My blog is back!!

It feels good to revive this blog! I started writing it about the time we started the adoption process.  We submitted our pre-application to our agency at the very end of December 2009!  I can't believe this place is filled with so many hopes and dreams and prayers! It was such a sweet place for me to come and write and share my heart about our journey to our girl.  Next month will be 2 years that she has been HOME with us!  Wow.  I can't believe it!  As I'm writing she's sitting across from me on the couch playing a game. :)

I'm bringing this blog back out because I want to write again, not because we are adopting again but just because I love to share what I'm learning and what our family is doing!  I plan on including everything from fair trade fashion, family photos and fun, music, what the Lord is doing in our lives, cooking/recipes, and well, who knows what else might pop up!?  So, if any of that sounds interesting to you, then feel free to follow along by subscribing with your email over there to the left!

By the way, how precious are the new photos of our girls??  If you are in VA and need a photographer, I can recommend a wonderful one! :)

I'm so excited to be writing and posting here again!!

Love,
Angela

Dinner Menu 4/14

I have been writing up our dinner menus for a while but I always wish I had saved them somewhere to go back and look at things that we made for dinner. I love the ideas that my friend Leigh sends and posts on her awesome food blog http://onedayatatime-recipes.blogspot.com/.  I use her suggestions and recipe blogs that I read plus food that I really want to learn to make or crazy stuff that my 7 year old requests like homemade French crepes!  She is just little bit interested in France and she loves cooking with me so that's where that one came from.  I also use recipes that my grandma or mom cooked when I was a kid.  I also love cooking things that make me remember my time living in Mexico.  That would explain my extensive Mexican food pins on Pinterest. :) Cooking and baking are some of my very favorite things to do.  I love reading cook books and cooking magazines and trying new things or new techniques.  I always sorta wanted to go to culinary school.  So, anyway, I'm going to try keeping up with recipes here on my blog just for my reference and to help me with menu planning.  It's much easier to go to a link and print it or find it on my phone in the grocery store.  :)

MONDAY: Ham and Swiss Poppy Seed Sliders My mom used to make these when I was a kid and they were my favorite meal!  We'll probably have green beans, a salad, or another vegetable with it.
TUESDAY: Hearty Turkey and Bean Chili This is one of my favorite chili recipes.  I have tried a LOT! :)  I usually make this with cornbread too.
WEDNESDAY: Chick-fil-A Fundraiser Dinner for Isabel's school
THURSDAY: Pepperoncini Beef Sandwiches
FRIDAY: Spaghetti (Ground Turkey) Bolognese with Quick & Easy Garlic Parmesan Rolls This spaghetti is really good.  I tend to make different versions of spaghetti each time I make it but I really like this one.
SATURDAY: Breakfast Night.  This will probably include scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon (that I get for a great price at Costco), and pancakes or French toast.  Last week I made these upon request from Isabel...they are croissants...and croissants are from a particular country that she is fond of. :)
Croissant French Toast.  This week I'm thinking about these Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes
SUNDAY:  Normally Sunday nights are leftovers or fix whatever you find on hand nights.  Brian is at youth group so he doesn't usually eat with us so it's easier for me and Isabel to just make something easy like black bean quesadillas or soup. 

But THIS Sunday is Easter and I'm still not sure what I'm gonna do.  Up until this year, we would have my family over to our house for Easter lunch with ham and all the fun sides.  This year though, we live 4 hours away from our family so...we're not going to see them on Easter.  Also, this Easter is Lucy's 1st birthday!!!  So I'm not sure what we're going to do just yet. Our family is coming up the next weekend to celebrate!

Happy 9 months!

For those of you that actually still read this blog, I'm sorry I haven't been updating regularly...9 month olds are busy little people. :)

This month back on the 10th, we celebrated 3 months home with our Lucy!  She has grown so much since that first night home with us.  She is giving hugs and kisses and reaching for us all the time!  She is feeling more confident that we are going to feed her and that we are NOT going to leave her!  She has been going to church and even to the youth group a few times and enjoyed herself!  She is a bit of a ham.  She loves to smile and wave!

