The Freier Family

Summer Fun

2010-07-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Summer is going by way to fast! We have been keeping busy to say the least! So far the boys have had a basketball camp in Kindred, golf camp in Oxbow, swimming lessons for both boys and girls, and baseball 4 nights a week. Whew! Thank goodness the weather has cooperated and we've been able to spend some fun weekends at the lake for a reprieve from our busy week day of activities. Here are just a few pics from our summer fun!

What a blessing

2010-04-11T12:00:00.000-07:00

Once a month our Childrens Ministry Leader invites parents to stay and participate in their children's Sunday School time. Today she dedicated the hour to celebrating God's ministry to the orphan. She invited those of us who have adopted or are foster care parents to share our testimonies. To share how God moved our hearts to adopt or provide foster care - to share how He lead us to our child(ren) - and to share our biggest blessing through the experience.

I know my story, so it wasn't difficult to share specifics about how we came to adopt and how our process went. But gosh, when she asked me to share my biggest blessing - well that is tough. We've received so many through our adoption of Ana, that I don't know where to begin! I went to bed not knowing exactly what I was going to say. I slept restlessly and at 6:30 this morning God woke me with words!

Biggest Blessing

God’s love for us is so deep. He doesn’t care who we’ve been, what we’ve done, or where we came from. The only thing he cares about is the condition of our heart. He sees our desperate need for a Father. Someone to provide for us, to guide our direction, to listen to us, to simply love and accept us. God has given me the blessing of 4 beautiful children – 3 that I birthed and 1 that I traveled across the world for – and it doesn’t matter how my children came to be mine – they are mine – they are mine to love.

MY biggest blessing – well that would be when Ana sings along to her favorite CD and realizes that song is about her! Well, it’s really about all of us – but to a 4 yr old everything is about her!

The song goes -

“Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”

And Ana says in excitement – doesn’t matter what color we are, Jesus loves everybody!!

I have sung that song for years, but have never REALLY put it into context until now. I have only seen things through my white American eyes. Well, now I see things through different colors. And that is a blessing in itself.

I'm not sure anyone understood my words, because of course I cried through the whole thing! Ugh! But I felt God's presence and it was amazing to listen to everyone's story! All the stories were different in how they came to adoption, yet we all knew that God guided us to it and through it. That He chose our children for us - that He knew from the very beginning that Ana would be a part of our family - that she would be our daughter.

We are so excited about what God is doing in our church. We believe He is stirring the hearts of people - moving them to have a heart for the orphan - molding their hearts to be more like His. And shouldn't that be our goal? To be more like Him?

I fall short in so many ways. But He knows my heart. And I am ever so thankful that He chose me to be His child! And as a child of God, I want to please Him - I want to be closer to Him - and I want Him to say to me, Well Done.

Honesty is the best policy...right??

2010-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

So Ana and I went out for lunch after preschool today. I noticed Ana took this HUGE bite of her grilled cheese and could barely keep it in her mouth while she TRIED to chew it. I suggested she take smaller bites. After she swallowed some of it down, she told me big bites were ok because she had a big mouth. I couldn't help but laugh and for as much as she talks, I couldn't disagree with her. So we continued to eat and as I took a bite of my salad, Ana stops eating and says to me - Mom, you have a big mouth too.

Gotta LOVE those car rides

2010-04-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Our family's time in the car together can either be categorized as quality time or frustration time. Yesterday the girls and I were on our way to Tina's dance class and about 2 minutes away from home the "conversation" started between the girls.
Ana: Tina, is Erin in your dance class?
Ana: Is Erin's sister in your dance class too?
Tina: Ana, be quiet. I don't want to talk.
Ana: I'm just asking you a question.
Tina: Mom, tell her to be quiet!
Me: Ana, Tina doesn't care to talk right now.
Ana: Mom, I am wondering if Erin is in dance.
Tina: Ana! Really! Stop talking!!
silence...for a moment...
Ana: I can't stop talking.
Tina: UGH! Sigh.

On the way home from dance, Tina once again was still not in the mood for her little sister.
Tina: Mom, Ana keeps staring at me.
I look in my rear-view mirror. Sure enough Ana is purposely staring at Tina.
Me: Ana, please stop looking at Tina.
Tina: She is still looking at me!
I take another look in my mirror. Yep, still looking at her sister.
Me: Ana, please just look at the TV.
I look in my mirror to make sure she is doing what I say. With exaggerated big wide eyes she turns her eyes to the TV. I smile. Tina again gives a big sigh.

Yesterday was NOT categorized as "quality time" in the car with my kids. My first mistake - having them sit next to each other - DUH!

Usually, the quality time happens when I am alone with one of my kids. And I suppose I should define quality time for you. Quality time in the car is all about the conversation I am blessed to have with one of the kids. The car is great for talking with my kids because we're strapped in our seats and the only thing to do is talk with each other. It's where I get the most information out of them :o)

So the other day Ana starts the conversation by telling me...
Ana: I am brown.
Me: Who says you're brown? Or how do you know you are brown?
Ana: Well, John at my preschool is black.
Ana: He is darker then me.
Ana: So I am brown.
Me: Well, I guess that makes sense.
Me: What color am I?
Ana: Yellow.

