Life with BOYS!!

I don't even know where to begin...my dreams of blogging daily didn't last too long!!  It has been over a week since I last posted-reality hit....and also back to work too!  It's late so I will post some highlights of the past week and a few pics! 

The boys had so many Dr. visits and samples last week-I think they just woke up and said-which Dr. are we going to today-but all tests have come back great-they are very healthy boys-Yoseph "Joseph" gained 10 lbs in 2.5 weeks (hence all of theSams trips!!) and Fit "Alex" (will share later) gained 5 lbs!!  Fit had some dental issues and had to have 3 teeth pulled last week (poor kid)-but he was a riot at the dentist.  He actually wanted to watch the whole thing-mirror and everything and when they got his tooth out he cheered!!  The ladies in the office (who were phenomenal with him) were cracking up and insisted that he will be in the medical field when he gows up!!  Just when we thought the Dr's visits were over.....get ready for this....Joseph broke his wrist/arm Friday night.  He was trying skateboarding and fell and attempted to brace his fa nd landed right on his wrist.  Dave took him to ER and they put him in a soft cast and then he wnt to orthopedist yesterday and they hard casted it.  He was pretty miserable this weekend and in some pain-but he is doing 100% better now!  I went through the whole-I am a horrible mom-how can I let this happen...but soon realized BOYS will be BOYS and it will probably not be our last ER visit.  We can't keep them in a  bubble and want them to live their lives so things like this will happen-I just wish it didn't happen so soon!

The boys both started school Monday.  2nd and 7th grade at Dave's school. The night before- Fit (once known as Peter) decided that he wanted to be called "Alex"-he's been watching "Madagascar".  Well-he put it on all of his school books so the name has stuck and all the kids in school call him by Alex. Kind of funny...We still call him Fit and sometimes Alex. When the time comes to change it-we will probably go with both names-Fitamlak and Alex.  They both love school and are doing very well.  Joseph was pretty nervous (I can't even imagine being in his shoes)-but he said today that the kids help him and he has made a few friends and school is now "good"!!  We are getting a pretty good routine with school, dinner, homework, play.  Not much time for anything else though!!  Huge relief that school is going welll!!!

They also met some of their cousins this weekend and had a fun time playing with them!  We were at my aunt's house and the boys were playing he piano too and having a blast! They just love learning new things! 

There so much more...but it is almost 12 and I have to work tomorrow. Here are a few pics of the boys.  Few of the first day of school in daddy's car, Fit with injera (Ethiopian bread that we ordered from internet-it was great, but the whole 20lbs of bread lasted about 4 days) and them playing the piano (yes Fit also has a harmonica in his mouth).

More later....

They are Growing and Growing and Growing....

What a day-full of Dr's, shots and bloodwork!!!  The boys did great at the Dr's-they were great with the boys too-shots and everything!  We thought the bloodwork was going to be the worst-they laughed through it-Yoseph was making fish faces as if the were sucking all of his blood out and Fit just giggled the whole time!  So I guess they are eating well-Yoseph gained 8 lbs in 2 weeks and Fit gained 4 lbs.  It was funny-we took them to breakfast afterward and Yoseph loves breakfast (eggs, bacon, potatoes) and he kept saying-now 12 lbs!  They are somewhat particular about wat they eat, but when it is something they like-they eat a lot of it!!  Yoseph asked today if they could Western Union him some Injera from Ethiopia-we cracked up.  We have Western Unioned a few tims lately and he picked it up from there-pretty clever-I wish they could-they miss injera and our local ET restaurant is almost 2 hours away (not so local).  Next best thing-we ordered it on-line and it will be here Thursday-hopefully it will satisfy them!

We took them to the batting cages after the Dr. since they did so well and they had a blast.  I will post a  few pictures-they were doing pretty good hitting!  We are going to try and get them in a soccer league this week-we'll see! 

I don't think I have posted in a  few days, so here is a quick re-cap.  We started them on daily chores last week with an allowance and it is working quite well.  They are definitely motivated by earning money!  They have a daily check sheet with all of their chores and responsibilites and they earn a certain amout for each item.  Going much better than we expected-they seem to like having specific jobs-for now anyway! 

