So...

...there's no deliciousness to be seen here today.  You'll have to find it elsewhere.

As hard as I try, I can't seem to keep my selfish human nature out of the way.  Just tired of getting my hopes up...for no news.

Good news, dinosaur day, and brotherly love

Wooo Hoooo!!  Ashley from our agency called me today to tell me that we have another court date scheduled for Monday, the 28th.  Don't worry, we're not leaving again but our case is back in front of the judge on Monday!  What she's waiting on is a letter from the Ministry of Women's Affairs summarizing our case.  This is the only piece of information that has not been completed.  We have done our part and the birth mother did her part so we're close.  Hopefully, it will just take a few minutes Monday (middle of the night here) and I'll have another phone call from Ashley telling us that he is all ours!

She was so sweet when she called.  She has been out of the country doing mission work and has recently gotten home and this was the first time we've connected since we've all been back home.  She asked how he responded to us, if we could tell the effects of his health issues, if everything went well, etc.  It was so good to talk to her.  I think she's fantastic and she absolutely made my day.

Be looking for deliciousness on this blog on Monday afternoon!!

Today was also a big day for Cooper.  The theme at his school this week is dinosaurs and today was share day.  The child is obsessed with dinosaurs which excites me because I was obsessed with them as a child as well.  He wore his dinosaur shirt, drew an apatosaurus, and brought his triceratops stuffed animal.  So proud.  Can you tell?

Oh, and those eyes...I'm afraid they're going to melt someone else's heart someday and poor old mom's gonna be left in the dust!  He just can't grow up.

He can't wait for his baby brother to come home.  Here are a few things he's said to me in the past week since we've been home.

"Mommy?  I think baby brother would like to eat at this restaurant...they got applesauce!"  (Dixie Cafe)

"Mom, are sad baby brother isn't here?  I am."

"My baby brother is in Eepiopia.  He's gonna come home soon and I'm soooo glad!  I sad now though cause he's not here yet."

"I wanna look at baby brother's pictures!!"

We get at least a comment or two per day about this.  He thinks of him at the most random times and he plays with his toys.  This sweet baby has no idea what wonderful love is waiting on him!

It's been over a week...

...and he's still not ours.

A friend of mine who recently adopted domestically talked about how, before it was all final and papers were signed, they were 'holding on' to something that wasn't theirs.  That's exactly how I feel.  I think he's mine...I want him to be mine...I know he'll be mine at some point--that point should have been last week!  The reality is, he's not.

There's talk of baby showers and I'm just elated!  But somewhere in me I'm scared.  I've been just about fearless through this whole journey and here at the end I feel like I just can't do it any more.  The hardest part of it is that unless you've down this road before, you don't understand.

It feels like last week was all just a dream and it never really happened...

Trip #1: Expect the unexpected

(before we left)

We've been home a couple of days now and we're just now beginning to feel human again.  It was nice to have today to finally rest, as we went right back to work after being gone.

Sunday:
We left here Friday evening and got to Ethiopia Sunday morning.  After going through the forever long Visa line, we got our luggage and waited in the bank line to exchange money.  About 10 people ahead of us, the bank ran out of money and closed!  Then, we waited a while as the airport cleared out and we still hadn't seen our driver. We called and they thought we got in that evening instead so they were at church.  We waited a little longer for them to come pick us up.  At this point all I could think about was how fast I wanted to get a shower, eat and see my baby!  We ate lunch and then rested for a bit.  They weren't going to come pick us up and take us to the transition home until 3 pm.  I was really sad we had to wait that long but I knew there was nothing we could do about it.

When we got there, another family who was in town for their Visa appointment was there and offered to video tape our first meeting with our little guy.  It's such a special video.  We were so happy to finally get our hands on him!  He's just as beautiful as we'd imagined and so sweet.  He kept looking at us so confused and rightfully so.  We put him on the floor and saw that he can sit up on his own for a little while, he can get up on hands and knees, tries to crawl, and rolls all over the place.  He thinks Justin is funny and has the cutest laugh and smile.  He liked his giraffe lovey we got for him and I hope he snuggles with it every night.  The rattle we brought was very intriguing to him and he didn't want to let it go!  He got tired and fell asleep on me that very first day.  Nothing sweeter!

