June | 2012 | The Amazing Journey of Samuel & Asher

What a Week!

30 Jun 2012 2 Comments

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized Tags: Clinic at a Time, ethiopia, Ethiopian Twins, Facebook, Foster care, J-Lo's adoption, maternal mortality, maternity care, Maternity Worldwide, Millenium Development Goals, Mother, twins, WHO

Whew! It has been quite the week at the Howard abode! Remember how I had mentioned in my last post that Carson threw up (thus the carpet cleaning?). WELL…….that was just the beginning. Turns out, we had a little stomach virus that was just starting to make its’ way through our fam. It has just been a real fun fest over here. However, on the bright side….. I think we have now said goodbye to our little virus friend (fingers crossed!)

Can I just tell you how difficult it is to continually be wiping up vomit and diarrhea (I know….TMI) while you are trying to actually CLEAN your house? Pretty darn difficult. Why Meredith, you ask, would you even attempt to try to clean your house this week? WELL…I was hoping you would ask!

A local producer who is in film school here in Atlanta knew some of our family’s story. She knew us when we had our sweet foster daughter, and was there when I was sobbing when we lost her. Then, suddenly, she saw on Facebook that we had added twin baby boys to the mix. She contacted us about sharing our story for a mini-documentary she was producing for her final school project. She didn’t know much of the story, and not really anything about the movie. She just thought it would be a heart-warming story that after our heartache of losing Nancy, we ended up with our sweet boys.

When Kindred and I got her facebook message, we honestly weren’t quite sure how to respond. It has been a wild ride over here, but things have not all been hunky-dory. I guess I just didn’t realize how quick some people were to judge others once their story was put in the spotlight. (Duh.) We have heard comments (all online) from people saying things ranging from “You guys should be nominated for Parents of the Year 2012″ (ridiculous….sweet, but so not true) to “You are exploiting your children and their mother is going to come back from the dead.” Seriously.

SO, Kindred and I really had to talk about what we were doing with the twins’ amazing story and why. If we really felt like it was an important story to share, then we needed to press on (and mommy needed to get a thicker skin!). Verdict? We do. Their journey is amazing. By sharing Sammy & Asher’s story we truly believe we can help raise awareness about 2 things. 1. the need for adoption of children waiting in orphanages now. and 2. the desperate need for maternity/healthcare in developing countries like Ethiopia to help prevent children from becoming orphans in the first place. So, as best as we can, we began sharing our story and family with a camera crew today.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! More than anything, we want to honor the twins’ birth family. That is of utmost importance to us. And to rightly advocate for women like their birth mother, who sadly does not have the opportunity to speak for herself. -Meredith

My Carpets are clean & I’m Mad!!

24 Jun 2012 2 Comments

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized

SO, decided to clean the carpets yesterday. Actually, it is more like I was forced to clean the carpets yesterday. It was one of those situations where I have been wanting/meaning to do it forever, but just didn’t. However, Carson had a plan that involved getting Mommy to speed up the process and actually DO it. Poor thing. He went to this great party yesterday- a little boy from his preschool class turned 5. It was a pirate-themed party, and CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW showed up!! No kidding. The boys were THRILLED! (and the birthday boy’s mommy gets the “mom of the year” award!)

My sweet Carson- far right

Carson had a great time, and all of a sudden when we got home he went to his room, then started crying and yelling “Mommy! I throwed up!!” It just came out of nowhere. Seriously. When I went upstairs to see it, he really ”throwed up.”

SOOOO….no more just thinking I needed to clean the carpets. Home Depot, here I come. This brings me to my revelation. When I clean my house, I get MAD. Is that wierd ?? What I mean is, I get a little crazy. And I morph into a mommy who yells constantly. “DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WALKING ON MY CLEAN CARPET!” “HOW DARE YOU WALK WITH YOUR DIRTY SHOES ON MY CLEAN RUG! I JUST SPENT HOURS CLEANING THAT!” BOY, YOU’D BETTER GET YOUR GRUBBY FEET OFF MY CLEAN RUG ASAP!”

