Our Ethiopian Blessings

Florida visit and Adoption reunion

2012-02-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

I'm way late in this post..vacation seems to make life even crazier when you get home!! One thing I know I will never pull my kids out of school again for a vacation!! They did 2 hrs a day and it took 1 week to catch up when we got home!! Crazy!!

So our trip!!! We spent 1 week in Florida!! We had quite the adventure getting there! I flew with all the kids by myself while Anthony stayed home to work. The airport went very smoothly and so did the flight. We even had the pleasure of taking Milly's "Friendly Bear" each child from her PreK gets a chance to take them home for a few days! Well we got to take him to Florida! So Yes another bag to juggle:) Juggling 5 kids with everyone,carrying bags I thought we did great until...

We finally get back to Grandmas and I go to reach for my camera to share some of my pictures..NO CAMERA!!!! Where is it?? Did I lose it at the airport?? Oh NO!!! I left it on the plane!!!

I call my husband hysterically sobbing!!! If you know me my camera is constantly around my neck and it is like a 6th child!! Soooo praying..crying..countless phones calls..We think the camera is on a plane to Chicago!!! You cant ever talk to anyone just machines so I enlist the masses to pray someone turns it in!!! At midnight I get the text.. Its Found!!! All I had to don't was make the 90 minute drive back to Orlando to get it but boy what a relief!!! Now we could get on with the Sun and Fun!!

Day 1: A little cool in Florida standards but thankfully we are Buffalonians so my kids will jump in any pool!!! They had fun swimming and jumping!! Tommy decided although last year he was fearless he was now petrified of the water and he would not move off the steps!! I think the residents at the condo thought I was drowning him every time we tried to move him so..we gave up!

Our beautiful Blessings

Day 2:

Much cooler and rainy today but they still managed to go outside a little. My crazy kids were wearing shorts and I had on jeans and a sweatshirt!! We headed of to church with Grandma so they could all meet the kids she has been talking about..Francesca especially loved the attention when they introduced us to the whole congregation!!! Hahaha I love embarrassing teenagers!!

Day 3:

Daddy comes today!!!!! While we are in sunny Florida he is in Buffalo while they are getting hit with a huge snow storm!! We pray he gets out and head to the mall so the kids can ride the carousel. We had lunch and Ice cream before the bad news came....

ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED!!!!! Umm fast forward me hysterically sobbing again!! Are you kidding me!! I cant go to Disney without him and the 5 kids by myself!! Plus its not a family vacation without out Dad! We spend the remainder of the afternoon on the computer making call after call with not much but hope! Then finally the right person answers the phone and he gets a flight!! A very late flight but he got here!!

Day 4(Animal Kingdom)

This is the day we have waited months for!!!!!!!! We were going to get to meet face to face lots of adoption friends!!!! All with kiddos from Ethiopia!!! I was so excited to see some of the kids we took pictures of in Ethiopia! I was also excited to meet the parents!!!

I was most excited about meeting the Wanderers!!! When we were in Ethiopia we met the most amazing teenage boy, Joshua! All of our hearts melted for him! Adorable..so smart and so kind!! He had a close bond with all the the guys from AWAA and all the families. He spent alot of time with Milly and Tommy and told us of his desire to have a family. He was very honest about how he saw all the babies going home but "What about the older kids?" Oh..Break..My..Heart! He then introduced us the one of the most beautiful girls there! His sister!! And he told me of his other sister too!! Oh my 3 kids!!! That night I was on a mission!! I messaged my FB friend Susan about the 3 most adorable kiddos!! You must adjust your request to 3 kids!!!!! Fast forward!!!! They are her kids!!!!!!!!! They fit perfectly in her family and it is one of the most beautiful God things I have ever seen!!! We both spotted each other and hugged each other with tears in our eyes!! I LOVE ADOPTION!!

Me with Joshua Wanderer and Adonias during our embassy trip

Our families united here= surreal!!

We spent the day at the park with lots of AWAA families!! Then we spent the night with everyone at a pizzeria! This was much more relaxed and easier to talk!! We got to talk and meet so many more families and see our friends the Kicklighters!!! We met them last year in Florida and I was so excited to see them again!! Our whole family gets along so well..wish Florida wasn't so far:( I cant explain how good it feels to talk to those who walk in your shoes everyday! I loved seeing Miss Gina Root again too!! I wish we had more time but everyones kids were practically falling asleep in their food! What a great day full of great memories!!

Day 5

We tried for the pool today but we didn't last as long..a bit too cold for our blood:) But they gave it a try. Grandmas neighbor took all of us out on his boat for a tour of Lake Lu Lu. The kids all got to take a turn driving the boat. Then we went for our favorite dinner..Golden Corral!! HaHa I know..not everyone favorite but with 5 kids..a chocolate fountain is a must!!

Day 6 (Epcot)

Today was a fun day!! We took our time and made sure to hit every ride. We had never been to Epcot before. The weather was perfect. I love memories like this with our family of 7. Smiles..laughter and lots of love!!

Start of the day..

end of a perfect day..

Headed home..

Its always sad to leave grandma but it was time to head back to reality...we had a wonderful trip with many wonderful memories:) Check out our video below to see all the highlights of our trip!!

Florida 2012 at OneTrueMedia.com

2012-02-04T09:11:00.001-05:00

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Our Ethiopian Blessings:1 year home at OneTrueMedia.com

2012-01-27T19:24:00.001-05:00

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1 year Home!!!!

2011-12-17T20:09:00.000-05:00

WOW!!!! What a year makes!!!!!! One year ago we stepped foot on US soil with our 2 newest American citizens!! We forever changed their lives and our whole families. For 17 months we dreamed of what life would be like..how would it look? How would we all adjust? Would it be a fairytale like we had been hoping or dreaming? Actually better! It is reality! They are real kids and we are a real family..we have our struggles, our triumphs, our disappointments, our accomplishments, tears, laughter,fears..but most of all its real. I say this because as most adoptive parents or expectant parents know..we spend so much time picturing our kids in our minds, how they might look, how will they respond to us? Will they embrace us, Love us, Trust us? Will it be the same as with our biological children? They know no different they loved us from the start unconditionally but will our adopted children? How will our Biological kids and adopted kids learn to love each other? Will it be a hard adjustment? Sooooo Many Questions!!!!!

This year we have answered most of them and discovered new ones but in the end I feel so blessed and so relieved! No adoption isn't easy and believe me it is NOT always as pretty as the pictures! We have had our struggles but we work through them and pray we come out on the other side. God placed these children in our lives for a reason. He never said it would be easy. On the whole our experience has been fairly"easy". We did not have major adjustment issues. They both attached to all of us. Both at different times in different degrees. Tommy was so shy and closed off at first and Milly well she was too "Unshy"(those who know her know what I mean) I actually worried she would not bond or attach to us because, she loved attention from anyone and everyone! This is NOT a good thing even though everyone thinks its so cute. We had to explain.NO not everyone should be holding her or taking care of her. So much that we are still learning. I think alot that they do is part of their personalities but when you adopt and children need to bond and attach with you, you QUESTION everything! I feel at peace as we begin year #2! We read the books, we did the best we could and we PRAYED alot!!! It is still a life long journey but one we are so blessed to be on!

One year ago our 3 Biological kids had to learn to share Mom and Dad and learn to adjust to more siblings. This was hard at first. The older girls had anticipated this right along with us but when it was a reality it went a little different. At first, Tommy and Milly were like new toys. They loved to play with them, care for them and show them off! Then they realized "Hey! They are staying forever and they are taking away from my time!" Slowly things started to fall into place. We got our new routine down pat. We learned how to be a family of 7 and how to spread our love around evenly(well as best as parents can) Matteo, being our youngest, had the hardest time. He was everyones baby for 7 years. How it breaks your heart to know your child is hurting but he was. He never really understood what was really going to happen so when it did I think it was emotional overload. Share your room, your bed, your friends and your parents! I really worried that he would never learn to love or accept his siblings but he did and now his brother is his Best friend(his words), "He is my brother but he is my best friend, now I always have someone to hang out with!" That really melts my heart! God can do anything and change anyones heart. All 7 of us have a new outlook on life, on love, on adoption, really on what really matters most in life:)

So to all of you on the journey, stay strong, hold onto what you know..God called you to adoption and God will work out whatever needs to be worked out! No not on our timetable, or in the way we think but in the end it will all work out and God will be Glorified! Tommy and Milly are blessings! On the tough days and on the good days! We can not even picture what our life was before they were here..we knew something was missing and now we know WHO!!!

If you aren't adopting but may have always felt a tug at your heart, or just curiosity. Pray about it, read one of the millions of blogs you can find like I did! Talk to someone who adopted or is adopted. Educate yourself on a whole world of orphans that you may never have thought of before. Sponsor a child, become a foster parent, go on a mission trip, whatever you might feel led to do. It will change you..it will break you! It will encourage you to do something, even if its just to pray or help support someone who is!

I look at the children that walked off the plane 1 year ago..I look at the family that first met at the airport. We are all different ,unrecognizable!!! We are so blessed! So many people tell us how great we are for what we "did". We didn't do anything..we just allowed God to show us how we could glorify him and his children! Yes we changed their future but they changed ours!

December 11 2010(Day 1 of our family of 7)

1 year as a family of 7!

1 year as siblings!

Our 2 Ethiopian Blessings!!!!!

11 months!

2011-11-18T12:55:00.001-05:00

This time last year we were waiting to travel back to bring our kiddos home, today we are in the full swing of life! It will be their first Thanksgiving! We Just wrapped up the crazy months of Birthdays, 4 kids within 3 weeks! Milly is next in January. I am NOT looking forward to the cold and the snow but the kids love to play outside in any weather. Everyone is doing great in school and involved in lots of extra stuff. Here is glimpse at the happenings...

Baking with Grandma

Big birds 1st Halloween

Tommy is 6!

Crazy Mo

Halloween 2011

My handsome boys at their friend arty

One other great event was Tommy and Milly got dedicated at church:) With family and friends present in front of a congregation of about 2000 people we vowed to raise our kids to know God and to lead them on the right path towards a life of following and trusting Jesus. See above video

TOMMY

Just call me NO TEETH:)

He is doing great in school! Math and reading are his favorites along with gym class of course.
He is such a social kid, I never would've saw that coming! He loves to hang out with any kids and he is always on the go. The minute his head hits the pillow he crashes! He is trying out basketball and preparing for his schools Turkey Trot race! He is very competitive! He is also very sweet! He loves any kind of sport and will watch anything sports related on TV..he is actually worse than his dad! Volleyball..golf..anything! Do Not go near the TV when the Bills are playing he will be very mad:)

MILLY

My beauty! She is full of life..happy..sweet and silly! She is loving school and wishes she could go more often. I would say even though we are together all the time she is Daddy's girl. She told me I need to get a job so Daddy can stay home with her:) She loves to dress up and I have a lot of fun doing so! I go through so many hair bows I decided to start making them for her! Here is a look at Milly's month

Baking with Grandma

Yes the pumpkin had to have a patch too;)

Modeling one of our homemade headbands

her new do

10 months

2011-10-23T09:15:00.000-04:00

Well this is looking like a trend me posting late but at least I didn't forget! Life is busy ya know! This month is the crazy month of birthdays in the Alleca house....First Cesca on the 7th then Matteo on the 15th then Tommy on the 24th! This will be Tommy and Milly's first Halloween so it will be fun to see their reaction to everything! The boys had a combo friend party at the bowling ally and had lots of fun! Milly well she is Miss personality as usual getting taller every day! Here is a look at month 10..

Explore n more children's museum

Butterfly Milly

My handsome boys at their bowling party

Francesca 14...Matteo 8!

9 months ( a little late)

2011-09-28T08:59:00.000-04:00

Back to school has certainly kept us busy plus soccer so I'm a little late! School is in full swing and we are in the back to school groove. Did my organization last past the first week...uh kind of:) Soccer is over at the end of the week but Tommy is not happy about it. We are all looking forward to a break. Time is flying by and the kids are transitioning awesome! We are so blessed we have not had one issue, I'm praying we only hit minor speed bumps along the way. It makes me sad to think their language is gone not one word remains! It is amazing how quickly a child can change. Here is a peek at our past month..pictures of Tommy are hard to come by..he tells me No all the time:)

TOMMY

Boy is he loving school!!!! He is Mr Social too! Making lots of friends in school and at soccer. Offense is his favorite position on the field but he is equally good at defense. It is so much fun to watch him play. He discovered football this month too! We took him to his first Bills game and UB Bulls game. Most of my kids are more interested in the food at these events but Tommy is into the game asking lots of questions. He even has his favorite player..Mr Jackson! Sports are definitely going to be his thing. This kid is completely out of his shell now!

First Bills game

Milly

Milly is loving school! Her teachers are floored at how amazing her English is! They had no clue she had only been here for 9 mths or that she knew no English before then.We have started doing some more playgroup activities to keep busy while the kids are at school. We went apple picking for the first time, I laughed as she called a horse a dog! I had to explain she had never seen one before! It is so much fun seeing them experience things for the first time! Halloween will be another first for both of them..I'm sure once they see that you get candy they will understand very quickly!

"Is This a Dog?"

School Starts and new beginnings

2011-09-14T21:35:00.000-04:00

This year is a big year for our kids!! Francesca started High School..Marianna started Middle school..Tommy started Kindergarten and Milly started Pre-k! Matteo he is in 2nd this year. Everyone had a great 1st day and they are still loving it a week later! I cant believe I am a mom to a High schooler! Yikes!! I also cant believe we have kids in 4 different schools!! It is going to be a very busy year for sure. I am so proud of myself 1 week in and I'm still organized! I knew going into this school year it was going to get crazy so we had to be way more organized! Clothes and shoes layed out the night before..lunches packed the night before. Last year I was ironing clothes in the morning and packing lunches as the ran out the door..I am NOT a morning person at all so the less I have to do in the morning the better:) I pray I can stick with it all year!! Here are all the kiddos on their first days:

Francesca 9th grade

Francesca actuallly did her sisters hair for the 1st day:)

Marianna 6th grade

Love this!

Matteo 2nd grade

Tamirat kindergarten

Million's first day of Pre-K

So many things have changed in the last couple years so no surprise that God would lead us in more new directions!!! Change is a good thing right?! Really our family is adjusting to 5 kids for starters..it is a daily learning process. The kids are all learning to be more responsible in their new schools and I'm trying to learn how to parent a teenager! This past year has kept us very busy and because of that we lost sight of what our #1 priority should be..GOD! Certain things such as..life and Softball took over! After a long hard look and lots of praying my husband decided to stop coaching and Marianna decided to stop playing. Alot of you may think so what! This was a major time commitment that affected our children our marriage and our walk with God. Basically we went to church when softball didn't interfere(which is from May-Aug) and that is NOT right and we were seeing the effects! So we are putting God back in the right spot #1!! Back on EVERY Sunday..Cesca is now attending the High school night and we for the first time ever are joining a small group bible study! To those who missed it..without God things just Don't work!! It is not about when you can fit him in! What were we teaching our kids..all the wrong stuff but luckily today is a new day in God's eyes and a renewing of our family and our faith!
Other newness....a new job! Not me but my husband! After much discussion and prayer he decided to just jump with both feet! How else do you do it right! The biggie he has worked with family for 10yrs and got a salary...now straight commission!! Yikes! Surprisingly we are at complete peace..when you go the way you know God is leading you there is no reason to stress! 2 years ago I never would've imagined anything the way it is..but I would not change a thing! I look forward to many more new and crazy things! I am so getting used to doing things that make people think we are crazy! I love our crazy life!

Home 8 months

2011-08-12T10:46:00.000-04:00

This summer has flown by..the kids are having so much fun! Lots of firsts!!! First time at amusement park, first Snow cone! First time at the Fair, First time riding a rollercoaster! These kids will try anything!!! I love it! School will be starting in September so we are going to enjoy the rest of what is left of summer!

