Merry Christmas 2011!

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Gotcha Day Celebration 2011

Happy Gotcha Day!

One year ago today, the caregivers at the Holt orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, placed Negatua (Kiera) in our arms. That night she returned to the hotel with us. It was our first night together as a family.

Click here to see the moment we took custody of Kiera. The happiest of moments caught on film.


Today we celebrate her “Gotcha Day!”

As a family we’ll be eating a traditional Ethiopian dinner of Wat (Lentils) and Ingera (flatbread). And we will be reading Kiera's Lifebook (a book I put together of her life before us and through the adoption process).

It is amazing to see how much she has grown and become a part of our family. She is amazing and we give thanks to God for her everyday. Can you believe this is the same little girl?

(yes those are Daddy's pants)

We Love You Kiera!
Mommy and Daddy

Adding to Our Family!

Hi everyone!
Joel and I have been talking and praying for the last few months about growing our family again.
So ... we are excited to announce that we are starting the adoption process again. We are going back to Ethiopia to get Kiera at little brother or sister. God knows the timing, but we want to be ready when He is. If anyone wishes to help fund our adoption, there are a few links to the right of this blog that will take you to our fundraising options. They would be great Christmas gifts.


Just Love Coffee -  They sell fair trade coffee from countries around the world (and a few other gift items as well). Of course I would recommend the Ethiopian coffee as we have become quite attached to it.We get $5 per coffee sold. This is our direct fundraising site so nothing is needed to give us credit for the purchase.

Wild Olive Tees - This site sells unique t-shirts that are made well and very comfortable. We get anywhere from $7.50 - $10 per t-shirt sold. Enter the code BRANDT1120 in the coupon code area for us to get credit for the purchase.

Thanks and God Bless!
Mandy

Growing fast

Kiera is growing up so fast. She is now almost 20 months old and is learning new things daily. She is saying please and thank you without prompting (especially when it is to ask for candy) and she makes her stuffed Minnie Mouse say her prayers before bed. She runs, skips, gallops and hops everywhere, unless she is pretending to be a horse or dog. She loves to give hugs and kisses and even started turning my head so she can kiss both cheeks too. She amazes me everyday.

We are so thankful to have Kiera as our daughter. I thank God for her many times a day.

Happy Ethiopian New Year!

I know it has been a very long time since my last update. Kiera is so much fun and keeping us very busy. So, I decided that to mark the beginning of 2004 in Ethiopia (no, that is not a typo. Ethiopia is 7.5 years behind in there calendar), I would update with many pictures that show how Kiera has grown in the last few months.

Kiera's Adoption is Finalized

Today was the last step in Kiera's adoption. We went to our local courthouse to finalize her adoption. The hearing we short and sweet. Joel took the stand under oath to verify that we were able to emotionally and financially support Kiera. Then the judge signed the papers and finalized the adoption in the eyes of he USA. Now Kiera will have a US birth certificate (with her new name on it).

We took pictures and went out for breakfast to celebrate. What a great day!
Thank you Jesus that she is ours!

Joel, Mandy & Kiera

6 months ago today ...

6 Months ago today we took custody of our baby Kiera. We picked her up at the orphanage at 5:00pm and walked back over to our hotel about 10 minutes later with our little girl. As we unlocked our door, I remember looking at Joel and saying "This is it. Now what?"

We love you Kiera and cannot wait to continue watching you grow and learn.
Mom and Dad

Happy Mother's Day!

How amazing it is to be here today holding my little girl in my arms. Only a year ago, although my baby was already born, we were still waiting for our referral. I remember going to church and talking to friends about how Mother's Day can be a hard day for mothers without children. I remember wondering how long it would be until I would hold my own baby in my arms.

A few weeks later we received the referral for Kiera. And now I don't ever have to let her go again. Although I do have to put her down sometimes so she can sleep and eat (and she is getting a little heavy to carry around all the time). I feel so blessed to be celebrating my 1st mother's day with my wonderful husband and my beautiful baby girl that I love so much.

Blessings to all mothers and mothers-in-waiting. God's timing is perfect.
Mandy

Easter

Click here to view these pictures larger

An emotional day to remember ...

So I woke up at 4:30 this morning to Kiera crying. Now kiera has not woke up in the night fir months. As I was holding her, comforting her and telling her that I love her and will always be her mom, I realized what today is ...

Today is a year from when Kiera's birth mom made the plan of adoption for her little Negatua and placed her in the orphanage.

Could Kiera have somehow known or remembered? Was she scared of being left again? Does she know or understand that she had a mother before me?

I love my baby girl and pray she will feel secure and whole in our family. I also pray that she understands that her birth mom loved her too and she was very sad on the day she had to leave her baby. I remember seeing the sorrow in her eyes when we met. Lord please comfort her with the knowledge that Kiera is loved so much.

Kiera is 1!

One year ago a beautiful little girl was born in Ethiopia. God had a plan and saw it through that we would become her mom and dad. Kiera, we love you so much and thank God daily for the blessing of having you as our daughter. We are very proud of you and we are excited to see you grow and learn in the years to come.

We love you baby!

Mom and Dad

1st Attempt at Cornrows

So, today was a learning experience. I attempted to do cornrows in Kiera's hair for the 1st time. Well, actually I tried once before, but she was screaming and squirming so much that I gave up. So, today I planned ahead better and had all the tools needed. I started in the bathtub, thinking she would just keep playing, but all she wanted to do was look at me. I then moved her to the bumbo chair in front of a "Baby Signing Time" video (her favorite). She watched the whole thing, wiggled some, but we got it done.

Not bad for my first attempt I don't think. We'll have to see how long it stays in.

Mandy

Welcome Home Kiera Party!

Our church is amazing!

They put on a potluck for Kiera today to welcome her home and into the church family. It was great. There were many people there, good food, many well wishes to Kiera and I got to share about our adoption journey. There were also donations made to Holt orphanage to help care for the children that have yet to be placed in their forever families. What an awesome event.

Thank you everyone.
Joel and Mandy

Baptized into Christ

Today Kiera was adopted into God's family through Baptism. We are so happy for her and excited to continue teaching her about Jesus.

Adoring Aunts and Uncles

Proud Grandparents

Wonderful Godparents

We are so blessed that God has brought Kiera into our family and now has also made her a part of his family. It was a wonderful day as we celebrated with family and friends.

Blessings!

----------------------------------------------------------

P.S. The Packers also won and are on their way to the Super Bowl ... Kiera was excited.

Kiera + Water = Happy Baby

We just got back from a great family vacation to an indoor water park. This was Kiera's 1st experience with water besides the bathtub and she seemed to love it. I'll let the pictures show you the rest. Enjoy!