Someone asked the following question on my last post:

How was Mercy able to eat pie? A previous post said she could only have liquids.

THAT is a very good question and one I am asking myself. We did the barium swallow and nothing went further than her collar bone level. So, it makes me wonder if it was willful defience to swallow, too thick to swallow, or is it actually closed off? If it is closed off, where is all the food going she is eating? We have a scope set up for Jan 8th where she will be asleep. We will get a better understanding of the extent of the damage.
Please pray for us as we deal with the adjustment of it all. They came when it was nearly Christmas and we did not have a routine going. The first week we hung out. The second was full of doctor visits. This week was Christmas and today we had "A Talk". I explained that we have rules and I expected her to help around the house and that when we get a routine going we get up at 7 get dressed and fed and start school by 8. I made her start some school today so I could get a better feel for her grade level as I need to order curiculum for January. She was struggling with even 6th grade material though she told me she was in 9th grade in Liberia. I'm sure our standards are different so I wanted to test her a little. She seemed shocked that I was going to make her do school. When she is not pleased about something she does the typical Liberian, stare past you and not respond. I explained how disrespectful that was and how much it hurt my feelings for her not to respond or let me know what she is thinking. I also told her that it is the law that she attend school. I finally got Mercy to admit why she seemed upset. She said "I go to hospital". I realized she thinks she is just going to go to the hospital and be all better. I had to explain that she needed to get healthy and strong to withstand such a surgery and that it probably wouldn't happen until spring or summer and she had alot of school to do between then and now. The scope next month would determine if that was even going to happen or if she would have to have dilatations the rest of her life. Tears came to her eyes but I let her go to her school work to see if she could read it and do a few pages. She came to me about 30 minutes later and said she did not understand. She had tried but it was clear she had not read the story to answer the questions and the true and false ones were all wrong (do they think in the negative)So I had her read to me and it was also clear that she was not reading at a 6th or 7th grade level which she would be in for her age. So I will test some more and get a better feel for her level. She was also better about being thankful and kinder the rest of the afternoon.
I'm not very good at confontation and dealing with dishonesty and I know the Lord is using all this to have me grow, but I was weepy all day dealing with her attitude.
Please, Just Pray!

Christmas Day!

It was a beautiful day and the girls seemed to take it all in very well. Mercy had her first piece of Pumpkin Pie and was she liking that...especially the Cool Whip! After cleaning up the dishes I saw this... WHAT'S MISSING?

When there are constant "first's" in the girls lives, I am explaining things and am always seeing things in a new light. However, I never thought I would have to explain "Pie Etiquette". Mercy had taken all the crust from around the edge of the pie! Too Funny!

Where's Waldo?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Took a little time and coaxing but we managed to get this picture. I had gone to a used book store that has a great selection of used Christian Curriculum and we got in the door and the employees at the counter say "I bet we know who your here to see" I'm thinking "How did you know we were coming?" Then I look over and see it was Santa day! Grace afterwards tells me:
Grace: "Mom, that was not the real Mrs. Clause!"
Me: "Oh, how do you know?"
Grace: "That Mrs. Clause had an earring in her tongue!"
Very Observant! Good Catch Grace!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas celebrating our precious Lord and Savior's birth!

The Covert's

Our Week with Doctors!

The girls with our Pediatrician, Dr. Ma.

