Zoo day

Sunday was a beautiful cold, but sunny day here in Washington. We played hookey from church and headed to the zoo. We have a combined membership to the zoo and NW Trek. Any of you who live here and haven't been to NW Trek need to go. It is our favorite spot.

Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a treasure for wildlife enthusiasts. The signature tram tour through the 435-acre free-roaming area offers the opportunity to spot different species of animals as they wander through forests, wetlands and meadows. In the core walking-tour area, visitors can get a peek at native wild canines and cats as well as forest and wetland critters. The 723-acre park has a little bit of everything: lakes, trails, meadows and plenty of animals. Located near Mount Rainier in Washington state just south of Seattle and Tacoma, Northwest Trek is home to more than 200 North American animals representing more than 30 species.

Anyway, we didn't go there today, but we did have a nice day at the zoo.

Bean & Bug on the Polar Bear carving at the entrance to the zoo.

What 2yo boy is not fascinated with sharks? His hands and face were pressed to the glass for a good 20 minutes.

Mom, I want to be a gymnast like the gibbon! The Bean is all into gymnastics after watching the Summer Olympics with her mommy.

The walruses were the favorite of the day. They kept swimming right up to the glass and rubbing against it. The male was huge. At first, Bug was a little scared. By the end, we had to physically remove him from the viewing area or he would still be there right now

What a great day! We are really trying to savor being a family of four, because before long we will be 5!

Momma's favorite part of the day was a trip to REI after the zoo. I got a new backpack that will double as a diaper bag. The one I have now just won't cut it for three kiddos!

Care package sent

I talked to Christy and AGCI received our care package for our daughter today. It was just in time for the box that left this afternoon for Ethiopia! It is nice to know our little one will have a little piece of us with her soon. She has melted our hearts and we can't wait to travel to pick-up DORA (ha,ha-see this post!)

I was going to post a picture, but they all have our photo album in them. The first page of our album is a picture of the four of us holding a 8X10 of our little one, so I can't post it!

Today was not my finest day

I have been a mom for 5 years now. I have only been a mom to a boy for 2 years 7 months 7 days and 23 hours. That is long enough to know better than to leave your son alone with markers...even if they are washable. Maybe he will be a tattoo artist when he grows up.

The worst part of it is that there is no way he did the part around his ear or on his back. His partner in crime is also in a timeout right now. Serves me right to think I could get some laundry done without supervising the little monster : ) Between this and my error on the list serv, today was not my finest day!

Heard Around the House

Bug keeps running around the house saying, "Where Dora is? Where Dora is?"He does not know who Dora the Explorer is. He is looking for his baby sister and her name is not Dora...but I can see why he got confused. They do sound similar.

Tagged...

I have been tagged by my friend Lori, so here are seven random/weird things about myself.

1. I love flip flops. I would wear flip flops all year long if my toes wouldn't fall off from frostbite. I hate shoes and flip flops are as close as I can get to going bare foot. You could say I am a flip flop connoisseur (if there is such a thing) and my flip flops of choice are Reefs.

2. My feet are black 8 months out of the year. I do bathe! I just wear my flip flops so much that the rubber sole turns them black.

3. I hate to bake, but love to cook. Don't ask me for recipes, because I don't use them! That is why I am no good at baking! I just throw stuff together and never measure anything.

4. I am a total introvert. I love small group settings, but throw me in big party and I am uncomfortable!

5. I am addicted to reading. I often stay up way too late if I am involved with a good one! Why can't a 2yo understand that you were up until 3am finishing a fabulous novel and just give you a little break and not wake up before 6am?

6. I yearn for a housecleaner. I love staying at home with my kids, but in my fantasy world I would have a housecleaner! Just someone who came once or twice a month and did a great job. I could totally keep it up in between.

7. I hate my name. I have always hated my name. I could never just be Amy. I was always Amy D. or Amy S., because there are so many girls my age with my name. Curse President Carter and his daughter for being in the White House the year I was born : ) (My mom is a huge Little Women fan and named me after a character in the book, not President Carter's daughter.)


