The Reason Why My ONE YEAR Update Was Sooooo Late...

We came home with T and M on April 10th, 2010. Since we came home, I have posted a monthly update with the highlights for each month they have been with us. April 10, 2011 was a bittersweet day. We were so excited to celebrate our one year family-versary, but inside I also knew that I would no longer be doing "monthly updates". In my mind, the one year anniversary marked the day when we would "officially" live life as "normal" (whatever that is). It marked the day where we simply were a "family"...not a family defined by having biological children and adopted children...simply a family with 4 children. When we arrived home with T and M, I longed for the feeling of "normal" and now that it is here I wish it wasn't. 


We have had a truly fairytale journey growing together a family during the past year. T and M have transitioned better than could have ever been expected. They are incredible, amazing and wonderful children, full of strength, love, and trust. Through them, I have learned so much more about God's incredible love of us and understand, on a much more genuine level, that we are ALL adopted by Him. 


I guess in some ways I fear the feeling of "normal" in our family because I am afraid to take what God has blessed us with for granted. So as I adjust to life without "monthly highlights" and doing my best to capture every special moment...I will have to learn to live in the moment with each of my children and cherish each of them in the every day life. I will never forget how God brought our family together, but I honestly believe it will become less of a focus as we simply focus on growing in our relationships with God and as my husband and I learn how to effectively parent 4 incredible kiddos given to us by God.


So if you are someone who looked forward to monthly seeing what was going on with T and M as they transitioned to life here, I am sorry to say the updates are done. Much of my life is on Facebook and I will continue to post the "every day" life stuff there. However, for now I can say that "2plus2plus2" is finished. Thank you to everyone who has followed our journey, prayed for us, supported us, encouraged us, and loved us. We could not have made it this far with out you!!!

Home ONE Year!!!!!!!!!!!!

This post is WAY, WAY, WAY over-due! I will write about the reason why it a separate post. Life is very full and our family schedule keeps us on the go. Here are highlights from our TWELFTH month together:

T**s**e:

We are so blessed by you! Here are some highlights of your 12^th month:

-You have officially "out-grown" Xavier! In the one year since you have been home with us, you have grown 7 inches!!! Xavier is only comforted by the fact that he will still always be the oldest.

-You had you first softball game...and were awesome (not a surprise)! You received the game ball at your 2nd game for being "Player of the Game"!!!

-We planted a garden together and you were very excited that we got flowers in your favorite color, purple.

-You have been accepted into the school we prayed you would get into for the Fall. It is an incredible opportunity and is truly going to be a place where you will be able to reach your fullest potential!

-We went to the "Open House" at your current school and you were so excited to give us a tour of your classroom and show us all the projects you have done during the school year.

-We had our one year post-placement visit with our social worker. She is in AWE of how well you are doing and how well you have adjusted. She even said our family should be a model for adoption! 

 ____________________________________________

M****n***m:

We love you sweet son! Here are some highlights of your 12th month:

-Since you have been home with us, you have grown 4-1/2 inches...You are in perfect health! Thank God!!!

-We planted a garden together and you enjoyed the "digging part" the most. You seem to be happy with any kind of tool in your hand!

-You had a great time participating in an egg hunt at your school. When it was finished, you asked several times to do it again. 

-During our one year post-placement visit, you made our social worker crack up with how out-going you are. You wanted to show her everything in or house! She said you are an adorable boy and is so happy with how well you  are doing!!!

It has been a truly blessed year kiddos! A dream come true for sure!!! This process has been a fairytale as far as international adoption goes. We love you both so much and are so thankful for each of you! We will cherish you forever! May God continue to guide our family and bless us as we seek Him and grow together!

Home ELEVEN Months!!!!!!!!!!!

Today is the 11 month anniversary of us being a family of 6! These last few months have just flown by! Here are a few highlights of our 11th month together!!!

T**s**e:

I honestly run out of positive adjectives to use when describing you! People still come up to me regularly telling me how amazing you are and what great leadership qualities you have.  We had another quiet month together mostly doing our typical routine of home-life, church-life, school-life, and sports-life. Here are some highlights of your 11^th month:

-You enjoy sleeping with your brothers and sisters and ask to do so a few times each week. On one fun night this month, Daddy zipped 2 sleeping bags together all 4 of you slept together in the living room.

-We went to the LA Zoo for the second time…you enjoyed seeing the elephants for the first time (their new habitat was finally completed).

-You continue to do really well playing softball. Unfortunately, your first game was rained out, but you have another game this coming Saturday. You were so excited yesterday when I gave you a personalized purple batting helmet!

-For the first time ever, you openly grieved the death of your father and the separation from your birth mother and other family members.  It was so difficult to see you in such pain, but it was also a great time of bonding for us.

-You are very happy that your birthday is next month and talk about the Princess Party you will be having almost daily!

