Pictures of Bayoush!

For those of you who have followed our blog I can imagine you were anticipating finding out whether we were successful in getting pictures of our kids mother for Christmas. We were not...Our wonderful friend Carla went all the way to Asela and gave it her best shot but the family had no pictures in Asela and would have to travel to grandma's house to get them. It just logistically didn't happen. The good news though is that the Great Grandfather was given pictures of our kids and they all know we are looking for a picture of the mother. So we are hopeful. We also just want to thank Carla who was there to pick up her kids. She adopted two gorgeous children and is settling in with them as we speak....I still am hopeful that one day we will receive a picture and ask that all keep praying for us to be successful one day...

First Christmas as a family of 8!

As you can see from the multiple posts we had a busy first Christmas together. A year ago we spent a bittersweet Christmas longing for the kids to be home. We had failed court 5 times and didn't hear until after Christmas that we had passed court. We had prayed and prayed for them to be home by Christmas last year but it didn't happen. Still God gave us a blessing. When we laid eyes on the adoption papers when we were in Addis in late January we saw that they were stamped 12/25/07. Our children officially became ours on Christmas day last year. I had received a note from Grace when she was still in Ethiopia. She said "Don't worry mom we will have many holidays together." So, this year was special. Last night the girls and I went to see the Nutcracker with the African Children's Choir sharing auditorium seats with us. At one point Ella looked up at me and said "This is not TV?" I had told her it would be real people dancing but it took her until almost the end of the first act to figure out that this was real. They laughed at the men in tights (saying they looked naked). And thought it was funny when Clara's brother was spanked on stage....We also spent time with Aunt Debbie in Asheville and had a nice visit with Aunt Denise and family at my house. The girls said "Mom all your sister cook." They have spent time with all 3 of my sisters and enjoy them greatly. We had 5 children's parties at school. Two school programs. One church program. One visit to Asheville to see the gingerbread houses. A few parties, a few Christmas movies...too many cookies, christmas cards, Italian Christmas eve dinner, turkey Christmas day dinner...two large Christmas trees and 4 small ones (two in front of the house with lights), the kids will say there were too many church services....It was special and one we will always remember....I am so at peace knowing that my family is complete and that we can rest knowing that we have been obedient in adopting these children into our family,....It is loud, noisy and still the kids are out of school (it has been almost a month)...but it truly was Merry...

Kings Park International Church Christmas Program!

Amazing Grace!

African Children's Choir!
Matea's favorite friend Miss Sarah!
Jared trying to figure out what he is doing in a sea of children!
Jared doing the hand motions!
Gorgeous Miss Ella with her hair straightened!
Ella loves to sing!

We are so blessed to go to such a perfect church for us. Our kids get to go to sunday school with the African Children's choir. These pictures were taken from our Christmas program! I just was in tears during the program because I couldn't believe that my dreams and prayers had been answered. I remembered praying the year prior for them to come home and watching last year during the same program just imagining what it would be like to have my kids singing with the other kids during this program. I was so thrilled and touched to really be witnessing God's miracle just before me.....incredible.

Trip to Asheville to See the Gingerbread Houses, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Peter!

Grove Park inn with the kids...
Andrew and Jared in front of the gingerbread houses
Trying out Aunt Debbie's makeup

So we visited Aunt Debbie and Uncle Peter. I took the youngest 5 who are tracked out for a month to Asheville to see the Grove Park Inn and the gingerbread houses. We also made cookies with Aunt Debbie and the girls played in front of the vanity. At one point Matea came out of the guest room after placing gobs of gel in her hair. She has no clue that her hair is not the same as her african sisters and is constantly greasing up....the last picture here will give you an idea of how crazy it was to have 4 kids and myself in one room. Matea is jumping on Uncle Peter's back.....

Rudolf lost His Antlers!

Pictures from our little angel Matea's christmas show. When she wasn't biting her nails she was trying really hard to keep her antlers up. It was really funny....They just would not stay on and she was determined to keep them on during the song but to no avail....

Santa and the Burnt Cookie!!!

On Christmas Eve day we made cookies. We used an old sugar cookie recipe and then planned to decorate them...Well my sister Denise and I forgot that Ella left a clump of sugar cookie batter on the cookie sheet in the oven. We all started to smell something burning and then found Ella's "special" cookie. This was the one she had reserved and created specifically for Santa...so she was very upset and then I told her that sometimes Santa likes the ones that are overcooked. Ella decided to write to Santa to explain...and then she drew him a picture. It was really funny. Jared and Matea kept eating the frosting with the food coloring. So Jared's teeth turned green. We had fun with cousin Dominick and Aunt Denise and Uncle Dave. We really enjoyed Christmas..Here are some pics with the famous cookie...Santa came and ate the cookie and said it was his favorite. Ella woke us up around 5:45 am to show us the note that Santa wrote about the cookie.....It was an incredible first Christmas with the family in tact...

A Child is Born in Rockford

I had been wanting to come out of the closet on an issue on this blog for some time but was really reluctant and waiting for the right time. I know this is an adoption family blog but one of the reasons my family is so incredible to me is because I had an abortion at the age of 19. I sat down last year because I felt led to write a book about adoption and my family. During prayer time the good Lord made it clear that I had to tell my whole story. So I wrote a book about the miracle of my family and God’s incredible outpouring of love, forgiveness and grace in my life in the form of my children. There is a whole book called TO BE A MOTHER getting formatted now and will be ready probably in February or March if you are interested in hearing the entire story.

This time of year has been difficult for me throughout the years. I always knew that the baby would be born in the middle or end of December. There was so much I wasn’t sure of during that confusing and difficult time in 1981. But even though I had an abortion when the baby was only 8 or 9 weeks I had somehow known the baby was a girl and her name was Aubrey. I had the abortion in May and had named her prior to the abortion. I fell into deep despair after the abortion. In December of that year as I was making the bed the radio alarm clock went off and the song “AUBREY” by the band “Bread” mysteriously started playing. As I heard the words “I never knew her but I loved her just the same” I became unglued and had a hard time even continuing with the singing job I had at Disneyworld. Eventually I couldn’t even work and quit my dream job from incapacitating depression.

