For the Love of Chocolate

She may not have come from my belly, but this child has inherited something from me.

The love of chocolate.

And I would say she wears it well. I'm pretty sure I've sported this look myself in the past week as we've jumped on the adoption roller coaster again.

Too bad this look isn't so cute on a grown woman.

This is Good

I reposted this from a friend on FB yesterday (thanks, Jenn) & decided it was too good to not post on my blog, too. It's almost 3 minutes of good stuff...take a listen!! :o)

Just Because

*Sigh*.

It's all coming back to me now.

A little over a week ago I was busy, busy, busy getting our LOI paperwork together to submit to China in the hopes of receiving PA for "Little K". So exciting...so crazy.

And now I sit. It makes me crazy. I feel like I need to do something. Actually, I will either freak my social worker out or she'll think I'm just super on the ball, but I already have a pile of necessary "stuff" filled out & ready to go. Before we've had a visit or been given "the list".

Oy. I hope she doesn't catch on to my controlling efficient personality & freak out too much.

This part is hard. We're expecting. And we've seen her in pictures. But right now, all I can see are all the hoops & red tape in between us, keeping me from holding her.

But it is what it is, so instead of feeling yucky about it, I decided that I would post some pictures...just because. :o)

The Preschool Graduate (Ready for the big game, of course!)

Just had a thought...to pass the time in between shuffling papers, I think I might just begin stalking my other children with a camera since it seems the only ones I get to hold still for pictures are the littles, with the occasional teenager thrown in the mix. I bet they'll love it! ;o)

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One Less

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I should do and, with the help of God, I will do." ~ Edward Hale

I cannot tell you the exact day it happened, but it did. God began working on my heart about all the little ones waiting for a family in China. I was certain it was just me, but He was working on Joe, too.

And so, the wrestling match began. And the praying. And the wrestling.

And then the gift.

We have a daughter waiting for us in China. "Little K" has captured our hearts, & when we heard she "likes busy places with lots of people"...well, that's our family. God has already shown up in lots of amazing ways, but I'll save the details for another time b/c I know you just want to see our baby girl (especially you poor friends that I teased on FB!). And yes, she's still a baby as she's only 7 months older than Kendi.

I certainly hope that whatever she has in her mouth in this last picture was yummy...lol! (And I have no idea why the first pictures are so tiny!)

Thanks for sharing in our excitement!!

Please pray for us & for the daunting paperwork process that lies ahead. Most importantly, pray for our sweet girl, that her heart has hope & is already being prepared for her family.

Wordless Wednesday

Adopting Out of Birth Order

When adopting from Ethiopia, it is not uncommon to have only "guesstimates" with regard to a child's age. The further away from the baby stage a child gets, the harder it is to determine their age. Since children are not relinquished with birth records in hand, the folks in Ethiopia do the best they can to assign a child a birth date. Such was the case with K'Tyo.

When we first inquired about him, a birth date had not yet been assigned, but the general consensus was that he was a young 3. From the looks of the first pictures we received, we thought that to be fairly accurate judging by his appearance. So, in essence, we would be practically twinning he & Kaya.

Right before our court date, we were finally given a birth date for K'Tyo. Surprise!! According to this new information, he is almost 2 years older than Kaya, so instead of artificially twinning we were adopting out of birth order.

We were never really concerned about any of this because we knew God meant for this little boy to be in our family. Since that time, I have done lots of reading about the pros & cons of artificial twinning & adopting out of birth order...I am not trying to be controversial at all, but it's interesting b/c many "experts" say there are more cons than pros. However, there are lots of adoptive parents that think it's been a wonderful thing.

For us & our family? Hands down, it's been a wonderful thing.

Seriously, I have posted several times over the last year about how K'Tyo has not missed a beat with his place in the family. And he & Kaya? I did not pose them for this picture. I happened to have a camera close by when they came around the corner all giggles.

Now, don't think they don't have their sister/brother moments. Dude...Kaya is completely full of her 3-ness, which as far as I'm concerned, is way more challenging than 2! But K'Tyo is definitely one of the most patient & easygoing kids with his sister's shenanigans, & before you know it, she's over her twist & they are back to playing.

These two never cease to melt hearts with the way they stick together. When we are walking someplace, K'Tyo always takes Kaya's hand. When they want to play outside, you can find K'Tyo tying Kaya's shoes for her.

Much has changed over the past year (mostly the size clothes & shoes K'Tyo needs!), but I am so thankful that this sweet relationship between this brother & sister is one thing that has remained beautifully the same.

A Lot Changes in a Year

Here are 7 of my 8 reasons to celebrate Mother's Day!

I am thankful every day to watch these children grow. And reason #8 that's missing from the picture? (aka Kaelee) She's up & left the nest for her senior year of college. *sniff*

Last year, I spent the majority of Mother's Day on an airplane.

Many, many miles, several time zones, & an ash cloud delay later, this was Mother's Day for me. It was a day I will never forget.

Just for fun, I took a picture of K'Tyo in the pants he was wearing one year ago today. He thought I was a bit loco, but we had a few laughs about it.

To make up for the silly dress-up, we pulled out the special duds. Is he not growing up & as handsome as can be??

In a way, I can't believe it's been a year already that we came home from Ethiopia, but on the other hand, it seems like he's been here forever.