Moving On

Today we left our "home" for the last 3 weeks and drove up to the Drakensburg mountains. I was sad to leave as we've been very loved, supported and encouraged by our host, but we couldn't stay forever! Unfortunately, Ian could've used an extra day there to spend in bed though. He's been fighting a fever, stomach issues and headache for the past 24 hours and can't seem to shake it. We came to the Drakensburg to hike and enjoy the outdoors, so I'm praying for healing and good rest for my wonderful husband tonight!  Griffin is sure missing playing with his dad!
As we drove up today, we passed through incredible beauty and incredible poverty. What a sobering thing to drive past patchwork shacks and barefoot children in the rain, knowing you're on your way to a beautiful hotel. Not sure what I think about that...
I need to be going now, but will write more and post pictures when we have a better internet connection.
Until then, thank you for your continued support and prayer. Despite not feeling 100%, we are doing well and are so thankful to be here!

What We've Been Up To

The past few days have been full of great family time and lots of wonderful memories.  We are the only family left at our current B&B, which has made for quieter breakfasts, but we've been well taken care of by the owner.  She is so accommodating and even gave us a little tour of Durban on Tuesday.  We saw some of the townships nearby as well as some of the squatter camps. It's heartbreaking to see how people live in run down, dilapidated shacks right next to large homes.  Though there is a lot of brokenness in this country, the reality is that it exists all over the world. Amidst the poverty though, there is so much beauty.

We were also able to visit the harbour and a place called the BAT centre.  It's home to local artists who display their work and sell to you directly.  

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day and we drove up to a place called Phezulu in the Valley of 1000 Hills. What stunning scenery! We visited a croc & snake park, a Zulu village complete with dancing, and did a 4x4 game drive through the small reserve they have there.  

Griffin was quite content in the carrier 

Zulu village 

To me, this looks like a postcard!  It was so incredible...

During our drive, we came across the taller giraffe & wildebeest and followed them back to this watering hole.  Amazing!

View from our table at lunch.  

Today, we hopped in again with our B&B owner and she dropped us off at the beach to meet friends.  

4 little cuties!! It was nice to visit with the other families today!

Ian took Griffin to check out the ocean 

I am so thankful that we still have almost 3 weeks here because I'm not quite ready to come home!  We have been loving our time here - the beauty of the people, the landscape, the time with our son & each other - it truly can't be put into words.  

Griffin seems to be settling in well too.  He can say "mom" & "dad" and we're starting to see him connect those words with us already (mostly dad, but I'm working on mom every day 😉). He loves to cuddle, play, read, listen to music, and be with people.  He is also starting to stand on his own and is quite proud of himself.  

This has been a time of growth, learning, peace, and joy...we wouldn't trade it for the world! 

Thank you for supporting us and praying for us!

Beauty

Just wanted to drop in and say hi!

Our little man has been struggling with a cough & cold the past couple of days (and nights) so we are really hoping that he's slowly on the mend.

It's also still been a bit rainy the past few days, but today we saw some sunshine and it was wonderful!

Even in the rain yesterday, we decided to get out with the other families to a park/zoo and had a good time getting some fresh air and walking around the beautiful gardens. 

Ian was helping Griffin feed the birds.  He was very interested.

Still smiling with a cold!

The oldest resident at the zoo (100 years old!)

Tomorrow we should be submitting citizenship paperwork and then we wait for that to be processed before we go on to the next step. We are thankful for a great social worker here to help us get everything done! 

We are loving being parents and can't imagine life without Griffin. He brings so much joy to us every day!  How blessed and proud we are to call him our son. 

Good Days

Hi!  

First, I need to thank you all for your overwhelming support and congratulations.  We had no idea so many people were checking up on our family!!  It's been a great encouragement!

Griffin is doing so well!  It seems like he feels more and more comfortable with us and is fitting in great.  He is generally a very happy little boy!

We've been doing as much as we can, but the past couple days have been very rainy and it looks like the next few will be like that as well.  Not much to do on a rainy day!  We've been able to get out for a few hours every day though, which has been great.  Today was fun at an indoor market and out for lunch with friends in Durban.  