Ana has been very talkative about her skin color lately. The other day we were listening to a kids CD of bible songs. She loves to sing along with it and I love listening to her! So we are listening and singing along and all of a sudden Ana says...
Ana: Mom, I am a child of God!!
Me: I know it! So am I!
Then came the part - "red, yellow, black, or white - we are precious in his sight - Jesus loves the little children of the world"
And Ana says: Yep, it doesn't matter what color you are! God loves us all!
Me: You know it!
Brought tears to my eyes. I hope she will always remember that song and know that Jesus loves her and that she will always, always feel comfortable in her skin. Her beautiful brown skin!

Keep, keep, keep'n busy

2010-02-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ya know it's funny how disappointed I get when the blogs I follow don't update on a regular basis. I find myself wanting to leave them a comment like - Yo, when you gonna update your blog?! However, apparently I don't have the same expectation for myself. When was my last post?...November? Good gravy!
I don't even know where to start... Maybe I'll just post some pictures of what's been happening with our family :)

Boys are playing on Kindred's 4th grade traveling basketball team. We've been getting bleacher butt just about every weekend sitting at tournaments! Kyle is coaching the team and having a blast living vicariously through his sons! I'm trying to keep my pulse rate under control and to not be one of those loud parents yelling from the stands. Whew!! I am emotionally drained after every game!

Ana is thrilled that she FINALLY got to make her first snowman!

Bowling with friends on our day off from school. Since then, we have had several "snow days" - kids will be in school until July if we keep getting dumped on! Well maybe not until July, but we can probably kiss Spring Break & Easter Monday goodbye. Oh well...

Kyle and I were able to take a wonderful vacation to cool and cloudy Florida and to warm and sunny Bahamas with some friends. We spent a day at Epcot while in Orlando.

And then we took a cruise to the Bahamas. Thoroughly enjoyed our time soaking up the sun! And laughing until our stomachs hurt with friends!

Will be sure to post again in the not so distant future :)

Court Day

2009-11-26T16:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our court hearing to finalize Ana's adoption. It was a very short, but very meaningful appearance before the Honorable Wade L. Webb! The judge came in - we all stood - he proceeded to explain that we were in court to finalize the adoption for "Anna" Elizabeth Freier - Kyle and I gave each other a glance because we knew what was coming - Ana slowly lifted her eyes toward the judge and said "No, Ana". The judge chuckled a bit and said, "Well thank you, Ana, for correcting me". We've tried to explain to her that her name is a bit confusing to people and that she will probably need to 'politely' correct people all of her life. What do ya do? :)

Afterwards we asked Ana where she wanted to go for lunch to celebrate. That's when the boys got the idea to go bowling. So they asked Ana - "Ana do you want to go bowling and have pizza"? "Doesn't that sound like fun Ana?" To which she got all excited and was begging to go bowling. She doesn't even know what bowling is! So went bowling - in our dresses and dress pants - at 11:30 am - on a Wednesday!

When we got there, our three oldest started to give the lady their shoe sizes to get their bowling shoes. Apparently the smallest shoe size they have is a 12 and Ana wears a 10 1/2, but she was determined to wear a pair of the multi-colored leather shoes just like her siblings. I don't know how she kept them on, but you would have thought they were Cinderella's glass slippers - she loved those shoes!

So can you guess who won the game??

Tina of course!! You go girl!!

Halloween

2009-11-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

To be honest Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays. But the kids sure do enjoy getting dressed up & of course the candy is appealing too. This year Matt asked if we could trick-or-treat in the neighborhood. Our church has always hosted a Harvest Party and we've always attended that and have never really bothered with the door-to-door stuff. But ya know, now that he is a mature age of 10 he thought he needed to trick-of-treat with friends in the neighborhood. So we went to the Harvest Party first and once they got their fill of candy, pop, bottles of bubbles, etc. - then we came home and scoured the neighborhood for MORE candy.
The girls and I only made it to about 6 houses. I didn't even think to give Ana some "trick-or-treating etiquette" before we set out, so our first couple of stops she would march right inside their house when they would open the door to hand out the candy. She quickly caught on to the "trick-or-treat" saying in order to get the candy. And then she also told everyone what she was - "I'm a dancing girl" - just in case they couldn't tell by the leotard, tutu, and dance shoes. One of our neighbors had a bit of a scary costume on with a ghostly face and freakishly-long fingers that reached out to hand you the candy. Tina stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw him. Oh not Ana though - she walked right up to him, eyes wide, and said trick-or-treat - she knew there was candy involved and she was going to get it! And then she was even so nice as to reach out a grab her sister's candy too since she wasn't going to come and get it. And then that ended our door-to-door trick-or-treating.

