After a few postponements, we had our adoption ceremony on Tuesday morning. We brought the girls to Beautiful Gate for the first time since they joined our family, and it was interesting to see their reaction. They have really come out of their shells and begun talking English at home and they are pretty talkative. Once we got on campus, they got completely quiet and clung to my hands. They did not smile, laugh, talk or do anything but cling to me. The night before, I tried to explain what the ceremony was going to be like in order to prepare them, but I don't think they understood. They were scared. I have seen this response so many times in the past with other adoptive families so I cannot really say it caught me off guard, I just felt sad for them.
Our ceremony was great. Lots of singing, a few speeches, several jokes (from volunteers and staff since it was weird to do our roles for us as directors), a few tears, but mostly it was lighthearted. The girls cried when they had to go to their house mother and hear her words of good-bye. She also made it light hearted because she said she was happy they were going to our family since we have already adopted her into our family too. It was a very special day and we have some really great pictures from Grace, so we will always be able to look back and remember this great day.
At the end of the ceremony, the girls were way more relaxed and even began to smile a little and talk to a few people. They seemed to be relieved when the staff started heading back to their houses, but they were able to stay with us. They even played around with us a little in the chapel and became their normal selves again. What a big and scary day for them, but it all turned out nicely in the end. Elijah, Faith and Mercy also had a good time, a little bored during the speeches, but that is pretty normal. It was fun to see their relief too at having the final step in our adoption finished. It feels good to be finished with everything so we can just be a family. One month in and we are doing great. English is coming along, sibling friendships are forming, house rules are being learned, fun is happening, love is growing, and much, much more. There are some definite growing pains, but that is also to be expected. We have finished our month of cocooning and will begin slowly introducing Polita and Nthabeleng to our friends.


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Yes, believe it or not, I even gave a speech! |
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Us with their house mother, Mme Judith. |
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Us with Terp and Tyler who did our roles in the ceremony. |
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Not a perfect family picture, but at least this time they don't look scared to death :) |