I took the day off today to get some things done around the house and decided to pick Parker up from daycare and take him wherever he wanted to eat lunch. My guess was he was going to pick McDonald, BW3's, or Beef O'Bradys. I was correct. After surprising my initially and picking Chipotle, he quickly changed his mind and decided on Beef O'Brady's. Over a delicious lunch I asked him a range of questions. The transcript follows:
Me: What is your favorite thing about being in America?
Parker: Having a mom and dad, grandmas and grandpas, and a brother and sister.
Me: What is your favorite possession?
Parker: My mom and dad and brother and sister...and my basketball goal.
Me: What is your favorite memory over the last two years?
Parker: Playing sports.
Me: What is your favorite memory of Ethiopia?
Parker: Eating injera.
Me; What is your favorite time of year?
Parker: Summer
Me: What is your favorite thing about school?
Parker: Recess
Me: Who is your favorite singer?
Parker: Nobody....wait, wait, wait...it's the people that sing that song Lleyton like so much, Stuck Like Glue. (For all of you non-country listeners, he is referring to Sugarland)
Me: What is your favorite movie?
Parker: Megamind
Me: What is your favorite holiday?
Parker: Christmas
Me: What is your favorite food?
Parker: Injera
Me: What is your favorite American food?
Parker: Chicken nuggets and fries...and Doritos...and Cheetos...and chips.
Me: Who is your best friend?
Parker: Nathan
Me: What is your favorite sports team?
Parker: In baseball it is the Reds. Football it is the Steelers. Basketball it is the Lakers.
Me: What is the one thing you would like people to know about you?
Parker: I love baseball. I love basketball. I love my mom and dad.
Monday, June 6, 2011
2 years home for our big guy.
Two years ago today we landed at CVG with our newly minted soon-to-be six year old son. He was a very small, meek, scared little boy that was about to go through a very difficult and challenging transition from life in Ethiopia to life in a family here. The adjustment process with Parker unbelievably hard. Sara and I went through countless days wondering how we were going to make through each day. As time went on he learned how to speak our language, he learned what was expected of him, he learned to respect us, and he learned how to love us.
We are so proud of our ever-growing little guy and can look back on the past two years with smiles knowing that we made it through the tough part.
We made sure that most of this past weekend was about Parker. We did some of his favorite things, ate some of his favorite foods, and celebrated the fact that we have a really incredible little guy that we get to call our son.
We love you Parker!
We are so proud of our ever-growing little guy and can look back on the past two years with smiles knowing that we made it through the tough part.
We made sure that most of this past weekend was about Parker. We did some of his favorite things, ate some of his favorite foods, and celebrated the fact that we have a really incredible little guy that we get to call our son.
We love you Parker!
Slip and Slide with Lleyton
The boy loves all things cake and candy, so I combined those for him through this delicious Reese's Cup cake.
The horses are back, so we made a quick stop to say hello (well, the rest of us said hello while Lleyton proceeded to kiss the baby horse). Addy wasn't a big fan at first, so it was very cute watching her grab onto Parker for dear life.
The kids and I were excited to get over to Grammy and Pop's house to see cousins Nick and Drew and take a spin on the new boat. Maybe I was a bit too excited, as I got a speeding ticket on the way...ces la vie. We missed Sara during the trip to Grammy and Pop's as she had to again jet set her way across the country for work.
What was Lleyton's favorite part of the new boat? The rearview mirror.
Our navigator.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Let the waiting begin.
What’s the toughest part about international adoption? If you ask me, it’s the waiting. There are plenty of tough parts…the unknown, the finances, the adjustment, the paperwork, did I mention the finances?
Waiting is the toughest.
With our previous adoptions, the waiting has been full of unknowns…when will our paperwork be done…when will we get a referral….when will we be submitted to court…when will we travel…etc. etc. etc.
This wait will be different. We know going in that there is quite a bit of time between now and our trip to Seoul (which we are already planning…looks like a stop in Hong Kong for a few days could be in our future!). All of our paperwork should arrive at our adoption agency on Monday. At which time they will turn around and send it on its way to Seoul. Upon our paperwork arriving in South Korea, our spot in line will be secured and the wait shall officially begin. Due to the large backlog of cases submitted before ours that have yet to travel, we have been told the wait will be anywhere between 12 – 14 months. That means it will be at least one year before we can welcome our little guy into our family.
