20 Ways You Know You’ve Entered Motherhood

1. your cute hair style has morphed into a pony tail.
2. dangling jewelry is a thing of the past.
3. the characters in your dreams are all Muppets.
4. important things like washing your hair or shaving your legs have to be penciled into your agenda book.
5. you can’t remember the last time you ate a hot meal.
6. you no longer consider buying or wearing anything that’s dry clean only.
7. anything written on your “to do list” must be completed with one hand.
8. you now despise the alphabet song.
9. you no longer have blisters on your feet from wearing uncomfortable, yet stylish shoes just to make a good impression.
10. you don’t mind picking someone else’s nose.
11. it’s been so long since you’ve been to the hair salon, you forgot the name of the salon you've visited for years.
12. your idea of a prime parking spot is the one closest to the cart return.
13. you are convinced the most effective way to torture someone is depriving them of sleep.
14. you have an audience in the bathroom.
15. Cheerios are a staple food along with milk, bread, and ice cream.
16. if you only have enough time to stop at one store, you chose The Children’s Place over Ann Taylor Loft.
17. your pile of laundry has doubled.
18. you strictly observe meal times and nap times.
19. you smile until your face hurts.
20. all the troubles in the world seem to melt away with a sloppy wet kiss.

I Want A Crying Baby

No need to read the title again. I want a crying baby. There are times when Mercy is crying so loudly that I can’t even think and her tears seem to be for no apparent reason, then I may have a different tune. The words come to mind, stop crying!

I don’t have all the answers and it may take me many, many guesses before I figure out the root of her discontent or pull a trick out of the air that will calm her down. However, my baby cries! I celebrate that, because there was a time when a bump on the head wouldn’t even bring the tiniest whimper. Other mothers would be amazed and tell me how lucky I was that my baby didn’t cry every time she crawled into a chair leg, or lost her balance and tumbled over. The sad reality is orphans eventually learn to stop crying if no one ever responds to their cries for food, for comfort, for love.

Call me a first time mom, but upon hearing her first cry I run to my baby to make sure she is okay. In time, I’ve learn to distinguish the difference in each of her cries. She woke up and wants to play. She is hungry. She is frightened. She wants to be held. Perhaps the most desperate cry of all...she dropped her pacifier or baby doll out of her crib.

Now, Mercy will cry and tug at me. Why? She knows that I will make things better for her. Is she spoiled? I wouldn’t say that. Can you spoil an orphan child? Besides, how does a baby communicate? When a baby cries and we respond, are we spoiling them or are we are reinforcing trust.

Isn’t that what God does? When we cry out to God, He responds to His children. Is He spoiling us? When God answers, it creates a greater sense of faith and trust.

Even this old hymn reminds me of this truth.

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er;
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

I’m so glad I learned to trust Thee,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that Thou art with me,
Wilt be with me to the end.

On the days of endless crying because of teething, discontent or I can’t figure out why she is crying I must remember--I want a crying baby. I want a baby that trusts her mommy and daddy to make it all better.

I am always amazed how God uses this tiny little person who can't say word to teach me more of God's Truth.


Shhh....... I just heard my baby crying. Nap time is now over, let the playtime begin.

Happy 14th Month Birthday!!

Today our little girl is now 14 months old!! I'm almost ashamed to admit this, but I used to think it was strange that parents would tell their baby's age by "months". However, now I celebrate every month we have our baby girl!!

We missed the first year of her life and I'm making a point to celebrate each milestone. With each month that passes, we are amazed at how much she has learned. She is not the same child we brought home seven weeks ago. A friend predicted Mercy would be like a flower opening before our eyes and she was right!

Today I celebrate and praise God for bringing Mercy to us!

She's come a long way in just seven weeks:

• sitting without tipping over
• crawling
• eating baby food
• pulling up on furniture
• self feeding finger foods
• drinking from a sippy cup
• gained 2.5 pounds
• climbs in her little chair
• claps her hands
• plays peek-a-boo
• blows kisses
• signs "all done"
• cheers at the end of mealtime prayer
• two new teeth
• raises her arms when she wants to be held

She has stolen our hearts with those big beautiful eyes and sweet smile. When she wraps her tiny little arms around my neck, I simply melt. I never knew love would be like this. It's better than I ever imagined it would be.

Thank you for walking along this journey with us.

The Day that Changed Us Forever!!

