Journey From Ethiopia

BIG Announcement

2011-04-04T14:51:00.001-05:00

Michael and I have a HUGE announcement and we need YOUR help. I have started a new blog and have written all about it. We would love for you to read it! Make sure you scroll down to the bottom and read the first post, so you know the entire story!

www.thegatherednest.blogspot.com

Happy Referral Day!

2010-12-29T22:24:00.010-06:00

On this day, one year ago, we received a very important phone call that would change our lives forever. I dropped Michael off at work and was heading to my parent's house, which was 45 minutes away. I have no idea why Michael did not drive himself to work that day, but he didn’t. It was a few days before our production week for Grease and we were swamped. I had gotten about 15 minutes away and my phone rang. I looked down and saw the famous 817 area code. I answered and Kristin said, “Katie, your referral is ready”. I think I responded with, “That was quick.” Yes, it had been almost a year since going on the wait list, but we had only changed our referral request from siblings to one child on November 30. I told her I had to go back and pick up Michael and we would call her back. I called Michael and told him the news and went and picked him up. We went to our performing arts academy, so we could have a place view the emails by ourselves. We got everything ready and called Kristin back….voicemail. We called her back several times in the next thirty minutes. It was the longest thirty minutes of our lives. She finally called back and said she had been on a conference call with Belay. She sent us the email and we opened it up. We saw this tiny baby and asked how old she was and she told us she was two months old. These are the first pictures we saw...

We heard her story and Kristin went through all of the info with us. I said awkward, stupid things, because I was excited and nervous. The phone calls to our families began soon after. It was such an exciting day and one we will never forget!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T23:18:00.014-06:00

Having Sophia home for Christmas was such a joy! For years we dreamed of what it would be like to have a child at home during the Christmas season and we loved celebrating the birth of our Savior with Sophie.

Sophia opened so many presents. She was given lots of wonderful things and we are very grateful! My sister made her the cutest outfit. Everyone loved it and so did we! Thank you, Aunt Amy!

This picture was taken of Michael and I during Christmas 2009 and we included it in a baby photo album we sent to Sophie.

This is a picture of her in Ethiopia, taken on January 20, 2010, with the photo album. What a difference a year makes!

Christmas 2010 - a family at last!

Merry Christmas!

We forget...

2010-12-20T11:48:00.007-06:00

My daughter did not grow inside of me. I did not experience morning sickness, feel her kick or hear her first cry. I will never know what her first months in Ethiopia were like. There are things we missed – things we did not get to experience. We did, however, get to experience a deep love. A love for a child we had never met. Michael and I will never forget the moments when we opened the email and saw the tiny face of our daughter. For three months we stared at pictures and longed to hold her in our arms. We looked at them over and over again, hoping to notice something new. We bought her clothes, dreamed about what our lives would be like once she was here and shared our story with others. Adoption consumed our thoughts and we busied ourselves with preparations to travel to Ethiopia.

Adoption. It was all we could think about. And now...we forget. It is true. We forget she was adopted. Her skin does not match our skin, but we don’t think about it. We look at her and see our beautiful, precious daughter. She brings so much joy to everyone she meets. She is a blessing and is as much our child as one I birthed would be. I do not say these things lightly or in a way that appears that we forget about her heritage or her story. We do not. We love Ethiopia and it is the country where Sophia Mekdes was created. She will know her story and we will tell her about the wonderful country that allowed us to bring her home.

I am not writing this to downplay the importance of adoption. Rather, I am writing this to share our story of love. Love created our family. God’s love for us and our love for Him, brought the three of us together. I know there are many people who consider adoption, but think they won’t be able to love their adopted child like they would a biological one. I believe those feelings are very normal. However, in most cases, those feelings go away the moment you meet your child.

We chose adoption. We will choose it again. To us, adoption is an amazing gift God gave us and we feel so blessed to be able to know Him in this way. We were given the chance to fall in love with a tiny baby 8,256 miles away. We loved her before we even met her. Naturally, meeting her was amazing. Holding her for the first time and kissing her soft skin, was surreal. The love we have for her grows deeper everyday.

Choose adoption. Let God turn your world upside down. You will experience a love deeper than you could ever imagine. Trust me. You will not regret it. If we had said no, we would have missed out on this…

Choose love. Take the jump. It may seem scary, but it is SO worth it!

A Family For Vika: $800 Best Buy Gift Card Giveaway

2010-11-03T12:26:00.000-05:00

A Family For Vika: $800 Best Buy Gift Card Giveaway: "We are raising funds for Vika's grant fund. She is in an institution in Eastern Europe and she needs to be rescued by a family. She is lis..."

goodies for my brown skinned babe

2010-10-08T18:32:00.004-05:00

I was browsing the card section looking for a birthday card for miss Sophia Mekdes, when I saw a card adorned with a cute, brown faced girl. Behind the duplicate stack of cards, was a sign that said ‘Ebony’. “Wow, they have a section of cards for my sweet, brown baby”, I thought. I looked for more cards, and to my dismay, I didn’t find any. The entire section of girl’s birthday cards had ONE card with a little girl who had the same color skin as Sophia’s. ONE out of probably 50 cards. Now, many of them were bears, elephants, Dora, etc. They weren’t all little white girls, but you get the idea.

What really makes me sad…I never would have noticed this prior to our Ethiopian blessing. Never. That is embarrassing and I don’t really feel like I can complain, when I think about my previous lack of awareness. I do, however, wonder if there is a need for an ‘Ebony’ label, especially for only one card. Shouldn’t we just mix all of the cards together like one big {expensive} paper world?

I am noticing these types of situations more and more. I am fine with Sophia having both white and brown dolls, after all both colors exist in her family. However, I would like to have as many options for brown as there are for white, or at least somewhat close to the number of options. It seems like most clothing items with little girls on them, only have white girls. My sister was able to find a really cute ballerina shirt with a sweet brown girl on it. I love it. Yay, Old N*vy! (her legs are longer than two inches...she is somewhat squating in the picture)

Don’t forget about Sophia’s birthday celebration benefiting the Linck family. You can read about it in the previous post. Thank you to those of you who have posted about it on facebook and your blog. I really appreciate it!

Will you help us celebrate Sophia's birthday?

2010-10-03T15:43:00.006-05:00

Our little Sophia is growing up so quickly! She will be one on October 12. We are celebrating in a BIG way and we want YOU to be a part of it!!!

As I said in my last blog post, we believe God calls Christians to care for orphans. Adoption is one way He uses us to care for His children. I LOVE reading adoption stories and especially love seeing how God provides the funding for adoptions. He provided for our adoption of Sophia in so many amazing ways. We never could have paid for her adoption on our own. So many of our family and friends gave their hard earned money to help bring her home and we are so thankful. You have no idea!

We know that it wasn’t too long ago that many of you helped with our adoption, but we are asking for you to give a little of your money to help bring another Ethiopian baby home to his or her forever family.

You see, we have some friends who are adopting from Ethiopia and we want to help them out. They are in the fundraising stage and are hoping to turn their application in on October 25, their 2nd wedding anniversary. They want to have all of the money for the fees raised ($18,000) before they submit the application. God has already provided in HUGE ways for them and it has been a blessing to watch.

So, back to Sophia’s birthday CELEBRATION!!!!! We are asking all of our friends, family, blogland buddies, total strangers, etc. to donate to the Linck’s adoption fund in Sophia’s name. If you know Sophia and she has brought joy to your life, would you please consider giving $5 or more, so Baby Linck can come home? If you don’t know her, but know how precious children are, would you donate money, as well?

For every $5 you donate, we will enter your name into a drawing for a prize. We will have a drawing when $100 has been donated and then again at $200, $300, etc. The more you donate the bigger your chance is to win.

The first prize is a brand new copy of “The Hole in Our Gospel”, by Richard Stearns!

Would you like an additional chance to win? If you donate money AND do a blog or facebook post about this, then your name will be entered an additional time (twice if you post on fb and your blog). Make sure you comment on my blog and let me know you posted about it.

To donate, please click here or on the link on the sidebar. This will take you to the ChipIn page I have created for Sophia’s birthday celebration. You are also welcome to write a check or pay with cash, if you will be seeing one of us in the near future.

“‘Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:37-40)

For more information on John and Jennifer Linck, please visit their blog http://ourmissinglinck.blogspot.com/.

Thank you so much for reading this and for your consideration in helping John and Jennifer bring home their "Missing Linck". I am so excited to see how God will use Sophia's life to help bring an orphan home to their forever family!

our hearts are heavy for orphans

2010-09-10T11:12:00.013-05:00

My heart is heavy. My thoughts have been consumed with the orphans in Ethiopia lately. So quickly, my memories can take me to the government run orphanages in Addis. Oh how I wish we could have spent more time with those precious kids. Their tenacity in the midst of such heartache humbles me. Their smiles make my heart swell, but their sad eyes make mine tear up.

As Christians we are called to care for the orphans. James 1:27 says, “Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (NIV) Now, I have seen this verse on countless blogs. I always thought it seemed a little pompous to put this verse on your adoption blog, as if the blogger was trying to show the world how ‘pure and faultless’ they are. Yes, I was being judgmental. Yes, my feelings have changed.

What does it mean in your life to ‘look after orphans and widows?’ In my opinion, it isn’t a question of ‘should you?’, but a question of ‘how will you?’ What will you do to care for the orphans and widows? What kind of sacrifice are you willing to make? What are you willing to give up for God? Maybe God is calling you to adopt. Maybe he is calling you to give money to a family who is adopting. Maybe he is calling you to do something bigger.

Michael and I have been spending a lot of time thinking and praying about what God wants for our family. We keep seeing the faces of the older children we met and we can’t sit back and do nothing. In addition to praying for orphans in general, there are six specific children we have been praying for. Three we met in Ethiopia and three my friend, Janet, met. We are asking God to move mountains and find homes for these precious kids. We know that God might ask us to be the family for one or more of these children or he might have other families in mind. If we are not to be their parents, we are sure he has other children in mind for our family. Either way, we know we will have to sacrifice.

I have read James 1:27 too many times to count. I have never really spent a lot of time thinking about the last part of the verse, “…keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” I am not a theologian, but I believe this verse is saying that the care you provide to the orphans and widows should be a sacrifice. It might not be easy. Perhaps ‘easy’ and ‘convenient’ is worldly. We avoid being polluted by the world when we make sacrifices and when we become okay with everything not being easy and convenient. We also become less worldly when we focus more on the world, in my opinion.

We feel called to care for orphans. It is as plain and simple as that. What does that look like? We don’t know. What we do know, is that we feel like God is going to be calling us to do things that are going to make us uncomfortable. He is asking us to make sacrifices and to lay our lives down for him. The dreams we had for our family may not be the dreams God has for us. We are scared and excited. We know everyone will not understand. You may not ‘get it’ and that is okay.

For those of you who have been to Ethiopia, you know where I am coming from. Your heart is not the same. You have more than likely lost sleep over the plight of these sweet people. For those of you who have never been there, trust me. Trust me when I say it is worth the sacrifice. God has great things planned for those kids. Will you be a part of it?

Will you pray that God would move mountains and set the lonely in families? Will you also pray that God would move mountains in our lives, so we can bring more children into our family? We are willing. Hear our cry, oh God. Here are specific things we need prayers for:

Guidance. Please pray that we would hear God’s call loud and clear.

Patience. I tend to rush into things, so please pray that we would wait for God’s perfect timing. Luckily, Michael is much better at waiting.

Provisions. Please pray that our business would continue to grow, so we have the money to support a growing family. We also live 25 miles from our business and put a LOT of miles on our cars going back and forth. We would love to move closer and get a home that would provide room for more children.

Adoption finances. Adoptions are expensive. Unfortunately, we don’t have $30,000-$35,000 in expendable income right now. Ethiopia now requires you travel for your court date. This means two trips and more money. God provided for our last adoption and we know he will again. Will you pray that we would come up with effective fundraising ideas and that God would stir in the hearts of others to help us bring orphans into our home? For those of you who supported our last adoption financially and through prayer, thank you so much!!!

We are not starting the adoption process right now, but when God gives the ‘go ahead’, we want to be ready. We want to start working on saving money and raising it, so we have a large portion before moving forward.

Here are a couple of pictures from Ethiopia of us with two sweet girls we met and are praying for. We can’t show their faces, but they are so precious.

If you are feeling called to help others in the adoption process, I would encourage you to hop on over to my friend Jennifer's blog. They are in the fundraising stage of their adoption and they are selling puzzle pieces for $20. Once all of the pieces to the puzzle have been purchased, they will assemble the puzzle and frame it for their future child. Will you please consider giving them $20 or more?

Finally, a little bit about our favorite Ethiopian! Miss Sophia is growing so much. She is almost 11 months old! She has four teeth and is always on the move. She crawls and pulls up like crazy. She has no fear, which scares her mama! She is such a joy and everyone she meets LOVES her. She is completely spoiled by her daddy, Aunt Amy and her grandparents. My parents are completely enamored with her and it has been a joy to watch.

Sophia decided to crawl under the stool and then stood up inside of it.

Then it was time to figure out how to get out of it.

She knew she couldn't crawl back under it, so she took a diving leap and made it out successfully!

A Life Chronicled

2010-06-03T08:42:00.001-05:00

Since my diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis, I have wanted to start a separate blog for my two diseases. After writing the last post I decided I had much more to say and it would bog down this blog. So, instead of writing a short series, I will be going into great detail on my other blog.

I realize there may only be a few people who will follow me on both blogs, and that is just fine. It takes a special person to find the details of medical conditions interesting. WARNING: If you are not okay with reading details about bowels, poop and all things related, you might want to stick with reading this blog and not read my other one. After all, Ulcerative Colitis is a disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the large intestine. It is not a pretty disease and there is no candy coating it! After typing this I am VERY glad I made the decision to move these details to their new home.

I know the idea of blogging about these issues will seem strange to many of you and may make you uncomfortable. Some of you may have cringed a little when you read the words ‘bowel’ and ‘poop’. I know I am making the right decision. Both Type 1 Diabetes and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) can be diseases people are embarrassed to have. I have spent the last 10 years putting the emphasis on ‘Type 1’. There is nothing shameful about ‘Type 2’ diabetes, but it gets a bad rap. No one wants to talk about UC and, certainly, no one wants to hear about it. I have had many embarrassing moments because of my UC. It is for these reasons that I am stepping out there, letting my guard down, and speaking up for myself and others who know these diseases all too well.

Speaking of bowels, please pray for my dad. He was admitted to the hospital yesterday with an obstructed bowel. He will be having surgery this morning in hopes of removing the obstruction. They are going to try to remove it laparoscopically first, if that doesn’t work they will have to make a larger incision.

If you would like to follow me on my other blog, A Life Chronicled, please feel free to click on this link.

Chronic(les), Part 1: Celebration

2010-05-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

Today is my 31st birthday. In celebration I am going to do a short series on my life with two chronic, autoimmune diseases. Why are diseases worth celebrating? They are such a part of me and I haven’t really talked about them on my blog. I view my blog as a tool for me to share my thoughts and experiences about my life and the life of my family. I can’t be truly honest about my life, without sharing this part of me. I hope I can put a face to my diseases and you will learn a little bit more about me. Join me today as I celebrate my life and living it the way God designed.

