Sick Babies :(

I think the hardest part of motherhood is when one of your babies are sick. Little, little has a snotty nose. Have you ever heard of projectile snott? Well, that's what she has. It shoots out with every sneeze, kind of crazy!!!

The sixteen year old has also been sick for two days. No matter the age, my heart still hurts the same. He was so miserable last night, body aches, sore throat, and crying because he felt so bad that he couldn't even lay down and sleep.

I remember when the two oldest were little. When they were sick, I would panic and call my mom so she would be with me. I was so young and scared to death when their fevers would shoot up to 104. I was twenty when I gave birth to M and 23 with C. I would cry to my Mom telling her I couldn't do this, I couldn't handle them being sick. I thought it was the worst thing in the world.

Even though it still hurts my heart when they are sick, I loved being able to love on and care for the sixteen year old. Even though he knows way more than me, well actually I take that back, he knows EVERYTHING, he still needs his Mommy when he is not feeling well and I took full advantage of my opportunity to show him compassion and love.

Ethiopia Part One

I have not blogged in quite a while, so I thought for the New Year my resolution would be to begin writing again.

First off, my send off to Ethiopia was quite non-dramatic compared to when we left for Zambia. When my oldest son, mother, and I left for Zambia, which also happened to be my first trip on a plane, let alone half way around the world, my husband and two youngest sons accompanied me all the way to DC and stood crying as we went through security.

When leaving for Ethiopia for the little little's court hearing, my friend that was going with me, picked me up at the house and after a few goodbye's and kisses we were on our way. Guess the family considers it old hat now when I fly around the world to another continent.

I was still feeling unsure that this adoption was even going to happen, after three failed attempts, so I was treating this trip like a week long girl's get away that just happened to be in AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We sang and danced and laughed during the four hour drive to Dulles. Ate dinner at the airport and met up with our traveling buddies, which were awesome I might add.

The flight was long and grueling, and I'm sure we all were malodorous upon descent. I have a habit of literally talking to anyone, anywhere and making friends wherever. So the plane ride was no different. I met an amazing older gentleman who spent nine month's every year in Ethiopia teaching at Addis Ababa University. His Amharic was flawless and he chatted easily with all the Ethiopians on the plane. He was married and left his wife every year for the past 17 years. I loved watching this Ferenge interact with the locals, so cool, I so wanted to be him.

As we landed in Addis, we could see fires burning throughout the country side. We didn't realize but Sunday was the eve of the Ethiopian Holiday called Meskel. Meskel is the holiday to celebrate the discovery of the cross that Jesus Christ was crucified on. Smoke was everywhere, and if someone on the plane hadn't told me about Meskel I would have sworn that the airport and half of the country had gone up in flames. The amount of smoke was enormous and it was difficult to breathe.

We decided to stay at the Panorama. A very nice little hotel that appeared to have dropped out of the sky and landed in surrounding slums. We checked in and found our rooms. Our room was about the size of my smallest bedroom, nah, probably smaller. The only good thing about it was the windoor or doordow as we nicknamed it. It was a window that acted like a door you could open step out on a small balcony. We spent a lot of time out there just watching the daily happenings in the city and staring at the beautiful mountains in the distance.

At 2am, we were starving and ordered room service. We had pasta with a mushroom sauce to die for. After finally falling asleep, we woke up early, showered, ate our complimentary breakfast and headed to the lobby. We assumed a driver would be there to pick us up to take us to meet our children. After numerous phone calls and hours of waiting we were finally on our way. The orphanage wasn't far at all and it was our first look at Addis in the daylight. The city was bustling and it was a beautiful sight. We turned down a dirt road at the Messy Caf'e, and there was the brown metal door. We entered, all a bit nervous and anxious. The children were all sleeping and the looks on the nannies faces when they saw all the Americans come in was priceless. Kind of like, really you had to come at nap time :)

I videotaped all the children in their cribs. I actually videotaped little little before I even realized it was her. I hunched over the crib just staring at such a perfect little brown faced girl. She finally opened her eyes and flashed the biggest smile I have ever seen. We spent two hours a day with the children every day while there. We would have stayed all day, but the nannies didn't want the routines completely awry.

OK, so this was day one, and my fingers are hurting. Boy, this is going to take longer than I thought. Part Two coming soon.

