my story of hope

"Jesus is the reason to celebrate the season..."

This is a song that I grew up listening to and for me it states the true reasons for Christmas.

Jesus is my faith and my hope. Throughout the last 3 years I have had so many ups and downs and my faith has been tested time and time again but there still always seemed to be hope. There is no doubt in my mind that God was in control but I am a human which means that there will be times of doubt. But this time of year always reminds me of the hope that the birth of Jesus brings to all. 

Hope
"to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence"
"to place trust, rely"
" to believe or trust"

This is why Christmas is the perfect time to remember why we put our hope in Jesus Christ. He is the only one to place our trust, rely on throughout our whole life, to believe in and to look forward to the day that we get to be with our Savior. No one said it would be easy but it's the only way to live! (in my opinion)

Hope never completely disappeared throughout the last 3 years of our lives but that doesn't mean at times it wasn't small. There was so much to hope for but I needed to remember to keep my hope in God and His Son who continue to be the author of my life.  I have met so many wonderful people throughout our journey and they have been such a blessing to me and such an encouragement as I become a mommy! They helped me to focus on remembering to rely and completely trust in Christ. That. Is. Hope.

I would like to recap our story of hope because just last week on December 10 it was 2 months since we became a forever family! This wouldn't have been the amazing journey it has been without the hope that we have in our Christ!

This was our first day that we met our son- October 3, 2013

He's forever ours- October 10, 2013

(Poor little guy was sick)

Our last day in South Africa- November 18, 2013

Looking at these pictures remind me that hope in Christ is so important to have in my daily life. He hears the prayers and desires of our hearts and He has blessed me beyond measure with our beautiful son!

Another story of hope soon to come...

Be Blessed...

Some firsts for Solomon

We have been home for almost 3 weeks and Solomon has been transitioning so well! I am loving my days at home and feeling more comfortable to go out and about which has been so great!
Here are some firsts for our son:
1. Meeting many new faces but this one sticks out in my mind. Meeting his cousin that is only a few months older than him! It took a bit of time but I think they were warming up to each other by the end :)

2. Many people have asked about the cold weather and to be honest we have only gone outside to play 3 times, mainly because I don't want to go outside either! He loves to sit in the snow and put his hand in it just like he would with the sand except he has like 3 more layers on so its a bit trickier! He got a bit confused the first time we asked him to go outside as he wasn't sure why we were putting so many layers on him but he sure didn't get cold. 

Even though he wasn't too sure of the snow he loved swinging with Daddy--you wouldn't be able to tell with his facial expression but he did!

3. This was a first for all of us- Last sunday we went and picked out our first christmas tree as a family of 3! It was wonderful and so fun to have our boy along for the ride! 

Our first tree as a family of 3!

4. Decorating his first Christmas tree. Loving the lights, stars and branches! 

"Ba ba ba" translates into "pretty lights"

Putting the star on with daddy and our ornament from SA with mommy.

5. He loves to help daddy with many different things and for the first time Josh got him to help with the dishwasher. He loves it!

He was very curious and very helpful :)

Recently I started writing down some firsts and favourites of Solomon's from the last few months and I just wanted to share is most favourite part of the day! 

BATH TIME!!

Our family has been attaching and connecting well but will continue to take it slow. Our family has been amazing and I love that we have been able to spend lots of time with them and looking forward to more!

 We are also excited to begin to introduce Solomon to many of you and know that you will just fall in love with him like we have! He is one amazing little boy with a fun personality, a great giggle, smile that brightens up any room and two precious words that melt our heart every time he says them- "mama" and "dada".

We love you our precious son and are so thankful for you!

Be Blessed...

Airport welcome...

So, its been almost 3 weeks since we have been home and I just got enough computer space to download some pictures that my amazing friend, Chantel Klassen, captured for us at the airport! I wanted to share some with you and then catch you up on our life as a family of 3 in Canada in my next blog later tonight! :)

Waiting...

I think a glimpse of us...

Here we come with our beautiful baby boy!

