5 years home, baby girl!

Ellie, we are beyond blessed for every year you're in our life!  I can't imagine what the next five will bring!

Arriving at the Cincinnati Airport... December 29, 2006

(You can read about that day here)

Christmas Cute

The kiddos with Aunt Rebecca on Christmas Eve

These photos are for the benefit of my Mom, who found the dress that Ellie is wearing for sale at a shop in Albania.  Taken aback at the price, Mom looked a little closer and was thrilled to discover on the tag that it had originally been purchased at Sears!  A little investigation uncovered the same dress online for 1/3 of the price!  Then, mom found Reni's outfit so they could both look spiffy on Christmas and had them shipped to us.  This is Reni's first tie!  In case you noticed, the fuzzy cuffs were a bit of an irritant to Els -- I was grateful that rolling them back was sufficient to her as I was afraid the dress wasn't going to make it out the door on her body!

Christmas Day/Christmas Eve

No, I don't have the title of this post "backwards", but due to the arrival times of family, we pushed back some of our traditional celebrations so that the 25th was treated like the 24th. 

 After church and dinner, Aunt Rebecca supervised Ellie and Reni in the decoration of cookies -- which they both loved, as you can imagine!

Wait -- we're supposed to save these for OTHERS?

Later that evening after Stephen and Rachel's crew arrived, we had family devotions and opened stockings.  Nathan gave a devotion on finding room for Jesus.  Because every story is more interesting with drama, Ellie and Reni played the parts of Mary and Joseph (with big-cousin Caleb's assistance as the donkey).  They went from couch to chair to couch asking if there was room (and were of course, told 'no').

Love Nathan's expression here. ;-)

Nonna's caught off guard by the intensity of Ellie's "thank you" hug.  In typical Ellie fashion, she  discovered that this garnered her some extra attention and decided to go around and give others her 'worst hug ever' hugs.

Ellie is great at showing love.

Happy Birthday, Elisha!

Three years ago today, our nephew Elisha Carl Waggoner was born.  Today we celebrated with cake, ice cream and gifts, some handmade like the card below from his older siblings which I just had to share here ...

... because it's all down hill after you turn three!

New pics with the Waggoner clan

Ellie with her big gift: a skateboard!

Reni loves his independence in this motorized "Thomas"

In case you didn't realize, yes, we have 3 new faces in our family this year!  Steve and Rachel are fostering a sibling set!  We are so happy to have these great kids with us!

Contrary to what it appears, Reni is having a blast being around all these boys!

Ellie is thrilled to have been inducted (via the secret hand clap) into the "sparkle sisters" club. ;-)

Merry Christmas!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... (John 1)

Birthday Wish

Tonight as we were driving on the interstate I did what I usually do and clicked on my Google Reader bookmark to see if there were any blog posts to catch up on.  Working down the list I came to Adeye`'s post today, Praying for their Christmas Miracles.  I quickly sobered up as I read story after story of children desperate for a family, but for whom hope is fading fast because they will age out of the system soon (you DON'T want to know what kind of future awaits them) or they're about to be moved to institutions where they will no longer be adoptable (another terrible, horrible future which defies description).

Then I saw a picture and nearly lost it.  I recognized both kids -- a brother and a sister.  My friend Katie adopted the sister, A, but her brother R is still overseas, needing a family.   I know that Katie has been burdened for R for three years, desperate to find a family for him.  Today's highlight of R served as a reminder that he's STILL waiting and that Katie hadn't given up because she was the one who petitioned Adeye` to include him in today's post.  I want to be an Aaron and Hur (Exodus 17) for Katie tonight and help hold up her arms in advocating for R.  Would you take a minute and click on this link and pray for R and pray for these kids?  These are just a few of the MILLIONS of orphans worldwide, but it only takes 1 person, 1 family to make a difference one of these kiddos.

I know this is heavy, but hey, it's my birthday today so I can blog about whatever I want!  (sorry for sounding a little self-indulgent there).
Thanks, friends.

