Today is Abi Mulu's 8th birthday! We celebrated by going shopping, just her and I. We went to Target and she picked out a couple of outfits, two Barbies and a backpack. We then went to Costco to buy meat for Saturday's party. As we were walking to the car I asked her if she wanted anything from the snack bar and she confirmed that she wanted a smoothie, a pink one, so a pink smoothie it was! We then went to the grocery store to pick up her second princess cake. Her first one got dropped yesterday afternoon not minutes after it was placed in her hands. She was trying to put it on the counter and I don't know what happened, but I could tell she was devastated. She didn't cry, but just had a look of disbelief. Her first ever princess cake and she dropped it. Not good. Since I was now tired because I've been sick and I've already shopped like a fool I decide to go to Starbucks, and it just so happens that the donut store is just a few doors down, and I asked her if she wanted a donut, of course she did. She asked me when we got in the car, "Why I get so many presents? In Ethiopia I never have a birthday." I explained to her that it was her first birthday here in America, here in our family, and we wanted it to be very special for her. I think we're doing a good job so far!
I'll post pictures in a bit.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Same ole', same ole'
Same things going on here at home. I've been playing with Ancestry.com to find out more about who I come from and who Steve comes from. The fact that I have a Rufus and an Elmer in my background explains a lot to Steve. Wise guy. I'm now into the 1300's and am finding Lady's and Sirs. I told Steve I'm the result of Hillbilly meets the New Englander. For a few days I thought we were descendends of Edward Fuller-Matthew Fuller-Elizabeth Fuller of the Mayflower Edward Fuller. The dates don't match up for Elizabeth Fuller so it can't be the same Elizabeth Fuller that I'm related to.
Today we have Class Day. Addis is sick so Sarah is staying home with her.
James turned twelve yesterday. We went and spent his gift cards and then out to lunch at In & Out. Fun day with just James, Joe and I, and not all the littles.
I ended up cleaning out John & Joel's room yesterday. Oh.My.Lanta. I went in to retrieve an Awana shirt and book and ......well.....let's just say John is a packrat. He had food, trash, treasures, clothes, all on his bed, under his pillow, and under his bed. I spent a good two hours in there. He said he would have paid to see me on my back under his bed with the kitchen tongs grabbing stuff. It was scary, but someone had to go in and do it.
Our Awana Cubbie group has about doubled over the last three weeks. We now have 21 kids between the ages of 3-5 for about two hours every Wednesday night. Many, many years ago we used to have twenty-five kids, but it dwindled and dwindled. It's exciting to see it growing again.
Today we have Class Day. Addis is sick so Sarah is staying home with her.
James turned twelve yesterday. We went and spent his gift cards and then out to lunch at In & Out. Fun day with just James, Joe and I, and not all the littles.
I ended up cleaning out John & Joel's room yesterday. Oh.My.Lanta. I went in to retrieve an Awana shirt and book and ......well.....let's just say John is a packrat. He had food, trash, treasures, clothes, all on his bed, under his pillow, and under his bed. I spent a good two hours in there. He said he would have paid to see me on my back under his bed with the kitchen tongs grabbing stuff. It was scary, but someone had to go in and do it.
Our Awana Cubbie group has about doubled over the last three weeks. We now have 21 kids between the ages of 3-5 for about two hours every Wednesday night. Many, many years ago we used to have twenty-five kids, but it dwindled and dwindled. It's exciting to see it growing again.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Math in the mind of a boy
Problem: The car dealer just received 27 new cars. Each car costs $16,379. How much do they cost altogether?
Answer given on his paper: a lot
I don't think that is the answer I was looking for.
Answer given on his paper: a lot
I don't think that is the answer I was looking for.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
My busy week
This week has been extremely busy which my first and third weeks usually are because of Class Day. This week had an added pressure with grades being due. Trying to plan the next quarter for seven kids and turn in grades for seven kids above and beyone my normal routine throws me for a tailspin. I did get them done yesterday though with lots of frustration, yelling, and even some discipline handed out for disobedience.
I now feel like I can breathe. I really have nothing planned today that I have to do. There are things some of the kids need to be at, but nothing I need to do except my study for Perspectives, and get ready for Sunday School tomorrow.
