Thursday, February 26, 2009
Week 7 - February 26, 2009
Today we are happy to announce that we are officially parents! I really can’t believe it!
So we introduce Eli Tariku Kerrigan. Eli means God is uplifted. The stories in the bible of the priest Eli who adopted the great prophet/judge, to be, Samuel as a small boy (told in 1 Samuel), as well as the stories of the prophets Elisha and Elijah (told in 1 and 2 Kings) have been a GREAT encouragement to me during this long wait. These were people of GREAT faith and people who boldly asked God to act in situations that seemed impossible.
We also introduce Caleb Dereje Kerrigan. Caleb means Bold and Faithful-the story of Caleb and Able have also been a great encouragement to me during this long wait. Early on God gave me the verse “He is ABLE to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine”(eph 3:20). We considered the name Able (as in Cain and Able) but decided instead on Caleb (which has the letters of able) because we were inspired by his story as well and again the theme of FAITH and boldness.
The meanings of their Ethiopian names, Dereje and Tariku both have something to do with history, change, and stories of their birth. I hope to speak with their birth mother in the next couple of weeks to find out more about why she chose these names. It is important to us to keep these names, which signify their RICH Ethiopian history and ancestry.
For me, one of the hardest parts of waiting for a family for these 5+ years has been the fear that I would not be a mother, the fear that perhaps for some reason God did not think I should be a mother. At some point I realized that this was a lie and not the truth at all. God began revealing to me that he had a different plan than what I had originally thought for my family and WOW how wonderful His plan is!
So, here are our children, the first two pictures were taken 7 weeks ago on January 8th when we met them, then the pictures are in order by date up to the picture of all four of us that was taken just last week I chose pictures where Caleb is always on the right and Eli is always on the left so it will be easy for you to see who is who (actually strangely enough it just worked out that way!) In the individual pictures, Caleb is in blue and Eli is in Orange. Both boys are doing very well. Still no major health concerns and both are progressing so well. They could barely hold their heads up when we met them and now they are sitting pretty well without assistance and standing up (when holding on to us), picking things up, looking for them when they drop them etc…The progress has been SO fun to watch. They also are MUCH quicker to smile and laugh, its SO fun. What a gift it has been to have this time with them.
I can’t thank you enough for your prayers. I was so nervous (and so was Sean) and your thoughts and prayers upheld us during this time.
So we introduce Eli Tariku Kerrigan. Eli means God is uplifted. The stories in the bible of the priest Eli who adopted the great prophet/judge, to be, Samuel as a small boy (told in 1 Samuel), as well as the stories of the prophets Elisha and Elijah (told in 1 and 2 Kings) have been a GREAT encouragement to me during this long wait. These were people of GREAT faith and people who boldly asked God to act in situations that seemed impossible.
We also introduce Caleb Dereje Kerrigan. Caleb means Bold and Faithful-the story of Caleb and Able have also been a great encouragement to me during this long wait. Early on God gave me the verse “He is ABLE to do immeasurably more than you ask or imagine”(eph 3:20). We considered the name Able (as in Cain and Able) but decided instead on Caleb (which has the letters of able) because we were inspired by his story as well and again the theme of FAITH and boldness.
The meanings of their Ethiopian names, Dereje and Tariku both have something to do with history, change, and stories of their birth. I hope to speak with their birth mother in the next couple of weeks to find out more about why she chose these names. It is important to us to keep these names, which signify their RICH Ethiopian history and ancestry.
For me, one of the hardest parts of waiting for a family for these 5+ years has been the fear that I would not be a mother, the fear that perhaps for some reason God did not think I should be a mother. At some point I realized that this was a lie and not the truth at all. God began revealing to me that he had a different plan than what I had originally thought for my family and WOW how wonderful His plan is!
