Dokolas Family

One Year!

2011-01-25T22:18:00.000-08:00

It's been one year since Tryana and Kalysta joined our family. What a year! God has grown and provided for us in ways we never could have imagined. We are so thankful for these 2 little firecrackers!

We celebrated by going to John's Incredible Pizza. T & K have never seen anything like that before. Wow!

Here are some pictures from our celebration of our family.

Christmas Cookies This Year

2010-12-18T19:24:00.000-08:00

A:

About this time last year we wrote a post about baking Christmas cookies together and how we were excited to teach our new little sisters to do it with us next time. When we wrote about it last year, we had already received our referral and were preparing to travel to Rwanda, but I still found it hard to imagine that T and K would ever be with us. But now they are here with us and we have enjoyed doing many things together with them, including baking Christmas cookies!

Yesterday we looked forward to making cookies all morning until we were finally ready to decorate our cookies. We all had a lot of fun and I think T and K had as much fun as the rest of us did, if not more!

Here is a picture of us with some of the cookies we made:

Lost Tooth

2010-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

T:

I lost my first tooth last night. I am so excited! The one next to it is almost ready to come out, too.

Rwanda Reunion

2010-10-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

N:

A few weeks ago, we went down to Huntington Beach to spend some time with the Fisher's and the Watson's. It was fun to see all the kids interact and to connect again with some of our travel friends. Here are a few of Becky's pictures from our California Rwanda reunion.

We also scheduled some time for Becky to take family pictures for us. That's how we were able to put a new picture at the top of our blog finally. She did a great job and we will treasure these pictures!

Our Summer

2010-08-15T07:37:00.000-07:00

L:

We’re about halfway through our trip home from Door County. I just have to say it again. These kids are great travelers - all 4 of them!

The summer seems to have gone by faster than any other summer. It was filled with many firsts for T & K - riding in a real boat, swimming in Lake Michigan & Green Bay, eating ice cream cones, seeing the goats on the roof, meeting lots of new relatives, etc. Here are some sample photos of our fun.

6 Months!

2010-07-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

We went out for pizza and homemade ice cream tonight to celebrate the six months that Kalysta and Tryana have been part of our family. Here are a couple pictures of all the sisters together. We'll try to post more about our summer soon.

A Long Drive

2010-06-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

L:

We left yesterday on our annual drive to Door County. We are very happy to report that all of the girls are great travelers! Of course, T & K had no concept of what this trip was going to be like or how long 4 days is. The girls watch a movie each day, they have games and activity books, I am reading a book aloud to everyone, we listen to lots of music, and K & T spend a lot of time coloring. K & T sleep a little bit, but we try hard to keep them awake in the car because we want everyone to sleep at the motel. Everyone slept great last night - yeah! - so we are hoping for an equally great night tonight. It rained most of today, but it's always so beautiful driving across Utah and Colorado. Two days down, two days to go.

Thank you so much to those of you who have been praying for us. We truly appreciate it.

Funny Kalysta

2010-06-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

L:

Whenever we get out of the car away from home, Kalysta and Tryana have to hold someone's hand while we walk through the parking lot or across the street. Now when we ask whose hand she is going to hold, Kalysta answers "Kalysta!" Then she puts her two hands together like she's holding hands. We laughed quite hard the first time she did it. Cute, Kiddo, but we're not going to go for it.

My Gym

2010-06-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

L:

Tryana and Kalysta have been going to My Gym for the last few months. They have fun, structured fitness classes for kids with music, gymnastics, games, etc. They have a blast! We thought you might like to see some pictures.

Kalysta's Birthday

2010-05-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

L:

Today is Kalysta's 3rd birthday! It was a fun day for the whole family. We chose a farm animals theme. All of the girls helped to make pig, sheep, and chicken cupcakes. We had a little party at the park. Kalysta wanted balloons and bubbles at her party. Here are some pictures from Kalysta's big day.

New Hairdos

2010-04-25T21:53:00.000-07:00

L:

I was warned by the ladies at the salon not to keep the girls' hair out until I'd gotten used to working with it, so I've been braiding it faithfully each week. I couldn't find any chunks of time to fit the braiding in this week, so I just left it out after I washed it. And it hasn't been that bad :) It's so beautiful when it's clean and curly and soft. Unfortunately, it does get matted down and needs to be combed again. Kalysta likes to put on a little drama and ask Tryana to hold her hand so that she can endure the combing out. Tryana, on the other hand, tells us that it doesn't hurt. Don't they look cute?

Picture Worth a Thousand Laughs

2010-03-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

This is a picture that is in a book that Tryana & Kalysta look at to become familiar with relatives. Almost from the first time they saw it, they would point and yell, "Ee! Ee! Ee!"... and run away. Take a look at my floating arm! We have had some good laughs with this one.

