Cousin Nater Tater Alligator turned 7 this week! So the Ehr/Baer clan now ages 8,7,7,4,3,3. I can't believe he is 7!!!
Here are a few pics from the party.

Wuby and grandpa Jeff

Here is the birthday boy, Koolaide moustache and all!


Please pray for me if you think about it. I have been having massive headaches that do not go away with meds.

This is a piece of Noah's artwork that was chosen by the art teacher to represent the school's 1st grade projects. They display 1 per grade per school. He was so excited about it!!!

As I tried to kiss Wubitu on the forehead early this morning the following conversation transpired:
W: EUWWW mom....you farted? say excuse me.
Me: I didn't toot...does mommy have stinky breath?
W: Yes. mommy bath....mommy brush a chink (teeth).

Nothing makes you want to eat chocolate and buy a treadmill more than when your 4 year old sees you getting out of the shower and exclaims, "Wow mom! Where did you get such a fluffy bottom!"

Nathan and his Batman kite from Grandma Karen

There is no wind at all today but they are getting tons of exercise creating their own wind running up and down the driveway.

Hanging out with Uncle Brian

Grandma Jo helps us open our eggs

I found it!

Peek a bunny!

I just wanted to update everyone on how bonding/attachment are going with Wubitu. Since taking a break 2 weeks ago from working I feel like my mommy switch just flicked on. Before I liked being around Wubitu for the most part but she is so demanding at times that I was thankful to have as much time away from her as possible which made her more clingy. I think a lot of the issues had to do with me learning to parent differently. Noah & Carter are very independant children at 4 & 7 and enjoy playing together or on thier own. Wubitu is very hands on and need a lot of one on one attention. Part of this stems from the fact that she simply does not find any interest in playing with toys or watching TV. In American culture this is almost unheard of because we tend to focus from birth on "things" toys, tv, etc. In Ethiopia, for the first 2 1/2 years of her life Wubitu did not have toys...period and instead entertained herself by talking and singing with people. This difference has really made me rexamine my priorites in parenting. Finding a balance is hard. We do limit screen time with the boys and encourage imaginative play which they gladly engage in. I wrestle with whether it is okay to try and get Wubitu to watch 20 minutes of Dora so I can have a few minutes to myself. I have created tasks for Wubitu to do along side me as I clean up...she sorts the clean silverwear and helps sort the laundry. She is a great helper and the pride in her accomplishments has really shown.
The last 2 weeks have been great as I have had time to just sit and have the face to face interaction that Wubitu needs right now. Trying to sort out which issues are normal 3 year old issues from adoption issues, and close in age sibling issues takes a lot of mental energy. Taking the time to sort through some of these things is a full time pyschologists job in itself. However I have noticed that her direct disobediance and negative behaviors for attention have deminished significantly (coloring on the couch because I am trying to type something up for work). I feel like her attachment has become much stronger and I really really enjoy spending ALOT of time with her. Some nights I feel like I didn't get enough snuggles in and try to make up for it the next day.
I feel like I was completely prepared for Wubitu not liking us when she came home and her attachment issues but completely unperared for my own issues of attaching to her. She was ready and willing to attach but I was very resistant. It is kind of like when people tell you that it is okay if you don't fall in love with your newborn infant right way it takes time for the love to grow. It all sounds a little funny since we waited so long for her to come but the realities of her actually being here really hit me like a ton of bricks and held me down in the water for almost 3 months. I was going through the motions of caring for her and trying to keep myself afloat but she has really won my heart in the last 2 weeks...not because of something she did but because I finally opened my heart to let her in by opening my schedule and life and laying down all the unessecary extras in my schedule.
Most of the time I feel like people do not even come close to understanding but I am very thankful for Juile's blog. It reminds me so much of how life was been the last few months...joy but often extrememly overwhelming changes that are not always the most comfortable. Everyday gets better and better though and my love for Wubitu grows and grows.

I finally completed our montage of pictures from our ethio trip. Thank you to Nikki, my long lost sister in Minnesota who traveled with us to pick up her daughter Tyana. She sent me some great photos to suppliment my lack of photo skills when the emotional exhaustion took over in Ethiopia.

Daddy's Girl!

