The Good News...And the BAD News!!

Well...Which one do you want first?? The Good or the BAD?? Well...I'll start with the good....How about that?

THE GOOD:

* 3 weeks ago this past Monday....I became the OFFICIAL Momma to this precious boy waiting on us in Ethiopia:

* 2 weeks ago TODAY...his birth certificate arrived and OH!! WHAT A SWEET CELEBRATION that was to see HIM with the same LAST NAME as ours!!! LOVED IT!!

* 1 week ago TODAY...we were submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia for CLEARANCE to leave and pick up our precious son...HAPPY HAPPY DAY!

*Our agency is GREAT with communication and got back with us TODAY as soon as they heard word from the embassy....

THE BAD NEWS:

*It's a NO GO!!! :( OUR U.S. Embassy has requested some extra "stuff" before they'll ALLOW our guy into the good old U.S.A!! :(

* Yes, I'm bummed...cause I have NO IDEA how long it will take to GET WHAT THEY WANT!!

*This is VERY routine these days.... Every few cases they CALL an investigation on...We're NOT completely under investigation...just requiring a few extra steps to MAKE THEM HAPPY!!

*So, we WAIT SOME MORE!!! I completely trust and love our agency...they will give them what ever it is they want AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE!! Unfortunately the U.S. requires this sort of thing from ALL agencies ALL the time...so they are very use to this type of NO GO!!

*So....Please join us in PRAYING that this doesn't delay us THAT LONG!! This Momma's heart REALLY thought I was leaving this weekend...And, I would have been IF this hadn't come up...Several friends of mine got clearance..so they WILL be leaving this weekend...and MORE GOOD NEWS: They'll be able to love on our boy for us!!

**I refuse to "cry in my cheerios" (yet :)...Our adoption of sweet Wes has gone so smoothly and so quickly and easily so far...that I KNOW I'M BLESSED!! He's WORTH every road block...this just happens to be the FIRST one we've come across....So, as badly as I want him HOME...I'm trusting that God has a bigger plan here!! :) We are very blessed...We are very blessed...

**I'll keep yall updated as things progress...WE SO APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS FOR THIS TO BE RESOLVED QUICKLY!! :) Happy Thursday to you all, kj

My Little "shower" for Wes....

yes, My sweet friends gave me a little dinner in honor of our sweet Wes..... I surely wasn't expecting anything for baby #6 (even though I think he's JUST as special as baby #1 who had about 10 showers...seriously :) I was SO excited when my friend Vanessa said she wanted to give me a little dinner...I picked my favorite spot "Local Taco" and we all met up.....

I forgot my camera...so I snapped a few pics of the night with my Iphone...the pics aren't the greatest, but I had to share a few anyways!! Not the best pic of me below...but proof I was at MY OWN shower CELEBRATING our sweet Wes....I asked for NO presents...but a few people slipped some in anyways......He got some new outfits...some gift cards...an adorable 147 Million tshirt from my friend Gwen...it was so fun...Below, my sister Kelly (Mrs. Ordinary Hero) and Gwen (mrs. 147 million orphans) were present....so glad they could come...My CCI peeps came to represent too....Friends I've known for my entire 12 years of marriage showed up to celebrate baby #6....and newer friends like, Amber, who was my travel buddy to pick up Lucy Lane...Such a NEAT group representing so many different parts of my life...I got so many cute little things for Wes...but I have to show you what my friend Eve gave me...Seriously....I talk to her every day in car line while we wait to pick up our kids...She's in the same spot we're in..waiting for clearance from the Embassy for her Ethiopian daughter....and she NEVER once mentioned she was an artist....

ok, so she SERIOUSLY pencil sketched a portrait of Wes...AND, she did it in CAR LINE....Yes, she's THAT talented...AND, IT LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM!!!! CRAZY!!! Thanks Eve SO MUCH!! I can't believe you were able to do this...I LOVE IT:

Wow, i have some sweet and talented friends!! And, I had a cute pic of my friend karen and my friend Vanessa (who organized this) but some how I do believe ONE of them erased it from my phone...hmmmmmm!! :)

**Thanks a MILLION everyone for coming!! Thanks Vanessa for organizing!! I can't wait to get our boy home so you can all meet him!! And, I'm so blessed that so many people ALREADY love him SO MUCH!!! It was a wonderful night!! Happy Wednesday to you all, kj

Easter Day 2011....

The Easter Bunny was BUSY this year at our home filling 6 Easter Baskets!! Yes, even Wes got a visit from the Old Bunny!! * We always want him to know that he was in our thoughts and in our hearts on this 2011 Easter Day!! He IS OUR SON!! Yet, he sits a world away!! HE is MISSED!! We LOVE you little buddy and can't wait to have YOU HOME!!! :) (and that's a bowl of carrots that my kids left for the Easter bunny..fyi)My 5 little people on this Easter Day....
We hosted the ENTIRE fam...and there are LOTS of cousins on my side of the fam...... And, they all gathered for the annual Easter Egg hunt.....And...
They were OFF....
And, from OUR BIG family to YOURS... We hope your Easter Day was filled with many blessings!!
(All our fam minus my Wes and my sister's Lincoln waiting in Ethiopia!! My sweet grandparents are in the middle...the one's responsible for this LARGE family!!! :)

Happy Sunday to you all, kj

I Once Was....