We are at our current B&B for another 1 1/2 weeks, then off to the mountains for 2 nights, followed by Umhlanga (just north of Durban) for almost 2 weeks. We'll be in SA for a while still because of passport and immigration paperwork that need to get done, but don't mind at all!  It's been giving us lots of time as a family of 3, which has been so good for bonding and attaching. 

Not much else to share right now, but I'll leave you with a couple pictures...

Happy weekend everyone!

Love,

Ian, Heidi & Griffin

Don't mind the drool on his shirt...he's been teething :)

I just love that face!!

Introducing...

We are SO thrilled to say that Griffin Qiniso is officially our son!!  

Today was a life changing day as we sat in the magistrate's office and he congratulated us on our son.  Everything went so smoothly so thank you for praying.  God is so faithful!  As we left the courthouse today, I had such a feeling of peace.  Knowing that he was now ours - for good - and how God heard our longing and prayers over the past 4 years and blessed us with an incredible boy.  

Want to meet him??  

Well, this precious, little, chubby hand belongs to... 

   

 This beautiful boy!!  He's so excited about it all too! :)

    

     Look at those lips!

  

      Family photo after court

       The rest are a few from uShaka on Monday

   

  

      I love this 

  

   

  

  

Tonight, we went out for supper as a family to celebrate and had such a great time!  Then later, brought dessert back to celebrate with the other families here.  What an awesome day!

Looking forward to sharing many more adventures in the days to come!  

Yippee!!

Lots of love,

Ian, Heidi & Griffin 

Quick Snapshot

As I went through our pictures, I realized that most of the ones I've taken so far have our little man in them, so you'll have to wait another day to see those. :). Here are just a couple to give you a glimpse of where we are...

                                         

                                This is a beautiful door at the baby home where Qiniso was

                                      

                                             Two of the cottages at the B&B (ours is on the left)

                                       

                                                             Our home away from home

        

                                                                 Main house at our B&B

                                          

                                                                    uShaka Beach

         

  Yesterday we had a great day at uShaka Marine World and the beach.  Griffin loved the sand &

                                     dolphin show and we had such a fun day enjoying him!  

     Tomorrow, we go to court.  We are definitely looking forward to having everything made legal and                

         appreciate all the prayers!  Ian, Griffin and I are incredibly blessed by all of you.  Tomorrow we       

                                                           will officially be a family of 3!!

First few day days...

The past few days here have been full of some of the richest and most emotional moments of my life.  After visiting Griffin for a day at his baby home, the next day we were able to bring him back to our B & B for the day.  He did so well.

Yesterday morning was a big day.  We went to the baby home knowing we were leaving with him for good.  While that was so incredibly exciting for us, our hearts were also breaking for his caregivers who have grown to love this little boy and become very attached.  There were many tears.  We are so thankful for the love, care and attention Qiniso has been given over the past 11 months.  We prayed for that daily and God answered.  He is the most loved little boy!

So, since yesterday morning, we have become full time parents!  It's been amazing and so fun! But really, Griffin has made it is easy - both to love him and to be his mom and dad.  What a gift we've been given.  He is cuddly, loves other kids, dances to music, will mimic almost anything he hears, and will melt your heart with his smile.

Ian is loving being a dad and sure is good at it!  Griffin loves him and I can see the pride just radiating from Ian's face.  It has been incredible to watch.  There's going to be a very special bond between those two.

As far as life in South Africa?  We are at the most amazing B & B with 2 other fantastic families who are adopting as well, so it's been great to have a little community here.  Our host is also one of the most hospitable and kind-hearted woman and it feels like we've known her for so much longer than just a few days! The weather has also been beautiful...+30's for the past couple of days.  Good thing we have a warm coat waiting for Griffin when we come home to the cold!
I have been wanting to post pictures, but am having a few technical difficulties.  It will hopefully be
sorted out in the next day or 2.  I know it's much more exciting to have pictures!

We have been blessed beyond measure over these past 5 days and looking forward to the wonderful times ahead...especially court on October 16, when he becomes ours officially forever!

So Good!

It's me, Ian. I know that Heidi does a majority of the posts on this blog (so I apologize if you're disappointed it's only me), but I thought I would share a few thoughts from "dads" perspective.

