Our Adoption Journey II Haiti Beautiful Beginnings

T turns 5

2011-07-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

T turns 5.

edible camping cake
dinner of choice: saracho wings!

"T" we love seeing the little man you are growing into.

"You must think I'm strong"

2011-06-16T17:19:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite songs right now is Matthew West's "Strong Enough". I think it describes how we have been feeling lately. Here's what's been going on......

We were waiting for Travis to turn 35 so we could turn in our paperwork, which he did and we had a fun day celebrating his awesomeness:).

2 weeks before this, we got some news that our girls are no longer at the orphanage thus no longer available for adoption. I don't know how to describe the feeling, besides how I felt when we lost our baby Hudson 6 years ago. We don't really know how or if we should move on. I guess we are still praying they come back. There is a back story but that doesn't do anyone any good to replay what happened. But if you could join us in prayer so we have wisdom to know how to proceed, we would appreciate it.

In April, I went to Haiti to visit the orphanage and had an amazing time. I am pretty sure I was in heaven with all those precious children. I loved being in Haiti and seeing it finally with my own eyes instead of reading someone else's experience there. It was hard for me to return and go about my normal/privileged life. I feel guilty. But that is a good thing I suppose, to always be thankful/grateful and aware of those who have less, but in a way that creates action. I can't wait to go back!

I had a rummage sale to raise money for our adoption and it was a success in my eyes. People were generous in their giving when they knew what it was for. I didn't mark anything just told people to pay what they wanted. It was kinda funny how uncomfortable some people were with that, some forcing me to tell them how much to pay. I am such a push-over too, they could've gotten away with paying so little.

We traded our van in for a suburban so we could accommodate our growing family. We were so thankful we found one we liked at a place that would give us what we needed for a trade-in so NO CAR PAYMENT!!!! whoohooooo Dave Ramsey would be so proud:)

I think that's all for now. I will try and update more often, even if it's bad news.....

Long Break...Bad News....Good News

2011-03-02T18:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a while for several reasons.
-I have been trying to use my time more efficiently in the evenings when the kids go to bed.
*I am trying to workout-right now doing INSANITY workout-LOVE IT!!!
*I have a goal of reading through the Bible in 90 days....lofty goal....I know!! Biblegateway.com has lots of different reading plans and I have tried others and thought this would go alongside my workout goal too.

-Last week we were told we might not be able to go forward with our adoption and turn in our dossier because of my age.(I am under the 35) We knew this was a gamble but thought from Haiti's previous waivers, we would be ok. After waiting a couple of days(which seemed like forever for us), we were told that we COULD turn in our paperwork when Travis turns 35 in June.
Our hearts are overflowing with gratefulness!
We are also saddened by how this strict rule affects good Christian families who want to bring home children.
So even though our paperwork is done(well actually we will have to redo 2 documents to reflect travis age being 35) and God PROVIDED ALL THE MONEY WE NEEDED to turn in.....we are waiting til June to turn it in. I am still in AWE how God does it!!! Who he uses.....when.....how.......
A big THANK YOU! to the family*you know who you are* who so graciously gave the remainder we needed. It is so humbling to be on the receiving end.
We also received a grant from our church's Orphan Minsistry-Thank you!!!!!I hope many other families can benefit from this ministry as well.
This week has been a week of rollercoaster emotions, but I feel like we have walked through a valley and were able to see God through it all. Every valley we go through brings us closer to Him and it's easier and easier to Praise Him through the good times and the bad times. He brings us joy despite our circumstances. He is faithful!!!

Dossier

2011-02-16T19:35:00.000-08:00

2 Originals

4 copies

all notarized

all authenticated

some legalized

all translated

$6,000.......

Bringing two children into their forever family....

PRICELESS!!!!

CoLoRs

2011-02-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

ONe of the ways we like to help the kids learn their colors is to make them their own book with pictures of themselves with all the different colors. S found t's book and wanted to make one of himself, so that is what we did this afternoon. A wanted to join in too, of course, and totally was into it. S fizzed out after the first two colors.....

So here we go with brown,

Green
Love her smile/laugh!

Pink! Yes, that is her sleep cap!-it's pink though:)

Blue

Yellow

Red

(see he is carrying around T's picture from his book)

It has been a crazy couple weeks with sickness in our house. t started then last week Dad and S got it and this week A and I got it. S ended up with pneumonia and T had a sinus infection. I am hoping we are at the end of it all now.

Our dossier is complete! We made all the necessary copies-6 sets total!! Can I just say "INSANE?" I will post pictures of it all.

Now we are praying for the funds to turn it in. It is hard but we know God's timing is perfect and He will provide!

2011-02-11T07:04:00.001-08:00

Psalms 73:23-26

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Hope

2011-02-09T19:09:00.000-08:00

Sick kids.......Good News

2011-02-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

The past two weeks we have been trying to contain the germs in our house to just one kid....we failed. Child #2 is now sick! During the day he is acting fine but at night he just coughs and coughs.(like the nasty croup sounding cough) The first night when we was running a fever, I had him and helped him get through the night. But then night two, after no nap and no sleeping the night before....I couldn't really cope. I know.....I am a mom and that's my job....what I am made to do...console my child at night.....
I confess, I am horrible at nighttime.
I don't know why.
Even when they were babies, I can't function at nighttime. Maybe I am not fully awake.....
Anyway, God knew my short-comings and made sure I had an AWESOME husband who can handle nighttime wakings.
(Don't get annoyed, I am going to brag on how amazing my husband is right now. Skip to next paragraph if you don't want to hear-cause you know your jealous:)

S couldn't lay flat but wouldn't stay on the propped pillow next to me and was fighting me. He would cough so hard he would almost throw up. I was becoming frustrated because I wanted to sleep and he wouldn't do what he needed to stop coughing and go to sleep...repeat for a while. Then I was saved by his daddy, who came in and took him and slept with him in our big chair in the living room. He let him sleep on his chest, which helped him not cough. Poor guy didn't sleep but a couple hours...and I feel even worse now that I write this all out. I am very thankful that he is such a good "helpmate". He really does a wonderful job with the kids and helping if I need him around the house too. Thank you T!!!
*****************************************************************************

We received our update on our girls from our agency director who was just down there last week. It was a very positive update. Both girls are back at the orphanage and doing well. We were told some stories about them that gives us insight on their personalities. I am always overjoyed to hear anything knew about them and treasure any bit of information or pictures we get.....but it also makes me long to meet them even more! Soon, I pray!

We also got our dossier back from the translator, so now we are just waiting for one more thing to return and we are ready to "make some copies". Oh yes I will be annoying my husband the whole time with that SNL skit the whole time we do it!
"The Travster...in the copy room....makin copies....."

Trust

2011-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

We should have our paperwork ready to send/taken to Haiti this week. Which is a huge relief, for me. It's been exhausting to constantly think about what needs to be done next.....what paper we are waiting on or needing to mail off.
As happy as I am to be done, I am scared. I am scared that now the paperwork is ready to send and we don't have the money to send with it, which means we can't send it.
It's like I felt better knowing we didn't have the money because we didn't have our paperwork ready anyway-it was my safety. So I actually wasn't really trusting God. WAs I???
I want this part of the process done so the next part in Haiti can start. I want the girls HOME.....I want to meet them....I want to hold them....I want to start the process of bonding.....healing.....I want to know they are feeling loved and wanted.....
********Do you see the repetitive use of "I"?********
Lord, let YOUR will be done in this process, NOT mine. You say to come to you with requests and we have, so I don't need to keep carrying this around. You know what we need to complete this adoption and bring these girls home. Help me not try and control but TRUST in your PERFECT timing and will. You how much we long to see our girls and how much we love them, because you love them even more.
amen

date nights and stuff.....

2011-01-30T06:41:00.000-08:00

We have been helping make cloth diapers for HH, the orphanage, A came from. Since the sewing machine is out, I have been doing some other things that I have been putting off-yes, I am a self-diagnosed procrastinator. O kept asking to learn how to sew, so I said why not???!!!
I showed him how to operate it and he practiced by sewing the liner for the diapers, which is just straight lines and perfect for a beginner.(not that I am that much past that) He was so proud of himself and the end product. He loves doing anything 'crafty' or using his imagination. He loves legos and blocks and enjoys creating things, so I shouldn't be surprised that this would make him excited. He was OBSESSED for the next couple days after learning-he made about 30 liners. My next goal is to teach him how to thread the needle, bobbin and machine. It was funny to hear him talk about when 'he has kids(which he has always said he didn't want-just a dog) he is going to make all their clothes, starting with PJ's.' He is going to start by making himself a shirt-stay tuned for that:)

Ignore the messy craft table:)

A goal we have as parents is to spend one on one time with each kid. It was my turn and privilege to take T out for his date. It is so pleasing to see how excited and proud they get when it is their turn. They get to pick where we go, within reason and it is all about them.

I had to make one stop while we were out and when I told him he said,"NOOOOO, not girlie stuff, just boyyyyyy stuff!" I laughed and said it would be quick. One would think we were going to something sporty or hunting/fishing....you know....boy stuff.....Ummmm....NO. We were going to Starbucks! But he loved it-it is a special treat to go there and have a "pink drink". We have cut our budget so much since our 2 adoptions, eating out and starbucks is like winning the lottery at our house;)

When T gets our full attention, he is a different child. He talks and talks and is polite. We went to PetSmart to see the fish and small animals they have there and he was so excited. He played with the aquarium decorations like they were toys-they had dinos and sharks.

Here he is eating his cookie at starbucks.

I Won't Let Go

2011-01-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

We don't listen to country music often and I honestly haven't listened to this song, but a friend gave us the lyrics and said they reminded her of us-and our girls.

I will stand by you
I will help you through
When you've done all you can do
If you can't cope
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
I will hold you tight
And I won't let go

It hurts my heart

To see you cry

I know it's dark

This part of life

Oh it finds us all

And we're too small

to stop the rain

Oh but when it rains

I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you've done all you can do

And you can't cope

I will dry your eyes

I will fight your fight

I will hold you tight

And I won't let you fall

Don't be afraid to fall

I'm right here to catch you

I won't let you down

It won't get you down
YOur gonna make it

Yea I know you can make it

Cause I will stand by you

I will help you through

When you've done all you can do

And you can't cope

And I willdry your eyes

I will fight your fight

I will hold you tight

And I won't let go

Oh I'm gonna hold you

And I won't let go

Won't let go

No I won't.

(Rascal Flatts-I won't let go)

Happy Birthday!!!

2011-01-25T18:35:00.001-08:00

'Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to you....Happy Birthday to "M".....Happy birthday to you!"

Happy Birthday to our sweet little girl "M" in Haiti!! She turned 4 today and was able to be released from the hospital! PtL!!!!

All day long when we asked the kids whose birthday it was today-they kept saying "Jesus". It was funny because the answer is whoever birthday we celebrated last......so Christmas-Jesus's birthday was the last one.......so today is Jesus's birthday.....???? By the end of the day they all got it right though.

We made a cake for her and sang Happy Birthday. The kids were excited to participate in the eating of her cake.

I hope this is the last birthday we spend apart.

Prayer Request

2011-01-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Please keep our two girls that are in Haiti in prayer they are BOTH having some health issues! Please pray that we can get our paperwork turned in and their paperwork turned in at the same time to avoid any delay.

Turn down blog music

2011-01-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

I love the phrase"I hope you know that there is somebody out there searching for a way to get you here."
I pray "M"and "A" know that we are!

Haitian Gathering

2011-01-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

Another adoptive mommy and I left sat. morning for a 5 hour drive to attend a Haitian gathering in Alexandria MN. It has been 1 year since a group of Haitian kids were brought to their adoptive families after the earthquake and were having a reunion. They also invited families who were currently in the adoption process for Haiti.
I am so glad we went. It was wonderful to meet the other families and visit about our children. Everyone has such a heart for their kids and all the kids in the orphanage. It was amazing to finally meet Rhyan since we have stalked her blog for a while now. She has such an amazing servants heart!
The adoption process is hard and long and it makes it much more pleasant to walk through it with a group who first-loves the Lord and secondly-is so passionate about adoption. I am excited to get to know these families and experience the heartache of the wait but also rejoice when their families are UNITED.
10 HOURS in the car isn't fun, but it was a JOY to visit with my friend-Michelle-without interruptions. But we were both so excited to get back and see our families. Thanks again Travis for watching the kids and being a great daddy.

