Friends. Finally.

The first time David met Samson, he screamed bloody murder and climbed over my head to get away from the enormous animal that had just walked into the house. It has now been a little over one week since that traumatic day. David has come so far. He now rarely is afraid of Samson and instead prefers to order the dog around in kinyrwandan, complete with snaps for emphasis. Samson has been so good and so patient with David. He waited a long time to be able to smell that kid. Now the dog that once terrorized a small boy runs from that small boy.

This afternoon Samson had assumed his normal position in the kitchen. The one where he takes up the entire kitchen floor. All of a sudden, David runs in and lays on Samson. I was so surprised! I thought sure it was a mistake and David would realize what he had done and jump up, but no! David actually started petting Samson and talking to him nicely. I was stunned! Fortunately I was able to recover quick enough to grab my phone.

The hug.

Agressive petting of the animal complete with roaring sound effects.

Samson lifting his head to alert David of unwanted aggressive petting.

A happy compromise.

I apologize for the blurry photos. It is most difficult to clearly capture a child who is constantly moving. Except when he is asleep perhaps. Maybe I'll go take a picture now!

Microphone

Because that is what every 4 year old needs. No, I'm not suggesting that anyone get him one for Christmas. He is upstairs using the microphone on his sister's karoke machine. Because that is what every 11 year old girl needs. Kids are simply not loud enough on their own.

Our life continues to be brightened by our newest addition. He continues to transform and grow daily. He seems to have the same mischievous spirit that the rest of us have. When he clearly understands the instructions given to him, he makes it quite obvious that he is deciding not to obey or at least when to obey. And this would be a problem with any child, but then this one grins. And when he grins, this mom has trouble maintaining composure. But I'm working on it and I am getting better every day!

I keep starting but not finishing blog posts. So I will end this one here. I'm adding a picture of David, but he looks quite disproportional due to the angle of the camera. He is wearing his sister's new slippers. They make a lovely tapping sound when he walks.

Life

I will make every effort to continue blogging about our adventures as a family of 5, but I'm finding that 5 is a busy number. Actually, 4 is a busy number. Oh my.

Life has been good since we've returned home from our big adventure. Multiple activities every evening, jet lag, and sickness have been somewhat stressful, but we survive. David seems to be transitioning well. Except when the dog is around. David is terrified of Samson, but as each day passes, David is getting a little braver. Yesterday while Samson slept, David touched Samson with the water bottle he was holding. He was so proud of himself.

Yesterday David also had his first dentist appointment. Well, it wasn't actually his appointment, but what Kate and Isaac do, David must do. So he got his teeth checked just like the big kids and he came home with a bag of goodies just like the big kids, and he was SO proud! As soon as Sean came home from work, David rushed to show off his bag, almost tripping over Samson in the process.

The other kids seem to be transitioning well too. One might guess it is easier for Kate since she has gone through an older child adoption before, but she still has struggles. Plus, she is older this time and has her own struggles outside of the home. It is interesting for me to realize this as she grows up. Isaac is doing much better as a big brother. He is no longer completely exasperated with David all the time. Yesterday we were trying to organize things in their room and David was all over the place, quickly. Isaac just looked up at me and shrugged. He has come so far. It helps that David adores Isaac. He loves Katie (his name for her) too, but Isaacah (David's name for Isaac) is the big brother.

It has been difficult for me to come back in December. I didn't do any decorating before we left. I should have. I wrongly thought we would have more time when we returned and I wasn't feeling the Christmas spirit in the first week of November. Now I feel behind. All the trees in our neighborhood have a uniform light decoration, but not ours. I don't like not looking festive outside. Inside we have a lovely poinsettia that the Stigalls had waiting for us when we returned. They also put up a little Christmas tree, but that is it as far as decorations go. Can you say Bah humbug? But we've been to Christmas parties and recorder concerts and karate practices and gymnastics practices. And I've been running interference between the dog and child. Hopefully, we'll look like Christmas by the end of the weekend. Sigh.

