"Did you know you are gonna be a daddy??"

My Happy New Year's present...found tons of pictures of the boys on our agency's Snapfish account last night!!! Stayed up to 3am just staring at their beautiful faces!! It was pictures I had looked through before, but now that I know their sweet faces, I can pick them out of a group of kids. Our big guy's long face and big, pouty lips (any woman would be jealous!) and the little ones receding hair line and mischievous smile...I can spot 'em anywhere now! I CANNOT wait to share with all who care...They are seriously handsome!!

I fully intend on printing out each and every picture of the boys I can find. If this is all they will have of this part of their lives, I want to make sure to have all the pictures I can get my hands on. I'm going to put together a book with all these pictures so they can look back on their ET friends. And somewhat selfishly, it will be their "baby book" of sorts since this is all we will have of their time before they come home. Ha...my "sonogram" pics are way better than those black and whites!! : )

So, tonight my favorite Jolly girls were hanging out with us...and Emma, who has asked for the boys to be her cousins (how sweet!!), was sitting in my lap looking at their pictures. As each picture would pass, she would point them out and say their name. Then we came to a picture of our little one sitting in the lap of an unknown male subject. Our conversation went a little like this...

"Is that his daddy?"
"No, you know who his daddy is."
"No I don't...who?"
"His daddy is going to be Kenny." This is followed by a complete look of bewilderment..."Do you know who his mommy is going to be?" Bigger eyes and a finger in my chest...
"You??!!"
"That's right...WE are gonna be their mommy and daddy!"
At this point, she flew out of my lap and straight to Kenny...
"Did you know you are gonna be a daddy??" Kenny just smiled and nodded...

This was followed by great excitement from Emma that WE were gonna be the boy's mom and dad, as well as a little "family relationship" lesson, as Emma was unaware that Nicole had a mom, her grandmother had a mom, etc... :) We also proceeded to talk about how every single thing in the house (the bathtub, the bed, their room, etc) would be theirs when they came home and how Emma is going to be a BIG cousin and how she is going to teach them pretty much all they will know (how to slide, how to swim, how to make cookies, how to like pizza...just to name a few). Every few minutes she would look up and remind me or Kenny that we were going to be their mommy or daddy!! This apparently brings her great comfort...I guess in her 3-year-old mind she just thought we were all gonna be one big group of cousins!! Maybe in Alabama...

She also asked me if I thought they would like her when they came home...Of course they will!! How could they not just LOVE you!!


(I can't post pictures of my own, so.......! Emma & Grace helped me make chocolate chip cookies...well, Emma picked out the chocolate chips, while Grace reminded her that daddy says you aren't supposed to eat cookie dough!! Always a stickler for the rules! Sorry Dwayne, I tried to stop her, but she is sneaky!)

Maguire & Hudson

We got to visit a little while with some of Kenny's family after Christmas. I've been told little Huddy (who is not so little) takes after Kenny with his size! (Apparently Kenny had SO many rolls as an infant, he was dubbed "Michelin Man"!)

1,274 miles of Christmas

Last week over a period of 5 days we drove over 1,274 miles, between 4 different states and spent over 24 hours of that time in the car. And attended no less than 8 different festive get-togethers...yeah, you did the math right...that was definitely more than 1 a day.

Whew...Merry Christmas!

At least we weren't in an apparatus powered by foot pedal! (Ty's favorite Christmas present...'course, that's because we gave it to him!)

I'm exhausted.

All this Christmas excitement and traveling has just about worn us out! Although I didn't fall asleep today during lunch like Ty did, I felt like it...

Excuse me...What did you say?

The preschool teacher that lives inside of me got very excited and came out the other night when I found this book...


One of my bigger concerns with bringing home an older child is the language barrier we are sure to face, seeing as neither Kenny or I speak Amharic. (Funny. That wasn't one of the languages offered at Pinson Valley High School...) This book is similar to the "My First Words" books that you are sure to see in any decent preschool (or at home) in order to help build language development. This Amharic version labels items such as body parts, food, emotions and even has short phrases such as "I love you!" written in English and Amharic. My hope is that this will be one of the bridges between us and the boys as they learn English...especially during that 15+ hour plane ride home!!

I ordered the book from Amharic Kids...Merry Christmas boys! :)

Overboard?

The Christmas Lights Fairy threw up.

Merry Christmas to all...

It's already Christmas in Kentucky.
It's almost Christmas in Alabama.
It's 8:45 am on Christmas Morning in Ethiopia...wonder what the boys are doing?

