Christmas letter 2008

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

2008 Christmas

Christmas letter from 2008. Because I could not figure out how to do this last year. This is the letter announcing the homecoming of our new sons! Most of the people who got this had NO IDEA we were adopting. What a shock. In fact the year before WE had no idea we were adopting in 2008 either. It all came about in half a year! What a blessing!

Happy Birthday Kedus 2008

Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Birthday to my son Kedus

The photo in the cowboy shirt is the first one we recieved of Keds. It was taken in Feb 2008 soon after he went to Sele Enat. The one of him smiling is from this last October, at home at last. A happy and confidant child, not like the child we had photos of before we met him.
We are so excited to celebrate his first Happy Birthday at home. He is excited too. When asked what he wants for his birthday, yes, he knows you get gifts, he says he wants cake and ice cream. When we ask him if he wants any gifts he says yes! Then you say what do you want? He says two balloons! That is all he wants, of course he will get more. :)

For Keds:
When you were born in Ethiopia we were celebrating our first Christmas in the house you now call home. While it would be a few more weeks until you celebrated Christmas in Ethiopia it was actually Christmas Eve here in Colorado. Your birth mother gave you a very special name; Kedus, meaning holy or blessed. The day you were born, in the land you will grow up in, is considered by many to be a blessed or holy night. The night our Savior Jesus was born, God become flesh. You are truly a special boy, not because of when you were born, but because you were born, and now you are ours, and we are blessed. We love you!

A week of holiday 2008

Sunday, December 7, 2008

A week of holiday

Over the week of Thanksgiving we had everyone home. We had fun making cookies, banana and pumpkin bread, wreath and snowflake crafts, Thanksgiving pies, mailing family Christmas gifts, decorating for Christmas, sledding, family and friends. Phoebe had a sleepover with two school friends and Olivia and Phoebe both had a friend over another day. The boys are not as interested in Christmas as we thought they might be. Of course! They do not know what it is! I showed them a photo of Santa Claus and asked who is this? The answer, "Ummmmmmmmmmmm, grandpa?" They do think the big tree is "wowie!" and it has "flowers" on it. That would be lights. They liked putting their first ornament on it. An airplane. They love to hear the Christmas story of Jesus over and over. They play with the kids nativity too, which has added animals from Ethiopia this year. I regret not buying items that could be made into ornaments while in Ethiopia. The thought did not occur to me until we put up the tree. Dave and I mused after all the kids went to bed the day we decorated. Last Christmas we had NO IDEA we would have two more kids or that we would go to Ethiopia, nothing that happened this year was even in our minds or a guess last Christmas and New Year's. As usual, God's plans for our lives are mysterious and in the proper perspective all of it can be wonderful too. Wonderful does not inherently imply happiness. Joy yes, contentment in life's circumstances, yes. Sometimes those plans are really hard. But, when we walk with the Lord in the light of his love, we are given the strength to walk, sight unseen, the path marked out for us. From all the information we could gather, we are coming up to the anniversaries of the death of our son's birth parents. Their little minds will associate Genna and Timket (Christmas and Epiphany done the Ethiopian way, celebrated in our January) with the saddest time in their young lives. For this reason I am glad that our celebrations do not look anything like the Ethiopian versions.

One thing the boys DO understand is Birthdays! We have had celebrations for Daddy, Mommy and Phoebe since they have been home. Keds is coming up on his Christmas Eve birthday when he will turn 4! This he knows. Cake, ice cream and gifts. This he is looking forward to because he has experienced it with other family members.

Nate is actually looking forward to having his teeth fixed this Thursday. He choose a garbage truck at the store and will get it when he is finished with the Dentist. He has been reviewing what will happen for a month now. He will go to the dentist, sit in the green chair, put on the nose and go to sleep. While he is asleep the dentist will fix his brown teeth (4 caps on the top front 4) and then he will wake up and get to open his trash truck. He has sat in the chair and met the dentist and talked about it there. He is not afraid and so I hope he stays calm when it really happens.

We just enjoyed a concert of the Messiah by Handel. The boys did great sitting for close to 3 hours! It appeared that they actually enjoyed it. They do love music and rhythm.

Here are some photos for you.

Thanksgiving and Snow 2008

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Snow!

Well, we just got almost 3 feet of snow. It just kept snowing and snowing. The kids had so much fun. The first day they went out and sledded in the grass!!!! They were so desperate for snow. The girls just could not wait to introduce their brothers to the wonders of winter and sledding. So, off they went. It was fun for all. Well, it kept snowing. The kids went out in the heavy snow and played very happily. Then we ate snow ice cream, cookies and hot chocolate. The next day there was sun and so much snow! They stayed home from school because we could not get out of the driveway in time for school. Yeah! What fun they had out side sledding, making caves in the side of the driveway and making a snow man. It was lots of fun. And the girls were not disappointed, the boys LOVE the snow and playing in it too. No one was too cold to have fun.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle's home this year. The seven kids had a lot of fun. Here is a picture of the boys with their cousins. Our big girls really did not get into the bouncing on the bed fun thing.