Today was one of the most incredible moments of my life!  We spent the day at the baby home hanging out with our son.  Truly, words do not describe what these moments have been like, so I won't try right now!  I am so proud of this little guy and blessed to have him in my life.  He has the greatest smile and a little - but hearty - giggle that is contagious.  He is full of life and energy.  Truly, this little guy is a stud!  Girls watch out!

To my wife... Watching my wife with him has been so awesome and impacting on me in many ways.  These moments mean so much to her!  He has the best mom in world!  I am stoked to learn from her and with her as we continue this amazing journey together.  Heidi has been a mom to Griffin long before we met him and now it is so good to see it in action.  I am proud of you Heidi!

Thanks to everyone for your continued support!  It has meant more than you know. Many of you have been walking in this journey with us for a long time and we have truly been blown away by all of the love and support.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more updates ( and yes, it will most likely be Heidi).

Peace...
Ian

A Blessed Day!

Hello all!
We made it here safe and sound this morning.  At about 10:00 am, our plane arrived and we went straight to the place we will be staying at for the next few weeks.
As soon as we got there, we found out that we had about 2 1/2 hours before the social worker would be picking us up, so we were able to squeeze in a nap and shower.  I was quite emotional and as soon as the social worker walked into the room to get us, I was choking up already!
It's about a 30 min. drive to the care centre where he is, so there was a lot of anticipation on that drive.  As we were finally pulling up in the driveway, you could see someone down below holding him.  There are no words to describe that feeling.
We got out of the car, met the director of the centre and made our way down to one of the rooms.  As we turned the corner, there he was!  What an incredible, emotional, breathtaking moment.  He's beautiful!!!!
The lady who was holding him did not pass him to us right away, but we just kept touching him and talking to him.  He cried a bit...maybe because we were strange people there, but when we sat down on the floor to play, he was very content.  He sat happily with both of us, as we played with bubbles and balloons.  I couldn't believe it...there was our son, right in front of our eyes.  I didn't want to stop touching his cheeks, his hair, his soft skin...he's incredible.
Unfortunately, we were only able to stay about an hour today, but tomorrow morning we'll be going there again and staying the entire day.  We're looking forward to getting to know him better and seeing what his days are like.
Well, I'm off to bed. We are quite exhausted - from a long trip and an emotional day.
God is so good and we have been blessed with such an amazing little boy!  The fun part of this journey is only beginning...

En Route

We've made it to London!
Things have been going well.  Yesterday we had a long layover in Toronto.  Ian's brother lives there, so he we were able to spend some time with him, which was great!
We definitely tried to sleep on the way to London last night, but sleeping on an airplane just doesn't quite cut it.  We're a bit tired today, but had a great few hours walking around London and taking in the sites.  We were thinking how this time tomorrow, we will have met our son...wow!
Now we wait to board our 11 hour flight to Johannesburg and are looking forward to landing in South Africa!  We're coming Griffin!  
Until next time...

8 hours and counting...

In only 8 hours, we will be boarding our first flight of 4 to South Africa!!!  I can hardly believe it's here.  All day, my stomach has been in knots as we anticipate the excitement and joy that is just around the corner. 

Earlier this week, I was packing my bag, thinking "I'm actually packing for our trip to SA to adopt our son!"

I'm having a tough time putting into words what I'm thinking and feeling.  I'm not nervous at all.  I have waited for this moment for years.  

Am I anxious?  Yep - anxious to meet Griffin for the first time, anxious to fly halfway across the world, anxious to navigate a new country with a little boy...I'm anxious, but SO, SO beyond thrilled!!!  And of course, I have the best husband ever by my side!

Yesterday we found out that we will be meeting our son the day we arrive in SA.  Our flight arrives at about 10:00 am on Tuesday and the social worker said she'll give us a bit of time to refresh, take a nap (ya right!!) and then will take us to meet him in the afternoon.  WOW!  That's only 3 days away!  I can feel that lump forming in my throat...what a day it's going to be!

Thank you all for your support, texts, hugs, cards, gifts, emails, phone calls, and prayers.  As we've mentioned before, we are blown away by how blessed we are by all of you!  We will keep the blog updated as much as we possibly can so you can see how things are going and continue to share in this adventure with us.

Now, time to get some rest...3:30 am is going to come much too early!!  

Who am I kidding though...am I really going to sleep tonight anyway?!

Love you all!!