Embracing Africa - International adoption, parenting issues and family life

Mekonen's Hair-Do!!

2012-01-26T22:13:00.004-05:00

Wow. I keep resolving to write more on the blog, since I'm far off my usual posting schedule. But none the less, when some down time comes, I'm too tired to type out any thoughts! So thanks to all of you still reading even though my posting has been minimal this month! I have had numerous people over the past several months ask me about Mekonen's hair and how I do it. Since I found myself

Merry Belated Christmas!

2012-01-15T16:17:00.002-05:00

Wow. What a busy start to the New Year. I have been trying to muster up the energy for a couple weeks now to catch up our the blog and I just couldn't! We hit the ground running upon our return trip from PA and I am still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Both kids were really sick for a good ten days, and then Jon got sick. All of that on top of working and other scheduled activities, I am just too

9 Months Old

2012-01-02T17:55:00.002-05:00

Mekonen turned 3 years old on December 28th, and this cutie cutes turned 9 months old the same day! At 9 months old you are: You are mimicking noises and of course we think it's the cutest thing. You love to smack your tongue and will laugh in response to someone laughing at you. It's fun to see you developing into a little person. hehe. You started walking around with a toy walker on

Happy 3rd Birthday Mekonen!

2011-12-28T23:48:00.002-05:00

Mekonen turned 3 years old today! Wow. Boy does time fly. I can't believe I have a 3 year old. I can't believe my baby is already 3! This pretty much makes him preschool age, which is strange. :) Oh how I love him more than my life itself! Mekonen Jack 3 years Mekonen loves, absolutely loves, Thomas and trains. So this year we did a Thomas the Tank Engine party with his cousins. We set up

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.... Tonight we anticipate the celebration of the birthday of our King. My heart is full of joy. I am overwhelmed with the truth that without this day, life and hope would be impossible. Our babies opened their Christmas Eve pajamas, we read the story of the three wise men from the Jesus Storybook Bible, and sang Away in a Manger and Hark the Herald Angels Sing (2

To Be Dazzled. To Be Awe-Struck. A Baby to Worship.

2011-12-24T02:52:00.001-05:00

To sum up our goal in parenting: to commend the works of God to our children. This Christmas season, my heart is constantly being brought back to worship- to the fact that God came, that Jesus came to live among us. It's truly and utterly fascinating. I am reminded more than anything, that along with ourselves, our children are made to worship. It's instinctive. They are image bearers of God

Taking Back Christmas

2011-12-20T17:03:00.001-05:00

For weeks, I've been trying to put words to my thoughts and the things stirring my heart, and I just can't seem to get it right. But regardless, I will try. Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. I am a relational person to my core and the holiday season seems to be so closely linked to many activities and visits that involve the very family and friends my soul is tied to. So

Christmas Fun Activities

2011-12-11T16:36:00.001-05:00

We've been full of some fun Christmas activities in this house the past week or so. Mekonen is obsessed with frosty the snowman right now, so we took out our Play-doh and constructed our own Frosty. Mekonen loves trying to cut the Play-doh. I love when he concentrates really hard and sticks his little tongue out. We also headed off to one of our favorite places to play... the children's

8 Months!

2011-12-07T23:33:00.001-05:00

And... she's 8 months old! Boy time is flying! It's sooo strange to think that Mekonen was this exact age when we brought him home from Ethiopia. I was thinking about this today and it saddened my heart in a way that is almost impossible to put into words. I cannot believe all the things I have missed in Mekonen's first 8 months. It's a road I can't go down too deeply, or it becomes extremely

Christmas Season Kick Off

2011-12-05T15:12:00.001-05:00

My absolute favorite time of the year is here! The Christmas season, and here's to a great start!!! Jon and I saw a commercial the other day that totally depicted me. A lady had her house all decorated for Thanksgiving. I think she let her guests out the door after Thanksgiving day, waved good-bye, walked back into her house and it was all of a sudden Christmas. That is literally me.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T13:58:00.001-05:00

Mekonen making his turkey handprint cards for his Grandparents. Thanksgiving was a blast, especially because these 7 cousins got to hang out together. It's always one of the highlights of my trips home. We grew up incredibly close with 3 of our cousins and it is such a blessing that we still carry today! Surprisingly there were no "extra" guests at my parents this year. Usually

Fall Catch-Up 2

2011-11-22T13:16:00.001-05:00

We had a very busy fall and it went by so quickly! (Check out Fall Catch-Up 1) We spent a lot of time at the park and outside and had lots of activities going on. I also started coaching a competitive gymnastics group 3 nights a week so we have had a packed schedule. We also had several visitors: the Witmers, Auntie Jess, Aunt Lindsay, and Aunt Megan. Fun!!! Here's a small highlight of some of

Fall Catch-Up 1

2011-11-22T12:25:00.001-05:00

I am a bit behind on my blogging and am trying to get caught up! We had a fun-filled, busy fall season and are excited to bring it to a close for the upcoming holidays! A highlight of the fall season for us was a visit from our dear friends the Witmers who we were in Ethiopia with. We have such a sweet friendship and a special bond as we shared the beginning of our babies lives together. It

My Boy

2011-11-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

I haven't written a post strictly about my boy in awhile. Evie's been getting the baby monthly posts like 5 month, 6 months, etc. and I haven't documented on here all that's going on with Mekonen! Well for starters, he is a riot. He is really coming into his personality these days and we are finding with the arrival of a sibling that Mekonen has taken the role of entertainer quite seriously.