 ____________________________________________

M****n***m:

You are adorable! Your sweet, tender heart is an incredible attribute. You are the teddy bear and gentle giant in our family. You are a three-year old boy in every sense of the word: busy, loud, active, wiggly, silly…and very cute! We love how you enjoy life and we have so much to learn from you! Here are some highlights of your 11th month:

-Today you went on your first field trip with your preschool class! You had so much fun a really creative place called, “The Art Zone”. You especially loved the room they have dedicated to water and mud. You seemed to love the idea of being able to make a huge mess in a room that was “inside”.

-We went to the LA Zoo for the second time. The highlight of the trip for you was seeing an elephant pee…lovely!  :0)

-You really enjoy going to the Library and love your weekly trips there with Daddy and Fa**h.

Well kiddos, our year anniversary is one month away! Although there we moments when time seemed to crawl, the year has actually flown by!!! Next month will be my lastly monthly update…bittersweet! Love you!!!! 

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn....

There are some things a 5 year-old should not have to say….”Everyone in Wolayta dies”…“all the Daddies die”…”My mom would not let me stay with her”…”I told my mom I wanted to stay with her, but she said no”….

The grief of raising a child adopted at an age where they have real memories of hurt, loss, and pain became a reality last night in our home. After running some normal errands, and enjoying a normal dinner around the normal table, and going through the normal routine of “evening” in our home…my 5 year-old daughter suddenly began sharing her feelings about her father dying, her mother “making her go”, and other events that culminated with God knitting her and her brother into our family. This was entwined with a flood of tears and the trembling little body of a daughter clearly grieving some of her life experiences….and tears from this adoptive mommy who anguished over what my sweet daughter has been through. I am thankful that in the moment I was “quick to listen and slow to speak” (not my “normal” tendency) as my daughter literally began sharing…in no particular order….all of things she has been feeling and thinking during the 10 months our family has been together.

In some ways I was relieved this was finally happening…we had heard about adopted children going through grief, but had seen no signs of it. Our daughter had seemed almost super-human (excellent in every way) and I was relieved to experience her on a very human, raw level. I was relieved that she felt comfortable and trusted me enough to open up completely with no fear of me getting upset or angry over the things she shared…very little of what she shared was easy to hear. I was relieved that when the major flood of tears was over she asked, “Mama, can I sleep with you tonight?”…Needless to say, Daddy got the couch last night. This mama shared a bed last night with a boy who needed me as a nurse (he had his tonsils and adenoids removed Monday) and my sweet daughter who need the warm embrace of a mama who loved her dearly.

I tried to imagine my biological children going through what my adopted children have gone through….and I can’t wrap my head around it. The thought of it completely overwhelms me emotionally. I am thankful that God is ultimately in control and sees the big picture as I struggle with why some children experience so much pain while others live a relatively uneventful (yet blissful) life up the street from the “Happiest Place on Earth”. Doesn’t seem fair, does it? But what is fair anyway? God never promises a “fair” life to any of us. After all, thanks to our own bad choices, this world is very broken. However, God does promise that no matter what the situation, no matter how terrible the degree of human brokenness is, He will reveal Himself and make His grace and love known because, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”. That is a promise I hold on to as I see my heart-broken daughter grieve a life where she experienced so much loss…and poverty…and separation…and death.

I can also hold on to the promise that God makes all things new. My daughter believes in God with incredible faith, so as 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”…God WILL make her heart new. My daughter’s name…the name given to her at birth…means “a new beginning”…coincidence? I don’t think so….

I love that I can be a tangible expression of comfort to my daughter, but am myself comforted by this verse for her, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”…Only God can truly comfort her and heal her and renew her and strengthen her and give her understanding…and in my own selfish way, that gives me great relief.

For now I will continue to be here for her and help her in any way I can. I will pray for her. I will love her and cherish her, provide for her, fight for her, guide her, teach her, encourage her, hold her, play with her, create new memories with her…and in the end she will PRAISE God…and it doesn’t get better than that!

Incredibly, my daughter went to school today…like it was any old “normal” day……..

Home TEN Months!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! As of 2/10, it has been 10 months since we became a family of 6 and brought T and M home from Ethiopia! Life truly does feel "normal" and it is hard to even remember what life was like when we only had 2 children...I think it was a bit quieter! :0)  Our 10th month was a quiet month as we enjoyed not having an over-scheduled schedule...like we had during the holidays. So here are a few highlights of our 10th month together:

T**s**e:
Sometimes I feel like I brag about you too much....but you truly continue to "wow" EVERYONE you meet! People are AMAZED at how well you speak english, how well-behaved and helpful you are, and your natural leadership abilities. We can't wait to see how God uses you to do amazing things for Him!!! Here are some highlights of your 10 month:

-You started playing softball! As we expected, you naturally picked up on the sport and you really enjoy being out on the field. 

-You are the "Queen of Jumping Rope"! You jump rope at school every day and have fun trying to come up with new tricks to impress your peers and teachers. 

-You lost your other front, top tooth. So you now have a big open space in the front of your mouth. You can sing the song, "All I want for Valentine's Day are my 2 front teeth..."

