A Great Weekend

We had a really fun Labor Day weekend...On Saturday we went to Julie and Brians beautiful home in Woodland Park. The views are so serene and beautiful. Ahbie played with Janae and they had a great time exploring.

On Sunday we went up to the mountains. First we went to Boulder Falls to see the water fall I used to spend many weekends visiting when I was a little girl. Funny how things seem so much bigger when you are small....From there we went higher up and enjoyed a nice hike. The weather was perfect and the boys loved it.

Elmers Glue or Lotion???

We were at the table eating pizza and Daddy tells Oz he needs to lotion his arms. Oz looks at me and says "Mom, Oz lotion at school, you put lotion in bolsa(backpack)" I told him "no, I didn't put lotion in his backpack".

He looks confused and says "Mom what is this is my bolso, it is white" and then on the table he draws an outline of a glue bottle. I said "That's glue" and he asks what glue is, so Daddy explains what it is used for.

This look comes across his face, and it was as if you could see a lightbulb come on...He smiles and then breaks out into a laugh. He says in between his giggles "Oh Mom, Oz thought glue lotion, Oz did this" and he shows us how he rubbed it all over his hands and his face. The whole time laughing as he realizes what he has done.

Of course we are laughing too and Daddy asks him if he had to go to the bathroom to wash it off, and still laughing Oz says"No I just did this" and does a rubbing motion on his face and hands to demonstrate how he got it off...I haven't laughed so hard in a long time, and it was so precious to see Oz take that mistake in stride and to appreciate the humor in it.

Needless to say he now has a real bottle of lotion in his backpack to put in his desk at school.

Lord how I love this little man of mine, and the grace he demonstrates each and every day. What a treasure he is.

I just love this little guy

I love his smile, his eyes, his angelic face, his funnier then funny personality, his never-ending cheerful disposition, his hugs and his kisses, his sweet little voice, his beautiful Ethiopian accent, and most of all I LOVE THAT HE IS MY SON!!!!!

I like School Mom

The first three days of school were great for Oz. Then came the fourth day and with it tears and pleading "Please Mom no school. I no like school, Oz no English". Ouch...Heartbreak...Helpless...

I did my best to reassure this bery frightened and overwhelmed boy, but to no avail. Every school morning was a repeat of this scenario. Sometimes with tears, other times with frustrated anger. He could not understand why I was "making" him go to a place he did not want to be. He was mad at me, and I can't blame him.

He has been working with his ESL teacher now for two weeks. His sessions are both one on one time as well as Rosetta Stone.

Today while eating lunch my Asart surprised me by saying in a very matter of fact way "I like school Mom"

That was it, no explanation, no specific reasons, just simply " I like school Mom"

Thank you God for getting my Son through these last weeks. Hearing those words filled my heart with such joy and happiness for him. I am proud of my Asart, he is amazing.

Meet Dib

So, we found Dib at the store. As soon as Ahbie saw him he was in love. In his sweet Ahbie way he asked again and again if we could take him home - "Please Mommy, Abrehem I like"

How can I say no, right? So we bring Dib home. At the time we didn't have a name for this big cuddly galoot but Ahbie changed that shortly after we got him home. "His name is Dib Mommy, and Abrehem I like Dib"

He cuddles with him, reads with him, sleeps with him, and in the daytime Dib patiently waits on Ahbies bed for his little buddy to come play. At night Dib watches over him, keeping him safe. They are best buddies, Dib and Ahbie, and I have a feeling he will be around for a long long time.

We love Dib.....

Ahbies First Day of Kindergarten

Wednesday the 10th was Ahbies first day of Kindergarten. He was so excited to go and to make new friends. We met his teacher on Monday and she is wonderful. I didn't get a chance to talk to her when I picked Ahbie up but she was kind enough to send me an e-mail with how Ahbie's first day went. This is what she said:

Hello!

I just wanted to let you know what a SUPER day Ahbie had! I hope he enjoyed it. He is already a leader in the classroom. I love having him and will do whatever it takes to make this a great experience for him and your family.

I can tell he is very intelligent and has a kind soul. Thank you for sharing him with our class!

I am so proud of my Little Man!!!!

......And this was his happy face when I picked him up...

