Thursday, December 20, 2007

Home sweet home

We are back. The flights went well though JFK in New York was crazy. We barely made it to our connecting gate before the scheduled departure time only to find out that it was delayed for about 30 min. Customs went smooth and could have been worse had a nice lady not pulled us out of a line that we were standing in and moved us to the front. When we entered the room we were told we had to go through the non US citizen line which was probably 2 hours long. Fortunately we stood out as not belonging there and a nice lady saw that and moved us to the front. The kids did well on the planes. The first flight was around 10 hours and the kids were great until we had to sit for 30-40 minuts at JFK waiting for a place for the plane to park. Isaac did not approve of that so he made sure everyone on the plane could hear his opinion. Both he and Kathryn slept the whole 6 hour flight from NY to Seattle. Amanda and I did not sleep at all from when we got up at 5 in the morning in Ghana until we reached our home at 3 am in Lynden. Overall we were going for about 33 hours. We all slept for a few hours and Kathryn and Isaac got up around 7. Lukas and Evalin woke up around 8:30 and they have all been playing vigoroulsly ever since. They are all getting along well. Amanda and I have been eating many good things. We stopped at Burger King on the way home and when we got home we Orianne (Amanda's sister) had stocked us up with many of our favorite things including a chocolate cake that she baked. We had great pot of coffee this morning and are washing laundry. Kathryn is trying on all of her clothes and Isaac has decided to get make it his goal to play with every toy in the house by lunch time. Kathry looked out the back door this morning and saw the playground at the school and wanted to go. So we opened the door and just as fast as she ran out she ran back in saying how cold it was. We told her that as soon as it was sunny (later today) we would bundle up and go the park. We plan to stay home today and will most likely be home. People are welcome to stop by and say hello if you are in the neighborhood. We are planning to go get a Christams tree tomorrow and then settle in for a great long Christmas weekend. We hope to see everyone soon. We can't wait to go to church on Sunday. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and praise be to our great God for what he has and is doing. We could not have made this journey without the strength that he provided and we give him all of the glory. It is our prayer that more and more families will be lead to taking care of the children in this world who have no one to care for them. Check back soon for pictures and goodies.

6 comments:

Annerb said...

I just saw pictures Marilee sent of you and the kids that she took last night - or - was it this morning? What fun to read your report on the kids and hear how fabulously everyone is adjusting already. Oh, how I wish we lived CLOSER!!!! We just can't wait to meet our new grandniece & nephew! We share in your joy and are rejoicing that you're home. What a Christmas this will be!

love,
a.ann

Deb said...

Congratulations and thanks for the update. I hope you will continue to keep us posted on how things are going.

Blessings,
Deb

Aunt Gail said...

I'm so relieved you are all home safely and hopefully not too worse for wear. While I'm sure there's nothing like being there(!), just know that I thought of you every moment on your trip home, checked your flight status on the internet, checked in with Marilee to make sure you made the Seattle plane, imagined you meeting up with A&M in Seattle and bringing your kids home, etc., etc. I'm a little envious of those who live close by and can visit you today. Hopefully soon, though. Get some rest, eat some more good food and just enjoy the Christmas season with your slightly bigger family. I'm so glad you had room in your "Inn" for Kathryn and Isaac.

Love, Aunt Gail

BOTTHEAD said...

I'll be by to see you,so glad your home.God Bless you Uncle Marv

Laurel said...

What a blessings to see your sweet family today, and to know that it won't be long before our children are home, too.

It was a bit odd to be meeting our children's friends, before meeting our children. Odd ... but good. How fun it will be for us to bring our children home and to know that they already have friends in town.

Praising Jesus with you, for ALL that HE has done!

Sarah said...

Amanda and Phil...
My mom told me yesterday that you adopted two children from Ghana! How exciting! I'm in Ghana right now, volunteering at a school this year. I so wish I would have known you were here. I was in Cape Coast a couple weekends ago...wonder if we were there at the same time. I hope things are going well with your children. Congratulations! I'd love to catch up sometime!!!

Sarah Cockle (sarah.cockle@gmail.com)