All for One and One for All

Trying a Video

2011-01-24T20:54:00.001-08:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Brothers

2010-07-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

I don't know why but I just keep thinking about this. These two are becoming such great little buddies. Brecken was so excited to have a bother but with communication issues things haven't always been super smooth. Not that Breck hasn't been sweet to Taye, it 's just hard when your baby brother is extremely stubborn, can't understand you, and WILL NOT take no for an answer. As Taye has aquired some more language and Brecken has grown in his communication skills, their friendship has really started to blossom! It is so fun to hear them run to the playroom to play first thing in the morning or see them run out the door to try some crazy stunts on their bikes. Taye is a great imitator so he sat eating and "reading" the comics the Brecken the other morning for a long time.

We went up to MI with Molly and Jarod for a week. The kids had so much fun and so did we! I came back feeling way more relaxed and ready to go again!

A Quick Update

2010-06-08T20:04:00.001-07:00

There are so many fun things to post about but, since it has been so long since I have had enough coffee, in the late afternoon, to have the energy to post... I'll give you a quick overview.

These little girls are just the best. Kait practiced really hard for her dance recital, and did great! Her class preformed to the song Arabian Nights. Very fun! Bella's to the Mexican Hat Dance. They may have been the stars of the show! The audience loved them!! Their dance instructor is amazing!

Kait also turned 10-- double digits! One of her birthday presents was a guitar and lessons. (Aunt Bets, she can't wait to see you- to play her guitar for you and do her dance:) )

After all the big events with Kaitlin, we decided to continue-- a cast right before summer vacation and a major haircut. She is growing up so much! I love having a older daughter!

This little guy is doing so well. We have had a week off from school and now are starting summer school. He loves school and is learning a ton (as are we)! He can say things like all done, no, more, and shoes. Some sounds like sh, ss- were sounds he had never made before! He almost always turns to sounds and even can hear if you whisper his name! There is such a long way to go but it is so great to see his progress! Hearing him say -- night, night, I love you- even without his implants on after I tuck him in, is the best! He is super affectionate and gives the sweetest hugs!

These guys... well what more can I say than wow-- what about the vests! :) They have been having lots of fun together! Crazy trail rides on their new bikes, football, and other guy stuff. This picture was at a camp out they went to. The took a hike and ended at night at ghost cabin. Apparently they tell "true" ghost stories there which are still circulating around our house. gee, I wonder why our kids want a light on at night???

Brecken has also been busy losing teeth! His 2 top ones are both missing-- just in time for corn on the cob. Speaking of which-- I better go so that I can play tooth fairy-- it is never good when I have to explain in the morning why the tooth fairy couldn't come that night!

Praise and Thanksgiving

2010-03-11T17:30:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have posted. Maybe I am not really going to blog anymore, I'm not sure. So much has happened though! So many good things, and for those who have followed our family's journey I want to share some of those!

Almost one year ago, February 24th I believe, we received a call from our adoption agency telling us that they had Taye at their transition home and that they believed that he had profound bilateral sensioneural hearing loss. If you have met him you can totally see how this could have not been realized by the orphanage where he was for a few months. However, it was devastating for us to hear this! It was a challenging time for us as we tried to come to terms with this and what it meant. I have to say that our agency was wonderful through this. Getting him more testing with the best ENT's they had access to and making it very clear that they would completely support us if we did not feel that we were able to go through with everything.

We felt God's direction very clearly that this was the child he had for our family. He would be our child and just as any other time a parent learns of a child's disablity, we would grieve but His grace was sufficient. We dug into learning about our options should the diagnosis be correct (it was), began praying every day that Taye would be able to hear someday in some way, and in April finally went to bring our precious boy home. Along the way the things we learned about how it feels to be so supported by the people around you- in prayers and actions- amazed us! As 2 oldest children Kevin and I were pretty good at working together and handling things but this has pushed us way out of our comfort zone and forced us to rely on others. A good thing no doubt. I can't say enough about knowing that others were praying for us and the way that got us through sometimes, holding to the promises that God hears and will answer!

Once we arrived home, we began a whirlwind of appointments and tests. In December it was finally confirmed that he was definitely a candidate for Cochlear Implants. We began the process of getting approval from insurance to have this done on both ears at the same time. On March 9th Taye received both implants! In about a month (Lord willing) they will be activated and he will begin the process of learning to listen and eventually to speak clearly.

Here is Taye several hours after his surgery. He was such a trooper-- so tough! He enjoyed some food only after he reminded us that we needed to pray first!

This is the next day. They took off the dressing and we were able to come home that morning.

Taye waved good bye to all his new nurse friends, shook hands with his surgeon (I'm not kidding you- he stuck out his little hand and gave him a firm handshake- his idea) and we were off.

We are home and dong pretty well other than that he is still kind of off balance and still as crazy as ever. Bad combo and equals the need for full time parental supervision!

At the end of March, Taye will start going to a school that specializes in teaching kids with CI's to speak and listen. The kids we have met from there have been amazing in their ability to speak so clearly! The school is about an hour away so in order to fill my time while I am there I took a job. I will actually start tomorrow and will be working as a parent consultant with the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program. It was kind of a situation where things just fell in to place so easily that we felt like it was the right thing to do. I think I will learn a lot and am excited about that. Right before I accepted the position it hit me very clearly (again) how much I love being a mom. It is definitely my main job so I hope this can all work out. The reality is that I would be gone anyway, so as much as I don't want anything to change... it is.

I think that pretty much sums things up. The other kids are awesome! The best kids ever is what we usually tell them.:) Kevin is such a rock and continues to be Taye's favorite. grrr. Oh and our house is for sale. If we sell it we will move closer to Taye's school since he will be going there for about 4 years. God has made his plan clear before, we are trusting he will continue to do so!

Blessings,

laura

One Year

2009-12-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2008 we were surprised to receive a call from our adoption agency that they had a referral for us (our dossier had been sent off 6/11). Due to concerns about his size and a diagnosis of failure to thrive on his chart in ET they waited a few days to send us the picture. They advised that we have our Int. Adoption Dr. review the medical info. We were emailed this picture of this beautiful child a few days later and now I had a face to put with this child that I had been praying for for about 2 1/2 years .

This is amazing, unbelievable! God is so good! Less than one year later these pictures were taken! Taye is obviously thriving and our family is thriving with this new little one to love!

No more tiny little running steps, on his toes. This kid can fly!

Tree Shopping

2009-12-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

So after a crazy week, with all kinds of missed blogging opportunities, we headed out to a tree farm early Saturday morning to cut down our own tree. I was so pumped-- I love new experiences and this is something I have never done. Usually Kevin and Brecken go to a place in town and pick up a Frasier Fir that is already cut. * Side note-- I read that getting trees from tree farms is actually more "green" than artificial trees-- unless you keep your tree for more than 20 years. We have a 10 y/o old artificial tree and it is not looking good I can't imagine it at 20-- well actually it didn't look great when we bought it. Now, since we do both (real and fake) I am a little unsure where we stand.* We are all bundled up in our winter gear for the first time this year and the temp is in the 30's. We get to the farm and they give us a saw, a mat (to sit on), and a long measuring stick. They point us in the direction of the type of tree that we like and we are off.

After trekking to the end of the row and back we think we found one we agree on. Kait has only knocked me in the head twice with the measuring stick. :) The saw remains safely in Kevin's control! We take a vote on the tree-- it has to be in our price range and then meet our requirements for height and fullness. Everyone agreed this was the one except Bella who at this point was cold, her boots were too tight, and her mittens too itchy.

Taye loves wearing his mittens (that won't stay on for anything). He wore them and looked at them the whole way to the farm! He loved everything about the day!

The men are working on sawing down the tree. Then, our saw broke in half-- I think this kind of stuff only happens to Kevin! Luckily, a nice family who had just finished was walking by and offered us their saw as well as a few tips. We had the tree down on no time!

We are heading back to the barn to have it shaken out and a hole drilled. Bella is seeing the end of this outdoor experience and is starting to feel happier!

Home for hot chocolate and decorating!
Only after Taye was napping was anyone allowed to touch the tree. Bella was totally in her element, as was Kait. Kevin and Breck hung a few things and headed off to work on a float for the Christmas parade. By the time Taye was up the tree was done-- he loved it-- I wish I had a picture of his face but this one is really sweet!

Good Times!

2009-11-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

We got to hang out with Liz and Ryan (my sis and bro- in- law) Saturday afternoon! Our kids all took naps or disappeared (and didn't even trash stuff) and we could actually just talk. Love it!! Note this girl's decorations-- and I'm accused of being too early :)-- looks great!

These two are such good buddies!

The party moved to my parents for an amazing Thanksgiving feast. Taye loves turkey and after his little cousins left the table he went around and finished their turkey for them! yummmmm!

Taye and his darling cousin Macy-- DO NOT leave these two alone! Double Trouble!

Speech and ballet are cancelled today so we are totally enjoying a Monday at home! Have a great day!

It's Coming!

2009-11-17T18:33:00.001-08:00

The Christmas jammies arrived today and I even listened to Christmas music! Yeah! I love the Christmas season! So fun that it is Taye's first Christmas here-- what is he going to think about everything?!

More, More, More!

2009-11-11T19:16:00.000-08:00

Nope, this post is not about the amazing Beth Moore conference that I was blessed to attend this last weekend. That WAS an absolute answer to prayer-- great time with friends, powerful worship, and solid Bible teaching.

We have had another prayer answered though-- Taye has about six words and is even saying "more" without being cued, at the appropriate times-- you know, MORE candy, MORE movies, MORE playing! :) He has been wearing his hearing aids for a little over a month now and is doing so great with them! He amazes me with how he keeps them in and willingly works to repeat words that you want him to say. According to the hearing tests he is still not picking up much sound but he is definitely using all that he has to try to put sounds together! As of now we have an appt. with a cochlear implant team scheduled for December. This may have to be delayed d/t insurance issues but we are praying that we can move as fast as possible. He is such a sponge and the sooner he has more access to sound, the more likely it is that he will really thrive with implants.

Early Treats!

2009-10-29T19:26:00.001-07:00

A sweet across -the- street -neighbor invited us over tonight b/c she doesn't want the bunch of older kids on Halloween. The kids were thrilled to have another chance to dress up, see friends, of course get candy, umm I mean visit their elderly neighbor :) We had a fairy, a dancer, Luke Skywalker (brand new territory - I had to look him up online to make sure he was okay) and a cute dog. You may also notice-- we have a BUNCH of leaves! Luckily I don't have to rake them all!

You can kind of see Taye in the middle with his hood on-- seriously you just want to eat him up-- so cute! We met up with some other neighbors which was super fun!

