Our Return

OK we are back from Canada and have many joys to share.

When we arrived Mina and Ana our new twin girls were waiting for us at the Mission of Hope orphanage. We couldn't wait to see them. We were not sure after 5 weeks at a good orphanage how they would feel about coming home with us, but as we pulled up, they came running and screeching with joy. We could not believe our eyes. Our skinny malnourished girls looked so big! Our orphanage did a great job with them and with proper nutrition they were starting to flourish.

The first few days were hilarious watching them discover everything new. Their new clothes, their new bedroom, the shower, even their new brothers and sisters. The questions they asked were interesting. "Do we get 5 o'clock food again today mommy?" (after we told them the day before we were eating at 5pm) "Is this supper?" (When they had a granola bar one day). "Are you going to hit us mommy?" (question out of the blue....what they were used to at their previous homes) "when I am older, are you going to put me back in the orphanage?" (a question one night when they were showering and brushing their teeth.)

They are slowly learning that they do not need to stuff food down their throats (or grab food off their brothers plates) as they will get food again, but this will take a long time to change. They talk non stop at a break-necking pace and every word is at a volume of a yell (that is how you have to talk when you are in an orphanage of 126 kids) and they are very intelligent.

They have started learning English and are learning at a very quick pace. They love to do "school" lessons and show off their skills in what they have learned before. It is amazing to see their brains soaking everything in so fast!! The added bonus is that our other 3 kids have now learned more Creole in 2 weeks then they have all last year...they have not had a choice if they wanted to be able to understand their new little sisters. Teagan has been amazing with them and is a second mother for sure!

The twins have settled into a good routine and seem to thrive on that. We are all now getting to the point of being able to tell them apart just by looking at them although from behind it is any one's guess still. They have very similar personalities and as soon as we think we have one pegged, they switch personalities!

We are so grateful for this experience (even though we are exhausted from getting used to having 5 kids around the house) and we are so blessed that God has chosen our family to steward these children for Him.

We have a long way to go on the adoption process, but we continue to pray that God's will be done for these girls.

In closing I want to show you the difference that God has made in these children's lives. He has taken children that have no future, no hope and has given them an amazing chance to make a difference in this world. Please look at the before and after picture of Ana below to see how far she has come. And this is only the beginning......................