Hello from Addis Ababa, in our hearts this is our second home, we just LOVE it here, the smells the sights and especially the people. After 24hrs of travel, one sick Ella on the plane (poor girl, she feels fine now) and 2 lost pieces of luggage we were embraced by Birtukan and Nesibu and that makes it all good!
Greg got an e-mail Tue morning asking if we could leave Wed and arrive Thur for an embassy apt next week. We jumped into high gear and left Wed morning. Tomorrow we get to go visit M at the orphanage and Monday we pick her up!
One of the most amazing parts of all this to me is that back in Jan, before receiving our court date Ella had woken up one morning and told us she'd had a dream that we went to pick up M in April. She asked if that was when we'd go and I told her I didn't know but that she could pray about it. Later that day she told me she'd prayed about it and God said "wait and see"
And here we are picking M up in April! And because of having Ella's dream in the back of my mind we'd gotten ready and were able to leave on a days notice.
Ella has been a wonderful traveler and we love seeing her experience Africa for the first time.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
By the Book
"Mom, are you going to wear that all day? It's so boring" Said on a day I was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt by a daughter wearing 4 different patterns.
Ella is known for her artistic and independent fashion sense. A mom of Ella's schoolmate told me that she gets a daily report on what Ella wore. One day she'll wear a black velvet dress and fake pearls, the next day a vertically striped skirt with horizontally striped sox- and most of the time, to my astonishment, it works. I'll sometimes give suggestions and they're usually met with a polite and succinct refusal in favor of what she has chosen. I love that she isn't influenced by others opinions and, as long as her clothes are weather appropriate, we are happy to let her express herself through fashion.
Over the last few weeks she has been dressing "by the book" one of Bini's books about colors. She'll flip open the book to a page and whichever color is on that page is the color she will wear that day. Scattered throughout the book are "rainbow" days, our favorite.
Here are some recent outfits.
Rainbow day in her Kandinsky like dress (she just learned about Kandinsky in school)
a brown day -and yes, our daughter does have an inordinate amount of cheetah print clothing, missing here is her faux fur cheetah print coat.
rainbow days
the pants in this one are brown w/ white polka dots
Green day
Purple day, hitting the roller skating rink for the first time with buds Eli and Mia, check out the tiny skates on Bin, so cute and so difficult- esp on a mama's back!
Ella is known for her artistic and independent fashion sense. A mom of Ella's schoolmate told me that she gets a daily report on what Ella wore. One day she'll wear a black velvet dress and fake pearls, the next day a vertically striped skirt with horizontally striped sox- and most of the time, to my astonishment, it works. I'll sometimes give suggestions and they're usually met with a polite and succinct refusal in favor of what she has chosen. I love that she isn't influenced by others opinions and, as long as her clothes are weather appropriate, we are happy to let her express herself through fashion.
Over the last few weeks she has been dressing "by the book" one of Bini's books about colors. She'll flip open the book to a page and whichever color is on that page is the color she will wear that day. Scattered throughout the book are "rainbow" days, our favorite.
Here are some recent outfits.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
2 Steps Closer
We got a very exciting e-mail yesterday letting us know that they have already obtained M's new birth certificate and passport! I'm amazed that it took less than 2 weeks from us passing court for them to get these. The next step is for them to submit our paperwork to the embassy and then we wait to be assigned a embassy date- which is when we get to travel and bring her home!
A family we had traveled with to court (and they passed on our 2nd court date) is in Ethiopia now picking up their daughter. Looking at their time line makes me think we could be traveling really soon. But then again, this is international adoption and snags can jump up anywhere.
A family we had traveled with to court (and they passed on our 2nd court date) is in Ethiopia now picking up their daughter. Looking at their time line makes me think we could be traveling really soon. But then again, this is international adoption and snags can jump up anywhere.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
What you doing?
This is what Biniyam's been doing at 2year 2months:
Asking "what you doing" All the time
Asking "Why" to anything you say to him
Asking "Whose that" to anyone you pass in the car, in the store, etc.
When watching the movie Up for the first time he got so excited when the balloons started bursting out of the roof of the house that he started kicking his feet and yelling "balloon, LIKE IT!!"
When rocking him before bed I'll say "I love you" and he'll make the most wonderful sound out of the back of his throat, a soft grunt of recognition, which he only make to those words, so I say them ever few minutes. One night when we were doing this I said "I love you" and he lifted his head off my chest looked at me and said "know that."
When asked what he wants to eat he'll say "eat bugs!" and I'll ask if we should eat spiders or worms, it's a conversation we have daily, he always chooses worms....
After Greg and Pubah let him help fix the dishwasher by letting him hold his hand on the electric screwdriver he stood up pointed to the dishwasher and claimed "I made that!"
Tonight he asked Greg for a piece of gum (he has never had gum, but he ask for it by name) Greg said "no" so Bini looked at him and said "bad attitude!" which absolutely cracks me up because it's what I've been telling him lately when he says NO to me
He says "nicely" in the place of please "mommy, apple nicely"
He lines up his cars "traffic" he tells me
He, when given a doll to play with took off the doll's shoes and pretended that they were cars.