It has been wonderful talking to so many who have enjoyed our blog. When we traveled both for Isaac's adoption and David's adoption, the blog is an outlet for me. An opportunity for me to share with others when there aren't many around who speak the language or know me enough to want to hear our stories. Sean always knows what is going on, so I really can't tell him. So the blog is almost like therapy for me. Plus that way you know if we are still alive. Just sayin.

We are still looking for the girl child. Kate and I have been doing our research but so far, nothing really jumps out at us as the answer. We felt sure about China and Rwanda. I don't feel that about anyplace right now. So we are praying for discernment as we would really like to get the process started quickly. There is an empty bed upstairs. There is an empty chair at the table. We need the girl. In the meantime we'll just keep chasing the boy. He is busy.

Day 20

We finally made it to day 20!!! We are currently in the Amsterdam airport waiting for our flight back to the states! We are tired but we are exited. I wanted to tell you about our last day in Nairobi before I forget everything that happened as I tend to do sometimes.

Our day was filled with animals and shopping. We began with baby elephants. Ironically these were orphan elephants. One was 3 weeks old and needed a person to walk around with an umbrella because their skin is still too sensitive to the sun. They played in the mud for awhile and then they took a break. It was fun to see these tall Kenyan men taking such good care of the baby elephants. This includes someone sleeping in each elephants pen, pretty amazing dedication.

After our elephant visit we shopped for some gifts. Sean is an expert negotiator. I’m getting better at it, but Sean takes it to a whole different level. Once Sean had worked his magic we were off to see some giraffes. I think this was the highlight of Kate’s trip to Kenya. There was a raised platform we could stand on and feed the giraffes. Kate was able to pet one while another lady fed it. She was so excited. Isaac freaked out the second the giraffe touched him, throwing the food everywhere. And David would not go anywhere near those animals. It probably didn’t help that some woman was feeding the giraffe with her mouth. Gross. That was really hard to watch.

On to more shopping, this time we visited a great pottery/bead shop. They make all of their goods on site. Beautiful things! So much to see! And the good news is we made it out of the shop without breaking anything! Once you meet David you’ll understand what a minor miracle it was.

Finally we were back at the Ndemi House to pack our bags and load up the car. Our flight wasn’t until 10:55, but there was really nothing else for us to do, so we headed to the airport. It was nice not to be stressed, especially since things run on Africa time.

Now we’re back in the world of white people where you can drink water from the tap. Where you fully expect to be able to roll a cart into bathrooms with your carry on suitcase stashed easily away. I can’t even begin to tell you the things we take for granted. Our final day took us by the second largest slum in Africa. These people have nothing, yet they work so hard. They create beautiful goods that they sell along the street. They laugh when they interact with each other. They are happy despite their surroundings. People were cooking food over a small fire and then selling it. There were clothes lying on the ground that someone was selling. They do whatever they could to survive.

We have seen so much in these three weeks. I hope we never forget all of the lessons we have learned and the people we have met. Thanks again for all of the support, love and prayers. We couldn’t have done it without all of you.


Orphan elephants

Giraffes

Petting giraffes

Rain moving in.

Goods for sale along road.

Day 19

Today was our last full day in Nairobi. This morning we received David's passport from the US embassy and tomorrow we will be heading home! Needless to say, we had a great day. Now that we know for sure we are coming home, we are really enjoying our time in Nairobi. After we picked up David's visa, we hit an area shopping center. We discussed with our driver what we would like to accomplish during our remaining time in Nairobi and he helped us figure out what we needed to do when. So we hit the shopping center in search of socks and underwear for David. I washed some out on Tuesday evening and they are still not dry. It rains so much here and is so damp, nothing is ever really dry. While we were shopping we noticed a market area just outside of the shopping mall. But we were trying to stay on the schedule we had discussed with Lazarus, our driver, so we skipped it.

We ate our Chinese lunch at the food court and called Lazarus to pick us up so we could get to the market he had in mind. Once we got into the car and started driving, we realized that market was the one he was telling us about. We had totally misunderstood him. So he drove us around the parking lot and dropped us back off pretty much at the same spot he picked us up. I'm sure he just shakes his head at us all the time.

