Two Years

Two years ago today was...

unforgettable

overwhelming

extraordinary

divine

indescribable

LOVE

Happy Espy Day.

A new post, and prob the last

Not sure that anyone is following this blog anymore, but just in case I thought I would post an update.

So much has happened since my last post. We had a long winter with Espy being sick several times but then summer came and things turned around fairly well.

I have been consumed with trying to write my dissertation before we move, yes move, to Iowa.

I took a position at a college in Iowa and we are in the process of relocating. Moving truck comes a week from today and then we will be adjusting to life in southern Iowa. Looking forward to making some new friends and starting a new position there.

Espy is doing great. Growing well. She does have some health issues that will likely persist for some time, if not lifetime, (according to the Drs.) but with proper care she will thrive. She is learning new words all the time. It is so fun to hear her say dadda, delton, and oli... I think they love to hear it as much as I do!

This will probably be my last post indefinetly (until I effectively convince Buster to adopt again anyway!) I am not very good at Blogging and need to spend as much time watching my kiddos grow as I can squeeze in. I do frequent facebook though, so if you are there feel free to befriend me :)

new pictures!

So these are all pretty recent photos. We had Espy dedicated at our church last week and then had a pool party, celebrating her dedication and her birthday (which we missed while she was in Rwanda without us... so technically it was her year and a half birthday). She looked so cute and was so funny when it came to eating her cake! What an amazing gift we have been given with her. She is so amazing.

I am terrible at posting on our blog. Just to darn busy. But I do facebook now and then so if you are not yet a facebook friend go ahead and add me :)

I also updated our lifeofvincents blog and if I do ever blog again (which will be few and far between till I'm done with school) then I will probably use that blog.

Lots of love from the vincents!

finally... an update

Life is CRAZY! I apologize fo the lack of updates. I am teaching 5 college classes and taking 2 so between that and making face time with my sweet Espy and awesome boys a priority, blogging is on the low end of my priority spectrum. Here are some new updates. Espy is doing awesome. She has been sick a couple of times with local "bugs" i.e. respitory infection and stomach flu. But has a great attitude, and loves people. She is definately attached. And she HATES to sleep. She screams often and loud when naptime rolls around. She is also a really light sleeper which we are making concessions for. The boys continue to roughhouse with her and she continues to giggle the whole time! Right now she is pulling all of our paper plates and tupperware out of the drawer and onto the floor.... testing her exploratory skills. She hasn't said any words except for an occassional daday and mamamamam. She likes my brothers lab Gibbs (might say bibbs once in awhile). She is good at pointing for things she wants, throws fits when she cannot feed herself (independent child!), and continues to have massive diapers... peee yewww!

Grandma Peggy was out this week for a few days (good timing since she would have had to be home sick with her respitory thing!) Now she is spoiled and needs to be held all the time :) ha ha.

She misses Grandma Betty! Hope to see her again soon. The above pictures show her hair getting long enough put in mini pigtails... She is hugging her new baby gifted by Buster's aunt Patty... it is sooo cute! She loves it and it already needs a bath from all the Espy hugs :)

Hope everyone reading this is awesome.

P.S. I might be changing our blog over to our family blog... LifeofVincents.blogspot.com so future updates may be there instead.

Lator!

Quick Update

What a whirlwind this last month has been. We have gone through sooo much change. God continues to amaze us with our new family.

The above snapshot is of our lil Espy feeding herself oatmeal. She is becoming so independent and LOVES to eat! You'll notice she has one spoon upside down. I love watching her figure things out :)

She is healthy for the most part, gaining weight like crazy, smiling and laughing all the time and enjoying her big brothers. We cannot get enough of that smile (she also has 16 teeth so a very toothy smile! )

Meanwhile our routine is in full swing. I am teaching college courses three days a week, Buster is busy selling cars at our car dealership and the boys are both in school. Espy has an awesome caregiver while I am at work those few hours and we are blessed by that too.

So... life is good.

Praying today for those in Haiti. Consider giving to a relief organization. We donated to World Hope today. They really need our prayers and our support.

Here's to 2010

Wishing everyone a wonderful new year!

Its so good to be home!

There really is no place lilke home. We got here late Friday night. Espy was really sick on the flight from Ethiopia (we changed 19 diapers between Addis and Spearfish... those poor flight attendants who had to deal with the soiled blankets etc!). The good news is that she slept in between nasty diapers and therefore got right on our time zone when we arrived. She has been sleeping pretty much through the night with a couple of short naps during the day. She is such a blessing... soooo happy!!! Our boys are having so much fun with her.

We went to the doctor on Monday for a check up. The diaper messes have subsided, the stool samples collected were negative for giardia (Yeah!!! Thanks Dr. Rwanda for the meds before we left!)... and we ran another malaria check (still waiting for results). Our doc here says she is well.. not on the growth chart for weight but makes the bottom 5% for height :) Lil' pipsqueek! She's eating a lot so will likely catch up weight and height wise before we know it.

Some advise for adopting families:

1. Make an appointment to see a good doctor in Rwanda after you get your baby. They do some checks at the orphanage but it is always a good idea to get second opinions. Having her on meds for malaria, giardia, and fever for almost two weeks before we headed home helped alot... and got her on a fast track to recovery in the US. The doct appointment, tests, and meds were very reasonable (about $35 each).

2. Bring extra extra clothes for the plane ride home. We ran out after yucky diaper number 10 and got some weird looks from passengers for not having our baby clothed! :)

3. Make copies of papers you get from the embassy(s) if possible... you might need them later and they have a tendancy to keep everything.

4. Bring about $500 more than you planned... I didn't realize her visa from Addis would cost $400 and we needed an extra sum to rearrange flights to get home early.

5. Dont' settle... negotiate for driver/room etc. We found a really reasonable driver ($35 per day... sorry my POA has contact info so I can't provide it) and wish we would have told the hotel to put us in another room in Rwanda.

6. The mini safari was nice... but long... too long for a sick baby to endure. She made it but for her benefit we probably should have choosen an activity with less time in the car. Consider other options if your child is not well.

7. Little Puffs are awesome!!! Espy looves the little mini puff thingies you can buy in the baby section at Walmart. They were a lifesaver during long waits.

8. Take a baby carrier (baby hawk is my fav), if you have older kids consider an umbrella stroller... there is a lot of waiting and kids get heavy after awhile.

9. Be prepared for small kiddos. the pics from the orphanage can be deceiving. Espy is 15 months but fits into 6-9 mo clothes. I didn't bring hardly anything that fit.

Hmmm... well thats enough for now.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support!!!! We are truly blessed beyond measure!

Merry Christmas...