Category

romania

roadtrip{2}

By addysengrace, christian, family, mercyadoniyah, romania, travel

Day Five
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Processed with MOLDIV Day five was full and fun! We started at the Târgu Mureș zoo which we visited last year. It is such a fun zoo and you can get so close to the animals. Then we played at the most amazing play place next to the zoo. It has a free adventure rope course, mini ziplines, a train, etc. (Videos in a later post!) We also made sure to scrap-journal almost every evening.

Day Six
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Processed with MOLDIV Day six was also a blast – – we really like Târgu Mureș! We walked through the Cetate and then toured the Culture house which is awesome. Absolutely beautiful. There were rooms we couldn’t take pictures in, including a room of all stained glass murals. Amazing! We ended at the theater, because the new Pete’s Dragon was playing, duh!

Day Seven
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Processed with MOLDIV Day seven started in Târgu Mureș and ended in Sighisoara. We walked through the center of Târgu Mureș one more time just because we really liked it and Marie wanted to take more pictures. Then we drove to Sighisoara which was super nice but super expensive! The really fun part of Sighisoara was that we ended up being there the weekend of a dance/music. We also chose our souvenir – – a wooden carved bowl because we could watch the man carve it and he took a picture with us! Plus we found a teal “DohDoh door” (aka Marie’s sister’s favorite color) and we ended with sorbet!

That is all for now! Have no fear – – we have SIX more posts still. 🙂

roadtrip{1}

By addysengrace, christian, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania, travel

Day One
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Processed with MOLDIV Longest driving day by far! We drove 600 kilometers from Bucuresti all the way to Baie Sprie, with a couple breaks including ice cream in Alba Iulia. Christian has completely mastered driving a clutch, which is nice for Marie. Honestly, she prefers to read out loud to the girls, and snap twenty million photos of the passing by country. He drove 90% of the trip this time (last year it was about 50-50).

Day Two
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Processed with MOLDIV Day two we also drove…up to Săpânță where we visited the Merry Cemetary…which was weird! There were foreigners taking pictures, but not understanding the tombstones. There were non-religious Romanians reading the tombstones and laughing. AND there were orthodox Romanians, lighting candles, being very somber because it is also a church with places to light candles and pray. Such a unique experience for sure! We weren’t exactly sure how to tell the girls to behave!

Day Three
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Processed with MOLDIV By day three, we needed a driving break…so we explored Baie Mare. It was a lot of fun! We found a planetarium for Addy, our future astronaut and she was in heaven. We also found a play place at the mall. We walked around the center square but got there right at 4pm when the clock tower was closing. So instead we walked around and learned a little about Baie Mare’s Hungarian history (it is really interesting).

Day Four
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Processed with MOLDIV Day four we went straight back to the center of Baie Mare before driving to Târgu Mureș because we really wanted to climb Steven’s Tower. Mercy loved every step of the way, “using” her map and even walking circles outside on the (open) balcony with Marie. She is very fearless, that is for sure. Addy stayed inside and kept Christian company. We were going to do more, but around lunch time Addy was acting really off and fussy almost to the point of being “difficult” (which is very unlike her, but we are used to all the emotions these days ever since losing Noelan). Looking back now – – it was her bacterial infection getting the best of her! What a trooper she ended up being. We can’t believe she stayed smiling!

…to be continued because we took a lot of photos. And these aren’t even Marie or the girls’ camera photos!

oh august

By addysengrace, america, christian, mercyadoniyah, noelantruth, romania

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Oh August.

Last fall we started planning our summer furlough. We would go in August, immediately after camp. We would spend the next five weeks soaking up the California sun (while enjoying the California air conditioning). We would swim in Grandma and Grandpa Ducky’s swimming and go boating on the lake with Grammie and Pops. We would have BBQs and picnics and sleepovers with aunties and uncles and cousins.

Then came Valentine’s day. Would we come to California and adopt Noelan? We knew if we went in February that we wouldn’t go in August. But can you really compare the two – – summer vacation or a child?

And so we went. “I can’t attach to him. I don’t love him. Will you attach to him? Will you be his mom and dad?” The mama in me, the daddy in Christian – – we had to respond. And I attached, we attached. We were asked to and so we did. Every ounce of me became Noelan’s mama and every ounce of him became my son. We know the difference between fostering and adopting. We were asked to adopt Noelan, not foster him. And because of that, we became a family and completely attached to him.

