Our Story

New Website

2007-10-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

we've moved our website to:

http://web.mac.com/theabes/Site/Home.html

We're sending out a mass email with the username and password for the site. If you didn't get the username and password, please leave a comment or email us at cchilcott@hotmail.com.

Thanks!

Welcome Home Daddy!!!!

2007-10-01T17:58:00.000-05:00

Hey there everyone! Daddy came home Sunday night and we're so happy to be together again! He is exhausted to say the very least. He has a great appetite, though! :)
My Dad rolls in Tuesday night and will take my mom home Wednesday morning. Then we're hittin' the road Thursday or so en route to VA for the Army Ten Miler this Sunday and some quality time with Mimi and Jiddy!
Hope you like the pics!

Went to Nashville...

2007-09-26T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! We went to Nashville yesterday to meet up with my favorite cousin, Jackie (yes, the same one who blessed us and watched all three girls while Chris and I went out to dinner). First we met at "Old Time Pottery" and shopped till we dropped! The three girls lasted two hours if you can believe that! It was QUITE a feat if I say so myself! Then we went back to Jackie's house in Murfreesboro so my mom could see her digs. It was alot of fun! So I'm including some pictures of Jackie's cute house and all of us on her front porch and then a picture of Taylor "holding" Claire the other night.
Mom and I are taking a break today and tomorrow. It's raining here and we just need some downtime! We've been working hard and getting our house ready for Chris to come home and relax! I think today is a playdough, baking, and clean-up day around the house. We're taking it easy and just enjoying ourselves!
Hope you like the pictures...

Mums, Moms, and the Terrible Twos...

2007-09-24T14:51:00.000-05:00

Hey "y'all!" as they say down here. Just a quick update and then I'm going to lie down...
My mom is still here and we're painting fools! We have quite the routine going with the girls... painting during naptime or after they go to bed at night. It's so much easier to paint with someone else who enjoys it! (At least I think my mom does anyway)!
We've painted the guest bathroom, the master bedroom, and now we're painting the living room/foyer area. It makes this base house feel so much "homier!"
We're also getting in the spirit of autumn and have added lots of color to the garden out front with an assortment of mums! I love 'em!
Still haven't heard from Chris- no news is good news these days- but he should be finishing up his course at the end of this week and be heading home hopefully by Sunday!
Taylor and Emily are both doing great. Although Taylor has definitely peaked at the terrible twos. I feel like all I do all day long is threaten and cajole her into obeying me! ARGH! Parenthood!
At least we have nicer temps so we're outside alot more. Praise the Lord for fresh air and playgrounds!
Gotta go rest before the little ones wake-up...

planting mums with mom...

2007-09-24T13:22:00.000-05:00

"The plastic toy backyard club"

2007-09-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later with three little ones... I was just avoiding it as long as I could. The other night while we were all in the backyard and Taylor and Emily were fighting over who was going to play with the large metal sprinkler my mother wisely said "I think you need some kids toys back here" and I agreed. So we trekked to the PX (that night!) and bought an angel fish rocker, a sandbox, and two of those popper toys that the kids push. It's so great! HA!

New pics!

2007-09-18T13:44:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone! Here are some new pics for you to enjoy. I am totally having a blast with my mom here. She's such a blessing to us all! (I haven't done the dishes or laundry yet!) We're enjoying the cooler temps as you can see... just beautiful here!
Enjoy!

Hey everyone!

2007-09-13T14:28:00.000-05:00

The pics...

2007-09-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!
Below are some new pics for you to enjoy! Claire is such a smiley, happy little baby! Here she is with Dad the night before he leaves for SERE School. (Waaahh)! Chris totally blessed me today and I took Claire and went to Starbucks with my friend Cheryl and then we went shopping! I was out all afternoon! He stayed home with the girls and packed for his trip.
Anyway, the other pics are the girls enjoying brownie batter- yum yum! And yes, that's a diaper hat on Emily's head. Such a silly girl!!!! And then you'll see the girls sitting (tied to their chairs!) at my cousin, Jackie's. She lives in Murfreesboro and TOTALLY blessed us by watching ALL THREE girls while Chris and I went out to dinner nearby! It was the best hour and half we've had together in a long time! Doug, Jackie's boyfriend is sitting at the table with the girls. Then there's me and Chris in front of the Republican Headquarters (THAT'S ROCKSTAR PARKING!) in downtown Murfreesboro. Then I think there's one of me and Jackie as we're loading up the car with the kids after our date night! That's my life, infant in one hand and wipes in the other! HA!
Okay, well I've got to get going.
Love and Hugs...

2007-09-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

2007-09-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Anniversary!

2007-09-06T15:07:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone-
We've been posting alot of pictures but haven't really had much time to write. Yesterday we celebrated our 9-year wedding anniversary! It was a typical day spent at home with the kids, but we celebrated in our hearts all day! We are going down to Nashville this afternoon and my cousin, Jackie, has volunteered to watch all three girls while we go out to dinner! Yippee! Date night in Nashville! We're doing italian at a local place Jackie has recommended.
Anyway, we are so thankful for nine wonderful years together. Look at how far we've come! We looked through our wedding album yesterday and just talked about how different our lives were without three little ones. We are blessed. We truly are just soaking up this time together as a family. God is so good to let us have it!
Anyway, we've got to get the girls up so we can hop in the mini-van and beat rush hour traffic in the city!
Maybe we can get a picture of us (the happily married totally overrun by children couple) tonite.... we'll see!

2007-09-05T12:30:00.001-05:00

2007-09-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

2007-09-02T21:28:00.000-05:00

2007-09-02T21:27:00.000-05:00

2007-09-02T21:25:00.000-05:00

2007-08-31T15:49:00.000-05:00

2007-08-31T15:46:00.000-05:00

2007-08-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

Take a close look at Emily's new sign language!

don't leave me!!!

2007-08-29T23:07:00.001-05:00

Chris left Tuesday. I spent all day Wednesday mourning the loss of another adult in the house (not that we have much time to actually converse)... and being short with the short people in the house instead... (zoe included!) it was rough. but the good news is that chris will be home again this weekend and his SERE school got postponed by a week so we'll get to celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary together! i think we'll actually try to hire a sitter so we can go out to dinner sans children! i gotta get on that.
when the girls go to bed and the house is all quiet i honestly, literally don't know what to do with myself! it's weird!
you should see the walls in my house. i have paint samples painted on every wall. i can't wait to get it done! i've gone through four different shades of blue in the master bedroom and three shades of khaki in the living room/dining room. i learned the hard way in yuma when i painted rooms wrong colors and had to go back and do them over, so this time i'm investing time and money in one-quart samples instead. okay, i'm babbling now. guess i should get some sleep while i can so i'm not as grouchy tomorrow.
adios friends!

Aaaahhhh.....

