Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Summer Vacation
Obviously, I have not been good about keeping up this blog. With 5 kids, I feel like I can't keep up with anything. So I thought I would at least post some pictures of our vacation.
Every other year we go on a big vacation with Darren's side of the family. Grandma Judy rents a big house for us and we all stay for a week under the same roof. Yes, seriously :) I know of so many people that comment that they could not vacation for 2 days with their extended family. We must be the exception because we always have a wonderful time. It is so much fun and we can't wait until the next time we get together. Usually, about a week after we return there are emails back and forth about where to go on the next vacation! This year was extra special because everyone in the family was able to join us. Cole, my nephew, is now in the Air Force, and we weren't sure if he would be able to make it, but he did!!!! Zac, also my nephew, just graduated from the U of I and was job hunting at the time. We didn't know day to day if he was going to make it either, but he did. Along with Seth who got to experience his first Bodine vacation.......poor guy. We are a very loud family :) Hannah brought her friend, Chelsie, and she was an awesome addition to our family......but also mentioned the loudness....... :)
Darren is Mr. Photo, so he took a TON of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.
Every other year we go on a big vacation with Darren's side of the family. Grandma Judy rents a big house for us and we all stay for a week under the same roof. Yes, seriously :) I know of so many people that comment that they could not vacation for 2 days with their extended family. We must be the exception because we always have a wonderful time. It is so much fun and we can't wait until the next time we get together. Usually, about a week after we return there are emails back and forth about where to go on the next vacation! This year was extra special because everyone in the family was able to join us. Cole, my nephew, is now in the Air Force, and we weren't sure if he would be able to make it, but he did!!!! Zac, also my nephew, just graduated from the U of I and was job hunting at the time. We didn't know day to day if he was going to make it either, but he did. Along with Seth who got to experience his first Bodine vacation.......poor guy. We are a very loud family :) Hannah brought her friend, Chelsie, and she was an awesome addition to our family......but also mentioned the loudness....... :)
Darren is Mr. Photo, so he took a TON of pictures, but here are a few of my favorites.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Home 6 Months
So, we have been home for 6 months. That is really hard for me to wrap my mind around. It seems like years ago we were on a plane traveling to Ethiopia. But it also seems like we have barely been home a month. So much has changed, yet we still have so far to go.
In general, the girls are doing great. They have settled in to our family very well. Ava and Eliza LOVE their brothers and sisters. They also love their dog, fish and hamster, unfortunately, Buddy the hamster went to heaven today. Ava was very very upset. She cried herself to sleep. Sorry for the downer, but it is part of life.
Ava has really changed. When she came home she was quiet and withdrawn. Now is she very talkative and a silly little girl. She still has a few moments of digression, but there has been a huge personality change. I do think that she was old enough in ET to understand that her mother could not care for her and had to take her to the orphanage. She immediately took to Darren, and it took Ava some time to warm up to me. Now, she barely let's me out of her sight. She went from one extreme to the other. She wants to know where I am at all times and does not like it when I have to leave. I guess she is finally getting attached to me :)
Ava has gone from this:
To this!!!
From early on, we knew Ava was older than her ET birth certificate stated. We decided to celebrate her birthday in May. We are hoping to get her birthday changed, but we won't know until we go for our final re-adoption in July. Anyway, here are some pictures from the celebration.
When we met Eliza for the first time in late October, she was teeny tiny. Barely 18 pounds and wearing a size 9 month. She was still crawling and very shy. Now.....well, she is running, jumping, laughing and talking nonstop. She has done a complete 360. Liza will be 2 next week, by her ET birth certificate. I think the date is fairly accurate. She has been screened by a speech therapist and developmental therapist. She was at about 50% in January....now she is off the charts. She has grown and changed so much. She talks nonstop, runs nonstop and plays nonstop. She is exhausting just to watch!! I wish I had half her energy!!!