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Which is why I feel like a piece of my heart is missing.

Which is why two and a half months after loosing Noelan, I am still rocking my almost eight year old when she goes into an infantile grief. And it is why I still wake up in the middle of the night, panicked because I hear Noelan crying for me. And it is why Christian and I sit and stare at each other and have no words sometimes. And it is why my five year old tantrums and throws and hits until she finally voices “I want my brother back.”

Oh grief. Oh August.

The Lord brought me a new, unexpected friendship this summer. And she has already been an ear and a shoulder for me. She sent me this article and as Christian and I read it, we suddenly felt so much more “normal” during this process. I would encourage you to read it and remember it if the Lord brings someone into your life going through adoption loss. Just reading it has ministered to me, because it has reassured me that we are not alone in this process.

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mercy meets sepsis

By addysengrace, bucuresti, family, mercyadoniyah, romania

these are just a bunch of snap shots from my phone…but we have been so blessed by the love, prayer, encouragement, notes, etc. we have received and we wanted to let you guys see what our past three weeks have looked like. one more week and hopefully mercy will get the green light to leave this house and venture to more exciting places!

friday morning, when i decided we were hospital bound…
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first two days in the hospital. it was basically this for forty-eight hours…
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the next couple days…
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the first signs of her ‘tude coming back…
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sleepless nights…
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boredom…
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moments of addy…
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our four walls and view for eight days…
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trying to escape…
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going home…
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the first few days home…
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last treatment (out-patient) and IV port removed…
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sepsis recovery is slow…
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two weeks down of complete sequester – – now we are going into a week of camp, where mercy, addy and i are going to sleep in a pensiune (think bed and breakfast minus the breakfast) in the town near camp (called buzau) and christian and i will trade of staying with mercy because she isn’t allowed to be locations like camp just yet. she is very disappointed about missing camp but in good, her puppy is coming with her!

noelan truth

By addysengrace, america, christian, eisleyhope, family, Foster/Adoption, mercyadoniyah, noelantruth, romania, travel

I didn’t think I would write about this honestly. Part of me wants to close up and not share a word. Yet the questions have come quickly but out of love. Why?! I don’t get it! Can’t you do something?! Can I help?! I am not sure where to begin. I have been quiet – – we have been quiet, because we were doing quite simply what we were asked to do – – parent. Last February found us in no way planning a trip to the USA. Christian and I packed up our family and moved to Eastern Europe on January 16th, 2012. We didn’t do it because we are amazing. We did it because the call is real and we consider ourselves disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. And then that push comes to shove, you go. And so with a whole lotta awkward, no idea, we packed up our three year old, our six month old, eight 22 gallon plastic sterilite containers, a carseat, a stroller, a sewing machine, and a few other random things. We were blessed to be surrounded by very loving, very forgiving people as we blundered through culture shock and insensitivity, being homesick, grief mixed with excitement and so much more.

Fast forward from January 2012 to March 2015, when our world changed in every way. My niece, Eisley Hope was born on March 23rd and twelve days later, her brave fight to live was over. We had experienced adoption loss before and we had experienced the death of grandparents and friends, but this was something we had never experienced before. Addy and Mercy were shaken. We were shaken. They were crushed and bruised. We were crushed and bruised. After a whirlwind come back to the USA just three weeks after our 2015 furlough, we found ourselves back home in Romania with a huge hole in our hearts. So we did what we know best – – we kept going. We can look back now and see all the amazing people that walked alongside of us, making sure we were okay. We found Mercy the resources she needed and after two very scary months with our precious little girl that had stopped communicating, she started trying again. we saw her slowly emerge from the dark shell she had disappeared into. At Christmastime, DohDoh (my sister) and Uncle Tanner came to visit (Eisley’s parents). As I stood back and watched the chaos of laughter, fun and life – – I saw our family healing. I saw a new kind of “okay” where Eisley’s death doesn’t define us but it changes us into better people. I saw hope and joy in our family again.