We went out to dinner on Monday night with a group from E3 Ministries. The Ecuadorian National was in town and since Sarah and Steve had met him when they went on the Ecuador missions trip two years ago we were blessed to be able to attend. I was able to sit next to Diane who happens to be the Ethiopia mission trip coordinator.
I was chatting with her about the girls and how nice it would be to be able to send pictures one day to Addis & Abi Mulu's father so that he could see how well they're doing and just to know in his heart that they are loved. She told me, now get how big this is, this is God working, that she could take pictures when she goes in May to Ethiopia. I was overyjoyed. Then she went one step further. She said for me to bring the pictures on Friday to the Ethiopian E3 dinner and the Ethiopian national Yosef and his wife Ripka could take them when they go home. Oh.My.Lanta. I was screaming on the inside. This was huge. This is nothing that I could have orchestrated or worked out on my own. Our God is an AMAZING God.
I gave those pictures to Yosef and Ripka last night. I printed out pictures from the last few months. They colored a few pictures. They wrote letters and we wrote a letter to their father. I also included the address that we have for him and a phone number. Hopefully his heart is put to rest and he knows that his babies are loved and well cared for. They were more than happy to do it for us. It turns out that they live only fourteen kilometers away from Debre Zeit. Our God is an AMAZING God. So that was last night. Friday.
Monday we had our Perspectives class. Tuesday was our normal run errands and go to piano day and taxi kids to our Jr. High youth group. Wednesday was Awana. That day was an exhausting day for me. We did do school. I also had to get Valentines cut and ready for that night's Cubbie craft. We ended up adding seven new Cubbies and one new Puggle. That doubled our Cubbie count in just one night. We had nineteen 2, 3, & 4 year olds with only four adults/teens. Our craft was a messy one with glitter, sequins, glue, stamps, oh they had so much fun! Then we had cupcakes with lots of frosting for snack. I think they had a good time. Me? I was beyond tired. Joe started talking to me about going to River Valley which is a charter school and I looked at him and told him to stop talking to me because I could not comprehend what he was telling me. My brain couldn't take in any more.
Then I turned around and went to Class Day the next morning. That makes me tired in and of itself, but then add on the night before and I was beat. We did have yummy fried chicken for dinner so that helped.
Friday I went to WW and lost 3.8 lbs. I've lost over 13 lbs in four weeks. Just this week I've even had baby back ribs twice, chocolate cake, a bratwurst, lasagna and garlic bread, popcorn with butter one night, and a big gyros. I wasn't at all deprived. I haven't been walking yet or anything so I'm quite happy with the pounds just wanting to come off for me. I really want to get off my high blood pressure medicines. One of the things I've discovered this diet go-round is that sweet potatoes in and of themselves are so tasty that they don't need butter or brown sugar. I eat them straight from their baked little shell. That saves calories!
Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was tired. I needed to get grades for seven children done. I still had children that wanted to learn. I still had children that were disobedient. I yelled, screamed, disciplined, got so angry that I thought my head was going to spin off, but then it got better. I calmed down. I finished the grades. I was able to go to WW and out for my Friday afternoon out. I ended up going to Target and buying little jewels for our SS crowns this week. We're learning about Queen Esther and so we need crowns with jewels. I met Steve at Oggi's for bruschetta and a personal sized pizza. We got home in time to take Joe to junior high winter camp, and I finished putting the girls photo book together for their ET dad. When I got home there was a bouquet of pink carnations waiting for me. From Jesse. Hmmm........this is strange behavior from him. These darn kids always throw me for a loop. I never know what to expect.
We went to the E3 dinner while Jesse & Sarah babysat. He ended up having five of his friends spend the night, and they're going to talk to a Jehovah's Witness this morning at my house to convert them. Ai Yi Yi.
I now feel like I can breathe. I really have nothing planned today that I have to do. There are things some of the kids need to be at, but nothing I need to do except my study for Perspectives, and get ready for Sunday School tomorrow.
