Our Adoption Journey

Wonderful News!

2011-08-24T20:38:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share a couple of bits of good news on the adoption front, as well as a potential set back. First, although you may remember that our I-171 finally did come back in June, we were DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) on July 1. This means we are now officially back on the list. Unfortunately about 2 weeks after becoming DTE, we received an email from our agency that projected wait times had greatly increased, from 6-8 months to 10-16 months (this is from DTE to referral). While I am hoping that some of this could all shake out, we are preparing ourselves for another long wait. Adoption is certainly not for the faint of heart, and while my heart sinks thinking about our longer wait, I know first hand that this wait is nothing compared to the wait after you receive "the call." So I hope and pray that situations and processes can get ironed out now.

Now for the really wonderful news. A few weeks ago we found out that we were chosen to receive a $3000 matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans! I wanted to wait to announce it until after we had mailed out our support letters, which was one of the most difficult and humbling things we've had to do. So many of our friends and family have supported us in our various fundraisers that we really hated to ask for help again. We have until September 14th to raise $3000, and Lifesong will match dollar for dollar up to $3000. So if we raise the entire amount, that will be $6000 for our adoption...this is HUGE! So much of this adoption has been filled with setbacks and delays that I think along the way I've forgotten that the One who called us to this is also the One with the entire universe at His command. It was a great reminder that our God is greater and stronger and higher than any other.

If you feel moved to donate, you can click on the link to the right and donate via paypal, just specify Taylor #2081 in the notes section. You can also mail your tax deductible contribution to:

Lifesong for Orphans

PO Box 40 / 202 N. Ford St

Gridley, IL 61744

Just make sure to write Taylor #2081 on the memo line of your check.

Family Day: 2011

2011-08-17T21:51:00.000-04:00

First, a brief disclaimer. I've decided I'm going to stop apologizing for being a terrible blogger. There. I'm going to stop feeling bad or guilty or whatever and hope you (whoever you are) just enjoy what comes when it comes.

And now, it brings me great joy to bring you Mia's Family Day 2011. It's hard to believe that it was really two years ago that Travis and I traveled to Ethiopia and were united with this awesome little baby girl. How time has flown.

Last year, we celebrated her Family Day, but really more for us and tradition's sake than anything else. One tradition I did start and decided to carry-over is balloons. Last year we were way into Elmo, but this year was a bit more tricky. She likes lots of different characters, but I can't say we have a favorite. We also haven't wanted to push the princess thing too much, so I decided to steer clear of those lovely ladies and went traditional with Mickey Mouse. So after I went up to get her this morning, she found this surprise waiting for her downstairs.

She really was excited to see her balloons, but our Miss Attitude didn't want to pose first thing in the morning. We also watched the video of her "Gotcha Day" in Ethiopia and her arrival home at the Indy Airport. Although I know she doesn't really understand what she is saying, I'm excited that she talks about "E-opia".

It also just so happens that the Indiana State Fair was going on, so we had been planning to take her on Family Day. I did feel a bit weird about going after Saturday evening's awful accident, but we decided that life does go on, so we would make the most of the day.

This was Mia's first trip to the State Fair, and we started out in the kids' discovery farm area. I had heard about this from other friends last year, and it was seriously the coolest thing ever for the little ones. It's supposed to teach them about life as a farmer. When you start out, they give you an apron and basket. Then at the first station, you "pick" some corn and soybeans to add to your basket.

Then off to the chicken coop to add some eggs to your stash.

Next, you have to "feed" your livestock by giving them the corn and soybeans you picked earlier.

And they even give the kids free farmer's hats in John Deere green!

As you follow the chicken's tracks along the path, you come to the garden and plant a "seed" that they give you.

And then the fruits of your labor! Time to pick a vegetable from your garden...

and an apple too!

At some point, we also sheered our sheep and collected some wool and rode our tractor around the fields. And of course, you can't forget about your cows. Off to the creamery to "milk" the cows.

After that, you take your goods to market and trade in your vegetables, apples, eggs, and wool for money, which you can spend in the general store for actual items. Mia chose a strawberry cereal bar. I mean, how stinkin' cute is that? I was completely impressed with the whole thing, and I told Travis that it made me want to live out in the country and be a farmer.

Well okay, maybe not really, but it did seem really neat.

After our farming experience, we had a horrible-for-you-but-tasty lunch, followed by an apple cider slushy for me and (free!) ice cream from the Turkey Run tent. We were on our way to the Midway when we saw this cute little station set up to feed the goats. Mia loves all animals, and I have to say I am very proud of her for stepping right up. I don't remember being that gutsy as a kid. (You notice that it's her daddy helping her feed them, right? Maybe I should rethink my career change...)

The one thing she has been talking about since we told her about going to the fair was the carousel (or kill-your-self in Mia-ese). She *loves* them with a passion. So we bought some tickets and were quickly on our way. (Please ignore how goofy I look in the left picture...but she looks absolutely adorable!)

After the carousel, we had 5 tickets left, and Mia decided she wanted to ride the big slide with Mommy. Travis actually video taped this, so this isn't the greatest of pictures, but Mia thought it was so much fun! I was bit worried that she would chicken out when we got to the top as she's just now started going back down slides on her own. But my worries were needless; I heard her giggling the entire way down! If only the tickets didn't cost an arm and a leg, I'm sure we would have done more. Maybe next year.

We finished our day by looking at the cows, horses, pigs, and sheep, and even saw some elephants. There was a circus exhibit, and all I could do was think about Water for Elephants which my bookclub recently read. Not quite the same, but still.

By that time we had on very sleepy little girl, so we took our time heading home to give her a chance to rest in the car. We had a nice family dinner and then played at the playground at church while Daddy had a meeting. All in all, it was a great day, and what I enjoyed most was making awesome memories with my family. I hope that she can in years to come look back and remember the ways we celebrated the day we were united as a family.

Guess What [Finally] Came?

2011-06-19T21:58:00.000-04:00

Our I-171H approval letter! (For my friends who don't speak adoption-ese, this is the final document we were waiting on to complete our dossier.) Our dossier is now finished and will be certified and UPS shipped to our agency tomorrow! After 10 long, long months of waiting and paperchasing, we will finally go on the "list."

I honestly can't believe it has taken us so long to complete this part of the process. I've never really shared why we've been so delayed and don't really plan on going into all the nitty-gritty details, but let's just say it wasn't by any choice of ours. Having complied 2 dossiers prior, this should have been a piece of cake. But, well, I just had to keep reminding myself that everything happens in God's time, and His time almost always seems to run slower than ours. I feel like we started this process with such enthusiasm and excitement and then we were quickly tempered when we realized there were a few unexpected hurtles we'd have to overcome first. I spent much of the first part of this adoption process feeling like a deflated balloon, but now I feel like the clock has begun ticking again and I am reminded of the baby boy who will someday (soon) become my son.

I don't want to give the illusion that I always have great perspective on life (you really need my husband for that), but looking at where we are in life now I can see some of the blessings God has given us by "delaying" things. First, I'm pretty sure that if I had to board a 18 hour flight with Mia right now, I'd poke my eye out. Well, maybe not really, but this stage of toddlerhood has been quite challenging for us all. I can see how we will reap the fruits of our labor in disciplining her in 8 or 9 months from now. Second, Travis should be almost done with school when we bring him home. This is a pretty obvious blessing, and as we look forward to whatever the next stage in our life will be after school, having him come home then will be better for us all.

I'll end with a humorous note. Today we went to have our passport pictures taken (not for our actual passports but for our dossier) and we decided to go ahead and have Mia's picture taken since we do need to get her a passport. I wondered how they would do this, but the nice girl at Walgreens just yanked the white screen to the ground and had Mia stand front and center. We all called, directed, and "cheesed!" as you do with any toddler who seems to look everywhere but the camera and finally got a good shot, when another employee came up and said, "No, she can't smile. They have new rules." Um, how do you tell a 2 year old not to smile? Oh, and she also had to keep her lips together. So I leave you with the result of instructing my 2 year old daughter not to smile and keep her lips shut.

M.I.A. (Missing in Action)

2011-05-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe it has been two long months since my last post. Time seems to fly by us at warp speed, especially as Mia continues to get bigger and bigger each day. Let me give you a rundown of what has transpired with the Taylor's:

Adoption Dance
First, I never officially posted how our Adoption Dance fundraiser turned out: it was awesome! We had so many people turn out to spend the evening with us, and everyone had a great time. I was afraid the whole thing might seem kind of lame, but we had lots of compliments on how fun the evening was. We had oodles of desserts for our buffet, our great friends and DJ Kenton and Emily Smith rocked the dance floor, and our auction turned into quite the event. When Jana and I closed bidding at 8:30, people were anxiously standing by "their" item to make sure no one else snaked them! Together with the Hennessy's, we raised over $3000, which is over $1500 for each of our families! We were completely blown away and moved by the generosity of all our friends, family, and church family.

The Big 3-0
Yes, I finally turned 30. Although I was not exactly looking forward to this birthday as I have to those in the past, it turns out 30 isn't so bad. The actual day started out with 30 free minutes before Bible study to myself, in which I treated myself (and BFF Shari who's bday is the day after mine) to Starbucks. I also received flowers from no less than 3 different friends, and a subscription to People magazine from my mom. Is it sad that I am almost most excited about People? The following weekend my hubby planned a date night for us, which began with coffee while walking along Mass Ave and later turned into a surprise dinner party with some of my closest friends, sister, brother-in-law, and brother. Overall, it was a great end to this year's birthday celebrations.

Operation Baby Boy Taylor
Is still painfully underway. After a frustrating run in with Immigration, we have finally been fingerprinted and are anxiously awaiting our I-171H approval letter. It's been over 2 weeks, so we're hoping it'll arrive in the next week or so. And with that, our dossier will finally be complete. I am so ready to have all this out of our hands and just to be waiting.

While we wait, we'll be planning a few more fund-raising opportunities, one being a garage sale sometime over the summer. One other big thing is a matching grant opportunity with Lifesong for Orphans. This would be a BIG deal if we received it, and they are currently processing our application, so any prayers would be appreciated.

And lastly, we just opened our Just Love Coffee fund-raising store. I meant to do this sooner, but never really found the right time. This awesome company was started by a fellow AWAA dad who wanted to help other adoptive families raise money through the sales of fair-trade coffee. Here's how it works: visit our store front (see the link to the right), and for every bag of coffee purchased, we receive $5 towards our adoption. Pretty cool, right? And we'll keep this open through the rest of our adoption process, which could be quite a while yet.

Working Girl
Yes, it's true. It was with great fear and trepidation that I returned to work full-time with Xerox (and now you know the real reason why the blog has suffered more than normal). While I had been quietly looking around for something else that paid a bit more than retail, I wasn't really looking to go back; the whole opportunity just fell into my lap and everything happened so fast I didn't really even have time to tell many people until it was a done deal. I will admit that the week leading up to my return, I was a wreck. This was just not what I had planned for our life. I was grieving the end of my semi-stay at home mommy era and the end of life as we knew it. I was worried about how Mia would transition to my being gone so much more, spending one day a week at daycare, and how I would learn to juggle new responsibilities with my current ones. Thankfully I was able to negotiate my return with a bit of flexibility, so I am working from home two days a week.
How are we four weeks in? Turns out, I actually really enjoy being back. Everyone at work was happy to see me return, and although I'm dog tired by 9pm, it's working out well for us all.

So that's our life in a nutshell. Travis continues to work and develop his ministry and is busy finishing up his remaining credits this fall. Mia continues to grow a little bigger each day and is definitely in her "terrible twos," which is in one sense awful because some days it feels like she spends the entire day in time-out, but in another sense incredible when I think back how much she has changed since last summer. Life continues on, and we are becoming more and more excited for the day when our son will finally join us.

What Are You Doing Next Saturday?

2011-03-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

If your answer is, "Nothing," or "I don't know," and you're in the Indianapolis area, you should come to a fun filled evening at our Love Makes a Family benefit dance! The evening is for the entire family, complete with dancing, dessert buffet, silent auction, and activities & games for the kids. Dancing is certainly not a prerequisite. Come enjoy an evening of fellowship as we raise funds to help bring our son and the Hennessy's daughter home from Ethiopia.

Tickets are just $5 a person, with a maximum of $25 a family. The dance starts at 6:30pm and runs until 9:00pm at our church, Mt. Auburn United Methodist, in Greenwood. Along with dancing and desserts, we'll also have a silent auction full of goodies. Just to tempt you, some of the items we'll have up for auction include:

4 weeks of classes at Gymboree Play & Music
Private Wine Tasting for you and 20 friends at Mallow Run Winery
A private suite at a Fever game
Photography packages from 3 different Indianapolis photographers
Lots of gift certificates to your favorite restaurants
Beautiful handmade items
& LOTS more!

If you haven't already purchased your tickets, you can do so by using the link to the right, or by emailing: taylor-hennessyadoption@hotmail.com. If you'd like to help us out by bringing a dessert of any kind, just send us an email letting us know what you'd like to bring.

Please come out and help support our families and the ministry of adoption!

Finally Moving Forward

2011-03-08T13:17:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share a few things related to our current adoption. I know I haven't really blogged about it for awhile, but there hasn't been too much to tell. We started the process back in the fall, and then found ourselves in a holding pattern while we waited for tax time to roll around (for various reasons, but mostly for Uncle Sam's refund!) Our taxes were filed over two weeks ago and our process is now moving again! We've finished up our final 3 visits with our social worker with lightening speed (just another joy of the adoption process - while we were waiting, the rules changed yet again and we had to meet with her a total of 4 times instead of just twice. She was awesomely understanding, and in order to keep us going, set up our last 3 meetings at our home.)

So now she's furiously writing our homestudy so we can file our pre-immigration paperwork with the US government. And once we are fingerprinted and receive our magical I-171H back from USCIS, our dossier will finally be sent off to Ethiopia. We're hoping this could be sometime in April. Ironically, our last DTE (dossier to Ethiopia) date for Mia was 5/8/08. Wouldn't it be strange to end up around the same time again?

And then our "official" wait begins again. Infant boy referrals have increased slightly to 5-7 months wait, but I'm really not worrying too much about it, which is not at all like my personality and totally unlike our first time around. While I am super excited to be done with all this paperwork and being scrutinized, and also to see my son's face and return to Ethiopia, part of me is a little sad that my one-on-one time with Mia will be coming to an end. It took us a good while to get into a good rountine and adjust to all the change, and while she and I certainly have our moments, we're having a great time together. She's at such a fun stage, and I love the flexibility that comes with her growing age.

That doesn't mean I'm not excited to bring our son home, I just know it'll be some major adjustments for us all. The end result will totally be worth it, and I know Mia will be the best big sister ever.

We've also got some more fundraising events scheduled in the coming months, the biggest being our Love Makes a Family Adoption Dance, which we are co-hosting with our friends' the Hennessy's on Saturday, April 9th. The evening will include dancing, desserts, a silent auction, and of course more infomation about adoption. See our new tab across the top for more detailed info. You can purchase tickets either via email or through our Paypal link to the right.

Not a Baby Anymore!

2011-02-28T22:59:00.026-05:00

It's hard to believe that our baby is no longer a baby anymore! Last Tuesday, Mia turned 2 (which she can tell you and indicate by holding up one finger from each hand :)
Although her party isn't until this weekend and Travis has school Tuesday evenings (which equals very little Daddy time for the day), we wanted to make the day special anyway. I mean, how often do you turn 2?