Our two "dancing girls" - Cowboy Andy - and our gangster son, Matt

A Little of This - A Little of That

2009-10-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tina turned 6 on September 16th!! Or should I say it seems as though she turned 16 on September 6th - Ugh! Tina loves Kindergarten - she is writing sentences & making art work every chance she gets. She is losing teeth & looks a bit like the jack-o-latern sitting on our front step!

Matt turned the BIG 1-0 on September 23rd. I can't believe I have a child in the double digets! Where does the time go?? Matt has been having a blast playing football with his 4th grade class. He LOVES "hanging" with his friends & playing just about anything that requires throwing/tossing/or kicking a ball.

Ana and I went to the pumpkin patch with her preschool class. Ana loved running around in the straw bail maze and I think she left with much of it in hair, boots, & hood of her coat! She had to lift each pumpkin up and look at the bottom. I watched her do this to at least 4 pumpkins until I asked her what she was doing. She told me she didn't want a pumpkin that was wet. Well good luck with that when they are all setting on the ground! Eventually, my friend just took the pumpkin & wiped it off and Ana was satisfied. Why didn't I think of that???

One Year Ago Today...

2009-09-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

It was one year ago today - September 18th (also my beautiful neice's birthday!) - that we received these pictures of this sweet, sweet face!! It was right up there in "one of the happiest days" category!!

I remember looking into Ana's deep brown eyes and feeling just so very blessed! I was in the dentist chair when I received a call from our agency saying they had some new children available and she wanted to send me pictures over the email. Oh my gosh, I wanted to run out of that dental office right at that moment - but I didn't - I let them finish my cleaning. So as soon as I got home, I phoned our agency and told them they could start sending the pictures. I had no idea they were sending so many pictures - it took forever to receive them. Ana's pictures were the first ones we received and I phoned our agency and told them not to send me anymore - Ana is all we needed to see! I just knew that when we did finally receive a referral, that we would accept the first child we saw - and we did! She was so beautiful & so full of life - her smile made you melt - and it still does!
I thank God every day that she hasn't lost her happiness & her smile. I worried so much that we would get her home and she would become very sad & not want to be with us. But I really think she has bonded very well with all of us & that she truly feels like she belongs (and she most certainly does) in this family.
So many of you prayed for Ana for close to a year and we thank you so much for that!

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-16T14:14:00.001-07:00

Monday was Ana's first day of preschool. She was so excited!! She has been waiting for it to be her turn to go to school - I think she has asked me pretty much every day why her brothers and sister get to go to school and she has to wait. So her day finally arrived!! I woke her a bit early as I know she doesn't like to move very fast in the morning. She woke up very happy, but still moved at the pace of a turtle. It took her 20 minutes just to eat a slice of toast, so needless to say the other slice of toast didn't get eaten as we just had to get going.
She went right in to her classroom & starting playing. Her teacher greeted her with a "good morning Anna" and Ana respectfully told her "I'm not Anna, my name is Ana." I'm afraid she is probably going to be repeating her name many times throughout her life - oh well. So we got her settled into an activity at the table and she gave me a big hug and a kiss and said "goodbye Mom, I'll see you later!" I left thinking, well that was certainly easy!
So when it was time to pick her up, she took one look at me and started to cry. I couldn't believe it! She kept saying "no Mom, I'm not ready to go yet". I told her we could come back tomorrow and that seemed to make the crying stop.
Her favorite things to do at preschool are painting (poor thing doesn't have much opportunity at home for those messy projects) & singing - she has the B-I-B-L-E down quite well already!

Back to School

2009-08-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

The first day of school is always bitter sweet for me. After a fun-filled summer with the kids - all day - every day - 24/7 - running here - running there...well you get the drift...I am a "smidge" ready for them to go back to school. But I also miss them while they are away.
Today, we put THREE of our children on the bus! I know...can you believe that my little Tina is in Kindergarten already? Tina is very much ready to soar her oats and enter the world of elementary school. She is my social butterfly! She boarded the bus this morning with a huge smile on her face and plopped herself next to her little friend Solvay. The boys were ready for school to start as well and to see all their friends.
Of course, I had to remind them of how much they missed me while they were away by having warm brownies waiting for them when they arrived home! Matt said he could smell them as he came up the driveway...and then he said two of my favorite words...thanks Mom! I love that boy!! The other two just scarfed down the brownies while trying to tell me about their day.

Ana wasn't as happy about the kids leaving however. This is Matt attempting to hug her goodbye. I guess I should have gotten a picture of her waiting on the front steps when the bus rounded the corner to drop them off - she was jumping up and down saying, "here come the kids" - "the kids are home" - and then she gave each of them a big hug, even Tina!

Pink Hair

2009-08-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot the other mishap that took place while we were "at the farm". Since we were painting Grandpa's garage, Aunt Laurie gave the kids cans of spray paint to paint on the old summer kitchen behind the garage. Katelyn had already painted a beautiful sun, rainbow and flowers and then my kids added their names and some other graffiti. When they were finished we noticed that Ana (or possibly her sister whose name starts with a T) had sprayed one side of her hair with pink paint. We've washed it once and some of the paint has come out, but I think we're going to be a "Pink Lady" for at least a couple more washings.

