A whole lotta catchin up!!!!

All i can say is Wow!!! It's almost been 2 mths since I have blogged...whew!! I have to admit...as much as i love to write & process all of our daily happenings here on this blog...it did feel a bit good to have a break...not a wanted break...a required break...because, you see...our family moved into a new( well, new to us home!!) home..which meant from end of January till 2 wks ago...my very gracious parents allowed our large family to occupy their basement...Thanks again Mom & Dad!! So, my parents did have a computer, but you see, I'm not the best at downloading pics and such on my own computer, let alone their virus infested one!! So, I'm back!! Also, in the midst of those few months...we celebrated Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Kates 7th Birthday, Easter...etc...so you I'm just warning you...there will be an overload of pic's!! Ageze & Tesfa have been home almost 10 months now...so hard to believe!! Hard to believe that they don't speak a word of Amharic, hard to believe that 1 yr ago we were still waiting to pass court & so hard to believe how much they have learned in the past months!! Well, I must start the blog catch up...you see, I will be making this into a book for each of our kids..can't skip all of the important milestones in the last few mths!!                                                            xo kristen

alive & slacking...

Oh.My.Word. I am possibly one of the biggest blog slackers known to blog-land!! Happy St. Patty's Day to you all...we all wore some sort of green today...Grant in his plaid blue & green...he's not much for sticking out in a crowd!! Kate in her beautiful dress/leggings...which obviously has flowers & green leaves..that counts right?? Ageze in his Green undies...ha!!( Grant loved that one!!) And my little Tesfa man has a teeny tiny bit of green on his shirt...when he likes a shirt...there is no talking him into wearing anything BUT!! Our past 3 wks or more have been hectic( to say the least!!) We are looking so forward to spring & summer!! Ageze is beyond ready for the snow to disappear...he is actually helping it .....yesterday he was seen on my parents back deck...shoveling the leftover snow on the back deck.....in his jeans(rolled up bottoms!!) no shirt( i was at school picking kate & grant up!!, we can blame nana for that one!!) no socks or shoes!! But...he did have his Hawaii beach towel wrapped from waist down...doing some sort of African dance in the patio window....oh, and singing at the top of his lungs in Amharic!! Tomorrow marks 8 months home for Ageze & Tesfa....yay!!!! Every now & then Ageze will say..."Mama, lets got to Ethiopia...hot there!!" This past week, Ageze also experienced his first teeth-cleaning appt!! No cavities for this boy:) He went with me last wk for my appt..just to watch. I gave myself a pat on the back for that idea...it definitely paid off...even though during my appt..he'd accidentally push the chair up & down, or shoot the water at me unexpectedly!! He LOVED when it was his turn!! He laid back in the chair...pulled his sunglasses from his pocket(I had no idea those were in there....he's a clever kid!!) took off his shoes, & relaxed for the next 30 min!! Grant & Kate are anxiously awaiting spring & summer breaks...as is there momma!! I drove Grant's class to an Agriculture Field Trip today...they all had fun..baby chicks to hold, baby cows, sheep...etc. We were able to watch the shearing of a sheep!! Ageze loved it, Tesfa not so much...he thought he was next!!" Tesfa no sheepy haircut!!"...Tesfa. Hope you are alll getting a taste of spring!! Will post pic's soon:)....oh, and change my Blog Header...oops...Christmas was so 3 mths ago!!                                                            xo Kristen

RADICAL.....