So, here are our children, the first two pictures were taken 7 weeks ago on January 8th when we met them, then the pictures are in order by date up to the picture of all four of us that was taken just last week I chose pictures where Caleb is always on the right and Eli is always on the left so it will be easy for you to see who is who (actually strangely enough it just worked out that way!) In the individual pictures, Caleb is in blue and Eli is in Orange. Both boys are doing very well. Still no major health concerns and both are progressing so well. They could barely hold their heads up when we met them and now they are sitting pretty well without assistance and standing up (when holding on to us), picking things up, looking for them when they drop them etc…The progress has been SO fun to watch. They also are MUCH quicker to smile and laugh, its SO fun. What a gift it has been to have this time with them.
I can’t thank you enough for your prayers. I was so nervous (and so was Sean) and your thoughts and prayers upheld us during this time.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Week 6
Sean has returned from North Eastern Ethiopia and his mother now is back in Rwanda. Sean led a group from the US to a remote people last week, who live nomadic lives raising camels and goats. World Vision has done good work with these people who initially were very resistant to any work that World Vision, or any NGO might want to do but now they are open not only to the work being done, but to people visiting them. They are a fierce people who file their teeth into spikes.
I stayed here in Addis with the kids and Sean’s mother came from Rwanda
to help. We had a nice week and it was a great opportunity for the kids
to bond with their Grandmother.
They are both doing well, enjoying trying new solid foods now that they
are over the 6 month mark. They are sitting up pretty well and I have
to watch them so carefully now if I place them on the bed as they move
all around and I am never sure which direction they might go!
I went to church this morning for the second time at BEZA church, an
international church here in Addis. This church is only three years old
but is very large. The musicians and pastor are very talented people
and it is fun to go worship among people from all over the world, mainly
of course Ethiopians but this church has a heart for Africa in general
and reaches many people. I have gone both times with a lady from my
guesthouse who is from Rwanda. Worshiping with someone who has endured
the genocide is quite humbling. I think we have no idea what real loss
is in America. This lovely woman has lost her mother, father and all of
her siblings in the genocide that happened only 14 years ago. Talking
to her just a little bit about her story, which is unfortunately not
rare at all in Rwanda, makes what happened there so much more real to
me. I will not, I hope, forget her story as quickly as I did forget
about the genocide after I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda. It is so hard to
understand how such mass killing happens, how you stop seeing people as
human just because they belong to a different tribe or race than you
do…I really feel my heart expanding not only for Ethiopia, which is
doing very well in many respects, but for Africa in general. I find
myself praying often for this continent, that God might move among the
people in a way that we have not yet seen.
Ethiopia is surrounded on many sides by countries that are in civil war
or in conflict with Ethiopia-Sudan, Somalia, Eretria, there are problems
at nearly every border. I just don’t have the historical knowledge I
guess, or the context coming from America, to understand or know how to
pray sometimes. I want to return here. I love the people and the
culture, it is so beautiful. I hope our children will learn Amharic.
It is a bit of a sensory overload in many ways to be here on the streets
(I have gotten good at getting around even on my own-today I rode the
minibuses that are all over the city for the first time-it costs about 6
cents to ride them) and see all the beggers and cripples and orphans, to
smell the different smells and to observe the mass of people who
obviously come from such a wide range of socioeconomic places. I
definitely feel like an outsider who breezes by with no real clue of who
people are or why they do the things they do. On the other hand I
realize more and more that they are not that much different than me.
People every where have the same wants and desires, they love their
families and work hard to improve their lives.
So this is the week, we’ve been here almost seven weeks and we’ve waited
now six for this second court date. Please Lord Jesus, please let these
children who we have grown to love dearly be ours officially on
Thursday. If you pray, pray Wednesday night, the court date will be
going on here Thursday morning which is Wed night there. I hope to post
pictures then, you’ll be sure to fall in love with them as I have Thank
you for upholding us in your prayers. I know that our God is able to do
vastly more than we might ask or imagine. God Bless you!
I stayed here in Addis with the kids and Sean’s mother came from Rwanda
to help. We had a nice week and it was a great opportunity for the kids
to bond with their Grandmother.