____________________________________________

M****n***m:

You LOVE life..........period! It is so refreshing to see you enjoy the best of every moment. You have so much to teach others about this! Your sweet, teddy bear spirit is such a blessing to our family. No matter what is going on or what you are doing, we always know your heart is in the right place! Here are some highlights of your 10th month:

-You really ENJOY playing dress-up. You come up with the funniest outfit combinations as you have no issues with mixing "boys" and "girls" items.

-You love being outside and your favorite thing is riding your bike....although you are getting really good at riding the scooter you got for Christmas.

We LOVE YOU BOTH abundantly and love that God has beautifully knit our hearts together!!!

One Year Referral-versay!!!!

Okay this post is waaaaay late! I posted about it on Facebook, but totally forgot to post here too! January 21st was the ONE YEAR anniversary of us seeing T****** and M*********'s faces for the first time! It is incredible to compare the first pictures we received of them compared to them now! What a difference a year makes!!!! We LOVE you T and M!!!!!

Home NINE Months!!!!!!!!!

Today marks us being home ¾ of a year with our Ethiopian beauties! It is so amazing that our one-year “family-versary” is just around the corner! I remember when we first got home wanting life to feel “normal” again…well it definitely does! I almost can’t remember what life was like before we added 2 more blessings to our family. Here are some highlights of our 9^th month together:

T*N***E: 

So many of your highlights this month involve you celebrating your first Christmas ever!

-You enjoyed making a gingerbread house for the first time! You were very meticulous about putting the candy decorations in just the “right” spot.

-We went to the Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo. You said the house with your favorite decorations was the house with the “Baby Jesus”.

-Opa and Oma have been taking you and X****r to their German Club where you have been learning to do the German dance called the “Schuhplattler”. You did your first performance at their big Christmas party on 12/18. It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen!

-You lost another tooth on Christmas Day (your first tooth on the top). So you had a visit from Santa and a visit from the Tooth Fairy on back-to-back nights!

-You really enjoyed decorating our Christmas tree. After putting on all the decorations, I told you to step back at take a look…you stood back and in an awe-filled voice you said, “Oh wow, it is beautiful”…you were truly mesmerized by the beauty of the tree!

-You quickly understood how the whole “Santa” thing was going to happen on Christmas Eve. You knew that if you did not go to sleep, Santa would not bring you presents. Being the smart girl that you are, you asked, “What if I just close my eyes?”…Then I asked, “Who would know if you were really sleeping?”…You responded, “Jesus.”…then you added it all up and asked, “If I not really sleeping, Jesus will tell Santa? I get no presents?”...I responded, “Yes”…So you were the self-appointed enforcer of all kids making sure they went to sleep on Christmas Eve…

-You LOVED that Santa brought you an amazing gift from Jesus on Christmas morning…a set of ALL 8 Disney Princesses! You kissed each princess and said, “Oh Princesses, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you!”

-Your other favorite gift from Christmas was the pink Disney Princess boots you got from Grandmamma…you have worn them almost every day since Christmas morning.

-For New Years Eve we went to our friends house and you had a great time playing with friends and staying up until midnight! When midnight came you had a blast blowing party horns and pulling party poppers!!!

-I made injera for the first time this month (the special bread your birth mom would make and sell in Ethiopia). When you saw the injera I made, you said, “Wow Mama! Good job!” and gave me a high-five. When you ate the injera you said, “Oh, this is so yummy” and gave me a hug. I was so happy…and relieved that I passed the taste test! The 3 day process of making the injera was well worth seeing your response!!!

-For Ethiopian Christmas (January 7^th), we met other families from our adoption agency in Little Ethiopia for a reunion. We went to one of our favorite Ethiopian restaurants called “Rosalinds”.

 ____________________________________

M*L******M

Most of your highlights center around you celebrating your first Christmas!

-Your favorite part of making a Gingerbread House for the first time was the squirt of frosting I gave you right into your mouth with the extra frosting we had!

-You liked going to Candy Cane Lane in El Segundo. You loved having the freedom to walk in the street and said your favorite house was the “pink” one…yes, your favorite color is still pink!

-You enjoyed seeing Santa for the first time and was thrilled that Santa gave you a candy cane…yep….food is still the way to your heart!

-On Christmas morning, you were so happy to get your own scooter from Jesus…one you would not have to share with your brothers and sisters. You also really loved the “pink” baby bed Faithy received… :0)

-You went to the doctor for your 3-year check-up. You have grown 3-1/2 inches since you came home and are in perfect health! The doctor was also so impressed with how far your English has come…she said you are so amazing! We agree!!!

-On New Years Eve, you loved having fun at our friend’s house and loved the noise level you could attain with the party horns! We were not surprised that you were able to stay awake until midnight!

-I made injera for the first time and I knew I had done a good job when you were completely quiet while you were eating. :0)

-For Ethiopian Christmas (January 7^th), we met other families from our adoption agency in Little Ethiopia for a reunion. It was so much fun to see you interacting with other Ethiopian boys your age!

We are looking forward to all the next month brings as we get closer and closer to being home one year!!! You are both so sweet and we are all blessed to share life with you!!!