Munchkins & Mayhem

Christmas Is Around the Corner!

2009-12-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I forget we have a blog! It's been a while since I posted anything - we've been busy with the holidays and school. But here is a sneak peek at Christmas card photos. I took the girls outside today to snap some shots in their festive, coordinating little dresses. At first they were cranky about the cold, but a few candy canes solved that problem. Always looking out for their nutrition . . . Hope tore into hers, while Haley - clueless as to what it was - just wagged it around in the air yelling at all the cars that drove by.

Portraits

2009-09-23T03:16:00.000-07:00

Hope has loved her new-found talent in creating portraits this year in kindergarten. I get 3 - 5 of these a day! I thought these were adorable and hilarious - so Hope!

Portrait of Mommy

Translation: "I Love You This Much Mommy, From Hope"

Hanging Out With Mimi & Papa

2009-09-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

What does a little peanut do all night at Mimi and Papa's (besides eat all the sweets she wants)?

This fur ball loves me . . . I know she does. She just doesn't know it yet. Maybe if I grab and yell at her some more, she'll come around.

Want to play with me?

Papa and I having a heart to heart conversation over Cheerios.

And big sister just likes to get into Mimi's costume jewelry . . .

"More"? This is my favorite sign language. Somehow it always results in food in my mouth!

Happy Birthday Crockpot!

2009-09-14T20:48:00.001-07:00

Our little Crockpot turned one last week. What a difference a year makes! Haley keeps us on our toes, and we love her like mad. She has grown leaps and bounds in both weight and development. Each day we discover more and more of her personality. She is so much her father's daughter: while David may be outnumbered in gender, I am outnumbered with a house full of extroverts. I'll give peek-a-boo a try. They always love this trick.

My (only) friend, Kiah, came over to play with me on my big day! I didn't care if he used all my toys, as long as I could scream and chase him around the house.

I got a fun outfit and matching shoes from my grandparents! (Though I'm not sure I like anything on my feet . . . a true beach girl am I).

Waiting outside for my party guests!

I put up with so much around here!

That's my big sis - she gets to go to a football game. I'm about to go to bed!

Look Who's Walking!

2009-09-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

"Mom, I had the best day EVER!"

So I'm trying not to think of the other 1,825 days that we've spent together when my daughter tells me this upon being picked up from her first day of kindergarten. Nonetheless, today she apparently had the best day ever of her long 5 years of existence. She loved kindergarten and chatted about it all afternoon! Today was a half day, though, so I imagine tomorrow - the first full day - will wipe her out.

What a milestone for our munchkin!

Who doesn't love a little Grape Nuts to start the day off right?

Laugh at me you may for taking a picture of her French braid. But I have been trying to perfect this thing for two years now! Not too bad. You try to braid pure silk and see what you come up with!

Haley dressed in her best pair of pajamas for the occasion.

Future student scoping it out.

Come on in, Hope!
"What?! She's going to be gone all morning? Now what? I'll see what trouble I can get into on the stove before she comes home!"

CCC Annual Beach Day

2009-08-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Each year our church holds a sand castle contest out at Wrightsville Beach. While Hope labored to build a credible castle, Haley ate all the leftover sand. We're so fortunate to have two girls who LOVE the beach and the water!

Haley's Baptism

2009-08-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

And the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call . . . Acts 2:39

What a sweet day for our family! Haley was baptized on Sunday. She and her sister, Hopey, both wore Ethiopian dresses to celebrate.

As our pastor baptized her, she responded with peek-a-boo. Naturally!

What better way to celebrate than by diving into the donuts!

I love that face!

Peek-a-boo little bean!

Crazy grandparents!

First Trip to the Aquarium

2009-07-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

Last week we all ventured out to the aquarium for Haley's first trip and Hope's 59th trip. Hope has always loved the aquarium, but she had much more fun exploring with her grandparents than just plain old mom. She enjoyed reprising her role as "Julie" (cruise director from The Love Boat) as she guided Roberta all around. Her are some photos of the morning shot by Papa Ken.

