Re-Adoption Day for the Padilla Family

So it's finally official...today Amaleah and Jonathan were declared "official" members of our family in front of a superior court judge. We adopted Amaleah and Jonathan in Ghana, however, if we want them to become U.S. citizens and have a birth certificate with their new names and a social security card then we re-adopt them here in the U.S. It was a very memorable and special day for our family. We even met another family who had adopted a little girl from China and used the same adoption agency we did - small world! Ama and Jo were presented with certificates and all 4 kids were given christmas teddy bears, an unexpected and much appreciated surprise :) We put together a slide show above for you to see some of the pictures we took of our Re-Adoption Day. Shayley and Ama were both scared to go before a judge but that didn't last long once they realized how friendly he was, oh and the teddy bears helped too. After we finished at court it was time to feed 6 hungry stomaches, so of course, what else would top off a great day than a trip to our kid's most favorite place...McDonald's!

J2B, S'mores, Christmas Lights, & Plays, oh my!!

With almost 5 days until Christmas there hasn't been a single dull moment around the Padilla pad these days. On Sunday December 13 the 3 older kids bundled up and went to chuch with daddy to experience life in Bethlehem the night Christmas began a.k.a. Journey To Bethlehem (J2B) http://www.journeytobethlehem.org/ . As they explored Bethlehem's streets they saw a live camel and sheep, tasted authentic food, witnessed the angels singing, listened to ancient tales from a storyteller and listened to Joseph tell the story of Christmas with Mary and baby Jesus...all under the watchful eyes of the Roman Guards! It was an exciting evening for them and a great reminder of the gift God gave us when He sent his only Son to earth to bring us our salvation. We also had a visit from Santa last week as his sleigh came down our street and stopped right in front of our house! It's been a holiday tradition the past couple years for us to have a bonfire with s'mores & hot chocolate and invite our neighbors and friends over while we wait for Santa to arrive. Ama, Shayley and Reece participated in their Christmas school program Carriers of the Light last Thursday evening and warmed our hearts with their precious voices and smiles. Last night we oooohhhed and aahhhed at all the beautiful lights and decorations as we walked through South Torrance where several of the streets are involved in a Christmas lights spectacular. We're looking ahead at another exciting week ... going to a Christmas Open House with old friends, Christmas cookies, delivering gifts and plates of sweets, Re-adoption Day!!, and Christmas Eve with family and friends as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Stay tuned... in the meantime you can check out our slideshow above for the pics from our recent Christmas activities!

WHERE DID NOVEMBER GO????

Could someone please tell me where November went because I think we skipped that month and just went straight to December since it flew by so fast. So as you can tell I totally dropped the ball on blog updates for November, whoops, and so it goes eh. But I did not want to skip over Thanksgiving b/c I've got some cute pics in our slideshow above of our first T-day together as a family of six as well as the day after when we picked out our Christmas tree. We made the decision to stay home for Thanksgiving b/c a few of us were not feeling so well and long story short-er... we did the unthinkable Martha Stewart and yes, we ordered our turkey and side dishes from Ralphs (Although I did make a couple favorite side dishes). It was actually pretty tasty although the kids were wondering a week later if we would be having turkey AGAIN for lunch/dinner ;-). Ooohhh, the leftovers are just the best, aren't they?! So 6 of us celebrated together and each person made a Thankful Card (new tradition) where we wrote down what we are thankful for and decorated it with pens, stickers, pictures etc. Then at dinner we went around and each shared our card. We'll put them in a special Thanksgiving album so we'll collect these cards over the years in the hopes that we can laugh and reminisce as a family over them in the future. There are pics in the slideshow of our cards... just to prove, hey, some kids are pretty thankful. It's become pretty normal in the past few years for us to start the Christmas decorating the weekend of Thanksgiving since we're all off work and have some free time together, so that's what we did! Our tree is a beautiful 6 foot Noble Fir and although it sure does make our living room smaller it's worth it. We all had a lot of fun putting on the ornaments, listening to Christmas music, and putting up decorations around the house. Ama and Jo happily went with the flow and are really excited about all the special things we do for Christmas. Ama tells us that in Ghana they celebrated Jesus' birth by going to church and then having a special meal. Simple, yet meaningful & beautiful. Ama is so eager to partake in our Christmas traditions, her eyes light up every time we speak of them. December is here and we're already in full holiday swing...advent calendar is up and the kids get up each morning to ask if it's their turn to open the box to find out what surprise is in there. Santa comes to our street in a couple weeks to give out candy canes and listen to Christmas wishes (that means smores and hot chocolate for us, mmmm). The Christmas lights in South Torrance will be even more fun this year with 2 newbies taking it all in. The kids picked out Christmas gifts for each other from the dollar section at Target and it would be an understatement to say they're excited to give them out. Gingerbread houses, Christmas cookies, and well, I'll try to keep the blog better updated as stuff comes up so you can read about the kids' reactions and see pictures of these experiences. Enjoy the slideshow!

Introducing....Mr.Lips, Scaredy Bat, Zippy Cat and Mr.Ribs

Yep, the Padilla Six officially had their first pumpkin carving party together on Sunday. And we're happy to say that nobody got their eyes poked out with a knife, etc. So no trips to the emergency room, thankfully. It was a little tricky for Mo and I to help out all four at once (and take video/pics) but we managed and had a lot of fun too!! Ama carved her silly Mr.Lips, Shayley did Scaredy Bat, Jo/mommy did Zippy Cat, and Reece/Mo did Mr.Ribs. Now onto organizing costumes, yikes.......

