Mitchell Moments

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Our Big Girl

2012-01-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

Our life has revolved around this lately:

She has done GREAT! But, seriously, when did she grow up into such a big girl?

Happy Mikayla Day!

2012-01-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

Hello? Anybody still there? If you are still hanging on with us even after a 3 month blogging break, you are amazingly faithful!

On Saturday we celebrated a very special day for our family. It was the one year anniversary of the day that we arrived home together, as a family. I affectionately call it Mikayla Day. It is almost surreal to think about how quickly time has flown by. Wasn't it yesterday that we were in Ethiopia just after their celebration of Christmas? Wasn't it yesterday that they put this sweet little girl in our arms forever? It hasn't been an easy year by any stretch. I would venture to say that it has been the hardest year I have ever experienced. It has been a transforming year for all three of us, and change isn't easy. We have stretched and grown in countless ways. Even with (or perhaps, because of) these growing pains, this year has also been the biggest blessing imaginable.

In addition to extra snuggles, hugs, kisses, and prayers of thankfulness, we celebrated by heading out to a local Ethiopian restaurant. The food and family time were great, and I love that we got another picture by the Christmas tree decorated for the Ethiopian celebration of Christmas.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T13:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween from one BUSY little bee!

One Year Ago

2011-10-29T20:32:00.000-04:00

One year ago today I woke up as nervous as I ever had been before. I knew my life was about to change forever because Brian and I were to meet a new member of our family. One year ago we traveled across a busy city in a foreign country to meet a little girl who was already part of our hearts, a child for whom we had prayed long before we even knew her. We stepped out of a van and walked up the stairs to a room with six tiny cribs. One year ago, a video camera watched as we laid eyes on this sleeping beauty who was our daughter for the first time.

One year ago today, we fell instantly in love with our little Tamir.

Has it really been a year? In so many ways it feels like just yesterday we were in Addis for the first time. In so many other ways, it feels like I have known Mikayla forever. What a difference a year makes!

Mikayla Tamir, we are so thankful for the blessing you are in our lives. We are so much richer for being your parents.

Mikayla...19 months

2011-10-06T06:35:00.000-04:00

Somehow 18 months old slipped right by, so I wanted to share some thoughts about Mikayla at 19 months old.

She is growing like a weed. She is 29 pounds...at least, and just over 32 inches tall. She is really strong too. You better hope that she doesn't get hold of something that you would actually like to get back in one piece because you might need the jaws of life to pry it from her!

She loves baby dolls. She hugs her babies, feeds them, rocks them, and shares books with them. She often throws her dolls over her shoulder like a "fireman carry" to take them from place to place.

She is a ham. I know, I know...I say this all the time, but she is actually a riot. Her sense of humor is really developed for a 19 month old, and she knows what it takes to get us to laugh.

She is gaining control of her facial expressions. She can give us a look to crack us up, anywhere from furrowed eyebrows to the silly face below:

She is starting to LOVE to dance, and boy, does she have moves! She bounces up and down and shakes her hips as soon as she hears music.

Her favorite place to be is outside. She could wander around outside exploring, walking, and running for ages if we would let her (and if it weren't for that pesky little thing called sleep). She loves to smell flowers, swing, drive her car, slide, play with balls, and walk the dogs.

We sure do love you Mikayla, and can't imagine life without you!

Wordless Wednesday...PeeK-A-Boo!

2011-10-05T06:30:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday: Family Photos at the Lake

2011-09-28T07:11:00.001-04:00

A Tradition Continues

2011-09-26T20:59:00.001-04:00

It is hard to put into words what a special place our family's little lake house is. It has been in my family since my mom was a little girl, and I have spent my summer here for as long as I can remember...

Flashback: Homemade ice cream is synonymous with the lake. My sister, Julie and I were ALWAYS first in line!

Flashback: Racing out of the house with bread when the ducks showed up on the lawn is one of my favorite memories.

Brian also jumped right into the lake tradition as soon as we met. He cares for it as if it has been part of his lifelong memories as well. In fact, Brian and I got engaged at the lake! We have dreamed and talked for years about the joy of sharing the lake with our child. Introducing a little one of our own to the lake is something to which we have looked forward. Finally, this was the summer!

While we didn't make it to the lake as often as we would have liked this summer, we enjoyed our time there (although the lake with a kiddo in tow felt MUCH less like a retreat and more like real life)! Mikayla is such a water baby...just like her mommy and daddy, which made our time on the water so much fun. By the end of the summer she was putting her face completely in the water and blowing bubbles.

Lots of sweet snuggles on the screened in porch

Ready for action

Such a ham

Checking out the water

Our little water baby

Where Has the Time Gone?

2011-09-23T19:13:00.000-04:00

My mom recently posted the picture below with the caption, Goodbye Summer, and I had to shake my blogging head in shame! Yes, summer is long gone, and while we have done a great job living life, I have been slack in documenting it. Will you bear with me as I relive a bit of our summer over the next couple of days? You can never get enough scrumptious baby legs in bathing suits, right?!

Welcome to the Club, Honey!

2011-08-09T21:35:00.001-04:00

Last week, we had the opportunity to celebrate Brian and his 30th birthday. He woke up to a trail of 30 balloons that led him to breakfast.

He had to pop each balloon because inside of each one was a little note that shared something I love about him and something about his life for which I am grateful. It was fun to watch him read each one...it honestly was hard to narrow it down to only 30 balloons!

I also arranged a surprise trip a local lake for just Brian and me. My mom came and spent time with Mikayla while Brian and I had a picnic and time for wakeboarding on the water.

Our version of romance...his and hers wakeboards

The handsome birthday boy

Brian ready to hop in the water and tear it up on the wakeboard

My turn

Brian was talented enough to get pictures of me wakeboarding. I, however, was not talented enough to snap a picture of Brian in action (which, trust me, is way more awesome)!

Peanut butter cup cupcakes

Such precious time together

We milked every minute of daylight that we could. Beautiful sunset, huh?

Her First Boat Ride

2011-08-08T21:25:00.000-04:00

We love spending time on the water, and we are especially fortunate that we live in an area that is surrounded by lakes. Earlier this summer, we took Mikayla for her first boat ride after Brian got home from work. She was fascinated, and seemed to really love feeling the wind in her face.

A picnic on the water...can dinner get any better?

A little floating...High five, Daddy! This is great!

You guys sit back and relax. I'll be happy to drive us back to the dock.

I honestly think I was more miserable looking at her in the bulky life jacket than she actually was, but bless her heart!

Feeling the breeze on the water

Can't wait 'till she is old enough to get behind the boat for some fun!

P.S. Yes, Mikayla is in her pjs in some of the pictures. After swimming, we got her ready for bed so we could transfer her straight from the truck to her crib since this was a quick trip after work.

THE Trip, Homecoming: Six Month Reflection

2011-07-14T20:25:00.000-04:00

It was a wonderful feeling to make it home! We had been traveling for about 27 hours and were ready to crash into friendly arms and then start life together in our home as a family. We made the decision to only have family at our homecoming to minimize the stress of too many new faces for Mikayla. It wasn't an easy decision because we wanted our support system to share in the joy of our homecoming (and let's be honest...who doesn't love a good airport homecoming)?! In the end, we feel like it was a good decision for us because our sweet little one was completely overwhelmed with the few people who were there! We were so blessed to have our good friends Sara and Justin come to photograph and video our homecoming though. Sara even put together the following video and slideshow...enjoy!

On a funny note, we made it to baggage claim and Justin was helping me gather bags, and I was sort of in space because finally Justin asked me if I was still waiting for something. Apparently we had been watching the same bags go around for quite a while, and we were missing one final bag. We were so exhausted that we crashed right after dinner and didn't hear the THREE calls from the airline letting us know that they had found the missing luggage.

Lessons Learned from this Day:
-If you are going to have your luggage lost, losing it on the way home is the way to go. You're home, so who cares about luggage? :)
-If you are traveling when it is chilly, pack the car with coats for everyone and ask someone to bring them into the airport for you. Thank goodness my mom was there because she actually had to tell me to put on my coat!
-Make sure whatever car you are riding home in has the appropriate car seat/booster seat for your kiddo.
-If you are able and have space, make several freezer meals to have ready to go. These were a really nice supplement to the meals that our church family and friends made for us. I didn't have to cook for a long time, and we could focus on spending time with Mikayla.
-We also had stocked some food/drink that would have been good if either/both of us had a stomach bug. Brian was really sick when we got home from our first trip, and we had to stop at the gas station on the way home from the airport.

THE Trip, Day 5: Six Month Flashback

2011-07-13T20:48:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, we again spent the day at our guest house because our flight didn't leave until around 10:30pm. We packed up our things and played for most of the day. We also looked forward to our agency dropping off Mikayla's Ethiopian passport and paperwork allowing her to enter the United States. Let me tell you, a baby's passport is just so stinking cute! I especially enjoyed it because we got to see a picture of Mikayla that I had never seen before. So we got our passport and big, official envelope which they (meaning EVERYONE) tells you that you are not allowed to open. You are to guard it with your life and then hand it over to the customs official when you make it back into the states. Let's just say we followed those directions and didn't try to find out what would happen if we opened it...

Before we left, we had a mini photo session on the roof. (I honestly still think about the roof and really miss it sometimes. It was awesome being up there)!

Our family. Mikayla is dressed in PJs with hope that she would sleep lots on the plane :)

The Mitchells and Mummerts. This trip would NOT have been the same without them.

We arrived at the airport and made it through customs and security with almost no line, which is the complete opposite of our last trip when we waited in line forever. That was a total answer to prayer with a little one. We finally boarded the plane and played musical seats about 50 times so that we would be able to sit together . We were originally assigned a bassinet seat in the bulkhead and the second seat was a couple of rows back. We were ok not sitting together if that meant we would have a bassinet for Mikayla. We were thankful that it ended up working out that we got to sit together for most of the flight. I have to say Mikayla was a complete trooper on this flight. She slept a lot (Brian and I not quite so much), and wasn't too fussy considering the crazy new experience.

Out like a light in the bassinet. Whoever invented these things is a genius and a gift to parents traveling with infants internationally.

We didn't need movies on this flight for entertainment. Silas took care of entertaining us!

After an incredibly long flight, we were thrilled to touch down in D.C. We got our luggage and made it through customs without a hitch. What a great feeling it was to know that when we made it to U.S. soil our baby girl was a citizen. We were both pretty emotional at this point. I almost lost it while eating breakfast when an Ethiopian gentleman came up to me after Brian left to go change Mikayla and said, "God bless you." I must have given him a confused smile at first because he continued, "God bless you for what you have done with your child. She is Ethiopian, correct?" I nodded and he went on, "I thank you for what you are doing for that child and I pray God's blessing on your family." Such sweet, soothing words to hear from this man who shares the same beautiful heritage as our daughter, especially when our 2 year journey was coming to a close...

Our Ethiopian Air plane

Our new little citizen

Lessons learned from today (oh, I could write a book, but I won't)

-If you have a baby, some kind of carrier is so crucial. We have a Baby Ergo that we love. It works great for babies that are a little heavier and you can put the kid on your chest, on your hip, or on your back.

-Securing a bassinet took a lot of confirming/hounding people. We reserved it with our travel agent at booking, we called the airline the day of our flight to confirm, and we confirmed it again when we checked in at the ticket counter. Honestly, they are first come, first serve and it sort of felt like the luck of the draw as to who actually got them. If you need a bassinet, when arriving at the airport, earlier is better!

-Take a change of clothes for the parents as well as the kid (we didn't need to change on the plane, but know parents who needed to change and didn't have clothes accessible).

-I also had just a few toiletries that were easy to get to in our checked baggage since we knew we would have access to them in the customs area. During our layover, I changed and actually felt mostly human on the last leg of our flight.