8 mths home

Tommy:
Not a surprise to any of us that you are afraid of nothing!!! First time on the kiddy rides you said "This is Stupid"! Then you pouted when you weren't tall enough for the big rides! Next time lifts in the shoes I guess:) Swimming..bike riding and playing with your friends are your favorite things to do. You don't sit down very often! Here is a small look at this past month..

Milly:

Boy are you a talker! Everyone we meet marvels at how well you talk! Still our silly Milly everyone fights over spending time with you! Your eye is improving so much! We are now at 20/70! Dr is hoping we can get to 20/40! You nap without complaining you eat great and are very well behaved for a 3yr old. You also enjoyed your first amusement park rides! This has been a very fun filled summer!

A few more shots:

1 year Referral-versary:)

2011-07-15T07:48:00.001-04:00

1 year ago today started out like every other Thursday..waiting for the phone to ring!! As all my adoptive friends know the end of the week is when the waiting gets harder!So my fellow DTE friend and I spent the day texting each other the count down..4 more hours...3 more hours till the office closes..etc Well On Friday July 15th 2010 just around the same time my friend Kelly Smith got her call..We got ours! This is the picture that changed everything!!!!

We said Yes and never looked back!!!!! Thank God for blessing us with these 2 amazing kids!!!!

7 months

2011-07-11T09:51:00.000-04:00

We are a fully functioning family of 7 now! It no longer feels new or crazy, it feels Normal!!! Yes we are alot busier and we tend to run late for things but we are getting better!! The kids are doing unbelievable! We are all home for the summer which means sleeping in and more help entertaining the little ones! We are having a fun month and the weather is finally getting better!! Lots of outside time makes for busy kids not bored kids! This was their first July 4th and they got to see fireworks many times over the holiday weekend.

Tommy

You are definitely a boys boy!!! Always busy and always playing some kind of sport...although that sounds like your sisters too! You love to play catch..you like lacrosse and basically any sport that involves a ball. You and Matteo are inseparable since school is out! Although sometimes Matteo needs his "alone" time as he calls it! Its hard going from the baby and the only boy to having your brother at your side 24hrs a day! It is so nice having someone for Matteo to hang with they will appreciate each other when they are older!

Milly

Milly is growing like a weed but shrinking at the same time!! Growing so tall but so tiny! She is now wearing 24 mth shorts!! Healthy and a great eater though! You are one busy girl and you are loved by many! You demand attention from everyone but you are so cute its hard not to give it to you! You hair is finally growing and we are able to manage it without it managing us! Hair time is no longer a chore or a stressful time. You are full of energy and always on the go! I have a feeling you are going to be fearless like your other siblings!

Here's a look into month 7..

July 4th 2011

Hair Stuff!

2011-07-07T10:34:00.000-04:00

Let me start by saying...I AM NOT AN EXPERT!!! I have had my kiddos home almost 7 months now! Over those 7 mths I have spent hundreds of dollars and countless hours on you guessed it...their HAIR!!! Tommy has been quite easy his is softer and we keep it much shorter especially in these summer months. My sweet Milly she is where we have been having all the fun!!! Lets rewind back to Ethiopia.. it all started the first day we brought them back to the Transition home with us..Gotcha day!

I researched hair care and asked advice from other adoptive mom's before we went back for Embassy..I was going to be prepared! The majority said Coconut Oil was great for hair and skin! So we get back to the TH and its time for your first showers! Well Tommy loved it, Milly screamed bloody murder the whole time while I was trying to wash your hair for the first time..No it didn't go so well! So after you both got a little Coconut oil everywhere and I brushed what little hair you had with a bristle brush and added a bow to Milly! Bows make everything better right?! Wrong! It started this very day! Day 1 of you officially in my care! First it was the women staff at the guest house..The very nice ladies at the front desk. They started by feeling Milly's hair and gave a look of disapproval. This was the look I was trying to avoid! They told me her hair was dry and needed moisture..OK day 1!! I'm still learning here!! Day 2 more coconut Oil! This day it was the guard at the front gate..he patted her on the head then rubbed her hair and gave a look and then a smile. Oh I knew what he was thinking!!

This mom better figure this out quick!!! So 7 months later have I?? Well her hair feels 100 times better than it did!! When she first was home it was so coarse I felt like a failure..White mom with no clue how to care for my daughters hair!! I was really afraid that every black women was looking at me shaking their head!! Now I feel confident (except when I attempt to braid) that I am doing a good job! The Victory came the 2nd time I took her back to her black hairdresser...her words were "WOW I cant believe what a drastic change in her hair! I have never seen a quicker turn around!!" What a relief!! I can do this!!! So hundreds of dollars later and lots of help from other moms I think we have got it!! Her hair is growing and its SOFT and easy to detangle..no more tears!!! Karen Winstrom recommended the last product and with the combination of a few more we no longer have hair stress!!!

So what worked for us?? Here is a look at our favorite essential products!!

So my favorite by far is available at Walgreen's. Shea Moisture..it runs around $10 each item but if you watch you can get it on sale!! They are well used and I'm in need of refills!! But can not live without!! The other products are available at Sally's Beauty supply. Mixed Chicks..again under $10 each. We tried the whole line but only kept a few.

So here is our Daily routine:

Every morning we spritz hair with Moisture mist..rub it in and then brush the ends of her hair to as I call it "fluff it up" after a nights sleep. She sleeps on a satin pillowcase at night. Then we rub in a good amount of Curl Milk maybe a half dollar amount. Then I detangle and style with my fingers. After her nap I repeat but use Smoothie. If she has in puffs..braids or any other style I usually spritz with Moisture mist and rub a little onto the ends of the puffs. If braided just spritz. It is usually dryer after braids come out but it only takes a couple days to get back to normal.

Our weekly routine:

Once per week she gets her hair co washed which means I only use conditioner. We usually apply conditioner and bathe her. Then while she is still in the tub I use a wide toothed comb to detangle..at first this wouldn't even go thru her hair now it goes thru with ease. The only trouble spot is in the back from sleeping on her head but even that comes out without much work and NO tears! I then rinse her hair. After dressed we towel dry her hair and apply leave in conditioning cream and comb thru. We then style or leave natural.

Every 3 weeks:

The night before I plan on washing we take out her old style and apply a generous amount of Deep Treatment Masque. This can also be done 1x per week before you co wash. When I say generous I mean till all the hair is coated in a good layer. If you can get your child to wear a satin cap even better..she wont! Next morning we rinse hair and shampoo with Shea Moisture. I then repeat our Weekly routine..see above.

My must have accessories are:

A wide toothed comb..Bristle brush and comb for styling. Also my favorite rubber bands from Sally's. For daily care I use the brush and finger style or detangle.

Some products I use sparingly are:

I use Cantu Shea butter for a little shine on the ends of her hair if she is wearing a natural style. Available at Target. Coconut Oil once in a awhile, it tends to leave a build up and make the hair look white if you use too much. I get this at a health food or vitamin store. I use a lot of stuff daily and it doesnt build up. These 2 items will if you use too much.

Tommy has very sensitive skin so anything scented causes is hair to itch and his skin so I usually keep his hair short and only use the Shea Moisture Hair milk. I hope that some of you have success with this product line too. Every child is different and everyone's hair is different! For now this is working wonders and her hair is healthy and growing like crazy!! So is her box of hair accessories!! Good Luck and Happy Hair care!!!

1 year

2011-06-22T13:59:00.001-04:00

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6 months!!!!

2011-06-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

Our kiddos have now been home 6 months! We have been extremely blessed to have an amazingly smooth transition! We just had our 6 mth post placement visit with our Social worker, one more at a year and we are done! We had a great month full of happy times!! Both of them are doing amazing! Our whole family and a bunch of friends participated in a 5k run/walk for LetthemLOL.com. We helped to raise enough money to build 3 wells in Sierra Leone Africa!! You both had your very first Ice cream cones!! I love witnessing firsts! Our life is crazy busy but we love it! Here is a few highlights of month 6!

You had a blast at your first family wedding!! Danced all night!

5k run for water!! Team Ethiopia!

enjoying a "popipsicle"

TAMIRAT

Oh my little man you are so darn cute!! Everyone remarks on your beautiful eyes! Cute yes but SMART!!! Preschool is all done and we are preparing for kindergarten! This month you have been having fun at swim lessons and you are making lots of new friends. We recently bought you a lacrosse stick and signed you up for soccer!! Basically any sport that involves a ball you are all over it! Fearless and a quick learner! Look out I think you will give your sister Marianna a run for her money someday! Occasionally you will mention your Dad or brother in Ethiopia, always good memories. I think you miss home sometimes but you love your family here too. Tommy is a snuggler..I love getting big hugs! The new phrase for this month is "AWW Come On Mom!!" Yes it has not taken long to learn all of these great phrases from your siblings!

First time driving a go cart

Your favorite thing to do!

Million

Our little princess!!! Oh has your personality come alive this month...and your stubbornness! We forgot what it was like raising a toddler! Let me follow with you are still 5x's better than any of our other kids were at 3! You are always smiling! Dance class will be a must for you in the fall..you love to perform and you demand all of the attention! Everyone loves to pay attention to you though. We are still rocking the eye patch for a while longer. It is working wonders! You have a very cute tan line to prove you have been sticking with it! Ring around the rosie is your favorite song..you will do this over and over! You have changed so much since we got home you are almost unrecognizable. Its amazing what clean water and good food can do!

A day that would change everything...

2011-06-04T08:25:00.000-04:00

On June 4th 2010 a Father would make one of the hardest decisions of his life. On this day I was home praying for the children I knew that were somewhere out there. God had chosen them but we still didn't know who they were. Everyday my pray was for God to keep our children safe and to comfort their family as they made a life changing decision.

On this day on the other side of the world another parent was praying to God. Aleymayehu traveled 4 hours away with his 2 youngest children hand in hand. He was praying to God that he could provide his children with a healthy, blessed life. He was sacrificing a life with his children in order to save their lives. Tamirat and Million's dad walked into an orphanage and explained to the staff that he could not care for his children and wanted a better life for them. He knew that his children were suffering. They had endured sickness, loss of their sibling and their mother to Malaria and a constant struggle for food. He prayed that they would be able to have a bright future. He walked away that day leaving his 4 year old son and his only daughter who was 2. How his heart must have broke as he kissed then for the last time. Not knowing if he would ever see them again. This was a giant step in Faith. He put his children in God's hands changing their lives forever.

One year later I pray that God comforts his heart and he knows that they are healthy and happy and flourishing. June 4th is a day we will never forget. Thank you God for the day that changed everything.

5 Months Home!!!

2011-05-10T21:17:00.000-04:00

Five Months!! Last year at this time I was praying for children I didn't know and asking God to protect them and keep them safe. I was praying that he reveal our children to us...and feeling like that day would never come!! Countless days and hours spent crying and watching the phone! Now I marvel at how perfectly God works with his timing yet we still wish it was on our terms Not his..Patience is a very hard thing for adoptive mommies, especially those watching the Yahoo DTE list!!! Moms to be..I promise it will all be worth it! Breathe and let God work his magic!

This has been a month packed FULL of craziness..holidays..injuries..accomplishments..and LOVE!!! This past month grandma was home to enjoy our 5th month!! We were very happy to have the extra set of hands and the help with all the laundry!!!! It was a great time for Tommy and Milly to bond with Grandma!!

We had a great 1st Easter with the kids!! After Santa they caught on quick to the Easter Bunny!! We had a house full for Easter dinner. As always lots of food and fun! This was also their first egg hunt! I love celebrating all of their firsts!!

Easter morning( take note of Tommy's swollen eye..courtesy of a head butt from his brother)

Never a lack of desserts..

Marianna had to go for the highest egg

a successful Hunt!

This was my first Mothers day as a mom of 5!! I have so many Mothers day gifts I don't know where to keep them all...all the handmade gifts are the best!! Lots of hand prints to keep forever!! I am so blessed to have such a crazy group of kids!! I pray for all the mommies that are waiting and picturing their first mothers day with their kiddos!

Mother's Day 2011

We also had our very first trip to the Zoo!! The giraffe was the overall favorite! We went with some of our AWAA family and we met some new friends! We met another couple on our first trip to Ethiopia they were on their way to meet their twin boys! We are blessed to live fairly close so they were able to meet us at the Zoo also!! We had a fun day with all of our friends!

Waiting to spot the Sea lion

Our new friends the Schmidt family

My guys!

We are missing a few here

The fan favorite

Mommy's favorite..the new baby

Now onto the fun stuff...how are the kiddos doing?! And what injuries? LOL!!

TOMMY

Another month of firsts for you!!!! He is changing and growing so much every day! He finally learned how to ride his bike!!! It took many falls lots of scrapes and a finger injury that had me and the Dr. thinking you might have broken it but it seems to be all better now! Even that didn't stop you! We were out the next day but you insisted you wear gloves so if you fell you wouldn't hurt your finger again! This child is FEARLESS and very Stuborn!! You also started swimming lessons and on lesson 2 you were jumping into the deep end!! This had my stomach in knots! You will clearly be causing me lots of stress as you grow..you are going to be one busy little boy! I love your determination! I do believe there is no goal you cant accomplish! We are all registered for kindergarten and you even got to ride a school bus!! Now the count down is on till when you can ride one every day!! Matteo informed him.."You will get to ride one FOREVER" Here are a few of Tommy's 5th month..

Victory!!

Where are the eggs?!

At the Zoo

MILLY

Oh Miss Milly!! You had quite the month too!!! The English that you speak is unreal! Words I have no idea where you learned but they are placed perfectly in full sentences! It amazes everyone how well you speak!! We finally made it to the eye Dr. to get your Lazy eye checked out. He has great news and not so great news! I had no clue you could barely see 6 inches in front of you with the bad eye!!! The good news is we can fix it! What happens when you have a lazy eye is the brain completely shuts it off and basically is stops working. The great news is we can get the brain to start sending that eye signals again and improve your vision! So here is what happens..First we start by patching the good eye, this was very rough the first week because you could not see at all out of that eye. As the week went on you started to see a little more. We returned to the Dr after 3 weeks and rechecked to find good improvement!! So 5 more weeks then another recheck. Thankfully you leave the patch alone, it is on 12 hours a day! You are such a trooper! Every day you ask "Again?" After we get the brain to start working that eye better then her vision will improve, when there is no more improvement then we will do the surgery to fix the muscle. When?? How ever long it takes I guess? For now we are rockin the patch! You also had a month that we will never forget with an injury we All will NEVER forget!! Daddy and all the kids were playing in the basement and Big sister had Milly on her shoulders (yes bad idea) Big sister lets go out your legs and you fall HEAD first onto the concrete floor!!! This warranted 2 trips to the ER in 24 hrs and a Concussion!! This aged me by at least 5 years! Thankfully no skull fractures just a very swollen and sore head! This was a family first and hopefully the last! More kids equals more stress and more grey hair!! So a head injury and only one eye!! You are still the cutest thing ever! Here are pics from your 5 th month..

Love from the Rupers

Silly Milly at it again!

Mom was very nervous taking this shot!

Picking dandelions

4 Months!!

2011-04-11T07:38:00.000-04:00

Time is flying another month gone by...we had another typical crazy busy family of 7 month! We are settling into things very well but we still manage to run late whenever we go somewhere. I'm sure we will catch up eventually! This month we had our 3 month Post placement with our social worker. In true Alleca child fashion they acted like crazy kids while she was here. She laughed and said "You have your hands full !" Yes we do!! I wouldn't change things one bit! She will be back again at 6 months and 12 months. After that we will be required to send a report once a year to Ethiopia. They are doing great!! They had their first visit to the Dentist and both passed with flying colors! Teeth look great and no cavities!! They also had to visit the regular doctor again for a 3 month check up. They both grew another 2 inches! Its amazing what good nutrition and clean water can do for you!

We also had a chance to introduce them to out AWAA group. We have a small group that meets near Rochester once a month, they have kids from China and now our kids are the 2nd from Ethiopia. Our fellow AWAA friend Marissa got to come for the first time!! Her and her husband Abe are waiting for the referral of 2 children!! Hopefully SOON!! It was great to see all the kids together and talk to our adoptive friends!!

