The Adkins Family

December 2011

2011-12-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. I am a total slacker! I will try to be better!

We have had a busy couple of months. Kaiser is doing pretty good. We found out over the summer that he is really allergic to pets and some other things. We had to find new homes for our 4 animals, which was really hard. We will wait and see if he is going to be better. He already seems better, although it may take up to 6 months for all the dander to be gone. He is so busy. He is getting in to everything and is faster and faster every day. I found my wool hat and an ornament in the toilet today. Our house is busy and chaotic with him around. But he is talking and talking more every day and is starting to be able to communicate with us. He is still happy and smiley and seems to be just a joyous little guy most of the time. Except when he is mad. Then he is loud, and REALLY mad.
Lilia is doing wonderful. She turned 6 and started 1st grade this year. She lost her first tooth about a month ago. She looks pretty cute! She is in gymnastics again and is loving it! And she is a great big sister. He does get on her nerves when he yells, tries to tackle her or messes up her things, but for the most part, she is kind and loving to him. It is great being a family of 4.

Lee and I are doing well. Just busy with the kids and the holidays coming up. We went to Cancun with his family in October and it was a nice getaway before the cold. No vacations planned for us for next year. We might take a couple weekend trips around Colorado and that might be it for 2012.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!

Disneyworld

2011-06-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

Lil and Uncle Jeff

Lilia at Epcot

Papa and Kaiser

Magic Kingdom

Gramma and Kaiser at Blizzard Beach

We need a vacation after the vacation

Both kids slept the entire plane ride home

We just got back from a week long trip to Orlando and had the best time ever. We went with the entire family. Us four, Grandma and Papa, Jody and the kids, and Jeff and Cat. It was HOT! 104 some days, plus add the humidity and then add the walking and standing in line all day and it made for a hot vacation. We tried the water parks which the kids just loved. They liked Disney, but preferred to be in the pool most of the time.
Kaiser is doing pretty well. Still trying to fight off illness and lung stuff, but he is a happy little boy. He did great at Disney. We had him in the stroller and took turns holding him and he did great, but did get hot.
Lilia is doing well also. She is happy she is out of school for the summer. She is becoming quite a little swimmer and we can let her go freely in the deep end.
We are looking forward to the rest of the summer!

April 9th

2011-04-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

Making Smores in our backyard

In Glenwood at a tour of the caverns

Cousins

Sissy and bro-bro

We are all doing great and enjoying our new life. Kaiser was finally starting to feel more healthy until this last week, and then he came down with another cold. He seems to be better this time and his ears seem okay. We have a doctor appt. with him on Tuesday for his 9 month well baby visit. He finally started crawling on Thursday, but seems to not want to do it a lot yet. Today he crawled a little bit more on one knee with the other foot on the ground and the knee up. It is so cute!

We got a great swingset from our neighbors and Lilia is having a ball playing for a couple hours each day on it. Kaiser is pretty indifferent about swinging at this point, but ate a lot of sand while playing in the sandbox. Lilia and Kaiser are becoming a great pair. She loves to make him laugh and help him. She will wipe his nose, or pick it, too! She helps get diapers and wipes, and will try to help dress him. She picks him up, and tries to help him walk. Lilia is starting to get tiny freckles on her nose and told me his the color of her freckles, so she has started calling him "my little freckle freck." It is adorable to see them together and to see her trying so hard to make him laugh. He is super loud and just likes to scream when he is really happy, and she will put his pacifier in to keep him quiet, or will yell to me "Mom, he wants you to pick him up!"

We went to Glenwood with my sister and their cousins for spring break and it was such a good time. We went to the hotsprings pool, and rode a gondola to the top of the mountain. Lil and Kai loved the warm water. Our next vacation will be a big family vacation with my side of the family in June to Disneyworld. We are looking forward to it!

I have to go back to work next Friday. I am hoping he does okay without me, because he is so attached to me and a little clingy. It is such a blessing that I work night shift so I will be working when they are asleep and will be able to be with them during the day. I am a little sad to be going back, but it will be good to get back into our routine, since I gotta go back some time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

March 9

2011-03-09T08:28:00.000-08:00

We have been having a ton of fun since we haven't been at the doctor every minute. We decided to go stay at a hotel downtown for a brief getaway for the night. Lilia was thrilled to be able to see all the skyscrapers and to get to stay in one. We went to eat and then went to the pool at the hotel. Lilia loved it because it was pretty warm, and part was inside, part was outside. Kaiser loved it, too. He is a splasher. It was so fun!

On Sunday, our little man was dedicated at church. He looked so adorable in his hat and vest. He kept the hat on until we got up to the altar and then whipped it off. So cute.

We are planning a short trip to Glenwood hot springs for spring break with my sister and her kids. It is going to be so fun, and it will be great to have all the cousins together.

Today we are going to get his labs drawn. The doc just wants to check him out, and also to see if he got the immunizations properly so we don't have to start over. Should be terrible! He still has ear infections, and is on round 2 of antibiotics, which he had major diarrhea so we had to switch to soy, diarrhea formula. Which only comes in liquid and is hard to find. I am going to be going all over to Walgreens today to try to find it for the next week. We are continuing the breathing treatments through the rest of the winter also. It will be good to have him healthy all the way around. He is still so happy and smiley!

Friday March 4th

2011-03-04T07:38:00.000-08:00

I think we are finally starting to feel a little more normal. Kaiser is happy as can be, smiling all the time. He is sleeping pretty well, like 12 hours a night. He wakes up 1-3 times a night crying, but I can calm him in 5 seconds with a pacifier and talking to him. We went to our well baby check up yesterday. He is on the mend, but still has 2 nasty ear infections. We are on a stronger antibiotic for 10 days. His lungs are still cruddy, but on the mend. We are going to do breathing treatments throughout the rest of the winter just to keep him from getting super sick. He got 2 immunizations and was pretty crabby last night. Today we have to go to the lab to get some blood drawn and stool samples just to make sure he is all clear.
Developementally the doctor was impressed. He thought he was doing well, given where he came from. He is sitting up on his own now and only falling over occasionally. He can sit and play by himself for a while. He is still pretty clingy to me, especially if he is tired, sick, or just plain mad. It is okay with me that he wants me to hold him.
The 4 of us are going for our first overnight tonight at a hotel. We are just going to stay downtown and go swimming in the pool, then out to dinner. It is only a half hour away, but it is a well needed rest from daily life. Having 2 kids is a bit difficult, but I have a helpful 5 year old!

Abdominal Ultrasound

2011-02-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Everything is normal! Praise the Lord! Kai had his ultrasound of his abdomen today and the doctor called to tell me everything is normal. Ahhhhhhh what a great feeling! He is over the hump and on the road to recovery. We are still doing breathing treatments twice a day, and although his lungs are still congested and he is coughing, he is getting better. His nose and eyes are clear, and his ears seem okay! He finally started eating food yesterday. No baby fruit at all! He is a veggie guy :) He is happy as can be and smiles constantly. Just talking to the little man puts a smile on his sweet little face. I am so happy to be a mommy of the two greatest kids God ever created. Soooooo glad all the worry about illnesses is over and now we can move on with the fun. I have 6 weeks of leave from work left and I intend to spend it loving on those two babies of mine. I am having so much fun.

Cardiology Update

2011-02-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

We had an appt. today for his heart and I am so happy to report that everything is 100% normal. Normal heart, no holes, normal function, no defects. God is so good! I am praising him today, and also praising him for a good report on Monday at the abdominal ultrasound. Whew!!

It has been a rough couple weeks!

2011-02-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

The first couple weeks have definately been harder than I expected. We came home with a really sick little guy. That first weekend was tough, almost taking him to the ER a couple times. We stuck it out until Monday and then took him right into the doctor. Double ear infections, sinus infection and bronchiolitis. He got started on a strong antibiotic right away, along with breathing treatments 3-4 times a day. He then was started on inhaled steroids, which his doctor said he will probably need for about a month. He had a chest xray, which showed a pretty enlarged heart, and he has a murmur. So tomorrow we are going to see a pediatric cardiologist to get an echocardiogram of his heart to see what is going on. Worst case scenario is that he has a congenital heart defect. But God has a plan and he made our family the way it is from the beginning of time. If it is something, thank God he is mine and he is here to get treatment. He wouldn't have been healthy had he stayed in Ethiopia. He has been so sick for so long, and I just wonder if his heart is enlarged from having to push blood through is constantly infected lungs. Who knows, but we will find out tomorrow. He also has a low set belly button, which sometimes can be associated with kidney problems, so we are going to get an abdominal ultrasound on Monday. More fun at the farm.
Regardless of him being sick, he is the smiliest, happiest, talkative baby ever. He has such a little personality already, and is really just as happy as can be. He FINALLY slept through the night on Monday night. YAY! I was about ready to freak out one day because he was up screaming all night, and then would sleep about a half hour during the day. I got really sick, then Lilia got sick. I almost keeled over! But God gave me grace to keep going, and we are all getting healthier by the day.
Lilia is doing pretty well with him. She got a little sad for a few days feeling left out, like no one cared about her anymore. But she is better now, and is really liking to make him laugh and smile. She is also liking to show him off to her friends.
My dear, sweet grandma passed away Friday after a battle with cancer. She wanted to make it to see her new great grandson, which she did and I am so proud of her. I love her and miss her so much! Thank you grandma for all your love. I will miss you!!

Breathing treatments

Lilia came home sick from school today

After being sick for a lot of days!

We made it home!

2011-02-13T01:17:00.000-08:00

His first bath at home

Kaiser and Papa

One if his happy moments

You can always count on grandma to make life fun

We made it safe and sound. He was an angel on the plane and slept a lot of the time. He only fussed a few times, but calmed down very easily. We had a great homecoming at the airport with my whole family there to greet us. It was great! My niece got a cousin for her birthday that day. I won't forget that day!
Since we have been home, things have been a little crazy! Kaiser has been pretty sick, and was up crying a lot during the first night. He has a nasty cough, runny/stuffy nose, eyes glued shut and he is pulling on both his ears. We are going to try to take him in first thing Monday. During the next day he still slept a lot but seemed a little happier during his awake times. Grandma and Papa came over to visit him.
Lilia is liking having a baby brother, but plugs her ears when he cries. She cried the first time he cried. It is sweet to see her try to make him laugh. I think the newness has worn off a little and she just wants a lot of attention from us. It is hard because I am exhausted, trying to take care of him and her. Lee has been great getting up with him, but sometimes, he just wants me.
Another day today and hopefully he will feel better!

