My 7 Passions

NEW BLOG UP AND RUNNING

2011-04-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

I am switching over to another blog that I created for our family. This current blog is mostly focused on the process of our adoptions. I feel like our family is set the way God planned it, so I have created a new one to celebrate our family's new twist on life. I am closing out this blog and hope you can come on over to the new one called:

Table for 8?

I-600 APPROVED!!!!

2011-03-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

God really showed Himself this time! Our I-6oo was approved in Ghana. We got our approval email today. It took 10 days for the approval. This is really unheard of now, so that's why I say God really showed Himself! They told us 60 working days, which is 3 months. The Embassy in Ghana is amazing to get it approved that fast! Thank you so much to the officer who worked on our case! You did a FANTASTIC job!

We are really excited and thrown off a little bit. We expected the 60 days it has been taking most families. So reading and rereading the email was such a surprise!
I definitely have to get things in order and completely ready for her.

Yeah, Deborah is coming home sooner!!!!!!!!

Praise God!
Chalene

Ghana Trip

2011-03-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

I got the chance to go to Ghana and file our I-600. This is the trip that is almost at the end of this process. We now begin to count the 60 days in hopes that we get the approval and then we do the VISA. We are really close for Deborah to come but yet it seems so far away.

This trip I went on was AMAZING! It was so great because I got to see first hand the work that God is doing in Ghana. DOH is amazing and God centered home for children. While you are there, you can feel God's presence. Everyone there loves the children.
One time I was in one of the Auntie's room and some family members come over. They didn't know I was there. As they walked through the gate, the children cheered and ran over to the adults. Every single adult stopped and greeted the children with hugs. I witnessed this several times during my stay. Everyone there was so loving towards the children. All of the children there were full of smiles all the time. It was truly the best children's home I have ever seen.

I also got to witness what God is doing in Chorkor. This place is very poverty stricken. God is definitely working there.

This trip has impacted me so much. I got to really get into the middle of Ghana and be involved with everything, including taking the boys down to get their hair cut.

Going to Ghana was not only God's purpose for me to file the I-6oo but it was a way for God to show me His work. He has so many plans for our family. I am excited to see how all of this is going to come about!!!!!

Ghana Leave Feb. 24

2011-02-13T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have bought the plane tickets to leave for Ghana on Feb. 24. I am really excited to go and bond with Deborah. I am planning on filing our I600 as well. I have gone back and forth with this decision but I really felt such a strong pull to go there now.

I think with me going over to Ghana, will help Deborah feel a little better knowing we really are working on things to bring her home. She has seen children in her home come and go with their adoptive families. It's her turn to see us and know that we are working as hard and fast as we can to bring her home. She has prayed for so long to be back with her sisters. I feel so honored that God has allowed us to do this. We honestly had no plans of this but through God laying it on our hearts and providing every need, it has become real to her dream coming true.

I get real emotional when I think of her so I can't wait to go. I wish it was Feb. 23 already and knowing I was going to go to bed to wake up in the morning leaving for Ghana. I do have a lot to do so I am glad I have this week to pull all the things together.

I have to thank our church, The Grove, for helping me with the ticket to Ghana. It is because of their help, that I get to go this month. I thank God for providing once again the need to get over there. Praise God!

Amen!

Table for 8?

2011-02-04T19:41:00.000-08:00

It's official we are much closer to being able to walk into our favorite restaurant, Chillis, and ask for a "table for 8".

WE PASSED COURT!

We are so excited that Deborah is now an official "Baxter". We went to court on January 19 and passed with flying colors. It was so exciting to wake the kids up that morning with sharing the news. Everyone was so happy.

I called Deborah that day to talk to her about court and how she feels about now being in our family. She was very quiet but I think she was emotional. She said she was very happy. This has been a long time coming for her. Her search for us has come to an end. She has worked so hard to find us and now she gets a family to love her. We completely credit everything in to God! He is the one who is walking hand in hand with us on this journey.

Please meet our sweet Deborah!

So we wait .....

2010-12-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

So we wait to hear when we are going to court. Our dossier is over in Ghana and now it is the waiting game. I am hopeful we will go to court this month. I just have that feeling. So we wait for that email, phone call or text message!

It's different this time with waiting for things to go through with D. We are so incredibly busy with our own family life that it doesn't really feel like we are waiting. It's Thursday night and I wonder what happened to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today. Time is going so incredibly fast! We still have a lot to do and I know God is preparing us and he is also giving us time to get ready for her.

I did get to talk to her the other day and it was so exciting to hear her voice. I actually talk to her way more than we talked to the twins. So I feel closer to her than I did with the twins at this part of the process. I also think being a sibling of the twins, I feel closer to her. The girls talked a lot about D their first year. I know lots of stories about her so that makes me feel much closer to her. I just can't wait to get off the plane and see her.

So we continue to wait with smiles on our faces!

No News Yet

2010-10-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while....actually feels like a really long while since I had exciting news. We don't really have any news yet. We have our dossier ready to mail except we need our home study to go with it. We hope in the next couple of weeks we will go to court to get our certification. This will allow us to get a copy of our home study and send our dossier over to Ghana.

It's really hard to sit and wait for this...well any part of the process. We feel like we have responded as fast as we can and now we wait. It's hard to wait, especially when you have a named child waiting for you.

We did get to talk to D on her birthday (this past Saturday). She turned thirteen. I get frustrated at the timing of everything due to her age. She is not a little child. She is preteen so it makes it more challenging for her and for us. I know God completely planned this so all of my trust and faith has to go into Him.

It's hard when she asks us "When are you coming to get me?" I don't have an answer yet for her. I just tell her we are working as hard and fast as we can. She understands what is happening and so I think it is just as hard for her as it is for us on the wait. God has His timing, but I wish I could look into the future to see what day she will be coming home. But that wouldn't build my faith, or would it??!! :)

So no news yet, but I hope some soon!

Update on Children

2010-09-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

We seem to get quite a few questions about how are the twins doing and what do they think about adopting D. It has happened so quickly but now we are having time to really digest everything.

The twins at first were so excited. They were thrilled to death that D was going to be a part of the family. I think they were shocked as to how the other 3 children excepted the idea as well. As I look back in the last two months, the twins have actually settled down more with the family. Now that doesn't mean they weren't attached but I kind of think, they are thinking "We are really here to stay".

The first year of the twins coming home was challenging with the fact the twins thought they were just living with us to go to school and someday they would return back to their family. Like they were our guest. They thought this because of a couple of comments their birth family said to them when we met them to say "good-bye". What their birth family said to them wasn't bad or anything but I can see what and how they misinterpreted what they said.

So now, the twins have actually "settled" down with more trust and believing they are a part of the family. The decision to adopt D has also brought out some insecurity with them. Interesting conversations have occurred like..."Mommy when D gets home - will you ever give us away?" "Will you ever give D away?" We have talked so much about why their birth mom had to give them up to another family. We have talked about how amazing she was to do this because only the strong moms can do this. Also, we have talked about just because their birth mom can't take care of them doesn't mean she doesn't love them.

I have taken them outside to show them the moon and explain to them, we all share the moon. So when they look up at the moon it's the same moon their birth mom sees.

So as I think about this new journey our family is going on, it is such a great lesson for security, trust, and more love of the twins and for the twins.

I know when D comes home, there is going to be a lot of grieving on both sides because of the change of the family. I am so amazed as to how excepting all the children have been to this new person who is going to join us. They talk a lot about ....when D gets here, can we......?" The twins have already planned out the dinner from when D comes home for the first night.

On the updating side of what has occurred so far is we have had our home study visit and now we are waiting for it to be sent to court to get certified to adopt. In Arizona, it's one of those extra steps we have to do. The next step is to send over our dossier. We will do that the minute we pick up our home study. It's mostly ready but I have dragged my feet a bit more because I have been working on something else for Ghana. Anyway, that's about where we are!

God DID IT

2010-09-04T08:04:00.000-07:00

When we decided to begin this adoption, Jarett was concerned with how we were going to do this because we don't have the money. Meaning, we didn't plan this so we didn't have a savings started for it. We could save for it but it would take a long time to gather the funds. D is already 12 years old and soon to be 13 so we want to get her home as quickly as we can. Plus, she has been separated from her sisters for 3 years now. Well, I told Jarett that if this was really God's plan for us, He would provide the money.

HE DID IT!

With our first order of the candle sales, we made enough money to pay for the home study and have a little extra left over. We are going to put the extra money towards the lawyer fees now (that's our next challenge besides plane tickets).

You think you have faith until you really run into a challenge and then your faith is tested. Both Jarett and I have failed this test. I started off strong with faith knowing God would provide for this adoption. He always has but as I think of all the things we need to pay for, I begin to doubt.....how are we going to do this next stage? I wonder sometimes if this is Satan putting those doubts into my head. I just have to keep my eyes forward knowing God is going to get us to the next phase and that this is all in His timing.

I do have to say that involving the children in the candle sales was such an amazing experience for them. It made them feel so involved in this adoption process. When we adopted the twins, our biological children would say "When YOU adopt the twins......". Now the children, including the twins, say "When WE adopt D.....". They have ownership in this adoption. I think it will make the transition of when D comes home so much more meaningful. We also have a Chick-Fil-A night set up and they are so excited for it. I think God is really proud of them to have the compassion for this adoption. I know Jarett and I are very proud of them!

Get to write some CHECKS

2010-08-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have gotten so much done this week. On Monday, we got the email with the application, medical forms to be filled out, reference information, etc. Within 2 days, I was able to get Jarett and myself to the doctors office and they filled out the forms while being examined. I got all the information completed. We went today to get our fingerprints done for the background check. Here in Arizona, we have to go to court to get certified to adopt. So we also paid those fees and signed those papers.

I am in shock as to how fast this is all going. I know at some point we will slow down a lot and will be waiting but I definitely didn't think this fast.

Sometimes I think that I am waiting for the ball to fall and hit me. Like...what was I thinking with falling in love with a little girl and trying to adopt her. I usually don't think about the glass being half full but this is happening so fast and there has been so much support from family and friends - there has to be something wrong, right? Maybe this is Satan putting these thoughts in my head. Nothing usually goes as smooth as this part has so I am a little leery.

On a side note, I had a friend today say she wants to go to Africa with me on one of the trips. Woo Hoo! I will have a buddy!!!! I am actually excited if she ends up going because then I can show off how awesome Ghana is!! :)

So now, we are almost ready for our home visit. I think everything is turned in but who knows if I have forgotten anything. I can't wait for that visit because we really like and admire our social worker. Plus it will be great for her to see how well everyone is doing. That's the exciting part for someone to see how we started and now she gets to see how we do this again!!

Overwhelming Support

2010-08-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

I can not believe the overwhelming support we have had so far. As Christians, we (Jarett and I) hate to ask for help other than to ask God. I think it has shown that God is completely in the middle of this whole thing. I have had so many people tell us they would rather give us a donation than buy a candle. I love Gold Canyon Candles and I thought at least people are getting something good for their money. Even my principal is so excited that his wife is ordering. My sister came up with an idea to do a garage sale. Wow-It is amazing! I just know that God is totally going to provide us with everything to bring Deborah home. This has been happening so fast - but I am glad since D is going to be turning 13 in October.

I am excited to be able to visit Ghana again. I am already getting my shopping list ready. I hope I can meet the social worker there to give her pictures and show them how awesome the twins are doing. I know they would be happy. I can't wait to post her picture, when she is legally ours. She is so beautiful. She has a different type of beauty than Rita and Racheal. She looks like an angel. Seriously, I am not just saying that! :)

Table for 8

2010-08-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

I am thinking of changing our blog's title to "Table for 8". As I have been thinking of changing the title, just because we are going to be a family of 8 someday. There is a small story that helped me to come up with this new title.

About 6 months after the girls came home, we bought a kitchen table from one of my mom's friends. It just so happens to fit 8 people. I remember one time when we were sitting at the table and there was an empty chair. I immediately said to everyone, "There's an empty chair. I wonder what that means". Of course, Jarett politely said, "It means we have an extra chair for when the children have a friend over". I laughed and then added, "We should just adopt another child so we can be an even number and then all the chairs will be filled". The boys chimed in and said "Yes, we should get another boy, so it's even". It was a funny conversation. I didn't really think we would be in this situation again, with adopting another child. I was/am so comfortable and satisfied with the family we have now. I think that's what makes this such a "God" story. We have closed this door before, but for some reason God opened our hearts to it. I am so thankful and grateful that He did.

We got to talk to D Saturday morning and just hearing her voice and seeing the happiness and excitement on the childrens' face was AMAZING! R and R were so excited to talk to her. It was like they were nervous but excited at the same time. I can't wait for the day, they get to hug her. I think I will be a sobbing mess on that day. I just know that bringing these 3 back together again is what God wants us to do. When I heard D's sweet voice, it completely confirmed we are doing this and this is THE RIGHT decision for us.

On a side note, one of our special family friends moved to China about 2 months ago for a year. Well, they sold their Expedition to us right as they were leaving the country. This car is huge and seats 8 people. Who would have known that this car is exactly what we needed. I am tell you. . . . . this is a God story.

We are on our Way!!

2010-08-17T19:56:00.000-07:00

We started our first fund raiser today....Gold Canyon Candles. The kids are involved and helping out by asking their teachers and adults they know. It was so cute that Karson came to me tonight and said, "Mom, I sold 5 candles". I love it! I love the fact that he is so involved and the smile on his face knowing he is helping is so worth it! Kaiden is tomorrow and now it's a competition. Each child is taking a day. It's really cool to listen to them talk about this and refer to helping to being home D. We need to raise about $2000 for this very first part of the process. I think if we can get that then we can do the rest as time goes on.

I pulled out all of our adoption paperwork last night. OMW! I forgot all the things we did and all the paperwork we did to adopt the twins. It's like having a baby....you forget all the weight gain, swelling, heartburn and delivery. With the adoption....you forget all the fingerprinting, home visits, paper chasing, mailing, and delivery. I do have to say the delivery is the best part of both!!!!

I want so badly to meet D and give her a big hug! I know this is going to be a long process so God is definitely going to need to work on our patience.

New.... News for our Family

2010-08-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

We have some exciting news to share. It feels a little weird to share, but at the same time exciting! We are beginning the process to adopt Rita and Racheal's sister. This is her biological sister. She is 12 years old and living in a foster home right now. R and R have talked about D for such a long time. We feel like we know her already. The story on how this came about is so amazing.

This is how the story goes:

Back in March we were forwarded an email from a gentlemen from Ghana. He was writing about how R and R's sisters (yes there are two of them) were placed in a foster home. The foster home they are in, is what we would call an orphanage. In the email, it stated their great grandmother had passed away. She was the caregiver for all the girls. A question was asked at the end of the email about adopting them. Jarett and I read the email a couple of times but did not feel the moved to do anything. So we closed that door.

Five months later, I get an email from a friend (Jennine) asking me what R and R's older sister's name was. I emailed her back with the name....D. She emailed right back and said "call me". I knew something was up so I called her. After playing phone tag, she told me that she knew of a mother who was trying to find D's twin sisters. This mother went to Ghana and has a picture of her. I remember Jennine asking me "Would you ever consider adopting her". My immediate response was "No".

Later that night, Jennine emailed the picture of D. My first thought was "OMW she is gorgeous!" She looked just like the twins but had a different beauty to her. I showed Jarett the picture of her and told him what had happened with the emails and etc. We both still felt like we couldn't adopt her.

A couple of days passed and I got in contact with the mother who shared the picture. I asked her questions about D. She told me the story of when she was in Ghana in March and the last two days of her trip, she went to this orphanage/foster home to check on a child that was being adopted by someone else. She remembers D walking through the door and just standing in the door way. She remembers thinking how gorgeous she was. Well, this mother went back about a month ago, and D was still there. She was asking this mother about the twins and if she knew who adopted them. There was a sadness to her when she talked about missing them.

I shared the story with Jarett. We still thought there was no way we could do this. We are just getting to where we are paying things in cash and working really hard to get our debt paid off (Thanks to Dave Ramsey).

The more I spoke with the mother about D the more I felt the need to pray about it. So I began to pray. I prayed if this was His will then our hearts need to be changed so we could love her. Slowing both of our hearts were being changed. I remember telling my mom about this and telling her how scared I felt about it. It wasn't the type of scared feeling like I didn't want to do it but it was the "God" type of fear. The fear I felt was like ...just trust me and it will work out.

A couple of days passed by and Jarett and I were still talking about it. We didn't know how this was going to work and how we were going to pay for it. I showed the picture of D to R and R. I gave them their own copy of the picture. It was so amazing to watch their expression and happiness to see the picture. I told them that someone had met their sister and wanted to share a picture of her. The next day, the girls asked us if we were going to adopt her. We told them we were praying about it so we didn't know yet if this is what God wants our family to do.

Well, about a week ago, both of our hearts changed and we felt it heavy on our hearts to go forward with it.

Now, remember I said there were 2 sisters in Ghana. They have a half sister. Her name is A and she is 6 years old. We have a picture of both D and A standing together. A doesn't look like the girls at all. She does look very sweet and beautiful but if you saw D - you could tell she was their sister. We did pray about both of them but we just don't feel the pull toward A. We feel it very strongly towards D. I talked to R and R but they didn't know about A and they don't know her at all. They do know and remember D. I do pray for some family to adopt A and then we can keep in contact with them. I don't feel like A and D are that close with a relationship. I maybe wrong but that's just what I feel.

So this amazing God story has begun and now it's time to begin this process. We have contacted our social worker to update our home study and begin to get our dossie (not sure if I spelled that correctly) ready. This part is going to take a while because we need to redo our fingerprints and go to court here in our county.

This is our unplanned pregnancy! We were shocked at first, but now we are excited and ready to begin to prepare. I do have to stay - I hope I don't gain weight with this pregnancy!!!