I'm sure you have all heard about this book...if you haven't...i strongly recommend you all go to Barnes & Noble & find it!! I have to admit...I've never been one to read. Up until about 3 days ago, I would go as far as saying...I very strongly disliked reading. My kids have actually said .."the only thing my mom likes to read is magazines!!" Well Kiddos...not anymore!! I read through the entire "Radical" Book..yes, cover to cover in less than a day...yay!! And I'm now considering reading it for the 2nd,3rd, 100th time!! Yes, it was THAT good!! And last night, I drove down to the book store again, and purchased myself another book!! I'm currently on pg 121 of Choosing to SEE...by:Mary Beth Chapman. And once again, I recommend it...even though your tears will be flowing. Like I've said like a billiongajillion times...ever since returning from ET..In my Heart & mind, I've gone through every possible option as to how we can better serve, minister, love on, share the word of God...to those in ET, and right here at home. I've actually been wanting to read Radical for several months now...I've been putiing it on the sideburner...possibly because I knew how it would make me feel, or I should say...how it should make us feel. But, now what?? Should we just sponsor a child or children?? Should we lead a mission trip to ET?? There is a song I listen to on a daily basis...it's by the African Children's Choir...Called Jeremiah. Goes something like this..
  "Jeremiah, what do you see?? I see the branch of an almond tree. Jeremiah, what do you see?? I see the branch of an almond tree. The voice of the lord come to Isaiah. Whom shall I send to go for us?? The voice of the Lord come to Isaiah. Whom shall I send to go for us?? Here I am Lord, send me , send me lord. Here I am Lord, send me. Do not say that you are too young. Whom shall I send to go for us?? Wherever you want Lord."

   Those are the words that are stuck with me. Now, I'm sure all of our family out there is thinking..."oh my goodness...Kristen, stop this crazy thinking!!" Don't work yourselves up...We are not moving to Africa today!! But, please buy the book "Radical" and see for yourselves what we are commanded to do...not called to do. I hear God saying..." the things I require of  you Kristen arent always going to be fun, easy, or stress free." Actually totally opposite. Whether God sends me.... in the way... of leading a mission trip, fundraising for an organization that supports orphanages, or sharing His Word...I pray that my family & I are used for his Glory. Talk about a deep post, huh??
   On a lighter note...I've been majorly slacking on my blog...we had a relaxing Valentine's Day..the kids and I made Kasey a Valentiney Dinner, complete with homemade cards, Catawba(fake champagne!!) name cards for our spots at the table, and candles:) The kids always look forward to this every year!! Today we are enjoying being together as a family...yes, even Kasey is home with us!! I wish you all a wonderful week!!
                   Sorry about the "click to look inside!!" You'll just have to go to the store, purchase yourself one and read away!!!
                                                                xo Kristen

the talk of baboons...

For the last 6 months or so, Ageze & Tesfa would frequently use the word...Omboma(sp?). I've looked this word up several times!! I was beginning to think they must really like President Obama!!Ha!!! Every time I'd look this mysterious word up..all that would show  up was Barack Obama!! Anyhow, the other night while at my parents house, the boys were getting pretty fired up on this the topic of omboma!! We asked the boys several questions.."what is it?" what does omboma mean?" "what does it look like?" and so on...well, what we got in return was something like this..." big, mean like lion, open doors, tall legs, monkey face, big teeth, naughty, eat puppy!" So, we went up to the computer..typed in ethiopian animals...a long list of pictures came up...Ageze was sure he would know exactly what it would look like...and he did!!!!!!                                                                                                                                                    The Gelada (Theropithecus gelada), sometimes called the Gelada Baboon, is a species of Old World monkey found only in the Ethiopian Highlands, with large populations in the Semien Mountains. Theropithecus is derived from the Greek root words for "beast-ape."[3][4] Like its close relatives, the baboons (genus Papio), it is largely terrestrial, spending much of its time foraging in grasslands.




 These were a few of the pics that he pointed out!! No wonder they run to their rooms shouting..."no omboma, no omboma get you!!" Now I have absolutely no idea if this word they are using means a Baboon....but, I do catch them playing Baboon on occasion...yep, yesterday, we went to an indoor playland...and I got a few questions about what the boys were playing!! C'mon people..havent you ever played baboon or hyena before??? Ha!! The other women there got a good laugh or two!! On a more serious note, I cannot imagine having such a fear as this. This was a real fear of the boys. Ageze claims they would eat their food, and they were able to open the door at their home. He said, with such disgust & fear, that they would see these ALOT!! He said," momma, they have big teeth, naughty, open Ageze door at house, come in, Ageze ET papa say... Ageze run!!" When they start talking of life in ET, you can hear their hearts pounding, they get very into telling their stories...often times it will go on for an hour!! That particular night, Ageze also told us he would eat cow tongue...He showed us how they would cut it off, put it on a stick and put it in the fire...he said.."yummy, Ageze like it!!" Again, I cannot imagine. Each & Every time they share with us about their lives in ET...I am taught. This was not a nightmare for them..it was their reality. As they continue to grow in their height, weight & speech...I continue to grow in ways I never knew existed..and for that, I am so very thankful.                                                                                                            xo kristen

