Theune Family

Way too long!

2010-05-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Holy cow I'm terrible about blogging...sorry! Ok quick update! Nia has been home for more than a year now, but truly it seems like she's been here forever. She couldn't be doing better except that she wants to start school NOW! She's had some trouble with ear infections and thus had tubes put in. She is doing great. Kaiya and Ellie are coming to a close on their 1/2 day schools days. First grade is around the corner and my little girls will officially be all day school girls. I'm not sure that I'm ready for that. Thankfully Nia will only by 1/2 days! :) Dave finished up Les Mis this spring and it was amazing. We've also finished everything up with my knee injury and can move on from it now...no more traveling back and forth to Indianapolis :)

I've learned how to do many things to Nia's hair. My favorite look for her is extensions, but it does take really long! I've tried the yarn extension and it's great...much easier than hair or fake hair for that matter. She loves her longish hair because then she can have a ponytail or pigtails like her big sisters.

Our family travels to Disney World in June. We can't wait. Everyone is ready for a family trip. The girls have never been and Dave and I haven't been in 12 years so it's going to be all new for us too! The big news from Dave and I is that we've lost lots and lots of weight! Dave has reached the 100 pound mark and I'm at the 40 pound mark. We feel great!

Basically that is the update...I'll try to make it a little more frequent from now on!

Oh and I would upload a pic, but it's telling me that I've reached my quota and I don't feel like dealing with computer stuff tonight!!

Latest Hairstyle!

2009-11-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest attempt at Nia's hair! She loves it. Of course I'm picky and I don't think that it's perfect, but it's getting better. The longer that it gets the easier it's going to be. Everyone is great here...nothing to report. -Nikki

October with the Theunes!

2009-10-31T19:08:00.000-07:00

The girls all dressed up, the entire family, and our little pumpkin Nia on her first Halloween

Kaiya is learning to love horses and the family hunting for the perfect pumpkin

The girls in the fall and Ellie and Kaiya...age six and still fit into the dryer with room to spare!

What a crazy time it is for us, but everyone is happy and knock on wood everyone is still healthy! Kaiya and Ellie are in Kindergarten, in separate classes and loving it..they are still 1/2 days. Nia is totally in love with her daycare friends. We get to all (except Dad) come home for lunch and spend our afternoons together. I am working 1/2 days as well. This fall I'm helping with the Varsity Girls Swimming and Diving Team...and it's been a blast. We've got our conference meet this coming weekend and it's our meet to loose! Dave is working on the fall play...Twelve Angry Jurors...opens the same weekend that I have conference...so one could say that we are a little busy. The play is going to be great! The nice thing is that all are happy. Enjoy the pics. -Nikki

It's already the end of September!

2009-09-24T12:01:00.000-07:00

Nia's latest hairdo

Nia and Lydia DeCook at a reunion
Kaiya on one of the Anema's horses at the reunion

Ok so I've been terrible with a capital T about writing on our blog. Things are going so well that I really feel that I'm boring right now! Everyone is back at school or daycare and loving it. Kaiya and Ellie are in separate Kindergarten classes and are doing well with the adjustment. Nia is loving daycare so much that I walk her to the door she opens it hugs me and closes it. I'm not even allowed to step inside to say goodbye! What a blessing that she loves it that much. She continues to amaze us. Counting up to 11 on her own, memorizing books already, starting to sing the ABC song and boy oh boy is she talkative! I've been practicing things with her hair...little puffs all over and she just LOVES getting her hair done...I really think that she loves all the attention that she gets when it's done from others! I've finally figured out what works best for her hair and that feels great! I am an assistant coach for the local varsity swimming team and Dave has started the fall play....he directs it. SO one could say that we are busy. I think that Dave and I literally see each other about 33 minutes a day. 3 in the afternoon as we are exchanging cars and then 30 when he gets home at night! But so far all is good. I'm loving my job....still part time in the mornings and really feeling like I'm helping out some kids this year that really need it...I work in an elementary special ed department. I hope all is well with you when you are reading this. Nikki

Nia's birthday and more!

2009-07-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Alright again it's been way too long since I've updated things, but it's summer so we are busy. Nia is now officially two years old! She loved her birthday along with telling her sisters and friends "no, no, no" as far as helping her open presents! We had our first family of five vacation to Mackinaw City/Island, MI and it was great. We staying in a hotel with a small water park...all kids loved it. They also loved the boat, the fudge, the horse carriage and the icecream. It was a little too much shopping for them, but they managed! Kaiya, Ellie, Nikki and Nana J had our annual trip to Chicago. This year was the girls first pedicure...oh so cute! along with a trip to the Disney Store, a cab ride and swimming in the pool! We did visit the American Girl Store, but that trip is reserved for next year...they are already excited and asking about it! Nikki is in her last week of summer swim team. We ended our swim season 3-0, but the most important part was that we had over 90 kids on the team for our first year and it was really fun for all involved. Dave continues to slowly get ready for the upcoming school year teaching all new classes, juniors instead of freshmen. August is already busy, but all fun things.

1. Nia's first, but year 2 birthday cake (yes she is obsessed with Tractors!)

2. Nia at her birthday party

3. All the girls on the ferry to Mac. Island

4. All the girls and their cousin at Meijer Gardens

Nia!

2009-07-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we are celebrating Nia's 2nd birthday! Wow it's already here and boy oh boy does she understand that it's her day! She keeps reminding us that she's going to be two and that she gets presents. We are having family and some friends over for cake and pizza with homemade icecream! yum! I'll post pics after tomorrow!

Things are good!

2009-06-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hey! here are some pics.

This is a welcoming ceremony at our church for Nia. All of us wore traditional Ethiopian outfits.

This is Nia with some of her friends from the orphanage at a reunion in May.

The girls hanging out in the kiddy pool in the backyard

Nia's baptism, June 14, 2009. Baptized by her Grandpa, the Rev. Theune

All the girls together on Nia's first camping trip..which she loved!

Nia and her baby while camping.

Dave is gone!!!

2009-06-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Daddy getting a bath from Nia!

I am a single mother for the next three days. I know that some of you might do this all the time with husbands being away frequently for work, but mine is never away for overnights due to work, but this time it is! He's been asked to speak in Alpena, MI about tri-mesters...he's a teacher. So I'm single for 3 days...single mother that is! So far so good. Tonight we went out and tried to get some Father's Day shopping done while he's away. Then dinner a walk with the dog. Bedtime wasn't so wonderful though. Kaiya and Ellie were great as they always are because they are older and just understand that "bed" isn't the worst thing in the world anymore. Nia on the other hand appears to think that the world is ending if she closes her eyes! Tonight she cried and cried and cried and cried! Not normal for her. I tried to be calm and that wasn't helping. I tried rocking her, not helping. I tried letting her go...also not helping! So I did just that I let her go because K and E needed to get to bed. SO while we read books , brushed teeth and went potty she cried! Poor little girl but what can you do. I had already devoted 45 mintues to just her at "her" bedtime...now she had to wait. So after tucking K and E in I spent another 40 minutes with Nia again. By now though I was upset and spent...I did get upset and told her "no" to the crying and night night and just closed the door. This of course made her cry more. So then I let her scream it out because I needed the break! After about 2 minutes of her now screaming I decided to be the adult in the situation and rock her. She calmed down quickly. I layed her in her bed and she began to cry again! WHAT? Finally I asked her if she had an ouch and she pointed to her ears AGAIN. IF there is another ear infection it would be the 3rd one in 2 months. YUCK. So now I'm thinking that I will try to schedule her a doctor appt. for tomorrow if possible. She just got done with her antibiotic for the last one 9 days ago.

