Brian and I have a new hobby of looking for "loaves and fishes", as in when Jesus took the loaves and fishes and fed the 5,000. Whenever we discover money or stuff we didn't expect we look at each other and say "loaves and fishes, baby!" Maybe it's because we're looking for it, but there seems to be a lot of loaves and fishes these days. Sometimes it's little things, like the extra two tacos they put in our sack from Taco Bell a couple weeks ago (Thomas was really glad it was tacos and not actually fishes or loaves!). Sometimes it's big things, like my paycheck seemed a little bigger recently. We discovered that starting with the very next pay after we signed the adoption application I was getting $68 more each check because I had just finished paying for my 5 years of service credit that was being deducted each pay. Loaves and fishes, baby!
Along those same lines, an amazing thing happened to me a couple weeks ago. One morning I got a nice email from a friend who had learned about the adoption and wanted to wish us well. She has an adopted son and I was struck with the fact that we have many, many friends with adopted children but they were all adopted as infants. It occurred to me that we really don't know anyone personally who has adopted older children or siblings and that we would have to seek out those resources at some point. So I went on with my day, which included leaving school in the middle of day to go see Meredith's class put on a little Christmas program. It was totally inconvenient and I really didn't want to go (I'm not exactly SuperMom, here, I know) but I went and it was, of course, adorable. Afterward, another mom came up to me and said, "I know you're Meredith's mom, I wanted to introduce myself. I heard you were adopting and I wondered if you knew that we adopted four sisters from Colombia when they were 12, 10, 8, and 6." We had a great conversation (the first of many, I hope) and as I was driving back to school, I was overwhelmed by the "coincidence" of this connection. I wish I could say that I had actually prayed for a person like this in my life, but I really just thought about it and then she appeared a matter of hours later. I'm still awed by the providence we've been shown again and again, in things both big and small.
It makes me wonder what other Loaves and Fishes might be coming our way next! Thomas is still hoping for more tacos...
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Christmas Letter 2009
Due to the overload this December with adoption stuff on top of all the regular Christmas craziness, I was feeling super stressed about mailing Christmas cards. Then I realized, "Who needs cards when you have a blog?" So here's our annual letter... technologically new and improved for 2009!
Of course, the adoption is our biggest thing going on this year. The other big thing for our family has been Brian's work situation. He started his own video editing/production business in March and it is really taking off. He is the very proud President and CEO of Riveting Media Inc. He has purchased the gear he needed and learned a new editing program. He has one long-term client with ongoing work for him as well as several other smaller projects in the works. He also does freelance editing and post-production facilities around Detroit. Now that he feels like he has a handle on his new system, he intends to rachet up the marketing and seek more clients. He works out of the house and it has been the greatest thing ever for our family to have Dad around to get the kids on the bus, volunteer at school, and be home for dinner every night. We love how much less overwhelmed we all feel.
My job is pretty much the same as always. I was having trouble with my singing voice in the winter and was diagnosed with vocal nodules. I went on vocal rest for 10 weeks, if you can believe it. I couldn't teach or talk for all that time! It was excruciating. It was also in Jan-Feb-Mar when it was cold, dark, and miserable outside and Brian wasn't working and we just stared at each other all day and tried not to throw ourselves off a cliff. It was really a horrible time, but as always, those dark times pass and you can appreciate the good times even more. The nodules resolved and now I am much more careful with how I use my voice. I wear a headset mic in class all the time and I try not to talk much or too loud ever. It will always be an issue for me now and I'm considering getting into administration and out of the classroom at some point, but right now I just want to keep things as stable as possible while our family is changing.
Thomas is a fourth grader this year and having a super year in school. His whole third grade class stayed together and their teacher came with them up to fourth grade, which made for a great transition with no down time. In fact, he and his (fantastic) teacher emailed back and forth all summer to practice his writing and typing. He played basketball and took swimming lessons last winter, had a great baseball season (with his dad as the head coach), and played flag football in the fall. His biggest passion is probably football. Every recess every day is football and as soon as he gets off the bus and inhales a snack he's back outside to find some kids to play more football with. He desperately wants to play tackle next fall, and I guess we've held him off as long as we can. We made it this far with no broken bones (which is more than I hoped for) so we'll cross our fingers and hope to stay out of the emergency room.
Meredith is a first grader now. She's also working hard in school. Her reading astonishes me sometimes... she loves to snuggle up to me while I'm reading my book and she will start reading out loud whatever I'm reading (which is awesome, except I had to give up the trashy romance novels!). She is endlessly creative and spends a lot of time thinking up and trying out new hairstyles (right before she's supposed to be getting on the bus), giant multimedia art projects (that involve the hot glue gun, sequins, and mom whenever possible), and "forts" (that require every blanket in the house and cover most of the basement). If her new sister or brother is anything like her, we may never be on time anywhere ever again.
