~Our Family's Journey of Adoption and Beyond~

2009-01-23T08:32:00.003-07:00

Where to begin??? I have not posted in a while for many reasons....the main reason is simply that I have not a minute of free time! I wasn't even able to get Christmas cards out this year! Who knows, maybe you will all get a Happy Summer card:-)

Summery: Stacy is working out of town, but driving back and forth everyday.....leaves at 5, home just before the kids are going to bed. The work is a huge blessing, but it has been really hard on the kids and I; we are so used to him being here!

I'm still plugging away in school. This next semester will be one of my busiest and most mentally challenging, but also is supposed to help me the most for preparing to take the MCAT.

Mason still hates school, but I guess most 16 yr olds do. Not much else is new.

Kaymi is entering the scary world of boys....need I say more! I'm just thankful she has sports to keep her REALLY busy!

Kyah just celebrated her 13th birthday, and one year in America! The past few months have been hard for her. I can't even imagine coming to a new country as a young teenager and trying to not only have to learn all about a completely different culture, but also go through "teenager hood" at the same time, yikes!

Caden is now obsessed with tying flies and hoping to make money selling them to local fishing shops. He's enjoying himself and getting pretty good:-)

Chloee is very much enjoying 4th grade and she just made the all city girls honor choir!

Chase is preparing for his 1st "Friday night fight" in Taekwondo. I'm scared for his opponent if he competes with him like he does on the garbage can,hehee:-)

There is a little update in the life of the Lockharts! Not too terribly exciting, but always busy:-)

3 hrs and lots of hair pulling:-)

2008-11-16T20:49:00.003-07:00

I have to say that this girl has the tightest hair I have ever worked on! Almaz had joked with us about the hours it would take, but WOW:-) Kaymi and I did have fun with this project this weekend and Kyah LOVES it.

Popcorn heads!

2008-10-18T13:09:00.004-06:00

Thanks to my Mom we had a fun and wacky Friday night Family night:) She sent the kids a popcorn ball decorating kit, (harder than you would think) but soooo much fun. Here are some pics of their artistic abilities with candy:-)

New pics!!!

2008-09-16T11:12:00.003-06:00

Fitting In

2008-09-07T16:49:00.003-06:00

I am happy to report that all of the fears I had about Kyah starting Middle School have not came to fruition, Yippie! I worried that without being the "new girl", and not being in a small elementary school she might just get lost in the shuffle and not get the extra help she still needs. I worried for nothing, she has amazing teachers who are giving her the extra TLC she needs:) Fitting in with her peers has not been an issue either!! I just remember how mean those darn girls were when I was in Jr. High, Yikes! She seems to either let things roll off of her, or everyone is truly nice to her because she never has anything bad to say. Anyway, I am relieved because I don't think I have any energy left in these bones to go pull a mama bear down at the school:-) Adjustment at home is still a little tricky, but we are reaching the year mark and I am hoping that things might start to become a little easier........maybe???
All of the other kids have adjusted well to their new year too, no surprises there. Easie~Peasie, THANK YOU LORD, you know how much we can handle!
I am struggling through my VERY full credit load and wondering what in the world I was thinking when I registered for all of these difficult courses......oh ya, I didn't have a choice, heheeee.
I just hope my school year seems to go as fast as the kids always do.
Miss K is getting ready for drivers ed and trying to perfect the art of the manual transmission, I almost have a heart attack when we go driving , but she is doing well. Practice makes perfect:-)
Mr. C had his first football game yesterday and did amazing, boy is he fast!
Little man and little miss are kicking away at taekwondo; a great release of energy after school.
That is about all going on now, hopefully it won't take me another month to post!

Back to reality....for 3 weeks!

2008-08-02T17:05:00.004-06:00

I had my last day of class on the 24th to finish up my summer semester~yahhhh! I am having so much fun being back in school, but it is nice to have nothing to do for a couple of weeks. (This explains my lack of posts!)

On the 25th we left town and headed for Vegas for some R&R...or so we thought:-) We ended up getting up bright and early everyday and heading from one activity or another; it was so much fun! We brought my parents with us, what a God send!!! They took the older kids on outings that the younger ones weren't interested in or it was to late at night for, (swimming with sharks, and midnight light shows!)

Here are just a few pics of our family friendly Vegas vacation!!!! (my parents took better pictures, so there may be more to come:-)

2008-06-18T14:29:00.004-06:00

Yes, we are dorks!

