HOPE

Our girls have been home for about 11 months now and Nardos had a moment of remembering last Thursday. She, at bedtime, suddenly started talking about things she remembered. I think she was finally feeling safe an vulnerable enough to open up. Beti was nervous, because she knew how hard those memories can be ~ even if they are good memories. And they were good memories. But, as she tried to settle down to go to sleep, she started to cry. I took her to the couch and asked her what was wrong. She said she missed her "Mommy". My Mom passed away three years ago, and that gave us common ground, so I told her that I missed my Mommy too. It was so hard to know what to say. We know so little about their circumstances and I didn't want to say something that wasn't accurate or helpful.

I knew that they had attended church with their family and that they came with a good understanding of spiritually related things, so I asked her if her Mommy loved Jesus. She said, "Oh, Yes". So I carefully proceded with "the Bible tells us that one day, all of the people that love Jesus will be together again." I wanted to be careful in my offer of Hope. She is young and VERY concrete ~ also not very patient! So, I told her that it would be a long time and that we had to be patient and trust Jesus to take care of the details, but that He promised it ~ therefore it will happen. She had some questions, but eventually perked up and with a smile said, "I have two Mommies!"
We cired for about an hour on the couch and several times since then. I told her she didn't have to cry by herself ~ she could come and I would cry with her anytime. A few days later, she was super sad and we had a chance to talk about how I was sure that her Ethiopia Mommy missed her too, but that she wouldn't want her to be sad all of the time. Sometimes, we get sad, and it's ok to be sad, but then we have to choose to let it go. She was responsive to that.

Now, when she mentions this topic, it sounds like this:

"What if my Mommy gets to heaven and doesn't have enough clothes?"
"Will we all stay in the same house?"
"I can't wait for you to meet her."
"I want your Mommy to meet My Ethiopia Mommy!"
"We are going to have so much fun!"
"What color will my coat be? I want pink with Princesses on it!"

My typical response is, "We will have to trust Jesus to take care of that detail."

I try hard to keep the answers real without crossing any biblical lines. Some people might think I am giving her false hope, but this hope is very real. It's just so hard to wait!

Snowflakes!

Yep – a snow day again.  Today was a day for snowflakes.  A little tissue paper, a lesson on fractions and “voila” SNOWFLAKE.  We had fabulous time.  A few paper snowmen were created (which will likely become notecards in the future – aren’t they cute!?).  An opportunity came up to discuss the uniqueness of each snowflake and, in addition, each person.  I just love having and taking the chance to tell each of my children how unique they are and that each special cut, in character and body, was specially selected and made by God.  As they strategized on each of their snowflakes, how to create a new and beautiful snowflake, we talked about how God picked each “shape” found in them.  Every day the world tells them they are not good enough, not big enough, not special enough.  But my God says otherwise.  You are special.  God made you that way!  Celebrate the beauty.

Celebrate!

Snow day!

A few days ago, Nardos declared that Ciera (her cousin) told her that if we get snow, we don't have to go to school.  I clarified that sometimes that is true, but not always.  Well, the weather cooperated with her theory and we ended up with a Snow Day!  Great, I though, this will be a hard train of thought to change.

So, after getting all 5 kids suited up and explaining to the girls that even with all this stuff on the snow will get on your face and on your wrists and ankles AND it will be cold, they headed out.  They played outside for quite a while.  There was MUCH giggling and squealing.  Enjoy the pictures.

Happy Snow day!

I'm in real trouble - we just got news that we are having another snow day tomorrow!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

That finger chain mess on our Christmas Tree...well, I just couldn't bring myself to throw it away.  So, I got out  the biggest crochet hook I have and created a blanket mat for Peanut's kennel.  He looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Merry Christmas and Thank You Jesus!

This morning as we prepared to open presents, we took a moment to remind the kids what this day is really all about.  Bob started by saying, "Now, this day is Christmas and it is Jesus' birthday, that's why we give presents. We want to do what Jesus did.  He was the greatest gift ever given.  His coming made it possible for us to receive salvation through his death on the cross."  Then he continued with a question, "Jesus isn't physically here, but he is all around us and we can give him gifts, too.  Can you think of something that we can give Jesus?"  Of course, Bob and I had already formulated an appropriate answer in our minds:  "We can give Jesus a gift - by helping others around us."  But Nardos summed it up perfectly when she answered, "Thank you".

In Thanking Jesus, we open our hearts to His will.  We acknowledge His position and power.  He is the Creator of the Universe, and yet He came as a baby and lived among mankind.  He grew up to pay the ultimate price:  Death on a cross ~ separation from His Father God ~ resurrection and restoration.  Through His Gift, we are offered the gift of eternal life.

This Christmas, I pray that you will accept His gift and ultimately, say "Thank You".

This is what the Christmas Tree looks like after you show 4 kids how to "finger crochet" a chain...

Merry Christmas - Christmas Eve service

Alex didn't totally agree with the timing of his being awakened!  The night before, I had told the kids:  "Don't even come out of your rooms until 7am."  They took that literally and at exactly 7:00am Christmas morning, we heard footsteps, elephants rather, coming down the stairs!