And Merry Christmas to us...the Scott's sent us about 20 new pictures of the boys today. Most of the pics were of them getting the goodie bag we sent over. I really almost cried seeing her show them pictures of us...They have seen our faces!! Don't know if it will mean anything to them when they see us in real life...we've seen pictures of them, I think it's only fair that they know who we are, too!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!! Have a great day with friends and family!

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ..."Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:11 & 14

Based on previous comments, maybe I should tell you now to find your tissues...

I can remember stating multiple times before we started this adoption process..."We would adopt now if it just wasn't so expensive!" Excuses, excuses! Little did I know, this was just my own disobedient heart and unfaithfulness showing it's ugly self to the world! (My mouth does that a lot...shows my verbally uncontrolled side, that is!)

Let me be totally transparent with you: Kenny & I are not independently wealthy. We haven't recently won the lottery, don't own a money tree, haven't obtained any sort of inheritance from a deceased relative, been given a job promotion, or been made privy to information that would make any sort of betting profitable for us...Needless to say, when God finally got through to us and we made the decision to begin the adoption, we didn't have the $20,000 to $30,000 we knew we would probably need, just laying around. #1 stressor for me as we started this process: We are obviously nuts...how in the world are we going to pay for this!!??

God has TOTALLY blessed us and provided for us throughout this ENTIRE process...and always just at the right time. I can remember sitting in the office of our adoption agency towards the end of October, crying, and wondering just how this was going to work. I vividly recall thinking, "God, you called us to this...now what?" "Have faith, my child, and trust in me and me alone." Just weeks later, we got news of a matching grant and were able to send out support letters to friends and family, letting them know of our intentions to adopt and need for support. (This, of course, came on the heels of several fundraisers by Kenny's office!!) We received so much unexpected support through the letters alone...and just last week, received news of a 2nd matching grant!! With news of the 2nd grant, that put us in a position to be able to pay our adoption agency IN FULL for BOTH adoptions!! How awesome is it to know that our God knew from the very beginning that He had TWO boys waiting for us!! He knew we would need the funds to pay for TWO adoptions!! He knew we would need TWO grants!!

But we still needed funds to pay for travel for 2 to Ethiopia and for 4 back to the United States...

So, here's the kicker: Saturday night while at a Christmas Party, we received news that made my heart beat so fast I thought I might be sick. I'm literally shaking as I type this just thinking about it again. (...Where's my kleenex?) A gift was given to us that, along with matching funds from this individual's employer, will probably cover most of our travel costs to and from Ethiopia for all four of us!!!!! There goes my heart again...

I don't really feel like I can convey via blog just how excited we are; just how blessed we feel!! I also don't feel like I could ever put into words what this type of experience does to your faith........... FAITH!! This whole process has been based on faith and is extremely humbling...to say to our friends and family, we can't do this on our own and have the response that we have had, is overwhelming to say the least! And we could say thanks a million times to the people who have helped us bring home our boys, but know that it was just God using each of those people in a very special way.

Let me also just remind you that most of this has taken place since November 14th, just barely over a month!!

We still have some fees, post placement visits and readoption/attorney fees once back in the States with the boys, but it is incredibly refreshing and a huge burden lifted from our shoulders to know that this part of our journey is almost behind us!! I see the light...

Please, please let our story be a testimony to how God will provide for you in the most unexpected ways if you will only trust Him. And don't get me wrong, this isn't a story about how big Kenny & Jana's faith is...this is a story about how God took our tiny, pathetic faith and grew it into a story that we and our boys can hopefully use for a lifetime to show what a BIG God we serve! If your only excuse for not adopting is money, then shame on you! (I've been in your shoes; I can say that to you!) Our Almighty God already has a plan for each orphan in each country in each city...that plan could include YOU if you would only step out and trust that He will make a way!

I can't wait until the boys are old enough to truly understand the story of how they were brought home...they are starting their lives as Cook's with an amazing testimony that I pray they will carry with them throughout their lives!

Somewhere in Ethiopia...

My mom buys an ornament every year for each of the kids and has continued to do so even after Kenny & I have gotten married. She always makes her best effort to get an ornament that depicts some event or life status from the past year...for example, "Our First House", "Happy Graduation", "Baby's First Christmas", etc. This year was no different, as we received a package today from Cafe Press...enclosed was an ornament picturing the country of Ethiopia with the flag and the words "Somewhere in Ethiopia...my heart beats".


