Loving Color

I decided I needed to focus on something other than waiting for paperwork to come through...so, I decided to finish up the boys' room with a few last touches. I really wanted to have some bright happy colors for them, which is so much out of my neutral-muted color tone mind. But, I think it turned out really great and the boys will love it! We asked if they would like a soccer room while in Addis and they had the biggest smiles and said YES! So, it should be a hit with them as well :  )

Now What?

I've had quite a few people ask me that question since coming home, and honestly I wish I had a better answer than shrugging my shoulders and saying "Not sure." Unfortunately, that kinda seems like the only thing I can say though.

We are waiting on a series of steps to be done before embassy submission, and then after that we wait for an unknown amount of time to get and approval or an RFE from the embassy (which is a request for additional information or documentation), and then we wait some more after that is submitted for an approval. You see what I mean, there is not a real great answer.

Believe me, I've worked the numbers, compared other families timelines to come up with a magic equation to show exactly when our boys will be coming home...but, it just never works out.

So, right now we are still waiting on step one to be completed...even though I thought this would have been done two or three weeks ago. But, it wasn't and I can't change it and so now I'm hoping and praying that step one gets completed soon and everything else falls into place.

In the meantime, we are blessed to have received a new picture of our boys from a traveling family! Oh, how I long to hug and kiss those cute faces again!

Give1Save1

I have wonderful friends who have EXCITING news! They have just accepted the referral of their two and half year old son! They are also the feature family on the Give1Save1 website...which is a really cool fundraising site for people to help adoptive parents get their kiddos home!

They also have made this SUPER CUTE video for their son...you HAVE TO WATCH IT!

Please consider helping this family by contributing $1, at Give1Save1!

Happy "Gotcha" Day

 

One year ago today we had our sweet baby girl forever in our arms! What a wonderful year it has been! We are so blessed by you every day!

Time for a Change!

With our recent additions to our family and Zayla's first "Gotcha Day" approaching I decided it was time for new look to our blog! Don't get me wrong, I loved our old design by Jen from the Art of Living, but I needed something new and fresh with a bit more color.

My dear friend Lauren Casper just happens to be a fantastic blog designer who is helping fund their families next adoption through her amazing work. So, I gave her a picture that I just loved and we went from there! Let me tell you she is just awesome and so patient. I think I must have changed my mind about a million times before we got the final product, and she swears she still loves me despite my indecisiveness :  )

If you are looking for a fresh new look for your blog you gotta use L.C. Graphic Design not to mention its helping another kiddo come home to their forever family!

Oh, and don't forget to add our fancy newly created blog button to your page!

The Boys-DAY 5

We woke up knowing that this was our last day in Addis. But we still had a full agenda! We headed downstairs to get a famous cup of coffee to get us ready for the day.

We awaited our driver and gathered the other half of our donations we had brought and packed them into the van. We then made the VERY LONG drive across the entire city to get to the care center where our daughter was before she came home with us forever! We knew that we wanted to return and give back to the people that gave her and so many other kids so much love during their wait for forever families. I must say it was kind of surreal to be back there, but they were so excited to see us and all of the donations : )

We walked around and got the tour again, loved on some little ones, and wrote a little note in their guest book! We gave many thanks and hugs, and got to share pictures of our sweet girl. They were so excited to see that she was SO HAPPY and being loved SO MUCH! Made my heart happy!




After leaving we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then headed over to the care center.

Today we decided it best to just hang out with our boys at the care center. Our oldest had been asking "mommy-daddy tomorrow?" everyday...and we thought maybe it would be a bit easier if we didn't take them out of the care center. We played and loved on all the kiddos, took some last pictures, and gave TONS of hugs and kisses. A short 2 hours later it was time to leave. It was bitter sweet. We knew the process and that we had to leave to be that much closer to bringing our boys home forever...but, it was still difficult. Especially when we heard that phrase again "mommy-daddy tomorrow?" BREAK MY HEART! No tomorrow, but soon!



It was hard to walk out of the gates of the care center, and its still hard to think about them being across the world-when we are their parents. But, God will protect them until they are back in our arms...I'm certain of that!

