Earlier Flight

Thank you Lord when we got through security we rode the train to our terminal with a very sweet couple and chatted there. Come to find out there was an earlier flight! We prayed for favor as we walked up to the counter with the lady who just got severally griped at, we put on our best smiles and begged for standby. We went to eat and came back to find out we will indeed make it to Washington 2 hours earlier! And better yet the sweet couple we met came up to us and said they would take us the 30 minutes into downtown since they live nearby! We're in great hands with the Father!!

United Airlines Need Prayer

Flying out of Amarillo via Southwest was a breeze. We showed up 45 minutes before our fly was due to leave. The amazing crew waived the baggage fee for our 250 lbs worth of luggage and did it with an encouraging smile!

Fast forward an hour to Denver International. Upon waiting 30 minutes in the check-in to recheck all of our luggage, the guy tells us that if we want to check them it's $200/bag. I say very sweetly that it's for humanitarian purposes and will all be donated to the orphanages in Africa. He says I need to remove the items to get to at least 53 lbs and throw them away. I begin taking out diapers and coloring books trying to holdback tears. We put it on the scale and were at 60 lbs. He says remove more. I open the suitcase with tears in my eyes and say, "These kids in Africa need this stuff. I can't do it!" As much as I hated to give this company $200 to get the donations there, I couldn't stand to throw more away! Thankful that we can now replace all I had to trash in Congo and support their local economy!
3 hour wait we go. Pray oh pray our standby on the 12:30 flight gets accepted so we can get to Washington DC earlier!!!

What To Expect

What to expect the day before you leave to fly clear across the world to Africa to pick up your son:

• A child's room filled with all of their luggage. 3 suitcases for 3 different houses they will be staying at with detailed instructions, itineraries, schedules, medical release forms, insurance cards, sweet notes and gifts to Big K for each night he goes to bed, etc.

• Your room filled with 3 very large, definitely over 50 lbs., suitcases filled with donations for the orphanages (Thanks everyone who gave. These precious kids will be blown away). A very large suitcase filled with baby Khristian's clothes and blankie, all of our food and necessary items and medicines to survive for 4 days and toys for baby boy to play with. 2 carry-on suitcases packed with our clothes. And 2 backpacks to hold ipad that has shows on it that we haven't seen in a year. 48 hours in an airplane...Bring it on!

 

•  Expect to have it "altogether" until the day before you're suppose to leave. On that day, expect your emotions to be like a roller coaster ride. Crying one minute, smiling over the amazing things your child is doing/saying, feeling sick to your stomach because of your nerves, feeling overly drained, both emotionally and physically, and crying once again.

• Expect to really cry when you put your babies to bed and know that's the last time you will pray with them, kiss them and sing with them for 9 whole days.

• Take lots of pictures to add to the ones you already have on your new phone so baby brother can get to "know" his siblings. And for momma to have more pictures to drool over!

 

 

 

 

•  Expect to say to yourself, "Oh my God what am I doing? I don't even feel equipped and capable enough to raise 2 kids, and now God has trusted me to train and love and care for this precious baby in Africa?!?! What is HE thinking?!?!"

• And say things like, "Babe this is what He has called us to do right?" and "Um, do we know what we're getting ourselves into?" But then be sweetly reminded by Him that yes He has indeed called us, and as long as we trust and rely on Him, HE will get us through with such love, peace and joy!

• Eat Daylight Donuts for breakfast, Mazzios pizza for lunch and The Grill for dinner because A. You don't have time to cook B. You don't want to fill up the dishwasher so that way you can start it just before you walk out the door and have clean dishes when you return and C. You know you're not going to be getting that kind of food for 9 days so load up while you can!
 
• Expect to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support you've received from friends and family throughout the day. This will add to your crying and roller coaster of emotions! 
• Have feelings of joy, anticipation, nervousness, excitement, fear all at the same time. Once again, crazy roller coaster ride.
 
• Expect to stay up very late because you're trying to think if you remembered your underwear and toothbrush and clothes for the kid, and sleep animal for Big K. You'll continue to stay up because you're thinking about the first time you meet your son. Will he smile? Will he know who I am? Will he be scared? Will it be as sweet as the Lucy Lane Gotcha Day Video? 
 
