2nd Gotcha Day!

Happy second gotcha day, Elias Besufikad. You bring smiles to our faces every day. We love you more than words could express.

Melkam Genna!

Merry Ethiopian Christmas! We are so happy to be a family with strong ties to such a wonderful people, culture and country. Since last year was such an "off" year for us we really have tried to take advantage of the past 6 months and enjoy the fact that (despite being pregnant again) I feel good. Unfortunately my immune system is shot and despite no preschool, daycare or outside job the kids and I have been hit hard by sickness after sickness this fall and winter. Luckily, we all got better just in time to fully enjoy the company of our family and friends to celebrate January 7th!

I cooked for a couple of days straight. It was a lot of work but it paid off as everyone seemed to really enjoy the food and cultural experience. We served injera (and no utensils, of course) with Siga Wat (chicken stew), Doro Wat (beef stew), Lentil Wat (lentil stew), Gomen (stewed cabbage), Ye'Abesha Gomen (collard greens), Lentils, Tibs (beef steak and green peppers), and Ethiopian Salad. My father-in-law made the lentil wat and basmati rice and my mom made some lentil sambusas.

I also had a smattering of American food, Mexican food, and a little Thai food for good measure. We had Ethiopian beer, Tej (honey wine), and Chai (tea that I served iced, spiced and honeyed as we have had in the past).

Israel demonstrated how to use the injera properly and eat off the community plate.

I made cupcakes and tried to make them look like the Ethiopian flag (my blue sprinkles weren't as prominent as I would have liked but it was recognizable at least).

Brian served a coffee ceremony. We didn't roast our own beans over a charcoal fire in our house so it wasn't super authentic but the taste and service style were authentic. Of course we had sweet popcorn with it as well as Kolo which was a HUGE hit.

And some extra photos of some cute kids since the party :)

Thank you family and friends for helping us celebrate the Christmas season and Ethiopian culture!

the best of friends

Elias and Isla are quickly becoming the best of friends! Although Elias has always been great in his interactions with Isla now that she is mobile he is finding that she is a fun playmate. They love to play with their toys together, but Elias still has some trouble sharing.Elias' new favorite thing to do with his "sister baby" is to share his bath! Elias always makes sure they each have a rubber duckie to play with.

At nearly 9 months old Isla can now sit stably enough to take a bath with her brother. They both love this special time together and conspire to cry and throw fits when it is time to be finished. Every time I tell Elias it is time to take a bath he adamantly informs me that "Isla wants to come too!" He is so adamant, in fact, he even went so far as to carry her from the living room into the bathroom when he thought I was going to put him in alone.
Elias loves his role as a big brother and takes it very seriously. He wants to help me do everything for the baby which includes washing her hair, giving her a bottle, and feeding her baby food. If I am busy and Isla is fussing all I have to do is ask Elias to go take care of his sister and he gladly runs to her and consoles her by saying, "It's okay, Aya! Peanut, stop crying. It's too louder. Hi baby! Hi baby! Hi baby!" If she continues he will be sure to run to me and say, "Mommy, Aya wants you" and he will pester me until I pick her up.

Elias also has a habit of waking us up in the morning by coming into our room and telling us that "my sister baby" and sometimes "my brother" is awake. He then says "you get up. Go get Aya. Aya awake. You get up right now." It is really sweet how much he cares about Isla. Often when we are packing up to go somewhere Elias lets us know that "Aya wants to come too." If we are watching t.v. at night he will just randomly ask "Where's Aya?" Since she goes to bed a couple hours before him the answer is usually "sleeping." Most of the time he believes us but every now and then he has to go into her room to check and make sure she is really in her crib.These two really have a great time together. They get a kick out of making one another laugh and nap time has become somewhat of a challenge because Isla will stand up in her crib and "talk" to Elias. He will then get out of bed and go over to her crib to talk to her, throw toys in for her, and play with her. It's really cute but frustrating after an hour or so. I have learned I cannot put them both in their room awake and expect anything but loads of giggles and playing.

Best Friends!

Thought Provoking

May God burden all of our hearts to the point of action!

World AIDS Day - Educate Yourself

Check out this video that the Heim Family is in! We had the privilege of getting to know Scott and Traci when we traveled with them to Ethiopia to pick up our children!

33.4 million people living with HIV

2.1 million children under the age of 15 living with HIV worldwide

What is HIV?

HIV - Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HIV attacks the human immune system by using its cells to reproduce. The HIV virus causes AIDS.

What is AIDS?

AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

AIDS is a medical condition where a person's immune system is weakened by the HIV virus to the point where it can no longer fight off infection.