2007-08-25T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Life is good! Below are some recent pics of Claire (so big already going on 7 weeks!) and our friends that stopped in for a visit. Talk about Mommy brain! It's kind of a funny story and I wonder if anyone else can relate... Jackie, my dear friend from college, and her husband, Michael, were on their way to Birmingham and planned to stop and stay the night with us en route. I had it on my calendar and everything! Wednesday night we went to church, then took the kids to the playground so they could burn some energy and we stayed until after 8:00pm! Then we went home, gave the girls a bath, and put them to bed. The house was trashed, we were both exhausted, and Zoe needed a walk! Chris left to take Zoe out and I checked my email to see if Jackie had written to tell me what time they'd be arriving the next evening when SUDDENLY there was a knock, knock, knock on my front door and I thought it might be a neighbor stopping by... lo and behold it was Jackie and Michael! I felt so completely unprepared and shocked!!!! But I was also soooo happy to see my old friend! Jackie is the dear sweet soul that ministered to me when I was a lost soul still and gave me the book that ultimately led to my salvation, "A Severe Mercy," and then "Mere Christianity." Anyway, we stayed up until almost 2am catching up and getting to know Michael. It was a great time (even if I payed for it the next day!!!!) :) So that's Jackie and Michael in the picture with me, she's pregnant with their first child (a girl) and due in October!
You know what I think is so funny? The trends right now are so maternity looking! Here I just spent the last six months in the same old maternity outfits and now that I'm finally NOT pregnant- that's the look that everyone is wearing! It's hilarious! At least I get to hide those extra 13 pounds!!!!! :)
Well I am babbling now.
We're doing great, and Jackie and Michael are actually coming back through on Monday afternoon and I promise to be ready this time!!!!!
Chris will be leaving Tuesday for Ft. Rucker. I'm bracing myself for the separation anxiety! Just kidding. I'm just trying to fill my schedule with fun things to do so we don't go crazy!!!
Love all around-
Carrie

2007-08-24T21:47:00.000-05:00

Razz!

2007-08-19T21:48:00.000-05:00

we've been up to...

2007-08-19T17:05:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Sorry we haven't posted any recent pics lately. Time has a way of getting away from us! We have had a great couple of weeks- we're all feeling 100% better from the colds (PRAISE THE LORD!) and our schedules are filling up! It's great to be busy again. MOPS has begun and is a great lifeline for me as a stay-at-home Mom! Of course the biggest challenge is getting all four of us gals out the door and to the church by 9:00am every other week! But the time of fellowship and encouragement is a huge blessing to me so I make the effort! (Did I mention that the girls go to the church nursery so I can get a break? ;)
Our dear friend, Will (or "Razz" as some of you know him) came through town yesterday and spend the night with us. That was so great to see him and catch-up with him! The girls just loved him right away- he has "the knack" with kids! We all went out to eat at Chili's for dinner and Claire slept in her carseat the whole time while Emily and Taylor played at the table and the guys had a chance to talk shop. It was fun for all of us to get out of the house and enjoy time with Will!
Seeing our friends from our Oki days only makes us homesick, though! We spend the evening looking through our albums of our almost five years overseas and we went to bed so longing for that place again!
Chris is getting ready to leave for Ft. Rucker again. He'll do the dunker first (swim training I guess) and then he'll stay down there for SEAR school (I think that's what it's called). I think we might all go down with him for the dunker part and to go to the beach before summer ends. The girls (and Mom) would love that! Then we'll head back up here without Daddy and he'll be home third week in September.
I just talked with my Gramma Beth today and she and Ed are planning to visit in September. I'm looking forward to that! Remember we have a guest room available if anyone wants (dares) to stop by our crazy house! You are MORE than welcome!
We'll be in quite the routine this fall, since I have bible study on Tuesdays, church on Wednesdays, MOPS on Thursdays, and small group on Fridays~ of course not every single week is that full, but at least I have things to do with my kids!
God is good and we feel blessed all the time!
Enjoy the pics!!!!

emily's first haircut!

2007-08-19T17:04:00.001-05:00

TADA! I CAN SEE AGAIN!

Emily's First Haircut!

2007-08-19T17:02:00.000-05:00

It's about time we trimmed those bangs! Emily did great as we trimmed her hair for the first time about a week or two ago. She has watched me as I trim Taylor's, so I think she knew what to do! What a cutie!

Hangin' at Home

2007-08-12T17:12:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! It's been a few days of craziness around here- I'm thinking it's going to be like this for say, another 20 years or so!!!! :) Chris is still sick- he can't seem to kick the sinus thing that we've all been battling. Looks like all us girls have cleared up though, so now Daddy just has to heal! Pray for him to get better soon!
These pictures that Chris posted are just some of the fun times we've been having. Taylor is two and full of herself! Bossy, demanding, and loves to read (like the glasses?) Emily is your typical 15-month old baby/toddler... into EVERYTHING (just ask anyone who has visited), loves to test the boundaries on everything, and is just really into discovering her world! She also loves to eat, and we've had her on the "BRAT" diet for a couple weeks now, to keep her, uh, well, "regular." (BRATS stands for bread, rice, applesauce, toast) and it's been helping her alot. In the mornings, Emily is usually the second one up after Claire, so we have a nice quiet breakfast together before the chatterbox (Taylor) joins us. It's nice. Emily babbles alot and can talk, but rarely has a chance to do so. I am told that I was exactly the same way with a talkative older sister, so I'm not worried at all b/c I sure can talk now! :) Claire loves her bathtime and Taylor enjoys helping out whenever she can. She's such a good big sister to both girls.
Chris blessed me today by letting me go shopping alone! I went to Kohl's and bought some new capris! Hopefully the weather will ease up and cool off a bit so I can wear them! It was so nice to go shopping for myself and not be distracted! Two hours of that filled my tank for the month! Thank you, honey! Poor guy, he's really not feeling well.
We were super motivated and inspired at church this morning when our pastor, Freddy T. encouraged everyone to pursue spiritual disciplines! We are the first to confess that we spend more minutes of our day checking email, blogging, surfing the web or just taking care of the girls and we don't make time with our Lord. Freddy T. reminded us that spiritual disciplines take perseverance and practice and we should be prepared to fail at times! It was an honest and heartfelt message that motivated both of us. We actually both asked some friends of ours to be our accountability partners before we left church! Nothing like a good kick in the pants from someone asking you, "How is your time in The Word?" or, "Have you been praying regularly?" to motivate and inspire! Hopefully it will truly hold us accountable as we seek to draw closer to God! I'll let you know! :)
Okay, Claire is fussin' and I gotta get something going for dinner tonite! It's already 5:30!!!!
Love all around,
Carrie

2007-08-12T13:47:00.000-05:00

2007-08-09T10:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Claire!

