We are settling into home life and enjoying the challenges of having two kids! Carter loves his little brother — some days more than others! Gabriel loves having his big brother around and just wants to be where ever he is. Here are some cute photos of them together that I thought you’d enjoy!
Introducing Gabriel to the playroom!
Hanging in our pjs
Ready for a walk
Bath time!
Please come and see us! We welcome visitors anytime!
After a long plane ride and a few more delays, we arrived home to a great reception in DC from our friends in the area and another great reception in Atlanta!
To my DC friends, THANK YOU so much!
Walters family – the stroller was my lifesaver and it was so great to share the moment with you! Thanks too for coming to my rescue when my flight was cancelled!
Browns – your enthusiasm and photos were priceless! We really have come full circle in our years of knowing each other!
Beth / Louie – your sign and emergency diaper run were most thoughtful and it was a great surprise to have you there!
To Tricia and Owen and baby Asher, thanks for capturing this great photo!
I will post more after I have had some sleep and can really give a good story about our journey. Until then, I’m digging out from under the laundry and playing with the kids! Thanks everyone for your prayers and support!
I actually did get some sleep last night but I did awake at 6:00am ready to go. The only problem is that my flight is not until 3:00pm to DC and then 8:30pm to Ethiopia. I am packed and ready and was looking forward to spending the morning with Carter for some QT before I depart. One problem — he’s still sleeping! He had quite an evening playing in the snow, then a long bubble bath, followed by a roaring fire and a little TV. I think it wore him out! But he had so much fun.
That’s right, I said SNOW — even here in the deep south! It snowed about 6 inches here last night and Carter had a ball playing in it! He made snowballs and threw them at us. He chased our dog Maddy in the yard, he made snow angels, and ate the snow. He stayed outside until his was an ice cube and loved every minute of it.
It is a sunny morning and I’m hoping that helps the road conditions improve before we leave the house; from where I sit, it’s a sheet of ice. I have yet to see a car go up our hill, fingers crossed that they make it!
It is doubtful that I will post from Ethiopia but I sure will try if I can. Otherwise, I will return in a week with what you are all here for anyway — PHOTOS!
Or maybe I should say, “doesn’t function….”
If you know me at all, you know I am the eternal list maker. I make lists for work, for home, for the weekend to-dos, for groceries. You name it, I can list it! Last weekend was my last weekend before departing for Ethiopia and I had a lot to do. So, what did I do? Yes, I made a list.
When I first drafted it, I thought to myself, “Wow, that’s ambitious….” but I’m running out of time so things needed to get done. We woke up Saturday morning to a very cold and VERY RAINY day. Hmmmm I ponder, I know how this is going to affect my list…and its not good.
I took care of 2 of the 20 things and then I got a call from a mother at Carter’s school. She is Vietnamese and keeps me posted on events in the community. Sunday was a big celebration and she invited us to meet her there. All those things that didn’t happen on Saturday, well, it didn’t seem as though they were going to happen on Sunday now either.
Carter and I spent the better part of Sunday celebrating Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. He had a blast and even managed to speak to a few other kids in his native tongue. We saw a dragon dance and listened to music and prayers. And he had popcorn and a balloon — in his mind, a banner day!
So, it wasn’t on the list…..but lists are made to be broken, right?
I did manage to sneak out after hubby got home from work and check off a few more items on the list. The others, well, they are still unchecked. But sharing a quality day with my son to keep him connected to his heritage beats the list any day.
Getting closer! In a last-minute change of plans, my mother has offered to go with me on this long journey! We will fly from Dulles on Saturday, February 13th and return on February 20th! Less than a month now!
I have started the process of gathering all things baby that I didn’t need for Carter. Thank heavens for online shopping and diapers dot com — all it took was 30 minutes online and we now have bottles, diapers, teething stuff, travel gear, etc. We are getting closer!!!
It is official! We are now the parents of TWO! We are excited to have “Baby G” join our family! I will be traveling to Ethiopia on February 13th. A year to the day for when we departed for Vietnam to get Carter! I think it is a sign!
We are all excited and counting our blessings! Stay tuned for more details as they emerge!
The next big milestone in Project Sibling is passing court! Our court date is Wednesday, January 6th! There is always a 50/50 chance as to whether or not you pass. Passing has more to do with paperwork than anything else. So, please please please pray for us and the other families in our agency with court dates this week!
In other updates, Carter has decided once and for all that the potty is the way to go … no pun intended. He has now gone a full 6 days with no diapers and only one little accident. He is dry through naps and most nights. I think we are there. He tells me when he has to go, so most of our outings involve at least ONE visit to the bathroom. I know he will get better at holding it as he gets older but it is pretty funny how I immediately scope out the restrooms every time we go somewhere new!
Construction contines … slowly! We had a bit of a slow down with the holidays but we do hope to finish electrical and insulation this week so that we can move onto dry wall next week! I don’t yet see the light at the end of the tunnel but we can at least access the new room from the house now so it is exciting.
I had this whole long post planned about how spectacular a year 2009 was…we officially became parents, we traveled 1/2 way around the world to bring our son home, we introduced him to countless friends and family who have walked right beside us on such a big journey. We also decided to expand our family this year and received a referral of another beautiful boy. Our hearts are overjoyed.
So, this is our “thank you” post.
First and foremost to God — who makes all things possible; who picked us up along this wonderful journey when we had fallen and who continues to guide us and our family.
To our exceptional family, neighbors, old friends and new adoption friends we’ve made this year. This was a big journey, a long ride, and you all hung in there and provided us more support than we could have ever imagined!
To our son for teaching us more about ourselves than we ever would have known and for bringing us that much closer to each other, to God, and of course, to you!
And to our son yet to join our family — we can’t wait to bring you home and introduce you to our crazy, wonderful life! Your big brother says good night to you every night and is very anxious to share his hugs, his kisses, and his toys!
Happy New Year everyone! Much love to you.
My friend Val is a Silpada Representative, my good friend, and Carter’s godmother. She recently flew down to visit and I hosted a Silpada party. It was tons of fun and I finally got this coin bracelet I have been coveting for quite some time. Val has one too and wears it frequently — at least enough for Carter to notice.
I had my bracelet on the other day in the car and Carter kept telling me that I was noisy. Finally he said very sternly, “Mama, you are noisy….like Aunt Val!” I knew he meant the bracelet but I thought it was hysterical!
Kids say the darndest things….
Okay, so we got GREAT news on Friday concerning the sibling project. We have been scheduled our court date on January 6th! YEAH!!! We are all doing the happy dance. So, if we “pass” court on that date, we will travel 5 weeks later to pick up our boy! That means the second week in FEBRUARY! I hope we are done with the construction by then! 🙂
The Sibling Project 