Al Fin

2009-07-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

We were scheduled to fly out on Friday of our week-long stay in Addis, but not until 7pm, so we had time to visit a coffee factory that morning. Ethiopians are quite proud of their coffee heritage, and apparently Starbucks gets much of its coffee from the eastern coffee-producing region of ET, Harar. We came away with several pounds of coffee and a nice aroma clinging to our clothes: a mixture of roasted beans and Haley's spit up.

This ends my slew of photos that I'll post from our trip. I did not have my camera out nearly as much as I had hoped because of Haley and I being so sick on the trip, but we still got enough photos to bring back all the memories of an exhausting and life-changing week.

Oops - we got separated from the tour group. So what do we do? Take pictures, naturally.

Waiting for mom and dad to buy their coffee.

Parenting is a kick in the pants!

Give her 18 more years and she'll be a good little coffee snob!

These women earned $1 per day in wages.

Sorting through the beans for quality control.

A few random shots from our first meeting day. Looking just a bit tired . . . my allergic reaction to antibiotics I was taking was starting to get worse here.

T was our guide for the first half of the trip. He was always patient and kind - incredibly helpful (even when I embarassed him by asking him to translate some poopy questions I had for the nanny!)

A meal at a restaurant specializing in traditional Ethiopian cuisine: injeera. I could do without the sour, spngy bread, but everything in the middle was soooo good. Spicy!

Robel was our guide for the rest of the trip: an incredibly intelligent man! He was an excellent guide with a heart for Ethiopia's orphans.

Shopping in Addis.

This boy is an orphan living on the streets - one of 23 taken in by Robel. Robel has taught the boys how to earn a meager living by shoe-shining or selling gum instead of begging. He also pays for all of those boys to go to school.

More from ET

2009-07-07T18:50:00.000-07:00

Yeesh - life got busy! But I'll try to post highlights of the rest of our trip over the next few days.

Our first family picture - outside our hotel in Addis Ababa.

Bath time was an event in our hotel! Little peanut fit nicely into the kitchen sink. She loved the water and still does.

Interrupted

2009-06-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

So I just had to interrupt the flow of our trip pictures to show how our little peanut is doing now. It is amazing to see the transformation of this little girl in just two weeks, and hopefully it is an encouragement for other families to consider adopting just one of the millions of orphans worldwide.

When we took custody of Haley, she had an ear infection and a sinus infection. This all caused her to vomit (projectile!) at every feeding with a horrible, gagging cough. And, yes, this continued on our 30+ hours of plane rides. Let's just say we where not the most valued passengers on those cramped planes. Eight of her outfits later, I gave up and just decided to let the smell engulf me, praying for a quick trip. At first, Haley was a bit lethargic and would not look at me. She could not sit up by herself, and she exhibited certain self-soothing behaviors whenever she got upset. My sweet girl was gorging constantly. Then vomiting it all up.

But two weeks later, she is a different child. And I'm getting to know her all over again. After several doctor visits and an indulgence in modern medication, she is now happy and healthy. She lights up when David is around and gets pretty cranky if I'm not holding her when I'm around. She no longer gorges, but instead seems to have built a confidence in her surroundings that I didn't expect for another few months. She sleeps through the night - sleep, glorious sleep! She not only sits up on her own, but she has also started to crawl. And my favorite part: she stares and coos at me all day long.

Someone once told me that I was lucky to get my children "the easy way." It's a ridiculous statement, really. But in the end, it is always worth it. The years of paperwork, jumping through someone else's hoops, the sickness, the travel, the horrific plane rides that drive you to the edge of madness. But we know a truth that will never change: God created Haley to be our daughter from the beginning of time. Her story and ours is neither a coincidence nor a surprise to Him. We went to Ethiopia because that's where our daughter was. And we would walk through that fire again and again, as many times as it took to bring her home.

