Friday, December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas!

I've been meaning to sit down and blog..... but of course,that hasn't happened in a long time and I now know that those were really very high expectations on myself during the holidays! We started December in El Paso with tons of scheduled events, Army functions, Army fundraisers, a great Christmas play for the kiddos and Joel at our church, some personal support efforts to the missionaries and children in orphanages in Juarez, some dinner parties with new arriving co-workers for Joel, a few Army Christmas parties, and then just throw in the normal stuff like schooling, being an available mommy, cooking, cleaning, errands and shopping and wow--- the time has just FLOWN! The calendar was full and that was just the first half of the month!! HAHA! We drove 12 hours "home" for the Christmas holidays on December 15 and have been nearly as busy here as we were in El Paso!! Agitu, our agency director travelled to visit us again on December 16-18 and met with Fruitful Harvest Ministries to coordinate the medical mission trip that God is orchestrating for October of 2010. Amazing! We are praying BIG for Ethiopia and God is at work! It's been so humbling to watch the Lord use our act of obedience to adopt one child and stand back to see Him work out the details to really impact MANY Ethiopian children through this upcoming medical mission trip!! I am AMAZED at the power of Christ, at the big and small details that He has worked out- and I can honestly say that I so excited to celebrate HIS birth every Christmas because He is so alive and real in our lives!! I love Christmas and I love my Savior and I love what He is doing in our lives!!

Joel and I also celebrated 13 wonderful years of marriage on December 21! We were able to sneak away for an overnight date in downtown Ft. Worth at the new Omni hotel! (Thanks for helping with the kiddos everyone!:) Wow! It was a beautiful hotel and we had a really fun time with our special friends, Joel and Dawn Coleman!! Now, I'm sure the hotel receptionist probably secretly laughed at my husband when he told her it was our anniversary and then in the same breath asked, "What channel is the Cowboy game going to be on tonight?" HAHA!! She did send us a complementary bottle of champagne to our room (maybe she felt sorry for me!!! HAHA!!)and then personally called to let us know that the Dallas Cowboys would be showing on channel 12 in our room!! HAHA! Most of you will think we are crazy but we really did plan it that way! :) It wasn't the most "romantic" anniversary evenings we've ever had but we really did have a GREAT time being together and that whole hotel receptionist scenario did make our date night very funny! Our time together was wonderful and I am super thankful for my sweet husband and best friend!) I love you Joel and I also love watching football with you! ;) Happy Anniversary!

Christmas has been super fun this year with all the kiddos and especially since it was Joshua Nahome's FIRST Christmas with us! He has been super excited! He initially had lots of questions but has really enjoyed all of the "birthday parties for Jesus" that we've been to so far!! :) His favorite gift this morning was the package of gum and the rocket balloons in his stocking. He was excited about all the gifts but after he opened them, he promptly packed them back up and wanted to put them away so they didn't get lost or somebody else didn't take them. I think this tendency is probably a post-orphanage -- or-- a post-living-in-a-third-world-country issue but nonetheless, we worked through it and explained that he could keep the toys, play with them, and no one would take them from him. :) Sweet sweet boy. It has been a really neat time, to be able to say to Joshua--- "This is YOURS now. This wasn't how your life was before but now you live in a good, safe place and we love you and this is just a gift for YOU!" :)

Isn't that just what God did for us? He gave us a new life, He gave us the gift of His son, Jesus, and this is the safest and best place I could be and he did it all just because He loves me! God is so good to just keep teaching me every single day of His love,His grace, His mercy, His patience, His plan for me through the adoption of Joshua. I'm super blessed and I hope that your Christmas has been wonderful also.

(Robbie, I love what you shared with me about the power of Christ being BEYOND BEYOND what we can even imagine or think and today, I am convinced that I am.....

Blessed BEYOND BEYOND-
Amy :)

Friday, December 4, 2009

ICE BUBBLES in El Paso


We've had snow TWICE this past week and yes, we do live in El Paso TX!! It's been a ton of fun for the kids and a really nice reason to "slow down" some over the past few days! Joshua Nahome had never seen snow before and he loved it! He called it "ICE BUBBLES" when he first saw it and only today has begun to call it "snow". I had lots of extra laundry to do after they played in the snow but watching them have so much fun was worth the extra loads!!


We are doing pretty well. Everyone is healthy and happy. Homeschooling is going well but I am really looking forward to the Christmas break soon (kids are too)! I can't believe it's already December!! The time has flown by!! I've had a few pretty rough "mommy days" over the past few weeks. Even though I LOVE my job and the eternal benefits are out-of-this-world; I don't ever "clock out" from my duties, I do get tired, cranky with the kiddos, and I need more breaks than I take for myself. This week I've praying for an extra measure of grace, love, mercy and patience! I really hate it when I become a fussy mommy!! My cup overflows right now with both blessings and many responsibilities! If you happen to think about me during your prayer time and your day, please pray for me!

Nahome is doing well. His language acquisition has really amazed us. We think he understands about 99% of all that we say. He speaks about 85% of all that he wants to say correctly! He has started stuttering a little here and there over the last few weeks but we're going for an appointment to get a consult for speech therapy next week. I think he's thinking so fast that his mouth doesn't produce the right English words quickly enough to keep up with his brain yet!! :) It's not a bad speech problem but we want to make sure we help him as much as we can, early on. Emotionally, he is doing very well- he still has some hard moments but he handles them in a very healthy way (lots of tears and crying!) so I'm thankful that he's not bottling up those emotions! He and Joel Daniel still compete for toys, fuss over turns, and they always want the exact same things but in the same day they also play well together and they are best buddies! They will play at an activity for hours without having any issues at all. The fussy moments just come and go!! :) I am thankful for the good and bad! Joshua Nahome is really doing well, he is a blessing to our family, and we would do it all again! God has taught us so much and is teaching us more and more every day!!



Here are a few photos of our kids playing in the ice bubbles...... Hope you enjoy!



Blessings,
AMY

Psalms 32:2 " You are my hiding place; you shall preserve me from trouble; you shall compass me about with songs of deliverance."

Psalm 71:5 For You are my hope, O Lord God; you are my trust from my youth."

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Happy Belated Thanksgiving

We have so many things to be thankful for this season! It's been a nice long weekend and I'm thankful for the rest, the family time, and most of all- God's mercy and grace to us!

Lots of good things have kept us busy lately.....we travelled to Lubbock to visit Joel's family last weekend and celebrated an early Thanksgiving together. It was a fun time and the kiddos played together amazingly well. Hannah was right, the drive WAS super easy and we had a really great time! Joshua Nahome is still asking if he can go back to Uncle Jon's house-- he fell in love with the riding tractor in their back yard and loved having the extra playmates in Lubbock!
We made lots of sweet memories and are so thankful that we only live 6 hours from Jon and Maci! :)Here are a few pictures from our visit..... These cool dudes had fun at the Tech VS OU game...Poppy and Mommommy really enjoyed being with all the grandkids at one time! Aren't they festive in the Tech Fan attire!! Very FUN!!