About Me (A Fun Post)

True or False
I never changed a diaper before my first child was born

True or False
I always knew I wanted to adopt but wasn't so sure about giving birth

True or False
I have three dogs, two cats, and a bird

True or False
I question my faith daily

True or False
I lean on my Savior every minute of the day\

True or False
My husband has tried to kill me in his sleep

True or False
Most days my animals are better behaved than my kids

True or False
My secret wish is to live in Africa as a long term missionary

True or False
I want to flash my girls one time at Mardi Gras

True or False
I once dreamed of becoming a FBI Agent

True or False
I once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist

True or False
I would commit bigemy if Denzel Washington proposed

True or False
I absolutely loved every minute of my childhood

True or False
I married my best friend and soul mate

True or False
I could live in the bush without any problems

True or False
I worry a lot

True or False
I would adopt 10 children if I had the money

True or False
I would adopt 15 children if I had the money

True or False
I dream of being a homeschooling/stay at home mama

True or False
I love my mommy more than anything in the world

True or False
I also lov my daddy lot's

True or False
I once fell from the top of a ladder in the middle of a dance routine at a high school football game

True or False
I recently let my child swim at a pool party for 10 minutes before I realized we were at the wrong party on the wrong day

True or False
I had nephrotic syndrome in highschool and spent a month in the hospital

True or False
I wake up 5 to 6 times a night to pee

True or False
When pregnant, I wake up 10-15 times a night to pee

True or False
I love my chocolate lab more than any of my other animals

True or False
I really want to be a sophisticated wine drinker, but I can't stand the taste of it

True or False
I once loudly exclaimed in the middle of a sports store "There are plenty of other Dick's around here!" as my eldest son begged for the very last catcher's mit in Dicks Sporting Goods.

True or False
My youngest colored our border collie with a blue sharpie while I fell asleep on the couch

True or False
I secretly dream of torturing the border collie on a regular basis

True or False
I dream of living on the beach

True or False
I am scared shitless to fly

True or False
I am rarely ever down

True or False
I am always in a good mood

True or False
I think I piss people off because I am always happy, like a big Lab running at you!

True or False
The nurses almost didn't let me bring the oldest home because it took me over an hour to dress him

True or False
I love pregnancy

True or False
I love my job

True or False
I would love to work for an adoption agency one day

True or False
I really like to say "told ya so" every time I tell the little one not to do something and he does and ends up somewhat injured

True or False
My relationship with the Lord gets stronger each and every day

True or False
I think about dying a lot the older I get

True or False
I am afraid of death

True or False
I love the smell of my husbands skin at the end of the day, especially around his temple area

True or False
I love to watch my boys smile

True or False
Can't wait to see my baby girl smile

True or False
Sometimes I feel closer to my adoption friends than my friends here

True or False
I can no longer rent movies in the US or Africa because of late fees

True or False
Thought I would be put in jail for not returning movies in Zambia on time

True or False
Thought my husband was going to kill me when someone called from Africa about movies being turned in

True or False
I didn't go back to a store after I realized they didn't charge me for an item once

True or False
I am a hippie at heart

True or False
I am a nerd

True or False
I can belch and fart right along with my boys

True or False
I want to be a congress woman one day

True or False
I want to change the world

True or False
I truly believe that one person can make a difference





Give up? They are all true. That was fun. Now how about you?

God at work

I just love to sit back and look at all the ways God is and continues to show His presence in my life. I reflect on a regular basis. I didn't use to reflect this often and realized I was missing out on an opportunity to piece things together and truly see where He is working throughout my life.

Another one of these opportunities came about recently. My cousin was visiting recently. She is a social worker down in the southern part of WV. I was telling her we had recently decided on an agency with which we would proceed with for foster care in our county. As I picked up the application, I thought to myself "I need to get busy and fill this out today." The Holy Spirit spoke and said "wait, just wait". I was like, "OK, God, whatever, I'll wait, just let me know." The next day we received an e-mail from our adoption agency saying they had a little girl for us that was 2.5 month's old. They knew we had decided not to continue with international adoption two month's ago. The lady said she really wanted to place a little one with my husband and I and that she was paper ready and could be filed for court immediately. Of course we said YES!!!!!

So now, I know why I was to wait. Obedience to God brings about many blessings. Obedience is something that I continue to work on daily in my walk with Christ. A relationship with Christ leads to knowing Christ which leads to recognizing God's voice, which ultimately leads to obedience. Only God knows what is in store for us with this new referral. Maybe this adoption will work out this time, maybe it won't. I will not question God's work, even if I don't understand it. My only work is to continue to be faithful and hang on for the ride!!

