A Fond Farewell

Hello All!

Hayley and I are settled in very nicely and are starting what I think will be an amazing life together. She is a great sleeper and I am so grateful for that! Yesterday, she took a bath by herself and didn't want to get out! I am thrilled that I was able to get her to like water and baths without creating great trauma in her life. A big victory for me as a mother. Given some of the mistakes I have made over the last month, I definitely need to take note of the victories!

Her tantrums really have settled down. I feel like she is now a normal 18-month-old who gets upset when you take something away or when you are unable to pick her up on her time. Another great victory!

My biggest challenge right now is that my body is exhausted from all the hauling around, etc. that is involved in taking care of an 18-month-old. Being 43 plus having a bad back is really taking it's toll. But we will get through this time and then hopefully my body can rest again.

It seems to me that this blog has run its course. So I think this will be my last entry. I look forward to keeping up with you all by email, snailmail, phone, or in person. Please feel free to get in touch with me as things have settled in quite nicely.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and for the support that I have felt throughout this process. For these things, I am eternally grateful to you all!

Love,
Tisha

Starting to Settle In

Well my mom left on Sunday and I feel like Hayley and I are starting to figure out a routine and starting to communicate a little better. I think the tantrums were largely due to her frustration at not being able to understand anything in her new world and not being able to understand anything that was going on around her. Now it seems the tantrums are mostly happening when she needs a nap.

I went to the library and checked out some books and DVDs designed to accelerate her understanding of English and hopefully we can get her caught up on that front. Everything is a learning process for both of us. I am learning how to do pigtails and fast! before she squirms away. Styling her hair is the only area where I am having limited success. In every other aspect she is absolutely blossoming and I am a proud parent already. We had another bath yesterday and I actually got her to sit and stand in the water. Considering the first experience I had bathing her where she screamed at the top of her lungs from start to finish, I can't believe she has come around so quickly. I even cut her nails yesterday with no problem (I wish my cats were that easy).

There is no question that every day everything we do is one challenge after another (and I am exhausted because of it, yawn), but I feel like Hayley and I are meeting the challenges successfully so far and I feel like things will get a bit easier as the learning curve becomes less steep.

Thanks everyone!
Tisha

Finally sleeping through the night

Hello All,

We are finally sleeping through the night and we are both feeling much better. Hayley is doing awesome! She is totally over all of the ailments she came with and is full of energy and smiles. Unfortunately, she is also full of temper-tantrums as she wants to be held 24-7. I can not hold her all day as I haven't built up enough muscles yet. So we are trying to break her of her tantrums and teach her how to communicate her angst through other means. My mom is here with me until Sunday and she raised five children so hopefully we can get some good strategies worked out before she leaves.

In addition to this transitioning time, I am also trying to get press out and practice for my CD release concert which is on December 4th. It was originally scheduled for Nov 13th but I had to postpone it to go pick up Hayley. The timing of the concert is unfortunate, but I can't afford not to give it as the release concerts help to defray the costs of producing the CD. I am really looking forward to playing some of the pieces off of the new CD for people, it should be a great night. I will put in the details below.

Thanks everyone!
Tisha

Come Just As You Are: Inspirational Songs for Harp CD release concert 7 pm Saturday, December 4th, 2010 at Bow Valley Baptist Church 54 West Aarsby, Cochrane, Alberta. No set admission fee. Pay as you please. www.comejustasyouare.ca

Still getting over jet-lag

Hello All,

Thanks to you who have called. I am just not able to return calls yet, but we will get settled soon! Hayley Tarikua hasn't figured out the new time zone yet so we are up every night from about 2:30 - 5:30am. Welcome to parenthood!

Overall she is doing great. Her health is improving very quickly (she came with a cough and a head cold, as well as an ear infection and a yeast infection in her mouth). All of these things are clearing up nicely. She is slowly transitioning her food to more solids in her diet, but she is way behind in that department by North American standards and it will take some time to catch her up. It is hilarious to watch her reaction to new textures in her mouth, like crackers or pineapple. She threw a huge tantrum the first time we tried to give her a bath in Addis Ababa and I just tried a new approach which worked much better. Hopefully eventually she will love her baths and love to play in them.

That's all the good stuff and the downside is of course the cliche that mom is absolutely exhausted because of not sleeping through the night and because Hayley Tarikua needs lots of reassurances during this difficult transition time.

So a sleepy and run-down hello to you all! Hopefully I will be able to connect with you soon!

Love,
Tisha

Hayley Tarikua is Home!

Hello All,

So sorry I was unable to get an internet connection while I was in Ethiopia. The hotel had internet, but it was down most of the time.

Hayley Tarikua is home and asleep after our 31 hour plane ride home from Addis Ababa. She is so awesome and certainly seems a normal 17 month old! She is healthy and strong and a good walker and a little entertainer and basically a hand-full! I can't wait for you all to meet her!

My friend and I had a great trip and I will write more about it later after I get over jet-lag.

Love,
Tisha

Schedule

Hello All,

So we have the schedule worked out for the trip. My friend Heather is travelling with me and we are going to leave on Saturday afternoon, October 23rd and spend a bit of time in London on the way to Addis Ababa to get over jet-lag. We will then travel to Addis and spend some time in the Ethiopian countryside to get a taste of the country where Hayley Tarikua is from. We will meet Hayley on November 4th, take custody of her on November 5th, and then spend several days with her in Addis Ababa to help her transition time. We will then travel home arriving in Calgary the afternoon of November 10th.

I hope to be able to send up a blog or two while we are gone, but I don't know for sure. Definitely, I will put one last blog up, hopefully with a picture, after we arrive home.

Thanks so much for all the love and support (and all the great e-mails!!) you have shown me over the last few days which have been quite full!

Love,
Tisha

BTW My CD Release concert has been rescheduled to December 4th 2010. www.comejustasyouare.ca has all the info.

Wuh-hoo, the Paperwork is in!!

Wuh-hoo!! Hayley Tariqua's travel visa arrived in Addis Ababa. She is all ready for me to come and pick her up! My friend Heather and I likely will be leaving late next week for two plus weeks to pick her up. I will put in more details of our departure and plans as I know them.

Love,
Tisha