Luke is 8!

CBDS Commencement

Brant played the prelude at Calvary's high school graduation last Thursday night. He also served as one of ten Junior Marshalls. One more year and he'll be graduating himself.

Oh, where does time go?

I will praise the Lord all my life......Psalm 146: 2

Say what?

Just after Babe got a nice hit (ok, ok it was a grand slam) at the ballfield today, I overheard Ty talking to a random kid from another team that was watching.

Ty: Yay, wahoo, etc.

Kid: Hey, is that your brother?

Ty: Uh, huh.

Kid: Really? He's YOUR brother?

Ty: Yep.

Kid: Seriously, you're Jay Dixon's brother?

Ty: (Big nod)

(You think you know where this is going, don't you?)

Kid: Oh, wow. He's a lot taller than you are.

School's Out for Summer!!

The wait is over....

The new guys have been anxiously awaiting the opening of our neighborhood pool. And I do mean anxiously.

Since the boys and I drive past it going in and out of the neighborhood, oh, about a dozen times a day, they've had ample opportunity to closely watch the new fence construction and marvel at the cement trucks pouring concrete to expand the pool deck. There was new furniture to be assembled and wow, a bunch of resultant empty boxes that had to be hauled away.

The water went in on Wednesday and today.......Luke and Ty are in heaven on earth.

Brant & Meghan, West Forsyth's Prom

So many reasons to celebrate!

When you ask a dumb question.....

Me to Ty as he got in the car after pre-K: "Wow. Looks like you did some painting at school today."

Ty: "Yep."

Me: "What'd you paint?"

Ty: "My shirt."

Brant's Prom, 2010

I love the smell of playdough.

Believe it or not, Luke and Ty started school today. They are going to finish out the year at Calvary----Luke in 1st grade and Ty in half-day Pre-K.

Their teachers reported that Luke and Ty had great days.

Brant and Jay reported that Luke and Ty are their own personal chick magnets.

New names!

Biggest thing I forgot to tell you yesterday and the one thing that you really need to know is that Drew and I have decided to re-name the boys. I know, I know, their names are all they brought with them from Liberia and they are a link to their Liberian past---their family, their parents, their tribe.

It was a hard call to make, but when it came down to it, Kalee's name was just proving too hard for most every one here in the States to manage. For whatever reason, most folks couldn't get the pronunciation right, so it always ended up sounding like Collie.....or Callie....or Kayley.

As much as we would have loved for Kalee to hang on to that piece of his history and heritage, we just couldn't see setting him up for a lifetime of awkward introductions and roll calls that would result in the complete butchering of his first name.

So.......in a return to our tradition of giving our sons names of one syllable that are easy to spell and pronounce, Kalee is now Ty.

During our Christmas trip, when we discussed changing Kalee's name, Amos expressed interest in changing his as well, but he didn't like any of the options we threw out to him. The frontrunner, Brice, was apparently too close to rice to suit him. John fell flat. Jack was a possibility, but.....no fireworks.

Drew and the big boys never got on board with any of my personal faves, either. Kemp was too different. Cash was too edgy. Gray was nixed because it rhymed with Jay. And they all seemed to think Brooks and Lane were both too white. (Yeah, yeah, whatever.)

Then, when I went to Liberia in March, Amos told me that HE had already decided on a new American name. He wanted to be called Luke, in honor of his teacher's Ghanian nephew, whom he'd met recently. After lots of conversations over the last weeks, and despite my secret prayers that Amos would agree to be called Matthew, Drew's middle name, Amos stuck by his guns and repeatedly told us that he preferred Luke.

So.........Luke it is.

Hmmmmmm.....

....I don't know where to start to update you on the new guys. Honestly, they both have done great since we stepped off the plane in Greensboro, so there's not a lot of big news or drama to report.

Am I tired? Yes. Is my house noisy? Yes. Was it foolish of me to have our hardwood floors refinished before they arrived? Completely. Has my already rediculously-large laundry chore grown exponentially? You bet. Do I love the new guys to pieces? Absolutely.