We returned home on Sunday night and started a very full, but thankfully, also a very short week! We missed being "home" with our extended families' over the holiday but we were so glad to be invited to spend the day with some very special families from our church. It was a really wonderful day. We had planned to eat lunch with them, visit and then come home by 3ish but we had such a great time that we didn't even get ready to leave for home until 7pm!! Time flies when you're having fun!! The food was just great also! We were blessed to be in the company of such wonderful people and enjoyed our time a lot! Thanks Lisa for hosting us all!!

I shopped until I dropped on Black Friday! I actually broke some shopping records for myself and I am pretty excited! I got all of my Christmas shopping done on that one day! The crowds weren't too bad and I actually never had to wait in a line to check out! It was fun and I'm thankful that I got so much done!! Joel and I also went on a date on Friday night. It was heavenly! We went to eat Mexican food and then to see the new movie, The Blind Spot! I really can't say enough GREAT things about this movie! It was moving, inspiring, and tells a great story about caring for orphans and children that have no one in the world to love them! It was a thumbs up movie and I definitely highly recommend it! If you haven't seen it yet--do GO-- it's worth the watch!

The details for the mission trip to Ethiopia are all miraculously working out. I continue to be amazed by God's work. Agitu, the director of our adoption agency, will return to our hometown on Dec 16 to meet with the directors of Fruitful Harvest, an international mission ministry from our home church to plan the trip to Ethiopia. The kiddos and I will be travelling back home for the meeting and we'll just stay there for the holidays....Joel will fly there when he gets his block leave time. We just LOVE those cheap Southwest one-way tickets! :)

Well, I'm out of computer time......the little boys need to be loved on and want me to read a new book to them before they go to bed, so I will close for now.
I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with many memories and opportunities to share the GOOD things that God has done for you in your life. His mercy, grace, and love endures forever!!

Praising God from Whom all blessings flow,
AMY

Psalm 37:4 "Delight thyself in the Lord; and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He hat clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

Friday, November 20, 2009

Hello friends.....

Good Morning Bloggy Friends!! I hope you haven’t given up on me and decided that I must have totally abandoned this blog due to the recent inactivity! HAHA! It’s been crazy busy but more than anything- I’ve been so overwhelmed by all the lessons that God is teaching me that sitting down and sharing has seemed like an impossibly big task for my short times on the computer! There are so many things going on that Ill back-track a little and try to catch you up on the happenings of Team Newsom!

I’ll start with Orphan Sunday on November 8……the kiddos and I made the 12 hour drive to East Texas again a few weeks ago to visit family. The Lord had lots more in mind for our time there and He worked out all the details so that Agitu, the director of Better Future Adoption Services was able to come visit our family and also speak to our church congregation about the orphan crisis in Ethiopia-- on Orphan Sunday! We were very blessed by her visit and look forward to watching God unite BFAS and Fruitful Harvest efforts to take a medical mission team to share the love of Christ to Ethiopia in the coming months!! AMAZING!!!

Joel flew there for the special weekend and I was also able to share our adoption testimony at our church on Orphan Sunday! I was very nervous about speaking in front of a crowd, but the Lord was good to me and HE provided the words. My prayer was that our testimony planted a seed for just ONE family to sponsor, pray for, or adopt just ONE child in obedience to God’s calling for the body of Christ to care for orphans! If only ONE orphan would find another family to show some of Christ’s love to them--- it was worth it all! I was reminded by scripture in the days before Orphan Sunday that it is important for believers to SHARE what God has done for us with one another! God can use the smallest testimony for HIS GLORY and to fulfill His purposes! I'm thankful for God's grace.....

While we were in East TX, we also attended a dinner with the folks who are working hard to raise support and awareness for orphans in our home community through a new adoption ministry called Compassion for the Fatherless…….check out their website at www.compassionforthefatherless.org . God is so good and is doing such good stuff here!! It was an amazing time of fellowship and time with truly inspiring and REAL people that have a passion to do God’s work for orphans!! We were so blessed that night! I was inspired to DO MORE. GIVE MORE. SHARE MORE. LOVE MORE.

Our little Halleuleia Halloween Project was a huge success!! A big shout out to my kiddos, the Pearce kiddos, Aunt Vickie, and also KATY and ALL the 3rd graders at Como-Pickton Elementary School for an awesome collection of CANDY! Over 60 pounds of candy was collected in the days following Halloween and is now on its way to soldiers in rural Afghanistan to share with the children living in primitive villages on the borders of some very volatile countries. WOW!! What a SWEET joy it will be for our soldiers to GIVE this candy out! What a SWEET message to these children in Afghanistan to RECEIVE this candy!! Very cool!! Thanks guys for the sweet support to our soldiers!!

More recently, we were blessed to meet and visit with a sweet missionary family here in El Paso! What a treasure they are to God’s kingdom! Team Newsom has teamed up with the VH Homeschool Ministry to help support this missionary family ( and 3 others!) that are here sharing the Gospel to orphans and poverty stricken families living in Juarez, Mexico. We’ll be collecting donations of blankets, clothing, shoes, food, and Christmas goodies for the needy children in Juarez in my garage!! Yes, IN MY GARAGE!! Then we’ll give it all to these missionaries so that they can SERVE MORE, DO MORE, SHARE MORE, LOVE MORE!

Now, for those of you who know me well know that this donation collecting thing is a pretty big deal for me since I am such an OCD-kind-of-girl and being disorganized makes me crazy! Well folks, here is the good news-- God is not done working on me yet and and those 8 trash bags full of donations sitting in the middle of my now disheveled garage have actually made me CRAZY EXCITED to be helping orphans across the border! What a joy it is to GIVE!! God is good!!

Please pray for us this weekend as we are travelling....we’re really excited about going to visit Joel’s family and spending some special time together in Lubbock, TX! It will be a treat for us all to have some quality time with everyone!!

This trip and my sweet kiddos reminded me a few days ago that dealing with LIFE has so much to do with our perspective and a gratiful attitude!! This conversation made me laugh but also was a good reminder that I need to count EVERY blessing.....here's how it went: ”Mom, how long is the drive to Lubbock going to be?” I replied, ”It is a 6 hour drive.” Hannah then said, “Wow—this is going to be a great trip. That’s a really short drive.” HAHA!! I guess if you are used to doing long 12 hour drives and all the sudden, it’s only a 6 hour drive—that does seem like a SHORT trip and yes, Hannah is right---it will be a GREAT trip too!

Super thankful for the small things today.

Many Blessings to You and Yours,
AMY

PS—Nahome is doing GREAT!!! What a blessing and a real sweetheart!! He is so fluent now that most people that meet us don’t even know or realize that English is his second language!! Wow!! AMAZING!

Matthew 11:29 Jesus says, "Take my yolk upon you , and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls."

