JAM & Cheese, Baby!

ON AIR

2011-03-18T21:10:00.002-04:00

Monday, our local market played the episode of the Dave Ramsey show in which we were featured, so we all gathered around William who was painting the back of the house and enjoyed it together (again)!

We're Debt Free!!

2011-02-27T11:45:00.007-05:00

I thought that I'd share our journey to "debt-freeness" here on our blog hoping to inspire others...

Since the onset of adulthood, both William and I have been in debt. I began with a little Discover Card when they were brand new on the market, and William was given a Visa when he was sent off to college. I tried paying my card off every month until one month, it didn't get paid off . The interest was added for the previous 2 months, and I found myself in over my head. I joined the marriage with about $400 on my card. William was another story... He was given a Visa when he went away to school and gave it a work-out! He made minimum payments each month. He also had a gas card to keep him on the move. He brought his cards with over $2500 and a sizable loan for my wedding ring set to our marriage.

We had major income crises for the first 3 years of our marriage. Our plans to graduate from college and get our dream jobs were not fulfilled in the least as we scrambled around for decent employment. We even went into debt another $1200 to pay a headhunter for William to work at the Footlocker 12 hours a day, 6 days a week! (Major stupid tax!!!!!)

In 1994, we decided that we needed a new, dependable car, so we ordered a Sapphire Blue Chrysler Concorde that cost 70% of William's salary. We put a down payment on it and leased the rest of it, later to re-finance when we found out that leases were bad, and 17 years later, we're still driving the thing! Lesson learned.

Over the years, we used our ATM card for most of our purchases, and when the money was gone (usually a little before the next pay day), we charged it, not really thinking that anything was wrong with doing that and didn't know that we were spending 12-18% more by swiping a card. That's what everybody does, right? Occasionally, we'd receive a tax refund, bonus, or gift, and pay down our cards just to charge them back up when we hit a crisis which would happen all too often. We had investment accounts and stocks, but no savings for emergencies.

In 2009, my sister, Patti and her husband, Scott, attended Financial Peace University, a personal finance course taught by Dave Ramsey on DVD, at their church. First, I thought that they were falling info some kind of crazy christian spin-off cult or get-rich scheme, but William and I saw big difference in the way that they dealt with money. It was really good to see the change.

Out of curiosity, I skeptically began listening to Dave Ramsey's podcast of an hour of each of his daily radio shows and listened to the "The Total Money Makeover," and he actually made sense. "The same advice your grandmother would give you, only we keep our teeth in." Basic common sense. (How come nobody taught us about this? Shouldn't everybody know this stuff?)

So, in February 2010, I told William that we needed to get it together. He totally agreed, and indicated that he was waiting for me. We were so sick of living paycheck to paycheck. William makes good money, but we didn't have much to show for it and felt like we are struggling to buy necessities and to maintain our modest home and older vehicles.

At the same time, William and I both LOVE to GIVE! We were giving to several worthy organizations and supporting several missionaries, and giving above and beyond our tithe to our church, but at the cost of taking care of our family. This really hit me when I read I Timothy 5:8 "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." So there's "giving sacrificially," and then there's giving away most everything and living off of the credit card. That doesn't make any sense! We can't give what we don't have. We look forward giving extravagantly!

Over the next several months, we began our debt snowball and attempted to make a workable budget TOGETHER as William taught me how to get into all of the places online to balance accounts and pay bills. We stopped using the credit cards. It was all very painful. We had trouble finding the right tool to balance our bank accounts and track our budget that didn't have a monthly fee because we did not need to add another monthly payment. We finally found You Need a Budget (YNAB) to do the job and have been very satisfied with it.

In September, we began Financial Peace University at our church. (William listened to the audio CD's that came in the kit since he stayed home with the kids.) Although, we had heard a lot of what we needed to know to get going with the Baby Steps, it was great encouragement and inspiration to attend the class. My mom and I graduated with perfect attendance, and it was totally worth the 13 Tuesday nights and the $102 for the materials!

Over the last several months as we have been getting closer and closer to our goal, "Murphy" has moved in. William got sick and had to go for medical tests twice, our furnace needed repair, we slid on the ice and hit a tree, we had to get new brakes, and our oven and dishwasher no longer work. For emergencies, we've had our $1,000 emergency fund, and for other things, the budget allows us to allocate each paycheck where it needs to go. We had to roll the medical expenses into our snowball, and now we'll be replacing the bumper, dishwasher, and oven with CASH!

On to baby step #3: Saving 6-months of expenses for our BIG emergency fund.

Our story, filled with so much STUPID TAX, really makes me excited to teach the personal finance course in our home school co-op, and we know that our kids are learning a lot from our experiences and openness about our family finances, so hopefully, they won't be paying so much stupid tax because they know better!

Oh, my gravy!

2011-02-22T15:57:00.002-05:00

It has been since October since I have updated our blog! Yes, that means that I haven't been reading your blogs either! Facebook has taken over.

School is going well. The kids are growing quickly. Jeremy swims, and the girls are dancing. Benaiah uses the toilet.

I'm teaching Dave Ramsey's Foundations in Personal Finance to middle and high school students at our home school co-op and loving it.

