Blossoming!

It has been fun watching James blossom as he settles into his new home. He no longer walks slow, or like Michael says, like an old man. James now walks with a bounce in his step and talks A LOT. Those who phone us can attest to that! Changing stinky diapers is not fun, so twice James went on the toilet with his parents cheering as if he won the lottery!

It is a guarantee that if one of us is in the kitchen the shadow (aka: James) will be there expecting food! And he'll shout, "Yum!" continuously when he eats! He likes to pretend he is sleeping and loves to entertain us with his singing and humming. We often ask him if he attended the school of fine arts in Liberia! He can sing his ABC's and we think he sings the song "Amen". He is now learning to sing O Canada for his mere (my mom). James has had a battery of tests done (ultrasound, x-rays, blood work). So far the only thing the doctors have detected is that his is low on iron. The care we have gotten has been awesome.

Parker, now 3.5 months, is enjoying his big brother's entertainment. Three nights in a row Parker has only woken up once in the night and during the day he can now fall asleep on his own. (Prior to James mommy would cuddle and hold Parker during nap times!) Parker is cooing and still has a very calm and cool disposition!

As for Michael and I we are having lots of fun hanging out with our boys. By the end of the day we are both wiped and grateful to have these two blessings in our lives!

Mother's Day!

To celebrate Mother's Day was to say the least a great joy! Here are some pictures that capture our fun day.

The Trip!

Most of you have seen little James by now but what you don't know is about our trip. I left for Accra, Ghana on April 25 and arrived on April 27 after a night in London. I had a couple of days by myself to acclimatize(if that is even remotely possible in 35 degree heat with 100% humidity) before the escort from Liberia brought James to the hotel. You can't imagine the anticipation of that moment. On Sunday, April 28, at 9:00 pm, I received a phone call from the front desk saying a group from Liberia was in the lobby. I walked down the stairs, heart pounding, to see a middle aged man carrying a very thin, scared little boy. The escort spent about 15 minutes talking with me, we had a confirmation call from the orphanage and as quickly as he appeared he was gone. To be honest, the next 12 hours were a mix: 1 part survival and 3 parts sadness for this little, frail boy with a big cough and a distended belly. First we had some rice from the cafe, changed his cloth diaper and spent our first night together. As immigration visas are processed on Mondays at the Canadian embassy, I took our sick little guy into Accra (a 1.5 hour hot, sweaty cab ride). We left early Monday morning and by 6:00 pm we were back with visa in hand. At this point his cough had worsened and he developed a fever with a temperature of 39.5 degrees celcius. Although I am no Doctor, it was obvious the best place for James was home and I was luckily able to change the flights for a Thursday departure. We spent the next couple of days recuperating at the hotel and when his condititon didn't improve by Wednesday, we saw a Dr. in Accra. She was very kind and prescribed several different medicines including a deworming liquid.
We started our journey home on Thursday flying from Accra to London at 10 pm. Unfortunatetly we had to spend the whole day at Heathrow airport in London before we could make the 10 hour flight to Vancouver. Upon arriving, we had to clear customs and finally immigration. Another 4 hours were spent at the Vancouver airport before we boarded the plane for a quick, 1 hour flight to Kelowna. James never cried once the whole trip and I am most proud of him. Aside from take-offs and landings, he spend most of his time sleeping on Dad, a habit we continue.
It has now been almost a week at home and Jame's improvement is remarkable. He is starting to say words, laugh, giggle, walk with energy but most importantly, those sad little eyes have been replaced by two big, curious brown eyes. Joanne and I are most lucky to have not one, but two very special little boys....

New Pictures!

James is doing so good! Everyday we notice how he is changing and becoming more comfortable with his new home. Today he touched Parker for the first time. Yesterday he walked around the kitchen all on his own. He loves to eat. He will walk to his high chair when he is hungry! He smiles with me and will laugh with Michael. We are so very proud!

Home Safe & Sound

It is 2:30 in the morning and all three of my boys are sleeping. I am wide awake thinking about little James. Michael walked down the airport ramp with little James clinging on to him. It was beautiful. James traveled like a trooper. Michael says he only cried once when they were at the doctors in Accra. Michael says he doesn't have the energy to cry and I believe it. It was only once that I held him did I realize how delicate and fragile he is. We are going to need to gently and slowly get James healthy and vibrant. He has the most beautiful long eye lashes that I ever seen.

Here are some pictures.

Coming Home!

This Friday (May 4th) Michael and James are coming home!

Yesterday Michael and James went to the Canadian High Commission to get the visa. As many of you know there has been issues with the High Commission issuing visas so I couldn't believe it when Michael called to say he got James' visa. Today Michael changed his flight and that went seamless as well. The stars have aligned once again for us!

James has slept through the night, has not yet cried nor said anything. But Michael called me back today and said, "James just talked!". I heard James say yes and no. Michael said, "I knew he could talk - he is just extremely shy!" I am at this point in a bit of a fog so I can't imagine what Michael and sweet James are feeling.

I hope to update the blog on the weekend with pictures of our new son.

Proud mommy once again!
Joanne