Liza is your typical two year old. Into everything!!! She still does not sleep through the night, that worries me a little. I know at the orphanage they would give the babies a bottle at bedtime, and Liza still wants that....but she is also still waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle. I have no clue how we are going to break her of this habit. But his mamma needs some sleep!!!
She has also started throwing major fits.....not sure if this is an "adoption thing" or a 2 year old thing. You would think after raising 3 bio kids of my own, I would know how to handle this. But she had me stumped. I kind of feel helpless when it happens. But I am looking into having someone work with us....hopefully, it will help both of us.
This was Liza the first day we met her:
This is little LiLi today
What can I say? That pictures shows ALL of her personality!!!
In general, the girls are doing great. They have settled in to our family very well. Ava and Eliza LOVE their brothers and sisters. They also love their dog, fish and hamster, unfortunately, Buddy the hamster went to heaven today. Ava was very very upset. She cried herself to sleep. Sorry for the downer, but it is part of life.
Ava has really changed. When she came home she was quiet and withdrawn. Now is she very talkative and a silly little girl. She still has a few moments of digression, but there has been a huge personality change. I do think that she was old enough in ET to understand that her mother could not care for her and had to take her to the orphanage. She immediately took to Darren, and it took Ava some time to warm up to me. Now, she barely let's me out of her sight. She went from one extreme to the other. She wants to know where I am at all times and does not like it when I have to leave. I guess she is finally getting attached to me :)
Ava has gone from this:
To this!!!
From early on, we knew Ava was older than her ET birth certificate stated. We decided to celebrate her birthday in May. We are hoping to get her birthday changed, but we won't know until we go for our final re-adoption in July. Anyway, here are some pictures from the celebration.
When we met Eliza for the first time in late October, she was teeny tiny. Barely 18 pounds and wearing a size 9 month. She was still crawling and very shy. Now.....well, she is running, jumping, laughing and talking nonstop. She has done a complete 360. Liza will be 2 next week, by her ET birth certificate. I think the date is fairly accurate. She has been screened by a speech therapist and developmental therapist. She was at about 50% in January....now she is off the charts. She has grown and changed so much. She talks nonstop, runs nonstop and plays nonstop. She is exhausting just to watch!! I wish I had half her energy!!!
Liza is your typical two year old. Into everything!!! She still does not sleep through the night, that worries me a little. I know at the orphanage they would give the babies a bottle at bedtime, and Liza still wants that....but she is also still waking up in the middle of the night for a bottle. I have no clue how we are going to break her of this habit. But his mamma needs some sleep!!!
She has also started throwing major fits.....not sure if this is an "adoption thing" or a 2 year old thing. You would think after raising 3 bio kids of my own, I would know how to handle this. But she had me stumped. I kind of feel helpless when it happens. But I am looking into having someone work with us....hopefully, it will help both of us.
This was Liza the first day we met her:
This is little LiLi today
What can I say? That pictures shows ALL of her personality!!!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Is there such a thing as "good insanity" ?
It seems like forever that I have been on here. It is so hard to find time to collect my thoughts and actually type them out. To say the least, our life is insane......but a good insane. I have 5 kids ranging in ages almost 16 to almost 2. YIKES....scary on both ends of the spectrum. Really for those of you with kids.....that's all I need to say. You know how nuts things get.
To be very honest, this road has not been easy- but so worth it. I wouldn't change anything.....other than maybe not getting audited by the IRS and STILL not having our tax credit. But I digress........back to the kids. As all of you know, we adopted two beautiful girls from Ethiopia and brought them home December 5th, 2010. How life has changed. :) My bio youngest, Owen is 8...so I have not had toddlers around for a long time. Man, can they trash a house in a matter of minutes!!! I'm back to buying baby dolls and tutus. Hannah is almost 16 and she no longer lets me dress her up like I used to...darn. I can no longer take off to run to Target at any time of day....I had forgotten nap times.....I'm home every afternoon now!! :) But what has changed for the better is that I have two sweeties running around saying "mommy mommy" all day long. And the first time Ava told me she loved me....well, my heart nearly stopped. And of course, you can't forget the slobbery wet kisses from Liza.
