Our life as a family of 6!!!

So things are going GREAT!!! I think Ade is the best baby ever! He is so sweet and funny! He has just been a huge blessing! He eats well, he sleeps well and he loves his family! Just yesterday he started giving US kisses! So sweet! He is so much fun.

Going to sleep I had been rocking him and bouncing him until he fell asleep but that was starting to hurt my shoulder, neck and back. After his bottle he would just get real restless and not want to be held. So at nap today I just laid him in his bed and he cried for a few minutes and fell asleep. I knew he wanted to be just put down. Tonight he gave a bit more of a fight, but fell asleep! He is sleeping all night long which is a huge blessing to me! I need my sleep!

We took him to Wal Mart yesterday and he was funny, he wasn't much for the cart, he is going to have to get used to that! We had a lady say, "Oh you got your baby in!" I looked and Joe and said "Oh yeah, he was on backorder at the GAP!"!!! Really people! He went to Ella's ball game tonight and he was quite the big hit. Everyone just loves him!

Tomorrow we see our dr and we are headed to school to show him off to the kids' classes! They are so excited for their friends to see him! I am so happy and blessed that they all love each other so much! I'm falling asleep typing this so I better get to bed! Just a quick little update!

One Happy Family!!!

We are home and doing great! Ade is an angel baby he is so sweet and precious and so much fun! We all love him! I will post more later!!!

2 MORE DAYS!!!

So we are leaving in 2 days, less thank 24 hours! I can't even begin to describe all that I am feeling! I have a lot of wonder going on! I wonder if he will be an easy baby with an easy transition like some or a harder baby with a harder transition! Either way I feel like we are going into this with eyes wide open! We know what kinds of things to expect but we have never adopted before so this could be tricky!

I am so excited to actually get there! I wish I could push a fast forward button and skip the whole flight, but oh well! I am very excited to experience Ethiopia, I loved Haiti so I'm pretty sure I will love Ethiopia as well, especially since it is where my son is from. I'm sure it will be quite an experience!

My suitcases are overflowing, and I haven't attempted to zip them yet. I'm waiting for a package from the Gap so I hope it makes it tomorrow! I expressed it! And I'm pretty sure I will be over the 50 pound mark!:( Just don't tell Joe!:)

We have back to school night tonight with the kids so that will be fun for them to see their classrooms and such. I am totally exhausted and I have battled a headache, I'm pretty sure it is just stress. If you see my kids in the next 10 days give them a hug from their mom and dad! Pray for our family please! This is probably my last post before I leave!

Packed!

So I am basically packed, I am waiting on a couple of things to come in the mail on Monday or Tuesday and then I can close up my suitcase! Or "soupcase" as Maya calls it!

Our family is so excited and I can't believe we are leaving in 4 days! I pray that God would prepare Ade's heart for us and that he would have an instant connection!

Preparing to Leave!

I have been totally busy preparing to leave. Getting the boys' rooms together, not sleeping, feeling all sorts of things and wanting to cry for the adjustment this is going to be for my baby! I almost the rooms done, should be done tomorrow. I have a few things packed. Finished up all my shopping! And was instructed not to spend any more money!!!

The kids have been a little crazy the past couple of days and I can't say that I blame them. They are so tired of being around each other 24/7 and they are ready for school to start. I will be glad to get them back into a routine. They also feel a big change coming on and it doesn't help that Mom and Dad are a "tad" grouchy as well! I feel like a bad Mom today, I had 0 patience with them. But thankfully tomorrow is a new day and God will have mercy on me!

Tomorrow will be a good day though, my best friend from college is coming up and we are finishing up the rooms! She is sooo good at that stuff. Then the girls are going to a birthday party and Grammy is having them overnight tomorrow night! So that will be awesome!

I am so excited to meet my baby boy, it just doesn't even seem real. I can't believe in a week we will be leaving!!!

God is so cool!

A while back I blogged about how awesome my kid were and the project they did to earn money for someone in need. Well they ended up making about 85 dollars! So we discussed our options and they decided to give it to a little girl at church. We got a gift card from Target and a nice card, we thought she could pick out her own stuff! So Ella took it to church and gave her friend the card.

Well we thought we had better her Dad that Ella had given her that because it had an 85 dollar gift card in it. So Joe went up to tell him what the kids had done, told him the whole story and that his daughter had a gift card waiting for her. When Joe told him he started crying. Every Sunday during worship at church you can go up and pray, he had just come back for praying for a FINANCIAL NEED for his daughter!!! How cool is God!!!

