one year olds!

There is nothing like a 1 year olds smile to melt a mommas heart! And I have two of them, so I am destined to spend my days melting at the sight of them! We are also melting in the heat, but the rains will come soon! Josiah had his birthday without a big ordeal... we had some friends drive up for a few days and our boys played with their boys! They are also adopting and getting to see more pics of their two little ones and hear stories about them made me really happy! Being seperated from your kids because you are waiting on paperwork is like no other pain I have dealt with, but I did find that it made me run to the cross so much more. And for now, our little guys are in their forever family, and I could not be any more thankful! They are sleeping in their bedroom and I get to have a Sunday afternoon catching up on blogging and planning their birthday party! I am so excited to celebrate the boys, and I cannot wait to see them eat the cake that I have planned. I will post pictures next week!

So Josiah... Here is your photo for your first year. There is no way I could write down all the things that I love about you and no camera can really catch how sweet your expressions really are! You are such a go-getter... just like Momma and your Hunny and I can only imagine what the lord has planned for your precious life. You catch on to things really fast, just like Daddy, and I love that you already seem to be understanding English and lots of Hindi too! I love how you suck your little fingers when you are tired and how you snuggle your favorite blankie every night. Your smile makes friends everywhere we go and your eagerness to do whatever Momma and Daddy ask you to do is amazing. I can't imagine what life would be without you, my little precious Gift from God... I want to become more like Jesus, so when you want to be more like me, it will be Jesus you are imitating. words cannot express the love I have you, but I think you know that already!

Daniel, my little man... You constantly amaze me. The last few weeks you have been growing and learning so much. You watch brother and try to do things like him, and you are totally catching up! I love to see you dance and your laugh, oh your precious laugh, is totally contagious! I have not yet found a person that can hear your laugh and not join in with at least a smile or giggle! When you get tickled when you are sleepy, there is no way your Daddy and I can stop laughing with you! We keep your stash of paci's to help you go to sleep, and even though you require rocking to put you to sleep for naps, your Daddy and I don't mind. Being your momma is one of my favorite blessings. You are such a good sport and are willing to go anywhere we drag you... and you seem to enjoy yourself, on trains, planes, buses! What an awesome little boy you are!

You both are everything I ever dreamed of in sons, and I can only say thanks to the lord for blessing us with you in these days! I pray that you find Jesus when you are young, and that you cling to him with ALL your might for ALL your days. I pray that you will want to serve him with your life and that you will desire to live a life that pleases Him. I pray for the women you will marry someday... and I pray that if she is alive now, that she has a loving family that is also teaching her about Jesus. I can't control how life turns out, but I trust the one who is in control of all things. To him be all the GLORY!

praise in all things.

We took the boys to one of the most "western" and nice hospitals in our South Asian city to get their one year vaccinations (wow! Can it really be that these little babies are 1?!) It turned out to be much easier than I had planned and the boys were so sweet while we were waiting our turn... They were making friends in the waiting area and we started to talk to some other families. I quickly realized that several families were not there for simple vaccines... two families with precious little ones were there for chemotherapy. Her shaved head told me that this was not her first time through it, and her smile and eyes showed a depth of character and maturity that made her seem way older than 4. Her mom seemed to not be worried and her confidence seemed to give her baby girl strength as well. Another family was from the middle east and did not speak much English or Hindi, and I can only imagine how hard it is to understand what is going on in your 2 year old boys body when you can't communicate well with doctors. In her country, chemo is not available, so they come here to our city every few months to get another round of treatment. Her husband had a big smile as he chased their son who ran around freely shaking people's hands and trying to not get into to much trouble :) She told me that my kids did not look like me because their skin is darker than mine! I tried to explain adoption and I don't know if she understood, but finally she gave me a thumbs up sign, so maybe that meant she approved. I did understand that she is "friends" with America, and when her son walked up to Josiah, the dad explained that he called him "little brother" in his language. She wanted to know what was wrong with my boys, and when I said they were just here for vaccination shots, I felt very humbled to have been blessed with healthy babies. Even though our road to bring the boys home was filled with lots of tears and months of waiting, we stand here together as a whole family praising God for his might work of redemption which can be clearly seen in all of our lives. I want to count the blessings of my life and include the things he not only has blessed us with, but also protected us from... We don't deserve all that He gives us, but too often, we focus on what we want instead of what we already have been given.