First snow for the boys 10-2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

first snow of the season and for the boys

Well, we had about two inches of snow last week. It was the first snow of the season and the first snow the boys had ever seen. In the morning we showed them out the slider door and they kept saying "wowie" and "oh wow" and things like that. It was really cute. Then we let them touch it and the exclaimed how cold it was! Then all day they said "wowie cold!" They played in it and that was fun. They did not want to come in but it was SOOO cold I did not want to stay out very long. They tried to play in it like normal and found them selves tripping on it and having to step very high which they had a hard time figuring out. Pick up those feet boy! :) Here are some pictures.

Pumpkin Farm 10-2008

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pumpkin farm

Here are some photos of my pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch. We went to the Happy Apple Farm again this year because they were open the day we wanted to go. :) This year we talked to the owner. He said although he grows his own pumpkins, they are often gone by early season, so he brings some in from a farm in Pueblo that does not have the public in. We picked ours from the vines. They were great. Well, Phoebe picked one from the box..... everyone else got them from a vine. :) They also have a large apple orchard and berry bushes. At this time the season for those are over and if there are any left they let you pick them. We had fun eating raspberries and black berries. Many were still good, but lots were sour. Fun times though. Here are some

Let's Go Fly a Kite 10-2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008 Let's Go Fly A Kite

 

Dave's dad is visiting us. One thing he likes to do is fly kites. That is a fun past time from his childhood in Afghanistan. Dave and our kids love it too. Here are some photos of the fun time we had doing this the other day.

The wonderful red blocks 10-2008

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The wonderful red blocks

My parents gave the kids a HUGE box of these foam blocks that were left over from a promotional. They are SOOO wonderful. The kids have had hours of fun with them. Here are some photos and a short video clip.

 

Tid Bits Sept 2008

Monday, September 8, 2008

Tid Bits

Some thoughts I had on Ethiopia.
Interesting things that were funny: they do not have any chains there, but we did see a "Dairy King", "Addis Home Depot", "MacD's". We also ate at the Denver Cafe, which had as it's logo the Denver Bronco insignia horse head with colors and all. They just used it as is. The place had hamburgers, etc and a wonderful juice bar. Obviously catering to ferengi, it advertised no added sugar and no water.

Ethiopians seem to add sugar to most everything. The tea has a thick layer at the bottom as does the coffee. The popcorn is even sugared. I have to say it is good that way! The boys don't seem to like our butter flavored popcorn. Of course the flavoring is likely as bad for you as the real thing.

In Ethiopia it seems that every other car is a VW bug, bus, truck van combo or a thing. We play a fun game here where we get points for seeing different VW's. Each variety is assigned a point number and you keep track of your own points. Here an old bug is worth 3 points and a new one is worth one. In Ethiopia however, we only saw one new bug and literally hundreds of old ones. The truck/van combo vehicle is so rare here it is worth 8 points. We have only ever seen one. There we saw many of them each day, everywhere we went we saw more than one. There were many VW's on every street. We gave up on the points and just counted the number we saw the entire trip. We counted some 300 bugs alone!

We visited the mountains over Labor Day weekend. Photos are of that time. We had fun hiking two times and after the boys got used to the idea of walking in the woods, they were fine. I think they were honestly afraid of "wilderness", and it is hardly that. They slept happily in sleeping bags with sisters in the same room. Phoebe and Olivia got a grandparents fix and the boys got to know them a bit better. Dave and Daddy rode motorcycles and the boys were totally and uterly enthralled with them. They kept talking about it and telling about it. Then the last day they and the girls too, got a little ride with Dave. That was the highlight for the boys and has been mentioned repeatedly. Daddy, motorcycle...........
Nate gets motion sickness in the car when there are a lot of turns. He threw up on the road to the cabin. We will have to go a different way or very slowly. Then he falls asleep.

The question I am being asked everywhere is how are they doing? Fine. We are working on bonding and English. When Daddy is home they prefer him, Nate more so. We have initiated many tactics from books and other's experience to aide him/them in Mommy bonding. :) I have read up to phase 2 in the attachment book. They have definitely reached that phase. Maybe more. I need to read more. On the English side; they seem to understand most of what we say. They are using some words in English and use with prompting others. Playing at playgrounds and with other children is VERY helpful as they see that others can not understand them and they can not understand others. This is frustrating and bewildering for them. That is motivation. I need to find more of that. They love copy me games and so that is good. They know colors and can sing the ABC song and count alone to 7 in English. They can count very high in Amharic. I think they are doing better than we expected.
Olivia and Phoebe are doing well too. Sometimes they are stressed with new things and noise. But, all in all they are taking it in stride. Mommy is trying to figure out a workable and beneficial schedule. Daddy is loving having little boys.