Years have gone by. I have gone through therapy. I have been healed. I have given birth, adopted my children and been blessed with a fantastic marriage. I am genuinely happy and praise God for bringing me out of that awful unexpected abyss post abortion. I have a passion now for chatting with other post abortive women who may need healing. I have also just finished a healing bible study called “Tender Mercies” written by a Christian Psychologist. The class is over but the one thing I have never done is had a memorial service for Aubrey which is recommended in this class. I know to some it sounds really strange to do this. But surprisingly in the past month my grief has been very close to the surface. Just the thought of the service this January 7th(there will be two other mothers there too) brings me to tears to the point of sobbing. So, the other day in the car I was just thinking that I wanted her to have a middle name. I thought about Aubrey Faith and Aubrey Hope because of the significance of both of the words to me. But then I decided to give her my name as her middle name. In aborting her years ago I lost a part of myself. In denying myself that child a part of me died but I have faith that Aubrey Deanna is in Heaven where i would long for us to be together one day. I pray that having my name as a part of her name will guarantee that although a part of me died the eternal part of her lives forever and we too are united forever….I could go on and on but that is what the book is for.

I always knew that if I had given birth to Aubrey we would have moved back to my hometown in Rockford Illinois to get our bearings before deciding what to do next. But unfortunately I made a choice that I would regret and never moved back to Rockford with a baby daughter in my arms. Still, God has been extremely loving and extravagant to me. The reason I am telling you this today is because something miraculous and sweet has happened today. Sometimes things happen that are like little secrets that you have just between you and God. They are small little miracles where you feel like He is smiling down on you and just saying “I love you so much.” I have a cousin named Diane in Rockford who had all boys. One of her boys ERIC and his wife Felicia gave birth to his second daughter today. Diane and Eric haven’t read my book and because I have been in the closet she doesn’t know my story. Very few people even knew about Aubrey or that I named a baby I would never see. Eric is married to a sweet woman named Felicia. Tonight I received this email on what could have been the birthday of my daughter who would be a younger cousin to Eric.

Hi Deanna, Diane called this morning and Eric and Felicia had a 10# baby girl yesterday and guess what they named her? Aubrie Hope.........

coincidental!

Mom

I don’t believe in coincidences but do believe God loves us immensely. A child has been born in Rockford named Aubrie Hope who has blessed a cousin in North Carolina merely by taking her first breath and sharing a name with a Heavenly cousin. I just want to celebrate her life and know that God is great and His forgiveness and sweetness is available to all. I pray that Eric and Felicia can feel the joy that their new little ‘noble and bright’ princess will bring to them. I promise not to make this a heavy, controversial or depressing blog but wanted to share my personal story, today’s miracle and show you why my enthusiasm for my magnificent family is so great. They are truly a gift from a forgiving and extravagantly sweet Father who knows how to gently surprise his daughter on earth by whispering a precious "I love you..look at my new miraculous creation. Merry Christmas!".

Grace is better!!!

We had a long day in the day surgery hospital. We waited for 3 hours and then the surgery took 3 more hours. Grace is well and we are home. When we came home the kids made cards for Grace. Jared not knowing what else to say handed Grace the card and said: "Happy Birthday"...He is really sweet...her birthday is in June. The other day the girls were teasing Samantha after she had taken a nap in her sweats..They told her she looked like a grandma and went on and on saying "messy hair" "no makeup" blah blah...Jared came up to Sam and said very sweetly: "Samantha you are beautiful!" Both Sam and I said "AWWWW how sweet." He has a fever tonight...one child healthy and done with surgery and now he is not feeling well...another day in the life...

Blog Award!

This blog award came from my friend Beth (I am heading toward my destiny)...Thank you Beth for my first blog award. I am so proud and I think my mother is going to add this to the scrapbook.

From what I understand, this comes with a seven thing Meme. Here we go:

SEVEN THINGS I DID BEFORE:
1. Pitched a few no hitter in softball!
2. Breast fed two babies for over two years.
3. Worked for the Grimaldi Family in Monaco (Prince Albert).
4. Went Parasailing over the mediterranean...
5. Went to India on my Honeymoon.
6. Was recruited for Arbitrage...
7. Was a model in a German hair magazine...

SEVEN THINGS I DO NOW:
1. Writing a book and blogging
2. Advocating for adoption and life
3. Can cook an excellent Turkey
4. Juggle tasks and my family
5. Can carry on a very confusing conversation in Spanish
6. Freecycle
7. Mother 6 amazing kids

SEVEN THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO DO:
1. Swim or exercise every day
2. Write more songs and record a prophetic CD
3. Finish the CD we are currently working on.
4. Be able to afford to take my kids to Disney
5. Pay off my mortgage and live not worrying about it.
6. Watch as my children are married and have kids
7. Encourage women through books, speaking and song.

SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACT ME TO MY HUSBAND:
1. His forearms
2. His talent.
3. His commitment to our family.
4. The fact that he is an excellent father
5. His sense of adventure
6. His sense of humor.
7. His passion for me and the family ( Ithink I said that).

SEVEN THINGS I SAY MOST OFTEN:
1. Clean up this mess
2. Hurry up.
3. Put on your shoes
4. Do you have to go pee pee?
5. Stop it or you will fall/hurt yourself/die/hurt someone else
6. I love you
7. 5 more minutes and we leave

The Face of a Mother!

Many of you know that my Ethiopian children do not have a picture of their mother who passed away 4 years ago. Her name was Bayoush. When we met their grandmother in Ethiopia she said she forgot to bring the picture. Grace says there are many pictures of her mother at her grandmother's home. Ella cries because she was so young when her mom died but seems to be grieving the most. One day a few months ago Grace stood frozen at the California Pizza Kitchen because she saw a woman that reminded her of her mom. If you think back to when you were 4 or 5 you have these memories of your mother but many of the memories were of experiences and feelings, if you didn't have the pictures you may forget. Ella is afraid she has forgotten what her mom looks like. Jared was a baby and doesn't know or remember any other mother but me and his grandmother whom he called Amaya. It makes me so sad to think of what it would be like to try really hard in your little memory to remember her eyes, her lips, her hands. Ella can remember very vividly the day her mother died. She was there. I hate to think that the most striking memory of her mother is remembering how she coughed and then didn't wake up again.

We are determined to get pictures and an angel friend of mine...CARLA is going over to Ethiopia to get her sweet children. Follow her trip through the link called CARLA'S BLOG on the side. She also feels compelled to travel the distance and spend one of her days going over the meadow, through the woods, past dusty african villages, without a cell phone, without much information but armed with a ton of faith to Grandmother's house to try to find a picture of Bayoush for Ella to place above her bed. Please pray for Carla this week. Please pray that God moves mountains to accomplish this task. I know if it doesn't happen this time we will try again. But it just warms my heart to know that someone would be willing to rough it to try to make a dream come true for these kids. I am not telling the children that this is happening but want to ask all of you to pray with all of your hearts and souls for Carla and Morgan (her daughter) to have a safe trip and that the Holy Spirit and many angels accompany them. Carla is also being an angel to some of my other friends. She is delivering formula and visiting other orphanages over there too.....God bless her....and ANDREW IF YOU ARE READING THIS ...if you tell Ella, Jared or Grace about this Santa will leave a big hunk of coal in your stocking......

