September Happenings. . .

September was a busy month for the MacPherson family! I will update with pictures. :)

Luke loves to play with sticks. Any stick found in the yard creates countless hours of fun for him. This stick. . . err. . tree limb was way too big for him. But he still carried that thing around for the longest time. So funny!

We have taken Luke to the park several times. He absolutely hated the swing at first. Now, he loves it. We swung together, and he loved riding with mama!

Fun with Mr. Potato Head. Luke's aunt Sarah bought him Mr. Potato head a few weeks ago. The parts usually end up on his face, as you can see above, or in our sockets as you can see below. (I took out the top plug cover to vacuum and had not put the cover back in before Luke found it. Don't worry, no one was electricuted!)

Another picture of Luke and his favorite toy. . . a stick. What a cutie!!!

I have turned by sweet boy into quite a ham! I cannot get enough of him!

A little fun in the rain! It had been raining for days and days and we had cabin fever. We went into the garage, moved the car out, and played with some of the outdoor toys. . . and in the rain! So much fun!

We took this at the top of the St. Louis arch.

We went to St. Louis for two days. We went to see Tsegay and Almaz from Ethiopia. They are the couple that runs the House of Hope transition house that Luke was at for over four months. It was so important for us to go and visit them while they were in country. The above picture is when Tsegay saw Luke again for the first time. I can't say for certain what Luke was really thinking, however I do believe he knew who they were. He would get closer and closer to them to listen to them, but would not let them hold him. It was so great to see them again. They made us feel that we were at home when we traveled to pick him up.

Also in the month of September, we completed our 3 month post placement report! I cannot believe that we have been with this wonderful boy for 3 months! It feels that he has always been here. How did we ever go without him?

Update!

The past 1 1/2 months have been so crazy! Luke has transitioned so well. We thought that we were going to have such a hard time with him transitioning to us and his new surroundings. Luckily, we were wrong. He has done fantastic. He definitely knows who his mama and daddy are! He is picking up English so quickly. He understands a lot more than what he can say.

I am so amazed at this boy every day! I still have to pinch myself daily. I can't believe that this little, sweet, precious boy is mine. I am truly blessed!

Below are a few updated pictures from the past couple of months.

Luke still doesn't quite know what to think about grass. He will only walk in the grass if we lead him to it. Such a funny boy!

Luke didn't like the swing the first time we went to the park. But this time, I stood in front of him and he loved it!

After only being home for a month, we celebrated Luke's second birthday! He really enjoyed his cake!

Luke is starting a new fashion statement. We were outside playing, I turned around for just a minute, and he had slipped his arm through the neck of his shirt. And yes, that is a sticker on his forehead. He loves stickers. My husband stuck a sticker on his head once, and ever since then when he gets a sticker, he pops it on his forehead. So funny!
Riding in the car. This is an example of total cuteness!!!

This is such a funny picture! He is such a happy boy! He loves stickers! And yet again, you will find it on his forehead. So cute!

WE ARE HOME!

We are home! We finally landed in Nashville around 6:30 pm on Sunday. Luke is doing fantastic. He has been adjusting very well. He amazes me every day! I never thought that I could be this happy. I plan to post all about our trip in the upcoming days. When Luke sleeps, I grab my laptop, then I rest.

You can't get much cuter than this!

FINALLY. . .

We leave tomorrow morning!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Itinerary
7/5
Depart Nashville 9:35 am
Arrive Chicago 11:14 am

Depart Chicago 3:45 pm
Arrive Frankfurt 6:55 am

7/6
Depart Frankfurt 11:10 am
Arrive Addis Ababa 7:05 pm

Return flights home

7/12
Depart Addis Ababa 1:35 am
Arrive Frankfurt 7:35 am

Depart Frankfurt 10:05 am
Arrive Washington, D.C. 12:50 pm

Depart Washington, D.C. 4:45 pm
Arrive Nashville 5:47 pm

1. . .

ONE day until we leave!!! I can't believe it!

2. . .

We leave in TWO days.

3.. and updated pictures

3 days left until travel!

We also received updated pictures of my sweet boy today. They shaved his head. My husband was happy. They now sport the same hair do!

Bald is beautiful!!

4. . . .

Let the countdown begin. . .

4 days left before we embark on the trip that will forever change our lives.

Anniversary

Alex and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary today! Time truly flies when you are having fun!

2 weeks

If all goes well. . .

We will be leaving in TWO WEEKS to pick up our sweet Luke!

Not traveling

We will not be traveling this Saturday. :( I am so bummed. We have to wait until July to go get our sweet boy. We are not traveling because they have not gotten Luke's birth certificate ready yet. I'm not sure what we are going to do about me going back to work. I start school back on July 22nd. There are a lot of decisions to be made. All I can think about is how every time we get so close, we are knocked back ten steps. :( All I want is my sweet Luke!

Luke's Room

Luke's room is finally finished! Here are a few pictures.

We will eventually paint his room. Neither Alex or I could decide on a color, so we decided on blue curtains instead. I am really proud of his room! :)

Now all I need is Luke to go in it! We are still waiting for confirmation on our embassy appointment. We are "supposed" to leave on Saturday the 19th. At this point, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. :( I'm still hopeful!

