Merry Christmas

The kids had a fabulous Christmas, here's a snapshot...

2007 Family Video

Here it is...the 2007 Turner/Richardson family video! It's a family tradition that Sue has carried for many years now. This year certainly doesn't disappoint.2007 was an AMAZING year! Here's to an even better 2008!!

Oops, we forgot to explain the stockings

I brought out three stockings for the kids and told them each to pick one. When I turned around Emmanuel was wearing them saying they were big. Uh, yea these aren't for your feet buddy, they have a much better purpose! Oh and Abegail got a new make up kit from The Petersons, that's why she is purple. No need to worry.

Emmanuel's New Look

Emmanuel had another visit with the eye doctor and we found his vision in the eye with the ptosis is getting worse. They are going to try and patch his good eye everyday for two hours for two months to see if that improves things. He will definitely need glasses at that point. The poor boy couldn't see anything on the tests. I'm not sure why we are waiting for glasses. He puts his face up to

Dear Santa; UPDATED

UPDATEA fellow adoptive mother wrote my letter to Santa for me. It's perfect!Dear Santa,Becoming a new mother of an adopted African child has challenged me on several occasions to remain a good girl this year. Like the time when I had to remove my child kicking and screaming from a store after he had thrown his coat several times, poked holes in the meat packages with his fingers, and told me “

Santa Visits Mommy's Work Party

The kids were very fascinated with Santa. Emmanuel was perplexed by his nose and said "Mommy, Santa looks small." To which I responded, I think he's been working out at the Y. You know it's not good for your health to have such a big tummy.The kids also enjoyed a visit from Spongebob and then got to ride the rides at the Mall of America Amusement park, thanks to WCCO. I kept saying, you know

The Families left Behind

The AFAA house is overflowing with new kids. So many so, Cheryl is looking for a bigger property. They made the living room into the boys bedroom and the dining room now serves as a living room, school room, and place to watch TV at night with the generator.This is Jacob and Mardia's family.Jacob told his American family when he got home that his father is brothers with A&E's father, but they

A&E's Cousins

Abegail and Emmanuel have five full cousins still at the AFAA house, I say full because we have learned that Jacob and Mardia are also cousins, their fathers are brothers, more on that in a new post. But here are pictures of the cousins taken in November Martu and Mackie, coming to South Minneapolis Florence, Lawrence, and Helena going to Austin, Texas

Emmanuel's Christmas Program

Emmanuel's school had a Christmas program last night. They sang a lot of great songs. Emmanuel knew all the words and hand motions. He walked in line and stayed on his square and at times we could even hear just him he was so good. We told him how proud we were of him and he said, "Mommy, I'm a good singer!" Today he keeps singing for us, "you want to hear me sing?" The last picture is

Alexander Gets His Letter From Abegail

We are so thrilled. Today we got pictures from Cheryl of Alexander opening the packet of pictures, school work, and letters we sent him. He must have visited the AFAA house when she was there. We think about him and A&E's siblings all the time. I probably have an unhealthy obsession with them. I find every free moment of thought is spent on Liberia. I wonder if they're ok and what is going on

Abegail learns to Rollerblade

Abegails gym class had inline skating. She loved it and now wants her own rollerblades!

Snow Ball Fight!

Non-Crappy Starring You! eCards on JibJabThe kids fall all over themselves laughing at this type of stuff.

Emmanuel's New Smile

We are proud to say Emmanuel has beautiful new teeth that he is very proud of! He went in for surgery to get 15 cavities and deep stains removed on Monday. They worked on him for three hours. Scott took him, I got to the hospital during his surgery (straight from the airport from my girlfriend's wedding in DC). When he came out of the anesthesia, they rolled him down in bed and he was crying

The Santa Mysteries

Last night after writing our letter to Santa, Abegail was a bit curious about a few things; "Does Santa wear pajamas? Does he have to take a bath?"Today we had a full fledged interrogation, hang in there with me I was thinking off the top of my head:A: Mommy, did you mail my letter?M: Yes, I mailed it today.A: When will it get there?M: Probably Friday or Saturday.A: Does Santa know how to read?M

Abegail's Letter To Santa

All is Well

A quick update, we got home from Emmanuel's surgery around 3 this afternoon, He had 15 teeth repaired and the stains removed. He is doing great, we can't believe how great his teeth look. We'll post photos later.Meanwhile Abegail and E-man practiced over the weekend by playing dentist!

Snow Country!

With up to 12" of snow predicted today...there was NO way I was going to be able to stay inside watching football all day!!So with Sue out of town at a wedding, we packed the car and headed for Target to get snow pants and hats/mittens for E-man and Annie. After 45 minutes of advice from E-man on how I need to drive slow on the ice and fast when it's warm...we finally got home and geared up for

Oh Christmas Tree

The kids had a fabulous time decoration the Christmas tree last weekend, they just love all the Christmas lights!HOLIDAY DONATIONSWe were asked during this holiday time how people can support the kids in Liberia and throughout Africa. There are tons of worthwhile programs and a lot of good things to support. Our adoption agency, www.africanadoptions.org works to help people in several countries

THEY'RE HOME!!!

A&E's friends have made it home safely. We promptly called Jacob and Mardia. Mardia was asleep but both kids got to talk to Jacob (and so did Mommy). He sounded great, so easy to understand. Emmanuel said, "I love you. Are you coming to my house? Tomorrow?"Here are some photos of them talking, we are waiting to call the rest of the crew..Here' is what their mom told me:Well after two and a

A Big Day

Six kids will be united with their new families today, Cheryl is escorting them home as we speak. We are anxiously awaiting for word that A&E's friends are safely in the U.S.Maima and Tarry (NJ)Jacob and Mardia (NY)Felicia (MI)Alomiza (NY)Also, one of our other favorites, Ishamel, met his parents for the first time yesterday. Craig and Karen Monson from UT are at the AFAA house now. We are so

Happy Thanksgiving

Questions and More Questions

You know when you have a kid who gets to be two or three and they say why all the time? It happens with adopted kids too. We are at the four month mark now and I don't know if its the change of seasons or the phase we are currently in, but somebody get these kids an encyclopedia!(computers with buttons are not good for some of us)Here is a sample of today:Abegail: Mommy we have leaves in Liberia

More Firsts, Jumping in Leaves, Hot Chocolate

First Snow

It only lasted ten minutes and didn't stick but the flurries were big and the first time A&E saw snow. Their comment, "its freezing!" Yes, that's how we get snow, it gets to freezing!!!Prayers PleaseWe found out Thursday that the 3 year old son of Scott's best friend, Kory Ellerbeck, and best man in our wedding, has a malignant brain tumor in the back of his head. He had surgery that lasted

Abegail's Letter to Papa

Our agency director is headed to Liberia in a week to bring home kids and we are happy to report the list has grown from five kids to six (Alomiza approved!) with Ishamel also ready for his Mom to come get him! Cheryl agreed to take some letters and photos to A&E's birth family.Dear Papa;I Love you.I like living in America.I am in first grade.I love school. I'm sending you some of my work.I

Happy Halloween

Here's a look at Halloween at the Richardson household. Enjoy!!

