April 2015 Adoption Update

I know I don't keep this blog active even though I desire to do so, but I figured I would update for anyone out there who still follows. It seems like a lot of adoption blogs have died recently, I am sure due to the extended wait periods now days. We have now been in the process for about 2 years. We are currently #4 on our wait list. Finally making it towards the top of the list and it makes it more real. After we receive a referral the quickest time frame for her to come home would be about 7ish months but the is a quick estimate and it would likely be longer than that. The process is totally different from when we brought Bennett home and it takes a lot more time. We are going to slowly start cleaning out her room and preparing it for a little girl in order to keep ourselves busy in the wait period. 

Longest Winter Ever

This winter seems to keep on coming. We have had more snow days than normal this year and as a general consensus Louisville moms are over it already. Bennett needs his routine and his body craves it, so this many snow days has really had him out of whack since Christmas break. We did enjoy some time in the snow however, even if it takes more time and energy getting them all dressed than it does actually playing in it.










































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Adoption update

For those of you wondering how the adoption is going...the answer is slowly. Haha. We are still #15 on the wait list. When we signed up we knew it would be a slow process, and indeed it is. In the next few months we will be coming up on a year in the process. Just for some perspective, 4 1/2 years ago when we brought Bennett home it took 9 months total, start to finish. We are actually at peace with our wait right now, and patience isn't my top quality when it comes to these things typically. Right now we are enjoying are 3 wild and crazy munchkins that are home. This is the longest we have gone without adding a new baby to the family since we started having kids! Haha.


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Christmas pjs

We had a great Christmas together this year. Each year just gets more fun with these three. Brayden especially loved absolutely everything about Christmas: baby Jesus, crafts, Christmas trees, Christmas lights, PRESENTS, family time, cookies, ect... Here are some pics in their matching Christmas pjs.











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Adoption update

Hello all! Adoption update time... Basically we are still just on waiting list. Our number hasn't changed the last 3 months, we are still number 15. I'm not complaining since that is way lower than we ever expected at this point in process. Brayden is so excited about the idea of his new sister from Ethiopia. He says her name often and just tells me to go get her. Yesterday he wanted me to get on the plane and get her and I had to explain she is not ready yet and we are not ready yet but after we find out who she is I will show him a picture and we will be closer to being ready.


Adoptions referrals have been rather slow lately, they are really trying to keep everything ethical, which takes more time obviously and is good. I know so many families on waiting lists just dying to see their children's faces as bring them home that it is just heartbreaking. Please be in prayer for all those waiting (the families on this side and the children on the other side).


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Christmas Activity List

Thanksgiving is closely approaching so I thought I would post what I have so far for our Christmas Activity List this year (in no particular order):
1. Operation Christmas Child boxes
2. Gifts for children in foster care
3. Decorating Christmas Cookies with Mamaw (my mom)
4. Christmas train ride with Santa
5. Hot chocolate and driving around looking at lights in neighborhood
6. Mega Cavern light tour
7. Pictures with Mall Santa
8. Truth in Tinsel daily Bible verse & craft for 25 December days
9. Unwrap Christmas book every night
10. Put ornaments on the Christmas tree




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Adoption update

Today we got an email update that we moved to # 15 on the wait list!



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Hippotherapy

Bennett has recently started hippotherapy (fancy word for horse therapy) for physical therapy. He has completed 2 weeks of it. I knew he would like it eventually, but I didn't think he would love it immediately. Boy was I wrong. Bennett LOVES it! Bennett has a strong hatred/ fear of cows (random) and I thought that would effect his feelings about horses but nope. It's a nice middle of the week treat for him to go to horse therapy now. He gets to ride for about 30mins a week.




















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Big News

I'm not very good at keeping secrets from "social media", but I'm pretty proud of myself this time. I have kept this one since March of this year! We have told some family and a few friends so far. I think now is as good a time as any to announce we are adopting again! Yep, you read it right. We are adopting again! We have felt God's call for us to adopt again ever since going to Ethiopia the first time to bring home Bennett. In fact we had already told our agency we wanted to start again when we found out we were pregnant with Brayden. We took that as a sign that we should wait to adopt. We had just began discussing adoption again when I surprisingly found out we were expecting Bristol! Now we know God was wanting us to wait until now to adopt again.

