Maya and her new vest

Maya received a pretty new vest from her Aunt Judy and Uncle Isaac for Christmas.  Maya wore it yesterday along with a denim skirt and of course matching leggings.  When we took the picture, Maya said she wanted the first one to be of her being sad and the second one of her being happy. 

Here is Maya being sad:

And here is Maya being happy:

Personally, I like happy Maya better.  She cracks me up.

Art Project

Thanks to the weather we were snowed in over Christmas weekend.  Maya and I made the most of it and completed a little art project.  Maya painted, colored, and glued on tissue paper on to brown wrapping paper which was used to cover shoe boxes.  Pretty creative isn't it?  Ha ha.  We are using the boxes to store all sorts of fun stuff like markers, paint, and play-doh.  Maya had a blast with it.

Here is Maya painting the paper, I mean her arm:

 
And here is our finished product:

 
Maya just told me she wants to do it again - I guess that means she had fun.  I will have to think another art project for us to do together.

Secret Charm

Santa must have thought Maya was a good little girl this year.  He filled Maya's stocking with fun stuff and one of the best presents ever!  Santa gave Maya a Tinkerbell MP3 player filled with her favorite music.  What a swell guy that Santa is!  He knew exactly what she needed and what mommy and daddy needed.  Maya loves listening to her music and we love the peace and quiet! 

Maya wouldn't even smile for the camera as she was too busy listening to her music.  I need to also mention that she is wearing her new dress from Aunt Kerry, Uncle Melvin, and cousins Melissa and Leslee.  She loves it as she won't wear anything but dresses these days.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours

 

Maya is ready...

to exercise!  Since Dave and I missed our am workout (aka we couldn't get out of bed this morning) we all exercised as a family tonight.  Check out Maya's outfit!  Apparently the 80's are back! 

Side note: here is a close up of Maya's face.   All her scratches are healing which is good.  Maya hasn't complained about her face so they must not hurt.

Weekend and Sledding Mishap

We had a wonderful weekend as a family.  Our weekend included a small gathering of friends on Friday.  We enjoyed some wine, holiday desserts, and some adult conversation.  Our guest had the opportunity to discuss sponsorship at Kolfe Orphanage in Ethiopia.  They also had a chance to view some artwork by JStudio.  I highly recommended checking out the artwork as it is so beautiful, colorful, and the proceeds go to Kolfe.  Did I mention that she has many different ones to choose from and various sizes???? 

Saturday consisted of Maya's final day at gymnastics for this session.  We have decided not to enroll her in the next one simply due to Makenna coming home.  Maya loves it so we will enroll her again once she turns 3. 

Here Maya receives her participation ribbon.

After gymnastics we headed over to the sled hill to meet up with our adoption group.  Maya had a blast going down the hill with daddy despite her saying she didn't want to go.  I of course wasn't going to go as I am afraid of heights and going fast.  Well...daddy thought it was okay for Maya to go down the hill with her friend Noah. 



I have to tell ya - they had fun!  Dave was at the bottom of the hill waiting for them and they just giggled and laugh the entire way down.  Unfortunately the fun ended in a bit of an accident.  They hit a bumpy spot, fell off, and Noah landed on Maya.  Poor Maya got smacked down on the hard snow.  She has the battle wounds to prove it.  Doesn't she look sad?  It took awhile for her to calm down and to stop crying.

 
Later Maya perked up a bit and was in a fairly good mood.
 

The photos really don't do justice on how it really looks.  Today actually looks much worse.  Hopefully it heals fast!  Like someone said, this will not be the first time she gets some scratches and bruises.  The rest of the weekend consisted of family time, church, and quality time with friends.  Maya said today is Friday not Sunday.  I wish she was right!

Another Sleepless Night

It seems I can't stop thinking about my family, Makenna, and Ethiopia. I have so many things running through my head. Apparently I have so much running through my head that I can't seem to get a good night sleep. In 3 weeks, we will be traveling to Ethiopia to meet our daughter Makenna. So many emotions are running through me right now. Of course I am beyond excited. I am excited to kiss, hold, and mother Makenna. I am excited to touch her, to gaze into her big brown eyes, and to give her gentle kisses all over her little body. I am excited to visit the birth place of my two children, Ethiopia.

This trip is already so much different than our first. This time we know (or sort of know) what to expect. I know what I want to pack, I know what I need to do to prevent sickness, I know what to expect as far as food, facilities, and rough roads. Dave and I are no experts but at least we have an idea of what to expect. It helps but it doesn't cease my nerves. This trip is not only to meet our daughter and to bond with the other adoptive families. This trip is also to full-fill some other passions such as visiting the young men at Kolfe Orphanage.

I can't stop thinking about the trip. I am so excited about it all but also very anxious, scared, and nervous. This trip is going to change me and that scares me. I'm not exactly sure how it will change me yet but it will. The last one did.

Santa Claus

On Sunday afternoon, we braved the frigid cold weather and headed out to visit Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus with our good friends Kimberly, Greg, and Abygail.  From our surprise, Maya ran right up to Santa and sat on his lap!  It sure helped that her friend Abygail had no fear what so ever.  Both girls sat and talked to Santa.  I think it helped that a sucker was waiting in the wings :)  After visiting Santa and receiving their sucker, the girls got to decorate a cookie with Mrs. Santa Claus.  Who knew that could be such a hit!  Regardless of the weather, we all had a great time.

Makenna's Room

We have made some progress in the last 2 weeks.  Makenna's room is close to completion thanks to Dave hanging the window treatments, the crib made, and some positioning of furniture.  I am now trying to figure out what I want to do with the walls.  Any cute decoration ideas?  Maya loves the room and feels very comfortable in it.  She even managed to make a maze out of the bumper and had loads of fun with make believe and book reading. 