IBM is still paying William.

Mom is getting her house ready to put on the market to downsize. Patti and her family are doing well. Scott's business is growing.

Jasmine is still kicking, but sometimes she scares us by sleeping until 2 pm. Patti got a springer spaniel with missing toes that is named "Ladybug." She is sweet.

I am tired.

Dancing for Kenya!

2010-10-04T15:54:00.003-04:00

Graceful Expressions, where the girls are both taking dance classes is having a special performance to benefit the the children at Noel orphanage in Choimim, Kenya.

The show is going to be so cute! (Annika is actually quite a scary spider!) Miss April is so creative with her choreography and costumes, and our girls are both spiders and have been practicing very hard for this special night!

You can go to the Graceful Expressions site or go the the Holly Springs Cultural Center for tickets.

Hope to see you there!

BiT ~ Mid May

2010-08-30T22:10:00.002-04:00

The Ethiopian adoption community in the triangle area was invited to share a meal by the woman who makes and sells the best injera in town! A lot of people showed up for this wonderful feast hosted by Tenu and her husband Moges. There are remarkable people who run a soup kitchen in Raleigh and an orphanage in Ethiopia! They gathered all of the families into a huge circle and we went around and introduced ourselves. This is just he kind of experience we want to share with Benaiah! By the way, the food was phenomenal! Better than any restaurant!

Jeremy swam his last USA Swimming meet with New Wave for now... He did really well and won his heat in the 100 backstroke for which he was awarded the duck. He loves getting those ducks!

BiT ~ Early May 2010

2010-08-30T20:14:00.004-04:00

We wrapped up another year of Awana with the "Awarnaval" and celebrated the conclusion of the spring semester of our home school co-op with family night.

We also found a skink or something creepy-crawly in our bedroom. He kept getting away and discovered again under pillows -NOT on the bed!

William took Jeremy on a trip that we hope he will always remember. They traveled to Wilmington, NC where the went through the "Passport 2 Purity" materials. (It has object lessons and CD's that cover the birds and bees and addresses staying keeping pure for your future spouse.) They had a great time! They stayed in a Kozy Kabin at the KOA. (You just have to chuckle at that!) In between sessions of the program, they went to the beach and toured the USS North Carolina. To top it off, they went out for a really nice dinner, and Jeremy was presented with a gift to remember the occasion. *sniff*

A Little BIT

2010-08-30T20:03:00.003-04:00

So, my last family post was in April!! UGH! So much has happened since then! So, where to begin? One GINORMOUS post with the past 4 months? Or 50,000 smaller posts?

We are going to go BACK IN TIME, "BIT" for short. (The kids love Huey Lewis & The News' song, and Benaiah asks for it in the car!)

So, watch for our BIT posts!

Is Anybody Out There?

2010-07-28T12:28:00.002-04:00

I just saw that I haven't posted to this blog since April! Where did the time go? We have been very busy... mostly with summer swimming.

I hope to post photos and short re-caps of things soon!

Now, I need to work on our yearly update for Benaiah. We have to send a report to Ethiopia every year until he reaches 18!

Later!

Into the Streets of Ethiopia -GIVEAWAY!

2010-04-19T09:18:00.003-04:00

Did anybody notice the *new* button that I put up last week for Into the Streets of Ethiopia?

A sweet couple with whom we have shared our adoption journey has began a non-profit to help street kids in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They are currently working with Robel, an amazing young man who was our guide while we were in Ethiopian and is also a former street kid. Robel started an Ethiopian organization called Children's Future Ethiopia to feed, clothe, school, and give medical care to kids on the streets of Addis. (Robel's bio is on the site too. Check it out! AMAZING! We LOVE Robel!)

Please, consider helping these kids who don't have families to care for them!

Now for the GIVEAWAY... Remember the necklace that somebody thought looked like TX? LOL! That was made by Tracy at JunkPosse. She sells a lot of beautiful adoption and Africa-related original silver creation on esty.com. After reading about Into the Streets of Ethiopia, she has donated $80 in credit toward a necklace (your choice!) with FREE shipping for Into the Streets of Ethiopia to give away so that they can get people looking at the site and HELPING these kids!

Just check out the Into the Streets of Ethiopia site for details!

Easter at Home!

2010-04-14T12:15:00.003-04:00

(click collage to imbiggen)

In addition to the family Easter at Mom's house, we celebrated at home. Some of our family went to Easter services at church on Saturday night while the rest of us stayed home with snot and coughing. We remembered to get the eggs boiled before bedtime Saturday night and were able to enjoy coloring them in between watching "Flywheel."

After we got home from Mom's, we had to put Benaiah down for a very late nap since it was way past his nap time. Then, we gave the big kids their Easter baskets from us. The were ecstatic to find eggs full of AA batteries to put in their Wii remotes! (See Jeremy's photo above!) They also got some new pajamas, some Wii accessories, and some candy.

The family fun continued as we played Wii Sports Resort together.

