Wyatt's First Field Trip

Today was Wyatt's first school field trip. Thankfully, it happened to be over my fall break so I could go with him. So off we went to Bi-Water Farm in Georgetown, KY. We had a great time! I'll save you the details and just the pictures tell the story.

Courts Open This Week

The Ethiopian courts open this week. Andrea (our awesome LMI coordinator) called me Friday and gave me the most recent update on Gabe. They are working on some paperwork that is required to pass court. They were asked to get additional documentation and the staff in Ethiopia, as well as the Ethiopian Family Services, are on the case to get everything complete. Their goal was to have it done prior to the courts reopening. I guess we'll find out this week if that happened or not. It is comforting to know they are going through the effort to call in additional support to get everything needed to declare him officially ours.
We'll obviously update as soon as we hear anything. I can tell you that we have a ton of pictures of the little guy. I cannot explain how huge his eyes are. He always appears happy. It is clear in the pictures that the baby house is a great place and the caregivers genuinely care about the children. That is one of the only things that keeps us sane through this process.

The Great Pumpkin

Wyatt has a new addiction..."Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". If we've watched it once, we've watched it 1000 times. The kid has been bringing letters home from school for the Great Pumpkin. I can't work up the nerve to break the news that there is no Great Pumpkin. Only 20 more days until Halloween and we can move on to the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. I've never seen it and I don't know what it entails, but I'm ready for the departure of our pumpkin friend.
In honor of our new BFF, The Great Pumpkin, we got a pumpkin this week. We painted it first and kept it on our kitchen table for a few days. It got promoted to the front steps and within 24 hours a downpour of rain cleared away our painted masterpiece. We headed out to Target and got a pumpkin carving kit. The results are below.




On our way to Target, Wyatt had Jason and me cracking up. The conversation went as follows:
Wyatt: There are 5 people in our house
Us: Who are they? Name them.
Wyatt: Wyatt, Jason, Michelle, Heathrow (our cat) and Bob (Wyatt's fish)
Us: There are 5 living things, but only 3 people.
Wyatt: What are living things?
Us: Things that breathe.
Wyatt: Bob can breathe in water?
Us: Yep
Wyatt: (Without skipping a beat and completely amazed) Holy Smokes, how does he do that?

And Another One

Yep, another delay. The Ethiopian courts are now not scheduled to open until mid-October. I'm speechless. And if you know me, that's hard to accomplish. I wish I was confident this waiting would end soon. Unfortunately, I'm not.

Almost October

Four months ago, we were anxiously awaiting our court date that was scheduled for two short weeks later. Then came the abandonment investigation. Although disappointed, we understood the reasoning behind ensuring adoptions were being conducted in a lawful and ethical manner. Waiting without knowing when courts would open was tough. The anticipation and race of getting courts reopened and assigned another court date prior to the annual closure was unexplainable. The courts opened and began passing cases in late July. Although we tried our best to not get our hopes up, we were completely deflated when the courts closed again in late August without us having passed court. Blog stalking didn't work in my favor during this process. Reading day after day about families passing was discouraging to say the least. Obviously we were thrilled for those families, but I'm not going to try to kid myself or you into thinking there wasn't some jealousy there. We dreaded the closure, but when it happened, a weird peace came over us. We realized the day to day anticipation was gone. We knew there was no opportunity to be assigned a court date until October. During this time, we began receiving pictures of Gabe. Our son, that we first saw a picture at 7 weeks of age is now 8 months old. We are so grateful to have the opportunity to send him a package and get pictures of him prior to meeting him. The faith and knowledge of "it will happen when its right" and "everything happens for a reason" became our belief in the adventure of meeting our son.
But now here we are...one week before the end of September. One week before October. Two weeks before courts reopen. WE ARE THRILLED that courts will be opening and the opportunity for us to finally meet and bring Gabe home are upon us, yet something weird has happened. The feelings are coming back. The anxious, stressful and desperate need for updates and progress feelings are back. Not what I was wanting or anticipating, but here they are. Please let us get a quick court date and pass!

