Life's Happenings

Well I figure I am way past due for an update and I better get it done BEFORE we hit another very busy weekend.

The last 2 weeks have been pretty crazy. Not that things weren't crazy before that with birthday's and Easter and on and on and on. Two weeks ago I got hit hard with a cold bug. I had a fever, sore throat, congestion, cough - all that fun stuff. I did my best to stay away from everyone else in the family and I learned two things - #1 I really missed them and it just felt weird to be stuck in the bedroom when all my boys were downstairs. #2 The house becomes a total mess without mommy!

So while I was still pretty miserable with my cold, off Peter went to Michigan for a work conference. This was the first time that Peter has been gone since we had kids. The good news is that the week flew by for me! I was kept very busy and have a whole new respect for the woman who do it all on their own all the time!

This past week we have been organizing and packing for a weekend trip to Spokane for Peter's brother Andy's college graduation. Let me just say now, there is SO MUCH stuff to pack for two kids. We have had to pack several times for trips with Malachi but now with two, there is just so much more stuff! We have had to pack once for two kids and that was a major failure (remember the left behind pump post!) I told Peter I will NOT be crossing anything off my last minute packing list until I know for sure that it is in the Jeep. We will not be leaving that pump behind this time!

Along with trying to get things together for this trip, we have also spent the last couple weeks working on readoption paperwork. It is crazy to me how much more paperwork (and money to spend) there is to do after you get home with your child! I remember after we landed in Denver and went through the customs process for bringing a child into the US there was just a huge sense of relief as we had done it! The adoption felt complete! Well, not so fast. Actually we still had all this paperwork to do so that we can get him an Oregon birth certificate and then we have to go through the citizenship process and THEN I believe, the adoption process is complete!

It is kind of sad for me to think of all these steps we are taking. I know that sounds strange, but every step we take here in America is one step further away from his Ethiopian heritage (or so it feels). I remember taking off on the plane from Ethiopia with Malachi in my arms and I was overcome with sadness that we were taking him away from his country and the amazing people and the language. As we take this step and he gets his Oregon birth certificate, it kind of feels like we are leaving behind his Ethiopian birth. I am very sad that in order for him to become an American citizen he must lose his Ethiopian citizenship. It is all part of the necessary process, but it still feels wrong. It is just a reminder to me that we need to be diligent about passing on Ethiopian culture and giving him opportunities to learn and go see his country if he wants to. If someday he wants to return to Ethiopia to live, well I guess we will be racking up those frequent flyer miles to go see him :)

Anyway, today we will go file the paperwork at the county. Then we have to send paperwork to DHS and wait for them to send us a waiver. From there we send the waiver to the county and wait for the judge to sign the paperwork and then we get his Oregon birth certificate. After that, we pay the money (ugh) and fill out the paperwork for him to become a US citizen!

Weight loss. I haven't forgotten about that! I fell a little behind on working out while I had the cold, but I am getting back in the swing of it now. I reached my pre-pregnancy weight and now am a pound under it! So nice to have those 25 lbs gone, but now I realize just how different that post pregnancy body really is. Oh well, Elias is very much worth it! So 14 lbs left to my goal weight. I will get there :)

Here are some recent pictures of the kids. I tried to get pictures of the boys everyday while Peter was gone, but I may have missed a few in there. I did my best and I know he enjoyed seeing pictures of them while he was gone!

Malachi being a very silly boy!

Eli is an expert at the pouty lip. It is pretty incredible, and heartbreaking!

Malachi loves to try and bounce his basketball. He also loves to throw it and chase it! All boy!

Love those kissable cheeks!

I love my moby wrap, but I also know from experience with Malachi, that after the baby hits about 16 lbs it is not that comfortable anymore. I follow babysteals.com and a few weeks ago they had Ergo carriers for half off so I snatched one up! Eli was sleeping when it came and since it claims it can hold a child up to 45 lbs we decided to let Malachi try it out! He LOVED the darn thing and cried when Peter took him out. So back in the carrier he went :)

Eli looks ready to fight!

And another silly Malachi picture. I don't know why but he loves to carry the ball around in his mouth.