Hugs & Kisses

2010-03-15T13:47:00.000-07:00

L:

We are so encouraged to be receiving spontaneous hugs and kisses from Kalysta and Tryana the last few days! K is pretty cuddly and has hugged us from the beginning, but the kisses are new. And this is a huge change for T. We are so excited for this positive step in our bonding!

Shower

2010-03-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

L:

The staff at Nick's school threw a shower for our family today. We really appreciate their generosity and support. And I think Tryana and Kalysta liked all the attention.

Tryana's Birthday

2010-03-06T09:44:00.000-08:00

L:

It was Tryana's birthday yesterday. We "tested" her throughout the day by asking how old she is. She would get a big smile, hold up 4 fingers, and say "Four!"

We had a small family party last night. We had a car theme since Tryana is so fascinated by cars. Here are some pictures from her big day.

Update on Sleep & Friendship

2010-03-03T09:44:00.000-08:00

L:

I'll start with an update on our sleeping. Kalysta still wakes up many nights screaming. Please pray for her fears to go away. It's not every night and she usually calms down and falls back to sleep quickly when Nick goes in to her, but of course, we don't like to see her so frightened.

Many people have asked us how they can help during this time of transition. We really appreciate that, but it's hard to know how to answer sometimes. We have come up with one answer, though. You can help by just being our friends. If you don't live near us, send us an e-mail. That will really encourage us. If you live here, invite us to do something. Focusing so much on training and bonding with our new daughters/sisters can be isolating and it all is very tiring, so we don't have the energy to initiate much ourselves yet. Spending time with us in adult conversation and/or playing with us would be a wonderful gift.

Still Sleeping

2010-02-22T17:07:00.000-08:00

L:

We've now had three nights in a row of sleeping all night with no screaming! Nick is especially grateful. A full night's sleep makes it so much easier to face the challenges of the day. Thank you for praying and for your kind words.

Slept All Night

2010-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

L:

Both girls went to bed last night without giving us grief. And Kalysta slept all night without waking up screaming (Tryana always sleeps all night). We know it's only one night, but we are so thankful and wanted to report the good news.

Moving in the Right Direction

2010-02-17T21:34:00.000-08:00

L:

Life is not easy right now, but I feel so encouraged and thankful overall. We are seeing progress with Tryana and Kalysta in so many areas daily - using words and signs to communicate, playing nicely with each other and with their big sisters, sitting still longer to be read to, etc. We'd like to ask for prayer for one big area, though - sleeping. Bedtime is quite the production. While we have seen some progress even here, they do not like to go to bed or stay in bed. There's quite a bit of screaming and crying.

My husband is so super with the sleep issues. He takes most of the middle of the night duties because he says he can handle the loss of sleep better than I can (he's right). Please pray for his energy level.

Alyssa and Myranda are being amazing big sisters. Alyssa is such a patient teacher. I truly am impressed. Myranda is so willing to help with even the not-so-fun jobs. They're both so good at helping to keep consistency in our lives (like gently reminding their little sisters where the toys need to be and not be). I don't know how I would make it through the day without them.

First Experience with Snow

2010-02-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

L:

We decided to drive up to Tehachapi (about an hour away) to play in the snow this afternoon. It was actually a good day to experience snow for the first time for these girls who have always lived near the equator until now. It was about 50 degrees up there today. Sledding was filled with fear and fun - but mostly fun.

Kalysta and Tryana sang songs in Kinyarwanda while we drove back home. It was beautiful! If only we could have understood what they were singing. Our ten phrases or so don't help much in a situation like that.

Learning About Hair

2010-02-13T20:16:00.000-08:00

L:

We took Tryana and Kalysta to a salon on Tuesday to have their hair rebraided. The ladies there were very helpful and gave us many tips for taking care of their hair. We expected the braids to stay in for a little while so that we wouldn't need to tackle their hair for the first couple weeks home. Wrong. Yesterday, they used a doll's brush to pull out part of their braids. That meant that I got to make my first attempt on their hair sooner than planned. The nice ladies at the salon showed me a couple hairstyles that they thought I'd be able to handle without too much trouble. I decided to try what they said is the easiest to do. It really wasn't too hard. Here are some pictures of this first shot at styling their hair. I think it turned out pretty good. You can judge for yourselves.

School & Other Funny Things

2010-02-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

L:

I've been asked how we're managing school at this point. Basically, Alyssa and Myranda are taking turns playing with their little sisters when I need to be doing school with one of them. It's taking much longer to get through our schoolwork, but I think it will get easier as Tryana and Kalysta learn the rules of our family and how to speak English better. Alyssa and Myranda are having a great attitude with it all.

