My Hurting Heart!

So I often look at Ade while I am rocking him and giving him bottle and admire all the beautiful things about him. His beautiful eyes, those killer lashes!!! His perfect nose, his floppy little ears and who can resist those perfect lips! I always tell him his wife is going to love kissing those lips!!! OK, I got a little distracted!:) But I look at him and pray for him and think of all the cute things he does. Talking constantly to me! (Just like his mamma!) Laughing, playing and just being happy. Then my heart starts hurting and I start thinking about his birth mother.

She disappeared after she relinquished her rights. She moved to Addis and her family doesn't know where she is. I feel so sad for her that she doesn't get to rock him every day twice a day and give him a bottle. She doesn't get to rub his precious fat feet. She doesn't get to kiss those kissable lips anytime she wants or stare at him all day long. And my heart HURTS for her. I can't imagine being a mother and having no clue where your baby is or who he is with. It just seems so painful to me. She has no idea who we are or what kind of people we are. She has never even seen a picture of us.

My prayer has been that she would make amends with her family and get back to them so she can at least see the photo book we made for her and see who he is with. And that there would be restoration for her. I love her dearly and I have never met her. She made a huge sacrifice for our son and we will always share a mothers heart for him! So pray with me if you would that she would know he is OK!

Post Placement Visit

We had our first post placement visit yesterday. It went well. The social worker seemed to think Ade was doing well. It was pretty painless, just a few questions and that was it. It wasn't even an hour long.

I took Ade back to the doctor yesterday, third time in 3 weeks! He hasn't gotten over his ear infections so he had to get a shot and an antibiotic. If this doesn't clear it up then we have to do tubes. Which all 3 of my other kids have had tubes and they were great.

Last night my parents and I took Max and Ella to see So You Think You Can Dance! It was soooo much fun and we all had a blast. We all really had a good time. It was nice to be with the 2 older ones and give them some undivided attention without a baby on my hip! They really enjoyed having Mommy to themselves!

So we have been home a month and here are some things I've noticed about Ade:

-He jabbers all the time.
-He seems to really like his new home.
-He loves his family.
-He can get really mad, not very often but watch out when he does!
-He is silly.
-He loves to dance and sing.
-He is not afraid of dogs.
-He gets tons of attention EVERY place we go!
-He is very busy.
-He requires a lot of attention.
-He signs 4 things now!
-We are trying to teach him what a dog says.
-He requires A LOT of lotions, creams, oils and ointments!!!


Those are just a few things. I think he is blending in well. He is a joy to have around. Very funny and pleasant. He is also a major lover!!! But as I am speaking he is in his bed throwing the biggest fit ever because he is tired and not giving up! It's kind of funny!

On a side note, I had a black mom ask me what I did with Ade's hair and what products I use because his hair and skin look really good! I felt a little pride at that moment! But I know, pride comes before a fall!:) Have a great day!

The 2 pictures are before so the show! WE were giving our best dance moves!

Things are coming together!

Things are coming together nicely! Ade is starting to take his naps again and he is not so clingy which is great! I got to go to the gym today and take him in the nursery and he LOVED it! They went on and on about how good he was! It was so nice to be in a normal routine again! And also so nice he like the gym!

On the poop front, man oh man is it ever going to end? Every morning I have to throw him in the tub and change and wash his sheets! And to top it off, Ella has it as well. Poor girl can barely eat. I feel so bad for her. But we are starting her on medicine today! Hopefully it will slow down a bit.

The kids are adjusting great and they all love each other so much! It makes my heart happy! I have really been missing Ethiopia and our travel group lately. There's just something about the simplicity of Ethiopia and about being surrounded by families who are going through exactly what you are! So a shout out to my travel group! I miss you guys! Things seem to be changing around me and it is fine but also kind of hard to adjust to. It is funny how life changes and relationships change! Ok, I am rambling! I am going to go take a nap we have 2 ball games tonight! Just wanted to do a quick update!

Ade's Shower!

My sister, cousin and friends had a shower for Ade today! It was so much fun. Friends and family came to celebrate our little man! He got all sorts of new toys and clothes and dishes! I was a happy Mamma!

My 3 older kids stayed all night with Grammy last night and today Joe was going to take them to do something fun during the shower. Well, while they were at Grammy's Ella was up with the big "D" all night and Max was throwing up! Are you kidding me??? So they had to stay downstairs and they still aren't 100%! Maya on the other hand got to stay upstairs at the shower and party with us!:) She loved it.

We did something really fun, my sister got onesies and fabric markers and had everyone design a onesie and then I picked the winner and there was a prize! I got some really cute onesies! That's for sure! I loved them. And then she had this really cool cake which I will post a picture of!