Pray for a good night sleep by all!!

Other than that everything here is fine! Loving being on summer break. I am obsessed with my gardens and cannot wait for everything to pop/bloom.

We are having Nia's baptism this Sunday. We are looking forward to it. Dave's Dad is a minister and he's done all of the other grandchildren..but now we belong to a different church and he's since retired, but our new minister said that he of course can be involved in the service! We are so excited that Nia wont be left out of the Grandpa baptism loop! Afterwards I am attempting to make Dora Watt and Siga Watt along with Injera and Lentils for everyone. Anyone have good recipies?...let me know! The simpler the better!

Have a great rest of the week! Nikki

It's been too long!

2009-05-27T18:18:00.001-07:00

Alright you can probably tell that summer is fast approaching and I no longer find the time to sit inside at this thing. I say this "thing" because 2 weeks ago it totally crashed on us...black "dos" screen and we had to have our computer reset to factory settings for the 2nd time even though it's only 4 years old. They, meaning the computer people, say that 4 years old is "old", but for those of us on a teachers salary 4 years old is a new born as far as we are concerned!

Alright with that off my chest...

There are 7 days left of school and yes this family is counting down! We can wait for summer. Nothing really going on, but just to sleep in and be a family of 5 again and do more bonding and fun sounds great!

Things are going well. Nia is having some small bonding issues with Dave, but we are already seeing improvment since working on it. The social worker said that Dave really needs to be her sole provider when he is around, but I'm also not allowed to leave her when he is around. At home in her safe zone she is doing great. Out of the home when she's not so sure of her surroundings she feels best when with me, but she is eventually willing to go to Dave. Things are getting better. We think that we made some key mistakes when we got home. We allowed anyone and everyone that wanted to hold her to...because she was willing to go to them. Well she eventually went to every male besides Dave...oops. We also made the mistake that when Dave got home from school Mommy got to run out, so then Dave became associated with Mommy leaving. Now we just run errands all together...it's not as easy to say the least, but then we are all together which is the point. At home she will easily go to Dave without a fuss at all...even asks for him. We are going to continue to limit other people picking her up besides us for now if we are around. Again we see a great difference in only 6 days, we are pleased.

Kaiya and Ellie continue loving school, but we can sense the excitment of it ending. They are already excited for Kindergarten which is great. This summer they are going to be taking ballet, then soccer and also participating in a theatre show.

Dave has already gotten in two rounds of golf! Loving it and wishes that we had the money for him to play once a week at least!

Nikki is back into her gardening, but is hating the mosquitoes this year...they are mean and blood thirsty!

It's May!

2009-05-16T20:02:00.000-07:00

Wow so it's been a long time since posting...guess I'm busy or something!

Let's see...the Musical is done and we've got our Daddy back and we love it. The show, Annie, went great for Dave and he had so much to be proud of. Now if only his daughters would stop singing the songs that he's had to listen to for the past three months due to rehearsal! The girls loved the show and all we listen to in the car now is Annie! Sorry Dave!

I am back at work and truly glad about it. It's amazing how much you miss adult interaction when you are used to it. I only work 4 hours a day, but those are important 4 hours for me I found out! Nia is at daycare during those hours and K and E are at school. It all worked out great.

Kaiya and Ellie are finishing up their first year of big girl school...next year is kindergarten...Wow! Can't believe it. They had a field trip on Tuesday to the "critter barn" which Dave was able to go with and then on Friday of this coming week I get to attend the schools Family Picnic Day...it's hard to go to your kids stuff when you are a teacher yourself though! They are excited for the summer...taking ballet/gymnastics and soccer. They also were able to get some salamanders and so far they are still alive..we'll see what next week brings!

Nia is doing great. She loves her home. She loves her swing in the back yard, and yes finally she has come to LOVE her stroller! In her first 2 weeks home she wanted nothing to do with it and now she wants to just sit in it in the front yard! Too funny! She is going well with daycare too. She cries when I drop her off, but what 22 month old doesn't. She truly stops within 2 minutes IF that long! What is nice is that she's understanding so much more now. I can say "mommy be back" and she'll say "ok" and then a couple of tears, but she's really ok about being at daycare. There are only 3 other kids there so she's really been able to enjoy herself without it being lots of chaos.

Life is good. Some emotional moments..having a 22 month old is very very different from having 2 very independent 5 year olds...very different. It's amazing how much energy and attention they need. That part I might not have been so prepared for! I think that over the very short 3 years since E and K were that age I forgot! Food issues are great. She's sharing food and she's leaving food on her plate when she's full. I even made something last night the she didn't like and she didn't eat dinner! Wow! We were so proud! I offered her a banana, but she truly didn't want anything! It's strange to be proud of your child not eating, but for her to turn down something is truly a great step! She is now 22 months old and weighing in at 25 1/2 pounds. When we first brought her home she was in the 6th percentile for weight and 50th for height. She's now in the 50th percentile for both...easily passed K and E by! They are still under the 10th percentiles for everything...well height they are alright!

Alright I've babbled enough...off to bed!

Shaving Cream!

2009-04-28T18:22:00.000-07:00

So I thought that I would be a fun Mom for the afternoon and let the girls play with some shaving cream at our counter and just play in it! Kaiya and Ellie do it all the time without big messes and it's just fun! Well I think I'm still learning what a 20 month old can get into! Holy cow! I turned my back for two seconds to grab the camera and below is how I return to find Nia. Two seconds ago she had NO shaving cream on her face! We laughed so hard we were crying. She loved it. Then she of course needed a bath which is still her favorite thing to do.

She went to the park for the first time today and played great. She did the little slide and then got pretty daring and tried the tube slide head first on her tummy and came out all smiles! She is truly just a joy and is always full of smiles and giggles. Hard to believe that all she did was cry when sometimes dont even see it once a day!

Dave's show "Annie" opens this weekend and we can't wait. Kaiya and Ellie are going to see it on Sat. night...of course getting all dressed up. I'm going to get Nia to bed and then sneak out of the house while a babysitter stays with her so that I can hopefully catch the second half. Then after this weekend we get our husband/daddy back...YEAH!