The Dry Spell Is Over

Finally, after four months of no movement of kids from the AFAA house we have good news. Cheryl plans to travel in a week to bring home Jacob and Mardia (NY) Maima and Tarry (NJ) and Felicia (MI). Maima and Tarry (Abegail's best friends) came to the AFAA house before A&E. Jacob and Mardia are the most anxious to come home, Jacob was always asking if we knew is Mommy.Congrats Families, your

Trick Or Treat!

The kids had a fabulous Halloween. They trick or treated for a long time and came back and looked through all their candy. E-man and Abegail were running from house to house and Annie could barely keep up. But Abegail was always there to say, "one more!" Abegail has already decided on her costume next year, "I want to be a bride Mommy, with no flowers." E-man says he'll be a bug again. We

AFAA Families Video - UPDATED

Here's an updated version of the video. It's the final version that we have sent to the children.

AFAA Family DVD

This is the DVD that we're sending to the AFAA house so the children can see photos of their families. We're sending this...since there has been such a delay in processing these children and nobody has been able to visit in quite some time. We know they'll love it! Enjoy.

Sunday Morning

Hodge Podge

SWIMMING AT THE YMCAWe finished our last swimming lesson. Abegail's last lesson didn't go cause there was a pipe leaking, (so glad that happens to other people too).We are going right into the next session, both Abegail and Eman can swim on their own!DOING DISHESEman's new passion is to do the dishes. He stands at the sink and washes every thing he can find. Annie has gotten in on the action

Abegail School Photos

These aren't the formal photos, but photos taken in class and at recess. Abegail is having a great time at school thanks to an awesome teacher, Mr. Suzuki, with a lot of energy! They are holding a 48 in their class picture because that is their room number.

Mommy's Friend Marlene

My good friend Marlene came to visit us on Sunday. Marlene and I met 15 years ago when us two East Coasters headed west and waitressed on a Dude Ranch in Peublo, CO. The only difference, I was a Yankee and she was a southerner and we never really could hold a conversation without saying, "what?" I haven't seen Marlene since she was a bridesmaid in my wedding six years ago so needless to say we

Bedtime

Abegail had a tooth pulled yesterday...so we told her to put her tooth under her pillow and the tooth fairy might come to take it and leave her some money. She was SUPER curious about the tooth fairy all day. Question after question..."Daddy, what does the tooth fairy look like? What will happen if I wake up while she's there?" Then after about the 15th question, I realized it was probably a

Emmanuel Johnson's Story

Sue's story on Emmanuel Johnson aired yesterday morning on WCCO.Here is a link to the story.

Big Pumpin Weekend

We had a great weekend going to the pumpkin patch and then carving the pumpkins (ok Daddy did most of the work). The highlight of the weekend was the corn maze where we thought we'd never find our way out. Abegail told Scott, I think we should call 9-1-1. To which Scott said and say what? We're lost in a corn maze???

Fire IN THE HOUSE!

The firsts never get old! It's cold enough for a fire in the fireplace which was quite alarming to both A&E! Abegail asked if it was for cooking and Emmanuel didn't like it until Scott explained it to him.Abegail has finally gotten into TV but has to stand right up to it to make sure she doesn't miss anything, kind of reminds me of how Grandpa Chuck watches baseball!Quotes from Emmanuel:Set the

Emmanuel Jr. doing well

We were lucky enough to have dinner with Emmanuel Johnson Jr. and his Mom, Lorpu, last night. Also his new Auntie Georgette Gray and her son Elvinson. Georgette made it possible for Emmanuel to come here for surgery.Emmanuel is doing so well. You would never know he had been sick. He crawls around and is on the verge of walking. He still has his colostomy bag which will be taken down in two

Three Months Already??

Yup, that's right as of Wednesday we will have been home with the kids exactly three months. In some ways it's flown, in some ways it seems like three years and I can't remember life before. We had our three month meeting with our social worker today, who I love. It may be partly due to the fact that she said we are exactly where we should be at three months and she thought things were going

WCCO: Sue's Adoption Story

Last night at 10, the story we shot while in Liberia aired on WCCO. Sue captured what's going on in Liberia today...as well as our adoption story.We both think the most poignant part of the story is where she says "Alexander Davis came to see what his 4 and 7 year old children's life would be like. He's my children's birth father." It catches you sleeping...you say to yourself, "WHAT?" As Sue

Feeling Grateful

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know the adoption process is changing all over the world. The latest news from Guatemala is disheartening. But the situation in Liberia is not much better. When we went to get A&E there were several families who were within weeks of us and preparing to travel in August, then September, and now most of those families are looking at November and

9 Cavities? I WISH!

A month ago we went to the dentist and found A&E had 9 cavities between them and were sent to a pediatric specialist. Today we had a visit to the dentist and found Emmanuel has 20 teeth, 15 of them have cavities. So many so that he will be admitted to the hospital and put out to have them fixed. (I would say since during a five minute exam he kept saying, we're done!)Of course our union health

The Best Part of My Day

Baptized Without A Hitch

Abegail and Emmanuel are officially part of the catholic church. They were both baptized at the 4 p.m. mass tonight. I was so nervous all day because let me just say E-man can be a challenge at church. You know, pretending to wash my hair, rolling on the floor, crying, asking if church is finished, hitting his sisters, usually this is all before the first hymn is over. But they both did

Emmanuel Johnson Surgery A Success!

