Wednesday, May 19, 2010

It's been awhile....

.....and the thought of catching up this blog is extremely overwhelming to me.....I have so many stories I would love to share, but the time seems to escape without the opportunity to sit down and actually do it. I really don't know WHERE all the time goes.....life is fast! I'm trying to maximize it and ENJOY it!

We are all doing well. My sweet hubby has been working hard and has spent many of the last weeks training in the field and on assignments away from home, so we are super happy to finally have him home! The kids and I took a ROAD TRIP to Colorado to spend some time with him since he had been away so much and then we went to visit our families for 2 weeks!! We are super thankful that our driving across the country was totally uneventful with no car problems or major issues....We logged 42 hours of quality family time in the car over the last 3 weeks! The time with our family was worth it all! :)

The kids are doing well. We are working on our homeschool standardized testing this week and are planning to school through the summer this year. Joel and I read the book OUTLIERS recently and thought that the research presented in this book on year-round schooling was valid and really made sense. We're going to try it....but we are also moving to a new home in June and are hoping to go on a family vacation in July. Hmmmmmm. Don't know how this summer schooling will work exactly, but we're still going to give it a try! :) I'll keep you posted on our progress!

Joshua Nahome had his very first American birthday celebration last week...... it was very fun to celebrate with our extended families and it was super sweet to see his amazing smile and then the tears that welled up in his eyes as we all gathered around him and sang Happy Birthday. It was a priceless moment and he is still talking about the party and wondering when is the next one! HAHA!! Yes, he is 100% fluent now and of course,now that he is speaking English very well, we can't figure out how to get him to stop talking sometimes! HAHA! He really is doing well and seems very happy and content. He is a blessing to our family and we are so proud of him!

He does still ask lots of questions about Ethiopia and Tigist but he's never sad or crying or upset.....he's just curious and trying to sort things out in his mind. Usually, after I give him a straight answer he goes right back to whatever he was doing before. Here are two examples of his questions.....When we were getting ready for his birthday party, he came up to me and asked if Tigist could come to his party.
wow.

That question broke my heart but I took him in my arms, gave him a big hug and said, "No Joshua- Tigist can't come but she loves you and I bet she is thinking of you today on your birthday." He smiled, climbed out of my arms and ran to play. At dinner tonight, out of the blue, he randomly said, "Where is Tigist sleeping tonight?" Hmmm....this one was hard to because I really don't know the absolute answer so I said, "I'm not sure but I hope she is sleeping at Ayeu's house (his Ethiopian grandmother). That was what he wanted to know and then he started talking about other things. I've made it my goal to OPENLY discuss Ethiopia, Tigist, the orphanage, what we know of his past, etc. so that he never comes to a place where he feels like he can't ask, or where he is surprised by some part of his history. I am thankful we know as much about him as we do and I'm blessed that we met his birthmother and can share her love for him, with him.

On another note.....we're moving to a new home in the coming weeks. I'm super excited. Of course, I am dreading the pack up and the move itself, but I am really excited about moving into a really neat historic home on base. It will be a great place to live and will really "simplify" our lives some! So when you get an updated address card from us, don't be surprised... and if you want to come and pack some boxes or make a few truck-loads with us......I will gladly buy the PIZZA! :)

Lastly, please pray for our sweet Madilyn as she prepares to go on her first medical mission trip in the next few weeks. She has an amazing heart for the Lord and is so excited to go serve the people of the Phillipines. Actually, I guess I should be asking for you to pray for ME in this situation.....I am really excited for her to go and experience the joy of serving others in love, but do know that I am also a little worried about sending my 12 yr old to another country without me next to her! She is going to be well supervised and loved on by her grandparents, but still.....I'm a little Nervous Nelly here. I know, I know, I know.....Matthew 6:25. 1 Peter 5:7. Psalm 33:21. Romans 8:39. Jeremiah 29:11. I'm clinging to His words and trying to overcome my flesh and fears by renewing my mind and spending extra time studying His word and praying! Thanks in advance for praying for me, and for Madi and her trip!

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Hoping you have been doing well over the last few weeks as well. Stay tuned for more updates, I promise-- I'm really going to TRY to do better!

BTW- I'm going to update pictures soon--- my camera broke awhile back so I had to borrow one and now the photos are all on another camera, 836 miles away. Will you mail me the memory card MoM? :)

Blessings and hugs,
AMY