HOME!

 We made it.

Our family of FIVE is HOME all together.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

The Cain Family of FIVE

We'll give you a quick update on the past few days!

Before we left for the airport in Ghana on Saturday, the Bethany team in Accra came over to our hotel room for a visit.  It was a joy to spend some time praising God together and marveling at the incredible miracle of adoption.  The team really cares about the children they place in US families so this was a special time for them to say goodbye to Solomon.

The Bethany team in Ghana: Naa (Country Director), Solomon (Program Director), Ebe (Case worker)

Our flight from Accra to JFK did not leave until 10pm, but we arrived around 5:30 to check in, etc.  It is quite to process to get through the Accra airport so we only had a few hours to kill while we waited to board the flight home. 

Passing time in the Accra airport.

While we had every scrap of paper we might possibly need to prove that Solomon was legally our son, it was still nerve-wrecking to go through immigrations.  We did not doubt that God had gone before us, but we still felt twinge of concern to prepare for the worse.

Nothing.

Easy-peasy.

So anti-climatic.  

The Ghanaian immigration officer was happy to see Solomon in a family and encouraged us to return with him when he was old enough to remember.  Even the customs/security officers moved us to the very front of the line when they saw that we had a baby.  Solomon was a champ and jumped through the hoops with us quietly and without protest.  When we got through all the security checks in the airport, Ashley couldn't help but cry..when we took off from Accra on time, Ashley cried again.  We were really bringing our long-awaited-third-son HOME!

The flight to JFK was about 10 hours long.  Teeeeeen.  Hoooooooours.  Looooooooong.  But again, Solomon was amazing and slept most of the way.

Solomon snoozing on Mama during the first leg of the trip home.

Once we landed in NY, we had to clear immigration and customs.  God went before us and we had no trouble walking through the last few steps to make Solomon a US citizen.  WOOHOO!  Our plane arrived about 20 minutes early too, so there were no lines through immigration/customs...we cleared through JFK border controls in record time!

A few thousand miles and several nap sessions later,....

...and we landed in Sacramento with family and friends waiting to greet us!

We have now been home for three days with Solomon in our care for about a week.  It has been joyful and exhausting at the same time!  Ethan and Josiah are loving on their new brother in ways that amaze us.  Every prayer from them begins with "And thank you, God, that Solomon is finally home."  *melt*  

Playing with our food.

Ethan & Solomon

Ethan & Solomon

While the adoption process is DONE (AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!), the next phase of this journey is just beginning.  We are just beginning to understand who Solomon is, what his first year and a half of life has been like and how it has affected him, etc.  Our family needs to change and grow to meet his needs.  Our two big boys need to learn how to demonstrate love to their third amigo.  There is much work still to come as we now RAISE three little boys to be Godly men.

Please be patient with us as we slowly acclimate to our new dynamics.  We will be keeping Solomon close to us as we facilitate bonding...don't be offended if we don't offer for you to hold him, etc.  We need to establish ourselves as mom and dad....plus, Solomon is super shy and easily overwhelmed right now.  In big groups, he goes blank and will give you nothing.  :)  In smaller settings where he feels comfortable, however, he is goofy and chatty and active.  You'll get to see that side of him eventually.  Just give it some time.

Please pray for us as we also seek to meet Solomon's physical needs.  We have a check up scheduled for next week and then a meeting with the pediatric cardiologist the following week.  There are some "food issues" already apparent so pray that Solomon's nutritional needs are meet too.  At 18 months, he only weighs 17 lbs...we have a lot of catch up growth to pack on!

Smiles before bedtime.

Trying new foods...sort of.

We will continue to post updates as we can (i.e. when we are able to keep our eyes open past 8pm)!  Our hearts are SO FULL and we are happy to share our joys with you.  Thank you for walking along with us...let's celebrate God's faithfulness in making one less orphan!!!

fun in the challenge!

Day 2 in Ghana started with waking up at 12:00am to a sick baby. Poor thing. Fever, throw up (all over the bed), restlessness....it was a long night. After begging Solomon to drink some pedialyte, his fever finally broke and we all slept for about 4-5 hours. Whew!

It was a challenging night...but it was totally awesome. Why?  Because when you are sick, what's the one thing that you always want:

Your mama.

Solomon had his mama AND dada devoted solely to his wellbeing last night. 

Praise God. 

Praise God that we could be with him and care for him. 

When he woke up, he took awhile to reacclimate: "Who are you again?"

His tummy was still out of sorts so he wasn't too interested in any breakfast besides a bottle.

But after we returned to the room, he warmed up and perked up. We played soccer and catch and peekaboo and a thousand other games with no name but "love."

Little boy crashed hard for naptime after playing so much. 

