Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  Today as we celebrate with family and friends, may we not forget the real reason for the season.  Jesus was born today.  Thank you God for the gift of your son.  While we unwrap way to many presents and eat way to much food I pray each family takes time to thank God and also acknowledge the wonderful gift we have received.  Better than any gift that is wrapped under that tree!

Praying that this is our last Christmas as a family of 3, next year may there be one more little Ethiopian in this picture!

Grinch Party

It is Grinch Party day! This is one of Daniels most favorite holiday traditions.  What is a Grinch Party you might ask? It is such a fun night. Here are some things we do!

Dinner:

Dinner consists of  Roast Beast (Ham), Who Hash (potatoes), Green Grinch Beans, Who Pudding (pudding cups), Grinch Kabobs, Grinch Pills (M&Ms) and cookies, Rolls and Grinch Floats







Activities:

Coloring pages.  Ornament making and my favorite new activity this year an indoor snowball fight. Oh and we managed to get all of us in one selfie!

Best time ever!  The kids all eat way to much junk food, we watch the grinch and Papa falls asleep on the couch.  Every year!  We can't wait until next year.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

2012 Wrap Up

I can’t believe how long it has been since I have taken the time to update this blog!  Wow what a difference it makes having a child around.  2012 was a big year for us.  Mark and I both got new jobs, we moved, marked the one year mark of waiting for baby number 2 and my grandfather passed away.  Most of which happened in the last few months of the year! 

We had prayed from the beginning of the year for God to “shake things up” for lack of better phrasing.  And shake them up he did.  I would not recommend praying that prayer unless you are ready for him to move.  First came the change in my job in March, it was scary since I had been at my previous job for 10 years.  New people, new places and a new area that I didn’t really know how to get around.  But it has now been a year I have been here and I love it!   Next came Mark’s new job in August.  Once again scary schedules changing and the unknown, which we all love so much.  But Mark has been there for 7 months and things are going great.

In November we marked the 1 year waiting for baby number 2.  I can’t belive it has been a whole year.  It is funny how quickly this wait time is going now that I am so busy chasing Daniel around.  We pray for Daniels baby brother every night and anytime Daniel gives a tour of the house it is always “this is my brothers room”.  It was so sweet we were unpacking and a few things Daniel took out he put away for his brother.  I can’t wait until we can all meet him and Daniel can finally be the big brother!  Only 1 more year of waiting to go, and updated paperwork, fingerprints, etc.  The paperwork never ends but is so worth it when we reach that orphanage.

Now for the move!  We had been looking for a house but not really looking saying when the time is right, when finances are in order, etc.  Well the perfect house fell into our lap in October, closer to work and including everything that we were looking that was on our wish list for a house.  So in the midst of crazy travelling for work (yes the one that doesn’t like to travel for work now has to travel quite a bit) we put in an offer.  6 weeks later we had bought a house.  I can’t explain how God worked miracles to make this house come through so fast.  Our goal was to be in the house before Christmas.  So we started moving little boxes at a time getting things in order.  We set up the “big move” weekend and invited our family to help.  Let me tell you we have awesome family and friends.  Pretty much every box was unpacked, all furniture moved and in place and the house cleaned in 1 day.  We were even able to put up the Christmas tree. 

Along with the move meant Daniel had to go to a new babysitter/daycare.  Which was the biggest con to moving.  We had the best babysitter who Daniel loved and he made some really good friends in Leetonia.  This was the scariest part, how do you pick a daycare knowing nothing about the area?! Well I believe God had a hand in this area too, someone mentioned the ACC Preschool.  We toured it and it was all said and done.  Daniel loves going to school and he is thriving learning more and more each day.  He has made good friends and the best thing is the school incorporates God into every part of their day!  Such a blessing.

The week before Christmas we lost the most wonderful man.  My grandpa.  He was such a great grandfather and we have many fond memories.  We are all finding comfort now in the fact of knowing he is in a much better place, telling jokes, bowling, golfing and fixing things.  I will miss him so much and am so glad I was able to be there to tell him good bye.  I was worried what Daniel would say or how he would react.  So of course, I let Mark do the explaining.  When Mark told him Grandpa wouldn’t be there when they got the house he went to be with Jesus.  All Daniel was concerned with was “How did he get there? Did he fly or did he drive?”.   Good questions but how do you answer them?!?  I love the fact that my, then 3 year old, was comforted with the fact that Grandpa was with Jesus and someday he would be too. 