I came home thankful for a nice Dr's visit... and even as I found my heart silently weeping for the babies and their mothers who deal with something far more painful than I have journeyed through... And I will praise the Lord for each and every smile from my sweetie little men.

Three months home!

Our little boys are growing so fast!!! One the one hand, they are still small; healthy appetites, but still fitting in their 3month clothes... But they are getting smarter everyday. They are so loving and will let most anyone pick them up, as long as they know that Momma and Daddy are near by.

So they have been with us for three months... Jan 22 to April 22... I can hardly believe its been that long. I thought there was no way that I could love them anymore than I already did, but its true that love keeps getting bigger and with each new morning, I am greeted by their little smiles and my heart grows deeper in love with these two precious brown faces.

Josiah... He's our little adventurer. This kid can get ALL over the house and is pulling up on anything he can. He wants to be where ever Momma is, and is always "helping" her to cook dinner! He gets to play with the mixing bowls and spatulas, which he LOVES. He can pull up on my leg and has the sweetest little, "please pick me up" (puppy-ish) look that I rarely can say no to! He puts himself to sleep at nap time when I set him in his crib. So precious. He loves all kinds of toys and usually the one he wants is the one Daniel is holding or some part of momma's craft project. He does not like to be left out. He eats EVERYTHING he has been given and if he sees we are eating a meal without him, he gets upset and wants to eat big people food, even though he is NOT hungry because he just ate. The power of suggestion. And, its amazing what this kid wants to eat even without any teeth! He loves the roti (indian flat bread) and just one will keep him occupied for about half an hour! He LOVES his brother and likes to kiss and hug him, even though it might be a bit more "powerful" than Daniel would like (as he gets tackled on the floor!)

Daniel... this kid is so special. His smile can win over the gruffest looking uncle and before you know it, the uncle is smiling as big as Daniel! He loves to play with toys on the floor, but he is still not quite ready to crawl. He is starting to get frustrated that he can't reach something, so I don't think it will be too long before they are both all over the house. I will take my sweet sit-in-one-place-kid for a while longer: little buddy... take your time learning to crawl! The closest he has gotten to a crawl is more like a superman pushup... and he tries to get himself over to the paci or favorite toy (the set of stackable rings.) He also loves to eat and has liked everything we have given him. He has two bottom teeth and barely started to get a top one with the other one not too far behind! His hair is as curly as ever and I am constantly amazed at how small his little curls are. Some of our national friends cannot believe that its natural and they are convinced that I must do something to make it that curly!

In the morning, I open their door and check to see if they are awake. If they are awake, they usually are talking through the crib to each other and smiling and laughing. Once they see me, the sweet innocent fun is over and they WANT OUT! Josiah will pull up on the bed and Daniel still not quite as active as Josiah, so he reaches up as best he can and shakes his arms and legs waiting for me to get him! They know just what to do to warm this momma's heart in the morning (or any nap time wake up) and their waking up cuddles are the sweetest.

I love going to ch'ch here... There is not a nursery, so we all sit together in the back with our babies. There are about 7 kids under 2 and other children who sit in the back so we don't worry about our boys disturbing the service! But they LOVE being apart of the service. They both LOVE music! Seriously, they are FULLY African (with pretty sweet dance moves) and FULLY Rainbolt (with their LOVE of music). Josiah raises his hands and gets into it, and they both love to clap. They also know when its time to quiet down and often they sleep in our arms. We have lots of friends who want to just hang out after the service, so we sometimes end up staying until 2, so we give them a bottle and a late lunch when we get home and they are set.

the music of life

life as a mom has been the most glorious couple of months, and after being on 4 continents for 7 weeks, we finally made me back HOME. The boys love their South Asian house and life so far... Josiah LOVES to go outside with me to the market. There is so much to see and discover. Daniel is content to go, but he mostly wants to look and smile at me instead of the craziness around us at the market!

