Here are a few more pictures from the weekend.
First is Leah with a soccer ball at Andrew's game Saturday. Leila was asleep in the stroller.
Next is Andrew with his latest Webkinz. If you aren't familiar with Webkinz, you can go to www.webkinz.com to learn more. He picked out a snake and named him Viper.
Next is a few of me and the kids. I'm not too thrilled with either picture:
Finally, pictures of the girls in their new pink dresses. I thought they looked cute in them:
Andrew's first soccer game of the season was yesterday.
Previously, I've been quite spoiled with Andrew's soccer leagues. They would practice for 30-45 minutes once a week and play a 30 minute game once a week. Pretty simple. This year he has 1 hour practices twice a week and two games that are about an hour long on Saturdays! So Andrew had a 10am and an 11:15am game and his team won both games. It was hot and I realized that these other parents who came with coolers, umbrellas and chairs were on to something!
Anyway, here are a few pictures from his game:
I went into Andrew's room last evening to let him talk to his Dad on my cell. I took a picture of what he looked like.
Between the djellaba, the cowboy hat, the Gap Sweatshirt and the swords I'm guessing he was a Preppy Muslim Cowboy Dragon fighter.
--Rachel
Here are two pictures of the girls in a wagon. My niece (who is now 17) received it when she was little from her grandmother and it's been quite loved by her and her siblings over the years. While we are waiting for our wagon to arrive, we have borrowed theirs. They seem to like it. :)
--Rachel
It's Monday morning, 10am. The girls are taking books off of the bookcase. I'll put them back in a few minutes and try to convince myself that they won't be removed again. HA!
I'm having one of those "I don't feel like doing anything today" days. Usually by this time in the day I will have already gone on an errand. I'm still in my PJs. I guess we all deserve a day like this every once in a while.
Leila had to see a doctor yesterday. She had a rash on her cheeks a few days ago and I thought it was dry skin. By yesterday it was all over her arms and legs, she felt warm and she was throwing up. It's just a virus. She'll be over it soon. I hope Leah doesn't get it.
We got an e-mail saying that our stuff was on it's way to Salt Lake City, Utah. Apparently both of our shipments arrived in the US, but the paperwork got switched. So they have re-routed it and it should be here by late this week or early next week.
This week I need to get 5 bookcases moved so I can get my new dining room set to fit where I want it. I also need to put an ad in for my old table and chairs. I need to go through my books again and decide what can go. We have too many books. :) We love to read but we could fill 9 bookcases easily with our books. This is after we got rid of several last year.
Josh's mom and sister are coming to visit this weekend. They haven't seen the girls yet so that should be fun. Andrew has his first soccer game this weekend so he'll have a nice cheering section.
Last Saturday we tried to go to the zoo. I grabbed my camera, made sure the kids looked all cute and after we paid to go in it started raining! I thought I may pass (the day before it rained for 30 minutes and didn't rain anymore). After 45 minutes under a pavilion staring at the same animal, I decided that it was time to go. We got in the car and the lightning started before I got out of the parking lot. Oh well. I'll try again another day and hopefully I'll remember the camera!
Last Saturday I also got to see my best friend for the first time in 2 years. We've been best friends for 14 years. Wow! I feel old! She has a son who is 5 and is due with baby #2 in March. We are hoping for a girl so she can have some of my stuff!!! The age difference between her son and baby will be almost the exact same as the age difference between Andrew and the girls. Hopefully next time we can spend more time together with a little less chaos of children. Well, maybe the more time part will work. :)
Josh is well but misses us all. We miss him too!!! He'll be here to visit in 17 days. I need to line up a sitter so we can go out on a date. Olive Garden has been waiting for me. :)
We've had two kittens that have adopted us. Isabelle is an orange tiger striped kitten and Miley Anne is a black and grey tiger striped kitten with some splotches of orange. They live across the street with their momma cat and a very hyper dog named Trixie. Living with Trixie has caused them to be incredibly patient kittens. The girls try to pet them but end up hitting them and grabbing their fur and the kittens just sit there and let them! The neighbor has offered the kittens to me but I said 3 kids while my husband is gone is enough! They are welcome to visit though. Almost anytime I open my door they are waiting to come in! They play with the girls and then stand at the door when they are ready to leave.
So, nothing too exciting here. Just the way I like it. :)
--Rachel
Hi there. Joshua here. Here's a slideshow of Leah and Leila pics. They're pretty much in chronological order, starting from when they were in the orphanage in Meknes back in January, going through when they lived in Rabat with us, and now in Hattiesburg.