On a side note, I probably need to change our blog title. Any suggestions...??? I was thinking....Eight is Enough. LOL

The Happiest Place on Earth

2010-03-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

We actually got to go to Disneyland this year. It has been about 7 years since we have gone as a family. We were able to go because we participated in the "Give a Day, Get a Day" that Disney is doing this year. We were 7 of the one million people who got to volunteer and earn a FREE day at Disneyland. I thought it was a great program that they were holding. We volunteered to go to a homeless shelter and read with children. The minimum age was 8 years old so our entire family go to do it together. I really think the children got an appreciate out of it. I didn't tell them what they were doing this for a day pass at DL because I didn't want them to focus on that. I wanted them to get their own sense of worth and appreciation out of this. I really was trying for them to get the good feeling we all get when we volunteer. I told them about their free day when we were at the ticket booth because they were asking why we didn't have to pay.

I was hoping the twins would be more excited about Disneyland than they were. They were extremely excited about all the rides, but I was looking for the "theme" of Disneyland to be more exciting for them. The one big question I got when we began our journey to California was ...."Mommy, is there water in California?". It still amazes me that they still have the fear of not having water or enough water. I really wonder if they will always have that fear. The stories they share about not having water and food, I can understand.

Below are some pictures of our trip:

We had such an amazing time! My best memory of this trip was laughing with the kids. I would laugh so much that my stomach would hurt. I feel so incredibly Blessed to have such an amazing family!

This Year......I'm Going Cheap!

2010-01-02T22:46:00.001-08:00

My goal for last year was to simplify my life. It has definitely been a year long project, but I believe I am almost there.

Really, can anyone ever really BE there?

Maybe!

This year I am making it my goal to be as cheap as I can be with everything. Now, this is going to take curious from the whole family because we are going to go against society and other family members. Now a days, society thinks it's ok to be in debt. Actually, society expects you to be in debt. Why else would you need a credit score? The only reason you need a credit score is to get more credit (debt).

Well, I am proud and excited to take this next step and go against society. We have been paying cash for everything the last year. But, now we are going to concentrate on paying literally everything off and save money to buy a house with CASH! We are anticipating 2-3 years to pay off everything and then begin to save. So we are thinking this project will take 6-8 years. I can't not wait until the day we sign the papers on our very OWN house.

We are so determined to do this. The first thing we did was to decide to sell our house. The mortgage payment was getting us nowhere. We barley and something didn't have enough money to just live day to day. This last year we have had more medical bills with the twins and our other children then we have had in the past. Every month got tighter and tighter. So we prayed about it . . . God delivered! He actually delivered a couple to us that was in the same boat a couple of years ago. This couple is from our church. They spoke to us about it and now are actually helping us out. We have a contract on our house, which is them. We have moved into my sister's other house to rent. We won't make a penny on our house but the way all the events took place.....We truly believe God had His hand in this situation.

The second thing we have done is to find where we could really trim even more. So we turned off cable, home phone and down graded our internet. This will save us about $120 per month. I also shopped around for different car insurance. I found "Progressive" who gave us the best deal with the most coverage. This will save another $100. So per year, we will be able to save another $2,400.

We have read the book by Dave Ramsey. He talks about going against society and how to live debt free. He gives you steps to accomplish it.

I am just so excited about this new adventure and change in our family. I think at the beginning of all of this type of talk = I was scared. I was scared of what my extended family, co-workers, friends, and neighbors would think. I was really scared of being embarrassed. But I am not! I am actually proud of us for taking this challenge and knowing that God is leading it. It is hard though! Society is everywhere and we have to stand up tall and not let it knock us down.

So as this year begins, I am on a mission to find different ways to be more frugal. One of the other adoptive moms, who I admire (especially in this area) is Heather Amsbury. She has all kinds of ideas that I have borrowed to implement. She has also used the Dave Ramsey ideas to be debt free. Her and her husband actually just paid off their house a couple of months ago. That is so fantastic!

As this year continues to go, I am going to be researching ways to be more frugal. I am actually really excited for it. I think this is my new hobby!

If you happen to have any tips, I would love to hear about them. I will be blogging the ideas I find and let you know how they work out. :)

Blessings to you!

It's Been Too Long....But I am Back!

2009-12-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

Life has really gotten the best of my time lately. I am trying to juggle being a great and loving wife, mom, and teacher. My personality is to be the best that I can be with everything I do. Sometimes I let that get in the way of being the best for me.

Last year was my most challenging year ever (home life and career). I questioned God almost every day as to why He allowed my life to be like this. I asked him many times what He wanted me to learn from this. As I look back, I can now see the blessings He gave me during this time. The twins of course were a HUGE blessing to us. They have brought grace and personality to our family. The class I had last year was so overwhelming with the challenges, but I have learned simplicity. That was a lesson that I also brought into our family. The more simple I keep things, the smoother our clan runs. :)

About 6 months ago, I began going to the gym ALOT! It is my home away from home. It was so hard to get going because I was so out of shape. Now, I love it and find myself feeling guilty for loving it so much. I love doing double classes (back to back). It gives me the feeling of really accomplishing a lot.

This upcoming year is a year to expand on simplifying. We are working on cutting all corners in finances. We are doing the Dave Ramsey plan. Our goal is to buy cash for a house within 6 -8 years. We have cut corners to pay things off and use every resource we can to get this goal accomplished. I am really excited for this. I know we can do it, but it is hard when your wants come out stronger than your needs. :)

In the next day or so, I will post our Christmas day! We had a beautiful and amazing morning with the children. They were were so appreciative with everything they got. That is the best gift to give....being grateful!

Camping in Payson

2009-10-18T21:12:00.000-07:00

What is camping?

When I was a little girl, we used to camp all the time at Lake Conroe in TX. We had the tent, gas stove, fire, cots, etc. We did the traditional way of camping. Well, we decided to try a "camping" trip to Payson last week. We rented 2 cabins. Due to our family's size, the cabins only fit 4 people per cabin. The owners weren't kidding about only fitting 4 people....and I even think that is stretching it. :)

Anyway, we made a bomb fire to roast marshmallows. We played and explored nature. We just had the best time being a family with nature.

Any time something is new to the girls, we get major questions. Here are some of the examples of the questions we get:

Are we going to eat dinner there?
Are we going to eat lunch there?
What are we going to have for breakfast?
Are there cups for us to drink water?
Is there water for us to drink?

I just think it is so sad to still be worried about not being provided for and worrying about if they are going to eat or drink. Time is helping out with them trusting us, but it is still on their minds when they have a new experience. They did do very well and they really liked it once we got there. :)

Below is a slide show of our trip:

It's a New Look!

2009-10-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

I am so excited for the new look to our blog! Our family has really settled down after the first year together as a family of 7. It has been a challenge but looking back it's been a good challenge. Every time things got a little rough, I always remember that God will never give us more than we can handle.

Our family has adjusted very well. We are in the process of some changing again. We feel God is moving our family into another direction, so we are open and following his guidance. The change we are going to occur will somewhat be of a challenge for us but in the long run it will be really good for our family. I am excited but on the other hand just a little nervous. This is where my faith needs to be stronger and that is something that I struggle with. I know and love God but my faith is always something that I need to work on. I am A personality so I am used to running and controlling things up until I became a Christian. I have learned in the last 16 years to let God control but there are times where I step in and then I get in trouble. :) With this big change coming, I really need to focus on God taking the driver's seat and I will sit in the very back to watch. :)

Blessings,
Chalene

Looking for a New Look

2009-10-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

It's that time to create a new and updated look for this blog. I am having Nikki from Blogs for a Cause help design my blog. She designs blogs and the money she gets for it goes toward her mission. If you happen to get a chance go to her website and see the designs she has done. You can also see her work over seas and where her passion is. I love to support people who have a passion of helping others.

To read about her work in the DR and Haiti www.heroholiday07.blogspot.com

To read about her work in Ethiopia
www.ethiopia2009-adana.blogspot.com

Anyway, hopefully in the next couple of days this blog should have a new look. :)

It's Finished!

2009-09-05T22:43:00.001-07:00

Rita and Racheal got their hair professionally done today. I was looking for someone to do their hair where it will last for a long time. The style they got, should last 2 months. Now, this was just a treat for them. It's not anything we can do every 2 months, but once in a while. I had told them when school started we would look into getting it done differently.

The lady who did their hair took about 7 hours for the both of them. She was definitely faster than I am. I usually takes 6 hours per girl. We did braids and the ends are curled. This style will allow them to pull their hair back into many different styles. We will see if it last up to 2 months. I sure hope so.

The one new tip I learned today is that Olive Oil comes in a spray can. This is something you could spray on their hair twice a week. It keeps the scalp moisturized and shiny. I saw this type of spray at Walmart in the hair department.

Here are the pictures of their hair. The lady had it pulled up but they took it down when they got home.

So Excited!

2009-09-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

The girls are doing really well! They are beginning to really bond more with us. I feel like each week is getting better and better. I feel like they are understanding what has happened and how they are a part of our family forever! Rita is so much more affectionate with me. This has been something we have worked on, but for her to initiate it is a huge step forward. YEAH!

I scheduled an appointment for both girls to get their hair professionally done. This is a huge treat for them....... and ME! The girls want extensions and as much as I love to do their hair - I am ready for a little break. I found a lady who will do their hair. She is from Sudan which is cool for the girls. Their big appointment is Saturday. She is going to do corn rolls, which is something I am not able to do so that's why this would be a break for me. This is something I won't do often because it is part of our bonding. I am going to stay and watch her so hopefully I can pick up some tricks to do it. :) I will post pictures on Sunday!

2nd Year Challenge

2009-08-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

As you are going through the adoption process, you read a lot about what to expect the first year. You hear about how hard the first year is and the possibilities of issues that could come up. I haven't really heard or read about things / issues / challenges of the second year. I wonder if adopting older children - there really isn't that much out there. The things I read and hear are mostly of younger children. So I thought I would write a post on what challenges / issues we are facing the beginning of our 2nd year with the girls.

We started our 2nd year with separating the girls into their own classroom. Rita had a very difficult time with this separation. Racheal did very well and loves having her own classroom and teacher. It took Rita about 3 weeks to be comfortable with this new change in her life. She has begun to process this whole adoption thing. She has begun to recognize her feelings and she is trying deal with them. Rita has been the one (this first year) who is pleasing to everyone. She doesn't tend to go against us as much as Racheal. Racheal is very strong headed, while Rita is not.

The last couple of weeks, Rita has had dreams of her birth mother and me together. She says her birth mom comes to America and I tell her she can't stay with us. This is her dream and she wakes up crying. This is a dream that has brought out some of her emotions to this adoption. We talk about it and how difficult and expensive it is for her birth mother to come to America, so I don't think it would happen. I talk to her about how her birth mom had to decide she couldn't be their mom any more. We talk about how God has planned for us all to be together and how He has a plan for their birth mother. The one comment Rita has said to me that I think of often is "Mommy, I wish my birth mom would die and go to Heaven." I, of course, ask why she feels that way. She replied, "Because then I won't have to worry about her and she will be with my birth dad". I honestly have to say, I wish the same thing.....only so she doesn't have to feel the responsibility of worry about her. Now I would never wish for someone to die, but to hear the pain in Rita just kills me. It does seem like it would be easier for them to deal with this if she had passed away. But, because she is still living, they think of things like this. Rita has had some very well thought out questions like: Will I know when my birth mom dies? If I go back to Africa when I am 25, will my birth mom know who I am? Why does God not help my birth mom get money for food?

Those are such tough questions. I believe in being very honest with the girls and all of the children. I really encourage an open relationship. But, sometimes questions come up that I don't know they are really ready..emotionally...to hear the truth.

Racheal has handled this in a completely different way. She shows her independence with us. She will argue, complain, and basically do what she wants in secret. I know her all to well, and she doesn't get far with us. I have eagle eyes on her. She will do very well for a while and then slip back into this mood of hers. It's like she is testing us more now than before. I feel like this is the way she is handling the feelings of all of it.

Looking back at their last couple of years......They were brought to Eban House and stayed there for a year, then I came and got them, which they have been with us for a year. So I can see now how they are really beginning to understand they are here with us FOREVER and this has got to be scary.

I wonder if any other families have dealt with this type of issue. I am sure they have but I don't hear or read much about it. I know we can expect thoughts, questions, and issues to come up here and there. It just is sad to see them have to think about this and to try to process it. It's tough being an adoptive mom emotionally - I think. I love them so much and I hate to see them have to deal with this.

My Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, please wrap your arms around Rita and Racheal to let them feel your security, protection, and love for them. Lord, help them to understand this is Your plan and how You have such great Blessings to give them. Lord, I ask you to give Jarett and I the wisdom to help them understand what has occurred with them in joining our family. We ask You to help us speak to them honestly, lovingly, and biblically. Only You Lord, knows what is in this plan for them and for us. So continue to help us walk the path you have for all of us. In only Your loving name, Amen.

Change Is Good! Right?

2009-08-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

Last week happened to be everyone's first week of school. This was a huge change for us because this year we have quite a bit of different things going on. Karleigh is in Jr. High. She is now in 7th grade. Oh Brother - this was huge for her. It seems like in just a week, she has grown up. She loves her classes and teachers. Every day she has a different story to share. It's great!

The biggest change for our family is that Rita and Racheal are in separate classrooms this year. They had high anxiety with the change and knowing they weren't going to be together right before school started. They kept asking why we did this to them. It's hard to explain that giving them this opportunity to learn in different classroom will help them in the long run. We talked about how they will be able to learn better being in different classrooms. This will give them the chance to learn all by themselves. Last year, they would answer for each other, do each other's work, and stick together. This year they will make their own friends, answer their own questions, and think for themselves.

Rita has had the hardest time adjusting to this new situation. She walks by Racheal's room and peeks into the classroom. She is hugging Racheal all the time (which she really never did). She has been much more clingy to me. It very weird how many steps backward she has taken. I honestly feel like this will be really good for her to be able to grow and accomplish things all by herself. Now, on the other hand, Racheal seems to be doing really well. She absolutely loves being in the classroom she has so far. I am really proud of her. Actually, I am really proud of both of them. They have never been separated like this so overall they are doing pretty good with it.

Karson is in 3rd grade also. This means we have 3 - 3rd graders. All in different classrooms. I hope I can stay up on it all. Kaiden is in fourth grade and really doing well so far. He is trying his best to get straight A's.

So overall, everyone is doing fantastic and growing the way God has planned it. We believe God is working in our family to make more changes. We are still praying about them and when they become final, we will share. You may be thinking.....adopting again....No we are not, nor are we pregnant. Nice Try though!

Blessing,
Chalene

Happy American Birthday Rita and Racheal!

2009-07-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

Now

Then

When you adopt, I feel there are several important and very specials dates that keep track of - just like a pregnancy.

There is the day (comparing it to pregnancy):

* you decide to adopt......you decide to get pregnant
* a day you have your homestudy......you get the news you are pregnant
* a day you get your referral......you hear the baby's heart beat for the first time
* you go to court......you get your first ultra sound
* you make your first trip......you take the birthing class
* you make your second trip with taking custody......delivery day
* a day you are home.......a day you are home

Throughout the adoption process we went through last year, I would refer it as a pregnancy. The concept and experience was pretty much the same. The only difference is my babies came out to be 8 years old.

Today is a very special day for our family. It's the day that...one year ago....the girls came home forever. Our other children finally got to meet them and we were united as a family of 7.

WOW! We did it! We made it through the first year. I have been told and I have read about how the first year is the hardest. As I look back, I can't say it was the hardest but it was a challenge. I think the challenge came more from me. If there was anything I could change about this year...it would be taking the full 6 weeks off to adjust. I made the mistake of taking only 3 weeks off and then I went back to work full time. As I look back, I was exhausted for 2 of those weeks just from the trip. Then getting all the kids to adjust to this new transition and getting ready for school was just to much. I think if I would have taken the other 3weeks off, then I would have been able to get the girls adjusted to school and give myself time to adjust to this new family. I had the most challenging class this year and I should have taken the extra time. My thoughts were.....they are older so I wouldn't need to take the time off like you would with a baby. That was the mistake I made. They were like a baby emotionally and needed the extra time with me. Other than that, I feel like we had a good year. I am sure if I were to really think about it, I could find other mistakes that I did as a parent. But, that will go with every situation. Parenting is hard, but it so worth it!

The girls have grown emotionally and physically. Both girls have grown 6 inches and gained 12-14 pounds. YUM - that American food! They have learned to read, write and swim. They have also learned how to be in social situations like birthday parties and family gatherings. These have been there accomplishments so far and I am so proud of them. I know I say it a lot, but for them to come to our family and join in their role of being sisters i truly amazing!

The most important accomplishment they have taken on this year is finally understanding they were adopted and what that means. We have had lots of conversations about it and now they understand. One of the amazing things is that they said they want to go back to Africa and adopt a child. That completely threw me for a loop when they said that....Karleigh said the same thing. She actually told me she doesn't want to have a child of her own, she wants to adopt. My dream for them has been planted. I have secretly wanted all my children to be open to adopting and just by conversations, they are planning it. Amazing and I am so thankful to God for doing all of this for our family.

Well, Happy America Birthday Girls! We love you so much!

Will We Adot Again?

2009-06-22T17:37:00.000-07:00

I really believe that certain people are called to adopt. I believe God places this desire on the hearts of the willing. I have always wanted to adopt and thought a lot about it, but never figured we could afford it or even do it. It's really weird as I look back from the day we started the process to now with the girls being home almost a year ago. It has been an adventure and a journey that I would love to do again.

Jennine, one of my closest friends, is in the process again with adopting a little boy. My sister just came home with her adopted son. You would think with this all around me, I would be jumping in and wanting to adopt again. In the Eban House, there were 2 children (sister and brother) that stole my heart when I was there during the second trip. I was really concerned that God placed them on heart to do something about it. But, He didn't. I thought a lot about them, but never did I feel the nudge I got with Rita and Racheal. The pull I got from the girls was very clear and strong. I haven't had that pull or nudge at all. I can honestly say that .......NO we will not be adopting again. It's not a bad thing at all. God knows our hearts and what we can handle. We are so blessed with what He has given us. I went into this adoption hoping for a daughter. I was amazed with God blessing us with 2 daughters. I look at the girls at night while they are sleeping and think, how incredible they are to join our family. They trust us and love us. All I can say.......AMAZING!

We Met a Year AGO!

