Officialized!!

Is that a word?? Don't know....but it's what I mean!! Addison is official! She is now our daughter according to Nebraska, as of today!! It's been a FANTASTIC day and we are just ecstatic!! She is now a US Citizen....she is our little Ethiopian-American babe!! :) Just a great feeling for us all!!

Now we wait for her new birth certificate and then we'll be able to get her Social Security number after that. Little bit left to go, but now is the easy stuff!!

Merry Christmas to all!

just a rambling...

Wow, I look at my counter and see Christmas is only 13 days away! Is that REALLY possible?? Where did the time go this year?? It seems as if it was just yesterday we were packing to pick up Addison. Or just yesterday when the flood hit over the summer. It was just Halloween! Amazing, just amazing. Again, where does the time go???

All is still going well. Well, not ALL...my external hard drive now decided it was its turn to take a dump, so I have no pictures to post at this time. I am trying my last hope for any survival...it's in the shop being looked at for anything salvagable. Yep, everything from when my computer's hard drive a month ago was on there. Yep, all of my pictures!!! And nope, I didn't have anything backed up! Yep, that was dumb! :) Yes, I've learned my lesson!!

On other (better) news....Addison is a full walker now. She's quite fun to watch "waddle" around. She's got a belly on her, so she tries balancing herself out without falling. Quite fun! She loves to stand up and dance now and she will even walk backwards. That one took me by great surprise a few weeks ago. She proved my point even more when I tell people she's a brilliant child!! :)

I love watching her eyes light up when we go into Walmart. They have their enormous Christmas tree right as you walk in with the HUGE red and green bulbs on it. She looks at me and back at the tree about 10 times before I can walk past it. Unfortunately she wasn't as excited about our's here at home, BUT it's not like 20 feet tall either! I know she's very excited for Christmas to get here. We saw Santa this morning for the first time at the Y (he was there for a school program). Boy, he got a good look from her. She wasn't quite sure what to think of the big man in the red suit with a long white beard. Probably just wondering what we people do here in this strange country! :)

It's been a fun winter, so far, with her also. Loves to watch the snow fall. (good thing, she'll be taking after me on that one!) The funny thing though is, when I go to put her winter coat on, I have to laugh inside....she would definitely NOT be wearing that in Ethiopia!! She has fallen in love with her heavy fleece Pooh hat. If I'd let her, she'd probably wear it all day, everyday. Not quite sure why...it's not Dora.

She's been growing like a weed. When we went in at 16 months (yeah, kinda missed the 15 month mark) she was 70% in height and 55% in weight. That kinda tells you a little on really how big she's getting! Honestly, I think Caleb better watch out. :) He might be passed up if he doesn't hit a good growth spurt pretty soon.

And the boys...better not leave them out. Caleb is constantly asking to go to school. I guess that's a good thing. We gotta get this potty training thing down though. I tell him that everyday, but he's just not getting the concept quite yet, I don't think. Bribes don't seem to help a lot right now either. I trust though, one day soon he'll think wet pants is for the birds...(at least I hope so!)
Trevor is doing fabulous in school! He's learning such a GREAT deal this year! I can tell he's starting to get a bit bored though. His Monday/Tuesday and then Wednesday/Thursday are the same sheets and lessons. And I think just going everyday is wearing him out. I remind him next week he's only got 4 days and then he'll be off for about 3 weeks. I'm hoping that's a good enough break for him. He's just anxious to go to mommy's school next fall.

I suppose it's time to start getting stuff ready for a Christmas party tonite. Again, where does the time go?? Almost 3 in the afternoon. Crazy, just crazy!

Starbucks today!

Starbucks today is supporting World AIDS Day by donating per cup purchased! Go get a cup, or 2, or for some friends or your office mates!!!

Congratulations, also, to all those that have passed court today and in the past weeks. What a blessing to have your children home in time for the beautiful Christmas season! And those who have not yet passed....know we are all praying right along with you that God will bring you to your children VERY soon!!! They need you as much as you are yearning and needing them!

Black Friday

Oh, isn't Black Friday so fun!! :) I know, some of you are thinking I'm crazy. Yes, we are all crazy! Especially those people who think pushing carts down aisles you can't even walk thru. Total nuts!!

