A Family of Three Again

When I put my beloved cat Tanner to sleep, I told myself that I was not going to get another cat. It was just going to be Sabah and I from here on out. I was going to enjoy not haveing to clean a litter box, of clean up furballs, or have cat hair all over my clothes. Well, as you can see by the pictures below, that didn't last very long. Sabah and I have adopted a 4 year old cat named Otis. Otis is a "big boy" if you will, but he is the sweetest thing ever. He, unlike Tanner, is a lap cat and would be content all day to cuddle up on my lap. And though I still hate cleaning a litter box, I'm glad we got this sweet boy.

Fun at Grandma's

A couple of weekends ago, Me, Tina, Sabah, Ethan and Eli packed into Tina's new (to her)Explorer and headed down to Eugene for the day to spend time with my parents. It was a gorgeous day and my mom got the pool out for the kids to play in. My brother filled up the pool and Grandma, fearing that it would be too cold for "her babies", carried bucket upon bucket of hot water from the house to make the pool a little warmer. Sabah LOVES the water and loved playing with her cousins in grandma and grandpa's backyard. She also got to meet her Uncle Phil for the first time. My brother was pretty smitten with her, and Sabah LOVED him.



Sabah and her Uncle

What will my part be?

I came across this video while blog stalking tonight. I don't have the words to explain what I am feeling after watching this. I'm in tears, wondering "what can I do?" "How can I help?" I know things like this happen all over the world, but does that mean I can turn a blind eye to it? We see so vividly because of all our modern technology. There is no excuse to say I didn't do anything because I didn't know. I DO know. And now that I know, I need to figure out what my part will be to help save these children.

As sad and horrifying as this video is, it is also so so beautiful. What the whole thing and you will find beauty in it. Not just horror, but honest to goodness beauty.

To Esther, Sam and my new hero Jane, my prayers are for you tonight.

Warning....video is very graphic and will surely bring you to tears....

It's Official and fun 4th of July weekend stuff

On Thursday, July 2nd, Sabah and I went to the Multnomah County Courthouse and she officially, OFFICIALLY became Sabah Isabella. The re-adoption ceremony was super quick and we were in and out of the courthouse in less than 15 minutes. This is the last piece of the adoption process. I now just wait for her Oregon birth certificate and then I can apply for her U.S. Passport. So exciting. We are planning on going to Manila next February or March with my sister and her family, and even though she could have traveled with her Ethiopian passport and greencard, it just makes me feel better that she will have her U.S. Passport in hand.

Tina and her boys joined us at the courthouse and then we all went out to breakfast to celebrate. After that, Sabah and I flew to Phoenix for a long weekend to welcome home my friend Mona and her daughter Janissa who arrived from Ethiopia. We also got a chance to see our friend Leah and her family. Leah and her husband Jon were in Ethiopia the same time I was and it was great to see her and let the girls play together again. And, as if that weren't enough, we also got a chance to meet my blog friend Joy, who also is with my agency and traveled to Ethiopia a week before I did. It was great to meet her and her ENTIRE family (all 10 of them) and of course let all the Toukoul babies play together. Thanks ladies for such a wonderful weekend.



Sabah in her re-adoption dress



Waiting for the Judge



The final adoption certificate



Flirting with complete strangers sitting across the aisle from us



Meeting Janissa for the first time



The Gang...Mona and Janissa, me and Sabah, Joy and Jeramiah (Josiah was asleep), Leah and Aslynn. These gorgeous babies were all at Toukoul at the same time and are all around one year old.



Janissa and Sabah....they are going to be the best of friends, even though they live in Orange County, CA. Looks like Southwest Airlines will be our new best friend.



The "girls" Sabah, Janissa, Aslynn



Sabah LOVED LOVED LOVED Mona's brother "Uncle Joe". Thanks Joe for including my daughter in your hugs and kisses.

She's a walkin.....

Last week Sabah took her first steps (yeah, I know, I'm late with posting it). She has been practicing this entire week and has gotten pretty good. She is so cute because she's at that weeble wobble stage. I LOVE IT! This girl continues to impress me every single day, and every single day I love her a little more (if that is even possible).

Way to go Sabella!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Goodbye Tanner

It was a sad sad day at the Bryan household today. We went from a family of three (including the cat), to a family of two. Tanner, the little furball that I raised from an itty bitty kitty, was put down this afternoon due to lymphoma (cancer). He'd been vomiting off and on for a while, but a few weeks ago it became a 4 times a day occurance, so I took him to the vet. He had tons of blood work done, and was given some anti-nausea medicine, but it didn't do much good. He was still vomiting and losing a lot of weight. His white bloodcount was very low. The following week they did an x-ray and found that his spleen was enlarged.....SEVERELY enlarged was the exact words. This all pointed to lymphoma. The next step was ultrasounds and biopsies, but I couldn't justify spending the money....all a confirmation would do is confirm he had lyphoma...his life would only be lengthened by about 6 months with chemo. I had to make the choice to put him down. He was so miserable and actually spent the weekend meowing (sounded like crying to me) out in pain every time he vomited. My poor baby. I've had him for 10 years and that cat has been through A LOT with me. When I was mourning the loss of my first failed adoption and went into a deep depression, this cat stayed by my side every second I was home (which was every second I wasn't at work). He knew something was wrong and wanted to let me know he was there.

After I talked to the vet this morning and made the decision, I took rest of the afternoon off and went home and just layed on the bed with tanner, petting him and just loving on him. We then headed off to the vet where I stayed with him during the first phase. He quietly laid down and let me cuddle and carress his face. The vet then came and took him and "finished" the job in another room (I had the option to be at both phases, but couldn't do the second one).

It was the best decision I could make for him. He was so miserable. He is in no more pain. I miss you Tanner. You were the best! I know you are in a much better place.

6 months home

Exactly 6 months ago, I got off a plane in Portland, OR and began my new life with my daughter. It is amazing to me that 6 months have gone by already. When I picked Sabah up from Toukoul, she was a slightly over 6 months old. She has now been in the U.S. as long as she was in Africa. AMAZING!

She has changed so much in the last 6 months. She's no longer a little baby, but a little toddler. She is starting to get a little personality of her own. She has a true stubborn streak to her and I can tell that her and I are going to butt heads as she grows older and more independent.

I finally was able to convert my video of our first meeting, so I'm posting it below. Please forgive the watermark that is plastered across the video. The software needed to convert the video cost and I don't really want to pay the bucks to get the watermark off. I will someday, but for now, you will all just have to ignore it. :)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com