Knowing he is over there and we can’t go get him is tough. Realizing with each passing day a stronger bond will be forming between he and his faster mother is daunting (don’t get me wrong, we are happy he is with a foster mother rather than in an institution). Thinking about bringing a 2 year old that isn’t used to living with young siblings into our sometimes crazy household is difficult. Not getting to celebrate his first and most likely second birthday with him is saddening.
Even with all of that being true, we are so excited to be moving forward with the process. Getting the paperwork and our fees sent out in the mail is a big, positive step.
After all, we have three ever-growing little ones at home right now that won’t let us dwell too much on how long the wait is going to be.
Waiting is the toughest.
With our previous adoptions, the waiting has been full of unknowns…when will our paperwork be done…when will we get a referral….when will we be submitted to court…when will we travel…etc. etc. etc.
This wait will be different. We know going in that there is quite a bit of time between now and our trip to Seoul (which we are already planning…looks like a stop in Hong Kong for a few days could be in our future!). All of our paperwork should arrive at our adoption agency on Monday. At which time they will turn around and send it on its way to Seoul. Upon our paperwork arriving in South Korea, our spot in line will be secured and the wait shall officially begin. Due to the large backlog of cases submitted before ours that have yet to travel, we have been told the wait will be anywhere between 12 – 14 months. That means it will be at least one year before we can welcome our little guy into our family.
Knowing he is over there and we can’t go get him is tough. Realizing with each passing day a stronger bond will be forming between he and his faster mother is daunting (don’t get me wrong, we are happy he is with a foster mother rather than in an institution). Thinking about bringing a 2 year old that isn’t used to living with young siblings into our sometimes crazy household is difficult. Not getting to celebrate his first and most likely second birthday with him is saddening.
Even with all of that being true, we are so excited to be moving forward with the process. Getting the paperwork and our fees sent out in the mail is a big, positive step.
After all, we have three ever-growing little ones at home right now that won’t let us dwell too much on how long the wait is going to be.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Superman shirts are on the way!
We spent quite awhile last night packing all of the shirts and I helped the nice lady at the post office meet her quota for items shipped in a day today.
Hope everyone that is expecting a shirt loves it.
Thank you again!
Hope everyone that is expecting a shirt loves it.
Thank you again!
More baseball related pictures...
This Spring has definitely featured a lot of baseball, most of which has involved us hanging out watching Parker gobble up grounders out of the corner of one eye while trying to monitor Lleyton out of the remainder of our eyes. On top of that type of baseball we also took the boys to watch the pros in action a couple of weeks back. We joined a number of Parker's teammates and their families for a night out at Great American Ballpark. And of course we have pictures to prove it...
(Lleyton has recently become more opinionated regarding what he wears to school, hence the Carson Palmer jersey and cowboy boots.)
Monday, May 30, 2011
Win, Lose, or Draw
No matter the outcome of the game, these kids are always smiling.
They gave their best all weekend and didn't come out on the smiling side on the scoreboard this morning in the championship game, but you wouldn't know it looking at this picture.
They gave their best all weekend and didn't come out on the smiling side on the scoreboard this morning in the championship game, but you wouldn't know it looking at this picture.
I'll admit, I was dreading spending the lion's share of our long weekend at the park watching 7 year old baseball, but these guys made it very enjoyable (the fact that frothy adult beverages were offered for sale didn't hurt either).
Addy and Lleyton were troopers throughout all of the games as well.
Here are a few pictures from our weekend of baseball...
Future Star? At least he looks the part.
Yankee cheerleaders.
I hope he never wants one of these. One good thing is that he knows he can't have one just yet, because he was adament about toys like this one being for men, not boys.
Looking the part again.
Rally cap time late in the Championship Game.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Security System...Lleyton style
We live in what most would consider a very safe area, but Lleyton must have decided we needed a bit of extra security, as we came up to our room yesterday evening and were greeted by Batman, Robin, and Spiderman all lined up at attention guarding our window.
Thank you to Lleyton for making us feel even more comfortable.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Thank you!
