We're Diving In

I am hoping this works

2010-12-07T11:48:00.001-08:00

I have spent the last 3 months trying to remember how to log on to post pictures and updates. I am hoping this works!

Brooke Schuldheisz

Math Specialist

Westgate Elementary

Last ETHI

2009-08-19T19:30:00.001-07:00

How far we have come

2009-07-28T22:36:00.001-07:00

Last year we took the kids out on the boat to teach them how to jump into the water, float with their life jackets and climb back into the boat. Safety first is my motto... Danny and Lilly were the only ones who were enthusiastic by the idea of swimming in the river.

Today we took the kids out for the first boat trip of the year and ALL 6 of them jumped into the river the same way they jump into the car when we tell them we are going for ice cream... they were so excited! Marti (who last year was clenched onto Ben tighter than I have ever seen anyone clench another person) jumped into the water, swam around and had a great time. Jacob did about a hundred karate-cowabunga-cannonball-things into the water (hoping to splash me everytime) and Addy, Danny, Lilly and Joseph also had a blast floating around the "mighty Columbia. It was so much fun to watch them all having so much fun.

And yes, once again, I did NOT jump into the water. I really don't like swimming where fish might bite me... despite the fact that I told the kids at least 30 times that, "the fish are more afraid of you than you are of them." Shhhh.... don't tell them I am afraid too. :)

More kids????

2009-07-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

OK... don't freak out! Yesterday, Addy and I had this conversation:

Addy: Mom, what can't I be a big sister like Linnea? I want a baby brother. Who put's babies in tummies?

Me: God puts them in.

Addy: So God put Danny and Jacob and Joseph in Daddy's tummy.

Me: Ummmm...

Addy: And he put me and Marti and Lil in your tummy.

Me: Ummmm....

Addy: Because boys come from Daddy's tummies and girls come from mommies.

Me: Ummm.....

Addy: Because I really want to be a big sister. I want a baby.

Me: Ummm... no Daddy and I are done having babies.

Addy: Why?

Me: Ummmm...

Addy: OK so when are you going to 'dopt a baby brother for me - from Ethiopia?

Me: Ummmm.... go ask Daddy.

Home again... home again... jiggety jig

2009-07-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Anyone out there? Is anyone still reading this? Hello?

I am so happy to announce that we are in our new house, totally settled and LOVING it!!!! I can't believe what a perfect house we have. It is just right for my family. Joseph has his own room (decorated in black and red in honor of AC Milan, a pro soccer team), Danny and Jacob have a great big room that has room for their legos and all their clothes too! :) They love being in there and giggling and having fun. The girls are still sharing a room (Marti is actually thrilled to still share a room) and they love their lime green and aqua room. They have super cute comforters that match. I love their room almost as much as they do. We have a fabulous above ground pool that has gotten LOTS OF USE in the last 3 weeks. Ben, Joseph and Dan worked really hard to build a fence and deck around the pool and that has made our yard pretty much perfect too.

I now have an enormous kitchen that makes me smile everytime I cook and I also have a WALK IN CLOSET!!! I can't believe it! :) My other favorite thing about the house is the 2 washers and dryers - yep, their awesome!!!!

Life is fabulous!

The kids are all doing really well and loving the house. Addy had a couple of tough days adjusting to the change but is now downstairs making cupcakes with her play kitchen that has been in storage for 3 months. Joseph has been having a fabulous time with soccer, football and drivers ed (EEEEEKKKK). Marti finished 2 volleyball camps and then started an art camp that she has been enjoying as well. Danny and Jacob and Lilly have been going to a fun sports camp that keeps them tired - and that is a good thing.

Ben and I are loving the new house and keeping busy hauling the kids to and fro'. We are looking forward to a trip to Sun River soon and then we will start getting ready for school. Hope your summer is lots of fun!!!!
~Brooke

This week

2009-06-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy busy week and the kids have been a blast! Joseph got his driver's permit and started football for Kennewick High. Marti finished her second week of volleyball camp and had a blast. Lilly went to cheerleading camp and was SO stinkin' cute. Addy and the boys played outside and helped us get ready to move tomorrow. Ben and his dad spent the week painting and building a fence around the pool. Hooray!!!!!!!! We are getting ready to move tomorrow night and Saturday. In some ways it seems like we have always been here with Ben's parents - it is so easy and really fun in a lot of ways. The kids absolutely love being here and I am pretty sure they will be sad to not have grandma and grandpa to cuddle with each morning.

So tomorrow will be a day of cleaning their house and packing everything that is here (there is a lot). We are hoping to have the keys early in the afternoon and will spend the evening getting everything moved over and setting up Joseph's room (all of his stuff is here at Jan and Dan's). He has never had his own room - I keep wondering if he will love it or get lonely! Satruday at 9 we will start moving everything, if you are looking for something to do on Saturday we would love to have your help!

We would love your prayers as we step into this new "chapter"!

Hello

2009-06-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe it has been nearly a month since my last post. Time has truly flown...

Here is a look back --

we moved out of our house and into Ben's parents house. Moving was pretty stressful but we had several friends who came and made it almost fun. Joseph and Marti were the stars of the move - I really don't know how we could have done it without them. They were amazing. Living with Ben's mom and dad has been great. I seriously never would have thought that 10 people in there house for an extended period of time (it's been over a week) would survive happily. We are all happy! Grandpa has been spoiling me and I have only cooked once since we have been there - we are blessed!!!!
the boys finished up their baseball season in 3rd place and are currently in the running for first place in the All City Tournament. Danny is a hot shot catcher and Jacob is pitching like a pro... I LOVE watching them play!! They have both hit home runs this year (did you hear me cheering - you probably did)!!!
Lilly is just about to graduate from Kindergarten - I cannot believe she is that old. Although there are days I would sware she's 12 instead of 6. She is so much fun and her laughter is one of my favorite sounds in the world.
Addy is turning into quite the big kid - and quite the ham. We were sitting at dinner the other night when she announced to us all, "Everybody PAUSE!!!! I have to go potty!" She is not one to miss the action and wanted to be sure that no one had any fun without her! She is also now a big girl and does not wear pull ups to bed! Hooray!
Marti finished up a great softball season! It was so much fun to watch her learn and have fun with the kids and the coaches. She is such an amazing kid and really loves her classmates.
we attended the Afro-American for Academics Society banquet with Joseph last night. He was honored for his terrific grades, what a thrill!!! He also starts football today -so prayers for an injury free season would be much appreciated!
we are signing papers to buy our Dream House today. It is nearly 3000 square feet with a huge kitchen, living room and plenty of bedrooms! It also has a fabulous above ground pool that we are going to LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
school is almost out... what more could we ask for??

Exchange Students?

2009-05-09T20:47:00.001-07:00

Someone asked me today if Joseph was my exchange student...

It made me laugh. People have asked about my day care rates too. :)

Nope... I am just a mom with a family! Right now they are out shopping for Mother's Day. Lilly asked me if I like peanut butter toast for breakfast... I wonder if I will be getting breakfast in bed tomorrow.

Addy has told me about 300 times today that she is going to help make it. Lilly keeps telling her to be quiet.

I know I say this a lot but I really love being a mom! It is super hard, wonderfully fun and never leaves me bored. I am a blessed woman!

Funnies from Addy

2009-05-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is the monologue Addy had this morning...

Mom, where is my fishy? I think it died. I don't see him? Where is it? I didn't name it. When will it come back to life? I will name it Deady. When it comes back to life I will name it and then I will complete it.

Big Changes are Coming

2009-04-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce that we have sold our house (pending an inspection tonight) and we are buying a new home from our good friends. We have outgrown our 1780 square foot home and even though I will miss some things about our house (the yard, the ability to hear when people are grouchy because it is so small) I am also SUPER excited about our new house. It is almost 3000 square feet with a huge yard (sorry Joseph - we know you don't want to mow that huge lawn), a pool, and every other wonderful thing we needed in a house. Joseph will finally have his own room and we will have 3 showers, 2 washer and dryers and a lovely deck that overlooks the yards.

We would love prayers that the inspection, paperwork, financing etc. goes smoothly as we sell our home. We would also love prayers as we pack and move. We will be living with Jan and Dan for 3 or 4 weeks (the boys and Ben will be sleeping in our camper trailer in Grandma and Grandpas driveway while we (the girls) sleep in the house). We are a little (a lot) nervous about driving Jan and Dan nuts and would appreciate prayers for them as well as us during that "transition time".

Moving is such a stressful and exciting time. We can't wait to let you know how it is all going!

Forever Day 2009

2009-04-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

In honor of our first Forever Day anniversary I have created this video.

I cannot believe it has been a year!

I cannot believe how much I love my kids!

I cannot believe how blessed I am.

Thank you God!

HOME

2009-04-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Once we hung up the phone we headed to Aunt Rebecca's room for a distraction. Later, we had some dinner, said our prayers and fell into a deep and sometimes troubled sleep - knowing that the next day we would be leaving Ethiopia.

From Part VI

We woke with excitement, nervousness, sadness and fear. Ben and I could hardly wait to get home and have all 6 kids together. Joseph was so sad to be leaving his home and Marti and Jacob were terrified of the plane ride. We finished packing and took our bags down to the lobby. We checked around the room for the 100th time and finally went to check out. Rebecca paid an extra fee to keep her room until we left for the airport at 5pm that night. When I showed Ben the hotel receipt we had to laugh when we saw that we had spent over $500 calling home - we knew it had been worth it!

We had some major shopping we wanted to get done today... and Marti's hair to get done too - we headed out for our last day in Ethiopia...

We decided to start with the haircuts... We took Marti and Joseph to the Ghion hotel for their appointments. Joseph was in and out in 15 minutes... after an hour we sent everyone shopping while Marti and I stayed at the salon. 3 hours later, Marti's hair was still being done. At one point there were 6 people braiding her hair... we started getting nervous that we would miss our plane. The Ghion is the 3rd nicest hotel in Ethiopia - I expected clean bathrooms and cockroach free floors. I was wrong. The salon would have never survived a health department inspection here in America, but the ladies were all so nice and Marti loved being the center of attention!

While we did hair, everyone else shopped. They went to the world famous Mercado but only sent Joseph and Dawit in for the soccer jerseys and dolls that were on our list. It is not safe for Americans to go into the Mercado so Ben, Rebecca and Jacob took pictures from the van. Next, they went to the"Fixed Price" store which does not haggle with prices and does a good job of giving ferenji's a good deal. While there, they ran into another ferenji couple and Ben started talking to them. It turned out that they were related to a friend here in Kennewick - what a small world it is!

Finally, Marti's hair was done and we returned to the hotel for dinner. We said a tearful goodbye to our driver Dawit and headed inside to eat. We decided to eat in our room so that we could shower and pack our purchases. The kids loved their doro wat and Coca Colas and I just sat there hardly believing that our time was almost done.

We got to the airport and had 2 hours to spend doing nothing. We met 2 girls who had been adopted 10 years before and had returned with their mom and dad to see their older sisters for the week. The girls were so excited to have had the chance to see their sisters and they were so glad to be going home - it was a great meeting for all of us.

Getting on the plane was terrifying to all 3 kids. But they fell asleep within 10 minutes of take off. They slept off and on all the way to Germany and couldn't believe we were almost half way home. We ended up having 3 hours in the German airport but we were all so tired I don't remember any of it. Our flight from Germany went directly to Portland which was great - everyone settled in and slept for several hours again. I am sure they were tired but I am guessing they slept out of fear too. At one point, half way through our flight, I lost it. I tried to be discreet in my tears but I am sure the man next to me thought I was crazy. It started because Marti didn't want to watch Enchanted with me and got worse because I was sure that my house would be overrun with laundry and I would be a horrible mom and that I was crazy to ever think I this was a good idea. I am really not a cryer - but if you ever run into anyone who was on that flight, they would probably remember me differently. It was bad. I remember that at one point, Ben got grouchy with me. He reminded me that I could do this and it would all be fine. He was right. I pulled myself together, washed my face and got ready to be home.

When we arrived in Portland it was chaos. The flight was late and there were so many people waiting to go through customs. All I could think about was the people waiting for us at the Pasco airport and that I was pretty sure that if I had to wait to see Danny, Lilly and Addy for the next plane I would probably lose it all over again. Normally when you adopt internationally there is an interview process at customs and immigration. Sometimes it can take quite a while. Let's just say that God blessed us HUGELY and we were ushered through in 20 minutes. The next job was to say goodbye to Aunt Rebecca - the kids and Aunt Rebecca were sad. I was too.

From Rebecca: Some of the things I most vividly remember about landing in Portland that you left out were that wonderful man who helped usher us through customs. What was his name? He was a sergeant or a colonel or something and he was super friendly. He worked it out so that Ben and I could gather luggage and go get everyone checked in at the Alaska/Horizon counter, and you could take the kids through for the INS interview. He gave us his name so that the people at the ticket desk could call him if there was a problem. There was a lot of mayhem, Jesse showed up and handed me some tulips, and then everyone was at the counter and it was time to say goodbye. The whole airport might have swirled around a bit, or perhaps that's just my memory. I don't think the kids understood that I didn't live in your house or at least in the same town, so there was a bit of surprise that you were leaving me behind with the strange, tulip-bearing man. It was such a sad parting, but I was anxious to get home and so were all of you. (Anxious in more than one way, I would imagine!)

I couldn't believe we were back in the Portland airport and that we were on our way home. We quickly ran into bathrooms to put on our red shirts. I frantically searched through the gift stores for something to make us smell better - but there was nothing to be found. We got to our gate and waited - the grin on my face might have made me look slightly deranged but I couldn't help it... we were almost there!

The flight to Pasco was relatively quick, very bumpy and I am guessing that I talked a mile a minute. The kids were nervous - really nervous and so excited too! I remember getting off the plane (we left our video camera on it but got it back a few days later) and walking across the tarmac. I remember wondering if the blond kids remembered to put their red shirts on too. I remember holding Jacob's hand and feeling him shudder. I remember hearing Lilly SCREAM when we walked through the security gate. I remember thinking that there were a lot of people crying. I remember hugging onto the 3 we had left home and searching the crowd to make sure that Marti, and Jacob and Joseph were OK. They were hugging everyone and holding onto their little brother and sisters too. Lilly still talks about the way Marti hugged her. She hugged hard. :) I remember taking some pictures and getting into the Suburban. I remember turning around in the Suburban and bursting into a huge smile. It was just as I had imagined it. Everyone cuddled together and talking loudly.

We were home. We were together.

That's what it was all about.

Home together!

Coming Home

2009-04-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Joseph will be home from his trip to Washington DC in a few hours. He told Ben that he really missed us and can't wait to get home.

A year ago Ethiopia was home... even though we had already left Ethiopia and were flying somewhere over Europe. He was so sad to be leaving Ethiopia and so unsure about the new life God had planned for him.

Today, he is coming HOME! Hooray - we have missed him sooooo much!

What I have learned this year...

2009-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the things that I have learned this year...

