As Micah's first Christmas draws to a close, I sit in the dim glow of the Christmas tree reflecting on what an incredible year it has been for our family. Today has been a truly remarkable day, and for none of the ordinary reasons. Over the past several days, Rebecca and I have reflected on all of the families that have been built and have expanded this year through marriage, birth, and adoption. It is truly overwhelming.
I could not be more grateful for how our family has grown and by proxy been impacted this year.
I have thought a lot about Ethiopia over the past several months. It is the only place I have ever traveled that I have missed upon returning home. Last night as we prepared to go to bed, I couldn't help but wonder what was happening as the sun rose over Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Again I felt so grateful to be the father of one of Ethiopia's sons. We will forever be connected to Ethiopia and its people. By that intrinsic connection, we have been (and I suspect will be) richly blessed.
In two short months, we will again welcome another McGee into our hearts and home. It is strange for us to have a due date. It is even stranger that it is probably accurate. For three Christmases while we were waiting for Micah to come home, I optimistically said "maybe be by Christmas," (little did I know in 2008 that I meant the Christmas of 2011). In February, Jonathan Ezra Bridges will be born, and our lives will again be up-ended. I can't wait. If having a newborn looks anything like bringing home a jet-lagged eleven month old, 2012 will be another year to remember.
Over the past year, our lives have been a whirlwind of adjustment. We’ve been awake the better part of several nights, and we’ve learned to sleep again. We’ve changed not only first diapers, but more than we could ever count. We’ve learned one word, then two, then thirty-two. We’ve mastered walking. We’ve cried a lot, learned things about ourselves that we never knew, and rediscovered some things that we had forgotten were true. We have experienced enormous blessings and we’ve made mistakes. We have had our lives completely undone by a 19 pound human being, and we’ve put them back together to create a life that is a true gift and a blessing.
Merry Christmas!
Ryan
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Four Months Since Micah's "Gotcha Day" :)
Four months ago today, we landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and were met by a driver from Ethiopia Guest House who escorted us to our home-away-from-home for the week (and the place where we would first experience 25-hour-per-day parenting). We arrived first-thing in the morning, and we almost immediately settled in for a nap. Neither one of us had slept much on the plane ride, so rest was in order. We planned to wake up just in time for lunch. Wake up, we did, to the sound of a knock indicating that not only was lunch ready, but that we were due for a meeting at our agency care center in just under an hour. "Meeting? Really? We just got here? We haven't even called to tell them we're here yet!"
In Ethiopia, nothing happens in an hour, so it was about 2pm (not the 1pm mandate) when we arrived at Layla House to pick up our son. There was no meeting, but Micah was apparently "ready for us." I'm not sure exactly what they meant by ready, but I observed that it likely meant, "asleep in a sopping wet diaper with a bottle lying next to him." :) Ready, or not, picking up a sleepy, sopping wet, 11-month old, was our inauguration into parenthood. Changing the diaper and putting him in fresh clothing (which we brought with us for such an occasion) was our first act of parenthood. Actually, I think Ryan was holding a camera for that part, but who's keeping track?
Since then, there have been LOTS of wet diapers (many changed by Ryan!), plenty of times to gather up a sleeping child and plenty more to gather up an unwilling-to-sleep child. There have been many times we felt like we didn't have a clue what to do and many more, recently, where we were proud to find that in-fact we DID know what to do. The times when we know what to do are finally outweighing the times where we don't, and after a great deal of learning and a great deal of crying (on the part of ALL parties involved), we are much more "ready" than we were on Gotcha Day, for the challenges and joys of parenthood.
It has been a VERY, VERY good four months.
Rebecca
Happy mom to Micah, who just completed a shorter-than-desirable nap! :)
In Ethiopia, nothing happens in an hour, so it was about 2pm (not the 1pm mandate) when we arrived at Layla House to pick up our son. There was no meeting, but Micah was apparently "ready for us." I'm not sure exactly what they meant by ready, but I observed that it likely meant, "asleep in a sopping wet diaper with a bottle lying next to him." :) Ready, or not, picking up a sleepy, sopping wet, 11-month old, was our inauguration into parenthood. Changing the diaper and putting him in fresh clothing (which we brought with us for such an occasion) was our first act of parenthood. Actually, I think Ryan was holding a camera for that part, but who's keeping track?
Since then, there have been LOTS of wet diapers (many changed by Ryan!), plenty of times to gather up a sleeping child and plenty more to gather up an unwilling-to-sleep child. There have been many times we felt like we didn't have a clue what to do and many more, recently, where we were proud to find that in-fact we DID know what to do. The times when we know what to do are finally outweighing the times where we don't, and after a great deal of learning and a great deal of crying (on the part of ALL parties involved), we are much more "ready" than we were on Gotcha Day, for the challenges and joys of parenthood.
It has been a VERY, VERY good four months.