As soon as we heard her start to stir, I went up to get her while Travis readied our camera. As I greeted her with, "Happy Birthday Mia!" she promptly looked at me and said, "Mommy, cake today? Present?" She's a smart one, I tell you.

We debated on whether or not to give her her present first thing in the morning or to wait until dinner, but as soon as she saw it on our ottoman, there was no stopping her.

I love how when she starts concentrating really hard, her tongue always sticks out. It was one of the first things we noticed in her referral picture.

Cookies!

Letting Mommy show me how to "bake" the cookies.

Cheese!

She is in love with gloves of all kinds (including socks which she will turn into "glubs") and now she has her very own hot pad.

Many of you wanted to see the "special" cupcakes I made for her birthday day. They're really nothing too special, other than I made them from scratch. I thought they turned out simple yet girly.

And really, if you're going to be self-indulgent, you might as well do it on your birthday, right? So yes, we had cupcakes for breakfast.

And fortunately for me, this girl like the idea of cupcakes more than the cupcake itself, so after a few licks of icing, she asked me to "save it for later."

Later that morning we had our class at Gymboree, so I made sure we wore our birthday girl shirt. All her little friends and teacher sang to her (which she loves), and then I made chicken and noodles (her favorite) for dinner. After Daddy left for school, we played more with her new cookies and I did a little photo shoot (and I mean that very loosely...my living room and artificial light do not make for stellar pics). Can you believe how big she is getting?

Speaking of big, we also took her for her 2 year old check up on Friday. She weighs in at 26 pounds and 33.5 inches long, right around the 50 percentile for both. She's meeting all her milestones, except for maybe dressing herself, but that's not been a skill I've been particularly nurturing. I had to crack up though when the nurse asked if she was putting 2 words together. Um, just 2? We get paragraphs from this kid. She's incredibly articulate, and I'm just in awe of how she's adjusted to life.

It's somewhat easy for us to forget that she's adopted, to forget that there ever was a time in her life that she wasn't with us. And I take some comfort knowing that she won't remember that time. We love her so, so much that it's beyond words. I've said it before and I'll say it again: she is our daughter. Period. But, it seems that for every milestone, every anniversary, every major event that happens in her life, we are brought back to that sobering remembrance. I don't want to dwell on it everyday, all day long, but it's not something that we can pretend doesn't exist. We are quickly approaching the time when she will start to ask us questions, and I'm sure our answers will be through both tears of joy and sadness. Adoption is certainly a lifelong journey, not just a process that ends with a court decree.

Wordless Wednesday: Hot Stuff

2011-02-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

What do you do when winter seems to be dragging on a bit too long? You get desperate enough to bring an outside toy in, grab some shades and a pretty bracelet (and don't forget lovey!) and watch your daughter discover the fun we've been missing.

I know it's supposed to Wordless Wednesday, but this one cracks me up. Look closely at her left hand. She's wearing a hot pad, and holding both a play cup and her snack cup with cereal bar. Just in case either one is steaming hot.

Christmas Celebrations

2011-01-18T22:04:00.002-05:00

Well I didn't quite make my goal of catching everything up last week, so I decided to lump together some of our Christmas celebrations into one big post. (New Year's Resolution #274: Take more picutres of my rapidly growing girl so that we have more pictures to post!)

First, we decided to take advantage of Indianapolis' 12 Free Days of Christmas, and took Mia to the Indiana State Museum to ride the Polar Express train. We actually had a big group of friends going, but Cooper starting running a fever that morning, and baby Miles decided he'd rather party all night than let his poor Mommy sleep. So we ended up with our BFFs Savannah and Joe (affectionately referred to as Joe-Joe by Mia), and still had a great time. Savannah and Joe were pros, as this was their second year to ride the train. After waiting in a very short line, I quickly found out that Mia Jane is not so into riding on moving objects. I had to ride in the train car with her, holding her in my lap. After one ride, she announced, "All done Mommy!" Fortunately, she loved just watching the other kids and was eager to wait while Savannah and Joe rode a few more times. I had never been to the State Museum, so we took the kids to a couple more exhibits before heading home. We (the mommies) all wanted to explore the Titanic exhibit, but you had to pay an additional fee, and we were pretty sure we'd have more luck without our kiddos, so we decided to try that one again later. It was a fun (and free!) morning, and I hope we can go again next year.

We tried to get all 4 kiddos (including Joe's baby brother Will) together on Santa's sleigh for a picture. It was really a good idea in theory...


Mia: "My nose itches, Mommy!" Savannah: "I can't look at the camera Aunt Sarah. That would be too easy!"

Joe: Savannah, you look down on the count of 3 with me. Mia, you look straight at the camera and smile. That'll frustrate them some more!

The result of telling them to say, "Elmo!" instead of cheese.

One thing (among many) that I love about Christmas is getting to spend time with those you don't see as much of throughout the year. I know it makes the month of December crazy busy, especially when you've got a little one whose schedule you keeping messing up, but I was willing to forsake schedule to spend the evening with our dear friends the Smiths. Travis and I are the godparents to their daughter Gabby, and since Emily went back to teach this fall (and because both our lives are hectic in general) we haven't seen much of them at all. We had a great time watching the girls play, celebrating Gabby's (4th!) birthday a little late, and catching up with our friends. Gabby was so good with Mia, which is impressive considering their age difference. I was the oldest on both sides of my family, so I remember well having to play with all my much younger cousins. It ain't so easy, let me tell you. Lots of, "They're little, they don't understand, you are bigger so you need to share." But Gabby was so patient, loving, and maternal. I still can't believe she is four!

Playing dress up. I think we need to get a hat like this.

So sweet.

Gabby is all smiles for the camera.

Cheese!

Our girls together

Last for this huge post, every year our church hosts a breakfast with St. Nick. Travis and I have been working at them for the last several years, and last year I brought Mia even though she was still a bit young for the event. This year, I was so excited because she's starting to understand more and more about Christmas, and we've watched The Polar Express about a dozen times, so we know who Santa is. The morning starts out with breakfast, followed by crafts, games, and activities, and completed with a visit with St. Nick himself. Unfortunately, Daddy was unable to join us for breakfast, so Papaw and Grandma Paschall came with Mommy and Mia.

Mia was very excited to see Santa from the outset. She waved and pointed and kept saying, "Santa! Ho ho ho!" I was optimistic that she'd do better this year as we had pretty good luck with Santa at the mall:

Note: My husband does not endorse the scanning of professional pictures and forbid me to post this anywhere. However, you can't actually buy a digital image from the mall, so I feel justified in only posting it here.

But as you can see, the actual visit with St. Nick didn't go too well. Oh well, I guess there's next year, right?

"MOMMY"

Here's a few more pictures from the morning. After our failed visit with Santa, we ran into our friend Savannah, and then did a few crafts with Grandma.

BFFs

Making Christmas ornaments with Grandma Paschall

We love our Papaw and Grandma!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2011-01-12T06:24:00.013-05:00

This year it was especially important to Travis and I that Mia begin to understand the real reason for Christmas. Right after Thanksgiving was over, I went to our local Christian bookstore to find a good book about the Christmas story. The one we found tells the story of Christ's birth, but also emphasizes that we give presents at Christmas because we want to share Christ's love and say Happy Birthday to Jesus. Yes we did talk about Santa too, but we wanted to focus on the fact that Santa doesn't bring us presents because we're good. God didn't wait for us to be "good" before He sent His Son to be born. He sent Jesus to us because no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't be good enough. We needed a Savior, so He sent Jesus because He loved us.

As you can see in the video below, Mia became very aware of who's birthday we were celebrating.

Christmas Traditions

2011-01-11T13:17:00.002-05:00

Part of becoming a mother means starting your own special family traditions. As many of you know I love to bake and cook, and although I am a type A + personality, I could not wait for the day Mia would join me in the kitchen. I quickly adjusted my expectations (hello messes!) and decided that the best way to enjoy the experience was to just go with it. So what if there was flour dumped down the cabinet instead of the bowl?

Over the holidays, Mia helped me make cookies three times. The first time, she was just so excited about standing on the chair and eating the cinnamon chips that she really didn't do much helping. By the second time, though, she was into it. As soon as I asked her if she wanted to help Mommy bake cookies, she requested the chair be pushed over for her. Her special job is to dump the dry ingredients into the bowl for Mommy to mix together, although she is still a bit frightened by the electric mixer.

Helping Mommy measure out flour.

"Mommy, you need some flour right here under your nose."

"I am such a big girl!"


"I do it! I do it!"

Of course all this cookie baking has created quite the little cookie monster. This girl is in love with cookies, specifically oatmeal cinnamon chip. If you haven't tried cinnamon chips, you are missing out. I can't wait until we can try our hand at decorating and maybe even a gingerbread house.

Halloween

2011-01-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

I know this one is going way back, but I just couldn't not share a few pictures of our little duck. Mia was absolutely adorable, and we made sure she got to wear her costume at least twice to savor all that ducky cuteness.

We took her to the ZooBoo with our friends the Hennessy's, Greenbaum's, and Parker's, but unfortunately my husband formatted that particular camera card before I could download anymore than just this one picture. (My second New Year's Resolution: download and organize family pictures immediately.)

As always, Mia had a great time at the Zoo, but she was a little unsure of what to make of the nice ladies handing our candy. Every time we'd come up on them, she'd want me to hold her. For such an outgoing kid, she picks some strange things to be afraid of. After we trick-or-treated, we let the kids play on the playground, and then finished up by walking through the Oceans exhibit (always my favorite as a kid).

On Halloween I unfortunately had to work, but they we nice enough to let me off early enough to make it to my Dad's house for their annual party and trick-or-treating. We walked up and down one street with my niece and nephew before we decided to head back to Papaw and Grandma's house. I did a lot of carrying because she still wasn't quite sure what to think of it all.

All in all, it was a great Halloween. I'm sure Mia will love it even more next year when she can start to eat the candy, too!

Resolutions

2011-01-10T12:56:00.003-05:00

So as you might have noticed, I'm seriously behind on blogging. It's kind of a culmination the holidays + getting used to a new and changing schedule (i.e. Mommy working) + just a crazy life in general. Also, my blog has kind of turned into a hodgepodge of stuff. When I started it back in May of 2008, its main purpose was to document our adoption journey to Mia. Then once we brought her home, I continued on to document our new everyday life. But now that we're adopting #2, I'm always a bit conflicted as to whether you (whoever you are that might be still reading this) want to read about our life with Mia, our second adoption journey, or both. I could start a second blog to keep them separate, but then I'm pretty sure nothing would get done.

My goal for the week is to get caught back up on everything. That is, to share about our holiday season and bring you up to speed on our adoption. And one of my New Year's resolutions is just to be a better blogger and stop worrying about trying to write thought-provoking posts and capture awesome pictures every single time. Because honestly, something average is better than nothing spectacular, right?

So stay tuned.

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

2010-12-03T08:11:00.001-05:00

Don't forget about our Usborne Book Fair, tomorrow from 1-4pm at our church, Mt. Auburn UMC. Here's the ad that was in our church bulletin:

You will find fun, educational books for all of the children in your life. Usborne offers more than 1,800 titles—from infant board books to middle school reference books and lots in between. The Book Fair will be held Saturday, Dec. 4, in the Community Room from 1 to 4 p.m. Besides having a broad book selection, you will also be able to place special orders from the entire Usborne collection. Can't
come, shop online at here. Start your Christmas shopping now! All sale proceeds will be donated to Sarah and Travis for their adoption fund. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, checks and cash accepted.

If you need directions or any have other questions, just contact me at sarahpas@hotmail.com. The online portal will be open until December 5 at 11:59pm.

Christmas Ornaments Now Available!

2010-11-24T22:24:00.001-05:00

See our new tab across the top for photos and ordering info!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Monday Mia-isms

2010-11-22T13:22:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. Don't judge me, but I want to let you in on one of my secrets: I think babies are pretty boring. I say this because I am having so. much. fun with Mia right now. I absolutely love that she's becoming more and more autonomous every day. I love that she copies everything I do. And I love her increasing vocabulary. When I think back to last winter, I mostly remember very long days of trying to entertain my little blob of a baby, who also incidentally never liked to be by herself...ever. I know we had other obstacles facing us at that time, but those winter months made for long days.

Now, Mia has us rolling with laughter and standing back in awe with how fast she is growing and changing. I also know that if I don't take the time to document these moments, when she self-corrects they'll soon fade from memory. So I decided to document them here and share a few with you:

Catty: Currently what she calls cats. It's kind of like a combo of cat and kitty.

Aah-keys: Glasses. I'm not entirely sure why she calls them this, but when you hear it in her sweet little voice, you'd melt.

Jap: Giraffe. I can normally understand about 85% of what she says, but this one almost always throws me. The other morning she was so frustrated with me because I couldn't figure out what she was asking me for. I thought she wanted to jump in her bed, so when I would ask, "Jump?" I got back, "No Mommy! Jap!"

Mon-hee: Monkey.

Ta-vis: Travis. Yup, I accidentally taught her that her daddy's name is Travis. I really didn't mean to, I promise! I was calling downstairs for him one night when I had her in the bathtub, and she just picked it up. When you ask her what his name is, she does say Daddy, but if she hears me say Travis, she'll start parroting it.

Cock-a-doo: This one's more obvious (what a rooster says) but it's entirely adorable to hear her say it. She's gotten quite proficient with her animal noises and can tell you what a cat, dog, pig, sheep, cow, horsey, chicken, rooster, duck, goose, bird, turkey, monkey, lion, tiger, owl, and goat says.

She's also learning her manners well. She says Please, Thank You, and You're Welcome, and even corrected Mommy the other day. I asked Travis to hand me a glass of water at dinner and she, stone-faced, looked at me and said, "Mommy! Say thank you!"

Book Fair Info!

2010-11-09T07:38:00.000-05:00

Here's your official invite to our Usborne Book Fair on Saturday, December 4th from 1-4pm at our church, Mt. Auburn United Methodist. The online portal is open now, though, so you can start shopping here. The portal will close December 5th at midnight. All proceeds will be going to our adoption fund, so thank you in advance for your support!

Not About Me

2010-11-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

Today is Orphan Sunday. It's a day that passes by without much fanfare in most churches, including my own. I don't blame anyone - there are a hundred different worthy causes that need our attention (including the next Sunday which is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church). It's also easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and trials and tribulations and forget about those things that aren't staring us in the face on a daily basis.

I have to admit that I've been feeling pretty down lately. Because we're fundraising this time, our second adoption is starting more slowly than our first. It'll probably take us a bit longer to get our paperwork all completed, for various reasons, but some just coming down to finances. I know it's all in God's hands and I'm sure this is what He has called us to do, but sometimes that peace and assurance gets muffled in the midst of uncertainty and doubt.

And many of you saw on FB the week I had with my poor mom. She fell Monday morning at the Y and shattered her right ankle and sprained her left one. She needed to have surgery pretty immediately to reset it, so Monday found us at the ER and then orthopedic surgeon and Tuesday was spent at the hospital. It's going to be a long recovery, and I'm so glad I live so close by to help her out during this time. I didn't, however, get to my Christmas ornaments yet. This week, I promise.

So here I am, feeling sorry for myself. And then I read this on my friend Kathy's blog:

In the past week, we were made aware of some very difficult circumstances in an orphanage in Ethiopia. Families traveling with our adoption agency visited this orphanage while they were in Addis Ababa, and got the word to those of us traveling soon that there were needs and what we could bring to help them. This was the Facebook status of one of the moms traveling with the group:

"A hard start to our day. Visited an orphanage with deplorable conditions, and left in tears. Our group was able to buy 10 crib mattresses (yes, babies are sleeping on the wooden bottoms of the cribs). But they also need massive quantities of diapers...ripped pieces of sheets wrapped around their bottoms and held in place w/ their onesie t-shirts isn't cutting it."

