2011 Christmas Card

Christmas 2010 Skit

The kids do a skit most years for Christmas. The boys decided they didn't want to do one this year so the girls did one by themselves.

March 12, 2011 KitKat turns 8!!!

Ice Skating!

This picture was taken last fall. We went up to Deception Pass. The girl on the right by the tree is our exchange student. She came last August and is here through the end of June.

Life

It's funny how crazy and busy life can be. I haven't thought about my blog in ages and then today, I thought...when is the last time I posted to it?

Wow! Almost a year. I guess I have no excuse. I've just chosen to update things on facebook instead of on my blog.

The kids have things that they want to share.
Splat is in to all kinds of music.
Cat is artsy and is always working on a project.
KitKat wants to put on her own webshow...;o)
And Mac...well...he still doesn't seem to have interests of his own. He tends to follow what the others are doing. He likes to do music with his big brother. He likes to swim. I suppose he stays busy enough, but I'd really like to see him figure out how to entertain himself someday.

Anyway...maybe we'll figure out how to post a short video one of these days and I'll let the kids entertain the masses (aka the 1 or 2 people who actually read this blog...).

From My 9 Year Old, Cat

She disappears into her room frequently. Usually to work on some gift or craft. A couple weeks ago she disappeared and then handed me this. She was trying to write an article for the newspaper. I told her I'd put it on my blog and she was thrilled with that. Here's her "article":

Love

Have you ever thought of how you love someone? It is important. If you tell someone that you don't, it can really hurt them. You should be kind. Especially to your relatives and friends, to the poor and your classmates. And be willing and helpful. Do kind things. And do not steal. That could make someone have to sell their house. And read the Bible. It will help. Like

Colossians 3:13

"Bear with each other, forgiving one another even as Christ forgave you."

And

Ephesians 4:32

"And be kind to one another even as God in Christ forgave you."

And the love God gave us, we shall show to others. Like in

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton son, that whoever believes in Him, shall never die but have eternal life."

You should ask God to be your Savior and you can live in heaven with Him. And love one another.

I thought it was pretty sweet. It poured right from her heart and she wrote it out quoting these Bible verses from memory.

April Sundays...

I tried to post a video last week of the girls reading scripture for Good Friday, but apparently the file was too large. They both did such a great job and one set of grandparents live far enough away that they didn't get to see it. I'm still hoping I can figure out how to shrink the file and post it. Meanwhile here are some pictures from Easter and our sunny Sunday afternoon last week:

We walked to the little park/beach near our house that is right next to the ferry.

The kids dug right in.

Some of the shells the girls gathered:
Splat was the one that suggested we walk down there.
He wanted to throw rocks into the water.

The kids always enjoy the maze of driftwood.

We also enjoyed playing Bump and Pig on our basketball hoop.

Easter Pictures!

Time to Start Blogging Again...

To say I've been remiss in blogging is an understatement. I've flat out ignored it for so long, I almost forgot it was here (not really, but you get the picture).

There's so much to cover over the last 1/2 a year that I think I'll just include a few pictures and start from this point forward.

Why am I starting up again you may wonder...

Well, dh and I are going to be hosting a foreign exchange student for the 2010-11 school year and I thought it would be a fun way for her and her family to see a glimpse into our lives before she officially moves in. "Hi!!!" ;o)

Plus...I know you've all been waiting breathlessly to read my ramblings. Ha Ha (That is DEFINITELY a joke! ;o))

So, here's some pictures from our trip to Disneyland this last January:

Splat, Mac, & Cat participated in their first ever Bible Quizzing event:

We got to swim and visit with our good friends the Zacapus. (We're praying for them as they prepare to bring their 3 newest blessings home from Ethiopia next month!):

Cat went to her first overnight camp with her best friend:

Mac won the first race in his very first swim meet:

KitKat turned 7:

Hope you enjoyed the pictures...I'll be posting again soon...

Warm Beach Camp

So I haven't been recording meals lately. We spent the weekend at Warm Beach Camp with many other families who've adopted or are adopting through AAI and all our meals were included. KitKat was able to eat most of every meal except one. One of the meals was Fetticini Alfredo (wheat AND milk) with breadsticks (wheat). Most of the family just ate whatever was served this weekend but I chose to eat with KitKat so she wasn't alone. We just had rice cakes with peanut butter, string cheese, bananas, etc. for lunch that day.

