Neat Pictures

Misrak at Kidane 9/2009

Amira at the Ritmo 12/2008

Danica had a great idea. Danica is really into photography and just loved these backgrounds. These 2 pictures were both taken in Ethiopia at 2 totally different locations. Misrak's is at Kidane courtesy of my friend Courtney. Amira's is at the old Ritmo Guesthouse when I picked her up. Amira had the serious oompi pout going on where Misrak is just dazing like she always does. Anyways, so we took these 2 pics, made them black and white and blew them up to 8x10 pictures. They just came out amazing. We are going to put them on the wall side by side just like they are right here.

BEAUTIFUL

We just went to a Mercy Me/Jeremy Camp concert. He dedicated this song to the forgotten children; the orphans and the children in foster care.

Growth Hormone Treatment has started

This will be more a journal for me so I can keep track of Micah’s growth treatment.

Micah has officially started his growth hormones today. The nurse came to the house and taught us how to inject the hormones and work the equipment. It all seems quiet complicated right now but I am sure with practice it will become easy. Micah was screaming so hard. I think he was just afraid; he hates immunizations and that probably reminded him of it. Kevin and I decided to inject him in his buttocks because its nice and fatty. The nurse said its good where there is more fat. He will get a shot every day. He will be on the hormones most likely until he is done growing which will probably be till he is 18 or 19. Basically until his growth plates close.

On his birth records he will turn 5 on November 25, 2010. Per our re-adoption records he will turn 4 November 25, 2006.

Today he weighs 28 pounds and is 34 inches. Per the doctor, he is super tiny and totally of the charts. He is currently the size of a 2 year old. His bone age is of a 2-3 y/old. His clothes size is 2T and shoes size 6.

One of the big and painful side affects will be growing pains in his hips which normally teenagers get when they start puberty.

I know I sound selfish but now that it is finally starting I want my boy to stay little because he is so stinkin cute. Look at those hands and feet in the picture. I will never forget them. They look like from an infant. I had to take one last picture before they start growing. I bite these beautiful feet all the time.

My Micah, he is one strong soldier. I am so proud of him.

A few quotes

Nacho (his camp name) was Biruk's counselor during camp. I am not sure if he knows how much he touched my heart by saying what he said. We were talking the last day and I asked him if he would come back and stuff. Suddenly out of the blue he said:


"This camp is like being in heaven where everyone loves each other, there are no diseases where people treat you bad for what you have like her on earth. Everyone is happy".

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Danica and I also had a wonderful conversation during camp which totally made me cry and proud. We were talking about her past 2 relationship and how these boys were not too spiritual. We went on about talking about future prospects (husbands,wink Lisa) and she mentioned to me that she was looking for a certain quality of a man but more than anything for someone who was spiritually mature and she wanted to raise her children the way I do, God centered. Wow, I about fell off my feet. If you know my precious Danica and know how much she criticizes me disciplining and raising my ET'ians, I nearly fell off my shoes. I am so blessed to have a daughter like her and I am so blessed period.

Camp

We once again had an amazing time of 4 days of camp. The theme this year was LOVE, HOPE, COURAGE!

I made a little montage below. I didn't get many pics of the bigger kids as they were BUSY ALL DAY with their counselors.

I saw my friend Leslie and her daughters again who came all the way from Texas. My friend Courtney visited all day Saturday and we had a blast with them. Of course, I can always count on Lisa to be there and we finally had lots of time together talking since all of our kids had people stay busy with them all day.

In the end, Misrak's and Biruk's hearts were so heavy and they didn't want to say goodbye but it all had to come to an end.

We start to look forward to going next year again. For the children, this camp is better than a family vacation. As to Micah, he truly was every one's joy and all knew him by his first time. He pretty much had everyone wrapped around his little pinkie:)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

First Day of School

Today was first day of School. The kids were so excited but especially Misrak. She LOVES to learn and cannot get enough. She always wants me to teach her more and more. Biruk and Misrak started 1st grade and we have Amira repeat Kindergarten. We felt that she needed to grow more to be ready for first grade. Frankly she will proudly tell everyone that she is repeating Kindergarten. Unlike last year, Amira had an amazing day too and made her teacher really proud. Micah was not very happy staying at home. I have him on a waiting list for 2 pre-schools going 2x week just so he can get out of the house.

A few pics from our Anniversary getaway!

This was the sweetest, most humble, but very quiet getaway we have ever had in 25 years.

Yes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the country and that is my biggest wish right now to move back to the country where I belong and can raise my kids.

A calf was just born

25 Years (August 27, 2010)

My dear husband and I have been married for 25 years. Although many say it doesn't seem that long, all I can remember is Kevin and I.

