Our Last Night Together

Fatima leaves tomorrow on a flight to Afghanistan.  I am sad to say goodbye, but my heart is filled with joy for what we have experienced this past 6 weeks.  Today was spent with a final dental visit, playing around the house, tennis and swimming.  We took her for a farewell dinner at Al's for her favorite meal of pizza.  She ate 3 pieces!  Right now I am listening to the happy sounds of all 4 of my children playing the Wii together.  When we got home tonight there was a balloon bouquet waiting on the porch for Fatima.  She was so surprised that someone brought these for her.  They were from a very kind-hearted friend.

I think it is finally sinking in that she is leaving us tomorrow.  She keeps hugging me and telling me that she loves me.  She even hugged our dog and said " I miss you, Bubba".  She requested to see the girls' best friend, Colby who happens to be out of town.  I tried to explain that she was not here, so we talked to her on the phone instead.  She told Colby that she loved her.

I am actually feeling peace right now.  The past few days were tearful, but I have been strong today.  Tomorrow at noon we will leave for the airport.  I have kept happy spirits whenever I talk to her about her departure.  We try to ask her who she will sit with on the airplane and about how happy her friends and family will be to see her.  I wrote her a letter that the interpreter can read to her after she is gone.  She also has her photo book that she can look at over and over again as she already does.

Thank you again for all of the support I have received.  Thank you for reading my blog and giving me encouragement.  Thank you for your generous donations.  Fatima is going home with two suitcases filled to the brim with items for her and her community.  She came with what she was wearing and one other outfit.   She is going home with memories of the time she spent with our family and the love that she felt while in the presence of our community.

I hope to write one last post after her departure tomorrow.  Until then....

Family Time

Almost Time to Say Goodbye

I can't believe a week has gone by since my last post.  We have done a lot in a week!  On the 4th we let the kids light sparklers and smoke bombs which they loved.  Fatima had no fears of fire or loud noises!

Cole was helping to light the fireworks.

Fire breathing tricks!

In fact, she was a little too comfortable with the fire and we had to tone her down a bit!  Put her and Cole together with fire and you've got trouble! LOL!  Unfortunately it took all six weeks for Cole to finally warm up to Fatima.  But now they are so funny together.  She "pretend" beats him up!







After our own little fireworks display, we walked down to the river and watched the city's fireworks. I think she enjoyed the action.








On Tuesday, Hikmat, an Afghan friend, came over for a play date.  I took the girls to get their nails painted, flower design and all!  They turned out beautiful!

The next day we went to a Solace event at Doing Dishes Pottery.  All of the kids got to paint a tile.  Fatima colored hers with three different colored stripes and labeled them M,D and F for Mom, Dad and Fatima.

In between outings this week, Fatima has been trying to learn how to ride a bike, thanks to Dad!  Poor Greg runs up and down the street beside her, sweating and catching her when she almost falls.  She almost has it!  I am hoping she can master this before she leaves so she can go home and tell all her friends that she learned how to ride a bike!  She loves it!  She gets so excited when we mention the bike.

Yesterday Fatima had the last of her dental work and everything went great.  She had no pain after...thank you, Dr. Mullens!  She had her retainer adjusted by Dr. Liz and she is set to go with that.  She says if she can wear it for 3 months then it will have done its job of trying to correct her cross bite.  On Monday she will go back to Dr. Mullens office briefly so that they can clean her teeth and go over oral hygiene with her.  Talk about down to the last minute!

So, she goes home on Tuesday.  Yes, I have been crying already.  We got her a large duffel for all of the things that we want to send home with her.  This bag will contain her clothes that she wore when she was here, as well as a lot of winter clothes.  We packed them into a space bag and sucked them down to a little brick!  We are using a duffel because we don't want a lot of weight.  Her suitcase can weigh no more that 42 pounds.  The duffel that we are packing tomorrow at church will be filled with all of the humanitarian items that have been so graciously donated by our community.  Thank you to all of my friends who have been so generous!

We will have a farewell Solace church service tomorrow at our church, South Jacksonville Presbyterian Church.  It is at 10am if you want to come!  All of the Solace families and kids will be there, and there will be testimonies given by Dr. Rick Mullens and a couple of host families.

