My Dearest Girls,

I dream of you all the time now. The closer we get to meeting the stronger our red thread gets. I know that the weeks we have left to wait feel like an eternity, but I am coming. I promise you.

To my Macie,
I know that your little eyes have seen more pain and heartache than I can imagine. You have a strength that reaches out of this photograph I have been staring at for the last 2 and a half months and I am so proud of you.
We are calling you Sara Macie so that you have the name given to you and a new name to be called by, that embodies the heart that we see in you. Macie, means enduring and that is what you have done in your short life so far. It is a strong name that should give you pride, as it has us, in the proven ability you have to survive and to fight for your place in this world and in our family. You will fit in well, my love.
I hope that the wounds that have been inflicted on your precious spirit are healing. I know you are being loved and held and adored by the arms of those that care for you. I long to do the same so that I can help those scars heal and watch you become the woman God wants you to be.
Even in a picture I can see the twinkle of mischief behind that little grin of yours and I long to live out all sorts of adventures with you as we navigate the start of our life together. All that you have seen and been through, the curiosity that you have and the immense emotion you have felt, has brought you to this place, at this time, for a reason that neither of us are all together certain of, but trusting in.
We were always meant to be little Macie. We are already connected and I can't wait to hold you in my arms.

My darling Ella,
I know that there is a lot going on and that all the different faces and places and hands that have held you have made life a little confusing. I can see in your face an uncertainty and a longing for people that are familiar. You are learning so much and discovering the world on two wobbly legs that are still struggling to be sure of their stance.
It is all so much to take in and you are being so brave! I know that it helps to have your sister with you. It has brought me so much comfort to know that she is there, but I also know that you ache for a Mommy to run to when the world just doesn't make sense and things get overwhelming.
I am so proud of you for hanging in there and waiting with me. It is hard for me too! I wish I could get on a plane RIGHT NOW!!!! I would scoop you up in my arms and never let you go.
We have named you Ella Birtukan. Birtukan, to keep your given name and Ella, to be called by. Ella means light or torch. We can already see that you have such a brightness within your eyes and we know that your presence will bring light into a room when you enter it.

My girls, there is no river wide enough, no shadow dark enough, no mountain tall enough and no path lost enough to keep me from either of you. Without even holding your precious faces in my hands or hearing your beautiful voices resound from those little mouths, I would give my life for you both.
Your new family can't wait to embrace you and welcome you home. We love you already and are coming soon. I can hardly wait!!!

Mamma

Funny med school ad

While military life definitely takes some adjusting to, it is nice to be reminded of all the perks that come with Garrett attending this school.
So far, I have met some pretty interesting people and some families that I think we will connect with really well. There is even a family in his class that has adopted two toddlers from Guatemala! How cool is that?!?!?

Ethiopia Food Crisis

I realize that sometimes these videos are hard to watch, but it is critical that we remain aware and educate one another on the needs of others around the world.
The food crisis is leaving a devastating imprint on the families and children in Ethiopia. Hundreds of thousands of children are going with out food every day due to the increased costs and lack of water.
We are bringing two home with us, but there are millions of children that we will leave behind. They will remain hungry, homeless and desperate for help and love.
Please help where you can.

We Have a Travel Date!!!!!

The third week in October! I am so excited. I can barely contain myself! I have some time to prepare a pretty good packing list and get things sorted long before we board our flight.
The date is a tentative one due to some court paperwork errors, but our agency is fairly certain that it will work out in the weeks prior to our departure. I am learning more and more that these "glitches" have a way of working themselves out.
Regardless, the complications would only delay travel for another week, so we are still looking in the same month.
I am awaiting new pictures of the girls and will post them when they come, but I had to share our news!
Here's to confirmed travel dates, safe flights, and bringing those girls home!

99 Balloons

Shopping Woes of the First Time Mom.