Olivia is doing well at school and loving third grade at TCA. We are thrilled with her teacher and she is finding friends in classmates. Phoebe is loving fifth grade at TCA and we are so excited about her teacher too! She is glad to have some familiar friends in class and making some new ones as well. This is a promising year for her already.

Health: Well, we have all recovered from whatever virus we got in Ethioipia. Just in time for seasonal allergies to set in for the girls and I. Dave and I seem to have a little bit of ringworm, a fungus of the skin contracted by contact. We had to have gotten it in Ethiopia, but where we have no idea. They boys do not have it. No one caught scabies from Kedus because it had been being treated and I continued it. They seem mostly healthy. Anyway, we are getting better from that too and no one else is effected. The boys have their first dentist appointment this week and pediatrician appointment next week. That will be interesting, not just in what we learn but in how they take it!

If you think to pray for us please pray for these appointments and for our bonding and the boys acquisition of English.
Thanks!

Learning Sept. 2008

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Learning

Lately there have been several different messages from different pastors which have been very meaningful in a variety of ways. Some of the things we have been contemplating from what we have been learning from these pastors........
Ethiopian Evangelical Church in Denver: God is not here for the healthy but for the sick. If we think we are healthy we are very mistaken. Not one of us is healthy and without need of a savior.
Dillon Community Church: (Pastor Brian is very amazing!!) Same message as above. God also forgives and in his strength starting over is possible. Not one of us can escape that need, no matter the context. I "start over" every morning. God disciplines those he loves. Discipline is not punishment, it is discipleship. BIG difference that many miss these days.
Beza International, Addis Ababa Ethiopia: We must always be careful to not believe the lies. In life there will be what look like set backs, but it is all in the perspective. Do you believe what looks like failure? Do you look for what God is doing or do you give up? Believe what God has told you and keep that in your focus. Israel (Jacob) knew God's promise of his little family becoming a great nation. But, all his hopes were in Joseph. When the bloody coat was brought to him, there was no explanation, he just jumped to conclusions based on what the facts looked like. But there was more to the story and he did not look further. He allowed his hopes to be dashed. He stoped believing the promise of God. When the truth came that Joseph was alive and ruler of Egypt, he did not believe. He had allowed himself to loose sight of the promise of God. Do we act like Joseph and not look for the truth or do we go further and hold to the promise looking for what God is doing? It is a matter of perspective. Some may say oh this or that situation is too much, it will ruin you, but if you have heard God differently, do not believe them. Believe God and follow where he is leading even if it looks impossible to others. When God calls you, the ordinary is over.
The Bible Study Jill had been doing last year on the Minor Prophets by Rev. James Montgomery Boice: We have been looking over that together. The fact that WE are Israel is so amazing. Israel is condemned on so many accounts. Look at Christians, we are looking at ourselves. What are our idols? Where do we fail to keep the scriptures? And the big question for us.... "what are you NOT doing that God has asked you to do". Initially this led us to adoption. It leads us all over the place. This consideration is rather all encompassing.
Another important thing learned from this Bible study and the experiences of a close friend: When someone does wrong to you, you naturally feel "entitled" to be angry, hate, take revenge, wish or see to it that punishment is given. But, when you are a Christian all that would be sin. As a Christian what our response is to those who do wrong to us is reconciliation, forgiveness and helping them toward redemption. Sometimes we think that punishment is part of this, as in discipline, but discipline is discipleship not punishment. So walk along side them and help them to redemption through discipleship. Sometimes you see examples of this in stories about drunk drivers, etc. While it is hard to do it is what we are instructed to do in the Bible. So, next time someone does something to hurt you intentionally or not, small thing or a really big deal, pray for yourself to love them and to forgive them. Pray for their reconciliation and redemption. Practice it in the small things and when a big thing comes your way you will be able to follow God's direction in this too.
Pastor Chris (Pennsylvania): our time with him at the guest house in Ethiopia gave us some great ideas on church, on what a church should be and do. Some churches are resistant to change and others change too much. Where is the balance? How do you find it?

In all this we have been thinking about a lot of questions. Once again revisiting the "what is a church" question and such. Where does God want us and what are we about? Still thinking......

