The First Month

Life as a Family of Four......

      It's so hard to believe that it has already been over a month since Noah came home. I want to be perfectly honest and say there have definitely been some difficult days. It's hard to really prepare yourself for what to expect when a toddler comes to live with you. Noah has already been bounced around from place to place, been with many care givers and really no structure at all. So, the first week was a complete blur with lots of tears from him and me. I definitely wasn't ready for the sleepless nights and temper tantrums. We were complete strangers and Noah definitely hadn't ever been told he couldn't do something.  But, then there were the sweet hugs and kisses and joyful laughter, and finally came the sleep. Sleep can make everything better for me.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Playing in the water table for the first time

       Thankfully, I have a community of moms that have adopted so I had them to call and ask questions about what to do as far as disciplining, sleep training and eating. Then there are the questions that you are too embarrassed to ask anyone. Worries about connecting and bonding and attaching. Eventually I had to swallow my pride and ask, and amazingly it seems like these are common worries and that I am actually going through the normal, crazy adjustment period.  Then there are all of the beautiful firsts... the first bath, car seat ride, trip to the farm, first slide, first swim in a pool, first park, birthday party, first disney trip, first time at church, and first time sleeping in a crib by himself.  In the beginning I felt robbed because I had missed so much of his baby life, but it is a really amazing gift to be able to experience so many firsts with this sweet boy, and see the amazement in his eyes.

Noah instantly took to grandma

first day at pre-school, he is going one day a week

        Right now things are great! We are living our new normal for a few more months until baby Jackson arrives, that's when things are really going to get interesting:) Kadyn and Noah are adorable together. They fight and love each other just like all brothers and sisters do. She loves bossing him around, which is no surprise to anyone that knows her. He absolutely adores her and follows her around the house copying everything she does.

brother-sister love

      It's amazing what some nourishment can do for a kid. In the last five weeks, Noah has gotten 6 teeth, three haircuts and his overall appearance has just gotten so much better. His skin is glowing and tummy troubles are all gone. We feel like he was hand picked from God for our family. We love him so much and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be his mommy. We praise God for his all His blessings!

Our visit to the farm

Uncle John

Aunt Erica

Avery loving on Noah

The Waiting is Over!!!

Noah is Finally Home

These past 11 days have been crazy! In many ways everything has changed and in others, it feels like Noah has always been with us. He is doing so well and adjusting more quickly than I thought. For those that don't know, Nasser traveled with his father to Ethiopia because I wasn't allowed to because I am pregnant and high risk, so it wasn't safe for me to go. My amazing husband took on the task of flying on an airplane for over 16  hours with a one and a half year old. I owe him big time!! The four days that Nasser was away bringing our son home were the longest four days of my life. It is crazy to know that with the arrival of an airplane, you whole life will change. This little person, who is not a tiny baby is just supposed to come home and accept you as his parents and adapt to all of this change. We had prayed and begged God for this precious child, and he is finally here!
 
Can I just take a moment to say that I have the absolute most amazing friends in the world. My girlfriends; Katie, Chandler, Amy, Alexis, and Kim planned the coolest homecoming. They made banners, brought balloons, took video and pictures and made shirts for Noah's homecoming. Amy made Nasser, Noah, Kadyn and me special Ethiopia shirts, that I will forever treasure. We were so loved on by all of our friends. So many people came out to show us their support and love. My heart is full.

 getting ready for the plane to arrive

 kids working on the welcome banner

 me and alexis

 addison's cool africa shirt

erica, amy and walker kennedy

 this is my beautiful friend katie. she is the one taking all of the the pictures and planned this amazing homecoming. i had to pull a pic from facebook, cause she is not in any of these pictures:(

 me and my god-daughter Madelyn

chandler, addison, me and madelyn

 kids having fun

michael and samantha

 samantha, addison, harper and ansleigh

adam and reid-man

 he is almost here.....

 avery, kadyn and colton

 nasser walking off the plane

 family of four!

 first time seeing balloons

hanging with uncle adam

my adoption mama's - jessica with eli and heidi with jonas - incredible women, would not have made it through this crazy ride without them

one happy mama
 
     So, the first three days were hard. Mr. Man did not want to sleep at all. He would wake up every 45 minutes screaming and would only sleep if I held him or rocked him. That sounds sweet til it's like 4am and I haven't slept at all and I know we have a busy day ahead of us. So, I just had to make some choices that were good for our family and thankfully he is sleeping peacefully on his own all night. Nap time is still difficult, but everyday is getting better. My wonderful friend Jessica made Noah all of this delicious Ethiopian food to help him adjust, and we have spent time with our friends that have Ethiopian children. I can tell he feels so comforted to see familiar faces.

     As each day goes by Noah is more affectionate to us, and learning new words. He really is settling in and we are getting adjusted to being a family of four. I just want to thank those of you that have prayed for our family as we have gone through this journey. We praise God for his continued blessings, and for allowing us to be Noah's parents.

Almost There....

      It looks like our sweet Noah will be here in a matter of a couple of weeks! Praise God!!! We were submitted to Embassy on January 2, and we have a birth parent interview on January 23. So, what does that mean?? Well, once the birth parent interview is cleared with the US Embassy, we will be booking a trip to pick up our son and finally bring him home. So, please pray for our family, and that this last step of our process goes smoothly.

Just a Little Late.....

Kadyn Turns 3!

       It's unbelievable to me that my little baby girl is three. I certainly have not embraced her growing up. As much as I want her to stay little, I truly am enjoying this little lady who has very particular opinions and  a princess complex, I mean literally thinks she is a princess. I really enjoyed celebrating her this year, especially because she really understood that it was her special day. Although, I do believe she is still in mourning that her birthday is over.

       This year Kadyn celebrated her birthday with her best friend Avery. So, Alexis (Avery's mom) and I did a little photo shoot of our girls having tea.....

We Passed Court

                                                     

 

Noah Abay Qureshi

 

            Nasser traveled to Ethiopia on November 26 for our court date November 29. He was able to spend some great quality time with Noah. This was the first time that he ever met him. As much as I would have loved to travel with Nasser to see our son, I really think it was important for them to have their own bonding time. Nasser instantly fell in love with him and they had a great time together playing and just hanging out.

          In the eyes of the Ethiopian government, Noah is officially our son. Now we have to wait on the US Embassy in Ethiopia to get all of the necessary papers together for us to be able to bring him home. Our agency says the average is 4 months, but we are praying for a speedy process. We know God can move mountains. We praise Him for this sweet child!

I will keep everyone posted as we move along in the process. We are so grateful for our community of friends and our wonderful family that support and pray us through all of this waiting..... 

 

 

 

                                                               Nasser and Noah

 

We Have a Court Date!!

We finally got our Court Date!!
We are so excited and are certainly Praising God for the good news.

What Does This Court Date Mean?
Basically once we pass court, our little Noah is legally ours in the eyes of the Ethiopian government. Unfortunately this does not mean we get to take our son home until we are cleared by the US Embassy. That will not happen for at least another 8-16 weeks. Nasser will be traveling by himself for our court appointment. It is a short hearing. I am really excited for Nasser to meet Noah for the first time, and to have his own bonding experience.

We are so thankful to all our family and friends that have been praying along side us for this court date. Our adoption has been a long and difficult process, but we know it is already worth anything we have to go through to get our sweet boy home!