I hope to update you again before Fatima leaves.  

Beach Day

Yesterday we all went to Vilano Beach for the day.  We parked, pitched the easy-up and relaxed.  The girls love to boogie board so they took off to the ocean.  I was worried about Fatima in the ocean even though she has to wear a life vest, but she followed right along and tried to do what they did!  Greg soon joined them and showed her how to catch the waves.  She loved it!  She was doing it on her own in no time.  This little girl is adventurous and has no fear!  She even took a turn being launched into the water by Dad.  As I watched her play, I could tell she was trying to take it all in and do as much as she could while she was here, knowing that back home, she will never see an ocean.  When on the beach, she would cover herself in sand and roll around, do somersaults and headstands!  She even covered her face in the sand!  We stayed at the beach the entire day and rode home eating snow cones.  I hope this was a fun memory she won't forget!

This is the beginning of our last full week together and I am felling a little sad thinking about her departure.  I showed her the calendar and counted the days to let her know when she would see her family again.  She looked happy and that makes me happy.  I have to keep reminding myself that she is going home to a loving family who misses her, and to a school full of friends that she will probably show her photo album to and tell them all about her adventures in America.  I have made sure to take plenty of pictures to document everything she has done....even dental visits!

Fatima will continue her dental treatments this week ending with a cleaning.  She has been wearing her retainer even though I know she hates it and can't talk very well with it in.  Tomorrow we are having one of her friends come over and spend the night, so I know she will enjoy having someone to talk to in her language.

Our cat, Gigi, has decided that she loves Fatima too and has been sleeping with her every night!  I need to get a picture of her with the dogs!  She has grown to love them as well, even though Bubba chewed the arm off of her new Barbie!

Continue to keep Fatima in your prayers!  If you are collecting items for her suitcase, please send me a message and I can make arrangements to get them!  Thank you!

Our Little Night Owl

Did I ever mention how Fatima is so hard to wake up in the morning?  She is always the last one to get out of bed.  The girls and I both have to keep calling her name and making threats about being late (although she does not know what we are saying!).  Well, I have figured out her schedule.  She prefers to sleep late but can't on most days, so she takes little afternoon naps and then is up and partying late at night.  This week has been our church's VBS and she has really enjoyed the music and dancing.  We have one of the CD's at home and last night the girls were blasting it on their Hello Kitty boom box, singing along at the top of their lungs!  When it was shower time, Fatima wanted to listen in the shower so Grace hooked the boom box up in the bathroom for her.  

We had our family portrait done by Danita Brooks yesterday.  We met her in a park and she photographed all of us together and a few shots of just the girls and a few of just Fatima.  She will make prints for Fatima to take home to her family and we will get the CD with the rest of the photos for us to keep.  I am so excited and can't wait to see how they came out.  I know she does great work!  Fatima loves photos.  I have been building her an album of all of the photos I have taken since she has been here.  She loves looking at them.  I know she will have a great time sharing them with her family and friends back home.

This morning Fatima had a dental appointment with Dr. Mullens.  He worked on the very decayed tooth, cleaning it up and getting it ready for the crown.  He called me back to show me the special equipment he has that actually takes a picture of her tooth and electronically forms the shape of the crown and a machine produces the crown right there in his office.  No need for a temporary!  Sorry, Dr. Mullens , if I explained this incorrectly.  But you get the idea...it is very high tech!  Two hours later she walked out with a brand new tooth!  Dr. Liz was there too to fit Fatima with her retainer.  This is to hold the space where her teeth were pulled so that the back molars have a chance to come forward and fill the gaps.  She hates it!  She can't talk with it and she acts like she can't swallow her saliva so she lets it build up in her mouth!  She keeps taking it out.  We'll have to work on this one.  I think she will get used to it with time.

I can't believe that she will be leaving us in less than two weeks!  The group departs on July 12th.  It is bitter sweet for me.  I will miss her dearly, but she is going home a happy, healthy girl, and  to a loving family who I know misses her.  We have begun preparations for her departure.  I have been collecting winter clothing items for her and she seems to like them all!  The winters in Afghanistan are very cold and I want to make sure she stays warm.  I will also send home with her any of the clothing that she used here that is appropriate for her to wear back home, which is most everything but her capris.  Of course she will be taking Jessica and Hannah, her two dolls as well as all of the things she has collected during her stay with us.