2009-05-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

It has been a year from now when the girls and I first met. I can't believe it has been a year!

I remember the first time we held hands and the first smile at me. They remember the smell of the gum I was chewing when we first met. But, it has been a year!

During the last couple of week, Rita and Racheal have been acting very strange. I couldn't lay my hands on it. The behavior Jarett and I were getting was a very defiant type of behavior: "I'm not going to...." or "Next time, I am not...". This was very strange behavior for the girls because they usually aren't so defiant. I was concerned, but at the same time I was thinking well they are 9 years old and figuring out things. Now, words and phrases aren't allowed to be spoken like that in our family because it shows disrespect. So when they did that then they had to do a chore for me or something to help me out in the house. During this same time, they kept bringing up their family in Africa. Well, about a week ago, we had a friend of ours (who is a photographer) take family photos of us. Right in the middle of taking the pictures, Racheal says to me with tears building up, "I miss my family in Africa". Right then and there I knew that was the cause of the behavior. I told her, "I know you do, let's talk about it tonight".

After pictures and PJs on, the girls came into my room. We had an amazing talk. This was the first time I talked to them about being adopted and feeling like they now have a better grasp on it. They are still grieving quite a bit, but it seems like a more healthy grieving. This is so hard because they understand and still wonder about their family in Africa. We talked about how lucky they are to have two families and how one day we are all going to be together in God's house. The hardest question for me to answer was "How are we going to know when our birth mom dies". I told them I don't know if we will ever know but we will see her again in Heaven. Them seem ok about it now, but I know the grieving is going to come and go with them. They were old enough to remember their life in Ghana when they left almost a year ago. They have been mentioning seeing their mother a couple of times at Eban House. She lived very close to the home and would come over to see the girls. I think that made things much more confusing for them. But, having to give up my children due to poverty is something I could never imagine doing. If it helped her to know she made the right decision by giving them up, then I am ok with the visits. On the other hand, I wished she didn't do it or was allowed to go and visit because I do feel like it was confusing for the girls. They were under the impression that they were to come to American to go to school and then go back to Ghana to give money to their family. I am hoping with time and maturing, the girls will completely understand what has occurred with them.

We love the girls so much and I know they truly love us! They just need to understand their heart can hold on to so much!

Below are a few of our family photos:

ENERGY

2009-04-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I have really been waiting for such a long time to gain back my ENERGY! I am usually a very energetic person. Sometimes, Jarett would get frustrated at the energy I would have because.....I would invite him to be a part of it. Boy, when we worked together we got so much accomplished.

Since we have adopted the girls, both of our energy levels has gone way down. I believe it was just the overwhelming feeling of having 5 children. The work involved was more than we both can handle or keep up. Both of my breaks (Fall and Winter) were full of other things, so this past Spring Break was awesome! I got to spend the whole time thinking and organizing things in the house. It has been at least a month of full organizing, throwing things out, and getting everyone involved with this. At the beginning of it, I was exhausted every day with the amount of work. Now (a month later), I am doing pretty well. Every weekend, I pick a project and complete it. Last night I stayed up until 3:00 in the morning. I got the front room completely cleaned, organized, and the way I want it. We have turned it into somewhat of a school room. All the kiddos have a cubby and some drawers. This is all the stuff we have had already. We just reused it for a better purpose.

This summer, I am planning on having our days be with at least one - 2 hours of school work. I am going to do crafts, cooking, and science projects with them as well. I really want the children to continue to stay in somewhat of a habit. Our summer days aren't as long as the traditional schedule. We get 7 weeks off, so I was hoping to keep them going. I am creating a calendar of events. I can't wait!

I really want my energy level to stay up. I haven't had it for so long, so now I am doing everything I can to keep it up. I have begun to work out and I am eating much more healthy. I am just hoping that my energy level stays up because I love it! :)

Yarn Braids

2009-04-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

16.5 hours later and 2 very numb fingers, the girls have their yarn braids!

I do have to say that I LOVE THEM! The girls look so amazing with them. They walk around moving their braids as they walk. They are so excited to hair longer hair.

First, I started with Rita. We began on Friday night. I didn't really know how to part and was just winging it. :) Later on Saturday, I figured I was doing the braids way to small. So I got onto "You Tube" and watched some videos (during one of our breaks). I found out I was doing to many braids and my parts were to small. I kept going to keep it looking even in the back. But, in the front, I did the parts like what I had learned from the videos. That part was much easier and faster. :)

At around 6:00 pm, I started Racheal's hair. It definitely went faster with her hair because I believe it was the way I did the parts. The parts also make her hair easier to put into pig tails if she wants to. Now, I just have to find a swimming cap to fit their head and their hair. I really don't know if their hair won't last as long if they go swimming. Yes, my kiddos have begun to swim. I didn't allow the girls to go swimming today. I am going to have to find the caps for them.

Both girls were so amazing to sit there while I did this work. It was such an awesome bonding time for us. Rita actually keeps coming up to me today and kissing me. She says, "Mommy, you are the best at braids".

I am really anxious to see how their classmates react tomorrow (if they do at all). They are so excited to go to school tomorrow to show.

For the yarn experts: I have two questions
1. - What type of yarn do you use? On one of the videos I watched before beginning, the girl said she went to Walmart and just bought the yarn. So that's what I did, but found out that the yarn seems to shrink up as time went on. I braided Racheal's hair way longer than Rita's and they both seem to look about the same length. I am thinking it's because of the yarn that it shrunk up. I don't know, but if you have any ideas to make it longer, I would love to hear them. They both want really long braids (like to the middle of their back), but I am not sure how to do that. :)
2. What can I use to spray on their hair to keep it moist?

With twins, I am going to have to space their braiding days apart. My fingers and back can't take it, so I am thinking of doing one girl one weekend and the other the other weekend.

Here are some pictures of their hair:

Cash Only Days Ahead

2009-03-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Jarett and I have been reading and studying the Dave Ramsey book, Money Makeover. It is such an amazing way to get you thinking back to the simple days and how to get your money back in control. We have struggled really hard the last six month. We started his program and we can celebrate because we have paid for:

* all our medical bills (total of $600, which to us was a lot)
* 4 credit cards
* got caught up on all bills so no more late charges :)

We also have our emergency fund in a seperate account.

We have 2 more things to pay off by the snowball effect. We anticipate it to take us about 12 - 18 months. Our next plan is to pay off our car and 2nd mortgage. That should take us another 24 months. So in about 3.5 to 4 years we will be completely debt free. I definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now we can make it go faster by selling some things, which we may do. But, as of today, we found in our account a little over $1,000 missing. I pulled up our account and found charges to a vet ($200), Pizza Hut ($107.23), 3 separate charges to Great Britian ($200 each) and a charge to the same place in Great Britian ($100). On top of that, we have 4 charges of international fees that our bank has charged us. The scarey thing is no one at our bank alerted us of these weird charges.

Using my detective skills, I found the vet and called them. They pulled the reciept and information about this lady and man that posed to be us. The vet clerk said she remembers this lady very well because she thought they were acting weird. Since the lady was acting weird, she got copies of her driver's license and other information. The sticky part of this is I have a class tomorrow and Wednesday from 8:30 to 3:30. During this class, I will have to find time to call the police and make a report since we have some information about a particular person. Then I will have to race to my bank to file a claim and hopefully get all our money back quickly. I have canceled my debit card (yes, it was my number off of my card - it matched to the vet's receipt), so it's cash for me. Now, that's not the problem because Dave Ramsey says you should only carry cash for your spending. But, I have all but 2 medical bills that were pending to be paid. From what you ask? My debit card! I pray that they still get paid so I don't have to get a letter from our bank to prove about this mess. I feel fees are coming at us.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...........

I was celebrating with our accomplishments and now I will have to deal with this mess to keep it going.

I just feel like since our twins have come home, Satan has been at our back door. We listened to God and adopted these wonderful twin girls and Satan is not at all happy with us following God's word. We can't seem to catch a break for longer than 2 days. Satan should already know that we aren't giving in and he needs to leave. We will not let him conquer us. God is going to take care of us, so he can do what he wants.

I usually don't ask for prayers, but if you have some extra time, we would appreciate any good thoughts and prayers about this mess cleaning up quickly, so we can continue our path to being debt free! :)

Pictures are IN

2009-03-12T08:46:00.000-07:00

These are the pictures from the girls' first birthday party. We kept the party simple for them compared to what we usually do. They didn't quite understand what was going on, but we wanted them to have fun. So we rented a princess bounce house, ate pizza, and just had fun.

We really wanted them to have separate birthday songs and cake. So Costco was wonderful by allowing us to buy one cake and they split it into 2 separate cakes. Each cake had their own saying and we sang happy birthday to each of them. I think with twins (at least with us) we tend to see them as one, so I wanted to make sure they had their own special time to celebrate turning 9 years old.

I love birthdays. I love to celebrate the day that the Lord chose for that person to come into this world and join a chosen family. That is why I love Christmas. Birthdays are such a sign of God's amazing moments. Although, as the children get older, we are scaling down the parties; not the celelbration.

I love it when the girls' say, "Mommy, remember when.....". This will be something that will add to their memories and I can't wait until they say, "Mommy, remember when we had the birthday party with the princess house.". Oh, how my heart will melt! :)

Happy Birthday Baby Girls!

Happy Birthday Rita and Racheal!

2009-03-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, were they excited today! We bought doughnuts for their classmates and they passed them out today. We bought them skates for their birthday. They have been wanting to have a pair, so this was the perfect occassion. They aren't completely sure why they are so excited, but they are.

We have planned their friend party for Friday (tomorrow). We have rented a princess bounce house. The kids are going to eat pizza, jump, and have a great time. The girls are so excited (have I said that before?) We also, are going to have 2 cakes. Each girl will have their own cake with their own name on it. OOPs - I forgot to buy the candles. I better make sure I put that on the list. :)

I can't wait to share the pictures of their party. :) Come back soon!

Ok, I am DONE!

2009-03-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

I am done feeling sorry for myself. The last post I talked about test scores and how horrible they are to measure a child by them or even a teacher. I just read a post (past one) from one of the blogs I keep up with. It reminded me of the Lord's love for us and how He is with us at all times. She sited some verses from the Bible, which really spoke to me:

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out. Proverbs 10:9

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.Hebrews 6:10-12

For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13

WOW - what beautiful words! Thank you Anita for sharing those verses - those hit home with me more than you ever will know. :)

My prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for reminding me of your love for us. Thank you for lifting me up and encouraging me at this time of my life. You have said we will be prosecuted here on Earth, but how You know of our heart. Lord, You truely amaze me by Your love and dedication towards me. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and forever. In only Your name, Amen.

Beyond Caring

2009-03-03T20:12:00.000-08:00

Beyond Caring is one of my passions in this life. It seems as though because of this passion, I tend to get in trouble or judged with it.

At school, I have a type of class that is challenging, but fun to be with this year. I really enjoy my class, but it takes a lot of energy to keep them down and learning. I have two students who are not on medications, although would benefit greatly from it. I have 7 students who have special needs in the academic areas. Now, I requested to have the special needs children because my heart is with them. But....I am being compared to other "normal type" classrooms. The way I am being compared is with test scores. If my special 7 were taken out of the equation, then that would be a fair comparison (which I am right there with everyone else).

When is evaluating the growth of a child (with or without special needs) going to become important. At regular jobs, it seems that people are evaluated based on your improvement and growth. So why can't the government see that what we are doing to children, with focusing so much on test scores, is more harmful then successful. This type of focus is causing teachers to teach to the test, rather than teaching children to THINK and problem solve.

Have you really looked at the test questions on any standardized test? All of them are written at a "Knowledge or Comprehension" level. For you that don't know "teacher talk" then you can google "Higher Level Thinking". It will give you the levels of higher thinking. Knowledge and Comprehension are the lowest levels of thinking skills. So basically, we are "dumbing" our students. It's hard when you teach the children to be "thinkers" because when it comes to the test, then they second guess themselves. Students say to me, "It's to easy, what is the trick". It floors me everytime I am required to give a test. Why does someone come to each student and test the student's thinking?

I have seen the ecomonic situations affect the classroom (students). I see parents who have to work more hours and are more stressed that their children feel it also. What is going to happen when all day kindergarden is taken away? These poor kiddos are going to have a rougher start to their education, due to the fact of less education daily. All of this blows me away. This is where my beyond caring passion comes to play.

I really need to turn this passion into my own family. I need to become a teacher who works 8 hours a day and not 11-12 hours a day. This would help me to be a better mom and wife. I need to NO more sacrifice my family for a JOB! I don't think God is happy that I have done this. I can be a great teacher during the 8 hours at school, but be an even better mom after the 8 hours. I am going to continue to teach children to be "thinkers" and I am refusing to "dumby" them, just for test scores. I am taking a stand - no more! :)

The Count Down is ON!

2009-02-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

The count down is on for our family. We are counting down the days until March 1, 2009, which will be the day we begin the Total Money Makeover. This is a book written by Dave Ramsey. He is a gentlemen that was a millionaire and lost everything. He learned how to work your money, by giving you the tools to become discipline with your money to get out of debt. It's not a magic trick, it's reality.

Jennine let us borrow the book and Jarett has really enjoyed learning about it. I have also began to read it. We want to be on the same page as we go through this makeover with our money.

I am not trying to sell the book. It is just something that other people have recommended to us. We love the realistic ideas and strategies. So, we are counting down to our first day of this new adventure to becoming debt FREE! :)

Chalene

I FINALLY Did it!

2009-02-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

Well today was the day.....I am now on Facebook.

I have no idea what I am doing on there. I was excited though to see one of my friends from Texas contact me. It was so fun to see her picture and write to her. I am not sure what facebook is and I can't explain it to Jarett. I think it is pretty cool. I have been playing around with it tonight, but didn't get to far with it.

Anyway, it is official and I am on and have 16 friends so far! I know that doesn't sound like much, especially to my friends who actually have 168 friends. But for my first day on it, 16 is pretty cool to me. I am not as social as other people so I probably won't go higher than that - but seeing an old was worth it all. :)

Chalene

I Wanna Be TAGGED!

2009-02-16T17:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, my other blogger friends have this tagging thing going on. I was quite disappointed that I didn't get tagged. :) Most of the ones that got tagged are on this thing called "Facebook". I have been asked several times to get a "Facebook" account. I am thinking ......NOPE....I definitely don't need another online thing to have to write to and on. But, to be in the "tagging" world - I better get that account! :)

So I am sure you are wondering if I got an account yet......

NOPE!

I still haven't done it yet! I do plan on it, but I am thinking during my Spring Break (which is in 3 weeks) I will venture into the "Facebook" world. Up until then I have a TON of stuff to finished and turned in before then. So in due time :)

Sooooooooooo....I have been thinking about why do "tags" exist in this cyber world?! I figured it is a great way to get awesome information from several people. So the smart person that I am.....???!!!! I thought of a tagging "topic". I am trying to simplify our house and life. I am struggling with this, but do know of several people who are fantastic at organizing and simplifying things. So I am going to tag some people, in hopes, they will take the tag and participate. :O)

To the taggers:
Write 10 things you do to organize or simplify your house. After you are finished, tag 5 more people.

Simplying / Organizing our House:

1. The girls have so many beads for their hair, so I have a box that holds the beads in their individual colors. It also holds their combs and books that I have bought to learn more about their hair.

2. We make our own coffee. This is huge for us, since we figured that we spend over $100 at Starbucks. Now we don't go there anymore and make our own.

3. I have a tax folder that I keep all our receipts in. I place it by our phone, so when either one of us spends money that can be deducted we just place it in the folder.

4. I have a tub for each child with their name on it, in the closet for their clean sheets to be in.

That is about all I can think of! See this is why I really need this tagging thing to go! I really need to get ideas from only the professionals. :)

I am tagging:

Jennine
Heather A.
Amy Fabu
Kristin Jag
Robin Dodd
Laurel
Anita

* OK - so I tagged 7 people but I figure since I am starting it, the more the better to start off with :)

Welcome Home Akwasi!

2009-02-01T21:01:00.000-08:00

I have been so excited this weekend, especially yesterday. Akwasi, my new nephew, came home from Ghana.

Story in a nutshell:
My sister went with me on both of my trips to Ghana for the adoption of our twin girls. Well, this little boy, found himself loving my sister. She definitely did not go to Ghana to adopt, but God had other plans for her. Anyway, the last 2 days there on our first trip, Akwasi came up to LA and said with a huge unforgetable smile, "I choose you to be my mother" and "I am going to follow you to America". Boy, did he grab her heart.

The odds were against them from becoming a family, but God did it all!

Below are pictures of the homecoming!

Here they come!!!!

Yeah - they are finally here!

Mother and Son finally together!

A hug from Grandma!

It was so fun to watch Akwasi with Rita and Racheal. It seemed like they were never separate.

Kaiden and Akwasi really got along really well.

After we picked them up, we out to eat at Chilli's. It was so fun to see how Akwasi just completely fit in with our family. It has been such a wonderful and Blessed weekend.

Welcome Home Akwasi!

My Shopping IDOL

2009-01-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

If you don't know Jennine than you haven't met my shopping IDOL!

She is an amazing shopper! I have been thinking about posting about her because she is truely amazing and I hope that others can learn from her shopping wisdom. :)

Jennine knows everything about getting a good deal. I am the type of person that I go out for what I want/need and whether it is on sale or not...I will buy it. Not my shopping IDOL - Oh no - she will want or need something but she waits....and waits....and waits....before she will strike to buy it. She knows a good thing but may wait a little longer to get an even better deal.

Here is an example that just happened earlier this month:

She wants to buy a laptop. This is something she has wanted to buy for a while. I happen to call her one day and she is at a store actually buying one. Well, she is excited for it because she thought she got a really good deal. :) I called her a day or two later, and she has returned the laptop to the store, she was actually buying another one because this new one was "a much better deal". Not only did she take the time to return it (which I would not have done because I am not paitent like that) but she told the sales person about the new computer deal. He took her advice and bought one for his wife. You would think it would stop there - Oh no! Her new computer is wireless, so she waits...and waits....and waits...for the deal of the wire less device to go on sale. Well, it did go on sale and she got one. :)

This is one small example of what an AMAZING shopper she is and the wisdom she has to getting great deals. If you ever get the priveledge of shopping with Jennine, it will be such a huge treat. :)

Jennine - not only are you an amazing shopper, but you are a true friend! I am so lucky and Blessed to have you be such a huge part in my life. God brought you into our life and introduced us to Ghana, which also introduced us to our beautiful Ghaniana twins. Thank you so much for your wisdom and friendship. I dedicate this entire post JUST FOR YOU - YOU ARE MY SHOPPING IDOL!

