Happy Halloween from our little clown and mad scientist!

Yes, we have heard nearly all of the lines in the clip...too funny not to share with all of you other transracial families out there!!!! So many just don't understand what is ok to ask or when they should just stop. Some times all one can do is laugh!

Just last week a woman who I taught with asked me if we adopted our Little Miss. She knows my husband is caucasian. I couldn't help myself that day. I answered, "HER?!" and pointed at my daughter, "No, we were really surprised when I delivered her!" Most of the time I am polite, but sometimes I just can't help myself.

Little Miss turns two!!!

We celebrated E's birthday while on a family camping trip. E was able to spend the weekend doing so many of her favorite things.

She was in complete shock to see she had Dora, Boots and Diego on her cake.

 We relit the candles 3 times. She loved blowing out the candles. "One more time, Mama."

 Yummy!

 This baby LOVES to splash and swim! Yes, she can float unassisted. 

 Warming up with Papa after swimming. 

We drove in to the local "cowboy" town that morning and Little Miss found a pink cowgirl hat that she had to have.While in town we stopped for coffee, and she played a little Angry Birds on Nana's phone, one of her favorite activities when she is with my mom.

 Yes, we gave our two year old her first car for her birthday!

Ignorance is Bliss

We attended a wedding reception last weekend at a town nearby. We were looking forward to an evening out alone. By alone, I mean without the children. Everything was going well, a glass of wine, a delicious meal, just about time for the dance to begin.  A Stevie Wonder song began playing. The man next to us leaned over and stated he thought it was strange when a "white" couple played Stevie Wonder music at their weddings with a chuckle. Every hair on my body stood straight up; this should have been my first cue it was NOT going to end there. The man proceeded to tell an awful joke about Stevie Wonder in reference to his color. I looked directly at this man immediately after the joke left his lips and stated, "OUR daughter is BLACK." The man coughed a few times, took a drink, and began to tell us all about a "friend" of his that adopted a Chinese child. An apology?...oh no.  

As I sat at the table, I fought back tears and swallowed the lump in my throat. My mind was instantly drawn to my child, she will fight this all of her life. My son will have to fight these fight on her behalf also. I knew it was going to be difficult in theory to be a biracial family, but now it is becoming a reality. 

I hope that some day we will immediately be ready with a "stop you in your tracks" one liners to end the statement or "joke" before it begins. 

Here are a few other situation we have dealt with this far:

I had an anonymous person leave a post on this blog a few months ago about how racism is dead. "People" need to get over it. That I should be happy and honored that someone addressed my child as Barack Obama. (Previous post "Did You Just Call My Baby Obama?') I did not post this ridiculous comment to my wall. 

We have had others tell us they are afraid to tell us jokes or talk to us because they are afraid they will say the wrong thing.  They insist their "jokes" are just meant to be funny; they are NOT racist or hurtful. My question for them is why would a joke ever make you fearful if deep down in your heart you knew it was harmless. 

We had a distant relative tell us how his children want to move because they live in a town that houses too many hispanics. 

Racism is not dead my friends and I know we haven't even seen the tip of the iceberg. As a caucasian woman, it was so easy to have closed eyes to all of this. Ignorance is bliss. 

Because it is too funny not to share!

What did my child learn from PBS? Her ABC's? Colors? Numbers? Shapes?  No, she learned how to "beat box!"
http://youtu.be/HidDjujNI-g

Ethiopia

The trip to Ethiopia was amazing! We packed more into the 2 days in-country then I could have imagined. We hired a driver to take us around the city. (If you would like the name and number of the tour guide, please let me know. I would love to share; they were wonderful.) They took us up Mount. Entoto, where we saw the 1st christian Emperor's home and church. We shopped, ate, and explored the city with 2 children in tow. It was a busy few days, but totally fantastic!

It was so amazing being a part of my friend's "gotcha" day! Words can't even begin to explain how awesome it was. Her boys are so sweet and simply beautiful.  I tried to stand back and let the bonding between mother and child begin.  And it did!  The boys would color a picture or finish a puzzle; they would run pass me and call their mother to see what they had done. The 2 year old would close is coloring book and walk past me, so only HIS mother could see his accomplishment and praise him! It was so fun to watch the mother and child bond begin. Thank you to the V family for allowing me to be a part of your trip.

I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

On the way down from Mount Entoto - a woman carrying her child, selling some type of grain. Addis Ababa below

 One of the shops in the postal district.

 I love this photo of all the little old men wearing suits, hats and carrying umbrellas. (It could use a little editing and cropping.)

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Spices fill the air. People, people everywhere. Loud air-polluting 1950's trucks. Animals...goats, horses, mules, dogs. Tiny shops. Dirt roads.  Construction.  Sunshine. Perfect temperature. Prayers ringing over speakers throughout the city.  Blue and White vans (taxis). Brown and orange city buses. Corrugated metal. Shacks.  Beggars. Children. Smoke. The aroma of coffee. Heavy traffic. Scarves. Beautiful brown eyes. Music. Poverty. Happiness. Sickness. Sadness. Gated communities. Smiles. Beauty. LOVE.