Good job Mom! We love it!!!

How far to Canada from here?

So, beginning today, I can return to my Winter Wonderland I've often referred to as "Canada" in the past. (Although, I was surprised to find out recently from a Canadian friend that they aren't covered in snow all winter...I just assumed the second it got cold, that it snowed and stayed that way until almost Summer! Who knew!??!)

I digress...

It snowed today. Real, school closing snow. (That's really the only way to measure if it's really worth anything, because unlike Alabama where school would have been closed last week just because we were talking about snow for this week, it actually has to snow in order for schools to close here. Some concept! Man, I'm really having trouble staying on task with this...) We got a nice covering of snow overnight and woke up to a fresh blanket of pretty snow! I'm still in awe of the fact that life just continues when it snows, so I get pretty excited and wound up by snow. Although, this morning as I was standing outside in my PJ's, boots and gloves, I couldn't help but wonder how much fun it will be to go sledding down our driveway with the boys, build a snowman, have a snowball fight...instead, I cleaned off the car, threw a few snowballs just for good measure and went inside to get ready for work. Bummer!



I tried to talk Kenny into going outside to play in it when we got home from work, but he just laughed at me...Happy Winter!!

Please don't fire me.

I used to be a fairly productive person. I wasn't a procrastinator, doing all my work in the mostly timely of fashions. My house was usually kept clean for the most part, minus the clutter that comes with each week's activities. Dinner was usually ready about 6 or 6:30 each night. Laundry never really piled up around me. We never ran out of the staples like toilet paper, milk or shaving cream.

Now, all I do is stare at pictures of the two most beautiful boys in the world!! I am most easily distracted by other people's adoption stories or pictures and today...by a most wonderful email! The Scott's, who took the boys their goody bags, are in Ethiopia RIGHT NOW!! This is part of an email that was forwarded from them this morning...

We also saw some of the other kids that are being adopted by other familes...they all wanted their pictures taken on our digital cameras. JANA COOK....I LOVE YOUR BOYS!!!!! I loved on Jana and Kenny's "kids" for a long time while Thom held Yirdaw...I promise you pictures before Christmas!!! The boys carried around the bags that you sent and all the kids were following them around looking at what they had. I pulled out the pictures and I showed the boys pictures of you and Kenny!!!! I had a gathering of kids while we looked at the pics - the kids at this orphanage are amazing.

This little bit of "contact" with Ethiopia left me a blubbering idiot!! Something about knowing that someone I know, has had personal contact and met our boys, just makes this even more real! Yeah, we have pictures of them...I know they are real!! But now someone can actually tell me about them! Very selfishly, I can't wait for the Scott's to return!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been totally distracted at work. My 2-week-cleaning-rotation, has turned into more of a 3-and-a-half-week-possibility. Laundry has taken a total backseat. Leftovers have become a staple and we have most definitely run out of toilet paper, shaving cream and milk (twice). I've been useless. Couple this with unattainable expectations at work (story for another post...just glad it's over for right now!) and Kenny inviting strep throat to spend the weekend at our house, and I have found myself more than behind schedule. And I believe Christmas is next week, right??

I just can't wait to bring these two joys home! It should do wonders for my attention span and decrease my procrastination considerably. Don't feel sorry for Kenny...he feels the same way!!

I have to go fix supper. And swap the laundry around. And I think we have toilet paper........

(And sorry, but no word on a court date yet...it could be a couple of weeks before we hear about a specific date.)

Q: What makes Jana's day?

A: Receiving four TOTALLY unexpected pictures of our little boys at the end of an incredibly long day!!

That's right, we were able to see some more pictures today. I really wish someone had been at work today when I got the email. I screamed, ran into the hallway, noticed all the closed office doors and proceeded to pout that everyone had left early and I had no one to show my precious boys to! We are thrilled to have pictures (that were taken just this past weekend!) that really show what the boys look like!! Of course, they are beyond adorable...already taking after their dad!

A couple at our church is going THIS Saturday to pick up their little boy Eli (Check him out...he is handsome!) from Ethiopia. Guess where Eli is?? In the same orphanage that our little guys are at!! Soooo, we are sending them a little bag of goodies...all that I could possibly squeeze into a gallon sized Ziploc bag! More importantly, we hope they are able to take some more pictures for us and maybe give us a more accurate picture of how big (or little) they may be.


Yeah, I took a picture of a Ziploc bag.