The weekend at Warm Beach was a lot of fun. We were able to spend some time with one of the families we traveled to Ethiopia with, meet many friends we've made over the last year and make new friends. The volunteer coordinator who works at Layla was here for the occasion as well as a couple volunteers who were at Layla during Mac's stay. Mac also got to see his computer/math teacher, Biruk. He's living in the area for a couple years and will be giving Amharic lessons. We're really hoping to connect with him and take advantage of that!

Only two things could have made the weekend better. First, that Cat would have been well right away so that she and dh could travel with us (they ended up joining us at lunchtime on Saturday). Secondly, that the other family we traveled to Ethiopia with could have been there. They live on the other side of the country which makes it difficult but boy would we love to see them too!

One of the highlights of the weekend was the Saturday evening talent and fashion show. Several of the kids (and adults) put on different cultural outfits and modeled them for everyone and some got up to share a talent (singing, skits, soccer juggling, etc.) As soon as it started, KitKat was dyin' to get on that stage and do something. We hadn't signed her up so I told her she'd have to prepare something for next time. As the evening progressed, they asked the audience if there was anyone else who wanted to come up and share a talent. She eagerly tried to recruit some siblings or friends to go on stage with her but no one would volunteer. So, she decided to go by herself.

Up on stage, KitKat Ericka eagerly grabbed the mic and said, "My name's (KitKat). I'm going to sing a song that I learned at VBS." Then she proceeded to sing:

"Deep, deep, oh, deep down down. Deep down in my soul.
Deep, deep, oh deep down down. Deep down in my soul.
Oh (KitKat) do you love your Jesus deep down in your soul?
Oh yes I love my Jesus, deep down in my soul. Whoo!"

Technically, you're supposed to ask someone else the question and have them answer but since she couldn't get anyone to go on stage with her, she just asked herself the question and then answered herself. She proceeded to sing this through 3 times and I was starting to get worried that she wouldn't ever stop and would just keep cycling through. Thankfully, she did stop after 3 rounds. Then, she smiled real sweetly and asked the audience, "Would anyone like to join me?" There was silence for a few seconds then we all just applauded at which point she returned the mic and proceeded to bow and blow kisses to the audience. Dh and I are still trying to figure out where in the family tree she gets this trait from.

Flywheel

Last night we watched a pretty cool movie called, "Flywheel." It was produced by the same people who did "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof."

"Flywheel" was their first film, had an incredibly low budget and it shows. Dh commented on the fact that one scene looks like someone just video-taped a church service.

However, the story itself was really good. The kids watched it with us and were able to see an example of truly giving everything to the Lord. In fact, Mac was shedding tears when the main character apologized to his wife and shared how he was a new man. Cat commented on how it was like an updated version of Zaccheous from the Bible. The kids are all asking to watch it one more time before we mail it back to Netflix.

We were supposed to go swimming with friends today but Cat's tummy isn't feeling right so we're layin' low and hanging out at home instead. Seems like a good day to curl up together and watch a movie. I just might let them watch "Flywheel" one more time. ;o)

Re-adoption

I know I haven't posted in a long time. Hopefully I'll find more time as our school year winds down. THIS was worth making time. Monday, April 13th, we went to our County courthouse and re-adopted Mac. Why is this necessary you might ask? He was already our child, finalized on June 5, 2008. That finalization was in the Ethiopian courts. He is in our country as a permanent resident and we want him to have a certificate of citizenship (to be recognized as a US citizen). This was another step toward making that happen. We also legally changed his name.

The kids were excited and a little bit nervous as they've never been in a courtroom before. Actually, I don't believe I've ever been in a courtroom before. Thankfully this was for a happy reason. The judge was thrilled to pose for a picture and said this would be the most pleasant case she heard all day. The children didn't actually need to be there but we felt it was good for them to participate and a good learning experience too.

This coming weekend, we'll be dedicating Mac in front of our church. The oldest 3 kids (including Mac) will also be performing in our kids choir musical on Friday and Sunday. Add on to that the Skandia Danse performance on Saturday and we have a very full weekend coming up. Once we've all recovered from the craziness, I'll try to post some pictures.

