5 Years Ago

Five years ago today, I got to marry you, Michael Jones. Do you remember that day? I was so nervous and excited. Since then we have experienced a lot together. I'm so glad I get to do life with you.

I remember

our trip to Ecuador in 2005 with Camp Kivu (then K-CO) where we decided we would adopt one of our children. And five years later we were on a plane to pick up our son, our first child, adopted from Ethiopia. Wow.

being your scuba diving partner in Hawaii, and having full confidence that you would rescue me from danger if need be.

all of the awesome Christmas gifts you've made me, and the hours of labor and thought that went into each one.

your meaningful words of encouragement, which come at just the right time.

our bike rides where you would make me go faster and farther than I ever thought I could.

and sitting down at the dinner table with you hundreds of times and enjoying laughter, conversation, or silence.


And I love

your chocolate chip cookies, and your chocolate mouse, and your homemade brioche, etc.

your retired skit characters from camp. (I always hope you'll pull them out again.)

your motivation to conquer something new (including renovating our entire attic including plumbing and electrical.)

your self-discipline.

watching you as a father and a teacher. (This is growing to be one of my favorite things.)

Thanks for caring for me and guiding our family through God's love.
Happy Anniversary! I love you.

Party Planning

I'm not always great at planning ahead, but your first big birthday celebration should be special. You turn 3 years old on September 20th! I have a month to plan, and I can't wait to make it loads of fun. The theme was quite obvious to Ababayeh. Dinosaurs. Ever since the two of you went to the dino exhibit at Union Station, you talk about them all of the time. At first I thought a theme would be cheesy, but then I remembered that you are 3 and a little cheese is necessary at your birthday party.

Ababayeh is going to make your cake (which will be super cool), and I've considered finding a dinosaur costume to wear at the party. And maybe, just maybe Philvis will make an appearance and play you a special birthday tune. Now I must also find him a dino song to play. Also need to make invites, plan a game, think of food and favors.

With your little sister in my belly, I've had a hard time finding motivation to do much in the evenings. But feeling sick and tired will not keep me from planning a good party for you. I will prevail! (especially w/ Michael and Taryn's help!)

Love you while you're still two.

Mommyeh

Sugar & Spice

Sugar and spice

And all that's nice,

That's what little girls are made of.

Gunyea, you've been right all along with your prediction! They are 95% sure that this baby is a girl!


That was quite surprising and fun to find out at our ultrasound today. Seeing her little body was quite cool, but hearing the heartbeat loud and clear made me tear up a bit. She was moving like crazy...ultrasound lady said she had hickups. Gunyea, you thought it was exciting to see your sister on the TV but you were especially interested in the large techy computer that the lady was using. Ababayeh was relieved once they told us all the risks of an unhealthy baby were very very low.

And Baby, I feel like it's time I write you a note:


Hello there, little squirt. Sorry I've ignored you for the first 3 months. I remember talking to you once, but that was when I promised to get you back into some air conditioning before I threw up. Was good to see you today. Now I know you are in there for sure, and will try to keep you posted on what's going on out here.

First of all, I'm your mom and I love you. I also like hospitality, chai lattes, and time with family around the dinner table. Your dad, well he is awesome. He is going to be smitten over you, and I cannot wait to watch that. He likes riding bikes, eating chocolate croisants, and teaching kids. He also likes folding the toilet paper into the fancy little triangle. And guess what...you have a big brother. A really cool, Ethiopian (that's a country in Africa) brother with an afro. He loves life. He also loves cereal and milk, walking Owen (our dog) around the house with his leash, and he loves running water. I cannot wait to watch him stick up for you on the playground. The four of us are going to have so much fun.


So you can just keep on growing in there, and making me uncomfortable. Can't wait to see you again in a month.


Love,


Mommyeh and the Boys

Booties from HandmadeBabyLove.

Big Brother

Gunyea kisses baby.

Mommyeh's baby bump.