It started Friday the 14th with our Pediatrician, Dr. Ma. She had set up all our other appointments with the Pediatric Gastrologist, Dr. Shover, who set up our Pediatric Surgery appointment with Dr. Weidner. I couldn't believe how fast we got in to see everyone. Dr. Ma on Friday did the basic look over and ordered a battery of tests.
On Monday the 17th we had a Pediatric Dentist appointment. That went OK with a little coaxing but the x-rays were traumatic. We did achieve a full panel which gave us a better picture of their age. Mercy is 13/14 based on that. But the dentist did not believe Joy to be 8. He felt based on her 6 year molars that she was probably just 6 and possibly 7 but 8 did not fall in line with what he was seeing. We may change her birth year when we readopt.
On Tuesday we had the Pediatric Gastrology appointment and got alot of samples and nutritional info and more tests. We then went up to the labs for "The Blood Draw". They had to stick Mercy 3 times and it was quite traumatic so of course by the time Joy went panic had already set in. Collected urine samples and then took them to get ice cream. We were all pretty worn out!
On Thursday we had a Barium Swallow study scheduled at 9AM and the doctor and techs were great with the girls. Mercy went first so Joy could watch and see it was not scary. They let me stand by her and I got to watch and see that the barium stopped pretty much just about collar bone level. Didn't go anywhere except back up. Which confuses me because she seems to be eating ice cream and thin soups, fudge bars and other liquid things. So either the barium was thicker than those things or she is spitting everything I have been giving her up. I have not been watching her spit cup but I suppose I should start. Not so much for a waste of food but I really need a more accurate calorie count. Joy was next and there were two areas of strictures. One was higher and very small. The other was lower and while the barium passed it was a very long and narrow opening.
We then had our appointment with Dr. Weidner at 2PM to discuss the results and review the mornings study. He felt like it would be best to do a scope on the 8th to see if there was actually an opening for Mercy or if it was completely closed off. He may try dilation's at that time. He is also going to replace the Baird Button which is what I feed her through. They don't use them much in the US and I am having a hard time getting another tube to connect with it to feed the food through. He will replace it with a more versatile one that we can even do a night drip so she is not without nutrition for long periods of time. He will try dilation's on Joy while he is in there seeing the extent of her damage. Both may be candidates for the replacement surgery but he did not feel qualified nor did he feel anyone in NM was. He said he could call to Denver's Children's Hospital but would probably need to go east somewhere. I then told him of a wonderful Doctor I had been communicating with at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital and told him all he had done and explained to me and would chose him if we needed to go elsewhere. He asked his name and it turns out he knows Dr. Mark Levitt well. It would not be until we get some more weight on Mercy and she is stronger to withstand such a surgery. She weighed in at 62lbs and 5'1" tall and Joy is 44lbs and 44" tall. It would probably not be until spring or summer till we could get her to that state. They think she needs another 20-25lbs on her.
Tears come to Mercy's eyes whenever I explain the procedures we are doing or going to do. I try to explain that she would be put to sleep and she wouldn't feel or remember anything after the surgeries. I asked her if she went to sleep when they put her feeding tube in and she said no. I asked if they put something to numb the area so she didn't feel it. She said she felt it. I asked if it was just pressure feeling she said "No, they tie me down!" I can now understand her and Joy's shear panic and tears when medical procedures are mentioned!

Appetizers Anyone!

I know…shame on me for not posting. Jet lag and lack of sleep for two days on the plane has wiped me out! I am still trying to put into words all that happened and truthfully I can’t. I have about 450 pictures so I will start with the beginning and jump to the end and fill in the middle in the coming days.

I left my little Grace crying at the airport. Mary Ann had to hug me during security check as I still saw her little face staring at me through the glass. Luckily Mary Ann waved them on to leave and they did cause I was loosing it!

Happy Travelers


I gave the girls Barbies when we got there and it took about an hour for Barbie to be transformed to "Barbie goes to Africa"


I'm going to skip to the end now.
Here is Naomi at Chicago.

We had a 6 hour layover but we felt it best to say goodbye after teaching Jen how to feed her and answer any questions we could. I was loosing it and we felt it best to move on. We went to the terminal where our plane was scheduled to take off and before we walked 20 yard we saw another board and it had changed gates again. So we headed to that gate and saw another board and it changed again. We decided to stay put until an hour before our flight and then head for the right gate.
While waiting Joy and Mercy got their first introduction to McD's!


I saw this sign and thought "Is there a new McTinni?"

We were soooo tired!

We Arrived to Snow

Dan came prepared with the coats

Joy and Grace meet



By the time we got home everyone was sleeping

We were greated by signs from the church welcoming us home and each of the girls had a basket with goodies!

Grace helped with the first feeding

So far the girls are doing great. Joy ripped out her hair do last night and Mercy transformed her once again

It is so cold here that the girls are trying to stay warm. We have a pediatric appointment and will have to go out in our 30 degree weather eventually!

Calling All Prayer Warriors!

