Introducing Cutie Pie to Ciara's Preschool Friends

Ciara attends our church's preschool three days per week. She loves all of the teachers and her friends. She was so excited to tell them all about her Cutie Pie. I took the printed photos that I have for her to share, along with a book called E is for Ethiopia. We had told her teacher about our referral on Sunday. She said that she would share the photos with Ciara's class on Tuesday. When I picked Ciara up on Tuesday, her teacher told me that she wanted to wait and share the photos and book during library time on Wednesday morning with all of the 3 year old classes. Their is a little girl in Ciara's class how was adopted from China, so Ciara's teacher wanted to help the children better understand adoption. So on Wednesday morning, Ciara showed the pictures to all of the three year olds and told them that his name was you guessed it, "My Cutie Pie." I think this is a battle we won't win. One of the teachers read the book to the students about Ethiopia. I am so thankful that all of the teachers and staff understand the blessing of adoption and want to help prepare these children to understand adoption and that God builds families in different ways. They have been so sensitive in answering child's questions.

The Name Has Been Chosen

This morning we went to church as usual. What wasn't usual is that I cried through just about the whole service. All I could think about is how good God is and how awesome it is to feel His love in such a personal way. It never ceases to amaze me how God continues to pour out His love to us when we don't deserve it one bit. While we haven't held our son, he certainly is a tangible expression and gift of God's love to our family.



After the service, we had lunch and then went to look for a rocker. We never did find the rocker that we wanted, but we did find a great deal on a dresser. We continued to discuss the different names on my list (Sean liked all of them by the way and couldn't think of any to add. His favorite two were also my favorite two when I made the list a while back.). We said the different names in different ways (the you're in trouble tone, the my baby's hurt come here tone, the Hello, my name is ____ tone for job interviews down the road, and the very important first, middle, and last name tone of you're past being in trouble and better be changing your behavior now tone). All the while, we kept asking Ciara which name she liked best. She repeatedly said, "My Cutie Pie." Can you tell that she is a strong willed, but incredibly loving and precious child? Well, we hope we have your curiosity up by now. We would like to introduce you to our son, Isaac (but we still can't show you any pictures). Just know that he is totally precious and mighty handsome even with snot in his nose (you'll see it in the referral photo when we can post them). So to get on with the story, we told Ciara that we were going to name Baby Brother, Isaac. Ciara said quite boldly, "Mommy, I not going to call him Isaac. I going to call him "My Cutie Pie." We gave up and just told her that Mommy and Daddy are going to call him Isaac and that she can call him "My Cutie Pie." One day, he can try to set her straight about that, but I'm about certain that she will always call him, "My Cutie Pie." After this great debate, we went to a favorite gift shop of ours so that Ciara could pick a pacifier out for Isaac. Would you believe that they had one with "Cutie Pie" written on it? It is waiting for him.

The Nursery Makeover Begins!

This morning started out early. I had to meet with a family for a final home study visit, so I got up around 7. Sean got up at the same time and figured that he could get started painting before Ciara got up and wanted to lend her painting skills. Well, Sean's plan backfired. By the time I got out of the shower, I heard a little voice saying, "Daddy, I want to help. I want to help." I have the most patient husband. By the time I got dressed and over to the nursery, sure enough, there was Sean rolling away with Ciara right beside him with a paint brush. She was beaming. Of course, I had to run get by camera. She was so excited to be able to help.



Last night about 1am, we emailed some people about a white crib, changing table, and glider rocker. We're big craigslist fans. Also around 1am, we were looking at photos that my mom had emailed us of a crib set that she had bought for her house but was offering us. We loved it and couldn't believe that it will match the color that we picked out. Right before I walked out the door, the phone rang and I heard Sean setting up an appointment for me to pick up the crib after I finished up with my visit. So, after meeting with my family, I drove to Cary and bought the crib. We didn't have any luck with the other two items, but we felt like we were making progress.