(this is all I can show of him so far)

  

Until I can show pictures, here's what I can say about him...
Curly, curly hair
Huge, bright eyes
Two bottom teeth and a barely through top tooth
Big lips-so cute!
Not very verbal at all, but will laugh a tiny bit
He weighs a ton but has very small, short legs
He has very little lower body strength due to some health issues-should outgrow this
Ticklish feet
Self-soothes by putting his tongue between his lips and sucks on it

He has a little catching up to do but I'm sure it will happen quickly.  Especially with a big brother to keep up with!

When it was time to leave for the evening, we went back to our guest home and ate dinner and slept.

Monday (Valentine's Day):
After breakfast, we asked what time court would be the next day.  They told us that there was no court on Tuesday because it was a national holiday having to do with the Muslims in the country and our court should be on Wednesday.  Ummmm, we were supposed to leave on Tuesday night!  Quick flip-out moment for sure!  They told us that they'd figure it out and let us know.  We got to the transition home to see our babies for the second time and before they brought them in, we were told that court would be right then!  We had to go back, change clothes, get our representative, and get to the courts as soon as possible.

We sat in the waiting area for a long time and it was so awkward.  There were nicely dressed (mostly) white people, and mixed throughout the crowd were obviously native Ethiopian birth parents.  I kept wondering what was going through their minds as they sat there and saw all the smiling faces come out of the judge's room.  Did it become real and final?  One more twist of the knife?  I can't imagine.  When it was our turn, we went in the judge's room and she asked us all a few 'yes' or 'no' questions and said that the birth parents will meet with her on Wednesday because the court will be closed tomorrow.  We left the room feeling awkward and a little confused.  I knew it wasn't final, but still happy nonetheless.  We completed our part of the process on Valentine's Day!

(after court...not final, but happy still!)

Later in the afternoon we finally got another chance to go back and see our babies again.  I was able to try on clothing I brought to see what would fit him.  His legs are so tiny that he can wear 3-6 month pants but the rest of him fits 6-9 months.  I think I'll just start with 6-9 month clothes and see where to go after that once he gets here for summer clothes.  We also took pictures for other waiting families of their beautiful children.  Playing with the big kids in the courtyard was so much fun.  I wish I could show off all their cute kids!  :)

Tuesday:
This is the day I was dreading before we left.  I was nervous to deal with leaving him, meeting his birth mom, going to court, and leaving the country all in the same day.  Amazing how God works things out, huh?  All we had to deal with was leaving him and getting on the plane this day.  That's hard enough.

We actually got to see him twice this day!  Apparently we kept coming during nap time because he kept falling asleep on me...or maybe he just likes me that much!  We found out about his schedule, naps, feedings, etc. to help us plan what to bring for the next trip.

After dinner that night, we began our long journey home.  I can't sleep sitting up so there's no hope for sleeping on the plane.  By the time we got home Wednesday evening, and finally got in the bed, I'd been awake for 50 hours.  Ridiculous.  Makes me nervous for traveling with a baby next time.

Today is the day

We'll be boarding our flight in about 5 hours from now and on our journey to DC tonight.  Hopefully we'll get some rest.  Our flight in the morning will last until Sunday, Ethiopia time.  We'll get to the guest home, shower, eat, then meet our baby!

Knowing what all we will experience in the next few days is so overwhelming and I'm trying to not let my mind get ahead of myself.  I want to soak in everything, take it slow, and be intentional about everything we do while we're there.  Our time with him at this point is very limited and precious.

The birth parent meeting is where my mind is staying right now.  I have a list of questions for her and I have it written down what I want her to know about us.  We created a photo book of our family and some of the updated pictures we've received of him as we've waited to show her who we are, how he's growing, and where he'll be.  We understand we're unable to give her anything else, as it may be seen as a bribe in their culture, but I can't help but think is this enough?  How do you thank a young woman who has given you a gift of such love?

I pray we are able to portray our family well, and she will know she made a good choice for her son.

The snow has kept us inside and away from church and work this week.  I haven't gotten to say all the good-byes I wanted to but this will have to suffice.  We'll be home shortly and be eager to tell all about our little guy!

Picture for baby brother

Last night, we had Cooper draw a picture for baby brother.  Hopefully, we'll be able to put it above his crib when we get there.  If not, oh well.  At least that's what Cooper will think anyway!

He tried to write his name on the picture and wrote ALL OVER IT!  You could barely see the picture anymore.  I just had him do another today.  Here it is.  So sweet.  Baby brother will love it!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Buddy!