Ethiopia day 12

2011-02-10T06:34:00.000-08:00

It is my final day, my final e-mail. Trying to get this written before the power goes out!

The buddy is better today. He woke up at 4 am with his nose completely blocked and his eyes glued shut but went back to sleep when I got him all fixed up. We got up and ate, now he is back for a nap. All he has done is sleep, it feels like. Probably because he doesn't feel too good.

We have had a great time, have met some really wonderful people here. I would not change this experience for anything!

We will be on our way to the airport in 9 hours, and on our way HOME! Can't wait to get there. I am not looking forward to the plane ride.

My stupid bottle leaks out tons. It is a piece of junk. One of those ones with the plastic inserts. One of the ladies I met is going to the store and is going to pick me up some bottles so I can get through the plane ride. He only likes the infant ones that come out really slow. He chokes otherwise. It will be an interesting 24 hours of travel.

I love you all, thank you all for your prayers and support. The wait is finally over, and now the journey really begins. To the best family ever, I LOVE YOU!! God has blessed me with all of you! See you on the other side!

Ethiopia day 11

2011-02-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

It has been quite an interesting day today. Kaiser woke up pretty sick today. His nose was completely clogged, and he has been coughing up a lot of junk today and he sounds terrible. He has been pretty irritable and lethargic, and he has spent a good part of the day sleeping. Poor fella.

He has diarrhea today, which I didn't think would happen because I didn't switch formula. I fed him some cereal last night thinking it was rice, and found out today when I read the fine print that it is wheat cereal, so maybe that is the problem. I was suctioning out his nose which he screamed about, and then he threw up all over himself and me. Off to the bathtub we went, which he seemed to really like again. I layed him on a blanket on the floor with some toys, and before I knew it, he was asleep again.

The smog here is the worst I have ever been in. Deisel fuel, and the smell of burning coal all the time. I think maybe that made his illness worse, especially since yesterday was the worst it has been since we have been here, and he was outside a lot when I took him out of the TH yesterday. My throat is hurting a lot also, and my sinuses are a little clogged. Not that Denver is the cleanest air, but I will be looking forward to air a little cleaner than this!

This afternoon he seems to be a bit more smiley and chipper. He wants to try to stand up a lot, and decided he hates the bumbo chair. He has cried every time I have put him in it today. I think maybe he just wants to either sleep, or be held. Not a problem!

Well, it is my last night here tonight. I am gonna miss the sound of the dogs and that lovely rooster (NOT!!!) I really am going to miss the people. I have really gotten to know my coordinators over here, who are wonderful. All the Ethiopian people have been nothing but nice, helpful and friendly. Every time you smile, the people always smile back. It is a great group of people. I am going to miss seeing the kids at the transition home and playing with them. I am so glad that most of them have families, and are waiting to go home.

I am so happy this journey is almost over, but part of me feels a little sad, too. It is hard to explain, though. It has been a long ride, and I am so ready to start our lives as a family of 4!!

I will post one more time tomorrow before I leave. My plane leaves at noon Denver time so say a prayer for me and Kaiser. Love to you all.

Ethiopia day 10

2011-02-08T08:03:00.000-08:00

GOTCHA DAY- Feb. 8, 2011

What a whirlwind the last 24 hours have been. I got woke up last night at 11 pm with a call from the agency that the Embassy had cleared Kaiser’s file and they were ready for our appointment! I was so amazed that it was that quick. We were told not to expect to hear anything until Wed. at the earliest. Such a surprise. The best part about it is that his visa will be ready Thursday morning and we will fly out Thursday night, landing in the USA on February 11, my favorite niece’s 10th birthday. That is the date I asked the Lord for. Never have missed her b-day and I am not about to start now!

I went to the transition home to pick him up and it almost didn’t feel real. They had him ready and dressed in one of the outfits we brought him in December, and they also had the photo book we sent him in October. I cried when we said goodbye to the nannies. What an amazing job they do, and he is so attached to them. When I left his room and shut the door, I could hardly keep from just bawling my eyes out. But I made it with just a streak of tears. We said goodbye to the other kids, and then got in the car and left. At that point, I had no tears at all. I was relieved, excited, happy. It was a different feeling than I had with Lilia. I felt such a sense of loss for her when we pulled away, but maybe because he is a lot younger, I didn’t feel that way. He was not scared either like Lilia was. He just took in the sights and looked around everywhere at the people and the happenings on the street. The smog and the burning smell is the worst today. My throat is dry and sore, and I was sad for the buddy to have to breathe it in.

We got back to the guest house and waited in the lobby for our coordinator to come and take us to the US Embassy. We waited about an hour before they called my name to the window. It was quick and painless. Maybe a total of 3 questions and signed, sealed, delivered, he is yours. We will get his visa at 10 am Thursday and then we will be on a plane to home. HOME. I cannot wait. I have dreamed of this day for 18 months. I have dreamed of walking in to the airport and seeing my family there waiting for him. I can’t believe that I will be landing in Colorado in 81 hours.

We came back to the guest house and the first thing I did was put him in the bath and scrub him down. His hair is so long when it is wet! He actually laughed through the whole thing. Curly head of hair! He got so angry after the bath because he has only slept 30 minutes all day. He would not stop screaming. I broke down…………gave him a binkie. What a loser I am. But, he took it right away, stopped crying and fell asleep in 3 minutes. As I am writing this, he is in his crib sleeping and I can hear him smacking on that binkie. His crib is so cute. It is more like a pram-like thing on wheels that looks like a stroller. I like it!

We get to spend the next 2 days together just hanging out and playing. I think it will be a lot of fun just spending every minute with him. As I am typing, I can smell his baby lotion and I love it! Ahhhhhhhh.

The power is out, with no internet access right now. Who knows when I will be able to send this! More tomorrow!

Yipppppppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

2011-02-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

WE'RE COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE"RE COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE"RE COMING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to the place where we belong.

I got a SURPRIZE phone call at 10:30 tonight from our agency in the USA. She
said the embassy cleared us today. Which is wierd, because I was here in ET
today and no one heard anything as of 3:30 pm. They must have cleared us late
or something. Anyhow, they are trying to get me an appt. with the embassy
Tuesday at 1pm. I will be getting his visa Thursday morning, and will be
leaving this beloved country Thursday night and arriving home on one of the most
important days of the year. My Noney's birthday, Friday, Feb. 11th. Y'all
better be at the airport or I am turning right around and coming back to ET.

I sat on the rooftop and prayed this morning. I told the Lord that I trusted in
his will and that whatever his timeline was, I would be okay with. I also made
my request known to leave by Thursday night so I could get home for Noney. God
answers prayer. For all you doubters out there, He answers prayer. No one can
ever tell me differently. I saw His hand move upon me this week in a way that I
just can't explain. My life will forever be changed tomorrow when I drive one
last time to my baby's home and make him mine forever. As you sleep, I will be
taking my baby boy in my arms and bringing him with me to my hotel before our
embassy appt. Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Say a little prayer that I get that appt. tomorrow. God is so good!

Love you all and I can't wait to see you!

Lee, call the travel agent if you would and just reconfirm our flights for
Thursday and let me know the times, etc. I will let you know if something changes.

Someone call Christa with the details of the time.

See you all on the other side of the world!

Ethiopia Day 9

2011-02-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

Today I woke up feeling just fine. I went down and ate breakfast and ran into the couple I talked with yesterday. The lady is so, so sick. She is on her way to the hospital, and her husband is going to get a power of attorney so he can go to court without her and so she can go home tonight. Immediately after breakfast I started to feel a little nauseous, but I am hoping it is either psychological knowing she is sick, or it is because I ate too much breakfast. I do not want to deal with illness while I am here. Got a baby to take care of! Just keep praying for me, not only for embassy stuff, but just for my health. I have a darn good immune system anyway, so I am hoping it does me good.

After I went and saw Kaiser my stomach is fine. I feel better and no more fun with the toilet. Now just a small sore throat and earache, but I am hoping it is just from the pollution and dryness. The smell of burning coal is strong, and I could see a brown cloud over the city today when I was on the rooftop.

I got to skype my mom and little girl tonight. It makes my heart a little sad that she is home and I am here. I keep telling myself it is just a season of life that will be over soon. I miss my husband and my daughter, along with my parents, siblings and niece and nephews.

The power was out for a while today. I have to write my emails on Word and then copy them over. My visit with the little buddy was wonderful today. He was sleeping when I first got there and I let him be. He woke up after almost an hour. We played a little and I fed him his bottle. He gets fussy each day at about 2:45 and feeding time is 3pm. I put him in the pouch again today and he really loved it. He stayed in there for an hour and a half. The other kids were over there today so we just walked around and played with the kids. He just looked around smiling at them all and taking in the sights. I played soccer with a boy today and Kaiser loved to look back and forth at the ball. Maybe he will be a soccer player or marathon runner one day. After the kids went back to their transition home, we laid on a blanket on the grass. He is trying so hard to crawl, but can’t quite get it. He gets up on his feet with his head on the ground so he looks like an upside down “V” and tries to rock back and forth. He is trying so hard! He giggled a lot today and I found out he is ticklish on the sides of his ribcage and on the back of his neck. I love to hear him laugh. I think maybe he likes me more and more each day, although I don’t compare to his favorite nanny quite yet. Baby steps. At least he doesn’t cry and push me away.

I found out today that he really likes it when I sing to him. He stares and smiles at me. And today I was singing in his ear and he put his cheek next to mine and held it there until I was done with the song. So cute. He is teething I think, and keeps trying to chew on things. My finger, his hands. He has a toy that both my niece and nephew had that has teething things on all the hands and feet and he really likes to chew on that. I can’t quite see the teeth coming in yet, but it has to be soon.