Then the sugar overdose kicked in, all of the kids turned into total freaks, and we couldn't wait to get them all to bed! LOL!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-04-14T11:39:00.003-04:00

(click collage to imbiggen)

My birthday was GREAT! It was much better than the last time my birthday was on Easter! (Last time was when I turned 30, and my grandma had died so we were in OH to bury her and left to go home to GA. On the way home, we stopped at a Bob Evans where are server quit his job in the middle of our meal, and we were left with no service. It was just a sucky day.)

Anyway, we started the day with chocolate chip pancakes and little, sweet sausages. YUM! The kids are always anxious to give their gifts, and I love the Webkinz Marshmallow Bunny that they got me this year! She is so cute, and I named her "Fasika," the amharic word for Easter since I got her on my Easter birthday.

We went to mom's to celebrate Easter and my birthday. We had one of my favorite dinners, cubed steak with mashed potatoes, and William got a chocolate raspberry cake from Once in a Blue Moon. YUM!

It was wonderful being surrounded by people I love all day, and I enjoyed all of the cards, calls, and Facebook messages! I did have a very happy birthday! THANK-YOU!

Easter at Mema's

2010-04-14T11:25:00.002-04:00

(click to imbiggen)

We spent most of Easter Sunday at my mom's house with her and my sister's family. It was a great time! The kids are at a perfect age for an egg hunt, and with 7 of them, it makes for a lot of excitement!

We all sounded like we gargled with gravel after being out in the pollen! The yellow scunge was pretty bad that day!

Hope you all had a blessed day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!!

Is This How the World Feels?

2010-03-25T21:00:00.001-04:00

Anybody who is a Facebook friend of mine probably realizes what a rough week this has been for me. God must be trying to teach me something ... again... or still.

I got my teeth cleaned this week. I hate going to the dentist even though my mouth is healthy. I do like the music there. It's the people who usually annoy me! The hygienists seem to want my teeth to have something wrong with them because I am honest and tell them that I only floss 3 times a week rather than everyday. It really bugs them that I can have clean teeth without flossing every, single day!

The hygienist asked if my necklace was Texas. Nope.

The hygienist mentioned something about kids who come in with their new teeth growing in before their baby teeth fall out, so I thought that being in the dental field and being a human being, that she would be interested and concerned for some children that I had learned about through Drawn From Water.

Me: "Did you know that there are some tribes in Ethiopia who think that children who have two sets of teeth like that are bad luck, so they kill them."

Hygienist: "Ha ha!"

(She must not understand what I just said.)

Me: "They're doing it now, it isn't just something that happened a long time ago."

Hygienist: "Well, I guess that keeps the population under control. Ha ha."

(Are you serious?)

Me: "It's NEVER OK to kill children."

(My blood is boiling now. There are tools in my mouth, and I am at a loss for words anyway.)

Hygienist: "Different strokes for different folks.... I could kill my kids sometimes. Ha ha!"

Is this how the rest of the world feels about people in Africa? That they're not really children of God like you and me?

This breaks my heart for her -that she is so ignorant and empty. It breaks my heart for the people in other countries that are not seen by many as the *real* people that they are who love their children just like you and I do.

To learn more about this practice and how to help save these children who are being drowned in the river because their teeth come in "wrong," they are born out of wedlock, are twins, or they chipped a tooth please, visit the Drawn From Water blog.

2010 Census Race Questions

2010-03-17T09:42:00.007-04:00

About a week or so after we received our letter from the U.S. Census Bureau warning us that we were going to get our census forms, we got it. Thanks for the warning and for wasting all of that money our government doesn't have to send something saying that you were going to send me something.

Although, everyone is only required by law to write in the number of people living in their dwelling, we thought it would be fun to fill it out for all 6 of us. For Benaiah, we proudly checked the box indicating that he was our adopted son. Then, we got down to race...

Race. What is race? I checked Merriam-Webster and Wikipedia trying to make sense of the census form.

The first question having to do with race asked if one was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, and if so, from where did his or her heritage originate. At the time, it seemed reasonable that the census bureau wanted to collect some extra information about Hispanics/Latino/Spanish folks for whatever reason. Strange, just the same that that people group was singled out from the rest of the races.

Here are the choices from the 2010 U.S. Census for everyone else:

white
black, African Am., negro
American Indian or Alaska Native (has space for principal tribe)
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Other Asian -Print race, for example, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on.
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander -Print race, for example, Fijian, Tongan, and so on.
Some other race -Print race.

Where do I begin? Notice that the U.S. Census Bureau is interested more in nationalities of people if you are Hispanic, Asian, Native American, or from the South Pacific, but if we have WHITE or BLACK skin, we are all the same as all the other people who have the same skin color. Seriously?

It appears that the census bureau thinks that if you are of African decent, you are "black, African Am., or negro." First, I have always thought that the term "African American" specifically refers to an American-born person who is of brown-skinned African descent. (Merriam-Webster agrees.) NEGRO? Really? "Black" and then, "African American" have replaced that term in the years since the civil rights movement!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau:

Black or African American. A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian. (http:/quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm)

So, how did we answer the question of Benaiah's race? We checked "Other" and printed "Ethiopian" knowing that they will lump him in the "black, African Am., negro" category, and I'm fine with that. We are proud of his ethnicity, race, nationality, and whatever!

