WAY too Long without a POST BUT i'm BACK!

Hi Everyone, It has been so long! Here are some update pics of Mymy. She is 2 and TALKING UP A STORM! Its unbelievable that my baby girl is a big girl Now! We are READY FOR ANOTHER ONE! Not yet but VERY SOON! Hope u are all well, i miss all my blog friends!! AMY BOTTOMLY where is your OLIVE pic!!! We are praying you get it soon!

maya's 2nd bday party pics taken by the one and only Tracie Ancelet!

walking Ollie or as maya says his name o-yie

mymy's

So, we still have some men's adoption tees left if anyone is still interested. Mostly Larges and XL. They really are unisex so let me know just call 865-558-0822 to place an order. They are still $28 and the proffits goes to AGCI Hannah's Hope Ethiopia!

xoxo

I realized that none of the pics I just posted were of Maya's face. So....here she is.

Wow its been so LONG...

I can't believe how long its been since I last posted. (amy bottomly reminded me the other day) and didn't think I would actually make this post happen, so here it is Amy!

Every single night I sit down to check my email and the FIRST thing I do is check THIS BLOG. Ever since I have become a mommy to Maya I am an emotional wreck and this story adds to my crying every single time I go to their page. Read this blog and PRAY for Kayleigh Freeman and her AMAZING family.

Maya, Maya, Maya...my baby is 19months. She is a BIG girl. Talking like crazy. Her four top fave words are Momma, Dada, Papa (pronounced Bapa) and Ni Ni (my mom)...I SWARE she has an Ethiopian accent when she talks!!!!!!!!!!!! It sounds crazy but it is true. It is the CUTEST voice I have ever heard. Like Troy said last night in an email to me, Cuteness coming out of Cuteness, what a cute way to put it! Troy and Amber u are soooo close!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maya in her Ethiopian dress from Aunt Sammi's trip to Ethiopia

The Twists!

So bascially Maya is doing wonderful, fully speaking another language and we are loving every single minute of Her. LOVE u Mymy.

GOTCHA MARCH 10TH

US IN ETHIOPIA

FIRST DAY HOME...BABY LEGS AND ALL :)

WE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU MAYA ANNABELLE HANA!

March 8, 2008

This day last year we were on a plane to Ethiopia to pick up Maya. Where did the time go. She was 17 months yesterday. Last March she was 5 months when we first met her. The most amazing thing about adoption is that it never leaves my mind. Ever. I am always thinking about Ethiopia, Maya's birthmother, the day we met her, the day we got our referral, the day we were put on the waiting list. Over a years time there are so many markers regarding our adoption I can't not think about it. We are so blessed beyond measure to have Maya as our daughter.

The craziest thing, my sister is going on a missions trip with World Orphans to Ethiopia, Addis Ababa on Tuesday A YEAR AFTER WE GOT MAYA! THE SAME PLACE! CRAZY...she is going to Kenya also. What an amazing experience she is going to have...Please pray for her not to get sick!

(I have been TRYING for a year now to upload a video I made to my blog. I made it on Microsoft Windows Movie Maker and it wont upload to youtube or blogger. It says it wasnt saved correctly and i have to go to the source of the video. I have no idea but its getting frustrating. Anyone know what i should do????

Okay back to March 8th. Here are some pics of that day since the video doesn't work!! :(

us in the airport waiting to go!

at the union hotel in Ethiopia doing paperwork before we got to meet Maya. That was a tough one, you wait for months to finally meet your child and u have to do paperwork first! I dont know how i got thru it...

FINALLY in my arms...

First bottle with Daddy.

At Traditional Ethiopian Restaurant with Almaz, I was SICK int his pic. Very nervous for our birthmother meeting the next day. I was so overwhelmed and nervous I was crying in the bathroom. Almaz came and made it all better...the meeting with her birth mother was the biggest blessing of our LIVES.

us in the "car" driving to the embassy appt!

Hanging out at the union hotel...

The gates of Hannah's Hope.

So all this to say...March 10th, 2008 was our gotcha day and it was the most amazing day of our lives. Here is my Maya today.

Tracie took the most amazing pics of Maya and Abel! I absolutley love them and plan on putting them all over my house. Look at Maya and Abel is there anything cuter?? Thank you Tracie. I LOVE THEM!

17 months old and wild as can be! 17 things we LOVE about Maya.

We LOVE...