Whew!  Sorry that was so long, so that was our 2012 and 3 months of blog posts that I didn’t get around to.  Hopefully this year will be a little bit better.  I am only 3 months behind now! We can't wait to see what this year will bring!

Christmas Shopping with a purpose

Help us win a Grant for our adoption!  Simply shop on our store using the following link.  For every order processed we get an entry into the drawing.  New vendors are being added daily.  Check it out and go Christmas shopping with a purpose, help us bring our baby boy home:  http://theheddlesons.olivetreepromise.com/

Do you know someone that loves coffee?  You can buy some great coffee from our storefront at http://www.Justlovecoffee.com/theheddlesons, African Skies is my favorite. 

Or if you know someone that would love a T-shirt, we still have shirts for sale, visit the links to the right of the page and select your size.

We want to thank everyone for their support through both of our adoptions.  We honestly couldn't do this without the love and support of our family and friends.  Your prayers are felt constantly and provide us comfort that through this emotional rollercoaster we are on called adoption we truly are not alone! 

Help us bring Daniel's baby brother home so he can use all the things that Daniel keeps hiding for him.  Today he pulled out a hat and put it on his dresser and said, "this is for my baby brother to wear".  I can't wait to see his face when we finally get pictures and information of the child God is choosing for us!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  This year Daniel wanted to be Goofy.  I did not think this was a hard request until I started looking for one.  They do not make a Halloween costume of Goofy for a child.  You can find them for adults but not children.  So thank goodness for Meka, my mom.  From a picture on the internet she was able to make this costume.

Daniel was so excited to wear it.  Even though it was raining and freezing cold outside.  I am so glad he is still young enough to be happy with not going door to door and only visiting family.  Think it will work again next year?

It is so fun to see Halloween through the eyes of a three year old. He is so afraid of anything with a mask or face paint.  I think it was one of the only times that he would NOT let go of my hands. And I am not afraid to say I loved it!!!!!!

On our way home he said from the back seat with all his candy and surprises, "Mommy I had fun trick or treating and I was a good boy" with such pride in his voice.  Can I freeze time and just leave him this age forever?!?!?!

Out of the mouths of babes

Some days I wish I was 3 again.  Everything is so simple in their little worlds.  The extent of the drama is when they don't listen and have a time out.  They know how to fix everything and don't understand when it really isn't that easy.

Tonight Daniel went to bed later than normal, and like always when he goes to bed late I seem to rush through the very important bedtime routine.  Which I did tonight, instead of 2 stories we read 1 short one.  He was overly tired and not listening so I finally hugged and kissed him, said good night and walked out the door.  About 10 minutes later he yells out to me "Mommy we didn't pray".  Feeling horrible I went in to pray with him.  He looked at me with those big brown eyes and said "We didn't pray after our story" (get the importance of the bedtime routine). So I started to pray and we prayed for all the normal things and then I said "and we pray for those who don't have mommies or daddies, enough food to eat or homes to keep them safe", that is when my 3 year old son broke my heart.  Ready for it? He stopped my prayer and said "Mommy why don't they have mommies or daddies?" I told him that I didn't know and that is why we needed to pray that they would find families to love them (not even thinking). He looked at me with the confused look he gets, that little nose all wrinkled up and said "They just left them".  I was thinking and didn't say anything (trying not to get to deep with my 3 year old at 10:00 at night). He had it all figured out, he said "Well mommy you need to call them" to which I said "and what would I say".  He said "You need to call them and tell them to come back to their families".  If only it were that easy.  Just a phone call and asking to return.  I have a feeling God is going to use him one way or another to do something to take care of those without families or mommies and daddies.  Because at 3 already he is worried for those with no mommies and daddies. What a heart he has already.  

I am so proud to be his mama, so thankful we get to be his forever family and so thankful for the gift God has given us to watch him grow in his relationship with God.  He loves Jesus so much already, God is going to do amazing things with this 3 year old little boy.  I love him so and am so grateful to be a part of his journey.