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa Wig

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa Stromberg

Meeting Great Grandma Stromberg

Looking at pictures with Auntie Janelle

 

We are so thankful for our whole family who love and support us through our adoption journey and now as parents! We love all of you!

Sporting his South African roots Canadian style.

Loving the balloons and kids that came out to greet us!

Our little Canadian!

Thanks to everyone who came out and welcomed us! 

Thanks to all of you as well who have been praying for us throughout this time and have supported us unconditionally!

Thanks to Chantel Klassen for the amazing photos! They are beautiful and I am so amazed at all the precious moments you captured!

Be Blessed...

We are home...

We have been home for 3 days and are continuing "settling" in. Trying to find rest, routines and figure life out as a family of 3! Solomon was a great little traveller and we were so blessed to have extra seats around us  on almost all of the flights so he could stretch out and have more room to play! 

On Tuesday night we were greeted at the airport by family and friends which was so great! I don't have pictures of that yet but will definitely be posting some once I get some! :) Solomon did amazing even though it was very overwhelming for him. 

We were able to enjoy 1 full day at home as a family but Josh had to go back to work today which was hard for Solomon (and me) this morning. He had his daddy around for a whole 7 weeks and so this morning brought many tears and "dada?". We are continuing to work on attachment and bonding with our son and so I wanted to give you a glimpse as to what our next few weeks will look like.

Solomon was so loved and cared for the last 14 months of his life. And even amongst that he has encountered loss. The day that we could hardly wait for was a day of loss for him. He left the only place and group of faces he had ever known and came with us.  We prayed for him regularly, even before we knew him, and I believe that God had been preparing his little heart for this moment in his life. 

The last 7 weeks that we were in South Africa we tried to be very intentional to encourage that attachment and bonding to help make this whole transition a bit easier for him. We have made sure we are the ones who feed him, change him, cuddle him and hold him. We continuously tell him we love him and share positive affirmations  to show him how excited we are to have him in our lives! It was a great time for our family to really learn more about our little guy!
Now that we are home it is exciting for us but another loss for him. We see that he is bonding with us and that we are a place of safety and security for him, but we also see at times how he is unsure of this new place, with new faces and much colder weather!

So for the next couple weeks we will be laying low and in some ways "cocooning" as a family! We plan to focus so much on bonding and having our little boy attach to us. These are a couple ways that we plan to foster this bonding:
1. We will be spending the majority of our days at home with limited visitors. Josh and I would love to be able to introduce our son to all of you but we are focusing on whats best for  him. Solomon needs to know that this is home and that we are his parents and the people that will never change. So...we will be waiting a few weeks before we venture out to church, work places, friends houses and even shopping. But it won't last forever!!
2.  When we do have visitors or when you meet Solomon, we would love for you to play with him, but are asking that you step back from picking him up, cuddling, and kissing him (at least for the next couple of weeks).  Although we see that he is more & more secure in who we are as his parents, he grew up in a baby home with different caregivers and volunteers catering to him.  We want to make sure he understands that we are his parents and the ones that will feed, change, cuddle and comfort him. 

This is hard for us as a family as well because we would love to be able to introduce him to everyone! But that may not be whats best for Solomon and we need to do what is best for him. This won't last forever...but just give us a few weeks :)
We are so grateful for the support from all of you and thank you for giving us some time as a family!  
Be Blessed...

(Thank you to Heidi Klassen for some of the phrasing that is used in this blog! You put these ideas down in writing so well and I appreciated being able to use some of it!)

Halfway home

We are waiting in London for our next flight that will take us home to Canada! We made it through our first one hour flight with a new toy and some snacks and then from Johannesburg to London Solomon slept most of the way with some snacks. 12 hours of flying done and only 12 more to go!!
When we arrived to Heathrow I was thinking about when to change his eating times as the time difference is small here but still different. Never thought of that for a little body like his as for me I can just adjust when needed. So many new things to think about when travelling with a child!
Definitely been loving it though...makes the time go faster when you are constantly busy.
Pictures to share soon from our adventure home!
See you all tonight!!!! Can't believe it!!

On our way...

