We got him! He’s home and we’re a family of seven now. Hooray!
Look at the expression on his face…who IS this woman???
Not long after this picture was taken, he started screaming his head off. His special mother had to come and calm him down. He finally went back to me, though…after he fell asleep…and didn’t know I was taking him.
But, he didn’t cry when he woke up and I think he likes us now.
Now, our adventure begins…..
She’s dressed and ready to go.
When Moses stayed with us, he loved, loved, loved our Bear! Unfortunately, she would have nothing to do with him, but he loved her anyway. Tony met one of the pastors when he went back to Liberia with Moses and the pastor heard all about how sweet Bear is. He was so kind to send two outfits and a pair of shoes to her as a gift.
What an expression of kindness and generosity. I’m guessing he didn’t give these out of the extra he had. He probably sacrificed something so he could send them.
We are hoping Pastor Anthony will come to America soon so the rest of our family can meet him. Tony connected with him while in Liberia and considers him a friend.
We are going through Apologia’s Botany course in science right now. We went on a nature walk to find different kinds of leaves (vascular/non-vascular). Just reading about these things is pretty dry, but it’s nice to get out and get our hands dirty.
What is Car doing?
Moss looks like it has leaves, but they are not true leaves. We soaked up water with a paper towel to show how moss gets it’s water.
To finish up our walk, we made color wheels with flowers we could find in the yard. The kids really got excited about trying to find all of the colors.
Keeping busy as we count down the days until we get to bring our sweet boy home.
No, not to the latest movie…to Ethiopia!
We finally got our Embassy date confirmed and bought our tickets. Phew! What a relief that’s over. I was so cautious about getting too excited because I was afraid there would be another delay of some sort. But, now I’m ecstatic!
We’re really going to bring our little man home!
Still waiting for travel confirmation so we can buy our tickets. Maybe we’ll hear something today. If you ask us how we’re doing, we’ll answer Just Beachy.
Or, we could answer Sunburned.
Remember I work best under pressure, so with all I have to do to get ready for our trip I decided…
it was a perfect day to go to the beach with friends.
The kids were catching fish with a net and putting them in a “pond” they made on shore. I thought I got a picture of their creation, but I only got the beginning of the process. They had two separate ponds for catfish and for mullets. It was fun watching the kids work so hard together to take care of those fish.
Here are a few pictures of our day:
When we spent a weekend at the beach a while back, the whole family left without even one hint of pink on them. I felt like a supermom with sunscreen power! Seriously. I’m proud of my kids and tear up when they make good decisions or accomplish something big. But for me – I feel like a good mom when they all eat a healthy dinner and love it, or we spend all day in the sun and no one gets sunburned. Those are the things that make me feel like I’m a good mom.
Well – I feel like a bad mom. Car put his own sunscreen on his face and I forgot to go back and make sure it was all covered. He swiped a few areas. That’s evident by the white streaks throughout the red face, but it’s clear I need to do his sunscreen for him. Then, Ellie helped me with my back, so I have an interesting pattern of pink and white going. Come on sweater season!
So now I’m waiting for a knock on the door. I know the sunscreen judges will be coming to take my medal away from me this afternoon.
Waiting again.
With every milestone in the adoption process, we just seem to get to wait for the next step. I’m getting excited that we are getting closer and closer to the milestone where we get to hold our little guy and bring him home.
Right now, we are waiting to have our Embassy date confirmed so we can book our tickets. We have them on hold now and hopefully will hear something by tomorrow.
I need to hurry up and get this trip over with. The stress of packing is getting to me. My packing style is generally 1) Throw some stuff in a bag and 2) Go to Target when we get wherever we are going and pick up whatever I forgot.
I know – I should write a book with all of my great tips.
Well, I don’t think that’s going to work with this trip. I’m already waking up in the middle of the night thinking of something else I just. can’t. forget. I’m worrying about running out of diapers or food when we’re halfway home on the plane. I guess it’s better to pack too much, but I also don’t want to cart around anymore than necessary. And, I want to have room for everything we might need.
I want to enjoy this trip. I want to learn new things and see what God has to show me. I know He has something to show me. God is taking me out of my bubble. He’s taking me out of my comfort zone. Don’t get me started on how much I don’t like flying. Or, how much I do like my electricity. I’m waiting expectantly to watch God work in my life, and that’s exciting!
All that and a cute, chubby cheeked little boy waiting for us. What could be better?
