Four.

As of November 1, 2011, we have been waiting on that waitlist, 4 months. I was talking to a friend, another adoptive mother, the other day about that waitlist. It is so nice to have people in my life that truly understand.I am so incredibly blessed to know someone who has been there, or is almost there, or is right where I am. I am so completely fortunate to have friends in my life that are in all of these categories. So Amazed by the goodness of the Lord to allow this to be true. When I get overwhelmed, it is comforting to just know that people are right there with me on that waitlist, or have just welcomed their blessing home, or are in the process of raising their little one from Ethiopia. Often times, people will say things, "oh it's just like you are pregnant, waiting for your baby to be born". Not really...Unless your baby has the gestation of an elephant. It is such a comfort to have people in my life that understand. And are waiting. And are Trusting. I am thankful for that today. I am also incredibly thankful for the people in my life that want to understand, that ask questions, that call and ask how we are doing with this process, and above all, that pray for us. Words cannot my gratitude for all of you. This Adoption is not an island, it is something we want to share.
Proverbs 3:5-6
New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Three.

To our Daughter,
We went on a family vacation this month to Disney World. Ryann kept saying over and over again that the next time we go to Disney World, she will have a little sister. I love that. I love that she is thinking ahead, and her view of our family includes YOU. I am thinking ahead too. I have to be careful about having my thoughts too far out there, anxious that I will miss the present. BUT, isn't the future fun to think about? Our family of THREE, longs to be a family of FOUR...you, my dear, are definitely the missing link.
We made shirts for our trip, each one having our names on them. Ryann, said to me that we HAD to make you one when we go next time...and we will..we look forward to all the next times and the new times in our lives with YOU in them. We love you.

Disney!

This September was our epic Disney World vacation:) We have planned this trip for months and months, so I cannot believe it is already over. If you know me and Mark well, you know we are obsessed with Disney World. Yes, Obsessed is the right word;) We wanted to take Ryann on a special trip before we get our next little one, so we planned the trip a long time ago, thinking we would get our nextdaughter shortly thereafter...HA!Boy, were we wrong! Fingers crossed that Ryann remembers the trip when it is actually time to get her:) I know she will, It was one of the best times we have had as a family:) So Thankful!

Family!: When we tossed out the idea to each of our parents of meeting us at Disney World to join with us on our vacation, we were absolutely thrilled both sets of parents said YES. Living far away from family is a hard thing. Having your daughter not live close to her grandparents is even harder, BUT I think the time we have with family is much sweeter, because I never take for granted the time we spend with family. We made lots of memories on this trip, due to our parents being with us, SO fortunate to have such wonderful, loving, supportive people in our lives.





Characters!: These are just a few of Ryann's favorite characters (I took so many more pictures of all the characters Ryann met).Ryann's grandma gave Ryann an autograph book for all the characters to sign as she met them,and Ryann completely filled it up! So sweet to see her get so excited!






I know the highlight for us all,was the Bippity Boppity Boutique, where a fairy godmother turned Ryann into Cinderella. Following this, we went into Cinderella's castle, and *gasp* had breakfast with all the Princesses...this 4year old and 31 year old were in heaven.


All in all, this was a Wonderful trip, a moment in time...So incredibly blessed to have made all these memories with our girl and our parents.

Two.

To Our Daughter,
It is September 1, 2011, that means we have been officially waiting 2 months for you. I often wonder if you are alive or not. Either way, I think about you every day, multiple times a day. With our age window being from 0-3yrs, you could be an energetic toddler right now,you could be a needy newborn, cuddly baby, or you could not even be a thought yet. The other day, I was recording things in Ryann's baby book (yes, I realize it is 4 years too late).I was putting things on the page in her book that had, popular songs on the day she was born, popular TV shows, etc. I googled,"Most popular song on April 4, 2007" to write down, and the answer was "This is Why I'm Hot"by MIMS.I laughed out loud about how ridiculous that was to write down in a book for posterity...but that is what google said, so I wrote it down.After many minutes of the line, "I'm hot cause I'm fly, you aint cause you not" going through my head...I wondered what I would write down in your book, since I have NO idea when you will be born...so let's pretend. If you were born TODAY, these are the things, me and your dad are loving...not what google says...

Our current favorite books are:

I realize we are not teenage girls, but this trilogy is soooo addicting. I read them all in 6 days. We are Dorks.

Your Dad's Current Favorite TV Show

Oh, how we love Mike and Frank

Your Mom's Current Favorite TV Show (I realize I am years behind the times, but have been watching the DVDs this summer on the treadmill)

Now, I can't endorse/recommend all that goes on in Dillon, TX;) But, I am in serious denial of there only being 5 seasons...RIP Friday Night Lights...Clear eyes, Full hearts, Can't lose.