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Hard Answers......

There have been several times over the past few weeks that I've been driving down the road or working in the kitchen preparing dinner when all of the sudden, big tears well up in my eyes and I can only pray for God's grace in sharing love and giving hard answers to difficult questions. Today was another one of those days.

Joshua Nahome is doing very well. His language skills are really amazing me and he is communicating well. He has been home nearly 4 months now. He is actually communicating so well now that he has many questions for me and he's caught me un-prepared to answer many of them, but somehow, thankfully, the Lord PROVIDES and out of my mouth comes words that have been kind and were able to soothe and love a confused little boy.

Nahome asked me today, "Is Tigist coming?"

What a hard moment for me to truthfully tell this little boy, "No, Tigist is not coming." I'm so thankful that I was also able to say... "Tigist is in Ethiopia and she loves you very much and wants you to be happy and live in America." Thank you Lord for giving me eyes to see and understand WHY you had us adopt Nahome while we were in Ethiopia. I did and could not understand before I saw it for myself, now I've seen and I know WHY and I also know Tigist LOVED Nahome very much.

These were hard moments. I realize that it is normal for all adoptive children to dream of their birthparents coming for them, looking for them, searching for them.....but I didn't think it would happen this early. I thought those were teenage adoptive issues, not 4year old issues! I didn't realize that he has been waiting for her to come here. I had to tell him the truth because I don't want him to have false hopes or be more confused by vague answers so I felt that even though the truth hurts--- we have to tell him the truth about these questions.....Tigist is not coming. I wish she could, but she is not.

The harder conversation for me was this one......

Nahome then said, "No food Tigist have. Nahome hungry Tigist. No cereal, no pizza, no water, no candy. Nahome hungry Tigist Ethiopia. Nahome no hungry Mommy.
Why Tigist no food, no stores Ethiopia? Why Mommy food, store?"

I really wish I could change those facts in his life. I'm so sad that they endured so much pain. I am so thankful that this little boy has enough to eat now in our home, but it burdens me that he and his birthmother were HUNGRY enough for this little boy to remember that and tell me.

I'm really thankful that we adopted an older child. Questions like the ones above are difficult to answer without being moved to tears, but what a blessing it is to know the WHY behind his adoption and be able to share Tigist's love for him. It is very neat that he remembers and I am thankful. I also love to listen to him tell stories about his memories of Ethiopia! He tells very animated stories of wild dogs in Ethiopia, the cat that killed their only chicken, the stinky outdoor bathroom with bugs, his bed on the dirt ground, his food cooked with fire, his rest time at night, the foods he ate there. Last week, he even pulled an old blanket out of Mama Carr's closet and said that the blanket smelled like Tigist. I am thankful for these memories and I am praying that the Lord continues to give me love, grace, and mercy when Nahome asks me questions that are hard. I pray that I'll be able to tell him about the unconditional, sacrificial love that his sweet birthmother, Tigist, has for him and that he'll somehow, someday....

he will also understand.

Thankful for the blessings and the hard questions and hard answers, too-
AMY

Jeremiah 20:13 " Sing unto the Lord, praise the Lord: for He has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers."

Psalm 132:15 " I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread."

Psalm 37:3-5 "Trust in the Lord, and do good; so that you should dwell in the land, and verily you shall be fed. Delight yourself in the Lord; and he shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your ways unto the Lord; trust in Him and He shall bring it to pass."

Amos 5:4 "For this says the Lord to the house of Israel, Seek me, and you shall live."

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Too funny.....

We've all been sick over the last few days and I thought I would share these pictures of my silly crew because every time they flash up on my screen saver, they make me smile and today, I need a smile!!!!! Hope you enjoy also!!

Blessings,
AMY


I asked Jackson to help me grill some meat one evening and when I walked out to check on the progress with the protein-- I nearly fell over laughing at his very clever and hysterical way to handle the smoke! Love those swim googles for grilling Jackson! HAHA!


On our trip this summer to Colorado, Madilyn got a little silly and struck this pose right when I clicked the camera!! We laughed lots because she is such a leader in our family and after she did that one silly pose, well-- I got many very interesting poses from all the kiddos for the rest of the vacation!! :) Very fun!!



The kiddos love playing horses and cowboys and on this particular day--- I caught Joshua wearing the cowboy dress-up clothes!! Too cute!! It is such a blessing to see them play together and have fun!!

Joel Daniel loves to clomp around the house wearing Daddy's boots......he doesn't realize what amazing,loving and big Daddy footprints he is blessed to follow!!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Super blessed on this Thankful Thursday.....

Life here for the Newsom TEAM is going well. We've had so many blessings and feel so unworthy, humbled and yes, very thankful. God has been so good to us.

The TEAM is healthy-- thank you Lord!! Thankful that the kids are finally settling into a school routine that works for all of us!! All the kiddos are really enjoying their sports programs and it's been fun to cheer them on each week-- we are thankful!! We have all made some neat friends and we've already been blessed by the new people in our lives. Thank you Lord!! We do, of course,miss all our special friends and neighbors from past posts-- but they are close in heart and my joy overflows at the thought of having such neat friendships with people scattered all over the world!! We are thankful for the opportunity the Army has given us to truly make an impact and share Christ with so many people from ALL OVER the world!! I miss you all!
The Newsom Team is blessed beyond measure by your friendships and thankful for each and every one!

We are also excited and thankful for the great things that God is doing in our lives. Team Newsom has several projects going.......the Lord has given us a passion to reach out and DO more, share more, serve more. It is in this place of service to others that we've found an unimaginable fountain of joy from the Lord so I'm going to share a few of the things that are happening around here......

Our adoption of Nahome was an amazing way that the Lord has used us (and continues to use us) but this adoption has also opened many neat opportunities for us to share our testimony of faith and our relationship with Jesus with others. At Walmart, at the gym, at Joel's work, at restaurants-- we get asked questions about our adoption and we are thankful that we can share what the Lord has done for Nahome and our family.
The children and I will be travelling to visit our families at "home" next week and will be there for about 2 1/2 weeks. I'm going to be giving our adoption testimony at New Beginnings Church on November 1. On November 8, Orphan Sunday, our adoption agency director is going to travel to our hometown, spend the weekend with us (we are so blessed!) and she is also going to share her testimony with our church body as well. We have been praying over these opportunities to share what GOOD things the Lord has done in our lives and we're really excited about raising adoption awareness and helping find families for orphans!

We're also praying for the start up of an adoption awareness ministry in our home church....check them out at www.compassionforthefatherless.org . We are excited to support and encourage this group of people with a heart for the 147 million orphans in the world.

We're also still praying about the medical mission trip to Ethiopia that the Lord is putting together in the coming year...we will be sitting down in mid-December and making final plans but it is has been amazing to see His hand at work in all the details!! So that's several projects that are brewing in our hearts and minds.....