That's when God's gentle but firm hand gripped my shoulder and shook me. This is what I should be feeling sorry about. This is why we have to go back to Ethiopia. This is why the things I'm whining about are nothing compared to this. Can you even imagine? Not even enough money to buy diapers. I have visited some of the orphanages in Ethiopia, but I have not seen conditions like these. I know they are doing the best with what they've got, but this is why these children need our help.

Kathy and her family will be travelling to Ethiopia for Christmas for their courtdate and to meet their 3 new kiddos. If you'd like to help in anyway, whether it be sending them some smaller item donations to take over or sending some money to purchase diapers, etc. when they arrive, contact her here.

I'll leave you with a video my friend Kim (another adoption travel buddy) shared on FB today.

Hope is Fading – Orphan Sunday from Allan Rosenow on Vimeo.

Where We're At

2010-10-28T14:01:00.006-04:00

Yes, as an English major I know it's not correct grammar to end a sentance with a preposition, but whatever. I've been meaning to blog for awhile now, but it's been kind of crazy around here.

Mia continues to keep me on my toes and has me laughing out loud at least 10 times a day. Today at lunch she pointed at the phone and said, "Hello! (But pronounced more like, Hewo.) Talk!"
Me: "Talk? Who are you going to call?"
Mia: "A cow!"
Me: "A cow? You want to call a cow?"
Mia: "Yup."
Me: "What's he going to say?"
Mia: "Moo!"

Hilarious, right? I wonder if she's going to end up with my dry sense of humor. Along with cracking me up, she's also been pushing her limits in almost every way. I have to keep reminding myself that this is perfectly natural; toddlers like to push the boundaries so they know where they are. But still....somedays I feel like all I do is correct her, which is just exhausting. Her newest antic is pushing the buttons on our iPod docking station. The other day she just kept pushing them over and over and over again. Each time I'd come out of the kitchen, correct her, and move on. Then I'd hear the music turn on and off, and I'd walk back into the living room and see her looking for me with one hand outreached. The last time this happened I walked out and she had gotten her baby doll and had her pushing the buttons. I tried to keep a straight face while correcting her, but how clever was that on her part?

And onto the adoption front. We're still working on our massive paperchase and probably will be through Christmas. Along side of this huge undertaking, I've gone back to work in part-time retail in order to help save more money for the adoption.

We also have a couple of more fundraisers coming up just in time for the holidays. First, one of my sweet Bible study ladies, Linda Swisher, is hosting a Usborne Book Fair on our behalf the first Saturday of December (12/4). Come from 1:00-4:00pm at our church, Mt. Auburn UMC, and buy Christmas presents for your kids, grandkids, neices and nephews, and take home your books the same day. We're looking to see if we can set something up to online shop, so stay tuned for more news.

Second, we have a few t-shirts leftover that we need to sell! Here's what we've got:

Brown

Youth Small - 4

Youth Medium - 3

Small - 2

~~Medium - 1~~ SOLD!

Large - 1

Blue

Youth Small - 3

Youth Medium - 5

Small - 3

Large - 1

~~XLarge - 1~~ SOLD!

If you'd like to purchase any of these, message me at sarahpas@hotmail.com. Shirts are $22 each with shipping.

And lastly, we're going to be making Christmas ornaments to sell. I should have samples to post this weekend, and will have ordering info up early next week.

Thank you all for continuing to follow and support our next adoption journey. Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween!

And the Winner is...

2010-10-01T15:53:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Lisa! Lisa is a member of our church, and her daughter is a member of Travis' youth group. She graciously volunteered to sell a book of tickets for us earlier in the month. What she later told me is that she has been drooling over the iPad for awhile, but couldn't justify the cost, even for a Christmas present. So her husband offered to buy her the entire book of tickets to increase her chances. It looks like you're going to get your Christmas wish after all!

Thank you to everyone who participated. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. As I sat earlier counting all the tickets, I was moved to tears by the generousity of so many, some who know us and some that don't. I even prayed over the tickets, that God would be glorified through this and for the winner.

Our grand total for the iPad Giveaway is $1500! We still have a long way to go, but what a great way to start this adoption!

Wordless Wednesday: Apple Works 2010

2010-09-29T20:18:00.000-04:00

Last Call for T-Shirts!

2010-09-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

Just a friendly reminder that we are accepting t-shirts orders through tomorrow, Friday, September 24! Or, if you happen to be in the Indianapolis area this weekend, stop by our church's Fall Festival on Sunday from 1-7pm. We, along with our friends the Hennessy's, will have a booth set up to our sell t-shirts and beautiful handmade dolls for the Hennessy's adoption!

I promise that we'll return to our regularly scheduled blogging soon. I've got new pictures of Mia to post, some new stories to tell, and of course, more progress to report on adoption #2.

Why Adopt (Again)?

2010-09-13T23:04:00.000-04:00

To put it simply: it's what God has called us to do. As it says in Proverbs 24:12, "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know and holds us responsible to act." It's true. Not just in adoption, but in every part of what Christ calls us to. If we read and study His Word, follow the path He lays before us, and seek Him with all our heart, mind, and soul, He will open our eyes anew. He will reveal fresh revelations to us, day by day, for our entire walk of faith with Him. It's an awesome promise He makes to us, and frankly, it thrills me.

Here's the catch - once we know something, we can't go back. We can no longer claim ignorance and say we just didn't know. When He reveals to us a new truth, it's usually not just for our benefit. He wants us to use it, put it into practice, and it's always to bring Him glory.

So you see, when people ask why adopt again, it's because our eyes have been opened to this awful fact that 147 million children are nameless. They have no one to call them their own. They are alone, afraid, and at risk. And we have come face to face with these facts. I have seen their faces, their pleading and longing eyes. No, I cannot adopt 147 million, but I can bring another home.

I was reading on another adoption blog this evening about how the shear cost scares so many away from adoption. Her friend replied, "How poor is your God?"

We do not deserve your help and support. Just like the grace He so freely gives to us, we have done nothing to merit it. But it brings great hope and peace to my soul to know that I serve an all-powerful, sovereign God who has infinite resources at His disposal.

At the end of the day, this will be about Him, not us. There will be one less bed filled in the orphanage. One less victory for the enemy. And hopefully, one more child in the kingdom of God.

So What's the Deal with the iPad?

2010-09-04T20:39:00.001-04:00

I know there's been a lot of activity on our T-Shirt fundraiser tab, and many of you have even purchased your own (thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottoms of our hearts!), but I wanted to draw your attention to our iPad Giveaway. Yes, you read that right, we are giving away a 16GB WiFi + 3G iPad. Why? Well, truthfully I got the idea from my adoption buddy and Ethiopian travel friend Kathy Garrison, whose family is currently in the process of adopting 2 more kiddos from Ethiopia. She had tremendous success with it, and really it seemed to me a no-brainer. So we decided to do one too.

Here's how it works: For every $10 donation you make, you get one ticket entered into the giveaway. So if you donate $50, you have 5 tickets. Make sense? But here's what I love about this fundraiser. You don't actually have to donate any money to us to help us (although you might want to for your own ticket and shot at the iPad). Instead, we'd like you tell your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, whoever about this giveaway. It's a great way to get other people involved and raise awareness about adoption. Please consider reposting this on your Facebook, blog, or even just plain ol' talking to your friends (I know, a shocking thought in this technological age!)

If you'd like to try to sell a book of 10 tickets, message me or leave me a comment. I can send you everything you need and you don't have to give us any money up front. It really does take a village, and please know how hard it has been for us to even ask you guys for help. I can't begin to tell you how emotionally taxing the last few days have been for me. When I received our first donation and t-shirt order, I was literally in tears. It made me realize how important it is for me to be a blessing to others when the opportunity presents itself. Thank you so much for surrounding us with your love and support to bring this little guy home.

Why Is Adoption So Expensive?

2010-08-31T15:41:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that unless you've adopted yourself or know someone close to you who has, you might be wondering why adoption is so expensive. You're certainly not alone, and take comfort that Travis and I had the same thoughts before God led us down this path.

First, let me tell you what all the money is not for.

It is not a donation. We hear from many people what a good thing we're doing, how great it is that we're giving a child a family, etc. While all of this is true, adoption is about so much more than this. The blessing we will receive from this child will far outweigh the blessing we can give to him. We try to think of it more like paying a ransom for our child. Think of it this way: is there any price you wouldn't pay to get your child back? It's the same for us, we just haven't held him in our arms yet.

It is not a business. Adoption agencies, at least credible, Christian agencies like the one we work with, are non-profit organizations. They receive no funding from the government and nothing from the countries they work with. Their mission is simple: to join children with their forever families. The money we pay them is entirely for the processing of our paperwork, our homestudy, their in-country staff and facilities that will care for our child before we can, and advocating for our child and us to the Ethiopian government. I can't even tell you how much they do for us, especially while we were in Ethiopia.

It is not lining the pockets of corrupt government officials. I know all countries have their problems, and each country is different, but I feel confident that the international fee we pay to Ethiopia is going where it should. The money they receive goes to help run all the orphanages in country and to pay the MOWA (Ministry of Orphans and Women's Affairs) workers to process our paperwork as well help get orphans paper ready for adoption (meaning to verify that a child is truly an orphan and to obtain evidence to prove this so).

We decided that because we would be fundraising some of this adoption, we'd keep track of our expenses so you could see just where your money would be going. If you click on the Adoption Funding tab at the top, you can view a quick total of our expenses thus far. Please, please, please do not hesistate to contact me if you have further questions about any of this.

Africa Awaits...

2010-08-30T07:02:00.002-04:00

I'm sure some of you have wondered when this post would appear. I've had many people begin to ask us what our next plans are. Would we have a biological child? Would we adopt again? And when?

Truthfully, we always knew we would adopt again, we just didn't know when. But we've felt a stirring in our hearts that last couple of months that led to subsequent prayer and the decision to go back to Ethiopia. We've been accepted into AWAA's Ethiopia program again, this time to bring our son home.

So now we begin this crazy process all over again, but this time with a little less fear and a bit more confidence. My goal is to have our dossier completed and sent off by around the time Mia turns 2 in February (a crazy thought in and of itself!). Infant boy referrals have been around 4-6 months after dossier submission, so we're hoping for a referral by the end of next summer. One big difference this time around is that Ethiopia has changed their travel policies so we'll make 2 trips this time. (Before you think anything bad, please know this is for the good of the children, and I can explain it later in another post.) Tentatively, we'll all three go on the first trip, and then my mom will accompany me on the second when we bring our son home (approx. 4-6 weeks later).

Although we don't look at adoption as just a mission, it's how God is building our family, it is clear in Scripture the responsibility we as Christians have to the fatherless.

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Psalm 82:3

Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1:17

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

So now we come humbly before you to ask a question we didn't our first time around. Will you help us in this journey? God may or may not be calling you to adopt, but perhaps He's calling you to be part of this ministry, prayerfully or financially. Adoption is expensive, we're looking somewhere around $25,000 - $30,000, but we know that what God begins, He will finish. He is faithful to His word.

Please click on the links above to find out how you can get involved and help bring hope and love to the fatherless. It all starts with one...

Say Cheese!

2010-08-24T11:51:00.000-04:00

So when your husband's a photographer, you might think we'd have tons and tons of family photos. Wrong. It's a tricky thing to actually photograph yourself in a picture while taking it. And Travis is incredibly picky when it comes to actually being photographed. But when Mia's one year anniversary came around, I knew we couldn't let the moment pass us by. And I'm so happy to know photographers like Maike Tillen. She knew exactly what we were looking for, and I feel captured our family well. Here's a preview of some of my favorite shots. Enjoy!

Our First Year with You

2010-08-17T06:27:00.001-04:00

One year ago today we held our sweet baby girl in our arms for the very first time. After months (and years!) of longing and praying, in a single moment we were transformed into a mother and father and we became a family of three.

I can't even begin to tell you how much joy Mia brings to our lives every single day. She. is. awesome. I hope you enjoy this video I put together to commemorate her one year anniversary with us. It's amazing to see how much she's grown and changed!

We love you, Emilia Jane. Our life is so much richer and fuller because you're in it.

Wordless Wednesday: New Food

2010-08-11T08:49:00.002-04:00

Note: It must be said that while my daughter does love to eat, she loves to eat those things she loves to eat. For instance, while I cut some corn off the cob for her, she wanted to eat it the same way Mama and Daddy were, right off the cob.

"Daddy, you just help me a little bit."

"Cheese!"

"What's this part? Are you sure I won't like it?"

Ten on Tuesday - Mia's Top Ten

2010-08-10T11:41:00.001-04:00

This is one post I've been mulling over for awhile now. I don't have an actual baby book started for Mia, for a variety of reasons, but one being that I hadn't yet found one that had an adoption focus. I never wanted her to have a baby book that had a ton of empty pages because they didn't apply to her (i.e. pregnancy, birth, ultrasounds, hospital stay, etc.). I did actually see one on another family's blog (My Family, My Journey) that is adoption focus and has plenty of pages for those extra special events in her life, but just haven't gotten around to purchasing it.

Anyway, I digress. I tell you all this to say that while I don't have an actual baby book, I do have a small journal that I've kept all her important milestones. Awhile back I started a 10 Things Mia Loves list. It's evolved and changed as our little one continues to grow and change herself, but I wanted to share Mia's Top 10 List with you:

10. Her Giant Teddy Bear: Given to her at a baby shower last March before we even had her referral, I remember wondering what the heck I was going to do with so many stuffed animals. This bear, however, has found a special place in her heart as she requests it almost every morning when she wakes up in her crib. She take a few moments to roll around with it (it's as big as she is!) and then is ready for her "mil" (milk).

9. Being Outside: I'm pretty sure my kid would live outdoors if I'd let her. Don't get me wrong. I love spring, summer, and fall because the weather is for the most part pretty temperate. But I'm not one of those people that enjoy sweating profusely in the sweltering sun. I do make an effort to take her out a least once a day, but tears almost inevitably follow when it's time to go back inside.

8. Sneezing & Tooting: Must I say more? What kid doesn't think these are hilarious?

7. Wind chimes: This one surprises me. We have a couple of wind chimes outside, and it is her most favorite thing to make them sing. It must stem from her love of music, but I have never seen a kid get more excitement from such a small thing.

6. Ducks: Ah yes, our Quack Quacks. This was the first animal noise she could make, and has since applied the sound to all birds. And when she's feeling extra silly, she'll tell you cows and sheep also say Quack Quack with a big ol' grin on her face because she knows she's teasing you. I thought it apropos that she should be a duck this year for Halloween.

5. Her Grandmas: She's got three of them, and she loves them all. Besides Mama and Daddy (and Papaw, too!) these three ladies are her most beloved playmates. She's certainly got them wrapped around her finger and they can't get enough of her either.

4. Anything electronic: This kid loves cell phones and anything that might look like a cell phone. Remotes, walkie talkies, computers, cameras, you name it. Most items become like phones to her, as she walks around the house with them to her ear. I used to occasionally let her play with my cell phone, but after she accidentally called 911 (twice!) with my locked phone, I had to cut her off. They call back, in case you were wondering.