Kyah is getting so tall!

New hair cut:)
Best buds
Chase at his Kindergarten graduation.....he was really embarrassed!

I have been trying to find time to blog......but I have yet to find the time! So here are some pictures instead:)

2008-06-06T21:01:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we finally broke away from the craziness of life and snuck away to one of our favorite places. Caden's Birthday wish was to go fishing, and since his birthday fell on a Thursday we thought the weekend would be a better fit:-) (he turned 12) It was a great escape, and Kyah caught her first fish!

This weekend we are celebrating Kaymi's Birthday, (hers is on Monday and she will be 14) But the only thing on her brain is shopping! According to her this can only include her and I.....girls day out!

I think Kyah is starting to get a little jealous about the birthdays. Everyone in our family has a birthday before her, but at least by that time she will know exactly what she wants to do.

Yikes, I just realized that will mean we will have 3 official teens!!!

Silly update

2008-05-22T15:40:00.004-06:00

As some of you know I am back in school now...that explains the infrequent blogging. It's bugging me that I can't remember things as well as I could when I was younger! I blame it on kids, I tell them they are brain suckers and they tell me I am the brain sucker. So I may be at times:-)

Life Update: (this week)

Mason: Ready for school to be out!!!

Kaymi: Enjoying the weather, and track

Kyah: Learning to be a pre-teen, a little snotty (unfortunately)

Caden: Won an academic award at school, and loves track too

Chloee: Excited for auditions in the youth worship band at church, snotty too:)

Chase: Finally loving to read! Got punched in the nose! can you believe in Kindergarten!?

Stacy: work,work,work

Me: study, yell, clean the house, study, study, study! heehee:)

Hope to write a real post here one of these days!

~All Because Two People Fell In Love~

2008-05-07T16:32:00.002-06:00

I was so excited to have a "real" family picture taken with ALL my kiddo's! Our friend is a photographer and here are some fun pics she took:)

(Mom, yes there are more on her website: heidizphotography.com)

Kyah's First Feild Trip

2008-05-06T16:11:00.004-06:00

Last week Kyah had another first~ a field trip:) The idea of leaving school with the rest of the class (and her mom) was funny to her, but exciting too.

I am realizing I have become a lazy mom for my youngest two. With the older three it seemed I was always the class mom, going on every field trip, planning all the holiday parties, etc..... This year I am really trying to be "that Mom" again, and finding my way back has been tiring! It's not that I didn't do those things with Chloee, and Chase, it just wasn't with the same pizazz and perfection. (probably because I knew how much effort it took, and because we were home schooling) It's kind of funny, but I think it took less effort when we were home schooling:)

Anyway, the field trip was wonderful, thanks to the beautiful sunshine! We went to an art museum and the kids were able to make sculptures with clay, Fun! I wanted to dig in , but I was supposed to be helping the kids:) Then on we walked to the city library where Kyah found as many books on Ethiopia as she could. It was so cute because all of her classmates huddled around her while she showed them pictures and told stories.... Oh, how I hope she holds on tight to those memories. The bus ride home about put us adults to sleep, and I have to say I don't know how those kids make it all day with just lunch. I was starving!!!

~Another wonderful memory~

Thank You Cindy!

2008-05-01T10:41:00.005-06:00

As I am now getting ready for my summer semester, going on field trips, track meets and soccer games, and business is finally picking up, I have some how spaced posting about our son Mason! So thanks to Aunt Cindy for your e-mail, and the same goes to you:)

(do you think he likes that sweatshirt or what!?! I just noticed that in every picture he has that thing on!!!!)

Our "hairy man boy," aka: Mason.

Wow, as I am thinking of what to write the thought that keeps circling my head is 15 (and the 1/2 of course!) Where did the time, years, go??? The once mischievous, hyper, goofy, super active little boy that once was has now grown into a mellow, and quite hilarious teen. Mason is a blast to be around and a WONDERFUL big brother.

This past year Mason decided to finally take up football, it had been almost 7 years without a sport. He loved it and did very well keeping his team motivated:) Who would of thought! He was a lineman because of his size, but that boy can run and we thought he would have made a great receiver.....coaches know best! Computers still continue to be his love. We are hoping he will find a career in the cyber world that he will truly enjoy.

What in the world! I thought it was Spring!

