We leave in 3 days!!!!

I cannot express how excited we are to soon be meeting our boys!!! I am hesitant to post pics until we return home, but I promise that as soon as I recover from jetlag and new mommyhood (so maybe 18 years or so...) that I will post pics of the world's most adorable twin boys!!!!

We have our embassy appointment!

We need to be in Ethiopia between Feb 5th and Feb 12. We plan on going over early to explore, travel, etc.

That means....we may be leaving in like, less than 2 weeks.

That means....I had better get busy!

HOLY COW MAN, HOLY COW!

WE PASSED COURT PEOPLES!!!!!!!!!

I am so exhausted from all of my living room dancing!

Ourcase was approved today and we are now the proud parents of Abdurhamen and Nursun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Melkam Genna Everyone!

We had an amazing (early) Genna celebration with some great friends on Sunday. I'll try and post pics soon!

Really? Seriously?

We just found out that our court date was incorrectly reported and our case was not heard January 1st. Our court date is now (and I guess has always been) set for January 13th. This hurts, obviously, as we have been on pins and needles for the past few days, but I guess it could have been worse...We are just trying to stay positive and hope for the best.

So....start crossing things for the 13th!

Nuff said :)

Twin update

I thought it was about time to update you on the news we have been hearing regarding our boys, aka the world's cutest twin boys!

A. is walking all by himself and N. is trying to...he still needs to use the furniture for a bit of support :)

Both A. & N. are saying a few words...mom, dad, etc. and I believe they are in Amharic.

N. is always described in his reports as very "smiley"

Both boys are continually described as "active"...in any language I think that this means double trouble, and I simply cannot wait to chase those little guys around!

4 weeks and 2 days until our court date!!!!

Operation get those boys home in full effect!

WE HAVE A COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!!

Finally! Whew!

January 1st!

New Year's Day!

Wish us oodles of luck!

Where have I been?

I know, I have completed disappeared from the blog world. I apologize for the long period of silence. I think it is due to a combination of a rough few weeks and a feeling that I just don’t have anything interesting to say. I wish I had news, but I don’t. Everyone asks...daily, but I really don't have anything to say.

We are still waiting for a court date. It has been 2 months, 1 week, and six days since we first saw the two most beautiful faces in the world and accepted the referral of our twin boys. I am definitely learning the art of patience! I guess the good news is that Brandon and I have both been really busy. Work has been crazy for me, and Brandon is just wrapping up the wedding season, so the lack of time to breathe and allow life to slow down has actually been a positive lately.

We did receive an update on A & N recently. A is definitely walking on his own, and I am sure that N is not far behind him. They are even saying their own little words! I also had the chance to hear from a few families that were lucky enough to see the boys while in Ethiopia. Sounds like we have some fun, lovable, and certainly adorable little bundles coming in the *near* future.

Hopefully my next post will be a bit more upbeat, and maybe, just maybe, we'll have a court date to share! Wish us luck on this roller coaster :)

Happy Birthday to my Boys!!!

So, Sunshine has wanted me to post on her blog for a while now and I couldn't think of a better day than today...she's at work and doesn't know that I'm posting.

Today our boys are turning one and it's incredibly hard to miss this huge milestone. Since receiving our referral we have been thinking positively and hoping we would have traveled by now...very unrealistic but that was our hope. Now we just hope to travel by the end of the year (but that's not looking so promising either :-(). While the boys aren't with us we have still been celebrating with friends and family. A couple of nights ago we had a birthday party for "the Brothers" at Micah's house. Throughout the adoption process we have made so many new friends and it has been wonderful how supportive everyone is. Tonight, we are having a 30th birthday party for my sister who now has to share the date with her nephews...I don't think she minds. In fact, Megan, my nephews, and I are going to get some bday presents in a few minutes...I'm a major procrastinator.

Since today is my first post, I thought I better take a few pics for Sunshine's Blog:

A wide angle shot of the Boy's Room

Closet space is at a premium these days

Despite what you think, one crib is for the boys to share and the other is for our cat Kootenai

Our scary Halloween decoration....BUMPERS

A birthday gift to N. from Jody's Family

There is nothing wrong with boys playing with dolls. At least Franky my CHILDHOOD cabbage patch friend doesn't think so!

A rockin' moose from Grandma Clark

In order to eat supper at the table with our boys every night we needed to get some new chairs...for us too!

Sunshine decided we need two Injera baskets at the Holt Ethiopian Auction...I don't know how we ever managed without them!

This shot is for our social worker/friend. While not quite finished, our house looks MUCH better equipped than last time you were here.
An Alligator

My first baby shower

The first baby shower for A & N was held today at our house. My wonderful mother-in-law and sister-in-law threw the event, and we filled the house with aunts, cousins, grannies, nannas, etc.