To be truthful, this last year has been very hard. Going from 2 to 4 to 6 children is moving fast. Mainly because of the LITTLE time we have together anymore and Kevin is very selfish of the time he has with me. Plus the work is never ending and at the end of the evening we both just fall into bed exhausted. But it is all so rewarding and we both know that. If you were to ever asked him why no more kids or any reluctance to more kids, it would only be because it takes away from his time with me.

Anyways, this weekend is good. Really good. We are nestled away at a little cottage in nowhere land. Guess what I can hear? Nothing except the noises of geese and birds. I am blown away that after over 25 years of being together, we can still conversate non stop and have the best times of our lives. Nothing has changed except we are older and more mature now. We can go from hectic life of 8 to as we were still dating..

Danica is watching her 5 siblings and that is the biggest gift we could have received. Having my little ones in the care of immediate family is good. As Kevin and I were driving away to our getaway, Danica called and asked me to open up the glove box in her car which we are driving. In it was a precious card that said this:

Dad and Mom:
Happy 25th Anniversary. Half way to 50 so keep trucking. Anyways, I am so very happy that you two have been married this long. I am always grateful to say my parents are still together! You guys have come a long way since day one and been wonderful parents. Obviously the close relationship we hall share proves that!:) The little ones are the fortunate and I wish they only knew. Having the two of you as parents I have gotten different things that are all equally important. So thank you so much for working through the tough times and remaining committed to each other. I do hope that when I get married I will be celebrating this very day. As for you guys' trip, please relax and enjoy each other's company! This time is so important and I think it should happen more often. Dont worry about the kids we will all be fine and there is plenty of back up if needed. She also left us $100.00 and kept insisting of not spending it on anyone else but us (she knows us too well). She wanted us to go to a very nice restaurant just this once because she knew that we wouldn't have done it unless she forced us into doing it.

Anastasia turns 24

My special daughter turned 24 today. I was just 21 when I had her. We had to celebrate her birthday a little early since we are not home the next 2 weekends but Ana's birthday falls so next weekend.

As Ana has a lot of anxiety when it gets too loud or wild, we had her closest friends come for a visit. Kari, her home provider since the past 5 years has also become a dear family friend which includes her daughters and mom. Ana strives on her second family. I couldn't imagine her life without them.

I only wished Ana would like the camera. I am so hesitant to have family pics taken.

Ana's favorite second family

Trying to take a picture of all my kids but Ana's wasn't too happy about that idea

Gosh, summer is almost over here in WA state. Our summer wasn't all that great re: heat wise but I am not complaining at all. I am glad the children went on summer break shortly after the newest ones got here. That way they got to know each other really well spending the day together all day for nearly 2.5 months. Our school doesn't start until Sept.2 We decided to hold our Amira one year back and re-do Kindergarten. I have always said that if I could have stayed home she would have started this year anyway and not last. She is not being held back for intelligence but rather her maturity. She is just not there. Now that we have Misrak and Biruk to compare, its pretty evident. We are trying to get Micah started in a pre-school program.

We really didn't do much this summer except go to Idaho and a short weekend trip to the ocean but that's about it. We have one more thing to do and that is our annual camp on Labor Day weekend. I think that will be the highlight of the summer for the kids. Oh and Kevin and I will go away for a few days for our anniversary.

Danica's friend Willis came over last weekend to have dinner with us. He is off to Korea for a one year mission trip to teach English. I loved being in his company, he is such a godly young man. He even brought me flowers. His mama raised him well. Danica met him at her summer camp when just in 7th grade and they have been friends ever since. Well I guess I am reminiscing for a future husband for my daughter but she is not interested, unfortunately.

Amira

Danica and Willis

Micah loves pastries
Misrak and Micah (She is so protective over him)

True Friends

True friends are when I call them last minute:) and say "Joy, would you mind seeing my daughter while she is visiting your State"?. She replies "Yes, of course". Just like that and end of story.

Joy has been my friend since July of 2006 when we were on the journey of adopting from Zambia. Our friendship has only grown stronger through our deep love we share for God and the way we believe in raising our children. We also have our inter racial marriage in common which can have its interesting conversations, right Joy:)

Anyways, Danica loved Joy's family and I thing the feeling was super mutual on Joy's side. They went to a restaurant and had dinner and went to a fun place afterwards. Joy brought her whole gang. Husband is not in picture, he was taking pictures:) . It very important to me for Danica to get to know my very dear friends who have more than just one kid and know its still possible to live happily and peacefully and not like the family on TV "Cheaper by the Dozen". There is still this persona going around that if you have lots of children you are odd or low income.... yeah right.... Danica was amazed (I told her prior to meeting) at how well behaved all the children were. They were so well behaved because they don't get to eat out often so this was a serious treat and they knew how to be thankful. For the longest time (16 years) Danica was raised on being an only child and spoiled rotten. When we started the adoption journey, her heart had to change, slowly but surely and she is now very, very understanding and loving for what I am living and breathing for. Danica also had the opportunity to have met my dear friends in Idaho, Lisa and Signe, and she was amazed and in love as well.

