NEW BLOG UP AND RUNNING

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!!!!

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

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

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?

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 .....

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

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!