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Nile my little salesman!
8 years ago
Monday, April 12, 2010
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Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Latest on L
I haven't posted about L in a while, so here's the latest. First, we are not exempt from the new two-trip rule (travel for both the court date and to pick up L) even though we've met L before because we'll still have to testify in court. It's definitely a big expense we weren't planning for, but we'll find a way to make it happen. :)
Second, we were officially approved by our adoption agency over a week ago. It was an exciting day because I wasn't expecting it/wasn't thinking about it, plus we got to hear L's full story. We learned things like his last name and that he loves Chelsea and Drogba. (I had to Google this, haha! Chelsea is apparently a soccer team and Drogba is a player for the team from the Ivory Coast. We have so much to learn!) We also learned just how badly he wants a family. From what I understand, he was pretty devastated when he had to move to the older boys' orphanage because he thought there was little hope he would get a family then.
As far as our dossier goes, the only piece of paper we're still waiting for is our USCIS approval. Please pray that this will come quickly! Once we have this, we'll get all our paperwork authenticated and sent to Ethiopia to be translated. This should take about a month. Then our adoption agency will submit our file for a court date. Our caseworker is hopeful that we'll get a July court date.
Also once we receive our USCIS approval, our adoption agency will begin the process to tell L he's getting a family. We will write him a letter and an in-country worker will share it with him and begin to prepare him for what's about to happen. Please pray for L through this. The new two-travel rule will probably be confusing for him. From past experience, he's seen families come and take their children home the first time they visit. We will meet him and then have to leave him for several weeks (hopefully not longer). Because he previously had an adoptive family that fell through, he's already been through a lot. We pray he will know we mean it when we're saying we're coming back for him.
I'm really praying that we receive our USCIS approval this week. The rainy season court closure (August to early October) is a little close for my comfort.
I can't close this out without showing you Myles's Easter picture. He really does get cuter every day, if that's possible.
Second, we were officially approved by our adoption agency over a week ago. It was an exciting day because I wasn't expecting it/wasn't thinking about it, plus we got to hear L's full story. We learned things like his last name and that he loves Chelsea and Drogba. (I had to Google this, haha! Chelsea is apparently a soccer team and Drogba is a player for the team from the Ivory Coast. We have so much to learn!) We also learned just how badly he wants a family. From what I understand, he was pretty devastated when he had to move to the older boys' orphanage because he thought there was little hope he would get a family then.
As far as our dossier goes, the only piece of paper we're still waiting for is our USCIS approval. Please pray that this will come quickly! Once we have this, we'll get all our paperwork authenticated and sent to Ethiopia to be translated. This should take about a month. Then our adoption agency will submit our file for a court date. Our caseworker is hopeful that we'll get a July court date.
Also once we receive our USCIS approval, our adoption agency will begin the process to tell L he's getting a family. We will write him a letter and an in-country worker will share it with him and begin to prepare him for what's about to happen. Please pray for L through this. The new two-travel rule will probably be confusing for him. From past experience, he's seen families come and take their children home the first time they visit. We will meet him and then have to leave him for several weeks (hopefully not longer). Because he previously had an adoptive family that fell through, he's already been through a lot. We pray he will know we mean it when we're saying we're coming back for him.
I'm really praying that we receive our USCIS approval this week. The rainy season court closure (August to early October) is a little close for my comfort.
I can't close this out without showing you Myles's Easter picture. He really does get cuter every day, if that's possible.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
On the Move
I promise I will post a birthday recap soon, but I had to share this video. Myles decided to start crawling yesterday! He's progressed so much in the past two weeks.
And just for fun, here's an adorable pic from a friend's superhero birthday party. More soon!
And just for fun, here's an adorable pic from a friend's superhero birthday party. More soon!
Monday, February 8, 2010
Myles Update
I haven't taken one. single. picture. of Myles since Christmas because our camera battery has been dead. I need to work on that! But since I never posted any Christmas pictures either, here ya go!
