... here are some cute little girls to make you smile.
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Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
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Saturday, July 3, 2010
Pause
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Exasperated the other day, I said to R, "R, why do you have to follow me EVERYWHERE??!?" (As in to the bathroom, to get a shirt from the laundry room, to get the mail from the mailbox, to well, everywhere! It was driving me crazy. I'd spent the morning practically constantly tripping over her)
And do you know what that two-year-old of mine said?
"Beedu (her made up word for because) I love you."
My R and I, we've been struggling lately. She's stubborn (and two!) and so am I. She's trying to assert her independence, and I'm trying to keep her safe and healthy.
I don't know if her near-constant defiance is adoption-related, two-year-old related, both, or neither.
What I do know is that it is exhausting. And stressful. Overwhelming, never-ending, sometimes just scary.
"Beedu I love you."
Honey-baby, I love you, too. And I pray that I can be the mom you need.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Ethiopia Trip: Days 7-8: Packing, Saying Good-bye to Ethiopia, and Coming Home
Dec. 31, 2009
New Year's Eve 5pm
My beautiful daughter sits on the bed playing. She's really rather rejecting me right now, but that's ok. I know it will pass.
Today we saw the new HH. Amazing! I cannot believe how truly beautiful it is and how perfect it is for the children. Who would have thought they'd be able to find a compound with two houses?
I got to finally hold Miss B (my dear friend S's daughter), too! She cuddled right into me. She was precious, and I was so glad she didn't cry when I picked her up. I, however, did cry. Just an emotional experience for me to finally hold her. A took a few pictures, but they're not that great.
R (friend in the travel group) and I went to the Mapping Authority. We got there at 12:29, and 12:30 was lunch so they couldn't help us. A man did find the director, and he gave us his contact info to buy them when we're back in the States. The cab driver took us back to the shopping area to see if one of the men on the street selling maps had one with the children's birth places. No. Their villages are too small.
Seven hours left in Ethiopia. Across the street, a celebration. Two large tents, live music, and the loud calls the Ethiopian people do. Woman in traditional dress. A boy stands outside, jumping to the music.
We leave Ethiopia soon, not to return for probably a long time. However, Ethiopia-- life here-- will of course go on without us. Hustle and bustle, extreme poverty and wealth both, adoptions of the "prize of Ethiopia," all will continue. I do love Ethiopia and its people, but I am ready to be home...
Jan. 1, 2010 Coming Home-- Family Day
And, with that, my friends, I am finished with my travel journal from our trip. Considering we got home 6 months ago-- TODAY-- it is about time. I will try to fill in a few holes from our travel and arriving home.
Our flight left around midnight. Happy New Year to us, right? It took forever to get check in and through security. As we were leaving customs (immigration? IDK), the Ethiopian man behind the counter said, "Happy New Year!"
At 2am our plane took a scheduled stop in Sudan. T was still up at that point. I was exhausted.
Once we got back in the air, the flight attendants gave us all a glass of champagne to celebrate the new year, as it was now a little past midnight in Europe. (Couldn't serve it on the group because Sudan is a "dry" country.)
We made it to Amsterdam without much fanfare. It was nice to have a break between flights. We said good-bye to the people in our travel group, as we were the only ones flying to Minneapolis next.
The flight from Amsterdam to the States was hard. T/E didn't sleep much and, well, the giardia... it was bad. We nearly ran out of clothes, diapers, and wipes. We did have a bassinet seat, but T only spent a small amount of time in it.
We sat next to a woman and her mother who were bringing home her daughter. 18 months old and clearly having major issues. She screamed a lot. It was clear to me that the child also had some sensory issues and was parent shopping. I think I was able to convince the mom to take the child to an international adoption specialist-- not just the regular pediatrician-- to get them all the help they needed.
We got to Minneapolis, and it was cold. We had a several-hour layover so we found a TGI Fridays to have a meal after we got through customs, which was a total breeze by the way. It took about 5 minutes at the most.
Although I had been texting my family and friends during our trip, this was the first time I'd made a call since we'd left for Ethiopia. It was so wonderful to talk to my R!! While we were eating, T peed through her diaper, clothing, the baby carrier and onto my pants. Honestly, I didn't even care at that point about my pants. We changed T into her last outfit (I think we went through about 5 or 6 on the way home) and hoped we could make it home before she destroyed it.
We made it to our local airport on a tiny, tiny plane. We did not have anyone meet us for a few reasons. First, we were so very tired. Second, we wanted to drive T home in quiet. Third, due to our difficult time in ET, we didn't think she'd react well to many people being there.
A went out into the freezing evening to get the van while I waited for all our luggage. I managed to get it all off the belt and out by the door as A pulled up. We put T in the car seat (no prob) and made the 25 minute drive home.
Ahh, home. My parents brought R home to us. I had thought about asking them to keep her another night, but I missed her so much I couldn't stand it. T was exhausted, too, so she and I fell asleep on the sofa while we waited. I woke to the doorbell ringing.
My other baby was now home!!! My R, my sweet and beautiful girl. As I held both my girls in my arms, I remember being so happy to have my whole little family home. R was excited to meet her sister and kept saying "Hold. Hold E." It was the first and last time she held her sister, but it was precious.