Yep. I think I am in the running for mother of the year. Well, Asher capped it all off this evening. When we weren’t looking, he climbed up onto the kitchen table and dumped over a glass of milk William had left after dinner. I think I had a mini nervous breakdown. Seriously. There is a rug under the table that was one of the ones I JUST cleaned…

I don’t know. Does this mean I should never even try to clean until my kids are older? That would surely make me a kinder mommy. Who cares if you walk on my carpet with your muddy shoes if it is already dirty, right? If I had a white flag, I would be waving it vigorously right about now…

There was this kind woman in Home Depot this evening who stopped me to ask me a question. When she found out I have 5 kids, she said, “Wow! You must have SO much fun. You are SO lucky.” My first thought, honestly, was “I am just so tired. “Fun” would be a nap right about now.” Then she went on to tell me how she had wanted a large family, but never met the right man so she never had any kids. I was so convicted. She is right. Kindred and I are SO lucky to have the five children we have, clean carpets or not.

Hello Again!

22 Jun 2012 4 Comments

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized Tags: adoption, Alex, Asher, Caleb, ethiopia, Ethiopian Twins, Family, Holly, Hollywood, Home, J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Lopez Adoption, JLo Spot, Kaleb, Kindred, Lionsgate, Twin, What to Expect Movie, William

Well, HELLO everyone!

I can’t believe it has been a week since I have written one of my earth-shattering, life-changing posts. How have you all made it without my wonderful words of wisdom??!?! (totally kidding!)

It has been quite a week. Lots of summer chaos with all of the kiddos running around, and lots of sibling fights. Yahoo!

This is really cute, though- last weekend, I set Sammy & Asher in the stroller to take them for a walk so they could look for “doggies” and “cars” (and, truthfully, so mommy could clear her mind for a moment and think!) We ran into this adorable gaggle of girls…. they recognized the twins from the movie. They asked if I could take a picture (or 5, or 10) of them with the twins, and one of the girls (thanks, Gabby!) emailed me a copy of the pic. Can you stand this cuteness?? (the twins AND the girls?) BOYS…..I have to say….I think this will be what Heaven looks like for you when you are teenagers, no??

On a serious note, though, Kindred and I have spoken with several great non-profits in the last week who provide maternal care for mommies in Ethiopia. It has been encouraging to see so many people with such amazing hearts! Hopefully we will have a big announcement in a week or so…..I will tell you one thing. We want to change the world. My boys and their story WILL change the world. I just believe it. How can it not?? I think that when people are made aware of needs that exist, most people’s response is to want to help. To make a difference to someone else. Because at one time or another, we have ALL been that person who needs help. And we will again. Just the nature of this wild ride we call life.

Totally changing subjects here, but William and I were working on a project tonight. I have these wooden letters that spell out all of the kids’ names. (Actually, I bought them after we accepted the twins’ referral, but before they were home with us. Yes, they have just been sitting in the closet. For 1 1/2 years.) I have these great creative ideas, but then it seems like I don’t ever have the time to execute them, you know?? Well, William and I decided to work on them tonight. They have NO hardware on them to attach them to the wall, so we bought these brackets that we thought would work. They have the TINIEST little nails!! It was pretty hilarious watching us work at this. We decided to get tweezers to hold the tiny nails in place with hopes that then a hammer could do the trick. Nope! We have had little, tiny nails flying all over the kitchen. Oh well. It was a bonding moment with my oldest son. Some Mommy-William time. And, maybe ONE day, these letters WILL be on my wall! (And, yes, that lovely pattern on the black drawers behind William are courtesy of Samuel & Asher….didn’t even notice it until my flash went off on the camera….they smeared Danimals Yogurt Drink on my furniture. Yay.)

A Father’s Day Gift & Emerson’s Good News…

15 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized Tags: 104.7 the fish, adoption, Babyland, Cavemen, Dan Ratcliffe, ethiopia, Ethiopian Twins, Father, Fathers Day, Footprints, gift, J-Lo, Jennifer Lopez, Kevin and Taylor, orphan, Parent, radio, What to Expect When You're Expecting Movie

Well, duh. Had I not been previously so engaged with all of my “Mama Drama” this summer (see last post) it would have occurred to me to send this post earlier in the week. Nothin’ like waiting till the last minute, huh?

ANYWHOO, I have an awesome gift idea for FATHER’S DAY!! My wonderful hubby is an excellent writer and a phenomenal father. Combine those 2 traits and you get one hilariously funny book that makes a great gift not only for new daddies, but also new mommies as well (yep..missed that holiday altogether).

