Countdown to Launch - again!

Countdown to launch....

 T minus 10 days...

Emily is headed back to Bethel as a Sophomore and is super excited to be rooming with her good friend Ally (and with some other nursing students). She is continuing the tradition of living in Arden Village East townhouses on campus.  She is starting to work for Bethel security- so be on your best behavior!

Emily and Ally

T minus 14 days...

Elizabeth is headed across the pond to study in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Paris for a Semester Abroad.  She will be traveling all over studying Brit Lit etc.  Should be amazing. For her. 

(Um...What crazy parents said she could go so far away for so long!!??! )

When she returns she hopes to be rooming in the Bethel apartments with her amazing roomie and friend Eva and friend Carli.

Elizabeth and Eva

As for the rest of us- we have gotten used to these beauties being home again and will need to reset again.  Sigh.  (Although Justin might be a little excited to re-establish his top dog status.) But if you see a Homme clan member acting weepy- don't mind us- we just miss the girls. And no judging-
I might have recently added- Whatsapp, Hangouts, Voxer, and Snapchat on my phone to supplement the beauty of Facetime.




  

WOW- 3 weeks!

All the kids together!

Joy has been home for 3 weeks!
I realized it has been 2 busy weeks since I last posted an update about our transition time with Joy. In short, it is going really well!! We have been loving our time together!  We are so thankful that the Lord has "made beauty from ashes"- blessing us with this smooth transition. We are reaping the benefits from the last 2 painful years of bonding through long distance phone calls and in-country visits.

I love Emily!  

So pretty!

Love!!!

Making Wishes

She's a ham!

Belle, Minnie Mouse and Cinderella

Baking together- having way too much fun!

Playmates for Life!

Well- it has been so very good but it has also been pretty packed.  Our girl likes to "go with!" She fears being left behind and is all too happy to join in on any outing.  There is no more running to Kwik Trip without a cute little shadow.  But that is just fine with us!  On the transition front, we are getting her all trained in on "American" stuff (grad. parties, VBS songs, the library, BBQ, pizza day at church, roasting marshmallows and making S'mores, etc.)  She will eat most any food- and eats a well balanced, healthy diet.  Thankfully!  Especially since we need to get some meat on her bones. Yikes she is underweight!!  Unfortunately for her, she has also had to endure doctors visits, immunizations(ouch!), blood draws (double ouch!!), collecting poop samples("why does the doctor want my poopoo?"), and pre-school screening (she actually loved this).  I continue to be amazed at her resilience and trust.

The library with her buddy - cousin Sarah

MMMM- S'mores!!

I am so big!

She is such a love bug!  She loves to 'check in' very frequently-especially with mom and dad. She tackles us and says - "I love mom!!!"  or "I love Dad!!!"  Oh sweetie- "We love Joy!!!"  She is solidifying the idea of being a Homme.  We continue to teach her about family:  family shares, family loves each other, family takes care of each other, we will never lie to you and we will protect you and come home to you after we need to be away. (The first few days of Daddy back to work she needed a lot of reassurance!- thank you Daniel Tiger for the "grown-ups come back" song!)And also, we don't need to whine or pout to get things like food- we just need to tell mommy what you need and we love to help you. Oh- and and we are training her in on family walks ;0).

On a family walk

She also giggles like crazy!  Her giggle is infectious.  And she has enjoyed the special visitors we have had at our house (kids friends and extended family members -Tebbens included ;0) ).  She was so happy to play with cousins and also to get to know Mike and Shelli's puppies!!  And she loves to do what ever the kids are doing- Justin taught her how to ride on her bike (with training wheels) all by herself!

Justin is an awesome big brother!!

Riding Bike all by herself!

Flappy's with Auntie Shelli

Mike & Shelli with Bella and Teddy

It is fun to see our life through her eyes.  For example- Work in her mind is purely for money.  So Dad works so we have food and a house and everything here. I tried to explain he also works to help people and do what God has gifted him to do.  But she said- "yes for food".  Elizabeth and Emily "work for school fees". Yep- pretty much. I will have to do a post on Joy-isms soon.  There are many and they are so cute- I hope she doesn't lose them!  Already she tries to say water like we do ('wuhder')- oh boy- her British sounding version is much better!!  Her favorite phrases are "I am huuungry!" and "I go with you!"  and "I love...(insert Homme Clan person)!" She loves to sing and dance.  To end- here's a little clip of her singing and one doing her "Azonto" -a popular Ghanaian dance.

Pinching Ourselves

It's been 1 week!

Our waiting family- a long wait for us to clear immigration.
It meant the world to us to have this crew here to greet us.

I can't believe it has been 1 week since we walked out of the customs area in the MSP airport to our waiting family!  I really can't express the the intense feeling of relief it was to finally be together as a family of 8. All together in one place!  We have had several friends comment on how relaxed Jay and I look, and so happy.  I can tell you it is truly the most relaxed we have felt in well over 2 years.

Our family of 8! All on one continent!!

Pure JOY!  The relief is palpable- and long overdue.
And yes- we love our oversize baggage!!  