Snow day, snow day, snow day...

We've seen way more snow around here than usual. And much earlier in the season, too. Although it's been fun so far, I fear this may be a L O N G winter. We're also praying and hoping these snow storms aren't going to postpone our Christmas celebrations. We'll see...



Here's some fun pictures of the kids playing in the snow.

This is Mac's first day of seeing snow, ever:

The snowman that Ryan & the kids made:

The "light dusting" before the real storm hit:

Cat sliding down a big hill near our house:


Here's our neighbor heading down the hill with Splat in the background:

Mac stands on Ryan's snowball while Grandpa looks on:

Filling a bucket to help make a snow igloo/tunnel:


Kit Kat made this snowball all by herself. By the time she came in, it was up to her shoulder in height:

Welcome to the land of curly hair...

My hair is S T R A I G H T! Ryan's hair is straight. I assumed our kids would all have our straight hair but I was wrong, sort of.

The kids were bald as babies and no one stayed bald longer than our first born daughter, Cat. I thought that she would NEVER grow hair and that people would never stop referring to her as a "he." But then, something amazing happened! She started to grow a mohawk of curls. Curly curls.

Alas...they were not meant to stay. Her hair still has lots of wave to it but it's certainly not curly. However, it IS curly compared to Splat and Kit Kat. Mac (the lucky duck) has beautiful natural curls.

The girls like having curly hair but it never lasts for long with the curling iron or hot rollers. About 6 years ago, before Kit Kat was born and when Cat was still living in the land of baldness, my sil put beautiful curls in her girls' hair using rags. Remembering this, I recently asked her to show me how. It takes a long time but it is SO fun!

Here's the before picture:

Here's the rag-tied picture:

Here's the result:

This was our first attempt at it but the girls are looking forward to having their hair rag tied again. Now if I could just teach them to do it to my hair... ;o)

Drive-in Movie Night

Well it only took me two weeks to post the promised pictures. 'Tis the busy time of year! ;o)

Here are pictures of the vehicles we made for Drive-in Movie night:

Splat in his race car.

Mac in his school bus.

Cat in her sports car.

Kit Kat in her transit bus

Answered Prayer

A couple weeks ago, the kids and I were reading through Window on the World which is one of our home school books and the book mentioned the Jesus Film. Mac lit up with a huge smile as he informed me that he has seen that movie! After a bit of conversation I was able to find out that he saw the movie at Layla in both Amharic and in English. He liked the movie very much and he says that he asked Jesus to be his Savior. Wow!!! So I asked him when he did that and he couldn't tell me for sure. I asked him if it was when he was still 7 or after he turned 8. He said he was 8. That would mean that he accepted Christ sometime between May 28th when he turned 8 and July 21st when we arrived to pick him up. During this time period we were ferverantly praying that his heart would be ready to accept us as his family and that most importantly, he would be open to Christ. We prayed that the Lord would put people in his life that would share the love of Jesus with him. Praise God!!! Our prayers were answered exceedingly, abundantly, above all...

My Apologies...I've Been Neglecting My Blog

A friend recently tagged me on her blog because: She wants me to update my blog.

Okay...hint taken! ;o) I WILL participate in the tag soon (those with blogs...beware...I MAY tag you!). I thought I'd better give a quick update overview first.

So....

Things are busy but good around here.

Mac seems to be happy most of the time and only has minor spats of normal sibling rivalry with Splat, Cat and KitKat.

Mac and Splat seem to really be bonding as brothers. We're now having to remind them that it's time to GO TO SLEEP and STOP GOOFING OFF during bedtime. ;o) Ryan taught the boys how to make armpit noises this past week so that's been a great bonding experience for them. Not so great for me. LOL!

Mac had a doctor appointment which went really well. The doctor did encourage us to get into the dentist ASAP instead of waiting for our pre-scheduled October visit. We were able to get in to the dentist a couple days later and then scheduled four more appointments as he has MUCH dental work that needs to be done. We had the first of the four appointments earlier this week and he was a real trooper. He had to have a tooth extracted among other things so he was able to have his first experience with the tooth fairy. That was pretty fun and exciting for him! Hopefully it helped take some of the sting out of the discomfort that goes along with the dental work.

