Gadese baby updates for everyone who is checking daily:)

Still....

Waiting:)

Bed Time Request

Last night when I was tucking Lukas into bed he requested a song.

Lukas: Mom, will you sing the monkey and bird song?
Me: The monkey and bird song? What is that?
Lukas: Mom, the monkey and bird song! You know.

I had no idea what he was talking about. So, I made up an elaborate song about Lukas, a monkey and a bird swinging through the jungle. I was so proud of my song. In spite of the fact Adam was in the corner cracking up at my musical endeavor. After I was done Lukas looked at me.

Lukas: No mom! you know the monkey and bird you're going to buy me.

(insert light bulb here)

Me: Oh.... You mean -Momma's going to buy you a mockingbird?!"

A long Overdue Post

In July we had an amazing opportunity to walk the Red Carpet as a family with our three oldest kids to celebrate the completion of The Red Canvas. It was a fulfillment of one of my husband's life long dreams. Months ago I only had one picture to share. I finally found some more.

I love this one of the girls. When it was all over Faith said, "Okay, mom. That was really freaky."

Jace on the other hand said, "That was awesome! I could get used to that. When can we do it again?"

Well.......

Nope.

Just left the doctors. Even after contractions 3-5 min. a part for 20 hours, she hasn't dilated anymore. Christiana is still floating. She isn't engaged yet. She is also "sunnyside up". This could mean a longer labor. Gadese is growing increasingly more silent and tired. She is so strong. I am in awe.

No Baby Yet.

Everything is okay. She's having strong contractions every 3 minutes. They just not doing much though.

So now we are back home. The contractions are still coming fast and strong. I'm reading up on home births just in case:)

Going to the Hospital

Please pray. After talking to Gadese's doctor we felt like she needs to go for monitoring. She is feeling sick and Christiana's movements are very weak. I'll update when I can.

By Coincidence? I Think Not.

With the kind of life I have lead, I know better than to question God. I normally don't ask, "Why?"or, "Where's the good in this?" I trust Him. I don't always understand. Most of the time it's easy not trying to figure out God's plan and simply trusting him, then there are times where it's just plain painful. I still trust him, but I'm left looking for the good. Three weeks ago when Adam and I went on my birthday ride(16 miles on our bicycles along the river to a beautiful winery/restaurant), we stopped at a gas station to pick up a flashlight in case it got dark on the trip. The moment I pulled my bike in, I felt an intense weight in my heart. There was a group of 5-6 teenage kids hanging outside with baggy jeans and hoodies. I looked at them and then I saw him, D. (If your not familiar with our history with him, you should be. He is a huge part of our adoption journey.) Adam was the first to hug him. He was surrounded by all his friends, I didn't know how to respond. We spoke with him for awhile. Then he looked at me and said, "Happy Birthday Steffany." He remembered, I could have cried right there. He remembered my birthday after a whole year. "Thanks D." Thanks D, that's all I said. I wanted to scoop him up(even though he's a lot bigger than me) I wanted to tell him, how much I loved him, that I missed him. That I still feel the hole that was left behind. After they left, the attendant came out and asked how we knew D. She lives in the same neighborhood as him. She told us that she had just kicked out D and his friends for shoplifting. After we told her our history with him, she shook her head and sighed,"He's a good kid, I just wish he hung out with different kids." For the rest of the 15 miles Adam and I rode with a heavy weight on us. We started asking, "Why?"and "Where's the good in this?" Today three weeks later, Adam decided to call him to see if he could go with Adam and Jace to St. Louis to see our film, The Red Canvas. D. was a huge part of our lives during the filming the movie. We were filled with hope when we made the call. Only to be told by his new foster mom that D. made a conscious decision to set fire their house. Again, I'm asking,"Why Lord, why?" I know we are suppose to be involved in his life. I just thought it was to be his parents. It's hard to be around him and not mother him, but that's not the role God chose for me. As I type this I'm becoming more aware of the answer to,"Why" and the,"What good is in this Lord" questions. Sometimes it's just not how I pictured things to go. Okay, if I back up, it never goes how I planned, I should know that by now. It does however always go how God planned it. Even the pain.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Have you ever had so much on your mind that you want to blog about? I find myself wondering, do I make it one big, long and incoherent post? Do I post three different posts? Or, do I just not post anything? Each thought deserves it's own place in blogland. Yet, here I am stuck, unable to formulate anything. AARRGHH.

The Winner is.......

Robbin! Email me with your address and which company you would like your prize from. The choices were: Africa Bags, Zambian soap basket or Tiny Rockstar t-shirt.

That was fun. Thanks everyone for participating.