We have had some rough days, language barriers, emotions, culture shock...you name, we've had it. Along with Giardia and ring worm :) But there are a lot of good days in there too. Ava and Eliza have only been home just over 5 months, so we are still getting to know each other. What I have learned in the past 5 months is that their personalities have changed dramatically since we meet them back in October for the first time. We really had no idea who they were.
We still don't....but I do know that Eliza is the most strong willed child I have ever crossed paths with, Seriously. Ask anyone who meets her. She is also funny. So funny that she laughs at herself quite a bit. She is every bit of a super crazy almost two year old. She runs, doesn't walk, she screams, doesn't talk. But she is sooooo stinkin cute I can hardly stand it. And when she snuggles with me, I melt. And believe me those snuggles are few and far between. She is way too busy to snuggle. She has places to go and people to see.
Ava is complex. She is almost 4 or 18....at least the attitude is 18. She has also changed so much since December. She came to us a very shy and quiet. She can still be a bit shy in new situations but she is not quiet by any means. In the first few months she would try so hard to talk to me. I had no clue what she was saying. We communicated with alot of pointing. As time went on and she picked up some English things got better, but still hard. I will never forget making lunch for the girls and Ava kept pointing and saying what sounded to me like "yummycake". And since I own a bakery and bring home treats a lot I figured she wanted cake. The more I told her we didn't have cake, the more persistent she got. She kept pointing to the top of the fridge...so I showed her everything up there. When I grabbed a napkin, she said "YES, numikin". Poor thing, I swear she was asking for yummy cake. I have funny video of her telling me stories about the boys....in very broken English. I could pick out "Owen" "chow" and "booty" that was about it, the rest was foreign to me....literally :)
Here it is, have a good laugh.
I would say Ava is speaking 90% English now. It's kind of sad actually. I miss the ramblings and songs in Wolientinga, her native language. She still struggles sometimes to get her point across, but things are much easier. She has picked up on a few American culture items fast....one, the cell phone. She loves the phone. She has a old cell phone that she plays with all the time. She carries on conversations and actually pauses to listen to whomever answer :) When I ask her who it is, she usually says "Grandpa". Other times, it's Huddy, Sena or Joey. While she is having these long conversations, she usually has one hand on her hip. She also loves Owen's Nintendo DS. She has no clue what she is doing, but she sure tries. She has also figured out my iPhone. You may have gotten a random phone call from me.......with no one talking on the other end. That's usually Ava, although I have been known to butt dial a few people myself. :) When it comes to adjusting and bonding, I think Ava is a work in progress. She is doing really well, but will have a set back now and then. Sometimes when she is upset she "zones"....can't really explain it. She doesn't talk or make eye contact. She used to get in the "zone" a lot, now- not so much. But when it does happen it just breaks my heart. It takes me back to that day we had to take her back to the transition house in Ethiopia and leave her again. I have pictures of that "zone". It's heartbreaking. As far as her personality, not sure yet. She has really change since October. Ava is also very strong willed, but nothing compared to Liza! She is very much a "motherer" she loves her baby dolls and Liza.....there are many times that I have to tell her, "I'm the mommy, let me do that." I swear if I let her she would do laundry, clean house and take care of Liza for me. Don't get me wrong.....when she helps it's amazing. But I don't want her to feel like that is her job. But, my girls love to clean....give them a towel and they will take the finish off a table!!!
So that's it. We are taking it day by day. We are having so much fun getting to know our girls. My bio kids are amazing with them and the girls LOVE them. They light up when the kids get home from school. Ava wants to know where everyone is at all times. So we go through the schedule many times a day. And with the 3 big kids running here and there it can get pretty confusing....even to me. :)
Here are some recent pictures of the girls. They are getting bigger although still small for their ages. Liza is a whopping 22 pounds at 23 months!!!!!! She is still in 18 month clothing....Ava has finally hit the same age-same size. 4T, but she is still short for her age. My little peanuts.