I also took them to a local school to use their Rosetta Stone-they were flying through it-it really is amazing how much they know.  Academics is definitely not an issue-just language and vocabulary and they have already made so much progress in that area. I'm sure school will still be a struggle because f the language barrier-but they will be immersed in English all day long and will pick up so much!  They will start school on Monday-Yoseph is a little nervous b/c the school is big and he is very serious when it comes to school-but he will do fine.  Fit is pretty social and will get along well.   They will both be going to school with Dave so that makes me feel so much better-huge sigh of relief!!

One more funny thing-Yoseph made a Ethiopian dish for lunch yesterday and they wanted the leftovers for dinner tonight  (I don't remember the name-but it was carrots, cabbage, onions, and potatoes and ET spices).  Dave and  have been craving shrimp so we figured it was  a good time to make a shrimp dish for us and maybe the boys would taste it.  Yoseph wouldn't even try it-almost gagged.  Fit attepted to twice-He didn't like the smell so he held his nose and tried to take a bite-I will post the picture-it was hilarious.  So no shrimp-but we did have fish last night and they loved it. Maybe next time....

The last picture I have to post is just something to laugh about- I have this posted on the top of the toilet bowl and since I am overtaken by males-I have to remind them of this!!!

Off to another dentist appt. tomorrow...poor kids and all these appoinments.  More later....

Where Does the Time Go?

I've been saying this a lot lately....Where does the time go?  I've never really been an on time person (just ask my family & girlfriends!!), but now it's real bad!!  What I thought would take an hour-more like 2 hours, etc...kind of funny-hopefully I will learn soon to get it together!  But it is all GOOD!  It seems like I just posted yesterdy, but my last post was Thursday!! 

Well-now when the boys introduce themselves to someone-they are just using the names they asked for-Joseph & Peter.  I still call them by Yoseph & Fitmakes me sad and we probably won't officially change names, but I do ee their point and understand why they want American names.  Maybe we'll do those names as their middle names-we haven't fully decided. We also found out their official birthdates-(the ones on their birth certificates are from the adoption agency) and Yoseph has a birthday coming up 11/5-he officially turns 14.  Fit will be 9 on 5/14.  We will definitely celebrate on these dates-even though birth certificates say otherwise. They are special days and we always want them to remeber where and who they came from.

Well-Yoseph has officially turned into a teenager in a matter of days!!  I hve no idea how this happened, but it just did.  We were going to a church Family Fun event on Friday evening and he was like-"Mom do I have to go-it will be no fun".  Then he asked for a mobile phone...kind of crazy, huh??  He tried to convince me that someone else adopted from Ethopia his age has a phone already. I told him-When you turn 16-we'll think about it!!  Then the IPOD craze....we have to limit his time on it.  It's so funny-I feel like I am at school with my middle school kids!  Really-he is doing well and picking up so much more English and using it so appropriately! 

Fit is doing well too!  He loves video games and we have nicknamed him"Easy, Fit"-he hears it so much from us-he is so hard on everything (maybe just the way boys are) and we are trying to teach him to be easier on things.  He is quite social and really enjoyed church family night-he went in the bounce house and played a bunch of games.  You could never tell he's only been in US for less than a month!  He jumps right into everything!  He is doing much better with sleeping too-he was having nightmares for a little while and didn't want to sleep at night. 

Both of the boys want to go to school so bad!  We are planning school for next week-Dr's visit this Tuesday and then vaccinations and blood work, etc...  We also go back to Dentist on Wednesday. I'll post some more pics this week. 

People have been asking me-if it is what we expected and how are we doing.  It's so surreal.  We have been waiting and preparing for 2 years now for kids from Ethiopia and we think we were as prepared as we could possibly have been.  But really-you never know until you are in it!  Is it hard-absolutely, but by far the most rewarding thing we have ever done!  We just love them to pieces!

Good Teeth Report!!!

The boys did so well at the dentist today it was impressive!  We were so proud of them!  For never going to a dentist-their teeth were very good!  Maybe lack of candy?  2 more visits and we should be good-a cavity or so and  few extractions-but NO braces needed-YAY!!.  They were great with the boys so that made us much more comfortable!!  We go the Dr. on Tuesday so no school next week. They will start the week after-which is fine-am enjoying being home with them!  We are doing lots of schoolwork at home so they are getting prepared!  Our house is fully labeled top to bottom with all English words and they really are picking up on and using so many new words from the labels! 