A Half Pint Birthday Present

2009-06-10T07:55:00.000-07:00

The day after our long trip to Kambata, we got to meet Haley in person for the first time. It just so happened to be my birthday! They brought her out to us and we just sat with her in the courtyard for 2 hours. She had just woken up from a nap and was quite lethargic; she opened up a bit, but we could tell she was sick and needed medical attention. Leaving there that afternoon without her was the hardest thing we had to do all week. We knew we would be back the next morning to take her, but we had a long 12 hours ahead of us. Here are a few of my favorite photos from that day.

A Little Late

2009-06-04T18:31:00.000-07:00

As you can see, blogging did not go so well in Ethiopia. We had sporadic internet connection and no power on some days. Sooooooo, now that we are home, I can post a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

The first set is from the two day trip after my initial post. We traveled south of Addis Ababa to the Kambata region and stayed in the "town" of Hosanna. From there we traveled into the countryside to see the village that is important to Haley's past. What was supposed to be a three-hour trip turned into an eight-hour trip, swerving along as we dodged goats, mules and cows wandering in the one and only long road. I won't go into detail on how I lost my lunch and dinner along the road; as curious Ethiopians gathered around watching the foreigner vomit, I couldn't help but wonder if I would retain any dignity by the end of this trip. The answer came over the course of the next few days: no.

I regret not being able to take more photos, but the camera was the last thing on my mind at the time. Hope and David traveled well, and although they were tired from the trip, they did not get sick at all. In fact they sat in the back of the bus and played Go Fish!

Beautiful faces.

Dennis Roth visiting the wandering cow as we stopped along the road for a break.

A variety of dwellings throughout the Ethiopian countryside.

The view from our hotel "suite"in Hosanna.

Shoe shining for a living.

Traditional grass hut.

Recycling?

Hope coerced T and Dawit into a game of Uno at lunch.

One very tired little girl!

2009-05-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning:

It’s very early in the morning here in Addis. I can’t sleep and, apparently, neither can all the stray barking dogs. It sounds like an aerobics class is also going on out there, but I haven’t figured out exactly what that is yet.

We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a very long journey. We had spent the night in Dubai during our 12-hour layover there, so it was helpful to have it broken up somewhat. Still, all three of us were pretty exhausted. The 12 hour flight from JFK to Dubai went amazingly fast – Hope slept for most of it since we had boarded at 11pm. By the time she woke up, they were serving breakfast and we only had three hours left. She was pretty spoiled by the cabin crew – when we told them we were traveling to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter, they thought we meant Hope. (Yeah, not sure about that calculation either, but . . . ) They kept coming by every 30 minutes with new gifts for her. This kid left that plane with 2 backpacks, a lunch box, 3 stuffed animals, markers, coloring books, candy, socks, tooth brushes and more. Then one flight attendant told us he had ordered a “special gift” for us on the return flight. I’m afraid we’ll need an extra suitcase for it all!

When we got to Addis we threw our stuff in our room and headed out for sightseeing in an effort to get acclimated quickly to the time change. So our guide, “T” (Hope calls him Mr. T) took us to a local museum of anthropology where Lucy’s bones are kept. As we walked around, several school groups came in, and we soon became the major attraction. T said they rarely ever see foreigners, so we were quite a sight. They loved Hope! Three of the girls practiced their English by asking her name; when she responded and asked them their names, they ran away giggling. Hope couldn’t understand that they were just embarrassed about speaking another language, so she thought they were laughing at her. But in the end, she warmed back up to them. And by the time we had left, 30 children were lined up to kiss her cheek! I stopped it after 4 and waved goodbye. Hope took it amazingly well for a child who – as many of you remember – needs her personal space. Not too mention the jet lag. She’s a trooper!