I started back to work this week and it's going great. Some tears when I leave her at daycare, but literally within 2 minutes it's stopped. The daycare lady called me today while I was on my way to school and the background was quiet! So nice to hear that she's doing so well! She loves her friends there too!

We hope all is well with all of you! Enjoy the pics!

Pics!

2009-04-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

Bathtime: we LOVE the water and dumping it over our head is the best!
Easter: painting Easter eggs with my sisters!

Nia continues to do well. She's actually at daycare right now and I snuck out to see how it was going to go....so far no phone calls that I'm needed! She continues to be all smiles unless she's hungry or tired! What person isn't that way!

Enjoy the rain! (at least it's not snow!)

Doing well!

2009-04-15T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well we've calmed down about going places! Now that everyone is back to work/school we are just getting used to our schedule...and she loves a schedule! She is SO happy when she gets woken up in the morning. She just wants to sit in her crib and play with Kaiya and Ellie on the outside! Then everyone gets dressed. Then of course she knows that it's time to EAT!!!! So obsessed with food, but it's getting better! Then time to bring the girls to school. It's still a little struggle to drop off our best friends and say goodbye to them! Nia and I are going to daycare together right now for the next 7 days to help her get used to it. Today went great. At the end of the morning she was giving hugs to all her new friends and blowing kisses. We did have a mini-melt down about sharing crayons, but she handled it pretty well. She just needs time to cry it out and then she's alright. Picking her up definitely makes it worse though! She continues to sleep great at night and today for her nap for the first time no crying! She said night night to Kaiya and Ellie on her own too! She is definitely learning her schedule. We've had 3 days with good stool too! We are going into the Dr. tomorrow as she's got a spot on her tummy that I just haven't seen before and she keeps picking scabs on her head. I just want to make sure that it's nothing!
Kaiya and Ellie continue to be awesome big sisters. I would say that Ellie struggles the most still needing some individual time with either Mom or Dad and some extra love! But overall they love it. Nia took to Kaiya very quickly, but today she wanted Ellie to do everything! I truly don't think that she sees a difference in them yet!
We are having a get together with our fellow Ethiopia travelers at the end of May and we can't wait. She's always looking at pictures of her friends from ET with huge smiles!
The only thing we are seeing that does have it's concerns is her food issues. She is very very possessive about what is hers and finishing EVERYTHING! We have been told to offer her food whenever she asks, but only tiny amounts unless it's a meal so that she's not over-eating. She is starting to slow down at the table which is nice to see. Yesterday we felt that she had a break through because she offered some of her snack to Kaiya and Ellie! WOW! Sharing is a HUGE thing that we didn't expect for quite some time!

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

She's overdone!!

2009-04-09T17:39:00.000-07:00

Alright we got too confident with our new Nia and she's totally overdone with our busy on the go Spring Break. Yesterday we did a play area in Holland and out for lunch. Then after nap we decided to do dinner at a grandparents home along with making Easter eggs. Then to bed, which was a struggle because we were too tired. Then this morning we had to get up and get going because we were going to Meijer Gardens with family, then out for lunch. She was not in the mood AT ALL! She didn't mind the car ride...sang the whole way there! Once we got there though she totally shut down and didn't smile for quite some time. She was terrified by the cage like structure heading into the butterflies so we tried it twice with full out tantrums and then we gave up. One tantrum we had to go outside because we were so loud. Other kids started to stare and it actually was nice as she was lying there on the ground dealing with herself. (I have found that she gets more upset if I hold her so I just make sure that she's safe and let her calm down on her own.) One mother passing by with her concerned child said "it's OK honey her mommy is there for her!" I was actually so excited that I was seen as her mommy! She cried it out lying on the ground for about 5 minutes...but then she was much better. We went inside and didn't even attempt the butterflies...had a snack, juice and then she was her normal self again running around. She even was willing to climb the large large grass hill by the HUGE horse in the sculpture gardens outside.
It was a HUGE wake up for Dave and I. She slept on the way home and had the BEST afternoon. She played in our backyard with Kaiya and Ellie...and played like three little sisters! Then played inside this evening with all of us...just back to her giggly self! Tomorrow is a low key day...so is Saturday, but not Sunday with it being Easter. Church and lunch and then nap and then dinner out and then my friend Mindy is coming home with her new Mimi and I HAVE to get to the airport in GR for that one! Big day. Hopefully Saturday will be low key enough.
Then Monday is school. Nia and I will bring the girls to school and then chill out at home just us!

She's really doing well except when her parents put her over the edge! The one thing that she shocked us on was her time at the aquatic center. Sitting on the edge within 10 minutes of being there and diving in...underwater and LOVING it! Amazing!

Have a great rest of Spring Break!

All eyes on Mom!!

2009-04-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Ok, Nia is doing so well and Dave and I aren't people that can just sit home for days...we like to go go go! So yesterday we sat home until after her nap and we decided to try to mall...the girls also wanted new earrings! So she was fine, but of course when the girls were getting some jewelry she wanted some too! We found a cheap necklace and she was happy! Then we decided to get everyone a snack to "share" at the pretzel place. We got 3 little cups of soft pretzel sticks, to share! Not going to happen! Kaiya and Ellie had a cup of pretzels in front of them and then Nia had one in front of her, but she thought that she was going to be eating all 5 pretzel sticks! No way little girl. I tried to take one out as she was eating a different one and she started to cry and basically brushed my hand away from the pretzel cup. Yikes! I put it back. At this point she was onto her 2nd pretzel and I told her all done and pushed the cup away. OH MY GOSH!! A total melt down/tantrum. Now of course there were lots of people around and she's in my arms hitting me, kicking me and trying her best to get out of my arms. I decided to take her outside for her to calm down....didn't happen as planned! She got more upset that I was taking her away from "her" food. So I put her back down and we went inside...then of course she didn't know where she was so she held out her hand for me to take. She calmed down. She was allowed to sit at the table again and have her cup with one more 1/2 pretzel in it. Then she was fine!
I guess it never occured to me that she might be that possessive. Why it didn't occur I'm not sure, she's very possessive at home so why wouldn't she be somewhere else! It's just something that I need to remember and get used to for awhile. Sharing food isn't going to be happening for awhile.

I did have lots of eyes watching me. Not only because my child was throwing a huge tantrum in the mall and it was loud, very loud, but also of course because I was white and she was black.
I was not shocked but fully aware of all the stares her and I got. We don't look like we belong together, but when you see her smile and lift her arms to me and say mama, it's obvious! I know that going out in West Michigan we are going to get some stares, but it was strange...it felt strange. I felt that I was being watched to see how I was doing as a mother. It was a similar feeling in Ethiopia when we had to go out in public for our Embassy appointment. A very "on display" feeling.

