2014

I highly doubt I need to tell anyone that life with a one year old is busy. In case you don't know though, it is. It is so busy, but so fun, and makes all the moments I used to have to myself worth it. On top of having a busy 15 month old, I started doing some therapy 2 days a week with one of my favorite families outside of my own.

Besides being busy with Zola and work, we have been busy with the holidays, and family get togethers. As well as trying to spend time with some friends. Lately, one of our biggest questions we have been getting is, " Are you going to adopt again?" Our answer is always yes, but usually what followed the first question is, "When?" That question we haven't been able to answer because we truly didn't know. Our story is so different that I guess I never really thought that people would ask when and are we adopting again. We don't mind it at all, we just didn't have a solid answer.

Kyle and I have talked and talked, honestly it's probably a once a week topic in our conversations. We said we would wait until January to talk about it, but our conversation came a few days early. Kyle and I are so completely content right now, and we truly feel that God is blessing us with that feeling. For 3 years we have longed and waited for Zola, on top of our adoption waiting, we tried to get pregnant for a year. We are plain and simply content. We are excited to take vacations this year, and make memories with Zola and with each other in 2014. For 2 years, we didn't take many vacations so we could save money, and save our days off for our travel to Ethiopia. We are excited to see what this year holds for us as a family.

There may be some people who think we are selfish, but we won't apologize for spending these moments, and let me tell you they go so fast with our sweet girl. We will adopt again, but we will be taking 2014 to save, make memories, and enjoy Zola. Our hearts will always be in Ethiopia, so maybe that will be next, but maybe it won't? We are still praying about what's next, but also enjoying this time of contentment. I truly believe God wants us all to be content, each person's contentment is different, but I hope in 2014, you can find contentment in some area of your life. :) 

Comforting Arms

If any of you have kids, you probably know the feeling when your child just melts into your arms and falls asleep. There is truly nothing like it. Since we brought Zola home at an older infant age, and because she is such a wonderful sleeper, these moments have been few and far between. We don't complain though, because she usually goes right down for her naps and for bed time. We are very thankful she is such a good sleeper, and can sooth herself to sleep. But, when those moments come that she does fall asleep in our arms, they are so cherished.

I just encountered one, literally minutes ago. We were on our way to music class, but she just wasn't having the car ride. She has gotten quite used to being in the car, so I knew she was tired. The tell tale signs of, rubbing her eyes, yawning, and crying in the car. We turned around, and I came home to lay her down. She chatted for awhile, like usual, and then I thought she fell asleep. She didn't, and that was fine. I went up to get her, and just scooped her up and sat on our rocking chair, she immediately lay her head on my chest and just melted into me. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to get up, and I was cherishing this moment. It took about 5 minutes, with heavy eyes, but she fell asleep. Those sweet little lips pursed together, her breathing, and her arms wrapped around mine... something I will never forget. I then realized before I went up I had her noodles on the stove, so I did have to lay her down and let her sleep in her crib, true mom moment right there ;)

There are so many days, I lay her down and come downstairs to clean up, meal plan, or take a moment to eat some lunch. I'm thankful for today that I was able to stop doing things, and embrace that sweet moment.

As I was sitting up there with her in my arms, I thought to myself, how often is God doing the same thing? Just waiting for us to come into His embrace and just melt into Him. How often am I not doing this? Honestly, I can answer that question with not enough. It was such a wonderful reminder that I need to push off some of my housework and melt into His arms when I have my free time. I try so hard to be the best mom and wife on the outside, that sometimes I forget where my focus needs to be constantly. Without Him first I won't be the best mom and wife that God has created me to be. I cannot do this on my own. I pray daily for God's strength and wisdom in raising Zola, but I need to be more diligent besides just in prayer.

Today marks November 1st, and a lot of people take this month to remind themselves what they are thankful for. I try to do this daily, but I am forever thankful for the sweet moment with Zola today and the reminder that God is waiting for those moments with me too. 

Fun with Kyle

Most of my posts are about Zola, and I understand that is why I mostly started this blog to let you in our story with her. I think so often that somehow how children get put before our spouses. It is hard, when our lives pretty much revolve around when they eat, when they sleep, what they are going to do, etc. In those times of focusing on children, we can't leave behind our spouse. So today's post is about mostly about Kyle, the love of my life and truly my best friend.

