A Little Amharic

  

                                                     Kali turned eight last month!

When Kali joined our family almost two years ago she learned English so fast and stop speaking  Amharic so quickly that the little bit of Amharic the rest of learned was soon dropped.  Although Tulem speaks English pretty well for being here 5 months, somehow some Amharic lingers. I-deh-LEHM - No - is popular and kwahss - ball. Tulem's favorite Amharic word is bulicay - I have no idea how to actually spell it and we may be pronouncing it incorrectly since we are copying a three year old. A friend in Colin's Sophomore class is Ethiopian and she said it means bad person, but she has assured me it is not a cuss word. Tulem use to say it when he got upset with his siblings.  Now they all say it to taunt each other.
Earlier today Tulem was trying to get my 18 year old's attention, but Luke was on the computer and not paying attention.  Finally, Tulem yelled, "you bul-i-cay!" And shrieked with delight when Luke got up to chase him!

Cute and Funny

The girls as princesses dressed Tulem as a prince - big white shirt, forrest green pants, and boots.

The two oldest girls are selling Girl Scout cookies. I am keeping the boxes in my room for protection, but apparently that isn't enough.  Tulem was walking by with a an unaurthorized Thin Mint cookie and I asked him where he got it.  It said his sister gave it to him.  That sister denied opening a box and would not say where she put the box. An informant suggested looking under my bed.  I found an open box with half the cookies missing. My informant suggested I look in her sister's underwear drawer and not suprisingly, there were some Thin Mint cookies. The guilty party confessed.
Meanwhile, I found another opened box under my bed - this time Samoas.  I asked the girls who opened that box and no one admitted it.  Although the Thin Mint culprit said she doesn't like that kind of cookie.  I realized who does like Samoas and confronted that child, who then threw herself on the bed and started crying. Those Girl Scout cookies are just too much temptation.
I have since moved the cookies to a more secure location:)

Some December Highlights

We had a great holiday season!  The girls and I went to the Nutcracker. As it started, Amy asked me in a loud whisper why they weren't talking:)

On Christmas Eve we went to church.

 The guys...

The girls..

All eight kids!

After Christmas we drove to Northeastern Arizona, stayed at my Dad's vacation home and met up with a wonderful YWAM Ethiopia family, The Monahan's.  They took up to a great sledding spot!

Tulem and Kali enjoyed experiencing the snow for the first time.  You don't see much snow in Ethiopia:)

Tulem Update

Tulem dressed up as a cowboy.

Tulem has been home a little under three months and continues to be a joy. Many children have tough transitions, but his has been very easy. He is starting to use more English words which really helps our communication.  He can say "stop it" to his siblings instead of biting them and he can better tell us what he wants to eat or what he wants to do. I am encouraging him to use words to ask for what he wants and repeat my words if he doesn't know the right words.

His birth certificate says he is four, but we believe he is just three.  The dentist today agreed that his teeth indicate he is closer to 36 months. Tulem was so good at the dentist and was very cooperative. His teeth look great! We will ask for his birth date to be changed when we readopt him in California.

We are all in love with Tulem and he plays well with all of the kids. Today Lana was asking if she could take him in for "sharing" to her classroom. Amy said she wants to take him to her class as well:) The kids are all so proud to introduce him to their friends.
Tulem is very affectionate with us, but is approprately shy around strangers. He loves to cuddle with Brad and I and he gives very sweet kisses.  We are so thankful for the excellent care he received in Adama, I am sure that has helped his transition into our family.

A Photo of all Eight Kids!

We finally got a picture of all eight children!  They are all in their "adopted" t-shirts, representing we are all adopted into God's family. 

A weekend of fun

Since the kids had Friday off, we went to the beach Thursday and Friday night.  The weather was rainy on Friday, but went to the beach at sunset on Thursday.  Tulem loved the ocean and beach.  He face showed delighted surprise when he first saw the ocean.  He quickly ran across the beach and got his feet wet with his sisters.