Marshall gets help opening his present!

Nardos - checking out the Barbie Head that is in the box....the kind you get to do the hair on!

I have to let you know that the older kids have already begun calling it "Decapitated Barbie" ~ a little sick.

Beti - upon opening her gift - her own REAL MP3 player!

Levi - checking out the many different ways you can use this Lego kit.

Pancake time!  Nardos enjoying her breakfast and "coffee".

Mommy gets a little creative with the pancakes....

If you look closely, you can see the "eyes" on the Frosty the Snowman.

Rudolph and an ornament

Levi - slicing up Frosty!

Beti (notice the MP3 player already in use) with her pancake Santa beard.

Marshall - filling his mouth!

Merry Christmas - From the Konings

And Thank you Jesus!

We passed!!!

On November 17, 2009 Ethiopia approved our adoption.  One year, one month, and one day later, the State of Missouri recognized the adoption that had been granted by Ethiopia.  We have come to what some would consider the completion of our adoption.  However, our journey is most definitely just beginning.  Our mission started with a call to obedience.  We clearly heard the call of God to care for the widows and orphans.  For us, that included a trip to Ethiopia.  For others, that may be working with Habitat for Humanity, supporting an orphan overseas, or purchasing a cow or group of animals for a village in a far away country (see World Vision).

The point is when you see a need, what do you do?  Do you just spend time "admiring the problem".  By that I mean, do you sit around talking about how bad the situation is in Haiti, or AIDS is really bad in Africa, or the bad accident that left some kids without a Dad...  The problem is worth looking at, talking about, but not really doing anything about.  Instead of "admiring the problem", why don't you do something about it!?

Sure, we are thrilled to have our "adoption" complete, but our obedience is ongoing.  Lately, in the midst of all of the commercialism that has become "Christmas" in America, the needs of those around us is quite a stark contrast!  How can we even think of buying a camera for $600 dollars when that would buy a cow and a goat!  Those two animals alone would help feed several families in an impoverished country!!!  So, really, it comes down to that.

No, I'm not bah-humbug.  I am totally the opposite.  The real reason for Christmas was that the Christ Child came.  But, not just that he came....he came to serve others.  He lived here on earth - without possessions.  He had no home, no place to lay his head.  He spent his life, a mere 33 years, serving others and pointing them to His Father, God.  Can we do anything less?

I pray that you find what God is calling you to.  And I pray that you have the guts to do it!

Audra

Putting up the Christmas Tree

I had no idea that 5 kids could put up a Christmas Tree so fast!  They really did work together well and the end result had Nardos asking where the presents were!  Enjoy!

And Bob helped by holding down the couch!

Merry Christmas - Nardos is a star!

For her preschool program, Nardos wore her Ethiopian dress.  It was a special day indeed!

She did a nice job of following her teacher's directions, but looked scared out of her wits most of the time.  At one point, the Christmas Story - the real story - was read.  Nardos and a few other children were the "stars".  She took her time trying on about 6 headbands before she decided on a star that fit to her liking!

After the program, they had a cookies and punch reception.  They had a "Santa" there.  We, as a couple, decided 14 years ago that we would not make a big deal of "Santa" and made decision to focus our celebration of Christmas on the birth of Jesus.  Well, Nardos has heard of the fuzzy guy via her peers and was eager to meet the old guy.  Clearly, someone had also told her that you tell "Santa" what you want and he will get it for you.  So, here we are in line to see "Santa" and she is telling me her list of items that she is going to ask for.  When we were about 4 kids from the front of the line, she casually leaned over and looked at the basket of candy canes and little toys that were sitting to the right of the old man.  At that point, she squinted (looking intently at the basket), looked up at me and with great disappointment said, "I don't see any pink princess dresses".  She thought that you asked for it and *poof* you get what you asked for!  I stifled my guffaw and explained to her that you can ask, but then you have to wait.  You don't get toys tonight.  She did go through with talking to "Santa".  Here's the proof.  Later, Beti explained to her that Santa wasn't real, but rather a person in a costume, pretending.  She took it well.

That night, she cleared it all up.  "Christmas is Jesus' birthday, Mommy."  "Yes, Nardos.  That's right.  It's all about Jesus."

Merry Christmas!

Oh the joys of learning the English language

Ok, so Beti is in 2nd grade and they are talking about "compound" words.  Which if you remember, are words that are made up of more than one word.  She was working hard on her spelling list and said, "Look, Mom, a compound word, "be-long", just like "king-dumb"!  (kingdom!)

I giggled and said, "Yes, just like that!"

So cute!

Dresses

Many of you know the dress delimna that we go through with Nardos on a daily basis. What can I say, she is a girly girl. In an effort to keep clothing costs to a minimum, I scouted around and landed on a pattern/idea of attaching a skirt to a t-shirt. Here are our first creations. We hit Wal-mart & picked up four shirts, then headed to Joann's fabrics to find material for skirts. It was fun! Here are a few pictures of the dresses.