2007-08-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

Claire will be one month tomorrow! WOW! Where did that month go? Oh, yes, I remember--- I was wincing in pain while nursing through most of it! HA! The great news is that the yeast infection has cleared up and nursing feels normal again! Thank you Jesus! There is nothing quite like the pain I felt during those weeks of infection. Thank the good Lord for powerful antibiotics!
Things here at the Abraham house are settling into "normalcy," if you can consider three little ones that take every ounce of energy from you "normal!" But now that the houseguests (who were HUGE helps to us during those long days!) are all gone we can get into a more regular routine which the girls all thrive on! Chris is back to work as usual with a light schedule which brings him home every afternoon usually. Another gift from God! He's still training for the Army 10-Miler (Oct. 7th) and actually ran with the guy next door (Nick, Allison's husband) last night. It's good for him to have someone to run with. No one likes trying to stay motivated all by themselves!
The temps here are so high right now we might as well be in YUMA! It's been in the high 90s all week and super muggy. Ugh. We've been indoors alot which is okay since Claire nurses every few hours, but it will be so nice when the heat breaks in a couple of weeks and things are do-able outside again! I miss the beach! My friend, Julie, sent me some pics of the beach she was at last week and my heart aches for the ocean! Guess it's all this cabin fever!!!!
Anyway, next on the agenda is Chris leaving for about a month at the end of August. He'll be going back to Ft. Rucker to do some more training (SEAR School I think it's called). We might go with him for a few days but we'll just have to see how things are going here on the homefront. It's so nice to have a place called home. Hopefully we haven't scared off too many relatives with our new family and they will come back while Chris is away to hang-out (okay, I mean HELP OUT!) ;)
As for me, I am getting excited for the upcoming year in MOPS at our church. I am a table leader and I look forward to the outreach and fellowship that will give me. It's hard to believe we've been here almost 7 months already! I can't wait to make some new girlfriends and have that time of devotion. I'm also joining a bible study at church called "Believing God" by Beth Moore which should be a great time of growth for me. Beth Moore always speaks to my heart and challenges my convictions so I'm really looking forward to that time in God's word! The nice thing about both MOPS and the bible study is that the girls will be in the same daycare that they are in Sunday morning for church, so that should get them comfortable with it (and give mommy a break, too!)
Both girls are up now and the chaos is just beginning, so I better get going.

2007-08-03T22:43:00.000-05:00

2007-08-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

The more the merrier!

2007-08-03T22:33:00.001-05:00

2007-07-25T20:29:00.000-05:00

Yeastie Beasties

2007-07-25T13:56:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone
Again, a quiet house. Taylor and Emily are napping and Claire is in her Mimi's arms which frees me up for an update!
Claire had her well baby check-up yesterday and she is great except for "thrush" (yeast infection of the mouth) and a bit of an eye infection. The meds they prescribed her are already working and everything is clearing right up. As you can imagine, the yeast infection is shared with me (think nursing) and I had to see the midwife as well. So we're all on antibiotics (topical, oral, etc) to get better. It's been a miserable 48 hours of nursing for me, but as my sister said "you gotta nurse through the pain!" I am, and I'm glad it's not mastitis (I hear that's really bad too). We're on the mend. Praise the Lord that I had a fast recovery from the labor so I could deal with this next hurdle with the yeastie beasties. And Praise the Lord that George and Shirley were here for everything. They have basically been running the house while I nurse Claire and rest. I am so thankful for grandparents that are willing and able to help out. They have all been a Godsend to me during this time!
I'm sure we've been taking pictures- but I don't have any at the moment to put up. Sorry.
Pray for quick healing for both Claire and Mommy.
In Him,
Carrie

2007-07-24T22:21:00.000-05:00

A quiet house...

2007-07-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! It's all quiet here (for the moment!) Thought I'd do a quick blog. Life is good. I'm EXHAUSTED! My sister and mom left us Thursday morning and we grieved all day! They were such a HUGE help to us for the last two weeks! Chris and I even had a chance to go out to dinner thanks to them! It was so strangely quiet in the car on the way to and from, we hardly talked and just enjoyed the stillness and quiet. Hee hee. :)
I am feeling okay. The whole "incredible shrinking uterus" is painful, and I had a ROUGH night last night where Chris said "are you sure you're not having another baby?" but made it through alright. I'm moving slow and taking it easy. Taylor and Emily are being good to each other and love their baby sister Claire. They just want to squeeze and kiss her all the time! They are sweet!
Chris is working again, after being in the house of estrogen for over a week I'm sure it's a welcome reprieve!
Motherhood is wonderful and exhuasting (did I say that already?) I'm so happy to finally be settled, to have Claire in our arms, and to be on the road to recovery so I can be in full swing soon!
Next on the agenda- Chris's folks arrive Sunday afternoon and will stay about a week. Should be great! We're happy to have visitors and we have a "newly renovated" guest room if you need a place to lay your head! (Chris particularly enjoys escaping to the guestroom when my snoring kicks in).
Claire is on a great schedule already. Sleeps 4 hours at a time. Nurses great. Couldn't ask for a better baby.
Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers! Keep 'em coming!
Love,
Carrie

2007-07-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

The girls

2007-07-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

2007-07-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! We're HOME with baby Claire and life is good! Here are some pictures of our sweet homecoming with Cici, Aunt Jenny, Emily and Ellie in our front yard! Miss Claire is adjusting to the chaos very well- and Mommy is getting lots of R&R with everyone here to help.
I know some of you want to know all about the "birth!" Ahhhh, where to begin? This experience was so entirely different from Taylor's birth! (and Emily's as well!) Where Taylor's dragged on just like Emily's, Claire came fast and furious! I totally did not plan on having a natural childbirth--- I am ALL about the epidural--- but the good Lord thought I should skip the epi altogether! AGH! It was hell, I will not lie. I was in a state of delirium when I realized I would not be getting the drugs to help with the pain and instead I had to push! But it only lasted two pushes- two very painful pushes- and Claire was in our arms! The whole experience was surreal because it was so fast. Here we thought we'd be in the room all night, I'd get the drugs, labor would slow down, I'd make a few phone calls to tell people I was in labor, and Claire would join us as peacefully and painlessly as Taylor did--- but I was wrong! I literally had no time for any of that! We were all in a state of shock when it was all said and done! The good news about skipping the epi is that I felt really good pretty soon after- no lingering side effects. We went to the hospital at 5:00pm and I delivered Claire at 7:15pm! That was fast!!!!
About the name- I know everyone is confused because we had originally picked Isabella as her first name. We were struggling to come up with a middle name that fit, and then the night I started laboring I couldn't get the name Claire out of my head! When my mom and sister showed up the next day they said they were thinking of middle names and Claire was one of them! It wasn't until we were at the hospital just a few hours before she was born that Chris and I agreed that Claire would be her first name and Isabella would be the middle name. The next day I changed it again so that the middle name was shortened to Isabel. (Sounds better with Abraham). Anyway, her official name is Claire Isabel Abraham. And that's the story behind it all!
Okay, time for mom to eat something!
Love you all-
Carrie

Should be home tonight

2007-07-11T10:50:00.000-05:00

Baby Pics

2007-07-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

Here are a few quick pics that we took last night. We'll get some more later. Mom and Claire are doing very well. They both slept through the night soundly (except for feeding every 2 or 3 hours).

