One year since we met Nora!

Today is the one year anniversary of the first time we met Nora -- and what a fabulous day that was! Wow, the past year has flown by!

And only three more days until we leave for Ethiopia to bring home Ruby Negate and Elizabeth Amsalu!

"Daddy, my mommy real beautiful."

What a wonderful day! Today was very hot (about 98 degrees), and I took Nora to the local municipal swimming pool.

I have really been trying to live in the moment as we count down these last few days until we travel to bring Negate and Amsalu home. These are our last few -- and precious -- days with Nora alone. It is going to be wonderful for for all of us when we have Negate and Amsalu home with us, but someday we will look back on this time with just Nora and remember it as a very special time. And as much as I want it to just hurry up and be Saturday so we can go get on that airplane to Ethiopia, I also want to savor the anticipation.

So...I say a prayer for our Ethiopian girls every morning and every night, and I eagerly anticipate seeing their beautiful faces on Monday...and I thank God for so many amazing blessings. I can't imagine what I have done to deserve all that I have been given.

Tonight, as we were eating dinner, Nora looked directly at Daddy and whispered quietly (as if I wouldn't hear), "Daddy, my mommy real beautiful." Wow, could it get any better than that?

One week from now we'll be on an Ethiopian Airlines jet!

I can't believe we're going to get our girls in just ONE WEEK! Lately I have been daydreaming about what their voices will sound like. Will they have sweet, soft voices, or will they be loud and boisterous (like Nora)? I can't wait to find out!

Today, Tony and I enjoyed an afternoon date (babysitting courtesy of Granny and Pa). We went to the Bodies exhibit at Union Station and then had coffee and walked around a lot. It was my dad's idea that they give us a few hours out alone since a) this is our last weekend before we travel and b) we won't get to be alone again for quite a while after we bring home the girls!

It was nice to enjoy some adult conversation without any 4-year-old interruptions. But, of course, I was ready to go get Nora by the time we were done!

The Birds and the Bees?

Or is it the horses and the sheep? OK, so Nora watches the little foal out in our field with his mommy and asks a lot of questions. (She asks a lot of questions about everything, but that’s another story.) We’ve explained to her that the baby horse is drinking milk from his mommy’s tummy. Ahhhh! OK, that makes sense to her. She seems to get it.

This morning she wakes up and comes and climbs into our bed, bringing her stuffed toy sheep that she loves to play with. Then, she pulls up her shirt and holds the sheep close to her tummy and makes little smacking sounds. “Mommy, sheep eating from my tummy.” We’re trying not to laugh as she continues…. “Mmmmm…eat a hot dog, eat rice, eat fish…sheep eat from mommy’s tummy. Nora mommy.”

OK, so maybe she didn’t quite get the gist of how the little horse was getting milk from his mommy’s tummy. We’ll save the next lesson on the birds and the bees for another day. :-)

Ethiopia Orphanage Donations

The Hope orphanage in Ethiopia (where our girls are living) has so many children right now, and they have a hard time getting all the supplies they need. Sometimes it's not just a matter of having the cash (birr) to buy things, but many items are just really difficult to purchase there. So I thought I would post this list of items they are in need of. If anyone would like to make a donation of any of the items, we will take them with us to Ethiopia and give them to the orphanage. If you'd like to donate but don't want to ship things, please email me and let me know. I will do the shopping for you. Any donation is helpful -- it doesn't have to be large. Even one bottle of children's Tylenol or one tube of diaper rash cream is a great donation.

• Diaper wipes, disposable diapers, diaper rash cream
• Cloth diapers, diaper pins, diaper covers, training pants
• Sheets and blankets for cribs and older kids' beds
• Baby bottles, bottle washers, pacifiers
• Sippy cups and children's utensils
• Hand sanitizer
• Baby lotion and good quality lotion for caregivers' hands (they get dry from washing so much)
• Children's and Infant's Tylenol or Motrin
• Shoes and clothes for all ages, but especially older kids --shoes are desperately needed
• School supplies
• Girls' hair accessories
• Books for children (Grace said the older kids love books in English and read her the same one 10 times)

Two Weeks From Today

Two weeks from today we'll be on an airplane headed to Ethiopia to bring home our two new daughters! It still seems a little surreal that we're so close to meeting them. I just had to post more pictures of our little beauties!

Ruby Negate and Elizabeth Amsalu Smith

Happy Birthday Nora Lynn!

Today Nora celebrates her first birthday as part of our family! This morning when she woke up she called for me, and I went into her room. The very first thing she said – still half asleep – was, “Mommy Nora four?” She has been so excited about turning four years old!

Her day is off to a great start. She has already opened gifts from Daddy (a watch he has been promising to get her when she’s a really big girl), Mommy (binoculars because she loves to use ours), Grandma and Richard (money she wants to use to buy a movie), and Nana (beautiful Nana clothes as Nora says)! In the picture above she was already outside in her pajamas wearing her watch and looking through her binoculars.

Yesterday Nora and I baked and decorated her birthday cake and cupcakes. She really wanted to make her cake instead of buying it. Tonight we’re having a little birthday party, which she’s really excited about.

As I was thinking about how happy I am to be able to celebrate this birthday with Nora, I thumbed through my journal to last year’s entry. Here is what it says:

July 24, 2007

Nora is 3 today! Happy Birthday Dao Min – Nora Lynn. I wish we could have gone to China for your third birthday, but I’m SO happy we’ll be leaving next week for China! Our itinerary is finalized, and Nora will be in our arms Monday morning, August 6th. The adoption will be finalized on August 7th! Happy Birthday Nora!

Wow, it’s so hard to believe that one year ago we had not yet met Nora. And still harder to believe that in less than three weeks we will be meeting two more daughters in Ethiopia!

Enjoying time with Nora!

While we prepare for and dream about bringing Ruby Negate and Elizabeth Amsalu home, we are also enjoying this precious time we have with Nora. In many ways, Nora has led us to Ruby and Elizabeth. Nora's love for us, and ours for her, have been such an amazing miracle in our lives. Her capacity for love, her vivaciousness, and her determination have truly been an inspiration. This beautiful little girl has gone through so much in the past year -- losing ties to her culture and caregivers, learning a new language, adjusting to new routines, foods, and a family, and dealing with blood work and tests regularly for her health. And through it all, she has blossomed into a brilliant little light in our lives. She is charming, funny, smart, and sometimes very stubborn! I'm so thankful for Nora.

Here are a few cute photos I took this morning, and they totally capture her personality. The one with the map cracks me up -- it's a map of Persia from the National Geographic magazine and she was "teaching" her animals. Then she started trying on hats and headbands and laughing at herself. :-)

I Would Gather Children

Some would gather money
Along this path of life;
Some would gather roses,
And rest from earthly strife.

But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek some little curl
Or an awkward, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter in
That land of endless days;
And roses that are gathered soon
Will wilt along the way.

But, oh, the laughing children,
As I cross that sunset sea;
And the gates swing wide to heaven --
I can bring them in with me.

Author Unknown

ANNOUNCING...Ruby Negate and Elizabeth Amsalu Smith

Our case was approved by the Ethiopian court today! We are officially the parents of these two beautiful girls, and I can't begin to tell you how excited we are! We will be leaving the second week in August to bring them home! Thanks to everyone who has been saying prayers for us to get through court!

Here are pictures of our new daughters!