Merry Christmas 2011!

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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

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