Cavemen in Babyland: What New & Expecting Mommies Should Know About New Daddies (So That They Won’t Kill Them)

Here is a little blurb from the back cover:

New and expecting mommies STOP! Don’t beat new fathers to death with your breast pumps! Help has arrived. In Cavemen in Babyland, award-winning writer, public speaker, and professional marriage, parent, and family life coach Kindred Howard gives new and expecting moms the inside scoop on new dads. Compiled from his own “near-death” experiences, Kindred offers new mothers the insight they need to better understand why their significant others do and say all those mystifying things that drive women crazy. You’ll laugh, learn, and have more than your share of “Aha” moments as you read about what’s going through young fathers’ hearts and minds both before and after baby arrives.

Hilarious, right?? (And, I might add, as a father of FIVE he has had plenty of near-death experiences from which to draw inspiration. Just sayin.)

You can purchase a signed copy at www.cavemeninbabyland.com or find it on Amazon.com (And, as an added bonus if you live in and around the Atlanta area and purchase directly through the Cavemen site by midnight tonight, I will make sure the book is hand-delivered to you Saturday (tomorrow) in time for Father’s Day. As an apology for my tardiness in posting)

And, finally, Emerson’s good news~

We had a brief radio interview at 104.7 The Fish this week (http://www.thefishatlanta.com/). Emerson is a HUGE fan of Kevin & Taylor in the Morning so we brought her along in case they were in the studio. Well, guess who we ran into??

Emerson & Taylor!

Daddy & Emerson in studio with Dan Ratcliffe

In her brief 9 years of life, Emerson has travelled to Ethiopia with us to bring home her baby brothers and met J-Lo. But, the highlight of her life so far? Meeting Taylor. Taylor you rock! Thank you for being so kind to our little girl!

Happy Weekend, Everyone!

Oh, Summer..

11 Jun 2012 Leave a Comment

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized Tags: adoption, Caleb, Duggers, ethiopia, Ethiopian Twins, Family, Jennifer Lopez, JLo Spot, Kaleb, Kate Gosselin, Mothers, Multiple Births, orphanage, orphans, Parenting, Reality television, summer, What to Expect, What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect When You're Expecting Movie

Ok. So, I am sure this is not a news flash to anyone, but summer with 5 kids is H.A.R.D. Just sayin’..

I don’t have the hang of this yet, and I am not ashamed to admit it…..we need advice! (Any other somewhat large families out there care to lend some wisdom?!?!)

I thought I had this thing down… Last summer, honestly, was a piece of cake compared to the summer of 2012. The only thing I can figure is now those adorable 12-14 month old twins who could only crawl are now 24 months, and are R.U.N.N.I.N.G. everywhere.. YES, everywhere…..and, I might add—in 2 different directions. Every.Single.Time.(those who have seen us at the pool this summer can attest to this unfortunate fact). Relaxing at the pool?? I think not.

Okay – time for true confessions with Meredith Howard….. I have thought about buying those “leashes” for kids. Haven’t done it, but have sure thought about it…..how far I have fallen. Once a mom of one who thought parents who had their kids on a “leash” needed to be scorned. (yes, how quickly I judged!)….now to TOTALLY understanding (and even beginning to embrace) the need for them. I just don’t know how it is humanly possible for one mommy to keep up with twin toddler boys running in different directions, while keeping an eye on the other 3 (still young, I might add). When Kindred is with us, it is a no-brainer. It’s Man-to-Man Defense. He gets one twin, I get the other. Easy. But, by myself? Ugh. There HAS to be a better way…. (waiting for a response here from Kate Gosselin or the Duggers).

Anyway, as for our big announcement for the summer: The “Big Kids” and I are GARDENERS now! Yes, We have a garden!! Woo-Hoo!! (we have no idea what we’re doing, mind you..but we now call ourselves gardeners). Have you seen the movie, What About Bob? I love that movie. Maybe it’s the psychology major in me, but I love it. It reminds me of the scene where Bob is roped to the pole in the sailboat and gleefully shouts, “I’m a sailor! I’m sailing!!” That’s us…we’re GARDENERS! We’re gardening!!

