My Baby - 5 yrs old - His K5 School Picture

I can't believe my baby's 5 years old. This is his K5 school picture and he looks so much older than 5. You can tell someone was telling him to 'smile' ..... oh what a joy this boy is. I just felt like sharing.

*Dragii Mei, uite poza asta este facuta la scoala lui Jalen in clasa K5 (ce inseamna clasa inainte de clasa intiia). Asai ca nici nu arata ca si cum ar avea 5 ani, ci mult mai in virsta. Na ja, das ist halt unser Toti - jemand hat ihm bestimmt gesagt er soll lachen ...... Ich werde Euch dieses Photo und auch eine CD mit vielen Photos und Videos schon sehr bald durch die Post schicken. Ich hab Euch lieb und vermisse Euch. Bis bald am Telefon!

At The Pumpkin Patch at Dreamfield Farm

Jalen went on a Field Trip to Dreamfield Farm Pumpkin Patch and he liked it so much, that I had to go back with him a few days later. Below you'll see pictures at the pumpkin patch.

*Jalen ist mit seiner Klasse auf ein Ausflug gegangen zu einem Pumpking Patch auf der Dreamfield Farm. Es hat ihm dort sehr viel Spass gemach, und wir mussten paar Tage drauf wieder zurueckkehren. Es was mitten in der Natur, umringt von Natur und einem kleinen See, frische Luft und keine Autos .... nichteinmal ein Handy Signal gab es dort .... so tief in der Pampa waren wir .... aber es hat sehr viel Spass gemacht dem Toti .... und das war mir ja wichtig ... und natuerlich die frische Luft am Land. Da seht ihr paar Photos, die ich gemacht hab ... viel Spass, ich hab Euch lieb und vermisse Euch.

Jalen and Christina (das ist die 10-jaehrige Tochter von der Dorina die auch aus Rumaenien sind und da neben Montgomery wohnen).

Jalen and Elias petting the sheep.

In front of our house before leaving out to go to the pumpkin patch.

*Vor unserem Haus before wir los fuhren.

Jalen and Jeffrey, his best buddy in school, milking a fake cow.

In the cornbox!

*Im Mais Kasten!

William, Jalen, and Jeffrey - his classmates.

Jalen and his classmate Sidney.

Jalen and Jeffrey holding hands, walking ..... I thought it was so cute and innocent ... love it!

Raquel, Jalen and Jeffrey.

Re-United ............... At Last!

For almost a year now I have been following Amanda & Andrew's (a military couple) adoption journey (I'm not linking to their blog, as it is private). This family's story has been one of a kind, but more than anything else it has been a roller coaster ride .... everything that this family has been through to finally have all these 3 precious siblings together under one roof ..... is amazing and unimaginable .... all I can say is that I am so happy that finally they are all together as a family of 5.

Adia (6), Amalia (12) and Amado (9)

When Amanda and Andrew went to Ethiopia in January of this year to pick up Adia and Amado and finally bring them home, they found out, much to their surprise, that the children had an older sister, Amalia. As the adoption process is, they soon had to leave Ethiopia with Amado and Adia and leave Amalia behind, not knowing if the children will ever see each other again - not knowing if it was possible for Amanda and Andrew to adopt Amalia as well. Many, many, things have happened - which I'm not at liberty to talk about - but eventually, they found out that Amalia too has entered the orphanage and is now in need of a family. Andrew and Amanda literally moved mountains to be able to bring Amalia home and re-unite her with her siblings. At the end of September, Andrew and Amanda received word that all legalities were completed and finalized and that Andrew could now travel to Ethiopia and once a Visa appointment received, present himself with Amalia there ..... and then be on the way home to the US. The Visa appointment at the US Embassy in Addis Abeba is the last milestone in an adoption process before the child can actually leave the country, travel to and enter legally the US. So Andrew flys to Ethiopia at the end of Semptember and brings Amalia home on Thursday of this week .... finally and at last.

I have followed this family's journey for months now and to see them all together at last after so long has brought many tears of joy to my eyes.

