tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21375751689608533252024-03-13T10:15:27.183-07:00Gods Path For Our FamilyWe are a family of 6. We have 3 boys here with us and 1 on the way from Ghana Africa! Our plan is to follow God where He leads us and how He leads us. Our boys are 16 yrs old, 12 yrs old and 6 yrs old, and the one on the way is 6 yrs old also! Being parents is one of the Greatest Gifts we have recieved from God and we cherish every moment of it!!!Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-36697860414034392482013-02-11T10:44:00.001-08:002013-02-11T10:44:32.739-08:00After Court!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXCsZH03HX1s7-hUwgYhYFbMETAUjwQpuRDlsx0HJliExheC9VCSQ0WUHqRGXgjo7V0mCnRfDVCWdlgB0v4GbwxrpNqKT5h9sL_p0jcTEyIdMyciaz5Yttz02-wEPDHb7WZfigdrLsGTn/s1600/family+on+africa2aa+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLXCsZH03HX1s7-hUwgYhYFbMETAUjwQpuRDlsx0HJliExheC9VCSQ0WUHqRGXgjo7V0mCnRfDVCWdlgB0v4GbwxrpNqKT5h9sL_p0jcTEyIdMyciaz5Yttz02-wEPDHb7WZfigdrLsGTn/s320/family+on+africa2aa+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It has been a while since I have posted on here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After we passed court there were a few things
we still needed to do on our end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were
still waiting on our approval from the government saying it was ok for us to
adopt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I spoke to the officer that was
in charge of our case and she said everything was looking good, and we would be
approved within the week! I was so excited, things were moving fast! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After the adoption was approved we had to get the court
decree and file another set of paperwork<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>that would approve Henry to be adopted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(seems backward doesn’t it?) But that’s the way they do things in
certain countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had told my POA (power
of attorney) as soon as he got our decree to email it to me and I would file
our other paperwork (I600) this process could take 60 days to get an
approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the application filled
out ready to send as soon as I got our decree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I received the decree in November, so I mailed our I600 in
the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t have the new
birth certificate for Henry but my officer told me I could email it to her when
I got it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I received a letter saying
they received my I600 application on November 20, 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now starts the countdown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
December 19, 2012 and I had still not received the birth certificate so I called
my officer, because you only have a certain number of days to turn in all of
your missing documents, and I wanted to make sure I still had time, the guy
that signs all the birth certificates in Ghana was gone out of town the week
they told my POA to come pick it up and would be out of town till January 7,
2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a bit nervous! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While talking to her, she told me she had
everything she needed for our case and was approving it the next day!!! That
just made my day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After Christmas our youth group at our church was going to a
youth conference and I was going as a chaperone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got back on December 29, 2012 and guess what
was in our mailbox? You got it, our approval!!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I started emailing the embassy in Ghana the next night,
requesting our visa packet pick up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our POA
has to pick it up before we could request a visa interview for our little Henry
to be able to come home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The embassy
responded the next day saying they hadn’t received our approval yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew they wouldn’t have it because it takes
a couple of weeks for it to get to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I waited and emailed them the next 3 Sunday nights, and received the
same message until Thursday January 24, 2013 and the message said… your POA can
pick up the visa packet on any Wednesday, so I sent that email to my POA and he
told me he had a test the following Wednesday so he needed to pick it up the
next Wednesday! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You are probably thinking it’s just an extra week but to me
that was HORRIBLE!!! So he picked up our visa packet on February 6, 2013.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sent an email to the embassy requesting a
visa interview on their next available date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of the people I have talked to get a response within the week and
the interview is usually a couple of weeks out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So I was really hoping for an email from them the next morning, but
trying to not get my hopes up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(YEA
RIGHT!!!) The next morning, I woke up I told my husband to hand me my phone, I wanted
to check my email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I was totally shocked
when I seen that our visa interview was scheduled for February 12, 2013!!! I immediately
sent our POA an email telling him, because the kids have to have a visa medical
done before they go to the visa appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This medical report usually takes a week to get, you can go to the visa
appointment without it but they have to have it before they will print his
visa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I told my POA to just take him
and if it wasn’t ready we will just have to take it back for the printing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took Henry for his medical Friday and I sent
him a message and asked him this morning if he was able to get the medical
report and he said they had it ready for him to pick up today!!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are so excited that we are this close to bringing our son
home to be with his forever family!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
visa interview is tomorrow February 12, 2013. We are praying and asking you to
pray for his interview to go smoothly and for his visa to print this Friday the
15<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As you may or may not know, the next step is bringing our
little guy home, and this is one of the most expensive parts of the process, we
are trying to do a few things to help with the cost, one of the things we are
doing is getting up a Gold Canyon order, if you are interested in ordering feel
free to email </span><a href="mailto:wendycookfam5@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">wendycookfam5@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
or text or call me 423-506-2649. Any help is very much appreciated!!!</span></div>
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<span class="userContent"><a href="http://goldcanyon.uberflip.com/i/103282" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank"><span>http://</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span><span>goldcanyon.uberflip.com/i/</span><wbr></wbr><span class="word_break"></span>103282</a> here is a link to look at the online Gold Canyon Book</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Yms5IlfrZgXp9NRS1LtzsYQCktrErCNrpQ7lBxSGrpHKgumEBUPOn9oq1rrheulFaK37ORUqKF6C2l1crzd4cHlLcDj8vfBZizMznHe6fze3bTsJd9HqFvOy-Cig1g6HQ3BMx9QTUqLU/s1600/21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Yms5IlfrZgXp9NRS1LtzsYQCktrErCNrpQ7lBxSGrpHKgumEBUPOn9oq1rrheulFaK37ORUqKF6C2l1crzd4cHlLcDj8vfBZizMznHe6fze3bTsJd9HqFvOy-Cig1g6HQ3BMx9QTUqLU/s320/21.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-31054686372045620302012-11-21T07:28:00.000-08:002012-11-21T07:28:00.045-08:00Our Newest Addition!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDZLKt6aEDcyf1Q2eQAzyp6z461No3Li8L_ZtfhgfahrXdHx5apw721LjX7_gD3LC7sICVjh5HJTS-cz6HwEJ0enM_7os7AhhKkR7LxZRatBkL34t37bNhkOJYSXYkqw-3rGUvlqsQrJA/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDZLKt6aEDcyf1Q2eQAzyp6z461No3Li8L_ZtfhgfahrXdHx5apw721LjX7_gD3LC7sICVjh5HJTS-cz6HwEJ0enM_7os7AhhKkR7LxZRatBkL34t37bNhkOJYSXYkqw-3rGUvlqsQrJA/s320/001.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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Introducing our newest addition... Henry Kweku Cook!</div>
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October 25, 2012, two years and ten days after we adopted Koby, we adopted Henry! We are so excited to add him to our family. We have heard so many stories about him, from Koby and others that have went over!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuNzzccmdC4ZpJPf5giJpb1eyl9na0aveRpWjB1uc_aAdNZULVM6SWXJ9CyeSJJzn6yW_iC7dAReT8Z_AZL31pUMfU0x9w2niw3ZT32I6lb2GzVtU39UHOWtnZMFP8AUuS00VMo-2qAAv/s1600/a2119885272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghuNzzccmdC4ZpJPf5giJpb1eyl9na0aveRpWjB1uc_aAdNZULVM6SWXJ9CyeSJJzn6yW_iC7dAReT8Z_AZL31pUMfU0x9w2niw3ZT32I6lb2GzVtU39UHOWtnZMFP8AUuS00VMo-2qAAv/s320/a2119885272.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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They are 5 hours ahead of us over there, but 4 at the time of our adoption, and I thought I would wake up to a phone call or text or something because he had to be in court at 7 in the morning. Well I didn't, I checked my phone all day waiting on our POA to call or send me something!FINALLY at 11:30am he called me and told me we passed court!!! They had to set in the court room all day before our case was heard. While I was on the phone with our POA after he told me Henry was officially our son, he kept saying "ok Henry, ok" and then he told me "Henry wants to talk to his mother" oh my goodness, his little voice melted my heart!!! He can't speak english yet, so what he was saying he was being told to say but still, it was so sweet to hear him tell me he missed me and that he loved me!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hDxZkC_BbrjyrEIlZvXRFfJXPKVVUV318mR0BSWX8bZk7LrB_277LekDIvbu3UOTk2p-aJFmwKM1nq2P3fYtRnhBpCDbKbJFaUpa2mXhLW4VS0aJRG0_C8stAlICNtI3se5cySbPsbaA/s1600/a1695766661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2hDxZkC_BbrjyrEIlZvXRFfJXPKVVUV318mR0BSWX8bZk7LrB_277LekDIvbu3UOTk2p-aJFmwKM1nq2P3fYtRnhBpCDbKbJFaUpa2mXhLW4VS0aJRG0_C8stAlICNtI3se5cySbPsbaA/s320/a1695766661.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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We have had friends go over since we started the process with Henry, so we have had pictures of him brough home, that is such a blessing, everyone that knows me knows I love pictures and one of the hardest things while we were in the process with Koby was we only had one picture of him, so this time we have had pictures and facebook and even skype with Henry! Its those little things that are so important, that just help your day go by a little better. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhKWc3mUCu4McnGbw8sg-tkoqTkmlXCbph53-VrfgOfByujN4imAl0IS8Mwm66vHYosfMW2O6Kuy0uzSOeUCeUM5JczMSfoFbjYt-DCrv9I9PS9dB_vlerbFoKEA7BrkiJLcOfOUNuW7V/s1600/a2013881176.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBhKWc3mUCu4McnGbw8sg-tkoqTkmlXCbph53-VrfgOfByujN4imAl0IS8Mwm66vHYosfMW2O6Kuy0uzSOeUCeUM5JczMSfoFbjYt-DCrv9I9PS9dB_vlerbFoKEA7BrkiJLcOfOUNuW7V/s320/a2013881176.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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This picture was taken in January 2011 one month before we went to get Koby!</div>
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I love this! My boys as BEST FRIENDS who are now BROTHERS FOREVER!</div>
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on a side note, Henry is 3 months younger than Koby, look at how much taller he is!!!</div>
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<br />Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-59170150303765054872012-10-18T11:50:00.000-07:002012-10-18T11:52:30.322-07:00Where We Are Today!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8k1pycrLNtPm3MJf3Fwo7fxnmWGs-SIX7sX64bZEIAC12W7RjiROt2nc4J0NqWcIvZj2UA_tNncxW9a-AMXl8n8x-ZEeiK_rkXRY9K9b8V4NngQE-mmxD7TAiPJRIimopSP3ACqxAZjd/s1600/family+on+africa2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb8k1pycrLNtPm3MJf3Fwo7fxnmWGs-SIX7sX64bZEIAC12W7RjiROt2nc4J0NqWcIvZj2UA_tNncxW9a-AMXl8n8x-ZEeiK_rkXRY9K9b8V4NngQE-mmxD7TAiPJRIimopSP3ACqxAZjd/s320/family+on+africa2a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So now we start another journey, in July 2012, we started
