Thank-ful

The boys and I now venture out weekly and get the grocery shopping done.  I did it with my other four so here I am again shopping with the big cart that can never make the corners and seems to knock the elderly ladies carts every isle I go down.  Yes I take the wipes from my purse and wipe down the steering wheels that my boys like so many others hold onto as we drive through the store.

I have to say it is a different experience driving down the isle with these 2 little guys.  I often think of what a different world they live in now.  They could no longer live with their family  because there was not enough food for them.  Now they have so many choices of what cereal they can eat or what color apple they would like this week.  Just think about lettuce.  Kinda of strange but seriously think about how many types of lettuce can we choose from.

The boys love to go to the store with me.  Today Dawit ran out of his favorite thing.  Nutella.  He eats it on everything.  Today at lunch he put it on his broccoli and his orange.  He looked at the empty container and said, "go to store and get more".  Yes all we have to do here in America is just go to the store and get more.

Right now in the horn of Africa children are dying because there is no food.  Severe drought has left that part of the world in a place that we Americans can not even imagine. It is the worst drought they have seen in about 60 years and 13.3 million people are being affected.  On July 20th the UN declared a famine.  They have not declared a  famine in close to 30 years.  And here I am walking the isles of the grocery store with my African boys choosing and getting all that we need plus more that we don't.

Think I am a downer.  Maybe I am but the reality is sobering and holding and parenting these boys has changed me, made me more thoughtful about how I live and how my family lives.  Makes me more thankful than I could ever have imagined.  Makes me want to do more.  I don't know yet what that looks like but God is preparing and knocking on my heart and beginning to move me to a place I don't think I could ever imagined I would be a few short years earlier.

Looking forward to the journey ahead and  how God will again challenge my comfort zone.

The second favorite part of shopping with these guys is the unloading.  They love to put away all the food.  I have to look things over a little as I found the eggs in the freezer this last time and the cheese right next to the crackers in the pantry! 

First day of preschool and I have the butterflies.  I am ok with them being without me.  Kinda looking forward to it honestly.  A little down time.  I am ok with someone else trying to decode what they are saying and letting them dribble pee over someone elses toilet for few hours.

The butterflies are for: Are  they going to listen to the teacher?  Are they going to claim a toy and not share?  Will they refuse help when they really need it?  Will they stand at the door and call for me because they just cannot handle all the change and all the chaos?  Will the other kids accept them or be a little stand offish because they are different? 

As  I drove away this morning to walk with a good friend a quiet peace came over me.  They will be fine.  They will be fine.  Not perfect, but fine.  I have to remind myself often of how long they have been home.7 months. 

When I went to pick them up I chatted with all these precious ladies I used to work with 7 months ago!  They said, "they did fine!"  They did not want to sit at circle time, Israel stood in front of the door and quietly chanted my name in hopes  I would rescue him, they did not want help opening their cheese stick, and they had a hard time sharing the trains.  All in all they did great!!  Normal 3 year old behavior!

When I asked them if they want to go back to preschool next week there was a loud yes!  Well more like a loud Ye since they have trouble with those, S's.  So back they will go next week to play more trains and read more books and sing the ABC song.  Those were apparently the highlights of the day.   And I will pray for that peace that was given to me this morning and know that they are going to be just fine.  Maybe even great!!

She Amazes Me.

The other day I was peeling potatoes and I remember being in Idaho watching my mom peel a whole bag of potatoes for dinner.  One might think, big deal.  But it was.  This last Febuary my mom lost her vision.  It was unexplainable.  It happened soon after her knee replacement surgery.  She woke up one morning and because she had lost sight in one eye a few years earlier she knew what was happening.  She prayed.  She begged God not to take the sight in her other eye.  As the days went on she slowly lost her vision.  I remember her calling me and telling me.  We both cried on the phone and I spent many and hour praying and asking God to stop it.  Give it back to her. She is so independent and active.  What will this mean?  How will my dad do it all?