For those that may not know, allow me to tell you something about a group of people that we are grateful to be associated with. I'm talking about people in and around the adoption community (adoptive families, adoptees, birthmothers, adoption/orphan advocates). It never ceases to amaze me how kind, genuine, supportive, generous and caring people in this group are. Prior to jumping into our first adoption, we had never been a part of such an incredible dynamic, and it just keeps getting better.
To everyone out there that has helped us spread the word, whether via your blog, or facebook, or twitter, or whatever means you have, and those that have purchased shirts, Sara and I say THANK YOU over and over again.
We set out on this first fundraiser not sure what to anticipate, and thanks to your willingness to help and willingness to buy we have exceeded any of our expectations (and we still have almost a week left!).
It will be fun to look back down the road and tell Camden how much support we received to help bring him home from many people we are close to and even more that we have never met.
If you're up to it, we would love for you to keep spreading the word. The shirts will be available until next Tuesday.
THANK YOU!
Matt, Sara, Parker, Lleyton, Addy, and Camden
To everyone out there that has helped us spread the word, whether via your blog, or facebook, or twitter, or whatever means you have, and those that have purchased shirts, Sara and I say THANK YOU over and over again.
We set out on this first fundraiser not sure what to anticipate, and thanks to your willingness to help and willingness to buy we have exceeded any of our expectations (and we still have almost a week left!).
It will be fun to look back down the road and tell Camden how much support we received to help bring him home from many people we are close to and even more that we have never met.
If you're up to it, we would love for you to keep spreading the word. The shirts will be available until next Tuesday.
THANK YOU!
Matt, Sara, Parker, Lleyton, Addy, and Camden
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Happy Mother's Day!
To my mom and my wife,
Happy Mother's Day!
I feel extremely fortunate to have grown up under the tutelage and care of such a fantastic mom, and I am confident my children will share the same sentiment.
Speaking of my children, here is Lleyton executing on our plan that Sara wasn't supposed to raise as much as a finger today, while he watered her flowers on the front porch.
Happy Mother's Day!
I feel extremely fortunate to have grown up under the tutelage and care of such a fantastic mom, and I am confident my children will share the same sentiment.
Speaking of my children, here is Lleyton executing on our plan that Sara wasn't supposed to raise as much as a finger today, while he watered her flowers on the front porch.
In an unrelated matter, nothing brings brothers and sisters together in perfect harmony better than Spongebob Square Pants.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Birthmother's Day
Today is Birthmother's Day.
On the eve of the day we have always known as a time to celebrate moms and all they do for us throughout our lives, we celebrate a day meant to acknowledge, commend, and thank those women who have made the decision to give their children up for adoption.
In our case, that means taking time to think about four different women. The path that each of our kids took to ultimately end up in our house is unique. That being true, they all started the same way, with a mother's decision to give up their child. Whether that decision was made at birth, or years after, the decision was the same. A decision most likely based on a belief that there could be a better life for this child elsewhere.
Each of our kids' stories is just that, their story to share as they see fit. As they grow up we will fill them in on all of the details that we know of.
In Lleyton's case, we have communicated with his mother. We have pictures of her and her family. We have her story, and we know her reasoning for giving him up. I'll be the first to admit that at times, while I watch Lleyton battle some of the issues that he has to deal with, I get upset with his birthmother. When those feeling come about, I quickly remind myself (or more often than not Sara quickly reminds me) to be thankful that Lleyton is with us. The truth of the matter is that we are so grateful to his birthmother for carrying him throughout her pregnancy and ultimately giving birth to him. Sara and I realize that she didn't have to do that, but she did, and because of that we have our little man here with us.
In Addy's case, we had prepared ourselves for the possibility that we may have been able to meet her birthmother during our trip to Ethiopia to bring her home. We were very saddened to learn that she had passed away before that meeting could take place. Oh how we wish we could have met her. Looking at our little girl, I am certain her birthmother was beautiful, and we would have loved to have been able to meet the woman that gave her that personality of hers (she can be a bit of a spitfire).
We recently made an effort to find out a bit more about Parker's story and his path to where he is now. Not surprisingly, we weren't able to find out very much. We wish we could reach his birthmother. We would love for her to see the young man her son has become.