Being a mom to 6 kids is just what God had planned for me
Things like laundry and dishes are not as important as I thought
but they take more time than I have
Giving kids chores makes my life better - and their spouses will thank me someday
Ben is the best dad in the world
The best husband too
God is so good with the details
Taking this leap of faith has blessed ME in ways I would have never guessed
Having time for friends is super important
And I am thankful for the friends who lovingly get me out of the house and into Starbucks
That Starbucks was very helpful for my sleep deprived state the first few months
That a homemade dinner is sometimes over rated
Hannah Montana is no longer cute for 7-year-olds ~ she is way too sassy!
Muffins from Costco are sometimes worth the money
2 dogs are sometimes 2 too many
Ethiopian kids may never like milk
Salsa is the most important item on my grocery list at all times
Even big kids like to cuddle (sort of)
Watching America's Funniest Home Videos as a family makes me super happy
Riding bikes with my kids is stressful
St Patrick's Day is really hard to explain
Ben does not eat broccoli no matter how many times I ask him to be a good example for the kids
Disneyland may never be in our budget
Our garbage gets full way too fast
Homework is an evil invention and I seriously have doubts about the benefits to children
and the benefits will NEVER outweigh the stress it causes parents
And I HATE Science Projects
I love reading with my kids, chapter books have really improved in the last 20 years
although I will always love Super Fudge!
Eating dinner outside is a great way to save my sanity
The Wii is a great bonding tool
Taking walks with my kids make them talk to me in ways that are very different
Making time for God somehow gives me MORE time for other things
Losing 25 pounds without exercise was harder than I thought it would be
I may never have time to exercise again
Reading a magazine brings me GREAT joy!
I love date nights more now than ever before in my life

OK... I am sure there are some other, much deeper, things that I have learned... but for now that is all I can think of!

Time Flies When You are Having Fun

2009-03-30T15:17:00.001-07:00

It has been exactly one year since we first hugged our kids. I will never forget those first hugs... I was so very scared that they would not want a new mom - and the moment Joseph ran into my arms I knew that God really did know what he was doing :). I am not sure that I have ever been hugged so possesively in my whole life. The kids clung to us and had a very hard time letting go. Someone asked me the other day if the "kids call you mom yet?" OH! They have called me mom from the second we first met. She also asked if the kids get along well... OH Yes! They have so much fun together AND they drive each other crazy - it is definitely LOVE!

I have put together a vidoe of the last year in honor of our Gotcha Day on April 5th. We have decided to celebrate our first day ALL TOGETHER instead of the day that Ben, Rebecca and I met the kids. So... check back later this week for the video (don't be expecting too much - this is my first video).

Can you believe it's been a year?

Happy Birthday Joseph

2009-03-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

Happy 15th Birthday, Josepho The Great!

Happy Birthday, Joseph! We love you so much! I cannot believe I have a 15-year-old son! I cannot believe he is not here for his "first birthday". Right now Joseph is touring Monticello with his 8th grade class. He has a fever and a bad cold and is feeling horrible... and is 3000 miles away! I am praying constantly that he feels better soon so that he can enjoy his trip. If he knew how many times I would have kissed him and hugged him today, he would probably be glad that he was gone. It has been so weird not having him here. Having 5 kids is different... definitely not better... just different. We miss him so much - Jacob has been in tears several times and the rest of the kids miss him so much too! I am so glad Joseph is a part of our family. I am so thankful that he is the big brother in our family - what a wonderful example he is to the other kids. I could never have dreamed that Joseph would be so special... God sure knew what he was doing when he placed Joseph in our lives.

To Ethiopia and Home Part VII

2009-03-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

That night I ended up with a bad headache so Rebecca and Ben entertained the kids with her laptop. Marti entertained them with her "gymnastics" and the boys just had fun hanging out.

From Part VI

I had no idea how much a headache would worry the kids. No idea at all! They still worry every time I don't feel 100% - it makes sense and breaks my heart all at the same time.

We woke up on Thursday with anxious hearts. We had to return to the German Embassy to get our transit visas... and they were not overly helpful. I had finally figured out that the kids did not like pancakes or eggs for breakfast. They were perfectly happy to have a roll and tea or water. No Fruit Loops for them I assumed - I was wrong, they love them! :) Once we got dressed and ready we headed for the car with our $312 to pay for our German visas. We debated about taking more money but we decided that we would only need birr (Ethiopian money) for the rest of the day.

We arrived at the German Embassy and were quickly separated. They only allow 2 people in at a time and so I went with Jacob, then Ben followed with Marti. That meant we left Rebecca and Joseph outside the embassy walls alone. I was nervous. We were in a not so nice area next to a river where people bathed. I was so worried that someone would see Rebecca and think she was alone and steal her... I am such a worrier that way. Soon enough we were all back together and inside the waiting room with our paperwork filled out EXACTLY the way the man had told us to do it the day before.

When it was finally our turn we learned that the exchange rate had changed overnight and we needed $30 more dollars for our visas - we only had birr and had no idea what to do. We all searched our pockets and panicked. If we didn't get our visas we would have to stay for a few more days... and I REALLY WANTED TO GET HOME! Finally, Rebecca got the idea to ask if someone would "sell us some money". When we first asked they looked at us like we were crazy... after a minute one lady figured out that she would be making some serious money by exchanging our money. I think I may have hugged her because I was so excited. :) Phew... we were going home! OH! But not so fast. The same man informed me that I did not make enough copies of our plane tickets and that we would have to return tomorrow. Ummm.... let's just say that the "momma bear" came out fighting and I quickly showed him where I had written notes the day before and that no where did it say that we needed what he was asking for. In addition, I could see the copy machine right behind him and it seemed like since there was a break down in communication it would be best if he helped us immediately. I am guessing that it was NOT my excellent persuasion that encouraged him to make the copies... instead it was probably the fact that he could tell that "that crazy ferengi lady was about to start screaming and crying" if he didn't fix the problem.

15 minutes later, visas in hand, we were back in the car and I was all smiles!

We settled in for a long car ride out of the city to a place called Summer Lakes. It is an area with many lakes in a rural part of Ethiopia. The drive was absolutely beautiful. The acacia trees, small villages, and farms made me feel far from home. The kids sang and talked and cuddled the whole way - they were so cute! We arrived at a restaurant overlooking the largest lake. It was a very nice restaurant but still had a bathroom that made you willing to 'hold it' for a long time! The kids took over the camera during our wait and had a blast posing and showing off!

After lunch we went to a park and walked around. It was about 90 degrees so the lake water looked very inviting until we heard about the alligators that frequent the area. They had a dock with boats for rent... we decided to skip it! :)

After an hour or two we headed back to Addis and planned for a relaxing evening at the hotel. We called Mesalech that night. Dawit, our driver, translated for Ben and I as the kids talked to her and told her that they were OK. Joseph, while listening to Marti and Jacob talk, was praying and thanking God and had the biggest grin on his face. Ben and I got to "talk" to Mesalech too... it was wonderful and overwhelming and exciting and heart breaking and terrible all at the same time. We all cried and laughed throughout the conversation.

What is your favorite word?

2009-03-23T16:10:00.000-07:00

Marti asked this question the other day... in the middle of a baseball game where we were soaked and cold.

Hmmm... what IS my favorite word. I told her that I didn't know and then asked what her favorite word was.

Especially... I like ESPECIALLY

That was cute.

Joseph then told us that his favorite word was

Wonderful...

I am especially thankful to have such wonderful kids! :)

It is well... with my soul

2009-03-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Just letting you know that all is well around here! We started Spring sports yesterday and, with the exception of a freak hail storm, the kids loved it! The little boys had baseball, Marti had softball, Lilly is still having fun at gymnastics, and Joseph started track. He is one FAST kiddo! I cannot believe how good it is for them to have activity... the laughter and talking around the table at dinner made me smile. A LOT!

Contentment... seriously random thoughts.

2009-03-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

I pray about contentment a lot.

Lord, help me to love my house. Lord, help me to stop wanting an iPhone. Lord, thank you for this body you gave me but help me to NOT be content with the way I have been treating it (I need to lose 40lbs if you were wondering). Today I found this thing called the BodyBug or something like that... it tracks your calories eaten and burned and looks really cool. Lord, help me stop thinking that it is so cool. Lord, help me to remember that in Ethiopia they don't have washing machines. Help me to be content with 1 washer and dryer and stop wanting another one.

If I stop and think about the streets of Ethiopia -- I am ashamed. Really. Sometimes I choose not to stop and think. Sometimes I purposely keep right on dreaming about the things I want or think I need.

But today I will remember the little kids who were begging on the streets. Kids who would be whisked to foster homes if they showed up on the streets looking like "that". Today I will also remember the mom who kept shoving her hands in the window of our car wanting food to feed her tiny tiny tiny baby who looked like it was barely alive.

Today I will remember that my kids had never owned a TV or an extra pair of shoes 1 year ago. So today I will stop and be thankful. Thankful for my fabulous house where I always know if someone is pouting or being ornery -- because it is so small, I can hear EVERYTHING! Thankful for the body God gave me and I will start treating it better so that someday my gorgeous grandchildren can climb on my lap. I will stop caring about the stupid iPhone (I actually may need prayer to help me get over that one :)) and be thankful that my kids know my cell number and call it constantly.

I will continue to pray for contentment and all the while thank God for HIS amazing blessings.

March 6th...

2009-03-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

A year ago today as I was driving down the street on my way home from a meeting my cell phone rang! It was the news we were waiting for - we had "passed court" in Ethiopia and the kids were OURS!!!!!!!!!

You can read my original post here.

It was such an exciting and overwhelming day! I can still feel the rush of joy and the panic as I realized we would be traveling to Ethiopia and hugging our kids SOON! Today, as I was thinking over that day, I had a realization. It was a year ago today that our kids became ours. It was also a year ago today that our kids saw their mom for the last time. Mesalech had to travel to Addis (an 8-10 hour drive) to reliquish her rights to the kids. She got to spend several hours with the kids as they awaited their turn at the court. I can't imagine what that must have been like for her.

My "Mommy Heart" was rejoicing like crazy and Mesalech must have felt like she was dying just a little bit. So... today I rejoice for the year that has come and gone... but I also ache for my kids and for Mesalech. A year without a hug... that would be so very very hard!

Part VI

2009-03-01T21:36:00.000-08:00

That night as we got ready for bed and said our prayers the kids talked about Kaleab, their dad. Marti cried as she talked about him and remembered him. It was so wonderful to hear that they were loved so well by such a godly man. We gave thanks to God that night.

From Part V

Oh... this day was so very special. The kids woke up giddy with excitement. Today was the day that we planned on returning to the orphanage to see their friends again and say goodbye to the nannies who were not working on the day we picked the kids up! Right away in the morning the kids began taking their new toys and clothes out and putting them into the bags of donations that we had for the orphanages. We had to stop them more than once from putting EVERYTHING in the bags.

Before we left for Ethiopia we collected infant Tylenol, hand sanitizer, tooth brushes, washcloths, antibiotic ointments and many other items that are difficult to find in Africa. These items along with the clothes the kids were wearing when we picked them up (we were asked to return these) and care packages from parents who were waiting to come get their kids were carried downstairs to the van. I was nervous on the way to the care center. What if the kids didn't want to come back with us, what if they cried again (Marti was especially sad when she left her friends last time), what if ..... the lack of good sleep was taking it's toll and I was worried.

When we pulled up through the gates the kids were practically jumping out of their seats. They could hardly wait for the van to stop before they got out. They ran to their friends and embraced in a way that American children would never do... probably never understand. Then the nannies came running. They were so excited to see the kids and have the chance to say their goodbyes. It was obvious that Joseph was a favorite to both the children and the nannies...

The first "job" we had was to sit down and speak with the counselor about our children. The information that we were given about their parents and home was not new... we had been able to communicate well enough with the kids that we felt pretty comfortable in what we knew. We did learn about how they had done in school and we were given some of their tests and schoolwork to take home.

Our next job was to pass out gallon baggies full of treasures to some of the children who were waiting for their parents to come. We had photo albums for one family of children, stuffed animals for others, candy and toys for others. It was totally overwhelming and so much fun to have that time to give kisses to the kids and to tell them (while crying like crazy) that their "mommies were coming soon and they wanted me to tell you that they love you so much!" I seriously bawled each time I gave those kisses.

Our final job was to pass out the candy, toys and soccer balls that we had brought for the kids. Chaos does not even begin to describe the next 5 minutes and when we heard a VERY LOUD little boy yelling at the other kids we were completely and totally shocked to find that Jacob had gotten all the little kids to sit down on the wall and wait for their treats - the look that passed between Ben and I was a mixture of "Wow! That kid has some spunk" to "Holy Cow! He is going to keep us on our toes!"

When we finally left we were all exhausted. Totally and completely drained!

Our next stop was to the German Embassy to try to get our German Transit Visas. Despite the fact that we would never leave the Frankfurt Airport the kids each needed one and this was a new rule (as of the day we left Washington DC) that ended up costing us more than $500. The workers at the German Embassy were NOT helpful but they did give us a large pile of papers to fill out and told us to come back the next day.

Finally we returned to the hotel for swimming, pizza at the hotel and hanging out. It was really nice to have the afternoon just to get to know the kids and have time to relax. Jacob and Marti were so funny in the pool but Joseph decided not to swim so that he could read his English dictionary. On our way back upstairs to change for dinner Marti somehow got onto the elevator without us. I am not sure how it happened but the next thing I knew we were all standing looking at the closed doors and Marti was not with us. PANIC mode set it. I went upstairs with Joseph while Rebecca, Ben and Jacob waited downstairs. We went up to our floor... no Marti. We waited for a while then went back down. We did this for at least 5 minutes. Finally we got to a point where we could hear Marti calling for us but we couldn't find her. (She had pushed the emergency button and stopped her elevator) It was another 10 minutes before we were all back together. I was about to pass our from fear. Jacob and Joseph were about to pass out from laughter and Ben and Rebecca just kept shaking their heads. We still tease Marti about her first elevator ride alone but she doesn't really think it is funny.

After we regrouped we headed down for dinner. While at pizza, we ran into Kurt and Kayla who we had gotten to know through an Internet group for parents adopting from Ethiopa, and they had just gotten into Addis to pick up Marti's best friend Senite. It was so fun to meet them face to face and it is one of my most favorite memories of Ethiopia.

That night I ended up with a bad headache so Rebecca and Ben entertained the kids with her laptop. Marti entertained them with her "gymnastics" and the boys just had fun hanging out.

You Know It's Going to Be a LONG Day When...

2009-03-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

You get up to give 2 different kids Tylenol 3 times in 1 night.
You move from your bed to a kids bed to sleep
and then you move back to your bed
and then you move to the couch
and then you move back to your bed
and at 6:11 one of the sick kids say their better and they want to go watch tv but first can you make me some breakfast?
You go to church with 4 of the 6 kids who are healthy and when you get to church 1 of the healthy kids say their sick too
But not too sick to play the Wii when they get home
And when you go to the store while some of the kids are at Sunday School your husband call to say that Addy wrote on the bathroom vanity with green permanent marker
And your computer is dead so you can't google how to fix it
And your house is listed and the sign is in the yard and all you can do is wonder when someone will call for a showing
And you have to go to school to set up for the Book Fair
and I ate ice cream for dessert even when I said I wouldn't...