-So you've clearly picked up on the fact that Mikayla was having digestive problems during the whole trip and the flight was no different. We took tons of diapers and wipes on the flight and used all but one diaper. We also were prepared with one change of clothes in the diaper bag, but she ended up going through 3 outfits. We were glad we had made a couple of extra sets easily accessible in our checked bags that we could get to when we went through customs.

-Just keep in mind that even though the flight is WAY long, it has to end at some point!

I'll share our homecoming tomorrow, so stay tuned!

THE Trip, Day 4: Six Month Flashback

2011-07-12T20:12:00.000-04:00

We woke on Wednesday with the whole day ahead of us and no real plans other than to hang out with Mikayla. It was a relaxing day of chatting with friends, playing with our kids, and watching our kids play together. It was such a joy to watch Mikayla develop even in the short time that we were in Ethiopia. When we first met her in November, she wasn't even sitting up. By the second day she was starting to pull up on things, and by the end of the week, she was just beginning to do a cute little army crawl. We say that her buddy Silas taught her those cool tricks!

At first Mikayla didn't just use her arms to help her pull up, she also used her mouth.

We spent quite a bit of time up on the roof.

A photo op with the two littles up on the roof

I'm so glad that our little suite at the guest house had this coffee table. It was PERFECT for the 11 month olds! How cute are they together?!?

We actually ended up having a yummy lunch from another one of our favorite places to eat in Ethiopia, Zebra Grill. This little gem of a restaurant was only a couple of blocks away so we sent Brian and Phil to pick up burgers for everyone. There were also a few things left on our "buy" list that we wanted to get before we left. Since we couldn't take the kiddos out in public, Brian and Phil headed out to the Alert Colony. This is a place where people with leprosy live, and they also create goods that are sold in a little shop. Brian did a great job shopping and we have a few gifts we will be able to give Mikayla as she gets older, and we have a few more decorations that bring a bit of our little girl's culture to our home. While the guys were out, Mikayla had her first melt down during nap time. Of course it happened while Brian wasn't there!

Lessons Learned from this Day:

-Do absolutely as much as you can during the first trip because there just isn't a good time to be out and about once you have custody of the kids.

- We brought small bags for dirty diapers, but the Mummerts told us about Arm and Hammer bags. I honestly think that we were changing Mikayla's diaper constantly, and when you are stuck in a fairly small/hotel type space, the effects just seemed to linger constantly. The Arm and Hammer bags are nice because they actually do seem to absorb some of the odor (not just cover it up). Have you noticed we learned a lot about diapering our first week as parents? Mikayla had LOTS to teach us!

-Alert was a good ways away from where we were staying, but Brian said it was totally worth going there

-If you need to take a taxi somewhere, ask the staff at your guest house to negotiate the rate to your destination and back before you leave. Our guest house had one lady in particular who was quite the negotiator!

THE Trip, Day 3, Six Month Flashback

2011-07-11T20:08:00.000-04:00

Our second trip to Ethiopia was much more low key in some regards. On one hand we were living the craziness of being parents for the first time in a foreign country. On the other hand, our agency requests that once you take custody of your child, you stay at your guest house with the exception of official appointments. This meant a lot of spending time in our room, in the courtyard, and on the roof of our guest house.
Tuesday was, however, embassy day. This meant that we had our official appointment to visit the United States Embassy. The embassy appointment was really important because this is when we received final approval to have Mikayla's visa issued so that we could bring her back into the States. We honestly don't have many pictures from this day because we spent the morning in our room at Yebsabi and then had our appointment at the Embassy in the afternoon. You aren't allowed to take any kind of photographs at the embassy, and we didn't even take one of us before or after our appointment. Oh, well! We had heard different things about the embassy, but it was a fairly easy process. The room reminded us of a drivers' license office. We sat in chairs and waited to be called up to a window where a very kind man asked us questions. We were the last out of our group to be called, but fortunately Mikayla had slept for a decent amount of the wait, and she was fairly content to be held at this point. Of course Mikayla had a dirty diaper that needed to be changed right before we were called up to the window. The man behind the window was MORE than happy to wait a few moments for Brian to finish with the diaper before coming with Mikayla. After a few questions, we were on our way back to the guest house.

On our balcony at Yebsabi

This picture just makes me laugh. We have lots of fun stories about Mikayla's bodily functions, and once again Laura was on the ball and captured her mid spit-up. Haha!

Mikayla and her partner in crime, Silas. These two are only a couple of weeks apart in age and were roomies at Acacia Village (with several other babies as well). It was a blast getting to watch them together. They enjoyed seeing who could be the loudest and taking each others' toys!

This was our first time giving Mikayla a bath. She LOVED the water (and still does).

Lesson Learned from Today:

-Double check your bag BEFORE you leave for the embassy to make sure you aren't taking any prohibited items. We stuffed what we needed in our backpack (which was our carry-on for the plane). We forgot that we had our travel cell phone and a couple of sets of headphones still in the bag from the flight. Whoops. The workers at the embassy were insisting that we had a cell phone (NOT ALLOWED) and we were sure that we didn't. We were totally the clueless Americans that I'm sure they rolled their eyes about. Even though we totally held up the line and were so embarrassed, they were extremely gracious and kind to us.

THE Trip, Day 2: 6 Month Flashback

2011-07-10T20:37:00.000-04:00

We woke early on Monday morning after having a full night's sleep. We both noticed and were really excited that we didn't hear dogs or roosters at night on this trip. We think staying on the other side of the guest house made a huge difference in noise. We ate breakfast and got our things together. Our driver was scheduled to pick us up early to go get our sweet girl. We piled into the van with the Mummerts and headed out on the 25 minute drive to Acacia Village, where Mikayla had been living since October. They took us up to the second story patio and when we stepped outside all of the babies were getting some outside time with the nannies. We looked at each face and didn't see Mikayla among the 10 or so babies. We looked at each other and wondered if this was a test! Then around the corner came the staff with the Mummerts' boys, and Mikayla arrived shortly after.

Mikayla being placed in our arms for good! This moment was so surreal, and I don't think we stopped smiling for hours after this. The sweet nannies had even given Mikayla some tiny little braids! Precious!

Who are you people?

We spent a bit of time relaxing with our kiddos, enjoying the beautiful Ethiopian weather.

Then we got to see the new room where Mikayla had been living since our last visit. Remember how it was just after the Ethiopian celebration of Christmas when we were there? We had to take a picture by the Christmas tree!

Feeding Mikayla solids for the first time while we talked with the nurse and social worker about details of Mikayla's schedule, personality, and behaviors.

Helen, the social worker for Acacia Village. You could just feel how much she loves all of these children. She had tears in her eyes when we left! It was impossible to express our gratitude to all of the people who took such wonderful care of our daughter when we were not with her. How can you say thank you for that?

In the van leaving with our sweetie

After saying our goodbyes, we went to CWA's office to finalize paperwork for the embassy. Then, we set off to find the same formula that she had received while at Acacia Village. Our kind driver, Z, drove to THREE grocery stores before we were able to find what we think was the correct formula. Then, we headed back to Yebsabi for lunch and parenting :)

We quickly realized that Mikayla was having tummy trouble, which lasted until after we made it back to the States. Almost as soon as we arrived back to our guest house, she needed a diaper change. Let's just say our first diaper changing experience as parents was exciting/tragic/hilarious enough that Laura grabbed our video camera as I was calling for Brian's help and taped the whole experience (be thankful that I'm vetoing Brian's request to post that video on the blog)!

We managed to get Mikayla fed, down for a nap, and then tucked safely into bed later that evening. We went to bed fairly early, expecting Mikayla to wake for one feeding during the night according to the schedule we received. We were surprised when she woke for the first time at 11pm and then every three hours after that. Unfortunately for Brian and me, once we woke up that first time, we never really fell back asleep thanks to the time difference. We ended up talking and laughing in bed until it was time to get up with our early riser the next morning.

Lessons Learned from this day:

-A true friend is someone who will videotape your first diaper-changing-experience-gone-wrong

-Tummy troubles are likely, so don't be shocked! I took what I thought was WAY more diapers and wipes than what we needed based on advice from friends. We definitely used more than what we thought we would.

-Stopping at the grocery store for extra water and snacks/easy food to make made the rest of the week easier.

-Have a doctor appointment scheduled for your kiddos before you leave. We ended up emailing my mom to get her to call the doctor and have an appointment scheduled for us as soon as possible when we got back home.

THE Trip, Day 1: 6 Month Flashback

2011-07-09T20:24:00.000-04:00

Life six months ago was WAY too busy to record our thoughts and memories of our 2nd trip to Ethiopia. But it is definitely something that we would like to have documented. So, I am flashing back on the 6 month-iversary to share the details of our trip to pick up our daughter. Enjoy the reflections over the next week!

We arrived in Ethiopia around 9:00 (Sunday, Ethiopian time) in the morning after traveling for what seemed like ages. Our trip began with waking at 3:30am (Saturday, Eastern time) and a VERY early flight to Washington, D.C. I was as nervous as could be driving to the airport, but relaxed some as soon as we got checked in and at the gate. We met a few very sweet people at our gate and chatted until we boarded. I knew that we were in for an emotional trip when one of the ladies whom we had just met handed me a bit of cash to buy something for our daughter because she was so touched by our story. It wasn't even 6am and I was already crying!

We arrived in D.C., had breakfast and walked around the terminal waiting for our friends the Mummert family and the Diaz family to arrive. We were so excited to see the Mummerts again and to actually meet the Diaz family face-to-face since we had only met virtually. Knowing that we were going to experience this part of our journey with these two families was so reassuring to us. Our weeks of emailing each other and talking about preparations were finally coming to a head as we boarded our plane to our children.

The highlight of our travel day (other than meeting up with friends, of course) was seeing Rob Lowe in the airport. Let's just say it was a LONG day of travel. We were definitely hoping to sleep quite a bit on the plane, but each of us only slept a couple of hours, which made the flight seem that much longer. We were thrilled when our plane touched down in Africa!

The driver from our guest house met us at the airport and it was such an amazing feeling to have our feet on Ethiopian soil once again. We checked into our suite with the Mummerts at Yebsabi, and it felt like we were home again. We had high hopes of doing something fun Sunday afternoon, but our goal quickly became to just stay awake so that we would sleep through the night. We were all absolutely exhausted. In fact, we barely made it out to eat at Makush art gallery and restaurant. This was one of our favorite places to eat in Ethiopia. The food was good, and seeing the artwork was cool as well. We made it back to Yebsabi, and Brian and I finally gave up on staying awake and crashed at 7pm and slept like rocks for the whole night. We knew that we would be traveling to pick up Mikayla first thing in the morning!

We only have 3 pictures from our travel day and first day in Ethiopia. They are ALL of Brian on the plane. To be quite honest, we were too tired the entire two days to think of taking pictures, and Brian's face pretty much sums up how we were feeling!

Lessons Learned from this day:

-If the connecting flight to make your international flight is REALLY early in the morning, fly up the night before and stay in a hotel so you are starting the trip well rested.

-Check out carry-on luggage restrictions for specific airlines (especially foreign airlines that might have different regulations). We sat at the gate and totally reorganized our carry-on bags because we learned that we had to check one of them because of size!

-Think about taking something to help with sleep so that you arrive at your destination well rested like the lady sitting next to you that slept for 10 hours out of the 12 hour flight :)

-If you ask for enough refills of water in a short period of time, the flight attendant might have mercy on you and just give you the whole huge bottle of water.

Adventures in Hair: The Research Begins

2011-06-27T21:25:00.000-04:00

Throughout our adoption process, we were told that our referral would most likely be for a boy. We were pretty surprised when we found out about a week before our referral that we were on the top of the list for a girl! When we first shared that our referral was for a girl, I will never forget one of the first comments several friends made was, "you're going to have to learn to do hair." Yup...it was a fact. We were bringing home a little girl with very different hair than my long, red, super-dry, naturally wavy hair. I knew that I had a lot to learn because hair is an interesting part of culture as well individual people. For better or worse, it is seen by many as a [very public] measure of a child's care. I am continuing to learn just how important hair is culturally. While hair isn't the focus of Mikayla's well being...there is so much more to who a person is besides the elements of outward appearance...I can say that I LOVE HER HAIR! It is beautiful, spunky, and so versatile. Because Mikayla's hair is part of our life and routine now, and because I am enjoying working with her hair so much, I have decided to share a couple of posts on our adventures in hair. While I've learned a lot so far, I know there is still a lot to learn. I would love for these posts to start a conversation where information can be shared. If you have thoughts, experiences, questions, or encouragement, please feel free to leave a comment below!