I got to stay a long time today and I loved it. I kind of like it when the other kids are there because it gives Kaiser someone to look at besides me! He seems to really like being outside.

I am off to eat Chicken and rice tonight. I had only a granola bar at lunch because I was worried about my stomach, but I think it is okay now.

No news today from the Embassy. Our coordinator said she thought Wednesday at the earliest that we would hear something. I knew it, just thought maybe they would be fast. I know they are bogged down with a lot of cases and I don’t know why I feel like I am more important! Just want to get my son home to see his great grandma before she goes to heaven. Pray, pray pray for me!

Ethiopia day 8

2011-02-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

This morning I met a couple of people from the states in the guest house that were very nice. We talked for quite a bit, which was good for me so it isn’t so lonely. One had their son and has an embassy appt. on Monday and the other was here for court on Wednesday. Nice people and it made the morning go by faster than yesterday.

I learned a lot about Kaiser today. He was sitting in a walker play thing when I got there and he saw me and just smiled. He got really fussy when I got down by him, and I couldn’t tell if he was unhappy to see me or if he wanted out of his thing. I always seem to get there at naptime and the nannies said he was tired. The first thing I learned is that he sleeps on his stomach. Every time I have seen him sleeping he has been on his tummy and again today, I laid down on the couch with him and he fell right asleep on my chest. The second thing is that he falls asleep sucking on the palm of his hand. He did it yesterday and today. He will wake up and turn his head and then his other hand goes right up in his mouth. Not his fingers, just his palm. Today he was falling asleep again in the carrier and he was fussy because he couldn’t get to his hands. As soon as I put his hands inside the carrier, he put them up to his mouth and fell asleep. We walked around for about an hour just outside the transition home with him in the carrier. He really seemed to like it. He just looked around at everything. I wanted to try it out before I put him in it at the airport.

I talked to his favorite nanny and she told me he likes to drink from the slow flow bottles. She said he doesn’t like it when it is the fast flow. Which makes sense because I fed him Thursday and Friday with a faster flow and he really didn’t eat much. Today he ate the whole thing even though it took a while.

I feel like I am learning about him more and more every day. What he likes and smiles at, what he hates. Like holding him in your arms laying down, he hates, wiping his nose he hates. It feels good to get to know him. I hope he is getting to know me, too. He probably thinks I am a big dork because I am always making crazy faces and noises to try to get him to smile.

Tonight I am having penne pasta and meat sauce at the guest house. I have been craving certain foods today like Mexican food, and steak which I never crave. Salad, Dr. Pepper, pickles. I could stand to skip a few anyhow.

More tomorrow. Hopefully I will get news. I don’t expect to hear anything until late next week, but you never know! The embassy may look through his stuff quicker. Let’s hope and pray!

Ethiopia Day 7 I think???

2011-02-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

Today was honestly, a great day. I spent the first part of it just relaxing at the guest house. I took a hot shower, blow dried and straightened my hair, put some good make-up on, made myself look presentable. Then I read a little, drank some tea and waited for my ride.

I went to the transition home and it felt deserted a little bit! No staff are there except for the nannies, and on the weekend, they don’t bring the older kids over to the baby house for school. So I had the place to myself! I spent the first half hour in his room with the nannies and the other babies. I took this toy that rolls if you push down the top and all the kids were so excited and interested in it. It was one of my toys for Kaiser to play with when I get him with me, but honestly, I couldn’t bear to take it away from the kids so I left it there. He started to get really crabby for a while and his nannies said it was nap time for him. I took him out on the porch and tried to rock him to sleep. I put him on his back on the couch and sang to him and he just looked up at me and smiled. He started to get really fussy and I remembered he sleeps on his tummy. I laid down and put him on my chest and he went “waaaaa!” laid his head down

and went to sleep in 15 seconds. It was truly the best bonding time we have had thus far. We just laid there together and then he woke up when I tried to put the blanket up on him further. I think he was asleep for a half hour.

Then all of a sudden, he got really fussy and started screaming crying. Actual crocodile tears, which I haven’t seen yet. I went to talk to the nannies because I thought he was hungry and after he ate, he was happy little Kai again. We played for a while with the other babies in his room, then went outside on the grass. He really has not been outside a lot, so he spent a lot of time just looking around at the sights. His favorite toy today was a package of antibacterial wipes. It must have been crunchy or something because he couldn’t put it down! He is still sick, coughing quite a bit and his nose is really runny. Even so, he smiled and laughed. It was weird being there alone, but really wonderful, too. I miss my family terribly, but I am taking this time to really get to know his personality, and to let him know I am not going anywhere.

I am so tired and am thinking of going to bed early. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today. Can’t wait to see him again. Can’t wait to see if Monday brings any news. It is a little early, but I am hoping anyway. Just skyped with my dad and found out my family is safe on the ground in Washington, DC. Can’t wait to talk to them to see how the flight was.

Love to all!

Ethiopia day 6?

2011-02-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

I can't get my computer to send an e-mail. Hope it isn't broken. I am sending this from the guest house.

Glad to hear the kids are doing well. Tell them I miss them terribly!

Mom cried her eyes out when the van pulled away last night. Lee wasn't too happy to leave me either. The reality set in for me last night. The dark, etc. I am in AFRICA alone! Arggg! I cried myself to sleep last night, but woke up okay and happy today. It will all be okay. I can do anything right?

This morning I fell in the shower. I was trying to drown a mosquito with the shower head and slipped and fell. Almost completely out of the tub! I am okay but my lower back is sooooo sore! I will be okay!

Just left my hotel and am settled in at the Yebsabi guest house. It feels like home and everyone welcomed me when I came here. They remember me from last time and are so nice. I got my suitcase unpacked and my room organized. It feels good to finally unpack. I am on my last clean shirt so I have my laundry down to the ladies to wash. got a cup of coffee when I got here. Got a banana and some bread for a PB&J for lunch. I am trying to conserve my cash! Don't know how long I will be here. It is pretty cheap to hire a driver each day to take me to and from the Transition home to see the buddy.

I am off to see Kaiser at 1. They said since there are no staff from the agency there onthe weekend, it is better to just go after lunch. So from 1-4 today and tomorrow and then I will do 10-4 the rest of the week. I am going to try to put him in the pouch to get him used to it before I take him in it at the airport. He is so cute, and everyone calls him "Yosie." All the nannies love him, and he really loves them, too. Just smiles and laughs when they talk to him.

Tell grandma I love her. Tell her I will be home with her new grandson, soon, and try to hang on till I get there. I want to hug and love her in person.

Love you and tell everyone hi for me.
Hugs, kisses, love and smiles!

Ethiopia Day.... too many!

2011-02-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

It is official. I am in Africa alone! It feels so strange to say that. My family left about 15 minutes ago for the airport and I am sitting here feeling a little scared, but excited about the coming weeks. I know I am going to be okay, and I trust that the Lord will keep me safe.

Today was one of the best days we had. We started the day with a little shopping, and I bought another coffee pot to replace the last one I bought that broke in my suitcase. My brother will be happy to know I have coffee on the way to him! We didn't buy much. We actually spent more money handing out food and money to the kids that came up to the car. One sweet kid remembered us from the last time we were here. A guy in our group paid him to shine his shoes last time and told him to try to go to school. He remembered us and told us he is trying to go to school and buy books. Lee gave him some money. Right before we pulled away, he handed me a bracelet and told me thank you and God bless you. Don't think I will ever forget him. After shopping, we took Lilia to the park with some other friends and the kids really had a great time. The park was beautiful and had a lot of play equipment. After lunch, we went to visit Kaiser. He was asleep, and

we just let him sleep. I had to stop myself from just picking him up and squeezing him. Me, mom and Lilia stayed there while Lee went to the other 2 orphanages to drop of crocs. Everyone was very thankful for the shoes. Our coordinator Yonas told us the people were very thankful and we did a good think. I just want to say to everyone of you who donated, it was more than just a pair of shoes you gave. If you could have seen the smiles on the kids faces when they saw them, and if you could have seen them today running around with their new shoes on their feet, you would know what a good thing it was that you did. I can't say it enough...............from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!!!

Kaiser smiles at me and mom, but laughs at Lee and Lilia. She had him cracking up today spitting and jumping up and down. I told her it was the one time in her life that it was okay to spit! He just laughed and laughed at her. It was so cute to see them together. Lilia made good friends with another boy that is going with her to America with a different family today. She just adores him and played with him all day. She is going to crash on the plane hopefully from playing hard all day.

Tomorrow I am moving to the guest house in the morning. I can't wait. The hotel we are in now is nice, and the people are really great. But the guest house will feel a little more like home to me, since that is where I stayed last time. Can't wait for the shower!!!

I am hiring a driver to drive me to see Kaiser every day. I am going to spend a lot of alone time with him, which I am looking forward to. I will be relaxed this weekend, knowing the embassy is closed, but come Monday, I am going to be anxious waiting to hear if he is cleared to come home. Pray for a quick clearance from the embassy. I can't bear to be away from my family for too long.

Love to you all and talk to you soon!

Ethiopia day whatever!

2011-02-03T08:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't written. The internet has been terrible, and was out all day yesterday. I sent Dad an e-mail quickly this morning, and got disconnected right in the middle of writing to you Jill.

Wed. morning we were at the Transition home visiting Kaiser and our coordinator came over to tell us the Embassy did not accept our paperwork without his passport. They only accept paperwork to be submitted in the mornings, but made an exception for us to be able to bring it in by 5. But she said that immigration said they would not be able to get it done. Unless of a medical reason, etc. I told her Kaiser had a cough! Then mom spoke up and said his grandma is terminally ill, and is waiting to go to heaven until she sees her great-grandson. She said that might be a reason they might expedite it so we got an appt. for 2:30 with immigration. We got there and we were waiting for another agency representative to meet us there. He walked up and whipped the passport out of his briefcase. He got there before us to plead our case and pushed them until they gave it to him. Yay God!! We were submitted to the Embassy yesterday officially! It truly was a

miracle, and a little help from mom and grandma. So now we wait 7-10 days to be cleared, maybe sooner, then home! I am staying by myself until we are cleared to bring him home.