We Broke the Record!

2008-12-30T18:17:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it! We broke the traveling record for us. It took us 13.5 hours to get home from Colorado. Whoo-Hoo! It was a much shorter trip this time. ;)

I do have to say that the children did an amazing job traveling there and back. They didn't argue or complain. They were really great! Jarett and I were ready for it to be a much longer trip with the children, but they actually were the best part of it. :)

Well, 2008 is coming to an end! I sure am excited for the next year. I have plans and a new moto for 2009. I am not going to share my moto just yet. It will come on January 1. I am still in the planning mode. What I usually do is create a moto for that year and make a plan for it to happen. I usually can keep to my goal throughout the year, but this year is a little different. Anyway, more to come in a couple of days.

I hope everyone has a FUN New Years Eve! Stay safe and enjoy your family at this time!

Chalene

Christmas in Colorado

2008-12-26T13:08:00.000-08:00

It ONLY took us 22 hours to get to Colorado Springs. :) I bet there are a lot of places you could get to in 22 hours?! I know it only takes about 18 hours to get to Texas. So why did a 13 hour trip take us 22 hours. Well there is a story behind this journey and it all began Dec. 23.......

I am naturally a procrastinator! So on Dec. 23 I started laundry around 4:30 in the afternoon. I was actually thinking I could get everything washed and packed by 10:00. What was I thinking????? Not to much on that day!

So, by the time I got everything washed and put out, it was 1:00 am. We were planning on getting up at 4:00 to do our own family Christmas morning things. We called TT to call Santa and ask if he could come to our house a day early and he was more than excited to do that for us. So after our 3 hour nap, we woke the kids up and had our family Christmas. We cleaned up and I finished packing.

Around 7 am, we left to go take our new puppy to my parent's house to be babysat while we were gone. (puppy is a whole new different story for later). Anyway, We got onto the road around 8:00 am and 10 minutes later, Karleigh began to throw up. She didn't have a fever, so we kept going. We thought it was began she was tired and the motion of the car just got to her. About an hour later, she threw up again. I checked for a fever and still nothing, so we kept going.

and going....and going....and going.....and going.....and going.....

We went all the way to a little city that was almost on the boarder of New Mexico. We thought the city looked very different, so we got out our handing map and found us very south! If you don't know, we needed to be very NORTH, not SOUTH! :)

We laughed and found a highway that looked like we would go straight up to the 60, again using our handy map. Well, on this highway was no straight road. It was climbing up, down and around snowy mountains. Even though, the scenery was beautiful, it was a very slow drive. It took us 4 hours just to drive 90 miles to the next major town. I did forget to mention that on the drive of this beautiful trip of the mountains, one by one, the children let us know how they were not feeling so well. The windy road was giving them all motion sickness.

We did finally make it out of there and stopped at McDonald's in Springerville. We are not McDonald's people, but it was food and we were hungry. We ate and were feeling good, so we got back in the car and about 25 minutes later, we entered New Mexico. Boy, did we cheer about seeing the sign "Welcome to New Mexico". We felt like we were finally on the road to success of this trip, when all of about 10 minutes into this state, a police officer pulled us over. Yep, that's right we got a speeding ticket and a ticket for having 1 brake light out. The road we were on was a highway and the speed limit was 65. We thought for some reason the speed limit was 75. It must have been that nap we took! :) I do have to say that the police officer was not my friend. I got so frustrated at his attitude with us. Not to even mention this was Christmas Eve and he must have been upset that he was working or he was just a rookie! Oh Well! He was kind enough to let us know that we still had 150 miles to go to get to the Interstate 25, for which we were looking for.

To make this part of the story shorter, this highway went right through four different towns, at which the speed limit went all the way down to 35. It was a stretch of a drive that I thought would never end. I was at my wits-end. We wanted to turn around so badly, but we decided to keep going!

The rest of the way into Colorado was much better. We made it to my mother-in-laws house at 3:30 on Christmas morning!

We made it and safely too!

The children have had such a great time playing with their cousins in the snow. It has been a really fun and relaxing trip.

Tomorrow we leave for home and we are pretty sure this trip home will only take us 13 hours! We feel a little more experienced and we are ready (no procrastinating here)! :)

I hope everyone had a Blessed Christmas with family and friends!

Chalene :)

Oh My Gosh!

2008-12-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

It is so cute to listen to Rita say her new words. This is her favorite saying now. She says this at least 2 times during a very small conversation. :)

I looked back at the last time I posted and I can't believe it has been three weeks. Like Rita would say, "Oh my gosh!".

The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy! My dad got out of the hospital. He had double phenomena. He is still on oxygen, but at least he is out of the hospital. Every day is a small improvement and he is getting better.

All the kiddos started their basketball season last week. This means once a week practices until January, then we add Saturday games until the end of February. It is so great to see them get involved. They love it. I have Rita and Karson on one team and Racheal and Kaiden on another. Karleigh is my assistant coach, but did express interest in being on her own team. :)

So far everyone is healthy. We have been very lucky that we have only had minor colds come and go. "Oh my Gosh!"

Yesterday I was thinking about how time has gone by really fast. I do have to say that it has been challenging, but now that I look at where our family is and what we are doing, is so incredible! The girls have come into our home and accepted it as their home and their family. Attachments have gone really good. Racheal seemed to attached really easy, while Rita needed more time. Rita is definitely completely and clearly attached now. Our bio children are attached to Rita and Racheal. It's funny to think about our bio needing time to attach also. You can look back and see the times when they weren't attached and now how they are.

Someone asked me the other day if I would do this again or knowing what I know now, would I do this again. That is a pretty tough question to answer. As I thought about it for a while. The thought came to mind, "Would God allow us to do this again?". I am all for it, but I am at the point of my faith with God that I pray more before making decisions. So I can't say I would do this again, because it is completely up to God and His plan. Is it in His plan for us? Are Rita and Racheal the only ones we would adopt? Such tough questions! I really don't think about it much. I assume that if God wants it to happen again, then He will let us know.

I do have to say that I love the experience of adopting older children. I have had such a good experience with it. Yes, times can be tough, but manageable. Jarett and I have become much closer as a couple and more towards God. I would have to say that I would never regret adopting older children. If I had a bigger house, more money and God's "yes" to it, then I would adopt more. I have my eyes and heart on one sibling set at Eban House. I pray that God finds them a home. This little girl and boy were new when I went to take custody of Rita and Racheal. They stole my heart then and I pray they find a forever family.

Chalene

We BELIEVE

2008-11-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

Last night was so amazing! We took the kids up to Williams where they have the Polar Express. We got pictures taken with Santa and also got to meet with Mrs. Claus. The kids wrote letters to Santa to make sure he knew what they were wishing for. Then the BIG excitement began when we got onto to the train and went to the North Pole. Everyone drank hot chocolate and ate a cookie. Once we got to the North Pole, Santa took a minute out of his busy night to come onto the train to hand each child a bell. The bells that Santa gave were huge, not the little ones. He talked to each child.

When we left the North Pole, we sang Christmas songs as the elf and one of the cooks danced down the aisle.

The children told me "Mommy, I believe. Look I can hear the bell".

What an amazing way to begin the Christmas season!

Chalene

Seriously, When Will it END

2008-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

When we began the adoption process, I just knew we may run into problems. The problems I felt we would run across were ones from Satan. We strongly feel we were called to adopt the girls. We had 3 children already, we didn't need more. God changed our hearts and we obeyed Him. For that, I feel like Satan is big time working on our family dynamics.

Since the girls have been home, it has literally been one thing after another. Every aspect of life has been changed at least once to twice. I am getting tired of it and I am also getting mad.

Seriously, when is it going to END?

The newest one is that my father is in the hospital with pneumonia. Boy, is that a scary thing. You hear so many times, a person going into the hospital with it and not coming out. When it is your parent, it just scares you even more. I am not ready to lose one of my parents and I hope God isn't ready to take one of them Home just yet. :( Sometimes, this is part that is so hard to be human. My faith should be stronger - is something that someone may say. But, I just haven't had the time to sit and reflect and pray. I need the time, but when and how do I get it now?
I am very thankful that he is improving slowly. He is still on oxygen, but he is gaining some strength back.

I know there are people who are hurting worse than I am and I should be thankful for the good. I really am thankful, but at the same time I need time to digest this situation. This is one of many that have occurred in the last 5 months that the girls have been home. I really need time to think, reflect, and pray.

My prayer for tonight:

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you stay in the center of our lives. Lord, give us strength to face these bumps in the road. Help us to make the right decisions with the Blessings you are going to give us. Lord, thank you for everyone who shows love towards us and help us to continue to show love towards them. I ask you Lord to help my dad with his recovery. Lord, give him and my mom strength to fight this infection. I also ask you Lord, to keep Leigh Ann safe as she travels home tomorrow from Ghana. Lord, wrap your arms around Akwesi for his comfort as he says goodbye to Leigh Ann. Continue to show him that You planned his life and how special he is to be a part of our family. Lord, I love you and pray these prayers in your name, Amen.

Chalene

What a Day!

2008-11-05T20:49:00.000-08:00

Last night as I sat and watched the election, a deep sadness filled our house. Both Jarett and I really believed and wanted McCain to win the election. He stands for so many things that we believe. Do we completely agree with every word he said? No. But his values are the same as ours.

We just believe that values are there for a reason. They aren't there to bend! I think because I have been the classroom for 14 + years, I have seen children grow up and become adults. I have seen a difference with the homes of children that have values that are black and white and homes of children where values are bent. Big Difference!

This has been such a great election. Jarett and I have learned so much and really got involved. We even got emotionally involved. This was our first true election that we knew exactly why we chose who we chose. We believe our choice was a good one and we don't have one regret except, our man didn't get picked. :) I knew deep down that Obama would win. He reminded me so much of Clinton and how he ran his campaign. I have to say that I do like what Clinton did in office (except the you know what. I hope that Obama will go into office on January 20 and do what he has promised so many people.

I do see some good in Elect President Obama. I am glad that he is the first African American to be in such a high office. He gave an awesome speech and I hope he means every word he says because he is holding such a high position to go back on his word. I don't trust him, but I do trust God. I trust that God will lead and protect all of us.

****Thank you John McCain for giving such a good fight for office. Thank you for your love of our country and for trying to pass on your dream onto us Americans! You ended this journey with grace and integrity. Thank you for showing others how to loose a battle and still come out with your head held high. You worked hard and I hope you don't stop working for us.

True American Lover,
Chalene

Thank you in advance for commenting respectfully if needed! :)

Hal-o-lot-of-FUN!

2008-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

We had such great time last night witht all the kids and going trick-o-treating! It has become a tradition for my brother and his family along with my mom and dad come over. We eat pizza and go trick-o-treating. It has been so fun to do this each year!

This year we did something different. In the past, we used to go to a store and buy all the costumes for the children. This year we told the children that we were going to make all the costumes instead of buying them (We used to do this when we were young). It was amazing! The children thought for a while what they could be. This new method opened the door to creativity. All the children chose things that you really can't buy and they were very creative. We did have to buy some little things but everything else was made or reused. Here is what everyone was starting from the oldes:

Karleigh was Victoria Stilwef. She is a dog trainer that Karleigh watches on TV.

Kaiden was a Raptor Dinosaur. He loves dinosaurs.

Rita was a PENCIL. She honestly chose this.

Racheal was Hannah Montana. Yes, you can buy her costume but the only thing we had to buy was the wig.

Karson was Shadow from Sonic. He loves this game.

Cousin Connor was a cowboy. He looked so cute as his belt kept falling off. :)

The really awesome thing about this is that the children are still playing with their costume. Usually, they throw them away and are done with them. Racheal really loves the wig and won't take it off. I actually thought she was going to sleep with it on, but she did decide to take it off to sleep last night. Jarett made every costume! He did such an amazing job! After almost 15 years of marriage, he can still blow me away with his creativity!

Chalene

Here I was Thinking

2008-10-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days I have been experiencing some behaviors with Rita. She is usually the one that is very happy and flexible. She is the girl who is very easy going and usually listens very well.

Well.......

The last couple of days, we have experienced a complete opposite Rita. She has been more defiante and throwing a little more tantrums. She has shown that she definitely needs more affection because she is sitting or laying on me everytime I sit down.

Well, last night (Friday) we went to the movies to see High School Musical 3. We did a girl's night out with all the Baxter girls. Rita had a hard night. She threw a tantrum in the theatre and acted very needy. I am not complaining about her, but trying to show how she is never like this.

I was thinking the whole time......this must be adoption related behaviors.

Well, today Rita ended up with a very bad headache and soon to follow a very high fever. It's the type of fever you know it's a virus. So, here I was thinking her behavior was adoption related and really it's virus related. All my kids are like this. As something is coming on, they have a really hard couple of days, and then BOOM - a fever or vomitting.

It's hard to sometimes decide if the girls behavior is adoption related, just plain being a child, or getting sick. I just do my best by listening to them and then try to decide and go with it.

So now that Rita has a fever, we will be watching for all the children and their fever that I am sure is coming. I do have 4 hours of sick leave built up. It has been 3 months that I have had minus sick hours, so of course as I get 4 then someone is sure to get sick. Oh well, that's what it is there for. :)

Chalene

Parenting Tips

2008-10-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

One of my dearest friend, Jennine, is doing a parenting tip post on her blog. She has some other fabulous moms participating by giving 3 parenting tips. You can go to her blog to see other parenting tips.

I have thought a lot of my 3 parenting tips that I could give and it was difficult but here are the 3 that I have chosen to share:

#1 Parenting NEVER stops!
It doesn't matter the age of your child, parenting advice, love, and encouragement never goes away. It's the same with God. It doesn't matter how old you are, God will always be there for you to listen to you, to give you advice, and to give encouragement by opening doors for you.

#2 Always end a difficult time with a child by reassuring your love for that child!
No matter how angry you get at your child for making the wrong decision, being defiante,or being disrespectful; always let your child know you love him/her.

#3 Be Involved with your child. . . .No matter what age!
I believe with always being involved with your child and his/her life. Adult life can get out of hand if you allow it. I have made that mistake often, but I do my best with always reminding myself about being involved with my children. I spend time talking to them, dancing with them, singing with them, swimming with them, etc.

#4 You are never to old for a kiss from MOM!
I just had to add this one because I think it is so important. I don't ever want my children to feel like they are to old to recieve a kiss from me. That is Mom's job to always kiss her children! :) I love the fact that Karleigh who is in the 6th grade, will still expect graciously a kiss from daily and nightly. I love that she doesn't feel like she is to old for one. :0)

Parenting is so hard and it is a daily committment to the children you care for. I am not the best parent, but I sure do try my hardest to be. The one goal I hope my children remember about me is how I was a good mom who cared for my children by loving them!

Chalene

"Ghana" Pick our Pumpkins

2008-10-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday after church, we went to Schnefp's Farm. This has been a tradition where we go and pick our pumpkins each year. We started about 5 years ago. This year we went with our good friends: the Davidison family and my brother's family.

This farm has all kinds of fun things for the children to do:

1. We got our faces painted.

2. We rode the Merry-Go-Round!

Even Selina rode it with Mom and big brother!

3. Roller coaster - here we come!

***It's really exciting that I now have some children that LOVE riding the roller coaster. They rode it 5-6 times that day. I can't wait for Disneyland! :)

4. The big swings really got the workout! Most of the children rode this ride until we left. It seemed to be the most popular with our kiddos.

5. Finally, we made our way to the pumpkins. Each child got to pick out their own pumpkin. This was a challenge to take a picture. It was so dark, so I didn't know what was going to show up on the camera. :) We are going to decorate them a couple of days before Halloween.

Rita is the one who picked the biggest pumpkin of all! She hasn't even seen the movie "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"!

This was a really fun but exhausting day. We all got home around 7:30 pm and ate dinner. Right after dinner, all the children went into their room and were out like a light within 10 minutes. I was shocked because in the call they all seemed to be wide awake.

Chalene

My Apology

2008-10-09T23:59:00.000-07:00

As I look back at the last couple of months, I am very ashamed and embarrassed at how I have acted in some situations. I am not quite sure why I have treated the people I have treated badly or why I have been so out spoken when I shouldn't have. It's not like me at all!

I do have a strong emotional personality, but I have learned to tame it and be more loving and encouraging to people through God's help, of course.

I sit and think about:
What would make me say something to someone to hurt their feelings?
Why I am being so straight to the point?
What is going on for me to feel like I can treat people this way?

I think of "excuses" like PMS, overloaded at work, exhausted, etc. I do think those are contributors, but I don't want to except those as excuses to my behavior.

About a month ago, I had a friend ask me, "When are you going to be back to yourself?". I was shocked at that question. At the time, I didn't know what he was talking about. So after school one day, I asked him what he meant by that comment. He told me that I used to be happy and always smiling and now I don't smile and always seem to be tired. Yes, tired I am, that's for sure. So lately I have been really thinking about this and how I am now.

I usually am a strong person, but as I think back in the last couple of months, I am not sure where my strength has gone. I do have to say that with this fall break, I feel like I have gain some of it back. I have quite drinking Starbucks (which is huge for me), I have gone to the gym the last 2 weeks, I have become a better mom (in my eyes), I have become a better wife (again in my eyes).

Side note on Starbucks: I absolutely love drinking their frozen coffee drinks daily, but for me I would get a good booster of energy in the morning but at lunch time, I would fall flat on my feet. So then I would have to get a diet coke or something with caffine. So during my Fall Break, I stopped altogher with drinking Starbucks. I went through the headaches and tireness, but I can honestly say I feel so much more awake and clear headed since I stopped drinking it.

