Two years have passed and I have travelled the world....

Well……
A lot has happened to me since daddy last posted in 2010. Things have been pretty good with my life and I have done lots of things since then. Now that I am an Australian I am able to travel anywhere in the world. I have been to a lot of interesting counties. Apart from going to Australia for Xmas and summer vacation in July, I have been to Thailand to a place called Ko Samui to ride an elephant and around the streets of Bangkok. I have also been to Borneo on a boat to visit Orangutan Island to see real life Orangutans. We have also been to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat, flew around Vietnam and rode a vespa around Ho Chi Min, cruised the Delta in a sampan, cycled an island in Hoi An and sailed the islands of Hanoi. We have also been to China and did Beijing in a sidecar, camped and climbed the Great Wall of China. I was the youngest child to climb that part of the wall that we did, it was VERY dangerous but we made it! We visited the terracotta warriors and then walked the Bung in Shanghai. This year we hope to visit Finland in July and visit Santas village in Lapland! I am sooo excited coz I still believe that Santa is real, even if other kids tell me that he isn’t!
Apart from travelling in the summer to far away countries I spend most of my time at school, which I sort of like! I love sports and enjoy math, English is boring but ICT is my favorite. After school I do Taekwondo, tennis and baseball. I have also learned to play the piano ( a little), daddy says that I really good and I have a keyboard in my bedroom to practice on, I have even written my own song.
This year I turned 10 (double figures) and had one of the best parties I have had, I went to dinner and ate pork buns till my belly was full with a lot of daddy’s girlfriends! We had a child free birthday, which was great because all daddies’ friends bought me gifties. I got lots of Lego , which I love the most and now I am able to make cool things like planes and cars and bullet trains that are very long. Daddy is the best in making parties and I have done lots of things in the past, but I don’t do McDonalds anymore because that’s for babies. This year daddy bought me a new bike, it’ bigger than the other two I have had and a new skateboard, which I love.
I still have Foxy my dog and now we have Sooty. She is a black cat that I like very much, so does Foxy; they play together all the time. We also have two terrapins in the kitchen in a tank and I still have fish in my room as well as fish in a lilly pond outside, although we can never see the brown ones. We still have birds as well… called budgies and sometimes they have babies.We had a lot more cats but daddy ran over a couple and then one drowned in the pool , the other ran away. Maybe he was scared of being run over too. Sooty is very smart and doesn’t go near the car.
Rahul our house boy has been replaced by Mary after 6 years of looking after us. He was a little naughty and very dirty so daddy sent him back to India, I also found all my DVDs that were missing after he left in his room! Mary lives with her boyfriend Arjith out the back of our house, we like them a lot and she does a good job in keeping the house clean.
Anyway, that is all from me for now as its time to go to Taekwondo today, I am a green belt these days and trying hard to get to the next level.

My Mommy

Daddy has finally recieved a picture of my mommy, now I know who I look like and who my mother was. Her name was Martine Honsu and she died and went to heaven to help god when I was two. She died of Malaria. I said to daddy the day that I saw that picture in the car.... "Daddy!! I think I should kill myself so I can go to heaven to see my mommy! "..... daddy said that I couldnt because God does not like it when people do that...only God can say when you die and come to heaven! . I then said....."dont worry Daddy!.... I will come back and hold your hand when I am an angel and if you dont know who I am.... I will write my name in the sand ...JUSTICE.... and you will know".... I think that made daddy a little happy / sad!!

Australian at last

So I am finally an Australian Citizen... at last after all the red tape and countless reams of forms that my daddy had to fill out has paid off. One more thing to do, AUSSIE PASSPORT, which has proven not as easy to get as previously expected, yet again we have to explain how , what, when , who etc etc etc ..... you would think that after getting your Citizenship...clean sailing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! nope! Anyway... April 7th daddy has an appointment with the passport office. Fingers crossed all is well.