Yes, we are going to have a baby. Almost through the third month and going strong with most of the fun early pregnancy symptoms. Tegegne will be a big brother and he's been saying the baby is a girl. Michael says the same. We will go to our first sonogram tomorrow, and I'm interested to see what he says when he sees the baby moving around. In about a month we'll see if it's a boy or girl.

So, for the last several months, I've been eager to get on here and write - as a lot has been on my mind. One of the most common things I hear from people is "Oh my gosh...I hear of that happening all of the time." Meaning that people adopt a child and soon after get pregnant.

Several months after Tegegne was home we were discussing whether we'd adopt all of our children or give birth to one too. We decided to only adopt, then thought it would be okay to try and get pregnant. A few weeks later, we were like...wait, maybe this is too soon. Welp, I was already pregnant. And have been ever since. Each day I woke up and said, "Lord, if I miscarry I know that it means we are supposed to adopt all of our children." I said this without worrying, just matter-of-factly. And here we are, 3 months in.

Life will continue to be exciting around here. It will be fun to see Michael and Tegegne holding this little teeny baby. Gunyea loves babies and points them out to me as often as he sees them.

So that's the news for now. Stay tuned.

Ababayeh Kiss Mommyeh?

I walked in the door from work this evening, and you greeted me with the biggest smile with a loud "Hiiiii Mommmyyeeehhhh!" I asked for some sugar and you kept kissing me. Then you said, "Mommyeh happy?" I replied yes, and you said "Gunyea happy?" "Gunyea happy!"

Then we went upstairs to greet Ababayeh. You often ask "Ababayeh kiss Mommyeh?" As he proceeded to kiss me on the cheek, you said "Ababayeh, right here" and pointed to my lips. "Ababayeh love Mommyeh?" "Yes Gunyea, Ababayeh loves Mommyeh." And so on.


Getting in the car on the way to dinner you said, "Gunyea open Mommyeh's door?" You went running to beat Ababayeh to my door, and you got help opening it. When we were all in the car you asked us individually if we were wearing our seat belts, which you always ask now as we get in the car.


On the way home from dinner I yawned, and you immediately said, "Mommyeh sleepy?"


You are growing into a thoughtful little fellow. We laugh often as your little voice asks the sweetest questions.


On a side note, I looked at our adoption agency's blog tonight and saw all of the Ethiopia referrals that are flowing in rapid pace and I was filled with joy. Nearly every month our agency matches lots of children with their forever families. I imagine the initial photo that each family receives, and I long for them to meet their children for the first time. Even better, I think of the new children in families a year after being adopted.


You have been with us 8 months, and have changed so much from your first referral photo.


God is rescuing children from darkness into light, and it is beautiful. Yes, there is often a dim transition period, but God does not give us more than we can bear. And he offers to walk alongside us every step of the way.

Last Big Day

It's your last full day with Ababayeh before school tomorrow, little guy! You guys have been having so much fun. I went to orientation for your school last night, and you and Ababayeh will go today to meet the other students. It was confirmed by your teachers that Jordan was your best buddy this summer. They said once things got going in the morning you would call his name and be linked together all day! You will be sad to find out that Jordan is at another school now. You do, however, have 14 boys and 5 girls in your class. There may be one or two other boys that have brown skin like you, so we'll see if you prefer playing with them.

This year you will get one responsibility each day. One example is the 5 minute kid. This kid will warn the rest of the class that there is five minutes left at recess, snack time, etc. I think you would like that job. Ironically, we have two family friends from church with kiddos in your class. It should be fun for you to see these kids in class, then at church as well.

Have a good day with Ababayeh!

Love,
Mom

Pilgrimage

Brother, let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I may have the grace To let you be my servant, too Sister, let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I may have the grace To let you be my servant, too We are pilgrims on a journey We are brothers on the road We are here to help each other Walk the mile and bear the load I will hold the Christlight for you In the night-time of your fear I will hold my hand out to you Speak the peace you long to hear I will weep when you are weeping When you laugh I'll laugh with you I will share your joy and sorrow Till we've seen this journey through When we sing to God in heaven We shall find such harmony Born of all we've known together Of Christ's love and agony Brother, let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I may have the grace To let you be my servant, too (The Servant Song, by Richard Gillard, + sister verse) I love it when our church community sings this song. This weekend we are headed on our annual Church Pilgrimage, one of the best weekends of the year. As birds do, we will fly together, but will also be solo. A pilgrimage, a spiritual journey. Be with us, O God. Photo.