Our driver, Dewit, is very kind and a little shy. But he loves Hope and is always holding her hand and trying to show her different things. He and his wife are expecting their first baby – a little girl. So I think he’s enjoying imagining his new life as a dad.

After braving the paparazzi at the museum, we headed on over to the lion zoo. Let’s just say that Tote-Em-In zoo in Wilmington looks like a 5-star hotel in comparison. After lots more stares, a few more kisses on the cheek, and a ferris wheel ride, we headed back to the hotel. We met up with the Roth’s, who arrived yesterday. Their son and Haley are the same age and from the same village out in the country. Tomorrow we’ll all take the 3-hour drive out there to visit. We are still on schedule to meet Haley on Monday.

Driving round the city was fascinating. The people are beautiful despite the remarkably impoverished surroundings. T told us it is common for friends to hold hands or walk arm in arm, women with women and men with men. There was something so refreshing in seeing crowds of people being so affectionate like that: warm and open. Of course, it’s probably even more attractive to me since we did just come in from a 2-day stay in NYC. Not so affectionate there.
We’ll be staying overnight in Haley’s village, so I won’t post again until we return. Here’s a few photos:

I only snapped a few shots on our first day; I was a little warn out from the travel and just decided to take it all in before pulling out the camera every other minute.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! Please continue to pray for our health. We want to be strong for the upcoming days so that we can take care of Haley and Hope.

Beautiful faces!

Scenes From Yew Nork

2009-05-19T19:01:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day in New York City (or if you're Hope, Yew Nork City).

Riding the ferris wheel at Toys R Us.

I could people-watch all day in Central Park!

Transportation: the ubiquitous yellow cab.

Or you could go a little slower . . .

Or a little creepier . . .

That beats a car payment!

We stuck with the filthy yet inexpensive subway.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Giving Mommy a heart attack.

Because in NYC you need pedestrian safety.

New Nork!

2009-05-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

First leg of our trip. Check.

Hope was so excited to be flying on the plane. On take-off she stared out the window at the disappearing NC trees below, singing blue grass music and yelling, "I'm coming New Nork! I'm coming New Nork! If He calls me, I will answer, if He calls me I will aaaaaauuunswer, someday I'll be workin' for my Lord."

Meanwhile I sat at the opposite window fighting the inevitable queeziness that comes from bouncing around on the tiniest plane in the continental US. But we are here in Times Square now and enjoying a brief stay before we head out on Wednesday.

We have a travel meeting conference call on Tuesday afternoon, but we'll spend the rest of the day wandering around Manhattan. Not many pictures today . . . just a few of the area right outside our hotel.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement! We are anxious to get to Addis to hold our little peanut. :)

Our hotel.

Just outside our hotel at Times Square.

So thaaaat's who the king is. Glad we got that cleared up!

David, first thing in the morning.

Spring Shows

2009-05-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

On top of getting ready to leave for Ethiopia in 72 hours, we've had a busy week of normal life with Hope's preschool spring concert and gymnastics spring show. She was pretty excited to play the drums in the concert, but her favorite job by far was turning around and telling the other kids what to do. It took some real dedication.

In spite of my lousy photography on this one, you've got to admit the girl has some skills with that spider hang. Here we are at the gymnastics spring show.

The ever-lovely flamingo walk.

I feel old just looking at this one.

And So She Is . . .

2009-05-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Ours.

After the second try through court, we have passed and Haley Zamara-Beth is officially and irrevocably our daughter. She is now 8 months old and waiting for us at the transition home in Addis Ababa. We will know on Friday whether or not we leave on Monday to make it to Ethiopia according to our original travel dates. But it is likely that our travel will be delayed as the courts are taking longer this month in processing the post-court paperwork needed for Haley's birth certificate and passport.

So now that we are official, we are able to post her pictures! Starting with her referral pics at 4 months old:

Then we received updated info and photos. This was her 6 month photo session:

And our most recent update revealed CURLS! And a very healthy baby who has gained a considerable amount of weight from the beginning, thanks to the wonderful care she has received at the AWAA transition home. She's also sporting some unique fashion finds . . .