AND, today Lucy is 9 months old!  I really can't believe that in just a few months she will be one year old.  That is crazy to me.  We first saw her face and learned her name and story when she was only 6 weeks old...on May 31.  Even though she has only been here with us for 3 months, we have known her and had her in our hearts for much longer.  I'm thankful that I have pictures of when she was at Hannah's Hope and I received photos from when she was only 2 weeks old!  A mission group from our agency was visiting the orphanage where she was and they took pictures and that was actually when her paperwork was ready and they brought her to HH.  Also, just a couple weeks ago I received some photos of the hospital where she was born.  These are all just so so special for us and I know they will be for Lucy one day.

So, here is a fun PicMonkey photo I made to remember some of her accomplishments and favorites at 9 months!  Plus, I haven't shared photos in a while so here are some of my favorites!

2 Months Home!!

Today marks 2 months that Lucy has been home with us! Some days it feels like she just got here and other days it seems like she has always been with us. She is learning new things each day, attaching more and more (she loves to cuddle now!), and showing us more of her personality! Here are some of our family pics! I just love them so much. We didn't send out a Christmas card this year but sent out Lucy's adoption announcement instead and a couple of these pics are on it. Later this month, Lucy will turn 8 months old and we will get to celebrate our very first Christmas with her! I'm so excited!! 

7 months old!

Little Lucy is 7 months old today!! I can't believe it!  She is learning so many new things each day.  I had forgotten how much and how quickly babies learn at the beginning.  She is such a joy to our family!

A Sweet Surprise

This is going to be a quick post but I really had to share this!  Over the past couple weeks little Lucy has started sitting up all the time.  She can lean back on a pillow and then even pull herself back up!  She can grab toys and do all kinds of things that she wasn't doing when she arrived.  She is rolling over and just last week she figured out how to flip BACK over!  This is important because it means she doesn't have to yell when she wants to be flipped over. :)  So, with all this moving and motor skill development I thought I should get some more toys out.  When we moved we packed stuff in places that I don't entirely remember but I did remember seeing one of our clear Book Fundraising bins in the garage that seemed to have toys.  I wasn't sure if it was one of Isabel's old bins but I grabbed it and brought it upstairs.  When I popped open the lid, this is what I found!!

It was a bin full of all kinds of treasures from the past three years!  In 2010, we contracted with our agency and officially started our journey and we started saving things that were Isabel's and also picking up gifts that we thought a little girl might need one day.  Almost each item has a story!  Isabel remembered soo many things too.  She specifically remembers when we bought the little brown baby doll with the blue dress.  She was only 4 years old but she said, "I remember we went to place that was having an outside sale and Mimi was with us and we got this doll for my sister.  Before that we ate ice cream next door." :)

One of my favorite finds was that beautiful and bright colored zebra!  I remember being in Barnes and Noble and seeing this zebra.  It was while we were working on our dossier and home study.  I saw it and thought, "Our little girl needs that!  It looks so fun and African!"  Isabel got a cat from the same brand and she still has it too.  The zebra was the very first thing that we bought.  Here is the link to the post I actually wrote about buying it back in March of 2010.  And here....is a picture of Lucy holding it for the very first time.  I cried a little taking the picture.

 

 God finishes what He starts!  We are so thankful to have this sweet girl home!

October with Lucy

Even though we have been "cocooning" we still were able to do some fun things during October after bringing Lucy home on the 10th.
We have gone on walks outside.

We celebrated my birthday!  Brian and Isabel decorated the basement and kept it a secret (well, besides the sign on the basement room that said, "DO NOT ENTER.").  They bought me flowers and made a sweet card!  Later they surprised me with basement decorations, a cupcake and a couple of presents, and sang to me!

One of the presents that they gave me was so sweet!  Isabel and I had been in a store and we saw this Willow Tree figurine that said, "Child of my Heart" and had a mom holding her baby with brown skin.  Isabel thought it was so cool because she knew I had another Willow Tree figurine of a pregnant mommy.  Apparently, she told Brian about it and had them go to the store and buy it for my birthday!  Isn't that sweet?  I love it!