Our next TEAM goal actually happens at Halloween! We're gonna be shouting Hallelujah this Halloween!! We're planning to use our TRICK OR TREATING to bless others! We're gonna Trick or Treat like crazy this year!! No, we're NOT going to EAT all of that candy but instead, we're planning to share the sweet gift of God's love thru candy with children in Afghanistan and Iraq! Earlier I mentioned our special friends all over the world, well, many of these great American heroes are serving our country right now in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our plan is write a little note to these folks to say, "We love you, we are thinking of you, and we appreciate that you are serving our country," then we're going to bag up as much Halloween Candy as possible and send it to these soldiers so they can in turn, share this excess candy with the children of Iraq and Afghanistan. When Joel was deployed, this was one of his favorite things to do- he loved to give toys, candy and clothing to the street children and children in orphanages there. This is a great way for our troops to show kindness and love to these people that really NEED the LOVE of Christ!!! If you would like to join in the Team Newsom effort.....THIS IS SOOOOOO EASY but can make an impact on our troops by giving them the joy of giving and it can impact the children by receiving a rare sweet treat from a US soldier! Just send me an email and I'll coordinate and give you the address of one of our personal friends serving oversees. It would be super sweet to also write a quick note to this soldier thanking him for his service, then just gather your candy up after Halloween, put it in gallon ziploc bags and go to the US Post Office and send it!!! Our kids are really EXCITED about this and I'm excited too-- who needs 5 pounds of candy sitting in their house after Halloween! NOT TEAM NEWSOM-- we're gonna share our sweets this year!

Next TEAM goal......we've found several missionaries here in the El Paso area that serve in Juarez, Mexico. I have recently received emails from these missionaries that have requested clothing, shoes, toys, etc for the orphanages they are supporting/running in Juarez. So-- Team Newsom is now cleaning out closets, drawers, shoe shelves, and the over-abundance of winter coats, toys, and just "stuff". We're going to donate all of these things to the orphanages "next door" in Juarez. We're gonna send our things across the border to bless the orphans of Mexico. It's amazing that we live only 2 miles from the Mexican border and that just on the other side of that tall fence, there is such devastating violence, poverty, and many needy men, women and children living on the streets. My heart truly aches for these people and I'm excited about reaching across the fence in this very small way. We're praying for Juarez.

Well, until next time I can sneak away and share......

Many Blessings to you and yours,
Amy

Proverbs 28:27 "He that gives to the poor shall not lack: but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse."

I Timothy 6:17-19 "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Update on Israel

Just wanted to post a quick update on Israel.......I received a text from him today. He still has not been able to take the language portion of the Army Linguist test but did successfully pass the physical and medical testing required. It seems that the Army is waiting to get all of his background checks back and since he is an orphan that travelled across half the world alone, without documentation, over an 11 year period of time,to finally reach his dream destination: the United States-- they are having a hard time "tracing" his background and history! Can you believe it? Wow. I am still amazed by his life story and am fervently praying on his behalf that he would be allowed to take the Language test and join the US Army as a linguist (he is brilliant and fluently speaks 8 languages!!)......He would be an amazing asset to the Army, he WANTS to serve this country, and he has so much God-given potential! Please pray that God provides for Israel. He's overcome so much in his life and really needs a blessing right now! Will you join me.....please pray for our Ethiopian friend and brother in Christ, Israel, today.

Praying for Blessings on Israel,
Amy

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Newsom Bed and Breakfast



We've had a really fun few weeks...... Two and half weeks ago, Mommommy and Poppy came for a visit which was super fun and refreshing! This past weekend, Angie, Dixon and the boys also made the trip out to El Paso to meet Joshua Nahome and spend some time with us! It was super to just be together and it really made us miss all the great times we had with them while we were living up in New York....those really were 2 amazing years full of great weekends with the Pearce Crew! BTW- I'm "secretly" hoping that someday the Army will send us back there again. While it's not likely, a girl can dream, right? Here's a photo of my sister Angie and Dixon while they were here.....

While the Pearce Crew was here, we visited White Sands National Monument again--- although this time we went a little before sunset and it wasn't a blazing 101 degrees. It was actually in the lower 70's and got very chilly after sunset!! It was just BEAUTIFUL and a magnificent reminder that our GOD was and is an amazing creator and has made our world full of amazing phenomenons that ONLY GOD COULD CREATE!!

We also went hiking up into the Franklin Mountains which was super fun. We didn't find Terry, our little Tarantula friend, again but we did get to see this little creature out in the wild.....(didn't God give this lizard some neat markings?)

The kiddos absolutely LOVED having their cousins here and only wished they could have stayed longer!! It was so fun!! They enjoyed homeschooling together for Thursday and Friday and also got to spend lots of time building legos, playing soccer, jumping on the trampoline, playing games and just BEING together!! We're thankful they came!! These were some great hiking kids-- they hiked about 2.2 miles up to the Aztec Caves in record breaking time......


Don't know if any of YOU are up for a visit, family and friends- but we REALLY LOVE opening our home up and spending time with the special people in our lives! THE INVITATION IS ALWAYS OPEN AT OUR HOUSE and we would love it if you would make some plans to come to our little oasis here in the desert! The Newsom Bed and Breakfast in now officially OPEN!! Please come!!

The scriptures I've been pondering today.....

Hebrews 13:2 "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon they seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring."

Blessings,
AMY

Monday, October 5, 2009

He's been home 3 months now.....



I had some quiet time a few nights ago and sat on the couch while my dear hubby watched football and wrote out the nicest little blog update only to press "publish post" and I watched as the screen went blank and it disappeared into cyberland with no trace of it anywhere on my blog!!! Uggghhhh! Sorry folks!! It was already late and I was tired so I decided to try again the next day but I'm just now getting back!! I KNOW you understand.....life is busy! :)

Last week Mommommy and Poppy came to visit us here in El Paso and we had a great time! It was a very fun visit for all of us and we're so glad they came. We went shopping, out to dinner, to the El Paso Zoo. It was really special but it just wasn't long enough!! We wish they could have been here longer but we'll take whatever we can get!!! Here's a picture of them with our 5 sweeties!




Things are going well here in the at Casa Newsom. We are beginning to feel more comfortable here and have finally met some very sweet friends! PRAISE THE LORD!! The kids are playing sports at the YMCA and also attending a homeschool PE class there so we're having fun there several days/nights a week. We've been homeschooling for over a month now and that is going better now that we've worked out the kinks and made some needed changes!! Awana's has also been fun and all the kids are doing great but it's amazing to hear Joel and Joshua reciting their memorized scriptures in Cubbies!! Can you believe it?? Joel is only 3 and can say those verses but Joshua has only been home 12 weeks and he is already able to recite God's word!! I love it and it has brought me great joy to sit with them through cubbies for the past month!!