Alot has happened since we last wrote on my blog, the time has flown by and I am getting taller every day. I am doing well at school and will be moving to the British School where I will wear a tie like daddy every day. I will be skipping year three and will be going into year 4 , to catch up with my age...my teachers think I am ready. Rahul has been doing lots of work with me at home and has taught me how to use the computer. I am good at my times tables now and win everyday at school.
Hopefully this year for my vaction we will be going to Thailand again and then to Borneo to see the orangatangs and go on a river boat cruise, we also plan to stay in a traditional long house and sleep on the floor!.....I have been to Australia twice now and stopped off in Thailand last year on the way to OZ.One of the many firsts I experienced while there was riding an elephant in Ko Samui, drinking from a coconut and paddling in a canoe. When I was in Australia, daddy bought me a quad bike to ride around the farm , I can ride it all by myself now. I also have a quad bike in Bahrain as well. The best thing about Australia is the pies and of course nannys cooking. I love rissoles and nannys spag bol.

Touch down , touch down!!

Hey!! are we in Australia yet?? ( as we landed in Singapore), we are finally on our way back to Australia. We are going to Australia finally!! to visit my brand new family, alot of them have not met me yet. I can't wait to ride on Pa's tractor!! and eat Cardo on toastie ( Avocado on toast) daddy grows them on his / our property. Daddy has not been home for two and half years... !! now we will get to come every 6 months!
It was a VERY long flight from Bahrain to Australia, but the seats this time in the plane were very big!! I had my own bed and TV screen and massage chair, the lady bought us drinks all the time and I had my food on a table with a cloth instead of a box!! I didn't have to walk all the way down the back of the plane this time...Daddy said that this is the way to fly....
Daddy was worried that something was going to go wrong at immigration and was ready with all this paperwork... but the man said that I look alot older and that I look like a big boy now and then said ' Welcome to Australia' ...... then a man checked our bags just like my Aeroplane book and said ok..
While the driver drove us up to daddies house, Nanny and Pa was waiting for us, I think it was too early in the morning for Nanny and Pa to get out of bed. Everything was so green on the way up the mountain and I saw lots and lots of trees and there was no sand! Nanny and Pa was very happy to see daddy and ME!! and nanny cried and cried !
There are lots and lots of things in Australia that I never have seen before, like, Pa's tractor/ride on mower... that makes a very loud noise that I am scared of... I don't think I want to ride THAT tractor now!!! daddy has lots of lizards at his house that like to sit on the stairs, I don't like them either.... also daddy washes his hands in a ' creek??' that's dirty water and I don't want to put my hand in that water!!! then daddy said we drink that water!!! I think the plane ride has done something to his head!!
I like the ossom ( possum) that comes every night... but he smells like wee wee... he stinks. I also like killing the spiders and catching the chickens that come from next store, the lady gives nanny eggs, but I think she does that so nanny doesn't go mad when the chicken dig nannies plants up! We have many wild birds that Pa feeds and scrub turkeys that come out looking for food also.
Pa gave me a pair of horse riding boots to wear , they are way too big but I love wearing them around, also an army bike ... that DIDN'T have breaks, so I had to jump off half way down the hill on what they call gravel!!! that is too paining on my body.... so i don't jump off my bike while its going any more!!
I also tasted my first Meat Pie with dead horse ( tomato sauce), which is my favorite and my first Mac Donald's chocolate milk shake.
When we went to daddies property and I saw the horses for the first time.. they are very big and daddy is going to let me ride one!! I am still scared of snakes!! but not horses!! We are also going to have daddies friends come up and bring their little boy from Burundi with them, his name is Eric and he is from Africa like me.........
When daddy went shopping one day, I saw Santa!! daddy said it was Santa's cousin, so i had a picture with him and told him I wanted a Green Truck!! the next day, daddy and me went to a garage sale and guess what!!!! Santa delivered my green truck to this mans place because he had tooooooo many toys at the toy shop, so he decided to let me have his Santa's gift early, I am a lucky boy!!!

WE HAVE A VISA!!!