2008-04-20T09:16:00.002-06:00

I am not a big fan of snow in the winter...I know I live in MT. get used to it right:-) But I am even less of a fan when it snows 2 inches in April!!!

Just yesterday we were out working on the tree house and it was a beautiful spring day. When I woke up this morning there is a full white blanket of fresh snow laid out on our yard that was trying really hard to turn green:( I won't include any pictures.....too depressing, but here are some of the crazily high tree house my husband and kids are building). I am not completely sure why it is so high, but my hubby reassures me that he is taking safety precautions! For those of you who don't know, my husband is a contractor so every project he does turns into an elaborate piece of art. I will post more pictures when it's completed, these are of the first day he started:-)

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer, Soccer!!!!

2008-04-14T20:55:00.003-06:00

Yes, that would be 4 Soccer's in the title because that is how many soccer games we have each and every Sunday! I really am not complaining, this past Sunday was absolutely beautiful (we all have painful sunburns as proof), but it does make for a long day.

I have to brag about Chase! My little man is such a little stud, the only two goals his team scored were from his little (yet powerful) foot:) He is one tough little man. In the picture above he is stopping the only goal the other team "almost" scored.

Off to bed for me, just thought I would share a little piece of our weekend:)

Straight teeth HURT!!!

2008-04-09T16:32:00.003-06:00

It is almost a right of passage in America to have braces....,or at least in the Lockhart Household:) Kyah is now the 4th child in our family to have metal cemented to her teeth. After being in school for around a month Kyah expressed to me that her teeth were crooked and that most of her friends were in the process of having theirs fixed. I explained to her that the dentist had referred her to an Orthodontist but that I thought she might want to wait for a little while, and that it hurts too. She jumped up and said, "I want braces, it is OK if it hurts"! So here we are a couple months later and another $5000 in the hole:) I know how it sounds, but she did "need" to go. Because of her age they said if we waited to long she would have a lot longer process and it would be even more costly. I am happy for her too because I know this is something that she only dreamed about in Ethiopia.

On a side note, I promise I will get around to the story of My love and I. I just seem to never have the time to even turn on my computer. I have to give credit to you mom's who keep up on their blogs, I truly don't know how you do it:)

Another Inch!

2008-03-28T12:57:00.003-06:00

And the inches keep on coming! I still can't believe it, but Kyah had another round of shots this week and she grew another whole inch!!! I thought her first spurt was going to be a one time thing, but I guess we were wrong:) We have been home just a little over three months and everything seems too good to be true. As I said before we didn't really have the "honey moon period", but Kyah is definitely part of the family. I was so sure that with 6 kids we were completely done, but I think I am loosing my mind because a couple of days ago I started having babies on the brain! YIKES!!! The funniest thing is that Stacy has always had an open mind about adopting again, so maybe when the credit cards are clear again we will be on our knees seeing if God has the same idea:)

Miss Chloee

2008-03-26T16:06:00.003-06:00

Ok, so I am only a week late!!! My sweet baby girl just turned 9!!! I still am having trouble wrapping my brain around this. I have this funny problem with my 2 youngest kids where I still see them as little toddlers, I don't do this with the older ones and I don't even realize it until I look at pictures:) Maybe it's my way of coping with not having little ones anymore, but it breaks my heart at how old they are all getting!

When we asked our little princess what she wanted to do for her big day she simply replied, "sushi & a movie.....with a friend of course."

So our girl had her big day and is now a year older and sassy as ever!

Love you sweetie:)

KAYMI

2008-03-19T13:49:00.002-06:00

On to our eldest daughter.....Miss Kaymi. If I had to describe Kaymi with one word it would be~heart~. Everything this girl does is done with her whole heart. Just yesterday we attended a banquet at her school to honor her and a handful of other students selected for the good citizen award, we were very proud, but not surprised:) When they described her they said that she has set herself apart from the average teenage drama of middle school and she is always there for others to talk to, awesome.

This past Saturday was the last of the volleyball tournaments for the year. Kaymi's team played their hearts out from 8am to 4:30pm and took home 5th place. (she was not very happy about this) Now onto track for this one!

Kaymi is singing in the honor choir and just performed an amazing quartet at their last concert. (She has a great voice, now all she needs is a little confidence!) It is truly an honor to parent this young lady, she is tons of fun to be around and still has an honest sincerity about her that we are praying will continue through high school!!!