Joshua Nahome is doing really well. He's super sweet and we're so thankful he's home with us! His English is just absolutely AMAZING and he's started telling me things about Ethiopia and Tigist, his birthmother, since he's able to communicate so much more! It's been super fascinating and I'm so thankful he's telling us little things about what he remembers so we can write it down for him! Very cool! He's eating American food really well now ( even dairy and protein) and has grown a lots in such a short time. I'll try to measure him again tomorrow so you can know the numbers. We're still working on learning his colors-- he still can't get RED and BLUE correct--- I am pretty sure that he IS colorblind because he is very smart and able to learn other concepts very easily but colors are hard for him! He loves playing with Joel Daniel and they are getting along better and better as time goes by, not fussing over toys as much- their favorite activity today was to build quilt tents in my living room and then play trains and cars inside--- they played in there for hours together today! YEA!!

Normal life is nearly "NORMAL" again for our family as we've settled into some good routines, are back to homeschooling, and have adjusted to the family addition! When I think about our challenges throughout our adoption, the struggles since we've been home, and then of the blessings of the last 3 months home with this sweet little boy--- I'm so very thankful that we adopted Joshua Nahome. I would do it all over again, exactly the same. It's been hard but it's been worth it, every smile. We're so thankful that the Lord called us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this child's life at this particular moment! What an amazing truth that we've learned--we were ALL orphans and our Father God adopted us all.

Praise the Lord! We're not orphans anymore! Praise the Lord!!

Have a great week full of BLESSINGS,
AMY


Galatians 4:1-7
“Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Israel


Friday night was a treat for us!! Israel, Angie, and Gideon came over for dinner!! If you haven't read my past entries, Israel is our new Ethiopian friend that I met on the airplane when I came to house hunt in El Paso right before we traveled to Ethiopia to pick up Nahome!

Well--- Friday night was an amazing and inspiring evening as they joined us for an Ethiopian FEAST! It was delicious and to eat Injera and spicy Berbere Chicken while listening to the AMAZING life story of this neat young man, well-- it was WONDERFUL! Joel and I were both captivated as he shared with us the story of his journey through life! Isreal became an Ethiopian orphan at the age of 9 and travelled for 11 years through many countries, scary situations, hunger pangs, near starvation, prison, child slavery, etc.etc. to finally reach the destination he had dreamed of since he lost his parents--- America.

I personally think he should write a book about his life story as his experiences as an orphan could have such a positive impact on the American awareness of the orphan crisis in the world. I am convinced that 99% of Americans don't understand what it means to be an orphaned child-- either that, or they are in denial and don't want to think about it so they just pretend it doesn't exist. I am praying that God will open Israel's heart to sharing his story to increase awareness and help Americans understand that we can IMPACT the WORLD by loving orphans and doing just a little to meet the needs of these children!

Our evening with this sweet man and his family was a blessing to us and we are hoping to be able to visit with them very often. We are also praying BIG for Israel over the next few days and want to ask you to pray for him also. He is in the process of joining the US Army to serve our nation as a linguist (he speaks 8 languages fluently and would be an amazing addition to our armed forces!) He takes his language tests on this Tuesday. Will you pray for Israel on Tuesday morning? He is very hopeful that if he does well on Tuesday, he will be able to serve the country that he now calls home. Please join us, Israel's Christian family, in praying for this grown up orphan as he seeks God's plan for his life!

Blessings abound,
AMY

John 14: 13-14 "And whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."

Psalm 145:18,19 "The Lord is near to all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desires of those that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them."

Monday, September 14, 2009

EXCITED

We are Super Excited about the Lord's work for our family. We are praying BIG folks and God has shown us that HE is BIGGER than our wildest imaginations! His plans are more than we could ask or even imagine and we are blessed by being a part of such miracles and opportunities to serve HIM.

We were CHANGED by our trip to Ethiopia. We fell in love with so many children and people hungry for love (and food!!) We've been praying about mission work in Ethiopia since then and God has started revealing and opening doors and windows for this opportunity to share the gospel, food, clothing, medicine and LOVE to the needy people in Ethiopia. God has connected HIS people, opened some of HIS doors and is truly at WORK coordinating this medical mission!!! We will begin fundraising for this medical mission soon--- we're just praying that the Lord will show us how to fundraise to make HIS will happen and ETERNALLY impact the people of Ethiopia-- we've never done this kind of thing before!! This is new territory for our family! Please pray for us as we strive to serve HIM and pray big for Ethiopia!

On a side note-- Joshua Nahome is doing well. His English speaking skills are amazing me this week. He is making huge strides in speaking!! We have many good days and some tougher days but overall, WHAT A BLESSING to be his family. It's an unconditional love that I'm honored to give and also receive! He's a very sweet little boy with a super sweet smile!! See for yourself..... isn't this a sweet smile???
So-- you ask-- what are the tough days like with Nahome?? Well--it's mainly normal kid challenges like fighting over toys, talking loudly over one another to get attention, playing too roughly, using poor eating manners,not sharing, walking in the kitchen a thousand times every day wanting snacks- (he eats tons and can not possibly be hungry immediately after a big meal--- I think it is a food issue to some degree---a fascination that here in America, food is AVAILABLE and his attempt at wanting to make sure that he has access to it!) We have equity issues, making sure that everyone gets their turn sitting in this seat or that seat, etc. etc., we have issues with interrupting and he has a hard time waiting for things! Most of the issues are not adoption issues at all-- but just normal sibling issues! The difference is that EVERYThiNG here is new to Nahome. He is just LEARNING how our family works and every challenge and issue is a learning time for him. I do get tired after a full day of meeting needs, teaching and playing referee but I would have it no other way and am very thankful for the opportunity to be the mother my 5th child! We are VERY BLESSED!

So-- you ask-- what are the good days like for Nahome? Well-- they are full of laughter, smiles and the chatter of little voices talking to one another or themselves. They are moments snuggled on the couch together reading, lots of big hugs and kisses, the little twinkle in the eyes of a happy child. Watching him learn and interacting during a game. They are the fun moments of excitement over new experiences, new tastes, new sights, new smells, new fun, new food, new shoes, new pants. They are watching him watering the flowers and the excitement over feeding the fish. It is the fun of seeing him LOVE swimming and riding his bicycle. It's the amazement in his eyes when he first went to the zoo and the sheer delight in his eyes when he ate his first S'more!! It has been a blessing for us to see the joy in Nahome's eyes. Here's a picture of Nahome's very first camping trip-- he was eating his first marshmellow ever! (He loved it!!!)


The blessing and joy is in the realization that God is using us!! It is a true miracle that God would choose to use US, very broken and unworthy vessels, to make an ETERNAL impact on Nahome's life. Nahome was an orphan and NOW HE HAS A FAMILY. wow. We are God's provision and love to a once fatherless/orphaned child. What God has done in our family is just amazing and the reality of our new life together is that God has shown us the depth of HIS LOVE through Nahome.