Yup........ Justice's passport arrived today with the Australian Adoption Visa in it, granted on the 15th of September. Looks like we are off to Australia this Xmas after an 18th month wait, we finaly got it!! Going to attempt to get his Citizenship before we leave.. paperwork already filled out!

One year on!!

Well …. A year has gone by since I had adopted my son Justice from Ghana ( at the time I wrote this) Justice was only four when I first met him and now he is the proud age of six, where has the year gone? Seems more like ten years, boy how the time has flown by. What would I have said a year ago if you would have asked me what it would be like one year down the track, only for the encouragement I had off others saying that soon it will all just fall in place , one or two months you wont even be bothered…??? I did survive.

Boy how we have grown or more so how my son has grown, mentally , physically and spiritually , not to forget myself as a father. I look back at those very scary days , those VERY scary early days of early fatherhood. The very early days that I said to myself ‘what the hell have I done!!? , life as I knew it was over and what type of father would I make, although I never doubted that I couldn’t do it , nor did anyone else and yes, I knew that I would make a good father. BUT ..with no family support network at the early stages of me being a single dad, could I pull this off? Unfortunately my family was in Australia and I in the Middle East, not just down the road or a quick hour rescue flight so I could have a weekend off ?No Nanny or Pa to baby sit… ( although I did have Rahul, my house boy….gods gift to me/us! ) For most part the physical and mental support came from friends unlike most people that have partner to help or to talk to, lay next to at the end of the day and discuss the days trials and tribulations. What were the good moves,what were the not so good moves…there were a few times I thought to myself!! Ooops! Bad daddy decision! I would look over my shoulder and say ‘glad no one was around to see that one! Those were the savoring moments that being single parent parenthood was good. What I did thank god for was a fantastic group of friends which filled those gaps where my family could not and yes… back to Rahul, everyone should have a Rahul, and yes everyone wanted a Rahul. Rahul is my Indian house boy that was my angel from god! Rahul had been with me for three years, working as my house boy looking after a fussy old bachelor that liked his wardrobe colour co ordinated, shoes polished every day and a spotless house in which to live in ( not that those demands have lessened , but there is much more give and take these days…) apart from a live in house boy , he is also Justice’s manny. Rahul and Justice get along just fine, and with Rahul being there from day one, he is just as much family in the eyes of Justice, Rahul is his big brother. Rahul has been a blessing to both of us, he is very good with Justice and keeps him in line when I am not around , takes the pressure of father hood off me when need be and looks after him when daddy needs a Star Bucks coffee or a night out.

I look back now and realize just how much my friends actually supported me and made sure they were there when I needed them, I never had to ask , they were always there. One of my dearest friends was a great lady, Paula. Mother of Yousif and Hanna, Irish married to an Egyptian fella called Mohammed. Paula was a pillar of strength in the summer of 2007, most afternoons after picking Justice up from Summer school was spent at Paulas, while Justice played with Yousif and Hanna. Paula supplied all the right information, support, advice and spoke my language regarding bringing up of children, she was always quick to say that I was doing well/ok. Those were the words that needed to hear all too many times at the beginning, the reassurance that I needed.