the process of bringing home our 4<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We contacted our lawyer in Ghana and he
started the process on his end, while we started on our end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this really real?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked myself several times, are we really
doing this again? Yes we are, and we couldn’t have been more thrilled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had all the paperwork for our homestudy filled out and
ready, we have to have 3 appointments with her, and one of them has to be at
our house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which that one was already
finished! So now 2 more to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a
vacation planned for the beginning of August; we wanted to get as much done as
possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of our good friends was
leaving to go to Ghana at the end of August and we wanted to send our dossier
over with her, and then we found out that she was leaving the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> of
August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bummer for us but great news for
her, she was going to see her kids!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
weren’t sure how it would get to Ghana, but we knew God would provide a way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The homestudy visits were now complete, in the end of August,
now we are just waiting on the homestudy to be printed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On September 6<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> (our middle son’s
birthday) we got a gift, our preview homestudy came in the email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was so excited because another friend of
mine just planned a trip to Ghana in the middle of September, so now we just
need the final copy of the homestudy completed before she goes and she can take
the dossier to our lawyer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked over
the homestudy and there were just a few mistakes, so I emailed them back with
the corrections and then asked her if there was any way we could get the
finalized homestudy before my friend left, she said she would work on it and
try her best.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The week my friend was leaving was the week we got our
finalized completed homestudy!!! Just in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I took everything to her the day before she was leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am a last minute person, but this was
cutting it close for me!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Everything was feeling more and more real to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was told by our POA that the lawyer was
ready to go to court as soon as we are approved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we thought that when she took the dossier
over we would get a court date within a few months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was Tuesday September 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> and
the phone rings at 6:30am I answer and it is my friend that was in Ghana, she
said that we had a court date the next Thursday 27<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>WHAT??? Goodness I wasn’t expecting this! I just
sent off my I-600A application on Friday. So this really took me by surprise! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know things happen and court dates sometimes
have to be changed, but to know we were that close to being his parents legally
was CRAZY!!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a week of “oh my goodness” we get another phone call
saying court was gonna have to be rescheduled, and they didn’t know when it
would be but they would let me know as soon as they knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now we wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s ok, we are waiting on our finger print
appointment for the I-600A approval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can
go to court without it but we can’t file the I-600 in Ghana without it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A couple of our friends are going over sometime soon to get
their kids; it would be awesome if we get our approval fast enough for one of
us to go over and file it with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
will be really close, but it is possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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With our first adoption, everyone supported our decision to
bring home another child. We really thought that people would be excited that
we were bringing home Kobys best friend from Ghana. Little did we know, we
weren't being supported by to many people. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many people have given us their opinion about
this adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been really hurt
by several comments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have been told
that this isn’t of God for several reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I have a story to share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
I have an on time God, and this just proves it to me that He is standing right
there with us through this adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have done several fundraisers; we did a car wash and a couple of yard sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sell Gold Canyon Candles and have done
several of those to go toward other adoptions and a couple to go toward
ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sold the J103 (a Christian Radio
Station in Chattanooga) coupon books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I am also doing outside pictures and selling a CD to help with the adoption cost. </span>Jacky
just finished a weight loss challenge, where we asked if anyone wanted to
sponsor him per pound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did a pasta
fundraiser and we have a Just Love Coffee website, <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="https://justlovecoffee.com/hope4henry" target="_blank" title="Click to visit your storefront"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><span style="color: blue;">https://justlovecoffee.com/<wbr></wbr>hope4henry</span></span></a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> check it
out, and share with your friends! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every
time something is due we have the money, when our homestudy needed to be paid
we had all but $200 and then that came the next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We needed to send money over for several
different things and every time we had just the right amount and it just came
that week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During one of our homestudy
visits we were rear ended and our car got totaled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thank God we were all safe! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few weeks went by and we received the
insurance money to buy another car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went
car shopping and finally found what we were looking for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After a week or so we got our reimbursement
of our part we had to pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little did we
know we got an extra check from them because we had to go without a car for
several weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well guess what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the week the POA was going to meet
the lawyer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had to send money over
for him and our little guys medical and birth certificate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I want you to know the amount we received
was $90 more than we needed to send over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Think this is a coincidence? Well I don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s one more, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told you about the weight loss
challenge,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it just so happened that it
ended the week before we go to court, and he lost 27 pounds during this, our
friends and family gave (added all together) $35 per pound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if everyone pays we will receive $945,
and we have to pay the lawyer the rest of his fees and then apply for a
passport and a new birth certificate, and you guessed it, this amount is really
close to what we are going to have to send over!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell me My God isn’t Awesome and I will have
to tell you otherwise! He has provided for us so far and I have no doubt He
will provide for us the rest of our adoption journey!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I finally got an email telling me that we have a court
date!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is Thursday October 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got our fingerprint appointment and it is Friday
October 26<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>. So that is where we are today, waiting till our court
date, and finger print appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*****UPDATE*****</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our Lawyer and POA went to court this morning, and there were to many cases today so they chose some to come back next week and we were one of the chosen ones. I hate that it didn't happen today but we aren't ready on our end anyway, so keep next Thursday October 25th in your prayers, that's when we go back to court!!! THANK YOU :)</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-54558820969607093112012-10-16T10:50:00.000-07:002012-10-16T10:50:18.906-07:00Finally All Under One Roof!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPmOzW_eGECH9Bw1nrXqnS2qFdhAqEOzobawGf_ScdDBtnFNeSu4sRtwLwl1sLt6DppXXR-5ROv-knxNtCtzdVb7unPouBV2PhnGMnX6HTHrXHLaNSqBTa289z_XRgy8PwHXGK9-Af49w/s1600/a6276a+8x10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwPmOzW_eGECH9Bw1nrXqnS2qFdhAqEOzobawGf_ScdDBtnFNeSu4sRtwLwl1sLt6DppXXR-5ROv-knxNtCtzdVb7unPouBV2PhnGMnX6HTHrXHLaNSqBTa289z_XRgy8PwHXGK9-Af49w/s320/a6276a+8x10.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After being home for a little while, and he was speaking
English very well, he started telling me stories of Ghana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wouldn’t tell them in front of anyone, he
waited till it was about time for bed and me and him would go into my bedroom and
lay down to wind down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would start talking;
some of the stories would just make me cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I questioned some of them to some of the older boys that I had become
friends with on facebook, and they confirmed them to be true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After several stories I started falling in
love with his little best friend, they had done everything together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzRPPNAfpTiSpvbTYwScRMZB4nY_pe3QM_6SG8Z2ARNKwY7oAO_wDBU807ooagOoME5Rda3YLsNJ05uWiexZNYK0ztDQsIYGaNZwoaRuzwRJQRevZ79KJk_sRXr3OyIdTfzNy0Qi51ncA/s1600/a6268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinzRPPNAfpTiSpvbTYwScRMZB4nY_pe3QM_6SG8Z2ARNKwY7oAO_wDBU807ooagOoME5Rda3YLsNJ05uWiexZNYK0ztDQsIYGaNZwoaRuzwRJQRevZ79KJk_sRXr3OyIdTfzNy0Qi51ncA/s200/a6268.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One day while I was cutting his hair, his daddy came home
and he said “hey daddy I want you to be Henrys daddy and momma to be his momma.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacky looked at me and said “Wendy did you
tell him to say that to me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I told him
that he hadn’t even said that to me, I wasn’t expecting that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t mention his little best friend to
him because all he would say is how much he wanted us to bring him home to live
with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would tell us that he didn’t
have anything and he wanted to share his stuff with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCThroszZBNro-YXLh9TL6UCtc0HGCBEuNag2-k837pSomWKAnUQg9j77ph-2hBKQHt-cGKAPRZClsr0Pih94P1JtVD2yqhJXSHfYwvG1jr0OWclussrxfuR2eYw6XvwJZ7TFpA972u6HV/s1600/a1781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCThroszZBNro-YXLh9TL6UCtc0HGCBEuNag2-k837pSomWKAnUQg9j77ph-2hBKQHt-cGKAPRZClsr0Pih94P1JtVD2yqhJXSHfYwvG1jr0OWclussrxfuR2eYw6XvwJZ7TFpA972u6HV/s200/a1781.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did start thinking, while we were there in October, we had