All of the children are taking home a second suitcase which will be filled with items for her family and community.  I need help filling this suitcase.  These are the items that are needed: toiletries, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, school supplies, winter accessories (gloves, hats, scarves, etc.) and flashlights with extra batteries.  If you are able to help collect these items for us I would greatly appreciate it!  All items need to be to me by next Saturday, July 9th.  I can also pick them up from you.

Thanks for reading my blog.  I enjoy writing it and helps me to realize how lucky we are to have had this opportunity to host our sweet Fatima.  She is really a joy!

Funny Fats

Fatima ended up getting one filling yesterday and a couple of sealants.  She came out smiling and was fine afterwards.  I was able to take her to VBS to join Rebekah and finish out the day.  We went to a pizza place afterwards and she won a gaudy pair of earrings in the prize machine. (you know, in the arcade)  The rest of the afternoon was spent resting and then going to an orthodontist appointment with Grace.  She learned how to finger weave (from Grace) and this kept her busy during our wait at the doctor's.

Fatima's VBS Group

Today we started out at VBS, but at 10:30 we had an engagement at Sweet Pete's.  This was a Solace event so many of the Afghan kids were there.  It was a Taffy Pull!  They learned the process of making taffy, interpreted through AJ, and then they got to pull and package their own bit of taffy.  It was yummy!  I checked in and friended Sweet Pete's on Facebook and got a free sack of Sea Salt Caramels that were delicious!!!  Sweet Pete's is a cute place located in historic Springfield on Pearl St. near 8th.  I highly recommended checking it out!

Tonight we were going to go out to eat but we had a flat tire!  So we ate hot dogs and baked beans which the kids loved.  Now the girls are doing exercises to help them to be able to do better splits!  lol!  What will they think of next???  Fatima just goes along with whatever they do...or tell her to do!

Fatima's next dental visit is on Friday and this will be a biggie.  They are going to try to crown a tooth that is very decayed, but worth saving because of where it is located.  I love Dr. Rick Mullens for thinking of her aesthetics!  Fatima is going to go home with an even more beautiful smile when this is all over with!

Thank you for reading and please continue to pray for our sweet Fatima!

VBS

Yesterday we attended church and the girls got to see their best friend, Colby.  We brought her home with us and Fatima just adored her.  By the end of the day she was asking if she could stay the night!  They had a little slumber party, and when I went in to wake them up this morning I felt like a camp counselor.  There were the bunk beds, the twin bed, and the air mattress!  So cute!  Today was the first day of VBS at our church.  Grace and Colby were helpers, and Fatima and Bekah were in a group together.  Two other Afghan girls were in the group too so she enjoyed being with them.

After VBS we went to lunch and came back home to rest.  Well, I didn't get to rest, but Fatima fell asleep!  It was a lazy afternoon and we finally got to have a meal together with the entire family.  Greg got home from work in time for dinner and we had a nice evening together.  Tomorrow we are up early again for a dental appointment.  Dr. Mullens is going to decide what he wants to do with one of her badly decayed teeth.  She may be getting some major work done tomorrow.  We shall see!  Please keep us in your prayers!  I won't be the one in pain, but I will be the one suffering from her pain!

Video of Fatima and Rebekah

Copy and paste the link to see our video!


https://picasaweb.google.com/106596352158540173160/Fatima?authkey=Gv1sRgCPOEx5bf4o7GXw#5622212290092022258

Bekah and Fatima

I was trying to upload a video that I took earlier, but it is taking forever!  Hopefully I'll get it to work later.  The girls are having a fabulous time!  In fact, Bekah just got Fatima to put on a bikini so that they could take a bath together!  This is a girl who will not even wear a swimsuit to swim!  Too funny!  They are fast friends.  We got to Face Time with Grace earlier and that makes us miss her more.  She is coming home tomorrow.

This morning Fatima had a mold taken for a retainer which she will get on next Friday.  This is to help with a cross bite that she has.  She will go home with it and if it gets lost or destroyed it is no big deal, but if she wears it long enough, it will really help her problem.  Right now she has two teeth that rub together when she bites and it is causing wear on the lower tooth.  She got to choose a color so she chose pink with sparkles!

