Ellie's Room

Ellie has her own room at camp. Not many can claim such a luxury. Here she is during today's naptime.

Thursday picts

Ellie has fun with playing cards... hmmm...

We've had lots of meetings these days leading up to camp so that means Ellie gets to watch lots of videos with the other kiddos. As you can tell from her dress, it's been much cooler here than what one would expect for summer time!

Nathan and I are "house parents" for 8 guys! (We're staying in the Johnson's home while they are on furlough -- hopefully we'll be able to get it put back together before they return home!) Perhaps you can see on our faces why these blog updates are so brief. Camp begins on Saturday!

Wednesday's trip to the park

This is the park where we enjoyed our first real day of camp orientation...
of course, it had water that Ellie couldn't resist...

...as you can see, we gave in.

later this evening with Annie and Abby Searls

Hungary, Day 2

It's the end of day 2 and we're still weary, but doing well. The lack of sleep on the flights here has definitely taken its toll on me this time, but I guess it was a good thing that I was forced to get out today and stay out from 8:30AM until supper time to site-see around Budapest! KatyBeth Searls, our friend and missionary hostess, requested an "Ellie day" and graciously watched Ellie at her home for us while we pounded the streets of downtown Budapest. I was a bit concerned that it might be a rough after Ellie had a major meltdown in the van ride home the night before, but as KB said, "Better here than on the airplane!"

Anyway, I was relieved to hear that she had a good day with Kate (who doesn't?) and Ellie jabbered up a storm when we were reunited at the end of the day. Here's some photos from the fun we had today! As always, visit http://asburytohungary.blogspot.com/ for more photos and news about the trip.

We learned a lot about the Mongolian invasion of Hungary in 1241 and Gengis Khan at the National History Museum this morning!

Nathan's lunch was as tasty as it was beautifully presented! Wow!


We worked off lunch with a climb up to the top of St. Steven's for a view of the city

a lovely candelabra inside St. Steven's

a model of the cathedral shows you where we walked (the balcony around the base of the dome -- talk about vertigo)!

the real thing

coming home to a happy girl

here's a photo from yesterday: a sleepy Ellie that we had to wake up for landing

later last night (Monday), Ellie is more than awake enough to know she wanted in the pool! It's going to become tricky to keep her attention directed in places other than the backyard where she can see the pool! You can pray for us in this area! She gets quite worked up trying to tell us that's where she wants to go and until camp starts on Saturday, we'll be spending quite a bit of time at the Searls' home and trying to distract her from the back yard!

Meanwhile, we're grateful she seems to be getting much better acclimated to the time difference than her mother!

We're in Hungary!

Forgive me for copying an e-mail I just sent our family...we're short on time and energy at the moment:

We are glad to tell you our plane travels are over by now and Ellie is loudly snoring on the bed next to us. We arrived about 6 hours ago, had lunch at the Searls, then came to the Johnson’s where we will sleep while we are here. 2 of our suitcases have been unpacked and we have a ways yet to go in sorting through team bags and such.

We are glad to report that Ellie did remarkably well on the trip. The only bit of hassle she gave us was during layovers when she had to be changed (she hates the changing tables in the restrooms), or when she preferred to play on the dirty floor. There was a moving sidewalk on the concourse in front of our gate at O’Hare, and Ellie insisted on multiple rides, both standing on her two feet or riding in her stroller, until we were finally required to board the plane. At which point there were many tears. She looked so cute and grown up in her own seat on the plane where she loved eating Cheerios off her tray. She took a one hour nap about an hour into our trans-atlantic flight, then she was up again. The portable DVD player and new birthday toys were a lifesaver. Finally about 6 hours in, she gave up and slept hard with her head on my lap. It was the longest, closest thing to snuggling I have experienced with her yet.

One cute aspect of all the travel is that she seemed much more interested in interacting with us using the few personal tricks she has mastered. So on the last flight from Frankfurt to Budapest when Nathan and I really just wanted to close our eyes (even if we didn’t sleep), she would be tugging on one or the other’s arm for a game of peek a boo, “so big”, or who knows what (let’s make these plastic cups into goggles). I think we’re at the point where she might actually be ready for learning the names and identifying body parts (e.g. “Where’s Ellie’s eyes?). Once we landed and she got put in the van for the ride to the Searls' home, she was out HARD!

When we arrived at the Searls, she was warmly welcomed and then quickly 'woke up', estactic to see a blow-up pool in their back yard. We’re taking her suit so she can enjoy it after dinner. We were able to buy some time by having her splash around in a large tub filled with water on their back patio, but as soon as Sadie jumped in, she was at the patio rail looking longingly in.

We're off to supper. We'll post photos to the blog as soon as I can figure out how to operate Blogger with all the directions in Hungarian.

10th College Reunion!

The headquarters for the class of '97 was conveniently held at our place!

Some special girls that I lived with (or very near) during my time at Asbury

We had well over 80 folks (including spouses and kids) gather for lunch today in the basement

I know many want to see Ellie and unfortunately this is all the better I have of her as she went down for a nap about the time things were really rolling here this afternoon. In this photo we're with one of my college roommates, Jenni, and her two children who were visiting from Chesapeake, VA. We're so glad they made the 10 hour trip to Kentucky this weekend! It was the first time I have met Jenni's children!

