We've been back a little over two months now and I've sat down to post an update many times... Life is just a little more...boring here. No line of people needing money for school fees, no cockroaches and ants everywhere, not quite as many crazy drivers.
To finish the story from my last post, it was a crazy last week in Liberia. We were scrambling to get all the paperwork finished for Blessing before we left. The week was filled with trips to the embassy, doctors office, and various other government offices. Everything came together and we were able to get the last two signatures we needed on Tuesday, the day before our flight left. Our flight left Wednesday evening so we were planning on spending Wednesday finishing giving away some of our last things and saying goodbye to friends. We ran into town around noon to drop our luggage off at the SN Brussels office. That's when everything fell apart.
The SN Brussels luggage checker told us she could check all of our luggage...but Blessing couldn't fly with us. After all the meetings and signatures and waiting and appointments, now a airline employee was telling us they couldn't let Blessing go. The problem was she was traveling on a Liberian passport and she couldn't leave the international wing of the Brussels airport and go to the EU wing. After numerous phone calls and even a quick visit to the Spanish Consular to see what he could do, we changed Jamie and Blessing's ticket to fly directly from Brussels to Chicago. It was an expensive last minute change, but fortunately there was ONE seat left on that plane. So the boys and I said goodbye to Jamie and Blessing in the Brussels airport and they beat us back home flying straight to Chicago and onto Seattle.
First, a couple pictures from just before we left.
Jamie having her hair platted. She managed to avoid this until the end. It was an unplanned event that she just couldn't say no to. The whole process took about 4 hrs. for them to do all Jamie's hair in tiny little braids!
Some of the precious kids we had the pleasure of knowing and helping while we were there.
Kobe and Christopher doing some last minute shopping in Red Light while Jamie had her hair done.
Now a few pictures from our first 2 months back. Here are Jamie and Blessing working on hair. Not Blessing's favorite thing, but her hair is starting to get long enough to create more options.
(Jamie's hair post tiny braids.)
Here she is with more of an American look (or maybe Canadian?)
Blessing playing with her brother and cousins and Gma and Gpa's house
Christopher with 4 of the Perry cousins....Now
And the same five 15 years earlier.
All three of the boys are playing football. Here's Kobe yesterday against Blaine.
Colton a couple weeks ago.
And Christopher against Friday Harbor.
Blessing and Gma and Gpa cheering on the football game. (with a little more current view of Blessing's hairstyle)
Blessing playing with her brother and cousins and Gma and Gpa's house
Christopher with 4 of the Perry cousins....Now
And the same five 15 years earlier.
All three of the boys are playing football. Here's Kobe yesterday against Blaine.
Colton a couple weeks ago.
And Christopher against Friday Harbor.
Blessing and Gma and Gpa cheering on the football game. (with a little more current view of Blessing's hairstyle)