Some of our AWAA kiddos..next time we take the pic at the beginning of the day not at the end..they were getting tired!

TOMMY

4 months home and he is completely out of his shell! He is doing amazing at school, the teachers are amazed at how quickly he is learning! He knows letters, numbers, sounds that the letters begin with, he is right on track with kindergarten readiness! This month we have been working on learning to ride a bike!! A few scratches and an almost broken finger and he has almost got it!! He can ride as long as I help him start but he still needs to learn how to steer!! He has mastered stopping without falling though!! Another few days of good weather and we will have it! He is so much fun! He loves school and he loves to be outside and anywhere his brother Matteo is!!

MILLY

Everyone is in love with Miss Milly!! She is a non-stop talker!! She is always smiling and loves to giggle! She has learned how to ride her tricycle but its at a slow pace:) She loves to play with her dolls and play outside. I'm so glad the weather in finally breaking! She is now a typical 3 yr old..Mommy " I no like it" last month she still would've ate anything now we have learned what the word "Picky" is! She is a definite girly girl and I love it!! She loves to get dressed up! She also loves to smile for the camera!! Tommy not so much so you wont see as many pictures of him. Milly loves her "school" or 1 day a week playgroup! We signed up for another 10 weeks session. They both are doing amazing and play so well together!! I love being a mom to my 5 amazing kids!!!! Did I mention lately that I think EVERYONE needs to adopt!! ;)

Here are some pics of this months happenings! And I will post a video too so make sure you mute the music at the bottom of the page..

Our friend Evan moved home from California!

Nonna's Birthday!

Some Xtreme fun with our friends!

4 months

Tour of the Fire station

Spring is here!!

3 months home!

2011-03-12T08:12:00.000-05:00

WOW!! Time flys when you are having fun! I don't know what made me count but I just realized we have been a family of 7 for 3 months now!!! This month has been a blast! The kids are adjusting so well we are constantly amazed! This month we had our first vacation as a family of 7! It feels like they have always been part of our family..its hard to remember what it was like without them. The newness has gone away now it is just everyday normal life! I find it actually funny how familiar it all seems. So many months were spent worrying about how it would all work..this family of 7 thing! It may be a little louder, the car is alot fuller, we go through alot more food but the laughs..the love..and the sheer blessing is indescribable! They are my children..and God always knew that! The hugs..the kisses and the snuggles, they tell me the kids new this before me too. You wouldn't think that after only 3 months we would gel together so well but it is amazing! Long before they were here..before we even knew who they were I prayed for them, I pray for their family that was making such a hard decision, I prayed for the kids who would grieve the loss and I prayed for God to open their hearts to the new family that would be theirs. Clearly God had it all handled. Don't misunderstand we have had to work through a few minor things and I'm sure as they become more comfortable with us more things may creep up but I don't think there will be anything we cant handle. Adoption is not an easy process..months of stressing..crying..hair loss..weight gain..financial stress..your faith being tested..relationships being tested..constant feeling of being out of control (not the case for everyone!)but........now..Peace..Joy..Love..Faith..wonderful excitement when looking at the future. This process changes you and everyone around you. Seeing how they have changed and flourished how can it not change you! It really wants to make you grab a hold of everyone you know and say..ADOPT!! I know it is not for everyone but boy am I glad it is for us!! So month 3 brought lots of changes for both kids...

Tamirat (Tommy)

Well this has been a huge month for Tommy!!! Our little man is growing like a weed! I can barely lift him up now! Pants that were short on him now just fit! I am anxious for the next Dr appt to see how much you have brown since being home. Since referral till now he has grown 5 inches and gained 10lbs!!!! No more temper tantrums unless your brother is teasing you!! He is a typical 5 year old but actually I am amazed at how well you still except NO! I say still because you are learning quickly form your siblings that Mom and Dad tend to wear down with ample whining! We are working on making eye contact with those outside the family and saying hello and answering questions. Tommy is not to keen on new people so he hides out and pretends he cant hear you talking to him but he is starting to slowly come out of his shell. This month you started preschool! The teachers are amazed at how well he is doing in everything! Letters, numbers, colors, shapes..all mastered! Now we are working on making some friends and learning to socialize but that is coming along great! 3 months! What will the next few bring! Tommy is so sweet, he is very inquisitive of everything and a very quick learner. This month you also lost your first tooth! This was a tough one..he had no idea what to do with a wiggly tooth and refused to wiggle it out or let anyone touch it. Well the new tooth started to pop up behind it so we knew we had to get that one out sooooo in comes the tooth fairy talk! Money is a great motivator and now that he has experienced it once I don't think we will have any trouble again! I'm sad to say it is all English now no more Sidaminga or Amharic not even to your sister:( Who you lovingly call Millionie! Your favorite things to do are listen to music on your siblings Ipods or in the car! The funniest moment this month was catching you by surprise singing into your sisters Microphone while dancing..yes we caught it on tape! Tommy is ad the snow is melting but also happy for clear roads to ride his bike!! Praying for lots of snow free days to come!!

Writing your name for the first time!

1st lost tooth

Million (Milly)

Miss Milly! My talkative little girl! NON stop talking!! You LOVE to talk!! If you didn't get it she talks alot:) # going on 16!! Your vocabulary is astonishing!!! I think you talk more than Tommy! Sometimes I catch you singing in your old language but it is all English all the time! New phrase is " That's Disgusting" LOL! Since Tommy started school Milly has taken his place in a weekly playgroup and has started attending the daycare at the gym (Yeah for mom!) Milly is such a social butterfly! She loves going places and meeting new people! I think next fall we may look into dance classes because you love attention and love to perform! We went to see Sesame Street live and you loved it!! Elmo is definitely your favorite! You are a girlie girl and you have the bows to prove it!! Purple is your color! Summer dresses are going to be so much fun! Lots of bright colors and big bows! You are the light of the house so energetic and full of life! You always make us laugh! You love pretend food and tea parties!! Chips and Dip are still your all time favorite food! Anything with sugar..you like that too! You have grown a ton too! Since referral till now 5lbs and 5 inches! We had a month of sickness but now you are back to your bubbly self! We are starting swimming lessons too after we discovered you love of water in Florida! A 2 1/2 yr old shy little thing to a 3 yr old bubbly giggly little girl! We are so blessed!

Family fun..

2011-03-10T20:26:00.000-05:00

Everyday life is full of craziness and fun!! Its pretty much always loud around our house! NO its not always yelling! Often you hear Barney or Sesame street in the background, the kids are chatting...someone is singing or laughing. Never a dull moment! Milly can always be found talking as she never stops:) The car is an experience in itself! I wouldnt trade it for anything though! These pictures sum it up! I love our crazy family!!!!!!

Florida 2011 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-03-08T13:01:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Vacation!

2011-02-26T21:22:00.000-05:00

Day 1 of our amazing vacation!

We just returned from our 1st family vacation as a family of 7!!! I was quite worried about how it would go but it was Great!! The only bad part was the 20hr. drive to grandmas and back in a 7 passenger van filled to capacity!! Tommy and Milly were troopers never complaining just wondering when we might get to grandmas house! We had beautiful weather the whole week, 80-85 everyday!! We mostly stayed and swam at the pool. Both Tommy and Milly loved the water!! No fear and not concerned at all with water getting in their eyes. After the 1st hour they were both jumping in, of course with swimmies on! We will be starting them both in lessons soon. We visited Gatorland where the Gators were a plenty!! Marianna and Matteo even sat on a live gator and posed for a picture! We also made the drive to Clearwater beach but it wasn't very Clear! The fog had set in blocking all the sun and we froze yet the kids made the best of it! Watching Tommy and Milly experience many firsts was amazing! They had no problem sleeping at grandmas and adjusting to all the different people and places we visited. While we were there we also got to meet a fellow adoptive family just starting their journey to Ethiopia and their children. We loved sharing about the blessings of our experience!

Our kids and the Kicklighter kids a fellow AWAA family!

This will go down as one of our best and favorite vacations yet! One whole week of family time..no cleaning..no work..no softball/sports or music lessons! Just a whole week of relaxing and bonding! Every day they amaze me at how well they are doing, if you didn't know you would never guess they had only been home for 9 weeks! We certainly miss the warmth as we were welcomed home to a typical Buffalo storm! Tommy said first thing in the morning..No shorts?! No not here! I took so many pictures that I'm going to put together a slide show! It is incredible how it feels to make such wonderful memories! Everyday is a new experience through their eyes. I'm so Thankful for every moment! Not only has this adoption taught me to treasure every second with them it has also taught us to slow down and really enjoy every second we have with all of our children! All of our children are such miracles!! I could not imagine our CrAzY life without them!!

2 Months Home..

2011-02-04T09:08:00.000-05:00

WOW!!! Has it really been 2 months!? It seems like we waited forever for them to get here but now it feels like they have always been here! In the last month we enjoyed many firsts... Milly had her first official birthday party she is now the big 3!! They do not celebrate birthdays where they come from so it was a very special day. We missed Tommy's birthday while we were waiting to bring them home so we are going to have a late birthday party for him soon! They both went sledding for the first time!! They both Love it!! Tommy would go up and down the huge hill till his legs fall off..we really don't know how he does it! It is clear he is fearless at all activities! Milly just hangs on and closes her eyes! The only part of her not covered is her eyes! They also went in a bounce house and on an inflatable slide for the first time! At first they were a little worried but they quickly got the hang of it! It is so exciting watching things for the first time through their eyes! We joined a local Mommy and Me group this month too! Hopefully we all can make new friends while having fun! This winter is very cold and long this year so we are going a little stir crazy! We invented a bike race track in the basement for a little entertainment! They are both settling in great! Their English is amazing!!! No communication problems at all! We now have bedtime and mealtime down to a science.. no more crying or fits! They still prefer Mommy to put them to bed but Daddy gets story time. Very few timeouts are needed any more which is great! We are still working on sharing and separation from Mommy and Daddy. Both are understandable..they NEVER had any toys to share! They have only been home 8 weeks they are still getting used to us being here and not worrying that we are going to leave them so if they are a little worried when we take them to Sunday school then I understand! It is explaining it to others when they say " Just give them a nice hug and leave" these are not average kids with separation issues, these are kids who were left by their father and sent to live with strangers. I will hug and kiss them everyday and for as long as I need to and tell them We love them and we are NEVER going to leave them!!! Alot of the things we are dealing with are typical toddler things but they are also typical adoption things! For the most part it has been amazing but we know this is a journey that we will be on for a lifetime, helping them to adjust, helping them learn to trust and learn to love. For now we are being Mom and Dad!!!

Tommy

Tommy and his best friend/brother Matteo

You are such an adorable little boy! Sooo smart!! You love to be quiet and just observe how we do everything! You are a pro at the TV remote already:) You speak all English now and understand almost everything we say. You love your brother Matteo and count down the minutes till he gets home from school. It has blossomed into a true sibling relationship..a love/hate relationship!!! You love to pick on your brother and sisters yet you are lonely when they are not around. You started in a one a week play group this month but next week we start 3 day/week Preschool. We weren't sure how well you would pick up English but you love to learn. I get asked many times a day "What is it" You want to know what everything is in English. Your favorite food is Nonna's lasagna! You don't like anything Green but what kids do?! Your favorite phrase is " Mommy go Bye-Bye??" You love to be on the go which is a good thing in this family! You and your brother have created your own language " Itchy Noochie" LOL!!! Matteo made up his own words for what he thought Amharic sounded like, now you guys laugh and make up silly words its hysterical but strangers are clueless to what you are saying!

Milly

First time down the slide..scared out of your mind!

Milly and her 2 favorite people!!! Her sisters!

You are still our sweet silly girl! You are blossoming right in front of our eyes! You are happy all the time unless you didn't get a nap then Look Out! Just kidding you just get cranky like any other 3 year old! You love kids all kids even ones we don't know! You love you baby dolls! You love to use my kitchen towels as blankets to cover them up! Your favorite food is French toast sticks! The stickier you are the better! You love to give kisses and snuggle! I am enjoying this as my other girls are too cool to snuggle any more! You love to sing I just wish I knew what you were singing as you don't sing in English! We have now moved on from Sesame Street to Barney and love that you have multiple toys that play the barney theme song! You are certainly a girlie girl..you love purses, lip gloss, pretty bows and clothes! I have a ton of pictures of you but not too many of your brother! He hides from the camera you run to it! You call your brother "Tamiraty" it is so cute! Your brother is your best friend and you follow him every where..except for when the girls are home then its Tommy who? Potty training is complete NO more accidents at night and you are sleeping ALL night!!! I have found no sugar anywhere near bedtime or you are both wide awake in bed for hours! The 1st month was a little difficult and tiring but now that we are entering month 3 things are going quite well! Cant wait to see what this month has in store for both of you!!!

Thank You!!!!

2011-01-27T19:09:00.001-05:00

By now I hope mostly everyone got the cards we mailed!!! If you didn't get one I'm sorry we missed you!!! Why, Thank you??? We wanted to say a Big Thank You to all who were a part in bringing our kids home! Whether you gave financially, prayed, said Good luck, offered advice, shared in our excitement, posted or links on Facebook or Email, bought our T-shirts or Magnets,came too our fundraisers or donated items, donated items and Money for the orphanages,Took pictures and video and care packages for our kids, helped with our kids while we were out of town or just let us know you supported us...WE ARE SOOOOOOO THANKFUL!!!!! We could not have done this without all you! Adoption is a Huge undertaking and it takes an army to make it to the finish line! We are in awe every day at how well they are doing and what a blessing they are!! Our journey does not end here so please continue to pray for their transition and ours:) I thought I would include some of our outtakes just for the fun of it!

Our Ethiopian Adoption Journey at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-01-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

1 Month

2011-01-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

I cant believe it has been 1 month already!! I think we were so busy with the holidays and birthdays that time flew by. Seems like yesterday we were praying for God to reveal our children to us and now they are here forever!! Well life in the Alleca household has certainly changed in 1 month! 5 kids will do that! We are amazed at how well everyone is adjusting( as I listen to the kids fighting in the other room..I laugh) Really we are adjusting just fine:) All of us have had to get used to 7 people in one house...7 in 1 car..7 at the dinner table! Matteo is learning right along with Tommy and Milly what it means to share..being the youngest and the only boy he never had to. I can tell you my house is Never clean and certainly Never quiet!!! So if you stop by unannounced you never know what you may find! I have given up and stopped stressing right now I focus on food on the table( LOTS of it) and making sure we have clean clothes! I look at them even in the times when they are testing my patience and think...this time will go by so fast! We spend our time as parents teaching them to dress themselves..feed themselves..become more and more grown up but I truly want to savor all of it! Even the not-so fun stuff! I look at my 13yr old and know soon the hugs will be far and few between and the temper tantrums will stop(well sort of) and they too will be grown up:( I'm tired and yes cranky at times but my heart and my home are full. They are both such blessings to all of us. Here is a look at the difference 1 month makes...

July 2010

Home 1 month Dec 2010

Tamirat

July 2010

Home 1 month Dec 10

Tommy as we call him..mostly because that is what his sister calls him. He has grown so much in 4 weeks! The first couple weeks were rough but you have learned very quickly that you don't get very far by throwing fits. He has very good manners and now he is a good listener. Your favorite food is chicken or as you used to say "Kitchen". Your English is getting so good, you probably understand 90% of what we say. You love words with "R's" as you love to roll your "R's" and laugh! You are very good at helping your sister to understand something if she doesn't quite get it. You have the most beautiful eyes and eye lashes! Funny Tommy moment of our first month: I leave them watching TV in my bedroom while I take a super quick shower...I come out to find you have taken a 1/2 a tube of A&D ointment and spread it all over your head!! You didn't smell very good and I laughed as I explained to you that it was supposed to go on your bum not you head! That reminds me for weeks even in Ethiopia they kept saying "Dola" not even our guides knew what this meant...we finally realized (as we asked you for the hundredth time) as you pointed to your Bum that it meant Butt LOL Had you guys really been calling us and each other Butts for the last 3 weeks!!! Tamirat and Milly started laughing hysterically as soon as they realized we now got the joke! This month Tommy is starting 1 day a week at a play group for a few hours we shall see how he does! We need to start working on kindergarten skills. Your favorite shows are Sesame street and Barney hopefully we will branch out to something else this month! What will the next 4 weeks bring?