I am a learner at heart. When I become interested in something, I love to research and learn as much as I can about the topic. Very soon after accepting our referral, I set out to learn as much as I could about caring for Mikayla's hair. Talking with actual people and learning from their experiences is always helpful. I have also found several blogs devoted to the care of natural hair. These blogs share the basics from cleaning to moisturizing to styling natural hair. More and more blogs that focus on caring for children's hair are being developed as well. These are especially helpful because they include information about caring for AND styling hair in a way that is appropriate for little girls. I love reading several different blogs because each writer has a slightly different method and focus on their blog. Also, I find it reassuring to be able to confirm information through multiple sources.

I've compiled some of my favorite hair blogs (yes, I read a lot of hair blogs!) and a short description describing why I like the blog.

Happy Girl Hair- This is hands-down my favorite hair care blog. The amount of information shared on this blog is amazing. If I have a question, this is my go-to source.

Beads, Braids, and Beyond- The styles shared on this blog are so A-MAZING and inspiring.
Chocolate Hair, Vanilla Care-I love this blog because it doesn't feel overwhelming and the blogger has a beginner's section as well as easy-to-find posts that show how her daughter's haircare routine has changed as she gets older and her hair gets longer
Cherish My Daughter-This mama cares for 4 heads of little girl hair...need I say more?
The Natural Haven-The nerd in me loves this blog. This blogger is a scientist, and she explains the science behind what I am reading on other blogs. She also has busted a few myths.

You Tube Channels:

Happy Girl Hair-has very good, easy to follow videos. You can see what she is doing with her hands, which is oh-so-helpful in learning a new style.
Girls Love Your Curls- I think I could watch/listen to this lady all day long. She is gorgeous, funny, delightful, and a good source of information and technique.
Styles by Katelynnlynn-She has lots of videos that give detailed instructions on everything from daily routine to products to styles. She also has a daughter with locs, so there is a lot of information on caring/styling locs as well. She also has a blog (www.keepmecurly.com)

I am nowhere near an expert or even very good with Mikayla's hair yet, but I trust that as I gain experience and knowledge, the joy of doing hair will multiply as well!

One of the very first pictures of M...no hair to care for...yet!

November 2010- Our First Meeting...very short, kind of patchy hair

Stay tuned for more hair adventures!

5 and 15

2011-06-23T20:23:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about these two numbers recently. We have been home with Mikayla for just over 5 months! Where has the time gone? Also, we recently had Mikayla's 15 month check-up (although now she is almost 16 months old). As we spend each new day with her, I am continually amazed at how much she is changing and growing. One of my favorite things about being a parent is the joy of getting to know her better as time passes. Here are 15 tidbits that share just a glimpse of this special little girl:

1. She is growing like crazy. She weighs almost 26 lbs and is 31 inches tall.

2. She has been walking well for about a month and a half and is starting to use this cute almost-run to get around.

3. She still loves to swing. She giggles, and giggles, and giggles when we put her in the swing on our porch.

4. Mikayla is a water baby. She loves to splash and it is hard to pull her out of the water.

5. She is a climber. Coffee table, music table, cooler...are you getting the picture?

6. She likes books. When she gets tired, she will find a book and bring it to us to read.

7. She points to several body parts when asked. One of the first body parts she could identify was her hair. Yeah...we talk about hair a lot :)

8. She loves fruit (especially blueberries). We have to give her fruit after she has started eating other things or that's all she will eat.

9. She is really interested in baby dolls and has been since her first birthday. She carries them, hugs them, and gives them kisses.

10. Sometimes when she laughs, she snorts.
11. She is super ticklish, especially on the back of her neck.
12. She gets really excited about going to visit friends. It doesn't matter if they are older or younger, Mikayla is supremely happy around other kiddos.
13. Over the last couple of weeks, she has started to dance. Especially when Brian plays the guitar, Mikayla will find the music and show us her moves.
14. Her language is developing. She understands much of what we say to her and will follow directions. While she isn't really speaking any words yet, she has caught on to several signs that she uses to communicate her needs.
15. I tell people this all the time, but Mikayla is a child with a big sense of humor. She loves to be silly and get other people around her to laugh.

Kissy, Kissy: The Answer Revealed

2011-06-20T20:46:00.000-04:00

Did you guess correctly? (Based on the comments, most of you did)!

Our handsome boy Oliver definitely gets the most kisses around here. It doesn't matter what Mikayla is doing, as soon as she sees Oliver, she starts blowing kisses and waving at him. Daddy is a close second. Hey, at least I get more kisses than Mattie (at least for now)! Laura M...thanks for the vote of confidence, sweet friend! I steal as many kisses as I possibly can :)

Ice Cream Revisited

2011-06-18T08:04:00.001-04:00

Remember this post about Mikayla's first ice cream experience? Well, a couple of weeks ago, Brian reintroduced ice cream. We made homemade ice cream at the lake, and Brian turned his into an ice cream sandwich. Check out the little birdie at her daddy's feet!

I think we have an ice cream convert on our hands.

Kissy, Kissy

2011-06-16T11:55:00.000-04:00

Our sweet girl is into kisses right now. She loves to give kisses, and as you can tell by her "kissing face" below, Mikayla doesn't give wimpy kisses! She really puckers up and lets you have it. Just imagine the big kissing sound to go with that face. So, so sweet and cute! Mikayla kisses friends too, but by far, the members of our household get the most kisses. Just for fun, though, leave a comment telling us who you think gets the most kisses from Miss Mikayla. I'll share the answer in a day or two!

Who gets the most kisses?

Daddy

Oliver

Mattie

Mommy

Can't wait to read your guesses!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2011-06-04T10:58:00.000-04:00

Today, we celebrate six years of marriage! More so than ever before, I find it hard to believe that it has been six years. A lot has happened in these 6 years: 2 houses, 5 jobs, 4 cars, 1 boat, two surgeries, 1 miscarriage, 4 nieces and nephews, countless weddings, and 1 Mikayla later, here we are! Our journey has been a bit of a roller coaster, but we have had so much fun together, and I wouldn't trade a bit of it. I am so thankful to be on this road with my best friend.

Brian and I at our rehearsal dinner

The first words spoken at our wedding definitely reflect my feelings today as well:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
   come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
   It is he who made us, and we are his;
   we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
   and his courts with praise;
   give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
   his faithfulness continues through all generations.
-Psalm 100

Strawberry Picking!

2011-06-01T19:27:00.000-04:00

As a kindergarten teacher, I went on a lot of fun field trips with my students. One of my favorites was going to pick strawberries. I can't explain it, but there is something about picking strawberries that makes me extremely happy. It didn't take long once we reached strawberry season to suggest that we make a trip to a farm about 5 minutes from our house. I'm so glad we did! It was a beautiful, mild day with tons of sunshine. Even on a Saturday afternoon, it wasn't crowded, and there were so many great strawberries to pick.

Once we were given a row to pick, there were so many strawberries that we hardly had to move. This meant that Mikayla could be the keeper of the bucket. She really enjoyed taking strawberries out of the bucket and then putting them back in.

Maybe a couple didn't make it back into the bucket :)

She was such a good helper. (And in this picture, it looks like she is picking a strawberry, but actually she is trying to put an already-picked-berry back on the plant. I guess we still need some work on the concept of picking strawberries)!

Our haul...we had plenty to eat, dip in chocolate, share with friends, and freeze for yummy things later (like smoothies)! I feel like this should be a tradition for the Mitchells!

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Our Little Daredevil

2011-05-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

You should have heard the giggles as she flew through the air!

Meeting More Family!

2011-05-17T12:05:00.003-04:00

On Mother's Day, Mikayla got to meet more of her extended family. We LOVE great-grandparents, and Brian's Grandpa Miller came for a visit. We were so glad that he was able to make a stop at our house while in North Carolina for another grandson's graduation. We enjoyed lunch together and time to play. He is such a treasure of a man, and I am so glad that Mikayla got to meet him and will have the chance to get to know him. Thanks for visiting Great Grandpa!

Easter 2011

2011-05-16T20:04:00.001-04:00

It seems that every occasion, both big and small, are more special now that Mikayla is part of our family. Easter was no exception, and that is why I'm posting about it...three weeks late! Better late than never, I suppose!

Mikayla got her first Easter basket filled with a couple of little surprises. In the basket, there was a stuffed bunny, which is so fun because Mikayla seems to love bunnies right now. She points them in out in any book (and on every page) that happens to have a rabbit. She also got a board book that recognizes while the Easter Bunny and Candy are fun, they are not the reason why we celebrate Easter. The book celebrates the great gift that God gave us in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Thanks Grandmommy Davis!

We spent the morning at church and then spent a quiet afternoon with our family enjoying this smile:

We enjoyed lunch with Grammy V and Wayne, and I think banana pudding is slowly becoming an Easter tradition in our house.

So Surreal...the first Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:24:00.000-04:00

It seems so surreal that I am holding this precious one in my arms today. I think the wait was so long that sometimes it is hard to believe that she is finally here, but oh, how thankful I am that she is part of my life. Being a mom is the most joyous yet difficult, energizing yet exhausting, fun yet maddening, natural yet terrifying adventure of which I have ever been a part. While it all still feels very new, I also can't imagine what life before her was like.

So thankful for the blessing that is Mikayla!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:22:00.001-04:00

We are so very thankful for our wonderful mothers. What a new joy it is to have our mothers (and fathers, too) watch us parent!

Baptism Day!

2011-04-14T06:31:00.000-04:00

Sunday was a Holy day for our family. Mikayla was baptized! This was a chance for us as a family and a church to claim God's promise on Mikayla's life. It also gave us the opportunity to publicly reaffirm our faith and commitment to raise Mikayla in the way of the Lord to the best of our ability. Our church family committed to continuing to support us in this journey. This day was also an incredible reminder that Mikayla is not the only one who is adopted...of how God has chosen us and we are all adopted and redeemed by Him.

This day was extra special because as an elder in the Presbyterian church, my dad was able to stand with us for her baptism. I'm continually amazed by how much of a community effort raising a child is...more thoughts to come on that in other posts.

I'm beginning to realize that our sweet girl is an entertainer at heart. As soon as we stood in front of the congregation, Mikayla flashed her big smile (we call it her cheezin' it grin). Needless to say she got quite a few laughs.

A few moments later, she decided to swirl her foot around in the baptismal font... while she was being baptized. I suppose a little Holy water on extra body parts never hurt anyone!

She wore a traditional Ethiopian dress for the occasion.

A group shot later in the day.

Our Dearest Mikayla, sweet daughter of God,

It is overwhelming to see God's hand in your life already. At just 13 months old, the testimony of your life speaks to the faithfulness, love, and goodness of our heavenly Father. Our prayer is that you will grow to have a heart like Him more and more everyday, and that the light of Christ will shine in you. We cannot wait to see the rest of your story unfold.

We love you,

Daddy and Mommy

Wordless Wednesday: I'm SOOOO Cool!

2011-04-13T14:26:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday: Mikayla Tries Ice Cream

2011-03-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Spring Fever

2011-03-29T11:52:00.000-04:00

In our neck of the woods, we had a pretty warm streak a couple of weeks back. We're talking temps in the 80's For the past several days though, it has been chilly. It leaves me wanting the warmer days of spring when we get outside and have a great time. When it was warmer, we took several walks around a lake near our house.

We filled up a tub and played with water on the back deck.

