2013

happy New year baby boy!!! We miss you but we will see you this year!

our son?

On Dec 26th I drove through a cloud of fog.Could it be a sign from our son? A day after AJ was born I drove through fog and couldn't help but think of her. Sooo could this be a sign from our son??? I hope so!

Amel

My precious girl today you turn 4!! We are still amazed that you are growing so quickly but we are so glad that we get to spend each and every day watching it happen. You are a blessing and we hope you never forget how much you are loved. Happy birthday princess!!!

Puzzle fundraiser!!!

As you may notice a "donate" button has been added to our blog. This button is for any donation you may feel compelled to give as well as our puzzle piece fundraiser. We will be selling puzzle pieces for $5 each. Each piece sold will be sent directly to you to autograph. Then simply send the pieces back to us and we will frame the entire puzzle and hang it in our son's room when all is finished! It's a simple way to be a part of our son's life and helps him come home to us!! Thank you ahead of time for reading this and being a part of our journey :)

Turning 2

Well it has been almost a week since you turned 2 and I am still getting used to the idea of having another toddler around the house. Don't get me wrong it feels like you've been a glorified toddler for some time, but now you actually are. I just have one thing to ask "please, please don't let the terrible two's be worse than the 1's!!!!" I love you more than life itself baby girl, but I just might lose it if this year is worse than the last lol Anyways, enough about my feelings...I hope you're first mother knows how thankful we are to have had this birthday and many more with you. We are truly blessed by you both. We love you always and forever- Mommy and Daddy

(The morning of your 2nd birthday and opening your gift from mommy and Daddy)

You're 2!!!

Today is the anniversary of your birth! We are so blessed to be able to send this day with you. We are exhausted from loving you especially heavily today, so I will write more tomorrow. For now, happy happy birthday baby girl!!! Love- mommy

birthday eve!!

Tomorrow my "baby" turns 2. I cannot believe how much time has flown. I wish it would slow down, but at the same time I'm so happy to watch her grow. Today, I cannot stop thinking about her first mother. Is she thinking of her today and everyday? Is she worried about her? If she is I hope she knows how much she is loved and that everyday we have with her we see as a miracle. We will never let A.J. forget where she came from and who she came from. I hope A.J. and her first mother know that we are always thinking of them both. They are our angels and we thank God for them everyday. Happy Birthday Eve baby girl!

Official adoption #2 song!

http://youtu.be/OHkvan-NFnM

Well here is our choice!

As if the news of us starting our second adoption wasn't good enough; we are now going to tell you what gender we are requesting...can I get one more drum roll please?? The girls will have a.........BROTHER!!!!! We are requesting an infant boy!! Of course, we know that God could change the plans we have made, but for now we are on the road again to adopt an infant boy in hopes to give the girls a brother. Please pray for a smooth and quick process :)

Drum Roll Please!!!!!

Ok, so our big news is this.....We have officially started our second adoption from Ethiopia!!!!!!!!! Any guesses as to what gender we are seeking this time around? Well whatever gender child we are to adopt (will tell you our choice soon ;])we hope this adoption will be a little less eventful than the last lol Anyways, we do have one favor to ask. If you have any great fundraiser ideas would you please share them with us? Thanks!!!

NEWS

Look for some big news to come in the next week!! I can't say what it is yet though...

Just some updated pictures of the girls. A.J.'s top teeth are almost all in :(

Teeth!

A.J. has her last two top teeth coming in at the same time. No wonder she has been waking up early and drooling like crazy lol I can't believe my baby girl is growing up :( :)

yay!!!!!!

Our adoption tax credit came in today!!! Whoo hooo!!!!!

Mother's day out and a cold

Well A.J. started her first day of mother's day out 2 days ago and today (her second day) she woke up with a head cold. Poor baby. We have managed to keep her illness free since bringing her home in February and bam! One day with other kids and she's sick again!! UGH!!! I guess this is how it will be with daycare though. I just hope her runny nose doesn't last near as long as it did 6 months ago. Please pray that our baby girl gets better quickly and stays healthy for as long as possible! P.S. stay tuned in the next few days for updated photos! I know I'm terrible at writing everything down and staying current on this blog, but I'm trying to get better with it!