So when February 2016 rolled around, we didn’t see ourselves doing much or going anywhere anytime soon. Gosh, we were just proud that we made it through most of winter and spring was on the way. Addy is doing brilliantly in Romanian public school. She is funny and energetic and social and bright and loud. She is creative and joyful. She speaks Romanian better (proper with amazing vocabulary) than many seven year olds born in Romania. Christian and I have felt a tiny bit of jealousy a few times, listening to her flawless language skills. Mercy is doing simply amazing at her new kindergarten. After a rough spring/summer 2015, we were so blessed to enroll her in a brand new kindergarten where we watched her become a new child. She is fierce and intense but loving and kind. She is freakishly smart and can already out argue her parents through logic and persistence. Every morning, she would wake up ready for school and life. I can honestly say the girls were thriving and I think Christian and I were doing pretty good too.

Let’s face it – – we are surrounded by kids without parents. It comes with the job. If I wanted to go find myself a child to make “mine” it wouldn’t be legal but it wouldn’t be difficult either. My life is a mixture of family, church family and kids without a family. Our holidays and weekends include extra kids on a regular basis. I can’t pick up Addy from school without giving 14 million hugs and receiving 29 million crushing squeezes. I go to the mini-market and find 1 or 2 kids I know that shout, “hey Meeeerrrrrrryyyyyy!” I say this because we weren’t looking or even really considering growing our family just yet. Our desire has always been to adopt while living in Romanian after we receive citizenship (the legal way for Americans to adopt) and citizenship takes time. So when Noelan found us, we weren’t sure. Noelan’s story is “simple” enough yet filled with trauma. He was born in Africa and quickly shuffled around from orphanage to foster mom. His California family began his adoption and asked us to be his godparents. We began praying for him while he was just an infant and I love that part of his story.

Like many, most, all Africa adoption, his hit some major bumps and he ended up living with his sweet foster mama for the first three years of his life. Many times it was thought his adoption would not take place but then in January it did. And we found ourselves peering through FaceTime watching him arrive in SoCal and we were full of excitement and joy. But as we know and have experienced and lived, adoption is not an easy nor simple way to add a child to your family. It is a decision to love a child that might be “broken” according to the worlds standards but I would argue that the world is what is actually broken. Adoption is parenting a child with a complex and confusing background, understanding that they might look “fine” on the outside but on the inside they are carrying very deep, very real, very painful wounds. And Noelan’s new legal parents found themselves unable to care for him, to which I say, that is okay.

So in February when they asked us to come and be his forever family, we found ourselves very, very conflicted. Everything in us said we needed to go and yet nothing inside of us wanted to uproot our lives for an unknown time. We wrestled and sought counsel. I still remember my older brother saying, “my fear is that he is too much to for them to parent while he is living with them but once he is gone, he won’t be too much to parent and they will think they can do it and then they will get him back and he will be too much for them to parent and a vicious cycle will start.” And we knew he was 100% right because let’s face it – – we are all awesome parents until we actually have kids. Heck I was the world’s best parent before Addy was born. Yet in our heart of hearts we still felt the urge to go. Our sweet little godson was in danger – – this isn’t stuff you make up. His new legal parents were crying out for help, confessing that they wanted him out of the house, their marriage was in shambles, their home was dangerous and toxic from him – – all words direct from their own mouths. Christian looked at me and said, “if we don’t go, we will always regret it.”

My parents rearranged their lives and schedules to pick him up from SoCal with less than 24 hours notice – – because from the mouths of his new legal family, it was for his own safety. My sister and her husband rearranged everything to provide emergency respite for him. And on the night of February 18th, they got my precious little boy, shell-shocked, numb and turned off to the world. He wasn’t in good condition. He was very dehydrated. He drank and drank and drank water until you had to take the water away and he would tantrum for it. His lips were scabbed and peeling. His skin was dry and peeling. He was simply numb to the world and life around him. DohDoh rocked him for hours those first ten days. Tanner sat on the floor and played cars over and over and over. Pops would get him from DohDoh’s office and drive him up to the “big house” (our name for Grammie and Pop’s house) and Grammie would watch him during the day. He had a non-stop “cold” for the first week.

And we furiously paused life in Romania. We got out cash time and time again (ATM’s have limits you know) and prepaid bills for a couple months as customary in Romania. We started praying and rearranging money to come up with the needed adoption fees (let’s be honest, missionaries and humanitarian workers don’t exactly make big bucks). We pulled Addy out of school and her gymnastics class just a month before starting competitions. We pulled Mercy out of her kindergarten and her swim lessons. Tears of confusion streamed down her cheeks on her last day at school with her sweet best friends Tibi and Iusti. We tried to explain to our “other” kids that we would be gone just for a couple months and we would come back but I knew in my heart “gone” means “forever” in these kids’ hearts and the tears that welled up broke my heart. Our ministry director was encouraging through it all – – reminding us that God would take care of the ministry while we were gone. So with time we didn’t have and money we didn’t have, we came to California on February 29th and we met our son.

