Medical update

Jonah is at work today (forced) and the kids are playing nicely in the playroom for the time being so I thought I would update on medical stuff I never got to because of my busy week with guests and the ER. Jonah took the boys to the ER on Monday and we have another appointment this coming Friday for more tests and immunizations. What they found is that Isaiah's pnemonia is not going away. They put him on more antibiotics and another round of breathing treatment to see if they can get it fixed and Monday we are going for a chest x-ray to see about the pnemonia and stool sample for parasites. I am searching for some liquid acidophilus to help get the boys good bacteria back up after all these antiobiotics but have only found pill form so far (any suggestions there?) We also haven't done any blood work on Isaiah and so that will need to be done as well.
Judah is on antiobiotics for a sinus infection that seems to be doing better but his chest is really weezy and I'm hoping that it didn't go into his lungs. He also get's to go get stool samples on Monday. His blood work showed that he has the sickle cell trait and alpha Thallasemia trait. Both are somewhat realated and common in Africans but can be a problem sometimes if/when he has children if his wife also has the trait. There is also a chance that he can experience some sort of medical problems because of this but we are praying fervently that he will live a long healthy life free from any effects of this and that he will fall in love with a woman that does not carry these traits. I know that sounds silly but the last thing we want is for him to have to endure the loss of a child and/or a long term medical condition. I have dealt with that with my brother (not the dying part but the scariness of that possibility) and it was a very scary thing and he was my brother, not my child. I can't imagine how scary it was for my parents. We are also praying that Isaiah does not have these traits as well although the odds are he does since he comes from the same birth parents. We are really praying that he doesn't have any of the disease part of it because there is that possibility too. We shall see and just trust in God.
OK, the kids are not playing so nicely now so I must go. If you could say a prayer for our boys and their health I would be super greatful. Until next time...

Some pictures from this week

My sweet and beautiful Alana girl...

Our 2 peas in a pod. They crack me up when they play together/

My cute little baby asleep on the beach. Don't you love his little feet?

Sarah and her friend Olivia, aren't they beautiful!

I LOVE this picture. My dad with the 3 toddlers, walking down to play in the water.

Here's my poor boy doing his breathing treatment after a long day in the ER

Oh the drama...

I don't have much time so I am going to hurry through this and TRY to make it short. Forgive spelling and grammar errors please:) We had some friends over from where we used to live this week and had a great time. Went to the beach on Tuesday, hung out by the pool yesterday and then I got to spend the day in the emergency room "almost" all day today. 5 kids and I had my first emergency room visit ( well unless you count when we got in a car accident and CPS made the girls go to the ER just to get checked out even though we were going 15 MPH, I don't count that). Yesterday, I put Isaiah down for a nap and then took a trip to the bathroom to blow my nose. I had to stop short cause I heard a horrible scream, ran out and Isaiah is laying on the floor crying, he had fallen out of bed( and 3 ft. drop) because he was being naughty and opening the shutters. I held him and prayed for him, he stopped crying and went back to sleep. I will spare you all the details of how I guessed his arm was broken but suffice it to say, last night Jonah checked him out and wasn't sure and this morning I knew there was something seriously wrong because he wouldn't use the arm today at all. So here is my poor little Liberian boy 3 weeks from Liberia who has pnemonia and then... breaks his arm. Oy Vey. Here's the clincher, my friend, her daughter and Sarah had flights out to go home and on a house boat vacation. I needed to leave the ER at 11 (I got there at 7:30 and there was no one there) to get them there on time. One thing led to another (with a very fast heart rate) and I was told I WAS NOT getting out of there by 11 and was not allowed to leave as that would be neglect and I could get called in to CPS. (Yes, me!) Not sure they would do it but do you think I would chance that, no way! So at 10:45 I am frantically trying to come up with a plan and at 11:30 my friend drove our car, left it at the airport while the only person I could reach from within 10 miles came to watch the rest of the kids for me. I am blessed to have such understanding and helpful friends. Today was a day full of drama and I am so glad it is over. It doesn't seem so anxiety ridden when I write it down, but take my word, it was awful! BTW, Isaiah's arm is fine. There wasn't an actual break but a bend (ever heard of a bent bone?) and so they splinted and slung it and sent us home. He is in pain but the Motrin is doing the trick so far. Go back in 4 weeks (to his doc) to get new x-rays and see how it's feeling.

Happy 5th Anniversary to us...