First picture is Ava, Liza and Sena-also adopted from ET, they are all playing with their phones.
Next picture is Ava and Owen or "Owie" as the girls call him.
Ava at Grandma Judy's for Easter.
Liza at Grandma's Sandy's for Easter, this picture is a perfect representation of our girl!!!
Liza "running" to find Easter eggs at Grandma Judy's house.
To be very honest, this road has not been easy- but so worth it. I wouldn't change anything.....other than maybe not getting audited by the IRS and STILL not having our tax credit. But I digress........back to the kids. As all of you know, we adopted two beautiful girls from Ethiopia and brought them home December 5th, 2010. How life has changed. :) My bio youngest, Owen is 8...so I have not had toddlers around for a long time. Man, can they trash a house in a matter of minutes!!! I'm back to buying baby dolls and tutus. Hannah is almost 16 and she no longer lets me dress her up like I used to...darn. I can no longer take off to run to Target at any time of day....I had forgotten nap times.....I'm home every afternoon now!! :) But what has changed for the better is that I have two sweeties running around saying "mommy mommy" all day long. And the first time Ava told me she loved me....well, my heart nearly stopped. And of course, you can't forget the slobbery wet kisses from Liza.
We have had some rough days, language barriers, emotions, culture shock...you name, we've had it. Along with Giardia and ring worm :) But there are a lot of good days in there too. Ava and Eliza have only been home just over 5 months, so we are still getting to know each other. What I have learned in the past 5 months is that their personalities have changed dramatically since we meet them back in October for the first time. We really had no idea who they were.
We still don't....but I do know that Eliza is the most strong willed child I have ever crossed paths with, Seriously. Ask anyone who meets her. She is also funny. So funny that she laughs at herself quite a bit. She is every bit of a super crazy almost two year old. She runs, doesn't walk, she screams, doesn't talk. But she is sooooo stinkin cute I can hardly stand it. And when she snuggles with me, I melt. And believe me those snuggles are few and far between. She is way too busy to snuggle. She has places to go and people to see.
Ava is complex. She is almost 4 or 18....at least the attitude is 18. She has also changed so much since December. She came to us a very shy and quiet. She can still be a bit shy in new situations but she is not quiet by any means. In the first few months she would try so hard to talk to me. I had no clue what she was saying. We communicated with alot of pointing. As time went on and she picked up some English things got better, but still hard. I will never forget making lunch for the girls and Ava kept pointing and saying what sounded to me like "yummycake". And since I own a bakery and bring home treats a lot I figured she wanted cake. The more I told her we didn't have cake, the more persistent she got. She kept pointing to the top of the fridge...so I showed her everything up there. When I grabbed a napkin, she said "YES, numikin". Poor thing, I swear she was asking for yummy cake. I have funny video of her telling me stories about the boys....in very broken English. I could pick out "Owen" "chow" and "booty" that was about it, the rest was foreign to me....literally :)
Here it is, have a good laugh.