Current Favorite Band for both Mom and Dad

Mumford and Sons!

Our Current Favorite Movie(we both loved the book, too)

So there you have it, if you were born today, these would be our current favorite things! This second month of waiting has been a good one. My attitude, only by the grace of God, has been less self-centered than previous weeks in regards to the long wait. I am sure next month I will be an "all up in knots" stressball again...but this month I was at peace with the wait. I am praying daily that I will rest in this period of waiting, to prepare my heart for what is to come. My all time favorite song is below. This song, to me, perfectly describes how much LOVE the Lord has for us, His children. His ways are perfect. I love the line in the song that says,"Why do I worry, Why do I freak out...God knows what I need." As a type A freak, I have this song on repeat often, as I strive to yield my wants and desires to Him.I also love the line that says, "Not a note is out of tune or out of place..." His will for us, is His, perfect will, not mine. If He says that we are to wait, we are to wait...nothing is out of place for what He has for us...

All that to say, we are waiting with GREAT EXPECTATION for you, little girl. We love you.

Hold me Closer, Tiny Dancer...

Ryann starts ballet/tap in a month, She just HAD to try on all the gear...

Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner...

Summer Fun

Happy Summer, Y'all!


Summer comes late to Seattle, but we are have been enjoying it so much...

1. Fourth of July
No Burn Ban in our Neighborhood:)

Happy 4th!


2.Family: Ryann and I had the privilege of spending 2 weeks in Texas. We had so much fun seeing both sides of our sweet and supportive family.

Love this picture of Ryann and her PaPa

Grandma Robison and her 6 Great-Grandkids, what a treasure she is.

Ryann had so much fun fishing with her Pappy and her Uncle Jason

Uncle Read and Anne brought Ryann a huge present, a gigantic whale, which Ryann promptly named Cecilia...A perfect name for a whale?


3. Friends: We had so much fun seeing our friends during our Texas trip.

Greta, Ryann, and Hattie-Sweet Girls!

All of my bestest friends from FBA/FBC-Such an incredible JOY for us all to be together with our offspring:)

We had so much fun seeing our good friends, The Woods!
Ryann and Barrett-Best Buddies

Sweet Caroline, Ryann and Barrett

One.

*We have been officially on the waitlist for one month.It's weird to me to say we have been waiting one month, when in reality it has been so much longer than that. We have wanted to adopt for years, and have been in the process for almost a year. However, we have been on the official waitlist for one month as of today, August 1, so that is the marker I will count. When I was pregnant with Ryann, I wanted to write her a letter each month she was in utero, but never did. I want to write letters each month to our next daughter for however long we wait.
To Our Daughter,
This past month, we experienced the joy and excitement of being officially placed on a very long waitlist, for you.The reality of how long the list is and how long we will have to wait is daunting sometimes.We wish we could get on a plane right now to come, for you,but that is not part of God's plan. A plan that is far bigger and wider than mine. A plan that brought us to this place.A plan that will change our family for the better. A plan that has already changed me so much, and it has only be one month. A plan that has me seeing beyond myself. A plan I cannot wait to see play out. A plan I am so blessed and honored to be a part of. However long, this list is one that we will gladly wait on, for you. This month, we told all our family and friends that we were waiting with great expectation, for you. We are praying fervently, daily, for you. I have loved teaching Ryann about your birthplace this month; we put a map in her room with a heart on Ethiopia, she looks at it many times a day, asking, for you. I tell her the wait is long, which is hard to understand.Waiting for you, is teaching her patience, teaching me patience, teaching your dad patience... But she prays, I pray, your dad prays, for you. You, my dear, are in my heart always.We have so much love in our hearts, for you.
We love you.

Horn of Africa Famine

This is bad. Really bad. My heart hurts for these people who are literally starving to death. This crisis has impacted more than 10 million people in this area of our World, specifically in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia (where a piece of our heart and family may, in fact, already live).Breaks my heart. It is the worst drought in 60 years. World Concern is currently working in Kenya and Somalia in active response to this famine.This situation is dire. Please consider taking action. $10 would give food and water to one child for a month. To donate in response to this famine you can go here or you can go to Mark's personal fundraising page. All donations go to the same place, World Concern.