Caught Up In The Rapture....

I loved this Anita Baker song in the 80's "Caught up in the Rapture." Mark and I used another Anita Baker song as our first dance "Sweet Love." This morning was the first day of the evil Wake county concept of 'track out'...this means that because my kids go to school 'year round', they also now are in that period where I get them to myself so I can go crazy for 3 weeks...because it is Christmas i will have them for almost 5 weeks....I woke up late this morning 8:00...woo hoo...sleeping in....and then got out of bed in my gorgeous flannel pajama pants and bundled in a very long and unattractive sleeping shirt with a long sleeved hooded pink sweatshirt with a coffee stain on it ( it was clean just stained)..I put on my furry slippers and reluctantly got out of bed knowing that in a mere few minutes the kids would be telling me they are bored because of track out....

So, I head into Ella and Grace's room. The day before I had been given a free King James version of the bible with a font size of about 3....This bible was not intended for anyone older than the age of 20. I mean when you reach 40 or so you start to realize what those cheap reading glasses are for...So, I cannot read this KJV bible but Andrew found it and was reading it as if it had a 22 font....He found the book of REVELATION. And since he enjoys Harry Potter, Sci Fi and any kind of books with scary things in it he has decided it is really interesting reading. So, I walk into the girls room. There is Andrew in the pink rocking chair with the girls around him as he reads the bible...I am stumbling around in my 'not tonight I have a headache" pajamas, and I am greeted with three little voices that say ..."MOM JESUS IS COMING." I say..."Huh???" Ella then says "I'm scared." Andrew looks up from the bible and says "is the church of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania?" I say "do you want waffles or a bagel?" Ella says "Is Jesus coming tomorrow?" I say "Is Daddy up?" Andrew says "Will our bones all go up to Heaven too? What about people who get cremated?" I am really wanting my coffee....Matea comes in and says "i don't want my bones to go to Heaven." Ella says "How do the bones get up there?" Grace says "It's magic" Andrew says..."Hey when they talk about Him coming through the clouds does it mean it will be on a rainy day....?" Then he says.."there are some creepy animals in the bible." "do you think he'll come during track out?" I am thinking "I hope so."

I finally dodge the bullet because I am not that well versed on Revelation because it totally scares me too. I love Pslams and Proverbs, Matthew and all the nice happy stuff...I finally am able to make the coffee. The army of intensely christian soldiers with the King James Version follows me....we all come downstairs....Grace is having ear surgery tomorrow (all please pray for healing..). She has to get a hole in her eardrum covered with skin graft. So, her greatest fear is not eating. She is pigging out tonight because as of 12 she can't eat anymore and has surgery at 9:30 tomorrow. So Andrew is still reading KJV of the bible and then Grace says..."Hey my mom say when we were hungry in Africa if you read bible you no longer hungry." I thought this was so sweet because many people currently are struggling to find food over in Ethiopia. So, Grace says tomorrow I read bible ...no eat...I say that is a good idea and start to hum "oh oh oh caught up in the rapture of love" as I pour myself some coffee in my unsexy but warm get up.

"I'm a mess...SQUEAK SQUEAK!"

Oh the joys of the holidays....TWO CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS today....First I have to say that our 6 kids scheduling has totally gone awry....two days ago Jared came home from school and said "Mom...all moms and dads come to class...you no there." OH NO...It totally didn't make the calendar...so there was one that 'jumped the shark.' Then I get a call from SAM on her lunch hour..."MOM you have to call about my graduation pic or I won't get in the yearbook." Almost missed that one too....but salvaged a potentially serious parental gafe....then as I am driving around after an errand I hear a horn beep and look in my rearview mirror..it is Monica from down the street. I missed the deadline for Andrew's teacher's $10 christmas gift contribution. Monica was coming to collect. Luckily at the bottom of my purse was an envelope that had stayed there for two weeks that had Monica's name on it....I had to pull out 3 MacDonalds toys, a camera, tissue, brush, maxi pad and church bulletin to find it...I pulled off the lint and hand ironed the envelope and gave it to her....I made it this morning to Matea's christmas show...her reindeer head band ears kept falling down as she sang Rudolf biting her nails and with her glasses at the edge of her nose....Sitting next to me were first time parents...their daughter had manicured red and white fingernails, hair with a white bow, black mary janes and a perfect red velvet christmas dress...She waved to her family...Matea was too focused with her wilting reindeer ears in her pink christmas dress and wildly messy hair. We had a quick pizza for dinner and then we had to go to Ella's performance of "THE MITTEN" (we were supposed to donate a pair of mittens...I hadn't read the fine print) without Mark and Samantha. THis meant it was me, 5 kids and a sea of 400 other children...try to find your super hero wanna be boy in the crowd...not easy. So, we go to the concert...I have lost Jared again...put all the kids in a designated spot while everyone wants to hold court with me as my eyes cross in a million directions looking for Jared Super boy who is more like FLASH from the incredibles (ethiopian children are extremely fast)...finally I see a teacher who knows all the runaways are mine...she has Jared on her hand and brings him to me...another father is embarrassed because he assumed the African American person next to me was the parent of my other runaway child....So, then we go to hear Ella sing...Ella sings "I'm a mess squeak squeak...I'm a mess squeak squeak." Grace agrees that she is a mess because Grace is like Felix and Ella is like Oscar and they share a room..I tried all week to teach Ella to sing the word MOWWWSSsss..instead of mess...we would practice ..I would sing "I'm a mouse squeak squeak." She would sing..."I'm a mess squeak squeak...." I just decided to let her sing the 'mess' song instead..the truth is that I was really the mess."SqUeAK SQUeAK""

This is a PIG!

I made bacon this morning for breakfast. Andrew my resident expert on almost everything decided to make sure my Ethiopian children knew what they were eating....SO, he starts to say. "You are eating pig." Then the girls scream...Ella starts to gag...and then he talks about how they take pig meat and first make ham and then hot dogs with pig garbage and that bacon is pretty much the same... the girls look at him totally perplexed. Jared could care less and would like "more bacon please!!!" And then the girls rush to me saying "Mom no...not pig." I say "Yes Pig." and then Andrew makes a point of also letting them know that burgers are COW....(one of Grace's ethiopian pets was a cow named Shibir). And all the while I am trying to pack 4 lunches, sign permission slips and finish scrambling eggs....Oh well...typical entertaining and funny morning in our household...