It was blurry in the beginning, jumping into mama and daddy to an adorable but freaked out little boy but it was so worth it. The nights were long and the days even longer but it was worth it. The first snuggle, the first “I love you mama” that came in April made it worth it. The girls reaching out and hugging and tickling and loving their brother made it worth it. And with time we saw him start to thrive. He began using words instead of wails, eating healthy portions of food and using the potty for pee and poo. Yes, these are life’s little successes. Don’t get me wrong, for every two steps forward we would take a step back. This is normal development for an adopted child. Noelan’s three and a half years of life are filled with loss, pain, goodbyes, fear and failures. But we were blessed to know a little better this time around how to meet his needs. So we took every day as a new start in this weird pretend life we were living in California. We morphed into homeschooling Addy and Mercy in Romanian (hello challenge) while blending a family of three kids that were strangers one day and siblings the next.

And we kept waiting. It gets tricky here but you asked, so here is the “simplified” answer. Noelan’s legal family was not completely his legal family – – because he was in the middle of an uncompleted African adoption. So his legal family couldn’t sign over parental rights until they legally completed his adoption. Maybe Christian and I are dumb, maybe we just love and trust too much, maybe we just need to have faith that Noelan needed us. But the problem is that we simply believed their word. So we plowed ahead with nothing more legal than a Power of Attorney. We did medical appointments, blood work, vaccinations and minor surgery. We did play therapy and TBRI (Karyn Purvis’ trust-based relational intervention). And we waited for April 5th when his legal family would receive the paperwork they needed to relinquish parental rights.

But they didn’t sign. We asked them why and it was a new excuse every day. We tried to explain we couldn’t stay here indefinitely while they let us babysit Noelan. We tried to remind them why they asked us to come. We tried to answer questions and be 100% open and vulnerable. All the while, the stress just grew in our little family. We tried to hide it from Addy and Mercy but they are just too smart and they would overhear something, see something, know something. And meanwhile, the love and bond between us and our new son simply strengthened. He became a mama’s boy with a deep love for daddy’s tickles. He found comfort in his relationship with Addy and mischief in his relationship with Mercy. He asked daily to visit Grammie or Pops or DohDoh or Tanner.

And we kept waiting, trying to financially afford two lives, one here in California and one in Romania. And we tried to give a grieving family time and space and love. When May rolled around and we were told that no paperwork had been signed, we were confused and devastated. There is nothing quite like loving and pouring your life into a child that you have no “legal claim” to. Our watching in desperation, knowing he has attached to his new family, us. Watching his behaviors show the beginning steps of healing, watching the successes begin to outnumber the setbacks, all the while knowing that a family he wasn’t attached to was weirdly obsessed with him. And finally, waiting as his legal family was told by the adoption agency, “You need to make a decision because Noelan is attached to his family and Noelan deserves permanency” and instead being told, “Nope we changed our minds, we want him back, we are attached to him.” Because you know, 20 days of “this child is in danger in our toxic home” is more beneficial to Noelan that 93 days in a unconditionally loving and stable environment. (sarcasm) Please don’t get me wrong – – I won’t claim perfection, simply unconditional love and safe stability. And that is what Noelan needed and deserved.

Why is he gone in a blur? Why weren’t his aunties and uncles, other grandparents or friends able to say goodbye? Maybe because on Thursday we chose Monday to take him to the adoption agency (over an hour away) and on Friday at 9a we received a call from our social worker telling us they were demanding him that day and we needed to have him in Sacramento by noon. I am so grateful that in that blur at least his Auntie DohDoh and Uncle Tanner were able to drop everything and race up to see him. And I am more than grateful for Uncle Tanner and Pops that bravely drove him to Sacramento and handed him over to a family that was acting out of selfish gain without a single concern for Noelan. And I am so grateful for Pops, that bravely tried one last time to advocate for Noelan.