They are both doing well, enjoying trying new solid foods now that they
are over the 6 month mark. They are sitting up pretty well and I have
to watch them so carefully now if I place them on the bed as they move
all around and I am never sure which direction they might go!
I went to church this morning for the second time at BEZA church, an
international church here in Addis. This church is only three years old
but is very large. The musicians and pastor are very talented people
and it is fun to go worship among people from all over the world, mainly
of course Ethiopians but this church has a heart for Africa in general
and reaches many people. I have gone both times with a lady from my
guesthouse who is from Rwanda. Worshiping with someone who has endured
the genocide is quite humbling. I think we have no idea what real loss
is in America. This lovely woman has lost her mother, father and all of
her siblings in the genocide that happened only 14 years ago. Talking
to her just a little bit about her story, which is unfortunately not
rare at all in Rwanda, makes what happened there so much more real to
me. I will not, I hope, forget her story as quickly as I did forget
about the genocide after I saw the movie Hotel Rwanda. It is so hard to
understand how such mass killing happens, how you stop seeing people as
human just because they belong to a different tribe or race than you
do…I really feel my heart expanding not only for Ethiopia, which is
doing very well in many respects, but for Africa in general. I find
myself praying often for this continent, that God might move among the
people in a way that we have not yet seen.
Ethiopia is surrounded on many sides by countries that are in civil war
or in conflict with Ethiopia-Sudan, Somalia, Eretria, there are problems
at nearly every border. I just don’t have the historical knowledge I
guess, or the context coming from America, to understand or know how to
pray sometimes. I want to return here. I love the people and the
culture, it is so beautiful. I hope our children will learn Amharic.
It is a bit of a sensory overload in many ways to be here on the streets
(I have gotten good at getting around even on my own-today I rode the
minibuses that are all over the city for the first time-it costs about 6
cents to ride them) and see all the beggers and cripples and orphans, to
smell the different smells and to observe the mass of people who
obviously come from such a wide range of socioeconomic places. I
definitely feel like an outsider who breezes by with no real clue of who
people are or why they do the things they do. On the other hand I
realize more and more that they are not that much different than me.
People every where have the same wants and desires, they love their
families and work hard to improve their lives.
So this is the week, we’ve been here almost seven weeks and we’ve waited
now six for this second court date. Please Lord Jesus, please let these
children who we have grown to love dearly be ours officially on
Thursday. If you pray, pray Wednesday night, the court date will be
going on here Thursday morning which is Wed night there. I hope to post
pictures then, you’ll be sure to fall in love with them as I have Thank
you for upholding us in your prayers. I know that our God is able to do
vastly more than we might ask or imagine. God Bless you!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Week 5
We are going into our 6th week now with the boys. They continue to grow and display new skills every day. It is SO fun They are smiling more and more and now sitting up when they have their hands out to hold them! We just compared the pictures from the first week to the ones in the past few days, what a difference! They will be 6 months on Thursday. The big thing I have done with the boys in the last week is to train them to make themselves fall asleep and it has made SUCH a difference. Before they would need me to hold them until they fell asleep and it was really hard with two babies! The also would want me to hold them every time they woke up at night or during naps to go back to sleep. Well, they are doing great now at making themselves fall asleep. It required that I allowed both of them to cry for about two hours strait, probably the hardest thing I have every done (especially with people all around hearing them!) but now I lay them down awake at bed or naptime, tell them that it is sleep time, and a few minutes later they are asleep! I do miss holding them during those sweet moments but I think this is an important life skill to develop, putting yourself to sleep. I am reading "babywise" thanks to my sister in law, which I just got last week so that has been very affirming in how I am doing things Anyway since putting themselves to sleep they wake up much more rested and happy and I am able to rest too (for 2 two hour naps a day!). They also now each have their own pack and play to sleep in as Sean’s parents brought us an extra one and I think this helps them sleep better too as they are not so aware of the other one.
