After 2 years…after 18 months since first seeing their beautiful faces, we are finally home with our daughters. And hey…we broke the record for the longest case our Power of Attorney in Ghana has ever had. Yay! Go us!

We left on a plane July 2nd and flew out to Ghana and we came home July 7th. A few days after our return trip, I got sick with a virus my 3-year old was carrying, and I am still sick (on day 4). So the transition isn’t going as I hoped, however, the girls seem to be adjusting well.

Since everyone’s number one question to us is, “How are they adjusting”, let’s start there.

When we saw them in Ghana for the first time in nearly 18-months, it was clear they were both happy and excited. We stayed at their foster home for a couple hours and were invited to have breakfast, so we ate.

When it was time to leave for our next destination, it began to get real for ME, because we, at that point, were going to be taking full responsibility for our daughters from this point on. I tried to remember how those moments made me feel, because as white people caring for and traveling with two Ghanaian children, clearly we would stand out. When our girls came to the U.S., the same would be true of them.

Our girls have had a unique experience with being around many white people, though. The orphanage they came from constantly has volunteers who come from Europe and remain in Ghana for 3 months to a year to serve. So they are not new to being around white people, and many of them.

Once we arrived in Cape Coast, about 3 hours from the airport, the girls began to open up more. We got settled into the beach resort for a few days of bonding with the girls.

We had a blast hanging out on the beach, watching the girls swing and sing, having meals in an outdoor pavilion, rain or shine. Because it is warm year round, much of the Ghanaian life is built outside.

Margaret on the left, Christina on the right.

There are always, always people walking around. It’s a common means of travel because many cannot afford to own a car. There is also an abundance of public transportation. Some can’t even afford that.

So, at the end of the weekend we gathered our things to return to the airport. The drive there was a little terrifying. We didn’t know until after we were 2 hours into our drive back to the airport that our taxi driver didn’t know where the airport was! In addition, his car kept failing to accelerate at different points throughout our trip. I was terrified we would get stranded and miss our flight. I couldn’t do anything but pray!

Once we got inside the airport, Christiana’s nerves began to kick in. She said her stomach hurt and from what we gathered from Margaret’s interpretation, Christiana was scared to get on the plane. We did what we could to comfort her and after a couple hours of being in the airport, she began to feel better. And they both did great on the flights!

We were all pretty exhausted once we landed home, but adrenaline kept us going.

All of the children were excited to meet and play right away. It truly was a wonderful homecoming!

Pictured: L–>My mother in law standing behind the girls, me and my husband with the rest of our children in front of us, my mom, my sister, and my brother.
Today, one week later, the girls are settling in as best as can be expected. They seem happy and comfortable here, but that doesn’t always tell a true story. It takes a lot of time to feel these issues out.

I continue to work on our schedule but since I got sick over the weekend, it has been delayed a bit. But I know they will thrive even more once that schedule is in place and they know what to expect and when.

As we spend our summer bonding as a family, we will be doing some light lessons and trying to see what level our girls are at so homeschooling can begin in late August.

I will continue to write about our transition and am currently writing a book on our adoption process, God’s faithfulness, and the girls first 3 months home.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support. It has been a long two years, but we are finally ready to begin the next chapter of our journey!