Happy (early) Halloween.... Love, Jo

A Special Dedication

On Sunday, October 18, we had the privilege of dedicating Amaleah and Jonathan to the Lord in front of our congregation at Journey of Faith in Manhattan Beach. It is our utmost desire as their parents to raise them up in the Lord in order that they may have a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ, loving and serving Him wholeheartedly. So we, as well as several other family members who share this same desire, stood in front of hundreds of other believers (and close friends!) on Sunday to make our commitment to God. Pastors Glen and Claire shared with the congregation about our dreams of becoming an adoptive family and that God in His indescribable grace and mercy made our dreams come true when Ama and Jo joined our family this year. Then Pastor Glen kneeled down and held both kids' hands as he prayed for all of us. At the end of the prayer the whole congregation said AMEN with Glen so loud that it made us feel really encouraged to feel their excitement and communion with us. What an incredibly awesome dedication this was for all! After Pastor Glen prayed he told both Ama and Jo that he loved them and of course Jo, the ham that he is, had to have the last word (or laugh) so he grabbed Glen's leg and said out loud, 'I love you' and then again (just in case he didn't hear it the first time), 'I love you'! Priceless ;-) Here's a pic of us on stage during the dedication. Ama was so excited that I was wearing my Ghana shirt and Mo was wearing his authentic shirt we bought in Ghana also. Just have to add this too, Ama's beautiful blue dress and Jo's handsome tux were both bought at Hume Lake during the Labor Day Country Fair for only a few dollars each!! So sweet.

Big Boy Undies!!!

Yes, the Padilla family is CELEBRATING these days because Jonathan is potty-trained, yeah!! Hey desperate parents out there, all I can say is... get some Hershey Bars & a good-working timer. Yep, those 2 are to credit (ok and some patience and persistence too). From the time he wakes up in the morning to the time he goes to bed we put him on the toilet every 15-20 minutes. Every time he actually goes #1 or #2 he gets a small slice of the hershey bar, mmmm. And we're proud to say (on Jo's behalf,ha) that he has only pee'd in his underwear once in the last few days he's been 'in training'. Not bad at all. Gotta say, much easier to rinse those undies out than changing 6-7 diapers a day (not to mention the cost of those #@(@! diapers). I must admit too, Jo looks pretty darn cute sitting on the potty like a big kid, although his feet are not anywhere close to touching the floor yet :-)

Gettin' into the swing of things...

The first question that comes up in recent conversations seems to be 'so how are the kids adjusting'? Answer...Great!! Shayley and Reece have embraced their new brother and sister (literally) with open arms. Ama (4th), Shayley(3rd) and Reece(K) just finished their second week of school - first day of school pic above. Ama has received a very warm welcome from the staff and students at Ascension Lutheran School and she is doing well in her studies, keeping up with the 9 other students in her class too! Shayley loves her 3rd grade teacher, Mrs.Schubarth, and her favorite subject is Art :-) Reece can't wait to start school each day and is usually dressed in uniform before we're hardly out of bed, so safe to say he loves kindergarten. Jo is my little buddy during the day until noon when we go pick up Reece at school. I've started to run in the mornings with Jo in the jogger - talk about a work-out!! Who needs a gym when you have a toddler?! Jo has also joined the Moms Morning Out kids on Friday mornings so mommy can volunteer at school with the Hands On Art program or just have a free morning to herself. Some other activities that fill our days are piano, tae kwon do, hula class, kids choir, tutoring, taking Tux to the vet every other day (no joke) for his paw he cut pretty deep on a bean can, yes you read that right. Smart dog, can get into trash cans that are tightly closed. That was one EXPENSIVE can of beans lemme tell ya. There's s a pic of him also above in his new get-up. Yeh, that would be his FIRST cast and E-collar, cuz he's already gone through (or chewed thru), ummm... lost count.

First Family Trip to Hume Lake

We just returned from a wonderful family vacation at Hume Lake and we've got pics to prove it (hint: see our slide show above). What could be better... aahhh, the smell of pine trees and clean air (which we can really appreciate with all these fires lately), no cell phones or computers for 5 days, movie nights for mommy & daddy, family time playing games together (Hungry Hippo and Alphabet Bingo R the favorites), and even the luxury of sleeping in until 8:30am - doesn't get much better than that in my little world these days. For those of ya outta the loop, Hume Lake is nestled in the beautiful Sequoia National Forest in Central California, a must-visit-and-stay kind of place that you'll never forget. Check out their web site at http://www.humelake.org/. We surprised the kids on the last day with a late-night trip out to the balcony to lie underneath the stars. We covered up in blankets and watched as shooting stars (and satellites too) lit up the sky, yet another awesome testament to God's amazing creation.

Happy 5th Birthday Reece!!!

We're amazed that 5 years have flown by since our little boy was born. Here he is blowing out his bday candle on his cinnamon roll. And in the 2nd pic he's proudly modeling off his new Buzz Lightyear jet pack. We took the kids and Reece's friend Cody to Legoland for the day, fun fun! We'll put the pics on the slideshow soon. Happy Birthday Reece, may all your wishes come true. We love you!!

Glam n' Glitter

The kids (Jo included) had some fun with Shayley's Glam n' Glitter makeup the other day. Can you say Diva-licious?!? Check out the latest pics on the slidshow above.

Introducing Amaleah Esther and Jonathan Enrique Padilla!!

This post is a short story explaining the thoughts and reasons surrounding the names we picked for our children. Those who have been following our blog know that our daughter's name was originally Constance, the name on her birth certificate. It turns out that she does not go by Constance but Nana Amma is what they called her at Christ Outreach Orphanage. 'Nana' means 'Queen' in her native African language of Fanti and 'Amma' is her Ghanian traditional name derived from the day of the week she was born, Saturday. Amma happens to be my Ghanian name too since I was also born on a Saturday :-) It was important to us that we keep part of her familiar name, Nana Ama, as well as have her opinion in the decision for her name as she begins her new life with us. The name Amaleah came to mind one evening while I was in Ghana and I asked Mo if he could find the meaning for that name. Sure enough, the meaning for Amaleah when you put the names Ama and Leah together is 'having great strength, yet delicate, graceful'... wow, could this have fit her more perfectly?! But of course, she had to be thrilled with this name too (fingers crossed). When I asked her what she thought about Amaleah her smile could not have been bigger, she LOVED it. Amaleah it is!! For her middle name she chose her birth mother's name, Esther, which also has a beautiful meaning 'victorious, star', AND it happens to be my Gram's middle name too! For our little guy, we decided to keep his birth name, Jonathan, for a few reasons. He has been called JoJo or Jo (and a few other nicknames for that matter) the last 2 years so this is a familiar name to him. And we actually are very fond of the name Jonathan, meaning 'gift of the Lord or God's precious gift' because that is what he is, our precious gift. Another special reason we were drawn to the name Jonathan was because our son, Reece, has a middle name of David, and if you read your bible you know Jonathan and David were the best of friends, as close as brothers. So this is our prayer, our hope, that both our sons will be just that, not only brothers, but best of friends :-) Jonathan's middle name, Enrique, was chosen because it is the middle name for both Mo and his father Celso, and thus a continuation of the heritage within the Padilla family. So people ask, should we call you Amaleah and Jonathan or Ama and JoJo? And the answer... either one!! Jo has some other nicknames too, those we'll have to explain later, wink wink.