Why am I blogging this? I'm not quite sure. I guess you could consider it a warning label. Moody Woman on Board.

Wyatt Pops the Question

Wyatt is home sick today. We've been hanging low - coloring, writing, reading, movies, etc. Lots of mom and Wyatt time. Lots of time for quality conversation. After reading our 8th book (not an exaggeration), "Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born," Wyatt popped the question.

Wyatt - "How do babies get out of tummies?"
Me - "Huh?"
Wyatt - "How do babies get out of tummies?"
Me - "Let's talk about that another time"
Wyatt - "I want to know now"
Me - "The doctor gets it out"
Wyatt - "How, with a needle?
Me - "Want to watch Scooby Doo?"

Soccer Season

Wyatt's first soccer game was Saturday. Actually, Wyatt's first official game of any sort. While unpacking our chairs from the car and heading to the soccer fields, I remembered the many days my parents spent doing that exact thing. Its hard to believe I'm now starting that very adventure with my kid. We were anxious to see how Wyatt would do. The majority of his first practice was spent playing in the dirt. On the ride there, I was giving him the "no hands, no pushing" pep talk. He definitely listened to the "no hands" part. The "no pushing", well, its all relative I guess. Nothing red card worthy, but enough to make his presence known. A few body bumps never hurt anybody! The game was hilarious. Kids running all over, in one big blob after the ball. Here's some pictures of the initial game. In case you are wondering, he's playing for the YMCA, so they don't keep score. Therefore, there is no official winner. However, I will say (unofficially) the Fire are 1-0...undefeated!

Wyatt the Movie Star

I'm going to let Wyatt do the talking here. He's been back in school for 3 weeks. This is one of the first things he learned...


They do a letter of the week in his class. Last week was "A". I've had this song in my head for a week now...


PS...Notice the new hairdo.

Pictures!

Nope, no pictures for you. But we were so excited to receive lots of emails from Kristine (who just came back with her daughter from Ethiopia) with pictures of Gabe. She was kind enough to take him a package from us; which he has in some of the pictures. He looks very healthy and happy, which makes this wait a a little more bearable. According her her, he's an active, crawling, sweet little guy. Hurry up, September! Courts open back up in October and we are praying for a quick court date!!

What a Week!

The past week has been busy to say the least. School started for Wyatt last Wednesday, we had our first friend weekend sleep over and we threw in a birthday party into the mix on Saturday. Some things we learned over the past couple of days are:
1. Our house isn't ample for a family of 4...especially 2 boys. If anyone is looking for a house in Lexington, I can hook you up.
2. Bounce U Rocks!! And they can make a killing off of parents looking to zap some energy out of their kids.
3. Preschool is a God send. If you know me, you know this is not anything new I learned this year. I could go on for days about the importance Early Childhood Education. Now you throw in a little personal experience with my kid and I could go on forever. I cannot wait to see the gains he makes this year.

Funny Story of the Week: The letter of the week is "A". I was at the store, so I bought an apple. I get home give him the whole "I got you a surprise at the store, it starts with a letter A. What do you think it is?" speal. His response.... A (emphasis on the long a sound) Lunchable! Wrong!!! The look on his face was priceless when I took that apple out of the bag. It was the look you gave the person handing out toothbrushes instead of the chocolate on Halloween. I guess I better start thinking more creatively about the letter B. Any suggestions?

Oh, and the spider man suit picture. That was taken on our walk today. He was wringing wet from sweat, but he was dead set on wearing that. Some battles just aren't worth fighting.