Emmanuel Johnson's surgery to repair his imperforated anus was a success! He was in pain the day after the surgery, but nurses kept him comfortable. He will be leaving the hospital soon and in six weeks have the colostomy that was done in Liberia removed. He and his mother will be in Minnesota until January. Apparently, this problem happens 1 in 5000 live birthsAngela Davis, a reporter at our

E-man gets a hair cut

Or as some of us would call it, his head shaved. He and Scott are very proud of their work!

Emmanuel Junior Arrival Pictures

I just got these from one of the woman there at the arrival. Took a while because of course I was running late and didn't have my camera. In the group picture from left to right: me; Mrs. Liberia of Minnesota; Georgette; Emmanuel and his Mom; Mrs. Liberia's husband. Emmanuel's surgery is set for Wednesday!

E.R.

So it just occurred to us TODAY that Emmanuel's initials are ER. We thankfully have not had to visit the ER yet but I thought we might on Wednesday when Eman was stung by a bee. Apparently he is very allergic. His hand where he got stunk swelled up to an elephant man's hand, he had a rash all over his body, and he was warm. Scott took him to the pharmacy to get Benadryl and the pharmacist

Making Pancakes

One of the things Scott and I are asked repeatedly these days is, "Mommy what are you doing?" "Daddy, what are you doing?' When we answer, they repeatedly ask again as if its going to change in the next five seconds. Even when it's very obvious, like using the potty, its "Mommy what are you doing?" So we started to say, "making pancakes." As my aunt says sarcasm is so wasted on children, but

Guest Blogger, Here's Aunt Nancy

I didn't write that title - Sue did! I am not doing this of my own free will...nobody around here is doing anything of their own free will these days. I am only kidding of course. I have been here for almost six days, and there is much I would like to write about, but there is one overwhelming first impression that I have and it is this: Sue and Scott have committed themselves to a life full

The Same Sun and Moon

I was telling our AFAA agency director that I think Abegail gets homesick and cries for long periods of times every now and then. She told me that when her Ethiopian daughter would get homesick she would take her outside at night and lay under the stars and moon and tell her it was the same moon and stars in Ethiopia.So Saturday night, Abegail cried for a long time about something very minor.

Sue on WCCO Radio

Sue was a guest on Esme Murphy's radio show tonight on WCCO. It was an hour-long discussion of our adoption process and the trials and tribulations of our family's journey.Esme is a co-worker of Sue's at WCCO-TV and a friend. They had a really nice talk about everything from the challenges of a bi-racial family to the cost of the adoption. We all gathered around the kitchen table and listened on

Emmanuel Johnson Arrives

We've been following the story of Emmanuel Johnson Jr. for the past several months. Here's the update:He arrived with his mother, Lorpu Vorkpor, yesterday from Liberia for surgery on his imperforated anus. They had a long trip. Mom said Emmanuel did not sleep at all and that neither did she. They had to fly through Kenya, Amsterdam, and then to Minneapolis. Mom is tiny, tiny (maybe 80 pounds

More Shots, More Parasites, More Paperwork

Check this out. This is one of our AFAA moms who adopted from Ethiopia. Now she's on a book tour! Her website with an awesome slide show is http://www.thereisnomewithoutyou.com/These are my three nephews on their first day of school. Are they cute or what???? The oldest is Owen (2nd grade) then Cameron (Kindergarten) and Chase who was extremely upset he could not go to school too. They live in

First Day of School

Today is Abegail's first day of school!!!And like our parents did for us...we made the kids pose for pictures! Unfortunately I wasn't able to take a picture in focus until the bus arrived. Oh well, Annie was picking her nose anyway.Abegail got onto the bus like a real pro!! She was soooo excited!As you can see...Annie and E-Man were skeptical. Frankly, E-Man was quite concerned.

Reunion With Junior

We had a great weekend traveling to South Dakota to see an old friend of A&E's, Junior.Junior came home just three weeks after A&E and they were together at the AFAA house for almost the entire time they were both there. E-man and Junior had a fabulous time seeing each other again and all the way home E-man told us he wanted to go to Junior's house.Junior has a fabulous new family, we even met

Explaining Santa Claus

Today my Mom sent a box of stuff for the kids for school and in it were a pair of tights. Abegail was going through the box and loving her new stuff and I went out to mow the lawn. Abegail came out in the tights and a shirt. I said, "oh, honey those aren't pants those are to wear under a dress." OK, she kind of got it. Then she opened the drawer of an old chest I had in the kitchen and

Abegail Meets Her Teacher

We had an open house at Abegail's school tonight. We met her teacher, Mr. Suzuki and she picked out her desk. Mr Suzuki (both kids love to practice saying his name) seems very nice and we've heard rave reviews about him. Abegail loved her school and says she is excited. I on the other hand am petrified. How on earth did I become the mother of an elementary school student? They had sign ups

Look Who's Coming to Minnesota

1-year-old Emmanuel Johnson, born in Liberia without an anus is coming to Minneapolis Sept. 7th to have permanent surgery that will save his life. He will have reconstructive surgery on Sept. 19th at Fairview University. The hospital and surgeon are donating most of the cost but 40-thousand still needs to be raies. If you want to help Emmanuel you can donate to any TCF Bank in the name of the

Health Updates

We finally got a stool sample from Eman and as we suspected he does have Giardia, a parasite common in third world countries. I may be hallucinating but I think for sure it is getting worse. I am 99.9 percent sure Abegail has it too but she doesn't poop enough to get a sample, still working on it! So no more baths together. If they hadn't come to the U.S. A&E would have spent their lives walking

Big Storm, No Power - The Sequel

In 6 years of living in Minneapolis, we've never lost power for more than an hour or so. But for the 2nd time in 2 weeks, we are without power again and have no idea when it will be restored. Last time it was 3 days. We're going on 24 hours now...so we're hoping sometime tomorrow we'll be back in business.It's funny, because A&E aren't phased one bit. They're used to generators. They say to

A Good Day

The Dentist Report: Emmanuel has six cavities, most of his top teeth are decayed, the stain is from some of the food they ate in Liberia. He and Abegail will see a pediatric specialist. Abegail probably has 3 cavities. Annie would barely open her mouth for anybody to see anything, but she does have the correct number of teeth!We came home and I went for a fabulous one hour run and when I got

Potty Power

The kids were in the bath tonight and Abegail started singing a song from Annie's video, "Potty Power." Here are the words she is singing:What do you like to doWhen you are sitting on the potty?When you're sitting on the potty for a while?There's a lot of things to doThat will make you happy too.Sitting on the potty. This song is already kind of funny...but it is absolutely hilarious with a

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Mommy You Come Back?