The adorable crew of kids!
Funny story about the dog outfit-- Brecken wore the thing for 4 years. he agreed to retire it last year for a knight costume but he still wears the dog thing around the house sometimes. I hate the idea of buying costumes for Halloween-- so of course Taye has inherited the dog and it looks like it might fit him for 4 years as well. I did break down and get Brecken's pants and shirt at Target for 30% off (he had the boots and sword). I am hoping now when he is playing with the girls he can be a guard or something instead of their dog.

Weekend events

2009-10-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

I got THIS at the farmer's market Saturday morning! Brussel Sprouts are so cool-- I have never eaten them before or even actually seen them on the stem. Brecken loved them raw-- in fact the quote of the weekend was "Brecken, seriously stop eating all the brussel sprouts"-- the child is NOT normal! Love the farmer's market! Ours closes after next weekend- bummer.

Bella got her first real haircut. At 4! Our girls take forever for their hair to really come in and thicken up. She only had a tiny bit trimmed off because she wants it to get really long.. like Rapunzel.. that should be interesting to try to comb out. You can kind of see how long it is though when you pull it straight. Almost double. I am going to have to straighten it some day for fun.

Yes... Taye is wearing underwear. I didn't want to deal with this yet. I hate public restrooms, touching everything, ahhhh! I was planning on waiting until after Christmas-- diapers with a lot of traveling are really nice. I want him to be a baby for a while. The signs were there though. Waking up dry after 12 hours (yeah, he has also been sleeping through the night consistently for a month!!!). Asking to be changed right after he would go in his diaper. He could practically change his own diaper for pete's sake. Then, we switched him from his high cal formula to lactose free milk. I was thinking about not buying formula and started thinking about not buying diapers either. The next thing I knew, I was in the basement digging out Breck's tiniest undies. The next few weeks should be interesting. :)

Some Recipes

2009-10-19T19:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are a couple recipes that I am loving right now for my crock pot. These are both from Kev's A. Carla's cookbook and I changed them a little bit-- tweak them to fit the ingredients that you have on hand and what your family likes.

Sunshine Chicken

8 chicken breasts place chicken in slow cooker. combine other ingredients and
2 c. BBQ sauce pour over chicken. cook on low for 8 hours. we had this with
1 c. apple cider or o.j. rice the first night and then shredded the leftovers and froze it
1/2 c. water for sandwiches the next week.
1/4 c. honey

So this one surprised me-- I was pretty skeptical about spaghetti in the crock pot but we really liked it!

Spaghetti
1lb ground beef- browned 1 28 oz can tomato sauce
1 lb ground sausage- browned 1 (47 oz) can tomato juice
2TBSP dry minced onion pepper to taste and some ground red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt 16 oz dry spaghetti
1 tsp garlic powder broken into 4-5 in pieces
oregano
thyme
1 TBSP brown sugar

Mix everything in crock pot except spaghetti. Stir well. Cook on low 6-8 hours (or high 3.5 hrs). Turn to high last hour and stir in dry spaghetti.
Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy ~and I would love to get some of YOUR favorite crazy week night recipes! Let me know if you are posting some! Thanks!

Five Favorites

2009-10-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Jenny suggested posting five favorites and I love the idea! http://www.blogger.com/profile/03658729125513363988

For the most part I only get around to posting updates on Taye but I do have a little bit of a life outside of the kids (not much though). :)
So - here are a few things I'm loving right now-

1. My new French Press! Whoa-- this coffee is so good. Fresh ground Gobena in it is great!

2. Reading in bed-- down pillows, down mattress cover, and down comforter! I just finished Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Patton-- great read. Thanks for the suggestion Betsy!

3. Clean windows-- We have lived in our house for 4 years; because it is so tall and the windows are huge, cleaning the outside is a daunting, somewhat unsafe job. I saw someone doing an awesome job on the windows at Chick- fil-a the other day and asked him to do ours. A friend that was with me there laughed, BUT when they came to clean them the other day-- she happened to be here and they are going to her house soon. It inspired me to clean the inside really well and I love it! Especially with the awesome fall colors outside!

4. Honeycrisp Apples from MI-- the best-- practically dessert! The fact that they come from just down the road from one of our favorite places (the lakehouse) makes them that much better!

5. My Slow Cooker a.k.a. crock pot. Having minimal food prep to do b/twn 4 and 6 pm is a sanity saver! I have found some really good recipes lately and probably use it at least once a week.

So, what are your 5 favorites right now?

Taye's "ears"

2009-10-06T10:26:00.001-07:00

We got Taye's hearing aids (ears) last Wednesday! I tried to get a picture with them but they are really hard to see. He loves wearing them and pretty much leaves them in except for when he's is sleeping- which is great! He is so persistent that if he didn't want them it would be a full time job to make him wear them! We have already noticed him making some new sounds and responding to loud sounds! He is also much quieter - really nice!! ;)
It is so cool how well they stay in-- he wears them when wrestling with Breck, to gymnastics, jumping in the trampoline and they are usually fine!

At this point we are not increasing the number of days of speech/ listening therapy, just trying to increasing the intensity of the therapy and obviously us working with him as much as possible. Hence, the delayed post-- it is intense sometimes! I feel like he has missed so much and want to try fill every extra minute with giving him as much as possible-- he is such a little sponge! What fun to see new little pieces of his personality unfold! My current favorite is-- he will hold his pointer finger up as to say-- just a minute, then he will start to walk away to get something and after a few steps turn, hold his finger up again and nod at me like-- keep waiting, he runs to get what he wanted and then runs back-- totally excited that he told me what to do!

New Sister; New Nephew

2009-09-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

Little Clive Denver Riley. Born in Doha, Qatar on September 26th to Ryan and Betsy. I love this picture because he looks a lot like our girls in it. So precious!

Ashley- my new sister, married my little brother Harold on Sept. 26th. She is so great and it was a very memorable day! :)

Bella and my niece Emrie-- sweet flower girls waiting with their daddies

Brecken and Cade-- they look innocent here but watch out!

Taye looked so handsome! He loved all the excitement!

overnight stay

2009-09-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

Some girl time at the American Girl Store

Some boy time at the Lego Store

Taye had some Grandma and Grandpa time this weekend.

The first time that we left him overnight! He did great. We missed him so much but it was good to have some focused time with the older kids for 24 hours. I posted the "store" pictures but the time together was so much more than that-- getting eye to eye with each of them and being able to give them our full attention was great. Leaving your children after adoption seems like a controversial topic with a lot of strong opinions. Our social worker had suggested that it would be wise to occasionally leave Taye with another family member. Especially if the plans were not conducive to taking a two year old with you. For our family right now, this was a good suggestion, We had a lot of fun but were so glad to all be back together-- there was no doubt that someone was missing with out that little sweetie!

btw- I think Taye had a great time. He is sitting here looking at the picture with a huge smile doing the sign for grandma and waving excitedly! Thanks Mom G!!!

Firsts--

2009-09-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Taye's first time at a birthday party-- a really great one too-- complete with a bounce around, a ride around town on the Boilermaker Special waving at complete strangers (one of his favorite things), and cupcakes with a ridiculous amount of frosting. His shirt is actually white again thanks to bleach!

Bella started ballet-- a long awaited event! She LOVES it! I LOVE it! :)

Taye watching the girls dance(siblings are not allowed in the dance studio). I love his shirt, even if Kevin thinks it is a little too 80's. $4.50 at TCP

Just some of the fun things going on here this week.

Of course there are some not so fun things like a 2 year old who wants to constantly test you to see if no still means no. Or maybe, kids that come for dinner COVERED in dirt while wearing brand new school clothes and on the day that the bath tub was cleaned and floors were mopped of course. They act offended that I was annoyed with them-- "well moooom, we were having so much fun throwing dirt and then it is ruined because we got in trouble." Too bad, at least change your clothes next time.:) It is all good now-- Daddy put them to bed and tomorrow is a new day!

It's Official!

2009-09-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a huge day! I feel like that is the only time I have been posting lately-- hopefully I can get back to some regular stuff.

Taye had molds made for his first set of hearing aids. We should have them by the end of the month. He did great and of course totally charmed the audiologist and student we were working with, as well as several other people on campus. He waves and smiles at everyone and loves to "talk" to people. We don't have high hopes that the aids will help enough but of course we will be thrilled if they do! In the mean time-- his personality, signs, and vocalizations make him quite good at getting his point across and making friends. That afternoon we went to the court house to complete our re adoption and officially change his name! The judge was really nice and the kids loved being part of it. Our lawyer was great!!!-- Thanks Stu! I actually got tears in my eyes as the judge was making his comments and then finalizing the adoption. It felt like the end of a long and life changing process, but the start of this new journey we would have never guessed!

After we were finished at the courthouse, the kids decided that the afternoon was much to special to go back to school, unfortunately Kevin did have to go back to the office. We had a great time at a little zoo and playing at the park! This goat looks really nice-- until it started to eat my red skirt-- seriously! Then, it started to eat Kait's blue dress and Bella started to get really freaked out! We quickly moved on to the animals that are enclosed!

They were so tired! They managed to get the energy to walk to the ice cream store for drinks and cones and then it was home for baths. We actually got them to bed at 7:45 that night -- which never happens but was so nice!!!! (I think I might try for that again tonight)

Transition Time

2009-08-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

ice cream and silliness

bike rides

hey jenny g-- doesn't he look good in orange and blue ;0

an update- long overdue

Summer has been so fun! The kids started school today so that means it's ending, I guess. When I was in middle school there was kind of a big debate about year round school. I remember feeling horrified at the thought, and doing an assignment that involved writing a persuasive argument about why or why not to have year round school. I have to say-- I still love the long weeks of summer!

With the start of the school year, Kevin and I feel like we are getting ready to dive into a new classroom too. Taye had his ABR (brain stem hearing test) last Friday. It confirmed that he had severe bilateral hearing loss. We were so thankful that the audiologist felt like she got a good reading -- we were ready to know what the situation was and move ahead. Also-- that the loss was labeled severe and not profound which is what we had originally been told. This means that there is a chance he will be able to hear with hearing aids. At this point we think he can hear very loud sounds-- a loud clap, a lawn mower. It was so hard to know for sure where he was b/c he is so smart! :) He can do some lip reading already-- go get your shoes, let's go outside, and is doing so well with signs!

We feel a little bit overwhelmed with all the options, opinions but are so lucky to live in a community that has some really great resources! We also love hearing other people's experiences and the route they have gone! So now I'm off to study.

One of my favorite things in Indiana...

2009-07-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

lots of BLUEBERRIES! Even growing up in the neighboring state of IL.. no blueberries. Every summer we would bring a few large boxes home from my grandma's and enjoy them by the handful for a short time. I always wondered why we had to wait for a trip to Grandma's in July to get berries. The whole idea of where food came from and that there were more options than the local grocery was rather vague to me. Now that I live here and have actually seen blueberry bushes, I love getting to go pick berries and eat as many as you want. The kids love it too-- Taye doesn't really bother to pick them-- he either puts his really cute lips up to the plant and takes one right off or eats them out a other people's buckets.

side note-- I don't usually let him have a rope hanging around his neck-- it is actually attached to the bucket that you would, hypothetically, put the blueberries in. Still, not a great precedent but he WILL NOT be left out of doing anything that his sisters and brother are doing. What's a mom to do?