Fun at the Farm

2009-08-03T07:41:00.001-07:00

We spent most of Sunday at Grandpa Beis' Farm near Streeter, ND. This is the farmstead where Kyle's Grandpa grew up - where Kyle's Mom grew up - and where Kyle spent a lot of time when he was a boy. The kids had so much fun!! It meant a lot to both Kyle and I to see our children also making great memories with their cousin & aunts & Great-Grandpa Beis at the farm. Auntie Laurie had her horses there, so the kids were had able to ride around the yard on Doc.

All the kids had a blast driving the dune buggy around Grandpa's yard. As you can see further down, Andy had a little more fun than the others. The story goes...while the adults were painting Grandpa's garage, the kids were running wild...just kidding...some were playing with the kittens - some were driving the golf cart - and Andy was driving the dune buggy. Suddenly we hear Andy running toward us crying uncontrollably. He by-passed his Dad and headed toward me (for good reason probably). When I asked him why he was crying he hysterically said - "it was going too fast and I ran into the fence". Hmmm...that doesn't sound good. So Andy and I walked over toward the fence (he is still crying) - I couldn't see the buggy, but I could hear it running. As we got closer I noticed the barbed wire fence was broken and the dune buggy was in the deep ditch - so my crazy kid had busted through the barbed wire fence and drove the dune buggy down into the ditch!! Thank goodness the support bars on the buggy took the beating from the barbed wire and not my kid's head!!

Grandpa had to hose down the dune buggy as there was mud plastered all over it. Not to mention the tears in the tarped roof from the barbed wire. Probably not going to get invited back to the farm anytime soon I'm afraid. Or if we do, no dune buggy for the Freier kids!

And after a day full of fun...this is what happens to the Freier children...

Fun With Friends

2009-08-03T07:21:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend some time with our friends who have also adopted - some of us from Ethiopia and some of us from other places. So fun to watch the kids run and play with each other!! We are very blessed to have friends to share adoption experiences & to just marvel at our children with!!

Baseball, baseball & more baseball

2009-07-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Andy had his end of season baseball tournament. The team has improved so much since the beginning of June & they all have had so much fun! Andy is a natural and has found his position at first base.

Today I took Ana to a salon to get her hair braided for the first time. It was like a spa day for her - she got her hair done, her finger nails and toe nails painted, and was given a lip gloss & sucker when she was all done. I knew (well we all new) she has lots of hair, but wowza when the stylist was separating it into sections to braid it reminded me just of how much hair she does have!! One lady asked if she had extensions! It took a little over an hour. She did well up until the last 20 minutes. Then she gave Ruthie some attitude. Funny though, once she was given her lip gloss & sucker she was all smiles and even gave Ruthie a big hug.

I LOVE IT!!

2009-07-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting a necklace that is shaped like Africa with a cut-out heart. I've seen them on the internet, but just didn't want to shell out $75. Many of you know that I have a "dog tag" necklace with my childrens names on them - I get sooo many comments on that necklace - it is one of my favorites!! So anyway, I was at the flea market near DL and I ran into the gal who made my name necklace so I asked her if she thought she could make something similar. She immediately was up to the challenge and within a few days she had it in the mail to me. And the best part, it DIDN'T cost me $75!! If you'd like to check out her line of jewelry go to this site: www.funkdujourdesigns.com. She's got some pretty cool stuff!!

Summer Fun

2009-07-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

Summer is going by so fast - soon it will all be a blur! Finally the weather is cooperating and we've been able to have some really nice lake days!! Hope you and your families are enjoying the nice weather and making some wonderful memories of the Summer of 2009!

Matt and Andy have been keeping us busy 3-4 nights a week with baseball games. They both love to play and enjoy being with their friends. Feels like we're constantly washing uniforms, filling water bottles, and eating our meals out of concession stands! But let me tell you Ana is becoming quite the sunflower seed spitter - she can crack em and spit out the shell all by herself, but make sure you're not standing too close to her or you'll for sure get some spit on you. We need to work on that part I guess.

Ana's first fish!! Can you see it in the picture?? Look closely or you might miss it. She was pretty proud of herself! She is going to keep Grandpa quite busy with stringing her line & putting the worm on her hook!

The kids are enjoying the new tube - Matt likes to get it rocking and eventually to flip over - Andy doesn't like to ride with Matt - Tina did get on the tube, but was pulled by Dad behind the paddle boat which is just her speed - and Ana LOVES to tube behind the boat!! And she LOVES to go FAST!! This little girl has NO FEAR!! I'm not sure if that is good or bad...

Ana had a wonderful birthday party! Actually she had TWO wonderful birthday parties! The only problem is she now thinks she is five - at her party on the 19th she was 4 and loved to hold up 4 fingers and tell everyone she is now 4 yrs old - at her party on the 21st she confidently held up 5 fingers and told Grandma she was now 5. Smarty pants, she had two birthdays so of course she should be 5!!