Truly blessed and thankful today-
AMY

"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." Pslam 68:5-6

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spriit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you." Matthew 28:18-20

Please pray BIG for Ethiopia and for the upcoming medical mission trip to Nedjo! I'll keep you posted as things progress!! :)

Monday, September 7, 2009

A Weekend of FUN!



We had lots of fun this weekend. We drove 4 hours to Albuquerque and camped at a KOA campsite there for an inexpensive but special family outing! We went to the ZOO and also to an amazing AQUARIUM there and road a train between the two places!! The kids were in heaven and we had a great time! Here are some photos!

This guy was in deep thought the whole time we were there.....

Joshua Nahome loved climbing all over this guy!


Jackson and Hannah loved the Rhinos.


Hannah feeding the giraffes!


The train ride was a hit with these two boys!!


Joel Daniel was trying so hard to smile for this pic at the aquarium! HAHA!


Camel Rides for everyone!!!


This shark looks so fake to me--- but he was real!! The aquarium was amazing!


Madilyn and Jackson in the butterfly arbor.....


Psalm 127:3-5 "As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

Psalm 107:41 "Yet he setteth the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock."

Thankful for a full quiver and very
blessed with a healthy and happy flock today,
AMY

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Cute little sayings by Nahome

So--- I'm sure one of your questions for me is this.....

so really---how's the adoption going????

WELL---- here goes-- I'll fill you in on the scoop around here concerning the adoption transition.

Adoption is a new experience for us and it has been such a growing and learning time for all of us. We've adapted to life with 5 kiddos over the past 6 weeks--- it's really going well-- not much different than having 4 kiddos as far as my workload-(laundry, dishes, cooking) goes, it's just a little louder and outings are a little crazier than life with 4 kiddos was! Madilyn, Jackson, Hannah and Joel Daniel have been super sweet, loving, and accepting of our new addition and are adjusting well. No jealousy issues. No anger issues. They all have their "moments"-- but that happened pre-adoption, too-- so I don't think that it's really adoption-related issues but instead we just have normal "kids and siblings" kinds of issues! Joshua is also very loving towards everyone and really enjoys playing and learning from the other kiddos. They do fuss over toys quite often but again--I think that's pretty normal for all siblings! I really should wear a black and white striped shirt every day as I do tend to play the role of referee, quite often!!

Joshua Nahome is overall physically and emotionally very healthy. He has attached emotionally to us (Thank You Lord!!) and also really became comfortable and very loving towards our extended families (which was super fun to see while we were visiting them again last week!!!) He did come home from Ethiopia with a stomach bug called Giardia and he has lovingly shared that little bug with the rest of us, but we're all going to be treated for that as of Monday! It hasn't been bad as we are not camping out in the bathroom at all-- our stomachs just feel "weird" and no one is really hungry!! This could be really great for me-- I would love to loose that 10 pounds that will never go away!! Maybe the Giardia Diet will do the trick!! HAHA!! Anyway--- back to Joshua Nahome's transition.....

He gets super, super excited when I go to the grocery store and bring home his favorite things (like cereal and bananas)! It is really fun to bring home groceries because he goes crazy laughing, clapping and dancing around like it is Christmas morning!! It is hysterical and makes me realize how much we take for granted every single day. I just wonder how long his excitement over cereal and bananas and milk and yogurt will last..... Unfortunately, I'm afraid he'll be "Americanized" way too soon.

He is learning English very quickly.....he understands TONS and is already speaking in 3 and 4 word sentences and is a little sponge for new words. He has numbers down pat to 20 and we're working on colors now. Learning colors has been hard for him.....maybe he's color-blind....I'm not sure. We'll keep working! He is very fascinated by all the different names for our foods, especially foods that are similar, for instance.... BREAD PRODUCTS..... he'll ask.... "this is injera? this is bread? this is bun? this is roll? this is tortilla? this is biscuit? this is pancake? this is cornbread? this is injera?" etc. etc. OR another example.... DRINK PRODUCTS...... he'll ask...."this is water? this is soda? this is juice? this is lemonade? this is milk? this is tea? this is coffee? this is Koolaid? this is water?" etc. etc. It is very interesting to watch him and listen to him as he learns. He is still so amazed at all the options available here in "MERICA", as he says it.

He also says lots of funny things as he's learning English....... here are a few of the phrases that he says that I hope I don't forget because they are just adorable.....

when Joshua Nahome says,

"this is LUMMY." real translation--- this is yummy.
"Nahome is angry" real translation--- Nahome is hungry.
"Nahom es tummy growing" real translation-- Nahome's tummy is growling. (btw-his tummy can't possibly ever growl- he eats every 30 minutes or so!! hahaha!!)
"The End" real translation--- I am done going potty now.
"Joshua's tessarow." real translation--- Joshua's turn.
"Photos Tigist" real translation--- I want to look at my pictures of Tigist.
"I want chicken" real translation--- I want a granola bar. hmmm. -?-
"I want snackies" real translation--- I want a snack.
"Panties too beggus" real translation-- these pants are too big for me.
"Time for sleepies" real translation--- Time for sleep.
"Gimme beg hug" real translation--- I want a big hug!
"Comeon Mommy" real translation--- I want you to lay down with me mommy.
"Comeon Joel" real translation--- I want Joel to lay down with me too.

and when he says, "I love you" --- the real translation is.... I love you.

The biggest lesson I've learned through this adoption so far has been about the depth of God's unconditional LOVE for ME. Throughout scriptures we are all called heirs-- adopted sons and daughters of Christ but I've never really understood or "gotten" that meaning until now. Through this adoption, Joshua Nahome has done nothing to deserve my love, yet we love him. He has done nothing to earn my love, yet we love him. He tests me daily, yet we love him. We love him and want the best that life has to offer him.

What God has shown me in a very real way over the last several months is this.......

I DID NOTHING to DESERVE Christ's love for me, yet He loves me.
I DO NOTHING to EARN Christ's love for me, yet He loves me.
I SIN and test God daily and yet, He STILL loves me.
I know above all else, He loves me and wants His best for me.

I am so unworthy of God's love but at the same time, He's shown me the Depths of his love more than ever before through the adoption of Nahome. I love my biological children in a special way as they came from my body .....I love my adopted child in a special way because God laid him on my heart.

What a blessing to be the recipient of unconditional love! What a blessing it is to give unconditional love to our children. This has been such an amazing and humbling experience! We're growing in Him every day and are very thankful for Christ's unconditional love for every single one of us.

Blessings today,
AMY

Ephesians 2 :4-7 "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sin-- for it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show us the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus."

1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Catch Up



Hello!!! We've just been back home to El Paso a day or so and the unpacking, grocery shopping, laundry, yard work, etc. is finally under control so now I'm going to try to CATCH YOU UP on my blog!!! :)

Last Monday, the kiddos and I made the 12 hour drive "home" to East Texas to visit our families. Yes, the solo drive with 5 kiddos in tow was hard but... it was worth it. It was a really nice treat to spend time with our families and I am pretty sure that it was very therapeutic for us all!! To be totally honest and transparent here, after the last 6 weeks of challenges and speed bumps there was lots of stress and unsettled turmoil in my heart and it was nice to escape away for a few days and re-focus. Joel worked very hard all week and then flew to meet us for the weekend and was able to make the drive back with me on Monday. I just love those cheap southwest one way tickets!!! :) I'm thankful for the time of rest and re-focus! It was good for all of us!!!