And now we are here. In California without our home, but surrounded by some of the most amazing and loving family and friends. I lay awake last night, unable to sleep for most of the night, as my mind whirled and swirled, as I, Noelan’s mama, cried myself to sleep wondering if he was ok, as I woke up panicked over and over hearing his phantom cries in my head. To be the parents of a young, innocent child but not have any legal rights over him has got to be one of the worst things I have ever felt. I don’t have a lot of answers or resolution to this blog post. I would just ask that you would pray for Noelan Truth, his safety and his heart. I would ask that you would pray for Mercy Adoniyah because she feels so deep and so strongly. I would ask that you pray for Addy Grace because she loves so intensely. And I would ask that you would pray for us, our family and everyone around us. This pain is deep.

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four years

By addysengrace, christian, family, mercyadoniyah, Moldova, romania

somehow it has been four years since we packed up or sold everything we owned, said goodbye to all the “normals” in our life and moved overseas to eastern europe. four years. it feels like yesterday and it feels like forever. the past four years have been some of the hardest, darkest, most painful, most chaotic, most unknown years of my life. and yet the past four years also hold some of the sweetest, prettiest, best and most special moments.

oh life.

have i ever looked back and regretted it?

there have been times when i have felt guilty and wondered what i am doing. we took our perfectly perfect children, ages 3.5 and 6 months and we moved them to a country that spoke russian and romanian, two languages we did not. we took them “away” from their grandparents and cousins and friends. we moved in january to eastern europe and this happened. the danube froze. one day the “high” was negative 22 degrees. february’s average temperature was negative 11 degrees. i dont even remember those first few months. my first major memories came in may when my parents came to visit us.

but do i regret it?

there was a time when i could barely watch my children do the goodbyes – – watching them bravely wave goodbye to visitors, tears streaming down their cheeks. or the times we have had to carry them through security in order to get them on the airplane. and those were the times i wondered, maybe doubted what we were doing.

but i have learned something through all this, something i get to experience. if it wasn’t for those heart wrenching goodbyes, i wouldn’t have the most amazing reunions. and seeing the looks on my girls’ faces – – the amazement, the excitement, the magic, the sparkle. seeing them race through the airport into the arms of a grandparent. see their looks of shock and excitement to a surprise visitor. listening to them recount the special moments and memories and gifts.

and i realized that while the goodbyes are painful and heart wrenching, we also have the hellos and reunions. and our moments and memories are extra special because we can count them and remember each and every one. our time together is magic and when we are apart we can remember the times we were together. and when we feel discouraged we can remember those moments and memories, those hellos and reunions.

and that is what makes us stronger. so happy four years of living in eastern europe.

dohdoh+tanner

By addysengrace, bucuresti, christian, eisleyhope, family, holidays, mercyadoniyah, romania

by far these past three weeks have been some of the best. the weather was amazing, the company even better. so while right now we just really miss dohdoh and tanner at least we have all these special memories to think about.

happy 2016. a year to move forward in peace and joy, forever changed for the better in 2015.

snagov

By bucuresti, family, holidays, romania

another one of our day trips was to a monastery on a island in the town of snagov. plus it is where vlad tepes is buried they say. 🙂 and the most beautiful november day i can remember!

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
   

Mogosoaia 

By bucuresti, family, romania, travel

one of our fall break day trips was to a mansion called mogosoaia. it was actually one of the only cold days while my parents were here so we didnt last long (we were not dressed for a cold day!). but the location is beautiful and the fall colors were amazing and we will definitely go back.

   
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
  

toamna 

By bucuresti, family, romania

we have had such a wonderful visit with grammie and pops. i dont want to think about it ending because i am pretty sure the day after they leave winter will smother us. but who cares. the past six weeks have been amazing fall weather. last year we had one snow storm in october, two in november and two in december…all before we left for the states on december 12th! oh and last year we had thirty days straight of zero sunshine whatsoever. this year we have walked outside in t-shirts and sweaters and seen the sun every single day except for TWO. yes that is right, two. so while i am pretty sure next week is gonna be icky, rough and sad – – wow, what an amazing fall visit we have had with grammie and pops!

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

my girls

By addysengrace, bucuresti, mercyadoniyah, romania

i think a little too often people assume my mer girl is grumpy when i take her pictures. truth to be told she is just painfully shy around the camera and she is not the kid that puts on a fake smile. every once and while…she and her sissy start goofing around and she completely forgets how much she hates the camera. then i get photo shoots like this…