Prizes and Proverbs (First Giveaway)

I love giveaways on blogs. I still have yet to win anything, maybe one day. Until then , I decided to have my first one. You have a chance to win your pick of one of the three prizes below. They are from organizations/companies who are involved in Africa. So by participating and maybe winning you are helping them. Cool, huh? Are you ready for the rules?

The proverbs you read are Ethiopian. I want you to tell me your favorite one and why. It's that simple. I will randomly pick a winner out of a hat.

*Bonus*- If you can correctly pick out my favorite proverb and are the random winner, you may choose two items.

That's it. Have fun.
Tiny Rockstar Shirt
Africa Bags
Zambian Soap

Contest ends Friday at 7pm

1. To one who does not know, a who garden is a forest.

2. When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.

3. Evil enters like a needle and spreads like a oak tree.

4. Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

5. Restless feet may walk into a snake pit.

6. Snake at your feet a stick at your hand!

7. The witness of a rat is another rat.

8. He who learns, teaches.

9. Woman without man is like a field without seed.

10. Unless you call out, who will open the door?

11. When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth.

12. You cannot build a house for last year's summer.

13. When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.

14. The fool speaks, the wise man listens.

15. A cat may go to a monastery, but she still remains a cat.

16. A silly daughter teaches her mother how to bear children.

17. It is easy to become a monk in one's old age.

18. The fool is thirsty in the midst of water.

19. One's name remains above the grave.

20. As the wound inflames the finger, so thought inflames the mind.

21. Move your neck according to the music.

Two Doctors in One Day.

Gadese has had a lot of back contractions the last few nights. We had a doctor appointment this morning. He checked her and she's 3 centimeters, 75% effaced and he felt Christiana's head!!!!!!!!! We are super excited. So, little Christiana will be here soon.

After her doctor appointment I went to mine. I have been sick off and on for the last month or so with similar symptoms to post Africa. I had quite a bit of blood drawn. The only thing I know now is my liver and gallbladder are sore and inflamed. I have a fever, nausea, vomiting, and the poops.
I'm hoping they can figure out what is wrong with me, and soon. Please pray for my health and strength to serve my family and Gadese.

Let the Weirdness Begin.

Thanks to Kim and Sharon I get to shock the readers of my blog with all my weirdness. I'm not sure you all will be able to handle it;)

For your enjoyment at my expense, I also am including my five weird things about me post from last year :



1. When I laugh I snort.

2. If I squeeze my belly it looks like a pound of ground beef.

3. I ran away and joined the circus (true)

4. My front tooth is removable (really freaky) I lost my original in some guy's head while stage diving at a concert.

5. I like the smell of skunks

Now on to the new more embarrassing list.

6. When I squeeze my belly now it looks like 2 pounds of ground beef.

7. Ummm, there's no other way to put this. So here it goes, I pass gas like a trucker.

8. I survived a Mexican jail.

9. I love jalapenos. I can eat a whole jar. My new favorite is sauteing fresh jalapeno with onions and eating that with my meals.

10. I have swam with otters at a zoo when it was closed.

11. I used to babysit monkeys.

12. I am scared to death of confrontation. I avoid it like the plague. It's so bad that even if my order at a restaurant is dead wrong, cold, or just plain nasty, I still won't say anything. Maybe the fear of having someone rub my steak under their armpit is stopping me.

Well there you have it. I hope you all still like me.
So I tag: Because I would like to see more posts on their blogs-They are majorly slacking
Laura G.- I need something from you- anything. Please
Candace; wait you're private. Well maybe you can at least share for my viewing pleasure.
Paula- I know there's nothing new on the adoption front, but...
Robin- Yes, you have an adorable toddler at home now, but what's new?
Jenny F. aka Sandra-She doesn't have a blog. Hint hint. At least email your weird things.
Laura from Stepping out of the Boat- Don't hold back girl. Remember I know how weird you really are.
Kelly from Squid. I know you are taking a break, but maybe you'll share some weird things:)

Ramping Up

A few months ago the paper did an article about our Skate outreach we do every Sunday afternoon at our house. The first picture is of Alex. He is one of my favorite guys. He skates professionally for Untitled, works at our company and helps lead the outreach. It has been amazing to watch this kid transform into a man this year. He's getting married next month!

If you look to the right you can almost see my front door. Yep, this ramp is the first thing I see when I walk out my front door. When Adam first told me what he wanted to build, he failed to mention it would stand taller than my house and be quite the uummmm, let's just say, big ugly eye sore of a structure from the outside. However, when I hear the sound of kids dropping in, loud music playing, and laughter, it becomes a thing of great beauty.

So what do we do on the ramp when it's not Sunday?

SLIDE! Of course.

You Can Tell...

Xia has older brothers when her hair scarf turns into a super hero cape.