Advanced MULTI TASKING!

Honestly I usually don't think about all that I am doing but I had to laugh today when I had a minute to look back on how the day progressed:

wake up..make 4 lunches, 5 breakfasts, get the kids dressed and to school, come upstairs wake up baby, clean a load of laundry, bathe baby and shower simultaneously while watching 3 year old through glass shower, Dress 3 year old, scramble eggs and bacon for baby..it is now 9:30. Go to downstairs office while putting toddler in front of TV. Talk to NY client on phone...email contract, talk to another NY client, put press kit together , send 3 emails, make travel arrangements for 15 people to florida in Feb...send invoice to client, create holiday cards for family as well as New Year's card for band. Talk to someone online about Prolife issues....Edit book...simultaneously become inspired to write a christmas song called "Not so Very Merry Christmas" while going to target to buy vitamins, salsa, apples...feed daughter lunch. Get laundry out of machine put into the dryer,,,,put away dishes....send fedex to client. Pick up kids from bus stop, do homework, make dinner, talk to doctor for kids appointments, put basketball uniforms on two kids...clean spilled milk, do dishes, put one of the kids in the corner...answer email and voice mail...complete bible study due tomorrow...get kid out of corner, separate 2 other kids, put kids in bath...look through their folders...blog...order yearbook for oldest daughter....put clean sheets on bed ...put new table cloth on table....negotiate TV time with teenager.....put kids to bed....CRASH.....

B-I-N-G-O!

We had a jam session during clean up on Thanksgiving. Ella played a few solos on the piano and then we had my brother in law play the sax, Mark on piano, my sisters playing and singing. It was great. At one point Ella was on my lap and started crying. The more I get to know her the more joy I feel in my heart. She is so delightful and naturally funny that I can't seem to get enough of her. So she is really crying and turns to me and says..."My mom tell me before she die...never ever forget this song." I say "what song?" She says "Bingo was his name O"..I said "Really?" she is still crying and cuddling with me...She said "Yes, she say ..it is my favorite song." I want to never forget it...and then Grace came by and smacked her on the head and said "No she didn't ..you lie." And then Ella smacked her back and kicked her and I will never know if their mother really did love BINGO as her favorite song.....

The $6.23 twenty one pound turkey!

I was so excited when our local Harris Teeter grocery store sent out an email notice that for 3 days they were selling their turkey's for .29cents a pound. So I ran to the store and grabbed a 21 pounder. We were having 15 adults and 6 kids. So, since it was frozen solid..I mean really frozen I had to spend practically a week greeting the turkey about 3 times a day in the fridge to poke at it to see if it was defrosted. After 5 days it was still frozen so I tackled the defrosting task with the cold water method and then put it back in the fridge until the following day...I cooked it via a method I learned a few years ago. ...I steamed it in a foiled tent with a little bit of water on the bottom of the pan. I also cooked it breast down...Well I have to say that I was so proud when my brother in law went to carve the turkey and couldn't stop repeating..."This is unbelievable. The turkey is so tender it is falling off of the bone." So, the investment was worth it to say the least. AND then it was the turkey that kept on giving. We had left overs two days in a row and I made pasta with the turkey meat last night and will still have enough for sandwiches. My kids wanted to know why we have thanksgiving...they also all asked me why everyone had to leave. My mother was here for several days and two of my sisters came. My 6 year old nephew was here too...we really enjoyed eachother. THe children love having a full house. Today Ella seemed a little sad because everyone was gone. Yesterday afternoon Jared took a 3 hour nap. He had played with Dominick (superheros) non stop. Last year at this time I was in tears because I found out that our adoption case was kicked out of court for the 4th time. This year we are so grateful to have our family in tact and to be able to watch as the kids learn how to bake pies, make gravy, mash potatoes and eat until you have to unfasten your pants. We are so thankful for our family and friends and pray for those waiting to bring their children home!!!!

Angus Barn!

There is this amazing restaurant here in NC called the Angus Barn. It is mostly a steakhouse. It was built in the 60's and a classic...Mark and I had a gift card and decided to go there for our TWENTY FIRST anniversary dinner. I tell Mark we are finally legal with 21 years behind us.Sam baby sat. The kids freaked out when we left (acting like we were leaving them FOREVER). They really don't even act like that when we go to NYC. So, we went to the Angus Barn which is literally 20 minutes from my house. It was really nice. Our friend Lance Odvody was the waiter...Everytime we say Lance's wife's name we think she sounds like a James Bond babe...Ashley Odvody...It sounds like some gorgeous strange body (like ODD vody) villian....In reality she is not a villian but a gorgeous angel instead. Still we laugh and always have to say both names together with a British Accent ....So we had red wine, steak and an amazing salad and were given southern pound cake for free because it was our anniversary....and then lance (who WAS very evil about bringing out a dessert tray anyhow after the pound cake) asked if we wanted to ORDER dessert...I had already unbuttoned the top button of my pants so declined......Here are some pics of before the dinner and after in front of the Angus barn tree...

I LOST MY NOISE!

Everyday is so entertaining with my family....So the kids love playing this game they call the QUIET GAME...Mark and I love it too because we get some peace then. So, almost every night at dinner they want to play. After the first time we said 'no' because someone would cry or have a tantrum when they lost which defeated the whole purpose for the quiet game....But recently we have been playing again..The winner usually gets to stay up 10 extra minutes and maybe gets an extra piece of Halloween candy. (BTW...my method is to immediately take the candy put it in baggies, label them and put them in a basket really high...everyday if they are good they get one piece, while at school I take out numerous pieces and redistribute it (no obama jokes okay..ha) to another baggie and use it as the filler in the christmas stockings)...SO..back to the quiet game. Last night Jared and Grace were the winners. They were quiet for 2 hours. Ethiopian children can be so deadpan forever..i know it isn't just my kids because I have seen it with grown Ethiopian friends of mine...Anyhow, it got to the point where I gave both of them an extra 10 minutes for winning. SO, i know Jared can be quiet for 2 whole hours. Samantha on the other hand was the type of child that we were really worried about. She could not keep her mouth shut for anything. One time Mark and I looked at eachother and we both said "if she was kidnapped and the guy said 'stay quiet or you die' she would still not be able to be quiet"

At school there is the dreaded YELLOW PAPER..You get a YELLOW PAPER sent home if you are bad. Today Jared got the YELLOW PAPER from the music teacher. He has music for 25 minutes a week. The note said "Jared couldn't be quiet for even 3 minutes." Jared was punished and not allowed his one piece of candy and then sat quiet because of his anger for 50 minutes....This just boggles my mind. I am tempted to tell the music teacher to tell Jared she would like to play the quiet game in class....instead he can't stay quiet for 5 minutes in class but he has the ability to win the quiet game and be in silence for 2 hours at home with the reward being just 10 extra minutes awake....

