Thankfulness

"Give THANKS to the Lord, for He is good. His faithful love endures forever" Psalm 136


Jason and I have A LOT to be thankful for this year. First and foremost, we are thankful for God, who sent His son Jesus to pay our debt. We are absolutely nothing without Him. Second, we are thankful for our family and friends who are just LIKE our family (you know who you are!), who have been loving and supportive during this very eventful year.

And of course, we are sooooo thankful for these 4 precious babes that are our world:

The Bible says that children are a gift from the Lord, and boyyyyyy do we fill blessed! Each of them have their own little personalities, and being their parents is a complete privilege. We are also thankful for the many things the Lord has taught us in the past year. Mostly, He has taught us about obedience. Deciding to start the adoption process was ALL about obedience. We knew it was going to be hard. And expensive. And possibly inconvenient and painful at times. But the verse that "sealed the deal" for us was Proverbs 24:12 - "Once our eyes are opened, we can't pretend what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, KNOWS WHAT WE KNOW and holds us responsible to act". Wowzers. Once we read that, we KNEW that we had to be obedient to His calling for our family to adopt. He KNEW we were being convicted about the orphan crisis in the world. And after all, not obeying is DISOBEDIENCE, and heck fire - I know better than to be disobedient to the Lord's Will. I mean, I don't want to be standing at the Pearly Gates someday and say, "Well God, adoption was going to be hard. And expensive. And possibly inconvenient and painful at times. So we decided not to." Yeah....not going that route, folks. And because of our obedience to Him, look who we had at our Thanksgiving table this year!!!

Wow. What a gift indeed! What an AMAZING reward to our obedience! And to be thankful for Miss Macy, means that we need to be thankful to one more person today. Someone who is now another member of our family. And that would be our daughter's birthmom. I really debated on whether I should show her picture or even discuss her on our blog, but I think as a rightful member of our family, it is okay. Our sweet daughter indeed has two mothers, and we don't ever want her to forget about her first momma. This precious, quiet, little lady tried her very hardest to raise our daughter for over two years. And when she finally realized that she couldn't give her daughter the life that she had wished, she relinquished her in hope that someone else could provide her with it. When we asked her, "What would you like us to tell (Macy) Bereket someday when she asks us why you relinquished her, her answer was, "Because she is the youngest, and she deserves a better life than what I can give her here". Can you imagine the pain? No matter how selfless an act it is, it's still painful. This sweet lady has been a mom for over fifteen years. I can't imagine how hard it would be to take your youngest baby somewhere and have to leave her. Honestly, I can't imagine. But she understood what was best for her child, and because of that we have the honor of being her parents. It makes me very happy knowing that we will be able to have communication with Macy's birthmother throughout the years. We promised her we'd send her pictures and updates, and she was very appreciative. And today, we are thankful for her.

So this year, Thanksgiving is even more special to us. We have one more kiddo at the dinner table, but we also have all the lessons that we have learned in our process of bringing her home. And for all of that, we give thanks.

Happy Turkey Day, ya'll!