And we went to get ice cream at our friend's new ice cream shop. SnoZone is DELICIOUS, and there isn't much that I like better than yummy ice cream. If you are in our area and are looking for good ice cream, you should go check them out!

So looking forward to more fun things we can do outside as the weather continues to warm!

Wordless Wednesday: "Daddy, you're so silly!"

2011-03-23T08:21:00.000-04:00

Fun New Toy for Mom & Dad

2011-03-16T21:00:00.001-04:00

One of the things Kathy and I have enjoyed since we have been home, has been taking pictures of Mikayla. She is extremely photogenic and takes some great pictures. I took a photography class in high school and learned all sorts of tips and tricks to make pictures look professional. Unfortunately our trusty point and shoot digital camera of 5 years could only do so much when it came to creatively photographing our daughter. The point and shoot did a great job of capturing pictures on vacation and occasionally we'd catch her with the smile we were looking for, but most of the time we were a few seconds too late.

After saving some Christmas and birthday money, we decided to take the plunge and get a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera. One thing Kathy wished for was to be able to take a picture indoors without the use of a flash. So...using some of the photography knowledge I learned, I looked around for special lens to use indoors. I am not going to bore you with all the details on what type of lens we got or how it works (even though I would love to), but I bought one that does the trick.

I am brushing up on my photography skills and will be passing them on to Kathy so we can photograph Mikayla with some artistic and hopefully professional results. Here is one of the pictures we took indoors without the flash.

Many thanks Mom!

Mikayla's First Birthday

2011-03-14T21:49:00.000-04:00

It meant so much to us that we were able to spend Mikayla's first birthday together as a family of three. We kept her party a very small family get-together and very simple. It was a great day, and not only did we enjoy watching how much fun Mikayla had, but it was also a treat to see our family enjoying her so much as well. We started the day like any other...

Then the guests and a few presents arrived. Our curious little one didn't waste a second trying to figure out what the new additions in our living room were. What was inside the presents was OK, but Mikayla's favorite part was definitely the tissue paper.

Mikayla really liked spending time with each of the guests.

Grandma V

Her Uncle Tyler took such good care of her on her birthday, and she adored him!

Aunt Liz and Vince

Grandma and Grandpa Davis

Can you spot one of Brian's favorite gifts? Every girl needs a pink NC State onesie and matching skirt, right?

After presents and lunch, we moved on to the best part...cake!

Brian and I made a cookies and cream cake and a special cupcake just for the birthday girl

With a little bit of coaching from Daddy and Uncle Tyler, Mikayla decided that it would be OK to dive right in to her cupcake.

Of course she needed to reach for her whole milk to wash it all down.

In so many ways it feels like we just met our little girl, but in so many other ways, it feels like we have known her forever. We are continually amazed by how much she is growing and changing before our eyes. Can't wait to see what is next in the years to come. Happy Birthday, Mikayla Tamir. You are such a big girl!

One Year...

2011-03-07T20:10:00.000-05:00

Last week, Mikayla turned one! We had a fun little party with family, so be on the look out for a birthday post coming up soon.
A couple of weeks ago, Brian was reading through past posts on our blog, and he started to read this post aloud to me. I remembered the post, but when Brian asked I couldn't remember exactly when I had written it. When Brian shared the date, February 27th, I literally got chills. That post was stirring in my heart as Mikayla was being born the day before, February 26th. Even when it felt like the wait was unbearable, God's perfect plan was unfolding.

Thoughts from Dad

2011-03-05T11:58:00.000-05:00

Since we have been home, our life has evolved from our self-centered world as a married couple, free to do as we please without children, to navigating the unknown territory of raising a child. Not a newborn…but a 1 year old little girl that is already into everything. I have heard several people say something to the effect of…well at least you are getting some sleep…and 11-12 months is such a fun age, newborns can't really do much but eat, sleep, and parents you know what to fill in last, but honestly the experience has been similar to never exercising your entire life to entering and running a marathon. It takes preparation to get ready for a marathon much like having a newborn prepares parents to what is to be expected their child gets older. The good news is, we don't have to run the entire marathon and if we need to walk, we can. We just have to take our time and pace ourselves. As a Dad, I can't imagine life any different than it is now. Mikayla has presented a few challenges, but for the most part, she is an awesome baby! I love everything about being a Dad…from waking her up from a nap and cuddling with her to coming home after a long day's work to see her smile because "Daddy's home". If she is on the ground playing, generally she'll let out a little squeal and start high tailing in my direction. I have to fight off the dogs (they are equally as happy to see me) and sneak in a quick kiss to Kathy before I have this little child crawling up my leg. Next to being with Kathy, there isn't a better feeling in the world. I am not the mushy-soft type and I don't intend on letting our daughter manipulate Daddy to get what she wants, but I definitely love our little girl. She has been adjusting well to our household, starting to interact with the dogs, and is beginning to recognize simple commands and requests. I have to attribute her quick adjustment to her Mom. I often tell her how great she is and what an amazing job she is doing, but I can't tell her enough. She stays home all day with little adult interaction, dealing with whatever Mikayla dishes out and she still manages to have dinner ready, do laundry, keep the house clean, and even exercise. I'd say she is superwoman, but that's an understatement! All that being said….here are a few things that make being a dad, sacrificing the self-centered husband all worth it!

Seeing Mikayla with her Mom…

Watching her sleep…she is quite the wiggle worm…

Her smile…she really is a happy baby…

Her eating...

There are many other things I love about our daughter and I am sure I will get the opportunity to share them along the way. For now, I just wanted to share some of my favorite moments with our new addition.

Wordless Wednesday: My Thinking Face

2011-02-23T06:36:00.001-05:00

Valentine's Day

2011-02-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

Let me preface this post by saying...if you are hoping/expecting to read a sweet mushy Valentine's Day tale, you should probably find another post to read!

I've always liked Valentine's Day. I think it is fun to spoil the people I love! It is also my Grandma's birthday. This year she turned 94! To celebrate, Mikayla, my mom, and my Aunt Lynne all travelled to visit my Grandma. We showered her with balloons and tons of sweet treats (yep...I think freckles AND my sweet tooth come from my Grandma) and then we headed out to lunch. I won't mention the fact that Mikayla tends to steal the show whereever she goes... and the restaurant was no different. We had a really nice time, and Mikayla LOVED meeting her Great Grandma and Great Aunt. Here is a picture of 4 generations:

My Grandma, Mom, Mikayla, and Me. Yes, Mikayla is waving to the camera!

Later that evening Brian and I had planned a dessert date for after Mikayla went to bed. Yummy freshly-baked mini chocolate chip pies with ice cream on top. A chance for us to sit down and talk and actually look at each other. Nice, right? Well a nasty stomach virus for me stopped those plans. Brian enjoyed a steak, baked potato and dessert with his tiny Valentine, and I had an evening of...stomach virus. No worries, I cashed in on our dessert date this weekend when I was finally up for eating completely normal food! Ahhh...the day of love!

This Whole Parenting Thing

2011-02-17T20:38:00.000-05:00

This post has been a long time coming. While there is still a lot of processing for me to do, this is just the beginning of me getting my brain wrapped around the idea of 'Mom!'

Brian and I have been thinking about being parents for a long time. And I don't just mean, 'It will be great to be parents someday!' We have read countless books about parenting, attended hours of training, discussed and reflected on our thoughts about parenting as part of our homestudy. We've processed and answered question after question related to all things parenting. While we certainly never thought we would be anywhere close to perfect parents, maybe we thought we were jumping into this with our eyes wide open. Haha! Maybe it was more like peeking out of the corner of an eye...just barely!

After being home for a about a month, I can honestly say that being a parent is DIFFERENT than what I expected. In so many ways, it is much harder than I imagined. As an educator who has worked with children from three years old to fourteen years old, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but our eleven month old bundle of energy requires so much more of us as parents than I ever thought! I am way more exhausted than I thought I would be chasing after such a speedy little crawler! The sleep deprivation (which is thankfully getting better bit by bit) affects me intensely, which then impacts Mikayla as well. Honestly life revolves around sleep like I never thought it would. Well rested Mikayla + Well rested parents = Mostly happy family. Remember in math what happens when something changes on one side of the equation? Yeah...that balance can be hard! I am learning that parenting requires the ULTIMATE in flexibility and ~~guess-work~~ creative problem solving. Just when we think we have something figured out, our little Mikayla throws a new wrench into the situation. I seriously cannot count the number of times that Brian and I look at each other, shrug our shoulders, palms up, and just go with a decision. I sometimes wonder if there will ever be a point where some of these decisions come more naturally and confidently. Maybe, but I have a feeling that there will always be situations that cause the synchronized shoulder shrugs!

This whole parenting is also so much more wonderful than I dreamed. The feeling I get when she smiles and then cuddles into my chest like she has found a safe haven is awesome. I have laughed way more in the last month than I have in a long time. Who knew such a tiny little thing could make you laugh so hard? Her face is so expressive and I love that each of her facial expressions give us a tiny glimpse into her mind and what she is thinking. And then there is the joy...the pure peace that we experience, even when it is so hard. Peace that comes from knowing this is RIGHT for our family. On one hand I can't believe that we have been home as a family of three for a little over a month, and on the other, I feel like Mikayla has always been here. I've decided that while I probably have no clue where this journey of parenting will take us, I am happy to be along for the ride. I've always thought that, after the intial shock, the scariest rides are often the most exhilirating!

11 Months Old!

2011-01-26T14:48:00.000-05:00

Today our little one is 11 months old! We are so happy that we have her home with us, and we are learning new things about her all the time. In honor of our special little girl, here are 11 things, in no particular order, that we know about Mikayla Tamir:

1. She LOVES to eat. Seriously, we haven’t found anything YET that this sweet little one won’t eat. In the last week her pincer grip has really developed and she actually gets food into her mouth on her own!

2. She is a cuddle bug…especially after she wakes up. She will look at us, grin, and then burrow her head in our chest. Melt my heart.

3. She has the most kissable cheeks ever. How can you look at them and not want to kiss them?

4. She is pulling up on many things and doing a super-cute army crawl. This is amazing to us because at 9 months old, she still was not sitting up on her own!

5. She loves to take baths. I think she would stay in the tub and splash for hours if we would let her.

6. Her current favorite toys are her stacking cups and anything that isn’t really designed to be a toy (tupperware, tubes of lotion, tubs, etc). The rattles and keys from our first trip to Ethiopia are SO last month.

7. She shows no signs of fear around our two dogs. She giggles at them and tries to pull their fur. As for the dogs, Mattie doesn’t seem to care much about her, but Oliver is extremely curious and HATES it when she cries.

8. She is 20.5 lbs and 28 inches. She is still wearing some 6-9 month pants, but everything else is pretty much 12 months.

9. She has a giggle that is contagious. It is one of the most amazing sounds ever!

10. She is jabbering up a storm. She talks and squeals constantly. She was so quiet when we first met her, but she has really warmed up to us.

11. She is a total Daddy’s girl. I’ve never seen a child crawl so fast to get somewhere as she does when her Daddy comes home from work. Can’t say that I blame her though-I’m her Daddy’s girl too!

There are so many more things I could share about Mikayla and all that we are learning about her. What a fun way to remember her at this age...perhaps there will be a part 2!

We're Alive!

2011-01-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

We have been home as a family of three for just a little over a week. We've been really quiet on the blog and Facebook fronts because we are still learning how to be a family together! If you are a parent, then you understand that so far we are trying to figure out how to change all of the diapers and take care of Mikayla's needs...not to mention find some time to feed and clean ourselves too. Thankfully, we are feeling less and less sleep deprived as the days go by, and we are finding a routine that works for all of us. I have tons of posts that I have already written in my head. Now it is just a matter of getting the fingers to the keys...stay tuned. For now, enjoy some pictures that might take the edge off a little!