We had a nice visit with Sean’s parents last week. They were here last Wednesday and Thursday on their way to Rawanda. It had been quite awhile since we had seen them (since before our referral) so we had a nice opportunity to catch up. I also got some shopping done which was fun too.
Sean’s mom will be back on Monday for another week!:) Last Sunday Sean stayed with the kids and I went to another church service with a lady at our guesthouse from Rwanda. I liked the service much better than the one from the week before. It was quite long, 3 hours, but SO fun and alive! I could really sense the Lord’s presence and the music was So great. It was very Ethiopian which I just loved even though it was an "international church". The whole service was both in Amharic and English (one was always being translated) and it was fun to hear singing and
talking that long in Amharic. It is such a beautiful language. Anyway
God is so good, I have more to say but I must go now. I will try to write more soon but do not know if I can as Sean will be on a WV trip for a few days next week with his computer I hope you are all well.
We had a nice visit with Sean’s parents last week. They were here last Wednesday and Thursday on their way to Rawanda. It had been quite awhile since we had seen them (since before our referral) so we had a nice opportunity to catch up. I also got some shopping done which was fun too.
Sean’s mom will be back on Monday for another week!:) Last Sunday Sean stayed with the kids and I went to another church service with a lady at our guesthouse from Rwanda. I liked the service much better than the one from the week before. It was quite long, 3 hours, but SO fun and alive! I could really sense the Lord’s presence and the music was So great. It was very Ethiopian which I just loved even though it was an "international church". The whole service was both in Amharic and English (one was always being translated) and it was fun to hear singing and
talking that long in Amharic. It is such a beautiful language. Anyway
God is so good, I have more to say but I must go now. I will try to write more soon but do not know if I can as Sean will be on a WV trip for a few days next week with his computer I hope you are all well.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Week 4
We are now only 3 and a half weeks away from our second court date. The time is really flying and the boys are changing every day. This past week E and C switched a bit in that C wanted me to hold him all the time, was crying a lot, and had big fits E was content to be on his own while I tried to figure out what was wrong with C. I actually think we were spoiling him a bit because he was SO easy the first few weeks. I’ve learned it is okay to let them cry sometimes. This week they weighed in at
18 lbs and 17.8, C again caught up from last week and is back ahead of his brother (75% in American standards!). E also rolled over this past week and the day he did it he wouldn’t stop! C now is having a hard time remembering how to roll over? So funny how that works, maybe the extra weight is holding him back But C is moving around more. If I place him on the floor on a pillow and blanket he scoots himself 90 degrees the other direction. It is so fun to see them moving around so well. They are so excited, laughing and smiling all the time, it brings me SUCH joy. They now are not as thrilled with solids as they were last week. They much prefer their bottle and protest when I try to feed them some rice cereal. The good news is that their schedule is MUCH better. The have only woken up ONCE between 7pm and about 6am for the past 3 nights (at about 2am for a feeding). This is SUCH an improvement. They are also sleeping longer for their naps and they are so much more delightful and I am more rested as well after getting these breaks during the day.
We had a lovely weekend as well. On Saturday I went shopping with several of the other people picking up their kids at the HOH and Sean stayed with the boys. I purchased several small things and really enjoyed talking to the other families and learning about their stories. Their children are all adorable and doing well. We had a wonderful traditional Ethiopian meal back at the HOH which was delicious as usual. Unfortunately I forgot to wash my hands (after shopping all morning, touching money, merchandise, who knows what else) and since you eat Ethiopian food without utensils or napkins I licked my hands and got VERY sick afterwards. I lost all the food in less than half an hour and felt so miserable. I went home and took a cipro (sp?) and was better by the next morning thanks to my husband tending to me and people here at the guesthouse giving me chamomile tea etc…On Sunday I went to the International church here for the first time with a Psychologist missionary that was staying here at our guesthouse for the weekend. She is from the states but has lived in Uganda for the past 23 years! It was so fun to talk to her and nice to be around another Christian, counselor and American After church I cooked at the guesthouse, as I usually do, but with a woman from India. We made a wonderful dish of lentils, veggies and rice. We used so many fun interesting spices and it settled very well in my stomach. The people here at the guesthouse are from all over the world-Afghanistan, Ghana, Germany, Rwanda, etc. There are about 15 of us here and I don’t think ANY of us are from the same country (the missionary lady has left already). I was quite shy the first few weeks but have been spending more time talking to people the longer I am here. The Obama inauguration was HUGE with everyone, they were all PACKED in the living room, it really surprised me the interest in American politics, but it is quite common.
