So, it was Tuesday, June 24. I was in the basement doing laundry when I heard Brian screaming from his office, "We got a court date! We got a court date!". Immediately I didn't get it. I had imagined a call from our CHSFS social worker with such important information... Anyway, I ran into Brian's office- jumping the whole way there.
Sure enough, we were granted a court date of June 30, 2011. The boys heard me screaming and immediatly came to see what was going on. I love these instances of PURE joy. How often do we scream and dance and shout because of happiness?
I still think and dream about my darling little girl. She is 9 months old now. What will she be like? Will she cry when we hold her? What one thing can we bring her that will encapsulate our love (we are allowed to bring one thing for her on our first trip)? Nothing will measure up.
So, now I am wishing that I didn't procrastinate about many things. June is going to be SO busy. We have to go to Madison to get our vaccince updates. My two nieces graduate. We are going with Brian to Minneapolis for a short get-away. My niece and nephew are staying in Viroqua for a week. My sister-in-law Erin is coming for a week. I love summer! We are so blessed to have wonderful family and friends.
This week has also had its sad point. One of my dearest friends called with devestating news. What can I do? What will help? I feel helpless. But, I can pray. And I have been praying constantly. Life is hard. God never said it would be easy. He has a plan for everything.
Can't wait to post a picture of our little girl and introduce her! Praying we pass court...
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day! Today I am celebrating the wonderful lives of my mother, Glenda Kanis, and my grandmother, Marie Bosman. Each of them have helped mold me into who I am today. My mom has shown me to be selfless and to be independent. My grandmother has shown me patience and perserverence. What great mothers!
This morning we were able to attend a wonderful church in Monroe, WI. It was a wonderful service and we were able to light a candle for our little lady in Ethiopia. I can't wait to bring our little "star" home.
Mother's Day always holds many emotions for me. I share this day with the birth mothers of "our" children. Mekebo has two mothers. I have had dreams about spending days with his birth mother. My dream would be for Mu to truly feel loved by his birth mother and his adoptive mother.
Every day I think about my children's birth mothers. I used to be scared of the idea of an "open adoption" but now I dream about the possibility of that.
Regarding our current adoption: we are officially submitted to court and are waiting for our court date. I am praying for a miracle!
Happy Mother's Day!
This morning we were able to attend a wonderful church in Monroe, WI. It was a wonderful service and we were able to light a candle for our little lady in Ethiopia. I can't wait to bring our little "star" home.
Mother's Day always holds many emotions for me. I share this day with the birth mothers of "our" children. Mekebo has two mothers. I have had dreams about spending days with his birth mother. My dream would be for Mu to truly feel loved by his birth mother and his adoptive mother.
Every day I think about my children's birth mothers. I used to be scared of the idea of an "open adoption" but now I dream about the possibility of that.
Regarding our current adoption: we are officially submitted to court and are waiting for our court date. I am praying for a miracle!
Happy Mother's Day!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Submitted to Court
Today we received word that our papers are officially submitted to the Ethiopian Court. So, now we wait for our court date (1st travel). Our little darling is 8 months now. She is 14.7 pounds. I can't wait to hold her and kiss her.
This past weekend Eli and I were able to watch my nephew run in his first half-marathon. It was so much fun to cheer him on throughout the course.
We also got to spend time with baby Macy. Eli and Mu love her so much. They try to make her laugh. They hold her. They helped give her a tubby. I can't wait to see them with a sister. They are going to be great brothers!
This past weekend Eli and I were able to watch my nephew run in his first half-marathon. It was so much fun to cheer him on throughout the course.
We also got to spend time with baby Macy. Eli and Mu love her so much. They try to make her laugh. They hold her. They helped give her a tubby. I can't wait to see them with a sister. They are going to be great brothers!
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Dreaming
It has been difficult sleeping. At first I couldn't fall asleep because all that I could think about was our little lady half way across the world. Now falling asleep has been easier, but if I wake up in the middle of the night I find myself staring at the stars and dreaming about the day we get to hug her, kiss her, hold her.
We pray constantly for her health, her safety, for the people taking care of her. What else can we do?
Paperwork has been keeping us busy. We are updating our dossier which will be needed for our court date.
Eli and Mu had a discussion about her name. Eli wanted Rosa. Mu wanted Flowerbush. So, her alias for now will be Rosa Flowerbush. It makes me laugh every time. Her true name is beautiful.
I have also been keeping busy with craft projects. Found fabric to make dresses, cute sweater pattern to knit. It is so weird to actually do craft projects for my children. It is usually other people that I do projects for. But, it is going to be so fun seeing her wearing these clothes.