We didn't take any major vacations this year, but we love to spend as much time as we can at my parents' cabin on Lake Charlevoix. Thomas is a kneeboarding maniac, Meredith mostly likes to watch and jump in when the boat stops. They also like to take the canoe along the shore and have adventures in the woods. We all went to a Tigers game in July with Brian's parents and a Red Wings game in February as well as a weekend at Kahihari Waterpark in Ohio. We spent a lot of time with our families, our friends, and our neighbors. We had a big neighborhood Halloween party at our house and I think that kind of summed up our fun stuff this year: we enjoyed simple activities with people we care about and had a great time.
Whenever I look back on our year to write my Christmas letter, even this year which has been difficult and crazy, I just feel overwhelmingly blessed. We hope you see the blessings in your lives and may 2010 bring you and your family joy and peace!
Of course, the adoption is our biggest thing going on this year. The other big thing for our family has been Brian's work situation. He started his own video editing/production business in March and it is really taking off. He is the very proud President and CEO of Riveting Media Inc. He has purchased the gear he needed and learned a new editing program. He has one long-term client with ongoing work for him as well as several other smaller projects in the works. He also does freelance editing and post-production facilities around Detroit. Now that he feels like he has a handle on his new system, he intends to rachet up the marketing and seek more clients. He works out of the house and it has been the greatest thing ever for our family to have Dad around to get the kids on the bus, volunteer at school, and be home for dinner every night. We love how much less overwhelmed we all feel.
My job is pretty much the same as always. I was having trouble with my singing voice in the winter and was diagnosed with vocal nodules. I went on vocal rest for 10 weeks, if you can believe it. I couldn't teach or talk for all that time! It was excruciating. It was also in Jan-Feb-Mar when it was cold, dark, and miserable outside and Brian wasn't working and we just stared at each other all day and tried not to throw ourselves off a cliff. It was really a horrible time, but as always, those dark times pass and you can appreciate the good times even more. The nodules resolved and now I am much more careful with how I use my voice. I wear a headset mic in class all the time and I try not to talk much or too loud ever. It will always be an issue for me now and I'm considering getting into administration and out of the classroom at some point, but right now I just want to keep things as stable as possible while our family is changing.
Thomas is a fourth grader this year and having a super year in school. His whole third grade class stayed together and their teacher came with them up to fourth grade, which made for a great transition with no down time. In fact, he and his (fantastic) teacher emailed back and forth all summer to practice his writing and typing. He played basketball and took swimming lessons last winter, had a great baseball season (with his dad as the head coach), and played flag football in the fall. His biggest passion is probably football. Every recess every day is football and as soon as he gets off the bus and inhales a snack he's back outside to find some kids to play more football with. He desperately wants to play tackle next fall, and I guess we've held him off as long as we can. We made it this far with no broken bones (which is more than I hoped for) so we'll cross our fingers and hope to stay out of the emergency room.
Meredith is a first grader now. She's also working hard in school. Her reading astonishes me sometimes... she loves to snuggle up to me while I'm reading my book and she will start reading out loud whatever I'm reading (which is awesome, except I had to give up the trashy romance novels!). She is endlessly creative and spends a lot of time thinking up and trying out new hairstyles (right before she's supposed to be getting on the bus), giant multimedia art projects (that involve the hot glue gun, sequins, and mom whenever possible), and "forts" (that require every blanket in the house and cover most of the basement). If her new sister or brother is anything like her, we may never be on time anywhere ever again.
We didn't take any major vacations this year, but we love to spend as much time as we can at my parents' cabin on Lake Charlevoix. Thomas is a kneeboarding maniac, Meredith mostly likes to watch and jump in when the boat stops. They also like to take the canoe along the shore and have adventures in the woods. We all went to a Tigers game in July with Brian's parents and a Red Wings game in February as well as a weekend at Kahihari Waterpark in Ohio. We spent a lot of time with our families, our friends, and our neighbors. We had a big neighborhood Halloween party at our house and I think that kind of summed up our fun stuff this year: we enjoyed simple activities with people we care about and had a great time.
Whenever I look back on our year to write my Christmas letter, even this year which has been difficult and crazy, I just feel overwhelmingly blessed. We hope you see the blessings in your lives and may 2010 bring you and your family joy and peace!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Why is this blog called "stepping out of the boat"?