The problem that I have is that some races are so sub-divided into different people groups based on nationality, and others are just all lumped together. Just lump us all together into the 4-5 groups that are needed and used for funding and dividing out representatives. Collecting information that reflects our actual heritage would be interesting if it were for ALL races, but not really necessary for anything.

Needless to say, I was totally weirded-out by this stupid form, and it has hurt my little Pooh brain thinking about it!

Be proud of whatever you have been labeled! God loves us all!

Annika's Story

2010-03-16T15:45:00.004-04:00

The Peppermint Puppy
by Annika Schmidt
Rivendell Academy
Kindergarten

ONCE, there was a little puppy named “Peppermint Puppy.” She was so small that when she sat on a leaf one windy day, the wind blew her away to the end of the world!

When she finally landed, she turned into a blue peppermint puppy! “Oh no! I'm a peppermint!”

Then a green peppermint baby said, “Who are you?

My name is “Peppermint Puppy. What is your name?”

The baby said, “My name is Michael, and this is Peppermint Land. This is my sister Natalie and my other sister Lia.”

“Will you stay for my birthday?” said Michael.

Natalie said, “Would you like to help me bake the cake?”

Lia said, “Will you help me clean the dishes?”

“Yes, yes, and yes. I will.”

“Good! We like you to be here with us.”

The cake is done. The dishes are done. It is time to eat!

They ate and ate and ate.

Michael, Natalie, and Lia put Peppermint Puppy back on the leaf and shouted “Good-bye!” as she floated away.

When she made it home, her dinner was waiting for her, and a mint was in her bowl!

THE END

Marissa's Story

2010-03-16T15:30:00.000-04:00

A Princess Named Marissa

by Marissa Schmidt

Rivendell Academy

Grade 3

Once upon a time, there was a princess named Marissa and a pirate who was a bully named Blacktooth.

One day, Blacktooth kidnapped the princess! She said, “I am doomed!” Blacktooth had taken her to a big tower in his castle that was surrounded with mean dogs.

Blacktooth gave Princess Marissa bread and water every day, and she wasn't allowed to take a bath or brush her hair.

After three days, Super Miriam popped out of nowhere with cats to scare the dogs.

"Stop right there Blacktooth!” said Super Miriam. Blacktooth put his hands up, and said, “I surrender.”

Super Miriam called the police and freed princess Marissa, and they lived happily ever after.

THE END

Epilogue: Blacktooth got a job at the police because he was so good at trapping people.

PBS Young Writers and Illustrators Contest

2010-03-11T18:31:00.002-05:00

Marissa and Annika have written, illustrated, and sent in their entries for the PBS Young Writers and Illustrators contest! They had so much fun writing their stories and drawing pictures!

Annika was first to write her story. Since she has the limited writing abilities of most kindergartners, she told me the story, and I typed it. Kindergartners are limited to no more than 200 words. Well, that girl has A LOT of words!! Her first draft was 430 words!! We had to edit that thing WAY DOWN!

On the other hand, Marissa's first draft was 84 words. Third-graders have to have between 100-350 words! I asked her for details, it made more story, and she finally ended up with 140 or so words. Whew. It seems that Annika had Marissa's helping of words!

I hope to post the girls' stories and drawings in the next couple of days, so stay tuned!

Marissa's First Awana Bible Quiz

2010-03-10T17:48:00.003-05:00

After being snowed out in late January, and then again in mid February, we finally had nice weather for Bible quiz! There were 12 multiple choice questions, and then there were 12 speed round questions.

All of the kids learned quite a lot and did a great job!

Marissa & her partner Audie placed 2nd! YEAH!

Thank-you for coaching again, William! This was his 4th year of coaching. Benaiah spotted his daddy on the stage keeping score for the multiple choice and repeatedly said, "Hi, Daddy!" "Hi, Daddy!" "Hi, Daddy!" "Hi, Daddy!" It was funny the first few times.

Way to go, Marissa! We know you worked hard!

Made to Be a Schmidt!

2010-03-05T15:34:00.003-05:00

This morning at the gym, I don't know why, I just wondered when Benaiah had been conceived and what our family may have been doing at that time.

Benaiah's birth date is the day after Annika's due date, so I knew that Benaiah had been conceived in April because Annika was. I also remembered that we had applied to adopt sometime at the end of April.

So I pulled up a due date calculator online, and it allowed me to plug in Benaiah's birth date, and it calculated his "estimated date of conception." Then, I went to our AWAA folder in my inbox of my email, and looked at the first email that they sent us saying that we had been accepted into their Ethiopia program...

You've guess it! They were the EXACT SAME DATES! April 29, 2007! Is that cool or what?

God is so awesome to reveal these little details of his plans for our lives!

Hands of Hope

2010-02-28T09:24:00.005-05:00

Every year our church does a church-wide Bible/book study, and each week, the pastor's sermon ties in with the lesson. This year's "Full Service in a Self-Service World" is a little different! Instead of holding the normal weekend services this week, the congregation was sent out to serve others in the Hands of Hope service projects!