Thank you Javier and Joy for hosting my baby girl. I really appreciate it.

Look at Danica and Janae. They are both on the far right. Don't they look like sisters?

Growth Hormone Deficiency/Med Resistance update

I was dragging not to hear this (even though I said it all along) but the answer has arrived.

My little man has been finally diagnosed with Growth Hormone Deficiency. When they ran the last tests they wanted to make sure that his low thyroids weren't throwing off the super low growth hormones but now that he is stable on his thyroid meds it was still the same.

I am not having my official meeting with the endocrinologist until November to discuss treatment and when its starting. This will also be important to figure out a good age for him because obviously he can only grow so much in so much time even with growth hormones. I am so curious what his predicted height will be. Prior to him arriving I had my discussions with the Dr. and he always said he needed to see him and he would be able to have a better idea re: his height.

As for the resistance re: his meds. The Dr. said that he was only resistant to one medication so we are starting meds up again probably mid September since the new medication has to be ordered. Just good to know for other new positive parents that if your Dr. ever takes your kid of all the meds cold turkey, don't worry. As long as their levels are okay they are fine.

I am sort of a little down today, feeling like when I first found out Anastasia had Autism. Its sort of a shock and than it wears off. When you are guessing that there is something wrong with your child you always wish for a miracle, as for Micah I was hoping proper nutrition and than his low thyroid would cure it all:(

It will be okay, because without a shadow of a doubt God has chosen him for our family and we will prevail. Micah has a strong personality to conquer this. And on top of that he has a mama that can kick some serious ass (sorry for being vulgar) if someone is messing with her kids:)

Home 3 Months - August 2, 2010

MISRAK
Misrak loves telling stories, cannot wait until her English gets better and better because her stories are pretty intensive and some of them are quiet made up:). She loves dressing up pretty, her hair always has to be made up nice, she likes to wear her headbands and plastic jewelry. She has learned how to ride her bike without training wheels in one day. She loves to swim.

I still haven’t figured out Misrak all too good. I think because she is older and so much more mature than the other three that she is still in reserved mode. On the other side I could be wrong and that is just how she is. We will see in time. She JUST DOESN’T like to get in trouble and tries really hard to stay out of it compared to the other three. She loves to eat. There really isn’t hardly anything except for a few vegetables that she doesn’t like. I have also noticed she picks up a lot from me when I tell the kids to do something, for instance I say to Amira "Stop getting distracted when you are cleaning" so I caught Misrak saying the other day “Amira, mommy said, hurry up and don’t get distracted when cleaning”. There are many sentences she uses to keep the other 3 in line, sentences that are really mine. Her prayers are starting to become simply incredible. No one of the other kids prays like she does. She gets it that God is her best friend and she can talk to him about anything. I often catch her praying in bed while everyone else is already sleeping. I mean she will talk about her day, to praying for others to being thankful for so many things to starting to ask God were she can serve him.

She truly is a little mama. I really need to start giving her some every day chores because she loves to be helpful. If you can think of anything suitable for a 7 y/o please feel free to comment. I LOVE LOVE LOVE about her that she doesn’t act like a typical orphan who was just picked up. I mean in a sense that she doesn’t parent shop nor does she warm up to people easily. She usually stays by my side when out. She is very reserved. She also doesn’t just look, waive or talk to strangers. Micah on the other side is just to ABSOLUTELY OPPOSITE. He will climb up on anyone, snuggle up on anyone and do whatever he can to parent shop. Biruk and Amira used to do that too. Ughh and it is so annoying to me. I cannot stand it and get quiet frustrated. Often times (I cannot bite my tongue) I had to tell people to get their hands off my son and that he is just parent shopping and they look at me as if I have just lost my mind. I tell them that he really doesn't care who they are and he does it to everyone. But honestly I don’t care, I am not here to please other people but to teach my new kiddos that WE ARE THEIR FAMILY not some strangers.