He turns our Saddness to Gladness

2011-01-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

This week has been a week of sad news and the constant reminder that God is in control.
First we have been working hard the past two weeks to get all of our paperwork ready to be turned in the beginning of Feb. Of course, things don't always go the way we plan. Changes needed to be made, mail has gotten lost, among other things-point being-we won't be able to make this deadline. I was so sad at first! I mean REALLY disappointed!!! But as the realization sunk in, I was comforted by the TRUTH- that God does work everything out and in His timing! So the rest of the day, even though I was disappointed, I had a joyful heart.
Then today we heard some sad news about a little girl at our daughters orphanage. She was most likely a good friend of our oldest daughter there, "M". And our hearts just ache for her, and everyone else there who are mourning this little sweetie.
Even thought this week has been sad and stressful, I am ending it on a good note. Tomorrow I am traveling with a friend, who is also adopting from Haiti, to Alexandria for a Haitian adoption gathering. It's been year since a group of kiddos came home and they want to get together as well as families currently in the process. Needless to say, I am so excited to meet new adoptive families and visit with Amy and Lindsey with our agency, and of course, Rhyan who spends time in Haiti. I love learning new things about Haiti and maybe she will teach me the correct way to say some phrases I have been learning. I will miss my WONDERFUL husband who will be a single parent for the next two days, and my children. But getting a way will be a nice break from the ordinary.
And today we got to see a family off at the airport, on their way to Ethiopia to meet their daughter and have court. After praying and hugging, we said goodbye. I am so excited to hear all about their trip and their first meeting with little miss 'M'. God is so good all the time-All the time God is good! When things are going good, I will praise Him. When things aren't going the way "I" want them to and my heart aches-I will praise HIM!

One year Ago!

2011-01-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

One year ago tomorrow, we left for Ethiopia. We said "goodbye" to our beautiful children here in America to say "Hello" to our beautiful daughter in Ethiopia. Nothing could prepare us for the emotions, good and bad we would experience through the next week. We couldn't wait to get there and see Africa and especially our daughter. The day we had been dreaming about for a year was actually happening!!!

I love packing so I was in Heaven trying to get all our necessities to fit with all the donations we wanted to take. I think I packed and repacked a dozen times.

And now a year later, we are going to see another family off at the airport, as they go meet their little girl in Ethiopia. Hopefully when they return we will be celebrating the official new member of their family as they pass court. Of course, she is already a member of the family-we just like to celebrate anyway!

GOOD LUCK HUSONS!!!

CFA

2011-01-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

(You have now tuned in to Control Freaks Anonymous. Names have NOT been changed to protect identity.)

"HI, My Name Is Ashlie, And I Am A Control Freak. It Has been 9 minutes since I Last Freaked Out Because I Am Not In Control. I First Realized I Had A Problem A Couple Years Ago. "

Update on our girls

2011-01-15T09:12:00.001-08:00

We received an update on our girls in Haiti. It couldn't have come at a better time...yes, That's Just the Way God works!
We got 4 pics of the girls, I wish I could post their sweet faces.
But the coolest news we received was that they got the photo album of us we sent. They love looking at it and "M"(who will be 4 soon) already has learned our names. She is fascinated by Addis's picture, of course. I hope they will be great friends and sisters.
I couldn't stop smiling even as I went to bed, knowing they are learning more about us and they are happy about it.
It was just what I needed to keep the momentum going.
It is going to be a long process but I am so thankful for our agency and the updates we get on our kids every couple weeks. God is so faithful, even in the little things.

Please keep us in prayer as we are nearing our deadline for turning in our dossier and the money needed. (Obviously, if we don't get the money needed it can be turned in at a later date, but the sooner it's turned in the sooner it can be approved=the girls come home sooner)
All in God's timing and we pray His will be done above ALL else.

Dossier!!!

2011-01-13T11:26:00.001-08:00

We have sent our dossier for review. Once it is reviewed and approved, we need to get it authenticated, translated and legalized. We also are waiting to have our homestudy approved so we can apply to USCIS for our FDL.
Our prayer is we can get all this done(not FDL) by the end of January so it can be taken down to Haiti in Feb. This will only happen by the GRACE of GOD. We need around $13,000 to turn in with it. It sounds so unattainable and we often feel overwhelmed when we think about it. But we also know how GREAT our God is! If HE wants this to happen NOW- He will make this happen. He loves our girls more than we do and has a plan for our family to unite, so we take comfort in that.
It is exciting to get the paperwork done and down there, I will feel like a weight is lifted.
"M's" bday is this month and I can't help but want to be with her. I want to help her celebrate her life, even though I know very little about it. I can't wait to get to know her- and of course "A". I pray we can have them home by her bday in September, call me a dreamer-I know.
********************************************************************************
We have a fundraiser coming up-----January 24
All you have to do is eat at the PIZZA RANCH from 5pm-8pm.
Our family will receive 10% of the proceeds and TIPS!!
Come eat some yummy pizza!

Josh Wilson - I Refuse - SPIRIT 105.3 FM

2011-01-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

**** Turn down my blog music on bottom of page to hear the video******

A New Year

2011-01-03T17:52:00.001-08:00

I can't believe it's been a whole year since going to Ethiopia and bringing Addis home. She has come a long way and our family has too this past year.
I can't wait to see what this year will bring....hopefully we will be visiting Haiti....going to pick up our daughters from Haiti.....doors opening.....spiritual growth...children growing in Christ....friendships strengthened...opportunities to serve as a family and individually...house projects finished....budget cut using my mad shopping skills...healthy eating and activities....just to name a few.
I don't like to use the word "resolutions" because I know if we rely on our own strengths we will fail, but if we lift up our requests to God, and pray His will be done, we can't lose, no matter the outcome.

I pray your 2011 is full of love, growth, and peace in Christ.

The Christmas Story

2010-12-23T16:36:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Story

by Strand kids

and Will kids

Once a long time ago, there was a young girl named Mary who was betrothed to marry a man named Joseph. An angel appeared to Mary and told her she was to be with child and she was to call him Jesus. Joseph also was visited by an angel who told him of the baby Mary was carrying and that it was God's son. He chose to continue with the engagement. They, along with everyone else in the country had to go to their families home to be counted.

So Mary and Joseph made the long trek to Bethlehem.

They were so tired and searched for an Inn to stay because Mary was so close to giving birth to the baby Jesus. ALL the Inns were full but one Innkeeper allowed them to stay in the stable. It was there that Mary gave birth to her newborn son and wrapped him in a cloth and laid him in a manger.
Mary and Joseph couldn't believe that they were holding, rocking, kissing and singing to their Savior.

In a field there were shepherds who were watching their sheep. All of a sudden, there appeared an angel of the Lord who said, "Fear not. I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you, a child is born in Bethlehem. And his name shall be Emmanuel. Go and find him, you will find him in manager."

(yes there were blue elephants in the field that night as well)
The shepherds found the babe just as the angel had said and they bowed and worshiped him.

Three Wise men came also to see this child whom the prophets had foretold. They brought him gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh.

)(I think that is when Mary and Joseph broke out in a dance)

They all were in awe of what had just happened and praised God for this miracle.

They prayed and thanked God for allowing them to witness the birth of a King. One who would grow to be the King of Kings.

A king who would one day save the world.

(This is obviously an abbreviated version and there are many wonderful and important parts of this story we left out. But for 6 kids 7 and under-this was long enough, trust me.)

Faith

2010-12-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

Last night Travis and I watched a movie called "Mugabe and the White African". It was on Netflix and said it was a documentary about white farmers in Zimbabwe who are being forced off their land.
I really enjoy watching docs and anything about Africa, so we thought it would be a good one.
It WAS!!!!
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time as it followed a family who farmed in Zimbabwe and was being harassed by the gov. to leave. I won't get into all the political issues surrounding this movie, but what I was so impressed with was the family this doc. followed.
At first, they didn't mention their faith in God. They were just good people wanting to live their lives and stand up for what is right. Then as the movie progressed, it was so evident that they trusted God for EVERYTHING! They HAD to! They trusted in God for their safety, for their lives-which is the hardest, I think. We trust God for so many things, but in America, most of us don't have the threat of someone just barging through our doors and taking everything we have. We can call the police, if that does happen. But these people didn't. They lived everyday with the threat of that happening and they watched as it happened to many of their fellow white farmers. They even had their 3 young children living there too!! I think it would be easier to trust God with my life but putting my children in danger is another level-which is odd because God loves them more than we do.
When they were interviewed about it, they would continue to say that they trusted God with their lives and running away never solved anything.
Saying it is one thing, but living it-which they did- is a whole other thing.
Three of the four adults were kidnapped and severely beaten in attempt to get them to give up. Thankfully, they survived and continued to fight for their farm.
I pray I can always have faith like that! Faith in God to supply ALL my needs-not WANTS-and if it came down to it-my LIFE and/or my children's lives.

Christmas Time

2010-12-20T17:07:00.000-08:00

(Sorry the photos are in the wrong order)

Our Christmas week has began!! We started off by decorating a gingerbread house together. The kids had fun with all of the candy and imagining having a real house made of gingerbread cookie. We tried something different this year and let the kids open their presents not on Christmas Eve or day.(Thanks Dawn for the inspiration) Since Travis is off this week we decided to do it today. The kids were excited when we told them they could open their presents-it was a total shock to them. They even sat nicely while we figured out how to get the self-timer on my camera to work:) So here is some pics of the last couple days:

Oliver getting his creative groove on with a Lite Brite
Thatcher the Viking playing with Woody

Addis with her new dollhouse

Sebastian with his favorite-Buzz Lightyear

We tried to have them open one at a time to make sure we could see every one's reaction-didn't work though.

Family picture before opening presents

On their best behavior because they know what's about to happen:)

Their finished house.

Do I really need to tell you Addis was excited to do this?

CANDY!!!!

Patiently waiting for the decorating to begin. I think when we do this again next year we will maybe buy more icing and candy. We ran out of icing and some of the candy was so small it was hard for the little ones to handle. But still a fun thing to do!

WE are enjoying our time together as a family, but we are still so aware of the members of our family who aren't with us. Hudson would have been there right in the middle of it all-playing alongside his brothers. M & A will be opening their gifts from us soon and hopefully be excited to be a part of our family soon.

Now that the main present part is over, we are looking forward to concentrating on Jesus' birthday. We have a cake ready to make and some activities to help keep our minds on what Christmas is really about.

A little getaway

2010-12-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

I just got back from a wonderful little getaway with my sisters and mom. For my sisters birthday she wanted all of the sisters and mom to meet her in NYC for a weekend. She planned the whole thing from the Broadway show to eating places. She has a friend who lives in Manhattan who said we could stay at her place.
It was hard for me to leave my kids and the responsibilities I have as a mother and wife, even though I knew it was going to be a fun time together as sisters and mom.
I flew into the town my sister lives and was able to spend a full day just hanging out with her family. I have never had the privilege of being an auntie to my nephews and nieces so this was a treat.
On Friday we drove into the NYC and met my other sisters and my mom who drove from MO. Once the shock of us all being together in NYC wore off, we started our amazing weekend.
We ate at some great places and shopped at some fun stores. (Although it was more window shopping)
We saw Wicked on Broadway. It was my first official Broadway show on Broadway, so I was so excited. I have always wanted to see one and growing up had dreams of performing on Broadway. (Oh how dreams change)
It was amazing, as expected. I cried, as expected.
My sister planned for us all to get mani-pedi's in the morning. The place had massage chairs while you got your pedicures, which was a highlight for me. We all left with beautiful hands and feet.
We created many memories and funny moments with each other. I won't bore you with them all.
But I just wanted to warn you that if you happen to have stomach issues and you are out at nighttime, THERE ARE NO PUBLIC BATHROOMS......ANYWHERE.......not that I experienced that, just wanted to warn you in case YOU happen to be in that situation. :)

As much as I love the city life and can see myself living there, I had no problem coming home to my, when compared, boring life. I love where I am right now and where God is leading us.
Thank you Nicole for planning this memorable weekend and thank you Brittany, Shelby and MOM for all coming and being who you are to make it what it was-A GREAT WEEKEND.
And a big THANK YOU to Travis, who watched the kids and had the house CLEAN when I came home so I wouldn't have to the next day.
I will post pics soon.

