Psychotic Adoption Mom

In an attempt to not obsess about our adoption and our wee baby boy I decided to take up a hobby. Obviously, being the wife and Mama to 7 along with homeschooling and baking from scratch is NOT enough to keep me from getting into trouble. So, I have taken to knitting hats. So, now I knit and I obsess :o) Multitasking at it's finest.

Call Guinness!

That was the cry of our children when they came to me announcing that our 1 yo can whistle. Ummm-Hmmm I said to myself. "That's nice." I said to the children. You see I didn't really believe them..until Saturday when my 10 yo dd and I were returning from some errands in my dh's Honda . I hear this loud clear whistling and turn around to see it's my 1 yo!! I excitedly tell dh about this phenomenon.. and he says "Yeah right!" Then later as he and little 1 yo nap together who should start a whistling? So, now it's offical. Our 1 yo can whistle!!! We are so impressed!

Homecoming! (Part 1)

I thought I would go ahead and share the details about our boys' homecoming.

Ethiopia is a country where you can either travel to pick up your adopted child or use an escort who will bring your child to one of the points of entry of the US. We chose to use an escort due to the ages of our children at home.

There are drawbacks to using an escort. Our boys came home six weeks later than those who traveled to pick up their children. Our Immigration office lost our paperwork and it was very difficult. Thankfully, with the help of our agency and our US Senator we eventually were able to bring our boys home.

We were to meet our boys in Chicago at O'Hare. We left on a Friday afternoon and our boys were to arrive at 9:30 a.m. Saturday July 23rd.

On Friday my dh worked half a day while I finished preparations for he and I to fly to Chicago!! My Mom and brother were coming up to watch our other five children. I took the kids to the pool for a swim and pondered how different our life was to become. It was a thilling feeling to know that in less than 24 hours our boys would be with us.

Our goal was to be at the airport at 2:30 p.m.. My Mom called to tell me she would not be able to make it on time. She is a Hospice nurse who lives 2 1/2 hours from us. She had an emergency and would be late. Thankfully, we had asked our dearest friends and neighbors if they would be on stand-by. My friend came over with her four children and brought chocolate and crafts. The teary good-bye I had envsioned with our children never happened as they were having a blast! It was awesome.

Our flight to Chicago was very similar to our adoption process. A lot of hurry up and waiting, a few storms, and some smooth flying.

As we were descending into O'Hare there were lights for as far as the eye could see. It struck me then how many people there are in this great big world. God had picked our children for us from the other side of the world just for us. The magnitude of it all humbled me.

We arrived in Chicago aorund 10:00 Chicago time. As a small town girl I was in awe. Chicago is enormous!

We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn O'Hare. It was perfect for our needs. They have a shuttle bus to and from the airport. They have a morning breakfast buffet. It is within walking distance of a Target, Chili's, Steak and Shake, Krispy Kreme, and other stores. The room had a kitchen and separate seating area which was so nice for the boys.

We arrived at the hotel, dropped our luggage off in our room, and headed out for a late dinner.

Sleep was a long time coming that night for in the morning we would be meeting our boys.

I slept fitully. Everytime I awoke I would pray for the escort, for our boys, for the pilot, etc...

We awoke early and showered and dressed and headed to the buffet. We then went to Target to buy some fresh fruit.

Then it was time to go to the airport!

We arrived at Terminal 5 and headed straight for the screen to check on their flight. Their flight wasn't on the screen...hmm

So, dh picked up the courtesy phone to check. He found out the plane had already landed! It landed 30 minutes early! Our boys were on the other side of those glass Immigration doors. WOW!

About this time we noticed another family walk up. It was a Mom with two children. I told my dh that the girl looked very Ethiopian to me. He laughed and told me I was obsessed. I noticed she wore a white One bracelet and I thought they have to be an AAI family.

I had no sooner finished the thought when she approaced and said "You must be the other AAI family!" We chatted and she told us she was waiting for her second daughter from Ethiopia to come home.

Just then I saw them through the doors...

Immediately I started crying and glimpsed at dh who was tearing up and that made me cry harder...

Honestly, it reminded me so much of the births of our other children. The wait, the anxiousness, the worry, the struggle, and then suddenly they are there and none of that matters anymore.

Our escort handed us our children and OHHH how beautiful they were!!! I was just amazed! They looked just like their pictures... except the were real and they were in our arms. We couldn't get enough of them It was an incredible day in our lives and we are so blessed that Jesus gave it to us.

Isaiah 43:5

"Fear not for I will bring your offspring from the east and gather you from the West..."

Intro~~~

This is our "Wee Baby Boy"

whom are adopting from Ethiopia.

Our 7 Blessings

here at home!

Putting my toe into this world of blogging.

Why Steppin' Heavenward? Stepping Heavenward (by Elizabeth Prentiss) is my favorite book (outside the Bible). It is a wonderful book of encouragement for every wife and Mother trying to travel this world while stepping towards Glory. It is actually a journal from the 1800's. I suppose it was the blog of her time.

I am Renee. My Beloved and I have been married for over 14 years. We met while we were quite young (I was 16 and he was 18). We fell head over heels in love and married 4 years later. We are still head over heels. Our marriage truly is a gift from God.

We have 7 children with one on the way! Five of our children were born to us and 2 (and the one on the way) are our blessings from Ethiopia.

We adopted amd are adopting from Adoption Advocates International (adoptionadvocates.org) a wonderful agency. We found out last week that we will go to court in March and we are hoping and praying our sweet baby will come home shortly afterwards.

In Christ,
Renee