These are a few words that come to mind when I think of Ethiopia. I have greatly missed this country since our return. There has not been a day that has gone by without my mind traveling back. Even though my daughter is now here, I believe Ethiopia has a piece of my heart and always will.

 
I have the privilege to be traveling with a friend to pick up her two boys. I am so excited about this opportunity! She is adopting from a different agency and we will be staying in a guest house in the center of the city. This will be such a different experience than my trip to pick up my daughter, as we stayed on the outskirts of town and the hotel we stayed at was very influenced by western civilization.

So next week I will be returning to breath in the Ethiopian air and experience more of this beautiful country. Please pray that our trip is smooth and that the boys will feel peace and immediately start to bond with their mother.

Graduation

Last weekend my baby sister graduated from high school.  She was born my senior year of high school. I can't believe she is 18 and will be leaving for college this fall. I missed so much of her younger years due to college and just trying to figure out my direction in life, but I have loved having her so close the past few years. We live 15 minutes apart now. She is my kids FIRST choice when we are looking for a babysitter. We are ALL going to miss the graduate!

There was one other graduate in our family last week, my sweet little 5 year old. I must say I am so glad to have him home this summer. I don't know what I am going to do this fall when he is gone all day long at kindergarten. :(

 Here are the 100 cupcakes I made for my little sister's graduation party.

Little Miss and Mr. playing robots, yes, they designed the costumes while I made the 100 cupcakes.

I love the Christmas season! (Yes, I realize it is April.) What I love most about the season is that so many are so willing to give.  As Christmas day approaches the gift trees have very few tags left hanging as so many have granted a wish or a need of the name hanging on that tree, the donation boxes are overflowing with hats, coats and scarves, so many in cheerful moods, smiles meet at every turn.  I wish this was a feeling people kept in their hearts throughout the year, not for just a few very short months. I know many give to a charity monthly, which is fantastic. My challenge to you is to break out of your box and bring back your giving heart, keep it throughout the year, give to a family in need, a child in need, have a garage sale and donate all the proceeds to your favorite charity.
My inspiration was from a friend of mine who set up a lemonade and cupcake stand with her children last summer and all of the money donated was sent to help those suffering famine in the horn of Africa.

Do you have a favorite charity?

Friends

A few weeks ago we hopped in the car and took the kids to an indoor water park for a few days. On this getaway we meet some friends. Mrs. V and I have been in touch since early in our adoption processes, nearly 3 years, I think. It was great to finally meet in person. We have chatted and followed one another blogs for so long it felt as though we had already met. We had great conversation and had fun watching our girls play together.  Our Little Miss was reunited with Mrs. V's daughter, Miss Z. Miss Z is such a special friend to our Little Miss. They were roomies in Ethiopia. They slept in cribs side by side at HH in Ethiopia. I am so thankful we live close enough to get these two girls together once in a while.

This was our babies bedroom at HH; the crib on the right was E's and the crib on the right was Miss Z's. The crib next to the door belonged to another special little guy that lives fairly close to these two. This little heartbreaker may have two beautiful Ethiopian girls fighting for him in the future. ;) 

Special Friends then (Jan. 2011) in Ethiopia

Still friends in the U.S.A (Feb 2012)

There were 5 or 6 babies in the room our Little Miss, Miss Z, and The Heartbreaker slept in at HH. I have thought it to be amazing that 3 of the 6 ended up within hours of each other, and one of which has the same birth story as my Little Miss. 

There were two other babies in that room that had an unbelievable story. These two babies, a baby girl and boy, were brought to HH at different times and referred to families at different times. As the director, Almaz, of HH began getting the papers ready for court she realized these two babies had the same surname. Almaz researched more and realized they were first cousins; she immediately contacted the adoption agency in the U.S. to have them placed in the same  home, but it was too late. The two had already been referred to different families. Which could possibly have been across the country from one another. The agency looked up the referral information and realized they were place in the same town within a mile of one another. Truly amazing!!!!  God had already had a plan for these two. I believe God also had a plan when he placed Little Miss, Miss Z, and The Heartbreaker within a close range to one another also. 

This and That

Little Miss Shine is beginning to love books! One of my true loves is reading, so I am so glad she is enjoying it also. Her favorite book is "Hop On Pop" by Dr. Suess. I don't know how many times we have read this book since Christmas. "Hop On Pop," she says as she enters the room with the book. Little Miss also likes Sandra Boynton books. She knows that brother can read now too, so when Mom and Dad are busy, she will find brother. He enjoys reading to her as much as she loves him reading to her. 