Yesterday, Tryana was dancing like a cow with our peace basket on her head just like the dancers we saw our last night in Rwanda. It was adorable!

T & K are fascinated with the vacuum cleaner. They have a look of fear on their faces, but they follow right behind me and keep touching the machine. It's quite funny.

Yesterday was the first day we didn't go anywhere in the car. T & K kept asking to go in the car. It seems to be one of their favorite things so far. They don't even mind being buckled into their car seats.

First Day Without Dad

2010-02-10T19:59:00.000-08:00

L:

I'm shocked to be writing this. The girls and I had a great day! Kalysta did not freak out when Nick left for work and when she needed a hug or wanted to be held today, she happily came to me. Those who spent time with us in Africa will understand what a big deal that is. Thank you, Lord!

I'm off to get ready for bed now. Good Night :)

Last Day in Kenya

2010-02-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

L:

We already posted about receiving the girls' visas on Friday. Boy were we all rejoicing!

After spending the morning at the embassy or in the hotel room, we were all ready to get out and walk around the city for a little while. When we were just about ready to go back to the hotel room to get ready for checkout time, torrents of rain fell and the thunder almost knocked us off our feet a couple times. It was actually very fun, but we had to get out of our hotel room so that we wouldn't get charged for another night. We finally had to run out in the rain when it let up a little. We were pretty soaked by the time we made it back to the hotel and we were pretty much out of clean laundry. Everyone had a pretty good attitude about it all, though. We used the hair dryer to dry off a little and found some clean, dry socks to change into. It really didn't take that long for us to be completely dry again.

After checkout, we had one final meal in Nairobi and headed to the airport. Checking in at the airport was not Tryana and Kalysta's favorite time. We were concerned that it was going to be a VERY LONG trip home with the start we had there. However, our flights went much better than anticipated. Again, we were very thankful.

Wednesday & Thursday in Kenya

2010-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

L:

I am happy to report that we had a good sleep last night. We are still far from well-rested, but we are thankful for the sleep we are getting. Nick goes back to work tomorrow because he doesn't have any more days he can take. Nobody is ready for him to go back. We're praying for a good sleep tonight and a smooth day without Papa (what T & K call him) tomorrow.

Now back to Kenya. We returned to the medical clinic on Wednesday. All 5 kids who were tested for TB (those over age 2) had negative results! Unfortunately, though, they had to have lots of shots in order to travel to the United States. We were very thankful to leave the clinic with the paperwork we needed to take to the embassy the next day.

As I already posted, when we went to the U.S. embassy on Thursday, we found out that the final clearance needed had not yet arrived in Nairobi. We were given an appointment for Monday and told that they would call us if our clearances came on Friday. Without these, we could not go home. We are not sure exactly where the problem occurred. I have some advice for the AWAA families waiting to adopt. Trust AWAA, trust your POA, and most importantly, trust God. Worrying and getting upset will not help you or all the orphans still waiting to be adopted. Expect glitches in international adoption. It is not always easy, but it is so worth it.

One more thing. Tryana and Kalysta were well over their fear of elevators by this point. In fact, they were asking to ride in the glass elevator at the Nakumatt behind our hotel.

Tuesday Safari

2010-02-08T21:15:00.000-08:00

L:

We had such a good sleep our first night home. It's amazing what a difference that makes (especially after 2 weeks lacking sleep)! Our second night was a different story. Tryana and Kalysta woke up around 2 a.m. and thought it was time to start a new day. It took about an hour and a half to get them back to sleep. We were so thankful it didn't take any longer because the rest of us wanted to sleep more. Unfortunately, Nick and I weren't able to sleep much after that. After feeling some refreshment yesterday, we felt pretty crummy today. After I finish this post, we're off to bed and hoping for more than 4 hours tonight.

Continuing with our attempt to summarize our trip...Tuesday was safari day for the families who adopted 2 children (the Woodman, Snead, and Dokolas families). This was definitely a highlight of our trip. We headed out early in the morning for a driving safari through Nairobi National Park. Alyssa wrote down each of the big animals we recognized or our driver identified for us. There were about 20! Some of the animals we saw were gazelles, warthogs, giraffes, zebras, and ostriches. Of course, we had to stay in the van, but sometimes it seemed like you could just get out and walk right up to the animals and pet them.

After lunch, we walked through the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, which is like a zoo for animals that have been injured or abandoned. It was fun to see lions, leopards, and cheetahs since all the cats were hiding from us on our safari. The kids were intrigued by each animal and it was difficult to get them to move on to each new animal.

Then we did the Nairobi Safari Walk. This was also a type of zoo, but the animals had more room to roam around. We saw even more new animals. We were impressed by how well the kids held up during this long day. And we took tons of pictures!

