Home Again

Greetings friends and family....yes, it is Monday morning and I think I need to post....it has been a part of my everyday life and it feels good to do it again.
Today at 4:00 a.m. John gets up, "dresss" his bed and comes into my room and says "my stomach is empty" so off we go to get some food and start the morning. (I did however convince him to lay with me for one more hour until I could pry my eye lids open)

Psalm 92 vs 1-2 and 4
It is good to give THANKS to he Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O most High.
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night.

For You Lord, have me GLAD through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands!

I guess I wanted to start out with those verses becasue that truly is how my heart is feeling! I asked the Lord EARLY on in this journey to refiine me and show me the places where I had not surrendered and to carry my by His strength and power, knowing i would get to moments that did not make sense, or moments where i did not think I could carry one....AND HE DID!!!
Was it easy...No, did I have to TRUST when things did not make sense in my head...YES, did I have to see that He may have a BIGGER picture than I could see....YES, did I see and do things that He put before me that no one else could of...YES, and YES and YES!
Would I do it again...YES....this part of the journey does not need to be repeated, but the opportunity to BE WITH GOD when you only have HIM...well I think that will re-play in my life over and over again if i am willing!

So, what does on mommy do with, two kids, an airport I have never been in, processing through a process (immigration) I have never navigated, and connections that were a bit unknown? You PRAY and give THANKS and DO IT! and guess what...AGAIN He meets you where you are and gives direction and adventure where my heart was willing to go!
COOL!

The kids did GREAT beyond GREAT!!!
ACCRA AIRPORT
FUNNIEST THINGS: to many people to count asking: "Are those your children?" I would answer "Yes" and they would reply "Are you sure?" *FUNNY!*

I got several questions froom workers like " I am good with kids, and can clean, could I go with you?"

INTERESTING THINGS:
My Visa had expired, and when I went in to renew it (Ghana Immigration) I paid a penalty got my receipt and then was told "come back in two weeks and you can have your passprot back" Ohhhh that was not going to work with me leaving in 6 days...so I took the risk to pay agian at the airport.
That is what I did, it took about 30 mins to sort through things, the officer was very intereseted in a letter I had from Romana (BH Director) and very kindly called her at 6:30 a.m. (THANKS ROMANA for answering even if you do not totally remember what you said What ever it was , it worked:)
The officer asked to talk to the kids:
Officer to Victoria "What is your name?" " Victoria BLASKE" (she says on her own, did not tell her to say that) Officer: "Where are you going?" "America" she says.
Officer: "Why are you going there?" Vic: "I have a family who wants to take care of me" OKAY.....TEARS from the mommy.....She in her tender heart had already worked this all out in her head and answered onher own....GOD YOU ARE WIHT HER!

Officer: Same questions for John, but when we got to the "why are you going to America?" John says "To SWIM" with a huge laugh!
LOVE HIM!!!

We arrrived at 4:45 a.m at the air port, we went through the process of "checking in with an adoption process" and arrived at the gate at 7:00.
It really is amazing to me that in each step of the process and each person who stopped us to ask questions, or pulled us aside to "investigate" set my heart in a place of "Okay....what would you have me do here?" and he provided in each situation!
Everything that happened set us up for position to speak of His goodness...even when it was tough!

SEEING THE AIRPLANE!
squeals of laughter came bounding out as the kids came to the gate to sit to wait to board..the airplane in ACCRA sits out away from the gate and you walk out to it and board from the ground! it looks HUGE, it is HUGE!

"Ohhhh Mom....it is PLENTY!!" look mom DELTA, it says DELTA! (we had been talking about Delta for many weeks and the reality of the plane sitting there was TO MUCH and Laughter was PLENTY!

BOARDING AND TAKE OFF!!
I wish I could of had my video camera on! To grasp the excitment of a take off and the emotions of going....finally going....was priceless! Maybe it was meant just for us, it will forever be in my heart, the memory of squeals, "oh mom, we will fall" or "the houses look like small small....like my BOX for clothes at Beacon House"
Food and head phones on the plane....they had a GREAT time drinking pop, listening to all the music stations on the earphones....DANCING in the seats to each new beat and TALKING AT SUPER LOUD VOICES because they could not hear how loud they were talking....the people in the plane were gracious and just smiled each time they ENJOYED at full TILT the whole experience!