Meet with Alma today and all went well. I still need to pay the fees which I couldn't do because the cashier closes at 2:30 (go figure). We still need Naomi's I600 approval sent from the USCIS office in the US. But Jen Weathers (Naomi's mom) just called and said it arrived on their USCIS offices desk and will email it to Alma either later this afternoon or in the morning. We also need to get her passport tomorrow and take it down to the Embassy when I go pay my fees. We stopped at the Ministry of Health and picked up ours on the way to the Embassy so I think we can get that tomorrow too. Apprarently the medical reports have to be sent directly from the doctor and they had been sent but Alma didn't have them in her file. So pray we can get those docs to the Embassy too.

Just PRAY. If all this can get done by tomorrow at 5 New York time I can book our flights for Friday and be home Saturday!

For those who don't know, Naomi is a little caustic girl I am escorting back, she is also Charlesetta's best friend here at the orphanage.

Tama Meets the Girls, Dec. 3

This is the e-mail that I received from Tama this morning.

WE are here. I met the girls this morning and they are excited about coming. I think Joy is probably about 6 not 8. After warming up to me a few minutes she crawled up on my lap and was playing with my hands and I started talking to Mercy and I looked down and she was fast asleep for a bout 30 minutes. So sweet and small. Mercy is shy but she is warming up to me. We learned how to do her feeding tube. They are going to make me do the next feeding! Yeaks. Looks easy enough. Fill a syring with formula and put it in her feeding tube, then flushing it out. Whala!
It looks like the paper work may get done by Friday we will know more tomorrow. If so we will try to get on Friday or Sunday's plane. We'll see.
Gotta go

Love Ya, Tama

The Adventure Begins, Dec. 1

Mary Ann and Mark

Schuyler and Tama

Schuyler and I took Tama to the airport 5 AM on Saturday morning where we met Mary Ann and her husband Mark. Mary Ann was gracious to help Tama with the girls, Mary Ann is a nurse at one of the hospitals here. They were able to catch an earlier flight to Dallas. It was hard for Schuyler to see her mother leave, she took it very hard. She cried off and on all day Saturday. Later on in the day, I took her to a movie to try and get her mind off it.

We are here. I met the girls this morning and they are excited about coming. I think Joy is probably about 5 or 6 not 8. After warming up to me a few minutes she crawled up on my lap and was playing with my hands and I started talking to Mercy and I looked down and she was fast asleep in my arms for about 30 minutes. So sweet and small. Mercy is shy but she is warming up to me. We learned how to do her feeding tube. They are going to make me do the next feeding! Yeaks. Looks easy enough. Fill a syringe with formula and put it in her feeding tube, then flushing it out with some water. Whala!

It looks like the paperwork may get done by Friday we will know more tomorrow. If so we will try to get on Friday or Sunday's plane. We'll see.

Gotta go!

Last Post Till Africa!

It was a hectic day and I had hoped to be done packing and organizing so I could spend it it with Grace. But that didn't happen and so we went to town and decided to go to dinner at Olive Garden to enjoy our last meal as a family of 3. But no one could eat. All Grace could do was cry and try to figure out why I had to leave. So I started crying as I put her on my lap and tried to explain. I have a feeling I will be crying my whole way to Monrovia. Pray for her little spirit to be comforted while I am away. I miss her already!

Off to finish packing and get a little shut eye. Have to leave the house by 4AM! I hope to post more as soon as I get to Africa. Pray!

I'm Goin' Ta Get Ma Girls!

Can Joy smile or what?

It's official! I am leaving on Saturday and arrive in Monrovia Sunday the 2nd. There are only 2 hour layovers on each leg and just 3 hours in Brussels which doesn't leave a whole lot of room for flight delays.
Here is our Flight Plan:
Dec 1 Saturday
Leave Albuquerque 7:10A
Arrive Dallas 9:50A
Leave Dallas 11:45A
Arrive JFK 4:10P
Leave JFK 6:15P
Dec 2 Sunday
Arrive Brussels 7:45A
Leave Brussels 10:40A
Arrive Monrovia 6:40P

Leave Monrovia on Wednesday the 12th
Leave Monrovia 7:50P
Arrive Brussels 5:40A
Leave Brussels 10:45 A
Dec 13th Thursday
Arrive Chicago 1:00P
Leave Chicago 6:55P
Arrive Albuquerque 9:00P

FYI... Monrovia is 7 hours ahead of Mountain Time!