Today we went to visit Kaiser in the morning. He was sicker today, coughing a lot and congested. Tired, too. Probably from us keeping him up all day yesterday. We were only there about an hour and a half. Then after lunch we went up to Entoto mountain. It is pretty cool. We could see the whole city, and there was a church and the palace of Emperor so-and-so.

Grandma says Kaiser is the cutest kid she has ever seen, except for the other 3 grandkids, definately the cutest one in there. I agree. Lilia has been so great, just playing and going with the flow. She started to play quite a bit with the other kids in the transition home yesterday, and is being less shy. She loves to ride the shuttle bus everywhere. The newness of her brother has worn off a little. She is less interested in playing with him, more interested in playing on the playground. Typical 5 year old kid.

We got Ethiopian coffee today, but didn't make it to the coffee factory. Tomorrow I am going to try to find an Ethiopian coffee set since my last one broke in my suitcase. Our plans for tomorrow are to visit our little guy, then I will be moving to a different place to stay, the guest house.

We were so excited because we gave the transition home crocs yesterday and a bunch of them were wearing them today! It was good to see they use them and the nannies were really thankful and said they needed them so bad. Another fiasco about the crocs to tell a different time.....

I am excited to spend some time with my buddy boy but will be a little sad to be alone here. I will be the only family here from our agency so it will be quiet. But maybe Kaiser needs to get some bonding time with me :)

We love you all, and will e-mail again as soon as we can.

Ethiopia Day 2

2011-02-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty irritating beginning to the day. We found out that they got Kaiser's passport, and the Ethiopian people had put the wrong birth date on it. So the agency asked if they could expedite it and get a new one by tomorrow so we can submit our paperwork. They said they are too busy and could do it by Friday. Which doesn't help us out a lot because we can only be submitted on Wednesdays. Our coordinator said she is going to talk to the embassy and see if we can submit tomorrow without it and just use his birth certificate as a form of identity. She said it is unlikely they will accept it, but she will try. Needless to say, we are bummed out. I just don't know whether to stay here or go home. I can't imagine leaving the little guy again. But I can't leave my daughter for months on end either. We just keep praying for the paperwork and for God to give me a little clarity on what I should do.

As for the buddy boy, he is a little cutie. He is smiling a lot, and he actually belly laughed today! Lilia likes him and she can get him to smile a lot by playing peek-a-boo. He seems to like us! We spent the afternoon with him playing and feeding him. Tomorrow the rest of the families are going to the embassy and we are going to spend the whole day with him. They have a little playground for Lilia to play on so she is having a lot of fun. I asked her today what she thought of Ethiopia and she said "it is really cool!" She is having a good time and is doing well despite the jet lag and tiredness. Except that she woke up at 2:45 am and was wide awake!!

Kaiser rolled over today! It was cute. He is trying to get up on his hands and knees but couldn't crawl yet. We doesn't have any teeth yet. Which I am glad about because there is something I didn't miss! Toothless little grin!

Ethiopia Day 1

2011-01-31T10:16:00.000-08:00

We made it safe and sound to Ethiopia. We tried to get on the internet this morning when we got here but the internet was down due to the African Union meeting being held here. The plane ride was easier than thought and Lilia was a peach. She didn't say she was ready to get off until about an hour before we landed. She slept a little, but mostly played.

We got to our hotel and slept for an hour, then lunch, then on to see Kaiser! He looks the same to me, maybe a little bigger. I am so happy they didn't cut his hair! He was really happy and smiley the whole time. Lilia was so tired she slept through lunch, the ride over, and the first 30 minutes of seeing her new brother. Then she woke up and played with him. It was so amazing to FINALLY see them together. She can make him laugh and tried to carry him around. She kept saying "Daddy, do you want to hold my baby brother?" It was really sweet! He is sitting up, but falls over sometimes, too. No teeth yet!! And, yes, he is sick. Coughing and congested, with a pretty stuffy nose. He needs to just come home.

We are SHOT!! Sooooooo tired. We are eating dinner in about 45 minutes and then off to bed. Tomorrow we are going to do all the paperwork for our Embassy, which we aren't cleared yet, but will do anyway. Then hopefully off to see the buddy again.

He ate some rice today, and choked on it, then threw up. Poor guy!!

I loved to see Kaiser with grammy. It was so cute! You talk about a kid for so long and hope everyone else thinks he is as great as you say, and it was nice to finally have someone to share him with. They are tied together already.

More tomorrow. I will try to post a picture tomorrow, too! I have to say, we pulled away from the transition home today and the other 2 couples got to take their kids with them. I was jealous a little, and very sad. I just want my baby. Haven't heard anything about the paperwork, but am hoping to tomorrow.

Gotta have a little faith

2011-01-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

January 27, 2011

We are leaving for Ethiopia in 2 days!! I can't believe it! Lee and I, Lilia and my mom will be holding our baby Monday morning!!
The last 2 weeks have been trying and extremely emotional. We bought our tickets and ever since then it has been a faith walk, hit with delay after delay and snag after snag. Our paperwork was supposed to be submitted to the US embassy on the 19th. It wasn't ready, so then it was supposed to be submitted the 26th. Again, not ready. We were hoping it would be submitted the 26th and then we would hear in Ethiopia that we were cleared! However, that is not going to happen. Hopefully, it WILL be submitted next Wed. while we are in Ethiopia. My family will all come home on the 5th and I will stay there. We have no idea for how long. If we are submitted the 2nd, we could be cleared as early as the 9th and might have an embassy appointment the next day. If it is longer, we don't know how long that will be. I will stay until we know and if it seems like it will be longer than about 3-4 weeks, I will come home without him and wait until we are cleared. I just can't imagine having to leave him twice. Pray that doesn't happen.
We are waiting on a clearance letter from Ethiopia, who is backed up in work, and behind. Just give us the clearance, please!!! We will visit our sweet son every day, but we are not going to take him with us to the hotel. We could, but once we do that, we cannot take him back to the transition home for any reason. If it is going to be a 3 month delay, I will have to come home.
The hardest part for me is my little girl. I don't want to leave her. She needs her mama and I need her. I can't imagine leaving her for a month and I can't imagine what will be going through her little mind when I am not there for all that time. Just pray for favor with the US embassy and for the Ethiopian people to get our clearance quickly. Our little guy has spent too much of his life without us already.
As far as Kaiser, he is as cute as can be. We got new pictures of him and he is the same sweetness as when we were there. I can't wait to introduce him to his big sister and see what she is like with a little brother. We have been talking about him for so long that it is hard to believe it is finally here.
We leave Saturday and arrive in Ethiopia Monday morning. My sister will be posting on the blog for me and hopefully posting some pictures of our trip.
We could use all the prayers you can muster up. Thanks so much!!
Ethiopia, here we come!

We have our tickets booked!

2011-01-14T16:49:00.000-08:00

We passed court on Christmas eve! This long journey is almost coming to an end. Kaiser's birth certificate and passport are being processed as we speak. We are hopefully going to submit his paperwork to the Embassy on Wednesday, for an embassy appointment Feb. 2nd. We stepped out in faith and bought our plane tickets to leave on January 29th for Ethiopia! We can't wait to get our baby boy and have him in our arms forever.
We are taking Lilia with us and my mom. I can't wait to share this experience with my mom, to have her help us bring our son home. The 3 adults to 2 kids ratio is also a big help!
We are in the process of having a croc drive and have collected over 200 pairs of crocs and more are on the way. What a blessing it has been to see our friends and family step up for a good cause. We are up to our eyeballs in shoes! We also have 126 cans of formula to bring this time. We are going to be packed to the gills! 8 total bags, plus 8 small carry-ons. In February, our little man will officially become a United States citizen. Yay!
Now for the difficult part..............pray that our paperwork is ready to turn in Wednesday, and pray that the embassy clears us for February 2nd. Thank you!!

Introducing Kaiser William Yosef Adkins

2010-12-26T08:06:00.000-08:00

We did not pass again today

2010-12-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

Just got a call from the agency that once again, our letter was not there. I find myself super irritated about it. I just want to get my little boy home. Wish some people would work a little overtime. There were 7 families in Ethiopia for court today and it doesn't look like any of them passed, plus the 4 of us from last week. Some families posted that they found out their letters were written, they just didn't make it today to the court. Hopefully our letter is also written, and just hasn't made it there and will tomorrow. Our agency is going to try again tomorrow to see if the letter is there for us. Pray for a Merry Christmas Eve for us tomorrow!
Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow, we will be celebrating our Saviours birth, and praising Him that he is in conrol. I can't post pictures yet, but hopefully I can tomorrow! Will have to settle for a picture of his hand grabbing his daddy's shirt :)

Final day, and we made it home!

2010-12-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

After a looooong plane ride, delays and missed flights, we are home safe and sound. So glad to be home and sleep in our own beds, but part of our heart is still in Ethiopia. I miss him so much already .
Our last day there was great. In the morning, we went to the transition home and saw Kaiser. He was sicker, which made me very sad. Not only do I have to leave my child, but I have to leave him when he is sick. The tears were flowing. Despite his fever, coughs and stuffy nose, he was cheerful and laughed quite a bit. We had to say goodbye, which was a lot more painful than I thought it would be. We did it with Lilia, so I thought I was prepared. We only spent about 2 hours with Lilia before we left, but we probably spent close to 18 hours with Kaiser, so I think that was the difference. The only peace in my heart came from knowing God will protect him, and that the nannies in the transition home love him dearly. He was cleaner than my own kid usually is. We said goodbye, and that we would be back soon to bring him home.

After lunch, we went to a coffee factory. Did you know that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee? I knew there was a reason we chose Ethiopia! Specifically the Sidamo region where Kaiser is from. It was a pretty neat factory. Then we pretty much packed and went to the airport.

We are getting ready to lay down our heads. God is good. He has given us such a gift, and we hope we can show God that he chose the right people to be Kai's parents. Embassy here we come! We need to bring our baby home! We are hoping for Jan. 19th, but are prepared for a later date if it happens. The first thing we need is that darn letter from MOWA. Pray for the 23rd!