Here are a few pics of the master gardeners at work this weekend…..enjoy your summer everyone (and please feel free to give me some tips on how to make it through successfully!)

William planting

L-R William, Carson & Emerson

A little more of our story…

08 Jun 2012 1 Comment

by The Howard Family in Uncategorized Tags: adoption, Chris Rock, Dr. Aronson, ethiopia, Ethiopian Twins, Foster care, Heidi Murkoff, Jennifer Lopez, JLo Spot, Kaleb, orphan doctor, What to Expect Movie, What to Expect When You're Expecting

So, I have had some people say my posts are too vague (ahem….Melanie Willenborg) …. I can’t tell you exactly why they are that way at this time, but trust that we might have something up our sleeves.

Anyway, wanted to share a guest blog post I did for a friend’s blog that tells a little more of our story and background on how we got to be a family of seven. (Her blog is www.mycrazyadoption.com and Kari rocks!):

In 2010, after the Haitian Earthquake, my husband and I decided it was time to pursue our long time desire to adopt. We had talked about it for years, but decided it was time to actually DO something…not just keep talking about it. We spoke with our 3 children (at the time ages 2,4,6) about wanting to adopt. As best as they could understand, they were supportive. We began pursuing an adoption from Ethiopia. Our “plan” was to adopt a little toddler age girl. No more diapers, we thought, and no babies. Been there, done that 3 times. During the process- at my husband’s insistence- we got certified as foster parents as well. He just really believed that if there were children in the US who needed homes, we should start there. Long story short, we got a call about our sweet foster daughter- Nancy- and had to make a decision in about 5 minutes (before meeting her) if we would want to be her parents. Birth parent rights were just about terminated. This was going to be a “done deal.” We said yes, and piled our 3 kiddos into the minivan to drive an hour north to meet her. She was precious. Our 3 bio children fell in love with her immediately. I ran out and rented Chris Rock’s movie “Good Hair” so I could learn to do African American hair.

Meeting Nancy

After 2 months with us, and her calling my husband “Daddy! Daddy!” she ended up being taken away from us (that is a whole other blog post in and of itself!). We were heartbroken. BUT, in our heartache we knew this was the confirmation we needed to pursue international adoption.

In the fall of that year, an email went out from our agency entitled: “Family Needed for Twin 4 Month old Baby Boys with Possible Special Needs.” Well, crap. That was honestly my first response. But we wanted a GIRL! And just ONE at that. Ugh. But, these boys needed a home. Isn’t that why we wanted to adopt a child in the first place? To give someone a home who needed one? SO, we tentatively opened the email to learn more. The twins’ mother had died giving birth. One had survived meningitis, and the other was severely malnourished. We had their medical files reviewed by Dr. Aronson. Truthfully, she scared the pee out of us……but we still knew- no matter what may come, these were our boys.

On New Year’s Eve, 2010, we arrived home with our boys. They were so tiny- wearing newborn size clothes at 6 months old- and they could barely hold their heads up; but they were SO alert, and had the BIGGEST eyes you have ever seen! We began physical therapy, and went through the gamut of medical testing. They began thriving. There were NO signs of any tissue damage on the MRI we had done on Asher (who had meningitis). The boys were inching their way onto the growth charts….what little miracles!

In the summer of 2011, we got an email from a fellow adoptive mom who said there was a movie being filmed in Atlanta and they needed Ethiopian babies & children to be extras. Cool, we thought- what a great way to meet more Ethiopians! On a whim we sent in a pic. of the twins. Immediately 2 people called us from the casting company, and then the casting director himself called. “I am very interested in the twins,” he said, “Can you meet me downtown today at 5pm?” Well, THAT is strange we thought…but maybe that is how they treat “extras.” We had NO idea. We went downtown and he asked us to come back the next day to meet with the director, and that if all went well we would need to be back downtown the next day to “spend some time with Jennifer Lopez, so she could get to know our children, and they could become familiar with her.”

“We’re sorry,” we said,” What movie is this? You want us to hang out with who?” Seriously. That is how it happened. Told ya….BIZARRE.

You can see Sammy & Asher in theatres now making their big screen debut in “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” as J-Lo’s son she adopts from Ethiopia. And that is the short (but a little more detailed) version of how our family came to become this: