A lot going on...

SO much going on here lately so I'm just going to do a list with pics =) Learning how to do quick blogging so I don't get overwhelmed again and just not do it! Plus all the details are going in the actual scrapbooks and calendars!

- Halif has officially grown out of his helmet and is done wearing it! It was about 2 weeks earlier than they predicted (Feb. 14th) but we weren't going to get another. Our final appt. in Austin is Feb. 18th.  Of course my mommy eyes can tell that there is still a little mishape on his sweet noggin but it is SOOO much better! LOVE kissing my baby's head and not plastic =)

no more helmet!!

- Claire is deep into delivering cookies after selling 311 boxes...of course she had some help from mom and dad but she did most of it either going door to door or calling people who told me they wanted to place an order. I'm SUPER proud of her hard work and persistance. Eden already can't wait to be a girl scout

- Eden is LOVING her gymnastics and everyday asks me "when is it Friday?" Think we will be making her a calendar page on her eye level tomorrow so she can keep track! Last Friday morning she came into our room to wake us up already dressed in her leotard. She is doing so well trying new things that her coach asked if she could move to another class... we like to call her "Eager Eden" always wanting to go first and always wanting to do something new!

- We had Halif's baby blessing on Feb. 7th and we were SO blessed by our church family. We only had one little piece left of cake to take home because so many were there and our piggy bank gift was overwhelming. My sister, Neil's sister and my mom were also able to come celebrate with us which meant so much!

- We had our second post adoption home study on Thursday evening with our awesome social worker, Mary B. I just love her and her words of wisdom! She is such a special Christian woman, mom and adoption guru =) She was captivated by Halif and amazed at how advanced he is with his verbal and physical milestones. More importantly, she gave us a lot of encouragement about our bonding. She said we should continue to be selective in how much we go out, who holds him if anyone does, we should still be meeting all his needs (instead of others), we shouldn't be leaving him (but felt like our Tuesdays were ok) and that she sees more healthy attachment happening than not. I've been so concerned with how Halif has reached out to 3 strangers since we've been home - only one in the past 2 months - and his attachment to Neil being stronger than to me. She said he is still attached to me by all the things I described even if he does like to go to daddy when he gets home. Everything just reassured my heart and mind to keep pressing on and making decisions based on our son and not based on other people's feeling or comments. It was a wonderful visit! We will see her for the last time in August for our final post adoption home visit.

- On Tuesday, Feb 5th we had someone else watch Halif for the very first time and I had the hardest time! It's been 4.5 months and he's never not had either Neil or I with him. I decided to start teaching some of my students at the middle school I travel to so my dad and Neil's dad are taking turns watching him for only about 3.5 hours on Tuesdays at our house. He is sleeping about half that time so it's actually less time than that =) My dad said it went well...Halif just stared at my dad when he came into our room to get him out of the pack n play after nap. I was concerned H would be really excited to see my dad so hearing that he was cautious made me so happy =) It took awhile to warm up to my dad but he never showed fear or cried at all...just observed my dad with those big, round eyes. When I came home, my dad said Halif showed more excitement than the whole time they had been together although he didn't want me to hold him because he was so busy playing with a new toy (a plastic box of all things!) All in all, I think it went well!

And just for fun...Halif is a climber and soon to be walker at almost 11 months!! His new favorite place to climb? Into Eden's bed using her step stool grandpa built =) Eden thought it was great too!

Leaving on a jet plane - part dos

For those of you who are on facebook you already know I've had this song in my head all day!! Well, it's 2:00 a.m. and I can confidently say we are ready with bags packed and everything coordinated while we are gone (hope so!)

I'm feeling every emotional right now - excited, nervous, sad to leave the girls, looking forward to some down time on the plane and most of all anxious to meet our little H! This entire three weeks has been a complete rollercoaster but I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so emotional right now I'll cry at the drop of a hat and I feel so out of control with my tears - feels very similar to the hormone surge I had right after I birthed Claire and Eden. I think my body is just getting ready to be a new mama again and once again, I wouldn't change it for the world. OH I can't WAIT to see him smile, kiss his head and cheeks, feed him, change his diaper, sing to him, tell him we love him forever and can't wait to bring him home... this will be a day we will forever be changed. (Might be Friday but we are scheduled to first see him Saturday)

Please pray for us as we leave for our amazing physical journey to our son - Lord knows we've been on the emotional journey for years! Here are some specific requests:

- Pray for H's heart to be prepared as we come into his world and he starts learning that we are now mom and dad. We will look different, sound different, smell different... might take some getting used to =)

- Pray for our safety as we travel as well as for our health - I'm still battling some health issues and Neil is notoriously sick when we travel. Hoping to not use our cipro but we are prepared if so (thanks Justin!)