Please pray for paperwork, embassy appointments, and travel to go smoothly.
There is a possibility we will escort another little girl home who is Joy's best friend and also has swallowed caustic soda. I will be traveling with a nurse and who better to help take care of her. Pray her paperwork goes well too!

My friend, the nurse is Mary Ann! I met her in my single days when I was babysitting some girls who wanted to go to the park. We did and met a lady reading a book and her little 5 year old boy (who is now 19 and huge!). What a divine appointment! She is from Louisiana like my mama and can she cook Cajun! She is not only a nurse...she is currently a gastro nurse. I mentioned to her about going, kinda feeling her out to see if she would be interested and the next day she calls to tell me she expedited her passport and it should be here in 2 weeks. Yea right! It took me 5 months to get mine! Sure enough 10 days later it arrives and she is so excited about going! She is an amazing woman with a level head...I'm going to need that!

Dan decided to stay home for Grace's sake and due to medical issues. Dan has had blood clots in the past and flying that long was not recommended by anyone with any medical know how! Pray for him and Grace to adjust to a new schedule.

So, I am busy getting all my documents gathered, Power of Attorney's notarized (to sign in Dan's absence) 4 trunks packed and just all the little details of arranging for Grace while I'm gone I can think of.

I will try to post when I can find Internet access so...stay tuned!

What Tractors are used for in Winter!

Heard the lawn tractor going and couldn't figure out how my husband could be mowing the lawn with the 2" of snow we got yesterday! Boys and their toys! Grace had a blast!

Friends!

I just wanted everyone to know what it feels like to have amazing friends, some going through the same thing, uplifting, encouraging, praying and just making sure you know that everything will work out exactly as God intends. Thank you my friends!

No Passport!

9 Passports were delivered to AOH yesterday and Charlesetta Joy's was not one of them! There were several being processed in a batch and not all of that batch came back so we are hoping the rest will be delivered before Thanksgiving. PRAY!!!

There was also news of 14 Finalizations yesterday! Things are moving again and we rejoice with all the families.

Prayers Needed!

Sweet Smiles of Joy!

Prayer request #1
So this is what I know...
We are waiting on Charlesetta's passport and it should be arriving any day. As soon as that is done, AOH staff will take both of their files to the US Embassy. When that is handed over, the Embassy issues a Case File Number(CFN) and at that point interviews can be set up for the biological families. We are hoping to set up appointments on separate days than the 2 allotted times given to the agencies per week. We are hoping parent interviews can be set up the week after Thanksgiving or the first week of December. If that interview goes well, we set up my interview for the next week and get on the next plane available to make it in time! So we are looking at getting them home by the 15th of Dec...22nd at the latest. (SEE PRAYER REQUEST #2 BELOW)
I have peace! Peace in a God that wants these girls home and healthy!
In fact, my pediatrician called this morning to tell me she has spoken with the Ped's Gastro and Ped's Surgery who will team up to do the girls esophageal scans and they are ready and waiting for me to let them know when our arrival date will be. They will get them in the day after we arrive.
I feel the nesting instinct, end of pregnancy, thing going. We got the girls rooms ready last weekend. I picked up my two trunks from Walmart today and have packed those. They are 58lbs each. Gotta get them down to 50 to avoid overage! I have two more to pack and will distribute better. There is a case of Ensure/Pediasure in each that takes up 15 of those pounds.
The only thing I have to finish up is my document book. I need to take copies of pretty much everything I have ever submitted and then some. If even one document is not present at interviews, I can magically make it appear!

Prayer Request #2
My Mom
After nearly a year of weekly Chemo treatments (3 on/1 off,MRI rotation), my parents spoke with her oncologist today to review Monday's MRI and it showed the cancer has shown a 30% increase in her lungs. She will meet again with him the first part of Dec to discuss treatment options after he has had time to do some research. The ones left are possibly experimental and therefore not covered under Medicare. My mother is not sure she wants to continue. Her 80th birthday is Dec 19th. I had made plane reservations last March to be there for the occasion. I am torn!
Pray for her as she makes the difficult decision to continue to fight or to let the cancer takes it's course. The doctors had given her 6-18 months to live with treatment nearly 3 years ago. She has amazed us all! She is a tough ole Cajun Gal!

Thanks for your prayers!

I Got a Glimpse!