Lately, Kyle has been working a lot in the evenings. He comes home for dinner, bath time, and bed time... the best part of the day with miss Zola is bath time. ;)  We clean up and then he works until pretty late in the night. I am not complaining about having a hard working husband who provides for our families need by any means, but I have began to miss our evenings together.

When Kyle and I were getting married at one of my showers, everyone was asked to give a piece of marital wisdom. I will never forget what my mother in law said, "Always go to bed together." Now to be honest, I thought why does that really matter? People don't go to bed at the same time all the time. Maybe they work different shifts, or one is a night owl, etc. I have to say though, sometimes when Kyle and I are getting ready for bed we have the most fun of the day. 99% of time we do go to bed together, but these last few weeks have been a little different because of his work schedule. However, on Wednesday he was able to finish up at a decent hour. We laughed so hard that night, I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard ;) Today, I can't tell you a single thing we were laughing about, but I can tell you enjoyed I every second of it.

I get it, it's hard to always be having fun with your spouse. You have duties, whether they are outside the home, inside the home, extracurricular activities with kids, but don't forget to have fun with your spouse. The nights we laugh so hard or stay up late talking about Zola, what God is stirring in our hearts, or about our future I will never forget. I am thankful that I heard those words "Always go to bed together."

Take the time to truly enjoy your spouse this weekend, have fun! Everyone has a different definition of fun, but be intentional and do it. You won't regret it, and it will feel good to enjoy each other and to have those memories.

Somber Heart

October 15th is pregnancy loss awareness day. I've seen it here and there on my facebook newsfeed today, and it is such a sombering reminder what today is all about.

Kyle and I struggled with never becoming pregnant, and that was hard. The wait was hard, the negative tests were difficult, and seeing "everyone else" pregnant seemed to be the hardest. It is something we will never experience, but we have grieved that time in our lives. Many people have asked us about our story, and I have said more than once that God knew what He was doing and blessed us by that part of it. I cannot begin to fathom the feelings of losing a child I was carrying, or had just birthed.

I have actually thought about it often. I know miscarriages are "common" but just because they are common, doesn't mean they are any less painful. I'm sure there are many women I know that have had a miscarriage, or sadly more than one, but I cannot relate. I have no idea what they are feeling, all I can do is pray for them, and be a shoulder to cry on if they need it.

Thankfully isn't the right word when I think that I will never have to experience a miscarriage. There is a special bond between that baby and their mother. The mothers and fathers that have lost a baby will have an even bigger family in heaven. That is something I will not experience on this side or the other side of heaven. Am I thankful that God has spared Kyle and I of this type of loss, yes I am. However, there is a part of me that will never experience the joy of the mothers and fathers meeting their child(ren) for the first time in heaven. I can't think of a better place to meet someone.

Today, I am saddened for my family, friends, and acquaintances who have had this type of loss in their lives. I am also incredibly proud of and joyous for them, because someday, they will meet the rest of their family.

We have a 1 year old?!

It's been awhile, but I have been trying to enjoy every second with our sweet Zola. I also try to enjoy my time with Kyle in the evenings, so I've let this slide a bit.

Just wanted to let you all know she is doing just wonderfully. She is still a great eater, a great sleeper, and just a great girl. She has Kyle and I laughing every day at her fun personality, and she has us amazed at what and how well she is doing.

The main event since the last post was her first birthday!! It was such an exciting time for our family, to celebrate this little girl we had waited for over 2 years to bring home. We were so blessed on Sunday by all the love and support by family and friends. She had a party of course, and she did so well. I really need to upload some pictures, because she really got into her cake ;)

The night before her birthday, I asked Kyle if I could put her to bed. I usually let Kyle do it because he is gone during the day, but I was a little emotional that evening. As I was just looking into her eyes, I started to cry. The past 2 months went so quickly and I felt like I missed so much! You always hear the 1st year goes by so quickly, but we only had 2 months of it. Then I reminded myself, Megan, you got all of her firsts so far! We were able to see her first rolling over, her sitting up, her first army crawl, her first real crawl, her first pulling herself up, and the list goes on.

After my sentimental moment with her, it was time for our prayers. I always try to mention Zola's birth father and mother, but that night it was a big focus. I prayed especially for her birth father, as he was not only mourning the loss of his daughter, but his wife. I can't imagine the pain he was probably dealing with this past week. He is a brave and courageous man, and we are so thankful for the decision he made and that Zola gets to be part of our family. I truly hope and pray he is proud of his decision and has a sense of peace that she is being taken care of.

