One Week and Counting

It's about a week since Deborah came home forever.  This week has flown by.  She is doing very well and adjusting great.  I think the most adjusting so far has been with Rita and Racheal.  They have thought of her as their older sister.  Someone who can take care of them and act older.

The roles have changed, at least for now. Rita and Racheal have been in America for 3 years.  They have grown up in this culture and fast pace part of the world.  Deborah has not, so there is a delay with knowing things about our culture.  She is learning and very eager to learn.  But, the twins are having a difficult time adjusting their thinking that they are ones who are "older".  They can get irritated with her but we are reminding them of what it was like when they came home.  All the things they had to learn and how we had patience and love for them to learn.  This is amazing opportunity for God to teach them this.  I love watching it!

Deborah just loves it here and is so excited to be a part of our family.  We laugh and hug a lot!  She is so playful and the boys love it.  She is a diamond and I am thrilled she is here.  She has lots of "first" this week like:  going down a water slide, play in a lazy river, eating pancakes, eating french toast, meeting family members, going up/down an escalator, listening to her IPod, having her own Barbies (she calls them her babies), closet with her own clothes.  It's fun to watch her do her "first".  As her mother, it's exciting to watch her grown and experience things.  This is one of the joys of being a mother!!

Deborah loves to swim!  We have an above ground pool for the summer and it's hard to get her out of it.  Food seems to be the magic trick.  She is definitely a fish!  Below are some pictures of her in the pool!

                                                                   Deborah and Kaiden

                                                                      Our little fish!

                                                                    Love those goggles!

                                                Deobrah is trying to be taller than Rita!  Ha-ha!

Deborah is HOME!

Well, after 9 months of going through the adoption process, Deborah is home!  We got home on Monday and have been adjusting ever since.  Right now, we are working on bonding within the family.  Deborah is very playful so the boys love that.  She teases them and then they tease her back.  Lots of giggling going on!

All 4 girls are also bonding in different ways. They sing and dance every chance they get.  I can tell the twins think of Deborah as their older sister yet she acts so much younger.  All in time, Deborah will mature and begin to trust everyone.  She definitely loves to eat!  I bet in a month she will gain a lot of weight.  She seems to eat every hour!  I don't know where she can put it but she does. 

We will be adjusting and it will take a while but I know our family is definitely ready for this challenge.  We keep God in the center of it, so he will guide us all.  Prayers are definitely welcomed!  :)

1 Day left

It is really hard for the twins when I leave for a long period of time.  I do feel this trip is a little better for them.  But there is still anxiety.  Rita tells me.....Mom, I am going to pray real hard you come back home.  Racheal told me today......Mom, I hope you don't die and God will let you come back home.  She also said, "You're the cutest mom I have ever had".  Too funny!!!!

Even though this is hard for them, it is going to be such a HUGE blessing to them (as well as to us).  Deborah will finally be home and reunited with her sisters AND new sister with new brothers!  The girls have talked about her since I met them for the first time in Ghana.  So it is really cool the way God has planned this for us all!  I am still in shock that God Blessed so much.  I do wonder why at times.  Not because I don't want a bigger family, but because I wonder why us???  We don't deserve this much blessing, but I am so thankful and appreciative that God trusts us enough to allow us to do this. 

Well, 1 more day and we are off to Ghana.  I am so excited but a little nervous!  Prayers for this trip are welcomed and definitely appreciated!  :)

God Bless!

Packing Has Begun!

I usually don't pack until the night before a trip.  I thought this trip I would do something different and try to pack early.  As of today, I have 2 suitcases packed full of donations.  It's great to take all the soccer jerseys, clothes and beanie babies to children over there.  I hope to do the things we are planning. 

I have one suitcase left to pack and that one is for Karleigh, Deborah and myself.  It it is full already but not packed.  I have written up lists upon lists.  I think my lists are making me more nervous and anxious for the trip.  Is it ok to forget something?  I think so, as long as it's not documents.  :) 

I told Karleigh we would totally pack on Thursday night.  Oh brother, is she is excited to pack.  This is making me nervous because a teenager packing can be a little scary.  :)

So we are a matter of days away from this trip and the nervous are setting in.  :)

We are Ghana Arrive!