Here are some of the projects from which to choose:

Helping local schools with landscaping, litter pickups, mulching, painting, etc...
Assisting various human service agencies such as the Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, Salvation Army Thrift Store, American Red Cross, Wake Interfaith Hospitality, Society of St. Andrews, an assisted living home, New Bern House, and more.
Packaging 100,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now to send to those in need in Africa and Haiti.

The Schmidt family chose to glean with the Society of St. Andrew. We were sent to a field in Louisberg, NC to harvest collards and cabbages. Since it was over an hour away, we were off to an early start for a Saturday morning. It is quite a chore to get 6 people adequately adorned to work in a cold, wet, dirty field, but somehow, we made it out of here on time!

We smartly put latex gloves over our cheap Dollar Tree gardening gloves, William and I were given sharp weapons, and we were sent out into a field to harvest the collards and cabbage. With Benaiah on my back and what looked like a little linoleum knife, I quickly realized that I was ill-equipped to harvest the collards. So, I crawled down the row cutting cabbages and peeling the icky leaves off so that they looked like what you would buy at the store. William harvested was a harvesting machine doing both collards and cabbages with his little saw. Jeremy did a great job hauling 8-9 cabbages at a time to the Inter-faith Food Shuttle's truck. Marissa enjoyed pulling the nasty leaves off of the collards and bagging them, Annika was in charge of the cabbage bag and peeled a few of them, and Benaiah got himself into a position on my back where he could see over my shoulder and give me editorial comments like, "EWWwwwww! Dat distustin', Mommy." Near the end, he started asking to watch "Yo Gabba Gabba" and "Barney."

We harvested for 2 hours, and as we were walking off of the field, the kids asked about doing it again!

We joined some other families from church at Bojangle's for lunch -our reward.

Sadly, we forgot the camera because I'm sure that the photos would have been great entertainment for many! These are collards. The field in which we worked had sand in between the rows, and the cabbages and collards were inter-mixed.

It is so cool to know that within 48 hours of our family project, people in need are eating the cabbages and collards that we picked!

Jeremy went back to church that evening to join his middle school small group in packaging meals for Stop Hunger Now. He said that was fun too.

When can we do it again?

Ready to Adopt Again?

2010-02-22T11:00:00.001-05:00

A LOT of our friends with whom we shared our first adoption voyage are back in it for round 2! I am so excited for all of them! It is wonderful to see how God has changed our hearts through our experiences with orphans and seeing REAL poverty first-hand. One family is pursuing a 13 year-old boy whose likelihood of being adopted was diminishing with every passing day. Another family that we know is pursuing a child who is HIV+ and is educating everyone who will listen! I am so happy that God is using these families for HIS glory by making these children part of their families!

So, we've been asked more than a few times if we're ready to go back, and for now, the answer is "NO." It isn't that we don't have a desire to help orphans, but God really gave us a handful when he placed Benaiah Meteku in our family! He is one busy boy! The challenges of home schooling have been magnified as we are afraid to leave this little guy unsupervised for more than 30 seconds (maybe less!).

We both imagine that when the kids that we have get older, we would like to go back to Ethiopia and bring home some older children if that is what God wants. Another thing that we've thought about is being a foster family. Who knows what God will ask of us?

Two very important lessons from our first adoption remain:

1. Where God guides, God will provide. We have no concerns that if God calls us to adopt again, we do not need to fear the details.

2. When God's calling is clear, obedience is the only option.

So for now, we are content with our 4 blessings, but we are fully expecting the day to come when God will call us to adopt, foster, or maybe even something we have never imagined!

When that calling comes, HE will provide, and we will obey.

Home School Science Fair

2010-02-21T09:28:00.005-05:00

(click collage to imbiggen -check out the squirrel art by Annika!)

After months of preparation, Jeremy, Marissa, and Annika all participated in the home school science fair. It has taken me this long to recover from it so that I could write this post!!

Annika made a non-competitive display called "Squirrel Friends." We read a few books about squirrels, she colored some, and we printed some and made a nice display. She was so cute answering questions about squirrels at her display! We did learn that there are white squirrels in Brevard, NC, and they have a festival in their honor! She didn't care. She just enjoyed people thinking that she was cute!

She is cute!

************

Marissa's project was entitled, "Vermicomposting: A Worm Taste Test." (No, we didn't eat worms!) Getting the worms was a big pain in the butt! I ordered some online before Christmas. As it turns out, they were in CA, and the post office would not ship anything live while it was cold in between here and CA. Well, it was December and January, and it was really cold pretty much everywhere between here and CA, so they worm farmer never shipped them. After lamenting the delinquent worms on Facebook, I had a couple of friends tell me that I could get them locally, so with less than 2 weeks before the science fair, Marissa got 1/2 pound of premium red wigglers from a worm farmer in North Raleigh. Good thing they are fast eaters!

Marissa set up an experiment to see how fast the worms would eat certain foods. It was gross. So we had worms (EWWW!), and then we had to measure the food that the worms had left. She loves worms, and even Marissa was grossed out by having to pick out the composting food and get the worms off and out of it (double EWWWW!). She did end up with an interesting project and now has pet worms.