• Continue to have faith that He has ordained every bit of this. He wrote Khristian's story a long, long time ago with us in it. He knows the beginning from the end. He will provide and take care. And just like my friend said, "Soon it will be over and your +1 will just be part of the 5!"

 

Follow us to Congo as we pick up our baby boy, Khristian. We begin the journey at 6:00 am Friday, October 12!



 



Don't Ever Mention the V-I-S-A Word...Please

Have I ever mentioned I graduated high school at 16? And that I received my master's by the age of 21? And was Miss. SPC and President's Student of the Year? I mean, I am not a dumb girl. In fact, I sometimes refer to myself as a nerd. This being said, completing our Visa application stripped me of my intelligence. I felt dumb and stupid not once, but twice.

Our entire adoption process has been smooth sailing. We have not had one single hiccup in any of our paperwork. Papers have never been returned to us. Perfection and promptness has been my motto through it all.

Back in early August I printed off the Visa Application from the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo. I filled out 2 sets of applications for us both. Attached a copy of our passport and yellow fever card. I then saw we needed 2 more passport photos. Well darn, I wish we would have known that 9 months ago when we got 4 sets of photos made. We could have gotten 1 more and just saved it. So we waited for a day I actually put makeup on, stood in line for 15 minutes, and took our photos not once, not twice, but three times. The first time Trevor's head didn't fit inside the "picture mold". Then my picture was too "pale"! Great...I'm obviously really white! Third time was a charm.

On September 7 we received our travel invitation from the DRC. That Monday I booked our flights and printed off the itinerary to attach to the visa application. I read through and checked off all instructions. To the post office it went and $40 later it was on it's way to the Embassy in Washington. About a week later I received our pre-paid envelope back in the mail. I was super excited and tore into the package only to find our applications and checks. I freaked out. Our program director happened to be in the hospital so I freaked out more. Luckily another sweet program director immediately returned my e-mail and said, "honey you were suppose to send the actual passport." What?!?! Just 2 weeks before I'm suppose to leave I'm suppose to take the chance of my passport being lost in the mail? Back to the post office I go, praying it gets approved and back to us before we have to leave in 1.5 weeks.

I just got back from the post office. We received the pink slip in the mail while we were in Lubbock stating they had a package for us from the Embassy. Columbus day was yesterday so I had to wait :-( I eagerly ran into the post office to get our package. I ripped it open and just began to cry. What?!?! All it is is our passports. There's no visa, nothing. We're not going to be able to leave Friday! What do I do? I felt the Lord say, "Be still my child. Look through the passport." I flip through thinking a small piece of paper with VISA at the top was going to fall out. Then it dawned on me to read the pages of the passport. Under the Visa page there's a blue stamp written in French obviously approving us to travel to Congo to get our son! Whewsh....just 3 days to spare!!

Our Last Trip of 4

As I was driving to Lubbock Friday morning, the kids screaming in the back...just 30 minutes down the road and still 2.5 more hours to go, I yelled out, "This will be our last trip I make by myself!" But then I sadly thought, "This will probably be our last trip I do indeed make by myself for quite sometime." I have no idea how life will be with 3 kids all under the age of 4, and one of those struggling with accepting me as a mom and little K as a sister and big K as a brother. I do know that God has ordained this adoption and has a plan for peace and acceptance of love!

Our last trip to Lubbock as a family of 4 was filled with lots of fun!

Friday night my parents took us to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Cancun. I had to take a picture and brag to Trevor since it is his favorite place :-)

 

My amazing dad volunteered to watch the kids so my mom and I could go to Wal-Mart to buy everything we needed to survive in Africa for 4 days! We had the best 2.5 hours in WalleyWorld! Mom and I do not get to spend much time just the 2 of us so I very much cherished the time together.

 



 

It was quite funny as we were checking out my dad calls and says, "Tawny you need to just come home and put sissy to bed then go finish, she's very cranky." "Yes dad I know. That means she's ready for bed. She only had an hour nap today. All you do is put milk in her cup, rock her for a minute then lay her down and walk out of the room." "But Tawn Tawn I scared." "Dad just try it. We're headed home if it doesn't work." Ten minutes later he calls, "Success, it worked! Stay as long as you want!" I had no doubt it wouldn't...I just love him!