Nia continues to do wonderfully. We took the morning with all the girls to visit her daycare place to just get used to the lady and the environment...she loved it. There weren't any kids there this time because of Spring Break so it was nice for her to be there without the chaos! Next week real life starts! Dave is going back to work and I will be taking the girls to school. 3 of those days Nia and I will be going to daycare together. Hopefully things go well. Just getting out the door on time is going to be interesting!

The rest of the week is filled with outings! Holland on Wednesday and then Meijer Gardens on Thursday.

Have a great rest of your week.

Doing well!

2009-04-04T12:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! We are doing so well! Nia is loving life at the Theune home and starting to get used to the fact that we go places! She's not crying anymore when we put on her coat and get into the car. It used to be a big struggle, but she's learning that it's ok to get her coat on and go somewhere. Yesterday we brought her to the Aquatic Center and she even put on her swimming suit and got in the water up to her knees...all smiles too! Today we brought her on a walk through the woods with the girls and a set of grandparents. She was in the backpack carrier, which she didn't like at first, but with enough "puffs" (food bribes!) it went well. Then we decided to go out for our first lunch and she loved it! Waiting for food she doesn't understand yet because there are other people eating and not her, but once it was there she was happy as a lark!

Nap times and bedtimes are also going very well. She's starting to know her bed and room and is even ok with being put into her crib somewhat awake.

The latest pic is of her playing! Enjoy and GO SPARTANS!!

Day 4!

2009-04-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well we are so blessed! No one got sick while we were in ET and no one got sick when we got home from ET. Amazing! Nia Tihun got her stool sample results back and her blood work results back and she's terribly healthy! Nothing wrong with anything! We are so lucky. Most kids come home with at least a parasite, but none!
Nap on the first day was terrible....1 1/2 hours of screaming! The 2nd day was 25 minutes, 3rd was 15 minutes and today was 9 minutes of just whining! She's starting to understand we think. Bed time is great through. Read some books, rock a little and then she goes right down! The cute thing is, is that she wants to sleep with her shoes...not on, but cuddle with them in her arms!
She's just a doll. Running around the house trying to hide from us...loves to be thrown up in the air and caught...loves zerberts on her tummy....loves her sisters! She's just a joy to us.
She tried Mac and Cheese for the first time today and wouldn't eat it until she had it like Daddy, with ketchup on it!
So far life is great with her. Thanks to everyone who has been saying prayers and thinking of us.

We're Back!!!

2009-03-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hey!! We are finally back. The flights were long, but good. Everything easy and on time! Nia Tihun is doing amazingly great! She slept in the car on the way home without a problem. She just cuddled into her crib last night and slept from 8:00PM to 4:00AM. Kaiya and Ellie were great too and went to bed so Dave and I got about 7 hours last night. She woke up just fine and happy. Nap today was very very difficult...1 1/2 hours of screaming...then finally a nap, but only for an hour! She's not sick that we can see, but she's got her first doctor appt. tomorrow to get everything checked out. Dave and I are also feeling great! I know that Doretta and Cindy are not going to like hearing that!! She's warming up to Dave finally and already has warmed up to the girls! Loves them....doesn't mind their hugs and kisses...actually their smothering! We'll see how bedtime goes, but the day has been great. Thanks to all of those who came to the airport last night. It was so great to see everyone. Enjoy the pics!!

1. Our first family photo on gotcha day
2. Smiles after our first bath
3. Our arrival into GR

Dad's First Post

2009-03-18T10:51:00.001-07:00

Hi All!

We landed safely in Washington, DC about an hour and a half ago. We grabbed some decent lunch and then made our way to the Red Carpet Lounge--United's first class lounge. We paid for the deluxe version due to the extended layover which is now about nine hours total. To be honest, it was a gift from some very nice folks and I am now realizing just how nice it is to have. We get free internet access, sodas, snacks, nice chairs and couches. As a matter of fact, Nikki is napping right now. I'm confident that Nikki will want to post as soon as she wakes up. I'm trying to make it to the flight before I zonk out.

The two flights have been totally smooth--no problems. We did have to take out about three packs of children's motrin and one pedialyte to fit in the suitcase weight limit. I didn't want to pay an extra $100 for those four or five items.

JB and Lynn, great friends of ours, took us to the airport and waited around long enough for us to figure out if we were carrying too much.

I've found myself very much focused on my girls: all of them. I wonder about Kaiya and Ellie. I'm sure they're doing well. School will keep them busy and all of their teachers will check on them. But I've been thinking of Nia a lot today as well. She doesn't realize that her whole life is going to change in just a few days. When you really think about it, it's pretty drastic. I won't be surprised if we have quite a while of "figuring each other out". That's okay! As a matter of fact, I think it will be fun.

Mostly, I anticipate our moments in Ethiopia and the moments when we get to bring her home to our wonderful network of family and friends.

Make it a great day!
DT

Last night!!!

2009-03-17T18:54:00.000-07:00

We'll I've got 4 minutes before I told myself that I would be in bed...so I probably wont make it by then...oh well! We are ready...so ready. The girls are at Nana and Papa J's house and the dog is at another house, the cat...is fending for herself! There is no laundry to do, there are no dishes to do and the bathrooms are clean! Wow! We have to be in GR at 4:30AM. Thanks to our friends JB and Lynn they are taking us to the airport so that we dont have to pay for parking.
The news that we got today was that we needed to bring some flashlights because Ethiopia was going to be out of power for part of the time that we are going to be there! Like the whole country you are asking? Yes the whole country. What? What? Why? We aren't sure, but we made sure to buy the flashlights! SO if for some reason this blog doesn't get updated after 9:30PM Wednesday night it means that we are in another country without power! I basically know that we probably wont be able to post anything until Monday the 23rd. We will be in the southern region which doesn't have internet capabilities and not back into the capitol until the 23rd. IF there is power I will try to post!!
Thanks to everyone for all of there support, prayers, thoughts and love during this journey. The journey continues, but more hands on!

One more day!

2009-03-16T18:33:00.000-07:00

We'll it's so close we can taste it! The suitcases are packed and actually closed. The house is cleaned and the kids are in bed already! I've gone over paperwork AGAIN and everything is still where I left it last time. Now I'm just ready. I've got one more 1/2 day of work and then it's just time with the girls in the afternoon. Dinner with Daddy for the last time and then off to Nana and Papa's house for the first of their 11 sleepovers! They are excited as well. I got told tonight that they aren't going to want to come home! Yeah right! Dave is feeling SO much better! I hope to sleep well tonight! We just found out today that our 8 hour layover in DC is now 10 hours. YIKES! We also found out that instead of having a day to recoup and shop on Friday we are going to be getting up at 5:00AM on Friday (ET time) after arriving at 11:00PM and heading south for 8 hours in a jeep! YIKES AGAIN! We'll make it...but when we get back to Addis (capitol) I'm sleeping! I'm thanking my lucky stars that I picked up some sleeping pills! We are still set to get Nia on Wednesday. Can't wait. I hope to be able to update this while we are there so check!

2 days!!!!

