Wednesday, July 30, 2008

DNA Results - What next?

Well, we have the results of the DNA test with the children and the dad. Abraham and Diamond are the dad's kids. However, Kindness is not his child. We don't know what that means now. The orphanage and the Embassy are working to resolve Kindness's case. I'll post more as we learn more.

Happy Birthday, Diamond! Diamond turned 5 on Friday. Please say a quick prayer for her as a birthday gift to her.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Hoping to hear DNA results today

Well, the DNA made it to the lab on Monday. We were told it takes 48 hours to process, so if they started processing on Tuesday, the 48 hours is up. Hopefully, we'll get an email from AOH today about the results. The official paper has to return to the US embassy in Liberia but we should be able to get the news before then. We're getting closer....

Friday, July 18, 2008

Issac and Emmanuel - still need our prayers

Pray for Issac. He just had major surgery to repair his spine and the doctors need to go back in to replace a screw. You can read about it here. Another boy that needs prayers is Emmanuel. He just had heart surgery the same day that Issac did only it was on the other side of the US. You can read about Emmanuel here. Both boys were adopted from Liberia last year. Please take a moment and support these boys and their families during this difficult time.

DNA is leaving Liberia

Rachel, the AOH adoption consultant, confirmed the DNA swabs were taken and should be leaving the US Embassy in Liberia by now. We have two Rachels we talk about all the time... "Rachel, our daughter" and "Rachel, from AOH". So that is their new names. A family from Tampa just returned with their three girls from AOH, another family from Iowa leaves Sunday to pickup Abraham's friend Enoch, and yet another family has gotten travel clearance. These were all from the April 2007 referral time-frame. I don't know of any more families left to travel but if there are, I hope their cases are moving forward.

Pray that the DNA tests move quickly and that they confirm the familial relationships needed to get the kids' US visas. Also, pray for the families that are traveling soon, the Duvals and the Rennies.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Blog Layout and Actors....

Julie asked me how to change the layout of the blog. Just go to Customize, then Layout tab, then choose Pick New Template. The stretch layouts utilize the whole space. Have fun!

Karl is becoming a good actor. He reacts to what is happening onstage and remembers to face the audience. Now he needs to project his voice ..... hard to believe, I know.... and S-L-O-W down. We've been gone a lot in the last few days for Treasure Island practice. Tonight is the dress rehearsal/opening night where the kids perform for a nursing home audience. This show if for kids under 18. There is a student director, Erik, and student stage manager, too. Craig is the lights and sound guy. All of them have learned a lot about stagecraft and working with others to produce a show. I'll let you know how the show goes when we get a real audience. Hopefully my camera will work so I can post some pictures, too.

Friday, July 11, 2008

New Layout, sunburn and boiled peanuts....

I thought I'd try a new layout. The old one only uses the center of the screen. If you have a preference for the look of the wider layout vs the narrow, brown layout, leave me a comment.

Wednesday we went to the Atlantic ocean to visit Del's cousins. Becky and her family were down from WI for a visit to Connie and her family in FL. Del and Karl went swimming in the ocean while Erin and I dodged jellyfish on shore. We saw a couple of sea turtle nests and some sand crabs. The waves and the jellyfish were a result of Hurricane Bertha's affects on the ocean, I guess. Del and Karl got sunburned while they were there but are recovering nicely. Lots of aloe lotion helps. Yesterday, Karl and his cousins got to play in the cool springs for a little bit which I think helped his burn. We also had boiled peanuts and pulled pork BBQ for supper so the Wisconsinites had a taste of the south.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Visitors for the 4th...

Del's sister and her family are visiting for a bit. They came on the 4th so that was our celebration. The kids were so excited to see their cousins we didn't even hear about going to see fireworks! Of course, some neighbors were kind enough to shoot some nice fireworks off so we could share with them.

We went to the Gulf coast and saw the sights of what was a town bigger than New Orleans (back in the day) before hurricanes wiped it out. It was never rebuilt as a big town but it is a nice, quaint fishing and artsy town. We plan to see some alligators and swim in one of the famous springs around here before they head back. Tonight is Del's birthday so the menu is BLT sandwiches and of course, cake and ice cream! I'd better get the cake in the oven before it gets too hot in the kitchen to bake!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Braces evaluation.... again

Craig and Erin have an evaluation for braces scheduled today. We're pretty sure Erin's wisdom teeth need to be removed soon, too. So we should have an interesting morning. Then we get to decide if we can afford Erik's current orthodontist or if I have to do some more searching. It appears that all our kids will have or have had braces. I'm trying to steer someone into orthodontia or dentistry as a career, along with being a chiropractor but so far no one is interested. The closest is Erin who wants to be a nurse.

At least the pictures we have of Abraham don't look like he needs braces. Maybe we can break this trend! Speaking of Abraham, the DNA has been ordered on the dad. This is pretty customary now in Liberia. We found out another of Abraham's friends will be coming home in a couple of weeks to Iowa. Hopefully, the DNA testing will go quickly so we can get those kids home. I'm collecting clothes for them and have spoken to a hairdresser about what to use on their hair and scalp. Now I need to start getting all the paperwork ready and my packing list ready.