An autoimmune disease occurs when your tissue is attacked by your own immune system. Your immune system is designed to attack invaders of the body, which includes infectious agents. Those with autoimmune diseases have antibodies in their blood that target their own tissue. Most autoimmune diseases are chronic, which is the case with mine. I will have them for the rest of my life. Every minute. Every day. Forever and ever. And…..I’m okay with that.

No one really knows what causes the battle within the body, but it has now happened to me twice. Both my endocrine and gastrointestinal system have been attacked by my own body. The result: Type 1 Diabetes and Ulcerative Colitis. I did not do anything to get either of these diseases. It is not my fault. This is very important to understand, for those with an autoimmune disease. It was out of my control. It is unknown what causes an autoimmune disease, but many in the medical field believe those who develop one have a genetic predisposition and it is triggered by an environmental factor, such as a virus. There can be a genetic link, but often the odds are very low. My sister also has an autoimmune disease, which she was diagnosed with two months prior to my diabetes diagnosis. Unfortunately, if you have one autoimmune disease you are more likely to develop another. Since they aren’t awards or money, I am good with the ones I’ve got!

Last week I posted a status update on facebook, that wasn’t really me. It said, “…needs to have a 30 second pity party. Sometimes having two chronic autoimmune diseases really stinks.” I don’t wallow in self pity, typically. You may hear me complain about many things, but you won’t hear me complain about my diseases very often. I kind of regret that status update. It is not the image I like to paint, nor the mentality I generally have. I was raised to deal with what was handed to me, take a moment and move on. I don’t want it to sound like my parents weren’t sensitive or caring. Actually, it is quite the opposite. They did, and still do, care about me very much and I believe that is why they raised me to not feel sorry for myself. They taught me to make the best of my situations and to use my experiences to make an impact on others. I am forever grateful for this.

I believe that my diseases have given me character, however they do not define me. When I was first diagnosed with diabetes, the nurses told me, “You are not diabetic, you have diabetes.” They felt saying I was “diabetic” defined me. It let the name of the disease take a greater position than me as a person. Really, I don’t care either way. I say both. The label doesn’t matter, but my attitude does.

Please stay tuned for my next two posts, in which I will share my experiences with each disease. I hope to post them this week. Thanks for reading about my life. I hope I haven’t lost half of my readers by boring you with this info!

An update and nursery pics

2010-05-09T19:23:00.011-05:00

Well, I have become one of those bloggers. You know, the kind that disappears after returning home. Life has been busy. Our transition home was a little difficult. She was great, I was a little numb.

Co-owning a business has it’s perks, but sometimes I wish I just had a job where I could leave the office and not take work home with me. I was able to take off four weeks, but that also left me with piles of things to catch up on. This is our busiest time of the year. We are preparing for summer classes, trying to decide on a schedule for the fall and spring, getting ready for our dance recital next week and we are in rehearsals for two musicals. Needless to say, I am not caught up yet.

I don’t really feel like I had the chance to soak in what we saw in Ethiopia and mentally deal with it all. We are still trying to figure out what God wants us to do with this knowledge and our experiences there. Almost everyday we wish we were in Ethiopia. We want to go back so desperately. That being said, we know we are where we are supposed to be. We have loved seeing our family and friends meet Sophia and fall in love with her. My friend, Lori, did an excellent job of communicating her emotions in her recent blog post. They spent a month in Ethiopia, so I can’t imagine what their transition home has been like. Please read her post and know that is how Michael and I feel. Lori and her family stayed at Bejoe’s, so we spent the last few days of our journey in Ethiopia with them.

Sophia is developing new skills everyday. She rolls over from her stomach and her back. She is trying to crawl. She is very strong. EVERYTHING must be in her mouth. She smiles and laughs all the time. When people meet her they ask me if she is always that happy. Yes she is. She is a delight and we feel so blessed that God trusted us with His precious child. It is an honor to be her Mommy and Daddy.

Amy took pictures of Sophie’s nursery right after we got home. For some reason a few of them are blurry, but I haven’t found the time to retake them. If I don’t post them now, it may never happen! I can’t really take much credit for the cuteness that is her nursery. Amy and Michael really deserve all of the credit. My mom, dad and Amy helped with the final touches while we were gone.

Amy made the adorable birdhouses. To see better pictures of them, see this blog post.

Michael painted the trees on the wall. The birds are decals.

My dad made this bookshelf and there is another under the other window. The deer is also a wall decal, like the birds.

Here are some more decals. Sorry about the blurry pic. The decals were purchased from this etsy seller. Amy bought them for Michael and I for Christmas.

We don't have doors for her closet, so Amy bought these curtains and added the ric-rac. So cute.

Again, I have Amy to thank for these bird counting cards. I love them and they look great in her room. I really do have the BEST sister!!!!

I hope all of my mommy friends had a great Mother's Day. I know I did!

Home and Days 11-13

2010-04-10T22:34:00.017-05:00

We’re home. I never thought it would take me so long to catch up on my blog, but life has been busy. The jet lag has knocked us down. I finally got a good nights sleep the past two nights and feel like somewhat of a human being. Sophie is doing well and feeling much better, as am I. We arrived Wednesday night and she loved all of her family who was waiting to meet her.

She had a really rough day Thursday and was fussy most of the day, which is not at all her personality. Friday we took her to her pediatrician. He changed her formula, which we hope will stop her from spitting up half of what she eats and will get some other discomforts under control. He is going to do some lab work next week and we go back in two weeks for a follow up appointment. He thought she was right on target for her age and doing well, which was great to hear. Friday night we went out to dinner with my family to celebrate my Grandma’s 87th birthday. This was Sophie’s first time meeting her ReRe (this is what my sister thinks she should call her, because her name is Reba). She was, of course, the focus of the evening.

I didn’t have time the last couple of days in Ethiopia to update my blog, so I am doing it now.

Day 11

Monday we tried to finish our souvenir shopping. We wanted to get Sophia Mekdes some traditional Ethiopian dresses, so Beky took us to the big market in town. We bought several dresses, probably more than we should have, but they are precious. We got several different sizes and styles. We really wanted to make sure we got a dress that was the same style dress they wear in Gonder and we found one we both loved. She should be able to wear it in a couple of years.

The market is right by Entoto Mountain, so Beky took us there next. We saw many people walking from the market area to their homes at the top of the mountain. He said they were returning from church and made the climb everyday. It is STEEP. Women carry wood down from the mountain everyday. I can’t imagine how taxing this must be on there bodies. We stopped about half way up, so we could take pictures. We were greeted by four boys. This is how our conversation went:

Boy: Welcome!
Me: Thank you.
Boy: What is your country?
Me: America. I like Ethiopia.
Boy: We like America.
Me: This is a long, steep climb. Do you get tired?
Boy: Yes, very. Eucalyptus. (One of the boys handed me a piece of eucalyptus, while the others kicked around a deflated soccer ball).

The boys were precious. When we left Michael gave them each a couple of pieces of candy. They were so excited. I wish we could have done more for them. I am so grateful to have met these boys. As I have been thinking and praying about what God might have in store for us in the future, I have spent a lot of time focusing on the needs of orphans in Ethiopia and in other countries, as well. Being in Ethiopia allowed me to cross paths with children, like these boys, a boy begging to shine my shoes (Tom’s don’t shine!), little girls begging for money and so many others. These kids have families, but they still need so much.

Now, I obviously think adoption is a wonderful and beautiful thing. However, I truly believe more needs to be done to enable parents to raise their children. The ideal situation is for parents to have the resources to care for the children and raise them in a stable environment. This is not always possible and that is where adoption comes in. These children made me think more about what could be done to strengthen family groups and the resources available to them.

We stopped in at Island Breeze for lunch. Michael LOVED this restaurant. We had burgers that were very close to what we might have here in the States. Michael keeps referring to this restaurant as, “Ethiopia’s best kept secret.” I thought it was good, but he might have been a little too eager for some American food.

One thing I really wanted to do while in Ethiopia, was visit AHOPE. When we first decided to adopt, my sister created Project 8256, an etsy shop she created to sell her artwork online. The proceeds went to our adoption fund. We wanted to help other children with the money, so we donated 20% of the proceeds to AHOPE. For those of you who do not know, AHOPE is an orphanage in Ethiopia for children living with HIV.

I really wanted to visit their facility, so we asked one of the in-country staff if they knew where it was and they gave us a general idea. We drove around and found it. We honked the horn several times, hoping they would let us in and they did! I told them we would love to tour their facility and they let us. I won’t post pictures of the children, but will post a few pics of their happy facility. This orphanage was drastically different from the government run orphanages we had encountered the day before. They had bright murals on the walls, playgrounds, organization and more. When we walked in, many of the children were coloring. It was so nice to see the kids engaged in an activity. AHOPE was a very peaceful, happy place. I am so glad we stopped by!

We spent the rest of the evening trying to get packed and ready to leave the next day! Meanwhile Sophie fell asleep in this position…

I think she was practicing for dance classes with Aunt Cheryl or hoping to be a track star and working on her hurdling moves!

Day 12

We had a few more places we wanted to shop, because many of the shops were closed on Monday due to the Easter holiday. We wanted to get an Amharic Bible, which we did. I told Michael it could be Gone With The Wind and we would never know. They did assure us it was a Bible!

We also wanted to get some music from Gonder. Beky took us to a store and we got two CDs and a dance DVD. Thankfully, Travis suggested we test them, because one of them wasn’t working. The CDs are really cheep, so check them before you leave the country. Beky exchanged the blank one later that day.

Tuesday morning we also visited the National Museum of Ethiopia. It was pretty interesting. We found it very sad that they do not have a better facility. Their artifacts were not preserved well at all. Some were in display cases with skylights in them. The paper was starting to bubble inside and the sun was shining down on them.

After the museum we met up with the Knights, another Gladney family, and Travis, Joanna and Belay, Gladney in-country staff. We went to Island Breeze again. Michael couldn’t have been happier. This time we had pizza. It was nice to be able to visit with our new friends one last time.

After lunch we swung over to Tomoca, Michael’s favorite coffee shop. He and Beky had to get coffee one last time! We then went back to the Leprosy Hospital to shop again in their craft shop. We just loved it there and got some new things for our home and for our family.

We went back to the guest house after that and got ready to leave. We were very sad to leave Ethiopia and especially to say goodbye to the staff at Bejoe’s. They became our friends and loved on our daughter more than we could have ever expected them to. They are wonderful ladies and we miss them dearly.

Part of me wanted to stay longer, because I felt like God had more to teach us. There is a common game played at wedding showers that involves yarn. One of the hostesses goes around the room and starts unraveling a spool of yarn and you tell them when to stop. After everyone has their yarn, you go around the room and wrap the yarn around your finger. Each time you wrap it around, you must share something about yourself. The person with the longest piece, obviously has to say the most. While we were in Ethiopia, I felt like God was wrapping yarn around our fingers, slowly teaching us more about Him and about ourselves.

I started feeling nauseous before we left and feared that it would be a long trip home. Luckily it went away a few hours later! Sophie, however, had a fever the entire way home.

We headed to the airport about 8:00 pm and finally boarded the plane headed for Amsterdam.

Day 13

We slept a little bit on the plane, but not very much. We were lucky to have an extra seat on our row, so we could lay Sophie down to sleep. She did really well on the plane, but she seemed very lethargic and uncomfortable. I am sure the fever wasn’t helping that too much.

We had a five hour layover in Amsterdam. We ate breakfast and hung out in the very peaceful airport. We boarded the plane for Minneapolis and sat across the aisle from a 2.5 year old boy who screamed a good portion of the flight. Not fun. He did NOT want to buckle his seatbelt and the flight attendant kept telling him, “It’s the law.” Really? Your going to try that logic with a 2.5 year old?

When we landed in Minneapolis we went through customs, got her green card and had to recheck all of our luggage. We only had a two hour layover and we were concerned this would not be enough time. It was, so I am glad we didn’t change our flight! I wasn’t too thrilled to get on another plane, because we had a lot of turbulence when we landed in Minneapolis and I was still feeling a bit queasy! The flight was short and sweet. We could not have been happier to land in OKC and introduce our little darling to her family who had been praying for her and falling in love with her for three months.

I know I have more to share about our trip, but this is all I have time for now. I have pictures of the nursery to share and will try and get those up in the next couple of days. Thank you all for following our journey and for your sweet and encouraging comments while we were in Ethiopia!

The Journey

2010-04-06T12:59:00.003-05:00

This is Katie's sister, Amy:

Katie, Michael and Sophia Mekdes will begin their journey home in about an hour. I know that they are so excited for their families to meet Sophia (and believe me...we are SO excited to meet her!), but I think leaving Ethiopia is a little bittersweet for them as well. As I am certain you can tell from her blog posts, this has been an amazing time for them and while they have grown together as a family they have experienced tremendous personal growth as well. I can't wait to see all of the pictures, watch the videos, and hear all of the amazing stories that are not easily conveyed through choppy phone connections and text messages.

Please pray for safe travels and good health. I received an email from Katie about an hour ago saying that she was feeling nauseous and that Sophia had a fever earlier in the day. Traveling internationally (with a baby) is, I'm sure, rarely enjoyable -- but bearable...tolerable.. would be nice. Let's keep our fingers crossed for that.

While Katie has had some internet access, she has not been able to read the comments posted on her blog. I have been emailing them to her, and I know that they have meant so much to both of them. Thank you for your constant support and encouragement. Many of you have adopted or are in the process currently, and you have been able to provide a form of support that we cannot. For that I am extremely grateful.

When Katie decided on the title of her blog, "Journey From Ethiopia", I suggested that "From" should perhaps be "To". This is the story of your adoption process, your journey to Ethiopia. But Katie responded - No, this is the story of us coming home as a family. It's been a long journey, but it's finally happening! And this story is sweet, and perfect and definitely worth the wait.

Days 9 and 10

2010-04-04T12:47:00.003-05:00

Day 9
Day 9 began with a trip to the Gladney Care Center for a follow-up appointment with the doctor. He said Sophia Mekdes was doing much better and to just continue her medicine until it was finished. We came home for a little bit and then headed to Dreamland.

This is a view of Gladney Care Center #4, for those of you with children there.

Dreamland is a hotel and restaurant about an hour away on Crater Lake. It is beautiful. The drive was much smoother than I had been told, which I appreciated. The road is very busy and is a main route to Djibouti, so it has a lot of importing and exporting going on. It was nice to get out of the city and see a little bit of a different side of Ethiopia. We had a nice meal and headed back to the city.

Day 10
Today we began our day with an attempted Easter photo shoot with miss Sophie. It wasn’t too successful, but I will post a few of the pics we captured.

