Crafts Anyone?

One of the first things Levi and Paige ask me each morning before we start school is "what craft are we doing today?" Lord help me if we aren't doing a craft that day. They love their craft time.  So, I try and give them something each day even if it is small.

On this particular morning we had read the book, based on Robert Frost's famous poem, "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening."  After we read the book and looked at all the beautiful pictures in it the kids decided to make their own snowy forest pictures using construction paper and cotton balls.  They had a blast.

Levi begs for crafts.  Such a nice change because none of the other boys really liked to do them.

Amelia loves to join in.  Her favorite part is taking the other kids supplies and spreading glue everywhere except on her paper:)

Hard at work.  They are usually really quite during craft time.  Lots of concentrating.  I think Samantha is actually doing math problems there next to them.

Paige is such a good big sister and loves to help Amelia. 

Here is Paige's work in progress.

That is Levi's very annoyed face that his little sister will not leave him alone while he is trying to create his master piece.

When Amelia turned 2 a few weeks ago we all went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate.  Here are Samantha and her good friend Megan who Amelia adores.  Such pretty girls.

Daddy had fun playing games with Garrett.  Garrett has decided he doesn't want to cut his hair and has left it long for a few months.  I really like it, his brothers don't.  I guess they have forgotten they both went through a long haired period when they were his age.  They say he should listen to them, they didn't have older brothers who were wise to tell them how awful they looked.  Ha!

Amelia had a great time running all over Chuck E Cheese.  Can't believe my sweet baby is 2.  The other people there probably didn't think she was so cute....she kept trying to steal every ones tokens.  Little stinker:)

Here's Zach practicing the basketball throw.  His sister and Megan beat him in the total score.  He didn't take that very well, however, the girls were thrilled!

Here are the girls with Amelia.  She is eyeing a little boy she thinks she can take down for his tokens:)

Paige helped Amelia with the games.  She has a new short haircut which I love.  Makes her look so much older and she is able to care for it by herself.  She is wanting to be more independent so it works out great!

We don't have another birthday until April when Samantha will turn 15.  So, the kids have started talking about Valentines Day.  We are having a big party at the park with our school group on that day so it is a much anticipated event around here. 

We have really hit our groove with our schooling schedule over the last month and six months into our third year I feel like I finally have my act together regarding this whole home schooled thing.  I never thought I would feel this comfortable or be this happy.  I love truly do love it!

Water Time

Paige and Amelia love the water and take any opportunity to play in it.

They love to play in the bath together.

Amelia got a new supply of bath toys for her birthday last week and Paige is enjoying them as much as she is.

I think they were playing circus here.  Amelia always wants to stand up in the tub.  Grr.

It's been in the 80's this week but Paige is the only one brave enough to go in the freezing pool.

Amelia just watched and went into the warm spa with her siblings.

My girls love the water and they love each other.  They are such a blessing to me.

Grief

We have been dealing with some grief issues lately.  Levi is a great sleeper and always has been.  Garrett used to tell me that sometimes he heard Levi crying in his sleep.  However, that hadn't happened for a while and he must have been pretty quite because I have great "mommy ears" and tend to here EVERYTHING going on while the kids sleep.

Last week Levi had a really bad dream and went looking for his Dad when he got up.  Dave soothed him and put him back into bed where he fell back to sleep for a while.  I got up early and Levi not to long after me.  I told him Daddy told me he had a bad dream last night.  "I don't want to talk about it" he said.  This has been his answer for most things when we have tried to talk about his family and life in Ethiopia.

I started asking him some questions and this time I didn't back down.  I wanted to know what was going on in that little head of his.  I asked him if his dream was about his Ethiopian mom? "Kind of" he said.  Finally he shared the story of how a friend came to their house in Ethiopia, after his Dad died, and told his mom about the orphanage and where she could take the children if she didn't feel she could take care of them any more.  He shared the story of how all of that had taken place, how the other relatives in his town felt about her taking them there, and about his older brother who he hadn't mentioned in a very long time.  He talked about the day his Dad died and what happened.  All things he had not shared before.

I was so happy he was finally opening up, but then he shared something that shocked me to my core.

His dream was not about his Ethiopian mommy but about me.  It seems that his Dad and I decided we had to many kids and couldn't take care of him anymore so we also took him to an orphanage where we dropped him off and left.  "How do I know that won't ever happen?" he asked.

He shared with me that this is something he had been worrying about.  He loved his new life and family but what if it didn't last? Oh. My. Word.  How could he think this? I explained to him that in America mommies didn't have to take their babies to an orphanage if they had no money.  There were people who could help them if they needed it.  I also told him that never, never, never would we give him to anyone else.  He was stuck with us forever.

A big smile passed over his face.  A burden lifted.

My heart breaks that he spent all those months thinking that, perhaps, this would not be his family forever.  Just goes to show you never know what is going on in the mind of a child.  I keep going over in my head things we have done since he has been  home.  I have hugged and kissed him daily, telling him that I love him, and yet, he still thought I might give him away. 

So, my lesson learned is that I need to be very specific with this child.  Hopefully, there will be more talks to come now that he has opened up.

Truly, Levi, is a very happy kid.  However, like most things, the night seems to bring out our worst fears.  I pray every day that God heals both their little hearts and that they would feel wholly embraced by our family.

I am up right now with a little girl who had a bad dream as well.  She woke in our bed crying, sobbing and holding on to me for dear life.  A little girl whose first mommy would visit her at the orphanage pretty often, and then leave.  Levi says she would cry and cry.  He would put his hands over his ears so he didn't have to listen.  In my mind it seems almost cruel to have done that to them.  Although, as a mom, I understand why she would have done it.