Along the same lines we have had minor colds running from kid to kid..Nothing major..but today Ella woke up and with a hoarse voice said "I LOST MY NOISE"....I kept saying "Your voice?" She yelled hoarse "NO MOM..I LOST MY NOISE." I thought her sentence was appropriate and laughed when she said it....after a few times trying to say ""VA VA VOY SSSSSS" She once again said "NO MOM...MY NOISE...I LOST MY NOISE." Sometimes it is really nice when they lose their noise.....

Ethiopian Concert!

The concert was really long but fun...I think once I realized that I needed to be on Ethiopian Standard time i settled into the 3 hour concert fine. It started at 6 but no one showed up until 6:45. My Nigerian girlfriend ADEOLA showed up looking fantastic and told me that everyone knows that when the Ethiopians say 6 it means 6:45. I said "I didn't know that ".....So we brought the kids and were lucky to keep the little ones in a nursery. Our songs went well but I didn't wear the ethiopian outfit because my girls nixed it the minute they saw me in it...I don't know why but they did not want me in the outfit and made a point of telling me that I should have something custom made instead. The girls recognized many songs and were even able to understand my amharic after I was tutored....that made me feel better since I was going to be singing "I'll FLY AWAY" amharic style in front of 200 ethiopian people.....I got a few thumbs up but not sure if they were just being polite or were actually serious...anyhow...I now can sing a hymn in amharic and find that a fun little piece of trivia to throw out about myself every now and then. Life is good with the kids. They are settling in so well and Ella was wearing my wig today...i was forced to buy a wig when my girlfriend and fellow singer (who is african american and knows how to fix hair) told me that when we work in FLORIDA or in a hot tent "Honey you must get a wig...your hair looks awful." So I have the wig and Ella found it because she can sniff out hair even if it is buried 30 feet under the ground...she asked if she could wear it to school tomorrow and I said "NO WAY!" ...so she will have to deal with her own hair. If she grows up to be a singer I will let her buy as many FLORIDA (bad hair) wigs as she wants but she won't show up in my RICKY'S NY wig at her elementary school tomorrow...Sometimes a mom has to put her foot down...oh and PS...i discovered bunco last night and I am a total queen at dice...someone should take me to VEGAS.....OH YEAH...Mark and I celebrated our 21st anniversary on Sat...i said to him "hey we are finally legal at 21."

ANDREW the President!

Andrew has been named PRESIDENT of the 5th grade. He was so proud. He actually was elected on election day. We all celebrated even though I wasn't in the greatest mood on 11/4. Anyhow, Andrew told me he picked a girl for his running mate because he was running against a girl and he was trying to steal her votes. Apparently, his strategy worked because he won by a landslide....He really has not duties as president but will plan a party or two....

Car Seat Pundits!

So my daughter Matéa is 3 and a half. She is still learning to count to 20. She gets stuck on 13, 14 and 15....and when she says the alphabet she always says 'humanumapee". She needs help getting up and down from the potty and sits in the back seat of the car in her car seat....So, I am driving her home from preschool (she goes 3 days a week from 9-12). I am listening to Christian radio. She says "Mommy?" I say "What honey?" She says "John McCain is going to be our new president." I said "Really?" She says "Um Huh! And Rockababa will be a president next." I say "Really..you know a lot of people think Barack Obama will be president first." She said "No John McCain is first and then Rockababa because he has nice hair." Not sure what she meant by the hair comment but it was funny......

Concert in Amharic on 11/8!

Next saturday on our anniversary (11/8) Mark and I are performing with an Ethiopian Gospel Choir at Crosspointe Church at 6pm here in Cary. I am being asked to sing a song in Amharic and boy do I have my work cut out for me. The choir will also be taking two of our songs and singing parts of it in Amharic which should be super cool. Admission is free ...bring the kids.

My Little Oranges!

Amazing Night! I am so sorry that I am faltering on my blogging. I have been in NYC for almost a whole week. So, I may have mentioned before about a vision I had while in the process of adopting but I have to repeat it because tonight I received unbelievable confirmation from Grace.

Prior to the referral of our Ethiopian children I had been deep in prayer one day.... I prayed and prayed and in the middle of the day saw a winter scene where everything was white. And then the next scene I was in a hospital where the white snow had turned to bright white lights and then the next thing I knew I saw these beautiful brown hands and a hand full or oranges. I really believed it was the mother of my kids handing me her children as offerings etc. I later learned that I had that vision right around the same time the kids were put into the orphanage. I also learned about a book called the PERFECT ORANGE where an ethiopian girl gives a perfect orange to the king. So I thought the story was over.....We adopted our three children and found out that their mother had passed away a few years prior...so I believed my interpretation of the vision with the mother offering her children to me and therefore in approval and acceptance was all i needed.....

TOnight (about a year and a half after the vision) I am speaking with my daughter Grace. She is helping me in the kitchen. We were talking about names. And then I said "did they call you Ejigay in Ethiopia?" She said "No mom we call each other silly names. I call my agoat (uncle) funny names...My mom always call me a name that everyone then call me all the time and we laugh...she call me ' bustacon' ...you know that mean ...ORANGE!" I said "orange like the color...?" She says "Mommy no...orange like the food"....I am standing in the fridge getting the milk and I literally had chills running all over myself...She said "Mom...all the time my mom call me bustacon and then everybody knows to call me bustacon..I like bustacon mommy..." Then Ella heard and said "sometimes mom call me bustacon too..." So I realize she knows more english now and is learning about prayer and Jesus...so I explain the vision and said...I knew that bustacon was important to her mom. I tell her about the vision..she says "How you see that?" I explain about prayer some more......and then later that night we read a book coincidentally about angels and the concept of Jesus allowing her mom to show me oranges..made her so happy and she had a smile on her face all night...we talked about angels all night....she went to bed saying "I love you so much..." I said "good night Bustacon"......

The Finger!