Myles will be 11 months old this Saturday. I just can't believe it! I can't believe my tiny chunk is now a big ol' chunk. Chris and I had to take M to the doctor a week and a half ago for a double ear infection, and they told us he's 20 lbs! Granted, he was all bundled up for the snow, but seriously?!? And he's just as long as he is wide. He was 28 inches at his 9 month appointment, so he must be nearing 30 inches now.
As for his development, he's become quite the communicator. He says dada, mama, baba (for bottle and ball), yum yum, bye-bye, and doggie. He's starting to say hoop (basketball) and "did it," which is just something funny we taught him.
His favorite thing to do right now is look at pictures, especially of himself. :) We have several pictures on our fridge, and when he first sees himself, he does this low, gruff laugh to himself. He also loves to look at pictures of his friends Joseph, Mena (who he thinks is a hottie!), and Ramsey.
Myles has gotten much better with his eating. No more gagging issues. He's working on drinking out of a sippy cup. And he loves to feed himself wagon wheels and crackers.
We meet with early intervention tomorrow to discuss Myles's motor skills delays. He does qualify for services, so we'll be getting some help with his crawling and pulling up, neither of which he does yet. He's started scooting around a little on his bottom, and he can stand holding on to something, but he won't move himself of his own accord. M's fine motor skills have improved since he was first evaluated, with his pincher grip, pointing, and picking up small objects. And he was having trouble releasing objects from his grasp, but now he's quite adept at throwing things. Any thing. :)
The sweetest thing is that Myles is now starting to offer affection instead of just allowing us to hug or kiss him. He's also more sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. One day when he was really tired he was trying to play with my laptop, and I told him "no no." He started crying big crocodile tears and buried his head in my chest. We sang some songs and he was better. A few minutes later he reached for my laptop again, I told him "no no" again, and tears and snuggles again. Whenever I have to tell him no now, he hugs me like he knows he did something I didn't like. It's hilarious.
I'm sure if you're still reading at this point, you're one of the grandparents, so hi! We miss you! Be sure to save the date of March 13 for Myles's super-fun 1st birthday. :)
Myles will be 11 months old this Saturday. I just can't believe it! I can't believe my tiny chunk is now a big ol' chunk. Chris and I had to take M to the doctor a week and a half ago for a double ear infection, and they told us he's 20 lbs! Granted, he was all bundled up for the snow, but seriously?!? And he's just as long as he is wide. He was 28 inches at his 9 month appointment, so he must be nearing 30 inches now.
As for his development, he's become quite the communicator. He says dada, mama, baba (for bottle and ball), yum yum, bye-bye, and doggie. He's starting to say hoop (basketball) and "did it," which is just something funny we taught him.
His favorite thing to do right now is look at pictures, especially of himself. :) We have several pictures on our fridge, and when he first sees himself, he does this low, gruff laugh to himself. He also loves to look at pictures of his friends Joseph, Mena (who he thinks is a hottie!), and Ramsey.
Myles has gotten much better with his eating. No more gagging issues. He's working on drinking out of a sippy cup. And he loves to feed himself wagon wheels and crackers.
We meet with early intervention tomorrow to discuss Myles's motor skills delays. He does qualify for services, so we'll be getting some help with his crawling and pulling up, neither of which he does yet. He's started scooting around a little on his bottom, and he can stand holding on to something, but he won't move himself of his own accord. M's fine motor skills have improved since he was first evaluated, with his pincher grip, pointing, and picking up small objects. And he was having trouble releasing objects from his grasp, but now he's quite adept at throwing things. Any thing. :)
The sweetest thing is that Myles is now starting to offer affection instead of just allowing us to hug or kiss him. He's also more sensitive and gets his feelings hurt easily. One day when he was really tired he was trying to play with my laptop, and I told him "no no." He started crying big crocodile tears and buried his head in my chest. We sang some songs and he was better. A few minutes later he reached for my laptop again, I told him "no no" again, and tears and snuggles again. Whenever I have to tell him no now, he hugs me like he knows he did something I didn't like. It's hilarious.