After naps, we ran to the pharmacy for some medicines to help make the trip home more pleasant for a sick baby. In Ghana, you can buy "prescription" medications with just a pharmacy consultation...no doctor's signature required. And medications are SO much cheaper...which is nice since we were cash customers. :)

Next, off to visit the orphanage one last time.  We had purchased some food (eggs and chicken) to donate as a very small "thank you." And we wanted to speak a bit more with Solomon's main care givers to ask some questions, etc. It was a joy to see how many of the caretakers and staff came out to say good bye to "Ephraim." He is well-known in the nursery for his little personality.

We had a final meeting with the Head Mistress, who was very kind and encouraging to us. The Regional Director of Social Welfare (Benjamin Otoo) also happened to be there (we had met him back in March) so it was nice to visit with him. 

Solomon made his last few moments at Osu Children's Home memorable, however, as he exploded his diaper and dribbled poop all over the head mistresses office carpet.

Lovely. 

Thankfully, we had come prepared with a clean change of clothes....HA!

And so, Solomon left the orphanage a lighter man...

*grin*

Our final stop was the store to buy a few more cans of formula to help the transition back at home. And on the way home, Solomon again exploded his diaper and the promptly fell asleep.

Ahhh, the joys of being a child. :)

At the hotel, we woke him up and took a bath...which he LOVES. 

Then bedtime...

No more fever or throw up.  Pray for no more diaper explosions tomorrow....since we'll be on a plane for 27ish hours and all. 

So much joy. 

We are eager to board the plane at 10pm Saturday night, but also very thankful for this focused one on one time with our youngest son. 

Please pray that we can sleep well tonight, that Solomon feels better, that we board the plane home with no immigration issues, and that the long journey home is full of love and further bonding.

there's a baby boy in our bed

today.

today was the day that solomon woke up in an orphanage...and then left.

he will never go back. he will always have a family. 

he will never sleep alone again. 

in fact, he's sleeping between us in our bed as we type this. 

proof:

Its been a long and glorious day. An answer to so many prayers!  We'll just post a bunch of pictures for now and write more details as we have time tomorrow.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT!  we are eager to learn more about who Solomon is and bond as a family. *squeal*

Enjoy!!

and my personal favorite from bath time:

late night fried rice...

We made it!!!

Our flight arrived in Accra a little early and we made it through immigrations/customs without any issues. The trip here was looooong and tiiiiiring, but uneventful!  Thank you for praying for us!

Both our POA and social worker met us at the airport. So good to see them!  They are just as excited as we are for our reunification with Solomon. Wheeee!

We are staying in the same hotel as last time, but scored a screaming deal on a bigger room (actually paying less than we did for a standard room last time). Thanks for continuing to go ahead of us, Jesus!!  Ben is happily eating a late night snack of fried rice with shito from room service (caught them right before they closed). Tomorrow morning we will spend a bit of time at the Bethany office getting Solomon's paperwork (EEK!) and then we'll head to the orphanage to see our boy!

Tired. 

Happy. 

Blessed. 

Thankful. 

And SO ready to hug our boy again TOMORROW!

#ghanaorbust

All our bags are packed.
They are sitting by the front door.
We leave Sacramento Tuesday afternoon and return on Sunday afternoon.
#ghanaorbust

We can check in four bags so there's one with our clothes, one with toiletries, one with gifts to hand out in Ghana, and ONE WITH SOLOMON'S NEW CLOTHES!!!!  Packing his bag was challenging (we're really not sure what size he fits!!!) and pretty emotional...we realized that when we take him from the orphanage, he will have nothing.  Nothing.  We will strip off his old clothes to leave at the orphanage and wash away the dust and dirt and put NEW, CLEAN clothes on his little body and NEW SHOES on his little newly-walking feet.
WHAT ANSWERS TO PRAYER!
WHAT A PICTURE OF *OUR* FOLDING INTO GOD'S FAMILY!

Think of the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.  The son leaves and squanders his inheritance.  He returns broken and repentant, ready to be a slave in his father's house.  But his father is SO excited to have him home and back in his arms:

Luke 15:21-22

"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, and am no more worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.  And bring here the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat and be merry for my son was dead, but no he is alive."

Zechariah 3:4 is really cool too:

"The angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Take off his filthy clothes.' Then he said to Joshua, 'See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.'"

What a beautiful visual the Bible gives us of taking off the old and putting on the new.  The act of shedding filthy rags to put on new, clean clothes as a symbol of NEW LIFE.  

And Solomon has no idea what is coming.  The new clothes symbolize just the beginning of his new life...he cannot even imagine the big brothers and birthday parties and family dinners and outdoor adventures and LIFE FULL OF LOVE to come!

*whew*

We are pumped.  

But we still really need some prayers because there are many many miles and days between us and a family of five in one house.  Here are some things for which we covet your prayers:

1.  Travel mercies.  Please pray for no delays, missed flights, or missing baggage.  Clear skies and smooth sailing, Lord!!!

2.  Health.  For us and especially for Solomon who has never traveled is this intense way.

3.  Mercy and favor in customs.  Our biggest prayer is for the customs officers at the Ghanaian airport to let us on the plane home without incident.  Please also pray that Solomon will be calm and happy as this will help.

