2011 : An Amazing Year

There is no doubt that 2011 will go down as one of our family's best! I thought about ranking the top events/things that have happened this year. You know, do my own little "Top 10" list, but I realized it un-fair (and too hard) to really try to rank everything! So, here is a little list highlighting all of the memories from this year!

1) Okay, so I did chose to make this number 1 because, lets be honest, this is the most amazing event that happened for our family this year! You guessed it, the birth of our twin boys! It is amazing to think that a year ago A and O were not even on the radar! In fact, we were thinking of a different continent completely! And twins??? Forgetaboutit!! But just 6 months later, C and I were holding our boys and instantly in love.

Watching them grow up, eat, and grow some more has been simply a blessing. They are both currently sitting pros! O loves to use his sign language. His favorites are milk and more.. go figure! A is a rolling King! We think that he could be crawling by Feb! That would be the soonest any of our kids reached that milestone! They laugh daily, and warm each of our hearts hourly! You both are simply amazing, and we couldn't be any happier or more complete as a family! Love you so much!

2) Let's go with PK. Starting the year we thought 4 was a great age, but man! As a 5 year old, this kid is simply spectacular! He has become such a great helper with his little brothers. He'll stop all that he is doing to come sit with a crying baby while mom or dad are making a bottle. He gladly grabs diapers, wipes, new outfits, and bags for the poopy old ones with out complaining. He has wowed us!

Throw in the fact that his number and word skills are through the roof, and you will find us parents simply in awe of him daily! We can't wait to see what 6 holds for our oldest. We're not sure we can handle the fact that he is already 6! How did that happen? But then again, Buddy, we find it hard ever knowing there was a time without you! Love you dude!

3) Time for our Princess! Our little MG. I think of all of our kids, MG has gone through the most changes over the last year! There are no more binkies, no more crib. No more high chair or sippy-cups. She has become a fashion expert picking out all of her outfits and dressing herself.. some times multiple times a day. She's the family comedian & singer, and her loving heart & take charge attitude has earned her the nickname "little mama."

She has grown so much as a pre-schooler over the last several months. Recognizing her name on things, letter recognition, and counting! She loves to count! Everyday you amaze us little mama. We are so proud of you, and we can't wait to see what 4 has in store for you!!

4) So much of what happened this year, couldn't have been done with out many of you! We reached out to our family and friends so much this year, and the follow through has been amazing. Thank yous go out to both sets of Grandparents, C's photog family (that's what you guys are!), my Sigma Chi Brothers (especially my BB!), all of our family across the US, and our friends world wide. Your love and support through out the year will never be forgotten.

5) This one is for MamaC. The amazing, spectacular, loving, compassionate, hardworking, selfless person that she is! She truly makes all of us better at who we are by being in her presence. And all of who she is can be seen in her business as well. MachC photography has been amazing for us over the years, and this year was no different. You are the most amazing spouse, mother, and friend I know. I love you so much!

6) Ok. Time for me.. Well.. I finally completed my masters!! It only took me 7 years to complete all of the course work, and pull it together enough to complete my project. I've received some great reviews, so let me know if your interested. I could send it your way! :)

Have a great 2012 everyone! I know that our family will!
Love to you all!

K, C, P, M, A, & O

Just Wanted to Share

I know an update is in order! So, just quickly, the boys are doing incredibly well! Both are well over 8 pounds at 7 weeks old! They have grown out of their new born clothes, and are enjoying the comfort of the 0-3 options. :)  They aren't sleeping through the night yet, but we are enjoying a solid 5 hours here and there with the help of Dr. Brown's bottles! Other than that, we are simply enjoying life as a family of 6. That includes the crazy moments of 2 babies crying, a 5 year old asking non-stop questions, and a 3 year old dancing to the song she is repeatedly chanting at the highest volume possible. :)

I also wanted to share a link to Chelsey's biz site, click here. She has some of the amazing images she has taken of the boys since we have been home, as well as a wonderful movie/slideshow we put together.

