day one and counting

josh and i talked over and over in ethiopia about when this would feel real.  when would we actually grasp that micah was ours and that the getting-him-home portion of this process was over?  the plane ride over was exciting...




and taking custody of him shortly after our plane touched down in ethiopia melted my heart.



driving away from acacia village for the last time with our baby in our laps was thrilling, but we were still having a hard time believing that he was really ours after all this time.





it might have begun sinking in as micah and i played together at our guest house...




and watching my husband love on our new son made me weepy.




things got a little more real when after 30-something hours of traveling, our plane finally touched US soil and micah became an american citizen (micah's doing his happy dance - you just can't tell in this photo).



but it wasn't until we stepped off of our sixth plane in five days and were met by a host of family and friends that it really hit.

micah is ours...and he's home.






i've been writing this post in my brain all day today, and i've tried unsuccessfully to come up with the words to thank you - the amazing gift of family and friends - for the countless ways you have loved and supported us during this 2 1/2 year process.  as my dear friend, kerry, stepped into our living room today, laid eyes on micah, and collapsed into a weepy mess, i was reminded of how she and so many others have invested into the life of a precious boy in ethiopia.  once without a family, micah lewis is now loved dearly by not only the other five members of the lewis crew but also by the countless members of an extended family who have poured their lives into bringing him home.  so i know this doesn't even come close to expressing how deep my eternal gratitude is but...thank you.  the lord has moved in mighty ways for the sake of this sweet baby's life.

best. weekend. ever. (part trois)

"shower" just doesn't cut it.  my dear friends, kerry and dawn, went out of their way on saturday to throw what can only be rightly referred to as a baby deluge. 



when kerry first asked me about doing a baby shower to celebrate micah's coming arrival, i was just coming off of the diaper shower from these sweet friends, and our family had been tremendously blessed with a closet full of diapers, wipes, and formula.  so we shifted gears a bit and turned the shower into a donation party to gather some desperately-needed supplies for acacia village (where micah lives right now in addis).  as i was putting the guest list together, my heart warmed as i realized the diversity of those the lord has brought together to surround us in love and support us throughout this journey.  mine and josh's families, other families i used to babysit for, decades-long friends from college, photography clients, and our real estate agent - it almost has the makings of some goofy television sitcom.  but the lord has grown each of those relationships into some of the most dear ones in our life.  



and one thing i've learned about dear friends and family is that they care about what you care about.  in some big, big ways. 



in case you're not getting the full effect there, let me quantify it for you.  what you're seeing is 760 diapers, almost 1,600 wipes, enough formula to make 108 bottles, outfits for 15 of the older kids at acacia, and enough disposable gloves, baby wash, bottles, antibacterial hand soap, and diaper rash ointment to stock every babies 'r us store in the southeast. 

and it's all going to ethiopia.

that touches my heart and humbles my spirit.  oh, and it should tell you something that the shower hadn't even begun yet when i started crying...thanks to this beauty that kerry asked a friend paint for micah's room:



not only does it pull in the meaning of micah's name - "who is like our god?" - but the red leaves of the tree are made up of the fingerprints of so many of the people who are loving and praying our baby home.  (by the way, i'm keeping it handy for a while longer because there are definitely some fingerprints missing.  this boy has been adopted by far more hearts than just our own.) 

so come on over and stamp away!  i'll leave it by the front door while we're in ethiopia.  :-)

oh girls, i am so thankful for you.  each of you.  and i praise the lord for his loving gift of family and friends.

best. weekend. ever. (part deux)

after the acrobats finished their balleweena performance, some amazing friends of mine took advantage of the family we had in town and planned a donation shower to gather goodies to send to acacia village where micah currently lives in ethiopia.  but first, it's impossible for me to share about that shower without telling you about another...

the lord has richly blessed me with a group of women from church who have become dear friends over this last year or two.  we all worship together as a part of the same faith family, many of us homeschool together, a handful of us are adopting together, and one of them is stuck with me weekly in our small group.  our lives are woven together in many unique ways, and i count it a true joy to live life with these precious gals.  shortly after we arrived back home from ethiopia in february, several of them got together to throw me a diaper shower to help us get ready for a new baby in the house.  a HUGE thanks to lacey, carrie, amelia, brook...



