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

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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!

Medical Exams DONE!

Woke up to great news this morning: our social worker was able to take Solomon to the medical clinic and have his exam completed!  This included an eye exam, physical examination (no X-ray was needed since Solomon showed no signs of TB.  YAY!), and the mandatory vaccinations.  The report should be ready on Tuesday (although we may not hear the results right away)!

And.  There's an extra treat.
A picture of our little man standing up and walking.
*squeal*
He looks so big and so little at the same time!!!
We're coming soon, baby doll....don't get too big just yet.  *grin*

The shoes.  THE SHOES!  What a little, big man...