Now, the main reason I'm taking the time to post tonight is to request prayer for our journey tomorrow! We are leaving on a jet plane for Budapest, Hungary tomorrow (Sunday) morning and it will be Miss Ellie's first flight since coming home with us in December. We have a lot left to do this evening to be ready to go so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Our next blog post will probably be from central Europe! To follow our team that we're leading from the College, you may visit http://asburytohungary.blogspot.com/. Good night!

Gallery Link

Click here to view all of Ellie's DC Photo Shoot shot by Jan!
Select 'Client Galleries,' then enter event code: Waggoner

Old Acquaintances and New

One of the unexpected blessings of our foray into the world of international adoption has been the wonderful people we've gotten to meet who share (or soon will share) this unique experience. In the last few months I've exchanged numerous e-mails with a few other families who have already or want to soon adopt from Albania through Bethany. Last night I got to meet two of them in person when they came to Wilmore for a visit! The occasion was a visit from David and Melba Harmon, houseparents for 6 years at Bethany's orphanage in Tirana. Now retired, they travel around the U.S. to visit children they knew who were adopted by American families. Knowing the Harmons would be staying the night in our home last night, about a week and a half ago I proposed a visit by two ladies in Tennessee whom I thought might be interested in meeting the Harmons and picking their brains about adopting from this unique corner of the globe. I was thrilled when they accepted our invitation and came! They're photographed with me below.

Here are the Harmons with Ellie. We met them in Albania in 2004 and discussed in detail the process of adopting through Bethany. Now here they are, three years later, in our home with Ellie!

After company left, Ellie wanted to 'help' with the dishes. She kept the bubbles fresh. I couldn't resist a photo-op, even if it shows our kitchen in less than stellar conditions. :-)

Incidentally, Mommy did help. Her job was to dry.

Happy Father's Day, Nathan!

...from Cydil and Els

Enjoyin' KY beauty!

Next week is going to be absolutely zany for us so when we discussed last Sunday when to do "that kayak trip" with Siobhan, we decided there was no time better than the present and scheduled it for this morning. We only had a few hours on the river as we had to be back at the center by 1 to give missions advice to some missions-minded high school students in town for Icthus (their youth leader, Bonnie Olds, was a classmate of ours at Asbury). But fortunately we can drop into the KY River about 10 minutes from home and it's just a few paddles to the Dix, a smaller, quieter river where we met lots of friendly folks out enjoying the peace of nature too. It was just what I needed and a nice time spent with a good friend!

If you could see this photo full size, you would see that Ellie is stuffing her mouth with Cheerios.

This is the other view of Ellie one sees in the kayak. Next time we're going to have to bring a rope to tie around her waist. She just wanted IN the water! It made for several whiney moments where we were beginning to re-think what a wonderful idea this was for 'family time'! Other than that, we got a lot of smiles and even a photo request from another kayaker who thought we were 'so cute'!

Ellie's Birthday in Photos

We took a long lunch break and fit in a quick trip to the pool before (Ellie's) naptime. We had never been before (even though it's just down the road in Nicholasville)! Ellie enjoyed it overall and forgave us for dressing her in her swimsuit and not putting her in her little wading pool (which is where she thought she was going until we put her in the car -- she was NOT happy).

College friend Mark stopped in for a visit after naptime!

Nonna & PaPa sing Happy Birthday over the telephone

We ended the day with an evening walk around the neighborhood to check out the crowds rolling into town for Wilmore's famous Icthus music festival which began tonight. All in all, I know Ellie didn't know it was her birthday, but probably a better day for her than most. :-)

June 14

As the calendar has flipped closer and closer to June 14, I have found myself thinking more and more about Ellie's birthday. Not THIS June 14 but Ellie's day of birth 2 years ago. On June 4 I posted some photos of the hospital where she was born. Last Sunday evening I got a peek of the building's interior thanks to Mrs. Bush's visit and the accompanying staff photographer who documented the First Lady holding a newborn there (see http://www.whitehouse.gov/). Other than those images and a small polaroid we have of an infant Ellie in a baby swing, the events and circumstances surrounding that day are largely unknown.

On June 14, 2005 Nathan and I were completely unaware of events unfolding across the Atlantic that would change the rest of our lives (not to mention, hers!). The date on my Outlook calendar is blank. It was probably a normal, quiet Flag Day here in Wilmore. We wouldn't begin the process of adoption for another 5 months, but the Lord had already been preparing our hearts. While we haven't shared much of our adoption journey on this blog, I thought I might use this opportunity today to post a a few pictures that I dug out of an album in a closet that show a few events and people that God placed in my life that I have looked back on as influencing our decision to adopt, and from Albania:

My sophomore year Christmas break was spent with my family in Albania. For a couple of days my sister, Bug, and friends Pam & Becca and I stayed at a group home for teens in Tirana called the Vocational School. At age 16 they were supposed to move out as they were no longer supported by the State. Whenever I remembered that visit I would often wonder what became of those girls. A few years ago my mom bumped into Dhurata (bottom photo, left) on the street and at the time she was nanny-ing for some missionaries. She beat the statistics!

Fast-forward 2 years to 1996, I'm back in Albania for a 2nd visit. (Above) Me at Bethany's group home near Tirana for toddlers and infants. At the time I had no idea that I would apply to adopt through Bethany and pray that others would hold babies like our daughter!

The Many Faces of Elisona Waggoner

Ellie on her Deere

Ellie Turns Two!!

Though Ellie technically doesn't turn two until Thursday, we had a little celebration with Nonna, PaPa, and Aunt Rebecca on Sunday while they were in town. Here's a few photos from the festivities.