We got home and had lunch, and the excitement of the day caught up with him...Gone was the happy face, and in its place Mr Grumpy Gills...

But after a good nap he was back to his normal cutie pie, honey bunch self......

Well I declare

I do believe I love just how gorgeous my children are....Jus Sayin.... :)

Boys Day Out

Today all of my Boys went on their own excursion going to The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. On their way down they stopped by the Air Force Academy to take a few pictures next to the big airplane.

After spending some time there they moved on to their final destination and took a lot of great pictures. If you have never been to the Garden of the Gods you MUST go. It is so beautiful and peaceful. The Boys loved hiking up the big rock formations and posed for pictures with enthusiasm. This was actually the first time - ever - that Oz wanted his picture taken, asking Daddy each time he found a spot he wanted memorialized via photos. He even clowned around with his poses, which he NEVER does.

And Daddy is there

Today Asart was riding his bike, his favorite past-time, and in an attempt to avoid running into Ahbie he turned to sharp and flew off of his bike. He is OK. A few scrapes on each arm, and a few on his leg. More then anything he was scared.

Few things in life can literally take your breath away, but watching your child run head on into disaster is right at the top of the list.

The flip side to this is, there is nothing so breath-takingly beautiful as seeing your baby boy jump up and run with fierce determination into the arms of Daddy, knowing without hesitation that here he will find the protection, love, and comfort he needs.

Daddy is so very loved.....

 

One down, how many to go?

We had our 1 month post adoption visit this afternoon. I am relieved and happy to say that it all went off without a hitch. I realize, again, just how lucky I am to be able to call these two gorgeous ethiopian babes my Sons.

In case I haven't said it in a  while - THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

My Ahbie Dancing

In Ethiopia Asart Sad, In America Asart Happy

Asart told us yesterday while driving in the car "In Ethiopia Asart Sad, In America Asart Happy"....
What exactly does a Momma say to her baby boy when she hears this? Communication is still trial and error, a lot of demonstrating with hands and words strung together that make you sound as if you are talking to a toddler. This is not to diminish my Sons intelligence or ability to understand, simply it is to put a perspective on why we couldn't go into an in-depth discussion about why he was sad, what happened to make him sad, etc...So I said this "Ekurtah(I'm Sorry) Asart was sad in Ethiopia. When Asart and Abrehem were in Ethiopia Mommy and Daddy were sad, but when Asart and Abrehem came to America Mommy and Daddy were very happy" He smiled - if you ever see this smile you will see how it lights up everything- and said "Yes, Mommy Daddy happy Asart Abrehem come to America"

My Asart is going through a transition right now and he is shunning all things Ethiopian. He did not want to go to the local Ethiopian restaurant. When we got there he had no interest in playing with the children who knew him from the Care Center. He refused to eat his food without a fork and once he finished what little he ate he was adament about leaving right that minute. Driving home he said "I dont go to insert name of restaurant here again, Asart no like"

More often then not when we ask him what a word is in Amharic he says "I don't know" he used to offer up this information completely unsolicited.

On Sunday we were going to go to the Ethiopian Festival. We wanted the Boys to where their traditional Ethiopain outfits. Asart was not having any of it. "I don't like Mommy, please no" and so he didn't. Which was OK because at lunch, before we went he started crying. After some prompting he finally said barely above a whisper "I don't go to Ethiopian Park" and he cried quietly. We decided that the anxiety this caused him was to great and we would not go.

We are following his lead on this one. His experiences have led him to this point and we will hold his hand through his journey. I pray he comes full circle and embraces his beautiful heritage. He has much to be proud of.

Until that day comes I will continue to thank God that "In America Asart Happy"

Missing Ethiopia

I miss Ethiopia. I miss the very early morning wake up call from the rooster and the responding barks from the dogs. I miss the morning prayers over the loudspeaker. I miss the sound at 4:30am of a car driving by every 5 minutes or so, before the heavy all day long traffic kicks in. I miss the friends I made there, and the music played in the restaurant at the guest house. I miss the walks down the street to the grocery, where we would buy juice and afoofas (balloons). I miss the people who were always so kind, and once you said Salem their faces would light up and beautiful smiles would follow. I miss Sele Enat and the children there. I miss the Nannies and Teacher and Bete and Lydia. I miss the piece of my heart that has been left behind.