CADEN

2008-03-17T13:38:00.004-06:00

I know that this blog is labeled as our adoption blog, but because I am short on time and already have this one I thought I would write a little on our other children too:)

This week I am going to brag on my middle son Caden! In his 11 years this boy has accomplished a lot. It is kind of a joke in our family that anything Caden tries he does it well. This last June a lot changed in Caden's life. On the last day of school he broke both bones in his arm and his elbow! OUCH! Many of you know that this ended his gymnastics career:( That year Caden had won 1st place in State and gone on to take 4th place in Regionals....to say the least he was a very talented gymnast. But when God closes a door he opens a window! This year he jumped right into ice hockey without ever having really skated before (it was a little humbling for a few weeks because the other boys had been on the ice since age 4) Anyway, the season just ended and he became a wonderful player:) Now right into soccer!

Sixth grade has also been great! Caden has been on the high honor roll all year and he is moving into an accelerated math and science program, we are very proud. Violin is still a love of Cadens along with guitar, (he is currently saving his money to pay for guitar lessons because it is not offered in school). In his spare time Caden loves to snowboard, draw, play basketball and skateboard....All of which he is great at:)

Yeah, I did a "DO"

2008-03-02T14:38:00.002-07:00

I am a licensed cosmetologist but I can tell you that Kyah's hair is becoming a challenge for me! I think that girl has the tightest curls of any head of hair I have ever seen. Anyway, I was excited because her hair is now long enough to do something with, other than a head band :)

Something new everyday!

2008-02-21T14:15:00.003-07:00

(Sorry about the spelling again, I'm not sure what is going on!)

For about the last two weeks Kyah has really been opening up and telling us more and more about her life in Ethiopia. Sometimes it is sad and hard for us to hear, and sometimes her stories are hystericaly funny! Last night she was sharing with us about the day before she was taken to the orphanage and as she was telling us the story she said she asked her grandmother on that day, "How old am me?" (I love the way she talks:) ) She said her grandmother said 11, but you must say 6. (This most of you already new), but then my husband and I looked at each other.....we both then realized that that was December 2006! That means that our little girl is 12!!! This made more sence because the dentist had said if she was 11 that she was very far along in dental maturity as she has lost all of her teeth and already has her 12 year molers. Because she has no understanding of the months we pulled out the calander and showed her. She just laughed and laughed and went upstairs and told each of the kids, "I 12"! In a weird way it is kinda of sad for us because we went to pick up our little 6 year old in December and she has already aged 6 years!:) I am happy that we are finally getting this all figured out, especially for her sake, I would want to know how old I truely was if I was in her shoes. Yesterday she also rode a bike for the first time! It is amazing all of the firsts this girl is having. And for any of you who have adopted older children you know that it is much harder to teach an older child to swim and ride a bike than a toddler! I think it is a fear thing and that we get smarter with age ( and further from the ground)!!!! I'm sure that we will have many more surprises around the corner:)

Busy Busy Weekend!

2008-02-20T13:39:00.006-07:00

I think we crammed in as much in 4 days as humanly possible!!! We just returned home from a road trip to Portland for Chloee's gymnasitics competion. Along the way we stopped at the largest duck pond I have ever seen,Kyah went swimming for the 1st time,we hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls~ in Danskos and Uggs (Chloee & I), saw a million family members, ate way too much, toured AGCI, had dinner with Martha and Christy, watched Chloee compete and drove home! I have to say that this has been the most enjoyable road trip we have ever had. It must be because the kids are getting older, but no tears were shed and none of the kids even argued! Halleluja:) Here are some pictures from our little excursion. (I don't have any of Chloee competing beause Grandma took them with her fancy camara!

{I know I probably have a million spelling errors, but the spell check won't work right now! SORRY!}

Can you say "Americanized"!!!!!

2008-02-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, in 7 weeks how things change!
Everyday there seems to be new growth and new challenges! As I had posted before, Kyah started school pretty much right after we returned home, with our reluctance I might add..... and it has been wonderful! Last weekend we let her go to one of her school friends birthday party and to a movie. The movie was a 3D Hannah Montana concert and she came home singing at the top of her lungs, too funny. The funniest part is that she sings with an American accent!!!!! I am so amazed at her English, the school has an Ethiopian tutor that comes 5 days a week to class with her to help her with her English and also so she can keep speaking Amharic. I do have to admit I am a little sad at how quickly she is becoming Americanized. I guess I was nieve thinking it would take a little longer, but she is just a typical 11 year old girl, she even has a crush on a little boy in her class:)
All in all things have been coming right along with bonding... (everyone keeps asking) From the begining she has been very close with her daddy. Every moment she could spend with him she did and he is still her favorite person. It took a little longer for us. I'm not sure if it was a guilt she felt for her mother, or just a personality conflict, but now we are on our way! She is a very compassionate, loving and very strong willed young lady who knows exactly what she wants! We are enjoying this time of amazing growth and learning, and I hope we can hold onto these memories to laugh about later:)

Our little weed!