We are adopting from Ethiopia again. We love Ethiopia. We love the people. We love the culture. We have seen the faces of children that need families there. We know God has called us back to Ethiopia.

We are adopting a Baby Girl this time. We are so excited. We are thrilled Bristol will be able to grow up with a Little sister to have as a best friend like I did.

We are also nervous! Having 4 kids will be an adjustment. Leaving our 3 at home for 2 trips to Ethiopia makes this mommy sick. I hate leaving my kids.

We are using Lifeline Children Services as our adoption agency this time. Everything in the process is different than when we did it 4 years ago for Bennett. It has been nice to have our agency be just a few miles down the road and have familiar faces in it :)

With Bennett's adoption we did not have to wait for his referral. This one we will be waiting about a year or more. Our dossier got to Ethiopia a few weeks ago and we were given our first wait list #. I am guessing it will be 18 months or more before bringing home our baby but only God really knows the timeline. I am at much more peace this time around with the unknowns!

With Bennett's adoption it only required one trip to Ethiopia for about a week. This time it will require 2 trips of that length. Both of us will travel for the first trip. The second trip Brian may stay home with the kids, we will see closer to time.

I plan on updating here on the blog more frequently about the process. Please keep us in your prayers through the process and that we will be patient and accepting of whatever timeline God has planned out. Also pray for our little girl wherever she may be and whenever she may be born, for protection, love and nutrition while she is out of our hands. Also for her birth family and whatever they may be encountering in the next few years.

I'm going to see how many people read the blog and not post the news directly on Facebook ;)
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Disney on Ice

We took the kids to see Disney on Ice the other night. On the way we stopped and ate dinner at McAlisters. While there i went to change Bristol's diaper and realized she had a total blow out all over her Cinderella outfit. I did not have a spare outfit so she had to leave in a diaper. Therefore a quick trip to Target before going to Disney on Ice. They loved it. When they first came out Bennett kept yelling "Goofy ! Goofy !" My mom and stepdad met us there to see the show. The kids danced and clapped throughout the whole show. It's so fun to watch them enjoy things like that.















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Bennett school trip to zoo

Bennett's school decided to have a family day at the zoo this year. They made matching shirts at school. We all went. Bennett had a blast hanging out with his BFF, Reese. They rode in the wagon together all day and her brother rode with us the whole day. It was fun to see all of his friends from school and get to spend time as a family together.














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First Day of School

This year Bennett is going to the same school as last year, four half days.Brayden is going to a different preschool two half days. Bennett is 4 years old and Brayden is 2 years old. Bristol is staying home with Mommy!Here are their 1st day of school pictures...can you figure out which one does good with pictures and which one does not?

 

Bristol and I enjoyed a special trip to Target alone while the boys were off to School.

Brayden had been talking about school for along time. He was excited to go. He changed his mind on the way to school and thought that staying home was a better idea. Once we got there he did okay though. He likes his new teacher and he really likes that his class has a hamster now.

 

Bennett was a little thrown off by going to a different room with a new teacher in it. I bribed him with getting to see his BFF Reese in class. He eventually got used to the idea and was okay once he saw Reese. After school Daddy asked Bennett if he had school the next day and he responded "no school. See Reese-eee here!" That was his longest sentence to date. So proud of him and how far he has come.

 

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Kentucky State Fair 2013

Every year we take the journey to the Kentucky State Fair. Our cousins, Mackenzie and Lynnsey typically show goats at the fair. We had lots of fun this year. The kids and Brian ( who tends to get annoyed with all the people at the fair for a whole day) did really well this year.

We played games! Brayden and Mommy won the giant purple monkey on the water gun game. The bats were won on the throw a baseball and see how fast you pitch game. Some little stuffed animals won on a kiddie fishing game and some in a little basketball game.

She loves her Daddy.

Bristol enjoyed the fair food more than anyone I think! She loved the corn on the cob (just like her mommy).

Brayden and his TeeTee with corndogs.

Bristol just loves Mackenzie!

The kids loved seeing Mackenzie and Lynnsey again.

Bray enjoyed the goats.

 

Bennett...not so much!

Bennett has an extreme fear of cows at the fair.

Nothing a little iPad and cotton candy can't cure.

We sure turned a lot of heads pulling all the kids around in the train wagon.

 

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