Confession Time

I'm not really a "kid person."  This reality scared me as we began the adoption process.  The thought of becoming a Mommy was exciting, but completely overwhelming at the same time.  Luckily, the reason I'm blogging about this is that God truly changed me and I'm absolutely loving being a Mommy (especially since I'm off work for 8 weeks)!

First, let me explain why I don't consider myself a "kid person" even though I've always been around kiddos (I've been babysitting since I was 14 years old; I have 6 nieces and nephews and consider myself very involved in their lives; most of my friends have kids; etc.).

Facts about me:
I'm a very independent person and I really enjoy my alone time.
I love the quiet.  Too much loud noise for a long period of time makes me anxious.
I tend to be very selfish with my time.

As a side note: Luckily, I married a man who is the opposite of me in this area.  He is the one who wanted kids so badly.  He defines success in life by being a Daddy.  He is very giving of his time.  Thankfully, throughout our marriage, these amazing qualities in my husband have helped me grow into a more giving person.  I've begun to realize that helping others is much more gratifying than being alone to read (although, I still do that sometimes to maintain my sanity).

These are some of the worries that went through my head as I thought of becoming a Mommy...

What if I get annoyed by her like I sometimes do with other kids?
What if I want to "send her home" like I look forward to doing when I'm babysitting?
What if I don't want to play with her?
What if this is the end to my alone time?  Can I survive like that?

Before we left for Ethiopia, I wrote down many of my worries and also wrote down Phillipians 4:6-7.  This was written from Paul while he was in prison:

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.

I prayed about all of my worries.  And guess what?  I experienced God's peace.  And He blessed me with a daughter who is SO cute and is SUCH a good baby that it was super-easy to bond with her.  It has been completely natural, which isn't something I thought could happen with me.  It was never "natural" for me with other people's kids, so I honestly thought it would take time for me to enjoy being around my child.  Thankfully, I was wrong!

Bottom line: God favors adoption, He absolutely loves children, and He took all of my worries and turned them into blessings!  I know there will be challenges to being a Mommy, but I also know that I can lean on Him for guidance. 

Introducing...

Edeneku Lee Huss

Born September 17, 2010 in Ethiopia

Forever in our arms on April 17, 2011

A little bit about her name...
Her birth mother gave her the name Yideneku, which means "to be in awe" in Amharic.  We have changed the spelling to match English phonetics, and will call her "Eden" as a nickname.  Lee is a family name on Lauren's side of the family.  It is the middle name of Lauren, Lauren's mom, and Lauren's maternal grandmother.

We'll post more pics and more info about our journey home later.  As you can imagine, we're still in new parent "survival mode" and are enjoying making precious memories with our baby girl.  Thanks for all of your support and love for Team Huss!

She's Coming HOME!

We got our US Embassy appointment date!!  It's scheduled for April 20th in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  We are SO incredibly thankful for God's timing throughout this entire adoption.  We're going to be HOME as a family of 3 on Easter weekend!

Look what YOU did...AGAIN!

Because of the generosity of so many of you, we were able to purchase the following items to take to Hannah's Hope (our agency's transition home--where our daughter is).  We focused our shopping on the items that are most needed at this time.

18 Pairs of kids shoes in varying sizes (half boys and half girls)
16 packages of cotton balls (200/pack)
14 sets of scrubs (10 medium, 2 large, and 2 small)
14 pairs of off brand crocs in varying sizes from 6-9 (7 black and 7 white)

Additional Need:  We are also hoping to bring over some IV needles with catheters (sizes 20ga, 22ga, and 24g).  When we were at Hannah's Hope for our first trip, the Director told us that when malnourished children come to Hannah's Hope and need fluids, they have to use 20ga needles that have no catheters.  What this means to us non-medical folks:  they have to use needles that are way too big for these tiny babies, and they have to leave the needle in the vein (or try to) in order to administer the fluids.  This is a problem because babies tend to move a lot and the needles are too big.  If you would like to help with this need, please ask your local hospital or pediatrician.  Many of them donate items like this for mission trips.

Thank you SO much for your generosity! 

In the U.S. Embassy’s Hands

We got word from our case manager yesterday that our paperwork was submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!  That means that they will review our case and do one of two things:

1)      Accept it as-is and give us an appointment as early as next Thursday, OR

2)      Request additional information.

We are obviously praying for that immediate approval!  Please join us in that prayer!

Our understanding is that we should hear by the end of this week whether or not they decide to request additional information.  We’ll keep you posted…