Micah's Girlfriend

After weeks of failed court dates and waiting, I'm happy to see some good news in the adoption world.

First, Jocelyn received her referral for sweet Pacey - she is adorable - go see!

Pacey is already spoken for, which is a good thing - because Micah is now in love with cutie-pie Amari! (I know - he's going to have competition from Mamush!) Congratulations to Jill for making it through court the third time around!! :)

I love hearing good news - especially when it has been extremely dreary & rainy here for OVER A WEEK!!! It's muddy & gross, and this is my life:

Follow that with -
1. Clean out the tub - made muddy by muddy feet
2. Mop the floor - made muddy by muddy feet
3. Feel fortunate that I do not share a bathroom with the dogs (Poor Micah does)
4. Think to myself that it is a really good thing I love dogs because this is a pain in the butt
5. Wish for the sun to return or for it to snow 6 inches (that would make it worth it!)

I'll quit moping now - I have to remember - there is good news out there! :)

It's been one year...

...well, almost a year. Almost a year since we first went to the information meeting at CHI. I remember that it was before Christmas, but not the exact date, so let's just say it's been a year.

And, what a year. We never could have known that just 5 short months after we turned in our application, that we would walk into CHI again to see this beautiful face.


Our son. It is amazing to even think about it - and it happened to us! While I was adding our timeline to the blog (it was deleted in the re-design project), I was thinking about how, one year ago, we told our family that there was a small chance our child (or children then!) would be home for Christmas the next year. I was secretly hoping for Fall.

And, then early last Spring (probably right after CHI was licensed) I said to Kevin that perhaps there was a possibility we could get in before the courts closed in the Summer. His answer: "It would take a series of small miracles for that to happen." And, I believe that is just what happened - a series of small miracles that brought us to our own unbelievable miracle. I know that this also included the heartbreak of one very amazing woman, and she is often in my thoughts.

And, now that we've been home for 4 months (well 4 months on the 13th), I am still in awe over how things fell into place. Micah is such a special little being, and I know I say it all the time, but we are so blessed to have him here with us; to have the honor of being his parents.

And, seriously, could he be any cuter? :)

I'm Finished.

I know the poll results were saying that most of you loved the new design, but I had to change it. It made me feel like I was going to have a panic attack every time I looked at it. This one is simpler (maybe a bit more boring) but it makes me feel calm, so I'm sticking with it. Oh - and if you really loved the last design - you can go get it yourself at pyzam.com. I'll warn you though - you lose everything on your sidebar, so you have to save your links before you change your template. This was a much bigger project than I thought it would be!!

Special thanks to Julie - my new design coordinator. (I appointed her with that title :) Here she is with Micah!

Micah hearts Aunt Julie!

Julie's daughter S (future babysitter!) - I love how she & Micah are almost making the same face here!

Bling Santa

Ok - first I added a poll to see what we think of the new blog. I am not in love with it yet, but I haven't found anything else that I like more than this one...

Now, on to Santa. Last night we went to visit Santa and he was so funny! I'm not joking - he had on a big ol' black belt, with a big ol' black belt buckle that said "Santa" in gold script. Awesome! You can't really see it in this picture of a picture, but he was definitely stylin'.

Micah was having a good time too - he still loves Santa. He was actually squirming out of my arms to go to Santa. Cute little one. Also - see Micah's shoes? Those cute pumas? I was so excited to get those and he's already almost grown out of them! Not to mention the horror of trying to put shoes on him and then tie them in double-knots. After last night I decided I was finished with that so I went and got some Robeez booties. I got the idea to get these booties from Silas - he's such a trendsetter! Here's how cute Micah looks in his...

They are so great - no fighting with kicking legs - just slip these little booties right on! Mom's happy, baby's happy. Yay! Kevin's first reaction to the booties was, "Hey- Napolean Dynamite." (Remember his moon boots? They are kind of similar.)

But now he thinks they're pretty cute.

Micah is also a rolling fool nowadays. He rolled from the kitchen to the front room, then down the hallway, then into the bathroom where he got stuck under the cabinet. I had to call Kevin to tell him. It's so cute to watch him get more independent. He is also sitting up by himself really well- only a few bumps when mom or dad aren't fast enough to catch him. (Nothing serious, mind you.)

Micah is also loving the tub lately. That is his "dad-time" - Kevin does tub after dinner while I clean up, so they have good bonding time. They splash a lot and I can always hear him squealing in there. Since I love tub pics - here are a couple...

Cutie!

Under Construction

Ok - so I've started this project and now I'm getting a little crazy with it. So, please bear with me - I should make a decision soon and have everything back. But, for a few days all my widgets (on the sidebar) are going to be MIA and things could change frequently. But, I promise I'll make a decision soon. I would recommend NOT starting to re-design your blog - too many choices - not sure if I like any of them! Argh. Why did I ever start? :) OH, and please feel free to tell me if you love it, hate it or if I should just go back to the old way. I saved my old template, so that would be easy.

**Ok - so you all like it so far - but, I'm worried it's too busy (julia - I was thinking the same thing!)

Books

I've recently read two books that I want to share. Probably lots of you have already read them, but they are both inspiring in different ways.

The first is What is the What by David Eggers. It is the story of Valentino Achak Deng - one of the lost boys from Sudan. I wish I could put into words how amazing this book is. But, just read it and then you'll understand.

The second I just finished is Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It is the story of a man who builds schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although the writing in this book is not as good as in What is the What, it is still a very powerful and uplifting story. This man's courage and determination are amazing.

And, finally, I leave you with my recommendations for some books for baby. Actually, I'm surprised that Tasha has not clued you all into these. Maybe she has and I've missed it. (Tash- get on it!) They are the Baby Be of Use Four-Book Bundle. These books will help your little one learn "his or her way around banking, car repair, breakfast preparation, and drink-mixing." I just had to share these because they gave me a good laugh! And, they'd make a perfect gift- don't you think? :)

Micah Loves Santa

This past weekend our agency had their annual holiday party - complete with a visit from Santa. We were a little nervous about how Micah might respond to being put on Santa's lap, but he did great! At first, he just kept looking up at Santa, and then back at us.

But then he decided he loved Santa and was almost jumping up & down in Santa's lap. Big smiles. (the crowd loved it :)

Since the Ethiopia program is new at CHI, we were the only Ethiopia family there. But, lots of people had seen our referral video and his pictures on the CHI blog and in the newsletter, so he was like a mini-celebrity. People kept coming up to us and saying, "I've seen your pictures!" It was cute. We also got a lot of questions about the program from families who are thinking of adopting from Ethiopia, so hopefully next Christmas we'll have more Ethiopia families at the Holiday party.

That night we went to visit our friends - and Micah got to hang out with Mitch, Gracie, George & Chuck. Chuck (who is 19 months) was totally into Micah. When we first came home with Micah, Chuck would lay on the floor and scream when he saw him, but now they are quickly becoming BFFs.

(Notice Chuck holding Micah's binky - he always goes right for it :)

Sweet boy that he is, Chuck got down on the floor like Micah to play.

Gracie (who is 8) was happy to hold Micah for a picture for the blog (she's an avid reader). But, this one cracks me up - Micah had just spit up all over her.

Happier now that I cleaned up the mess...

And, finally, here are two that I think speak for themselves...