Home Three Months!

This is Myli's "What you talkin' bout Willis?" face!

Playing dress-up!

Relaxing at Blake's football game!

Just bein Myli!

Giving Mommy Kisses!

Where does the time go??? It has been three months since we returned home with our little Princess! Besides her personality coming out more and more each day, she is growing like a weed now and at last weight check she weighed in at a healthy 17lbs and some change! She had her 10 month check up and seems to be right on track for her age. She is actually a little ahead on her verbal skills!! Speaking of her verbal skills, she has now added to her growing list of words and noises, barking like a dog, meowing like a cat, hissing like a snake and can tell you where her nose is and claps at everything she does! She continues to make new faces to get a laugh and loves to be the center of attention and will let you know when she is feeling left out! The biggest accomplishment is SHE IS WALKING! She started about three weeks ago taking a few steps on her own and now she is walking about 80-90% of the time! It breaks my heart because she wants to be held less now that she is more mobile but it is great to see her growing and becoming a little independent girl! I will try to add some video of her walking if I can figure out how to do it! Our three month post placement visit with our social worker is scheduled for next Saturday! I am very excited to share how well Myli is doing and to get some feedback from the SW. We are required to have three home visits the first year (3,6,and 12 months) we are home and then we will provide a yearly update until Myli turns 18! Seems like a lot of work but it really is worth it! We are also required to send updates on Blake and Sophi until they are 18 so we have a couple of years under our belts of doing the reports. It's actually a fun time to stop and look back over the past year and see the progress and growth they have all made and to take in how blessed we really are!
Until next time.......

Taylor's 6th Grade Graduation

Taylor's graduation ceremony was great! She is now officially a seventh grader! She celebrated with all of her friends at a dance held by her school! They danced the night away and it was a NPA!! That means there were no parents allowed! I HAD to see what was going on and managed to sneak a peek and they were having a blast! Can't believe she will be starting middle school in August!!!

For All The Pastor's Wives Out There!

This is hilarious!!! Had to share!!!

Three pastors' wives from the Florida Hospital Seventh-day Adventist church in Orlando decided they were tired of having their latest household fiascos show up in sermon illustrations, so these women made a parody video to get their point across, revamping Carrie Underwood's popular "Before He Cheats" with their rendition of "Before He Speaks."
Thanks to Vickie McDonald (married to senior pastor Andy), Tami Cinquemani (married to associate pastor Jeff), and Amy Achata (married to youth pastor David) for venting their frustrations so creatively!

Happy Birthday Blake!

We celebrated Blake's 11th birthday at the Chinese Buffet....again!
Each year the kids get to pick what they want for their b-day dinner and he always picks his favorite Chinese restaraunt! He can eat any grown aduly man under the table! We found out he really likes Wasabbi and Ginger! haha!
We then celebrated his birthday at the Farley's. They were having a Team Kid party and we brought Blake's cakes to share with all of his friends!

Are You Ready For Some Football??

We did it! We are officially crazy screaming parents to a football player! Blake started flag football a couple of weeks ago and they had their first game Sunday, Mother's Day! They won and Blake got his first touchdown! They have given him the name "Blazing Blake" because he is a hard one to catch! He is also the smallest guy on the team but he gets the job done!

A Stop At The Hospital

Taylor was very sick for a couple of days with what we thought was a little stomach bug. When she did not improve the third day, I called the pediatrician and they sent us directly to the hospital where we found out that she was severely dehydrated and was admitted. She had a viral infection that just had to run it's course and was helped with IV solutions for 4 days until she was able to eat and drink on her own! She lost 8 pounds and missed her 6th Grade field trip to SeaWorld and skate party! We are going to try and take her next month with one of her friends to the new Aquatica hoping to ease the blow!
She was a trooper though and her spirits were high the entire time (even with blood draws everyday!). She also learned a lot of what goes on behing the scenes of being a Dr and nurse!

She wants to thank the following people for coming to see her and for the thoughtful gifts:
1. Grandma
2. Savannah & Mrs. Kim
3. Sammy & Mrs. Sandy
4. Pastor Matt
5. Mr. Durwood and Mrs. Karen
We are blessed to have great friends!