I once was the mother to ONLY ONE child on Easter....And, yes, we proudly took her to meet the Easter Bunny at the mall.....We took tons of pics and enjoyed every minute of it......Then...Then....we had 3 babies in 3 YEARS...and this was the LAST TIME we EVER visited the EASTER BUNNY:
Well, maybe next year I'll BRAVE taking all 6 to visit the bunny....BUT PROBABLY NOT!!! :) Amazing how priorities and things that ONCE seemed so important CHANGE after having many children in a row!! LOL :) We now view VISITING the Easter Bunny as plain TORTURE!!! :) ha ha

*** We're gearing up for a fabulous Easter Celebration here....Praying each and every one of you have a Blessed Easter as well!!! Happy Saturday to you all, kj

So, How Are We Passing The Time??

Well, I kind of feel like LIFE is going in SLOW MOTION as we WAIT to get that ALL IMPORTANT phone call (or email) that says we can LEAVE ON A JET PLANE and bring our boy home!! Ahhhh...I know it could come SOON...or I (sadly) realize that it could take a while...SO...keepin myself BUSY isn't hard these days....This little Miss Fancy Pants keeps us on our toes:Can you tell what she's done in this pic...I put the STOOL up on the counter to keep her from climbing on the kitchen counter...I take George to the potty and come back to find this:Yes, she's SITTING on the STOOL "ON" on the counter...CRAZY GIRL!!! She's ALWAYS one second away from hurting herself!!! :)

**And, below...my Julia decided it WAS TIME to get her EARS PIERCED!! She was very brave and very excited:
Way to go big girl!!

We headed to Kentucky last weekend to celebrate Poppy's 84th bday!! Cousin Alec was visiting too...so our kids love seeing their cousin Alec...so fun:

Jules (my MIL) put on an easter egg hunt for the kids...they had so much fun:
Cousin Alec:
LL LOVED picking flowers out of Jule's yard...she always cracks me up:

Then a little lunch..and it was time to wish Poppy (and George..Jules included him in on the festivities) a happy bday...Poppy turned 84...George turned 4:

Some of the other 2nd cousins and such stopped by too...LL let her Uncle Ray walk her around a little bit:
Present time..Thanks Jules and Poppy for a great afternoon...The kids had so much fun:
AND...lets see...What else have we been up to....Oh, LOSING TEETH..We're ALWAYS losing teeth around here...The tooth fairy REALLY has our address down:
And, Daddy FINALLY got done building the NEW CLIMB DOME thing in the back yard....and yes, our yard is so tacky..but the kids have a BLAST:
Yes, we grabbed this new climb toy from Costco..LOVE IT!! (fyi..and LL had spilled something all over herself earlier...and we just hadn't made it inside yet for another round of clothing :)
And, yes, that's 5 Littles on ONE play dome!! And, plenty of room left for sweet little Wes!! :)

**So, keeping ourselves busy for sure!! We're hosting all the fam for Easter too....and TRYING NOT TO OBSESS over the fact that we could be leaving SOON for our boy!! :) praying, praying, praying for good news soon!! Hope you all have a blessed Easter Weekend!! Happy Thursday to you all, kj

SuperMan Was Adopted!!!

Oh, I'm SO EXCITED to let yall know that Lucy lane's travel buddy, Silas, is getting a BABY SISTER from Ethiopia!! Now, they still have some WAIT TIME to go...but they are making their way DOWN the wait list right now..AND..they are RAISING MONEY for their adoption by selling these adorable tshirts:So, yall know I like to be REAL on here...and Silas's Momma, Amber, can tell ya that it was a CRAZY morning at my house during this little photo shoot!! Amber, so kindly, brought LL a tshirt to model with her sweet buddy Silas...And, as you can see, above, Silas was PERFORMING perfectly and LL only would give me the RASPBERRY!!! Seriously, the girl has a bad habit right now of giving the RASPBERRY when she isn't getting what she wants!! Yes, she's SOMETHING ELSE!!! :) LOL
Well, Silas, above, leans in for the kiss on the cheek..and well...LL isn't feelin the LOVE and gives him the POINTED FINGER where she tells us all: "This ISN'T FUNNY!!" (one of her new favorite lines :)
Well, below, she was happy when I let her down and she could run to the NEW climbing thing daddy was half way through building and COULD PRETEND it was a microphone!! Yes, everything in her life BECOMES a microphone...She's destined to be FAMOUS when she grows up!! :)

So, I tell her I'll give her a sucker if she'll give Silas a hug:

Ok , that worked....the girl would do just about anything for a SUCKER:Ok, well....how about ONE MORE ATTEMPT of a cute pic of them together sitting on the wall:Ok, MORE Raspberries....giving UP....So, she's DOWN and free again....the cute pic of them together in these AWESOME tshirts...just wasn't happening....GEORGE TO THE RESCUE.... LL will hold her Georgie's hand...just NOT Silas's hand:

Crazy girl!!! yes, she makes life EXCITING each and every day!! LOL !!!