took Koby some little hot wheels cars and he took them to the orphanage and
gave them to all his little friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
made me start crying. For weeks I cried all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacky didn’t know what was wrong with
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We would talk about the kids at the
orphanage and I couldn’t help but cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
am a BIG BABY when it comes to those kids!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0rrbuC45_SWe3QrjgHVRH30pFhrH_axR_78UXVypJu8ZCGT2cFXoyBg_gcBz_yRusCn17j_XpVkZU_308X_K8QdIqeVmc6ELh2sQ2QYOXXQCSu9loMtx6gErq624FVSv0bJE-QUXxx8c/s1600/IMG_0647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0rrbuC45_SWe3QrjgHVRH30pFhrH_axR_78UXVypJu8ZCGT2cFXoyBg_gcBz_yRusCn17j_XpVkZU_308X_K8QdIqeVmc6ELh2sQ2QYOXXQCSu9loMtx6gErq624FVSv0bJE-QUXxx8c/s320/IMG_0647.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wanted to start the process over again and bring home his
little best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacky wasn’t on
board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said the process scared
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t want to go thru all that
again, our process with Koby was so smooth, and he was worried that we wouldn’t
get it so smooth again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a few
fears so I wouldn’t bring it up to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
I did pray and ask God, if it was meant to be, if we were supposed to bring him
home then God would have to give Jacky peace about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that prayer, God gave me peace, so I knew
we would bring him home I just didn’t know when.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jacky would come home and talk about if we
brought another child home, and talking about Koby’s best friend, and other
little things, so I knew God was working on him. And it wouldn’t be long before
he would have the same peace that I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But it did take him longer than I liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejf9YoI2X-HQAZi21EXbZ-jQGeWaZupdAvbt49ZRQjgLQyeLnuFWwtOKeubV8-v2sA9boyk1ErjmRl1wrTJ-ik1hQGzG51pPEai72nIcj6CFKW6OgcgMxdBMqAjlSdtA5CN4iVDqgEzan/s1600/IMG_0616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjejf9YoI2X-HQAZi21EXbZ-jQGeWaZupdAvbt49ZRQjgLQyeLnuFWwtOKeubV8-v2sA9boyk1ErjmRl1wrTJ-ik1hQGzG51pPEai72nIcj6CFKW6OgcgMxdBMqAjlSdtA5CN4iVDqgEzan/s320/IMG_0616.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my good friends had adopted a little girl, and after
their adoption went to court, and she got her papers, she called me and said
that he was listed as her little girls’ brother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t know that either one of them had a
sibling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After she brought her home, we
talked about it, and first his best friend left and now his sister left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I personally think that is what broke Jacky’s
heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because not to long after that, in
July 2012 we were in the car going to my sister’s house and he started the
conversation about bringing him home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(by the way, he told everyone that’s all I talked about, but he was the
one that brought it up, and yes if he brings it up, I’m gonna talk about it,
lol) He looked at me and said “email the POA and tell him we want to start the
process to bring him home” Oh my goodness, I was so excited, but not emotional,
for some odd reason! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I emailed him
and asked if he was available for adoption. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said he was almost sure he was, but he would
make sure and let me know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well that
email waiting on an answer was FOREVER!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In all reality it was just a couple of weeks, because he was going out of town and going to be gone for about a week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as he got
back he sent me an email saying everything was good and he was available for
adoption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I called the lady that done
our homestudy and asked when she could get us started. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said “I am going to Knoxville tomorrow, I can
stop by your house on my way back home and have your home visit and start the
process.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I immediately said “YES” after
I got off the phone with her, I thought to myself, we are having our homestudy
visit tomorrow and I am not prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
our last adoption the home visit was very stressful, I thought everything had
to be spic and span, well that isn’t what she is looking at, they do want the
house to be clean, but they are looking at more safety and making sure we have
space for another child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yes I did
clean but I wasn’t nearly as stressed, I just cleaned like I would normally,
didn’t go above and beyond, I really didn’t have time, I had to get all the
paper work filled out, because after we hung up the phone she sent it to me by
email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a very busy woman that
night and the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">I thought I would just add a few pictures of the past year that we have been home with Koby! We have had so much fun getting to know our newest addition!!!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV4w5kZtSsnNGabOh5H9JQc6i8xew2XBhbG13BlUjFSfUzwRIYwd-KryVZxEEXKAnrCNJLtNvYBgb1FyhlL_OV2XPVLGsYnSZ1mR2_TosOaVWRh1Vugl5G0skeb3Tlo8-Z8KqyXV9AgDP/s1600/IMG_2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFV4w5kZtSsnNGabOh5H9JQc6i8xew2XBhbG13BlUjFSfUzwRIYwd-KryVZxEEXKAnrCNJLtNvYBgb1FyhlL_OV2XPVLGsYnSZ1mR2_TosOaVWRh1Vugl5G0skeb3Tlo8-Z8KqyXV9AgDP/s320/IMG_2008.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animal Kingdom 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT8Hz-B51ztvs5Q_SEyrn7rIl4zpZMBByJMlBfZRqDUCaAr5cttC_s6ey5CZft23CIpQiimMXQK56jJD4aqlN1nBTo68iO3HFxclS6qaukffNVsMu4QxjPh6NyTk_Nw6eRGb7j-GaerYr/s1600/IMG_2181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyT8Hz-B51ztvs5Q_SEyrn7rIl4zpZMBByJMlBfZRqDUCaAr5cttC_s6ey5CZft23CIpQiimMXQK56jJD4aqlN1nBTo68iO3HFxclS6qaukffNVsMu4QxjPh6NyTk_Nw6eRGb7j-GaerYr/s320/IMG_2181.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Universal Studios 2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Momma Dylan and Koby with Mickey</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGjoiIFBRxWMyyxdj2tHA8imSOqqYEjXctWHZOCga5lHOK0RHvjI3gnYcvSHXpSVKiBXJ_rt3MTnsD7thOwDq3wERPZJKtrhD1LHlBYissmtg5g7M_QOD6gEA8b3tMF4iEH_pefidiQs7/s1600/IMG_6971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgGjoiIFBRxWMyyxdj2tHA8imSOqqYEjXctWHZOCga5lHOK0RHvjI3gnYcvSHXpSVKiBXJ_rt3MTnsD7thOwDq3wERPZJKtrhD1LHlBYissmtg5g7M_QOD6gEA8b3tMF4iEH_pefidiQs7/s320/IMG_6971.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vacation 2012</td></tr>
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Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-70423788263600798922012-10-04T12:31:00.003-07:002012-10-04T18:38:42.323-07:00Pick Up Trip!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before we left to go pick up Koby!!!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OOx4B7Sta_VEP17DNGM67q_ocb0RyNm-6nP74hU_ScIUcUIDVTqqPUF0W6mFAQWMghegxzZQCICOwErGUq_vlOYCUown2JjDqlwqeW6gItnWj0qRSdKbVci4CaD2uti6rsIigAE_-WAC/s1600/IMG_6465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OOx4B7Sta_VEP17DNGM67q_ocb0RyNm-6nP74hU_ScIUcUIDVTqqPUF0W6mFAQWMghegxzZQCICOwErGUq_vlOYCUown2JjDqlwqeW6gItnWj0qRSdKbVci4CaD2uti6rsIigAE_-WAC/s320/IMG_6465.jpg" width="256" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Time to go get my little boy wouldn’t get here fast
enough!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went thru a lot of "woe is me"
moods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We waited “patiently” from the
end of October 2010 to the end of February 2011 before we got to go get
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The I-600 process from the embassy could
take up to 60 days to finalize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
emailed them in January and they told us that we had been approved and we could
pick up our packet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked what was in
the packet and they wouldn’t tell me, so I didn’t know if it was something my
POA could fill out or what, we asked them if they would email it to us, they
said no, they would mail it to us, so I asked if we could pay for next day air,
and they said they didn’t do that, only standard mail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They told us that it should take a couple of
weeks to get here, yea right!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We waited,
and waited, and waited, for NOTHING! Finally we just had our POA go get it and
he scanned and emailed it to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(DUH,
who wouldn’t have thought of that, first?) We couldn’t get them all to open big
enough to read, but I got enough to search it on line, well all that was in
that packet was the Visa Application, and information about the Visa Medical,
so I searched it on line, and found it, I filled it out and emailed it back to
our POA and scheduled a Visa Interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He took the application and Koby and his birth mom to the
interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything went well, they
needed the medical, that we thought we already had, but it had to be thru their
doctors, so we scheduled that appointment, and they needed to see the original
adoption decree and social welfare report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well guess what? We had that stuff here in America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only way to get it there was to go,
because we still hadn’t received the packet they mailed to us a month before
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we emailed them and tried to
get answers, but they wouldn’t tell us anything, they said they couldn’t
guarantee anything to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we decided
to just go over there and pray that the visa gets printed and we get to bring
him home this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave us an open
date to come back and give them the information they had requested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we purchased our tickets to fly out on
February 18, 2011 and come home February 26, 2011.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so excited, our friends that went
with us the 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> time had decided to go back and this was when they
were scheduled to go back too!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my
best friends and her husband had decided to adopt also, so the pictures of the
little girl you see, is their daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Leaving for Ghana, we were so excited and nervous at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not knowing whether they were gonna let him
come home with us was an awful feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But when we arrived in Ghana, and I hear the sweet little pitter patter
of feet running toward me, and looking down and he jumped in my arms, just made
my day!!! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7QfRdEL2ZvG8tS0e-PrzBD3400CIQp9qwxhZSEpzNRBwPik_mtlC4q0qQ759RjZwkdkOvIh2GHPIw0Fqe5oQIBJh0to6aPRZE2lanvWgr-RxCfVKcsV6lxf7fPxeKWbwsKUTpHo9OBHc/s1600/IMG_6466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7QfRdEL2ZvG8tS0e-PrzBD3400CIQp9qwxhZSEpzNRBwPik_mtlC4q0qQ759RjZwkdkOvIh2GHPIw0Fqe5oQIBJh0to6aPRZE2lanvWgr-RxCfVKcsV6lxf7fPxeKWbwsKUTpHo9OBHc/s320/IMG_6466.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh how we had missed this little guy!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We arrived on a Saturday, and we went to the Embassy on the following
Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were happy with seeing the
originals, and his new medical report.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They tried to print the visa that day, but their printer was backed up
so they told us to come back at the end of the day so we did and it still
hadn’t printed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They told us that the
printer would print all night if we would come back in the morning they would
have it printed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so excited,
when we got up the next morning we went straight to the Embassy and guess what?
