Being a Mom is Awesome, Especially When You Have Awesome Kids!

Fun things about being a mom:

1. Every time I go over a bump or slam the door of the van, a toy hidden somewhere in the back begins to sing, "I like to move it- move it!"

2. Today Elly told me that Princesses don't wipe. (We begged to differ.)

3. People always see Elly when we go to the store or out and about and they see her energy and hear her singing and say, "Well, she's happy!"

4. I get to buy them gifts for Christmas! We are not doing alot this year (or really any year for that matter!) but we have been able to get a few things and it is so much fun to think about their personalities and what they will like. Eden is all about movies and books and art supplies...Elly is into Barbie and make-believe and dress up.

5. Though waiting for Esias is hard, it is also a time of joy for our family. We are getting closer and closer to fulfilling this dream! It is sort of unreal that it is so close!

6. I love hearing Dan read stories to the girls. Especially the Bible stories. They sit captivated, and he does such a good job explaining things to them. We got the girls a new storybook Bible for Christmas...I can't wait to give it to them!

7. Getting a new picture of Esias was just about the most exciting thing I can think of besides meeting him in the flesh! That was sooooo good for my soul!

What's Next?

That's the magic number! 40 days til our "projected date" of travel...now this is not certain, but it gives me a good idea of how much time we're working with here.

Here are the steps we still have to go through before we can travel:
1. Court Date on December 24th. We have to pass court. Some do not pass, usually because of things beyond the control of the prospective parents. Most of the cases lately have been passing on the first try.
2. After we pass court, Esias is our son officially as far as Ethiopia is concerned! The Bethany staff over there will begin working to get us an appointment at the Embassy.
3. Once an Embassy appt. is made, we will be given a "travel call" - that's the magic day! Typically this call comes between 14-7 days before you are actually needed in Addis Ababa, so we will be frantically making travel plans!
4. The whole traveling process is going to take us about a whole day to get there. We will have to fly to DC first (hopefully from CR or Moline, but we might have to drive to Chicago). From DC we are hoping to take Ethiopia Airlines straight to Addis. I think we have to stop in Rome for fuel, but there are no layovers. Honestly, I am not sure what I would rather have- layovers and be able to stretch or get it out of the way. Dan wants to go with the get it out of the way approach.
5. Once in Addis, we will (as I understand it) be picked up by the Bethany staff and most likely taken to our guest home. Depending on what time of day it is, we will be able to go see Esias either that day or the following day. Esias will have to remain in Bethany's custody until our Embassy appt. which is on the Tuesday of that week. So we most likely we visit him in the orphanage or transition home every day until our appt. and then I think we will be able to take him back to the guest home with us after that.
6. I am hoping we can visit a few places such as Yezelalem Minch and the orphange Gelgela (where Esias is now). I would also like to shop a teeny bit and buy a few things for Esias and the girls so they have a bit of Ethiopia to keep in Iowa :)
7. Fly home! Wow, that sounds so easy when you type it out...I am not sure it is going to be so! New baby + strange parents + possible stomach bugs and parasites + multiple diaper changes and feedings + stinky travelers in the seat next to us...well, you get the idea. We are in for it. But I am excited to do it! Ethiopia, here we come!

Welcome to Iowa

Oh, Iowa. Today we witnessed a very "Iowa" day. When we left for church is morning at 11am it was 50 degrees. At 12:30pm, when we left church it was 60 degrees. At 1:27pm when we left Panchero's it was 37 degrees! Yikes! Now, I am not complaining about 50s, 60s, or even 37 degrees on the 14th of December! But it is just crazy to live in a place where everything changes so rapidly!

Fun Family Day!

The pics above are just added for fun...they have nothing to do with this post! I just thought the kids looked pretty funny! Check out the poses.

We had a really fun day today. We took a spontaneous trip to Des Moines to deliver some artwork to Rachel and to meet with Lindsay from our agency (who will be traveling with us to Ethiopia). We had a fun lunch at Panera Bread with Lindsay and enjoyed the 50 degree weather (while avoiding the shopping centers at all costs- wow- they were crazy busy!). After all our "business" was done, we surprised the kids by taking them to the movie! We saw "Bolt" in 3-D and it was great. It was so cute to see the kids sitting in their seats in the dark with their giant 3-D glasses on! I wish I had had my camera! "Bolt" was a really fun movie and of course any movie with a dog is a hit with our kids.

Another Night!

Yay Elly! She stayed in her bed again last night. She didn't even cry at the gate this time. She did whimper a little in her bed, so I went and checked on her and gave her a drink of water. But she slept the entire night, in her own bed! Woopee! If I had only known the baby gate idea would work this well...though I did hear Eden hurdling over the gate this AM at 5 because she had a bad dream. But other than that, all is working here at Bedsharing Bootcamp!

Finally!!!

"Awesome, cool, totally cool."

