Our first holiday all together -Easter

Can you tell they LOVE each other?

The Time has Come

It has begun...planting season. This is one of the times of year I am a single parent. My husband will work from sun up to a few hours past sun down. As difficult as this part of the year is for me, I think it is more difficult for him. Some days he will only see the kids for an hour for so. Our son will also struggle with daddy being gone for so many hours. G LOVES playing with his daddy. I am just not as wild as daddy during playtime.

I think I am as ready as I can be. The most difficult part is not having a break. This will be the first year that G is not taking an afternoon nap, so my day will begin around 6:30am and end whenever the kids are both in bed and the housework is finished for the day. I always aim for 8pm bedtime, but this is not always the case. Any mother knows after the kids go to bed, it is time to clean up and prepare for the next day. I also try to stay awake until C returns home to try to stay connected as much as possible.

This will be the first year with E. She does not do well with others holding her either, so a break may be tough to come by. I wonder how baby E is going to handle the routine change, hopefully, she will adapt well. I always try to take the kids out to the field to see daddy at least once in during the day. I am thinking she may be a handful in the tractor trying to push or grab any button or gear that she can get her little hands on. She is not a baby who is just be content to sit quietly. ;)

I am praying for a safe planting season, great weather so they can finished quickly, and peace in my home.

Say What???

We have been home just shy of 3 months now and have been leaving the house much more with Baby E the past few weeks. We definitely receive many double takes when we are out some more discreet than others. Yes, I have one child who is very fair skinned with almost white hair and another who has dark skin and masses of curly black hair. Yes, I am the mother of BOTH of these children!

I am surprised at some of the strange things people say, or how they think they can stop you and ask you 101 questions about my baby's history and not consider themselves rude. It is just so bizarre. When you have a child that looks like you, no one will stop and ask a single question about that child. But, when a child looks different than you, why do people feel like they can ask anything about that child. I just don't get it!

Here are a few of the craziest questions or statements I have heard so far:

1. Does she speak her African language? Me-"She is just a baby; she doesn't speak yet." (What the heck?! She looks no where near old enough to talk.)

2. I have never seen one up close; she is adorable. - Me - "You have never seen what up close, a child?"

3. Oh, how wonderful of you to adopt an orphan! We are so proud of you! Clarify-We did NOT do anything wonderful!!!! We wanted another child now we have one. Baby E lost the chance of truly learning how to be an Ethiopian woman, to learn her country's traditions and culture without a book, her ability to become a native speaker...need I go on.

3. What does "your little boy" think? Me-" It is his sister and he loves her."

4. What does "your husband" think? Me-Well, her father loves her.

It is difficult to just walk away when my 4 year old, the proud big brother, wants to share everything he knows about his sister. G states,"This is my baby sister, E! She is from Ethiopia; that is in Africa!" I am happy he is so proud. My son sees his sister. He does not see that she looks different than us. He doesn't realized that the majority of families in this area do not have adopted African children or adopted children at all. All he sees is his family, a father, a mother, a brother and a sister. He will be started preschool this fall and I worry about some of his innocence being broken and gone forever. I wished we lived in a world where everyone accepted all types of families whether tradition, adoptive, or non-traditional.

Pigtails and Pattycake

My little girl is seven months old and can wear her hair in pigtails! Yes, all of her hair can be pulled into two puffballs on the top of her head. I love it!

Due to my baby's massive amount of hair, I ordered some African American hair products. They arrive in the mail today, so, of course, we had to immediately try them out. I was shocked at how much easier her hair was to comb after her bath and so soft.

When in Ethiopia we were told that it really wasn't necessary to use special products until we could see a texture change or she was a year old, but her hair was becoming very matted in the back. I was have been worried about damaging her hair due to not keeping it moisturized. My daughter has a crazy amount of hair. I thought we should try something. I researched, read blogs, asked other adoptive mothers what they recommended. I have a blog buddy who is the mother of two beautiful Ethiopian girls, one with loose curls and the other with tight curls. She recommended the product that I ordered, thanks Molly. :)

Baby E has also started to play patty cake. As soon as I begin to sing, "patty cake, patty cake, baker's man...." she will start to smile and clap her hands. E is so proud of herself.

She is also becoming mobile, quite slowly at the moment. E is inching herself slowing along the floor. Currently, it looks a bit painful; all of that work for about an inch of progress. I don't think it will be long and she will be across the room.

Ethiopia has changed me. I knew this as soon as I was back from trip one. (When we visited our daughter and attend our court date.) I just don't think I could even being to imagine how much. Sadly, I must say that since we have returned home with our daughter, I haven't had much time to think about much other than my daily mothering duties, so Ethiopia has been on one of the back burners in my mind.

Yesterday, I ran into a family from church who is also adopting from Ethiopia. They had recently returned from their first court trip. We visited about the trip and, of course, I viewed photos of their beautiful Ethiopian daughter. Now they are waiting to receive a confirmed embassy date soon, so they may bring her home. As the mother was leafing through the photo book and sharing some of their trip with me, it brought back many images of Ethiopia. We had experienced many of the same things while in country. The praise and worship team had began to play, so our conversation was fairly brief.

When I entered the sanctuary and found a seat, I became immediately overwhelmed with many emotions and images I had not thought of since returning. I thought I was going to have a complete breakdown during the service. I asked myself, "What is wrong with you? Why are you bawling?" I was able to stop the tears and participate in the rest of the service, but continued to question myself throughout the day and into today.

My conclusion was a variety of ideas. When we had to leave our baby girl in Ethiopia to return and wait for our embassy date, I thought I was going to crumble. I must admit those were some of the most difficult weeks of my life. So, I believe I was empathizing with the adoptive couple. One of the other reasons was that while Ethiopia is a beautiful country with such welcoming people, the poverty is quite overwhelming. There are images that will permanently be with me. I realized the person standing in front of me had seen many of the same images. She knew what I had seen as I knew many of the same images in her mind. I felt like it was someone who I could share my experience with without any reservation. She would understand what I experienced more than anyone other than my husband in this area. (I only know a few families who have adopted from Ethiopia and most live many hours away.)

I am so thankful to have met this couple. They have biological sons and soon an Ethiopia daughter. We are biracial families, there are going to be many situations that we will have to deal with that others simply do not understand. Our children will see there are other families that look like our family, which I believe is so important for both of my children.

So tonight I say a prayer for this family as they wait for their beautiful daughter to come home. I pray for an embassy date to come soon and that their family transition will be peaceful and secure.

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

Happy Valentines Day from my two little sweethearts!

6 Months Old TODAY!

She is such a sweet and happy baby. We are SO lucky to be her parents!

We have been home for nearly a month. Wow, I can't believe it has been that long already. We are all starting to adjust to our new routine with child number 2. Baby E is begining to show some early signs of attachment. She is making eye contact without any problems with C and I. Baby E is starting to have stranger anxiety, YAY! Baby E is sleeping through the night and has starting napping without me holding her. I think she is finally feeling comfortable with her home.

She LOVES her big brother! When he enters the room, she will squeal and wait for him to entertain her. If you haven't met my son, he loves to put on a show.
He loves her just as much or even more. G can't stand it when E is napping. As soon as G hears a peep out of E, he states, "Mom, E's AWAKE! Can I go play with her?" He will crawl into her crib with her. They will play in the crib together for awhile. I love listening to the baby monitor to hear them both giggling.

I am so thankful for these 2 beautiful children God has given me.