This family's adoption journey is an amazing one, indeed one of a kind, with many challenges and many ups and downs .... but eventually it brought the children back together again and turned Amanda and Andrew into parents to three beautiful and amazing children. The picture above was made on their first family outing as a family of 5 at a nearby pumpkin patch. The children look so happy and just simply beautiful.

Andrew and Amanda are amazing parents. To think that a year ago it was just the two of them, and now, not even a year later they have become parents to three children all at once. Amazing ... and don't think for a minute it's a breeze, because it's not, every day is a new challenge .... but I've been knowing Amanda and Andrew now for almost a year and I could not imagine these kids anywhere else but with them .... I admire them both, they have so much strengh, perseverence, and courage .... but above all .... they have so much love for their children.

I am very happy for this family, and may God bless them always!

Waiting For Your Child (When You're Pregnant/When You're Adopting)

My friend, and adoptive Mom, Sheila, has written text below on her blog and allowed me to share it here on my blog as it truly depicts how some - or maybe most - of us adoptive mothers feel, especially if we have children whom we gave birth to and are comparing the two different, but in many ways, similar journeys of motherhood, whether by pregnancy or adoption. I have now experienced both (still in the process of waiting for a referral: the picture and medical report you get of your child) and even though the words below are not my own, they are pretty much how I feel when I compare the journey of motherhood through pregnancy and the journey of motherhood through adoption.

*Meine Lieben, unten hab ich ein Artikel, das eine Bekannte von mir geschrieben hat, 'geborgt'. Es beschreibt den Unterschied zwischen Warten auf Dein Kind wenn du schwanger bist und warten auf Dein Kind wenn du adoptierst. Es is zu viel zum uebersetzen, aber wenn wir mal wieder im Skype stundenlang sprechen, kann ich es Dir, Mama, uebersetzen, ok. Viele puesserdlis, und ich hab Euch lieb und vermisse Euch.

"Being pregnant sucks. It is hard especially if like me, you add an extra 60lbs. to a 115lb frame. My feet hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurts. Delivery is a pain, pun intended. I will not even go into the details of a fourth degree tear and a bruised tail bone.Boy, those moms who adopt have it easy. You can drink like a fish, stay up as late as you choose with out paying double the next day, heck, you can sleep on your stomach every night of the year. You don't need a new over sized wardrobe or one of those little donuts to sit on for a month after your baby comes home.

Why doesn't everyone just skip the whole pregnancy thing and adopt? Well, there is a reason. It is a secret we in the adoption world know: Waiting to adopt sucks. It is hard, especially if like me, you add an extra 60lbs of stress to a 115lb frame. Your head hurts, your neck hurts, your shoulders hurt. Waiting is a pain, pun intended. I will not even go into the details of a torn and bruised heart.

There is no forgetting you are pregnant. Your body reminds you of it everyday. But there is a plus to all that. Knowing you are with child means you know where the child is. He is there with you, all day long as you walk around with an aching back and all night as you toss and turn trying to get comfortable.All you have to do is reach down and touch your skin stretched stomach. You can't see him, but you know he is there: listening, growing, waiting to emerge into the light of your life. He is 100% in your care.

Adoption doesn't provide such comfort. For the longest time, you just wait. You have nothing to hold on to except the knowledge that you are in the pipeline moving closer day by day to the top of the list. You can't even count the calendar as your friend. There is no 42 week guarantee with adoption. They say two months, then it becomes four, then it is a year and counting. It is like giving birth to an elephant. And that doesn't even count the months needed to prepare everything to get your spot in line [waiting line for a referral].

Then you get your referral and a bit of the weight comes off. You have a picture, a name, a small bit of history. You can't reach out and touch anything real, but you hold your photo close and say the name in your prayers. You have a face in your dreams but not within your reach. Your child is 100% dependent on someone else for his care. You pray he is being held, fed, comforted when he cries. But you don't know. You just don't know, for he isn't there, with you. He is far away across the sea.