3. Blueberries: Our kiddo certainly loves to eat (and now, please) but she has a love affair with blueberries that I just don't understand. She asks for "blues" at least 4 times a day; in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, and even in the car. I have to cut her off because you know what too much fruit will do. I'll leave it at that. We almost had a meltdown yesterday at Meijer because the lady in line in front of us was purchasing a pint of beloved blues. Mia couldn't quite understand that they weren't ours. I kept telling her she could have some when we got home, to which she said, "Yeah!" and then promptly pointed back to the blues. Oh well. I guess you really can't reason with an 18 month old.

2. Doggies: It's a good thing Hank took so well to her because Mia absolutely adores him. She loves to love on him, including giving him kisses (sometimes with her tongue - yuck!) and "gently" patting him on the back. And now since she's learned the parts of her face, she likes to point out his eyes to us.

1. Her Mama and Daddy: This one brings tears to my eyes as I type. I could not have asked for a more affectionate little girl. She loves to give us hugs, kisses, and cuddles, and she above all other things, wants her Mama and Daddy close by at all times. She hates to be separated from me, which is something we've been working on, but I do secretly love that she prefers me to anyone else in the world. I mean, isn't that how it's supposed to be?

Will Starve for Food

2010-08-06T10:25:00.003-04:00

I've had Africa on my mind a lot lately. It's hard not to especially as Travis and his youth group are gearing up for their annual 30 Hour Famine. The Famine is an event started by World Vision in which youth groups all over the country go 30 hours without food in order to raise money and awareness for starving children all over the world. Did you know that 25,000 children die each day from hunger and other preventable causes? That is a massive amount of kids. The good news, however, is that hunger related deaths are 100% preventable.

This is our fourth year to participate, and each year our kids have raised around $7,000. With World Vision's matching grants that number gets multiplied x 4. Pretty cool for a group of 30 kids, wouldn't you say?

The 30 Hour Famine is probably the most near and dear to our hearts as we realize that our daughter could have been one of the countless faces you see in the promotional videos. I think it especially struck Travis harder this year, having been home with Mia for almost a whole year. He came home the other night from youth group and said that he just wept watching a video with his kids about the hunger plight of the kids in Niger. He said, "I just kept seeing Mia's face in these kids. How much more personal does it have to get before we realize we have everything to give?"

I know there are plenty of good causes that need financial and prayerful support. This is one of them. Would you consider donating $30, $60, or even $90 to this effort? Just $30 will feed a child for an entire month. Your donation is tax deductible. If you are interested, please leave me a comment with your contact information, and we can make arrangements. You can read more about this awesome event at: http://www.30hourfamine.org

They Grow Up Too Fast...

2010-08-05T12:29:00.002-04:00

I've been somewhat sentimental lately in regards to Mia. I suppose it's because I feel like somewhere in the last month we turned the corner from baby to toddler. Her vocabulary literally exploded in what seems like a week, and she now adds probably 2 to 3 new words every day. She now regularly says Mama, Daddy, Mamaw, Nana (which works for Nana, Banana, and Savannah), Babby (for Gabby!), blues (blueberries), quesedilla, baby, book, duck, kitty, whale, truck, boy, girl, ball, please, cheese...the list goes on and on. She's become quite the parrot (like when I called her a little punk the other day), but she's also putting together the words with the actual objects which some days shocks the pants off of me.

We also got in four new teeth last week. Four! We doubled our teeth! And she just looks bigger to me. Every morning I think she's grown an inch. And her hair. Where to begin. I noticed in the bathtub last week how long it was getting and decided to do a little experiment in pig tails. Oh. my. goodness. She not only looks adorable, but it really makes her look like a little girl. We've also been exploring more hair products, which I'm sure is only the beginning of what will be a life long experiment for Mommy.

Here's a quick video especially for Auntie Anne who wanted to see all her new teeth, but bonus! you can also see her trying to wear Mommy's shoe and some of her new vocab.

Our Water Baby

2010-07-27T12:23:00.002-04:00

I can't believe July has almost passed us by and the summer is quickly coming to an end! Although I do love fall, winter is my least favorite season and so I always dread it. We've had so much fun this summer, especially outside and in the water. I think my daughter would live outside if I'd let her! She loves any kind of water, from the baby pool in our yard to the toddler pool at the YMCA to the ocean waves. I'm not sure if it's just her nature or the baby swimming lessons, but she is fearless. I crack up when she sticks her whole face in and comes up smiling! Yesterday I drug out the pool and some of her stacking cups. She thought it was hilarious to pour water on poor Hank as he was trying to rest in the shade. Every time he'd move, she find him again!
Here's a few pictures from a week or so ago when Daddy was home with us.

I promise we give our daughter plenty of water to drink!

At the Y's pool for Cooper's Bday party with our BFF Savannah.

Wordless Wednesday: Why Hank's Bed is Better

2010-07-21T12:59:00.008-04:00

10 years ago...

2010-07-01T07:34:00.002-04:00

Some called us crazy. Others said it wouldn't last. (Wait, does this sound like a song?) Yes, it's true. Ten years ago today I, a 19 year old bride, said I do to the most wonderful (23 year old) man in the world. Were we crazy? Probably. 19 doesn't look nearly as old as it did back then. But here we are a decade later, and I have absolutely no doubt we're in this thing till the end.

Our wedding day,
July 1, 2000

Our life together has definitely taken some twists and turns, some planned and others unexpected. I've heard it said that if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans for the future. Well, I'm sure He's had a great big chuckle over me. I always thought we would have moved somewhere more exotic, that we'd have uber-cool careers, and be world travelers. I guess we're 1 for 3. We've definitely done our share of traveling, though not all of it has been recreational based. We still live in the same zip code I grew up in, and as for uber cool careers? I guess it's up to how you define cool. Ten years ago I would have said that for me it involves wearing a suit, working in a high rise building, and being so important you'd get called anytime, day or night.

My college graduation,
May 2004

You know what I learned? My mistake was thinking that this life was all about us. Because it's not. God has much more planned for us, and it's really only just beginning. And that is what I treasure most in my husband. Although he only came to believe in Christ a little over ten years ago, he is one of the most devoted and serious Christians I know. And I'm sure he would be embarrassed to read this and would even argue why that isn't true, but that's really all part of his humble spirit. He is the spiritual leader of our house (a job that I wouldn't want to try to fill), and I know that I am truly blessed with this man. It doesn't hurt either that he's handsome, makes me laugh, loves me and our daughter to pieces and would walk though fire for us.

Paris, May 2005
Five Year Anniversary European Tour

Sedona, AZ, June 2008
Navajo Mission Trip

I love you Travis. You are an amazing husband and partner in this life. God has richly blessed you and your ministry, and I'm excited to see where He takes us next. Thank you for an awesome first 10 years; I wouldn't trade one single minute.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
August 17, 2009

From the Archives: When Our Toys Are Boring...

2010-06-30T22:16:00.001-04:00

So I found this old blog post today that I never published. It's dated back in October, and holy cow! I can't believe how much Mia has changed in the last few months. So far toddlerhood has been so much fun, but it's hard not to get a bit nostalgic when you see her little baby face.

Apparently I was in desperation trying to find something new she'd like to play with.

She thought it was hilarious to look at you through it. Of course the tongue's got to be sticking out.

Ready for Auditions

2010-06-18T16:15:00.004-04:00

So, the following is a result of what happens when Daddy has full creative control when dressing Mia for the day. I'm pretty sure she could have auditioned for Hair or Footloose and walked right on. Surprisingly, I allowed her out of the house that morning, but as soon as Daddy left for work, we changed. I was rewarded by a later diaper leak, and the whole outfit was changed again. Sigh.

Kiss Me

2010-05-24T16:42:00.002-04:00

We just discovered we have a little narcissist in the kitchen today. I think the video speaks for itself...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T08:20:00.007-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, we found ourselves with nothing to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. If you know our family very well, you know this hardly ever happens. So we decided to take Mia to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. She did pretty well in the museum, but the most fun was letting her explore the grounds. I really wanted to get her picture with the huge #1, but by the time we made it back to it, I was tired from walking/carrying/pushing the stroller, and I think Mia was about to her limit to. I guess we still have 9 more months to capture it.

Mama's Little Helper

2010-04-27T20:52:00.002-04:00

Life with a toddler is so much fun! She's like a little sponge, soaking up all kinds of knowledge and new skills. Just in the past couple of weeks we've learned some new signs, started saying "kitty" and "duck" more clearly (thankfully our speech is still mostly babble and she hasn't picked up any "choice" words), and has even started playing "Ring Around the Rosies."

Yesterday afternoon I let our dog Hank out to go to the bathroom. It had been raining the last few days, so when we'd bring him, we would wipe his paws with a cloth we keep behind the chair. Apparently someone else was watching, too. Imagine my surprise when I turned around to see this:

At first I thought she mistook his cloth for her lovey. Then the pieces fell into place as I watched her wait patiently at the door, knocking to get his attention (just like Mommy). I grabbed the camera as quickly and quietly as I could and immediately called Travis. Moments like these just don't happen every day.

Happy Referralversary!

2010-03-27T08:52:00.011-04:00

One year ago today at 12:20pm, we received the most long-awaited phone call of our lives. I can still hear Terra's precious words in my head. "Sarah, I have some good news. This is your referral call!" I can't believe it's been a whole year, and at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Although Mia's birthday will always be special, I think that our referralversary will always maintain more memories, for me anyway. It's kind of like my "labor" story, as I can still recall every detail of the day. (Read more about the day here, if you like.) I often recount her referral story to Mia, along with her "story" and the details of her adoption. I still can't make it through without crying, but I hope that hearing it over and over again will make it familiar and easier for her to ask us questions as she gets older.

Dearest Mia,
This is the very first time I ever saw your sweet little face.
You have certainly grown by leaps and bounds in the last year! You were a teeny tiny 6 pounds in this picture. But even teeny tiny, you changed Daddy's and my life in the biggest way. Although waiting for your referral was hard, we had no idea that the most difficult wait lay before us. Now that we had seen you, all we could think about was how to get to you. Every month that passed brought us new pictures of you; we loved watching you grow and develop, but we were so sad that we weren't there to see it. We know and take comfort though, my love, that God was with you every step of the way. He has never nor will ever leave or forsake you.

May Updates

Finally, on August 17, we held you in our arms for the very first time. It is also a day that will forever live fresh in my mind.
I couldn't believe that after all those months of waiting that we were finally together...forever. You were very excited to meet us, too. When they brought you out, I remember that you kept kicking your little legs and blowing us precious raspberries. So much drool for such a little girl! We loved spending time in your home country, seeing the orphanage that you were in, and learning more about Ethiopia. We promise to take you back one day.

The first time Mommy fed you a bottle.

The day we brought you "home" with us.
They dressed you in one of the outfits we sent in your care packages!

On the bus in Addis Ababa. You were a pretty good traveler, considering you had only met us a couple of days before.

It has been seven months since we brought you home, and every day is a new adventure. You certainly keep Mommy on her toes! You started walking at 11 months, and are now running everywhere! It is so fun to see you learn new things, and although you are claiming more independence, you still love and need your Mama, and that makes my heart melt. You, my love, are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and your Daddy and I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful daughter. It's quite amazing the draw you have on people; we can't go anywhere without someone stopping us to talk to you. Many stop us to tell us how lucky you are, but it's us, baby, who are the lucky ones. You make our life more complete and we are so thankful that you are in it. I can't wait to see what the future holds for you and me.

With all my heart,
Mama

Emilia Jane, 13 months
22+ pounds

Thoughts on Motherhood, or Lack Thereof

2010-03-20T22:28:00.002-04:00

I feel like lately our blog has been kind of drab. I'm not sure if it's just the busyness of mommyhood or maybe the lack of good material, but it just seems boring to me. And if I think my life seems boring, I can only imagine what the rest of you are thinking. (Or maybe you're not because you've given up on me!) So I'm taking a break of my account of Mia's little life for some of my own thoughts. Don't worry, I don't have too many of my own these days.
The other night after we had the little one in bed, I sent Travis to the Blockbuster while I made dinner. Although I would have preferred going myself, I did not want a grilled cheese with macaroni and cheese for dinner (my husband loves starch so much I think he might turn into one someday), so off he went. I braced myself for yet another horror film (he is a horror junkie) or some indie film (which is sometimes a coin toss). He surprised me with a film he thought I could relate to: Motherhood. I wasn't sure if I should be pleased at such thoughtfulness or irritated that he was gone for over an hour on such a small errand. (Turns out he was also having wallets printed for Mia's birthday party at Walgreens.) I decided to choose appeasement.
So we sat down with our sausage and broccoli bow tie pasta and watched Uma Thurman make her way through a day in the life of a New York mother. The first thing I said to Travis after it was over is, "I'm exhausted just by watching her have a family in New York City." I mean, really. Life in the city looks romantic and fun, but try living in a five floor walk-up when your daughter forgets her backpack for school, carrying your elderly dog down 4 times a day to use the restroom with your 2 year old son on your back, or riding your bicycle around while shopping for party supplies (and a cake!) for your daughter's 6th birthday party. No thank you. Life in the suburbs doesn't seem so bad after all...
But more than that, I was struck by Uma's character's struggle with life after motherhood. She's what I would call a power-blogger, blogging multiple times a day about thoughts on her role as a wife and mother, but always feeling trite and glib, and never original or thoughtful (hmmm, sounds familiar). So she decides to enter a contest to win a weekly column at a mom's magazine; all she has to do is write 250 words about what motherhood means to her. The only catch is that she only has about 8 hours to complete the task, and it happens to be the same day as her daughter's birthday party. I won't give too much away in case you happen to see it, so I'll stop my synopsis there.
So here's my take away: I am not alone. Although I happen to read a handful of blogs with mothers that manage to blog nearly every day and have some kind of relevant, thought-provoking post (how? how do they do this and get anything else done?), I am not alone in that between laundry, cooking nutritious meals, playing peek-a-boo, telling Mia for the 100th time not to touch the DVD player, wondering if I've provided her enough stimulation today, remembering to let the dog out, and maybe a shower that all original thoughts that used to occupy my cranium have been crowded out.
Will they return? I hope that one day, they will. One thing is certain; this blog will be more interesting or it will die trying.

It's My Party

2010-03-09T19:23:00.016-05:00

Warning: the following post contains a ton of pictures. I mean, when it's your daughter's first birthday party, how can you just choose a couple?

Saturday we "officially" celebrated Mia's first birthday. We were joined by most of our family (ahem, Uncle Jon?) and a few friends in our church's new community room. It was the perfect space for such a party, and I thoroughly enjoyed not having to clean up my house for the event.
The theme of the day, as you can see, was spring with an emphasis on chicks. Mia's nursery is accented with birds, so I thought it fitting that we continue the theme, especially as this will probably be the only party I get to pick. If you've noticed my new Sarah's Sweets button to the right, you know I recently launched my work-at-home business. So yes, I did make her cake and cookies, and it was the most fun and relaxing cake I've ever done. I've had the design planned for about 5 months (I'm a bit neurotic), but the cookie idea came just a few weeks ago. I made matching chick cookies for our guests to take as favors. If you want to see more pictures, just go to sarahs-sweets.com/gallery.

This kid was all smiles when we sang "Happy Birthday." She loves music!

I didn't actually make her a true smash cake, just a cupcake with a tiny bit of buttercream. I know, I'm a mean mommy. But she came down with a cold the day before her party, and I didn't want to sugar her up too much. You can tell in her eyes that she wasn't feeling too hot.

Eating cupcake with Grandma Audrey and her brand-new (not even one month old!) baby cousin Atticus.