Back on topic. My friend, Jennine, wrote a post of forgiveness from the Oprah show the other day. I took time tonight to fully read it (go to Going Ghana Gone on my side bar for her blog). What sticks out to me from her post is the aggressiveness that you show someone/people when you haven't forgiven a person. She listed behaviors and ways to forgive. I am not sure who I need to forgive. Maybe I have a underlining person that I need to forgive. Maybe it's things from my childhood that I need to forgive. I don't know, but it is something I need to dive into more to see what and why I have acting in this manner.

As for now, I do want to apologize to you if I have offended you, hurt your feelings, not been respectful towards you, not been loving towards you, and/or been negative by my words or actions. Again, it is something that I am very ashamed and embarrassed about, but hopefuly I can make things right again.

Our pastor spoke last week on Holliness. The one thing he said that I have been really thinking about is being right with God and laying the burdens on him, so I can have light instead of darkness. When I tuck my children in at night and give them a kiss, I want to know I am in the light, not the dark.

My prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, please take this darkness out of my life. Help me to live the way you want and have planned for me to live. Lord, I ask for your forgiveness and Bless the ones that have forgiven me. Please help me to make things right with people I haven't treated well. Lord, I need your guidance and strength to get out of this dark part of the world, for some reason I am in, and show me the light that comes from only You. I love and adore you Lord. In Your name, Amen.

Chalene

Last REAL Day of Fall Break

2008-10-09T00:18:00.001-07:00

Today was my REAL last day of our Fall Break. I am taking a class that is tomorrow and Friday. The class is all day long. So today was it, my last day of Fall Break!

It was a good day to end the break. I went to one of my friend's college class and spoke to her class about teaching. Came home and ate lunch with the children. Then I went to social security to get the girls their ss card. After that, I went to my grandmother's house to pick her up for a dinner date. We went and ate Mexican food. I just love my grandmother. We ate and laughed so much. It was such a great dinner. Finally, I went shopping at Lakeshore (teaching store) all by myself. I spent an hour just looking at everything. I bought the kids somethings to do with writing and a sight word center for Rita and Racheal.

As I reflect back on this Fall Break, I really feel pretty good. I didn't get my house cleaned. I didn't get my house organized as well as I would like to have. I didn't begin a house project.

But.......I did play with the children!

Everyday I made it a point to go somewhere and do something as a family. We played at different parks, swam at a different pool, saw a movie, decorated our house for Halloween, BOO'ed people, bought my favorite lotion, participated in a hamster race at Petco, and played with our guinea pigs! It was so fun and relaxing! I loved every minute of it. I feel like I really connected with the children again. For some reason, I feel like I wasn't as connected as I wanted to be due to coming home from Africa exhausted and going back to work pretty quickly.

So I feel like I was a good MOM this time and I feel like I accomplished a lot with my children even though, if you were to come into my house, you would see a mess. :)At this point, I don't care as much because my kids and husband are happy because they had ALL of me!

Now, the tricky part of this is keeping it up with going back to work next week. I have been really thinking about how to jungle all this and my thoughts are I have to have discipline with the amount of time I spend at school. I need to set a time to leave work and actually do it! I will let you know at the end of next week, how that plan is going. If you have any suggestions that you would like to share, I would love to hear them. I want to stay a good MOM and not let my job to consume me. I am praying about it and I feel at peace about it. I feel like I am ready to go and tackle the field of being a full time teacher and a MOM! :)

Chalene

Being a Christian in this World (a little whiny)

2008-10-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

This is something that I have struggled with since I started my career in public education, which happens to be the same time I began my walk with God. I didn't really understand how the world sees God until I took the jump of faith. There are so many different faiths and beliefs. I have always respected the different faiths, but usually tried to stay around people and families that have the same faith as I do. What I mean by that is hanging around people who do believe in God, one way or another. I have a very difficult time being around people who don't believe in God. The people I know who don't believe are lost and go with the flow of this world (right or wrong). I also have a difficult time with people who say they are Christians but their actions and words show different. I am definitely not perfect at my walk with God. I slip off once in a while. That's why I struggle with this world.

I do my absolute best at trying to always think "What would Jesus say or do?". I honestly don't think He would want me to discount Him. In public education, they ask that you don't talk about God and share your faith with the students. On a level I can understand why, but when a child asks me what I believe I do feel compeled to share what I believe by answering their questions. I owe that to God to share what I believe. On another side, I do have that right because it is in the Constitution. I just get irritated when people ask for you (me) to not mention God because it may make someone feel uncomfortable. As I have grown in my faith, I have become to believe stronger and stronger that I am not going to tip toe around people because I may say something to make someone (who doesn't believe in God) feel uncomfortable or offend them.

I am done with this!

Rita and Racheal absolutely LOVE God! You see it in their eyes, you hear it in their words, and you feel it from their affection. I would never tell them to stop loving God and to be careful with what you say about Him because someone may be offended. I love that they LOVE God! They have brought that into our house and I have seen my bio children change and talk more about God in such a loving way. Jarett and I do talk a lot about God and what we believe, but sometimes I think our bio children think it's just "parent words". Now, that Rita and Racheal have been home, the talks and discussions are going on and they are awesome. It is so amazing to hear them talk.....and I love it!

Our life is all about God and we are doing our best to live that way. We will no longer hold back. If I offend someone by saying I will pray for you, or encourage someone by using God's words, than I am sorry for that person/people. But I won't change my faith or how I talk. At our house and in our world....Merry Christmas is Christmas not....Happy Holidays! :)

****This is something that has really bothered me for a long time, but even as early as last week, being asked to watch what is said about God because someone may be offended. I just can't do it any more. My faith is who I am! :)

Chalene

BOO!

2008-10-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

About 5 years ago, we have started a "BOO!" tradition in our family involving our neighbors and the staff at my school.

What you do is fill up 4-5 bags of candy, attach the directions, a Boo! sign. Then you decide who you are going to BOO!. Once the decision is made, you run up to your neighbor's door, place the bag of treats by the door, ring the door bell and run to hide. It is so much fun!

This year was the first time for Rita and Racheal. They had a blast! They want to do more, but now we have to wait until we get BOO'ed to do it again. We usually start it with our street and I carry it over to my school. It is fun to watch everyone get involved.

Now, we teach our kids that Halloween is an American holiday. We teach them that some people believe it is Satan's holiday. We do it opposite and say it is a day that we get to dress up and be anything we want to be (not dead though)and also spread the love of Jesus. We do give candy out but also things that remind people that God loves them.

Below is a video that show the kids in action with BOOing 1 of the homes.

Booing house #1 from Chalene Jarett on Vimeo.

Tonight was a fun night to introduce a tradition to Rita and Racheal.

Chalene

Fall Break

2008-10-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

Our district is on a modified school year, which means we get 2 weeks off in between quarters. Well this has been our first week off and boy, has it been so much fun. I usually am very tired the first couple of days of break. I think because I am so used to going and going. When my body figures out that I am not going so much, I have a let down. Anyways, we have kept it calm. Each day we have gone to a different park or swimming park.

Below are pictures or videos of what we have done so far.

Our cute boys!

Here are short clips of the kiddos jumping and skating.

Fall Break at Grandparents from Chalene Jarett on Vimeo.

Park ride 1 from Chalene Jarett on Vimeo.

This next video is of the girls being singers and dancers. It is so cute!

My Divas from Chalene Jarett on Vimeo.

It has been a very restful and calm start to our fall here in Arizona. Now our temperatures are still in the low 100's but next week we will be in the high 90's. I can't wait! :)

My Nephew. . . .Akwasei

2008-09-20T22:39:00.000-07:00

Below is a picture of my new nephew.

He is good looking and very smart. I had a blast with him while we were in Ghana on the second trip. He is a true Blessing to our family. His story is totally God driven.

HIS STORY:

He was in another orphanage before going to Eban House. The director of our Ghana program, Anita, visited his orphanage at one time. As she was leaving, he cried because he wasn't "chosen" to go to the Eban House. A while later, he was chosen and brought to the Eban House back in March (I think). When Leigh Ann and I came for the first trip to Ghana, he immediately would sit by her. He really didn't talk much to her, but just sit there. After a while, she would go outside and kick the ball around. I know what he was thinking, "Wow, this white lady can kick". He really brightened right up. He began to talk to her and follow her all around. On one of our last days there, he went up to her and said, "I want you to be my mother!". He kept telling her, he was going to follow her to America, so she could be his mother.

Well, this hit home with Leigh Ann because he is just the kind of boy she would cherish. He is sneaky, energetic, smart, athletic, and loves her. She finds the good in children and helps them to thrive on their talent. His talent is definitely sports - all kinds of sports!

Back to the story:
Leigh Ann went home and thought long and hard about seriously adopting Akwasei. She decided she wanted to and had already made a connection with him. So, she began the process with getting her home study done. At first, she was told that the Ghanian law wouldn't allow a single foreigner to adopt a child from Ghana. So, on our second trip (to bring the girls home), we had an appointment to meet with social welfare to discuss the request of adopting Akwasei. We took Akwasei with us and long story short: everyone cried and Akwasei is a Murphy now. The social warefell really want their children to be taken good care of and loved. Leigh Ann and Akwasei showed her that they can do this. Like I mentioned before, this is all God driven.

Akwasei, I just want to say I can't wait until you come home. We love you and miss you! Rita and Racheal ask about you all the time!

Love your Aunt Chalene

Looking UP!

2008-09-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on how things are going - Looking Up!

Things are doing so much better now. Jarett and I literally spent the whole three day weekend (Labor Day weekend) getting things put away and organized. I can say that our house is so much more functional.

Even being functional and organized (as best as can be for now), we are feeling the pinch of the size of our house. It is tooooooooo small. With seven people in - it gets busy all the time, especially when a friend or two come over - Ouch! Jarett and I have decided that we are going to focus on paying off all the debt that has occurred with this adoption and then spend another year getting the house ready to sell. So we are probably looking at 1 1/2 years to 2 years left in this house.
We love our neighborhood and area, so I am not sure if we will stay around here or move towards the school that I work at and the kids attend.

We have our office, so to speak, in our bedroom. This really makes it cramped (and not very romantic), but it works for now. I don't know how we are going to sell this house with as much furniture as we have. It is furniture that we want to keep, for when we move, but it's to much for now.

I think during our October break, we are going to rearrange our garages. This will open up a garage to use as a storing place. I can put the furniture in there for the time being.

Next week, I will gain some sick hours from work. Right now I am -12 hours and by next week I will only be -4 hours. This is tough and I hope that no one gets sick because I can't take off. Jarett is low on his hours as well. I am just excited that I will be able to get to gain some hours. Winter is coming and who knows what is coming our way. :)

Chalene

Flash

2008-09-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

Flash is a Ghanian word that has been adopted into our daily family communication. This is a word that the twins have brought to our family since they have arrived. They say it is a word in their known language, Ghan.

It can be used by adding an "ing" to the ending to make the word "Flashing".
It can also be used in a pasted tense by adding "ed" to make the word "Flashed".
It can be used as a present word, like in the question, "Did you flash?".
It is an action word done only by mammals.

The word "flash" has brought comfort to the girls and they now feel comfortable in using it daily with us. Actually, I should say that every family member uses the word comfortably.

Our family has so much fun using this word, we feel like true Ghanians when it comes out our lips. This word "flash" brings laughter out in us all the time! :)

Here is a question for you. . . . Have you flashed today?

Sitting back with smiles of laugher!
Chalene

My Whiny Section

2008-08-26T23:52:00.001-07:00

I usually don't whine but tonight I feel the need to!

I am struggling now with everything that is on our plate. I am struggling with what God wants with me now and what is in our plan, except going crazy :). I feel like I am being pulled in every which direction and have no clue where to go:

* My job (which I really do love) is about 50-60 hours a week of my family's life (that is before the children are in bed)

* The girls are doing really well, but as soon as I really believe that, a curve ball will come my way. I had a set back this past week with Rita. I put so much effort into them, then my biological children also need me. This is all common when you adopt ....or is it?

* I haven't even mentioned my husband needing attention. Date? What is that?

* I feel like...when is it my time to give myself my own attention. The only alone time I have gotten is sleeping when I was sick. Even then, children would come in to ask questions. I locked the door at one time, and then the knocking started.

* Jarett's family members still haven't met the girls. When are they going to make the move to come and see them? It is hard to watch Jarett be disappointed again from them.

* Serving - when would I be able to go back and serve in our church.

* My weight! I really want to loose 25-30 pounds. I really want to exercise, but how do I do that?

* Cleaning the house? what is that? Everybody helps out, but it's not enough for 7 people living here.

Is balance the correct word for this? How can you be balanced with all of this? Something has to give, but what?

In my perfect world: we would win the lottery, all of our bills (including house) would be paid off, I would be a stay at home mom and have a clean / organized house. I would be able to make a snack for the children when they came home, by me picking them up from school, I would have up to date clothes and shoes, I would have plenty of jewelry to wear (not a lot, but some nice things), I would have my wedding ring redone (the diamond fell out), I would give the gift of a life time, and I wouldn't have circles under my eyes everyday.

I am definitely not wanting anyone to feel sorry for me, but this is a place I feel I can vent - it's my blog, so why not. I do have many things to be thankful for, but at the same time, I have many things I need to work out with God and how He wants me to live today, tomorrow, and the next day.

My prayer:

Lord, I ask of you to give me strength and clarity on how you want our family to be shaped. Everything you give us is definitely a Blessing, but sometimes it's hard to know how you want us to take your Blessings. What can I or we learn from you to make the most of this awesome opportunity. Lord, help me to live each day you have planned for me. Help me to see the things you want me to see. Help me to have compassion with people who continue to disappoint me (us). Help me to continue to have You be in the center of my life. In Jesus's name.....Amen

That's my whiny post. I do feel better! :)

OH NO!

2008-08-14T22:42:00.000-07:00

I am sorry it has been a long time since I have posted. I can actually said I have been busy! I have been busy beyond all belief. I never thought that having 5 children could make the clock go FASTER. It would seem that the clock should SLOW down - since we need it to.

We begin homework at 5:00 pm. As I am doing homework, Jarett cooks the dinner. After I work with one child, he/she will then go take their shower. Then I start with the next. By the time I am on the third child, dinner is ready. So we eat dinner and then start back up. By 7:45 we are usually finished with every child. Well, you would think it is done for the night......OH NO! Then the sleeping time routine begins. Each child (sometimes 2 at once) go to brush their teeth. By the time, the two of them wrestle, play around, go to the restroom, it is 8:15. That's just 2 out of 5 children. So by 8:45-9:00 we can officially say they are all in bed. I am exhausted just writing that! So you think it stops there.....OH NO!....Now the "Stop talking" routine begins. Each set of girls are talking, then each set of boys are talking. So by 9:20 - I usually can say they are done for the night. So, see how the clock moves faster than we do. If you are considered a large family and/or you have any suggestions for our routine to make it shorter and more functional, we would love to hear it. :)

Chalene

Happy Birthday!

2008-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

Our little lady guinea pig gave birth to 3 healthy babies today. We were so excited to hear the awesome news from Jarett. We kept thinking she would have them during the night, but she surprised us to do this while we were all at school.

We don't know the sex of each one because we are going to give momma and babies a week before we hold them. They are so funny to see.

Last night while Sweety (the mom) was laying down, you could see the babies going to town. Now we can literally see them. They came out furry as can be and eyes wide open.

Sweety is such a good mom. She nurses them and talks to them. I can hear as I am typing right now, their little conversation going on. Anyway, please welcome these 3 babies into our world.

Chalene

Ghana go to School

2008-07-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, this was the week of everyone going back to school. I was really prepared for Rita and Racheal to be nervous going to school. Actually, I thought Racheal would be the one who would go kicking and screaming. Nothing....Nothing....happened! All of the kids just went on their marry way. I am sure everyone was a little nervous. We all are, even teachers.

School for Rita and Racheal is completely different than what they are used to. Here are somethings that are different for them:

* School is 6.5 hours long compared to 3 hours
* They eat lunch at school
* No naps (except Rita tried on Tuesday)
* Lots of friends (not only in your classroom)
* Man as a teacher
* No caning
* Lots of fun
* They have their own desk
* Cold in the classroom
* They get to see Mommy throughout the day
* Auntie Mary is their Librarian

I went back to work the week before this past week. The girls had a hard time with it, but did do better by the end of the week. Jennine called me and offered her hair assistance. She took a hair class on Saturday and learned how to do the flat and double twist. This was something that I really wanted to learn. I was unable to go to the class with her, but she brought the class to me. She came over and we worked on the girls' hair for 4 hours. Well, I kept going with Rita's hair and ended 5 hours. Karleigh joined in and learned how to do with me. She was so awesome! She sat and helped me finish Racheal's hair. She did a fabulous job! It was really cute, when she asked me to do her hair. Karleigh NEVER asks me to do her hair, so when the question came up, I jumped on it!

Karleigh sometimes gets frustrated being the older sister because Rita and Racheal just adore her. But, Karleigh sure does step in right away to help them. Below is a "girl's night with Hannah Montana". Karleigh introduced the girls to Hannah Montana. Now, they are in love with her. I got them each a poster of Miss Hannah and they love it. Below is a picture of them watching the show with their 3D glasses.

I love the girls' teacher....Mr. Gray. He is the type of teacher that laughs with and at the children. Rita and Racheal can make you laugh so hard that you will be rolling on the floor. Mr. Gray shared with me how they drew a picture of our whole family. That really means a lot to me because sometimes I think they don't quite understand what has occured in their life. I pray as they get older, God will give them peace about being apart of our family. They are our daughters and not vacationers. They will forever be ours! It is going to have to come from him, to help them understand what major change has happened in their life. They are lucky that they remember where they came from, who they came from, and what they left behind. I know other adoptees don't have that understanding or memory. So I am thankful that they have it to hold on to. Well, that was off topic....back on.

Karleigh looks so much older to me. I see her with her sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Evans, and she looks so much taller and older. I get really sad that she is growing up so fast. I feel like sometimes, I am missing out. I think I just miss her. I miss her little curls, playing with Barbies, and her sitting in my arms drinking her bottle. Now, she cooks, plays her viola, and paints her nails. Oh, how time flies!

