Merry Christmas - 2012

Merry Christmas (a few days late)!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with our family this year!

It's great our family lives 10 minutes away which keeps us from having to pack up the car and travel (and then repack everything along with loads of new toys and presents).  

My brother's birthday is Christmas Eve so we begin each Christmas Eve with a big birthday breakfast.  Can't believe he turned 13 this year!  11 years ago we had just received pictures of him from the adoption agency - Mom and I had the best time shopping for toys for him after Christmas that year.  

Happy Birthday to the BEST Uncle and brother possible!!!

We switch gears to Christmas Eve after lunch.  Our tradition is to attend Christmas Eve service with my parents and then come back to a house full of appetizers, Christmas goodies and food.  We then begin the evening full of activities such as putting food out for Santa, the reindeer and our Christmas mice (this is a special family tradition and doesn't involve real mice for anyone wondering).  We spend the night at my parent's house even though they live 10 minutes away!  

Christmas is SO much fun with the kiddos.  Addison was so incredibly fun and Xavier enjoyed having Sissy help open his gifts and then he'd hit at the boxes until we opened things up for him.  They are 100% spoiled by their Mimi, Pop Pop and Uncle!!!  There were even presents under the tree for our little boy waiting in Africa!  

 

Christmas (like Thanksgiving) felt a bit different this year....  Someone was missing and there was a small void in my heart.  I tried to remain focused on the "hear and now" by enjoying the kids, family and rejoicing in Christ's birth and the hope it brings to us.  But there was a part of me that kept yearning for our little boy to be here in our arms enjoying the festivities with us.  Can't wait to see him experience all the Christmas 1st's next year with Addison and Xavier.

A song I heard this year truly explained how we feel this Christmas season...  It's called Merry Christmas by Third Day - here is the link.

Baby boy, you are already SO loved and we can't wait to have you in our arms!  You're going to have a blast with your brother and sister next Christmas!

Here's a fun picture of something special that happened recently...

 Hopefully I'll be able to share some fun news with you in the next few posts!  

 

family

Have I mentioned how supportive and wonderful our family has been through our decision to adopt?

It's a fun thing to have had your parents walk the road of adoption 

and COMPLETELY understand this process...  

Like I've mentioned before, I knew I would one day adopt after spending ten minutes in the Albanian orphanage but I never expected my parents to adopt.  What a cool thing to watch my parents adopt when I was 19 years old - I had the opportunity to walk that journey with them and even travel with my Mom to help bring my brother home.  

We are BEYOND blessed that they now live 10 minutes from us and we get to see them all the time.  

They spoil our kids rotten!  

- Addison's favorite day is when Mimi picks her up from preschool...  they go to lunch (which usually involves a milkshake), go shopping and then play all day.  

- Xavier loves hanging with his Pop Pop and trying to steal the tv remote.   

- Pop Pop flies Addison to the car everytime we leave their house (not sure how he'll make 3 trips of flying once the boys are old enough to want this too...) and feeds her ice cream (with chocolate sauce and whipped cream) pretty much every night she's there for snack time.  

- Mimi loves on her boy and tells him "no" in the nicest of ways when he's into things he shouldn't be touching (which is pretty much all the time right now).

- Pretty sure my kids don't come home from their house without something new.  (I guess that's what grandparents are for... but if they get one more Christmas ornament this season, we're going to have to buy another Christmas tree.)

- Addison can't wait for us to go to Africa because that means 1-2 weeks at Mimi and Pop Pop's house.

- We love the fact they bought a house with a big inground pool - we kinda move in during the summer months.

- Addison has made the best memories while picking apples with Pop Pop and baking cookies with Mimi. 

Coffee cup we bought Dad for Christmas last year.

Addison enjoys helping Mimi decorate for Christmas.

What's Thanksgiving without a little pumpkin pie whipped cream sprayed right into the mouth?

This boy loves his Pop Pop!

Uncle...  now he's the coolest uncle a person could possibly have!  Addison thinks it's fantastic to have a 12 (almost 13 year old) uncle.  He jumps on the trampoline with her, lets her hang out with his friends, plays games, builds forts, shares snacks and candy, plays Rapunzel wii games with her, and the list could go on and on...  His reaction when we announced we were going to officially adopt... "Cool! But how an I going to entertain 3 of them???"  

True Steelers fans together

They understand this waiting game.  They understand how adoption stretches you. They understand how adoption can draw you closer in your relationship with God.

We are blessed to have them encouraging us, helping us, praying for us and loving us through this journey.  There is a little boy half way across the world that is very loved already...

 

One Step Forward

We received I-600A approval last Thursday (12/6/2012)!  

This means we have USA approval to "look for an orphan".  

AKA -  we're referral ready!!!!

 

Our immigration officer was/is the best!  When I called to check on our status last Monday I had to leave a message.  I didn't expect a return phone call because I was just being a nosy, impatient adoptive momma.  She called right back and updated me on when she received our case and when she thought it would be approved.  She worked fast on our case and then even emailed me to say it was approved.  

On a different note, I have been reading the Jesus Calling by Sarah Young each day - this is a great 2 minute read to begin the day and get my mind more focused on God rather than my crazy day ahead or my to-do list...

Anyways, this was a portion of the reading today:

"I, the Creator of the universe, have designed to co-create with you.  Do not try to hurry this process.  If you want to work with Me, you have to accept My time frame.  Hurry is not in My nature.  Abraham and Sarah had to wait many years for the fulfillment of My promise, a son.  How their long wait intensified their enjoyment of this child!"  

Hmmmm....  that was perfectly written for a momma in the middle of an international adoption.  This might get written on a few notecards and placed throughout my house and life as a good reminder over the next 5 months.  I'm thankful for the nuggets of truth He has placed in my path and the way He is growing me as a person through this adoption already.  

2 Ways to Help....

We've had people continue to ask how they can help and assist with our adoption.... 

Here are 2 ways you can help out financially:

 1.  Donate to our family at AdoptTogether here.  

100% of these donations go straight into an account for our adoption.

2.  Buy something from the Thirty-One catalog here.

If you need to order a great Christmas gift for someone or a little something for yourself, all commission from orders made via the link above will go straight into our adoption fund.  Last day for orders is Thursday, Dec. 6th so make sure you get your orders in soon!

Lastly, please continue to pray...

Pray for our patience as we wait on our USCIS approval.

Pray for our hearts this holiday season as we ache to have our child in our arms and celebrating with us.

Pray for our child, that God will already be preparing his heart for our family.

Pray for us that God will continue to prepare us for our new little man.

Pray that our child has a peace and comfort that only God can give him right now.

Pray for his safety and health. 

Thank you for your continued support throughout this adoption!  It's so special to have friends and family text, call and email checking in on our process.  Our little guy is already loved so much!