New Numbers!

Stealing a quick minute to post our December numbers.
#83 on the girl list
#66 on the boy list
#26 on the sibling list

We moved 3 spots in the right direction on all 3 lists!

Life has been nutty around here. So nutty we almost didn't celebrate the 2nd anniversary of meeting our Bear! Last night we fired up the gotcha videos on the laptop and watched them together as a family until he got bored and asked for "Gabba Gabba."

More posting to come in 2012.....I hope!

New Numbers And An Encouraging Update

It's been a quiet month on the waiting list. We went backwards on the boys and siblings list which can happen from time to time.

86 on the girl’s list (last month 86)

69 on the boy’s list (last month 68)

29 on the sibling’s list (last month 27)

There is good news coming from Ethiopia for the "Southern 6" as they are being called by the listserv mamas. They have their letters from MOWA and embassy clearances are starting to come in. Some of these kids may be home before Christmas! There are still a few bumps in the road for a couple families but the outlook is still positive.

Until the next update....

Starting Advent Traditions - Please help, what are your favorite Christmas books?

I have been thinking a lot about the kinds of Christmas traditions I want to begin in our family. At just over 2, this will be a Christmas that begins to shape Bear's expectations for what Christmas is about. This year he is happily unaware of the commercial forces that will vie for his attention in another year or two. I'm not sure he knows who or what Santa is. (He's conveniently blocked the traumatic Santa encounter from last year.) He understands presents and getting gifts just a little.  He has zero interest in catalogs and commercials. This year might be our one and only chance for a pure and unadulterated Christmas! I hope to establish a bit of foundation this year before commercial distractions attack.

One of the Christmas traditions I want to give my children from my own childhood is the preparatory celebration of Advent. I grew up in the Catholic church and as an adult have attended non-denominational Protestant churches. I've spent much of my adulthood trying to synthesize all that is good about both. The Advent rituals I experienced as a child left a significant impression. Those rituals created a sense of anticipation as well as a sense of something bigger than all of us, something holy. Much of the fun of Christmas is in the anticipation of something big. I'm going to do my best to use the 24 days that lead up to Christmas to build anticipation around Jesus!

So here's the Advent plan for this year.

Ritual 1: The Jesse Tree each morning
Ritual 2: Followed by singing a related Christmas hymn
Ritual 3: Read a Christmas book each night
Ritual 4: Light a new candle each Sunday.


The Jesse Tree

I first learned of the Jesse Tree from Babe of My Heart. I love its purpose. There is a scripture reading with a corresponding ornament for each day of Advent. The passages trace Jesus's ancestral history (a shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse) and lead up to his birth on Christmas Day. What I love so much is that it demonstrates how all of scripture points toward Christ. Beginning on December 1st (an orthodox Jesse Tree would start on the first day of Advent) we will read the scripture reference for the day and Bear will get to hang the ornament that goes with it on the Jesse tree. Day 1 is the creation story and the ornament is a globe.

There are lots of ways to do a Jesse Tree, some simple and some pretty elaborate. Lots of Jesse Trees you can buy. Call me crazy, but I wanted to make it myself. Partly because I have some specific wishes for our tree (I really want the ornaments to have their own pocket --  as a kid I loved opening flaps or pockets each day to discover a new treasure inside), and partly because I want my kids to have something made by Mom. But....it's been a long time since I engaged in crafty stuff. Over the years my career gradually moved in on my free time and many of my artistic interests moved out. Fortunately, Navy Mango on Etsy sells a cute make it yourself Jesse Tree kit. It comes with the patterns and all the supplies, I don't have to shop or gather anything, (Sorry if I'm sounding like a commercial here. Not my intention.) I just have to put it together. And I get to customize it where I want to. I altered the globe ornament so that the Americas AND Africa are visible, especially the horn of Africa. :) Baby Jesus also had to be black. I could not find a black baby Jesus Jesse Tree to save my life. So this is what I work on each night after Bear is asleep, for as long as I can stay awake. Makes me a little groggy at work the next day but I'm really enjoying it and it's giving me time to think and prepare myself.


Christmas Book Recommendations!

I would love some suggestions! There are so many out there that it's a little overwhelming.Thanks to my sister and my mom and dad, I have a few Christmas books now in our library. I want to build this collection so that Bear and his future brother or sister will look forward to getting them out and reading them each year.  I am looking for not just any Christmas book, I am looking for quality! These need to be special.  And they need to somehow relate to the biblical Christmas story either directly or indirectly. Books with characters of color would also be fantastic. One of my favorite books is The Story of the Three Trees. Not directly a Christmas story but special and appropriate for Christmas. Do you have a favorite book from childhood, or one that your kids love? I would so appreciate your recommendations!