LOVE IT!!!

2010-11-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Peek-a-boo
One of his favs right now-thanks to Toy Story 3

I often get saddened by the fact I don't have any babies in my home anymore. I LOVE the baby stage, the little clothes, their smell, holding them, their coos.......

But.....I am enjoying each stage after that with my kids, like playing real games instead of pretend animals ALL the time. A new thing, is that my kids are enjoying watching movies that I actually like. We watched Elf on Thanksgiving, and they LOVED it. Now I catch them saying, "I am standing in a store and I''m singing." And burping and saying, "Did you hear that?"

Part of the reason they liked it was Will Ferrell because he is in another movie favorite of ours, Kicking and Screaming. His name is Phil Weston in it and one day Thatcher was playing and out of the blue said,"This is Phil Weston's stuff." We cracked up! So now Will Ferrell is known as Phil Weston and everything he does is hilarious to them.

So move over The Grinch you have been replaced by Elf as our new go to Christmas movie.

I love that we have a similar sense of humor.

Pulled In

2010-11-26T20:38:00.000-08:00

Today I went shopping for Christmas presents for my kids. I had a plan and we decided to do 3 presents for each kid, one want one need and one spiritual. I made my list and set off to get it all done today.
I know Christmas is not about presents...........
I am determined to help my children know the real reason we celebrate.......
I hate shopping and the commercialism of our culture.........
Yet it took me 5 seconds in a store and I forgot ALL of that. I can't believe how I almost got pulled into the idea that I am not a good parent if my kids don't have 20 presents under the tree and I don't spend a certain amount on them. It was like I was in auto-pilot.....see toy....must buy it....see toy....that's cool.....child needs it.....that's neat....how cute.....buy.....buy.....buy.......
I didn't go overboard, like I felt like doing, I did stick to my list and our goal of 3 presents each. However, I am just amazed how easily we can get pulled in to what our society tells us is appropriate. How to dress, how to talk, how to pick your mate, how to parent your children, how many presents they need at Christmas, how many cars you should have, what is success.......
I am glad I have a compass that points me to the truth or I would be lost.

30 reasons to be Thankful

2010-11-24T10:26:00.000-08:00

Since I turned the big 3-0 this year, I thought I have at least that many things to be thankful for. So here they are:

1. God-who loves me for me and not what I can do or be. Who gave His all to make a way for me to know Him. Who comforts, gives me peace, gives me joy, no matter what my circumstances.
2. my husband-who loves me even when I am not nice or look nice and is a wonderful father.
3. my children, those in my arms and heaven and those not with us yet!!!
4. my parents who encouraged my faith growing up
5. my siblings who gave me great memories growing up.
6. Mica, who constantly encourages me to be a better mother, friend and prayer warrior.
7. Michelle, who shares my heart and obsession for orphans and adoption.
8. Nicole and Derrick-who are great examples to us in too many ways to count.
9. Nicole H. who is generous All the time.
10. Emily who goes to Zumba with me and doesn't laugh.
11. my church
12. my house
13. we have a vehicle
14. Dave Ramsey-Yes! we are almost debt free!!!! And we will never go down that road again!!!!
15. ability to feed my children
16. freedom
17. Bible
18. God's Children Adoption Agency
19. blog friends, who encourage me by just being real with their lives, joys and trials.
20. Adoption process- taught us how to really have faith.
21. I have the option of Homeschooling my children and I get to be part of the process of them learning.
22. I am healthy, my children are healthy
23. Travis has a dependable job
24. God has opened my eyes to the hurting people in the world and that we are called to reach out to them, love them, feed them, support them, and through those actions-they will know God
25. worship music-I feel so close to God when singing to Him
26. sweatpants
27. nature and how creative God is
28. hugs
29. ability to hear my children's sweet voices say "I love you, MOM."
30. forgiveness

These are not in order of importance necessarily and obviously this isn't ALL I am thankful for. So I forgot you or something really obvious, please don't be offended, this was a quick list.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh my heart!!

2010-11-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

Please go and read about this little girl. My heart is so aching for her and the life she could have if a family stepped forward. Her smile. ....Her eyes. ....they tell so much.

becausehecalled.blogpsot.com

Happy Monday!!!

Fundraisers

2010-11-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

Just to update you on the adoption front:

*We are currently waiting to hear back about our match of the two little girls from Haiti. Amy, the agency director is in Haiti right now and we are hoping that when she returns we will have good news from her.
*Our homestudy should be completed soon. -Please pray we will have the money needed to pay this.
*Our dossier is almost complete. We are waiting on a couple things to come in and then we can make photo copies and such. Of course we still have the lovely FDL to wait for as well.

FUNDRAISERS:

I really dislike having to do fundraisers. But.......we need to.
So, an ongoing one we are doing throughout the adoption is babysitting. We, (by we I mean me) will watch kids anytime for parents to go shopping, have a date, have quiet, or run errands. Donations will be accepted and used only for our adoption fund.
Change for Haiti
coming soon
We will have bottles and jars available for people to fill with loose/spare change and then bring back to us when it's full.

Pizza Ranch
January 17th- come and eat at the Pizza Ranch and our family will receive 10% of that nights profits as well as any tips. That's so easy, right? You gotta eat! And who doesn't like a good pizza buffet????? Ok, well some people might not, Travis doesn't like buffets, but you can't go wrong with pizza!!

We have some more in the works and I will post as soon as they are ready. In the meantime-spread the word about Pizza Ranch****Monday, January 17th******

FamilyNight

2010-11-17T14:11:00.000-08:00

I totally stole the idea of a family night from another adoptive family and it just so happens that our last name starts with a letter that also is the first letter of a day of the week-lucky us:)
We started "W" Wednesday a couple of months ago and it has become something we all look forward to. For Travis and I it is a way to make memories and traditions with our kids, for the kids it's a reason to have snacks and camp out in the living room-but all agree it's a fun time.
When we began doing this, Oliver brought it to our attention that really every night IS family night for us. We really don't have busy schedules that take us away from each other-this is intentional by the way. I am sure it won't always be this way, but for now it is important for Travis and I to be the ones who influence them and build memories with them. Even though I am with them ALL the time, these family nights together allow me to just hang and have fun. I often worry about finishing tasks in the evening while Travis spends time with the kids after being gone all day. During the day, we are doing school, housework, and sometimes it seems like I am correcting them most of the day. But when "W" Wednesday comes, I have an excuse to take that part of my mommy hat off and just ENJOY my children.

And I am BLESSED

These are very random pictures-Addis wanted to do an impromptu photo shoot.

She said,"Mom, you me, picture!" How could I say,"Uhh, No mommy hasn't even gotten ready for the day."? Thankful my children love me at my worst, and I am not just talking about physically.

Trying to make fishy faces-we will keep working on it.

Thatcher giving his bear a piggyback ride

Addis wanted to pretend to be asleep. I thought she wanted to be done but she wanted me take her picture while she was sleeping.

I will try and take some pictures tonight and post them tomorrow of our "W" Wednesday festivities.

Isaiah 58:5-11 (NIV)

2010-11-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to see the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."

2010-11-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

These are some of the pictures I sent in for Addis's 12 month post-adoption report. I can't believe it's been almost a year since we have had her home. She is a fun-ny little girl and we are enjoying seeing her little personality come out.

This was with the judge at her readoption in ND. He was so very nice and asked the boys if they wanted to sit on his chair. Travis and I were like "YA!!" but they had no idea what that meant or how cool that was. But Oliver did give him"knuckles."

Dedication Sunday- in front of the Christmas tree. She enjoyed helping put the tree up and already knows some Christmas tunes, not the good ones though. Oliver's been singing versions from Madagascar Christmas-definitely not edifying Christmas songs.

I know this is a silly picture to post, but those of you who know her background and "diagnosis" from her referral will appreciate it. Look at her go!! I am amazed at how her body has changed and how God has healed her inside and out.

WE'RE BAAAAAACKK!!

2010-11-15T13:42:00.000-08:00

I am back from my extended vacation from blogging. I was too exhausted by the end of the day to really do much on my blog and I spent so much time and energy on reading blogs and posting on mine, I just needed a break. But I am excited now to get back into it.
I don't want to kill you with boredom and post about everything that has happened since July, but the highlights are:

*we finalized in ND for Addis and we are working on getting her social security number and citizneship
*we are starting our second adoption
*we dedicated Addis at church, which is such an amazing thing to stand up there with your child and give them back to God and then have the congregation witness and agree to help you along the way.

So that is why this blog is now Part II of our adoption journey. I guess it's not really another part, it's completely seperate, but it just sounded better than- Next adoption journey.
This isn't just to update people about how our process is going, but to hopefully inspire others to do the same or get involved somehow. There is a way for everyone to be involved and we want to encourage ACTION not just sympathy.

What is ONE year?

2010-07-26T07:45:00.001-07:00

12 months. 365 days.
Another year older, loss, change, grief, new experiences, comfort,joy, security, a HOME.

This is Wibnesh exactly ONE year ago.
One year ago, today, Wibnesh was brought to HH. She has been through alot this past year and we are so thankful for the wonderful, caring people she had in her life. She is a miracle in many ways and I am confident God has Great plans for her.

This is Wibnesh today.
Spunky.Beautiful.Bright.Funny.Sensitive.Brave.

We are so thankful God chose for you to come to HH so that you could receive wonderful care and 6 months later be placed in our arms and hearts.

Back in April

2010-07-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

I was looking at pictures on my computer and I found the pics of Sebastian's bday. I meant to post these because they are so funny. As you can see by the faces of the his siblings, they were appalled that he would eat his cake that way. He barely let me get the candles out before face-diving into it. It was great!

happy 4 th of July!!!

LOng TiMe

2010-06-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, there's probably nobody reading this anymore......but for my family and friends who have been asking what's going on with my blog, here we go....

It's been a wonderful couple of months. The kids are doing well and learning how to get along and love eachother.(Great book for moms- "Don't make me count to three" by ginger plowman)
We are still doing school but
We have been enjoying getting outside, especially on hot days when they can use the pool or slip n slide.
We bought a new CD with Ethiopian songs for children. We listen to it everyday and everybody dances. Addis still remembers how they dance and has taught Sebastian too, quite a sight with their matching round bellies.
Today is father's day and even though the day is about honoring Travis (and my father's), I so wish there was a way to honor Addis birth father as well. Hopefully, in the years to come, when she is more aware of things we will have figured out a way.

Addis is talking more and more and can run and jump just like any 3 year old, which still amazes me. She loves to workout with me and does pretty good at keeping up. Her favorite song right now to sing is "Amen, amen" . She soooo has rythm.
We are just starting the re-adoption process for her.

Wibnesh turns Three!!

2010-04-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

We are going backwards order with the pics. April 15 (yes tax day) Wibnesh turned the big 3. She of course had no clue what that meant but we tried to get her excited and we talked about it the week leading up to her big day. We sang "happy birthday" everyday and asked whose bday it was-she finally would answer correctly. It was weird to think back before she was with us and how we were so desperate to get her by her birthday. Now she has been with us for 4 months and we have celebrated her birthday. So here are some pics of the special day spent together as a family-we didn't have a big party for various reasons.

Oliver being silly with the frosting.