Pictures!

2009-07-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I need to do an update but it is so crazy around here that sometimes I don't have any coherent thoughts! For now here is a link to some really sweet pictures of Taye that my friend Andria took for us! She was so great!

With 8 kids and 4 adults here our house was really full last week! She arrived to take my little sister's senior pictures as I was returning from a run and at about the same time that a new therapist (for Taye's hearing) was supposed to arrive. While I was helping Marissa finish getting ready; Andria babysat Taye for me and snapped some amazing pictures-- what a great friend and photographer! Check these out!

http://www.lukeannandboys.blogspot.com/

Fun Times!

2009-06-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

Taye's first trip to the lake house went so well! I was really nervous about how he would do-- he was great! We had so much fun with him -- from the pictures it looks like Kevin was the only one that had him- umm, I think I played with him too-- apparently we just don't have pictures of that :) I do have to say that it was a really nice break to have Daddy and a lot of other adults around though!

First trip to the beach-- he loves the water and sand but shivers like crazy after awhile

Go -cart racing. No fear! Couldn't beat Aunt Em and Kait though

Tubing! Had a smile plastered to his face the whole time. In fact after watching one kid ride he was literally fighting me to get out of the boat and get in the water or on the tube!

I was also stressed about how he would be when we got home. All these different adults taking care of him and Kevin with him a lot (he has always been a little more attached to Kev). I actually feel it has went really well as far as attachment/ bonding with me now that we are home. Maybe it is just as time passes or maybe I am a little more relaxed. Either way, it is definitely nice to have him be more receptive to me! A little more affectionate, wanting me to help him, and even obeying sometimes. :)--I've read and heard to expect 3 steps forward, 1 step back so I am just trying to soak all the positive in now ( and hoping that things can stay good).

Looking Back

2009-06-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

We are hoping to leave tomorrow to go to Michigan. I looked back at our pictures from last year and had to smile. First I am amazed at how God has answered prayers-- last July our dossier was just going to Ethiopia. For those of you who are waiting for your children-- it feels so long but it really does happen! Second-- God does not always answer our prayers in the way that we were thinking-- this has been such a roller coaster journey. Third-- this picture was taken on our way up to the lakehouse-- kids in coordinating outfits, picnic packed to eat on the way-- ummm, this year --I'm just hoping that I can actually get packed. Period ;)

Fruit Stains -no problem

2009-06-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

I got a great tip from my sister Sara~ pour boiling water on fruit stains before you wash the clothes. Magic! They totally disappear! No more stressing when the kids are picking strawberries and juice is all over! Now if I can get Taye to wait until I wash them....

Less time on laundry means more time for playing! Happy summer!

the end of our trip!

2009-06-04T17:53:00.001-07:00

Firday was market in the morning and then visiting Taye's old orphanage. They were so sweet and excited to see him! I was really overwhelmed and it was a hard day. Taye was also starting to be more manipulative and controlling with us and that was obviously expected but hard.

Friday night we got to "help" make injera-- harder than it looks!

Saturday am we went to the Millennium Park to run. This is where some of the marathon runners finish up on their training runs and Kevin really wanted to do this! We took Taye for a short run too, to try to make sure it would be in his blood :)-- you can pick Kev out easily-- the only white guy.

Good thing we ran-- Saturday afternoon was the traditional Ethiopian meal at HOH. Oh it was soooo good! I don't think this was even all the food!

Later Saturday afternoon we visited the Home of Hope supported by Loving Shepherd Ministries http://www.loving-shepherd.com/blog/ . This is a home for 7 orphans. We had a great time with the kids!

Tsion is the beautiful "mother" to these children. She is 65 y/o (looks amazing!)and raised 4 children. After they were grown she "prayed to the Lord for 7 more". She then got busy working to support some families financially and wait for the Lord to answer her prayer. Through friends she met at work she was put in touch with the right organization and God has answered her prayers in miraculous ways. She was an amazing testimony and example! We loved meeting her!

this is Sunday after church. We went to the International church and took Taye. That was pretty much a disaster but I had fun walking around outside with him and talking to another mom! Kevin is pictured with Almaz, the wonderful wife of the director of HOH and Tesfu. Tesfu was our guide but ended up being our good friend!!!!! We enjoyed our time with him so much!

The end of and exhausting and emotional few days and the start of a very long journey home to another life for Taye. We are in the car after tearful goodbyes, some of which are captured on video and are so precious to us!

One of Taye's favorite guards saying goodbye as he closed the gate-- I have tears while I am typing! We can't wait to go back some day!

Kindergarten Graduation!

2009-05-28T17:44:00.001-07:00

The class and their families all went to the park after the ceremony
Taye has been so prayed for and sooooo welcomed by the whole school! It feels like he is a little celebrity there! I can't even say how much all the love means to us!

Breck had his kindergarten graduation yesterday! When I was a kid I don't think that we had those-- we home schooled Kait in kindergarten- so, this was our first experience with the whole thing. Man, he had grown up so much in this last year! I felt like he was a hard toddler. Lots of tantrums, super clingy, ect.. I was completely unsure if it was okay to send him to preschool. The teacher, who had 3 boys, came and visited and assured us he would be fine. He was and has continues to grow and he is such a joy!!!

His heart for the Lord is so neat to see. One example- the class had been learning Bible verses all year- one for each letter of the alphabet. We were practicing those for the ceremony and J was- Jesus said, let the little children come unto me. He looked at me and was like, you know mom, that means me cause I'm a kid! Wow! It is so amazing how we can be laying on the floor, playing around while practicing but it is all soaking in! It is kind of overwhelming when I think about the responsibility that we have with these precious 4 kids but what a privilege to see God's work in their hearts!

Ethiopia part 4 - days 3 and 4

2009-05-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning, another beautiful day in Addis, we went to the Addis Ababa University. This part used to be a palace and is now offices. Neat to see and get pictures of. Of course Kevin found some students to talk to! This is with Becky and her little boy Bek-- awesome travel companions!

Here is a picture out of our door at House of Hope! They seriously have soooo much work to do! This is an every day deal-- washing tons of clothes and nasty diapers by hand, hanging them to dry, do it all over again! I can't say enough about how wonderful the nannies and the guards and everyone there was!!! We have so many pictures of Taye with the guards and drivers b/c he loved them so much!

Wed. afternoon, coffee ceremony! We had this every afternoon-- the best coffee ever and salty, sweet popcorn. Simegn,the cook was so wonderful!

Taye enjoying the popcorn with his friend, Amani.

Thursday morning we did some shopping, hung out with the kids, and then we were ready to go to our visa appointment!!! Such an exciting day!

Thursday was also my 31st birthday! That night we went out to an amazing Italian restaurant with our friends the Harrs! We loved them so much and it was so fun to celebrate my birthday with them.

Ethiopia Part 3-- still Day 2

2009-05-21T18:00:00.001-07:00

too sweet-- my grandma, mom, and aunt stopped for a visit last week-- Taye loved Grandma-- she just followed him around playing with him, counting his little toes, and ooohing over his cute little pink feet (they are super sweet!)

When we first arrived home we were having a lot of problems getting Taye to eat. We picked up several orders of doro wat and injera and I froze them and give him that once a day-- he loves it! Grandma and Taye were having a great time feeding each other-- she was amazing, such a good sport-- she totally got the whole using your hand thing!

Wow I just realized that I am still posting pictures about day 2. I am going to have to speed this up!

Here are Taye and Kev putting together this little car on Tuesday afternoon. Taye loves trying to figure out how things work and wants to be in on everything! We stayed at the HOH and LOVED it. With a toddler, it seemed like a great way for them to still have the familiar around, but get to know us. Our room was really nice& the food was great!We were back in the van that afternoon. I was so excited that we were getting to see and do a lot of things! The scaffolding on the buildings was crazy!

This is driving up to the top of Entoto Mountain. One of the 7 mountains surrounding Addis Ababa. These women were walking down with these huge bundles.

Kevin and Taye at the top- overlooking the city. There are a lot of eucalyptus groves on the mountain.

This is a really old Orthodox church at the top. There was actually a service going on because it was Holy Week . There was also a old palace there that we went through and a small museum. It was really interesting and a lot of history but as we were leaving tons of kids and moms with babies were coming up to us begging. That is so hard!

We went with the group to the Hilton that night for dinner and had a lot of laughs and some disasters!

Our Trip --Part 2

2009-05-17T19:06:00.000-07:00

A quick update- We took Taye to church for the first time today! It was really special to be there as a family (one of us has been staying home with him on Sundays). It is just really hard to know how to manage the situation-- he gets more crazy the more stressed he is-- doesn't really want to be held-- just wants to run around. We are happy that he doesn't seem to want to go to every new person he meets now!

Waking up on Tuesday morning and watching Taye sleep- when he did wake up he seemed less than thrilled to see us-- turned his head away and pretended to sleep-he was not anxious to get out of bed! He did that for a while after we got home. Now he jumps up and reaches for us the minute he sees us in his room.

After breakfast and playing with the other adorable kids at the HOH for a while, we were off with the group to go to see the lions! As I said- no car seats. Taye did great with one as soon as we got home -- I think that he likes that he can see out.

The zoo was crazy-- we were seriously so close to these lions. Taye was not all that into them but he does love to be outside.

Driving back to HOH-- this is one of the roads we took. So typical, people, animals, cars, children. So much poverty but such amazing people! Looking through all the pictures again makes me miss Ethiopia!

Our Trip to Ethiopia-- Part 1

2009-05-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, here are some pictures of our trip.... starting with our flight there. We flew on Emirates Air and loved it! We got to stay one night in Dubai (the airline pays for your hotel). We were only there for 12 hours squeezed in a Lebanese restaurant and a walk downtown to get some baklava. yummmm! We also had fun talking to some of the people there. Finally the moment arrived to meet "Yohannes"! We met him about a half hour after we arrived at House of Hope. It was crazy to see them bring us this little boy! We had looked at his pictures for so long that we felt like we knew him but to hold him was amazing! He was so sweet-- no crying but just so little and unsure-- clutching a handful of popcorn.

After we took him up to the room we were staying in, we gave him his little backpack with toys and played with him for a while. We also brought him the hat which he wore all the time :)

I rocked him to sleep that afternoon for his nap and never wanted to put him down! I still feel like that when I rock him before his nap! It is so magical to rub his soft arms and cheeks! We were so glad that he immediately let us hold and cuddle him... the struggles came later :)

After naps we went with the other families to go to the Hilton to exchange money and to see a little bit of the city. Here is one picture-- it is hard to even totally capture the energy level and amount of things going on as you drive down the streets. Our drivers were great so I felt safe but the lack of organized lanes and the fact there there are basically NO stop signs is a little disconcerting.