It doesn't matter if we're going to the bathroom or to work, A&E always ask Scott and I, "you will come back?" We always say yes we will come back. One day Scott was trying to be funny, I went upstairs for something and Eman asked 3 or 4 times, "Mommy come back?" And Scott said no. At which point both kids eyes became huge and Scott realized what he had done. They had a Mommy who didn't come back

Abegail & Daddy's Day at the Dome

Abegail and I got to spend a day at the ballpark...with HUGE hot dogs, blue snow cones, a new Torii Hunter t-shirt, and a run of the bases after the game...we had an amazing day!! I thought Johan Santana striking out 17 in 8 innings was pretty cool (and a Twins' record)...but needless to say, "TC Bear" was Abegail's #1 highlight.I'll just leave you this photo essay.

So Sweet When They Sleep

QUOTES FROM ABEGAIL:A: Mommy I want some coffee.M: No, honey little girls can't have coffee.A: Mommy I want some coffffffeeeee...M: No honey it will stunt your growthA: Mommy, I want to be short.Sadly our neighborhood pool closed today and the temperature has dropped to the low 60's. The kids keep saying, it's cold. I say, yes just wait, it will get colder. Aren't they in for a surprise.My

Update on Kids at the AFAA house

Another one of A&E's friends is home. Junior, is home with his new Mommy in Oklahoma! Hey we know some people there. Junior is in Tulsa. We hope to meet up with him Labor Day weekend in South Dakota.In the meantime, we got some photos of A&E's cousins, Martu and Mackie, (first photo) and a few of Abegail's good friend Tarry. The kids love seeing their friends!I took Abegail shopping for

The Entitlement Factor

No one has to tell my kids they've had a hard life. One look at the toys Annie had all to herself for three years and they figured out most kids in America do not spend their time braiding and rebraiding the same barbies hair. But living in a culture where most of your time is spent trying to survive leads to a whole new set of issues. As a reporter, I talk to families who have lost loved ones

Changes to The Adoption Process in Liberia

A few weeks after we got home, the U.S. Embassy in Liberia announced they would be changing the way visa's were given to Liberian children and basically slowing things down for adoptions. The reason: A new woman in charge named Alma. From my understanding Alma thought there were too many adoptions going on and the previous article shows some of the concerns. They now have stricter guidelines.

Liberian Translations

Liberian / American Translation Slippers / Flip FlopsShoes / Sneakers or anything that is not a sandalCommode / ToiletTissue / Toilet PaperSpoiled / BrokenFlash It / Spray ItTrousers / Pants or ShortsBriefs / Boys UnderwearPants / Girls UnderwearBlouse

Abegail Lets Her Hair Down

Here is a photo of what I think is a beautiful girl without her braids. But Abegail refuses to wear her hair without any ponies. We are doing a little better. Scott and I are getting used to the chaos, the continuous Mommy, Mommy, Daddy, Daddy. It's been an adjustment but we are getting there, all learning together. Sending them to the neighbors also helps.

The Car Open, The Car Open!!

Power has been restored, let the blog continue. So I picked E-man up from daycare (Annie is no longer welcome until she gets potty power) and all of a sudden he starts screaming, "Mommy the car open, Mommy the car OPEN!!!" I started having images of the first week we were home when he opened the van door, while I was driving. I'm thinking I thought I locked the doors. Meanwhile the screaming

Big Storm, No Power

We had a big storm here Friday night and lost power. We are not expected to get it back on until Tuesday night. If you need something, call my cell phone, 952-454-4230 or Scott 952-381-4964

EMAN'S FIRST TWINS GAME

E-man got some special time with Daddy tonight at his first Major League Baseball game!

Bridge Collapse

These are photos from a local photographer. The site is very hard to see now because its all blocked off, you have to get up on top of a building which is where most of the networks are. President Bush comes tomorrow. We did not use the bridge daily but Scott took it twice a week to softball games. It is very hard to avoid if you were going anywhere north of the city. The stories are

A White Man's Car

E-man told Scott today he drove, "a white man's car." This from the little boy who rides down the driveway in a pink car and wants to wear fingernail polish.He decided he had to wash his pink car today. So I thought, you can wash your car, you can wash Mommy's car. He did and did a great job. I think we found a new constructive way to keep the E-man occupied.

My New Reality

Last night I was going to the bathroom when all three kids started banging on the door, yelling Mo-mmm--ee. They were yelling crying, throwing fits when Scott came over and said, "what's going on?" Abegail replied, Mommy in there. Scott said, yea, so. She in there! She in there! Scott calmly replied, she's going to the bathroom. They looked at him like yea, so? He continued, do you

Three Very Different Kids

If you come to our house you are likely to see Annie with a princess dress on, her Cinderella slippers and a variety of accessories with her saying, I want to be a princess. E-man will be climbing on something, saying he has to go pee pee or trying to drive the car and Abegail will be playing a practical joke on someone or imitating how they whine.The kids are so different and yet they all enjoy

Mom's Back at Work

Sue returned to work today at WCCO and the kids just loved watching her on the noon show today. Sue typically works 4:30am to 12:30. But getting up at 5am to watch her just isn't in our list of things to do yet!!On her first day back, Sue did a "hot weather" story. It was a nice surprise for us when Sue got to work this morning to find out that her co-workers had all gotten together and

Cape Cod Photos

We are home! We are never leaving the house again (at least not until all the kids can carry their own suitcases) ! It's great to be back home. Now to get into a routine a become a real family. I'm back to work Wednesday already...3:30 a.m. will come quick.Abegail is proving to be our practical joker. She also fulfills her role as big sister well, trying to push the buttons of the little

100% American

The initiation is over, now we can move on with life!

New Family Photos

We are so happy to have photos of our FULL family. We took these last night at sunset in Cape Cod. E-man had a better day today, knock on wood. Still naughty but NO temper tantrums. Hopefully we are making progress, just in time to fly home!