Our Sleeping Beauty

So I know I haven't really posted much about our trip. All of our recent posts have been about how Miss Macy is doing now that she's home. So I am going to post pictures of our trip a little at a time, and a blurb regarding the pic. The above picture is of Macy taking her nap at the hotel on our "Gotcha Day". Notice she's wearing her hairbow and shoes, and gripping her toy for dear life. Well, that's because she would throw a TOTAL FIT if you dared to remove her bow, or come anywhere near her shoes! I'm talking hysterical, on the ground, screaming tantrum. We realized it's because she probably had never had any of those "accessories", and wasn't about to let go of them without a fight! I decided it wasn't a battle worth fighting that first week, so she slept in bows and shoes for about 4 days before she'd let us coax her out of them. Now that we are home, it's absolutely no big deal to change clothes or remove hairbows and shoes. But the girl LOVVVVVES to feel pretty. Even when we were in Ethiopia she would stand in front of the big, floor length mirror and strike some awesome poses. She loves wearing her big hairbows and headbands - in fact, if she doesn't have one on she'll go fetch one out of her room. And her favorite part of our house is the shoe basket next to the door where we all dump our shoes. She will sit at that basket and try on every stinkin' pair. It's the funniest thing! Jason calls her a total diva. I say the girl just likes to accessorize!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yep - The Humphrey Family Christmas Tree went up tonight. I figured, heck - if everyone else is putting their stuff up, then dog-gone-it, so are we! And OF COURSE I had to put the kiddos in their coordinating pjs for them to "help" "decorate" the tree. I am using both of those words rather loosely, as it took me longer to undecorate and redecorate the tree after they were done. And if Houston takes the ribbon off one more time, ohhhh...gosh...I don't know what I will do. But I'll tell you one thing, it's not gonna be good, folks. Anyway, Macy thought it was a bit funny that we had a tree INSIDE THE HOUSE. But she got into the decorating right away. Now, as far as the Santa pillows and stuffed snowmen around the house, well - she could totally do without them. This evening when she thought nobody was looking, I saw her beating the crud out of one of the snowman all while yelling, "NO NO NO!" to poor ole Frosty. Not quite sure what her dislike of any kind of stuffed animal/snowman/Santa/My Little Pony is, but it's not a great relationship so far.
As for our girl that's been HOME for two weeks tonight - well, she's just P-E-R-F-E-C-T. I mean God knew EXACTLY what kind of kid we needed around this house, and He picked her just for us! She is the funniest, quirkiest, sweetest thing there ever was. She is adjusting just AWESOME, and we feel like she's been around The Humphrey House forever. She fits in just perfectly. (The joke right now is that she's currently the best-behaved kid in the house. The other three kids have a baaaaaad case of the Christmas Crazies. Luckily, she has no clue what's about to hit next month with the Birthday and Christmas Chaos headed her way!) Her language is developing SOOO fast - we just can't believe it. The other day she and I were in (my-all-time-favorite-store) Target, and she was sitting in the cart playing and hid something in a bag. So she looks at me and says, "Mommy, where'd it go? GONE!". I bust out laughing! Because not only did this little girl that had only been in the country for 11 days have the thought process to hide something and want to tease me - she actually verbalized it in English! Her current favorite words are "No No Hootie", "NOOOOOO Hootie!", and "Mommy, Hootie NO NO!". Okay, she does say more than that, those are just the ones I hear the most. She also says "More", "Thank you", "Night Night", "I love you", "Book", "Ball", "Go", "Come", "Baby", "Bye bye see you later!" and all kinds of other stuff. And she understands SOOOO much! We are totally amazed!
Just wanted to share some Precious Cuteness to start off your weekend! We are headed to see Santa tomorrow, so we will see how that goes!

Minus One

Although the National Orphan Sunday was last Sunday, our church celebrated today. We thought it was a perfect day to wear our fundraiser t-shirts. And OF COURSE I had to snap some pictures before we loaded up the van and headed to church. There's AT LEAST 147 Million Orphans in the world. Minus One! Have YOU ever hurt for the plight of the orphan? We are SO honored that God broke our hearts for what breaks His. Look at this precious child of His! Look what we have been blessed with because we did what HE WANTED US TO DO! What a HUGE GIFT we have received for just being OBEDIENT!
There's 147 Million more out there folks!

Have a great week!
Oh, and P.S.: I love the pics of Macy and Hootie. Because that is SOOOO their relationship. They love each other, but he totally drives her crazy.

One week...

As of tonight we have been home with Miss Macy for one week. And WHEW! What a week it has been! It's honestly an adventure every day discovering her little (or not-so-little) personality! Each day brings new discoveries. I'd say that 90% of the day is absolutely perfect. We play, giggle, tickle and cuddle. The other 10% of the day I am either breaking up "fights" between her and Houston, or trying to calm a tantrum. Yes, she is two-years-old, and she can throw one good tantrum! Imagine being ripped from everything you ever knew, being flown across the world, having three new In-Your-Face siblings that you can't understand a word of what they are saying. So to be honest about it all - our girl has moments where she gets very, very frustrated. But I know that is fear. And some anger. She has had some BIG changes in the past 5 months of her life. We have had over a year to prepare for her, and to be excited about her arrival...and she didn't quite "get the memo", if you know what I mean. She DIDN'T get the chance to prepare for all these changes. Now don't think I am complaining...because I am not. I'm just relaying what we are learning, in case you are lucky enough to witness one of these Award Winning Tantrums.

The fun stuff...well, it's FUN! She is SO DANG FUNNY! This girl can make some funny faces that will just knock your socks off. And she has some major dance moves. And she loves to kiss and cuddle. And even though she and Houston drive each other crazy, they are also best friends. No matter how many times he whacks her on the head (with a shoe, toy, or mini golf club), she STILL follows him around everywhere. Don't worry - she's one tough cookie and can give the "affection" right back to her bigger-little brother.

