Double The Fun

Tonight we had a visit from another dear friend, Shirley and her sons Andy (blue) and Chris (orange) (Shirley, I hope I got that right! LOL). Shirley and I have been friends for about 3-4 years. We met at a time when we both longed to be moms and she is one of the sunbeams God put in my life that I know will never burn out. After years of struggle we are able to rejoice together over these children that we've been blessed with, and doubly so. We truly enjoyed their visit ... someone had so much fun that he wanted to go home with them!

Building Blocks

Tonight my friend Maribeth came over for dinner (and by dinner I mean leftover pizza) and she brought yummy HOMEBAKED cookies for dessert. They were fantastic and thankfully she shared the recipe. Yes, my almost 3 year old son is sitting in a highchair... his baby cousin was in it last night and I guess he felt the need to reminisce about the good ole' days ... I will say that it was nice to have him "contained" for a minute. :)

The Hubs called to talk to his little man who was thrilled to hear from his Daddy and told him all about his day. When I got the phone back, I heard more about his visit with our daughter but with all that he said with words all I heard in his heart was this intense motivation to protect our little girl from any harm. In one day she completely wrapped him around her little finger. I was again proud and oh so thankful that he is my husband and the father of my children. His dedication to them both and to me as his wife is remarkable.

Oh and I also showed our boy a picture of his Daddy with his "big" sister. He was excited to see them together. It was fun to see his warm reaction to them together and thankfully Maribeth was here so she was able to take some pictures for me.

... and they're off.

It was a busy day getting ready for the India trip. Heidi and Sarah came last night and slept over. We woke up early, had breakfast and enjoyed an early visit from my brother-in-law. While the brothers continued their visit over another cup of coffee, we gals took off to do what comes naturally (shop and have lunch). Later that afternoon my father-in-law came over to see his son off, bring me an amazing bouquet of yellow roses and a ragdoll for his granddaughter. It was a full and very happy, love-filled house and I was thankful for it.

The time finally came for us to say the goodbye. Naturally, I sobbed ... and naturally my husband prepared our son for this inevitability as he said from his carseat as we drove away from the airport, "Mommy, you cry tears of joy. You so excited! Hooray!!!"

I slept okay (albeit lightly) and anxiously await word from India that they have arrived.

Itinerary Confirmed!

Got the call this morning ... they leave July 8th and they and our beautiful daugther WILL BE HOME on July 19th. Okay, so the story of "they..."

India requires one parent to travel so we decided that my hubby (who is a far better traveler than I am and also the epitomy of grace under fire whereas I am the dry brush that spreads the fire) would go to India and I would stay home with our son. Sometime after the referral of our daughter we were told that a man cannot travel alone but must either bring his wife OR a female escort. So, I said, we will ALL go to India. However, he was adament that a 2 year old cannot take such a trip. The plane ride to India requires several transfers and very many hours in flight.

Enter Heidi. Heidi is a friend of ours who we came to know after we both adopted our children from Ethiopia around the same time. In fact, Heidi met our son in Ethiopia before we even got the referral for him. It is hard to call her a friend because where I come from when someone is as important to you as she is to us they are referred to as "family." So, Heidi... she was ready, willing and able to act as the female escort to go with AND she said she was going to bring her 11 year old daughter, Sarah (who is an AMAZING young lady, and that's an understatement).

So that's the "they" -- my better half, Heidi and Sarah.

Oh, and one more thing... Heidi is a professional photographer who will chronicle the entire journey in film (er, digital) so we'll actually have pictures from this adoption journey (as this is the ONLY picture "proving" he was in Ethiopia):

With love...

I have to say that I have some awesome friends.

My very dear friend Heidi and her children came to spend the weekend with us. On the very first night as we sat in the kitchen enjoying coffee and conversation she presented me with a gift bag that contained all the amazing play clothes for our sweet Mimi to enjoy when she comes home.

and because another dear friend KT knows that I embrace the culture of my children as my own and also enjoy playing dress up she surprised me with the gift of a beautiful Saree. I cannot wait to wrap myself up in this beautiful cloth! I will post pictures once I master the art of wearing the Saree.

Making connections

A few weeks ago my hubby visited an Indian Christian church to begin the process of immersing our family in the rich local Indian community in preparation for our newest addition. The congregants were so warm and welcoming to Brian during his visit, and very supportive of our adoption plans. He was invited (with his family) to attend their annual Christmas dinner at a member's home, which was this evening. We were overwhelmed by the kindness extended to us by these "strangers" and we were very happy to see these connections forming before our very eyes. They sent us home with a care package of traditional Indian food which we inhaled as soon as we got home. It was as good as the company we were privileged to keep this evening.