Reunion

re·un·ion

rēˈyo͞onyən/

noun

1.

an instance of two or more people coming together again after a period of separation.

There is something very special about seeing your children interact with other kids they have known their entire lives.

Why do we even try?

St. Louis was a very special time. We met up with several special families that have brought their children home since November 2012. There is a special connection between us as we have experienced together the pains of waiting and the joys and hardships of bringing our children home.

A highlight was having Angie meet up with us one day. It was so special for me to see Samson carry on a rather lengthly conversation with her about tractors and grandpa and other things he likes to talk about.

We took in the zoo, we visited the arch, we swam, we talked.  We watched our kids and tried to imagine life for them in other country under very different and difficult circumstances.  My heart was so blessed to see them giggle and play together.  The trip was definitely a highlight of the summer.

Our Joy

There are so many things we love about our Lydie Joy. Her infectious laugh, her humor, her caring heart.

My little girl started 4-year-old preschool this week. I've been asked if I was sad about letting her go. I honestly can say that I haven't been. Maybe it's because I know she wanted to go so badly. Maybe it's because I know I have been entrusted with her and know it's what her birth mother desired most of all. It's such an honor to be able to provide her with a good education.

Lydie had the most epic fail on the swing set two days before school started.  We decided to walk down to the river and take in some good barbecue and music. We had already had a very full day at Grandma and Grandpa Probert's so we were all a little weary. Lydie's favorite thing is swinging.  Her legs darted as fast as possible to that very big swing.  I was super excited for her because she loves to go as high as possible. I pushed her for a while and then Stephen took over. I was watching Samson play on different equipment when I looked over and saw Lydie swing forward while one hand let go. I yelled at Stephen to do something. It was too late. As she got to the top of the forward motion her body slipped off. Somehow, her legs hooked on and she held on for dear life on the backswing upside down. It almost would have been better if she had completely let go and belly flopped, because the thing that happened next still makes me cringe. Her face scraped the sand covered ground until she came to a stop. She stood up with her mouth, nose, eyes and hair completely packed with sand. She did cry a little but the best thing about Lydie is once we got her orifices cleaned out as best as possible, she was on that swing again.

Later that night when she took a bath, she was blowing tons of sand out her nose and I can't even talk about how much sand I got out of her hair.

Speaking of hair. I don't know why I stress myself as much as I do, but the day before school started, I spent 5 hours on her hair. Why, why why???  When I was done, I wasn't even sure I liked it, but the more I've looked at it, the more I like it. There are 12 cornrows on each side pulled into a ponytail. It was good cornrowing practice for me. I just have to keep telling myself I will get faster.

Lydie talks a lot about the differences in our skin and hair. The conversations have always been initiated by her. A week prior to her starting school, I asked her how she would like her hair for her first day, she replied, "blonde." No matter how much we tell her how cool her hair is or how beautiful her skin is, she still recognizes the differences between us and wants to be the same.

A few weeks ago I had a chance to sit down with Lydie and talk.  Stephen took Samson out for a boy's day out which gave me the perfect opportunity to talk to her about her birth mother. We often look through pictures from Haiti and when we come across a picture of her birth mother, we have not talked much about it. Part of the reason for this is we wanted her to have a clear understanding of the English language so she wouldn't be overly confused by what we were saying and secondly, it's hard to have a conversation when brother is around.

I pulled up the picture and explained how just like our friend has a baby girl in her tummy, the pretty lady in the picture had Lydie in her tummy. At first she said she didn't like it and she didn't like her. She also said she wanted to be in my tummy, which made me cry. I told her I would have liked that too, but that the lady in the picture was her birth mommy. She wanted very badly to see her eyes and closely as she could.  We talked about how beautiful she was and how she looked a lot like Lydie. After our conversation she spent the rest of the day asking to see the pictures over and over.  I was so glad we had the conversation and we pray every day that she finds her identity in Christ and loves and accepts our differences.

Happy Readoption Day!

