On to Facebook

I've decided to stop the blog and use facebook. I am not the best blogger and can post pics on facebook. It is less complicated for people like me with no real computer skills. You can find me if you go to www.facebook.com and search Lisa Perez. There might be a billion of them so be patient. Or you can email me and I will email you back an invite.

Babies and grass

I love babies of all kinds. Who doesn't? Yesterday we celebrated the birth of Elijah's guinea pig, Oreo, having her first litter of piggies! They are the cutest thing ever! We have 4 healthy babies but one died during birth. I am told that is normal for these animals. So enjoy the pics and I am throwing some in of Imani in the grass. She does not like grass as you can tell from the scowl on her face. She would stand frozen and would not walk. If she fell to sitting she would cry, LOUD! Sorry Imani, we had a good laugh at your expense. :)

Awesome hair day!

This is what happens when you give two 3 year olds liberty with your hair! Ignore the fact that this was before my shower and makeup for the day:)

Thankful

Tonight I am thankful for my physically capable and bright kids. Some days I get bogged down with the day to day busy stuff and forget that the behaviors and challenges that are the hardest are also a blessing. I see things in my job as a labor and delivery nurse that make me thankful for what God has blessed us with. Today was a long and sad day. You never get used to bad things happening to beautiful new babies. It should be the happiest time in a person's life. For most people it is but for a few it is heart wrenching. Please pray for your healthy kids and pray for those whose children are facing challenges.
Now, we will see if I can remember this when my boys are fighting and being mouthy, Louie is making messes and making Eden scream, and they all want my attention at the same time.! :)

New Blog-I goofed on the address :)

www.aainews.blogspot.com

Here is a link to the blog recently created by the agency that helped bring our girls home. You can see some of the wonderful things happening in Ethiopia that benefit many children and families.

Mothers Day

Today is a day that is not much different than any other day. I still had to do my motherly duties today. I did get cards and little homemade gifts from the kids which I love. Blanca wrote me a cute little poem. We went to church then my mom and Rick's mom came over for lunch. With the help of a little pre made food from the store I cooked! It was nice. Then, the best part, I took and 2 1/2 hour nap!!!!! It was heavenly. What really is important to me today to acknowledge is the birth moms of my 3 amazing girls. Blanca's mom died when she was 4. Today we went to the cemetery and took flowers. Blanca and I sat there and I had my arms around her as she cried. That is such a powerful thing. I am her mom, Mayra is her mom. One of us is here and one is in Heaven. Sometimes I wonder what it is about me that God saw to want me to raise another's child. It is a huge responsibility and I am humbled that He chose us for these girls. Imani's mom is unknown to us. Imani was abandoned. That seems like a negative word. It was not a negative act. It was unselfish, desperate, loving, and horribly sad. I wish no mom ever had to leave her child in hopes of them finding a "better" life. Wouldn't it be nice if all moms were able to keep and raise their children? It doesn't seem fair that some people can't. Why am I any better than she is? Eden's birth mom is still living in Ethiopia and I had the privilege to meet her twice. She is beautiful and strong. She made this huge sacrifice for her daughter. What stronger love can there be? I just want to say thank you to these special women. My life is so full of love because of them. I will continue to honor these women by always remembering where my girls came from and asking God to give me the strength to be the best mom I can. Please pray for these women and the women all over the world who are struggling with poverty, disease, abuse, and desperation.
Thank you Mayra, Bizhayu, and the woman who gave birth to Imani.
We love you!!

Eden's mom

Elijah's 8th Birthday!

Elijah Halloween 2005

Elijah one year

My middle boy turned 8 on April 14th. Elijah Gabriel Perez was born at 10:09 am. I can't believe how much he has grown. He was the cutest, fattest baby you have ever seen. I couldn't wait for him to walk because at one year he weighed 26lbs! Now he is lean and thin. He is smart and funny and sweet. Elijah loves animals and wants to be a scientist who works with them.

Elijah got guinea pigs this year and we are anxiously awaiting babies! I do wish he would clean the cages himself though:)

If there is a question to be asked about how the body works you can guarantee that Elijah will ask it. Elijah likes to collect papers and take pictures. Elijah has always loved stuffed animals. His favorite is Teddy. Teddy was his best friend for 5 years. I finally took Teddy away so he would be safe til Elijah is a grown up. Teddy still comes out to play when Elijah can find him! He is very passionate about his interests.

Happy Birthday Elijah! Your dad and I love you more than you could ever imagine. You are a delight to us and this family!