2009-03-15T07:04:00.001-07:00

Well for the first time I am posting from a laptop that we are borrwing from the school for our trip. We are hoping to be able to get wireless service while we are in ET and updating this blog with words, but hopefully pics as well. Right now I'm sitting at Starbucks in GH thinking of all that still needs to be done. Today I'm finishing up the basement...one more coat of paint. I know what your saying...painting? Well it was Dave's Christmas present to have the basement done into Packer land (green bay packers...football team!) and if I didn't get it done before we left it wasn't going to get done until this Christmas. Now I could have done it while we were spending all that time waiting to pass court, but that would have made sense for Nikki! :) Anyway...I'm also packing the girls today and laying out most of our clothes for the trip. Tomorrow I'm re-arranging the suitcases so that if one of them gets lost we can still make it through the trip with what doesn't get lost! The house is clean, but will need a once over before we leave.
JB and Lynn are picking us up at 3:50AM on Wednesday! Yikes that is so early. Then to GR. We found out that the airport didn't open until 4:30 so why try to get there 2 hours or for international flights 3 hours when they aren't going to be there!
Here are the days in ET as we know them. We fly out Wednesday and arrive into ET on Thursday night. We go through customs, visa, and exchange our money all before leaving the airport. Then it's off to the hotel to check in and then out for a late night pizza dinner. Friday we've got set a side to be a tourist...shopping from what we are told! Then Saturday we take off for Awassa. It's a 6-8 hour drive over the ETian countryside. Should be gorgeous. We stop about every hour to tour different areas. We are there until Monday night or Tuesday...not sure yet. Then we come back for another day or 1/2 day to be a tourist again. Wednesday we get Nia!! We have about an hour at the orphanage and then she's just with us. There are 7 other couples going with us and when we all leave the orphanage there are 11 children leaving with us. There is only one other couple the is taking one child...everyone else is taking two. Most of the kids are 2-4 years old. Hopefully the hotel will be fun with all those kids running around. We do have to stay in the hotel until we leave on Friday night. ET culture doesn't permit us to walk around with our kids. The girls are going to go out while the guys stay in and then there will be a switch. Then Friday night at 10:15 we board the plane for DC. Back into GR at 6:21 Sat. night.
Wow!
Again hopefully we will be able to update the blog while we are in ET. Have a great Sunday.
Nikki

1 Week!!!

2009-03-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

Well it's 7:49 on my clock and by this time next Wednesday we'll already be in Chicago! Wow...early! We leave out of GR at 6:01AM and then into Chicago and then a long layover and then into DC and then the longest layover I could imagine...8 hours! Yikes! I'm planning on sleeping a lot and maybe trying to read! Dave's done his best to find me some great books that I'll enjoy. He would know! The girls are getting excited for their 11 sleepover nights while we are gone. They will be so tired when we get home so hopefully everyone will want to sleep that first night. Two weeks from today is our "gotcha" day for Nia. We are told that we will be meeting and getting her on Wednesday the 25th of March. Can't wait! Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Nikki

Saturday Night

2009-03-07T19:38:00.000-08:00

It's finally hitting me...
I'm already starting to miss Kaiya and Ellie. I can't imagine being gone from them for 10 days. I have spent the evening in Grand Rapids at GoJo's with other families that we are traveling with...getting to know each other. All of us are leaving children at home. When I got home I was doing more business work...schedule on paper for those taking the girls, permission slips for the school to release the girls to the right people on the right day..etc. Then it just hit me...I wont be there. I wont get to wake them up in the morning and cuddle with them till they are awake. I wont get to make them "fancy" pancakes or waffles with sprinkles. I wont get to pick out their clothes. I wont get to listen to "single ladies" by Beyonce on the way to school. I wont get them off the bus when they arrive at my school. We wont have lunch together and snuggle when we get home, watch a movie or play. And mostly I wont be tucking them into bed at night. I know that they will be fully taken care of and overly loved by their Grandparents and other family and friends, but it's not me. Selfishly I would love for them to come with, but I also know that being 5 they cannot, physical can, but just can't! I have been busy...busy packing and preparing and they are getting used the phrase, "just a minute!" I've got just over 1 week now before I leave my babies! I feel ready...I feel packed...Now is the time to spend with them. We've got a great "family" day planned on Saturday the 14th...museum and lunch and love! It doesn't make it any easier though. I already can't wait to be back and have them in my arms again.
I'm also already thinking about how different life is going to be for them. They have been our everything for the past 5 years. Nothing has come before them. Big adjustments are coming to this house. The main thing for me to remember is love. Love them, all of them, Dave, Kaiya, Ellie and Nia. Time will help everyone adjust to the change, but love will get us through.

I love you all so much already and everyday it grows stronger. --Mommy!

New Pics!

2009-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Here are two new pictures of Nia. Please note that she's only crying because she's been put down by her nanny! Too funny. I wish that I could call or email the nanny and tell her to put her down more often so that the crying didn't happen so much! Less than two weeks and we'll be there already! Can't wait!

New Information!

2009-02-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

We'll we've got good news! We are not getting into GR on the 28th of March at 11:00PM...we are getting into GR at 6:20PM on the 28th! Yeah! I love that it's not so late at night! Really good for Kaiya and Ellie too! Hopefully they will go to bed that night some time before midnight!
I've just spent the evening doing laundry for all of Nia's new/used things! Clean sheets, new outfits, clean used outfits! It was too fun to fold and put in away knowing that she will be in it all very soon! I think this was the first time that I've actually enjoyed doing laundry since the girls were about the be born!!
Saturday we are getting together with another couple who returned from ET about 2 months ago. We can't wait to pick their brains with questions and see pictures!

March 18, 2009!!!

2009-02-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

It's official...we leave the US on March 18 to go get Nia. We purchased our tickets this morning! We are there for 10 days and return on the 28th of March to GR at about 11:00pm! We are so excited. We've got lots to do, but already feel pretty prepared. Have a great Saturday! :)

She is coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-02-19T10:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's official we passed court today! Everything came together and she is legally ours! We will find out travel information either tomorrow or Monday. Thanks for all your thoughts/prayers. Enjoy the pictures...we can post them now!!!

TONIGHT!!!!!

2009-02-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

While we are sleeping tonight...after midnight Ethiopia is going to be reviewing Nia's case/paperwork and either passing us through or not. Please do all that you can with your thoughts/prayers to get us through! We wont find out until later in the day on Thursday so we will post then. Thanks so much!

One more week!

2009-02-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Well it's about a week away to our 2nd court date. I wasn't thinking about it that much till someone...we'll call her Mindy! informed me over email that it was only 8 days away. When I saw the number 8, my heart skipped a beat as I didn't realize that it was that close! Luckily we've got lots to do this weekend and next week. The girls are going to the dentist on Thursday, haircut Friday (first real one!), Friday night sleepover at Nana J's and Dave and I are having a "out" weekend. Double feature movie on Friday night and then a Spring Lake Athletic Department party/dance! All of it will help the time pass quickly till Thursday. I can't believe that it's truly almost here again. I pray that Nia's Aunt shows up again along with the right documents this time. Fingers crossed...actually everything is crossed!