He fills his pockets with rocks that clang in my dryer and it makes me smile because I just love having a boy so much more than I ever imagined I would!
Asking "what you doing" All the time
Asking "Why" to anything you say to him
Asking "Whose that" to anyone you pass in the car, in the store, etc.
When watching the movie Up for the first time he got so excited when the balloons started bursting out of the roof of the house that he started kicking his feet and yelling "balloon, LIKE IT!!"
When rocking him before bed I'll say "I love you" and he'll make the most wonderful sound out of the back of his throat, a soft grunt of recognition, which he only make to those words, so I say them ever few minutes. One night when we were doing this I said "I love you" and he lifted his head off my chest looked at me and said "know that."
When asked what he wants to eat he'll say "eat bugs!" and I'll ask if we should eat spiders or worms, it's a conversation we have daily, he always chooses worms....
After Greg and Pubah let him help fix the dishwasher by letting him hold his hand on the electric screwdriver he stood up pointed to the dishwasher and claimed "I made that!"
Tonight he asked Greg for a piece of gum (he has never had gum, but he ask for it by name) Greg said "no" so Bini looked at him and said "bad attitude!" which absolutely cracks me up because it's what I've been telling him lately when he says NO to me
He says "nicely" in the place of please "mommy, apple nicely"
He lines up his cars "traffic" he tells me
He fills his pockets with rocks that clang in my dryer and it makes me smile because I just love having a boy so much more than I ever imagined I would!
Friday, April 08, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Dessert Anyone?
One day as we had Ella and Bini squished between Greg and I in a family hug I began pecking at the kids cheeks with kisses saying "Yum, and Ella and Bini sandwich"
Ella's immediate rebuttal was "Really Mom, it's more like a s'more"
Ella's immediate rebuttal was "Really Mom, it's more like a s'more"
Saturday, April 02, 2011
She's Ours
I'm overjoyed to announce that we got our governmental letter today, we passed court and WE HAVE A NEW DAUGHTER!!! I know I have been holding back my attachment to her in fear that for some reason she would not become ours. Now she is ours, she will come home, hopefully in a few months, and I feel free to daydream about her being home with us and to prepare for her homecoming.
So here's the recap of how we got here:
July 2009- when in Ethiopia picking up Biniyam, after a sleepless night, no electricity, and when stepping out of a cold shower, Greg announced "I have the plan for our next adoption" A girl to fit between Ella and Bini and we'd start the process in one year.
Then Ella was sick and I thought our plans would change, but it was Ella who kept talking about her sister. She'd see things like a towel with 5 fish and say "Hey look, it's our family, mom, dad, me, Bini and my sister."
In February 2010 we got re-fingerprinted for Biniyam's re-adoption and that became the beginning our our paper work for M. (when Greg reads "our" he's going to laugh, I do no paperwork, Greg does it all and I am so very grateful for this!!)
By the end of September we sent off our paperwork. I had feared starting this adoption before Ella had been clear of cancer for one year, but Greg's fears were in the rapid rising popularity of Ethiopian adoption and what changes that would bring to the process so we stepped out in faith.
By October 8th our paperwork had reached Ethiopia and we were officially waiting for a girl age 3-5.
On October 20th we got "the call" a referral for M a beautiful 5 year old girl, smiling in every picture. I'd anticipated the referral coming a bit faster than Bini's (which took 9 months,) but never did I think it would only be 12 days! She had already been living in the orphanage for 6 months.
And then the wait, and court and court again and now she is legally ours! Now in Ethiopia they will work on getting her a new birth certificate & a passport. We will then be assigned a date with the US embassy to receive her visa and bring our girl home.
So here's the recap of how we got here:
July 2009- when in Ethiopia picking up Biniyam, after a sleepless night, no electricity, and when stepping out of a cold shower, Greg announced "I have the plan for our next adoption" A girl to fit between Ella and Bini and we'd start the process in one year.
Then Ella was sick and I thought our plans would change, but it was Ella who kept talking about her sister. She'd see things like a towel with 5 fish and say "Hey look, it's our family, mom, dad, me, Bini and my sister."
In February 2010 we got re-fingerprinted for Biniyam's re-adoption and that became the beginning our our paper work for M. (when Greg reads "our" he's going to laugh, I do no paperwork, Greg does it all and I am so very grateful for this!!)
By the end of September we sent off our paperwork. I had feared starting this adoption before Ella had been clear of cancer for one year, but Greg's fears were in the rapid rising popularity of Ethiopian adoption and what changes that would bring to the process so we stepped out in faith.
By October 8th our paperwork had reached Ethiopia and we were officially waiting for a girl age 3-5.
On October 20th we got "the call" a referral for M a beautiful 5 year old girl, smiling in every picture. I'd anticipated the referral coming a bit faster than Bini's (which took 9 months,) but never did I think it would only be 12 days! She had already been living in the orphanage for 6 months.
And then the wait, and court and court again and now she is legally ours! Now in Ethiopia they will work on getting her a new birth certificate & a passport. We will then be assigned a date with the US embassy to receive her visa and bring our girl home.
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