Like many other first time mothers, I am afraid I have forgotten to purchase something vital in my preparations for motherhood. That is not to say I have not gotten enough. I am a shopping maniac, so I am fairly sure I have gotten all that I can to this point, but the fear is there just the same. There is inevitably, always something that gets forgotten.
It has been hard putting this house together and preparing for the girls without family here to help out. Don't get me wrong, Garrett is a huge help and we work well as a team, but there is something about having extra hands on deck that lifts the burden and brings out even more joy in the situation.
There is so much wisdom and guidance found in the minds and hearts of experienced mothers too. I am becoming hugely aware of my own ignorance in so many areas of this new role I am taking on. I am more and more grateful that I will have two experienced mothers with me as I travel and pick up the girls.
Looking ahead, I am also thankful for the time that I will have with my mother prior to leaving for Ethiopia. She will be with me on the trip itself and out the week before to pack. I imagine there will be many last minute preparations and she will be a much wanted and needed help.
Both my mother and my sister-in-law, Marcy, will be traveling with me to Africa. We aren't yet sure if Garrett will be able to go, as school will be in session, but if he gains approval (which we won't know until the week prior to the trip), there will be a total of four of us traveling.
While that may seem like 2 too many to some of you, picture the luggage, the girls themselves, and the processes throughout the trip (Ethiopian Embassy, customs, airports, etc). When you look at all that, a 2-1 ratio actually seems like pretty good odds of successful travel.
As the trip gets closer and the packing list begins to build, so does the anticipation of holding those girls! Regardless of the little things forgotten or the number of people that get to travel, I have no doubt that once those girls are with me, all of those things won't matter one bit next to the little lives that are in my arms.
I love this whole getting excited part! It's starting to feel real!

Chapman Family on Good Morning America 8/6/08

Showhope.org

So far...

I am finally posting some pictures of the house. We are still working on cleaning out the basement, which is still full of boxes, but room by room, things are getting cleaned up and put in their own place. There is a light at the end of this houses tunnel!

Hands Free- It's the Law!!

OK- So I don't live in California anymore! That doesn't mean that I can't enjoy the humor of this (thank you Stacy). For those of you who know me well, yes, I am guilty. At least you got texts and pics from the road!

Waiting.

I woke up this morning with a heavy heart. The sun hasn't even risen yet and I am already filled with ache.
I know patience is something that we all strive for and hope to have during the times in life when we are forced to wait, but I must tell you, the closer I get to holding Macie and Ella in my arms, the harder it becomes.
My dreams are filled with their faces, their smiles, their laughter, their tears, and I wake up unable to comfort them. Don't mistake me. They are doing well. In fact, they are getting better care now than they have likely ever. The care center staff is wonderful about attending to each individual child and knowing them well. It's not the same though. It's not me. It's not their mom. Their mom is here.... wanting to be there. Wanting more than anything to be with them, knowing that they already have the key to her heart.
I know I will stumble through motherhood like every woman does. I know I will make mistakes along the way. I know that they will be hurt by life regardless of what paths they choose. I also know that I will spend my life loving them with everything I have, hoping that when that hurt comes, they know they have arms to fall into and shoulders to cry on for as long as they need them. They will always have a mom that is proud of them regardless of how many times they throw a tantrum, pull away, or fumble along life's road. I can't save them from the pain they have already known, or all the pain that is to come, but I can be there, and love them through it.
It's strange how connected one can feel to a life never known. I may not be able to hold them yet, but my heart is with them, my thoughts are there, longing for my feet to follow.
For now, I wait. For now I will transition into a new home and prepare for their arrival home, but know that my heart is already there, is already with them. So if I seem a bit distracted or even more crazy than usual- forgive me. My daughters have already stolen my attention.

Visiting Baltimore

Garrett and I decided after a long day of working on the house that we needed a date night. Garrett did some research on line (now that we have the Internet back) and found this great place in Baltimore, made reservations and said we needed to be out the door by four.
Having never been outside the area, we weren't sure how far Baltimore was from home, so we wanted to have plenty of time. As it turns out, Baltimore is only 20-30 minutes from us, so the commute was not bad at all and we had some extra time to see a small part of the city. It is beautiful.
Being by the water made it feel a bit more like Seattle and we both felt a sudden rush of nostalgia come over us. We took a long walk around the marina, saw some trapeze artists (believe it or not they offer private lessons right on the water), watched some beach volleyball and then headed off to dinner.
I must say, this dinner was THE BEST dinner I have had in a LONG time! I ordered shrimp stuffed Salmon with Brie, fresh vegetables and wild rice. Garrett ordered a more Cajun meal of rock fish with spiced shrimp stew. It was WONDERFUL food and a very needed night out. Needless to say, we will be visiting Baltimore again! A definate must see for family and friends.

The Girl's Room!