It's February!!!!!!!

2009-02-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Alright so January went pretty fast because I was busy with swimming! Well that is done which means that it's February. Today we've got our agencies social worker coming over to do an update to our home study...just because the adoption is taking longer than 1 year. After one year your paperwork needs to be updated again. Anyway...next week Dave has auditions for the musical so he will be busy with that and then all of the sudden it's going to be the 19th. Another try at passing court. I'm already so nervous. I just want Nia's aunt to show up with the right paperwork and all of the other paperwork to pass easily. It will be a long 6 weeks if it doesn't pass. BUT we are being positive...it just has to pass we are so ready for her to come home!!!!!!! Keep those prayers going!

Jan 6

2009-01-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

Well we are sorry to say that we didn't make it through court today for Nia. All of the paperwork from the agency, government and orphanage were fine. Nia's Aunt did show up and the only thing that didn't go right is that she didn't bring in the right identification to show that she was who she was. We've got another court date for Feb 19. Hopfully everything will go great at that time. We are of course sad, very sad. BUT there is literally nothing that we can do about it.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.

David and Nikki

2009-01-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

2009-01-03T15:52:00.001-08:00

January 6th is fast approaching. Dave and I both ask for all your prayers as we anticipate passing court that day. We know that there is a lot that goes into passing court...the govt. signing off on Nia being an orphan, our agency having their paperwork ready, the orphanage having their papaerwork ready and Nia's Aunt showing up to court to declair that she is an orphan. All of these things have to all be ready on the 6th for us to pass. We are staying positive, but know that there is a possibility that we might not pass. I will admit that Nia is the main thought in my head right now...we just have to pass. We are asking for all your thoughts and prayers on the 5th and 6th giving everyone involved the right timing to allow our Nia to come home.

Thank you.

2008-12-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

Please continue to pray/hope/or whatever it is that you do that we pass court on Jan 6th! We are getting nervous and excited! Thanks...Happy Holidays! Dave and Nikki

2008-12-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

Well we got an email yesterday from our case worker stating that if we got her email their might be a delay in our court paperwork. There is something new that is being required by the government now and some regions require it and some dont depending on where your child is from. We got the good news today that our little Nia doens't need this extra paperwork. That doesn't mean the we will pass court on the first try, but it's one less thing holding us back. Please continue to pray that we pass on the 6th of Jan. Ethiopia is ahead of us in time so it will be in court while we are all sleeping on the 5th. Hopefully we find out good news sometime on the 6th! I did find out that if we do not pass that court dates right now are being scheduled about a month later rather than 1 to 2 weeks later as courts are just busy right now. It's unfortunate, but there is nothing that we can do about it.
I hope that everyone is having a great holiday season with parties and gatherings and purchasing gifts and just celebrating!

2008-12-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well we got new pictures today of Nia. We can't put them over the internet until she is legally ours..so after Jan 6th hopefully, but we've got one of her smiling now and oh is she so cute. They still are letting her hair grow and she's got 6 teeth! Just precious. We found out that she loves to cuddle and be held..the only thing is that she loves to be held by her nanny only! Our caseworker was just in ET over Thanksgiving and got new pics, some video and tried to hold her. The holding thing didn't go great so we are settling for the pics and video. We don't have the video yet, but once our caseworker figures out how to get it to us she will try! If you would like a pic emailed to you please let me know.

Nikki :)

2008-12-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Well we had a big FEMALE only gathering for mom's who have adopted from Ethiopia or who are in the process of adopting from ET all from the West Michigan area. It was so much fun! I've been able to make some close friends so it was great to meet them in person!
Our caseworker along with our agency's director were in ET over the Thanksgiving holiday and we've been told that we should be getting some new pictures of Nia! I hope there is a smile this time! We've also been told that we can make a small care package for Nia including some pictures of us and send it to her! How fun. We are going to be working on that this week to get it to her asap!
Keep praying that Jan 6th goes great!

Nikki

A DATE A DATE A DATE!!!

2008-11-26T18:06:00.001-08:00

We've got a court date! We received word later today that our court date is January 6, 2009. It's right about when we were thinking it might be, so that is good. At this date our agency needs to have all of their paperwork in order along with the orphanage and the Ethiopian government AND Nia's Aunt needs to show up to tell the judge that she is infact an orphan. Just be prepared that MOST of the time court dates don't go through the first time. The courts are pretty good about getting them rescheduled within a week or so, but I'm not expecting it to go through the first time...the main thing is getting her Aunt to show up. It's nothing that our agency can do..it's all up to the orphanage and her...remember it's a third world country and getting to the capital from where she is living might be an 8 hour jeep ride one way. It might go through, but just be prepared if it doesn't!
For now though...be totally excited about Jan 6 and say all the prayers that you can! IF the date goes through we would travel 4 to 6 weeks after that date! How exciting to even think about it!

Have a great Thanksgiving!!

Nikki

Nothing yet!

2008-11-24T11:08:00.001-08:00

Alright we've not heard anything yet about a court date. I'm thinking that the courts are just busy. Hopefully because we were supposed to hear something last week that we might hear something this week...but who knows. I'll keep you posted...keep prayer for a date!

Nikki

Prayers for next week!

2008-11-16T05:22:00.000-08:00

We've been told by our caseworker that we might be finding out about our court date this coming week. Right now court dates appear to be at the end of December so we are probably looking into Jan 09. Please pray that we hear this week! Our caseworker is actually traveling to Ethiopia on the 19th of Nov. and we could possibly get some pictures of Nia when she returns. That would be so exciting..maybe this time a smile! Please continue to pray for Nia and her transition. She is now at a new orphanage in the capital, Addis Ababa. She had to take a 8 hour ride in a jeep with strangers. For a 15 month old it's all got to seem pretty scary.

We'll update here when we find a court date out!

Nikki

Say a prayer for Nia

2008-11-03T19:39:00.001-08:00

We just found out tonight that Nia is probably in transit as I write this post. She needs to move to yet another orphanage so that we can adopt her...just part of the legal process. We have found out that her mother just gave her up on July 7, 2008..she was basically one year old. So since July she's been in an orphanage...where she's met friends and care givers and now she has to move to yet another unfamiliar place. Please pray for her transition. The one good thing about this is that after she has moved our documents can be submitted to get a court date so that she can be ours.

Please pray for her and her transition.

Nikki and Dave

IT'S HERE IT'S HERE IT'S HERE!!!

