Chelley is 7 years old and has been at GLA for 2 years. In the updates we've gotten from GLA over the last several months, we've heard that Chelley is easy-going, sweet, full of smiles, compliant, fairly quiet and reserved, but also very friendly. As God has blessed us with our 3 wonderful biological daughters, it's become quite apparent that we simply don't make compliant and easy-going children so it looks like we're going to get lucky and have a compliant child through adoption instead! :) Chelley is a girly-girl, likes dolls, princesses, dress-up, and her favorite color is pink. We think she'll fit right in here!
We found all of those things to be true of Chelley in the few days that we spent with her. On that Tuesday morning when we met her, Chelley was quiet and a bit reserved but also very willing to come to us and interact with us. I just received this picture from GLA of Chelley's sweet smile as we hugged for the first time. What a priceless gift for this mama's heart!
We had brought a few gifts for them to help break the ice and Chelley loved opening her presents!
She was very fastidious and focused as she colored in the coloring books we had brought for her and she didn't mind one bit sitting in her Papa's arms while she worked on her coloring.
Chelley had moments during our visits when she'd get overwhelmed by everything and would be more reserved or uncomfortable with us. That's when I was shaming myself for not having studied my Creole more! I can't imagine what all was going through her 7 year old mind and heart as she got to know these strangers that called themselves Mama and Papa.
She's used to seeing this process happen and all of the kids at the Toddler House (ages 3 and up) have a very detailed understanding of the adoption process. They know that when you get a family, they will come to see you and you have a few days to be with them, and then they will leave, but they will eventually come to take you home with them. Many of them even know exactly where they are in the process and they compare notes with each other constantly. There was a special room and balcony in the Toddler House that is reserved just for kids with their adoptive parents and Chelley only wanted to spend time in those spots. She didn't have any interest in sharing us with her friends or playing on the playset with us. She'd been watching other kids get to go to that special room for 2 years and this was finally her turn. It's comforting to know how much Chelley and her friends understand about the process, but I'm sure that didn't stop it from being an incredibly overwhelming few days for her.
As much as I hated having to leave them there, it was helpful to get a glimpse into their personalities before we bring them home. Now we'll know that Chelley may not speak a single word on the entire trip home and we won't be worried about it. When she is uncomfortable she is quiet, taking things in, and as she gets more comfortable, she opens up and is a playful, delightful young girl, as many of you have seen from our video. We look forward to the time when she's been home long enough to really feel comfortable here and we get to start seeing her talkative and playful side more often. She is generous with that sweet, sparkly smile of hers and we did see that often during our visit! We found out that there is no such thing as too many bubbles or balloons with the kids at GLA and she had a great time blowing bubbles for us and over the balcony to the kids down below.
Chelley has one hour of English class and two and a half hours of school in Creole every weekday. She seemed to understand much of what we said in English and I think she can say more than she was willing to try out on us. Sometimes she would answer a question with "Wi" (Creole for "yes") and other times she'd answer with "Yep". :) We really intend to work on our Creole much more in the next few months so that the burden of language isn't all on her when we bring her home, but it's nice to know that she has a basic foundation in English to help her in the transition.
On our last day there, we were able to see where she eats, sleeps, and attends English class. It's nice to be able to picture her in those settings as we wait to bring her home.
Our last time with her was so bittersweet. She was precious and playful, but every minute our hearts felt the burden of the goodbye that was coming. We spent a couple of hours with her at the Toddler House and then went with her down to the Main House to spend time with both girls together. Chelley played soccer and basketball with Daddy during those last few minutes, we took some more pictures (that girl probably thinks that her new Mama has a camera permanently attached to her face), and then as the time came to say goodbye, her smile disappeared and she became serious once again. She didn't shed any tears when she was with us but my heart broke as I watched the heavy load she was carrying written all over her face. She knows we'll come back as soon as we can but that didn't make that moment any easier on any of us.
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