Ethiopia Day 5

2010-12-16T19:44:00.001-08:00

WE DIDN"T PASS COURT TODAY :(

Unfortunately, the letter we needed from the Ministry of Women's Affairs was not written and in Kaiser's file when we went in front of the judge. They write 30 letters a day and only had time to write 20 and ours happened to be one that they didn't have time to write. So don't take a lunch break! Stay an extra hour later! Come in early or something people! We were a little sad about it, but God is in control. We have a new court date for December 23rd. The rest of court went fine, and as soon as that letter arrives, we will pass. Out of the 6 families from our agency, only 2 passed. We were glad that at least someone did. God has his hand upon the situation, he is in control and he knows what he is doing. Otherwise we would be going crazy right now.

After court we came back to our guest house and met with Kaiser's birth mom. It was quite an experience. She is young and was scared. It was a good conversation. All I wanted to hear is for her to say that she loved him. She did! So my heart was happy. She hugged me and Lee, which was also great. It lasted maybe 10 minutes. It has been such an emotional day.

We then went to lunch and it was pretty good. Gorgonzola pasta and lasagna. We have had a lot of italian food here, which for me has been pretty good. We brought granola bars in case we got hungry, but haven't eaten any because we have been handing them out to the kids at the transition home.

After lunch we went to spend some time with Kaiser. He was as mellow as can be. They woke him up from a nap, which I kind of feel bad about, but then again, how often do you come to Ethiopia to see your only son? We just held him, fed him a bottle and tried to make him laugh. He is such a cutie pie. Curious as ever. He will eat for a sec and then just look around at everyone to see what's happening. We are so in love with the little guy. Even though he is not officially ours on paper, he is officially ours in our hearts. We will be leaving knowing that he IS ours, and that stupid letter is just a formality.

After we saw the little guy, we went to the transition home for the older kids. That was such a blast!! I sat on the wall with them and they all wanted to sit by me. Two of my favorite little boys were kids I took care packages to. My friend Jackie M.'s little boy is a sweet heart and hugged me all day. Also my friend Jennifer H.'s oldest little boy is so sweet and the smiliest little guy!! We handed out the rest of our 150 matchbox cars to them, which was awesome, and then we handed out their very own pack of gum to each of them. They were so excited! For the rest of my adoption friends, the 5 piece packs of gum were loved, along with matchbox cars. Pretty much anything you give them, they love. It is funny because we are such hoarders in America. When we gave stuff to the orphans, most of them would come up to us and try to share what we just gave them. It really was amazing to see that. They are selfless little people!! My favorite little girl was L*** who is on the waiting child list. What a sweetie! She is 10 and absolutely beautiful! I had a brand new lipgloss from bath and body in my pocket and when no other kids were looking, I gave it to her. She had a smile on her face that I will never forget. Can't wait till she gets a family!! All the kids sang songs to us and smiled. After not passing court, the afternoon completely made up for it.

We came back to the guest house and went shopping briefly on the street. I got a little coffee pot that is used for coffee ceremonies. 35 burr, which is about $2.25. We had plans to go to a Thai restaurant at 7 pm for dinner. I got up at 1:30 am just worrying about court, etc. So when we got back from shopping, I laid down at 6:30 and never woke up for dinner! Soooooo exausted. Emotionally and physically. We have one more day with our sweet little Kai Pie, then home to our little girl, who I miss so bad. Can't wait to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her.

This trip for me has been way more emotional than I ever thought it would be. My heart is tired of feeling, to be honest. When you are in the US, the situation in the rest of the world is kind of out-of-site, out-of-mind. But here it stares you in the face every waking moment. How lucky we are. How blessed to have the hand of God's blessing in our lives. How much we have to give, but don't do it. If a little orphan can share their only pack of fruit snacks with me, why can't I? That leads me to our new campaign that Lee thought of. Shoes for Ethiopia. Pretty much all the kids wear crocs, or knock-off crocks, and probably 90% have holes where their toes are sticking out, or torn up, way too small, way too big. So if every family we know reading this would send us a pair of knock-off crocks. how may kids could we give a new pair of shoes to? We need sizes probably for toddler 2-3, all the way up to a kid about 14 years old. If God lays it on your heart, which I am praying he will, please send it to us so we can bring it over when we come to pick up Kaiser. This country has given us so much more than we could ever hope or ask. All we want to do is give back. All we want is to put a smile on the face of a little orphan kid.

Here is the address to send the shoes to:

Lee and Amy Adkins

5644 S Ingalls St

Littleton, CO 80123

God bless you a million times in return.

We love all of you!!

One more day.....................my heart is already sad to leave him. Pray for a quick return.

Ethiopia Day 4

2010-12-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Today was the most emotional day yet. We spent the morning talking with our coordinator Duni about court proceedings, meeting Kaiser's birth mother, etc. It made me feel so sad, a little anxious and uneasy about tomorrow. Pray for peace. Peace for us, and peace for her. I can't even imagine what is going through her mind and heart. I hope we give her a little hope that her son is going to be loved and adored, and possibly that she did the right thing.

We then went to visit 2 separate orphanages. I left in complete tears. I questioned....Why God? Why so many? Why can't you bring parents for them all? Why can't you just snap your fingers and just change the way things are?

We brought 150 matchbox cars to hand out and eaqch and every kid lit up when we gave them one, and carried it around like it was their prized posession. The smiles made our hearts melt. Even with all the loss and poverty in their lives, it is so amazing to see that all of the kids had smiles on their faces. About 5 little kids came up to me when we left and gave me a hung and kissed my cheek. I told them all that Jesus loved them. I don't know if they understood, but I am hoping maybe they felt the love of Jesus through us.

It is also amazing because back in November, some of the families from our agency visited one of the orphanages and it was in dire need. It looks like people heard and helped because we felt like it was in better shape today than it was a month ago. The question of "Why God?" haunted me all day long, but in the end, I understood that things are, just because they are. I can only do as the Lord tells me to do, and let Him figure out all the rest. He is in control, and even though I don't understand, He still holds each and every child in his hand. He is their ultimate Father. But, tomorrow, I am hoping that Ethiopia has one less orphan :)

After the orphanage visits, we went to lunch at the Blue Top restaurant. Americanized food and Ethiopian food. It was a lot of fun, and a little distraction from the morning.

Then to the transition home to see our bugaboo. He was smiling, and we got him to laugh today playing peek-a-boo and tossing him in the air. I put him in his little Christmas outfit and took his picture with his "Ho Ho Ho" hat and "Santa's little man" onesie. What a cute little doll. He loves to be held while we are standing up. He gets fussy if you hold him too long sitting down and as soon as you stand up, he is happy as can be. He got his hair washed and had some oil in it today, which made it super curly! Like mama like son. He has the most mild temperament so far. He just goes with the flow. A lot like his big sister.

We are done for the day! We get to rest and take a nap before dinner. Fish for dinner, so I will probably be eating cinnamon nuts and caramel again :)

Tomorrow we are supposed to meet Kaiser's mom after she goes to court. Pray for that meeting, and please pray that we pass court!! I don't want to go home without knowing he is officially ours!

Ethopia Day #3

2010-12-14T09:34:00.000-08:00

We love our little boy!! He is so sweet and smiley. He really has a pretty calm personality. The only time he got fussy was when we layed him down and when he was tired.

We spent the morning shopping for a little while. We went to a street with a lot of little shops kind of like Mexico. There were little kids coming up to us wanting to shine our shoes and asking for food. We had a lot of granola bars to hand out and it made them happy. We got some cute stuff.

We then went to lunch at a little italian place that was like an art gallery. The food was pretty good, but took a long time. My stomach started to get sick a little but it passed. After lunch we went to the transition home (our orphanage) and it was great. We spent the first hour taking pictures of other families children and handing out care packages to them that their parents from the US sent with us. They were all so happy to get their little packages. It was a great moment! I wanted to just hold my baby, but Lee reminded me of how important it is when you are back in the US without your kids to just get a picture or video of them! Something we were happy to be a part of.

We then got to hold our little boy. He had a bath because his hair was so soft and smelled really good. He was super smiley today and was trying to talk to us. He is way more congested today than yesterday. His nose was really stuffy and he was coughing a little. But he seemed in good spirits! We gave all the donations to the transition home today also. Kai pie was tired so I rocked him in my arms and he fell asleep almost right away. It was so cute because 2 nannies came up to us throughout the day and said "he is mine." It was so cute because they wanted us to know they were his nannies, and they love him. It was so sweet and we got their pictures. Kaiser had on 0-3 month stuff today and 3-6 month yesterday, both seemed to fit pretty well.

We get about a 2 hour break and then we are heading to a traditional Ethiopian dinner with dancing tonight. Yes, I will be stocking up on cinnamon nuts and caramel before I go :)

The kids at the transitional home are exceptionally happy. They all play soccer together and were dancing and singing today. It is great to see smiles on their faces!

More tomorrow!

Ethiopia Day #2

2010-12-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

This was one of the most awesome days of our lives!! We started out at the orphanage, standing there waiting to see our buddy. They broought him out to us in the clothes we sent him in November and he is a little doll. He is beautiful! He has the biggest brown eyes, and the whites of his eyes are super white, just like Lilia's eyes! His hair is awesome. It is soft like cotton candy, and loosely curled. And he has a lot of it. In the morning, he acted like he was sick and not feeling good. We felt the rattling in his chest, and the nurse in me was checking his respiratory rate and watching his nasal flaring. He wasn't real smily, just let us hold him and he pretty much just sat there. He started getting fussy so I stood up and rocked him, and he fell right asleep.

We left and went to lunch at a pizza place that was pretty good, and really inexpensive. Then to a coffee shop that looked like starbucks, and they are everywhere like starbucks. We didn't even feel like we were in Ethiopia for a minute. Our guides and drivers have been great. Super friendly and they know the ropes.