With Grandma Hutton

She wasn't too sure what to think of all her presents. I think she had more fun with tearing up the tissue paper. In her defense, she received a ton of clothes (as in, she has more spring/summer clothes than me!) and just a couple of toys. While I'm thrilled, I know that clothes aren't nearly as fun to open as this age.

Her very first Cubs hat from Uncle Matt.

She loves her cousins and her Grandma Paschall!

Every girl needs her sunglasses. If only I could keep these on her. Any suggestions?

A Week's Worth of Change

2010-03-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

So we're into our second week as a 12 month old. Last week, I will admit, was pretty rough. I'm not sure if it was our check-up at the doctor (with a finger stick by a somewhat rough tech), another round of shots at the health department, or the lingering cold weather and subsequent continued hibernation, but Mia was pretty grumpy and definitely has learned how to throw a good tantrum. To complete the week, we had an awful night's sleep Saturday night with what appeared to us as fear of her crib. I've been told night terrors can start around this age, but there was something not quite right about her screams that left us both uneasy and unnerved. I kept wondering if she was remembering something from her past that scared her, and so I did the only thing I could think of at 1:00 am: pray for a spirit of peace. Having never done this before, I'm never sure if we're dealing with "normal" child development issues, adoption issues, or both, and so I tend to always err on the side of caution.
Thankfully this week has been awesome so far for both Mommy and Mia. I'm not sure what's made the difference, but it seems like she has grown up so much in the last 7 days. If you'd told me a week ago that I'd be feeding my daughter pot roast with carrots and potatoes, I'd have called you crazy. But that is, in fact, exactly what's happened. Last Friday, Mia began refusing all baby food. I could sense this growing independence coming, but I was not prepared for it to happen all at once. I'm not sure anything has given me more anxiety than food. I wanted to make sure she was eating healthy, well-rounded, non-processed, and mostly organic foods, which, if you didn't know, is extremely difficult to do on a budget! So after a quick crash course and consolation from my go-to mommy advice friend Shari, Mia is now eating all table foods and all by herself. She'll still let me feed her applesauce, oatmeal, and yogurt, but that's about it. Our big girl has eaten sunflower butter sandwiches, green beans, pot roast, carrots, potatoes, four cheese ravioli, a variety of fruits, macaroni with red sauce, and even macaroni & cheese from O'Charleys. There's no stopping her now!
We've also gained tremendous strides in her gross motor development. Our wobbly and somewhat timid girl has taken off...literally. It just a week's time, she's begun running around the house, chasing after Hank, and never, ever stops. Not even to watch Baby Einstein anymore :( This does make life a bit more complicated for Mommy as I can't go anywhere without a little shadow, but I just can't get over how much fun this age is. The other day I walked out of her room for just a moment, and when I returned she had her Belly Button book out, her shirt up, and was pointing to her belly b. I mean, how cute is that? I've been told it only gets better, but right now I just want to hit the pause button. Not forever, of course, but just for a moment. It's going by way too fast...

Let Them Eat Cake

2010-02-25T15:36:00.012-05:00

So I realize I haven't been the best blogger lately, and I'm not sure who is even reading this anymore, but we've had lots of big events in the Taylor household recently.
First, on Sunday we dedicated Mia to God in our 10:30 service. We were very excited to have "Uncle" Ben be the one to perform the ceremony, and we were even more honored to have our parents stand up with us. Although I think the seriousness of the occasion often gets glossed over in the excitement of the ceremony, Travis and I tried very hard to approach the event with humble prayer and fear before God. When you really think about it, we are taking an oath before and to God that we will do everything in our power to raise Mia to come to know Him as her Savior. It's an awesome responsibility but not one I want to take lightly.

Proud Mama and Daddy

Uncle Ben & Mia

Then on Monday, Mia turned one! I'm sure she had absolutely no clue what was going on, other than we sang "Happy Birthday" about a dozen times (all of which she danced to) and she got her very first taste of cake. She *loved* it and there wasn't even any icing on it!

First Bites...

Our silly girl.

"I love to share my food with Mommy!"

We also started Mommy and baby swim lessons on Monday, and she is quite the little fish. She shows no fear, kicking her legs and splashing up a storm! I'm hoping Travis can come with us sometime soon to take pictures; she looks so cute in her little flamingo bathing suit.

Tuesday we went to see the doctor for our 12 month check up. Our little chunk monkey weighed in at 21 lbs. 13 oz. and measured 28.5 inches long. We were also cleared for whole milk (yay for no more expensive formula!) and got to turn around our car seat. I still can not believe she's become such a big girl...

In her new big girl chair from Grandma!

The Fourth Stooge?

2010-02-02T20:46:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago Mia starting making a funny "Na na na" babble, but for some reason, it almost sounds like the same noise the Three Stooges make. It's become quite endearing to me, and I finally captured it on video tonight at dinner.
She does scream quite loudly at the beginning...you might want to turn down your volume at first :) That's the other noise she's perfected: the ear-piercing scream.

We Have Lift Off!

2010-02-02T20:09:00.003-05:00

Mia took her very first steps alone last week, and things have been progressing ever since. She was pretty wobbly at first and really wanted you to hold out your fingers to help her (for self-confidence, mostly), but I've noticed she's gotten much more daring as the days go on. She will willingly let go to get to something she wants, and we've even gone as far at 10 or 12 feet before a tumble. I've been dying to get this on video, but it's hard to hold a camera, watch her, and get her to walk to me at the same time. Tonight I had the brilliant idea of setting the camera on the coffee table; you get a great view of Mia, but mostly miss my head. Oh well. It's the baby everyone's interested in anyway ;)
Oh, and a disclaimer: please don't feel too sorry for our dog. I realize I might seem a bit heartless in the video. Although he's definitely not the center of attention anymore and often hears a lot of "Go lay downs" from us, he's certainly not neglected or abused. In fact, I think he's sleeping on my bed at the moment.

Whole

2010-01-16T10:36:00.009-05:00

As we quickly approach Mia's first birthday, I've been doing quite a bit of thinking. It's amazing how fast the last five months of our lives have flown by. Although I can't remember what life was like before her, it doesn't even seem possible that the little 12 pound baby I brought home is now a 20 pound, almost-walking, babbling, dramatic 1 year old. (And I do mean dramatic.) I know that when you're in the midst of it, it feels like a certain stage will never end, but when you stop and really think about it, the change is so rapid you wonder how you even had time to relish those moments. In our case, I've also been thinking about all that we missed in the first six months and my mommy-heart just breaks into pieces. Adoption is truly a miracle and a wonder that we can never completely understand, not unlike God himself, but it is also a painful journey built on so much loss. Loss not just for us, but for Mia and her birth mother as well. Early on in the adoption process, I used to wonder how something so tragic could ever be beautiful. Then one day as I was driving and praying, God asked me, "Sarah, do you believe that I can do anything?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then don't you believe that I can make your family whole?"
That's when it hit me. God can take anything, any situation, no matter how sad and ugly, and make it whole.
So in the past week I've been trying to really stop and consider the miracle God has placed into our care. This little girl loves us so much and has given us so much joy it's unfathomable. And we love her completely to pieces. We laugh together, learn together, love together. He is making us whole. It certainly didn't happen overnight, or in a week or even a month. Our adoption journey has not ended, and I'm not sure it ever will. But I'm certain that we are a family; she is my daughter and I am her mommy.
And so now we begin to feel the stirring again in our hearts as we look east towards Africa. No, I'm not announcing a new adoption journey, not yet anyway. But the question is not if we'll go back, but when. After all we've seen and experienced, we can't not go back. And I truly believe God has another son or daughter there for us. In meantime, we'll soak up the moments we've been given with Mia now.

Wordless Wednesday, a day late

2010-01-07T09:58:00.008-05:00

She really does smile all the time, just not so much for pictures.
Doesn't she look so much more like a toddler here? I can't believe how fast she is changing.

"Mom, no more pictures. I'm trying to eat my book!"

"This is my pensive look. I'm ready for my close up."

"What?"

"And now I will demand your apple for payment."

Ten on Tuesday

2010-01-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

1. Mia loves to sneeze. I mean loves it. A great big smile and giggles follow each one. New development: she also loves it when other people sneeze.
2. She loves to cuddle in the morning after her bottle. Such a fun time of day and makes getting up at 6:30 every morning more bearable.
3. Mia always wakes up happy...always. You can't help but be excited and laugh when you see her...except when it's 2 a.m.
4. I love watching her learn new skills and new ways to play with her toys. It's amazing to watch someone grow and develop right before your eyes. Although I'm a little sad to say that we've already had to retire some toys that just weren't challenging anymore :(
5. My daughter will be one in six weeks. Holy crap, how did that happen?
6. Her new favorite thing to do is walk around the house holding onto your fingers. Around and around and around we go, probably 200 times a day. Still not crawling, and I think we're going to skip it altogether.
7. When you nod your head and say, "Yes" she smiles really big and shakes her head no. I'm not sure why, but it's pretty darn cute, at least for now.
8. Did I mention she's going on 1? What happened to the little baby I brought home?
9. We've learned all kinds of tricks like "So Big", clapping to "If You're Happy and You Know It," waving bye-bye, and putting shapes into holes.
10. I am now officially separated from Xerox Corporation and am now employed by Mia Taylor, Inc. Although the dress code is more casual and I work from home, the hours are twice as long and my boss is one demanding cookie.

Where Have We Been?

2010-01-04T13:35:00.001-05:00

I am shamefully overdue for a blog post, and I wish I could tell you that we've been crazy busy or out of town or something like that. Truthfully, we've been home bound for awhile and I've been in a bit of a funk that's made it difficult to find motivation to write. We lost my grandfather on the 10th and immediately after that Mia came down with her first cold. Thankfully her nose has finally stopped running.
The holidays were bittersweet for us this year. It was an incredible blessing to have Mia this year, especially as we thought back to how sad we were the last couple of Christmases, but this was also our first Christmas without Travis' dad, my Grandpa, my cousin Andy, and our dear friend June.
With three sets of parents, Christmas is always a busy time, but Mia did great as we traveled from here to there with naps on the run. Our festivities started with a Christmas Eve dinner with my mom, step-father, and step-brothers, and Mia got to open her very first presents.

As expected, the wrapping paper and bows were her favorite thing to play with until I noticed that she was actually trying to eat them.

Santa did make a stop to our home Christmas Eve night, although he was rather late because someone woke up around 10:30 and didn't want to go back to bed. It was quite amusing to watch her on Christmas morning though. We usually take our morning bottle on the couch and after she was finished she sat up, looked around, and then her eyes became fixed on the new Animal Train sitting in front of the tree. She looked back at me and then started to point curiously. Although I'm sure she doesn't "get" it yet, she definitely knew there was something new that wasn't there before.

After she saw the train, she quickly climbed off my lap and had me to help her walk to the tree.

Then we made a mad dash to get ready and out the door for breakfast with Travis' mom, sister, and brother-in-law. Apparently Santa made a stop there for Mia, too.

Mia showing us how big she is...always a crowd pleaser :)

Mia, Mommy, Grandma Audrey, and Aunt Angie

Later in the afternoon we made our final trip of the day to my dad and step-mom's house, where we joined my step-sister, her husband, our niece and nephew, and some more extended family. Unfortunately, my husband is not great at remembering to take pictures (ironic, I know), so I don't have any to post. Let's just say, Mia know has a new variety of toys and books to play with, and I think I'm probably more excited about this than she is!
Hope you all had a blessed Christmas, and here's to a better 2010!

What's for Dinner?

2009-12-07T11:47:00.002-05:00

Mad New Skills

2009-12-07T11:35:00.004-05:00

I'd like to take a minute to congratulate myself for teaching her this oh-so-cute skill. I guess she really is paying attention. Hmm. Guess I'll have to start watching what other skills I might be teaching her as well...

Wordless Wednesday: Taylor Christmas Preview

2009-11-25T21:26:00.004-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

"Life as Usual"

2009-11-11T19:58:00.005-05:00

Lately, life has been a bit of a struggle for us. Although Mia brings us more joy than we could ever have imagined, we've had to face many difficult circumstances since our return from Ethiopia. The biggest by far is that Travis' dad is now on hospice care at home, and among his many responsibilities to photography, youth ministry, and school, Travis is trying desperately to spend as much time with his father as he can. Likewise, I've been spending a lot of time at home with Mia, an adjustment in itself for a once career girl. I'm not exactly sure what "life as usual" looks like yet, but one area in my life that has suffered tremendously is my walk with God. I'm almost ashamed to admit how dry a valley I've been in lately. Going to Africa was certainly a life changing, God-filled experience. If you've followed my blog for awhile, you might remember my post from our last night in Ethiopia. I meant every word of that entry, but as time goes on at home, I feel my heart becoming more calloused to what I saw and experienced. I feel as if life in bountiful America is sapping God's spirit away. No more.

Tonight, I leave you with a video that truly describes the things we saw. Yes, there is poverty. Yes, there are a staggering number of orphans that need forever families. Yes, there is disease. But there is also hope and joy that doesn't come from any kind of material possessions or status or power. Their identity isn't wrapped up in where they live, what they do, or what they have. Their joy is found in the Lord our God, and I confess that I want to be out of this dry land and back into His presence.

Our First Halloween

2009-11-02T19:26:00.006-05:00

I've been anticipating this Halloween for months now; it was so exciting to finally have a child and join in the trick or treating fun. After we made the rounds to all the grandparents, we ended up at my Dad & Marilyn's and trick or treated with our niece and nephew, Cassidy and Will. I have to confess that we only made it to 3 or 4 houses before we turned back; who were we kidding? The candy was all for us anyway! But it was fun to show off our adorable little penguin.

She's already a ham for the camera!

Trick or treating with Daddy

Mommy loves her penguin!

Why We Love Baby Einstein

2009-10-31T07:43:00.004-04:00

I recently heard about a class action lawsuit brought against the Baby Einstein Company (now part of the Disney conglomerate). Parents were suing because they felt the Baby Einstein DVDs hadn't made their kids any smarter. Apparently they won because you can now receive an exchange or even refund for some of your DVDs. Yes, only in America can you sue because a DVD didn't make your kid any smarter...couldn't have been the lack of parental interaction, could it?
In our house, though, we love Baby Einstein. I'm not sure it is making Mia any smarter (how could you really measure this anyway?) but she loves watching it, especially the puppets (as shown in the video below). We love it because it's the one thing that will totally entertain her by herself for a few minutes, which gives Mommy and/or Daddy a break to wash bottles, eat lunch, whatever. And really, anything that makes her giggle like this had us at hello (or bonjour, hola...)

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-27T21:32:00.010-04:00

A Look Back: Arriving Home

2009-10-21T21:34:00.004-04:00

In order to make up for our lack of recent photos, I thought I would leave you with a special video of our arrival home from Ethiopia. We were overwhelmed when nearly 30 of our family and friends met us at the Indy Airport, and it is certainly an afternoon we'll not soon forget.