But I got my stocking stuffers this morning. Most of what I walked out of the store with was for my mother. That's alright. My sister and I have good "quality" time together, if nothing else!! :)

Have a fabulous rest of the holiday weekend!

SO EXCITED to be sponsoring!!!

At this point, I really don't even remember for sure how I was informed of what was going on. Right now all that matters is we are a part of it!

The Bottomly's have done much work into getting an orphanage chosen for sponsors and it has been successful. They have twice as many sponsors as they have expected so far, and of course there is room for more!! What is even more fantastic about this and why I cried this morning is....the orphanage we are blessed to be sponsoring children, is one of the orphanages Mark and I were able to visit while picking up Addison. Kebebtsehay Children’s Home. I am absolutely elated to be a part of this...especially being there before and seeing all the beautiful children that are and will be affected by this wonderful group of sponsors!!

If anyone else is interested in sponsoring, PLEASE get ahold of Amy on the link above. Just a small, yet enormous, way to help out!

We have a court date!! It's almost official official!!

We got our call this afternoon regarding Addison's next court date. On December 18th, she will become an official US Citizen and be our official daughter according to the USA! It's a very exciting time right now for us and are happy to finally have that date. Now I need to finish writing my article for my MOPS group!! :-)

As the holidays approach we hope you all out there are blessed this season! Enjoy your moments and time with all your loved ones!

Halloween

Wow, I just realized it's been a bit since I last posted. Addison is 'almost there' in the walking department. She can walk at least half way across the room before falling down and clapping for herself. It's pretty cute! Caleb has been talking up a storm and so much clearer. That's nice, when I don't have my translator (Trevor) around if for some reason I can't make out what he's saying. :-) And Trevor has utterly impressed me so far in school. It has been a blessing (for more than 1 reason!) for him to be going all 5 days to preschool this year. It does him a great deal of good (and fun) as well as for his mother!! :-)

Anyway, onto the pictures!!!

Addison, my little bee

Caleb my clown
(not the best costume for him since he is kinda clutzy! but he did awesome this night! very proud mama!!)
Trevor my banana
And this is all of us. I was dressed as a hippie/disco dancer...whatever you wanna call me. And Mark, well, at this moment he was a Husker Fan. Earlier in the night (before changing) he was an irrigation salesman. Needless to say, Mark is a party-pooper when it comes to Halloween! :-)

Just some random pics

As we approach our 6 months home as a family of 5 tomorrow, I reflect back on the past months in awe. To think of where we were a year and a half ago, just starting our adoption journey. To one year ago when our dossier has been in Ethiopia just a few weeks. Then 6 months ago we were holding our new daughter and ready to bring her home! It has been amazing - good and bad - the past 1/2 year, but it all has been completely worth it! I look at the boys, so proud of their baby sister! They always make sure everyone knows her name is Addison and she is their little sister. They are always letting her know (and each other too) they love her so much and kissing her chubby cheeks. It's just beautiful, absolutely beautiful. All 3 of our kids have grown so much in the past 6 months, it's just amazing. Nothing is better than seeing so much innocense, laughter, fun and God thru a child's eyes!

Caleb loves his "new" bike
Trevor's smore
and his marshmallow on his shirt!
Addi in her braids
and her GO BIG RED!
Am I cute, or what?!?

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch yesterday. Weather was awesome!!

Trevor
Caleb
Addison's first pony ride!

Mark and the boys on the train ride
Addison was wiped out!!
But she woke up ready to go. Here holding on for dear life as we went thru the corn maze.
Loving the big rocking chair!

I've been Tagged

I have been Tagged by coffeemom. This is new to me, so we'll see what I can come up with!

1. I am a book fiend!! I love them. All kinds (except romance). Just the best past-time ever imaginable!

2. I am also a computer freak! If I'm not reading, you most likely would find me on the computer. Even just to check my email! :-) My degree is in computers.