IT WAS PRINTED!!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our little boy was going home with us!!! This was Tuesday, so
we had the rest of the week to just relax and enjoy learning all we could about
where our little guy was from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent
a lot of time at the orphanage getting to know the kids, and falling in love
with every single one of them!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1TG21DydS8dU6CE7N4CHdGn0B7l7I7YKsRX71jWpkotaDalRcoxAmxCvtPOK2cViBAMaaTpgh8RrtssxS5931MlRV0u38IptNVSNVnNjO2BotlO0esj7-ACq8zpNAbsedXm_b479i3It/s1600/IMG_7011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1TG21DydS8dU6CE7N4CHdGn0B7l7I7YKsRX71jWpkotaDalRcoxAmxCvtPOK2cViBAMaaTpgh8RrtssxS5931MlRV0u38IptNVSNVnNjO2BotlO0esj7-ACq8zpNAbsedXm_b479i3It/s320/IMG_7011.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went
to the beach on our last trip and Koby didn’t like it at all, but we wanted to
go back there on this trip, but we had waited till the last day and still
hadn’t gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We decided we would go if
we had time our last day there, we went and Koby surprised us, he loved it, he
played and didn’t cry at all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went back to the hotel and got cleaned up for
our flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several of the kids came by
the hotel to tell Koby bye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was so
excited to be leaving and going to America, everyone was so happy for him
also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left to go to the airport at
7pm, our flight was at 11pm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told
everyone “me aqua” I don’t know how to spell it but it means “I’m leaving” we
were so happy that he was ready to go with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We got to the airport and checked in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As we were in line 2 people, a man and a woman, both from Ghana,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stopped us and said they had to go thru our
bags.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we went over to the bags and
the lady asked which ones were mine, I told her I had stuff in all of them, I was
organized going but coming home, I just threw all the dirty, stinky clothes
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So she was going thru them and
asked why we were taking the black kid with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We told her we adopted him and he was going home with us, the 2 of them
looked at each other and said “well that explains it” ok lets go get you on
your flight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just had to laugh that
one off, but that did start a whole new nervousness in us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so scared every time we got in
another line that they were going to stop us, but no one else did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We worried how Koby would do on the plane,
and he did great, he slept most of the way home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We flew into Washington DC, and while we were
waiting to go thru immigration, Koby was talking to me in Twi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know what he was saying, I had learnt
some, and he taught me some of his words for things, I knew when he wanted to
eat, drink and go potty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are the
most important right? Well we were in this line and he kept saying the same
thing over and over and I would just say “yes” or “ok” and he would continue to
say it, I had never heard the phrase he was using, but I had no way of knowing
what he was saying, we didn’t have a translator!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, he said it again and this little
elderly lady said “excuse me honey but your son is wanting something to eat” oh
my goodness, that was not the phrase he had been using when he was hungry!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am so glad she was there and she was from
Ghana and understood Twi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a 5 hour
layover so we took a taxi and went sightseeing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We got back to the airport and flew in to Knoxville, where everyone was
there to see our precious little boy!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>By the time we landed in Knoxville we had been traveling for 24 hours,
and Koby didn’t make the first whimper, he never cried one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWs8ik84j6ZebzAPnb7_U_YgzK9wmDuhAQ7hQjKe1YcVN-Mv9Bmv8AgxtvwRkiNdWGxShPk9H0zu2PAtQLMjHzvuzs_-q6mU16dRmRywFw7946vXlp4o87p15OyTzACQOfZ9ZaEjz2_KF/s1600/IMG_7087.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWs8ik84j6ZebzAPnb7_U_YgzK9wmDuhAQ7hQjKe1YcVN-Mv9Bmv8AgxtvwRkiNdWGxShPk9H0zu2PAtQLMjHzvuzs_-q6mU16dRmRywFw7946vXlp4o87p15OyTzACQOfZ9ZaEjz2_KF/s320/IMG_7087.jpg" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkFPN4OMIQ6tni-SGgQNE_nW_988ExETw6nshYr2dQ4fyKTbhuM_DaIgQq0oW4AvEhPvMZnUggHgsyXorLpew1pOliVgM_fj7ogVVYS6HuvQSyoHjlXJVPVGzfbBNcpn-zHOpakLiUNG8/s1600/IMG_7088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkFPN4OMIQ6tni-SGgQNE_nW_988ExETw6nshYr2dQ4fyKTbhuM_DaIgQq0oW4AvEhPvMZnUggHgsyXorLpew1pOliVgM_fj7ogVVYS6HuvQSyoHjlXJVPVGzfbBNcpn-zHOpakLiUNG8/s320/IMG_7088.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Several wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, so we
took him there and he had a blast!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was doing so well we decided to go ahead and go to church the next morning, he
did great there too, he went in to his Sunday School class by himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We never had to change a thing; he has bonded
with us and done so wonderful adjusting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was speaking quite a bit of English his 1<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">st</span></sup> month home and
every day he spoke more and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
noticed after being home just 3 months, he was speaking English fluently, and
he had totally forgotten his other language.</span><br />
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Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-58385962376991940712012-09-19T13:32:00.003-07:002012-09-19T13:37:07.524-07:00The Week Flew By!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHrnkZjO2HGXV6VZ-AcPzfqnzOSkD2SSl51HMa0WFMKX_ZX1mXTTOpGBB8vCCQMuBwBnJYEB1pPbkNtNdJ6Ewnr8QDroPA5q_Nikzo3t6ahEJQjzFdRaHblOsdihMXySnGygTgdDZ2QJH/s1600/IMG_4826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHrnkZjO2HGXV6VZ-AcPzfqnzOSkD2SSl51HMa0WFMKX_ZX1mXTTOpGBB8vCCQMuBwBnJYEB1pPbkNtNdJ6Ewnr8QDroPA5q_Nikzo3t6ahEJQjzFdRaHblOsdihMXySnGygTgdDZ2QJH/s320/IMG_4826.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixi_9DUiKvBtCokf00_iLCPl_02gr0cEKFLBh2HRvx0930Pe10OSyKnbQR2oogTHrS4JCyxPeAghBPhO5FBlIbCu7ZRRlPzzTS6lm1zPWcVUpfj9j7mQFMKlF-6nsMOPlbwQlRS_-pjOWy/s1600/IMG_4762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixi_9DUiKvBtCokf00_iLCPl_02gr0cEKFLBh2HRvx0930Pe10OSyKnbQR2oogTHrS4JCyxPeAghBPhO5FBlIbCu7ZRRlPzzTS6lm1zPWcVUpfj9j7mQFMKlF-6nsMOPlbwQlRS_-pjOWy/s320/IMG_4762.JPG" width="256" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday started a whole new adventure for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went and picked up our adoption decree
from the lawyer and went and filed for a new birth certificate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we went to the Embassy to file our
I-600, for those of you who don’t know, the I-600 is the paperwork that
declares the child an orphan, and proves that they can be adopted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes that’s backwards in my opinion too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The adoption decree stated that we could take
him out of the country and he was legally our child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we didn’t think there would be a
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got to the Embassy and they
let us in and gave us the I-600 application.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They wanted a copy of the decree and our dossier so we took the
application and all our paperwork with us and filled it out and made copies and
took them back the next day along with the new birth certificate for him. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKWKGxV2XgaUNvoKTERXlbO4wbpJPKPPDvLsV9m6qjMYc09Te9uW05DoELtSNyoDORf18SZ-iJGD0BOZDPGyls_jssvt4wA-Vpqcrjn-2AhSllnE3XEh-UPuJW8xWX24763CrEC8tFdSa/s1600/IMG_4625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrKWKGxV2XgaUNvoKTERXlbO4wbpJPKPPDvLsV9m6qjMYc09Te9uW05DoELtSNyoDORf18SZ-iJGD0BOZDPGyls_jssvt4wA-Vpqcrjn-2AhSllnE3XEh-UPuJW8xWX24763CrEC8tFdSa/s320/IMG_4625.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We turned it all in and they told us it could take up to 60
days for the process! WHAT???? Oh my goodness, we didn’t see that coming!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left the Embassy devastated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now what, what do we do, do we stay? Does just
one stay? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our middle son had to go back,
he couldn’t fly back without one of us, we have another son at home, we can’t
stay gone that long, but now we have a new son here, so do we leave him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He won’t understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really hated this feeling, I felt I had to
choose between my kids! Surely this isn’t how it’s supposed to be!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknkhf8I3daELkAztqrxmTg-kElzbOBDhFoTByVKWi9PSdR1_goOtrWzAfOdmtC6Pp-Wgm8W6-j8y2KEWbBBmiVcI1kEvVr55CYlw0waI0tv14ONJFCf5kZqpW5cipABEGdc4KiA00aZu3/s1600/IMG_5369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknkhf8I3daELkAztqrxmTg-kElzbOBDhFoTByVKWi9PSdR1_goOtrWzAfOdmtC6Pp-Wgm8W6-j8y2KEWbBBmiVcI1kEvVr55CYlw0waI0tv14ONJFCf5kZqpW5cipABEGdc4KiA00aZu3/s320/IMG_5369.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFmwZazIZi0RVxAkpoGMc05kcCJUg4q-giGTrtI8bnmoVLJBMUnHQEUxYJabS5KaLdEa6kbQT6gtoHEKRr0agsf889eOlIdXhmvItn_zMwuGQ-yMRoG7QVqLLqhkPu4tRlKGT5-fRd4SF/s1600/IMG_5389.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFmwZazIZi0RVxAkpoGMc05kcCJUg4q-giGTrtI8bnmoVLJBMUnHQEUxYJabS5KaLdEa6kbQT6gtoHEKRr0agsf889eOlIdXhmvItn_zMwuGQ-yMRoG7QVqLLqhkPu4tRlKGT5-fRd4SF/s320/IMG_5389.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We decided to go back to the Embassy and try to get some
more answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well they answered us, but
not how we wanted them to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The answer
was still the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So we thought, maybe
they will have it all done by the end of the week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God had done so much to get it all worked out
for us, surely we will be taking him home with us!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhouN-vE_S9U5Uccmg5ms3jIVEmut2DRngOQF0G9VR2-XJ_sL9N-MeSugPaMTqMqJ60_Spgz_1UlC8V2_6ic6i_HW0T0OdFB46XBa0Tz-nTePIkkIvn4UK8ZXEO2rnHZX4d9ZdhZ2oJWhP/s1600/IMG_5371.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhouN-vE_S9U5Uccmg5ms3jIVEmut2DRngOQF0G9VR2-XJ_sL9N-MeSugPaMTqMqJ60_Spgz_1UlC8V2_6ic6i_HW0T0OdFB46XBa0Tz-nTePIkkIvn4UK8ZXEO2rnHZX4d9ZdhZ2oJWhP/s320/IMG_5371.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The week flew by!!! It was Friday; we were going to go back
to the Embassy one last time to see if they had any news for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only to find out, the answer was still the
same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jdbS-cqBrBCaiwl9Tx3RgwC5pIBIlbLbE3PwOvnXnxTNlSeUolu8Vhk7iJ-A-vgLJQ2tI3O6QNHzZ0vrAB62yl5EoJ20gi-UQoqrNZx0ekKa3VuuceDOV2sL-bhKUruAs6pAKKxILsTB/s1600/IMG_5381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-jdbS-cqBrBCaiwl9Tx3RgwC5pIBIlbLbE3PwOvnXnxTNlSeUolu8Vhk7iJ-A-vgLJQ2tI3O6QNHzZ0vrAB62yl5EoJ20gi-UQoqrNZx0ekKa3VuuceDOV2sL-bhKUruAs6pAKKxILsTB/s320/IMG_5381.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this picture tears my heart to pieces</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saddened by the news we went back
to the hotel to spend the last few hours we had with our son before we had to
leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had talked to the father and
mother of the orphanage and told them what was going on and they said they
would continue to take care of him till we could return for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNXJWQ7dEHYNUOjpWKOHfoaY2Tg0LvNgolTUTHF_Xoi3NpQ2QwTIu2k45xdFL-WHbF1p0qxU1-BZ_67rbN48-V5fd69xsGBXnl8xYBgcEdQt75Otanio76gUjVJXqJ3uGPX4hG6Z0CJ1w/s1600/IMG_5331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCNXJWQ7dEHYNUOjpWKOHfoaY2Tg0LvNgolTUTHF_Xoi3NpQ2QwTIu2k45xdFL-WHbF1p0qxU1-BZ_67rbN48-V5fd69xsGBXnl8xYBgcEdQt75Otanio76gUjVJXqJ3uGPX4hG6Z0CJ1w/s320/IMG_5331.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me and koby and some of his friends from the orphanage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span> </div>
</div>
Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-7499559987720458362012-09-19T11:52:00.003-07:002012-09-19T12:00:57.097-07:00Busy Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BUi5Jjd0i0sdOv_N0byrYGI7KQFaXobY7KFetmzeUxB2jMUFdEo3WSqn47xpiPca0cWfzMqFeOI6Wi9-gK8cC0RXDwE2_HuBcZqyQ9n8YpdHqJ1pPAJ8ydfExFbGTpHgRwog-4U8c7Re/s1600/IMG_5212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BUi5Jjd0i0sdOv_N0byrYGI7KQFaXobY7KFetmzeUxB2jMUFdEo3WSqn47xpiPca0cWfzMqFeOI6Wi9-gK8cC0RXDwE2_HuBcZqyQ9n8YpdHqJ1pPAJ8ydfExFbGTpHgRwog-4U8c7Re/s320/IMG_5212.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Week one was over and we were starting the weekend; we were
leaving Accra and going to Cape Coast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is where some of the guys that went with us were staying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were at a Deaf and Blind School.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our church had bought some supplies for the
school and they had gone to deliver it and help them set it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bEs0WfXfcNAgH-kkSbOYY3-uc2z4s2xNGJqXafEG0PHzPBoT2nP4wXX56DgBLXmgaZsgmuiaHVcdCtYaWtfkMqdGQq7W_ZH67HbvaYnXbovL0EBTEW_NAWoDk52roVZZwSDeYEdOgjJH/s1600/IMG_5020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8bEs0WfXfcNAgH-kkSbOYY3-uc2z4s2xNGJqXafEG0PHzPBoT2nP4wXX56DgBLXmgaZsgmuiaHVcdCtYaWtfkMqdGQq7W_ZH67HbvaYnXbovL0EBTEW_NAWoDk52roVZZwSDeYEdOgjJH/s320/IMG_5020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We left and drove for a couple of hours, we sang songs in
the van and talked and laughed the whole ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Upon arriving to the school, the kids were so excited to see us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were all either deaf or blind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very over whelming for me at first, I
have been around special needs kids and they have a special place in my heart,
but I have never been around that many at one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our middle son came to me a little nervous
and so did our newly adopted son, they were both confused at the sounds they
were all making, and I took them to the side and talked to them (Koby didn’t
speak English but I still told him too) that the kids didn’t know how to speak
because they can’t hear so making those noises were all they knew how to
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that, my middle son went out
there and started playing with the kids and talking to them the best he knew
how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I saw my son out there
with the kids it made it all better and I was much more comfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a little girl that stuck to me like
glue, before we arrived they told us to make a sign that we would use for our
name, so when they asked our name we gave them that sign, well mine was a sign
language W with my right hand tapped on my left shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well when I showed them my name they went and
got this little girl and said we had the same name, so there she was, with me
the rest of the weekend! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their names
were written on their dresses on the inside and she flipped it up and showed me
her name was Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFxriomAmUaLFP6nYFvQnQzH-BxGUeNQ0A3yB4qL0uSST8vljNfmLAEhfvB5AIo_KdDavMT5zH2n5G-YAV0JgUZBBLQYTOIDb2vGX6kXzeAXKFU4ncYdy6ZibBVcqsXdjCSST9iedkubU/s1600/IMG_4923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFxriomAmUaLFP6nYFvQnQzH-BxGUeNQ0A3yB4qL0uSST8vljNfmLAEhfvB5AIo_KdDavMT5zH2n5G-YAV0JgUZBBLQYTOIDb2vGX6kXzeAXKFU4ncYdy6ZibBVcqsXdjCSST9iedkubU/s320/IMG_4923.JPG" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrrofeQWQHXDsm9EoTJMUyCr2fOD5LJwTkrNK6Cq8jgnZ9ZK5g2h4kjAmA234ybtKNH8_HGXaGKtnhnAvKNsw85yLpVKy8FrRLA2m3OWGol63eopSgLz4WUEUnpAMbwQ9xrJ-1-RK8B92/s1600/IMG_4938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIrrofeQWQHXDsm9EoTJMUyCr2fOD5LJwTkrNK6Cq8jgnZ9ZK5g2h4kjAmA234ybtKNH8_HGXaGKtnhnAvKNsw85yLpVKy8FrRLA2m3OWGol63eopSgLz4WUEUnpAMbwQ9xrJ-1-RK8B92/s320/IMG_4938.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYf5_P_QKkhTaZD98h7684Z1ymIDsIxgETCAHw4wcX26BDa96dgHYvIGjq0XQxaDzkQxOjfHYYX0bmfLqk8AwPVNtTn9SMfMhiQ3iM1D8tvXV3ni0sEJQQXG7tG_Dq8tIcnukYRapvSBJK/s1600/IMG_5012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYf5_P_QKkhTaZD98h7684Z1ymIDsIxgETCAHw4wcX26BDa96dgHYvIGjq0XQxaDzkQxOjfHYYX0bmfLqk8AwPVNtTn9SMfMhiQ3iM1D8tvXV3ni0sEJQQXG7tG_Dq8tIcnukYRapvSBJK/s320/IMG_5012.JPG" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA73Tc382nIvcuk4e81iQjx_2i2ZOXk2m4UYDeVYijKWGgLlvVd38gze49lYk1rWvoRFkMCzSwA_6gP6NvEo0-E0QZpse2ah-TaleIowaGqLrvKouEw5vZCW26ObLHgfydKEC-XPVMICm/s1600/IMG_4908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDA73Tc382nIvcuk4e81iQjx_2i2ZOXk2m4UYDeVYijKWGgLlvVd38gze49lYk1rWvoRFkMCzSwA_6gP6NvEo0-E0QZpse2ah-TaleIowaGqLrvKouEw5vZCW26ObLHgfydKEC-XPVMICm/s320/IMG_4908.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The girls were all playing with my middle son, more so than
the boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We noticed this but didn’t
think anything about it, but then he came to us and said “how do you say I’m a
boy in sign language?” I asked him why, and he said the girls touched his hair
and then pointed at their earrings and their chest and were making the gesture
asking where his were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had longer
hair and they thought he was a girl, but didn’t know why he didn’t have his
ears pierced and why he didn’t have girl parts!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We thought this was hilarious! But we found
out how to say “I’m a boy” in sign language, so he did and there went the girls
and here came the boys! But within a few minutes they were all playing
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched him as he
communicated with these kids and was just amazed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went outside and got a stick and started
writing questions on the ground and they would answer him and ask him
questions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He really enjoyed his time with
those kids that weekend, and when we left he missed them and talked about them
often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We still laugh about the
misunderstanding of him being a girl!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRyd1EPQ4JedPnol9QdeC2B9kfZ-go_rqf-pBwaiUeITJKpRdkKvvMwPo3-VG5rPP3wsA-pKoG6TLG0epx7yGwDpF9ovBea3PAx-9p6onYRwyCtiY143yp9F4u9_5R8XEt4q5ez__ZUXtj/s1600/IMG_4946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRyd1EPQ4JedPnol9QdeC2B9kfZ-go_rqf-pBwaiUeITJKpRdkKvvMwPo3-VG5rPP3wsA-pKoG6TLG0epx7yGwDpF9ovBea3PAx-9p6onYRwyCtiY143yp9F4u9_5R8XEt4q5ez__ZUXtj/s320/IMG_4946.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the school, they brought us in this big room to watch the
children perform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so amazing; they
did an awesome dance for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had
drummers and dancers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They drummers were
all blind and the dancers were all deaf.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was awesome!!! They all stayed in beat with the drums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pictures doesn’t do it justice you need to