Happy Gotcha Day - Just a Little Late

I officially feel like a bad mom!  I wrote the post below on Daniel's Gotcha day in May and never posted it on the site.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  Well anyway enjoy.  I love especially the video of Daniel describing what his Gotcha Day is.

Happy Gotcha Day!

Wow how fast time flies!  I can’t believe 2 years ago today we went to the Transition Home, held our baby boy for the 2^nd time except this time when we left he left with us on my lap and in my arms.  I was thinking of this fact this morning when I dropped Daniel off at the babysitters and he wouldn’t let me put him down.  He kept saying “I want to go home with you mommy”.  It is amazing how big he has grown and how much of a big boy he is becoming.  Check out the picture below of our family on that day 2 years ago and our family now.

Life definitely would not be the same without him. God truly does set the lonely in families. We didn’t realize just how much we were missing until we had him in our arms.  I can’t imagine not hearing that giggle or seeing that smile when he was being mischevious, getting those good night kisses and hugs over and over and over (even though it has now become a stalling tactic at bedtime).  I love watching the joy that Daniel brings to everyone he meets and who meets him.  But most of all I love that God chose Mark and I to be the lucky ones to get to call him our son.  Greatest gift we could ever receive.

See what Daniel has to say about this special Gotcha Day and just what that means for him (I love the excitement).

Happy Birthday Daniel

So I am a few weeks behind on events.  No surprise with my now 3 year old running around.  Did you catch that, yes I said 3!  I know it is so hard to believe Daniel is 3 years old now.  He is getting so big so fast.  Everyday it seems I am putting more clothes away that are to tight, to short or all around to small.  He is so smart and funny and is turning into an amazing young boy (notice I did not say man, we are not rushing that one).  He is no longer mommy’s baby, but insists he is a big boy.  He is very opionated and knows what he wants and is not afraid to make it known either.  I am so proud at the big boy he is becoming.  Some of his personality traits that have become very apparent this past year: He is a charmer, a flirt and loves to make people laugh.  He will put a show on for you like nothing you have ever seen.  He still gets shy and holds on to our legs when he doesn’t know someone.  He is so smart and picks up on things very fast (sometimes way to fast for my liking).  He is such a joy and brings smiles and warmth to everyone he comes in contact with.

For his birthday (March 9^th was his birthday, told you I am way behind) he got to have an Alvin and the Chipmunks party.  The cake was amazing (thank you Audra and Mikaela once again) with a stage, all the chipmunks and instruments.  You wouldn’t think it would be hard to find Chipmunk’s themed party supplies but it definitly was.  There is nothing out there.  Daniel’s favorite part I think was playing with all his little friends.   While we were singing him Happy Birthday he sat there and rolled his eyes, he is so dramatic! You can see video of it below (thank you Ryan for all the pictures and video). 

It was such a sweet day. 

On Daniel’s actual birthday he got to pick what we had for dinner and if we stayed home or went out to eat.  He wanted to stay home (he is really turning into quite a homebody) and wanted us to bring dinner home.  So we asked him what he wanted to eat, for those of you that know Daniel you might have been able to guess his answer – Chicken wings, the kid loves ranch chicken wings.  So I picked up Quaker Steak and Lube on my way home.  Before dinner  Mark asked him if he wanted to pray, here was Daniels prayer “Dear God, thank you for my birthday and thank you for my family. Amen”  Melt my heart!  He is such a sweet boy.  That brought tears to my eyes and made this mommy heart full! 

 

I thank God everyday for this gift of this sweet boy.  For those big brown eyes and little chocolate fingers. For the gift of getting to be Daniels parents.  Everyone says how lucky Daniel is to have found his forever family.  I say how blessed and lucky I am that I get to be his mom.  It truly is a gift that keeps on giving.  On his birthday I take a moment to stop and remember the woman who had to make the decision to give her son up for adoption. A decision that had to be in my mind the hardest decision of her life. A decision that not only changed her world forever but changed ours.  Because of this decision we get the joy of waking up to this sweet face, the sweet giggles, the sweet hugs and kisses and the sweet dance moves (oh the dancing makes me laugh just thinking about it) every day.  A decision that I will be forever grateful for, as she gave us the best gift of all. The gift to get to be Daniel’s parents.  The gift to hear him say the words “I love you with all my heart”, the gift to hear him call us mommy and daddy.   God sets the lonely in families and when you answer that call he gives you the best gift of all.  He knew Daniel would be our son and he knew he was the perfect one for us to all our own.