I am really glad it's bedtime and the kids are all asleep. I love that this day is over! I am absolutely certain that tomorrow will be a better day!

What a great surprise

2009-02-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

The woman who originally placed our kids for adoption and my main point of contact throughout our adoption process recently returned from Ethiopia. She took pictures to Mesalech (our kids mom) and sent me these... Enjoy!

This picture is of Mesalech. She kissed EVERY picture we sent! From what I understand it was a very happy time for her.

This is Bereket with Mesalech. It is Bereket's phone we call when we call Ethiopia. He is a neighbor and good family friend and works with their church to help the widows and orphans.
This is (from left to right) Beniam who is about 2 1/2 or 3, Ashenafi who is around 5, Emanuel (a cousin whose parents recently died) who is around 9 or 10 and Mesalech. I wish you could have heard the kids when they saw these pictures. Jacob started telling funny stories about "Ashie" and they laughed and laughed about how much "Binnie" has grown up. Marti was the most emotional about all the pictures and enjoyed having time to just look at them and pray for them. I am so thankful for these pictures and the contact Michelle made - we will be getting a letter from Mesalech this week - I can't wait!

Morning of Perfection

2009-02-25T07:40:00.000-08:00

OK... so it is not actually a PERFECT morning - but somehow it is very nice. I got up at 6 to go do sub plans (Addy has a fever). When I came home I found Lilly and Addy running around the house 'fighting' with the Lipe Savers(Light Sabers). She really doesn't seem sick. I woke Joseph up early so he could finish his diarama for Animal Farm. Last night we made a windmill out of Knex and found all sorts of farm animals that range from the Little People pig, the pony from Lilly's Barbie and a couple other random animals. Joseph finished by filling the box full of dirt and green construction paper ????????? It is now in the car and he is quickly getting ready for school. Jacob, who has been dying to make lunches, fulfilled his wish today by making lunch for all 5 kids. :) Marti is unloading the dishwasher and Danny is loading stuff in the van to take it to the storage shed... What am I doing you might ask???? (But before I tell you please know that I was up until 11 packing boxes and getting ready for the carpet cleaner guy) I... am sitting here drinking my first cup of Keurig Coffee from my fancy schmancy new coffee pot that the kids and Ben bought me last night... LIFE IS GOOD!!!

We have decided to list our house and pray that it sells. We do not have a new house yet... we will wait until we get a good solid offer and if that means we live in our little camper trailer for a while (OK it would probably be an apartment) that is fine too. I just don't want to get my hopes set on the perfect house and have our offer fall through because we couldn't find a buyer for our house.

So would you pray that if it is indeed God's will for us to move - then our house would sell... if not, help us to continue to find contentment in the home we have. I am so excited to see what happens! :)

Have a great day!!!!

The Cry of the Orphan

2009-02-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Cry of the Orphan

Global Orphans

Over 130 million orphans and waiting children under the age of 18 have lost one or both parents.
Over 13 million double orphans under the age of 18 have lost both parents.
Sub-Saharan Africa, with 48.3 million orphans, has the highest proportion of children who are orphans at 12%
Asia has the largest total number of orphans with 73.7 million orphans, which represents 6% of all children
Latin America and the Caribbean has 10.7 million orphans, also representing 6% of all children.
Over 15 million children have lost a parent due to AIDS, and that number is expected to rise to over 20 million by 2010.
Without AIDS, the total number of double orphans in sub-Saharan Africa would have declined between 1990 and 2010. AIDS, however, will push the number of double orphans in the region from 9 million to more than 10 million by 2010.
Orphaned children are much more likely than non-orphans to be working in commercial agriculture, as street vendors, in domestic service and in the sex trade.
Orphans are more vulnerable and at risk of becoming victims of violence, exploitation, trafficking, discrimination, or other abuses.
Domestic Orphans
More than 500,000 children are in United States foster care.
Over 120,000 children in foster care are waiting to be adopted.
Only around 50,000 children, or 18% of those waiting in foster care, are adopted every year.
On average, children in foster care wait over 2 years to be adopted.
Over one-third of Americans have ever considered adopting, but no more than 2 percent of Americans have actually adopted.
48% of the people who have seriously considered adoption indicated that they would first look to a house of worship (church) for information or advice about adopting.

Just In Case You Are Wondering

2009-02-20T19:47:00.001-08:00

When we began the adoption process - there was a moment when Ben and I panicked. Big time. Were we doing the right thing? Had we REALLY heard God right? The doubts began swimming and so did the negative comments from worried friends and family.

In the midst of our panic I posted to some friends on an adoptive parents web board. My question was... "Tell me the good things". And the good things came pouring in. And I felt better. I was reminded again that following this path was not going to be easy -- but I would survive it and my kids would be fine.

So tonight it is my turn to tell others the good things. We have 2 different sets of friends who are beginning the process to adopt. And they too will doubt that this is the right choice for their family. So G and T and Rob and Kimberly... and all those others who are starting this process - this post is for you.

The Good Things

Going into check on the boys at night and finding Danny and Jacob sleeping together in bed snoring with their arms wrapped around one another.
Watching Lilly hold Joseph's hand while they walk home from school. She tells everyone how much she loves her big brothers.
Listening to Marti and Lilly sing the songs from their American Girl CD... "I want to be an American Girl" and watching them dance around their tiny room together.
Watching Marti carry Addy to her room and cuddling her along the way.
Hearing Danny say that 2008 was the best year of his life.
Watching Ben with the kids - he loves being a dad to 6 (even if he is going to get gray hair soon)
Watching Joseph as he works so very hard to learn English, get good grades and embrace the education opportunity he has here in America.
Hearing Joseph sing in English (he has a beautiful voice)
Knowing (without a single doubt) that THIS is the BEST life I could ever imagine.

Bedtime Funnies

2009-02-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

OK... in 10 minutes this will be funny...RIGHT NOW it's not...

Before you read the transcript below you need to know that I USED to be a total stickler about bedtime. Ben and I believed firmly in letting babies "cry it out" and all 3 of the kids were sleeping through the night by 12 weeks. But now that there are 6 babies bedtimes are not so strict and not so structured and at times are downright chaotic.

On a GOOD night we say prayers as a family (all cuddled in my bed) then send the kids to bed to read.

Tonight is NOT A GOOD NIGHT!

Ben is tired (he has had 6am basketball practice all week). Lilly is worn out and recovering from a tiny cold. Joseph is cranky (too little activity for his growing body) and Danny and Jacob have been banned from the Wii for not putting the games away properly. Marti is missing basketball practice and wanting more computer time. So... everyone is a little off.

So here is a slightly edited version of bedtime.

Ben: Girls (Lilly and Addy) go to bed.
Lilly: We didn't pray.
Addy: I am thirsty
Danny: (Whispering to Jacob) Ha! The girls are going to bed we can read.

Joseph and I are trying to play this Wii game my sister left - Raving Rabbit or something like that. So 5 minutes later (when I think the girls are in bed) I feel breathing on my head and realize that Lilly is still there and Addy is watching from the stairs.

Me: Girls GO TO BED!
Girls: We didn't pray. I am thirsty. Will you tuck us in? Can we read? We didn't brush our teeth.
Ben: Girls get up here!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls go upstairs. I hear praying.

Joseph and I keep playing (we are bonding).

Addy comes back down to tell me she has had a bad dream (she has been gone for 2 minutes).

Ben yells for Addy to come back.

We need Ben's help to 'throw the cow' on the Raving Rabbit game.

Ben comes downstairs... followed by Addy, Lilly, Danny and Jacob.

We all laugh at Ben while he tries to 'throw Daisy 60 meters'.

The girls go back upstairs. The boys go back upstairs.

Addy comes back downstairs to get water and spills Danny's juice all over the counter.

I tuck the girls in and come downstairs to blog.

Joseph yells that he is victorious in 'throwing Daisy'

Uh Oh... the girls are crying about something... I gotta go.

CWA Hope Project

2009-02-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Our adoption agency Christian World Adoption recently started a new website dedicated to finding families for siblings and special needs children. I would love it if you would take a moment to pray for these kids and ask God to bring them a family. I am forever thankful for the families who unknowingly prayed for Ben and I - prayed that God would open our hearts to the future He had planned. These families prayed for the kids for more than a year before we even knew about them... praying that God would bring them to America - to their forever home.

So, will you join Ben and I and the kids as we pray for these children... that they might know the indescribable joy in being told that they have been chosen?

Happy Birthday Danny Boy

2009-02-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

My sweet Danny turned 8 yesterday. Where did the years go? I remember so well the 27 hours of labor and the moment when they handed him to me. I remember watching him roll over the first time and as I was calling Ben on the phone he rolled across the room. I remember watching him play with friends and thinking how good God is to give us such an amazing young man. I remember cuddling him and wondering how I would ever be able to love another child as much as I loved Danny.

Thank you Danny for teaching me to be a good mommy. For being patient with me when I made mistakes and for laughing with me over the silly jokes we share. I will forever be thankful for you, my sweet Danny Boy!

We celebrated his birthday with 10 of his classmates and friends. Since his birthday is in February it is really hard to have a party that is both economical and sane. This year we chose to have games at home and roast hotdogs. It turned into a hotdog roasting campfire song birthday and was truly my favorite party ever! We spent less than $40 and the kids all had a great time! Ben led the kids in some super fun campfire songs and then the kids each ate as many smores as they could. It was a perfect was to celebrate Danny's big day!

Adopting a Child Who Is HIV+

2009-01-30T06:53:00.000-08:00

We have not yet felt called to adopt children with severe medical needs and issues... although my heart tugs for a deaf little girl who was on the waiting child list. We have several webfrieds who are prayerfully considering stepping into this calling and I wanted to share this article with you.

Adopting a Child with HIV Surprising Insights
January 01,2009
Bethany A

dopting a baby or child with HIV is becoming increasingly popular as potential adoptive parents are gaining more knowledge about the virus, and finding that it is one of the most easily managed of all special needs. Children with HIV are exactly the same as all other children with the addition of daily medication to keep their immune systems operating normally, and quarterly doctors' visits to check their blood which ensures the medications are working properly. In every other way, these kids are normal, healthy, intelligent kids, and they lead regular lifestyles including camps, sleepovers and athletics. Y

ou may be surprised to find out that children with HIV have close to normal life expectancy due to the excellent treatments that are currently available in the developed world. All of the tragic stories that we hear about children dying of AIDS are due to lack of medication in underdeveloped countries, although antiretroviral treatments are thankfully now becoming more widely available to impoverished nations. Treatment is so good now that people who are diligent about their meds are now living to old age without their HIV progressing to AIDS, and they are giving birth to healthy children.

The first question many potential adoptive parents have is often regarding transmission as they are nervous that a child with pediatric HIV might be contagious' to others. The reason these unfounded fears exist, is due to misinformation spread in the 1980s before medical professionals knew the facts about HIV transmission. Fortunately, now we know that HIV is not transmitted in a household or educational setting. The truth is that HIV is a part of our society and we all associate with people who have HIV, even though we may not know it. For example, HIV positive children are in schools and daycares with HIV negative children, and adults with HIV are preparing and serving food in supermarkets and restaurants. If this idea frightens you, it shouldn't, because HIV is not transmitted in any casual way. You cannot get HIV from sharing food and drinks, sharing a bathtub or pool, changing a diaper, hugging and kissing, or sharing a bed or toilet. You can get HIV through unprotected sex and intravenously by sharing needles. The only other way HIV is transmitted is from mother to child, which is how millions of orphans have innocently contracted the virus.

Children with HIV can be adopted from the United States, Ethiopia, Russia, Ukraine, Thailand, Haiti, India, Latvia, China, Ghana, Estonia and other countries. Beautiful, sweet, healthy HIV+ children of all ages are waiting for loving families. Adoption fees are often reduced making this an affordable option. Your existing health insurance covers adopted children regardless of pre-existing conditions, exactly the same as biological children.

HIV is no longer considered a terminal illness, but rather a chronic yet manageable condition and health care professionals now consider it easier to maintain than other long term conditions, such as diabetes. The only reason these facts are not widely known is due to the stigma that unfortunately still surrounds HIV. Almost any parent raising a child with HIV will tell you that disclosure is the biggest issue they have not health, not transmission, but disclosing their child's HIV status.

Fortunately, there are strict laws protecting people with HIV and disclosure is entirely optional. You are not required to tell the school, church, coaches, neighbors or anyone else. There are many orphaned children listed with adoption agencies. Others may be found by logging into your account on the RainbowKids.com Waiting Child area. An excellent source of information and waiting children links can be found at PositivelyOrphaned.com www.PositivelyOrphaned.com

************************************************************************************

One of the ladies on my webboard shared this thought. Our Ethiopian Children know MANY people who are HIV+. Here is America we can compare it to the number of people we know who have 2 cars... We can compare it to the number of people we know who go to college. EVERYONE in Ethiopia is affected by the AIDS epidemic one way or another.

Basketball... Baseball... Wrestling... Gymnastics... Weight Lifting - OH MY!

2009-01-22T11:59:00.000-08:00

The kids are pretty busy right now. I have held firm to my "1 thing at a time" rule except where Danny and Jacob are concerned - and only because Ben overruled me! The boys are enjoying playing basketball (and having Dad as their coach) and are going nuts to start wrestling... Next week!

Tonight I will pick Marti and some of ther team mates up and drive them to Richland for their game. This is Marti's second basketball game and she is MUCH LESS nervous this time! Phew! When she is nervous - she is not so sweet and kind! :) She did really well in her first game, expecially considering she is still learning the language and terms like rebound, , block, offense, block out, shot, defense, man-up... are still a bit new to her (and me). She did some great blocking and I can't wait to see how today goes!

The boys are supposed to have wrestling tonight but Ben has a school board meeting and we just can't figure out how to get everyone where they need to be! There's always next week! :)

Tomorrow is Indoor Olympics - the hair paint is purchased and the crazy outfits will be organized tonight... I will post pictures tomorrow!

Happy Inauguration Day!

2009-01-20T10:49:00.001-08:00

Danny and Lilly are home with a case of impetigo. (A very contagious rash that is easy to treat) Which is why I got to watch the inauguration with 3 of my kiddos this morning. It was so special to be able to explain the prayers to the kids. When Rick Warren prayed for safety for the President and his family, Addy asked me why he said that. I told her that sometimes mean people want to hurt the president. In her cute 3-year-old way she made her mouth into a huge circle and said, "Oh NO!" The morning was very emotional, I was surprised at my reactions. I cried as I watched the peaceful transfer of power. I cried when I watched George W Bush wave at the crowd. I cried when President Obama messed up his oath (it was nice to see him a little flustered). I cried as I watched the crowd cheer. It was really an amazing moment. My favorite moment was when the kids had this conversation:

Danny: This is great! I am watching HISTORY. America made HISTORY!