As I wrote today's date, April 22, it hit me that it has already been one month since we met our baby girl. I cannot believe how the time has flown by! In many ways, I feel like we just got home. But we can barely remember what life was like before Mercy came home.

Many people have asked me about our first meeting Mercy. This may be lengthy, but here's the story.

I will never forget that amazing day in Ethiopia!!! The trip was long and exhausting. We left Nashville on Mercy's first birthday, March 20th. We arrived in Ethiopia 27 hours later on Sunday night. We made arrangements with our driver who met us at the airport to come for us the very next morning and take us to get our baby. It hardly seemed real to me.

Even though our bodies were so exhausted, we were too excited to sleep once we finally reached the Guest House. In my mind, I kept imagining what it would be like to see our daughter for the very first time and got very little sleep at all.

On Monday morning, we were expecting our driver at 9:00a.m. It had been awhile since I had been in Africa and forgot how African time works. You see, 9:00a.m. is anytime before 9:59a.m. Typically, a long wait doesn't bother me,but those 40 minutes seemed eternal to us. Mike was making small talk to the man at the Guest House. I couldn't concentrate at all. Believe it or not, I had nothing to say.

We heard the driver coming through the gate and Mike grabbed my hand and said, "This is it! Let's go get our baby girl!" It was hard to hold back all the tears. The emotions were so heavy that I could hardly breath. Fortunately, the drive to the Transition House was short and the roads were relatively smooth.

We pulled up to the Transition House and were greeted by dozens of children that ran to give us hugs. The babies were all located on the second floor. We followed the drive and nanny upstairs to meet Mercy. She was not yet ready, so we waited in the hallway for them to get her dressed. Then with her thick African accent we finally hear the words we had been waiting for, "please, come in."

In the second crib, stood our beautiful baby girl! We walked over to her and I knelt down in front of the crib. I didn't want to scare her. Mercy was tilting her head from side to side making noises with her little tongue sticking out. She reached out her hand to touch my face as tears filled my eyes. Mike immediately picked her up! She cooed and touched his face. He passed her to me and Mercy wrapped those tiny arms around my neck as I just held her so tightly cheek to cheek. THIS is the moment that I had waited for my entire life! It was love at first sight!!

We played with our daughter. Our daughter. God melted our hearts and formed a family that moment. I honestly felt that she knew we were coming for her. Her smile, her big brown eyes, those tiny little fingers were all more amazing than I ever dreamed it would be!

We waited for the nurse, signed the paperwork, and left the place our daughter had called home for almost four months. Mercy has no idea how much her life is about to change! Nor do we.

Thank you, God! My heart is so full of love and gratitude.

"I will not leave you as orphans, I am coming for you!" John 14:18

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether
or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Prayers of the Saints

As God puts us on your heart, please pray for us. My friends asked if we knew our agenda to pray specifically for us. We do not really know anything for certain. We will let Mercy let us know what she feels like doing. Hopefully, she will love shopping like her mommy (and daddy too!)

Here are a few prayer requests that have been on my heart for long time.

• We will have safe travel to/from Ethiopia.
• Our luggage (especially our baby things) will arrive
• We will be alert and well rested. We will get Mercy less than 12 hours after arriving in Ethiopia.
• We will all be healthy.
• Mercy will bond quickly to us.
• The LONG journey home (22 hrs) will be as comfortable as possible for Mercy.
• Mike and I will be patient with one another as we begin this new adventure.
• Finally, we pray there are no unexpected delays at the Embassy.

Thank you for the countless prayers! I cannot wait to tell Mercy how many people have prayed for her and love her before we ever laid eyes on her.

That is a love that only comes from God.

Happy Birthday, Mercy!!!

Oh, my sweet Mercy!! As I sit here on Friday night getting ready to wrap up and head to bed, I just looked at our Ethiopian clock. It is now March 20th, darling. You are a tiny little thing and don't really know it yet, but today is your birthday!!! Happy Birthday!!!! We wanted so badly to be with you on your first birthday, but instead we will be coming for you! This is the last birthday you will ever wake up alone. You don't know this now, but your mommy and daddy will make the biggest fuss over you and your birthday.

Your birthdate is very special. Today is the first day of spring. Everything comes to life after the long cold winter. What a perfect day as you are about to begin your new life with your forever family! We cannot wait to see how much you will grow and change in front of our very eyes.

We love you more than you can possibly know! I am so happy that the wait is almost over. And I promise that your daddy will snatch you up out of your crib!!!

Until the day we hold you in our arms,
Mommy