Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

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Monday, April 30, 2012

8 Amazing Years!

Yesterday was a big day around here. My middle baby turned "8"!!! Can't believe how time has flown. She is my crazy, funny, sensitive, rule-following, snuggling, laughing girl. We are so blessed that God has given us the opportunity to be her parents. We are just so stinkin' proud of her and love her to pieces.  Here is our walk down memory lane...
 Her birth day!
"1" 
 "2"
 "3"
 "4"
 "5"
 "6"
 "7"
And the Big "8"!!!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

We Are Alive!!!

We have been with our little man for 16 days, at home for 9 days!  We get the following questions quite often...
  • How is Robel doing?
  • How are the girls adjusting to life with a brother?
  • Is he sleeping through the night?
For starters, I was told many, many times that girls and boys are so different.  Of course they are!  These people that were sharing their incredible insights, did they think I was clueless?  Well, I kind of was.  Robel is gross!  The girls were clean and sweet and didn't like mess.  In fact, Sara was so concerned with germs that we thought she may be borderline OCD.  Robel, on the other hand, eats dirt, spits his food out, pretends to burb, and LOVES the whoopie cushion! 
However, he is the sweetest thing ever!  He hugs like no 1 year old I have ever seen.  He will grab our faces and plant a big old sloppy kiss on the lips while adding the appropriate "mbah" sound effects!  He LOVES to laugh and giggle and play ball.  In the morning, his favorite thing to do is wake up his sisters with lots of tickling and squealing. 
He likes our dog...he LOVES our dog.  I was so nervous that he would be scared of her.  Quite the opposite, actually.  I think the dog is a little scared of him.  He squeals and chases, kisses and occasionally tries to bite her.  What dog wouldn't be scared, right?  I know one day they are going to be best friends. 

So, I guess we can say that Robel is doing great!  We struggle a little with food issues, but I am often reminded (as it has been quite a while) that most toddlers aren't big fans of food!  Thank you to our pediatrician for putting my mind at ease!  As for the sleeping, we are getting there.  Every day gets a little bit better.  In fact last night was a 9pm -7am kind of night!!!  Daddy and Mommy are feeling better everyday!!!

The girls, as well, are doing so great.  Abby has had a little bit of an adjustment not being the baby anymore, but she is figuring out that she has a very special place in our family that no one else can fill!  Sara is just the biggest help!  I still can't get her to change a diaper (haha), but she is so helpful in other areas!  They both make us so very proud!  They are the best big sisters. 
 Last night we were laying on the floor in Robel's room playing with him after bath time.  He was quite excited and running from one person to the next.  We were all laughing and reaching out for him.  Bob finally looks at me and says, "This kid is going to think that the world is here to make him happy!"  Right now, that is our goal.  We want him to feel safe and secure, happy and loved!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

We Are Out of Here!!!

At 12:00 am on Thursday, March 29, 2012, I was good and asleep.  I wasn't sleeping all that great but I was sleeping nonetheless.  I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing.  Bob was on the other end.  He said, "Guess what.  We cleared!"  I immediately jumped out of bed and headed to the computer.  I had to check for myself.  And low and behold, there it was!  An email from the Embassy in Ethiopia stating that we were cleared to bring our son home! 

It is at these times that I am so thankful that Bob works nights, because I had tried to stay awake as long as I could, knowing full well that he would be checking email anyways.  So, here it was in the middle of the night and we began making plans for our trip to bring our sweet little boy home.  We immediately sent our email requesting our interview date and shortly later we received our second email confirming our date. 

So, here I sit, five days later, writing on our blog when I should really be packing, cleaning, shopping, etc...  But I want to be up to date with this thing when we return from our 2nd trip. 

We are ready to go!  I think we have just about everything we need!  We have amazing people supporting us and encouraging us and offering to help with whatever we might need!  There is only one thing I can think of that we could use help with...that is you joining us in PRAYER!

Things you could pray about:
  • Safe travels (I am kind of a wimp when the turbulence gets bad)
  • Our girls (we have never left them this long)
  • Robel - That his anxiety would be minimal
  • That none of us would get sick on this trip
  • That our time together in ET would be amazing and that the bonding would begin quickly!
So, here we go!  In ten days, we will all be back home, together as a family of 5!!!!