After 2 delays, 7 different "homes",  hanging out with 4 wonderful families, enjoying countless hours with our son, greeting our dear friends at the airport and hanging out with them for 2 nights, 2 trips within our trip, seeing so many beautiful sights of places, people and things, AND loving the beach we are finally on our way home!
This morning we woke up and headed to the beach to enjoy the beautiful sun, sand and water. Solomon then went down for his last nap in a bed for the next 2 days, we finished up packing and now heading out soon to go say goodbye to our first B&B host then off to the airport we go. We will be missing it here for many reasons but we are looking forward to getting home as well to settle in, introduce our little man to all of you and becoming parents with family, friends and church support all around.
 We are continuing to pray for safe travels, that Solomon is able to sleep and enjoy the airplane, that he stays healthy and we catch all of our flights in good time!

If you would like to meet us at the airport feel free to contact me and I can try to give you details! It will depend on wifi access! 

Be Blessed...

Time flies by when your havin' a good time...

I can't believe that it is our last few days in South Africa. Where has the time gone? It feels like just a little while ago that we were on our way here, excited and nervous with anticipation of finally becoming parents. During our time here we have fallen in love with this country, the people, the places and sights and of course our son! I have been in the mindset that when we come back we will do some things again or different things. 

We are going to miss "living" in South Africa and I do look forward to a return visit but are also very excited to get home and introduce our little man!

God has truly blessed us with the perfect son for our family!

The last little while we have been enjoying some quiet times as a family and did one last mini trip to st. Lucia where we had the most relaxing time just the three of us. We did a hippo and croc tour which Solomon loved. We got so close to the hippos that he really could see them and he just was in awe...especially when they yawned or started to play. We enjoyed a great bed and breakfast where Josh and I got a quiet 4 course meal the 2 of us after Solomon went to sleep! It was great to reconnect and just enjoy each other.

Since we have been back to umhlanga, we have been enjoying the beach, friends, and just having time to relax and really bond as a family. We have been so incredibly blessed to have this time together and I know Josh is already having a hard time thinking of going back to work. Solomon and I will miss having him around during the day and I know Josh is going to miss it too!

Today I had the honour and joy to be a photographer in South Africa! One of the families we have met and gotten to know while here asked if i would take pictures of their beautiful family! I had so much fun and enjoyed taking pictures with the beach as the landscape! I look forward to getting home and sharing those pictures with them and with you!

On the paperwork front we submitted his passport paperwork last Monday and received an email on Friday that we missed a signature on one of the pages (after looking through it a million times) and it couldn't be processed without it. But because of Remembrance Day their office wouldn't be open until today (Tuesday). So, we figured out all of the paperwork today and will find out tomorrow if his passport will be ready in time for our booked flights this week on Thursday. Please pray that all will work out and we will have his passport in hand very soon!!

We continue to pray for attachment with our son on a daily basis! As we begin to get ready to come home we pray that he will continue to feel loved, secure and safe with us as he experiences new everything! New sights, smells, sounds, tastes and even feeling! Poor guy is coming home to a feeling he has never experienced..cold and snow all at once! :)

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us, encouraging us and supporting us throughout our journey! We thank God every day for each and every one of you!

Be blessed...

Orphan Sunday

While being in South Africa I have taken some time to reflect on what God has been laying on my heart for the last many years: orphan care, foster care and adoption. I have been looking into how I can love and care for orphans on a daily basis and what that might look like in my life and our family! 

Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17

Last Sunday we attended a church who is very passionate about loving and caring for the communities around them. I had been wondering and praying since we got here how I (one person) can help show love and care for the 2 million plus adoptable children in South Africa. There are only approximately 2000 adoptions being done a year so how will these children come to know the love of family? I continue to ask that question and will continue to look into ways of showing love and care to these orphans in my son's home country or in other parts of the world! I pray and actively wait for God to show me what this can look like! 

 Take some time today to reflect and see how God is calling you to care for the orphans in the world. Whether they are in your neighbourhood, city, country or overseas there are many ways to love the orphans in our world.

 Orphan Sunday

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Be Blessed...

What we have been up to...

This week we were pretty busy. It has taken me some time to sit down and be able to upload pictures and then have time to sit and write! But here I am...finally...