The kiddos are doing really well. They loved their fun days on the farm with Mama and Papa Carr and also their individual "special-spend-the-nights" with Mommommy and Poppy! The big kids started their new year of homeschooling today with what I call "warm up days"......we're just doing a very light week worth of work to get back into a routine and work out our schedule for this year! They are definitely ready for the "new normal" to kick in around our house!!

The hardest transition that I've been facing is actually our army move. It's been a tough time for me and the kiddos. The logistics of our move went well and we really love the city of El Paso....but we are just ready to plug in here and feel like we belong to a family of friends. Joel went to work right away and immediately became acquainted with his co-workers and "plugged in"--- but the kids and I have had a harder time meeting people here and honestly, it is just lonesome. We are homesick for the friendships that we had in Kansas and New York!! We miss you all so much!! :) We are still searching for a church family and I know we'll feel much better when we get "plugged in" to a family of believers also!!! I am VERY thankful that the kiddos fall activities and sports start here this next week as well as the Ft. Bliss Homeschool Group Co-op and PWOC Bible Study. Hopefully, the kids and I will be able to truly "plug in" over the next few weeks and finally meet some friends!! Please pray for us as we are in the middle of a city of 1 million people yet we feel so alone!

I'm reminded of this scripture that I've clung to during previous Army moves that were hard on me emotionally and it's so comforting to know that I am not alone, that God is with me.....

Genesis 28:15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

and here's one more that has lifted my spirits recently and renewed my hope in Christ...

Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Blessings,
AMY

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Praying Big for Ethiopia

We are praying big for Ethiopia! We are specifically praying about the coordination and planning of possible mission work in Ethiopia in the future. God has strategically placed people in our lives and in our paths during our adoption journey that we know are NO coincidence. While we were visiting Nahome's homeland, we were deeply moved-- truly changed. I don't know that I'll ever be the same.

Since we've been home.......I have had lots of trouble sleeping. I lay in bed with visions of all of the little children with sad eyes that are living on the streets or if they are lucky, in orphanages-- longing for a mom and dad. Hungry for food, hungry for love.
I have this picture of the little boy with scabies and oozing sores all over his head and no means by which to get medical care imprinted on my heart.

I am angry with myself that I did not take more medicines, antibiotics, food and gifts with me when we visited the rural villages. I am disappointed that I didn't stop the car when we were driving and saw that 6 year old little girl tending her family's goats with only a dirty tshirt on. She was wearing no pants, no underwear.....why didn't I stop and give her one of our extra set of clothes in the backpack?
I am ashamed that I saw real people drinking brown, muddy water out of ditches and I didn't share my bottles of clean water. This man was getting water out of the sewer line at the Mercato.
I'm frustrated that we passed HUNDREDS of people walking miles and miles for water and to sell sticks at the village markets and we did not stop and offer anyone a ride.
I'm coming clean folks--- my heart aches for the poor and oppressed people of Ethiopia.

My biggest regret about our trip to Ethiopia is that I didn't love, share, and give more to the hurting people there. We didn't help those that needed help as much as we could have, we didn't share as much as we should have but we are thankful that God planted some amazing seeds in our hearts and allowed us to connect with other like minded Christians that are seeking to serve God in a BIG way in Ethiopia!

We are now PRAYING BIG for Ethiopia and we want to do more to share God's love with these needy, spiritually lost and hungry people!

I really don't know what capacity He has for ME in this ministry effort, it may be no more than the networking, praying, and coordinating the connections for the ministry team--but whatever it is......we are praying that God continues to use us even though we are truly broken vessels...... even though we are sinners and don't even come close to deserving God's love for us.

Please pray BIG for Ethiopia and that God's plans for mission work there would be clear to us and please also continue to pray for our family!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Silver lining in the storm clouds

God is really at work in our hearts friends and I am praying that He continues to make His will clear to us. It has been a wonderful but also very hard few weeks for us. Honestly, I am emotionally exhausted.

I apologize for my lack of blogging......I've just had to take some time off as I really have struggled with sorting things out in my heart and mind, not to mention that downtime for me is in short supply right now! BUT--- God is really at work in our lives and you better believe that Satan is also trying to steal our joy and really attack our family. We have really really been under attack. I'll list a just a "few" of the obstacles we've been facing, not to whine and complain, but so that you have an understanding of why I've almost abandoned my blogging efforts these last few weeks and also so you can PRAY specifically for our family. This is the scoop.....

1)Joel's truck DIED during our move. 2) We then had no way of hauling our camper the rest of the trip to our new home and we had to consign it at a RV dealership somewhere in the middle of west Texas. 3)We then had to buy a new truck for Joel--- financially, it really wasn't great timing. 4) Our sewer lines in our home were clogged and the first day home (with mounds of laundry!!)we had a massive yucky drainage back-up into our laundry room. YUCK!! 5) My car had to be inspected before July 31 and it did not pass inspection due to emissions problems. $719 later we finally got my car inspected. 6) Two days later, my oven stopped heating correctly and 7)my vaccuum cleaner also died. 8) Joel Daniel's bicycle's training wheel broke and this really is a crisis when you have two ~3 year olds wanting to ride one bike!! HAHA! :) 9)In the meantime, Nahome started having a toothache which led to $577 dollars out of my pocket for major dental work (OK folks-- I do have to say that his precious smile really is priceless-- so this one didn't bother me too much--- but combined with all the other speed bumps! AAAGH!!!!). It's not over yet......10) my air conditioner in my car stopped working correctly a few days later--- it's all or nothing baby--- all the sudden that dial works on OFF and on HIGH but nothing in between (don't forget we live in the desert now!!) 11)and 12) Twice now, while driving down the road in heavy traffic, my car has completely lost all fuel power and just died. Talk about scary! Have you ever pushed a car across 4 lanes of on-coming traffic with your 11 year old at the steering wheel to get your broken car off the road? It was really scary and now I'm having "trust issues" with my suburban. 13) I "repaired" the training wheel on the bike only for the brand new ones to not work correctly and shortly thereafter, fall completely off. oops. 14) The boys were still fighting over the "other" good bike until it got a FLAT tire yesterday. This is actually a praise. I have decided that having NO bike is much better than having only 1 bike for 2 young children! ;) 15) We got our first water bill yesterday, it was a whopping $368. dollars for one month.....when I called to inquire about the excessive bill, they said they "think" we might have a leak.....hmmmmm. 16) After checking all the water sources of our home..... we found that YES, we do have a leak--- it's a very quiet and sneaky, leaky toilet. 17) My sweet mom is in the hospital and I'm 12 hours plus 5 children away from being helpful-- the diagnosis is unclear but the symptoms are VERY concerning. 18) My dad is not feeling well either and is facing an upcoming back surgery in the very near future, also. 19) I know just a small handful of people here in El Paso and I really miss my friends. Life has been very lonely for me since we moved away from all of our great homeschooling friends and church family in Kansas. 20) Joel is back in a tactical unit now and is not in his very comfortable schoolhouse job anymore. His work hours are LONG, and we're not getting to spend very much time together right now. :(

BUT.......... WE WILL NOT WAVER, WE WILL WAIT FOR THE LORD THROUGH THESE TRIBULATIONS AND WE WILL TRUST AND HAVE HOPE IN YOU, LORD...