4.  Bonding.  We will traveling for 30ish hours across the world with a child we barely know...and who barely knows us!  Please pray that God will help foster a supernatural bond so that we can meet Solomon's needs and help keep him from being too overwhelmed.  Pray that we can foster LOVE early between us!

We have claimed Philippians 4:4-9 as our mantra for this trip:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of prayer, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

AMEN AND AMEN!

TICKETS BOOKED!

That's right!

After spending all day yesterday working with our diligent and tireless travel agent (we can shoot you her info 'cause she's fabulous and works with adoptive families/missions groups!), we booked flights for Solomon's homecoming trip. 

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tickets *were* significantly more than we had budgeted, but God, the ultimate provider, made a way!!!!!  Amazing. Knocks our socks off...

We leave one week from TODAY, Tuesday, July 23. After arriving in Ghana on Wednesday night, we'll spend three days in Accra. Our flight leaves Ghana on Saturday night and we'll be dragging our exhausted bodies off the plane in Sacramento WITH OUR SOLOMON on Sunday afternoon, July 28. 

Thank you for praying on our behalf and cheering us on. We truly cannot tell you how much your encouragement helps us. 

"Now to Him who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. AMEN!"

Ephesians 3:20-21

• 
  

VISA APPROVED!

Solomon's visa was approved this morning without incident. 

This. Happened. 

God fought for us.

HE WINS!!!!!

Please take a moment to pause and do a jig of praise.

Happy screams are also allowed. 

AAAAHHHH!!!

Visas are not printed until Friday so we won't be leaving right away, but the interview this morning was the last great red-taped hoop to jump. WHEEHOOO!!! We *would* leave first thing on Friday, but the orphanage administration has said that they no longer want to facilitate visits on weekends so we wouldn't see Solomon until Monday anyway....

What now?

1. Pray that the visa is, in fact, printed on Friday with no errors. 

2. Pray for good health for us and Solomon with all this crazy travel. 

3. Pray that God provides as He already has so so so many times. Plane tickets are SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than we estimated. Its high season for travel and we are about $4000 short for what our original plans cost. That's eeeeasy for God when He's already provided the other thousands of dollars we've needed!!!

We are still working with our fabulous travel agent to find better options, but it looks like we'll be leaving Sacramento on Tuesday, 7/23 and returning home on Sunday, 7/28.

4. Pray for the many other families trudging through the adoption process in Ghana. Things are tough there. These families need prayers of encouragement!!!

Thank you for partnering with us....God is so good. We can hardly wait to hold our boy and not have to EVER give him back. 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Countdown to Tickets

Thing are coming together, people. PRAISE. GOD. 

Solomon's visa medical results were picked up from the clinic this past Tuesday as planned so the team in Ghana now has everything they need to attend the visa interview on July 15. *happy dance*

Even more exciting, Solomon was able to see his cardiologist on Wednesday. The doctor gave the "all clear" for air travel (whew) and even decided to take our little guy off his medication because he is doing so well!  While we'll have everything checked out again by our doctors here when Solomon comes home, we are VERY thankful to hear such positive news at this point. God has held this little boy in His hands and protected him during his time in the orphanage.

Originally, we were planning to purchase plane tickets this past week after the medical results were picked up. After much prayer and deliberation, however, we decided to wait until after the visa interview on July 15 to make definite travel plans. The interview is the last major hurdle to jump...and with the changes in the "adoption climate" in Ghana, we feel this is the wisest course of action.  While we have no reason to anticipate a delay or denial of Solomon's visa at the interview, we decided that waiting was the best choice for our family overall.  Furthermore, the orphanage administration has asked that we not come to visit or sign Solomon out of the institution over the weekends. Soooo, the earliest we would leave would be Saturday, July 20 anyway (meaning that we would arrive Sunday night and see Solomon on Monday morning).  

A few things to cover in prayer:

1. The visa interview. If you feel led, please join us in prayer on July 15. The appointment is at 7:30am Ghana time so that's 12:30am CA time. We should get an email update Monday morning letting us know the outcome.

2. Solomon's health. Since has begun to walk and been taking off his medication by his cardiologist, we are hopeful that our little guy is growing and healing as he should!

3. Affordable plane tickets. Tickets are pricey in July. Our plan is to leave sometime between July 20 and 23 depending on which days are cheapest.  Its scary to purchase tickets so last-minute!!!  Pray that God leads us to the flights He's reserved just for us.

4. Stress. Its a killer. We're making plans about 3 days out at a time. Please be gracious with us if we don't answer your email/text/phone call right away.  We're feeling a little overloaded already!

5. The families in our program waiting for their children and the many Ghanaian children in need of a forever family!  Pray especially that those in power in Ghana would be efficient in placing children in need with families.  Ethics are important and we are hopeful that the changes in Ghana will be for the better.

Join us in a happy dance for making it this far.  Dance because God is GOOD no matter what happens!