J Cooper Photography

We flew in from Africa and drove straight to the Big Pink Party House to celebrate Thanksgiving.  I think it was fun.  But in all honesty, I was so jet lagged I don’t really remember that much.  I know I ate turkey…and that was pretty darn awesome after a week of starvation in Ethiopia.  My kids cried when it was time to go so I know they were having fun getting lost on three floors of toy bliss with the cousins.  The Peruvian Princess was there and got initiated into the cousin clique which seems to have gone well!

In all honesty, coming home has been hard.  I know no one said this adoption thing would be easy.  God never promises that following Him on this journey won’t hurt.  I just didn’t expect it to hurt quite this much.  Having your child 8500 miles away just stinks.  My heart is  both happy to be home with our little clan…and longing for a baby on the other side of the world.  Our trip to Africa was a mountain top experience.  Kind of makes cleaning toilets, making peanut butter sandwiches, and driving the carpool mundane.  My heart is breaking for my little man.  Just being honest here.

But heart break or not…Christmas is coming.  We pulled in last night and wasted no time getting out those Christmas boxes.  We kept it simple this year…one big tree in the family room and the girls decorated their own little pink tree in their bedroom.  I didn’t want a house full of Christmas to put away with a new baby so we are containing our Christmas cheer to just a couple of rooms   Hopefully we will be on a plane to Africa on Christmas…that would be the MERRIEST thing of all!

I usually try to do a Thanksgiving post…but somehow the holiday got lost a bit in the shuffle with our travel.  Even though our celebrations were low key…we can’t help but think about ALL that we have to be thankful for this year.  Our lives are FULL of blessings…our hearts bursting with joy at what God has given us.  And although this season is hard….we know God has something GREAT planned…and that is enough for today!

It has been a quiet day today.  Our friends boarded their plane last night leaving us alone and without entertainment   We woke up leisurely and headed to Hannah’s Hope at 9:30.  It was a beautiful morning and we spent several hours outside playing with the babies.  After their morning bottles, they bring them outside for a bit of sunshine and play time.  The smallest babies are lined up in bouncy seats…the older ones play on an outdoor mat or swing in swings.  There is one adorable little guy who loves water and they seem to always set out a bucket for him to splash in.

We sat on the steps and just held Daniel.  We are learning so much about his personality.  Almaz hit the nail on the head when she called him an “old soul”.  We got to talk with her for a long time this morning about his past and she shed some new light on his situation.  The culture in Ethiopia is so very different than America.  It is hard to imagine what people here endure.  We talked about Daniel’s age, his birth date, and his health.  He seems to finally be feeling so much better although we are still suspecting asthma (Almaz agrees).  He is small for 6 months but his age may not be that accurate…he seems like a 4 month old to me in terms of size and strength (although he is VERY close to sitting up…he is stronger than I anticipated!)  He is extremely alert and has the BEST laugh you have EVER heard.  He smiles freely and often…and his smile will completely melt your heart.  He is popular with the special mothers because he is such a flirt!!

We went back to Hannah’s Hope in the afternoon for a bit for a few more snuggles and then it was time to say goodbye.  I knew this would be hard.  I can’t describe the heart ache in walking away from your son.  It will be a constant reminder to me of the sacrifice his birth mother made to give him a new life.  My arms are aching to hold him, to smell his sweet skin, or to touch his soft curls.  We are praying for a quick return.  My eyes locked with Anat’s as I handed him over to her and in that brief moment that only mother’s (and special mothers) understand we connected.  She will love him for me until we return.

Hang on little man.  We are coming back!

WE PASSED COURT!  Daniel is OFFICIALLY our son and we are SO in love with him!

{heading out to court}

It is killing me not to be able to show you his adorable pictures…I have SO many of them!  Our court appointment was very uneventful.  We waited for about an hour in a busy, crowded room.  When they called our names we went into another room with Halle (our caseworker) and sat down in front of a small desk.  The judge was a young woman who was very soft spoken.  She asked us 5 questions and then said “Daniel is yours.”  No emotion.  No fanfare.  But rest assured my heart was leaping out of my chest!!!

After court we did some shopping in one of the market for souvenirs.  I was completely overwhelmed and was SO thankful that the Burianis came along with us (they had already been out shopping once) to help guide us.  We bought quite a few toys and outfits for our kids as well as some other gifts.  I’m a terrible barterer so we likely paid too much for everything we purchased but I’m happy to help support these families who are trying to earn a living!