Hebrews 10:23 "LET US HOLD FAST THE PROFESSION OF OUR FAITH WITHOUT WAVERING; (for he is faithful that promised.)"

Romans 5:3-4 " And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience brings experience; and experience brings hope."

Proverbs 23:4-5 "Labor not to be rich; stop leaning on your own wisdom. Will you set your eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings and they fly away as an eagle toward heaven."

Genesis 28:15 "And behold, I am with you, and I will keep you in all the places that you go, and I will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you, until I have done that which I have spoke of."

Psalm 32:7 "Thou are my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance."

We do have joy in the midst of these trials and have been super blessed in many other crazy ways......There was an additional deposit in our bank account to cover our recent move expenses and yes, that REALLY helped when we were hurting!! Nahome is doing GREAT! His language skills are really progressing quickly and he is super happy. He's not testing me as often and he is not melting down as often or as intensely now, either. His teeth aren't hurting anymore and he is sleeping like a champ. He's learning so much, so quickly. It's amazing to witness. My AC in the car still works on HIGH! Our sweet landlord came over today and offered to pay for the excessive water bill since the toilet was leaking and it was our first month here. Amazing. Joel is enjoying his new job. There are other kids in our neighborhood Jackson and Madilyn's age. I do love our new home and our yard is great-- it's a neat place! The kids are READY to start school-- excited about a new year and looking forward to getting their new books in the mail in the next few days!! We have been going through some tough times but God has me in the exact place I need to be..... I am relying on HIM and I am trusting Him to work it all out and in my many weaknesses, HE is strong and has shown me HIS love and is carrying me through the dark storms, and looking back over the last few weeks-- I do see lots of silver lining!

God is good, All the time.

Blessed, (even through the stress)--
AMY :)

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Our family meets Israel

Last night our family was honored to meet many new friends here in El Paso! I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to finally introduce my family to Israel last night and God also richly blessed us by allowing us to meet many of Israel's friends (lots of Ethiopians!!) and also his family here in El Paso!

Who would have guessed that there is a group of Ethiopian Americans in El Paso Texas??? Can you believe it?? YEA! We are thrilled that we now have friends that share Nahome's heritage and culture and have even been invited to an Ethiopian dinner party in a few weeks!! :)

I'm not sure if you remember Israel, but you can read about God's divine appointment for me to meet with Israel here... Israel, the Ethiopian man that God sat in the airplane seat next to me on my flight house hunting in El Paso about 6 weeks ago, invited our family to attend his son, Gideon's 1st birthday party yesterday!!




When we arrived at the park, we were delighted and very surprised to also meet about 20 Ethiopian Americans that also live in El Paso. It was precious to watch them converse with Nahome in Amharic and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting them all. We loved getting to spend some more time with Israel and his family. We were able to share lots of stories about our trip to their homeland, Ethiopia, and the kids were having a great time at the park. Unfortunately, it began to rain (yes-- it really did rain in El Paso on a Saturday afternoon in August!) so the party initially dispersed only to be moved to Israel's wife, Angie's family home. I was super impressed because 30 minutes after that downpour began, the ENTIRE birthday party-- the cake, the grill, the tables and chairs, chips, drinks, onions, I mean- EVERYTHING, was relocated to Angie's family home about 20 minutes away. These people know how to host a party and they were incredible and in no time flat, I was enjoying a really yummy grilled hamburger at the home of our new friends!!
Nahome learned to sing "Happy Birthday" yesterday and now he won't stop singing it!! It was really cute for about the first 20 minutes, but really--- that song can get really old, really fast!! HAHA! He also really LOVED his slice of Gideon's birthday cake! He continues to transition well into our family and every day has been easier and better. He's been such a blessing!! Here's a picture of him enjoying his first piece of birthday cake yesterday!!!

Blessings,
AMY

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Before and After

Dear Friends, I have so much to say and so much to share that I really don't know where to begin. I haven't even begun to tell you all about our trip to Ethiopia and how LIFE CHANGING that was.... and now there are so many things we're experiencing on the OTHER side of the adoption, the "we're home now" side, that I'm nearly paralyzed not knowing where to start to catch up on my blogging. So bear with me and please be patient with me--- it has been a WHIRLWIND of WONDERFUL for our family but because I am overwhelmed by my thoughts (and yes, my emotions too) I've decided that tonight I'm just going to share some recent family photos and gather up my energy to begin telling you more about our amazing and humbling journey..... tomorrow.

BEFORE. This is the first moment that we met Joshua Nahome. Notice the fear, sadness and uncertainty in his eyes and in the second photo, notice his closed body language. This is a picture of EVERY orphan in the world....a child that is scared and lonely.

AFTER. This is Joshua Nahome 2 weeks after joining our FAMILY. Notice the joy, excitement and love in his eyes and his sweet spirit. These are pictures of a child that was an orphan but now has a family to call his own. We are so blessed to witness and be a part of the miracle and gift of this child's life.


Joshua Nahome FINALLY sat down in the bathtub to play with Joel Daniel and thought it was so funny! Isn't this picture a hoot? I love it!

Joshua Nahome found a ziploc bag of my Valentine ornaments and has carried this ziploc bag around my house for 2 weeks now and he periodically decorates himself and whomever happens to be near him.....usually Joel Daniel!!! Are you smiling yet?? Isn't that smile just contagious?

Everyone loves it when Dad gets on the trampoline.....here's the Newsom Team minus Mom, the photographer, having a great time together!

Another picture of Joshua Nahome all decorated up with his Valentine ornaments. This sweet little boy makes us laugh every day and he is a precious treasure to our family. We are very thankful.

This adoption has been good.
This adoption has been hard.
This adoption has been heartbreaking.
This adoption has been heartwarming.


This adoption has brought us more joy than I can even put into words.


We are Very Very Blessed,
Amy


Today I am reminded of the scriptures that God used to bring us into obedience to adopt Joshua Nahome. The Bible says....

John 14: 18 "I will not leave you as orphans: I will come to you."

Matthew 18:4 "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

1 John 3:17 "But whoever has material possessions, and seeth his brother have need, but has no compassion on him, how can the love of God dwell in him?"