Next Tuesday she will begin treatment with a few fillings and sealants.  She may be getting a crown at some point but I am not sure yet.

We went to the mall for lunch and she chose pizza AGAIN!  We spent the rest of the afternoon at home doing a little art work, some Just Dance 2, and a spaghetti dinner which she ate on bread. lol!  Not garlic bread, just regular Nature's Own.  I took the girls for Blizzards at DQ.  She chose what Bekah got...the brownie batter blast...yummm!!!

Hopefully the video will upload and you will get to see her in action.  She is quite funny and cute!  They even sing a little Bob Dylan for you!

Fatima is Smiling Again

I learned not to wait on Fatima to tell me she is in pain and to just keep the motrin coming every 6 hours.  We followed up with Dr. Skigen on Wednesday morning and he confirmed that there were no dry sockets and that everything looked fine.  We had a "girls night" last night and she really enjoyed seeing her friends.  They laughed and played and had a great time.  Today we had a lazy day around the house and Rebekah introduced Fatima to some more of her dolls.....the tiny baby dolls and the Groovy Girls.  They played with them for a while, but Fatima resorted back to Jessica.  We got her(Jessica) a new outfit yesterday so now she is sporting jeans and a vest!  She still likes to carry her wherever we go.

Hikmat, holding "Jessica" in her new outfit

Hikmat, Somiaya, Fatima and Sonya

This afternoon we headed to the Moreno's beach house for a party, but a storm rolled in!  This was an event for Solace families so there were many of the Afghan children there and they still got to have fun together.  We even got to go in the ocean for a few minutes before the lightning started.

Hikmat, Fatima and Sonya

Tomorrow morning Fatima has a brief appointment with Dr. Liz, a dentist, to see what type of appliance she wants to make for her mouth.  She will begin her other dental treatments with Dr. Mullens next Tuesday.  I explained to her that tomorrow is just to look.  As you can imagine, she hates dentists now!

Tooth Troubles

I was awakened this morning by the sound of crying.  Greg had already gone to work and Bekah was sleeping in another room because a mosquito was buzzing around her the night before.  I ran into the girls' room to find Fatima crying in her bed.  I immediately tried comforting her, but she didn't want to show her face.  Once I got her out of bed I was able to ask her if it hurt "dard maykhuna?" and she nodded her head.  I took her to the kitchen and gave her a dose of her pain meds and fed her chocolate pudding and a poptart...I know, sounds nutritious, huh?  She began feeling better shortly after and we were able to begin our day.  I took Bekah and her to Doing Dishes where they each painted a bowl.  I fed them Happy Meals and picked up a couple of friends for a play date at our house.  Everyone was having a great time until all of a sudden one of the girls came out to let me know that Fatima was in pain and crying again.  The friends went home and Fatima continued to cry inconsolably.  The medication was not kicking in this time and I was beginning to worry.  After an hour of crying I called Aria and she was kind enough to offer to come over for a while.  We gave Fatima some children's motrin which the doctor said could be given along with the Tylenol 3.  Finally she began to feel the pain subsiding.  Aria hung out with us a while longer until Fatima was ready to let her leave.  She rode along with us as we drove her home and I asked Aria to ask her , 'if she could have anything to eat, what would it be?'.  Fatima's response was "burger!".  So, back to McDonalds we went and she hungrily put down another burger and then ate some ice cream with Bekah.  I made sure to give her the next dose of meds and now she is in the tub and getting ready for bed.  Tomorrow at 8am we will be back at Dr. Skigen's office to have him check her out.  They say she shouldn't be having this much pain.  We will soon find out if everything is okay.  I pray that it is and that she will only get better from here on out.  I don't ever want to see her like that again!

I was worried that she would now hate being here because of the pain being so overwhelming.  I pray that she will not have to deal with such pain again so that her happy times will outweigh her painful times.  She will have other dental procedures, but hopefully they will not leave her in pain.  I pray that she will have a restful night and not wake up in tears tomorrow morning.  I am ready for a good night's rest!