Sebastian enjoying his cake immensely.

She got her own Ethiopian flag cake(she didn't eat it all-she would've, but we stopped her)

Dressing up

Such a pretty

Her favorite thing was her doll from Nana Renee, she sleeps with it and carries it during the day. She is such a sweet little mommy, kissing, rocking and changing the babies diaper. I really think this shows how good the care is at Hannah's Hope. Because she saw them love on the babies and care for them in such a wonderful way, it is now natural for her.

She got soooo excited about the clothes

and the hair accessories.

It was so fun to see her smile and appreciate her gifts.

Best gift for any kid-BANDAIDS. I guess stickers too, but what cheap entertainment.

A mazing

Daring

Darling

Incredible

Smart

Big brother Oliver showing her how to properly open a present.

Ready to PARTY!!!

Enjoying the spoils of her birthday box.

Nana Renee loves putting things together to send to her grand kids.

Thanks Nana

Excited to open the BOX!!

This is her first piece of mail-ummm...the bar is set pretty high.

Wibnesh(Addis),

We had a wonderful day celebrating the day you were born. You have been through a lot in the last year and we pray that your heart will be healed and you will continue to be joyful as you grow. We are so thankful to you for showing us what we were missing and changing us forever. You are such a blessing. We love you.

Mom and Dad

catching up

2010-03-19T11:50:00.001-07:00

The past few weeks have been filled with normal crazy stuff, nothing too exciting. Wibnesh is continuing to impress us everyday with her developing personality and drive to do whatever her brothers do. She had an evaluation for Occupational Therapy and the lady was impressed with her attention span and how well she followed direction. We both agreed at this rate, Wibnesh won't need too many sessions. What a little blessing she is.
I took all 4 kids to the dentist for their cleaning appt. I was a little nervous to take them by myself. To my GREAT SUPRISE, they did wonderfully. Everyone cooperated(seb. and Web both cried, but that's to be expected) and got great reports on their clean teeth. I sighed a big sigh of relief as we left the office with no meltdowns. Thank you guys and thank you Jesus for allowing this mommy to experience that moment.
The weather finally allowed us to go out and play in the snow. Wibnesh had her first experience with snow and thoroughly enjoyed throwing it at her brothers.

All 4 kiddos having quiet time, watching a movie.

I watched some friends kids and we had quite the houseful. As you can see 8 kids 7 and under. All wonderful children!!!

Adoption get together!

2010-02-28T18:50:00.001-08:00

Saturday we had an adoption gathering for families who have used God's Children.(our homestudy agency) It was so much fun and there were so many families in our area we had never met before. The location was perfect and allowed the little ones to run around in a safe environment. They had a blast playing and running FREE.(Winter is way too long here) What a blessing to be allowed to use this awesome facility!

There were families with questions about starting the process, families just waiting to start the process, families in the process, and families who have completed their adoptions all celebrating together.

We took this opportunity to get a family photo. Why is it so hard to get everyone to look and smile at the same time???? Oh well, all our faces are turned in the right direction.

Growing

2010-02-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

CAUTION!!!!!IGNORE THE BACKGROUND-LAUNDRY DAY-all you mom's understand, right???

She is growing everyday-at first 2t clothes were too long in the sleeves and now they are just right. She has gained 4 lbs(not sure on height) but her tummy has gone down. She doesn't seem to be stuffing herself as much, so hopefully she is trusting there will be food.

I did her hair in the style I swore I would never do it again. Because........I read on a hair blog that some hair needs weight to encourage the hair to grow and that is why a lot of girls wear braids and beads. So, I thought I might try and do something with it a couple times a week.(Somebody let me know if this isn't enough, I am so new to this whole girl, hair thing-I barely do my own)

And you can see, Sebastian is still not wearing clothes.......

We had a lady make this wall decal for her room. I LOVE the way it turned out.

here's a closer version of the saying....so true to how we feel about her(and all of our children). We did get the quote from a t-shirt we saw.

update

2010-02-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

Everything is going well. We are slowly getting on a schedule and settling into a "norm". I think that was the scariest for me, not knowing how it was going to be and what it was going to look like.
She is still doing great. She doesn't quite know what to do with Sebastian. They like each other from afar, but once he gets close, she screams. She knows what is coming, a big bear. He is so funny to watch, he doesn't know how big he is and just almost tackles her. So here is a picture of them smiling at eachother, that's why I had to post it. They are too cute.

We have gone to a lot of dr. appt. and we still have some more to go to. Things so far are coming back positive and we are praying for more good news as we dig a little deeper into a specific issue. Her walking is improving everyday and she has almost mastered the stairs. How amazing is that? We didn't even know if she could ever walk and now she is almost running.
We have an appointment with an occupational therapist to evaluate her and hopefully see what more we can do to help her catch up. There was a little question on her age, maybe she was really only going to be 2 instead of 3. The dr. really thinks her birthday is right, and looking at her mouth full of teeth, we agree. She does much more than Sebastian in some areas, but it's so confusing because she is so much smaller than him and she is a whole year older. She is really closer in age to Thatcher-10 months apart.
The Husons, some family friends, just sent in their contracts to AGCI and will be starting on their dossier soon. We are so happy for them as they made this big step. Congrats guys!!!
We are getting quite an Ethiopian community here, it's exciting. By next summer, there should be at least 10, that I know of, little Ethiopians here in our city. How fun will it be to get together with them??

ALL BY MYSELF

2010-02-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

My first attempt at styling her hair.

Injera What??? She has discovered the potato chip and isn't going back. Why didn't I start with an apple or something?

I am getting a little better with the hair. She doesn't like it in for very long, and if it is tight, she pulls it out right away.

Sebastian has been refusing to get dressed for the past 3 days. Today I managed to get pants on him. Maybe by Sunday he will be fully dressed and we can go to church.:0)

Travis went back to work this week so I am all by myself, not including the 4 little ones running around. The first day was good. The second day was ok. Today, I was ready to pull my hair out.It just started off badly, just a little off. We finally got to bible/story time at 9:45am, after meltdown after meltdown getting ready for the day, half of us were still in our PJs even. OH Well!!

We have added something back into our day-something productive.

I was even adventurous and had them do a Valentine's Day craft. Something they could all do, GLUE! Everything was going great, Sebastian and Wibnesh did theirs beautifully, and then we ran out of glue. Mmmmmm.....not well planned on my part.

For the most part, my days aren't that much different than before, except those little moments I had to myself here and there during the day, are GONE. I could check my e-mail here and there,or make a phone call while they were playing, not really an opportunity now. I am sure once we get into a groove, it might be different. Even if it's not, e-mails can wait and that's what voicemail is for, so I need to "let it go".

Now let's see what we can add tomorrow.......

Sweet things

2010-02-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Everyday we are seeing more and more of Wibnesh's(yes we still call her that and we can't decide what we will do with her name) personality come out and oh is she sweet! I have noticed the more use to us(or bonded) she is, the less she sleeps and the harder it is to get her to sleep.(I think early on, she used sleep as a coping method)She wants to play and talk instead of sleep, what 2 year old doesn't, right? We started doing this thing before bed where I go through all the names of the people that love her. I say "Mommy loves Wibnesh" and she shakes her head "yes", "Daddy loves Wibnesh" and she shakes her head "yes", and so on. Tonight as I was rocking her, she did this little jabber and then shook her head "Yes" and jabbered some more and shook her head "yes", I did catch a mommy in there and a Jesus. It was so cute that she wanted to do it on her own. I indulged her then and went through all of the people(ok not ALL) that love her.
After I prayed for her, then she closed her eyes and said a whole lot of something, none of it I could understand. We are pretty sure she is speaking in Amharic a lot of times. Then opened her eyes and smiled at me. OH I just LOVE THIS LITTLE GIRL!!!

Tonight we had family movie night. As I sat in our basement, all 6 of us, I felt so blessed. A year ago, we were talking about adoption and if we should take the leap. Now we have our long awaited child with us, just hanging out, as a family.
We have been home a week and tomorrow we will have known her for 2 weeks. It feels like so much longer than that. I guess because we have loved her longer than that?
I am in awe by how well things have gone with her adjustment period. I shouldn't be in awe, this is what we have prayed for since we knew her. I am certain there will be struggles, but this was a huge blessing to have our first week home go so well. We were able to reconnect with our boys, as well as, introduce them to their new sister without any major drama. As stated in an earlier post, it is has been HARD, I am not forgetting that, but prayers have been answered and we are blessed.

Welcome home and adjustment

2010-02-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

Thursday we went back to HH to visit. We thought because Wibnesh had done so well with us that it would be safe to take her back with little drama. We were wrong. She does do well with us, but if she was to choose between us, obviously she would choose her special mothers. It was so hard to see how sad she was and obviously confused by the situation. We went back to the hotel as soon as we could. Once we were back, she was fine again, playing and giggling with us. It is wonderful to know how much the special mothers care for the children while they are there. Every child is so loved, hopefully paving the way for the child to then love and accept love from their adoptive parents.
We packed and got our stuff cleaned up to leave for the airport.
We spent a couple hours visiting with another family in their hotel room, which helped pass the afternoon a bit. I want to say how awesome our travel group was. It was so cool to experience this life changing moment with other like-minded people. Every couple was encouraging and uplifting to be around. I am so glad our agency has families go together to help each other out and bring support. It was very comforting to be able to go down to breakfast and see their faces, or know they were just down the hall if we needed them.
It was bittersweet leaving Ethiopia. We were so excited to get home and see our boys, but at the same time, sad knowing we were taking her away from everything she has ever known.
We got so many opposite reactions from others as we were in Ethiopia. Some Ethiopians would be happy and smile, saying "God Bless You", others would just give us not so nice looks and say something under their breath. I guess it was just the start of us developing a thick skin to others remarks. I try to remember what Almaz, the director of HH, said about that. She said, "Never let it bother you, YOU know what you know what you know what you know about the situation and why you are adopting."
The flight went amazingly well. She slept the whole time, except the last couple of hours, which was filled by eating.(she would eat ALL the time if we let her) We missed our connecting flight in DC because Ethiopian Air was late getting in and immigration took over an hour to get through. We were so disappointed to not get home to see the boys when we thought. It was so comforting to eat familiar food at the airport and Addis had her first introduction to Starbucks. She doesn't know how to drink from a straw, so it took her a while to get it.
We got to Bismarck at 10:45pm that night. As soon as I got off the plane, I was soooooo emotional, knowing my family and friends were waiting just around the corner. The people who have gone through this journey with us, encouraged us, prayed for us, shared our excitement and longed to see her as well; were all waiting for us to come through the glass doors.
I saw the boys first when we got to the doors. Immediately, I bent down to hug them. Thatcher was very affectionate, kissing me and smiling. Oliver,did his normal, smile but I am too cool to show anything more. Sebastian, was the oddest. He wouldn't even look at me or come to me. It was heartbreaking but I can imagine how confused he was. I really didn't think this would be his reaction. It took a couple days before he warmed up to me and now it's back to normal.
I had a friend tell me that once you get back from Ethiopia, your children look so "white". Soooo true!! Of course, they had been sick ALL week long, so they were unusually pale.
Family and Friends surrounded us with signs and banners and big hugs and smiles. Oh how nice it was to be home!!!!
We came home to a CLEAN house, which is a big feat considering there were 7 children under the age of 6, and 6 adults living there while we were gone. We had balloons, flowers, signs and care packages waiting our arrival. We could feel the LOVE, so to speak. It's amazing how God puts all the right people in your life.
It didn't take long for Wibnesh to get use to everyone and within a couple of minutes she was playing with her brothers. Remember how at the beginning Oliver was having a hard time with this, he was crazy about her and played with her the rest of the night. She took to him right away and goes around saying "Olala".
She is a good sleeper and I really was anticipating having problems when we got home. Thankfully, sleep is not an issue. Once she is asleep, she is out! Thank you Jesus! I don't do well waking in the night, I need my sleep.
Sebastian and her are interesting together. They just look at each other and touch each other every once in a while. Sebastian is such a roughie though, his interaction is always more of a hit, then she hits him back and then he cries and she cries. He is getting better at being gentle, he loves to restle and she doesn't quite know how to take it yet.He does try to give her kisses and is enthralled with her hair.
She is adjusting well. I imagined having to hold her all the time, or wear her in the moby because she is so scared or unsure about the place. It's like she has always been here, doing the same things like our boys. She eats what the boys eat and sleeps when they sleep. She walks around the house saying "momma" or "papa" and then just smiles. She likes to cuddle with me for a while and then she is off to discover or play with the kids.
I like to keep it real though, I really don't like reading blogs that make life seem so "unattainable".
This has been hard. Not just because of adoption, anytime you change the dynamics of a household, it's HARD. I know everyone only wants to hear the good stuff, but I don't feel it is fair to be one-sided. You have worked, stressed, prayed so hard for something and it is finally here, the feelings you thought you would feel are sometimes hidden under other feelings. Exhaustian, sickness, anxiety, fear, and feelings of inadequacey sneak in and rob you of being in the moment. The moment you have dreamed about and fought for so long.
Getting to know a new little person, who is human, thus a sinner, is HARD. Worth it, Yes. We are choosing to Love this child, just like we do our biological children, because of the Love God shows us. She has many wonderful characteristics and we haven't even seen them all, but she also has some bad ones, like we all do. She has a TEMPER. Supposedly, she was the "queen bee" in her room at the orphanage. When things don't go the way she wants them to, she lets you know, and she isn't quiet about it. I am continuing to pray for wisdom and discernment in my parenting with her, as with all my children.
I will stop for now and get to the pics.....I have more to share about some specific things but will post another time about them.