The joke is told that if men had babies, everyone would just have one. It is true that the pain of being pregnant and the agony of delivery is all but forgotten in a very short time for us mothers. Strange how we will never forget the smallest slight to our children by another, but the incredible pain of bringing him into the world floats away like a bad dream in the morning sunlight. The love in our heart leaves no room for anything else.

This too happens in the world of adoption. The time finally comes, you pack your bags and travel half way across the globe to meet your child. You bring him home and realize a few weeks later that your shoulders are no longer stuck to your ears. There will be stress filled days and nights to be sure, but the incredible anxiety of bringing him into your world floats away like a bad dream in the morning sunlight. Your heart is too filled with love to leave room for anything else.

When you become pregnant, you know, God willing, you will have a beautiful child in your life in the not too distant future...

When you choose to adopt, you know, God willing, you will have a beautiful child in your life in the not too distant future...

And the not too distant future becomes the not too distant past, and you can't remember your life before he came..."

My Baby's a Green Belt Now!!!

Jalen's moving up the Karate ranks at a steady paste. He has now went from the Yellow belt to the Green belt. My friend Ginger - her boy, Pruitt, is in Karate with Jalen - just sent me these pictures of the day he became a Green Belt!

*Meine Lieben, utati-va ca Jalen a fost promovat la cureaua verde acu de vreo o saptamina, dar numai acum am primit pozele ca eu mi-am uitat aparatul de fotografiat acasa. Va pup und hab Euch ganz lieb und vermisse Euch!





Jalen and Pruitt

Happy 'Early' Halloween - Tata and The Johnsons

One of my friends, Amanda, had this up on her blog and I thought it was really cute.

*Dragii Mei, uite am facut un video horror da haios cu noi trei si cu papi. Sper sa va putati uita, dar daca nu, atunci ti l-am trimis si-n email.
Va pup pe toti. Ich hab Euch lieb und vermisse Euch!!!!

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8 Months on the Dot!

Today we have been officially waiting (meaning our dossier completed and getting on the waiting list) for 8 months. This is bitter sweet for me. Bitter because I can't believe we're still waiting. When we started out our adoption process, I was sure by Jalen's 5th birthday we'd already have her, or at least know who she is (referral). Boy, was I wrong. Here we are 8 months later and still no referral, and the way it looks, probably no referrals until after we hit the 1 year mark. So this is the bitter part; the sweet part is that we have done a little over half of the waiting so just another 6 or 8 months to go ...... Lord, I sure hope not. But whether I want to admit it to myself or not, that's just a fact. And according to our adoption consultant, she predicted that nothing is likely to move for us before February 2010. So we continue to do what we do best, hurry up and wait.

Jalen's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Jalen's 5th Birthday today at Chuck E. Cheese. Below you'll see pictures from his party. It was a great party, as it always is at CEC, and Jalen had a lot of fun.

*Wir haben Jalen's Geburtstag heute gefeiert beim Chuck E. Chese Restaurant mit der Chucky E. Cheese Maus. Hier sind paar Photos von der Feier. Alle hatten viel Spass!

Jalen's Spongebob & Patrick Birthday Cake.
*Jalen's Geburtstagstorte.

Lori and Jalen

Patrick, Jalen, LJ, and Lori.

Lisa, Alida and Kaitlen's little brother. I had to carry this boy for a long time. He just wanted to be held by me ...... and I loved it!!!!

Jalen and Kaitlin

Jalen and his best friend Elias. They used to be in the same grade and now they're together in Karate.

* Jalen und sein bester Freund, Elias. Sie waren zusammen in der gleichen Klasse letztes Jahr und jetzt sind sie zusammen in Karate.

Elias and Jalen

Jalen and our CEC Party Hostess.

Mykylie and Shawn

Jalen getting the Birthday Boy Crown.

*Jalen kriegt die Geburtstags Krone.

Jalen and Chuck E. Cheese

Jalen and his best friend from school, Jeffrey.

*Jalen und sein bester Schulfreund, Jeffrey.