Back from the Hospital for an hour

2007-07-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

Here's the stats as of 2:00pm today: just over 3cm dialated; 80% effaced, minus 2 station, 100% gross. The doc said to go walk around for an hour or two so we came home. Contractions vary between every 3 to 8 minutes. Doc says she should have the baby tonight.

On the way to the hospital

2007-07-09T12:34:00.001-05:00

Carrie's contractions are now about 5 or 6 minutes apart so we're on the way to the hospital. Carrie's mom and sister showed up just in time to have lunch and get last minute instructions. Gotta run!

Sunday night...

2007-07-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Just wanted to let you all know that things are progressing! Plans also changed and my mom, sister, and Ellie are on their way here. They left this afternoon and should be getting in Monday afternoon sometime. For those of you who want to know, my body is doing what it's supposed to be doing to prepare for Izzy's arrival--- the only other thing would be my water breaking and we're just waiting for that to happen. Chris and I don't think we'll make it to Friday before Izzy joins us- and that's why my sister and mom are on their way. It actually worked out well that Christopher and William (my sister's boys) are staying in Bemus with their Pa-Pop for the two weeks that my sister and mom will be here. It's a sigh of relief on all sides. Did you know that RV's only get 6 miles to the gallon? Ouch! That's got to hurt at the pump!!!! Anyway, I feel a sense of peace and I'm just praying to hold on until they get here to have to go the hospital! (I haven't even packed a bag yet!) Hee hee!
We'll keep you posted-
Carrie

No signs of Izzy yet...

2007-07-07T10:10:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Just a quick update... had a doctor's appt. yesterday and still no signs of Izzy coming along. I'm feeling tired, crampy, and generally exhausted after eight hours of good sleep at night! The girls are doing great- happy clams- finally used to the new house and everything that goes along with it! Chris is home alot which is a HUGE blessing! We've carpeted the house, taken care of most major move-in projects, and I've retreived most of the baby things from their bins. Guess we're ready?!?!?
My parents, sister, and her three children will be arriving next Wednesday to be the hands and feet while Izzy joins our family. It should be great fun for the cousins to hang-out finally and there to be utter chaos for a few weeks!
I have an appt. to be induced July 20th if Izzy hasn't appeared on her own before then.
That's all for now!

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-05T02:27:00.000-05:00

Friends!

2007-07-02T18:58:00.000-05:00

What a great summer this is turning out to be! We've had so many visitors. Mark and Nella Pickett (our friends from Okinawa) spent the day with us last week during their week-long Nashville vacation. Today Tres, Wes, and Jillian Smith (friends from Yuma) met us for lunch in Nashville. They're on their way from Arizona to Virginia. Taylor and Emily had a great time eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so loud they didn't even bother crying! Things are going well at home. The new carpet's almost in, thanks to the heavy lifting and manual labor of my 9-month pregnant wife! Carrie's still feeling great. We're looking forward to meeting the new baby.

2007-06-24T21:13:00.000-05:00

another long week...

2007-06-24T08:39:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! It's quiet here on Sunday morning and we're looking forward to observing God's required day of rest after much work this week!
George and Shirley (Jiddy and Mimi to the girls) stuck around to help us with the details of making our house a home. They have done so much! First, we were able to "steal" many beautiful, well-taken care of plants from our neighbors house across the street who just moved out last Friday. She offered them to me and said "everybody does it!" So Shirley, George and I took the girls wagon over and went shopping as soon as they left! :) It was quite a sight to see the former MP helping us steal! ;) It was like hitting the plant jackpot! It would've cost hundreds of dollars to buy them ourselves. So we landscaped most of the time... okay, let me rephrase that- George, Shirley, and Chris landscaped all weekend while I pointed and nodded my head in agreement. Hee hee. I guess that's a benefit of being nine months pregnant!!!! We took out four of the bushes that surrounded the cute front porch and walkway and planted some nice plants there instead. I cannot tell you how beautiful it looks! I have a garden! It's everything I hoped for!
We also spent time doing other things, Chris and his Dad assembled metal shelves for the garage, they organized everything in there, Shirley helped get alot of my kitchen cabinets super organized as well. You should see my pantry! It's just great. Everyone has been working really hard and it shows!
The girls have enjoyed spending the hot afternoons in the new little pool Shirley picked up for them. It's cute! Emily is a water baby all the way! Taylor is a little more cautious... but it's cute that they have something to share!
I'll try to get some pictures of our beautiful new garden and house as it comes together. Chris stayed up all night organizing "his study" and it's great!
We're slowly but surely getting our new hosue together and getting settled! Only one more big change, having Isabella, and then we're done for the year and spending the rest of 2007 just getting used to our new family and new place!
The Abes

June is a busy month!

2007-06-19T21:57:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! We're at our new place now. It's great! Thanks to Cici and Pa-Pop (Carrie's parents) being here for the moving days- they helped get so much done so fast! We're feeling settled and unpacked for the most part. (Read: Carrie could go into labor any day and feel like she has her house set-up enough). It was such a gift to us to have them both here for the big stuff. Also, our friend's - the Lennard Family- came through to see us as well! They are jet-setting all over and we made the list! They'll be relocating back to Oki this fall.
Emily and Taylor are doing very well with the whole adjustment--- we've all come down with nasty head colds during all of this- despite the fact that it's the middle of June--- but we're coping and all on the mend now.
Mimi and Jiddy (Chris's parents) are here for the next week to help us out some more! Just having extra helping hands makes so much of my daily life so much easier!
We are grateful to have a place to call home for awhile, grateful for friends who stop by on their way through town, and grateful for such giving, gracious, hard-working parents who help us out so much.
Hope you like the pics!

We're Moving!

2007-06-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Here I am- exhausted and lying in bed after a long day of trips to the "new" house on base. We painted the girls room a lovely pink today. We'll get some pictures when the 2nd coat is done. We only have three days left before all our stuff from storage arrives. We want to paint the main living areas like the living room/dining room--- but we're short on time and long on toddlers getting into everything!!!!
Hope you like the pictures. Emily's hair is long enough for piggies now and Taylor prefers one ponytail to "two piggies..." the girls are getting along much better it seems... of course they are spending extra time in front of the DVD player while we are loading and unloading the car! What a good investment that has turned out to be!
My parents arrive Thursday afternoon- praise the Lord for extra helping hands- and then Chris's parents arrive one week later to continue helping! They are going to be in for it! :) There is so much to be done!
Well, enjoy!

Pics of our new digs!

2007-06-05T21:24:00.000-05:00

Well, we got the key to our new place on base today! Yaaaay! We won't be moving in until close to the 20th, but we're thrilled to have a place to set up house for awhile!
Emjoy! I'll send out an email with our new mailing address once we move. For now thru the end of June feel free to mail things to our current address.

Movin' on base next week!

2007-06-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Just a quick update- we'll be moving into our base house next Monday, June 11th! We'll still be renting the apt. here until June 20th, so we'll be back and forth- but we're setting up all the dates to get our "stuff" delivered next week! My parents will be arriving June 14-20th to help out and then Chris's parents are linin' up to visit right after that (overlap a few days too!)
We're excited to have a place to call home for awhile. We'll post pictures ASAP!
The Abes

We love our friends!!!!