Increasing our Flock

We found out on Friday, July 1, 2011, that we were "waitlisted." We were filled with joy when we heard these words, and this is a list we will gladly wait on. After 7 years of praying,and 8 months of paperwork gathering, we are so happy to announce that we are adopting from Ethiopia. Last Friday, we found out that our dossier was complete and on it's way to Ethiopia. Let the waiting begin....
I have so very many words about this subject and look forward to writing more and more about our journey on this little blog....stay tuned. While I organize my thoughts, enjoy my new blog header, made with love for us by our super talented cousin, Jennifer Hanson

Summer Afternoon

"Summer afternoon, Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language" -Henry James

A Girl and her Fish

A couple of weeks ago, Ryann had a field trip. To a trout farm. When I read the flier, I thought, "Oh that's nice, she will have fun catching and releasing little fish." I was wrong. I didn't know that after she caught a fish, we would have to take said fish home. Ryann caught her fish through the eye. I was done right there. I was not prepared for the amount of blood, and being the great mom that I am, I ran this poor fish to the only dad that came on the trip. Poor guy. He unhooked the now blind fish with blood all over it and put it in Ryann's bucket. Poor fish, it was flopping around, dying a slow death. I begged Ryann's teacher to allow us to throw it back, but she said that was not part of the plan and had me take the fish to a man in a booth, who then proceeded to end the fish's suffering, and get it prepared for us to take home and cook for dinner. Gross. Meanwhile, Ryann is oblivious, telling all her classmates and their parents how adorable her fish is and how she is going to take it home for a pet. She used the word adorable (her current favorite adjective) about 15 times.

In the car, I explained to her that the adorable fish was no longer with us. Thinking that she would be really upset by this, I was shocked that she wanted Mark to cook him when he got home from work. When Mark got home, Ryann was right by him as he chopped off the fish's head and tail and she even helped him season and grill the fish. Mark and I wanted nothing to do with the actual eating of the fish. Ryann, on the other hand, ate every bite.

Ryann presenting her catch


Here is a video of Ryann helping Mark cook her "Adorable" Fish. Ryann's pappy (a skilled fisherman) should be so proud. Heather, you get a shout out as well...funny!

Proud of our Cubbie

Ryann recently finished her first year of Cubbies with AWANA. She loved it, We loved it..such a great program for kids (and their parents) I loved learning these little verses just as much as she did. Here is our girl at the Awards ceremony with her cute friends from our small group...

Lately-Spring 2011

1. Spring is upon us! We are drying out and hoping for sunnier skies (knock on wood) this summer. We enjoyed the annual tulip festival immensely as we stood in absolute wonder of God's creation.






2. FAMILY!-We were so blessed beyond words to have so many of our loved ones come see us this Spring.

My sweet sister in law, Conni, and 2 of my nephews, Blake and Will, came to see us in March. We had such a special time! Conni's love for this city has made me love it even more, so grateful for her sweet heart and perspective.



My parents and sister, Sara,came to Seattle to help us celebrate Ryann's 4th Birthday. Ryann requested that everyone dress up for her birthday dinner. Specifically, she wanted my parents to be Barbie and Ken, Mark to be a fireman, and me and Sara to be princesses. She also wanted my brother, Read (who couldn't come), to be an Aggie...which we have laughed so hard about because he is the most loyal Texas Tech Raider fan on this planet.Barbie and Ken?! No Problem...my mom brought costumes, complete with a wig for Ken, and long, luxurious hair extensions for work-out Barbie. #130,289 reason why I LOVE my parents. Sara was such a sweetheart to come as well, using her birthday money for the flight from Ohio. love her!


Mark's parents came to town Easter weekend and we had the best time showing them our new "world." We were blessed with beautiful weather and beautiful company. Come back soon, Lambs!We are so incredibly thankful for you!




We are so happy to have "met" via skype, our newest nephew, Jackson Burks Herrington, born last week. Cannot wait to meet in person, this beautiful, brand new creation. He is precious, and so are his parents.


3. Last week, Mark took Ryann on a daddy/daughter date to see the musical, Mary Poppins. So sweet. I went on daddy/daughter dates with my dad, and those are memories I will always treasure. So fun to have the tradition continue with my family. Mark and Ryann are two goofy peas in a pod...a daddy's girl, no doubt.


4. Ryann started swimming lessons last week. After I took this pic, I asked her why she put her arms up, she replied with exasperation, "Mom,that is what us swimmers do.." Michael Phelps, watch out.


5. #10,234 reason why I love Mark. Last Saturday, Ryann and I went to the store, and when we got back, Mark said he had a surprise for us...he had cleared out all our furniture and pitched our tent in the middle of the room. We loved camping indoors last weekend.


6. Just finished and cried my way through this book...a must-read, for sure.