Ana's 4 Year Pictures

2009-06-23T11:33:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ana's birthday on June 19th. A special day for our family for two reasons - 1) our little Ana turned 4 years old and we are thankful each and everyday that God chose our family for her to bless and 2) June 19th was my Dad's birthday. Dad has been gone now for 6 years and we miss him a bunch, but giving Ana his birthday has given us an opportunity to honor him & to celebrate his life through his Granddaughter. It was a very special day celebrating both of their lives!!
I will include pictures from Ana's party soon, but here are just a few of the beautiful pictures my friend Andrea took of Ana. Andrea has a passion for photography and I just know God is going to do BIG things with her gift! Thanks Andrea for capturing Ana's beauty both inside & out!!

Summer is here...I think

2009-06-04T18:38:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend at the lake with Grandma & Grandpa. It was windy as usual, so the temperature didn't feel very warm and certainly the water wasn't warm. But that didn't stop the kids from trying out the new lake toy!
Even Ana gave it a try. She loved it and every time we asked her if she wanted off she would say no. I finally had Kyle pull her off after about 20 minutes of playing and laying in the water. She was shivering like crazy, but still didn't want to get out.

Grandpa got the camp fire going that night & Ana got to experience her first smore! Her reaction was "icky" - I don't think she knew what the ooey gooey marshmallow was. Once I told her there was chocolate inside, she gave it a try. I think in the end she just ate the chocolate & fed the rest to the neighbors dog.

I'm sure there will be many more campfires before the summer is over!

Ana also got her first bike thanks to Grandma & Grandpa. She chose a pretty pink one of course! I can't believe how she rides that bike - her little legs just go, go, go!!

Tina had some exciting news last week - she lost her first tooth!! We knew it was loose, but I thought for sure she would just leave it be until it fell out on its own - she is a tad sensitive to pain. Instead she came out from the bathroom one morning and held out her tooth. She said that she kept wiggling it and gave it a pull and it came out. Don't mention Tina losing a tooth to Andy though - he hasn't lost any teeth yet!

Other than playing at the lake & losing teeth, we've been going to baseball practice, baseball games, & washing baseball uniforms. The boys are in heaven playing & the girls get fed lots of snacks during practices & ball games.

The Family Photos

2009-05-12T11:40:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how fast the month of May is passing us by!! Matt & Andy have 8 days of school left - Tina only has 1 day of preschool left - Ana, Tina and I have 1 day of BSF left - all of the school-year activities are coming to an end. BUT VERY SOON all the summer activities begin!! Matt will start basketball camp in Kindred the last week in May - golf camp will start for both boys beginning of June - Vacation Bible School is also first part of June - swimming lessons for all the kids are in the middle of June for 2 weeks - and baseball starts any day now. Whew! I'm tired already!! Before we know it it will be August - and then Matt starts football - can you believe Matt is old enough for football??

It's hard to believe that it's been over a month since we returned home with Ana!! Ana has fit into her "little sister" role in our family with no problems! The boys adore her (most of the time) and she drives her older sister, Tina, crazy most of the time.

We accomplished the task of taking the "family photo" a few weeks ago. I don't think you peeps know how difficult it is to get 6 people (4 of them being children) to smile on que!! Matt actually had a pained look on his face in some of the pictures. I think I over-smiled for the lack of smiles from the rest of my family...lets just say I was sweating by the time our photo session was over!

Ana's English is coming along so remarkably!! She is talking all the time! And she even knows how and when to use her words appropriately - what a little sponge she is! We are sad that she is slowly forgetting her native language. We've tried to use the few words that we know, but she will correct us with the English word. For example I'll say, "Do you need to go shint?" And Ana will say, "No I need to pee Mom." But we have had her continue to say her meal-time prayer each day and I still get all teary eyed when she's done. So sweet!

We are very excited that our friends from Fargo will be bringing home their 2 children from Ethiopia in June!! They are adopting a 4 yr old girl and her 2 yr old brother!! We can't wait to meet them and I just know that Ana and Sarah will be best of friends!!

Ana is home!!

2009-04-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

After much prompting, I guess it's time I sit down and update our blog. As many of you know, the week we were to leave for Ethiopia the Red River began to rise and flood many nearby homes and neighborhoods. Our city of Oxbow was one of those who was forced to fight the flood waters. Early in the week we were thinking that the water would not reach our house as we are almost 2 blocks away and at a higher elevation. But by Wednesday morning we were proven wrong - we watched the water move into our streets and up into our yard. At this point leaving for Ethiopia was NOT what was occupying our minds!! We put a few calls out and family and friends came to help us tighten up our drain plugs and move all of our belongings out of our basement. Many thanks to all who helped!!