A Different Kind of Christmas Miracle

2011-01-05T18:18:00.000-05:00

Well, friends we have what one calls an Ethiopian Christmas miracle on our hands. Christmas is celebrated on January 7th in Ethiopia, and we are LEAVING TO GO PICK MIKAYLA UP ON JANUARY 8th!!! Originally we thought that our Christmas miracle was traveling to pick her up for our Christmas, but we are celebrating that God works everything in His timing.
If you live anywhere near us, the noise you heard this morning were my shouts for joy, songs of praise, and general freaking out from excitement when Brian called to share the news. Our agency collected our additional documentation, translated it, and submitted it to the embassy in what I think is record time, so we are cleared to travel for the January 11th embassy date. We serve a mighty God, and miracles happen.

Prasing Him as I pack and prepare to fly around the world in TWO days to be united as a family.

Makeover Monday: The One You've Been Waiting For!

2011-01-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

This is one of the most fun makeovers the Mitchells have completed...Mikayla's room! Do you remember her room before? The word was disaster, but Brian and I have had a great time working on this room together. We were able to transform this room with a crib from craig's list, some paint, some fabric, and time. My dresser, desk, and bookshelf from when I was a little girl, along with the crib, and the rocking chair from my classroom were all painted a soft white to match.

We have transformed the desk into a changing table for now. The artwork above the changing table is a gift from Cheryl, one of Brian's sweet (and can we say talented?) coworkers.

The name above the crib was made by Sara, my dear friend from college. I'm still amazed at how she matched the room PERFECTLY after only seeing photographs of the fabric. I really enjoyed sewing the crib skirt using the fabric I found with my sister, Julie. It was by far the most detailed sewing project I have tackled.

I sewed the curtains and Brian built and covered the cornice board.

Brian's mom and I worked on the cushions for the rocking chair together. I learned a ton about sewing from working on this project with her. Then she took some extra fabric and whipped up the adorable pillow. The beautiful blanket that my mom made is on the back of the rocking chair ready for some sweet cuddle time!

What a labor of love this room has been. It has been a great way to spend time together in between our two trips to Ethiopia. We're so thankful for the many hands that helped make this room such a special place. We're ready for you Mikayla (and so is your room)!

Our Community

2011-01-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

Today I have done quite a bit of reflecting on our adoption journey. This isn't a journey that can be done alone, and one of the few things that I can say about our journey is that we have not walked alone. We are surrounded by a huge community that has supported us from Day 1. From our family and friends whose faces we have actually seen, and from friends that we have only "met" virtually, we have drawn strength throughout this marathon. It has been almost two years since we started this process, and thankfully, those people who surround us haven't grown weary, even when Brian and I have! We are continually amazed daily by people who we discover are following our journey. It is impossible to put in words how much the hugs, cheers, tears, phone calls, emails, and prayers have strengthened us. The magnitude with which you all have loved us along the way blows me away and touches my heart.
Knowing how much you all have stood beside us through the highs and the lows, I can say with confidence that there will be shouts of joy and dancing in the streets from all over God's creation when this little one is home with us forever, AMEN?!?
So today, I am especially grateful for the people who are standing and walking beside us. Thank you. We love you and appreciate you more than you could ever know.

Spiritual Food

2010-12-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

So this hasn't been an easy week by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, while we celebrated the joy of Christmas, we have also grieved quite a bit. Thank goodness though, our God is gracious and His mercies are new every morning. Over the past week, God has given us quite a bit of spiritual food that has helped sustain us through this difficult time. Much of this nourishment for our hearts and spirits has come from you all! You have shared words of encouragement, scripture, songs, quotes, and prayers. For that, we are eternally grateful. One form of spiritual food was a seed planted in both Brian and I...an older hymn that neither of us had really heard or thought of in a while. But, over the last week, we have sung it together, hummed it, and meditated on it often. I'm so thankful that this song of comfort has popped into our hearts and minds.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Refrain

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

We will continue to feast on every bit of spiritual food that we are given. Still trusting and praising our Strength for Today and our Bright Hope for Tomorrow!

A Roller Coaster

2010-12-21T08:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we got the news that we DIDN'T want to hear. We found out from our case manager that the embassy has decided to require extra paperwork/documentation; so we will not be traveling for the December 28th embassy date as we originally thought. To make the situation even more complicated, the orphanage where our daughter was housed is now tasked with collecting documentation and reconnecting with people who were initially involved in her case (from about 10 months ago)! Since this is a completely new requirement we have no idea how long it will take to gather this information and be reassigned an embassy date. It might not even be the next available date, which is January 11th. Honestly, we are shocked and crushed, but we have hope. We are praying for God to move mountains and carve a quick path to our sweet girl. Yesterday was a hard day and extremely emotional, but a friend April, posted a passage from Lamentations on her blog as part of her 12 Days of Christmas series that gave my soul desperately needed peace. It is Lamentations 3:19-30 (from the Message)

19-21 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,

the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.

I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—

the feeling of hitting the bottom.

But there's one other thing I remember,

and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

22-24God's loyal love couldn't have run out,

his merciful love couldn't have dried up.

They're created new every morning.

How great your faithfulness!

I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).

He's all I've got left.

25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,

to the woman who diligently seeks.

It's a good thing to quietly hope,

quietly hope for help from God.

It's a good thing when you're young

to stick it out through the hard times.

28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,

go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:

Wait for hope to appear.

Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.

The "worst" is never the worst.

We need your prayers and support right now. Please know that as soon as we have updated information, we will shout from the rooftops and share with everyone!

Tomorrow?

2010-12-19T19:09:00.000-05:00

Shortly after we were given December 28th as our Embassy date, we found out from our agency that it wasn't quite "official." What does that mean? We've been waiting patiently in limbo to find out for sure if we will leave in less than a week to travel to Ethiopia. OK-who am I kidding? It hasn't exactly been patient, but we have been waiting for the official word from the embassy. For a week. We're hoping and praying that we will find out tomorrow if we are cleared for December 28th. And of course we are praying that we will get December 28th so we don't have to wait another two weeks! Will you join us in praying that we receive good news tomorrow? Our hearts truly long for our daughter! Also, the Mummert Family, the Diaz Family, and the Johnson Family are in the same situation as us. Will you pray for them as well? Trusting God!

Day 5: The Last Day

2010-12-16T09:31:00.000-05:00

Oh, boy was this an emotional day! We woke up excited to see our sweet girl on Tuesday. We had been told that we would have a couple of hours with her, but thanks to Z, our driver, we ended up with about five and a half sweet hours with Mikayla Tamir. We were so thankful that he took his time and did everything else on his schedule before coming back to pick us up! She was sick and on medicine this day, so for a good bit of the time that we were there, we watched her sleep and cuddled her while she slept. Poor thing!

When she was awake, we loved playing with her, talking to her, and reading to her. It was a beautiful day, so we spent a little bit of time with her outside as well. We even got to hear her giggle a couple of times. What music to our ears.

This was a strange day because while we were trying to be "in the moment" with our daughter, we also knew that our time with her was short and at some point we would have to hand her back to the nannies and say goodbye. It even brings tears to my eyes as I think about it today. Towards the end of the day, I knew I would have to let Brian hold her because I wouldn't be able to put her down when it was time to leave. When it was time to go, we prayed over Mikayla and Brian handed her to one of the nannies. This nanny was so sweet as we walked out of the door (me sobbing, of course) she called mama and had Mikayla Tamir "wave." The nanny also worked her magic to get one last smile from our little one. Priceless! We said our goodbyes to the staff and started a very tearful journey home. Leaving Mikayla at Acacia Village and boarding a plane for the US was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. It is amazing how she is totally knit into our hearts, and it hurts to not have her with us. We are so thankful that it is a matter of days until we will be back with her. Please pray with us that we would get confirmation this week that December 28th is our official embassy date. Part of our hearts is in Ethiopia, and we NEED her!

A Smile to Warm You Up from Across the Ocean

2010-12-15T16:00:00.000-05:00

We just got many updated pictures of Mikayla, and had to share one! Be careful...her smile might just melt your heart!

To say we are ready to travel and have her in our arms is a serious understatement!

Day 4...Court

2010-12-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

This post will be brief because this day was both nerve wracking, emotional, and anticlimatic all at the same time. We ended up having the morning at our guest house before we were picked up for our court appointment. Before we made it to the court building, we had been told that some of our paperwork wasn't there as of the morning, but it was anticipated that we would be fine and pass court at this hearing. We waited in a large room with many other families and watched as they went in to the judge's room and came out smiling less than 5 minutes later. Finally it was our turn to appear before the judge. She asked us why we wanted to adopt from Ethiopia followed by several yes or no questions. Then, she paused and told us our case was missing some paperwork...we didn't pass, and in the moment we were stunned and heart broken. All we could see at the time was another delay. The staff from our agency assured us that we would pass with no problems, but we were still disappointed. Fortunately our friend Laura had dinner with us, and after a couple of hours talking with Laura, who wouldn't feel better?

Postscript: we passed court just 3 days later on Thursday November 4th. I bet you remember that post!

Day 3...Entoto Mountain

2010-12-13T17:46:00.000-05:00

So I admit it; I am the queen of bad bloggers. We've been home a month AND we are almost ready to go back to Ethiopia, but I am just now finishing up posting about our FIRST trip. Oh, well! Better late than never. You can catch up on Day 1 and Day 2 if you missed them the first time or can't remember because it has been so long :)

Sunday morning we woke up ready to see some more of the country. We had an excursion planned with friends, but I wasn't feeling great, so Brian and I spent the morning hanging out together watching movies, chatting, and processing. By lunch time, I was feeling better so we called Ayele and headed up for a half day trip to Entoto Mountain. This provides an amazing view of the sprawling capital city. In fact, before Addis Ababa was the capital, Entoto Mountain was the home to the emperor. There is a neat museum, a beautiful church, and the home of the former rulers. Brian and I were amazed by how intricate so many of the materials were- from the cloth in the robes of the priests to the thatching on the roof of the emperor's quarters. Ayele told us so much about the history of the country and what we were seeing.

A view of the church

A View of Addis from Above

Some of the Emperor's Quarters

After leaving Entoto, Ayele took us on a drive through the country. The countryside of Ethiopia is beautiful. The mountains surrounded us and looked like patchwork. The whole time, we continued to learn more about Ethiopia, including the area where Mikayla was born. Ayele also shared so much of his story with us that a friendship was born in his car! Below are some of the views we saw as we drove through the small towns of Suluta and Chancho.

Other than the days that we spent with Mikayla, this was by far my favorite experience of our trip. While we only got to see a glimpse of Ethiopia, I treasured to opportunity to hear more about this beautiful country and her people. Ahhh...only a couple of weeks and we will be back!

The Answer!

2010-12-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Remember the question that we are asked so often now? Well, we got an answer yesterday! We are on track for the December 28th embassy date. This means that, as long as everything goes as scheduled, Mikayla will be home by the end of 2010. Not only are we basking in God's goodness that we got the December date, but we are still in shock that we found out THIS week. We are so thankful for the prayers. We have lots to prepare, so please continue to pray as we make all of our arrangements.

A Bit of Progress!

2010-12-09T05:49:00.000-05:00

We found out on Tuesday that Mikayla Tamir's birth certificate is ready to go, which another step in getting that embassy date that we have been praying for! It was WAY cool to see Brian and I listed as her father and mother. As our case manager mentioned when we asked about the possibility of getting the December 28th embassy date, "there are still plenty of opportunities for delay." Her passport needs to be ready, she needs to have another round of medical testing, and there are only 10 slots for each embassy date. Lots of hurdles, but we have a strong hope that everything will be in place by December 14th so that we can be assigned an embassy date of December 28th. Please pray with us!

Days 2...All Around Addis

2010-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Because of staffing, we were not able to see Mikayla Tamir over the weekend. We took the opportunity to see and learn as much about Ethiopia as possible. On Saturday we went with some new friends and their children to the Ethiopian Zoo. The grounds were pretty, and while the zoo wasn't huge, the main attraction was impressive. This zoo is known for its Ethiopian Lions. There were LOTS of lions, and they reminded us of Scar from the Lion King, with dark manes.