Today we had the VERY emotional journey to the government run orphanages. We visited all three and I can’t even put it into words what it was like. Belay, the Gladney in-country director, was our guide through the orphanages. We video-taped him talking about all of the needs of each orphanage. He also spoke about all of the programs Gladney has implemented. Gladney is the main adoption agency involved with the orphanages and impacting the lives of the orphans there. I so wish I could post pictures of the children, but it is not allowed. I can show them in person, but I can't post them online.

The first orphanage we visited was Kolfe, which is for older boys. I think they take boys in the 11-20 age range. I am sure that is not the exact range, but close. Here are a few pictures from Kolfe. They are working on renovating the facility and also developing income generating programs for the boys.

The next orphanage was Kebebe Tsehay. It is home to babies up to seven year olds. The baby room was one of the saddest things I have EVER seen. It reeked of spit-up. They had three workers for probably 25-30 babies. The babies had their bottles propped up and they were the tiniest babies you have ever seen. They have a big problem with communicable diseases. One of the babies got chicken pox and they didn’t catch it until it had spread. They lost eight babies in one week. Think on that for a minute. I asked Belay how much it would take to pay the salary of one caregiver. His response, “$50 a month”. Please think about that. $600 a year could be the difference between life and death for these children. $600.

There were so many precious children. Michael and I fell in love with a little girl about five or six years old. She was so sweet and loved Michael. She has a little brother who looked to be about two. We asked if they were available to adopt and Belay said their mother refused to relinquish them, meaning they would stay in the orphanage forever, if that didn’t change. I teared up watching her and leaving the orphanage today.

The final orphanage we went to was Kechene. This orphanage is home to babies, younger children and older girls. We loved it. It was very peaceful. The children seemed so happy and LOVED having their pictures taken. I need to get them all printed and send them with another traveling family, so the girls can have them. Pictures are like money here. EVERYONE wants pictures.

We have so many thoughts running through our head. You cannot see what we have seen and not do something. Part of our hearts will always be here. I can’t wait to share the pictures and videos with our family and friends. Please pray about what God might be calling you to do today. Is it adopt? Is it to finance a project? Maybe it is something small or something great. Please ask God to open your hearts to the possibilities ahead of you.

Days 7 & 8

2010-04-02T18:11:00.004-05:00

Day 7 started out with me getting sick and spending too much time in the bathroom. I’ll leave it at that! Our Embassy appointment was moved to the morning and we had to be there at 8:40 am. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. It wasn’t really what I had anticipated. We went through all of the security measures and then stood as a group, as they called each family one by one upstairs. They asked us a few questions and then gave us the stamp of approval. Later that day her visa was delivered to us. We also received her birth certificate, vaccination report and other important documents. We were told, in our referral, that her birthday was October 22, 2009, but the birth certificate says October 12. It’s not a huge difference, but we will have to go with what is on her birth certificate. Here is our princess holding her passport with each of us. She doesn’t seem nearly as excited as we are!

Gladney staff takes families on a tour of the Church of the Holy Trinity. Religion is extremely important here. I stayed at the guest house, because I was feeling so terrible. Michael went and took a lot of pictures and video and I will have to have him write a blog about it sometime. Ethiopian Christians are fasting right now from all animal products. They fast for 55 days and break the fast at about 2:00 am Easter morning. We can hear them singing prayers from our bedroom window. It is amazing.

Here are a few pictures from the church:

The Ethiopian Orthodox Pope was at the church when they visited:

The day ended with a trip to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. Thankfully, I was feeling better and was able to attend. They served a wonderful meal and had traditional dancing and singing from different regions of Ethiopia. It was amazing. I cannot even begin to imagine how they move their bodies that quickly. They spent about 30-45 minutes just on dances from Gonder, where Mekdes was born. We videotaped the entire Gonder section and will put some of it up when we return. It was so special to be able to get a glimpse of Gonder.

We have really enjoyed our time here. The people are so beautiful and kind. It will be bittersweet to leave on Tuesday, knowing that we are taking our daughter away from the people and country of her birth. She will naturally lose that part of her identity and that makes me sad. She won’t know Ethiopian heritage like she would if she lived here. We will do our best to teach her and we hope to bring her back someday, but that is not the same.

Day 8

Well, I was really sick in the middle of the night and threw up. We decided to chill at the guest house all day. I was really thankful for all of the meds I brought. I am feeling better now and I really hope I am back to normal tomorrow, because I don’t want to miss anything else.

There were five Gladney families here this week and three of them departed tonight. Two of those families were staying at the Bejoe Guest House with us, so we are now the only family. It will sure be quiet. Here is a picture of our house mates:

Mike, Denise and Gatiso, Michael, myself and Mekdes, Robyn, Ryan and Madabo

More pictures of sweet Sophia Mekdes…

Can you get any cuter?!?!?!

Watching TV with Daddy (with the bib on, of course!)

Day 6

2010-03-31T19:09:00.004-05:00

Today we visited the Gladney Care Centers. We got to see where Mekdes lived for almost four months. We got to meet her special mother. My favorite part was meeting eight darling children and loving on them for their parents. It was so special to hold them and tell them mommy and daddy would be coming soon. If you are one of these families I promise to send you pictures as soon as I can when we get home. My email is not letting me attach any photos, and I obviously can’t post them here. Your children are precious and are being loved on until you can hold them forever. I am crying as I type this because adoption is such a beautiful thing and I feel so honored to have met these children whose parents have fallen in love with them through photos and updates. I wish everyone could experience something so amazing.

It was strange to be in the exact spot our daughter was just a few days ago. We looked at the crib and thought of what it was like for her there. They took her and changed her into a traditional Ethiopian outfit. The picture below is of her with her “special mother”. Her special mother is the woman who took care of her the most while she was in Gladney’s care. Please ignore the red and black onesie underneath…not so much traditional Ethiopian!

They also have a traditional coffee ceremony at the care center and they brew the coffee and pop popcorn. Here is a picture from the ceremony:

We snuck away during part of the ceremony to visit the Gladney doctor. Mekdes has not been feeling well and we wanted to have it checked out. She sounded awful last night while she was sleeping. She was really struggling to breath. She has had a cough and a runny nose all day. He said he was pretty sure she had pneumonia again. He wrote a prescription and we gave her the first dose tonight. I hope she feels better soon and I also hope she doesn’t spit it all up, as she spits up large quantities at least 32 times a day….I wish I was kidding!

After the ceremony we all went to a restaurant called Top View. It was great food and was nice to get to know the other families, as well as the in-country staff, a little more. The view was great. Here is a pic from the restaurant:

We came home and we were all three drained. Here is a picture of how Mekdes felt. I realize she is experiencing MAJOR pattern overload, but I was trying to keep her warm and the bib is a must with the large amounts of spit-up!

This picture is of her bundled up in a blanket:

Tomorrow morning we have our Embassy appointment at 9:00 am. This is the final step before they issue her visa. We then tour a church at 3:00 pm and go to a traditional Ethiopian dinner, with dancing (them not us). She will only be attending the Embassy appointment with us, so we have to leave her with a caregiver for a while. Sad face. I probably will not blog tomorrow, but should have plenty of time to do so Friday.

I have so many pictures of Addis and will post them when I get home. It is taking me FOREVER to upload pictures and I have to pay by the hour. I promise to overload you with pictures of lots of insane construction, animals in the middle of the road and the people of Ethiopia.

Day 5

2010-03-31T18:37:00.008-05:00

We ventured out into the city to do some shopping. It was our first time leaving the guest house, and our first time seeing Ethiopia during the day. Wow, this is one crowded city. There are cars and people everywhere. I’ve heard how insane the driving is, and it is true. Our driver, Beky did an awesome job of getting us safely to our destinations. We went to a little strip of shops first and got some neat souvenirs. After that Beky took us to a coffee shop, which he said is the BEST in town. He and Michael had coffee, but I opted out, since I am not a coffee drinker. Michael absolutely loved it. When we left there was a family who followed us to our car and the little girl was begging for money. It was so hard to look at this girl, who was probably 5 years old and think that it could have been Mekdes. She could have been begging on the streets. I don’t mean this to come across as a “Thank goodness, we saved this little girl” attitude. We DO NOT feel this way. She is the biggest blessing to us and it hurts to think about her living in such poverty. When we got home I just held her and cried.

Beky and Michael at the coffee shop.

After the coffee shop we went to the Leprosy Hospital. It is a beautiful compound where people with leprosy make tablecloths, scarves, crosses, dresses, etc. and they sell them in a shop. It was an amazing place and we loved supporting them, so we might have gone a little overboard on our purchasing.

Workers at the Leprosy Hospital

Shop at Leprosy Hospital

Here are some pictures of Mekdes from Day 5:

Mekdes in her new purple outfit Grandma bought her.

She LOVES bath time!

The princess in pink.

Day 4

2010-03-29T19:17:00.010-05:00

We had a pretty chilled day today. Mekdes woke up around 1:30 am and wasn't too happy. We figured out she was just really gassy and we were able to give her some medicine and put a little pressure on her belly to get the gas out. She slept the rest of the night and woke up very happy and smiley at 8:00 am. The other two families met their sons today. It was nice to see it firsthand and reflect on the emotions we had just experienced the day before. The power went out in the middle of the night and was out all day. They turned the generator on, so we now have power. We really spent the entire day hanging out with her and taking lots of pictures, of course. It is strange to be so disconnected from the world, and yet a huge blessing.

So, what you are really here for...pictures!!!

She loves to be on her belly!

Mekdes loves bath time! The bathrobe was a gift from grandma.

And she absolutely loves her daddy!

Days 1-3

2010-03-28T13:38:00.011-05:00

The pictures are at the end and in reverse order. I am just glad I got them to load.

Getting out of the house was a bit of a frenzy. I was so concerned about leaving things behind and we knew our bags were close to the weight limit. We had three large suitcases, four big tubs, two carry on suitcases and our two personal bags – all of which added up to about 430 pounds of luggage. The tubs were filled with humanitarian aid and art supplies for the orphanages. We finally loaded it all up and headed for the airport. Once we got there, the concerns we had about weight limits became a reality. We had to move some things around, but we managed to make it work. We only had enough money to take three tubs, but we were hoping they would waive the fee on all of them and we could take the fourth, but they didn’t, which was disappointing, because we wanted to be able to donate the $400 to the orphanages and not to Delta. However, we feel very blessed to have received all of the needed money to be able to cover the supplies. We are also very grateful for all of those who donated both art supplies and humanitarian aid. We will just donate the fourth tub of supplies to a local charity.

Our first flight was a Delta Connection flight from OKC to Atlanta. It. Was. Tiny. Two seats, an aisle, and two seats. I can’t imagine spending more than two hours on a plane that small. Our second flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam was also with Delta and was delayed an hour, but that wasn’t a big deal because we had a long enough lay over in Amsterdam. This flight had more room, and showed a couple of movies, but I tried to sleep. The Amsterdam airport was really nice and had a great area to sit and relax, which will be great on the way back with miss Sophie and our five hour layover. Our last flight was with KLM and was a nice plane. Each seat had a screen that plays movies, TV shows and has games. I slept most of the flight, because I took Dramamine and it knocked me out. Michael took in a couple of movies. We touched down in Khartoum, Sudan for an hour and a half, and then headed for Ethiopia. I stayed awake the rest of the flight, so there was hope of me sleeping once we got to the guest house. When we arrived at the airport we made a straight shot to the Visa office. I am glad we did, because there were only 15 people in front of us, but when we were done, there were at least 50. From there we stood in another line where they stamped our passport…I think. After that, we went to exchange a little money and went to get our luggage, which all had arrived!!! We went through customs and then went and waited for our driver. He found us and there was another Gladney family there also. He took us to the guest house where we were greeted by two very sweet ladies who made us feel right at home. We stayed up trying to unpack and finally went to bed, thus concluding Day 2.

Today, we had a wonderful breakfast, courtesy of the ladies at Bejoe. We talked to Travis and he thought he would bring Mekdes to us after lunch. We decided to go ahead and get ready in case his plans changed. He called around 10:25 and said he would be over shortly. We got our video camera and camera ready and watched as he pulled through the gate. He got her out of the car and brought her to me. She is smaller than we imagined and even more beautiful in person. She is perfect. She didn’t cry or seem upset when she met us, but had a quizzical look on her face for a while. After we fed her and she had a power nap, she was all smiles. We have watched so many videos of families meeting their children for the first time. It was amazing to finally be on this side of the journey. She is more than we ever could have hoped for. She spent the day just staring at us, which was beautiful. She smiled so much. Our driver and one of the workers here, both call her Mekdie, which is a common nickname and she LOVES them. Our driver was born in Gonder also. She hasn’t been very fussy at all and she has the cutest pouty lip, which I am sure won’t always be cute, but for now it is to die for.

Her daddy is in big trouble, as he is going to have a hard time saying no to his little girl! She fell asleep about 6:15, so I imagine it will be an early morning for us, but we’ve waited a long time to have a baby wake us up in the morning, so right now I am looking forward to it.

We stayed at the guest house all day, so all we have seen of Ethiopia is the five minute drive from the airport at midnight. I hope we can see more tomorrow.

Houses for the litte birdies

2010-03-23T23:19:00.008-05:00

We leave in two days. Two. Days. I don’t even really know what to say. OMG. I never say that, but O.M.G. I can honestly say I am completely overwhelmed. I am finding it really difficult to decide what the most important items are. We found out we could check 2 bags each. They must weight under 50 pounds. We are taking three large suitcases. That leaves us one more spot, which is for a tub of art supplies our students collected. We currently have enough art supplies to fill another tub, plus we will be getting more supplies on Thursday, but we will have to pay $200 per tub. Through the generosity of others, we have raised $100 toward the fee. We are praying we will get the rest of the money. We are really praying that the nice person working at the airport will waive the fee and the $200 can be given to an orphanage in Ethiopia. Wouldn’t that be great?

If you would like to donate money toward the excess baggage fee, we would LOVE that! We are so thrilled to be able to take these wonderful items to children who do not have much to call their own. If we raised enough to cover two extra tubs ($400) we could take three tubs full of art supplies to Ethiopia, which would be AMAZING!
.

To donate online, please click on this link: http://artworksacademy.chipin.com/art-supplies-for-orphans

I still haven’t posted pics of the nursery and I am not sure if that will happen before we leave. I will, however, give you a sneak peak. My sister has been slaving over some really awesome bird houses she has made for the little darling’s walls. I haven’t seen them in person, but I know they will be even more amazing than they are in the pictures (if that is possible).

TWO DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Official Travel Plans

2010-03-16T20:21:00.005-05:00

We have finalized our travel itinerary. We still leave on Friday, March 26, like I thought. However, we will arrive in Ethiopia on Saturday, March 27, instead of Sunday. I am not sure if we will get to take placement of Sophia on Sunday or if they will have us wait until Monday. I guess it will be a surprise. If we don’t get to take placement until Monday, we will spend Sunday doing touristy things (or resting!). We leave Ethiopia on Tuesday, April 6 and arrive in OKC on Wednesday, April 7. It will be a long trip. We thought we would be gone for 10 days, but we will be gone 13. I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like. I can’t wait!

