A year like no other....2017

Woah, 3.5 years.  That is a long time to not blog.  I guess life just got really crazy over the past few years….or I got really lazy, ha!  Either way, I decided after my whirlwind of a year I needed to write another blog.

This has been one of the most challenging, yet rewarding years ever.  2017 started the same as the rest.  Nothing out of the ordinary happened until one day in March I found out we were expecting!  A baby!  Another blessing?  We thought we were done.  God didn’t!!  It shocked us tremendously but we knew that this little baby was being placed in our lives for some reason.  At this time we didn’t know exactly what that reason was.

 This was a pregnancy unlike ANY pregnancy!  I was off work quickly in the beginning due to heart issues...then once those started to stabilize a bit I ended up having to have a surgery in order to save my babies life.  That was the most painful, scariest procedure I have ever gone through (including recovering from a c-section).  Maybe it is because no painkillers were allowed haha!  I was scared every second of this pregnancy, fearful that something tragic would happen because of how hard it was on my body to hold her in.  I suffered infection after infection, and complication after complication…..but I continued to pray.  I prayed daily, put holy water on my belly religiously and just hoped God would allow our baby to live and me to be ok.  There were many moments of doubt, question and fear.   I had wonderful family and friends try their hardest to help me think positively.  It didn’t always work….

Somewhere in the middle of this pregnancy we found out my father in law was ill, very ill.  We didn’t realize just how quickly God would take him.  We found out in July he was ill and he passed away in August.  It was absolutely tragic.  We didn’t understand why it happened - and still have a hard time understanding.  Brandon and I started to think that God placed the baby girl that I was carrying in me for a reason…..to bring happiness to the Hawrot family.  We realized Grandpa George was going to be her guardian angel, and therefore we decided to have her be a part namesake to him.  We were able to tell him before he passed that she was going to be named after him.  His face was priceless when we told him.  I will never forget that moment as long as I live.  Alivia GEORGIA!!

Right before I had Alivia - through a planned c section, I was a NERVOUS wreck.  I dreamt of George.  He appeared to me in a dream and told me not to worry that he would be right there the entire time and she was going to be beautiful.  The c-section came and my doctor and staff did a tremendous job.  The second I heard her little cry I cried!!  I couldn’t help myself.  The 9 months of fear, pain and worry resulted in a beautiful baby girl.  I couldn’t believe it.

After having Alivia, my health still isn’t where it should be. I have had numerous visits to the hospital, including visits by the rapid response team and overnight stays.  I struggle daily, have many appointments I am going to on a weekly basis, yet I have this most amazing little family.  Alexa, Aliyah and now baby Alivia to love and adore.  I love seeing the girls with Alivia, and I love seeing Alivia talking to Grandpa George (staring in space, reaching out and laughing).  When I look into her little eyes I couldn’t imagine her not being here - proving that God knows what He’s doing!! Through my suffering at times I wanted to push God away, almost be mad at him....but I have learned the importance of reaching for Him instead.

So there you have it, a year unlike any….started with fear, lead to the death of a very important man in our life, and ended with a beautiful blessing!  It goes to show you that you never know what God has in store for you, but you have to trust in Him.  You have to realize that even when you don’t understand, He does - and He doesn’t leave your side.  He walks the path with you…..and in my case, he carried me through.  He, and some great family and friends that I will never forget.  

ALEXA TURNS FOUR!!!!!!!!!

Oh wow!  What a year!  How can my Alexa be 4 already?!?!  I will never forget the day she was born, or any second after that!  She has brought us so much joy and happiness!  We love her unconditionally.

This year has been filled with love, laughter and tons of growth.  I cannot believe how much she has grown!!  She is 4, but the size of a 5 year old!!  HAHA!  I knew the second she was born she was going to be tall!!!   I’m wondering when she is older what sports she will play, but for now she seems interested in baseball and soccer.  She is a girl who loves to be outside, loves to play sports, but also loves to play dress up and house.  She is the mix of tomboy and girly girl!  She LOVES to learn and really wants to spend time with me 1:1 doing just that.  She loves when I am ‘teacher’ to her as well!  I am so proud of her!!!  I cannot believe she will be going to preschool in the fall.  Lexa is quite shy when you first get to know her -but is a complete bubble after you know her!  She takes after both her parents that way, ahhaha!!!