The market was amazing! Rows and rows of people sitting mostly on the ground surrounded by anything African you could imagine. It was overwhelming to say the least. It was too much for David. He fell asleep after the first row of vendors all offering the best price. That curtailed my shopping considerably as I was the one carrying the sweaty, dead weight around. I was so touched, one of the female vendors smiled when she saw him and asked if he was my son. There was no hesitation or real questioning in her voice, more of a just confirming what she guessed. It was so sweet.

Lazarus came in to the market and walked around with us. Every once in awhile he would see what we were looking at and tell us to wait until tomorrow's market. All these days I've been sitting behind him in the car, I had no idea how tall Lazarus is. He is another tall Kenyan. These people are tall!

After the market we finally got the boys' hair cut. Isaac's has been long for awhile and he was so excited to get it cut. Rwandan men/boys keep their hair very short and as we were leaving, John, our driver, told us David needed a hair cut. There were others around and they all concurred, his hair was way too long. (1/2" maybe and curled tightly on his head, but whatever.) So we got David's hair cut too. Both boys were so cute and happy to have their hair cut.

With our newly shorn men in tow, we hit one more mall. As we drove there we could see the rain moving in. It just wouldn't be Nairobi in rainy season without a downpour or two. So we had dinner at a lovely Italian place and celebrated our final night here. Then we ate frozen yogurt. Yes, the self-serve yogurt craze seems to have reached Nairobi. Such a fun evening. Stress is gone. Everyone is happy. When Lazarus picked us up it was pouring, of course. As the four of us jumped into the backseat (me and kids) everyone was laughing so much it made Lazarus laugh. A good day for sure. Tomorrow should be equally fun! We get to go see giraffes and then do some more shopping! Fun!

As we end this journey, I think it is only normal to reflect on everything we've been through. I love to see how God has provided for us. I've always said one of my favorite parts of adoption is watching God in action. Obviously, this hasn't been a perfect trip in that it didn't turn out at all how we had planned. But now that we are at the end and we have David, I see I would have been completely over my head with 2 four year olds. What was I thinking? When they cut David's hair today, we noticed a big scar where it looks like he split his head open. Nobody is surprised. If he isn't sleeping he is moving. Quickly! But I wouldn't have it any other way. He is such a delight, even when he is crabby. I can't wait to see his personality develop as he gets more and more comfortable with us at home. He is perfect for our family. Only God could have picked out two kids, Isaac and David, so perfect for our family. Lazarus was stunned when I told him today we hadn't even had David with us for 2 weeks. Our family has bonded that much. That doesn't just happen. We aren't lucky. We are blessed. Throughout every stressful event, there has been someone there to help us when we needed it most. We have always had what we needed. We have felt your prayers and we appreciate them so much. We all have had much more patience and given each other much more grace than we normally do. Thank you for praying us through that. Our family has been through some pretty intense stuff these last three weeks and we have come through it together, stronger. We are so looking forward to being home. We'll see you all stateside!


The boys' new dos

Frozen yogurt is always a hit!

David before bed.

Day 18

Day 18. Can you even believe it is day 18? Will this trip ever end? Ugh.

So tonight I have to start in reverse order of our day because we witnessed the most amazing traffic tonight. After we left David's medical appointment we began what should have been a 20 minute drive to the area near the guesthouse. It took 2 hours and 45 minutes! I kid you not! There are 5 million people in Nairobi. This city does not use stop lights or even traffic signs. No lines on the roads, they barely have roads. I thought driving in Kigali was a sight. Here they turn off their engines while they wait because traffic is so bad. Imagine driving down a two lane road, one lane for each direction and barely lanes at that, very narrow. Well, in Nairobi an open lane is up for grabs regardless of the intended direction. Gridlock at its best is what we experienced tonight! Then to add to the fun, it is rainy season here in Kenya and they are getting a lot of rain! So while we were trying to navigate all the cars, bikes and people on the poorly maintained roads, we also had to contend with potholes full of water. Perhaps pothole is not the right word. Small ponds? Seriously, the potholes here take up the entire lane or more. The roads are a mess and that is just the absolute nicest thing I can say. Seriously, no traffic signals whatsoever!!!