Today we celebrate our 5th anniversary. It has been the worst day ever for us though. Today we found out that someone has been stealing our money from our checking account by using our account number and fraudulent checks. It seems like she (yes, she) has a gambling problem as 2 of the checks were cashed in casino's. Maybe we are supposed to pray for her? So I have spent the last 5 hours dealing with this, just got home from the bank and am now waiting for a deputy to call me so that I can file a police report. I'm telling you, the devil has been attacking Jonah and I financially for the last few months. We had fraud on our credit card ( alot) that we had to take care of just 3 months ago, I lost my wallet (which was returned though) and then this. Not to mention numerous other things that keep popping up in regards to money issues. Each time we keep pressing in to God but things just seem to keep coming. Could you pray with us that this issue gets resolved and that we get a FULL refund of our money?
So other than that, I am sick, nothing planned for our anniveersary except putting the kids to bed early and making Jonah dinner. I guess that is what happens when you have 5 kids in 5 years of marriage, huh? Do you think next year it will be 6 to 6? We shall see!

Happy Birthday Alana!

My sweet and precious baby girl is officially NOT a baby any more. She is a stubborn, precocious, honery, beautiful, fun-loving, affectionate FOUR year old! It doesn't seem possible that this is the same fat, chubby baby I picked up from the foster agency 3 1/2 years ago. She has grown into such a wonderful little girl and Jonah and I are so blessed to call her our daughter.

Baby things

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a baby in the house again. Although Judah is 14 months old he is much younger in many things and it has been so fun to watch him learn. He is not walking yet (to which I am grateful) but he can crawl SO fast that he might as well be running. Yesterday a friend brought the boys some balls that she found as she was cleaning out her house to move. One of them is this giant blow up soccer ball (or like Isaiah says "I my foo baw") that is light enough for them to play with in the house. Today we realized that Judah LOVES balls! He was giggling and laughing the whole time we played with this ball and would chase it over and over again when we kicked it across the room. I think I mentioned this before but another thing he LOVES, and I think is almost obsessed with, is drums. He literally gets into this urgent frame of mind that he HAS to beat the drum if he is close enough. Yesterday, I told him "no" because it was Kai's turn and do you know that he hung his head and pouted like I have never seen a 1 year old do. He was so upset with me that even when I set him by the drum and told him it was his turn, he refused and hung his stubborn little head. When he is able to drum he can actually carry a beat! At 1! He gets in something like a trance and nothing else matters except beating on that thing. Maybe drum lessons sometime soon?
Another thing about Judah is that this boy can EAT! When we first got home, for the first 4 days, he was the worst eater. He would hardly eat anything after the 5th bite and we were forcing his mouth open just to get some good nutrition in there. Now, I have no clue how he eats what he does because he is so tiny and there is so much food! I know he is getting bigger too because today I put a 6 month outfit on him that fit him perfect in Liberia and it was way too tight. Yippee for growing boys! Their next doc appointment is Monday and I hope that we will have a good report. They called yesterday with Judah's blood work results saying that nothing was serious but she did want to go over them with me. I guess that means that something is amiss although it's not super urgent. Pray that it is something simple, like needing more calcium and nothing that will require lots of tests and things. Also, that Isaiah's pnemonia is gone.

Sweet sweet word

About 10 minutes ago I heard a glorious word. I was in the kitchen cooking dinner with the baby content on my back (I LOVE babywearing but that is for another post) while Jonah was playing with the kids in the pool. I could see them playing from my kitchen post and heard the word "Mommy" over and over again. Being busy with dinner I was a bit annoyed that Jonah didn't just take care of it and walked to the door to see who needed what. It was Isaiah yelling my name as loud as he could as he sat floating in the water with his floaties on. First off he has yet to call me Mama. Yes, he knows I'm his Mama and will say, "Yo my Ma" and says "Tha my Ma" when he sees a picture of me but he has yet to say that simple word when calling to me. Secondly, he was calling my name because he was proud of floating in the water. Until today he would sink with or without the floaties because there is a bit of a learning curve with them. Well, of course, how could I be annoyed at that and so I praised him like any good Mom would and he just beamed. I can't tell you the joy I feel at seeing my son play, enjoy things and learn new things. It has been 6 long months of loving this boy I had never met and wanting so bad to put a smile on his face. It is finally there and I love seeing his beautiful smile everyday just for simple reasons. He is such a special little guy and although we are still adjusting and getting used to him being in our family I can already not imagine our family without him.

Judah's nose seems to be a little better. At least the amount of snot coming out is MUCH reduced from yesterday's onslaught. It's still running but we aren't having to wipe up snot every minute (I am not exagerating on this).