Lilly: What?

Danny: This is important. The first black president.

Lilly: (eyes wide) WOW! I've never been part of history before!

Would We Do It Again? WILL We Do It Again?????

2009-01-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful opportunity last night to share a little bit of knowledge with a family who is praying about adoption. It was really an amazing time spent on the phone reflecting the last 9 months. I don't often sit and just think about how far the kids have come. Here are some of the questions and my some of my answers...

How have the kids done learning English? Amazingly well! Jacob pointed to a truck yesterday and said, "Mom, that truck look like Grandpa new truck. It's shiny!" Marti also told Ben recently that she liked the bird on his face. Ben had a beard... not a bird. :) The kids conversational English has developed steadily and they understand about 90% of what is said in conversation. Their academic English is still developing and could take another year for them to be considered "bi-lingual".
How have your "original kids" adjusted. Do you wish you had not disrupted your birth order? Danny, Lilly and Addy have adjusted really well. It was hardest on Danny and mostly because he didn't understand the boys and thought he would. Danny was also used to being the best soccer player in the family - a title he had to give up right away. We have seen a counselor twice to help our family adjust, it was a great experience and I am glad we went but do not feel like we need to go again now.
Would you do it again? Absolutely! We have talked about our family and how God called us to these children, we wonder if he will call us to travel to Ethiopia again someday to add to our family.
How was parenting teenagers for the first time? Parenting teenagers has taught me a lot and I have definately grown from it. Ben is better at giving the kids space - but I have learned to stop trying to hold Joseph's hand while crossing the street and that staying up late with mom means the world to Marti.
How hard has it been - be honest? There are many many things I don't put in the blog. It is harder than you might see from the outside. I am a very upbeat person and it is rare that you will hear me share our struggles to the big blog world. But we do have struggles. They are not horrible. But they are very real and have definately caused a couple sleepless nights. Kids are kids and the saying that "A mom is only as happy as her most unhappy child" has never meant so much to me as it does now. The kids have had hard stages. The 5 oldest have gone through tough times that have each lasted about 6 weeks. But they have recovered and we are stronger from each tough time. Seperating the "adoption issues" from the "bratty kid issues" is also a daily conversation between Ben and I... but we are learning.

Some of my friends have called us their "guinea pigs" because they have wanted to adopt too and love watching and learning from our experiences. I never intended to be any kind of rodent - but I am so glad for the opportunity to share with friends and strangers the life I have. If you have any questions you can email me at purse-n-ality1@charter.net. We would love to talk with you.

Part V - Ethiopia

2009-01-14T16:53:00.000-08:00

We headed home for the night and hung around the hotel room getting to know each other. We called home again and all the kids said 'hi' to the kids at home. They loved talking to each other and it was so fun to see them excited. Being in the hotel room at night was a great bonding time. The kids told us about their life in Wolayta and how much they loved their dad. They talked about how kind he was and he laughed a lot. Marta cried just a little as we talked about him. They looked through the small photo album that we brought and loved talking about the kids. We also watched the videos of the Danny, Lilly and Addy that were stored on our digital camera and they laughed and laughed as they watched them play and show off for the camera. We said our prayers and went to bed... what a day!

From Part IV

Oh. My. Goodness. Waking up with my 3 "new kids" was like a dream. A dream I had played over in my head a hundred (maybe a thousand) times. We all woke slowly and a bit hesitantly. Would today be as amazing as yesterday? Would the kids still be so utterly and totally wonderful? Would they still like me? Thoughts swirled around my head as we got ready for the day. We practiced brushing teeth (the kids were experts already - thank you Nannies) and kept reminding the kids to not drink the water. We didn't want them to get sick from the parasites. It was 2 days before we realized that they did not need to worry about the water... they had lived with it their whole lives :). The kids had so much fun trying on their new clothes and picking things out to wear. Ben took them out to look at the view from our balcony and Jacob's heart was pounding like crazy.

Today was the day that we wanted to do some sight seeing and buy some balls for the orphanage. We also had our VERY IMPORTANT (we can’t leave without it) Embassy Appt. We started the morning with what we became to understand as “typical Jacob” because he was up and ready for the day at about 6am. He even spent a couple minutes with me on the patio of our hotel room making a phone call home. The first thing he did when we went outside was to put the phone way above his head and say, “Hello DANNY!” It was so cute and we still tease him about it today. After calling home the rest of the kids and Ben started to wake up too. We spent about two hours hanging out in the room and getting ready and then met Dawit our driver downstairs for our excursion. Ben, in his traditional laid back Ethioipian style, was the last one to the car. We decided to skip the big breakfast and brought along dabo (Amharic for bread) in the car. The bakery at the Hilton is fabulous and the kids loved it. Our first stop was the Ethnological Museum which is in the palace of the former Emporer of Ethiopia Haile Salasie. This is on the same compound (armed guards at the gate) as the Addis Ababa University. What I imagined we would see and what was actually there were 2 very different things. Addis Ababa University is the biggest in the country… and the Ethnalogical Museum is one of the only 3 museums in the country. So my expectations of lush gardens, beautiful exhibits, typical university/museum atmosphere was pretty much dead wrong. I quickly remembered that I was in a 5th world country and my American expectations were a bit shameful. The museum was wonderful. Right away we found an English speaking “guide” who was a graduate student at the university. He led us through the museum teaching us about the history of Ethiopia, traditions and cultures of the Wolaytan Region (where our kids are from) and translating information back and forth between us and the kids. It really was eye opening. My favorite part was the section on Fables for Children. The one about the husband and wife who couldn’t get pregnant makes me laugh still. Seriously, that is considered a fable for kids?

We then moved onto the palace portion of the museum and saw Haile Salasie’s bedroom. Haile was the dictator/emperor of Ethiopia for more than 25 years. He was pretty much terrible at his job and Ethiopia is still trying to recover from his reign. Despite this fact, many people still believe he was wonderful and celebrate his life. His palace not what I expected. It was falling apart and in a sad state. We learned a bit of history and then went to walk the grounds. The pictures above are from gardens between the university and the palace.

The Blue Top restaurant was our next stop. Ethipoia was occupied by the Italians for many years and with the exception of Ethiopian Food, Italian is the most available. We enjoyed a nice lunch at a nice little restaurant and again tried to explain to the kids that when we get back to America we don’t get pop with every meal. (They are still wanting pop with every meal) After our quick lunch we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our Embassy appointment.

With clean clothes, backpacks stocked and teeth brushed we headed downstairs to wait for the driver from our agency. We knew that there were 6 families with Embassy appointments and we all smooshed together to ride to the embassy. Yet again, my expectations were wrong. I imagined that the American embassy would be similar to the embassy’s that are in San Francisco and New York. Big beautiful buidings that were well guarded but still pretty. What I saw when we parked was a 1960’s cinder blockish mess surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. We could not park in front of the embassy so we had to walk about 300 yards to our appointment. This happened to be just when the kids were getting out of school and our group was surrounded by kids both young and old smiling at us and trying to touch our ferenji (white) skin. It was also raining slightly and one of the students held an umbrella up to cover one of the dads who was adopting a sweet little baby. They didn’t follow the group and for about 3 scary seconds they got lost in the crowd. Once we crossed the street we went through a preliminary security screening and then had to wait in the rain until there was room for us to be admitted into the embassy security room for another more thorough screening. Etch-a-sketches, cell phones, cameras, video recorders, calculators and anything else resembling anything remotely electronic is confiscated and then each person is individually sent through another metal detector. Trying to explain this to our kids was difficult but the experience was good practice for the airports on the way home.

The kids were all fantastic and it was fun to talk with the other parents as we waited for our appointment. Once our agency was called to present our cases we moved to another room that reminded me of a bank - glass walls separated the tellers from the customers. We watched as each group went to the “teller” was sworn in and then spent a couple minutes answering questions, submitting paperwork and filling out papers. The look of relief as they returned to their seats was beautiful. We began to get nervous as it became apparent that our family would be last. We were also nervous about Joseph because children his age were sometimes “grilled” by the embassy staff. I remember very little about our actual time at the window. Other than the fact that it was so easy and there were no surprises. The staff was very nice and it was over in less than 10 minutes. I think I remember (although this probably didn’t really happen) that when we turned around everyone clapped and cheered for us. I know both Ben and I had tears in our eyes as we walked back to our seats! We quickly headed out of the embassy, made plans to meet for dinner on Thursday and headed back to our hotels.

That afternoon we walked around the hotel grounds, played on the swings and then got ready for dinner. It was fun watching the kids play on the slides and swings...

We went to the Crown Hotel that night. It was on my list of MUST do's. The Crown Hotel offers a buffet of Ethiopian food and about 90 minutes of traditional singing and dancing representing the different regions of Ethiopia.

I was really excited to be there! Once we got seated and situated a waitress came to send us to the buffet. We walked over to the buffet and were just about to pick up our plates when a manager told us to go sit down. He explained that there was a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON and he and their group would need to go first. Just as we were returning to our seats this VIP came to us and INSISTED that we go first... all the while asking us about the kids, talking to the kids and thanking us for "saving Ethiopia's most precious gifts". It was really a special and humbling moment. We enjoyed the food. Except Ben who still teases Marti about her giving him cow stomach to eat. I was so glad to have the opportunity to see all the foods... now I know what ethiopian cheese/butter looks like.

I can't tell you much more about The Crown Hotel because we left soon after the dancing started. Our kids had NEVER listened to "not church music" before and were really uncomfortable with being there. When we go back to Ethiopia, I definately plan on trying it again!

2009-01-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

Santa came to visit us on Christmas eve. Joseph was so excited when Santa gave him some hot sauce instead of a candy cane... thanks Santa! :)

This is what Addy is like after her day with Grandpa! Addy loves the adventures they have and always naps well afterwards!

The boys got guns for Christmas... yipee. Would you believe ttha I (the wife of a hunter and mother of 3 boys who now have guns) grew up in Califronia and was not even allowed to play with water guns? The boys were so excited. Danny and Jacob each received a BB gun from Santa. Joseph's gift from Santa was a 22. I really don't know much other than the fact that my boys were beyond thrilled with their gifts!

2009-01-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

We celebrated "Ethiopian Christmas" on Epiphany. We made traditional Ethiopian food and played games! We had so much fun. The kids helped us cook doro wat, shiro, atiklt (my favorite) and green chicken. It was really good and our cooking is improving all the time! The outfits the boys are wearing are traditional clothes from Wolayta (their tribe). The girls clothes are all traditional Ethiopian clothes and the rest of us wore scarves to fit in...

The New Monster Van

2009-01-01T22:00:00.001-08:00

I forgot to tell you all that we have a spiffy new monster van. On December 15th the Suburban started acting funny (again) and I called Ben to figure out what to do. We decided that I (by myself since Ben was on his way to Walla Walla for a basketball game) would head over to the dealership to see if we could afford the van. To make a long story short... I bought it! We got a great deal and are learning to love the new van. Traveling to Portland last week was a cinch with all the room... now I just have to figure out how to park it in the Winco parking lot! :) Right now we are trying to come up with an appropriate name for the van... the choices are

The Monster Van

Brooke's Bodacious Bus

If you have any suggestions, please let us know!

2008 ~ The Greatest Year Yet!

2008-12-31T15:30:00.000-08:00

Here are the highlights of 2008 ~ in no particular order!

Flying to Ethiopia to meet our kiddos.
Coming home from Ethiopia!
Watching Danny and Jacob play baseball together
Addy being "potty trained"
Watching Joseph play soccer and
Discovering I am one of "those moms" who scream and yell and go crazy at games
Watching Marti play volleyball - she is so much fun to watch
Experiencing life through Lilly's eyes... it is so much more exciting than I ever imagined
Learning to be a mom to 6 kids... it is fabulous
Discovering friendships that we could not survive without... thanks to all of you who have been there for us through the good and the bad times
Learning that my house doesn't have to be perfect... good enough is often good enough
Watching Ben's faith, patience, and his "great dad qualities" grow each day! He really is amazing!
Experiencing our kids faith walk as they learn more about Jesus and His plan for our lives
Watching Mama Mia with friends! I can't wait to watch it again!
Hearing about "the BUFFALO Hunt" over and over again - the boys "giggle" each time they retell it!
Watching our family and friends fall in love with our kids
Passing my National Boards
Discoving God's plan for our lives and how well HE provides for our needs when we follow his will.
Spending time with family on various long and short vacations over the past year.
The countless nights I have gone to bed with a slightly dorky smile (and sometimes a shout to "be quiet") while listening to the kids laugh and talk as they fall asleep.

I am so thankful for this most wonderful 2008!

I can't wait to see what God has planned for 2009!

Happy Birthday Lilly Noel

2008-12-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

Lilly The "Goof Ball"

Lilly "The Princess" (2006)

Lilly the "Dare Devil" (She was climbing to get fruit snacks and pulled a can of peaches onto her head ~ she was almost 2 at the time)

Lilly picking sunflowers in 2005

My little sweet Lilly Noel is now a 6 year old! She is so much fun and her giggle/cackle is one of her best qualities! She is kind and loving and so sensetive to the feelings of others! I often think that God gave me such wonderful daughters, they are everything a mom could want in a daughter. Lilly is sure to surprise us throughout her life. We have often joked that she will either be president of the US or a monster truck driver... she would be wonderful at either! She has had a fantastic day surrounded by her brothers and sisters who worked really hard to pick out presents that she would love!

Happy Birthday Sweet Lilly Bean!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all! We are loving our first Christmas together as a "complete family". We have had a fabulous morning celebrating Jesus' birthday, opening presents, and dancing with Addy's new toy!

I have decided that this is my favorite Christmas ever... I could hardly sleep last night (I woke up every 45 minutes) because I WAS SO EXCITED to wake up with the kids!

May God's blessings be abundant to you all today! Thank you for following us on our journey this past year! God is Good!

Merry Christmas!

Calling Ethiopia

2008-12-23T07:35:00.000-08:00

We called home yesterday to check on Mesalech and the boys... our hearts sank when we learned that Mesalech had been in the hospital recently but was back home and feeling better. Praise God! It was so much fun to listen to the phone call - we put the phone on "speaker" so that Joseph could help Jacob (who has forgotten how to speak Amharic and Wolaytina). My favorite part of the phone call was when Mesalech burst out laughing... I picture her as serious (for no good reason) and it has made me smile since the call to imagine her being funny. We talked for about an hour and it was great. One of the funny things that happened was when we asked if she got the pictures we sent. She quickly said told us she had and then asked what had happened to all of Jacob and Marti's teeth to make them all fall out. She said that she couldn't sleep for 2 nights and has been praying ever since about their teeth. She was sure that when we were flying from Ethiopia to America that Jacob had fallen down on the plane and his teeth had fallen out! :) We assured her it was just a shadow on Jacob's picture and that Marti's teeth were being straightened not taken out! The other funny thing was when Joseph told everyone that in Kennewick it was -18C and they laughed like it was a joke! You could just hear the disbelief in everyone's voice as Joseph described the snow that is near record levels here in Kennewick. Right now in Ethiopia it is very hot and near drought conditions...