Father Son Week

It's Father Son Week at the Jones Residence, and you love it. Time with Ababayeh is so much fun! Yesterday you visited the new Polar Bear Exhibit at the zoo and got to meet a cow at Chic-Fil-A. Today you two got the car fixed and watched them wash it. Then picked me up for lunch, and you were still talking about Gunyea's car getting washed. We love how even the little, ordinary things can be exciting to you. And of course cows and polar bears, and all day with Ababayeh is very exciting! Yesterday Ababayeh also had great ambition and totally cleaned out/organized both of our closets. He refolded all of my clothes in nice stacks. I love that guy.

And we love you, little afro boy.

Home + ET in KC

We had two weeks of great vacation, but it was nice to come home. Too be honest I've been daydreaming about relocating, and for several reasons it felt good to be excited about coming home...to Kansas City. Since we've been home, we have made yummy meals, gone to the First Friday Art show, attended a dear friends wedding, gone to church (phew, really missed that!), played at the spray park, had Michael's parents for dinner, and met up with friends at Foo's. Amidst all of that fun, it has been relaxing and so nice to be home.

Oh, hello...AND we went to an Ethiopian get-together in KC on Saturday afternoon. Met the most lovely people, all of whom came from your homeland, Gunyea. Learned that there are 6,000 Ethiopians in Kansas City. Even met a family from Sodo, of the Weyletan tribe. They spoke Weyletan to you, the language of your birth family. It was pretty special. There is an Ethiopian children's soccer league that we will look into. So neat to make those connections to your culture in our city. We exchanged numbers, and will get together for play dates soon. God is good.

Dear Denver Friends

You loved making new friends in Denver with Miss Connie, Mr. Dean, Ashley, and especially 6 year old Danny. Danny loves to dance, and was teaching you awesome moves. You imitated his every step, or made a good attempt...as Danny is a really good dancer. You were amazed that their piano keys moved to the music on their own. There were two major dance parties where you were up hours past bedtime.

We loved visiting with their family. Connie has a wonderful business going selling goods made by Rwandan women. It's called Trading 4 Treasures. She has a great business background and I'm so excited to see the growth and the economic progress made in Rwanda by Connie and her daughter Ashley's vision.

Believe it or not, I did not cry when you met Connie...but my spirit was full and I loved watching you two interact throughout the weekend.

In the Mountains

Hi from Rocky Mountain National Park! We are sleeping in a tent and doing easy/moderate hikes in the mountains. We are staying at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, and tonight you met Yogi the Bear!  Your eyes were huge, and Michael and I laughed with joy at the sight of you. Ah, the innocence of a 2 year old. You are still talking about him! As for sleeping in a tent, it's been a while and I think the cabins look quite cute and cozy. But you fell asleep last night and Michael said..."He's holding my hand." I laughed and said, "He's holding my hand, too." Pretty sure you loved sleeping in such close quarters.

On the way to the mountains here we hung out on the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. We loved that area, and caught some great street performing including the band Barefoot Surrender from Nashville, TN. Also walked into the Prana shop and caught a bunch of our pal, Jer Collins artwork and custom stuff for their shop.

We had a wonderful weekend with Miss Connie and her family. You especially enjoyed Danny, whose six. Danny has some serious dance skills and Sunday night you two entertained us with a dance party. I hope to post a video soon. We saw hundreds of ocean creatures at the Denver Aquarium on Saturday, and that evening we were super blessed to catch up with several old Camp Kivu friends. We can't wait for one more day with the Stevinson's tomorrow, then back to Kansas City early Thursday!