Pirate's Cove - a slippery slope...

(Another late/catch-up post...)

We left today for South Carolina (see next post to find out why!) We rented a Toyota 4Runner, and stopped at Pirate’s Cove in Hardin, Kentucky, as it was part of our camping network. It was not quite what we expected…our home campground is lovely, well-maintained and very clean. This…not so much. We had a heck of a time even obtaining reservations – the lady wasn’t sure how to do it. Apparently, the office is actually run by volunteers. Sometimes they are there, sometimes, nobody is. When we arrived, she told us our cabin number and apologized for all the dead bugs in it. Great way to start off. She asked if we knew how to get there. Huh??? Well, no…we’d never been there before. I tried to look at their map to find out, but she got flustered and said it was very complicated. She could send us the way that was easiest to find, but the road wasn’t so good. Or, she could try to figure out the longer way with better roads. I figured we’d be OK in our 4-wheel drive vehicle. Boy, was I wrong. We had to go up a huge hill (the photo doesn’t do it justice) with DEEP gullies and wet, slippery red clay/mud all the way up. It was like trying to get up an icy hill in the middle of winter. Even with our tough little vehicle, we kept sliding further backward each time we tried to go forward. We nearly slid off the road several times. There was no way it would be safe to back down. We finally found a couple of spots of gravel for traction and inched our way up the hill.

This is the hill…

…and the girls feigning terror.

The thick layer of mud and clay on our previously pristine rental car tires…I’ll have to some serious cleaning before returning the car.

And, the cabin…finally. Yes, there were LOTS of dead bugs. At least they weren’t live ones. The main overhead light didn’t work, so we couldn’t really see much in the living room. I called the desk, and the sweet little lady said she had no idea how to replace the light bulb. That figures. It was definitely meant for hunting trips – there was a creepy deer head staring at us from the wall. Yuck!

The only place we could find any food to cook for dinner was Fast Eddie’s Bait and Tackle. (I know I have a picture somewhere, but can't locate it...just try to imagine...) We settled on a Chef Boyardee make-your-own pizza kit. We had no cooking spray,, so we cooked it on foil and just peeled it off little by little. An interesting little adventure – we were glad to be on our way in the morning.

More in a bit...

Jeanie

Birthday/Camping Weekend

(This is a catch-up post, written long after the fact...)

We decided that if we’re going to consider getting an RV for our camping, we’d better try it out first. So, we rented one for the weekend! We also invited the girls’ friend Autumn to spend the night with us, and her mom (our friend!) Kelly to join us for a cookout. We had something else up our sleeves, too…

April 27^th was Elena’s 6^th birthday, so we planned a surprise birthday party on the camping trip! Don had decided Elena should have a new bike, as hers was a bit too small for her, so her hid it in his van and drove separately. He also got her a special cupcake-shaped birthday cake, made by our friend Paula at Chocol’Art in Washington. Yum! She makes the BEST desserts, and Elena has admired those cupcake-cakes for at least a year now!

Elena seemed fairly surprised, although I think she knew we were up to something.

Kelly pinned the “Birthday Girl” ribbon onto Elena’s shirt – what a happy girl!

Elena’s only request for her birthday was a toy phone. Same request as for Christmas – and she got one! Hmmmm... Well, she very sweetly and delicately explained to me that the phone she got for Christmas wasn’t the one she had really wanted. I felt so bad for her – that was the only thing she had asked for, and she never told us that we had messed it up – I was proud that she didn’t complain about it, but I would have corrected it back then if I had known! Anyway, what she really wanted was a pink princess phone with the old-fashioned receiver that sits on a high cradle. I found it, and boy, was she happy!

Don called Elena outside on false pretenses, and surprised her with the bike – she did a funny “happy dance.”

A special moment with her sister Lydia.

Cake time! This is our very sweet little friend, Autumn.

The next morning, Kente took a nice, deep nap on my shoulder – he was in such a funny position, but seemed quite content. Autumn joined us for a little while.

The girls had a great time swimming later in the day.

More next time…

Jeanie

A match made in heaven...(and they even wear matching outfits)

Yes, it's my third post tonight. Trying to make up for all the days I've missed, I guess! Just wanted to share a cute photo with you. When baby Kente arrived, our dog Lucy was absolutely terrified of him. She (all 68 pounds of her) leaped into my husband's lap and tried to hide behind his shoulder, just because the 2-pound kitten looked at her - even before he had a chance to hiss or bristle his fur!

So, imagine our delight to see this...they stayed this way for well over an hour. It's true love.

I wish you as much peace as these two have found...

Jeanie

Poll of the Week

Well, it's been longer than a week, but the bushmeat poll is over. For those of you who care, here are the results (actually, here they are regardless...LOL!)

The question: Have you ever eaten bushmeat?

The answers (3 total votes):

Yes, and would again 33%

Yes, and never again 0%

No, but might someday 33%

Never in a million years 0%

What is bushmeat??? 33%

SO...we need a new poll of the week. I've been learning about RV's for the first time this week. Never traveled in one, but after driving around the eastern US with my girls for a month in a minivan, I am thinking that riding in a portable living room sounds pretty darn nice. Would save lots on food and lodging - and maybe give us a chance to make the trek to more of the lesser-known educational jewels out there. It would also let my hubby bring the whole family when he has to travel to film for the TV show he produces - hmmmm...