 Here is Tulem at the aquarium with Dad.

                 Amy and Kali pretending to be baby pengiuns.

Tulem has been to dozens of soccer games since all seven older siblings are playing soccer. Tulem is ready to play and even dribbled the ball into the middle of the kindergarten game on Saturday:)

Orphan Sunday pictures

I got the opportunity to share about how our familiy has grown through adoption at both church services today.  Our whole family wore shirts saying "adopted" based on the Third Day video "Children of God" .  We have been adopted as God's children.

Orphan Sunday November 6

On Orphan Sunday, November 6, Christians across America and beyond stand together as a people called to defend the fatherless…to care for the child that has no family…to visit orphans in their distress.

I will be making  an announcement at our church we will have a slideshow during the offering and we will have tables after the services to share opportunities to sponsor a child through Vision Trust, help an orphanage in Mexicali, volunteer to help with foster children through Help One Child, and learn more about adoption and foster care. I am excited to see what God has planned!

Happy Birthday!

Jacob turned 13 yesterday.  He said he didn't want a party but on Saturday we ordered a inflatable obstacle course for the day.  It was just our family, but the kids had a blast.

 Tulem had a fabulous time playing with his siblings and bouncing through the course.

Lana said that Tulem got here just in time. If the Embassy had taken any longer he might have missed the party!

What a great kid!

Jacob and Tulem the day we picked him up.

Here is Tulem with several happy siblings.  He was actually happy too - you just can't see his face very well:)

Tulem is an awesome little boy. One week home and he is adjusting very well.  He sleeps through the night, he is not a picky eater, he is cuddly and affectionate.  In Ethiopia he prefered Jacob and wanted his brother to hold him.  Now that he is with me most of the time he wants mama to pick him up and hold him. His brothers are fun, but mommy is consistently there to feed him, love him and take care of him. He checks to make sure I am watching when he goes down the slide or scribbles on paper - so I can say, "Good job, Tulem!" He pushes the buttons for me as we load the washer, dryer and dishwasher - who knew applicances were so much fun.

He loves taking a bath and pouring water on his head. He likes riding in his carseat as we pick up and drop off siblings at school, soccer, swimming, and church. He also likes to get into everything and unroll the toliet paper, open and close doors, press any button, and turn lights on and off.

I most admit I am pretty tired, but I am just so pleased with our delightful little guy!

We are home!

Here Jacob and I are picking up Tulem.

Here is the first night home playing with his two oldest brothers. Luke is lifting him off Colin who was his pony.

Everyone played in the front yard and had a great time with their new brother. If you look closely you can see the beaming smiles on both girls' faces.

Sometime I will write about our wonderful trip. But right now I am just so thankful to have Tulem home. All nine of us are in love with him.  He sleeps through the night, eats well, is fun to play with, is affectionate, and is generally easy-going.  He is adorable and we are so glad he is part of our family!

Embassy Appointment!

We have an appointment on September 20 with the US Embassy in Ethiopia to get Tulem's visa! Praise the Lord! Jacob (12) and I are flying out tomorrow.
I am so excited and can't wait to see Tulem. The last few weeks have been stressful not knowing when I would be going. We passed court July 11 and were submitted to the Embassy Aug 10.

I am thankful that two other precious YWAM families will be there at the same time.

School starts and waiting for Embassy

Five kids started school yesterday.  It was Amy's first day of Kindergarten and Kali's first day of first grade.  Lana and Megan started 3rd grade and Jacob is in 8th grade.  Everyone had a great day. Colin starts his Sophomore year next week (this week he is volunteering at a camp for foster kids).  Luke has twice a day practices with the West Valley College soccer team and starts classes Aug 29.

We are still waiting for the US Embassy to clear us for travel.  Everyone is getting in their school routine and will soon be settled in, so I am ready to plan my trip to Ethiopia.

Megan is 9!

