what a wonderful whirlwind...

It has been a wonderful whirlwind last few days! Lots has happened and there is so much more to come! But I would love to recap the last few days for not only you who are following our journey but also for myself so I have some documentation for our adoption adventures as well! So here it goes--

Wednesday- Friday were quite long and exhausting days. Who knew that travelling with a 3 1/2 year old was so much more exhausting than by yourselves :). We did expect it but it was still a long few days! Solomon however did incredible!! We flew from Saskatoon to Toronto (rockstar) then we flew Toronto to London. That was an overnight flight and surprisingly he slept the whole trip. He hadn't had a nap that day, we didn't leave Toronto until 11pm and so he was quite exhausted which worked out in the end. Then we had a 9 1/2 hour layover. Our original plan was to go and explore the city of London a little bit BUT after some paperwork issues in Toronto we decided to stay put and enjoy the play area that the London airport had. Even though we didn't leave the airport we still had to get our tickets and so there was again some paperwork confusion. 

We apparently were in the fuzzy zone of this whole UBC and long form birth certificate. We had applied for it almost 15 months ago and still did not receive it. Because of names not matching on certain documents we didn't even have a letter from the consulate. All was told we were good to go so at both Toronto and London they had to confirm the million pieces of paperwork I had were good enough. And so they were (PHEW!). 

After London we flew to Johannesburg. The longest flight out of all of them. He played hard in the London airport with no nap again but as we were waiting to board the flight he fell asleep. This meant he slept for a bit but was up for quite a few hours in the middle of the night. This flight was the most exhausting but we made it! 

Once we got to Johannesburg we went through customs where they didn't even bat an eye about Solomon's passport, (we thought it was weird) but now we were officially in South Africa. Just an hour later we hopped on our last flight to Durban. Many emotions were flying through our minds and bodies. Excitement, anticipation, exhaustion, happiness etc. What a busy few days!

We got picked up from the airport by the lovely Tezz who is just the best!!! We were so excited to see a familiar face! We drove into Durban and went straight to Heaton where we got to see another familiar face! Shayne welcomed us and made us feel at home at once.  

South Africa right now is in one of the worst droughts they have ever seen. It hasn't looked to badly in Durban but north and inland towards the game reserves apparently its bad. The dams are emptying quickly. So that means that there are water restrictions in Durban. They have said they will turn the water off from 9pm-4am and they have a restrictor thing on their water line to prevent us from using too much. This made our Friday a little tricky when we wanted to get cleaned up from 2 days of travel! Solomon had a bath in about 2 inches of water, Josh had a shower and when it was my turn I got to washing my hair and the shower had stopped. I finished up my shower in the sink where I got just enough water to rinse my hair out! It was not my hopeful relaxing evening but we made due!

Saturday was THE DAY! We met our beautiful girl for the first time. We got picked up at 8:30 by our social worker who was another wonderful familiar face that we got to see!!! She drove us to Hope House and as we got out of the car I just had this anticipation and anxiousness all at the same time. I can't speak for my husband but these moments are just so surreal. When you see your child for the first time in person! There is nothing that compares. 

Her foster mom was holding her and I picked up Solomon so he could meet her. He said "Hi, your so cute. Momma- can I go jump on the trampoline?" As much as I wanted him to have this instant connection I needed to remind myself that this is a lot for a little guy. So he was off and playing. 

We went inside and sat down. We visited (again with some more wonderful familiar faces) and just sat, played, let her come to us when she was ready and enjoy watching her smile, giggle, be goofy. She is so sweet!! (We can't wait to show her off!!) We spent the day with them on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to church and again enjoyed the day together on Sunday. Although on Sunday Josh and I decided to both go back to Heaton for naps with Solomon. We were still trying to get our bodies sorted from the time change. Little man has sure figured it out but our sleep hasn't been the greatest quite yet.

Today was a beautiful day! We woke up a bit later, enjoyed breakfast and went to Hope House for the morning. A little bit later in the morning we woke up our sweetie and fed her an early lunch and then took her to her appointment. After her appointment it was our first time having her back to Heaton with us as a family of four. 

When we got inside the cottage and sat down with our kids on the floor I just looked at Josh and said this feels soo good. Our beautiful family! We played and played and ate some lunch then played some more. She chose not to nap this afternoon which turned out fine because she was EXHAUSTED by bed time. We gave her a bath (which she loves) and lotioned her up and even did her hair! (Not to the extent that it will need to be but it was worth a try and she did amazing!!) We then had supper, some more quiet play time and then our afternoon was over. It was time to take her back to Hope House where she will spend the night. Those moments are always so hard but we also know that it's for a time. And it will be good for her in the long run. 

Tonight we are exhausted. But we look forward to tomorrow when we get to pick her up for the WHOLE DAY!!!! Then Wednesday we have her until supper and then there is a party for her because the very next day is our court date!!! I can't believe that we are so close to keeping her in our arms forever! 

Some of you may wonder how our little man Solomon is doing. He is doing very well! He has a few moments of being home sick and wanting to go back home but with all that he has encountered the last few days he's holding himself together quite well. He definitely has had his moments of being home sick and wanting mommy and daddy together but he also seems understanding when we can't. Today he was helping her with toys, guiding her away from the driveway, kicking the ball to her, building towers for her. He is so good with her! We are truly blessed!!! We will continue taking it day by day. If issues arise we will deal with them when we get there but right now we are focusing on these moments and they are truly wonderful!!

Overall, our family is doing well! We are 2 days away from court date and we can't wait to introduce or daughter to all of you!!! 
Thank you for your prayers, support, encouragement and love!!!

If you are willing to send up a little prayer for our family these are some areas that we would love continued prayer for: 
1. Prayer for Solomon. That he continues to adjust well and that he continues to settle in to what life will look like for the next 4 1/2 weeks!
2. Prayer for our beautiful daughter. That she adjusts well and that court goes well on Thursday!
3. Prayer for the foster moms that have been caring for her. That their hearts will be held and that they will feel comforted and peace throughout the next few weeks! This is a hard time for them as well. 
4. Prayer for Josh and I as we begin to get to know our daughter and to continue making special time for Solomon. This new challenge of making sure both our kids get what they need. This is new to us so prayer is always welcomed! 

Thanks for following along and we can't wait to share pictures and so much more about our little girl!!!
be blessed
shaeline