Growing!

Now that we have completed our 6 month post-placement visit we figured out how much AJ has grown! She has not really grown in height, but she has gained 2 lbs!! Now she is between the 5th and 10th percentile!! We are so happy to see our baby girl growing up!

Pictures!!

Pictures from the girls first beach trip and A.J.'s first fourth of July home!

The girls first trip to the beach!! It was a blast more pics to come!

Happy 4th!

Well today is the first 4th of July that we have been able to spend with A.J.! It is going to be a fun day followed by a trip to the beach!!! We are all very excited and cannot wait! The girls are napping now but as soon as I can I will post pictures of them in their 4th gear! Happy 4th everyone!!

Just RUDE

Ok, so I don't make many requests but I do have this one...Please DO NOT ask this question to any adopted child, parent, or family member: "Where'd you get them (can also be replaced with him/her) from?" It is rude, disrespectful, and just plain demeaning. Our children are not items that can be bought and sold in stores. They are people who have feelings just as your children who you gave birth to do. If you must ask this question try this version first " Are your children adopted?" If the answer is yes you may proceed to this question: " Where are they adopted from?" I GUARANTEE you will get better results with those questions than you will the first. We have had the first question asked of us too many times and to be honest it breaks my heart. My children are standing right there when it is asked and I would never want them to think that they are property. They are loved no matter how they came to us; whether we bought them at Kmart, adopted them, or gave birth to them. Please remember this the next time you encounter an adoptive family. Thank you.

Happy father's day to a great father, husband, and son! I love you babe-you are the best father a child could have!!

One year ago

One year ago today we meet our daughter for the first time! It was a surreal moment and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. We were exhausted and hadn't slept but three hours in the past 2 days. We were all but zombies, however nothing was going to stop us from holding our daughter on this day! So, we loaded ourselves into the hot taxi and drove to our agency's foster home...we were so excited! When we arrived we were ushered into her room and told that we could pick her up. I remember thinking she was so much smaller than I had thought and she was SO beautiful!!! We spent the next week loving her and taking in every moment we had with her. It was the perfect trip (except for the fact that we had to leave her at the end of the week)and I will never forget a single moment of that trip. Baby girl you are my true love and I will forever see you as my little girl. You are a blessing and we are so thankful you are here with us now. We can't imagine life without you and never want to! Happy 1 year anniversary!!

Night time

A.J. has stated to attach to us. We thought this had already started happening but it appears that she was in a "honeymoon" phase. She has been waking up with terrible night terrors lately and surprisingly we don't see this as a bad thing. It shows that she is truly becoming comfortable in her surroundings and letting her guard down. It is awful to witness and deal with but we know it is a good thing. Despite it's good implications though it breaks my heart. I can't imagine what is going through her head. I just hope she knows how much we love her and we want what's best for her.

My girls after church last Sunday. (Amel- 3 yrs., A.J.- 18 months)

Happy belated 18 month birthday precious girl! You are now 1.5 years old, can you believe it??? We are so happy that we have been able to spend these last few "birth months" with you and look forward to many more!!!!

Mama!!

While walking the mall today wrapped in her Moby A.J. pointed to me and said "Mama!". It was perfect and I just had to write it down :)

An eventful weekend

On Saturday I graduated college!!! I am now officially a woman with a degree (in social work)! After what seemed like a crazy-exciting ceremony I came home to find my husband cleaning the house like a mad man. I could only think of one explanation for this...he was planning a party. Sure enough everyone was coming over to my house-SURPRISE! I am not very good with surprises lol My husband had only the best intentions but seeing as neither myself nor the girls were dressed it was not the best surprise. Once we were dressed however the party was great! A lot of good friends and close family all came together to celebrate my graduation. I have a wonderful husband who would do something like this just for me :) Fun times Sunday was mother's day. My first "real" mothers day. My daughter was home for this mother's day and it felt wonderful, however I couldn't shake an overwhelming sad feeling. It felt like something was missing...I spent most of the morning in a weepy state and just could not figure out why. I'm still not sure what the deal was. All I can think is that maybe I was feeling the pain and loss for A.J.'s birth mother. I did after all feel slightly guilty for wanting to have fun when I knew she was not celebrating today. I have been feeling that way for the past few weeks; like something is not quiet right. I feel as though I am being called back to Ethiopia...it is A.J.'s birth mother or someone else who I'm longing for?? Something is missing, I'm just not sure what. I do know this though I am blessed. I have an amazing family and having my daughter here now is such a miracle.