I'm sure if you're still reading at this point, you're one of the grandparents, so hi! We miss you! Be sure to save the date of March 13 for Myles's super-fun 1st birthday. :)
Monday, January 18, 2010
We Need a New Blog Name...
Because this Hollomon three is about to become FOUR!!!!
We are excited to officially announce that we have begun the adoption process once again! But the experience is quite a bit different for us this time around.
On September 18, 2009, on our last day in Ethiopia, we met a sweet 10-year-old (!) boy whom I'll call L at one of the government orphanages we visited. L really latched onto Chris. They were inseparable while we where there. I met L briefly but didn't spend much time with him. L was quiet and tiny, and we thought he was maybe 8 years old (ha!).
Chris asked a lot of questions about L while we were there. L has a tough story, one that I want to protect and not share too much of.
Cut to a few weeks after we were home. For several days and nights in a row, I couldn't get L off my mind. It seemed so odd to me because I had spent so little time with him. Finally, I said to Chris, "You've been praying about L, haven't you?" And of course, he had. Then we had our first of many serious discussions about adopting L.
We began talking to our adoption agency about the possibility of adopting L. We learned that he just turned 11 in December. He loves English and science, and he wants to be a professional soccer player. And he really wants a family.
And four months to the day after meeting sweet L for the first time, we're ready to share with you that we are going to be that family.
We are excited and overwhelmed. We never dreamed we would be going from no children to a 1-year-old and an 11-year-old in one year, and we never planned to adopt two children back to back. The responsibility and the financial obligations are intimidating, to say the least! After a long day at work and when Myles has been cranky, Chris will teasingly ask, "Are you ready to help L with his homework?" You can pray for us about that! :)
But we are so excited that Myles will have a big brother who shares his heritage and can teach him about Ethiopia in ways that we can't.
I don't have an estimate of when we'll be bringing L home. We're hopeful it will be by the end of the year, and the sooner the better, Lord willing.
Please pray for L, Myles, Chris, and me as we prepare for yet another life change. And if you have a new blog name for us, please let me know!
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message)
We are excited to officially announce that we have begun the adoption process once again! But the experience is quite a bit different for us this time around.
On September 18, 2009, on our last day in Ethiopia, we met a sweet 10-year-old (!) boy whom I'll call L at one of the government orphanages we visited. L really latched onto Chris. They were inseparable while we where there. I met L briefly but didn't spend much time with him. L was quiet and tiny, and we thought he was maybe 8 years old (ha!).
Chris asked a lot of questions about L while we were there. L has a tough story, one that I want to protect and not share too much of.
Cut to a few weeks after we were home. For several days and nights in a row, I couldn't get L off my mind. It seemed so odd to me because I had spent so little time with him. Finally, I said to Chris, "You've been praying about L, haven't you?" And of course, he had. Then we had our first of many serious discussions about adopting L.
We began talking to our adoption agency about the possibility of adopting L. We learned that he just turned 11 in December. He loves English and science, and he wants to be a professional soccer player. And he really wants a family.
And four months to the day after meeting sweet L for the first time, we're ready to share with you that we are going to be that family.
We are excited and overwhelmed. We never dreamed we would be going from no children to a 1-year-old and an 11-year-old in one year, and we never planned to adopt two children back to back. The responsibility and the financial obligations are intimidating, to say the least! After a long day at work and when Myles has been cranky, Chris will teasingly ask, "Are you ready to help L with his homework?" You can pray for us about that! :)
But we are so excited that Myles will have a big brother who shares his heritage and can teach him about Ethiopia in ways that we can't.
I don't have an estimate of when we'll be bringing L home. We're hopeful it will be by the end of the year, and the sooner the better, Lord willing.
Please pray for L, Myles, Chris, and me as we prepare for yet another life change. And if you have a new blog name for us, please let me know!
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:20-21, The Message)
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