We were sitting around our living room just playing and our helper, Katie, turned on the blender in the kitchen. Josiah sat up with his back straight and started to clap and "sing". Every time the blender goes, he doesn't hear the buzz... he hears music! I love that! He really does love it when music comes on, and he starts singing, dancing, and raising his hands! Here is the lesson for me: my reaction to the world could be hearing music instead of chaos or just noise. Its hard to get away from people and noise and LIFE... but instead of trying to get away,  at times I need to just enjoy being in the middle of it. I could hear music and find joy instead of being upset that its too loud.

And here's daniel... playing on the floor contently with a whole shelf of toys, he is enjoying a small piece of lint. He does enjoy his toys, but he is content with simple toys as well. Gotta love that little boy... and his attitude that doesn't care about the things that "the world" says are "necessary", but he is content to learn and grow through little things. I know in my life, I see the lint as in the way, or something to get rid of, but I know that God wants me to learn and grow, not only through the BIG things, but also the little ones... that I just just see as annoyances, but I can find JOY in the midst of them.
Here are some pics that just make me smile!

 

Gotcha day!

OH WOW! I can hardly believe that it is here... our boys are with us and we are a FOREVER FAMILY! It felt really REAL last night and Daniel cried without stop for over an hour at 1am. Nothing worked to calm him down, but Ryan and I took shifts to try to settle the poor guy down. Ryan started singing hymns to him which finally helped him to sleep again.

So I can't hardly figure out where to start! Our lives just turned upside down in the most GLORIOUS and perfectly GOD way... and i hardly believe that at this moment, my little precious babies are sleeping soundly in the little beds, and we are FAMILY FOREVER!

Daniel had some rough moments when we came to get him. He has become VERY attached to his nanny since we left him in November. When we were here for court, he was SO happy and giggly and never once appeared to not want to be with us. Well, we walk in, calmly so as to not overwhelm them, and he sees us, and starts to cry. Everytime he saw my face, he wanted to cry. Knowing in my deepest heart that this was "normal" I tried to not let it bother me that MY baby, who we have spent the last year trudging through countless hours of paperwork, not to mention expense to bring HOME is not wanting anything to do with me. I sat on the floor, playing with some of the other kids, and I started singing. The nannies seemed to love listening, and one little girl was fascinated with it. It helped him feel more at ease and he warmed up to us eventually. Not too many smiles from him this day... but more have come since then!

Josiah had no issues and came right to me and started to do his signature squeal of delight and he was attached to me hip for the rest of the day. And ever since. He is totally a Momma's Boy and he loves going around in the baby carrier. I took him out shopping with some friends, and he was content to hangout, sleep, and take his bottle without once whining and trying to get out. He has started rolling over and trying to sit up on his own. He also stands with help and seems EAGER to get moving somehow. This kid is READY for action!

We are SO blessed that Jan 22 was our GOTCHA day! We will never forget that feeling of seeing their sweet faces again and then walking out of the door... the nannies with tears in their eyes waving goodbye... and us holding our precious little gifts from God, knowing our lives will never be the same again! Glory to God alone!

my boys.