My mom kept going.  Kept fighting.  Kept LIVING!  Not that she did not have down days or moments or that she does not have hard days today but she keeps living and growing and learning.  She says that she has never been closer to God than now.  She depends on Him daily and gives Him all the glory in all that is going on.  Yes glory even though this is hard she has joy and purpose and is thankful for so much.  God does not promise us that nothing bad is going to happen to us.  But He does promise that He will walk beside us, hold us, and comfort us.  If we trust Him and depend on Him we will make it through.  She is making it through.  With grace and strength that amazes me.  Grace and strength that comes from Him.

She irons, does the laundry cooks, cleans, goes to church, goes to Bible studies, shopping, travels with my dad, encourages friends, reaches out to others, loves her family, and just keeps on living and living with purpose.  Every day she gets up exercises, has her quiet time with God, gets ready for the day.  Right down to hair and makeup.  She asked me when I was there how she looked.  Did her hair and make up look ok.  I realized I had not said anything because she looked so awesome.  She has always been one put together lady.  Nothing has changed in that regard.  She is still one put together lady.

She amazes me and am I so honored that she is MY mom and that I and my children have such a Godly example.  As I was peeling those potatoes I closed my eyes and tried to peel them like she did.  I didn't do the job she did that afternoon.  Mine still had brown peel on them. Yep, amazing!!

Don't tell her I posted these pics of her.  She will kill me!!  But here she is this summer with some of her 13 grandchildren.

Summer is over.

It is time.....time to say goodbye to summer.  So sad.  Every year I mourn.  Seriously I love summer.  I love the simple mornings, grilled food, pool time, time with my parents, and a fun schedule of things we want to do(for the most part).

This summer was so special with Israel and Dawit.  Sharing so many firsts with them as a whole family.  It is going to be hard for them when everyone is gone, and they are left with just me.  Let's face it, I am just not as fun as their teenage brothers and sisters.

Tonight Dawit said,  first sleep then preschool.  They do not start until Sept 6th so it was hard to explain to him that no, we need to wait a few more days.  He just wants to go to school like his big brothers and sisters.  He is going to be a little disappointed when he realizes that it is only twice a week and only for a few hours.

So goodbye summer but hello to a Sr, Sophmore, Freshman, 7th grader, and 2 preschoolers!!  Life just keeps going.  Whether  I want it to or not.

As we continue to work on language with our beautiful boys we often laugh.  Actually we laugh everyday with these guys.  They just crack us up. Today Israel and I were working on his S's.  Especially his "yes".  Here is a video of his progress.  Let's just say we have some more work ahead of us.  Remember, he has no idea what he is saying, I think that's what make its so funny. 

Here is a duet from our cuties.

So summer is ending for the James' but the laughing and the singing will not!!

Grandma and Grumpa more Idaho.

"Grandma and Grumpa more Idaho."  That's the first words I heard this morning as the boys woke up. Visiting family was a success.  Such a success that Dawit refused to leave the check in desk at the airport..  I think he finally realized that the family was not coming home with us.

Before we left for Idaho I made books for them that would show them where we going and who would be there.  I could not wait for all 7 cousins, my brother and his wife and my mom and dad to meet these 2 little boys.  They hit it off the moment we got together.  Hugs all around as they met the 2 new James boys.  And tears all around as my mom and dad hugged and kissed Dawit and Israel like they had not seen them in a long time. 

The boys learned how to pedal a bike, jump off a dock, tubing, eat strawberries right out of the garden, pet a horse, find the bull, cross a cattle guard, and charm the socks off their great grandmother!

They also learned some new phrases.  I'm gonna,  Okay?,  what is that,  and the best is, "more Idaho please."

Family is precious and should never be taken for granted.  I look at these little boys and wonder what family life was like for them.  They loved their great grandmother(my moms mom, who is 94)  It was like they already knew her.  Did they have a strong relationship with older people?  Did they follow their older brother around and ask to be held by their sisters?  Did their mother before she died snuggle them at nite and sing to them?  Did their dad toss them around and wrestle?  All questions I will never know the answers to.  Again, family is precious and should never be taken for granted. 

