Ethiopia 2012 VO trip at OneTrueMedia.com

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Its been awhile...

I guess they are now truly our kids!!!! I stopped taking pictures!!! HAHA seriously life gets crazy and the newness wears off!! They are a PART of our family..OURS..like they were always here!! So I forget the camera and I settle into real life. Doesn't mean I love them any less just means I don't have to photo document every step anymore:) Besides Tommy hates the camera!! Milly well we all know what a ham she is!! My older girls swear she needs to get into modeling!

So what has happened the last couple months????

Well For one Milly had her eye surgery to correct her lazy eye!! It went great! We are praying that it stays put but there is always a possibility of it drifting back. But for now we are down to 3 hours a day patching!! We discovered Yarn braids since my last post and boy are we addicted!!!! We love the versatility and the low maintenance!!! It is a very long process but its worth the 4 weeks of no more tears or detangling!!!! She is doing great in school! She loves her teachers and classmates!!! I swear she has grown another few inches and she has finally gained some weight!!!! She is one tall peanut!!!



Eye before



Tommy is doing AMAZING in school!! He is reading way above grade level and does great in math too!! His teachers are so amazed at his progress!! He is also opening up alot more and interacting more with kids!! He is quite the SPORTS FANATIC!!! He loves all sports and even learned how to record them so he can watch them to next day!! He is worse than his dad!! His smile and giggle melt me heart!

Loves swinging her hair!!

February trip to the Strong Museum!

Dad's Birthday

Well that's a quick update:) Easter is coming so Ill be sure to update again!!!

Florida visit and Adoption reunion

I'm way late in this post..vacation seems to make life even crazier when you get home!! One thing I know I will never pull my kids out of school again for a vacation!! They did 2 hrs a day and it took 1 week to catch up when we got home!! Crazy!!

So our trip!!! We spent 1 week in Florida!! We had quite the adventure getting there! I flew with all the kids by myself while Anthony stayed home to work. The airport went very smoothly and so did the flight. We even had the pleasure of taking Milly's "Friendly Bear" each child from her PreK gets a chance to take them home for a few days! Well we got to take him to Florida! So Yes another bag to juggle:) Juggling 5 kids with everyone,carrying bags I thought we did great until...

We finally get back to Grandmas and I go to reach for my camera to share some of my pictures..NO CAMERA!!!! Where is it?? Did I lose it at the airport?? Oh NO!!! I left it on the plane!!!

I call my husband hysterically sobbing!!! If you know me my camera is constantly around my neck and it is like a 6th child!! Soooo praying..crying..countless phones calls..We think the camera is on a plane to Chicago!!! You cant ever talk to anyone just machines so I enlist the masses to pray someone turns it in!!! At midnight I get the text.. Its Found!!! All I had to don't was make the 90 minute drive back to Orlando to get it but boy what a relief!!! Now we could get on with the Sun and Fun!!

Day 1: A little cool in Florida standards but thankfully we are Buffalonians so my kids will jump in any pool!!! They had fun swimming and jumping!! Tommy decided although last year he was fearless he was now petrified of the water and he would not move off the steps!! I think the residents at the condo thought I was drowning him every time we tried to move him so..we gave up!

Our beautiful Blessings

Day 2:

Much cooler and rainy today but they still managed to go outside a little. My crazy kids were wearing shorts and I had on jeans and a sweatshirt!! We headed of to church with Grandma so they could all meet the kids she has been talking about..Francesca especially loved the attention when they introduced us to the whole congregation!!! Hahaha I love embarrassing teenagers!!

Day 3:

Daddy comes today!!!!! While we are in sunny Florida he is in Buffalo while they are getting hit with a huge snow storm!! We pray he gets out and head to the mall so the kids can ride the carousel. We had lunch and Ice cream before the bad news came....

ALL FLIGHTS CANCELLED!!!!! Umm fast forward me hysterically sobbing again!! Are you kidding me!! I cant go to Disney without him and the 5 kids by myself!! Plus its not a family vacation without out Dad! We spend the remainder of the afternoon on the computer making call after call with not much but hope! Then finally the right person answers the phone and he gets a flight!! A very late flight but he got here!!

Day 4(Animal Kingdom)

This is the day we have waited months for!!!!!!!! We were going to get to meet face to face lots of adoption friends!!!! All with kiddos from Ethiopia!!! I was so excited to see some of the kids we took pictures of in Ethiopia! I was also excited to meet the parents!!!

 I was most excited about meeting the Wanderers!!! When we were in Ethiopia we met the most amazing teenage boy, Joshua! All of our hearts melted for him! Adorable..so smart and so kind!! He had a close bond with all the the guys from AWAA and all the families. He spent alot of time with Milly and Tommy and told us of his desire to have a family. He was very honest about how he saw all the babies going home but "What about the older kids?" Oh..Break..My..Heart! He then introduced us the one of the most beautiful girls there! His sister!! And he told me of his other sister too!! Oh my 3 kids!!! That night I was on a mission!! I messaged my FB friend Susan about the 3 most adorable kiddos!! You must adjust your request to 3 kids!!!!! Fast forward!!!! They are her kids!!!!!!!!! They fit perfectly in her family and it is one of the most beautiful God things I have ever seen!!! We both spotted each other and hugged each other with tears in our eyes!! I LOVE ADOPTION!!

