My First Homecoming!!

Last night Noah and I went to the airport to help welcome home a fellow Arise family who were bringing home their newest little addition from Ethiopia! Words can not express the emotions I experienced. What a blessing to share in such a wonderful time. I stood there watching everyone and I think it would be safe to say we all had the same look of anticipation all over our faces :) Of course mine may have been worse, with this being my first experience, Ha!

I stood there waiting, thinking about the future and the day I will get to bring my little one home forever!! What an amazing day that is going to be :) The anticipation is almost too much! I pray that God continues to guide me through this process, but most importantly I pray that this process continues to glorify HIM and all that can do in our lives, as long as we follow him and HIS plan.

Last night while waiting on the plane to get in I was reminded just how blessed I am to have such a wonderful group of people in my life now through Arise. Thanks to my mom who was nice enough to tag along with me and help watch Noah (did I mention how many people were there, yikes!) I was able to talk quite a bit with two fellow Arise moms. Both Brittney and Donna gave me SO MUCH great advice and were both such an encouragement for me. These last few weeks have not been the best when it comes to fundraising and I have to be honest it was starting to get me down, but of course our God is awesome always places the right people in my life at the right time. For that I am so grateful. Thanks again ladies :)

I was a little worried Noah would get bored, having never been to the airport and having to stand and wait. I will let you be the judge on if you think he was bored?!?! Just take a look at the picture below, Ha! Brittney and her husband brought their three sweet kids with them and I think it took Noah all of 5 minutes before he was doing some super flirting with Mrs. Gracie :) How he is standing in the picture below is pretty much how he was the entire time we were there!! Of course I forgot my camera, so this was the only picture I got was with my phone. I only wish I had gotten a picture of Noah playing with Brittney's little boy Dawit and the look on his face when he saw the sweet baby we were there to welcome home!! God TRULY used last night to reaffirm something to me that I have been thinking and praying about the last few weeks!! Don't you just love when he does that :)

Snow Day!!

Today was Noah's 2nd snow day this week, and we found out tonight he will not have school tomorrow either due to some more ice expected to come in tonight! We did something today that we have not done in a VERY long time...............we stayed home ALL day!! We even stayed in our pajamas all day!! With the business of life these days (best way to put it, lol) we have been going non stop almost every day. So Noah and I were both excited stay home and just relax. We played, read books, practiced vowel sounds and reading sight words, watched Christmas movies and baked cookies. It was such a fun day, one that I am determined to make more a part of our crazy schedule.

Noah enjoyed playing his cousin's DS while his puppies watched :) He doesn't know it yet, but there will be a brand new blue DS under the tree on Christmas morning! I can't wait to see his face :)

Don't get in the way of a boy and some homemade chocolate chip cookies :) While hanging his Christmas pictures from school he did what any boy would do and just let the cookie hang out of his mouth so he could use both hands, lol

After a busy and fun day he snuggled up in Mommy's bed to watch a movie and this is how I found him a few minutes later when I went to check on him :) Looks like I will have a sleeping buddy tonight. Let's just hope he shares the bed, Ha!

I have to be honest I had a totally different post in mind tonight when I sat down to type. I have so much I have been praying about lately. Trying to really follow God's direction has been my focus these last few weeks, and instead of blogging about it right now I think I will continue to be still, knowing He is God.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!!

New Addition(s)

Are these two not the cutest things you've ever seen?!?! Meet Charlie and Sam :) They are our newest additions to our family!! We were trying so hard to get a good picture of the both of them, but Mr. Charlie is a tad hyper and did not want to sit still long enough to snap a pic of them together.

For those of you wondering what happen to Copper, let me explain. About 6 weeks ago Copper started acting a lot crazier then usual. He was getting very destructive, knocking things over, chewing EVERYTHING in sight, jumping on people, knocking Noah over and towards the end was nipping at Noah and had even scratched him a few times due to his jumping. With that said I am convinced it was NOT that he was a bad dog, but was just not able to adapt to being an apartment type dog. I thought when we adopted him that raising him from a puppy that he would be okay in an apartment but that was clearly not the case.

I did A LOT of thinking and praying about what to do. Not only was Noah getting frustrated with the situation but I was also getting concerned about bringing Silas home with such a hyper dog. My fear was Noah would think Silas was the reason I got rid of Copper so I made sure not to mention anything about the adoption when I talked to him about Copper going to a new home. Much to my surprise Noah was okay with Copper leaving. I know he loved him, but I also know he was tired of the constant destruction and chewing of his toys. The first few nights he was gone Noah prayed for Copper, asking God to give him a good family that would love him like we did. I was happy to know that Copper passed all the testing with the Humane Society and was able to be placed back in the "program" and as I told them he is a great dog, he just needs room to run and play :) I have no doubt he isn't already enjoying a new home!

SO, I had decided it would be nice to get Noah a small puppy to play with, love and spoil :) He and I have always been dog people, but living in an apartment I knew we needed a smaller breed of dog. When I was younger I had an adorable mini yorkie that I LOVED so much!! His name was Verdel (and yes for those of you who have seen the movie "As Good As It Gets" he looked just like that dog in the movie, which is where he got his name) I knew yorkies were awesome dogs and I had a feeling that Noah would love them too and I was right!! Mr. Charlie came first. I surprised Noah last week after school and took him to look at some and let him take his pick. He immediately went to Charlie, picked him up and said he was the one. He was so precious with him and at one point turned to the pack-n-play where the other puppies were and started shaking his paw, telling Charlie to say good bye to his friends :) How sweet!!

