Meetcha Day

A year ago today we boarded a plane to Ethiopia to meet our sweet baby for the first time. I still feel the butterflies when I think about landing in Addis Ababa, knowing I was within miles of my daughter. Then walking through the doors of Hannah's Hope, my whole body was shaking and tears were welling up in my eyes. The moment I had dreamed about had finally arrived. My daughter would be in my arms within minutes. Almaz, the director of HH, told us we first needed to finish a bit of paperwork before meeting our baby. As we entered her office my mind was swimming, I couldn't hear a word she was saying; all I could think about was holding, seeing, kissing, and hugging my daughter for the first time. After what seemed like hours, we were walking to the baby house. I was scanning the room for my baby. I knew she had loads of hair. Then a nanny walked up to me saying," E's mommy? " There she was ....the most beautiful little baby girl that I had ever se

en. My life from that moment was forever changed.

As I think back to that day I am so thankful to be w

here we are a year later. Don't get me wrong. I LOVED Ethiopia! We meet so many amazing people and the entire experience was fantastic. But having to say goodbye to my baby and fly back to home, to the other side of the world, was terrible. I would say that was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do.

So today we celebrate meeting our daughter and are so thankful she is home with us. It is going to be such a special Christmas season.

Happy Halloween from Mr. Potter & our little Bumble Bee

We had a great time treat or treating. My son was a bit confused about the meaning of the it all. He told me on the way to our neighbor's home that if she didn't have any treats, she may do a magic trick for us.

Little Miss would tell everyone she was a "bum bAH!"

What a fun night! Last year we knew we had a little girl across the world waiting for us to come and bring her home. It is just so fun to have her home with us this year to celebrate all of our holidays together as a family. Thank you God, for both of my little ones!!!!!!!

I'm back!

The fall is always a crazy few months for us. The Farmer becomes very busy with harvest; he is gone from 6:30 am to 10pm. These few months are always difficult, but I am shocked how much more with another child in the mix.

I am a high school one-act play coach 4 months in the fall; this year I am hosting the conference competition. My mornings begin at 5:45am, waking up two little ones, getting one ready for school, then off to practice, which begins at 7AM. After practice we drop brother off at preschool, and return home to complete choreographing our play or to work on the conference tournament with Little Miss in tow. Thank goodness for her morning nap!

Have I ever mentioned that the Little Miss is ALWAYS on the go? Here are her daily objectives:

Her #1 mission for each and every day is to pullout the electrical plug covers!!!!

Our Plan of Attack= Cover them with the baby outlet covers with used with our son. Mission FAILED! Tape over the outlets. Mission FAILED!!! Buy the covers that are labeled "very difficult to remove." FAILED horribly, she pulls these out in record time.

The Result = Chase her around the house at all times until she decided this game isn't fun anymore. Apparently, this is one of her favorite pass times, she shows no interest in giving up this sport.

Mission #2 = Trying to get any remote, computer, ipod, phone into her hands at all costs.

Our Plan of Attack = Place the electronic in a high place out of sight.

Result = Little Miss will climb onto the table, open drawers to climb onto the counters. Thank goodness we have heavy chairs. We think she may be in training to be the special forces.

Mission #3 = Enter brother's room and climb to the top bunk.

Our Plan of Attack = Keep brother's bedroom door closed.

Result - This works most of the time, until a little boy forgets to close it. I swear she walks down the hall to just check to see if the door is open.

We only have a few more weeks until my husband will be finished with harvest and we will settle back into a more normal routine for the winter. It is crazy how easy it is to take for granted a good father and husband when they are always there. We definitely miss C when he is gone. Hats off to all of the single parents out there!