After a morning at the zoo, we went to the market in the Postal District for a little bit of shopping. We don't have any pictures from the market because it was so busy, and we were honestly just trying to figure out what was going on! After the market, we had a yummy lunch with out friend, Trent and his son and our driver Ayele. We went to Makush Gallery for lunch. It is a delicious Italian restaurant and art gallery. We all ended up with pizza, which was great. We also really enjoyed checking out the wonderful artwork. After lunch we managed to find some great coffee at Tocoa. Brian has been enjoying it every weekend since we got home! When we arrived back at the guest house, we spent a couple of hours talking with our friends The Mummerts. One of my favorite things about Ethiopia was having the time to get to know people. It was so great to linger with new friends.

THE Number 1 Question

2010-12-06T16:17:00.000-05:00

Brian and I feel totally and completely loved. Not a single day has gone by since our court trip that we don't get asked, "when do you get to bring Mikayla home?". Usually we each get asked multiple times in a given day. It touches our hearts that so many people care for our family and are praying Mikayla into our arms forever. The short answer is that we don't know yet. We are waiting (kind of patiently) to be assigned an embassy date. The staff in Ethiopia is gathering documentation to submit to the US Embassy in Ethiopia. The latest news seems to be that we are waiting for her new birth certificate. Once all of the documentation is in order, our agency can submit paperwork every other Tuesday. The next date is December 14th. If everything is in order and submitted on the 14th, we could get assigned an embassy date of December 28th. This is our prayer! Please join us in praying that her birth certificate would be ready and our case accepted at the embassy on December 14th.

Oddly enough...the second most frequently asked question that I get (at least 3 or 4 times a week): Have you gotten your little girl home yet? Smiles :) You'll know she is home because I won't want to let go of her!

Also-I know day 1 of our trip was incredible, but I haven't forgotten about the other days! Life has just been non-stop since we got home. Stay tuned for more posts about our trip.

All in a Name

2010-11-16T18:49:00.000-05:00

One of the most precious moments that is burned into my brain from our first day in Ethiopia has to do with our long conversation with Haddush, the director of the tranistion home for our agency. As we were talking while Mikayla napped, he casually asked me if I knew what her name, Tamir meant. My answer was, "well, not really-I'm dying to know!" My previous research on the internet seemed inconclusive...the closest I could get to a meaning for her name was "owner of palm trees." He shared with us that meaning of Tamir in Amharic is "miracle." WOW! Then, he looked back at her file for a moment and looked me straight in the eyes and said, "And she is indeed a miracle, this Tamir." My heart absolutely melted. Knowing her story means knowing that she truly is a miracle. I never want to forget the way that her caregivers say her name (I do my best with my southern accent), and I never want to forget the intensity and love in Haddush's words as he shared more about her name. Her name is such a gift from her country, and I am so grateful for that.

Her first name, Mikayla, also has significant meaning for us. It actually is our prayer for our little girl. Mikayla means "like God" and "a gift from God." Our fervent prayer for her is that she will grow to have a heart like God. A heart that follows hard after Him and loves all of His people just as He does. Names can seem so simple, but her name, Mikayla Tamir, truly tells her story.

Day 1: The Journey Begins

2010-11-15T17:08:00.000-05:00

Finally...the series of posts you've been waiting for!

Our journey began eventfully as there were serious storms in Atlanta (our international gateway) during the entire day on Wednesday. Thanks be to God, the Atlanta airport opened for just long enough for our flight from home to arrive and our flight to Amsterdam to take off on time. Brian and I are pretty easy-going, and we travel well together, so we passed the LONG flights with sleeping, watching movies, and chatting with each other. After 24 hours of travel time, we arrived in Addis Ababa around 9pm on Thursday. We navigated through the airport, got our visas, exchanged money, and collected our luggage with ease. We managed to find our driver in a sea of people. Tamu was the face with a huge smile holding a sign with Brian's name on it. Finally, we had arrived!

We arrived at our guest house, Yebsabi, which means welcome in Amharic. It was a lovely place with friendly and helpful staff. We settled in our room quickly and tried to go to sleep because we knew Friday morning would be the time when we met our sweet daughter for the first time. After a noisy night (other bloggers weren't exagerating about the dogs and roosters), I woke up nervous...in an excited kind of way. We ate a quick breakfast and waited for our agency representatives to come and get us and take us to meet Mikayla. A couple of weeks before our arrival, our daughter was moved to Acacia Village, which is our agency's transition home about 30 minutes outside of the city. All of the children at Acacia Village have been matched to their families. On the way, we picked up another CWA parent, Trent who was in country for his son's embassy date. We connected right away and he offered to video and photograph the first moments when we met Mikayla. What a precious gift! In the video, you can hear Trent's sweet voice ooohing and ahhing over our new family-priceless! We waited downstairs for Mikayla to be brought to us, and after what seemed like forever, we learned that she was taking her morning nap and that we didn't want to wake her up because she would be grumpy! Brian and I were perfectly OK with going and staring at her sleep for a bit. We were all for meeting a happy baby for the first time! Here is the first time we saw Mikayla Tamir:

While she finished her nap, we enjoyed a coffee ceremony, we got a tour of Acacia Village and got to spend time talking with the director of Acacia Village, Haddush, a delightful man with an enormous heart for these children and their families. Then, it was time to meet our daughter for the first time. She was so alert and happy. Shortly after waking up, I got to feed her. Awesome! Then we loved on her and played with her for most of the rest of the day. We took a short break to have lunch with the staff. Then it was back to spend time with Mikayla for most of the rest of the day. We anticipated spending only about an hour with her during our first visit, but we were together for several hours. It was wonderful!

Our first family photo.

What a precious moment!

Asleep in Daddy's arms. Can you tell she was playing too hard with the rattle and keys?

She was really taken with Brian immediately

More to come!

We are Hers and She is Ours!

2010-11-05T18:06:00.000-04:00

We got the awesome news today that our court case has been finalized in Ethiopia! That means we are legally a family of three! Meet Mikayla Tamir:

Thank you for joining us in praying this little one into our arms. Now, we wait for an embassy date, which is when we travel to bring her home. Our prayer is that we would be able to bring her home by the end of the year! More to come about our journey to meet her!

We Are Home!

2010-11-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

We are back in the US after an amazing trip to see our sweet girl. I was so hoping that we would be able to share our daughter's name and picture, but we aren't able to share quite yet because we didn't pass court while we were in Ethiopia. While we are disappointed that a glitch with paperwork caused our case to be postponed, we have been told that our case will likely be heard at the end of this week or beginning of next week. Please keep praying that this would happen quickly so that we can be assigned an embassy date, which is when we travel and get to bring her home! Right now, it is still looking like we could have her home by the end of the year. We took tons of pictures and did a lot of journaling while on this trip, so we will share more over the next couple of weeks. For now, know that this trip was the most awesome thing we have ever experienced, and at the same time, leaving our daughter was the most difficult thing we've ever done!

Fast Forward...Like SUPER Fast!

2010-10-23T19:17:00.000-04:00

A Little Refresher/Background Information:
With the recently changed adoption procedures in Ethiopia, families are assigned two court dates and an embassy date. Adopting families do not typically travel for the first court date; it is for any biological family members and Ethiopian officials. Our first date is scheduled for November 1st. Families do travel for the second court date, which is when the adoption becomes legal in Ethiopia. Our second date is scheduled for December 2nd. The embassy date usually takes place 6-8 weeks after the successful completion of the second court date. Families travel for the embassy date, and this is when the newest member of the family gets to go home with his/her new family.

The Exciting News:
We got word on Thursday that the Ethiopian judge who hears cases for the first court date has decided to allow families to travel for their first court date! Since our first court date is so soon, we weren't sure that this would be allowed for our family, but we got the green light on Friday afternoon. This essentially combines the first two court dates, which means Brian and I are LEAVING ON WEDNESDAY for Ethiopia. We will get to meet our daughter in less than a week. Also, if our court case is resolved quickly, we will be able to bring her home sooner! As you can imagine, Brian and I are thrilled beyond belief and running around like crazy all at the same time.

To be honest, there have been no part of our adoption that has fit the estimated timelines that we have heard along the way, and we are OK with that. We're so thankful that God's timing is perfect...through the times that seem slow and the times that seem out-of-control fast! I've decided that adoption is predictably UNPREDICTABLE!!!

Now, we have a baby to get ready to meet, so I'm off to continue making arrangements, pack, etc! Please pray for our FAST preparations, safe travel, and that our hearts would be prepared to meet our cutie pie!

Makeover Monday...The Shed

2010-10-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

If you know Brian and me well, then you know we love a good project around the house. If you know Brian, then you know he is really talented when it comes to fixing things...I mean REALLY talented. While we have been waiting our way through the adoption process, we have been busy working on lots of projects around our house. In fact, we've been so busy working, that I haven't taken the time to get all of the pictures organized and ready for posting. So, for the next few Mondays, you can enjoy the transformations with us.

Since we got married, Brian has wanted a shed in our backyard. We've held off for a long time because of the cost; but this spring, we finally decided to build our own from scratch. No shed building kits for us! My engineering husband drew up the plans in autocad (drafting software) and made a list of everything we would need.

We picked out a spot in the yard where the shed would be tucked away.

Then we built the floor and the walls.

Next we put together the roof in large pieces and attached them to the walls.

So close to having the structure finished...

Then I primed and painted while Brian attached shingles. It is painted and shingled to look just like our house.

Not long before we started this process, we had dinner with some friends who also have adopted from Ethiopia. I remember the husband giving us the advice that, while we were still a family of two, we should continue to work on building our marriage. I thought to myself for weeks about what that meant and what kinds of things we could do to build our marriage. Then, as we worked side-by-side on building a shed, it hit me that all of these projects are more than just projects. Over the two weekends that it took to complete, we weren't just building a shed, we were building our marriage as well (because goodness gracious, it takes lots of patience for Brian to teach me how to be a helper as we emabark on each new project together)! I sure do love this cowboy:

Two Talented Grandmas!

2010-10-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

Our little one is blessed with grandparents who already love and adore her. Not only are they super loving, they are also amazingly talented, and they are already putting their talents into loving our sweet girl before she has even made it home!

Brian's mom can sew with the best of them (she is the one who gave me my sewing machine)! She even made some of Brian's clothes when he was little. She now has a machine that embroiders, which is so much fun. Recently she made the cutest bibs for her grandbaby. They are made from washcloths. How cute are they?

My mom can knit just about anything, from sweaters to hats to blankets. Before our family exploded with grandkids, mom took on the project of making my sisters and I (as well as our husbands) Christmas stockings. She has also made stockings for all of the grandkids as well. I had to block the name out on our little girl's stocking because we can't share that yet, but isn't this precious? Trust me...seeing her name on it makes it even better!

Brian and I marvel all the time about how we have the best moms and mother-in-laws ever. Our sweet girl is one blessed kiddo to have such great grandparents!

We Have A Date!

2010-10-07T17:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we received news that our court dates have been assigned. The first court date is November 1st, and we will not travel for this date. The second court date is the one that we will attend in Ethiopia. It is scheduled for December 2nd, pending a successful first court date. This means we would travel to meet our daughter right after Thanksgiving. Please pray that both of these dates would be completed successfully so we can bring our sweet girl home in January!

Makeover Monday

2010-10-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

So today could really be called "Messy Monday!" Below you will find the before picture of Baby Girl's room. It is a TOTAL DISASTER in these pictures. While her room is no where near complete, we have made a lot of progress toward making this room fit for our precious girl. I wouldn't even call it a disaster anymore! You will have to wait a little bit before you get to see updates on the progress in her room, but for now you can see her room and imagine the possibilitites!

As we have bought things, received things as gifts, or moved around other things in the house, Baby Girl's room has been the catch-all room!

A closet full of out of control wrapping paper and many of my school things!

Did I mention this is where the dogs used to live?

Stay tuned because trust me...it is going to be great! Happy Monday!