This past year Alexa moved rooms (is now upstairs); has become completely potty trained; became a sister; learned the majority of her letters; how to write her name; how to identify who she is (first and last name) and reading some words, like dog and cat.  She is working on counting and so much more!!  As I said, this year was a year filled with lots off learning- and big monumental changes!!!!!!!!

She LOVES some of her all time favorites, like Berenstein bears, Caillou, and Disney Movies, but also loves new movies (SUPERHERO MOVIES, Octonox- thanks daddy, for that haha)!  She LOVES hot dogs, chicken, mashed potatoes and FRUIT!!  She does NOT like peas or carrots (thanks auntie carrie, haha) or most red meats.  

We spend most of our time in the summer swimming, or at the village.  I cannot wait to spend my summer with her and her sister.  This past year we went to Frankenmuth multiple times :)  We plan on doing that a lot this year as well, a long with a family trip to a lake :)

Alexa has grown a lot in a year, and is quite a beauty.  We couldn’t imagine our life without her, and thank God every day for her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy some extra pictures!!

Our trip and life today!

WOW!  I just realized I haven't had a chance to update my blog since my FIRST trip!  CRAZY!!!  I am going to try to do my best to retell our second trip and give you some insight on what life is like for us now!

The second trip!!!

Our second trip to Aliyah was full of EVERY kind of emotion known!  I will never forget getting to our hotel and awaiting the news of GOING TO JANES HOUSE to pick up our little girl forever!  This time around we were able to get a little nap in.  We got our call around 2 pm their time telling us that we would be picked up soon to go get ALIYAH!  It was a quick drive to the orphanage and they held us a beautiful coffee ceremony.

We didn't stay very long, but in the time we stayed there were MANY tears by MANY of the nannies there!!   Aliyah was pretty congested and had all of us worried (including our travel friends).  After getting her back to the hotel we did what we could to help her congestion, and got her to realize we were her mommy and daddy.  We played, cuddled, snuggled, and walked around the hotel and town.  We went to the Cupcake Delight restaurant several times to get treats.  We definitely bonded.  We made lifelong friends with our travel companions.  They brought home a baby girl the same age as ours!  We laughed, had dinner together and to this day I cherish that they were with us!!!

THE FLIGHT! HAHA!  

Having a congested baby without the bassinet seat was INTERESTING, to say the least.  Anytime Aliyah would fall asleep we had to buckle up for some reason, which awoke her - which lead to TEARS.  I felt bad for the people around us, but no one complained!  Brandon was the worlds best dad!  He got up with her and walked, and walked, and walked with her  - up and down the airplane (over, and over and over).  I believe that was definitely a bonding experience!!!

After a LONG 18 hours we arrived to Washington.  We were exhausted, but realizing we were SO close to being home as a family and seeing our daughter we missed terribly got us SO excited!  The last flight was a breeze - an hour later and we were there!  When we walked out the first person we saw was George (Brandons dad)  who was waiting for us.  Then we went down the esculator to find tons of family and friends waiting to meet Aliyah.  It was such an amazing moment!!!

When we got home, we were SO tired, but SO happy to be home!  Alexa really seemed to like her sister, and things were going well... .UNTIL ..... the congestion just wouldn't get any better.

What happened?  WELL, a chest x-ray revealing a pretty decent sized bird charm stuck in her esophagus.  This lead to a visit (and stay) at MOTTS hospital, a surgery (which was scary because of the scar tissue in her esophagus and how pointy the object was), and a pretty big healing process.  My dad came up to stay with us during the surgery which I was so thankful for - it helped keep me calm.  Aliyah was a TROOPER and did amazing before and after surgery.  She had to go HOURS and HOURS without eating (poor kid and parents haha).

 Then after the surgery, the doctor showed us some pretty scary pictures, of her throat - and how if it would have been in there a week or so longer she likely would have died!  It made our hearts SINK.  Thank  GOD she came home when she did, thank GOD she was going to be ok.  To this day we have to monitor her for signs of swelling in the throat - but so far she is doing excellent!!!

there is the culprit....


Where are we now?
We are SO happy.  We have a life we always dreamed of.  We have two beautiful girls who are sisters in every way (they go from loving each other to getting on each others nerves, ahahha).  I love the moments when they cuddle together!  It is amazing seeing them and knowing that FOREVER they will have each other!  It makes my heart smile.

There were times during the adoption when we had no idea what would happen - the fear of the unknown can be scary.  Fast forward a year, and we have the life we always dreamed of!

Thanks for following us on our journey, and I hope to be better at updating this blog!!

Kristen & Brandon

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!  :)