U.S. Adoption

Today was our U.S. court adoption. Our adoption agency requires this to be done within the 1st year of returning home with your child. Just to clarify she was 100% legally ours when we landed in Washington D.C. in January. This process is done so that a U.S. birth certificate and ss number can be issued. lWhen a family leaves Ethiopia the child has been given a first name and the middle name is the first name of her adoptive father. We decided to have E's name changed today also. Her first name remained the same, but we took out my husband's name and added Hannah Jimma for her middle names. Hannah after my grandmother and the place she resided while in Ethiopia, Hannah's Hope. Jimma was also attached to her name because she is from Jimma, Ethiopia. Little Miss Shine's name is no longer EC, but E Hannah Jimma.

We celebrated with ice cream today. But, later this month I plan to cook a traditional Ethiopian meal to celebrate with family.

A year ago today I was praying for this little girl across the ocean that I only knew from a few photos. My heart ached to hold her. Now I am able to hug, kiss, play and laugh with this precious little girl every day. Thank you, God, for this sweet baby girl. She is truly a blessing to our family.

1 year later

Our baby 1 year after her referral.

A year ago today we received our referral. The phone call came around 11:30 am and with in minutes we saw our little girl for the first time! She was 6 weeks old and weighed a healthy 7.5 pounds. We couldn't wait to meet her. I didn't know how I was going to handle waiting to hold my precious baby, who was over 7,000 miles away.

We made it through the wait and my how our lives have changed. E has been such a great addition to our family!

Happy Birthday Little Miss Shine!!!!

"On a dim, clattering afternoon in the rainy season, I sat in a crowded living room in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, stupefied by water. The rain drumming the tin roofs of the hillside district was deafening, as if neighbors on rooftops banged with kettles and sticks. The mud yard boiled and popped in the downpour. " - "There Is No Me Without You," Chapter 1, August 2004.

Our little one was born during the rainy season in Ethiopia. As I was reading this book, I couldn't help but imagining what her birthmother endured giving birth during this season.

Today we celebrate our Little Miss Shine's first birthday. A year ago today we had no knowledge of this little one. Little Miss was with her birthmother in east Africa celebrating the day she was given life. My heart goes out to her birthmother today. As we celebrate this little miracle, she grieves the little girl she held in her arms just a short year ago today. I would love to tell her that her little girl is loved, safe, has a warm place to sleep, plenty to eat and drink, and has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. Miss Shine is very inquisitive, determined, and stubborn. She is learning to talk, has started taking her first few steps and can always get across what she wants with or without words. ;)

Little Miss has been such a blessing to us. I thank God everyday for this precious gift who has brought our family so much joy. She is our daily dose of smiles.

We will celebrate today with gifts, balloons, cupcakes, hugs, and kisses, but we also remember the Ethiopian woman who made such a great sacrifice. We are forever connected by this sweet, little, curly haired girl. So not only do we celebrate, but we pray for Little Miss Shine's birthmother that she has enough food to eat, clean water to drink, but also pray for peace and happiness all the days of her life.

Thank you for the most precious gift anyone could ever give. We love Little Miss so much.

Am I Being Ridiculous?

Last weekend we celebrated the Little Miss' 1st birthday early due to my family being home. As she tore into the gifts covered with wrapping paper covered with "white" Disney princesses and opened cards with other "white" dolls or figurines, I couldn't help but wonder what is this teaching her. I realize how difficult it is to find a card or wrapping paper, if one wants it to be primarily girly, not be covered with princesses or light-skinned little girls, fairies, etc. I also realize that no one meant any harm that is what one has always done when giving a gift to a caucasian girl. Little Miss is all new to both sides of the family. Yes, she is the first person in our immediate families to have dark skin.

My question is where do we draw the line? I bought a few years back a doll house with both light and dark skinned dolls. For her birthday we bought her a African American rag doll; I was shocked how difficult it was to find a doll that had AA hair. So many of the AA dolls out there are just the caucasian doll's mold with brown dye. :(

I just want my daughter to grow up and love the person she is! I want her to love her skin color, her hair, etc. I want her to embrace her Ethiopian heritage. I want her to love herself. I wonder what message are we sending to her when she is given the blue eyed, blonde haired dolls, cards, paper, etc?

Am I making too big of a deal about this? Please help. I would love the suggestions of other families in this situation.