The song is "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon Five.
Enjoy.
Joshua
I forgot I took these but Josh reminded me. Here goes:
These are from the Medina. Note the cats waiting at the fish stand for some scraps! :)
This man did some calligraphy and wrote the kids' names in Arabic
I'm not sure what Andrew was up to in this picture. :)
This was the Oudaias. You can read about it here: http://i-cias.com/morocco/rabat08.htm
The house we went to for the welcome party that I referenced before (with the Mickey Mouse cake) was in the Oudaias.
This was at the Hassan Tower. You can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan_Tower
Off to soccer Practice!
--Rachel
I've finally got some pictures taken and posted. :) Enjoy!
Here is Leah:
Here is Leila:
Leah with her cousin:
Leila with her cousin:
Leah and Leila with their cousin:
WE DON'T WANT ANOTHER BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!
--Rachel
I really need to get pictures of the kids very soon. I actually need to unpack my backpack with the camera to do that! :)
Andrew is enjoying his school. He attends a local private school with an excellent academic reputation. He rides to school everyday with his aunt and I pick him up in the eternal car line in the afternoon. :) He was sick the past two days where he only had a high fever but no other symptoms. Not fun! He also lost yet another tooth so he now has no front teeth. His soccer season started yesterday but was rained out. He needs a good opportunity to run off some steam! :)
Leah and Leila seem to be getting into their routine. They love mealtimes and let me know very quickly if they are not satisfied with what has been offered. :) I know I sweep the floor at least 3 times a day.
They are both standing and will walk if you hold their hands so they are close!!! I've had to go shopping this week for clothing because they grew out of their clothes in their suitcase. Normally this would be fun, but I'm quickly discovering that getting twins in and out of carseats and strollers is NOT so fun. Top it off with most stores do not have two infant seats so I have to push the stroller and pull the cart.
I've also noticed that most people have no trouble asking anything and everything they want about the girls. Usually it comes out in conversation that they are adopted b/c of the drastic difference between me and the girls. Here are some of the questions I've been asked:
"How much did you have to pay for them?"
"What is your husband?" (After questioning, I realized she meant ethnicity)
"Are they twins?"
"Are they both girls?" (They are dressed in the same pink (or other pastel) clothing in a pink double stroller).
I am still unpacking and arranging in between the constant sweeping and wiping of messes. I miss Josh a lot but the kids keep me quite busy throughout the day that there isn't any time to mope around over it. :)
--Rachel
I know many wondered how the trip went so here goes:
We flew out of Rabat early in the morning. Holly was flying with me and there were two other people that I knew from the embassy on our flight so I had good company in the line for ticketing, etc. I told the ticket agent that I would need my stroller back at the gate when we got off of the plane and she put a tag on it, etc.
I went through customs in Rabat and the guy asked for my judgement saying I can take them out of the country. I gave it to him and he stepped away to go talk to his supervisor. I got a little nervous thinking that something was up but he came back and let me through. Rabat is such a small airport that you have to climb the stairs to get on the plane. Not fun when you have a diaper bag, backpack and an infant carrier with a big baby inside!!! :)
The flight was pretty smooth and uneventful. Leah quickly discovered how to unbuckle her seatbelt so that was a task to distract her, but it was minor overall.
We arrived in Paris and they roll the stairs up to the plane. It's worse going DOWN those stairs with all the gear. I got to the bottom and told the worker that I needed my stroller. They told me to wait over to the side. Great! Some other moms with small children did the same I saw my stroller and pointed it out to the worker. I wasn't sure if she understood so I got my friend to explain it to her in French. No problem. We waited and waited and finally the luggage and my stroller is driven off. I was NOT happy! They explained that I had to go to baggage claim to get my stroller and that I had to get on the bus to go to the terminal. *SIGH* Fine!
We get to the terminal and my friend talked to an Air France representative and told her that I needed the stroller. One diaper bag was full of pre-filled formula bottles which they now make in glass. Those things are heavy!. My backpack had ALL of my adoption paperwork just in case I needed to produce something upon request. So Air France explained that they would have to call the baggage people and ask them to put in on the carousel instead of on my next flight but that it would take so long I would miss my flight. Not cool!!!