The boys are adjusting to school and life really well. Kaiden has Miss Gonnerman. This is the year that he will be excepting more responsiblity. He is so funny and I absolutely love his humor. I can't wait to see him continue to grow. Karson has Mrs. Potts for 2nd grade. He is doing really well. She has more structure, which is great for him. He is very successful in that type of enviroment. I want him to continue to succeed. He has grown the most out of everyone. He is so tall. He reminds me everyday of my Grandpa Murphy. I don't know exactly what it is, but I see my grandfather in him.

Other news in our house.....

Our Sweety (guniea pig) is pregnant. She is literally due any day now. She is so incredibly huge. She looks like she is so uncomfortable. Everyday, we wake up hoping for 2-3 surprises. We counted the days but still nothing so far. Our thought is she can't hold them in forever, so it has to be soon.

Ending our first Week of School and our first month together as a family of 7!
Chalene

My Heart Full of Sadness

2008-07-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

This past Monday, we recieved some really horrible and sad news about the home that our girls live in for 9 months ......Eban House. I have thought about how to share the news, but there really isn't away to share to make it seem not so terrible. Here it goes:

Last Sunday night, the Eban House was robbed. There were 4 men that got into the house through the back door. There were armed. There were three aunties that stay over night with the children. One of the Aunties (Ester) was sleeping in one of the rooms where the babies sleep. The men pulled her out and raped her multiple times - until she told them where the valueables were hidden. She was so amazing to stay quiet during this punishment. The children slept through it, except 4 girls. They were brave themselves for not yelling or screaming. They prayed for the men to leave and asked God for forgivness.

Ester, who tried to save the valuables and the children is now still being punished. In the Ghanian culture, the husband will leave and divorce the wife if something like this happens to her. I can't imagine not having support (especially from your spouse)to deal with this situation. She has two children of her own.

I don't only pray for Ester, the children, and the staff, but I have also been praying for Ester's husband. He needs to be a man who loves his wife no matter what and will fight the cultural expectations to stay with his wife. She needs him so desperately.

If you could add Ester, her husband, the children at Eban House, and the staff to your prayer list, I would greatly appreciate it.

I have thought so much about all of them this week. It has taken a while for me to process this horrible event that happened to such a loving home and person.

I do have to count my Blessings that our girls are home with us. There are so many families that their children are there and had / have to deal with this situation. No child or woman should have to deal with this, but it happens. I strongly believe that Satan comes in to stir things up, especially when God is in the center of it.

If you would like to give to Ester, there is a fund set up for her. She needs time off work to heal (physcially and emotionally). If her husband (which she hasn't been in contact with) ends up filing for divorce, she very well could go into a lower poverty level. You can go to www.adoptionadvocates.org and click on the "donate now" button to find the special designation for Eban House and "Esther's Fund."

Sitting with some mush sadness!
Chalene

Swimming with Selina

2008-07-20T00:33:00.000-07:00

I have a very close friend that has adopted from the same home in Ghana. She adopted a two year old girl named, Selina. Now, this girl came into the home not being able to walk and you should see her now. She has blossomed into such a beautiful and happy little girl.

It is so awesome that Rita and Racheal know her and adore her. So our families get together so the girls can play or at least see each other. This will be even more awesome when my sister adopts a little boy. Then there will be 4 Ghanian children from the same House living in Gilbert, Arizona.

Here is a video of the girls when they just learned how to jump in the water. This video was taken in Ghana at the La Palm Hotel. You can tell Racheal is still a little more scared but Rita takes right over.

First swimming from Chalene Jarett on Vimeo.

Chalene

Twin Power

2008-07-15T23:00:00.001-07:00

Twin Power is very POWERFUL!

The girls have such a strong bond between them. They help each other with tasting food. "Is it sweet?" ....."Yes, it's sweet"......"OK then"

They like their hair done the same way.

They drink at the same time.

They wake up at the same time (7:45 WOO HOO).

They watch the same shows.

They speak Ghan at the same time.

They do the #2 one after another (gross but true).

The funniest thing with them and their "twin power" is that they tell stories about their past at the same time. One will begin the story and the other will finish the other's sentences. They also both laugh at the same place when telling the story.

Some of their stories are really cute and some are a little disturbing. But, this is their story and their memory. I wonder sometimes if some of the things they tell me are true. But, when you listen to them tell it and both are saying the same thing (literally at the same time) then you have to believe it is true in their minds. Some of the stories are 8 year interpretation of what has happened so far in their life. But again, it's their story and memory.

In a group that I am in there has been talk about whether or not to adopt an older child and whether to adopt one or more children. In my opinion, it is completely up to what the family can handle. I strongly believe that God knows that for each family that is considering adoption. We began our adoption journey with one child in mind. God thought different and layed on our hearts for two children. In my mind, I thought I was going insane to add two more children to our family. Jarett was the one who convinced me to open up to two children. He really believed that the twins (Rita and Racheal) would be perfect for our family. I had to trust him and God that they both knew what we were doing. So, if you are deciding on adopting and having figured out what God would want for you, then take extra quiet time with Him and He will let you know.

God has given us the TWIN POWER and the FUN that comes along with it! :0)

Chalene

Love Those PUFFS

2008-07-10T10:28:00.000-07:00

This hair thing with the girls has been quite the challenge. I have bought so much products to use on their hair. The ones I have decided on are the baby butter curling cream, olive oil in a spray bottle with water, and Aveda Conditioner. These seem to be the best for their hair so far. I love to do the puffs in their hair because it is easy and fast. It takes me about 40 minutes to redo their hair, which compared to 3 hours - WOOHOO!

I tried the corn roll and I was told, "Oh Mommy, it doesn't look well". I had to agree because it wasn't tight at ALL. I can do corn rolls on my head but the girls have so much that it is hard to grab little pieces without grabbing more than needed. The girls' hair is so curly that I just love it. As it gets longer, I can do some twists and it will definitely stay.

Here is a picture of grandma with all the grandkids. The girls just love her. They were a little shy at first but shortly warmed up.

Chalene

The First Week is OVER

2008-07-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we have survived our first week with the girls. Or I can say, the girls have survived their first week with us. I do have to say that I don't remember the first couple of days. Everything seems like a fog. I was exhausted to begin the week and it didn't get any better until the last couple of days. They are finally not taking naps and they are sleeping to at least 6:30 in the morning. I will so happy if they will at least sleep until 7, but I will take 6:30 any day now.

The girls are settling down with us. I thought the "honey-moon" phase would last longer than a couple of days. NOPE - not for them. I am glad though because it gives us a chance for them to build their trust with us. I am actually liking the "fussing" that happens at least once a day with each one. It is really strengthening our love for one another. :0) The girls have started to share stories with me about their home in Ghana, mother, grandmother, father, and Eban House. It is so interesting to listen to them and see their perspective on things. Again, I wasn't quite ready for this because I was still thinking the "honey-moon" phase would be longer. But, I am thankful that they love and trust me to share things with me.

I do have to stay how proud I am of the girls. They have trusted and loved me enough to bring them on an airplane over here to a completely different country / life style.

*They trust me enough to give them time-outs.
*They trust me enough to feed them.
*They trust me enough to say "No" to them.
*They trust me enough to love them.
*They trust me enough to kiss them.
*They trust me enough to tuck them in.
*They trust me enough to share stories with me.
*They trust me enough to take them in the car. . . . . . They trust me!

Jarett is still new with them. They don't seem to pull as much stuff with him as they do with me. But, they have been with me more and he is back to working so they are with me ALL day long. I told him, don't worry, he will get his share when I go back to work in 2 weeks. He will be home with them all by himself for 4 days. I think he will feel really loved by them. :0)

I will be excited when school starts because the routine will be really good for them. We are not in a routine because it is summer. So I think this may a little harder for them. I am keeping to the eating schedule which is great for them and the sleeping schedule is getting better. It's hard when it stays light until almost 9 at night here. But tomorrow we will have to work better at the sleeping instead of the swimming. The girls are fishes. They are doing so good with swimming. Racheal basically has it. She just needs to keep practicing. She can swim to the wall but she seems to push off pretty hard to get there. Rita loves the float, so we need to get her off that and practicing swimming.

But......the first week is over and they are adjusting great. The three children are adjusting and trying to figure out where they stand. All we do is reassure everyone how much we love them and how God gave us each other. We talk about our feelings and definitely pray. :0)

Thank you to everyone who has supported us with this journey so far. It's not easy, but it is rewarding for everyone in the Baxter household.

Chalene

"Ghana" Go to the Dentist

2008-07-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today was the trip to the dentist for all 5 children. Rita and Racheal did very well for their first appointment. They were a little curious about it, but we talked about the tooth doctor counting their teeth. We love our dentist. He is so good with children. They did very well. They had pictures of their teeth taken (X-rays). It was so cute because they would smile while getting the X-rays. Just as if they were getting pictures taken.

All the check-ups went well. Racheal is cavity free. Next week, she is going to get sealants on her back teeth. She has something stuck in between two teeth and it is irritating her gum. It must have hurt pretty bad because she cried and wouldn't let them get it out. So, we are going to try to use "bubbles" to help relax her and then they are going to numb it, so they can get it out. I am going to try to floss there sometime this weekend and see if I can get it out. It will be a one shot deal though because she won't let me do it twice.

Rita has the tooth that needs to be pulled. She has an infection under it and that is what is causing it to be painful. The tooth has a cavity that is down to the nerve and has gotten infected. She only has 3 smaller cavities, so she will be getting the liquid that will put her to sleep so they can do all of that. Hopefully, things will do great with this.

Karleigh is free and clear. Kaiden has 2 cavities between his teeth. We need to work on the flossing with him. Karson has teeth that are very low with enamel. He grinds his teeth at night and now one of them is cracked. So he has some work to get done. OUCH!

They are got floride and did very well with that. I just love our dentist and how they make the visit fun for them. Well, Racheal didn't care so much for it. :0)

On a separate note, I will definitely be spelling Richeal's name ...Racheal. Just with the dentist, they mispronounced her name everything they said it. They would call her "Richell".

Here is a picture of the girls on their first night with me. They love their "beauty" caps. They wear them at night to keep their hair beautiful.

This picture is of the "first" swim experience for the girls. They are fishes now.

The girls on the airplane. They did so well and felt right at home. :0)

This is right after we got off the plane. Big sis, took right over. They now LOVE their sister. She can do NO wrong! :0)

They all wanted to sleep together.

One Busy Mom of 5,
Chalene

Family of 7

2008-07-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

We are now physically and emotionally a family of 7. The girls did well on the plane ride. They had a great time. They ate everything that was given to them on the plane. They watched movies, colored, and slept a bit. The plane ride from NY to AZ was good as well. The girls fell asleep before we even took off and slept the whole way home. I had to wake them up to go to the restroom and get ready to land. Rita was great with meeting everyone. She went up to her daddy and hugged him. Richeal was more nervous. I was holding her hand and her hand was sweaty. She went straight to Karleigh.

When we got home, they looked at their bedroom, the dogs, and the cats. They were afraid of the dogs at first. We showed them how to love them and then they were fine. All the kids slept together in the twin's room. The fell asleep around 2:30 am. We kept it calm the next day since everyone was tired.

We did have to go to Walmart to get groceries. We told all the kiddos that they could buy one toy to celebrate our family being together. Rita picked out a guitar, Richeal picked out a wedding barbie, Karleigh got a snowcone maker, Kaiden got some type of game, and Karson got a surf board for the pool. Everyone did well with picking out their toys. Then we went to the food part of Walmart. That was the challenging part. "Mommy, I like". . . . "Mommy, I like". . . . . ."Mommy, I like"
So I gave them jobs to help pick out what was on my list. Yes, you read it right, I made a list. I figure I have to make these trip fast, so I made a list.

The foods the girls have tried:
chicken nuggest: love them
spaghetti with meat sauce: like them
different types of rice: love them
carrots: only like if cooked
cereal: like it
french toast: didn't like
scrambled eggs: love them
skim milk: like it
Ritz cracers: like them
PBJ: love it
Just Plain Peanut Butter: love it

I am having trouble getting my pictures on my computer. I have a picture though of all the kids together. This is the picture below.

Last Day in Ghana

2008-06-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Today for our last day here in Ghana was relaxing and fun. We went to the La Palm Beach Hotel (mini America). I absolutely LOVE this place. It is very expensive but so worth the money. We got there around 10:30 and left at 4:30. The girls swam literally all day. They got to the point of kicking and moving their arms in the water. They are now offically swimmers. :0) The only time they got out of the pool was to eat. It was an awesome day because there were so many children playing in the pool. The girls were not shy to make friends. They all played together very well. There were all different ethnic groups of people so it was fun for them to play with all types of people. There was a guy with his family and Rita said "That man looks like daddy". It was sweet. The girls really can't wait to meet everyone. They are so excited to leave and come to America.

I do think we allowed them to swim way to much. It was difficult getting them out and boy, were tantrums coming out of the wood work. So far, it has been one girl at a time with a little tantrum. Today it was both and it was harder. They are pushing to see how far they can go. They are quickly learning "not far" at all with me. I reinforce how much I love them, but I won't allow them to run away or throw themselves on the floor. As soon as I say that, they are ok. So I think they are testing and see where the boundaries are and also seeing if I still love them. The minute I express I love them, they calm right down. So............

We ate FUFU today for dinner. This has been my least favorite thing to eat. It was hard to eat but I got enough down to last until tomorrow.

Well this will be my last post until we are HOME FOREVER! I will post pictures as soon as I can.

Please keep us in your prayers for the safe flight home.

Chalene

True Shopping Girls

2008-06-29T01:53:00.000-07:00

The girls showed me yesterday that they are true shopping girls. They fit right in the other kids at home. They knew exactly what they wanted. They did very well with not asking for everything. They just knew what they wanted and moved on. Good Girls! I bought them a Ghanian hat, soccer shirt, doll (two headed - you flip the skirt and one side it is Ghanian and the other is American), and 2 drums. The gentlemen that Leigh Ann bought drums from on our first trip saw her and grabbed her to come back. We did and they even gave us a show with the drums. I, of course, video taped it. :0)

After shopping, we went to see the lawyer. He met with us and talked to Percy and Leigh Ann. He is so nice. He really cares for the children and seems to do a fantastic job. He told us that he will take the case and he will talk to the director of social welfare. He told us no worries that he will convince him because this is a special case. He also said this is the last single woman case he will do. I guess this is really hard to do. We just thank God that He jumped in for Leigh Ann and Akwise.

Last night was a little scary for us. As we were driving home, there was a lot of traffic. This means that it took us an hour to get back to the guest house. This is only a fifteen minute drive home with no traffic. Our driver decided to take a short cut and we ran into a street that was having a funeral of one of their leaders. In the Ghanian culture, they will carry the body (not in a casket) but holding it up in the air. They do this so the body will direct the people to all their favorite places before being buried (this is what our driver told us). Well the body decided he wanted to come our way. The people on the side of the street were yelling at us to move. They get VERY ANGRY if you don't listen to them. We were told they will smash your windows and egg your car. We even saw a guy with a huge gun walking down the street. Our driver said they mean business when a funeral of a leader is going on. So we turned onto a side street. Well, that street was a dead end. So we went back up that way. The body at that time decided to go another way. We just squeaked by as people were yelling at us. We did make it but it's a story for us. Since I still don't have a 3 inch roach story, I will take this one.

Today we are going to "mini America" and spend the day in the pool and beach. We plan to be back by around 4 or 5. This will give us time to pack, eat, and get to bed early. Percy is picking us up at 6 am to go to the airport. The traffic is very bad so we need to leave to be able to make it. Our wonderful friends here at the guest house will have breakfast for us. That is so sweet because this is early for them. I tell you how much I adore our friends here. One of them asked me for my flip flops. I may leave them for here. They are old but would look good on her feet. :0)

What has been so much fun with the girls is seeing their "first" of everything. Their laugh makes me laugh. They are so playful! I just love and adore them. They rode the elevator for the first time the other day. Going up was scary for them but now they laugh at it. I can't wait until they see America - boy, are they going to have a blast.

I don't know if I will be able to blog again until we are in America. I will try but if not then you will hear from me when we are in America again. YEAH - I can't wait. :0)

**** Mom - the girls know the video word by word, even the part that Karleigh jumps in and says "She spoils us". They laugh every time. They know the words to the other video that Karleigh, Kaiden, and Karson did for them. :0)

I know there are probably lots of errors in these posts, but I have to type fast or I will have a little helper at some point.

Chalene

Eventful Day

2008-06-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Today was such an eventful day! The girls slept in until 6:45 (WOO-HOO). We got to the Eban House aroung 9:30 or so. The girls went to school and we painted. Muna also painted with us. She told us that she loves to paint. We painted the hallway a cream color. It is really pretty. It took us about 3-4 hours because we had to do 2-3 coats. The children wrote on the walls and it was harder to cover it up, so we did more coats. The girls "took" a nap at the House. We were still painting so I thought they could join the group and slow down a bit. Well, nap time was very fun to watch the older children who didn't want to take a nap. More of the story to come later.

We then went to the Palm Hotel to take the girls swimming. The is the hotel that Jennine stayed at with Selina. All I can say is OMG! It is beautiful and so much fun for families. It is just how Jennine discribed it "a little America". The girls were so excited to swim. They got into the pool and say on the steps. They splashed around. They finally got the courage to let us hold them to take them into the water further into the pool. They screamed while laughing! Rita was the one who did the first under the water with her face. Racheal saw and did it too. It was so fun to watch them be in the pool. They absolutely loved it. By the end of the 2 1/2 hours of swimming, the girls have learned how to go under water by themselves. Rita is almost about to swim. She is right there! We are planning on going all day Sunday. They have a place to eat lunch and get ice cream. You can also get to the beach out of their gate. So we will spend most of the day there. It cost $10 per adult and $5 per child. It is so worth it because the girls had a BLAST! I wish I would have experienced this on the first trip then I would have saved up more money to have a couple of days there for the girls. But that is ok since we love our guesthouse we are at. They are so awesome with the girls and they make us our meals.