Yes, everything is in place for us to arrive in Ghana on June 13.  We leave Phoenix on June 12 and with changing planes and long flights.  We will arrive in Ghana noon on June 13.  I  CAN NOT  WAIT! 

I am very excited to see and hug Deborah again.  I am excited for her to come HOME!  I am also thrilled for Karleigh to have this life experience of traveling to Ghana.  God is so amazing for allowing us to take Karleigh with us.  I truly believe this will not be her only trip to Ghana.  Anyone who travels to Ghana, leaves with a huge heart for that country.  This is going to be a start for amazing journey for her.  :)

Even though our plane tickets are paid for, we are still hoping for some donations to be able to serve in a very poverty stricken area of Ghana, Chorkor.  This is a place that really needs help.  Karleigh and I would love to visit and serve a meal to the children.  We are hoping to raise $200 for this.  The money will go towards traveling there and for the food.  If you feel lead to help out either financially or by praying, we would totally appreciate it.

We are counting the days to make a difference along with picking up our long awaited daughter, Deborah!

 

Deborah is Coming HOME!!!!

Today was a day to celebrate!  Deborah had her visa interview and everything went through.  I am beyond excited! 

Karleigh and I are planning on leaving June 12 and coming home on June 20.  The tickets are on hold so hopefully in the next day or two we will be able to pay for the tickets.  I can't imagine what Deborah is thinking now.  Her life is about to change in a way I know she has prayed for.  She has been praying to be reunited with her twin sisters and to be apart of a family for 3 years.  Every time I think about this journey, I get chills.  I just can't comprehend the journey God has taken us on.  This adoption was done completely in faith.  You know it is in God's plan when literally every door opens and you feel the nudge to go through it.  Unbelievable!Who knew we would be a family of 8???  Definitely not me!  :)

Ghana Put those Puzzle Pieces Together!

This is so amazing with how so many people have supported Karleigh's trip to Ghana.  She has been getting so excited about this trip.  She has so many things she would like to do with the children.  We are going to try to get everything done.

We have some friends that have donated soccer jerseys.  We have boys and girls.  This will be so neat to watch Karleigh take this project on with passing them out to the children that are in the "neighborhoods". I know Deborah will totally get involved.  She is a sweetheart and loves to help out children.

So far Karleigh has 53 puzzle pieces put together.  This is AMAZING!

Here is a picture of her puzzle now.  It's growing!!!!  :)

 

Thank you to all the families that have donated so far!  On the right side, I have created a spot to highlight the families that have helped Karleigh so far.  I know these families aren't looking for recognition but it's nice to just let them know how appreciative we are for their donations.  :) 

Puzzle Keeps GROWING

Karleigh's puzzle is definitely growing.  The "chip-in" button doesn't show the total amount that has been donated towards her Ghana trip.  She actually has 20 pieces together.  She has raised $200 so far.  I am so proud of her.  She only needs $800 more.  We are hoping to leave sometime during June 2-6.  It depends on the price of airline tickets. 

Karleigh has come up with another part to her trip.  She is going to teach the older children a dance and then take them to the children's hospital in Accra to preform the dance for the children.  It is a great way for her to take the leadership role of this part of her trip.  We are also collecting soccer jerseys to take with us.  We are going to go out to the community and hand them out to the children.  They love getting "American" jerseys.  Just like how we love to get "Ghana" jerseys.  We will be working with the nonprofit organization, Project Global Hope.   This is a great organization and we are so excited we are going to be a part of it.  :)

If you would like to donate towards Karleigh's trip to Ghana, you can use the "chip-in" button to the right of this post.  If it isn't working, you can use our email address: jckbaxter5@aol.com with Paypal.  Some people have used the email address and it seems to work.  :) 

God's Puzzle Pieces

It is so amazing as a mother to watch how God works in the lives of her children.  Karleigh talks so much about going to Ghana and her faith is so strong.  It is so cool to watch how her puzzle is growing.  It's such a faithful symbol and reminder to her of God's faithfulness.  This is just so neat to watch and observe the relationship building between her and God. I know I must be rambling on but it's so amazing that's hard to describe. 