After we left the care center we headed back to the guest house to gather our things. My new friend Saba at the guest house asked if we would like to have a traditional coffee ceremony before we left-which was very nice! We enjoyed our last coffee and then headed to the airport. It was time for the long journey home!

The Boys-DAY 4

Friday started out with another beautiful sunrise and a cup of coffee delivered to the room by my hubby as I prepared for the day. Once ready, I headed downstairs and finally gave in and had some french toast, that I had turned down the following three days.

After breakfast we got prepared to head down to the "Post Office" to shop. The "Post Office" is the name of a much smaller scale market, that is easy for foreigners to shop in than the much larger, crazy main market. I had my list prepared for the things that I would be purchasing and did quite a good job sticking to it. I was very happy to have had a little experience from our prior trips, and thankful to be prepared...because last time it was SO overwhelming. I purused several shops before I settled in to make my purchases. I ended up getting gifts for the boys for later in life (graduation, wedding, etc) and also some traditional clothing to wear for our Ethiopian celebrations here in Kansas City.

Afer heading back from the market we got stuck in the worst traffic EVER (picture below)! It was CRAZY!!!! The annual United Nations of Africa meeting was the same week that we were there, and they had many roads blocked off for important people (not us-as you can see). The normal chaotic driving quadrupled, and the lanes that were once a two way street suddenly became a one way with six lanes! YIKES!


We sat for at least 45 minutes without moving a block. We did, however, have some entertainment. We watched this man weave an ENTIRE basket while waiting...hows that for entertainment!


We also saw our first fender bender...which is wild, as the driving is so chaotic you would think we would have seen many more!



Once back at the guest house we had a quick lunch and headed to pick up our boys!
They were once again VERY excited to see us (which just warms my heart). We got loaded into the van and made the drive across town to our guest house to do some more playing!

Today we played remote control cars (WHICH THEY LOVED) and also with punch balloons (our youngest could NOT get enough of them-and it was very serious business)! It was so cute to see them running around playing!




As the evening neared we piled back in the van to make the trip back across town. We said our "Good-nights" and gave big hugs. It was another great day of bonding!

On the way back the guest house, Bill had requested our driver stop at a open field we had been passing every day. We had a bunch of donated soccer balls that he wanted to throw out to the kids who had been playing there everyday. It was SO FUN to see their faces...I think they thought it was raining soccer balls.



After we got back to the guest house we relaxed a bit and then got ready prepared for our dinner. Tonight we went down to the Hilton with our friends Keli and Brian to have dinner. It was an amazing meal and amazing time to share with friends from back home.

The Boys-DAY 3

We started our third day out much like the other two...great coffee and french toast or eggs. However, I knew today was going to be much different than the others. As today was our day to appear in court.

While excited to attend court and tell the judge that we were ready, willing, and totally in love with our two boys...I knew there would be much more felt that day than the happiness for MY family.

I was quiet and nervous entering the same waiting room we entered exactly one year prior for our daughter. It was not long until I became overwhelmed and the tears started streaming down my cheeks. You see, as much as this is a happy day for us, it represents the hardest day EVER for a birth parent or birth family member. I could not help but make eye contact with some of the birth family that was waiting to testify...I wanted to let them know I was not a selfish person-I wanted to hold and comfort them. I put my head down and prayed, prayed for peace for everyone involved. I was ashamed in that moment that I have ever complained about my life, and as I looked around to see happy Americans sharing snacks and stories about their adopted child...I prayed for the people that gave life to these children and to MY children!

I remained quiet the remainder of my time and just began to write thoughts and scripture that came to me (maybe I'll share it some day in the future when less emotional) until asked to enter the judges chambers. The judge asked just a few short questions and awaited our response. We then were granted the greatest gift ever, by hearing that the boys were OUR BOYS! I then cried more as we walked to the van : )

After court we headed back to grab some quick lunch and then headed to pick up the boys for the afternoon/evening. Today our boys were excited to see us! It was an amazing feeling to have no struggles getting into the van and leaving...everyone was smiles!

