LifeChange

A Merry Christmas video from Noah, Maya & Keira

It's Christmas Eve!  Our three children want to wish you a Merry Christmas.  They made this short video for you.

Animoto is a great service to make videos like this.  Check it out here .

Two Month Update For Our Family

It's hard to believe the girls have already been home for two months!  I wanted to provide a quick update on each of the three kids as to how they've transitioned and major events in their lives.

 Noah
 The big news for Noah is he started development preschool the first week of November.  He goes to school every day in the morning for about 3 hours.  He loves it!  His favorite part of it all is riding the bus.  Every morning he wakes up asking if he gets to go on the bus today... he's disappointed when the weekend is here as it means no bus.  This is a picture from his first day of school.  This has been much more difficult for Courtney and I then it has been for Noah as we've watched our little boy become a big boy.  Noah also has had some potty training successes over the last few weeks so we're looking forward to the end of diapers hopefully soon!

Maya
Maya has definitely become the girly girl of the house.  She is constantly wanting to accessorize with everything from hair barrettes, to socks and shoes, to coats and recently she found some mittens to wear around.  As you can guess Maya loved Halloween, so here is a picture of her all dressed up.  She loves helping around the house and is quick to do anything for Mom and Dad that will receive praise.  Her biggest frustration is her big brother Noah who likes to pick on her sometimes, and who hasn't learned that he should stop playing when she screams.  She is now repeating a lot of words when she hears us say them and is slowly building her vocabulary of words she'll say unprompted.  She just recently learned to put on her socks and shoes all by herself.  We're still battling giardia (a nurse just told me that it's common for it to reoccur with kids who had chronic exposure) but once that's gone we're going to start potty training as she is ready!

Keira
Keira continues to make everyone laugh.  She is miss personality and is very open about how she feels (both when she's happy and mad!)  We got to make our first Emergency Room trip with Keira last month.  She was playing with Noah and while running fell and hit her head on the corner of a filing cabinet.  She got a good cut on her forehead which ended up only requiring glue, no stitches.  Physically she has made a lot of progress and is exactly where a child her age should be.  She starting to say a few words that are common to a 1 1/2 year old.  She still has her chubby cheeks so she's always getting lots of kisses and attention from everyone.

If you'd like to see more pictures of the kids or our family, you can find them here in our 2009 Photo Albums.

Three Week Family Update

It's hard to believe that we've already been home for three weeks!  Everyone is doing well and we continue to adjust to our new 'normal.'  This week was Courtney's first regular week back at work and her schedule seemed to work well.  Our long term goal is to get Courtney to where she can at least cut back (she's currently working 3 days a week) or even stay at home!

The girls are doing well.  Maya is getting more expressive and making her presence known.  She's still not saying much but seems to have bonded with us really well and her two siblings.  Keira makes us laugh all the time with her crazy facial expressions.  We think Maya will be the motherly, caring one while Keira will be the outgoing, life of the party type. 

The only lingering issue we have is both girls are fighting an intestinal parasite called Giardia. It doesn't make them feel bad or sick, it just causes them to have lots of dirty diapers.  We have medicine for it but it may last another few weeks.  We're just tired of changing about 4 poopy diapers a day per child.  For our sake I hope it goes away soon!

Noah continues to learn to be big brother.  He is interacting more with the girls and we know this because many more 'fights' are happening these days in our house.  Everything from toys, to sippy cups, to blankets and attention from Mom and Dad are potential for sad and upset siblings.  I guess it's all normal and part of having brothers and sisters (even thought I never remember fighting with my sister growing up... ok, just kidding!)

On the adoption front our journey is not yet complete.  We still have the process of re-adoption which is required to make it legal here in the US.  Right now both girls are considered legal residents and should be getting their green cards soon.  Re-adoption will make them officially US Citizens, get a social security number, and US birth certificate.  The last thing we want to do right now is mess with a bunch more paperwork but we don't have an option.  We'll write more about the re-adoption process as we move along.

