I can't even begin to believe the kids have been home for 6 weeks! I honestly can't remember life without them!
The waiting to bring them home was hands down then hardest thing I have ever done. To watch your children grow up through pictures is heart wrenching.....and yet, the instant they are yours you'd do it again in less than a heartbeat.....and wait even longer and spend even more!
It's been so much fun to watch them grow these last few weeks. Mostly gone are the crazy annoying shoulder shrugs...the storming off sobbing temper tantrums...and in there place is the it's not fair temper tantrums...the I want a snack now temper tantrums....and my all time favorite, he's touching my stuff temper tantrums! Which, by my stuff,means anything I've looked at in the last 24 hours!
In all this God continues to prove himself more than faithful. He did not bring us this far to leave us now, has been my constant companion! He's given both Matt and I incredible levels of patience...way beyond anything we've ever had before! He's really opened ours eyes to see things from their point of view. I'm still brought to tears when I think of their side this equation. I can see how God has given them an incredible amount of patience for us, how he's opened their eyes to see our perspective. It's truly an amazing thing to watch and live!
Bona has decided he wants to be called Andrew. Well, after I convinced him there was already a Justin Bieber so that couldn't be his name. Poor Caleb was beside himself. He wanted a new name to. I tried to explain that he already had an American name, but that if he wanted an Ethiopian name we could do that. Well, Andrew has been telling us stories of the monkey he had in Ethiopia named Toda...like Yoda but with a t. So Caleb decided that would be is Ethiopian name! The best part was that for at least a week he had to ask me what his Ethiopian name was! But he willow answer to Toda!
Andrew started school right after thanksgiving. After a week of him crying every morning when the other kids got to go we decided he must be ready! He knew all the names of his letters, but none of their sounds. In one 20 minute session he had most of them memorized! He has been in school 3 weeks now and has already progressed to the 2nd book in their readers "the hill". I can't even imagine learning to read a language in 3 weeks where maybe the symbols are familiar but the sounds and vocabulary aren't! The kid I'd crazy smart...or maybe it was all the skittles I bribed him with....or maybe the skittles have special brain enhancing powers....oh oh that's what I'm going to tell Caleb!
Lillie is the snuggliest kid ever!!!! And she is so soft! Honestly it's like hugging a Teddy bear! She and Ellie loooooove to play together! Mostly dollies, but Ponies, Polly pocket, washing dishes, and watching caliou (I don't get it) top the list too. They rarely fight even! It's so much fun to watch. Her English is coming along quick too, although Andrew will translate things for us. She will eat about anything, much to my surprise! She was wayyyyyy picky in Ethiopia. She loves to be snuggled at night, her favorite songs are Santa Claus is coming to town and o Christmas tree!
We have taken them swimming a bunch in the last few weeks. It's been so funt o watch them get comfortable in the water. Andrew is old enough that his head gets in the way! The pool we go to has the great super soft life jackets, but even in a life jacket you have to figure out your balance and how to move in the water. He honestly looked like a dog doing the doggie paddle the first few times! His legs were all crunched up under him kicking up and down almost like he was riding a bike. Our other kids don't even remember learning how to swim, we spend so much time at the pool! And I don't even remember them learning how so it's been hard to teach Andrew what to do. It hink he might have figured it out this last time though! He and Lillie love to jump in from the edge and neither of them want to be caught anymore....whew, cuz while he's not huge, 53 lbs of pure boy jumping straight for your head is a recipe for disaster!
It's been so much fun to see Christmas through their eyes. I cant wait!!!!! Everyday Andrew tells me "Christmas mommy game!". Yes Andrew, you're getting a ds for Christmas!!!!
And finally some pictures....
He want daddy to pull out his tooth! He's already lost his bottom two...this is his first top one to go. He was quite excited when he woke up the next morning with money under his pillow. The tooth fairy was kind enough to leave his tooth behind, she told us she didn't want him to think she stole it. But he was disappointed when his get rich quick scheme of putting his tooth under his pillow every night didn't pan out!
We had just a little bit of fun at the Colfax Christmas parade. They weren't to keen on being out in the freezing cold until people started throwing candy from the different floats....and then Santa was n the last one!!! Veeeeeery exciting
Thanks to their sunday school teacher, O Christmas Tree is their favorite Carole.
Not quite sure who is reading here.....
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