I would say Ava is speaking 90% English now. It's kind of sad actually. I miss the ramblings and songs in Wolientinga, her native language. She still struggles sometimes to get her point across, but things are much easier. She has picked up on a few American culture items fast....one, the cell phone. She loves the phone. She has a old cell phone that she plays with all the time. She carries on conversations and actually pauses to listen to whomever answer :) When I ask her who it is, she usually says "Grandpa". Other times, it's Huddy, Sena or Joey. While she is having these long conversations, she usually has one hand on her hip. She also loves Owen's Nintendo DS. She has no clue what she is doing, but she sure tries. She has also figured out my iPhone. You may have gotten a random phone call from me.......with no one talking on the other end. That's usually Ava, although I have been known to butt dial a few people myself. :) When it comes to adjusting and bonding, I think Ava is a work in progress. She is doing really well, but will have a set back now and then. Sometimes when she is upset she "zones"....can't really explain it. She doesn't talk or make eye contact. She used to get in the "zone" a lot, now- not so much. But when it does happen it just breaks my heart. It takes me back to that day we had to take her back to the transition house in Ethiopia and leave her again. I have pictures of that "zone". It's heartbreaking. As far as her personality, not sure yet. She has really change since October. Ava is also very strong willed, but nothing compared to Liza! She is very much a "motherer" she loves her baby dolls and Liza.....there are many times that I have to tell her, "I'm the mommy, let me do that." I swear if I let her she would do laundry, clean house and take care of Liza for me. Don't get me wrong.....when she helps it's amazing. But I don't want her to feel like that is her job. But, my girls love to clean....give them a towel and they will take the finish off a table!!!
So that's it. We are taking it day by day. We are having so much fun getting to know our girls. My bio kids are amazing with them and the girls LOVE them. They light up when the kids get home from school. Ava wants to know where everyone is at all times. So we go through the schedule many times a day. And with the 3 big kids running here and there it can get pretty confusing....even to me. :)
Here are some recent pictures of the girls. They are getting bigger although still small for their ages. Liza is a whopping 22 pounds at 23 months!!!!!! She is still in 18 month clothing....Ava has finally hit the same age-same size. 4T, but she is still short for her age. My little peanuts.
First picture is Ava, Liza and Sena-also adopted from ET, they are all playing with their phones.
Next picture is Ava and Owen or "Owie" as the girls call him.
Ava at Grandma Judy's for Easter.
Liza at Grandma's Sandy's for Easter, this picture is a perfect representation of our girl!!!
Liza "running" to find Easter eggs at Grandma Judy's house.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
A Family of Seven
We have been home now for almost 4 months.....wow, does that seem weird. On one hand, it seems like the girls have always been here, on the other, it seems like we just flew to Ethiopia to meet them for the first time. So much has changed.
When we first came home I felt like I had to walk on eggshells around the girls. I just never knew what would set them off or upset them. The language barrier was so hard with Ava. She would get so frustrated. Now, she is talking English about 90% of the time. I have a few videos of her singing and talking in her native language. I am soooooo glad that I took those. One day I am guessing she will remember very little, if any, of her language. She still has an accent, but I wonder how long that will last. It makes me sad that she will not be able to maintain her language skills. And Eliza knew only a few words in Wolyntinga. Now she is picking up so many english words it's crazy.
The girls seem to be doing ok, I guess. We had a few rough weeks at first. Ava was really grieving. She is so young, but she had to understand that she lost her family and everything she knew as "her life". It took some time but I think Ava finally feels like we are her mom and dad. She immediately took to Darren, but she seemed a bit distant towards me. Then just one day it kind of clicked. I put her to bed and laid down with her, she laid there for a bit squirming around. I held her hand and told her that I loved her. She leaned over and kissed me and went right to sleep. At that moment, it seemed like she "let me in". Ava's personality has really come out. She is silly, very particular about certain things, very much a "motherer", and the girl loves to clean. She has really attached to her brothers and she loves Hannah to do her hair and her nails. I think she is still on the fence about Liza...... :)
Eliza is a ball of fire. She is a teeny tiny ball of fire. She is almost two but is still wearing 12-18 month clothing. She is on full speed at all times. Liza is so afraid she is going to miss out on something that she just runs from one end of the house to the other and usually wiping out 2 or 3 times along the way. She is a monkey, she climbs everything. Up on the barstools, on chairs, up the stairs, down the stairs, and she FALLS off the stools, chairs, and stairs. She trips over her own feet, she is a wild child. And so darn funny. We laugh a lot at her and she eats it up. Liza is also very strong willed. She wants to do everything herself. Stubborn stubborn stubborn. But she is so stinkin' cute it's hard to stay mad at her too long. Liza loves her sister Ava....follows her everywhere and tries to do everything she does. Ava gets very annoyed with all of it. Ava bosses her around but Liza usually stands her ground.