To further get you up to speed:

• Both boys have slept at least 12 hours every night since we brought them home.
• They've eaten every thing we've put in front of them----except broccoli, which deeply offended their senses of smell apparently. Both boys eat often and they both eat a lot.
• They've picked up an incredible amount of standard English in three weeks and are talking mostly in complete sentences and are asking for things by forming questions.
• They love to scoot and shoot hoops and play with Kit.
• They aren't afraid of Bill and Gracie (the cats) and no longer think they are voodoo spirits.
• They've both learned to swing a baseball bat and can already catch and throw a baseball.
• They love to do jigsaw puzzles and play with Matchbox cars.
• They've behaved well in church four Sundays in a row and been to loads of Little League and Calvary baseball games.

So........really......all I can say is, Thank you, God. So far, so good.

Could it all fall apart tomorrow? According to the adoption books, yes. Could the boys have trouble bonding and end up being angry or violent or threatening? According to cable news, it's a possibility. Could I wake up to them begging to catch the first plane back to Liberia? Yep, definitely.

Do I expect any of that to happen? Nope. Not in a million years.

My mom radar is free of blips and pings.

Check 'em out!

I'm starting to get some stern emails requesting---nay, demanding----that I post news and pictures, but I'm sure you completely understand my computer time has been cut dramatically since the new guys got here.

Here are a couple of photos to tide you over until I can sit down and give you the 3-week update!

And for now, know that.......so far.....things are going great---even better than expected.

Beat Duke

Up until a few weeks ago, I'd never heard of Butler University.

Tonight, I am their biggest fan.

Go, Bulldogs!

Curious...

......has anybody read a parenting book called "Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys" ?

I have a feeling that I'll soon be able to write the sequel.....

My graphic artist buddy, Sara, over at A Life Less Ordinary-- lukecommasara.blogspot.com

highly recommends it and is even giving a copy away today. Check out her blog to enter for the giveaway AND check out her website www.less-ordinary-designs.com to see Sara's work. She creates beautiful printed cards, stationary, invitations and other great stuff.

Sara did Calvary's prom invitation and will be doing our adoption announcements for sure.....just as soon as I can get the new guys to be still long enough for pictures.

Home, sweet home

I'm happy to report, that after 26 deliriously-long hours of travel, the new guys and I arrived at the Greensboro airport a little ahead of schedule last night where we were met by a happy bunch of friends and family. We made such a racket and hung around so long, the airport security guards asked us to keep it down (twice) and then actually called in one of Greensboro's Finest who----can you believe the nerve?---asked us to take it elsewhere.

Maybe we were being a tad noisy.....twenty kids and two red balloons can be that way......but we were hardly a TSA security incident waiting to happen.

My mom was waiting for us here at the house when we got in and had a huge supper ready---ham, fried chicken, rice, green beans, deviled eggs, banana pudding and coconut cake. Clearly doing her southern best to feed and love Amos and Kalee. My sister, Kari, her husband, Jim, and their daughter, Sophie, were all here for the celebration, too.

I slept like a rock for about 8 hours then got up to be with Brant, Will and Babe before they left for school. So much happened while I was gone the last two weeks. Exams were taken....report cards issued....B took the SAT......Drew and the boys traveled to Hilton Head for spring break......Little League and Calvary baseball have begun their seasons now.......Babe is almost back from his rotator cuff injury.

Amos and Kalee slept until about 8:30 (yay, box fan!) and after a big breakfast of muffins and peanuts (what else?) Drew took over and I went back to bed for a few hours.

The boys spent today exploring every thing they could get their hands on. Imagine the curiosity and mentality of two, 2-year olds, but in bigger, stronger, more dexterous kids' bodies. They are fascinated by the washing machine, running water, telephones, the tv remotes, Kit's retractable leash......and their new remote-control cars. These guys love to push buttons and turn things on and off. They've removed batteries from things I didn't even know had batteries.

When they started chasing the cats, Drew took them on a big walk to burn off a little energy. That helped. For a while.

Still, all in all, I'd describe this as a very successful first day. I know it's early to make any calls, and there are bound to be huge challenges ahead---all sure to be exacerbated by my being old and impatient---but Amos and Kalee seem happy to finally be here. They have especially loved being reunited with their big brothers.

And they have started calling me, Mom, and Drew, Dad. That makes my heart soar.

Headed home....

The boys and I will be on a 9p flight out of Monrovia later this evening. I'll have multiple copies of the clearance letter ready to pass out and if any airport officials give me a hard time, I have the cell number of the official who signed it. The airport/Immigration folks are welcome to call this Ministry of Justice official to discuss, if they like......