Million

July 2010

Home 1 month Dec 2010

You light up the whole house! You are the sweetest thing! Everyone who meets you would love to squeeze you! You have flourished this month! The first few weeks were tough and tiring..you cried yourself to sleep at bedtime and nap time and you woke up every night at 4:30!!! Mommy would lay on the floor next to your bed and hold your hand till you fell asleep, only to have you wake up for good at 6am! You are now sleeping through the night and no more pull ups at night! Thanks to lots of kisses and giggles before nap/bedtime you no longer cry! I cant give you one funny moment because there are so many. You are always being silly your favorite thing to do is wear a book cover on your head! You love to hide stuff behind your back and say "Where did it go"? Luckily you have gotten over your fear of the dog that was a relief! I wondered if you would ever let him near you! You both still love to drink water, milk is not your favorite actually you won't touch it! Not even chocolate milk! You don't know what you are missing! You love to get dressed up and you say "Oooh pretty" in your cute little accent. It makes me sad to think that one day it will be all gone! You are already picking up English so fast..short sentences are now full sentences and its only been 4 weeks! I love my Silly Milly! I especially love when you say.." Mommy give me a kiss" melts me every time! I love to look at your picture back in July and see how you glow with happiness now! I'm sure you will continue to "Glow" my precious girl!

One month and I thank God everyday for blessing us...if it has ever has been a thought in the back of your mind..ADOPT! It is so amazing for them and for you!

Milly is 3!!!

2011-01-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

Such an exciting day to celebrate her first official birthday party!! She looked so pretty in her party dress! We had lots of friends and family here to celebrate! She got lots of new clothes and pretty bows! In our family I have a tradition on my girls 1st birthday we had Doll cakes, well since we missed Milly's 1st birthday I had to make sure she got her Doll cake!! So she got a fairy cake!! It was perfect! It took a little bit but she did eventually blow out her candles... we also had a pinata:) It was such a great day ended with Milly singing Happy Birthday to me...I love my silly Milly! Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

Party dress!!

All the expressions of Milly

Loves her chips..

Her Fairy cake

A little Help with the candles..

Lovin her new hat from Aunt Jodi

This was where she was for the rest of the night!

Seriously the sweetest silliest girl ever!!!! We love our Milly!!!

3 weeks of happenings...

2011-01-01T08:51:00.001-05:00

We have been a family of 7 for 3 weeks now!! Yes we are still adjusting but for the most part everything is going great! We celebrated our first Christmas together! As hard as the other kids tried I don't think they really understood the Santa thing..the have spent all week thinking the fake Santa on our front porch is the real Santa:) I'm sure next year they will understand better. Matteo woke up at 4am Christmas morning!!! As hard as I tried he wouldn't go back to bed! So by 6am the rest of the house was awake and the unwrapping began!!! It was all a little overwhelming, Tommy wanted to stop at gift #2 and most of his gifts are still hidden so no one else takes them! They are not used to all of these things...it was such a blessing thoughh to have them all together FINALLY!!! We look forward to the New Year!

Christmas pics..

2010-12-21T08:02:00.000-05:00

We made our best attempt at Christmas photos..it is very hard to get everyone looking especially Milly! Tamirat loves to has his picture taken so he was no problem!! It is still amazing that we are All together!!!!

1 week home...

2010-12-20T14:10:00.000-05:00

I'm a few days late at this post but what do you expect with 5 kids!!!! Overall it is going great!!! They act like they have been here forever...they miss their brother and sisters when they are at school though. We are starting to get into a routine and setting our boundaries so they start to understand right and wrong. I really expected them to get into everything because it all is new but they haven't! Tamirat is very interested in Everything especially electronics just like his brother..he already figured out how to call grandma:) Both of them are very independent and very stubborn..so they fit in rather well here! Tommy is quite specific about what he wants to wear everyday but after our first 45min cry-a-thon he realized mom doesn't give into everything! Having 3 children already has helped tremendously I think I would be curled up in a ball somewhere had I never experienced some of these things before. Temper tantrums...throwing things when mad..refusing to eat certain foods( this is not much) not liking bed time alot and so on.. I have to say I am exhausted I pretty much go to bed at night when they do! It has been awhile since ours were little and I never had 2 little ones at once! The toy thing that is new too..Matteo never played with them so the fact that my house is full of them well..we are lucky they already know the Barney " Clean up" song! Tamirat is probably the more difficult one but I think only because he is a boy and he is older. He also has more of a memory of his past even though truthfully they have not shown any signs of being sad or withdrawn or missing anyone. They do love to look at the pictures of their friends from the orphanage(TH). Bedtime for Milly is getting a little more difficult at night, she likes to have someone lay with her and usually not me! she really loves her sister Francesca so when she is mad at me she goes to her. I do not want them to get used to someone laying with them every night but it has only been a week so I am picking my battles! It is a huge adjustment for them. We had a busy first week with visits from family and friends and school functions for their siblings. For the most part they handled it all great but we forget little people tire more easily than we do! Tamirat does Not like large crowds and tends to get quiet or act up when lots of people are around. He takes a while to warm up to new people but then his true colors come out and you see his sweet side! Milly loves to be the center of attention she is our silly girl! They DO NOT like the snow and say "Yuck" everytime we are out and it is snowing! It took them awhile but they have warmed up to the dog for the most part..I spied Tommy snuggling him earlier today, even though he still had a disgusted look on his face..it was quite funny! Here are just a few from their first week home..

Our handsome boy

Our sassy girl

playtime with their big brother Matteo

A fast favorite..Cariboo

When they are laughing and I am snuggling them I find that my heart hurts. It breaks for them and their biological family, how hard it must have been to give them up..how much they must have loved them. When I kiss them I wonder how many times their Mom kissed their cheeks before she passed away. They are both bright lights that brighten our home I cant imagine the sacrifice. I wish we could send video back to their dad so he could hear them laughing..it is an amazing sound. All the heartache is so worth it to know what an incredibly blessed future they will have. One week down a lifetime to go...

Our airport arrival

2010-12-14T16:07:00.001-05:00

A year and a half in the making...We are finally all together!!!! Dec. 11 2010

Love from our Xtreme family!!

Brothers...

Hugs from Aunt Jodi

Love from Big sister!

Balloons from Aunt Jill

Meeting Grandma!

We are home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-12-14T14:43:00.000-05:00

A very long journey indeed but we are finally all together!!! God has blessed us with the most amazing family! Our newest additions fit like they have been here forever. We all arrived home a few days ago to family and friends anxiously awaiting the long overdue arrival of our Ethiopian Blessings! We had an incredible reunion with the kids in Ethiopia. It had been a little over a month since we last saw them but they ran into our arms like it was yesterday! They we so excited to see us.. We left that day with them in hand and headed off to the rest of our lives together! It was so surreal! We waited 18mths for this day and it was finally here! The first night I don't think I slept a bit as I watched them sleep in the bed next to me. To be able to hold them and comfort them after months of praying for them half way around the world. We had so many tough times during our wait but it is all forgotten now that they are here! It is so hard to explain how grateful we are for such a blessing. All the anxiety.. all the worry.. all the what ifs... so not needed! God had it all under control! These kids were hand picked to fit perfectly! We have had an amazing transition, they have had no fears..they sleep good(well almost;) they eat great and they get along wonderful with our other 3 kids! I'm not saying we don't have our moments..they are 5 and 3! Tamirat understands almost everything we say in English and he even helps explain things to Million if she doesn't understand. They are both potty trained which is HUGE!!! I am in awe at how wonderful it is! I'm writing this while they are napping because they give me little free time when they are awake:) They both have the sweetest laughs and the most adorable smiles! They best is when they run to me saying Mommy!!! We are so excited to see what is ahead!!! Here are pics of our Gotcha Day!!!!!!!

Leaving the orphanage for good!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our first day as a family!!!!!!!

Counting down..

2010-11-29T08:17:00.000-05:00

We are counting down the days till they are home for good!!! 5 days till we leave!! 7 till Gotcha day and 11 days till we are home as a family of 7!!!! It is surreal that after this long they are finally coming home..It's for real!!! Finally all 5 kids on the same continent..in the same house!!! The kids have been busy getting ready for Tamirat and Milly to come home. They made a paper chain to count down the days..

We also decided that this was the perfect time to use our Africa cookie cutter!! I bought it sometime last year but we were saving it for a special occasion! I think the kids coming home is a perfect reason!! They took cookies to school to share with their teachers too! This has been a long process for all of us but imagine how hard the wait is for kids! They have been asking "when are they coming" since we mailed the application! So many teachers in multiple schools are also excited to see an end to our long journey! They all have shared stories and pictures and even video's with their teachers, classmates and friends!

Lots of excitement in our house...I can't believe it is almost time!!

Bless an Orphan for Christmas..

2010-11-21T20:23:00.000-05:00

Tis the season for giving.. this year in place of presents for each other my husband and I are going to change an orphans life for a whole year! No we are not giving back the ones we are adopting:) We are keeping them forever!!! BTW 3 weeks till they are home!!!! What we are doing is sponsoring a child in Uganda. A fellow bloggy friend of mine has decided to be the "Hands and Feet" of Jesus. She quit her job and is moving to Bugabo Village in Uganda. There she is starting a school and praying to get sponsors for all 220 children! I'm sure you have heard of sponsorship programs. This is where you pay a monthly fee to sponsor a child, usually $30 per month. Well with her program you can sponsor a child for a WHOLE year for $100! This will cover their uniforms,shoes, tuition, school supplies,a meal a day at school AND medical/dental as needed! Yes all for $100! She is living in the same village with the sponsor children so you will be able to see the difference you are making in their lives! Instead of wasting money on gifts that will mean nothing a few weeks after Christmas, choose to make a lasting difference in a child's life! Check out her blog to find out all the info! She is a true inspiration! She leaves for Uganda in a few weeks..we need to pray that we get sponsors for the rest of the children..so far she has sponsors for 80 children. Lets pray for 220!

http://compassinmyheart.blogspot.com/2010/11/sponsor-child-for-christmas
Here is a peek at her blog post..

sponsor a child for Christmas..
Here's what you need to know about sponsoring a child in the Bugabo Village:

•Cost - $100 will cover tuition, uniform, shoes, school supplies, a meal during school, and medical/dental visits (as needed) for one year. I would prefer the payment in a lump sum. However, if you can only pay monthly, let me know so we can work out the details.

•Child - I will get pictures and profiles of the children when I get to the village and will post them in an album on Facebook. The profiles will tell you specifics about the child (name, sex, age, parent(s) names, favorite sport, how many brothers/sisters, what they want to be when they grow up, favorite color, favorite food(s), and favorite animal) and this info will be listed in the caption of each photo. You can then comment under the child you (or your family) chooses. If you are not friends with me on Facebook, add me by clicking on the badge in the right hand column :)

•Communication - I will be right there in the village, so communication with your child will be as often as you want to check in with him/her. This will be in addition to the normal communication - exchanging actual letters, and pictures with him/her when I come to visit the States. I also have a brand new laptop that some friends bought for my ministry that has a webcam on it, and have been daydreaming about the children using Skype to communicate with their sponsors. This is something I think your family would really enjoy, especially if you have little ones at home.

•Concerns - God has just recently revealed to me what my ministry is for Him. Due to this, I do not have a 501(3)c to make your donations tax deductible at this time, but I am praying about when I can do that. Until then, if you are more comfortable donating to an organization that will give you a tax deduction for your donation, please leave me a comment and I will give you suggestions. Please note that the Bugabo Village sponsorship is only $100/year and the other organizations are usually a monthly commitment of $30-40/month.

You can sponsor by clicking on the "Donate" button in the right column or by sending a check to:

Christie Cotney

PO Box 401

Alabaster, AL 35007

I pray she touches your heart as she has many others...these children need you! Everyone of us CAN make a difference!

Tickets are Booked!!!!

2010-11-19T14:28:00.000-05:00

So in 2 weeks we will be boarding a plane headed to our kids!!! Lets just say we are a little excited!!!! This time we are flying Emirates..last time we flew Ethiopian airlines. It was awful!!!! Let me explain..it was clean and the staff was friendly but it is way too small of a plane to be on for 16hrs straight! Absolutely no leg room..your knees were against the seat and if someone decided to recline they were in your lap! We flew through Rome where we had to stop and refuel. We sat on the ground for over an hour and you could not get up and walk around the whole time you were on the ground. On the way home we took the scenic route! We flew from Addis Abba to Rome then we flew up by GREENLAND then back down to D.C. and then back to NY. It took us forever! We chose them because the price was better. This time we lucked out the price for Emirates was better! We will be on a HUGE plane! A double-decker! Hopefully this will make the trip a little easier...as easy as 16hrs on one plane can be. On the way home we will have 2 toddlers to occupy our time! Flying to Africa twice in 8 weeks has been very costly! One of the biggest portions of our adoption. We were blessed to make enough money for our tickets for trip 1 but trip 2 is double the cost. We are praying we hear good news on a grant we applied for to help with the costs. If you ask me though I would pay what ever cost I had to to get our kids home! We know that God will provide a way..

So here it is:

Sat Dec 4:     Leave Buffalo at 4:58pm- Arrive JFK at 6:30pm    TIME: 1hr 32min
                     Leave JFK at 11pm headed to Dubai (aboard the big plane:)    TIME: 12hrs 30min

Sun. Dec.5    Arrive Dubai 8:30pm Here we have a forced overnight layover.. hopefully we can see a little of the city and get some sleep! Our first trip we went 24hrs with no sleep!

Mon Dec. 6   Leave: Dubai at 8:25am
                      Arrive: Addis Ababa Ethiopia at 11:25am TIME: 4hrs

Now the rest is unsure. We will get picked up by someone from our agency and then probably taken to the Guest house or To OUR KIDS!!!!!! I'm unsure if Monday is our Gotcha day or not?? If it is this is how I am guessing things will go...

Monday Dec.6 Go to TH and be reunited with our children. This is called Gotcha day! This is the day they will leave with us and never go back! Lots of crying and Praising God on this day! Yes I will take lots of video and pictures so you can cry too!

Tuesday Dec.7 This is the day we do our embassy paperwork and maybe some sightseeing.

Wed. Dec. 8 Embassy appointment this is not like court so I'm assuming everything will go as planned and they will start preparing our kids visas.

Thur. Dec. 9- Dec 10 Sightseeing and shopping

Fri. Dec 10   Leave: Addis at 7:35pm
                     Arrive: Dubai 12:35am                 TIME: 4hr

Sat. Dec.11 Leave: Dubai at 2:05am
                      Arrive: NYC at 7:20am               TIME: 14hrs 20min in all ( this is the big plane again)

                      Leave: NYC at 12:05pm We are flying Jet blue TIME: 1hr 19min
                      Arrive: home at 1:24pm!!!

So if you are local and want to welcome us at the Airport we get in on Jet blue at 1:24pm on Sat. Dec.11th at the Buffalo Airport!!!

This is the day we have been waiting 18mths for! The day our whole family meets for the first time! The day we are united as a family of 7!!

They are coming Home!!!!!!

2010-11-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

After 19 mths of waiting and praying..our children are coming home!! We got the word today that we have an embassy appointment on Dec. 8th! This is the day we will go to the embassy to get our children's visas. It is 19 days away till we have Gotcha Day! This is the day we pick them up and keep them FOREVER!!!! They will stay with us from there on out! I already have their suitcase packed with new clothes, PJ's shoes and toys! Next I start Christmas shopping!!! I plan on having all that done before they come home as I will not be able to be taking them everywhere. Actually after we get home we are going to keep things kind of quiet. We know everyone wants to meet them but we ask for a little while that we let them settle in and bond with us for awhile. They are used to seeing many people and having many caregivers, but they need to learn that we are mom and dad and we are there for all of their needs. Anyone who would like to greet us at the airport are welcome!!! I think Francesca is trying to get her whole 8th grade class! As time gets closer I will let you all know the time and place.