Surgery Day

Fatima was at the oral surgeon at 8am this morning.  Dr. Andrew Skigen successfully extracted four permanent molars to make room for all of her teeth.  She was put under a light anesthesia and it took her a while to come completely out of it, but once awake she was able to walk to the car with help.  Aria, our interpreter, was with us the entire time and came home with us to help out.  She explained to Fatima why her mouth felt funny.  Fatima asked if they replaced her old teeth with false teeth!  I guess that's a good question.  For a child who has never been to a dentist before, she must have a LOT of questions.  I got her an ice dream from Chicfila which she really enjoyed.  The only bad part was when she got a little sick from all of the blood and then her pain meds on top of that.  This upset her a little but then she was fine.  She kept going back to the bathroom to rinse and spit, which you are not supposed to do, but she did not understand why I kept telling her no.  Things have stopped bleeding now and it looks pretty good.  I think she will be back to normal by tomorrow.

She misses Grace.  She and Cole went on a mission trip to New Orleans this week.  I think it will be a good bonding time for Rebekah and Fatima.  We have a couple of fun things planned for later in the week.  Fatima has been trying to teach Bekah some Dari and I was trying to learn some today from Aria.  I just can't get that "kh" sound.  She was laughing at me.  I am part Arab, but I didn't get that natural dialect.  I am learning the basics...hello, bye, hungry, bath, bedtime, etc...I do a lot of sign language.  Well, it's more like charades!

A Real Trooper

Have you ever had to endure a 4 hour dance recital?  It is torture!  Fatima enjoyed the first hour, maybe, but like the rest of us, was ready to go after that!  Yesterday was Grace and Bekah's dress rehearsal and recital which was an all day event.  Luckily I had made arrangements for Fatima to go somewhere during the day to have fun, but she came to the show last night and actually stayed awake through it!  I felt so bad because I couldn't explain why I was doing this to her.  Well, it's over now and we are ALL glad!  Today we are just hanging out and later I am taking them to Pump It Up.  I know she'll love that because she'll get to see all of her Afghan friends.  She'll probably tell them that her American family is crazy. LOL!

Fatima continues to fit right in to the Houser Family.  She finally likes cereal and requests it whenever she's hungry.  Captain Crunch is her favorite right now. That will change depending upon what's on sale next time I grocery shop.  I wish she would eat a lot because she could stand to gain a few pounds.  She is so thin!

Her appointment with the oral surgeon is Monday at 8am.  She heard me on the phone calling to reschedule an  appointment for Cole and I guess she picked up on the word doctor.  When I hung up she said "No doctor" and started rambling something in Farsi.  I told her it wasn't for her but that she was going on Monday.  I held up 3 fingers for 3 days.  She moaned.  Poor girl!  I will have an interpreter with me and she will explain everything to her.  It's probably best that she doesn't know ahead of time so that she won't worry.  I'm sure she will be fine.  But you hate for your child to be scared and go through any type of dental procedure.  I will update on how it all goes.

Fatima is growing closer to the dogs, petting and loving on them when they are near.  She still carries "Jessica" everywhere she goes and her new thing that she enjoys is word searches.  She also loves candy!  I thought Rebekah had a sweet tooth, but Fatima puts her up to the challenge!  We will have to get the interpreter to explain to her that candy promotes tooth decay and that she needs to be careful.  I am guilty for indulging her, but she will have to cut back, especially with all of this dental work she is about to undergo!

Thanks for reading!  I appreciate all of your comments both on FB and in person.  I love the encouragement that I am receiving.  Thank you!  Our family is truly blessed to have Fatima in our lives.

Hair Day

Today all of the Solace girls got a special treat.  They got to get their hair done at MAC Hair Studio.  Most of the girls got a shampoo and a blowout, but Fatima got a little trim.  Her bangs were so heavy and in her eyes, so they just thinned them a little.  She looks cute!

She went with Rebekah today to tennis lessons and had a great time.  Bekah said she was pretty good!  The rain came in and they had to run home, but they got almost a full hour in.  Mr. Bill loves my girls so I'm sure he enjoyed their new sister too!