Reality Check

It hit me this weekend. I've been blissfully naive in hoping that we could get our court date prior to the closure. However, we believe this Friday is the day courts close until October. We don't know this for sure, as our agency has not given us specific dates, but everything we read (which we can't confirm as accurate, but fairly consistent) points to Friday as the dreaded day. What does this mean. MORE WAITING. Waiting until at least October for a court date. We went from hoping to travel in late June (our first scheduled court date was June 5), to now hoping we will travel in 2009. Am I being pessimistic? Possibly. But sometimes, the optimism can override the reality that has simply slapped me in the face. With that said, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that there is a piece of me that still is hopeful we'll be surprised by a "you passed court" call. A girl can hope, right!?

Enough of me feeling sorry for myself!!! We are so grateful for the past couple of weeks in which we've seen updated pictures of Gabe. Wait until you see these eyes! There is a family traveling to Ethiopia this Friday to meet their daughter and they are taking Gabe a care package from us, as well as taking more pictures. We cannot wait to hear all about him and see even more pictures of our boy!! We cannot thank them enough for doing this for us. It definitely makes the waiting a little more bearable.

Wyatt is Four!!!

What just happened? How is it that my kid is four?! I remember looking at him (oh about 3 years ago) and thinking, I'll always think of you as a baby. Well, that baby grew into a toddler and now a boy. I'm having a little issue accepting this! It's amazing how every year, I claim "this is my favorite age" and of course, that holds true for 4. Now don't get me wrong, Wyatt was a little more angelic in his earlier years. But this past year, the personality has taken over. The Wyatt spunk that only he has. The spunk that I love more than anything and the same one that sometimes has the potential to put me in the loony bin. Its that spunk that keeps us on our toes, looking at each other and laughing, wondering where in the world did this kid come from!!! Regardless where he came from or what in the world he's said or done, he's our big four year old that we wouldn't change for the world.

Weekend of Camps

What a great weekend. Friday was Wyatt's family night at his summer camp, so I got to experience Pepperhill camp first hand. My boy suckered me into being the only adult in the pool, but I couldn't turn him down. He went from clinging on to dear life at the beginning of summer to running and jumping into the pool (with a life jacket on). I could have died when I saw him do it for the first time. We also went on a hayless hay ride. This is where I heard Wyatt's first witnessed flirting attempt. Wyatt had been talking about his "girlfriend" Megan all week. So, we're on this ride and the one and only Megan spots him and comes to sit next to him. And then, in a tone you can only imagine, Wyatt says "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Megan right over." What...did I just hear that? I could have died! And I had nobody there to laugh with!

Saturday we went camping with some friends. This was our first camping trip (and my first since I was about 6 and camping in my aunt's yard with my cousins). Apparently Jason and my aunt have a difference of opinion in tents. I prefer the tent that you can stand up in. He prefers the kind that you all but have to slither into. Regardless we all packed our hind-tails in it for some close family fun. Well, until it stormed and the one not-so-waterproof part of the tent was over my face. Being the great wife that I am, I wake Jason up and make him switch spots with him. I have since been shopping on-line for tents because we really did have a blast. Wyatt ate his weight in S'mores and even found a snail on the outside of our tent. It's amazing how much you can relax in such a short period of time without TV, phones or computers!

Finally, Wyatt has been golfing with Jason. Personally, I'd rather eat my arm than shoot 9 holes, but I'm all for the boys going out for an afternoon round. My parents got Wyatt some clubs this summer and Jason's teaching him the basics. Keep it up kid...you either need to be really smart or athletic, cause college ain't cheap!

No Fingerprints for You!

Are we on candid camera? Is this all a sick joke? Jason and I both take half days to go to Louisville to get our fingerprints done today since they expire in September. We get there are are thrilled to see a waiting room with only one person in it. We go to sign in and then learn that we have to get a number assigned to us prior to getting our fingerprints done and we have to get the number from the office upstairs. No big deal, right...WRONG! That office is closed on Wednesdays. After staring at the man like he was speaking French and our blood pressure going through the roof we head out to the car. After a little venting, we decided to spend the day in Louisville and have dinner as planned at the Ethiopian dinner.