Here is a picture of the great group that we spent the week with! They were so fun and it totally made the week! We all piled in to this van! The Hilton was gorgeous! I'm not sure about the rooms but the pool area and restaurant were great.

17 days

2009-05-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe we have been home for 17 days! In some ways it seems longer but on the other hand-- 17 days-- shouldn't I have things more together by now?! We are having so much fun but it is also more challenging in some ways than I thought it would be to adjust! Siblings definitely are helping! Brecken is am awesome big bother! Usually he has a great balance of loving on and teasing and frustrating Taye a little bit!

Kaitlin turned nine! Happy Birthday sweet daughter!

Another birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! Seriously-- it is so easy but that is where all three oldest kids went for their birthdays this year. Oh well, like I said-- it's easy! We debated if we should take Taye but hated to split up so we took him-- he loved it!!!! of course he loves anything he can drive!

Sadly, we said goodbye to our dear friends Angel and Fidelis and their gorgeous girls! They are moving to New Zealand! I met Angel in BSF just this fall but she introduces me as her "sister" and the feeling is mutual! I have learned so much about life and friendship from her! Love you guys!
I really want to post pictures of our trip--- I just need life to slow down :) My goal is do do that before we have been home for a month!

4 is more than 3

2009-04-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

We talked about keeping things quiet after we got home but that is easier said than done I think. Kev's birthday was Thursday! Happy Birthday! We squeezed in cake after a long dance practice and a school program (we left early b/c Taye was so loud -- and we had cake at home :) ) Kevin said that for the first time ever he felt old-- is it 33, jet lag, or 4 kids?

A fun visit from Aunt Marissa and Grandma and Grandpa on Friday! Thanks guys!-- his first picnic

Taye loves the trampoline and Aunt Em!

Meeting cousins at the park! 3 adorable 2 year olds!

Flying Brecken's new kite-- from one of the coolest aunt and uncles ever-- Thanks Ryan and Betsy!

As long as we aren't trying to get him to eat or telling him no -- things are going great! :)

laura

The Scoop on the Appointments

2009-04-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Taye's first sign that I recognize is wash and he loves to wash his hands! Too funny! Brecken is helping him -- oh man- while I was taking the picture he rubbed the soapy hands all over his face including his eyes-- no tears though and he was ready to wash again as soon as I would help him.

So we hit Riley this afternoon for 5 hours and saw 6 different services all in one visit-- they are awesome!!!! Luckily Kevin could go with me and some great girls were willing to babysit at the last minute! We tried to make it really fun for Taye since he could be visiting more Drs offices-- as you can see he loved it once he warmed up.

Audiology was unable to get a good hearing test done b/c he freaked out in this little room and Kev said they had some scary looking animal things popping up. We are going to do another round of antibiotics and then we go back in a month for ENT/ Audiology. In the meantime we will be praying that God will work and heal his ears! Thanks so much for all the encouragement! Never having had a child with medical conditions this feels scary at times! As a mom you want your kids life to be so smooth and the long term of some of these problems looks kind of overwhelming-- okay so that doesn't sound very trusting-- actually my prayer since we got home is-- Lord I believe, help my unbelief!

Taye had everyone laughing and tried to take control of every situation (hmmm.. already taking after one of his parents :) )-- here he was supposed to get blood drawn. As the phlebotomist got out the tourniquet and her gloves -- he grabbed them, threw the tourniquet around his neck- like the Dr had done with her stethoscope, put on the gloves and started to help himself to a vial-- we were cracking up. You notice he is on Kevin's lap-- I figured that by the 4th kid he should get some experience with the not so fun part of parenting -- like holding your kids while they poke needles into them-- I hate that!

Overall the appts went well-- they had some GREAT advice for some of the things we are working through and were really positive about how curious, strong willed, and fun loving he is! I was praying that we would come out with mixed results on the hearing problems to allow time for us to pray about this and for God to show us his plan before we feel pressured to make any permanent decisions about medical treatments-- that prayer was answered.

Thank you for praying-- God has already answered so many prayers and shown himself faithful!

laura

We're Home

2009-04-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

In our room at House of Hope

After a great, intense week in Ethiopia, we are home -- familiar, comfortable, and surrounded by our kids! Thank you so much for all the prayers while we were gone! We feel so blessed and humbled to have so many awesome people in our lives! Taye is doing really well all things considered. He went to bed last night at 8 (he likes to be rocked to sleep which I love!) and was up at 5:30. I can totally live with that! I actually like him waking up early b/c then I get some alone time with him. He loves the kids, I mean LOVES them. He will go to Kaitlin instead of me any day so we are trying to be really careful to help him bond with us as his parents.

This afternoon we are taking him to and international adoption specialist to have him evaluated and also to an ENT doctor. We were told that he is deaf in February (finding that out is a journey I want to do a post about sometime). He verbalizes a lot-- way more than I would expect a totally deaf child to do. Actually - he is really LOUD, most of the time!:) We are anxious to have him evaluated in the U.S. to find out where they say that he is. We were encouraged by strong Christians while in Ethiopia to pray for and believe that God will heal him. Honestly, we have prayed that he would be able to hear through medical intervention but not asked that God would totally heal him. Please pray for wisdom for us!
okay-- I need to help a frustrated 2 y/o with his toy :)
laura

Almost home!

2009-04-19T18:06:00.001-07:00

Kevin, Laura, and Taye are scheduled to arrive in Indy late tomorrow afternoon! Please pray for safe flights home as well as everyone's transition into a new life...

Details, pictures, & videos to come!

Addis Update 3

2009-04-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

Kevin called this morning around 9. He planned to call earlier to catch the kids before school, but court took longer than expected. Everything went through and Taye has his Visa!! They are waiting for the passport and some other papers that were expected to take a couple hours.

Mom said she could hear Taye in the background- he is loud and talking (jabbering) a lot. Kevin said, "say Mama" and he did!!?? The helpers at the orphanage said he is more vocal since they have been there.

He is still loving the attention and spent some of the night in their bed after waking up crying. He was soon comforted by his mama!

There are 5 other couples that they are with who are getting their children as well. They have drivers that take the couples wherever they need to go. They all plan to eat together tonight at an Italian restaurant and go to sunrise services Sunday morning with one of the drivers who is protestant.

The home has some planned sight seeing activities for them as well as time on their own. He said they are busy enough. They get a lot of stares from the local people...as they travel as a group of white people carrying around Ethiopian children.

Unfortunately, due to poor internet access, there won't be pictures until after they return...but even without pictures, it is SO amazing just to imagine Kevin and Laura bonding with their sweet son! God really does bless those who persevere through trial!

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

Update from Addis

2009-04-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Kevin called my mom yesterday afternoon. He sounded very upbeat. He said things are going better than expected and that Taye is more than he could ask for! He was sleeping when they arrived, so they were able to observe some other couples meeting their children.

A nanny brought him out and he went to them immediately (they said he goes to anyone). He has been with them throughout the day and in their room at night. He goes everywhere with them. Kevin started to walk away today and he took off after him. Taye copies what they do and Kevin said he can see why it was hard to detect the hearing impairment. Kevin sat on the floor to roll a ball to Taye and he sat down and did the same thing.

Apparently he is very smart and even cuter in real life! :)

Kevin said they have already seen more than they could imagine in the short time they've been in Addis. The court date is tomorrow, Laura's birthday. They hope to travel to the orphanage that Taye was first taken to and also to the one that Loving Shepherd is working with.

Easter is celebrated this weekend in Ethiopia, so they hope to go to an Ethiopian church.

Taye eats rice cereal with carrots mashed in it and pushed away some cucumber and hamburger that Kevin tried to feed him. He lets them know what he doesn't want to eat!

Thanks for your continued prayers for Kevin, Laura, and their children through this journey!

Praise God!

2009-04-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

I haven't heard from Laura directly yet, but they called their kids early this morning to talk before school and here's what was relayed through Laura's mom who is staying with them right now.

They made it! They said they could definitely feel the prayers as they traveled and everything just went really smoothly.

They are at the orphanage with Taye! He stayed in their room last night and slept well. They said Taye is so happy! Laura holds him and he drinks milk from a sippy cup. They had brought a Little Tikes car and Taye was holding a screwdriver "helping" Kevin put it together. He is such a fun-loving child!

Mary said Kevin and Laura both sounded so happy!

I know Kevin and Laura would want to thank everyone for praying. God is so good!

We're Off

2009-04-11T04:18:00.000-07:00

Well, the day is finally here! We leave this afternoon to fly out of Indy airport. We are staying on Dubai on Sunday night. I'm excited to see a little of the city and hopefully grab dinner! We will fly to Addis Ababa on Monday morning and should meet our little guy on Monday afternoon!

We will try to send updates back and Emily is going to update our blog for us!

Happy Easter!
laura

Take Two

2009-04-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

We found out today that our Visa Interview should be good to go for April 16th!!!! Yeah! We are leaving on Saturday 4/11 and returning home on Monday 4/20! We will get to ET on Monday 4/13 so that means only 6 more days till we see our little boy! Thanks so much for all the encouragement!!!!
Fun fact- my birthday is April 16th-- what an awesome birthday present!

updates and laughs

2009-04-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

Praise- Our approval is definitely at the US Embassy in ET.

Prayer-- they (people at our agency in St Louis)don't know the status of the other paperwork that needs to be completed in ET and Taye may need to have some additional testing d/t new regulations.

I have seen this on some other people's blogs. So fun to do-- Brecken and Bella loved it! I highly recommend it for laughs -- even if you don't post it!

1. What is something mommy always says to you? you little love bug

2. What makes mommy happy? when we do what is right

3. What makes mommy sad? when we are bad

4. How does your mommy make you laugh? She tickles us ( and milk comes out our nose)-- I do not remember doing that

5. What was your mommy like as a child? Brecken -bad /Bella -- no good

6. How old is your mommy? 30 (correct)

7. How tall is your mommy? 32 in

8. What is her favorite thing to do? cook

9. What does mommy do when you're not around? Steal Cookies--- (hilarious-- I just did that)

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? doing the greatest science experiment (what???!!!)

11. What is your mommy really good at? being nice to your kids (awww)

12. What is your mommy not very good at? being mean (I say -- really? Breck says yeah!)

13. What does your mommy do for her job? Breck-hmmmm, I don't know if you have a job, no I don't think you do

14. What is your mommy's favorite food? Ethiopian food

15. What makes you proud of your mommy? when you love us so much

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? David ( like David and Goliath-- umm they don't watch a lot of cartoons)

17. What do you and your mommy do together? -- Breck-- nothing, Bella -go to stores and hang out

18. How are you and your mommy the same? Our eyes are blue

19. How are you and your mommy different? Breck - your skin and hair are different colors than mine/ Bella - we don't do the same things

20. How do you know your mommy loves you? Breck-it's easy- you kiss us and hug us, and you stay by our side... well once you had trouble staying by my side and then you lost me--( yikes that actually happened to me for the first time yesterday-- bad feeling-- glad we can laugh about it now!)

21. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go? - the grocery store, well we don't really know where your favorite place is-- maybe Bible study or a party

What ever is good...

2009-04-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today about things that inspire me and went back and looked at some cool websites

I don't know if you have seen this organization before but it is so cool. Kev and I are hoping to visit this Home while we are in Addis Ababa (I got one soccer ball to take to the boys but Kevin is scheming to see how many he can fit into a suitcase along with a pump so they will have extras-- he can't wait to play). You have to see this you tube clip!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbhzPIjHKRw

Loving Shepherd also has a blog that gives some great updates and has links to some of their other websites.
http://www.loving-shepherd.com/blog/

There are lots of ways that you can help... if you drink coffee here is a link of a very easy and yummy way to help (also inspiring)
http://solidrck.blogspot.com/

whatever is true, honest, just, pure , lovely,of good report:if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things! Philippians 4:8

Counting Blessings

2009-03-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have to say, posts that contain fun info about things going on or positive adoption updates are so much more fun and so much easier for me. During times like this I want nothing more than to crawl in a shell and say, fine God, you are in charge so I will wait for your plan. In the meantime I will just live in here. not so much in a peaceful way-- more ticked and pouting. However, as my sweet husband reminded me at lunch today.. how we act now... this is who we are. Harder times are the times that define us.

I still don't know what to say . I can't really describe how I feel. We don't have any definite travel dates yet and there are still things undone. We have been learning that God's plans are not our plans in many areas.

So through this time it is funny how I will hear songs that I grew up with.. trust and obey, ready to go, ready to stay (hah, hah), count your many blessings.. and they are sooooo much harder that they were when I was a kid in Sunday School. In fact, sometimes at church, BSF, ect.. I do feel that in my heart but I can't get the words to come out of my mouth.

for today.. the blessing of an amazing husband ( a picture from a weekend trip we took for our 10 yr anniversary on March 7th)

We aren't Traveling

2009-03-28T09:29:00.000-07:00

Well today is the day that we were supposed to leave but we are home, mostly packed suitcase in our room, and plane tickets on hold. The peace that passes understanding feels somewhat elusive as I try to sort out why we can't go now. We got a call a few days ago that some unexpected problems with getting the necessary papers for the visa appt have come up. We may be able to go in two weeks but there is no guarantee. I feel so let down! So sad! I'm not even sure what to do with myself. I know that there are so many worse things that happen to people but right now I feel so much like the Israelites. I have promises that I know in my head that God will keep but my heart cries why have we come in to this wilderness? Will we be here forever? I hope that in some way God can use this for his glory but I would really love to hold our little boy soon!

We have tickets!

2009-03-19T18:52:00.001-07:00

We have a visa interview date of April 2nd. We bought plane tickets (3/28-4/6). Here's hoping that the needed approval is there by then! Things definitely started moving faster-- Kevin called the State Rep's office and they agreed to help us out. I talked to a man at the USCIS office on Tues AM-he told me that it could take a month for them to process the papers and then 2 weeks at the NVC. I tried to calmly explain why we would love to have that happen sooner. Kevin called me 3 hrs later and said my "new best friend" at Buyer's office had called them and the approval was on it's way to the NVC-- our tax dollars at work -- yeah!!! From the NVC it should move to the American Embassy in Ethiopia. All paperwork is supposed to be there 1 week before the visa apt(by next Thurs).

This last month of the process has been an absolute roller coaster! Yet through this time God has shown himself to us more clearly than ever before. One way has been through the Bible study that I am in. We have been studying Moses and the Israelites all year. It is just so applicable to my life (and I'm sure yours too). God has a plan for their lives to be used for his glory but the journey was not always what they were expecting. In those times, when they chose to trust, God he cared for them and provided more than they could have dreamed. So often though, they chose not to trust. They chose to doubt, complain, and rebel-- this always made things so much harder and caused them to miss the blessings God had for them. I feel like I am much more understanding of the Israelites now than I was at the beginning of the year. I used to think-- how could they continue to doubt after God had shown them his power? I now look at my life and know that without totally relying on his grace every day I can and will do the same thing!

So for today, I'm praising God for a peace that truly passes all understanding and for family and friends that are just awesome!

Humanitarian Aid for Orphange and HOH

2009-03-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Our first referral pic-- the kids were SO confused by the pink i stole this list from Janet's http://whipplewords.wordpress.com/ blog ( they are leaving to get their little boy on 3/25!). These are some of the items we are wanting to take as well. A few people have asked if we need anything. If you want to donate any of the items on this list that would be awesome!I hopefully need them by Monday the 23rd.

1. Powder formula with DHA/RHA
2. A + D Original Ointment, Diaper Rash and All-Purpose Skincare Formula;
3. Hand Sanitizer
4. Multivitamin Tri-vi-sol (o to 6 months), Poly-vi-sol (6 months to 2 years), Chewable multi-vitamin (2 years to 9 years), Adult multivitamin (9 years plus)
5. Tylenol (acetaminophen), Infants, Children’s, Suppository
6. Baby nose saline spray
7. Neosporin
8. Benadryl liquid/elixir
9. Permetherin for scabies
10. Lice kits

11. Coloring Books and Crayons/Small Toys

It seems that our needed addendum approval has not moved from the Indy office-- stress-- I called Kevin to help and he called the State Representative's office who was really helpful this afternoon and hopefully will be able to make more progress than I have!

Celebrate!

2009-03-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

The thing about the adoption process is that it is so fun to celebrate each milestone but there is always the next hurdle. sigh.. I am trying to confirm that some updated paperwork has been processed through USCIS and is moving along to the American Embassy in Addis Ababa. Kind of a big deal since I guess we can't have our embassy appt until it is there. WHY is it so hard to talk to a real person who can actually help you? WHY don't these people work on weekends? (joking, kind of).

back to the celebrating though-- we had planned a area get together for people adopting from Ethiopia. TWO of us in the group passed court THAT day and another family earlier that week! Needless to say with that ,and 2 kiddos that their families had recently brought home-- there was a lot of celebrating-- my favorite way--cake! So fun-- all three of us will hopefully travel about the same time and we are all getting boys! http://anticsofailors.blogspot.com/ The Ailors were the hosts of the party and are great!!!!

Another thing to celebrate and give thanks for. A friend sent me this update on Taye--

ITS HIM!!!! He's so beyond precious. He captured my heart, you are so blessed. Quite possibly the sweetest little boy!!! Well my Silas is pretty sweet....but yeah. So excited to see him united with his family. He needs his mama!! He eats up the attention, I kept telling my friends there with me as we sat on the floor with the babies how much he needed his mama. I loved on him and told him how much he was loved. It was an honor to spend time with him.

This is such a gift! We feel like God has been so faithful to give us these little extra insights! We are just soooo excited to meet Taye but are definitely nervous about how things will go-- will he like us (probably not at first)? Will he let us hold him and love on him? I love holding our kids-- I still carry Bella-- yes she is 4- I will until there is a little one to replace her. These kind of updates help confirm in our mind that he is just the right one for our family-- thanks Lord (and Erica--here is her adorable Silas http://www.journeyofourhearts.blogspot.com/).

WE PASSED!

2009-03-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

We are praising GOD!!!! I got the call around 12 that we passed court! It seemed like a really long morning! Our tentative visa appt is April 2nd-- that means we would get to Ethiopia on March 30th and get to see Taye!

How gorgeous is this kiddo?!!!!

The Court Date!

2009-03-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight's the night. Our court date is scheduled for March 13th so that means that because of the time change, while I am (hopefully) sleeping the courts will be reviewing our case and hopefully this little guy will officially become OURS! I haven't heard any reasons that things wouldn't go well but there is definitely a part of me that is really nervous. We decided to just hang out with our kids tonight -- make Ethiopian food and then go get blizzards at Dairy Queen. We then drove around a little bit and looked at bigger vehicles-- I am definitely not in a hurry to get one but it could get a little cramped in our current vehicle.

The last few weeks have been crazy-- some things came up that we didn't expect. I want to post more about it but I'm not even sure where to start. maybe in a few days.

My Baby Girl is FOUR!

2009-03-03T18:30:00.001-08:00

Birthday Cake for Breakfast

A playdate with a preschool friend

Fun at Chuck E Cheese

Sleeping with her new sleeping bag and bitty baby

I can't believe she is four-- what joy she has brought us!!!!

twenty-five

2009-02-16T19:08:00.000-08:00

The count-down has started! I wouldn't let myself "count-down" the days to our court date until one month before. Since Feb. is a short month that even shaves off a few days! So the #today is 25! 25 days until March 13th when hopefully Taye will become a Gutwein! Oh man, we are getting soooo excited!

Ryan and Betsy stopped by tonight and brought some fun presents for Taye-- a toy and cup (with his middle name d/t the fact that I doubt we will find anything with his first name). Thanks guys! Love it!

Baking Cookies

2009-02-11T18:50:00.001-08:00

The kids and I had a great time making cookies today! They were completely LOADED with sprinkles and red hots but even that hasn't kept me already having 4. Kait and I had a couple with chai after we finished decorating-- trying to get geared up to start math homework- then I took a couple more while the kids weren't looking-- terrible! At least I refrained from eating any dough while I we were making them! I figure that alone saved at least 2 cookies. -- the trick to keeping yourself from eating the cookie dough and getting a stomachache is to chomp on gum while you are baking. It is the only thing that works for me.

So about the braids-- aren't they so fun! A friend did them on Saturday for Kaitlin. She had another friend there and we both did the beads while she braided. Two hour process. Kait LOVES them-- she was so sweet afterwards and told Angel--" I always wanted these and never thought I would have them!" She is also really excited about not having to do her hair! I'm not sure how long we will be able to keep them in-- she definitely has a lot of little sprouts of hair sticking out already. So far I have just used the dry shampoo on them-- kind of gross i know-- I was planning to wash them tonight but ran out of time before I needed to leave and she was in bed when I got home. I will definitely need to wash them tomorrow. Anyway, the dry shampoo seems to work pretty well-- no itching and her hair smells good. The reason I have it is for the times that I workout and don't allow enough time to wash and dry my hair-- just spray some on the roots, rub it in and you are good until that evening or maybe even the next morning.

Fireproof

2009-02-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Fireproof, have you seen it? Did you like it? We finally watched it last weekend and I really liked it. It started out seeming kind of low budget wit a lot of cliches. As the movie went on though it really drew me in! I would definitely recommend it if you haven't seen it! Any other good romantic movie suggestions with heart -day approaching?