MICAH
Kevin calls him a jokester. I mean he is just hilarious. Still making everyone laugh. I think he got Kevin beat at being funny. That little son of mine can get quiet aggressive too. Throwing things, saying hurtful things. Usually its over someone messing with him or if he doesn’t get what he wants ie taking something from someone claiming to be his. Kevin was almost thrown out of the hospital a few weeks ago because Micah has such a screaming fit (as if someone wanted to kill him) because he wanted to take a video from the hospital that wasn’t his and Kevin said no. Yesterday morning for the very first time he said to Kevin, “mommy and dad no more my mom and dad, I want to go back to AHope”. It’s sort of weird, because none of the other kids have said that. He also says I don’t like dad, Biruk, he pretty much has named every single person in the family he doesn’t like including me. The funny thing is he never has said that in front of me.

He is such a snuggle bug. I love how he loves to snuggle. I have never had a kid loving to snuggle so much. He is my true love bug and often times attached to my hip still or on my kitchen counter when cooking. When I get ready for work in the morning, he always comes by snuggle with me for at least 10 min before I leave. We do the same when I come home. He is very picky. Picky with everything. His clothes cannot be worn more than once. He also doesn’t wear certain clothes. He has no problem telling me either. He LOVES his car shirts. Anything that has big cars on it.

As to the beginning when him and Amira played a lot together, they are now more than anything pick at each other and instigate fights. Amira is much more slick about it though when nobody watches.

Honestly, Micah’s personality is almost spitting image of mine when I was a little girl. I was rotten. But the biggest thing I can remember my mom telling me is that I used to say hurtful things ALL the time. Ugh that really stinks and I hope that will stop but I have a feeling I am just about raising my sassiest one yet. After all he is the baby in the family.

Oral Surgery

Yesterday was the big day. The kids finally got their teeth fixed. It was an all day affair but in the end so worth it. The hospital staff with simply amazing compared to when Amira got her oral surgery and they treated her like an alien because she is HIV. These people were really nice, didn't use their gloves much and even hugged and kissed on the kids. You would be surprised how many uneducated Dr.'s and nurses are out there when it comes to HIV and how it can be spread.

Micah's surgery ended up being over two hours. There was one tooth that gave the dentist "hell" he said. The dentist told me that Micah was his worst case ever when it comes to childrens' teeth. He got 4 porcelain crowns in the front and several silver ones in the back. Micah was not a happy camper when he woke up because I wasn't there. I was upstairs checking in Misrak with the anesthesiologists. When I finally got down there he saw me (he had just calmed down a minute before) and started screaming again for a long time. He looked really bad, swollen and exhausted. Imagine that tiny little body being under for over 2 hours.

Misrak was under for about 1 hour, and after she woke up she looked beautiful like she was never out of it. She just got 2 crowns in the back and numerous filling and sealants.

In the evening Micah spiked a fever of a 103 at 8 pm and it lasted all the way till the morning. He was breathing heavy and switched at time. Luckily his fever went down later in the day but the Dr. said to bring him in if he spikes another fever.

I am soooooooooooo thankful that this surgery is over. Can you imagine all the pain they had in their mouth?

waiting for surgery

Anestisiologist coming to wheel of Micah in their Radio flyer wagon:) Misrak smirked at them later saying I am to old to go in there. So cute.
Misrak passing time. She didn't go in for surgery until 1pm. She started to get really antsy because she was so hungry and thirsty. So they occupied her dressing her up like a Dr.

This was 1.5 hours after his surgery. Still out of it. He had just calmed down.

Misrak right after surgery when she woke up. What a trooper.

Together again, almost ready to go home:) Look at Micah swollen mouth

They got such a kick out of this giant wheel chair. They gave them a ride all the way to my car.

That picture still makes me cry. Look at those beautiful teeth!

The Pink Crocs

Look at my bad boy, he is sticking out his tongue:)

The day I saw Micah for the first time I hoped with all my heart he would wear his favorite pink crocs so I could take them home. Guess what, he did!!!! Yeahh. And guess whatelse. Not only did I get a hold of his pink crocs but also his whole outfit that he had on when I picked him up. I was so thankful that he was looking the way he did. Dirty and grimy. My other 3 kids from Kidane, they got groomed, bathed and a new pair of clothes before they departed so they never looked like they did in the picture I collected when I was waiting. Micah's outfit was priceless. Micah looked like a true orphan with that dirty smell on him. Sooo good. Awhh, its a smell that never left my senses. That outfit he had on with his pink crocs is tucked away in his memory box sitting in a little plastic bag.

This was the first story I received about Micah and his pink crocs. A mom visiting over there told me he is obsessed with them and would not share these crocs with anyone. He would carry them anywhere. What had happened in the picture below is that one of his buddies took his one croc and Micah went ballistic.

carrying his pink crocs below