We have some pretty awesome family and friends. They listen to us babble on about a child that we have never met. They act interested...thank you! You will never know how much it helps.
We pray constantly for her health, her safety, for the people taking care of her. What else can we do?
Paperwork has been keeping us busy. We are updating our dossier which will be needed for our court date.
Eli and Mu had a discussion about her name. Eli wanted Rosa. Mu wanted Flowerbush. So, her alias for now will be Rosa Flowerbush. It makes me laugh every time. Her true name is beautiful.
I have also been keeping busy with craft projects. Found fabric to make dresses, cute sweater pattern to knit. It is so weird to actually do craft projects for my children. It is usually other people that I do projects for. But, it is going to be so fun seeing her wearing these clothes.
We have some pretty awesome family and friends. They listen to us babble on about a child that we have never met. They act interested...thank you! You will never know how much it helps.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Over the last year and a half...
Where has the last year and a half gone? I laugh when I read the last posting I made. There has been so many changes and some things haven't changed a bit!
We are still having the time of our lives with our two boys. Elijah is 5-years-old and Mekebo is 3-years-old. They play together all day long and it is rare for them to be a part. Eli loves to draw and play baseball. Mushi just likes to do whatever his big brother does. Mu tickles my heart everyday with the comments and physical expressions he gives me. In a nutshell, we are blessed!
The adoption wait for our little girl was getting long, but we were doing pretty well being patient. It helps knowing that God is in control. In regards to adoption, Ethiopia was having some unethical adoptions, so the government is looking into each case more extensively. Knowing that the ethics are being improved makes it worth the wait.
So, on March 31, we received a referral for a 7-month old little girl. Brian was driving to Nebraska for work, and I was at home with the boys. We got the call from our social worker from CHSFS. I have been dreaming about this moment for 27 months! I was sad that I couldn't be in the same room with Brian when we got the news, but we were able to do a 3-way-call. It took all but 2 hours to accept the referral.
I wish I could share her beautiful picture, but we will have to pass court before that happens. All I can say is that she is GORGEOUS! Now at night I lay awake thinking about her and praying that the nannies are taking good care of her.
The journey continues. We don't know when we will travel for court (trip #1), but they estimate 12-20 weeks. After we return from our court trip, we will have more waiting to do. We then will wait to hear about our Embassy Date (trip #2).
What to do while we wait? I think I will make some cute dresses and knit some pink sweaters. That should pass the time, right? I am going to read some books on attachment. Bringing home our sweet daughter at an older age will be different than bringing home Mekebo at 5-months old. I am going to finish painting her room (why? especially since she will be sleeping with us for a long while). I may have to start investing in lavender to put on my pillow so I sleep better at night and don't stay up the whole night thinking about her. I am going to run some races. I am going to work more so I don't have to work as much when she comes home.
Am I guarded? A little. But it is SO hard to be guarded. I just want to love her with everything I am, but I don't want to be crushed if something happens. I am blessed to have a family that supports us. If something does happen, they would be there to support us.
Regarding my sister and her husband, Brian: they adopted a beautiful princess domestically. She is a wonderful addition to their family! And her three brothers adore her. She is a blessing to our family because she will be great friends with our new little girl.
So, today we worked on our Acceptance Paperwork. Bring followed the FedEx truck around town until he stopped and asked how much it was to send something overnight. After the mad driving, we decided to wait to send it in until Monday.
Thank you God for our little girl. Thank you God for her birth family and her birth country. Thank you God for our family that supports us. And to the nannies that are taking care of her, thank you!
We are still having the time of our lives with our two boys. Elijah is 5-years-old and Mekebo is 3-years-old. They play together all day long and it is rare for them to be a part. Eli loves to draw and play baseball. Mushi just likes to do whatever his big brother does. Mu tickles my heart everyday with the comments and physical expressions he gives me. In a nutshell, we are blessed!
The adoption wait for our little girl was getting long, but we were doing pretty well being patient. It helps knowing that God is in control. In regards to adoption, Ethiopia was having some unethical adoptions, so the government is looking into each case more extensively. Knowing that the ethics are being improved makes it worth the wait.
So, on March 31, we received a referral for a 7-month old little girl. Brian was driving to Nebraska for work, and I was at home with the boys. We got the call from our social worker from CHSFS. I have been dreaming about this moment for 27 months! I was sad that I couldn't be in the same room with Brian when we got the news, but we were able to do a 3-way-call. It took all but 2 hours to accept the referral.
I wish I could share her beautiful picture, but we will have to pass court before that happens. All I can say is that she is GORGEOUS! Now at night I lay awake thinking about her and praying that the nannies are taking good care of her.