This was the first time I (mom) had been away from Myli for more than a couple of hours but she got lots of bonding time with Daddy and they both loved it! She also got to spend time with her Aunt Kim who adores and spoils her rotten! This was good for all of us and it confirmed that she can make it without me as much as I don't want to admit it! Daddy did a great job keeping up with everything and everybody!

Thanks again to all who jumped in to help during this crazy time for our family! We can't tell you how much we appreciate you!

Home One Month!

It's hard to believe that we have already been home for a month now!
Myliah is doing so much better than we could have asked for! Her attachment and bonding has been incredible! She definately knows strangers from her Mommy and Daddy! She is still not sleeping through the night every night but we are working on it and I'm sure it will come soon. She is taking 5-6 ounces of formula every four hours and is eating cereal in the mornings, and sometimes baby food at night for dinner if we can get her too. She loves mashed potatoes and breads! She is saying several words now like Hi,Bye-Bye,Yay,Hey,Dada,Mama(when she is sleepy),Nite-Nite so she is coming along quite nicely with her English! We have had a couple of people ask us if she will speak her native language or English!! Yes, that's a hard one to respond to but we just say English and go on!! LOL!
She is crawling all over the place and is getting into everything. Pulling up on anything that looks sturdy enough and learning that not everything can handle her weight! Speaking of weight, she has a weight check tomorrow to make sure that she is gaining adequately. She was diagnosed with Reflux and being lactose intolerant after coming home and she spits up ALOT so we are praying for good news on the weight check! She will do anything for a laugh and has so many silly faces!!
We are busy working on our one month update for our agency and starting on her re-adoption paperwork. It is not required for Florida but in the long run, it will be better for her. We will file our own paperwork to the courts and go before the judge to make it official.
As you can imagine, we are so happy and blessed to have this sweetie in our family and we can't get enough of her!! She brings so much happiness to our family! I think she gets tired of all the kisses sometimes but that's ok, they won't be stopping! She will just have to get used to it!!
As far as personality goes.........I think the pictures sum her up pretty well!!!

Thanks to Page Phelps for the beautiful pics!!

Happy Birthday Baby!!

Happy B-Day to you!!
You are 42!! You surf like a pro-o
And you look like one too!!

I Heart You!!

American Idol Gives Back

Chris Daughtry in Uganda! Great video and song! Had to share!

Easter 2008

Our first Easter as a family of 8!
It was great as usual and everyone enjoyed the annual egg hunt at Grandma's house. Myli was not real sure what to think of all of the crazy kids running around but she got used to it and joined right in looking for eggs with Tay-Tay and Tommy!

Can you say BABYPROOFING!

It's been about 12 years since we've had a baby in our household, therefore, we can safely say that we were not prepared AT ALL!!!
We made a trip to Target to find a baby gate right away! Daddy does not like to read directions but after some prodding from mom, he decided to read a bit and then I found out why daddy doesn't read directions! The template was wrong and just added more work to get the brackets in the right place for installing! As you can see, Daddy had more than enough help putting things together and testing his work out! For a couple of days, Myliah continued to test Daddy's workmanship by ramming her head into the netting of the gate! I am proud to say that it still stands and the screws are still securely in the wall! Way to go Daddy!!

First Week Home!

We have had a great first week home! I know I already wrote a post on this but I will say that everyone is adjusting very well and we are all getting along great! We were afraid that our Sophi may have some issues with not being the baby anymore but she has taken on the role of big sister so well! She makes sure that Myliah has her blanket and binkie when needed and that there are toys everywhere we go! Taylor has blown us away with her ability to help with ALL areas of being the oldest big sister! She loves to dress her, change diapers, help with baths, and feed Myliah! She has been a lifesaver to mommy!! Tommy is doing great too! He's a great big brother and likes to carry Myliah because she gets the attention of the girls!!! He's 17, what do you expect!! Blake and Leyla are doing well, they have been the least affected by the changes! They have each other to play with and things are running smoothly for them too! They like to play with Myliah and help too!