2007-05-31T20:17:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Our good friends, Josh and Daniella Summers from Yuma, spent the evening with us! It was such a blessing to us to have some friends to hang-out with! We had a great time catching up with them both. They are expecting their first baby, a girl, at the end of August. (And we hope they move to the Nashville area soon!)
:)

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! We spent the weekend at Chris's Uncle Harvey's Farm in Hernando, MS. It was wonderful! Everyone was there- all the cousins and kids! We had a great time hanging out in the pool, EATIN', riding the four-wheeler, EATIN', lookin' at the cows, EATIN', and just enjoying catchin' up with one another! Did I mention that we ate alot?
Miss Emily warmed up real quick to her family! She loves to swim, eat, play, and she loved all the attention she was gettin' from everyone!
Of course we did not forget those who have served our country and fallen. We are so proud to be in the service of our country and so proud to know so many wonderful servicemen and women as well. We think of all of our friends that we have lost in this war, as well as our fathers and our grandfathers who have all served faithfully. Thank you! Our country wouldn't be worth celebrating without the dedication of people like that!
Hope you enjoy the pictures.
Love all around-
The Abes

We got a HOUSE!

2007-05-21T15:58:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Today turned out to be a great Monday! We got a house on base! Yippee! Praise the Lord! Thank you Jesus! We decided to go with a three bedroom instead of a four bedroom-the neighborhood was nicer and the homes were more newly renovated. We will be a "close" family by all accounts! The Lord has been so gracious to us- always providing everything we need... and we are grateful to Him! The house is located on the corner, very similar to our home in Yuma! It has a beautiful fenced in back yard and there is a playground behind it as well! How cute! A place to call home for awhile!
We're working right now to set up a move-in date. We drove by and looked at it earlier today and it was in such good condition we thought that the Maintenance/Cleaning crews had already been there, but they haven't! That means it was well-taken care of and the people left it very clean! We are waiting to talk to Housing to see if we can get in there before the end of the month, but it will take alot of logistical miracles- we're okay with that! We've learned how to wait!
The girls are both napping and I'm enjoying the peace and quiet!
Chris is training for the Army 10-Miler this October. He also had his physical today and he is healthy! Eyes like eagles, ears like a fence post, no cavities! Yeah! Way to go, Chris!
I'm feeling good- very excited to have a place to call home. Now all we have to do is get in there!
God has been so good to meet our needs at every turn!
Praising Him,
The Abes

2007-05-19T10:09:00.000-05:00

WOW!

2007-05-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to post the very good news that Emily received her Proof of Citizenship AND her US Passport! Praise the Lord! We are thrilled for her "official" documents to be here already! Along with the Proof of Citizenship there was a lovely handwritten (just kidding) letter from GW himself! It's definitely going in her album!!!! We can now register Emily for a SSN. Thank you Jesus!
We're also moving up the housing list pretty quickly, thanks to Taylor screaming in the background while I was on the phone with the housing office checking our status. At first, we were fifth on the list and by the end of the conversation with two screaming children in the background the lady said "Mam, there is one family in front of you waiting to accept and then you are next on the list!" Love the power of screaming children to get things done!
God is good!
Love,
The Abes

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T20:55:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone-
Enjoy the pics from our day.
It was great. We love being a family.
God is good!
The Abes

2007-05-13T00:09:00.000-05:00

Emily's First Check-up

2007-05-11T17:09:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Well, there are no new pictures to prove it, but Emily went to the doctor this morning! She had "rave reviews" by her new pediatrician, Dr. Flint! She weighs in at 19 lbs 10oz, and she's 19 inches long. She is in the 25th percentile for height and weight and in the 50th percentile for head size! Dr. Flint said "she'll grow into it!" He said not to worry about the amount she's eating, just make sure she's eating healthy foods. (Do those little hot dogs in baby food jars count as "healthy?") She had three shots- and she'll go back for more later this month. She's in very good spirits considering she got three shots this morning. What a trooper!
We're on our way to Wal-Mart for diapers- I can't seem to keep enough stocked up these days!
There was something else I was going to mention but I can't remember now... oh yeah, we're third on the housing list as of today! Yippee! Looks like the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease!
Love all around-
The Abes
One Big Happy Family

Enjoying our time together...

2007-05-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Hope you like the pictures we've been putting on the blog. We've been having a great week! As you can see in the second picture, Emily is thoroughly enjoying herself these days! She is learning to be the "vocal" middle child! :) I love that smile of hers in that picture- it's the one that says "I'm home and I'm happy!" Love her.
Chris is totally enjoying being home again! He's got an easy work schedule (for now) which makes everyone in the family very happy- especially Taylor- Daddy's little girl- who gets a majority of his attention! Lately they're into playing on the imaginary playground in the kitchen. Pretty cute! Daddy is so good! I breathe a sigh of relief every time he walks in the door! Help is here!
I'm feeling good. Had a check-up the other day and the doctor says I'm due July 13th. (Yes, it's a Friday!) Agh! :) I'm feeling as good as one can feel with a big 'ole belly sticking out and all the wonderful side effects of that! Only 9 weeks left until Izzy joins us!
We're still waiting on base housing. We are fifth on the list. That means there are four other families in front of us. I'm making it a point to call the housing office everyday to "check" our status- being the squeaky wheel! We'll see if there's any fruit for my labor before the end of May!
Well, I guess that's about all for now.
We're doing great!
Love you all-
The Abes

2007-05-09T20:26:00.000-05:00

2007-05-06T16:35:00.000-05:00

2007-05-05T19:31:00.000-05:00

2007-05-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

2007-05-02T18:57:00.000-05:00

today i hear the tick...

2007-05-01T15:20:00.000-05:00

tick, tock, tick, tock... it's a good day when i have a few moments to myself to recharge my batteries! i can hear the clock tick and i am reminded of how quickly these years pass and how important "mommy time" is to my mental health!
we are all good. we're looking forward to daddy coming home for good (well, okay, at least for awhile anyway).
his birthday is this thursday! another year older and wiser...
the girls are doing well. they seem to be taking longer naps everyday- is it because i'm wearing them out playing at all the parks or is it because they are wearing each other out as siblings? perhaps a combination.
life is good. we can't complain.
i promise to get some good pictures up when chris comes home and we're all reunited!

every day gets better and better!