If I get my act together I will post some pictures of the Jesse Tree once it's done. I would also love to hear of other Advent traditions. Christmas is coming!

Ode to October

Wow, where did October go? October is a beautiful month in Wisconsin and we were out thoroughly enjoying it this year. We even had shorts weather for over a week at the beginning of the month so....we went apple picking.

 

The look on Bear's face and gentle hand on Dad's knee makes the photo below a Mama favorite.

 

The apple farm we go to grows their apples close to the ground so even 37 inch tall people can reach.

Biting into the first apple picked by Bear.

We've been talking a lot about apples and pumpkins and the season of Fall. Somewhere along the line, Bear got his wires crossed and referred to...ahem...certain female body parts as apples for a short time. Gosh, you never know how kids are processing things!



We carved our pumpkins. A first for Bear and the first in I can't remember how long for me.

Each time he reached in and pulled out a handful of pulp and seeds he said, "Gooo. Eee!"

This may be the first and last year he carves a pumpkin in diapers.

This past weekend was time to Trick or Treat. Wisconsin does Halloween a little bit differently from where I grew up. Each city or town picks their Trick or Treat date and time. This year ours was Saturday from 3-6pm. I wasn't too sure if he would wear the costume but he actually got into it.

We went with the theme started by Bonnie and Mike on his birthday. He wore a sign on his back that said "New Sheriff in Town". The candy he ate on Saturday sent him into a tailspin for about 2 hours. Note to self, no more candy!

 


I think I've mentioned before that Bear attends daycare provided on site by my employer. We are lucky to have this. On Halloween, all the kids get to trick or treating in the plant. It's a really big deal. A lot of people dress up and then go crazy as all the kids walk through. So Bear had a second trick or treat on Monday. The two years olds must have been a little too unpredictable because they went trick or treating in the buggy.

It really looks like a parade as the kids come through and the adults shower them with candy.

Each child must have come home with two grocery bags full of stuff. WAY too much for a rambunctious two year old. I was happy to share Bear's spoils with my coworkers.

Happy October and first week of November!

New Numbers

October numbers are in.

86 on the girl’s list (last month 92)
68 on the boy’s list (last month 72)
27 on the sibling’s list (last month 32)


I know new numbers are supposed to be happy posts, but I want to provide a brief update on the situation in the Southern Region that I mentioned in last month's numbers update. There are now 6 families from our agency effected and more from other agencies. The good news is there are 6 babies still at Hannah's Hope being loved and well cared for. Their families were afraid the children might be taken from Hannah's Hope so this is truly good news. Unfortunately, these babies are still waiting on MOWA letters to bring them home. It's unclear when or if MOWA will write the letters. There is no precedent for a situation like this and there is very little news coming from Ethiopia about what will happen to these children. We hope, pray and believe these kids are going get home, but for the families who are waiting without knowing this is very very difficult. Please pray for them if you would.

The Great Pumpkin Hauler

The best thing about a pumpkin patch to Bear?

Lifting heavy objects!

Seriously, there is about 50 pounds of pumpkin in the wagon.

All in a day's work. Happy October!

Happy Referralversary Bub!

Two years ago yesterday, Dodd and I learned of the 2 month old boy who was to be our son. It's the anniversary of Bear's referral. Dodd and I read him the story of The Call and our first Referralversary last night before bed. Referral day was one of the best days of our lives. Seeing that face for the first time brought more acute joy than we had ever experienced, many happy and sad tears, some fear, and a lot of wonderful. It was exhilarating.

After referral came endless hours spent studying his photos, wondering what he was like. 

This child,

THIS child,

is our child?

OUR child!

Who is he?

We had 2 pages of double spaced information and 49 photos to go on. Now two years later, here he is, consuming our attention, our energies, our days. Oh how I know this child! I thought it would be fun to compare what we were thinking 2 years ago to what we know now.

Ir was hard to tell how much stock to put in my observations from Bear's referral photos given the fact that they were just [somewhat fuzzy] photos and he was just 8 weeks old. The first thing I told my parents, 1) This child is smarter than us, and 2) We might be in trouble!

At 8 weeks, Bear stared directly at the camera in most of the photos. You could tell the person taking the photos was trying to move around to catch him from different angles. Those big brown eyes of his wouldn't let her out of his sight. There was a level of engagement in his gaze that was startling in a tiny baby. He also looked tough! Kind of snarly and street smart. He also looked active. Little legs and arms were in motion in many photos. It's kind of funny now how much those photos were able to tell us, and how much more that they didn't.