Sometimes the conversations and prayers at the dinner table just makes me laugh. First off, our two youngest (Matea and Jared) are totally hijacking prayer time at dinner. It usually starts off with a loud fight with who is going to pray first. Today Jared won and then he prayed "Thank you jesus for mom make breakfas fo dinna lasa night." (I made chocolate pancakes and an omelette the night before which everyone loved)...He then said "And thank you for teacha's an my new cahh (meaning car)..fo ginooo shai.." Then Matea says "SANK YOU for (she names everyone at the table) and my new baby doll..." Then she looks up and screams at whoever giggles at her...this goes on for 10 minutes until we all yell 'IN JESUS NAME WE PRAY AMEN!"...so tonight I finally got really tired of Jared pointing with his middle finger. He is 6 and has been here for awhile and it is getting out of hand (pardon the pun). So 15 minutes of dinner conversation was about which is the appropriate pointing finger...I then say "Middle finger. This finger." Holding up my middle finger for all to see..."No good for pointing"...then everyone picks up their middle finger to show me....and then I say , while grabbing Jared's appropriate pointing finger as he points to the mashed potatoes..."THIS is the finger you point with." Grace holds up her middle finger."Mom this finger no good in etiopia too. NO GOOD" THis finger is good....I of course never told them why..but there were 8 of the bad fingers going up at one time until we all agreed we would try harder not to use THAT finger to point..I even sent Jared's teacher a note to help us reinforce the middle finger situation...I don't want to see him at 10 using that finger...I figure since he is just 6 we can work on it....certain things you would never imagine having to fix.

Jared is 6!

JARED's SUPER CHARMING.....




Today we had about 10 little kids over. They were mostly boys from his class with the exception of our girls and one adorable little SUPER GIRL named Sydney. I sched the party for 10:30-12. Jared was up at 6 really rowdy and loud. Everyone came to the party late..but by 11 they were all playing in their super hero costumes in our backyard with their foam swords..Jared had a blast. He was so happy. Mark and I were exhausted for the entire rest of the day. But it was very special....here are some pics....

I'm Charming! Happy Birthday Jared!

So Jared just turned 6 TODAY! He also just cracks me up. He has been dressing up with a foam sword and yelling "I'm Charming!" What he means to say is "I'm just like Prince Charming!" Matea will be dressed like a princess and he will put on his sword again and yell "I'm Charming!" He is extremely charming but it is just too funny. So , today we brought in cupcakes to his school. He was so thrilled and had to introduce Mark to everyone in his class. Tonight we had a real treat. The ZOE TEAM (Zimbabwe Orphan Endeavour mission team) decided to thank us by bringing a full meal to us. (Mark and I had performed for a concert for them). So tonight we had this incredible meal. The mission team is from the First United Methodist Church. From my experience the Methodists (my grandma Jones was methodist) make the best food ever. And there is always plenty of food. So we had chocolate cake and the most amazing oatmeal cookies ever for dessert.

I asked Grace if she remembered the day Jared was born. Ella said she was just a baby so she couldn't remember. Grace said that her mom had the baby at her grandma's house. And she remembers her grandma and mom arguing over whether it was going to be a girl or a boy. Her mom was sure it was going to be a boy. Her grandmother wanted another grandaughter. She said Jared had a party once in Ethiopia and was given a chicken toy for a present. We all laughed because we weren't sure what she meant by chicken toy....I also had made ginger tea when they were in school. They smelled it and then screeched just like it was Christmas and said "Ginjo Shy"...."Ginger Chai". Apparently they used to drink tea all the time over there...VERY VERY SWEET! So we will be making that again for them...Jared has a big birthday party on saturday where the kids will be dressed as super heroes or princesses..Jared is also the first child of mine to ever want a co-ed party. He has invited many girls.....so he really is CHARMING.....

Hair ritual!

Wow! I have found out that it is indeed traditional to SHAVE the women/girls hair after a close loved one (especially mother) passes away!

Ella and Hair (the truth comes out)!

As many of you know sweet Ella (age 7) has made it clear that she is HAIR OBSESSED. One day I braided her hair and she was thrilled. She loves hair extensions. We have pretend hair in every color of the rainbow. Everyday she changes her hair three of four times...she also loves to wash it (too much) and place hair care products in her hair. She also has the most beautiful natural ringlets but has always expressed a hatred to the way her hair looks.

So we are sitting in the doctor's office today (the girls have to get their thyroid check). I am reading a magazine. Ella says to me (very matter of fact)." Mom ...one day I would sleep with my mom, the next day she get sick. The next day we all go and live with Grandma. We watch Mom die...yes Mom die. And then Grandma cut off all of our beautiful long hair because my mom die."

I literally had to suck in the tears because Ella was just stating a truth but to me it was the truth revealed. Her hair issues truly are connected to the loss of her mother and she is trying to revive her mother everytime she talks about adding extensions, looking beautiful and wanting to put on a wig...Of course having her hair cut as a result of her mom dying would bring grief and a focus on wanting her long hair back ...thus her mom back. The girls had always told me that they had beautiful long hair when they were little and then one day their grandmother cut their hair. I never questioned WHY...I thought it was just convenience. But their hair was cut as a sign to grieve and mourn their mother. Ella wants to know when her hair will be long again...or when things will be better to the point that the loss and wound would be healed...I just can't help but be sad about it ...still I am happy to know now WHY she loves to try to fix her hair....constantly....

Eureka we sold our house!

It's official. After a long drawn out process, one year on the market, major price reduction, new carpet and many repairs that cost us so much money....we sold the house with a loss. We are very happy though and tonight celebrated with PIZZA and a cool night on our screened in porch. Now I feel like maybe we can commit to the house we are in and finish putting things up on the walls etc.

We also just returned from Myrtle Beach. This time we had a great time with the kids. We had a condo with two bedrooms and a kitchen but had to sit though a 90 minute time share presentation which gave me a major headache. We cooked and the kids had their own bedroom. And there was this amazing kids pool. We only went out to dinner once with the exception of ordering 6 McFlurries one night which cost $19....

We learned more about our kids lives prior to the orphanage. Ella said she used to just fall asleep wherever she was like right next to the goats in the barn or at her friends house and sometimes they would all just sleep in the same bed when she wasn't in the barn. They also told us about milking the cow 3x's a day and watching as the cow gave birth to the calf. And then Grace did a pantomime of putting on gloves to birth the cow. Later Ella told us about the first car ride she had at about the age of 4 or 5 and how she threw up because she got dizzy. Jared eats more food than any child I have ever met. He had 4 slices of meat Pizza tonight and ate 8 chocolate pancakes the other day. He is behaving remarkably well and we have seen very few melt downs with him.

