Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Randoms...
Thanksgiving: Making frosting in the KitchenAid, the rule is to lick the whisk when finished...
Daddy and Joy
That's hippy rebel Kate...always doing something cute (translated: strange and alarming)
Our sweet little man...surrounded by three sisters...hopefully the next one's a little bro for him.
Cocoa Bear!
Our Children
So we tried a couple times to get a picture with all four of the children...this is what we came up with...we really hope to get one with us parents in it too but that's difficult to do when I'm (Shawna) the one behind the camera. We'll work on getting that family portrait as soon as possible!
So here we have Mataya (Matty), turns 7 in about a week, Katie 4, Joy 2, and Jonathan 2 months old.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Christmas 2010
December 2010
Our Dear Friends & Family,
Merry, Merry Christmas!! What a joyful year this has been…Matty said to us a couple days ago, “Mommy, why does it seem like the months are going by faster now?” She’s only 6 and is already realizing this?! It’s so true. All the more reason and drive for us to live out each day to the fullest measure of what God has for us.
The latest news….We moved from Klamath Falls to Seattle (Tacoma) back in late August for one reason: the children. Over the last 6 ½ years that Chris has worked for the railroad, this time of year has always been the most difficult because he leaves us for a few months at a time due to slow traffic in Klamath. We learned just how heavily this wore on Matty as she lay in our bed crying one July evening because Daddy would be leaving in the morning. It was at that very point we decided to drop everything and move. Chris resolved that it was unacceptable to ‘raise’ his children in this way. We rented our home to some dear friends and moved. To say the least, we made many sacrifices in order to move us up here for the sake and health of our family…and we seriously cannot even begin to explain to you how much God has changed us in the last few months of us being here. Miraculous and wonderful.
The latest, latest news…we had a baby! Jonathan David was birthed at our home on October 19 at 7AM. He was a planned homebirth and came right on his due date, 8lbs 4oz. He has already added flavor to our family of women and is Daddy’s favorite little man (he can say that as long as he’s the only boy!).
In March…with Shawna 3 months pregnant, we flew to Ethiopia, Africa! After 1 ½ yrs of paperwork (and $25,000 later), we picked up our 22-month African beauty who we named Joy. Thus…we doubled our children in less than 9 months! “Cocoa-Bear”, as we like to call her, is now 2 1/2 and has proven to be remarkably intelligent. She has an amazing memory and is also the most snuggly child with an empathetic, warm heart that diffuses any pain or sadness. She eagerly looks forward to tea time with Mommy. Her favorite thing to do besides eating is coloring.
Katie, our 4yr old hippy rebel, is enjoying kindergarten with who she calls “Teacher Mommy”. She writes all her letters and numbers very well and can spell her name as well as her sisters’ names. She’s also reading sight words and always insists “Mommy, Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit, all three together are God”. Hey, she has her theology nailed down! She is a most eccentric, appreciative and sharing child, even though she’s the most vicious and short-fused!
Mataya, our disciplined, meticulous, and studious girl will be turning 7 in January (yikes) and is excelling in 3rd grade. When mommy’s busy, she takes it upon herself to teach Katie her schoolwork. She’s a huge help for Mommy, as are all our girls. A week ago, she lost her two front teeth and has the cutest smile with her gap. When she’s not doing school or playing violin, you’re guaranteed to find her either reading a chapter book or writing to one of her 13 (!) pen pals. Her and Katie are still attending Awana at a local church and we are still in search for our church home.
Shawna adores being devoted to the home and four children each God-given, grace-filled day. Chris joyfully provides for us from his office on the rails controlling the BNSF locomotive delivering yesterday’s freight tomorrow. Though we are all thriving and rejoicing in all our many blessings, we miss our friends and family ‘back home’ in Klamath. It’s our hope that someday we will return.
“For unto us is born this day in the City of David, a SAVIOR who is CHRIST THE LORD!!!” Luke 2:11
Merry Christmas!
Our Dear Friends & Family,
Merry, Merry Christmas!! What a joyful year this has been…Matty said to us a couple days ago, “Mommy, why does it seem like the months are going by faster now?” She’s only 6 and is already realizing this?! It’s so true. All the more reason and drive for us to live out each day to the fullest measure of what God has for us.
The latest news….We moved from Klamath Falls to Seattle (Tacoma) back in late August for one reason: the children. Over the last 6 ½ years that Chris has worked for the railroad, this time of year has always been the most difficult because he leaves us for a few months at a time due to slow traffic in Klamath. We learned just how heavily this wore on Matty as she lay in our bed crying one July evening because Daddy would be leaving in the morning. It was at that very point we decided to drop everything and move. Chris resolved that it was unacceptable to ‘raise’ his children in this way. We rented our home to some dear friends and moved. To say the least, we made many sacrifices in order to move us up here for the sake and health of our family…and we seriously cannot even begin to explain to you how much God has changed us in the last few months of us being here. Miraculous and wonderful.
The latest, latest news…we had a baby! Jonathan David was birthed at our home on October 19 at 7AM. He was a planned homebirth and came right on his due date, 8lbs 4oz. He has already added flavor to our family of women and is Daddy’s favorite little man (he can say that as long as he’s the only boy!).
In March…with Shawna 3 months pregnant, we flew to Ethiopia, Africa! After 1 ½ yrs of paperwork (and $25,000 later), we picked up our 22-month African beauty who we named Joy. Thus…we doubled our children in less than 9 months! “Cocoa-Bear”, as we like to call her, is now 2 1/2 and has proven to be remarkably intelligent. She has an amazing memory and is also the most snuggly child with an empathetic, warm heart that diffuses any pain or sadness. She eagerly looks forward to tea time with Mommy. Her favorite thing to do besides eating is coloring.
Katie, our 4yr old hippy rebel, is enjoying kindergarten with who she calls “Teacher Mommy”. She writes all her letters and numbers very well and can spell her name as well as her sisters’ names. She’s also reading sight words and always insists “Mommy, Jesus is God and the Holy Spirit, all three together are God”. Hey, she has her theology nailed down! She is a most eccentric, appreciative and sharing child, even though she’s the most vicious and short-fused!
Mataya, our disciplined, meticulous, and studious girl will be turning 7 in January (yikes) and is excelling in 3rd grade. When mommy’s busy, she takes it upon herself to teach Katie her schoolwork. She’s a huge help for Mommy, as are all our girls. A week ago, she lost her two front teeth and has the cutest smile with her gap. When she’s not doing school or playing violin, you’re guaranteed to find her either reading a chapter book or writing to one of her 13 (!) pen pals. Her and Katie are still attending Awana at a local church and we are still in search for our church home.
Shawna adores being devoted to the home and four children each God-given, grace-filled day. Chris joyfully provides for us from his office on the rails controlling the BNSF locomotive delivering yesterday’s freight tomorrow. Though we are all thriving and rejoicing in all our many blessings, we miss our friends and family ‘back home’ in Klamath. It’s our hope that someday we will return.
“For unto us is born this day in the City of David, a SAVIOR who is CHRIST THE LORD!!!” Luke 2:11
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Three months later...
Does anyone still read this, or am I just trying to hear myself talk? It has been three months since we last posted anything, and I thought, with all the recent changes, what better time to restart this. So what have we been up to since late June? Well…
… we live in Seattle and are expecting our fourth very soon!
Maybe you should have some filler, if you’re at all interested that is. Let’s see, I guess I should go back to where things started getting interesting, in early July. On July 5, because of a work slow down, I (Chris) was forced to go back to southern WA to provide for the family. As the time came for me to leave, that afternoon in fact, Mataya (and the rest of us) had a sort of melt down. For six years, since I was hired by the railroad, I have spent most of my railroad time away, mostly in southern WA. Well that reality finally caught up to us, as it typically does to Shawna and me when I leave, but the difference between this time and previous times was that we saw the genuine pain in Matty’s eyes as I was getting ready to leave. I was planning on leaving in the middle of the night, after the kids went to bed. That night, Matty couldn’t, wouldn’t is more like an appropriate word, go to sleep. We kept her in our bed where she stayed up crying and told me that she wouldn’t go to sleep because that meant that I was leaving. That hit Shawna and I like a ton of bricks, there was so much hurt there. We stayed up well past 1am at a loss of what to do. For so long we have talked about moving close to a terminal where I can work year round. But it always ended there, at talk. We tried to put the talk into action several years ago, but fell short after tried very little (we put our house on the market for five months before pulling it and deciding to deal with the situation). So this was the time, time to put family first, and stop worrying about possessions like the house.
The next few weeks flew by as we prepared for the upcoming move. We first had to decide where, we chose Seattle. Next was when, we decided to immediately. Finally was how, and we decided to just go for it. The last week of August found us with the house completely boxed up, everything in the garage waiting for the moving truck, and us happily on our way to Seattle, as a family, together. We found a place within a week, came back to Klamath a week later, and moved in to the new house in mid August. What about our things and the house in Klamath Falls? We rented a U-Haul, loaded our stuff, and some good friends of ours who wanted to rent our house, moved their stuff in. It was truly incredible how things fell into place with such an ease that stress was very minimal.
So here we are, 15 miles south of Seattle in Tacoma/Federal Way. We are in a nice house owned by an Air Force pilot who was relocated to another area. Our time has been spent on relearning the area. Shawna and I lived up here while I was on active duty over six years ago and left just after Matty was born. We have been integrating well and like it here. We found a great church, enrolled the kids in Awana, started this year’s home-school curriculum, and are expecting number four in a few weeks! We have decided to home-birth, if it so works out, and found an awesome midwife. Shawna has been incredible through all of this radical change, and knows nothing of complaining (which at over 8 months pregnant is expected but is non-existent). The kids and I are truly blessed to have her run our home. I may lead it, but she makes it function.
Of course, with how quickly and easily everything fell into place, there have been struggles. Our struggles with saying goodbye to our friends and family and the life we have grown accustomed to have of course left us with feelings of sadness. But through all the myriad of emotions these past few months, we are discovering something else. We came here wanting to be close to each other and to avoid long separation, but what we are finding is even more than that, something more exhilarating, something more special, and it took us the huge culture shock of moving to open our eyes to it.
… we live in Seattle and are expecting our fourth very soon!
Maybe you should have some filler, if you’re at all interested that is. Let’s see, I guess I should go back to where things started getting interesting, in early July. On July 5, because of a work slow down, I (Chris) was forced to go back to southern WA to provide for the family. As the time came for me to leave, that afternoon in fact, Mataya (and the rest of us) had a sort of melt down. For six years, since I was hired by the railroad, I have spent most of my railroad time away, mostly in southern WA. Well that reality finally caught up to us, as it typically does to Shawna and me when I leave, but the difference between this time and previous times was that we saw the genuine pain in Matty’s eyes as I was getting ready to leave. I was planning on leaving in the middle of the night, after the kids went to bed. That night, Matty couldn’t, wouldn’t is more like an appropriate word, go to sleep. We kept her in our bed where she stayed up crying and told me that she wouldn’t go to sleep because that meant that I was leaving. That hit Shawna and I like a ton of bricks, there was so much hurt there. We stayed up well past 1am at a loss of what to do. For so long we have talked about moving close to a terminal where I can work year round. But it always ended there, at talk. We tried to put the talk into action several years ago, but fell short after tried very little (we put our house on the market for five months before pulling it and deciding to deal with the situation). So this was the time, time to put family first, and stop worrying about possessions like the house.
The next few weeks flew by as we prepared for the upcoming move. We first had to decide where, we chose Seattle. Next was when, we decided to immediately. Finally was how, and we decided to just go for it. The last week of August found us with the house completely boxed up, everything in the garage waiting for the moving truck, and us happily on our way to Seattle, as a family, together. We found a place within a week, came back to Klamath a week later, and moved in to the new house in mid August. What about our things and the house in Klamath Falls? We rented a U-Haul, loaded our stuff, and some good friends of ours who wanted to rent our house, moved their stuff in. It was truly incredible how things fell into place with such an ease that stress was very minimal.