I wanted to share with you some funny things we have witnessed with Isaiah. First of all he is talking up a storm. He LOVES to sing and is always singing a song. His favorite is "Ba Ba Black Sheep" although I'm not sure they sing the same words we do here. We bought a "Tom Tom" drum in Liberia. It was hand made for us by a friend of Charles who works with AoH. It is big and barely fit in our largest suitcase but we are so glad that we bought it. It is an amazing phenomenon to watch Isaiah and his beat. At just 4 years old he can jam! Even Sarah, at almost 8 can't carry a simple beat on it. Judah is obsessed with it too. Literally, he can't get enough of it and seems to be in some other world while he is drumming on it. If we try to take it away he has a fit about it. He is great at it to but just a simple beat but better than Alana and Kai and he is only 14 months old. Last night while I was putting the kids to bed I thought Jonah was playing with the drum but to my surprise it was Judah!
On the plane coming home they served us ice cream with dinner and Isaiah was so excited to eat it. I'm not sure he has ever had ice cream before. After the first bite he was pressing his head so hard and groaning. Instant brain freeze after just one small bite, he is NOT used to the cold. Even drinking cold milk in the morning is hard for him. Last night I gave the kids one small scoop (and I mean small) of sherbet and he couldn't even finish it. He was pounding on his chest and yelling, "I col! I col!" (he says the i sound short meaning "it") and then pressing on his head. So funny! So far we have not had any problems with him and eating. He seems to like everything we feed him although he has pouted a few times when he wants something else and I tell him no. No tantrums though, which I am very greatful for. He seems to be a good boy, curious but good. He wants to touch everything. The lights and fans are always on no matter how many times we tell him to turn them off, they are so facinating to him. Every truck he sees he thinks is a fire truck and yells, "I shoo fire" no matter how many times I tell him it shoots water. Maybe he means it shoots the fire out? I can't wait to take him to Jonah's station next week and let him sit on the engine. He and Kai have become buddies and are learning to play well together. They have their fair share of fights but they are still learning how to treat each other. So, that is it for today. Time to get back to the kids.

The boys are sick

Judah and Isaiah are sick this morning. Isaiah coughed all night long and it sounds like his pnemonia is getting worse, not better. His chest is loosening up but he can't get the stuff out so he just keeps coughing and coughing with no results. Judah started on a runny nose yesterday and sounded like a frieght train all night long. We awoke to the most disgusting sight of large quantities of snot (have I told you I HATE snot) and he promptly fell asleep in the high chair no more than 45 minutes after waking. He's not feeling good, I would say. I just pray that the other kids don't get sick to, that would be all that I need. Jonah decided he is going to stay home one more week instead of going back to work and I can honestly say that I am glad. I know that I would have been fine with him leaving but it will be nice to settle in extra good with the boys before he goes back. Not to mention that I hate being alone with sick kids.
Things in the Winger house are going well and everyone seems to be happy and getting along fairly well. Isaiah is still trying to find his placement in the line of kids and we are learning that he doesn't like other kids to touch him which has been hard for the others as they are such touchy feely kids! I'm sure he will warm up to it soon but until then he makes it very known that he doesn't want to be touched! Have a great day!

Our first outing

as a family of 7. We took the kids to the park. Not a huge deal but it is going to take a little bit of getting used to loading up 5 kids and keeping tallies on them all while we are out. We had a good time and it was nice to get out of the house, even if it was just for an hour. Today was a great day. I feel like I am finally getting a handle on things and was able to clean some things up and organize a bit so that I don't feel like my house is falling down around me. I am realizing more and more the key to having 5 kids is organization. It was negotiable with 3 kids but with 5 it is a necessity.
Malakai and Isaiah got into a fight today because Isaiah got mad that Kai was doing something he didn't want him to do (playing with the fan switch which is strictly Isaiah's territory obviously). We had to give him a talking to and tell him that it wasn't acceptable to hit his brother and then he had to apologize. There is so much for him to learn it's overwhelming. Slowly I see the fruit though. He now covers his mouth with his arm when he coughs, asks to wash his hands after the restroom, puts his napkin in his lap, asks to be excused from the table and we are still working on please and thank you. All things in time. Time to put the kids to bed!

The Winger kids, together at last...

Judah's first swing ride. He wasn't a big fan.

Isaiah's first time on a slide, we think. He wasn't too sure about it at first but then wouldn't stop!

Brothers, aren't they so cute!