Visa Appointment

Our visa appointment may not happen on June 25th. We were notified today that birth certificates are taking longer to get and that we could possibly not have a visa appointment on June 25th. It looks like it may be pushed back to July 9th. That is going to absolutely kill me. We have waited so long for a referral. Then again for a court date. And now they are adding another 2 weeks! I am not a happy camper! I want my son NOW!!!

I am praying very hard that they are able to get his birth certificate to complete his paperwork to be submitted to the embassy.

To Do List. . . .

My to do list seems to be growing longer and longer. I have been putting off certain projects around the house for the longest time. I am running out of time to get things finished! Luke's room is a mess! We have so many things for him. I need organize big time! That is my project for today (hopefully). I have been holding off on finishing his room for quite some time. I guess I felt that if I finished it too soon, and something went wrong with the adoption, then I would have to look at his room without him in it.

I am hoping and praying that we get our visa appointment scheduled on June 25th. We were told that it could be as late as next week before we find out for sure. Well, we are scheduled to leave next Saturday! AHHHH! I hate doing everything so last minute. But, something that I have learned during this three year long adoption process is to always expect the unexpected. Alex and I have become so good at just going with the flow (and complaining about it later).

My rambling has come to an end. I'm off to tackle Luke's room!

WE PASSED COURT!!!!

We passed court today! I could not be happier. Luke Wakeyo MacPherson is finally ours! We will hopefully leave in 2-3 weeks to go pick him up. I cannot wait to get my sweet boy!

Baby Showers

I was so blessed to be given two baby showers. My aunt and sister gave my first shower. My best friend from high school threw my "friend" shower. Luke is one lucky kid. He has so much! He is truly the most loved and wanted kid ever! Here are some of the pictures from the two showers.

Alex is trying out Luke's new bike helmet.

Old High School Friends

My mom, me, grandma, and younger sister

Court. . . Tomorrow!

I am horrible about adding to my blog!

Our court date has finally arrived! We have been waiting three months for our court date! It seems like FOREVER! I pray that we pass court first time around!

This seems so surreal!

I will be posting pictures of our sweet Luke the second I hear about our news!

STAY TUNED. . . . . . . .

The Beginning . . . Part 2 --> THE CALL!

We were told when we were added to the Ethiopia list that it would be a six to eight month wait. We were open to a child of either gender up to 24 months. Starting the process over seemed unbearable. I couldn't believe that we were at the bottom of the list, especially since we had been in the actual adoption process since 2006.

Then came March 3rd at 12:00. We received the phone call that would change our lives forever. I teach third grade and we had just gotten back from lunch. I am really good about turning the ringer off my cell phone. However, I had forgotten to turn the ringer off on this particular Tuesday. So, I'm sitting at the front of my class, reading a story aloud to my students when my cell phone went off. I jumped up, apologizing to my students for not turning my phone off. I picked it up to turn it off when I saw that it was CHI.

I had a million things running through my head at this point. When I answered it was our case worker Toni. She said that she had my husband on hold and asked me if I had a minute to talk. I knew that this was it. . . the moment that we had been waiting for for 2 1/2 years. It seemed as though that moment was frozen in time. I could not believe what I was hearing on the other line. After Toni connected Alex and I on the same line, the first thing she said was "Today is the day." The first thing I said was, "Are you serious?" I was in such shock, I could not move. I had twenty third graders staring at me, wondering what was going on. Up until this point, I had not shared the adoption with them.

To say the least, the rest of the afternoon was filled with a lot of excitement. I called my mom, my dad, my mother in law, my best friend, and texted many others. I practically ran up and down the halls jumping up and down with joy.

March 3rd will forever be the day that our lives changed! I stared at my sweet boy's face so long!

The Beginning

I wanted to make our first blog entry our adoption story. . . so far. My husband, Alex and I started our adoption process in June of 2006. We began doing our research several months before and happened upon CHI's website. We filled out a form requesting more information from their website. Within a few days, a representative called us asking if we had any questions. We decided to set up a meeting. We were sold right away. We knew that this was the path we were meant to go down. After many long conversations, Alex and I felt drawn to Vietnam. We began our paperwork. It took several months to complete our home study. On December 1, 2006, we were officially added to the Vietnam list (number 112). The wait times for referrals at that time were roughly 6-8 months for a boy and 12 months for a girl. Overnight they seemed to double. We were then told that it would be at least 18-24 months for a boy and 24+ for a girl. At this time we were still patient and hopeful. We were moving down the list quickly. In 2008 the agreement between Vietnam and the U.S. expired, leaving no hope for referrals any time soon. Alex and I were faced with a very big decision. We had been weighing our options for quite some time, knowing that Vietnam and the U.S. would probably not resign. We had several long talks with our agency. They had just started their Ethiopia program and everything they had to say about it was very promising. We felt that we were being drawn to this country. We decided to officially switch countries in July/August 2008, after over two years of being with the Vietnam program. It was a very difficult decision. We had so many fears of starting all over again. We were scared of getting our hearts broken and our hopes up. After going through another paper chase to put together another dossier (we are pros at dossiers), we were added to the waiting list for Ethiopia in October 2008.

Journey to the new Mac. . . to be continued.