The kids and I left the house Wednesday night as the water in the street was rising and it wouldn't be long and we'd be trapped. So my father-in-law packed his bag and came to stay at the house with Kyle, while the kids and I went to stay at the lake with Grandma. I'm sure I'm going to owe him a few meals to make up for staying in a house surrounded by water with no use of a toilet. Thanks Grandpa! Friday, March 27th was the day we were to leave for Ethiopia. I kissed the kids goodbye and left them safe and sound at the lake with Grandma. Kyle's brother, Toby, came for the weekend to take Kyle's place at the house so we could leave. It was tough leaving with all the flooding happening, but we could rest easier knowing that Tom and Toby were watching our house. I had to park my car along Hwy 81 and call Kyle to let him know I was there. Then he had to walk down the street wearing his chest waders.

We left Fargo at 6pm on Friday, March 27th. We flew from Fargo to Chicago to Istanbul, Turkey to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We arrive in Addis at 3:30am Sunday, March 29th. We stayed at an old villa which has been converted into a guest house. It is owned by a wonderful woman named Jerusalem who made us feel right at home.

We tried to get some sleep once we arrived at the guest house that early morning, but the Orthodox Church and the Muslim Church broadcast their services over load speaker AT THE SAME TIME and it was difficult to ignore. Then once the services stopped the neighborhood dogs decided it was too quiet and that they should all bark! And I'm not talking about 1 or 2 dogs - it was like 101 Dalmations and I'm not kidding!! Once we were up and showered, I gave Emily a call (Emily is an American gal who is doing some missionary work at the transition house owned by our agency) and made arrangements for her and Ana's nanny, Hiwot to bring Ana to our guest house. They arrived just before lunch and I think we both fell in love with Ana all over again!! I couldn't believe she was standing in front of me - it was very surreal!!

Ana was very comfortable with us right from the start!! Emily and Hiwot had done a wonderful job of preparing her for our arrivale. We had fun watching her and listening to her and holding her and just FINALLY being with her!! We were able to ask Emily and Hiwot questions about her personality, her routine, and her likes and dislikes. They also taught us a few keys words in Amharic - like pee and poop! And over the next couple of days we quickly picked up words like gum, chocolate, and pop. We also discovered that Ana is a clothes hound!! She was so excited to look through her suitcase full of clothes!! Below are just a few pictures of her in her new wardrobe...

We had a wonderful time in Ethiopia! We were able to do some sight-seeing about 1 1/2 hours north of Addis and it was beautiful!! We took in some sights within Addis as well - the museum, some beautiful old churches, some yummy restaurants, and playing with the children who lived next door to our guest house. The Ethiopian people are wonderful!!

The night/early morning that we left Addis was bitter sweet. I was so excited to be going home to see Matt, Andy, and Tina and to introduce Ana to everyone, but it was also very sad that we were leaving and taking Ana from everything she knows and is used to. Ana did very well on the airplane - she didn't like the seat belt, but that was just a matter of take off and landing. She was was entertained by the movies, toys I had brought, and the snacks I had packed. But she did eventually hit a wall - she fell asleep about 30 minutes outside of Chicago and she slept through our landing in Chicago - all the way through customs - through immigration - through the entire 4 hour layover - and through the entire flight from Chicago to Fargo. And guess who forgot to pack an umbrella stroller?? Needless to say, Kyle and I were exhausted after carrying her through the airport!!
When we landed at the airport in Fargo, we were greeted by Grandma Carole, Auntie Karleen, Grandma and Grandpa Freier, Matt, Andy, and Tina, and my friend Dawn. They had signs welcoming Ana home and they also gave her a teddy bear - very sweet. She took to them right away! Ana is adjusting well and is melting the hearts of everyone she meets!

Well, that's all for now. More to come...

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-03-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

So I'm thinking that flood preparation was NOT on my list of things to do this week! We THINK our house will not be affected by the river, but have taken precautions to ensure we remain high and dry.

I've gotten all the donations packed!! With all the infant & toddler clothing, shoes, cloth diapers, disposable diapers, bottles, nipples, receiving blankets, & the beautiful blankets my church lady friends made - we were able to fill 4 - 50 lb bags!!! We will be traveling with 3 of the bags and my friend and her husband will take the other bag when they travel to Ethiopia in May to bring home their children. Thank you Beret!! And a HUGE THANKS to all of YOU who have such giving spirits!! The children will benefit greatly!!

I've got most everything that I need and that Ana will need in a suitcase as well. And of course as I said earlier, Kyle will throw in his 5 things and we'll be off!!

We fly out of Fargo Friday evening. We will fly from Fargo to Chicago - Chicago to Istanbul - Istanbul to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I believe Kyle told me the Chicago/Istanbul flight is 11 hours and the Istanbul/Addis flight is 4 or 5 hours. We arrive in Addis at 3:30am on Sunday, March 29th. We will try to rest for a few hours and get cleaned up and then Ana will be brought to our guest house. We'll be able to visit with Ana's nanny Hiwot and learn her schedule and ask any other questions we have.