One thing that no one prepared me for the first few weeks was what you would equate to as post natal depression, the days when I just couldn’t eat, and the ill feeling in the pit of my stomach that just never went away. I would always have breakfast because I had to, but lunch and dinner was out.. if anything, I would have a bite of Justice’s left over’s, which would suffice my meager hunger pains. Eating the right food and the amount of it was the most important thing regarding Justice and the one thing that stressed me out the most. I look back now and just laugh at how stressed I actually was. That was until I discovered mashed potato!!! The Orphanage said that he would eat anything … NOT TRUE!! Justice and I had a rocky start to the introduction of food after the last night in Ghana when a very new silly daddy gave his new son a half of a mango for dinner. A half of mango that was equal to the size of Justice’s head. A kid that rarely ever had fresh fruit and all of a sudden was blessed with a cheek of golden orange ripe sweet mango that must have weighed half a kilo!! Needles to say that it all came back up over me at about 12am ( my first reaction was that he was peeing on me) when I rolled over I saw him projectile vomit again and again and then again at 1am , by this time we had used up all the linen in my 5 star hotel room from both beds and we both ended up on sleeping on the floor with two pillow and the bed cover rolled over us both. Justice slept next to me while I lied awake with my hand on his chest hoping that he wouldn’t die from my stupid mistake. I laid there just looking at Justice, calling my family from time to time to get some sort of solace from the mango dilemma. Finally as I watched the sun come up, the hotel sprinklers came on and crows squawked in the trees outside the hotel room. Justice woke up… he’s ALIVE!!! Yes it was over; he woke up like nothing had ever happened. Justice introduction to a beach resort was not a pleasant one, he didn’t like the fountain, he didn’t like the sea, he didn’t like the water in the swimming pool and he defiantly didn’t like taking his clothes off to go swimming and least of all getting his pants wet!! Nor did he like the vegetarian curry that I ordered him for lunch?? (Another silly daddy moment) Possible the worst night of my life to date! And my idea of staying in a five star hotel on the beach on my last night in Ghana proved to be anything BUT fun but it was memorable!

When I arrived home, the nights didn’t get any better for at least a month… I remember all to well the nights that I never slept and woke to the sound of a pin dropping, waiting to hear if he was getting or falling out of bed or being beamed to out of space by aliens, running away or falling down the stairs… I prayed that I wouldn’t have a problem child, one that would go to bed easily and not wake up all of the time, that wasn’t scared to sleep by himself in a room all that was decorated like an amusement park… I prayed that my boy would eat anything including seaweed, sushi, Thai and enjoyed a double low fat latté and a corn quiche!! Was I asking too much? Needless to say he does actually like all of the above! I think I watched too much Super Nanny before he arrived, I was actually brain washed into thinking that it was just not possible that MY son could be like any of those children on that TV program.. I wanted a child that loved bath time and didn’t touch and break everything I owned… and I got one. I was actually blessed, my son turned out to be just what I wanted. My first night sleep was just around the corner and I remember the night that my zzzzzzzz ship rolled into the dry dock. Equally I remember the days when I didn’t want to wake up…. To face ??? to face what??? The unexpected?? Who knows! But I did , I had to and it had to be without a hangover. I woke up every morning to a great kid that went to bed smiling and woke up the same.

Ok ok ok… I wasn’t prepared the bed wetting though, but thanks to pull ups that was a simple problem soon solved. I had always thought of disposable nappies as something lazy mothers used that didn’t want to wash nappies, an expense that could be spent on something more then just a disposable item, well my attitude soon changed after dealing with one or two wet nights and wet bed linen/PJs/child and mattress.

Justice’s arrival and reaction to his new home/bedroom was met with a certain amount of trepidation, my dog Foxy certainly didn’t go down well at first. Foxy was and still the type of dog that pees itself when she sees you and jumps around when you arrive home wanting to be petted or fed. Justice saw this reaction as something that wanted to eat him!! Quote! “ dogs kill you” un quote! Thus we didn’t spend much time out doors in the court yard or in the pool for quite a few weeks. Even in the swimming pool if foxy came near, just thought that he was going to jump in and get him. Pool days were NOT fun at the beginning. But as time went by they did become friends and then Justice became the boss. Foxy was rein of terror was short lived and was back down the ladder.
Justice’s bedroom was yet another story… I had spend a lot of man hours painting the walls with a motif of an under water sea theme. It was to represent his journey from Ghana to Bahrain to Australia, the later not yet discovered. In one corner was a collection of African animals and wildlife trees etc that represented Africa, there was you typical giraffe and elephant, parrots flying, a silly money hanging from the vines of trees above a smiling tiger which left his foot prints leading down to the water… then following the wall around you will notice a hanging plane which of course was us flying across the sea. The other corner was Bahrain which was typified by an island of sand where typical Bahraini buildings stood amongst Mosques’ with the odd camel and Arabs dressed in their native dress under date palms. A giant blue genie filled the corner of the wall that appeared from a giant Aladdin style lamp, greeting him to Bahrain. All this was on top of an underwater theme which had all the see creatures including sea chests and treasure, shells, fish blowing bubbles and families of sea horses and a smiling octopus. Sea snakes also were included on the walls, all of which had to be removed and placed in other places not easily seen. Justice was and is still petrified of snakes, whether from a book, TV, painting, toy or even worse… a real one. That is one thing that he is just not comfortable with. Above the water were dolphins and whales that had jumped out of the ocean splashing about. All of this is still in tacked, one year after. Justice only asked once could he draw on the walls.. NO was quickly installed in his little brain!! This artist was not ready to share his canvas with a minor, even if it was his room!!! The Australian corner was yet to be discovered, hence the lack of a visa. Ensharllah!! ( we have since got the visa) … OZ ..here we come!! Xmas in OZ.