this is a lady at the hotel, her name is tsion.(say it like zion, in the bible) She was very nice and asked lots of questions about adoption. Daddy and Wibnesh on the long flight home.

First Starbucks.

Playing at the airport.

Trying to get a cousin picture while everyone was here. My children are the ones crying on the ends, you'll also notice them by their extremely pale faces.(sick all week)

Cousin harlie trying to share with Wibnesh.

Welcome home sign from a friend

Having lunch with her"brothers".

She has caught on to the whole camera thing and likes to see the picture after it's taken.

4 kiddos

She likes to color and look at books and color in books :(

Such a blessing-the good and the bad-sent from God

She was looking at a picture of her "nana" and "pop".

This is the best way for us to have her know her grandparents. In a perfect world we could visit more or live near them so they could know eachother.

Ethiopia

2010-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

We are going to go backwards because I never remember to do it right. So we are starting with Wednesday night, the cultural dinner. We were looking forward to getting out of the hotel with Addis and equally excited to eat some traditional food.
She loved the food and ate alot of it, even the spicy stuff. I am definitely going to have to make some of it at home. The injera was so good, it was the best we have had. I guess that's not saying much we have tried to make it and we had some at the hotel.

The music and dancing was so fun to experience. We got a lot on video to show her as she grows up.

When Addis is out in public, she clams up and doesn't smile or anything. She enjoyed the music (she danced)and food but kept the same dazed look on her face.

Our hotel room was in the front and we could look out and see people walking all day long.

Addis is such a silly girl. She loves to listen to music and dance. She has a great personality and is fun to be around. I am loving getting to know her, how blessed we are to get that chance.

On our shopping day, we had to take her to Hannahs Hope. She was confused when we came back but she was fine. This is her favorite special mother.

The new HH is BEAUTIFUL. I am so happy for them that were able to get this compound and move all the kids into such a nice environment.

This is looking at the gate in between the two buildings.

There are so many smaller rooms for storage, classrooms, bathrooms,etc.

Shopping was quite an experience. Immediately we were bombarded with children and people begging you to buy something from them. The little kids would sell gum or shine your shoes. Our first instinct is to give them something, but we were told that if others see you pull out money, it can create a bad situation where more and more people surround you wanting money. One boy wanted me to buy some gum and said, " USA, Obama" Which I then replied, "NO thank you, I didn't vote for him." They eventually stopped coming around as much. The shop owners were very nice and helpful to us.

Addis, I can't believe she is with us. It is such a weird feeling to see, feel, hear, smell this dream we have had for so long.

She is a girlie-girl. She loves accessorizing(which is bizarre, because I don't. I like simple) Here she is trying to put on leggings. She gets excited if she sees a different outfit and has to put it on.

So she found the headbands and had to put, not just one, but all of them on at once. She doesn't like bows but loves bands and hats.

She loved her bath time. Playing in the tub was a good way to get her going in the morning. She would wake up a little confused by her surroundings but then we would put her in the tub and she would come out of her shell and play and giggle with us. It was really hard not to keep her from drinking the water, she is a fish. Well, she will drink forever if we let her, no water is safe around her.

So here was my first sign, I had in my possession a true girl, she loved her shoes(even though they were too big, fashion over comfort) and wouldn't let me take them off even to sleep.

Our first night together, she fell asleep in my arms. Oh, this is second heaven, right here.

Her crib at HH. They didn't have any of the stuff we sent her. She even had a doll exactly like the one we sent but she was white with blonde hair. We were sad to think she might not have ever gotten it.(It could have gotten lost in the move)

This is coming through the gate. The room on the left is a classroom for preschool children.

This our room at the hotel. It was nice and good size. We were in the front of the hotel and the traffic was pretty loud, but not at night so it didn't affect our sleep.

Leaving the airport in Bismarck ND, off to Ethiopia to get our little Wibnesh.

She let me hold her and she didn't cry, but you can see how sad she is. It was so hard to be so excited but when we put ourselves in their shoes, we could see how confusing and sad this moment would be.

We cuddled for a while and watched the other kids play.

She was so scared of us and we tried to get her to come to us, using toys and food. The food worked.

Our first glimpse of our little girl, in person. Almaz is on the right. We can't say enough about how wonderful she is. She truely cares about the children and helping them get adopted.

Thursday we went to HH again in the morning. We were concerned Addis would be confused but we felt she had done so good bonding with us and we wanted to do something. It was a mistake. She cried when she saw her special mothers and wanted nothing to do with us. It was heartbreaking to see her go through that. We went back to the hotel as soon as we could. When we were back, she was fine again, playing and talking to us. Which, she is a parrot, she repeats everything we say. She says things in Amharic too, but we have no clue what it is.

We hung out in the hotel until it was time to go to the airport.

do you believe in MIRACLES?

2010-01-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

It's 5:30am in Ethiopia and I am sitting in our hotel room. Let me say that again, I AM IN ETHIOPIA!!!
We made it here with no issues, a couple flight delays but made it here on schedule.
I have never been out of the US, not to Mexico, not even Canada. I really thought I was ready for what they called "culture shock". I have seen pics, videos, read about Ethiopia but nothing prepared me for what I saw as we drove to the hotel. It was almost more than I could take in, I was sad, curious, scared, amazed at the beautiful people, all at once.
We didn't sleep for over 24 hours, so that with the jet lag and high altitude, wiped us out. When we got to the hotel we basically slept for the next day and a half. We felt much better after that and ready to meet our little girl.
Every person I see here in Ethiopia I stare at, wondering if that is what Addis will look like when she grows up or if that is what her father looked like. I watch them interact with each other and listen to them speak broken English but mostly Amharic. I sometimes feel badly for taking Addis away from this place. It is beautiful to witness their culture.
We met a man named Henry at the hotel. He sells Ethiopian gifts and toiletries for guests at the hotel. He was very friendly(as they all are) and asked us if we were from the US and if this was the first time in Ethiopia. We chatted for a while with him about the city and he was very curious to hear what we thought about it all. He said his hopes are to visit the US sometime. I asked him where he learned English and he said in school, that everyone learns English. Which I find so strange because we as Americans aren't required to learn any one specific language. He explained it as Americans are "Up here" and everyone is "down here" so they learn it to be able to do business and such. I am hoping he didn't mean that they view us as better than them just because we are Americans. Yes we have a wonderful country but that doesn't mean if you aren't fortunate enough to be born in America, you are somehow less of a person.
Sunday afternoon we met with Almaz the director of HH to fill out paperwork and she gave us instructions for the rest of the week.
We were able to buy coffee and water(the hotel triples the cost:( )
Then we were off to see our Addis. I was so nervous I could have thrown up, I was shaking inside and out. It was so fun to share the excitement with other families getting ready to meet their children.
Here's where my question comes in, "do you believe in miracles?"
Miracle #1
We have been praying for Addis and that God would help with the transition of leaving HH and meeting us for the first time. Almaz told us that she is worried about Addis the most, she was ready for screams of terror. So we thought, ok God, you can do this.
When it was our turn to meet her, she did immediately start crying and leaning away from us. We started to try and give her toys and then we handed her some gerber graduate snacks, bingo!
She still wouldn't look at us or go to us, so we went outside and sat on the ground with her. We interacted with her for a couple of minutes with her special mother there also, and then she left. Addis started crying and I picked her up, she resisted a bit but quickly stopped. She let me hold her and kiss her and talk to her. She has been fine ever since. She even went to bed perfectly and has slept all night.
Almaz is amazed-shocked-stunned! She used the word miracle. God answered our prayers and we were able to have a beautiful gotcha day. Travis didn't get to hold her because we didn't want to disturb her contentment.(which I totally didn't mind getting her ALL to myself)
Miracle #2
Addis wasn't walking or talking from the last update we had gotten. We were a little worried that there might be something more serious going on because of that. But we of course loved her and wanted her in our family no matter what. Talking with Almaz before we went to HH, we learned that she is now WALKING and TALKING.

Our adoption journey is full of miracles just like these. God's fingerprints pointing out His love, grace, and sovereignty.

More to come......

This is the POINT

2010-01-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

At church on Sunday we were reminded why we are doing this whole adoption "thing." Did we want another child?-"yes" but why this way????? What is the point in adding to our family in this way?
HERE IS THE POINT
A family in our church adopted a little girl from Russia 5 years ago. She is a beautiful little girl and everyone at our church knows who she is, she just has that type of personality. Sunday they came to church and announced that SHE had accepted Jesus into her heart the night before. How amazing is that? A little girl from Russia was brought into a Christian family through ADOPTION and now has a forever family here on Earth and HEAVEN.
As we are getting ready to meet our little girl in a couple of days, it was a wonderful reminder of the bigger picture.

ONE WEEK

2010-01-14T12:53:00.000-08:00

We are one week away from loading a plane to go to ETHIOPIA. A place I have dreamed of going for longer than this adoption process. And on top of that, I am bringing home, not a souvenir but OUR DAUGHTER. (another dream in itself) We feel so grateful for this opportunity and we are going to enjoy every moment(even the not so fun ones).
After my last post of hearing the news about the FDL, we really were still on hold until we got confirmation that it had been received in Ethiopia. So again, we waited everyday for the phone to ring or for an e-mail. Unfortunately, the communication with them is only once a day, so after we heard "no"in the morning we had to wait until the next day to possibly hear a "yes". Everyday for the past week we have been hopeful and then crushed when the answer was "still haven't received it". Yesterday, our oldest said,"quit crying already!" Our tickets were on hold until Tuesday and our AWESOME travel agent figured a way to book them so that if need be we could transfer them to the next travel time. The tickets got lost(not sure the correct term) and she had to fight to get us back on the flight. Can you imagine what this felt like? A little over one week from suppose to boarding a plane to meet our daughter and we don't have tickets booked or the clearance to bring her home! Needless to say we were PRAYING! I don't like to use the word desperate, but that's how we felt.
Today, we got a call from our case manager with the news we have been waiting for, THEY HAVE OUR PAPERWORK IN ETHIOPIA!! We can go get her. RELIEF doesn't adequately describe our feelings. One HUGE answered prayer.
Then our travel agent called with the other news we were hoping for, OUR TICKETS HAVE BEEN BOOKED! Now the real celebration begins!!! Can you hear us yelling??????