We're Home!

2010-02-07T21:45:00.000-08:00

L:

We made it home last night. The flights were pretty uneventful. Everyone took a nap on the 5-hour flight from Nairobi to Dubai. We had a short layover and then about a 16-hour flight to LAX. The individual screens were a big hit for Tryana and Kalysta and they took a couple long naps again. Alyssa and Myranda were terrific travelers on the way home also. The Watson's and the Fisher's flew with us. Nick's parents picked us up at the airport. We stopped for dinner about halfway through our 2-hour drive home. It still seemed like a long drive since we were so tired, but it felt great to arrive home.

We've spent the day unpacking and introducing T & K to our home. We'll try to fill you in on the rest of our time in Kenya very soon. Thanks again for all of the kind comments and e-mails and for your prayers.

Quick Update

2010-02-05T01:36:00.000-08:00

L:

We get to go home as planned!!!

One parent from each family went to the embassy a little while ago. They just called and told us that the approvals came for all of the families - yeah!

We fly out around 11:30 tonight and arrive at LAX around 1:00 p.m. Saturday. We are very excited to get home! Please pray for the six of us on these long flights. I'm sure this will be quite the experience.

We will try to post more if we have internet access in the airports. Otherwise, it'll have to wait until we get home.

Unknown Departure from Kenya

2010-02-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

L:

We’ve had the last couple posts written for a couple days but didn’t have time to access the internet until now. The Woodman’s have been generous to allow us to access the internet from their room so that we can share the expense because it is very expensive here!

I don’t have time right now to post about the days since Monday, but I will tell you that we may have to stay in Nairobi until sometime next week. Our last piece of paperwork for the kids’ visas somehow did not make it to the U.S. embassy in Nairobi. It is yet one more criminal check. We just have to wait for them to receive it and then we will be able to pick up the visas and return home. Please pray for these clearances to make it to the embassy before they close at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow so that we will still be able to fly out tomorrow night. We want to go home and certainly do not wish for our return to be delayed, but we do trust that God is still in control of the timing of everything. Thank you for your prayers.

Some Pictures from Kenya

2010-02-04T09:20:00.000-08:00

Monday

2010-02-04T09:11:00.001-08:00

L:

We spent the first half of Monday at the medical clinic. Tryana and Kalysta had to be tested for TB. Now we’re all praying that the five children over age two get negative results when we go back to have them checked.

After lunch and naps, we headed to the pool at our hotel. T & K had a blast! They had been fascinated the day before when we had walked down to check out the pool area, but it had taken a little coaxing to get them to touch the water. They were pretty brave this time.

There are tons of places to walk to around the hotel. After dinner, we went to a Bata store (Indian shoe company) so that Nick could buy two pairs of sandals. He bought some when he was in India almost twenty years ago and has been wanting new ones for a long time.

Our room is a suite at this hotel. We’re definitely appreciating the extra room since there are six of us. T & K are sharing their own bed here.

Sunday

2010-02-04T09:09:00.000-08:00

N:

On Sunday, we flew to Nairobi. The flight was short and sweet. Tryana was terrified of the plane but only cried at the beginning and end of the flight. We think Kalysta is too young to be afraid. They both didn’t like wearing a seatbelt (it was their first experience with a seatbelt, so we can’t wait to see what they think of their car seats).

As we drove to the hotel, Alyssa and Myranda thought it was fun to be driving on the opposite side of the road from what we’re used to.

We are staying at the Nairobi Safari Club, which is right in the middle of the city. It is nice to be able to walk around, visit the shops, and have lots of eating choices. T & K are afraid of riding in the elevator so far. They grab on to our legs until the doors open again.

More Pictures from Rwanda

2010-02-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday

2010-02-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

L:

On the last Saturday of the month in Rwanda, everything is closed down in the morning for community service. Everyone, including the President, spends the morning cleaning their community. No wonder Kigali is such a clean city!

Around 11:00, we returned to the marketplace and finally found the number one thing we were looking for - some fabric for Great Aunt Liz to incorporate into the quilts she’s going to make for Tryana and Kalysta! I won’t pretend that it was easy trying to walk through those little shops with two toddlers, but overall it was a fun experience.

In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel so that T & K could take naps and I could start packing for our departure the next day. Then we got dressed up for our final Rwanda celebration dinner together with our new friend/POA and the other 8 families. We enjoyed watching traditional dancers during dinner. They were very talented and it was just beautiful.

When we returned to the hotel, it was our turn to hear the girls’ story. We hadn’t been able to drive to where they came from on Friday because it’s too far away. We won’t be sharing their story here because it’s Tryana and Kalysta’s story, but we can share a couple things. Tryana has always looked after Kalysta and they have always slept in beds close together in the orphanage.