It wasn’t long till Justice settled into his daily routine of summer school called blooming buds. A small local school that was running a program that suited Justice to a tee, there were only a few children in the class and Justice was the oldest. This proved to be the best move daddy made, it eased him into western style of schooling and routine. With his confidence growing daily and the realization that I was always coming back to collect him. Daddy always comes back was a common phrase used daily.

Justice settled in well. He was now ready for his next hurdle … BIG SCHOOL or miss Shanee’s school. Shanee is another one of my dearest and closest friends in Bahrain. Her mother runs Nadeen International School of which Shanee also works. Shanee had kept a position for Justice all along while I was tossing where the best place would be to send him. After deciding that there was no other school better the Nadeen at this point in time, I made the decision to go with Nadeen, so I enrolled Justice days before the school had ended for the summer. We met with who would be his new teacher and now close friend Miss Sara, who kindly opened her heart for Justice and warmed to him from the beginning, yes this was my kind of school. Secretly I did want my son to be treated special and wanted him to be the teachers pet, liked by all and was Darren’s son. Although he was treated somewhat special or more so looked out for more then the others… he soon settled in to the schools ways, rules and routines and was treated like every other child that attended. And yes.. he learnt to read and write and now he was on his way ‘ thank god he can read’ !!! one of the many mile stones that I was yet to experience. Those early days proved to be vitally important for the smooth transition that he had from life from the orphanage to family life as well as new social behavior and manners.

Not only has justice learnt what most children normally learn when they start school etc what we all take for granted, but for Justice, this has been a year of firsts from the very first day I collected him, Justice had actually never been in a car for long period of time. The trip to Accra was met with a little boy continually looking out the window in amazement of a city, buildings, roads and people on mass. Justice had never seen traffic lights, people coming to the car selling food. Bags of balls hanging from road side stalls , street vendors selling things from fruit, bread , bananas to shoes, chickens and old bikes not to mention hundreds of banners for phone card time. When he arrived at the hotel, he had never seen running water and his first shower was a real eye opener, he was amazed that water came from a tap and not from the river. The simple things that we all grow up with that we take for granted like a mirror, a bed with sheets, AC and toilet paper that is actually soft and not torn in strips with the daily head lines on one side and cartoon strips on the other. Fried eggs for breakfast, cold milk by the glass, or mangos as big as your head for that matter. Around every corner was a new adventure another first. There were things that made me proud and things that made me say …. ‘ thank god’ , like thank god he can ride a bike without training wheels, thank god he can read, spell, thank god he likes the dog and the pool… and most of all … thank god he can SWIM!! Without floaties!! Riding a bike, reading, writing and swimming … I have a normal child! Is it a sigh of relief for everyone like it was for me?

Vegemite Kid !!

Well... it's been a while since the last post. ...... parenthood has definitely got better and MUCH more relaxed these days.