So here we are, 15 miles south of Seattle in Tacoma/Federal Way. We are in a nice house owned by an Air Force pilot who was relocated to another area. Our time has been spent on relearning the area. Shawna and I lived up here while I was on active duty over six years ago and left just after Matty was born. We have been integrating well and like it here. We found a great church, enrolled the kids in Awana, started this year’s home-school curriculum, and are expecting number four in a few weeks! We have decided to home-birth, if it so works out, and found an awesome midwife. Shawna has been incredible through all of this radical change, and knows nothing of complaining (which at over 8 months pregnant is expected but is non-existent). The kids and I are truly blessed to have her run our home. I may lead it, but she makes it function.
Of course, with how quickly and easily everything fell into place, there have been struggles. Our struggles with saying goodbye to our friends and family and the life we have grown accustomed to have of course left us with feelings of sadness. But through all the myriad of emotions these past few months, we are discovering something else. We came here wanting to be close to each other and to avoid long separation, but what we are finding is even more than that, something more exhilarating, something more special, and it took us the huge culture shock of moving to open our eyes to it.
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 25th Update...
Hello family and friends. Just a quick update to let you all know how great we are doing (and to post some overdue pics!). We have been keeping very busy. Chris still juggles work, full time school, and lots of yard work. Shawna is getting BIG! She had an appointment with her midwife and she is actually measuring larger than the norm for how far along she is. Awesome! Twins? Big news in Matty's world, she made the Basin Swim team! At six she is the youngest swimmer on the team. She just loves the water. Katie has been doing really good at swimming as well as she takes lessons 4 times a week now. Joy has been daddy's (and momma's) little girl. She is getting bigger but still looks so tiny to us! She is full of smiles and loves to imitate her older sisters and LOVES to dance. She is such a doll.
The biggest news recently was the injury of our beautiful three year old niece. Jana (my sister's daughter) suffered a head injury from getting kicked in the head by a horse and was airlifted to Doernbecher's Childrens Hospital in Portland. We packed up and drove up there to be near her and to help the Morgan's with whatever they needed. Jana underwent overnight surgery and to the doctors amazement, there was no permanent damage. She did receive some metal plates and a gnarly scar from the injury, but praise God, for it is only He that can provide such miracles. The Morgan's have shown an incredible trust in God, and we are so happy and thankful for them.
After a few days and when Jana was ok, we packed up the van and started our journey back home. The only problem was, it didn't start. Our van finally decided it was time to not provide us with a means of transportation anymore, stranding us 300 miles from home. But luckily we were at my parents house in Portland, so we had a place to stay, and were in an ideal spot to get a deal on a vehicle. I had the van towed to a shop (where it cost over $600 to repair, OUCH), we will sell it to try and recoup the repairs plus a little. Anyone want a 1991 Dodge Caravan? We knew the van wouldn't last us forever (it had 200,000 miles on it) but we hoped it would get us through the summer. Luckily we were somewhat prepared for this (research wise) and got a Honda Odyssey. That got us home, very comfortably!
So as you can see, life has been great. The warm weather finally arrived, the garden is doing great (if only I could grow veggies and fruit like I apparently can weeds), and we have spent a lot of time outdoors. We thank God everyday for the beautiful life we have. Thanks for checking on us, and here's some pics!
The happiest parents in the world!
Daddy and Joy.
Our three beautiful girls (that's facepaint from the picnic we were at, not a satanic tattoo)!
The biggest news recently was the injury of our beautiful three year old niece. Jana (my sister's daughter) suffered a head injury from getting kicked in the head by a horse and was airlifted to Doernbecher's Childrens Hospital in Portland. We packed up and drove up there to be near her and to help the Morgan's with whatever they needed. Jana underwent overnight surgery and to the doctors amazement, there was no permanent damage. She did receive some metal plates and a gnarly scar from the injury, but praise God, for it is only He that can provide such miracles. The Morgan's have shown an incredible trust in God, and we are so happy and thankful for them.
After a few days and when Jana was ok, we packed up the van and started our journey back home. The only problem was, it didn't start. Our van finally decided it was time to not provide us with a means of transportation anymore, stranding us 300 miles from home. But luckily we were at my parents house in Portland, so we had a place to stay, and were in an ideal spot to get a deal on a vehicle. I had the van towed to a shop (where it cost over $600 to repair, OUCH), we will sell it to try and recoup the repairs plus a little. Anyone want a 1991 Dodge Caravan? We knew the van wouldn't last us forever (it had 200,000 miles on it) but we hoped it would get us through the summer. Luckily we were somewhat prepared for this (research wise) and got a Honda Odyssey. That got us home, very comfortably!
So as you can see, life has been great. The warm weather finally arrived, the garden is doing great (if only I could grow veggies and fruit like I apparently can weeds), and we have spent a lot of time outdoors. We thank God everyday for the beautiful life we have. Thanks for checking on us, and here's some pics!
The happiest parents in the world!
Daddy and Joy.
Our three beautiful girls (that's facepaint from the picnic we were at, not a satanic tattoo)!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Finally, Nice Weather!
Hello all. We hope you are having a beautiful day. It's sunny and supposed to be in the high 60's today and closer to the 80's for the weekend (I refuse to look at tomorrow's strong chance for showers and only in the low-50's, but at least it aint snowing!). We are so excited for this awesome weather and have been getting a lot of outdoor tasks accomplished! For starters, we got our garden weed free, the compost tilled in, and the starts, well, started. Our list of fruits and veggies are growing this year as we strive to be more self sufficient and organic. Chris is going to build a raised vegetable garden today so we can have some more space (maybe a couple of them). We also ordered a bunch of rock to spread around the flower bed and somehow in between ordering 2-3" colored river rock and the actual delivery, it got translated to 2-6" river rock. So in short, we have about 4 yards of 2-6" river rock dumped on the side of the house. Oops. We decided to roll with it and started spreading that, it is definitely not what we were wanting but is actually looking pretty decent and hopefully the raised gardens will add some more depth and break up the river bed look a bit. Talk about a $250 mistake, and it's not one you can easily fix (mainly for two reasons, (one) to try and shovel that stuff to return it is impossible and (two), we don't think the van or subaru could handle 4 yards of 2-6" rock! Chris needs another truck...) It was dumped because of a mis-communication between Chris and the nursery, and oh well, it still looks good. We also planted a couple himrod grapes and are trying to get another variety as well. Chris still has a lot of researching to do before we finally decide what to do and how to grow them. Oh the joys of gardening.
Chris has been keeping busy at the railroad and has just completed his spring term at OSU (and is SO VERY happy to have that done, especially the trig class that has been a thorn in his side). He resigned from the police department a few weeks ago because of personal reasons and to devote more energy to our family. He is knee-deep in summer term at Moody Bible Institute and is enjoying the challenge of Old Testament Survey and The Church and its Doctrine as courses this term. Shawna is getting HUGE (maybe twins? hehe). The midwife says she has been moving right on track. We had an ultra-sound scheduled a while back but canceled the appointment and have yet to reschedule it. We're not the least bit concerned with finding out what the baby is anyway until birth anyway. Matty, Katie, and Joy have been awesome, also enjoying the nice days outside. They are back in swimming lessons (well, except for Joy) and are loving that twice a week. Hopefully this summer we can enjoy some water recreation like boating with Grampa Joe and Nana in California.
Of course struggles exist in any family and Chris' family has had some major setbacks the past few months, so please pray for them for help in their dealing with recent tragic events. And always remember to praise God, for although we may have NO idea what His plan is for us, that it is His plan and He is in control of all things, who are we to question what He allows? Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Well not to end in a sad tone, but that is about it. We will upload some pictures soon and get them posted in a bit (later today) and you can see how fast our kiddos are growing. We hope all is well in your family, you are in our thoughts always. We love each and every one of you (and there's not a thing you can do about it!). Take care and God bless.
-The Myron Family
Chris has been keeping busy at the railroad and has just completed his spring term at OSU (and is SO VERY happy to have that done, especially the trig class that has been a thorn in his side). He resigned from the police department a few weeks ago because of personal reasons and to devote more energy to our family. He is knee-deep in summer term at Moody Bible Institute and is enjoying the challenge of Old Testament Survey and The Church and its Doctrine as courses this term. Shawna is getting HUGE (maybe twins? hehe). The midwife says she has been moving right on track. We had an ultra-sound scheduled a while back but canceled the appointment and have yet to reschedule it. We're not the least bit concerned with finding out what the baby is anyway until birth anyway. Matty, Katie, and Joy have been awesome, also enjoying the nice days outside. They are back in swimming lessons (well, except for Joy) and are loving that twice a week. Hopefully this summer we can enjoy some water recreation like boating with Grampa Joe and Nana in California.
Of course struggles exist in any family and Chris' family has had some major setbacks the past few months, so please pray for them for help in their dealing with recent tragic events. And always remember to praise God, for although we may have NO idea what His plan is for us, that it is His plan and He is in control of all things, who are we to question what He allows? Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.
Well not to end in a sad tone, but that is about it. We will upload some pictures soon and get them posted in a bit (later today) and you can see how fast our kiddos are growing. We hope all is well in your family, you are in our thoughts always. We love each and every one of you (and there's not a thing you can do about it!). Take care and God bless.
-The Myron Family
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
4th Annual Myron Fam Garden
Greetings Friends!
The family trip to Mountain Valley Gardens in the springtime is always real exciting! We delight ourselves in seeing what new varieties/veggies/fruits we can try as well as picking up some of our favorites. We spent the morning dawdling around in the rain as we strolled slowly in search for our yummy food at the nursery.
After the fear of frost has finally (and hopefully!) passed, we've managed to plant all of our veggies as well as some fruits! In addition to planting our usual stuff (tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, sweet peas, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, corn, squash, chilies, peppers, and cucumbers), we ventured into areas we haven't tried before. Trying out some artichoke, kohlrabi, onions and celery. We also planted a Honeycrisp apple tree and a couple grape trees. We shall see how successful we are in this endeavor! The raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are already coming in and the kids are getting so excited about the harvest on those little treats!
We ask the Lord for His blessing and success in this year's garden and for a bountiful harvest. Expect to receive many of these delicious goodies as we know we might have an overabundance and look forward to sharing with our friends and family. We tried many different varieties of some of our usual stuff (that we hadn't tried before) so we look forward to seeing what we receive.
If only we were allowed to have chickens in this neighborhood!! Anyone know any free-range chicken farmers in the Klamath Basin??
God Bless!!! Psalm 85:11-12
The family trip to Mountain Valley Gardens in the springtime is always real exciting! We delight ourselves in seeing what new varieties/veggies/fruits we can try as well as picking up some of our favorites. We spent the morning dawdling around in the rain as we strolled slowly in search for our yummy food at the nursery.
After the fear of frost has finally (and hopefully!) passed, we've managed to plant all of our veggies as well as some fruits! In addition to planting our usual stuff (tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, sweet peas, zucchini, cantaloupe, watermelon, corn, squash, chilies, peppers, and cucumbers), we ventured into areas we haven't tried before. Trying out some artichoke, kohlrabi, onions and celery. We also planted a Honeycrisp apple tree and a couple grape trees. We shall see how successful we are in this endeavor! The raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are already coming in and the kids are getting so excited about the harvest on those little treats!
We ask the Lord for His blessing and success in this year's garden and for a bountiful harvest. Expect to receive many of these delicious goodies as we know we might have an overabundance and look forward to sharing with our friends and family. We tried many different varieties of some of our usual stuff (that we hadn't tried before) so we look forward to seeing what we receive.
