First week home

Tomorrow marks one week since we arrived home with Hanna.

For the most part, things are going well. She is still waking up well in the mornings and she and Caleb play so well together. She loves to be with me and with Steven and calls out for us and looks for us periodically when she's playing. She LOVES to watch "Signing Time" and know a lot of Sign Language for a child her age.

She runs up to us and gives hugs and kisses and smiles and laughs all the time. She talks so much more than we thought at first...she just needed to warm up to us, I guess.

I would be lying if I said it was all love and kisses, though. She is definitely going through an adjustment and is grieving the loss of her previous caregivers and friends. She asks for them occasionally and wants to look at pictures of her friends often. There have been several times when she has cried for a while inconsolably. She actually seems angry at these times and will scream, not only cry. The last time this happened, yesterday, she started asking for "Kim", "Kimmie", "MJ", "Abby", "Noni" (which is actually Nori) and so we looked at some pictures.

We're still "learning" each other and that takes time. We're making progress with God's help and I know that He will continue to build our family for His glory. Please pray for Hanna that He would continue to walk her through her grief and for us that He would show us what to do for her and what NOT to do for her, as well.

Here are a few pictures of some things we've done this week. Enjoy :)

Progress and the power of prayer

We have now been home with Hanna for 3 nights. The first night was NO problem because we were all so exhausted that she was literally asleep by the time her head hit the pillow. The morning, however was a different story. She woke up crying and apparently terrified that she was alone, Momma wasn't there, and she might not have even known where she was.

Fast forward to rest time, and she freaked out when I tried to lay her down in her bed, so I laid down with her and she went right to sleep. We've had to wake her at every rest time so far, so we don't know if she'd cry if she woke up then, but I'm betting she would.

Same exact story on Monday (yesterday) and I had to lay down with her at rest and bed time.

Imagine our excitement when she woke up this morning and all we heard was "Daddy!" in a very happy, playful voice. When Steven went upstairs, she was lying awake in bed and was happy to see him.

This is a perfect answer to prayer as we have been praying for her that the Lord would give her a feeling of safety and security in her room, that He would give her surety of our permanence and that when she woke up that she would remember where she was.

What a GREAT God we serve!!

Swimming with brother

When we got to Baguio, we promised the kids that we could go swimming, so after our visit to ICAB, it was time to "pay the piper" :)
We had been swimming once already with Hanna, but this was the first time with just our family, so it was the first time that she really got to play with Caleb in the pool. Let me just say it was a RAGING success. They played and splashed and laughed and loved playing together. She is pretty fearless in the water which is nice, and doesn't mind water in her face at all. She fell down a couple of times and just stood back up and kept playing.
Check out these pictures to see how much fun they had together!

and just for fun...

Visiting ICAB

Every adoptive family visiting the Philippines to take custody of their child or children is required to visit the Intercountry Adoption Board, also known as ICAB. This is the governing body in the Philippines responsible for matching children for international adoption.

It was a completely painless appointment. We went in, we met a few people, we took a few pictures, no big deal. They did have a few gifts for Hanna and even for Caleb and I thought that was very sweet. They gave Hanna a cultural doll, a Philippines flag, and a book that is all about the PI and also has places in it for pictures of Hanna and our family. It's kind of like a baby book. They also had us write a note to Hanna that will be placed in her file for the day when she travels back to the Philippines to discover more about her heritage.

The appointment could have taken a lot longer, but we happened to come on a day that the matching board was meeting, so we didn't need to meet any of them and were "in and out".

Here are a few pictures of our visit:

Che, our local agency rep, and Caleb waiting for our turn to speak to the ICAB rep, Kathy.

Hanna's doll from ICAB.

Our family in front of the sign ICAB hung to greet us.

Bye-bye Baguio

When it was time to leave Baguio City our new friends the Piets were SO gracious to save us from another bus ride and instead treated us to riding with them to Manila. It was SO fun to get to spend these last hours with them visiting and soaking up the fellowship with new friends that we won't get to see for a year or two. We will really miss them!

Hanna with "Momma Kim" on the car ride down the Mountain

As we drove down the mountain, we were able to enjoy the sights and visit with our friends. One of the most unique things we saw was a funeral procession. They were all walking with umbrellas behind the hearse and some military officers.