Quick funny story-yesterday we stopped at my school and two of my friends gave them each a card and a small giftbag with a giftcard to our local movie/game place in it .  When we got to the car-they opened the gift bag and Fit said "Oh, soft, huh??" with a puzzled look on his face.  Soft in Amharic is toilet paper-they thought it was a bag with toilet paper because of the tissue paper wrapped around the giftcard!!  Quite funny!! 

Off to bed.....more later! 

One More Thing....

One more thing...our boys have such big hearts!  They both expressed that they really want to "give back" to Ethiopia in some way.  We decided that we will sponsor a child to go to school in Ethiopia!  The boys picked out a lttle boy named Yohannes and we signed up yesterday to sponsor him with a monthly donation for school.  They were excited and will also be able to send letters!  If anyone is interested in sponsoring there are a more children left to help-this is through Ethio-American Family Services-a non for profit group I just LOVE!!!  The link is http://www.ethioamericanfamily.org/sponsorship. 

Lisa

The Boys!!!

 My hope was to post daily, but I already missed a day!  Wait until I go back to work, Ugh!!!  I crashed on the couch last night and slept like a baby-all catching up to me!  So here's a quick re-cap of the past 2 days! 

We took the boys on the boat yesterday-they loved it when Dave went FAST!!! "Speed" they yelled! I guess it is a guy thing-I prefer a nice, quiet boat ride, but obviously I am outnumbered!  They loved fishing and swimming and were in awe over everything!  It was a fun day! 

This morning we were talking at breakfast and the boys shared that they really want to change their names-moe American.  I am torn-I am really against it-we both want them to keep their Ethiopian given names.  But we had to laugh-Fit explained to us "WHY" he wants an new American name. In perfect English and some good visusals/gestures-he said-"when meet people they say what is your name"  I say "Fitamlak" and they say "Fit a who, what, etc... and they can't say it".  He also had all of the gestures to go along with it-very dramatic.  It was so funny-we nearly fell out of our chairs.  We all got a good laugh.  He said he wants a bible name so he looked through the bible and chose three names-Joshua, Jacob and Peter.  Yoseph wants to change his name to Joseph.  This is definitely something we need to think long and hard about-I just love their ET names and can't imagine them as anyone else. 

Here are few pics of "the boys"!!!   Off to the Dentist tomorrow...should be fun!!!

Funny Times...

We all had a blast at the beach/park today and the boys were so good!  A few friends came with us and the boys fished (Yoseph caught 2 fish!!), swam, played-had lots of fun!   Few funny stories to share-at least the ones I can remember-Fit was in the water playing ball with 2 other kids and the ball went far out so I swan out and got it for them.  On my way back,  I overheard a coversation between the boys.  They asked who was getting the ball and Fit said "my mom".  They said-"who is your mom" and he said-"that's my mom" pointing to me and they looked at each other and said "that's you mom" with puzzled looks on their face and Fit said- "Yeah, that's my mom" (with attitude-like how could you NOT know that was my mom) and they said-"Oh, Ok" and carried on playing".  The whole exchange was kind of funny and I just love how Fit didn't think anything of it.  Obviously we don't look the same, but that doesn't matter one bit to him!  I was tickled by it! 

Yoseph is so sweet!  We are still learning this whole parenthood thing and aren't used to food shopping for more than 2 so I have gone to the grocery store basically every day (not to mention the boys are GREAT eaters!!) since we have been home.  Today, I decided I really needed to make a Sams trip to stock up.  I went to Sams after dinner (my first time away from the boys) and Dave took the boys bikeriding.  About 8pm I get a call from Dave and he says-Yoseph wants to know when you are coming home-he doesn't like it when you are not here when it is his bedtime.  He misses you.  How sweet from a 14 year old, right?  That is just the way Yoseph is-very true, caring and thoughtful-touches your heart!

