Update on Jaxson & Ethiopian Dinner

I want to start off by sharing a WONDERFUL email I got from Kimmie today. TOTALLY made my day!!

We did see your son...he is so tiny and perfect! We popped in to the babies room a few times and your little one was all cozy tucked into his little basket (a little Moses basket) sleeping contentedly. He has beautiful features, though we didn't see him with his eyes wide open. How wonderful that you got a referral for such a wee little man...he looked very healthy, for such a new man to this world! He is being well taken care of, those special mom's carry the title of 'special' for a good reason...they really pour themselves out for all of these kids. There is much love there, excellent care and soon you will see it for yourself. Have peace and know that God is holding your son in His arms for you, until you can fully hold him in your own.

How sweet was that?! I cried when I get her email. We don't receive much updates (if any) between referral and right before travel, so I cherish ANY piece of information we can get our hands on!!

Ok, then tonight we had plans to go to an Ethiopian restuarant. I was quite nervous... ok not nervous I was scurred. Yes... scurred. I am picky.... every mom's worst nightmare. I don't like trying new things at all and like to stick to my little ole' chicken and pasta. Safe and yummy. So, the thought of Ethiopian food was well... not so appealing, but I thought I'd be a trooper and give it a shot. Everyone is saying how WONDERFUL it is... can't be that bad, right? Uhhh...yeah... ok... sorry, but I couldn't even try it. Well, I had some chicken (and I use the word "some" loosely). I just couldn't do it. It looked like mushy... pureed.... pastey.... chunky... stuff. I totally wimped out. Everyone else did really good and said it was "alright and good", I just watched them. So, sorry Jaxson but your Mom won't be eating traditional Ethiopian food with you. Thank goodness Tim likes it - one of us needs to!

So, here are some pictures. The group is Tim and I and one of my best friends Jenna. Then my mom & dad. And our friend Petah is on the end. Ok...his real name is Peter, but he's from the UK so he's not Peter... he's Petah in my lovely english accent.

and there it is folks...

this is me thinking "what in the H-E-double hockey sticks did I get myself into?!"

And sorry to admit it, but this was my dinner. No shame people. No shame.

Crazy Hair

I dislike winter for a number of reasons. It's cold, the slushy/yucky stuff is messy, it's cold, it's not fun scraping windows, its cold, etc.... You get the point. But, another reason I don't like winter is because it's SO dry. And my hair is always staticy, it's so annoying. Well, Addy is having some issues too....

Tim and I drove up to Minneapolis this weekend for our nephew's dedication. It was a short trip, but a good trip. Here are a couple pictures.

Isn't he a stud?!

hi... i'm emry

haha... look at ava's face

tammie with her girls...

Update on the adoption...

~AGCI had a mix up and lost our referral paperwork, so we are re-doing it and sending it back in (no worries - it's not holding up our process... exhale - you can breathe again)

~AGCI is sending our travel packet this week - YAY!!

~We have a conference call with AGCI on Friday to discuss travel stuff - DOUBLE YAY!

~We are waiting to hear what our court date is... we are hoping for early March.

Hope you are having a non-staticy day!! :)

Bag 'O Love

We got the Bag 'O Love all ready to go tonight. Here is what we are sending...

~silky blanket (that we've been sleeping with so it smells like us)

~little teddy bear (that we've also been sleeping with)

~photo album

~little elephant toy

Really we just wanted to send the first three things, but we realized we had some extra room and well if you send over a bag with empty space then CLEARLY you aren't good parents - right??? So... the little elephant won the last open spot in the bag. Oh and we did include something else in the bag... KISSES! We blew lots and lots of kisses in the bag - one for everyday until we go and get him! Which for me right now is seeming for forEVAH!!

where it all came from & coupons!

Ok, well I know you all want to know where the cute stuff came from - so here we go.

The first 2 shirts are from http://www.africahopeapparel.org/. Go check out their site. They have some cool shirts for guys too - Tim got one. Then you get to pick the organization that you want the proceeds to go to. Most of the shirts are $20 - not bad folks...not bad.