If only we were allowed to have chickens in this neighborhood!! Anyone know any free-range chicken farmers in the Klamath Basin??
God Bless!!! Psalm 85:11-12
Sunday, May 23, 2010
May 23... already?
Good morning everyone. Has it really been nearly three weeks since we last posted? Where is the time going? How 'bout a little run down on the fam...
Chris has been doing good. He has not been working a lot at the railroad, which is fine right now because he gets paid whether he's working or not! Of course, when it's time for BNSF Railway to trim the fat, it doesn't look so good when a lot of employees are sitting at home collecting guarantee, and position cuts are always a fear since Chris is low on the seniority totem pole. Almost six years with the railroad and still low on seniority, at least here in Klamath Falls. What a strange terminal. Of course if we transfer up north to Portland or Seattle he would do quite well, but we like it here in quiet ol Kalamity Falls. He is still with the Air National Guard, in fact, he just completed a week of annual training last week. He's due for reenlistment in a few months and is still unsure on if he wants to continue or end his military career at the 10 year mark. As far as his position with the police department, he resigned last week for personal reasons. It was a hard decision, but it felt like the time to let it go had arrived. College continues to weigh him down like a ton of bricks, and not because of his procrastination or anything! :) He never went past Algebra or Geometry in high school (breezed by on the California state minimums for public ed!) and is trying to figure out this calculus stuff. He is still attending Oregon State University and finds it's a little difficult to communicate with classmates that are generally 12 years younger then he is, but he's managing. Tomorrow he will start a one year Certificate of Biblical Studies program with Moody Bible Institute's Distance Education program. He is really looking forward to studying the bible in depth, but also fearing double the coursework for the next year attending two schools at the same time!
Enough about him, how about Shawna?!? She is FANTASTIC. She finally kicked most of that morning sickness that plagued her morning and night. She is feeling much better and can still manage three ornery kids with the best of em. And oh boy is she starting to show. Her belly is sticking out something fierce! We have enjoyed feeling the baby at nights moving around. Her ultrasound appointment is next week, although we won't find out what he/she is until birth. The growing consensus is that it's a boy. Both Chris and Shawna (as well as Matty and Katie) think it's a boy. But then again, three girls will do that to ya. She continues to be an awesome wife and mother and recently finished Matty's home schooling for the summer. Of course being the great mother and teacher she is, she is still keeping Matty on her toes with daily flashcards of states/capitals, presidents, countries, landmarks, and of course bible study. Matty is smarter now at six than Chris was at 16 (ok, 29), pretty awesome.
I guess that also pretty much sums up Matty. She has really buckled down on learning and is excited to see dad working on graphing like she is (dad is working on trigonometric functions and Matty is graphing dimes/nickels/pennies, but it's all the same and she is so excited!). She is so smart and beautiful and is sure to give daddy a nervous breakdown in about 7-10 years.
Katie, dear sweet Katie. She is also doing wonderful. Still giving mom and dad some attitude, but still so sweet and loving. She is a fireball and we couldn't imagine it any other way. Our little free-spirited hippy has also been doing some school and can proudly write her name. In fact, we found our calendar on our desk with her name spelled at the bottom, and every square box for each day of the month had a big K (not the discount chain store) in it. It was so cute. She is also doing much better with Joy, she still relishes being bigger from time to time, but she is also a lot more patient with her and plays with her often. She is VERY excited to start swimming lessons (again) next week. Shawna just bought her a 4T (she's only three) swimsuit and it is almost too small. She is so tall, but skinny as a rail!
Joy, our little "cocoa-bear" is doing great. In fact Shawna and I were looking at pictures of her from Ethiopia and it dawned on us how the past two months has changed her. She is so lively now, she is thinning out (in a good way) and her eyes are so much more alive. Her skin even looks much better. She is happy most of the day and loves mixing her time with playing in the play kitchen making food for the family to just hanging out near mom and dad. We celebrated her two year birthday on May 11. Shawna made a brownie cake (all organic of course!) in the shape of Ethiopia. We had a good time. Food time is better. She has learned to use utensils quite well and although we work with her, she still inhales food and then looks around at everyone else eating and is surely thinking, "well that's not fair, they still have food!" We have definitely made some vast improvements, but some days are still a little rough, especially around food time. She still falls into a trance whenever we're making or eating food. It is a work in progress.
Let's switch gears here. As far as bonding, it has been... good. I hold at great. There were awesome improvements during the first week of bringing her home, so much that I don't think mom and dad quite caught up. Sometimes it's so difficult to have a toddler who you know very little about, throw in the fact that she can't speak and is learning to communicate with you through any means necessary (generally fussing), and it's a recipe for frustration for everyone involved. Everyone is doing great, don't get me wrong, but there's still something there, a gap of communication and trust. To be honest, the author of this blog (we'll call him Dhris to keep his anonymity) wondered if he was moving backwards with her. A lot of prayer later and he realized it was he that had some disconnect with her. Sometimes it's hard to look at her and say, she is my daughter. She looks nothing like us, she acts nothing like us, so what makes us love each other? Well my friends and family, although obvious to most, sometimes it's oblivious to those involved, and Chris... I mean Dhris, realized it's the love of God through him that he needs to show, the rest will follow. Ok, switching to the more direct first person for the conclusion here. I look at Matty and Katie and see products of me. They are mine, from me, since the day they were conceived. And when I look at Joy, I see a beautiful girl, but do I really see her as mine. The paperwork says so, but does my heart? Sadly I realized that I allowed the paperwork to be the overall say here. I had to get my heart involved, truly involved. If God can love us as his adopted children through Christ, then surely I can love this little girl whom He blessed to us. I have always loved her, ever since I first saw her picture eight months ago, but the genuine love of a father to a daughter, that close bond, that is what I've been working on, and I am happy to say I think the connection is growing so much more since realizing it. It will take some time no doubt, but that's one thing we have, we'll learn from each other, I have faith.
Okay, there you have it, a little insight to the heartache of adopting a toddler from the father's perspective. Now to change back to semi-third person with sarcasm. Adoption is not this bliss of ecstatically charged happiness. It takes work, commitment, and more patience than people have, hence the fallback from time to time. But it is definitely worth every difficult moment, every moment of pain, frustration, anger. Just to see a glimpse, a sparkle, a minuscule amount of the love God must have for us is breathtaking, who am I that He loves me so much? Who am I that Christ Jesus, his son, died for me? Have you ever asked yourself that?
So what else has the family been up to? Well, nothing and everything. We have been so very busy. The kids start swim lessons again at the Y next week. They are really looking forward to that. It's been too long since they've been in the water. We're also ramping up for summer and plan to do some very fun things. We will definitely plan on a lot of camping, a lot of picnicking, and whatever else that may come up. The past two summers Chris has spent half of the summer away with the military (2008 was Alaska, and 2009 was Idaho), so we are due some good times in the hot weather.
We are also getting the garden ready for the year and will plan to blog its progress. We have had one since building this house in 2006, but I think with our renewed energy and awareness of food, we plan to maximize its use. The weeds are pulled, the compost is spread and Chris will till it in this week. This area is a little strange, weather wise. Chris spent two days in the backyard getting it ready for the season, and as he finished spreading the compost, it decided to snow. What the heck, aren't we almost in June? The past couple of mornings has been well below freezing (in fact it's 22 degrees right now) but the forecast looks promising. We will get our organic starts from a nursery we trust and plan to get them into the ground towards the end of the week, and if needed use some floating row covers to protect from another unusual cold snap.
Well that's enough for now. It's nearly time to start getting ready for church. We love you all, thanks for being patient with us. Sometimes it's easy to forget to post even a quick update. I would love to post some pictures, but am on the laptop and all the good pictures are on the other computer. You can always check them out on Facebook but I will try to work at getting some on here. Take care and God Bless!
Chris has been doing good. He has not been working a lot at the railroad, which is fine right now because he gets paid whether he's working or not! Of course, when it's time for BNSF Railway to trim the fat, it doesn't look so good when a lot of employees are sitting at home collecting guarantee, and position cuts are always a fear since Chris is low on the seniority totem pole. Almost six years with the railroad and still low on seniority, at least here in Klamath Falls. What a strange terminal. Of course if we transfer up north to Portland or Seattle he would do quite well, but we like it here in quiet ol Kalamity Falls. He is still with the Air National Guard, in fact, he just completed a week of annual training last week. He's due for reenlistment in a few months and is still unsure on if he wants to continue or end his military career at the 10 year mark. As far as his position with the police department, he resigned last week for personal reasons. It was a hard decision, but it felt like the time to let it go had arrived. College continues to weigh him down like a ton of bricks, and not because of his procrastination or anything! :) He never went past Algebra or Geometry in high school (breezed by on the California state minimums for public ed!) and is trying to figure out this calculus stuff. He is still attending Oregon State University and finds it's a little difficult to communicate with classmates that are generally 12 years younger then he is, but he's managing. Tomorrow he will start a one year Certificate of Biblical Studies program with Moody Bible Institute's Distance Education program. He is really looking forward to studying the bible in depth, but also fearing double the coursework for the next year attending two schools at the same time!
Enough about him, how about Shawna?!? She is FANTASTIC. She finally kicked most of that morning sickness that plagued her morning and night. She is feeling much better and can still manage three ornery kids with the best of em. And oh boy is she starting to show. Her belly is sticking out something fierce! We have enjoyed feeling the baby at nights moving around. Her ultrasound appointment is next week, although we won't find out what he/she is until birth. The growing consensus is that it's a boy. Both Chris and Shawna (as well as Matty and Katie) think it's a boy. But then again, three girls will do that to ya. She continues to be an awesome wife and mother and recently finished Matty's home schooling for the summer. Of course being the great mother and teacher she is, she is still keeping Matty on her toes with daily flashcards of states/capitals, presidents, countries, landmarks, and of course bible study. Matty is smarter now at six than Chris was at 16 (ok, 29), pretty awesome.
I guess that also pretty much sums up Matty. She has really buckled down on learning and is excited to see dad working on graphing like she is (dad is working on trigonometric functions and Matty is graphing dimes/nickels/pennies, but it's all the same and she is so excited!). She is so smart and beautiful and is sure to give daddy a nervous breakdown in about 7-10 years.
Katie, dear sweet Katie. She is also doing wonderful. Still giving mom and dad some attitude, but still so sweet and loving. She is a fireball and we couldn't imagine it any other way. Our little free-spirited hippy has also been doing some school and can proudly write her name. In fact, we found our calendar on our desk with her name spelled at the bottom, and every square box for each day of the month had a big K (not the discount chain store) in it. It was so cute. She is also doing much better with Joy, she still relishes being bigger from time to time, but she is also a lot more patient with her and plays with her often. She is VERY excited to start swimming lessons (again) next week. Shawna just bought her a 4T (she's only three) swimsuit and it is almost too small. She is so tall, but skinny as a rail!
Joy, our little "cocoa-bear" is doing great. In fact Shawna and I were looking at pictures of her from Ethiopia and it dawned on us how the past two months has changed her. She is so lively now, she is thinning out (in a good way) and her eyes are so much more alive. Her skin even looks much better. She is happy most of the day and loves mixing her time with playing in the play kitchen making food for the family to just hanging out near mom and dad. We celebrated her two year birthday on May 11. Shawna made a brownie cake (all organic of course!) in the shape of Ethiopia. We had a good time. Food time is better. She has learned to use utensils quite well and although we work with her, she still inhales food and then looks around at everyone else eating and is surely thinking, "well that's not fair, they still have food!" We have definitely made some vast improvements, but some days are still a little rough, especially around food time. She still falls into a trance whenever we're making or eating food. It is a work in progress.