8 Months and 2 Months Home

2009-10-21T20:13:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow my baby girl will turn 8 months old! It's hard to believe 2 months have passed us by. We've been busy the last few weeks; Travis is back in school after a brief hiatus, we've both been photographing families for our new church directory, Mia has been growing like a weed, and just this last weekend popped through not one but two bottom teeth! We actually didn't even know they were coming in; she has a habit of keeping her tongue stuck out, so it wasn't until last Friday when Travis made her laugh that he saw white shadows looming beneath her gums...No wonder she'd been getting us up at 5:30 every morning! Although we don't go back to the doctor until next month, here's a look at her growing statistics:
Weight/Height
Our chunky monkey just keeps on growing! I don't have an official weight from a doctor's scale, but when I weighed the two of us last week at my in-laws, the scale read 19.5 pounds! I also measured her with a sewing tape measure and she was around 26". We're all the way into 6-9 month clothing, and I even had a 12 month outfit on her yesterday (thanks Leslie!)
Food
Well, as you might have guessed from our rapid growing, Mia loves to eat. She finally figured out the spoon/tongue thing, and opens wide for just about any food I give her. The only thing she's balked at so far is a mashed up avocado...can't say I blame her there. To date, she's tried sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, pumpkin, green beans, peas, bananas, apples, pears, blueberries, yogurt, and apricots. I'm actually going to try to make some of her food this week as we're going through the jars quickly and I want her to try a variety of foods. Although Earth's Best has more variety than other brands, you can quickly exhaust the options. We've also cut down some of her formula during the day feedings (from 8 ounces to 6) and increased our table food. She also loves drinking from her sippy cup, but Mommy still has to help hold it if she wants to get any water and not air.
Development/Motor
We're definitely getting stronger every day. She sits up entirely on her own, can stand with some assistance from me, uses both hands in coordination, is almost clapping and waving, and is starting to play peek-a-boo herself. We still hate tummy time and have yet to roll over (either way), although I'm pretty confident she could do it if she really wanted to. She's been so close a dozen times, and I keep trying to give her opportunities to do it. I'm not sure she'll ever crawl, but you never know.
Sleep
This is a big one, and probably the thing we've struggled most with since we've been home. Mia has finally gotten the hang of our routine. She normally wakes around 6:45, takes a bottle at 7, naps from 9-10:30, eats again at 11, afternoon nap from 1-2:30 (pushing for 2 hours here), eat at 3, and then down for the night after a bottle at 7. Teething has of course altered our mornings for the last week, but we're hoping our early mornings are on the way out. Sleeping through the night is hit and miss. I would say she goes 2 out of 7 nights in a week. The hardest part about her night wakings is that she's usually wide awake, and we have to convince her that she really is still tired, which is not without its frustrations and tears.
Attachment
We seem to be doing well in this department, but it is still a huge obstacle for us all. Mia spends 98% of all her time with me, and apart from the few days we worked on the directory, we have done all of the feedings, changings, baths, and nap/bedtimes. She definitely seems to recognize us both and has begun tracking us, especially me, if someone else is holding her. Even though I think we've made great progress, it's important to us both to keep taking baby steps. That means limiting those who hold her, not passing her around, especially in new places, and continuing to provide all the care. I know this is difficult for many to understand as it appears we're all doing great, but what I want to stress to people is that although she's adjusting well, we have only had her for one-quarter of her life. Three-quarters of her life has been spent away from us; up until that point, she had a variety of people caring for her and honestly had very little opportunity to attach securely to one person. When we came along, we were total strangers who took her out of everything she had ever known, flew her halfway around the world, and now give her our (almost) complete attention every second she's awake. There are moments when I panic that she doesn't realize who I am (I understand this might seem like a silly fear to some, but please understand that in adoption, it's not), but we get through them and keeping going

Sorry for the lost post and the lack of pictures...you'd think with a photographer for a mom and dad that we'd have some new pics to share, but what can I say? I am looking forward to the holiday season. Mia's going to be a penguin for Halloween, so check back and I promise new pics soon.

Fall Festivities

2009-10-06T08:07:00.008-04:00

Every fall when the air starts to get cooler and crisper, I'm always anxious to make our first trip to the apple orchard. Nothing says fall to me more than cold apple cider (the real stuff, not the watered-down version you can buy at the grocery store), caramel apples (with nuts!), and pumpkin patches. The last couple of years, though, were bittersweet for us. As much as I love the start of the holiday season, it left us feeling empty seeing the other families enjoying such magical times together. We were desperately longing for our baby girl, to share these experiences with her, to watch her face light up at the new sights, smells, and tastes.
So this year I felt it completely apropos that we took Mia back to the orchard my parents took us to as children. Although it's not quite as picturesque as it was then (part of the orchard was sold to a housing development), it was certainly nostalgic and brought back memories of my own childhood. I can't even tell you how much joy I felt in sharing this new experience with my own daughter. I'm sure that next year she'll be able to appreciate it a bit more, but I'm trying hard to relish each and every moment now. She's growing and changing so quickly, and I know we'll never get these moments back.

America's Next Top Model

2009-09-29T09:15:00.000-04:00

Not me, of course. The gorgeous brown eyed little girl! It's hard to believe that she turned 7 months old last week. She's growing up so fast right before our eyes.

How One Month Can Make Such a Difference

2009-09-17T20:24:00.007-04:00

It was one month ago today that we were in Ethiopia, standing in anxious anticipation, waiting for the moment they would bring out our daughter to us. One by one, the other families in our travel group met their long-awaited children. And finally, it was our turn. It honestly seems like just a moment ago and at the same time a lifetime ago. I feel like Mia has always been part of lives; I simply cannot imagine life without her. She is our daughter. Adoption is truly a miracle ordained by God.

Here are some new pictures Travis took of Mia yesterday at the park. He had the honor of taking our goddaughter Gabby's 3 year pictures, so Mia and I met them after her nap. The girls were so cute together. It's neat to see how much Gabby has grown; it seems like yesterday she was Mia's size! Happy 3rd birthday Gabby!

Labor Day Weekend & Catch Up

2009-09-11T22:00:00.008-04:00

I've been intending to get these pics up all week, but time seems to have escaped me, along with my camera that was forgotten in Travis' Jeep! We actually had a great weekend. Mia was a rock star with her naps. Saturday was pretty low key with a first time visit to Papa and Grandma Paschall's, which was good because Sunday Mia and I went to the Bowen family reunion (my mother's side) and she was introduced to almost her entire extended family! She took an hour and a half nap in the morning at home, and then slept for 2 hours in my Grandma's guest room! I couldn't believe it! I kept telling my family she was a horrible napper, and then she goes and makes a liar out of me. Oh well. My favorite part of the day was introducing Mia to her cousin Brady...they're only 26 days apart. Check out the photos my cousin Samantha (Brady's mama) took of them both...so cute!

Brady and Mia

Mommy and Mia at Grandma and Grandpa Bowen's house

Monday was a holiday for Travis (yeah family time!) so we all three ventured out to Target for, what else, but more formula. Afterwards we made a brief appearance at Alex and Amie's cookout and (bonus!) also got to play with Kenton, Emily, and Gabby. Gabby was a bit camera shy, so no pics of the two girls yet.

Mia was fascinated in trying to pull Alex's facial hair!

And she loves looking at ceiling fans and lights with Amie

Wednesday was the big visit to Riley's International Adoption Clinic. I just have to express how much I *loved* the clinic and Dr. Keck. She.is.amazing. Really. I will be writing a thank you card to them...that's how much I loved it. She checked Mia out very thoroughly and spent almost 40 minutes with us, answering any questions we had and going over everything. Thankfully, she proclaimed Mia to be pretty perfect (not like we didn't already know that ;) She weighed in at 15 lbs 8 oz., up over a pound in 2 weeks. Her weight is in the 50-70 percentile, but she's not grown any longer yet. Dr. Keck said she was amazingly healthy and developed; her muscle tone is great, but she told us Mia will probably walk before she crawls because she hates tummy time.

Also, Mia started babbling more this week and has added "blah, blah, blah" and "da da da" to her vocabulary. It's so funny to listen to her in her crib in the mornings; she just jabbers away! Unfortunately every time I break out the video camera she clams up. Maybe I can capture her unaware soon. It's totally cute. We're also back to catnapping (so much for rock star status). But she's also getting a front tooth in (I feel it!), which I think is contributing to her recent fussiness the last couple of days. She pretty much just wants to be held all afternoon.

This one's just because I think she's so darn cute! (It's a little out of focus, but who cares?)

Meeting Mia

2009-09-05T20:05:00.000-04:00

Well, it took me a little longer than I had planned, but I guess that's all part of being a mom now. Here is the video of us on Meetcha Day, August 17, 2009, the day we had been anticipating and anxiously expecting these 2+ years.

Another Week, Another Post

2009-09-04T13:24:00.002-04:00

Another week has gone by, and I'd be lying if I said this was the best in my life. Don't get me wrong - I love this kid more than life itself, but I'd also be lying if I didn't tell you this is hard. We're still not napping well, probably a result of 6 months of habit (short naps after every bottle) and also from Mia's very strong will. No naps = one cranky baby. I've been doing as much research as I can on whether or not to let her cry it out (and please, if you have an opinion, I'd rather not hear it right now...no offense, I already feel inadequate as it is), and the jury is still out. Today, though, she only slept for 30 minutes for her morning nap and woke up happy as could be. So after a few minutes of trying to get her to go back down, I gave up and took a drive thinking maybe I could ride her to sleep. No dice. Ah well, who needs a shower or to pay bills anyway? We had our late-morning bottle and cereal, played for a good while, and then started to get crabby again. This time when I started our nap routine, she would have none of it. And the screaming began. When not even picking her up could console her, I just had to lay her down, shut the door, and set the timer on the microwave for 10 minutes (oh, and call my husband in tears). Miraculously, 4 minutes into her fit, she actually fell asleep. I still feel like crap and I'm sure my face mirrors it, but I'm guiltily relieved to have a few moments alone. And hopefully, she'll take a good, solid nap and wake up with that smile that just melts our hearts...

Sweet Potatoes!

2009-08-28T15:01:00.003-04:00

She seems to like the sweet potatoes I started a couple of days ago. She wasn't too sure what to do with the spoon at first; she kept trying to suckle it. Tears followed, complete with screaming, until I got some in her mouth and she stopped abruptly with wonderment at the new found sweetness. Today she finally figured out the spoon and actually opened for bites. Although it seemed like just as much came out that went in, I think we're on the right path.

Our Life in Pictures

2009-08-27T13:55:00.009-04:00

Since my little one is still not napping well (think 30 minutes spells), I don't have much time for words, but I wanted to share a few pics from our life since we brought Mia home. I promise to blog more about our trip, but for now, enjoy our beautiful little girl!

At the Airport in Ethiopia, waiting to board our 16 hour flight

First Bath at Home! She loves splashing her feet in the water.

Our first cereal. She's not too sure about it...

Look at those tears! Such a drama queen already.

So we had to finish our cereal on Mommy's lap, and after our bottle of course.

Just swingin' in the morning with my Daddy!

2 Days Home & 6 Month Checkup

2009-08-25T13:41:00.003-04:00

Well, we've been home for almost 48 hours, and it has never felt so good to be a mom. I think we're all falling into the swing of things pretty well. We still don't have a good routine down, but it will come in time. Mia is wonderful. Did I mention how darn cute this kid is? She has the brightest smile in the world, and I love making her laugh. It's infectious. She does have quite the temper, though, and can go from happy to mad in approximately 3 seconds flat. We're still not sure if her fussiness is temporary from all the changes she's been through, or just part of her strong-willed personality. We'll see.

We had our first outing (in America, that is) today to see the pediatrician. We were concerned about her very runny nose, but thankfully she is pretty healthy. She seemed to like Dr. Fox, and we found out she's gained almost a pound and a half since we got her! She's up to 14.5 pounds and 24.25 inches long. We were also encouraged to start cereal and then some vegetables; I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about this experiment than she will be. I'll try to post some pics of the first cereal tomorrow.
After the doctor, I was feeling pretty adventurous and she and I made our first trip to Target. I was a little nervous out by myself, but she was a champ. She's not so crazy about her carseat (they don't use them in Ethiopia), but does like to ride in the car so she usually calms down once we get going.
Hank (our boxer dog) is also adjusting well to Mia's arrival. We were both a little worried as he's never really been around a lot of children and is also very excitable. But he seems to like her and often lays down in front of where ever she is. Mia's not freaked out by him at all and giggles when he licks her hands or feet.
Well, I can see my little one is about to wake from her nap and is sure to be hungry. I'll leave you with a another pic from our trip.

Life in Addis

2009-08-21T15:18:00.001-04:00

We are headed home tomorrow, and our emotions are as diverse as this country we are in. I feel exhausted, touched, overwhelmed, and full of love for this baby girl, who without I cannot imagine life to be possible (even in her fussiest and most challenging moments). But more than just this child, I have been touched by this country and the people in it. First impressions are sometimes deceiving, and the more time you spend here, the more you see the beauty. Beauty in the small children who live on the street, begging to sell you some gum or shine your shoes. Beauty in the old woman who carries down bundles and bundles of branches down Entoto Mountain, day after day. Beauty in the smile of the woman who passes you on the street with her child tied to her back. Beauty in the face of the man who stops to give Mia a kiss and tell her how beautiful she is. Beauty in the faces of countless orphans, whose expectant eyes long for someone, anyone, to take them home and call them their own. I have been touched in a way I never thought possible, and life will never be the same again. It is true: I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

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First Report

2009-08-18T13:56:00.001-04:00

We are alive and doing great. Ethiopia is really unlike any place I've ever been. The poverty is astounding. Yesterday we arrived a little late, and it took 2 hours to get through customs. Needless to say, we were running later than expected and had to literally drop our bags in our room and go (no electricity yesterday). Meeting Mia was surreal, partially because I couldn't believe we were actually there and partially because we were going on 30 hours without any good sleep. Today we went shopping in the morning, and then we got to bring Mia back to the hotel with us. We've been having lots of fun; she is a snuggle bug and a great baby so far. We gave her her first bath in our bathroom sink and Travis has now successfully changed 2 diapers. I'm hoping to attach a couple of pictures, but if they don't go through, sorry. The internet is slower than dial up. We love you all and can't wait for you to meet her!

With Windows Live, you can organize, edit, and share your photos. Click here.

Our Fellow Traveling Families

2009-08-14T15:54:00.003-04:00

We're down to counting hours at this point and furiously running errands and doing laundry/packing before our wedding tomorrow, but I wanted to drop a quick line before I forget. Here are the blog links to the other families traveling with us. Most all of them have already left, so I thought you might like to follow their journey as well. (A word of warning...it's addicting! You might find yourself thinking about adoption ;)

Gillman Family    http://www.ablissfulheart.blogspot.com
Rogers Family   http://rogersadoptionstory.blogspot.com/
Stackler Family   http://stackler.blogspot.com/
Corderman Family  http://waitingformaggiefaith.blogspot.com
Garrison Family   www.impresseduponourhearts.blogspot.com
Holland Family    http://hollandadoptiontake2.blogspot.com/

Procrastination and Butterflies

2009-08-12T21:55:00.005-04:00

I really should be packing, or at least trying to check off something on my growing to-do lists (yes, that's plural), but instead I sit on my bed, trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I will be boarding an airplane in just 4 short days to travel halfway around the world and instantaneously become a mother. This morning I woke early with butterflies in my stomach! I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. It's hard to fall asleep, my mind just won't turn off, and I wake early, knowing each day is bringing us one day closer to Mia.

Tomorrow is my last day of work, at least until December 8th. Friday is reserved for last minute details, like having our car seat installed at the Fire Station, finishing packing, and getting the house ready for our house sitter. We are shooting an early wedding on Saturday (in Greenwood, thankfully), and then Sunday morning, Lord willing, we will be on the 6:00am flight to Dulles International Airport. After a brief layover, we'll board our 8 hour flight to Rome at 10:00am. We stop in Rome to refuel, and then spend 6 more hours heading to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We should arrive at 8:20am on Monday morning (really 1:20am here). After some paperwork and lunch, we will head to the Transition home to meet our baby girl. What a day it will be! I will try to post at least once or twice while we're gone, but I've heard the internet is really slow and we only plan to have power every other day, so we'll see how it goes.