What a roller coaster!! But it has all come together and we are going to Ethiopia.
Now we are going to concentrate on our boys before we leave them for a week. YIKES!

Ethiopia here we come!!!

2010-01-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

We got the approval we needed today, so we can make our plans to go to ETHIOPIA. I still can't believe it-it's finally here! I have been guarded about planning and now it's like I am in overdrive. I can't sit still....I know there has to be something I need to do...oh ya....pack....get the boys ready for mom and dad to be gone for a week...line up babysitters for the week....food....supplies....plane tickets....am I breathing??? That's a little look into my brain today. I love it! I love looking at her pictures and knowing I WILL see her SOON! THANK YOU JESUS!!!

Again, today we were amazed by God's hand in our lives and this adoption. He has once again, blessed us with a donation from someone (you know who you are) to help us bring her home. I love the fact that He puts adoption on people's hearts in different ways. You don't actually have to adopt a child to be part of the miracle of adoption. It may not be for everyone. All He wants is for you to obey Him-whatever it may be; adopt, foster care, sponsor a child, give to an orphanage, missions trips, financially help a family adopting......who knows the awesome ways He is calling you to be involved. Now stop and think of the life of lives you are forever changing because of your simple obedience.

News!!

2010-01-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

We heard from the Sen. office today that USCIS will be processing our application and we will hopefully hear if it is denied or approved by Friday. What a relief!!!!! Just knowing it is going to be done and we can go to Ethiopia is wonderful news to us.
We hopefully will be booking plane tickets in a couple of days and then I will feel like it is official.

2010-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

It was time for Sebastian to get his long hair cut. So I did my best to bribe him to sit still while I cut it. It actually turned out ok. Thankfully he has hair like Oliver that is more forgiving to amateur barbers like myself. He looks like a little man now.

So we finally got carpet and baseboard in her room and it is now looking like a room.

Thank you to our family friends, Mike and Nicole for coming over and helping us get it done, who knows how long it would have taken us to finish without you!

We found a pair of sunglasses while cleaning the playroom and Sebastian hasn't put them down. He doesn't mind if they are off his nose and upside down, he knows he is cute!

Sorry the picture is sideways, I thought I turned it. We thought it was fun to let them play with the Styrofoam blocks. THEY had fun......cleaning them and the mess up is a different story. FYI there is no efficient way of picking those little things up, sweeping-they just fly everywhere, vacuuming-static makes them stick to the vacuum. We had little white Styrofoam balls all over the house(including our washing machine) for at least a week.

Another view of her room.

So I am soooo happy with her room, there is just something missing...........

HER!

Next to the dresser is our pile of donations. So far we have enough to fill 2 tubs! I thought it was going to be hard to fill-not at all.

The boys love playing in her room (i'm sure because it is new and different) Standing on the toy box is the new fav.

(Check out sebastians one sock??? And one glove??? He loves accessories, hats, gloves, glasses, socks)

Does anyone else's 3 year old get obsessed with certain clothes. T wants to wear the same thing everyday and night, it is a production to get him to let me wash it and wear something else.

SUPRISE!!

2010-01-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Like everyday for the past 2 weeks, we anxiously checked the mail for our FDL from immigration.
I have been praying so hard that we would get some sort of news today, at least a sign that we are close to getting to go get her.
I had to laugh a little when we got the mail today.
NO FDL!!!
Instead, we received an anonymous donation.
We were at a loss for words. Someone who knows us and our situation, wanted to be a part of this awesome journey, adoption. They saw the need and acted on it according to what they could.
The amazing thing is, this has happened time and time again in our adoption. Out of the blue, not really-more like God's timing, someone has blessed us through their obedience to God telling them to give, specifically, to our adoption.
I only share this to first of all, give Glory to God for his provisions. Secondly, to encourage those who can't see that the "impossible" really is possible. It might just come in a different way than you expected or desired.
Even though we still don't have the paper we need to travel, God is still reminding us that He is putting everything into place. He is paving the way in His time and His order.
So here is a big THANK YOU! to the anonymous giver, and to all those who have blessed us in various ways.

2009-12-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

We are still waiting to hear about our FDL from immigration. I am trying to not become anxious about it and when my mind starts with the what ifs, I have to be reminded of the truth.
Which is....

God is
FAITHFUL
GRACIOUS
LOVING

He has
A PLAN
-FOR OUR FAMILY
-FOR OUR DAUGHTER
ALREADY DONE MIRACLES in our adoption and our lives

He can
DO THEM AGAIN
BRING US TOGETHER
BRING US COMFORT/PEACE WHILE WE WAIT

My heart is yearning to be with her and to know her laugh, smell, cry.
We are once again, brought to our knees, waiting for news. News that we can get on a plane and bring our little girl home.

Jesus's Birthday

2009-12-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

These pictures are backwards order, so we will start with Christmas Day. We celebrated Jesus's birthday in the evening by baking cupcakes and singing "Happy birthday" to Him. The boys think it's the funniest thing ever that it's HIS birthday but we eat the cupcakes and we get presents. The afternoon was spent relaxing. Some slept and some played with their new toys. It was nice just being under the same roof together.

Sebastian loved his gift from Nana Jane and Pop Dave. Talking cleaning kit (broom, dust pan, iron, dust buster and trash can). He loves helping me clean anyway, so this was the perfect gift.

Thatcher really was at a good age for gifts this year. When the presents started being passed out, he said, "This is going to be GREAT!" It was so neat to see his excitement.

Oliver did really well being patient while his brothers opened their gifts first. He was really excited to open them too, but he was gracious and let them go first.

Oliver was excited to get some dragons to paint. Look at his crazy hair!

Pop Dave trying to open a toy. Why do they package them so much. You need a degree and multiple tools just to open them.

Christmas Eve we went to church. I was prepared with my camera to take our family picture, but it didn't happen. But the boys were handsome in matching shirts, you'll have to take my word on it. Our theme for the holiday season was, "Give this Christmas away". At the end of the service, every family was encouraged to take a gift from the stage and deliver it to a designated place. The gift we chose was to go to the fire station. Travis and Oliver took it in and said something like, "Because God has blessed us, we want to bless you and thank you for your service to the community." The fireman were suprised and thankful and took them to see the firetrucks, which Oliver thought were stinky! (the tires) It was a great memory for us as a family and we were glad to be part of it.

When we came home, we had pizza and then made gingerbread men.

We weren't suppose to do presents for eachother-but T ignored the agreement! He bought me the necklace I have been wanting since we started the adoption process. I was very suprised and touched by this gift. It has a heart over Ethiopia and her name on the back. I LOVE IT!!!

Thatcher slipped while getting out of the tub and busted his chin open. It didn't really bleed that much but the wound was wide enough we took him in to get stitches. Lucky for him (and us) they just glued it together. Now he is proud to have a scar to match mine!

TRAVELING!!! (MAYBE)

2009-12-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

Oh my! Oh my!!!!!
We just heard from one of the case managers today and she told us we are one of the confirmed travelers for the Jan. 11 embassy date. We were told it was possible but highly unlikely so we were planning on leaving the 22nd. So we were really surprised to get this news and EXTREMELY EXCITED!!!
But.......we are still waiting for our FDL-which we can't even buy our plane tickets until we have that. SIGH!!
But.....we did get an update on our little Addis. It is amazing how much she has grown since coming to HH. She is now up to 24lbs!! And her health is much better-she passed her TB tests, which is a huge answer to prayer.
We can't believe in a little less than 3 weeks we can actually be in Ethiopia holding our little angel.
Yeah!! Yeah!! Yeah!!!

2009-12-21T11:03:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN!!!
Travis and I both took this week off so we could have some family time. We originally would be going to visit my family in MO but since we will be most likely traveling in January to ET, we thought it best to just stick around home for the holidays. (Sorry to my family:(
We have started some of our Christmas traditions already; baking day, hot chocolate while we drive around and look at Christmas lights, christmas movies and popcorn.....more to come this week.
I am trying to concentrate on Christmas right now and making it special for the boys. I really want to help them understand what it is all about. I don't want them to have to struggle with the greediness that is so humanly natural and magnified during this time of the year. Having no tv has really helped with the "I wants" as well.
I do want them to have a fun Christmas and what person doesn't get excited to open something special?! But when you get 20 somethings, is it really special then? I guess balance is what I am seeking here. I want them to be as excited to give or do something for someone else as they are to receive a present.
After Christmas I work for two more weeks at the YMCA and then I am done!!! Then there is only 2 weeks before we travel (If all goes well). Looking at it this way helps me not drive myself crazy thinking about getting to my little girl. I am so excited to see her in person, she isn't a photograph, but a real little girl......my little girl. Just saying that makes me smile.

Court news!!

2009-12-15T12:03:00.000-08:00

We just got the call from our case manager about our court date. WE PASSED!!!!
We were shocked to hear we passed the first time because it seems lately there has been a lot of families not passing for various reasons.
WE are so thrilled words can't even begin to describe it!!
This is so different for us than having our biological children. Even thought they are loved equally, we had to fight for this and work for it, whereas, conception and pregnancy came easy for us. That being said, we love all our children the same no matter how God brought them to us. I heard a friend say that this process was the first time in her life she was brought to her knees crying and praying. I now can say the same.
We will see our little girl in January!!!
We are praying all paperwork can be filed and her tb testing goes well so we can make the Jan. 11 embassy date. If not, we will be going later in January. Either way, it's OFFICIAL, she is our little girl.
Thanks for all the prayers!

2009-12-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Saturday's prayer is for our adoption paperwork. We hope everything is correct and in the right place for tomorrow night.
I am feeling the fears and anxiety start creeping in. I know I need to listen to the "truth", which is, God is in control, no matter what the outcome of our court date. We have learned this time and time again, in our own lives and in other's lives as well. He knows the desires of our hearts and He wants us to ask for them, so that is our part. The rest is in His hands and WE rest in HIS hands!

2009-12-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

Today we started our Christmas baking!!! The boys were so excited to help out. They dipped pretzels in chocolate and they helped make puppy chow(I don't know anyother name for it) by shaking the bag with the powder sugar. Tomorrow it's cookie day so on the list is sugar cutout cookies, peanut butter cookies with kisses, and fudge. Sunday we will make rice krispie bars to decorate and we will be ready to assemble our gift boxes.

"I am not eating any chocolate, that's not chocolate on my face.."

"Can I lick my fingers now?"

S just ate pretzels-he enjoyed himself. I am trying to imagine Christmas next year with all 4 blessings, it will be wonderful to celebrate Jesus's birthday with Addis!!

Chain

2009-12-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

The paper we tore off of our chain today, said "Father". We have already had a specific day to pray for him but I am imagining another one might be helpful. He is getting ready to say goodbye to his daughter-my heart breaks for him. I don't know his life-but God does and we are praying His mercy over the whole family, father, sister, brothers, aunts, uncles...
We are still holding out hope that he will return so we can meet him when we travel there, but the chances are slim. This would be an awesome thing to share with her as she starts asking questions. To be able to have a picture of him and her together and have something to tell her about him would be priceless.

3 more days!!!

2009-12-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

There are 3 days left til our court date!!!
Today we prayed for Addis. We know this is going to be a traumatic experience for her. She will be leaving all she knows, sights, sounds, smells. When we put ourselves into her shoes and try to feel what she might feel, it makes us very sad for her. That is why we are praying for her today, that God will prepare her heart for this huge change and that she will quickly realize that she is safe with us and how much we love her.

2009-12-09T10:45:00.001-08:00

Today we are praying specifically for the two documents that need to arrive by our court date. If not, we will not pass. Please pray that they will get there by the needed time, if they are not there already.
We are so sad for fellow AGCI family, the Wrights. They have been hit hard today but we know that THEY know the COMFORTER. We pray His peace over all of them as they wait.

Prayer of the day

2009-12-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

I forgot to do yesterday's prayer from our prayer chain. (I am one of those people who start a journal and forget to write in it for weeks at a time:)

So yesterday we prayed for her TB testing that there wouldn't be a delay at all and she can come home right away. She has been healthy so far....so we are praying for continual health and esp. a clear chest xray.