Rebecca
Happy mom to Micah, who just completed a shorter-than-desirable nap! :)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Day 91
Today is the 91st day of our life with Micah in Oklahoma City (that means we've been united as a family close to one-hundred days). During that time, our lives have been altered in countless ways; however, our old lives already seem distant and surreal.
Our second trip to Addis Ababa was vastly different from our first. We stayed in a positively lovely guest house, to which we were more-or-less sequestered for the bulk of our trip. We were fortunate to share the house with another adoptive family who was adopting two siblings from our agency. We shared meals and spent afternoons talking with the house staff and begging for their recipes for doro wet and shiro wet (pronounced dora watt and sheero watt).On several occasions we shared drivers to the Monthly NGO Market and to Layla House, where Micah spent many of the first months of his life.
Micah was well cared for by all of the nannies at Layla, but two in particular took a special interest in him and were sad to see him leave. Toward the end of our week in Addis, the both said bittersweet goodbyes to him and told him they loved him in Amharic. It was truly beautiful to see and comforting to know that Micah had been loved while he was in care at Layla.
The flights home were smooth, by long. Out of Addis we flew Ethiopia Air, and were truly treated like dignitaries. We were escorted to the front of lines in the airport and other passengers cleared the aisle and sent us to the front of the line any time we took Micah to the restroom. Although we could not have been treated more graciously on the flight, 18 hours is a long time to sit in the middle seat of an airplane. The length of the flight was confounded by the fact that the delightful woman from Cameroon in the seat next to me did not seem too please to be sharing the aisle with two new parents and a very active baby.
We landed in Washington D.C. the day following the assignation of Osama Bin Laden. Needless to say, security was extremely tight and the TSA employees were even less friendly than usual. For some reason they were neither sympathetic to the fact that we had been in flight for nearly an entire day, nor to the fact that we had a new baby. Needless to say, our TSA experience was a little traumatic, in part because the ground still felt like it was moving and because we were experiencing some serious confusion about the current time zone and its implications on our lives.
Somewhere between Washington D.C. and Denver, I developed an upset stomach that I now attribute entirely to the sheer stress of knowing that we were bringing home a child, who was going to live with us, forever. My stomach was upset for about three days, at which time (either because I adjusted, or from complete exhaustion) it promptly departed. On our final flight we sat in the back of the plane across the aisle from a man who ad adopted internationally and a flight attendant who herself was adopt. It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who were not only excited, but understood the difficulty of travelling internationally with an eleven month old.
In our short time home, Micah's personality has grown and evolved. He's become more comfortable with his surroundings and his parents, he's become increasingly more affectionate, and he's napping and sleeping consistently. Most recently, he's taken to jabbering virtually non-stop. He clearly has thoughts and opinions that he is desperately trying to share with us. Once we've mastered the use of more discernible words, I'm sure we'll enjoy every bit of what he has to say.
Micah is also cruising around our furniture like a champion and he's walking holding on with only one hand. If he ever figures out that he can actually support himself and walk without our help, all home decor will be re-homed to four feet above the floor and higher. This may make for an unusual sense of fung shui in our home, but it is probably for the best.
Our lives are certainly different than they were four months ago, and I have sojourned a long way from the queasy-stomached fathered who walked off a commuter jet with a nearly year-old baby in his arms. Our evenings are quieter and our days more ordered and routine. For the most part we've enjoyed the change of pace; however, in the midst of this incredibly hot summer, I have on many occasions longed for the 8:00 p.m. ice cream runs of summers past. Micah has done outstandingly well, and we are so blessed for him to be part of our family forever.
Ryan
Our second trip to Addis Ababa was vastly different from our first. We stayed in a positively lovely guest house, to which we were more-or-less sequestered for the bulk of our trip. We were fortunate to share the house with another adoptive family who was adopting two siblings from our agency. We shared meals and spent afternoons talking with the house staff and begging for their recipes for doro wet and shiro wet (pronounced dora watt and sheero watt).On several occasions we shared drivers to the Monthly NGO Market and to Layla House, where Micah spent many of the first months of his life.
Micah was well cared for by all of the nannies at Layla, but two in particular took a special interest in him and were sad to see him leave. Toward the end of our week in Addis, the both said bittersweet goodbyes to him and told him they loved him in Amharic. It was truly beautiful to see and comforting to know that Micah had been loved while he was in care at Layla.
The flights home were smooth, by long. Out of Addis we flew Ethiopia Air, and were truly treated like dignitaries. We were escorted to the front of lines in the airport and other passengers cleared the aisle and sent us to the front of the line any time we took Micah to the restroom. Although we could not have been treated more graciously on the flight, 18 hours is a long time to sit in the middle seat of an airplane. The length of the flight was confounded by the fact that the delightful woman from Cameroon in the seat next to me did not seem too please to be sharing the aisle with two new parents and a very active baby.