One last story and then I must go to bed....bedtime and Fit don't always see eye to eye!  He came out of his room tonight after about an hour (we thought he was sleeping) and told Dave that he was hot.  Dave went in his room and found the DVD player hiding under his pillow!  No wonder it was so hot-the DVD player gives off tons of heat when you are watching it.  Meanwhile-we were celebrating b/c he went to bed pretty easy tonght in his own bed-little did we know why!!  Typical kids....

Here are a few more pics from today!!

Lisa & Dave

Life is GOOD!!!

It was only 2 weeks ago today tht we received a call about the boys...feels like they have been with us much longer and we can't imaine life without them!  They have mastered bike riding and swimming already along with many other things! They are like sponges constantly soaking up new information-faster than we can imagine.  Ha Ha-If anyone knows how to set up parental controls for ALL electronic devices-Please call me!!  I need to learn these things FAST!!!  I think Fit had taken apart everything he possibly can get his hands on-he is a spit fire-total boy and we love him for it!!!  For those who are familiar with the Ethiopian shrug-Fit is a master at that too-but it is short lived and we all laugh and respond by saying "Ethipian Drama"-including Yoseph!!  Yoseph has the funniest sense of humor and always comes out with something that makes us laugh-it is amazing how much English he knows and understands!  He is so mature and has experienced more than we can ever imagine, but he is finally able to be a kid and he is enjoying it.  They truly are amazing-we are blessed!

We took them to church today-they enjoyed it and were even singing the songs!  Finally got a photo of the 4 of us-not the best, but will get more soon.  I will post a  few more that I took!!  One of my favorites is Dave and Fit sleeping on the chair-it is adorable!

We decided to chage the name of our Blog to "God Bless the Broken Road"...for those Rascal Flatts fans (we love them!!!)-the song says it all.  Here are the lyrics if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7Nzs-r9ZUc 
We have had so many ups, downs, twists and turns in our adoption, but God had truly blessed the broken road for us and will continue to do so.  You just never know what your path will be!

We are bringing the boys to the beach/park tomorrow for fishing, soccer, and lots of playing!!  Should be fun!  We are taking another week off with them and then plan to put them in school the first week of October.

Thanks to everyone for their support!!

Lisa & Dave

Our New Additions!!!!

Well...it has been an amazing 2 weeks for us-I don't even know where to start! Dave and I are now the proud parents of 2 amazing boys-Yoseph (age 14) and Fitamlak (age 8) from Ethiopia. Circumstances came about recently that gave us this wonderful opportunity for the boys to join our family. Lisa met the boys while in Ethiopia in May and spent a lot of time with them and just fell in love with them then! We received a call almost 2 weeks ago (Thank you GRACE!!!!) that they needed a family and the rest is history!! We traveled to Chicago last week and spent the week with them in a hotel while the paperwork was being finalized and then came back to FL this past Wednesday! We didn't expect to be in Chicago that long, but it was a blessing in disguise-it was great bonding time for all of us! The boys have been in he US since September 12th and are doing so well with all of the adjustments-they are phenomenal kids!! We just love being parents to them!


We have had so many "firsts" already...here are some pics (yes-I need to dote and show them off!!) of the boys and I will do my best to keep up with blogging our funny stories(there are already so many already) and new info!! They are learning and experiencing so much each day-it is truly amazing and blessing to be a part of it with them. They are the BEST!!!
We have been waiting for our kids (Danny and Yordanos from Bethel) for almost 2 years and often asked ourselves why? God truly works in amazing ways-can't even begin to tell you-I guess this was the plan all along! To answer your next question....Yes we are still adopting Daniel and Yordanos-we've always wanted a big family!! Things seem to be moving along with our case so we hope to have more good news soon!

We look forward to you all meeting our sons!!! Sounds so good to say that!!!  I just realized I need to change the title of our blog....will think of a new one!!!

More later...
Lisa & Dave

The next best thing....

So today is my birthday and Dave has been asking me for the past 2 weeks....what do you want, how do you want to celebrate...well unfortunately we all know what I want, but I got the next best thing-New Pictures and Updates on the kids! Funny-they came by e-mail at about 11:30 last night! I have been sick all week and not really able to sleep so I was on the computer and was so excited to see the e-mails!! It is so uplifiting and energizing to get updates and new pictures-even after waiting as long as we have-it still has the same effect on us! The picture above is of their orphanage in Ethiopia-can't post any others. We sent a package of stuff with a traveling friend and she was gracious enough (in so many ways!!!) to visit our kids and take pictures and spend some time with them! Boy-do we miss them, but they are healthy and well cared for, which gives us some peace of mind.