Our youngest man passed his medical exam with flying colors! Poor thing was the very unhappy recipient of 5 shots. For some reason, he seemed to blame Kate for the shots so he was extremely crabby with her for the remainder of the day. He did take a nice long nap in the car. A 2 1/2 hour nap! So now we just need to get his visa tomorrow and we are all done here! We are praying the medical report will have been received and he will pass any backgrounds checks so we can get the visa.

So now I'll tell you about our morning, because our day pretty much consisted of waiting for the medical appointment and waiting for the car in front of us to move. This morning we got up in the dark to get on a large bus looking thing and drove to Nairobi National Park. Upon arrival at the park our driver opened the roof of the bus/van so we could stand up and look out and take pictures. NNP is like a mini safari just on the edge of the city. It was amazing! We had so much fun! For me, just being out in the open was so nice. I hadn't realized how much I missed the wide open space. In Nairobi and in Kigali, lots are surrounded by fences. Whether the fence is a tall stone wall or a tall shrub, the property divider goes right up to the street so as you drive it is almost claustrophobic. Everyone has a gate and a guard to open and close the gate when someone honks. So to be out driving through this natural land was just breathtaking and refreshing to my soul.

We saw several varieties of antelope, so many that by the end of our tour we didn't even slow down to look at them. We also saw a large group of zebra, a black rhino, ostrich, 5 giraffes, and 3 lions. These animals were right outside our van. The park is 28,963 acres and the animals don't have a designated spot, so if you see a group of giraffes in one spot, an hour later they might be on the other side of the park. It is all open with varying degrees of roads criss crossing the park. The morning excursion was probably my favorite thing this trip outside of getting David. So now I'll try to pick just a couple of pictures to share with you from our fun today. After charging the battery all night, it still ran out of juice as we were taking so many pictures. It was a little intimidating to whip out my mom camera when the professional photographer was traveling with us.

I was waiting for pictures to load and I thought of two more things I wanted to tell you about. On our ride to the park this morning I saw two people out for what appeared to be a run, or jogging if you are American media. Now remember, we're in Kenya. These guys were FAST! There are a lot of tall slender Kenyans. I would definitely not EVER enter a race here for fear of having the course close and everyone go home long before I've hit the halfway point.

Speaking of the Kenyan people, it has surprised me how many are so happy to tell me they are American. When we are at the medical clinic where everyone who is traveling internationally must go, we either get stares or awkward conversation with people practicing their English. "I'm American." they say. They don't identify themselves as Kenyans who have gotten their citizenship in the US as they clearly are, they are simply Americans. And they are always smiling when they say it. Good lesson.

Now, the pictures.


David had a little trouble waking up this morning. So we dressed his lower half but at the time he was sucking his fingers and I couldn't figure out how to take off his shirt with his hand securely attached to his mouth.

Where the deer and the antelope, no wait, no deer, just antelope.

This is similar to the vehicle we were riding in. They passed us while we were parked watching the animals.

The black rhino. As we were watching it the driver said, "It's a boy." We were very impressed with his ability to read the animal like that so we asked how he knew that information.

Then we understood when the driver pointed out the third back leg.

Just some of the zebra we saw. Gorgeous animals!

For Aunt Sarah, Kate took lots of pictures just for you.

Final thought and then I'm off to bed. As we drove to the park this morning, after we passed the high speed joggers, we passed a large grouping of shacks. Four pieces of corrugated metal attached together with another sheet on top, much like you would see a very crude shed at home. There were homes. People live in these homes. Poverty here is incredible. Today we drove by someone who was selling used bike parts on the side of the road. And by used I mean he pulled rusty bike frames out of the trash and is selling them. This is not uncommon. They sell everything along the side of the road here. So as you tuck yourselves into your nice warm beds tonight, remember the thousands of people falling asleep with water dripping on them because it is rainy season in Kenya. God bless you all! Can't wait to be home! Night!