Tomorrow we are going shopping and have our last couple of hours at the Eban House. Leigh Ann would like to her soon to be little boy one more time to say "good - bye!" That is going to be so hard since he has cried the last couple of times we left the House. I hope and pray that he will trust her and know she will do whatever it takes to bring him home. He needs so much love and one on one. I especially can't wait for my sister to be a full time parent - she has her work cut out for her - Ha-Ha! :0)

The girls are asleep so I have some extra time to get caught up on emails. We only have 2 more days until we leave. I am ready to be a little more into my own routines and I miss my kiddos so much!

Hi Baby Girl (Karleigh)
Hi Big Boy (Kaiden)
Hi Karson-Warson
Hi Hun
I miss you all so much. We can't wait to come home! See you Monday night!

Chalene

God's Miracles Today

2008-06-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Today was a day full of miracles that only God could have provided for us. Here they are:
* My sister has fallen in love with one of the boys at Eban House on her first trip. She is single and in the Ghanian law, they won't let single women adopt. Well, we met with this lady at Social Welfare today. We all went (me, the girls, the boy, Leigh Ann and Percy) to talk to her. The meeting was emotional for all of us. The lady pull the little boy up to talk to him, then she talked to Leigh Ann. Her first words were telling us about the law and what it says. My sister spoke up and talked to her. She did begin to cry (as Americans do). Then the chain reaction began: I cried then the little boy cried. We were all crying! The lady even began to cry with us. Her final words were "we will make it happen". Wow - what powerful words that only God could have given her. The little boy said in the van while we were driving "TT is going to be my mother". Such precious words from him, if you only knew his past and the hard life he has expericenced so far.

* I met the girls' family. I especially wanted to meet with their mother and grandmother. They were so grateful and happy to see how well they were doing. Of course, that was emotionally as well. The girls were running to everyone when we got there. They were so excited. I was very surprised but they kept coming up to me and holding my hand and wanting to be held. They acted proud of me. I almost lost it about 3 times. I held off until I hugged their mom and got into the van. Oh Boy, that was hard but in a good way hard. We got pictures and I even got a video of their mom and grandmother saying a message that they will treasure one day when they are old enough to really under what is going on.

* The little boy that is afraid of white people that just came to Eban House, did not hiss or pinch us today. He actually smiled and walked up to Leigh Ann and hugged her. He even let her put the straw in his juice box. That was a miracle!

* We had the girls' going away party today as well. The children ate biscuits (cookies) and drank from juice boxes. They also did some dancing and singing. Of course I got some video of that. :0)

* We have not experienced any tantrums yet. I thought for sure we were going to because the girls didn't eat until 2:30 and they didn't get a nap. They were very tired and almost lost it but didn't.

Well, that's it for today and guess who just walked in so I for sure have to go.
:0)

Chalene

The First Day Has Ended

2008-06-25T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the first full day with the girls. They woke up at around 6:30. They were so good as they just played quietly with their toys as we woke up. I was awake but my body wasn't. It was hard to sleep the first night. I listened to them breath and watched them roll around. Racheal is definitely a flip flop type of sleeper. She kept ending up by me. I had her foot on knee and her head under my arm. I wonder if she used to sleep like that where she would move until she came across the wall. I think that because she did the same thing when we took a nap. Rita is a very still sleeper. She only turned once, at least while I was up (most of the night).

We went to the Eban House for about an hour and a half. Rita and Racheal were so excited to see everyone and show them their new shoes. The Aunties said they already look like Americans. The girls seemed to miss the Eban House a bit. So we are going to try to do short visits. After their nap, we went again and this time they asked to leave to go home. Now I am thinking they are beginning to understand us being today. I took pictures of the girls by their bed that they slep in at the Eban House. Racheal got her welcome bag back and her photo album. Rita said she didn't have hers because they (| think Percy) is going to show it to her mother. I said the stupidest thing, "I am your mother". She said "My mother in Ghan". That was so sweet and touching to hear. She recognizes that she has 2 mothers. I am so glad because I know the day will come and she will begin to ask questions.

Tomorrow we are going to an appointment and on our way we are going to stop by the girls' grandmother's house to ask permission to come and visit with everyone. Percy told me that their mother is in the home. I am so looking forward to talking with her and getting pictures. I am hoping to get video of her and their grandmother as well giving a message to the girls. That will be a treasure for them one day.

I think we are doing the going away party for the girls tomorrow. I am not sure how long our appointment is going to take. The girls want to go swimming so we are going to do this Friday morning when all the children are at school. I am also hoping to go to the beach and shopping in the next couple of days. I am watching how the girls are responding to what we are going.

New things for them today:
going to the restroom at a resturant: there was no toilet paper for the #2 thing. This was new to me too, so I let the girls use my hanking (yes, it was thrown away.)

Eating out: we have done this before but they are more comfortable with me, so we are working on trusting that I will feed them and they won't go hungry. I take snacks with us and make sure we eat at the same time they are used to at the Eban House.

Blowing Bubbles in a coke bottle: we learned that the fizz from the bubbles can get all over us and form a puddle on the chair.

The children at the Eban House all got their envelopes of cards and pictures. They loved them. Especiall little Victoria - she carried her pictures (of herself) all around. Thanks to a mom that visited a week ago for getting those pictures together for the children that don't have referral just yet. They loved them and felt very special. I haven't been able to capture a lot of sayings from the children because the House if full and it is very hard to talk to each one and give one on one attention. We are trying but it is difficult.

That about it for now. We just ate chicken and rice for dinner and took our baths. We are smelling really good now. :0)

Chalene

I Have Delivered Two 50 Pound Baby Girls

2008-06-25T02:02:00.000-07:00

Boy, this was the BEST labor ever delivering 2 fify pound baby girls. It was a Blast! They smiled so BIG when I first saw them yesterday!

It was a late start to our day. We got to the hotel and unpacked everything. I got the girls' things put away and placed all their toys on their bed. I was hoping they would feel like it was Christmas because they deserve it. Auntie Charity did the girls hair. I helped braid their hair. It was funny because the Aunties kept watching me. They seemed to approve of my braiding because they kept letting me do it. On of them told me I braid better than her. I have to disagree but it was a nice thing to say. Rita and Racheal came with us tonight. They walked into the room and went through all their toys and put on their backpacks. They went through their clothes and right away took off their clothes and put on their sleeping clothes. They both tried on their shoes and they FIT! Boy, that was a worry for me. I kept using Karson as my shoe model and he did great! :0)

rrrrrrrrttrrrrrr251rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (This was Rita getting "r" happy)

Anyways things new to them:

shower: they had a blast playing in the shower. They were giggling and washing themselves.
Blanket: they loved it but threw it off when they fell asleep.
Taxi ride: That was an adventure with the driver we had
Hair Caps: They wore them and loved them

Todays plans are relaxing. We are going to the Eban House to play with the children for a while. We are planning for their going away party to be tomorrow. I hope to meet their family on Friday. The girls said they want to sleep with us again tonight. I don't know that they fully understand what is going on but we are taking it slow with them. :0)

Rachel is now playing with the mouse so I think I better go before things shut off.

Chalene
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0000

It's All Coming Together

2008-06-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

The count down has begun! I am 3 days away from leaving. I know I leave on Monday which is technically 4 days, but I have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning to go to the airport because my plan leaves at 6:00 am. So I am not really counting Monday as a real day. :0)

I have finished the second coat of the paint on the girls' wall. Jarett worked on the flowers and green stripe today. He did the flowers all free handed! :0) Butterflies are the last bit of art on the walls and then we are completely finished. Here is a picture of phase 2 of the painting. :0)

Ok, so I may be a bit of a procrastinator. This picture are some of the things I am planning on packing for the girls. As I have bought things and I knew I wanted to take them with me, then the old bed would be my holder. Not to worry, I will eventually (for sure by Sunday) organize the stuff.

I am planning on taking custody as soon as I get my first hug and kiss. The girls are ready and so am I. There are around 30-35 children total in the Eban House. I can help out by taking 2 beautiful and loving girls off their hands the minute I see them. :0)

Chalene

Sir-really?

2008-06-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I look back at this journey and ask God, "Sir, really this is happening?". I do that because about a year and a half ago, we really didn't belong to a church and our faith was in a "still" moment. We had been like this for about 2-3 years. Jarett and I are believers but we were in a time where we weren't connected to a church. We belonged to one church for about ten years but we were changing in a direction where our church wasn't. We felt we weren't connect in any way to our church. I am not sure why that happened. We did continue to attend our first church but we were just doing the motion not really engaged.

We attended our now "home" church, The Grove. On the second time we went to service there, they were talking about mission trips to Africa. There was one trip that spoke to me, Malawi. This was a trip that was working with children in orphanages and feeding programs. I remember sitting in the chair and talking to God about this trip. He told me to go. I did and now look where our family is: we are adopting 2 twin girls. Jarett and I have 2 new daughters and Karleigh, Kaiden, and Karson have 2 new sisters. I knew in my head that if you listen to God and do what He calls you to do, then He will bless you in a way you never thought. Now I know in my heart exactly what that means. Both Jarett and I love these two girls unconditionally. The love we have for them is unbelievable! God has Blessed us in a very "surreal" way!

Below is a picture of the girls' room (well one wall) half painted. We are going to work on the rest this week.

This is a picture of their bedding that I have talked about.

This is a picture of the type of butterfly that Jarett is going to paint on their wall. It will all come together.

6 more days until I leave to bring Rita and Richeal HOME FOREVER!

Chalene

Being a Single Mom

2008-06-14T09:08:00.000-07:00

As some of you know Jarett has been in Liberia for the last 2 weeks. I am so excited that he will be home tonight. I have been a single mom for 2 weeks. This is the first time where I have had this call of duty for this long of a time period. I do have to say that my parents (especially my dad) has helped me through it because I have also been taking a physics class.

I know of some amazing single moms and boy, to be amazing at this job you have to work your tail off. I was up every night until 12:00 cleaning and staying on top of everything and I don't even feel like I was close to be as amazing as the single moms that I know. So to my single moms that are so AMAZING, how much I admire you.

I do though have to express how EXCITED I am to see Jarett. I miss him so much. I am hoping for a HUGE hug!

My mom and I are painting the girls room. I have completely changed the colors that I was originally thinking. I found exactly what I was looking for. Tomorrow I will post a picture of their room - hopefully it will be finished. :0)

Chalene

I've Have Dialated to a 9!

2008-06-10T16:35:00.000-07:00

After a couple of phone calls to the Embassy in Ghana today, I got to hear the words I was hoping to hear, "We no longer have your file, it was approved and sent to the consolate department". For some reason I had this huge feeling of relief come over me. It was so peaceful. I think it was peaceful because I know that I get to sleep tonight. I have such a hard time going to sleep knowing that I have to wake up at 2 am to call and then try to get back to sleep. I am taking a class this week and next week. I have to get up in the morning at 6:30 so when I finally fall back asleep, I feel like I haven't had any sleep at all. Thanks to Diet Coke - it has helped me through the day. :0)

This picture is of us on the last day that I was in Ghana. I was holding back the tears big time. Richeal's face has a creme on it for a virus she had that day. She didn't like it on her face and kept trying to rub it off. I told her she looked beautiful and now she even looks more like mommy. She laughed and left it alone for a while. Rita was more quiet that day and before the picture. Boy, I just can't wait to see them again! :o)

My mom is coming over this Saturday to help me paint the girls' room. I am excited to be completely finished with their room. I still need to get a couple more things for them but I still have a little while to do it. I know the procrastinating Chalene is coming out. I am working hard to not procrastinate this next trip which is in a week and a half. :0)

I do want to take a moment to personally thank my parents. They have gone above and beyond the call of parenting by helping us out with taking care of the children when we needed it. My mom has helped me get more organized (some of your know what a chore that could be)with our house. My dad has been watching the children this week and next week for me so I could take this class. It is saving us so much money, so for him to do this for us is awesome. So thank you so much MOM and DAD - I love you very much and I will be forever grateful that you have helped us during this time of our life.

Chalene

Taking Custody

2008-06-06T16:19:00.000-07:00

Today we got an email about how soon we could take custody of our daughters. I get to take FULL custody right away from when I arrive there (as long as I have the I-600 approval). I am very excited and can't wait since the girls kept asking me to go with me when I was there the first time. They are more than ready and so are we. I am hoping to find a hotel that has a pool and is close to shopping, eating and the beach. I am looking for PARADISE! I should be able to find something like that!

June 23 is the day my sister and I are off again to Ghana, Africa. As long as everything goes well, we will be home on July 1st at 11:30 at night. This is going to be a hard time to come in but it is what is available at a good deal. We will all definitely be tired the next day but that's ok because we are just going to relax and bond as a family.

I went shopping the other day for the twins. I have been holding off because I really didn't know what to buy them. I didn't know their sizes for clothes or shoes. I didn't know what type of toys they would like, so I have held off until now. My class chipped in an gave me gift cards and money for the twins. This was amazing since we are pretty much broke at this point. :0) I bought the girls underwear, shoes, socks, PJ's, some outfits, and some toys. It was really fun to shop for them because now I feel like I know them enough to know what they would like. I did find a cute shirt that has the United States on the front of it. I am saviing that one for the plane ride home. :0)

Chalene

Your File is Under Review

2008-06-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

That is what the lady had told me when I called at 2 AM to the Embassy in Ghana. It was what I was expecting since I had a feeling that this wouldn't be the week of approval. I have a feeling that next week will be it. They are asking for all kinds of documents that weren't asked for before. I know they are doing their job but this can get frustrating. I wish I could sit with them and go over the paper work with the person who is making the decision. That way if they have any questions then I am there to answer them in person (since I was there once before). It would be great to be able to call and the lady tell me that yes it was approved. What a releif that phone call would be! A friend of mine, emailed me an email that says "Whatever problem you are facing today, God will handle it". It said more but was nice to read because literally I don't have any control over this, so giving it up to God is the only way I can go. He has planted the seed of adoption in our family and He has been completely involved in this so I can't stop my faith now. Lord it is in your hands now!

Keeping the Faith!
Chalene

Making Our First Phone Call

2008-06-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of the girls with their aunt (who we call TT). They love their TT. If mommy was busy holding one of the girls, the other one would go to TT. She was called "their second mom". She was like that! She loved them and played with them just like she does our other children. This is the TT that Richeal said "Mommy, TT needs a new hand to eat with". She is left handed and it wasn't approved just yet with Richeal for her eating with it.

This morning at around 2:00 am, I will making our first phone call to the Embassy in Ghana. Now this is the phone call that I am not expecting much information. First, if I get through and speak to someone - that would be a miracle. Second, if they give me any information - that would be another miracle. So this phone is..... I am thinking is .....False Labor. You know "false labor" that is getting you prepared for motherhood. I know the first couple of months we may have sleepless nights and very tired days, but I would still love to hear that the I-600 was approved. I am not very hopeful just yet until I hear those words. I know it will happen and hopefully within this week, but again I will wait for our loved ones.

On a side note, Jarett emailed us and it was very exciting to hear from him. He is doing great and having an awesome time. Yesterday they painted the girls dorm room and he said it looks really good. I am so excited and proud of him for stepping out of his comfort zone to service God. This is an amazing opportunity for him and I am so glad that the Lord has provided it for him. I love him so much and we are so grateful that God has given him to us as our leader of our family! He is amazing father and husband. I love you Hun! xxooxxooxx

Chalene

Our First Meeting

2008-05-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of our first time we met each other. We had just gotten off the airplane and we were very tired. The girls were asleep so the aunties went and woke up the girls so we could meet each other. I thought I would be nervous and I wondered what I would say. This moment was a moment I dreamed of for a long time. The moment came and I was very calm and at peace. I got the feeling of confirmation that these two beautiful girls are really suppose to be ours. Thank you Lord for trusting us to take care of and love your children.

Chalene

Bumps in the Road

2008-05-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

I strongly believe that "bumps in the road" to anything you are trying to accomplish in life is a chance to grow spiritually. We have had some of these bumps happen during this adoption process that has definitely strengthen us spiritually. I believe that Satan is not happy with us because we are serving God by loving 2 beautiful girls that He has given us. Rita and Richeal! I was thinking how amazing God is to allow us to LOVE these girls unconditionally, just as if they were our biological daughters. I was so overwhelmed with high emotions and anxiety the last day I was in Ghana. I knew the day would come that I would have to say good-bye for now and that seemed to be the hardest thing I had to do as a mother. I tried so hard to keep it together but I lost it several times. How do you keep it together saying good-bye to your daughters who want so badly to come home with you and you wanting them to come home just as badly? It was hard but it was something that now I see has strengthen me more. I know the next time I see and hug them then it's for real that they will leave with me to join our family.

Gettting back to the bumps in the road - we got the phone call today that God has answered our prayer last night with our agency getting the death certificate for our daughter's biological father. This is the document we needed to finish our file for our I-600 approval. I really didn't worry about it, but every night I talk to God and I just happened to ask if He would continue to be in the center of this process. Well, He did it! This of course strengthened me more today.

Tuck in on the Last Night

2008-05-26T02:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we have no 3 inch roach story to tell. I am very disappointed because that was one thing I was looking forward to. We do have other stories and memories. It was really neat when Rita and Richeal talked to me about remembering when we did the computer web cam. That is neat because that is their first memory of us talking to them, so that is pretty cool.

Last night I got to have the girls talk to their daddy, 2 brothers, and grandpa. Their sister was out shopping with grandma, so she didn't get to talk to them. They really like their sister, so that was a little disappointing for them. I got to tuck the girls in for my last night. It was really cute because I was leaning down and talking to Rita. I hugged Rita and told her I loved her and we gave good night kisses. Then I stepped over Selina and Ishamel (they were sleeping on the floor) and went to Richeal. I did the same thing. I notice the room was very quiet and after our good night kisses, I turned around and everyone was starring and laughing. Especially Elizabeth! So as she was climbing up to bed, I grabbed her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She laughed so hard. Well, then it spiraled with the other girls. They were laughing and trying to get me to do the same with them. Little Victoria was on the bottom bunk and she grabbed my leg and laughed so hard. It was so cute how the girls were responding to this. They will need lots of kisses. I don't know if kissing is a big deal in their culture or maybe it's just not done at the home. I am not sure. I am thinking it's just not part of their culture? Anyways, they seem to like it and laugh like it tickles. In my family, we are very affectionate. That was one thing as a mother I promised myself I would do with my children. I wanted them to grow up and be affectionate people. Rita and Richeal have really responded to it well.