Friday

2010-02-02T05:46:00.000-08:00

L:

The last time we had time on the internet, Alyssa wanted to post and I was thrilled to give her a turn! However, we did not know it would be so long until we would have internet access again, so I am way behind filling you in on what’s been happening here. I’ll pick up with Friday and we’ll cover a day at a time until we catch up.

Friday was a very special day. This was the day we drove around to the various places the children came from and heard their stories. Our POA knows and loves our children and has worked to find out what she can about them. She has such an incredible passion for orphans and getting them into loving families. She seems to be the perfect match for her position. She has put tons of time and energy into handling our paperwork over here and acting as our guide while we’re traveling. We really appreciate her!!!

We were excited to go out beyond the city of Kigali. We drove out to the countryside and enjoyed more of this beautiful Land of a Thousand Hills. We stopped by a river that connects to the Nile. We also stopped at a village to interact with the people and were allowed to look inside one of the huts.

We did a little souvenir shopping in the afternoon and then went out for some delicious Indian food. The food really has been good on our trip. I am so thankful to have 4 daughters who eat so well. My pickiness hasn’t even been a problem here. We’ve had lunch (buffet-style) several times at a place called Afrika Bite. Nick likes to refer to it as his “favorite restaurant in all of Africa.”

Warming Up to Us

2010-01-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

A:

It is cool to watch Tryana and Kalysta learn as they warm up to us. They are learning our names. We were going to teach them how to count and were surprised to see that they can count to 10, say their ABCs, and sing "Jesus Loves Me" all in English!

K is so sweet! Today, she said "Nda gukunda" (Kinyarwanda for "I Love You") to T. Her laugh is also cute. They are both laughing and talking more and more.

They love all their toys. They love to play with all the water bottles and always take the clothes off their dolls. T and K love to play with Dad's ipod touch (just like M and me) and think they can touch every electronic with a screen! They also love to wear their jackets (with the hoods on). I can't wait to see how else they change as they are with us longer.

Playground Picture

2010-01-29T22:32:00.000-08:00

Playing with Snead friends (Sorry there's no time to upload more)

Thursday & Other Thoughts

2010-01-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

L:

I was not able to access the blog at all last night, so I will give a quick summary of Thursday and then try to blog about yesterday sometime later today. In the morning, we did some souvenir shopping at a neat little marketplace. After lunch, we went back to the hotel for a long (much-needed) nap. Then we ordered room service for dinner and skyped all the grandparents. T & K don't know how to stay in front of the computer yet and our ability to skype is pretty hit and miss, but hopefully it's not too frustrating for everyone back in the States.

When they wake up, Kalysta moves over and holds Tryana's hand. It's so sweet.

I keep reminding myself over and over that God in His wisdom and love chose us to be Tryana and Kalysta's family. He will give us the ability to love and parent them in the ways that they need. Despite our inadequacies, He will provide for these two precious girls.

I'll end by saying thank you for the comments, e-mails, and posts on Nick's Facebook. I think you understand that we don't have time to respond, but please know that we appreciate them.

Thanks & Orphanage Tour

2010-01-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

L:

Yesterday, we had a free morning, so we went to a park with a few other families so the kids could play. The trampoline was a big hit. The Snead's and the Woodman's have also adopted two children, and these older kids enjoy playing together. They have some interesting ways of interacting, so we're all learning new things by observing this.

We've had several tantrums now, which we think is a good thing in a way since it shows that they're getting used to us, but it's also very difficult. We cannot let them manipulate us, but we also cannot parent them in all the same ways we could if we had had them from birth. We're hoping and praying that some of this will be easier to figure out when we're home with a more normal routine and more time for sleep.

A big THANK YOU to those who gave us donations for the orphanage. We pooled the money that a few families had collected and were able to buy a truckload of food! It was great to see all those sacks of food being unloaded.

We had a tour of Home of Hope yesterday also. We are so grateful to the sisters and the caretakers for all they do. They take such good care of the children and the elderly and disabled in the other buildings. We are glad we got to see where Tryana and Kalysta have been living so that we can tell them about it when they are older.

However, living in an orphanage, of course, can never come close to having a family. God created us to be in families. That was His original design. There are SO many children all over the world who need families. If you have any sense at all that God might be asking you to look into adopting, please take that step to check it out. And please let us know if you ever have any questions. We would love to help you explore the possibility.

To Those Praying

2010-01-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

L:

I'm not getting enough sleep and it's hard to be everything the 4 girls need me to be when I am so tired. I would appreciate prayer for this. Thanks.