Thanks again for all of your love and support!

3 weeks ago today!

Tonight marks the 3 week anniversary of THE Phone call! It was 9 pm Alaska time on June 1, when Chelsey’s phone rang. I was researching flights out of Fairbanks to be with our babies since the C-section had been scheduled for June 13^th. Chelsey was downstairs in her office keeping her business moving forward anticipating a maternity leave that was weeks away! Or, so we thought!

So, back to that ringing phone! I looked at Chelsey’s caller ID thinking, “Who is calling Chelsey’s business line so late?” I was surprised to see it was the birth mother of the twins, so I quickly answered. I’ll never forget her voice on the other line, “Hey Ken, I’m at the hospital, and they are about to wheel me in to deliver these babies. So, you better get yourselves down here.” From there I’m a bit blurry. I know I handed the phone to Chelsey, and they chatted for a little bit. I ran back to the computer found the soonest flight out of Fairbanks, and was on the phone with AK Airlines! Our flight out of Fairbanks was set for 1:20am, and we would arrive in NC in the evening of the 2^nd with stops in Seattle and Atlanta.

After a quick phone call to Chelsey’s parents to get them to our house, we grabbed whatever clothes we could, packed a bag for us, and a bag for our boys. We left so quickly that we had even forgotten to kiss PK and MG. A fact we realized as we were backing out of the driveway, and made both Chelsey and I tear up! This was the longest we’d ever been away from them.

The trip was as smooth as a trip could be. We slept when we could. We talked baby names. We discussed our excitement. We chatted about how the universe works in the most amazing ways. We listened to music. Watched some programming on iTunes. The trip was long, but we were focused on being with our babies the same day they were born!

When we landed in Charlotte it was already after 8:30pm. Our luggage made it quickly through baggage claim, and we were to the rental car shuttle super quick. Being so late at night, there were only a few other people on the shuttle, and of course the conversation was centered on the question, ”where are ya’ going and why.” Naturally, our being from Alaska to adopt twins had everyone’s attention! By the time we reached the lot, there wasn’t a dry eye on the shuttle! People we hadn’t even know for 10 minutes were giving hugs, and asking for our contact information to keep up with our story!

The car ride to the hospital was crazy! It was after 9pm now, so it was dark. That may not seem weird to you, but we’re from Alaska. During the summer, we love the daylight at night! When you’ve been traveling all night and day, it’s a little easier to drive with daylight! :)

With the help of the GPS, we made it to the hospital at just about 10pm. We walked right up to the Women’s Center, and we were led straight to the birth mother’s room. We had reached the moment we had waited for since February of 2010. The moment when we get to hold our babies, and once again be parents. We were nervous and excited. I held Chelsey’s hand as she knocked on the door, and we heard the faint, “come in.” Here we go!

There are so many things that cross your mind in these moments. We had no idea what the birth mother would be feeling toward the boys or us. We didn’t know how we might feel when we first lay our eyes on them. All of the questions that ran through our brains were about to be answered. As we stepped through the door our eyes met those of the birth mother. She immediately took charge of the room. The babies needed to held by Chelsey and me. Her grandmother, and her grandmother’s friend needed to move aside for us to sit and hold our boys. She called in a nurse and said, “These are the boys parents. They need a room here tonight.” We sat and chatted for only 10 minutes. Enough for us all to see each other, and to know that everyone was okay and still ready to make this all happened. It was such a reassuring moment for all of us. It was great to see the relief in her face that we were there; that we were still with her to help her with her adoption plan. It was great for us to see her relief and know that her intentions had not changed.

We all needed to rest, so we took the boys to the room that the nurses had assigned to us. They brought us food, juice, and water. They made sure we were comfortable, and then they left. Chelsey and I sat there for a minute taking it all in. We stared at our beautiful boys. We smiled. We cried. We took in the moment for as long as we could. There were no two other people anywhere in the world that were any luckier than us in that moment. We were with our boys. They were healthy. They were beautiful. And they were ours! And not even 24 hours earlier did we know that this would be how it all would happen! Simply amazing!