A Most (Un)Typical Day

So what is a typical day like in the life of the Padilla familia these days? So glad you asked!! Well, for those of us that stay home we get to "sleep in" until about, oh say 6 or 6:30am (daddy's usually out the door by 6am, smart move honey). My dreams slowly fade out as the lead heels of Reece's feet quickly pound down the hall to the bathroom. Then I hear the littlest Padilla (Jo) saying in his softest voice 'Ma' or 'Shay-yay' from his crib.... aaahhh, the begining of a new day! So first things first, dirty diapers, oh yah. Breakfast is no small matter anymore for 2 little eaters, oh no... it's lining up four plates, four cups, four forks and filling them for four hungry mouths (sound familiar Grama?). I do let my profession get the best of me when it comes to meals, so chances are all food groups are represented at each meal. Ama eats most of what we put in front of her(Fanta being her favorite). Jo is our work in progress :-) He still picks anything green, yellow, red, or any vegetables for that matter, out of his dish and puts it in the pile labeled 'what were u thinking mom'. After breakfast, it's time for dishes, feeding the dog, maybe some time on the treadmill(wishful thinking), take a shower, get the kids stuff ready for swim lessons, make a morning snack for hungry kids, more dishes, make beds, check email (if I'm lucky), turn the sprinklers on, answer a few emails(if I'm REALLY lucky), turn off the sprinklers, check Jo's diapers especially if a strange smell is wafting thru the house, prep a few things for lunch and then pile the kids into the car for swimming. And it's only 10:30am. I guess I forgot to list all the other stuff in between like, breaking up sib spats between Reece & Jo, calming the crying toddler whose toy was taken away AGAIN, asking over and over again for the kids to make their beds or go potty or put their dishes on the sink.... yes, we really are a normal family. Ama, Shayley and Reece are progressing well in swim class. Reece swims circles around the other 3 kids in his class while Ama and Shayley swim freestyle with no assistance!! Ama does an amazing job considering the limited amount of times she's even been in a pool and Shayley has made so much progress compared to last summer. Jo and I watch the kids from the sidelines, cheering them on. After the kids are all showered and changed into dry clothes (mommy is dripping wet b/c she helps shower them) it's back into the car and home for lunch. After lunch it is Jo's naptime. While he drifts off into La La Land I finish the dishes, unpack the swim bag of wet stuff and then hang out with the kids for awhile. Our afternoons have been filled with beach days, playing outside in the yard, and frankly just getting to know each other if you know what I mean. It has been exactly one week since Ama and Jo joined us here in California, but it really seems like much longer. The four kids are having so much fun together and are very affectionate with one another. Reece has surprised us with how 'motherly' he is with Jo, it's very sweet to watch him take care of his little bro. But they do compete for trucks and toys a lot of the time too, don't get me wrong. But there is an acceptance and love for one another amongst the kids that we are so very grateful to God for. And when daddy gets home from work you should hear how excited these kids get, yeah "excited" is probably an understatement. Dinnertime is a full table (and a few more plates too) with Jo keeping us laughing and Ama keeping me up getting her seconds, and thirds. Some of the favorites for evening entertainment have been hide-n-seek, tickling, games, walks around the block (Tux's favorite), and reading books together. Lights are usually out by 8pm (yes it's still light outside) when mommy will plop down in front of her computer to just stare at the screen for awhile, seriously. Lately Mo has been going back into work in the evenings after the kids are asleep to play catch-up on the work he missed (and about 500 emails) while in Ghana for a couple weeks. Jury is still out whether he ever WILL catch up. As my head hits the pillow at night I smile and thank God for this amazing life and family I have because of Him. Life is good, real good.

They're Coming Home!!!

Just heard from Mo that they rec'd their visas today and they're coming home! Praise God! We can't wait to see them and celebrate. This is truly the best anniversary gift, my family reunited finally after 38 days ;-)

Happy 14th Anniversary, We've Come A Long Way Baby

Visa Interview & Kids Medicals...Check! Check!

Mo called to say he was able to get a visa interview today at the US Embassy as well as complete the kids medicals, yeah!! So now we cross our fingers and toes that they will expedite our visas in order to receive them tomorrow so our family can travel home tomorrow night. Looks like we might be reunited with the rest of our family this week, hoooooray ;-) stay tuned...

PASSPORTS!!!

A new day, and new hope for us. Mo called today to tell me that they have Ama and Jo's passports in hand, approved and signed!! This news is truly a miracle orchestrated by God in more ways than one. This was confirmed by our in-country coordinator, Percy, as well as the people in the passport office who all could not believe how quickly our passports (3rd time around, i might add) were done. So despite the set-backs and difficulties we've encountered in our adoption process, our heavenly Father has continued to sustain us and bless us along the way. He promises in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity." I know we keep saying this in many of our posts but we are truly grateful to you for your prayers during this time. God is showing all of us how faithful He is in ALL situations, with plans and hope for our futures(including yours!), if we come to him and seek him with all our heart. I hope you are encouraged!

So, the next step for Mo and the kiddos is to get a visa appointment at the embassy on Monday and receive their visas ASAP in order to travel home this tuesday night (yep ya read that right). We realize that this would be yet another huge miracle in the grand scheme of things, but let's pray that this would come to fruition if it is the Lord's will. We can't wait to have the rest of our family home with us (BIG exclamation point).