7 Months and Rockin' It

2011-11-06T23:05:00.000-05:00

So this post is a little over a week late, but better late than never right? Miss Evangeline turned 7 months old on October 28th!!! *LOVE* At 7 Months You Are: Crawling everywhere!!! You actually started crawling two weeks after turning 6 months old and now you are a pro! We set you down, turn around, and you are clear across the room! On October 11th you had your first taste of baby

What to Do About Halloween?

2011-11-03T17:26:00.003-04:00

As a Christian family who seeks to live a Jesus-centered, Gospel-centered life, we are constantly needing to evaluate the culture we live in through the lens of the Bible and the thinking mind God gave us. In light of what I've written below, as a family we have chosen to exercise our Biblical freedom (1 Corinthians 10:22-23), to wisely redeem cultural practices. We have fun with Halloween by

Evie's Baby Dedication

2011-10-16T22:08:00.004-04:00

Today we had Evangeline's baby dedication at church where we made a commitment before God and our church family to raise Evie to know Jesus. We are loved well at our church and it was a special time for us! Evangeline Rae Oren Born: March 28, 2011 Dedicated on October 16, 2011 Life Verse: Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim

Half a Year?!?!

2011-10-13T22:11:00.000-04:00

On September 28th, Evangeline turned 6 months old. Really? 6 months old? A half a year? Craziness. This doll baby has added so much joy to our little family and I can't imagine life without her! And of course, the classic 6 month portrait picture. (It's a tad fuzzy and the color not super clear because I had to take a picture of the picture because our scanner isn't working!) At 6 months

Some Folks Just Don't Know Jack

2011-10-10T00:24:00.000-04:00

We've been a transracial family now for a little over two years through adoption. Along with the incredible experiences we've had raising a transracial family, we've also come across many people who are incredibly sincere, but sometimes misinformed. We have our dear friends, the Witmers, visiting this weekend who we traveled with in Ethiopia. We laughed our heads off this afternoon, almost to the

Some Thoughts on Transracial Adoption

2011-10-03T09:50:00.000-04:00

My dear friend Katie is amazing. She gets me in so many ways. Jon and I have found such sweet friendship in her and her husband. They live close to us, love Jesus, care about orphans and adoption, love the church, and love the city and all it entails. We "get" each other. Sometimes that seems to be a rarity these days, so when you find it, hang on tight. Katie wrote this blog here on

Mekonen's Chores

2011-09-21T00:07:00.000-04:00

So I've been thinking lately about a motto a friend told me of a family she knows: Never do for a child what he can do for himself. Now I'm not talking about being extreme with this, but I'm thinking more in line with building responsibility and a culture of helping others and helping yourself from the time our little ones can walk. From the beginning I've tried to involve Mekonen in our life. It

Mekonen's 2nd Gotcha Day!

2011-09-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

We met our son skin to skin, face to face, on August 21, 2009- His Gotcha Day! And this past weekend we celebrated Mekonen's 2nd Gotcha Day! About twenty of our friends came together to celebrate this special day in our family's life. I spent the afternoon with my amazing friend Julie cooking a traditional Ethiopian meal of dora wat, siga wat, lentils and an Ethiopian vegetable dish, served with

Camping Trip 2011

2011-09-18T00:18:00.001-04:00

Wow. It sure has been awhile since I have blogged! Hoping that will change! Things in life have been crazy. Feeling way out of the groove in life and trying to get back in it! This year for the Castro family vacation we took a four day camping trip to Watkins Glen State Park in New York. It was amazing and crazy all at the same time. We had such a blast! 15 people (including 7 children age 6 and

5 Months Old

2011-08-29T18:18:00.001-04:00

Evangeline Rae is 5 months old (yesterday). Time is going by too fast. I miss those teeny tiny baby days already! Such a big girl she is becoming! 5 Months During your 4th month this is what you have accomplished:you weigh 14.8 pounds and had your first double ear infection. poor baby. I didn't even know! I felt so bad. We found out at your 4 month doctor appointment the doctor said you are

Fun at Grandma & Grandpa's

2011-08-14T21:51:00.000-04:00

The two babes and I flew to Pennsylvania for two weeks in July to visit with my family. It was a much needed trip for me and my heart. There's just something about home... (yes, Jonny, I know "home" is here in Indiana, but you know what I mean). :) Mekonen and Evie did AMAZING on the flights to and from PA. Even the return trip where we were delayed twice and got home at 1am, 2 1/2 hours later