Ok, then the Adoption Rocks T-shirt is from a fellow adopting family. So, you really should go to their site and buy a t-shirt to help them raise $ for their adoption. C'mon... just do it. It's so cute and you know you want to! http://onemomtrying.blogspot.com/

The clock is from Pottery Barn. And it's 50% off right now!! Only $24.99! Hurry up & go get one! http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/am350/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C12%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cafrica%20clock&cm%5Fsrc=SCH

The little pouch was found on Etsy, but I don't see it on there anymore. There is a business card that came with it and the ladies company is called Urban Hen and her email address is sharon@urbanhen.com. I'm sure you could email her and request one.

Then the charm is also from an Etsy site. They have quite a few cute things. I actually got one for my Mom too that says Sayt Ayat (Grandmother).
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19877909

And for those who would like to have an Africa cookie cutter - you can buy it here.
http://www.coppergifts.com/productcart/pc/Africa_Cookie_Cutters_CG2119.asp

Okie dokie... that's about it. Super cute stuff and not bad prices either!

Speaking of prices... I am such a nerdy nerd when it comes to coupons. I love them! Seriously people - it's free money. Why would you NOT use them?! Last night I save $27.60 with coupons - LOVE it! I get so excited to see how much I can save in a trip. OH and if something is on sale and I have a coupon for it - oh my - I might just break out in a little dance in the aisle... just maybe.

My New Garage Door Service Company and some other fun stuff

So, I have decided that I should start my own garage door service company. Why you ask??? Well, let me explain. We had plans to go out with some friends tonight and we get in the car, pull out of the garage, push the button to close the garage door, garage door is not closing. Tim gets out to inspect what the problem is... he can't figure it out, so he decides to just close it manually - nope can't do that either - it's stuck. Ok.... now what? Well, Tim gets up on a ladder and finds that the cables are all twisted around this little wheel thingymajig. Clearly not something he can fix. He calls a place in the phonebook that has 24 hour service because our garage door is wide open and we can't leave the house with it open. They come out to fix it... would you like to know how much they charge PER hour? $168... yes, that's right. $168 per hour. No typo here folks. I am in the wrong business. So, I'm sure to be a millionaire soon after fixing a few garage doors on Saturday nights. It's robbery I'm telling ya.

Since we are not out with our friends... I'm at home blogging. Which has been on my to do list, but keeps getting pushed to the bottom. Update for everyone. Our paperwork is all sent in!! Woot woot!! It was kinda like sending in all of the dossier paperwork - felt so good to get it OUT of the house. We are now in waiting mode again. We should hear from AGCI in about 3 weeks with what our first court date is. Hoping for early March! IF we pass on the 1st time, then we could travel early April! :) We will be sending the bag 'o love to the little guy next week. I'll be sure to post pics of what we send.

Tim and I had a really fun night last night and we bought Jaxson clothes for the first time. Oh, it was SO much fun! You will all think I'm a big dork, but I actually had tears in my eyes. Because for once I wasn't buying clothes for my nieces or nephew, or cousins, or my friend's kids. I was buying clothes for MY son. Fun stuff. And good deals too because it was all on clearance.

I've been meaning to show you some of the fun stuff that I got for Christmas. So - here you go. If you want to know where any of it is from I can let you know.

Some T-Shirts


Ok, my adoption rocks tshirt is downstairs being washed, so I couldn't take a pic but this logo is on the front and it's cute.

Fun clock


Super Cute Pouch/Bag with Ethiopian Flag stitched on

charm that says "Mother" in Amharic

Cool stuff, huh?! I think so. I loved all of the thoughtful gifts!

Pray for Abby

A family that adopted through our agency needs prayers. Their 3 yr old daughter Abby was diagnosed with leukemia back in July and she's been fighting ever since. Tomorrow she starts a very aggressive treatment. Her survival rate is low... 20%. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Showered with Gifts!!