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for placing the love of Ghana into Karleigh's heart.  I know she is going to be your hands and feet when she is there.  She is excited to go and pour some love into children.  It's all because of YOU and as her mother, I thank you for choosing her.  In your name only, Amen!

Ghana - Be a Piece of the Puzzle

Karleigh is 2 weeks away from being fourteen years old.  Jarett and I talked about offering Karleigh her first mission trip to Ghana.  At the time, we were expecting our tax refund to pay for her trip.  Well, the IRS has decided to "hold on" to our refund until we send in copies of receipts from our 2008 adoption of the twins.  This didn't only happen to us, but to many families in this adoption world.  Luckily, we have the receipts, but once we send in the copies, the IRS has 45 days to review the receipts and decide to give us our adoption refund (from back in 2008).  With the time line of the IRS and when Deborah "should" be able to come home, we won't have the money for Karleigh to go.  We will barley have the money for me to go and bring Deborah home.  We gave Karleigh the challenge of raising $1,000.  If she can do it, then she will be able to go.

So............................. 

Karleigh is holding her own fund raiser called "Ghana - Be a Piece of the Puzzle".  She has the opportunity to go to Ghana with me to bring Deborah home in hopefully late May.  She is also planning on going to visit other foster homes of children who are in need of families, either due to poverty stricken of the parent(s) or death of one or both parents.  She has talked about adopting children from Africa when she gets older.  So this would be the perfect trip for her to see first hand the place where her sisters have come from. 

She has a 100 piece puzzle of a giraffe (she LOVES giraffes).  She is looking for sponsors to buy 1, 2, 3, or as many as you would like for $10 each.  She will be writing the names of the people/families who sponsor her.  You can even buy a piece or more in honor of someone.  There is no limit.  :) When her puzzle is fully completed, she will be gluing all the pieces together so she can display it on her bedroom wall.

This is a huge opportunity for her to travel to Africa and witness a place that is close to her heart.  She now has 3 sisters from there and as a family we will continue to do work and serve in Ghana.  I strongly believe this is God planting a seed for her to blossom even more. 

If you would like to help her, you can use the "chip-in" button on the right.  It will direct you to PayPal.  In the comments, please write the name/family name you would like on the puzzle piece(s).  Thank you in advance for your support (either through prayers or buying puzzle pieces).  It is definitely appreciated!

<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/22222302" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/22222302">Waka Waka Dance</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user6695681">Karleigh Baxter</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

Thank you so much!

Our Paypal account is new so I am having to wait to confirm deposits made into it.  I created a new account just for her trip so any donations made will only go towards her.  The donations that have been made so far towards Karleigh's trip are there, but looks like it will take a couple of days to show up on the "Chip-In" button. 

Two Passports Ready

This was a week of good news:

We got Deborah's passport this past week.  Now we are in the process of getting the visa packet picked up, filled out, and turned in.  I feel for Deborah because I believe she will have to get an "injection".  OUCH!  But it is probably preparing her for the many she will need to get once she comes home.  I am sure we will have many more trips to McDonald's to get milk shakes.  That's usually what we do once we have to go to the doctor's office to get shots.  I don't know why we started that but since everyone was little we have just been doing it!

Karleigh's passport also came in the mail.  We are hoping for her to go with me on the next trip to Ghana.  She is trying to raise $1,000 for her trip.  She has a plan to teach children at the homes in Ghana a couple of dances.  She loves music and dances really well.  She wants to bring fun and love to them.  I just love her heart for children, especially in Ghana.  I think this will be the BEST experience for her.  I really believe that God has lots of plans for her and this is just ONE of them! Any money that is above and beyond her amount, she is planning on buying soccer balls, freebies, and scooters for the children.  She is hoping to take them with her.

If you feel like you would like to donate to her trip, you can use the "Chip-in" button.  I am hoping I set it up right.  If you happen to have any problems, please let me know.  They said it was easy and it seemed easy, but.....way too easy!  :)