I didn’t know where the girls were a little while ago, and this is what I found:
Just a little sisterly snuggle on a Sunday morning.
Archive for March, 2010
We saw pictures of both of our new kiddos yesterday! We received our first update on Julia with several beautiful photos and we had our final ultrasound. Someone told me I was glowing – I’m pretty sure it was a combination of the events of the day, the Colorado sunshine, and the magic of Laura Gellar makeup.
Julia was moved from her hometown in southern Ethiopia to Addis Ababa this week in order for her to get her birth certificate, passport and required medical examinations completed. Then, Ryan and I will head over there and all that is left is an immigration appointment at the US Embassy and a long plane ride home. The pictures they included showed her playing with the baby-photo album and wrapped up in the baby blanket we sent her. One picture showed her gazing at a picture of the girls and me. It took my breath away.
Evidently, she is not a very good eater anyway and there has been concern over her lack of eating after the move. They should let us know early next week if her eating has improved. Of course, as a Mom, I spend a lot of time thinking about, planning for, and (in this case, worrying about) the nutrition that my children need. There is not really anything that I can do from here other than pray for her and be prepared as possible for the needs she will have once I get to her. I am thankful for a husband who offers me much reassurance and for my God who can do all things.
…They have it!
Here are a couple of beautiful girls enjoying the Denver sunshine:
Sitting outside on a sunny morning makes vocabulary and math a bit more tolerable don’t you think? Her hair is still wet from her shower, thus the hat.
Bubbles – is there anything more fun? At least she is old enough now not to spill the whole bottle in the first 30 seconds. Although, I do anticipate having to change clothes before we go have lunch with Daddy.
This is really a test. I got a new phone with a good(ish) camera on it – I wanted to see how it would do. OK – so maybe, I am actually a bit influenced by the spring fever bug, too.
How ’bout you? Anyone else ready for Spring?
We had dinner with some new friends the other night. Our families crossed paths right here in Littleton, but the road leads all the way to a small, hill town in Ethiopia. There is a beautiful lake and monkeys running free making a nuisance of themselves in their playfulness.
Both of our children were born there last summer. They both began life there, experienced their first breath there, and their deepest source of sadness.
Soon they will live ten minutes away from one another in the US.
How exciting is that?
We are going, with some friends, to an Ethiopian restaurant here in Denver, Queen of Sheba, to enjoy some good food and experience some of the culture from Julia’s homeland. I hope the girls enjoy the food and seeing what we will be experiencing while we are in Ethiopia. Hannah is definitely having a snack before we go because she is the least adventuresome when it comes to trying new things. But, she loves learning about new cultures, so maybe she’ll jump right in with her fingers and injera and start dipping. I expect Ellie, on the other hand, to be quite taken with the food.
Ryan has been humoring me a lot this week as I have been “nesting” in preparation for Julia. I have checklists – several of them. We are stocked up on toilet paper, paper towels, detergent, canned goods, casseroles in the freezer…you get the point. When considering having a family of 6, I am really appreciating Costco in a whole new way.
During this post-court-passing-waiting-to-travel phase, the Bethany workers in Addis are applying for Julia’s passport, new birth certificate, etc. in preparation for applying to the US Embassy for her citizenship appointment. I told Ryan that I would be more than happy to fill out that paperwork for them for sake of time, since, gee, I have reams of it already for her adoption. I decided that the forms are probably in Amharic, so I would be useless. So, my usefulness comes in preparation for our trip…and making sure we aren’t going to run out of toilet paper – any – time – soon.