(My parents and my girls with me at graduation)

Ok,so I have been thinking of how to write this post for a while now. I am still not totally sure what or how I am going to say this but here it goes... I've always thought our adoption story would be like a fairytale with no scary or unsure moments, but I was wrong. Adoption is an act of God but even still it is messy. It is full of losses and new beginnings and with that comes bonding, hard work, and sleepless nights. This child that you have prayed for and longed for is not the child you envisioned in your head. They have their own way of doing things and boy are they stubborn. The sooner you realize that they are their own person the sooner you can start becoming a family. I had this perfect image of what my daughter would be like: quiet,easy to please, and cuddly. She is none of those things! :) She is constantly moving and always gabbing about something. She does not like for you to do anything for her unless it's exactly what she wants. She is not afraid to tell you "no" and is a fighter in every sense of the word. When I finally realized that this child was not going to be exactly what I had planned in my head I began to see her for the beautiful person she truly is. She is a survivor. She is a comedian. She is risk taker. She is an adopted child with a zest for life. This is who my daughter is and I would not change that for anything. I want to be as honest as possible with everyone about adoption; even my daughter. So I will also mention that bonding with your adopted child is laboring. It takes time and most often takes more time than one would hope for. We have only been home 3 months and it shows. Our daughter is attaching to us but we still have moments where she will go to anyone or not be bothered by the fact that we have left the room. It breaks our hearts when these things happen but we also know that adoption takes its own path and requires a great deal of patience. So this is us being patient...we may not be very good at it but here we are none the less. We love you baby girl even though you are nothing like we had thought you would be...you're even better...you're you!

Well I am officially a staty at home mom!!! I have finished my BSW (social work) and am going to spend some much needed time with A.J. I know y'all are curious as to what has been going on with us in the last two months so here is a short recap: A.J.'s walking has gotten a lot stronger She has also began sleeping through the night almost every night She can sign "more" She is still on a bottle but is slowly getting used to the way a cup works She can say Mama and Dada but doesn't use them too often just yet She no longer has giardia!!!!!! This is by far are favorite milestone lol She loves playing with Amel but she can sometimes get a little angry with her lol She has 8 teeth! Her hair is slowly coming in Lastly, she loves taking a bath! Ok, so now on to what we have been doing for the last 2 months. When we got home things were in a whirlwind for the first month. A.J. is a VERY active child and wanted to be going all the time. Little did we know this was a coping skill. Due to our lack of knowledge on coping skills we went out often because we thought thats what she wanted and enjoyed.Of course, this did not create the best enviorment for bonding and when we finally realized that we pulled back a little. We still go out but we dont go anywhere where there will be a large crowd and we stay clear of groups of people that all want to hold her. Her attachment phase has to come first so if that means we offend some people so be it. Of course, we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but she has to come first. A.J. had also started daycare because I was still in school, but thankfully she is at home with me now for good. That was really an attachment killer. She began yet another coping behavior by not crying when I would drop her off nor did she really seem to care when I came to pick her up. This broke my heart...but thats all over with now, whew! Michael is still trying to bond with her because he works an hour away and does not get home until 7 so he doesnt get much time with her. She loves her Dada but it will take time, as all things do, to become fully attached. For now we believe we are on the right track and cannot not wait to watch her grow! She is already going on 18 months! Here are some pictures to make up for the lost blog time :)

Moving

Well we are in the middle of a move and life is hectic!! We have a much larger house now and thus we have much larger messes lol! We are hoping to be settled by this weekend and will be able to post some pictures and tell you about our life so far. Side-note A.J. turned 17 months this past Sunday :( I hate seeing how quickly she is growing up but I am so glad that I don't miss a second of it!!