 Then, the next day Brian had to go to Richmond for a meeting but while he was there he found a Krispy Kreme! KK started in my hometown and it is my absolute favorite but unfortunately our new town DOESN'T HAVE ONE! What?? I know. Anyway, Brian surprised me and Isabel with this glorious box on the day after my birthday! 

We've spent lots of time together and at night, Isabel has started reading to Lucy. It is the sweetest thing! Lucy actually listens and then looks at the pictures. She loves all of the bright colors!

We ventured out and found a pumpkin patch really close to our house!  AND it was a legit pumpkin patch with vines and everything!  We had never been to a real one before.  Normally the pumpkins are already picked and just sitting on hay bales.  There were definitely some like that but we were able to choose our own and pick it straight from the field!

One Saturday we decided to take a drive on Skyline Drive.  Skyline Drive is part of the Shenandoah National Park and it is BEAUTIFUL!  The leaves are changing colors and everything is so vibrant!  It is not far from where we live so we were able to just stay in the car and Isabel would hop out at different overlooks sometimes with Brian and sometimes with me.  Lucy slept for most of it but woke up a few times to laugh and eat.

Then, for Halloween we dressed up Lucy and Isabel and had them head outside to take some pictures.  Honestly, L was not crazy about her costume but she did it long enough to take some pictures.  Brian stayed with L at home while I walked around the neighborhood with I.  We had a great time.  Our neighborhood is perfect for walking around and meeting people.  It's quiet and calm and everyone was so friendly.  This is new for us because we have always lived in neighborhoods where NO ONE goes trick-or-treating.

We have had a great October and first month with our baby girl! :) 

October: Welcome to the Cocoon

Since today is the last day of October I thought I would share what we have been up to.  Obviously it's been a crazy and amazing month since October 10th is when Lucy officially came home!  Her Gotcha Day is October 5th.  That was the day that we had her in our arms and didn't have to let her go!  When we came home we were so blessed to have my mom, my grandma, and Brian's mom still here with Isabel.  They stayed for an extra day and spent time with us and were able to meet Lucy.  We were thankful that they were able to come up to where we live and be with Isabel while we were gone.  

After they left, we settled into our "cocoon."  Cocooning is an adoptive term that families use to describe an intense season of care that we give our new baby.  It is a time to make sure Lucy knows that Brian and I are her primary caregivers, that we are here to meet all her needs and that we will not leave her.  Normally when a baby attaches to a parent that baby learns to trust that person and depend on them and know they will meet their emotional and physical needs.  This bond continues UNLESS something happens that disrupts the attachment.  Lucy has experienced much loss.  When a child loses the relationship of a biological parent, there is trauma and something happens that must be repaired.  Lucy has also experienced the loss of her special mothers that cared for her and the only home she knew.  Because of adoption and God's plan for Lucy we are her forever family and we intend to do everything we can to recreate attachment and healing.

That is why we are spending so much time at home cocooning and may seem like we have strict rules.  We (our family of 3) will be the only ones to feed, hold, change, rock, touch, soothe, and play with Lucy.  This might seem a bit harsh since normally when you bring a baby home you want to show them off to the world and everyone wants to hold them and kiss their sweet cheeks!  We totally understand that but because of all of the training and research that we have done regarding adoption and attachment, we know that staying in our "cocoon" for a season is what truly is best for Lucy in the long run.  After all, she has spent practically her entire life (5 months) in a transition home.  Hannah's Hope is an AMAZING place but it is not the same as a family with one mom and one dad.  She was used to several special mothers and care takers tending to her and playing with her.  She did not have a specific "mom" there and so she is having to LEARN that Brian and I are her parents.  Many of you might say, "But she is SO young, surely she'll just adjust."  Being young definitely is an advantage and she is adjusting well but it is not something that will JUST HAPPEN.  It is very intentional.  I will tell you though that we have already seen some amazing growth!  Here are some examples:

• When we first came home, I would feed Lucy her bottle but she would not make eye contact with me for very long.  She was quick to look around the room.  As we have been holding her and talking to her and playing games that encourage more eye contact, I have noticed that she will now stare into my eyes while I feed her.  She will just look up and gaze and it is beautiful!  This is a great sign!