We had to run to the car under an umbrella for dance rehearsal and Fatima thought this was so funny.  One of her English phrases is " Oh my gosh!".  While the girls were at dance I gave her a craft kit to work on that involved very intricate details and she loved it.  She is very precise, even counting out the spaces so she would know where to place the designs.  She does count in English and can even do some addition flash cards that we have.  She's a smart girl!

Unlike many of the other girls that came here from Afghanistan, Fatima is not afraid of animals.  She loves Bubba and Cissy.  At first she just copied what we did, so some of her first words were "No, Bubba!" and "Get out, Bubba!"  For those of you who know our goofy Doberman, Bubba, then you understand!

Today when it was just she and I in the kitchen, I asked Cole to help empty the dishwasher.  He grumpily dragged himself in there and helped.  When he finished I thanked him.  When he didn't respond I said "Your welcome, Mom."  Fatima thought that was funny!  She knows her manners and is very polite and always says thank you.

Fatima will begin her dental treatment next week.  She is seeing an oral surgeon on Monday to have 4 teeth pulled.  Please keep her in your prayers as I know this will be painful and she'll have about 3 days of recovery.  A week after that she will begin her restoration process.  She has a mouth full of decay, poor thing!  Until then we will enjoy days with no appointments and have some fun!

The Ocean!

The end of last week was so busy that I haven't had time to post anything.  Fatima continues do go with the flow with our crazy routines.  I had to help with several school events on Thursday and Friday and she came along for most and did just fine.  She did get to visit with Sonya and Somiaya during a couple of my activities and she loved that!  Her birthday was on Friday and we greeted her in bed with a big "Happy Birthday!" and gave her a few little gifts.  She loves her doll Jennifer, so we gave her a carrying bag for her.  She also has pierced ears so we got her some earrings too.  That afternoon when we picked up Rebekah and Grace, we headed to Jekyll Island for a Girl Scout trip to Summer Waves.  Bekah's troop had earned this trip and I went as a chaperon and brought Grace and Fatima.  We went to the park that afternoon, spent the night at a hotel, and went to the park again the next day.  Everyone had a blast!  Fatima would be shivering and her lips blue, but she had a big smile and kept up with all of the girls!  This was also her first visit to the ocean.  She was so excited!  She let the waves hit her legs and wanted to go deeper with the rest of the girls, but I was a nervous wreck and had to make her come out! 

 Today was the first day we all got to sleep in and I know Fatima was probably so glad.  She hates to be woken up!  Like me, she likes her sleep!  Today we have just been hanging out around the house and tonight they are going to watch Kung Fu Panda at church for family night.  She will eat pizza AGAIN.  I think we have had that everyday since she's been here.  But she does like it so that's good!

Tomorrow is a girls' hair day at MAC.  I am anxious to see what they can do with her short locks!

It's going "Swimmingly" Well!

Fatima attended Rebekah's awards with me yesterday morning.  She was playing on my iPhone the entire time.  She somehow turned on the music and I had a hard time figuring out how to turn it off!  She loves to take pictures too.  We gave her two dolls which she named Hannah and Jessica...really?  She is always taking pictures of them with either my or Grace's phone.  When we try to take it from her she always says "one more, one more!".  I don't think she understands that concept!  I bought her some play-dough which she loves to play with.  She makes things that look like Chinese dumplings.  I pretend that I eat them and she says "NO!".

Fatima loves the pool.  It's funny, coming from a landlocked country, that she would have no worries about jumping right in. All of the kids love it.  We have been to two pool parties and it's hard to get her to leave.  Last night she and the girls went over to our friends' house while Greg and I went to a movie.  Fatima got to spend a lot of time with Sonya, another Afghan girl who can speak a little more English.  When I came to pick them up I could tell she and Sonya had been scheming.  Fatima said, "Mom, I stay the night with Sonya?".  I was kinda sad that she would  want to leave me, but I also understood her need to be around another child who spoke her language.  We didn't have the sleepover last night , but we will be planning one for her soon!

Fatima should begin her dental treatment next Friday.  The first thing she will have done is extractions and then she will need several fillings.  I know she will come away from this this experience with better oral hygiene.  She is already brushing twice a day at our house.