So, the morning photo shoot ended with LL sneaking off and getting into the bottle of Windex and spraying it everywhere when we weren't looking...and then she claimed SHE DRANK IT!! But I SERIOUSLY think she made that up...no worries...she was FINE!!! :) And, as Amber was leaving my VERY MESSY HOME..sink filled with dishes...dishes from dinner (night before) still out....AND as we were trying to figure out IF we should call POISON CONTROL cause of LL's claim to have drunk the Windex...George walks up and lets us know that he just had an accident in his pants!! Wow...when it rains it pours!! ha ha So, Amber left (i'm sure shocked :) and I cleaned up George, cleaned up LL's latest Windex mess...got LL down for a nap..cleaned up my messy kitchen...and tried to DEEP BREATHE!!! :)

***Now, after ALL that we went through to accomplish this photo shoot of this shirt...I hope YOU'LL ALL HOP ON OVER to the SILAS blog and SUPPORT lucy lane's travel buddy as they bring home a sister for Silas!! ***** You can order your shirts and see better pictures of them by going to their blog: www.luchtadoption.blogspot.com They come in several different sizes and colors!! Check them out if you have a minute!!! :) I think they are too cute (even if ONE model wasn't feelin the love to perform for us :)

Just thinkin about that morning and writing it OUT made me tired again! ha ha Thanks everyone for supporting the Lucht family!! We so LOVE them!! Happy Tuesday to you all, kj

A New Picture..and a MUST READ!!

First...I just saw this picture FOR THE FIRST TIME from my hubby's trip TWO weeks ago when he went to Ethiopia for our court date!!! Oh, it just WARMED my heart!! There is just something about seeing my hubby walk his son around....teaching him HOW to take his first steps....Oh...THE LOVE!! And, TODAY marks TWO weeks since I became a Momma of 6!! Praying our boy is BACK in our arms VERY SOON!! :) I pray we'll be hearing good news soon!!!!

**Also, a sweet friend that just happened to be traveling at the same time as my hubby wrote the sweetest post about our boy!! You can go read it here: www.sandersonadoption.blogspot.com

It brought me to tears!!!!! :)

Happy Monday to you all, kj

A GREAT Wes Update....

I just received a WONDERFUL email from our director stating Wes's LATEST "weigh in"!! They have weighed him frequently to MAKE sure he was gaining the appropriate amount of weight!! As most of you have read already on here...our son was EXTREMELY malnourished....and I mean EXTREME!! I had friends that stopped by to meet him EARLY ON that left shocked and scared for our son's SURVIVAL!! This played out over and over again as friends met him..all worrying that maybe he should have NEVER left the hospital!! But our agency KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING!! They got him into GREAT HANDS...Nannies that had dealt with this sort of thing before and KNEW how to nurse him back to health...and the transformation has been ASTOUNDING!!

This was my sweet son...my Wes, soon after he arrived to the city...weighing in at 8lbs:
He was literally starving to death!! How can this even be possible this day and age!! BUT...I pray this Glorifies God when I tell you that TODAY my son weighed in at 17.2 lbs:These pictures are two weeks old now...so I know he's even bigger now...but HE'S CHANGED SO MUCH!! He can smile...he can sit and pull up...his body no longer shakes from the lack of vitamins ....He's beautiful...and he's 17lbs.....that just blows me away!!! I'm just so thankful for the care CCI has given my boy...and I'm certainly praising God for the miracle of my little man...AND, now i'm ready to take over and feed my baby MYSELF..and WATCH those rolls begin to appear!! It may take a while...but I bet he'll have some chubby little rolls SOME DAY!! :) Praying I'M THE ONE that gets to feed him those bottles VERY SOON!!! :)

**Thank you CCI for the wonderful update...This made my day!!! And, an fyi.... MANY people have asked me what the wait times are right now with our agency...the girl list has a wait of about 4 to 6 months..BUT...the boy list is VERY fast right now!! They are stating about 1 to 2 WEEKS wait for an infant boy referral once you are paper ready...NOW..I can't promise it will STAY that way after I post this...but it was this way in December when I was referred Wes...and NOW it is back down AGAIN!! Just an fyi since I'm emailed CONSTANTLY about WAIT TIMES!!! That's the WORD on the street!! :)

Happy Sunday to you all, kj