Zone Defense

Going from one to three kids has been quite the adjustment for Scott and me. We are so outnumbered! Our days are full of refereeing, wiping up spills, and ruling whose turn it is to be carried. Everyone told us having two or three children is way different than having just one, but there is no way to know that until you are in a constant string of fulfilling needs. I don't think it would be

We're off again!

If you can believe it, we are traveling again. It is my parents 40th wedding anniversary and a year ago they planned a family trip to Cape Cod. No time like the present to get to know the East Coast. Both Abegail and Emmanuel loved the ocean and the beach. Then Abegail participated in her first baseball game with the family. The traveling has been a bit harder on Emmanuel. We are having a tough

What's that thing?

You mean it washes the dishes for you???

Our Video-This is What it's all about!

Here is a portion of the DVD that we will be sending out to anyone who may be interested. Note to Martu and Makie's parents....I misspelled "Makie" a couple times in this video. It will be correct in the final version.

New Friends, Talking to Old ones!

1. Bath Time- We LOVE bath time, but skin gets very dry, doctor recommended Eucerin2. Nothing like cuddling up to a big truck! Kids nap for several hours in the afternoon, they are exhausted with time change, all new stimulus3. Emmanuel talked to Gift yesterday he told her he loved his room and asked when she was coming to see him. Unfortunately she lives in PA, but we'll make a reunion happen!

List of Staff at the AFAA House for Families

For those of you who are traveling, we thought it might be helpful to have a list of the staff members at the house. Sometimes its hard to understand their names, but if you see it written its easier to pronounce1. Linda-Foster Mom2. Marie (pronounced Mary) Cook2. Churuchuma-Foster Mom3. Jessie-Big Boss! Handles paperwork, used to be Foster Mom and teacher. Loves the kids, the kids love her!4.

Adjusting Well

We are home and so happy to be here. We have had a string of visitors and phone calls. The kids have done awesome meeting everyone. They have really made themselves at home. Loving all the toys they have! We are still working on getting them the correct size clothes. Today we went to the doctor and got them checked over. They both are in good shape. We are so fortunate. They got a

WE'RE HOME!!

Mechanical Difficulties in Philadelphia

Yes, it happened again. Mechanical difficulties kept us overnight in Philly. The good news, this time instead of asking us for money the airline paid for our hotel in New Jersey. The kids were exhausted but hanging in there. I don't know how you are 7, travel 40 hours to several different airports in total culture shock with people you barely know and never complain once, but Abegail managed

Couple more things for AFAA Families

I already miss all those kids. Parents, you will all be pleased at your children. It's funny just with a glimpse of the albums and then getting to know the kids, God really does pick our kids. Jessie told me every child in the AFAA house right now has a family, except little Emmanuel Tamo, the boy who is disabled. That is great news. Hopefully the next few months will be filled with families

We're in Brussels!

We decided to get to the airport in Monrovia about 4 hours early yesterday. It worked. We made it through immigration, the 3-4 "security" checkpoints, and a couple "E-Man" melt-downs.Yes, "E-Man"...Emmanuel's nickname at the AFAA House and it's quite appropriate. He made a few trips into the ladies' room and mopped the floors with his backside for awhile...BUT WE MADE IT ON THE PLANE!!We're in

Favorite Photos

1. Woeklle sleeps2. Mackie 3. Mommy reads her first story to kids 4. Princess Poses, seriously Princess and Jemama need to get into modeling. 5. Do you recognize this shirt? My Gym is a children's fitness center across the country and our daughter goes to one in Minnesota. 6. Another game of ring around the rosie. The kids have the giggling part down when "we all fall down." The tune

GROUP PHOTOS

Every Family will get a folder when they come and will be able to look over all of the info. AFAA has on your child. They will also give you copies to take home. If your child is being escorted I'm pretty sure they will send a folder with the escort so you can see the history. We were even able to get a pretty good medical history on A&E. In the very front of the pictures is Lawrence (wearing

More news on the AFAA kids

First the most important thing, PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES.Here they are in order,1. Martu- Martu is a helper. Jessie says she always loves to help with all the other children.2. Kurker-we knew you could kind of smile. 3.Florence into a video. Florence and Diamond are so loving. I spent a lot of time with them on Friday! They have tremondous personalities. I'm going to go back on my size

The Calm After the Storm

It's been a day of relaxation and a day to refocus our energies on getting home. Yesterday is gone and we've regrouped.Sue got to the airline ticket office today and was able to re-re-book our flight home so that we get in on MONDAY instead of TUESDAY! Hooray!! It still baffles me that we could make those arrangements here in Monrovia, Liberia...but the best our American travel agency could do

Nightmare in Monrovia

The saying, "Nothing worth doing is ever easy" comes to mind.So we're in Liberia...still. I can't believe the time we've had. My stomach is sick and if this weren't so maddening, I'd probably cry.When our travel agency (the preferred agency of our adoption agency) booked the tickets, they booked flights for Abegail and Emmanuel Richardson. But A&E's passports say Abegail and Emmanuel Davis.You

The Other Side of the Ocean

Yesterday we were scared. Today we tore up the beach!Abegail timidly walked right up to the water...then back to her seat on a rock 10 yards from the crashing waves. She looked like she was pondering what was on the other side of the ocean. In reality she was probably thinking what's the deal with all this water?! After some coaching from Dad, she walked right up to the waves and let the sandy

What's this Passport Process All About???

Today we picked up Jessie and Nadime from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so they could take us and A&E to an area to help us buy some things for the kids rooms from Liberia. As they got in the car they joked, Sue we want to take you inside to see the process. When we came back to drop them off after shopping I said, "Hey, maybe I should go with you." They were kind of surprised but quickly

The Poorest Country in the World

On the plane ride here I was reading about Liberia and it said it is one of the poorest countries in the world. I knew it was poor, I just don't know how you quantify the poorest. But truly after walking around a bit I would agree with that statement.Yesterday, Scott finally agreed to let me go for a run on my own. So I ran by what the people here call a squatter village. Makeshift homes of one

Day 3 with A & E, On our own!