We received so many great gifts; car seats, baby gates, high chairs, baby monitors...you name it, and everything in double. These boys are so welcomed and so loved and they don't even know it yet!

I had so much fun showing off the nursery, photos, and the DVD of A & N to everyone. It is strange how much I swell with pride when I tell everyone that N gained a pound and A can stand on his own for 2-3 seconds! I used to glaze over when people talked about percentiles, baby weights, first steps, diapers, etc. but I have turned into "one of those" and I love it! If anyone wants weight updates and diaper discussions, just give me a call!

Updates

1. The courts are open! Please, pretty please let us get a court date soon...I need to get to my boys!

2. My mommy came to town last weekend and we spent tons of time (and money) getting the room ready for our little dudes. We have a sweet little room with matching cribs. Pics to come later, I promise!

3. We received updated measurements for A & N. They are steadily gaining wait. Chub up boys, chub up!

Our boys....

Wow, thanks to everyone for the great comments and congratulations! ...and thank to those who have been e-mailing me constantly begging for more details...I love it! Sorry I have taken so long to post...most of my time is now taken up staring a photos our our little boys - and watching the awesome DVD of them created by our agency! Hurry up court, hurry up, I have some boys to bring home!

I cannot share too much information or pictures, but the twins are both boys and will turn a year old next month. Plus, if you know me in "real life" or live within a 12 hour driving distance, I have probably rushed over to your home, unannounced, to show you the pics! A very wonderful coincidence is that they were actually born on the day that we submitted our application to Holt!!! We are keeping their Ethiopian names, but until we bring them home we'll just be calling the A & N here on the blog. They are little guys, pretty small for 11 months, but happy and healthy and ready to be little Schmidts!

I'll keep everyone updated as our process progresses, but basically we are waiting for the Ethiopian courts to re-open after the rainy season. Rumor has it this may happen sometime around the first week of October, but nothing written in stone yet. Once the courts re-open, we'll get an assigned court date and once we pass (some times it takes more than once), we'll travel over to meet and bring home the world's most beautiful little baby boys. Home by Thanksgiving would be awesome, but probably Christmas more realistically.

So...right now we are busy preparing our home for A & N - finishing the remodel, registering for baby items, etc. Wish us luck, and a speedy process!!!

P.S. -They aren't identical, but share a common cuteness!

TWIN BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11 months old and the cutest little bugs I have ever seen!

More to come later when I start breathing again!

Patience

"Patience is a virtue"

"Good things come to those who wait"

bla bla bla

Isn't 6 months and 2 weeks patient enough?

Can anyone tell that I am ready?

Really, it isn't THAT bad, and I am sure it will be one of those things that the second I see my child(ren), I'll forget all about the long road to get there. But right now, the road is pretty bumpy and tiresome...someone show me my exit!

Definitions

Natural Child: Any child who is not artificial.
Real Parent: Any parent who is not imaginary.
Your Own Child: Any child who is not someone else's child.
Adopted Child: A natural child, with a real parent, who is all my own.

I just came across this and thought I would share.

A change in direction?

After quite a bit of communication with our agency, and of course with each other and our families, we have decided that a request for young siblings may be a very long and difficult wait and the need may simply not be there. We made the decision a few months ago that if we did not receive a match for siblings by the beginning of August, we would change our request to siblings OR a single child. Since we are at the top of our agency's waiting list, this most likely means the referral of a single child.

Brandon and I are both at peace with this decision and can't wait to have a family...whether we have one Ethiopian child, two Ethiopian children, or maybe even 20 (ok, maybe not), we know that whatever happens will be our path and I think we are comfortable in that.

Now, where is that referral? :)

Questions? Comments? Referrals to give?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Friday the 18th is my birthday. I'll be 13, yup, finally a teenager...maybe I'll get my ears pierced.....

Or....maybe I'll really be 27 and buy a stroller or something!

We are taking a 3 day weekend at the beach house and leave tonight.

No, I didn't fall off the edge of the Earth....

See below for a bunch of blogs that were written and never published....I know, I am a horrible blogger!

Montana!

As usual, spending a week at the cabin was amazing! I got to spend quite a bit of time reading and relaxing in the sun, riding our 4-wheeler, hiking, kayaking on the Kootenai River, enjoying not one but two 4th of July events, and seeing quite a few of my old high-school friends. Sounds like a good time, huh?

Here are a few pics from a nice LONG 12 mile hike we did...

Zulu is excited and ready to go!

My Dad & I at Turner Falls

Just me...

Wild Rose!

One HUGE Rock Cairn!

One of the 3 lakes we hiked into

A Boy & his dog...

Maybe I am getting a bit tired after all of those miles...

Zulu is exhausted! With all his running back & forth, and leading the pack, I'll bet he did 30 miles!

My hubby is such a great provider! (The fish went back in the water though)

Dad too!