After flying all night, we'll arrive in Brussels first thing in the morning. We lay over there about 4 hours and then will be headed to Atlanta.

The ATL connection is a little close; I only have about an hour and forty minutes to navigate Customs and make the flight to Greensboro, but hopefully I'll have enough time.

If all goes well, I should be in GSO around 5:30p Thursday night.

GOT IT!

Yesterday was a long, difficult day spent being bounced around between various Liberian government offices and officials....first told one thing and then another. Waiting here. Waiting there.

I'll spare you all the drama, but just know that first thing this morning, I was given the clearance letter for which I've waited a week. According to the official that signed it, it is every thing I will need to pass through all the inspection points at the airport with the boys.

I've got this woman's phone number just in case!

First flight out of here is Wednesday night at 7p (Liberia is 4 hours ahead of EST). Drew is working with the travel agent on my itinerary, but the boys and I should get to Greensboro sometime Thursday evening.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers, emails, comments and posts. They've been a huge encouragement to me. Drew and I may never know what God had in mind with all the delays, waiting, shutdowns and holds......but I'm excited to see how His plan for Amos and Kalee and the rest of our family plays out over the next years.

As my friend Cheryl is probably saying about now, "Go, God!"

Taking it easy....

With very limited options, the boys and I are just hanging out this weekend.

We are staying in a one-room apartment that I rented from one of the ELWA dentists. It's "ocean-view" and is working out just fine. We all have a bed and there's a small kitchen area with a hot plate, toaster oven and dorm-sized refrigerator.

Saturday morning, the guys and I spent some time on the beach together and I was able to get some good pictures of them both. Amos met up with a fisherman and was given some little fish that this guy was using for bait. When we got back home later and I was getting changed in the bathroom, Amos decided he was going to try to cook up those guppies for lunch---directly on the hot plate burner. The smell was awful....... and that burner still has scales stuck to it.

After lunch yesterday, about 15 of the older Addy's kids came down to enjoy the beach. They stayed about two hours with their teacher then went on to spend the night with a local pastor who had invited them to sing and dance at worship this morning.

Amos started running a fever right after dinner last night---it came on so quickly that at first I actually thought he might be faking the shaking and moaning and that he got in bed for attention. I took his temperature and when I realized it was 103, I knew the chills, shakes and confusion were for real. Fortunately, his temperature came down with Motrin and as long as he has it in him, he seems to feel okay.

Because of Amos being sick, we didn't go to church services this morning and so, didn't get to see the Addy's kids' program. I hate that, but decided I better keep an eye on whatever it is Amos's got.

The boys have been teaching me lots of the praise songs they know, so we are worshipping in our own way. I can sing along and keep up with the words, but not the clapping, drumming, foot stomping....and...uh....tongue clicking.

Yep. WAY too white for that.

I think God heard me anyway.

Close, but no cigar.

The clearance letter I needed wasn't issued today.

Too many twists and turns to even describe....multiple trips to the Ministry....unsatisfactory conversations with the the US Embassy, dozens of calls to and from those advocating for me.


When it was all said and done, I got NOTHING.
(Except consolation from my driver, Kla, whom I thought might just cry with me.)

It's gonna be close....

Embassy staff did not, in fact, have the boys' visa packets ready at 8a when I arrived at their office this morning. Essentially told me I was just plain out of luck and that they'd see me at 3p. I resisted the urge to give 'em some Dixon, but barely....

Went immediately over to the Ministry of Justice and left copies of all necessary documents, exluding the visas, in hopes that someone could review every thing and get started on the clearance letter.

Picked up the visa packets at 3p....then went again to the MOJ where I learned that the decision maker had been called out of the office all day by the President and had only just arrived at her desk.

I ratcheted down my expectations....and then got the official word that the letter would not be forthcoming today.

No promises for tomorrow either, if you want to know the truth.

But I'll be back over there first thing.

No news....

Didn't get a reply from the Embassy today on whether or not the visa packet will be ready in the morning or not.

So. Incredibly. Frustrating.


I think my best strategy is to be there with Amos and Kalee when the Embassy doors open at 8a........and just camp out in the Consular Affairs office until it IS ready.