Today was our baby shower - let me just say.... WOW!!! I know I say this all the time, but we are so incredibly blessed. Blessed...blessed.... blessed. We were showered with so many wonderful gifts. We have everything we could possibly want or need and more. Only thing missing now is the little guy himself!!

I don't think I've posted what his name is and since it's on the cake I better tell you now before you see it! If his name was given by his birth family then we would have kept it, but that's not the case. So, we have decided to change his name (for several reasons). Jaxson Kyin is the name we've chosen. Kyin is an Ethiopian name and means long awaited child. So...kinda fitting - huh? So, now that we have that out of the way - here are some pictures from the shower.

My Grandma's...

My Mom...

My good friend Debra (she helped host the shower)

These cute little bags were sitting at everyone's seat. Inside was a bracelet made by women in Africa and the proceeds went to send children to school in Africa. Cool, huh?! My mom and my friend Sally made these cutie patootie bags (they match the nursery bedding)

Everyone also got one of these super cute & yummy cookies that my friend Lisa made.

Then there was a placemat at everyone's seat that had a very sweet poem typed on it. So precious... (warning - you will need kleenex)

KISSES IN THE WIND

I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams. You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.

I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long. But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.

Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you. I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.

Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend. But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.

May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight. And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.

Ok - is that not the sweetest poem?! I LOVED IT!! Now go on and get your kleenex so you can finish reading this.

This was the cake that my friend Lisa made!! Isn't it cute?! Again in matches the bedding and she even wrote Amharic on the cake - very impressed!! And not only did it look awesome, but it tasted SOOOO good. It was some chocolately goodness with oreo filling. I promise you - the best cake you'll ever taste.


Can you see me in the sea of gifts?!

Oh just some of my best friends... this is Lisa, Sally and Sandy. They are WONDERFUL friends. I love them.

Ok, so I got A LOT of WONDERFUL gifts and if I could post pics of all of them I would, but the post would never end. So, I'll just share this one with you. My cousin got this cute hoodie for me. If you don't have your glasses on and can't read it, it says "There's nowhere on earth I wouldn't go to bring you home to me". I love it.

And here are all the gifts in our living room. YIKES! Baby Jaxson is taking over the house and he's not even here yet!! We aren't quite done in the nursery yet, so for now - this is where it's staying.

So, that was our FUN day!! It was so great, I loved every minute of it. Thank you to everyone for coming to celebrate with us and thank you for all the wonderful gifts you showered upon us. Jaxson has absolutely no idea how many people are waiting for him here and cannot wait to shower him with love! THANK YOU TO ALL MY AWESOME FAMILY & FRIENDS!! I love you!

Referral Packet

(Our little guy doesn't REALLY look like smiley face - I just had to cover it up so you couldn't see his cute little self)

We got our referral packet - woot woot!! I came home on my lunch hour and it was sitting nice and pretty inside the door. I tore it open to check out all the paperwork we have ahead of us. It's not too bad - I'll be speedy mcspeederson and get it all done and in!

I'm very excited for Saturday because we have a baby shower!! What a fun week, huh? Referral on Monday and a shower on Saturday!! :) The shower was obviously already planned, but perfect timing for sure! I'm so excited to see everyone and celebrate baby "P"!!

The GREATEST phone call!!!

Today was THE day!!! The phone call that we have been waiting for came!! It's a BOY!!! And a little itty bitty one!! He is about 8 weeks old and pretty small. He came to Hannah's Hope on 11/20/08 and weighed a whopping 5.7 lbs and was 20.5" long. Skinny little guy, but very healthy. It won't be long until HH plumps him right up! Ok, so let me tell you about the day!