Today was also a very emotional day we received their birth certificates with our names on them as their parents!! I have been dreaming about this month for 19mths, it is almost surreal now that it is here. This adoption as been a true test of our faith but it has also strengthened it. Please continue to pray as we prepare for our trip and as our children prepare to leave the only country they have ever known. Everything will be new..the car..the hotel..the shower..the food..the airplane ..the language..basically everything! They will be coming home with people who have only spent a small amount of time with them and who do not speak their language. It will be an adjustment for all of us. We are so excited I cant even explain it!

Waiting on embassy...

2010-11-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

So more waiting...after court a whole bunch of papers have to be compiled and then submitted to the US embassy. At this point they either approve us to travel for our visa appointment or they start an investigation. At this point they are still working on gathering our paperwork, they are hoping to submit it all on Monday. Here is the problem..they are only allowed to submit paperwork on Wednesdays!!! So it should've already been handed in!!! They are praying that the US embassy will agree to except it all late!!! If they do we could possibly be traveling to bring our kids home on Nov. 22nd. If they don't except it late we are looking at Dec. 8th! Either way or kids should be home for Christmas!! I know its not that far away but every day seems like an eternity. It will be 18mths since we started this whole journey...the whole time we have been wishing for time to go quickly so we can get them home. When I look at all our children all I want is time to slow down. Just since July, Tamirat and Million have changed so much! I'm sure once they are home and get healthy they will change and grow even more!!! For the most part they are both healthy but Milly has been congested with a cough since she got there. I really want to get them home and get them healthy!!! Until we can go please pray that they stay healthy and that we can have everything prepared on this end to bring them home! Here are a few more pics from our trip:)

YUM!!! Her first fruit snacks!

Daddy and Tamirat

Million going up the slide for the 100th time!

The kids with one of their nannies

Our boy..Tamirat
Catch me Daddy...

Bubbles...

Say What???

Our silly girl

Walking from the younger TH to the older TH..Daddy and Tamirat are up ahead

My heart is in Ethiopia

2010-11-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

It has been 1 week since we got back from Ethiopia..It is so amazing how quickly you fall in love with the people and the country. You can feel love where ever you go. You know even in the worst environments and worst situation there is..Love..Faith..and such a love for their children and families. We met so many wonderful people there. It will be hard once our adoption is over, we will miss them all! I secretly think the reason many families adopt again is not just because they want to adopt another child but because they miss Ethiopia! Now don't quote me on that:) That is another thing that I know we will struggle with..the NEED!! There are millions of children there that need homes that are aching for a family. I am so thankful for the 2 that we are so blessed to be adopting. Although my heart aches for the ones that are left behind. I think that's why us adoptive parents become such advocates for adoption. We see the need, we experience the blessing. We so want to grab everyone we know and say " Please Help!!!!" We know not everyone is wanting to be an adoptive parent but there are so many ways to help and so many children that need it. We visited 2 orphanages while we were there and it was heartbreaking. After what I saw in Haiti I thought I would be prepared but nothing can ever prepare you for the heartbreak in a child's eyes. Many of them were sick, or skinny. Some had rashes on their skin. Most children were in tattered clothes with shoes 2 sizes too small. Babies were 3 to a crib with no mattresses, no sheets or blankets and most disturbing of all NO DIAPERS!!! All of the children are starving for love, many are reaching to be picked up but you can only hold so many. They all try to hold your hand and get your attention. How do you walk away??? How do you say I cant help??? If your child was dirty, hungry, lonely, scared..what would you do??? I know our children are loved and being taken care of but they are still in an orphanage. They all sleep in 1 room, they eat on the floor, and although they get hugs here and there I'm not there. They don't get held just because, they don't get read a book to sleep..they don't get lots of kisses..they don't get told I love you! For months we looked at pictures and knew they were going to be ours but they were there and we were here. Now that I have held them and seen my heart is aching for them. If I did not have 3 children at home I would be there..They are now legally ours so if I were in Ethiopia they could stay with me. We are now waiting on all papers to be compiled so that the US Embassy can issue their visas. They cant leave Ethiopia without them. Pulling out of the driveway that day was so incredibly difficult. They are young so I do not know how much they understand of this whole process or even realize that they are now our family. I know I got it! Hugging them and kissing them and saying goodbye was awful. I left my heart there with them that day and everyday away from them is so painful. I really pray that as others watch us go through this journey their hearts are and eyes are opened..there are children all over the world..over 147 million orphans!!! If all of us helped in someway think of the lives we could be changing.

Here are just a few of my favorite shots..most were taken when driving through Addis.

The women of Ethiopia are so beautiful

Daddy and Million

Boys all over the city shine shoes to make money to help support their families

A Priest taking a rest

Some clergy from the church

This shot is my favorite

Meeting our Ethiopian Blessings for the first time..Million and Tamirat Alleca

2010-11-02T17:08:00.000-04:00

Our Blessings at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-10-31T11:01:00.001-04:00

They are legally ours forever!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

They are ours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-31T10:56:00.001-04:00

Praise God! We are now the proud parents of 5 children! On October 29th an Ethiopian judge declared them legally "ours"!!!!!!!!! Tamirat is 5 yrs old and Million is 2 1/2. We are so incredibly blessed!! They have the sweetest personalities!!!

Our week in Ethiopia was amazing!

We flew in Sunday night and waited anxiously for our meeting the next morning! MEETCHA DAY!!!!! We would meet our children for the very first time..something we had been praying for for 17 months! It was amazing....

Monday: We spent hours holding them and playing with them! I was so nervous about meeting them but it was amazing!! So worth the months of waiting! They have the most adorable personalities!
Tamirat is so smart and cleaver. Also very mischievous! Million is so sweet with the most adorable laugh. They will fit in with our other children so well..They were definitely hand picked by God to match perfectly with our family! We are so blessed!

Our first hugs!

Tuesday: This was meetcha day for all the other families! It was wonderful to experience this with them! So many adorable babies!!! This was also the day the Braun family were reunited with their 4 children forever!!!!! We spent more time with our children this day also...

Wednesday: Today we did some souvenir shopping and we went to a traditional Ethiopian dinner! Yes we also spent time with the kiddos!!! They are so full of energy!!! They had us running all day!!! You forget what it is like to have 2 toddlers running around! We can not wait to get them home! We also got the chance today to take pictures and video for other families who are waiting to bring home their children!

Thursday: today we visited 2 orphanages...this was a rough day for all of us. They do the best they can with the resources they have but it is just not enough!! We pooled our money and bought 10 crib mattresses for 1 orphanage and other families are bringing other supplies this week. After the visits we went back to spend more time with our children!! By now the kids are really starting to bond with us! I love to hear them say mommy and daddy!

Friday: Oh boy this was a very rough day...First we started out easy with a tour of a local coffee factory..this was to take our minds off the fact that the birth families were now in court giving their consent to us adopting their children.. Then we got to meet the birth father, this was very emotional for us. He is an incredible man who loves his children very much. His sacrifice is so huge but he knows he is saving their lives and giving them a better life. It is so hard to express how blessed we are and how much we love him for trusting us to raise his children. We have pictures and video that we will be able to share with the children some day.

We told him we will make sure he gets updates and photos of his children often. He will always be their Dad. We gave him a book full of pictures of the kids, he was so happy! He is such a sweet man, humble and he has such amazing faith and trust in God. We told him we had been praying for God to place us with the right children and that we knew God had put us all together. It was so wonderful to meet him and hug him and tell him how much we love the children and how we will make sure they always remember him and his incredible sacrifice.

Later was the moment we were waiting for: Court! We all filed into the waiting room to wait for our time with the judge. I was so nervous when we got called in..after a few questions she very quietly said "They Are Yours." The best 3 words I had ever heard!!! They are now irrevocable ours forever! Tamirat and Million Alleca!

Our first picture as an officially legal family!
This was also the last time we would see them until we can go back and bring them home forever..we pray it will be very soon. We are hopeful for Thanksgiving week or early December. In the mean time they will stay in the care of the nannies and God will watch over them for us. We will now start preparing for 2 incredible children to be part of our lives forever!

After Months of Waiting......

2010-10-22T19:17:00.000-04:00

WE ARE FINALLY GOING TO MEET OUR KIDS!!!!!! Tomorrow is the day we begin our long awaited journey to Ethiopia! I have such a mixture of emotions! I'm not even nervous about the flight..just anxious to get there! I am really nervous about meeting them..will they like us? will they cry?? will they be scared?? I have stared at their picture daily since July 15th and prayed and dreamed of them for months before that! It feels surreal! I cant wait to hold them! We leave tomorrow at 2:30pm and arrive in Ethiopia the following day at 7pm. Ethiopia is 7hrs ahead of our local time so I am trying to figure out when we will Skype our kids at home!! As excited as I am to go it is hard for me to leave the other 3! I will try to update as often as possible while we are there...no Blackberry for a whole week!!! I will also post updates on facebook.

The way things are working.. this is all I know schedule wise:

Sunday: arrive at 7pm...sleep:)
Monday: MEETCHA DAY!!!!!! please when you go to bed Sunday night pray for us as we meet our children for the first time!
2 other families arrive Monday night
Tuesday: Meetcha day for the other families and we get to see our kiddos again:)
Wed-Thurs not sure but we are probably going to Korah and the Fistula Hospital plus a few other orphanages.
Friday: Court appointment where we pray the judge will legally declare us their parents. This will be a hard, emotional day. We will meet our children's biological father today. Pray we can express to him how thankful we are for his sacrifice. He is suffering such a huge loss and we are gaining 2 blessings. It will be HARD! We will have to say GOODBYE to our children for a while and he will also have to say goodbye my heart is already breaking for them. We will post pictures of the kids(as long as we pass) before we head to the airport.
Saturday: Arrive home

Please pray for us this week and for all of our children! This Sunday night and next Friday night please remember to pray for us. While you sleep we will be meeting our children...we will be going to court! Oh Boy!!!!!!! I'm EXCITED!!!!!!!

Surprise!

2010-10-15T14:52:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days...17mths of an emotional roller coaster! We are 1 week from leaving for Ethiopia for trip #1 and boy is there a lot to do! During this process you have you good days and bad days. Excited joyful days and days that you are completely overwhelmed. Today was one of those days..in the midst of my stressing I was praying for some peace and some reassurance. This is the email I got next:

This is from my niece whom I haven't seen since I was a teenager but thanks to good ol' Facebook we have been able to reconnect!! Jen has been a constant support through this whole process!! She has posted and emailed and prayed and even sent money when she didn't have it to send. She is an amazing women and an amazing Mom!! Love you! This is the email:

"Surprise"
Dear Paige, Anthony and family,

It started with a desire to help, a burning, longing desire to bring your kids home for you to hold and to love. I knew you wouldn’t want me to send you money just to send it, that you might feel bad. So I had an idea, what I think is a great idea. I knew you couldn’t possibly feel bad when you knew that people who’d never met you or heard your story reached out and did something wonderful for you. Right now we are one week in, with two to go. I don’t know the outcome but I know this has renewed my faith in not only God but in people. Paige I love you because you are my family and I love your family because you love them. Now take a minute to see what love can do.

Love Always,
Jen

The post that went out on Facebook..... and in an email....

Do not post anything about this on my wall! This is a surprise! I want to see how many of you are willing to do something for a stranger!

Okay, here's the challenge.
Those precious hands belong to a little girl and a little boy that are in Ethiopia waiting to be adopted, as most of you know my Aunt and her family are hoping to adopt these children. After they decided to adopt the rules were changed and each family adopting from Ethiopia must now travel twice instead of once. Can you imagine what it cost to fly half way around the world! About $14,000 total!!! But they'd started the process and couldn't very well stop could they!
In trying to be creative and asking for donations I have came up with a challenge!
Starting today and until October 15th, every mile that you walk I will give them a dollar of MY money. I'm not asking you to give any of your own money, I'm asking you to be healthy! All you have to do is email me, daily, weekly, whatever you want and tell me how many miles you've walked. I will keep track of it. And yes this includes if you do laps at Wal-Mart! I want you all to know that I care about you as much as I care about these children coming home!
Email me after you've read this and let me know if you're in or not! Have a great day everyone!!!!

At the end of the challenge I will email my aunt with the names of each person who participated and how many miles they walked for children they didn't know! All this is going to cost you is maybe some time and some pounds!

Remember email me and let me know if you’re on board!!!

We hung a chalkboard in our dining room to remind us how far we’d come and how far we could go, this was after ten days……

I tracked every mile in a spread sheet and every mile got a tally, updates went out twice a week about where we were at!

And so many had nice things to say…..

Erin Hartman Scott September 24 at 12:pm

Wow really how could I turn this down and I need to walk I will do it. Thanks Jen god will bless you and all that do this I love you

Heather 'sears' Martin September 25 at 11:43am Reply Report

Sure I'll do it! God Bless you Jen! I hope you're doing well!

Alyssa Marie Rodriguez September 29 at 6:24pm

I'll do it, but I'm very busy right now I won't be able to check in that often. I'm up to the challenge though!

April Gray-Walton DeGarmo September 29 at 6:22pm

Count me in! I can't wait to meet the little ones! Ur Aunt &Uncle and the children are in my prayers!

Charles Bordeaux October 3 at 7:01am

I have been walking but don't know how much but I can give you a close estimate on Oct. 15th/ it will not be alot of miles because I cant do it every day although I would like to !!

And I had many more texts, they didn’t know you but they knew they had to do it.
And after 14 days…

We reached 100!

Well here it is, October 15th and we’re all done. Of course I had dreamed of reaching goals so much higher, but then I remember that three weeks ago most of these people on this list had never heard your name, maybe had never donated not a single penny to charity, but they chose to walk for you and for these beautiful children. I consider it a blessing to know that I have people in my life that literally will go the extra mile….. and here they are….

We reached 208 miles!

God Bless you for what you are doing! You’ve struggled, you’ve cried, you’ve even gotten mad a few times. But nothing in the world is more precious than what you’ve done. I’d walk a million more miles for you!

Ps

Money’s in your PayPal ;)
Thank you so much Jen and everyone who walked for us and prayed for us!!!!

Crazy Mission Trip Giveaway!!!

2010-10-11T09:18:00.000-04:00

Did you ever want to go on a mission trip but didn't think you could afford it?? My Friend Kari is leading a mission trip to Ethiopia in February. She has decided to have an amazing giveaway on her blog!! For every t-shirt you purchase you will get one entry in the contest. She is giving away 2 fully paid mission trips. Cost: $3100 each

I had the pleasure to travel with Kari to Haiti shortly after the earthquake. She is an amazing women with a huge heart for the orphans!!! Going on the mission trip changed me...it is something I pray everyone could have the opportunity to do!! We are getting ready to go to Ethiopia to bring our children home so I will not be able to go but I would love for one of my family or friends to win this trip!! Go to her giveaway link by clicking on the button on the right of my blog! Good Luck!!

Praise God!!