It was such a nice trip. We just can't say enough about how much we appreciate NOT having to take the bus and getting to spend those hours with our sweet friends!

Giant rock lion. 'Nuff said.

Pics of the view on the way down the mountain. They can't possibly do justice to the majesty of God's creation. It is breathtaking.

Our day at the market

So I promised chicken heads...
On the left, chicken heads, whole, for 70 pesos/kilo. On the right, chicken INTESTINES for 55 pesos/kilo.
Don't ask me what for. I didn't ask and I can not begin to imagine.

This strange sight was just the tip of the iceberg at the market in Baguio. Our new friends, Brian and Gloria Burns, took us to see the authentic daily life market in Baguio City and let me tell you, it was an experience not to be missed!
At stalls next to and near each other you can find everything from fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies, to equally fresh fish to every part of the pig...yes I do mean EVERY part...
What you see to your right, here, is a photo of a stall selling pig...well, I'm not sure if they were offering the leg or the foot, but you got both, anyway...and pig's ears as far as you can see!
However, in among the strange and the gross, was beauty and real life.

These roses were (the equivalent of) $1 for 1 dozen. Yes, you did read that correctly. And the below garlands were just lovely.

The fish, fruits and veggies were just as fun to look at...
and they sold rice by the barrel full!
It was just so fun and only got better as we made our way to the more "touristy" part of the market to shop for souvenirs with the help and encouragement of our sweet friend Gloria, the bargain getter! (pictured in blue)

She helped us so much and the kids really had a lot of fun considering that we were just shopping which is really no fun at all for kids!


But the trip really did tire Miss Hanna out!

So after, we went back to the house for a bit before going to Brian and Gloria's for dinner. Gloria is a fab cook and Caleb ate better at their house than he's eaten this entire trip!

About half way through dinner we had a kamikaze bug the size of my FIST (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much!) fly through the dining room on his way to the kitchen. We were all jumping and dodging so fast we were laughing our heads off!

At the end of the evening, we said our goodbyes knowing that we'd be leaving in the morning and wouldn't see each other for quite a long time. It was really emotional as all goodbyes have been on this trip. We really feel as though we've always known these people in a way that only God Himself could orchestrate. He has simply knit our hearts together.
We will truly miss all the wonderful people we've met here in the Philippines and especially in Baguio City!



And just in cast I've got you all misty-eyed or sentimental, let me leave you with this parting thought...

How would you like this for lunch:
Whole Chicken, on a stick.

A sad farewell, and school shopping

Today we went to SHIP to legally take custody of Hanna by signing the paperwork required to do so. Honestly, we had been concerned that Hanna would be too fearful to go back into the home. As I've written here previously, she loves her friends and caregivers and has been excited to see them throughout the week at different places, like church and the swimming pool, but has been very clingy to us whenever we've neared the home. For this reason, we prayed for and over her this morning that she would have peace and be able to go inside and enjoy saying goodbye to those who have loved her so well for the first 2 years of her life.

Once again, we placed our hope in a God who is more than able to accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine and He glorified Himself in the situation. Hanna was perfectly at ease in the home, but clearly understood that we were here for a visit and nothing more. She happily gave hugs and told her friends and "mamas" "Bye-bye!" She was cheerful and playful and it was such a blessing to watch.

Little did we know that the ones we should have been praying for were the caregivers and ourselves. It was a very emotional time as we gave out gifts, took pictures, and said goodbye. One of the caregivers who (we learned later) had fallen in love with Hanna and often took her to church, simply broke down and began sobbing. Another tearfully kissed her head and said "I release you". These women will forever have a special place in my heart for loving my daughter so much that she is now able to love and trust me easily with God's help.

After the goodbyes, we took all the school-aged kids shopping so that Steven and I could buy them school shoes and backpacks and that was a BLAST.
Everyone got to pick out their shoes (sort of :) ) and try them on, and then pick out their backpack.
The kids were all so sweet and when we were done, they each said thank you in their sweet shy ways.

After shopping the Piet family and the Burns family who are the directors of the home, took us to lunch in Baguio City center at a restaurant that was beyond delicious. It was Mongolian, and I WILL be trying to cook like that at home!

As for the rest of our afternoon at the market, you'll have to wait until later, but I will leave you with this little tid-bit...chicken heads...see, now you can't wait, can you? :)