The kids are all taking classes this year at our local Parent Partnership School. Mac and Cat seem to enjoy pottery the best but so far the kids are enjoying all their classes. Splat wasn't excited about taking Spanish or Drama but I encouraged him to try them out first and he's really enjoying them both. It makes for a very busy week though as they're at the school on M - Th from 9 to 2:15. Splat has classes during that entire time while Mac, Cat and KitKat's day ends at 1:10. Since I have to pick them up at that time anyway...we sit in the study room and do schoolwork while we wait for Splat's classes to end. I also stay with them and help in their classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. This is along with all our normal Bible, History, Read-Alouds as well as doing extra practice with math, handwriting and reading. It definitely makes for a very busy week.

KitKat has done really well so far. I think it's been good for her to have classes with Mac and Cat so she feels a little more at home. They only have 8 kids in their class so they make up roughly 1/2 of it. LOL! They do a lot of switching from room to room with different teachers but they seem to enjoy the variety.

Tonight, Splat is at his first concert with Ryan. It's an outdoor, in the pouring rain :o(, concert with both Stephen Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith. Hopefully they won't get soaked to the bone! We purposely got seats further back and Ryan brought some earplugs, just in case, since Splat's ears are so sensitive. He's VERY excited though. The tickets were one of his birthday presents this summer.

The rest of the kids and I are hanging out, playing, etc. at the same time that I'm working on Awana stuff.

Our first night of Awana is on Monday and there's always SO much to do to get the year started. We still don't have enough leaders so we're not running a full club but it seems there's just as much work to do either way.

Tonight is Splat's b-day present but the fair that goes along with it is his "date" with Dad this month. I took Mac on a "date" last week for the Ethiopian New Year and the girls each get a "date" with one of us next month. It's something we decided to start doing to make sure they get to have some special one on one time with each of us. So next month, Ryan will take Cat out and I'll take KitKat out. Then the next month, I'll take Splat out and Ryan will take Mac out, etc. That's the plan anyway. ;o)

Well, I *think* that's about it for now. I'll follow through on the "tag" in the next couple days (okay MG). I might need to get through our first night of Awana before I find more time to be on here but I think it will be fun so I WILL do it.

Off to eat dinner with the kids....

One month ago today...

We picked up MAC in Ethiopia.

He fits into our family so well that I can hardly believe it's only been a month. In other ways, I can't believe it's been that long.

I'm sure there will be a lot of adjustments in our future. There is an actual "honeymoon" phase for adoption. It varies for each child but it's common for it to last about two months for a child MAC's age.

Right now, things are great. We've had very little discipline issues. The kids seem to be bonding (& fighting) as if they've been siblings from the beginning. It's SO fun to watch the boys wrestling and hanging out together.

I HAVE been seeing a few daggers from MAC's eyes toward his little sisters at times. Some of it is just plain being annoyed by a little sister but I suspect SOME of it may be related to his cultural expectation for them to just move out of his way and give him what he wants when he wants it. It seems much easier for him to make things right with Splat than with the girls. Then again, Splat is also a boy who is older which automatically gives him a leg up on the respect factor.

I see Cat getting frustrated VERY easily with MAC these days which is out of character for her. I suspect that some of the cultural expectations have been going on for awhile but that he's kept it to times when Mom or Dad aren't within earshot. Cat seemed to be the MOST patient when he first came home so I'm wondering if she was just trying to be understanding and has now reached her limit. It's definitely a relationship I will be keeping a close eye on.

This past week MAC passed his swim class, changed his name, spent an entire day at the county fair (I'll have to post pictures of that soon), took a trip to the mall with Grandma, and started doing a little school with me each day.

It's been a busy, rewarding week. We have a picnic to attend this weekend with other adoptive families in the area. One of the families we traveled with will be there and MAC will get to see one of his former room & classmates.

Next week we visit the doctor and the school where the kids take some classes.

Life is never dull around here! ;o)

Sadness

Last night I saw a glimpse of MAC's grief. I knew it was there under the surface. He hides it well as he spends 95% of his time smiling and laughing...