So Holly and I start walking to the gate for our next flight while carrying this stuff (we were REALLY struggling). We had to get on another bus and if there was a long hallway, we seemed to have to go to the end EVERY time! We finally got to our gate and were ready to collapse!
Finally they called for us to board and when I got to the agent to show her our passports and tickets she noticed the girls had different last names (their names will change when we finalize here in the US). I told her about the adoption and she said she had to see the adoption decree and the permission to take them out of the US. Part of me felt that it wasn't really her place to demand these documents because she did not work for customs, but rather Air France. However, I wanted on that flight so I cooperated. :)
Holly was not originally seated with us. We were in a middle row with 4 seats but she was further back. We decided to have her sit and wait in the extra seat until the person who was assigned to the seat showed up. He finally did and we showed him the girls and explained that he was more than welcome to sit with me and the girls but if he'd prefer a quieter, more pleasant flight, he was welcome to Holly's seat in the back. :) Needless to say, he took Holly's seat. :) Turbulence was quite rough over the Atlantic but other than that the flight wasn't too bad. The girls did pretty well within a bit of fussing, but nothing unbearable, etc.
We arrived in Atlanta and struggled with all the things to get through customs and claimmed our luggage. Some people offered to help but we had to go through a different line so we had to do some of it on our own.
At this point I got my stroller back. YAY! I was able to put the diaper bags and my backpack in the stroller so it was a nice relief!!! One of the workers helped me by pushing my cart all through the airport from when I claimed my luggage to go through customs to when I rechecked it. I went through immigration with no problems at all! :) :) :) What a relief!!!
Holly and I located our gates and got on the subway and said our goodbyes. I was so glad she was there to help. There would have been absolutely no way I could have done this by myself without my stroller!
I arrived at my terminal with 3 hours to spare. I wondered around shops trying to work up an appetite (I can't eat on planes) but my stomach had not settled from the flight yet. Every five steps I took someone commented on the girls. That took some getting used to!
On the way to my gate I stopped by a Delta representative and asked for assurance that I would get my stroller back at the gate when I arrived after my next flight since I was by myself. She gave me a new tag and assured me that it would be there. She also told me to talk to the gate agent and tell her that I would need assistance onto the plane and she would tell me what to do when they start boarding.
I stopped by the gate agent and told her what was going on and she asked to see our passports. Well, she noticed the different names and the different passports and asked about it. I told her about the adoption and she congratulated me, etc.
I sat down to wait and a pilot looked at me and said "I heard you tell the gate agent about the adoption! Please tell me you are not traveling by yourself!!!" I told him how Holly helped me and how I was just doing the last leg by myself. I also explained how Josh didn't choose to have me do this by myself, etc. He was prior Air Force and explained how his wife had to travel many times without him, etc.
The time finally came for me to board and everyone was VERY helpful. The pilot that I had talked to was a passenger on my flight and helped me board. The guy who sat behind me was so smitten with the girls. The flight was very uneventful. While we were on the runway the man who sat behind us was on the phone with his wife and told her about the girls. It was so cute. He helped me off of the plane and I stood at the gate to wait for my stroller. I GOT IT!!! By the time I got it loaded, etc. The flight crew was coming off of the plane. They all offered to help but I was fine with the stroller.
I got through the security checkpoint and saw Andrew. We were both thrilled to see each other. He was taller than the last time I saw him! As I was heading to baggage claim the man that sat behind was was waiting with his wife. He said "I'm sorry but I wanted my wife to see those girls!" It was so cute!!!
We took the hour ride home and my Father in law was waiting when I got home. After an hour or two everyone left so we could go to bed. I had been awake for 26 hours. I was only able to sleep for 2 hours. I unpacked for a while, watched some tv on my computer, etc. I was able to get one more hour in and realized that sleep was not going to happen for me. It was 5am so I hopped in my new van and went to find the Krispy Kreme. Those were some delicious doughnuts!!! :)
I realized that from carrying all the things through the airport I was covered in bruises. There are over 20 on my thighs alone! The smallest ones are the size of my fingertips. The worst is the size of my palm!
Regardless, I am sooooooooooooo happy to be home.
The following night I was only able to sleep 4 hours but the following night I slept through the night. The house is slowly getting unpacked and arranged as well. I think the girls and I are over the jet lag. Now we are trying to get into a good routine, etc.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Between the lack of sleep, running errands to get the house in order, unpacking and chasing children. I am just now getting a chance. Life is good. The only thing I would change would be Josh here with us. However, such is the life of an Army wife.:)
--Rachel
From the time I woke up to get ready to leave the airport in Morocco to the time I was in my bed for the night in the USA was over 24 hours. I did not sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time during that 24 hours.