Monday is a free day. Tuesday we have our embassy appointment in the afternoon. Wednesday is free as well and Thursday we will receive her Visa. We fly out of Addis at 1am Friday, April 3rd. We will get back to Fargo at 10:13pm that night. Grandma Melinda & the kids will pick us up at the airport. Can't wait to see how the kids & Ana react to eachother!!

So our trip will be fast & furious! I plan to enjoy every moment in Ethiopia and pray Ana bonds well with us. Can't even imagine what she is going to be thinking. I just hope she feels our love for her immediately and that it is not too difficult for her to see her nanny leave her with us.

I will post again once we get home! Can't wait for you all to meet her!!

10 Days & Counting

2009-03-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't tell if I'm making any progress or not. Ana's room is FULL of donations of clothing, diapers, bottles, etc. from our wonderful friends!! The children from the orphanage are going to benefit greatly!! I am waiting until Monday to start packing it all up, to see if any other donations come in. I've got Ana's bag packed!! I think I'll work on getting my stuff together tomorrow. Kyle's on his own!! But you know those men - he'll pack his 5 things and call it good!

I just know this week and next are going to fly by! And I KNOW that next Friday I'm going to be a basket-case, running around like a crazy woman!! Crazier I should say huh?

More later...

Ready, Set, Go!

2009-03-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

We are making plans to leave Fargo the evening of March 27th to head to a far away place called Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!! We are so ready to have Ana home with us, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with planning and packing and stressing that I'm going to forget something important. Like a document we need for our embassy appointment or something that will cause us problems in bringing Ana home. But I have two wonderful friends that have traveled recently to bring their beautiful children home and they are emailing me lists and giving advice. So greatful!!
I picked up the last of our meds that we either need to take ahead of time or have along for those "just in case" instances - like the diarrhea medication. Oh boy, like I don't have enough to worry about!!
We will be home April 3rd - my birthday!! And I couldn't ask for a better birthday gift!! This years birthday is going to be very memorable that's for sure!!

Introductions

2009-03-05T14:40:00.004-08:00

Now that we've passed court and Ana is 100% OURS, I can put her picture out here!!

This is little Miss Ana!! This is one of the very first pictures we received of her via email on September 18th. I began to cry the moment I looked at those dark brown eyes and wonderful smile. I knew she was meant to be in our family. God had chosen her just for us!!

We have been told by all who have met her that Ana is very loving. She laughs and giggles often and is very ticklish. She loves jewelry and purses and the baby dolls that we sent her.

I can't wait to pick her up and hug her!! I will probably spend the entire time on the plane ride home just staring at her!!

Still don't know when we can travel. Have been told they are making some changes in how the embassy dates are scheduled. Have no idea what that means right now. Will keep everyone posted.

WE PASSSED!! WE PASSED!! WE PASSED!!

2009-03-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

If you didn't already hear...we passed court today!!! Our emotions are flying high!! Praise God!! Oh my gosh I don't even know what to write...we are working with a travel agent to see what our options are for flights. We are looking at traveling March 20th...possibly. Will know more in a few days. So much to do...so much to think about...and feel unbelievably blessed!! Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts and support!!
I will write more later as I have to go pick up Tina from preschool. Would be really bad if I forgot her there...which could happen as my mind is racing!!
Ok, gotta go!

Keep on, keeping on...

2009-02-06T16:53:00.000-08:00

We have recently discoverd that Ana's birth father is deceased. The reason our case was postponed to March 5th is because they needed to locate his death certificate. Good news is, they have the certificate and hopefully our file will be complete and the judges will pass our case. WHEN we pass court on the 5th, we should be able to travel by early April. Keep praying until we hear those wonderful words, "You've passed court"!!

Andy turns 7 years old on Friday the 13th!! Hahaha! So we've decided not to chance it and have his party with friends on Saturday!! About 10 boys will be coming to our house for pizza, sledding and bouncing off the walls!! Can't wait!! Later that afternoon we are having Grandma & Grandpa Freier, Great-Aunt Laurie and Cousin Katelyn, Great-Aunt Joanie and who ever else doesn't already have Valentine's Day plans with their sweetheart, over for dinner. And I suppose a few more presents will be opened!!

At the end of the month we will be traveling to New Ulm for our niece's baptism. We always look forward to spending time with Kyle's brother and wife and cousin Luke and Avery!!

So the month will be busy and that is good!! Before we know it March 5th will be here. I believe once we pass court, I will be able to post pictures of our little Ana. So be sure you check back for the BIG REVEAL!! We are so proud of her and think she is just the most beautiful little girl we've ever seen!!

Hope you enjoy the new blog background. I've had so much fun playing around with this!!

Not yet you say??

2009-01-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

That's right... unfortunately our case was not passed this week. Looks as though we are needing yet another document. Sooo ... our next court date is March 5th and with God's help we'll be going to get Ana by the end of March.