a whole lotta sick.

Oh yes, there's been a whole lotta coughing, ear-tuggin, noses runnin around this place!! And, this momma is sick of it!! I guess after being coughed on for the last 2 weeks, I was bound to have the sniffles myself...so, yep...I'm sick & tired. First it started with the younger two!! Those little guys have ridiculous high pain tolerances...oh.my.word. I took them both in on Sunday...Saturday night was a.longgggg.night. Ageze was crying about his ear(for the first time!) and they were both coughing their lungs out..so, Sunday a.m. off we went to the clinic. The Dr. said.."Mam, don't be surprised if you see blood coming from his ear...he has bad ear infections in both ear's and they could very easily rupture at this point(thankully this did not happen!!)...I wouldn't be one bit surprised if that happened!!" What a horrible mom!! That's what i thought anyhow..but seriously...he had not even mentioned his ear hurt till the night before!! Anyhow...we left with med's for both of them..Tesfa only had 1 ear infected..then Kate was home Tuesday & Wed, & now it's me!! I wish there were such thing as "call in sick" days for us mommas!! On the brighter side...today is about 50 degrees warmer than yesterday..now that's something to celebrate!!! Comeon Spring:)    xo Kristen

Tesfa is 3!!!!

Well, his birthday was actually on January 12th..but, since Kasey was gone, we chose to celebrate his birthday Last night!! We had a fun day...woke him up( i know...who actually wakes up their kid!!??) but, I just had to, so I could sing him Happy Birthday!! Then we went to church, ate lunch, the guys watched football, and then we had dinner & cake at my parents home!! Tesfa was a very excited "birthday boy" which made our day so fun!! He loved hearing everyone sing to him...all day he kept saying.."Happy birthday to Tesfa...cha cha cha!!" On the way home last evening, he said..."thank you Tesfa birthday, tesfa have fun, like birthday cake & sing to me!!" He was just so sweet & grateful for his fun day!! And today...he's sporting his new camo pants, camo rain boots, & a new shirt he got...no, none of it really goes together..but, he still looks adorable!! Thanks to our family for helping Tesfa celebrate his "1st" birthday here at home!!  xo kristen

Ageze's friday a.m. thoughts!!

This morning while eating breakfast, Ageze starting visiting about Ethiopia...I could listen to him for hours..his words can sometimes be devastating as he explains the day he went to "New Ethiopia"(thats what he calls the orphanage)...and let me tell you, he knows details...and it's heart breaking. Other times it's music to my ears...this morning he shared with me the day he went to the Dr. in Ethiopia...I'm thinking it must have been the final TB test before coming to the U.S.....and he had this process so clearly down...you go get your final blood work and soon your family comes!! He said..."Momma, Ageze & Tesfa go to Dr. in Ethiopia, get shot in our arm, and Ageze say..It's my turn Now!!" "Momma, Papa come get me & Tesfa, Momma look beautiful, Momma have beautiful eyes!" And then of course Tesfa chimed in.."Tesfa miss Himbasha!!" Ha!! I thought Ageze's comment was so sweet...he could see the joy and love in my eyes that July day!! Oh, and I finally get my husband back tonight!! He has been in NYC for the last 3 wks for work, so we have missed him like crazy!! We made a countdown chain, of course...and the kids were so thrilled to have pulled off the last one before school this am!!  Hope your weekend is fantastic!!    xo kristen