 

Yeah I about freaked out too when I had to pay that price! But it's well worth it for the Ramen noodles, shower shoes, pomade and sleep cap!

The next morning my sis-in-law Megan, my mom and I woke up early to go walk in at the Susan G. Komen breast cancer awareness walk in the 30 degree weather for my mom's best friend, Kelly.

It brought tears to my eyes seeing Kelly all dressed in pink with the biggest, beautiful smile on her face. Her determination and strength through the whole process is one that I will always admire! We give God all glory for His healing for Kelly's girls! A shirt we saw that morning: Yeah these are fake. My real ones tried killing me :-)

Kelly with her 2 girls and precious grandkids!

 

Since my brother was watching my 2 kids and having a man play date with his brother-in-law and his 2 kids, us girls decided to head to the one and only Starbucks! There's nothing better than a good, ole' Pumpkin Spice Latte to bring such joy to your life. Well besides your kids giving you the biggest hug and kiss and saying I love you. And your hubby spanking you on the behind and telling you how sexy you look. Oh yeah, and picking up your son in Africa after 9 months of praying over his picture EVERY day. Well and Jesus! But besides that, that darn coffee after being in the cold for 2 hours comes close!



 

Trevor then arrived with 4 of our friends from Dalhart and we all met at the Pumpkin Patch. We were saving the Pumpkin Patch trip for when Khristian got here but since we won't make it back down to Lubbock before Trevor's best friend, Josh closes his patch, we decided to take a short trip with the kids.

 

 

 

It's only lunchtime and I feel like I've already saved the world but much more fun to have! Stupid us, took our 4 OU loving friends with us to the game. Needless to say, Tech was such a disappointment and we left during the 3rd quarter!

 





 

 

 

This is always one of our most favorite parts of game day, but on a day we lose by 30 points, this was definitely the best part of the whole game!

 

In 4 short weeks we will make the trip back to Lubbock for the UT game. This time not as a family of 4, but as a family of 5! Oh I cannot wait...

And We're Back

Wow! I cannot believe it was over 9 months ago that we stopped blogging. SO much has happened since then!!

We received the referral of our precious baby boy, Christian Paleo on Valentine's Day. What a great gift! Christian is his African given name. Isn't God amazing? For the rest of his life, our little boy will know who saved him! We will change it to a K to match our other kid's names! They said he was 6 months old and weighed 11 pounds. After we received the court documents in June, we realized he was actually 10 months old and weighed 11 pounds.

On June 11, he officially became ours according to the Congolese government. When we received the documents I cried and cried reading his precious momma's name and learning of his sweet, but very sad story. I thanked God that I learned of his mom and could pray for her by name. I praised Him for her. How hard it must of been to give her up son. I just want her to have peace knowing that he is being loved and taken care of!

June 12 he was moved to his foster home. Since then he has probably gained 20 pounds and look so incredibly healthy!

We are so excited that we leave in exactly 7 days to "go to him and leave him as an orphan no more"!

We will be blogging our journey of packing, flying, the first time we meet him, our stay and the journey home! After that, I can't promise anything with this blog because I will then be a mom of 3 kids under the age of 4, 2 of those being toddlers just 2 months apart! Life is going to be crazy...a good crazy. A crazy I would never change for the world!

 

I mean seriously?!?! Look at that smile!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He won't have a problem adjusting at all... ;-)

With Great Sadness

When Trevor and I started this blog we did it as a means to keep our family updated with our adoption journey since neither of us Facebook. We also wanted to be an encouragement to those who were considering adopting. It is such a scary process to begin alone. We wanted others to realize the amazing call God has asked from each of us. We wanted to have a support group of people who understood the roller coaster ride of adoption. We wanted Him to be glorified through it all.

In the 6 short months that we have been blogging, this has happened. We have had two families contact us with questions about adoption because they were considering begining the journey. I walked into candlelight the other night and a friend I met over 8 years ago found our blog and has been following the process. A few moms were encouraged to teach their children about having a giving heart because of the Alco story with Big K. People have seen how faithful our Lord and Savior has been to us by providing the funds we needed for every part of this adoption. We have developed a relationship with many other adoptive families by reading each other's blogs. We have brought an awareness to the country of Congo and the millions of orphans there. Over 4,100 people have viewed our blog. People from Russia, Jordan, Brazil, Netherlands, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, United Kingdom and India have heard our story. Hundreds of people have been praying for us and our little +1. God has been so good.