Last night was the first night that the girls watched TV and didn't require to sit on us. It seems like they are getting more settled with us - which is awesome. We talked last night about today being my last day with them. I am really hoping I won't cry or show a tear when I give my last kiss. We talked a lot about it and talked about what will happen when we come back. They seem like they understand, so this departure will help for them to build more trust and love between us.

This has been such a relaxing but wonderful trip. I feel like I know all the children and especially know Rita and Richeal. I am sure as I get home and get back into the routine I will remember more about the children. We have basically lived at the Eban House. We haven't even really spend much money because we have been there most of the time. That was my goal though. I wanted every minute I could have to get to know the routines and the children's personalities. I asked the staff if I could watch the bath routine and they were happy for me to do that. I watch Rita and Richeal give themselves baths and watched how they picked out their cloths (clothes). The children don't seem to have favorites of anything. They seem to love everything. If you ask them what is your favorite color, they will respond " I like la color blue" but if you show them the color green, they will say "I like la color green". They do love to ride bikes. We brought the bikes out and that started a little bit of argueing between the children. We showed them a little path they could ride and then they give the bike to the next person in line. That seemed to help keep the calmness down. :0) They do need more bikes and especially trikes. Maybe that is a project that I could begin. I just don't know where they will keep them though if they get more. The absolutely love to ride them and they are very good with it.

Yesterday Percy showed up to take Leigh Ann and I out to the market. It was fun bargaining with the gentlemen. They weren't as pushing as what I expericenced in Malawai. They seemed to give up more. Leigh Ann got some really cool drums and other things. I didn't get the drums this time but next time. I got maracas and some hand ball thing. It will all make music though when we do our "Music Night" that we will be adding to our family tradition (thanks to Anita for the idea).

Well I will post when I get home and get the final report cards finished. :0)

Chalene

I Want to Be Your Friend

2008-05-24T13:13:00.000-07:00

We have met a lot of people being on our own and venturing out. Some people say |"I want to be your friend". So we have many friends here. We have a taxi driver that gave us his phone number so we could call him to take us places. He was single, so I asked Muna if she would like a "friend". She laughed at me and said "No". I take that as she doesn't want us to set her up. We know many friends, so if she wants one then I told her to let me know and I will help her get one. We laughed a lot. The resturant we have gone to twice - we have many friends there. The waitress will greet us and say "Welcome my friend". Lots of friends here in Ghana!

Today we went to the African Market. We bought some really neat things there. I saw a carved chair with a giraffe and I Love it. I want to go back to get it. I don't know if I will but for sure the second trip. Leigh Ann and I ate our first FULL fish. The head and everything was on our plate. It tasted very good though. We got it fried. The sight of the fish was a little different than we are used to, but at least we tried and ate about half of it. :0)

Richeal and I had our first "Little" disagreement. It felt good! She wanted me to bring her a watch tomorrow so she could wear it to church. I told her "No, I will bring a watch for you on our next visit, so you could wear it all the time". I explained to her that the house mothers wouldn't let her wear it very long and I want her watch to be a special gift that she can put on once and keep it. She got a little moody with me and did the attitude I know all so well. She went and sat off by herself. I asked her to come join us and she just ignored me. I went off and played with the other children and eventually she came back to play. I told her I love her but in America we don't get to have everything we want. Sometimes, things are special that we have to wait for. She understood - I think. She was back to her old self. It felt good to have that for the first time. I feel she is seeing me as a parent.

I can tell that Rita is going to be a mommy's girl. She loves to come to me and stays with most of the time. Richeal seems like she will be a daddy's girl. She seems to be more tomboyish and loves to learn everything. I can tell with her personality she will go far in this life. Rita is much more easy going. At this point I feel Rita, Karleigh, and Kaiden will pair up and Richeal and Karson will pair up. Karson and Richeal have the personality that seems to be stronger but in a postitive direction. I see both of them playing the video games that challenge their minds.

The left hand topic came up today! Richeal told me, "T.T. needs a new hand to eat with". I laughed so hard. TT said she knew Richeal would say something at sometime. When we went out to eat the other day, she gave TT a weird look as she was eating. We will explain to her that in America, you can eat with whichever hand you want to use. Karleigh is left handed also, so we will definitely have to have this conversation.

I am so impressed with the routine that the Eban House has with the children. They know exactly what to do. It is such an awesome feeling to know while you are waiting for your paperwork to clear, your children are being loved.

I brought bracelets for the children to make. I am hoping that Monday we can do that. Ruth didn't want to do it this weekend. I think she wants to get Muna's approval, so we will wait. Monday is packed with lots of things.

I hope my family understands that I will probably not be smelling very nice when I get off the airplane. We are going to try to take a shower before we leave for the airport, but with this heat and humidity, it might be a wasteful shower. Oh Well, it's the smell my family will have to love until I take a shower. My children want to go to Peter Piper Pizza right after the airport, so it may be a while before I can take another shower. YUM!

Chalene

Life's First Lesson

2008-05-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Percy explained some of the Ghanian culture to Leigh Ann and I. The first life lesson of a child is "No means No and Yes means Yes". He explained it so well. I actually got to say "No" for the first time with the girls. As smart as Richeal is with my camera, I have come to the conclusion that I need to keep the camera with me. She loves to push the buttons and she does a great job with it. She got into my bag and took the camera out. I told her "No" and that "Just Mommy uses this camera". One day as she gets older, we can get her, her own camera. She responded very well.

Today we went to the market and bought rice, 25 big bags of little bags of water, flour and oil. We took this donation to the Kasos Orphanage. They were so grateful. They gave us a bag of water. We told them we were ok with our own water, but the Elder explained it was custom, so we gratefully excepted. They took us around the orphanage. It was a little depressing. The bedrooms only had about half of the beds with mattresses, which smelled of urine. The smell was very strong! We saw the kitchen, dining room, school rooms, and the bathroom. They asked us to take pictures of it. The really sad part of this trip was when we brought the water bags, as we left, the children were fighting over getting them first. This is an orphanage that definitely needs help.

We got back around 3:00. We were running late because Muna had a meeting with her staff at 2:00. Needless to say, we haven't eatten lunch yet. We played with the kids while they were meeting. I got the chance to trace one foot and one hand of each child, except Selina. She wanted no part in this. Richeal tried to help while Rita held Selina, but she still refused. We made paper airplanes, but they didn't fly very well. Jarett should be here, because he can make great airplanes. We also drew cats and dogs. Richeal says, "I want to kiss Cookie when I come to America". Leigh Ann and I tease her about this. We tell her that Cookie may beat her to the kiss.

I did get my first kiss from Richeal today. Yesterday she kissed my arm, but today she actually gave me a kiss. I asked Rita for a kiss and she did it, but was a little shy. After the mommy kiss, she smiled.

One of the little boys that begins with a W and ends with a S - was very cute today. He talked a lot more to me. He says he likes blue and purple. I was told by "Isa" that I have plenty of hair. That's nice to know since I am having a very difficult time with my hair being here. The four muskeers are just as wonderful. They are really coming around and talking more. They like cats and dogs.

Well I am hungry and want to eat my chicken and rice dinner. Update later. :0)

Chalene

Humidity VS My Hair

2008-05-22T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hands down - humidity wins! My hair is so wild here in Ghana. We are really close to the ocean. You can smell the salt in the breeze and feel nice and wet all day. I have worn my hair in a braid and pulled up. No way do I want to scare the girls or the other children with wild hair.

Today was a fun but relaxing day. My sister and I went to the Eban House around 9:30or so. The children were in school. We said Hi and went off to decorate the walls. We had such a good time with the staff. By the schedule wall, we put up "Staff" using vinyle. Above the bulletin board, we put "Eban" and under it we put "Established 2007". I brought the word "Home" with me and it's the wrong word. So when I come back, we will add the word "House" to the Eban. Under the bulletin board, we put "Home Forever". It looks really nice. We took pictures of the staff memebers with the polaroid camera. Muna was the first one. We took about 4 different pictures of her. The light was so bright in the house that the pictures weren't turning out to be as nice. We also took a picture of each of the children. It was cute to see the staff brushing their hair, getting them all ready to go. That tells you how much they care about the children. They are an amazing group of people. They care so much for the children.

Leigh Ann and I took Rita and Richeal out to lunch at a resturant. It was really good food. We ordered chicken and rice (what else). The girls got Fantas (2 of them). They downed those babies. They acted so well. They were very polite and ate it all! I have come to the conclusion that Richeal is very good with buttons and technology. Karson better watch out - I think she is as good as he is. She figured out how to work my camera (she is very good) and how to play back the pictures. Both of the girls were taking pictures of everything including leaves, trees, chair legs...you name it! Richeal told me she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Rita says she wants to be a kitchen lady when she grows up. I am thinking I have the best of both worlds. I will have a doctor and a cook in the family. :)

It is really funny to walk into the house and all the children call me "Mommy". I thought at first they don't understand about Mommys, but one of the children said "That's Rita and Richeal's Mommy", so then I knew.

It was really cute, Rita and Richeal were talking about their muscles and how strong they are. Then Richeal said "My daddy has really big muscles, see..." That was so cute! She just loves her daddy. She keeps asking to see him. Both of the girls seem like they are ready to come to America. They want to go on "Friday" to American. It has been hard telling them that this was a visit and the next time I come, they get to go home.

Tomorrow we are going to the Kasos Orphanage to deliver food. I am excited to visit there and see everything. Well my eyes are getting heavy so I better close my eyes!

Chalene

I'm Here!

2008-05-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

God is so amazing! That was my first thought being on the airplane, going to my hotel, and meeting my daughters for the first time! I anticipated the first meeting to be very slow to and warming up to me. It was not like that at all. They walked through the door (after being woken up) and came to me right away. I hugged and kissed them. They told me they were so happy to see me. It was as if I have known them all their life. WOW - it was amazing!

Today I got to see them and all the children in the Eban House. All the children were in school. It was fun to watch them color and write their names. The childre were so sweet and excited to share their pictures with us. Their teacher is so wonderful with them. I also went to the Embassy to file the I-600. It went very smoothly. There is one piece of document that is possibly needed for my file. I am praying that they will except what I brought them. Please pray that God with the papers and let the I-600 to be approved. The twins want to come home so bad. Richeal is the one that keeps telling me that she wants to come to our house. She actually said after dinner and then she changed her mind to coming home on Friday. LOL She really needs to come home and be us as a family. She is so excited and goes around telling everyone she has 2 dogs and 3 cats. They are learning the names of their brothers and sister. They call Leigh Ann - TT (just like everyone else). They really like her also.

It is so neat to see Leigh Ann be out of her comfort zone. All the kiddos in the home sit on her lap, want her to hold them, play with her hair, touch her skin, and sit next to her. She looks and acts very natural with all the children. They just love her.

We gave out 10 welcome bags to the children that have families here in America. It was so exciting to watch them get so excited to see pictures of their families. They went around and show everyone their pictures. They are such a great group of kiddos in this home. They are so respectful and loving. Every family did so good with excepting their newest memebers. I will try to post tomorrow. We are playing on putting the vinyle sayings on the walls and taking pictures of everyone to tape to the wall. They are excited. I am going to go to bed now since we get woken up by a wonderful voice telling us that breakfast is ready. I thought at first we were going to rough it, but the staff at this hotel is so wonderful. I will definitely use them again. :0)

On Cloud Nine!
Chalene

Why Haven't I Packed Yet?

2008-05-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it's one full day left to pack to meet our daughters for the first time. It's such an important event to get ready for. Why haven't I packed yet? I have been doing everything else BUT packing. I am teacher to third graders. I love my class this year. The students have worked so hard, which is great because I have really pushed them to their limits. I want to make sure everything is perfect for them to end the year. I want them to know that even though I am not there physically, I am there for them. I had to plan their last full week and boy was that a job. I had to finish their report cards. I had to clean the classroom. The "I had to..." list keeps going. So, today is the day I had to take a nap, play with my children, love my animals, and just plain rest.

Tomorrow I will pack! :0)

Chalene

In About a Week

2008-05-09T21:37:00.000-07:00

In about a week, I will be in Ghana. It is so fast. It's a good thing, except I have so much to do without sacraficing my family time. I need to grade all the papers, do report cards, close down my classroom, finish all the end of the year paper work, go grocery shopping, make lists and reminders of special events of the children, pack, and so much more. No wonder my eyes are so red. I could use prayer in this area. There is some very special paper work that needs to be done for a special cause before I leave. I have to call around to get certain medical records and boy, it is so hard to do those types of things when I am working. God has actually given me much larger blocks of time next week and that is #1 on my list.

We got our adoption decree today. It was so amazing to see the girls name typed in an offical document with our last name. I showed the children what it is going to look. It is really special. Now, it will be very special to see them face to face. I can't wait! I am sure I haven't said that enough. :0)

Chalene

Love can Hurt

2008-05-07T22:06:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was very emotional for our family. We got news that is very disturbing and sad of one of our extended family members. It's so hard to love someone that doesn't want to be loved by family members. How do you help someone that doesn't want to be helped? It's hard and painful. I pray that God will open this person's heart and let family members in to help him get help.

It is difficult when you know Satan is in the middle of the whole thing. I believe the closer that Jarett and I get to bringing the girls home, the more Satan is going to try to step in and distract us. We are praying for God to stay in the middle of our lives and this process. We pray that He will step right in front of Satan and guide us to the right place with a happy heart.

On a Happier Note:

I bought my plane ticket so May 19 I will be leaving and heading out to Accra, Ghana. I can not wait to meet my little ones face to face. I am so excited. I haven't been able to sleep for the last couple of days. I got my visa paperwork done and mailed off. I really need prayers that I did the paper work correctly and the visa comes next week. :)

Chalene

Yes, it's True

2008-04-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

I am still waiting to hear about our adoption decree being completed and picked up. I have more than enough to do to keep me busy, but it's the times when I am settled down that I really miss the girls. I think about what am I going to say to them the first time I am face to face. I am trying to be prepared, but really how do you prepare yourself for this amazing moment in your life? Do I really need to say anything to them? Maybe crying, hugging, and kissing them is all that needs to happen in "that" moment. I wonder what they will say to me in "their" moment.

Adoption is very much like giving birth. You have to wait, wait, wait, and wait some more. You do get to eat anything you would like. LOL You have to prepare a room, get supplies, and prepare your family for the new edition(s). You still go through "nesting". Boy, I have been at this stage for about 3 months! :0) The best part that is like giving birth is......it's a Blessing from God. He is trusting us to love and care for His children. Sometimes it can be scary, because why us? But then I think . . . . why not us? We have the dedication, love, and support to give any child the opportunity to grow up and be successful in his/her life. So, then I change my "why us" to "Thank you for letting it be us".

Adoption is truely an amazing life long journey! I am glad to be apart of it! :0)

Chalene

Can you help?

2008-04-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

There is an orphanage in Ghana called the Kasoa Orphanage. Some of the children that are in the Eban Home now came from this orphanage. An email was sent and it said:

"THE CONDITION AT KASOA IS PATHETIC , THEY DON'T HAVE FOOD THERE AND THEY AREFORCED TO PREPARED BANKU AND THEY STARTED RUNNING TILL TODAY. ["running"is diarrhea, banku is a corn porridge mixed with cassava, is very cheap buthas almost no nutritional value) The children that this orphanage has sent to us have had terrible parasites due to the contaminated water supply.

If you have a passion for helping others in need, here is what you can do:

Donate a large or small amount of money to http://www.adoptionadvocates.org/welcome/entry.php (AAI = Adoption Advocates International) Click on donation
Designate it to the "Kasoa Orphanage - borehole project"
Pray asking the Lord to help fund this project so the borehole could be dug and the children will have cleaner water to drink.

If you would like to personally give me your money, I would be happy to take it with me to buy some groceries for them. This is a chance to not let life happenings skip over this opportunity. JUST DO IT! :)

One of my Passions

2008-04-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here they are: Rita and Richeal Baxter. As of Thursday, April 17, 2008, they are officially and legally ours. This picture is a picture that was taken of them the first day they arrived at the Eban Home. I will get more current pictures in a day or two. I am still figuring out this blog stuff. :0)

One of my passions is to make sure to love everyone. I really didn't understand the feeling of loving someone that wasn't born from me. That sounds really weird, but the day that we excepted them as our referral, was the day I loved them with all my heart. I have only met them through a web cam experience, but it was just like if they were in our living room. I love these two beautiful and precious girls just as if they were my biological children.

What's next for our journey?

Well, we are waiting for our adoption decree and the phone call that will come with it. This phone call will be the green light to schedule our flight over to Ghana. I am so excited that it's so hard to wait. I do still have a lot to do, so time will fly by pretty fast.

My Passion to "Just Do It"

2008-04-12T22:53:00.000-07:00

I believe to make a passion come alive you must act first, think later. I truely believe that if you stop to think things through, then you can actually let life happenings skip over your passions. This happened to me about 5-6 years ago. I had a church friend of mine, write out emails to everyone she knew asking for them to see if they would get tested to be a match for a bone marrow transplant that she needed. I thought about it for a while. I got the information and life happenings just happened. I spent too much time, thinking "I'll do it tomorrow". Well, three weeks later, she passed away. She left 2 children and her husband behind. My passion for helping someone got skipped over because I allowed my life happenings come first before helping her. This is something that has laid on my heart for a long time.
As my relationship gets stronger and closer to God, I realize that He never would "think" first to help someone out. He just did it! I try every day to be more and more like Him. Now, I don't think about helping someone out, I just do it! I have asked God for opportunities to show my passion of helping like He would and did. He has given me those opportunities and I am so thankful He has. I possiblity have the opportunity to help someone out with being a donor and I am not thinking this time, I am doing it! This is what Jesus would do, so I will do it too! This one is for your Lord! :0)