see it in person to truly be blessed!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyByuUZHiHw5V6TG0PH68YBqc_o_D-VAixYFe9X7YC2T_xteQT8m1ztQ0s6jcLE2oqTsCO-bIoaJ4fmkeG81o9aX68ilv72NUEQbt3Cjyd9DPzz88dSHkA2FbnWDCVX2akHJkEQfZgAF2/s1600/IMG_4944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyByuUZHiHw5V6TG0PH68YBqc_o_D-VAixYFe9X7YC2T_xteQT8m1ztQ0s6jcLE2oqTsCO-bIoaJ4fmkeG81o9aX68ilv72NUEQbt3Cjyd9DPzz88dSHkA2FbnWDCVX2akHJkEQfZgAF2/s200/IMG_4944.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJlSaQ1C70pfDJOp1Gr7uID-OWaVGRZ5NnSWWGxnpTxcvDjDSoItJuGQlsf3Mn2dHEfLCe_Ad-suJaYO9wfWpFcUD1aCwR4rLGSIOjNWWoKqyG0_b9W6gqhX7EEibEv6A_oZll6Mks-dF/s1600/IMG_4945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdJlSaQ1C70pfDJOp1Gr7uID-OWaVGRZ5NnSWWGxnpTxcvDjDSoItJuGQlsf3Mn2dHEfLCe_Ad-suJaYO9wfWpFcUD1aCwR4rLGSIOjNWWoKqyG0_b9W6gqhX7EEibEv6A_oZll6Mks-dF/s320/IMG_4945.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpr1AG0WeTbZ3eHIjZfgTjevhHIk7UVj7dn2-JLDUE8mT7mXcf9TvvhOppfA60Z1KzDTHrg13Tc3l7yA4idZlgLb6HbteOtD3tEOXdpZAQ5KfOwy6GXvmJ2gy-4gAfPJ_jil8sbzZnt_M/s1600/IMG_4957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpr1AG0WeTbZ3eHIjZfgTjevhHIk7UVj7dn2-JLDUE8mT7mXcf9TvvhOppfA60Z1KzDTHrg13Tc3l7yA4idZlgLb6HbteOtD3tEOXdpZAQ5KfOwy6GXvmJ2gy-4gAfPJ_jil8sbzZnt_M/s320/IMG_4957.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While we were in Cape Coast we went to the slave
castle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was so sad to see what the
people had to go thru.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what they
lived in, to hear the stories just broke my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an interesting thing to see and hear,
but it was hard to see and hear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just
don’t realize how blessed we truly are!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2rJKJSsb1UxT06TYHiCa3hoYLTWmonZI_VOzWRigMGeUBsRWBvMBuen2oRQlDGluphJriIz9AHK5mSy4zvY9vLweZWMchmx8vdbHce-einhOP76ntNGAJlFEEFuybN_mQhpLX0o1qCUr/s1600/IMG_5096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2rJKJSsb1UxT06TYHiCa3hoYLTWmonZI_VOzWRigMGeUBsRWBvMBuen2oRQlDGluphJriIz9AHK5mSy4zvY9vLweZWMchmx8vdbHce-einhOP76ntNGAJlFEEFuybN_mQhpLX0o1qCUr/s200/IMG_5096.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY0U9691IoiAaujoHStWYdbvNxHTrR5rNppNsYiybkzn7bEP48zZY-6Lsl3mTthGLpGzHEDX9Tl2Cz5zcfApS5kp0BztnGf9pY_DPZO10OysQapDVafV1fbhbD2NJqre29Va2d49PYZYU/s1600/IMG_5053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbY0U9691IoiAaujoHStWYdbvNxHTrR5rNppNsYiybkzn7bEP48zZY-6Lsl3mTthGLpGzHEDX9Tl2Cz5zcfApS5kp0BztnGf9pY_DPZO10OysQapDVafV1fbhbD2NJqre29Va2d49PYZYU/s200/IMG_5053.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmoh__9IK_O_TfWTZ48ryQCmOZR_upuX-DFSEhrrcHFTlnFZnUZuyjBIsmVCSVXzMBXKCBLIUWCeKxyOlE9BIcEts60cPgVTXuY8RCLtOQbnrwyNf755o5EXDt0tTd4j4RfgFpZQmvKJu/s1600/IMG_5083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmoh__9IK_O_TfWTZ48ryQCmOZR_upuX-DFSEhrrcHFTlnFZnUZuyjBIsmVCSVXzMBXKCBLIUWCeKxyOlE9BIcEts60cPgVTXuY8RCLtOQbnrwyNf755o5EXDt0tTd4j4RfgFpZQmvKJu/s320/IMG_5083.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went to a village on Sunday, people at our church donated
clothes for us to give at the orphanage and the village.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The children there were so excited to receive
the clothes from us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhBExta5ZJ1-OtvzaxKS32TRG_pYQ8I4cmLC09pyE5G9NClaF7qfSGOjcbBKLHGs1xOOynfbFYT5kSDzVhCvP9eePGkHDwUF9Gqi2nZMOnz4aCs3dZeksU5RP6spnKf_AsqSDlonsG-y9/s1600/IMG_5123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhBExta5ZJ1-OtvzaxKS32TRG_pYQ8I4cmLC09pyE5G9NClaF7qfSGOjcbBKLHGs1xOOynfbFYT5kSDzVhCvP9eePGkHDwUF9Gqi2nZMOnz4aCs3dZeksU5RP6spnKf_AsqSDlonsG-y9/s320/IMG_5123.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>On a previous visit
from some at our church, they met a little boy at this village; they promised
him they would send a pack of “Bicycle Cards” to him, so we took him some and
when we found him and Jacky gave them to him, you would have thought we brought
him a car, he was so happy to get them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Little things make these children so happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have nothing, so anything they get they
cherish!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of those moments on
the trip I feel so spoiled, of everything I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will say there are several moments on this
trip I feel this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And now at home I
have several days I’m reminded of our “necessities” we just have to have!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While looking thru the pictures to choose
which ones I am going to put on here, I’m reminded of their joy they have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And their thankfulness when they get the
smallest thing, that we take for granted!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEguAt86uFvNG6ZVWW0wNJrdqSivQUwrctnPWmP0NS87zn2SI0qTHk6CdflfgCqVeITs8fpEClDoTd4BFl2V8Hh1ehZ9t5fMl-w5g21y6F_SKqX7stGtIDzLteRNIlXu1pM4G-vIjfZekQ/s1600/IMG_5133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEguAt86uFvNG6ZVWW0wNJrdqSivQUwrctnPWmP0NS87zn2SI0qTHk6CdflfgCqVeITs8fpEClDoTd4BFl2V8Hh1ehZ9t5fMl-w5g21y6F_SKqX7stGtIDzLteRNIlXu1pM4G-vIjfZekQ/s320/IMG_5133.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hVBCe65PHRpnh_1bTPKnReUTQYxPEj8W12r5yOdn-kovmfY2qVX3L6cGvasquVm8lRWA2yUdtIilCa6zIKavaNYZTUIOh8QOto4nxMdvb33yPAat0XA3lIz5G2XBC0dqUbbI3glIb4Xc/s1600/IMG_5134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5hVBCe65PHRpnh_1bTPKnReUTQYxPEj8W12r5yOdn-kovmfY2qVX3L6cGvasquVm8lRWA2yUdtIilCa6zIKavaNYZTUIOh8QOto4nxMdvb33yPAat0XA3lIz5G2XBC0dqUbbI3glIb4Xc/s320/IMG_5134.JPG" width="256" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkQsvQTg_EYKLZSUF9t6LTytdPk-X_cFbEW1i2DjEVUfwSpZ308ciebDw4SUOaz1wFVVghIJpBX0xtC7uK04sjEhb0z7ijFBD76MEDjY-SeHDzcWLNnKc_tkTSmYqmyhlBVl2jBy9w1B9/s1600/IMG_5135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkQsvQTg_EYKLZSUF9t6LTytdPk-X_cFbEW1i2DjEVUfwSpZ308ciebDw4SUOaz1wFVVghIJpBX0xtC7uK04sjEhb0z7ijFBD76MEDjY-SeHDzcWLNnKc_tkTSmYqmyhlBVl2jBy9w1B9/s320/IMG_5135.JPG" width="256" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While at this village, Jacky took an American Football to
show them, he decided to teach them how to throw and catch the ball, they had a
good time learning the new game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
left them the football and that just made their day!</span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL6qTJVi0SeZBVkMU-tPwFsxFslGS1ppuHEep4MPSyH3LV2kPj4czPcYN-xfiIbC6UziwcEc93nP0hCQj3oEG_0o3YSud0tsSdMSC-GkyedK0rU0XS9HGL8Zxf5Jb8bnHJIBWbK33U2m3/s1600/IMG_5177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAL6qTJVi0SeZBVkMU-tPwFsxFslGS1ppuHEep4MPSyH3LV2kPj4czPcYN-xfiIbC6UziwcEc93nP0hCQj3oEG_0o3YSud0tsSdMSC-GkyedK0rU0XS9HGL8Zxf5Jb8bnHJIBWbK33U2m3/s320/IMG_5177.JPG" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAR6n7aUqyiC25z0B7K3v_LvhrCDZ2_JDDGQQUeZ5IUDTbYG15e8CV5uWde83Esyvu79iE0w2ZWsqXxLktKdsl6ZkD8xrz7sgJpNHDlgPxGAH9OkttJ4h2wbK7EqLIkDCS29Zt_vJTHd9R/s1600/IMG_5175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAR6n7aUqyiC25z0B7K3v_LvhrCDZ2_JDDGQQUeZ5IUDTbYG15e8CV5uWde83Esyvu79iE0w2ZWsqXxLktKdsl6ZkD8xrz7sgJpNHDlgPxGAH9OkttJ4h2wbK7EqLIkDCS29Zt_vJTHd9R/s320/IMG_5175.JPG" unselectable="on" width="256" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<br />
<img height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAR6n7aUqyiC25z0B7K3v_LvhrCDZ2_JDDGQQUeZ5IUDTbYG15e8CV5uWde83Esyvu79iE0w2ZWsqXxLktKdsl6ZkD8xrz7sgJpNHDlgPxGAH9OkttJ4h2wbK7EqLIkDCS29Zt_vJTHd9R/s320/IMG_5175.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 155px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 4308px;" width="76" />Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-30996761955207829202012-08-29T08:51:00.002-07:002012-08-29T08:51:53.114-07:00We Couldn't Do Anything But Cry!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM57Etd3wkbAQmURftRUlZlLaNQ1q6kiVm4CtLwg_LB5D1u8tW9qBuxTm4DFIBRHjIch8tJoLpf3qkQUrfV0PwhYZhVhEycmowWwNxEvwUNX_KpZDloKcMqSagkTfP6REP9HbykFa1tC7l/s1600/kobe+meets+the+Cooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM57Etd3wkbAQmURftRUlZlLaNQ1q6kiVm4CtLwg_LB5D1u8tW9qBuxTm4DFIBRHjIch8tJoLpf3qkQUrfV0PwhYZhVhEycmowWwNxEvwUNX_KpZDloKcMqSagkTfP6REP9HbykFa1tC7l/s320/kobe+meets+the+Cooks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We couldn't do anything but cry! We were so happy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TcTVOgdmZMNx478SrClgzY39z67hebx1iL168Pe1DiUdOtgQab0o_aa36cQf8DOWv22goRVH_welUte6BhKutUhg-TVUk2csvUihviqcPKEMFDQ_aVc0uNt484SnjoB_bZrNaYFuhTbM/s1600/first+day+outside+the+Accra+airport+with+Kobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5TcTVOgdmZMNx478SrClgzY39z67hebx1iL168Pe1DiUdOtgQab0o_aa36cQf8DOWv22goRVH_welUte6BhKutUhg-TVUk2csvUihviqcPKEMFDQ_aVc0uNt484SnjoB_bZrNaYFuhTbM/s200/first+day+outside+the+Accra+airport+with+Kobe.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">outside the airport</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 10, 2010<br />
When arriving in Ghana they brought Koby to the airport! We were not expecting
this at all, we were totally surprised. They just put him in my arms and all I
could do was cry and look at his precious face. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t let him out of my arms, I was very
selfish with him for a little while, I had been waiting for this day for so
long! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wanted pictures of our first
