The mind of a 'waiting' momma.....

I never imagined how difficult it would be, waiting for that 'call.'  No, not the referral call...that was hard enough, the call that tells me I can pick up my baby girl!  I miss her, so much!  I never knew how difficult it would be to leave Ethiopia without her.  To know that my child is a world away, is SO hard.  TO not be able to hold her, and kiss her and tell her we love her .... it is VERY difficult!  I know that the nannies LOVE her so much and take WONDERFUL care of her, but I want her with me, so badly! 

I sit here, and sometimes my mind wanders.  It always starts with the, "Oh look how beautiful she is....oh look how cute."  But then, the fears start to set in.  "What if she gets sick??  What if she cannot get the medicine she needs?  What if???"  Those fears can take a hold of you SO quickly.  Lately it has gotten to the point where I cannot sleep at night.  I sit up sometimes at night praying and praying for the safety and security of Aliyah.  I have always been a worrier (hate that trait in myself, but that is who I am).  I worry about Alexa, a lot.  BUT -- she is here, sitting next to me!  I feel a sense of security in that.  My Aliyah is a world away, and there is nothing I can do for her right now.  I have NO control!  I hate that!  As the wait gets longer, the worries become stronger.  The thing that comforts me, besides the wonderful WONDERFUL adoptive friend moms I have made (along with my sister and the family that talks with me about my fears) is God!  I feel so much closer to him lately.  I feel like He is watching over her for me.  He will keep her safe!   I hold on to those feelings, for it gives me a sense of peace.  Until I can be there picking her up and taking her home forever I know this will help me!

If you have a moment, say a prayer for my baby girl, for the wisdom of her caregivers, and for my worrisome mind.  I cannot wait to get that call, but until that happens, I will be over here counting down the days, playing with my beautiful Alexa AND looking at sweet pictures of Aliyah..

THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME....THE TRIP TO OUR DAUGHTER!!!

The Trip to Our Daughter....

Where do I begin?  After what seemed like hurdle, after hurdle we were finally told we had our official court date!  The day little Fennet (Aliyah) would legally become our daughter - June 24th, 2013.  We jumped for joy, were so thrilled!  We did some last minute shopping for the trip, packed as quickly as possible, and planned Alexa’s stay away from us for the first time (thanks to both of our parents for being willing to help us out).  Then, come Wednesday night, the night before we were to leave, we randomly checked our email to find an email saying to NOT GO!  That there was a problem!  Our hearts sank, we felt frustrated, upset, angry, all in one!  Our flights were already booked, Brandons vacation time already used ….we were so upset.  Our agency consultant and the head guy in Ethiopia worked VERY hard to help make the courts KEEP our court date....This entailed an appeal to the court (with a letter written by us … errr my sister Carrie cuz I was to upset to write haha)!   The courts accepted our APPEAL and our plans, although delayed by 2 days, were a GO!!! With some slight changes to our flight plans (we were now scheduled to leave Saturday, instead of Thursday) we were SET!!

With some nerves in place we kissed Alexa goodbye and headed to the airport.  We traveled to Washington first, and stayed the night there.  We went swimming and had a delicious dinner.  The next morning, we work up very early to get on the airplane.  We took Ethiopian Air, and left at 10:15 am our time.

We arrived in Addis, Ethiopia 7:45am the next day (their time).  The plane ride was pretty easy, nothing out of the ordinary.  We pretty much watched Friends the entire time haha!  When we arrived, we immediately were sent to our hotel. 

 We were greeted by VERY nice people.  We were just about to head to our room to get a few hours of sleep when we were informed we were GOING TO MEET OUR DAUGHTER IN AN HOUR!  We couldn't believe it!  With very little sleep, we got dressed, and drove to meet her!!  THE MEETING was INDESCRIBABLE!  A nice nanny brought her out, and handed her right to me!  She was just everything we've imagined and dreamed about.  She is just super laid back and SO SO SO beautiful.  She giggled very quickly and loved to cuddle.   Anytime she got excited she would stick out her little tongue and squeal!   WE WERE IN LOVE!!   