How HIV Can Be Transmitted

Sexual Contact (vaginal, anal, oral)

Sharing contaminated needles and syringes

Mother to Infant (during pregnancy, breastfeeding or birth)

Ways HIV DOES NOT Get Spread

"You cannot contract HIV from casual contact. HIV is not found in tears, sweat, snot, feces and urine. You don't have to fear catching HIV through day-to-day activities with people who are HIV+. You are free to share plates, cups, utensils, food, drinks, toilets, towels, linens and other household items without risk of transmission. HIV cannot be spread by shaking hands, hugging and kissing infected individuals." -Project Hopeful

There has never been a case of accidental transmission in a normal household setting.

Medical Technology Has Made It Possible for:

*An HIV+ person to have a child and not transmit HIV to their partner or child (apx. 99%).

*Live a healthy life with a healthy immune system

*Those on ARV treatments to live with an undetectable amount of the virus in their blood.

Facts and Stats taken from: www.worldaidsday.org and www.projecthopeful.org

Uh Oh

An afternoon conversation:

Elias: Mommy, I want to play Mario Kart Wii

Me: Not right now, babe. I'm holding Isla and she is almost asleep. I promise I will play with you later.

Elias: WHY? I want to play RIGHT NOW!

Me: Not right now, Elias.

Elias: Why?

Me: (sigh) Because I said so and I'm the Mommy!

Elias: (growling) You not say that EVER EVER EVER!

Honestly, I can't seem to figure out what's worse - my two year old's attitude or the fact that I actually stooped as low as saying "because I said so." I remember swearing I would never say that to my kids since it was a total cop out. Since I feel like defending myself though I will point out I gave a valid explanation before using the dreaded phrase.

just another MIRACLE, baby!

So the past couple of years have held a lot for us - some great, some not-so-great - either way, it has been a lot. We have experienced scares and MIRACLES!

After an adoption process that seemed like it would never end, Elias became our son on December 31, 2008 and we were united as a family on February 1, 2009! He was our first MIRACLE! When I look at my wonderful little boy I am overwhelmed with love and awe. God chose me. I did absolutely nothing to deserve the joy and privilege of hearing Elias call me "Mama" but God chose me. By God's perfect design we were meant for each other long before either of us existed, and by God's grace he brought us together as a family from the far corners of the Earth. Elias is my MIRACLE baby!

Six short months after we got home with Elias we found out we were expecting another child, this time biologically. I was worried that the bond with my second child would not be as strong as the bond I had with my first but God had plans we could have never dreamed for ourselves that brought that baby and I closer than I could have ever planned.

On October 22, 2009, after weeks of testing, waiting, more testing and more waiting, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 14 weeks pregnant. Isla and I went through chemotherapy together. We endured pokes, prods, tests, labs, drugs, hospitalizations, scans, and a whole slew of other necessary medical garbage. Despite all this, our precious MIRACLE baby #2 was born 6 weeks early on March 15, 2010. Isla is such an absolute joy and brings so much happiness to our entire family!

Exactly 8 months to the day after my diagnosis God chose to bless us with yet another MIRACLE and on June 22, 2010 I was declared in complete remission! We are so thankful that God chose to heal me!

Now today, we have another MIRACLE to announce. Here is an excerpt taken from my private blog. This was written the day after I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma:

Friday afternoon we were supposed to meet with a fertility specialist to discuss fertility options as chemo can often make people sterile. Instead we got a phone call from the oncologist saying this appointment wasn't necessary as they had learned from the specialist that harvesting eggs was impossible to do while pregnant. Brian and I are so thankful God planted the seed of adoption when He did. We are so thankful that despite very real financial obstacles we proceeded in faith when we did. Having Elias as our son prepared us for news that otherwise might have been very devestating. There is a very real possibility we will only be able to have one biological child, the child I am now carrying. God was gracious enough to give us the adoption experience we had at just the right time to prepare our hearts and minds. We have always planned another adoption and so as hard as this news may seem it really isn't a source of grief for Brian or I.

In our very first meeting with the oncologist the first side effect of chemotherapy that he warned us about was that of infertility. I was told I would not be able to conceive for a number of years and very possibly for the rest of my life. Brian and I were okay with that and began talking about another adoption right away. In fact, December 22nd will be my 6 month remission anniversary and we were hoping to start the adoption process then.

So, imagine our surprise when God gave us MIRACLE baby #3

Meet the latest Gossett baby! Our due date is May 19th (just three weeks after Isla's due date). Yes, if Isla wasn't 6 weeks early these kiddos would be 12 VERY SHORT months apart!

This MIRACLE has taken some time to process - let's be honest here, no sane person plans 3 kids under the age of 3. That said, all Brian and I could do was laugh in disbelief when we saw those two pink lines. God in his sovereignty chose to give us ANOTHER MIRACLE BABY and we can't wait to find out what amazing things He has planned for this precious little life!