Down to size

With shorter, cooler days requiring more indoor play time, it became apparent that it would be infinitely more convenient for Reni (and by that, I really mean me), if he could reach the light switch in his room.  Thankfully I have a handy and generous husband who offered to install a second light switch "just Reni's size".

By the way, Reni had just gotten that new coat and did NOT want to take it off!

While Dad worked on the wiring, Reni lost interest and returned to his toys.

Look, Mommy!  It's a boat!

Before too long, the project was complete!

He can reach it!

Just my size!

Our Christmas E-Card & 2011 Video

Thanks for the blessing of your friendship this past year!
2011 was a year of firsts...

• Ellie's first time skiing and riding a bike
• Reni's first independent steps in his prosthetics
• Reni meeting his New Jersey great-grandparents for the first time
• Our first time homeschooling
• And now our first "e" Christmas Card!

We made a 4-minute video to re-live these "firsts" and more below:




We have seen God's hand so clearly in this last year and are excited for what He has in store for 2012! Thanks for being a part of God's story in our lives and taking the time to visit us here! Merry Christmas!

Who Let the D*gs Out?

Yesterday our friends the Kinnells came for a playdate.  I debated calling this post "Dance off: Albanians vs. Africans", but we all know that'd be no contest ... or maybe? ;-)  Check out Reni at about the 20 second mark... 

Thanks, Amy, for sharing this video!

Stuck together for 5 years and counting, Ellie!

Today marks 5 years since Ellie woke up in the Coldwater Orphanage for the very last time.  I will never, ever forget December 19, 2006!  It wasn't supposed to be one of those "typical" days in the adoption journey -- it was supposed to be predictable, joyful, exciting! Instead it was like so many others we had experience, our emotions running the gamut in way too short a period of time ...

We had been anticipating taking Ellie out of the orphanage for so long, emotions building up with each of the twice daily visits to see her since November 24.  We had the obligatory going away party in the morning (which felt so cruel to be doing for the kids being left behind) followed by a celebratory lunch out... which was interrupted by a phone call that no, the paperwork wasn't ready after the 15-day waiting period and we just had to wait.  Except we didn't want to wait (I know in retrospect another day or two or even week or two doesn't seem like that long a time in the grand scheme of things).  We didn't want Ellie to spend another night alone in a cold, dark orphanage!  That day was supposed to be the day she was ours! We prayed and made some phone calls and through some miracles (yes, connections only God could have woven years and years earlier and I can't share here), we were on the road a few hours later, a screaming toddler in tow!  We don't think she quit crying from the time we left Vlora until we stopped outside the pallati in Tirana (after all, she had never sat in a car seat before!).  Once we were indoors, she settled down quite nicely on the bed like absolutely nothing was wrong!

Just now, as I type this, the light bulb clicks 'on' that had it been 'predictable', we would not have seen God's favor on our little girl yet again  - those "God fingerprints" that we would need to look back on -- no, that we STILL need to look back on during those times when our eyes drift off Him.

Changing Ellie's clothes to bring her home!

Five years later and Ellie is embracing everything about being "Waggoner".  She loves to see her name in print and "E" and "W" are her favorite letters of the alphabet.  She frequently asks for "family hugs" and will then declare that we are "stuck together forever!"  To which we all agree and seal with squeezes and kisses.

She is also beginning to understand that she had a life prior to coming home with us.  I've wondered when this would happen, as this realization is coming a lot later than what I read is typical for children who were adopted.  A few weeks ago as she was coming down from a meltdown she asked me through tears, "Why did you leave me in Albania?  Why didn't you come for me sooner?"  I tried to assure her we came just as fast as they would let us!  A few days after that in children's church when someone innocently asked the kids as part of an illustration, "Remember when you were a baby and your parents took care of when you cried and needed things?", she (and another adoptive child) broke down in tears and had to leave.

While we can't erase the pain of her past, we can rejoice and celebrate who she is now.  God has done such great things for her.  Yesterday in church, the children's pastor gave the parents a review of what the kids have been studying in this unit on the book of Ruth.  The big word they learned was "redeemed" and I think it's one of my favorite words in the English language.  The definition he gave was this:  something that was valuable, which lost its perceived worth and was made valuable again."  While Ellie never, ever, lost her worth to her heavenly Father, we are so grateful that He redeemed a little, anonymous girl in an orphanage, through bringing her to our family, and we are praying and trusting that one day she will be redeemed again into an eternal family.

