My girls

Pretty in pink

Here is our first picture of miss O. actually wearing pink!

Just for fun...here is the first picture we received of her. This was taken the first of June. Look how much her hair has grown!!!!!!

5 more days...

5 more days!!!! Okay, so I seriously need to get busy packing! I have a bedroom full of piles. I need to make lists, cook meals for my family and put in the freezer, pack, laundry, clean....etc, etc, etc....

We are blessed by many wonderful friends. We have an amazing support system. Friends helping out while we are gone, friends praying for us, helping us financially. God is good, and we can see Him at work!

Okay, I'm off to finish some laundry, then head to bed.

Lovin' every minute...

My boys

I had fun playing with M.'s hair this morning. She had fun too...

Walking, planes, packing...

This has been quite an eventful week. M. started walking. She decided on day 2 to try the stairs. First outside, then inside. Thankfully she only fell 3 steps each time. But she does have a couple bruises to show. Poor little girl! We also bought her a booster seat so she can sit at the table instead of the high chair for meals. She thinks she is such a big girl! Everything the boys do, she does.



I have plane tickets and leave in just 10 days. 10 more days!!!!!!! I'll be holding little O. in just 12 days! I started packing today. I have been buying stuff and compiling it all in one big stack on our closet shelf. I decided today was the day to see if it would all fit. Much to my surprise, my (hopefully) heaviest suitcase was right around 40 lbs! The weight limit is 50 lbs, so I'd love to be under. My friend Melanie graciously decided to travel with me so I will not be alone. We have a layover in London and another one in Dubai. I have been looking at weather conditions (trying to figure out all the different clothes I need to pack), and local attractions so we can do some quick site seeing.



Yesterday I mowed our yard (or rather, our weeds as the grass is mostly dead). A piece of string got wrapped around the blades. After lifting it up and getting it all untangled, I put the mower down to continue mowing. Or so I thought. Seems I did not set it down as far as I thought and when it dropped, there was another bar which came down rather hard and hit me on my nose. The result was much pain, a slightly swollen nose, and a red mark that appeared today. Lovely. Our cows have been our every day this week, I've been on the phone with doctors and pharmacists trying to figure out if I can get malaria medication, just in case. And tonight we are headed to my sisters house to pick up her crib for miss O. to use!



Thanks for reading,

~A

News from Ethiopia!

This morning I was happy to find an email from a fellow Hope adoptive mom. She is currently in Ethiopia (and will be till the end of the month, so I will get to meet her there!). She was very gracious and took a package to little O. for us. I just sent a soft blanket and little baby doll. And yes, I did buy 2 of each, just in case she gets attached and they can't come home with us (there are over 70 kids in her orphanage. I cannot imagine trying to keep every child's things separate).





Okay, here is the update from Jaclyn... At first she didn't want her doll Ashley but when my friend Rachel rubbed it on her face and showed her what it was then she started playing with it.. I have pictures! She had on the cutest shoes but she had just been woken up so she was not really happy about us poking and prodding!

Special

"Mommy! I picked you a flower! I just want you to feel special because you're the best mommy, and I want to make people feel special. It's nice to pick flowers, isn't it? I love you, mommy!" ...followed by a big, sweet hug....