Where did he come from?

I am talking about Manning, my five year old, robust, loving, stubborn, outspoken, opinionated five year old. I must say he does get a lot of his traits honestly ( I won't say from which side of the family however). He is just never ending with his points of view. He cracks me up every day, actually throughout the day.

With the many snowstorms that have battered us in the north-east, Manning and I have spent now, 8 days together 24/7. There have been times I have wanted to kill him over the past week, but i am sure he would tell you the same about me.

First off, I should start by reminding everyone that Manning is the baby of three boys. My oldest is month's away from turning 16, and the other is almost 13. From day one, this child has been coddled and spoiled, not by us, his loving parents, but by his older brothers. They would let him get away with anything, he could do no wrong in their eyes. They yelled at anyone for disciplining him, even the babysitters. Nobody and I mean nobody messed with "their baby". I can tell you now that this loving relationship has become not so loving since the child has grown and now has opinions and thoughts of his own. He is just not so cute to them anymore, in fact he is very annoying, or so they tell me.

Why the background, you ask? Because I blame those two elder son's for creating the little five year old monster.

Last night as my husband, Manning and myself were driving home from the mall and we all were talking. Mike and I in front and Manning in the back in his car seat (yes, he is almost six and still in a carseat, I am a worrying mother that also happens to be a nurse married to a paramedic)I was talking about how I needed to finish up the laundry when we returned home from spending money we didn't have. Although I did purchase the avia fitness rocker tennies. I wore them for an hour and my butt looks like so hot!!!! NOT!!!! Anyway, Manning decided to put his two cents in on this conversation that went a little something like this;

Manning; Mom you do all the housework all the time, you do everything while dad just sits on his butt

Me; Wow Manning, I didn't know you made observations like this. What kinds of things does mommy do at home?

Mike; smirk

Manning; You cook, clean, do the dishes, sweep, do the laundry.........

Me; Daddy helps with the laundry sometimes.

Manning; Uh! NOT very often!!!!

Me; So what kind of duties do you think we should give daddy around the house

Manning; Everything (overexaggerated and with dramatization with the hands) he can do all the work while you sit on your butt and watch!!!!!

Mike; Not smirking anymore, more of a OMG where did this kid come from look

Me; Wow that is a great idea. How long do I get to sit on my butt?

Manning; Til I am grown up and gone

Mike and I; hysterically laughing

This conversation sooooo made up for all the times I wanted to kill him the past 8 days. I told Mike, "this kid is soooooo on my team and not yours" He loves, loves his mommy. And to top the night off, the final conversation in bed went something like this (yes, he sleeps in bed with us, right smack dab in the middle)

Me; Manning do you want to go to my meeting with me tomorrow or stay here with your brothers

Manning; I want to go with you, I don't care how early I have to get up, I am not staying with them!!!!!

Me; OK go to sleep, we have to get up early

Manning; continuing to blab on

Mike; Manning, go to sleep I have to get up early for work

Manning; Dad, you just have to go to work and save people's lives, MOM AND I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING TO GO TO!!!!!!!!!

Oh how I love him.

Our Crazy Life..... and the story continues

So much happening lately, I'm not even sure where to begin. I was supposed to be going on an all expense paid trip to South Korea for two weeks at the end of the semester through the school of nursing, however, I have changed my mind and have decided not to go. The Dean, a few students, another professor and I were to go and check out a college that we are doing exchange students with. We were going to look at their health care system and basically sight see. I have made myself sick worrying about leaving the kids and of course falling out of the sky. I have prayed about it all week and feel good about my decision not to go. We leave for the beach a week after I would have returned and my crashing and dying may have ruined the family's vacation!!!!!!

On the adoption homefront, we have decided since we have already paid our agency five thousand dollars, we should probably stay with them even though they are BIG LOSERS!!!!!! Mihiret is not going to be adoptable. I was mad, hurt, angry, and everything else for a couple of weeks and didn't think I even wanted to try again ever. Well now that I have gotten back to myself, we are very excited to announce that we have lost our minds and decided to add another.....BOY to the family, yes this means we will have a total of four boys, five if you count Mike in my house.

I've had a few people tell me recently that we could write a book about our adventures in adoption over the past five years, I agree, and actually I could probably write many books. One alone just on our three weeks in Zambia. I have always wanted to write a book actually, and that is what I am going to be working on this summer. Exciting things!!!!!!!!