and jenny (the chic with the camera) for coordinating such a tremendous showing of love and kindness.



oh, and remember how i said that we were walking this adoption journey with others??  lora lynn and sheryl were fresh off an airplane from uganda adopting their collective three children between the two families - and somehow they drug their jet-lagged selves over to brook's house to love on me. 



these sweet friends and the others who came spent their time that night showering us with gifts...



writing us letters of encouragement and truth (which i still haven't been allowed to read - although i did, to no avail, try to enlarge this photo so i could see what was written on the cards)...  :-)



and most dear to me, covering us in prayer for everything from a successful court date to quick bonding and attachment to health and provision...  (in case you're wondering, this is my "hold it together, allison" face.  by the time the last amen had been said, i had failed miserably.)



girls, i love you all so dearly, and the lord blessed me beyond measure when he put you each in my life.  thank you!!!!!!

the past few weeks in 100 words or less

we romped around in the creek (read: muddy water) with the cobbs...



and had an evil-knievil-of-a-time riding the monster truck in the backyard:



the kids and i hit aldridge gardens for a science lesson (really we just needed a getaway for some good mommy/kiddie time):







uncle bailey helped josh get the roof on the hand-me-down playset we got 18 months ago but just made it around to assembling (have i mentioned that josh is a total rock star for putting this thing together?  alone.  from memory.)  and all the dead grass?  see the monster truck blurp above:




while the guys were working, the little lewis ladies and their sweet cousins cuddled a bit (brayden and jack must have been off alternately wrestling and playing matchbox cars):




during the 7 minutes they were all well, some of the fanning crew came over to play on the aforementioned playset:




and in an act designed either to exhibit great love for the newest fanning or to make me insanely jealous, josh spent 30 minutes doing this:



the kids made giraffe sandwiches for lunch one day:



and then, much to my delight, asked me to take their pictures:




to be accurate, izzy requested a "sheshun":



abby and izzy worked intently on their arts and crafts:



and we had a night in with the taylors (the answer is no, i don't have a clue what abby and izzy were doing with their mouths or why jack was staring me down like i was interrupting some fine dining experience): 



and finally, josh and i took a picture of our own to celebrate baseball's opening day:



so maybe "100 pictures or less" is more like it, but there - i'm officially caught up with photo blogging.  i've got wordless wednesday ready to go for tomorrow, but i'm praying that with our agency's wednesday report from ethiopia will come some good news to trump it!

jack would like a stuffed anne perry for his birthday

as i was telling a friend tonight, i intentionally put my camera away for a while around here because i woke up one day and realized that i was spending way more time documenting life than i was living life.  if josh and i took the kids to the park, i came home with 150 photos...but no memories.  if we headed to the zoo for the day, i returned with loads of animal photos, abby/jack/izzy photos, and abby/jack/izzy-with-the-animals photos.  but i interacted almost solely from behind the lens of my camera.  so i tucked it away, focused on playing with my little people, and found a much healthier balance.

so now that i'm back to blogging about day-to-day life with the lewis fam, i thought i would pull out photos from some of our recent fun and prove to those of you who thought the life and times of the lewis crew had all but vanished that we're still here, we're still having fun, and i'm still taking pictures of it all.

i'm just taking less pictures of it all and enjoying it mostly sans camera.  :-)

a few weeks ago, our friends anna and paul brought their three girls up to birmingham for a visit and a little playtime.  now i've talked about this family many, many times before, but let me say it just one more time: the lord blessed us immensely when he crossed our paths almost 15 years ago when we were all freshmen at samford university.  i simply adore anna and paul, and i simply adore their little darlings.

this is what kept addie entertained during their visit...

but this is how poor audrey kate and anne perry spent most of their time here.  with my kids all in their faces.

but in their sweet, good-natured way, they soaked it all in and actually seemed to enjoy it.

 

even when jack did this...  (notice both of his hands)

what warmed my heart the most, though, was seeing jack and anne perry play together so much.  my girls are always up for playing with a baby, but jack...not so interested.  he's been talking continually lately, though, about wishing his little brother would come home soon, so i think he was happy to spend some time with the under-one crowd.

gracious, i love these little people.  all six (hopefully soon seven) of them!