So if you've found your way to our pathetic little blog, you probably already know that we have decided to adopt a brother and sister sibling set from Ethiopia. What you might not know is why in the world we would think it was a good idea to mess up a perfectly normal suburban life, fly halfway around the world, bring home two children we've never met who don't speak English, squeeze them into our frequently over-crowded house and create a large biracial family. Sometimes we wonder the same thing. Bottom line, we truly believe that God has a plan for our whole family and has been bringing us along for the last 12 years to get us to this point. Now we are doing our best to act on our faith and "step out of the boat". Do you remember that awesome gospel story... the disciples are all out in a boat at night and Jesus comes to them on the water. They all freak out and Jesus calls to Peter who gets out of the boat and walks on the water to Him. Peter's faith is so great that he steps out of the boat. I think that is a miracle right there. Peter KNEW that he was going to sink, but he did it anyway and the Lord honored that faith. We feel a lot like Peter because we know we're doing something crazy but we just feel compelled to act. The next part of the gospel story speaks to us too. Peter's doing this amazing thing by the grace of God and then he looks down and thinks "what am I doing? I'm totally going to sink!" and he takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. Sometimes we find ourselves at this point too. We ask you to keep us in your prayers, not just during the adoption process, but as our family adjusts and grows together in the years to come. We hope to keep our eyes on Jesus and remain strong in courage and faith, supported by your love and prayers.
So we're stepping out of the boat. We've stepped out of our comfortable, safe, ordinary life to a place with many unknowns. We are completely aware of the risks. We believe that God will continue to bless us as He has over and over in our life up til now. We know His plan is more than we can imagine. We hope you join us and we hope YOU step out of your boat in some small way today.
So we're stepping out of the boat. We've stepped out of our comfortable, safe, ordinary life to a place with many unknowns. We are completely aware of the risks. We believe that God will continue to bless us as He has over and over in our life up til now. We know His plan is more than we can imagine. We hope you join us and we hope YOU step out of your boat in some small way today.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
FAQ about the adoption
Since we spend an unbelievable amount of time answering the same questions, here are some FAQ answers:
WHY???
Before Thomas was born, we struggled for three years to have a family. We had three miscarriages and the fertility stuff was so hard on me, that we decided we weren't going to do anything extreme to conceive biological children. We looked into international adoption at that time (12 years ago), but then we managed to get pregnant, stay pregnant, have Thomas, have Meredith three years later, and it seemed like that was that. Two healthy kids, boy and girl, what more could we ask for? We were done. Except I started thinking that maybe we were missing someone. Actually, two someones. It was just this little thing creeping around in my brain. And then it seemed like maybe it wasn't a little thing. I would often look in the backseat of the van and expect to see two more faces. Brian looked in the backseat of the van and thought everything was just right, but because he is awesome and wonderful, we started talking about it more seriously in early 2008. Then my friend Sara went to volunteer in an orphanage in Ethiopia and decided to adopt a boy. When she came home, she came over and talked to us for a long time about her experiences and we were seriously considering it, but Brian was still really on the fence. Then, he got laid off in November 2008. So everything was completely on hold. We spent a year trying to figure out what we were supposed to do. Brian started his own video production/editing company and is doing really well. Our lives are MUCH more in balance with him around more. The money just seems to be there when we need it. And the calling has never gone away. So we just decided to go for it.
Do you know the kids? How old are they?
We didn't when we started, but we do now! Solomon is 6 and his sister Tinsaye is 8. For more info, see the post linked here.
Will you go to Ethiopia to get them?
Yes. Brian and I will fly there and stay for a week. We will get to know the kids, go do a little more legal stuff at the US Embassy, and experience some Ethiopian culture. And by "experience Ethiopian culture", I mean eat their food, which is now Brian's biggest concern. You may remember that this was the man who packed a cooler to drive 15 minutes to the hospital when I delivered Thomas, so the whole food thing will be a real challenge for him! He may actually forgo clothing in his suitcase and just pack cheeseburgers instead.
Will they speak English?
Yes, some, but their native language is Amharic. Our agency is Adoption Advocates International out of Port Angeles, Washington. They run an orphanage called Layla House in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The teachers at Layla House prepare the children to come to American homes, so they learn English and American traditions and customs. Our kids have only been at Layla since November 09, so they will have very little English, but it will definitely be better than our Amharic!
When will they be here?
Hopefully Summer 2010. First we have to fill out a million documents, have them all notarized, write a lot of very large checks, get fingerprinted, have a homestudy with a local social worker, write more large checks, get a referral for the kids and accept it, send important documents to various governmental agencies, wait for all kinds of legal stuff in Ethiopia, and then someday they'll tell us to pack our bags! In my mind, it's been 12 years in the making, so I can wait as long as it takes.
