Are You Ready?

For my blog followers, you'll know that 99% of the time, this blog has been about our adoption journey.  But today's post is non-adoption related.  I want to introduce you to our 15 (almost 16) year old daughter Emily.  She is a sophomore in high school and involved in Audio/Visual classes and recently completed her first documentary.  The extra special part is that her grandfather Wally Austin was her inspiration behind the video.  I can't tell you how proud I am that I have a 15 year old that is this bold in their faith that they'd do a documentary project on the subject that you'll see in her video. 

I would like to ask that you take 7 minutes to watch Emily's first documentary called "Are You Ready?"  After watching it, I hope that you'll leave Emily a comment and then share it on your Facebook page, Twitter, or via email. 



Thank you!  I'm one blessed mom!

First Soccer Practice Turns into Classic Moment Caught on Video

A few months ago, Blake gave Miki his old cross necklace. Miki wears it everywhere and tells everyone and I mean EVERYONE that will listen,  "My daddy give me dis."  So, fast forward to Miki's first soccer practice last week.  I'm videotaping him out on the field like a proud mom and I couldn't believe the sweet yet funny moment I had just captured.  Classic.



So pretty much next week, the necklace is staying home. 

Dedication Day at Church

On Sunday,  March 3, our church held their first ever child dedication service that was centered on adoption.  Several families that had adopted children stood before the church and dedicated their children. We were blessed to be a part of the service with Miki. Here's a few photos from the event.

Miki wore one of his traditional Ethiopian outfits to the service as well as the Ethiopia scarf given to him by his "special mother" (the caretaker assigned to him at the Gladney Care Center in Ethiopia). This scarf was a special gift for Miki from her right before he left Ethiopia...the day he said goodbye to her.

Miki's Tonsillectomy

Last Friday, Miki had his tonsils out.  His tonsils were so large that they were touching in the middle and causing sleep apnea problems.  Before Miki's surgery, my friends in the online Ethiopia adoption community started posting about problems Ethiopian children could face after tonsillectomies when using Codeine.  Even a few days ago, Websites were posting this information.   Before we scheduled the surgery, I spoke with our ENT about this and thankfully, he was aware of this. We decided to put down Codeine as an allergy for Miki.  Here's a snippit from the above article I linked to:

Anywhere from one to seven out of every 100 people are ultra-rapid metabolizers, according to the FDA: Twenty-nine percent of North African and Ethiopian populations, and about 6 percent of African American, Caucasian and Greek populations are also affected. A genetic test can confirm if a person has an ultra-rapid metabolism.

Before the surgery, Miki was excited. When we arrived at the hospital EARLY Friday morning, Miki happily asked "Is this a hotel?"  As you can see in the photo below, he looked pretty happy!  We gave him a special stuffed animal which he named "Blue Puppy."  The hospital gave him a teddy bear.

Then, to calm him before taking him back, the nurse gave him Versed.  This took Miki to a state of complete calm. I videotaped our conversation with him. He was so relaxed. This was a huge help when it was time for Blake and I to be separated from Miki. There were no tears.

After Miki woke up from surgery, he was upset and crying for me.  After a bit he calmed down and went to sleep in my arms.  You can see the little teardrop in his eye. My poor little baby boy.

Two hours later we were home and doing well.  The first night was tough as he woke a lot crying and would go back to sleep. He is having a hard time during the day swallowing.  So instead, he slobbers everywhere and carries around a towel to wipe his mouth off.    Yesterday I bought him some Injera bread to surprise him. He had a little soup and Injera for lunch.

Hopefully Miki will begin sleeping better now that those big nasty tonsils are gone!

Here's more information from the FDA regarding Codeine in children. 

Just a 3 Year Old Boy

The last few weeks, the 3 year old in Miki is being unleashed.  I have taken some funny photos of our little guy over the last few weeks.

Why. Why. Why do they make me eat this stuff? 

He does NOT know the value of money.  Luckily I caught him in time.

Microwaved veggies are NOT good. Trust me.  You can tell by Miki's face that he was not going to have anything to do with eating these things.  Until we suggested he dip them in his salad dressing. Then he ate them.

If you're riding in the car and you get bored, why not just lick your toes and laugh about it.

Then there's always the "I'm going to take my shirt off in my car seat" trick.

We recently said goodbye to Miki's longer hair.  I took him to an Ethiopian owned hair salon in the Dallas area and they had to dry it into an afro before cutting it.  He cooperated well and enjoyed the experience. I miss the hair but it grows fast!

Red Thread Session

A few weeks ago, we had a Red Thread Session of our family. (Find out more about what a Red Thread Session is on the link)  What a blessing it was to get these photos of our family.   The photographer Erin, of Purpletree Studios was wonderful. She has such a heart for adoption and we enjoyed the session with her.  Here's a sneak peek from her blog!  Thank you Erin!

Dreaming of a White Christmas

Miki had a lot of firsts in 2012 including a white Christmas which is very rare in the Dallas area! Here are some pictures from Christmas.

Dad reading "Twas The Night Before Christmas" to the Kids

Snow on Christmas Day! Miki's First Snow

Ethiopian Artwork

Artwork Measures 34x24

I wanted to tell you about my Ethiopian artwork I just received that features our son Miki.  To make a long story short, I know a lady that does NGO work in Ethiopia and she was showing me some artwork that her friend did and she said he takes special orders. So, I took her up on the offer and placed a custom order.  What I liked about this artist was his story.

The artist's name is Alemezewd. He is an orphan that grew up at Kolfe Orphanage in Addis where he began sketching and painting on scraps of paper, the walls, and anything else he could find. He basically taught himself how to paint and continuously practiced to perfect his craft. He is now in his mid-20s, lives on his own, and supports himself as an independent artist there in Addis Ababa. He uses several different types of techniques and is always experimenting with new ways to make his pieces better and more unique. He is a very diligent worker and sweet, responsible young man - definitely one of the fewer success stories to come out of the government orphanage by being able to be completely self-sufficient. 

When we were in Ethiopia, we visited Kolfe Orphanage and it was one of our favorite visits on the trip. The boys there are wonderful.  Most age out of the system and end up on their own.  I was happy to support Alemezewd. 

Alemezewd posing with another piece of his artwork

The friend I know that set me up with Alemezewd said this:
"As a side note just for you, he was very excited and felt honored to be able to paint a piece for y'all when I told him that Miki was a Gladney baby. He has a lot of respect for Gladney and how they support orphans there in Ethiopia. He is always taking orders and is willing to do anything customized, whether it be a specific part of Ethiopia, landscape, portrait, etc. YES, if you know someone interested, please tell them about Alemezewd! His talent is too good to keep a secret."

If you are interested in having Alemezewd do a custom piece for you, post a comment here with your email and I will have my friend contact you with the details.