That's how Elly describes the fact that she slept in her own bed last night without stealthily climbing into our bed! YES! Now, we don't have to talk about the fact that we put up a baby gate on her doorway so that she could not exit her room...or the fact that she stood at the gate at 12:45am, 2am, and 5am crying for us and that one of us had to lay with her in her bed for most of the night...no, let's dwell soley on the positive here and say GOOD JOB ELLY! This is a habit that has been over a year in the making, so it might take some getting used to! Elly got a sticker on her chart today and was very proud of herself. Barbie and the Diamond Castle, here she comes!

I've been terrible lately at posting the funny thing the girls are saying. So here are some randomly pieced together funnies.

"Mom! Look! It's the Iowa Hot Guys!" -Elly

"Mom, ummm...there's a tomato on the wall." -Elly

"Delicioso!! Mmm...this is a rare delicacy." -Eden, eating my tacos.

Me: "So, Eden, you have a new friend? What did you say to her?"
Eden: "Nothing, we just became friends instantly."

At night Elly prays (referring to God): "Ummm...Dad...thank you for this day..."

If Everthing's Quiet, Go Find Brynn, uh, I Mean, Elly!

My mom used to say, "Everything's quiet. Where's Brynnie?" when we were growing up. Sorry Brynn, I know how you hate to be compared to our children but seriously today was one of those moments. Elly has strep throat so I thought I was being nice and let her watch Over the Hedge (thanks Kate) this morning while I printed Christmas letters, read a book, and then took a shower. She took a banana and some O.J. in a sippy cup downstairs with her to watch the movie. Usually drinks and food downstairs are a no-no, but since she was sick, I let her do it. Now, before I took my shower everything looked fine. I took the banana peel and threw it away and she was zoned out at the TV. All was quiet through the shower. When I got out of the shower, however, she looked like she had been the one standing under water! Her hair was soaked! Upon closer observation, I also saw pulp in it! Needless to say, she was in trouble. Strep or no strep, you don't dump OJ in your hair! I was not a happy camper. She was disciplined and told to wait for me upstairs. So here I am (try not to get a visual) down on hands and knees, in a towel, cleaning OJ from the carpet and fuming mad. I came up to her on her time out chair and she is just so very sad and sobbing. Of course there is no good reason that she has for dumping the juice on her head. She proceeded to cry throughout our talk, through the bath and subsequent removal of pulp from her hair, through getting dressed, and now as I type. She is not in a very nice mood at all. Right now she is crying because, "I love pop." Oh boy. I hope this Amox. kicks in soon...

Elf Yourself, 2008

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Gift Dilemma

Ok, so Eden is, well, let's just say "creative" and it is hard to figure out a gift for her. We already got the kids a joint gift (new car DVD player since they fried their other one...and let's face it, this is really a gift for Dan and me...four hour car trips to grandmas are just not good when you can't hear yourself think). Anyway, so we wanted just one or two smallish things they can open for Christmas day. Elly was easy...we got her a little red wagon to pull her babies in and a small horse barn with a little girl and little teeny horses, etc. Perfect. Eden, on the other hand, not so easy. She loves to build things, she loves reading, she loves art and crafts. But we just could not find anything that seemed to fit. The last three gifts we have gotten her have completely bombed. Seriously. So now I am gun shy to get her anything else. To those of you who know her, what am I missing? What should I do for my precious firstborn?

Cutest Boy Ever!

Mohawk, anyone?

Got it!

Got the pictures today! That's right plural...meaning TWO! One of his precious face and one of his whole body! He is amazing! He look great. He is not very big, which does not surprise us but we did think he looked stockier last time. He is alert and looks very healthy! Praise God!

After-the-bath Weirdness

Christmas Time at the Grimes Home...

It's taken me forever to get these pics up. We actually put our tree up a week ago, but I have not been doing my blogger duties...sorry! The kids were VERY excited to help with the tree this year, Elly and Eden dug through the ornament box with such furor that I wondered if any of the ornaments would make it out! Fortunately, they did, and we have a wonderfully cheery tree! We also hung an old art installation that I had made for our church one Easter (it is a huge cross cutout). We hung it in our front window and I really like it. It serves to remind us of the true meaning of this time! We outlined it in white lights so you can really see it from the street.

Looking at these pics of the girls just makes me want to check my own parenting and make sure that I am "here" and "now" with them every day...I find myself wandering to the future alot...wishing for January to come, but these two beauties are here with us now and need us. So, Lord, help me not to rush them into the next couple of months, but let me soak up and savor every moment with my two incredible daughters!

Yes!

We found out today that the GR office DOES have a new picture of Esias...they are trying to "reformat" it and then they will send it. In a way I wish they would just send the thing...I am sure Dan could figure it out!! I just want to see him! I hope this pic is better than the last one and I can actually see his face! The whole thing!