************

When Jeremy told me that he wanted to do a project involving bubble gum, I was very torn. I was happy that he had interest in something, but I also knew that over the years, the science fairs across out country had been bombarded with gazillions of lame bubblegum experiments. So, we put a twist on it. His project was entitled, "Strechi-densi-bility: Stretchiness, Density, & Water Solubility vs. Bubble Size." So, Jeremy's project actually had 3 experiments and a calculation with lots of data analysis.

We were having some major motivation problems with this one, and two days before the science fair, I was totally losing it (screaming, crying) while trying to get it across to him that he needed to finish his stinking project! After lunch, he realized that the science fair was *this week* NOT *next week*!!! AAGHAGAHAGAA!!! Jeremy did get it in gear and turned out an excellent report and an interesting project.

Neither of our competitive projects won any awards or moved on to the the next level, but we are so glad that we did it! The kids learned a lot about the many aspects of a science fair. There is WAY more to it than just running an experiment. We had to employ our math, writing, *time management*, and art skills too.

Next year, we will have some solid deadlines for every step of the projects! They WILL be great!

SNOW DAY 2010!

2010-01-30T15:24:00.003-05:00

Well, they were right! We got a significant amount of snow! Everything for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday have been canceled, and we are enjoying our weekend off! We really could use some down time since we are all sick or getting over being sick.

Poor William has been our for 3 hours or so trying to clear the driveway. He gave up on the plastic excuse for a snow shovel long ago and has been using a flat-bladed thing he bought to pull up carpet tacking and a dirt shovel. We really could use a nice, metal snow shovel from up north!

The kids all enjoyed the snow! We have to do our best at batching it when it comes to bundling though. The kids are all trained to keep their pajamas on under their clothes to got out to play, the girls wear rubber rain boots, and Jeremy is lucky to fit into my 20+ year-old snow boots. Here is what Benaiah wore out to play in the snow:

Onsie
last night's pj's (cotton, two-piece)
sweat suit
denim overalls
mittens
hooded sweat jacket
denim jacket with fleece lining
knit hat on top of hood
leather shoes

With as little snow as we get, it just isn't worth it to get snow boots and bibs.

So, we're all snowed in, and today is Mom's birthday. She doesn't have a computer, so if you could call her and wish Barbara a "Happy Birthday," she would be thrilled!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Benaiah!!

2010-01-29T21:34:00.003-05:00

Benaiah had a great 2nd birthday! When he woke up, the first thing he said was, "Happy to you. Cake!"

We began the celebration with banana pancakes for breakfast, and then we went to Build-A-Bear Workshop where Benaiah made a wolf that we named, "Natty Wolf." Natty Wolf also has a little friend named, "Tay-tay," which from what we can tell means "no, no" in Amharic.

After another favorite meal, pizza, Benaiah enjoyed a nap, but since he knew that something was up, he made sure that he didn't waste too much time sleeping.

Mema, Aunt Patti, and our local cousins came over for chicken nuggets, gold fish crackers, and some Very Hungry Caterpillar cake. Benaiah had a fun time ripping open his gifts and being the center of attention.

His birthday was funny for me again this year. I didn't mourn his birth mother's loss as much as I did last year, but his birthday is strange in comparison to our bio children's birthdays because I have memories of their births and I don't even know what I did the day that Benaiah was born. I guess our gotcha day with Benaiah is more significant to me. We lit a candle at dinner to honor his birth mom. God bless her!

Happy Birthday, Mr. B!!

Happy 6th Birthday, Annika!!

2010-01-14T13:40:00.002-05:00

My baby girl turned 6 years-old! Annika asked for a "Hawaii birthday," so we bought luau paper products, pineapples for the tables, leis, and of course, we had a volcano cake just as she requested! (She loves Hawaii and wants to go there more than Disney World!)

Annika was thrilled to get the Webkinz mud hippo which was the only thing that she would tell us that she wanted for Christmas or her birthday! Jeremy and Marissa got that for her.

Mom, Patti, Scott, and the kids joined us around noon for pizza, chips, dip, and the volcano cake. We played lots of Wii games together and had a great time hanging out all afternoon!

Happy Birthday, my sweet New Year's Eve surprise!

Merry Christmas 2009!!

2010-01-14T13:30:00.003-05:00

We had a nice, quiet Christmas morning at home. LOL! Mom came over to enjoy the chaos. We moved some of our chairs in to the dining/school room so that we could sit beside the Christmas tree. I don't remember if I mentioned on here that we set up our tree in there so that Benaiah didn't try to climb it or knock it over or strip it or eat it or all of the above!

We only had a few packages under the tree since we decided to just do a big family gift this year. Marissa opened the major gift and found a Wii. (You can see Jeremy's reaction in the photo above where he is squeezing the life out of Annika!) We also got Dance, Dance Revolution Disney Grooves. So, guess what we did all day and night for the next 10 days in which William was off of work? You bet! (William and I were so sore!) We all love it! We especially love it because in most of the games we have, we have to get up and move. William and I have started doing the DDR dancing for a workout a few times a week in addition to our trips to the gym.

We had a nice steak dinner and decided that Jesus wanted a birthday cookie instead of cake this year. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and blew out a candle.