Our Adoption "Process"

2009-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

I was talking to Kev the other night about how excited/ nervous I am about getting Taye-- so many unknowns! I commented that I kind of just want to get it over with-- have him here, know what it will be like, the worries that are unfounded, the ones that are real. He was like-- you know, we need to just enjoy the process-- a saying that I have heard / said many times I'm sure. It really struck me this time though b/c that is not what I have been doing. It also kind of made me want to reflect on the process. God has changed our hearts so much over the last year and a half. A year ago we were both on the same page with adoption and were praying about God's direction for us.

We decided to use CHI for our adoption and sent our application on Feb 29th
3/2 Homestudy ( Gateway Woods)
3/17 Accepted by CHI
5/12 Fingerprinting in Indy
6/9 Received I- 171H
6/10 Dossier Authenticated
6/11 Fed-Ex dossier to CHI
6/12 Fed -Ex Birth Cert./ Marriage License to IL Sec of State-- (wished I would have known to do that sooner)
6/25 Dossier to Washington DC and on to Ethiopia
12/8 Referral for little boy!!!!

As I look over the timeline.. there were gaps where it seemed like things could of/ should of moved faster. But God has our child picked out already-- a different process could have meant a different child. WOW that's crazy! I still can't wait to hold my little boy but reflecting helps to trust in God's perfect timing!

Batman!

2009-01-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

We went with some friends to the children's museum this weekend and had the good luck to be there on a day that BATMAN was making appearances! We joined in the long line to see him and after waiting for an HOUR we got to get a quick picture. Brecken was soooooo excited and Kait even thought it was pretty cool (she wants to show the boys in her class the picture). Of course Bella refused to get in the picture-- surprise, surprise. Then today I heard her playing-- totally decked out in a princess outfit-- and she was pretending to be "Batman's daughter"! Her fairy dress had special powers! Too cute!

a little trivia-- the outfit batman was wearing was actually one of the ones used in the movie-- it was pretty cool. I have never seen the movie but now I am thinking that I would kind of like to.

On the adoption front-- no new news for us but our agency has given several referrals lately, which is so fun, and there are quite a few people traveling or getting ready to travel-- exciting!!!!

Exquisite!

2009-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

A great girl's weekend! A friend's cabin in MI, Mexican food, chocolate, late night talks with great friends (i don't know when the last time is that I have been up at 3am)-- and did I say chocolate?

After sleeping in (did I say no kids?!), we had pancakes and talked some more, then we went to do a little skiing on a gorgeous afternoon.

exquisite was the word for the day we decided-- Christian friendships, the scenery, the food! The thing that really topped everything off was the timing-- We were supposed to meet to leave at 3:00. At 2:45 I was bummed b/c I had called to say I couldn't come-- Kevin had been sick and didn't seem much better and now Bella was sick.

Enter wonderful husband, freshly showered (he had been in bed all day) and saying that he thought he was well enough to take care of the kids (even a sick one). Now you might think -- what a brat-- but since he was going to have to lay low anyway and Bella wasn't throwing up-- I started throwing things in my suitcase and and called and asked them to wait 30 min.

Oh I am so glad that I went! Why does it seem that there are always so many obstacles when you are going to do something? I feel like that happens so many times--sometimes we just give in to the obstacles but when you don't and you find a way to make things work it is almost always so worth it!
I am more energized and ready to be the mom and wife I love being-- good thing because all the kids were sick yesterday and today!:)

Speaking of determined (an area that i have a long way to go in) I hope you had time to reflect on what Martin Luther King Jr. did for our nation and the commitment and determination to make a difference that he had! What an inspiring man to teach our kids about!

snow days and other great news

2009-01-15T11:25:00.001-08:00

Today started out great with a 2 hour delay that was scheduled last night (so we could sleep in). After eating pancakes we checked the news and found out that there was no school toady! Awesome!~ Snow days are definitely a perk to living in IN. They probably don't have those in FL. Brecken had been wanting to make snowflakes from coffee filters so we did that-- he is so funny, he loved every one that he made but it was basically a race to see how many he could make/ and how fast. He is soooo competitive (even against himself)!

On the adoption front there was even better news! We found out last week that Taye was moved from his orphanage to the House of Hope-- CHI's transition house! We have heard such great things about the HOH and were really anxious to have him there! I'm sure that they loved him at the orphanage but in this world of so many unknowns I really wanted to know he was at a place where I have seen pictures of (on fellow CHI adoptive parents blogs) and even know the names of some of the workers. We had been petitioning God as well as our adoption agency this last month and are thankful for the move! We are prayerful that he will adjust there and it won't be too stressful for him!
I can't imagine what he has already been through losing what is familiar now at least twice . I have to say that now having a face and a name to love and pray for has been so much harder than I could have imagined! The mom heart in me feels like it is breaking just thinking of him being there without us to love and care for him. It is so easy to know the Bible verses but to truly believe them and claim them for Taye as taken more effort than I would have imagined! but I know that God's word is true and that is what we cling to --

a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families! (psalm 68:4-6)

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart! (Jeremiah 1:8)

We know that God is the ultimate father and that he has a plan for Taye's life-- I am so thankful for that!
laura

Better than Basketball

2009-01-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

Friday night, I made Ethiopian food for dinner. We had decided that we wanted to try to incorporate it into our family since Taye will probably have a special connection to the smells and taste. I took an "Ethiopian food" cooking class and we have tried the recipes that I got there as well as things that I found online. We actually LOVE it! The "wat"-- stew type food is sooo good. Kevin and I went on a date over Christmas break to and Ethiopian restaurant in Indy that was wonderful! http://www.abyssiniarestaurant.com/ I would highly recommend it! I was glad to find the recipes that I have found tasted similar to what they served there. Since the owner is from Ethiopia I guess we can assume that the food is fairly authentic. I got a recipe to make the berbere spice that is used and wasn't sure how close it was to the real deal.
http://www.globalgourmet.com/destinations/ethiopia/berbere.html
The berbere is a little time consuming to make but it made a lot so you can keep it in your refrigerator and have several meals from it.

The cool thing about the evening was how excited the kids were about dinner that night! They kept saying how good it smelled and actually ate most of their food-- talking about how they can't wait for Taye to be here to eat it with them! This is not the type of food that they would normally like-- a little spicy. I love that they seem to really want to connect with their baby brother!

looking much more excited than in the previous post

Doro Wat (chicken stewed in a red pepper sauce with eggs), Mesir Wat (lentils with the sauce),

Yataklete Kilkil(vegetables with ginger, garlic, and chile)

So you may notice that the food is on a tortilla and we do use silverware. :) I attempted Injera once and it was okay (barely) --then we went to Abyssinia and tasted how delicious their Injera was-- Kevin can't stop talking about how good it is and how perfect it was for scooping up the food and the sauce. In addition, I did not have any teff in the house -- shocking --and hated to bother Janet W. again (thanks Janet). So tortillas will have to do for now but I will try again.:) hmmmm, maybe Williams Sonoma will start selling those large flat stones they use for making the injera and I will get really good at swirling it while we are in ET... or... maybe we could buy extra at the restaurant and freeze it until Target starts carrying it ?! Adoption has been such a journey for our family. There are so many ups and downs - but the chance to have another culture that will actually become part of our family is something I love about this journey!

Court Date!

2009-01-07T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yeah! We recieved an email Monday morning that we have a court date. March 13th is the lucky day (hopefully!). As our adoption agency has cautioned us several times-- there have been more delays in the court dates so we are optimistic but very prayerful about this too. IF all goes well we will travel 2-3 weeks later. I am so excited-- kind of can't believe that we are this far! I feel a little confused-- do we start getting everything ready-- room, some clothes, things like that or do we wait? What if things get postponed? The problem with waiting is that 2-3 weeks with 3 other kids and their schedules can go pretty fast. The problem with doing a lot now is that maybe it will make the wait go more slowly. Well , I'm going to have to make up my mind!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T11:12:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Brecken got these awesome Hulk boxing gloves for his birthday! They are so fun and they don't seem to hurt if the kids "accidentally" box each other. Cards are done (except I somehow ordered 50 less than last year so we will return to the full list next year)! Gifts are done (a few still need wrapped and I didn't find the bike ramp we wanted for Breck but that may be a good thing -- we don't have great health insurance)! We visited Santa today-- I almost forgot to do that! He even coaxed Kait onto his lap-- she didn't want to tell him what she wanted since she "knows he isn't real". You should have seen her eyes when he started guessing what was on her list (he's obviously talked to a few 8 y/o girls). She was pretty awe struck afterward which was so cute! So I'm off to start making some food and help the kids wrap some of their gifts
God Bless~ laura

Details

2008-12-17T11:07:00.000-08:00

Kev and I went for our first round of travel shots yesterday. Not terrible but man I hate shots! No problem with starting IV's/ drawing blood/ giving shots back in the ICU days but when a needle is coming at me-- I almost pass out! Luckily Kevin was there to talk me through it & remind me to breathe. Bella was there giggling at the Goofy bandaids they used so that helped too.
Last night we got our official referral packet. We finished the papers up this am and overnighted them back to CHI. We now wait for a court date which is when the adoption will be official. We will hopefully be able to travel about 3 weeks after the court date. We should know when the court date is within the next month. All that said, we are hoping that we will travel in late March but we will just have to wait to see if it all works out like that.
As we were sitting and looking at Taye's picture and talking about his life,Bella reminded me that even though we are sad that Taye is not being taken care of by a mommy and daddy, "it's okay mommy, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are with him and angels are watching him too" then I really cried :) Man, what would I do with out my kids to keep me on track!-- Liv, I know you can relate (with the phone and all)
So that is all I know right now. This stuff has pretty much consumed me for the last week and a half-- I have a stack of Christmas cards waiting to be finished but I'm having trouble focusing on that. Maybe I'll do them tonight-- I still have a few days right?
laura

REFERRAL!

2008-12-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

When we were least expecting it... the call came. Monday I was praying that God would bring someone to reach out to into our lives that day. We are so blessed and I know that there are so many hurting people, even in our community. In my prayer I added that God would help me recognize this person as sometimes his plans are not ours. I then went to check our messages and had one from our social worker.. odd.. they usually email. When we connected she said that she wanted to see if we wanted a child up to 24 mo or if we really wanted to stay under 12 (we were approved for 0-24 but had preference as 0-12) . Kevin and I had actually recently discussed this and I told her that we were open for up to 24 mo. She said she was just checking and hung up. She then called back 20 min later and had Kevin on the phone. Wow.. we had been waiting 5 mo so we had not even begun to think that we might be getting a call soon. Then things took a different route. She told us about this little guy... found by police, abandoned near a church, they said his birthday was march 27th 2007.. obviously a guess. However, b/c of some concerning info on his Dr. eval she did not want us to see pictures until we had consulted a adoption Dr. This was not really at all what I had expected. Our minds went to worst case scenarios.. the difficulties that could show up from starvation, neglect. We waited anxiously for the report from the Dr (Dr. Keck / Riley) at the same time wondering what we were waiting for, would we actually say no? During the week I can look back and see how Satan loves to work.... messing with communication.. Kevin and I are almost always on the same page but suddenly we were misreading and misunderstanding each other. Fear.. the longer we waited the more I thought about the needs he could have and worried whether we would be able to meet those deep needs. Pride..the kids are so great (so far:)) what if this totally messed up our family. God is so good and the waiting time was not wasted. He clearly spoke to Kevin and I that this is his plan for our family, his grace is sufficient, and all things are for his glory. Finally on Sat Kevin and I were able to talk openly to one another and realized we were on the same page all along. We had received a partial report from the Dr. on Fri. She had some of the same concerns that we did and wanted more info. While we are still getting that info so that we will be better prepared, we called and left a msg that we wanted to move forward with the referral and were dying to see pictures. We received the pics this morning.. amazing! He is beautiful!!! We are praying that God will lead us each step of the way and are so excited.

