Happy New Year

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to 2012. 2012 was welcomed with much hope. At this time last year, we were sitting at the #1 spot waiting, hoping, aching to see our child's face. We knew that 2012 would bring much excitement to our lives. After almost 2 years into the process and 17 months on the wait list, 6 days into the 2012 we got the phone call we had waited so long for. At the end of February, we were on a plane to meet our son. In April we were given the amazing news that we cleared Embassy (in record time) and could bring our son home!!! The first month home was a blur in adjusting to having a baby in the house again, having a child that we didn't know much about, having a child that was on a 9 hour time change, plus having some medical battles with pneumonia. We were extremely thankful that I was able to spend some quality Mommy/Kobe time for about 5 weeks while the others finished school and before the chaos of summer hit. In July our little man was baptized on his mommy's birthday. In August, we started the adventure of daycare every day as school started. It was super hard for this mom to leave her little boy. We had spent so many hours together. He loves daycare so much and is so loved there which makes it so much easier to leave him. In September, we celebrated Kobe's 1st birthday. We then had our first Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. On December 11, 2012, we went to court and our adoption is 100% finalized in South Dakota. What a great hurdle this was!!! Of course I just hit on some of the highlights of the past year. We also had ear infections, new teeth, saying new things, crawling, and walking and all of the other things that come with having a baby in the house. I am still amazed at how this whole adoption process has played out. We never thought we would adopt, but God called us to. We are so thankful that we answered His call. It has NOT been easy, but the rewards are great! Kobe fits into our family perfectly, just like you always hear about with an adoption. As hard as it was to wait, God's timing was indeed truly perfect. It is crazy how much joy and happiness this little boy has brought to the lives of everyone around him especially our family. He continues to be quite the little ham and loves attention especially from his awesome big sisters. We were so richly blessed in 2012. I can't imagine what 2013 has in store for us. Thanks for sharing in all of our ups and downs. We appreciate your constant love and support. May God bless you in 2013.

 

Merry Christmas

We had a very fun filled Christmas as a family of five. Kobe started walking on the 23rd so he was a busy, busy boy. He was so proud of himself and enjoyed viewing the world from a different level. He knew how to tear into the presents so that made it even more fun. I think back to last year at Christmas time. We were sitting at the #1 spot for a boy. We longed for a Christmas miracle to see our son's face. God had different plans as we didn't get our referral until after our Christmas, but just in time for Ethiopia's Christmas. :) We feel extremely blessed as we celebrated our first Christmas together.

 

Baby steps

I know kids will do things when they are ready, but we have been unpatiently waiting for Kobe to take his first steps. He just about runs when he is walking along things. He needed to gain some confidence in the fact that he was okay and could actually do this. On December 12, he took his first real steps. (not accidental steps b/c he was falling...ha) He walked 4-6 steps in between Mom and Dad. We thought, "Look out now." He sit was quite reserved. He would walk between people but that was it. On the 18th, he finally walked 2-3 feet without anyone else in the room. Again we thought, "Look out now." He didn't really do much walking during the day at daycare. What in the world?! On the 20th, he walked the length of the living room. On the 21st, he was just starting to take a few steps at daycare. Last night we traveled for Christmas. We picked him up from daycare and put him in his carseat for the drive. When we got to our destination, this little boy walked...and walked...and walked. He walked more last night than we have ever seen. It is safe to say he is walking more than crawling. He is so funny to watch as he balances himself with his arms in the air. He is so proud and so happy with his new view. Now we have a new level of "trouble." :)

 

Adoption Day!

On December 11, we got in the car and drove 30 miles to the Courthouse in Ipswich. That is where we made our adoption FINAL and legal in South Dakota. Our little man's name was legally changed also. It was a big day that we had waited years for. Now the only thing left to do in regards to this adoption is to have one more home visit by our social worker once we have been home for a year. We will also have to submit yearly reports that get sent to Ethiopia every year until he is 18. After almost 3 years from starting the process, the adoption is 100% final!! What a great feeling!!! Happy Adoption Day!!!  Here is a picture of that day.

 

A big day is coming!!!

I wonder if the title of this blog post has anyone confused. What big day could possibly be coming? We have had lots of "big days" with Kobe. Tuesday is another big day in our lives. We will be going to court to readopt this little boy. He is legally our son right now. We will be legally changing his name. It is THE FINAL STEP in making this adoption 100% official. After almost three years in this process, we will be done!!! (With the exception of the yearly reports we must submit to Ethiopia) Kobe's adoption will be complete!!!! What a huge thing to celebrate!

Atlanta Bound

I recently booked tickets to Atlanta. There is an amazing adoption conference in January. The head of this conference is from our agency. I really wanted to go, but plane tickets from South Dakota to Georgia are not cheap. I accepted the fact I wouldn't get to go. I was very sad about it since so many of my adoptive mommy friends go and talk about it a lot. The registration was back in August. I believe it sold out in about 4 hours. The day of registration I was extremely sad. I got on Facebook and someone told me to go to my email. In my email was this message, "Your AGCI mama friends all love you SO much and we want you there! We all chipped in and I just registered you for January! I've got a check with YOUR name written on it for you to buy plane tickets and I know there are some moms who want to be your roomie! I can't wait to see you there and to give you a hug! :D" So amazing!!! It is still very overwhelming to know that these "strangers" pitched in to help out with my plane ticket. These ladies are some of my dearest friends even though we have never met. Due to the high cost of plane tickets, I know I won't be doing this again. I can't wait to go! I plan on making the most of this once in a lifetime experience. I am so thankful for these amazing friends that love me and care about me so much that they were willing to pitch in and help me to be able to to do something that I could have never done without them.