Strawberry Picking

2009-05-02T12:33:00.000-07:00

It's spring at Lewis Farms! Each year we head out to Ogden to plunder the beautiful, juicy strawberries. We made a field trip of it again with our Families with Children from China group. What a beautiful day!

Updates!

2009-05-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

We just received our most recent (and final) update on our peanut! She's not such a peanut anymore, though. Thankfully, Haley Z appears to have gained quite a bit of weight - even more so than the two pounds we are told she has gained. She is obviously being very well taken care of at the transition home and looks healthy and happy. So far she has bypassed the outbreak of chicken pox in the home, but we'll see what the next few weeks hold.

My poor girl is sporting a navy and yellow boys' All-Star tshirt with striped pink and green leggings. This ensemble has Mama here a little fidgety, but no worries: I'm coming with a suitcase full of Gymboree, baby! :)

And the best part: she has CURLS! A first for the Heinrichs family. The countdown has begun . . . we have only 9 more days until our court date, and then we ship off on May 18.

Easter

2009-04-20T19:55:00.001-07:00

Easter morning.

A Sweet Birthday Present

2009-04-03T19:26:00.001-07:00

And we finally have travel dates! Tentative travel dates, but still . . . moving forward in our process is a welcome relief. We'll be in Ethiopia May 23 - 30, and we'll get to hold our little peanut for the first time on my birthday. May is turning out to be a fun month for our family: four years ago on Mother's Day we held Hopey for the first time. Soon we'll hold Haley Zamara-Beth.

This is still pending a successful court date on May 11th, so we wait and pray.

Emus, Yaks and Water Buffalo - O My!

2009-03-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

The girl loves a camera!

Perm gone bad.

My two favorite exotic animals.

We had to go to Durham this past week to have our fingerprints redone. That was our fourth time in four years; it's now a pilgrimage! After 2.5 hours waiting ever-so-patiently in the immigration office, we were free to enjoy the rest of the week away from home and work.

While we were out and about, we decided to head over towards Charlotte to the Lazy 5 Ranch: amusement and terror all rolled into one. Hope had a wonderful time feeding the animals on the hay ride as long as she could sit in the middle of the wagon and keep her distance. She held her feed bucket closely, guarding it with one cocked eyebrow from the other kids on the ride. (Clearly all of my lessons on sharing have paid off)

While Hope could have spent all day petting those bleeting billy goats, I preferred staring at the mewing lemurs. David was pretty partial to the swarthy water buffalo.

And then there were those that could impale you.

And those that could swallow you whole if you didn't shove enough food in their mouths first.

All in all, a pleasant, germ-free day on the ranch.

Turning 5

2009-03-10T19:45:00.001-07:00

Just how many kids can fit into Daddy's van? How much icing does it take for a tummy ache? How many hot dogs can you eat in 30-seconds? It takes a five-year-old birthday party at the park to find out! We had a hilarious time playing with the parachute, making crafts (that blew away in the wind), grilling hot dogs and celebrating the life of one hip chic. We love her!

We Have Our Court Date!

2009-02-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

We have our court date: May 11

If that seems far away, it’s because the Ethiopian judges are currently only reviewing 20 court cases per day, which makes it impossible to have a court date any earlier than May 11th. There has been a slow down in their system since we started this process, but - like so many aspects of international adoption - we have no control over this. We will not be present in Ethiopia when our case goes before the judge. Instead, someone from our agency will be there to represent us. If all the paperwork is in order and the judge grants us a favorable ruling, our little peanut will officially be ours (we’ll post photos!) and we can travel to bring her home about 2 weeks later.

A couple of things to note about court dates:

1. •Roughly 30% of families do not pass court on their first issued court date. I am a "glass half-empty" kind of girl, and I am terrified of being in that 30%.