So, on Jan 2nd, the US embassy in Addis accepted our file, so now they will look over everything, do some interviews (with the ladies who found the boys) and then they will clear us to get a US visa, so we can go get our kiddos! The boys are legally our boys... they are Rainbolts, but they can't leave Ethiopia and come to America without this final step. Ryan and I have been eager to go get them, really every since we saw their face for the first time, but since leaving them in Nov, our hearts are pulled in two directions. One wanting to be invested in our work here, and the other wanting to be momma and daddy to our sons. It may be SOON that they clear us... it could be as quick and three weeks, or it could be as long as another few months. We have a pretty good chance that we will be cleared quickly, but you can never say for sure on these things. So pray that things will be smooth and that we will be patient as we wait for the lord's timing of our reuniting with our sons!
 As I think about going to get them soon, I want to share some of my little treasures that the LORD gave me through my boys... Each one is so unique and special, and I want to ponder and treasure every little thing about them. Here are some of my memories that I will never forget from my journal.

Josiah: His smile fills me heart with JOY! Through his midnight feedings, he was WIDE awake and ready to play and would not stop smiling when he sees me coming with a bottle, even at 2 am! He "talks" all the time! His legs are moving all the time like he's ready for action! His eyes are so big and adorable... his lips curl up cute when he "coos" and he loves his fingers in his mouth! He loves his brother and tries to play with him. He always wants another hug, and loved to splash in the bath! He loved his toe being tickled and takes his bottle really fast and even took his cold medicine like a champ! I will never forget that first look at Momma... he immediately bonded with me and is somewhat of a momma's boy. He loves getting his cheek kissed; it makes him smile really big! And he is always interested in whatever I have, especially when it's coffee! He wakes up quickly and his long lashes blink slowly when he is tired.  He is so extroverted and loved being around people! He actually snorted from laughing at momma once! He makes cute little "moans" when he is tired and fighting off sleep. His curiosity for the world is so exciting, and he is going to keep us on our toes. I know, little one, that you will love our world travels!

Daniel: That first laugh when I laid him on the bed and gave him Eskimo kisses... He belly laughed, and my heart soared! He grabs your hand when taking a bottle, like he doesn't want you to leave him to drink it alone! His dimpled smile laughing back at me! His adorable little chin, fingers, toes, bright eyes, and smile! He has such a sweet spirit that is content to sit and laugh at you for a long time. He copies his brother and wants to laugh and play with him too. He did not like his first bath, but the way he gripped my arms so he would feel safe made me happy. (by the next bath, he did better!) I could just watch him sleep for hours. Putting him to bed is so easy... just a passi and a blanket and he puts himself to sleep. That first smile at Daddy will always make me smile. The first "tummy time" on the quilt I sewed him, he licked it! He does not complain when I oiled his curls or when I tried to 'fix' them. He loves to sit quietly with momma and daddy, and he watched slept through Andy Griffith with us! His curly lashes are so long and handsome. He "fros" out his hair on one side while he is eating or trying to go to sleep.  His laugh is priceless! He wants to talk so bad, and he imitates lip and tongue movement to communicate! He lets me know he is hungry by lip smacking, and he is so calm and easy going. You, little man, are going to keep us in stitches with your funniness!

Ryan and I could not imagine any more perfect little boys! We are so blessed and so excited to get our embassy clearance hopefully in the next few weeks or month so we will be reunited as a forever family! We will keep your updated on when our trip to Ethiopia will be~

New year

The new year is always a great time to look back over the past year and see the faithfulness of our father throughout the year. I can't help but be thankful for the blessings that this year has held! We have moved to a new city, set up a home in South Asia, vacationed to Thailand, Vietnam, and Ethiopia, made friends, shared stories in many different neighborhoods, and found new ways to use Henna art to open up conversations of truth. 

As we look forward to what the new year holds, we have to just step back and give glory to the only one who deserves all the praise for the last year. And in the good times, and the bad, we can stand up and sing, "Bless the Lord, oh my soul, worship HIS HOLY NAME. Sing like never before. Oh my soul. I will worship your holy name. The sun comes day up, its a new day dawning. Its time to sing your song again. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes."

Its our three year anniversary and Ryan and I are more in love than we were on Jan 2rd 2010! What a blessing to walk this road of life, with all its ups and downs, with such a considerate and godly partner. I can't wait to see what 2013 HOLDS FOR US!!!!