Fall Family Fun

Fall is my favorite time of year.  It is not very hot, but not yet snowing.  The colors are beautiful in the trees, although this year they leave just seem to be dying instead of changing to bright pretty colors. Apple cider, donuts, homemade baked goods all add to some of the favorite things in fall.  The smell of bonfires, football and leaves.  I just love everything about fall. We got engaged in the fall and we got married in the fall. In fact, yesterday marked 8 years since we got married.  Here is one of our favorite pictures from this day.

I would definitely do it all over again. That day was the day God put us on an amazing journey together.  Little did we know 8 years later we would have already been 1/2 way around the world once to adopt the best baby boy, and on our way again.

The best anniversary present yesterday was the fact that we put our Dossier packet in the mail to AWAA yesterday.  For those of you who are wondering, a dossier is the packet of paperwork, we have went crazy for the last 4 months gathering.  We have all our documents in the mail and everything is now out of our hands.  Let the waiting begin.  This is to me the hardest part of the adoption process, waiting with no control over time frame or when things are processed. Especially for someone who likes to have control over everything.  But we did it once, and in God's perfect timing we will receive a picture of a baby boy (who Daniel has now named "Baby monkey brother") who God hand picked to be part of our family. Sometimes it is just hard to remember that God's timing is better than our timing, even though we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel all the time.

So what is the next step: AWAA reviews and translates our documents and within 1-2 weeks we will be DTE (Dossier to Ethiopia), then the real wait begins.  The wait time currently for a referral for a boy is 10-16 months.  Praying that it is a shorter wait, but experience tells me that it will not be.

Back to our family fall fun!  This month we went back to OU (Ohio University) where Mark graduated for Homecoming.  This was the first time Daniel has been there, he loved it.  At OU for Homecoming the Alumni band marches in the parade and does the half time and post game show.   Daniel loved watching daddy play drums.

We also rented a cabin for the weekend and spent some much needed family time.  Daniel was so excited to go to the cabin and cook hot dogs.  I think he told everyone he was doing that for a week. It was so fun, the cabin was in Hocking Hills in a "secluded" area.  When we pulled up I was not so sure. There was a house close to the cabin but once we got back there was a tree line so we were secluded.  Daniels favorite part I think was the fact that he could eat dinner and watch Mickey Mouse club house at the same time since the table was in the living room.  It was so nice to just relax like a family of three and enjoy each others company.  No cell phones, computers or distractions.

The picture to the left of Daniel on the drive way was at our cabin.  Sunday we spent the morning at Old Man's Cave.  Daniel liked the big rocks and water.  We had bought him a football at OU and he insisted on carrying it while we hiked through the cave.  Which made me quite nervous since one slip and he drops it, it was gone.  Luckily he did not drop it and the football made it home.

It was  a wonderful weekend of family, friends and fall fun.  Weekends like this are what the fall is all about, bonfires, parades, football and family.

Olive Tree Promise

We have started another fundraising site I found through some friends on Facebook. It is called Olive Tree Promise. This site has everything from pictures, baby items, decorations, clothes, etc. Something for everyone. Plus every purchase benefits our adoption. We want to thank everyone who has supported us this far, we have some amazing friends and family. We still have a long way to go before we get to bring our baby home (I can't wait to see that first picture). It seems so surreal to me that 1 year to the day that we brought Daniel home, God was like ok you have been a family of 3 long enough it's time to start your journey back to Ethiopia. I love how God never ceases to amaze me. Check out our website either by clicking here or clicking on the Olive Tree Promise image on the right under our T-shirts. We still have lots of T-shirts for sale too and our Just Love Coffee Fundraiser. Many have ordered the coffee and can't say enough about it, it is wonderful and would make great Christmas gifts!