There's nothing sweeter than this boy...my snugglebug.  Lover of all things Toy Story and leader of the marching band.  Tender-hearted, pure silliness, spontaneous.  He's just delicious.  Eat him up!

He's been concerned about our trip to "Eepiopia" and doesn't understand why he can't come.  He told us one night on the way home from church that, "I'll just stay right here in my car seat and Daddy's gonna drive real, real, real fast and we'll all go to Eepiopia!"  That was a hard conversation.  He just doesn't comprehend.  Thankfully, he trusts us.  We told him he'd be staying a few days with Nana and then a few days with Granny and Pa.  He thinks he's going on his own 'trip' while we go on ours.  He can't wait!

He's decided that he loves Valentine's Day.  We bought Toy Story 3 valentines...shocker...and he's ready to pass them out!  For a while, he's been looking forward to Valentine's Day because he knows Justin and I will get to be with 'baby brudder' then.  It was a sad day when he realized we weren't going to bring him home.  Cooper is a lot like me in that he likes to have something to look forward to so I had an idea to hopefully keep him interested in his trip and not miss us too much.  I made him a Valentine Bag.  It has a small valentine gift to open each day that we'll be away from him.  It's cheapo stuff like a coloring book and piece of candy, for instance.  He's seen this bag around the house and I can't believe he hasn't asked about it.  He's going to be so excited when he realizes it's for him!

Between his 'trip' and his Valentine Bag, we're hoping he has a great time while we're away!

Sweetness:
Kissing girls (one at a time) has been a hot topic at our house lately.  Oh, goodness.  One day I asked him what love meant.  His answer?  "Balentimes!"  Later on that day, I asked him what you did when you loved someone.  He said, "Give 'em Balentimes!"

More snow!

So, we got that ridiculous amount of snow (almost 8" at our place) that was predicted and it's been a pretty productive day!  Our bags are pretty much packed, Cooper is packed for his 'trip' and I checked of a ton of stuff from my to-do list.

School has already been called off for tomorrow and the email we received from the school district says that Friday doesn't look promising.  They'll be driving the streets tomorrow afternoon to see if the buses can make it through all of the hills we have around here.  I just want to be able to make it out of town on Friday evening.  Surely, by then, the roads will be good.  For now, Arkansas is at a total standstill.

This here is Sheriff Woody with his trusty steed, Bullseye, and his lasso rope...in dinosaur pj's.  :)

Here's our largest suitcase filled with donations for the House of Hope!  Column one is bags of medicine, vitamins, toiletries, etc.  Column two is about 30 cloth diapers.  Column three is a ton of girlie clothes.

If you contributed to this amazing gift, THANK YOU!!!  They're going to be so appreciative of all this wonderful stuff!

These are the things we're taking to Baby Coco.  The book is a picture book of our family and baby to give to his birth mother when we meet her.  I had to turn it around backwards because the front of it is his beautiful face.  I hate that I can't show you the better picture I took!!  

I feel good about the things we chose to take to leave with him while we're away from him.  They're things he can get attached to and then bring back into our house with us.  Four more days and I can snuggle with him and that blanket.

Isn't Toby a pretty boy?  He loved the snow!

You're really going to Africa?

So we're (the weathermen...that means who knows!) expecting a ridiculous amount of snow tomorrow-two days before we get on a plane out of here.  I was telling another teacher today that if we're out of school tomorrow, I'll be thankful because it will give me a whole extra day for laundry/packing/cleaning before we leave.  This teacher was asking when we'd get home from Africa, etc. when I notice my students were listening to this conversation.

Student:  You're really going to Africa?
Me:  Yes
Student:  You're going to AFRICA.
Me:  Yes, I'm going to Africa.  You've had me for 2 years and heard all about this.  You knew this.
Student:  You're going to Africa..........where are you going to sleep?  In the grass?
Me:  (Thinking:  Yep, in the grass with the lions!)  Ummm, no.  We're staying at a place like a home.  You'd be surprised.  Oh, and guess what?  (getting sarcastic)  They have electricity and running water!  (grin)
Student:  Hmmm.

I still don't think he believed me!

Well, they've already called off school for tomorrow and ready for my day to get everything else done.  Here's a look at the not-so-primitive place where we'll be staying, House of Hope Guest House.

This is where Coco is right now!

There are actually no signs on the walls.

To Do List-Update!