While he isn't technically a part of our family yet, we don't see it that way when we think of our little guy in South Korea. So on this day we also think about the young lady half a world away that relinquished her rights to the baby boy that will one day become our fourth child. She, just like the birthmother of each of our other kids, made the very difficult decision to give him up, and we feel very fortunate to be the people that will be welcoming him into our family.
So as I sit here tonight and think about each of these women, I wish I could personally tell each one of them how much their decisions have meant to us .
From Sara and I to each of them, thank you so much! The children that you gave birth to are in good hands and we look forward to sharing their stories with them as they grow older.
On the eve of the day we have always known as a time to celebrate moms and all they do for us throughout our lives, we celebrate a day meant to acknowledge, commend, and thank those women who have made the decision to give their children up for adoption.
In our case, that means taking time to think about four different women. The path that each of our kids took to ultimately end up in our house is unique. That being true, they all started the same way, with a mother's decision to give up their child. Whether that decision was made at birth, or years after, the decision was the same. A decision most likely based on a belief that there could be a better life for this child elsewhere.
Each of our kids' stories is just that, their story to share as they see fit. As they grow up we will fill them in on all of the details that we know of.
In Lleyton's case, we have communicated with his mother. We have pictures of her and her family. We have her story, and we know her reasoning for giving him up. I'll be the first to admit that at times, while I watch Lleyton battle some of the issues that he has to deal with, I get upset with his birthmother. When those feeling come about, I quickly remind myself (or more often than not Sara quickly reminds me) to be thankful that Lleyton is with us. The truth of the matter is that we are so grateful to his birthmother for carrying him throughout her pregnancy and ultimately giving birth to him. Sara and I realize that she didn't have to do that, but she did, and because of that we have our little man here with us.
In Addy's case, we had prepared ourselves for the possibility that we may have been able to meet her birthmother during our trip to Ethiopia to bring her home. We were very saddened to learn that she had passed away before that meeting could take place. Oh how we wish we could have met her. Looking at our little girl, I am certain her birthmother was beautiful, and we would have loved to have been able to meet the woman that gave her that personality of hers (she can be a bit of a spitfire).
We recently made an effort to find out a bit more about Parker's story and his path to where he is now. Not surprisingly, we weren't able to find out very much. We wish we could reach his birthmother. We would love for her to see the young man her son has become.
While he isn't technically a part of our family yet, we don't see it that way when we think of our little guy in South Korea. So on this day we also think about the young lady half a world away that relinquished her rights to the baby boy that will one day become our fourth child. She, just like the birthmother of each of our other kids, made the very difficult decision to give him up, and we feel very fortunate to be the people that will be welcoming him into our family.
So as I sit here tonight and think about each of these women, I wish I could personally tell each one of them how much their decisions have meant to us .
From Sara and I to each of them, thank you so much! The children that you gave birth to are in good hands and we look forward to sharing their stories with them as they grow older.
We have a winner!
Thank you so much to those of you that have helped spread the word about our Superman was Adopted shirts. The response to our fundraiser has been fantastic.
Onto the good stuff...
We have a winner of our first ever blog giveway. Earlier this evening Lleyton reaching his little hand deep into a hat pulled out this name...
Onto the good stuff...
We have a winner of our first ever blog giveway. Earlier this evening Lleyton reaching his little hand deep into a hat pulled out this name...
So there you have it. Congratulations to Emmy! You are the winner of a $25 gift card from Amazon and the title "1st Ever A Brother for Lleyton Blog Giveaway Winner".
Thanks again to everyone that is now following the blog, tweeted about our sale, wrote about Superman was Adopted shirts on Facebook, and anything else you may have done. We truly appreciate your support.
Monday, May 2, 2011
SUPERMAN WAS ADOPTED shirts...and a GIVEAWAY!
Who doesn’t love a very cool t-shirt? We certainly do, and hopefully you feel the same.
Sara and I are very excited to have the chance to do some fundraising for our adoption by selling a fantastic looking shirt. As we made the decision to move forward with our 4th adoption over the course of the last 4 years, we both knew that in order for this to be possible we were going to have to rely on some fundraising efforts.
Any and all money raised from our sale, and any other fundraisers we do in the future, will go directly towards bringing our little guy home.
