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! 

So Behind

Where do the days go and why is it impossible to accomplish everything?  Let's get everyone caught up since the last time I posted.

Last Friday Maya's daycare hosted their annual Thanksgiving lunch which meant all the parents were able to take part.  I loved having lunch with Maya in her environment and the food was delicious!

This past weekend we attending the last game of the season for our college football team.  Once we got past the "I'll do anything to get out of sitting for this game such as yelling I got to go poop", Maya did great and enjoyed the game.  Of course it would have been even better if our team would have won.

Also over the weekend Maya got a new doll.  We decided to purchase this doll because Maya can comb and style her hair.  Maya loves babies but she LOVES this doll.  When she wakes up or comes home from being gone, she immediately goes to check on her doll which she name "Ana".  I believe she named it after her friend Ana who is also from Ethiopia - how cute is that?  I just love watching Maya be creative and playing make believe. 

Last but not least - Maya and Dave enjoyed the annual Parade of Lights.  This parade is full of floats with lots and lots of "beautiful" lights (as Maya would say).  Apparently Santa even made a visit which scored high on Maya's list.  I am also thankful for Santa as he told Maya to wear her gloves which is something we battle each and every time we leave the house.  From what I am told, they had fun and had fun hanging out with friends. Below is Maya with her friend Wren.  Those girls are too cute together.

Maya even scored a ride on Evan's shoulders...