- Pray for the girls - I'm nervous about leaving them this long as we've never stayed away longer than 2 nights. Claire is especially having a hard time with us leaving. She is really upset that we get to meet him and she doesn't and keeps saying "it's not fair" and "take a ton of video of H - make sure you get him making noises!" She has a tender heart that yearns to meet him just as much as we do. So hard to tell her she can't go. Eden is just excited to stay with the grandparents =) but talks about H - a lot!

- Pray for us to make every moment count and to soak in as much of Ethiopia as we can. We want to experience the people and culture so we can relay it to H as we raise him. We want to remember every moment as they are now the moments weaving our lives and stories together

- Pray that we get to meet H's birthmom - it's a slim chance because of where she lives but I've been praying this even before we were on a waitlist so I will continue to pray for this meeting to happen.

- Pray for our hearts and minds to be prepared and open to see what we will see and hear what we will hear. I've always heard and read that once you go to Ethiopia you are forever changed and leave part of you in Africa. We will see some hard things and we will see some incredible, beautiful things. We want to be open to what God is showing us and where He is leading us!

Thank you to so many of you who have been some of our #1 fans! We couldn't do this without your love and support. We are overwhelmed to see how the church just envelops each other and how great our God is through others.

I will try to update on here but not sure what communication we will be able to have while in Ethiopia so stay tuned for when we return!

Chosen Pictures

My last post was about our AMAZING team and this one is pictures of our team members!! Just a warning =) There are a ton of pictures but I wanted to know who was there and remember our time together on such an glorious day! It was about 40 degrees when we all got out in Gruene but it quickly got warm as we started out on our journey. What a beautiful, crisp morning as the sun rose over the river... it's a beautiful course and if you haven't done the Chosen before you MUST do it next year!

Neil and I staking out our spot to meet our team members (and freezing!)

Melynda and Jill - two sweet friends from church
Jenny and Danny (grade school friends to Neil and I) and Danny's dad, David. This was Danny's second year on our team!
Becky and me - friend from church who also walked last year
Jeremy and Lezlee - two close friends from church
Alison (friend of Kathryn Stevens), Kathryn Stevens (Kristi's cousin), Kristi Jayne (childhood best friend and my #1 recruiter!), me, Kim Potter (high school friend) and Sam Plake (husband of a high school friend). This was Kristi and Kathryn's second year on our team!
Georgia, Emily, Monica and Lauren (on team "Chaffing for Change"). This was Georgia and Monica's second time on our team
Friends of Kristi - Erin and Andrea
Stacia and Me! Stacia and her husband, Stefan, are also adopting from Ethiopia and had a team "Chaffing for Change". They've just recently placed membership at our church and I'm SO excited to be on this journey together. I encourage everyone to get ready to be on their team next year!
Neil wasn't able to walk this year with his knees and back so he worked hard the day before to set up and check in bags in the morning of the race!
Me and Jim - an elder at our church who has recently found out his daughter is adopting from Ethiopia too!!
WOW - this view just took my breath away and it's amazing to be part of something so wonderful while experiencing God's beautiful creation
On our way back after the half way point Heather (my wonderful walking partner and friend of 21 years) joined up with a group from our church - Georgia, Emily, Nathaniel, Monica and Heather
Me and Heather - thanks for walking with me and for our team!!!
After I crossed the finish line I was overwhelmed by our family! Nothing like seeing Neil there to give me a big hug!
Shortly after Heather and I crossed, Faith and her father, Tom, crossed as they finished the whole marathon! I knew Faith in my church youth group long ago and was so excited they both could join our team this year!
Gene and Elaine were there!!! I was so excited they came!!
Grandma was there soaking up the grandkids
Claire and mommy - I made these shirts for the girls and my shirt matched

Mike and Heather were supposed to run but they weren't feeling well. They came anyway to show us their love and support. I just LOVE this picture!
After we hung out at the race site for a long time, we went to the Grist Mill for a yummy lunch! What an amazing day!