Update After One Week Home

We have been home as a family of five for one full week now.  What a week it has been.  It has been filled with highs and lows, as we all adjust to our expanded family and way of life.  We've been taking it a day at a time.  We've spent a lot of time overwhelmed and not sure what to do, but the joys and reminders from God along the way of His approval and guidance far outweigh any negatives.  Thought I'd provide a brief update on each of the kids and how they're adjusting...

Keira - what a change she's gone through.  A complete turnaround from the first few days we had here where she made no noise, had no expression and didn't move.  She is full of energy and smiles.  We had a battle with her the first few days about taking naps but she has now adjusted to her new schedule and routine.  She eats everything and would eat all day if we let her (as you can see by this picture.)  Not sure if she's still in orphanage mode (eat everything you can as you're not sure when the next chance to eat will be) or if her little body has a high metabolism.  The biggest struggle we have with her is she is really attached to Courtney and wants to be held A LOT.  She cries often when Courtney can't hold her for some reason.

Maya - Self confident, independent and intelligent would be how I'd describe her first week at home.  She obeys almost all our instructions and always wants to help out.  She's been very quiet (no noise unless she's laughing or afraid) so the doctor was a little concerned about that but we're going to give her 4-6 weeks to see how she progresses.  She also eats very well and actually feeds herself better then Noah does.  Biggest challenge with Maya are her tantrums she throws when she doesn't get something or gets in trouble.  I can tell we will never have to discipline her much, telling her No and giving her a stern look brings her to tears.  Funny note:  Maya is afraid of animals.  She has screamed multiple times when seeing our rocking horse, some of Noah's stuffed animals, or even an animal on TV.  Not sure if she's had a bad experience in the past or she just hasn't been around them much. Good thing we don't have any house pets... we've just got to get her used to the fake ones :)

Noah - High energy, likes to play and wants your attention.  We have noticed him being more needy and demanding our focus more then before, which is understandable.  We continue to work on his development and speech but continue to see progress.  We see a few instances each day where he plays the role of big brother and helps his sisters out or plays with them.  Most of the time he does his own thing unless a toy he wants is being used by someone else, then he exerts his size and age... so sharing is something we're working on a lot :)

Days #11 & #12: Heading Home

We made it!  We are now home on American soil, the girls have made it in the US, and we are reunited with Noah!  To finish our travel journey (as our journey of a family of five is just beginning) I thought I'd give you a quick recap of what happened.

Thursday - your prayers worked!  Everything went as we needed it to and described here.  "T" our AWAA representative picked up our visas just before the Embassy closed at 5PM.  Along with our visas each family was given a sealed yellow enveloped that could not be opened until we saw an immigration office at the point of re-entry in Washington D.C. We finished packing and head to the airport about 6:45PM for our 10:15PM flight out of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Friday - The flight home went fairly well.  There were no flight delays or baggage issues which was good.  We learned in our flight from Rwanda that Maya has some difficulty when planes are descending and her ears would hurt but that didn't really happen until our final flight in to Indianapolis. 

We did get a prescription strength sedative (Kara, the mom in one of the other families is a nurse practitioner) that we gave to several of the kids to help them sleep.  This was a big help for several of the families and with Maya.  Keira slept very well (adoptive families - Benadryl works like this as well... this is what we used with Noah last time so be sure to take some)  Spending 26 hours in planes and airports is a long time for the kids so helping them get some sleep is important.  My Mom and Sister did an amazing job with the girls on the plane, especially Maya who can be stubborn at times.  Here's a picture of them with her.

When we got to D.C. we did learn that the IR-4 Visas had an error on them.  They said all the children were of Ethiopian nationality (not Rwandan) even though it had their birthplace right as Rwanda.  This is something we noticed on the flight home but at that point it was too late to do anything about it.  The Higgin's family got held up in Immigration for this, our officer did not catch it.  We were told this may cause issues during readoption so we'll see.  Lesson - double check all government documents you get from anywhere (remember one family had a similiar issue with their Rwandan Passport for their child in Rwanda with an incorrect birth date.)