Let's switch gears here. As far as bonding, it has been... good. I hold at great. There were awesome improvements during the first week of bringing her home, so much that I don't think mom and dad quite caught up. Sometimes it's so difficult to have a toddler who you know very little about, throw in the fact that she can't speak and is learning to communicate with you through any means necessary (generally fussing), and it's a recipe for frustration for everyone involved. Everyone is doing great, don't get me wrong, but there's still something there, a gap of communication and trust. To be honest, the author of this blog (we'll call him Dhris to keep his anonymity) wondered if he was moving backwards with her. A lot of prayer later and he realized it was he that had some disconnect with her. Sometimes it's hard to look at her and say, she is my daughter. She looks nothing like us, she acts nothing like us, so what makes us love each other? Well my friends and family, although obvious to most, sometimes it's oblivious to those involved, and Chris... I mean Dhris, realized it's the love of God through him that he needs to show, the rest will follow. Ok, switching to the more direct first person for the conclusion here. I look at Matty and Katie and see products of me. They are mine, from me, since the day they were conceived. And when I look at Joy, I see a beautiful girl, but do I really see her as mine. The paperwork says so, but does my heart? Sadly I realized that I allowed the paperwork to be the overall say here. I had to get my heart involved, truly involved. If God can love us as his adopted children through Christ, then surely I can love this little girl whom He blessed to us. I have always loved her, ever since I first saw her picture eight months ago, but the genuine love of a father to a daughter, that close bond, that is what I've been working on, and I am happy to say I think the connection is growing so much more since realizing it. It will take some time no doubt, but that's one thing we have, we'll learn from each other, I have faith.
Okay, there you have it, a little insight to the heartache of adopting a toddler from the father's perspective. Now to change back to semi-third person with sarcasm. Adoption is not this bliss of ecstatically charged happiness. It takes work, commitment, and more patience than people have, hence the fallback from time to time. But it is definitely worth every difficult moment, every moment of pain, frustration, anger. Just to see a glimpse, a sparkle, a minuscule amount of the love God must have for us is breathtaking, who am I that He loves me so much? Who am I that Christ Jesus, his son, died for me? Have you ever asked yourself that?
So what else has the family been up to? Well, nothing and everything. We have been so very busy. The kids start swim lessons again at the Y next week. They are really looking forward to that. It's been too long since they've been in the water. We're also ramping up for summer and plan to do some very fun things. We will definitely plan on a lot of camping, a lot of picnicking, and whatever else that may come up. The past two summers Chris has spent half of the summer away with the military (2008 was Alaska, and 2009 was Idaho), so we are due some good times in the hot weather.
We are also getting the garden ready for the year and will plan to blog its progress. We have had one since building this house in 2006, but I think with our renewed energy and awareness of food, we plan to maximize its use. The weeds are pulled, the compost is spread and Chris will till it in this week. This area is a little strange, weather wise. Chris spent two days in the backyard getting it ready for the season, and as he finished spreading the compost, it decided to snow. What the heck, aren't we almost in June? The past couple of mornings has been well below freezing (in fact it's 22 degrees right now) but the forecast looks promising. We will get our organic starts from a nursery we trust and plan to get them into the ground towards the end of the week, and if needed use some floating row covers to protect from another unusual cold snap.
Well that's enough for now. It's nearly time to start getting ready for church. We love you all, thanks for being patient with us. Sometimes it's easy to forget to post even a quick update. I would love to post some pictures, but am on the laptop and all the good pictures are on the other computer. You can always check them out on Facebook but I will try to work at getting some on here. Take care and God Bless!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Organic Oregonians
Good afternoon everyone! That is if you haven't completely abandoned our blog since I haven't posted anything in a looooong time. We are doing great. Daddy-Bear has been balancing his time between the railroad, the police department, the airbase, and college. Momma-Bear is starting to show her cute little tummy which has started to announce itself very well. Unfortunately she still fights with nausea in the evenings, but her and the Bear-Cub are healthy. We have officially laid to rest the idea of finding out the gender before birth. We are currently contemplating names for both. Matty-Bear continues to excel in her studies and violin as well as help Momma-Bear with some chores and daily tasks. Katie-Bear continues to be our Bi-Polar-Bear (get it, ok... lame and insensitive, I apologize). She is actually doing very well, still loves to fight with us though. She is spunky as ever and has started some school. Joy-Bear is doing wonderful. Her favorite hobby is still eating and although mealtimes can still be a challenge and an apparent emotional roller coaster for her, she is doing much better. She has learned to know when enough is enough for the most part (generally we have to tell her which she doesn't always like). When she fusses, Momma-Bear will calmly say, "Go to your room," and off little Joy-Bear will go to finish her fit. She comes out moments later after she's done crying and that's that. We deal with it and move on, hopefully learning from the experience.
Ok, enough animal annotations for our names. Like I said, we all have been doing very well and keeping very busy. We have had a life changing movement in our family however, one for the better. I'll start by saying it began with our neighbor who let us watch "Food Inc." If you've seen it, you know where I'm going, if you haven't, then watch it.
The documentary essentially explores how food has become the money maker it is, and how we (as a society) have altered (destroyed) it. It dives into dilemmas we face such as nutrition and health, and what is really in our foods and the impact our "new" foods have on us and the environment.
Now before I go on, don't worry family and friends, we haven't joined a cult or anything.
What he have done is opened our eyes to what we eat as a family. We took the basic piece of the film (which like any documentary may contain inaccuracies) and researched the issue ourselves. What we found has forever changed us for the better. I don't believe we were ever ignorant, just... well, maybe a little ignorant. We knew some of the stuff we ate was bad, we just either didn't care or were too lazy to look into it a little more, or probably a little of both. Well the fact is we feel strongly about this and decided to do something about it as a family. For the past couple weeks we have not replenished our stock of "normal" groceries, but after researching, have instead replenished the items with a more healthy choice, organic. Shawna has really been spearheading our efforts as the shopper and has been integral part of our changing dynamics. We have sworn off the norm of genetically altered foods and foods that have been treated with pesticides instead opting for the usually smaller but better organic items.
To supplement our new change, we also had a reality check of how much we eat. We have drastically cut back (well, at least me since I can eat like a hog) on our food intake eating not only healthier, but lighter. We are changing from unnatural fatty foods to natural fatty foods and are truly enjoying our food, not letting it enjoy us.
"But the government wouldn't let us eat anything bad, so why bother paying more for organic?" Yeah, the government's all over it, trust them, they'll take care of you... Yeah there was a little sarcasm in my response. I don't trust the government for my personal well being, but instead of getting into politics, let's get into facts. I've even read the pesticide companies say something to the effect of "there had not been any evidence in our product harming humans..." May I add a "yet" at the end? Seriously though, it's a poison, safe or not.
"But organic is so much more for the same product." Yes organic is more for a lot of items, but are they really the same product? Instead of a genetically modified, poison filled apple, I pay for a... well, an apple, the way God intended. Because organic foods aren't harvested on a massive scale from fields owned by the likes of Kraft or another conglomerate, and because they are more labor intensive (no pesticides or herbicides after all), the farmers who farm organic charge more to earn a living. Fair enough in my book, pay more for a healthier real food while supporting local "small" farmers.
I could go on forever. There is a lot of debate and not everyone will agree on this issue, but it's something that both Shawna and I have both taken seriously. We have never taken on an issue in our lives (other than what we live for, God) so seriously. This is something that we are finding a deep passion for and although still a little naive, continuing to learn about. This may be a honeymoon period for our new found way of eating and living, but something that I am confident will stay with us.
What does all this mean? Are we now food snobs that won't be able to eat out or at other people's homes? Definitely not! It's just a household change of the way we live. Sure we will eat healthy foods at home, but we will still go out from time to time and when we do go out, we will opt for healthier alternatives and avoid the fast food. And when we're over at other people's homes for dinner, we will graciously and gratefully eat any meal they provide for us (yes, even my mom's frozen pretzels and taquitos!). We will just do everything we can to limit our intake of unnatural foods. We can only hope to be 100% organic, but reality is that not everyone is, so we cannot be either, at least away from our home.
If you're family or friend, don't fret, we've not changed! We are still the same annoying family that you know and love. If you feel like we do, great, if you don't, don't bother to argue with us. This is my blog after all. ;) Start your own if you want to voice your opinion. Just teasing. Whether it's beneficial or not is a personal choice and we have drawn the line on where we now stand.
We love you all! Talk to you soon!
Ok, enough animal annotations for our names. Like I said, we all have been doing very well and keeping very busy. We have had a life changing movement in our family however, one for the better. I'll start by saying it began with our neighbor who let us watch "Food Inc." If you've seen it, you know where I'm going, if you haven't, then watch it.
The documentary essentially explores how food has become the money maker it is, and how we (as a society) have altered (destroyed) it. It dives into dilemmas we face such as nutrition and health, and what is really in our foods and the impact our "new" foods have on us and the environment.
Now before I go on, don't worry family and friends, we haven't joined a cult or anything.
What he have done is opened our eyes to what we eat as a family. We took the basic piece of the film (which like any documentary may contain inaccuracies) and researched the issue ourselves. What we found has forever changed us for the better. I don't believe we were ever ignorant, just... well, maybe a little ignorant. We knew some of the stuff we ate was bad, we just either didn't care or were too lazy to look into it a little more, or probably a little of both. Well the fact is we feel strongly about this and decided to do something about it as a family. For the past couple weeks we have not replenished our stock of "normal" groceries, but after researching, have instead replenished the items with a more healthy choice, organic. Shawna has really been spearheading our efforts as the shopper and has been integral part of our changing dynamics. We have sworn off the norm of genetically altered foods and foods that have been treated with pesticides instead opting for the usually smaller but better organic items.To supplement our new change, we also had a reality check of how much we eat. We have drastically cut back (well, at least me since I can eat like a hog) on our food intake eating not only healthier, but lighter. We are changing from unnatural fatty foods to natural fatty foods and are truly enjoying our food, not letting it enjoy us.
"But the government wouldn't let us eat anything bad, so why bother paying more for organic?" Yeah, the government's all over it, trust them, they'll take care of you... Yeah there was a little sarcasm in my response. I don't trust the government for my personal well being, but instead of getting into politics, let's get into facts. I've even read the pesticide companies say something to the effect of "there had not been any evidence in our product harming humans..." May I add a "yet" at the end? Seriously though, it's a poison, safe or not."But organic is so much more for the same product." Yes organic is more for a lot of items, but are they really the same product? Instead of a genetically modified, poison filled apple, I pay for a... well, an apple, the way God intended. Because organic foods aren't harvested on a massive scale from fields owned by the likes of Kraft or another conglomerate, and because they are more labor intensive (no pesticides or herbicides after all), the farmers who farm organic charge more to earn a living. Fair enough in my book, pay more for a healthier real food while supporting local "small" farmers.
I could go on forever. There is a lot of debate and not everyone will agree on this issue, but it's something that both Shawna and I have both taken seriously. We have never taken on an issue in our lives (other than what we live for, God) so seriously. This is something that we are finding a deep passion for and although still a little naive, continuing to learn about. This may be a honeymoon period for our new found way of eating and living, but something that I am confident will stay with us.
What does all this mean? Are we now food snobs that won't be able to eat out or at other people's homes? Definitely not! It's just a household change of the way we live. Sure we will eat healthy foods at home, but we will still go out from time to time and when we do go out, we will opt for healthier alternatives and avoid the fast food. And when we're over at other people's homes for dinner, we will graciously and gratefully eat any meal they provide for us (yes, even my mom's frozen pretzels and taquitos!). We will just do everything we can to limit our intake of unnatural foods. We can only hope to be 100% organic, but reality is that not everyone is, so we cannot be either, at least away from our home.If you're family or friend, don't fret, we've not changed! We are still the same annoying family that you know and love. If you feel like we do, great, if you don't, don't bother to argue with us. This is my blog after all. ;) Start your own if you want to voice your opinion. Just teasing. Whether it's beneficial or not is a personal choice and we have drawn the line on where we now stand.