2010-10-08T12:30:00.000-04:00

The last few days have been an emotional roller coaster!! A few days ago we received our court date...we happily booked our flights! The next day our agency called wondering if we had booked yet..Uh yes!!! Well we are a little up in the air about your trip...we don't have any info for you but hold tight we will get back to you! Does that mean we might not be going on the 29th?? We will work as hard as we can to insure that you still go! Well we heard NOTHING for 48hrs!!! We had already booked our flights and it would cost $500 to change them!!! Needless to say all of us with court dates were worried..we were told that AWAA staff would be meeting with the Ethiopian judge in the morning! Well morning there is night here..Ethiopia is 7 hrs ahead of us! So we sprang into action.. We asked our amazing Yahoo group of fellow adoptive families to PRAY!!! Well God listened!!!!! This morning minutes after the offices opened we got the call!!!! I have to admit I was scared to answer the phone...I think I had been holding my breathe for 2 days! As soon as she told me the good news I started crying, I tried not to but couldn't help it! This is an emotional roller coaster ride!!! To make the day even better...3 MORE families got court dates!!! 2 of them have become my closest friends through this whole process!! I am so overjoyed for them and so excited that we all get to meet our children!! We leave in 15 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Montage 9/17/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-10-07T12:24:00.001-04:00

MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER TURNED 13 TODAY!!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

20 Days!!!!

2010-10-05T19:37:00.000-04:00

In 20 days we will be meeting our children for the very first time!!! I have been an emotional wreck the last 24hrs just thinking about it!!! We have also been going crazy trying to book our flights!!! We had to have everything planned by 1pm today!! Good thing we booked today and not yesterday...we saved $300 a person today!!!!! So we are now officially booked with 2 round trip tickets to Ethiopia, Africa!!!!!!!!!!! I have been dreaming about this day since before we even mailed our application to the adoption agency! I cant believe it is almost here! 17 months from the day we applied till the day we get to meet our children! It has been a long, hard wait! We still have to wait but at least there is an end in sight!! 20 days!!!!! It will then be another wait to bring them home but for now I will be happy to hold them and tell them we love them!!! I am still sad for all of my other adoptive friends that have yet to receive their court dates..there are over 20 families still waiting. Two families in particular have become my sources of strength through this whole journey. I pray for them and all the families waiting.

So if you read our post about our last fundraiser we raised $2883! Well our flights were $1411 each! Just what we were expecting so..tickets PAID!!! We will still have in country costs..room, food etc. and trip#2 but Praise God these tickets are paid for!!!

So here it is the dreaded long.....flight

Sat. Oct 23
Leave: Buffalo at 2:30pm
Arrive: Wash/Dullas 3:38pm
Leave: Dullas at 830pm (board ETHIOPIAN airlines!!)
Stop: Rome- refuel
Arrive: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!!!!! 7pm Sun.October 24th

Friday Oct. 29
Leave: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 10:15pm
Stop: Refuel Rome
Arrive: Wash/Dullas 7:55am Sun. Oct.30
Leave: Wash/Dullas 12:43pm
Arrive: Buffalo 1:51pm

As you can see Anthony and I will have lots of bonding time:) On the way there we will be so excited I am guessing it wont be so bad..on the way home, that will be interesting!! We are still working on the planning for while we are there but we will have Monday - Friday with Court on Friday! Then we will have to say goodbye to our children and head home without them..this I am dreading!! For now I focus on how wonderful it will be to finally hold them!! Continued prayers appreciated as we continue on our journey...

COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

After months of waiting we finally get to travel for court!!!!! We finally get to hold our kids and hopefully have a judge declare them legally ours!!!!!!! Our court date is Friday October 29th! We will most likely leave home on the 25th and come home on the 30th. Flights will be put on hold today!! As excited as I am I am also sad because a fellow adoptive mom, who has been my best friend through this did not get her call today. I pray for her family as they wait for the call. Keep watching for more updates! We are praising God today!!!!!!!!!!

Our Movie Fundraiser..

2010-10-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

Well.. after a month of selling and endless posting on Facebook...today was our Movie day!!! "Radio" was a very good choice!! I think all that attended enjoyed it! Although the attendance was very minimal,we did really well! We truly appreciate everyone who came today!! We are so thankful to all that donated on our blog, bought tickets and helped sell tickets!!! We only sold a few tickets at the door but several family and friends blessed us with cash donations!!

We sold around 400 tickets and received numerous donations! Thanks to the owner of the theatre we made 100% profit!! He did not charge us a penny!!!! What a huge blessing and surprise!!! We are so thankful for everyone that had a part in helping us!! So our grand total is......
$2,883!!!!

Thank you!!!!!! Our plane tickets for trip 1 are paid in FULL!!!!!!! Now all we need is a court date!!

Its so close I can smell it!!!!!

2010-09-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

Courts are officially OPEN for business!!!!!!!!!! That means that any day now we should get notified of when we will be required to travel for court!!! For starters we got an email today from our adoption agency!! I about fell off my chair when I saw the title of the email "Welcome To Travel". They are requiring us to fax all of our required travel documents by this Friday!!!! They do not have a court date for us yet but they want us to be prepared if they do!! You usually are given very little notice ( 1 week or less! ) The anticipation is killing me!!!!! Check back often for updates!! Although I'm sure you will hear me scream from wherever you are!!!!

Our movie is Saturday hopefully we will have great news to share with everyone!!! Continue to pray that the theatre is filled!!! AHHHHH!!!!!! We are so close to holding our kids!!!

When we finally go..

2010-09-26T21:45:00.000-04:00

When we finally get to travel to Ethiopia to meet our children...you will hear me praising God from wherever you live!!!!! While in Ethiopia we will go for our court hearing where our prayer is our adoption will be approved and our children will become legally ours forever!! We will get to spend a few hours a day with them but we will also have some free time. There are 2 places I for sure want to go when we are there..The Fistula Hospital and the Korah garbage dumps. To understand why... please take the time to watch the videos I have posted below.

http://vimeo.com/13948413 Korah and A Walk To Beautiful is posted below

A Walk To Beautiful

2010-09-26T21:11:00.000-04:00

And the winner is....

2010-09-26T20:02:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who is sharing about our movie event!!! We have less than a week till the movie! Please continue to share about our event on Facebook or your blogs! We still have a lot of tickets to sell! My kids have been working hard to sell the tickets door to door plus recruiting all their friends at school. Our two trip to Ethiopia will cost anywhere between $10-$15,000. It will require 4 round trip tickets and 2 one way tickets plus 2 in country stays of 1 week each. We are having this to help raise some of the money needed for our 2 trips.If you would still like to buy tickets they are available at the door or presale! If you would just like to help out by making a donation scroll down to our "Chip In" button on the side.

We had a contest for whoever shared about our movie event on their blog, facebook or twitter...The winner will get 2 of our adoption T-shirts and 1 of our totes. Tonight we picked a winner...THE WINNER IS...

HEIDI BALLARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shoot me your address so I can send you your goodies!!!

I NEED GRANOLA BARS!!!

2010-09-23T10:57:00.000-04:00

I need Granola bars!!! Actually I don't need them, the children in Ethiopia do! As I try to get prepared for our trip, I am trying to gather everything that I can think of that will be needed. We are hoping to collect donations to take with us. Clothes, medicine, toothbrushes, shoes, diapers, formula and GRANOLA BARS! Why Granola Bars? Many children are homeless and poor and to be able to have any food with me to hand them is priceless. I will have a bag with me at all times that will have Granola bars to hand out.

Our Adoption Agency has 2 homes in Ethiopia that house over 200 waiting children. Children waiting for their families to get cleared to bring them home. While they are there they are cared for by loving nannies, that only make $2 a DAY!! Yet they care for our children like they are their own. Our children also attend school and have access to a Doctor. The amount of money from our adoption that goes to our agencies home is very minimal. That is why they rely heavily on donations form traveling families. Our children come from orphanages into our agencies homes which are called Transition homes. One house for the babies and one for the older children. The come with only the clothes on their backs. So we are trying to collect anything that we can help bless them with. We were given a very long list but I condensed it to a few items that I thought I could try to gather specifically.We are hoping to travel by the 2nd week of October so I would need items soon! Thanks for helping and for praying for us and our children!

If you would like to help there are a few ways:

Start by scrolling down to my blog post "Orphanage Donations"

1) We will have a donation bin available at our Movie night on Oct. 2nd

2) If you are close we can arrange to pick it up from you, or you can mail it to us also!

3) You can make a monetary donation through our "Chip In" fund and mark it "Donations for Ethiopia", I will then use that money specifically to buy donations

Movie Tickets Update

2010-09-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

We have less than 2 weeks till our Movie fundraiser...so we have been trying hard to sell tickets! My kids have been going door to door, we have friends trying to sell tickets at their workplaces,we are trying to sell virtual tickets and we are PRAYING!!!!!! It is not an easy thing to do..to ask anyone for donations. Everyone is trying to save money and we are asking them to give it to us. When we started this journey we new we would need to raise some money but not the amount we have been seeking. We tried many different avenues to try to generate the needed income. Like most people we did not have $30,000 sitting in the bank when we started out. We knew where God was leading us and we knew he would help us figure out the details. Sometimes you have to jump in with both feet and rely completely on your trust in the Lord!!! As I look at pictures of our children..I would beg..borrow...plead..do whatever I have to to get them home! They are sad, lonely, confused, they have lost their family and need us!! So forgive us for asking for donations but they are our children that God hand-picked for us and we want them home!

We are waiting for courts to open next week with high hopes!!! We are hopeful that we will finally get to meet our children in person by mid-October!!!! I want so badly to hold them and tell them we are their family and we are doing everything we can to get them home!!!

Their sweet hands!!! We can't post pics until we pass court hopefully next month!

Our current amount that we have raised is $1263, our goal for the movie is to raise $3000 but we would really like to raise more. Our total for both trips will be anywhere between $10-15,000!!! So please continue to share our story! Buy a ticket or two or make a donation to our "Chip In" button on the side of the blog. Most of all we ask for your prayers!! This is a long, hard journey we need all the prayers we can get!! Thank you to everyone who is helping us! Words cannot express how grateful we are! To everyone who might have happened upon our blog for the first time because our kids knocked on your door...Thank you!!! Please take sometime and read about our journey to our Ethiopian blessings!!

An Afternoon at the movies...well sort of and a Tshirt giveaway!!

2010-09-10T23:12:00.002-04:00

So as you all may or may not know...Ethiopia adoptions now require you to travel twice to bring your kids home. When we started this process 14 months ago, it was a 1 trip country! This extra trip will cost us about $5-$7,000 depending on the airfare costs at the time. We have had very little luck with the fundraising that we have done so we are trying something new! A MOVIE!!! If we sell all 600 presale tickets we will make at least $2700! That will cover our tickets for at least 1 trip!!! They are only $5 each!

600 Pre-sale tickets

We know not everyone will want to come, or can because they don't live close or whatever the reason. We wanted to give everyone the opportunity to help us bring our kids home! $5 per ticket....buy 1 or buy a couple!!! All money is helping to bring home our kids!!! If you want to purchase some "virtual" tickets please scroll down to the "CHIP IN" button on the right hand side of the blog. Donate $5 for each ticket and we will mark you down for your tickets!!! We want to sell out the theatre!!! Please help bring our kids home! Please also help by sharing this on your blogs or on facebook. I know with a little help from our friends we can do this!!!! How many tickets Do You Want???

Only $5 per ticket and you can help bring home 2 Orphans!

To Help Encourage you to spread the word..We are giving away 2 of our Adoption T-shirts and a Tote Bag!!!!!! Share it on Facebook, Twitter, and your blogs!!! You will get your name entered once for each time you share this post!!! Make sure to leave a comment below of where you shared this post!! You can enter as many times as you can share it in the next 2 weeks! So make sure every time you share it you leave a comment! We will do a drawing on Friday September 24th at 9pm So share away!!!

I Will Not Abandon You As Orphans, I Will Come To You John 16:18

Waiting on a Court Date

2010-09-09T11:46:00.000-04:00

My heart is aching for my children, so far away! There are so many of us praying for the courts to hurry up and open!! I've not checked lately but I think it is somewhere around 22 families!! Some of them got referrals for tiny little babies that are growing quickly, we so badly want to wrap our arms around them and bring them home. We look at pictures and we watch video that we are blessed to have other families give us. It is so hard knowing they are so far away. What if they are sick, what is they are sad? As a parent we want to comfort them but we can't! 20 more days till courts reopen, even then there is no way to guess when we might be able to go meet them. Adoption is not for the faint of heart..it is HARD!! From application till when they are home and even after it is HARD! These children are so worth every tear, every struggle, every sacrifice,every bit of waiting! So when we make very frequent posts on our blogs and Facebook, and we are constantly selling something;) we do it all for our children! What would you do for yours? And what would you do if they were thousands of miles away hurting, scared and lonely? You would do anything wouldn't you?!

Mommy and Daddy are coming soon!

Time Flys When Your Having Fun!

2010-09-08T08:53:00.000-04:00

Well another summer over....we are always so busy they tend to go quickly! We do cram as much stuff in as possible! I can't believe how quickly they are growing up! I tell them all the time to stop growing up but they don't listen! I feel sad that I wanted to rush the summer along all so courts can hurry up and open. This whole adoption process I have been wishing for time to go faster. Once we get the kids home from Ethiopia I really would like it to slow down! For all of us in the adoption process we count the days..the months while waiting at each stage of the process. Yet I look at my 3 biological kids and think where did the time go?? Next year I will have 1 in High school 1 in Middle school 2 in elementary and 1 in preschool! I want my other 2 kids home but I really don't want time to fly! Enjoy every second because boy does it go fast!

Softball..Baseball...soccer, boy were we busy but we sure do have fun! Now the craziness starts..back to school! Praying for a good year for all the kids!

ORPHANAGE DONATIONS

2010-09-06T14:44:00.000-04:00

IN OCTOBER WE WILL BE TRAVELING TO ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA. WE WILL BE MEETING OUR 2 NEWLY ADOPTED CHILDREN. WE ARE HOPING TO TAKE DONATIONS FOR THE ORPHANAGE THAT TOOK CARE OF OUR CHILDREN. THEY ARE IN NEED OF MANY ITEMS! THESE ARE A FEW WE ARE LOOKING FOR HELP COLLECTING:

INFANT AND CHILDRENS TYLENOL

CHILDREN'S CHEWABLE VITAMINS

VITAMINS FOR CHILDREN OVER AGE 9

UNSENTED BABY WIPES

TOOTHBRUSHES AND TOOTHPASTE

LIQUID BENEDRYL

A&D DIAPER OINTMENT

NEOSPORIN

DIAPERS OF ALL SIZES UP TO 30LBS

MOUTH AND NOSE MASKS

DISPOSABLE LATEX GLOVES

IF YOU CAN HELP BY DONATING ANY OF THESE ITEMS PLEASE CONTACT US! WE ONLY HAVE A MONTH TO GATHER AS WE HOPE TO TRAVEL MID OCTOBER. THANK YOU

Monthly updates

2010-09-05T21:00:00.001-04:00

So we got alot of questions answered this month about our kids...it left me with very few questions to ask this month! This will be our last set of questions till probably November as we hope to travel in October. We are allowed to ask 5 questions each child for the nannies to answer. Height and weight updates are included every month. So this is what we came up with..

Doe she understand she is being adopted and won't see her family again? if so how does she feel about it?

She does not understand it yet

What are thier bedtimes and wake times, do they both sleep all night or take naps?

She sleeps on early hours an raise late; they go to bed on 7:30pm and wakes on 6:00am

Is there anything they would like to know about us?

They want to know about their bedroom in their new family; how does it looks like and what things might they expect

What are her favorite foods? dislikes?

She likes injera and not interested in spaghetti and macaroni

Does she have a large vocabulary and understand amharic?

Not large vocabulary but she can understand Amharic

What clothes size and shoe size fits them best?

Clothing size is 2-4 and shoe size is 9

What is known about the region that they are from?

They came from the SNNP region of the country which is located in the southern part of the country. Its called Sidama Zone a few kilometers from a city called Awassa. Its known for its diverse historical and cultural heritages and even their own calendar. But due to the high population density in the particular place the people cannot share the resources in a fair and suitable way which makes the majority to be poor

Did he make any special friends this month?

Yes, c***** is his close friend

Are thier teeth healthy, do they have any cavities?

Yes they have clean teeth

Do they have any comments about us after seeing our pictures, or concerns?

They feel good about the pictures.

Tune in the end of September first week of October for the answers!!

An Afternoon at the Movies!

2010-09-03T16:22:00.001-04:00

We are hosting a movie on October 2nd at a local theatre to raise money for our travel expenses! A friend suggested we show "Radio" starring Cuba Gooding Jr.so we are!!! We are hopeful that lots of friends and family will come! The theatre holds 600 people and we pray we FILL it!!! We are also hoping to do a raffle of some sort! Tickets are only $5 each so my kids will be knocking on some doors:)

Radio

2010-09-03T16:22:00.000-04:00

Monthly update!!!