A week later we had a celebratory/thank you picnic for our team members! Go Team SA Lewis to Ethiopia! We did it out at the neighborhood park

Mike and Heather stayed for the picnic after we took full family pictures that morning.
Not many people could make it but I'm so glad we did it for those who could come!
Tom, my dad and me
Becky and Sebastian
Melynda and Jude Jude and Eden loving on each other! Next year we won't be having a team for our family but can't wait to participate for another team!! I'm going to be recruiting for "Chaffing for Change" and any other team of a family member or friend who is on the adoption journey!!

2nd Annual Chosen Marathon: SA Lewis to Ethiopia

This year's Chosen marathon was AMAZING!!! When I first started telling people and recruiting for our team, I wasn't going to really push it and I thought if I got 20 people, that would be great. Well... my dear friend Kristi, who is an amazing mom and coach, convinced me that I needed to beat last year's team number of 35. And we did with 50 team members (including myself, Eden and Claire)!!! Each day more people kept signing up and surprising me! God just kept prompting hearts and you all responded!! Out of the 50 people, besides the girls and I, we personally knew 26 members (12 from church), knew 7 through other team members and didn't know 14 of our team members AT ALL (including 6 of the kids)!! And 13 of the 47 were on our team last year. Doesn't that blow your mind?

I want to thank you by name and recognize each of you:

Lezlee & Jeremy Zorn
Melynda Dye
Jill Hill
Jim McDaniel
Faith Thomson
Tom Thomson
Melanie Romero
Danny & Jenny Gonzales
David Gonzales
Mike & Heather Walvoord
Mary Walvoord
Heather Adams
Becky Bounds
Monica Chapman
Georgia & Emily Ockerman
Nathaniel & Sara Dowell
Rick Deaver
Liz Culver
Kimberly Heimbecker
Sam Plake
Kathryn Stevens
Alison Luce
Rebecca Gough
Joyce Bogue
Bridget Emerson
Brandon & Samantha Hopkins
Joseph Leonguerrero
Alecia Murphy
Andrea Owen
Kristi Seitz
Kim Potter
June Shanahan
Leanne Boddie
Erin Wiedenfeld
Avery, Jack & Luke Lindley
Hannon & Parker Joseph
Ace Emerson
Addyson Schlink
Claire & Eden Lewis

This incredible group of people are made up of childhood friends, church family including an elder, friends of friends, spouses, total strangers, a next door neighbor, my immediate family, former co-workers, people from my high school and youth group that I've gotten reconnected with on facebook... I just love looking at who has created this year's team and am so humbled and grateful for the time, effort and commitment they made to help us bring our baby home.

The funds raised will be covering our second trip expenses which means as we have estimated, we are almost fully funded... PRAISE GOD! When we first started this journey 19 months ago we had no idea how we would be covering the expenses but every step of the way He has been faithful to provide and show us a testimony to "His will, His bill"!

Thank you again to everyone who made this year's experience unforgettable and for partnering with us as we continue to wait for our baby boy. You all have played a very important role in this journey! I urge you to not stop here and to find other ways to support adoption, orphan care and foster in one way or another. Trust God's prompting and prayerfully consider where He will take you!

Eden's first day of school

Well, I've been a little MIA lately but ready to do some catching up!! Eden and I had two weeks together after Claire started school and she started her school year. I can't begin to tell you how much she grew up those two weeks because she wasn't competing for my attention. It was such a precious time for us to have our one on one time we had never had before - especially before baby comes. Her language has exploded and she has become a little less hesitant in new settings. She is still my guarded girl around new people =) She is going to the same MDO on Tuesday and Thursdays while I'm teaching. Her "meet the teacher" day was on my first day of work so Grandpa took her. Thank you SO much dad for sharing in this special day!
My dad was shocked to see the quiet, withdrawn, cautious side of Eden when in new situations. It's something I've talked about a lot but she is never like that with my parents so they haven't experienced it.

Eden LOVES her teacher Ms. Meagan and loves being part of the red class. She is also part of a purple class for BSF so you will often hear her say "two classes - red and purple" - too cute!
Her first day of school was on Sept. 6th and it couldn't have gone any better. She went right in and started playing right away. Her teacher has been WONDERFUL! Her favorite class is music with Ms. Heather. Here she is on the first day - she had to wear a jacket because Claire wore hers to school. It was about 65 so it was a little cool for us - a nice break from the sweltering heat!