WARNING:

• I'm in love with children I haven't met yet.
• I'm in the process of adoption.
• I'm subject to cry at any moment.
• Please bear with me until I'm on the plane to Ethiopia.

(Taken from a t-shirt...but, none the less true.)

"As far from football as love will reach..."

Let me appeal to the more football-minded of our friends and families...This is a video about University of Georgia's head coach, Mark Richt and his family, who have adopted two children from the Ukraine. Yeah, yeah...I know, it's Georgia, but get over it. This isn't about football, it's about God's calling on our lives to adopt...

Turkey, cont.

Well, Thanksgiving was last week, and given the recent excitement and commotion in the Cook household, I never actually posted about it. Not much to post, except that we did go to BAMA for the weekend. (Can I say "Roll Tide" here??) We have spent the last 3 years in KY on Thanksgiving, but decided to shake things up a little since Kenny's parents couldn't come up this year.....(now you see why I put up my tree BEFORE Thanksgiving!) We spent time with both sides of the family and some friends, stuffed ourselves to the point of gluttony, and spent way too much time in the car on the way home Sunday afternoon...

And since my side of the family was blessed with a new little life this year, most...er, actually all...of the pictures I took, revolve around him! So, enjoy Ty's first Thanksgiving...I hope he enjoyed it, cause next year, he'll have to share the turkey with his new cousins!


Hi! I'm 7 months old now!


...and I can crawl, which means I can't wait 'til they put up the Christmas tree!


This is my FAVORITE aunt...just don't tell Katie!


Please...Please! Let me play with those glasses!


And, of course, we did watch the Alabama vs. Auburn game with both sides of the family. Alabama crushed Auburn, but we won't rub that in since they just lost their coach, too. Ouch!

Minor celebrities, that's really all we are.

Lifesong for Orphans is the agency who has so graciously assisted us with fundraising to bring home our little boys. I recently posted a story and letter from Kenny's aunt and uncle about how God has had plans to bring our little guys home since 1960!! Well, Lifesong got wind of our story (a little "adoption" birdie told them) and we appeared on their blog on Tuesday! You can check out their article on "Giving the Gift of Adoption!"...

Ha! How awesome is that?? We have totally...and I say that with complete meaning of the word...been overwhelmed by God's goodness and grace throughout this process! The support...both prayer and financially, as well as the hugs, encouragement and excitement...that we have received from our friends, family and church family has TOTALLY overwhelmed us. I'm officially out of tears. (I say that, but will be crying again first chance I get.) "Thanks" will never be enough...I don't think they make a word for what I need to say.

I cannot wait to tell these boys how much you guys have loved on them from the very beginning and to tell them the awesome story of how we got them home. And most importantly, raise them to believe in their Lord & Savior who prompted us almost 7 months ago by a simple video to trust Him...

And I'm joking, of course, about the celebrity thing...we live in Spencer County, for goodness sakes. I can see cows out my windows and I'm pretty sure there is a tractor driving down the road right now. Just not possible.

Brothers!

"I've got brothers."

This is the statement presented to Kenny and I last night. So, to quench your curiosity...We are proud to let you know we have accepted a referral for brothers, ages 4 and 1!! ...........I'm really speechless!!!

We got the information on the boys last night and after a night of praying over them and just staring at their sweet faces, we decided these were the two precious boys God picked for us and we called our agency to let them know! It really wasn't a hard decision. If you could only see their sweet faces...(Since they aren't legally ours yet, I can't post pictures.)

What's next? We will hopefully get a court date in Ethiopia for sometime in the next 6-8 weeks. And once we pass court and they are officially OURS, we will travel to go pick them up about 6 weeks after court...assuming all goes as planned!

I am totally worthless right now. I can't eat. I have done absolutely NO work today, and that is not an exaggeration! Kenny can't stop smiling. I can't stop moving. So, if you are expecting anything from me in the next 12 weeks, just go ahead and postpone your plans, 'cause it probably ain't happenin'!!

We are in totally awe of how God has provided for us so far and really can't believe that we are about to be the parents of TWO...count them...2! precious boys! Funny Fact: The oldest brother has actually been alive longer than Kenny and I have been married. I'll just let people figure that one out on their own...

Please pray that all goes smoothly...paperwork, etc...over the next few weeks. We do have to make some changes to our "dozer" (ie, dossier) because it only approved us for up to 24 months old. I don't anticipate that being a difficult change, but I never assume anything.

I told y'all I'd bring you pictures home at Christmastime!!!

Good? ...Great!

..."He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes."
1 Samuel 3:18