I know people are wondering what is going on with our case and how could it ever take this long-but we are in it for the long haul no matter what-they are our kids. They are working on our case and that's about all I can share-we are optimistic, but cautious so hopefully we will have news in the next month or so. Technically, courts are closed (except for open cases-which ours is) until October 1st and supposedly they have 1 judge staying on to hear open cases as they are resolved. We'll see...


Keep praying for us and especially the kids!

They miss us...

We received an e-mail today from Ayele (our driver in Ethiopia) that he went to Bethel yesterday and visited the kids and brought them our presents. We sent a bunch of stuff with a friend who was traveling to Ethiopia to pick up her two children. He said "they are happy, but they miss you a lot". Breaks our hearts-more for them than for us. We don't want them to ever think that we have given up on them or that we are not coming for them. I'm sure it is hard for them to understand what the hold up is-heck it is hard for us to understand it and we are adults! It will happen and at least they know we are thinking of them!

Hopefully we will have some pictures too when my friend comes back-it always puts a smile on my face for a few days after we get pictures!!

More later...

Lisa & Dave

Ethio-American Family Services!!!

Ethio-American Family Services is an organization that is doing amazing work in Ethiopia!! Two wonderful women started this non-for profit organization after returning home with their children from Ethiopia! I had the privilege of meeting Dedra last April through a mutual friend and was in awe of the work she is doing to help the people and children of Ethiopia. They opened an orphanage a few months ago and are in the process of opening another orphanage due to the need for more services for children. This is all done through donations-how phenomenal that so many people have been touched! They welcome any donation-small or large and will use the funds to bettr the lives of Ethiopian children!

Check out the you tube video below of their last visit to Ethiopia!

Twist of Fate!

I am still in awe over this!! Yesterday my friend and I were shopping and I ran into a teacher from another county that I used to work with about 6 years ago. We chatted and I asked about another teacher who I was friendly with, but lost touch with and she said "You are NEVER going to believe this, __ just adopted three children from Ethiopia-she just got home in late July with the children". My jaw nearly hit the floor and I was almost speechless! I shared about our adoption and we couldn't believe the coincidence!! It was so cool-we exchanged #'s and e-mail info and I can't wait to contact my friend to talk more!! Not too often you run into someone in this situation! Funny how people come in and out of your life at different times-I just love twists of fate like this!!

Lisa

A Package of Love!

A Package of love....today I sent a package of goodies (clothes, pictures, kids stuff, etc...) to our kids-not directly, but through a traveling parent! Thank you Kim!! Kim and I traveled together to Ethiopia in May and she recently passed court (Woo Hoo-so happy for them!!) and she is going to visit our kids when she travels to pick up her kids! We are so grateful for this!

We are looking forward to getting some new pictures and an update on how the kids are. I can't wait to hear about their reaction when they see the pictures from my last visit! We do get an update about every other week or so-the caretaker and I e-mail back and forth, but internet connection can be sparce in Ethiopia so you never know! Hopefully we will all be together soon....

Love,
Lisa & Dave

Summer Fun!

One of the perks of being in education is enjoying some time off during the summer-for us we had most of the month of July off! We planned a few getaways and family trips to stay busy while "waiting". We went to the keys and stayed in key west for a few days-had a blast and also went to NY to visit family and friends!

One of the highlights from our summer was to go fishing with a "pro"! We fish (Dave more than I) when we go on the boat, but we don't catch much or what we catch is not the best so we wanted some tips on how to really fish! Earlier in the summer we won a fishing trip from our church casino night and we went last week. Check out these snook we caught-yes they are REAL!!! We caught about 15 snook in about 3 hours!!Unfortunately, we had to release them-not in season and they were too big to keep-but it was a riot reeling them in! My wrist hurt for a few days! Now that we know what to do we will definitely try snook fishing once the season opens!