1. Her baby talk...it sounds like she is speaking Chinease. Its so funny. She goes on and on and on.

2. She LOVES Ollie, when Barney's I love you song comes on she hugs and puts her head down on Ollie.

3. How much she says Da...everything and everyone is Da. Josh is Dada or Daddy. My mom, dad and me are Da.

4. Her HUGS...she now puts her arms around your neck and squeezes...nothing is better.

5. Her LOVE of the cell phone. Talks on and on and even laughs in mid converstation...

6. Her love of people, especially women. She has the most amazing people in her life that take care of her and love her. Its beyond anything i could have imagined.

7. Her love of Papa and NiNi. She is crazy about my parents. The thought of papa and nini coming over is to much, it makes her legs kick and her point.

8. Her new thing is when its time to pick her up from school, whatever she is doing, dancing to music, playing with the bubbles, she sees me and does whatever she was doing harder. Showing off for her mommy! Its better then when she used to break down and cry!

9. Her cuddle time...we are working on bedtime but during the rocking phase we have a routine and if shes not tired or doesnt want to go to bed she breaks out in this fake laugh...i try to ignore it.

10. Her big toe. In all her referral pics i always noticed her big toe was always up. I thought oh whats wrong with it...now it looks exactly the same as in her pics. Its still straight up and FINE.

11. She has a way of making everyone feel special. If its someone at the store or a stranger she does this thing that makes u feel like she likes you and wants to be with you.

12. Her new word is "HI" with a hand wave, doesnt matter if u see her or not. you are getting a Hi!

13. Her TEETH...they are very cute. SHe still only has 4 but another is coming. They are very cute white teeth.

14. DANCING. When she hears music she dances in a circle. The girl LOVES music.

15. She knows where her belly button is. If u say wheres your belly button she lifts up her shirt.

16. MY FAVORITE. When we are driving in the car...i'll hear her make her noise, like mommy notice me and she sticks her hand out and wants to hold my hand for the drive. She only does this with me :)

17. I love her Ethiopian name Hana. I also love her middle name Annabelle after my grandma. Her name has so much meaning.

Maya we are crazy about you. You were created to be in our family. There isn't a day that goes by that we dont thank god for you. You are the LIGHT of our lives. U light up a room.

Our Journey to Maya (long overdue)

Maya Pictures!

Maya wasnt in the best mood for these pics but it was snowing and we had fun. Notice Ollie doubled in size LITERALLY! :)

Amy Bottomly does this not look exactly like your pics u sent out for Silas!!!

I wish this pic was me looking soooo tiny but its my mom wearing the Omni Peace Africa shirt.

They want to end poverty in Africa in 2025! Cool pic right...

Able's Gotcha Day

Yesterday last year (does that make sence) Able Ancelet was placed into the arms of Tracie and Ted. Knowing that Trace was in Ethiopia a year ago picking up Able and holding Maya for the first time makes me soooo miss the experience, yet i am FULL OF JOY that my little girl is home forever.

Here are some of the first pics we saw of Able...

what a sweet face! This was one of his referral pics.

Look at him now!

The craziest thing about this picture is this is EXACTLY what Maya is doing! The other day I look at her and she is walking down the hall pacing talking on the phone! (in Maya talk)

we are so thankful for you Abel Tesfaye!!!

This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The day Ted and Trace came home with Abel.

one day our kids are going to appreciate that they were in the same bedroom in Ethiopia for a couple of months before their parents came to pick them up and bring them to the USA where they live 15 minutes away from each other! amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we love you Ancelets.

PS

this day last year we got our travel call!!!!

Our FUNNY Valentine!

okay so I didnt think i could possibly be anymore in love with Maya then I have been but somehow it keeps getting better and deeper. THE GIRL is amazing. Today we spent 50% of the day kissing eachother on the lips, then kissing daddy, then mommy, then eskimo kisses mommy then daddy then tight squeeze cuddling. All of a sudden i feel a little arm around me and its Maya's! Just putting her arm around me! HELLO. Who would have thought one can love their little girl this much! Okay enough gushing about Maya. I am just so above and beyond thankful to have her with us this Valentine's Day!

Sleeping is MUCH better. She is sleeping in her crib no problem. Naps still tough but we are on our way.

Eating, HUGE change! She eats almost everything now. Compared to the little girl who wouldn't eat a thing...its amazing. Bolagna, spagetti, strawberries, oranges, chips, chicken nuggets! I can't believe it.

She still only has 4 teeth though but they are coming.