Today was for her special mothers who are caring for her 24/7. I can imagine how attached they could get caring for a child all the time. From watching others videos of HH and seeing the special mothers love on the children there, I know each one of them care about those children. Watching them leave must be bittersweet for them. I can't wait to meet her special mothers and tell them "thank you for doing such a good job". So we pray for them and their lives and that God will bless them and comfort them as they have the blessing of being a part of these children's lives but the sorrow of seeing them leave.

Court date

2009-12-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

Our court date is one week away and we are so excited to officially be a family of 6! We started a prayer chain to count down the days until the court date, each chain has a prayer written on it. Now that we are getting closer I will blog what we are praying for each day.
Today was for her father. He lives in the southern region of Ethiopia so traveling might be an issue. We can't imagine what he is feeling or will be feeling as he makes the trek to Addis to be at the hearing. We are praying for comfort, safe traveling and health for her father. This will always be our prayer for him, though, not just this week. Please keep him in your prayers as well this week.

(I know it's sideways-sorry)

Progress

2009-12-06T09:55:00.001-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving we tore out everything in the boys old room(carpet, baseboards, vents, closet)

So here is the before...................

Sebastian is excited to show you the progress in his sisters room!

Okay so ignore the floor, we are waiting for the carpet to be installed. The stripes are done!!! I really like the way it turned out.

This dresser is the boys old dresser but we painted them black and kept the white knobs. They look brand new...why didn't we do this sooner????

The rocking chair is also a hand-me-down that we painted black to match the dressers. This is the same chair my mom used with all of us girls.

The prints in the frames are from an artist in Addis. He has an Ebay store to sell Ethiopian goods. We love them!!

So we are making progress in her room but there's still lots to finish. It's amazing how long projects take to get done when you have little ones all over. Oh well...

Adoption has made me a better mom

2009-12-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

I am amazed at all of the things I have learned going through this adoption process; about orphans, how God provides for us, how awesome friends can be, how fun it is to meet new people who share a common goal, how God gives us love for a child we've never met. Most recently though, I have learned how going through this process has made me a better mom to my biological children. Sometimes in the normal grind of life, I lose sight of the little things I love so much. When we think of Addis and all the other orphans, all without families to care for them, we can't help but picture our boys in the same situation. It breaks my heart to think of the children worldwide who don't hear, "I love You" or "you are special", "God made you and loves you".
Because of that, I am finding myself taking advantage of the little moments I have with each of the children. Getting that last little hug in before they run off and play, or hugging them quickly as they walk by, reading the same story over and over (with the funny voices) just to hear them laugh, listening to a rambling story and knowing it means the world to them to have me interested in what they have to say.
I am blessed by being able to stay home with them, but that doesn't mean I get to spend all day just soaking in their awesomeness. My mind is always running through all of the things to be done around the house, bills, phone calls to make, homeschool, friends, family. But because of this journey, I have been reminded to be present in those times with them.
The dishes can wait til they're in bed, the house might be messier than I would like it, but I know I won't ever look back and regret spending my time with my little blessings and I definitely would regret it if I didn't.

Combining blogs

2009-11-30T19:53:00.001-08:00

So I have been trying to juggle two blogs-our adoption blog and our family blog. Not really working out so well, so I am combining the two. So for you adoption bloggers, hope you don't mind getting in on the family stuff too.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Today we had our fingerprint appointment in Fargo and we are so glad that is over with, not because it is a difficult thing to do, but just to get it done with and not worry about it anymore. While in Fargo, we had to do a little shopping at the mall-and the boys got to play at the dinosaur playground. While we were there we ran into a family who we met at the hair training. It was fun to visit about her little girl, who was around the same age as Addis when she was adopted. She had a wonderful transition experience, which is always a blessing.
Fargo has an African market, so Travis went there to buy the Teff we needed to make basic injera. We are going to try and make it soon, I will let you know how it goes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Room update:
Addis' room has now had 4 coats of white paint to cover the blue color-blue is still showing through. Agh!!!
We did get her dressers painted black and we are really happy with how they turned out-I will post pics when we get the walls done, her room might end up being pink with blue stripes!

God answered our prayers!!

2009-11-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

God gave us our "Thanksgiving Miracle".......we have a court date!!!!!!
December 14 we will hopefully pass court and she will officially be our little girl.

Thanksgiving Miracle????

2009-11-23T19:33:00.000-08:00

We had a conversation with our case manager today-hoping for some news about a court date-no such luck. We are holding out for a Thanksgiving miracle though.
Praying for those who are probably meeting their new little ones today at HH.
Our day will soon come and all this waiting will seem so silly.

"She's our Brown- Eyed Girl"

2009-11-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

Here's another peek at our sweet baby girl. We love sitting and looking at her photos. We are so thankful to have at least these to hold on to while we wait for her.

Fingerprint appointment

2009-11-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

We finally received our fingerprint appointment Saturday for November 30. It seems like still so far away. I am trusting God will have everything worked out so we will receive our FDL letter when we need it.
It seems so odd that everything takes so long. I understand the waiting time for a referral-there are families ahead of you. But once you accept a referral.......come on!! I know our agency does all they can do and it's just the way it works. But it's been a month since we accepted her referral and she is still sitting there with no family to love her. HH does a wonderful job but it's not the same as a family.
I want to hold her and sing to her, tell her we love her and her heavenly father loves her. I want to see her play with her brothers and watch them protect her. I can't wait to see her grow and to see her personality. Will she be a tomboy with all these brothers? Or will she be a princess? I can't wait to feel that first hug and hear that first "I love you". I can't wait to be the one who wipes her tears as she cries...for her loss...boo-boos...fears...
Even if things are not the way we imagine they will be when we bring her home, she will be HOME, with her family. God will work everything else out.
WE LOVE YOU ADDIS! WE CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!

WAITING!!WAITING!!WAITING!!

2009-11-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

So we are just waiting for any news from AGCI or our int. Ped. Any news would do.......well preferably good news. So to pass the time, we pray for her and her special mothers caring for her. We pray for her family wherever they may be right now. Here is a sneak peak of our little Addis.

Package for Addis

2009-11-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

We mailed off a little package for Addis. We can only send what can fit into a gallon size bag. I was shocked by how small it was but we were able to fit what we wanted to send.(except for me, of course)

A doll, a blanket, and a little photo album with pictures of us in it. I hope she likes it!!

We hope the pictures of us will help her not be so scared when she sees us for the first time and the blanket has our "scent" so hopefully it will be familiar to her when we hold her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On Saturday I went to Fargo to learn how to do Addis' hair. It was a blessing to be around so many adoptive families and children. It was neat to learn about how to care for her hair and ways to fix it. Very encouraging to be around families who "get it".

I can't wait to get her in my arms and cuddle and play-and now do her hair. I am curious how long her hair will be when we finally get there and to see the texture and curliness of her hair.....WE CAN'T WAIT!! Well, of course we have to wait and trust in God's timing......but we are so excited!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please continue to pray for her health, she is doing better since at HH but our international ped. is concerned she might be flagged when going through the testing to leave the country. We are hoping to hear soon, this week, on what we can possibly do to avoid this delay.

Good News

2009-11-03T10:08:00.001-08:00

We had our "next step" call with our case manager yesterday and received the news that our paperwork is on it's way to Ethiopia. Yay!!!! I had been praying the night before that this would be the news she would tell us. We are relieved to have our documents on their way. Our travel packet also came in the mail that day which explains what to pack and what to expect when we do travel. That was so exciting to read that and picture us actually doing it, going and getting her and being in her country. I have always wanted to go to Africa and so I am just elated at fulfilling two dreams in one. I love learning things about Africa and especially Ethiopia. I have been trying to learn their language a little and Youtube has been quite helpful, actually. They even have videos of kids singing songs in Amharic, I love hearing their beautiful voices. I hope to keep this going as she grows so she can feel connected in some way.
We pray this time will go by fast and that God will allow us to go and get her as soon as possible. He has shown me that He has a plan for us and this adoption and I need to trust in that.
I was a little down as I drove to work last night, despite the news of our paperwork getting to Ethiopia soon. I was a little discouraged and even fearful that we wouldn't be getting her for a long time and then a song came on the radio, Mark Schultz, "I am". I have heard the song so many times before but this time something was different. It was like God was singing to me, saying "why are you doubting, worrying, fearful, impatient? Don't you know who I am? This is who I am......" I couldn't help but smile and even laugh a little about how silly I was being. He knows the path of our lives and I am glad I can trust in HIM. Our sons memory verse this week is ,"It is better to put trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in man."

We are gearing up for the launch of our orphan ministry at our church. I am so excited to see how God is going to work through this ministry. I hope eyes will be opened and more families will be led to adopt, others will feel led to donate time or financially to help orphans worldwide.

Adoption has taught me.......

2009-10-30T12:05:00.000-07:00

When we started this journey we were so caught up in changing someone else's life for the better. We knew we wanted to help a child have hope for a better life and hopefully a life in Christ. As I look back I can't believe how much WE have changed because of this journey. We look at everything differently, our needs, our children, our possessions.....The things we thought were important before aren't nearly as important(besides our children which have always been #1)
Our family has forever changed. Our children are learning the world is bigger than us and what it looks like to make sacrifices for His kingdom.

What?!!

2009-10-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

We have been waiting to get our appointment to be fingerprinted for our FDL. Now we know why it has taken so long. I received our application in the mail yesterday and get this....WE FORGOT TO SIGN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't ask me how. I am able to laugh at it now but seriously, what?How?why?
We are pretty sure it won't affect the timeline of us getting her home but still.........We overnighted it right away.
We are trying to keep busy and work on the room changes. We moved the toy room down to the family room and now the 3 boys will share the big room(old playroom). We are going to do a car/garage theme, the boys are excited!! Needless to say I won't have to buy much for decorations and Travis won't notice all of his missing car stuff.
We have her paint colors and bedding already. We are looking for a bed and a comfy glider for all the cuddling we are going to do.
We have lots of painting and reorganizing to do but when we are done hopefully it will be time to bring her home.
Thatcher is so cute when he sees her picture he says, "That's my sister!!" He doesn't want to call her by anything but sister. We can't wait to see all of our children together for the first time.

Sinking in

2009-10-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Now that the reality of us getting her is sinking in, my emotions are changing from ecstatic to sorrow. I of course am excited to get her home and get to know this child we love already, but I am now saddened by the loss she has and will always have. I am sad knowing that her family will be saying goodbye to her and she will always deal with that issue. We are starting to prepare our letter for her father and siblings and I am just so heartbroken when I think about our children and how I would feel having to give them up, for any reason. Then to think about the amount of children that deal with rejection, whether they are an orphan or still with their families but just not loved, possibly abused, it's beyond comprehension. Everyone, whether they can recognize it or not, long to be loved by someone on this earth. Unfortunately, some will never have that kind of love, but my prayer is that EVERYONE can know the kind of love that lasts forever-God's.
I hope we can help her as she goes through every grieving stage to realize her worth and value. I hope we are sensitive to the specific way she might grieve her loss for her family and culture.

Passports

2009-10-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Even though I feel like there is still so many mountains in front of us before we get to Addis(this is the name we have for her-it means "new" and is the city she is in), there are little rocks being pushed aside. For instance, we have received our passports. That is another thing checked off our list. I wish I could show the passport photos, they look more like mug shots. We did them at walmart and the lady told us not to smile and took the photo from above us-not a good angle, trust me. They are horrible pictures, but they'll get us to our sweetie.
I love that families are hearing good news about court dates. It gives me hope that it won't be too long before we are hearing the same good news.
Our hearts long to be with her, what is she doing right now..........is she happy.......she doesn't even know that she has a family waiting to see her and hold her forever.