We ended up staying in the hospital for 2 nights. The nurses and doctors were amazing. The social worker spent countless hours during that time organizing paperwork, making phone calls, and setting us up to start heading back to Alaska. So much so, that by Monday the 6^th the state of NC had already cleared us to leave with the babies!! The problem was then getting the paperwork to AK, and getting cleared to go home.

Our first full day in NC was spent loving the babies, meeting their biological grandmothers, and aunt, finding car seats, booking a place to stay (thanks Big Brother!), and simply enjoying every moment. Oh yeah, we also agreed on their names, Asher and Oliver! Much as we did with their older siblings, we waited until we held them to know what their names would be. It was amazing how Chelsey and I knew almost instantly that we were holding our Asher and Oliver!

By Saturday afternoon, we had been discharged from the hospital and we moved into a hotel that was close by. The Pediatrician wanted to see the boys on Monday, so we didn’t want to move and stay too far away from her office. We spent the next two nights staying close to home in the hotel. The boys were so great. They slept and ate well. We did as much napping as we could. I did make sure that we took in our first USMNT soccer game. Spain crushed us, but still it was a moment for daddy and the boys while mama napped! It was a great first two days!

The doctor’s appointment was perfect. Both Asher and Oliver maintained great health, and were steadily gaining weight. We chatted more about the adoption, and life in general. As we left, we were gifted formula and a bunch of other baby supplies for our time in NC. The generosity of all involved was just amazing.

After the appointment, we drove back down to Charlotte. We had a hotel booked with the help of a wonderful friend and brother. We set ourselves up, and spent the next week enjoying our babies. Watching them grow in front of our eyes. We loved seeing their personalities emerge. We learned Oliver loves to be snuggled, and gulps his food like it’s going out of style! He also hates diaper changes!! Asher was a little more laid back with things. But when he cried, you knew something was wrong. Now, lucky for us, those things were either he was hungry or needed changing.

Wednesday night, June 8^th, my dad traveled down to help us, and to meet his grandsons. For me the best part was seeing his instant love for our boys. There was no hesitation. They had already had a place in his heart, and there was nothing that was going to say otherwise. When we would go out to the mall, he proudly pushed the stroller. Not ever afraid to show them off.

When we were back in the hotel, he would jump up and change them and feed them as often as he could. I had never seen my dad like that, and it seriously made the experience that much better! When he left 5 days later, it was so hard to say goodbye. And his absence was quickly recognized when later that day we were returning from a store with Chelsey carrying our shopping bag, and me pushing the stroller, and both of us looking for some one to open the door for us!! It was comical.

At about this time, we really started getting homesick. Living in a hotel has its perks, but by the time we had been in NC for a week we were ready to just be home. We wanted to see our PK and MG. We wanted to have all of our kids together, so that we can be the big family. We wanted to stop the financial bleeding!!!!

We decided to try to break up our long trip back home by taking an extra day in Seattle to spend with Chelsey’s cousin and her family. What a great decision. We flew out of Charlotte on Tuesday and made it to Seattle that night. We enjoyed a very relaxing two nights there, and made the trip home. The boys did so great on the flights. Everyone was so impressed that 1) we were flying with new borns, and 2) that they flew as well as they did. We booked three seats together to that we could all sit in the same row. Chelsey and I each snuggled a baby in a Moby Wrap for the entire trip. We would land and feed the babies while everyone exited the plane, and then change them after got our luggage or made it to the next gate! Everywhere we went the on-lookers grew. We loved sharing our story, and answering all of the questions.

We finally landed back home in Fairbanks 2 weeks after the babies were born. Seeing PK and MG was amazing! They looked so big! We swear that they each grew a foot while we were gone. Chelsey’s parents were there to greet us, along with Auntie B and Joe! There was the wonderful H family, and, being that it is FAI, several other families that just happened to be there picking other people up! It turned into a little party! :)

We couldn’t be happier with how everything happened. From finding the perfect van days before all of this happened to meeting an expecting mother in a department store in NC with the same name as my baby sister that is planning on naming her daughter the first names of our oldest! Each moment, each interaction, each new friendship that was created all happened in the most perfect way. In a way that we jokingly say couldn’t have been writen any better.