We love you all! Talk to you soon!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
We're Great!
Hello everyone! Just a quick note to say that we are all doing well. We have been so very busy and haven't posted anything in a while, sorry about that! We will let everyone know what we've been up to and get some more pics up soon!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Lost Tooth!
Mataya lost her first tooth yesterday! It was loose for only two days before her little sis pulled it out for her! Matty is on top of the world right now, loving her little gap. At just barely over 6, she kept wondering and asking when she would lose a tooth. Upon it's removal, she asked for a "celebration" so I picked up some popsicles and we said "Happy Lost Tooth" at her request.
Joy Lynn - 2 Year Pictures
Shawna here, Chris allowed me access to the blogger though he said it was his domain....I'll try not to mess it up too bad. =)
I had fun shooting these pictures of Joy in our backyard. She's very photogenic and it was pretty easy to make her smile...laugh...giggle...squinch...all that fun stuff.
Matty impressed me with her early photography skills and took a great picture of Joy and I. She says she wants to be a photographer when she grows up (with an emphasis on "photo", then "grapher", very cute).
Joy will be 2 on May 11...
I had fun shooting these pictures of Joy in our backyard. She's very photogenic and it was pretty easy to make her smile...laugh...giggle...squinch...all that fun stuff.
Matty impressed me with her early photography skills and took a great picture of Joy and I. She says she wants to be a photographer when she grows up (with an emphasis on "photo", then "grapher", very cute).
Joy will be 2 on May 11...
Monday, April 5, 2010
Happy Easter!
Hello! I can't believe it's been over a week since our last update, and over two weeks since we've been home! We hope you had a great Easter weekend and reflected on what Jesus did for us not so very long ago.
Joy is still doing great. She is getting cozier and has started that lovely two year old fussing that only a two year old can do! She is actually a very good two year old, our almost-four year old can probably even take some notes from her. This past week has been full of laughs, naps, and stool samples. As far as we know she is a healthy girl who is current on all of her shots, (and HATES the doctors office because of it), she loves playing in the play kitchen, being chased by her big sisters, and doing anything that makes anyone laugh, oh yeah, and food time, that's probably her favorite. We have also learned that mama means mama, and I want that, and I want food, and I want anything... Shawna has taught her some sign language (like more, please, drink, etc). I've been slipping in the "dada" and Matty has even been slipping in the "Matty". She is picking up on it and is still continuing to show how smart she is. She pretty much understands anything we tell her. For example, Shawna told her to "Go get your slippers." And she returned moments later with her slippers. Yes you can teach a dog to do that, but we never asked her that before and didn't even know if she would understand us, so it was actually very impressive. She is very attentive and learns quickly.
Katie is doing great, still eats like a bird yet seems to be full of energy ALL THE TIME. She has taken the role of bully. I guess every family needs one. We have to keep our eye on her around Joy, she's not brutal, just likes to exercise her size and age seniority to her new little sister every now and then, which in turn makes us exercise ours to her, it's a viscous cycle! She is otherwise very loving to Joy and definitely helps mom out.
Mataya is also great. She has really taken on the role of nurturer to Joy and is Shawna's newest personal assistant (how do I get one of those). She has been working diligently during school time (which with Joy's arrival hasn't been as much as it probably should, but she is so far ahead...). She is a great big sister to both of her younger ones and is so great all the time that when she does have that moment of orneriness, (I had to look up how to spell that one!), Shawna and I are reminded that she is only six, not 16 like she acts most of the time.
And baby is doing great. Most of our online friends may not know this, (except those on FB), but Shawna is pregnant. We found out around the time Joy came home. It was an unexpected and wonderful blessing that is definitely a gift from God. It's funny how things work sometimes... We got to listen to the heartbeat, it sounded strong and healthy. Listening to that heartbeat was a great reminder of how great God's gift of life is, and that you can't deny there's life there, any way you look at it.
Shawna is still battling the nausea. How she finds the strength to do what she does every day I will never know. A mother and wife, another example of God's mercy and strength! Sometimes I get dizzy watching her work. Hopefully the nausea is nearing the end stages based on the way the past two pregnancies unfolded.
I returned to work last Wednesday and still haven't been called for any shifts, I love the railroad when it's like this, I say keep paying me to stay at home! College classes started last Monday and I have definitely been hitting the math hard! I was so afraid of returning to college after a near 12 year break last summer but I am really enjoying it and am getting surprisingly good grades. (Unlike my high school days; that was Shawna's fault, boy's shouldn't associate with girls until after high school, they're bad news for concentrating... well, that and maybe it was the fact that I skipped so much... and NEVER did any homework... thinking about it, how I ever graduated I will never know, thank you California public education of the 1990's).
Thursday we decided to paint the living room like we have been wanting since the house was built almost four years ago. We chose First Star (grayish white) for two walls and the ceiling and Recycled Glass (looks prettier than it sounds, it's greenish) for the other two walls. We stayed up until almost 3am finishing the second coat because we were so motivated to see that brown disappear. Saturday we started painting the rest of the house, mostly the Dover White we painted the kitchen in a few months back with a few walls of the Recycled Glass. By bedtime I was so motivated that when Shawna went to bed around 11pm, I stayed up to finish it (thought it would be a good idea to shock my sleep pattern before the railroad did, I called it a preemptive strike). Good-bye icky brown! I planned on an all-nighter and getting to the bathrooms but underestimated the time it would take me to do it alone. 6am quickly came and I hadn't finished giving the hallway a second coat. I quickly cleaned because I knew the kids would be up and I had to get their Easter baskets ready. We'll finish the hallway today, and maybe get the strength to get the bathrooms done as well. What a chore, but our house looks incredible, so much better than it did with that flat brown.
Our Easter was awesome. The kids woke to find their traditional Easter basket full of candy and small gifts. Matty got some stuff to get ready for T-Ball (bat, glove, ball, and tee-stand) and Katie got a fishing pole. We bought Matty one last Easter and her and I loved fishing together. Katie has been expressing interest in it so I thought it was time for her to tag along as well. I can't wait for it to warm up a bit to take them. Our church had a Easter breakfast before service but the kiddos were down with some pretty good colds, so we skipped out in hopes not to share what they have. We had a restful day, watched the snow fall, (yes, SNOW on Easter, isn't it spring time), and the kids had fun playing with the fake grass. It covered every square inch of the living room floor, maybe only two bags of it next year. We colored some eggs and watched a movie. We finished the evening with homemade tortilla soup (yummy) and homemade strawberry shortcakes. After that it was Easter egg hunt time, that's always a blast. Because of the snow and cold, we held it indoors this year! Then Shawna pulled out something she had gotten from the store, egg shells filled with confetti. I had never seen them before and she thought I was insane because apparently she grew up with them. We had a major confetti fight and by the end of it, we were covered (as was our house). It was so much fun and definitely worth the mess to see the kids having so much fun. We read about the death and resurrection of our sweet Savior Jesus, and then it was off to bed for the kiddos. Mom and dad (mostly mom, don't judge me, she stole the vacuum) cleaned up the confetti and grass mess for the next hour. Confetti was everywhere, even our underwear, what the heck?!? I did a little bit of school while Shawna played around with the day's pictures (she is quite the photographer).
So here it is, just another manic Monday. We hope everyone is doing as great as we are. Here are a few pictures from the past week. Take care everyone!
Painting begins.
Out with the brown, in with the green!
Aw, it feels great to get this done, our "new" living room!
What's this white stuff? They don't have much of this in Ethiopia. Looking out the front door and over the back deck.
Easter egg coloring. Yes, that's Matty beside Joy. Her and Katie decided to prove the theory that I am wasting money by keeping the thermostat too high and decided to spend the afternoon in just their underwear (or as Matty would correct me, panties). Apparently that's how we roll here at the Myron home! I was pretty sure I would violate online child protection laws so this is the only picture I want to post of this!
Kids, I honestly don't know where the last egg can be hiding. Keep looking!
Confetti fun!
Joy is still doing great. She is getting cozier and has started that lovely two year old fussing that only a two year old can do! She is actually a very good two year old, our almost-four year old can probably even take some notes from her. This past week has been full of laughs, naps, and stool samples. As far as we know she is a healthy girl who is current on all of her shots, (and HATES the doctors office because of it), she loves playing in the play kitchen, being chased by her big sisters, and doing anything that makes anyone laugh, oh yeah, and food time, that's probably her favorite. We have also learned that mama means mama, and I want that, and I want food, and I want anything... Shawna has taught her some sign language (like more, please, drink, etc). I've been slipping in the "dada" and Matty has even been slipping in the "Matty". She is picking up on it and is still continuing to show how smart she is. She pretty much understands anything we tell her. For example, Shawna told her to "Go get your slippers." And she returned moments later with her slippers. Yes you can teach a dog to do that, but we never asked her that before and didn't even know if she would understand us, so it was actually very impressive. She is very attentive and learns quickly.
Katie is doing great, still eats like a bird yet seems to be full of energy ALL THE TIME. She has taken the role of bully. I guess every family needs one. We have to keep our eye on her around Joy, she's not brutal, just likes to exercise her size and age seniority to her new little sister every now and then, which in turn makes us exercise ours to her, it's a viscous cycle! She is otherwise very loving to Joy and definitely helps mom out.
Mataya is also great. She has really taken on the role of nurturer to Joy and is Shawna's newest personal assistant (how do I get one of those). She has been working diligently during school time (which with Joy's arrival hasn't been as much as it probably should, but she is so far ahead...). She is a great big sister to both of her younger ones and is so great all the time that when she does have that moment of orneriness, (I had to look up how to spell that one!), Shawna and I are reminded that she is only six, not 16 like she acts most of the time.
And baby is doing great. Most of our online friends may not know this, (except those on FB), but Shawna is pregnant. We found out around the time Joy came home. It was an unexpected and wonderful blessing that is definitely a gift from God. It's funny how things work sometimes... We got to listen to the heartbeat, it sounded strong and healthy. Listening to that heartbeat was a great reminder of how great God's gift of life is, and that you can't deny there's life there, any way you look at it.
Shawna is still battling the nausea. How she finds the strength to do what she does every day I will never know. A mother and wife, another example of God's mercy and strength! Sometimes I get dizzy watching her work. Hopefully the nausea is nearing the end stages based on the way the past two pregnancies unfolded.
I returned to work last Wednesday and still haven't been called for any shifts, I love the railroad when it's like this, I say keep paying me to stay at home! College classes started last Monday and I have definitely been hitting the math hard! I was so afraid of returning to college after a near 12 year break last summer but I am really enjoying it and am getting surprisingly good grades. (Unlike my high school days; that was Shawna's fault, boy's shouldn't associate with girls until after high school, they're bad news for concentrating... well, that and maybe it was the fact that I skipped so much... and NEVER did any homework... thinking about it, how I ever graduated I will never know, thank you California public education of the 1990's).
Thursday we decided to paint the living room like we have been wanting since the house was built almost four years ago. We chose First Star (grayish white) for two walls and the ceiling and Recycled Glass (looks prettier than it sounds, it's greenish) for the other two walls. We stayed up until almost 3am finishing the second coat because we were so motivated to see that brown disappear. Saturday we started painting the rest of the house, mostly the Dover White we painted the kitchen in a few months back with a few walls of the Recycled Glass. By bedtime I was so motivated that when Shawna went to bed around 11pm, I stayed up to finish it (thought it would be a good idea to shock my sleep pattern before the railroad did, I called it a preemptive strike). Good-bye icky brown! I planned on an all-nighter and getting to the bathrooms but underestimated the time it would take me to do it alone. 6am quickly came and I hadn't finished giving the hallway a second coat. I quickly cleaned because I knew the kids would be up and I had to get their Easter baskets ready. We'll finish the hallway today, and maybe get the strength to get the bathrooms done as well. What a chore, but our house looks incredible, so much better than it did with that flat brown.