The kids had a great talk and for the first time did not experience any really hard times right after. We will expect some tears or sadness over the next few days but for now we are thankful for a good talk and that Mesalech is well!

Please keep Mesalech, Beniam (3 years old) and Ashenafi (5) in your prayers. These are very hard times in Ethiopia right now and we pray that "our family" has enough to eat. We recently sent money to buy groceries and a few Christmas presents for the boys. When the group went to take it to Mesalech she was in the hospital so it was given to a "not so nice lady" who took 3/4 of the money for herself and gave Mesalech the rest... we are so frustrated about this and are looking for another way to support Mesalech and the boys without causing an uproar in the adoption community.

Santa Claus

2008-12-21T14:22:00.000-08:00

We are a Santa Claus family... and proud of it! Jesus is the most important part of our family - He is the cornerstone of our family... but we still have fun with jolly ol' Saint Nick. We also enjoy visits from the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Hair Washing Fairy. The Hair Washing Fairy has recently begun visiting Addy when she can get her hair washed without crying! After a particularly good hair washing night recently I told her that the Hair Washing Fairy would need to come. Addy said, "I will call him and he will bring me some teeth". It made me laugh.

Here are some more funnies!

Joseph wanted to know why the "tooth taker no give me money when my teeth came out".

Marti wanted to know if Santa could fit down a small chimney on a nearby house. When I explained that Santa was not "real" she looked at me with sad eyes and said, "why did you have to tell me that, I WANTED him to be real." It was so sweet.

I love teaching my kids about Jesus' birth. About God using someone so normal and ordinary like Mary to be part of something so miraculous! I love "playing" with our nativity set (Lilly calls it a 'utility set') with the kids and reinacting the birth of our Saviour. I also love visiting Santa and watching Rudolph on TV. I love that the kids still think that a red blinking light on a nearby hill is Rudolph making his "practice flights" as he gets ready to help Santa on his Christmas deliveries. Does that mean that they think Santa is more important than Jesus? Absolutely not!

Santa is part of the fun but Jesus is THE REASON!

Jacob's Masterpiece

2008-12-17T19:48:00.001-08:00

This is Jacob's story about our summer vacation. He has been working on it for 2 weeks - just for fun. I did not do any editing or correcting because he is a first grader and I love it this way! :) Enjoy!

T he Schuldheisz

Once opon a time there was a family called Schuldheisz. We were in

Montana . we were d iveing on the high d ive and L illy was scared she said

I don't one d ive she said and everybody was saying go Lilly she jamped

from the high dive and she said it dos'nt hurt. " It is cool said Lilly.

everybody was excited! at rockaway beach We went on a treasure hunt. And we found small treasure chset. We eat with ton of family a supper and after that Jacob and Danny sing an army song. grandpa tell for everybody a pierot storey. Dad musi-c instrument. Ash Aca and Alex there mom and dad made a show for e-rey body. Jacob and Danny sang agein a difrent song about america. we camp cook marshmellous. In Montana we found a lot of cool games. We played deangled ball and football and soccer.

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby Girl!

2008-12-02T21:21:00.001-08:00

Sweet Addyson... doo doo doo... you are the sweetest baby girl!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Addy today! She is 3 years old and we can hardly believe it! We celebrated with a delicious Taco John's meal (Addy's choice) and a Christmas lights tour. We parked in front of Senske (a local lawn care business) that must have 20,000 lights set to music. It is the coolest thing! Addy bopped her head around and grinned through the entire thing! She is so fun!

Oh, and the car fixing fairy came... our Suburban is running!!!!!!!!!!!! Hooray!

Oranges

2008-12-02T02:27:00.000-08:00

I never thought of oranges as a toy... until Jacob came along. The other night he asked for an orange and I gave it to him... An hour later he still was holding it in his hand... when I asked him if he was going to eat it, he smiled and said, "I just like hold it."

An orange and a ball are the same shape... now I get it!

A sad day...

2008-12-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

It is a sad day... I think our Suburban is about to be "put out of its misery". I am so sad. I love my beautiful green Suburban. I love the color. I love that it is the first time I saw all 6 of my kids smooshed together in a car. I love that whenever we are in it the kids are laughing, fighting, singing or telling jokes. I am not ready to say goodbye to my car.

But our friendly mechanic says it is just about time. He can't figure out what is wrong and has fixed the same problem 3 times... once was last week. Ben is beyond stressed out about the whole thing, knowing that the cost of a new car is not really in our budget. We have been praying that we could wait a year to buy a new-to-us car... oh well!

Tonight I test drove the mother of all vans! There was nothing mini about the monstrosity I drove... I felt like I should have been wearing a name tag and taking tickets for the the "riders". It was crazy. All the coolness I have driving the Suburban was sucked away the minute I stepped into THE VAN. Even though we didn't buy it... the coolness factor was still gone! I know I am not a super-cool mom, but I lived in a fantasy world that I was in fact still a little bit cool. Now I shake my head... I am/was a VAN driving dork! :)

I have spent the last hour looking for a van like what we drove but in any color other than white! REALLY, a white van... Joseph kept shaking his head and saying, "Mom, we are not a school. This van for school." I would love a red one... well, love is a little too strong but it would be better.

A lot better.

Tonight we will pray about what to do... maybe tomorrow it will be "The Suburban has been fixed by the magic car fairy day" That would be good.

Thanksgiving Blessings

2008-12-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

I was teary eyed most of Thanksgiving Day... watching my 6 kids run around like maniacs and having a blast was an amazing feeling. I kept remembering that a year ago people were still asking, "why would you do that?" and "are you sure this is something you REALLY want to do?" A year ago we knew nothing about our kids. And much of what we thought we knew was wrong. Now I know that Jacob is one of the most competetive children I have ever met and the ONLY time he doesn't have a ball in one hand is when he is sleeping (and even then I often find a baseball in bed with him). I know that Marti Grace is compassionate and kind. I know that this young lady loves God with her whole heart and is working hard to understand the plans He has for her. I now know that Joseph is intense and driven and REALLY good with kids! He is a wonderful young man and I am thankful for the example he is to the rest of the kids. A year ago I was terrified that he would be a bad influence on Danny... I am so glad I was so wrong!

So... 5 turkeys, 20lbs of stuffing, 12 dozen rolls, 52 family members and 1,000 smiles later I am still misty eyed and Thankful for my family!

Jeans Shopping 101

2008-11-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

Today I charted new territory. I went to a land I would be glad to NEVER visit again. EVER. The jeans dept. of Kohls and JC Penney is truly an evil place. But I did learn how to survive.

Do NOT under any circumstances point out jeans that you "the mom" thinks are cute.
When you say, "No, you can't have those jeans. I will not buy jeans with holes already in them." Do it QUIETLY so all the other people in "JeanLand" don't laugh.
When finding jeans that are acceptable to both parties, hide the ones that cost $30.

I did survive. I am wiser for the experience.

I am also considering sending Ben next time. But I am pretty sure that one or both will not survive if I did send them together.

I would like to thank all of you who have saved me from this experience any earlier. Hand me downs are truly a gift. They kept me out of the mall and Marti under the assumption that all clothes came from a bag from your mom's car.

I used to think I was "cool".

I am now painfully aware that I am most definately NOT COOL

2008-11-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

But you...will produce branches and fruit for my people Isreal,

for they will soon come home.

I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor;

you will be plowed and sown,

and I will multiply the number of people upon you...

they will be fruitful and become numerous.

I will settle people on you as in the past and

will make you prosper more than before.

Then you will know that I am the LORD....

It is not for your sake...that I am going to do these things,

but for the sake of my holy name...

Then the nations will know that I am LORD...

when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.

I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean;

I will cleanse you from all your impurties and from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to

follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ...

I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.

Ezekiel 36:8-11, 22-23, 25-27, 36

Hooray!

2008-11-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

I passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a Nationally Board Certified teacher!

I just checked my scores and am beyond thrilled to know that I passed on my first try! Thank you, God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Times

2008-11-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

The kids are again spread all over town. This time Marti is hanging out at Desert Hills with dad and the "littles" are all at Eagles's Nest and our friend Deana's. I am still in my jammies watching Joseph sleep off his last pain pill. I am thinking we are going to start weaning him from them today since he has been asleep for the last 24 hours. It is probably time. Although, the house is nice and quiet! Oh, he just rolled over... maybe he is going to wake up.

Update #2

2008-11-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

Note to self...

Do NOT schedule oral surgery for any family member when Grandma and Grandpa are gone. Also be sure that Ben does NOT have any games or meetings. Also, be sure to say thanks again to Amy, Gina, Kendra, Rachel, Deana and the nice lady at the oral surgeons office who did not tease me for crying.

Joseph has finally stopped bleeding and has stayed awake for more than 5 minutes. He even ate a little pudding and a tiny bite of peach. He says his mouth tastes bad.

Update on Joseph

2008-11-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

He was out of surgery and we were back home 90 minutes later... WOW! His teeth came out easily and he is sleeping VERY hard! The post-op instructions said that he needed to be closely monitored for the remainder of the day so I am sitting on the other end of the couch with my coffee and books ready to play nurse! Thanks for the prayers, keep 'em coming!

Joseph

2008-11-13T06:22:00.001-08:00

Joseph is having his wisdom teeth removed today. All 6 of them! He somehow has 6 and they are starting to cause him pain. Would you please pray for him today that the surgery and first day of recover goes well. He is such a trooper and not one to tell us if he is hurting. Maybe a prayer or two for his "there's a reason I didn't become a nurse" mom too.

Fun at Uncle Paul's

2008-11-12T04:11:00.000-08:00

The boys had a fantastic weekend away. They spent 3 days being spoiled rotten in Havilla while they were "deer hunting". They didn't kill anything (my prayers were TOTALLY answered) but they did have a fabulous time. They played in the snow, shot bb guns, played cards, helped in the kitchen, met lots of great extended family, learned how to build a fire, and toured John's cabin. They giggle everytime they tell me about something they did.

The story that makes them laugh the most was when Joseph saw a nice big 4-point buck out the front window and Grandpa started running around trying to find the gun. (The gun was in the truck, the bullets in the bedroom and the boots were drying by the fire.) Joseph also keeps telling us that Grandpa owes him $10 for being the first (and only) to spot a buck... Grandpa and Ben are still recovering.

Our newest addition

2008-11-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the newest member of our family.

Sponge Bob WooRoo made the long journey from WalMart to our home while sitting on Lilly's lap. The grin on her face and the frown on Ben's nearly cancelled each other out... nearly. Lilly won!

Election Night Coverage Down Home Style

2008-11-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

Right now my house is buzzing. Lilly is running around the house yelling, "John McCain got another one" while Marti is saying, "Oh man!" Joseph informed us that if John McCain wins he will not eat dinner for one night. Huh??? Jacob is running around yelling, "Go Obama!"

As you can tell we are a family of mixed preferences and our children are being extrememly vocal in theirs. As the 2nd graders were heading to the "polls" today to cast their ballots, Danny quietly raised his hand and said, "Don't you think we should pray first?"

Regardless of the outcome, I am certain that my children will always feel passionate about their right to vote. For that, I am thankful!

Answered Prayers

2008-10-31T06:31:00.000-07:00

I got 2 exciting emails this morning the first one said that our package made it to Sodo and a nun who runs one of the orphanages will be getting it to Mesalech. I am so excited that she will soon have letters, pictures, and Christmas presents for the boys.

This is the other email from one of Ben's aunts...

I need to share a story with you. I journal regularly. I was reading through one of my devotional journals the other morning during my quiet time and came across the prayer requests in my journal for October 26, 1999. I include in a section called “At Your Feet” the prayer requests of that day. Written there were your names, Ben and Brooke, with the following request: “bless them with comfort and many children.” I had to smile. God indeed answers prayers. I don’t remember all the things that you were going through in 1999 but we can truly celebrate the faithfulness of God. And how!

I know what was going on. We had just had the first of MANY miscarriages and we were having a hard time. I was angry. Ben was quiet. We were both really angry and really sad. I was thinking the other day about how when bad things happen we always talk about it in terms of "Gods plan" and how He has better things for us. At the time I was too sad to think about the beautiful plan God had... But now I can see that our miscarriages have been used to help others who are going through the same thing. I can also see that God had 2 cute little African kiddos who would need a new mommy a couple years later. I wonder what they were doing while I sat in the hospital crying? God also knew that I would someday carry 3 more adorable kids and while I was nearing my due date with Danny, Mesalech was celebrating her pregnancy with Jacob. NOW I can see that HIS plan for our life truly has been better than anything I could have imagined. And for that, I am truly thankful.

Fall Fun

2008-10-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

I love Fall. I love the leaves, the smells, the colors, the crisp air, wearing my warm pj’s… I really love it! What I don’t love is trying to convince Jacob to wear a coat. Marti and Joseph have quickly gotten used to wearing warm clothes and bringing a sweatshirt wherever they go… Jacob replies, “I fine. I not cold.” When I ask him to wear a coat. Seriously, where did this kid come from? He’s got to be cold. He has NO body fat. None! He sometimes makes me cold just to look at him. J I suppose when it gets down to 30 degrees during the day I will really start to worry!

Ethiopia, Phone Home

2008-10-21T20:51:00.001-07:00

Right now I am listening to the kids call home. They are talking to Mesalech and it is cracking me up. They are laughing and sound so happy. And somehow I am not jealous at all. It's just making me so happy too. We never have called at night before but there is a group traveling to their hometown who is taking letters, pictures and a small gift. I wish you all could hear Marti right now. I am picking up every 50th word... but that's OK. Jacob is patiently waiting his turn, we had to go wake him up.

Will you pray that our package get to Mesalech this time? The last one got lost and I really, really want her to see their smiling faces. I know I would feel better if I could see that!

The New Normal

2008-10-17T08:48:00.001-07:00

Each day seems to get better. The hard days get easier and the kids seem happier. Dinner time is probably my favorite part of the day. The laughter, reminders to keep elbows off the table and the silly stories about each kids day is enough to make my head spin. In a good way! J

We have been home for 6 ½ months and the “new normal” is really good. When I used to hear that term “new normal” (referring to what it was like as a family adjusts to more people) I didn’t understand what that meant. I think there was a huge part of me that thought it meant that everyone was happy and things were similar to the way they had been before. They’re not. Our lives are very different nearly 7 months later. But it’s OK and we are all liking our new normal. Our new normal means we eat at home a lot more. Our new normal means there is always homework to be done. Our new normal means that there is something going on EVERYDAY of the week! Our new normal means you are never lonely. Our new normal means that the number of hugs and kisses we get each day has multiplied exponentially. J

There are days when the simplicity of life without any kids seems wonderful. But mostly I just wonder what we did and what we talked about.

So, the new and improved normal at our house is going well.