In the afternoon, we went back to see him and he was sleeping in his little crib. They woke him up and gave him to us. He was super happy this afternoon. We fed him a bottle and then he was all happy. Lee got him to smile and giggle a little. He was BUSY! Didn't want to sit. Wanted to jump and squirm. The johnny-jumper is going to be fun for him! He got fussy again so I stood up and rocked him to sleep again. Then we put him down in his crib. We got to do footprints of him today, too.

It was awesome to see him and hold him finally! Woohoo! We think he might be the cutest :)

Tomorrow it is shopping in the morning, then back to see him in the afternoon. We have 8 care packages to deliver to other people's kids tomorrow and take all our donations. We are beat. The hours of sleeplessness are catching up. Goodnight!!

Ethiopia Day 1 (attempt #2)

2010-12-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the message! I will try again...

We made it finally!! IT was a pretty easy trip overall. Short layovers, nice people! The Ethiopian airlines are really nice and the flight attendants were great. We ate 3 meals, well, kind of. They ran out of chicken so I got my most hated food on the planet.......fish. Overall, it was okay. We made it in last night and had about 4 hour sleep, waking up to wild barking dogs, and a loud muslin prayer guy? It is entertaining, and really interesting to be in someone else's world!

We are so excited for the day! We are leaving in an hour to see our sweet baby's face! We can't wait to hold him in our arms!! We get to spend the whole day with him! Hopefully feed him, change him into his Christmas clothes we brought, and play with his toys! Yay!!!

We will try to post as soon as we see him!

Thank you to all our family and friends for the prayers and the support over the last year and a half. IT is finally here!!!!!

Love you!

Ethiopia Day 1

2010-12-12T16:58:00.000-08:00

We made it safe and sound! The flight was not nearly as bas as we thought, and we actually slept a little bit. We both had a TV and Lee watched a couple of movies, however, my TV was broken :( The food was okay. Actually, they ran out of chicken so I got my most despised food in the world..........fish. Needless to say, I ate a salad the size of a deck of cards, a roll, and a teeny piece of cheesecake.

Amy said internet access is slow and her email cut off, so I am pretty sure there was more to her message. Stick with us while we try to work out the kinks!

Operation Ethiopia- Dec. 11th!

2010-12-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

We leave Saturday the 11th for Ethiopia. We will arrive at 9:30 am Sunday Denver time. Happy B-day to me! We will get to see Kaiser on Monday the 13th and will get to spend about 3 hours a day with him. Our court day is Thursday the 16th. My sister will hopefully be able to update the blog while we are gone.

Pray for us!

November 19, 2010

2010-11-19T10:15:00.000-08:00

We are leaving in 22 days!!!!! Ahhhhhhh. I am scrambling trying to get everything bought, donations gathered, bags packed. All the while trying to work on Christmas shopping and helping Santa build a puppet theater for my sweet Lilia for Christmas before we leave. Actually, Santa isn't doing any of it. It's all me! We get to take 4 bags free of charge and we have so many donations that we are going to have to fit our belongings in one bag and the other 3 will be filled with donations. I have a lot of formula that was donated by the Enfamil and Similac reps at my hospital and so will have to take some of it on trip #2. It is such a blessing to see so many people come forward to help us!
Lilia is really excited about her brother. She is really noticing other people's brothers and is trying to pick them up and make them laugh. I can't wait to see my 2 kids together! Our agency told us that if we pass court and the paperwork goes smoothly, we will probably be travleing mid January to bring him home. It is kind of ironic because we got Lilia in our possession on January 18th.
We are really excited this year for the holidays, and especially because it is the last one Kaiser ever has to spend alone. We are gonna be a family of 4!! Woohoo!

The countdown is here!

2010-10-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

We leave for Ethiopia 6 weeks from today!! We will be leaving on December 11th and arrive in Ethiopia the night of the 12th (which happens to be my birthday and the best present ever!) We will see our little man the next 3 days, and then head to court on the 16th. Then we leave the night of the 17th and make it back to Denver at noon on the 18th. We have so much to do until then! We are still taking donations if anyone is interested! We get 4 free bags and are trying to fill them all. Plus gifts for the nannies and the kids in the state orphanage.
Our dear little South Jeffco Sabercats lost their playoff game today and we are sad about it. It was a great year and we are proud of them!
Lilia is loving all the leaves and has jumped in them a bunch. And she has a new FAVORITE show. Dinosaur train is out, and Dino Dan is in! Lee and I really miss dinosaur train though, and are sad to see it go. I just love this picture of Lilia and it might be one of my favorite ones ever of her! I look at her and think.......you are the most beautiful girl God ever made. Inside and out. We are lucky!! Our good friends have a one-year-old who was pulling Lilia's hair today and she told me about it. I told her she might have to get used to it because her baby brother might pull her hair. She said, "Is he gonna pull it all out?" It is gonna be a transition for us all, but especially for her I think. I know she will be an awesome big sister, though.

Court Date!!!!

2010-10-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

We are going to meet our son!! We heard today that we have a court date for December 16th. We will be back home in time for Christmas. Yay!!

Pumpkin Patch- Still Waiting for a Court Date! (10/23/10)

2010-10-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

We went to our favorite pumpkin patch last weekend at Anderson Farms and Lilia had a great time. It has been freezing in years past but this year it was really hot! She loves the barrel ride and the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch.

We are waiting still for a court date. We have moved up on the list to #13 and are really hoping for late November, but wouldn't be surprized if it wasn't until December. Either way, it is coming soon and we can't wait!!

Lilia and I are going to her first girl scout meeting today with her Daisy troop. She is still loving gymnastics and is looking forward to skiing and sledding this winter. Pray for a quick court date!

Sick little guy :( (10/10/10)

2010-10-10T06:28:00.000-07:00

Please say a prayer for our little son! We got word this week that he is sick with a respiratory infection and is on antibiotics. There is also a mumps outbreak where he is at. We wish we could be there to hold and comfort him, but w e know that the Lord is with him.
Court dates are coming along, and there are 16 people in front of us right now. We are hoping for late November, but thinking it will be December.

It's a Boy!!

2010-09-25T21:01:00.000-07:00

Finally!

We have a baby boy! He is the most beautiful, sweet baby boy there is. He is 2 1/2 months old, has big brown eyes, and the cutest little lips! The best part is............he's ours!! We are so excited and can't wait for this next step in our lives. If all goes well, court will reopen in Ethiopia on Tuesday. There are 26 patient families ahead of us waiting for a court date. We really don't have a good idea of when our court date will be. We are hoping for October, but it will most likely be later I think. Whenever it is, we will be bringing home a little peanut! I so wish we could post his picture or some more info about him, but we are under confidentiality regulations until we officially pass court. So you will just have to picture him in your minds. He is so sweet and God is so good. It's all because of HIM! Step out in faith and He will meet you there to carry you through. This is the best weekend ever!!

Lee's little football team won again and are officially in the playoffs, and within one game of clinching the conference champion title. Go Sabercats!!

6 months and counting (9/20/10)

2010-09-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

6 months DTE (dossier to Ethiopia). Our paperwork arrived in Ethiopia 6 months ago and the wait began. Originally, we were told 4-6 months before we got a referral. 4 months came and went, 5 months came and went, now 6 months came and went. We know all too well that the world of adoption is not cut and dry, there are no guarantees of anything. But we have learned the one guarantee is that we serve a sovereign God who has his hand in our lives, and that in the end, he will work everything out for the good. So we are still waiting for the call to come. Courts re-open in a week, so if that is what they are waiting for, we are almost there. Pray for patience and peace as we wait!

We are doing great otherwise. Lee is having fun doing the Colorado Rangers and I am so proud of him! Football is in full swing, and his little team is 5-0 and kicking some butt this year. Our little nephew is playing on Lee's team, and he is so proud of him!! It makes our lives super busy, but it is something we love to do together. Lilia is reading more and more every day and is doing great in school. She is still in gymnastics and is having fun! I just got back from an awesome women's retreat at Estes Park. We are truly blessed, and can't wait to add 1 more to all the craziness around here!

2010-09-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

We have been #1 for 44 loooooooooooong days. I contacted our agency and asked what is going on. I was assured there is no problem with anything. For some reason, there are no baby boys available right now in the orphanage. Our agency has its own that holds about 65, and the children have to be in there to get referred out. Apparently, there are either no baby boys in there, or their paperwork isn't ready. Whatever it is, it stinks! NEVER thought we would still be waiting after 6 1/2 weeks at #1. Christmas seems close, and the thought that he will be home by then is probably wishful thinking at this point. Even so, God is in control, and whatever his timing is, it will be perfect.

Lilia is great. She is happy with school and her new friends she has made. She seems to be doing well, and I can tell her reading has gotten better just since the beginning of school. I am so proud of her!

The next post better be good news!!

Picture Day~ 9/2/10

2010-09-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

Lilia had her kindergarten pictures today. Of course, she didn't care at all what she wore, how her hair was done, if her hair was done, if she had food on her face, etc. I sent her with a brush in her backpack and told her to tell her teacher it was in there just in case she needed her hair fixed. She looked at me like I was nuts. So I took these pictures in front of the house just in case the school ones don't turn out!

Still #1. 4 1/2 weeks at #1. The wait continues, but we are holding on to the fact that God has him in his arms keeping him safe until we can get to him. Sure would be nice to know who "him" is!

8/25/10 ~ My little Kindergartener!

2010-08-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

My litte girl started kindergarten this past Monday. I asked her how it went and she said, "It was terrific!" She has already made a few friends and is having her first play date tomorrow at the park after school. She doesn't say a lot about what she did at school except recess, and playing in the sand, swinging, etc. She is going 1/2 day in the morning. She is getting so big!
We are still #1. Never ending #1. Eternal #1. The only time in life a person could get tired of being #1. It is gonna be soon, I hope. Or I am going to keep losing a lot of sleep!!

Waiting.....for the phone to ring! 8/20/10

2010-08-20T19:41:00.000-07:00

We have been #1 for 18 days. 18 loooooooong days. Every time the phone rings, my heart starts to race and then I look at the caller ID and think.....darn. It isn't the call I want! I keep saying, surely it will be today! But it hasn't been yet. The agency office was closed today, so another weekend without a call. It has GOT to be next week!