2. •If a family does not pass court initially, a new court date is usually issued approximately 1-1.5 months after the original court date.

We covet your prayers right now. Getting through court is incredibly sketchy, as so many things and people have to come together to make it possible to actually “pass.” So much is out of our control and our agency's control. Much of this relies on how well the orphanage and police processed paperwork. So please be in prayer between now and May 11th for:

1. •Haley's continued good health and growth.
2. •Haley's nannies as they continue to love and care for her.
3. •My heart! I find it increasingly difficult to look at her face and remain here helpless to do anything to care for her.
4. •AWAA’s in-country staff. Pray that they will do everything in their power to see that our court date is successful the first time around.
5. •MOWA. Pray that this government agency gets its letter of recommendation for us to court on time.
6. Our upcoming travel: funds, health, flights, stress.

And Then We Were Four . . .

2009-02-08T11:44:00.001-08:00

So on Tuesday night I fell asleep - late as usual - thinking to myself . . . I've got to get those new paint swatches for our son's room. You see, 4 days prior we had decided to switch all of our adoption paperwork to "either" gender. Because Ethiopia has more boys needing homes than girls, either has always meant a boy. So we broke the news to Hope, and she was pleasantly surprised and excited. Then I starting thinking through how to redesign the nursery since we had already finished it for a girl - paint and all. I walked into Gymboree and actually - shocking, I know - turned my head left. The boys section. Apparently it has been there all this time.

Then on Wednesday at 12:30, as I entered my dentist's office for an appointment, I got a phone call. THE phone call. I knew right away because it was our agency's number. I answered and said, "Wait!" (groundbreaking, yes). I quickly asked the receptionist to wait just a minute for me because I was getting my referral for our son!!! She took one look at my now sobbing, blubbery face and politely acquiesced. Then I told Anna on the phone, "OK, I'm ready!" She said,"I have great news. You have a little girl!" Now I'm screaming in the waiting area, the whole dental staff is at the window watching me, so I tell them, "O - it's a girl!" I stumbled through a few more words with Anna and eventually asked,"Din't you get our paperwork? We switched." And she said,"Well, you actually said 'either.' Is that still accurate?" I tried to get out a good solid yes, but I was crying too much. Later Anna explained that even though this has never happened before in the program, they were convinced that this little girl was the child the Lord had chosen for us.

Soooo, Anna then told me that she is 5 months old and so beautiful. She is slightly underweight but otherwise very healthy (we have no problem fattening people up here at the Heinrichs home). She shared more information (which will remain private) and then told me the docs and pics have been emailed to our house.

Great, now I have to go get my teeth cleaned instead of rushing home to see her and call everyone and their brother! That was the hardest cleaning of my life!!

David and I met at home and opened up the email together. I think my greatest memory is watching David's face as he saw her for the first time: he was choked up and kept saying, "She's so beautiful. She's so beautiful." We cannot post pictures until our court date. We are hoping for a late April date since that is the earliest possible at this point. If all goes well in court, we can travel 2 weeks afterwards.

And that is how a family grows.

It has been a long journey to mei mei, but we are now at the end. Or the beginning. :)

Free Fallin'

2009-01-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

When your dad is a youth pastor, you can make a game out of any part of the house!

Snow Day in Wilmington!

2009-01-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

So Hope got her first taste (literally) of snow here in Wilmington! What a fun way to wake up - a baby blizzard and a blanket of snow covering the whole neighborhood. We went outside to frolic for about 20 minutes, but then Hope complained about the cold. Let's face it: she's a beach girl whose greatest desire is to get back into her spring dresses!

Christmas Play

2008-12-20T18:58:00.001-08:00

Each year we have a children's Christmas play at church; this year it was called Christmas Around the World . . . so the idea was to dress up as a child from any other country. At first Hope wanted to dress up like a Chinese girl (imagine that); then she decided she wanted to be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz:

"Mommy, what country is Dorothy from?"