These boys need a forever family

2008-10-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

When we were leaving the orphanage for the last time their was a boy sobbing while waving goodbye to Joseph. He was handsome and sweet and Joseph's best friend. They had been friends in Wolaita and were together again at the orphange. We wanted to keep in touch and asked everyone of our Ethiopian adoptee families if they knew who was bringing them home. I recently found out that no one is bringing them home. Their adoption fell through and they are waiting. I have a picture of the oldest boy. He is handsome... he is about 12 and his brother is around 8. They are from a nice family. His brother has recently been diagnosed as having partial hearing loss and diabetes. Because of their age and the younger ones medical issues there are additional funds grants that are available to subsidize their adoption. It won't pay for it all - probably not even half, but it will help.

Adoption is hard. Harder than I ever imagined it would be. More wonderful too.

So, if you think you would like more information, email me or post a comment of the blog and I will send you what I know and the contact information for the case worker handeling their adoption.

The rest of you... will you join me in praying for a family for the boys? No child should ever have to go to bed at night wondering.

Food Shortages

2008-10-14T12:06:00.001-07:00

People in Ethiopia are starving, again. Woliayta (the region where our kids are from) is one of the hardest hit areas. It breaks my heart to think that Mesalech and the boys are there… hungry. Here is one of the articles I found:

Number of hungry in Ethiopia jumps to 6.4 million

10 Oct 2008 00:01:09 GMT

Source: Reuters

ADDIS ABABA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The number of Ethiopians needing emergency food assistance has jumped to 6.4 million from 4.6 million in June, the aid agency Oxfam said on Friday.

Drought and high food prices have both contributed to the worsening crisis in Ethiopia and other parts of the Horn of Africa like Somalia and north Kenya, aid workers say.

Oxfam, citing U.N. figures, said there was a $260 million shortfall for agencies trying to address Ethiopia's crisis.

"Compared with the funds going to shore up the global financial system, the aid needed to save lives in Ethiopia is a drop in the ocean," Oxfam's country director Waleed Rauf said.

While government figures showed 6.4 million people needed emergency assistance, more than 13.5 million were in need of some sort of aid, Oxfam said. "The number of those suffering severe hunger and destitution has spiraled," Rauf said. (Reporting by Barry Malone, editing by Tim Pearce)

Sometimes it feels hopeless. And it is really hard to feel hopeless about “family”.

Readoption Complete

2008-10-12T15:14:00.001-07:00

Our last hurdle is done. The kids are officially ours and Marta no longer has Benjamin as her middle name! :) At the time of adoption all children are given their fathers first name as their middle name... it was fine with the boys but Marta definitely needed something more feminine... Hooray!

We met with the judge at 8:30 Friday morning to finalize our adoption - it was easy and SO WONDERFUL to have finished! I don't totally understand the adoption finalization process or why it was necessary but $1000 later it is done and now the kids are American citizens.

It feels really good to have this done! Really, really good!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

2008-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to the best husband in the world! Thank you for being a great dad and a great husband! Here is a list of the 36 things we love about you!

You make us laugh
You take us hunting
You sing us Christmas songs all year long
You take good care of us
You take us to football games
You read with us
You pray with us
You teach us about God
You like my (Brooke's) cooking
You have a great memory
You love us so much
You take us on fun adventures
You take us fishing
You coach us
You take us for smoodies (smoothies)
You make delicious pancakes
You make delicious doro wat
You take us to church
You work hard for us
You let us mow the lawn
You play songs for us on the piano and guitar
You teach us to ride bikes
You do laundry
You help us with homework
You drive us to our games
You come to all our games
You teach us to be good
You teach us
You are silly with us
You tickle us
You make up funny songs and then sing them all day long
You help us carve pumpkins
You buy us pop
You let us stay up late and watch Mariner's games
You kiss Mommy
You are the best dad in the world.

Deer Hunting

2008-10-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Ben...

Fishing With Grandpa

2008-10-08T17:00:00.002-07:00

Volleyball in Portland

2008-10-08T17:00:00.001-07:00

I am a bit late getting these pictures posted but here it goes! Marti and the BL Eagles played well and placed 3^rd at the tournament. It was so much fun to watch the girls get better each game. We enjoyed an Ethiopian lunch with Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Jesse, Denis and Weise. It was a great weekend.

Jacob's Big Day

2008-10-08T14:50:00.001-07:00

I love birthday! REALLY, REALLY love them. My kids love them too. Jacob maybe most of all! Watching him on his birthday brought tears to my eyes. He loved every minute of his special day. At one point I panicked because I realized that I had forgotten to tell him what to do if he received a present that he didn’t like. I shouldn’t have worried. He loved EVERYTHING!

1 Year Ago TODAY Wednesday**

2008-09-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

1 year ago today was one of those super crazy days. Soccer practice, afterschool meeting, and dinner on the run. I remember coming home and standing in the kitchen sorting through the mail. I remember Ben coming in (he had been home with the kids for about 20 minutes) and saying, "there's an email you need to read." There was something in his voice that made me KNOW something was up. I started to head into the office and he said that I had better wait until after the kids were in bed... but of course I went to the computer instead. The email said (I have kept it and reread it 1,000 times) that there are 3 kids who need to be adopted right away. That the family that was supposed to adopt them had just found out that they (Janelle) had cancer and was starting treatments soon. (She is now finished with treatments and doing really well - we hope to meet them on our next trip to Spokane) The email gave us their names and ages (all of it was a little bit wrong) and a phone number. As Ben and I did baths, homework and prayers we talked. Our conversation went like this.

We can't adopt 3 kids
I wonder what they look like
maybe we should call and find out more
Do you think we could ever do that???
I wonder who will adopt them
14 years old... wow
We always said we wanted Danny to stay the oldest.
I wonder what happened to other family
How much would it cost
There is NO WAY we could do this
We just said we had to wait for our court settlement from the flood before we could afford to adopt. ***an hour later our attorney called and said he was leaving his firm and no one else would take it on.
I wonder what it would be like to go to Ethiopia
We could never afford it
Our friends will think we are crazy
I always thought we were supposed to have a girl
3 boys and 3 girls - that's nuts!
I wonder if they like sports
Should we call the number?
What will our parents say?
We don't have enough room for 6 kids
We don't have a car big enough (that was solved soon after when some friends GAVE us their Suburban that they were planning to sell)
I wish we were brave enough to do that...

The conversation went on all night like that. The next morning, on my way to school, I called the number. A couple hours later the phone rang and I spent my lunch hour talking to the woman who originally placed the kids and had met them on 3 different occasions. One of the stipulations on the email was that the family would have to have "successfully parented teenagers" and we certainly hadn't gotten to that point yet! We talked about the kids and our home and by the end of the conversation I was GIDDY!!!!!! I called Ben and we talked all about the posibilities... we started praying!

Could WE really do this?
Lord, is this YOUR will?
HOW?
Will Danny, Lilly and Addy ever love them
Would we ever love them the same as our biological kiddos
We don't have much left over at the end of the month now...
What are we thinking?
WHAT??????????????????????????????????????????

The days went on, we talked to friends and family... we asked them to pray. At one point I talked to my principal and he laughed... a few days later he said, "Brooke you know you are doing this... stop wondering!" Ben and I talked and talked and talked... you can imagine the conversations and less than 2 weeks later we KNEW the answer was YES!

Today, we are the Schuldheisz Bunch. Kind of like the Brady Bunch, without Alice (oh, how I dream of having an Alice)... We have been home together for almost 6 months and things are going so well! In a lot of ways it seems like we have always been a family of 8. The kids argue, get in trouble and cuddle all in a span of 20 minutes. Addy loves to have Jacob read to her. Lilly and Marti like to "hang out" in their room and read books together or watch movies in our room. Jacob and Danny are TROUBLE! :) In a good way. I love being the parent of a teenager and a tweenager. If you are driving past a soccer field or school gym and you hear a screaming mom (only saying good things) that is probably me. I jump higher and yell louder than just about any other parent... Ben's thinks it's embarrasing and shushes me often :).

So hear I sit with tears in my seys - so very glad that we didn't listen to the what ifs. We "dove in" to the greatest gift ever. We still listen to Dive by Steven Curtis Chapman all the time. We have told the kids how much Ben loves that song. How he was driving to school and was praying for clear direction from God and this song came on the radio. At that moment he knew... and the rest is history :)

The long awaited rains Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground

And carved their way to where The wild and rushing river can be found

And like the rain I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah

My heart is racing and my knees are weak

As I walk to the edge I know there is no turning back

Once my feet have left the ledge

And in the rush, I hear a voice

That's telling me it's time to take the leap of faith

So here I go

I'm divin' in, I'm goin' deep

In over my head I wanna be

Caught in the rush, lost in the flow I

n over my head I want to go

The river's deep, the river's wide

The river's water is alive

So sink or swim, I'm divin' in

1 year ago today

2008-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

1 year ago today my biggest "worry" was my National Boards.
1 year ago today I had never heard of Addisu, Marta, and Esrael.
1 year ago today if you had asked me if I thought I would be the mom of 6 in a year I would have laughed that maniacal laugh that Lilly does when she is overly tired and cranky.
1 year ago today I would have never believed that we would have been able to travel to a 3rd/4th/5th world country.
1 year ago today I never would have believed that God would be sending me an email :) and blessing me with such PERFECT additions to our family.

Oh... my faith is tiny. Really tiny. I never, in my wildest dreams, would have imagined that THIS was His plan for me. The other day Joseph was watching us put up our pumpkins for fall (he was sick on the couch but I wanted him to come watch the fun) and he was telling us about how he used to decorate his house and then later the orphanage for Christmas - he did it all by himself. He would walk really far away to get a tree and then he would make paper decorations for it. He said that he really liked doing that and he did it every year. Once again, I was struck by this gift God has given Ben and me. Here is a kid from a zillion miles away who LOVES to decorate for Christmas. In case you are wondering... we LOVE to decorate too. And one of the things Ben "worried" about while waiting to meet the kids is if they would love the same things we love. And they do. They love to decorate for Christmas, play with the dogs, play sports, watch football, read books, pray and learn about God, spend time with family and a million other things that we love too. Thanks, God.

So a year ago today I was telling my Bible Study friends we were thinking about adopting... in 2 years. We thought we would adopt 1 four-year-old boy. I asked them to start praying for us. I guess they did. :)

Today our prayer request is pretty simple. Ha! Ben has an opportunity to travel with 12 other adoptive parents to meet Mesalech and Beniam and Ashenafi. Mesalech chose to keep her two youngest children (they are Lilly and Addy's ages) until she was too sick to care for them. We don't know if that time is near but we desperately want to KNOW Mesalech before she dies. We would also like to meet the boys. We don't know if God wants us to adopt them someday but we do know that regardless they will be a very important part of our kids memories forever and we want to know them too. So would you pray for us that we make a good decision about this trip. Both the time and financial aspects scare the bejebuz :) out of me... but we are praying about it anyway.

Today I thank our God... for bringing us these children and for giving us the courage to make a gigantic leap of faith. And for surprising us with their "perfect fit" into our family. Thank you, GOD!

I'm so excited... and I just can't hide it

2008-09-15T21:40:00.000-07:00

I'm about to lose control and I think I like it. Ooooohhhh!

Can you hear me singing? I am super excited for tomorrow. Joseph plays in his first American soccer game (which I will miss) at Desert Hills and Marti has her first volleyball game in Hermiston. I get to drive Marti while Ben is in charge of Josepho the Great! I am so sad I will miss his game but I am so excited for both of the kids. They are a bit nervous tonight but also looking forward to their games.

They have been working so hard lately and have kept such great attitudes about school work, practices and their chores. I am constantly amazed at their drive and determination. Even Marta (who regularly admits to disliking "hard work") spent an hour on homework tonight without a single complaint.

Nobody likes me, everybody hates me...

2008-09-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll go eat worms!

Which is entirely too easy to do at my house today since I discovered PANTRY MOTHS, weevils AND larvae in my pantry today. Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a huge frustration! I wanted to sit down and cry, but instead I put on my gloves (which were left from the bleaching party we had after the flood) and got to work! I was feeling mighty sorry for myself as I was throwing away 4 huge bags of groceries but then I looked at what I didn't have to throw away and I was very thankful for all the food left.

What a crazy month! We had 2 big repairs on the van, a repair to the furnace and now this!!!!!! So much for trying to budget our money carefully. Oh well!

I am still blessed and hugely thankful for my home (moths and all).

So... onwards and upwards and all that good stuff. I am off to another round of cleaning!

Happy Enkutatash

2008-09-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight we will be driving 2 1/2 hours to celebrate Ethiopian New Year with friends and family in Spokane. There will be about 25 Ethiopian kiddos and their families in attendance. We are looking forward to spending some time getting to know some of these local families as well as letting the kids see that there are other families just like ours. :)

Enkutatash is the first day of the New Year in Ethiopia. It occurs on Meskerem 1 on the Ethiopian calendar, which is September 11 (or, during a leap year, September 12) according to the Gregorian calendar. The new current year according to the Ethiopian calendar is 2001.
Literally, Enkutatash means 'Gift of Jewels'. The date traditionally marks the end of the season of heavy rains and is more recently or historically set by the return of the Queen of Sheba to Ethiopia after her visit to King Solomon in Jerusalem. It also marks the commemoration of Saint John the Baptist. Enkutatash is not only a religious holiday but it is also a day for young boys and girls to sing and dance and for exchanging New Year greetings among urban and rural inhabitants. (Thanks, Nancy... your explanation was fabulous)

I forgot that part of the tradition is to give children a small gift on Enkutatash... sorry kids!

HAPPY ENKUTATASH!

You know you are a soccer mom when...

2008-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

You drive to soccer practice with 2 large pizzas in the car.
Drop off some of the kids.
Put a movie in for another kid.
Do an hour worth of math homework with the kid who is left in the front seat.
Drive home while feeding the soccer players the remaining pizza.

I LOVE BEING A SOCCER MOM!

Part IV Ethiopia and Home

2008-09-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up around 4 and was praying in bed when I hear Marta talking. I went over to check on her and found that she was crying and praying too. I sat with her as she prayed, the laid down next to her where we both fell asleep again. Around 7:30 we woke up happy and ready for our next day together!
From Part IV

It was so strange to wake up cuddling with Marta, who 18 hours earlier had been a stranger. We all woke up about the same time and gave hugs and kisses. The kids quickly learned, "Good Morning" and said it about 10 times each. We hung around for a little while and then slowly started getting showered and dressed for the day. (The kids made their beds and did a great job brushing their teeth), 1 1/2 hours later we headed down for breakfast. We decided to eat at the hotel buffet and the kids were so happy to see tibs, injera, doro wat and other familiar foods. They each tried pancakes and seemed to like them. I was so glad to have translators help us explain the concept of a buffet to the kids - I wonder what they were thinking? I was dying for a glass of their fresh squeezed orange juice but debated about the safety of it. I decided to go for it! The juice was so refreshing and smelled like home. Ben tried some Nile River perch that had been caught the day before (or so we were told). He didn't like it but was glad to be able to say he has had fish from the Nile.