We have changed our original name plans and decided to chose and Ethiopian name since names are very important in their culture. The name we have chosen for our precious boy is Taye Kevin (Taye meaning --you have been seen).

Wow, what a day :)
laura

i've missed blogging!

2008-12-14T19:01:00.000-08:00

We combed Bella's hair all out and got this great 'fro! We are thinking the she and her little brother may have similar hair!:)

After taking a break from blogging I have decided that I miss it and the great info you can share!

Precious Children!

2008-06-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a video that helps to describe life for some in Ethiopia! What a contrast to our life! At the grocery store this morning I had my choice of any type of food that I wanted. I was annoyed that they didn't have the type of peaches that our family prefers! It is so sad to see these but good for me to be aware. I have been given so much! How am I using the blessing that we have?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7444998.stm

laura

They're Off!

2008-06-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

I have seen pictures off this on other people's blogs and thought that they were so cool and wondered if my folder full of papers would ever look like this. These are all the forms that the Sec. of State certified. They all were sent to our agency last Thurs. Our birth and marriage cert. will hopefully be following close behind! They are checking the papers over and when everything is there, the packet will go to DC. Eeeeks, it's getting closer to Ethiopia! :)
laura

Am I an idiot?

2008-06-10T20:06:00.000-07:00

I got the mail last night and yippeee! the I -171H form had arrived! I proceeded to change my plans around for the day to get a couple last minute things around and then to head down to Indy after the kid's soccer camp to get everything certified. While the kids were at camp, Bella and I made stops, getting passport photos, the bank to get one more form notarized, ect... Each stop Bella would say "is this where I am going to get my baby brother?" I had made my first mistake, telling her that we were going to be working on some things so that we could get our baby. I kept trying to explain that it would be a long time until we got our baby. A couple stops later she asked how long we had been in the car and if it had been a long time yet? Too sweet! I think she kind of gets it now but I'm still not sure.
Mistake # 2 Man I am so frustrated! I think everyone who is completing this process says this at some time or another (or maybe several). I am such an idiot! They called me up to the desk at the State Dept after waiting to get everything certified. She said that they did everything (which is great)except 3 documents. Our birth certificates and marriage license. These weren't notarized in IN and so they have to be cert. in the same state that they were notarized in-- DUH! So I have been sitting on these for months and could have already had that done! We could have mailed everything off this afternoon-- arrrrgh. okay enough I just need to get this taken care of asap and we will be good to go. I feel like I am always saying there is one more thing.. will there be one more thing after this?

On a brighter note-- we stopped by the Children's Museum for a couple hours after we got done. The kids had a great time and they were so good at the State Dept. (much to the secretary's surprise-- she wasn't excited to see all of us or all of our papers!)! Then we zoomed to VBS which was a blast!
laura

Brecken's Turn-- Thanks Aunt Sara!

2008-06-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

Brecken with cousins Avery and Finley

At the Newport Aquarium

Lance and Brett "helping" Breck mulch the newly terraced hill

The summer is off to a great start! This is especially true for Brecken. This kid was not an easy toddler. His communication skills were poor, he had various stomach issues, and always seemed to have some kind of issue. Kevin and I were just talking about how well he has done this last year! Suddenly he is the "easy"one of the crew. He is pretty much excited about everything, loves to help with anything you ask - and rarely stops talking. We had some guys here for a few days working in our yard. (some of the reason we chose to implement this part of the "master landscaping plan" this year is b/c of his new confidence in bike riding-- he thought the hill was a great place to practice some trail riding. The tree roots sometimes got in the way when He was flying down the hill-- he says that he didn't cry -- while he was in the air! Of course he wouldn't tell us where the scrapes had come from until later) Breck was amazing, running and working the whole time! His opinion was that they were helping him with spreading mulch.

Then he was able to go to stay with his cousins by himself for a couple days. He loved it and came home thinking that they are better than ever (esp Aunt Sara who "doesn't have any bad rules")! It is so fun to hear him tell about what they did while he was there! The girls and I loved coming to get him and hanging out and visiting the aquarium! Thanks you guys!

Adoption update-- 4 wks since our fingerprinting appt-- no form in the mail yet-- hopefully soon
laura

"Make New Friends But Keep the Old"

2008-06-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Don and Bella hamming it up!

I just love old friends that you can always connect with! Even if it has been months since you talked, it's like you see each other all the time! Your conversations can go straight to the serious stuff! Don and Jackie moved away about a year and a half ago. We have missed them a lot! Saturday night we met them for dinner at Red Seven and then walked around downtown a little bit. It was so great to see them and I love how they always are so great with our kids. Bella didn't know about them at first but thought that Don was great by the end! We love you guys!

laura

oh-- for those of you who live near Lafayette, I would highly recommend that restaurant! Every time that we have been there our food has been great and the atmosphere is really fun (more contemporary than most other places here)-- they also have outdoor dinig which was perfect on Saturday night! lasagna there is my favorite!

We All Scream for Ice Cream!

2008-05-28T18:53:00.001-07:00

Adrian and Bella taking an Ice Cream Break

As noted on earlier posts, I love to try to help my kids make healthy choices with "sometimes" food once and a while. Well since Sunday I need to say that they have had an ice cream cone every day with TWO on Tuesday. Needless to say they are loving "almost summertime!" Sunday the Schafers were here and that was the kid's dessert. Monday I let them finish the ice cream after dinner. Tuesday we went to McDonald's to get cones. They had received coupons in Sunday School as an object lesson of God's free gift to us. I loved the concept and wanted to use them while the idea was fresh in their mind. Then we went to Francesville and met Grandma at the drive-in. What kind of mom would (or could)say no to a great- aunt and great- grandma offering to buy them a treat? Today our neighbor asked us to walk to the ice cream store down the street-- we're trying to walk more places and get to know our neighbors better soo.... we went.

Tomorrow is Kaitlin's last day of 2nd grade. We praise God for the great transition from homechooling to a Christian School! She loves it so much she is a little sad to be out for the summer. If we are already having this much fun (and eating that many treats) I can't imagine what the summer has in store!

laura

A Monsterocity!

2008-05-26T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hallie with Sweet little Macy

Well we broke down a few weeks ago and purchased a big, bright blue padded trampoline. These things are not pretty! After thinking and thinking about how to disguise it we gave in and just put it up down in the meadow. I can see it pretty well from the house but it is not right out of the back window. Luckily my sister Hallie and her little girl Macy were visiting for a few days and Hallie helped Kevin put it up while I got to watch Macy. A great trade off if you ask me! Anyway this is to report that 2 weeks later the thing has already paid for itself in entertainment! The kids are out there everyday jumping and playing on it (along with a bunch of other kids). Seeing them have so much fun on it and the fact that they haven't been getting out all the other toys for me to clean up has been great!

Adoption update-- 2 weeks ago was our fingerprinting appt so we probably have a couple more weeks to wait for the form we need from CIS. In the meantime there I received a couple more forms to do and we really need to finish our training video and online tests. Sometimes it seems so distant but this week our agency gave out 7 referrals! We have friend who have recently brought a little girl home from Ethiopia-- seeing the end of all this makes it so worth it! This morning we were having brunch on the deck (a Schieber family Memorial Day tradition that is being carried on in Lafayette). Looking around at our children all sitting in regular chairs feeding themselves was so fun. They had been able to play while Kevin and I took turns going for a run and getting a few things done. When I thought about it, I know that I would not be enjoying this stage with our children nearly as much if I didn't know that we were going to be getting another baby to love!
laura

A Beautiful Bride

2008-05-19T20:29:00.000-07:00

Kevin with his sister Betsy (don't you think that they look a lot alike?!)

Brecken, Marlee, and Bella (they had to wait to play until after the ceremony!)

Kevin and Brecken playing croquet while waiting for the family pics

Betsy's dress was gorgeous!

Kevin's sister Betsy got married to Ryan Riley and Saturday! Sorry for all the pictures but the wedding was so fun! The cool thing is that, as you can see, the kids had a great time too! What a great couple!

As I was getting ready to post these pictures, I was checking some other sites and came across this article that really struck me in its contrast to our lives. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/beautiful/hamlin.html I don't want to detract from the joy of the wedding but I can't help thinking about the stark differences that these Ethiopian girls face. They are beautiful, maybe excited to be married, looking forward to having a family but have such hardships. The article tell about a PBS special that was on last week but is still great for raising awareness.

God Bless!

laura

Oh the French...

2008-05-14T19:17:00.000-07:00

My Grandma listening to Bella "read" her a story on Mother's Day

I went to a great cooking class tonight-- Celebration of the French Empire. The girl teaching the class is from France and here while her husband is doing his post- doc work at Purdue. We were having a great conversation about how in general our culture in America is to rush and not celebrate food and conversation as much. I was thinking again about how thankful I am that Kevin and I both come from families where our moms made great food and it was fun to eat dinner together and talk with our families (well most of the time:)) I know that was what they saw modeled to them from their moms.

It is so easy for me to rush through everything. Always thinking about the next chore that I need to do. Even though I really enjoy most aspects of my day (none of our kids wear diapers), I sometimes don't take time to really enjoy any of the things that I am doing. That seems like a pathetic way to live. I'm not exactly sure how to solve this? Schedule fewer things? Lower expectations? Write "Enjoy yourself" on my "to-do" list? I don't know but I pray that I can be willing to make the necessary choices to pass on to our children a high value on time spent with people we love!

Happy Mothers to our Moms and all those great moms out there that are such an encouragement to me!

laura

Kait's Dance Recital

2008-05-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Bella, Kaitlin, Maddie, and Brecken

Saturday was Kaitlin's 6th dance recital. It was her 1st year to dance at the YWCA and we loved it, the recital was great. I tried to post a video clip that I took during her rehearsal the day before. We were really proud of how hard she worked this year-- a huge change from previous years! She practiced almost every day even when she was tired or not feeling the greatest. Kait turned 8 on Monday. Wow!