Blowin' in the Wind

Grace's 7th grade BBQ was today and I had to help with it.  Fatima came along and I felt so bad because I know she was bored to death, and it was so hot!  All of Grace's friends were so happy to meet Fatima and they were all saying "She's so cute!".  Once we got home we both took a nap.  Fatima slept for 4 hours!  I think she is still catching up on the time change.

Fatima and Rebekah enjoying their cupcakes.

Tonight when I walked by the girls bedroom, Rebekah and Fatima were singing a familiar tune.  I heard " How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?".  I asked Rebekah where she heard that song and she told me that Fatima taught it to her!  She asked me if I had heard it before.  Well of course, Bob Dylan!  I couldn't believe she knew it!  It's hilarious to hear her sing it in her little Afghan accent.   We also learned today that she can say and sign the entire alphabet.  This girl has a few tricks up her sleeves!  We love her and are so happy to have her as part of our family, if only for a short time.  I hope to video her singing and will post it soon!

Fun Times!

On Sunday we attended our regular church service.  We were greeted by Hikmat, another Afghan girl, who was so happy to see a familiar face.  She sat with us for the service.  I know they were bored, but they colored the entire time and were very respectful.

After church we went to the mall and Fatima chose pizza for lunch.  We picked up a couple more clothing items for her and then headed home.

That evening all of the families were invited to attend a Persian dinner at All Saints Episcopal Church.  The kids were so excited to see each other.  Fatima was chasing around the little boys!  The meal consisted of several rice dishes, some beans and greens, fruit and dessert.  I was hoping Fatima would have been a little more excited about eating, but she still only chose a couple of items just to please me!  She is a tiny little thing.  She weighs about 55 pounds and is almost 11 years old!  We will have to fatten her up a bit.

Today is pretty mild.  Cole got his braces off so I let him stay home from school, so Fatima and I went to Target and she got an Icee and popcorn.  I painted her nails hot pink (her choice), and she dressed her doll in a new outfit that we got at Target.  We are about to pick up Grace and that will make her very happy.  She LOVES her sisters.  They are getting along super!

Tetanus Shots Hurt!

Today Fatima enjoyed a visit from two of her Afghan friends, Somaiya and Husnia, while Grace and Bekah were at dance rehearsal.  She enjoyed showing them her room, bed, toys, etc.  They were so cute together, talking and laughing.  Fatima really wanted them to jump on the trampoline, but they did not like it!

We later went for her medical screening.  The pediatrician spoke Persian so she was able to communicate with Fatima and find out what health history she could.  Everything checked out well.  When they tried to get her to sit on the table she stood on it and we all laughed, including her.  She is so funny!  She didn't know what we were trying to get her to do, poor thing!  The worst part was the tetanus shot.  When the doctor said that they were giving it to all of the kids for precautionary reasons, Grace heard this and said, " I don't want a shot!".  I told her they weren't talking about her!  She was relieved and then began to tell Fatima it was no big deal.  I have to laugh because Grace is the biggest wimp when it comes to shots or medicine-taking.  Well they injected her with the shot and she cried her first tears since she arrived.  It made me feel so bad.  She didn't talk on the ride home and we couldn't get her to smile or laugh.  She went straight to her bed when we got home and fell fast asleep.  She's okay now.  I hope we don't have to torture her anymore.  She knows the word doctor and moans when she hears it!

Tonight the girls are enjoying a relaxing evening together.  Bekah says she fits right in with them.  I am so glad!

Dental and Vision

Yesterday Rebekah stayed home from school for some much needed rest.  She was going to stay in bed until Fatima asked her, in her own way, to go to the dentist with her.  Bekah was beaming and so excited that she asked her to go!  We had an appointment with Dr. Mullens, who happens to be my kids' dentist, at 9:30.  She did awesome!  Unfortunately she has some major dental issues.  We will have many appointments ahead of us I'm sure!  We met with some other host families at Granada Park for a few minutes of fun time before everyone had to venture off to their vision appointments.  Fatima has perfect eyes!  Yay!  Several people have commented on how different she looks from the other visiting children.  Her eyes are a little more "Asian" looking.  This is just because of the different region where she is from.  While we were in Avondale for the eye appointment, we were directed to several other local businesses who so graciously gave out goodie bags to the kids and a free cupcake from Let Them Eat Cake!  When Fatima ate that she said "Yummy!"