2007-04-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your great responses- it's so nice to read your encouraging messages to me as I continue to share this journey with you all!
We are having a "girl's week!" Chris will be down in Ft. Rucker until early next week, so we've all been making the adjustments. It's been nice to get into a routine. It's amazing to watch Emily change and get used to things. Babies love routine, so that's what I'm really focusing on. In the baby house, she was sleeping about 4 hours everyday (2 two-hour naps at different times of the day) and I'm working on getting her down to one nap in the afternoon at the same time as Taylor. She's getting used to it!
Emily loves her mealtime, snacktime, anytime there is food available time! I love that she's such a good eater because Taylor eats like a bird! The funniest thing is to watch Taylor "revert." Today after lunch, Taylor said "mommy, feed me yogurt in Emily's chair" which I obliged. Hey- anytime my little Toot wants me to feed her, I WILL! :) Taylor is learning how to not steal everything from Emily. It's taking alot of concentrated effort. (Read: discipline and Mommy paying attention). But it's worth it. Taylor is hugging Emily more and Emily is learning how to lick Taylor- her version of kisses? Funny. They aren't at the age where they want to play together, but it will come. Right now we're all just trying to co-exist!
I'm doing well. My left side is hurting more- probably because I carry Emily around alot during the day. But it's a good pain to have, I suppose! That's why God made heating pads, right? :) I feel exhausted in a good way at the end of each day- my favorite moment is when the house is silent while the girls are napping or at bedtime and I can hear the clock tick. That's truly the best. Mommy's need silence! Pregnancy is going well- Izzy likes to kick the tar out of me as soon as I have my feet up! That's just my luck, both girls are down and the one inside decides it's time to party! Needless to say I'm soaking up every minute of just the two on the outside right now. My hands are REALLY going to be full come July! Thankfully, Taylor is an obedient child (most of the time anyway) and Emily can learn from her as she grows. They are cute together.
I am going to try and add some pics to this post so you can see my two cuties.

One day at a time...

2007-04-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!
I realize it's been awhile since I last posted something for y'all to look at. Let me see if I can find something for ya. Right now, both girls are playing quietly (which is rare!) It's a rainy day here in Clarksville and the thunderstorms woke Emily up from a short one hour nap this afternoon. I was hoping for at least 2 hours- but oh well! It will make for a better bedtime tonite! :)
Taylor still manages to sleep through both thunderstorms and Emily's crying which is nice but mommy needs a break, too!
I'm trying to get both girls on the same nap schedule- so I can have some downtime during the day- but it's proving to be a challenge! I am really hoping that the only reason Emily didn't sleep longer today was nature interrupting her and scaring her. Didn't they have thunderstorms in Kaz?
As far as adjusting goes- I'm handling things. Feeding one more and changing one more set of diapers isn't that bad. It's the constant way the girls get into each other's business that is the exhausting part of this. Along with the fact that I don't know Emily's needs the way I know Taylor's. That's hard for me. I feel guilty alot. Emily is babbling and smiling alot, though, so I know she's doing okay. She's really into Zoe now. She loves on her and pets her all the time. Zoe has to get up and leave the room to get away from all the affection sometimes. Pretty funny!
Chris was home for the weekend and we had a great time. Emily is warming up to him, but it takes time. He should be home in another week or so. It's nice to have him around to help with everything- I'm realizing very quickly that some things just aren't going to get done on my timetable! I had to realize that when Taylor was born, too, so it's not hard- it's just another "thing" to cope with.
The most important thing is that Emily is bonding well and still very much in the adjustment process. We all are!
Wish I had some pictures- but I can't find any new ones!

Happy Bath Time!

2007-04-19T08:10:00.000-05:00

We did it!

2007-04-18T21:08:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
Hope you like all the great pics. After those first couple of days things really started to get better for all of us. Most importantly, Emily is sleeping through the night and soothing herself to sleep so that is fabulous for all involved!
The girls are getting used to each other, too. We celebrated both girl's birthdays the other morning with cupcakes and dora hats! It was great fun!
We've also spent time at ChuckECheese (keeping Emily awake to get over her jetlag!), outside at the park (she loves the slide and the swings just like her big sister!), and of course, our favorite pasttime--- shopping!!!!!
More good news- Emily is no longer afraid of Zoe the dog! Yippee! She actually grabs her and pets her now! (Well, okay, it's more like she grabs her and pulls all her hair out... but we're working on it!)
Daddy will be home Friday early evening, so that will be nice to have the whole weekend with him home! Shirley and Jen are leaving for home Friday morning. It's been such a huge blessing to me to have them both here to help with everything. I'm still not sure how I'm supposed to cook dinner, bathe the kids, and keep my sanity once they are gone! Guess that's why God made Daddy's!!!!

more pics!

2007-04-18T15:41:00.000-05:00

Our first day at home...

2007-04-16T08:39:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone-
I don't have much time- Emily is at my feet and Taylor is slowly waking up. It's been a wild ride! Emily is still trying to sleep through the night... a big hurdle for her with the jet lag and new environment, new everything! Thankfully, Jenny and Shirley are here until Friday which is a HUGE help to me!
Taylor is doing GREAT! She loves to hand Emily her sippy cup and help out when she can. Adorable. I know she'll be a great big sister!
Emily is terrified of Zoe (our gentle dog) so that's also been a challenge. Thankfully, Zoe knows how to "lay low" and is responding well to Emily's fears.
We are adjusting. It ain't easy!
But it's a joy to watch her smile and come into her own.
Gotta run- duty calls!
Carrie

At the airport

2007-04-15T20:55:00.000-05:00

2007-04-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

Emily Is Ready To Leave Kazakhstan

2007-04-13T19:10:00.001-05:00

Jenny, Carrie, and precious Emily left Kazakhstan at 4 pm Friday afternoon Tennessee time and will land in Nashville Saturday evening at 5:35 pm. Thanks for all your prayers and support. God is good.

Playing in the apt.

2007-04-12T23:44:00.000-05:00

Here's one more!

2007-04-12T23:42:00.000-05:00

Emily's First Picture

2007-04-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

Mom & Emily Together

2007-04-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

Carrie hasn't been able to post a blog yet, but hopefully we'll get to see some pictures soon. Carrie and her sister Jenny made it into Almaty on Sunday night and on Monday drove to Taldykorgan to pick Emily up. They are all together in Almaty and doing well. Should be home this Saturday.

2007-04-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

testing pics

2007-04-07T09:38:00.000-05:00

Hey all-
We are leaving for the airport in a little bit, I just wanted to test out the uploading of pics before we left so I could get you all some pics of Emily once we see her.
Love, love, love-
It's finally happening!
Carrie

So far so good....

2007-04-06T22:32:00.000-05:00

Shirley and Jenny arrived this afternoon into Nashville! Praise the Lord! Step one is accomplished- everyone is in position! Tomorrow afternoon we fly out. Pray for decent weather (it's COLD here!) so none of our flight legs are delayed. Pray for rest on the trip over- we're all exhausted just preparing! Taylor is going to be GREAT spending the week with her Mimi! She's so excited, I can tell! Welcome to "spoil city!" It won't come close to the spoiling that's gonna take place once we all lay eyes on Miss Emily. Can't wait. I'm actually allowing myself some excitement!!!!
Pray for NO FEAR in the meantime!
Until we get to Kaz...

Happy Birthday, Emily!