We spent the afternoon at Hannah’s Hope with our ADORABLE SON.  Just as we got there he had a MAJOR blowout..lucky us…that meant bath time!  The special mothers have gradually let us take over more and more of his care giving.  Many of them speak no English or have a very limited command of the language so it is difficult for them to give orders or provide help.  They have very specific systems in place and run a tight ship.  Can you imagine taking care of that many infants?  Amazing women!!!  Daniel has one special mother who seems to just especially adore him.  Her name is Anat.  She calls him with this big voice…”Dan…Dan…Dan!!”  Today she allowed me to give him his bath from start to finish….lotion him up…and get him dressed in his pjs.  Then she snatched him from my hands and motioned for Paul to get out his camera.  It was SO sweet!  I got a beautiful picture of them together that I plan to bring back as a gift.  We also recorded her voice talking to him…such a precious memory!

{Daniel’s room at Hannah’s Hope}

{Daniel’s first bath with Mommy}

{Anat showing me the ropes…never mind that I have 3 other children…HA!}

The Burianis had to say good-bye to their beautiful kids this afternoon.  It was torture to see them getting final hugs and kissing and watching the children blowing them kisses through the gate.  We are praying for a fast Embassy date and that we will get to travel together again in December!

I know this is getting very long but I wanted to re-cap also some fun things we did over the past few nights that I have not  blogged.  The first was an amazing city tour with a local cabbie named Solomon.  He was recommended by a friend and we hired him to take us on a tour of the city.  He took us to the National Museum where they have 17th century paintings just leaning unprotected against the wall and ancient manuscripts hanging with thumb tacks.  Then he invited us over to his house for a traditional coffee ceremony with his family.  This was an amazing experience and one we will never forget.  Solomon is working class yet lives in a mud hut with one lightbulb and no indoor plumbing.  He pays for his children to attend school and has little else.  They have one small tv and a small refrigerator.  Complete culture shock.  Something I will NEVER forget.

{Solomon with his family}

{Solomon’s neighbors}

{hair braiding rituals}

Last night we attended the cultural dinner with the Burianis and Wass.  The food was amazing and the dancing was spectacular.  Wass works for AGCI as a driver and guide.  He is an amazing man and he made the evening so much fun by trying to teach us the different dances and telling us all about the regions that are children are from.  He is a wealth of knowledge and has given us so much insight into the Ethiopian culture.  I had heard that each region had its own cross.  So while shopping a few days ago I asked the store keeper what cross represented Jimma (where Daniel is from).  He sold me a simple little cross insisting it was from Jimma.  When I asked Wass he just laughed and laughed saying “There is no cross for Jimma…everyone is Muslim”.  I guess I was sucker….where is Wass when you need him?

Tomorrow is our last day at Hannah’s Hope and then we will have to say goodbye to Daniel for a few weeks.  I am not looking forward to that last hug.  My arms are going to feel VERY empty on that plane ride  home!  I am SO eager to see the other kids though and cannot wait to hear more about their adventures with Mimi and Baboo!!

We had a quieter day today…but it was still perfect.  We met Almaz (the director of Hannah’s Hope) first thing in the morning to discuss our court date tomorrow and to talk about Daniel.  Once we were done she waved her hands and said, “Now hurry up and go find your son!”  They were just bringing all of the babies out for play time in the courtyard while the toddler had their breakfast.  It was so cute to see all of the little babies lined up in their bouncy seats!!  There are currently 32 babies at Hannah’s Hope so it is complete baby heaven

We got to hold and snuggle Daniel the ENTIRE morning.  We fed him 2 bottles and held him while he napped.  The special mothers are very protective of the children (which they should be!) and would often try to take him from my arms to lay him down but I kept shoo-ing them away.  I didn’t want to miss ONE minute with him while we were there!

We were supposed to do our shopping at the market this afternoon but when I met with Almaz I convinced her that it was “necessary” for us to be at HH for more time this afternoon.  Since there are few travelers here she allowed us to come back in the late afternoon!  We gave Daniel his bath, another bottle, and snuggled him to sleep.  I can’t even describe how content and sweet he is!  We have been there 2 days now and have yet to hear him really cry.  He SMILES continually.  I think he is smiling in almost every picture we have of him (he even smiled in his sleep).  Wass (one of the driver and workers at HH) said that everyone loves his smile…that is just lights up the room…and we couldn’t agree more.  We even got a few belly laughs out of him!

I so wish that we could share pictures of him here on the blog but Almaz said it was wise to wait until we are home with him.  If you are a local friend I will be HAPPY to share several hundred with you though (watch out small group couples…we have serious footage to share!)  He is just so beautiful!!  Kind of funny…I think he looks just like Gary Coleman (my mom even agreed) so I went around HH saying “What’choo talkin about Willis” all day.  Mr. P thinks I’m nuts…but wait til you see him….you will totally agree!