Our Easter was awesome. The kids woke to find their traditional Easter basket full of candy and small gifts. Matty got some stuff to get ready for T-Ball (bat, glove, ball, and tee-stand) and Katie got a fishing pole. We bought Matty one last Easter and her and I loved fishing together. Katie has been expressing interest in it so I thought it was time for her to tag along as well. I can't wait for it to warm up a bit to take them. Our church had a Easter breakfast before service but the kiddos were down with some pretty good colds, so we skipped out in hopes not to share what they have. We had a restful day, watched the snow fall, (yes, SNOW on Easter, isn't it spring time), and the kids had fun playing with the fake grass. It covered every square inch of the living room floor, maybe only two bags of it next year. We colored some eggs and watched a movie. We finished the evening with homemade tortilla soup (yummy) and homemade strawberry shortcakes. After that it was Easter egg hunt time, that's always a blast. Because of the snow and cold, we held it indoors this year! Then Shawna pulled out something she had gotten from the store, egg shells filled with confetti. I had never seen them before and she thought I was insane because apparently she grew up with them. We had a major confetti fight and by the end of it, we were covered (as was our house). It was so much fun and definitely worth the mess to see the kids having so much fun. We read about the death and resurrection of our sweet Savior Jesus, and then it was off to bed for the kiddos. Mom and dad (mostly mom, don't judge me, she stole the vacuum) cleaned up the confetti and grass mess for the next hour. Confetti was everywhere, even our underwear, what the heck?!? I did a little bit of school while Shawna played around with the day's pictures (she is quite the photographer).
So here it is, just another manic Monday. We hope everyone is doing as great as we are. Here are a few pictures from the past week. Take care everyone!
Painting begins.
Out with the brown, in with the green!
Aw, it feels great to get this done, our "new" living room!
What's this white stuff? They don't have much of this in Ethiopia. Looking out the front door and over the back deck.
Easter egg coloring. Yes, that's Matty beside Joy. Her and Katie decided to prove the theory that I am wasting money by keeping the thermostat too high and decided to spend the afternoon in just their underwear (or as Matty would correct me, panties). Apparently that's how we roll here at the Myron home! I was pretty sure I would violate online child protection laws so this is the only picture I want to post of this!
Kids, I honestly don't know where the last egg can be hiding. Keep looking!
Confetti fun!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Joy's First Week
Exactly one week and three hours ago we landed at Portland International Airport aboard Delta Flight #179. It was a beautiful sunny day and as we started descending from our 11-hour flight, I looked out the window in time to see the Seattle, WA skyline zip by 30,000 feet below. I knew the moment was near, the moment Joy's life would forever be changed, officially with the government that is. Twenty minutes later as the wheels made contact with the runway concrete it was official, Joy was no longer an Ethiopian national. Ethiopia doesn't recognize dual citizenship and as soon as we were on American soil, her status changed from Ethiopian to Resident Immigrant of the United States of America. It was a... no pun intended... joyous time for us, and hopefully for her.
The past week has gone by so fast. Fortunately we have been able to savor every moment since then. As you can tell by the previous two posts, Joy is adapting very well to this American life. We have come back to people wrapped up in health care "crisis" (is it really that bad people?) and still economic uncertainty, but we were calmed in knowing that we had each other.
Besides adapting unbelievably well, here's some highlights of week one:
- She goes to bed around 8:30pm and wakes at 8:00am (sometimes later) the next morning.
- Naptime, again like clockwork, is about 2:00pm where she catches about two hours of sleep.
- Any food is good food, albeit some better than others. She especially likes those carbs.
- Super-Mommy has somehow managed to potty train her. Seriously, she walks over to her "little potty" and starts taking off her pants when she has to go. I'm sure the reward of a chocolate chip helps. But really? Potty trained? Believe it or not she is getting there and has even #2'd a couple times in there. (Shawna says panties by baby time)
- Pediatrician says she is super healthy and is in the 45% for weight and 10% for height. Short and chubby.
Today we had her first check-up at the pediatrician. She had to get four shots, ugh. Luckily Super-Mommy was there while daddy was eating ice cream with the two older kiddos down the street at McDonalds. Shots and poopy diapers are Super-Mommy's specialty this week. Daddy's is "Goochy-goochy-goochy!" She weighed in at 25 pounds which is in the 45% for her age. Her height however was in the 10%. The pediatrician (like the one in Ethiopia) says the markings on her eyelids are most likely tribal (couldn't they just do a secret handshake or something?). It's something that we embrace well and she will carry from her culture.
Super-Mommy is starting to feel a little better, still feeling a little nauseous but hopefully that will pass soon. Daddy had a Malaria scare early in the week but the blood work came back ok, just something viral. Mataya is such a help and enjoys getting Joy into her booster seat at meal time and buckles her in her car seat during outings. Katie is also doing well, we have noticed a marked change in her personality (especially when she's upset) and we will work very hard to figure it out and help her during this time of transition. To go from the little girl of the house to the big girl over a two year old must be something I can't even imagine. She is so sweet nonetheless and all three have equal parts of our hearts.
So I guess that sums it up. I've been playing around with some of the Ethiopian coffee I brought back and found a way to make it almost identical to the way Ethiopians make it (with the help of an old coffee/espresso steamer) but quickly realized that it still tastes different over there... something about the surroundings and environment. Maybe I'll get to have some more if we go back to adopt a second someday...? :)
Here's a few more pictures from this week. It was a good week. Lots of adjustment, lots of laughs, lots of love. So far so good...
The past week has gone by so fast. Fortunately we have been able to savor every moment since then. As you can tell by the previous two posts, Joy is adapting very well to this American life. We have come back to people wrapped up in health care "crisis" (is it really that bad people?) and still economic uncertainty, but we were calmed in knowing that we had each other.
Besides adapting unbelievably well, here's some highlights of week one:
- She goes to bed around 8:30pm and wakes at 8:00am (sometimes later) the next morning.
- Naptime, again like clockwork, is about 2:00pm where she catches about two hours of sleep.
- Any food is good food, albeit some better than others. She especially likes those carbs.
- Super-Mommy has somehow managed to potty train her. Seriously, she walks over to her "little potty" and starts taking off her pants when she has to go. I'm sure the reward of a chocolate chip helps. But really? Potty trained? Believe it or not she is getting there and has even #2'd a couple times in there. (Shawna says panties by baby time)
- Pediatrician says she is super healthy and is in the 45% for weight and 10% for height. Short and chubby.
Today we had her first check-up at the pediatrician. She had to get four shots, ugh. Luckily Super-Mommy was there while daddy was eating ice cream with the two older kiddos down the street at McDonalds. Shots and poopy diapers are Super-Mommy's specialty this week. Daddy's is "Goochy-goochy-goochy!" She weighed in at 25 pounds which is in the 45% for her age. Her height however was in the 10%. The pediatrician (like the one in Ethiopia) says the markings on her eyelids are most likely tribal (couldn't they just do a secret handshake or something?). It's something that we embrace well and she will carry from her culture.
Super-Mommy is starting to feel a little better, still feeling a little nauseous but hopefully that will pass soon. Daddy had a Malaria scare early in the week but the blood work came back ok, just something viral. Mataya is such a help and enjoys getting Joy into her booster seat at meal time and buckles her in her car seat during outings. Katie is also doing well, we have noticed a marked change in her personality (especially when she's upset) and we will work very hard to figure it out and help her during this time of transition. To go from the little girl of the house to the big girl over a two year old must be something I can't even imagine. She is so sweet nonetheless and all three have equal parts of our hearts.
So I guess that sums it up. I've been playing around with some of the Ethiopian coffee I brought back and found a way to make it almost identical to the way Ethiopians make it (with the help of an old coffee/espresso steamer) but quickly realized that it still tastes different over there... something about the surroundings and environment. Maybe I'll get to have some more if we go back to adopt a second someday...? :)
Here's a few more pictures from this week. It was a good week. Lots of adjustment, lots of laughs, lots of love. So far so good...
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
What a Girl!
The past couple of days with Joy have been pretty amazing. We have spent a lot of time inside playing and have ventured outside to enjoy some sunny afternoons. We even took our first grocery shopping trip to Fred Meyer. She enjoyed the sights and pointed to just about everything with a huge smile (even the "larger" people on the motorized "disabled" scooters. Oh ma'am, honestly, she points and smiles at everything.) And no people of Klamath Falls, she's not from Haiti... Joy loves the grass and to stand on the scooter while dad pushes it up and down the sidewalk (Joy, get out of the street!). Her bigger sisters absolutely adore her and Matty has really taken on a nurturing "little" mama role and wants to help whenever she can with whatever it is. Katie loves the new role of big sister and loves to play dolls with her. Joy also has a funny way of adding laughter to times when we didn't think we could. Shawna got sick yesterday afternoon and Joy somehow knew Shawna felt bad and came up to her and slowly put her cheek to Shawna's and gave her a hug. And when I was sitting on the couch in front of my laptop computer frustrated at some college stuff, I found a toy bottle being pushed into my mouth and I heard Joy going "Num, num." I looked at her to see a huge smile on her face as she was trying to nurse me back to laughter. It's times like those and about a million other things that make us love her more and more as time goes on. She has the cutest smile and most infectious laugh, and of course, that heart of gold.So as you can tell she is doing fine, better than we could have ever imagined a week ago. She is taking to or "American" food extremely well and loves chicken enchiladas (thank you Murphy family for dinner last night!). This morning it's Daddy's Pancake Espeseeal.
Here's some random pics from the past couple of days.
Oh, and just for notes, if you're adopting a child internationally, you might want to introduce a bubble bath by starting with very few bubbles. Ask Joy about that.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Home At Last
Woohoo! We made it home! After Chris spent all day Saturday in bed with what can only be described as the flu and Shawna still fighting nausea, we loaded up the minivan and headed south to Klamath Falls. We decided not to stop through Medford and potentially share any ailments we had with Gramma and Grampa Fox which was a hard decision as they have been such a blessing during this adoption. But we will see them in less than two weeks for Easter and they are VERY anxious to see their new great granddaughter (lucky number 13 I believe).
We made a quick stop in Salem for gas and Taco Bell and quickly discovered Joy loves those $.99 burritos. A little further down the road a Dairy Queen stop was in order. After being unable to drink some of the awesome slushy drink Katie had ordered because she didn't know how to drink from a straw, Joy carefully watched Katie drink for about a minute. Shawna tried to give Joy some more and with extreme determination, Joy managed to get the hang of the straw within 10 seconds! She was so excited to get to some of that grape slushy nectar!!!
We decided to go over Willamette Pass because the roads appeared dry when Chris checked online earlier that morning but of course a common early spring snow storm was dumping a slushy mix on top by the time we arrived. We made it through that with no problem and didn't stop again until home (and Joy didn't even fuss once the entire trip!).
At home, Joy immediately started walking through the house getting to know her new turf. We ate some dinner that the Morgan's had graciously left in the fridge, then it was more play time. Joy has really come out of her shell, and with the help of some slow introduction to discipline (ie timeouts for unnecessary fussing), she is definitely a happier girl. She loves her big sisters and walks around the house with a permanent smile. She is such a good little girl and as we watched her and the other two girls, we realized that she was the missing piece to our family.