It has been 7 months since our kids have been home and to see the youngest 5 kids interacting is so incredible. They do fight but also when things are going well they laugh together, are affectionate to each other and just gel so well together. We are extremely blessed.

Andrew has started a rock band called Quick (minus the u). Qik (motto is 'we are so cool we don't need 'u')....he has written 3 songs and is having a rehearsal tomorrow. He chose the drummer based on who owns a drum kit. He also had a two handed piano lesson from Mark of SMOKE ON THE WATER in 5ths...so all day and all night this is all I hear on our acoustic piano and then on the electric one. He is ten years old and very business minded. Last night he was really concerned about copyrights. I explained how he could save money and copyright with a compilation....prior to that he asked me..."How can we do a fund raiser to raise money for our songs to be copywritten if they aren't copy written? Maybe someone will steal them...." Mark and I both enjoyed listening to his logic but also looked at each other and said "But Andrew has so much promise academically lets not encourage him too much with the guitar...ha!" In case some of you don't know we are professional musician's and prefer a more mainstream path for our kids...

Anyhow...I gotta go and prep the neighbors for QIK's first rehearsal tomorrow. Andrew asked Mark if he would be the manager...why? because we own equipment and it will save the band money.....

Good night...

D

YAY..an army of kids!

I know it is a little late for me to be figuring this out but man is it great having a lot of kids. This morning our second car had a dead battery. So, I had to stay home from church which first ticked me off. Mark was already there because he goes early for band practice. So, i made chocolate pancakes which were really really yummy...THen all of the kids went outside with me to pick weeds at 9am. The incredible thing was that we had so many weeds(6 garbage bags). But the kids pulled the weeds happily and then cleaned the entire garage. I am now determined to lay out a dozen extra chores like cleaning out the linen closets, pantry....organizing the shoes in the mudroom, organizing the small clothes etc....because this was the greatest thing ever. I have given Grace and Andrew (ages 10) the title of vice presidents of domestic affairs. I also let them pick their team and give me a job report when they were done.."well matea started out helping but then stopped (she is three)." said Andrew. Tomorrow we head off to Myrtle Beach again (pray for peace). This time we have a kitchen and two bedrooms. SO, we are hoping it is smooth. We also are only staying 3 nights and 4 days. And when we get back we will start our cleaning regimine.....Also, we are teaching the kids to pray to Jesus. Ella wants a bible (grace grabbed the kids bible)...but of course Ella can't even read yet but we will find one for her anyhow....and read the children's stories....pray for our house to close this week....blessings,d

Prayer Time!

So every night at dinner we pray for our meal as most christian families would. We used to just ask who wanted to pray. Now it is becoming a competition. You know the videos you have seen (if you haven't traveled there) from the wailing wall where everyone is praying out loud at exactly the same time. Well that is what is happening with our kids. First Matea will start and then Jared will interuppt and Matea will cry while Ella blurts in THANK YOU JESUS FOR MY DOLL overlapping Jared simultaneously speaking in AMHARIC and saying Jesus every other word. THen the 10 year olds start laughing and I start SHHHING..them...it is mass chaos and we are trying to maintain the aspired solemness of the moment. SO, we have started the system where they each go one at a time. And then afterwards they start tattling on who had their eyes open during the prayers. IT IS CRAZY and I am wondering what Jesus is hearing. We have also had to separate Ella and Grace at dinner time because Ella can't sit in her chair and they affectionately bite and pinch eachother while giggling through dinner. Jared thinks he saw Jesus on the plane in the skies when he flew here from Ethiopia. The airplane and heaven is synonomous to him.....Because I am still getting the hang of having so many kids Jared went out with rhinestone lime green flip flops (his sisters). When we showed up at McDonalds I was so embarrassed. I let them have drinks ( I usually get water for them). They have spent hours going back and forth to the free drink bar. Then mixing dr.pepper, sprite and orange soda..Here mommy tastes good....only 19 days to go to track back in....

Free Adoption Seminar!

Providence Baptist in Raleigh is having this amazing adoption seminar on 9/27 from 8-4. It is free. Go to http://www.pray.org . We will be giving our testimony and providing some music.....please go to register. They are providing lunch too so at least want you to register eventhough it is free.

Deanna

Not Closing Yet!

For some very unreasonable and inexplicable reasons we are not closing on 9/12 and we do not have a new date. This has nothing to do with us but totally messes us up. Please pray that nothing else gets in the way of our closing by next tuesday or wed by the latest.

Deanna

Pray for our house to close on 9/12!

Things are looking good to close on 9/12 on our old house. WE sold it and I am praying we can have a little money coming back but it looks like we will break even or have to pay 3k. We really can't afford to be spending anything more. We had a list of 23 items to fix which I wasn't happy about...because that meant more money...BUT I also want to say PRAISE GOD. Because we did sell it....if all goes well we will be singing in our concert free from being owners of two homes...so pahlease keep praying....

Tracked out ...OHHHH NOOOO!

So we live in NC where this evil thing called year round school has been implemented. My kids have been in school since July6 with the exception of Samantha who just started her senior year in High School...She is on a standard schedule. And the baby Matea just started her 3 morning pre school on the first monday of track out for the other 4. Year round means they go 9 weeks and then three weeks off. The three weeks always come as a surprise. AND MY HOUSE IS INSANE AND MESSY AND I HAVE NO PEACE....There is literally a constant loop and echo of 'mommy mommy mommy mommy..." But i am also having a blast with them. Everyday the kids cannot believe they have 3 weeks off..they say "mom how many days left"...yesterday with coffee in my hand and dread in hearing the number '21'...today "mom no school today." I say "No honey just 20 more days until school again.." YIKES! Some of you have been reading my blog for awhile and remember when we went to myrtle beach for two days too many. Well we are attempting the visit again. In July we got a call from someone offering a great deal at the marriott for 3 nights and 4 days in a two bedroom condo next week. Of course it didn't dawn on us until last week that it is hurricane season. SO we will hope for good weather..no hurricanes and hoping too for understanding condo neighbors when we get there.

Ella is obsessed with fake hair. We have purchased every children's play wigs and comb extensions and I find fake hair (orange, purple, hot pink and yellow) everywhere. I was talking with one of the repair man in our foyer and she walks up and hands me this huge wad of black hair (looks like hers but it is fake)...the guy sort of looked at me and I had to explain. She also found a waterproof red marker that she enjoyed using as lipstick. She wanted to practice kissing the pink basketball she has....