Sometimes pictures tell a better story.  This is my family who  I will never take for granted.  They are precious people who I wish I lived closer to.

But you are pale and they are brown.

Standing in line at the water slide at our community pool a young boy around 6 or 7 looked at my daughter Katie and I and said, "Hey do you know these kids?"  He was looking at Israel and Dawit and I said yes I do.  They are my kids!!  He slowly looked me up and down and then looked the boys up and down and said, "but you are pale and they are brown." (I decided to look past the word pale since tanning is not possible for this fair skinned lady)   I told him that I had adopted them from Ethiopia and that they were my boys.  I so laughed at his next question.  "So did they just send them too you?"  I briefly told him that we went to Ethiopia twice to meet them and bring them home.  It was his turn to go up the steps and go down the slide and I never saw him again that afternoon, but the short interchange with this young boy will never leave me.  Why will it never leave me?  Because of the joy that came from telling him about our boys.

I know that when I am out and about people look at us and wonder.  They have questions, judgements, opinions, and some just smile and I know that there heart is in line with mine.  I mean really, it is kind of obvious.  They are black and I am white(not pale).  And since a minute does not go by without either one of them saying MOMMY, it is pretty clear that they are mine.

What to do with the looks?  Smile.  Not just a yep those are my boys smile but a smile of pride.  I am proud to be their mom.   I am proud that they came from Ethiopia and that their skin is the color of yummy chocolate and that their hair is the most amazing texture.  I am proud that they are learning english so quickly and that they know what an armadillo is and that they can pick out their name and can count to 20.  I am blessed to be their MOMMY, even though I could take hearing it a little less each day.  I also am super proud of my other kids who love them and care so much for them.  I love to watch them hold their brothers and watch others look and smile.  Yep those are my kids, all 6 of them.  Truly the best thing God has ever given me.(beside my amazing hubby)

We get asked all sorts of questions.  So here are a few,

So did you adopt them?  This is my all time favorite.  It takes all of me to not respond sarcastically.  So I just grin and say yes.

Are they twins?  Still grinning and say yes.

Can I touch their hair?  Only if I can touch yours!  They really don't like their hair being touched just like I don't want a stranger touching my hair.  That would just be weird. 

Who was born first?  We have no idea.  I wish we did.  Most likely they were delivered at home and there are no records. 

Did you get to meet their family?  We met their oldest brother.  Both their parents died of  Malaria.

Will you adopt again?  I think we are done but you never know the path God will lead you.

Do they speak english?  Yep, they say NO very well!!  They are sponges.  Today Dawit told Israel, "just a minute."  Cracks me up every time they say something that I have not heard them say before.

How are your other kids doing with this?  Wonderfully.  They are amazing with them.  They have been home 6 months now and I have to say that they are truly siblings because now their 3 year old brothers can be annoying!!  That's when you know the family is a cohesive unit....the ability to annoy your siblings.

Love to answer questions about adoption.  It truly is the most amazing, life changing journey I have ever been on!!!

WOW!

A weekend of firsts for our boys.  First 4th of July, first fireworks, first swimming at Indian Brook, first kayak ride, first bus ride,  first parade, and yes their first, "wow."  As we watched the first of 2 nites of fireworks Israel watched and said, "wow."  It was a long and drawn out wow.  So no mistaking the word.

Later I heard Dawit say it and I thought the same...wow.   I am still in awe of them being here.  I have to really think it through.  We went to Africa and adopted orphan twin boys.  Wow!!  A dream and a prayer of mine for over 18 years.  They are really here sitting in my lap, eating my food, singing in the car with me, playing with my  hair and saying thank-you when I wash their favorite blanket. Oh and yes peeing next to the toilet instead of peeing in it, climbing the windows during nap time,  saying, NO like every other 3 year old boy when asked to do something,  and at times annoying their older siblings. 

Here are a few of my favorites of their first 4th of July as Americans!!

As the boys said all weekend, Happy Birthday America!!