JFK!
We made it throuhg our long flight....with MANY MANY trips to the bathroom, 4 movies, icecream and making friends with the attendants.
We exited the plane and were sent DOWN into a long cement hallway...belwo the airport.
"PASSPORT CHECK" the officers were all saying, I thought, okay...but th lady next to me said "I fly this flight ALL the time and I have never been sent down here."
Okay.....with in 30 mins we all ralized that it was for security as they had set up a sting for a drug bust....not alot of details, but it took 30 mis of my 2 hour lay over I had at JFK.
When you get to immigration you have two options of two lines, "Citizens and Non Citizens" I knew (from the family who had just done this process in Dec That i needed to go in the "citizen line because the kids had "immigrant Visa's"
Two planes dumped into immigration ...about 400 people.
In a series of conversations with officers(as I was put in the NON citizen line...) telling them, as I snaked around the the 12 lanes of roped lines, "I think I need to be OVER THERE" they opened the rope and said "please come this way" and put me int eh citizen line....last one in line (smile)
It was by that time 6:00. (landed at 5:15)...next flight boarding at 6:45 departing at 7:20
By 6:30 I made it to the window of the officer who got to do the job that I had been WAITING for my whole 7 weeks in Ghana....OPENING the ADOPTION envelope and being DONE with the miles and miles of PAPERWORK!
In my heart I was laughing as verses iin James bounced around in my head like my five yr old was bouncing around on the ground (his little body was navigating being awake at 1:00 his body clock time)
CONSIDER it ALL JOY Carrie, do not MISS this chance to PRAISE me, DO ALL things with out complaining....not just the things you understand...Do you trust me?
All these things were flying through my head and I anchored down in my heart and said "okay...Lord, Lets see what you have for us in this section of our journey....are we going to connect? Are we staying in NY for a night? Lets GO! lets WORK hard and see!

So we did, we got through the window, went into the office, had our interview and went to get our bags (that had already been pulled off and set aside due to the length of time) and set off to find out gate at 7;00...YEEE HAW!!!!!

Ever seen a mommy with two kids RUN through JFK? We laughed and cried, we got sweaty and laughed some more.
The gate number on our ticket was 16, when we got there, it said "Dallas" okay....
so off we went on another adventure...to gate 22 (you say, oh not to far...hee hee...it was a HIKE)
The best part of all of it was the FUN we had on the "moving walk-way"
All along the hallways are flat moving walkways...if you get on and RUN you MOVE!
That is what we did....however....not ever having seen a "moving walk=way" the kids approached with great caution....I popped them on with out a lot if discussion....
*remember the plane was boarding*
"okay guys, this is FUN, watch how FAST we can go...lets RUN! LAUGHING And LAUGHING they both RAn....Victoria looked up at me and said "I think I am afraid"
I said, " I think you are AMAZING!!!"
We got to the gate, were the last ones on...sat down and left 20 mins later....
So my hopes of showing the kids a Burger king bruger and fries and a Starbcuks for me faded as we pulled away from the gate.....but boy did we LIVE our verses in JAMES OUT LOUD and in COLOR!!!

ARRIVING!!
Cold cold cold....the kids spent the whole 5 hour flight COLD and asleep!
I got to watch HGTV...home make over shows for 5 hours...kinda fun...but no sleep as kids tossed and turned like jumping beans in the seats trying to get comfortable.

When we were getting off the plane the Pilot said to the kids "welcome HOME"
Do you want to sit in the cock-pit....YES!!!!
They were so kind and we had a good flight!

When we came around the corner we could see a MASS of people and SIGNS of WELCOME!!!
WELCOME HOME!
A WAVE of emotion shot through my heart as John and Victoria saw Dave first and took off running!
Can it be Lord....Can it Be?
Yes!
It was a 10 min exchange of unbelief filled with HUGE BELIEF and HOPE of the LOVE of God over our lives!!!!
The conversations and words spoken as we hugged and kissed, laughed and cried will FOREVER be set in our hearts as a memory of PRAISES to the one and ONLY GOD who could of DONE ALL OF THIS for His GLORY!
FAMILY.....the collection of hand made by God people set together to accomplish the purposes He ALONE has for them to accomplish while here on earth!
That is what we are!
LONG POST....but so was the journey....hee hee!
There are many "firsts " to post about...will do that soon, until then THANKS and PRAISE to all of you who are continuing to STAND by us in prayer and support!
*have not spell checked...no time with John here "living life" by my side...so just laugh at how my brain thinks and spells :O)