It was an awesome day and I feel incredibly blessed to have so many people in my life to walk this journey with me! Thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated our little Prince with us!!!

We're all in this together!!!

I am so thankful and blessed that I have met some lifelong friends through this whole adoption process! And some of my dear friends are walking this journey with me! It is nice to know we are all in this together and we will all get through this!

Today was a much better day. Ade was in a better mood and we had a couple of breakthroughs! He only slept an hour for nap and when he woke up he had himself in such a tizzy. I told him to sign please and I would pick him up! After about a 5 minute long battle of the wills he said "please" and I picked him up! I made a HUGE deal of him saying it and he was so proud. He has got the please sign down so we are going to try thank you! It is so cute when he does it and gets that huge smile on his face!

After I picked the kids up from school I took them to the park to feed the fish and ducks. They love doing that and Ade was so happy just being outside. He was so cute. As I was watching all 4 kids I couldn't believe they were all mine! What a beautiful, crazy, hard, LOUD family! I am surely blessed. We came home ate dinner and then took a family walk around the pond. That was fun as well.

Little Maya had a couple of meltdowns today. She kept saying she was crying because she missed us when we were in Ethiopia! Then she said she wanted to be a baby again. I just held her and took her upstairs and did her bath by herself tonight and rocked her and told her how much I loved her and what I loved about her. It breaks my heart when she struggles. She has such a sweet little heart! And she is my baby girl! That seemed to help her.

Tomorrow is an early out for the kids and I don't know what is going on. Praise God though, my mom is coming over in the morning to watch Ade so I can go for a run! I SOOOOO need that! Can't wait to get back to the gym! So all in all today was a good day!

Not the best day....

Today was not the best day. Ade was not the most pleasant. He has started this new thing where I have to carry him everywhere and if I leave the room he cries! So not fun. Yesterday I strapped him on me to clean the kitchen and that worked for about 15 minutes. I found myself getting irritated today and then I felt guilty for getting irritated with him. I don't know why he is acting this way, maybe he needs some reassurance, maybe he is grieving or maybe he is just being a toddler.

I blame myself for today, we had family pictures in the morning so I'm sure that was a lot for him to take in. Then we had to run out to Payless before Maya's dance class because I didn't have any tap shoes. Headed to dance class at 1 which is right at his nap time so he didn't get a nap. I laid him down when we got home, he cried for like 5 minutes and was out, then he woke up after like 5 minutes and was screaming again. I went in and got him and was feeling irritated and my tender hearted little 4 year old looks up at me and says, "Maybe he is sad!" She got it and I didn't! Ughhhh.... As we speak he is laying in his bed protesting! I know he is tired and I don't want to get frustrated with him! He also has started a lovely fake cry!

I know he is probably testing his boundaries and seeing how far he can push me. Trying to find out what is acceptable and what is not! I totally get that. But today I just feel like I failed. I was having a selfish day! Pray for me and Ade that tomorrow would be a better day! He truly is a very good baby. Just having an off day!

First time at church

So we took little man to church today. I saw a side of him I hadn't seen before. I can't really explain it. He didn't want to be touched and he got very moody! I took him in the toddler class after he wasn't having it in church and we played in there and he really seemed to like that. I think it may have been a bit overwhelming for him! I felt bad!

I got our first picture of all 4 kids before church! I can't believe they are all mine! Maya told me today she is going to have 8 children. 2 Ethiopians and 6 white babies! I pray that is what happens! I pray that our adoption will grab ahold of her heart and our family will carry on the tradition! What an awesome family!

The Bug has been a wild man today, playing loudly and running all around, he is really starting to feel more comfortable and coming into his own! It is so fun to watch him! That is about it for now. I'll attach a couple of pics! So far Adoption Rocks!!!:)

Sick Little Prince!:(

Ade had 6 shots and a blood draw yesterday. Poor baby! He woke up today with a 102 fever. He was miserable, but the tylenol kicked in quickly and he was doing better within an hour! He is just such a pleasant little guy!

Today I had to take him to school to show him to the kids' class! They were so happy to show him off! Max was absolutely precious! He loves him so much! Tomorrow it is Maya's turn to have him come to her class! He had lots of visitors over today! Joe's sisters and their families came to visit! It was so much fun and his cousins Amos and Tony were so proud of him and they were taking lots of video and pictures! So precious to see them love him so much!

So still everything is going well. We are super blessed and can't imagine life without our little man! We think EVERYONE should adopt and if you have any questions, contact us! Also, our agency just sent out an email requesting families for Thailand and Ethiopia! Is this your calling? Is the Lord speaking to you?