Big Brother, Big Sister

Two weeks ago today, TJ's oldest son Kenny and his oldest daughter Leanna came to the United States from France so that they could spend some time getting to know their dad. It had been about 12 years since TJ had last seen them.

Our girls were looking so forward to meeting their brother and sister. We had all been waiting a long time for this event. Unfortunately, Kenny and Leanna were not as prepared to meet us. With encouragement from other family members, arrangements were made for them NOT to stay with us. That was really sad and hard for us to deal with. The girls were devastated. We had already told them that school was canceled for the week so that they could spend time with their brother and sister. We now had all this time off and nothing to do, so the kids and I took a mini vacation to Arkansas. It worked out well--playing with cousins offered a GREAT distraction from the current events, and it gave time for TJ to work on things here in Oklahoma.

When we came back to Oklahoma, we finally did get to meet Kenny. The girls were excited, and Aliya became his little shadow. We were able to get together 2 more times before he had to leave. We couldn't speak directly to each other, but we did manage a few French words here and there. Kiahna even taught Kenny how to say "SWEEEEEEET!!!!!" That was funny!!!

We never did get to meet Leanna. The girls and I were really disappointed not to meet her. I know this has not been an easy or a fun post...but sometimes life is not fun or easy. This was a big event in our lives, and there were a lot of tears and frustrations mixed in with the joy and happiness.

Even though this chapter may not have ended the way we had wanted it to, the story is NOT over. It is still being written.