Pictures from Days 2&3

2010-01-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

Day Three

2010-01-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

L:

The girls are doing great sleeping with us. Kalysta and Tryana sleep between Nick and me on a king bed. Alyssa and Myranda share a twin at the foot of our bed. We wake up each morning to the sound of many different beautiful bird calls.

We spent much of yesterday in various government offices. It was quite a long day.

We tried to post some pictures yesterday, but we couldn't get them to upload for some reason. We will post more pictures as soon as we are able to upload them.

Second Day

2010-01-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

L:

We started our day by going to the passport office. It went faster than we expected. It could have taken a very long time since there were 12 kids to process.

That left us with extra time to hang out at the hotel. We went to the playground, played on our balcony, and played with some of the girls' friends in the courtyard. These kids sure can yell. They were having a lot of fun.

Tryana and Kalysta are definitely becoming more comfortable with us. They're looking us in the eye for longer periods. Tryana had lots of big smiles yesterday already, but it's been fun to see Kalysta smile and hear her laugh today as well.

Those of you who know Alyssa and Myranda will find this interesting. Kalysta and Tryana line up everybody's shoes just like their big sisters used to do.

This is the first night we've had Tryana and Kalysta with us. It was fun to get them into their snuggly pajamas. All four girls are already asleep (our earliest night so far) and I'm on my way there now, too.

More Pictures from First Day

2010-01-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

Meeting the Girls

2010-01-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

At the Orphanage

We Finally Met Them!

2010-01-24T04:28:00.000-08:00

L:

We arrived in Rwanda last night around 8:30. Alyssa and Myranda were fantastic travelers! When we got to the hotel, we met most of the other families (there are 9 of us total) and then went to bed. We were exhausted.

After breakfast this morning, we all went to the orphanage to pick up our kids. It was the most amazing experience to see the girls for the first time. I don't really have words to describe it yet. The girls are doing great with us so far. We will post some pictures soon hopefully.

We all went out to lunch. Tryana and Kalysta seem to be good eaters. They ate everything we put in front of them. Now we're back at the hotel so that the kids can take naps. We have to take them back to the orphanage tonight, but hopefully we'll be able to get the paperwork we need tomorrow so that they can stay with us from then on.

I just have to conclude by saying that Nick is such an incredible dad! Seeing him just jump in to everything with the girls right away and watching him help Tryana with her lunch today brought tears to my eyes. All of our girls are so blessed!

Waiting in Kenya

2010-01-23T06:46:00.000-08:00

L:

We are sitting in the lounge at the airport in Nairobi, Kenya with the Fisher's and Thomas family from Ohio. Our final flight to Kigali, Rwanda leaves in a couple hours. We get to see our kiddos tomorrow!!!

First Leg of Trip

2010-01-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

L:

We left Bakersfield at 9am on Thursday, even though our plane didn’t leave from LAX until 4pm. We left early because the Grapevine (the mountain ridge we cross to get to L.A.) was closed on Wednesday. We followed four snowplows through the snowiest part but made it through. Right after we got over the Grapevine, they closed it down again. Thank You, Lord!

We met our new friends from Huntington Beach, Nick & Becky Fisher, at LAX. We’re on all the same flights together. We flew straight to Dubai. It was a great flight, the nicest we’ve ever been on. We each had our own screen to watch movies and play games. They even gave the kids activity books with colored pencils and hand puppets. They’re saving the puppets to give to Tryana & Kalysta.

We arrived in Dubai around 8pm here. The six of us got a taxi and took a little tour of the city. We saw dancing water, the largest shopping mall, and the tallest skyscraper in the world. The buildings are so huge here. It was a quick tour but definitely worth it! Now we’re back at the hotel and ready to sleep so that we are ready for our two flights tomorrow and our arrival in Rwanda!

So Thankful

2010-01-18T16:45:00.000-08:00

L:

My sweet friend, Jill, has offered to arrange meals for us when we return. It will be such a big help as we adjust to being home together and deal with jet lag. Thank you, Jill!

Fun Research!

2010-01-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

A:

I just found out what the topic for my big research paper will be this year. I have to compare and contrast two countries from the Eastern Hemisphere. I bet you can guess which two I have chosen- Rwanda and Kenya! Dad says we can take a field trip so I can do more research :) What perfect timing- Mom didn't even make up this assignment!

Plane Tickets

2010-01-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

L:

We just purchased our plane tickets! We're set to fly out Thursday, January 21. Only 10 days - wow!

Passed Court!

2010-01-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

A & M:

This morning, we found out that we passed court! Tryana and Kalysta are now officially our sisters!!! We can't wait to meet them! Now, we can post some pictures! Here they are:

This picture is from the beginning of December.

This is a picture of Tryana that we received today.