2008-01-22T12:56:00.001-07:00

On Monday morning I stumbled into the kitchen to grab my morning cup of coffee and went to give the kids a kiss good morning. I was sure it was through my sleepy eyes that Kyah over night looked like she had grown a foot, so I had to check. We have a wall that we measure the kids on and mark, so I grabbed a ruler and shuffled her to the wall. I was not loosing it, she had grown almost 2 inches!!! Keep in mind we have only been home for a month! Next onto the scale, a whopping 6 lbs! I have to say that all of the kids were a little jealous because in our house it's a contest who grows the most on the wall:) I guess making her suffer through the vegetables at meal times is worth it:) I need to do like Jen and take some pictures in her pants now to show the growth!

Sorry:(

2008-01-17T16:08:00.001-07:00

I truly have not had time to write, but here are a few pics of the kids:) Haha, I mean a couple of the kids!!!!

1st Trip to the Dr. and Dentist!

2008-01-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

This week was a busy one! For some reason I had scheduled Kyah's 1st visit to the Dr. and the Dentist in the same week! What was I thinking!?! I kept thinking....this poor girl is going to feel like a test experiment by the time she is done being searched over from head to toe, and how do you even explain the dentist? If I re-scheduled it would have taken almost 6 months to get an appointment with the Pediatric dentist my kids see. It turned out well in that my other children had their teeth cleaned the day before Kyah, so she was able to watch them and I had to have a blood draw so she held my hand first:) And again she surprised us by being such a trooper!!! I have to brag.... No cavities!! Yeah! And she is healthy as can be, God is good:)

Sisterly love

2008-01-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

During the whole adoption process we both worried about our youngest daughter Chloee and how she would respond to a new sister. We thought about this with all of our kids, but she was the one who would be sharing a room and having to make the most sacrifices. Chloee has always been a stubborn girl that doesn't let many people in close, so we have been just in awe with the grace and compassion she has shown to her new sister.

From the moment the girls met it was an instant friendship. Kyah follows Chloee everywhere and the two of them laugh almost constantly. What joy this has brought us! Chloee is teaching Kyah English, and Kyah is teaching Chloee Amharic, it is hilarious to hear them trying to speak with each others accents:) And yes, they have many disagreements too:)

Dec. 19th, 2007

2008-01-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

This was the 3rd day we had actually been in country, so by this time looking back I think the lack of sleep had caught up to me. The whole trip I kept thinking I was doing fine on a 3 hour rest per night, but I think my emotions told otherwise.

This was the birth parent meeting day....A day I had thought fervently about for many months. I kept pondering as a mother what someone could possibly say to me to make my heart content with the fact that my child would be somewhere clear across the globe in an unknown world to me.

I had finally prepared myself with a list of questions and my husband wrote her a beautiful letter. (I tried, but after the "Dear Birth mother" part I would cry and get stumped) Then with total shock I was told that our daughter would also be present for the meeting!!! Now keep in mind, I had envisioned a mother who 9 months prior had dropped off her little girl at an orphanage and that she had not seen her since then. I was so worried that this wound of abandonment would be re-opened and all this horrible pain would come flooding back! I was a wreck I tell ya, and a sleep deprived wreck at that! What I later found out was that this sweet, gentle, beautiful woman had been coming to see the daughter that she loved with all of her being the whole time she had been at Hannah's Hope!!!

Ok, so now I had a sense of peace and felt that this would be a a positive thing..... a sense of closer for both. I won't go into details that belong to Kyah, but I experienced true, unconditional love and selflessness that day that I will hold in my heart forever. Now she also had pictures of both of her Mama's, (as she calls us).

