Thankful

I have already failed, I missed updating my blog for what I was thankful for on my count down to travel. I can say that yesterday I was thankful for happy hour and spicy salmon rolls though!

Here goes...for real

13. I am thankful that Sam and I were lead down the path of adoption through our life circumstances and the decisions that we chose to make that were best for us and our future family. I know I haven't even met our lil Jack and Hayley yet, but everything just feels right. We are so grateful to grow our family through the gift of adoption.

12.  I am thankful for the birth parents of Jack and Hayley. I can't imagine anything more selfless than relinquishing a child to give them a life that would want them to have. This is a painful and heart wrenching decision that many parents in Ethiopia are faced to make. I will always admire the strength and love of Jack and Hayley's first parents be forever indebted to them.

Travel Plans

So as Sam and I were making our travel plans to Ethiopia, we had originally planned on just going to Ethiopia, doing a little touring in the country and heading home after meeting our babes and passing court. Well as our plans were developing, we realized that there would be a layover in Amsterdam. So, hum, what to do? Well, we checked with our travel agency (which was amazing by the way - Susan Parr Travel) and it would not cost any extra for to spend a day or two in Amsterdam. Sam and I have not really traveled much internationally, so we thought we just better take advantage of this opportunity. So that was it, we decided to take two days to ourselves to spend in Amsterdam before officially becoming parents! Our last vacation before babies. We better do it up good! Sam and I haven't been on a 'real' vacation in over 2 years because we have been saving for our adoption, so we are really looking forward to this little treat for ourselves. Really looking forward to it, is probably an understatement.

So what to do in Amsterdam? Well I am sure a lot that soon to be parents will not be partaking in! However, we are filling up our agenda, the Anne Frank House and the Heineken Brewery are on tap. Have recommendations for us? Let us have it!

14 days left until we travel. For the countdown, 14 things I am thankful for:
14. I am thankful that Sam and I have great jobs with companies that we really appreciate. We don't take our job for granted...I will just leave it at that.

The day we learned of our court date...

We received the phone call that we received our court date, and I was in a meeting at work. After the meeting I had an email that notified us of our court. FINALLY! As mentioned earlier, it will be on St. Patrick's Day. Sam and I are both part Irish, so the day is always a celebration for us, but this year it will be the best St. Patty's day that we could ask for.

It was a Friday, late in the afternoon that we were notified. Sam, my sweet husband, knew that this was a day worth celebrating. He went to our favorite fish market and got some sushi grad ahi tuna to have for dinner (my favorite) and some super good bread, from my favorite bakery.

Here are some pics for us to remember the day that we were notified of when our kids will be ours forever!

IN TWO WEEKS WE WILL BE ON A PLANE ON OUR WAY TO MEET JACK AND HAYLEY FOR THE FIRST TIME. WE CAN'T WAIT!

Showers, Showers, Showers

I have some catching up to do! I have not even posted about my first baby shower in January. It was a beautiful shower hosted by my amazing friends Kathie, Elisha, Laura and Tara!  Everything from the food, to the decorations to the cake was perfect. It was a showing of about 20 ladies including high school friends, college friend, work friends, and family. I want to thank everyone again for their generosity all that they have done in support of Jack and Hayley's homecoming!

Kathie, Elisha, Me, Tara, Laura

You can tell from the pictures we are keeping in classy here in MN. Yes, we were drinking wine from the baby bottles as one of the baby games. 

On Friday my co-workers hosted a shower for me after work!  We went to Zahtar, a bar in our work building. Katie and Sarah hosted the event and was perfect! The group came together and gave us a gift card so we can get our BOB stroller! How lucky are we! We also got some great books and gift card toward a photo setting from a great photographer who is also a co-worker! We are so excited. Sam met up with us later and a few of us head out on the town. As if the shower wasn't enough, I also finished my MBA officially on Friday. Sam, celebrated enough for the both of us that evening.

The following day we did some baby errands and Sam fell asleep at Babies'r'Us in a glider. As I was trying to show him an outfit I said, "Do you like this one or this one?" and a women walked by and said, "His eyes are still closed." Sam was pooped and his idea of fun did not included two Targets and Babies'r'Us.

We are headed to church shortly where they are doing a special service featuring African dance, music and food. We are excited to see what it is all about.

As we are getting ready to leave in 2.5 weeks, I am going to try to keep my blog update a bit better. My goal is to post something daily to keep everyone informed on our travel plans!

1 Month Countdown

Christina and I leave on our first journey out of North America in one month. We look forward to our opportunity to broaden our thinking and seek to better understand other cultures. I'm excited for the adventure and time away from work. We will be in Amsterdam for two days and then take a trip North out of Addis and into Ethiopia. As if that wasn't enought, we then get to meet our children for the first time upon our return to Addis. Life's a crazy ride and we haven't even started some of the challenging parts. Christina and I do view our journey as an opportuntiy and not a challenge.

Thanks to all who follow and contribute to "Christina's blog." We appreciate it.

- Husband (Sam Skinner)

I. Can't. Imagine.

This video is sure to shake you.


"It Began with Bale" from Drawn From Water on Vimeo.