So it seems like a year ago since I last posted even though it has only been a week. Here are a few highlights:
-Pinewood Derby: Noah & Carter were so excited about making cars to race in the Pinewood derby. Noah made a hotdog car that he showed to everyone with pride. Torrey said that random kids that he didn't know at the Derby would say "Hey, that's the hotdog boy!" He beemed with pride. Carter made a triangle car that I painstakingly sanded down to a rounded surfboard end. He painted it black and red. Unforntuately we ran out of time and didn't affix the wheels until the wee hours of the morning and didn't have time to make them move smoothly. They boys didn't win any races but they had a GREAT time with their dad (who skipped the ground breaking on the Habitat House project his is designing to be with his boys....what a wonderful dad!)
-Wubitu and I went to the mall for some much needed girl bonding. Trying to keep the house clean, homework done, laundry off the floor, play dates, etc...sometimes we don't get in the snuggles that she needs right now. So I forwent the the stroller so that I could carry her throughout the mall. She really enjoyed her first trip to Libby Lou (a very girly, girl shop). She reached down to touch the sparkly pink and purple floor with a look of awe in her eyes. Tears came to my eyes as I looked at all the froo froo and realized that I finally had a little girl to spoil. Next she ran over to watch a little girl get her ears peirced. She insisted that she needed hers done but I told her she had to ask daddy first....I am not sure if she is ready for this yet....and how do you fully explain that this would hurt and you have to leave them in? After a long pout about no earrings we watched the fountain, tried lotions at Bath & Body Works, and sniffed candles at Yankee Candle. Then we had a yummy, grease filled lunch at the food court and headed to Children's Place where I realized that I threw my Credit Card in the trash with our plates!!! Luckily I remembered which trash can and the custodian opened it up for me and made me dig through it myself without gloves....yuck!!! I did find it sandwiched between two plates of teriaki chicken and rice! (Always an adventure) Overall we had a good time together. (When I got home I realized that Children's Place rang up Noah's jeans 2X so I have to go back to get my card refunded!!!)
-I am taking a long break from my job at our church as a Service Coordinator to assess God's desires for my time and life. Please pray for us as this will be a major financial strain for our family especially as we save for our next adoption.
- I am also limiting my hours at the YMCA.
-Warsaw Stephen Curtis Chapman Concert: We loved talking with other adoptive parents about thier adoption journeys!!! It was very encouraging to hear about how God completely provided for people's adoptions! Talking with everyone really helped to strengthen our faith that God will provide for our next adoption. Our story of God's incredible provision was not just a fluke...God cares about orphans and is willing to move a financial mountain if we ask!
-Sunday Night was our pastor's 30 year anniversary of working at our church. My friend Michelle asked me to be in thier Hee Haw skit because she knows that I am never afraid to make a huge fool out of myself. I invited my friend Kristy along to our hillbilly party. Both of our husbands were quite embarrased by our over the top southern draw but we had a great time telling cornfield jokes and singing the "Rumor" song. Well to tell you the truth I had no idea what I was doing since I have never seen an episode of Hee Haw in my life but I just went along with the other crazy ladies and had a GREAT time. Carter kept asking me why I was talking like Texas (Grandma Jenny & Grandpa John live there). Noah asked for a definition of Y'all. Wubitu just kept trying to take my hat.

This Saturday Torrey & I had an awesome date. We drove to Brownsburg, IN to volunteer at the Stephen Curtis Chapman Concert to raise money for Shaohannah’s Hope. We received a grant from them last year for Wubitu’s adoption and when we were notified that they were coming to our state to promote adoption we were touched so deeply that we cried...this organization helped us to bring our sweet little girl home...we are beyond word greatful to them. We both felt so honored to be able to volunteer in 2 cities (Warsaw coming this Saturday). We arrived late in true Ehrman style and found Nick Lyndon who quickly threw us our Show Hope t-shirts and pointed us to a table to collect change and sell T-shirts. Each person who came by to drop change in our bucket touched our hearts so deeply that tears were literally flowing down our cheeks the entire pre-show rush. It is amazing how pocket change to one person can so significantly change the life of an orphan, a family, a church, and a community.
----Please excuse this interruption as I present a foot in mouth moment brought to you by Kimberley's diarrah mouth....
Nick Lyndon, the guy who showed us the Show Hope ropes when we arrived, came to us before the concert to let us know that we could trade out with some of the other volunteers to see some of the show. I mentioned that we didn't mind manning the table. He asked if we were sure...okay the normal person answer would have said yes....but of course I added.... We are fine, we are not really a big fan of the music, just big fans of the cause. Sounds okay right....well 10 minutes later I look up on stage and Nick Lyndon is on stage playing guitar!!!!! How embarrasing!!! Okay back to the concert:
Throughout the concert we were moved by the stories of other volunteer adoptive families and SCC’s vision for adoption. One story that really touched us was of a little girl who donated 4 dollars in quarters and left a note saying that this money was her hope that her friends who were left behind in her orphanage in Kazakstan might be lucky enough to get a family like she did.

After intermission we helped to count all of the money that was donated, $4,500!

At the end of the concert our friends Mellissa & Justin, who are an Indy couple adopting from Ethiopia, went on stage to receive a grant from Shaohannah's Hope!!! It was so awesome!

The next day in church we had a missions sermon. At the end Marilyn Tolbert got up to read a list of needs of missionaries around the world. Tears started to stream down my face as they mentioned the children without food, parents dying of diseases, but the flood gates opened when she spoke of how many children in Africa die of Malaria. I looked over at Torrey to see his tear stained cheeks as we imagine our daughter as one of those "statistics." We cannot even imagine if she would not have reached the Care Center in time before the Malaria racked her body 2 weeks after coming into care. To imagine our little girl... full of life and joy, losing her life to the high uncontrollable fever caused by a single mosquito bite is heart wrenching. I cannot even fathom the grief of the parents in Africa who do not have access to these basic (inexpensive by US standards 50 cents) medications needed to combat the illness.

With a little inspiration from my friend Kristy I took the Wubitu and the boys sledding so I could let off a little steam after a bad day. It was just the right medicine to get my family/work balance back into perspective.