Well, the day started off with little sleep. I was so anxious last night that I tossed all night long. I was convinced that we should be getting the call today and if not, well I was going to be VERY disappointed. Our caseworker Julie emailed all of the families this morning saying that AGCI was opened back up and they were playing catch-up, but that they would be calling all families this week with a monthly update and new #'s. Oh and she said I hope you had a great holiday... blah blah blah. So, I was wanting to email her SO bad and just say "ummm... so do you have some great news for us and will you be calling me TODAY?!" But, I figured that was a little too direct, so I emailed back and said "Thanks Julie. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!". Well, she emailed back and said "I look forward to talking to you too!". And then......... she put a smiley face!!! So, then the detective work began. She wouldn't put a smiley face if she didn't have good news, right? I mean - come on - you don't put a smiley face and then NOT call with a referral! I even emailed Jody to tell her that I got a smiley face!! So, anyway... the anxiety levels were high and productivity at work was LOW. It was my first day back to work in 2 weeks and it had to be the day that the agency opened back up and we were #1 on the list - ugh! So, friends and family all had their guesses in on what time the call would come today (if it came) and there were about 15 guesses and nobody got it spot on, but close! Dani -you guessed 3:43pm and Sandy I think you were 3:52pm and the call came at 3:47pm!! Ok, so anyways... I had a little heads up that the call would be coming since my lovely friend Jody emailed me while she was on the phone with Christy getting her referral!! Now Jody is behind me on the list, so I'm thinking "WHAT?!" Well, I knew that Christy was probably just a little ahead of the game then Julie, so I knew it was coming! I called Tim and he left work because he knew it was coming! I started packing up some of my stuff at my desk and then buzz buzz my phone was vibrating and it said "Julie - AGCI". I paused.... started BAWLING... then answered. Julie said she had some great news and I was just bawling. She said I have a little baby boy to tell you about - me, well I'm still bawling and couldn't even talk! She asked if I wanted more information or if I wanted to be with Tim for the info. I told her I wanted to be with Tim and I was leaving work and would call her in 15 minutes! All the while... still bawling!!! I told Julie I was sorry for crying, but I was just SOOOO happy!! So, some friends came by to see me run out the door and packed up my stuff for me and shut my computer off. And off I ran! I live like 8 minutes from work and while I'm on my way home Jody called to tell me about her referral and I told her I just got mine too!! Then when I got home Tim and I called Julie and of course she didn't answer, so we left a message and waited... waited... paced... waited. Then after 20 minutes I said screw this I'm calling her back again! So, we called and she answered! She said "I had a feeling it was you, I was just about to call you back". I said "yeah well we were just a tad impatient". She then told us all about him!! We have about 50 pictures of the little guy. Like I said he's small and he looks like a little old man - hehe. He's not smiling at all and is very serious!! Several people have asked us about his background and Tim and I aren't sure that we are going to share his information on how he ended up at HH. We feel like it's kinda private and not quite sure how we'll choose to share that info (if at all). But, it's sad... So, anyway...we've had a house full of people all night long, LOTS of emails and phone calls and text messages that I have not been able to respond to - Sorry!! After the last person left at 10:30pm, we just sat on the couch and tried to let it all sink in and oh yeah ate some supper. We are VERY happy!! How am I ever going to sleep tonight???

Here is a picture of Tim and I getting our first look at the little nugget!

And here is a picture of our fridge! lol. We've had these sheets up on the fridge since July and would cross off our #'s as they would go down.... felt SO good to cross off the #1!!!

Renee, Kristi & NellAnn - I hope you hear some good news soon!!!

And here comes the anxiety...

Going to start staring at my phone in 15 minutes when AGCI opens. AHHH!!! I can hardly stand it! I tossed and turned all night long. Oh I HOPE HOPE HOPE that today is THE day!!!

It was kinda nice to not have the phone attached to my hand over break and the crazy anxiety, but it's baaaaaaaaaaaack!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

Happy New Year!!! Tim and I are SO excited for what 2009 will bring. We have been waiting sooooooo long to be parents and this is our year!! Oh and AGCI opens in 3 days!!! I can hardly stand it!

Ok, so since we are so close on both lists (unofficially #1 and #2) I thought it would be fun to take a poll on if it's a boy or a girl. Let me just say that EVERYONE thinks it will be a boy and I mean everyone. All of our friends and family are all expecting a boy, so if it's a girl everyone will be in for a shock! I'll be thrilled either way! So, go on over to the right and vote! Go on... GO!!