Once we arrived we spent some time doing a puzzle, reading books, taking the boys hand and foot prints as keep sakes, and playing more soccer (of course).



We then ordered some food from a great restaurant up the street, Zolas. Wonderful food and the boys sure LOVED IT! It was our first meal with the boys and it felt good! Oh, and to top it all off our oldest at the end of eating looked at me and said "Thank-you Mommy" MELT MY HEART this boy is sweet!!!!



We then made the journey across town to the care center where we said our "Goodbyes" for the night.

After arriving back at the guest house we got cleaned up and awaited our driver. We decided to try another new restaurant called "The Lime Tree." It was really great with many different selections, YUMMY!



Once back at the guest house we had an impromptu "Party on the Patio" to celebrate our children, friendships, and life! What a beautiful view for our party from the top of the 4 story building.

Our Boys-DAY 2

Our second day started off waking up early and watching the sun come up on the city! Seriously doesn't get better than the watching the sun come up accompanied by a cup of the most wonderful coffee in the world (if you've been to Ethiopia or Revocup in Overland Park you know what I'm talking about)!


We took our time getting ready for the day, just enjoying each other and the view...it was PERFECT!

We then headed downstairs for a little breakfast. The wonderful cook at the guest house did her best to make sure we ate. Every day there were two choices: eggs or french toast : ) I just could not manage to sit and eat as my excitement was building to go see our boys...instead I had another cup of coffee, which left me bouncing off the walls!

We made the trip back across town to the care center where we were greeted by huge hugs from our boys and many more kiddos that were excited about visitors.

We decided today that it would be better to take the boys back to our guest house to spend some one on one time...but our youngest son was not sure about that plan. After some persuading we finally all made it into the van and drove the route back to the guest house. It was a quiet ride, but lots of smiles and hugs were exchanged. We spent our time playing soccer, blowing bubbles, and coloring! We also got our first family photo with the boys this day!



We also had special guests come visit us this day! Our GREAT friends, Keli and Brian, from Kansas City were in Addis the same time and came to hang for a bit. So FUN!


It was soon time to make the drive back across town. I was glad that our boys were feeling more comfortable (and I think we wore our youngest out).



After returning back to the guest house we prepared and walked to dinner. We tried a Greek restaurant called "Enyas" and even got to meet Enya herself-who showered us all with many kisses : )


It was another wonderful day spent with our boys and new friends!

Our Boys-DAY 1

Well, I was going to TRY to keep our blog updated on our recent trip to Addis, but it just didn't work out as planned. We had a couple of days of no internet service and one day of a entire CITY power outage...and then just some laziness on my part.

So I will just give you a brief overview of each day, and then of course, add some pictures which is what you all are waiting for anyhow : )

We arrived late on Monday night to a crowded airport in Addis. It was an amazing feeling to be back in the country we have grown to love so dearly...its like a second home and it felt good to be back. We looked for our driver who was NO where to be found and ended up using the exact same lady's cell phone I used a year prior to call our driver to come fetch us.

We got settled in for the night and ready for the BIG DAY that was coming...MEETING OUR BOYS!

Sleep was hard to come by, as all the sounds and smells are so different. I think that the anticipation of knowing our boys were a short drive away had something to do with it too : )

DAY 1: We woke and got prepared for the day. We quickly gathered together our things and headed down to the lobby to see just when our driver would be picking us up. Shortly there after he arrived and we started the ride across town to the care center. There are no words to describe the feeling that came over me when seeing our boys for the first time. Our oldest ran and gave us the biggest hugs ever, and our younger son was hesitant and shy, but had an amazing sparkle in his eyes and a little grin on his face. We enjoyed several hours playing, laughing, and getting the tour of what is their temporary home.





That evening we walked and explored a bit of the city! There were many shops and restauarants within walking distance. We ended up eating at MK's Pizza (on the recommendation of another friend who recently traveled). It was wonderful to have some pasta Ethiopian style and a few people even had burgers and fries!

It was a PERFECT day meeting our two sons...who are more PRECIOUS than we could ever have imagined!

DAY 2 coming tomorrow...hope to see you back then!