Last night the kids got together with some other host families and their girls and they had a blast!  I couldn't go because of a previous engagement, but Greg said that the girls disappeared and he didn't see them all evening.  He just heard lots of laughter.  My girls told me that Fatima was so much fun.  She finally showed her true self and they loved her even more.  They said she is so funny.  I am so happy things are going so great so far!

Thank you for your comments.  It lets me know we are not in this alone and I really appreciate hearing from you!

Our First Day Together

Fatima and the group arrived in Jacksonville at around 1:30am on June 2nd.  It was a very emotional welcoming. All of the host families were gathered together, anxiously awaiting their arrival, and when they finally came walking down that long hallway toward us, you couldn't help but beam with tears.  They all looked so scared, but Fatima had a big smile on her face.  We went over to her and embraced her with a welcoming hug which was well-received.  We were all so tired and the drive home was a quiet one.  Rebekah couldn't stop crying for worrying about Fatima's feelings.  We all got into bed at around 2:30, but I don't think I actually fell asleep until much later.

We awoke early the next morning (4 hours later) and got Bekah to school because she was performing twice in a play that day.  She was still crying at drop off, but I was told that she did a fabulous job with her part.  Meanwhile I taught Fatima some of the basics of hygiene and dressing and then she, Grace and I headed out to her first appointment which was for her lab work. She got to have her first poptart because, as usual in our house, we were running too late for a sit-down breakfast! She did great at her appointment!  We then took her to Wal-mart to buy her a few necessities then ate at Wendy's.  She ate a burger, but picked the skin off of the fries!  Okay, so now we are totally exhausted.  We picked Bekah up early from school and brought her home to sleep and the rest of us had about an hour to relax before our interpreter visit.  AJ arrived at our house at around 2:30 and we spent an hour with him asking him a million questions to ask Fatima.  He patiently asked her everything we wanted to know and she shyly responded to most everything.  We dropped AJ at his next appointment and returned home for a few more moments of rest before we headed out to see the night time performance of Rebekah's play.  She did great yet again, but burst into tears right after.  This girl is tired and overwhelmed with emotions!  We finally got to go home and sleep the entire night and it was great!

Fatima, Cole, Grace, Bekah and Me

The girls have their signs ready!

Here they come!

Fatima is doing so great so far!  She has not shed a tear and is always smiling.  From what I am hearing from some of the other host families, we are very fortunate that she is not crying.  Others are not having such a great experience so far, but I am sure time will change that!  I have so much more to write but I am going to save it for later. Thanks for reading!

Still Waiting......

As I sit here at the computer sipping my Starbucks to stay awake, I see there is yet another delay in the flight that was supposed to arrive at midnight.  The new arrival time is estimated at 1:15, but that could change, as it has already 2 or 3 times!  I know those poor little children must be exhausted after over 50 hours of travel.  My own children are starting to fizzle out.  They have been so excited, wearing their Solace t-shirts and pajama bottoms, raring to go. (Not Cole, of course.  He's playing video games in the next room!)  As soon as we see that the flight has departed, we will leave for the airport.

Rebekah set out a few stuffed animals on Fatima's bed and she told me "only the nice ones, no lions or anything scary".  She is so sweet!  I hope Fatima can sleep once she arrives.  I worry about how scared she will feel in a strange house with people she will have known for only moments.  Will I be able to sleep?

Check Facebook soon.  I am sure we will document the arrival.  We can't wait!!!

Preparing for Fatima

The bedroom is clean, the third bed has been added to the girls' room, and the collection of clothing has grown as we anxiously prepare for Fatima's arrival. Last night Grace and Rebekah created posters to welcome Fatima at the airport. They each made two so I guess we can all hold one! A.J., one of the interpreters, was there at the poster making party and helped everyone with writing the names in Persian. It's amazing how different it is from English. It is read from right to left.

The flight was due to arrive tomorrow morning, but we found out early this morning that there has been a delay of more than 9 hours. So we will hopefully be greeting her tomorrow evening. We can't wait! Plus that gives me extra time to clean and worry! We have prayed for this visit and for these children and it will be so nice to finally meet them in person!