Sad goodbye to our sweet Rena

Today is a very sad day for us. We had to put our beloved Rottweiler to sleep as she suffered from a very large tumor growing in her body. This is THE hardest part of being a pet owner as many of you know who have had to go through the loss of a family pet. (Yes, even worse than picking up all that dog poo or hauling those 50 lb. bags of dog food home from Costco). Morena, or Rena as we called her, lived 12 happy years with us, since we brought her home as a puppy. We have cried many tears for you Rena, you will be greatly missed. You have shown us what unconditional love is, and we have many happy memories of you. We are so grateful we shared your life with you. You will always have a very special place in our hearts.

Mo's visit to Christ Outreach Orphanage 7/18/09

What a bunch of great kids. About 40 in all ranging in age from 3 months to 16 years of age. In a word -- heartbreaking. It was simply unimaginable for my western mind to fathom the deplorable living conditions that my kids, Ama and Jojo, lived in. Absolute squalor. Easily, there are at least 8 to as many as 15 kids per 10 x 10 size room. And not all have a dirty and torn foam pad to sleep on. And to think that this time of year is the rainy season when it's a cool upper 80's with at least 50% humidity. I can't imagine being here when it's hot. And when it came time to hand out crackers to everyone, sometimes it was hard to watch. At times, it was literally like watching pidgeons and ducks when you feed them bread crumbs. But the sad fact is that these are kids and not animals. I can go on and on and on. So, please pray for the kids and staff still at Christ Outreach and the countless many who live like them.

For Ama and Jojo, this was home. And they loved being back with the familiar. To be with other siblings and friends that they've grown up with their whole lives. Ama and a group of the girls performed some traditional dances while some of the boys took turns beating the drum. It was great to watch how their faces did not reflect the poverty around them as they seemed to escape in the solace of the rythm and dance. Jojo was very clingy to me initially, but was eventually drawn by one of his sisters, Rose, who is about 5 years old. I just wanted to take her home with me, too. She just wouldn't leave Jojo alone. In all, I spent about 3 hours at the orphanage. And pretty much that whole time, I was thinking about all that I could do to clean up the place and make the conditions better. When the time came to leave, Ama was in tears sobbing and holding one of her closest friends. I think she knew that this was the last time she would be here. I put my arms around her and brought her into the car. As we drove off, I reassurred everyone that Ama and Jojo were going to be well taken care of. That is my promise to each of my kids.---Mo

There's No Place Like Home

After a pretty grueling 18 hour flight home, which seems like 36 hours when you're nauseous, I made it home to Los Angeles. There is no place like HOME :-) I am reunited with Shayley and Reece and we are doing well. Mo stayed behind with Ama and Jo in Ghana as they wait for their passports and their visa appointment. But the good news is... our I-600 was approved on Wednesday, Thanks be to God!! When Mo handed me the envelope with our approval I had to do the touch-down celebration dance, oh yeeeahhh. That part of our approval process was a huge concern because we literally do not have any control over how long it could take to do. So thank you for all your prayers and encouraging texts, emails, phone calls - it means more than you know to us right now. Please continue to pray for our passports to be approved as they've been sitting on the director's desk for several days now. After the passports have been approved we can make our visa appointment, but not until we have the kids' passports. Right now, Mo and the kids are looking at possibly coming home late next week, IF the passports are approved TODAY. Please pray that the director, Ms.Bessey, will come into the office today and approve our passports so we can get the rest of our family home!! The days go by so slowly in Ghana b/c most of the time is spent at the hotel trying to keep the kids busy. You can only kick the soccer ball around and play checkers so many times before that gets old. Please continue to pray for Mo and the kids as they try to be patient through this process and not go stir-crazy at the hotel day after day (after day after day....you get the point). And a big THANK YOU to my mom and Mo's parents for being the best grandparents ever as they jumped right in to help care for Shayley and Reece while we were both gone this past week, we are humbled by your love and generosity Grama, Grami and Papi. Love to you all! I look forward to seeing you all very soon.
Isaiah 40:30-31
“Even youths grow tired and
weary, and young men
stumble and fall; but those
who hope in the Lord will
renew their strength. They
will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not
grow weary, they will walk
and not be faint.”

Daddy in Ghana

Well, after a number of delays, the day actually arrived when Mo (Daddy) departed for Ghana. He left LAX sunday evening arriving in Ghana, via London, late monday night, July 13. He found Rebekah and Ama waiting up for him near 11 pm. It was soooooo good to see them. BIG HUGS and Kisses all around. And they were just as excited to see him. Jojo, the little bed bug, was sleeping the night away. Even after losing about 20 sleepless hours on the planes, Mo was unable to get more than just a few hours of sleep. There were a few things weighing heavily on his mind. How much longer will the process take before we can take Ama and Jojo home? Will it take another 22 days? Am I able to trust God and his faithfulness in this matter? How are Shayley and Reece going to handle not having Mommy and, now, Daddy at home? (Thank you Grama, Grami and Papi for caring for them while we're not home).

This last question was resolved fairly quickly. It was decided that Rebekah was going to head back home Wednesday night, July 15. She got the process started and spent alot of time already in Ghana. Unfortunately, not as much was accomplished as we had hoped in the adoption process. We are still waiting for passport and Visa approvals, a completed background investigation of Ama and Jojo, and a medical examination of for each. Please continue to pray for God's hand to work things quickly and without issue. On the other hand, Rebekah did gain custody of the kids right away and began the bonding process. Needless to say, the time was fruitful but certainly not without it's challenges; communication being one of them. Meanwhile, Shayley and Reece (and Daddy) were REALLY missing mommy. And mommy was really missing them.

So Mo only has two days to spend with Rebekah and come up to speed with where we are at in the adoption process. It's been awhile since we've had some alone time. Please pray that Mo is able to quickly come up to speed and that he can bond with Ama and Jojo. It's been great even in just the first day. Thank you, LORD. Pray also that Mo can continue work well with our adoption coordinator. Please pray that Rebekah has a safe journey back home to be with Reece and Shayley. They are SOOOO happy that she is coming home.