meeting and I didn’t even have my camera ready!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>one of the happiest days of my life!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwn3DcKLedcm7jub6odGdWls7SvIAuy03F9L8NhC3PBzfpK1uJ38TM54AC8rtgh3ehBUF1iR0d3I6YFQE4t3uBszSYBVShKTPYILnGvrpjrLNMxF0pzjgPLNMlSTlNYwBdZB00KMWBHQc/s1600/Kobe+sleeping+and+holding+Wendy's+finger+in+the+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuwn3DcKLedcm7jub6odGdWls7SvIAuy03F9L8NhC3PBzfpK1uJ38TM54AC8rtgh3ehBUF1iR0d3I6YFQE4t3uBszSYBVShKTPYILnGvrpjrLNMxF0pzjgPLNMlSTlNYwBdZB00KMWBHQc/s200/Kobe+sleeping+and+holding+Wendy's+finger+in+the+van.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">he fell asleep holding my finger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvpQaE0RnTGM43cYmzQCIFXL1_DSH7DhTArU9JuVKMWD9a6ISD6Cqq5uXFSxmDKvb3UfjSzc_fh4d3dsK1bubPzaDpNcCmmrsAtw8mIDAUKZRKgTBfnE1dVc0BKBwW4MFRXok4eNwpjxR/s1600/IMG_4406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcvpQaE0RnTGM43cYmzQCIFXL1_DSH7DhTArU9JuVKMWD9a6ISD6Cqq5uXFSxmDKvb3UfjSzc_fh4d3dsK1bubPzaDpNcCmmrsAtw8mIDAUKZRKgTBfnE1dVc0BKBwW4MFRXok4eNwpjxR/s200/IMG_4406.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting silly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKZDqD6oVNDC-Z7MTX1fICHvOm77R8h2xjEEXZ5dlpN5oLnjIGXORuu5KoWe4akVvevnLuHsAABEMfpGXs-M3OiTMrmYHzIZ7ymNF-mfB1rBsjxbBTdW65VO9EvyDApDqAkLcptbMioxv/s1600/IMG_4421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqKZDqD6oVNDC-Z7MTX1fICHvOm77R8h2xjEEXZ5dlpN5oLnjIGXORuu5KoWe4akVvevnLuHsAABEMfpGXs-M3OiTMrmYHzIZ7ymNF-mfB1rBsjxbBTdW65VO9EvyDApDqAkLcptbMioxv/s200/IMG_4421.jpg" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and with Daddy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GxldDLH2C1jVtEWDmF1WWVgsQzO6sGqWqylsotLuou3forDUs5jMypI3c7FwVrilm-2GjXmKgEZgqXUPPh2EPvTS9D0LuJEre-cNXyGoYFRZhGz9g-XxrMOp-J5o_Zy_1aHQPVh3vFBc/s1600/IMG_4343.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_GxldDLH2C1jVtEWDmF1WWVgsQzO6sGqWqylsotLuou3forDUs5jMypI3c7FwVrilm-2GjXmKgEZgqXUPPh2EPvTS9D0LuJEre-cNXyGoYFRZhGz9g-XxrMOp-J5o_Zy_1aHQPVh3vFBc/s200/IMG_4343.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He took right up with Dylan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Koby didn’t want to stay with us that night, he was a little
scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stayed with us all day and
then went back to the orphanage that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was hard to let him go back but we didn’t want him to be scared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpaB6BsD1Q2F5CFqP004LIm2FIzrTgSxA0fwjN3lMV4lzgGgwndXrCAKpOK9QzzKm_B5UfvFdDvfQVWdTnOZYkltubBfIw8Grbh8wJAfzIj_TQqoRGkBPkV_Dnzbmb40W9ujpECxhDRDg/s1600/IMG_4452.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLpaB6BsD1Q2F5CFqP004LIm2FIzrTgSxA0fwjN3lMV4lzgGgwndXrCAKpOK9QzzKm_B5UfvFdDvfQVWdTnOZYkltubBfIw8Grbh8wJAfzIj_TQqoRGkBPkV_Dnzbmb40W9ujpECxhDRDg/s320/IMG_4452.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the next morning, before his Drs appointment</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He came back the next morning and seen us and
was so excited to see us, he played and looked at some of his things we brought
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to go to the Dr that morning
and we had something we had to go do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Our
project took all day, it was dark by the time we got back to the hotel and the
kids at the orphanage were in bed, we were so sad because we didn’t get to see
Koby that evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8WAW5gCWjtX2VFU0vLoGOZBoxFbehJDYAIKORng-H46fDgshyOQ2PcCwCVZPPZsToia4HTuRe6b-jqVwmr9BBB_EO63dQQZnU5SRLdzoXtzSWa-CU1GYjBG1J2LMUt3clLBN_YRDahAZ/s1600/IMG_4548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw8WAW5gCWjtX2VFU0vLoGOZBoxFbehJDYAIKORng-H46fDgshyOQ2PcCwCVZPPZsToia4HTuRe6b-jqVwmr9BBB_EO63dQQZnU5SRLdzoXtzSWa-CU1GYjBG1J2LMUt3clLBN_YRDahAZ/s320/IMG_4548.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then we saw head
lights!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the father of the
orphanage, I will call him “papa” that’s what the kids called him, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he brought Koby to us!!! We were so happy to
see him and he was happy to see us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stayed
with us that night and then the rest of the 2 weeks we were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHm6lxfdcwg3lZvDdqguDWyUbrtl4Flmgi0PLibuQi7PpV2e5GsMm4d_MJWmX-8_qt2WvIZqpbJVKM7h3snAv2eM8rtgw6g81tWIQXzsKbzVzty62XgJs38WFVK2ODVjkc5tw-WNovVQY/s1600/IMG_4575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPHm6lxfdcwg3lZvDdqguDWyUbrtl4Flmgi0PLibuQi7PpV2e5GsMm4d_MJWmX-8_qt2WvIZqpbJVKM7h3snAv2eM8rtgw6g81tWIQXzsKbzVzty62XgJs38WFVK2ODVjkc5tw-WNovVQY/s320/IMG_4575.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">he climbed up in his daddys arms and went to sleep</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIPf1EM_rUj8xE26CZsyAggQUxoMjrN5ZcxcORkNGlPn_1W3r0i3vEuXQ4o3UKnVCfNbxxRpRudh3Qmfrkm6m7WWtPm5qK43oJ2ILfJEqXbAyUOPHeNoDSIqLgIfbmHgNWaC5mUnv1ZyN/s1600/IMG_4584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIPf1EM_rUj8xE26CZsyAggQUxoMjrN5ZcxcORkNGlPn_1W3r0i3vEuXQ4o3UKnVCfNbxxRpRudh3Qmfrkm6m7WWtPm5qK43oJ2ILfJEqXbAyUOPHeNoDSIqLgIfbmHgNWaC5mUnv1ZyN/s320/IMG_4584.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sleeping so peaceful</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went to Ghana with the expectations of adopting Koby and
bringing him home with us. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We arrived on
a Sunday, we had something we had to do that Monday, and we planned to meet the
lawyer on Tuesday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went to the
lawyers office first thing Tuesday morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything went well, Kobys birth mom went with us and met with Social
Welfare the same day, and then we met with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lawyer asked us when we wanted to go to
court and we told him by that Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
told us there is no way we could go to court that soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were several reasons he gave us but he
said “it is impossible” but with my God, NOTHINGS IMPOSSIBLE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He told us several things we needed to get
done before court so we left with our “to do list.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Needless to say we sent word home that we
needed PRAYER.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the things he
needed was the correct medical paper filled out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Papa went to the Dr again, and ask them to
fill it out, he filled it out but didn’t sign it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went back to the lawyers office on
Wednesday with all of the papers he needed and he still said there was no way
we would go to court that week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he said the Dr needed to sign the medical
form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was another trip to the Dr,
so we left and went to the Dr office, he couldn’t sign it that day we had to
come back the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh goodness, that
means Thursday, we went back the next morning on the way to the lawyers office,
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>still praying for a court date this
week, but we still haven’t turned in all our paper work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we got there just our POA and Jacky went
in and talked to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gave him the
medical paper with the Drs signature on it and said “is there any chance we can
get court tomorrow?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lawyer said, “no,
but I will call and see when the judge will see you”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This whole time I am out in the hall just
praying that we get a court date the next day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Remember we are just gonna be here for 2 weeks and a lot has to happen
in those 2 weeks and 1 of them is almost gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Jacky and our POA came out with huge smiles on their faces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God had answered our prayer, we are going to
court tomorrow!!! All we could do was thank God for this awesome answered
prayer!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went back to the hotel on
cloud nine!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">October 15, 2010 Adoption Day!!!<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were so nervous about going to
court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We didn’t know what to expect but
it was nothing like we were thinking it would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We sat down in this little hot room with A
LOT of other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no seats
beside each other so we all just went and found a seat separate,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>very awkward!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was me, Jacky, Koby, our friend from church, our POA, papa and Kobys
birth mom at court,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we just had to wait
till our name was called.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met a
couple in the court room waiting also.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
start talking and find out that we are from the same state!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How crazy is that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We talk for a while and exchange email
addresses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While sitting there waiting,
Koby tells me he needs to go potty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I go
to papa and he takes me to the restroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We go up to it and you have to pay to go in! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like 25 cents but I had no money on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Papa
paid for me and Koby to go in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went
back to the court room and they finally call us back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were very nervous at this point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lawyer talked to the judge, shows her all
the correct documents, and she looks up at us and says “Adoption Granted”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>two of the most precious words I could have
heard that day!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Koby was ours!!! </span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItakVzmuvNPk4wyAU9L5r271SLaNKsr-yxLHHM3UUILx25a39Kx2njCT0PRCULsDQA_6quISEbY_K9e5Nl5YmiWmeVXpviO8VDnQFcQXvxeMlDUJsSnHmTviJoE4RsXEN7_ssHEpaEQ9U/s1600/adoption+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItakVzmuvNPk4wyAU9L5r271SLaNKsr-yxLHHM3UUILx25a39Kx2njCT0PRCULsDQA_6quISEbY_K9e5Nl5YmiWmeVXpviO8VDnQFcQXvxeMlDUJsSnHmTviJoE4RsXEN7_ssHEpaEQ9U/s320/adoption+day.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adoption Day! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We went