It was just a formality because our kids came home from Haiti with a full and final adoption in place. But it's nice to have an official record filed in our state for extra protection. This process allows us to get US certificates of foreign birth (it will state that the kids were born to us in a foreign country) and we were also able to legally change their names too.  Previously Samson was Samson Pierre P. and now he's Samson Immanuel. Lydie was Lydie Fignole P. and now she is Lydie Joy.

We arrived at the juvenile court at 8:30 a.m. this morning. We waited quite a while to enter the court room.  I think it was about 9:15 before we went back. The judge was very nice. Our lawyer had prepped us ahead of time so we weren't nervous or anything. We sat down and Stephen was first to be sworn in and answer a serious of questions asked by our lawyer. Then it was my turn. While I was answering the questions, Samson was being very antsy on my lap and the judge stopped the proceeding at one point and said he could talk into the microphone. They all got a laugh about that. Then Lydie had to talk into the microphone too of course. It was quite fun.  After the proceeding the judge and our lawyer congratulated us and applauded. It felt so good to have this last little piece of the process finished.

Of course, things like this never go completely flawless.  Before we went back to court I had taken each kid back to the bathroom.  I had set my purse down on the bathroom counter and somehow it rolled into the sink.  The sink had an automatic faucet and a deluge of water poured over it. Luckily it was closed and upside down so the damage was minimal, but COME ON! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Today was a good day. Happy readoption day Lydie Joy and Samson Immanuel!

Cheers to summer

This has truly been one of the best summers I have experienced in a very long time. There have been so many first experiences for the kids. It feels like I'm experiencing them for the first time too.

Lydie is, of course, fearless. But she is also so incredibly sweet.  I've been amazed at the bond she has developed with her brother. The other day he was in trouble for something and she broke down crying for him. I remember doing that when I was younger too. She's being a good big sister.

The kids are amazing. Our family feels so complete. I shake my head in disbelief at how well-adjusted and lovely they are. They are just....lovely.

One of the biggest highlights of the summer has been the homecoming of two more girls from Lydie and Samson's orphanage. It was such an emotional day for me. All the memories of our kids' homecoming came flooding back.

Familiar Face

Floods of emotion for two adoptive mommas

The summer started off with an amazing birthday bash for both kids. Since their birthdays fall close together we decided to celebrate each birthday separate with the immediate family and have a large party for both after school was finished. We were so honored to have our family and closest friends there. We also had several of our neighbors there too which was very special. It was an amazing day. I was fighting a nasty bug and had a 102 fever the night before, but God gave me grace and I felt fairly good the next day. I just vowed to stay away from the food. Here's my favorite pictures from the party.

Christmathe one day after coming home

Family and friends

My lovely grandma

Dad's signature pose

My favorite little man

 Samson also received a haircut this summer. That was a hoot!

Coming off in one huge piece

The hairstylist thought this was amazing

Another highlight was July 4th. We started out with our tradition of meeting friends at our house along with Jere and Bev for the parade. We live close enough we can walk to the start of the parade route. It was a beautiful morning.

Lydie & Samson love Justine!

In the afternoon we drove up to the Probert farm to have our pictures taken in the corn and we also rode on a wagon through the farm being pulled by a two-cylinder John Deere.

The day ended with a bang! Lots of bangs! Our town puts on a pretty impressive show. We met up with our friends again and also were so happy to have my brother's family and my mom and dad along. It was a magical night. Lydie was absolutely beside herself when the fireworks started. I missed the beginning because I was taking Samson behind a truck to pee. He was less impressed, but still enjoyed himself. I was so glad that the kids weren't afraid. I, somehow, became the evening's distributer of glow bracelets. It was a beautiful night.

We spent the rest of July hanging out with friends, family and each other making memories every day. Some small, and some life-changing. I will speak more to the life-changing memories in a later post.

We look forward to August and an upcoming planned trip to see some old friends. I'll leave it at that for now. God Bless!