To say we are blessed by Zola is a true understatement. I am so thankful God put it in our hearts to adopt long before we were even married. I am thankful we couldn't have biological kiddos, and I am ever so grateful that God brought us our sweet and loveable Zola.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most people reading this aren't adopted, but if you are a  Christian, you are. I challenge you to remind yourself to be thankful and proud that Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to be adopted. He was brave and courageous and now we get to be part of God's forever family. 

Adjusting Well

In my post yesterday I told you all that Zola is adjusting quite well. I thought I'd give you evidence of things she likes and how she is adjusting so well.

Things Miss Z likes to Eat:
Sweet Potato Puree
Carrot Puree and Pieces
Hummus
Bananas
Peaches
Chicken
Yogurt
Yogurt Bites
Puffs
Rice Cereal
Gluten Free Honey Rice Chex
Pancakes
Black Beans
Bottles ;)

A Couple Dislikes:
Green Bean Puree and Pieces
Apple Puree
Peach Puree

From our food list, she's doing pretty well! :) She is putting on some weight, at least it looks like it anyway. She hasn't been weighed since last week when we she was at the Dr. but she is getting some chunk on her legs. There is nothing cuter than chubby baby legs.

We are working on loving the car seat, but she is getting better and better at being strapped in. We go on lots of walks, so those straps are helping her get comfortable in them. One our of favorite things is when we get in from taking a walk, she lights up and gets so excited to come into her house. Yesterday she absolutely lit up when Kyle came home from work, so so sweet. Today, I had to go into work and when I got home, I got lots of smiles and kisses!

Zola is quite the explorer around here. She takes everything in and is wonderful at mimicking what we do. She likes to swing, she loves the sprinkler, she really likes to dump things, pull her books off the shelf, and play with her play food. It is amazing to see how well she truly is adjusting. She acts a little shy around people at first, but then warms right up.

To say the least, we are insanely blessed by this little one. We are still in awe she is ours. We know it isn't all roses and perfect moments, but I am loving the fact that at night, we have toys to put away and baby clothes to wash. What a blessing this has been and continues to be. 

Home for a Week and a Half?!

To be honest, I can't even believe I am typing out the sentence that we have been home for a week and a half... with OUR daugher. Yes, that's right, not just home from Ethiopia, but with our sweet Zola.

The night I wrote my last post to Zola was the last night we had to wonder when we were going to have that little girl in our arms. How amazing is that. God answers prayers like no one else can is to say the least.

When Kyle and I were submitted to Embassy we had braced ourselves for the fact that the US Embassy may ask for Zola's birth father to come back once again to the capital to be interviewed. Now, we completely understand why this is asked of so many, but it just didn't sit well with Kyle and I. We had talked numerous times about how hard it must be for the birth parents to come back and reopen this wound. I also understand that this can be a good thing for birth parents, as they get to meet the adoptive family, and maybe they need more closure. But, we just struggled with someone demanding he come back to the capital, travel from his home, miss work, and possibly repoen a wound that he had already started heal from.

With our conversations, came lots of prayers as well. We prayed every night that if he is already healing from this decision, and if he doesn't need that closure, and that if it would be too difficult to leave work then that he wouldn't be asked to come to Addis (the capital) We also prayed for him and that he was healing from this decision and that he is so proud of his decision.

We were pleasantly surprised when we got an email at 3:30 am, but we didn't check it until 6am that we were cleared for Embassy and we needed to send an email with what dates we would like to travel to Ethiopia. We did just that! We got those ducks in a row, and then called a travel agent to book some flights.

I'm going to skip ahead here and tell you that we are all adjusting well. Zola lights up when Kyle or myself come into a room or are playing with her, she gets a huge smile on her face when we come inside from taking a walk, she likes to eat, and she loves to sleep!!

She is sleeping about 12 hours a night with at least one long nap during the day. I think she is loving the quiet and she is growing. We have had visitors and she seems to try to figure everyone out at first, and then warms right up. We are so blessed by all the texts, facebook posts, visits, and most of all prayer. She is one loved little girl!

Once I get my computer up and running I'll add some pictures on here and explain a little more about (both) of our trips.

Thanks for the continued prayers and thoughts, we couldn't be thankful for the support system we have and have had for the past 2  years. God's timing is perfect, because we are so lucky He called us to be her parents.