In short, things haven't quite worked out in the timeline that we expected based on what we were told. One of the "long poles" has been getting the director of the passport office to approve us. What we found out today was that the director was responsible for hosting/coordinating meetings related to President Obama's visit over this last weekend. With his departure, we understand that she is no longer tied up with this responsbility and can now focus on approving passports. At least, that's our current understanding. The other reason, we think, is that time scheduling in Ghana is far different than in the states. When we set a time for, say, ten o'clock, it usually means ten o'clock. Or if we say something will take a day, it usually does. As you might have guessed, that's not so much the case here. Pray that we can learn a new level of patience but also a gracious way of trying to "help" the process along.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Please...keep on praying! (Ephesians 6:18)

15 Days and still waiting for approval

Rebekah has been quite the trooper heading in feet first on Monday night, June 22. She's been mama to Ama and Jojo since the day after she arrived. Much has been accomplished. Meeting our kids at Esther's foster home. Bonding with the kids. Meeting some of their birth family. Visiting the orphanage. Doing a little sightseeing and shopping. Spending quality time in the pool at the hotel. This week, the plan is to get the kids examined by a U.S. embassy endorsed physician to provide Ama and Jo a clean bill of health. Meanwhile, in the background behind all of this, the paperwork to approve the kids passports and visas are hopefully being completed. But for now...we wait. Mo was initially planning to leave for Ghana to join Rebekah back on June 30. But we received word that the passports/visas were not yet approved. So, Mo postponed his flight to leave tomorrow night, Tuesday, July 7. But today,we received word that we did not get our approval...again. Our inside source says that, in general, the bureauocratic machine has slowed because of President Obama's visit to Ghana this weekend. Once again, Mo re-scheduled his flight to leave for Ghana next Sunday, July 12. We're a little discouraged because we want our family to be united...soon! It's very hard to be, literally, a world apart. In spite of the emotional hardship, we choose to rely on God's word which sustains us. It says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil . 4:6). Please join us in prayer lifting up praises of thanksgiving and asking God to meet our needs. "God, we humbly ask for Your help in allowing Ama and Jo paperwork to get into the hands of the right people for a quick approval of their passport and visas. May this be Your will and for Your glory. Amen!"

Well, Day 9 for me here in Ghana. We're in 'wait-mode' as our I600 is in the process of being approved...Lord willing, we'll have an answer next week. It's their rainy season here so we've had a lot of water, maybe that's why it's so green and beautiful here! We've really been treated like royalty here at our hotel - fresh water bottle every day, clean sheets, fresh towels, not bad eh. All the staff absolutely go ga-ga over Jonathan, he's becoming quite the celebrity, especially with the ladies. We visited Christ Outreach Orphanage in Kasoa a few days ago. Our kids had been living here before we adopted them. Turns out Jonathan had been there since he was born and Ama since she was very very young. When I asked her how long she had been there she said she couldn't remember, a very long time was her response. I probably need to clarify my daughter's name change from Constance to Ama, sorry about the confusion. For now, suffice it to say that she prefers Amma, I'll cover their official names on another post ;-) So back to our visit to the orphanage. When we arrived there was a crowd of about 30-40 kids who surrounded the car, chanting 'Nana-Ama'. It quickly became apparent how popular our sweet Ama is at the orphanage. The children are just precious and more beautiful than i ever imagined. It brought tears (many of them) to my eyes to meet Ama's Grama Rose who runs the orphanage and her mother, Esther, too. We were immediately greeted by Ama and some of the other girls with an African dance which I got on video and will try to post at some point. This girl can move!! We took a lot of pictures of the kids with their friends AND family, I could tell their friendships run deep. We were told Jonathan's name at the orphanage is Kitchen Boy, which does not surprise me at all. The guy thinks about food allllll day. In between teasing Kitchen Boy, the children showed us around, their classrooms, dining area, kitchen, bedrooms. I had no idea how awful the conditions were going to be, I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Jonathan's mother was also able to come to the orphanage and it was a blessing to meet her. More tears. One thing I will never forget will be the scene where I started to hand out the package of crackers I had in my bag (for Jonathan,of course). Once word got around, rather quickly i might add, that i was handing out crackers, all the children surrounded me with their little hands in the air trying to be the next to get a cracker. Once it became obvious to me that I wouldn't have enough for every child, my heart ached for these poor children. I had intended to bring the food donations next week when we came back so I brought the gifts from home I had for them this time. Had I known.... duh, what was I expecting at an orphanage in a third world country?!?! Leaving was heartbreaking, even though I knew we were returning soon. The worst part being Jonathan's screams 'Mama, Mama' as his mother put him in my arms. Thank GOD he went right to sleep in a matter of minutes from pure exhaustion. As we drove away on that very bumpy dirt road I couldn't help but think 'I really hope President Obama takes time to see this part of Ghana when he visits this country next week'. Change is desperately needed in this country too. Check out Jeanie Hertz' blog, she's here with us in Ghana with her new daughter Akos. Click HERE to go to Lemon Grove Lane.