Active? Oh my gosh, yes! He lives large and moves fast. Most of my photos of Bear are a blur. It won't be long before he runs faster than me on legs a third the length. There is so much energy in this 30 pound being that he either charges up or exhausts those in his presence. He lives in a continual state of motion that starts the moment he opens his eyes in the morning. Let me say it again. He does...not...stop. Ever. We've run with him, sometimes for hours, to help him use up his energy. He has the body of an athlete. His thighs are incredible! Muscular and defined. I love those thighs. And they are ticklish. One squeeze and he's a gonner! Even as a small baby he had muscles. And he uses them! On me! He is very strong. Trying to contain his wiry little infant body gave me faint biceps for the first time in my life. He carried a 5 pound bag of potatoes through the house with one outstretched arm around 16 or 17  months. If he decides to do something, he can use shear body force to make it happen.

He is undeniably tough. He bonks his head with a thud and gets up again with hardly a cry. He was stung by a bee on his tender tummy a few weeks ago and cried for about 1 minute, then moved on. His pediatrician found a double ear infection at a checkup that I had no idea about because he never complained. He's lost fingernails and toenails without much notice. He is also a risk taker. The higher and faster it goes, the more he likes it. He is the first kid in the pool, the first to try the new food, new toy, new whatever. Snarly however, is what his face communicates when he is alone in an unfamiliar environment. I saw it when I put him on a choo choo train at a kid's Christmas party last year. Surrounded by hundreds of people, the train took him around the track and away from me. He used body language that said he was cool and had it all under control, but his face and his eyes were stone cold. To those who didn't know him he looked tough but I could tell he was scared. Fear is not a common emotion in Bear. He must have been scared when those referral photos were taken which is understandable considering the terribly confusing events unfolding in his life at that moment. Ah but that just breaks my heart.

He's smart. Hopefully you will cut us some slack. We are first time parents and we know we think everything he does is amazing. But there are times we are pretty dumbfounded by things he does or says. Time will tell if his smarts translate into the classroom but for now we see a lot of practical smarts in Bear. He is an observer. He is aware of everything going on around him and closely studies what we are doing. He only needs to see something done once to do it himself. He watched me put a tricycle together for his 2nd birthday. I ran into a parts issue and we had to put the trike on hold for about a month. When it was finally functional, he excitedly rode it around the house. That first ride stopped abruptly when he noticed a loose nut on the steering column. He remembered where the tools were stored, picked out a wrench, chose the exact wrench that fit the nut, and began wrenching like he had been doing it forever. A couple months ago he heard a train in the distance but couldn't see it from where he was standing. He asked "Up high?" realizing he would be able to see it if we walked further up the hill. He gets cause and effect. He likes to figure out how things work. He's also a talker! He's a good little communicator and chatty. I could go on but I won't because the examples will just sound like I am bragging, which I am (!), but are probably not interesting to anyone but us. But putting two and two together is one characteristic of his make up.


Some things the photos didn't show. He loves to work. This boy is task oriented. He is most content and focused when he has a job to do. His daycare teachers remark on what a good helper he is. It's been his job for the past 10 months to feed the cats when we come home in the evenings.  He opens the drawer, measures just the right amount of food, pours it in their bowl, calls them to dinner, then puts everything back in its place. He remembers to feed them even when I forget. It's interesting to see how his sense of responsibility sometimes translates into taking care of us. Since he was a baby he will offer me his food in a paternal sort of way and insist I eat it. If I visit at daycare while they're all sitting around the table, he will jump up and and bring me a chair. "Sit Mama!" I've never asked this of him and his daddy has never modeled it. Ha! If Dodd bumps into something he asks "'(o)Kay Dada?" He is calm but concerned when other kids lose something and makes it his mission to find and return what was lost. He likes order. He takes his shoes off and puts them side by side in the tray under the bench where they are supposed to go. He straightens books on the bookshelf. He puts his toys away after playing. Some of this comes from us, but most of it comes from him and the way he is wired.

After seeing Bear's referral photo, my boss made a comment I will never forget. "That child was born happy." When I asked why he thought that he replied, "You can see it in his eyes. He is clearly here to live life." Out of all the things that make Bear, Bear, perhaps what stands out most is his joy. Joy is "dästa" in Amharic. There is an indescribable pulsing, radiating life force in this child. He runs and dances, laughs and LIVES with gusto. It's contagious, which makes it just fun to be around him. (Most of the time!) Our Bear is life giving.

September 2009

September 2010

September 22, 2011

Bear, you are our gift. When I look into your eyes, I ask God why I deserve this...you. I don't.

Bereket.

Dästa.

əwädhäläw.

I love you.

New Numbers and Troubling News

A little clip of the email from K the caseworker on Friday:

"Your family is officially #92 on the girl’s list, #72 on the boy’s list, and #32 on the sibling’s list. Congrats on your movement this month!"

Last month we were 98, 75, and 35.