2007-04-05T09:51:00.001-05:00

Today is Emily's 1st Birthday and I am happy to announce that our renewed I-600A was approved and cabled to the Embassy in Almaty!
We have plans to fly out this Saturday, April 7th.
Today I am going shopping for a very special present for Miss Emily.
I feel a little strange, since the other four times we've attempted to return to Kaz we've been held-up by something. You can understand my trepidation!
But with a lot of hope and all our ducks finally in a row, Lord willing it will happen!
Jenny, my sister, and Shirley, my mother-in-law both fly into Nashville Friday afternoon. Jenny and I are scheduled to fly out on Saturday, April 7th.
Pray for this to happen!
Pray for our time in Kaz (approx. one week) to go smoothly and without incident.
Pray for Taylor as she waits at home for her little sister!

another setback

2007-04-02T23:49:00.000-05:00

We are not leaving as planned on Tuesday, April 3rd. We will not be picking Emily up on her birthday, April 5th. We will not be home with her on April 12th. Basically, any plans we made one week ago have changed YET AGAIN due to expired paperwork.
Let me explain... (for those of you not interested in the process by which it takes a licensed agency to fail, skip to the next paragraph). When we began this adoption process we started with a form called the I-600A "Petition to Adopt an Orphan." You have to get fingerprinted, have a background check, a home study, and pay a fee of $545 to process the application. The Dept. of Homeland Security and the local Immigration/Naturalization office processes it. We had ours done in Yuma in Sept. 2005. The application, once it's approved, gets cabled to the Embassy in the country which you are adopting. At the time, we were going to the Ukraine, so it was cabled to Kiev. When we switched to Kazakhstan in January of 2006, we had to pay another fee and submit a "change" to the original application so that our approval was cabled to the Embassy in Almaty. We did that. It was sent and we were good to go. The application is good from the date of approval (Sept 12, 2005) until 18 months later. If you count the months, you will see that it would expire March 12, 2007. We assumed America World was on top of this deadline. (silly us) It is common practice for adoption agencies to take care of their families and let them know when critical paperwork is about to expire, so the family has time to update it. America World sent me a quick email on Wednesday, March 28th to ask if I had checked that document for expiration. How thoughtful of them to think to remind me to check it less than one week before I am flying to get my daughter. Because the FOUR months that we sat here waiting on court proceedings in Kaz was certainly not enough time to renew paperwork, right? Ugh. What am I paying America World for, anyway? To sit around and wait for my paperwork to expire so they can be responsible for delaying an already delayed adoption? What the ?*&^???? So they told me to submit a new application, new home study (because we moved to TN), and new fee. Yes, that's correct- they wanted us to pay another $545 to submit the application to the Memphis INS office. Would you believe I had to argue with the Executive Director of the agency to get them to pay for their mistake? I did. I spent hours on the phone Wednesday afternoon last week arguing about why America World should "right" their "wrong." They eventually did the right thing and agreed to pay the processing fee, but why did I have to fight so hard? Why was it so difficult to admit the screw-up and help us out? I may never know. But I was stressed out to say the very least. I spent the day crying, shaking, not eating, ignoring my two-year old, and basically taking care of business. It was awful. It was horrible. It was hell. Two days later, Friday, America World called to say it would be "wise" to postpone leaving Tuesday, April 3rd since they still had no idea when the paperwork would be completed at INS.
I just want to make something clear: America World is responsible for us not being able to board that plane tomorrow, April 3rd. America World is responsible for my sister having to cancel her flight from Boston to Nashville. America World is also responsible for my mother-in-law having to cancel her flight from Washington to Nashville. America World is responsible for overlooking the expired paperwork that made this whole mess. America World is the reason I will not be embracing my daughter on her first birthday, and the reason why she will continue to sit in the orphanage in Kazakhstan while we wait here for who knows how long until INS takes care of our paperwork.
Is anyone wondering why we hired America World? We sure are.
Today was Monday, and it was a very bad day. To make all the news of last week worse, America World fell silent today. No calls. No emails. Just silence. An hour before their offices in VA closed, I sent an email asking if they had any information regarding the INS paperwork, since I still needed to call our travel agent and rebook the flights to Kaz. Don't you just love how I have to constantly pursue them for information? ARGH!!!!! I received two emails back- one was from our coordinator who was out of the office Friday and Monday (nice) and the other was from her boss saying there is still no timeline for the INS paperwork. The thing that really torks me is that they didn't even bother to call or email on their own initiative to let me know anything today. I spent most of the day crying because I am MOURNING the fact that I won't get Emily this week. Do you think they get that? Nope. They didn't even bother to call or let me know anything. I am so discouraged I can't even think straight. I am so sick and tired of people not doing their jobs and then not owning up to not doing their jobs when they get busted. Makes for a very bad witness. Check out their website, awaa.org, so you can read all about how they help families so much.
The good news is that God is bigger than all of this. It's ironic that after all the struggle with the foreign government, the courts, and everything, that it's America World's mistake that is causing this present delay. But when God wants to accomplish His will in our lives, He does so DESPITE the obstacles. Emily is ours. Emily will come home.
It's late and I must put this day to rest. It has taken its toll on my soul.

Seuss-isms

2007-03-28T19:57:00.000-06:00

I learned there are troubles
Of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead
And some come from behind.

But I've bought a big bat.
I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going
To have troubles with ME!

Taken from "Seuss-isms", by Dr. Seuss
Timely handed to Mommy on Wednesday night by Taylor, who wanted me to read it to her before going to bed.
God is good.
ALL the time.
May His will be done.

We got the DECREE!

2007-03-26T09:22:00.000-06:00

Everyone,
We just received news that we got Emily's decree! Praise the Lord!!!!! Now we can get our visas renewed and make our travel arrangements. Everything is falling into place in the Lord's perfect timing.
We plan to pick up Emily on her first birthday! How cool is that? (April 5th) and we plan to return home on Taylor's birthday (April 12th!)
WOW! Talk about serving a God of details.
Anyway, I have a few phone calls to make. Thank you for praying!!!!
Praise Him!

Positive Verdict!

2007-03-21T22:53:00.000-06:00

It's late on Wednesday night and we just received news from Tatyana that our verdict was positive! The Chairman of the Court who decided in our favor said that Monday the Decree will be issued. Tatyana's assistant will go to Taldy on Monday to get the Decree and from there she can apply for the birth certificate and passport.
We are so excited! We are still going to wait until Monday before we make any plans- because having the Decree is the most important thing that allows us to bring Emily home. Does that make sense? I think we will actually get our visas renewed and talk to the travel agent, but nothing will be certain until that Decree is in their hands. (We still have our original airline tickets that we've just been changing every few weeks).
Anyway, Chris and I are very happy. Thank you so much for covering us with your prayers to our Heavenly Father. Thank you for covering Emily with prayers as well. Keep those coming, as we have alot of logistical hurdles ahead of us. We are just glad that we received favorable news and hope that the Decree gets issued on Monday! Keep praying specifically for that!!!!
On another positive note, we found out that we're having another girl! I'm due July 13th. We're thrilled that we're going to have a house full of girls! We couldn't be happier.
Well, that's all the news for tonite. Check back Monday or Tuesday for word about the Decree. And don't stop praying until Emily is home for good!