We had a great Christmas together as a family and hope that yours was blessed too!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve at Mema's House

2010-01-14T13:16:00.003-05:00

We spent Christmas Eve at my mom's house with my sister, Patti, her husband, Scott, and their 3 children, Tabitha, Benjamin, and Isaac.

We had a really nice ham dinner, and then we got caught up on birthday gifts. We were unable to get together with my sister's family for Marissa and Scott's birthdays. In the collage above, is a photo of Scott with the Monopoly quilt that I made. The family received the matching pillows for part of their Christmas gift from us. Patti had bought the Monopoly fabric at least 10 years ago and had given it to me when she moved. It was fun using it to surprise them all!

Mom had given me a bunch of OLD aprons that her mother wore in the kitchen and to work at the Westinghouse plant in Columbus, OH. We believe that some of the aprons also belonged to her grandmother. Anyway, I made my mom a wall hanging out of them. I hated to cut them up, but they were of no use to any of us, and now, they can be enjoyed.

Isaac (3) and Benaiah were a hoot to watch together. They are dangerous!

Happy 9th Birthday, Marissa!!

2010-01-14T11:24:00.002-05:00

Marissa had a great birthday! Grandma and Grandpa came down to celebrate, and Miriam spent the day with us as we went to the NC Zoo and enjoyed pizza and strawberry cake!

Happy Birthday, Marissa!!!

Christmas with Grandpa & Grandma

2010-01-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

While Grandpa and Grandma were here for Marissa's birthday, we celebrated Christmas with them. We enjoyed a dinner of cubed steak, mashed potatoes, and pineapple upside-down cake before exchanging gifts.

The kids all made a miniature painting that we turned into ornaments for Grandpa and Grandma.

A Crazy December Saturday

2009-12-22T09:25:00.008-05:00

Each December, there is always at least one weekend in which there are activities out the wazoo! This year, it was December 12. On that day, we enjoyed the IBM children's Christmas party, the town Christmas parade, and our church's Christmas production.

So, early in the cold morning, we headed to RTP to the party. Our first stop was to see Santa.

Annika was most excited and happy to see Santa.

Jeremy knew that it would make Mama happy and obliged.

Marissa didn't want to sit on Santa as you can tell by her expression.

Benaiah clung to me, and I could tell that he was thinking, "Don't you dare think that you're going to put me down on this weird man!"

After our Santa fun, we played games, made crafts, hung our with the Colglaziers, and ate lots of SUGAR!

We went home to re-group and have lunch, and then headed to downtown Cary for the Christmas parade. (They can call it that because it is hosted by the Jaycees.) We again met up with the Colglaziers who we kind enough to save us a spot. It was COLD. The parade was as wonderful with marching bands, Elvis, CANDY, and of course, Santa again. Marissa said that Santa recognized Miriam from the party earlier.

After thawing, we headed to church for the Christmas production, "A Christmas Tale," which was excellent as usual.

My Crazy Adoption

2009-12-09T12:04:00.003-05:00

Our friends Kari & Roger adopted a little girl from Ethiopia last year and have now began a website called, "My Crazy Adoption," in hopes of helping many more families to understand and enjoy the many processes of adoption whether they are paperwork, family, or heart issues.

Until December 15, you can enter a contest at My Crazy Adoption to win some GREAT prizes!

They are also raising funds for the next adoption by selling "Simply Love" t-shirts. Please consider helping them bring their newest little one home!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T11:37:00.003-05:00

(click collage to imbiggen)

We have SO MUCH for which to be THANKFUL!

Our family sat around the school table, and we wrote down and drew many of the things that make us thankful. It was fun!

We had a wonderful meal with my mom, Barbara. It included corn, green beans, and noodles by Barbara, sweet potatoes by Jeremy, rolls by Annika, mashed potatoes by Susan, smoked turkey, gravy, and stuffing by William, orange-cranberry sauce by Trader Joe's, and a lovely, dairy-free carrot cake made by Marissa.

William and I drifted in and out of consciousness while the kids all watching "Finding Nemo." After we fed the kids again, we all watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" which we all love!

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL!

Second AWAA Transitional Home in Ethiopia!

2009-11-24T13:49:00.002-05:00

from AWAA by AWAA

We are excited to announce that America World will be opening a second transitional home for the children in our Ethiopia Program! In hopes to better serve our children, this transitional home will be fully equipped to house additional children with more resources and space during their transitional time with America World. The home is located just around the corner from the current transitional home and is expected to be open and house children beginning December 1st! Please keep an eye out over the next few weeks as we post news and photos regarding the additional transition home.

~WOW! One year ago, just after we picked up our Benaiah Meteku, the children were moved from the original TH to a larger one, and now they have TWO! I am so grateful that more children are being united with families!

Happy 15th Birthday, Jasmine!!

2009-11-19T11:37:00.002-05:00

Yes, she is a dog, but she's 15! That is really old! She is our good friend who has pretty much retired from being our watch dog, although she still sometimes goes out when the kids play to guard them.