The room:
Get closet set up/organized
Get down baby toys from my closet
Buy lamp and wall shelves
Redo chair cushion
Wall art
Sew bumper pad
Sew bed skirt
Sew quilt/blanket
Finish name hanging for above crib
Sew book slings
Hang wall art (Justin job)
Make toy shelving (Justin job)
Make fabric garland for above closet
Finish rag rug

Misc:
Gather donations for the House of Hope
Write packing lists for us and for Cooper...then get it all bought and packed!
Prepare a stack of clothing to be sold in consignment sale (NOT GONNA HAPPEN THIS TIME!)
Go wedding dress shopping with my sweet friend, Katie!
Make a Valentine box for Cooper (I'll explain later)
Update puzzle information
Finish sending out fundraising 'thank you' letters
Make a photo album for the birthmom, maybe a small gift
Embroider baby's name in his lovey to leave with him
CLEAN MY HOUSE!!! (I LOVE MY HONEY!!)


You can tell we've been busy the past two weeks!  As of now, if we get nothing else done this week before we leave except for packing, I'll be just fine.  Those last few items on that list are small and I can get them done when we return.  I'd like the house to be cleaned once more before we leave as we pack.  Other than that, let's do this!  I'm so ready to go...but return quickly home to our big man!

The nursery

I love the way his room has turned out!  So many personal touches, handmade items, and lots of love have been put into this special nursery.  Planning a nursery for a 9-month-old is a little different than starting as a newborn.  We have to start out thinking more about toys than middle of the night feedings and serenity.

Decorating the nursery cheaply was one of my biggest concerns.  We were able to get it all done very cheap or free.  Sewing got tiring but I knew it was worth it.

I finished the bedding.  Most of the fabric came from $.99 pillow cases from Savers or scraps I already had.  Such a fun project!

I want the room to be calm and not too visually stimulating.  The bed's nice with Cooper's teeth marks, huh?  Adds character.

Mamaw's chair got a cushion re-do.  I just HAD to have that pillow.  It's just missing photos on the shelves and his name above the crib.  Both of which are to come shortly!

Once the puzzle is ready, it will go on the wall left of the window.

My sweet friend, Tami, hand painted and shaded these fabulous boards.  

I think this is one of the coolest parts of the room!

My mirror from my nursery as a baby.  

It has been in my bedroom in every place we've lived until I got married.  I love it!

Toy area!  I made the book slings, painted milk crates, and electrical tied them together.  So far, we have a few books stolen from Coop's room in there...shhh! don't tell him!  And a few left over baby toys.

We will be able to leave a few items with him next week when we see him for court.  Along with his giraffe lovey, we'll leave him this blanket to snuggle with.  I made it from some super soft brown fabric and a sweet forest animal flannel.  I hope he likes it!

Now that the room's done, the packing has begun!  

We'll be on a plane from DC to Addis one week from today!

Jesus touches the lepers

Mark 1:40-42

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy ⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Below is a video that has touched me deeply.  It's about a man named Samuel (Sammy) and Korah in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  I found this video a while back when I searched information about Ethiopia that would relate to a unit my students were working on about child labor around the world.  We read an article about children who work in garbage dumps and I wanted to make it a little more relevant to my students.  At the time, I had no idea who Samuel Liben was or even where Korah was but I knew in my heart that someday I hoped to meet this man and experience this area of the city.  Last night, I found out that Sammy is now a guide working for the Ethiopia Guest Home, where we intend to stay for our second trip to Ethiopia.  We will get to meet him and have him take us into Korah.  We will be with so many of the lepers, AIDS victims, widows, and orphans.  The outcasts.  Sammy is also a part of the Great Hope Church, which serves those of the Korah as well.  Jesus is in Korah.  Jesus is still touching the lepers.  I just wonder how He may use us in this area.

Korah Facts-

In Amharic, the word Korah means "cursed"

If you have leprosy, HIV/AIDS or are a widow or orphan (poor) , you are sent here to live

There are 100,000+ living in this area

The leper colony was started over 75 years ago

Leprosy is a curable (antibiotics) skin disease and there is a hospital serving these people

Even when treated, they are unable to return to their communities because of the stigma

Most of the available food comes from the trash dump

Their huts are made of mud and trash from the dump

You would expect to see only despair in the faces of the people.  While, yes, that's very apparent, what's striking about the video is the hope in their eyes.  Especially the children.

Give me Your love for humanity...

Won't You Be My Love?