Something else hit us we were watching the kids play. Although their skin was so different, it didn't feel different. I don't know what I'm trying to say exactly, maybe I thought I would initially feel, "Wow, there's a dark skinned child here," but no thoughts of that ever came to be. It's like we were one as a family, there was no difference, only the fact that we had missed her for the first two years of her life. Again, we had no doubt there would be no weird feelings, but to feel an immediate and personal connection was something beyond description (and something we had hoped for since our first meeting over a week ago). We can easily see now why the nurses and nannies at the orphanage love her so much. She has such a contagious and beautiful personality. It's great to have finally left them behind to build the bridge to getting to know each other, and since we left Addis Ababa, the connection and closeness has been tremendous.She sees us as her caregivers now and shows love without hesitation (especially if she's tired). We are so blessed to have her as part of our family and know God has a special plan for her, us, and her birth family.
So we will relax at home for the next little while and get used to how we each operate, enjoy some sunny days outside, and I'm sure spend a lot of time laughing. This is such an amazing adventure!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Welcome to Jet Lag City, Population 3
Awesome, I just spent the last 30 minutes typing and Explorer decided to shut down. Maybe I should go to one of the other browsers...
Anyway, what I was saying was that although I have spent many a cold nights in the field without sleep back in my Army days, I have NEVER been as tired as I was yesterday afternoon. It is all a blur. Shawna and I layed down around 4:30pm with the kids in the room playing. Of course we were sleeping before our heads touched the pillows. I woke up around 7pm, Shawna was sleeping next to me, Matty and Katie were playing, but Joy... where was Joy? I looked and saw her in the middle of the floor in a ball sleeping soundly. It's like she was playing and mid-game she said, "Yeah, this looks like a good place to sleep..." Shawna got up and put the kiddos to bed (what a Super-Mom, I had no legitimate thought at that point!) She stayed up for a while but Joy and I stayed knocked out. Joy has gotten up a couple times and fussed but fell back asleep everytime. What a good little girl.
So now it's 4am and I've been up for a few hours. I've already shaved and showered, ready for a beautiful Oregon day. It's 2pm in Addis after all. We hope it's nice enough to take Joy to the park down the road and let her run around the acres of grass there.
Here's a few pics:
Minutes after meeting Joy for the first time.
Mommy and Joy playing at the Care Center.
For those that have seen Zoolander, she is perfecting Blue Steel.
Back in Oregon with her sisters!
Anyway, what I was saying was that although I have spent many a cold nights in the field without sleep back in my Army days, I have NEVER been as tired as I was yesterday afternoon. It is all a blur. Shawna and I layed down around 4:30pm with the kids in the room playing. Of course we were sleeping before our heads touched the pillows. I woke up around 7pm, Shawna was sleeping next to me, Matty and Katie were playing, but Joy... where was Joy? I looked and saw her in the middle of the floor in a ball sleeping soundly. It's like she was playing and mid-game she said, "Yeah, this looks like a good place to sleep..." Shawna got up and put the kiddos to bed (what a Super-Mom, I had no legitimate thought at that point!) She stayed up for a while but Joy and I stayed knocked out. Joy has gotten up a couple times and fussed but fell back asleep everytime. What a good little girl.
So now it's 4am and I've been up for a few hours. I've already shaved and showered, ready for a beautiful Oregon day. It's 2pm in Addis after all. We hope it's nice enough to take Joy to the park down the road and let her run around the acres of grass there.
Here's a few pics:
Minutes after meeting Joy for the first time.
Mommy and Joy playing at the Care Center.
For those that have seen Zoolander, she is perfecting Blue Steel.
Back in Oregon with her sisters!
Friday, March 19, 2010
We Made It
I am posting this from the comforts of modernized western civilization. We landed in Portland just before 1pm PDT and are now chillin at my parents house. We have been up for about 45 hours now and are feeling the effects of it. We'll call and visit everyone soon. We need to catch up on some sleep and to unwind a bit. We will head to Klamath most likely Sunday, but we will see how Joy is doing. Joy has a perma-smile hanging out with her new big sisters but DOES NOT care much for mom's little dogs! We'll get some pics posted tomorrow for all to see.
Thanks to everyone for the prayers. The Lord has blessed us in two areas we were hoping to have some extra help in, bonding and travelling. Today as we were nearing Portland I reflected on our trip home. Joy was laying next to me looking up at me with her big brown eyes and reached out for me to hold her hand. The past 24 hours have been incredible, we have bonded so much. We had a great time in Amsterdam walking around exploring for several hours and I think that was a big key. She wouldn't want to walk anywhere without holding my hand (or momma's). Then on the plane she snuggled with us the entire trip. In fact, that leads to the second answer to prayer, the travelling part. She was incredible. We had a couple minutes of total fuss time on the entire 11-hour flight. It was absolutely incredible, she was the best two year old I have ever seen for those 11 hours! I'm serious, maybe two or three minutes total, in 11 hours!!! SHE WAS AWESOME!
Well I'm going to close. My words are probably running together and my grammars most likely off. I have a feeling I will read this tomorrow and ask myself, what was I thinking? Thanks again everyone and talk with you all soon!
Thanks to everyone for the prayers. The Lord has blessed us in two areas we were hoping to have some extra help in, bonding and travelling. Today as we were nearing Portland I reflected on our trip home. Joy was laying next to me looking up at me with her big brown eyes and reached out for me to hold her hand. The past 24 hours have been incredible, we have bonded so much. We had a great time in Amsterdam walking around exploring for several hours and I think that was a big key. She wouldn't want to walk anywhere without holding my hand (or momma's). Then on the plane she snuggled with us the entire trip. In fact, that leads to the second answer to prayer, the travelling part. She was incredible. We had a couple minutes of total fuss time on the entire 11-hour flight. It was absolutely incredible, she was the best two year old I have ever seen for those 11 hours! I'm serious, maybe two or three minutes total, in 11 hours!!! SHE WAS AWESOME!
Well I'm going to close. My words are probably running together and my grammars most likely off. I have a feeling I will read this tomorrow and ask myself, what was I thinking? Thanks again everyone and talk with you all soon!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Awm-Shterdam, Ja!
Me made it to Amsterdam! We ended up not stopping in Sudan because of a sand storm so it made the trip faster. Joy did pretty good. She fussed here and there but managed some decent sleep. Mom and dad who were on "Preventing Joy from falling off the seat" duty however did not. We had four seats in the middle for the four of us (we had only bought Joy a lap ticket), so that was awesome! Thanks Erle from Azamuno Travel! He planned that one just right for us, we got a $1400 seat for only $250! Now for the long leg. 12 hours, ugh. We leave in a few hours and hope Joy does well. We will arrive in Portland approximately 15 hours from now and are more than excited to see our precious Matty and Katie (and the rest of the fam).
Joy is digging all these new sights, sounds, and smells (or lack thereof!). She has been walking all over this airport and shared a fruit cup with me which I believe might have been the first time she has had some fruit (especially the canteloupe and watermelon). We are so excited to get home.
Portland here we come!
Joy is digging all these new sights, sounds, and smells (or lack thereof!). She has been walking all over this airport and shared a fruit cup with me which I believe might have been the first time she has had some fruit (especially the canteloupe and watermelon). We are so excited to get home.
Portland here we come!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Portland Bound
Good morning everybody. The past couple of days have been pretty busy. Tuesday morning we took full custody of Joy (YAY!). Later that afternoon we had her visa appointment at the US Embassy. That went well and she is officially an Ethiopian/American! Well, a resident immigrant of America from Ethiopia. We will pick up her passport and paperwork this afternoon and then it's off to the airport this evening to catch an 11:30pm flight to Amsterdam. We are there for three hours then we are on a direct flight from Amsterdam to Portland. We will arrive in Portland, OR on Friday at 1:30pm local time there. That's about 22 hours of flying (Our Father, Which Art In Heaven...).
Like I mentioned, Joy has been with us since Tuesday and everything is great... when she's sleeping. When she's awake she wants everything but what she has and fusses consistently. We can't blame her though. Although the nannies at the orphanage loved her so much, they gave her everything she wanted whenever she wanted it (a cultural thing too). She is not taking to not getting what she wants on demand and she LOVES to let us know. She has been sleeping a lot though, I think she enjoys the quietness without being surrounded by other crying children. She is definitely catching up on her sleep.
Shawna and I are doing great. Although our child is definitely the most fussy of the group, we are blessed to have her and are proud she is ours. She is so beautiful (koncho) and takes our breath away every time we look at her. We are doing fine with the fact that she doesn't care for us too much and are encouraged to see her starting to trust us more.
We had the official send-off ceremony at the orphanage yesterday which consisted of some Kaldi's Cafe cake (best cake I ever had!) and a coffee ceremony. We were then able to go downtown and do a little shopping for some trinkets. I stocked up on Ethiopian coffee and Shawna got some cute Ethiopian made stuff. The hotel staff will give us a coffee ceremony (another one!) and we will head to the airport early evening.
We will let everyone know of our travel safety when we can (hopefully from Amsterdam). Thank you so much for joining us and please pray for Joy that she takes to the flight well. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of ticked off people on the plane by the time we land. We love you all so much and will talk to you soon!
Like I mentioned, Joy has been with us since Tuesday and everything is great... when she's sleeping. When she's awake she wants everything but what she has and fusses consistently. We can't blame her though. Although the nannies at the orphanage loved her so much, they gave her everything she wanted whenever she wanted it (a cultural thing too). She is not taking to not getting what she wants on demand and she LOVES to let us know. She has been sleeping a lot though, I think she enjoys the quietness without being surrounded by other crying children. She is definitely catching up on her sleep.
Shawna and I are doing great. Although our child is definitely the most fussy of the group, we are blessed to have her and are proud she is ours. She is so beautiful (koncho) and takes our breath away every time we look at her. We are doing fine with the fact that she doesn't care for us too much and are encouraged to see her starting to trust us more.
We had the official send-off ceremony at the orphanage yesterday which consisted of some Kaldi's Cafe cake (best cake I ever had!) and a coffee ceremony. We were then able to go downtown and do a little shopping for some trinkets. I stocked up on Ethiopian coffee and Shawna got some cute Ethiopian made stuff. The hotel staff will give us a coffee ceremony (another one!) and we will head to the airport early evening.
We will let everyone know of our travel safety when we can (hopefully from Amsterdam). Thank you so much for joining us and please pray for Joy that she takes to the flight well. I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of ticked off people on the plane by the time we land. We love you all so much and will talk to you soon!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Back from Durame
This is a re-post. Apparently when I posted this earlier it did not work.
FROM EARLIER TODAY:
Selam and good morning! I have heard that the email messages are not visible, I can't open the blog website to change any settings. But if you're reading this you've already figured out the highlighting trick, so I won't go any further.
We made it back safe and sound from Durame yesterday afternoon. That experience is one of the most single life changing experiences I have ever been through. We loaded up into two vans and started the trek through Addis. We made it to the highway (two lane road no wider than the residential street we live on) and the scenery quickly changed from urban to rural. The entire trip was just about six hours with a little coke break about midway through. The trip definitely tests your trust in God. The vans lack an important safety item, seatbelts, and there seems to be no speed limit. Staying to the right is optional here, and passing an exhaust pumping truck uphill around a blind curve is the norm. I cannot even count the times we slammed on our brakes to avoid hitting a cow, goat, or child. Seriously, it happened every 5 or 10 minutes. People and animals are everywhere, even in areas that look like no one is there. There is no 2x6 construction here. These beautiful people live in circular huts made of sticks and mud. If you think I may be exaggerating, I'm not. The only 'buildings' I saw were in the two dozen or so main villages/towns we passed through, and those were mostly made of rocks. Farmers were busy plowing their fields, there was however something else I'm used to seeing that was missing, tractors and other machinery. These farmers were plowing their fields with oxen (is that the correct plural form? I can't remember from The Oregon Trail computer game). It was not uncommon to see little children that can barely walk standing near the road with no one around, usually naked. Another common site was to see children as young as four (a few I saw seemed younger) herding their livestock down the middle of the road, alone. The farms consisted of banana trees, chat (a stimulant), sweet potatoes, and coffee.