A long post since it is long overdue

Wow! Where does the time go? We have been home for 7 months already. 7 months!! It seems unreal that it has been that long already. It is interesting because when you are on the wait list the days drag and drag. Now being home with our little angel the days just fly by. We had some momentous days this week. First of all 7 months home means that Kobe has officially been in his forever family as long as he was in institutional care! Yippee!! What a milestone! Thank you God!

On November 11, 2011 Kobe was brought into the care of the amazing Hannah's Hope. (Our agency's transition home) The day was sure filled with mixed emotions for this mom. He came into HH weighing 6 pounds at 2 months of age. I believe with all my heart that he came into HH as a last ditch effort. People in Ethiopia know that HH has great care. There are many times when kids are taken to Hannah's Hope when they don't think the kiddo will make it. We were so appreciative of all that the Hannah's Hope staff did. Not only did they take the place of us, as parents, when we were a world away, but they nursed our baby back to life. We thank GOD over and over that He saved our son. It is an overwhelming feeling.

Days in our house are simply amazing. We are always amazed at the new thing that Kobe says or does. He is really getting good at copying us. Right now it is cute while that might not always be the case. ;) It seems he is changing daily. It is unbelievable as to how much joy this little boy brings to our lives. The other day, in church, Kobe was sleeping on me. Lexi said, "I just want to squeeze him." She then continued to say, "I want to squeeze him when he smiles and laughs at us too." Truth spoken straight from the almost 11 year old's mouth. I think we all think/feel that same way. It is like you cannot get enough of this little man. Words cannot express the amount of joy he brings into our lives.

Recently an adoptive mom and friend of mine posted a blog about life after returning home with the newest addition to the family from another country. She was asked to sum things up in 3 words. After she thought long and hard about it, she came up with exhaustion,grief, and isolation. I agreed with her post so much I did get permission to post about it in my blog.  Exhaustion: The adoption journey is truly exhausting...physically and emotionally. It IS different that having biological kids. There are so many "other" things that play into all of it. I've learned that it isn't as cut and dry as it was with the girls. There are lots more questions and lots more trial and error. It seems like there is always something I'm needing to change or looking into b/c I don't know what to do etc...For example, his hair! We had a great hair routine down. Now that we had a few days in the teens we have to find a new routine for the winter months. Another thing is trying to keep him warm when hauling him to and from the house. His little skin has never been in cold like this. He needs some time to get a bit more used to the weather. Thankfully he got to come home in April so he had a little transition. It just is always something whether it is actually child care or paperwork, etc.. Also-- it has been 10 years since we have had a little one running around the house. It is hard to get back into the swing of that craziness. I was 10 years younger when my last one was into everything in the house. ;) Grief: There is so much grief that comes with adoption. First of all, in all the happiness we have with this little boy there is a mother a world away that is missing her little boy. I hope/pray that she knows he is well taken care of and loved so much. I cannot imagine things being so bad that I had to give up my child. There is also grief in how are lives used to be. No we wouldn't change things at all. We also are constantly reminded of God's hand in bringing this little boy into our lives. No matter how much any child is wanted, the change of the family dynamics is hard. We went from being able to up and go whenever to having to make sure all bases were covered before leaving. We are back to diaper bags, carseats, and babysitters. Don't get me wrong...there isn't anything wrong with this. It is just a change. A change that is hard. There are times when we grieve our old pick up and go whenever lives. It comes with the territory. Isolation: For the first weeks home, we are told to limit contact with others in order to ensure proper attachment with this kid that honestly doesn't know you from any other person that has left him in his life. We did "cocoon" and limited the time with others besides our family. Then we slowly went out. Now we are back into our regular lives full force. So how can it still feel so lonely? A big part of it is that my friends are past their baby days which means I'm going through all of this by myself with nobody to talk to about what their kid is doing, etc.. Also--it seems my world revolves around this little boy. I could talk about him all day. I've realized the other day that things ARE different with Kobe than with the girls. I cherish my time with him more. I really struggled with telling anyone that. I felt very guilty, but it does make sense. #1-we waited, longed, prayed, ached for this new addition for so long. #2-we missed the first 7 months of his life. Therefore I think the time we do have with him now is so much more meaningful b/c of what we missed. #3-we are older and realize that in a blink of an eye these days will be just a memory. #4-holding your child and then leaving them a world away not knowing when you will return makes you not want to let them go. There are days when I just hold Kobe in the rocking chair after he is sleeping. Oh the thoughts and feelings that stirs up both good and bad. The summary of all of this...Adoption is so very hard yet it is so very rewarding! None of this will make sense to you unless you have been there and done that. I don't think I've been through anything as hard as our adoption journey and I don't think I've been through anything as rewarding as our adoption experience. My heart is always so warmed and full when I think of what a perfect fit Kobe is for our family. He brings so much joy and happiness. He is loved more than anyone could ever imagine. We thank God over and over for saving Kobe and for giving him to us. We thank God for His hand in this whole thing and His perfect timing. WE are the ones that are blessed. How can someone so little bring such joy?!