A&E met us at the hotel today, so we could take them out in Monrovia and then to lunch. As warm and loving as they are at the AFAA house it is good to start slow outside of it. They were truly out of their comfort zones. We first got them a little snack at the hotel and then took them to a supermarket because they had never been to one. Abegail saw a barbie and her eyes lit up so we got it for

Happy 4th of July

Today the kids are coming to Monrovia and we are taking them out and then we will take them to lunch. We took them for a walk by ourselves in Paynesville yesterday. Yes, we did get quite a few looks. We then decided to walk toward the ocean, away from the busy street. I said to Abegail have you ever been out this way before? And she said yes to go to church. I said church, where do you go

A little Ring Around the Rosie Before Lunch

The kids love to sing. And they can sing! With Spirit. So I asked if they wanted to hear an American song? And we did a little Ring Around the Rosie which they got a big kick out of although I don't think they ever got the words. Then there was a good lunch and I think I got every kid on here eating. Because of the sunlight and shadows, not all of them are well-lit.

Alexander's Surprise

We arrived at the AFAA house today at 11am. We stepped out of the vehicle and were greeted by a thin, well-dressed man. Sue introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Sue." He replied, "I'm Alexander." I was still in the Jeep and thought, "Oh my god, it's THAT Alexander!"The next words out of Sue's mouth were, "I'm Abegail and Emmanuel's mother.""Yes, Sue...that's Alexander!"After the surprise wore off we

Recap of Day One at the AFAA House

Friends and Family,We're having an amazing time here in Monrovia. The children are all great and it's fun spending time with them. Here is a video recap of our first day. Enjoy.Scott & Sue

Photos for Families

Here are a few pictures to tide you over, in order they are:Florence/DiamondIshamelJemama/PrincessJunior-he just wouldn't smile for me today, he wasn't sad but didn't want to smile!Martu/MakieSaylahKurkerGormahOne other thing; one of the AFAA families posted about the Reeds doing work in Liberia. I think it may have been Valerie. Anyway we sat right next to them on the plane ride here. I saw

Lots of Info. to share

The Internet connection is very slow, so I'm going to do a lot of updating in this post.First, we had a great day with all the kids. They are amazing human beings. Emmanuel and Abigail are still on their best behavior. We sat at the U.S. Embassy for an hour and half to get their visas and they didn't flinch. Speaking of the U.S. Embassy, it's a shock. All around us is poverty, a lack of quality

Worth the Wait...

Finally made it to Monrovia and the wait was worth every painstaking minute.We entered the house and before we could ID a single child, Abegail had her arms around her new mommy! It was an amazing moment that touched us. Emmanuel was sleeping. So we woke him up to enjoy an equally warm hug.Here are a few of the first photos of our meeting.We only stayed for 20 minutes and had to let the

Made it to Brussels

We arrived in Brussels safely this morning. Annie is doing well with Auntie Amber or as she's been calling her Daddy Amber. Here is a picture of her working on a calendar we gave her to keep track of the days we'd be gone. We plan to do some sight seeing today and then on to Africa tomorrow morning. We are getting anxious.

Pioneer Press story

The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote an article that appeared in this morning's newspaper. It's very nice and we're very appreciated to the PP for this article.WCCO's Turner travels to Liberiato fulfill a promiseBY AMY CARLSON GUSTAFSON Pioneer PressArticle Last Updated: 06/28/2007 06:36:49 PM CDTThis week, Sue Turner will make good on a promise she made to herself more than a decade ago.

The Liberian Struggle: A Country Torn ApartSue TurnerReporting(WCCO) The Twin Cities has the largest population of Liberian immigrants in the country. However, they come from a country ripped apart by war, struggling with basic needs such as water and electricity. Thousands of them are scheduled to be deported this fall.When Georgette Gray came to the U.S. ten years ago, she thought everyone

We're STILL HERE...Lightening DOES strike twice

Well, they say nothing worth doing is easy. We've been waiting for two years for this day, so you can imagine our level of disappointment. We arrived 1hr 15min before our flight was scheduled to leave...but due to American Airlines' incompetence, we still were not able to make our flight. We're going to go out to dinner together, something we don't get to do very often anyway...and try to

On Our Way

We're off. We can't believe it. Annie got to Oklahoma City safely (long story short, Scott missed his flight, every flight was booked he had to drive her to Kansas City to meet his folks half way, Amber came to OK today to get her, Thank you Richardsons and Amber for doing all that!)The next time we post, the pictures will NOT be of us!! Stay tuned, the real journey is just beginning! HOORAY!

YouTube Videos

We will be doing our best to upload some video to the blog while we're gone. But we will put all of our videos on our newly created YouTube account. You can find us athttp://www.youtube.com/liberiankids

A & E's Room Ready to Go

We finally finished it! This is A & E's new room. What's that you say? The rest of the house, packing???? Uh, yea...it's not like we're leaving Thursday or anything.

All About Annie

Today we celebrated Annie's birthday. Her actual b-day is "July 1st in the summer" (as she puts it) but we'll be in Africa on the actual day. We had a blast at ValleyFair in Shakopee, MN.

Still Working on the Room

I know we are taking forever. But Scott ended up painting it because he said it was too blah compared to Annie's bright room so we painted it almost the same colors as Annie's room, blue on bottom, yellow on top and today got a safari border we'll put up. I'm very proud of these wood letters I made, crafty for me ey? They will go over the kids beds. Hopefully we'll have pictures of the

Franchising in Africa that Saves Lives

Check this out: some guys in MN started a franchise in 2000 that offers Malaria medication to the people in Kenya. Here is a piece PBS did on it, it's about 25 minutes long.http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/321/index.html

Letter from Senator Coleman

I am working on a preview story for WCCO about all the Liberian immigrants in the Twin Cities on Temporary Relief Protective Status. That means people who have been here for more than ten years will be deported on October 1st. They will be going back to an unemployment rate of more than 80%. Scott wrote to US Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) about this and this is the response he got: Dear

We Leave For Liberia

One Week From Today! We received an e-mail today with the latest heights and weights of our children and have learned their last name is Davis, which we will now keep as both their middle names.EMMANUEL DAVIS 2FT 11IN 32 POUNDSAlso check out the spelling of Abigail, good thing I didn't have anything with her name on it, although we are putting an A over her bed and an E over Emmanuel's bedABEGAL

The latest on Liberia from Cheryl

ABIGAIL & EMMANUEL - everything is ready for their family to arrive. The Embassy has completed their field investigation and a room has been reserved at the Royal Hotel.ELECTRICITY - there is a possibility that the area were our foster home is located may have electricity by the end of the summer.WEATHER - it is reported to be rainy and cold although I don't think it is a cold like the average

Annie Time

I am so excited to go to Liberia and add to our family, but I must admit, I know I'm going to miss the pickle terribly. We've been trying to spend special time with Annie before she has to share us! We are sad we will be away on her 3rd birthday but have decided to have an Annie Day the Sunday before we leave which will be her pretend birthday. We plan to go to an amusement park and spend the

Positive News Story Coming to a TV Station Near You!