A week ago on Saturday we went to Umdloti beach! It has rock coves and so it doesn't have as big of waves. It was a beautiful sight and Solomon loved the water until we started seeing bluebottles which look like tiny little jelly fish that are blue and will sting you! We then decided to head back home. But here are a few pictures that captured our time there. We hope to go back sometime soon!!

Our footprints our filled!!!

The next day we had the opportunity to go to church and then immediately after we were on our way to go on a Steam train ride through the Valley of a Thousand Hills. It was rainy but still beautiful! Solomon wasn't so sure about it on the way there but after a walk around outside at our destination he was loving the train on the way home! Here are a few pictures from that adventure...(it gave us a sneak peak of what the airplane ride might be like)

On a steam engine with daddy.

Wednesday was another fun filled day! We set off on our first "family vacation". We headed to Hluhluwe which is a game reserve in the heart of Zululand about 3 and 1/2 hours outside of Umhlanga. We were looking forward to getting out of the city and enjoying some quiet nature time.

The man of many faces on our 3 1/2 hour drive. He did SOOO amazing!!

Josh and I both had the opportunity to go on a night tour and then we took Solomon on a day tour. It was a blast! On my night tour we saw a Zebra right outside of the gate of our hotel and then about 15 minutes later we were in the heart of an elephant herd of about 30 elephants. It was surreal! On Josh's night tour he saw many different types of animals including hyenas, lions, a hippo, elephants and some buffalo.

Here is a baby rhino I saw after the herd of elephants!

On our last day in Hluhluwe we did a safari tour with a guide. Our guide was amazing and we had the best time! Solomon even feel asleep twice on those crazy bumpy roads! The elephant picture below was a male elephant that was walking directly towards us around a curve on the road. Our guide slowly started backing up and talking to the elephant as the elephant was shaking his head and grunting. It was a little scary but a pretty amazing sight all at the same time!

 We stopped for tea/coffee and a snack with this amazing sight! I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was! 96,000 hectars of wilderness! Only 1/3 of the area has roads for people to get around in! Absolutely stunning!

While we were in Hluhluwe we received a very exciting email! 

A BIG welcome to the newest and cutest Canadian citizen!! 

Tomorrow we apply for his passport so we can finally come home!

We are back safe and sound in Umhlanga and settled into yet another home and yesterday we ventured to the I heart market at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. This market only happens once a month. Because of when we got here this was our second time going! :) We also took a tour of the stadium while we were there. It's a pretty impressive building but unfortunately it was too windy to go on the tram ride. 

Two cuties- Solomon and Griffin.

That was a long update but I hope you enjoyed reading through our adventures as a family of 3! Today was a quieter day and will be posting right away about something that has been on my heart! Stay tuned...and be blessed!

An amazing man, husband and father...

My husband, Josh, has truly stepped into the role of fatherhood. He has been such a blessing to me since I have known him and now our son gets to be blessed by this amazing man, his dad. I can't even describe how amazing Josh is with Solomon. 

Solomon LOVES to play with dada and even is starting to wrestle a bit. He loves to go for walks with dad, tell dad so many stories and in the end he copies his dad in any way possible. I haven't managed to get a picture yet but Josh taught Solomon how to wink which is SO cute! 

Josh has truly stepped into fatherhood like no other! He has changed 3 dirty diapers (impressive I say :)), loves to bath Solomon, he takes Solomon after breakfast so I can finish eating my breakfast and he just loves to be with his son! 

Since we have become parents Josh has always brushed Solomon's teeth and already that is something that Solomon loves to have his daddy do! 
I am so lucky to watch how my husband is connecting with my son. I have 2 guys in my family now that love each other and love me! I am so blessed to have this in my life and I thank God each day!

The first day we met our Son- instant connection!

Playing at Hope House!

First time touching the ocean! Not a huge fan yet but we are slowly working on it!

Birds- He looks for them whenever he hears them!

Fun on the bed with daddy!

My two boys.

God has blessed me with my husband who is an incredible father and my beautiful son who makes me smile constantly!
Be Blessed...