"Bringer of Joy"

Keith says that he loves having a kid that laughs so hard she cries at least once a day.  The name "Béatrice" means "bringer of joy," and I can honestly say that she's brought so much joy into our little family.

She's been with us for about 5 months now.  It feels like she's been a part of us forever.  She has bonded so closely, not only with Keith and me, but also with her grandparents and other extended family.  She prays every night for them all by name and thanks God for them.

I haven't blogged much in the past few months because I haven't really been sure what to say. It is so hard for me to express all that I want to share about Beya in a blog post.

Our lives are full and busy and we love our girl.

posing for the camera 

Beya with Grandma Mimi & Keith's Aunt Dorothy

Daddy's girl

Owls...

making silly faces

she even loves the doggies :-)

Kinshasa

On August 1st, we met our girl for the first time face to face. Our internet connection Kinshasa wasn't the best, so I didn't even try to update the blog from there.  We've been home for a couple weeks now, so I'll just try to hit the high points in our adventure.  

When we arrived, we expected to have Beya's visa from the US embassy in hand, however there had been a mistake and one of the documents we needed had not been completed.  We were in country nearly 2 weeks before her visa was issued.  At that point we applied for an exit letter from the Congolese government -- without this letter we would not be able to leave the country.  Most families took nearly 3 weeks to get their exit letters, so we were concerned that we'd have to be in Kinshasa for about 5 weeks total.  

Our days were pretty similar -- I have likened our time there to the movie Groundhog Day, where Bill Murray's character re-lives the same day over and over again.  We spent most of our time at St. Anne's, a Catholic guesthouse.  There were several other adoptive families there, so we all spent our days just hanging out around the place.  

The whole time I was there, I was anxious to get home.  Nothing about our time there was "normal" or like our lives in the USA would be.  I didn't want Beya to get used to that environment and be disappointed when we finally went home.  About 2 weeks into our stay, though, she told one of the staff that she was ready to go to America, but we stay and stay and stay...  I think she realized that we weren't in a "normal" situation.  

By week 3, we were all a little on edge. We'd changed our flights once and at that point we were ready to send Keith home.  I was bracing myself for 2 more weeks in Kinshasa by myself with Beya.  I was exhausted and not feeling well (probably due to side effects from the anti-malaria medication I was taking) and our money was running low.  Beya was so attached to Keith, too, and it would have been really hard on her for him to leave her at this point.  

But miracle of miracles, our exit letter was issued in time for all 3 of us to be on the flight home.  I know we had many people praying for us, and we are so thankful for the answers!  

even in the small things...

For anyone who knows me, even a little bit, knows that I love my dogs.  They've been my “kids” the past couple of years, and they bring me so much joy.  They were quite the upgrade from my numerous house plants!

When we started this adoption process, I began to really pray that everything would be ok with the dogs and whatever child(ren) we would bring into our home.  I know other families who brought their kids home from overseas and the kids were terrified of dogs.

We included pictures of Calvin in the first photo book we sent to Beya.  We made sure we mentioned that he was a “nice dog.”  Our first Skype date with Beya, she wanted to kiss the doggies on the computer screen when we introduced her to “CAL-vin” and “MAY-zee.”  I thought that was a good sign.

I've also been worried about what we’d do with them when we travel.  Keith works from home quite a bit and so they aren't used to being alone for more than a few hours a day.  We've usually been able to rely on my sister, but this summer she has a round-the-clock home healthcare client that she’s caring for, so she’s really not free to come stay at our place and babysit our crazy canines.

I hate to kennel them – we jokingly call it “puppy prison.”  But we found a place that was a reasonable price and that they’d let both the dogs stay in one pen.  It wasn't ideal, but it would work.

Then, Keith sent me a text yesterday saying that his step-mom offered to stay at our house with the dogs while we’re in the Congo.  I couldn't have imagined a better scenario for taking care of our puppies while we’re away.  Rosanne loves our doggies and they love her.

As I’m typing this, it seems like a sort of silly little thing to devote an entire blog post to, but I couldn't help but feel God’s care and provision for us even in these small details.  My heart is grateful.

Calvin at our open house fundraiser in December -- he got all dressed up

final push!