All the kids took chalk to outline the layout of their dream homes on the driveway. Andrew has a weight room, ball park, basketball and viewing room and no kitchen and bathroom...just like a boy. We have what I thought were plants growing taller than me which ends up being weeds (looked like small trees to me)....But Mark and I both expect the other person to go out and pick the weeds. We still have not established who's department that is. We have division of labor for everything else ie he takes out the garbage (actually Andrew does now), I do dishes and grocery shopping....he is the one to take care or talking to any govt office...dmv, irs, insurance...I lose patience and start screaming at them. But I am great with social stuff...parties etc. Still the gardening thing is gray area and so the guy across the street whose yard looks like astro turf and the botanical gardens must love the various nuclear plant weeds and the blue, yellow and pink chalk markings on the driveway along with the inflatable beach ball that floats over to his yard everytime the wind blows....along with the plastic icey packaging that the kids threw on the ground.....Well looks like I can start counting down from '19' days tomorrow...whoo hoo...before I know it school will start again..

Concert for Zimbabwe!

Mark and I are performing this friday 9/12 to raise money for the zimbabwe orphan endeavor. We will be performing at 7pm at the First United Methodist Church in Cary. Admission is free...free will offering only for the charity...

http://www.fumc.org or http://www.jacobsjourney.com

Jared and his shoes!

So, Jared has been growing. It was his turn to get a new of shoes. So Mark took him to the mall. They went to JC Penney's... He picked out a pair of IRON MAN light up sneakers. When walking in the mall with Mark he pointed to the Victory Secret store and said to Mark "Hey Swim suits!". And then when he came home he proudly showed off his shoes to his siblings who all want light up sneakers. The next day he goes to the bagel store with Mark (this morning) and is so proud to say to the bagel lady "And my daddy bought me two shoes" as if they don't come in pairs. REALLY REALLY FUNNY!

D

I miss my COW! WAAAA!

So, saturday night it rained and thundered etc. All of the power went out which meant we had a spontaneous slumber party in my room. Prior to that Ella was mad that I made her go into her room because she threw all of the clean laundry (two loads) into a pile with dirty clothes..that is how they cleaned their room..picked up the clean clothes and rather than putting it in the drawers threw it back in the laundry room. So, she was in trouble. Then I hear screaming from their bedroom. I run in and the window is open. Grace had stopped Ella from trying to jump out the 2nd floor to run away. When i opened the door and saw what Ella was doing I put her in a corner and slapped her hands. This upset her and she ran out the front door into the lightning. Mark ran out to get her while Grace started crying telling me that she promised her grandma she would take care of her forever. I told her that Mark would get her. Mark carried Ella (both of them were wet) back into the house. Ella said 'mommy no like me make me go bed early." Again I tried to explain that i love her so much and in families we learn the rules and the parents can discipline. I started to feel regret for slapping her hands. Then Grace said to me "Mom, my grandma and mom would slap Ella's hands too when she run away in Ethiopia." I said "She would run away in Ethiopia?" I thought she was running because of being in America/adopted etc. Apparently Ella is very dramatic and has been doing this since she has been 3. Grace said 'yes she run away to her friend house to watch TV out window. My grandma find her and slap her on hands, butt, face." They both started laughing hysterically as Grace was telling the story. Then lightning cracks and flashes, all the power goes out and Grace becomes inconsolably freaked out in the fetal position under a quilt in my bedroom. After 20 minutes of sobbing and terror she comes out from the covers...now it is pitch black with the exception of light from my iphone and andrew's ipod (we don't use flash lights or candles just mac products..ha). When Grace comes out of the covers she starts telling me of a story her mom told her from some kind of Ethiopian Orthodox beliefs of how the demons come out when it is dark and storming because God is not happy and she thought she saw one with black cape and red eyes in her memory. The minute I say the word "JESUS" she is calm and the atmosphere changes in the entire room. Then I continue to pray and say how we are protected etc. All changed. We stayed in the bedroom and that night there were children strewn out all over our room. Around midnight the power came back on..I was asleep by then. Today, Grace was very sad again wanting a picture of her mother..(everyone please please please pray for this to happen...this is really important to them and apparently a point of stress for them). So she is crying and then tells me "I MISS MY COW." I said "Your cow?" She said "MY COW." Tears streaming from her cheeks. And then she says its name was "SHABIRR"(my spelling)...She says "and shabirr black and white and I walk everyday all day with my cow and she give me milk and she have baby." I said "our friends have cows we can go see them." She cries..."I miss my cow..." She had been holding this cow grief in I guess for sometime because after she chatted about it and I did the mom thing saying "i'm sorry honey about your cow" nodding and acting completely understanding..she then finally was her old self and was hungry and came to the kitchen......Who knew a COW could cause so much grief?

The Definition of Condemnation!

Mark and I were talking in the van about condemnation. The kids were all in the back with their headphones on watching a video. Andrew apparently was listening. He is 10. He said "We learned about condemnation in school. Yeah...it is when water evaporates"

HA!

Going to Contract on our House!

Okay! So we have a break even offer on our house and a closing date of 9/12. I am excited but holding my breath a little. We will all celebrate on 9/13...It was funny because we received an offer on the day we were going to put it up for rent. And then we received an offer that was pathetically low. We would have had to spend over a year trying to pay back the money we would have had to spend to sell it. So then we counter offered and went back and forth about 4 x's and now accepted an offer that may leave us with a few hundred dollars if we are lucky. After we accepted the offer we had 5 people who were desperate to come into see the house. And then I was listening to the radio...eureka the market is looking better. Timing is everything. But I am so happy to at least have broken even and am glad to not have to pay for two mortgages, two insurances, two tax bills,etc. So, keep us in your prayers for an excellent closing on 9/12.

The kids are doing very well. They do still have some grieving (especially Ella) but are making remarkable strides in their english and in school. Jared did get in trouble today for SPITTING on another kids on the playground...OH NO! Grace took a paper plate and started fanning the flame on the stove. I had to explain to her that we don't do that outside (while I was turning down the flame). I also had to ask them not to drink the recirculated water coming out of the irrigation system in the backyard. It is funny what we take for granted. They still have so much to learn but are amazing kids. They will be tracked out soon so that should be really fun......we will go to myrtle beach for a few days...

blessings..
Deanna

School pics!

Someone tell me why they didn't take Jared's bandaid off. We are going to have to get his pics taken again but wanted to share. I was out of town that morning and the babysitter left that bandaid on ....too funny.