Courtney's family and Kudzie were in the airport to welcome us home.  It was SOOOO good to see Noah again.  At first he was a little reserved and didn't respond to us, but after a few minutes he wouldn't let me sit him down (or give him to his Mom which Courtney didn't like.)  He seemed to have gotten bigger while we were gone (and I think we were also so used to holding Maya and Keira who are significantly smaller them him!) 

Anyways, we're back home now.  I'm writing this at 6AM Saturday morning.  The girls went to bed very well last night.  Maya woke up about 5AM but went back to sleep, I couldn't.  Feeling a little overwhelmed as we start our first full day as a family of five, but God spoke to me through this verse today:

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Pictures: The Girl's Room

While we are flying over the ocean we thought we'd share some pictures of the room Courtney has been working hard to prepare for Maya and Keira.  Thanks to Courtney's Mom for helping paint and to everyone that helped with contributing furniture.  It all went together perfectly!

 

Transition - Goodbye Himes Hotel

Do you ever feel that you are on the verge of a major transition in life?  Courtney and I feel that way now.  A lot of it has to do with our adoption and the strong likelihood that we'll be adding two more children to our family.  However, we also feel that some of our 'current' life is going to come to an end. 

I'll give you an example.  When we got married and purchased our first house we prayed that God would allow us to have a home that was inviting, welcoming and a safe place for others.  He's answered that prayer in greater ways then we ever imagined.  The running joke for the last 4 1/2 years is that we operate the Himes Hotel.  About 2/3 of the time we've been married we've had 1, 2 or 3 other people living with us (not counting Noah.)  Some of them have been family, others friends or people that are just in need or transition.  While at times this has been challenging and difficult, we would not have had it any other way.  We view it as a ministry, opportunity to serve and love others.

We believe this part of our life is now coming to an end (I hear my neighbors cheering, this means fewer cars parked along the street :).  Simply due to logistics we will not be able to have people stay with us on a long term basis.  This is probably best as we raise a family and create a sense of normacly in our home.  However, there is also some sadness as we transition away from this (at least until our kids start having sleep overs.)

Transitions are always difficult.  Change is not easy.  However, my heart is to embrace change and follow God where He leads.  I've learned that a life lived for God will always be in a state of change as it keeps me in a state of constant dependence on Him (I think that's the way He likes it!)  

How do you handle transitions in your life?  Do you embrace them or resist?

Check out Erik Cooper's post on a transition he's getting ready to make.

Courtney's 1st Triathlon - Pics & Details

Today Courtney participated in her first triathlon, the 2009 Carmel Sprint Triathlon.  This was a huge accomplishment for her and a major milestone in the journey she began last summer to live a healthy lifestyle.  Here are her approximate times: (final times are posted online in the next few days)

• Overall Time - 1hr. 19 min
• 400m Swim - 8 min
• Time in Swim-->Bike Transition - 4 min
• 10 Mile Bike - 33 min
• Time in Bike-->Run Transition - 2 min
• 5k Run - 31 min

She placed 2nd place in the Womens Athena Division (women 150+ lbs.)

A special thanks to Brooks, Bette, Michael, Kudzie, Shelley, Danny and Taylor for being a part of this special day!

Below are some of the pictures.  If you want to view them all, go here.

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt Pics

Today we took Noah to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  It was at 2PM which is right in the middle of Noah's nap time but we kept him up.  He was getting tired and was a little cranky at first, but after they let the kids start he got in to it!  The bunny was also a scary experience at first but he  warmed up to him after taking a few minutes to cautiously check him out.  Here are a few pics... you can see them all here.
   

Noah's Spring Haircut

After 8 months we decided to give Noah a haircut.  Last July we cut his hair and decided that we would let it grow out over the winter.  Since spring is here it was time for the hair to be gone.  He looks much older and it will be much easier to maintain.  Here is a chronicle of the haircut in pictures.  Enjoy!

Noah's Hair Before

Courtney wanted to test what Noah would look like with a pony tail.  I reluctantly agreed.

To keep Noah calm we put him in his high chair, bribe him with lots of food he likes and put Veggie Tales on the T.V.  Here's a picture in the middle of the haircut.

Haircut's over.  Where did all my hair go?

The final look.