Buy them quickly. We will only be selling them for two weeks. We will take all of our orders after the two weeks and get all of the shirts printed at that time. We should receive them within about 7-10 days and we will then send them onto you as soon as we get them...and shipping is FREE!
Take a look at these shirts and tell me you or your little ones wouldn’t look fantastic in one…
From our experience, the shirts may run a tad bit small, so you may want to keep that in mind while ordering.
You can order a couple of different ways. You can order right here on our blog and pay with PayPal or credit card, or you can email me (abrotherforlleyton@yahoo.com) what size(s) and color(s) you would like and then send a check through the mail. Either way works for us.
Along with the shirt sale we are also going to be doing our first BLOG GIVEAWAY!
Here is how you can help us spread the word…
Become a follower of our blog, then leave a comment on this post letting me know you are following (for those of you already following, leave a comment telling me that). Each follower that leaves a comment on this post will get one entry into our drawing. If you really like what you see, link back to our blog, grab our button from the sidebar, and/or post about our t-shirt sale on Facebook or Twitter. Let me know via your comment if you did any of these things and you will be given another chance(s) to win.
This coming Saturday night (May 7) we will put all of the names in a hat and have one of the little ones draw out the big winner.
What’s the big prize?
$25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate
and
The esteemed title: First Ever A BROTHER FOR LLEYTON Blog Giveaway Winner
Thank you for your help bringing little Camden home!
Sara and I are very excited to have the chance to do some fundraising for our adoption by selling a fantastic looking shirt. As we made the decision to move forward with our 4th adoption over the course of the last 4 years, we both knew that in order for this to be possible we were going to have to rely on some fundraising efforts.
Any and all money raised from our sale, and any other fundraisers we do in the future, will go directly towards bringing our little guy home.
Buy them quickly. We will only be selling them for two weeks. We will take all of our orders after the two weeks and get all of the shirts printed at that time. We should receive them within about 7-10 days and we will then send them onto you as soon as we get them...and shipping is FREE!
Take a look at these shirts and tell me you or your little ones wouldn’t look fantastic in one…
From our experience, the shirts may run a tad bit small, so you may want to keep that in mind while ordering.
You can order a couple of different ways. You can order right here on our blog and pay with PayPal or credit card, or you can email me (abrotherforlleyton@yahoo.com) what size(s) and color(s) you would like and then send a check through the mail. Either way works for us.
Along with the shirt sale we are also going to be doing our first BLOG GIVEAWAY!
Here is how you can help us spread the word…
Become a follower of our blog, then leave a comment on this post letting me know you are following (for those of you already following, leave a comment telling me that). Each follower that leaves a comment on this post will get one entry into our drawing. If you really like what you see, link back to our blog, grab our button from the sidebar, and/or post about our t-shirt sale on Facebook or Twitter. Let me know via your comment if you did any of these things and you will be given another chance(s) to win.
This coming Saturday night (May 7) we will put all of the names in a hat and have one of the little ones draw out the big winner.
What’s the big prize?
$25 Amazon.com Gift Certificate
and
The esteemed title: First Ever A BROTHER FOR LLEYTON Blog Giveaway Winner
Thank you for your help bringing little Camden home!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Our very special guest.
We always enjoy having family over to the house to visit, and today was no different. What set today apart was our extra special guest. Along with looking forward to seeing Sara's mom and step dad, we were also very excited to see her Grandma. For as long as I have known her, Grandma Rena has not ventured out of town other than to visit Grandpa Bob in the hospital in Indianapolis. So we were honored that she would want to make the long drive to visit us. The visit was awesome. Grandma Rena was such a good sport with all of the kids. I am sure she is going to get a very good night sleep tonight after the little ones put her through their version of the Olympics. I hope she enjoyed the visit half as much as we did.
Shortly after her arrival, Addy came to the conclusion that Grandma Rena and her were fast friends. They hit it off while drawing pictures.
Highlights from the Olympics...
Flawless form.
Flawless form, Part 2.
Staring down the sign before delivering a perfect strike.
After retiring Lleyton on 3 pitches, she made quick work of Parker.
4 generations.
The boys are always so excited to see Grandpa Don. When Don is in the house, fun abounds. Here is Lleyton waiting anxiously for his arrival.
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