I will try to post again before we head out, but for now, I hear my lists calling...I really should get something done tonight.

It's Official

2009-08-06T17:53:00.003-04:00

We received confirmation from our adoption agency today that we are good to travel! It's a good thing, too, because our plane tickets arrived yesterday from our travel agency. If you look carefully, you can see Mia's boarding pass home (she'll be Bitania until we readopt her in the U.S.).
It's really hard to believe that in just 10 days we'll be boarding a plane to finally go and bring our baby girl home. I started packing for her on Monday evening, and as I sat in the middle of her room, surrounded by sleepers, lotion, pacifiers, and all kinds of baby stuff, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. After all this time, all the pretty baby "things" we've been collecting for the past 2+ years will finally be used; they will finally have a purpose. It is an amazing feeling, but also terrifying at the same time. Our lives are about to change forever, and I, for one, can't wait.

July Update!

2009-07-30T11:06:00.007-04:00

I'm so excited that I can actually share our updated pictures! We just received our July update, and our precious Mia is now a whopping 12 pounds! She has also started rolling over, can bear weight on her legs, and is holding her head up while she's on her tummy. I can not wait to get to her! If all goes as planned, we'll be leaving Indy on Sunday, August 16th and arrive back home the following Sunday, August 23rd.

For now, enjoy the new pics!

She is Ours!

2009-07-29T11:15:00.001-04:00

Introducing for the first time, our daughter, Emilia Jane Taylor.

April Update, 2 months

June Update, 4 months

Internet Fast

2009-07-26T19:34:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to drop a line to let you know I'm beginning a fast from the internet tonight until we find out the outcome of our court date on Wednesday (so if I don't respond to email/comments/facebook, don't worry...we're okay). I just feel that I really need some focused time with God, and the internet, combined with email, our adoption chat group, the many blogs I stalk, and facebook are too much of a distraction. Check back on Wednesday; I'll definitely be posting one way or the other, but I'm praying that we'll be rejoicing and celebrating come mid-morning.

Love to you all,
Sarah

Just Kidding...

2009-07-22T14:07:00.002-04:00

The court registrar made a mistake in our court date. It's actually one week from today, Wednesday, July 29th. I know it's just 2 more days, but I feel like screaming in frustration. Ah well, I guess there is a reason for everything.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

2009-07-19T18:44:00.004-04:00

Not specifically adoption-related, but nevertheless, how I kept myself distracted on Friday evening.

New TTDs!

2009-07-18T08:34:00.002-04:00

We received our new tentative travel dates (TTDs) last night from our agency for August 15-22! It really made me realize how real this is: there is an end in sight and in less than one month, we could be holding our baby! Travis spent last night volunteering at the Jackson Center for Conductive Education, so I had plenty of time while making a cake for my friend Jana's 2 year old to think about how radically different life could be in just a few short weeks. (BTW, the cake is turning out totally cute...I'll post pics later.)
I'm also thrilled that my BFF and (for intents and purposes) sister Anne will get to meet our daughter before she and her husband head back to Oman. They'll be in town for the month of August, and we originally thought she'd be here way after we brought Mia home. Little did we know. We were both starting to become really worried that she'd miss meeting Mia altogether (at least until Christmas), but it seems now she'll be able to spend a few days with us.
For now, we just need to keep praying that our court date is successful. At this point in the game, I feel that God has taught me that nothing is definite. In fact, I've realized that nothing in this life is steady or reliable except for Him. When all our circumstances are turned upside down, I believe He brings us to a point where the only thing we have is Him. Is He enough? Painfully and tearfully, I will say yes.
My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Just Because...

2009-07-13T15:32:00.005-04:00

Apparently when you might be carrying the Swine Flu, you get to dress up like you're an extra for the movie Outbreak.

New Court Date!

2009-07-13T13:53:00.001-04:00

July 27th, two weeks from today!

What a Week

2009-07-12T19:37:00.004-04:00

This has been the most eventful two weeks of our married life so far and has made for a lengthy post. We spent the last week in Savannah, GA with our youth for a week long mission trip. I've had no internet access and today's the first day I feel good enough to sit upstairs at the computer. Let me just give you a quick recap of the life of the Taylor's.
1. On Saturday, June 27th, on the way to our day of weddings (we each were shooting our own), Travis' Jeep broke down on I-465. Yes, it really happened. Thankfully, he was following me and I promptly turned around to collect him and our camera equipment, packed it all in the Mini, and jetted off to the northside. His wonderful parents called AAA, who had it towed back to Greenwood for us. Bad news: it's dead.
2. On the same Saturday, June 27th, we return home from our 13 hour day of photographing weddings to find our A/C running full blast but unfortunately blowing out hot air. Bad news: it's also dead.
3. We now have exactly 4 days before our departure to figure our the A/C and vehicle situation.
4. Travis takes most the day Wednesday, July 1st (our 9th anniversary!) to scope out about 20 car lots. We finally concede that the Mini probably won't be the best family car, especially after I tried to install the rear-facing car seat in the back.
5. It's now Thursday. The new A/C unit is installed in our house (not exactly in the budget, but not exactly something we can go without for long. It was a blessing to have such a cool week in July.) I meet Travis at a car lot where's he's scoped out 2 (new to us) vehicles. I test drive a red Jeep Liberty, and he's got his heart set on a silver Jeep Commander. We leave the car lot with the new rides.
6. We go back Friday to sign all the paperwork for our vehicles, and I sadly tell the Mini goodbye. We took a few pics, and I was a little bummed, but I kept thinking about the new pictures of Mia I just received the day before. She's up to 10 pounds and is turning into quite the little chunk! Such a cutie.
7. We leave Saturday morning for Savannah. What an incredible week. Many of you might remember that we took our kids last year to the Navajo Nation in Arizona. I was a little worried I might be let down this year, but as always, God showed up in a mighty way. I was floored and humbled by our kids. They truly demonstrated Christ's love to everyone we met. The most amazing part of this trip was the people we met. This trip was a little different as we did a lot more inner-city ministry, but the guys (and gals) we met were incredible. They were not ashamed of telling everyone what Christ had done for them, and it really ministered and show me the transforming power of Christ's blood. He is awesome.
8. We returned home late Friday night from Savannah, and a couple of us (including me) were not feeling so hot. I figured it was just a mixture of sinuses, exhaustion, and travel. However, Travis received a phone call Saturday night from YouthWorks to tell him that 3 of the kids at our site (from other youth groups) have been confirmed with the H1N1 (swine) flu virus. We immediately start calling all the parents and then decide I need to be tested. Thankfully, I'm negative and don't have to be quarantined for a week. The others in our group that were ill are also negative.
9. Now for the part I'm sure you're all wondering about. Yes, we did receive another adoption update while we were gone. It's a mixture of good and not-so-good news. The good news is that our new court date is tomorrow, July 13th. The not-so-good news is that MOWA (the Ministry of Women's Affairs), a government agency that must write a recommendation letter for us to pass court, is closed for 2 weeks for training, meetings, and process improvement. So from what I understand, it is probable that the judge will just reassign us a new court date tomorrow, hopefully after MOWA reopens on July 27th.
So here's what we need prayers for. One, that our case will be rescheduled quickly. Two, that MOWA will be able to write our recommendation letter in time for our new court date. I fear they might be behind due to being closed for 2 weeks. And three, that we won't run into court closures. There are rumors that the courts may not be closing this year, but nothing's been confirmed. I just pray to bring her home soon.

Finally, Some Good News!

2009-06-24T21:59:00.003-04:00

We received word today that the courts in Ethiopia are finally reopening our adoption case on July 2nd. Our adoption agency will be submitting all our paperwork again, and we will have to agonizingly wait (again) for the courts to issue us a new court date. We have been warned that it could be as little as a 3-4 days, or it could be a few weeks. Either way, the courts have committed to making cases like ours a priority, and AWAA is still hopeful we will get in before potential court closures in August.
While we are thrilled to finally see some light at the end of the tunnel, our very tender hearts tell us not to break out the confetti just yet. So far, as Travis put it, the worst has happened, so we're trying to prepare ourselves for the worst. As I've been saying for weeks now, we can only take it a day at a time. Some days are harder than others, but we just have to keep the end goal in sight.
It reminds me of what I've heard some women say about their childbirth pains: it is pain with a purpose. They know that at the end of it all, there will be a beautiful child. Today, we received our immunizations for travel to Africa. After four shots, my right arm is sore to say the least. Believe me, I know this no where compares to childbirth, but I tried to see it as pain with a purpose. Each step we take brings us one step closer to Mia. And one day, hopefully soon, I will hold her in my arms and all of this pain, waiting, and heartache will be so worth it.

Travel Vaccinations for Ethiopia - $557.00
Adoption Fees - $25,000.00
Waiting, Waiting, and More Waiting - Agonizing
Holding My Baby Girl for the First Time - Priceless

May Update

2009-06-06T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have to make this quick, because we've got a wedding to shoot today (first one of the season!) and I have precious few minutes to get housework done before we'll be gone the rest of the day. Two quick updates. I promised to let you know how the conference call went on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we didn't receive any real new information, but I was comforted and encouraged that Anna (director of programs at AWAA) still feels pretty confident that we will get in before court closure. Here's now what we need to specifically pray for:

1. That MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs) would begin to write recommendation letters for those orphanages not being investigated (ours included) and softening of their hearts to release cases of kiddos who aren't being investigated.
2. Some of the orphanage directors of those not being investigated are trying to appeal to the Supreme Court to have MOWA continue writing recommendation letters. Pray for success and softening of hearts.
3. That any unethical behavior would be quickly discovered and remedied.

We also received our May update yesterday, and Mia is now up to 8 pounds! I also found out that she likes to make up her own sleeping schedule, and takes 4 1-1.5 hour naps a day and wakes 3-4 times a night for feeding. Oh, and she like to be cuddled to sleep...I think my co-sleeper is going to be a god-send. I'm chuckling to myself as I begin to see her personality emerge. And I'm pretty sure my mother is chuckling as my little one is starting to show the same first-born, strong willed tendencies as I did. I think this is the best piece of advice my mom has given me yet: Choose your battles. You can't win them all, so choose carefully.

Losing It

2009-06-01T20:18:00.002-04:00

Well, folks, the floodgates have finally broke open. I have an uncanny knack of not crying at those moments in life that I most expect, like my wedding and sometimes even funerals. So it wasn't looking at her referral pictures, seeing our first care package delivered, or even finding out our case is temporarily closed; none of these events that should have in fact brought me to tears did. But when I received this evening a plethora of photos and two videos from the Bayly's, who arrived home Saturday with their son, Tate, I cracked. And I don't mean one glistening down my cheek in a dainty way kind of tears, I mean hiccuping, snot nosed, red faced for an hour tears. It was the blessed gift of hearing my daughter's cry for the very first time. I keep watching the same 17 second video over and over and over again, each time looking for some new feature in my daughter's face, hands, or feet. Her little cheeks are filling out so nicely, I just want to squeeze them. And her hands! Her fingers are getting oh-so-long, and my heart just breaks because I'm not there to witness this tiny miracle. The lull between pictures is almost too much for my tender heart.
We are humbled and so very much appreciate your continuing prayers, thoughts, and encouraging notes. Please keep them coming. We have a conference call with our agency on Wednesday about the temporary delay, and I am praying for some news of progress. As always, I'll keep you posted with as much information as I can share.

For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Corinthians 1:5

It's Been Awhile...

2009-05-27T22:08:00.002-04:00

I'm shamefully overdue for a post...my apologies. Our holiday weekend was pretty busy, and now I'm fighting a cold (yuck!) and new found allergies (when did this start? Is it being 28?). Here's the low down on the adoption front. Last Wednesday I received a phone call from my agency saying they needed an updated Power of Attorney form for the courts, and stat. They needed to receive it by Friday to have it hand delivered by the CEO of our agency on Tuesday (the day our case went to court). This sounded encouraging to me, b/c when I asked what difference it would really make if our case was on hold, she didn't really give me a definitive answer. So I called Travis and he came downtown immediately; we ran to the government center, signed the document in front of a notary, and then had it certified at the Secretary of State's office. Within 2 hours of her phone call, I had it FedExed priority overnight, and I was trying really hard not to get my hopes up. On top of that, there was twittering on my adoption chat group that the investigation was over. I hardly slept at all Monday night, and I kept dreaming about the case.

Unfortunately, I was right not to get my hopes up. AWAA called me Tuesday to tell me that our case is closed for now, pending this investigation's completion. They still haven't been given any estimations by ET on when this might conclude. I'm still hopeful that we'll travel sometime this summer, but we still have to take it one day at a time.

So that's the scoop. I've been struggling more this last week or so. I think my most difficult times are when I'm home with nothing to do, so I'm trying to keep busy with projects that don't revolve around the baby. My heart just feels raw. Hopefully I'll feel better in a week or so because I can't stop work on her room entirely!

Day 3 - Sophie's Choice

2009-05-14T20:23:00.002-04:00

Meet Sophie. She's a soft, lovable, and cuddly pink and white dog we've been sleeping with for the last several months. Although I felt somewhat silly bringing a stuffed animal to bed for the first time in probably 20 years, I have to say I've grown attached to her. But Sophie was not meant to remain with us forever. We said goodbye Tuesday morning as I carefully packed her away with 2 new onesies and a new dress for our baby girl, and a note of thanks to Mia's nanny. She's leaving Saturday with the Bayly's for Ethiopia and her mission is to impart our smell and comfort to our darling girl. Before, when I thought I'd be holding her in a matter of weeks, I hadn't really put very much thought into this 2nd care package. I was trying to leave room for other families whose wait might be longer than ours. Now, however, I wish I'd had more time to prepare a better gift. I wish I'd prayed over Sophie, written a blessing to be prayed over Mia, something else.
Tonight, I wish I could hold my baby. I wish I could know how much more my heart will love her, and how my life will be changed forever when she finally comes home. But for now, Sophie will carry a small part of me across the ocean and into Mia's arms.

Gracious and Heavenly Father, tonight I ask a blessing on Sophie. I pray that she will bring comfort to Mia, as she brought to me. Please continue working in the Ethiopian government. I pray that you would put a fire in the hearts of the officials working there, that they might feel a passion to end this investigation quickly. Thank you for all of our wonderful blessings, including this opportunity to spend more time with you. I can already see how much more I've grown to know you through this trial. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Day 2 - Worry

2009-05-13T21:25:00.004-04:00

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

Today has been more difficult. I do still feel God's peace, but I've felt myself wavering more. I find myself thinking about tomorrow and the months ahead, and I start to lose it. I wonder how long this hold will really last, if things will work about and we'll still travel this summer. Or, my worst fear of all, that it'll drag out into court closure and our case won't even be heard until October. That's when I just want to throw up, crawl into bed, and pull up the covers. And then God gently lifts my face back to Him. "Focus on me, Sarah, and me alone." My heart is overwhelmed and humbled with His love for me.
It dawned on me yesterday when I was doing my Bible study that God already knew this would happen. Before we ever saw Mia's face for the first time, before she was ever conceived, before we decided to adopt. This is part of the plan. Nothing takes Him by surprise. What an awesome God we have. When Jesus tells us not to worry about tomorrow, it's because He already knows the story. And all we have to do is trust Him for today, take Him at His word, and He will carry us through tomorrow.