We turned off on a dirt road and drove another twenty minutes to Durame. This country is so mountainous, so breathtaking. It is honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been. We made it into Durame and quickly drew a crowd. People surrounded us patting their stomachs hoping for some food or birr (Ethiopian currency). They knew we had both. The ones that did not surround us simply stared. The hotel was again, unlike anything I have ever experienced. Some of the windows were broken, the doors barely shut, and there was no running water. The bed was of plywood and lacked springs. The hotel could barely be called that to our standards, but it was the best building they had in town and they were happy to share it with us, and we were happy and honored to accept.
We all regrouped and met with our guide who told us all of the birth families had arrived. It suddenly hit me that I would be looking at Joy's father face to face. I felt both inadequate and at a loss for words. We drove the dirt streets to the Holt intake center (where the children are relinquished) and enjoyed the constant company of children running along side the vans saying Selam! Selam! (Hello, Hello!). We sat in the waiting area and one of the birth father's came in and the family that had adopted his son stood up and shook his hand. They gave him a picture of his son and he teared up and raised his hands to the sky to say God Bless. He repeatedly kissed the picture. They were taken to a back office to talk. All of us remaining couldn't help but shed some tears.
The translator called our names and we were taken to another back office where a handsome, tall man was sitting. He wouldn't give us immediate eye contact as we sat down. We had two translators in the office with us. One that would translate English to Amharic (Ethiopian language) to another translator who then translated the Amharic to the local dialect. We began by introducing ourselves and what we did, where we lived, and about our family. We spoke for quite a while to Abera (as we learned his name). There was a lot of questions we asked, but I will highlight what got to us. I asked if he was religious. He responded that he was a faithful Christian. I responded that we were too. Praise God for that. I then asked him what he wants Joy to know growing up.
Now before I go on, I have to confess something. My western mind that knows nothing of the struggles that these people face every day had the shallow idea that he relinquished Joy to Holt because he could not care for her and she was another mouth to feed. Joy's mom had passed away from Malaria and he was now a single father to eight children ranging from 16 to 14 months (Joy's age at relinquishment). I was quickly released from that from his response as this was only the surface to the real reason.
He told me to tell Joy that he loves her very much. He said that she was given up for adoption because he loved her so much. He said, "I love her so much and didn't want her to die." That hit me. I had glimpsed into someone that loved a child so much, someone that could not live with the fact that he couldn't properly care for her, and someone that understood both of these and decided to let someone else that could care and love for her do both.
He also wanted her to have great opportunities, but more importantly, to know where she came from. He wanted her to know her heritage, her culture. We promised that we would do everything he asked. It was the least we could do. At our close, I told him that as Christians, we all have one Father, and through Him we are all one family, and that he is part of our family and that we love him. At the end of the meeting, he gave us a clay bowl and some grass that symbolized him releasing the care of his daughter to us.
It was an emotional experience. We both shared some tears. He seemed like a good man. His dirty, calloused hands gave proof to a hard working man. And most importantly, his heart shared a love of God. Joy will know who he was, and one day we will all meet again.
I could go on, but it is really hard to even write about it, the emotions have a way of bombarding me. It was something that I'm glad we did and couldn't imagine not doing it.
On our way back the next day, we stopped by a hospital built by Holt. The hospital was like something we wouldn't see in the US. The conditions were what we as Americans would see as dirty and unsanitary. We spoke with the only physician there and he said that besides the sick and injured, he delivers on average seven babies a day. Again, he is the only physician for this rural hospital. These are people that live close enough to walk there. When you're in the middle of labor, walking two or more hours is not feasible, so only a very small percentage visit the hospital.
The rest of the drive back was much like the drive there, a lot of prayer involved. We got to the hotel in Addis and cleaned up. Then we went to spend a few hours with Joy. I can see much of her father in her now. She was great. She did not fuss at us and seemed to enjoy playing with us. She also snuggled with me for quite a while. She wanted to play with something dangerous and was fussing because I wouldn't let her (apparently I'm a bad father). A nanny walked by and Joy reached out for her so I handed her over. Joy then motioned to the nanny to give her what I wouldn't. Of course the nanny refused and Joy began fussing again. It was great to see her fuss with both us and the nannies! Funny I know. I reached out for her and she came back to me, another huge step.
In just a couple of hours we take custody of Joy, forever. We will spend the morning with her here in the hotel and then we have her Visa appointment at the US Embassy at 2pm (4am Tuesday for you west coasters). We are looking forward to having her away from the care center. We also look forward to letting her sleep with us tonight! She was so fun to play with and incredibly smart and methodical. We love her so much.
I have gained more life experience these past few days than I have the past 30 years. These people are loving and affectionate. They are family oriented and yet have so little. They may be impoverished, but they have so much love. What they lack in money and belongings they possess in their hearts. We as Americans can learn a lot from this country that until a few days ago I thought was one of the poorest. We can learn that it is not the material possessions that we have, but the love and family that we can share.
We look forward to coming home but will miss this place greatly. We love you all and will talk to you soon. Matty and Katie: we love you kiddos! See you in three days!
FROM EARLIER TODAY:
Selam and good morning! I have heard that the email messages are not visible, I can't open the blog website to change any settings. But if you're reading this you've already figured out the highlighting trick, so I won't go any further.
We made it back safe and sound from Durame yesterday afternoon. That experience is one of the most single life changing experiences I have ever been through. We loaded up into two vans and started the trek through Addis. We made it to the highway (two lane road no wider than the residential street we live on) and the scenery quickly changed from urban to rural. The entire trip was just about six hours with a little coke break about midway through. The trip definitely tests your trust in God. The vans lack an important safety item, seatbelts, and there seems to be no speed limit. Staying to the right is optional here, and passing an exhaust pumping truck uphill around a blind curve is the norm. I cannot even count the times we slammed on our brakes to avoid hitting a cow, goat, or child. Seriously, it happened every 5 or 10 minutes. People and animals are everywhere, even in areas that look like no one is there. There is no 2x6 construction here. These beautiful people live in circular huts made of sticks and mud. If you think I may be exaggerating, I'm not. The only 'buildings' I saw were in the two dozen or so main villages/towns we passed through, and those were mostly made of rocks. Farmers were busy plowing their fields, there was however something else I'm used to seeing that was missing, tractors and other machinery. These farmers were plowing their fields with oxen (is that the correct plural form? I can't remember from The Oregon Trail computer game). It was not uncommon to see little children that can barely walk standing near the road with no one around, usually naked. Another common site was to see children as young as four (a few I saw seemed younger) herding their livestock down the middle of the road, alone. The farms consisted of banana trees, chat (a stimulant), sweet potatoes, and coffee.
We turned off on a dirt road and drove another twenty minutes to Durame. This country is so mountainous, so breathtaking. It is honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been. We made it into Durame and quickly drew a crowd. People surrounded us patting their stomachs hoping for some food or birr (Ethiopian currency). They knew we had both. The ones that did not surround us simply stared. The hotel was again, unlike anything I have ever experienced. Some of the windows were broken, the doors barely shut, and there was no running water. The bed was of plywood and lacked springs. The hotel could barely be called that to our standards, but it was the best building they had in town and they were happy to share it with us, and we were happy and honored to accept.
We all regrouped and met with our guide who told us all of the birth families had arrived. It suddenly hit me that I would be looking at Joy's father face to face. I felt both inadequate and at a loss for words. We drove the dirt streets to the Holt intake center (where the children are relinquished) and enjoyed the constant company of children running along side the vans saying Selam! Selam! (Hello, Hello!). We sat in the waiting area and one of the birth father's came in and the family that had adopted his son stood up and shook his hand. They gave him a picture of his son and he teared up and raised his hands to the sky to say God Bless. He repeatedly kissed the picture. They were taken to a back office to talk. All of us remaining couldn't help but shed some tears.
The translator called our names and we were taken to another back office where a handsome, tall man was sitting. He wouldn't give us immediate eye contact as we sat down. We had two translators in the office with us. One that would translate English to Amharic (Ethiopian language) to another translator who then translated the Amharic to the local dialect. We began by introducing ourselves and what we did, where we lived, and about our family. We spoke for quite a while to Abera (as we learned his name). There was a lot of questions we asked, but I will highlight what got to us. I asked if he was religious. He responded that he was a faithful Christian. I responded that we were too. Praise God for that. I then asked him what he wants Joy to know growing up.
Now before I go on, I have to confess something. My western mind that knows nothing of the struggles that these people face every day had the shallow idea that he relinquished Joy to Holt because he could not care for her and she was another mouth to feed. Joy's mom had passed away from Malaria and he was now a single father to eight children ranging from 16 to 14 months (Joy's age at relinquishment). I was quickly released from that from his response as this was only the surface to the real reason.
He told me to tell Joy that he loves her very much. He said that she was given up for adoption because he loved her so much. He said, "I love her so much and didn't want her to die." That hit me. I had glimpsed into someone that loved a child so much, someone that could not live with the fact that he couldn't properly care for her, and someone that understood both of these and decided to let someone else that could care and love for her do both.
He also wanted her to have great opportunities, but more importantly, to know where she came from. He wanted her to know her heritage, her culture. We promised that we would do everything he asked. It was the least we could do. At our close, I told him that as Christians, we all have one Father, and through Him we are all one family, and that he is part of our family and that we love him. At the end of the meeting, he gave us a clay bowl and some grass that symbolized him releasing the care of his daughter to us.
It was an emotional experience. We both shared some tears. He seemed like a good man. His dirty, calloused hands gave proof to a hard working man. And most importantly, his heart shared a love of God. Joy will know who he was, and one day we will all meet again.
I could go on, but it is really hard to even write about it, the emotions have a way of bombarding me. It was something that I'm glad we did and couldn't imagine not doing it.
On our way back the next day, we stopped by a hospital built by Holt. The hospital was like something we wouldn't see in the US. The conditions were what we as Americans would see as dirty and unsanitary. We spoke with the only physician there and he said that besides the sick and injured, he delivers on average seven babies a day. Again, he is the only physician for this rural hospital. These are people that live close enough to walk there. When you're in the middle of labor, walking two or more hours is not feasible, so only a very small percentage visit the hospital.
The rest of the drive back was much like the drive there, a lot of prayer involved. We got to the hotel in Addis and cleaned up. Then we went to spend a few hours with Joy. I can see much of her father in her now. She was great. She did not fuss at us and seemed to enjoy playing with us. She also snuggled with me for quite a while. She wanted to play with something dangerous and was fussing because I wouldn't let her (apparently I'm a bad father). A nanny walked by and Joy reached out for her so I handed her over. Joy then motioned to the nanny to give her what I wouldn't. Of course the nanny refused and Joy began fussing again. It was great to see her fuss with both us and the nannies! Funny I know. I reached out for her and she came back to me, another huge step.
In just a couple of hours we take custody of Joy, forever. We will spend the morning with her here in the hotel and then we have her Visa appointment at the US Embassy at 2pm (4am Tuesday for you west coasters). We are looking forward to having her away from the care center. We also look forward to letting her sleep with us tonight! She was so fun to play with and incredibly smart and methodical. We love her so much.
I have gained more life experience these past few days than I have the past 30 years. These people are loving and affectionate. They are family oriented and yet have so little. They may be impoverished, but they have so much love. What they lack in money and belongings they possess in their hearts. We as Americans can learn a lot from this country that until a few days ago I thought was one of the poorest. We can learn that it is not the material possessions that we have, but the love and family that we can share.
We look forward to coming home but will miss this place greatly. We love you all and will talk to you soon. Matty and Katie: we love you kiddos! See you in three days!
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