Wordless Wednesday

Long overdue adoption update

So apparently people (I mean Leah) still read this blog and informed me that I changed my side bar to say we are officially waiting yet failed to blog about it. So here it is.

On May 10 we were officially put on the wait list for Korea. Right now the timeline for waiting for a referral is as such

0-3 months for a boy
4-8 months for a girl

Once we accept our referral, we will do an acceptance dossier. No worries not nearly the amount of paperwork involved this go round.

From there we wait for a visa and then travel clearance. Here is where the long wait comes in. It is estimated that it could take as long as 14 months from time of referral acceptance until travel clearance.

So far the longest wait I have seen is 10 months. During the wait to travel we can send 2 care packages and request two updates on top of the other updates we will receive.

We are currently on the wait list for a boy or a girl. We know that we will likely bring home a child closer to 2 in age so a full fledged toddler. We are both excited and nervous about this.

In the meantime we are trying to learn as much as we can and wait for that phone to ring.  It could be tomorrow or it could be August or heck it could even be December whatever is meant to be will be and we are at peace with that.

At last check there were about 18 families waiting for girls and 8 waiting for boys.

So there you have it.

Stay tuned for Wordless Wednesday...pics of Kiya and Badger just for you Leah :)

A day at the farm

We took Kiya to a farm today. She wasn't in the best of moods so our trip was short but she did like riding the little tractors.

 And the baby cow :)

She was so sweet and just liked petting him. It was cute.

2 years later and still in awe

Two years ago we walked up 4 flights of stairs to find this little one. She was 5 1/2 months old, tiny oh so tiny and scared yet she had this strength about her. She weighed about 13 lbs and truly was my little peanut. I will never forget the moment I laid eyes on her doing tummy time on the floor with the other babies.

And here is my little peanut 2 years later. She is more like my little string bean now as she is so very tall for her age. She is full of life. She loves to laugh. Is bossy, dramatic and just darn near perfect.







I look at her and still have to pinch myself. I am her mom. She is amazing. I have so much I want to share with the special woman that gave birth to the magical little girl. This year Kiya day and Mother's Day are the same. We met Kiya on May 8, 2009. I also spent my very first Mother's Day on a bus to Hossana where I was blessed enough to meet the woman that gave birth to Kiya. I got to talk with her, cry with her and share a hug that I still feel today. This woman's sadness and loss led to my joy and to me being a mom. Thank you just isn't enough.

I know the Kiya gets her strength from Zinash. I know she has her mom's eyes. I want so much for Zinash to see all that Kiya is now. I want for her to hear Kiya's infectious laugh and oh so sweet singing voice. I want her to meet her daughter. I dream that one day this just might happen.

I look back at these last 2 years and just how much being a mom has changed me. It is everything I hoped for and more. Sure some days can be frustrating and we have been thrown a couple of curve balls but most days are truly wonderful. Kiya lights up any room she is in and yet she can still be shy. She is a girl that knows what she wants and how she wants it. She is wise beyond her years and oh can she be stubborn. And yet she can come up behind you and give you a big hug when you least expect it.

Nothing slows her down and I love that about her. She just today and for the first time climbed up on the couch all by herself cast and all. Our couches are really tall and don't have removable cushions. She would always climb on her chair and then onto the couch. Today she said "Watch this. I climb on couch." And sure enough she did it.

I am truly blessed. I am in awe of my little girl and I love being her Mom.

What to say....

Two years ago I was preparing to board a plane that would take me 7000 miles away to Ethiopia. I was finally going to meet my daughter.

I can tell you when I legally became a mom, April 3, 2009. I can tell you when I held my sweet little girl for the first time, May 8, 2009. And yet I can't tell you when I actually felt like her mom. I knew I was her mom but it took some time to really just feel it.

Does that sound weird? We didn't share the same space for 9 months. We were jet lagged, over whelmed, fragile, and pumped up on adrenaline when we met Kiya. It was everything I hoped for and more yet it was strange too.

I wanted nothing more in my life than to be a mom and 2 years ago that journey began. I look back at where I was then and where I am now and I truly 100% feel like Kiya's mom. In the beginning I was doing all the mom things that you are supposed to do but that overwhelming don't mess with my kid instinct took some time to show up.

I can't tell you an exact date as to when I really became a mom. I know I felt it though. When I left her at daycare and she cried and screamed and I knew then that she needed me just as much as I needed her. I felt a tug. An instinct kick in that said I have to fix this. This is my kid and nothing and no one is going to mess with her.

The biggest compliment I ever got, came from a woman I now call a dear friend but at the time was someone I had just met. We were in the hospital waiting for Kiya's first cast and all the emotion that came with that day and she said to me later that day that you couldn't even tell that Kiya was adopted. That she looked at our family and saw true unconditional, parental love as we tried to be strong for our scared little girl. My friend has no idea how much those words meant to me.

I knew I was Kiya's mom through and through but for someone else to see it. To see that my adopted daughter was just as much of part of me as her son was a part of her. It was amazing.

I have had plenty of people ask if it is possible to love an adopted child as much as your own child. To that I say Kiya is my own child. I love her with all my heart and soul and will stop at nothing to make sure she is happy and healthy. She is my miracle. She is my dream. My love for her runs deep through me. I couldn't imagine loving her more than I already do.

So as I reflect on life and love, I take pause to be grateful for all the blessings I have in my life. I am truly one lucky Mom. I have this amazing daughter. I don't have the words to express how grateful I am to Zinash. Her sadness led to me being able to parent this wonderful little girl. I want so much to share all that Kiya has accomplished with Zinash. Someday I hope this dream will come true.

For now it is back to reality and life with a very active toddler.