This is a picture of Kalysta that we also received today.

Orphan to Heir

2010-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

L:

I just finished an excellent book - "Adopted for Life" by Russell Moore. I highly recommend it. I hadn't started it yet when I posted on Christmas Eve. When I just read the last page, I was amazed to find that he used many of the same words to express what I was feeling on that day. Here's part of it. "I pray that you will grow in wonder that you were a cosmic orphan, and now you're the beloved son of the Father, an heir of everything you can see and of things so glorious they'd burn your corneas to powder if you looked at them now." He's much better with words than I am, so I am so thankful for his expression and encouragement of this wonder.

Travel Date

2009-12-30T10:36:00.000-08:00

N:

The day in Rwandan Court sounds like it went well. We learned today that we will be going through Kenya for their visas instead of Ethiopia (one week in Rwanda and hopefully one in Kenya).

We have a tentative travel date of January 22nd!!!

If you want to send a donation to the orphanage, let us know, or send us a check. What they have been doing is letting us buy food and supplies and deliver them to the orphanage while we are there.

Until the judge reads the verdict, we can't share pictures or added info about the kids. We will post when we officially pass court (should know by Friday, Jan. 8).

Overwhelmed with Wonder and Thankfulness

2009-12-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

L:

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness for our adoption, our most important adoption. The Creator of all came into the world as our Savior so that we could be adopted into His family! Anyone who believes in Jesus becomes the child of the King and has life and a relationship with Him now and for all eternity! I am filled with wonder that the Almighty God loves like this. Our adoption of Kalysta and Tryana is a beautiful reminder and gives me a deeper understanding of this most important adoption. May you be filled with wonder as you ponder Jesus' coming. Merry Christmas!

Court Date

2009-12-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

N:

We are excited!!!! We just learned that the court date is scheduled for next Wednesday (Dec. 30th).
That means, if we pass and get our immigration approval, we will probably travel Mid-January.

Time to start packing!

Pronunciation

2009-12-23T08:22:00.000-08:00

L:

A few people have asked how to pronounce Tryana. It's a little trickier when you only see it in print. It's Tree-on-a. Hope that helps.

A Way You Can Help Orphans in Rwanda

2009-12-18T21:40:00.000-08:00

As we look forward with excitement to picking up our two new daughters, we also think of all their friends they will be leaving behind. One thing we would like to do for them is to buy food and other things the kids in the orphanage need while we're there. We know of other families who have purchased necessary items in Rwanda in order to help provide for their basic needs. We are collecting money while we wait to travel. If you would like to contribute to this, please let us know.

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

A:

We are having fun baking Christmas cookies tonight. We are excited for next year when we can teach Tryana and Kalysta how to bake cookies with us.

Names

2009-12-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

L:

We've decided on names to go with the girls' Rwandan names (which we are not able to share yet). The older one is Tryana and the younger is Kalysta. It will be so nice to be able to pray for and talk about the girls by name now.

More News Already

2009-12-02T20:40:00.000-08:00

N:

*This morning we got another picture of the girls. They are very cute and in a more relaxed environment.
*We got the medical information tonight for both girls.
*We were told that we may know the court date by sometime next week.

This is moving fast!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would appreciate your prayers concerning getting paid time off from work. It is up to the Board.

More Clarification

2009-11-30T20:29:00.000-08:00

L:

The only information we have on the girls so far is their pictures and current names. In order to protect the children, we are not allowed to post any pictures or other personal information until we pass court.

Expected Timeframe

2009-11-30T16:57:00.000-08:00

L:

We will probably receive ages, medical, and other information within two weeks. Then we can officially accept the referrals. At that point, we will wait for our court date (should be sometime in January), where the girls will officially be allowed to be part of our family. Then we can travel to Rwanda to pick them up. We're thinking maybe we'll travel by the end of January.

Hard to Focus

2009-11-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

L, A, & M:

How are we supposed to concentrate on school with all this excitement? We're sure Dad is having trouble focusing at work, too.

Our Referral!!!

2009-11-30T07:41:00.000-08:00

L:

I can hardly begin to tell you how shocked we are. I'm shaking as I write this. We received our referral this morning!!! Two toddler girls. They're beautiful! We don't really know anything else yet. This has happened so much faster than we expected. We'll let you know when we know more about the timing of everything else.

Nick was about ready to leave for work when he saw the e-mail. He woke me up so we could look at it together. I was pretty out of it as he dragged me to the computer, but as soon as I saw it, I was shocked awake!

Then we woke up the girls so we could share the pictures with them together. They are definitely glad we did!

Our Approval

2009-11-28T09:48:00.000-08:00

N:

We are excited!