We have our court appointment tomorrow morning at 8:30am and then Daniel will legally be OURS!!!  After our apt. we will do some shopping and then head back to HH to see our little man.

Tonight we went out to a cultural dinner with Wass and the Burianis.  We have had a blast getting to know them and are SO excited that today they passed court for THREE beautiful siblings!!

Please pray that we pass court tomorrow and continue to have a wonderful time bonding with our little guy!!  We are also praying that we will make the December 27th Embassy date so that we can travel back to bring him home before the end of the year!

It has been a long, exhausting journey to Ethiopia but it was completely worth it today when we got to hold Daniel in our arms for the first time!!

Our journey started in Nebraska as we dropped off the kids with Mimi and Baboo.  Friday morning we drove to Omaha for our first flight…from Omaha to Frankfurt…and then on to Addis Ababa.   We spent several hours at the airport getting our Visas and didn’t make it to the hotel until about midnight Sat. night ET time.  To say we were exhausted would be an understatement.  While in line for our Visas we were being crowded and pushed by an aggressive group of French tourists.  Mr. P kept telling me to “find my happy spot” as I was being pushed and pressed up against.   But frankly…my happy spot was LONG gone at that point!  We got to the hotel, tried to connect to the internet (to no avail) and fell right into bed.  I woke at 4am thinking of Daniel and had a hard time falling back asleep.

We met our driver at 9:30am today to head to Hannah’s Hope.  I can’t even begin to describe our feeling as we drove down the alley towards the orphanage.  Danny led us inside to meet our baby boy as soon as we unloaded from the van.  We walked up the long flight of stairs into one of the baby rooms and one of the special mothers turned and said, “this is Danny boy” as she held up the MOST BEAUTIFUL baby boy I have ever seen…a chunky little baby with dark dark skin, big brown eyes, and tiny soft curls on top of his head.  My heart instantly melted…but I just stood there looking at him…totally unsure of what my next move was supposed to be.  I finally asked to hold him.  Everyone cleared out of the room and we found ourselves completely alone with our new son.  After awhile we went down to the babies play room and just watched him coo and smile for us.  Then we met up with some traveling buddies who are adopting a sibling set of 3 precious children.  We played with the bigger kids for awhile…passed out some silly bands and took their pictures and then Daniel fell asleep in my arms.

We held him throughout his nap time which was pure heaven.  One of the special mothers came and got him from me once he fell asleep in my hands.  But when I realized she was just going to lay him down for his nap I went right back into the building and grabbed him back up

Once if was time to leave Hannah’s Hope for the day we reluctantly handed Daniel back to the special mothers.  We grabbed some lunch and then headed out with our driver Solomon for a tour of the city and a coffee ceremony at his house.  More on this to come….

I would love to be able to explain what is happening in our hearts tonight but wouldn’t do it justice.  We are in love with this tiny baby boy and can’t believe God has allowed us to be his parents.  We can’t believe we are on the other side of the world visiting him and loving him.  God is SO good!

{we would love to show off the hundred of photos of our beautiful boy that we took today but can’t show his face just yet….hopefully these will tide you over!!}

The kids are settled (somewhat) with Mimi and Baboo and we are ready to hit the air!  {sorry for the squinting…it is a bright sunny day!}  Our flight leaves this afternoon.  Internet is unpredictable but we will do our best to send out regular updates either here on the blog or on facebook!  HAPPY SIX MONTHS DANIEL…we can’t wait to HOLD YOU!!

Going to go ahead and share Daniel’s room even though it isn’t really complete…because in all honesty…it probably won’t ever be complete.  I am constantly moving and re-arranging things in our house and his room is likely to be no exception!  The key piece of his room that I am still waiting on…the rug.  I just can’t seem to find what I want for a price I am willing to pay.  Kind of hoping that one will just magically appear in his room while we are in Africa.  That’d be cool wouldn’t it?  Unlikely.  But yes…very cool.  For right now I have Sam’s rug in the space until I decide what size and color I want.   So here is his little space…happy, cheerful, and a bit cheeky.  I have never decorated a room over such a long period of time.  Usually I start a project and wrap it up as quickly as humanly possible.  But it felt good to let this one linger.  And it took a few unexpected twists and turns along the way which I love as well! {for reference….the green walls photographed VERY lime…they are lime…but more of a muted tone.  Don’t know why I felt you needed to know that…but now you know!}

For all of you that love the decorating NITTY GRITTY you can read the fine print.  If this bores you…just take a gander through the images and imagine my cute baby boy snuggled in that bed

The crib:  Off-white sleigh bed used by ALL of my babies.  I know white is probably more of a girl furniture color…but honestly…I just don’t really care.  I love all things white.