We will keep you updated as we approach a court date that will make our boys officially our boys!

Thank you for following our story, and for keeping our family in your heart, and prayers.

Ken, Chelsey, and Kids!! Four of them!! :)

PS : Pictures and some video are coming. I promise! :) 

And Then There Were 6!

YEAH!!! I'm currently writing this in Sea-Tac airport! That's right. We are on our way to Charlotte, because our babies were born at 1:27am EST today!! June 2nd!! They are both healthy and the birth/biological mother is doing great.

So, to recap. The scheduled c-section on the 13th of June was not okay with the boys, and they decided to get here a little quicker! Chelsey and I are already on our way!

We'll post more information as we have it! Thanks to you all for your love and support through this wonderful time!

Why do it if you can't afford it?

So, I think the title says it all! :)
Sounds like a harsh question, huh? But the reality is that many people are thinking this regarding our adoption fundraising. Some people have actually asked the question to us! Which, may I add, is not offending at all. In fact, it gives us the opportunity to explain a few things. So... here we go! :)

1) It's hard to think that adopting children that need happy, loving families should be limited to people of financial wealth. Why shouldn't a teacher and a photographer that believe in their hearts that their future children are coming to them through adoption be held back simply because they aren't sitting on an extra $20k to $35k?

The reality is that there is a strong percentage of adopting families that do fundraising in order to help out. It is not at all uncommon. In fact, we've run into several other families that have shared their fundraising stories and ideas. We've sympathized with each others' struggles, and shared in our victories. There are so many children in the US and across our planet that are looking for loving homes that it would be a total and complete shame to tell a willing and loving family that they can't adopt because they a) don't have the money and/or b) fundraising is illegal! (Off with their heads!!) :)

2) Yes, $20k to $35k is a lot of money, and almost all employers don't provide any coverage to offset those fees. If you were to compare the costs of child birth with that of adopting you would see that they are quite close. The difference is that your insurance coverage covers most of the costs of giving birth, but none of the adoption fees. Crazy? Maybe.. Maybe not. But it is the truth. :)

3) (side note: this one is full of the personal stuff we HATE talking about, but is necessary for the point.. blah!) For our particular situation, we've already paid over $10K out of pocket to fees related to adopting from Ethiopia. Those are funds that we are never getting back, so yeah, that kinda sucks and puts us in a bind. But, we march on!

4) We've looked into a variety of grants (okay.. Chelsey has looked into a variety of grants), but there are a ton of restrictions/fine print items that don't really apply to us.

• We are not adopting a child/children with special needs. 
• We are working with a private attorney and not with an agency (that's a kicker!). 
• We've already started our own fundraising. To list a few.

Alright. I hope that paints a better picture of what we are trying to do. We're really not asking a lot. Not even half of what we will ultimately put toward the adoption when you factor in all of the attorney fees, travel, lodging, clothes, furniture, diapers, and college (ok, went too far with that one, ha!). 

So, to sum it all up! How can you help? We've got only 357 puzzle pieces to go @ $20 a pop! :) I'll be posting a picture of the progress thus far. It's taking me a while to get all the names on the pieces and put them in place! Having fun with it though! 

And I also wanted to put a direct message out to all of MY peeps.. Hey! I'm feeling like a lame ass over here! Chelsey and her friends have made up over 85% of all donations!! I'm represented by all of two people other than my immediate family (Thanks Mommy, Daddy, Katie, and Kara! :: and my BB-you know who you are!). I'm looking for a little love from at least my Sigma Chi Brothers out there (excluding my CO bro and his fam)!! Hello? I may not have been around much lately... I live in Alaska! 

Thanks again for following our story. Your love and support means so much to us!