Me with Joshua Wanderer and Adonias during our embassy trip

Our families united here= surreal!!

We spent the day at the park with lots of AWAA families!! Then we spent the night with everyone at a pizzeria! This was much more relaxed and easier to talk!! We got to talk and meet so many more families and see our friends the Kicklighters!!! We met them last year in Florida and I was so excited to see them again!! Our whole family gets along so well..wish Florida wasn't so far:( I cant explain how good it feels to talk to those who walk in your shoes everyday! I loved seeing Miss Gina Root again too!! I wish we had more time but everyones kids were practically falling asleep in their food! What a great day full of great memories!!

Day 5

We tried for the pool today but we didn't last as long..a bit too cold for our blood:) But they gave it a try. Grandmas neighbor took all of us out on his boat for a tour of Lake Lu Lu. The kids all got to take a turn driving the boat. Then we went for our favorite dinner..Golden Corral!! HaHa I know..not everyone favorite but with 5 kids..a chocolate fountain is a must!!

Day 6 (Epcot)

Today was a fun day!! We took our time and made sure to hit every ride. We had never been to Epcot before. The weather was perfect. I love memories like this with our family of 7. Smiles..laughter and lots of love!!

Start of the day..

end of a perfect day..

 Headed home..

Its always sad to leave grandma but it was time to head back to reality...we had a wonderful trip with many wonderful memories:) Check out our video below to see all the highlights of our trip!!

Florida 2012 at OneTrueMedia.com

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Our Ethiopian Blessings:1 year home at OneTrueMedia.com

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1 year Home!!!!

WOW!!!! What a year makes!!!!!! One year ago we stepped foot on US soil with our 2 newest American citizens!! We forever changed their lives and our whole families.  For 17 months we dreamed of what life would be like..how would it look? How would we all adjust? Would it be a fairytale like we had been hoping or dreaming? Actually better! It is reality! They are real kids and we are a real family..we have our struggles, our triumphs, our disappointments, our accomplishments, tears, laughter,fears..but most of all its real. I say this because as most adoptive parents or expectant parents know..we spend so much time picturing our kids in our minds, how they might look, how will they respond to us? Will they embrace us, Love us, Trust us? Will it be the same as with our biological children? They know no different they loved us from the start unconditionally but will our adopted children? How will our Biological kids and adopted kids learn to love each other? Will it be a hard adjustment? Sooooo Many Questions!!!!!

This year we have answered most of them and discovered new ones but in the end I feel so blessed and so relieved! No adoption isn't easy and believe me it is NOT always as pretty as the pictures! We have had our struggles but we work through them and pray we come out on the other side. God placed these children in our lives for a reason. He never said it would be easy. On the whole our experience has been fairly"easy". We did not have major adjustment issues. They both attached to all of us. Both at different times in different degrees. Tommy was so shy and closed off at first and Milly well she was too "Unshy"(those who know her know what I mean) I actually worried she would not bond or attach to us because, she loved attention from anyone and everyone! This is NOT a good thing even though everyone thinks its so cute. We had to explain.NO not everyone should be holding her or taking care of her. So much that we are still learning. I think alot that they do is part of their personalities but when you adopt and children need to bond and attach with you, you QUESTION everything! I feel at peace as we begin year #2! We read the books, we did the best we could and we PRAYED alot!!! It is still a life long journey but one we are so blessed to be on!

One year ago our 3 Biological kids had to learn to share Mom and Dad and learn to adjust to more siblings. This was hard at first. The older girls had anticipated this right along with us but when it was a reality it went a little different. At first, Tommy and Milly were like new toys. They loved to play with them, care for them and show them off! Then they realized "Hey! They are staying forever and they are taking away from my time!" Slowly things started to fall into place. We got our new routine down pat. We learned how to be a family of 7 and how to spread our love around evenly(well as best as parents can) Matteo, being our youngest, had the hardest time. He was everyones baby for 7 years. How it breaks your heart to know your child is hurting but he was. He never really understood what was really going to happen so when it did I think it was emotional overload. Share your room, your bed, your friends and your parents! I really worried that he would never learn to love or accept his siblings but he did and now his brother is his Best friend(his words), "He is my brother but he is my best friend, now I always have someone to hang out with!" That really melts my heart! God can do anything and change anyones heart. All 7 of us have a new outlook on life, on love, on adoption, really on what really matters most in life:)

So to all of you on the journey, stay strong, hold onto what you know..God called you to adoption and God will work out whatever needs to be worked out! No not on our timetable, or in the way we think but in the end it will all work out and God will be Glorified! Tommy and Milly are blessings! On the tough days and on the good days! We can not even picture what our life was before they were here..we knew something was missing and now we know WHO!!!