3. I was the youngest in my high school class. I just missed the deadline having an October 12 birthday.

4. I am stepping out of my box this coming year and have volunteered to be the Creative Activities director of my MOPS group. Yes, I will be sweating profusely for the 2 minutes I'll be standing in front of my group of ladies explaining what they need to do for their craft.

5. I love the winter so much more than the summer. Although 60-70 degrees is perfect for me!

6. I am a person of VERY bold colors. The brighter the better. My favorite color is lime green.

7. As much as I dislike bugs, spiders, snakes and other things in nature, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to go camping!

8. I'll throw in one more just for good measure....I LOVE photography. I have started taking my own pictures of my kids and family. Not just cheaper, but it is SO fun for me to come up with different backgrounds. Different ways to set a picture. The best job, next to being a mom, in my opinion!

We have a walker!!!

Well, pretty close anyway! Addison has been taking a couple steps up to 6 or 8 at a time. She will let go of things and stand there for the longest time, till she realizes you are looking at her. Then she smiles, laughs and falls down on purpose!! :-) But she's doing awesome. Plus having the boys encourage her even more, that helps. Then she claps for herself!

Since the last post, Mark and I have also had our birthdays. Not a lot happened, due to some crappy weather here! We were planning to go to the big pumpkin patch last Sunday, on my birthday, but due to the rain that didn't happen. The week just seemed to get worse for me after that. Thursday was Mark's birthday, but since he has basketball and doesn't eat those days cuz of it, we celebrated his Wednesday evening. The kids and I decorated the kitchen lights with balloons and we had his favorite, cherry cheesecake.

So, tomorrow, we are planning to now head to Vala's (pumpkin patch). It's supposed to be decent....I hope so! Hopefully I'll get some great pics of all the kiddos tomorrow. It might be Addison's first time riding a pony if they are there!!! That'll be fun!!!

Also, just wondering.....does anyone know where I could find a good book on the Amhara tribe?? I have looked on amazon, but can't seem to find something that sticks out for me. Maybe I can get some recommendations???

BRAIDS!

Last week Wednesday I decided to do something a little different with Addison's hair. I didn't know WHAT for sure when she was sitting on my lap, but I wanted something different than all the ponies. So...I went searching on the internet and found a girl with braids and beads in her hair. I was thinking, her hair is just not right yet for cornrows, but I could do braids. Just no beads quite yet. So, below is the result! It turned out pretty cute. It took about 2 hours. We took one break, when Mark got home from work, before he took the boys to swim lessons. Seriously, she made NO peeps the entire time. She sat there in peace and played with 2 ink pens and put her cotton pony holders on her fingers like rings. Yes, for 2 hours!!!

Bless their hearts!!!

All out there may, or may not, be familiar with one of the families (Farmboy & Buttercup) we travelled with to get Addison. They had some news given to them a few months back that the twins they adopted, have a sibling that will be able to also be adopted. After much much consideration, a few days ago they have noted they WILL be adopting the babe!! If you'd like, please leave them a message congratulating them on their decision!!! You can read their posting thru the link above.

Bad Hair Day?!?

Not really....nothing an adorable little band can't fix! :-)

Omaha couple

I had a comment on my blog from a couple whose husband is from Omaha. I wanted to contact you but don't have any way of doing so. Please email me at ashoes2002@gmail.com and I would love to answer your questions!!!

2009 Ethiopia Calendar

I've been trying to do things (even if they are just little) to bring Ethiopia in our home. So, tonite I went online searching for an Africa calendar. Unfortunately the only thing I could find was animals...not what I was looking for.

I then did a search for Ethiopia and completely by accident (cuz those of you who are familiar, Ethiopia is on a completely different calendar than us, so that is what pulled up when I did my search) I came across something on the Amharic Kids website. I have it listed below in my "Other sites". The calendar is $14.00 to buy one individually...otherwise they have a fundraising thing to get them cheaper. Anyone interested, please check it out!

Just one little way for us to keep Ethiopia in Addison's heart (and our's too!)

Just some ramblings....

First off, I want to send out a request for a very dear friend of mine. Her dad has been having some issues over time, but overnight was transported from Colorado to Omaha, via his motorhome by family. He is having some cancer issues and the docs are going to take great care of him, while being closer to his 2 daughters. Please follow his story here and shout out a few extra prayers for them!