My Ethiopian blessing

uh-oh!

Wow, I cannot believe that I missed blogging about our referral anniversary(3-06-11)!! I feel like I let myself down lol It's hard to even fathom that one year ago we were looking at our daughters face for the first time. She has changed so much in such a short time, but we are so blessed to finally have her home!! Things are still crazy here so I do not have much time to blog, but as soon as I get a break I will post an extra long message to fill everyone in on how we are all doing! :)

Finally!

Blogger finally let me upload a picture! Here is the most recent photo of my two girls! One month after bringing A.J. home!!

Well I have been trying to upload photos for a few days now but blogger isn't letting me...sorry I will keep trying :(

Finally a moment to blog

Well it has been a crazy week and a half! We learned of our visa clearance on a Tuesday and by that Saturday we were on a plane! We spent 13+ hours extremely anxious to get to Addis and take custody of our daughter...It was a VERY long 13 hours lol. Finally on Monday morning we arrived in Addis and by 3 p.m. we had her in our arms forever!!!!!! I still can't believe I am even typing that. We are all still in shock.

As far as bonding and all that goes we are doing fairly well. A.J. is more attached to me than Michael at the moment but I know she will become a daddy's girl very soon! She hates to be put down and definitely lets you know when she is not happy ;)

In terms of her health, she is very healthy but very petite. She is not "skinny" by any means but because of her overall size she falls below the 5th percentile. Overall, however she is a very healthy happy girl. We are blessed.

More to come soon!!

We are home and doing great!!!! I will post more with pics this coming week because right now I want to spend time with my family! Thanks for everyone's prayers!!!

We made it safely to Ethiopia and are with our daughter now and have been since Monday. We are so excited to be with her as today is her 15 month birthday!! I will post pictures as soon as I get time. Happy birthday baby girl!!! love- Mommy!

We are heading to the airport and will be leaving Sunday for Addis!!!! Here we come baby!!!!

It's official!! Our embassy date is Feb.14th, Valentines day!!!! We will be leaving Saturday and returning exactly one week later. This is all soooooo exciting!!!!!

Our day has come!!

Today, very early in the morning, we learned that our case passed USE!!!!! Can you believe it??? 11 months and 1 day after our referral and we are on our way to bring A.J. home! We hope to leave sometime this weekend and be back by next weekend.Of course the embassy has not confirmed our date yet so we are just waiting to hear the word!

WHOOOOO HOOOOOO!!!!!!

(Please continue to pray for peace of mind for A.J.'s birth mother)

Tomorrow is the day...

Tomorrow A.J.'s birth mother will have her interview at the USE (Please pray she makes it there!!) and we hope to hear VERY good news!! Please everyone pray that tomorrow is the end to a very long road. We love each and everyone of you and thank you so much for all of the praying you have done thus far, now lets get our girl home!!!!

Prayer request

One week from today my daughters birth mother will, hopefully, show up for an interview at the U.S. embassy. This will be a hard day for her, as most can imagine and I am asking that from this day forward you please pray for her. Please pray that she receives peace over her decision and that she knows A.J. will be loved beyond measure. Please pray for this woman as she has given us the best gift anyone can give...

Our daughter

She's so pretty!

I can't believe it but before the 5 days that the embassy requested we not contact them was up they emailed us!!! They are requesting a birth mother interview!!!! I sure hope this goes well!!!!!! It is a good sign that they have not asked for more paperwork!!! Please pray this goes quickly and smoothly!

My baby girl turned 14 months old yesterday, sigh, We have now been waiting 10.5 months to bring her home. We NEVER thought we would be waiting this long....and long doesn't even begin to describe it! We are more than ready for her to come home so ppplllleeeaaaasseeee pray that we are cleared for travel soon!

Melkam Gena my precious girl. I hope you had a great Ethiopian Christmas today. We love you!!!

We have been submitted to embassy!!!!!!!!!!!

day 2 of 2012 and found this in my inbox!

2012

Happy new years baby girl! We WILL bring you home this year!!!!!! Love you always- Mommy and Daddy