First time swimming

Here are some pictures of Isaiah's first time swimming. He LOVES the water and is such a cute little naked guy. It is so fun watching the 3 littles run around naked and swimming and having fun together.

I love this picture of Sarah and Alana flying in the air. They all had such a great time!

He loves splashing in the water. Don't mind the pink floaties, they were all we had and he doesn't seem to care anyways.

Can't you just eat him up!?

The kid's first meeting

The three kids came home on Sunday afternoon and it was chaos (still is but it's getting better). I was sitting in the living room on the floor with Judah permanently attatched to my lap and Isaiah sitting beside me. He was scared, you could tell. The other kids came running in and just burst into, "Hi Isaiah and Judah!" Not anything about, "Hi Mommy" until I told them to give me a hug. They were so excited to meet their new brothers and Isaiah was completely overwhelmed by Alana. She wanted to hold him and coddle him and he wanted nothing to do with her. We kept reminding her that he was older than her but she kept wanting to be typical Alana and treat him like he was an infant.
My first thought when I saw my kids after 10 days was that they are HUGE! When I met Isaiah and Judah I knew they were small but small doesn't even touch it. They are miniscule in comparison to my other gargantuan kids. I mean, they have always been big but everything about them seemed bigger. Hopefully Isaiah will catch up super quick. The rest of the day Isaiah was very quiet and reserved and stuck to either Jonah or I like glue but by bed time he started to come out of his shell. Once Jonah started wrestling with them all and chasing them around the house he was just one of the kids. It was pure joy watching all 4 of my big kids running around and jumping on Daddy.
Monday we took Isaiah swimming for the first time and he LOVED splashing in the water. He wasn't too sure about not being able to touch when Jonah held him and so we just let him sit on the step the whole time. The floaties we have litereally fall off of his skinny little arms and so we are going to have to really watch him until he gets some muscle going. Each day is getting better. Isaiah still would rather play quietly next to Jonah or I and will follow us wherever we go to make sure that we won't leave him. Bed time and nap time are hard. If we are not in the room with him the whole time he cries pathetically no matter how many times we tell him we won't leave him and that we are just in the other room. He has even woken up a few times after we leave the room and comes searching for us.
Judah is finally feeling more secure to do some exploring on his own instead of being in my arms or on my back constantly. I attribute it to my responding to his needs immediately and wearing him as much as he wanted. He seems to be beginning to understand that he can crawl around and play and I will still be here. He still doesn't like it if I leave his sight but that is improving too to where I can disappear for a few seconds before he starts to cry.
All in all things are going really well. Our lives are complete chaos and for some reason the house just seems to never get picked up but we have only been home for 4 days now so I think we are doing pretty good. I keep telling Jonah that it can only get better from here, right? The 3 old kids are still trying to adjust from being spoiled for 10 days and that has been a challenge and we are trying to be careful about how we discipline Isaiah because many times we don't really know if he understands. It is all a balancing act with 2 very tired and overwhelmed parents in the middle of it all. But, we are blessed beyond belief and for once I finally feel like we are good on the number of kids we have right now. At least for now I am happy with 5. I know that will change with time but our whole parenting journey I have always felt like someone was missing from our family. Right now I am content, isn't that where God wants us to be? Content in His will?
Well off to the doctors for Judah again. He has to get more lab work done. Yesterday's blood work came back good but the doctor wanted to check his hemoglobin and something else. My poor baby has to get stuck again and he has NO visable veins to stick. Yesterday they had to stick him 4 times, pray they get it the first time today!

Prayer requests

I took the boys to the doctors today and here are some prayer requests.

1) Isaiah has secondary lobe pnemonia and is on a breathing treatment and antibiotics. Not fun but hopefully this will help him. Jonah thinks he's had it since he saw him in Feb. as his lungs sounds are the same as then.
2) Isaiah also has a severely distended belly that gets VERY hard after he eats. This could be because of an enlarged spleen and/or liver and we need to get an ultrasound done to check it out
3) Both boys were put on high protein diets to get them back on track with weight and size. Pray that Judah will eat, he's not a big fan of eating too much
4) Judah has some private issues with his, uhm, boy parts that could be a big issue if not taken care of soon. We have to go see a urologist as soon as our insurance kicks in.

I'm sorry I haven't updated more about how things are and will try to do so when I have a second. Good thing is Judah is getting more and more OK with crawling around as long as I am in sight. This is a huge releif and up until now it has been a 24/7 carrying frenzy with him SCREAMING if I set him down. Tonight while I started dinner he played on the kitchen floor at my feet for about 10 minutes, even though he would whine every now and then, but it's a step!