We're making one final fundraising push over the next couple of weeks to help offset our travel expenses!

Here are a few opportunities if you're interested!

1.  Family photo session with our amazing photographer friend Rachel Joy.  She's offered two photo sessions to two lucky families who donate to our adoption fund.  These sessions are a $200 value!  If you're interested, check out her facebook page and leave me a comment (or message me), and I can answer any questions you may have.

2.  We're selling some stuff!

Antique tool chest from mid 1800's -- advertised at $350

Union Caboose No. 29 stove - advertised at $1500 (or best offer!)

Pier 1 desk -- advertised at $150

table w/ 4 chairs -- advertised at $150

chairs that go with the table!

Butler's Pantry Lenox China -- 12 place settings and various platters, bowls, etc.  Also available, 11 Mikasa crystal water goblets -- over $1000 worth of fine dinnerware!  Give us your best offer!  

3.  The "donate" button on this blog is open for payments for purchases and general donations!  every dollar helps!!

If you or anyone you know might be interested in any of these things, please feel free to pass this along.  Leave me a comment or message me if you have questions or want more information on any of these things.

Thanks everyone!!

We're coming, baby!

We have confirmation from our agency that we can be in the Congo by August 1st! We finally passed through the investigation hurdle, and should have Beya's visa from the US Embassy by the last part of July.  All we'll need once we get there is an exit letter from the DRC, allowing us to leave the country with our girl.

I can't begin to describe the roller-coaster of emotions over the past couple of weeks.  It is such a crazy feeling that we're really on our way soon!

thoughts on mothers day...

For the past several years, Mother's Day has been a really hard day.  I love celebrating my mom, because she's pretty wonderful, but the ache in my own heart to be a mom has been really rough at times.

A couple years ago, I was visiting my folks for Mother's Day weekend.  At their church, they give out small gifts to all the moms at the service each year, and that year it was a flower of some kind.  As I was leaving the service, my heart was heavy.  I'm not sure what prompted this, but one of my mom's friends handed me her flower on the way out and told me that I had a mother's heart.  I fought back the tears as I kissed her cheek.

My heart is about to burst this year.  Our daughter has our last name.  Our I-600 application has been provisionally approved by US immigration.  We're getting closer, but it still feels so far away (and still could take many months to to get her home).  I'm between super excited and terribly depressed at any given moment. I want my girl.  I want her to have her mama.

These "kids" will have to do for now... :-)

And this mother's day, I'm thankful for an extra measure of grace.  The ache in my heart is somehow less in celebrating this holiday -- our daughter may not be home with us yet, but I really feel like I am her mom.  Praying we're together soon.

Mama, bonjour! (2 days in a row!)

We had our first Skype date with our Beya on Saturday morning.  It was scheduled for 10am, but they called at 9:40.  Keith was in the basement, and I was scrambling to figure out how to answer the call on his mac.

Finally we got it together.  One of the Congolese attorneys was with her to translate.  We didn't have a great video connection, but we could see her beautiful smile and the pretty braids in her hair.

The first words she said to me were Mama, bonjour!  I melted!  "Mama!" -- the best word I think I've ever heard!  She was speaking a mix of French, Tschiluba, and probably Lingala, so we were really thankful for the translator.

We talked about the foods she likes and showed her the room we're preparing for her.  We showed her one of her dolls, and she giggled and asked when she could have it?

The best part was when she told us she loved us and that she wanted to come home NOW.  Not tomorrow, but NOW, NOW, NOW.  She crossed her arms over her chest and her brow wrinkled up in a little angry scowl. I want you now, too, baby.

Throughout the conversation, she was really interested in what papa was doing -- I told her I loved her, and without missing a beat, she asked, "what about papa??" She really liked papa's hat and that he plays the guitar (he played a little for her, too).

Toward the end of our time, when we were saying our goodbyes, we lost the video feed.  She told us not to cry...that she'd be angry with us if we cried.  I love this girl so much.

Then, this afternoon, our Skype was ringing again!  2 calls in 2 days seemed too good to be true!  There was no video this time, but that sweet voice saying bonjour, mama & papa was musical.  She's BIEN!   It has been a good weekend.