Thankful for our 9 seater

We are trying to do our best to 'cocoon' amid all the end of the year celebrations/plays/activities.  I think it just looks a bit different than we expected.  I have my shadow and keep a close eye on her emotions/adjusting/bonding etc.  So if you see us out and about, have no fear, Joy fully approves and wants to be there!  In fact, she repeatedly asks when we can go back to school to see the kids and mommy's friends.  She stepped in to our home and within seconds was running around giggling with the kids, checking out each room and closet etc. and has acted like she has been here all along.  What a blessing!  We are soaking it up as we know there will be hard times ahead, but we'll take each moment and day as it comes.  So many of the things we have anticipated just aren't happening (tears, fear, testing, etc. etc.) we attribute this to  having  had 5 previous intense cocooning times/weeks over the last 2 1/2 years in addition to face time and weekly phone calls.

In the midst of it all our princess turned 5!!!  (As Jay likes to say- "Becky- now you don't have to freak out!- (Our approval from USCIS was for a 0-4 year old- and we got her home in the nick of time).  Just like most other 5 year olds- she loves Frozen! (And it has helped us through many difficult times- we will always be thankful for Frozen!)  A very sweet co-worker of Jay's made us a cake for Joy and we had a low key day of celebration.  

Our beautiful 5 year old!

Beautiful Gift

Yummy!

Love that smile!

5!!

She giggles the most with Andrew- and he is taking big brother role very seriously.  

 Here's a peek of our everyday fun.  It has been such an awesome week-we are truly pinching ourselves!  We keep looking at each other to say- "She is here- HERE!"  The Lord has given us immeasurably more than we asked or imagined!

Porch concerts for Mom

Silly Selfies with Siblings!

Spunky!

Taking the baby for a walk- Ghana style

Buying mulch and flowers with Mom

She picked a beauty

Backyard fun

Big Sister Ashley!

Homme kid pile-up

School visits(she loves!)- awards chapel, plays, visiting her classroom and meeting her K teacher.  

Chalk Fun!

How it all came together:

For those that want a few more details on our week in Ghana leading up to bringing her home read on:

Once we received our date for our Visa Interview on May 4th we booked flights!

*Friday, May 1st:  Leave for Ghana 

*Saturday, May 2nd:  Arrive in Ghana- Joy joins us mid-day!  (Get remaining original documents from POA- medical report, birth certificate etc.). Joy discovered the "car" cart at the grocery store so we took lots of trips up and down aisles. :0)

*Sunday, May 3rd:  Hang out, play, tour the grocery store and try not to be nervous while waiting for tomorrow to come!! 

*Monday, May 4th: VISA INTERVIEW!! We arrived at the Embassy early to be the first in line at 7am, after we were allowed to enter, we waited until called to the window around 8am.  We submitted all of our documents, and filled out an additional tax document.  We paid for the visa (in case), then were called to a window to give tax document. We waited and then were called up again to show we paid for the visa.  Finally we were called up to be interviewed.  We were sworn in, asked several questions, then all of a sudden we hear the magical words of discussing the print date- Wait. . . WHAT?  print date?  That means we are approved???  Hearts racing!  Jay tentatively asks for a print date as early as possible as Wednesday is his b-day and we have kids at home waiting.  She finally says- "well, we could print on Wednesday, 3:30pm- but don't book flights yet- sometimes there are problems with the machines."  WE PASSED!! PRAISE!!!!!!!  Shaking, we hightailed it out of there, caught a cab and headed to our hotel to call the kids and share the good news!  

*Tuesday, May 5th: Joy gets hair done at the salon.  Met with POA to discuss details-(we will be submitting for our full and final court decree in August - when it's been 2 years since the initial interim decree).  Hard day for Joy!  After much prayer she seemed to flip a switch and was better again.  Waiting, Praying, Hoping that visa will actually print on Wed.

*Wednesday, May 6th: In the morning, Jay met with Africa Partners Medical team to discuss medical missions work and plan for the future.  Finally it was time for Jay to head to the Embassy to pick up the Visa(and all our documents) at 3:30- prepared for a long wait or complications.  Joy and I pack up our stuff (just in case).  (Our sweet friend Jill was on call the minute we got the visa to work out flight details to try to get us some earlier flights home if possible.)

Hooray!!! Our Visa printed! And soon Jill is texting us to say- "Start Packing!  It looks likes you are headed home tonight!!"  Miracles!  Tickets available with small transfer fees (thank you Jill for working your magic), hotel waives late check out fee, and within an hour we are packed and heading to the airport!  We make it through many security checks and finally are able to get to lounge with Wifi to contact kids for arrangements etc. and wait some more.  About 10pm- finally- we are on the plane and soon flying home with Joy! Whew!!!

All ready to go!

Exhausted- waiting for our flight!

  

Thursday, May 7th:   ACC-AMS- MSP  flights, waiting, more security checks and more checks and finally we are welcomed home by our kiddos!!!  Incredible!!!! Thank you Lord for this miraculous chain of events!!

HOME SWEET HOME!

We know without a doubt that the Lord orchestrated each step and we are so thankful for His clearing the path for us! He is Good!!  Soli Deo Gloria!!  To God alone be the Glory!!