I found this adorable crib bedding at TJ Maxx and am in LOVE with it.  I also scored some good deals at Ikea (love this store).  Now I just need to come up with some ideas for the walls.

We have also been busy trying to purchase some necessities for our trip such as formula and diapers.  I forgot how expensive everything is!  Thankfully kids are worth every penny (most of the time - ha!).

 

Now we are off to tackle more of our to-do list.  I am feeling more confident we will be ready for our trip.  Since Maya joined our family, I realize not everything can be done ASAP and that is okay.  Everything will work out in the end.  Right?

Freaked OUT!

Do your shoulders and neck ever hurt terribly when stress takes over? I can honestly say my shoulders and neck hurt terribly and I may just have to beg Dave to give me a mini massage. I am officially freaking out here. I have so much to do and not enough time or mojo. I don't know where to begin to be honest. Dave is so busy trying to finalize our travel plans, book plane tickets, and figure out where we are staying while in country. I love him for doing that as I'm not sure I could do it. I on the other hand am spending too much brain power freaking out! It doesn't help that I have a sinus infection, pink eye, and not able to physically go into work today. I know I need to create a list - actually I need several lists such as:

• Packing list - for me, family, baby, and donations
• Shopping list for trip
• Shopping list of all the things I need to purchase while in Ethiopia
• Tasks to complete before leaving list
• Contact list, miscellaneous list for my mother

YIKES! Did I also mention that Christmas is around the corner???? Okay, I think my immediate to-do list is to take several deep breaths and get some rest so I can tackle my other "lists".

On a "more calm" note - Maya is super excited for her baby sister to come home. She already plans to share her toys, teach her how to go potty in the toilet, and help mommy and daddy out (lucky us). Below is a picture from the other night. She is a proud big sis!

Extra, Extra, Read all about it!

We are so happy to finally be able to share our wonderful news and to blog about it! We have been asked several follow up questions so hopefully this post will answer some of them. Please respect our decision to keep some information private. As much as we believe in adoption advocacy, we also believe specific details about our children's story belongs to them.

When did we start our 2nd Adoption?
Believe it or not, we started last fall and completed our dossier in January of this year. We waited many months for our referral but thankfully Maya kept us very busy!

Name and Age?
Our little Makenna Bethlehem is in the ballpark of 5 months old.

What are you going to do with another girl and her hair?
Well, it helps we already have all the "girl" stuff like clothes, toys, and hair accessories. Plus it helps that I truly feel all girls need a sister. I think it is because of my relationship with my sister.

When will we be traveling and is Maya going with us?
Soon! We hope to be traveling within the next 3 to 6 weeks. Maya is unfortunately not going to make this trip with us. We feel this trip is about Makenna and to full-fill some other passions such as visiting the boys at Kolfe Boys Orphanage which our church is sponsoring. We will be back again one day with both girls.

We hope you will continue to celebrate Makenna's adoption with us and to continue to follow our journey. We truly feel blessed to be able to grow our family again via adoption. Ethiopia to Fargo once again!

Give Back by Helping a Community

This weekend we had the privilege of meeting some fantastic people with HUGE hearts.  These people dedicate their lives to help others which is very rare.  I am in awe and I hope one day I can give back like they do. 

 

Lindsay and Rachel (the two on the left) hosted a series of parties this weekend to support the community of Bukedea, a village in Uganda. The parties were to promote sponsorship of over 200 orphans in this community as well as to raise funds for a new kitchen.

The children sponsorship program is led by the organization, Children's HopeChest. Many of you reading this are familiar with HopeChest through our work in sponsoring Kolfe Boys Orphanage in Ethiopia. Flying into Fargo  from HopeChest were Vince and Brandi (center of the photo). Their passion for the children of Uganda is so prevalent and inspiring. After spending so many months being 'connected' to them virtually through blogs and Facebook, it was great to finally meet them in person.

The beads are truly amazing, some of you may have purchased them from me last year around this time. They are hand-made using recycled magazine paper. They are cut into thin strips and rolled into beads and then shellacked. They are made by women in Uganda and proceeds not only benefit the women who made them, but go towards funding a new kitchen in Bukedea.

These make excellent Christmas gifts and are truly a gift that gives. Maya had a very hard time deciding which one she like best- especially when Brandi told it was OK to try on as many as she liked :)
  
If you are interested in sponsoring an orphan in Bukedea or would like to buy beads please leave a comment on this post and I will connect you directly with Lindsay.

Maya was very entertained as well and thought that Vince would look great with a necklace on, somehow talked Lindsay into reading her books and carried on an animated conversation with Brandi. Pretty typical afternoon for Maya!  

Ethiopia here we come - BIG Announcement!!!!

 





 

Christmas

Is almost here and I am loving it!  The tree is up, the wreath is hung, the gifts are bought, and my new holiday dishes are in the cupboards.  I have a feeling this Christmas is going to be one of the best!  (can you tell I love Christmas?)

What Maya is thankful for:

In no particular order...

1. pancakes
2. cupcakes
3. waffles

Yep - that is what Maya is thankful for when she was asked.  I am so grateful to have such a daughter who appreciates others such as her mommy and daddy. Okay, she is only 2 so I will let this slide this year.

We did have a nice and crazy Thanksgiving with my side of the family.  We hosted and everything turned out great thanks to chef Dave!

Maya and her cousin Olivia who is 3 had a blast playing with each other and playing with each and every toy in the family room (oh my!).

I am personally thankful for many things.  I am thankful for my Grandma Clara who was able to travel far to be here

for my Maya

for my nieces and nephews
 
for silly girls in adorable matching pajamas from Aunt Tori
 
and for playful girls with newly painted finger nails during spa night!
 
and most of all I am thankful for my family. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!