Yesterday was the first day I have really started to get emotional about the whole thing. Several other adoptive parents who have been there and met the girls told me a little about them and it was the first glimpse I have had into their characters. It began the well spring of tears and emotions (kinda like those weird hormones at the end of pregnancy). I have felt a little heartless (mechanical) all along, good or bad it was kinda like God has protected my heart and now the well spring of emotions are starting to trickle. I hope by the time I travel I will just ache to meet my girls.

Here are their comments:

Your girls were great. Mercy was very cheerful and pleasant, and made a point to come over and introduce herself. She sat in one of the chairs and wanted to know about myself and family. She was full of smiles and very easy to talk with. I think she will love having someone to sit and talk with when you are together.

Charsletta is absolutely a doll! She played well with all the kids. There was only one little "situation" that had to be dealt with, and that was because one of the other girls called Charsletta a bad name. She told the nannies, and they took care of it. The girls hugged and then played again. I don't think I ever saw her without a smile. She would run over and give hugs and just chat away. I didn't understand a lot of what she said, but that didn't stop her. Honestly, I didn't even know she was a "special needs" kid. She looks very healthy, and runs around with the other kids. The care those kids get is amazing. They are very well taken care of and get lots of love.

Both your girls are very sweet! I was able to talk and play with them. Mercy taught me how to "comb" my child's hair into a 'fro. Charsletta "platted" (Liberian word for braided") my hair. It was very fun to get to see them, and you are very blessed to have them. They both seem happy.

Oh Wow!!! So you haven’t even met your daughter, Mercy, yet. You’re in for a wonderful experience. She is a very loving, gentle, and patient person. She also has a great deal of courage. At the time we met her, she was a walking skeleton. Mercy has strong fruits of the spirit. She is so very loving, gives grand hugs, and is quite intelligent. She is full of kindness, soft spoken, and self-controlled. I’m glad she is being adopted by your family.

:o)

As you can read I have some great girls coming home soon and my heart is beginning to ache!

Are You Thankful?

Oh that we may be thankful for the amazing blessings that God has given us.

LET US COMPLAIN LESS AND GIVE MORE!!

Passports!

We hadn't heard anything since we gave the ok to pursue, so I called AOH and found out that Mercy has her passport and Charlesetta's is in process. They are expecting a bunch of passports in the next week or two, and we are hoping that Charlesetta's will be in that group.
This was news to us because usually there has to be finalization in the Liberian courts so we are assuming that has been completed. Though sometimes in special needs cases the process can be done out of order.
The next step after getting their Liberian passports is for the birth families to be interviewed by the Embassy to verify Orphan status. As soon as that is done a visa appointment is set that I need to be there for and we will get their visa's to travel within a day or two of that. Then we fly home.
However, there has been another shake down at the Embassy and now they are only taking one interview appointment on Tues and one on Thurs per agency. So there will be a slowdown to say the least. It is unclear if the Consular will take special medical needs kids at non-appointment times. We will wait to see.

For now it looks like we will be traveling sometime within the next 6 weeks, but hopefully on the sooner end.

The Other Side of Giving

“We want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” 2 Corinthians 8:1-2