Megan turned 9 yesterday.  She was almost three when we brought her home from Russia. She is three months older than Lana and they have always been within 1/4 inch of each other in height. Megan often says Lana came home first, but I am the oldest girl.  Megan is a great swimmer and loves the water.  She is a good big sister and I am blessed to be her mom.

Introducing our new son!

Today in Ethiopia the MOWA letter arrived and the judge signed off the case.  We are now Tulem Porter's family and he is ours. Yesterday he had no known family. Today he has 2 parents, 4 sisters, 3 brothers, 3 sets of grandparents, 5 uncles, 3 aunts, 10 first cousins and extended family beyond that too numerous to count. We feel so blessed and we are all excited to be his family.

Isn't he handsome!

He liked being tickled by his new dad when we visited.

My baby is 5!

Amy turned 5 on Wednesday.  It is hard to believe.  We brought her home when she was just 4 months old and such a cute baby with big, chubby cheeks.  I am so blessed to be her mom.
(Lana is with Amy in the picture above.  It is hard to be in a picture alone - some sibling is always jumping in to the spotlight:) )

Little Miss In-Charge

Last night Colin told me that Kali had started a club and was president.  Colin added, "All seven of us are in it - not that we were given a choice." Kali told me that the club was about boys following rules.  While I was cooking dinner, all seven kids headed back to the girls' room for a meeting.  I heard some people muttering about a dictator under their breath. In the picture you can see Kali in her president's chair, her sisters not paying attention and her older brothers' feet. The meeting didn't last long - the boys were laughing and Kali sounded frustrated:)  Keep going  Kali - leadership is hard work!

Feeding the troops

I forgot what it is like feeding the kids lunch during the summer.  My seven, plus there is always at least one or two extra friends around.  I made grilled cheese and used the whole loaf of bread I bought this morning and all of the sliced cheese - they asked for more.  They finished up the watermelon, some apples, a can of chicken noodle soup and some enchilada soup. This was after the large popcorn and refill at the movie theatre. (It is $2 Tuesday for movie tickets.  We saw Rio and it was cute:)

Does anyone have some good large quantity lunch suggestions?!

Great first meeting with our new little guy

Last Saturday Brad and I met T. in Adama, Ethiopia.  He was scared of us at first, but we gave him some anaimal crackers and a new ball and he warmed up to us quickly:)  He is 3 years old and just adorable.  He loves kicking and passing balls - I think we have a eighth soccer player for our family.

The YWAM orphanage where he is, is holy ground. It is a widows and orphan home run by an amazing woman of Christ, Tezera. While we were visiting T. we heard singing.  I looked around and realized it was coming from the babies’ room.  I asked Tezera and she opened the door to the babies room where each nanny was holding a baby and singing and clapping.  Tezera explained it was shift change. She then lead them in prayer.  It was in Amharic but we recognized each babies name.  I believe they were praying over each child.

After the orphanages I have seen in Russia, the sweetness of this “shift change” brought tears to my eyes. It was wonderful t to see the widows and children living together under the precious care of Tezera and the nannies.

We attended court on Tuesday, but our case did not pass because the MOWA approval letter was not there. Hopefully, it will arrive in the next three weeks and the judge will pass the case. At any rate, our part is done and we do not need to appear in court again. Our job is again to wait:)

Another highlight of the trip was meeting three other YWAM families - I liked them immediately and hope we will see each other again sometime.

We stayed at the Ethio Comfort Guest House, where I stayed last year.  Seeing Tsebay, who runs the guest house, was like seeing a dear friend again.  I love her and it was great meeting her new husband when he came to pick her up to go to a Bible study.

Graduation

Luke graduated from high school yesterday.  It was a wonderful ceremony and we all cheered when he received his diploma!

Luke and his buddy, Tim.  They were co-MVP's of the varsity soccer team.

We had a delicious lunch with family back at home.  Then last night they had an all night grad party at school.  I picked him up at 6am and now he is sleeping:)