Love Springs From Hope: HAPPY ADOPTION DAY!

Today we celebrate the One Year Anniversary of Betty and Jeri's adoption! One year ago we stood before the judge in Ethiopia as she pronounced us the proud parents of these two girls. Betty had a school Christmas musical tonight so we are going to celebrate this weekend by dining at a local Ethiopian restaurant on Sunday.

Betty and Jeri have been home with us 9 1/2 months now. They are no longer the tiny girls that we brought home with us in February. Jeri has grown an amazing 4.75 inches and gained 18 pounds! She is almost as tall as Stephen. Betty has grown an equally amazing 4.8 inches and gained 10 pounds. They've both sprouted up through a couple of sizes of clothes within that short time frame. We are especially thankful to all of you who have donated clothes to them this year.

It seems that our family has reached a new normal and life proceeds as usual. School has been our story for the past 3 months. Even in the routine of everyday life, we have seen God work in some amazing ways. Before we ever brought the girls home from Ethiopia, I put them on the wait list for a cottage school that our kids attend one day a week. The girls were in lower Kindergarten in Ethiopia so I requested K-5 for Betty and 1st grade for Jeri. Betty got a placement right when school started but Jeri did not. God miraculously provided a placement for Jeri one week after school started. After a few weeks of school, it became apparent that K-5 was not challenging enough for Betty. Once again, God miraculously provided a placement for Jeri in 2nd and Betty to take Jeri's place in 1st. Both times I was told it was unlikely that placements would happen since there was a waiting list for both grades but God is faithful even in the small things of life. I was a little concerned that skipping 1st grade would be difficult for Jeri, but she catches on so quickly and is already doing grade level work with very little assistance. Betty is also flourishing in 1st grade.

Balancing the schooling of four kids and all my other responsibilities has been my biggest challenge this fall. I don't think I have succeeded in conquering it yet. Life seems to be at a level of chaos that my "organized" self has trouble wrapping my arms around. I get what I can done and everything else just has to wait. Perhaps that is part of our new normal. Each day I pray that God gives me strength for the day and patience for all the voices that vie for my attention. I've had four kids at home before but there was an 8 year gap between the older kids and the younger kids, the older kids attended public school and the younger kids were in lower elementary so they did not require as much of my time. Large families who homeschool many kids have my utmost respect. I would love to know their secret! I do feel blessed that Betty and Jeri are such quick learners and catch on so quickly to everything put before them. At any rate, if I have not communicated much with you this year, you now know why!

Betty and Jeri attend Bible Study Fellowship with me. We are studying the book of Genesis this year which is great place for them to start; "In the beginning.... " The girls enjoy going to their class and have a Kenyan friend from up the street who goes with them too. They both do a great job with their memory verse each week and with understanding the Biblical truths.

The girls enjoyed their first Thanksgiving. We went to my parents' home that is in a small town. They were so excited for weeks before our trip and it was difficult to keep them subdued enough for school. My sister's family visited too. Her children are the same age range as ours and the kids always have a blast playing together. The weather was perfect and allowed the kids to play outside in the open fields around the house. On our trip, we were excited to visit with another family that went to court at the same times as us last year. They adopted a 4 year old boy who is adjusting to American life very well too.

Betty and Jeri's first Christmas with us is next on the list. I was going to delay putting up the decorations to help keep the level of excitement down long enough to get some schoolwork done in December but they talked me into decorating last weekend. We put up the decorations in record time with four kids helping! They get so excited looking at all the Christmas lights that are already up in our neighborhood. We are doing our best to keep Christmas simple and keep the focus on serving others and Christ's birth. We told the kids that they would each get three gifts from us, something they want, something they need and something to read. Hopefully that will keep future expectations realistic.

Betty and Jeri open up occasionally about their past life. I just get bits and pieces but it seems like they had a happy childhood. I can't really determine anything about their father but they speak of their mother and grandparents taking them to church. They played with their two older brothers, played in an open field next to their home, had their own little baby chicks, and walked with cousins to school. I hope I learn more as time goes on.

As I look back over our journey this past year and how we've been blessed along the way, the following verse comes to mind:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us... Ephesians 3:20