My parents left soon after, and we put our TWO girls to bed. Both slept in their rooms, although I would have had T sleep in our bed if she'd wanted to.
One last side note, the flight home was a bit of a turning point in E and my relationship. She definitely still preferred A for a while after we came home, but on the flight her only choices were A or me, and A couldn't hold her for the entire 26+ hours of travel! She slept on me for a lot of one of the flights, and I think that started the process for her to be able to trust and love me, and, well, vise versa, too.
I know this is long, but it is the end of our adoption story... for now.
New Year's Eve 5pm
My beautiful daughter sits on the bed playing. She's really rather rejecting me right now, but that's ok. I know it will pass.
Today we saw the new HH. Amazing! I cannot believe how truly beautiful it is and how perfect it is for the children. Who would have thought they'd be able to find a compound with two houses?
I got to finally hold Miss B (my dear friend S's daughter), too! She cuddled right into me. She was precious, and I was so glad she didn't cry when I picked her up. I, however, did cry. Just an emotional experience for me to finally hold her. A took a few pictures, but they're not that great.
R (friend in the travel group) and I went to the Mapping Authority. We got there at 12:29, and 12:30 was lunch so they couldn't help us. A man did find the director, and he gave us his contact info to buy them when we're back in the States. The cab driver took us back to the shopping area to see if one of the men on the street selling maps had one with the children's birth places. No. Their villages are too small.
Seven hours left in Ethiopia. Across the street, a celebration. Two large tents, live music, and the loud calls the Ethiopian people do. Woman in traditional dress. A boy stands outside, jumping to the music.
We leave Ethiopia soon, not to return for probably a long time. However, Ethiopia-- life here-- will of course go on without us. Hustle and bustle, extreme poverty and wealth both, adoptions of the "prize of Ethiopia," all will continue. I do love Ethiopia and its people, but I am ready to be home...
Jan. 1, 2010 Coming Home-- Family Day
And, with that, my friends, I am finished with my travel journal from our trip. Considering we got home 6 months ago-- TODAY-- it is about time. I will try to fill in a few holes from our travel and arriving home.
Our flight left around midnight. Happy New Year to us, right? It took forever to get check in and through security. As we were leaving customs (immigration? IDK), the Ethiopian man behind the counter said, "Happy New Year!"
At 2am our plane took a scheduled stop in Sudan. T was still up at that point. I was exhausted.
Once we got back in the air, the flight attendants gave us all a glass of champagne to celebrate the new year, as it was now a little past midnight in Europe. (Couldn't serve it on the group because Sudan is a "dry" country.)
We made it to Amsterdam without much fanfare. It was nice to have a break between flights. We said good-bye to the people in our travel group, as we were the only ones flying to Minneapolis next.
The flight from Amsterdam to the States was hard. T/E didn't sleep much and, well, the giardia... it was bad. We nearly ran out of clothes, diapers, and wipes. We did have a bassinet seat, but T only spent a small amount of time in it.
We sat next to a woman and her mother who were bringing home her daughter. 18 months old and clearly having major issues. She screamed a lot. It was clear to me that the child also had some sensory issues and was parent shopping. I think I was able to convince the mom to take the child to an international adoption specialist-- not just the regular pediatrician-- to get them all the help they needed.
We got to Minneapolis, and it was cold. We had a several-hour layover so we found a TGI Fridays to have a meal after we got through customs, which was a total breeze by the way. It took about 5 minutes at the most.
Although I had been texting my family and friends during our trip, this was the first time I'd made a call since we'd left for Ethiopia. It was so wonderful to talk to my R!! While we were eating, T peed through her diaper, clothing, the baby carrier and onto my pants. Honestly, I didn't even care at that point about my pants. We changed T into her last outfit (I think we went through about 5 or 6 on the way home) and hoped we could make it home before she destroyed it.
We made it to our local airport on a tiny, tiny plane. We did not have anyone meet us for a few reasons. First, we were so very tired. Second, we wanted to drive T home in quiet. Third, due to our difficult time in ET, we didn't think she'd react well to many people being there.
A went out into the freezing evening to get the van while I waited for all our luggage. I managed to get it all off the belt and out by the door as A pulled up. We put T in the car seat (no prob) and made the 25 minute drive home.
Ahh, home. My parents brought R home to us. I had thought about asking them to keep her another night, but I missed her so much I couldn't stand it. T was exhausted, too, so she and I fell asleep on the sofa while we waited. I woke to the doorbell ringing.
My other baby was now home!!! My R, my sweet and beautiful girl. As I held both my girls in my arms, I remember being so happy to have my whole little family home. R was excited to meet her sister and kept saying "Hold. Hold E." It was the first and last time she held her sister, but it was precious.
My parents left soon after, and we put our TWO girls to bed. Both slept in their rooms, although I would have had T sleep in our bed if she'd wanted to.
One last side note, the flight home was a bit of a turning point in E and my relationship. She definitely still preferred A for a while after we came home, but on the flight her only choices were A or me, and A couldn't hold her for the entire 26+ hours of travel! She slept on me for a lot of one of the flights, and I think that started the process for her to be able to trust and love me, and, well, vise versa, too.
I know this is long, but it is the end of our adoption story... for now.
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