Ok, I am not a huge fan of tagging people, but we need something to keep us busy as we are waiting for our children to come home, so I am tagging these new and soon-to-be mommies:
1. Autumn
2. Bethany
3. Michelle
4. Melissa
5. Emily
6. Whitney
7. Jana

Official Acceptance

One of the requirements of accepting our referral is that we are required to have all N's medical information and photos checked by an international pediatrician. They specialize in adoption and can read faces for signs of genetic disorders, etc. and are able to read the medical reports and know what is typical of children in foreign countries. The doctor was pleased with her growth since being at Hannah's Hope (they are superstars at plumping up these babes) although by American standards she is still relatively small for her age. My heart skipped a beat when the pediatrician said she had a diagnosis for us...she diagnosed her as being terminally cute! : ) Of course we think so, but then we are a little biased!

Since that is done, we have officially accepted N's referral. It is not legal at this point and that is why we can not share her name or photos. The next 3-5 months are going to be a mixture of excitement and difficulty as we wait to bring home the newest member of our family. We know God's timing is perfect, we just continue to pray for peace as we wait.

A mother of three

Today I became a mother of three. In a sense I got to meet my daughter. The fuzzy images that came to mind when I used to try and imagine her have been replaced with a clear picture. I know what she looks like. I know how old she is. I am a mother of three.

(Warning this is a little long, but it is my place to remember this day.)

Monday is story time at the library so we headed there as we do every other Monday morning. I slipped my phone in my pocket (yes, I wore jeans and they had pockets!) but I turned the ringer down in case anyone called. Now NO ONE ever calls my cell phone (remember I have a real aversion to phone conversations) but I didn't want to be the mom that interrupted story time because my phone rang for the first time in 100 years (yes, I do have friends.) Now I shouldn't have worried about interrupting story time because with over 30 kids 5 and under it isn't too quiet. Anyway, I digress. I saw Traci there and she was asking me how it was going. She really didn't have to deal with the wait list because last year there were only like 10 families adopting at a time. After story time, we stayed and played for a while.

At almost 11:30, I dragged my children from the library (they love it there) and loaded them up in the van. As I was about to get in, I pulled my phone from my pocket and noticed I had a message that had been left at 11:06 a.m. I figured it was my dashing husband, because he is the only one that calls me. Much to my surprise when I listened to the message it was Christy. She said, "Hi this is Christy. I have something I want to talk to you about. Give me a call when you can." I KNEW what that meant. I absolutely started shaking with excitement. I ran to Traci as she was loading her boys up and she was like CALL HER BACK! I misdialed the AGCI Washington number and my favorite social worker in the world answered and I was slightly confused. After explaining that I was trying to return THE CALL, I hung up and redialed the correct number. It went straight to Christy's voicemail! How dare she be away from her phone when she had such news for me! I left her a message and said I would be home in about 35 minutes and to call me after noon.

We arrived home at 11:50 and I got the kids playing, advised them to please play quietly for a few minutes and called Christy back. As soon as I knew positively that this was THE CALL, all I heard was blah, blah, blah, your daughter's name is.., she was born...., blah,blah,blah. I heard all the good stuff and just kind of tried to listen to the rest, without much success. Luckily they know you are only focused on the child and e-mail you everything they are telling you!

I didn't respond how I thought I would. I figured I would be blubbering, but no tears I feel like I am in a state of shock, that I am sure will wear off soon. I can't believe God has finally let us meet our little girl.

I immediately called J and told him me was a father of three! He told me I was crazy if I waited for him to get home to see the pictures, so I of course opened them! I rechecked my e-mail and realized that Christy had sent 5 more e-mails all with pictures. We were blessed to receive over 70 pictures of our daughter! I told him how adorable she is, but of course I may be a little biased!

We called everyone we needed to and now am so pleased to share the news with everyone else. Unfortunately, we aren't able to share any information about her until we pass through courts and she legally becomes our daughter. So no names or photos until we bring her home which looks like it will be January or February.

I went to my small group tonight (two of my closest friends are in it) and shared my news. They have really been instrumental in helping me through this journey, as have so many others. When one of them closed in prayer and thanked God for the gift of my daughter I was brought to tears. All the emotions that I have felt for the past 10 months were finally all let out and the fact that I am now a mother of three started to sink in. Praise be to God!