What a difference a year has made.
Our referral pic of Etienne, in July, 2009.
Ezekiel (Daniel at the time) in July, 2009 at HOH
It's been a year since we met our boys. Sept 9, 2009 is our Gotcha Day. Here's a few changes that we've had in our family since that sweeet day:
-Etienne now wears shoes willingly
-Zeke smiles, laughs and loves
-Blake has transfomed into a thoughtful, helpful, caring BIG(by age, not size!) brother
-No one is afraid of shadows
-Molly has a heart for orphans
-Etienne is learning what trust means
-Giardia is finally (knock on wood, please) gone
- Let go of the clean house
- Both boys love snuggling, hugs and kisses
- Both boys (as of last Friday!) show preference for Mom and Dad over strangers
- Ryan and I went from sharing our room with 2 boys, to 1 to none. Whew! Good to have that grown up space back again. :)
- Etienne has grown 8 inches and gained 2 lbs; Zeke has grown 5 inches, 2 lbs and 22 teeth
- I have learned that some of my best friends aren't neccessarily close at hand, but in heart. I've learned that those I thought we friends weren't. I've learned that my husband is more than amazing and I'd totally marry him all over again...
- We've been transformed, all 6 of us, by what grace truly means.
We have much more reflecting to do as this special week unfolds. I wish I could serve you all an ice cream as a thank you for helping me survive this first year.
Wish we could celebrate with your family this week. (Plus, I love ice cream.) You've really lived this year fully, and invested your heart into your family. Love you even though I don't "know" you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a contrast those pictures show! I'm thankful for your honesty and friendship through this process. Congratulations on a whole year together!
ReplyDeletehooray! Happy anniversary to you all! It's been such a blessing to watch this year unfold for your family. Thanks for being transparent and for letting those of us who are still waiting feel the hopes, joys, and struggles.
ReplyDeleteHappy Gotcha Day, Zeke and Etienne! We love you like crazy (along with your mommy and daddy and big sister and big brother).
ReplyDeleteKara--I don't know you personally, but I have been "getting to know you" some through your blog. We are prayerfully considering international adoption. My heart broke for you are you shared your struggles with attachment w/ Etienne. The "fixer" in me wishes I had some awesome solutions to share, but not having walked the road myself, I had none. I did want to let you know that I attended the most amazing conference this weekend called Empowered to Connect. It is geared to help adoptive families overcome attachement struggles and learn very practical ways to connect w/ their children. I went in order to prepare myself for what may lie ahead of our family. I couldn't help but think of you during the conference and wish that you could hear this VERY INSIGHTFUL information from experts in the field. Here's the website in case you are want more information. (I ordered the entire conference on cd so I could reference the sessions later...I couldn't write fast enough!) http://empoweredtoconnect.org/ They have a conference coming up in October in the Dallas area that is FREE!! I don't know where you live, so that may not be helpful, but the website lists their upcoming conferences. Anyway, I hope you find this to be a blessing to you and your family. Congrats on the first year!! So happy for the changes and blessings that have come your way! Jaime
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