Unfortunately though we live in a scary world and crazy things happen! For the safety of our family and our little +1, we are going to suspend our blogging until we get our little boy safely home in our loving arms. Nothing that is said on this blog, that could be taken wrong, is worth the chance of losing him.

Thank you for caring. Thank you for following our story. Thank you for praying for us. Thank you for giving. You have no idea how much everything each of you have done has meant to us. I know our +1 will one day have the opportunity to read about the journey and realize the love that was shown for him before we even knew him. He will understand what he meant to so many people. From the deepest part of our heart, thank you. We love you so...

Why Wednesday...Or Thursday

Why Fundraise to Adopt?

**I started this post about 3 weeks ago and never got it finished on a Wednesday to post so I kept telling myself I would do it next Wednesday. Well yesterday came and went (little K has viral pneumonia and bronchiolitis so yesterday was spent holding her and giving breathing treatments, and on my knees praying) so needless to say it's Thursday and I'm posting a Why Wednesday..Oh Well!!! No perfect people allowed at this blog...right?!?!**

Please know that this post is not a ploy to get you to donate to our adoption. As of a few weeks ago, besides our travel, our adoption is fully funded (Hallelujah, thank you Jesus!!!). This is a post however, to encourage those who want to adopt but look at the large financial cost of it all and become overwhelmed!!

In the last couple of weeks I've had to answer this question since we have a large fundraiser coming up. We began this adoption journey not intending on fundraising to acquire the money but by trusting God to provide. We sold a lot of stuff and began saving each month. We did discuss getting a loan but that thought brought a funny feeling to the pit of our stomach. In November a fundraiser raffle fell into our laps and we were ever so thankful. About a month ago a few amazing ladies at church felt like God was calling them to put on a fundraiser dinner for us and another family in the church who are adopting from China. Yes it was hard to accept the amazing gift they were offering, but we were reminded that we were trusting God to provide for us. If this is one way He was going to provide some of the funds, then it was our job to continue to trust Him.

Believe it or not, people have strong opinions when money is involved in anything. We can all freely waste money on things we don't need or could live with out. Sadly though, when someone asks us to contribute money to help out on something worth cause, we have to think twice about it or let our "flesh" do the talking! In all honestly, Trevor and I have been guilty of feeling this many times. It seems like around every corner someone is always asking for money. This time though, we encountered the other perspective...being the receivers. It is truly one of the most humbling experiences when all of the attention is on you. We have had to spend many of moments in prayer and talking with each other to realize that just as it's ok to be a giver, it's ok to be open to receive the blessings that God provides through other people.

As odd as it may seem, buying new clothes to make our image look better, spending money on extravagant vacations to relax, or all of the other materialistic things that will ultimately fade away in this life happens without thinking twice, but yet when one has the opportunity to be a part of something that will change a life for eternity, we get a little self-righteous and take offense that someone would even ask us.

We know that not everyone feels open to take an orphan into their homes. We do however believe it is every one's responsibility to care for them. If that's by sending money to support your church's orphanage or missionary or by mentoring with CASA or Big Brother Big Sisters, or by attending a fundraiser dinner to help bring a child home,  we all need to do our part to make sure these kids feel loved and taken care of.

To everyone who has supported us, not just financially, but supported us with prayer, words of encouragement, questions about adoption, and for just caring, thank you! Hopefully, some day, our +1 will get to personally thank you himself!

You Can Do It

When little K was first learning to crawl, just a few short weeks ago, the sweetest thing happened. It was right after bath time and I was in her room with big brother getting their pajamas on for bedtime. Big K and I were playing around and we looked over and sister had gotten up to all 4's and was trying to go to sitting position. Big K immediately got huge eyes and said, "Momma look she did it!" He got down on all fours with wild excitement and said, "Come on sister you can do it. You can do it!!!" Sweet Kohen, know you have a big brother and sister at home waiting to cheer you on through the things of life! Know we will be beside you celebrating all of your accomplishments with such excitement and enthusiasm...especially your big brother!! We love you...

Dossier Update

We got an e-mail last week from our dossier specialist and a phone call last night from our program director! It's always so nice to get a little news and updates. It keeps things real...