Seems that there are a lot of pros and cons to each of the classes of RV. The one we're trying out this weekend is a 29-foot Class C. I'm curious as to what people's favorite types of RV's and why. The poll, of course, won't tell the "why" part, so if you respond to the poll, I would love it if you'd leave a comment on this post to tell me about your RV preferences.

This week's question:

Which is your favorite class of RV?

Hope to hear from you! :)

Jeanie

Great news today - including a court date!

We had a fun weekend - Don and I have been considering trying a little RV trip (which we've never done before), and so we visited an RV rental facility, then chose a nearby campground resort. They have indoor and outdoor pools, mini-golf, horseback riding, and lots of other activities for the kids. No motorized vehicles, nothing loud, just lots of woods, water, and peace and quiet. Don will take the girls fishing, we'll roast marshmallows on our new "marshmallow tree" (also good for Legos, apparently...see picture to right), and have lots of fun. I will enjoy being close to nature, though I will enjoy it from the comfort of an air-conditioned little living room on wheels while I work on a cross stitch project I'm making for my mom-in-law. After finding the best values we could (and I think we found some great ones), we reserved everything for a couple of nights this weekend. Yay! :)

Just when I thought the day was looking pretty good, it got better. Much better. First, I received an e-mail from our adoption agency informing me that our soon-to-be-daughter's court date is THIS Thursday! Wow - it's finally happening!

Then, best of all...I received another e-mail from the agency - their in-country coordinator had sent a message about how happy the little girl is to be joining our family, along with a picture of her smiling sweetly as she looked through the family photo album we sent her (which is in our slideshow below.) This is the first picture we've seen of her since her original photolisting - and it was SO heartwarming to see that smile on her face and to see the little album we made for her right in her very hands! It really did bring tears to my eyes...and I am NOT a tearful sort of person, typically. Lydia and Elena were so excited - they were jumping up and down, grinning from ear to ear, saying, "She got the book! She got the book!" Gosh, we can hardly wait to put our arms around her.

I so wish I could show you the photo now...but hopefully soon I can. If I understand correctly, once the court process has taken place, I will be permitted to post photos of our little girl. I'll show you as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Jeanie

A hairy situation! ;)

My hair has been driving me crazy.

I have thick brown hair that used to be "naturally wavy," but with each pregnancy it got curlier and curlier, such that now I am "naturally curly." TOO naturally curly for me (I've always wished for perfectly straight, long hair.) I haven't paid too much attention to my hair lately - just pull the front up into a barrette, let it dry, and go. But, it keeps growing...and growing...so that lately I can barely brush through it, there's so darn much.

I've been wanting to get it shorter, but with as much as I'd like to cut off, it seemed like such a waste to just throw it away. So, I decided to wait until I had enough extra hair to donate to Locks of Love. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the US and Canada with long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Often these children have lost their hair from alopecia areata or from cancer treatment. Having a high-quality hair prosthesis made from real hair helps boost the self-esteem of these children and lets them feel less self-conscious. A great cause, I think - and many friends of mine have donated their hair to it. To donate to Locks of Love, you need to have a ponytail (or ponytails) of hair with the longest parts at least 10 inches in length.

So...I did it! Tonight, I went to the hair salon and got my hair measured - I had enough to take 10 inches, and leave my hair about chin length. For those of you who know me, you know that's shorter than I've had in a LONG time - probably since I about 32 years ago!!! (For those of you who haven't met me, you can look at our photo album slide show below to see how long my hair USED to be...)

My head feels so light now - it's nice to feel a little bounce when I turn my head. I'm not much for getting in front of the camera, but I took this picture to show you my hair donation:

I told my husband and kids that with my short hair, I fell like I look like a real adult now. My daughter replied cheerily, "Yeah, Mom! You look like you're a grandma!" She meant it in the nicest way (I think...)

I read on the Locks of Love website that 80% of their donations are from kids who want to help other kids. Isn't that fantastic? But, I checked just in case, and yes they ARE willing to weed out my gray hairs for me so they can use the rest. LOL

I hope all of you have a great week!

Hugs,

Jeanie

God at the end of the checkout lane

OK, this post is quite strange, but the end message is one I thought worth sharing.

I had a dream...

A few nights ago, I had a very complicated dream, with lots of skyscrapers supported by chicken wire, street signs 20 stories above the ground, and an incredible flower garden/boarding school for little girls. But, I'll leave out the details of those parts and tell you about God at the end of the checkout lane.