After lots of giggles, they took her back because we HAD TO GET READY FOR COURT!  (Yes, we still haven’t slept...at this point we were living on pure adrenyline).  We went back to our hotel for about an hour, to meet up with another couple!  Within a short time we were all on our way to COURT!  We both had some nerves, for we didn't know what to expect.  BUT EVERYTHING WENT PERFECTLY.  With a few questions by the judge, FENNET WAS DECLARED OURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She is OURS!  FOREVER! It was such an amazing moment!  Alemu, the head AAI consultation in ET took us back to the orphanage to spend some quality time with our daughter!!  We spent several hours loving on her...getting her to giggle, laugh, say dada, and hi!  We had such an amazing time!!!  Brandon and I also spent some time playing with the other kiddos!  He played soccer, tickled them, played catch, blew bubbles, had such a life changing experience.  It was really such an AMAZING DAY.

That night we slept....and woke up really early the next day to get ready for a traveling day of Ethiopia!  We went to many museums and learned the culture of Ethiopia!  Ethiopia is a beautiful country, with beautiful people...but the experience was still quite difficult!  It was definitely a culture shock!  Seeing how people live everyday there, really made us want to give away our stuff!  I will NEVER complain again about the roads, or my cell phone being out of service... or anything!  I do have to say, that although Ethiopians don't have a lot of physical ‘stuff’ they make up for that with such amazing culture and love for one another!   They truly are so genuine!  The experience can only be described as LIFE CHANGING!!!!!    We loved going to our Ethiopian dinner and dance....learning their way of life!  It was such an amazing experience.

Our trip came to a conclusion with a trip to the Market.  This was difficult on us in a lot of ways, seeing children begging for food and money.  But the market was still amazing! We were able to get some beautiful pieces of art and figurines. 

 After our trip, the day ended with us taking our baby girl to get passport photos (with her falling asleep on my lap LOVE)!   When our driver came we had to give her a kiss and say goodbye!   This was NOT easy, but we KNEW she was being cared for and loved tremendously...and we KNOW we will be back to pick her up forever VERY soon!   

Our baby girl- Aliyah Fennet Hawrot  Declared ours on June 24th, 2013....home forever VERY SOON!!  Pray for us, that this SOON is REALLY SOON!  For we miss her so much already!!  

 

Oh the butterflies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me map out my day yesterday!!!

I am sound asleep when I hear a DING on my phone!  I know this means that I have a new message!  Since I have been ANXIOUSLY awaiting our travel date, I rolled over, looked at the phone and saw JUNE 24th COURTDATE!  I literally JUMPED out of bed, proceeded to snap my neck and walk into a wall, whilst jumping for joy!!  The day quickly turned into finding FLIGHTS, PACKING, FIGURING thing out mode!!

I CANNOT believe that in a week, I will officially have TWO daughters!  Two baby girls!  I am so full of emotion right now!  Thrilled to be able to introduce my baby girl to the world, thrilled to see Ethiopia, thrilled that we are traveling with someone from our agency (YAY)!  So many thrills!  I also have some nervousness and anxiousness going on (I am sure that is normal)!!  

Please keep us all in your prayers later this week and through next week!!  

AND WATCH FACEBOOK...come Monday, my lil girl will make her grand introduction!!

Love to ALL,

Kristen (and Brandon)

Alexa turns THREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How is it possible that my beautiful baby girl is 3?!  She's not a baby anymore, but turning into such an amazing little girl?!  It is crazy to think that 3 years ago today I was in the hospital, about to have my c-section!!  This little girl has brought me and Brandon SO much joy!  Our lives wouldn't be the same without her!  I love her more than I ever thought I could love someone!!!