Taking Judah's hair out

The new Winger Team

Sorry to make you wait

It has been very busy around here! And it is very difficult to type with only one hand so I had to wait till Judah was asleep and I was not. He literally won't let me put him down, if I want a break Sarah or Jonah takes over.

Alright, So Tuesday the car finally came for us. There were 2 other families there but only one was picking up there kids and the other was just along for the ride. First, we went to the big kid orphanage. I started crying the moment we walked in, I tried so hard to hold back the tears but they were just flowing. All I could think about were all the kids sitting before me wishing so bad that it was their turn to go home and that today wasn't that day for all but 2 of them. They sang the most beautiful songs for us and boy can they dance! They were praising Jesus more than most adults do! I cried and cried. Patty pointed to the 2 little girls whose Ma was there and they went off to meet while we all got a tour. We were very impressed with the way they have things and how they run things, it is ALL about the kids.
Now it was our turn, back in the car and a short drive later and the gates open to let us into the baby orphanage. I was holding my breath and could hardly beleive this day had finally come. When we drove through the gates Jonah saw that the boys were sitting on the porch with Melodie and stuck his head out the window. Isaiah saw him and OH if I could have only had a video camera on him. His face beamed when he saw his Papa and his hand flew up to wave. By the time we got up to the porch though he was straight faced and seemed to not know what to do. So, did I cry? Not one drop. It all seemed so natural and good. There was sense of awe and completion but not the overwhelming happiness I thought I would feel. It just felt right. Does that make sense.
Isaiah had the photo album we made him with him and clung to that for the next 2 days for dear life. He still flips through it over and over again pointing to people and asking their names. Now he knows almost all of them in there. Melodie told us that Judah had malaria, bummer, and gave us some medicine. He stayed really lethargic for the next few days and is still recovering. Judah had no problem going to either of us and took to me like a duck to water. Even that night at dinner when Melodie tried to hold him he didn't look to sure about leaving my arms and fussed a little. I felt sorry for Melodie cause he was her baby at the orphanage. We drove in the car and Isaiah was thrilled pointing to cars and trucks with a big smile on his face. He hasn't seen the outside of the orphanage for a long time so this was a big trip.
The next day we went to the embassy, we were late for our appointment because someone forgot to pick us up. Thank goodness Jonah called our contact 15 min. prior to ask about it. Hey, like we kept being told by the Shephard's kids, TIA, this is Africa. Still doesn't feel good to have THE appointment that will let you take your boys home and be late to it! Punctual Jonah was freaking out! hehehe. BY the way, the visa appointment is not that big of a deal. It's like a waiting room with windows and John (the visa guy) may or may not ask you some questions about you paperwork. He was very funny and nice so there is nothing to worry about! It DID take 2 hours and the boys were absolutely perfect the whole time. I was encouraged about the plane trip home.
Thursday and Friday we just hung out all day. Was able to do a little shopping on Thursday but really just hung out with the boys. We really wanted to be able to go and see more but not I understand why parents don't really get to do much while they are there. AoH is VERY busy, they do not have enough cars and people and also it is not a good thing for parents to be parading their kids around Liberia as most of the people don't understand adoption and automatically think you stole a child. Be senstive to this as AoH and adoptions is general are at stake with anything that happens in that country. It is so very delicate.
And Friday it was time to go home. We were very ready. Isaiah couldn't wait. While we were waiting for our car he would go to the window to look EVERY time a horn would honk near by (they honk to be let in the gate) or he heard the gate open or close. We could not have asked for a better airplane ride. It went so smoothly until the last flight from DC to LA. That was a not so good flight. Judah cried, then proceeded to throw up ALL over me so that I smelt like vomit the rest of the flight. It was gross.
Some random things... When we got to Belgium and got off the plane it was early and so we went in search of a spot on the floor to lay the boys and us to sleep for our 7 hour lay over. One thing I wasn't prepared for was the stares! People are so blatant! I honestly hadn't thought about it and realized that adoption is such a wonderful thing because when I laid eyes on my boys that first day the only thing I saw were my sons, not the color of their skin. Walking through that airport I came to realize that that is the ONLY thing people see first when they look at my boys. They automatically know that my boys aren't really mine, or so people like to say. Well, they are my boys and have been from the moment I saw their pictures, color can't change that!
On the flight from Belgium into DC there was this really annoying stewardess. Actually she was just too nice and sweet and then on our way out she just made me stare in disbelief at the things people think are ok to say. While exiting the plane she told Isaiah that she will have to have Daddy take him to Disneyland and I told her we have annual passes. Then she pauses for a second and says (exact words), "You know I gonna buy my daughter one to. She doesn't know it, it's surprise. She can't have babies." At first I thought she was talking about a Disney pass until she made the last comment. I was in shock that she would say such a thing! Who thinks that is an appropriate comment to make AND that you just "buy" one and it's so simple. People just amaze me sometimes!
When we landed Isaiah pointed out the window and said, "I in America!" They have been playing that up for 6 months in the orphanage and he was so excited.
In the DC airport there was a man that had flown all the way from Liberia with us. He was way behind us in the customs line but kept looking at us with this BIG smile on his face. When we got through customs he came up to us and told us with tears in his eyes, "Thank you so much for taking care of our kids. They are so lucky, thank you, thank you." Then he turned to Isaiah and said in Liberian English, "Yo listen to yo Ma an Pa. Yo go school and be smart, learn." Isaiah nodded his head and then the man left. I will cherish that comment forever. It was so precious.
Finally we got home and fell into bed at about 11 PM and slept until 5 AM. Next time I will write about the kids all meeting each other for the first time.

Monday we were supposed to get the boys. We were so excited and anxious, I can't even tell you. In Liberia there is a lot of waiting. Waiting for a ride to pick you up, waiting on papers, etc. We did a lot of waiting during our trip and got a first hand experience into it. In the morning we went to the office to do a little paperwork and then we were supposed to go to the orphanage but when we got picked up there were 9 other people in the car and we learned we were going shopping NOT to the orphanage. I was beyond frustrated but was told we would be going later on that afternoon. We saw some site, went and had lunch on the beach and shopped for African clothes. It was already getting late when we started home and we were told it was OK but then another family wanted to stop and buy ice cream which was a 30 minute trip and we were then out of time as the kids were getting ready for bed. It was not fun, to say the least and I spent another sleepless night with nausea.

Tuesday I was even doubting we would go get them. We waited and waited but no car came until around 2 and finally after waiting for 6 months I got to see and hold my boys...

Our trip

I am going to do this in stages while/when I can and am up to is at right now I am really tired. So we left for Liberia last, uhm, Friday? No Thursday. We arrived Friday in Brussels at 8 am. The flights were good, not too tired. We got our stuff and brought it to the hotel since we were going to be staying for 2 days. Any of you that are adopting I would HIGHLY recommend you stay in Belgium for 2 days. We felt great flying into Liberia and didn't suffer from jetlag at all this way. So Friday we walked around Brussels, got lost, confused about the train system and just went back to the hotel to sleep. Saturday we were rested and took the train to Bruge, what a beautiful city! We walked and walked and walked some more. Had coffee and waffles in a beautiful grand square and ate yummy paninis, chocolate and pastries. It was a wonderful day.
Sunday we checked out of our hotel and were on our way to Liberia. Good flight, stopped in Dakar, Senegal for 2 hours and then on to Liberia. It was dark when we got there so we didn't get to see much. The airport was a nightmare. Well not the whole airport just getting our bags and then finding where we needed to go. The baggage claim area is ridiculously small for so many people and then there is ONE lady checking your baggage tickets to let you out the door, THEN there is an area I guess you could say was customs right before you exit that wanted us to open all our bags (all 8 of them) until he realized how long and how much work it would take. Once outside it was mayhem with men all over the place wanting to help you and us trying to find Paye. One thing, don't wait for Paye to find you, he didn't really seem to concerned about finding us, just stood off to the side and waited. We asked for Paye or Fat Man and they knew where to find him. When everyone was there the men attacked us for our luggage and to help get it in the car. There were so many of them but only 2 really did it all and when we didn't tip the rest they were banging on the windows saying that they helped to and where was their money. Desperation.
One of the cars was REALLY slow and so the 35 minute ride took an hour and a half instead. We then find out we're not staying at the nice A./C guest house but at the Shephard's house and we are a little disappointed but just for a while. We really enjoyed staying there and wouldn't have changed it at all. They are an amazing family and we are honored that they shared their home and table with us. We had a little dinner, sat and talked with Patty and then went to bed. I was up all night feeling nauceous and just not well, nerves.

Home at last

We are home, exhausted but home. Things are going well, the boys are just as beautiful as they can be. I will post more later when I have some time but for now I am going to hop in bed for a nap with the kids and Jonah to sleep before the other 3 get here to meet their new brothers!