"She's from Kansas. That's in America."

"Can I dress up like Dorothy?"

"No."

In the end she decided to go with being plain old Mary. Of course her good friend, Jack, made a dashing Joseph by her side. Love these kids!

Little Architect

2008-12-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

Dinner tonight = 1 candy cane, 13 M&Ms, 2 mints, 2 bites of cheese pizza, more M&Ms when Mom wasn't looking, Skittles (lost count), 8 oz of icing, a handful of red sugar . . . that's gotta be good for her stomach!

We enjoyed another wonderful gingerbread house decorating party this year with our FCC friends. Love those kids!

Tis the Season . . .

2008-12-09T17:07:00.000-08:00

. . . for fudge, opening presents with Laney,The Nutcracker and more! We have enjoyed our little traditions here in the Heinrichs home over the past 2 weeks. Hope saw her first performance of the Nutcracker in Myrtle Beach. She was enthralled! I had no idea she could sit still for 2 hours like that. :) On the way home she said, "Mommy, I hope the Sugar Plum Fairy comes into my dreams tonight."

She has her father's sweet tooth; you can see the two of them licking the fudge pot with a little too much joy! Hope got to make it with Mommy this year just like a big girl: stirring the hot pot and all. I love this time of year!

The Clothing Wars of 2008

2008-11-20T20:42:00.000-08:00

Now that it is near 30 degrees outside, what is a four year-old to wear? Meet Hope, now part-time host of our own What Not To Wear TV show. Here's an excerpt from a day in the life of me: one very tired mother!

Mommy: "Hope, it's cold outside now. You can't wear your sundress to school during the winter."

Hope: "Why not?"

Mommy: "Because it's cold outside."

Hope: "Weeeelllll, can I wear my purple sundress?"

Mommy (clearly forgetting that purple makes all the difference in temperature): "No, Hope. No sundresses in the winter. Why don't you wear your new jeans?"

Hope: "I don't like jeans."

Mommy: "Why not?"

Hope: "They just don't look pretty."

Mommy: "But Mommy wears jeans. Don't you like my jeans?"

Hope: "No. They don't look pretty."

Mommy (forcing a smile): "How about your skort, tights and this turtle neck?"

Hope: "I don't like turtle necks."

Mommy (looking at the 3 new turtle necks I just bought her): "Why not?"

Hope: "They just bother me."

Mommy (big sigh): "OK, how about this sweater and long-sleeve shirt."

Hope: "Can I wear a short-sleeve shirt?"

Mommy (clenching my teeth): "No. Remember? It's winter."

Hope: "How long is it going to be winter?"

Mommy: "Until March."

Hope: "March is so long away! Do I have to wear a jacket?"

Mommy: "Yes."

Hope (tears rolling now): "Why do I have to wear a jacket?"

Mommy (are we even in the same room together?!): "Because it's cold outside."

Hope (more tears): "Can I take it off at school?"

Mommy: "Yes. Now let's finish getting dressed because so far you are still naked and school starts in 3 minutes."

Hope: "Can I wear my polka dot dress?"

Mommy: "No, that's a summer dress."

Hope: "I don't know what to wear."

Mommy (clearly you know what NOT to wear): "OK, how about choosing between this outfit or that one?"

Hope (squeezing out a fresh round of tears): "I don't like any of those."

Mommy (breathe in, breathe out): "OK, I'll pick the skort and tights and you choose the top."

Hope: "I don't want to go to school anymore."

Mommy (waving the white flag): "Fine. I'm going back to bed!"

Hope: "Can I climb in your bed too?"

Mommy: "Sure."

Hope: "Can I wear my sundress to bed?"

Note that what you see Hope wearing in these photos is strictly for giggly dress up. When she actually goes to bed, she inisists on sleeping in her birthday suit - covers kicked off, heater turned off.