Easter

We had a great Easter this year. I was able to get everyone dressed well and only bought the two little girls dresses and one pair of pants for Louie and a shirt for Noah.

I know the reason for the day is to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ but I just needed the kids to "look" put together. For some reason people are watching large families to make sure you are doing it "right." Anyway, we got to Church on time and had my grandparents and mom over for dinner. Real simple but nice. It was fun to see Eden coloring easter eggs and hunting them for the first time. I don't have pics of the coloring cause I only took video. Carrying around cameras with 6 kids gets tricky! Someday when I figure out the video/computer I will post video.

The kids ate candy all day! Isn't that what it is about when you are young.

I wanted to make sure we weren't missing the true reason so I started quizzing my 7 year old about the story of Easter and he gave me more info than I think I even knew. I was so proud of him. I know my kids love the Lord. That is a great feeling.

Thank you Jesus for giving your life for our Salvation!

Imani turns 1 year!

Our first meeting.

Imani one year

Imani two months

Imani referral pic. just a few days old

Imani Elizabeth Genet turned one year old on Sat the 11th. We really don't know her true birthdate. That is just as close as they could get. She was found on the roadside in a town called Sheshamene when she was just about 3 days old. She still had her umbilical stump so she couldn't have been very old. A police officer found her and turned her over to the orphanage. She spent the first five months of life being cared for by some amazing nannies at Wanna house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I found out about her when she was two months old on June 11th, 2008. Her given name in Amharic is Genet. I was so happy that day. Like I had just given birth. Words do not express the happiness she brings to our whole family. God could not have picked a more perfect baby for us. We picked the name Imani because it has African roots. It is Swahili and means Faith. Elizabeth is a family name. It is my moms middle name, my great grandma's middle name and my name, Lisa, is a derivative of it. Also, my baby girl Ameliah had the middle name of Isabel which is Elizabeth in Spanish. It is special to me. I saw many pictures and even some video of Imani before I met her. Our first "meeting" was Sept 15th, 2008 and we came home together Sept 21st. She was five month old. She weighed 15 lbs and was so healthy. She did develop chicken pox 2 days after coming home. Today she is still healthy, only 2 ear infections since coming home. Imani is almost walking. She crawls everywhere and loves to eat. This is evident as she weighs 24lbs and is in 18 month clothes!

We are having a big celebration next weekend for Imani's first birthday. The road traveled, literally, to get here has been a long one. Somedays I can't believe how lucky I am to have her in my life. So, Imani, Happy Birthday from your mom who loves you more than you could imagine. I just wish the "mom" that gave birth to you could see you and know you are healthy and happy. I think about her every day and pray that she is safe and healthy. She gave me the most wonderful gift ever!

The Zoo

Friday we went to the zoo for spring break fun. We have always loved the zoo. Rick and I are big animal lovers. This was our first outing (other than church) as a family of 8! The weather was a bit cool but it didn't rain while we were there and the sun even came out a bit. I call that a good day. The kids had a great time and were so exhausted by the end of it all. Imani was such a good baby and never fussed. A total of 8 hours in the car and 5 in the stroller. She handled it like a champ! Eden had her first experiance with the zoo. For a kid who is scared to death of animals, I think she did great. She actually wanted to see the animals and never appeared scared. It was fun to be a part of one of many "firsts" for her. I am beyond happy that this little girl will grow up with as many of the fun childhood events as possible. The boys had fun running all over and just being boys. Getting out of the house and being outdoors was good for them. Louie loved the animals also. I think it was his first zoo experience also. What a blessing to be able to do this for our kids. It wasn't a calm and quiet day but what I have realized is our days our now judged differently than most families. We don't have leisurely outings and that is OK. We have to plan, organize, PRAY, and practice patience and teamwork. I was so happy that Rick and I acted as a team and things went smoothly for the most part. We do get many stares when we are all together. I actually had my first "are they all yours" comment. I was proud to say "yes."

so sweet

baby jail

aren't I adorable?

Pretending to be buddies if only for a moment!

Just some ramblings

The last few days have been better than I expected. The kids are doing better. Still loud and stressful but better. Imani is so close to walking. It makes me sad that I missed almost half of her first year but happy that she is growing and developing on track. She is such a joy!
Eden is finding her place in our family. She has such a spunk in her! That is the most exhausting part of her but also my favorite part. Noah is in one of his moods this week. He has been mouthy and grumpy. I know this will pass but it is hard to like him right now. Blanca is her normal sweet, helpful, but disconnected self. Louie is feisty and funny. Elijah is concrete and stubborn but kind. I seem to have a little of everything in this house. I recently started the "Love Dare" book. It is the book that the movie "Fireproof" is about. I really need to do something for my marriage. Adoptions and kids have been the best part of our lives but also taken a toll on our relationship. The two 3 year olds were evaluated to see if they are ready for the preschool at Kingspoint. Louie is but Eden is not. She is still a little behind socially due to her time in the orphanage and the language challenge. I'm sure in a few more months she will be more than ready. She is a smart girl. We are so blessed to have these kids in our lives and be healthy.. God has certainly blessed us.

