One In a Million Blessings

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Update

This post comes to you with a little bit better news than the last one did:

We got word last Friday that the document needed in order to file for Eli's passport has been obtained! YAHOO!!! One big step closer!

Our POA (Power of Attorney) was to be picking up his completed passport today or first thing tomorrow.

We have been given the green light to request a VISA exit interview, which will take place in Ghana.  While we will not be traveling to Ghana to be present for the exit interview, once we know the date of it we should have a very good idea of when I will be traveling back to Ghana (hopefully within a week of the interview!!).

So, good news for sure, and hopefully more to come soon!
When we find out the date of our exit interview I will be sure to update the blog.

Words cannot express the gratitude we feel towards all of the support we have been shown. We covet the prayers that are going up on our behalf and we are forever grateful and humbled. Thank you for praying us through this journey!

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy

Tomorrow is Elijah's first birthday. We had hoped and prayed with all our might that we would be with him to celebrate, but we aren't. The past two weeks have been anything but smooth, as we have learned of multiple delays that are currently holding up our process.

Last week the orphanage was anticipating receiving Eli's finished passport. When they arrived to pick it up, it had the wrong name on it. Now, not only do they need to re-file for another passport, but they are required to get a specific document from the courts before they can attempt to re-file. So we've been waiting on that document.

Yesterday, the President of Ghana passed away. No doubt this is a very sad and uneasy time for all Ghanians right now. Out of respect, the government offices in Ghana are closed for the time being. Until they re-open (not sure when this will happen), we aren't able to access any court documents or file for a passport.

There's a world of emotions running through these veins right now, that's for sure. But as I type this, as sad as I am that we aren't with our baby boy right now, I am socked in the gut by the reality of my friend who just celebrated her sweet baby boy's 3rd birthday without him. He is in heaven. He unexpectedly went to be with Jesus shortly after celebrating his 2nd birthday last summer. I honestly cannot imagine that. Her strength and grit are an inspiration to me daily.

So, are we sad? Yes, we are.
Are we frustrated? Yes, we are.
Are we hurting?  Yes, we are.
But we are also thankful, hopeful, joyful, and prayerful. We have a remarkable little man who is waiting for us. Lord willing, we will be blessed to spend the rest of our lives with this little miracle, celebrating every milestone and birthday together from here on out.

So, in honor of our son, Lili and I are baking a cake this afternoon. Tomorrow evening we will have a family birthday celebration for Elijah. We'll sing happy birthday, and we'll let Lili opened a few presents that we'll put in Elijah's room for when he gets home.

No matter where we are in life, the journey can be hard, scary, dark, unpredictable. All we can do is stand firm in who we are, and in whose we are.

I can see the light at the end of this tunnel, and it is GLORIOUS.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Orphanage Needs

So many of you amazing people have asked if there is anything you could donate to the orphanage. Since I am {hopefully} heading back that direction in the near future I would love to have a suitcase full of items to leave with them. If you are interested in donating anything and you live nearby I will happily pick them up from you. If they need to be mailed to us, our address is 2906 Indiana Ave. Joplin, MO 64804.
*If you are mailing anything to us, please let us know prior to mailing it so we can make sure to get it before leaving for Ghana.

-Infant vitamins
-Children's vitamins
-Adult vitamins
-Prenatal vitamins
-Toothpaste 
-Educational Children's DVDs (animals, cultures, christian-based)
-Soccer Cleats for children ranging in age from 5-19 (can be used)

As of now we are still unsure when we will be traveling, but would like to have all of the items collected within the next two weeks.
Blessings!

Shannon

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Information, Pictures, and Prayers!!!

Oh my goodness it has been WAY TOO LONG since I've posted on here. We have been so busy and every night I have had intentions of writing, but I am finally sitting down to do it this afternoon. So many of you have called, emailed, sent us face book messages, etc. We have heard, read, and adored each and every one of them, and are attempting to get back with all of you, though at this point we aren't doing such a great job with that!

So, without further ado, allow me to briefly update you on the past few weeks...

First of all, THIS is what was awaiting us when we made it to the orphanage for the first time.  


Our sweet, sleepy angel. He was absolutely precious. Pretty cautious with us at first, but in a great mood none-the-less. After a few hours of playing he was fast asleep on my lap :)


The first few days we spent at the orphanage just loving on and getting to know our little man. By the end of day two he was very giggly and comfortable with us, and when we arrived at the orphanage on the morning of day 3 he was visibly excited to see us (BEST FEELING EVER!!!).




By the end of day 3 our ears were delighting in his belly laughs and baby-babbles. Oh, and did I mention that he said DADA?!??!!? There is definitely a special bond between these two!


The last few days were amazing, as we were able to take him with us on several mini-excursions. This was a fantastic opportunity for us to have him all to ourselves (he's every one's favorite, so we had to share him while we were at the orphanage!). He was such a champ. We took him to a national animal preserve where we got to hang out with baboons and go rock climbing, we went to the coast to catch some waves and listen to a local reggae band (I think that was Eli's favorite part), and we went to one of the rain forests and were able to do a canopy walk high above the monkey-filled trees. Elijah was absolutely amazing everywhere we went.






 The final day was a beautifully tough day. Saying that leaving him was 'difficult' would be the understatement of the year. If it wasn't for our four year old daughter waiting for us on the other side of the world, I'm not certain that we would've felt the need to step onto that west-bound plane.
But there was a peace in doing so...knowing that this part of the journey was a BIG step in getting him home with us, where he belongs.



The purpose of this first trip was to file our I-600 at the US Embassy in Ghana. We were able to do that without a hitch, and we actually received word last week that our I-600 has been approved (this typically takes between 45-60 days, and ours was approved in 9!!). Now we are waiting for his passport to be printed. Once this is done we can file for his VISA. There are 'typical' time lines, but, as I've said before, 'typical' is somewhat of a cuss word in adoption lingo. So, I am choosing to believe that Elijah will be home with us in the VERY near future.

Elijah turns 1 on July 26th. It has always been our prayer that we will be with our sweet boy on his first birthday. It would be pretty miraculous to see that happen, but I believe in miracles, and I believe in the power of prayer (hint hint).

That's all for now. I will post again when we have news.Thank you for following us on our journey.
Blessings!
Shannon