We ended up finding some really cute clothes for Wyatt at the mall and really enjoyed dinner. We weren't quite sure what to order, so we ordered a sampler platter appetizer and a mixed plate for dinner. We each had our favorite and ate ourselves pretty full. Anybody know hoe many Points in Ethiopian food? :) I'm guessing on a day like today, it's all zero Points...including my Dairy Queen dessert!

"Put Me In Coach...I'm Ready to Play...Today"

The good news is that the Ethiopian courts are hearing and passing abandonment cases as again. Actually, this is fantastic news. Things are moving in the right direction. We are thrilled for the families that are passing court and getting ready to bring those babies home! However, I'd be denying the obvious if I didn't admit, I feel a little burn inside. Like sitting on the bench in a championship game. You're thrilled to be winning, but are dying to be in the game. I feel like screaming "put me in the (Bleep, Bleep) game! But, here we are, still hanging out, spitting sunflower seeds. Hopefully this week brings the news we're dying for.

We're headed to Louisville tomorrow to update our fingerprints. Isn't that interesting. Who would think of all things, we'd have to update fingerprints. I'm perplexed by that. After that, Jason and I are headed to an Ethiopian restaurant. We've only eaten Ethiopian food once and we both enjoyed it, so we're looking forward to another great experience.

Hopefully, next post, we'll be bragging about a court date or some updated pictures...something!! Stay posted...

We've gotten a lot of questions about the progress of Gabe's adoption lately. Unfortunately, we have little to report concerning Gabe's case specifically. Ethiopian adoptions in general are making progress. As we understand it, the ban is lifted and new court dates have been assigned to lots of families. Unfortunately, we are not one of those families. We are one of the many families still constantly checking emails hoping for good news; keeping our cell phones by our side, waiting for a call to hear the date that's been put on hold a month and a half now. We read lots of rumors about the date court closes for rainy season, but without word from our agency, we cannot believe what we read. Too often I've allowed what I read to give me too much hope and end feeling worse. We know that it all will happen when its right, and that is what keeps us sane right now. We'll obviously update as soon as we hear any news.


On a more uplifting note, Jason and Wyatt had a priceless conversation today before Wyatt's nap. It went as follows:
Wyatt: I want to see Jesus.
Jason: You will someday.
Wyatt: Where does he live?
Jason: In your heart and in heaven.
Wyatt : In here? (pointing to his chest)
Jason: What are you doing? (as Wyatt is now putting his hand in his mouth and fingers almost down his throat)
Wyatt: I want Jesus to see my hand

Never a dull moment with this kid!!!

Love MochaClub.org

Destin

Kim found a good one. Any man that can vacation, get married and spend his honeymoon...all while sharing a 3 bedroom condo with his new in-laws, is a keeper!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Summertime

Wyatt's last day of school was last Wednesday. His first year wrapped up with a performance titled "On the Road Again". I never thought I'd hear my 3 year old sing Willy Nelson. Just like the last one, it was great. We cannot be happier with our experience with Immanuel Baptist this year. It's hard to believe his first year of school is done...but to think we have 14 more to go, I think I can handle it!

On another note, this Friday is our scheduled court date for Gabe. However, the abandonment cases are still be investigated, therefore, we're still on hold. It would take a miracle for the investigation to be complete before Friday. I've become a blog stalker looking for any small detail about the investigation. I found one site where people post what their agency shares with them. Then, that blog links to a venting and rumor blog. I love that one! I think there are a lot of people out there with the same feeling as me...hearing anything at all about the investigation is better than nothing. And even it if is just hearing somebody vent, it helps. I can't help but wonder how much Gabe has changed since the one picture we have of him was taken. I know it will all happen when the time is right...I just hope that is soon!!