On a lighter note:) (I might be messing up the days) We went to the famous Starbucks knock-off! For those of you who know me know I am a coffee fanatic, and I was sooooo happy! I think the coffee there was actually better than here in the states. Did I mention before that I purchased 30lbs of coffee!!! I even got to sit where the women hand sort the beans, too fun:) Later that night we went to an Italian restaurant/art gallery. If you go there do not order steak!!! Can you say tough meat:) The lasagna looked great. After a long day we snuggled back into our hotel and waited for our joyous COCKADOOOOODODLDOOOOOO!!

School!

2008-01-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a big day...... Kyah had her 1st day of school! I had planned on home schooling her for at least the rest of the school year, but she definitely had a different idea:) I guess I can understand because all of our other children had entered the school system this year (it has been such a change from home schooling, but good overall) Also she is a very social and outgoing child and really wanted to "go" to school. Anyway, after talking with all of the professionals they put her in 5th grade! This freaked us out a little because that will mean Jr High next year!!! To our surprise she came home very happy and was even more excited to go back today. I am so amazed at how resilient she is, and so strong.
On another note, I have been praying about my posts. I think it is wonderful to be positive, but I also want to be honest to those who choose to adopt and older child. 90% of our 3weeks together have been a joyous time, but with that said, it is not easy! I won't go into private details, but I think it is important to remember that these children, no matter how good the situation, have been "given up" or "left behind" by parents or loved ones. I cannot even imagine the pain that would cause when you are old enough to fully realize that! I was adopted at birth and even then had issues. I guess in all my rambling I am trying to say, that there will be issues and it is "normal". I was feeling a little alone when things came up and thank you to all of you experienced mom's who have gone before us in this journey. Like I said, even with raising 5 kids this is a whole new ball game and at times I feel like a new mom again:) On these days I take comfort in Gods promises and I pray for patience!
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4

Dec. 18th, 2007

2008-01-02T21:36:00.000-07:00

Again waking up before sunrise, I think I made it until 4:00 today:) After breakfast we walked to HH and began the process of sorting all of the donations, what a task!!! I am so glad we were able to help Almaz with this because she already does so much! I cannot say enough wonderful things about that incredible lady! Then off to a busy day of shopping, this I am sad to say I am a pro at:) What a wonderful experience. I loved meeting all of the store owners and digging in the shelves for hidden and forgotten treasures. We came home with some beautiful pieces we will be able to pass down to the kids. My favorite thing though has to be an old canvas painting we purchased at a basket store along the road, It is gorgeous!!! Later that night we went back to the same Ethiopian restaurant we went to the night before but this time with all of the families! Too fun! They all made fun of me because I love Tej, ( a traditional fermented honey drink) I had gone on and on about it so we ordered two for us all to share.... I ended up drinking most of it, but thank you Chris for helping out:)

I'm sorry my posts are getting so boring, I hate that some of my vivid excitement has worn off due to my crazy 6 kid household! Just kidding, it's not them..... I just have to think a lot harder to remember what happened on each day, I must be getting old:)

Ethiopian meal~kind of

2007-12-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

This was not our first attempt at making an Ethiopian meal, but I have to say it was the best! Kyah, (Hirut) {she decided she wanted to change her name}, impressed us all with her culinary expertise! I'm so excited since cooking is my #1 hobby!!! All of us in our tiny little kitchen was a bit crazy, but we had fun and got very full and that's what's important:) It was great to see her so excited to teach us about her culture....she was very patient with us as we tried to pronounce each spice and dishes name. Yummy!

Where is she???

2007-12-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

As the gates to Hannah's hope were opened I had to remind myself to breath. My eyes darted from one beautiful child to another, but I couldn't find my girl! I looked at Stacy and he too was searching for that sweet little face we had grown to love. Ahh, finally there she was, standing shyly by the swing set staring patiently at me. Our eyes met and then I think I waved......the next thing I knew I had these little arms wrapped ever so sweetly around my neck. Then the tears came and the weird laugh I always seem to get when all my emotions get a little confused with each other, (I really hate that laugh) Then she spotted Stacy and snuggled into his embrace. I never thought it would be this wonderful, I truly thought we would shake hands nervously and she would be scared of us. God is so good!

The rest of the day was a blur of pictures (Hirut took over 100 just herself!) and then on the the embassy for our visa interview. I won't bore you with the details of that, but basically it reminded me of the prison visitations through glass you see on the movies. I had envisioned more of a court room situation I guess.

Later that night just the 3 of us and the drivers went to a wonderful Ethiopian restaurant and had an absolute blast! We had no idea what was being said, but that night we learned that our little girl can talk, and I mean talk!!! I'm not sure I have laughed this hard in my life.