Eight is enough! (I Think!!)

Our first family pic!

Our Homecoming!

I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see all of our children at the end of the VERY LONG walkway at the airport! I could hear our oldest daughter, Taylor, saying "walk faster mom"!!! I couldn't, I was so tired! Our wonderful friends, Frank and Kim Farley along with 16 of their 20 children made sure that our children were at the airport to greet us!! THANK YOU is not enough but they know how much we love and appreciate them! Myliah took right to everyone and of course started making all of her funny faces entertaining everyone! She did amazingly well on the plane rides home and we really could not have asked for anything more!!

America World Staff! Our Heroes!

Meet BeBe! When asked what his title was for America World, he replied with "I don't really have a title, I just do what needs to be done". Well, after our week with BeBe, we chose to give him the title of "THE MAN!" I don't remember if he added it or someone else, "The Man With The Plan"! He has a heart of gold and makes sure that if there is something that you need or want, you have it! If he hears you say something like, "Oh we need to get some formula today", the next thing you know, we are parked outside of a supermarket and he is saying, let's go! He goes out of his way to make sure that your time in Ethiopia is amazing! We had a blast with BeBe and can't say enough about him! Of course, Mark found out that he loves to surf so he invited him to visit FL to come surfing and to go to Disney World!! He has never been to the states! Oh, just so you know, one interesting fact about BeBe is he is a gymnast! Not just a gymnast but he is one of the best in Addis! He helps his brother teach gymnastics in his down time!! This sort of blew me away because he looks and acts WAY TO COOL to be a gymnast!

Meet Girmachew! Talk about a workhorse! This man is amazing! He has been dubbed "Superman" and he definately wears this well! He is in charge of getting all of our paperwork to the courts, securing court appointments, attending the hearings as our POA and then while in country, helps families with the paperwork to secure the children's Visas and Passports. We did not see him very much while we were there but knew that he was busily working to help all the families in different stages of their process. We caught up with him on Saturday afternoon before heading up to the room to pack and he was paying for our hotel rooms. He is a very humble man and we appreciate all he does! One interesting fact about Girmachew is that he is a US Citizen!

Meet Barrett and Rachel! They are newlweds and just moved to Addis Ababa this past January! Rachel works for America World and is currently running the Transition Home alongside of the nurse, Fortuna. She will be implementing new systems to help things run more smoothly. Barrett (I can't remember who he works for or what he does at this very moment) is a wonderful help to his wife and supports her 100% in her efforts! He's also a pretty funny guy! He kept us laughing and helped keep things calm in times of stress! One good thing to know about Rachel & Barrett is that they are both huge fans of Hummus and will eat it at each meal if the restaraunt has it! They also appreciate if you let them take your leftovers home to eat if you go out to dinner with them! They live at the Transition Home and say that the children get up all hours of the night and wake really early and are ready to play! They are very happy to have ear plugs!!! They are such a sweet couple and are open to any and all suggestions that families feel may help make things run smoother for all involved.
BeBe, Girmachew, Rachel & Barrett were wonderful to be with on our trip! They made sure that we had everything we needed and were so laid back about the schedule, etc. It made things so nice! We were in great hands!

Yet More!

This was Myli's first bath in the Hilton sink! She loved it!

Last dinner together with our travel group! We went to Zebra Grill on the way to the airport.

These are two of the teachers at the Kids Care Orphanage

These are the schedules posted above the cribs at the Kids Care Orphanage. I thought it would be nice for those waiting to see how they keep track of what,when,and how much the babies eat and their weight and med checks.

This woman worked tirelessly the entire time we were at Kids Care on the laundry! I can't imagine doing this everyday with a water hose and a stone for 50+ children!

More Random Pics

Coffee Ceremony at Transitional Home

Pic of crib at the Hilton

Daddy and Myli at Blue Topps

Myli playing happily in her crib

Myli on bus a fun ride

Pics of our trip!

Our first week home!