Sincerely-

Ken, Chelsey, PK, MG, and The Twins!

Just a simple question

Well, I'm sure you're all waiting for an update! It's been a few weeks since we've shared our amazing news with all of you, and in that time we've been extremely busy! We've had to start getting a nursery ready! There's this sudden need for a vehicle that can help transport a family of 6! Not to mention the end of the school year, a busy photo season, and the normal crazy that is our family :) Each day goes by in a flash, and we get closer and closer to holding our twins. We couldn't be more excited!

Also making it exciting, is the constant flood of questions about our story, how it all worked, and what can be done to help us out! We are always more than excited to answer all of these questions, and most of you know that if you get Chels or I in a conversation about all of this, we'll talk your ear off! :)

But for today, the main question that we'd love to answer is "how can we help you guys?" This is the hardest question for us, because neither Chelsey or I like being in the position of needing help. So, to cut to it, we are starting our fundraising efforts again. Here are a few ways you can help!

1) Back in December we held a huge auction that exceeded our expectations, and we were overwhelmed with the items that were offered to us for donation and the amounts we received. We do have a few items that have trickled in over the last couple of months, and we are looking for more! If you have any items that you would like to offer for an auction, please feel free to e-mail me at kjmachfam@gmail.com!

2) We introduced our Puzzle fundraiser back in January, click here. To sum up, for every $20 donation that comes in we are placing a puzzle piece with the name of the donor into a 500 piece puzzle! The completed puzzle will be framed and hang in the Twins' room. We are 377 pieces away from our goal! Please consider a donation to help us out.

So, I'm sure you're wondering what the funds will be used for. All of the funds will be used to help with legal fees associated with the adoption, and/or travel for Chelsey, the babies, and I. Each and every dollar would help us out a ton, and your help will be remembered for a lifetime... or two!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and pass this on! We can't believe how soon our babies will be with us!

Ken, Chelsey, PK, MG, and the Twins!

Catch-up time!

It's hard to believe so much can happen in two months! It's been two months since our last post (a few of you have kindly been reminding me of that) about the long crazy ride that we've been on. We discussed the pause we were taking with our agency, and we hinted at exploring other options. Since that time, so much has happened! So many paths were presented to us, and with love and faith we decided to turn away from international adoption. It was a terribly difficult decision. For over a year, our hearts were in Ethiopia, dreaming and waiting for a child. Our absence from the blog world was, in large part, related to the pain felt by changing paths. Our hearts were broken in many ways.

But with the hurt, we always knew the "Plan" was in full affect, and whatever was supposed to happen was going to. We looked into working with an agency in Utah, and gladly took a recommendation for an adoption attorney out of California to proceed with the possibility of a domestic adoption. We started by  working with the agency in Utah, and through the agency we were presented to 3 birth mothers. Each chose a different family, and with heavy hearts we trudged on. Then in mid-April Chelsey and I decided that we would try to work with Mr. D. Durand Cook out of Culver City, California (the attorney mentioned above). The reason? Simply his demeanor. His confidence. His kindness and sincerity. But honestly, we have to credit our friend that had worked with him to adopt her daughter. She praised him up and down and all around! Our hearts directed us, and we went full steam ahead!

We filed all necessary paperwork to proceed with Mr. Cook a week before Matayah's birthday (aka Tax Day). His office contacted us to let us know that we should hear from them some time in the next 6 months regarding a possible match. So, naturally, when our phone rang less than 3 weeks later (or last week, 4/27) we had no idea it would be Mr. Cook calling us about a potential birth mother match! We learned that she was expecting twins and that she was VERY close to her due date, so we had to move fast! We took all of the next day e-mailing, and texting back and forth with each other to discuss what we thought, and then by Friday, April 29 with our minds made up we booked our flight to Cali to meet everyone involved! You can only imagine how our heads were spinning! (And at this point, our parents and sisters were the only ones in the know.. okay, maybe my principal was clued in. I was going to be taking some time off of work!)