Court Date 21 March

2007-03-14T10:31:00.000-06:00

Our case will be heard next Wednesday.

Something I'm learning

2007-03-08T22:05:00.000-06:00

It's taken me a long time to learn this one... and I think in a way I will always be learning it throughout my life... but it just dawned on me while folding laundry- this is exactly where God wants me and my family right at this moment.
What I mean is- we have been on a rollercoaster with this adoption since we started pursuing it (Emily) three years ago. Maybe we are having a hard time remembering the earlier times- when we thought we were going to the Ukraine in December of '05, when we switched to Kaz (Jan '06), when we had to redo all that paperwork to get there (Feb '06), when it took all summer to go through the paperchase, when we had Taylor along the way (April '05), when Chris decided to pursue his dream of flying for the Army (Jan '06)... so many things have changed since we started this journey. Things we didn't know at the time. Things we never could have foreseen given all the crystal balls in the world or imagined ourselves. That is because God, in His infinite wisdom, chose to reveal them to us along the way and currently has us right where He wants us. I think half the battle is coming around to that realization that you ARE in fact where God wants you. The problem lies in ourselves, when we IMAGINE where we should be, or think that we should have been somewhere else the entire time. I think I've made the mistake of living like that- where I think Emily should be home right now with us, and by all accounts, she SHOULD. I am not at all agreeing with what is going on over there right now- but I am strangely at peace with it. Because I know HIS plan is better than my best dreamed up one. Even if it means more time separated from this little one that He's allowed us to meet and adopt. Even if it means I have to spend more time apart from her before I can truly know her. I suppose God felt much the same about me for 21 years.
I guess I just wanted to share that with you all. We are going on with life as usual here... kind of like we did before we went to Kaz, when we were just waiting to hear if we could go! The only difference now is that we have a face and a name and a month's worth of bonding with this precious child that we didn't know before. So when I say that we're going on with life as usual here, I mean we are taking life one day at a time and enjoying this part of the journey. I think this is one of the things that God wants to teach me, to just rest in Him every single day, no matter what. And I am. It doesn't bring Emily home faster if I sit here and worry.
Thanks for the forum to share everything we're learning on this amazing journey.
Carrie

Hold your horses

2007-02-28T14:14:00.000-06:00

We just learned that the prosecutor appealed to the state-level court with a new protest. We don't know if this protest will be turned down by the judge. If it is turned down, then maybe we could still travel on schedule. If the judge entertains the appeal then we might be delayed again. We'll keep you posted.

Leaving March 17th!!!!

2007-02-27T11:24:00.000-06:00

It is with great joy and heartfelt happiness that I am able to tell you all that we have travel dates to go get Emily! My sister, Jenny and I will be leaving Nashville Saturday, March 17th for Kaz. We had hoped we would only need to be in country five days to take care of exit business, but there is a muslim holiday in there, so we might be there up to ten days. That's fine with us! We'll return on Tuesday, March 27th unless we are able to finish everything before the holiday while there. The holiday is called "Nauryz Meyrami" and it falls on March 22-25th. I'm not sure how the US Embassy is connected to the holiday, I thought they were only affected by American holidays, but we'll play it safe and give ourselves extra time there if we need it. Our tickets are flexible, so we can change them to leave sooner if that turns out to be the case.
Needless to say, we are excited! I'm thankful for the time to prepare for this trip and thankful that we had so much time to get settled here before bringing Emily "home." Now it is starting to feel like home, so hopefully she will adjust well.
My sister is thrilled beyond imagination. I'm so glad we get to do this together- it's quite an experience! She is so helpful and kind to be so generous with her time and leaving her three children and husband behind for a few weeks!
It's no doubt that Emily will have many people her whole life through who will be able to tell her what they did to help bring her home to her forever family. And we know this is really just the beginning for us and Emily as well. It's just nice that we can FINALLY start the next chapter of our lives with Emily in it.
Okay- we'll post again soon. Thanks again for all your support and prayers. We couldn't have done any of this without the Lord's guidance and your faithfulness.

FINALLY! (maybe)

2007-02-23T17:18:00.000-06:00

We have good news! The Decree was signed! We heard from Tatyana this morning that the prosecutors claims were declared invalid and we can finally move towards bringing Emily home! There is a wait period (very similar to the original 14 day mandatory wait from last November) and then they will be able to apply for Emily's passport, visa, and medical tests before she leaves Kaz.
We are waiting to make official travel plans until we hear more specific dates from Tatyana. She will be able to set-up appts on certain days, so we will wait to hear from her about that.
My sister, Jenny, returned home to Boston this morning to be with her family until we leave in a few weeks.
It feels good to have this downtime in order to prepare for the big trip!
Emily's 1st Birthday will be April 5th and we are planning on a big party, so mark your calendars now! We hope to be home with her by the last week in March. Our new place is coveniently located on a street with many hotels nearby (literally) so you are more than welcome to come and visit anytime to meet Miss Emily or just catch-up with us! We'd love to have you! (For those of you in Yuma, I realize that's a bit far just to "drop by!")
We are so grateful for this turn of events. Of course we wanted everything to turn out well, but in our "holding pattern" we were fully prepared for whatever the Lord intended on this long adoption journey. We have learned so much about waiting on the Lord and trusting His perfect timing. It seems that every chance we get in life, we try to make our plans the way we think things will work out best (usually to our advantage) and here we've had so many chances to learn that God's timing is always perfect and His plan is always best. Even when it's NOT to our advantage in some ways- it's still GOOD. I think I have enough material for my book now. :) Thanks, God!
All Glory and Honor Be HIS forever and ever AMEN!
The Abes- almost complete with Emily...

Still no word

2007-02-22T20:45:00.000-06:00

Thanks for checking, but still no word.

Things we do while we wait

2007-02-19T22:53:00.000-06:00

We are not making this up.

2007-02-17T10:50:00.000-06:00

Our lawyer was just in a car wreck. Broke her leg in 2 places.

If it weren't for Bad news...

2007-02-16T13:15:00.000-06:00

Our most recent email from Kaz:

"Unfortunately the prosecution doesn't give up. They insist on revision of the case on february 20th,"

We received amplifying information from another American who was in Kaz this week. Sounds like our decree was signed by the city commissioner once, making it official. It was then signed by the prosecutor negating it. It must now be signed a third time by the same city commissioner who approved it. This commissioner spends less time in his office than Michael Scott. He's never there and doesn't answer his cellphone. He appears to be avoiding the issue.

One theory is that the commissioner is waiting until his new boss is appointed. He wants to see if the new boss is in favor of adoption. If so, he'll probably sign it. If his new boss is not in favor of adoption, he will probably not sign it (he wouldn't want to disagree with his new boss and risk losing his job).

The revision of the case on Feb 20th mentioned in the email is probably not a new hearing, but simply a day that our lawyer thinks the commissioner will be in his office. So we wait.