2008-10-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

We have finally received our referral for Nia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's great news! We cannot post a picture of her on a blog due to Ethiopian law, but we can talk about her. She is 15 months old, 22 lbs and 32 inches tall. She is very healthy and hasn't tested positive for anything. In her picture as Kaiya pointed out right away...she isn't smiling and doesn't have hair! Then we pulled out their baby pictures and they noticed the same thing with themselves!! They were a little thrown off that she wasn't a baby, but they are already terribly excited that she will be able to play with them rather than be a baby. Dave and I are so excited. From her picture we can see that she already has some sas and will fit in this family just perfect!
A huge thank you to all family and friends that have helped us through this difficult wait. We have another one! We should have a court date sooner than later. At that court date all paperwork has to be in order and Nia's mother has to show up telling the judge that she wants to give her rights...then she is ours. About 3 to 4 weeks after that we would travel. So we are thinking some thing like early January.

Enjoy your weekend!

Nikki and Dave

Surgery went well

2008-10-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Well the surgery went great. I'm not even in enough pain to take the prescriptions that I was given. Thanks for everyone's thoughts and prayers...it really couldn't have gone better.

Now it's just waiting for the referral to come. We are told that more referrals are going to be given out still this week or next week. We aren't for sure that we are included in them, but I sure do hope so this time around. It's been 11 months and 2 weeks today and I really want a referral before it's 12 months. My hopes are up as AAI told us that they were focusing on the group that has been waiting the longest...little girls...and they still have more referrals to give out. Keep your fingers crossed that we get one this time. We are number 2 on the list so I've gotten to be pretty hopeful.

We'll keep everyone posted here.

Nikki

2nd surgery

2008-10-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well today is the day for my second surgery for my knee. Today I get the wire out and a gentle malipulation of the knee. It's outpatient surgery so hopefully things are pretty easy to recover from.
No word yet on a referral. We have our fingers crossed that it's soon as some referrals have gone out already for sibling groups and they say that there are more to come.

Have a good week and we'll update here if we hear anything!

Nikki

11 Months today :(

2008-10-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Well it's official. We have been waiting for a picture and information about our little Nia for 11 months today. I still have hope that it's going to be in 2008 that we get her information. I am not sure if we are going to travel in 2008 to get her though. As I've posted before there are things with adoptions that go unseen when you sign up. I am very happy that our agency got out of the capital because it was just too busy with other agencies, but we just hit that transition at the wrong time. Please keep us in your prayers that a referral is coming soon....really soon!

We have the girls first conferences coming up and I still can't believe that they are in school...real school now instead of preschool! For the first time tonight Kaiya said that she "loved R.J." Dave went nuts! He couldn't believe that his little five year old loved someone already. After we talked to her about it while laughing we found out that she loved him because his name is easy to spell...and R and a J! To hillarious!

My knee if progressing along fine. I hopefully have my hardware removal surgery soon...end of Oct and then I hope to get back to work. I have been volunteering at work on Tuesday and Thursday to get to know the kids a little bit. It's such a wonderful feeling to know that you are in the right job. I love even the smell of the building when I walk into work!

All is well, just on edge a little bit about a referral. They should be coming soon we are told, but then there are always delays. Keep your fingers crossed.

Nikki

Family Update

2008-09-25T15:17:00.001-07:00

I am bending to 70 degrees now, still painful though. I have been down graded to a cane, which is good. No more crutches in the armpit! I no longer have to wear my brace either. The best news of all is that I can drive. I practiced yesterday and today the girls and went on our first outing since this happened to Meijers. I was exhausted afterwards, but made it. It feels great again. I am going to start taking the girls to school next week too! We've hired someone...who has been great, but it will be nice to do it.
I do have another surgery to remove a large wire in about 5 weeks. It takes about 2 days to recover from that and then I'm hoping to be back to work on November 3rd. I have made great progress and very fast. When I first started out on this adventure I was told that I wouldn't be walking on my own until mid-November. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support though food and watching the girls and housework. I also for the first time today did some house cleaning...I didn't miss it, but now I'm able to do it.
Kaiya and Ellie LOVE school. They talk all the time about it and most days can be found playing it in their room.
Dave is doing the fall play thing right now and it's going well.
As parents we are already being told that we can't play with them and they are closing their door on us telling us to "go away!" They are so fun to listen to when they play. Twins really do have something special. They can play the same strange way and know what the other one is playing while if a friend was there they would have to explain everything and how to play! It's cool.

We have hope that everyone that reads this had a great summer. We did!
Enjoy the school year.

Nikki

The knee!

2008-09-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

I went to the Dr. yesterday and he's pushing me! I have been bending my knee to 30 degrees, but he's changed it to 70 degrees and within 3 weeks. Within the next three weeks I also have to be full weight bearing. I am scarded to death...mostly because of my physical therapist. She is known as the knee bitch! She had me in tears last week along with shouting profanities into a pillow! It's what I need though. Hopefully I will continue to be ahead of schedule so that I can, as Kaiya says, "be normal again!"

No word on the adoption...still number 2...still waiting for our referral.

It's also Dave's birthday today so a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him...he's 32 and loving life. I have to brag and tell everyone that he's lost over 40 pounds...and looking great!

Have a great weekend!

Nikki

Our girls!

2008-08-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Our girls this past weekend were flower girls in a wedding and with this picture they took our breath away and brought tears to our eyes. I think I am bias, but they are going to be way too cute when they get to highschool. I think I'm going to send them to an all girls school!

I am doing better. I got dressed by myself for the first time today...I was so excited. I can officially start learning how to walk again in 2 weeks from Tuesday. I hope that everyone is doing well. The girls turn 5 in 1 week from today.

Have a good weekend...nikki

Nikki Update

2008-08-14T07:10:00.000-07:00

Ok we met with the Dr. this past Monday and here's the scoop. I will be walking with a huge brace and crutches by October... I will be walking with just the huge brace in November and I will be totally back to normal by January 09. It's going to be a long haul. I started physically therapy yesterday and I bent my knee 20 degrees, 3 times. I was so very proud of myself! So far lots of family and friends have been bringing in meals which are the biggest help of all. If it wasn't for that we would be eating out every night! The girls are doing alright. This morning Kaiya said "lets give mommy a hand for sitting down by herself!" It was great! Well I just thought that I would let you know how things are playing out!

Nikki

BAD LUCK FOR NIKKI

2008-08-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

Well it was our first official only our family vacation this past Monday to Indianapolis IN. On Monday we got there and did their amazing zoo, swam in the pool and slept in the great beds in the hotel! Tuesday we were off to the Children's Museum. It was a blast...the girls loved the dinosaur part. About 1:00 we decided that it was time for lunch. As Nikki was walking through the cafeteria she slipped on some water on the floor and fell down onto her kneecap on to cement. It was terrible. You could see right from when it happened that it was broken. After x-rays it was confirmed that there is a break horizontally right down the middle. So deep that it literally broke in half and I could see the skin drop down in between the broken bones. There were also 6 other fractures near the bottom of the knee. After emergency surgery I have 12 wires in my knee holding things together. It's going to be 6 weeks of complete immobilization and then physical therapy after that. It really does suck. My summer is over! Right now I need help to do just about anything.
I just wanted to let you know and ask for your prayers for the pain along with prayers for the boredom.