In other news. We were camping over the weekend and finally got to enjoy our night out to Disney on Ice. Fabulous!!! All 3 kids had a blast (as well as their mother!!) :) I took over 500 pictures that night. Didn't realize that till I went to download them to the computer!! But when I get a chance this week, I hope to post some of those.

In the mean time...enjoy these couple....



YAY Caleb!! It didn't take him long to catch on to bike riding!! He now LOVES riding whenever he gets the chance to do so.
We were making and eating smores at this time. She decided to be the little indian girl though hitting her mouth while making the "Ahhhhhhh" sound.
She LOVES to be "tucked in tight".....actually she thinks it's pretty funny!
I was trying to get a picture of the kids here with one of my new props. Trevor just can't smile nice for anything. Basically can't smile on demand. This is one of the better pics I got (I know, you're probably wondering what the others look like!) I told Mark, Trevor looks like he just got a shot of Botox and his face froze!

Doesn't this just say it all?!? :-)

This ever so "lovely" bug was hanging out on our mailbox this morning. Honestly, the thing really really creaps me out! Anyone have a clue what it is?? My lovely 2 year old (Caleb) says, "mommy, a butterfly". Nope, not quite!

Sundays at Tiffany's

A little off subject today, but I felt the urge to write about this. As some of you may know, my favorite "me time" passtime is reading. Love it Love it Love it! Completely relaxing and totally enjoyable.

Anyway, and as some of you also may know, James Patterson is my favorite author. If you've heard of him and have read any of his books, I am assuming you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't heard of him, or have but have not read any of his books, I feel you are missing out.

So, for our anniversary almost a month ago, one of my gifts from Mark was James Patterson's new book called, Sundays at Tiffanys. This isn't a type of book he normally writes. There are 2 others, similar to this style, he has written that I have also read. All 3 are fabulous!! They are all kinda along the lines of a love story type, but they are NOT romance at all. After reading it, it's like watching a movie that completely makes you think and not take things for granted at the end (like PS I Love You---another fantastic thing in my opinion!)

So, for those of you who are dying to read a book, or may just be looking for something to do in your free time (no, I don't really have free time. I just got to reading during naptime and finished the 2nd half of the book yesterday.) I would highly recommend this book. Or ANY of his books. Just a fabulous author!!!

On another note. My household is completely excited for next weekend. We are headed to see Disney on Ice....it's finally coming to Omaha and we are able to go see it!

More pics

I was playing with Addison's hair last night now that it's getting pretty long. I am hoping to take her 1 year pics this weekend, so I'm just testing some things out. (Yes, I do realize I'm a month past 1 year) :) But here are a couple to share. The ponies in her hair do still overpower a little bit, but at the same time they are SO cute!!! Then her with her scrunched up nose, AGAIN!

I forgot to mention yesterday. She also has 2 molars that have popped thru. That's been kinda nice for her...she now has a couple more to chew with instead of just the 8 in front!

Labor Day weekend

We went camping for Labor Day weekend, as we normally do. It really turned out to be a pretty nice weekend. A little warm, but not too shabby. It was great to finally have a long weekend as a full family of 5...Mark is starting to finally slow down at work!

The lighting was absolutely beautiful when we arrived to Mahoney State Park Friday afternoon. I took out the camera immediately and had the boys "pose" for me.

These are my 3 and my sister's 2 kids. I LOVE outside pictures, and with the sun thru the trees that weekend, it was hard to pass up some great shots!!
I LOVE this picture!!! Addison was being awfully goofy while being on my shoulders. She would then lean down to lay her head on mine. My sister took this for me.
With her scrunched up nose she's saying "GO BIG RED"!!!
We celebrated Addison's 1st birthday (for the last time) with my sister and her family over the weekend as well. As you can see.....she LOVES her princesses!! (already!!)

Her birthday cake (again!) :-)
Yes, I LOOOOOOVE my cake!!

A few pics (and entertainment)

How about Don'na' King?!? I know...she's really gonna not like me when she gets older!! :)






This is Addison with one of her new friends, Aubrey, from this past weekend of camping.