AKWAABA, GREETINGS FROM GHANA!! I'VE MANAGED TO STEAL AWAY A FEW MINUTES TO POST A MESSAGE, THANKS TO MY GREAT FRIEND HERE, JEANIE, WHOSE LAPTOP I'M BORROWING WHILE SHE WATCHES JONATHON (WHAT A GAL!). SHE IS STAYING IN THE SAME HOTEL HERE WITH HER DAUGHTERS LYDIA AND NEWLY ADOPTED AKOS! FIRST, IT WAS ALMOST SURREAL WHEN I FINALLY GOT TO MEET OUR DAUGHTER AMMA AND OUR SON JONATHON YESTERDAY AT THEIR FOSTER MOM'S, ESTHER, HOME. THERE WERE TEARS AND LOOOONG HUGS ;-) I WISH I COULD PUT IT INTO WORDS BUT IT'S JUST IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPLAIN. I LOVE BEING WITH THEM, THEY ARE SUCH PRECIOUS CHILDREN. AMMA IS THE BEST HELPER IN THE WORLD AND OFTEN BEATS ME TO THE CHANGING TABLE SO SHE CAN CHANGE JONATHON'S DIAPERS! SHE IS HAS A VERY SWEET AND KIND DISPOSITION, I AM REALLY ENJOYING SPENDING A LOT OF TIME WITH HER. SHE IS GETTING HER HAIR BRAIDED AS I TYPE THIS SO WE'LL TRY TO POST SOME PICTURES SOOM. NEXT ON HER LIST IS TO GET HER EARS PIERCED, HEHE. OH BOY. SPEAKING OF BOYS....JONATHON IS THE CUTEST THING EVER, WHEN YOU MEET HIM YOU TOO WILL WANNA TAKE A BITE OF HIS CHUBBY LITTLE ARMS. HE IS A LOVE, HILARIOUS, AND A GREAT APPETITE!! LOVES MILK, DRINKS IT LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW. HEY REECE, I THINK HE LIKES DRINKING MILK EVEN MORE THAN YOU DO. WE WENT SWIMMING IN THE POOL YESTERDAY AND IT FELT GREAT, GIVEN THE TEMP IS UPPER 80'S WITH VERY HIGH HUMIDITY. AMMA LOVES TO SWIM AND JONATHON FINALLY WARMED UP TO THE IDEA LATER. AT FIRST, HE HID BEHIND ONE OF THE LARGE PLANTERS BY THE POOL AND JUST STOOD THERE WATCHING US...REALLY CUTE. I THINK IT WAS THE BALL THAT GOT HIM TO COME OUT OF HIDING..YOU SHOULD SEE THIS KID KICK THE BALL! NEXT SOCCER STAR MAYBE?? WELL, I BETTER GO AND CHECK IN WITH JEANIE, BLESS HER HEART. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS!

Safe and sound on the ground.

Howdy! Mo here. This is my first posting on our blog...ever...because...Rebekah is in Ghana and hasn't yet connected to the internet. Sooooo...after a nearly 20 hour long trip, Rebekah landed in Ghana late monday night. Thankfully, it didn't seem as rough as anticipated. She did get picked up by our Ghanian coordinator, Percy, and was taken to the Hotel. Once there, she unpacked and crashed out. She had a big day on Tuesday. Two major milestones were scheduled -- meet our kids at 11am and an appointment at the American embassy at 2pm. Because of the 7 hour time difference, Rebekah called us in Torrance at around 9am our time. With speaker phones in hand on either end, we had our first verbal reunion as the Padilla six. From our end, Shayley, Reece and I heard the sweetest voices. We said our hellos and I love yous. It was nothing short of awesome. Constance, who is 10 yrs old and goes by Amma, speaks very good english but, as expected, was a little shy. Jonathan, who is two years old and goes by Jojo, was able to say ba-bye. The grins on our faces here at home was priceless. We're praying that the process can expedite so I can travel and help Rebekah bring the kids home. Please continue to keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. Much thx! We'll post some pics soon.

Happy Father's Day to the Best Dad Ever - We Love You!!

I'm leeeeeavin' on a jet plane!

A 747 to be exact. Yes, I'm off to the beautiful country of Ghana, tomorrow evening!! By some miracle the Embassy in Accra replied to my email 2 days after my request for an I600 appointment to be scheduled on June 23rd. I could not have been happier when I saw the email in my 'In' box. Were my eyes fooling me?? No, they weren't, and the icing on the cake was that they gave me the appointment on the date I requested. Thank You Lord!! Prior to yesterday when I rec'd their email reply, I was convinced that I was probably not going to Ghana very soon, especially after what I had heard from other moms in the same situation as I found myself currently in. So I had stopped packing, put away the papers, and 'hung up the phone' so-to-speak...while trying to find some kind of peace in the scripture verse that says (on my previous blog post), Be still and know that I am God, Psalm 46:10. So here I am, the afternoon before I leave, knee-deep in packing, shuffling around all the documents (and more documents) to take, charging all the batteries(video, phone, camera), and checking and re-checking my baggage weight so I don't go over 51 lbs(can you say crazy-making??). And that's only part of the fun, ha. I did receive some exciting news today from our friend Jeanie who is in Ghana right now also in the process of bringing her little girl home. She emailed me to tell us that they visited the foster home that our kids are staying at right now (transition home for kids being adopted) and that they were SO happy to get our notes we wrote to them. She also sent pictures so I wanted to share this one with you, proud mama that I am. They are just precious and I am so anticipating when I can finally hug them and tell them that I love them in person. Well, I've got much to do before I leave so time to go. I will do my best to keep you updated here on how things are going in Ghana. So stay tuned... ciao!

Have decree, will travel...soon!

We found out this week that our adoption decree was issued so now we can start to make plans to travel to Ghana, hoooooraaaay!! I also drove downtown Los Angeles yesterday to personally pick up my I-171 H form (a.k.a. orphan petition approval form). Note to self: do not drive downtown L.A. when the Lakers Victory Parade is going on!! I guess I should've figured it out when I saw all the police cars and helicopters circling above, dah. But we made it, 2 kids in tow, home safely with our precious approval form. We will keep you posted here as to when we (I) will be traveling. Stay tuned!!

Thank you for your continued prayers as we seek the Lord's wisdom and timing in our plans to travel. There is much 'up in the air' and out of our control at this point in the process.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

American Girl Party with Shayley & Friends

Big Day...Reece Graduates From Pre-School!

Another pic of our little girl in Ghana

As you can probably imagine, pictures of our little ones in Ghana are hard to come by these days. But here is a picture of our little girl holding baby Avena who was adopted by our friends in Northern Cali, Amy(pictured left) & Ben. Thanks for the picture Amy!

Happy 8th Birthday Shayley!!

Prayer Requests...and PRAISES!!