As for Jason and I...we are getting used to being the parents of 4 children ages 5 and under. It's work, folks. And no...I didn't think that it WOULDN'T be work. I knew that. It's just bussssssy right now. Aidan and Hannah are doing pretty good. But poor Hootie is totally in "defense mode" of his rightful place on Momma's hip. And it just so happens that is where Macy wants to be too. So whoever isn't on my hip at any given moment is usually voicing his/her opinion about not being there. Let's just say that I feel very, very loved. :)

So, here's Macy's "1st Week Accomplishments":

1. Knows her name and responds to it.

2. Knows all of our names. And her Nana's.

3. Likes any kind of pasta you put in front of her. And bananas. And eggs.

4. Will nod or shake her head in response to your questions. We are amazed at how much she's starting to understand.

5. Today's language development: "NO, NO Hootie!" :)

6. Loves shoes and hairbows.

7. Loooooves to dance.

8. Slid down a slide for I believe the first time ever. And liked it.

9. Has learned how to go up and down stairs. (Never had to learn this skill before.)

10. Rode in an elevator, car, stroller, and swing. And is cool with all that.

This is what it's all about, folks. On the good days and the bad. This is what we get to wake up to each morning. Now try to tell me that's not worth all the work.

Love this girl!

The test results are in....

We just got the call from the pediatrician's office that we'd been waiting for. Our sweet girl is HEALTHY! All bloodwork came back perfect, and we couldn't be more thankful! Jason and I had already decided that no matter what the results were, we know that this child is ours, and God has picked us to be her parents no matter what. But WHEW! What a relief knowing that there aren't any medical surprises!
Macy is doing awesome! She's LOVING her siblings, and they all love her. Even Houston! Ha! Jason and I are doing well, and the jet-lag is sloooooowly getting better.
I'm about to head to the store with three kids ages three and under - let's see if I survive!

To the doctor we go...

This morning we took Macy for her first check-up with our family pediatrician. We LOVE this man! He has been with us through a lot since we became parents over five years ago, and completely trust him with our babies. Macy did wonderful with him, which was a relief. (She sometimes takes a while to warm up to strangers, especially men.) He said she looks great! Some of the concerns we had for her aren't even on our radar anymore! She appears to be a healthy, spunky 2 year old. Oh, and we asked his opinion on her age as well. When we first visited her during our court trip, we were fairly certain that she was younger than what paperwork stated. But now that she is healthy, and we've been able to get to know her, we think she is in fact close to three years old. She can zip zippers, work puzzles, fasten latches, and walk backwards. She sings and dances. All things that a child closer to three-years-old would be doing. Dr. E agrees and we are just going to leave her birthdate on December 8th.
After his initial examination and my zillion questions, he then asked to pray over our sweet girl. It gave Jason and I chills to hear him speak so eloquently about how God has already written all the days of this precious child's life, and thanking Him for placing us in her life as her parents.
And let me tell ya folks, we NEEDED those prayers for next came next. The needles and more needles. My poor girl got FIVE shots, ONE TB test, and TWO blood draws. It was AWWWWWWFUL!!! The sad thing was that she really was brave, but a little girl can only take so much pokin' and proddin'. At one point she was screaming, "MOMMMMMMYYYY....MOMMMMYYYY!". It totally broke this Momma's heart. All test results should be in this week. We aren't expecting any surprises. OH...and we get to go back in 4 weeks for more shots. (That's what happens folks when your child has no known immunization record!)
Oh - please note - the above pic is of our sweet girl this morning BEFORE her torturous doctor's appointment.

He places the lonely in families...

We are home. ALL of us. And I am adjusting to being the mother of four kiddos, ages 5 and under. And I couldn't feel more blessed. It's funny, because in the past several weeks we have heard multiple times, "Oh, she's such a lucky little girl." Really? Because WE feel like the lucky ones. God took a precious little girl, from half a world away and not made of any of our DNA, and placed her perfectly into our family. She's quirky. She's independent. She's strong-willed. And she's OURS. WE get the privilege of raising this little girl. WE get to see her big toothy smile each morning. WE get to cuddle her during her two-year-old girl tantrums. WE get to be her moral compass. WE get to teach her about the love of her Heavenly Father.

No folks...she's not the lucky one. We most CERTAINLY got the better end of this deal!

Slight delay

The Humphrey's flight from Houston left just a few minutes late, and they will now be arriving in Nashville between 5:30-5:35.

Sarah

Welcome Home Party!

