Tomorrow is day 54

Tomorrow is day 54 of our wait for our I600 approval.  We are anxiously waiting for some news and hoping it is soon.  They say 60 days maximum so it has to be soon!  Once we have that approval we will be on the last step of bringing Abi and Joseph home....their visas!!!  That process should only take 4-6 weeks.  We are SO ready to bring them home.  We really feel as prepared as we can be in every way.

We finished their rooms so here are a couple pics.  We really hope they are pleasantly surprised and feel loved.



Abi said she likes yellow!





Joseph is a "Football" (soccer) lover!



I had someone say to me the other day "at least you don't have to be pregnant".  I didn't mention that I would have welcomed pregnancy but also this wait post adoption has been very, very hard.  It is much harder than the wait during pregnancy.  Imagine giving birth to your child and then having to leave that child in a foreign country half way around the world for several months after birth?  That is how we feel.  We bonded with Abi and Joseph so strongly when we went to court in Ghana in October that leaving them there was heartbreaking.  Then when I went back the beginning of December to file the I600 and had to leave them again......well I can't explain how hard that is. The only thing that makes it bearable is their Foster Mother Ruth.  She is great and very loving.  We know she is taking good care of our kids until they can come home.  We will never be able to thank her enough.

Day 42

It's day 42 of our I600 wait.  We are definitely feeling the anxiety of the wait.  To make things harder today is Joseph's 8th birthday.  We already missed Abi's on December 23rd and now Joseph's as well.  It's just tough!  :(

This is the week of the month that I600 approvals are usually given.  If we do not get our approval this week we are very fearful it will be another entire month before we hear anything.  I've tried to prepare myself for this possibility but that's nearly impossible.  That would put us 75 days plus if that happens......I don't know what to think. 

We are ready to bring our kids home.  Rooms are finished, clothes and necessities are purchased, we even traded in our Honda for a larger vehicle (a real kid hauler!....not a mini van!), and I signed them up for spring soccer. 

So.......please, please U.S. Embassy let us bring our kids home!  It's time!  We're ALL ready!

Shopping while we wait

We are on day 34 of our I600 wait.  The rooms are finished!!!!!  Finally!  I will post some pics later. 

Did some shopping this weekend.  It dawned on us that we are really probably 4-6 weeks from bringing Abi and Joseph home.  They had nothing!  No clothes, no shoes, no underwear, no socks.  Nothing! Most everything we have purchased in the past we left in Ghana with them (summer type clothes).   I'm happy to say we made a big dent in that problem!  Their closets and dressers are still pretty bare but if they came home tomorrow we would get by.  They even have toothbrushes and toothpaste in their bathroom. 

Also spent some time on http://www.beemineproducts.com/ to get some hair care products for Abi.  I may not have a clue how to fix her hair but I am going to be equipped with hair products to do it should I ever figure it out!! 

Found some awesome deals on winter coats!  Cute, cute cute!

Wow.....they should be home in a few weeks.  This is going to be one long week since I am hopeful our I600 approval will come next week (and unfortunately pretty sure not this week). 

Happy New Year

Well it is January 2, 2011 and we are on day 26 of our wait for the I600 approval.  We are hoping to hear something the middle of this month but we know it could be the end of the month. 

Christmas was festive for the kids in Ghana.  AAI has a Christmas fundraiser every year to be able to give each of the kids a new Ghanaian outfit and a Christmas feast.  The kids and staff in Ghana love it! 

What a beauty!  She's definitely a girl who loves a new dress!



Joseph has become a real eating machine!  Handsome in his new shirt!

We have comforted ourselves this holiday season by remembering this will be the last Christmas we spend apart from Abi and Joseph.  They had a great celebration in Ghana!

We had a very nice Christmas with my oldest son Lance and his girlfriend Tawny.  We loved having them here.  He is a huge source of pride in my life and his girlfriend is wonderful.  Kind of hoping she might be more than a girlfriend soon!  (hint, hint Lance if you are reading this!)

Happy New year to everyone!