We booked our guest house today and we will be staying at the Bejoe House. We are really excited, as this is where we hoped to stay. I figured it would be booked, but I am wondering if very many families are traveling that week. I just know that Robyn and her husband are traveling….anyone else?

We received an update on Sophia Mekdes today. We hadn’t received any measurements since mid-January, but we got her latest today! She is growing. I am so glad to have these, so I can finally know what size clothes and diapers to get her. The picture they sent us was taken on March 10, which is the day we passed court. I love that we have a picture taken on the day she legally became our daughter. Here is the picture they sent us:

Some of the pictures look like they woke her up from a nap and snapped the picture really quick. She has a little bit of a “deer in the headlights” look. I can’t wait to swoop her up and kiss those cheeks and hold her little hands.

We leave in 10 Days!!!!!!

11 Days.....

2010-03-15T18:29:00.003-05:00

Well, we found out our travel dates today. I guess they received our court decree, because we get to travel the week of March 29! Yipee!!! Thank you all for your prayers. They worked! We should have our exact dates finalized tomorrow. The travel agent said the week we are traveling is the last big spring break week, so flights are a little full. We are planning on flying KLM into Amsterdam and then into Addis. At this point we think we will leave Friday, March 26 and get to Ethiopia on Sunday, March 28. We won’t leave Ethiopia until Tuesday, April 6, because it was $600 less to leave on Tuesday, rather than Monday. I don’t know when we will be home, but hopefully I will know tomorrow. I will have a much better idea of everything once the flights are booked. After we have our itinerary, then we can make reservations at the guesthouse.

We are thrilled and my head is spinning. There is so much to do, but I am thankful that this is spring break and I don’t have to work. I better go get busy!!!!!

P.S. We will be holding Sophia Mekdes in TWO WEEKS!!!!!

Travel and court decree

2010-03-11T16:11:00.004-06:00

Thank you all so much for your encouraging words yesterday and for celebrating with us. We still can’t believe she is ours and we are hers!!! We are still so thrilled and can’t wait to meet our precious Sophia Mekdes.

We thought we would find out our travel dates when we passed court, but were told we would find out today….well, we didn’t. Our caseworker emailed us today and told us that our court decree has not been received yet. They must have this document in order to get her birth certificate and passport ready for our Embassy appointment. If they do not have this document by Monday it is highly unlikely that we will be able to travel the week of March 29 and will be forced to travel the week of April 19. We know this is far from the end of the world, but we would really like to travel as soon as possible. We would really appreciate it if you would pray today and tonight that they would receive it as early as tomorrow, but for sure by Monday. We sooo appreciate the prayer support we have received thus far and know that we would not have made it this far without it! God is good!!!

I though you might enjoy comparing these two pics of our Mekdes. The first one was taken on 12/18, after only being in Gladney’s care for 10 days. She was almost two months old. The second one was taken by a traveling family (thanks Monique!) on March 3. She had been in Gladney’s care for three months and is just over four months old in the picture. Look at how big her thighs are! Don’t you just want to squish them? She is obviously being well fed, which is great, because she was malnourished before coming to Gladney.

We Are A FAMILY

2010-03-09T10:55:00.003-06:00

Today we are officially a family. Today marks the beginning of the rest of our lives. Today we PASSED COURT! Yippee! We have to give the glory to God. He has guided us through this process. He has made the way for a tiny little girl from half way around the world to become our daughter. He has made the way for us to be her parents. We are blessed.

We are so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we have received through this entire process. We have had people around the world praying for us and for our sweet baby girl. As I was trying to go to sleep last night, I received constant facebook notifications and emails from people encouraging us. Many of our friends updated their facebook status to ask people to pray for us. Humbled. We are so humbled. We believe God has used our daughter to strengthen the faith of others. Our little girl has already impacted the lives of many people, especially ours.

So, let me tell you about our daughter. Her Ethiopian name is Mekdes. It is pronounced Mehk-dehs. It means temple or holy place. We have moved this to her middle name and her first name is Sophia. As I have said before, we still call her Mekdes more than we call her Sophia, as we think both names are very important to her. I am sure she will be called by both and I think that is okay. She is from Gondar, Ethiopia and her birthday is October 22, so she is about 4.5 months old.

I put together a video of pictures we have received over the past 10 weeks. I hope you enjoy it. I am sorry if drags on, but there was so much I wanted to include. Make sure your speakers are turned on, if you want to hear the song.

We will find out tomorrow what our travel dates are. We will either travel the week of March 29 or April 19. The embassy is closed the week of April 12, or that would have been the second option. Please pray that we can get into the March 29 travel group. We really want to go and get her as soon as possible.

One more day

2010-03-09T09:25:00.009-06:00

Grateful. This is what I feel. This weekend we had the pleasure of attending two showers given to us by people who are thrilled with the anticipation of the arrival of our little Sophia.

The first shower was given to us by our students and their parents. It was a surprise shower! We had rehearsal on Saturday with our musical theatre students and they set it all up while Michael and I were rehearsing in separate rooms. We were blown away by their generosity and feel so loved and supported. These families are a HUGE part of our lives. We see some of them 4 to 5 days a week. Many of them have been through this entire journey with us. They have asked us weekly how the process is going and have prayed for us and encouraged us. We are humbled and honored to have them in our lives.

Here are a few pics from this shower….

The cookie cake. I really love cookie cake. Anyone else?

Michael and I

Michael, being his normal goofy self.

Two of our sweet students. Come on, how precious are they? I love that our students are such great friends.

And, this is what a few of our students look like at a baby shower that follows a five hour rehearsal!

The second shower was given to us by Michael’s coworkers (or is it co-workers, I never know….). The shower was at Chili’s and it was nice to get to know some of the people he works with a little more. They all chipped in and got us our car seat and we were thrilled! The pictures didn’t turn out very well, because it was very dark where we were sitting. I did get a picture of the cake. It was made by one of their friends and was very tasty.

Well…….we have one day until court. Can you believe it? I certainly can’t. The past eleven days have really flown by, for which I am grateful. I just can’t believe that tomorrow we could legally be her parents and you can all see her sweet face! We know we might not pass tomorrow, but are hopeful that we will.

I really feel a huge peace about it and really haven’t been worried about it at all. This is NOT my personality. I am worrier. I like to plan and be in control. I am wired that way and it is very hard for me not to analyze every scenario, so I know what to worry about. I don’t like this about myself and my family really hates it. It goes against everything I say I believe in. If I have faith in God, why worry? This process has strengthened my faith and taught me to really rely on God.

I have peace. I have peace that God has gone before us. I have peace that we will pass court eventually, but I hope and pray it is tomorrow. I have peace that our daughter is being cared for. I am not worried about our court date. Now, tomorrow I will be a nervous wreck until Kristin calls me. She will probably call between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. I will let everyone know as soon as we have notified our family. If we pass, there will be pictures galore and you can see the little girl we have fallen in love with.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ~Romans 15:13

Ethiopia on the mind

2010-03-03T21:21:00.001-06:00

I have Ethiopia on the mind. All. The. Time. It is consuming me and making me very forgetful and a little nutty. Today I walked into the Army Recruiting office, instead of the optometrist. I wasn’t paying attention. I am sure I had Ethiopia on the mind. Monday I started playing a song for one of my voice students in the wrong key. It took me a little while to figure out what the problem was. After she stared it me like I was crazy, I apologized and told her it was because I had Ethiopia on my mind.

I called the doctor today to get prescriptions for our trip, because I am working ahead and trying to get things done. I told the lady who answered the phone that we were traveling to Ethiopia soon and as she was writing down the message, she told me she had not written ‘Ethiopia’ since she was in high school. WHAT? She doesn’t have Ethiopia on the mind. It is so funny how something can consume me, but never cross the mind of others.

I wish more people had Ethiopia on their mind and in their hearts. I wish more people had orphans on their minds and in their hearts. I might need to do something about that, but haven’t quite figured out what it is yet. Do you have Ethiopia and orphans on your mind? (Most of you will say yes, since 90% of those reading this are adopting from Ethiopia too!)

So, our court day is one week from today. Tomorrow my fridge will say “6 Days Until Court”. I would take a picture, but I am too lazy. Michael and I have decided to do everything we can during the next week to prepare for our trip. We know we may not pass on the first try, and we know we won’t be traveling right away. However, we think it is best to be as prepared as possible. We don’t want to feel rushed. I certainly don’t want to forget anything. After all, I’ve got Ethiopia on the mind.

countdown

2010-02-28T16:22:00.004-06:00

When we were placed on the waiting list, on January 23, 2009, we began a weekly tradition. Every Friday we would change the magnet on our fridge to the number of weeks we had been waiting. They looked like this…

The final magnets read, “48 Weeks Waiting”, which I unfortunately did not get a picture of. After we received our referral, we started the process over. Every week we would change the magnet to the number of weeks we had been waiting for a court date. We waited over 8 weeks.

Now, we have a new tradition…a more exciting tradition. We can FINALLY count down to something. We can finally look forward and feel hope that there is an end in sight. Now, everyday the number gets smaller. Today, our fridge looks like this…

The most exciting change will come when the magnets start counting down to our departure date!!! The wait for a court date was excruciating at times. I found myself just sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. Not productive. Michael and I both feel that receiving a court date was, in a way, more exciting than receiving a referral. This is really going to happen. She is really going to be coming home soon. I can’t stop smiling. God is so faithful.

Now, I just pray that we pass the first time and the rest of the families waiting for a court date get one REALLY soon!

COURT DATE!!!!!!!

2010-02-26T17:36:00.001-06:00

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!! I have been waiting almost two months to type these words. We are on cloud nine and thrilled with the news that in a couple of weeks we could be the legal parents of our precious Sophia. We got the call at 12:45 pm today! Our court date is Wednesday, March 10. If we pass that day, then they will hopefully give us our travel dates the same day. I expect we will travel sometime between the very end of March and the middle of April, if all goes well. I am really hoping that some other families will get their court dates soon and we can all travel together. The support we have received from the online adoption community is unreal. I would love to share this journey with some of these ladies.

A little update on our fingerprints: On Thursday, February 18 Kristin (our caseworker) emailed me to let me know she had spoken with the CIS office and they had mailed our corrected approval, stating we were approved to adopt from Ethiopia, not Kenya, and that our fingerprints cleared on February 12 and that they would FedEx them to the NVC. She also checked with the Embassy in Ethiopia last week and they had not yet received our documents. I have checked our FedEx account everyday and nothing has been mailed, which confuses me a bit. It has now been two weeks since our prints cleared, so I would think they would have sent them. We have at least received our personal copies, hopefully that is good news.

Please pray for the following:

1. Please continue to pray that our fingerprints and corrected I-171H would arrive at the Embassy in Ethiopia before our court date on March 10. They cannot issue us a travel date until they have these documents.

2. Please pray that we would pass court on March 10 and not be delayed. Ethiopia is ahead of us by nine hours (that is if you live in the Central Standard Time zone). So, the court will be deciding our case as we go to sleep on March 9.

We are rejoicing today and know that God’s timing is always the best. We trust that we will meet our daughter at just the right time. We hope it is very soon, as our hearts are about to explode!

Baby Shower

2010-02-16T00:07:00.006-06:00

It has now been 7 weeks since finding out about our precious baby girl. We had a baby shower this weekend in honor of her, given by my sister, grandmother and two of my mom’s friends, both of whom I have known for many, many years. I had a great time.

It was come and go, which allowed more time for conversations with friends and family. I had a fantastic time catching up with old friends and talking to lots of people about our daughter. We received so many nice presents, which made me even more excited to have her in my arms.

I don’t think we have announced her name on our blog yet, but her name is Sophia. Once we pass court, we will let everyone know her Ethiopian name, which will be her middle name. I call her by her Ethiopian name, more than I call her Sophia. I am slowly getting more comfortable with calling her Sophia or Sophie. At first, I felt like I was betraying her if I didn’t call her M. I think we will probably call her by both names, not necessarily together, but I think both belong to her equally.

My sister ordered an Africa shaped cookie cutter and made these cookies. They were great and tied in very well with the theme of the shower.

The hostesses: Marileigh (my mom's best friend since 4th grade), Amy (my sister), my grandmother, me, and Connie (she and my mom worked together for a very long time).

We have been busy getting Sophie's room ready. It is starting to look really cute. The crib is up and Michael is putting the dresser together as I type this. I will probably wait to post pictures until the room is finished. I am a final product kind of girl. It has to look perfect!

More good news

2010-02-11T22:49:00.004-06:00

We had our fingerprint appointment this morning, so we can check that off of the list. We decided to ask while we were there if there was any way we could provide our FedEx account number and they could use it to mail all of the documents. They told me we could! We are currently waiting for our fingerprints to clear and then they will overnight the new prints and our updated I-171H to the National Visa Center in Washington DC. After they process them, they will send them electronically to Ethiopia, which should be about 5-7 days after receiving them. This is very good news.

Does anyone know how long it normally takes for prints to clear? When we had our fingerprints done the first time, it took a full month for us to receive the approval letter. However, we had them taken two days before Thanksgiving and received the approval the day after Christmas. I am sure the holidays slowed things down a bit.

We are feeling much more encouraged and are very pleased things are moving along more quickly. Now all we need is a court date….

Fingerprint appointment

2010-02-10T11:49:00.006-06:00

Last week I broke down and emailed our local USCIS office regarding our fingerprint reprint appointment. Even though it had only been three weeks since we sent in the request for an appointment, we were still getting antsy. We have many concerns that our expiring fingerprints are going to slow us down.

I got a very quick reply from them and they told me our fingerprint appointment was scheduled for February 22 at 12:00 pm. Our current fingerprints expire on February 25. I know that it can take many weeks for our new prints to make their way to DC and then to Addis. All I could think about was how thrilled I would be to pass court, (once we get a court date, that is), but we would have to wait to receive an embassy appointment until our fingerprints arrived at the embassy. We don’t want to be delayed by weeks or months.

So, Friday I sent out an email to friends and family members, who in turn emailed it to their friends and family members. We asked for those people to pray for the following:

1. Guidance. We are considering contacting our local US Immigration office via email, or just showing up in person, and asking for an earlier fingerprint date. We want to make the right decision.

2. Favor. Please pray for favor with those involved. Please pray that they would have mercy on us and grant us an appointment that is sooner than our original one. Please pray for the right person to respond to our email or be at the entrance desk if we go there in person.

3. A quick court date. Please pray that we would find out about our court date soon. We think if our court date is scheduled before our fingerprint appointment, it would help us have reason to move our appointment. After we pass court, we will legally be her parents!!!!

4. No delays. Since December, we have been praying that the fingerprint issue will not delay us. We believe it will not. We have faith it will not. Please join us in praying for the same. Please pray that all necessary paperwork and our new fingerprints would be quickly processed in our local US Immigration office and at the National Visa Center in Washington D.C., and then would quickly arrive in Ethiopia.

5. Our daughter. Please pray that she is healthy and happy. Please pray that people are holding her and loving on her. Please pray for her growth and development.

6. Other families. There are at least two other families in the exact same situation we are. Please keep them in your prayers. We don’t want them to be delayed either.