Adoption is such a ride…emotionally, spiritually, physically! We started out wanting 2 healthy little girls younger than our daughter. Looking back now I see how God had other plans and orchestrated so many events to change our perspective. My husband and I have been going through Crown Financial Ministries 10-week study. In fact the first night I was late as I was sitting in the driveway of the home we were meeting in because Donna at AOH was calling to tell me the information she received on Mercy. It was the first time I learned what had happened to her. Each week the study touches on a different topic. Debt, Counsel, Honesty, Giving, Work, Investing, Perspective and Eternity (if you ever have a chance I highly recommend the study). But recently, about the fourth week into the study, some issues came up concerning Mercy that made us start questioning wither we should be bringing this teenager into our home. Then another issue came up personally and my husband and I really had to reconsider what we were doing. As we talked we realized that adoption at this time was not a good idea. I was crushed, but knew I needed to support my husband in this decision. A few hours after our discussion I began to pray ”Lord this isn’t about me, or my desires or wants. This isn’t about my husband or his fears. This isn’t about what others will think of us if we bow out now. This isn’t even about the girls and their needs. This is about You Lord, and what YOU want. This is about You being Glorified. This is about us being molded further into Your image, so Lord I pray now… please open the door wide, or close it shut tight. We want what You want Lord. We trust You!” A few hours later I checked my email (which I do about 5 times a day) and I began to weep as I saw the Lord speaking so directly. Email after email was downloading on my computer all from one source. PayPal. I have it linked to my fundraiser page for the girls and when donations come in, it sends me a notice as to who and how much was given. Keep in mind over the past several weeks we have gotten maybe 4-5 donations (and 4-5 since). Here, before my eyes, from the last several hours, were over 34 donations totaling over $1000.00. And when I looked who they were from, I was stunned... Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Canada and of course, the US. It’s not that PayPal downloads their giving reports at one time. They are the moment one comes in a notice gets sent to my email. People from all over the world, responded to a prompting, divinely given. And our Crown Study that week was on, you guessed it…Giving! And as I study the principles of giving, that it all belongs to God anyway, I realize that giving to the Lord becomes an act of worship! But many times when we are obedient to give, and especially giving in the spirit of joy, sometimes we don’t’ see the other side…the side were God is using those offerings to directly and purposefully answer the prayers of those who earnestly seek Him. Those people in Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, England, Canada and the US had no idea I was weeping before the Lord asking Him to make it clear to us what He wanted in this adoption, but HE was prompting their hearts and I know will bless them for their acts of worship.
As I sat there and watched those gifts come in I knew at that very moment that God was answering our prayers. He was giving us a directive. He was telling us purposefully…"I WILL PROVIDE! I have heard your earnest plea, and I want you to move forward and trust that I will take care of you."

As Paul wrote in Philippians 4:17 “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account” In the world’s eyes, this adoption makes absolutely no sense. Two very medically needy children who will consume a great deal of time, energy and financial recourses. We must be crazy! But God sees beyond this world, He sees through the eyes of eternity.

To all who gave to us or are going to give…thank you! Thank you for your obedience in the prompting of the Holy Spirit and in your act of worship, and like Paul, I seek for the profit which increases to your account!

We have proceeded in the adoption of Mercy and Joy and today are waiting on their finalization and passport. Many adoptive parents have been waiting months for this and feel guilty that it is happening so fast for us. Acres of Hope is walking this through because Mercy is weak, she is dying. It is imperative she get to the states to get her strong and healthy. I know God has mighty things planned for these girls. He brought them this far. He has worked in the lives of so many to make this come about. We have a great responsibility ahead of us, to raise them in the admonition of the Lord. We can’t wait to see what the Lord is going to do but even if we never see the reasons this side of Eternity…we will praise Him still.

Praise His Name...AGAIN!!!

Another family bringing two little ones home had a miracle this week read The Borcherts Story!

GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!!!

Praise His Holy Name!

There is another adoptive couple in Acres of Hope who has been through an amazing storm and seen our mighty God carry them on wings of eagles through it! Their names are the Alonso's. Please read the Alonso's story as it will lift your spirit too! Praise God they didn't quit! They pressed on to see what God really had in store for them! PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!

Mercy's Birthday Party!

These are Mercy's new peers! The youth group at church had birthday cake in her honor tonight. I took pictures to put in her photo album I am sending over to her so she can begin to see her new life. Happy Birthday Sweet girl! May you have many more!

Grace's Drawing

Top to Bottom - Grace, Joy, Mercy

Happy Birthday Mercy!!!!

New Report From Acres of Hope:
The girls are doing so well. Charlesetta has really opened up and is very sweet and chatty. She's so comfortable with everything and has found a great friend in her new roommate Naomi (also a caustic victim). Charlesetta weighs 36 pounds.
Mercy is learning to be more respectful and obedient towards her caretakers. She is getting excited about her 14th birthday coming up this Monday. I did not get a weight on her but she looks about the same. Here are new pics of the girls.

It looks like the girls are doing well. I thought Mercy's birthday was next Saturday but I guess it is tomorrow! I have never seen Charlesetta so happy. I think her personality is really blossoming with Naomi. Perhaps we will get to visit the Weathers soon, as I think they live in Alabama, and since my parents live in Pensacola, Florida it's a good chance we will be passing through regularly! What a treat for Charlesetta and Naomi to get to visit each other.