Anyway we are looking forward to Sean’s parents coming in tomorrow night.
We are SO excited for them to meet the boys and the boys are excited to meet them too, I’ve been telling them all about them today.
Well I must sign off and get some rest. I hope you are all doing well, again thank you so much for your prayers. I actually have been getting a quite time with God most days and this makes a huge difference too. He is teaching me about how we, and all our worries, are all temporary, only Christ is eternal. This is why we so desperately need Him! (2 Corinthians 4, Hebrews 12) Bless you!
18 lbs and 17.8, C again caught up from last week and is back ahead of his brother (75% in American standards!). E also rolled over this past week and the day he did it he wouldn’t stop! C now is having a hard time remembering how to roll over? So funny how that works, maybe the extra weight is holding him back But C is moving around more. If I place him on the floor on a pillow and blanket he scoots himself 90 degrees the other direction. It is so fun to see them moving around so well. They are so excited, laughing and smiling all the time, it brings me SUCH joy. They now are not as thrilled with solids as they were last week. They much prefer their bottle and protest when I try to feed them some rice cereal. The good news is that their schedule is MUCH better. The have only woken up ONCE between 7pm and about 6am for the past 3 nights (at about 2am for a feeding). This is SUCH an improvement. They are also sleeping longer for their naps and they are so much more delightful and I am more rested as well after getting these breaks during the day.
We had a lovely weekend as well. On Saturday I went shopping with several of the other people picking up their kids at the HOH and Sean stayed with the boys. I purchased several small things and really enjoyed talking to the other families and learning about their stories. Their children are all adorable and doing well. We had a wonderful traditional Ethiopian meal back at the HOH which was delicious as usual. Unfortunately I forgot to wash my hands (after shopping all morning, touching money, merchandise, who knows what else) and since you eat Ethiopian food without utensils or napkins I licked my hands and got VERY sick afterwards. I lost all the food in less than half an hour and felt so miserable. I went home and took a cipro (sp?) and was better by the next morning thanks to my husband tending to me and people here at the guesthouse giving me chamomile tea etc…On Sunday I went to the International church here for the first time with a Psychologist missionary that was staying here at our guesthouse for the weekend. She is from the states but has lived in Uganda for the past 23 years! It was so fun to talk to her and nice to be around another Christian, counselor and American After church I cooked at the guesthouse, as I usually do, but with a woman from India. We made a wonderful dish of lentils, veggies and rice. We used so many fun interesting spices and it settled very well in my stomach. The people here at the guesthouse are from all over the world-Afghanistan, Ghana, Germany, Rwanda, etc. There are about 15 of us here and I don’t think ANY of us are from the same country (the missionary lady has left already). I was quite shy the first few weeks but have been spending more time talking to people the longer I am here. The Obama inauguration was HUGE with everyone, they were all PACKED in the living room, it really surprised me the interest in American politics, but it is quite common.
Anyway we are looking forward to Sean’s parents coming in tomorrow night.
We are SO excited for them to meet the boys and the boys are excited to meet them too, I’ve been telling them all about them today.
Well I must sign off and get some rest. I hope you are all doing well, again thank you so much for your prayers. I actually have been getting a quite time with God most days and this makes a huge difference too. He is teaching me about how we, and all our worries, are all temporary, only Christ is eternal. This is why we so desperately need Him! (2 Corinthians 4, Hebrews 12) Bless you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