Within 2 days that dog was so rotten he stunk, LOL Noah just feel 100% in love with him. Taking him everywhere, even putting him in his toy shopping cart and pushing him around. So of course what did I do? Like any crazy momma I decided to get another yorkie!! All jokes aside though, I had heard it is nice for them to have a little companion. So tonight after dinner we took a mini road trip to go get Charlie his little brother Sam! Noah had no idea and was shocked to find out!! Both puppies are doing great, although I joke and say Sam should have been named Eyore from Winnie The Pooh, Ha!! He has been super mellow all night, while Charlie has been super crazy, lol............They are both so sweet and I am so happy they are now a part of our family! NOW if we can just get Silas home all would be complete :)

What A Week!!

I don't think the word "busy" even begins to touch on my past week, Ha!! One of the highlights of the week was getting this beauty in the mail :) For those who know me know that odds of me ever needing a passport were slim to none! I have a horrible fear of flying and have actually never flown!! I know, sounds crazy coming from a lady who will hopefully be traveling to Africa next year to bring my son home!! The first thing Noah did when he saw it was get a huge smile on his face and ask me if I could go the next day to get his brother?!?! He is so excited and can not wait for his brother to get here!! If only that sweet boy we have yet to meet knew how loved and wanted he is!!

I have been thinking of different ways to introduce Noah to Ethiopia and it's culture. I have decided he will be going with me when I travel next year. I think it is very important for him to know and to "see" where his brother came from. Some friends of mine told me about a local Ethiopian restaurant that I should check out. So last week in between unpacking and organizing Noah and I went and experienced some yummy Ethiopian food!! It was a great experience with some yummy food. Noah was not too sure about the food and at one point he asked me if we could go to McDonalds, LOL I'm thinking the presentation of the food might have had something to do with it. We ate it traditional style without forks. The owner came out and introduced herself when she found out I was in the process of adopting from Ethiopia and told me I had to come back once I got my little guy home!! I assured her we would be back :)

In between moving, unpacking and organizing we ALSO decorated our new home for Christmas!! It was driving me CRAZY that we were unable to put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving! That has been the tradition ever since I was a little girl and I have kept that tradition up with Noah. With moving the first week of December I knew we would have to wait, so you better believe I was like a crazy lady wanting to get all the decorations up so we would plenty of time to enjoy them :)

I have always loved the Willow Tree Angles and have ALWAYS wanted the Nativity set, but would NEVER spend that much money on a decoration. Well this year my wonderful mom surprised me and got it for me!! I had the biggest smile on my face and as embarrassed as I am to admit it, I actually got teary eyed as I set it up. I absolutely love it and I don't have any plans on packing it up once Christmas is over!! It looks way too perfect in my dining room!!

Noah was excited to decorate his room :) I got him his own little tree that he decorated all by "himself" :) and since his current obsession is all things firetrucks and firefighters and "chop chops" (Nutcrackers) I knew he would love his very own Firefighter Chop Chop!! Then of course he had to set up his own Little People Nativity which is just so cute!! It all looks so cute set up and he loves re-enacting the night Jesus was born with his Nativity!!

I LOVE our tree!! Are those not the coolest looking lights!! Noah loves how the lights go all over the walls and ceilings!! So much that here lately we spend a lot of time in the dark, Ha!!

Adoption Update!! - As most of you know my home study was set and scheduled for today! Well last week I found out that some of the paperwork needed has been delayed and won't be here for another 2-3 weeks. Since my home study can not be done without it, I had to reschedule for next month. I can't lie when I first found out I was upset. I wanted so bad to get my home study done and had hopes of getting my dossier sent off by the end of the year, but apparently God has other things in mind. As I sat in my car having one of my many talks with God about my frustration a feeling of peace came over me and clear as day I heard my Father speak to my heart. "Slow down daughter of mine, all things come in my timing. Just wait and see what I have in store for you" I knew right then that no matter what bumps I come upon during this process that he is in control. When I officially decided to adopt I prayed that no matter what this adoption would be God driven. I have always had a problem "being still" and sometimes find myself trying to fix things myself instead of letting God take care of them, but not this time! I am going to hold onto that prayer and allow God to have control over every little and big part of this adoption. He has already shown me why this has happened, and knowing that is so comforting!!

While I wait for the needed documents to arrive I am keeping busy enjoying this beautiful Christmas season with my precious boy and family, reflecting on all the the Lord has done in my life. This year has been one of joy, celebrations, happiness, trials and experiences that forced me to realize that those you thought would always be there, won't be. God used those experiences to help me grow not only in my faith but in my relationship with HIM and for that I will always feel so blessed.

Prayer Request!! - I would love to ask that you lift up in prayer two sweet families who are traveling this month! Lesley and her husband Thom are in Ethiopia right now picking up their sweet boy Noah!! They come home this weekend and I am so excited for them!! You can follow along with them by clicking here

You can also click here to read about Lesli and her husband Ryan and their journey to their sweet little guy. They are traveling to meet him this weekend!! I am so happy for both of these sweet couples and can't wait until they are home forever with their sweet kiddos!! Thank you for praying for them! Please also pray for the millions of orphans still left without families. Pray that seeds would be planted and eyes and hearts will be open to that which God calls us to do. To care for the orphans and widows of the world!!

ALSO - I STILL have ornaments for sale!! Only $6 and all the money will go towards my adoption!! You can e-mail me at ethiopiaminusone@gmail.com or if you are on my facebook you can message me through there as well. Not too late to add a beautiful and unique ornament to the tree!!