School..... Justice loves school, likes his teacher and has adjusted very well. NOW!! not JUST because he is my son.... BUT!!! he is quite smart ............. his writing is very good as is his drawing and memory skills.... he has advanced motor skills, thanks to the early schooling in Ghana. His nick name at school JP..... Justice of the Peace!!! he is quite the peace maker and little organiser!! lol

Eating.... certainly has got better.There is no mucking around these days. Eat it or miss out!! He eats almost everything.. still wont eat peas though!! BUT.... he now eats VEGEMITE!! so I guess he has become a true little Aussie!! AT LAST.

Friends... Justice has made some really nice little friends, and even had his first sleep over the other night ... No problems at all... didn't wet the bed and had a ball. Play dates are becoming more frequent these days and seems to fit in quickly, in general kids like him.

Swimming.... gets better by the day... underwater swimming his speciality and can sort of do free style( tries to copy me). Has all his breathing worked out and has started to do somersaults .... but still lacks confidence when he is out of his depth. But all in all not bad for four months!! YES... its hard to beleive that I have only had him for four months??????? seems like 4 years!!! lol

The real test will be in November when I need to travel to France with my boss, Justice will have to stay here with Rahul and a girlfriend of mine. Its only for a few days at first, then a week later in the month!! Thats the way it has to be !!!! I am sure he will be ok... we talk about my other job and how I will be going away for a little bit. He seems cool with it at the moment.

All in all Justice is just a real treat to have, he loves to go shopping, loves his clothes and especially his jeans and sporty shoes. He is very easy to manage and does what he is told. He takes great pride in the fact that he can wash , dress, put this own cream on and shampoo his own hair with conditioner ( wait for 5 mins and wash all of ) lol

First time I saw myself in a mirror!!

Well .... i have come along way since this picture!! This was the first time i saw myself in a mirror... !!! as you can see by my expression.
I have just finished my second week at school and I have been having the best time.. I love my school and I love all my new friends and love running in the play ground.... because daddy is good friends with teachers .. they tell him everything i do .. and they are very happy how I have settled in so well... ( I must admit.. it was getting a bit boring at home after summer school finished!!! ) Daddy is getting more creative about my lunch box and I am almost eating everything that he is giving me!

I have also started what daddy calls my groove!!! I like dancing to music and moving my stomach... daddy loves watching me dance..!!!

This week I also had a second lot of needles to make me strong and healthy.. I cried for only a little , coz I am a big boy now!!
Daddy also explained to me that he needs to go to work to make the money for the honey... no money... no honey.. no money.. no food.. no toys.. no house... no anything... and we give the Lexus to the udda man.... then I will be sad. But I am happy boy now !! Am not sad boy!! .. because we have the money for the honey!!!

My first day at school.....

This is me on my first day of school, in my new uniform and sandals. In my lunch bag was carrot and cucumber.. I am sure daddy will get more creative as the year goes by!! God I hope so.........

I woke up early but my eyes were still asleep, so daddy washed then and kissed them and they opened! 40 mins to put cream on my body so I look " beautiful like a chocolate" get dressed, eat my KOKO (breakfast) and get in the car. Daddy looked a bit flushed and was running up and down the stairs ! He then tucked my shirt in .. then out .. then in... and out!!! black shoes then sandals... all I wanted was my breakfast so I would be able to run like a tiger and go fast like daddy's LEXUS on the way to school!! Rahul, our house boy failed to get up and I could see that daddy was really p#$@# off!! NOT HAPPY JAN!!!!

Anyway , we arrived at the school................... wooooooooooooooha!! so many kids. I was a little shy.. BUT not for long!! Daddy was kissed by lot of ladies that have all been waiting to see me for so long. I have a very nice teacher that has been looking forward to seeing me as well and her name is Miss Sara.

I had a great day...I did all sorts of things and daddy was on time dropping me there AND picking me up! I was looking out the window for my daddy when he arrived.. but I could not see him.. because he was behind me!! I was very happy ! I want to go back tomorrow!! Daddy said make friends with the children that have single mothers.. .that have no brothers or sisters??? What does he mean??