Christmas What!?!

2007-12-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure that Hirut quite understood what in the heck the tree and all of the presants were, but when Stacy read the Christmas story in the bible she knew exactly what he was saying. Again, the lessons I am learning from this little child are priceless!

Dec. 17th, 2007 (Monday)

2007-12-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

Looking back on my life I feel that I have had some pretty emotional days, this day just might top all the rest. (or at least I felt that way on this day)

Thanks to the un-friendly neighborhood rooster who's clock is severely off, I was wide awake at 3:15am. I of course had to see if Stacy heard him, so then both of us were bright eyed and bushy tailed in the wee hours of the morning:) We quickly remembered that it was after 2:00am we dozed off. It is amazing though how you can function on adrenaline!!! Next the beautiful chants from the Muslim prayer call began. By the end of our trip I seemed to have incorporated these noises into my daily schedule as normal, weird! Anyway, with all of this ruckus I decided I needed to shower and have my coffee, just like a true American.

I noticed the hot water heater hanging on the wall by my head, so hey I should have hot water right!?! Think again..... Interesting shower, but as I said before, you get used to these things.

In the hotel lobby there is a little dining area and sitting there were a few of our new friends also adopting. They too waiting for the morning pick me up of coffee and tea. (I still hadn't got the whole "Ethiopia time down") So after politely asking for coffee and a 20 min. wait, my pot arrived. The wait I then realized was because each and every cup is brewed individually as espresso, and many pots needed to be filed. WOW, what strong,strong and did I say strong brew!!! We love strong coffee, but sadly I have to admit we asked for a pot of water to weaken it a bit, our server got a chuckle from this, Yum..... just simply delicious:) And the day begins!

Around 9:30 Almaz came to the hotel to pick up 3 of the families to meet their children, we were one of these families to go first. Sheer terror, excitement,giddiness,wonder, and again more fear were some of the emotions running through my head. I had waited for this day for so many months and I had memorized her little face, but AHHHHH this was really happening and I couldn't really wrap my brain around it. It was a good thing my sweet husband has such a level head and a steady arm for me to cling to or I'm not sure I would have made the two block walk to Hannah's Hope; the home to our little girl for the last 9 months. (I'm out of room, so I guess I will write more later, see ya soon!)

2007-12-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

Dec. 16th, 2007

2007-12-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

We arrived! (almost in one piece!heehee!) I think it was close to 9:00pm when we finally landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Wow, was that a long flight!! Stacy was able to catch a few z's, not me, I just sat and let my mind wander and cried on and off for almost the full 18hrs:)
Amazingly all of our luggage made it, halleluja! Now was the fun part... trying to load 6 families luggage onto the top of a van!! God bless Danny and Yohanas(sp?) They are master packers if you ask me! All of us then crammed into another van and off we went through the city to our hotel. I really was dilusional by thinking that I had read and seen enough pictures of Ethiopia to be prepared to see the city. I don't think you can truely prepare your heart and mind for seeing small starving children running along side of speeding cars, barefoot, begging for one burr(about 9 cents). It broke our hearts to say the least. But even in the midst of such poverty, these beautiful people were so lovely. Every single child and adult I met eyes with gave back the most heart warming smile. What lessons we Americans can learn! That was about it for that night..... and no, we did not sleep!

Dec. 15th, 2007

2007-12-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

Our day begins at 3:00am with the always obnoxious noise of the alarm clock, but we weren't asleep. This night started the string of 2-4hr nights of sleep! We lugged the 6 gigantic bags through the airport with many curious stares and to the ticket counter where to our amazement the lady never weighed or charged us the extra bag fee!!!! God is good!
2hrs to Denver, 4hrs there, 3hrs to D.C, 6hrs there, and the Ethiopian time began. I say Ethiopian time because time is not rushed for their culture!! We stood in a line of around 25 for over 2hrs!!! There we met the other 6 wonderful families traveling with us. Then up to the ticket counter here. Now keep in mind, we had only our carry on's for Hirut's and our luggage, to say the least we packed light!!! The other bags were full to the brim with donations. Anyway, Ethiopian Air carry on's can only weigh 20lbs each!!! Ours were 40! Then the woman said the words that brought my sleep deprived self to tears.... "That will be $387.00"! What! After me crying like a baby and explaining the donations we only ended up paying $50! Again, as always, The Lord had his hand in all.
On to Rome, and Finally Ethiopia. Just a heads up, they feed you the whole way, so come hungry!!! Again, Ethiopia time, one meal ends then coffee, and then almost right away comes the next meal,heehee.
I know I'm long winded, anyone who knows me knows I can talk!!!!! Ill be back soon:)

From Montana to Ethiopia~and Back!