It was great to tell our kids about it and they could actually see what God had done and how He works!!! God is so cool!

So many things on my mind!!!

My mind will not stop racing. I keep thinking of all the things I have to do and I start to go into denial!:) I mean the list goes on and on. I feel like I need to write my list so here it goes: Just a few of the things.....

-pack
-get paperwork together
-get hair done
-Back to school night
-lay out clothes for the kids while I am gone
-make a list of helpful info for my mom
-get suitcases from Frank and Salli
-get Max's room done
-get Ade's room done
-print off paperwork
-get document notarized

Those are just a few things. Not to mention my house looks like a tornado hit it! AHHHHH..... And there's nothing like finishing up a room in the last minute. Monday they are laying carpet and Tuesday they are moving in the furniture! Hopefully by the end of the week I will have both boys' room done! Hopefully.

Here is my schedule for this week:
Monday-KQ2 is our local TV station and they are coming to our house to follow our adoption. So we have our first interview! And carpet is coming.
Tuesday-Max has tutoring and then the movers are coming to move furniture around.
Wednesday-Friends coming over to help decorate the rooms.
Thursday-Maya has a birthday party.
Friday-hair appointment in the morning and then travel call at 2.

So that helps me to see some things I need to get done. Joe and I were talking tonight about how it is so exciting but it just doesn't seem real. I can't believe in less than 2 weeks I'll be holding and snuggling my little man! God is so good and we are so thankful for all the prayers!!!

Funny story to end the night, Joe and I had "some words" in the car today.(I think the stress is getting to us!) And he got out of the car to go into the gas station to get a pop and when he got out Maya said, "Mom, do you want to punch your husband!"HAHAHAHA!!!!! Not Dad, your husband! She makes me laugh.

Pray for my kids to get well quick, Ella has strep, Maya has an ear infection and Max went to bed crying with a headache and his neck hurt. Which usually results in strep! I need my babies healthy!!!

WE ARE LEAVING TO GET MY BABY!!!

We just got word that we are leaving for Ethiopia on the 18th. That is tentative though!!! We are beyond excited!!!

PLEASE PRAY!!!

We just got word from our agency that they are trying to submit our info for an embassy date on the 27th, but they have not received Ade's passport yet! Please pray that they would receive it by the end of the week!!! Thank you!!!

An Update and Things this summer!

We got an update on the little Prince today. He is anemic but not critical. He is 22.5 pounds!!! He has gained 6 pounds since he has been in the orphanage! He is 28.5 inches long! He has moved up to the 25-50% in weight and is still below the 10th in height! I cannot wait to see him! We were going through some of his stuff tonight and Joe said, "I think you've bought enough for Ade!" Little does he know I'm just getting started!:) I'm just praising God that he is healthy! It also stated that he really likes adults and he doesn't like other children to play with his things!!! Uh oh, we may be in some major trouble!:)

My sis and her girls came up today to play. We had a great time. We watched a movie and played outside, had lunch, just a fun time!

We have been doing a lot of playing in the hose and playing with ice around here! The kids love it and it will entertain them forever! I am attaching some pics! Also, tonight the 2 little ones were helping me clean the basement and Joe came down to help and the kids disappeared upstairs. About 5 minutes later we hear a knock on the back basement door and it is "Jake and Salli"!!! They came for a visit and wanted to hear about Jesus!!! They would run upstairs and return to "Max and Maya" and run downstairs and tell us there were strangers in the house. Then they would change back into their "Jake and Salli" clothes! So funny! I am also attaching pics of them! Max was hysterical!!! He and Maya are the best of friends! I love it.

I'll close this with a couple of funny things that were said today!
Max came up to me this morning and was snuggling with me in bed, he put his hand around my head and said in a very romantic voice, "your my fiance" and gave me a big kiss! I have no idea where he saw that! We don't let them watch too much! It was soooo funny!

And then Maya aka Salli was saying YO after everything she said tonight then she would do like rapper hands! So funny!

I hope you all have a great day! Please keep praying that my boy will coming home soon!

EMOTIONAL

So I have been pretty emotional today. In church I was fighting back tears the whole time. Then I headed to a baby shower for a friend who has waited soooo long for this baby. It was a blessing. Then Ella and I went to see Ramona and Beezus!!! I cried 2 times in that movie! REALLY??? I am ready to get a call from our agency so we can go get our little boy!

I am ready to have him home and to start our family as a family of 6. I can't wait to meet him so we can go on to the next chapter of our lives! Pray with me that we get a call this week! That would be AMAZING!!!