International Pediatrician

2009-10-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

We heard from the Dr. that is reviewing "W" medical files. She said things look promising and that with some love and good nutrition she should blossom. We were so excited to hear that(although we had our mind's made up already) and it was nice to hear her perspective on the medical concerns she has. We know that the permanent effects will not be known for years to come, but we feel confident that she is our child.
We are praying she stays healthy and continues to do well at HH until we can get to her. It is so hard to be here and know she is so far away......
We have made more progress in the "O" area accepting this new little one. This morning he commented on the blanket we bought to send to her. He asked if I thought she would like it and I said "I hope so", then he replied, "me too". In my heart I know he is fine with it, it's just his personality to reject everything that is new or unknown. When not prompted about her, he is interested, but if WE ask him about her, he isn't interested in discussing the subject. But again, we are making progress and we still have a couple of months till we bring her home.

Finally pink in the house

2009-10-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so during every pregnancy, when we had an ultrasound to find out the gender, we would go and buy the baby an outfit to celebrate. So.........that's my excuse to buy "W" some clothes. We were in Fargo and went shopping at the mall there and I restrained from buying every cute little dress available. I did buy a blanket to send to her and an outfit to fly home in. We don't know her exact size so we can't buy too much right now. I also went to "My friends attic" sale this weekend and picked up some cute sweaters. A little girl's gotta have some cute bows and of course comfy PJ's (Thanks again Michelle).

Now that this is becoming a reality, I am finding a lot of things that I need to research and get ideas about. At the beginning we were thinking our child would probably be a baby, but knowing she is a toddler changes things a little bit. It's weird to think we have all of this love for her and we are excited to get to her, and she has no idea who we are and she definitely doesn't love us yet. We pray God prepares her heart for us and our first meeting goes well , if not at first, that she quickly gets use to us.

Thank you

2009-10-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

Before I show the Pink, I have to say thanks to my husband who brought me flowers after we learned that we were going to be able to get "W". Flowers are a special treat, since I have told him not to buy flowers for me in the past.(I love them but they die so quickly) So "Thank you" again!!!

Referral Packet

2009-10-18T06:09:00.001-07:00

On friday, we received her referral pack. We were so excited to read all about our little "W". Everything looked great and we are just waiting to speak with the international pediatrician on Monday and then we will give our ''YES".
A thought popped into my head the other night, of the timeline of "W" life and our adoption process. The reason she was given up happened the same time we applied to AGCI......She was brought to Hannah's Hope the same time we were able(when God provided the money, not when we actually could have) to send the money to contract with AGCI.....we were declined to move forward with her the first time and we didn't have the money for our dossier yet and the same day we had the money for the dossier AGCI called to see if we were still interested in "W"..... HOW AWESOME IS THAT??!!!HOW AWESOME DOES GOD WORK THINGS OUT?
I AM IN AWE!!!
Oh, "my cup runneth over" right now.
Stay tuned to see how the rest of our journey goes.......

They said 'YES"

2009-10-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

We got a call from our agency yesterday and they said we could move forward to adopt a little girl we have been interested in for a month. We first saw her through a waiting child e-mail from AGCI. Travis e-mailed to get more information about her and we started praying about her and how she could fit in our family. After a long weekend we notified AGCI that we were interested but evidently so were some other families. Since she is in between Thatcher and Sebastian, it would break birth order, something they don't like to do. So we were told they were going to go with another family. We were so sad about that, but knew God had a plan for her and us. We had the door open and shut for her 2 more times. Throughout this rollercoaster ride we never doubted God's plan, whether this plan had her in our family or not. We don't know why it went this route or why we had to be disappointed, but we are rejoicing now.
Our heads are spinning with what is to come the next couple of months. Our prayers are heavy for her and her health issues, whatever they may be. We pray God will prepare her heart for what's to come. And for our boys hearts to be open to her and not doubt our unconditional love for them.
We have lots of planning to do, rooms to rearrange, painting. And the thing I have been waiting to do since we started having children but was never able to do, SHOP FOR GIRL CLOTHES!!!!
We have no idea what size she is but we know she is really small for her age, so we won't buy too many right away. Even though the idea is exciting for me, I know our focus will not be on clothes when we get her.
I can't wait to be able to post pics for the world to see our new family member!!!

Learning a new language

2009-10-13T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today we got a book we ordered, Amharic, A Complete Language Course. We thought we should learn as much as we could before we travel to Ethiopia. As we started reading the book, we realized this is a language you have to actually hear to learn. So we are going to have to find some tapes.....But we are excited to get started. In a way, it makes us feel closer to her and her country and it gives us something productive to do while we wait.

new number

2009-10-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

We got an update today and we have moved to number 43!!! We couldn't believe it-2 in a matter of 4 days.

We had a breakthrough today with O! So far he has been reluctant to talk about the idea of a new sister, insisting we need another boy. But today he actually voluntarily said, "will sebastian still be a baby when we get our sister?" I was shocked and giddy at the same time. He is acknowledging that it is going to happen and it will be a girl. I can't wait to see them all together, and now with a little pink mixed in.

NUMBER 45!!!!

2009-10-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

We got a call from our case manager on Friday. She reviewed our dossier and everything was in order and correct so we were able to be put on the waiting list. I was so nervous about sending it in, I was sure something was going to be wrong and we would have to redo something. I was suprised when she said everything looked good-whew!!! It was a relief to get that out of our hands and out of our heads. It was a constant feeling of something hanging over our heads until we sent it in.
We are number 45 for a girl and number 11 for siblings.
Now all we have to do is wait. Not my favorite thing to do, by far. But we know God's timing is PERFECT and He is not one minute late on His plan. So we can confidently wait knowing that!! We have dreamed about this moment-getting on the wait list. We never thought it would come, well, looking at the mountain of work and fees at the beginning it is hard to imagine yourself getting to this point.
Thanks to those who have made contributions to our adoption-we couldn't have made it this far without you!!!!! I should try and create a name for her using all of your initials, since you were such a big part of his. LOL!!

MAILED OUR DOSSIER

2009-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

We mailed our dossier today!!! It was Travis's anniversary present to me, he handed me our packet of papers with the check we needed to mail in. I was soooooooo excited and shocked. He had waited since Monday to tell me. Defininately the best anniversary we have ever had!!

So now we will wait to hear if everything we prepared is in order and then we will be on the wait list and we will be assigned a number. What the number is exactly isn't a big deal to us, just knowing we have done all we can do for this part. God has worked through this process, it has been amazing to see it. Oh, the story we have to tell other prospective adoptive parents.

God's Mission: Adoption

2009-09-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

When we come to Christ, God not only forgives us, He adopts us. Through a dramatic series of events, we go from orphans with no hope to adopted children with no fear. Here is how it happens. You come before the judgment seat of God full of rebellion and mistakes. Because of His justice He cannot dismiss your sin, but because of His love He cannot dismiss you. So, in an act which stunned the heavens, He punished Himself on the cross for your sins. God's justice and love are equally honored. And you, God's creations, are forgiven. But the story doesn't end with God's forgiveness.

For we have not received a Spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out "Abba! Father!" the Spirit himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15)

It would be enough if God just cleansed your name, but he does more. He gives you His name. It would be enough if God just set you free, but He does more. He takes you home. He takes you home the Great House of God.

Adoptive parents understand this more than anyone. I certainly don't mean to offend any biological parents-I''m one myself. We biological parents know well the earnest longing to have a child. But in many cases our cribs are filled easily. We decided to have a child and a child came. In fact, sometimes the child came with no decision. I've heard of unplanned pregnancies, but I've never heard of an unplanned adoption.

That's why adoptive parents understand God's passion to adopt us. They know what it means to feel an empty space inside. They know what it means to hunt, to set out on a mission, and take responsibility for a child with a spotted past and a dubious future. If anybody understands God's ardor for His children, it's someone who has rescued an orphan from despair, for that is what God has done for us.

God has adopted you. God sought you, found you, signed the papers and took you home.

Max Lucado
From The Great House of God

Finalized Homestudy

2009-09-24T10:13:00.000-07:00

We just got our finalized homestudy in the mail today!!! AGCI has approved it and we are set to send in our dossier.
We can't wait to get on the waiting list.
The orphan ministry at our church is underway and we are excited to see our vision come to life. The committee has met a couple times so far and we are ironing out our vision and the details. We hope we can help spread awareness for the need for families to open the hearts and homes to orphans worldwide and to assist families who are going through the adoption process, financially and emotionally. We want to see orphans united with their forever families so they can ultimately have a chance to know the ONE who loves them the most, their heavenly father.
GIVE.HOPE.ADOPT

Moving along

2009-08-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

We are almost done with our dossier. We are waiting for a couple documents and then we are DONE!!! We have online courses to complete but we are done with our workbook and that is our last step for this part. When we are done with this we will be put on the wait list for a girl. Then we WAIT.

Case Manager

2009-08-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

We had our dossier orientation call today. We were able to talk with our case manager who will help us through all the paperwork we need to gather. There are a couple changes we have to make to our homestudy but for the most part we are doing good.

Dossier!!!

2009-08-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

We received our adoption planner and dossier package on Friday. It was so exciting to open it up and start the next step. So now we are starting more classes to educate us about adoption and the needs of our new baby girl. We will also be gathering more paperwork and filling out more forms, such as birth/marriage certificates, medical statements, taking pictures of our house, and many more.
We hope you will join us in praying for our little girl. We don't know where she is right now, if she has even been born. We pray for her mother that she will have a safe, healthy pregnancy/delivery. If she has been born, we pray for safety and health for her and whoever she is with right now. It's hard not to try and hurry the process along to get to her quicker. We have to daily remind ourselves that God's timing is never late. A very wise friend gave us this verse to clutch to during these times:

"But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place. It will not be late by a single day." Habakkuk 2:3

God is AWESOME!!

2009-07-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

We have sent our signed contracts to AGCI and we are now officially, "paper pregnant". Whooohoo!! We have been praying about the funds we needed for this first step, trusting that if God was in this and wanted us to go forward, HE would make a way. And HE did!!! It is amazing the way HE works things out and how HE decides who HE will use to carry out HIS purpose. I am in AWE! Thanks to God and those who have chosen to obey His calling, we are one step closer to bringing home our little one from Ethiopia. To God be the Glory!!
We have also completed our homestudy, so another step closer.
Thank you to those who continue to pray for us and our journey through this process.

"Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much." Helen Keller

Nothing New

2009-06-10T20:03:00.001-07:00

So I guess there is nothing new or exciting going on in our adoption process. We have our final homestudy on the 20th and we have until August 8 to send in our signed contracts with our first agency fee.
This is the hardest part, trusting for something we can not see.
Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement.

Orientation Conference call

2009-05-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we had an orientation call with All God's Children. We went through our service plan, which tells us what entity will provide what service to us at each point in the process. We also went through the payment plan; when fees are due and where they are going. It was exciting to see the whole process written out before us. Our first goal: we have until August 8 to send back the signed service plan with the program fee.
The best part of the orientation pack was the calendar they gave us with pictures of adopted children on it. Every time we see those sweet faces we are reminded of why we are doing this.
We will do all we can to make this happen, the rest is in God's hands. Please pray with us!

Home Study

2009-05-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

Well today is a big day. Our home study agency is coming at noon for our in home visit. We are so excited to take another step forward in our journey. Also we received our acceptance notification from our adoption agency and we will be doing orientation this Thursday. Please keep us in your prayers and we will keep updating...God Bless

Application accepted!

2009-05-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

We just received the call from AGCI saying they went through our application and medical documents and everything is good to move forward-yeah!!!
Next step is to have the "orientation call" this thursday or monday. We are looking forward to the orientation packet coming in the mail-Thursday!
I also got an adoption book I ordered in the mail today, "Twenty things adopted Kids wish their Adoptive parents knew." We have heard it is very informative. We are trying to go into this without expectations and with eyes wide-open-the more info the better.

Blessings

2009-05-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

We are already seeing God working. We are starting to receive support from family and friends in many different ways, money, words of encouragement and most importantly, prayers. Thank you! God is awesome and He uses His people to accomplish His work.