Tuesday, September 29, 2009

NIAGARA FALLS!! What a blast! and our REFERRAL FROM ETHIOPIA!!























I know that I am backtracking some but with the new school year and our new REFERRAL we have been busy! I will tell you about our new daughter after Niagara Falls! :)


We took the girls to Niagara Falls August 21st-27th. We drove there from Philly...it took about 7 hours...not a bad drive at all. We stayed at The Hilton on the Canadian side of the falls. We were on the 43rd floor and had a great view of the American and Canadian Falls. Two of the nights that we were there...they did a huge fireworks show over the views. It was great because we were able to watch it from the room.


While we were there, we did a lot of walking. We drove to Clifton Falls...which is like a mini Myrtle Beach strip. We took the kids to a lego museum, inside playground and much more. While we were there we had lunch at Rainforest Cafe..probably not the best pick for Bella since everytime it thundered she jumped into my arms. :(


We also went on a 5 1/2 bus tour of Niagara Falls. Believe it or not...the kids did GREAT. We went right up to the Falls on the Maid of the Mist Boat, Butterfly Conservatory, Journey Behind the Falls, and a couple of more places. LiLi tried so hard for a butterfly to land on her at the Conservatory and right before we were leaving a beautiful blue one landed on her..it made her day.


On our last day, we drove to Niagara on the Lake. It is a cute town with lots of stores, restaurants, and lots to see. We had such a great time that we already have our trip booked for 2010.

Our Referral: We are happy to announce that we have accepted the referral of our daughter. Her name will be Maura Genet Haile Thornley and she was born on August 24, 2004. She is a few months older than LiLi so they will both be in Kindergarten next year..same school but different classes. She is beautiful. LiLi is so excited that she will be "my size". She is currently 45 inches tall and weighs 42 pounds. Please pray for a smooth process..getting a court date, having all the info to pass court the first time and bringing her home.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Home Almost 6 Months with Bella Dasash Mulu Thornley!






Six months ago yesterday, George and I were in DC picking up our beautiful daughter. It was an amazing day. She has added so much to our family. She is LiLi's best friend on some days and well..on other days they don't like each other very much. This shows that they are truly sisters!


Bella has changed so much. She is talking in complete sentences. It is amazing that she has picked up on the english language in 6 months. She sleeps well..an hour nap during the day and 11 hours at night. She also eats well..she doesn't like most veges very much but will eat them if she is rewarded with a cookie. :) She also loves chocolate milk..just like big sister LiLi. She loves water and the girls only have juice on rare occasions.

All of her medical issues have cleared up..such as scabies, giarrdea, etc. She is very healthy and hasn't been sick once. She is gaining weight and getting taller everyday. She now weighs 23 pounds (still so tiny for a 2 year old).
This child is STUBBORN. She normally spends a good portion of the day in time-out. :) She LOVES to aggravate LiLi. It's funny LiLi is so serious at times and listens to the rules. She wants to please mommy and daddy and it is very seldom that she purposely disobeys us. Bella on the other hand, tries to see how far she can stretch the rules before she is punished. She has gotten better because George and I are extremely consistent. LiLi is forever telling Bella what she shouldn't be doing..we keep telling her that it is mommy and daddy's job. Needless to say we spend ALOT of time at museums, parks, etc. Life is great when we are not cooped in the house when it rains, etc. Overall, the girls have adjusted well to each other. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives. We are so glad that God chose them to be our daughters.

I am going to post a couple of pictures of Bella and I will post about our trip to Niagara Falls in a few days! :)