Newsletter 2008

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

2008 Christmas

Christmas letter from 2008. Because I could not figure out how to do this last year. This is the letter announcing the homecoming of our new sons! Most of the people who got this had NO IDEA we were adopting. What a shock. In fact the year before WE had no idea we were adopting in 2008 either. It all came about in half a year! What a blessing!

Amazing Kids Aug 2008

Friday, August 29, 2008

amazing kids... all 4!

Hi all,
I has been an interesting almost two weeks home. I have been SOOOO sick. Then Phoebe got it, Keds got it, Dave got it and something else. No one got it as bad as me. Now it is August allergies setting in for me, so I doubt I will fully recover any time soon. But, I am feeling pretty good, and almost normal, which is more than I can say for the first 6 months after the birth of our two daughters. :) I have been playing some games with the boys to test their ages. I am convinced that Kedus' sister is accurate in her age and birthday for Kedus, not that I ever doubted it. Kedus is an overachiever. Nate is right up there with Keds as we are pretty sure that he is actually 3 and likely 4 next SPRING. His personality is not as type A, so he lacks motivation and he is very casual and layed back. He tends to be average to underachiever. Since this discovery, they will be in the same grade. We think due to their personalities being so very different they will do best in different classrooms. So, do I have twins, well almost! Nate was given Aug as an estimate when we first got his papers. Not likely. On his newly issued Ethiopian Birth certificate it says he is 3 in November. But, he is already 3 as best as we can figure.
Last night I went to the parent orientation for Phoebe and Olivia's classes. There are some great changes at TCA this year and I would guess at a credit going to our new curriculum-character director, who was Olivia's second grade teacher. She is AWESOME! Most schools do not have this position, she works with the staff and oversees and directs the material and how it is presented, she makes the school cohesive in educational material and presentation, anyway good things this year! The teachers we are blessed to have this year are phenomenal. We are so excited for the year.
When I left home everyone was fine with that. Dave said that it was ok with the boys until it was bed time. The lights out and kisses ended with crying for mommy. Ok, that is sad and all, but I was happy that they BOTH wanted me! Kedus is now napping on my lap to be sure I do not go anywhere at this sleeping time. This morning Keds and Nate were talking and we got the idea that they were recounting last night and mommy going and not there at bed time and now look she is here! Then daddy will go to work and he comes home when we are awake seemed to be the next part of the story. Well, I am sure they will get used to that idea soon enough. They are very happy when everyone comes home from school and work each day.
Phoebe and Olivia have exceeded our hopes for them in big sisterhood and big big sisterhood. Phoebe is very nurturing and motherly, but that seems to work ok. They still know mommy vs. sister. Olivia is fun and she plays, she is exuberantly sought after. Oluvia is what they call her. They are both a big help. We are glad that we can still talk at dinner and other times. It is good to have the boys go to be early and then we have time with the girls. So far so good.
Here are a few photos.
Jill

Home at Last Aug. 19, 2008

Hi all. We traveled home and made it, all people are in tact and all bags are home. We were so happy to see friendly faces at the airport! Thanks Mama and Daddy, Aunt Holly, May, Irene and Jane for coming to see us!
We are totally exhausted. Nate slept all night in his own bed, happily! Ked was not so sleepy as he slept on nearly every flight. That was nice for me, but not so good for Daddy in the night. He came up to our room three times and ended up staying in our bed very early in the morining. I am certifiably sick. So, slept heavily. We have the monitor all the way up and i still did not hear anything except for Dave one time get up. I did hear myself coughing! :( Anyway, other than the little dog -Jigs- tinish woosha, all is well. They are just going to have to get used to him. He is still our fuzzy baby.
I am looking forward to nap time and hope all will sleep.
It is all cloudy and rainy here, just like it is in Ethiopia now as it is the rainy season. Same temp. too. Interesting. I was looking forward to warm weather.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it. See you all eventually!
I have tons of thoughts and will try to post them here as i can. So, if you are interested keep checking in here. I will also post photos when we get to them. First it is laundry time. I have 5 bags and they all have stinky, damp, dirty clothes needing washed. I will have to un roll them from all the loot we brought back!

have a great day.

basement finish and leaving for Ethiopia August 2008

Sunday, August 3, 2008 Basement and we are off!

 

So, we are leaving in the morning!!! WOW we can not believe it is actually time. We hope to meet our sons on Wednesday!Please pray for our safe travels, attachment and bonding time. All four of us are going, we will come home SIX! Thanks for your prayers and all your help.
The basement is ready! My parents, Jerry and Ricki, our girls, Phoebe and Olivia, and a friend Stephan have all pitched in to help us get it ready at the last minute. We are so thankful for these extra hands.
So, off we go to get our sons. We hope to update this blog via e mail. So, stay tuned. Don't know if we can attach photos or not yet.