• Normally Brian takes and picks Isabel up from school but one day he had to go out of town for a meeting after he dropped Isabel off SO I had to pick her up.  I was worried about taking Lucy into the school and our school does NOT have a car pick-up line.  Well, she did not like it.  She was very anxious and clearly over stimulated.  She cried BUT she turned to ME and looked up at me and relaxed.  I spoke softly to her and she calmed down and put her face on me.  That definitely shows that she trusts me and looks to me for comfort.  Since then I have had to pick Isabel up one other time....and Lucy did amazingly well!  She was calm but stayed snuggled up close to me.  I always carry her if I have to go somewhere either in the Ergo carrier or just holding her.  It helps her to feel safe and close to me.

• She is sleeping better.  When we first came home Lucy woke up a lot.  Since she is sleeping in our room in a portable crib we are able to respond to her right away.  We don't let her cry and she has learned that every time we will come to her.  She is now resting and sleeping more deeply and peacefully.  

So we are still not going out of the house often and over all Lucy is adjusting well!  We are so thankful for all of the meals that the sweet people from our church have brought us and for all of the grace and understanding they have given us.  It really has been incredible.  We are so so grateful.  We can't give an exact date when we will be going back to church or going out more but we are just taking our time.  We also know that even after we leave the cocoon, there may be times that we need to go back into that stage again.  Attachment is a long process and not something that we expect to see happen in a short amount of time.  We are praying that Lucy continues to attach and adjust well and that God would heal her heart.

 

Happy 6 months Lucy

This is my first blog entry since we have been home.  I keep meaning to write an update but I forgot what it's like to wake up every 2 hours in the middle of the night!  I am planning on eventually sharing what our last trip to Ethiopia and the US Embassy was like so stay tuned.

Today, however, is a super special day!  Today Lucy is 6 months old!!  I can hardly believe it.  She is such a beautiful bright addition to our family.  She is smiley, cuddly, and lights up the room!  We are so incredibly thankful to have her home forever.  Right now she is working on rolling over and sitting up without help.  She has rolled over once but we can't seem to get her to do it again.  

While I don't have a picture from her first month, I do have a picture from when she was 6 weeks.  That one is in the top right corner.  It was actually one of her referral pictures so it was one of the first we ever saw of her.  The other pictures were sent to me by precious friends that were visiting Hannah's Hope at different times while we were waiting and the one of me with Lucy is from our first visit in August.  I am so thankful to have pictures of her growing all along even though I wasn't with her for all of those milestones.  The big picture is from today!
   

Happy 6 months Lucy Lu!  We love you so much!!

We are going back to Ethiopia!!!!!!

Our case cleared with the US Embassy yesterday!  I went to sleep the night before praying that it would be soon and I woke up and checked my email (which is something you do when you are constantly waiting to hear about your daughter across the ocean).  There was an email from the Embassy and the subject was: CASE CLEARED!!!!!  Now we just go for our last interview with Embassy and that will be it!

I am going to be holding Lucy R in my arms in 4 days.  October 2010 is when we officially submitted our dossier and received our waitlist number and now October 2013 we will officially have our daughter in our arms forever!  Only God could bring all of this together.  Only He can knit stories of loss and redemption, of waiting and persevering, of beauty from ashes.  He is so so good.  We have been so so blessed in this journey.  While this part of the journey is going to come to an end, a brand new journey will begin.  It's hard to imagine that in just a week's time we will be a family of 4.  Isabel will have a sister that she's waited so long for.  We will have a new little person living here with us!

We are amazed and grateful to God for the ways that He has provided for our adoption.  You all came together and answered the call to care for orphans and see children in families!  You all helped bring our daughter home to us.  We are forever grateful and blessed!  God has provided for our last trip and we have the money we need to travel!!!  Only He could do so much!!

I can't stop singing this song today.

 "Who brings our chaos back into order
Who makes the orphan a son and daughter
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

Who rules the nations with truth and justice
Shines like the sun in all of its brilliance
The King of Glory, the King above all kings

This is Amazing Grace"