Photos, Photos,& an update! :)

So far, this has been an amazing journey! The kids have been home a little over 2 months, and things are getting better!! It has been a rough road, but God has been leading us through these times of adjustment and frustration.

Genevie, our 6 year old girl, decided that she liked the name we gave her 'Liana', pronounced lee-AHN-ah. We chose this name because in Hebrew it means "God has answered." We really liked Genevie, but we gave her the choice of what to be called. This was an adjustment for me, as I kept forgetting to call her Liana, and continued to call her Genevie. Finally, we made it a game and she would purposely call me 'daddy' when I called her Genevie to remind me in a fun way, that her name is now Liana. She has a great, loving personality. She is amazed by everything! She was completely amazed by the automatic doors at Target! She was shy at first to touch the door, and it was fun watching her see this for the first time!
She was also wow-ed by the washer and dryer. In Liberia, all laundry is hand washed and hung to dry. One of her duties at her home was to wash her own clothes each day. She really enjoys helping and being busy. She picks up on things easily. She knew how to come very close to writing her name after I showed her twice! She is very smart and extremely strong-spirited. She does not break easily!











The little man that never smiled, WhiteMan, became used to his new name, Samuel after only a few days while in Africa with him. We chose Samuel because it means "God hears", because of Hannah and Samuel's amazing journeys(Bible), and because in my dream I saw a little guy named 'Samuel'!



He has literally transformed into a new child within the past two months! He was lathargic, not too happy, and non smiley in Liberia. He would eat so much food while we were there, he did not know when to stop. He would eat until he would just hold the food in his mouth and not know what to do, but he did not want to stop eating, that's for sure! He looked like one of those world vision children, with the bloated stomach and herniated umbilical. He had scars all over his body, horrible scars. He was not a happy little man. He did not really want to play much either. Now, he is a really happy guy 99% of the time. He has lots of energy, smiles constantly, and talks a lot! He will color, play, and run around outside! He talks a lot, which is a huge improvement. He is beginning to put words together and make sentences and ask questions about things. He is so fun and loving! He now loves to give mommy and daddy kisses! The pediatrician says he is only 2, not 4 as we had originally been told.




Liana has told us so much about life in Africa. She talks about her tribe, about her birth mama, her bio siblings. She talks about living with her Aunt (which she calls her second mama) and her siblings there. She remembers everything. The day she went to live at the orphanage, and all the people she met along the way. She really seems to be adjusting very well to life here and now loves her new siblings here. She calls me 'mommy' or 'third mama'. I am just glad she likes me. She talks about things that she ate in Africa. We have a really great African market up the street, The owners are from Ghana and seem to like it when Liana comes in to ask for more FuFu and Bilabong soup! We have made several African meals (with the market owner's help!!)

Here are fun photos of the gang in the last two months!