What a whirlwind our first week has been! Things are getting back to normal, although it is a new normal. It has been 12 years since we have had a baby and boy is it a shock to have a baby around again! No more picking up and running out the door spontaneously! It takes much more preparation to just go to the store for a few quick items! We are loving the new normal though! I do have to say that there was one day that I had to stop and ask myself if I had even brushed my teeth!! That's pretty sad! Between jetlag and the new night schedule, things can get forgotten!
Over all, it has been really great! Myliah is adjusting very well and has just found her little place in our family! She has such an amazing spirit and loves to be the center of attention! She is still not sleeping very well but I'm sure that will come with time! After all, it's only been a week!
She has about a dozen different faces that she makes and she gets lots of laughs from them!! I think that's the idea! She also claps, blows and gives kisses! Her kisses are still the wide open mouth and slobbery ones but those are the best ones! She started waving goodbye on Sunday at church and now waves at everyone that passes by! And, if you dare not speak to her, she will let you know how unacceptable that really is!
I'm beginning to wonder if she will ever get a chance to learn to walk though due to her brother and sister carrying her around so much! We have her first head to toe well baby check on Friday so we will see how the ears are coming along! We are also beginning to wonder if she may be a little lactose intolerant due to the amound of spitting up she does! We'll see!
So, in a nutshell, we are doing great! Bonding and attaching is going much better than we could have asked for and life is sweet!!

P.S. - All of our pictures are still on the little laptop that we took to Ethiopia so I still have to get Mark to help me access them and I promise pics will come soon!

Home Safe and Sound!

Just wanted to let you all know that we are home safe and sound and enjoying our new family! It's a new normal around here! Still a bit jet lagged and trying to catch up on some much needed sleep!
Our flight arrived almost two hours late into DC which put us WAY behind! The travel agent only gave us two hours and 30 minutes to make our connection and to make a long story short, we missed our flight b/c it LEFT EARLY!!! We raced through immigration, baggage claim, customs, rechecked our baggage, got our boarding passes, took the shuttle to another concourse, and when we got to the gate, the plane was gone! Mark got in the customer service line of about 50 people and I went to the front of the line and caught the eye of an attendant and told her that we were at the gate before the plane was scheduled to take off and she needed to fix the problem immediately, she put us on the next flight out which was at 12:40!
We had a wonderful flight into Orlando, Myli slept the entire time and so did I!
I will post pics of our sweet homecoming party which consisted of the Farley family and our children! It was so sweet to see familiar smiling faces! They had posters to welcome Myli home and she took very well to everyone!
Thanks again for all of your prayers! Myli is doing a little better. We took her to our pediatrician on Monday and she still has double ear infections and a sinus infection that the meds in ET just didn't take care of so we are starting on new antibiotics and we are confident that she will be healthy in no time!
We are sooooo happy to be home but most definately have left a HUGE piece of our hearts in Ethiopia!
Love to you all!

THURSDAY UPDATE!