As for the hat this is her favorite. She finds this hat everyday and brings it to either me or C and wants it on. Much of her day is spend wearing her owl hat. :)

We are planning a mini vacation, so I pulled out the suitcases to start packing. Little Miss was loving climbing in and out. While we are gone, we are planning to get together with a couple that adopted a baby from Ethiopia also. This little girl slept in the crib right next to Little Miss. It is going to be so fun to get the girls together. Mrs. V and I  have shared many emails and followed one another's blogs for the past few years as we shared our adoption journeys; I am looking forward to meeting.

As for the dresser behind Little Miss, I would like to repaint it. Any color ideas????

Bring In The Reinforcements

I have spent much time thinking about our "Obama" incident and can't help but wonder how can I teach my child how to stand up against racism. Is it possible for a caucasian woman to teach a little African American girl how to do so?  I know I can teach her to be self confident and to stand up for herself, but I cannot teach her to be an African American woman when all I know how to be is a caucasian woman. How could I possibly teach her how to be a strong AA women? I can't. I have read many books about biracial adoption and knew there were going to be issues like this. I was just so surprised how early they surface. I have come to the conclusion that it is so important for Little Miss to have an African American mentor. The unfortunate problem is the demographics in this area; 98% caucasian. This quest will be difficult, but I believe it will be worth the search.

Did you just call my baby Obama?

The strangest thing happened today when the kids and I were at the grocery store. I was pushing around the ginormous cart. If you are a mother you know the one with the little car attached to the front. Any time we are a store and there is a cart with a car attached to the front, it is a must. We had made it to the cereal aisle when Big Brother hopped out of the driver's seat and is drooling over all of the cereal choices. We stopped in the middle of the aisle.  Little Miss was sitting in the little car pretending to drive when a woman started to approach us. I watched as she looked directly at my little baby. She approached the cart not taking her eyes from my child. I grabbed the cart handle, ready to pull it back if the woman would try to touch my daughter.

Side note - Many times when we are out in public people believe they have the right to come up and touch my child, usually her hair. I don't understand it. I would never walk up to a stranger and touch their child's hair. Weird.

The woman leaned down and said in a very calm manner, " I will not be voting for YOU again this year. I hate what YOU have done to this country. The health care plan is just a big joke. She finished with saying, "Well, I will give you one thing YOU sure do know have to give a good speech!"  Then she stood up turned around and walked away.  I think my mouth was touching the floor.

What was that?! It was so unexpected; I didn't even know how to respond. She was addressing my sweet girl as Obama! WHAT THE HECK????

I kept an eye out for her as we finished our shopping. I had decided if she tried to approach my cart again I would tell her she was not allowed to address me or my children. What was that?

I mean, does this look like Obama to you?

Happy "Gotcha Day!"

One year ago today we landed in Ethiopia to bring our daughter home. We traveled for just over 17 hours. I think I only slept for about 2 hours the entire flight; I couldn't wait to be reunited with my daughter. I knew every moment I was closer and closer to my child.

We landed in Ethiopia around noon. Our agency told us a few days before we left that we wouldn't be reunited with our child until the day after we arrived in Ethiopia. I thought I would be able to rest when at the hotel. I was wrong.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were handed our itinerary. It stated that we would be taken to HH and we would be bring our child back to the hotel with us that day! I was SO EXCITED!!! My baby would be in my arms in a matter of hours! No more nights without my sweet baby girl. Then the panic set in....I hadn't slept for over 24 hours....what if she is frightened and cries all night?

My husband and I checked into our room. He took a nap so at least one of us would be coherent if Little Miss would have a rough night. I prepared everything for our first night with our little girl. Bottles in place, formula unpacked, pacifiers, diapers, blankets, toys, etc. Then I packed the diaper bag. Before we knew it we were on our way to HH, the last time we would make the trip without our little girl, no more goodbyes or "see you soons." I would be able to tell her the waiting is over it is time to go home.

We entered HH and the gates closed behind us. We had been separated by an ocean; now just walls. My body was shaking, my eyes were full of tears, I knew I would not be able to utter a word without turning into a blubbering mess. Within moments she would be in my arms. We entered the baby's playroom. I was scanning the room for my baby girl. I couldn't find her. 15-20 babies were in the room where was my little one? I skipped over the babies with little or no hair, knowing my baby had a head full. Then a nanny signaled me and pointed to my precious little girl. There she was..my beautiful baby girl. Another nanny was sitting in a green chair rocking and giving her a bottle; Little Miss was sleeping. Her hair was pulled into many little pigtails. The nanny handed her to me. Finally in my arms again! The wait was over!

She was sleeping. (A bit anti-climatic) Little Miss woke us within the hour and immediately smiled. It was almost like she remembered us. All smiles. What an amazing day it was!

But, that was just the beginning of this journey we are on. Little Miss has been with us for a year today and has given us so many smiles every day. Words cannot express how blessed I am to have the privilege to raise this beautiful little girl.

Happy "Gotcha Day" to my Little Miss!

(BTW - no reason to worry about no sleep. We all sleep just fine those first few nights in Ethiopia! Mommy, Daddy and baby)

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.