Ivy Preparatory School

In my previous post, I gave some background on how I ended up in Ghana last month.  I headed out to visit a school that opened last September in Ashiyie, near Adenta in Accra.

I had the privilege of spending a week in the school.  I observed lessons, wandered around the school and delivered a training session to the staff.

It was a refreshing time and to be honest, gave me great food for thought about the type of school I would like Babygirl to attend.

So let me introduce you to Ivy Preparatory School:

 

The buildings have been beautifully finished and provide a vibrant and welcoming environment as the children arrive.

The classrooms are bright and decorated to simulate learning.

By far the best assets of the school are the staff and students.  The students are genuinely interested in learning and the staff are committed to seeing each child progress.  I have taught in many schools and so far I would only consider sending my child to one of those schools.  That was until I saw Ivy Preparatory School, as I sat in the lessons and observed the work being done in this school, I seriously considered relocating so that Babygirl could become a pupil.

The school has not been open for a year yet but is already having a huge impact on individual children's lives.  A school with a Christian ethos - it carries the motto, "In Fide Scientiam" which is Latin  for "To our faith, add knowledge".

The school is truly a place where the children are encouraged for feel safe when learning and take risks to stretch and test their abilities.  

It was summed up beautifully by a Key Stage 1 student in one of the lessons I observed.  It was a Maths lesson and one of the students had been invited up to the front to solve a maths problem with an abacus.  He was struggling.  As the class waited, he scratched his head and tried to solve the problem.  Eventually, one of his classmates piped up, saying, "Come on, believe in your heart that you can do it!"  I couldn't help smile as I observed this young child cheer and encourage his classmate rather than belittle him.  As the young boy at the front conquered the challenge of the maths problem, the class applauded him and he returned to his seat with a smile.

I left that lesson with a smile too and thought, "Now that's what education is all about!"

Watch out for my upcoming interview with the principal and founder of Ivy Preparatory School.  In the meantime, you can check out their website.

Until next time, 

Cece xxx

Akwaaba - Cece in Ghana!

The month of April was very busy for me.  Not only did we go away as a family (see my previous post for more details) but I also headed off to Ghana for 7 days.

Before I share what happened on the trip, I should perhaps give a bit of background on how I ended up going to Ghana.

Three years ago, a friend of mine moved to Ghana with her husband and four children.  Last year, she told me via Whatsapp that she was going to start a school.  The moment I read the message - I got butterflies in my stomach.  I told her that I had to visit her in Ghana to see the school.  It was a passing comment and I wasn't totally convinced that I was actually going to do it.

Fast forward to February this year, when I visited a friend's church for a women's event.   The theme was "Stepping Out in Faith" and on the table there was a card for each woman with this picture:

During the time of worship, I began to talk to God about some of the things I wanted to do in my life.  He used the image above to speak very clearly and I knew that He was calling for me to step out in faith.  So I determined in my heart to go for the plans I had in my mind.  As the meeting progressed, God started to remind me of things that He had told me back in 2003, and He reminded about a school He had shown me. 

It was a school in a tropical setting and the building was yellow.  I remember it clearly because at the time, I remember thinking that we don't have yellow schools in England.  Then God said, "But haven't you seen a yellow school recently?"  Instantly I thought back to the pictures that my friend had sent me of the school she had opened in Ghana.

Ivy Preparatory

I instantly knew that I had to go to Ghana to see this school and one week later, I had booked my ticket.  

To be honest, I had no clue of what I was going to do when I got to the school, but there was one silent prayer I was regularly saying to God, "I don't want to live in Ghana".  I was afraid that God was taking me to Ghana to tell me that I was going to move there.

Now, let me explain that I have no problems at all with Ghana.  This visit was going to be my first time there and it was a country that I had always wanted to visit, but it had never been on my radar as a place to live.

On the drive to the airport and as I sat on the plane, I constantly found myself thinking, "What are you doing?!!".  This is not something that Cece does - books a flight and heads out to a country she has never been to because she feels that "God told her too!"

I landed on African soil after 6 hours in the air and asked God to take control and make it clear why I was in Ghana.

What followed was 7 days of self discovery, reawakening of dreams and a clear mission for the next stage of my life!

My trip flew by but I have been forever changed by the experience.  God used this trip to speak clearly into what He wants me to do next and I am so excited!!!  He even spoke clearly on the issue of infertility.