The dresser:  Purchased from Jamie of High and Dry.  If you know me then you know that I have an obsession with Jamie’s shop.  Heaven, I tell ya!  I purchased the dresser this summer and added the crystal knobs.  Again…those may be a bit feminine but I love them for their vintage flair and this dresser is likely to find a home somewhere else in my house after Daniel’s bum no longer requires diapering.   I’ll keep the changing pad on top of the dresser until Daniel is potty trained or too squirmy (or big) to need it.  The locker basket will soon be filled with his diapers!

The chair:  Cast off rocking chair from my parent’s house.  Read about it HERE.  This chair is CRAZY comfortable.  I have slept MANY nights in it…and plan to sleep many more   I slipcovered it in denim for Sam’s room 3 years ago.  It isn’t perfect…it was my first foray into slipcovering by my lonesome.  Not a bad job…just don’t look too closely.  The cute little chippy stool should be a good landing spot for those late night bottles and burp rags.  It was a fun find at another favorite spot…Vintage Market.

The bookcase:  Purchased at Mission Road Antique Mall.  I bought this from a dealer for $75 many years ago.  It was backless and we added beadboard to the back.  It was originally painted yellow in the back…then pink for A’s room…and now it is sporting a denim-ish blue (leftover paint from Sam’s bed).  Daniel’s bookshelf is looking somewhat sad and pathetic in the decorating department.  But I am saving some space for some toys and other souvenirs from Africa.  Hopefully we’ll have enough to fill it up soon.  And I’m always on the look out for little metal cars…the hunt continues!  Most of the board books are well loved by my other little people.  A few have been gifts from sweet online friends.  The long wire basket was a $3 garage sale treasure.  The old quilt is from someone’s garage..can’t even remember when I picked that up.  The girls painted the little striped and polka dotted canvases.  They wanted to add their own touch to his room and this seemed like an easy (and inconspicuous) way to do that   Looking at the pictures I think the globes are a bit much on top of the bookcase…but you know my theory that every room needs a few globes

The shelves:  Handmade by my Papa as a young man.  I painted these off-white and had them hanging in A’s room until her sister moved in.  I hope to always find a special spot for them in my house.  The shelves are full of things that make me happy.  A giant paper mache “D”…metal cars…old Kansas license plates…a referral picture…a little stuffed lion sent to us by our agency upon accepting Daniel’s referral…and a special brown baby from another amazing friend.

The bedding:  The FANTASTICALLY DELICIOUS quilt was hand made by Amy Smart.  She wasn’t taking custom order but I gave her my sad saga and she caved   The quilt is perfection.  It has all sorts of vintage-boyish-car fabrics…and is backed with a darling IKEA print.  Amy’s BLOG is a very fun read if you love quilting (or even if you don’t!)  I made the fitted sheet and curtains to match using THIS IKEA print.  A sweet friend picked up the additional yardage for me and I already have the matching twin sized duvet cover for when Daniel is ready for his big boy bed.  Now if you want to be my VERY best friend…and live near an IKEA…I would LOVE a 2nd twin duvet cover (I’d be more than happy to pay the shipping to me…this item isn’t available to purchase online).  I think the boys will eventually be in the same quarters and I’d be thrilled to have the bedding stashed away!  I also made the little matching lumbar pillow out of some scraps from my stash.

The mobile:  Quite possibly one of my FAVORITE things in this room.  It is so happy and modern and happy (did I say happy twice??  it is SO HAPPY!)  I first ran across the idea while searching on Etsy when I saw THIS SHOP.  Then I realized that she was generous enough on HER BLOG to offer a tutorial on how to make the very mobile I had been lusting over.  She even has a beading tutorial as well!  I am most definitely NOT a beader so I commissioned her to do this part of the job for me…then I picked it up at the next step…cutting the circles and ribbon and attaching the streamers   Normally I would make The Librarian do the beading for me but she ditched me for Peru and was unavailable for my crafting emergencies…the audacity!  I can tell you that even this part of the project was more involved then I anticipated.  My “afternoon” project stretched on for a couple of weeks…but the effort was totally worth it.  Have I mentioned this mobile makes me SO VERY HAPPY?