If you aren't adopting but may have always felt a tug at your heart, or just curiosity. Pray about it, read one of the millions of blogs you can find like I did! Talk to someone who adopted or is adopted. Educate yourself on a whole world of orphans that you may never have thought of before. Sponsor a child, become a foster parent, go on a mission trip, whatever you might feel led to do. It will change you..it will break you! It will encourage you to do something, even if its just to pray or help support someone who is!

I look at the children that walked off the plane 1 year ago..I look at the family that first met at the airport. We are all different ,unrecognizable!!! We are so blessed! So many people tell us how great we are for what we "did". We didn't do anything..we just allowed God to show us how we could glorify him and his children! Yes we changed their future but they changed ours!

December 11 2010(Day 1 of our family of 7)

1 year as a family of 7!

1 year as siblings!

Our 2 Ethiopian Blessings!!!!!

11 months!

This time last year we were waiting to travel back to bring our kiddos home, today we are in the full swing of life! It will be their first Thanksgiving! We Just wrapped up the crazy months of Birthdays, 4 kids within 3 weeks! Milly is next in January. I am NOT looking forward to the cold and the snow but the kids love to play outside in any weather. Everyone is doing great in school and involved in lots of extra stuff. Here is glimpse at the happenings...

Baking with Grandma

Big birds 1st Halloween

Tommy is 6!

Crazy Mo

Halloween 2011

My handsome boys at their friend arty

One other great event was Tommy and Milly got dedicated at church:) With family and friends present in front of a congregation of about 2000 people we vowed to raise our kids to know God and to lead them on the right path towards a life of following and trusting Jesus. See above video

TOMMY

Just call me NO TEETH:)

He is doing great in school! Math and reading are his favorites along with gym class of course.
He is such a social kid, I never would've saw that coming! He loves to hang out with any kids and he is always on the go. The minute his head hits the pillow he crashes! He is trying out basketball and preparing for his schools Turkey Trot race! He is very competitive! He is also very sweet! He loves any kind of sport and will watch anything sports related on TV..he is actually worse than his dad! Volleyball..golf..anything! Do Not go near the TV when the Bills are playing he will be very mad:)

 MILLY

My beauty! She is full of life..happy..sweet and silly! She is loving school and wishes she could go more often. I would say even though we are together all the time she is Daddy's girl. She told me I need to get a job so Daddy can stay home with her:) She loves to dress up and I have a lot of fun doing so! I go through so many hair bows I decided to start making them for her! Here is a look at Milly's month

Baking with Grandma

Yes the pumpkin had to have a patch too;)

Modeling one of our homemade headbands

her new do

10 months

Well this is looking like a trend me posting late but at least I didn't forget! Life is busy ya know! This month is the crazy month of birthdays in the Alleca house....First Cesca on the 7th then Matteo on the 15th then Tommy on the 24th! This will be Tommy and Milly's first Halloween so it will be fun to see their reaction to everything! The boys had a combo friend party at the bowling ally and had lots of fun! Milly well she is Miss personality as usual getting taller every day! Here is a look at month 10..

Explore n more children's museum

Butterfly Milly

My handsome boys at their bowling party

Francesca 14...Matteo 8!

9 months ( a little late)

Back to school has certainly kept us busy plus soccer so I'm a little late! School is in full swing and we are in the back to school groove. Did my organization last past the first week...uh kind of:) Soccer is over at the end of the week but Tommy is not happy about it. We are all looking forward to a break. Time is flying by and the kids are transitioning awesome! We are so blessed we have not had one issue, I'm praying we only hit minor speed bumps along the way. It makes me sad to think their language is gone not one word remains! It is amazing how quickly a child can change. Here is a peek at our past month..pictures of Tommy are hard to come by..he tells me No all the time:)

TOMMY

Boy is he loving school!!!! He is Mr Social too! Making lots of friends in school and at soccer. Offense is his favorite position on the field but he is equally good at defense. It is so much fun to watch him play. He discovered football this month too! We took him to his first Bills game and UB Bulls game. Most of my kids are more interested in the food at these events but Tommy is into the game asking lots of questions. He even has his favorite player..Mr Jackson! Sports are definitely going to be his thing. This kid is completely out of his shell now!



First Bills game

 


Milly

Milly is loving school! Her teachers are floored at how amazing her English is! They had no clue she had only been here for 9 mths or that she knew no English before then.We have started doing some more playgroup activities to keep busy while the kids are at school. We went apple picking for the first time, I laughed as she called a horse a dog! I had to explain she had never seen one before! It is so much fun seeing them experience things for the first time! Halloween will be another first for both of them..I'm sure once they see that you get candy they will understand very quickly!



"Is This a Dog?"