Registering for Baby!

2010-10-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Brian and I have talked about registering for a bit now, and just before my birthday, I talked my good friend Tara into helping me register for some things for our sweet girl. Taking Tara, who has twins the same age as our little girl, was the BEST decision Brian and I made about registering. Let's be honest, Brian and I together would have been clueless! So, I picked Tara up and we headed to Babies R Us to create a registry. We literally walked all over the store, but it wasn't too overwhelming because I had my expert by my side. Amazingly, we were in and out in a pretty short of amount of time. It was great to catch up with such a good friend, and our little one will be more than set when we get to bring her home. Thanks, Tara for guiding me through the process! So lucky to have friends who are such expert mamas!

Brian's Birthday Present

2010-09-28T08:00:00.004-04:00

Fall is landscaping time around our house, and this fall has been no exception. There is nothing that Brian likes better than an outdoor project in the fall. He was pumped when he got a gift card to Lowe's from my sister Julie and her husband, Jason for his birthday in August. It took Brian no time to decide what he wanted to get...landscape lighting. This is a project that we have talked about for a long time, but it has never been on the top of the priority list until now.

Brian picked out a kit with 12 electric lights.

He installed the lights in no time flat, and now we get to enjoy sitting on our back porch in the evenings even more!

Court

2010-09-27T17:43:00.000-04:00

Ethiopian courts will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday the 28th! This is a couple of days earlier than anticipated, which is great news! Our prayer is that everything is good to go with our paperwork and we will be assigned our court date soon. Please pray that we would receive our travel dates soon. Updates to come as we have them...

Blankies!

2010-09-01T19:38:00.000-04:00

When we travel for our court date, we are allowed to take our sweet girl a small photo album and a small blanket. I actually made her two of the exact same blanket. It has silky, pink flannel-backed satin on the back and soft flannel on the front. The plan is that we will leave one blanket with our girl that smells like our home, and then we'll bring the other one home so that the dogs can get used to the scent of our new family member. Can't wait to hold her in our arms!

Six Months!

2010-08-26T18:26:00.000-04:00

Our sweet little girl is 6 months old!!! I always love reading the posts that keep you updated on the developmental milestones of little ones as they grow (especially the posts of my friend Tara who has twins almost exactly the same age as our baby girl). Well, I can't update you on our baby's milestones, we can't share pictures, and we aren't even sharing her name with the electronic world, but trust me, she is a cutie pie and we'll make up for the lack of information once we have her in our arms forever. Happy six months to our sweet pea!

Our First Visit to the Doctor

2010-08-25T17:58:00.000-04:00

And Baby Girl wasn't even there! This week Brian took Baby Girl's in depth medical information to a pediatrician. We found a doctor not too far from our home who specializes in international adoption medicine. I wasn't able to slip away from work since it was the day before kids came back, but Brian was really pleased with the experience. The staff has been extremely helpful since our first phone call, and it doesn't hurt that the doctor graduated from the same college as Brian (GO PACK)! Our particular doctor has years of experience working with children who have been adopted internationally, and over the last several years, he has also cared for many children from Ethiopia. He charted all of the information that we have on our little one and explained all of the lab results that we have for her. So far, it looks like she is right on target! The doctor also gave us tips on things that we should make sure to take for Baby Girl when we pick her up and things to take for us. An added bonus is that our doctor has a wealth of information to support us if we experience any difficulties with Baby Girl's transition to life with us (such as sleeping, eating, attachment, etc). We're excited to find such a knowledgable doctor, and we're celebrating the health of our sweet girl!

Now we are all clear to receive our court date. Based on information from our case manager, we are hoping that our court date will be scheduled for the end of October!

Pieces of the Puzzle

2010-08-13T20:55:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it seems that on our adoption journey, we are endlessly picking up pieces of information that are each like a piece of a puzzle. With each piece of information, we have a little clearer picture of our growing family.

What we know so far:

Baby girl is growing!
It is totally possible to get lost in her big, beautiful eyes!
We have gotten results from her 2nd round of medical testing. Everything seems to be in good shape, and we are in the process of consulting with a doctor to answer a couple of questions.
Once we receive the final details of the 2nd medicals, we will be assigned a court date.
Our first trip for court will likely last about a week.

What we are wondering:

What makes Baby Girl smile?!
When will we travel for court?
When will we be able to bring our sweet girl home and be together as a family forever?
Is there a special caregiver who loves a little extra on our little girl?

It is part of our human nature to want to know more (especially for the planner in me), and it is easy to feel like I am just waiting for the next piece of information. However, an adoption buddy, April recently wrote a post about waiting that really spoke to me. She made the point that she is waiting for God, not a referral. So rather than waiting for the next piece of the puzzle, and the next step in the process, I take comfort knowing that, really, I am waiting for God. Peace!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

2010-08-02T07:35:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to my BEST friend ever! Today Brian turns 29! We spent a quiet weekend at the lake to celebrate Brian's birthday. Our good buddies Sam and Lyndsey joined us for yummy food, lots of fun on the water, and remembering fun stories about the birthday boy.

The year since Brian's last birthday has been relatively calm for us! It seems like we are normally moving, changing jobs, etc. Some fun and exciting things have happened since his last birthday:

1. We completed our dossier paperwork and went on the waiting list.
2. We built a shed.
3. We celebrated 5 years of marriage and went on an amazing cruise.
4. We welcomed a new nephew to the family.
5. WE RECEIVED A REFERRAL FOR A PRECIOUS BABY GIRL!
6. We have knocked a hole in a wall to our kitchen and turned our downstairs bedroom into an office.

I can't wait to see what this next year brings for us as a growing family! Happy Birthday, Brian!

Happy Horses!

2010-07-27T15:39:00.000-04:00

One of the blessings of our adoption journey has been making new friends, both in the physical world and in virtual world. In this post, I mention The Morgans, a family in our area who has travelled on this journey and have adopted two adorable boys. Part of Luke's recent birthday wish was to see some horses. Since I am a horse lover as well, it was my pleasure to invite the entire Morgan clan to meet my mom's horse Dreamy. While the boys were a little nervous at first, once they got to meet Dreamy they warmed up to him and ending up brushing him, riding him, and even giving him treats. Unfortunately I was too busy having fun with the family, so I didn't take any pictures of my own. I did, however, grab a couple of my favorites from the Morgan Family blog. You can read more about their visit here.

The laughs we shared together that morning and the looks on the boys faces as they spent time roaming around the farm were priceless. I just can't get enough of this sweet family! We're so thankful for the precious friendship of the Morgans.

A Yummy Treat

2010-07-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

Recently I have been reading several food blogs to find new, tasty dishes. If you know me at all, you know I love ice cream, and it is hard to top a warm chocolate cookie in my book. So you can imagine my delight when I was reading one of my favorite food blogs, Our Best Bites, months ago, and I ran across this recipe for Pizookies. Basically they are warm chocolate chip cookie ice cream sundaes. Does it get any better than that? Brian and I finally tried them out this weekend. They are super simple, and really tasty. We decided that they reminded us of the chocolate chip chip pie from Chili's.

We've tried several recipes from Our Best Bites (http://www.ourbestbites.com/), and have enjoyed every one of them. Check it out!

Some Fun Things

2010-07-16T07:28:00.000-04:00

Now that we have our referral and have seen our little girl's face, we are starting to gather some of the things that we will need for our baby girl. The room where she will be is an absolute disaster, but we are working on it, and I will share more about that later!

So for now, we are the proud owners of a crib and a stroller. Good start, right? The most FUN thing for me that we have gotten since our referral is fabric for Baby Girl's room. That's right...I've decided to make most of the bedding and fabric things for the room. I spent time looking at bedding and I didn't love it, it can be expensive, and the bedding sets include several things that we don't need. I also think that making a crib skirt, curtains, and cushions for our old rocker will be a really special way to spend some of the time waiting to bring our little one home.

Are you ready to see some PRECIOUS fabric? Here it is.....

Thanks, Jules, for helping me find fabric I LOVE!

Drumroll, please!

2010-06-22T21:08:00.000-04:00

We have a referral! We are looking at the face of a precious baby GIRL! She is 4 months old and a true gift. There are no words that can describe our joy, so for now, we celebrate! I promise more details will come soon!

It Has Been 10 Months...

2010-06-18T08:43:00.000-04:00

of waiting, and waiting, and waiting! Today marks 10 months of being on the waiting list for a referral (not counting the months before of preparing our documentation). Many days I find myself thinking, "this is an eternity!" Even though waiting is so hard, we can take comfort in the promise of God's perfect will and timing for our lives and the life of our little one. Even though Brian and I often say things like "I can't wait until..." I believe that we CAN wait, and I pray that this time of waiting will not be wasted, but instead will continue to be a time of growth and preparation. So on this day, there is a mixture of emotions, from hope that we will be joined as a family soon, to longing for that phone call to come, to peace knowing that God knows and cares about every desire of our heart.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understandings.

In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

#1 out of 3

2010-05-27T19:13:00.000-04:00

In this post, I wrote with great anticipation of the Davis family growing by three little ones this year. We are finally able to celebrate the arrival of the first one. Julie and Jason welcomed their little one last weeked. Aunt Kathy and Uncle Brian can't wait to go meet this cutie pie! We're continuing to pray for the next two to arrive safely!

The Referral Clock

2010-05-07T17:36:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since we posted an adoption-related post because all has been fairly quiet on the adoption front. We have simply been waiting and praying.

Our agency doesn't share a "waiting list" with families as many agencies do, but they do have a referral clock which shows when the families who are currently receiving referrals were document ready. We were document ready in August 2009 and have been waiting to see the face our sweet little one since then. For the past few months, our agency has been providing referrals to families who were ready in June 2009. Time seemed to literally be standing still on the referral clock as they worked their way through a record number of dossiers. We got an email today saying that the referral clock had moved. While we were expecting that the clock would have moved to July, we were thrilled to see that it had moved to August. While we still don't know for sure how long we will wait for our referral, we are celebrating this small, but encouraging sign of progress!

If it's Gotta End...Might as Well be in the Bahamas!

2010-04-17T18:30:00.000-04:00

Once we boarded the boat after an awesome day in Honduras. We were ready for Cozumel, Mexico. Unfortunately high winds combined with a narrow shipping channel exiting port kept us in Roatan overnight forcing us to miss our port in Cozumel. It was pretty disappointing, but we had two days at sea to relax and enjoy time on the boat. We sailed Wednesday and Thursday before arriving in the Bahamas Friday morning. Princess Cruises has their own private island to relax under palm treas and eat lunch on the beach. We found a couple of chairs in the shade and parked for the day. We took a the opportunity to explore the coastline and enjoy the sunshine and 80 degree weather. Several hours after lunch, we returned to the ship to set sail for Ft. Lauderdale. We still had an evening of dining and enjoying the entertainment on the boat before retiring to bed and returning home. Best we can figure...if you have to go home, might as well spend the last day in the Bahamas!

It was a fantastic trip to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary (even though it's not till June). Back to reality!

A Little Slice of Heaven

2010-04-15T21:13:00.000-04:00

Early Tuesday morning, we made port in Roatan, Honduras. This day was definitely the highlight of our trip. After a 30 minute drive, we arrived at the starting point of our ziplining adventure and got loaded up with all of our gear. Our guides were about 8 young men who were natives of the island. After a safety briefing, we watched our guides take off to go to the platforms throughout the canopy. The course was about 3 miles long with around 15 separate ziplines

Our guides definitely made this experience the best that it could be. We gave our camera to one of the guides (pictured with us in the yellow shirt). He did a fabulous job of taking action shots of us while we were ziplining. Our guide was the last one to rejoin our group at the end of our adventure, and we were thrilled when we thought he had taken a couple of pictures as he was ziplining to the last platform. It turns out he wasn't taking still pictures, but he actually took a video of the last leg of the zipline! Now we can literally relive this fabulous day. Enjoy a taste of the beauty of Honduran canopy.