outside and took a picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then papa
looks at Koby and pats him on the head and says “American Boy”</span></div>
Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-25251334621054474452012-08-11T18:26:00.000-07:002012-08-14T15:06:44.714-07:00How God Worked It All Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7a5nlvmSjQOpEL2Kurvf7sR_mlvsVyWY_lk7jaw11ilIDIw4u0yWYTm8sFmFadqZlWHynhkCtCVF8Gyo5wZJPeFrI09wjbIy_9k-fc_8rQPCEgCTb6c_Y9xXlPShIshbYAi6laTVzKP0/s1600/0001aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV7a5nlvmSjQOpEL2Kurvf7sR_mlvsVyWY_lk7jaw11ilIDIw4u0yWYTm8sFmFadqZlWHynhkCtCVF8Gyo5wZJPeFrI09wjbIy_9k-fc_8rQPCEgCTb6c_Y9xXlPShIshbYAi6laTVzKP0/s320/0001aa.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The face we fell in love with!</td></tr>
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On Sunday, February 7, 2010, I was looking at a photo book of some kids they
met, as I turned each page the faces just melted my heart, but when I turned to
one certain page, my heart sank and my stomach dropped to my toes, I fell in
love and God spoke to me and said, "this is your little boy" it was
like I was looking at my ultrasound for the 1st time! My best friend came to me
and said, "we (her and her husband) found a little boy you and Jacky need
to adopt" I told her that I had already fell in love, she said "let
me see" so I turned to his page and she said "oh my goodness, that's
the one we thought you needed to adopt" so now I just had to go talk to
Jacky. Little did I know, that morning before church, Jacky had looked at the
same book and had already fell in love with the same little boy! I went outside
and he looked at me and said "you've found one haven't you?" I just
showed him the picture and he said "let's see what we need to do to bring
him home" I was shocked! I got right on the phone and called the guy that
had the pictures and said we were ready to start the process to bring this
little guy home<br />
<br />
We started the process Monday, February 8th 2010, with paperwork and phone calls. We had no clue what we were doing. A couple at church helped us out 100% and we are very grateful for them! We did an independent adoption, which simply means we didn't use an agency. We did everything on our end and then it was time to start in Ghana. We weren't sure how this was all going to go. We contacted the pastor we met and asked if he would help us on that end, he agreed to it, found us a lawyer and got the process started there. <br />
<br />
The adoption process is very expensive, but God provided every penny. Let me just start at the beginning. In 2009, the plant Jacky worked at, was shutting down. He was going to get laid off. We started saving every penny we could, I would substitute at the boys school and we would put those checks in savings. We would cut back where we could and try to save all that was possible. It ended up that he got to keep his job because they were keeping it running at that time, but we didn't know how long, so we continued to save. His old boss, that had left a couple of years before this, called him and asked him to come work for him. He asked what he was getting paid and offered him the exact pay! He decided to take the job, and as soon as he took it, the other plant shut down completely. We really felt God's hand in that. So the money we were saving, we decided we would build a house. God had other plans! And boy do I like his plan so much better than my own! Jacky even made a joke we were going to name him House because we were saving to build. <br />
<br />
The day after we chose to adopt, Jacky went to see his dad. He found him in a way that no one should ever find their parent, or anyone for that matter. His dad had passed away, probably the night before. His dad didn't have any money to pay for his funeral, and Jacky was his only child, so that meant it was all on us. This worried Jacky because it was going to take the money we had saved up, and he said this might change everything. I was devastated, but he was going through a lot so I just decided we would discuss this more when he could think clearly. We got all the arrangements set, and then started receiving phone calls asking if people could donate money to help us pay for the funeral rather than sending flowers. Once again we were amazed. People at church gave, friends and family gave, we were not expecting any of this but God knew what He was doing. Every penny was given to us to pay for the funeral. We received another donation and we called the people and told them we were sending it back because it was all paid for and they told us to keep it and put it toward the adoption. God totally blessed us in this terrible situation.<br />
<br />
Through the process, we would randomly receive envelopes at church, with money in them, ranging between $100 to $1,000. Over the whole process we received $6,500 in donations. So between people giving to Jacky's dads funeral and the adoption, people gave us $15,000. Do you see God's hand moving here? We sure did! I have always believed that if God has called you to do something He will provide for it, and He just showed us that He would do just that!<br />
<br />
We started planning our trip over. It looked like we would be going in October, our little guys birthday is October 10th and it was very important that I got to see him on his birthday. That day was on a Sunday in 2010 and they were looking at tickets arriving on the 11th. I really wanted it to work out for us to get there on or before the 10th. After looking for tickets for a while they finally chose some, our tickets the group was getting was to arrive on the 11th, I was so sad, but excited that I finally knew when we were going. We called to book the tickets and the travel agent said we had just missed the cut off, the only ones he was finding was for us to arrive on Sunday the 10th! Oh my, that made my day! <br />
<br />Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2137575168960853325.post-40648083088978066522012-08-10T13:57:00.000-07:002012-08-11T16:42:01.467-07:0012 years ago started this amazing journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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12 years ago this September was one of the happiest days of my life, our 2nd child was born, being one of the happiest days on one hand it was a <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">devastating</span> day on the other for me. My husband didn't want any more children so he decided we needed to get my tubes tied, since I was having a C Section it wouldn't be anymore surgery if we did it on the same day. I didn't want to do it but I went along with it and was not happy about it at all. He knew my feelings about wanting more children and I knew his, it wasn't that he didn't like being a dad, he loved that part and is an awesome dad! It was he didn't feel we could afford any more children. I respected that, but still didn't like it. So in the delivery room when the Dr asked one more time before he did the procedure, because he (the dr) knew I didn't want it, my husband said "yes"<br />
<br />
Well a couple of years had past and I wanted another baby, and believe it or not so did my husband! I looked into having a tubal reversal, and that was PRICEY!!! $10,000! YIKES! We didn't have that kind of money laying around. And my husband didn't want a baby that much! I will admit, I held a grudge against my husband for this decision, it was really hard to get over, and took years to finally truly forgive him for that decision. We both told people it was the worst decision we ever made. (but now we feel very differently) For 6 years I prayed for another child DAILY! We both prayed for a miracle to happen and God to allow the tubal to fail. It never happened. <br />
<br />
After praying for 6 years, God told me I will have another child! I didn't tell my husband this, and I don't know the reason, just that I didn't. This was in 2006, I wish I had wrote the day down and you will see why as you read more. God didn't tell me when or how I would have another child just that it would happen. Do you ever try to figure out Gods promises to you? Do you ever try to "help" God out with His promises to you? Well I did, I started searching tubal reversals again, well good news, the price had went down, $5500! That is great, but I still don't know if my husband will spend that much!<br />
<br />
I finally, 3 years later, told my husband Gods promise to me. Still not knowing Gods plan, I tried to figure it out. I wanted it to happen NOW! We talked about the reversal, adoption and foster care to adopt. Honestly, I didn't want to adopt, I wanted to carry another baby. I wanted to be pregnant again. Deep down I actually was against adoption. I wanted to feel the babys kick, hear the heart beat, see the ultrasound and just go thru the whole thing again. On top of those feelings, I didn't want to raise a child and then one day he or she want to leave and go find their birth family! At that time I knew 2 adopted adults that was doing that and it crushed me, I felt so sorry for their parents, and I don't even know if it bothered their parents or not.<br />
<br />
God started dealing with me. He was showing me that I was a VERY selfish person! He showed me I was choosing to not give a child a home because I wanted things for myself, to carry the child, to see the child in an ultrasound, to hear the heart beat in me, to just be pregnant again! This went on for about a year. <br />
<br />
During this time, we met a pastor from Ghana, Africa. He came to our church and I loved listening to his stories about his country. We talked to him on several occasions and each time I found myself more and more interested in the country. After he went back to Ghana, 3 men from our church were going to there to meet him and do other mission work, this was fall 2009. Before they left I jokingly told my best friends husband to find me a little boy while he was there. I didn't really think we would adopt, especially from Africa! They came home and we looked at pictures and listened to their stories and once again I was just so interested in every detail of their trip. I loved looking at the pictures and seeing the faces of Ghana!<br />
<br />Jacky and Wendy Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06980204834530942028noreply@blogger.com0