At three, my angel is a ball of personality!  She is such a sweet little girl, with a little bit of sass hahaha!  She loves playing outside, and being with her cousins!  She also loves her grandparents very much!  She would much rather be outside kicking a ball, than inside....but if she is inside, she loves to play make-believe (and she is quite good at it) and have tea parties!  At three her favorite tv shows/movies are: Doc McStuffin, Max and Ruby, Berenstein Bears (somethings never change); Tangled, Brave, Smurfs, Finding Nemo and The Little Mermaid)!  She loves to SING and DANCE and does pretty good at memorizing her favorite kids songs!! She loves to learn, and is continuing to learn how to count, say her abcs, identify shapes, etc!  She LOVES swimming and constantly asks to go to the water park haha!   

I love my little peanut more than words can ever explain!  When I wake up in the morning she is the FIRST thing I want to see....and holding her makes everything right in the world!  I cannot wait to see her take on a new adventure - that of being a sister!  I know she will do a wonderful job, for she already asks about her sister EVERY DAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEXA!!!  Momma and Daddy love you so much!!  Below are just a few pictures from the year!  :)

REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!

REFERRAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We  are THRILLED beyond belief to share with EVERYONE that Brandon and I officially received AND accepted our referral on Saturday, April 20th, 2013.  It was a LONG eleven month wait for us.  One that had many ups and downs!  I truly don't think people understand the heartbreak you go through when waiting for a child you are adopting, unless you are or have gone through it!  There were many days with tears and fears....but they were all set aside the SECOND I receive that email!  WE did NOT expect to get a referral on a Saturday (it is very unheard of)!  When Friday came and went we assumed we were not getting it this week!  When I randomly checked my email and saw the words REFERRAL I thought for sure it was only a question!  When I opened the email and realized it was OUR REFERRAL I was overjoyed!  I called to Brandon, we read her file, and saw her beautiful pictures.  We were so happy (and of course there were definitely tears for me)!!  It was such an amazing moment!  We quickly accepted and shared with everyone!!

The little angel we were referred is 8, almost 9 months old!  Her birthday is July 27th, 2012, one day before my dads!  She is as CUTE as a button!  We couldn't be happier!  Please pray for our little angel (whose name we are still figuring out).  Pray for QUICK courts so we can get her home as soon as possible!  Now that we have a sweet face to look at I'm sure the 3 month wait is going to be a killer!!!!  I'm so thankful to have many wonderful friends that will be traveling to Ethiopia before us that will be taking pictures (top of the list is my sister who will be able to hold my angel and take pictures of the two cousins together)!

I want to thank EVERYONE that has been praying for us.  All the family members that have helped along the way, along with dear friends (many of which I have met while beginning this adoption)!  Your support has meant more to us than anything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We won't be able to post pictures of our angel until we clear court, likely in July.  But, if you would like pictures come by for a visit :) :)

XOXOXO
KRISTEN, BRANDON and ALEXA

Moving numbers..........

I realized that I haven't updated my blog in quite some time!!  In reference to our adoption we are technically number....

We had several slow months, but things are finally starting to turn around!!  Our adoption associate spoke with me not long ago and it looks like our referral could be within the next month or two!  Things are finally happening :)  Super exciting!  Brandon and I have been talking to Alexa more and more about having a sibling!  She is starting to get more excited about it!  

Speaking of my little angel, Alexa....she is such a joy!  Since going back to work, Alexa wants to snuggle with me more at night...which I LOVE!  She and I have been working on potty training (and she is getting more excited about that as well...still not consistent though).  She is learning more and more everyday!!  She loves to practice her abcs and count. She LOVES starfall and is a pro at using the i-pad!  She knows lots of her shapes (triangle, rhombus/diamond, circle, square, rectangle, oval).  She is so much fun to be with all the time. She is a creative person, who loves to color and draw!  However, she is really quite a tomboy.  Brandon and I are so lucky to have such an amazing daughter.

It is so amazing to think that in a few months Alexa will have a baby sibling!!!!!!!!!!  It is hard picturing my baby sitting there without a mother or father right now...so I pray that God watches over my child until mommy and daddy can bring them home!!!

That's it for now :)