CONGRATS to Troy and Amber on their referral of their GORGEOUS and AMAZING SON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO many referrals its soooo exciting. I remember this time last year tooooo well. Tracie was about to leave in a week!!!!!!! I was home DYING. She was amazingly emailing me everyday, calling telling me all about Maya on her trip to get her son! Oh i will NEVER forget it Trace.

We left on March 8th less then a month to the year to get our girl. MEMORIES that will never leave.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Abby

Please read the Riggs blog by clicking HERE.
They can really use prayer. Its just unbelievable what this little girl is going through.


This is a pic from the airport after we came home with Maya. I am so wanting to start the adoption process again! We still have to pay off our loan but hoping and praying soon we can start the process for our next child from ETHIOPIA in a few years.
We are having some bedtime problems with Maya or shall I say with her parents. We let her fall asleep in our bed. I KNOW BAD! I KNOW. So now we are paying the price bc when i put her in her crib when she is awake she freaks. Freaks means hyperventilates, screams "MAMAMAMA". It is absolutely awful. Screaming on top of her lungs. I want her to go to bed earlier and in her crib like a big girl so tonite...Josh was out so i rocked her at 7:30 til 8:15 at least. Put her in her crib and the freaking out began. Then for an hour i sat by her crib, rubbed her back, her hair, put music on, held her hand tight and she finally fell asleep in her crib. The tight hand holding thru the bars was to die for adorable and made me keep going and not give up. It would be so much easier to put her in our bed and she would fall asleep and then i would put her in the crib but this is a good lesson and has to happen at her age...I felt accomplished that I got her to fall asleep. Everytime i took my hand back (bc the circulation was being cut off) she would jump up and i would say mommy is here, its ok, lay down and she would. SO...i hope tomorrow night will be easier. I can't stand the sight of Maya crying which brings me to Abby Riggs. I just am heart broken. I imagine her crying from the pain and the vision seems unbearable BUT The RIggs have the most amazing faith. Read their blog when you can.
Love
Jul

Maya Pics!

Here are some pics of Maya from Chanukah

watching Barney for the 25th time with the same enthusiasm as if it was the first time!

.... and today

(notice the 2 top teeth! FINALLY)

Liz Lyons motivated me to attempt to do Maya's hair (i will do a clip,bow or at the most pigtails)...BUT unlike Nina, Maya does NOT sit and play with toys while I do her hair. SO after hysterics i was able to get some pony tails in. No even parts were made!!!! Let's just say at one point Maya was in the sink turning the cold water on her pants and socks so I could get the last pony in. I will have to come up with something else next time but here is the first try!

Maya's hair is changing. It is still very curly but much more frizzy at the ends. I use any normal shampoo and then Curlz conditioner and sometimes a product after she is out of the bath but that product doesnt work to keep the friz away. Any suggestions?

Also, I have been checking the Riggs blog all day. I keep thinking 58 more days until Abby is done! Oh it feels long for me i can only imagine for them.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CLICK http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com and please pray for The Riggs tomorrow. Tomorrow Abby starts a very agressive treatment. There is a video on their blog (that i cant download) and it tells their story. Please pray for them!

crazy over this girl!

Whoever said that you will love your child more then u ever could put into words or imagine is right. That is how I feel about Maya. I cannot believe she is my daughter. I am just so crazy in love with her. Her new thing is she cuddles up with me by laying across by neck and putting her head in my neck. Then sits up and kisses me on the lips. Did you ever? She is quite the affecionate girl. Dont get me wrong she has her moments of major drama and defiance but we are working on that! She has 4 teeth now. I am thinking she is getting a ton more in bc she is teething soooo bad. The poor thing is just crying from pain! It breaks my heart. She is doing so much these days...running, dancing to Barney who is now her LOVE. She is crazy over Barney songs! She loves her baby doll, feeds it and rocks the baby. She says "go" and throws her passie. She calls her passie uh-oh because whenever it used to drop we would say uh oh. She has the cutest voice ever! She yells Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa in the morning when she is ready to come out of her crib. She says Dada and then Josh says Maya and then she says Dada and on and on we go. She does the sign for more all the time! Loves bathtime with her Papa and can't get enough of the ittsy bitsy spider. I am starting to have bad dreams that something bad is happening to her. I dont like it. I think its because i am so worried someting is going to happen to her. I am working on that too!

It has been so long since i last posted! we are getting pics taken in January so i will be able to post more pics soon! Sorry for the long absense. There have been so many referrals and travel calls with AGCI its been so exciting to watch.

I just am so thankful that we adopted from Ethiopia. It is the best thing that has ever ever happened in our lives. We love you Mymy!