Our dossier went through authentication at the state level and now it's off to the courier in Washington D.C. She will carry it to the Department of State and then to the embassy for authentication. From there she will send it on to the attorney in the DRC. This process usually takes about 1-2 weeks. We also received the translation of our documents back!

We were a little worried about our USCIS fingerprint paperwork. It had been a month since we had fingerprints done and everyone in the agency had received approval within 2 weeks. I called and they said they had approved us on January 5. Well, the official paperwork finally came in yesterday! It reads, "It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan(s) as defined in Section 101(B)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. A separate form 1-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, must be filed on behalf of each child." AND THE BEST PART OF THE WHOLE DOCUMENT: "No fee will be required with Form I-600 if filed within 18 months." What?!?! A document that requires no fee? That's unheard of but brings welcome relief :-)

Our program director informed us last night that there are 5 people in front of us waiting on babies 2 and under from the DRC in our agency. There is a mix of those wanting boys or girls. I was a little bummed because it is has been about a month since the last referral came in from Congo and so at this rate it may be quiet a bit longer of a wait. But I have to get rid of those thoughts and praise God that there are 5 people in our little agency bringing babies home from our son's birthplace. There are 5 more people taking care of His orphans. There are 5 little babies about to have a family who loves them and will care for them! Our time will come...hopefully sooner rather than later! I'm just ready to see a picture of our son!!!

We're Confused....Travel Options!!!

Image Source

Last night our agency director called to inform us of some changes in our travel options to Congo for the adoption. She prefaced the conversation reminding me how they informed us in the beginning that things ALWAYS change with adoptions. One month it could be this and then the next month it's completely different. Those who know me, know I do not like change. It sort of freaks me out! Luckily though, these changes were good changes!  

We now have three travel options to go get our little guy. The first one is to just stay home and have him escorted back to the United States. Honestly, one's first, selfish thought would be of course. Save us a little money since Trevor gets paid by the hour so we would lose 2 weeks worth of pay if we traveled there. Plus the thought of traveling 16 hours with a little one is quiet scary. But then one comes to their senses and realizes that it would be a complete disservice to us and our baby. We truly want to be able to go see the country he was born in and spent a few years in. We want to experience his culture that will be a part of who he is for the rest of his life. So we knew option 1 was not for us.

Option 2. This is the option that discouraged us from adopting from Ethiopia (well and the rumor that adoptions had been reduced by 90% as of March). As soon as we got our referral (a picture of our little guy and us saying yes he's OURS), we would travel to Congo and begin the adoption paperwork. We would stay 4-5 days and bond and love and play with him. We would then leave him there and fly back home. There is a mandatory 40 day waiting period and then about 2-3 weeks of paperwork wait time. So about 2-3 months after leaving Kohen, we would then either A. travel back to get him (only 1 parent has to go this time but Trevor said as if he would send me on my own to Congo) or B. have him escorted back to the United States. This is a little more expensive believe it or not. The pros of this is once we touch US soil, he will automatically be a U.S. citizen.

Option 3. Stick to the original plans. Accept the referral and wait about 3-4 months for paperwork to go through. Once we receive our court date, we would then travel to Congo and spend about 2 weeks there. On day 2 we would be able to bring Kohen to the hotel and be his parents! We would never have to leave him after holding and loving on him! It's also looking like we will more than likely be traveling during the summer time. It works out great because Trevor's mom is off during the summer and can help whenever and where ever we need her. My mom can help anytime as well. The pros: Only pack and travel, as well as tell our kiddos goodbye just once. The downside is once we returned to the United States, we would have to re-adopt him with a local attorney, spend an additional $1500 and fill out loads more paperwork.

We are truly confused. We spent time last night praying. We ask that you pray too. We need clarity and wisdom to make the right decision...for our family and for our plus 1!!

Big K's Prayer at the Dinner Table

When we sit down to eat and bless the food, we don't let Big K say a memorized prayer. We want him to speak to God from the heart. Have a conversation with Him. Know how great of a privilege it is to talk with Him. Truly give thanks.