After breakfast we headed out to the lobby to wait for our driver who would be taking us to the CWA offices to fill out paperwork and pay the remaining fees. The lobby was filled with important people and we quickly decided that 3 kids with a new ball should NOT be playing with it on the marble floor in the hotel. The beautful gardens called to us and we went to wait outside and play on the steps. The hotel was home to 2 large conventions, one was some sort of UN conference and another was about Agriculture. A senator from Florida shared our elevator at one point during the week.

In typical Ethiopian time (which Ben became a HUGE fan of) we were picked up about an hour late and taken to the care center. There were 4 other families with us - 2 with small babies and another with twin 8 year olds. Our kids were so glad to see their friends and had great fun looking out the window together at the things going by. We were more relaxed this trip and also enjoyed the scenery. The sights were everything I had thought they would be and then so much more. When we got to the CWA office (a beautiful building with marble stairs and a horrible bathroom) we quickly sat down and got to work. Ben said that he loved standing outside the building watching the kids and watching the sights... He was most amazed at the beer delivery happening across the street. The truck pulled up and honked twice. From every direction kids (7 - 14 years old) ran to the truck and turned around so that their back was facing the bed of the truck. The driver would then DROP and full beer keg onto their backs and the kids would RUN into the bar and come back for another load. It was AMAZING and sad all at the same time.

When the paperwork was done we took a couple of pictures of our friends and then headed back to the hotel for lunch. We had a delicious lunch by the pool at the Hilton. The kids tried their first hamburgers and didn't think they were so great. While we were eating we ran into a friend that lives about 3 hours away who was also picking up her son. They had decided to spend the day at the Hilton and were enjoying the pool side restaurant. Our kids had fun talking and getting to know each other and then we were off on one of my favorite parts of our trip.

Ben's cousin has 3 children from Ethiopia and has stayed in close contact with their kids biological grandmother, aunts, and extended family in Ethiopia. Amy had asked us to take a few things for them and we were excited to meet the family. I must also say that we were VERY nervous. We had been pretty insulated up to this point and we were unsure about what to expect. We also were very wary of making any cultural mistakes or offending anyone and that added to our "stress". We had hoped to be able to take dinner to the family but with all the uncertainties surrounding our German visas we decided we should make the visit to this family our first priority.

The drive to their house was a lot of fun. There are over 6 million people who live in Addis Ababa and it is obvious when you drive through the streets trying to outmaneuver taxis, buses, herds of animals and pedestrians. We only saw 2 accidents the entire time we were in Ethiopia - it is shocking that there are not more! :)

Our driver Dawit had also been Amy's driver so he knew the family well and knew right where to go. Because of our nerves, excitement and a million other things - I forgot to call first to let them know we were coming. I still cannot believe I did that - so much for being "culturally aware". I wish you all could have been there to greet this family. Their warmth and excitement for our visit was something I will always remember. They live in a compound which is about 1/2 an acre surrounded by corrugated metal fencing and a gate with 3-4 other families. The government owns all the lands and crops in Ethiopia, so even though our hosts own their own home they still must pay land rent each month. Their house was very nice and very small. They had a living room, small indoor kitchen, and 2 bedrooms for 8 or so people. Their bathroom was outside and was shared by all the families who lived in their yard. We had a great visit and it was so much fun to watch our kids interact with the family. Joseph can talk to ANYONE and we witnessed this about 50 times during our trip to Ethiopia - this was another one of those times. Ben and Rebecca, who are both a bit on the quiet side, barely said a word the entire time we were there. So I LOUDLY, nervously, and enthusiastically babbled on for about 2 hours. I always talk with my hands, and those were waving wildly too! They served us dabo and shai (bread and tea) and it was wonderful! We took lots of pictures and headed on our way to begin shopping and getting the kids some dinner.

It was about this time that Rebecca's battery died in her camera. This was the camera she bought specifically for this trip and she was so mad when she realized that her battery was at home. We had our junky camera that we brought mostly for the kids to use because we had lost our nice one about 2 weeks before we left on our trip... so the pictures for the rest of the trip are not as great as we had hoped. Oh well!

After a small tour of the city we headed to dinner at this a small Italian restaurant. They had pictures of Kennedy driving through the streets of Addis on the walls and it made me feel almost like I was home. We sat outside with Dawit and the kids and talked and laughed a bit too. I leaned over to Ben and asked if we wanted to have THE NAME conversation, he said yes so we asked Dawit to translate. We talked to them about having the choice of keeping their Ethiopian names in America or having American first names and keeping their Ethiopian names for their middle names... At this point, we really didn't care but wanted them to have the option. We were a little worried about Addisu because his names sounds a lot like Addy (and we have an Addy) and also sounds femenine. So we started with him and gave him the choice of keeping Addisu or going with Thomas, Robert, Andrew, or Joel. Right away he said, "I like Joe". We thought he said Joel and were so excited because that was the name we most liked for him. He was so excited to be Joseph Addisu - it was really cute. Next we asked Dawit to ask Marta what she wanted, and the only thing that was important to her was that she have Ben's last name. So Marta Grace it was. Jacob had been following this coversation and told Dawit in Amharic that, "I like football." We all laughed and still call him Football sometimes! I thought The Name conversation was going to be a huge ordeal, and it wasn't at all!

We headed home for the night and hung around the hotel room getting to know each other. We called home again and all the kids said 'hi' to the kids at home. They loved talking to each other and it was so fun to see them excited. Being in the hotel room at night was a great bonding time. The kids told us about their life in Wolayta and how much they loved their dad. They talked about how kind he was and he laughed a lot. Marta cried just a little as we talked about him. They looked through the small photo album that we brought and loved talking about the kids. We also watched the videos of the Danny, Lilly and Addy that were stored on our digital camera and they laughed and laughed as they watched them play and show off for the camera.

We said our prayers and went to bed... what a day!

Funny Things

2008-09-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

When I was a little girl and my mom would often laugh at the funny things Rebecca and I said and did. I would get so mad! She always told me that she was only, "smiling out loud." We do a lot of REALLY LOUD smiling around our house these days!

Danny and Jacob have nick-names for each other. Danny is "milk" and Jacob is "chocolate milk" These names have nothing to do with skin color... Danny came out to recess the other day with a big milk mustache and Jacob (who has been practically gagging on the WORD milk) started LOVING chocolate milk and drinks 2 a day! :)

Jacob wanted me to remember that tomorrow was his snack day but kept telling me, "Show and Tell, snake." We figured it out

The kids are the best laundry folders around, they even fold the dryer sheets!

Tell Me the Good Things

2008-09-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I asked some web-friends about the Good Things that adoption has taught and showed them... it was during a period of doubting and wondering if we really were supposed to DO THIS! :) I loved the responses and looked forward to my creating my own list of THE GOOD THINGS... so here it goes!

Ben asked the kids about their favorite part of America - they said Mom and Dad

watching Lilly introduce her brother Joseph to the neighbors while holding his hand

cuddling in bed with 6 kids!

watching the kids light up when they like a new food

watching the 6 kids play together with Polly Pockets

listening to the kids giggle and whisper from their bunk beds when they are supposed to be sleeping

knowing, without any doubt, that God had this planned for us from the beginning

getting a phone call from a kid who doesn't speak English and still thinks talking on the phone is so cool

watching the kids with their own friends at school

teaching the kids songs in English
Watching the kids argue because I know that they have bonded

The Toothless Wonder

2008-09-05T08:59:00.001-07:00

This is my sweet Lilly Bean after her (very wiggly) tooth was pulled out last night. She is so proud to hold the honor of being the FIRST KINDERGARTNER to lose a tooth!

She also holds the honor of being the first Schuldheisz to have their hair cut because of gum. She was playing last night and somehow got gum in her hair. A lot of gum. I cut her hair last night... she is now sporting a very cute and very short hairdo... We will be going to the salon to get it fixed up afterschool today. :)

Can you hear them???

2008-08-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who live close by and want to know what it is like having 6 kids... just walk out to your street and turn your ear towards our house. You will know you are hearing our kids when you hear the hysterical giggles coming from my boys as they watch football with Ben. Why they are giggling like girls over football I cannot say... but they sure are loud. My house is ALWAYS loud. It was loud before Ethiopia - it is even louder now. EVERYTHING around here is a production. Dinner, laundry, brushing teeth, making beds, playing with blocks... even quiet time. There is always laughter, often tears (from Addy who is going through a "stage"), discussions, arguments, more laughter and lots of singing.

So if you wonder what my house sounds like - try this experiment. Call your mom on your cell phone and have her tell you a long story. Then call your grandma on another phone and have her tell you a different story. Play a laugh track on your computer speakers. Turn your radio up really loud. Let your dogs in the house, preferably muddy. Ask your husband to take apart your dishwasher while you ask one of the kids to start making dinner. Then just sit back and watch... you might feel like you are going crazy at first. But after a few minutes your lips will start to twitch into a smile and before you know it you will be grinning at the craziness of it all.

OK seriously, it isn't that bad... most of the time! :)

My idea of a GOOD time

2008-08-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am so sad that I will be missing it! I can't believe that I can't go. And no, I am not joking. But since I have already paid to see it twice and bought the soundtrack... I just can't justify going again. Boo Hoo! Tonight there is a sing a long version of Mama Mia at our local movie theater! I danced through the last 10 minutes of the movie while singing quietly under my breath the last 2 times... tonight I could sing for the whole theater! Rats!

So if YOU haven't seen it yet and are looking for a good time - I suggest heading to your local movie theater for an Abba Fest! :)

Enjoy!

First Day of School

2008-08-27T10:54:00.001-07:00

I love this day! I loved the smiles on the kids faces! I loved chapel at school! I loved their nervous giggle when they were ready to go! Hope your first day is great too!

Recent Pictures

2008-08-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from our trip to the beach. Too bad you can't see the one of ME trying to body surf. I thought it was easy right BEFORE I fell flat on my face!

So You Want to adopt... maybe????

2008-08-25T07:22:00.000-07:00

This post is for all the people out there who are thinking that maybe one day they want to do this too. Maybe you have always felt the call to adopt but needed a little push. Maybe you are ready and your spouse isn't. Maybe you THINK you are supposed to adopt but really can't afford it! Maybe you are terrified! Maybe you think it will be too hard! Maybe you just don't know how to get started!

We have been there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ben and I got to go on a date last night. We used to go at least once a month. Now we go every 6 weeks or so (if Grandma and Grandpa are available). So last night we got to talk about all the changes that have happened in our home. We talked about the last month and how hard and emotionally exhausting it has been. We talked about the pile of parenting books we bought and need to read. We talked about if we would do it again... knowing what we know now. We both said absolutely. Our kids are not perfect, not a single one of the 6! But we know that God had them picked out for us and for that we are so thankful!

We do not think that you must be a perfect parent to adopt. (Obviously, we are far from perfect). One of the best bits of advice we got as we began this journey was to suspend ALL expectations of what you HOPE for. Give them up and pray for peace and joy and love for the children God has for you!

So if you think you want to adopt I have attached some scripture to pray over.

"Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."James 1:27

Psalm 68:5, “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.”2. God considers spiritual service the purest when His people are taking care of orphans. (and) A religion that does not care for orphans is no religion at all.·

Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”·

Isaiah 1:23, “Your rulers are rebellious, and companions of thieves; everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless.”

Deuteronomy 10:18, “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”·

Psalm 10:14, “But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”·

Matthew 18:5, “Whoever receives a child in My name, receives Me.”·

Matthew 25: 45, “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of the least of these, you did it unto Me.”

I have also linked a websites for you to inquire about children. Kingdom Vision International. is a newer orphanage and the director is a "web friend" who adopted from Ethiopia and felt led to go back and start an orphanage. You can request a photolist of available older children if you think you would like to go that route.

Student Loans - Boo HISS

2008-08-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

I am so grouchy right now I could scream!!!!!!!!!!! Ben and I both took out student loans so that we could teach kids! We are certainly not getting rich doing it! 2 years ago the govt. passed a law that said that public employees (teachers, nurses etc) could have their loans forgiven after 10 years of payments. The 10 years had to come AFTER October 1, 2007 but the monthly payment would be reduced to accomodate family size and income! Hooray we thought! What a blessing!

Today I called to find out exactly what we needed to do because we were told that since we had consolidated our loans when we got married 12 years ago we had to wait until July 1st for a new program so that we could REconsolidate! We were told we would begin making approximately $300 payments each month for the next 10 years! Hooray!

I just got off the phone and basically we don't qualify because we consolidated our loans together and they don't "support joint consolidated loans". I am so mad! So now we will begin making our $600 payments for the next 22 years! I was really hoping to have OUR college loans paid before Marti graduated!

Now I just want to clarify that I am not angry that I have to repay my loan. I am angry because the ONLY agency given the ability to support the Public Employee Loan Forgiveness Program has arbitrarily decided to not allow "joint (married) consolidations". That seems very wrong to me!

Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Relaxing!

2008-08-20T10:32:00.000-07:00

No, I am not relaxing but Marti's hair is! We took her in yesterday and had her hair relaxed. Oh, it is beautiful! She has so much hair and the curls just got lost in the mass of hair. Now you can see each gorgeous curl and she loves it! I love it too! I can actually run my fingers through her hair and comb it without tears (my tears not hers). Hooray!

The boys hair is causing us problems and I am currently searching for a barber who knows how to "shape" African hair. The boys have some VERY STRONG OPINIONS about their hair and my cuttings with the clippers is not up to their standard! I have the name of someone close by and will be calling at lunchtime today!

Home again!

2008-08-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

We got back from Seattle and the Washington Coast 2 days ago. We were treated to this fantastic vacation by my dad, and what a great trip we had. The kids got to meet and spend time with Grandpa (my dad), LeLe (my step-mom) and their Aunt and Uncle. Their Aunt Lyssa is 10 and their Uncle Trystan is 12... we had a blast! My sister and her boyfriend joined us for part of it and the kids are always so happy to see Rebecca. It is always fun to hear her take on the kids and how much their English has improved since our flight home from Ethiopia. It was so much fun spending time with everyone and the kids got along really well!

Yesterday we helped Grandma and Grandpa (the ones that live here in Kennewick) with a going away party for a friend from church. The kids were so cute and helped carry food, chairs, tables and drinks for the guests. Addy was sad that she didn't have a job so she was in charge of greeting people and saying, "thanks for coming". The girls all wore their matching dresses that our friend Alyssa made them. They looked so stinkin' cute!

Today Marti (she has requested that she be called Marti (pronounced Mar-Tee) from now on) had her first soccer game. She played so well and was graceful and FAST! It was fun to watch her play. Jacob, Danny and Lilly all played today too. They were fun to watch and won their game 7-0.

We have had such a fabulous week and now we prepare for school starting! I cannot believe our summer has come to an end. We finished school supply shopping ($180 later) and will finish our clothes shopping this weekend (along with every other family in the world). I will do my yearly before-school-starts interview with each of the kids this week too. Every year since Danny was 3 and starting pre-school I have "interviewed" him about important things. I love how his answers have changed over the years. It will be fun to do this with all 5 of the "big kids" this week. I can't wait to see their answers!

