Would you like to meet my daughter?

 I'd like to introduce you to my daughter, Baby B!

 We received our IBESR number a few weeks ago....and now eagerly await word that our adoption agency has been chosen by the Haitian government as one of their initial "approved agencies" now that they are a Hague country. Not being sure of how the process in Haiti worked, I hesitated to post any pictures until I was sure that it was allowed (the Ethiopian process is a little different.)

Baby B is said to be a very content little girl, but will not smile for the photos. I guess she must be waiting for mom and brother to come to show off her smiles to us in person! Waiting is sooooooo hard-possibly even more so now that we know who we are waiting to meet.

But Baby B's in God's hands, and we still have plenty to get done before we can bring her home.

Christmas Season....Weeeeeee!

I LOVE getting ready for Christmas! I love making and giving presents, Christmas music, getting together with friends and family, baking yummy things, and decorating for the season.

Ahhhh, tradition!

Lucky for me, Little Man feels the same way about this time of year. Last year he watched the Thanksgiving Day parade on TV for the first time...so he had to do that again this year. "It's a tradition" as he told me very seriously during my stuffing prep.

This year, I have been looking at some books for starting some new traditions at our home. One that is on my must buy list is an old classic by Pearl S. Buck. How I ever missed this one for all these years, I do not know but I'm changing that this Christmas.

From the reviews that I have read about the book, it really helps to cut away the commercialism of Christmas and focuses on the giving aspects (rather than the getting part).

Rob wants to get his father something special for Christmas this year -- something that shows how much he really loves him. But it's Christmas Eve, and he doesn't have much money to spend. What could he possibly get? Suddenly, Rob thinks of the best gift of all...

'Adopt Without Debt' Ideas

It was brought to my attention that I had neglected to add the link  to give the directions on how to create you own Amazon fundraising link. (Big Oops!)

The program is called the Amazon Associates program. I have created a link from my blog, to Amazon so that people can do their shopping, and help to bring home Baby B at the same time (with no extra cost to them).

Julie Gumm is an author, speaker, and adoption advocate. She has written the book, Adopt Without Debt. 

 Her blog lists the steps for starting your own account on Amazon to help raise funds for your own adoption efforts. I am not a super high tech person, and I set up our account...ALONE :)

If I can do it, anyone can do it!

http://juliegumm.com/2012/07/how-you-can-use-amazon-to-earn-1000-for-your-adoption-fund/

Let's Kill Two Birds with One Stone

We are starting something new on the blog. With the holiday season approaching, I have found a great new way to get my shopping done without leaving the house and to raise money for bringing home Baby B!

 Thanks to Julie Gumm-author of Adopt Without Debt, I have discovered a new way for others to help me in the final push to raise the money to bring Baby B home. Any time that you shop on Amazon please use our link. Names are kept private on all purchases, and your cost will not be any different that normally. Amazon will just be donating an amount for every purchase made using our link.

Also coming-I hope by Black Friday...some of the projects that I have been making to sell over the past couple of months.

So...LET THE SHOPPING BEGIN! :)

All you need to do is click on the link below. It will bring you directly to Amazon, linked through our Baby B adoption fund at no extra charge to you.

 Please share this link with anyone you know who will be shopping off of Amazon this Christmas season.

BabyB @ Amazon

Just B...

...Nocturnal :) 

I am a bit behind on things these days. Seriously. At this point, I am afraid to write down a list of all the things that I really need to get done.  My normal wake up time for the past couple of weeks is anywhere between 2:30 and 4:30 AM. It's not really that I am worrying. It's just that my mind seems to have decided that the quiet hours of the night is the best time to make an plan of attack for how to catch-up on things. 

I am sure it is only a coincidence that night is also the only time when I don't have an adorable Little Man or various other children there to fill in the air space with their thoughts). 

When I had Hodgkin's, various organizational tasks in the house 'unorganized' themselves. Catching up has been a process. True I am seeing progress, but it is so agonizingly slow that it is driving me crazy! I am not looking for a perfect, Martha Stewart type home-just something a little less, now where did I put that again?, then it is now.

I keep telling myself that slow and steady wins the race. It's true, I know and if I take the time to do things right, it will make all the difference when Baby B comes home. Because she is coming home, in time. We have our official government case number now which is a huge hurdle to jump over.

Really all these tasks are helping me to stay busy so that time will go faster, right?

So while we continue to wait for a court date, I have plenty to keep me busy....like all of that paperwork that wasn't filed, organizing the basement, finishing up a ton of projects to sell for fundraising, getting Little Man's passport, the art show that I need to create two new pieces for by the end of this month....

Sounds like caffeine time to me. :)

A "Good Mama"

Not long ago, Little Man and I decided we were long overdue for a good Ethiopian meal.  The fun part for me when we go out is always the interesting people that we meet.Throughout my life, I have had the ability to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. I am guessing that this skill was acquired by watching my grandma, and mom using their gift for gab. 

While at the restaurant, a nice Ethiopian man started chatting with us about where in Ethiopia we were from (great question), if we travelled back every year, etc. At the end of the conversation, he made sure to tell my son that he had a "good mama."

 I love that!

This is not the first time that this has happened. Whenever we are at an Ethiopian restaurant, or somewhere that we have a chance to chat briefly with someone who has immigrated here from Ethiopia, they tell my son that he has a good mom. Why it tickles me so much when a perfect stranger makes this statement I have no idea. Perhaps it is just the fact that I feel that in some way I have just received an additional stamp of approval in raising my Ethiopian child from someone who knows how it should be done.

On our way home, I made sure to point out to Little Man that if he is ever in doubt about whether or not his mom is a keeper or not, just remember that a perfect stranger just said that I was a 'good mama.'

 Little Man just smiled and said "I know Mom."

The Tough Stuff

Life has been busy,and I apologize for 'disappearing' for a month. It's hard to believe that amount of time has already passed. For the last few weeks I truly have been attempting to post.  Every time I try, I can't quite find the right words to express myself succinctly. I tend to be a wordy girl, but here goes.

The mother of one of my students is ill. In all likelihood, without Divine intervention, the prognosis does not look good. She was seeking a diagnosis at the same time that I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The outcome of both our illnesses and treatments could not have been any more different. As I teach this student every week, and watch the sorrow in her eyes grow, my heart is breaking. It hits a little too close to home to see a child mourning her mom's illness, and fearing the worst. As I read the family's posts on Caring Bridge I am broken at the thought of what they are going through. I pray daily for that mother's healing, and for peace for her and her family. I am not supposed to hug my students, but all I want to do is sit down next to this child, give her a hug, and cry. I pray for a miracle.

I also pray for Little Man, Baby B, and myself. There are still moments when I can feel fear gripping me as I worry-is my sore throat the tumor coming back? Could my backache be something more than just a pulled muscle? I tell myself to remember to trust in God. If you are going to worry, don't pray...if you are going to pray, don't worry. I find myself reading anything I can on the internet about ways to boost my body's ability to stay cancer free. I am wearing a pedometer these days to track my mileage (one day I made 14,000 steps in just my 'normal' activity!) I am considering taking up running. Sugar is the enemy-cancer thinks it is delicious and grows when you put it into your body. I have almost convinced myself that I like my coffee black, and that an orange is much tastier than a mini Snickers.

I hate cancer, and I pray one day we find a cure.

I will continue to pray for the healing of my student's mom. God still works miracles.  

 I will take this second chance I have and live my life in the healthiest way I can-as a way of honoring God and all of the many blessings He has given me. 

 1. It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: 2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, 3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. 4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5 O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep .

Psalm 92:1-5