WE STARTED OUR DAY ON THURSDAY BY VISITING THE ORPHANAGE WHERE MYLIAH AND ALL OF THE CHILDREN IN OUR GROUP WERE BROUGHT TO. THE ORPHANAGE IS CALLED KIDS CARE. WE DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT AND WERE QUITE SURPRISED BY THE CONDITION OF THE PLACE WHEN WE ARRIVED. WE WERE GREETED BY THE DIRECTOR, ASTER, WHO BRINGS NEW MEANING TO THE TERM "CHRIST LIKE". SHE HUGGED ON ALL OF THE CHILDREN AND THEN INVITED US TO LOOK AROUND. WE WENT TO THE KITCHEN AREA FIRST WHERE A LADY WAS WORKING ON TORO. SHE WAS SIFTING BIG BASKETS FULL OF WHAT LOOKED LIKE KERNELS. WE PEEKED INTO THE KITCHEN WHERE WE FOUND ONE 4 BURNER STOVE THAT THE COOKS USE TO PREPARE MEALS FOR UP TO 60 CHILDREN AT A TIME. FROM THE KITCHEN WE ENTERED THE SCHOOL ROOM WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE BUSILY WORKING AWAY. AFTER CLASS, THE CHILDREN CAME OUTSIDE TO PERFORM SEVERAL SONGS FOR US. IT WAS PRECIOUS SIGHT! WE THEN ENTERED THE NURSERY AREA WHERE THE BABIES AND TODDLERS ARE HOUSED. THE FIRST ROOM WE ENTERED WAS AS BIG AS OUR BATHROOM AT HOME AND IT HAD 4 CRIBS TUCKED IN THERE WITH AT LEAST 3 BABIES PER CRIB. THEY WERE VERY TINY NEWBORNS AND SOME WERE BEING FED WITH BOTTLES PROPPED BESIDE THEM. THE NEXT ROOM WAS FULL OF 6-12 MONTH OLD BABIES WHO WERE QUIETLY PLAYING ON THE STRAW CARPETED FLOOR WITH NOT MUCH MORE THAN A BALL. THERE WAS ONE NANNY IN THE ROOM. WE PLAYED AND LOVED ON SEVERAL OF THEM! WE PROCEEDED DOWN THE HALL TO SEVERAL SMALL ROOMS WHERE THE WALLS WERE LINED WITH CRIBS FULL OF PRECIOUS LITTLE BABIES. IT WAS HEARTWRENCHING TO SAY THE LEAST! THERE WERE JUST SO MANY BABIES! OF COURSE, WE WANTED TO BRING THEM ALL HOE WITH US. WE THEN ASKED IF THEY COULD SHOW US WHERE MYLI HAD SLEPT AND WE GOT TO MEET THE NANNY WHO TOOK CARE OF HER. SHE LOVED AND KISSED ALL OVER HER AND SAID SHE LOOKED SO VERY HAPPY AND HEALTHY. WE WERE INVITED TO A COFFEE CEREMONY AND WATCHED AS THE LADIES ROASTED THE COFFEE BEANS AND THEN MADE THE COFFEE WITH SUCH LOVE. THIS WAS ONE OF MY BIGGEST FEARS AS I DONT DRINK COFFEE BUT CERTAINLY DID NOT WANT TO OFFEND THEM AFTER THE HARD WORK THAT IT TOOK TO MAKE IT. MARK TOOK MY COFFEE AND PREPARED IT AND WHEN NO ONE WAS LOOKING, WE GAVE IT TO ONE OF THE OTHER MEN IN THE GROUP AND HE GLADLY DRANK HIS SECOND CUP! AFTER THE COFFEE CEREMONY WE GOT TO MEET THE SPECIAL LADY WHO IS IN CHARGE OF MATCHING ALL OF THE CHILDREN WITH THEIR FAMILIES. OUR MYLI HAPPENS TO SHARE THE SAME NAME, FREHIWOT. OUR TOUR WAS OVER BUT WE DIDNT WANT TO LEAVE. WE ARE FOREVER CHANGED AND A PIECE OF OUR HEARTS ARE THERE FOREVER!
WE LOADED UP ON THE BUS TO GRAB SOME LUNCH AT BLUE TOPS AND IT WAS GREAT! MYLI WAS A GOOD GIRL AND MARK AND I SHARED A BURGER AND FRIES!

I DIDNT KNO HOW HONORED AND BLESSED WE WOULD BE AT OUR NEXT STOP. WE WENT TO THE ADDIS ABABA FISTULA HOSPITAL. THE HOSPITAL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1974 AND THEY ARE DOING A MIRACULOUS WORK FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN OF ALL AGES. THEY SPECIALIZE IN TREATING THOSE WITH CHILDBIRTH INJURIES AND VICTIMS OF RAPE. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THIS SUBJECT AND FIND OUT WHAT GOD IS DOING FOR THESE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. IT IS TRULY AMAZING!!

AFTER RETURNING FROM OUR LONG DAY OF VISITS, WE HAD A NICE BBQ DINNER AT THE OUTSIDE DINING AREA AT THE HILTON.

P.S.- YOUR PRAYERS ARE WORKING, MYLI IS RECOVERING NICELY AND WE THINK SHE WILL BE READY FOR TAKEOFF ON SATURDAY.