This morning we got our approval from the Rwanda government to adopt! It was through e-mail and the attachment is blurry so all that we can see of the date is October and two digits. That means we are much further along than we thought.

Next steps are receiving our referral (who the kids are), court date, and travel.

Rwanda Update

2009-11-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

L:

To follow up on our last post, the families who had received their referrals passed court yesterday! That means it's official and they get to share the pictures of their children. Also, they get to travel and pick them up before the end of the year. Thank You, Lord!

Rwanda Referrals!

2009-11-09T09:32:00.000-08:00

L:

Some Rwanda families have received referrals today! We are so excited for them! Hopefully, the other approved families will receive their referrals very soon. Now we're praying that their court dates will come quickly because many of the courts in Rwanda close for the month of December. If they don't pass court before December, then they may have to wait until January. Wouldn't it be great if these families could all be together with their new little ones before Christmas?

Naming

2009-10-31T09:47:00.001-07:00

L:

Naming is important to me. I enjoy the process of discovering just the right names for our children. It’s a little trickier this time, though. First, we don’t want to make firm decisions on names until we know the kids’ Rwandan names. We want to use their Rwandan names as well as the special names from our family. Besides that, Alyssa and Myranda (especially Alyssa) have strong opinions this time around. It’s definitely fun to have them involved in the process, but I really do pray that they are pleased with the final decisions that Nick and I make.

Why Rwanda?

2009-10-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

L:

That's a good question.

As our wait with China continued to lengthen, we began to ask the Lord if we should pursue another adoption while we waited. We were hoping to adopt again after our first adoption was complete. Perhaps we should instead adopt “again” now before our China adoption was complete? As we continued to pray and talk about this, our hearts were pulled more and more to pursue a concurrent adoption.

We wanted to stay with America World Adoption Agency because they are so committed to doing adoption in the right ways for all the right reasons. As we considered the other available countries with AWAA, Rwanda seemed like the logical choice for us for many reasons. However, we wanted to be sure.

When we had made the decision to adopt through China, three factors had come together to confirm our decision- a great need, a fairly smooth process, and China kept coming up everywhere in our lives during that period. With Rwanda, the first two factors seemed to be true again, but Rwanda just really wasn’t in our lives at all.

We decided, therefore, to ask the Lord to bring Rwanda into our lives if that was the country He wanted us to choose. We knew that it might not be His will to reveal His plan in this way. If Rwanda didn’t start popping up in our lives, that didn’t necessarily mean that He didn’t want us to go with Rwanda. However, if He did bring Rwanda to us in obvious ways, we’d know for sure that that was His direction for us.

Well, the next day, Nick was watching football and was flipping through the channels during the commercials. He stopped on a show about gorillas. After several minutes, we realized they were in Rwanda! Pretty cool. The next night, we were at our weekly meeting with our Truth Project group. The video that night included something about Rwanda!! We looked at each other and smiled. It seemed that maybe God was confirming His plan for our adoption to us in just the way we had asked. The next day, I received an e-mail newsletter. I hadn’t opened these e-mails for several months but decided to read this one. It had an article about Rwanda!!!

Three days in a row, God gave us a specific message about Rwanda. He didn’t have to answer our prayer in this way, but we are so thankful that He chose to give us this special gift. The confirmations didn’t continue daily, but He has brought Rwanda into our lives repeatedly since then and we are growing in love for this country and its people. We can’t wait until we get to travel!

Languages

2009-10-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

L:

We've had a question about language differences. Rwanda has 3 official languages- Kinyarwanda, French, and English. Kinyarwanda is the main language, so we will not speak the same language as our new little ones. We'll learn some useful phrases in Kinyarwanda before we go, but thankfully, much can be communicated through gestures, facial expressions, and hugs. And it's amazing how God has given kids the ability to learn languages so quickly. Before we know it, they'll probably be talking our ears off in English!

We're Expecting

2009-10-03T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here are the answers to some more questions. How old will they be? We've requested 2 children as young as possible under 42 months. We've been imagining that that would mean an infant and a toddler, but we really don't know. What gender? Girls and/or boys- we haven't made a specific request.

How Long?

2009-10-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Many people have asked about when we think we'll travel to Rwanda. Here's the expected timeframe. It's about 3-6 months from when our paperwork arrives in Rwanda to when we receive our approval from Rwanda. Then it's about 2 months until we receive our referral- that's when we will know who our new kids are :) Then we wait until we pass court in Rwanda and can travel a couple weeks after that. We think maybe we'll travel in March?

Adoption Blog

2009-10-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

We've finally started an Adoption Blog! Yes, we started the adoption process in 2006, but better late than never, right? We're setting up this blog so that our family and friends can stay informed about our adoption journey and pray with us through its developments.