Amanda just called from the plane in Houston. They are leaving on time, so the welcome home party will be at 5:30 as planned just outside security! The Nashville airport website actually says they will be a few minutes early (landing at 5:12), and as of now, they will be coming into the A concourse. See you soon!

Sarah

Fun Day!

Here is the most recent update from Amanda. They leave Ethiopia tomorrow!!!!

Sarah


We've had a fun day today! Macy has REALLY come out of her shell. Tonight she has been talking a lot, and she'll say: Mommy, Daddy, Aidan, Hannah, Hootie, Nana (all from pictures in her book), ball and shoes. She'll also say "I luv youuuuuuuuu", which is so stinkin' cute in her little accent. She's coming up to us and kissing us for no reason at all. We are amazed at how much we can already love this little girl. She's understanding a lot of what we tell her, and we have picked up a lot of her language. But she'll just sing and talk up a storm and we have no clue at all what it is most the time. Right now she's standing at the wall pouting about who knows what. She's a total diva - it totally cracks us up.

Jason and I started packing as soon as we woke up this morning. Granted, we had like 36 hrs before heading to the airport. But we are soooo anxious to get on that plane, we were very happy to start putting stuff in suitcases! I am praying Macy does well on the plane. She's really well-behaved, so I think we might be okay. She loves to eat, so I am packing plenty of snacks. And she goes to sleep when I tell her to (in bed, in the van, laying on me in the carrier), so I am hoping she sleeps just fine. We will see!

We passed Embassy!

I've copied Amanda's e-mail update below. Praise God!


Sarah

Our embassy appointment today went great. Except for when Macy threw a fit because I fussed at her for throwing Jason's wedding ring across the room. And Lordy....she's loud when she cries. But other than that - wonderful! We are still due to leave Thursday evening. We should have her visa that afternoon.
I am sitting here waiting for more Italian take-out. We are over the Ethiopian food. Except Macy, of course. She's in there eating her traditional food. Hope she can adjust to chicken tenders and casseroles once we get home. (She does eat pizza though...we've already discovered that!)
Things are still going great except we are VERRRRRRRRY ready to come home.

Quirky girl!

Amanda's e-mail update from this morning is below. Their embassy appointment is tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1 PM (5 AM CST)!!!!!

Sarah


Hello again! We went to the Goodbye Ceremony today. Macy did just fine. At one point Jason and I were out of her sight, and she started screaming and ran to Jason. This was actually good because it showed that she trusts Jason. And even when I was next to him, she stayed in his arms. Right now we are in the office at the guesthouse where some traditional dancing and music is on tv and she is just groovin away watching it. She's gonna have to teach the other kids some African dance moves. Pretty funny. We are seeing A LOT of her funny little personality. I talked with her Nanny today, and she said that she has "a very strong personality". It's good to know that it's not just with me and Jason. Today I asked her if she wanted a banana, she nodded, so I went to peel it and she grabbed it, threw it on the floor, and ran to go pout in the corner. She is VERY independent. OH! Dinner just arrived! I found an Italian place that will deliver. Gosh, I hope it's good!!!

October 31st update

Here is Amanda's e-mail update from yesterday. Sorry it is a day late!

Sarah


Macy is doing really well. She slept 11 straight hours last night, and woke up perfectly happy. She is having some BAD diapers, so that has been very interesting. (And I think our housekeeper is going to end up hating us as she's changed the bedspread on Macy's bed too many times.) She LOVES LOVES LOVES me. But, Jason....not so much. We are having to work on that. I don't think she's been around too many men. She's okay with him if I am sitting with her, or if he has food. But other than that, she screams bloody murder if he tries to hold her. If he tries to play with her she'll either stick out her lip and put her head down, or she'll throw a toy. We are starting to see more of her little personality. This morning she was dancing to some African music and smiling. She's really smart. I am starting to think she might actually be close to the age the dr originally gave her. She LOVES getting dressed. And if you take off her shoes or hairbow she screams and cries. Yesterday I finally just let her nap with both on. As soon as I did that she was asleep in 2 minutes. She'll look in the mirror at herself and kind of "pose". It's pretty funny.

I had a kidney stone hit in the middle of the night last night. At first I though it was just pain from the bed, but soon realized what it was. I ended up taking some prescribed pain killers (that I brought just in case this happened) and drank a lot of water. I woke up when Macy did at 9am feeling great. So hopefully it's okay for right now.

Talk to you all soon! Going to try to make Macy play with Jason!