extra time.

Robert checked on the status of the plane as she travelled and updated me frequently with text messages.

We knew the flight was arriving a little early, so we headed to the airport about an hour before it was due in. I asked the check-in desk if we could have a gate pass. I explained that our little girl was coming home and they were more than eager to help out.

Robert and I went through security and waited at the gate the attendant had given us. . . .like in the good old days. {Remember them???}

There were no boards, etc. notifying us of the arrival, and no one showed up to open up the gate before hand. The reader boards were shut off and the place was deserted. {Did I mention that it was nearly 11pm? That's why it was a ghost town}

Here we are being silly {well, Robert is being silly}, waiting at the terminal for Adjoa's plane to land.

A little more serious in our happiness.

I was anxious and getting nervous, so I called Lois.

Passengers started coming out of one gate near us. I joked with Lois that if I wasn't on the phone with her, I would be accosting weary travelers asking them where they had come from. Those people should be grateful to her.

Suddenly I saw Adjoa in the arms of . . . well, a stranger whose name turns out to be Missy. I blabbered something to Lois and then hung up on her.

I rushed over to my baby, who was dozing off, and took her out of Missy's arms. Her husband laughed and said, "You must be Jessica." I was so eager and happy to see her I believe I lost all my manners.

I only had eyes for Adjoa.

And ears.

And arms.

And kisses. Lots and lots of kisses.

{Joe, Missy, the Birds, if you are reading this right now, I'm so sorry if I ignored you or you felt brushed off in any way!}

I gushed over Adjoa and babbled to our gracious escorts as we walked back to baggage claim. As Adjoa had no baggage to claim we headed home.

She took to the car seat well. Famously well, actually. I was surprised, but I think her exhaustion helped.

She panicked a little when she saw Cita the Shih-tzu, but she got over that quickly enough. She giggled as she explored the house for a few minutes.

Eden the Weimaraner extracted a high-pitched scream and a few tears. Adjoa practically climbed up to my shoulders trying to escape The Terror. We've been telling Eden her entire life that she is just to eager and too friendly sometimes.

I got her dressed for bed and she slept soundly until about 6am the next morning.

And that's when most of you found out she was here. . . .

Guess Who I Ate Breakfast With Bright and Early This Morning?

That's right. . . . Adjoa!

Through Jill, we heard about 2 Utah families that were in Ghana and coming home Wednesday. We quickly threw some plans together {ok, it took about 3 hours} and she boarded the plan a few hours later.

Then Robert and I were in a mad dash to get the house ready. Don't be mad. I wanted it to be a surprise.

Weren't you surprised????

I Know You All Are Wanting an Update on Our Adoption, But I've Put it Off Because I Can't Think of a Post Title That Isn't Depressing

My weekend was hell. There. I said it. And yes, I do feel better. I'm not going to go into details because my mom tried her hardest to teach me that if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I ignore it too often and then regret it later. So I'm practising restraint.

Moving on....

Our judge finally returned to court today and Kingsley got the paperwork signed. {That's the good news}

The bad news: the Westerby's boarded their plane and flew home today. Without Adjoa, obviously.

I understand that it went well at the Embassy and everything is now back in our file. It is once again complete {it was complete when the I-600 was approved, but then things were suddenly missing when we had our visa appointment}.

So we are back to trying to find a way to bring her home.

Do you know anyone coming from Ghana soon? {Flying Delta, routing through New York - that seems to be what is killing other options right now}

Christmastime Was Full of Yumminess {and No, I Didn't Ask MIL Bertha How Many Pounds of Butter She Used for the Holiday. Learned My Lesson Previously}

Our drive to SD was pleasant {as pleasant as an eleven hour drive can be}. We stopped off in Vegas to visit my grandma and grandpa {Aunt Julie was there too}. We chatted it up for a bit and then hit the road. I was wishing we could have stayed the night, but we had 2 dogs and, as I mentioned, Julie was already there, so sleeping areas were sparse.

The days were packed with family and food - just the way a Holiday should be. We got free tickets to Sea World {thanks Karen!} and I missed our daughter soooo much.

Sea World was especially hard. We thought we'd have Adjoa home in time when we made the plans, and we just knew she would LOVE it. I kept picturing her little face light up as exclaimed "NSU! NSU!" when she saw the ocean for the first time. I walked around the park with that image in my mind and it broke my heart a bit.

Luckily Maddi and Brandon were there to brighten the day. They are a riot, and while Maddi is getting so big and is now a little shy around me, I still see the little 3 year-old that loved me to pieces when Robert and I were dating.

We drove back Sunday so I could get back to the grindstone Monday morning. It took nearly 16 hours with all the traffic. Ugh!



Kingsley took Adjoa to her visa appointment today. The Embassy lost some of the paperwork {between the I-600 approval and the visa appointment} so the interview was not what we had hoped. Kingsley rushed off to get the paperwork redone and will hopefully submit it tomorrow.

The Consulate office told Kingsley that if he can get the paperwork turned in before Thursday, they will be able to give us a visa Friday.

• We are praying for his speedy and safe travel to and from various offices
• We are praying the necessary people will be available {and willing to help}
• We are praying that there are no problems with office equipment like the printers, etc.
• We are praying that the electricity will be working {seriously. I'm not making that one up}
• And we are praying that the Consulate office will honor their promise to get the visa done in time

After all that, we will be praying for safe and easy travel for Adjoa and the Westerby's!