Ok, the good stuff first...
*April 24 - USCIS (US immigration)approves our application for orphan adoption.
*May 14 -We receive the great news that we rec'd a final adoption to officially become parents of Constance & Jonathon, big YEAH, YaaaaHoooo, WooooHoooo ;-)
*May 28 - Rebekah receives her birth & marriage certificates (you have no idea how happy I was to see the UPS guy after what I went through to get these things).
*June 3 - Received Visas to travel to Ghana - hooray!
*June 5 - USCIS promises me that our notice of approval will be put on top of 'the stack' to be mailed out asap - thank you Ms.Pilgram!!

So as you can see, it's been a pretty exciting past couple weeks. Never a dull moment eh.

Now for some prayer requests...
*Please pray that we would receive our adoption decree soon (there was an error on the first one so they had to re-issue it)- then I can make plans to travel to Ghana!
*Pray for Constance & Jonathon - their continued good health, peace and happiness about the news of their impending adoption, and God's provision for both their needs and the other children & caregivers at Christ Outreach Orphanage.
*We're waiting to hear from a couple organizations that we applied to for adoption scholarships and we're praying for a favorable response, hopefully soon.

Random screams of excitement

Not a day goes by that Shayley and Reece don't talk about their new brother and sister, it's pretty darn cute. Sometimes Shayley will randomly let out a joyful scream and it's usually followed by her saying "Mommy, I'm soooo excited!". And Reece has been thinking about his little brother too. For example, the other day we were shopping and he went over and picked up a spiderman coloring book and asked "can we buy this for Jonathon"? So sweet. Lately we've also been making preparations for our little ones who will be coming home this summer, yeah!! That means, I'm basically getting our 1100 sq.ft (can you say small?) house ready for 2 more little bodies and THAT in itself has been, umm, fun? It is amazing however to realize how many things you can really just live without (including toys, clothes, stuffed animals, magazines you've never read, more toys...). I will have to admit that on more than one occasion I have had to sneak stuff out of my kids rooms and hide it in the trash or the give-away sack - please, can anyone else relate?!? My kids are not dumb... they're starting to dig through the trashes to see what I've tossed, I'm not kidding. On a more happy note, it was fun to see the crib go up again, and Reece likes to jump in it and pretend he's the baby. Shayley has also written Santa a note that is taped to her door that reads, and I quote, "Dear Santa, may you please (on Christmas) get Addy the A*G doll for my sister, a girl we adopted. But please don't tell her. Love, Shayley." A*G for those of you wondering means American Girl, c'mon get with the program ok. Could that not be more precious? It's only May and she's writing a letter to Santa!! Well, I think my point has been proven. My kids are well into the excitement of bringing home their new brother and sister. I have to say that it is refreshing for me to be around their enthusiasm as most days I'm caught up with the adoption 'process' of checking on where my birth certificate is or calling the dr. to schedule more vaccinations, ouch. Thank you kiddos for the sweet daily reminders of why we're doing all of this, keep up those screams of joy!!

Wooo Hooo - They're Officially Our kids!!!!

We received the most wonderful news from our agency today that Constance Emily & Jonathon went to court and rec'd a final adoption decree, they are officially OUR CHILDREN!!! We are overcome with JOY and are basking in God's Greatness ;-) Words really don't express how grateful we are to YOU for your continued prayers and encouragement in this adventure. Keep 'em coming! We will be traveling to Ghana in the next 4-6 weeks (yikes) so there's much to be done as you can only imagine. We'll keep ya updated here on our blog. Here is a pic above of our new precious children, ah it feels so good to say that!!

Hello Love

The lyrics below are from Chris Tomlin's song LOVE. There are many reasons I LOVE this song... well, first off it's Chris Tomlin and he's just plain talented, the African choir singing with him, the strength in his lyrics speak volumes to me. LOVE can be a very complicated thing, wouldn't you agree? When we think of LOVE maybe we think of hearts, kisses, warm fuzzy stuff. We tell our kids that we discipline them b/c we LOVE them. But LOVE the way Christ LOVED us is something I find difficult to wrap my mind around. He LOVES us despite our ugliness, our selfishness, our greed. He LOVES us enough to let us choose whether we will follow Him or take our own road in life. He LOVED us so much that He gave His life for us, does LOVE get much better than that? So here are the lyrics and every time you get to the word LOVE you might substitute His name, afterall, He is the ultimate example of what LOVE really is. The music widget is on the right column for your listening pleasure ;-)

When our hope is hard to find
And our faith is in decline
We need a cause to stand behind – love
We all want the way it feels
Time it comes and time it steals
What remains, what is real – love
There is love, there is forgiveness
There is love in times of need
When life is cold there is a promise
You will never go without
There is love
It heals the sick, comforts the weak
Breaks the proud, raises the meekIn this life no guarantees
But there is love
Love is the answer
Love will find a way
When we love one another
It's a brighter day
O-kwa-ga-la-kweKu-singa-byoo-na
Bwe-twa-ga-la-na-o-lu-na-ku-lu-suu-fu

Walking by Faith

So I'm in this really awesome bible study for women right now and we're studying Faith, Extraordinary Faith, to be exact. Love it, life-changing and so encouraging especially at this time in my life. So while my sweet Reece slumbers (yes, he is actually taking a nap because he wants to, and yes you read that right, lucky me!!)... I have to share this particular section that we read this week in the book we're studying by Sheila Walsh (Extraordinary Faith). She writes 'What does it mean to walk by faith? It means doing the things that I know are good and true, whether I feel like it or not. It means setting my face and heart toward heaven just as Jesus did. I believe that it means that we study how Jesus lived, how He loved, and follow His example. When we find ourselves in a difficult place, we do what He did: we turn to our Father'. She goes on to write 'Faith is believing that no matter how things appear on the surface, God is in control, and He asks us to trust based on who He is, not on what we see'. Wow. I love that, trust Him based on who He is not on what we see, period, end-of-story, the whole kit and kaboodle. If it were only that easy all of the time right? But when I do, I recognize the fingerprints of God my Father all over my life. Amazing. So as I check the mailbox every day for that approval from US immigration and as I wait on news about our court date I have to remind myself, God is in control and I will continue to draw strength from Him (Isaiah 40:31).