Halloween

2008-11-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Hope decided she wanted to be a "butterfly princess" this year. Not sure what that really means, but we scrounged around through the dress up bin and pulled together a warm costume for what ended up being a pretty chilly night. She also got to have her pick of face paint; naturally the more tacky the better . . .

That Sweet Face . . .

2008-11-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

What a keeper!

Farm Field Trip

2008-10-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

We visited a local farm today with Hope's preschool class. She got to milk a cow, pick eggs out of the hen house and hold a little duckling. Unfortunately, she couldn't ride the horse because - as she stated - "Mommy, I think he has arthritis."

Montreat, NC

2008-10-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

We spent a few days just outside of Asheville in beautiful Montreat, NC. This was the first time I had been in the Smoky Mountains for the fall colors: absolutely breath-taking. Hope and David spent lots of time jumping rocks and crossing creeks. We loved the much-needed getaway for the Heinrichs clan!

Gymnastics

2008-09-22T05:53:00.000-07:00

4 Year Old Fashion Rule: If it's not tacky, it's not worth wearing. Hope is convinced that the glitter helps her with her cartwheels.

Love

2008-09-07T19:56:00.001-07:00

How can you not love waking up to that face every morning?

The Last Days of Summer

2008-08-31T20:41:00.001-07:00

Why we love living at the beach!

First Day of Preschool (Year 2)

2008-08-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

She's an old pro now: preschool three mornings a week! Hope had no problem walking into class - she never does; and although she was a tad bit shy and not her normal Hopey self, she went right in and scoped out the new room. I'm sure by 9 am she was comfortably bossing everyone around.

When Did She Grow Up?

2008-08-23T17:57:00.001-07:00

A Day at Pullen Park in Raleigh

Gardening with Mom

2008-08-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Each time Hope joins me in the garden, she lines up the tools and tells me which ones she'll let her little sister use. Apparently the Dora gloves are off limits, but she's feeling pretty generous with the 5 pink shovels.

For those watching for adoption news, info from last week's conference call puts us at traveling close to or in December. I'm up for Christmas in Africa!

What Really Happens at Meme's House

2008-08-20T17:48:00.000-07:00

Now I know why Hope always wants to go to Meme's house . . . chocolate suckers, new toys, a game of Pretty Pretty Princess. Life is good there.

How Many?

2008-07-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

How many ways can you cook with 2 buckets FULL of freshly picked strawberries? Who cares. Just hand the bucket to Mom and dig into the chocolate ice cream sold on the farm. That's really why we come strawberry picking anyway.

Ramblings From an Adoptive Parent

2008-07-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

It's time for the CRAZY COMMENT QUIZ SHOW!
Question: What do all of these comments about Hope have in common?

"She must have her daddy's hair, right?"
"Did you have to go out of town to get her?"
"Does she speak English?"
"What happened to her real mom?"
"My daughter adopted from Russia! So I have 6
grandkids in all - 2 are adopted and the rest are normal."

Answer: They were all offered up while Hope and I were minding our own business at Walmart! As if grocery shopping at Walmart wasn't depressing enough . . . I have so much to look forward to on each visit. :)

The Most Important Question

2008-07-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

"Mommy, can I help change Hailey's diapers and do the wiping part?"

"Yes, Hopey; you'll be a very helpful big sister."

"But I don't want to do the poo poo parts. You can do that, Mommy, because you are a big girl."

Thanks, Hope.

I think.

No updates to report. We are waiting as expected and hope to hear from our agency in the fall about being matched with our second daughter.

Welcome!

2008-03-31T19:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Heinrichs family blog! On March 27, 2008 - after 3 months of difficult paperchasing - we submitted our dossier to Ethiopia. We'll now wait about 7-9 months to be matched with our second daughter. We'll use this blog to keep our friends and family updated on any news about our adoption process. Follow our journey to mei mei ("little sister")!