2010-09-02T16:23:00.000-04:00

We recieved 5 new pics of the kids plus answers to our questions we asked last month!!! The kids are doing great!! I can't wait till we can share pictures with you all! Scroll down to my UPDATE post to read the answers to our questions!

27 days..

2010-09-01T16:42:00.000-04:00

Well it is offically September! Courts reopen September 27th! What does that mean..well we are praying that after they get things running again we will quickly get a phone call! One telling us when our court date is! Right now all we do is wait..... We may get a few days notice or a few weeks notice before we have to fly to Ethiopia. At this point we are hopeful that we will get an October court date. When courts closed they were already scheduling October 1st dates so...we pray that we get a court date within the first 2 weeks of October. Again we have no clue when until courts reopen and they call us. It has been a very hard wait so far. We first saw our childrens faces on July 15th, the courts closed Aug. 6th. It has been comforting to have traveling families take care packages for us and take beautiful pictures and video. It is still so difficult..I want to hold my children, look them in the eyes and tell them Im your Mom and I Love You!! They have only seen us in pictures also. I can't explain how you grow to love children that you have only seen in pictures and video but..I do! God put these children in my heart long before I ever saw thier picture! We have been praying for them for years! Now that we have seen thier precious faces and know thier names it makes us love them all the more! 27 days....

T-shirts!!! Only 25 left!!

2010-08-25T12:11:00.000-04:00

Ok we only have a few Tshirts left so who wants one???

It says "I will not leave you as orphans I will come to you" John 14:18

Sizes we have left are:
7 XL's
13 Lrg.
2 Med.
4 Sm.

Leave a comment of what size you want then scroll down to our Chip In button on the side. The cost is $20 each..

As soon as I sell the rest of these I will order more!

Ethiopia travel and donations

2010-08-24T08:12:00.000-04:00

Our first trip to Ethiopia is most likely going to be in October so while we wait I want to get a jump on my To-Do list! First things first we need to raise the money we will need for our travels. It is now a TWO trip travel itinerary.

First Time: In October just Anthony and I will travel. We will be meeting our children for the first time!!! We will attend court and hopefully the judge will declare them legally ours!!! This trip will last 5-7 days and will cost between 5,000 and $7,000.

Second Trip: This will be anywhere from 4-12 weeks after our first trip! I am praying for 4! At this time at least one of us will travel but most likely both! We will attend an embassy appointment and be granted our childrens visas. Then WE BRING THEM HOME! This trip will cost about $7,000 and last between 5-7 days.

So if you have totalled that.. we are looking to raise around $10-$14,000 before December!! So watch for our upcoming fundraisers: A Night at the Movies TBA, Tshirt sales..ONGOING on our blog www.ourethiopianblessings.blogspot.com. We also have a donation button CHIP IN (it is through paypal) if you would like to donate to our travel funds. We apologize ahead of time but we NEED your help to bring our kids home! If you are some of the lucky ones to have seen thier pictures you know how much God has blessed us!!! They are an answer to our prayers! PLEASE be a part in giving them a new future!

Care package #4

2010-08-24T08:11:00.000-04:00

We are so lucky to be able to connect with our kids through traveling families!!! The Jay family will be hand delivering the next one!!! October is still far away but we will get through it one carepackage at a time!!!! And of course by staring at all the great pictures they send back to us!!!!!!!!!

Carepackage #3

2010-08-10T12:30:00.000-04:00

So in a few days our 3rd package for our kids will be on its way to Ethiopia Thanks to the Faust family!!! We are so blessed to have such a great adoption family! I just had to buy this doll for my little girl even though it will take up more space than I should be utilizing Reagan agreed to make it fit!!! And for my little man some more good stuff!!! This time flash cards, punch ballons a ball and an imaginetix toy and bubbles!!

We know it will be sometime in October when we meet or kids but we won't find out when until courts reopen Sept. 27th so for now we pray for them and thank all the families that are able to show them some love and give them our presents. I can't wait till all the traveling families get home so I can get some more pics of the kids! Internet is spotty in Ethiopia so I have only got a few but once they get home they will be able to upload all the great photos they took! Thank you Field, Barram and Faust families!!!!

With God ALL things are possible!

2010-08-05T00:25:00.000-04:00

A while back I entered another adoptive families blog giveaway..and I won!! It was the movie "Facing the Giants" If you haven't seen it do so! Thanks Michele!! These last few weeks have been rather difficult on the adoption front... Truthfully it has felt like we have come up against a huge wall at every stage of this adoption, family support, finances, delays in paperwork etc.. The latest is getting our referral right before court closings! Most families wait about 4-8 wks at most for their court dates we will be waiting 3 months!! It is heartbreaking to be able to see their faces but know we will not be able to hold them for so long. I know that as a mom I want everything in my time but it will all be in God's time. After watching the movie tonight I realized (again!) I need to stop with my expectations and let God take control. With God ALL things are possible!!!

So as the day comes to a close we now have 2 days to find out our court date for October....If we get scheduled before court closes on Friday it will save us thousands..yes thousands of dollars in travel fees. If we don't get scheduled by Friday then we will not hear of our court date until after courts reopen Sept. 27th. At that point once we get scheduled we will probably have about 2 weeks to make our travel arrangements making flights a lot more expensive. So... tonight I put it all in God's hands! If we get a court date, I WILL Praise Him..If we don't get a court date I WILL Praise Him!!! He is good ALL the time!

Updates..

2010-08-03T12:31:00.001-04:00

So yesterday we got the best present ever!!! Video of our kids opening up the care packages we sent them!!!! I have watched it over..and over!!!! Thank you so much Field family! Our second care package will hopefully reach thier sweet hands tommorrow thanks to the Barram family!!!

We are still waiting and praying for news of a court date..in the mean time I sent out my first set of update questions! Once a month until they come home we are allowed to ask 5 questions each that we would like the Nanny's who are caring for our kids to answer. At the end of each month we will recieve the answers and a new photo!!! Here are this months questions:

Does he sleep in the same room with his sister at the TH or are they in seperate rooms?
yes they sleep in the same room

What does he know or understand about getting a new family?
He knows his new family is going to be his caretakers and supporters and he is very happy with it

Does he have any fears or concerns?
Not really; he is hoping his new parents and country will be good for him

What language are they speaking/learning?
He speaks the language od Sidama and is learning english letters and numbers through amharic(he also understands amharic)

He seems very shy..Does he interact with other children, a special friend?
He is a bit shy to new faces but he interacts well with other children but he has No special friend at the TH

Are they both toilet trained?
Yes; but T****** wears a diaper in nightimes

What are Thier measurements? (height/weight)
She weighs 27lbs and is 33.1in. tall He is 34.8 lb and 39.4 in tall

How is her personality/behavior?
She is sociable,plays well with others,humble and respects someone's order and discipline

Does she have a special friend and toys?
She has a special friend at the TH that she like very much

Is she afraid of anything?
Nothing special

( they also said he really likes to eat Injera, can solve puzzles and likes to play Soccer!) (she eats all kinds of food,can paint and trace numbers and alphabets,likes to play with toys) They are both in good medical condition!

Pictures and a court date..

2010-08-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

So my days are now consumed with hopes of getting an October court date and waiting for another glimpse of my children's faces. We know there is no hope of a court date before closures so our prayer is this week we recieve or date for October after the courts reopen. Most of the time families only have a couple weeks to prepare to travel for court making it stressful and expensive. The further in advance you can book your flights the more affordable they are..current families were looking at flights around $4,000 a person! If we can book for october flights are around $1200 a person!! BIG difference!!!!! So join us in prayer that we get a date for early october! Pictures.... the way it works is when traveling families are given permission they can take pictures of your children..I currently have 3 people with consent forms that they can take pics of our kids! The Fields delivered or childrens first presents(carepackages) and this week The Barrams will deliver thier 2nd!!!!! I am so excited that they will get our family photo book this week so they can see thier whole new family!!! The wait till October will be a long one but new pictures and updates help:)

Care packages!!!

2010-07-26T18:21:00.000-04:00

Our first carepackages to our kids will be in thier little hands very soon!!! While we sleep tonight over in Ethiopia another traveling family will meet our children and deliver them our presents!!! They will get to be my hands and feet, they will hold them and take pictures and show them thier very first picture of thier new family!!!!! I will get to see new pictures of my kids too! Next week our 2nd presents will be on thier way to my children with another traveling family, we are so blessed to have such an amazing support group with our extended adoption family! I could'nt survive this journey without you all!!!

Court date miracle...

2010-07-20T00:14:00.000-04:00

It has been crazy since we got the call!!! We are lovin staring at our children's faces!!! I cant wait till we are able to share with the whole world! In order to do that we have to have judge declare us leagally thier parents..well...courts close Aug 6- sept. 27th so If a HUGE miracle doesnt happen looks like we wont meet our children till October:( Sooo I pray for Miracles!!!!!! Big ones...1) that we are submitted to court ASAP and 2) We get assigned a court date before they close they are already scheduling for Aug.2nd so like I said HUGE miracle!!! So please pray....also pray for my kids to be comforted while they wait for us..They are little and Im sure they are very confused.. Our first presents are on thier way very soon. I bought Hallmark recordable books, so when they open the book and turn the pages they will hear my voice and my daughters voices reading to them. They will also see a picture of thier new family soon...Thank you to the mommies that are going to see my kids and hold them.. It is so comforting knowing someone else will be there to hug them when we cannot..

Referral day...

2010-07-20T00:10:00.000-04:00

Thought I would share the story of our referral day... I laugh now when I think back at the day! It started like every other thursday did since we went DTE.. I started the morning off with my daily text to my DTE buddy Kelly! Thursday we texted all day and prayed for each other all day! The day went on with the usual Facebook stalking and me whining about no phone call. I also watched my Blackberry for any emails of other families who may post about thier referrals. So as the day gets later and later us waiting for referrals get more and more discouraged as we know the agency closes at 5! So I have now instant messaged my husband (whom forget his cellphone that day) and called him to cry and complain that yet another thursday has come to a close and NO referral call... Now its 3:45 my DTE buddy texts me she is going to the chropracter because all this waiting is stressing her and odds are our call is not coming! So now we text-whine to each other that now we are heading into month 5 of waiting...little did we know;) So about 4:10 pm I get a call on my cell from my BFF in california, we just said hello when my other line beeped in....IT WAS A 703# Oh my the Adoption agency!!!!! Ahh!! " I have to call you back its my adoption agency!!!!!" RUN outside as I have work being done in my house and it is super noisey... Hello?" Hi this is Caitlin"( like I didnt know;)" Is your husband home?? " "No hes at work... why??"( i was still being cautious to get too excited) "This is your REFERRAL call!!" AHHHH!!!! I am now suddenly naucious and weak in the knees.... "Uh.. he forgot his CELLPHONE but we can call him at work!" "Ok wait Ill call and conference you in..(now I hear elevator music and I scream outloud hoping my neighbors didnt hear me....waiting.... " um.. his secretary says he is on the phone and will have him call me back" " Do you want me to tell you or wait for him?" ( i paused a second UGH.."wait for him..." Did you tell his secretary it was the adoption agency?!" yes... Doesnt she get this is a 911!!!!! Yes I said all this to her!!! Ok so I now have to hang up! AND WAIT!!! I immediatly call the office secretary answers...I say " is he still on the phone!!!!!!!!" Yes.. GET HIM OFF ITS ABOUT OUR KIDS!!! So in the mean time I text my DTE buddy with shaking hands to tell her I got the call but am waiting... She texts me back.... I just missed a call from her too!!!!!! AHHHHH she is getting her call too!!!!! So he finally calls me back and says What?! I now scream its OUR CALL!!!! Our REFERRAL call!!! We spend about 10 minutes trying to call back and we get voicemail saying she is gone for the day!! Now im freaking out.... We finally get through.. and together we hear the info on our kids!!!! She sends me an email with thier pics and info BUT my husband and family are not home!!! We want to see them the first time all together but WAIT..he is at work the kids are 30 min. away so it will take an hour before they get home..UGH can I wait?! Ok I will... an hour later then pull up and all run into the house( for the last 30min. my sister has been here trying to convince me to let her take a peek first:) love her! NO! I'm waiting.. So we all sit in front of the computer and I make my nephew record it but at the same time POUNDING...and more pounding in my house so video is ruined but... Oh my! My kids are adorable!!!!!! Months and months of waiting and praying and I finally know who they are... It is so worth the wait people!!! Then in true Alleca style we all run off in different directions as our other kids have stuff going on;) I was up untill 2 am that night and have been pretty much ever since!!!

Referral!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-15T22:32:00.001-04:00

Today was the day!!!!!! We got the much anticipated call!!!!! Siblings!!!!! Our little girl is 2 1/2 and our son is 4 1/2. They are adorable!!!!!!! Now we wait some more....we will have to go to Ethiopia twice...once for court and then a second time to bring them home. Courts are closed from August 6th till Sept. 27th so most likely we will not be meeting our kids until October. I am sad about that but I know they are in good hands. Many families will be able to check on them, take presents and take pictures for us. For now we pray for them until we can get them home. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support!!! Im am also excited to be sharing this with my DTE buddy!!! They got thier call today too:)))))) I am loving staring at thier pictures!!!

On Deck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

We are officially ON DECK!!!!!!! What that means is we are up for our referral! We knew this unofficially but It is great to get the news from our adoption agency!

Dear Anthony & Paige,

I’m sure that your family is increasingly anxious and excited to receive your much anticipated referral. This email will answer many important questions you may have about the referral process, travel, and other important details relating to completing your adoption. I cannot overemphasize the importance of the following details, so please take the time to read through all of the information contained below.

Estimated Referral Timeframe

While there are many unknowns in the referral process, and this email gives no dates or guarantees, America World anticipates that your family could receive a referral within the next one to three months. Referrals arrive sporadically throughout the month. For this reason, families with the same DTE date frequently do not receive referrals at the same time. America World issues referrals as soon as a child’s paperwork is completed.

*This estimated timeframe does not apply to families who request to wait on a sibling set referral. Families requesting to wait on a young sibling referral will not receive an estimated wait time due to the lack of history and consistency in receiving these types of referrals. Please note that families requesting siblings ages 0-4 years could experience an unknown extended wait time.

( we know with siblings there is no guarentee but we are still hopeful it is soon) God is bigger than timeframes!!!

Age request

2010-07-08T07:55:00.000-04:00

So I changed it again: so we want 1 boy 1 girl ages 0-2 and 0-5...anything can help right! Maybe there is a boy/girl twin set out there?! LOL

Emotional basketcase!!!

2010-07-08T07:12:00.000-04:00

Today is one of those days...one of those not so good days! I Thank God for all of the families who are getting families but weep because we are not! We were told siblings were VERY rare and we could wait indefinatly but I had faith that this would not be the case. Yet our wait is getting so hard. Our specific request is 1 BOY and 1 GIRL yet many families since we made the list have gotten sibling referrals but they were either boy/boy or girl/girl. Families only waiting a month or 2 months. I know God has already chosen our children and we must wait on the Lord but my heart is growing very weary. We most likely will run into court closers. What that means is we are most likely looking towards fall to winter before we might bring our children home, or we continue to wait even longer. My prayer is that we get the call soon, I never imagined waiting on a boy and a girl sibling set would be harder than waiting for twins!!! Please continue to pray that our children are revealed soon. Today is thursday which is a good day for referral calls, I've pretty much stopped watching my phone but I rejoice with everyone elses news and pray for everyone who is on top of the list! Praying July is a good month.

Whlie we WAIT....

2010-07-07T09:23:00.000-04:00

Yes we are still waitng... lots of families are being scheduled for court dates but referrals arent really moving! I am hopeful it will be soon! While we wait we are still keeping busy. July 4th was crazy but fun! Our oldest had a softball tournament all weekend and then our annual family picnic, parade and fireworks! I'm very big on familiy traditions, we go to the same place for fireworks that I went to as a child. For my kids it all about the candy at the parade:) Praying we can celebrate soon with referral news! But for now here's some updates..