The fun of making progress on the list was soon overshadowed by some troubling adoption news from Ethiopia. The news has been coming in bits and pieces since August and is now reaching a crescendo. Five AGCI families are effected in addition to families from other agencies. The children who were made legally theirs by the court and were just a MOWA letter and weeks away from coming home are in danger of being returned to the Southern Region of Ethiopia. From the little bit I can piece together, it sounds like there are calculated politics at play. Please pray for these children if you would. It sometimes feels like war to get them home.

Get Out! Summer Highlights

With the shadows getting longer and the need to wear long sleeves outside today, I realize it's time to prepare for a new season. In places like Wisconsin, you learn to be deliberate with your free time during the warm months. And if you don't have free time, you make it, because come November, the world slows down and gets a little smaller. You see your neighbors less, you go outside less, you just do less.

We've had a pretty wonderful summer. I don't say wonderful lightly. For this mom and dad who have historically worked far too much and played far too little, this summer was a breakout. Gosh it felt like we were living and we have Bear to thank for it. Besides the fact that getting out is the best way to keep him from bouncing off the walls (!), it's also more fun than I could have imagined to show him new things. At two years old, there's no need for elaborate stuff. Yesterday he and I spent half an hour kicking an empty plastic flower pot around the yard and he LOVED it. The three of us spent a good half hour one hot afternoon walking around the school bus yard. He was astonished at an ant he spotted on a walk through the neighborhood. Besides a trip to California, we didn't go too far this summer. Right now it's about getting out and simple stuff. And it's quite wonderful.

Here are some of the highlights from our summer that I didn't already write about. Good bloggers keep up on these things with lots of entertaining commentary throughout the year. Bad bloggers have to pile a bunch of photos into a post at the end of the season. :)  (Once of these days I will try to write about something interesting, but for now just sharing photos is about all I've got!)





Technically this was Spring, but the visit from Grandpa and Grandma Miller kicked things off.

  



At Immigration waiting for fingerprints



Our 8th overnight package to AGCI and finally on the waitlist!



Helping in the yard, planting herbs and tomatoes...and Bear can always find a rock that needs moving.

Visiting Little Ethiopia in LA

Meeting Nathaniel and swimming in his pool

Meeting Great Aunt Dianne



Bear's first trip to the ocean. Go Pacific!



"I go ocean (with) Turtle (the) doggie"



Sea weed and sand castles with Aunt Jonelle





Visiting Great Great Aunt Rose









High flying on the trampoline with the Fietz Family

I love this photo. Bear breakfast sandwich. Auntie MB and Uncle Kevin.


 

Watering Grandma's Flowers











I love this one too. Love and an IPad with Grandpa.

 

Lots of pool time this summer, lots of splashin'

Bear standing on the spot where Dodd and I met....22 years ago! Yikes!

Perhaps the most stunning wedding I've ever attended



Bear's first suit



What Bear thought of his first suit

Turning two with Panda room friends



Uh oh...



"I wide Kamuhl (with) Dada." Bear reminds me of this remarkable event every few days.





The joy, of a boy, on a tractor



Watching lions at the zoo with Abram



Enjoying the fruits of his labor. Raw rhubarb early in the summer was not bad. Eating tomatoes off the vine even better.

Riding a "cycle". Learning to pedal.



The joy, of a boy, and  "Big Trucks!"



Bear's first election was a recall election. Wisconsin politics have been a little crazy this year.



Fulfill your constitutional duty, it's cool

Meeting new friends at a picnic with other Ethiopian adoptive families.  This little guy named Micah also lived at Hannah's Hope. The poor dads usually watch the kids while the moms talk about hair and other (more important) things. I really look forward to these gatherings.

 My Best Summer Memory



The next two photos are of my best memory of the summer. We had just enjoyed a nice dinner with my parents, my sister and her husband in a rustic old goldmining town near my parents' place. It was a warm night and a guy with a pretty good voice was singing old standards on the sidewalk while people walked leisurely along. 

My dad bought everyone ice cream and all of us sat out on the sidewalk eating our ice cream while Bear jumped around dancing to old songs like Mack the Knife. We were all laughing at his exhuberant dancing and enjoying eachother's company. The guy started singing Louie Armstrong and I felt like he could have been singing it specifically for us. For the first time in a long time I heard the words of It's A Wonderful Life and cried. Thankfully I don't know that anyone noticed the slightly sappy tears leaking from my eyes as Bear kept everyone entertained with his moves.

Bear and I after meeting the sidewalk singer



Bear's Best Summer Memory

The concrete truck that showed up to pour our neighbor's driveway. Yes, a "crete truck!" Across the street! In our very own neighborhood.

He was captivated.



Happy Labor Day!