What do you get when you cross a Math book with a sweaty little jogger?

A Mathlete!! So, while we wait for news on the adoption front I thought I'd share about a recent event that Shayley and Reece just participated in at their school, Ascension Lutheran. The annual jog-a-thon! The theme this year was Be A Mathlete... they're raising funds for math books. They both did a GREAT job while mom, dad, and Grami cheered them on from the sidelines, snapping photos and taking video. Shayley did 30 laps walking and running (equal to about 2.5 miles!) and Mr.Reece skipped and danced his laps with his buddy Andrew most of the way. At the end we all enjoyed some Jamba Juice smoothies, aaaahhhh. Enjoy the pics!

We Have a Court Date!

Our agency has informed us that in the next few weeks we will have a court date, this is GREAT news (big smiley face). Our adoption agency will have their coordinator in Ghana represent us for the proceeding. This is actually when the adoption is officially completed and Emily Constance and Jonathon will become our children!! Once the adoption decree is issued we will travel to Ghana, so stay tuned and keep praying, thank you!

April 3,2009

Hello Friends!

As I begin this email I’m reminded of the popular quote “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray”(or something like that)….and so it goes in our case. As it turns out, the siblings that we were hoping to adopt, Priscilla and Emmanual, were taken out of the adoption program. We heard that their mother did not sign the papers to relinquish them for adoption. Our hearts were heavy upon this news several weeks ago, as we had felt emotionally attached to them so quickly. We continue to pray for them, knowing that our Father has other plans for their future and our own.

But God is GOOD…ALL the time, and His ways are higher than our ways. So after prayer, some family discussion, and a sense of God’s leading we’ve decided to move forward with another sibling pair, Emily Constance (10) and Jonathon (2). Their picture is attached! We are anxious and excited about welcoming these two lovely children into our home. Shayley is eager to have a sister who will be close in age and play games and dolls with her, and Reece is equally thrilled to have a younger brother (finally, someone for ME to boss around he’s probably thinking!).

We have finished submitting all of our paperwork now (homestudy, Ghana Dossier, immigration papers, etc etc) – can I get an AMEN!?! So now we wait…and wait…and wait. We wait to be approved by US immigration to bring an orphan into the States, we wait on the Ghana gov’t to approve us to adopt two of their orphans, you get the idea. So when will we be able to bring our kids home? There are several factors involved including the amount of work for both US and Ghana gov’t employees and number of people applying for adoption here and in Ghana will determine how quickly (or slowly) we will hear from them. But we are confident this is all in God’s hands and HIS timing.

With that all being said we could really use your prayers right now! First, we ask you to pray that GOD’s WILL be done, not ours – we are open to the fact that God can close doors in this process and this has been humbling for us. Please pray for our patience in this process as we continue to rely on God for guidance. You can pray for me (Rebekah) as I deal with doubt and fear, and I’m realizing that Faith is a much bigger word than it appears! Also pray for Emily Constance and Jonathon; we have heard and read that the conditions at Christ Outreach Orphanage are bleak, food is always scarce, many children sleep on the floor. Pray that God would soften their hearts and prepare them for a possible move from their culture and what they know as ‘their family’ in Ghana. We’ll leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit to reveal to us all as to what else we need prayer for in this journey J.

We don’t have a clear picture yet as to when we will travel to Ghana, but it may be as early as this spring/summer. We’ll keep you posted on how you can support and pray for us and the beautiful kids we hope to bring home. Thank you for all your encouraging words, emails, and questions…we promise to keep you posted along the way.

In His adventure together,
Mo, Bekah, Shayley & Reece

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:31

Follow Up to January Email

Hi Friends,

Thank you so very much for all your encouraging and supportive emails, we are overwhelmingly grateful (keep ‘em coming!). We are excited to announce that we have decided to accept the adoption referral for Emmanual and Priscilla!! We have a strong sense of God’s blessing and peace in this decision. We also know that your prayers have made a significant impact in our decision, thank you!

Since we sent out our email we have come to understand that the reason we received a referral so quickly was because the Ghana program is a pilot-program for our adoption agency so there is not a waiting list for prospective parents as is typical for other programs already established. We also requested to adopt siblings in the application process, specifically a boy and a girl, within the ages of our own children Shayley(7) & Reece(4)…. Wow, could God have answered our prayers more quickly and precisely?!

We continue to ask for your prayers as we carry on through the process of bringing home our 2 precious children, Emmanual and Priscilla (or Pis-killa as Reece calls her). The timeline looks like we might be traveling to Ghana close to summertime. We will try to keep you posted.

In His adventure,

Mo & Bekah

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all of your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

January Email

January 21, 2009
Dear Family & Friends,

Some of you are aware that we have been in the process of completing our application and paperwork to adopt in Ghana, West Africa. For those who are reading this and saying ‘what the…..?!?’,we apologize for the abruptness this email might carry, however this process has only recently begun in Nov/December (so you’re not that far behind J). You’re receiving this email because you are very important in our lives and we understand the power of prayer!

This morning we received a phone call from our adoption agency that we have a referral to adopt a sibling pair from Ghana (Emmanual,5 and Priscilla,2, pics attached)!! Needless to say, we are in shock as we did not realize how quickly this referral could/did happen, especially since we have yet to turn in all of our paperwork (home study, dossier). Some of you will understand our shock as you’ve gone through the adoption process yourselves J. So now… we need to formally accept or decline the referral, and here is where y’all come in. Please pray for us as we seek God’s guidance in this decision. We need clarity and peace about accepting this referral, bringing these precious little people into our family forever. We are so excited about the prospect of being their parents and welcoming them into our family, however, we don’t want to make a decision in haste that is not in God’s sovereign will. Your prayers are coveted during this time of decision-making and we promise to keep you updated on what’s going on if you’d like.

Thank you again for your prayers and encouragement as we continue on in this adventure!

Love,
Mo & Bekah

I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.
John 14:18

Welcome to our blog!

Wow, where to begin. To start, i will post my previous emails that i sent out the past few months because they give a good idea of what is happening in our lives right now.