The girls are very jealous of our time with each of them. It does get hard sometimes. It's those days that I am home alone with the two of them and they are both having a very "needy" day, that get so hard for me. I can tell you that I have had some rough days. I just feel overwhelmed sometimes. There are days my house is so loud that I can barely stand it, but I do. I have to, that's my job as a Mom. God has entrusted these girls to us and I really don't want to screw it up. I can honestly say there has never been one moment that I have regretted or questioned adopting these beautiful girls. I know they are supposed to be here. I just question my ability to parent them. I just want to be the best mommy I can be.
Like I said, we have our hard days....but there are so many good days too. Or even great moments. Both girls are silly. We laugh a lot and the sound of their laughter almost makes me cry. Ava was so shy and quite at first, now she talks non stop and sings, dances and loves to wrestle with her brothers. Liza is a show off, shoot-she makes herself laugh. Her smile melts my heart.
I honestly can't imagine our lives without them. Hannah, Luke and Owen have done so well adapting to our new larger family. I didn't know how they would feel about the girls once they were actually home. They are so good with them. They help out, they play so well with them....and the girls absolutely adore them. One of Liza's first words was Owie.....and she repeats it over and over and over.
We have been so blessed. We are so lucky they are now apart of our family. Whenever anyone stops me and asks about the girls, I tell a quick story of their adoption. And usually they say something like "oh, they are so lucky to have you as parents". No, we are lucky to have them as our daughters. We have been blessed by them. They have changed our family for the better. It's funny how your priorities change. We are currently looking for another house....and not necessarily a bigger one, which would make sense considering we added two kids to the mix. Our house is big, we have plenty of room for all of us. We would just like to be in town, a little closer to my job and closer to the school. Which means less running for all of us. There are many days I make 2,3, sometimes 4 trips a day back and forth into town. We actually found a house we like, it is smaller, but we really like it. I guess I was usually a" bigger is better" person. I like houses, I like clothes and I love shoes. But now....none of that really matters. I just want my kids to grow up happy and know that they were loved fully. I don't want to toot my own horn, but being ok with buying a smaller, less fancy house than what we now have is huge for me. Huge. It just doesn't matter. I now have to think about putting 5 kids through college. All I have to do is pull out our pictures of Ethiopia and it puts all material things in perspective. I think it should be a college requirement to travel to a 3rd world country, seriously. I hope it has changed my oldest daughter's thinking about things. I hope it has touched her heart like it did mine.
So to sum it up......we are all doing pretty well. We seem to have found our groove.
I want to thank all of my friends and family for being so supportive through these first few months. It has helped so much know we have people out there praying for us.
When we first came home I felt like I had to walk on eggshells around the girls. I just never knew what would set them off or upset them. The language barrier was so hard with Ava. She would get so frustrated. Now, she is talking English about 90% of the time. I have a few videos of her singing and talking in her native language. I am soooooo glad that I took those. One day I am guessing she will remember very little, if any, of her language. She still has an accent, but I wonder how long that will last. It makes me sad that she will not be able to maintain her language skills. And Eliza knew only a few words in Wolyntinga. Now she is picking up so many english words it's crazy.