Our time in Seattle

Andrea and I with Eden, Biruk, and Amira

Aren't they adorable!

We got back late last night from Seattle. Eden's dr appt took almost 4.5 hours. The pharmacy at Children's was so slow. We waited for 2 hours for her meds. Not the greatest customer service!

I do like the hospital and her dr. though. She is starting new meds today. I am excited for her immune system but nervous for side effects.

A great time was had by all at Andrea's. Eden got to hang out and play with her buddies Biruk and Hiwot (Amira) from KM. It was so fun to see the kids together again.

Andrea and her family were great hosts. Thank you Andrea. Having someone cook dinner and clean up for us was special. Also, the time to sit and talk was invaluable.

So, I am back at home now. Back to reality and WORK! Work at home and work at the hospital.

Heading to Seattle

So, tomorrow me and the little girls are heading to Seattle to stay with my friend Andrea and Eden's friends from KM, Hiwot (Amira) and Biruk. I am beyond excited! Andrea and I missed the opportunity to be together in ET and now we get the chance to hang out. Eden has an appt with the PID to restart meds. Hopefully we will find the ones that work for her. She was resistant to 2 of the 3 meds she was on.
My back is still a little sore but getting better. Today the screaming from Eden was beyond tolerable. She is sooo loud. Now my 3 yr old son has taken to screaming for the fun of it. I got alot of great suggestions from my yahoo group. When we get back I will try some of them. The cute thing about Eden is she likes to dress like she did at KM. She layers! Today it was 2 shirts, tights, leggings, and a dress. Nothing matched of course. I let her do that as long as we are not going in public. I think she needs something that is within her control.
Today also after 4 trips in 2 days to the ss office, I finally got the girls' ss card applications done. Yeah!! Now we can finish our taxes. That will make Rick happy.
Now I am off to finish laundry and go to bed. I love the go to bed part!

my little dancer

One thing about Eden is she loves to dance and sing! Today me and the little girls are home from church because I hurt my back somehow. While I am lying on the couch with an ice pack, Eden is dancing around and using her sucker as a microphone to sing along with the country music station. It is the cutest thing! She also thinks Imani can dance with her. I don't have any pics of it but I'll post one of her dancing from before. Today I have to work for six hours but really don't want to cause I can hardly move. My back started hurting yesterday. My friend Rebecca came over and helped me do some much needed decorating to my boring walls. I moved a bookshelf and I think I did more damage to my back. I hope it goes away soon because I am the biggest baby when it comes to pain. My husband is the least nurturing of all people so I will get NO sympathy from him! It is work as usual around the Perez house.

The two younger boys are at grandma's house which is a much needed break for me. I needed some time to pay attention to Eden without Louie in the mix. I always feel torn between them. I think being the same age is hard for me and them. They are getting used to each other though. They are playing for longer periods without fighting. Louie has definitely asserted himself as the alpha dog!

Please pray for my back. It really hurts. I have no time for this!

More pics of my beautiful little girls

Bad blogger!

My friend Andrea is probably the only person that reads my blog because it is so boring. She says I am a bad blogger and need to update my blog so here goes.

Right now 3 of my six kids are running around my house and it is NOISY. Sometimes I just close my eyes and cringe, praying nobody has a broken bone cause I don't want to spend 6 hours in the ER!

Jan 31 I arrived home with my sweet (but noisy) 3 year old daughter from Ethiopia. Eden is a spunky, rambunctious, cute as a button, ball of energy! Much more energy than her sweet little face in the pictures let on! We love her dearly.

I can't say this has all been a bed of roses. I am TIRED. However, I would never go back. My family is complete and it is a great feeling.

I could write for hours about our trip to ET that my 12 year old daughter went on with me. I also could write about my chubby, happy, almost walking 11 month old Imani that came home in Sept. I don't have enough time and my house would be falling down by the time I got done.

So, God has blessed us immensely and I am very thankful for his guidance and presence in our lives. If you can please pray for strength for my husband and I. Also I ask for prayers for the kids to stay healthy and happy.