Prayers and Thoughts

Again, if you are the praying type, please keep Ann and Nick in your thoughts and prayers today as it's their court date. VERY important day for their family! I'll post when I get news or an OK from AnnMarie. I spoke with her on Skype on Sunday and she sounded good. She found a place to eat near where she was staying where the food is good and reasonable. Sounds like they'll be eating there EVERY night until they leave.

She is anxious for today to go well, and can't wait to get home safe and sound on US soil with her "girl." Nick sounded well too! One last thing she said is electricity is VERY spotty and isn't working most of the time. Which explains the lack of communication she has had with us in the past few days. FINGERS and TOES crossed that today goes well for them!

I'll keep you posted as much as I can/am allowed to share when I hear anything.

Home Away from Home...

Ann Marie sent this picture today of where they are staying while in Africa. She has access to email when the power is on, but can't get into her blog account to post. Which can only mean one thing...she still has to be nice to me! (: Sounds like yesterday was a good day for them, and they seem to be very happy! If you are the praying kind, please keep the prayers coming!

They Made It...

Well, well, well...it seems like only yesterday that AnnMarie's FAVORITE sister was a guest blogger while she and Nick were in Ethiopia picking up Geremu. I've got two words for y'all: "I'M BACK!"

I know you probably don't need an introduction, because AnnMarie is always gushing about what a GREAT older sister she has, and how much she loves her. In case you had some wax in your ears, or are a little hard of hearing, I'll re-introduce myself. My name is Katie, and I'm the sister that looks JUST like Ann Marie...give or take a few pounds. (-:

I feel bad because I live in North Carolina, and am too far away to help with much of the adoption happenings. I offered up to help in any way I could help from a distance and since I got a five star rating the last time I was a guest blogger, she figured she'd go back to her favorite sister and ask again.

Something that has just dawned on me is that I have a lot of power as a guest blogger. For a small fee, I could give you ALL the dirt on my sister. From the days when she wore a lip bumper and drooled, to AnnMarie claiming her voice sounds just like Jewel's! Who knows what the next few weeks of blogging could bring?

Anyways, enough about me. On to the VERY important news. Ann and Nick made it to their guest house in Africa safe and sound. She said she was "so tired she could pass out." Here's hoping they have a safe trip, smooth transition, get good sleep, and stay healthy. I'll keep this updated as much as I can. Please know that until the court date goes through, there isn't a whole lot of information I can give out about my new niece. Bare with me as I might have to dig back into my old pics of Ann Marie to post some entertaining blogs until then!

If you are the praying type, please keep Ann Marie, Nick, and all THREE of their kids in your prayers!

Tum, Tum, Tum, Tums

The boys each wrote a letter to their new sister today. I'm not posting Cullen's letter because he wrote Sister's name and I'm too tired right now to bleep it out.

Geremu's letter reads: Dear --------, I love you. I can't wait to meet you. Mom (and) Dad are coming to get you. Love, Geremu

Cullen's had something similar but also included several pictures of hearts.

In other news, when I finally went to pack tonight I noticed that the container of Tums was really light. When I flipped the top up the seal had been broken and there were only two Tums left... I read the instructions, "Do not exceed 10 tablets in a 24 hour period." Turns out the Tums were eaten this past weekend so I think/hope we are in the clear. I'm pretty sure that the 10 tablet rules was broken just based off doing the math. It's even possible that Cullen may never have heart burn the rest of his life.

Off to get some sleep...

But this... This news...

I just can't hide it... I'm so excited! We received some exciting news earlier this week... We have a court date. A court date. A COURT DATE!!! Can you hear me screaming? I have to keep telling myself that this is all really going to happen... It has to happen... Right?

Did you know we were still in the adoption process? Yep, the one we started back in August of 2008.

Chapter 1 (Aug. 2008)
At one point during this adoption process we had plans to bring home a 16 month old boy... With a name... And a story... That story had too many loop holes... And we had to many questions... Nothing added up... End of that story. Leave the Agency- Summer of 2009

Chapter 2 (Aug. 2009)
Begin the wait again and we know the wait is long... But we are with a country we LOVE and we are prepared to wait... Start getting cold feet... Travel to the country to confirm my belief in the agency... All goes well... Start getting cold feet again... Because of conflicting emotions decided it's best to put the adoption on hold... Just waiting for change in their adoption system to protect the children... And maybe someday there will be one. January 2011

Chapter 3 (Jan. 2011)
Research, research, research... In the spring start process again with a new country... Shocked to learn it's a girl... Still shocked... Don't think I'll ever get over the "it's a girl" shock.... Pretty sure she was waiting for us.... To be continued

I haven't really blogged about our current adoption. I really didn't mean to leave you in the dark. As some of you may know my batting average with adoptions is just slightly higher then pregnancy. So not blogging about our current adoption was my coping mechanism for dealing with past disappointments. When things don't go as planned I've felt the need to tell people why. Frankly, I just couldn't. I was dealing with losses that always felt too great to put into words. It has been hard to deal with; the loss of a pregnancy, or an adoption. Heck, even changing countries and start all over again (even if it was on our own terms) felt like just another loss. So I ended up staying incognito on the adoption front. That way I never felt the need to explain much.

To be completely honest I've really only let you, my reader, in on the good stuff. Seems to me that it's just a lot easier to write about the good stuff. I really respect people that can put themselves and their situations out there on the world wide web. People that can be totally honest, and tell all the ups and downs happening in their life. I've learned a lot from people like that... Clearly not one of them. But I'll work on it.

Did I mention we have a court date? And it's a girl? Tell me this is really happening...

Fall Pumpkin and Apple Picking

We headed to the farm to pick pumpkins and apples on perhaps the warmest day of the fall (80 degrees). Cullen informed us today that this is his second favorite activity of the year behind going up north and Quarry Quest (which tied for his favorite activity). The boys seemed to enjoy the day as did the adults. The corn maze was their favorite activity of the day.

Geremu has been really tired the past few days. As I was looking at the pictures from today I realized just how run down and tired he looks too. Looks like we will be back to naps this week to see how that goes:)

Busy

It has been a LONG time... Really too long. I don't even know where to start. I feel like we are finally in a school year groove. Life has been busy and good. I've been coaching cross country which might possibly be the BEST JOB ever. The season is coming to a close very quickly. I also have a new job this school year which has been an amazing learning experience. But by the time I get home after practice I just want to spend time with the kids until they go to bed. Then I usually have work to work on, thus the blog suffering.

A little about my new job, I am now teaching teachers how to integrate technology into their elementary classrooms. So at night I'm often researching different programs (both web based and software), technologies, curriculum (for interactive whiteboards and other programs), apps, etc.

There are somethings I have found/discovered that I would love to share... only I just haven't quite figured it the educational purpose...

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