Speed Bump

Many of you may have heard that the Ethiopian Justice System has determined it to be in the best interest of its children to temporarily stop hearing the cases of abandoned children. There is no effect of which we are aware on the cases of children whose parents have relinquished their parental rights. Evidently, the number of cases of abandoned children is rising rapidly and the Ethiopian Government has found several cases of fraud. According to many other blogs we've read, the Ethiopian government is investigating each agency before hearing any of these children's cases. Although our agency and Gabe's case have been cleared, we must wait until all agencies have been investigated prior to our case being heard in court.

A couple of things that we are comfortable are true:

-Ethiopian people and their government care about and love their children and are acting in what they have determined to be in the best interest of those children.

-Our agency (Little Miracles) has always been and will continue to be a true ally for us and for orphans

-Despite being aware of these truths, this is an incredibly difficult setback with which to deal.

Please take a moment to view the video below for a moving look at the positive work some good people to help children. Thanks for reading.

Drawn from Water from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.

At The Car Wash...

My Mother's Day Present

Good News All Around!

It's been a great 24 hours! It began yesterday when my sister Kim got engaged! Congrats Kim, and welcome to the family, Kevin and Sawyer. We are so excited for all of them and Wyatt will be thrilled that Saywer will be at Kim's all of the time now.

Then today's big news...We got a court date...June 5! What does this mean?? It means on June 5th our paperwork and Gabe's paperwork go in front of a judge in Ethiopia to determine if we can legally become his parents. The likelihood of passing court on the June 5th...pretty slim. It seems to be the trend for families to fail court the first time. The courts may want more paperwork from us or Gabe. If we do fail, most court cases are reassigned approximately one month later. But, having an initial date is a step in the right direction. We know he'll legally be ours soon, we just have to be patient. Then, a couple of weeks to a month after passing court we head to Ethiopia to bring him home!

Family Day

Once again, I'm late. We celebrated on time, but I'm late getting pictures posted from that weekend. Our family day with Wyatt was March 20. We decided to spend the weekend in Cincinnati to spend the night in a hotel and go to the aquarium. Instead of writing a boring old post, I've decided to write a poem.

Its so hard to believe
How fast three years flies.
It doesn't seem that long ago
We couldn't sooth those intense cries.

Now here you are.
Three quick years later
You cheer for the CATS
And despise the Gator.

You've developed such charm
And quite a bit of spunk.
We call it personality.
Sometimes a punk :)

Regardless, you're sweet as sugar
Most of everyday
You're quick to make friends
Your smiles brighten our day.

You like to push buttons
Mostly of Mom and Dad.
You make up for it with kisses
When you see us sad.

You'll do anything you can
To get a giggle.
Anytime time you hear music
You can't help but wiggle.

You are 100% boy
No lack of testosterone here
Airplane, helicoptors, trains
You hold all of them dear.

You're a miracle of God
We know this to be true.
Everyday we thank him.
For the amazing gift of you.

Referral!!!

I'm a little late in posting this,but, we got our referral for Baby Gabe last Wednesday!! And when I say baby, I mean baby. He's only 2 months old!! LMI called us with the big news last Wednesday. We obviously accepted the referral and now paperwork is being processed to apply for a court date.

Sorry, the rules say that we aren't allowed to post his picture or other identifying information until we clear through the Ethiopian court system.


Wyatt had quite a spring break last week. First, he took a road trip with the University of Kentucky Band and Cheerleaders on a trip to South Bend, Indiana for the Wildcat Basketball game versus Notre Dame. Unfortunately, Wyatt's loyalty swung easily and he chanted at the game "Let's Go Irish!". He then spent the remainder of the week with his Grandparents in South Bend. Mom and Dad headed to Atlanta where Mom ran the ING Georgia Half Marathon. On Tuesday, Mom met Grandma in Indianapolis where Wyatt spent a 1/2 day in heaven (Indianapolis Children's Museum).

Next step in the process to bring Gabe home is for us to obtain a court date...we'll keep you posted.