Thanks Nikki

Donations

2008-06-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Once we actually get our referral we will be making this a little bit more official, but I thought that I would at least get it out there...especially for those that like to garage sale!
When we travel to Ethiopia we will be taking as many donations with us as possible. Hopefully a couple of suitcases. The most needed things are infant clothing/toddler clothing, diapers size 1 and 2, diaper cream and good (as is dates are still alright) infant formula. If you would like to start getting some things together to help our donation process that would be great! We would even pay for shipping of the items to get to us if you have to ship them.

No updates as of right now though. I am personally hoping for a referral before my birthday in November...I'm really hoping that it's way before that, but I'm protecting my heart this time around and trying to put it way off.

NEW UPDATE

2008-06-20T11:44:00.001-07:00

Hey all! Wanted to let you know that we did not get a referral in the first bunch of children that came from the Southern region of Ethiopia. The person that works for AAI to get referrals is doing his best to get referrals of little girls as this group of people have been waiting the longest.
We currently have been waiting 7 months and almost 2 weeks. We know for sure that we will not make a referral and a court date before the courts close in August. They will be closed August through September. The best that we can hope for is a referral soon and the traveling before the end of 2008. Keep your fingers crossed that we have a referral soon!

Thanks Nikki and Dave

Wanted to let you know

2008-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

Dave and I have been thinking about this for a little while now and wanted to share with those of you that are keeping track of the adoption that we have expanded our age range. Things are taking longer than we had anticipated. Before, we had requested a child 0-12 months of age, and as young as possible within that range. We have been informed that the likelyness that we would get a child under the age of 6 months is very very small. This basically means that our age range is 6-12 months of age. We have talked/thought and have decided to expand our age range to 0-24 months of age. We feel that because the process is taking longer and the girls are getting older that we would be just fine with a little bit older of a child. We have still asked for her to be as young as possible within that range. Our consultant thought that expanding our age range would be a good idea for our family at this time.
There are lots of families that are recieving boys right now. I talked with our consultant today and told her about expanding the age range. I also expressed to her that we are still very set on a girl for our family. She did inform us that at this time we should not expect a referral from this first bunch of children. I asked her if she thought we would be able to get through a referral/court before the courts close on August 1st and she said she wouldn't shut the door on that yet. There is still hope. It dwindles everyday though.
Our main thought regarding the age range is would we not consider a child that is 13 months of age? 18 months of age? Our very quick answer was "yes we would consider those ages." That told the two of us that we should definately change our range.

Thanks for listening. If you have questions please ask.

Nikki and Dave!

WE ARE NUMBER TWO IN LINE!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-30T07:17:00.000-07:00

It's official! We are now number two in line for a infant girl instead of number three. There are still medicals that need to be done on some children and the government still has to give the final clearance to move the children from the southern region to the capital. Keep your fingers crossed that we are going to hear something and get our referral soon!!!!!!!
Have a great weekend.

Kind of an update

2008-05-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well here is kind of an update...
AAI (our agency) does have a bunch of children that they are doing medical information on right now. Hopefully within in the next 2 weeks or so people with AAI will start to get referrals. The bad news is that within that "bunch" of chilren LOTS of them have tested positive for HIV. We asked for a little girl that was as healthy as possible, which then excludes an HIV positive child. We feel that for the safety of Kaiya and Ellie along with having to go through HIV/AIDS with our unknown Nia would be too terribly difficult for us. We had hoped that we might have a referral within this first "bunch" of children, but we were reminded that infant girls 0-12 months old are the most popular. Dave talked with our consultant today and she didn't sound hopeful or excited for us...if we read into her voice over the phone! We will obviously let you know more when we know more. Keep your fingers crossed for a referral from this first bunch of children and that we couldn't read our consultants voice well!!

Nikki

Amazing night!

2008-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Alright...I'm going to put it out there for those of you who don't know us very well....Dave and I went to the Obama rally tonight in Grand Rapids, MI. We were just inspired to hear someone speak so well and to at least talk about the problems that this country is facing. Equal public school for all...not just the wealthy....bridge the gap between the poor and the wealthy...a form of affordable health care for all. He talked about equality in this country. Bringing a child from another country that is of a different race than myself I want more equality and less judging of her skin color...she is ours and a member of our family and a member of this country. She deserves everything every other child has, regardless of her skin color. I was inspired tonight to think that we could have a leader of this country as a type of roll model for her. It was amazing to attend and to think of the future she might be able to witness.

2008-05-14T11:05:00.000-07:00

Well...I asked for an update regarding our status and was told that the "bunch" of chilren would hopefully be moved within the next week or two. After that the medicals would have to be done on the children and then our agency could start giving out referrals (pictures/medical info). I am not optimistic that it's going to happen before June, but hopefully before the end of the summer! Try to remember that it's a 3rd world country and things just take longer than we think they should. We have not been told that we have a child in the "bunch" because they cannot tell that information for legal reasons until the actual referrals go out, but we have our fingers crossed. Hopefully we have a picture to show everyone before the summer is over. It is stretching our patience...and I'm sure some of your's too! Say prayers that the children get moved soon...that is the next most important step.

Nikki

Tough one with Mother's Day and all!

2008-05-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

I was thinking about Nikki a lot over the weekend. She has been such a wonderful mother to the girls and it's just plain hard to wait for her to be a mother to a third child. Yesterday, it was relatively easy to think about other things--we were busy with church and families--but today is incredibly hard. It goes like that for me. Some days I don't really think about Nia or if I do, I am calm about it, but other days, I get frustrated and a bit upset in how long it seems to be taking. If you ever get the chance, though, you ought to come see her room before it is scattered with toys. Nikki (and I, a bit) have made it look absolutely beautiful. I find myself going in there to read occasionally or just having a look.

Gotta run! I bit of a down day today.

D

First Post!!

2008-05-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

This is our first post on our new blog! This is probably not something that we will be updating all the time, but often enough!

Dave just got done directing Singin' in the Rain and it was a hit! Kaiya and Ellie are nearing the end of their 2nd year of preschool and are getting excited for the summer! I am getting ready for summer as well. My job is good and it will be nice for the first time to have my first official summer break after working in the school system!

Currently we are still waiting for our referral. We have been told that our agency is having to get children from a different area in Ethiopia due to how busy the country is getting with adoptions. We have been informed that there is a "bunch" of children in the southern region of Ethiopia and that those children have to be moved to Addis Ababa. After they are moved their medical information needs to be gathered and then those people that have a child in the "bunch" will be informed of their referral. No one at this time has been informed if they have a child in that "bunch" or not. Our fingers are crossed that we do. We hope to hear something soon , but are also realizing that it's a 3rd world country and things just take longer than planned sometimes.