The Red Couch

There have been times I've wondered if it was the right one for us.  It's so red, so big. 

The back cushions are bulky and uncomfortable.  We've long since let the kids toss them off to be used in whatever building projects they've dreamed up that day.

But there is something about it, something that makes me love it.

It is red, so so very red.

There are times when I catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and I am transported half way around the world to a hotel lobby filled with red couches.  Red couches where so many anxious parents took so many photos of beautiful babies.  These beautiful babies and anxious parents were now families.  Frink and I sat on those couches, taking pictures of our beautiful baby, creating memories of the time when we became a family.

Red couches mean family.


It is big, so so very big.

It takes up a lot of space but it provides lots of space too.  In the afternoon, I often (but not often enough) spread out and doze on the couch while Lion is napping.  Sometimes he joins me.  He curls into me, gets comfortable and sleeps the deep sleep of those without a care in the world.



There are times when we are joined by a cat or two.  And there are rare, special times when Bunny will join us.  She forgets that she is six.  She forgets that she no longer naps.  She surrenders to the warmth of the afternoon sun, the comfort of the couch and sleeps the deep sleep of those without a care in the world.

Big couches mean togetherness.
And that is how I know it is the right one for us.

In Summary, A New Beginning

This past weekend I was at the BlogHer conference in San Diego. It was an amazing experience.

I went for the conference but in reality the main reason was to see my friends. Friends I have made through blogging. Friends that even though we had not yet met in person it felt like we had. And new friends met at the conference(like her, her, her, her, her, her and her).

Some of my best memories were outside of the conference space itself, hanging out with these women. We talked about life. We talked about silly stuff. We talked about our passions and interests. We talked about writing.

When I said I want to freelance and I want to write a book, no one laughed. No one said, good luck with that. They understood. They had those dreams too. We shared ideas. "This is what I am doing." "Did you ever think about this?" "How about . . ."

Being at the conference and in the company of these amazing women, it made me realize that I have a lot to say. It made me realize that I can do this, I can take this further. It filled me with hope. It made me say I am a writer.

2010 A Look Back

January




February



March



April


May



June




July



August




September




October




November



December

Magic

"When is he coming, momma?"

"On Friday, sweetie."

"I can't wait for Friday. Santa's coming on Friday."

"Tee! Tee!"

"Yes baby, that's our tree. Isn't it pretty?"

"Pee tee. Tee!"

"Momma, I can't wait for Santa to come. He's going to bring me some new markers and a horse puzzle"

"That's wonderful, Bunny. But you know part of Christmas is giving presents to people you love."

"Oh I know momma. I made a card for Ama and Baca. And one for my cousins. Do you think I should make a card for Santa?"

"I'm sure Santa would love a card, sweetie."

Bunny runs up stairs to make a card for Santa.

"Nanta! Tee! Pee tee!"

"Yes Lion, Santa is coming and will leave presents under our pretty tree."

"Nanta! Tee! Ju! Momma ju!"

"Oh you want juice baby?"

"Ju! Ju!"

Lion then chucks a car across the living room and runs to the kitchen to get some juice.

Mommy looks at the tree and the stockings and smiles. This is a very special year. The first year we will all experience the magic of Christmas together.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday filled with markers, horse puzzles, juice and lots of magic as you open presents under your tee!

A Lion In Winter

A lot of things have been going on with our family but I've been too whatever to blog about them. So I thought it would be a good time to update you on a few things Lion with a side of Bunny thrown in for good measure.

When we last saw Lion, he looked something like this:

He's just so cute and adorable.

But then I got a bright idea to do this:




So then he looked like this:


He's still cute and adorable but now he looks like a little kid instead of a baby.

And if that wasn't enough, we got this for him:

A big boy bed! Now he's totally not a baby.

And then there was his first snow:




Um, yeah. He totally loved it.

His other favorite thing (other than throwing things and destroying things):



Hanging out with his awesome sister.

One Night of Freedom

Once upon a time, a girl met a boy. They did the usual things. They fell in love. They got married.

They had fun together. They traveled to far off lands. They rambled around their city. They enjoyed each other's company.

Then they did the usual thing and brought a child into their life. They were happy. They loved the child with all of their heart. They found new things to do together as a family. On occasion, they were lucky to have a babysitter. They got to enjoy each other's company again. They had fun together as grown ups.

Then the boy and the girl the did usual thing and brought another child into their lives. They were happy. They loved this new child with all of their hearts. They found new things to do together as a family.

With this new child they did not enjoy the same freedoms as they had with just one child. The nights out for just the two of them were few and far between. You did not need all of the fingers on your hand to count how many times they boy and the girl were alone together.

They were happy with their family but they missed being just a girl and a boy instead of a mom and a dad. Then one wonderful day the magical Ama and Baca gave the girl and the boy a night of babysitting, a night of freedom.



The girl and the boy were happy. They went on a mini-vacation. They rambled around together. They held hands. They sat on a park bench overlooking the water. They had dinner in a grown up restaurant. They slept a peaceful sleep. They were not awoken to the sounds of crying. No one wanted anything from them.

The girl and the boy had fun together. They enjoyed each other's company.

Rested and relaxed, they went home to their beautiful children.

And they lived happily ever after.

The End

Mommy, We Are One Step Closer

One step closer. One step closer to completing our family. One step closer to being together.

We are one step closer to Lion.

Last week several families in our agency received court dates. Some of them had the same paperwork dates as us. I knew we were next. I could feel it. So I did what any "sane" and "rational" person would do, I stalked my e-mail.

The first few days, I was refreshing my e-mail every 5 or 10 minutes between the hours of 10 and 7. I just had to know if we'd gotten a court date. I was making myself crazy. I carried my phone in my hand. My beloved I-phone which I once viewed as a life line, a way to reach out to my friends, was now the enemy. I had instant access to my e-mail and I wanted an answer instantly.

I had to take a step back. I told myself I could only check every half hour. That was saner, more rational. I had to actually live the life I had instead of putting it on hold for the one I wanted. Still there was no word. Then the weekend came, two whole days with no possibility of news. How would I survive?

Lucky for me, this week was much busier with school, dentist appointments and the like. There was less time to obsess, there were more distractions. Sometimes I would forget to check my e-mail for a whole hour. Two days passed and no news.

Yesterday, I ran to the store, picked Bunny up from preschool and then made lunch. I hadn't checked my e-mail in over two hours when I sat down to eat. As I waded through the junk in my inbox, I resigned myself that there would be no news.

But there it was, an e-mail from our agency saying we have a court date scheduled for February 12th. Holy moley that is next Friday. I let out an excited yell and explained what happened to Bunny.

She looked at me with a solemn face and said "Mommy, we are one step closer to Lion".
Yes, sweetie we are one step closer to bringing him home.
Then she said "Good, I want him home. Can I have fruit snacks after lunch? Lion can't eat fruit snacks, he's just a baby."

So what does this all mean in the grand scheme of things?

A court date is held in the Ethiopian court and our representative in Ethiopia appears on our behalf. Assuming the court hears our case and everything is in order, we will pass and Lion will be legally our son. The adoption will be finalized in Ethiopia.

We will then wait for the US Embassy in Addis to issue a date for a Visa interview. Our agency generally has two dates a month, one around the 9th or 10th and one around the 23rd or 24th. The Visa date is very important. Our travel is built around that date. We will go a few days earlier to get our precious little Lion. We will travel to his home province and meet his birth father. And finally after the Visa has been issued, we can bring him home.

Assuming things continue as they have in the past we could travel in the first group in March. Most likely it will be the second.

I've always heard March can come in or go out like a Lion and now it will for us.

Once Upon A Time

The End