I'll let you know how that works out for me.

It's gonna be a nail biter....

Things are going fine here in Liberia, but just as I have worried, it's going to come down to the wire on whether I can get the clearance letter I need to travel by the end of the day Friday when I am booked on a flight out with the boys.

Turns out the Embassy wanted a full 5 days to print the visas and prepare a packet to take to the Ministry of Justice for clearance. Drew and I understood our email from the vice-consul to read that I should plan to be on the ground here 5 days......total. For every thing.

After hearing all this at the Embassy today, I had to rebound quickly. I mustered all the southern charm I could to talk the man down to 2 days. He told me every thing would be ready Thursday at 3p.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself until I went over to the Ministry of Justice where I was told that unless I have the visa packet to them by 10a Thursday, I won't be able to get the letter that day. And if I don't get it Thursday.....dealing with it on Friday will be incredibly stressful since we are to fly out at 7p.

I got Drew on the horn and in turn, Drew got the Consular at the Embassy on the horn, to strongly "suggest" that they expedite our packet so I can leave on Friday. He got a "we'll-see -what-we-can-do" response. No promises.

I know this will all work out. God has it all under control.....and really, the worst-case scenario would be that the boys and I would just stay into next week until we can pick up the clearance letter.

Still......I know I've got some absolute prayer warriors out there. Anybody willing to kick it into high gear??

It might be just about that time....

I'm here!

I survived my flights to Monrovia and arrived here last night (Sunday) at about 8p Liberian time. Friends, Rusty and Jamie, met me and a couple other folks at the airport and we went straight over to the orphanage to retrieve Amos and Kalee.

I met up with Scott Bolitho in Brussels and it was great to finally meet him face to face . He and his wife Carolee, my cyber-bestfriend for the past two years, are also adopting from Addy's Hope and Scott is here to pick up their daughter Mary.

It is a holiday here today. In celebration of Liberia's first presidents's birthday, every thing is closed and no one is working. The boys and I are taking it easy this morning and hope to get out to the orphanage to visit with the other kids later today.

Kalee and I spent some time looking at alphabet flash cards and I'm glad to see that he knows all his letters and nearly all his colors. (Green tricks him up for some reason.) It's kind of funny to hear Kalee call out the pictures on the cards--his teacher has obviously taught with some similar cards or maybe a poster or picture book. Kalee recognizes lots of things he has no first-hand knowledge of like quilts, queens, igloos and oranges.

I'm not sure yet, but I think Amos might be able to read some. He can definitely pick out some names and other words as I type and he can read some commands on the computer screen. I'll do a little more research and get back to you.

I'm having trouble downloading pictures so far but I'll keep working on that. My laptop does things differently from the Mac at home and I can't figure out how to get everything to sync up. Makes me miss the guys in my IT department, for sure.

Tomorrow I plan to be at the Embassy first thing when it opens at 8a to meet with the vice-consular for the boys' exit visas. This is the last step on the US side then my next challenge will be to get that clearance letter from the Liberian Minister of Justice. The letter will give me permission to leave the country with the boys. Ideally, I will have that by Friday and can leave as scheduled, but I am preparing myself that I might need to stay on a few more days to get it. But I hope not.....

Thank you so much for all your blog comments, emails and Facebook comments. I'll keep updating as long as my internet connection stays up.

This is it!

Bags packed and heading out--next stop ATL, then Brussels....and on to Monrovia!

Flight Plan

Whew! It took most of the last two days, but I finally got flight arrangements for my trip to Liberia worked out today.

I leave Greensboro this Saturday around noon. And return with the new guys next Saturday the 20th at 5:30pm.

Better get my act together, huh?

All systems are GO!

Drew spoke with Embassy officials in Monrovia this morning and got the long-awaited and positively great news that our adoption has been approved and our case is a "go!"

I can't even believe that I am writing those words after more than two, full years of being in process!

Since I last posted....

the boys' physical reports came back just fine.

the biological mother's death certificate was turned in.

the boys' birth certificates were re-printed for the fourth time---this time to correct our nationality.

I am to make my travel plans and then let the vice-consular know so he can reserve time for our exit visa appointment.