First day in Ghana

View from my room

I have come back from Ghana with a focus I have never experienced before in my life.  I am sure that the repercussions of this trip will become more evident over the next few months and years, and I will endeavour to share as much as possible in my blog posts.

In the meantime, I encourage you to step out when God speaks - you have no idea where it will take you but you can be guaranteed that it's going to be scary and amazing simultaneously!

And before I go, I can almost hear you shouting, "So, are you moving to Ghana?".  The answer is "No", but I will definitely be back!  Watch this space ;-)

Until next time,
Cece xx

Our Family Break

Last month, DH, Babygirl and I headed off to Broad Oak, a small village which is a short drive from Eastbourne.  We booked a beautiful cottage, loaded up the car and headed off for a week in the countryside.  It was a fabulous week away!  

 

The Cottage

Fantastic viewing spot to enjoy nature

The view from the cottage

Beautiful flowers to welcome us to the cottage

We pottered around the cottage, watched TV, played outside and completed lots of puzzles!
Babygirl thoroughly enjoyed the garden and tried her hand at taking a few pictures. 

Taken by Babygirl

Taken by Babygirl

Babygirl engaging with nature :-)

Happy feet!

The cottage was based on a farm so DH had the pleasure of a full tour on a tractor, while Babygirl insisted on saying hello to the cows every day!

Calf accepts its daily welcome from Babygirl

Blurry picture of the pheasant that visited every morning

We ventured out a few days after lazing around the cottage, with a day trip to Tunbridge Wells and a short drive to Eastbourne for Babygirl to see the sea for the first time.  We walked along the coastline and ate fish and chips on the pier!  A proper British seaside visit!

 

The pressure is on for us to book our next break as everyday Babygirl is asking when we'll be returning to the cottage.  I think the first family break was a hit!

Tying up Loose Ends: Meeting the birth mum

I wanted to wait a while before sharing this particular aspect of my story and as this week we celebrated two years of Babygirl living with us, it felt like the right time to share.

A common question I am asked is if we know anything about Babygirl's background.  Before we adopted Babygirl we received a detailed report telling us about her background and the reason for her being put up for adoption.

We also had the opportunity to meet with Babygirl's birth mum.  I remember the day clearly - Babygirl had been living with us for a few months and it was a warm summer day.  We sat in a room with our supervising social worker and Babygirl's social worker.  Babygirl was not present.  Babygirl's birth mum arrived alone and what took place was a meeting which allowed her to meet the people who would have the responsibility of raising her child.

It was a short meeting, we shared Babygirl's progress and she shared a bit about the pregnancy.  I remember exactly how I felt - I felt great sadness.  Babygirl's birth mum was alone and facing what was probably the most difficult meeting of her life but she did it!  I could sense her sadness but the meeting also felt like a handing over of Babygirl.

When the meeting ended, I felt like a silent agreement had been made - that she had now officially handed Babygirl over into our care.

We took photos and look forward to sharing them with Babygirl when she is old enough to understand.  While I remember feeling terrified about attending the meeting, I remember feeling very strongly that I had to do it for Babygirl.

We will now be writing a letter to Babygirl's birth mum annually - it is not going to be easy but I know that this is all part of helping our daughter to understand who she is and where she came from.

Until next time,
Cece

Why I started this blog

I'm pretty sure that this blog post is unexpected as I have been absent for about six months now.  The last few months have been busy with lots of things going on my life but I can't say that's the reason for my absence.  Over the last few months, I have been questioning whether I should keep writing this blog.

My reason for shutting down this blog was two fold:

1.  I wasn't sure that I had anything left to write
2.  I didn't want Babygirl to become an "internet object"

Let me tackle these in reverse order:

When I started this blog, I didn't really have a plan. I just wanted to have an outlet to express how I felt through what was proving to be a trying journey.  At some point along the way, I realised that my outpouring of thoughts on a screen might be of use to someone else out there, and so I decided to share it more widely.  However, when Babygirl came along, I wasn't sure how to proceed.  I shared little snippets about her but I never wanted her to become the main focus of the blog.  Earlier this year, I heard about some comments that were being made about Babygirl in real life - they weren't unpleasant comments but for some reason it unsettled me.  I didn't want my decision to share personal aspects of my life to prevent Babygirl from having the privacy she would need as she grew.  So I decided to shut down the blog - I even drafted the final set of posts entitled "Tying Up Loose Ends" in preparation to close the blog down.  However, the decision to close the blog didn't quite sit right with me, but this led to the second problem......

If I did continue to blog, what would I write about?