One of my bestest friends and I spent yesterday putting up wainscoting in our little boy's room. It made the time go fast, and it looks great! I have 2 more sides of the crib bumber to sew, paint the wainscoting, put the crib up, then it is done! The rest of the sewing is done. I hope he likes his little helicopter room!

Lilia met her kindergarten teacher today and seemed to like her. She seems really sweet. She starts school on Monday and is excited! I am a little nervous. Even though she went to preschool, it still feels like her first day of school. I hope I don't cry! Hopefully my next post will be that we have a little one!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

2010-08-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

My little girl is 5 years old today!! We had a great party for her, and she had a fun day playing with all her new toys. Dinosaurs everywhere. No dolls, no makeup, no princess stuff. Dinosaurs. You go girl!!

When we go to Ethiopia, we are going to try to bring as many donations to the orphanage as possible. We saw the list, and it immediately made our hearts hurt because of all the need. If anyone has it on their heart to help us with donations, here is the list we were given of the current needs.

Current Transition Home Needs
1. Underwear for boys and girls from toddler to 10 years of age, especially for boys and children under age 6
2. Wipes
3. Baby Bouncers
4. Scrubs, deodorant, toothbrushes, and toothpaste for nannies

General Needs:
o Paper Towels
o Children’s clothing (new or slightly used); Boys and Girls; sizes 0-8 years. Clothing needs include day clothes (especially pants), pajamas, underwear, and shoes.
o Diapers for up to 30 pounds
o Toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss
o Toys to stimulate babies such as colorful objects, rattles, etc. that are appropriate for babies up to 2 years
o Unscented baby wipes
o Powder formula with DHA/RHA*
o Lactose free formula*
o A + D Original Ointment, Diaper Rash and All-Purpose Skincare Formula;
o Hand Sanitizer
o Pens (to use as gifts at appointments, etc.)
o Candles
o Children’s Notebooks
*For traveling families taking formula the following brands are acceptable:
• Enfamil
• Similac
Soy based or other special formulas are also acceptable as long as they are one of the brands listed above.

Medications/Medical Donation Needs
o Multivitamins
o Tri-vi-sol (o to 6 months)
o Poly-vi-sol (6 months to 2 years)
o Chewable multi-vitamin (2 years to 9 years)
o Adult multivitamin (9 years plus)
o Tylenol (acetaminophen)
o Infants
o Children's
o Suppository
o Syringes for giving medicines (5mL)
o Plastic and Latex disposable gloves
o Baby nose saline spray
o Neosporin
o Mouth and nose masks
o Benadryl liquid/elixir
o Permetherin for scabies
o Lice kits
o NG tube (feeding tube) pediatrics
o Infant & child urine collection equipment
o Surgical gloves
o Pediatrics cannula
o Butterfly cannula
o IV fluids(Normal saline)
o DNS
o DW
o Syringe with needle(10cc)
o Syringe with needle(5cc)
o Syringe with needle (3cc)
o 40% Dextrose
o Ceftriaxone 500 mg IV
o Ceftriaxone 250 mg IV
o Ceftriaxone 500 mg IM
o Ceftriaxone 500 mg IM
o Gentamycin 80 mg
o Plasil 10 mg
o Amoxacillin 500mg/5 ml
o Amoxacillin 250mg/5ml
o Cotrimoxazole 480 mg/5 ml
o Cotrimoxazole 240 mg/5ml
o Augmentin 312mg/5ml
o Masks
o Gowns( Nurses uniforms,scrubs)
o Grisofulvin syrup
o Grisofulvin tabs
o Clotrimazole cream
o Dezor cream and Shampoo
o Anti dandruff shampoos
o Miconazole cream
o Candacort cream
o Hydrocortizone cream
o Alcohol swabs
o Grisofulvin 125 mg tabs

THANK YOU in advance for any help you can give our son's first home and the people that are loving on him. We pray you will be blessed mightily in return!

2010-08-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, August 2, 2010

Yes, that's right! We are number 1 on the list for a baby boy!! Just found out this morning. It is so close! Last week there were 3 referrals, and some weeks there are none. So we really have no clue when the call will come, except that it has gotta be soon. Please pray for the right baby boy...........It doesn't matter when the call comes, really, we just want God to give us the one he wants us to have. We learned with Lilia that it is all in his timing, and that it is perfect. Pray for the families waiting to pass court, and for families waiting for embassy clearance to go pick up their little ones. Yay!

Cookie making-lazy day

2010-08-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Lil has been sick for about a week and today she sounds terrible. She is coughing a lot and has a sore throat. We are both still in our PJ's and it is noon. We got a new cookie book from my wonderful grandma so we decided to make some cookies. Lil loves to play in the flour and lick the spoons. Hopefully she didn't cough all her germs into the cookies!

We are still #2 and waiting for the call. I e-mailed the coordinator today just to make sure she has my cell phone number just in case! Only because I am anxious and on the edge of my seat!

Almost there!

2010-07-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

We moved up the list to number 2 today! There have been 3 referrals in the last 2 weeks for baby boys so we went from 5 to 3 real quick. It is gonna be soon!! I would LOVE to give Lilia a picture of her baby brother for her birthday present on the 8th. It is hard to believe we have come this far and are this close. I have a little anxiety today about everything I need to get done!! Sewing for his room, fixing the wall, etc. I keep trying to remember the time between the 2 visits.

Courts are closed August 6-September 27. So when we get a referral, we will have to wait until October for our earliest court date. Then go over to love on him and squeeze his little cheeks, then home to wait for embassy clearance (8-12 weeks). Pray for patience and for things to go a little smoother this time! We aren't allowed to post or e-mail any pictures of him until we pass court so when we get matched, everyone will have to wait for a picture!

Lilia is sick with a cough and a sore throat. Who gets sick in the summer? But the little trooper still wants to play and run around. Her birthday is next weekend and she picked Dinosaurs as her theme. She loves dinosaurs and knows pretty much everything about them. Thank you PBS Dinosaur Train! Kindergarten is starting August 23rd. I am sending my baby off to let someone else take care of her and I hate it. She needs it, but I am a little sad about it. She is really excited and can't wait!

Hopefully the next post will have some GREAT news!

Movin' on up!

2010-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

We are #5 on the waitlist for a baby boy!! Wahoo!! We are hoping July is the month we get "the call." The courts in Ethiopia are closing for 6 weeks over the summer, sometime between August and October. At this point, we are just thinking we aren't going to get a court date before the courts close and we are going to have to wait until some time after October. Then we will go over for court, love on our baby boy, and then come home without him until the Embassy clears him for travel to the US. Maybe 8 weeks after court. We might have a Christmas blessing in our arms! We are leaving it all up to the Lord, because his timing is always right.
As for my hip, it is still hurting, but it is healing slowly. I am hoping by next week I can come off crutches and go back to work. It didn't help in Seattle when our hotel had a fire and I had to go down 34 flights of stairs!!
Lilia is happy and having a great summer. Swimming and playing with her cousins and friends. This was our cute conversation this morning. Mom: "so Lilia, you have to forgive people, just as Jesus forgives us." Lilia: "Mommy, if we make chocolate chip cookies and we forget the egg, Jesus still forgives us." What a cutie pie!!

2010-06-17T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hula Grill in Whaler's Village, Maui

At the Westin Resort in Maui

Ka'anapali Beach, Maui

On the dolphin excursion to Lana'i

The dolphins from the boat

Sunset beach at the North Shore, Oahu

Ka'anapali Beach, Maui

Outside Restaurant in Honolulu

We just got back from a great trip to Hawaii. We went to the big island and saw the volcano, then to Maui for a week and then to Oahu for 3 days. Lilia loved the ocean, and learned how to snorkel. We saw a ton of dolphins on a boat trip to Lana'i and she loved that. We pretty much relaxed a lot because I was on crutches for a hip stress fracture. The weather was nice and warm, but not too hot. Lee got to see Pearl Harbor which was his highlight. We went to the Dole Pineapple plantation and then spent the last day driving all around Oahu. The resort in Maui was awesome, and the beach was nice. There were flowers everywhere, and they were very fragrant. We had a nice time with Lee's family, too. Lil and her cousin got along great. She is a tan little beauty as always.

Closer to a referral

2010-05-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

     Our yahoo chat group has an "unofficial waiting list" of families in the process and keeps track of what our number is in line. For an infant boy, we moved up to #8 today!!! 3 referrals for little boys and one for a set of siblings in one day! We are excited and anxious for our turn. It seems as though the families who recently got referrals for infant boys had been waiting about 4 months between the time they turned their paperwork in until they received their referral. Our date was March 19. So hopefully in July? Maybe sooner? Whatever God wants to happen is okay with us. :)
     Lilia is doing wonderful. She has a busy week at school next week with a bunch of fun stuff, then has her preschool graduation June 1st. It is hard to believe we will have a kindergardener. She is ready and excited about going. She is also moving up a level in gymnastics next week which she still loves.
     I hurt my hip this last week running. I have been training with 2 of my best friends for a half marathon in Seattle on June 26th and my hip is hurt. Could be a stress fracture, muscle tear, who knows. The doctor says no running for 2 weeks, then an MRI if it isn't better. I am probably not going to be able to run the race, but I have sort-of let it go and am planning on just having fun in Seattle.
     Our family is going to Hawaii the first week of June and we are super excited. We could use a little fun. Plus, it will be our last hoo-rah before we become parents to a little baby boy.

EASTER

2010-04-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time on Easter. Lilia knows Jesus died on a cross for us, and on Easter, she said "he's not dead anymore. He's alive and in our hearts." She knows the real meaning of Easter, but still loved her basket and looking for eggs. She was so excited every time she found one and would shake it and say "something's in here!" We went to Church and the kids got to dance on stage for the last song. Then we went to Gramma and Papa's house and got to spend the day with the whole family, including Great grandma.

We found out about the 2 visit thing for Ethiopia, then they changed it back to one visit. Then this last week, they changed it back to 2 visits! We are just going with the flow. We will get him here somehow. God is in control.