Ellie, you are our very precious daughter!  I am so proud of who you are and how you are growing up!  When you are around others you have a way of making people laugh and feel special.  You are also very tenderhearted and compassionate.  I see this most in your relationship with your brother. I appreciate how patient you are with Reni and nothing pleases me more than watching you two play happily together.  I love how you help him up to places he couldn't go -- like the bed or the couch -- or how you try to be a good example for him.  I love to see your curiosity and desire to learn, how you still ask me what things say when you can't read them yet yourself or how to say words in Albanian!  You are also growing more confident and less fearful of new things. This is huge!  Right now your interests line up a lot with your brother.  The two of you like to identify "cute" and "cool" cars on the road and your favorite game is "dog catcher." At the end of the day, you two beg to fall asleep in the same room. As your stature increases, it's harder and harder to pick you up!  These years are flying by!  We are grateful for every day you are our girl and love you SO, so much.
Love, Mom.

Skating!

The Bluegrass isn't exactly known for its winter sports, however, when disease afflicted the trees at Lexington's downtown Triangle Park, the city was presented an opportunity to try something new in that space.  Imagine our surprise to hear that they were installing an ice rink!  We had to try it out, so on Sunday evening, in lieu of Global Cafe` (finals began the next day), we took a small group of students skating. 

Ellie had a BLAST.  At first I think she thought we were describing skiis, not skates.  It didn't matter to her, she was all about trying it out. I was so proud of her!  She quickly caught on that you didn't want to fall down and thought it was SO funny when I stumbled a few times (disclaimer: the condition of the ice was terrible with deep divets hidden like a minefield -- they weren't running the zamboni until they identified the source of a pipe leak underneath).  By the end of our 90 minutes, she was skating independently.  I can only imagine how she'd do on a properly maintained rink that was bigger and not so crowded!

Reni was anxious to participate too, but had to settle for watching from the backpack on Dad's back.  I think the 'real' rink has adaptive equipment which we might just have to go check out later this winter!

Meredith, our cabinet president and overall sweetheart.  She's graduating in a few months and we'll miss her!

Mail's Here!

Who doesn't love going to the mailbox at this time of year?  Special thanks to those of you who've sent us Christmas greetings! I LOVE seeing your family photos and reading about your year's experiences!  I am getting special prolonged enjoyment thanks to this nifty cardholder I got at a fundraiser for our friends, Charley and Jackie, who are headed soon to Taiw*n with their son, John, to work at the orphanage where John spent his first months of life. (We'll miss you guys, but SO believe in what you're going to do!!!)

Ellie and Reni got a special package this week, "just because."  Since the gifter wasn't present to see their faces and enjoyment, I'm posting a few pics here...  Thank you!

Merry Christmas to you, our friends and family -- and check YOUR mailboxes soon (electronic or real-life) for something from our family to you! ;-)

Reunion in Mansfield

The day after Thanksgiving we had a very special reunion with our friends the Carters and McCreadys.  We were together in small group Bible study through our church back in 2001.  As is the nature of living in an academic community, both couples completed their courses of study and eventually moved on to the work for which they had prepared, the Carters moving to Ohio, then overseas and the McCreadys to western PA.  We were so happy when we were able to find a day over Thanksgiving weekend to get together for only the 2nd time in way too long!

 After lots of fresh air, the kids enjoyed some time in the well-equipped media room of the loaner home the Carters have been blessed to stay in during these months back in the States.

I was happy to have a chance to photograph their families.  Isn't Gracie a sweetie?

 Our small group started when Caleigh (below) was a newborn.  Nothing reminds you more of the passage of time than growing children!

 What a great bunch of kids!  I'm so sad we don't get to see them more often!

 I thought you  might get a kick out of our attempts to photograph the kids.  Yeah, they  were pretty photo'ed out by then. ;-)

Thanks, Carters and McCreadys, for your friendship!  We love you guys!