A few posts back I wrote about a little 9 month old boy named Emmanuel (the name Emmanuel in Liberia must be like John here) who lives in Liberia but is suffering terribly because he was born without an anus. It looks like everything is coming together for him to come to Minnesota for surgery. Here is the letter I received from the surgeon today. I plan to follow his story and hopefully meet

We Leave for Liberia...

Two Weeks from TodayWhat one mom who traveled for her daughter in December wrote me today:"The anticipation of going and meeting your children is so special, and that first day when you meet is indescribable. I couldn't sleep all night, I was so excited! Your children are very, very special."We are still working on the house, the guest room is ready. Everything else is still a process.

Final Travel Arrangements Made

From Brussels to Liberia we have a stop in Dakar. Dakar is a city in Senegal about three countries north of Liberia, also very small. AMERICAN AIRLINES28JUNDEPART MINNEAPOLIS AT 1:35PARRIVE CHICAGO AT 2:55PFLIGHT AA 1096 AMERICAN AIRLINES28JUNDEPART CHICAGO AT 4:30PARRIVE BRUSSELS AT 7:40AFLIGHT AA 88BRUSSELS AIRLINES29JUNDEPART BRUSSELS AT 10:40A--STOP IN DAKAR--ARRIVE

Our Kids Are Ready!

We received word today, everything is complete on Abigail and Emmanuel's adoption! We will go ahead and purchase the tickets and we are good to go, three weeks from tomorrow.Also we learned today, almost everyone in Liberia excepts American Money. They don't however accept travelers checks or credit card, that's a bummer!I had an exceptional lunch today with a woman named Georgette. She was born

Getting the taste of America

I asked my other Mom friends what to give the kids to eat when they come home from Liberia. Here are some of their ideas:The bottom line is, they like their food hot, so when I cooked I just provided hot peppers for her to add to her food. particularly liked soups and stews, along with rice, to which she added her own pepper. Beef and chicken cooked any way are also favorites. was not used to

The choir from Zimbabwe

We were in Oklahoma over the weekend and the choir from the Methodist sponsored African University in Zimbabwe (southeast Africa) just happened to be singing at Arthur and Charlene's church Sunday. They were FABULOUS. Their accent reminded me so much of the Liberian one. They had great rhythm too! We had fun celebrating with Scott's parents who had their

The Life of a Liberian Wheelbarrow Pusher

Our Next Model is...

Annie Marlene. She specializes in picking out her clothes herself. You can see in the outfit she is wearing a green top with a pink whale on it. She has orange capris with flowers on them, snow white socks, and cinderella shoes. She has added some nice accessories as well which include a gold muchroom necklace that her mother used to wear as a child and a blue hair brush to keep her beautiful

From Americans Working in Liberia Now

Weather Update: Speaking of moisture in the air, the months just leading to the rainiest months of July-September are the most humid. The temps climb because true summer is coming, but we experience occasional brief afternoon rains, followed by sun that leave us sweltering. The water table is very low, so we are hoping for more substantial rains soon for our wells.

If you ever want to travel to Liberia...info. we're learning

Quick Facts Capital Monrovia Government Republic Currency Liberian dollar (LRD) Area 111,370 km2 Population 3,042,004 (July 2006 est.) Language English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence Religion indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20% Electricity 120V/60Hz (USA & European plugs.

We Leave for Liberia....

5 Weeks from today! Let the countdown begin!WE WELCOME YOUR COMMENTSWe have a book, similar to a baby book, for both Abigail and Emmanuel. It's called 'Our Chosen Child.' We plan to print some of the blog out and save it for them and will add any of your comments if you would like. It will be fun for them to look back and see all the people who followed their journey along with ours and were

Conversations With Annie, Soon To Be 3

Today I had a pin on given to me by Scott's Mom when she went on a mission trip to South Africa. It has a beaded white girl, black girl, and brown boy on it. They are all holding hands. I have been wearing it a lot lately, keeping my kids with me. Annie saw it today and asked me about it and I told her it was to represent her brother and sister who would be coming home soon. I said do you

Why International Adoption

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in Kenya on Semester at Sea. Semester at Sea was a study abroad program through the University of Pittsburgh, but instead of going to one country you went to 12 (mostly 3rd world countries) and had your classes on a boat. We had already seen some extreme poverty and been to the poorest villages in South Africa where Apartheid was just ending. I was

The New Liberia

A little Biased

I admit it, I'm totally biased FOR black people, especially native African black people. I have no idea why. Even our one black photographer at work said to me one day, you are our black reporter, because I love doing stories with the people in North Minneapolis which is predominately black. Today, I was in the parking lot of the grocery store and this guy was having car trouble and I could

Happy Mother's Day...A waiting Mom's state of Mind

First of all a big shout out to my Aunt Nancy...my most faithful blog reader, she checks this everyday without fail! Happy Mom's Day Nanc!!With six weeks to go until I officially have three children I have reached a whole new level of psychosis. The emotional roller coaster I rode before I had Annie is coming back for another spin. I remember two weeks before giving birth I must have felt that

Black and White DO Go Together

www.mercyships.org Some of the amazing humanitarian work going on in Liberia

Liberian Montage

Taking stuff to the Kids..

We will be taking albums for others families' children and about 80 pounds of stuff to the AFAA house from Cheryl.Cheryl was telling one family the children like to put the albums under their pillows and then added,"Liberia has the WORST pillows I've ever seen but that is all that is available." She says the pillows are very lumpy. Cheryl also says, "One of the things I saw that all the

Preparing to Travel, shots and instructions

Scott and I went to the Infectious Disease and Travel Clinic yesterday to get vaccinated against a lot of things that don't look like fun to have, yellow fever, typhoid, malaria. They also gave us two sets of strong antibiotics just in case. At first I said oh, just give us one set whoever gets sick first can get them, then I pictured us on the plane with two kids we barely know both running to

What Time Is It?