Side note-- Last week a friend and I had a garage sale at her house. I ran out to check some other sales while we were waiting for people to buy our junk and scored these like-new Converse shoes for Brecken for $2. He is wearing them in the picture. Fun stuff!

laura

The Highlights and Lowlights

2008-05-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

The most amazing man in the world

Kait and Ash at the PYG dinner

my new bed :)

Nope, this post is not about hair!:) I did use to undergo that process for my hair but even though I liked the look, I HATED sitting there for that long and I didn't really enjoy paying for it either. Anyway, that is another topic(unless anyone has a great suggestion for cheap, fast highlights that look awesome).

This week was one that had some ups and downs. A couple of the highlights are pictured, my wonderful husband threw me an amazing 30th birthday!!!(Apr 16th) One of my presents was a bed that I have been wanting. It arrived this week and he put together all 14 pieces! Luckily the delivery men were the ones who both spent 1/2 hour taking off all the packaging.

The group of college girls that I meet with came over for dinner and we made watches. I think everyone had fun and that made me really happy. I love these girls and want them to know how much we care about them! College is really great but not always the easiest time in life (I don't wish I was back!) and we totally want to encourage and support them!

Our fingerprinting appt came in the mail and so we will go to Indy on Mon. May 12th for that ! Yeah!

Today, when we were at Great Harvest Bread after the soccer game (a great Sat. tradition) I finally found the bread that I am going to get from now on. The search all started when a friend mentioned that high fructose corn syrup could be a bad thing. After looking into it I have tried to make sure that the foods we eat on a regular basis do not have it in them. Two things that we consume very regularly are wheat bread and pb. We currently have 3 different brands of natural pb in our cupboard and no one is impressed so we will continue to work on that. However, this morning when talking to my new friend Jane at the bread store, she told me that they only use 5 ingredients in their wheat bread and do not use HFCS. Yeah-- this is great! She gave me the scoop on how to best store it and all that so no more reading labels in vain at the grocery store!

On a sad note, my great uncle Harvey died this week. Since my grandfather died when I was 3 and Harvey and Fannie lived within walking distance from us, we were very close to them! My brother actually had Uncle Harvey(in his 90's) as his best man in their wedding 2 years ago. These relationships are such a stabilizing part of our life. People who have known us since we were babies, know our strengths and weaknesses, and usually know just what we need to hear (often-- don't stay away too long!). We will miss him and it is a great reminder to treasure the time we do have with those that may not be here much longer!

laura

Soccer Mom

2008-04-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

I had to post these pictures-- what a great day to sit out on the side of the field and talk to other parents! This is the kid's 2nd practice, they had to work hard but they love it. Brecken is so funny. He is playing on the 6&7y/o team (mainly for my convenience). He is so competitive and has figured out that he thinks he is the 4th best on the team. Kaitlin informed him that everybody is good at different things and was completely annoyed that he was ranking her as lower than himself. The backseat conversations are great!

Also: Adoption Correction! We did have a couple other things happen last week! We expanded our age range up to 24 months and we received 3 notarized, approved copies of our homestudy on the 15th! Our SW has been great to work with!!!

laura

Where To Get Great Food!

2008-04-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Youngjin and Brecken playing with a little cat toy.

Last Thurs. we had dinner at the home of some friends of ours from South Korea. They are a really sweet couple that have had some huge adjustments! It has been so fun to get to know them and the kids love them. Here Hyojin is playing Polly Pockets with Bella. It is still interesting to me that there are so many great experiences to have, in our hometown, but sometimes it is hard to even get out of the house or think that we have time, how many opportunities we miss I am sure! I'm glad we didn't miss this one, thanks to the Weigands for encouraging us to get involved with this friendship program!

Here is the table they had prepared for us! The food was amazing!!! They were so generous and it is really fun to observe the differences in our cultures but see how when it is all said, how very similar we are!

Adoption update: there is nothing new. We are waiting on our fingerprinting appt. and then I71H
I faxed all of my other papers to get checked over, I was really annoyed that I had copied and pasted a notary thing with 2007 on it to 3 letters that I wrote. Those will have to be corrected and re- notarized(I don't know if that is a word). Anyway, those kind of things always drive me crazy and realize what a perfectionist I am but are pretty easy to fix.

laura

You Just Never Know!

2008-04-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

Kevin and Kait with crickets

Brecken helping plant flowers

Kaitlin is our precious second grader. Once she outgrew colic we have pretty much thought that every age is "the best". It has been really fun to watch her grow and the thing I love about this age is how unpredictable she is. Now this could seem like a bad thing, but the times that she is driving us crazy, I know she will snap out of it really soon. The last couple of days have been no exception. Friday afternoon was nice enough to get outside to do some things. Like any good mom would, once I went out I realized that the kids should be outside getting fresh air and helping me (even though that can be interesting) instead of playing computer games. After coaxing them out-- they were "almost to the next level" of course, they started helping me plant some stuff. I sent Kait to the front to plant some flowers in a couple pots saying she could do whatever she wanted with them. After about 15 min. I went around to check on her and was very surprised to find that she was doing a great job and singing at the top of her lungs. She proceeded to inform me that she had named all of the flowers. A names in one pot, C names in the other. The complainer was completely vanished.

Saturday morning the surprises continue while she is checking out the newspaper. When she realized that Saturday was the "Bug Bowl" at Purdue she insisted she wanted to go even though it was rainy and cold. The reason she was so excited to go? She wanted to eat chocolate covered crickets! Luckily, Bella needed a nap in the afternoon and Kevin got home just in time to take Kait and Brecken over and try this new delicacy. They both swallowed them but I don't think they really want them again.

Fun Stuff!

laura

The Hair ?!

2008-04-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

I thought that after some kind of serious posts, I needed something fun. My friend Liv had a post with her adorable son wearing a similar hairstyle, placed while the dads were babysitting I think. It made me want to look for some pictures that I had as well. This thing has a life of it's own! It has been used as a joke, in Christmas pictures, to scare people, and in the pictured situation-- in celebration of a big event at Kevin's office-- he is holding a cherry pie-- can anyone guess who he is pretending to be? If you think Kevin is all business-- hee hee-- this shows the true story!

Have a wonderful day!

laura

Yeah- I came up for air!

2008-04-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

I'm so gald to be back to checking blogs and taking time to think about my day! There is something really great about staying on touch with people you care about this way! I have missed it!

The last couple of weeks I have been really trying to get everything that I had any control over with the adoption process done. It seems like this in addition to being a mom and wife and other random things- the latest and most fun being "florist" for Betsy's wedding- have taken up all of my time. I am happy to report that I am done with the things that I can do. The sad part is that in the whole scheme of things it seems like that is not actually a very large part of the whole process. Oh well, it is definitely a feeling of accomplishment. Collecting the various papers that we need has actually been really fun. I got to go places that I don't ever visit, like the police dept., and everyone has been so great! I realized even more that we live in a really neat community-- people seem really happy to help you!

At this point our home study report is being reviewed by our adoption agency and we will hopefully have it to send to Immigration Services soon. We will then a couple more things to do and the dossier will be ready ( a month or two). Sometimes with all the "tasks" to do it seems like I forget what they are for-- a precious life and a part of our family! We are so thankful for this calling and although I am not nuturing this child as during a pregnacy, there is something really sweet about knowing you are working for them and having to-do list with "For Baby Jack" at the top -- I think I will miss that during the wait!
laura

Hosanna, Hosanna

2008-03-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Isabella on Palm Sunday making sure she is ready to go into church for the Easter Program. She looked so sweet in a dress that Mom G had made for Kaitlin. Even better though was her little voice singing about being sad that Jesus died and then being so excited to sing Alive, Alive. Kids at Easter are just the best (not only because of the adorable clothes, but I do love that too).

As the Holy Week started I had good intentions of spending some extra time reflecting on Christ's sacrifice and doing some activities with the kids to help them think about it as well. Oh how quickly I get distracted by all the things that come up! It is so discouraging sometimes!

We finally recieved our packet of info from our agency-- wow, there is a lot of paper work! I'm really glad to get started on it and have something tangible to do to move the process along. I am going to try really hard not to complain about it! I can't help but wonder though if people who are famous that adopt have to do all this stuff :) Oh well I'm sure that it "builds character."

According to 2 Peter1:5-8 by adding to faith virtue-knowledge-temperance-PATIENCE-godliness-brotherly kindness- charity my life will be FRUITFUL in the knowledge of Jesus Christ! and that is what we want!

laura

We had our Homestudy!

2008-03-15T03:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we are started with a major step in the adoption process! We had our homestudy done yesterday afternoon. It went great-- the woman who did it was wonderful to work with. It is really interesting to go through that many questions about yourself, your past, what you think about various things. I don't usually spend a lot of time reflecting so it was kind of a fun experience once I settled in. When it was the kids turn to talk they were all really excited! It was so fun to hear them tell someone else about what they were thinking! Once we were done we were both a little bit fried but really excited! Now we wait about a month to get the final product from the social worker. Then that will be sent to the agency. In the meantime there is plenty of paperwork to do!
laura

Spring is Coming and Answered Prayers!

2008-03-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

I was thinking today about the number of things that happen that we take for granted. First, there is the new life that comes from what appears dead-- Brecken has announced that these small purple flowers we have are almost ready to be picked for me. Soon the ground will be absolutely blanketed with these cool little flowers but for now one or two are so exciting. Other than the coming of spring though, there are the little prayers that I pray and then over time almost forget. One of those prayers that I was reminded of today was prayed about 1.5 years ago. I felt that Kaitlin really didn't have a lot of friends that she could just play with whenever. Well in the picture there are two of the answers to a mom's wish that her daughter could know the fun of a playdate that is not planned by your parents, a fight that you work out on your own the next day over the fence, friends with whom to share all the snacks your mom will give you and then go to their house and see what their mom will give you. I am so thankful that God provides people in our children's lives to help them grow and mature. These little neighbor girls are some of those people! They also help this mom to learn a little more patience but I'm sure I will touch on that over the summer. For now I'm really glad to see them back over here to make mud pies with Kait!

Here We Go!

2008-03-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I think that we will officially join the world of blogging and stop just reading our friend's blogs (and people that we don't even really know). I love reading blogs. I also love the idea of journaling but I never actually do it and can barely even get pictures into scrapbooks. I am hoping that this will help to me to keep some type of record of our life for a while. After reading an article about "momnesia" I am convinced that I will not remember everything that I want to remember about this amazing stage in life. We are so blessed with three awesome children and just recieved our email today that we are officially accepted into the Ethiopian adoption program through Children's Hope! We have our home study scheduled for Friday so things are moving along. This all comes after much prayer. We are over the moon excited about adding a little boy to our family and trying to keep in mind that this will all happen in God's time. Here is one of the pictures we took of ourselves to send with our application. I think we look pretty excited!(we didn't want to wait to have someone actually take a good one for us). laura