The artwork:  Awesome 1960s World Atlas map of Africa found at Vintage Market North.  I used spray adhesive and attached it to foam board then mod podged the top with noticeable brush strokes.  It sounds like I knew what I was doing but I just followed Jamie’s instructions.  I bought the frame from her, popped the print in, and then showed up at her door looking pathetic and she helped me with the rest

The rest:  The big lion has a special story and came from one of my dearest friends.  The little red chair came from…guess who?  Ding, ding, ding…my pal Jamie.  The cute metal suitcase was a random purchase at an antique store in Grand Island, NE during one of my trips to the Big Pink Party House.

The rug:  yep.  still no rug.

The end.

After a few hundred hours together this fall…the Kansas City Matilda Jane Trunk keeper and I are like total BFFs.  OK…maybe she is actually totally and completely sick of me.  But she still let me photograph her kids…so that is saying something.  This wasn’t our first session together.  Her kids definitely know the drill now and never seem to disappoint.  They are gorgeous.  Dressed to the nines.  And crazy fun too.  We managed to squeeze a session into my fall schedule right before the cut off.  Unfortunately, we picked a dark, cool, windy day in the West Bottoms….but we didn’t let that get us down!

We’ve got the mischevious big brother…rule follower big sister…and little Miss Spunky Pants at the rear.  These images took a few bribes (gotta still get on that Jerilynn when I get home!) but were SO worth the effort.  I’ve decided the better you know the kids as the photographer…the more bribery it takes.  My own kids gave up asking for candy and stickers.  They’ve moved on and are now demanding puppies and ponies.  Fortunately, all these shots cost me was some ice cream…not a bad deal I think!

I really do count it a privilege to photograph these kids.  And THANK YOU to their mommy for putting up with me this fall and helping me raise the money needed to FLY TO AFRICA to meet my son!  What a huge blessing!

Back to packing….

We are busy busy busy packing up for our upcoming trip!  And amidst the craziness here I had to stop and share some of the donations that we’ll be delivering IN PERSON this week to Hannah’s Hope!

That’s 7 bags of diapers, 14 cans of formula, clothing, toys, pedialyte, and liquid vitamins!!  I’m so excited to take these and bless the staff and children there!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to those who have helped us with this!

The countdown has begun…just THREE more days until we begin our journey to see Daniel for the first time!  For those who like to keep up with our schedule….

Thursday, Nov. 18th – head to Nebraska to get the kiddos settled with Mimi and Baboo
Friday, Nov. 19th – fly out of Omaha
Saturday, Nov. 20th – arrive in Addis (in the evening there)
Sunday, Nov. 21st – MEET DANIEL FOR THE FIRST TIME!
Mon-Wed, Nov. 22nd-24th – visit Daniel at Hannah’s Hope, sight see, shop, etc.
Wednesday, Nov. 24th – fly out of Addis
Thursday, Nov. 25th – fly into Omaha (Thanksgiving Day!) Drive to the Big Pink Party House to meet the kids and celebrate
Friday, Nov. 26th – Stolley family Thanksgiving
Saturday, Nov. 27th – shop for Daniel (finally!)
Sunday, Nov. 28th – COME HOME!

We would covet your prayers while we are gone!  There are so many emotions swimming through my head right now it is difficult to put to words.  I’m overwhelmed by the thought of FINALLY meeting my son for the first time…and dreading leaving him in Ethiopia and flying away.   We know our agency has a December 27th Embassy date and we are PRAYING that we might be assigned that date so that Daniel will be home by the end of the year!!  Will you join us in praying for that miracle??

I’ll be back to check in at least once more   And if we have a decent internet connection in ET I will blog from the hotel…so please check in!!!

Last week my parents gave us a Flip as an early Christmas present {they are clearly wanting video of their newest grandson}.  So tonight during bedtime snacks we turned it on to capture the essence of Little Man’s cuteness.  Yes, I am feeding my son a hot dog for a bedtime snack.  Yes, I realize that this  issue will keep me from winning “Mother of the Year”.  The kid hates dinner and will only eat at non meal times.  It is one of the ways that he chooses to torment me.  But then he goes and sings “The Hot Dog Song” and I am all chuckles (sorry for the camera shake and heavy breathing/laughing).  Don’t ask me why we thought he should sing a song to his hot dog…can’t give you an answer on that one!  You get extra credit points if you can name the first tune.

And just to prove that my mothering is not a complete waste…the kid actually knows something too.  Somehow he figured out all of the letter sounds….at 2 nonetheless.  It may be the endless hours of Noggin…or maybe he’s just a genius…but either way…he’s cute!  Pardon the annoying “mommy voice”.  Man…I sound like a drill Sargent

Good times in the Cooper house!