This VERY DAY last year...

is the day we first laid eyes on our daughter. We got the call at 12:45pm December 17th. Pics to come. xoxo

Couple Things...

okay first, I made my blog un-private!

second, I have not had ANY time to post or do anything but work, take care of Maya and attempt to sleep...we have been really busy getting the store ready for the holidays. The economy is making it tough at work!!

Here are some pics of Maya at Thanksgiving! I loved looking at Michelle's blog and seeing the face of here gorgeous little girl. Tracie your pics are AMAZING!

Happy Holidays!

Abby Riggs

Please go read the Riggs blog and PRAY for Abby and her family. This last post is just so heartbreaking. I could bearly read it. It just continues to put things into perspective. I remember when we found out my mom had cancer, I thought life would NEVER be the same. As time goes by things go back to normal and you forget how "awful" it felt to hear the word cancer and thought I will never be upset over the little things again...well as time passes I find myself upset over the little things...THEN I read Brent's post about their weekend at the hospital and the immense pain Abby is in...read here. They are such an amazing family with such faith.

Maya has taken on a new form of WALKING. She went from walking one day to running the next to only walking with things in her hands. She brings us books, bottles and anything else she can get her hands on. Even heavy things! She is unbelieveable. When she walks she looks like a cowboy on a horse who got off the horse but thinks he is still sitting on it. Legs wide open, her legs bent and there u have it. It might be the CUTEST thing I have ever seen in my life. Today she said mooooooooooooo when we said what does a cow say? She SCREAMS Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa from her bed in the morning. She is such a funny girl.

Maya with her aunt Ju

Anyway, please don't forget to pray for the Riggs and for everyone who has their court date tomorrow in Ethiopia!

IN LOVE...

okay so, I am so beyond in love with Maya. She is the funniest thing. Ever since we went to Disney World my mom and i sing "Its a small world...after all" to her and she dances. She sways from side to side and when we are done we all clap, she does to. Her new thing is when we are finished with the song she looks at me with a very serious face and hums...to get me to start singing again. She loves music.

I never did 12 things about Maya we love most for her 1 year old birthday so here they are:

I love...

1. Her love for dogs! She goes crazy over all dogs. Even huge labs that are 100 times her size. She absolutely loves Ollie. Tonite she was sitting on him and he was sleeping. SO cute.

2. I had a glass disney statue collection when I was younger so after our trip I decided to set them up in her room. Maya goes NUTS everytime she sees the statues. I give her each one and she goes mmmmwah and then I put them back and take the next one and she kisses the next one. over and over again...

3. When she wakes up in the middle of the night or right before bed she still likes to be rocked. We get in the normal postition and cuddle. Sometimes I will be thinking she is sleeping and she has this mischevious laugh...then i look at her and we both start laughing. Its adorable!

4. Her gummy/bottom 2 teeth smile! I really dont want her top teeth to come in (they are coming) b/c I love her top gums! They are so cute! My baby is growing up!

5. This new skirt we bought her. My mom and I took her to Old Navy and we saw this ballet pink tulle skirt. Its the cutest thing. She went nuts in the store wearing it and talking to this fake dog they have. She would scream at it everytime It talked.

Here is a pic...can u die! She is going to wear blk baby legs, this skirt, a white shirt and big bow for Halloween.

6. My mom got her a eyore doll and everytime she sees him she embraces him and hugs him!

7. When she hears Josh or my parents come to the door she goes huhhhhh and breathes in air! We run to the door togehter and celebrate their arrival!

8. She is ALMOST walking! Today she took steps across the room without anyone holding her hand.

9. She LOVES go-gart! YOGART. I freeze them for her and she sucks them. If they arent frozen

she finishes them in one second. The girl loves dairy. Cheese, yogart, milk and tons of it...

10. She loves her mommy! If she is in daycare or with someone else for the day and I or Josh pick her up she screams when she sees us!

11. She has a toy cell phone that Aunt Kelly got her for her birthday and she talks on it, then hands it to me then my mom then looks at it and texts! I am serious she looks like she is texting!

12. Her newest trick. I chew gum all the time and i look over at Maya and she is chewing her tounge like I chew gum! SOOOOO cute.

Maya, we love you more everyday. Every day our loves grows deeper for you. You are the JOY of my life and I thank God He brought you into our lives.

P.S. I of course am getting the major adoption bug and WOULD LOVE to start the process over again BUT we have to pay off our debt first...Its so hard to wait. I would LOVE to adopt from Ethiopia again and go through the whole thing again...we will see.