Cat and I went to "town" last night to do our monthly Costco shopping. I usually go during the day with ALL the kids but since we have swimming lessons this week I decided to go right after dinner. I needed one of the kids to come with and help push a cart since I usually fill up 2 and it was Cat's turn to have some one on one time with me so she was elected to come. ;o) She wasn't too sure about it at first but as she chatted my ear off she said, "I thought this was going to be boring but it's actually really fun. I thought we were just going to do BORING shopping and that's it. I didn't know we were going to chat too!" LOL!

Anyway...when we got home, the other 3 kids were already in bed for the night. Cat ran upstairs to put on her pj's and Ryan helped me unload the van. After putting away all the groceries that needed refrigeration I ran upstairs to say goodnight to the rest of the kids who might still be awake. KitKat was sound asleep so I went into the boys room.

Splat was in the restroom so it was just me and MAC. I wasn't sure if he was asleep or not but their bedroom light was still on so I quietly walked to the side of his bed. He immediately pulled the covers off his head and gave me the biggest, sweetest grin. I hugged him and said goodnight but as I looked into his eyes, I noticed that they were very teary. I asked him if he was sad. I asked him if he missed Ethiopia. I asked him if he missed his Ethiopian mom and his Ethiopian dad. He nodded to all of these things and the tears started flowing. I hugged him and told him it was okay to be sad. I told him that we are so happy that he is here with us and that we love him very much but that we are sad too that his Ethiopian mom and dad had to die and weren't able to raise him. I told him that I know it's hard to come to a new country and that anytime he wants to talk about how he's feeling, Dad and I want to listen. He wiped his tears, gave me another hug and smiled. Splat had returned to their room by this time so I hugged them both, turned off their light and left.

But I wonder... how many nights in the 2 weeks since we've been home has MAC silently cried himself to sleep? He is SO brave but I know his heart must be hurting and my heart hurts for him. I wish I could just give him a kiss and make it all go away but it doesn't work that way. I'm sure he will have bouts of sadness for years to come. I pray that he will find comfort in his heavenly father and that we can help him to feel confident in his ability to go to Him in all things. I pray also that he will begin to share with us when he's feeling sad and that he will truly KNOW how much we love and care for him.

Home Two Weeks...

I posted this on our agency's yahoo group last night:

We've been home two weeks now and things are going really well.

Tonight, MAC chose to wear pajama bottoms only (copying Splat, I'm sure) and was sitting on my lap watching some tv. He was grabbing the sides of his tummy and squishing it together, being silly. I gently grabbed either side of his belly button and made it move slightly while saying in a deep voice, "Hello!" He LAUGHED SO HARD and for SO LONG I didn't know if he'd ever stop. Of course laughter feeds laughter and with the whole family laughing, it took quite awhile for it to all die down.

Anyway...it's been a really good two weeks. There've been a few minor challenges and I find myself extra tired at the end of the day but over all it has been a very smooth transition so far. He's said "I love you" in Amharic to me a few times and once to each of the kids. He LOVES to swim and ride his scooter. He really wants to ride his bike but struggles some with the balance still. It definitely felt like we had a guest in the house for the first week or so but that feeling is slowly disappearing. He's quite a tease and we've already had a few typical sibling situations that show me he's truly become a part of the family.

Tonight we watched some of the October waiting child video that he was on for the first time since we got home. He LOVED seeing his friends and it was really fun for us to watch again now that we've been there and had a taste of personalities to go with some of the kids.

For families traveling soon I should mention that he was VERY shy when we first met at Layla. He came and hugged us and showed us around a little but would just point at things and didn't say ONE word. There was a little party going on and we went to join it. He grabbed the food and sat with his friends and then went outside to play without even glancing at us. It all felt VERY awkward for us at first. I know that is NOT the case for many families but that's how it was for us. In that moment I never would have imagined that he'd be embracing us and saying "I love you" so quickly. He truly is a very shy child and just needed a little time to get to know us. I just wanted to share our experience for others who might find themselves in a similar situation.

That's it for now. I'm so excited for those of you who are traveling soon and wish I was going back already. Praying that the court closure time passes quickly for those of you waiting.

Still living in a honeymoon phase...