If it's Noon in Minnesota, it's 5:00 p.m. in Liberia. They are four hours ahead of East Coast time and five hours ahead of Central time.

Meet Our New Friends!

Beth and Dries Coetzee returned home from Ethiopia with their two boys, Alazar, 9 and Endalkachew, 6 two weeks ago. They used the same adoption agency we are using and live right here in Bloomington about 10 minutes away. We were able to go meet them and their precious new sons who are adapting remarkably well. I was absolutely amazed at how well behaved and polite they are. They already look

What to do in Monrovia

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is one of the rainiest places in the world. But there are also a number of popular beaches and sights.The city has suffered greatly as a result of the heavy fighting that has occurred here during the last few years. But it is not all pain and suffering. Monrovia has some magnificent sights. For example, there is Providence Island, which is a place with a long

Tentative Travel Plans

Tentatively we plan to travel from 6/28 returning 7/7, flying through Chicago and Brussels.

Our children are the most beautiful ones in the orphanage!

You don't hear that everyday, usually it's "my kid is in honor roll, my kid walked at a year.." but we received another DVD from Cheryl's trip and got to see what they looked like when she was there in March. We were totally wrong about who we thought Abigail was before, but in my maternal defense, the other girl did look about the same age and the picture was far away. The video had a great

Time Estimate

Cheryl is estimating we will be able travel in about two months, so that means about mid to late June.

We probably will travel sometime in June

Hi Sue, I believe that both of your children DO have passports now so HURRAH HURRAH, HURRAH! You should not schedule flights until we KNOW we have 100% of 100% of the paperwork. Liberia processing is different from Ethiopian processing so you would be able to travel to Liberia about 2 weeks after 100% of everything is finished. Our super travel agent is: Joann - MTS Travel 1-800-642-8315

What's Next...

Here's whats ahead for Abigail and Emmanuel before we can bring them home:Their birth certificate photos, passport photos andLiberian government and AFAA file photos will be taken. Their birth certificateprocessing will begin. After the Liberian government case history is completed, typed, reviewed foraccuracy and signed by the proper Liberian government authorities, it willbe given to the

New Photos Have Arrived!

We just got these photos from Cheryl. There is one advantage to having a droopy left eye. You are easy to spot. The kids appear much more like orphans in these photos. They look hot and dusty. I am already feeling unfit because I could not pick out Abigail. I think I have picked her out but will wait to post her photo until I get confirmation. Emmanuel is obviously the little boy with the older

Minivan Ready!

I know its been a while since we last updated this. My parents came in for a visit Tuesday and we have been busy organizing our house after a year of just trying to survive. We do have one piece of news, I was able to get in touch with Cheryl (adoption agency director) and she says they are working on our case in Liberia and they don't need anything else from us as this point. (We still have no

What Annie Knows

I have often been asked, does Annie know she is getting siblings? My answer to that question is yes and no. When we talk about brothers and sisters she definitely knows what that is because all her friends have a brother or sister. But I don't think she can quite comprehend the way she will be getting her siblings. When we got our referral for Abigail and Emmanuel in January, I told her she was

The Adoption Process

I am not a saver, I wouldn't save our tax returns if I didn't have too. I love to throw stuff out and have a house free of clutter and unnecessary receipts. But when you adopt you expand all your horizons. The paperwork we've had to fill out is unbelievable. I have a huge folder full of every copy of everything. We filled out the application for our agency in July of 2005. We did not complete our

What's the AFAA House?

The AFAA house is a foster care home run by our agency, (Americans For African Adoption). The children come to this home when they have met certain health criteria and our agency thinks they have a family they can match them with. Almost every child in this house will end up going to the United States. Every other summer, AFAA organizes reunions for families in the U.S. so all the kids can once

Africa's Orphans

You've probably heard about the huge orphan crisis in Africa, mostly because of Aids. Worldwide there are 15 million orphans because of AIDS, 12.1 of those are in Africa. While AIDS is a huge problem all over the continent the biggest problem is in South Africa and Western Africa. Nigeria has 1.8 million orphans, South Africa has 1.1 million AIDS orphans. Liberia has 36,000 orphans from AIDS.

Liberia's Orphans

With 3.5 million people in a country the size of Tennessee, there are 250-thousand orphans. UNICEF stats show the percent of the population that have either phones or internet is 0! The percentage of the population that has access to adequate sanitation services is 27 percent. Half the population, more than 1.7 million people are children under the age of 18. But in 2005 only 12 percent of girls

Liberia's Challenges

Liberia is situated on the West African coast and has borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d'Ivoire. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Liberians have a life expectancy of 42 years and a GDP per capita of just US$131.Liberia has come out of a brutal 23-year period marked by coups, general instability, violence and civil war. This has left the country devastated with its

About Liberia

Liberia was founded by Americans so that freed slaves could resettle back in Africa. Monrovia was named after U.S. President James Monroe, and was founded during his term by the American Colonization Society. The first town was established in 1822 on Providence Island. The settlers, or the Americo-Liberians, were engaged in a number of disputes with the indigenous population for many years. In

About Abigail and Emmanuel

On January 10th, 2007 we were matched with Abigail and Emmanuel (or A&E as I like to call them) as our children. It was Abigail's 7th birthday when we found out. A & E are biologically brother and sister. Their father is still alive and lives about 20 minutes outside of Monrovia where AFAA's foster home is that A & E will stay in until we bring them home. We don't know what happened to their

How it All Began, Learn about our Adoption Agency

It didn't take us long to pick our adoption agency, Americans for African Adoptions. The Executive Director, Cheryl Carter-Shotts found her son after watching the news! Did God need to hit us with a rock to tell us this was the one or what? Read her story at: http://www.africanadoptions.org/media/indystar/afaacheryl23.htmlVisit our agency website at: www.africanadoptions.orgAFAA as we like to

Richardson Family Web

Hi all! Thanks for visiting.We're going to do out best to keep you posted on the events of Annie's life as she grows. We know you're all a great distance from her and we hope this will help bring us all closer together.Also, we're going to use this space to introduce you to Abigail and Emanuel. We're still getting to know them ourselves. The first pictures of them arrived today and we couldn't be