We landed in Washington D.C. the day following the assignation of Osama Bin Laden. Needless to say, security was extremely tight and the TSA employees were even less friendly than usual. For some reason they were neither sympathetic to the fact that we had been in flight for nearly an entire day, nor to the fact that we had a new baby. Needless to say, our TSA experience was a little traumatic, in part because the ground still felt like it was moving and because we were experiencing some serious confusion about the current time zone and its implications on our lives.
Somewhere between Washington D.C. and Denver, I developed an upset stomach that I now attribute entirely to the sheer stress of knowing that we were bringing home a child, who was going to live with us, forever. My stomach was upset for about three days, at which time (either because I adjusted, or from complete exhaustion) it promptly departed. On our final flight we sat in the back of the plane across the aisle from a man who ad adopted internationally and a flight attendant who herself was adopt. It was wonderful to be surrounded by people who were not only excited, but understood the difficulty of travelling internationally with an eleven month old.
In our short time home, Micah's personality has grown and evolved. He's become more comfortable with his surroundings and his parents, he's become increasingly more affectionate, and he's napping and sleeping consistently. Most recently, he's taken to jabbering virtually non-stop. He clearly has thoughts and opinions that he is desperately trying to share with us. Once we've mastered the use of more discernible words, I'm sure we'll enjoy every bit of what he has to say.
Micah is also cruising around our furniture like a champion and he's walking holding on with only one hand. If he ever figures out that he can actually support himself and walk without our help, all home decor will be re-homed to four feet above the floor and higher. This may make for an unusual sense of fung shui in our home, but it is probably for the best.
Our lives are certainly different than they were four months ago, and I have sojourned a long way from the queasy-stomached fathered who walked off a commuter jet with a nearly year-old baby in his arms. Our evenings are quieter and our days more ordered and routine. For the most part we've enjoyed the change of pace; however, in the midst of this incredibly hot summer, I have on many occasions longed for the 8:00 p.m. ice cream runs of summers past. Micah has done outstandingly well, and we are so blessed for him to be part of our family forever.
Ryan
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hi-Ho Hi-Ho Back to the Embassy We Go
Our adoption file, which at this point represents 2.5 years of our lives was re-submitted to the US Embassy with some additional documentation yesterday. So, we're back to where we were six weeks ago - waiting on the embassy to contact us with a YES you can come get a visa for Micah or no, not yet. :S
In other news, though, I finally found the perfect rocking chair, except that it needs to be painted. Surely it's a sign that the end is near...
Rebecca :)
In other news, though, I finally found the perfect rocking chair, except that it needs to be painted. Surely it's a sign that the end is near...
Rebecca :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Patience, Do I Really Need Thee?
Pots, pans, and baking dishes cover our formal living room floor. Cheerios, granola, plates, mugs, and glasses cover our kitchen tabletop. We are deep into yet another home project - repainting our kitchen cabinets and obtaining new cabinet doors and drawers that roll in and out without leaving sawdust in the containers below.
We don't really want to play "Where's Waldo" every time we need a spatula or a plastic baggie, but a big, messy home improvement project is the only way we know how to pass the time while we wait for the illusive call that will begin our flurry of bag-packing and ticket-buying to return to our little boy. So, we paint with oil-based primer and leave our house for a few days, only to return to begin the process again with oil-based paint.
The chaos of our kitchen is but a foggy mirror image of the chaos we feel as we wait for this adoption process to complete. God is faithful, and it will be done on God's timing and not before. In the meantime, we won't be calling our congressman or informing AAI that Micah is almost one and is missing time with his new family (because I believe they already know all that). We'll simply pull on a fume-stopping mask and break out the mineral spirits and paint. Then, someday soon, we'll put our cereal and utensils back where they belong and maybe, just maybe, it will be time for Micah to come home.
If not, there are always the bathrooms...
Rebecca :)
We don't really want to play "Where's Waldo" every time we need a spatula or a plastic baggie, but a big, messy home improvement project is the only way we know how to pass the time while we wait for the illusive call that will begin our flurry of bag-packing and ticket-buying to return to our little boy. So, we paint with oil-based primer and leave our house for a few days, only to return to begin the process again with oil-based paint.
The chaos of our kitchen is but a foggy mirror image of the chaos we feel as we wait for this adoption process to complete. God is faithful, and it will be done on God's timing and not before. In the meantime, we won't be calling our congressman or informing AAI that Micah is almost one and is missing time with his new family (because I believe they already know all that). We'll simply pull on a fume-stopping mask and break out the mineral spirits and paint. Then, someday soon, we'll put our cereal and utensils back where they belong and maybe, just maybe, it will be time for Micah to come home.
If not, there are always the bathrooms...