2007-12-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

After sleeping a full 8 hours for the first time in a week and a half I now feel prepared to share about our journey of many emotions.

This last year has brought much laughter and many tears and I'm sure many more to come.......

Our dream to adopt a child began last April, 2007. We thought we would stick to the birth order of our current children and adopt a little girl from 1-4. (Chase was 4 at the time) Then in June, just after we signed our agency contract to begin the process a picture of a little girl came to us in a waiting older child e-mail.... that little girl was,Hirut. They said she was a six year old child, one of the original Hannah's Hope kids to come. I was in love, I knew she was one of my children and I yelled for Stacy to come see the picture. He too felt the same, so we prayed, and prayed and then talked to our kids, and of course we all felt the same. And God laid on our hearts the journey to Hirut!

2007-12-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

On the plane~can you tell we are giddy!

2007-12-23T08:33:00.000-07:00

Home~Sweet Home!

2007-12-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

Were Home!!!
I cannot promise that I will be making sense with my fuzzy jet lagged head, but I will do my best to relay our trip(a little at a time:) Much to come!

A new sense of Peace

2007-12-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it is because I finished all of my Christmas shopping, or that I am pretty much packed.... but I now feel an amazing sense of peace. I have know since we started this adoption that God had his signature placed beautifully at the bottom of this chapter in our lives, but I don't think that I was entirely trusting him to guide my steps. As I have said many times in the past, I struggle with letting go and letting the Holy Spirit drive!!!
I just joined a list serve of other amazing strong parents who too are going through or have been through international adoption. It is so wonderful to hear all of the stories and advice that everyone brings. Thank you to all of you who have sent me pictures of my little girl, I love it that so many of you have already met her!
I can't wait until I can post pictures of ALL of my kids on here! They are all such neat people and bring me so much joy ( and heart ache:) )heehee, sorry kids, but it is true!!!!
I'll be writing more when we are safely home!

Packing, Packing, Packing!!!

2007-12-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to our wonderful church, SHEC, (South Hills Evangelical Church), for your generosity! We have filled 6,50lb. bags of supplies for the orphanage, YAHOO! I feel so blessed to be able to take these items, we couldn't have done it without all of your help.

Were Leaving!!

2007-12-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

We are now in the running around with our heads cut off stage!!! I still am not sure why I have not learned not to wait for the last minute to do things, but I haven't, so now I am acting like a crazy woman trying to prepare for X-mas, leaving for Ethiopia(on the 15th) and a million other things I won't bore you with. I am amazed at all of the emotions I have running through my head and heart. It almost seems like someone has magnified every detail of my life 100000x's.
I want to thank our chuch with all of my being for your incredible donations for Hannah's Hope! We have 6 50lb. bags of needed items to bless the orphange with, thanks to all you SHECies!!! (South Hills Evangelical Church) I was brought to my knees with all of the beautiful words of encouragment we recieved. Thank you all too for the many prayers, it really does mean a lot.
Well, I am needing to get off of my computer and get some stuff done, I will keep you all posted! Be on the look-out for many Pics!!!!

Oct.13,2007

2007-10-13T21:27:00.000-06:00

I have no clue how to do all of this fancy computer stuff, but I figure I would give it a shot as I am starting to develop laryngitis from telling everyone our great news!
For those of you who don't already know, we are currently in the waiting stage of adopting a little daughter from Ethiopia. We started this process in our hearts many years ago, but started the paper work in April of this year. I have to say that while it has been an incredibly draining process, we have both grown in many ways. It is wonderful to know that God already has this journey planned for us and that all we need to do is have faith and rely on his strength, not our own.
We just were informed on Friday that our dossier is in route to Ethiopia, so now we are just awaiting a court date. I am so amazed with the fact that we already feel so bonded to her. I never anticipated to feel this way before even holding her in my arms, the only way I can describe it is that it is almost the same anticipation as when I was carrying my other children. That probably makes no sense to anyone else! OK, I'm tired and starting to babel, I will write a more coherent blog another day!