We went out to dinner on Monday night with a group from E3 Ministries. The Ecuadorian National was in town and since Sarah and Steve had met him when they went on the Ecuador missions trip two years ago we were blessed to be able to attend. I was able to sit next to Diane who happens to be the Ethiopia mission trip coordinator.
I was chatting with her about the girls and how nice it would be to be able to send pictures one day to Addis & Abi Mulu's father so that he could see how well they're doing and just to know in his heart that they are loved. She told me, now get how big this is, this is God working, that she could take pictures when she goes in May to Ethiopia. I was overyjoyed. Then she went one step further. She said for me to bring the pictures on Friday to the Ethiopian E3 dinner and the Ethiopian national Yosef and his wife Ripka could take them when they go home. Oh.My.Lanta. I was screaming on the inside. This was huge. This is nothing that I could have orchestrated or worked out on my own. Our God is an AMAZING God.
I gave those pictures to Yosef and Ripka last night. I printed out pictures from the last few months. They colored a few pictures. They wrote letters and we wrote a letter to their father. I also included the address that we have for him and a phone number. Hopefully his heart is put to rest and he knows that his babies are loved and well cared for. They were more than happy to do it for us. It turns out that they live only fourteen kilometers away from Debre Zeit. Our God is an AMAZING God. So that was last night. Friday.
Monday we had our Perspectives class. Tuesday was our normal run errands and go to piano day and taxi kids to our Jr. High youth group. Wednesday was Awana. That day was an exhausting day for me. We did do school. I also had to get Valentines cut and ready for that night's Cubbie craft. We ended up adding seven new Cubbies and one new Puggle. That doubled our Cubbie count in just one night. We had nineteen 2, 3, & 4 year olds with only four adults/teens. Our craft was a messy one with glitter, sequins, glue, stamps, oh they had so much fun! Then we had cupcakes with lots of frosting for snack. I think they had a good time. Me? I was beyond tired. Joe started talking to me about going to River Valley which is a charter school and I looked at him and told him to stop talking to me because I could not comprehend what he was telling me. My brain couldn't take in any more.
Then I turned around and went to Class Day the next morning. That makes me tired in and of itself, but then add on the night before and I was beat. We did have yummy fried chicken for dinner so that helped.
Friday I went to WW and lost 3.8 lbs. I've lost over 13 lbs in four weeks. Just this week I've even had baby back ribs twice, chocolate cake, a bratwurst, lasagna and garlic bread, popcorn with butter one night, and a big gyros. I wasn't at all deprived. I haven't been walking yet or anything so I'm quite happy with the pounds just wanting to come off for me. I really want to get off my high blood pressure medicines. One of the things I've discovered this diet go-round is that sweet potatoes in and of themselves are so tasty that they don't need butter or brown sugar. I eat them straight from their baked little shell. That saves calories!
Yesterday was not a good day for me. I was tired. I needed to get grades for seven children done. I still had children that wanted to learn. I still had children that were disobedient. I yelled, screamed, disciplined, got so angry that I thought my head was going to spin off, but then it got better. I calmed down. I finished the grades. I was able to go to WW and out for my Friday afternoon out. I ended up going to Target and buying little jewels for our SS crowns this week. We're learning about Queen Esther and so we need crowns with jewels. I met Steve at Oggi's for bruschetta and a personal sized pizza. We got home in time to take Joe to junior high winter camp, and I finished putting the girls photo book together for their ET dad. When I got home there was a bouquet of pink carnations waiting for me. From Jesse. Hmmm........this is strange behavior from him. These darn kids always throw me for a loop. I never know what to expect.
We went to the E3 dinner while Jesse & Sarah babysat. He ended up having five of his friends spend the night, and they're going to talk to a Jehovah's Witness this morning at my house to convert them. Ai Yi Yi.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
So we went out the other night
and on our way to the movies.............we ran out of gas! We went out with two other couples and went in one of their vehicles. Well after we stuffed ourselves at Phil's BBQ and were coming off the freeway and heading to the movies the car stopped. One of the guys got out and had to push us. (giggle, giggle, giggle!) Here we are three couples in our forties and we're being pushed like a bunch of teenagers. Hilarious.
We saw New in Town and I loved it!
We saw New in Town and I loved it!
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