Rebecca :)
Friday, February 25, 2011
About God, Faith, and Adoption
This morning as I was getting ready and hoping for news, I thought of how surprised our friends and family would be if this process was finally coming to a close and we could finally travel to bring Micah home. I thought of how so many of them would say things like, "Wow, that was fast! I can't believe they don't give you more notice than that!" I also laughed at the thought, recognizing that we have had YEARS of notice.
"Micah, you weren't a surprise to us," I thought. "We have been preparing for you for a very long time. No matter how sudden the news, you can't catch us off-guard. We have been on-guard waiting for you for a long time."
I wonder if that is how God thinks of us. I wonder if God looks at us in our sticky situations of life and says, "It's not a surprise to me. I've seen it coming for a long time. In fact, I see past it, too, and what I see is good." I wonder if God takes time to laugh a bit at us, recognizing that He knew who we were even before we did. "Child, you can't catch ME by surprise. I've been waiting on your arrival."
Rebecca
"Micah, you weren't a surprise to us," I thought. "We have been preparing for you for a very long time. No matter how sudden the news, you can't catch us off-guard. We have been on-guard waiting for you for a long time."
I wonder if that is how God thinks of us. I wonder if God looks at us in our sticky situations of life and says, "It's not a surprise to me. I've seen it coming for a long time. In fact, I see past it, too, and what I see is good." I wonder if God takes time to laugh a bit at us, recognizing that He knew who we were even before we did. "Child, you can't catch ME by surprise. I've been waiting on your arrival."
Rebecca
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Home...for a Little While
Last night as our plane touched down in Oklahoma City, I couldn't have been more excited to be home and closer to my own bed than I had been in twelve days. I was also a little sad to be deplaning without Micah. Not that we had expected any different; however, it was difficult none the less.
Last Monday we became the legal parents of the most perfect little boy. He is happy healthy, and developmentally on target. He is receiving outstanding care and is loved by his nannies. As Rebecca predicted, between us I had the most difficultly leaving Micah. During the ten days we spent in Ethiopia, I grew incredibly attached and I am anxious to bring him home. I have also found myself missing the sounds and smells of Addis Ababa. I miss teenage boys yelling from line taxis, the smell of Ethiopian food, the constant reverberation of traditional Ethiopian music, and macchiatos (yes, I know a macchiato can be procured at any Starbucks, its just not the same).
Addis Ababa and the people who inhabit it are wonderfully beautiful and unique. In many ways, I think we were surprised by how truly amazing both proved themselves to be. I have never been immersed in a culture so richly diverse and so oriented toward the service of others - especially outsiders. On more than one occasion we requested directions or asked about some particular item in a shop and we were personally escorted to the place about which we inquired several blocks away or a shopkeeper from several stores away with a better command of the English language was recruited to converse with us. Time and again, I was astounded by the complete generosity of the Ethiopian people. Their love for others and their love of their country is in many ways unmatched. I am proud to be the parent of a child with ties to such a beautiful culture.
Today I am glad to be home. I have enjoyed the sounds of American pop music and the taste of coffee brewed in my own coffee pot. I have also missed a little person, who I cannot wait to bring home. It has been a long journey, and it's not over yet, but we are again one step closer to being three instead of two. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the next few months in preparation of Micah's home coming. In a short time he will be home and ours lives will forever be changed.
Ryan
Last Monday we became the legal parents of the most perfect little boy. He is happy healthy, and developmentally on target. He is receiving outstanding care and is loved by his nannies. As Rebecca predicted, between us I had the most difficultly leaving Micah. During the ten days we spent in Ethiopia, I grew incredibly attached and I am anxious to bring him home. I have also found myself missing the sounds and smells of Addis Ababa. I miss teenage boys yelling from line taxis, the smell of Ethiopian food, the constant reverberation of traditional Ethiopian music, and macchiatos (yes, I know a macchiato can be procured at any Starbucks, its just not the same).
Addis Ababa and the people who inhabit it are wonderfully beautiful and unique. In many ways, I think we were surprised by how truly amazing both proved themselves to be. I have never been immersed in a culture so richly diverse and so oriented toward the service of others - especially outsiders. On more than one occasion we requested directions or asked about some particular item in a shop and we were personally escorted to the place about which we inquired several blocks away or a shopkeeper from several stores away with a better command of the English language was recruited to converse with us. Time and again, I was astounded by the complete generosity of the Ethiopian people. Their love for others and their love of their country is in many ways unmatched. I am proud to be the parent of a child with ties to such a beautiful culture.
Today I am glad to be home. I have enjoyed the sounds of American pop music and the taste of coffee brewed in my own coffee pot. I have also missed a little person, who I cannot wait to bring home. It has been a long journey, and it's not over yet, but we are again one step closer to being three instead of two. There is a lot of work that needs to be done in the next few months in preparation of Micah's home coming. In a short time he will be home and ours lives will forever be changed.
Ryan
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