Gadese Updates

Every few days something else comes in the mail for Gadese. She continues to be blown away by everyone's blessings. Today I took her to Target to use some of her gift cards. She was able to buy a camera, memory card, a box of newborn diapers, a newborn hat, more socks for baby, a baby tub, a bouncer seat, maxi pads, Prilosec, and 4 snicker bars! Thank you! She had so much fun picking stuff out. She said it was like,"playing".

My social worker and good friend J. went to Ethiopia last week. She was able to take letters and her maternity photos to Alex. We can't wait until she gets back in the next few days. Alex sent a care package to Gadese for J. to give us. One of the things in the care package is Gadese's Amharic bible. She treasures that above all else and has desperately missed it. I also had a wonderful person from my Yahoo group offer to take and buy the underwear and socks to Ethiopia when she goes on a missions trip.

Gadese has settled on a name for their baby. She will be called Christiana Alebachew Reta. We think it's beautiful. She has also decided to stay until March. That is when her original plane ticket is scheduled for. Of course we are estatic to have her and Christiana here for that long. We applied for an extension on her Visa which is set to expire soon(today). We haven't heard back yet. It has been a little nerve racking to say the least.

I continue to go to bed every night and wonder if tonight will be the night that Christiana comes.
Gadese is starting to get extremely tired easily. She is often in bed by 8:0opm and rises at 9:30am. She has a hard time sleeping so spends a lot of that time just lying in a bed. I check on her frequently during the night and sometimes if she is still awake, I'll crawl in bed with her. We'll put on a movie and then she'll eventually fall asleep.

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes. Please continue to lift up her family who miss her very much.

I Really Love My.....

Thanks mom for the gift card for my birthday to my favorite store. I walked in and knew exactly what I wanted. The Giraffes were calling out to me.

Hard Times

I'm going to be completely transparent here. I need advice. Has anyone
experienced,"hell" with their bio toddler after bringing home adopted
kiddos. I don't know how else to post this. I feel incredibly safe
with you all. I hope you can help with positive feedback. Many of you
already know our story. We adopted twins six months ago. They are
two. All of our kids have adjusted amazingly. Our adoption has
actually brought out beautiful traits in our three oldest. It's our
three year old that I struggle with. Sometimes I look at him and have
no idea who he is. I do realize a lot is age. However he has gone from
"normal toddler behavior" to I don't know what. I go out of my way to
give him more of my time than normal, I try really hard with
consistent boundaries. He is spitting, biting, hitting, pulling out his
own hair, and overall not listening. I can not leave him in a room
alone with the twins for fear of his behavior. Have any of you
experienced this? What can I do? Sometimes I go to bed so defeated. I
know when Gadese's baby gets here, that it will be one more change he
has to go through. I'm confident this will pass, but what do I do
until then?

Rare Performance

Does any one know how to flip a video?

Eyes Closed

How have the twins changed the most since coming home?
Besides the tremendous weight gain? Last check Xia was 19 pounds and Diezel was 21 pounds! Wowzer!


I think one of the biggest changes is; They now sleep with their eyes closed. It has taken months, but they both snuggle down in their bed, close their eyes and sleep peacefully. I remember the first day I laid down with them in Africa, before Adam got there. Even though Xia would not let me go, she refused to look at me and when she did it was with a look of mistrust and disgust. Diezel wanted to be held, but lost out to Xia's control. She would scream, he on the other hand would just lay there and stare. We were exhausted. I decided to try to nap with them. Diezel fell asleep right away. More like past out completely. I put him on the bed. Then I laid down and put Xia between us. She was wiped, but didn't want to let her guard down. She eventually fell asleep. As I dozed I was shocked and saddened to look at Diezel and see the whites of his eyes, with the occasional eye ball. His eyes were wide open, but he was sleeping. I looked at Xia, same thing her eyes were open, but asleep. The slightest move and Xia would shoot me her eye of disdain and hurt. This lasted for several months. After a few weeks, they would let their walls down and their eyes would finally close, only to open again with the slightest movement. They both slept with me for the first few months. It wasn't until their eyes finally closed to a sweet trustful slumber that I put them in their beds. And now? They still sleep in our room in their crib(they share) and every night when I finally go to sleep, I look down on their sleeping bodies and stare in their closed eyes and see how far we have come.

Registry Closing

Deep breath. I know...Two posts in one night. I work in spurts. I always admire daily bloggers. They are consistent and always entertaining or insightful. Not me. Nope. I'm lucky to make sense.