So we walk this journey with our eyes wide open.  Knowing that our children will always carry this grief inside for what they have lost.  However, I pray that the life we give them here will help them heal and that God would give us the wisdom to know how best to accomplish this.

I am so thankful that he finally opened up and shared some details about his life and hurts in Ethiopia.  Now we can move forward together trying to heal both of their little hearts as best we can. 

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.  Psalm 10:14

Stop the Excuses

I have been studying the book of Luke for the last few weeks.  Our home school group is doing an online Bible Study together using Elizabeth George's book "Living with Passion and Purpose."

God has been talking to me a lot lately during my quiet time.  Actually, he has been making quite uncomfortable.  Asking me to do things I don't want to do.  Things I'm not sure my family wants me to do.  Life is comfortable, why do I need to shake it up?

Then I read Jill's great post this morning.  I never read blogs on Sunday mornings, but for some reason I went and read hers.

A coincidence? I think not.

Go ahead, click on the link.  You will be blessed.

What might God be asking you to do?

One Year Home

One year ago today we first met, and fell in love with, Levi and Amelia. In some ways it seems like yesterday, in others, like it has been so much longer than that.  Havn't they always lived here with us? 

look at those eyelashes!

Amelia turned two this week.  She has gone from a little baby that could barely sit up with no teeth and no words to a very charming toddler who melts the hearts of everyone she meets.  She has a mouth full of teeth, talks up a storm, and runs faster than any of the other kids.  She is such a blessing.  Words cannot express how much we love this child and thank God for bringing her into our family.

eating a carrot

Levi.  Wow.  What can I say about this little boy.  He is helpful, kind, loves his new family and always wants to please.  He is also a normal 8 year old who can be mischievous and thinks his killer smile will melt mommies heart and he won't get into trouble when he misbehaves.  Unfortunately, that worked pretty well for a while, something mom is trying to change:)  Levi has learned to read and considering he knew only two or three English words one year ago people are amazed at how awesome he speaks and understands English. He has started guitar lessons with Garrett and is so excited to be learning an instrument.  Overall he is a complete joy.

First time seeing snow!

When we were going through our adoption process people thought, and pretty often gave their negative opinions, about us wanting to adopt an older boy.  The truth is that a 8 year (or older)  little boy has a very small chance of being adopted.  Little girls are much preferred by adoptive families.  I understand the reasons for this, however, most of those reasons are based on some unknown fear.

I prayed every day throughout our adoption process that God would bring us the children that he knew were right for our family. That he would prepare their hearts for us and ours for them.  He honored those prayers in a bigger way than I ever could have imagined.  So many people have commented on how well  the children fit in with our family.  I always reply "Of course they do, they were placed here by the hand of God".

Fun in the snow!

This year has not been without its trials as well.  Just like bringing home a new baby from the hospital, any change in family dynamics takes some time to get used to.  We had some issues with jealousy that thankfully seem to have resolved themselves over the months.

Having fun together!

Yesterday I was upstairs and I hear lots of giggling below.  I put my head over the stairs to find all of the kids in the middle of a tickle fight, enjoying each other, and their laughter was like a sweet song to me.

We are one family.  Woven together by the hand of God.

We will be there for each other. Helping to climb the big hills and then their to catch us when we tumble down. I am so glad I did not let fear rob me of this wonderful experience.

Thank you Jesus for the blessing of these children. I truly could not imagine our lives without them!

Happy New Year!

The only New Years resolution I made is to be better about updating my blog.  It might not bode well that it is the 13th and this is my first post. Ha!

We had a nice first Christmas together as a family of 9!

We had our home school groups Christmas party at our house this year which was lots of fun.  Here are a few pics of the activities.

A Christmas party wouldn't be complete without a gun battle, would it? All the boys had fun playing "war".

The "posse".

The girls all hanging together.

We had a group of about 65.  We ate yummy food, did crafts and had some worship time singing songs.  Overall it was a great day.

We had our annual family baking day and everyone participated.  We made pumpkin bread, fudge, and several kinds of cookies to give to the kids co-op teachers and our neighbors.  The kids always love delivering these treats!

Everyone helping out.  Why can't my family ever close a cupboard?

Zach and Garrett rolling the butterballs.

I'll let you imagine the funny "ball" jokes boys can come up while baking:)

Paige rolling out the sugar cookies

Garrett having a good time making butter balls with his Dad.

We continued our family tradition of looking at the neighborhood Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.  I had the flu the two days before Christmas (not the best timing) so we skipped going to church and read the Christmas story at home.  The kids also did their gift exchange which was fun!

Christmas morning was controlled chaos as usual.  Paige decided to organize all her gifts when she was done opening.  She was very happy with all the Barbie stuff she got:)

Showing off her loot

They were really excited with their pillow pets! They sleep with them every night!

Samantha helped Amelia open her pillow pet.

Paige with her new wand and jewels.

 One of my best Christmas purchases was a large bucket full of Halloween costumes that had been discounted by 80% a few weeks after the holiday.  I got some wonderful dress up clothes and only spent about $20.00.  This has been one of their favorite gifts.  Levi loved the Iron Man costume and Paige and Amelia got princess stuff and cowgirl outfits, etc.. Great fun for cheap! Gotta love it!

On new years day our wonderful friends Roxanne, Terri and their son Eric came for a visit.  They adopted Eric using the same agency we did and we just love them so much and are so thankful for their friendship.  Here is a pic of Eric with Levi and Amelia.

From the looks of this picture I think they need to travel to Ethiopia for a little girl next.  They really love Amelia.

Roxanne and Amelia

Such good friends!

Next week will mark one year home with our sweet babies.  I can't wait to see what 2011 holds.  Hopefully a few more blog posts:)