Once I got home, we headed out for Babies-R-Us. There we found a changing table and some other items for the nursery. We came home and put together the changing table, all the while still trying to decide between two names. While looking at the pictures, Ciara promptly told us that her little brother's name was "My Cutie Pie." My Cutie Pie is the only name Ciara is interested in calling her baby brother. I can just imagine how this will go over when he's 13.

Doctor's Appointment and Nursery Planning

On Thursday, I called our pediatrician's office, hoping that we could get an appointment for that day, but we had to wait until today. We met with our pediatirican to discuss our referral info. Our pediatrican said that everything looked good and that she felt that our son's herniated belly button would resolve on its own. We went over things to take when we traveled and she stated that she would talk with a fellow collegue at Duke Medical Center and get him to review our son's paperwork as well. After the appointment, I called Mary and officially accepted our referral. She said that they would notify the in country representatives so they could begin working on a court date right away (any day next week sounds good to us:).



This evening we went to Lowe's and decided to pick out a paint color. Since we didn't specify a boy or a girl in our request, we haven't done anything as far as planning for, thinking about, or decorating the nursery. Now that we know that it is a boy, we headed for the blues. Within about 15 minutes, Sean and I had agreed on a color. Neither of us expected it to be that easy. Normally, we bring home a ton of swatches, tape them to the walls, and debate about the colors for a week or so. Of course, we explained what we were getting the paint for and Ciara was determined to help. We got home and Sean immediately began clearing out the room. I had to head upstairs to work some more due to those changes with USCIS. Every little bit, Ciara would come up there to tell me that we were going to paint baby brother's room. I finished up with work (very late) and found that Sean was still prepping the room. Ciara was 100% ready to begin painting. We had to tell her that we couldn't paint tonight and she just cried. She wanted to get baby brother's room ready so bad.



Ciara is already so in love with her baby brother. Tonight, while we were looking around in the room that will be baby brother's, Ciara announced that she wants to give Baby Brother her silkie (her very cherished blankie). Sean told her that she didn't have too. We told her that we would go to the store over the weekend and that we could all pick out a blankie for her to give him. Ciara just shook her head no. She said, "But I want to give him my silkie." Sean explained that it would be fine if she did, but that she could think about it awhile and change her mind later and it would be okay. We will just have to see if this lasts.

Is this really happening?

Today I kept thinking, "is this really happening." We stayed up so late last night calling family to tell them about our referral that Ciara and I slept in this morning. She was supposed to go to preschool, but I decided to just let her sleep. Last night when Sean was talking to his mom, she asked had we decided on a name. Sean told her that we hadn't really even thought about it yet. I corrected him and told him that I had a list ready for his review. He wasn't at all shocked. I continued calling family and friends throughout the day today. All were very excited for us. This evening, Ciara begged to go to CiCi's Pizza (not Mommy and Daddy's pick). We couldn't say no after she slept through us celebrating last night. So, we went out for a nice helping of heartburn this evening and had a blast celebrating again. She is ready for Baby Brother to be home now.

3 months, 1 week, 3 days and a Phone Call

I have been extremely busy with work lately. New changes with USCIS regarding home study updates has created a huge influx of work for me. Yesterday I was conducting a home visit and my cell phone rang repeatedly. I normally don't answer the phone when I'm with a family, but I got worried that there might be an emergency. I excused myself, explaining my concern, and answered. It was Sean. I was a little frustrated and said, "Hey honey, I'm still with a family. Is this an emergency?" He said, "Yes it is. Mary called and said we have a referral." He asked when could I get home. I knew that I couldn't make it home before Gladney closed for the day, so I said let's call Mary back and see if we can do a conference call and if I can use this family's internet access. We had really wanted to be together when this moment happened, but we both were willing to sacrifice that notion for the reality and sweet news of our new baby. So, I explained what was happening to the family. They were excited for us and were more than willing to let me use their internet connection. So, I called Mary, explained what was going on and asked if she could do a conference call. A little while later, Mary called back. The moment had arrived. She introduced us to OUR SON!!! She lead emailed us pictures and on the count of 3, Sean and I opened them at the same time. He is so handsome. Tears just poured down my face. I couldn't believe this day had arrived. Sean and I both were expecting to receive a referral near the middle or end of March because we were requesting a child 0-6 months old. Mary then continued to walk us through the medical, social, and developmental info on our son (official in our hearts, not in court yet).