After ziplining in the morning, we were taken to a private strip of beach, and again we met new friends, Holly and Cory, who were also on our ship. We were so glad to meet another couple to have dinner with and hang out with for the remainder of the cruise.

Grand Cayman

2010-04-14T19:09:00.002-04:00

After setting sail from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday afternoon, we spent a day at sea on the way to our first port. We arrived in Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island first thing Monday morning. After a brief walk around the town, we headed on Capt. Bryan's Stingray Adventure. We boarded a catamaran and set sail for Stingray Island, which is a sandbar near the barrier reef. There are hundreds of stingrays swimming around this sandbar, and they are docile enough to be fed, touched, and even kissed :)! After a stop at Stingray Island, we went to two other snorkel spots close by. It was windy and the water was rough, but the coral and animals were beautiful. After a long morning in the water, we raised the sails and headed back for Grand Cayman and a wonderful lunch at Breezes restaurant with a waterfront view.

One of the best parts of the day was meeting some new friends. We spent a lot of time with a fun family who had visited Stingray Island before. They were able to help us get and up close and personal experience with the rays!

A Five Year Treat!

2010-04-12T19:22:00.001-04:00

Four weeks ago, I woke up to a black computer screen with white lettering that read: Push the Button. When I did press the button, a slideshow created by my husband started playing. He had worked hard to plan a 7 day cruise to the Caribbean, and his slide show gave me all of the details, including clues about the "off the beaten path" adventures we would have at each port. The reason for this surprise vacation? We're celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary this year. Even though our anniversary isn't until June, my spring break was the perfect time for us to escape. We returned this weekend, and what better way to relive our fabulous trip than to share it with you! Today, I'll share some general pictures of the ship and fun things we did on the boat.

Big News from Ethiopia

2010-03-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we received word from our agency that the Ethiopian government has decided to require adoptive families to appear in Ethiopia for their court date. While this is not a total shock (our agency had shared that this was a possibility being discussed), Brian and I are quite surprised that this new requirement has gone into effect so quickly. Our minds are spinning as we process this information and wait for more details to come from our agency, but there are a few things that are in the forefront of our thoughts:

Right now, we know that this means we will be travelling to Ethiopia twice, which will add significantly to our cost.
We don't know yet how long we will be asked to stay in Ethiopia for our court trip.
We will be able to meet our child before we bring him/her home, BUT we will have to leave our child in Ethiopia when we travel back home to wait for our second trip!! We're not sure how long time between travel dates will be.
Because we will meet our child before our court date, he/she will be issued a different kind of visa so he will be an American citizen upon arrival in the US, rather than another lengthy process that we would have gone through.

Would you join us in praying for this situation? For our peace and strengthened trust and faith in our Provider?

Still Waiting...

2010-02-27T14:18:00.001-05:00

It has been a couple of posts since we have posted anything directly related to our adoption process, and many have asked us recently for updates on where we are in the process. The short answer is that it is very difficult for us to know exactly what the timing for our adoption will look like. When we first applied, we expected that we would have a referral for our child sometime around the end of last year or January of this year. Since then, the process seems to have slowed down significantly! There are a couple of factors that have caused this slow down. One is that there were a record number of families who were document ready in May and June. We were document ready in August, so there is a extra large group of families waiting for referrals just ahead of us. Also, our agency receives referrals from different regions in Ethiopia, and it seems that for a variety of reasons only one of those regions is able to provide children for referrals right now. That means more families waiting and fewer children ready for referral, which equals a longer wait for us! The truth is that it is hard to be patient, and we are anxious to receive our referral. But we do take comfort in knowing that God's timing in this process is perfect and that we have so many loved ones praying for us and our child!

Months ago, our agency sent the following passage about waiting, and I recently came across it again. It is a timely reminder that our wait isn't just wasted time...rather it is a time where we are being prepared for what is ahead for us. Our wait will not be a moment too short or too long! Praise God!

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." -Malachi 3:3

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study, and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

The Air is Thinner in Colorado

2010-02-04T19:25:00.002-05:00

We recently made a trip to Colorado to visit Kathy's sister and family. We got to visit our niece as well as spend time with family and Kathy's mom. The mountain house is located 9,200 feet above sea level where the air is pretty thin. The first day we were there we suffered from a little altitude sickness. Everytime we would exert a little energy we'd have to stop to catch our breath. I felt like a 20 year old chain smoker suffering from emphysema.

While we were there we did a little snow skiing at the local resort Eldora. It was only Kathy's second time snow skiing and she did fantastic. I got to break away and catch an afternoon of black diamonds. It was great!

The temperatures hovered between 20 and 40 degrees while we were there. There was a this great wood burning stove we would keep burning to stay warm. Our niece had a great game she liked to play called "brother, sister, sister" where Kathy and I were her brother and sister. The picture by the fire is of me and Ellie playing brother sister wrapped up by the fire. Kathy found it quite amusing.

We also got to make a trip to the Rocky Mountain National Forest near Estes Park, CO. The scenery was breath taking (literally). We had a great time and look forward to returning soon. Until next time, this is Brian signing off from the Rocky Mountain National Forest.

We Got Mail!

2010-01-24T20:20:00.005-05:00

Fun mail is the best...especially when it is a surprise. Just before Christmas, we got a small package in the mail from Christian World Adoption, our adoption agency. American staff members periodically visit Ethiopia to see the Ethiopian side of the adoption process. When they go, they bring home Ethiopian objects to share with families who are going through the process. Our package of treasures included three beautiful items and a prayerful note that reminds us that this long journey is well worth it. I fell in love with each item immediately and really do hold them dear.

A painting on paper that is made of thin bark

A wooden bracelet with beading

A beautiful piece of finished cloth

Time With the Fam!

2010-01-02T13:48:00.011-05:00

We've been so lucky that the last week has been filled with family time. We spent time with both sides of the family and enjoyed every minute of our visits together! On Christmas Day, we hosted my parents, Brian's Mom, Wayne, and Brian's sister. A couple of pictures from Christmas Day...

Liz, Kathy, and Brian's Mom

Kathy and Mom

Brian, Kathy, and the Davis Parents

Liz, Mom Mitchell, and Wayne

Just a couple of days later, Brian's dad, Michele, and Tyler came over to visit. We all really enjoyed seeing each other, but it seems that Tyler, Mattie, and Oliver loved chasing each other around the house and in the yard the most.

We Just Can't Wait

2009-12-30T16:52:00.008-05:00

With all of the fun and anticipation of this season, the words, "I just can't wait till next year with our little one" have filled our home on many occasions. I grew up making Christmas cookies with my sister every year, but don't always get the chance to make them now that I'm older. In a loving gift of time, Brian suggested that we make Christmas cookies together this year, and he was quite the baker in the kitchen.

Rolling out the dough and cutting the cookies

Instead of the traditional sugar-type Christmas cookies, we made peanut butter dough. They turned out beautiful and really tasty. Thank goodness we only made half a batch!

Some of the finished product!

Needless to say, Brian and I are both looking forward to baking Christmas cookies with our little one next Christmas!

A Busy December

2009-12-30T16:46:00.005-05:00

The past month has been incredibly busy for us...spending time with our loved ones. It has been wonderful, but hasn't left us with much time to keep the blog updated. Our next couple of posts will try to sum up some of the special memories we've made this season...

Ready to go to our Christmas Eve Service

A Growing Family

2009-11-30T17:59:00.003-05:00

There is one grandchild so far on the Davis side of the family. In the last weeks, though, there has been lots of big news. Of course we are expecting Baby Mitchell to arrive by the end of summer next year. We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest Klish, a little girl from China sometime in the late spring or early summer and we are anticipating the arrival of Baby Loring at the beginning of June. That's right...Marie's family is adopting as well, and Julie is pregnant! Three new little ones will arrive within a month or so of each other! As you can imagine, the whole family is thrilled, but Mama Davis is in Grandma heaven. Please pray with us for the safe arrival of these three little ones. What amazing blessings!

Adoption Buddies

2009-11-16T18:17:00.004-05:00

Going through the process of adoption has definitely shown us how small the world is. We have met many people, both in person and in cyberville, who have been touched by adoption.

Recently, my good friend Tara introduced me to a family who adopted two boys from Ethiopia through our adoption agency. We spent an evening at an adorable place called The Well, drinking tea and coffee and munching on sweets. I sat enthralled, listening to the story of this family's adoption, from paperwork to travel to living together at home! I am so thankful to hear about another family's journey, and Brian and I are so encouraged to see a family that isn't just surviving, but thriving after being woven together through adoption. Needless to say, after that meeting, I've started a list of practical tips that this family has shared with us, and we're excited to add to it. There is nothing like the wisdom that comes with experience.

Months ago, Brian and I were thrilled when we heard from a fellow church member that another couple in the congregation was adopting a child from Ethiopia, and they were in a similar stage of the process. Well, it has taken too long, but this weekend we finally met them for breakfast. They have a referral of a precious baby boy, and they are waiting for their court date and the time to travel to bring him home forever. I can't stop thinking about how lucky we are to have another family to relate too and learn with during the journeys of growing our families. Not only that, but how awesome is it that our little ones will be able to grow up together?!

We're so thankful and so excited about these new friends. We can't describe them in any other way but blessings straight from God.

A Little Practice

2009-11-01T11:35:00.006-05:00

Even though our little trick-or-treater isn't in our arms yet, we found some Halloween supplies around the house and decided that we would make our front door a little more fun for the little ones in our neighborhood. We finished up as it was getting dark, and here is the final product:

We can't wait until we get to enjoy Halloween with Baby Mitchell!

Waiting...

2009-10-10T17:50:00.003-04:00

Waiting patiently doesn't come naturally for me. Going through the adoption process with all of the inherent waiting can be hard at times. So what do we do? We wait and we pray!
I was reminded once again as I was reading another adoptive family's blog that God is in control of this process and his plan is more grand than anything we could ever imagine. Comforting words from Our Father:

But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, be patient! For it will surely take place.It will not be late by a single day.
-Habakkuk 2:3

If ever I felt Him wrapping His arms around me and speaking directly to me...

Picture Books

2009-09-21T19:57:00.006-04:00

I'm a teacher at heart, and what can I say? I love picture books. You know the ones I'm thinking about...they have just a few words on each page and beautiful illustrations. Many times they are called children's books, but I would say that they are just as much for adults too. A dear friend at work who might have more picture books than I do, shared some of her favorites that are about adoption. I read the first today. Jin Woo is written by Eve Bunting and illustrated Chris Soentpiet. The story is touching, the paintings that serve as the illustrations are lovely, and adoption is close to the illustrator's heart. Chris Soentpiet is a Korean American who was adopted with his sister by an American family when he was 8 years old.

This book tells the story of a boy who is about to become a big brother when his family adopts a little boy from Korea. Needless to say, it is a hard transition from only child to big brother, but when the family sticks together, he finds room in his heart for an addition to the family. It is a touching story that shows how the power of love is limitless. A quick read that is well worth it!

Stay tuned for more stories!

Baby Steps

2009-09-19T18:43:00.002-04:00

Last week we received word that our paperwork has been approved by the US government (Citizenship and Immigration Services). They send the approval on to the embassy so we are one step closer to being allowed to bring our adopted child home! Although this doesn't feel like a huge step foward, it is nice to know that baby steps are moving us forward.

Adios Roomie!

2009-09-02T17:34:00.007-04:00

After our dear friend Sam (who lived with us for a few weeks while waiting to close on his new house) moved into his new place, we found this letter from his greatest admirer:

Dear Sam,

I know you have a new house, but I miss you so much! Remember all of the fun times we had wrestling and playing while you were waiting to close on your house?

I still go by your room a lot to check and see if you have come back to visit. Life just isn't the same without you. Nothing is as much fun as chasing you around the house. I just don't know what to do with myself now that you aren't here every day.

I hear that your new house is really nice. Can I come visit soon?

Love,

Oliver

Congratulations on the new house, Sam! We miss you too!