Two!!!

Tomorrow you are two! I can hardly believe what a big boy you have become!

A year ago today I was packing bags, checking off packing lists and making more lists as I anxiously awaited the day I was getting on the plane to come get you. I was keeping busy preparing and reading text messages from Cori, who was in Ethiopia with you. I ached to hold you, was so sad that you were celebrating turning one still in the care center.

This year I find myself wishing to push the pause button instead of the fast forward button. You have grown so much in a year and I know this year will be the same. My little baby, that was not walking and barely babbling is now running everywhere, helping me make dinner and telling me how much he loves chocolate!

Happy Birthday Isaiah- from a mother who loves you more and more every passing day.

Will you join me?

Today is World AIDS Day:

Today I wear a red ribbon in honor of those who are affected by HIV/AIDS.

Today I remember that 6500 people will die in the next 24 hours because of AIDS.

Today I remember that 6000 of those people who died left behind a child/ren.

Today I will remember the faces of the kids who are waiting for a "forever family" because AIDS took their first family away.

Today I will ask for blessings on the families that have paved the way in HIV+ adoption.

Today I will ask for blessings for the HIV+ children who are home forever with their families and teach us so much about our fears.

Today I will honor the HIV+ children who take all the medications they must to fight a virus they do not deserve, but more importantly I will honor their bravery as they face a society that is still so often reacting in ignorance.

Today I will remember and pray for the children who are waiting for someone to love them...to be willing to take a chance on them regardless of their HIV status.

Today I will remember what it is like to wait for the doctor to call and give you the status of your child.

Today I wear a red ribbon to honor the bravery of so many, to remind me of the hearts broken by the loss of a loved one.

Today I will pray that God helps me find my role in this fight...will you join me?

Thanksgiving

So on the learning curve of using blogger I have realized that pictures load in the opposite order I thought they did. So the first pictures is actually the end of Thanksgiving day, but that is okay. Isaiah and I enjoyed an amazing first Thanksgiving together. We made sugar cookies in the morning and then went to some friends house in the afternoon and then over to visit Auntie Shevaun in the evening. Isaiah got to play with other kids at Auntie Shevaun's and was actually the oldest of the kids! It is hard to believe how big he has gotten and how far we have come in this year. Our one year gotcha day is coming up and I am looking forward to that post. For now here are some pictures of my handsome little boy on Thanksgiving.

Loves from Auntie Shevaun
A carrot...the means of getting ranch dressing in my mouth
I like frosting
Tongue of concentration
Ready to roll out the dough

I have not been able to adequately put my Thanksgiving post together with the things I am thankful for and tomorrow is the end of November. I am slacking big time. But there are so many things I am thankful for it seems hard to put it in words. This last year has been an amazing blessing with this little boy. He has taught me so many things and showed me so many things. Through him I have made closer friendships, learned the value of true friendship, remembered to slow and see the world around me, but mostly I have learned to be thankful for all that I have. I have wealth beyond measure for I have learned wealth is not the dollars in my bank account or the "stuff" I own, but the relationships I have.

A new blog

Okay so I have blogged for over a year here but figured it might be time to try something a little different. Making the change for a lot of reasons and most of them are too boring to really go into and honestly you probably really don't care the reasons why :) I am not shutting the other blog down for it is where I have my photos and such of Isaiah posted. It is also a great keepsake of my process to Isaiah. My intention is to get this blog truly up and running this upcoming week and start posting here. We will see if this actually happens.

More Info

Okay really I am not sure that I have a whole lot more information to share. I have received and accepted a referral for a baby boy. I still have several steps I need to take before I will be able to bring my little boy home. But I am working my way through all the paperwork. I am still waiting for US fingerprinting and the forms that will come with that. I need the paper that that process produces in order to petition the courts in Ethiopia for the adoption. But in order for that to happen I need my home study, which should be done in the next few days. Once the home study is done I pack my dossier up and send it off for translation while waiting for my petition paperwork. Then it is in the hands of the courts in Ethiopia. So then I wait and wait and wait. 

So while all of that is going on I am getting fundraising ideas together in order to raise some money to help with the cost of the adoption and also to be able to help support the care center where my child is currently.  I know that I am having a fundraiser evening on April 5th, so I will post more details as I get together what all the fundraiser will entail. 

It is A BOY!!!

I am a mom!!!!

To a beautiful boy.....more details to follow as I can.

A baby?

I am excited and a little nervous all at the same time. I have received a referral for a baby. This makes me giggly and excited and really nervous all at once. I can’t wait to be able to bring a baby home and hold him and start all of that mommy stuff. And as I am sure all new moms are there is the nervous about doing it right!!

But the crunch has also come on. I am getting to the point where I need to get some more finances secured. I have most of it, but there is still some I need. I am hoping that I can get some more donations in or that I can get people to start buying pictures. I am at a loss for how to fundraise. Never was my strong suit. There is a part of me that wonders if I am in over my head. 

So for now I send out a new email to friends and family again with a link to pictures and hope and pray. I have to have faith that if one of these little guys is suppose to be my forever family, that the money will come through.