Next week all the kids will have their Home Visits with their teachers from school. It will be fun to spend time watching the kids interact with their teachers. We are super excited about the teachers each of kids has this year. We feel like God picked them out just for our kids :).

The last few weeks have been really hard on our kids. The "Honeymoon Phase" is definitely over and although things are still really good everyone is trying out their limits and their roles in the house. The kids are really missing Ethiopia and the way life used to be. We have had several tears (from me too) but we are getting through it and will surely be a stronger family for it! We would appreciate your prayers during this transition back to school and as we move through this more difficult phase of adjustment.

Well... I better go make lunch and get the kids ready for a birthday party for one of their best friends! Have a great weekend!

Love,
Brooke

Letters Home

2008-08-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight I wrote a letter to Mesalech. We are sending it with a group from AWOP that is traveling to Sodo next week. They are taking letters from us and the kids, pictures, and sponsorship packages so that we can sponsor Mesalech and the boys. We (actually from my sister mostly) will begin sending money each month that will help pay for medecines, job training and food so that her burdens will be lightened. I am so thankful for this opportunity to support her and the boys. After being there and seeing what it takes to survive, I am glad we can help a little.

What did I write in the letter... all the things I would want to know if my kids were somewhere else. Are they healthy, growing, happy? Are they reading their Bibles? Are they being good? I told her all about the fun experiences they are having too. The swimming, school, sports, birthdays, vacations... all the important stuff. We are sending almost 50 pictures of the kids along with the letters. Pictures of them goofing off with their siblings as well as pictures that show they are happy. I wonder what she will think? I hope that the tears she will probably shed will be from relief at knowing they are well not because the letters will cause her to hurt all over again.

There are so many different philosphies on this part of adoption. I never expected that I would be such a supporter of the communication that we have had. But I truly believe it has made all the difference in our kids adjustment and bonding. Does it hurt sometimes? Sure. The other night Jacob got out of bed and was asking Marta for a picture of "his mom". He wasn't talking about me. My heart skipped a beat and then we walked hand in hand downstairs where we found the picture he wanted. He told me all about Mesalech's kisses and spankings. He told me that he missed her and that she was beautiful. He told me that she wore a scarf in her hair most days. I think he was forgetting her... being able to talk about her and look at her picture calmed him and he went to sleep happy.

Summer Blues

2008-08-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Right now I am sitting in a class (well we are actually on a break) learning about the new math standards. I am excited to see that the new standards are have more depth to them at each grade level so that we don't feel like we are always having to teach everything every year. This is good.

I am so sad that school is almost starting. As much as I love the first day of school, I guess I love summer more. I love way everyone wakes up slowly in the morning and the relaxed feel of the day. Oh well. All good things must come to an end.

The kids are all sad that school is still 3 weeks away. They would be happy to start tomorrow. We will be setting a new record at Bethlehem. We will have 5 siblings enrolled at 1 time! It will be wonderful to have them all together at 1 school. Joseph is excited for school soccer and can't wait to play - he is lamenting the fact that it has been 3 months since he has played.

Well class is starting...

Extreme Home Makeover in Tri Cities

2008-08-03T21:13:00.001-07:00

I just sent in my nomination for our Extremem Home Makeover... boy that was hard! The nominations are not due until August 8th (I know I put the wrong date before) but I am glad to have gotten it sent off. Recently 4 different people have said that we should apply and I kept telling them all that they were funny... not that we didn't want one - just that we were sure it would never happen. And then all the sudden our paper was declaring that EHM WANTED to come to the Tri Cities... They WANT to come to Kennewick??? Well, who am I to deny them the opportunity to meet my great kids :) ??? So the application has been sent and now we enjoy the part where we have something fun to dream about... It is kind of like when you buy a lottery ticket and spend the next couple days dreaming about how you could spend your millions. That is what I have been doing. Dreaming about a room for Joseph... Dreaming about a "sanctuary" for Ben and I... Dreaming about the beautiful pantry which will solve all the worlds problems... :) Seriously, the dreaming is so much fun!

I am dreaming of a pantry...

2008-07-28T12:21:00.000-07:00

Seriously, last night I dreampt of a pantry that had paper towels lined up and kleenex next to that and toilet paper next to that. Nearby were my cleaning supplies and across the room (next to my 2 washers and dryers) was my canned food. It was beautiful. It was a lovely dream.

I am not sure if my dream was inspired by my trip to WinCo and trying to find room for my case of green beans (they were super cheap) in the garage or by the fact that Extreme Home Makeover is looking for a family to help here in the Tri-Cities.

I can't stop thinking about it.

I can almost hear Ty Pennington yell, "MOVE THAT BUS!" and there in front of me would be a house that won't flood AND has enough showers that getting ready in the morning won't look like a scene from 'Yours Mine and Ours'. I love that movie. The part where he puts up the shower schedule cracks me up.

The television program Extreme Home Make-Over would like to come to the Tri-Cities and build a home for a family in need. Nominations can be emailed to emhewashington@gmail.com

Nominations need to include the following:

1. The names and ages of each member in the household
Ben (35), Brooke (35), Joseph (14), Marta (12), Danny (7), Jacob (6), Lilly (5), Addy (2)

2. A description of major challenges in the home
Our 1700 squre foot home has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It flooded in 2005 and we still worry it will happen again. It is hard for me to list the "challenges" of our home because I am so thankful for it. It has served us well these last 5 years. But I must tell you that I would love to NOT worry about a flood everytime it rains. I hate it that Danny and Lilly still worry about it too.

3. Explain why this family is deserving

:) You are on your own here....

4. Please include contact information
I am guessing most of you know us so getting our address and phone number should be OK.

5. A photo of the family
You can use any from the blog. Just right click on the picture and it will save to your computer and then you can email it to the nomination people.

Nominations are due by August 2nd

Is this a shameless plug for nominations????????? Maybe. Are there families who are more deserving???????????? Absolutely. But I got to tell you, the dreaming is a lot of fun! :)

Vacation Pictures

2008-07-27T12:21:00.001-07:00

We have just returned from a fabulous vacation! Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Karla, Uncle Tim, Uncle Joel, Auntie Mary, Lance, Erika and Abby for a fabulous week! We loved our vacation so much!

On the way home our conversation went like this:

Me: What was your favorite part of our trip?

Joseph: Fishing and sports and snow and boat (kayak)

Marta: My birthday, sheep (at Glacier), snow fight, swim

Jacob: I don't know - I like sports with Lance

Danny: Fishing, kayaking, swimming, the high dive

Lilly: Everything

Addy: I like sleeping with my pillow on da floor. (she really slept in a bed)

By the way... we used checklists for packing this time - it worked well. We still have some kinks to work out (like deoderant on some lists but not on others) but overall it worked well. We also bought tubs for packing and that was fabulous. Everyone had their own so no more mixed up socks for us.

PS Addy started fully potty training this week... here we go!

Hello from Montata

2008-07-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hello!
Right now I am enjoying wireless internet at Trinity Lutheran Camp in BigFork! I feel like I am back at Mt. Gilead (my summer camp/job/favorite place from my high school and college years). We are sleeping in a cabin that is maybe 20'X15' and walk to the bathrooms and dining hall. It is totally beautiful and we are loving jumping off the dock, swimming, kyaking, canoing, and hiking. It cracked me up our first day here because when I asked Joseph how he liked it he wrinkled his nose and said, "Mom, it like Ethiopia."

I never realized that this "roughing it" would not be seen as a VACATION by our Ethiopian kids. For them, this was reality... Walking to the bathroom, living in a 1 room home, keeping warm by fire outside, cooking outdoors was the way it was.

That is not to say that they are unhappy. They are having a blast and loving their vacation. They are jumping off the high dive into the lake and having so much fun.

Last night my friend Jenn and her family came to the camp to visit. I have never actually met Jenn... we just talk on an adoption web board often. When she went to Ethiopia in December to pick up her kids she took pictures of our kiddos and gave them kisses for us. We had 11 kids between the 2 of us (I know... crazy) plus 1 extra kiddo who was spending the night with her family. We had so much fun swimming and hanging out. It was really a fabulous evening. My kids remembered her kids and had fun playing with them and teaching them some of the Ethiopian games and songs they learned while together at the "care center/orphanage".

We celebrated Marti's birthday on Monday. I will post pictures when we get home. Let's just say that she LOVED HER BIRTHDAY!

signing off for now... I can hear a rambuctious ping-pong game going on and think Ben may need back up! :)

English Language 101

2008-07-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

We have so many funny moments around our house as the kids learn English and try to correct their daily mix up of their f's and p's... Flip Flops are Plip Plops and Kung Fu Panda is Kung Pu Fanda. Chipmunks are Chipmonkeys and next week we are going to BigFork Lake in Hannah Montana. I must laugh 59 times each day. The kids are working super hard to learn English and seem like they have a list of words each day that they don't understand. Today I did great pantomimes of the words "bratty", "knight", "night", and "continents". Apparently Marta missed that part of 5th grade in Ethiopia and she was mightily confused. We got out the globe and a map and Ben did a great lesson!

Tomorrow we are going shopping for Marta's birthday at the story. :)

How many is too many?

2008-07-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted 6 kids. Always. I NEVER thought it would actually happen. And in all honesty when I heard someone tell me they had 6 (or more) kids there was a small part of me that thought they were nuts. Sometimes I still do. I don't mean the kind of nuts where you try to hit squirrels with your car... more like the kind of nuts that wonders how you do the dinner and the laundry and the kisses.

Lately I have become very aware of the stares we get being a family of 8. We definately attract a bit of attention wherever we go. At the store the other day the lady asked if I had more kids... at my daycare. I quickly responded that they were all mine and she looked at me like I was nuts. I wanted to tell her that my kids all get kisses and clean clothes and reasonably healthy dinners. I wanted to tell the people in line behind me that we love having 6 kids and we would even consider adopting more because we love being parents. I wanted the entire store to know that we aren't nuts. Why???? I honestly don't know.

The great things about having 6 kids...

There is always someone who wants to cuddle on the couch.
The kids always have someone to play with.
There is always someone to play with the dog and water the flowers on the porch.
I never worry about wasting food - someone always eats it.
Someone always remembers to bring the camera - and take pictures!
Someone always eats those last cookies that are too crunchy or old and cereal never gets stale.
There is almost always someone singing or laughing.
There is always someone to read with.
Eventually they all go to sleep! :)

Right Now...

2008-07-13T10:53:00.000-07:00

Marta and Ben are upstairs watching the African Children's Choir video. I can hear Marti clapping.

Jacob and Danny are arguing over the CORRECT way to play their baseball game. (obviously my "you have to be wearing an athletic cup or uniform if you are taking the game seriously" rule is not working).

Addy is drinking juice while sitting in the sun.

Joseph is watching a local cable channel that is showing a church service.

Lilly is complaining about the wet grass.

Ooops... now Lilly is wanting to change her clothes and the boys are now pouting - just a little.

I told Ben that I wanted matching referee uniforms and whistles for our anniversary.

I haven't seen them yet.

Addy is crying because, "the ground bumped her head."

Now Danny, Lilly and Jacob are getting ready to swim and Addy is running around the house to find Daddy to help her with her swimsuit.

Oh, and the dogs are barking at something!

Daddy is now sleeping.

And my house is a mess. :)

I think I am changing the name of this blog to

Never A Dull Moment

I want to clarify that I am not complaining at all. This is actually making me laugh. Sometimes Ben and I look at each other with amazement and say, "We SIGNED UP for this?????????"

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2008-07-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

We had such a great time last night! The kids experienced their first semi-pro baseball game and their first chicken dance. We had so much fun! The kids each got a ball too - seriously we had a blast! One of the families from school had 10 tickets in a box that is basically on the field - it was the perfect spot to enjoy the game. Addy got to run around and the kids got to watch all the plays up close and personal! It was great.

Tomorrow we are celebrating Marta's birthday with her friends from school. This will be her first birthday party and we are really looking forward to it! Her real birthday isn't for another 10 days but we will be out of town for the real birthday so we decided to celebrate this weekend.

Happy Tuesday

2008-07-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia abounds here in Washington! Tonight we will be having a delicious Ethiopian dinner to celebrate... Tuesday. We aren't actually celebrating anything, just enjoying the time to cook a traditional dinner. Grandma and Grandpa are coming over for dinner too... I wonder what they will think??? We also made an Ethiopian friend yesterday. We were at swimming lessons and Marta turned around and stared when she heard a woman speaking Amharic. She QUICKLY made friends with the woman and her daughter. We are so excited to make that connection and will be calling her soon to get together. Marta was super excited to hear that our new friend has lived in America for 6 years and still speaks Amharic. The kids (especially Marta and Joseph) want to keep their native languages while becoming fluent in English.

This week began swimming lessons and athletic development camp for all the kids! They are having fun and working really hard. Joseph and Marta are also spending each day with Grandpa catching up on math skills and making sure that they are ready for the fall. Thank you Grandpa!!!!!!!!!! We worked through a story last night about fossils and the I taught the kids how to do an Image search on Google for words they don't know. They used it several times for magma, fossil, roadway, and extinct. I stayed close by in case something "iffy" popped up but all was well and it was so helpful for them as they read through the story.

Danny is working his way through the Magic TreeHouse series, I love watching him devour the books and read with such expression and understanding. Jacob and Lilly are both reading well too. I am so proud of them both and they are taking their "silent reading" time very seriously and love learning to read. They are both pretty independent and only accept help when they cannot figure it out themselves.

Have I told you lately that my kids are FABULOUS????????

Happy Anniversary to US

2008-07-06T15:29:00.000-07:00

It is our anniversary today. We have been married for 12 years today. In fact, 12 years ago at this precise moment I was waiting to walk down the isle into Ben's arms. Wow! We got a card from Ben's parents that said, "My how your lives have changed in 12 years." That is the understatement of the century! :) It is amazing to me that I love Ben more now than I did even 3 years ago -- I never would have said that was possible.

I heard once that men marry women hoping they will never change... and that women marry men hoping to change them. I guess I would agree with that statement, at least a little. I hope everyday that Ben will pick up his towel and put it away after his shower -- but I pray that those little things that make him my best friend will never change.
I am sure that I have changed too... I would love to say that I am less bossy now than I was way back then... but probably I am MORE bossy. Oh well. He still loves me bossy or not.

We are going out to dinner tonight with the kids. My dad sent me money for my birthday and what better use is there than to take my family out to eat so that I don't have to cook??? :) I told them that we are going to the restaurant where Daddy proposed... Lilly replied, "so it's a really old place???" It is funny to think that in their eyes we have been married FOREVER - and for Ben and I, it has flown by! :)

When we get home tonight we will show the kids our wedding video... it shows me falling down on 3 different occasions (and I wasn't even tipsy). It also shows me doing a little hop when pastor pronounces us husband and wife. I know it is cheesy, but that really was the best MOMENT of my life.