Yesterday I decided to email USCIS and ask them if they would consider giving us an earlier appointment and explained why I felt it was important. They emailed me back today and we get to go into their office tomorrow at 8:00 am!!!! This is 11 days sooner than our original appointment. We are thrilled. We are now hoping that we can give them our FedEx account number and see if they can use that to help ship everything more quickly.

Thank you all for your prayer. It is amazing to see the power of prayer at work. We have faith that this will not delay us.

“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.” – Psalm 33:20-21

update

2010-02-03T00:35:00.002-06:00

Oh my goodness. We have gotten the sweetest pictures over the past few days. Beka very generously delivered a little package to our sweet girl when she was there to meet her precious son. She took three beautiful pictures of her and then surprised us with a short little video. She is spitting up during most of it and looks pretty overwhelmed, but we LOVE it! It is so nice to see her moving. Beka wrote this description of her:

“Your sweet M. is a beautiful baby. I touched her and talked to her...didn't want to pick her up because she looked very content and I didn't want to mess with that :). She was wearing the sweetest little cardigan. She is even more beautiful in real life! She has a sweet soul. Seems very happy and content. She even gave a little grin for the camera. I love those gummy baby smiles!!!”

We also received an update from Gladney. It included a great picture of her with her thumb in her mouth and showed off her big brown eyes. This is what the update said about her:

“This little doll is quick to smile with the slightest interaction. The smallest brush of the cheek or pat on the tummy elicits wide grins and kicking feet. And, I believe, she’s already pretty ticklish! I just sort of casually tickled her little ribs today and got quite the giggle for such a little one. What a doll!”

It has now been five weeks since our world changed. It seems like such a long time ago when we first saw our daughter. We are absolutely in love with her and each day we go without her stings a little. We know she is in great hands and we can tell from the pictures and the descriptions just how happy she is. We are so blessed to have these.

Three families received court dates for February 16!!! There are only two families ahead of us now on the unofficial list. Any day now… any day.

let tomorrow be the day...

2010-01-26T21:59:00.000-06:00

As I write this, it is 7:00 am in Ethiopia. I am praying that this will be the day we get our court date! Tomorrow is Michael’s birthday. I can’t imagine a better birthday present, than finding out our court date!!! January 27, 2010 sounds like a great day to find out the date, doesn’t it? We are praying that all of the other waiting families will also find out their court dates SOON!

three months old

2010-01-22T23:22:00.011-06:00

Our daughter is three months old today. We wish we could be there with her, but we know she is in good hands. It is nice that we can rest easy knowing that the staff at the Gladney Care Center is taking such great care of her.

Congratulations to all of the families who received court dates and referrals this week. There is nothing quite like finding out about your child for the first time. I know Michael and I will never forget that moment. I am sure finding out you have a court date is exciting too. I would certainly love to find out. Hopefully we will hear something next week!!!

an update

2010-01-20T22:19:00.000-06:00

We received our very first update on baby M. yesterday!!! Oh my goodness, she has grown a lot! The measurements we received with her referral, which were taken on December 8, were 7.9 pounds and 19.7 inches long. She was almost 7 weeks on December 8. The measurements taken on January 14, at 12 weeks old, were 10.1 pounds and 20.9 inches long. We are so grateful that Gladney updates us every two weeks.

In addition to the information about her growth and development, we received a picture of her. The picture brought tears to my eyes the moment I saw it. She has the biggest grin on her face. She looks so happy, which makes our hearts swell.

The update came with mixed emotions. We were so happy to see her and read about her development. However, it really made us realize how much we are missing. We are happy she is growing, but everyday that goes by is another day we will spend without her. We can’t wait for the day that we can spend every moment with her. Soon we will go from seeing one picture of her every two weeks, to holding her in our arms. Heaven.

ouch!

2010-01-19T12:59:00.002-06:00

I just scheduled the appointment for our travel vaccinations. Gladney suggests we get vaccinated for the following:

Yellow fever
Hepatitis A and B
Tetanus
Typhoid
Meningitis

The grand total for vaccinations for the both of us is $804!!!! They told me they were going to give us receipts with codes on them and we could file it with our insurance, but that they do not accept insurance. I scheduled the appointment for next Wednesday, but when I told the lady on the phone that it was my husband’s birthday, she made me change the appointment. She said he shouldn’t have to come on his birthday! We are going next Thursday instead.

So, for any adoptive families who have traveled or will soon travel, I have a couple of questions:

1. Did you get vaccinated for all five? (We will not be traveling outside of Addis)

2. Did you find a place that accepted insurance?

grease, sweat, and a small bundle

2010-01-18T11:09:00.015-06:00

Well, tomorrow makes three weeks since we received our referral. What a whirlwind it has been. We went straight into 12 days of extreme busyness. We had a production of Grease with our 7th-12th grade students. We spent 15-17 hours at the theatre most days. It was really hard to not be able to spend hours a day just thinking about our little girl and getting ready for her arrival. Our students did a great job with the show and we are so proud of them. Living life with kids who are passionate about something is such a joy. I have to get on my soapbox and say that parents need to make sure their kids are passionate about something. If they don’t have interests and passions when they are kids, they will not, in my opinion, transition into adulthood as easily as those who already know what it means to be passionate. They will be lost. This is just my 2 cents.

Here are a few pics from the show. This is a glimpse into our world. This is the world where talented, driven and dedicated teenagers live and the world where hairspray, sweat and a musty theatre, smells like home. This is the world of musical theatre.

(This '66 Mustang convertible was loaned to us, by a guy we didn't even know. Amazing!)

This week a special little package is going to be hand delivered to our little girl by sweet Beka. She is in Ethiopia right now meeting her son for the first time. We are so thankful that she would be kind enough to take a package with her and to take pictures of our daughter.

My sister got little M. some clothes to go in the small bundle. Aren’t they cute? We also sent a photo album with pictures of us and some of her family members. It didn’t photograph well, so I didn’t include a picture.

Michael and I are really feeling a strong desire to go get her. We have no clue how long it will be before we get to hold her. Several people have gotten really quick court dates lately, but that doesn’t mean we will. There is so much we have to do to prepare for her arrival and to prepare to travel. Sometimes, I just don’t even know where to begin. This waiting is MUCH harder than spending over 11 months waiting for our referral. It has only been three weeks, so I can’t imagine what three months will feel like.

REFERRAL!!!!!

2009-12-29T22:52:00.000-06:00

Today was THE day. THE call. It was THE day our lives changed. Today we saw the face of our sweet daughter. She is precious and we love her. She is two months old and is described as “a tiny bundle of sweetness!” We can’t post any pictures or her name online, until we pass court. Trust me, she is adorable. Her name begins with an M.

The feeling is surreal. It doesn’t feel like it has really sunk in. We decided to change our referral request from two children to an infant girl the week of Thanksgiving. She was brought to the orphanage on November 26, Thanksgiving Day. As we were thinking about the future of our family and making some big decisions, her birth mother made a very big decision too. We feel God’s hand in all of this and we feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be able to call little Miss M. our daughter.

We will now wait for a court date, which can take one to three months. After we pass court, which might not happen on the first try, we will travel within 2-5 weeks to pick her up. We hope to be holding her and kissing her squishy cheeks within 3-6 months!!!

My Grandy

2009-12-13T14:07:00.009-06:00

My life changed this weekend. My Grandy went to be with Jesus on Friday, December 11 at 10:30 pm. My life will never be the same without him in it. He was an incredible man who loved the Lord and adored his family. He was precious. My mom describes her daddy as generous. He was generous with his time, his money, with everything. I think that really sums him up. I don’t think I will ever know a more generous person.

He was born in 1919 and he and my grandmother were married for almost 66 years. He spent his entire marriage putting her first. He had a passion for children and orphans. He worked for the Baptist General Convention in the Department of Child Care. He made sure that Oklahoma Baptist children were taken care of.

I have always felt that our adoption is a great fit for our family, because of his great work for the betterment of the lives of children and orphans. I wanted so desperately to be able to tell him he was a great-grandfather. I wanted to see him play with our daughter and see the huge smile on his face as he held her. He had a great laugh and I wanted to hear him laugh with delight as she entertained him. Unfortunately, these things will never happen.

He spent six days lying in his nursing home bed, slowly dying. We knew it was going to happen. He had a stroke on Sunday and they were unable to give him any food or water after Monday morning. He slept most of the week, but would open his eyes on occasion. During one of those moments, when I was all alone with him, I told him of his great-granddaughter in Ethiopia. I told him that we didn’t know who she was yet, but that he was a great-grandfather already.

My Grandy’s legacy will live on. He has impacted the lives of thousands of people and those people will carry on his legacy, his work, his love, his generosity and his patience. He made the world a better place. All you have to do is ask any of the people whose life he made better. They will tell you stories of Judson Cook and how their life wouldn’t be the same without him.

As sad as I am, this is a happy day. He is celebrating in Heaven with his family. He was the last of nine brothers and sisters to pass away. His father died when he was nine years old. The family is finally back together. When I told this to one of my 16 year old students she said, “So, it’s beautiful.” She said it perfectly. It is BEAUTIFUL.

My uncle wrote the obituary, which is very personal and highlights his life and work. I would love for everyone to read it and learn more about the work of my Grandy. Click here to read his obituary.

My Grandy hugging me at my wedding 6.5 years ago.

Another picture from my wedding, which I just love.

a change

2009-12-01T23:12:00.001-06:00

When we decided to adopt siblings we had so many specific reasons for choosing that path. Reasons that we felt very good and confident about. We have spent the last ten months imagining what it will be like to have our children home. We have imagined playing with them, feeding them yummy meals, reading to them, tucking them in at night, cuddling with them, and so many other things. This dream made the reality hard. The reality was…we needed to change our referral request. We changed it from our original request for two children between the ages of 0-39 months, to a girl between 0-12 months. We didn’t change because we were tired of waiting. Yes, we have been on the waiting list for almost 45 weeks, but the waiting had absolutely nothing to do with the change we had to make. We had to make the decision based on what was best for our family. We had to look at the big picture and imagine what our lives would be like if we instantly became parents to two children who would need so much of our attention. We had to put our strong desires to adopt two children aside and do what was best for our child. Our child. Not children. Even though this change feels a little bit like the end of a dream, we are very excited to find out who our daughter is and start our family together. We know that she will have a sibling someday, just not today.

I want to say big thank you to everyone who has been posting words of encouragement and letting us know you have been praying for us. We really appreciate it. It has been about three months since I blogged, but that’s really nothing new! I am hoping to have some exciting things to blog about very soon.

vintage finds

2009-09-07T20:17:00.008-05:00

A few weeks ago I was spending a leisurely Saturday morning visiting estate sales in search of office furniture and wall décor for our businesses new location. I happened to stumble upon some cute vintage items for our babes.

The first is a Fisher Price magnetic letter tray. I remember playing with one of these when I was little, so I love the idea of our kids doing the same.

I also stumbled upon some brightly colored cafeteria trays. My sister told me a few months ago that she thought it would be cute to serve lunch to our kiddos on trays like these. So when I saw these for 50 cents each, I got ten! I will be able to use them when my nieces and nephews come over too.

We have now been on the waiting list for 32 weeks. There is only one family waiting for siblings in front of us on the unofficial list. The clock is tickin’. We could get our referral anytime…..or it could still be months. There is no way of knowing. I am excited for the families who have recently received referrals and can’t wait to find out about our children.

renew me

2009-06-29T22:17:00.002-05:00

It is time.....to renew expired documents. Boo. I got an email from Judy, with Gladney, that it was time to get our OK Criminal and Child Abuse clearances updated. After doing a little investigating I realized we also have to have our medical forms and our home study updated. I fear that with this updated home study comes more paperwork and notarizing everything over again. We will see. I emailed our caseworker today, so I will wait for the details.

I realize it has been a long time since I blogged (surprise, surprise). Yes, Heidi, it does seem like we went on spring break and never came back. The last time I blogged we had been on the waiting list for 8 weeks. We having now been waiting for over 22 weeks, or over 5 months. On the unofficial list, there are thirteen families ahead of us, with two of those families also waiting for siblings in an age range close to ours. I am sure we still have many more weeks (or months) of waiting, but it is exciting and a little scary to see our name rise on the list.

eight

2009-03-20T11:35:00.002-05:00

So, it is spring break, which means a week off from teaching. I love my students, but a break is always welcome. I have been doing a little bit of work around the house. The closet in our office (what will be our children’s room) is FULL. I have slowly been trying to get rid of things or move items to other places in our house. I took a ‘before’ picture, but I don’t want to post it until I can take a beautiful ‘after’ pic. I can’t wait to see the closet filled with adorable little clothes for our precious Ethiopian babes. We also worked in our garage and got things organized. I now have eight tubs of costumes to wash and sort. There are at least ten more tubs in storage, which will also need the same treatment. Doesn’t that sound like fun?

Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day, was our ‘dating anniversary’. We started dating eight years ago during my senior year of college. We went to Olive Garden for some yummy salad, breadsticks and spaghetti! It is hard to believe my husband has put up with me for eight years!

Speaking of ‘eight’, today marks our eighth week on the waiting list. I have spent the week obsessing over the FBI list. For those of you not in the Gladney adoption circle, the FBI list is the “Forensic Blogging Initiative”. It was started to track the process of families, from those on the waiting list to forever families. It is not sponsored by Gladney and only represents 50%-75% of the families. I have been analyzing the list from every angle. Really, the entire process in unpredictable and there is no equation I can create to determine the exact moment of our referral, but it is fun to play with. There have already been nine referrals this month! I am so excited and happy for those nine families!

2 weeks waiting

2009-02-09T12:06:00.004-06:00

So, we have now been on the waiting list for over two weeks. I took a “1 Week Waiting” pic, but never got it posted. For the last two weeks I have had a “death virus”, as Michael has termed it. Luckily we had an ice storm that shut the schools down for three days, which enabled us to cancel our classes also. It was nice to stay home and not have to teach. This past week we had auditions for our spring musical and then had the extremely difficult job of casting. It is never fun to hold the emotions of children in your hand. We make some kids so happy and others so sad. We have 60 kids in the show, so it should be a great semester!

We also celebrated Michael’s birthday. We went out to eat with his family and some friends and then they came back to our house. His brother brought their Wii over and we had a great time. We had never played on a Wii. I really didn’t think I would like it, but it was lots of fun! I captured it on video, but it won't upload.

There have been a lot of referrals over the past month. I hope they keep coming. There are so many families who have been waiting a long time. I hope their referral comes quickly! The wait hasn’t been bad at all, but 2 weeks is nothing compared to 6+ months!

WE ARE WAITING!!!

2009-01-24T00:43:00.002-06:00

Friday, January 23, 2009 marked a very exciting and important day in our adoption journey. It is the day we officially became a family in waiting. We are on the wait list!!! We will now wait for the referral of our two beautiful children. The expected wait time is 4-6 months and then an additional 3-5 months to travel.

I cannot put into words what it means to be at this place in the process. It has been two years since we decided to adopt and it felt like this day would never come. It feels so official now and we are so excited about the future.

Here’s to waiting…

Christmas, tags and adoption news...

2008-12-26T16:04:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas! We had a lovely day. We opened presents with my parents, sister and Grandma in the morning, then we went to my mom’s parents house and had lunch and presents with her family and then finally we went to my sister-in-law’s house for festivities with Michael’s family. It was a very long day and we were quite tired when it was over, but it was worth it. Hopefully next year we will have two Ethiopian babes to spoil! My sister made the most amazing book about Project 8256 and all of the people who are helping to bring our kids home. It was the best present and something we will treasure forever.

I have been so sick with a cold or something. I woke up in the middle of the night with, what I am assuming, is pinkeye!!! My eyes are red and a little tender, so I don’t want to put my contacts in. Unfortunately, the only glasses I have are the ones I got during my sophomore year of high school – fourteen years ago. They are nothing I would ever wear out in public. This should be fun….

In adoption news, all of our paperwork for our dossier has been authenticated! I just checked the mail and…….WE RECEIVED OUR APPROVAL FROM CIS!!!!! We will have it notarized on Monday and send it off to Kate and once she has it authenticated, we will be on the waiting list. I was writing this blog and started typing that we were waiting on it and decided to check the mail and there it was! Merry Christmas to us!!!

So, over a month ago Heidi tagged me and I am just now getting to it. So, here are seven random things about me…

1. I am a little leery of dogs. Okay I am pretty much scared of dogs. I panic when a big dog is near me and even get a little jumpy when small dogs lick, bark and jump. I am not like one of those people you used to see on Jerry Springer or Maury Povich who runs around the room screaming if a canine gets within 100 feet of them, but dogs are not my best friend. I think this fear stems from a childhood incident. I was walking home from a neighbor’s house when I was 4 or 5 and a dog ran up to me and knocked me down and started licking me. I was terrified and then swelled up from the dog’s saliva. Fun times.

2. I went through a phase in high school when I wanted to be a secret service agent. I watched In the Line of Fire and loved the scene where they secured the hotel room before the President’s arrival. This was my basis for temporarily choosing this career path. I don’t think I would have liked taking a bullet. Fast forward about 10 years and I worked as the event coordinator for a large performing arts facility and VP Cheney was attending an event. I was given a keychain from one of the agents, which I kept until it fell apart. I sometimes liked to pretend that I had an ‘in’ or was an agent myself.

3. I am allergic to Actifed. It made me go temporarily blind when I was four. My mom gave me a dose and I said “Mommy, I can’t see”. I have never tried it since.

4. I love numbers. I think they are beautiful. Anything involving numbers excites me. Nerd. Math was always my favorite subject. 3948739285793847928983598729

5. I (heart) crime dramas…A LOT. Law and Order (all of them), CSI (all of them), Numbers, NCIS, etc. I have them on constantly at home. It is a nice background noise for me when I am working.

6. I am Type 1 Diabetic. I was diagnosed with ‘juvenile diabetes’ when I was 20. I wear an insulin pump, which inserts into my stomach through a cannula (kind of like a catheter). I change the location every 3-4 days. Even though the pump sometimes feels like wearing my pancreas on the outside of my body or being hooked up to life support, it really does give me a lot more freedom.

7. I am a project junkie. I can throw myself into a project at home or for our business and be completely consumed by it. I can spend days and days focused on nothing else. I don’t have to sleep that much, just work. It drives my family crazy. Sometimes I wish I wouldn’t have quit gymnastics when I was younger. I have students who are very talented gymnasts and they train everyday for several hours. I think I would have loved that. The commitment and focus that takes….but then I remember that I am not very athletic and realize I am better off teaching music.

I am supposed to tag seven people, but only know two people who have yet to be tagged. I will tag:

1. Amy
2. Amanda

If you want to be tagged, let me know and I will add you to the list!

A quick update…

2008-12-08T00:35:00.001-06:00

Well, it has been too long since I have blogged. We have finished collecting all of the documents for our dossier and Kate with KBS Dossiers is getting everything authenticated. We had our fingerprint appointment on November 25. We waited about 9 weeks after approval to receive the letter with our appointment date. We are now waiting for approval from CIS and once we have it and our dossier is complete, we will be on the waiting list! We can’t wait to get there. I hope all is well with everyone else.

We are approved X TWO

2008-08-29T15:46:00.004-05:00

Today we received the email we have been waiting for. We have been officially approved by Gladney to adopt! We had our homestudy about five weeks ago and it went really well. Andrea was very sweet. I really wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. It was no big deal, which is what I had heard. So, now we must continue to work on our dossier. We hope to be on the waiting list by mid to late October.

So, now for the big announcement.... WE ARE ADOPTING SIBLINGS! We had been going back and forth trying to decide what would be best for our family. We decided that adopting siblings would be best for our children and family as a whole. We have been approved to adopt two children under the age of four, however we have requested that they be under the age of three. We are very excited about this decision. We know it will be a huge adjustment, but it will come with so many blessings.

That is all for now. I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend.

moving along

2008-07-04T10:46:00.003-05:00

Happy 4th of July! I hope you all are enjoying your day. We are still moving steadily along in the paperwork process. After our students finished camp yesterday, Michael and I spent the rest of the day working on adoption stuff. We really got a lot done. Here are the things we can now check off our list:

1. Passport photos taken

2. Passport applications submitted (by the way they actually take your birth certificates and will mail them back to you when they are done with them. Luckily we already submitted everything that required a copy of our BC)

3. Bank letter written and notarized

4. Child abuse check notarized and submitted

5. Money orders for FBI clearance

6. Fingerprints for FBI clearance - okay I have to pause for a moment for a small vent/concern. We went to the police station and they asked to see one of our ID's when we paid for the fingerprint cards. She told us they would ask for both of our ID's when we had our fingerprints taken. So, we went back with the officer and he began getting everything ready and I asked if he needed to see our ID's and he said NO. That's right, NO. WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? In the world of identity theft, etc. this did not set well with Michael and I. I am sure this does not happen everywhere, but seriously!

7. Went to FedEx and sent off the FBI Clearance along with a return envelope for them to send it back to us.

8. Collected all of our reference letters

9. Went to the doctor's office and had my arm read. They did a TB test on Tuesday, along with all of the other blood work required for the Dossier. I had to go back and have them look at my arm to prove I didn't have TB. What happens to your arm if you do? I felt like they were reading my palm or something.

So, we really accomplished a lot. We ran out of time, so we weren't able to mail group three of the application. I will do that tomorrow. We are still lacking a few things from that group, but we will hopefully have it all in by the end of next week.

We are getting closer everyday!

paperwork and tap shoes

2008-06-29T17:42:00.007-05:00

To say it has been a while would be an understatement. It has been over two months since I have blogged. The past months have been very full. Things are finally really moving on the adoption front. I feel really horrible, however. After we filled out the short application with Gladney they sent us the BIG-THREE-PART application. They sent this to us on March 20. I did not have a moment to begin working on it until June. That's right, it took me three months to the day to send in the first part of the application.

So, we have now sent in two of the three parts and soon we should be receiving a call to set up our home study! It is really starting to feel real. Michael and I are actually so glad we waited three months to begin the paperchase. We needed that time to decide what was best for our family and make some decisions about our adoption. We began this process thinking our child would be a baby (the younger the better). After praying and much discussion, our hearts have changed. Stay tuned...

I hope everyone is having a great summer. I will leave you with an ever-so-cute picture of my nephew, Aidan. We just finished two of our eight weeks of performing arts summer camps. He has been walking around our academy in his tap shoes all summer long. Cheryl managed to get him to pose for this pic. A true performer!

garage sale. painting. wedding.

2008-04-21T17:01:00.009-05:00

Whew. Things sure have been busy. We are getting ready for a HUGE garage sale. We have been busily collecting donations from our friends and family for the sale. We hope to raise a good portion of our adoption expenses from the garage sale. I L-O-V-E having garage sales and this one is going to be good. We have collected donations from over 30 families. We have a great variety of items. We are doing a three day sale, which I have never done. We have always just done a Friday/Saturday sale, so this will be new. Everyone has been so generous and I think they have loved having a great reason for getting rid of things in their home. So, please think of us this Thursday-Saturday and pray that it doesn't rain and is very successful.

We have also been very busy with our performing arts academy. Our students are getting ready for their spring production of Seussical. For those who don't know, Seussical is a musical based on over 15 of Dr. Seuss' books. Many of our students stayed after a long rehearsal to help work on the set. They did a lot of painting. I would show you lots of cute pics, but I don't want to put pics of the kids on my blog, for obvious reasons. However, you can see my 2 1/2 year old nephew hard at work on the set. He was so excited about painting. He is a true child of the theatre hard at work...

We also went to a wedding a little over a week ago. The bride is a college friend of Michael's. A lot of his friends were there. They came from all over the country. They are all musical theatre people and busy performing, so it was great they were able to make it. Here are a few pics...

Brett and Jenny (Brett is one of Michael's closest friends.)

Us. Taking a short pause from the craziness of our life.

Michael and friends.

Stephanie and I. (Stephanie is my sister-in-law's sister. We share Aidan and Lilly as our wonderful nephew and niece! She also went to school with Michael)

Why adoption?

2008-04-02T09:45:00.004-05:00

The following post was taken, with permission, from another blog. Erin and her husband have 11 wonderful children. They just came home from Ethiopia with their last child, Solomon. He was adopted from AHOPE! If you ever ask the question "Why adoption?", this is why...

Kids and Moms (and Dads)

I have been thinking a lot about kids lately... kids who don't have moms (and dads)... kids waiting for moms, and what life is like for kids who do not have parents. I have been thinking about the transformation that occurs when a child realizes he has a mom, a dad, a family...security, love and somewhere to belong.

With some of our kids, that "realization" that they have a Mom and a family, that they have someone to belong to, someone to watch over them, someone to care for them and someone to love them, has been gradual. With some of our kids, there has been this "a ha!" moment, where you could just see that they "got it".

There was baby Maggie... almost four months old... laying on the bed in our hotel in Vietnam on our first full day together (I had been visiting her for days at the hospital before this point). Before her hospitalization she had lived in a government orphanage where the babies had their names written on their legs in black magic marker so they could be told apart, and got very very little personal attention. She didn't cry when she was hungry or when she wanted something. She was quiet and tiny, but I could tell she loved being held and loved the attention I was giving her.

I walked away from the bed where she was laying to get a bottle for her, and she made this teeny tiny pitiful (feeble attempt at a) cry, and I rushed over and picked her up and offered her the bottle. She got this look of amazement on her face with a little smile that seemed to say, "Holy cow! You mean that crying thing WORKS with you??" and after that she did not want anyone but me and always wanted me close. She got it. I was there for her. I was her mom.

With Mercy, she was nine years old. She had had a mom before, who did not value or respect her role as a mom. Mercy knew neglect and abuse and loss. Despite that, she came to us with an open heart and a surprising amount of trust. At one point during our first week, Des needed her hair washed (and Mercy had been the one to care for Des up until that point, even though she was only three years older). Mercy told Des to go into the bathroom so she could wash her hair, and I gently told Mercy that I could wash Des's hair, and reminded her that that was the kind of thing a Mom should do. The social worker had warned us that "letting go" of being the caregiver of Des might be hard for Mercy and we might have some power struggles over it... but Mercy looked at me and looked at Des and looked back at me and said, "You wash all the other little kids... You would wash Des's hair too?" and I said, "Yes". And she said, "And then what would I do?" and I said, "Well, you could go play." And she looked at Des again and then back at me, and then she got this huge smile on her face, and you could almost SEE her letting go of the responsibility of caring for her little sister. She ran over and gave me a hug, and then took off to play. She got it. I was there for her and for her sister. I was their mom.

With Solomon, that moment came when we left AHOPE for the second time together. We had spent two days together, and then we had gone back to AHOPE to visit. As we walked through the gate and the kids called out his name and came running to say hi to him, he sat in my arms with huge, silent tears running down his cheeks. He would not make eye contact with anyone (including me, the kids and the nannies) and just stared ahead with this heartbreaking acceptance of the fact that he thought he was being left. Again. It hurt me so much that he had come to accept this from life... that nice people came and went, but he did not truly belong to any of them. I couldn't imagine how his little heart felt and how he had endured all that he had already. I comforted him and held him close and told him over and over again in his ear that I would never, never, never leave him.

He started to relax a little the longer we were there and I stayed with him, but he was not his usual self. And then it happened. I put him in the sling, we waved good-bye, went back out through the gate and headed back up the road towards the hotel for some lunch. He got this HUGE grin on his face, and was bouncing up and down in the sling laughing, and then grabbing my face and kissing it over and over as we walked. He was so happy and joyful. He got it. He was not going to be left again. I was HIS. He was mine. I was his Mom.

Since then I have watched him blossom with love. I have watched him learn how to expect and look forward to being held often, comforted when he cries, rocked to sleep, having his needs met, getting individual attention and being smothered in hugs and kisses often. As I crawled into bed last night, a few hours after I had put him down to sleep, his little body turned towards me, and without waking up, he put his arm on me, snuggled in close and let out a content sigh.
All kids deserve that knowledge, that peace and that comfort. All kids deserve to know that they are loved and that they belong to someone.

I believe with all my heart that our Heavenly Father did not send us down here to go at life alone, to worry about ourselves and to focus our lives on material and trivial things. I believe with all my heart that we are meant to live in families... mothers, fathers and children together, focusing our lives on loving, enjoying and serving each other.

We have several reasons to believe that Solomon most likely spent very little (if any) time with his first mother. And yet even after multiple changes in caregivers and "homes", multiple losses and lots of suffering without a mom to comfort him, he KNEW what a Mom was for from our very first days together. His heart and soul reached out to mine and grabbed on firmly. He knew that he wanted a mom. He knew that hugs, kisses and rock-a-byes were something he wanted, deserved and needed. The other kids we met in Ethiopia knew it too. They knew that they belonged with parents. They knew that something big was missing from their lives.

My heart rejoices for my kids and others that have had their lives changed so drastically...who were once alone, and now live with love, security and family. Watching Solomon over the past few weeks has reminded me of what an incredible miracle adoption is.

And at the same time, my heart aches for the so very many kids who are living life alone right now. . Even the very best orphanage is no comparison to a home and family. It is wrong that these kids must wait and yearn for a family. They deserve, as all children do, the peace and security that comes with the knowledge of knowing that they belong to someone, that they are being cared for and that they are loved.

This is why I support adoption...because I have seen the sadness in the eyes of the children who wait for moms, I have seen the amazing transformation in children once they have been "claimed" and loved, and because I believe, with all my heart, that that love and belonging is what our lives on this Earth are supposed to be about.

it's in the mail...

2008-03-17T21:25:00.005-05:00

Michael and I began dating seven years ago today. Today, on our "dating" anniversary, we sent the first part of our application to Gladney! It has been over a year since we decided to adopt from Ethiopia. When we made the decision, I never thought it would be a year before we submitted any paperwork. We are both very excited to be moving forward. We are also happy with our decision to use Gladney. I have heard so many positive things about them. We had our phone orientation last week with Judy from Gladney and she was so sweet and helpful.

I had Michael take of picture of me holding the envelope. We took it outside by the mailbox, simply because it made a good background. I actually took it to the post office and didn't leave it in our mailbox at home.

I made Michael pose for a pic too! He thought it was just about the most ridiculous thing, if you can't tell by the picture.

i made out with blue 7

2008-03-13T22:18:00.005-05:00

Blue 7 (a fabulous boutique in OKC) has been carrying the Project 8256 products for several months now. They have been so gracious to do this and we really appreciate their support. They have recently moved to a bigger location, which happens to coincide with their 5th birthday. They are having a big celebration this Saturday (March 15) from 10am-11pm. There will be food, music and more!

They will be featuring the Project 8256 merch and will have Blue 7 shirts for sale. The shirts say “I made out with Blue 7”, and they have very graciously decided to donate $5.00 of the sale of each t-shirt to our adoption fund. AMAZING!

If you live in the OKC metro area, please support Blue 7. They are wonderful people and we know their business will continue to succeed.

In addition to all of the prints they normally carry, Amy has added lots-o-greeting cards and the following beauties:

P.S. Their new location is at 7518 N.May at May and Grand, just south of Starbucks. Plus they have now added a Blue 7 Kids store right next door to their new location!

more lilly pics...

2008-02-28T11:02:00.007-06:00

Cheryl just emailed me more pics of Miss Lilly, so I thought I would share!

I love this one of Lilly with her big brother Aidan. It is sooo sweet.

I hope everyone is having a great week. It is almost Friday!

Introducing Lilly Grace Morris....

2008-02-22T22:39:00.007-06:00

Michael and I are proud to introduce our niece, Lilly Grace Morris.

She was born this morning at 4:59 am. Cheryl was due on 2/17, but continued to teach dance classes all this week. She taught a tap class until less than 9 hours before her daughter was born. Isn't that unbelievable?

Lilly, with her very proud Uncle Michael

Aunt Katie and Miss Lilly

Lilly now brings our total number of nieces and nephews to 14 and they just keep coming.....! Michael comes from a very fertile family. Afterall, he is one of seven!

Win a New Vacuum!

2008-02-14T23:18:00.002-06:00

5 Minutes For Mom is giving away an Oreck XL Ultra. All you have to do is comment on their blog (linked above) and post a link on your own blog to be entered to win. Our vacuum is completely worthless. In fact, all of our vacuums have been. This one looks AMAZING. If you are in need of one too, go comment on their blog!

36 pounds lighter…

2008-02-10T22:25:00.001-06:00

Not me, my house. That’s right. As an update to my previous post, “cluttered ramblings” I have been very busy purging. These were my original goals:

1. Paper purge – I am going to go through the papers piling up on my desk, some of which are obvious trash. I will also go through the mail…boo. If I have time I will move on to the file cabinets.

2. Closet purge – I am going to go through my closet and dresser drawers (even though I just did this in October) and rid myself of any clothes, shoes, socks, etc. that I can.
3. Bathroom purge – I will go through the bathroom and get rid of any old bottles of hair products, makeup, etc. This shouldn’t be too hard since I don’t really keep a lot of these types of products around. Also, Michael organized our bathroom a few months ago, so I won’t have too much work to do (no, ladies you cannot have him). I know there are some items I can toss, however.

I had hoped to accomplish this all in one week, but I didn’t get through all of it.

I did spend a significant amount of time going through paper, bills, mail etc. I managed to get rid of 27 POUNDS OF PAPER!!! There is still a little bit of mail left and our file cabinet is in a really inconvenient place in our garage, so I was unable to go through it.

I went through my closet and got rid of 9 POUNDS OF CLOTHING. Yes, I weighed it. I am neurotic. I went through my sock and underwear drawers and got rid of things I never wear. I still have yet to do the bathroom purge. It is really not going to take me long, but I just couldn’t ever convince myself to do it. All in all, I am feeling pretty good about my progress.

So, did anyone see Oprah last week? She did an episode based on Peter Walsh’s new book, Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? I never really watch Oprah anymore, but when I read the title of the episode, I was very intrigued. I was even more thrilled when I found out the connection to Peter Walsh. Being the organizational freak that I am, I love him. Who remembers him from Clean Sweep on TLC? The following are a couple of things he said on the show:

"People were contacting me … saying that, 'Suddenly I discovered that by clearing my space, I'm making much healthier food choices and I am starting to lose weight,'"

"Eating more and buying more is an attempt to fill the need for something more," he says. "Until you get those underlying issues dealt with, all the rest is a waste of time."

I really do find this very interesting. It is something I realized a long time ago. When my house is a mess, I feel lethargic and incapable of getting much accomplished. On the flip side, when my house is perfectly spotless…I feel like I can conquer the world.

So now that I have purged 36 pounds of ‘clutter’, will my body be 36 pounds lighter? If only…

official contract of the h2o log.

2008-02-06T00:33:00.001-06:00

I am addicted to Diet Coke. I have no problems admitting it. It is sad. I am a little better than I used to be. When I used to be an event coordinator I would sometimes work really long shifts and would be unable to leave to get a diet coke. I would go to Sonic before work and as I was drinking it, I would already be thinking about where I was going to get my next one. I always had to make sure I had a sufficient stash. I still need the stash but I don’t normally think about my next “fix” before I have finished the current one!

Michael and I co-own a children’s performing arts academy and two of our high school students have noticed how much soda we drink. They have been giving Michael a particularly hard time about it recently. They bring him water and have evened ordered water for him at a restaurant and handed it to him to drink. Well, on Monday they took it to a whole new level. They created a contract for each of us. It reads as follows:

Official Contract of the H20 Log (Terms & Conditions)

I Katie Morris agree to drink a minimum of 3 glasses (or bottles) of water (H20) EACH DAY of the month of February (leap year included!) 2008 (starting February 5, 2008). This will be observed by Michael Morris and monitored by the contract draft/advisors, Katie ******* and Laree *****. Provided that you abide by these terms and conditions, you will be rewarded with A NEW CAR! Okay, not really, just kidding, but for real, it will be a SURPRISE prize, but trust us, it will be good.

If I had a scanner I would have included a copy of the entire contract, which includes a logo they created for themselves and a calendar on the back where we are to log our water consumption.

I just love these girls. They are such a joy to be around and always keep me laughing. I am really taking this contract seriously. I don’t want to let them down and I certainly can’t lie about it. More than anything, I want my prize!!!

Well, I am off to drink some water…..

penelope. edgar. laurel. george.

2008-02-04T23:27:00.000-06:00

So, my ever so talented sister now has three etsy shops. That’s right folks, three. Project 8256 was the first. This, as we all know, is the shop where all artwork sold will benefit our adoption and AHOPE For Children. Several months ago she opened amelia mae. She has been selling paper goods, such as gift tags. She is now in the process of moving all of the paper goods to amelia mae paper goods and putting all of her original artwork in the amelia mae shop.

She has created a plethora of silhouettes, some of whom might remind you of the characters who have wondered into your life. She will also be adding some of her AMAZING collages, which she is most well known for. They are really incredible.

Not to leave you wondering about each of the people featured in the silhouette, she has written a lovely, and often humorous, description for each of them.

Meet Penelope...

Penelope recently left her lucrative job in marketing to become a part-time nanny/part-time bartender. In between jobs you can typically find her at her neighborhood coffee shop working on her novel...about a girl who left her lucrative job in marketing to become a part-time nanny/part-time bartender. It's only semi autobiographical.

Meet Edgar...

When Edgar was seven he informed his mother that he had decided to become an entomologist. After referencing a dictionary, and confirming that, yes, her son did want to devote his life to the study of insects, she promptly returned the basketball goal she had purchased him for Christmas. She purchased an ant farm and a book on the mating habits of grasshoppers instead. He still remembers it as his happiest Christmas ever.

Meet Laurel...

Laurel recently chopped off all of her long, beautiful hair. This was immediately after her boyfriend told her it was her best feature. She did this partly as a test, and partly because she was so shocked that he didn't mention her warm heart, her sense of humor, or her obvious love of irony. They are still together. Although he now sweats profusely whenever asked for his opinion.

Meet George...

When George was little he dreamed of being a super hero. Now that he's older and has realized his inability to fly, become instantly invisible or travel back and forth in time, he instead focuses on the day to day heroic activities--smiling at strangers, opening doors for others, and being nice to waiters. Perhaps not a super hero, but a pretty nice guy none the less.

Just a few more lovelies...

cluttered ramblings.

2008-01-31T23:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I realize Thanksgiving was the last time I blogged. I have had an extremely busy past two months. Our business keeps us constantly moving. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. We had a great Christmas and really enjoyed a day of rest and relaxation with our family.

I have had a tiny bit of down time this week and have been concentrating on my home. I am trying to get everything cleaned. We are hoping to have our house on the market by mid April. We are moving to Norman, where our business is located. I want to really deep clean everything, which I will also have to do closer to April, but it would really feel great to have it done now.

I have really been thinking about all of the stuff we have and really all of the stuff we, as Americans, have. I was at home on the computer the other day and looking around my office at all of the things I have, particularly in the closet. Wow. I bet I have more items in my office than people in other countries have in their entire home. What is the point? Why are we the collectors of stuff? Now, I must say, I am not a packrat, hoarder, collector or whatever. I am actually quite the opposite. I don’t feel the need to hold on the most things. I have an annual garage sale and every year I vow to purge my home of all unnecessary items and I still have a lot of stuff. WHY????

I am really going to do it this time. Purge, purge, purge away. Now that I know there will be strangers walking through my house, I have a great goal. I also know that anything I get rid of I don’t have to move.

I started by having Michael go through his underwear and sock drawers, mainly because they were so full (because I was completely caught up on laundry) that they wouldn’t shut. He got rid of quite a lot, especially considering I had him do the same thing in October. He also nicely folded all of his underwear and socks and arranged them very beautifully in their respective drawers. Way to go Michael. What a guy!

So, I am going to concentrate on the following areas this week:

1. Paper purge – I am going to go through the papers piling up on my desk, some of which are obvious trash. I will also go through the mail…boo. If I have time I will move on to the file cabinets.

2. Closet purge – I am going to go through my closet and dresser drawers (even though I just did this in October) and rid myself of any clothes, shoes, socks, etc. that I can.

3. Bathroom purge – I will go through the bathroom and get rid of any old bottles of hair products, makeup, etc. This shouldn’t be too hard since I don’t really keep a lot of these types of products around. Also, Michael organized our bathroom a few months ago, so I won’t have too much work to do (no, ladies you cannot have him). I know there are some items I can toss, however.

Okay, so I will report back next week on my progress. Anyone else want to join in and clear clutter out of their own home?

I hope everyone has a great week!

gobble. gobble. gobble.

2007-11-23T12:01:00.000-06:00

So, Thanksgiving was lots of fun, but a long day. We began the day at my grandparents’ house for the traditional and yummy Thanksgiving feast. The food was great and I was stuffed by the time it was all said and done.

My sister, cousins and I have always enjoyed playing games at my grandparents’ house. Some of the games are newer, but some are the games our parents played when they were children. Little Chief is one of the games we have always liked to play. I think it was my uncle’s game. It involves putting a headband on your head and collecting feathers. When Michael began attending holidays with my family, Little Chief was a right of passage for him. My cousins, Michael, Amy and Steele played it yesterday. I opted to just take pics of the festivities.

The game.

The pros.

Michael with his feathers.

Amy with more feathers!

My very cute Grandy. He was laughing at me for taking his pic.

After we left my grandparents’ house, we went to Michael’s brothers house for Thanksgiving with his family. Several years ago we started the tradition with his family of non-Thanksgiving food. We decided it was too much work to have to each prepare food for two different Thanksgiving feasts (one for each side of the family). We go with a different theme each year for the Morris family get-together. This year was Italian. It was tasty. There were 30 people there. Michael has six siblings. We currently have 13 nieces and nephews, with two more on the way. His aunt and uncle and one of his cousins were also there.

I tried to get pics of all of the kids, but I don’t think I succeeded. Here are some cute pics:

Elizabeth (She is the oldest niece. She is 12, which doesn't seem possible!) and Tabitha (Michael's sister)

Gideon

Josiah and Jude

Ezra and Michael looking at Michael's new phone.

Lydia (her family calls her Lulu)

Leah.

Abigail with a cute little kitten.

Aidan.

Aidan got tired of me taking pics of him so he put the lens cap on my camera!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving Day!

birthday celebration!

2007-11-04T23:23:00.000-06:00

Well, my youngest cousins are legal! Today is their 21st birthday. We had a party for them at my aunt and uncle’s house. As usual the food was scrumptious. They love to entertain and always have a fantastic feast prepared. Matthew and my uncle fried okra from their garden. It was great. Here is a pic of the okra:

They are 7 ½ years younger than I am and the age difference used to seem so big. As we have gotten older the age gap feels smaller and smaller. Here is a cute pic of them with Emily (their sister) and my uncle. Nice glasses, huh? I stole this pic from my uncle’s My Space. Yes, my uncle has a My Space!

I took this pic tonight. Matthew is on the left and Michael on the right.

A birthday tradition in our family is the red “You are special today” plate. Since they are twins, another plate had to be added, hence the “You are loved” plate Matthew is holding (along with his piece of turkey!)

A couple of more pics from the party…..

My uncle and my mom

Emily (my cousin) and her boyfriend, Steele

We're Back...

2007-10-29T11:32:00.000-05:00

Well, we are back from Indie Emporium. Michael and I had fun spending time with Amy. We met some nice people and made it through the long hours. We took some pics of her booth. She did a great job of setting it up.

This is the amelia mae side of the booth. The wrapped gift boxes show how Amy's gift tags can be used. She sells them with or without ribbon. The tags are also great for those who like to scrapbook.

This is the Project 8256 side of the table. We sold prints, originals and greeting cards.

This is what the entire booth looked like. You can see the banners from amelia mae in the background. We moved them to the front on Saturday, because they really couldn't be seen where they were.

Sweaters and Extravaganzas!

2007-10-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

It is sweater weather!!! This makes me sooo happy. Michael and I have been anxiously awaiting the cold weather and it is finally here. I haven’t turned on the heater yet. I like to put it off as long as possible. Secretly, I love it being a little cold in my house, so I can put my flannel pants and hoodie on and pull the covers up to my chin!

I have been helping my sister prepare for Indie Emporium, which is a “craft extravaganza” in Amy’s words. It is in Tulsa this Friday and Saturday. We will be selling things for Project 8256 to raise money for our adoption, as wall as AHOPE. Amy will also be selling lots of fantastic things from amelia mae. She does a really incredible job. If you can’t make it, you should check out her shop if you are looking for banners or tags. She will be adding more items to her Etsy store in the next few weeks. She has been waiting until after this weekend to restock things, so we can take a lot of great things to Tulsa. We hope to see you there!

Of Beetles & Angels

2007-10-17T13:39:00.000-05:00

I am beginning to read a list of suggested readings for parents adopting from Ethiopia. Most of the books on the list were not at my local library, but thankfully Of Beetles & Angels was. I didn’t know if I would enjoy this book, but it was fantastic. It was well written and a quick read. The book written by Mawi Asgedom, is about his journey from Ethiopia, to a Sudanese refugee camp and eventually to America. He moved to the Chicago area with his family when he was seven years old. This beautifully written book takes the reader on a journey as Asgedom paints a picture of his life growing up in a habesha family. His journey eventually leads him to Harvard, where he received a full-tuition scholarship and gave the commencement speech. Mawi Asgedom is now a sought after speaker, particularly for teens.

His father always told him to “treat all people – even the most unsightly beetles – as though they were angels sent from heaven.” His father said you never know when an angel is sent to you disguised as a beetle. This really makes me think. How many times have I treated someone like they were a beetle? I hope I have treated more people like angels, but even if I have treated one person like a beetle, I have failed them.

I highly recommend this book. It is a book that emphasizes the importance of your own heritage, the value of hard work and education and the power of treating everyone like they are an angel.

Parenting Tips

2007-10-06T12:19:00.000-05:00

Okay…I am still here. I have not blogged in a very long time. Michael and I started a business with his brother and sister-in-law. It has been very time consuming, but a life long dream. Now that the business is up and running, I feel like I can really focus on our adoption. When we first started talking about adopting, I was advised by many people to wait until we opened our business to start our adoption and not try to do both at once. Boy, now I know why!

Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about what it will be like to raise our child. A friend recently asked me if I had any concerns about raising a child of a different race and culture. Of course I do. I worry about a lot of things, but particularly about what my child will experience as they become a teenager and then an adult. Teenagers already struggle enough with identity and self-image. My child will have to deal with this, plus the feeling that they look different than their parents and were born in a different country. Should this stop me from adopting? Absolutely not.

I have to believe “love conquers all”. I have to believe that Michael and I can love our child and guide them through these difficult times. Does that mean they won’t go through any adversities? No. Although it would be great if we could just “love them through it”, it is not that easy. We have to be educated and aware of issues that will impact our child and our family. Harlow’s Monkey blog recently posted something on this subject. The following was written by Sun Young Shin and was originally printed in the Summer 2007 issue of MN ASAP Family Voices newsletter.

Parenting Tips for White Parents with Adopted Children of Color

1. Live in or move to, if you have to, a multicultural, racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood. Make sure your child regularly interacts with people of color in a variety of ways.

2. Study and learn about whiteness and white privilege. Don't waste time and energy in feeling guilty. Guilt is a luxury of those with privilege. Embrace the opportunity to work for social justice. Study and learn how to be an active anti-racist, and then do it.

3. Understand that even if your child is, for example, ethnically Chinese, she or he will be perceived as "Asian American" or simply "Asian" (or worse, Oriental). Understand the complex and interrelated history of various groups of color in America. Don't overemphasize traditions from the culture of origin at the expense of dealing with race in America.

4. Be prepared to teach your child how to directly respond to racist comments, questions and incidents. (You'll have to learn this from adults of color). Never make excuses for others. Never brush off these incidents as insignificant or isolated.

5. Be prepared for friends and family to be confused or even offended by your anti-racist work. Be patient with them and let them know about your new priorities. Continue to make friends of all races who are interested in making America a truly equitable nation.

6. Avoid saying or thinking that, "I'm ___________ too now that I have a child from __________." That's simply offensive and insulting to all the people who are really __________ and don't get to "choose." Understand the difference between nationality, race, ethnicity and culture -- and how they overlap (or don't overlap) for your child and your family.

7. Study and learn about your child's culture(s) of origin, not from North American and/or white writers but from writers and historians from within that (those) culture(s).

8. Understand how gender and sexuality operate in your child's culture(s) of origin.

9. Understand that even if your child is disinterested in her or his culture of origin, she or he will be impacted by how the American mainstream perceives that culture.

10. Support the artistic expression and adoption-related professional work of adult adoptees -- if only because your child will eventually be an adult adoptee.

11. Study the history of inequalities in terms of reproductive rights (who gets to have a safe abortion, who gets to keep their children, who is considered a socially accepted mother) in this country before criticizing the sexism or patriarchy in other cultures (or communities). Consider how you can invest in your child's home community so that women and families . . . people who look like your child . . . will not "have to" send their children away.

Sun Yung Shin is the author of the poetry collection, "Skirt Full of Black" (Coffee House Press); co-editor of "Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption" (South End Press); and author of "Coopers Lesson" (Children's Book Press) a bilingual (Korean/English) illustrated children's book for children. She is a 2007 Bush Fellow for Literature for Literature.
For more articles and essays about transracial adoption from MN ASAP (Minnesota Adoption Support and Preservation) you can download their newsletter or visit their website.

There is so much to learn and to consider, not just for Michael and I, but for our families too. It is our job to educate those who will be loving our child.

Bono

2007-07-01T22:56:00.000-05:00

There are several celebrities who are trying to make their mark in history by jumping on the humanitarian bandwagon. Although we will never know the true reasons for their philanthropy, they are, at the very least, bringing attention to the needs of the poor. One of these people is Bono. Bono received the NAACP Image Award’s Chairman’s Award in 2007 for his work. You can watch his speech on the following video:

In his speech he says, “Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die". Think about that. These words impact me. They feel like a heavy load sitting upon my shoulders.

I was born into an upper-middle class family. Hunger and death were nothing that I ever worried about as a child. My parents never had to question from where the next meal would come. As parents, they still worried. Their worries were not of money or food, but instead they worried about my future. They wondered what I would do with my life and they did everything they could to make sure I had every opportunity to be whoever I wanted to be.

I remember, from a fairly young age, questioning the reason for my existence in this world. I remember skiing down the slopes in Colorado and wondering why God put me on the Earth. I have always loved solitude. I loved to go skiing and sing all the way down the mountain. It was in the beautiful, open world that I could really think. I remember thinking that it seemed kind of pointless to be put on this Earth if we were just going to die eventually. I also remember thinking how strange the concept of humanity was in general. What were we all doing here? Yes, I was eight. This just shows the kind of weird kid I was. This thought eventually progressed into the thought of how different my life would be if I were across the world. As I got older and heard stories of little girls getting raped or killed, I always felt so lucky to be born into the family I was. I knew that one of those little girls could be me. Their innocence was taken away at such a young age, while mine remained intact. This brings me back to Bono’s words, “Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die".

As an adult I still wonder why God put me on this Earth. I know God has called me to great things. My life has a purpose and part of that purpose is to help break the cycle of poverty. I have yet to determine what that entails, but I look forward to finding out.

Ado(red)

2007-06-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

My sweet sister gave me this adorable onesie for the little babe.

I love it and I can’t for there to be a sweet, cuddly baby wearing it. I love that it says Ado(red), because this baby is definitely adored and will be VERY spoiled by Auntie Amy.

Amy has been so amazing. She has worked countless hours creating art to sell on Etsy and here locally at Blue 7 to raise money for our adoption. She is the most amazing sister. I don’t know of anyone else who would sacrifice so much of their time for their sister. I can’t thank her enough for all she has done. It has really touched my heart.

The picture below is a print she did of two sisters. It is based on a picture of the two of us when we were little. I am the one on the left looking very unhappy about wearing a dress! Our mom loved to dress us up, which included dressing my prissy sister in lots of sailor dresses…

The pic below was taken the night before my wedding, four years ago (I probably could use a few updated pics). Anyway my cousin, Emily, is on the left, I am in the middle and Amy is on the right. Amy and I always laugh about this picture because my head looks so abnormally small, not to mention the pound of lipstick I have caked on!

Suffer the Little Children

2007-05-24T12:50:00.000-05:00

I am constantly blown away by those who can abandon the life they know and follow God. This faithfulness is such an admirable and humbling quality. As Christians this is what we should all seek to do, but do we? Are you willing to get out of the boat? What would it take for you follow God with reckless abandon? What are you being called to? I have to ask myself these same questions too.

I love following the lives of those doing the nitty gritty work. You know, those people who can live their lives without the luxuries we take for granted every day? Andy and Lisa Langdon are two of those people. I do not know them, but I like reading their blog, Suffer the Little Children. They have picked up their lives and moved their family to Malawi. They felt called to start a crisis nursery for infant orphans through Ministry of Hope. They have been there for a year and their blog is a testament of their faith. You can feel the heaviness on their hearts for these babies. They got out of the boat and followed God with reckless abandon.

These are the Langdon's with five of the babies in their care!

Posts from previous blog

2007-05-18T11:48:00.001-05:00

I decided, don’t ask me why, to start using this blog instead of my old one. The following are the posts from my previous blog:

i carry your heart - Originally posted on 5/2/2007

It has been a LONG time since I have written in this blog. I have been very busy and would love to go on and on about the craziness that is my life, but I'll try to stay focused here.

It is very important to Michael and I that we have the majority of the money saved and/or raised for our adoption before we start this process. We don't want to start our homestudy until we are 100% sure that we have a way to pay for all of the expenses. Things have been pretty slow on the fundraising end. We are extremely grateful to those amazing people who have purchased items from Project 8256, but we are still are a long way from our goal.

We know in our hearts that God has a plan, but it is very hard to wait. We want to hold our child in our arms today. We don't want to wait. The wait hurts.

So, on to something more positive! Through this process, we have received some really encouraging words from people we don't even know. A very sweet lady just bought two copies of the print below. She said she is an adoptive mother and is buying the print to give her sons' birthmothers for Mother's Day. Doesn't that just melt your heart? I almost cried when I read her note. She was so supportive of what we are doing and she doesn't even know us. I am so thankful for people like her.

Available from Project 8256

The section of the poem in the above print is by the late E.E. Cummings. I think he captured love in it's purest form in this poem. Does loving someone mean you must carry their heart? You must carry their burden? Isn't that what Christ does? He carries our hearts. He carries our burdens. The other thing I like about E.E. Cummings was his desire to push the boundaries. He did not stick to the cookie cutter way of writing. I like to think that adoption pushes the boundaries. We are not building our family in the "traditional" way. Adoptive parents carry their children's heart in their heart. I cannot begin to imagine what it will be like to see our child for the very first time, but I am so excited to find out!

To my little babe somewhere in Ethiopia: I carry your heart. (I carry it in my heart)

The following is the entire poem:
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go, my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
~E.E. Cummings

A Little Trip To The Show-Me State - Originally posted on 3/27/07

Michael and I went to Missouri this past weekend to visit his brother and sister-and-law. We had a great time. Our nephew, Aidan, is now 18 months old. We had so much fun with him. He is so cute and extremely smart. I must admit, I’m a little obsessed. Here are just a few of the MANY pictures his Uncle Michael and Aunt Katie took of him!

Michael and Aidan

Sliding is so much FUN!

I know I can make this work

I love this pic

Thank You!!! - Originally posted on 3/21/2007

When Michael and I decided to adopt from Ethiopia I was nervous about telling others. I wondered what the reaction from those I loved would be. On one hand I wanted to tell everyone I knew, but on the other I wanted to keep it a secret. The first person I told was my sister and the first Michael told was his brother, Tim. They were both unbelievably supportive. It is because of their support that we felt confident to begin telling others. I hope my writing this does not make anyone feel we were at all ashamed or embarrassed to tell. We were so confident and excited about adopting, that we did not want the insensitive comments and lack of support to vanquish our desire.

I can officially say we have not been defeated. Instead, we have been so encouraged. Everyone has been extremely supportive. It has been a joy to tell our friends and literally be able to feel their excitement. The hearts of those who have supported us have been exposed.

As many of you know, Michael has six siblings and I have one. Our families are considerably different. After all, the dynamic of a family of nine is quite different than that of four! Although the environments in which we grew up differed, there is one significant similarity. Michael and I were both raised in Christian homes by parents who exposed us to the truth and the heart of God’s word. We were taught to be faithful and trust God. We are really having to rely on our faith right now.

I am not a person who functions well without a plan. I make lists for EVERYTHING. I often assign a timeline for tasks I must accomplish. I have been known, on numerous occasions, to assign specific time limits for each task I need to accomplish within a given day. Are you seeing how neurotic I am?!?!?! As much as I would love our adoption and fundraising to coincide with my very specific timeline, I know it will not. I am learning to be patient and put this in God’s hands. As perfect as my plans may be in my mind, they are nothing compared to the plans God has for me!

Once again, I just want to thank everyone for your support. Thank you for your prayers and well wishes. For those of you who have supported us financially by purchasing prints or greeting cards from Project 8256 (our etsy shop), THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!

Knock ‘em dead!!! - Originally posted on 3/12/2007

I decided today to write a little something about my cousins. I know this is supposed to be a blog about our adoption, but our family is a very important part of our adoption.

Everyone is molded and defined by many things. Whether we like it or not the family we grow up with has a huge influence on who we are as individuals. Having grown up with the most amazing family, both immediate and extended, I feel grateful for my family’s influence. I know I would not be the person I am today without the strong heritage of those who have come before me, as well as those who stand beside me.

So, back to my cousins…! My dad is an only child and my mom has one brother. My aunt and uncle have three children. They are the only cousins Amy and I have. Emily is 23 (almost!) and Michael and Matthew are 20. They are all three very different from one another, which I think is fantastic. In my opinion, they are all at a very good place in their lives right now. I get excited when I think about their future, because they are all three smart, articulate and compassionate people, who are bound to make their mark on this world (at least they better!).

Matthew, Katie (me), Michael, Emily and Amy

Emily and Amy

Emily and I

So, to Emily, Michael and Matthew…….thanks for being the goofy, unpredictable, supportive cousins that you are. Knock ‘em dead!!!

Simply The BEST!!! - Originally posted on 3/5/2007

I recently finished reading There is No Me Without You, by Melissa Fay Greene. I must say, this is one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. This is one of those books that haunts you for days. It made me smile. It made me cry. It made me wonder where my place in this world is. What am I doing for those who truly have nothing? How will I respond to the AIDS crisis?

Melissa Fay Greene is now high on my list of favorite nonfiction writers. Her work reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Jonathan Kozol. They both write works that are honest and raw. They immerse themselves into the worlds where most of us have never been and tell stories we never knew existed.

YOU SHOULD REALLY READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

The Journey Begins! - Originally posted on 3/4/2007

So this is my blog! Exciting intro, I know. I have never blogged before, so this is all very new to me. My name is Katie, I’m 27 and have been married to Michael for almost 4 years. We are excited to announce that we are ADOPTING!!! That’s right, we’re adopting from Ethiopia. It is so exciting to write this.

This may come as a surprise for many of you who know us. I know people think we are “giving up”. For those of you who don’t know, we have had two miscarriages in the last year. The first one was late term and they had to induce labor. We did not decide to adopt out of fear of experiencing another loss. We have always talked about adopting internationally. We assumed we would do this after we had biological children. God had a different plan. We now know we are being led to adopt first. Our hope is to be able to build our family through both the miracle of adoption and the miracle of birth.

I will be using this blog as a way for our friends and family to follow our journey, so check back for updates. Thanks for visiting!