This was his prayer last night, "Dear God. Thank you for our food. Thank you for all of the poor people in the world. Thank you for mommy and daddy. And thank you for safe travel for mommy and daddy to go get Kohen and bring him home. I love him so much. And thank you for Jesus. AMEN (Amen is sort of loud..he's ready to eat)! Trevor and I just looked at each other, I with a tear in my eye, and smiled. Kohen, know you are being prayed for even before we know what you look like. You are being prayed for by your big brother and oh how he loves you. You are constantly on our mind! We love you...

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

Why Wednesday #3

Adopt Africa Digital Designs I used her design she made because it embodies it all! We need Africa as much as Africa needs us! Thank you Becky for what you're doing to make a difference for the Continent of Africa as a whole!

Why Africa?
God placed Africa on my heart a few years back. In fact, when Oprah opened her school there, I looked into traveling there to teach. Since I'm not the biggest fan of Oprah I looked more into teaching for the department of defense. Know I wasn't a Christian then, so the thought of being a missionary never crossed my mind ;-) Something about the people grabs my heart. I weep over the poverty and hurt they have experienced. But rejoice and smile over their BIG, beautiful, bright smiles!

When it came time to think about (we didn't pray, we thunk) where we wanted our child to come from, we immediately said Africa. But like I said, we thought about it. We put our little minds into the plan and thought that an African child would not fit well in our Dalhart community.
I contacted our program coordinator at Little Miracles and shared my slight concerns. She was great about explaining some issues we might have and encouraged us to really pray about where God wants us to adopt from. We looked into all of the other programs and contacted a few more agencies about their programs. Trevor has traveled to Colombia for a mission trip and has a heart for their people so we looked into that program. The approximate wait time is 3-4 years and no possibility of getting a baby. We definitely said no to a Russian child because we didn't want people to think we wanted a white baby to look like us ( I know our pride got the best of us). Our church has an orphanage in Burma so we thought maybe an Asian child. Well back in August I was at our big XIT parade. A dear friend who isn't afraid to speak her mind (which I appreciate) asked how the process was going. I shared my concerns about adopting a black baby because there just aren't many African Americans in our community and I can't offer the multi-cultural experiences they need. I told her we were looking into an Asian country.  She said, "When you close your eyes and picture your child what do you see?" I said, "A sweet little African boy with a bright, amazing smile!"

I walked back home after the parade and put the kids down for a nap. I went to check my e-mail and received a reply back from an adoption agency. They stated that we could not adopt from ANY European or Asian country due to Trevor's pre-existing medical condition (leukemia). At first I started to cry tears of sadness then immediately God turned it to tears of joy and reminded me of the little boy He had placed on my heart years before. I jumped around for joy and began looking at all of the African programs our agency offered. I also spent the next two hours reading every African adoption blog available (This was during nap time...that's how I had 2 hours to read ;-)).

We contacted our program director that night and set up a conference call. The following evening, after the kids were in bed, we spent an hour talking to her about the different programs they offered. Little Miracles works with Ethiopia, Uganda and they had just opened up Congo a month prior. We had heard Ethiopia had reduced adoptions by 90% so the wait time was increased to 1.5-2 years. Uganda we would have to live there for 2 months and having 2 babies at home I didn't think I could leave them for that long. So she discussed Congo in detail. Their first pilot family was going through the program and gave them a 6-9 month wait time and a high possibility of getting a baby.**Note. When I say baby I mean less than 2 years old. There is no such thing as bringing home a 6 month or under baby. By the time ALL of the paperwork and travel is complete, they are usually around a year old! She e-mailed me an issues to consider form and told us to pray about it for awhile.

Trevor and I filled out the four page questionnaire answering all of the questions you can imagine about issues with adopting an African child. We then researched Congo. I think I saw a tear or two in Trevor's eyes as we watched videos and saw pictures of the life of the Congolese people..especially the orphans. Our heart was heavy. My eyes were swollen. Our desires ever so great. After praying together and hours of prayer time alone, we knew without a doubt, no matter the color, no matter the challenges, our baby was in Africa.

God showed us that love knows no boundaries. Praise Jesus He doesn't see the color. He looks at the heart. We know there will be issues we have to deal with and people's negative attitudes, but we know without a doubt God, will give us the strength and wisdom to get us through. Baby Kohen, you belong with us. You are the missing link to complete our family and we love you so much!!

(Join me for Why Congo next week...hopefully..depending on how the week goes ;-))