Gadese and I are closing her Target registry on Sunday. The only reason I mention it, is a few of you have emailed me about wanting to do something for her. She is feeling overwhelmed by everyone's gifts. On top of the items bought she has received $200 in gift cards and an incredibly generous check for $200 today. With each gift and card she cries and praises God, lifts thanks to the giver and hugs me. She keeps telling me enough. I think it is hard for her to recieve. I can't explain it. She is overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude but at the same time it is foriegn to her. She feels with the gift cards and now the generous gift of $200 she should purchase the rest of her registry herself. How beautiful is that? I love her heart. Even with nothing in comparison to American standards she feels overloaded. Six pairs of socks for her adopted daughter Eden seems too much to her. A pair of pants and warm zip up to her is way too much. How much is in my closet? She has a pack of cloth diapers, one diaper cover, a few newborn outfits, some toys, $400 in gift cards and money to her name and wants to shut down her registry. Would I do the same?

A part of me wants to overwhelm her with gifts. I would love to have every item covered on her registry before it closes. I would love for her to use that money for stuff she didn't register for. The stuff she was too embarrassed to ask for. Toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes, pencils for the kids and etc... If after Sunday you feel like you want to help, please email me. I'm also starting an organization in Ethiopia to be His Hands And Feet and partnering with an amazing organization that Alex(Gadese husband) will be working for. More to come. So there is an opportunity there to help them while helping many others. I'm excited to tell you more.

Me? An Expectant Father?

In some ways I feel like an expectant father. Gadese has been with me since she was 6 weeks pregnant. I have been through the morning sickness, the first doctor's visit, first ultra sound, first kick. I have watched her belly grow, I have felt the baby move, and now I go to bed each night wondering, waiting to see if this is the night. I'm so used to being on the other side of pregnancy. I now know how helpless Adam must have felt with each pregnancy. He sat and watched all the changes, but never being able to really physically be a part of it. It's a strange place to be. I feel like I have no control. Not that as an expectant mother you really have control over when the baby is going to come, but at least you can listen to and feel your body. Gadese is amazingly strong, NEVER complains. I hope she tells me when it's time. Through my very limited Amharic and her ever growing English, I have tried to explain to her the signs of labor. Okay, that might sound a little stupid, a women knows when she's in labor, right? Well... When it's active, yes. I guess that's my concern, she'll wait untill she's in transition phase to tell me it hurts. Then what? Do I rush her to the hospital, or deliver here at home? You see what I mean? I'm sure most expectant fathers think this way. I guess I never thought about it from this perspective before. Gadese is definitely getting close. Her belly is hard all the time. I'm beyond excited. I only hope Adam will be home when she's in labor to take care of all the kids. I will be the only one with her, coaching her, holding her, and cutting the cord. Even as I type this I'm filled with anticipation. Lord, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this.

Please pray that her doctor will be able to deliver the baby. He is the one who is working financially with me. If it is another Dr. then I might have to come up with thousands of dollars.

Celebration Time!

Tonight is filled with joy! I'm doing the dance of happiness! It's time to celebrate. My ugly, half working, 1980 floor model dishwasher is finally broken! There is no fixing it this time. I'm pretty sure my family will go on a no more washing dishes by hand strike sometime in the near future. Which means-I might get a NEW dishwasher!

I never thought I would be doing the dance over the possibility of a new appliance.

But I Am!

Wow!

I wish that everyone who has sent something to Gadese, whether a gift or an email could see her face light up. On Thursday the first gifts arrived. She just kept saying, "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, really?" She wanted me to open them. I refused. Her hands shook slightly and tears welled up in her eyes as she cut open the packages. There is no way I could begin to explain how this felt. You all blessed me so much. I knew she would feel overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. I guess I was taken off guard by how it would effect not only Gadese, but myself and my whole family. Wow! Do you know how awesome it is, what an incredible testimony of God's love when my children ask, "Mom who's that from?" and then for me to say, "I don't know honey, a stranger that was touched by God to help." Do you get how powerful that is?!

Thank you. Your emails, prayers, and gifts have brought so much encouragement to everyone in the Boster house this week.

*To everyone who has sent something- please let us know if you have a blog. Gadese would love to put a face with the people that have blessed her. It would mean a lot to her.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise him.

Luggage

I was thinking about registering for luggage for Gadese. She came with one small one. I'll never forget riding to the airport with her in Ethiopia and being humbled when I saw hew bag. She was coming to stay here for who knows how long. She had one bag and a few dollars. She didn't really know us or how well we would care for her. She came in complete faith. How awesome for her to go back with more luggage than she can carry.

And how awesome if all of us carried less?

You know what I mean?

October 3rd

It's that time of year again. Oct 3rd. One day after Jace's birthday and one day before my birthday.
He is officially a teenager and I am officially closer to 50 than I am 20. Tomorrow is also the day of my annual birthday ride. Last year I was able to convince Adam to ride our bicycles 16+ miles to a bluff top winery/restaurant that over looks the river. It was amazingly beautiful with the fall colors. I can't wait. I hope to do this every year. I can picture us now at age 85:)