This picture was taken on the second day of school and I couldn't help but post. I just love her rainy froggy shirt!
Eden....like I said before has changed SO much the past month. She is such a goofy, silly girl at home and when she is in comfortable situations. I just LOVE this side of her but am so thankful for that cautious part of her personality. She will be such a leader and be herself. I don't see her being easily persuaded so I guess that stubborn streak will be a blessing!
She continues to be my boy at heart - loving to climb, run, bounce, throw but is learning more and more everyday what it means to be gentle. Her empathy for others sometimes surprises me when seconds earlier she was oblivious to others. Her personality is so multi-dimensional... i just LOVE this girl to pieces! Always keeping me guessing =)

Here are a few things I want to remember:
- When asked what her favorite color is she always says "Brown" and always goes for the brown crayon first
- She favors the scary parts and villains in any movie or show. Not sure exactly what that means but it makes me laugh when she says "I like that guy" or is obsessed with the "Mean Queen" from Snow White.
- She is extremely into shoes and purses and I often find the most random assortment of things stuffed in the many purses around our house including the cell phone I couldn't find =)
- She has surprised me with how well she has transitioned to her bunk bed. I'm SO proud of her!
- The past 3 weeks Eden has caught on to the sticker folder that sister has been doing for a long time. If they don't go to time out all day, Neil puts a sticker on their nose before bed and they go nuts to put it in their folder. Amazing how much of an incentive this can be but we still have our days full of time outs at times. She is definitely improving!
- her favorite phrases "tiny bit?", "oopsy daisy" (just started this one), "I want" - we're working on this one,

GO!!!

This week was Claire's first week of kinder and it couldn't have gone any better!! She as had a wonderful week - loving her teacher (we really like her too!!), making new friends, playing games in PE, singing songs in music, reading a new story every day and what does she say is her favorite? Playing with Layla on the playground and Snack!!

I surprised Claire with a new foo foo outfit for her first day and she was so excited! She's been eyeing it at Costco all summer =) The day before she painted this lovely picture for Mrs. Lopez...

Eden, Neil and I walked her into school and to her classroom.
Do you think she was excited?! She really was fine (and so were we) until we had to say goodbye. We didn't actually get to walk her into the classroom but dropped her off by the door. When we told her we were going to leave, she went and sat next to a couple girls and started talking to them right away. I'll never forget that look on her face when we were leaving... the first look of uncertainty and worry... as soon as we were around the corner Neil and I were teary and just praying the day went well. I was fine until one of the counselors during the parent breakfast read a book to us about the first day of school - I pretty much lost it.
When I picked her up after school (it was a madhouse), she saw me and there was no smile. My heart sank and my eyes stung...again! She was so quiet but the instant we got to the car she started jumping up and down, holding onto her backpack saying "Mom!! My day was AWESOME!" I was so relieved and she just raved to everyone about it.
To celebrate the first day, Eden and I took Claire to get a snow cone and visit grandma and grandpa!

The week actually flew by and although Claire was fussy in the afternoon due to being tired, everything went so smoothly. Here she is on Friday for Spirit Day! Yeah, she wasn't feelin' the picture taking that morning =)
There are a few things we just HAVE to remember =) A lot of funny things - the serious, touchy-feely things are already written down to go in her scrapbook!

- Every.single.day. Claire asked to wear her foo foo dress! She would change into it as soon as she'd get home.

- She told us that she met her Art teacher "Mrs. HotGoose" on Friday!! Holy Cow we couldn't stop laughing!! We had to look up her name to check it out. It has a "goose" in it so she was close =)

- She said "yes dam" to Neil and we were so confused until we understood why she said it =) Women are "yes mam" and since dad starts with "d", it must be "yes dam" lol - we quickly taught her sir!

- This is the best one! Claire is choosing one day a week to buy her lunch. She was so excited to buy on Tuesday (I was nervous) so this was our conversation after school:

M: "How was lunch honey?"

C: "Good but I didn't think the chicken looked good so I change my mind. I got a hamburger. But I didn't like it"

M: "So what did you eat?"

C: "Well, the boss (she meant "principal") told us we had to finish all our food so (she whispers and her eyes get really big)... I tricked him..."

M: "You tricked him? What do you mean?"

C: "I rolled up by hamburger in a ball and stuffed into my napkin!"

It was so funny because she thought she was so sly! Don't worry - I talked to her about how that was being dishonest and that I would ask her teacher that evening if they had a rule that the kids had to eat everything =) She just didn't want to get in trouble but it was good to hear that isn't the rule. I assured Claire that she just needed to eat as much as she could.

Here's to a great second week after a fun, busy weekend! Eden and I had a blast together this past week just the two of us. Even though we miss having Claire around we REALLY enjoy our one on one time that I've never consistently had with her! I'm looking forward to this season of our family's life!