Francesca got MVP at one of her games!

Running the bases..

Pitching..

where's the candy?!

Come on referrals!!!!!

2010-06-25T14:18:00.000-04:00

For the last 6 weeks there has been no movement in our adoption group BUT after a night of prayer things have started moving!!! Sunday we took 2 hours to have our whole adoption group pray! This week has been full of good news!! Court dates have been scheduled..families are traveling to get thier children...paperwork is being submitted for court dates and 2 girl referrals!!!! Im praying this is a start of LOTS of good things!!! Once parents take home thier children it leaves room for new children to enter our agencies transition home.(this is where the children stay from time of referral till the time we pick them up) So my prayer is that lots more referrals will be coming soon and hopefully one of them will be ours!! The wait is soooo hard! Come on Caitlin..CALL!!!!!!!!!!!

Road trip!!!!!

2010-06-17T22:20:00.001-04:00

Today, Gina Root's and I drove to Youngstown Ohio for a little AWAA meeting!!! 7 Mom's in all stages...paperchasing, waiting for thier referral, waiting for a court date and those who have thier children already. Our Yahoo group is amazing!! Through all of this processes ups and downs we have such a HUGE group of support!! Questions...complaints...Crying..Prayer requests..our group is a lifeline! I could not make it without all of you!!

Those not in the group don't understand how you can be so close to people you have never met in person...but truth is our yahoo group probably knows more about each other than our close friends and family. First..I went to Haiti with Kari.. then I took a rode trip with Gina..and I had never met either of them before! A little CrAzY!!!! YES!!!! But I love it!!!

I am so blessed by all the friendships formed during this and I can't wait to meet more of my AWAA friends...untill then I will see you in bloggy land and FB!!!

2010-06-16T17:39:00.001-04:00

Four months of waiting....not a happy milestone but hopefully we wont make it to number 5!!

While we wait life goes on..school will let out in a few days...summer craziness will fill the days

But with each day and each night I still wait to find out who my children are...

praying for good things this month!

Praying for patience..

2010-06-10T08:45:00.000-04:00

Oh is it hard....to those not in the adoption process it is so hard to explain...but my fellow adoptive families totally get it!!!! How can your heart yearn so for children you have never met? never seen?

How can we love the Lord when we have never seen him? ??Yet, we love God and we know he loves us..

From the first day I knew I was pregnant with my biological children..my love began..with each day and each month that they were in my womb I grew to love them more and more..

The day they were born was the most intense love I have ever felt..the first time you look into thier eyes

My heart and my soul ache for my children...I so want to see thier faces...I pray it is soon

My girls band

2010-06-06T23:02:00.000-04:00

I laughed when they said they were starting a band....but I had no idea how dedicated they would be and how good they would get! Thier friends dad has provided the instruments and helped write all the music! My daughter Marianna was the only one who knew how to play thier instrument when this all started! They go to practice every week and have gotten really good:) On friday they played at our local middle school in front of 450 8th graders and staff!!!! This is thier debut.... The dad that organizes this and teached them deserves all the credit!!!

My Montage 6/6/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-06-06T23:01:00.001-04:00

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One Year..

2010-05-29T08:51:00.002-04:00

Mothers day 2010, next year 2 more children!

One year ago we started this whole process..One year ago we told our family and friends...One year ago I started dreaming of my children...One year ago I started praying for the millions of orphans in the world..One year ago my eyes were opened

It has felt like the longest year, each phase of the adoption has had a wait time. First, we waited to see if we were accepted in the program. 2nd would all of our background checks and medical info be approved..3rd wait for our Homestudy to be approved..4th ,wait for the much anticipated I71h form...5th..wait for the awesome DTE news( 2/19/10)..6th, Wait to receive our referral(see our childrens faces for the first time!!!!)WE ARE HERE...That is not the end of the waiting...more waiting to come
But now I would just love to know who my children are...somedays we are so busy with the kids I forget for a minute but it always feels like something or someone is missing. Many people still dont approve or agree or understand our decision..why more? you already have 3!!! That will have to be answered when you meet our children and see how blessed they are and how blessed we are!!

One year...This year I will see my children...hold my children...be a family of 7!!

2010-05-19T08:01:00.000-04:00

Today marks 3 months of waiting on the"unofficial" list! In the last 3 months things have moved quickly in adoption world. We are now in the Top 10 who are waiting. We have now opened our hearts up to whatever children God has chosen for us. I had a "plan" or an idea in my mind who my children were but I have quickly realized that I am not the decision maker! We discovered this one in Haiti. Everyday we set out with a planned agenda and every day God chose a different path. When we originally started talking about adoption my heart was in China, then after our adoption seminar Ethiopia started tugging at our hearts. We then opened up to siblings! TWO?! Yes Lord we can do that! While waiting we have been open to siblings or 2 unrelated children. We knew we wanted 2 one of each, a boy and a girl. Well that has not changed but we opened up to the possibilies of a bigger age range. Originally we asked for a boy(0-6mth) and a girl (18mth-5yr) now we have decided it can be either way a girl and a boy or a boy and a girl and the younger one can be (0-18mths). I am at peace with my decision! When I had my biological children I could not choose who they were, God did. I know he already has my children picked out. However that may look! Now we wait some more for him to show us thier faces!

Changes..

2010-05-18T17:32:00.000-04:00

So......another road bump!!! So we were advised by our adoption agency to open up our age request. So this is what we came up with..SIBLINGS OR UNRELATED boy/girl or girl/boy. One 0-18mths and one 18mths-5yrs. We pray this will help us meet our children sooner!!

Waiting...

2010-05-18T09:59:00.000-04:00

So according to all of the info we have we should be next for a sibling referral!!!! We also should be next for 2 unrelated children if siblings are not available...so what that means is i carry my phone everywhere I go and pray the next call is my adoption agency telling me "This is your referral call"!!!! Until that day I will be emotional...jumpy..anxious and going CRAZY!!!!!!!!! Please pray for me to have patience because we are waiting for 2 children our wait could be longer than usual....but it could be ANY DAY!!!

Yard Sale Blessings

2010-05-16T08:53:00.000-04:00

This weekend was our Adoption Yard sale... We were blessed with donations from many people! Not only did we have lots to sell but we were given $280 in cash donations!!! Friends baked goodies to sell and so did Marianna! Marianna and her friend handled the bake sale and the $ collection on Saturday and Francesca helped on Friday! The grand total was $980! We are soo thankful to all that helped in any way! I was so happy to be able to share about our adoption, I pray we planted a few seeds! We were also lucky to meet a women who works for a local adoption agency....she is a wealth of information! She is able to give me all of the contact info I need to get in contact with the local Ethiopian community!!!

Some people know all along they want to adopt others it gets laid on thier hearts later in life...If you have every thought about it..LOOK INTO IT!!! It is not too late! Even if your kids are grown there are still children needing a family..maybe you don't want an infant but there are so many older children without families. Maybe adoption isnt for you but you want to help a child in some way..SPONSER a child. We were blessed to work with Missions of Mercy when I recently visited Haiti. I saw first hand where the money goes and the families and children it helps. There are so many children out there! As one of our yard sale patrons said "IF EVERYONE DID ONE GOOD DEED HOW GOOD WOULD THE WORLD BE!!" I know we can't save every child but we can ALL help at least ONE!!

If you are thinking of adoption or fostering check out these websites:

America World (our christian adoption agency) http://www.awaa.org/

Baker Victory ( a local adoption agency-very recommended by friends) www.bakervictoryservices.org/adoption.html

To Sponser a child:
www.missionofmercy.org/

WE ARE #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-05-07T22:09:00.000-04:00

This week was crazy!! Our adoption agency was full of activity!! LOTS of referrals..court dates...and traveling families! We made the unofficial list 2 months ago, at that point all movement stopped so I did not get very excited but....NOW IM EXCITED!!!!! Right now we are the next family in line to get a referral of siblings between the ages of 0-5 yrs old! We have requested siblings..a baby boy 0-6mths and a girl 18mths-5yrs. So....the next kids that match our request are ours! I am in shock!! We were told by our adoption agency that siblings are VERY rare and we could wait a loong time but after this weeks craziness I am very hopeful. I also know that nothing is TOO big for GOD!

So what is a referral?! Our adoption agency will call us and say..."Its your referral call."...that means we have been matched with our children. They will then send us an email containing thier pictures and information! We will then fill out our acceptance paperwork and mail our next HUGE fee..

We will then wait for them to schedule us a court date about 6-8 weeks later..we will be required to travel then to meet them!Im getting way ahead but I just wanted to explain where we are at..HOPEFUL and EXCITED!!

We are..#2

2010-04-28T22:30:00.000-04:00

We are now #2 in line for siblings!!!! It is complicated so let me explain... We have an unofficial wait list that is kept up by our wonderful friend Reagan..As soon as your paperwork is mailed to Ethiopia you get a DTE date(dossier to Ethiopia) this is the date that puts you in order in line. We are put in line first by date..then by the gender and age of the child we are requesting

So we are requesting siblings..specifically a boy (0-6mths) and a girl (18mths-5yrs) our DTE date is 2/19/10

There are 15 families ahead of us based on DTE dates..but if you break them up by gender request it goes like this...We are 2nd in line for siblings ages (0-6yrs) there is one more family ahead requesting older siblings(2-7) so they do not affect us..and we are 9th for a boy...

Our adoption agency currently will NOT allow you to adopt 2 unrelated children so we technically are on the list in 2 places. We told our agency we want 2 children no matter what..we were told by requesting siblings especially as picky as I am being( most request 0-6 any gender but i want one of each...)we may wait a looong time so would we consider..when our turn...just accepting a referral for an infant boy? We said yes BUT only if we could then get an unrelated girl from the WCL( waiting child list>children over age 5) So this is how we would get around thier NO UNRELATED rule...if we wait for our boy referral we would be allowed to then accept a girl from the WCL...CONFUSED?!?! So we pray that we get a sibling referral...if not we are also in line for a boy..there we are in a 4way tie for 9th place(4 of us have the same DTE date) So all this recent movement is very exciting!!! We have been on the list a little over 2 months and I am so excited that things are actually moving!!! Somewhere out there some wonderful mother could be pregnant with my child.....

Tshirt giveaway

2010-04-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

The Watson family is having a tshirt giveaway...they are bringing home 2 children from Ethiopia..check out thier great shirts and thier blog here http://www.ethiopiascalling.blogspot.com/

WCL(waiting child list) Prayers...

2010-04-23T17:11:00.000-04:00

Ever since our adoption journey began I have looked at the WCL daily... The list contains children over 5yrs our children with HIV or minor disabilities. We have applied for siblings but we have also applied to the WCL for an older girl. Every day I pray for the children on this list..I have been especially praying for the oldest boy, who Praise God has a family on the way!!!!!!!!! I also have been praying for 2 sibling sets, each set has 4 children! To adopt 4 would be a huge undertaking for anyone..a complete family all in one shot! I have to admit even though we have 3 already the thought has crossed my mind:) I also know that I can't save every child as much as I would like to try! So I have both families pictures as my screensaver and I pray everyday that God will send them families..Today I saw that one family has an interested family!!!! Someone is reviewing thier file!!!! I'm so happy to see the list is getting shorter and shorter! I continue to pray for all of the children on this list and pray for thier future families to find them!

2 months DTE

2010-04-22T18:13:00.000-04:00

Two months has gone by since we submitted our dossier..we are now 4th in line for siblings and tied in 9th for a boy referral. My heart is aching for my kids especially after my trip to Haiti! I know our time will come but the thought of any child without a family, in an orphanage is so hard. While in Haiti we visited an orphanage that was ran with love but very little means to provide for the children. I couldnt hold back the tears...imagining my children in a place like that lonely and wanting for some love and a family. Seeing the childrens faces...some without any expression was awful..If everyone we knew could help just one child!!! Before this adoption journey began I admit I gave very little thought to any other children than my own...but once your eyes are opened you cant deny what you see! I know I cant help every child but I know we will be saving at least 2 children. Going to Haiti was a sad but wonderful experience one that I pray I can repeat soon! Thank you to everyone who supported us with donations and prayer:)

Junkposse!!!!

2010-04-19T07:49:00.000-04:00

Check out this awesome site to see some wonderfully beautiful jewelry!!!! I have been admiring her Africa jewelry for some time now! I would love one for mothers day!! While you are there check out all the wonderful ways you can help the children of Ethiopia! http://www.intothestreetsofethiopia.com/

My Montage 4/17/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-04-17T12:54:00.001-04:00

Our Haiti Mission Trip

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Haiti

2010-04-09T11:34:00.000-04:00

In 2 days my sister and I will be in Haiti....it is a busy few days before we go packing...cleaning the house and preparing to leave my family for a whole week!! I have been blessed by all the monetary donations and all the toys and goodies people donated. We have 2 suitcases Full of stuff for the kids!!!! Many friends and clients gave towards this mission trip. One of the best surprises was my random meeting at walmart yesterday.... I went to go purchase more Matchbox cars...while I was loading my cart the couple that was stocking the display asked what I was doing...I use EVERY oportunity to tell anyone about this trip! They told me they worked for the manufaturer and to put the cars back! If I could arrange to pick up some boxes from thier home they would give them to me for FREE!!! I pick up boxes full of cars..I now have 172 cars in TOTAL!!!! Plus over 500 stickers....over 200 tattoos..276 Bubbles....78 pinwheels...candy and lots of other good stuff!! Also the manager at another store gave me 10% off and a bunch of free stuff! I can not wait to go and bless all the children!

a little movement.....

2010-04-07T15:40:00.000-04:00

A family got a referral today for a little girl, they were also in line for siblings....because they accepted just a girl we moved UP on the sibling list!! So we are now 3rd in line for siblings and still in 12th for a boy. Bring on the referrals!!!!!!

Still waiting:)

2010-04-06T08:49:00.000-04:00

Soon it will be 10 months that we have been on this adoption journey.... it has certainly been eye opening! Our lives have changed so much and our kids are not even here yet! The process really makes you look at things a lot differently. It is so much a FAITH thing! For those of you going through it you understand. Ever turn, every piece of paper, every fee....we are testing our Faith. To the average person this whole process is probably crazy.....we already have 3 healthy kids and we want 2 MORE?!?! CRAZY!! We have no idea where the money is coming from!?!? CRAZY!!!! NO its a FAITH thing! We know we are on the right path because God led us there and we know God already knows the outcome! So yes maybe a little crazy but a good CRAZY!!

As I said 10 MONTHS since we started and we are still tyed in 12th place on the waiting list. There were several referrals giving out this month but none on our unofficail waiting list. So we wait.....

While we wait I prepare to go on my First mission trip! We(my sister and I) are traveling to Haiti this Sunday!! We are meeting up with fellow bloggy Mom Kari and her Church James River Ministries. We are meeting up with Missions of Mercy which is already in Haiti. We will be handing out a whole lot of meals to families in need. I have been collecting donations such as bubbles, stickers, matchbox cars and other goodies to be able to give to the children. I am sure this is going to be a life changing journey.

Here are some pics of what we have been up to lately..

While we wait.......

2010-03-25T21:42:00.000-04:00

While we wait....I have decided to go to HAITI!!! Another crazy bloggy mom gave me the idea! Her church is going on a missions trip to Haiti to distribute food. Ever since the earthquake my heart has ached to help in some way. This is giving me the opportunity! Along with me will be my sister Jodi and 11 others. I am so excited to see how it all turns out. This came up with only 24 hours notice! Within seconds of reading my friends facebook post I KNEW I must go!!! Crazy I know!! I love how the Lord makes you do crazy stuff! Isn't that what being a christian is all about?! Going where the Lord leads you....He clearly wanted us both to go...there were no spots left but at the last minute they made room for both of us! I am nervous and excited!!! It will truly be an experience to remember! Please pray for us as we go to lend a helping hand! If you would like to help in any way feel free to comment and I will give you my email! Also pray for my husband and children as I leave them for almost a week!