Yesterday was not a good day for either Kyle or I. I probably took it the worst as Kyle has his work to occupy his mind. Me, however, I ONLY have kid stuff to occupy my mind!! So I had a pity party for myself and told myself to enjoy it while it lasts because tomorrow is a new day! So I did - I cried like there was no tomorrow - filled the garbage with tissues - ate absolutely nothing (hard to believe I know) - and went to bed early (well I was already lying in bed, but I mean I went to sleep early). When I woke up this morning I thanked God for what he has given me - three beautiful children - a wonderful husband - a Mom who comes to my house to watch my pity party - and a Mother-in-law who takes care of my children so that I can have a pity party without being disturbed by "Mom, can you get me a drink?.

I appreciate all the calls, texts, & emails I've gotten sharing your concern and well wishes. I am so blessed to have so many friends and family that are just as excited to meet Ana as I am!
I will let you know of any other glitches, but I am praying that this is it and we'll be given the green light come March. We would really appreciate it if you would continue to pray, not only for us to be able to go in March, but for Ana and her caregivers as well.
Thanks and love to all,
Kathy

No News is Good News

2009-01-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Hi All!
Sorry I haven't written since before Christmas, but we really don't have anything new to relay to you. Our court date remains January 19th and we should find out that day whether the judges have passed our case or not. I have a good feeling that we will pass this time, as they just need to see the document we were missing last time. However, the Ethiopian judges have been a bit cranky as of late (so I hear through our agency) and you just never know what they are thinking. So we wait for the 19th! And we PRAY! Please, please pray that we pass court!! This is our last hurdle per say. Once we pass, the various agencies will produce Ana's birth certificate, passport, and visa. Dereje will pick up those documents once they are complete and then we will get a phone call saying we can book our flight. Now, just how long the agencies will take on producing that paperwork - you never can tell. Could be 1-2 weeks. If we are getting on a plane the first week in February, I will be very happy! If it happens earlier, I will be very, very happy!!
So your prayers are needed!! We appreciate all your inquiries and the excitement you share with us!!
Kathy

A Wonderful Christmas Gift

2008-12-22T14:54:00.000-08:00

Today in the mail we received a DVD from our adoption agency with video of Ana!! She says her name and is sitting on the floor putting the different shapes in the appropriate slots. It was so good to see her in action and hearing her voice!! She is just precious!! Our travel date can't come soon enough!!

The other cases that weren't passed the first time are now passing the 2nd time. That is encouraging!! So I have no reason to expect anything different for our case on January 19th!! I pray we hear within a week or two after that, that they have all of our documents prepared for Ana and that we can travel soon after that.

I have been able to keep in touch with an American gal who is working as a nanny at the transition house via email. She gives me wonderful updates as to what Ana is doing and about her time there in Ethiopia. I now know that Ana is wearing size 3T shirts and 2T pants, so I suppose I can start shopping now - yah like I haven't done any shopping yet!!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and pray that your time with your loved ones is special!!

Three of our Blessings

2008-12-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

The Freier Family will not be sending out our usual Christmas letter and picture this year. We are waiting for our new arrival - little Miss Ana! Instead, we will be sending you a Valentine's Day Freier Family Update!

But to document Christmas 2008, here are our 3 adorable kiddos sitting in front of the fire - complaining about how many pictures Mom is making them sit for! Actually, it wasn't that bad this year - as you can see, no one is crying or scowling or hitting their sibling!! Praise God!

From left to right: Andy (6 yrs), Matt (9 yrs) and Tina (5 yrs)

2008-12-14T07:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome! We've decided to start a blog (I have no idea what that means, but it sounds very cool!) to keep our family and friends up-to-date with our adoption of a beautiful 3 year old girl from Ethiopia, named Ana. Kyle and I feel very blessed that we are able to experience this very wonderful, but very exhausting process. It will be a year in February since we first started our adoption process and we hope to have Ana home with us by the early part of February 2009. We aren't able to post pictures of Ana on this blog until we have Ana home. The Ethiopian government is very particular about their children being displayed on public websites and as much as we want to share her with all of you, we are going to follow their wishes.

We have been assigned a January 19th court date in Ethiopia. Our in-country representative will go to court for us and present all of our paperwork. As many of you know, we did not pass our first court date which was on December 3rd. The Ethiopian government is requiring a new document from the region in which the child is from stating that they are a true orphan and we didn't have that document by the time of our court date. We are told that our rep does have that document now and we should pass on the 19th. We hope to travel to Ethiopia 2-3 weeks after that! Your continued prayers for us to pass are so very much appreciated!

Kyle and I are so ready to bring Ana home. Matt, Andy, and Tina are as well - they can't wait to meet this little girl that we have been talking about and looking at her picture every day since September 18th, when we got her referral! Tina is especially looking forward to having a little sister - a girl to play dolls and dress-up with!

I want to thank all of my family and friends for praying for us - for almost an entire year!! We appreciate your love and support more than words can explain! And most of all we thank God for placing adoption on our hearts and for helping us see this through! A verse from the Bible that we have held near to our hearts is James 1:27 - Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. We are very thankful for and so undeserving of this gift that God has given us!

We hope you can follow our travels and Ana's homecoming!

God Bless You,
Kathy