It seemed a natural progression from talking about infertility and adoption to start to write about motherhood and parenting.  However, this is not something I have ever desired to write about and I feel that there are plenty of fantastic parenting blogs out there that are sharing great tips and advice.  I wanted my blog to continue to be a true reflection of me whilst covering a topic that I was passionate about.  So I simply decided to stop writing until I had something to say.

And here I am......

My reason for getting back to the keyboard was a sermon that my Pastor shared a few weeks ago.  It focussed on one verse in the Bible, Judges 2: 10

"When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel."

In his sermon, he expressed the importance of sharing our testimony.  Testimony may sound like such an old fashioned word and depending on which type of church you go to, you may find that certain images and expectations come to mind.  But your testimony is simply telling people what you know about God and what He has done for you.  In Judges, we see the Israelites becoming unfaithful to God because the new generation did not know God for themselves and had not been told what He had done for Israel before.  As he spoke, I realised that this blog has acted as my testimony.  I suddenly felt a need to start writing again - it helped me to go back to seeing this blog as I originally saw it - a place where I could share what God has done and is doing for me.

In the first post on this blog, I invited you to join me on a journey.  I wasn't sure what the outcome would be and I wasn't sure where I was going.  So here I am in the 92nd post asking you to do the same again, except this time, it will be the journey of this blog.

I am going to start writing again.  I'm going to go back to writing from the heart and sharing what is on my mind - some of it will be infertility, some of it will be motherhood and the rest will be all the things in between.  I hope you will join me - as always I encourage you to write comments and ask questions.  Perhaps your question or comment will act as inspiration for the next post!

Until next time,

Cece xxx

Babygirl Update

Babygirl has been with us for almost a year and a half and it is safe to say that she is fully settled.  She has left behind her "baby" approach to life and has fully embraced life as a toddler.  Her constant mode of transport seems to be running and she tends to look at you blankly when you try to introduce the concept of walking.

A full on "chatterbox" - Babygirl talks from the moment she wakes up to the moment she falls asleep.  In the mornings we are woken by her conversations with her teddy bears and at night we hear her "reading" a bedtime story to them before she drifts off.

A healthy appetite with an interest in everything you are doing - she is full on.  She has developed a lovely sense of humour and enjoys joking around whenever possible.

It genuinely feels like Babygirl has always been here and occasionally I find myself thinking, "Oh yeah, you're adopted!"  It's not something that I think about on a daily basis - we just get on with life.  In fact at a recent medical appointment, when asked about family history, I automatically started to think about my family and found myself saying to the doctor, "Whoops!  She's adopted - wrong family history."

I'm enjoying life at the moment - work fits in nicely around the new way of life and I am so grateful to God that He has truly made everything beautiful in His time.

Until next time, 

Cece

xx

The Power of Parenting: A Word to the Fathers

"Abba Father", "Daddy God", "Father's love" - terms that are full of love and assurance and yet can bring much confusion.

Confusion?  Why?  We are told "God is our Father" but what does that mean to a child who has never had one?  Or someone who has experienced abuse or a judgmental father?


I remember when Babygirl arrived in our home and someone said to me, "Cece, you will be the first "Jesus" she sees".  It was a powerful statement and reminded me that part of my role as a parent is to be an example of Christ in my child's life.

As we meditate on the idea of God as our Father, it is inevitable that we look back to our earthly Father to understand what that means.

A father who witholds their love, abuses their position or abandons their child directly impacts how the child grows in their relationship with God.  Dads, you are the first "Father" your child sees!

You are so crucial in your child's life. 

Through your actions:
Sons are taught how to be men

Daughters are taught how a man should love and treat her

Children are given an image of what "Daddy God" means 

On this Fathers' Day, I appreciate the men who have stepped up to the challenge of being a dad.  I appreciate the men who have stepped in for those that have failed to take their rightful place.  I pray for the men who have stepped out of their role that they will understand the importance of their role and take up their correct position.

Just a note for those who have struggled with the Father's love:

1.  God is in the business of restoring and replacing

"He is a father to the fatherless; he gives justice to the widows, for he is holy. He gives families to the lonely, and releases prisoners from jail, singing with joy!"

Psalm 68:5, 6a

2.  God is your father

"Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir."

Galatians 4:6, 7 

Happy Fathers' Day!  Take the time to appreciate all the men who have played a role in your life, and ask God to help you understand his Father's love for you more and more each day.

Until next time, 

Cece

xxx