Spring break in Glenwood

2010-03-31T13:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Glenwood springs for a couple of nights with my sister and Lilia's 2 cousins. It was so much fun! All we did was eat and swim. The kids had a great time at the hotsprings pool and we swam for about 6 hours each day. We went back at night and it was fun. Lilia is swimming alone in the deep end now. She doesn't want to be held at all. She jumps in and swims about 10 feet, and then turns around and swims to the wall. She is off school for this week and then starts back Tuesday. She has been really upset the last couple of weeks because we don't have her baby brother. I keep telling her we have to be patient and that Jesus is protecting him. Last night in bed she told me she was sad because she doesn't have her baby brother, but that Jesus is protecting him from the hyenas. She read a story about hyenas in Africa and has been upset about the mean hyenas getting her baby brother.

We also found out this week that the courts changed back to how it was previously where we only have to travel once. We don't know if/when it will change. It reminded me that we have to look at the whole picture, and not live day by day!

St. P. day and Easter Bunny

2010-03-20T15:41:00.000-07:00

I woke Lil up and said, "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and she immediately said "we gotta put on my green shirt before I get pinched!" She was extremely worried about the pinching. Here she is with her green shirt and some of her green stuffed animals. Yes, there are more. We went to see the Easter Bunny on Friday and Lilia said, "I am sure glad I got to meet the Easter Bunny. That was really neat." Then we went to an egg hunt outside this morning with 12 inches of snow and 20 degrees. Burrrrrr! Lilia stuck her head all the way in the snow, and then froze. Glad she isn't in Siberia. She would have never made it!

Things are always changing

2010-03-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

We just found out that Ethiopia is changing their court procedures and now you have to be there for court. Which means we have to travel twice. We did it with Russia and thought we wouldn't have to this time. Even though it is going to mean more money, we feel there is a divine plan and we just have to look at the end of the journey. Not how we are going to get there. We are hoping our paperwork goes to Ethiopia this coming week and we will just be waiting for our referral. After that, we will travel in 2-4 weeks for court. Then if we pass, we come home until the US embassy will issue him a US visa, which because of the fact they have to investigate every case, could be anywhere from 8-12 weeks. It is going to be a long haul. Not to mention the fact that the court closes late August through early October.
But we know it is out of our control, and we just keep seeing a little face in our minds. That little face from Russia is what kept us going last time and we know it will be the same this time. Keep us in your prayers!

Our paperwork is in!

2010-03-10T00:34:00.000-08:00

      We FINALLY finished all our paperwork and sent it off to our adoption agency today!! It feels so good to have it out of our hands. It took about 6 months to complete it all, and now we just wait.   Our dossier (all our paperwork) should go over to Ethiopia some time next week. Then we should receive a referral hopefully in 6 months or so. What a relief.
      Lil is great, as always. We went to the zoo yesterday and she had a blast. Then to the park today. I found out she can swing and pump her legs all by herself. She learned from her friend at school, and I didn't know she could do it until today.   What a big girl.
      We are ready for spring so we can go outside and play. We have a vacation planned to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary in June and can't wait for that. Lil is coming along of course!

2010-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

We took a vacation to Ft. Myers Beach, FL and then on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. The weather was sketchy a lot of the time because it was windy and in the 60's but we still had a great time. We played on the beach, collected seashells, ate, swam and went to the park in Florida. On the cruise, we played mini-golf, went to Nassau on the beach, and just relaxed. Lilia is getting to be quite the swimmer. I think we will be spending the summer in the deep end this year!

As far as the adoption, we are waiting for our fingerprint appointment. Hopefully within the next week we will get it and then after we get our fingerprints, we will be waiting for the ever-so-important I171-H form to complete our paperwork. Then the paperwork is off to Ethiopia! We can't wait for the day to just be waiting. We know the Lord has a plan and a child already picked out. We just gotta trust and be patient. Whoever said "Patience is a virtue" wasn't quite right in the head!!

Gymnastics is going great and school is also going great. We are looking forward to spring. We are in the process of planning our 10 year anniversary vacation to Maui, Hawaii. YES, Lil is coming along. Of course!! Then hopefully the next plane we get on will be to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to bring home our buddy. We will keep you posted!!

2010-01-07T09:02:00.000-08:00

Lilia and I went skiing in Loveland for the first time. She has no fear at all. The first time we went down, I had her between my legs with one of those edgie wedgies that keep the tips of her skis together. The next time, she wanted me to take it off because she said, "It's messing me up." She wanted to ski next to me and kept trying to let go. She had a hard time with the snowplow concept. One time, she jerked her hand away, put her skis together and started flying down the hill. I couldn't catch up to her and she was picking up speed heading straight for a group of kids in ski school. I was screaming, "Lilia stop, slow down, look out, stop, stop!!" She casually bent her knees and sat back down on the snow and stopped herself. The whole time, she was cracking up laughing. When I got to her in a PANIC, she was laughing and said, "Sorry I let go of your hand." Dare devil. She absolutely loved it and keeps asking when we can go back. She was free for the one lift and 2 green runs. So we will be going a lot!!

She started gymnastics again yesterday since her arm has healed. She was excited and jumped up and down the whole time.

On the adoption front, our homestudy is at the agency for review. We are hoping it will be approved this week so we can send it in to the state. We are also hoping our DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia- meaning all our paperwork is in Ethiopia) will be some time in February.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-28T08:34:00.001-08:00

Santa brought Lilia the red remote control dinosaur, which she LOVES! She has played with it a lot since Christmas day. She also got Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs movie. Lots of other toys. She is spoiled! We had a great Christmas week. Her and I went to The North Pole and she loved the rides there. Her little preschool put on a production of The Snowman Revue, which was all the kids in hats and snowman props singing winter songs. It was pretty cute. We have pretty much gotten out all of her new toys the last few days and played with them all. Now it's time to go through her toys and get rid of some!! Adoption process is slow, but progressing. Our homestudy is done, and we are waiting for approval from the agency. Then its off to the state, and we wait for our fingerprint appointment. We are hoping to have all the paperwork to Ethiopia by the middle/end of February. Then the waiting begins.

2009-12-05T22:09:00.001-08:00

We have been busy Christmas shopping and baking already. We went and saw Santa today and Lilia really liked him. She is asking for a dinosaur and a dinosaur movie.

For those of you that don't know, we started the adoption process again! This time for a baby boy from Ethiopia. We are hoping for him by the end of 2010. We don't know who he is, but believe he is specifically being created for us. We love him already. Our paperwork will be in sometime in January hopefully and then the waiting begins. Lilia is excited about a baby brother. She said, "I'm gonna teach him how to eat candy." She thought we were going to get him in Home Depot the other day!

Boo Hoo! Sad mama :(

2009-10-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

My little baby broke her arm :( And broke my heart :(

We were at my cousin's wedding and she fell off the stage and landed on her arm. Broke both bones in her forearm. She was such a trooper. The hardest part was holding her while she was crying and then her saying, "mommy, PLEASE help me, it hurts!" Then later she said, "Mommy, I fell off the stage. And you didn't catch me. Mommy, could you please catch me next time?" She is still in a little pain, and her hand is slightly swollen. But she is running around, clutsy as ever. She is doing nothing to protect it. Jumping off things, falling every second, spinning around in circles 'till she is dizzy. It still breaks my heart to see that little cast on her arm. She is so brave.

2009-10-07T14:15:00.001-07:00

We went to Anderson Farms this past weekend and had a blast. It was freezing, but the kids had fun picking pumpkins and riding the barrel ride. Lilia is doing great in school and has made a good friend already. We are busy with football, and our new news. Paperwork!! We are adopting again! This time a boy from Ethiopia. It will be a while since we are just starting the process. Lilia can't stop talking about her baby brother and the fact that she is going to teach him how to eat candy. A skill every kid needs to learn.

First day of school

2009-09-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL PICTURES

Lilia started preschool the last week in August. She loves it and has already made some friends. She says she plays superheros every day at recess with her friends. She can't seem to tell us much of what she does every day except she says, "I learned." It has been hard getting her up early because she is such a late sleeper, but we are getting into a routine.

She is such a funny kid. Today she jumped down from sitting on a pole and said, "I almost knocked my teeth out." We laugh at her all the time. She still loves Star Wars, and sometimes wakes up dreaming about it. The first thing she will talk about is that little droid or the fire and Anakin....etc. So cute!

Birthday Girl

2009-09-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Lilia had her 4th birthday at the pool. We had such a great weekend with her and our friends/family. She is now officially a "big girl." She got 2 hermit crabs from Grandma and Papa and one already died. Poor Betty. But Grover is alive and well. She won't touch him, but loves to look. It is hard to believe she is so big. 90th percentile for height and 52nd for weight. She is swimming in the deep end by herself, and she LOVES gymnastics. She is always asking, "is it 4 o'clock yet?"

Mandy and Grace come to town!

2009-08-15T14:07:00.001-07:00

One of my bestest friends and her little girl Grace came to visit last week. We had such a great time! The girls are so cute together, when they are sharing and caring. We were on the go the entire time! Garage saling the first day, then to an outdoor market, cute candy store, BBQ, Lilia's pool party for her birthday, the zoo, and a hike. It was such a great time! Can't wait until they move here!! I wish that would happen.

Lilia is still in gymnastics and LOVES it. She has the build for it, and still walks on her toes. She is also starting preschool on the 25th, which I'm happy/sad for. She is bored with me and really will love the learning I think. I will just miss her. It is like the start of her growing up. But she is going to be about 3/10 of a mile from our house and she is only gone 3 hours for 3 days a week. I will live :(

2009-07-24T15:06:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready to celebrate Lilia's 4th b-day with a Wonder Pets theme. Besides Star Wars-The Clone Wars, Wonder Pets is her favorite show. We are going to the pool with her closest friends and family. It is hard to believe she is already 4.

We are loving summer. Swimming, fishing, hiking, etc. Football starts in 2 weeks and then life as we know it is over!! It is the busiest time of year for all of us, but we wouldn't change it! We are a football family.