I know, I know! I have been horrible about blogging over the last week. I can't tell you how much has been going on and I REALLY couldn't tell you because our computers hard drive went down and we had no access to anything. In fact, all of our pictures, videos, files, etc are completely wiped out. We ended up having to get the hard drive replaced (which takes weeks) and had to buy a computer to hold us over in the mean time. Being this far from family and friends, and trying to gather information on a totally new place is extremely difficult to do without the Internet.
So now, being a two computer home (I realize we are still not caught up with many of you), I can blog freely and keep family, friends and everyone else up to date on all the news!
OK- playing catch-up.
I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT MACIE AND ELLA!!!!!!!!
If I could take up this entire blog entry explaining all of the emotions and anticipation I feel it would easily fill all the previous entries and far beyond. I can't wait to get over there and hold them in my arms. It is more difficult than I can say to NOT just buy a plane ticket and go over there and get them. I already don't want to let them go. That by far, is the most anticipated change in our house!
That said, there has already been much that has gone into the transfer of records and home study updates since the move.
We are working with the same agency (CHSFS) and they actually have a satellite office in our city so I got to go and see the office and meet with our new social worker (love ya Beverly) who gave us all the update information needed for the state of Maryland.
In California, the process is a bit simpler to adopt internationally. Here not only is the home study a bit more thourough and descriptive, but you also have to have the sanitation/code enforcement department come out and examine the nooks and crannies of your home, as well as the fire marshall for basic review and safety standards.
Last week the sanitation department issued their stamp of approval on the house and we are hoping that the fire marshall can take a look at the house early this week.
Our review has pretty much been completed other than that and we are hoping to have it all sent off to immigration by the end of the week.
Once immigration gets it, they review and forward it on to the Ethiopian embassy for review and filing. Keep in mind, all of this is really pushing the time line. We are working with two separate governments and we ALL know how government paperwork doesn't always move as quickly as we would like.
We have not yet received word about the girls birth certificates, so those still need to be issued and that could take another 2-3 weeks. Anyway, all things considered, we are doing well and hope to travel some time in September!
I know I have been bad about pictures of the house- they are coming- but my priority has obviously been to get the girls room started, worked on and (almost) done. So at least you are getting to see some pictures of that! I'll attach more of the house as we get it finished too! We have a lot of stuff, what can I say!

Moving Day!

Moving Day- CRAZY! After two days of cleaning, caulking, and painting the house, our property finally got here today.
The movers drove up at 10am and just prior to their arrival our landlord and some of his workers showed up to do some repairs in the back yard and basic testing of the alarm system in the house. As part of our home study update, the state of Maryland also requires a visit from the fire department and local code enforcement, hence the busy morning.
Anyway, as Rick (one of the local home improvement guys) was checking on our fire alarms, I went down stairs to check on the laundry when I discovered that our laundry room had flooded. I am not talking a small leak. I mean an inch of resting, still water on the cement floor. Thankfully there is a small lift into the rest of the basement and it didn't spread further, but it was substantial. Rick pulled our landlord in, they grabbed a wet vacuum and half an hour later the water was gone.

Turns out, yours truly, had left a paint bag in the sink (where all the water drains) and it had clogged the drain. I AM AN IDIOT! I felt so bad that I promised the guys a homemade lasagna as soon as all of our crap got unloaded and I had the time to make one.
Three guys, one truck, and 5 hours later all of our belongings are in the house. Keep in mind, that not everything is in its place, but it's getting there one piece of furniture at a time. I can't tell you how nice it will be to eat off of ACTUAL dishes, drink out of glasses and sleep on a bed tonight instead of the hard wood floor.

I ordered pizza for the whole crew today. It only took me 4 calls to 4 different pizza huts to track down the one that delivers to our area. I have never had to work so hard just to get a pizza delivered. There must be 10 different pizza huts in Silver Spring alone! We definitely live in the city. Needless to say, by the time they actually got here, everyone was starving and very grateful to have the pies arrive!
The truck was unloaded by 2:30, furniture was set up by 3, and Garrett and I began unloading personal boxes by 3:30. While it has been a bit like Christmas, opening up all these boxes, it has also made us both a bit homesick for family and friends. We took a break, coped by consuming a banana split and then came home and started unloading again. It has been a long day and Dudley is EXHAUSTED!!!!


Anyway, tonight we do laundry and start organize this little house of ours so we can make it a home.

Officer Training Is OVER!!!!

Well today is the day! Garrett is finally done with officer training and is headed home as I type! He graduated this morning (which I was totally bummed to miss), and boarded a flight from Maxwell AFB towards home. He has a long layover somewhere ridiculous but should be home by tonight.
I gotta tell you it has been a crazy six weeks, but there has been so much transition in the midst of his training that it has flown by. Now, we have a new house to fix up, furnish and prepare for our two new babies (the best part of every day)! There is so much to be done and so little time! Let the preparations begin.
I am hoping to travel by some time in late September or early October and if that is the case, that only gives us 6-8 weeks to get things together. Wow! I haven't even gotten my head around living on the East Coast and now I am the mom to two BEAUTIFUL little girls! It's amazing how things happen!
Anyway, as soon as our stuff is brought to the house and we can make this place a little more our own, I will be sure to post some pictures. For now, know that the house is bare, the floor is not the most comfortable to sleep on, and I am that much more convinced that paper plates is DEFINITELY the way to go!