The girls seem to be doing ok, I guess. We had a few rough weeks at first. Ava was really grieving. She is so young, but she had to understand that she lost her family and everything she knew as "her life". It took some time but I think Ava finally feels like we are her mom and dad. She immediately took to Darren, but she seemed a bit distant towards me. Then just one day it kind of clicked. I put her to bed and laid down with her, she laid there for a bit squirming around. I held her hand and told her that I loved her. She leaned over and kissed me and went right to sleep. At that moment, it seemed like she "let me in". Ava's personality has really come out. She is silly, very particular about certain things, very much a "motherer", and the girl loves to clean. She has really attached to her brothers and she loves Hannah to do her hair and her nails. I think she is still on the fence about Liza...... :)
Eliza is a ball of fire. She is a teeny tiny ball of fire. She is almost two but is still wearing 12-18 month clothing. She is on full speed at all times. Liza is so afraid she is going to miss out on something that she just runs from one end of the house to the other and usually wiping out 2 or 3 times along the way. She is a monkey, she climbs everything. Up on the barstools, on chairs, up the stairs, down the stairs, and she FALLS off the stools, chairs, and stairs. She trips over her own feet, she is a wild child. And so darn funny. We laugh a lot at her and she eats it up. Liza is also very strong willed. She wants to do everything herself. Stubborn stubborn stubborn. But she is so stinkin' cute it's hard to stay mad at her too long. Liza loves her sister Ava....follows her everywhere and tries to do everything she does. Ava gets very annoyed with all of it. Ava bosses her around but Liza usually stands her ground.
The girls are very jealous of our time with each of them. It does get hard sometimes. It's those days that I am home alone with the two of them and they are both having a very "needy" day, that get so hard for me. I can tell you that I have had some rough days. I just feel overwhelmed sometimes. There are days my house is so loud that I can barely stand it, but I do. I have to, that's my job as a Mom. God has entrusted these girls to us and I really don't want to screw it up. I can honestly say there has never been one moment that I have regretted or questioned adopting these beautiful girls. I know they are supposed to be here. I just question my ability to parent them. I just want to be the best mommy I can be.
Like I said, we have our hard days....but there are so many good days too. Or even great moments. Both girls are silly. We laugh a lot and the sound of their laughter almost makes me cry. Ava was so shy and quite at first, now she talks non stop and sings, dances and loves to wrestle with her brothers. Liza is a show off, shoot-she makes herself laugh. Her smile melts my heart.
I honestly can't imagine our lives without them. Hannah, Luke and Owen have done so well adapting to our new larger family. I didn't know how they would feel about the girls once they were actually home. They are so good with them. They help out, they play so well with them....and the girls absolutely adore them. One of Liza's first words was Owie.....and she repeats it over and over and over.
We have been so blessed. We are so lucky they are now apart of our family. Whenever anyone stops me and asks about the girls, I tell a quick story of their adoption. And usually they say something like "oh, they are so lucky to have you as parents". No, we are lucky to have them as our daughters. We have been blessed by them. They have changed our family for the better. It's funny how your priorities change. We are currently looking for another house....and not necessarily a bigger one, which would make sense considering we added two kids to the mix. Our house is big, we have plenty of room for all of us. We would just like to be in town, a little closer to my job and closer to the school. Which means less running for all of us. There are many days I make 2,3, sometimes 4 trips a day back and forth into town. We actually found a house we like, it is smaller, but we really like it. I guess I was usually a" bigger is better" person. I like houses, I like clothes and I love shoes. But now....none of that really matters. I just want my kids to grow up happy and know that they were loved fully. I don't want to toot my own horn, but being ok with buying a smaller, less fancy house than what we now have is huge for me. Huge. It just doesn't matter. I now have to think about putting 5 kids through college. All I have to do is pull out our pictures of Ethiopia and it puts all material things in perspective. I think it should be a college requirement to travel to a 3rd world country, seriously. I hope it has changed my oldest daughter's thinking about things. I hope it has touched her heart like it did mine.
So to sum it up......we are all doing pretty well. We seem to have found our groove.
I want to thank all of my friends and family for being so supportive through these first few months. It has helped so much know we have people out there praying for us.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Our House is for Sale!!!!
Well, we are going to do it. We are putting our house for sale. We would like to get closer to the schools and work. Pass along to anyone you know who is looking for a great house!!!
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