We left Fairbanks Tuesday morning and made it to our hotel room by 6:30 p.m. that night. We were exhausted, but jittery with nerves and excitement! Our meeting with the attorney and the birthmother was set for 11 a.m. the next day. We stayed up talking, eating Chinese, and watching cable tv! It was a great night.

When the alarm went off Wednesday morning, it was impossible for the smiles to come off our faces. We raced around getting ready. I had already used the GPS we were borrowing from Chelsey's sister Brittany and her boyfriend Joe to set our course to stop at a Starbucks and then onto the attorney's office! We left the hotel at 10:15 to make it to Starbucks where we sat outside enjoying the weather and smiling back and forth. We were both so nervous, but happy. We were both in a state of amazement that we were even in California! When I truly stopped to try to grasp it all, it was too overwhelming! So, I quickly learned to just enjoy the ride and appreciate each moment through the process.

At 10:45 we left Starbucks for the quick drive to Mr. Cook's office! Of course, even with the GPS, I drove past his office! But we enjoyed driving around the wonderful little neighborhood behind the office while we looped back. We finally pulled into the parking lot, and joked about parking our little rental next to all of the Mercedes! It was quite a sight! :)

From there, we held hands. Checked our breath. Discussed whether we should bring in our Starbucks. I got a reminder about some nose hairs (sorry if that's TMI.. remember I teach middle school so my boundaries are off!) and then we were entering the building! We were greeted almost immediately, and escorted back to Mr. Cook's office. We sat there looking around while we waited for him to come chat with us. There were multiple collages of baby faces, pictures, and Thank You cards all over the place. Everything just made us happy inside.

After waiting a short while, Mr. Cook walked in sporting a Bermuda shirt and a big smile! He quickly and calmly prepped us for our big meeting. He explained that she and her friend knew nothing about us, so she has no preconcieved beliefs as to who we are. We were told she would talk first and answer three questions that he had already prepped her for, and then it would be our turn to talk about us. He looked across the table and said, "Are you guys ready?" We said, "Yes." And we left his office and walked to the board room.

From there, things couldn't have gone any better. Chelsey and the birthmother (C) hugged right away. We sat and listened to each other. We all asked questions. There was laughing. Plenty of side conversations, smiles, and tears. After 45 wonderful minutes, Mr. Cook stopped us, and explained that he would like for us to take a break to have time to chat (Chelsey & I, and the birthmother with her friend). We walked back to Mr. Cook's office and immediately knew that we were ready and happy to continue. In our minds, we had found a match, so now it was up to C to decide if she would like to spend more time with us. Chelsey and I sat further admiring all of the great pictures in his office, and the nice tissue (we were, still are, fighting colds).

Mr. Cook walked back in and asked how we felt things were going. We were clear that we couldn't be happier! He said he was happy to hear that, and that C had a few more questions for us. He lead us back to the board room where C stood up and said how she would be honored if we would be the parents of her twin boys! As you can imagine, it was hugs all around with tears of happiness mixed in!

The four of us spent the rest of the day together. We went to lunch, to Santa Monica Beach, and then to dinner. We talked about so much. We did a lot of laughing, and getting to know each other. It felt at times as if we were old friends. The day couldn't have gone any better, and none of us really wanted to leave at the end of the day, but exhaustion left us no choice.



We drove home that night, stayed up that night, and flew back home talking about all that had just happened. That we are going to be the parents of fraternal twin boys! That they're due June 26th, but of course, twins come early!  Which means that we are seriously weeks away from traveling to be there when they are born, and to bring them home! That PK and MG are going to be so excited! And that life can be so amazing!

Well.. there it is. That's the story. Kind of crazy, huh? But through it all, you guys have always been there. Some of you silently supporting and praying for us. Some of you have been very active participants. And to each of you, we really want to say, "Thank You." For all of your kind thoughts, prayers, and everything else that has helped us get here. We seriously couldn't have done any of this without your love.

Thank you forever-

Ken, Chelsey, PK, MG, and the Twins!