Naturally, I should have been exhausted when I finally got in the bed. I crashed for a whole 2 hours and woke up wide eyed with no hope of getting back to sleep. So then I did some unpacking, etc and after an hour or two was able to get one more hour of sleep in.
Then I put in a full day with no naps, etc. which is good for the jet lag (because if I don't nap then I should be able to sleep at night, etc). I went to bed totally exhausted at 9pm and woke up at 2am! :) Doing the math that would be normal wake up time in Morocco so I know it's the jet lag. :)
So why am I rambling about sleep? Just to let everyone know that I am alive and despite the fatigue, the muscle soreness and the bruises from the trip (over 20 on my thighs alone!!!), I am so happy and grateful to be home.
I will get around to sharing about the trip and explaining why I have all these bruises all over me and my reunion with Andrew.
Life is good. It will be better when I kick this jet lag! :)
--Rachel
Can I just say I LOVE my country? :) I especially love the South where chivlary is NOT dead. Thank heavens for nice gentlemen who helped me on and off the plane for my last leg of the flight when I was by myself!!! :)
The trip was VERY smooth customs/immigration wise but very rough physically. I'll post more later but I'm so happy to be home. :)
One funny note: Leila keeps looking at my sister (who also has red hair) and double taking back to me like "Whoa! There's two of my mom now!" :)
I promise I'll report more later. :)
--Rachel
It's just after midnight here and I woke up and decided to hop on and post since the insomnia isn't going to let me sleep for a while anyway. :)
I have to get up in 3 hours to leave for the airport. From the time I have to get up until the time I get home to my house in the states it will be almost a full 24 hours.
These flights aren't as long as I've dealt with in the past. It's about 2-3 hours the first leg with a 2 hour layover, 9-10 hours the second leg with a 4 hour layover (which is needed to get through customs and immigration) and just over an hour for the last leg. I have had 16-18 hour flights with Andrew (first one when he was 15 months) from the US to Japan. To me it's nice when the flights are broken up (except the getting on and off the plane with the carseats, diaper bags and stroller).
So, hopefully I can get a little more sleep before it's time to get up and leave for the airport AND hopefully it will be a very smooth trip.
I'll post as soon as I can when I get to the states but it may be Sunday before I get to do that!
Rachel
I went to the embassy this morning to take care of a few things and around 11am decided that today was not going to be visa day so there was no need to change the tickets so I headed home.
I was a few blocks down the road when I got a call from Casablanca saying that the packet arrived and would I like to come today at 1pm or tomorrow at 1pm. I told her today and turned the car around to go back to the embassy to take care of my flight.
Everything tomorrow was booked so I settled on Saturday. I called Holly (who was with the girls) and filled her in and she set everything out at the house (car seats, diaper bag, etc) to get the girls loaded. We headed to Casablanca not really knowing where we were going. :)
We had a map and some rough directions. Since it is Ramadan, traffic is VERY rough and aggressive but we managed to find our way. After a few hours we were done and headed back in HORRIBLE traffic not knowing exactly how to get back to the autoroute but kinda heading in the right direction. :)
We were still in Casa when my phone rang. Turns out there was an 8 page form and somehow the 8th page didn't end up in the packet. So I have to go back tomorrow to get that last page. No problem! I'm not leaving until Saturday so that works out.
All is well and I'm quite happy to be going home. :) I can't wait to see Andrew.
So it was a VERY long and tiring day but I feel great knowing that we got those visas. :)
Tomorrow I'm hiring a driver who knows exactly where he is going and Holly is going to watch the girls so I can take this paper in very quickly and get it all done. YAY! :)
Basically right now I am just waiting for the office in Casablanca to call and then I'll get in the car with the girls, drive to Casa, do the interviews and paperwork and get the visas. Then I can fly out the next day.
Yesterday morning I got an e-mail from the lady in Casa saying that she really thought it would be sooner than later b/c Rome sent the paperwork using the fastest method, etc. She said she'd call me as soon as the packet arrives.
So I spent the day yesterday waiting for the phone to ring. :) Sometimes it did and my heart would skip a beat but it would be a friend calling for one reason or another.
Sadly, it kind of reminded me of my teenage years when I would wait for that cute guy to call. :)
Rachel