Once I'm there, and have the visas, the Liberian Minister of Justice will write a clearance letter for me to leave the country with the boys. We don't anticipate any problems in getting approval to do that, but since the letter can't be written until the visas are actually issued by the US Embassy, I'll just need to allow several days on the ground for the processing.

Can you feel me beaming through cyberspace???

I've got a call into the travel agent.....I'll keep you posted!

The latest...

Amos and Kalee were taken to the embassy clinic as scheduled on Friday. Bloodwork was done but their physical exams were not completed.

We haven't gotten a good explanation why.

Hopefully they can be seen for an exam early this week, the results will be forwarded to the embassy and our agency will produce a copy of their biological mother's death certificate.

The embassy tells us that as soon as they have those two things, they can schedule our appointment for the visa exit interview.

(That means Drew or I will need to get on the next do-able and available flight to Monrovia!)

Good news/Bad news

It's only Tuesday, but it's been an up and (mostly) down week so far when it comes to our adoption.

Good news: Amos's and Kalee's biological father interviewed well and "passed" the questioning at the US Embassy on Monday.

Bad news: For reasons as of yet unexplained, our agency rep did not take Amos and Kalee to the meeting, so the bio father and the boys have to return to the Embassy tomorrow for another round of questioning.

Bad news: The boys' physicals have been postponed until Friday.

Bad news: Neither our agency, nor the Embassy, can produce the boys' biological mother's death certificate. It exists, or at least once did, because it was presented to the Liberian judge before our court decree was issued in 2008......but......no one can find it. It will have to be reissued.

Bad news: The Liberian government is requiring an additional step before they will sign off on clearance letters for Amos and Kalee to leave the country. They are requiring that we submit the results of our criminal background checks directly to them. This is in response to the beating death last week of a Liberian girl adopted in 2007 by a family living near Sacramento.

Good news: No skeletons in our closets! Other than a few (err.....several) speeding tickets on my part, Drew and I check out squeaky clean. We've already emailed our files to all the necessary parties.

You know that expression, "So close and yet, so far away...."?

I'd say that pretty well sums things up from here.

Big sigh.

Adoption news

We got really encouraging news on the adoption front yesterday.

After several weeks worth of waiting for corrections, our new and improved case history was delivered to the US Embassy on Tuesday.

The boys' birth certificates and passports (issued three different times to get them right!) were delivered to the Embassy Thursday.

The boys' biological father is scheduled to appear at the Embassy for an interview on Monday the 22nd.

Then, Amos and Kalee will have a physical with an Embassy doctor.

Assuming every thing goes according to plan, and DNA testing is not required by the Embassy....

...it might not be long now.

Stay tuned!

Snow Ball, 2010

Brant and his friend, Emily Kait, had a big time at Calvary's winter dance Saturday night. It was rescheduled from January 30th because of all the snow and ice here, but sounds like it was worth the wait.

Brant said he definitely chose the right date. Emily Kait is really outgoing and has had years of dance training which meant he had someone fun to dance the night away with.

I think his actual words were, "I got my groove on.......oohhh yeah." Then he showed me some of his moves.

The next morning, Brant woke up sore and complaining from dancing all night long.

Took me all the way back to 1980 when gangly David Moore and I went to Carmel Junior High's Christmas dance. I couldn't even hold a pencil, I was so sore from snapping my fingers.

Good times. Good times.

Snowbound!

Happy 254th, Mozart.

Check this out! Will got to portray Mozart tonight at his school's celebration of Mozart's 254th birthday. There was a big faculty concert followed by a cupcake & punch reception where Will and his friend, Hannah, dressed as Mozart's wife, Costanza, worked the crowd.

Thanks to the students in the wig and makeup studio at UNCSA, I actually think Will really resembled a young Mozart.

That high forehead helped.......don't you think?

Prayer answered; Wish Granted

Drew got exactly what he wanted for his birthday.

We got the word late last night that our agency social worker in Liberia was holding our case history. He had it in his hands---the report for which we've been waiting 18 months.

The information in it is all correct and the document is signed, sealed and ready to be delivered to the US Embassy.

Things are finally moving.

A birthday wish.....

Drew says all he wants for his 42nd birthday is a signed case history from the Ministry of Health in Liberia.

I'm hoping and praying he gets his wish.

Pix from Liberia

I have uploaded photos from our Liberia trip to Snapfish. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Click here to view photos