Almighty God, I cannot fathom your knowledge. You knew me before my body was even formed. You knit me together in my mother's womb. And you know what the future holds because you wrote the story. And we know that love wins. We praise you Jesus and we thank you for loving us so very much. Please ease my broken heart this evening. Continue to work through the Ethiopian courts. Watch over my baby girl; tell her we love her. Help me focus on today, and help me to trust you for tomorrow. I love you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Day 1 - Peace

2009-05-12T11:37:00.002-04:00

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Today I am focusing on peace. Not worldly peace, that is fleeting and dependent on our circumstances. But the peace Paul describes in Philippians as transcending all human understanding. I don't think I have been praying for anything harder and more fervently in my whole life, and yet I feel a strange sense of peace and calm that my mind keeps telling me is crazy. Yes, it is crazy and illogical to be so calm in the midst of so much uncertainty, but then again, so is the cross. It is crazy how much God loves us.
Let us today pray for God's peace to rest upon all the families that are being affected by this hold. Peace for the children, some of who are old enough to feel the impact of this additional wait.

Lord Jesus, you are the author of all things. Nothing is hidden from your eyes, and you know our hearts and desires. Today, I ask for you to rain down your peace on us. Help us keep our faces on you, and comfort us in this time of uncertainty. I know you are working in all things, and I would ask that you continue to be at work in Ethiopia. Please uncover the things that need to be uncovered, and we boldly ask you to bring our children home quickly. Thank you for your constant and abiding love. Amen

God is Always Good

2009-05-11T16:04:00.005-04:00

One thing I have struggled with in blogging about this adoption journey is remaining real and true. I think sometimes I appear to have things "together" (whatever that means) because I struggle with revealing some of the wide range of emotions we have felt during this time. You experience everything from the mountain top to valley low, and the unfortunate truth (or fortunate, depending on how you look at life) is that very little of this process is in my control. And God has definitely used this process to draw us closer to Him, so I don't want to appear patronizing or trite by saying things like, "God is always good" or "God is in control."

Thus brings me to the point of this post. I received a phone call from AWAA today, informing me that MOWA (the Ministry of Orphans and Women's Affairs in Ethiopia) is putting a hold on some of their international adoptions. Ours is one of them. I can't reveal the details as to why, but, again, none of these details are in our control. No one is quite sure as to how long this will delay things, but a similar situation occurred last fall and delayed things by about a month. It could be longer, or it could be shorter. We just don't know. (In case you are wondering, our court date will likely not happen on the 26th, because without MOWA's recommendation letter, the judge can't approve our case.)

Honestly, when I first saw who was calling me today, I had all kinds of thoughts, like maybe for some strange reason a judge heard our case today, maybe they're calling to tell me our travel can be expedited, or something else exciting. This was certainly the very last piece of news I expected to hear. And then almost immediately, before the tears or anger or despair could come, I heard a line from Sara Groves' "Song for My Sons" in my head.

I can not say that life will always go on as it should,
But I can say that God is always good.

Believe me, the tears have come, and we are heartbroken at the thought of another unknowable wait, but I'm trying to take comfort in Christ tonight. God is always good. Our baby girl won't be in Ethiopia one day longer than He predetermined. And I don't want to dismiss the fact that I do still have one very powerful tool: prayer. James tells us the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (5:16). I feel God laying it on my heart to have a period of prayer and fasting, not only for our situation, but for the other families this affects, the children who are waiting in Ethiopia, and the entire process. Let's come together over the next 7 days and ask for God to work in a mighty way in Ethiopia. If you have any interest in joining us, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I'll post our prayer/petition for each day, and let's ask God to move this mountain from our path.

We'll start today with this verse from the Psalms.
"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:13-14

My First Mother's Day

2009-05-09T22:33:00.005-04:00

I wrote this note to Mia shortly after we received our referral call. In honor of my very first Mother's Day, I thought I would share it with you.

Sweet baby girl,
It has been all of 48 hours since we received the phone call telling us we have a baby girl - you. And for the last 48 hours I haven't been able to get you off my mind. I guess this is what becoming a mother is all about. I love your darling face, your big, bright eyes, your cute little nose, your long fingers and toes. I love you. And even though we have not yet met, my heart belongs to you, precious Mia. Even though you don't yet realize it, I have become your mama and you are my baby. I have been praying for you since before you were ever conceived, and even still while you were in your mother's womb. And before even that, I know that God, our Heavenly Father, has been loving you.
I cannot wait until the day when we will finally meet. Until then, baby girl, you are in my every thought and prayer.

We're coming soon, love...

April Update (Finally!)

2009-05-02T21:41:00.005-04:00

We finally received our monthly update on Friday! I think they normally come a week or so earlier, but because of power outages in Ethiopia, they've had a difficult time getting all the information sent back to the U.S. office. I have to say, these 2 pictures are the best ones yet. She's actually smiling and I can see her personality starting to come out. She is absolutely beautiful and her smile is radiant; you can't help but smile when you see her. She's still pretty little, just right at 6 pounds, but is healthy and appears to be developing well. Our report states that she loves to cuddle, responds to touch and sound, and usually only cries when she's hungry or wants to be held. I'm not sure these next 9 weeks can go fast enough! I'm hoping that our friends the Bayly's will pass court on the 11th so they can travel on the 16th to not only meet and pick up their son but also deliver another small care package for us. I also have to work on my next round of questions for the May update. This last time I asked about her sleeping conditions, favorite position to be held, her nanny's name, eating schedule, and personality. This time, I'm definitely going to ask if her Ethiopian name has a meaning, but I'm open to more suggestions. Any other advice?

PS. If you have a moment, check out the Whipple's and Lunceford's blogs. Both families just returned home with their new babies and have posted their "Gotcha Day" videos. I promise you won't be disappointed or dry-eyed.

Thoughts on Motherhood

2009-04-23T07:00:00.003-04:00

It's a day for introspection. I not only marked the start of my 28th year on Tuesday, but if you notice our ticker that counts the days since we began this crazy process, it's officially two years today. To be honest, I have a hard time remembering what life was like before adoption consumed my thoughts. Many days the wait for Mia to come home seems agonizingly long (especially now that I know she's actually real and out there waiting for us). Other days, I go from anxious and excited to overwhelmed and terrified. I'm going to have another human being depending on me for everything; our entire world will be transformed. The other day, Travis laughed and said, "They're going to give us a baby?!" We've had a good, long time just to ourselves. We're very thankful that we waited, and I know our marriage is strong and we've got a good base to build on, but nine years is a long time to get used to certain things. We talked the other night about things that would have to change, like listening to our iPod turned up loud, flying by the seat of our pants in the mornings, dinner at anytime of the night, being gone every night of the week, the list goes on and on. I know that it will all be totally worth it, but you have to admit, it's daunting. But, as Travis reminded me, there's no turning back now.

In other news, we received more pictures of our precious little Mia on Tuesday (the best birthday present ever!) from Bliss Rovang, who just returned home with her new daughter. She told us, "Little B*** is so tiny and I loved on her a lot. I don't think I have ever held such an itty bitty baby. I can't wait to see how much bigger she has gotten by the time you travel." And it's true, she is still itty bitty; the newborn outfit I sent is still big on her, but you can tell her cheeks are filling out. I think for a moment, I began to doubt that she was only a month old at referral because she is so alert in our first photos, but you can definitely tell her age in these, which is a relief in a way. I, too, can't wait to see how her personality will emerge over the next 8 or so weeks as she continues to grow and develop.

God is Gracious

2009-04-17T08:35:00.000-04:00

As you might have guessed from the brand new countdown ticker at the top of the blog, we received our court date yesterday and are scheduled for May 26th. Actually, because of the 7 hour time difference, all the proceedings will actually occur while we're sleeping the night of the 25th. We should find out sometime on the 26th whether or not our baby is legally ours! We now have to keep praying over our case, specifically that God would be at work in the Ethiopian legal system and have everyone show up that needs to be present for our case to be heard. We should receive tentative travel dates in the next couple of weeks, but we think it might be 7/2 - 7/11.
Now that we have passed two very signficiant milestones, we wanted to (finally!) share the name we will give to our daughter: Emilia Jane Taylor. We will call her Mia, but we both really loved Amelia/Emilia; it just took us awhile to agree on the spelling. Travis prefers Emilia, and has done just about everything possible to convince me this was the best way to go, including telling me it was Ethiopian. If you know me at all, you know that I hardly ever take things at face value. A quick google search revealed not an Ethiopian heritage but in fact that Emilia is actually Italian in origin (Annie, I'm sure your dad would have loved that!). Quite surpisingly, there are a few well known Emilias in history, including Iago's wife in Shakespeare's Othello. Emilia means rival, emulating, kind, and graceful. Jane is after Jane Austen and Jane Bennett (you can tell her mother is an English major!) and means God is gracious. This is incredibly fitting having just celebrated Resurrection Sunday and Christ's ultimate gracious gift of the cross to us. And I pray that even in the midst of motherhood I will always remember God's gracious gift of Mia to us.

Care Package: Sent

2009-04-05T22:39:00.000-04:00

We just Fed Exed our daughter's first care package to the Rovangs, who will be delivering it next week when they travel to pick up their daughter. We did limit ourselves to 1 gallon size zip lock bag, but it was packed full! I know we'll be sending more packages during our wait for court, but it's difficult to restrain ourselves from sending her the world. I guess that officially ordains me as a parent. This package contains:

5 newborn onesies
1 lightweight sleeper (check out the adorable feet - they're ladybugs!)
1 dressier outfit (Travis insisted she have something dressy to wear)
Picture book filled with photos of her new mom, dad, and, of course, new dog Hank
Soft zebra rattle

The Rovangs and Watsons have promised to take some more photos of her for us, so hopefully we'll have some new pics in a couple of weeks. We'll also receive a monthly update towards the end of April from our agency with new pictures, medical information, and answers to 5 questions I can ask her nannies. From what I've been told, I'll get basic information about how much she's eating and any medical updates, but I can ask about her schedule, personality, etc. Do any of you mothers out there have any suggestions on what I should ask?

And Now For the Story

2009-03-31T17:55:00.000-04:00

As promised, here is what actually transpired last Friday:
My dad and I had gone out to lunch somewhere on the east side, the Tie Dye Grill (side note: they have amazingly fresh hamburgers). I had had a strange but comforting feeling all morning that today could be the day, but I was trying hard not to get my hopes up. Spending the last three weeks on high alert had been very taxing on both of us. Then, just as we were getting up to leave, my cell phone rang. I recognized the 703 area code, and my heart leapt in my chest.
"Hello, Sarah. This is Terra. I have some good news for you, this is your referral call!"
Even now, as I write, I can still hear her say those words and I can't help but smile and cry. We have waited so long for this moment, it is hard to believe it's actually here. I grabbed my dad's arm and said, "It's our referral call!" and Terra asked if I wanted to conference Travis in. A few seconds later I heard Travis answer; my voice was almost too full of emotion to say a single word.
"Good afternoon, Travis. This is Terra and I've got your wife Sarah on the line." I have to say it was an awesome blessing to hear Travis' reaction to the call. Terra went on to tell us about our beautiful one month old baby girl. After that, the rest of the conversation is honestly a blur. As soon as we hung up with Terra, I called Travis right back. We both just laughed with amazement and utter thankfulness. My dad took me back to work where I promptly excused myself to rush home where Travis was waiting. By 1:15, we were looking into the eyes of our daughter. I wish I could share her picture or even some more details with you all, but because of privacy issues surrounding the adoption, we can only post after we pass court.
So, you might be thinking, what happens now?
More waiting on our part. We returned our acceptance letter to AWAA on Monday, and now they begin petitioning a court date (CD) in Ethiopia on our behalf. Court dates have been traditionally been scheduled 2 - 2.5 months out, so we're anticipating a date in early June. We should hear within 2-3 weeks what our court date actually is. Soon after we receive a court date, we'll also receive tentative travel dates (TTD) of when we will actually go to pick her up. Typically, you travel within 2 weeks of passing court. However, 30% of families do not pass court on their first attempt. It is nothing we can control, so we must continue to pray that the orphanage has their paperwork completed correctly, MOWA writes our recommendation letter, the judge shows up, they have electricity, etc. You can be sure that when I know more, I will share what I can.
For now, Travis and I are continuing to marvel at her precious face and I've begun full-on nesting in her room. If you would, please pray for peace for us during this last (but oh so important) phase of waiting.

The Day We've All Been Waiting For...

2009-03-27T16:36:00.000-04:00

This is it. The day we've all been waiting and anticipating for the past 2 years. Today at 12:20pm, we received our referral call for a beautiful one month old baby girl!!! It's been a whirlwind of emotions and activities, and I promise a nice long blog later with the story. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers and support during this long process. I can absolutely say the wait was worth it! And I'd be remiss if I didn't stop and thank God for this awesome little blessing He's bestowed on us. We are your servants Lord, and we will try our very best to raise her to know and love you.

Filled with much love,
Travis & Sarah Taylor

Distractions

2009-03-22T15:52:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been over 2 weeks since we went on high alert; we actually received an email from our agency telling us we were "on deck" and we are anxiously waiting for our phone to ring. I'm not going to lie, it's almost agonizing. Every day I wake up, thinking this could be the day, and then feel a heavy sigh when the clock strikes 5:00pm. It doesn't help that every time Travis calls my cell phone at work, I think it might be "it". Last week I actually took his call in the middle of a meeting, only for him to ask me something totally arbitrary, like, "Did you get my email?" In my frustration, I told him the next time he called he'd better have some good news. (Let me take a moment to praise the Lord for my wonderfully patient husband, who endures all the hormonal abuse I dole out...he's such a great and godly man.)

Thankfully we've had a few distractions to keep me from going completely off the deep end. Yesterday I attended my third baby shower, given by my mom, my best friend Anne's mother, Susan, and my very good friend from church (and spiritual mentor and surrogate big sister), Laurie. It was an incredibly awesome day. I was very disheartened Friday when we didn't receive our referral; I had so hoped to have a picture before the shower. I was afraid the whole day would be a constant reminder of our unfulfilled hope, but instead I found myself encouraged and filled with God's peace. I loved being surrounded with such godly women, friends, and family. Here's a few pictures from the day, including my "Ethiopian pregnant belly" made by my friend Amie and her mom, Margie. Apparently they wanted me to have my share of fun trying to open gifts and reach to the floor. Thankfully my best friend Shari pointed out that, in my defense, not too many brand new mothers have to board a 24 hour trans-atlantic flight with a new baby. Point well taken.

400 Flower Cake

Opening the Belly Present (Notice Any Redness in my Face?)

Here's the Culprit, my friend Amie

And the diaper bag my mom made me.

PS. If you'd like to see the rest of the pics from the day, got to: http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahpas0421 .

This Is Not a Test

2009-03-04T11:11:00.000-05:00

We are now on high alert, Defcon Orange. In the 2 weeks since my last post, there have been 3 more baby girl referrals and 1 baby boy referral. Both of the "either" families in front of us received girl referrals, the one boy family received a sweet baby boy, and another family that shared our same DTE (5.2.08) received their request for a baby girl, 0-18 months. I am now, as my Yahoo chat group calls it, the Queen Bee of the referral line. We can literally receive the phone call at any moment.
Ironically, I have strange sense of calm and peace. It's surreal to think, after all this time, of her actually now existing, halfway around the world, waiting to be matched up with us, her forever family. Many of you have commented about our strength and patience through this whole process, but please believe me when I say that it does not come from us; it is by God's grace and loving providence alone that we have (mostly) maintained our sanity and sincere hearts.
Hopefully the next post you see will be news of our precious baby girl!