The journey continues. We don't know when we will travel for court (trip #1), but they estimate 12-20 weeks. After we return from our court trip, we will have more waiting to do. We then will wait to hear about our Embassy Date (trip #2).
What to do while we wait? I think I will make some cute dresses and knit some pink sweaters. That should pass the time, right? I am going to read some books on attachment. Bringing home our sweet daughter at an older age will be different than bringing home Mekebo at 5-months old. I am going to finish painting her room (why? especially since she will be sleeping with us for a long while). I may have to start investing in lavender to put on my pillow so I sleep better at night and don't stay up the whole night thinking about her. I am going to run some races. I am going to work more so I don't have to work as much when she comes home.
Am I guarded? A little. But it is SO hard to be guarded. I just want to love her with everything I am, but I don't want to be crushed if something happens. I am blessed to have a family that supports us. If something does happen, they would be there to support us.
Regarding my sister and her husband, Brian: they adopted a beautiful princess domestically. She is a wonderful addition to their family! And her three brothers adore her. She is a blessing to our family because she will be great friends with our new little girl.
So, today we worked on our Acceptance Paperwork. Bring followed the FedEx truck around town until he stopped and asked how much it was to send something overnight. After the mad driving, we decided to wait to send it in until Monday.
Thank you God for our little girl. Thank you God for her birth family and her birth country. Thank you God for our family that supports us. And to the nannies that are taking care of her, thank you!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
WANTED: A LITTLE MORE ESTROGEN
The last year has been wonderful! In a nutshell:
- we brought home Mekebo in March 2008,
- moved from Madison in June 2008,
- lived with my parents for a month and a half,
- and then moved again into a house in small-town USA in August 2008.
It was a nice transition especially since I didn't have to punch in my time card every day. Oh...the life of the unemployed! However, I slowly came to the realization that a little time away from home would keep my brain from losing all of its matter (I tend to lose it if I don't use it). So, in May of 2009 I went back to work? I pose that as a question because I don't really know if I should call it work. I am working in LaCrosse (about 45 minutes away) at Express Care as a Nurse Practitioner. I see patients with minor illnesses: sore throats, ear infections, rashes, etc. Now the kicker... I get to choose when I work. Some months I could work 8-10 shifts and some I could choose to work 1 shift. It is a great gig for a mom like me.
Now on to the joys of my life: my three boys. Brian is working from home and it is such a blessing for our family. Even though we don't see him much during the day it is nice to have him home.
Elijah (Mekebo calls him "Wahwee") is 3 years old. He is such a fun guy. He can be the sweetest boy and the craziest boy. In June 2009 he was doing 360 jumps off of our fireplace and cut open his head. Eight stitches later he has forever souvenir on his forehead. Eli is in swimming lessons and Park and Rec this summer. It takes him a while to acclimate to new kids (that is saying it nice), but he is working on it. He just got his first "real bat" and he loves playing baseball. Mekebo and Eli are best buddies. I can't imagine what they would do without each other.
Mekebo is starting to vocalize his dislikes with "No, I don't want to" and his likes with "Moree". We are working on the pleases and thank yous. When I shaved his hair for summertime he just stared at the beautiful curls lying on the floor and looked at me and said "What's that"? He is obsessed with Papa's tractors and screams when he doesn't get a ride. His hypertension is under control with daily medications. God sure knew what he was doing when he placed Mekebo into our family...I can't imagine life without him.
ALL WE NEED IS A LITTLE MORE ESTROGEN- We have been officially waiting for our little baby girl since December 27, 2008. We are going through the same agency as we did with Mekebo: Children's Home Society and Family Services in Minneapolis. The wait is said to be 14-18 months until referral. The whole adoption process will probably take twice as long as it did with Mekebo. God has blessed us with patience and I feel at peace with the wait. Of course we are planning on new sleeping arrangements and a new vehicle (why can't the Corolla fit 3 car seats in the back?).
We are also SO excited because my sister, Pam, and her husband, Brian, have also made the decision to adopt a little girl from Ethiopia. It will so much fun to watch all of the kids grow up together.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
New Home
It has been a long time since we last posted. We finally closed on our new home on August 18th. We are lucky that the house fell through. The new house was where we were meant to be. We are in the process of starting the adoption process again. I cannot wait to get back to Ethiopia. Jill, Eli, and Mamush are doing great. Jill loves being a stay at home mom, while the boys like to be stay at home children. Viroqua is a change, but it is a change for the better. I get to work from home, and get to give the family a quick smooch during break times.
-Until next time....Brian
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