What do Thomas and Meredith think?
They are both really excited to have a same gender sibling. They have many friends who are adopted and/or culturally different from us, so they are very unconcerned about having a family that looks unusual. They are jazzed about getting bunk beds too! Remember, we have been seriously talking about this as a family for over a year, so we've had the chance to imagine all the scenarios from sharing your closet to who sits where in the minivan to "will they like spaghetti?" to "how will they know who Great Aunt Judy is?". The day we signed the very first application paper we told Meredith and she was incredibly excited. Then a little later she said, "Mom, I'm just a little worried about one thing, but I think it will be okay. There's only one bed in my room, so my sister can sleep there and I'll just use my sleeping bag on the floor." Her little heart was so big giving up her bed was no big deal. We explained that it would still be months and months until her sister was here and that we can all have beds!
Will you move?
Nope. Just squeeze in two more. Maybe someday, but for now we're staying put.
Any questions we missed? Just let us know.
WHY???
Before Thomas was born, we struggled for three years to have a family. We had three miscarriages and the fertility stuff was so hard on me, that we decided we weren't going to do anything extreme to conceive biological children. We looked into international adoption at that time (12 years ago), but then we managed to get pregnant, stay pregnant, have Thomas, have Meredith three years later, and it seemed like that was that. Two healthy kids, boy and girl, what more could we ask for? We were done. Except I started thinking that maybe we were missing someone. Actually, two someones. It was just this little thing creeping around in my brain. And then it seemed like maybe it wasn't a little thing. I would often look in the backseat of the van and expect to see two more faces. Brian looked in the backseat of the van and thought everything was just right, but because he is awesome and wonderful, we started talking about it more seriously in early 2008. Then my friend Sara went to volunteer in an orphanage in Ethiopia and decided to adopt a boy. When she came home, she came over and talked to us for a long time about her experiences and we were seriously considering it, but Brian was still really on the fence. Then, he got laid off in November 2008. So everything was completely on hold. We spent a year trying to figure out what we were supposed to do. Brian started his own video production/editing company and is doing really well. Our lives are MUCH more in balance with him around more. The money just seems to be there when we need it. And the calling has never gone away. So we just decided to go for it.
Do you know the kids? How old are they?
We didn't when we started, but we do now! Solomon is 6 and his sister Tinsaye is 8. For more info, see the post linked here.
Will you go to Ethiopia to get them?
Yes. Brian and I will fly there and stay for a week. We will get to know the kids, go do a little more legal stuff at the US Embassy, and experience some Ethiopian culture. And by "experience Ethiopian culture", I mean eat their food, which is now Brian's biggest concern. You may remember that this was the man who packed a cooler to drive 15 minutes to the hospital when I delivered Thomas, so the whole food thing will be a real challenge for him! He may actually forgo clothing in his suitcase and just pack cheeseburgers instead.
Will they speak English?
Yes, some, but their native language is Amharic. Our agency is Adoption Advocates International out of Port Angeles, Washington. They run an orphanage called Layla House in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. The teachers at Layla House prepare the children to come to American homes, so they learn English and American traditions and customs. Our kids have only been at Layla since November 09, so they will have very little English, but it will definitely be better than our Amharic!
When will they be here?
Hopefully Summer 2010. First we have to fill out a million documents, have them all notarized, write a lot of very large checks, get fingerprinted, have a homestudy with a local social worker, write more large checks, get a referral for the kids and accept it, send important documents to various governmental agencies, wait for all kinds of legal stuff in Ethiopia, and then someday they'll tell us to pack our bags! In my mind, it's been 12 years in the making, so I can wait as long as it takes.
What do Thomas and Meredith think?
They are both really excited to have a same gender sibling. They have many friends who are adopted and/or culturally different from us, so they are very unconcerned about having a family that looks unusual. They are jazzed about getting bunk beds too! Remember, we have been seriously talking about this as a family for over a year, so we've had the chance to imagine all the scenarios from sharing your closet to who sits where in the minivan to "will they like spaghetti?" to "how will they know who Great Aunt Judy is?". The day we signed the very first application paper we told Meredith and she was incredibly excited. Then a little later she said, "Mom, I'm just a little worried about one thing, but I think it will be okay. There's only one bed in my room, so my sister can sleep there and I'll just use my sleeping bag on the floor." Her little heart was so big giving up her bed was no big deal. We explained that it would still be months and months until her sister was here and that we can all have beds!
Will you move?
Nope. Just squeeze in two more. Maybe someday, but for now we're staying put.
Any questions we missed? Just let us know.
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