Now for the really good stuff. We can't post pictures of our son until after the court date but like I said, he is very cute. He is 2 1/2 months old. He was born on November 3, 2007 and his latest weight was just over 11 pounds. He appears to be healthy and developing well. We still have take the medical information to our pediatrician but thus far, we don't have any concerns.

After receiving all of the referral info, I finished up my visit with the very understanding family. I called Sean back as soon as I got in the van. We decided to go to our local Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate. We planned to tell Ciara over dinner, but she slept through the whole thing. She woke up as we were getting ready to leave. We stopped and got her a happy meal on the way home and waited until she had finished eating to tell her. Sean got out the video camera and I pulled up his pictures on my laptop. I asked her if she remembered what we had been praying for and she did. I told her that Ms. Mary had called us and told us that we had a little baby waiting for us in Ethiopia. I asked Ciara if she wanted to know if it was going to be a baby brother or a baby sister and she said, "yes." I then told her it was a baby brother. Her eyes got so big and she gave me a big hug. We then showed her his pictures and she was excited to see him. We then called our family and shared the news with them. We are planning to use his birth name as his middle name and are still trying to decide on his first name. We'll share that info when we make a decision. Now, the final count down begins!!!!

Merry Christmas!

I know that it has been awhile since we have updated our blog. Part of the reason is because we have been so extremely busy and partly it is because of the flood of emotions I have been feeling. My longing for our little one seems to grow each day. Sean and I follow a number of blogs and it seems that Christmas is particularly tough for all of the families who are waiting on the little one(s) that God has specifically created for our families. During the revocation period of Ciara's adoption, Sean made the comment that he was glad that he didn't have to go through 9 months of me being pregnant. Needless to say, it might have had something to do with me crying one minute and laughing the next. He hasn't made the same comment again, but I have a feeling that it has crossed his mind, and he has just learned a few lessons in the past three years and is wisely choosing not to say anything. Please do keep us in your prayers as it is constantly on our minds that one member of our family isn't with us this Christmas. On a different note, Ciara has discovered Santa this year. For a few weeks, it seemed like Santa was all Ciara talked about when Christmas was mentioned. Sean and I aren't opposed to Santa, but we definitely want the focus of Christmas to be on the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. So, we have tried to reinforce that Christmas is really about His birth. Last Friday night, I was busy wrapping Christmas presents. Ciara was "helping" me. All of a sudden she asked, "Mama, what are we going to get Jesus for His birthday?"

I was thrilled but a little speechless for a few seconds. We talked about that Jesus has everything that He needs, but that what He would like most is for us to do something for someone else. Our Sunday school class has already “adopted” a family for Christmas, but Ciara hasn’t been a part of that (something I will remember next year). So, we decided to go buy some food for a local Christian food/necessity pantry. Wednesday afternoon, Ciara and I went shopping for Jesus' birthday present. She had the best time picking out the food items that she thought Jesus would like for the people to have. Peanut butter and hot chocolate mix were two of the best items, along with peaches and macaroni and cheese. She kept saying, “Mommy, do you think Jesus would like this?” I’m not sure what other people going down the aisle thought, but I’m thankful that she is getting what Christmas is about. Tonight, Ciara and Sean wrapped up the food/presents, complete with gift tag, "To: Jesus, From: Ciara." We’ll take the food over to the ministry tomorrow. She is so excited. It did me a lot of good too. Even though we have tried to reach out to some other families for Christmas, I haven’t thought about or haven’t gotten excited about picking out a present for Jesus. It’s humbling when our children teach us BIG lessons! Happy Birthday, Jesus!