The Path Prepared

 Today is the day!! It is official ❤️ we are a family of 4! Introducing our newest member, Maya Lethu Puklicz 💞 We picked up our girl this morning for the last time from the baby home. She was waiting for us by the door! We are so sad to say goodbye to the baby home all the people there. They have been so amazing with the whole transition so far. But! We are so excited to start life as a family!!  We went home and spent a couple hours playing before changing in our “fancy” clothes and making our way to Pinetown court. Here we met with our social worker and signed the papers! It was all very casual! As we are learning is the South African way. 😉 We went home for lunch and naps! After we decided to try out the mall! They are quite fancy over here.  After this we celebrated with getting pizza from Jukes. Which is slowly becoming our favourite! 💞 what a busy day! What a full day! We are feeling so grateful and blessed for this little girl that has joined our family by the ...

 We’ve just finished our 3/4 full day together at our Airbnb and it’s been great so far! The first few days we just spent at our Airbnb. Her getting used to us and the space (and Rocco the dog from next door). She loves to do bubbles so we made sure we had those!! Her and Jo have been bonding more over peekaboo and hide and go seek! She likes to say “where’s Jo?”. Jo is also very proud that he can pick her up and carry her around! He’s been such a good big brother so far ❤️ Most of our days are spent in routine of snacks, lunch, nap, snacks, supper, bath and then back to the baby home for bed time. She really didn’t like the van when we first introduced it to her but has done so well I tried putting her in her car seat tonight (which is just a booster seat with a back, no straps haha) and she happily sat in it on the way back to the baby home tonight. Today we ventured out for a couple hours to a church coffee shop/ playground! Which we definitely need back in Ontario! It was so co...

 Wow, we can’t believe today is already Saturday! The past couple days have felt like a blur!  We finally met our daughter on Thursday! 💞 What an amazing day that was. She was very shy at first but warmed up to Jo first, and then both of us after a while. We really had no expectations from her as we played with others around her.  Friday and today we spent all day the baby home, getting to know her! She is independent, spirited and a bit of a clown! It was nice going through her routines with her. We’ve been able to do lunch and supper and bed and bath time! Friday felt like a hard day. She was still unsure about us and mostly watched from afar. Mixed in with lack of sleep and just being in a new country in a new place. We were all done by the end of the day! But today (Saturday) we left feeling a lot better. That we made good progress and just felt more relaxed about everything. There are going to be good days and hard days but we cling to the fact that God placed us he...

 We are finally here and settling in to our Airbnb! The travel days went super well. All the flights were smooth and no major hiccups. Minus Josiah throwing up Monday morning before we had to leave for the airport at noon 😬 2 hours later he had bounced back and had an appetite! Was a true miracle. Amsterdam airport - little taste of home with the poffertjes! Our last flight Johannesburg to Durban - We took a bus shuttle to the plane and walked on!  So many new things here. Driving on the other side of the road from the other side of the car has been an experience! Every time Phil went to blinker the wipers came on. Haha this will take some getting used to! We went to the grocery store too after getting our Airbnb. So many different foods to look at -  probably spent way too long in there 😉 Our Airbnb! Tomorrow we finally get to meet our little girl!! ❤️ We are so excited!! We often wonder what she’s like, how big she is, what her expressions are, how she walks and talks...

 It’s the evening before our first travel day! Bags are packed, snacks are ready, lots of tv shows and movies are being downloaded! Our first travel day is tomorrow - Monday, October 20 - Josiah’s 5th birthday!! It will consist of a two long flights where we'll end up in Johannesburg on Tuesday night. Here we will sleep over night in a hotel by the airport and take our last and shortest, 1 hr, flight from Johannesburg to Durban the next day Wednesday, October 22! It will be quite the travel experience!! Some of us are really excited, especially Josiah, as we take a birthday airplane!! Others, myself, not so much. Flying for me is uncomfortable and slightly terrifying! Haha but will just have to keep in mind there’s a little girl waiting for us at the end.  We are just so excited for this adventure to meet our beautiful daughter. We wonder what she is like, her personality, how big she is, what she likes to eat, etc. All these things that we get to learn about her. On Thursday,...

 On Tuesday, September 23 we got the call that we have been waiting and anticipating for many, many months... we were matched with a little girl in South Africa!! With a lot of shock but even more excitement we learned about her, how old she is, and her name.  2 weeks later we have now booked flights, airbnb's and car rentals to travel to South Africa to meet our daughter! It's been a roller coaster of emotions, organizing and trip planning. But we are feeling so grateful and so excited to become a family of 4!  We will be leaving on October 20, on Josiah's 5th birthday to go pick up his little sister!! We will be staying in South Africa for 8-9 weeks. This is standard timing for paperwork, citizenship and passports to completed. Hoping that we will be home for Christmas!! 🎄 We are overjoyed for this journey to our daughter and deeply aware of God’s presence guiding every step. We chose the name The Path Prepared because we believe He has lovingly prepared this path for...