Journey to our Beautiful Sons

Please click on the link below to see our journey to our Beautiful Asart and Abrehem.

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=e96acdb8d73c773c3170c3&skin_id=1901&utm_source=PostFacebook&utm_medium=Share&utm_content=PostFacebook&utm_campaign=PostFacebook&origin=facebook

Where does the time go?

I was looking at my blog and realized I haven't updated it since April 15th, which seems like a lifetime ago. Three months have passed since then and my life is not remotely the same as it was. In three short months - 90 days - everything has changed. I never could have dreamed life had so much to offer, yet here I sit with a beautiful family, I am Mommy now to two more amazing boys, I have a Husband whom I adore, and each day I wake up more happy then the one before. As Jimmy and I say "It's like Christmas morning every day"

Oz and Ahbie start school on August 3rd. We meet with the principal on July 25th to see which grade Oz should be placed. They will attend ESL classes where they receive the one on one attention they need and I am confident that by Christmas break they will be thriving.

We visited their school yesterday to show them the playground and to look through the windows since this si the first time seeing an "American School". Ahbie could not stop smiling and at least 20 times said "WOW"....They are both excited to go and to start making new friends.

That's all for now, just want to end with this - I love my Sons like crazy.

It is almost here

I have not blogged since February 28th, the day we learned of our Court Date.

In the time between then and now I have been able to finish the play room, their bathroom, made some changes to their bedroom, packed, bought a lot of last minute items for travel, made books for the boys and for their birth Father, celebrated Jimmy's birthday, rearranged my bedroom furniture, organized the storage room in the basement (It is now my sewing room/gift wrapping room; in addition to storage), got everyone to the dentist for cleanings, adopted a new dog, gave away a dog to a new home, deep cleaned my house; literally cleaned and polished my hard wood floors by hand, finished my travel shots, met with my Dr for anti-biotics to take should I get sick during my stay, lost almost 10 pounds - and counting, confirmed our hotel stay and airline reservations, met without adoption coordinator for final last minute paperwork etc, prayed for the health and safety of my children halfway across the workd, and about a million other things.

I can't believe that we leave in only 7 days, and even more unbelievable is that in 10 days I will meet my Sons for the very first time. I am now starting to feel as if I am walking in a fog. I don't dare let the excitement get the best of me because once I lose control of that I will be a wreck and every second of every day will seem like hours.

One of the outings Jimmy and I are going to enjoy while in Addis Ababa is horseback riding along the Ethiopian Countryside. I have not been on a horse in about 30 years (the horse decided it didn't want to listen and ran me under a clothesline) and haven't missed it a bit, but there is something magical to me about having that adventure and experience in my Boys homeland.

I will keep everyone in my prayers while I am away. Be safe and God Bless you!!!

Lisa

WE GOT A COURT DATE!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe the day has come, we were given a court date. I received the call at 9:49am on the home nubmer. It was Aneata with IAN and she said "I have a surprise for you" I could hardly stand it and felt like I was going to faint. She said "We have a court date for you of Wednesday April 27th" I could not believe my ears. Finally a date to look forward to. A milestone, something to shoot for. It is a miracle!!! Thank You God!!!!!! It also happens to be Donovan's birthday, so it is a double blessing...This day 22 years ago my Son was born, and this day 22 years later we find out the "due date" of our two beautiful Sons...God is good.

Amharic Word of the Day

Handsome - meul-keu meul-kam

Amharic Word of the Day

Dad - a-ba-ye (ah-bah-yay)

2 Books Down 2 To Go

So I finished reading My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah Pool and what an amazing story it is. Hannah Pool was adopted from Eritrea Africa by a British family as a baby in 1974. The book is about her journey to meeting her biological Father and Siblings as an adult. Beautiful and inspiring, I would recommend it to everyone.

I also recently finished This Is a Soul The Mission of Rick Hodes by Marilyn Berger. This fascinating true story is about Dr Rick Hodes who traveled to Africa two decades ago to help the victims of famine, 28 years later he is still there. What an incredible person this man is, his heart is so big and he lives every day to help more and more of Ethiopia's beautiful children.

I am now reading There Is No You Without Me and will write about that as soon as I am done...