In the dream, somehow I had been entrusted with responsibility for a little boy named Joseph - he was about 6 years old, with very dark wavy hair, and was a sweet, bright child. He was proud of the fact that he knew his name and how to spell it, and was happy to spell his name for anyone who would listen. Joseph was a child of God, and in this dream he was not the only one - there were many of God's children out there, who knew they would meet their Father someday, but did not know where or when. I was asked to take care of Joseph and raise him until the day came when he would meet God, his Father. I think only a year or so passed, but during that time it became clear that Joseph thought quite highly of himself for being God's child. He talked about it to nearly everyone we met, and eventually started introducing himself as God's son rather than as Joseph. One day, we were in a grocery store, and had just finished checking out. At the end of the checkout lane stood a man, and I knew it was God. He was about 10 feet tall, such that my field of vision only included up to his eyebrows - I didn't see his hair. He was unclothed (but not in an X-rated sort of way - there were no "private parts" or anything, just a vague sense of being in a natural state), and...he was an aqua blue color. He smiled gently at Joseph and touched his cheek, then he asked his name. Joseph stammered and realized he couldn't speak his name - he couldn't remember it. Then, God asked him to spell his name (he knew that had always been easy for Joseph) - Joseph couldn't even begin to spell it. But, God smiled and put his arm around the boy, thanked me for taking care of him, and the dream ended.

So, this may sound crazy - I did tell you that it was going to be a strange post! But here's what I thought about it when I woke up. I think there was a moral to the story, and that it was a beautiful reminder about an important aspect of good character. To me, the dream illustrated the importance of humility, and said that if one loses humility and gets an inflated ego, they can lose track of who they really are in the process.

So, the message I have been thinking about today -

Remain humble, lest your true self be lost.

Hugs,

Jeanie

Surprising and exciting news

Hi, everyone! Well, we had some interesting things happen in the past few days. Here's the surprising news first: On Wednesday, I brought Kente, our new little kitten to the vet for her first shots. As it was April Fool's Day, I hesitated to believe he was serious when the vet told me Kente was a "he" not a "she." But, he wasn't kidding - it's a boy! So, now Kente Claudia is now Kente Claudius! LOL

And now for the exciting news - on Thursday, our adoption agency told us that we could go ahead and submit our dossier before receiving our I171-H form (since it is a form our government will need, but that it is not actually recognized by the government of Ghana, to whom the dossier goes.) So, in the middle of trying to prepare for our trip (for which we were supposed to leave at 5 pm), I spent a LONG time at the UPS store, where we brought all of our documents, had them notarized, made copies and got certificates of true copy notarized, made full copies of the entire shebang for our agency and for ourselves, and overnighted all of it to North Carolina. About 7 weeks' worth of paperwork all culminated in this little package. It felt SO good to see it leave - it means we can begin the sit back and wait phase. We'll get to do more of the preparing for our child and less of the paperwork (at least for now...) I don't know how long it has typically taken couples to receive their travel dates after submitting their dossiers, so who knows when I'll go to Ghana, but at least we're on BIG step closer.

Hugs,

Jeanie

USCIS and Kente

Well, we finally received our final, notarized homestudy this afternoon. I picked it up, and then headed directly to the USCIS (immigration) office to file our I-600A. The people at our USCIS office were SO nice! Since our child is already identified, they are expediting the processing of our application, and expect to have it ready by early next week! They fingerprinted me immediately, which was an unexpected bonus, and are fingerprinting my husband tomorrow. Our dossier is ready except for that I-171H form, so as soon as receive it, everything will finally go off to Ghana!

More family news - I have been wanting a kitten ever since my beloved Shaundy died (he was 17, and had a good, long life). I have never owned a kitten - all my cats came to me as adults. But, when he died, we got 2 puppies instead. That was 2 1/2 years ago. This weekend, Lydia stayed over at a friend's house, and when I picked her up, we got to see 3 brand-new, 9-hour-old kittens! Though those particular kittens are not ready to leave their mommy, it gave the girls kitten cravings, too. My husband said, "No more cats!"

Then...the next morning I found him searching on Craigslist for a long time. When I asked what he was doing, he said that since he has been taking our girls fishing recently, he wanted to look for a used little boat. Hmmmm......I smiled and said that if he was going to get a boat, I should at least be able to have a little kitten! I caught him at the right time - he said yes! So, the girls and I went to the Humane Society while he went to look at the boat he wanted to buy. He got the boat. We got a kitten. (The kitten is cuter than his boat!)

So, I am glad to announce the arrival our our new, 8-week-old orange tabby. She is sweet and cuddly, smart and already well-trained to use the litterbox! After much deliberation, we named her Kente Claudia Hertz. Her first name is the name of the beautiful handwoven cloth for which Ghana is famous. Her middle name is to honor one my all-time favorite cats - a darling little orange tabby named Claudia that one of my best friends used to have.

Kente looks just like Claudia, except she does not have Claudia's little white tip on her tail.Kente likes to cuddle - she nestles between my shoulder and neck and purrs so sweetly. We've been keeping her in a dog crate when we're gone, to protect her from our other animals and from any other dangers. But, today, we found out that she has learned how to squeeze through the bars and escape! Those bars are only about an inch apart - it was unbelievable to watch her squish her little head and body right through!

So, without further adieu, I present Kente (and Kente cloth for those of you who haven't seen it):

Hugs,

Jeanie