On New Year's Eve nearly 15 years ago, William and I were at the flea market looking at puppies -just looking. A little boy who had a playpen full of pink-bellied teddy bears asked me if I wanted to hold one, and I did. It was the sweetest puppy, and all that I needed to push me over the edge. We had already talked extensively about our desires to have a dog in our family. After some research our in an issue of Dog Fancy, and a stop by the ATM, we went back to get our little Keeshond puppy! We were HUGE Disney fans, so ended up being named after the heroine of the most recent film.

Two and a half years ago, we almost lost her to a grapefruit-sized tumor on her spleen. After much anguish, we chose surgery hoping to prolong her life, and I'm so glad that we did.

Jasmine has been here to greet each child as we added them to our family and has done well tolerating them. She has helped comfort us through our losses. She is a great friend.

Happy Birthday, Miss J!

AWAA NC Africa Reunion

2009-11-18T20:52:00.003-05:00

(click collage to imbiggen)

There are many NC families now being blessed through adoption from Africa! We recently got together with families who we have known for years that have their children home and those who are in the earlier stages. Families are working on bringing home children from Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Uganda!

We shared a wonderful meal and even more wonderful fellowship!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Awana Grand Prix 2009

2009-11-15T13:06:00.008-05:00

Each year, to William's and my chagrin, the AWANA groups have a pine wood car race which involves making a car and getting up early on a Saturday to race them. We've been doing this for most of the past 7 years, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot make a fast car! So, we decided to not put much effort into this year's cars.

Annika thought it was a good idea to wrap her wooden block in pink fairy wrapping paper, cover it in packing tape for durability, smear glitter glue all over it, and add a bow! Guess what? She came home with a trophy for 3rd place in speed AND 1st place in design! She is so excited!! She named her car "Lisa," and says that the speed trophy belongs to Lisa, but the design trophy belongs to Annika. She is so funny!

Marissa's group had their races during club time Sunday night. We were successful in NOT making a fast car. She was 3rd and 4th in all of her heats, but at least it crossed the finish line!

Marissa's design was some critters on a log. She also won a 3rd place trophy for design! Way to go, Marissa!

So glad it is OVER and that we avoided lots of tears!

International Fair

2009-11-15T12:47:00.004-05:00

Each year, our home school group has an international fair. We have not participated before this year, but I figured that it was about time since our family is becoming more aware of what is going on in our world, and we all should learn a little more about the country from which our precious Benaiah hails.

I got a small pile of books about Ethiopia from the library from which we gleaned information. Jeremy wrote a report on the country, and Marissa wrote a report about the orphan crisis there. We all worked to put together a display, gathered some of our Ethiopian artifacts, and donned our Ethiopian clothing.

Everyone brought a dish from the country they studied. We took "kik wat" or red lentil stew and some injera. It was such a yummy lunch tasting foods from all over the world! William even came to watch, eat, and help wrangle Benaiah.

I hope that we can do this again next year. We just have to decide what country to study...

Happy Gotcha Day!!

2009-11-15T12:00:00.002-05:00

On October 28, we celebrated 1 year after receiving our Benaiah Meteku into our arms for GOOD!

My mom joined us all for dinner at Abyssinia for a yummy Ethiopian dinner. Benaiah sure did turn the heads of the Ethiopian men who gather there.

We love you baby boy, and are so happy that you are part of our family!!

Happy 12th Birthday, Jeremy!

2009-11-06T12:30:00.003-05:00

(click photo to imbiggen)

Jeremy had a great birthday! He began his day with M&M pancakes, bacon, hash browns, coffee, & lemonade!

Marissa & Annika gave him a Webkinz giraffe which he loves because his favorite animal is the giraffe -an appropriate choice, except that they don't swim. He also got a dolphin Kinz Clip, so I guess that makes up for the giraffe not swimming!

His BFF, Bethany, spent most of the day with him. We all ventured out into the mist for some miniature golf, and then the kids played a game of Monopoly on the computer.

Our family in town all joined us for Jeremy's requested dinner: meatloaf, french fries, and cream soda. I found out that frosting does not stick to ice cream, but his cake turned out OK, and was very tasty. I surprised Jeremy with the ducks. (He gets ducks when he wins his heats at the RSA swim meets.)

He got enough money to purchase an iPod Touch which arrived this week. He is a very happy boy!

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!!!

Trade As One

2009-10-29T16:50:00.001-04:00

RSA Kick-Off Meet

2009-10-18T12:58:00.003-04:00

NITRO!!

Jeremy had a GREAT meet this weekend. It was the first regular meet of this new year-round season. He has improved his times by a lot and won 5 out of 8 of the heats for his events!

Jeremy got a duck each time that he won his heat, and he LOVES this part!

Dad and Mom are happy to see that the hours and hours of practice are producing improvement and strength!

(The hat has been a fixture on Jeremy's head since our trip to Branson. He wears it ALL OF THE TIME! -except for when he is swimming.)

Funny Feet Night

2009-10-14T20:36:00.002-04:00

This past Sunday was Funny Feet Night at Awana.

Here are Annika, Marissa, Jeremy, and William's funny feet.

Crazy Hair Night!

2009-09-30T13:42:00.000-04:00

Here's the crew ready for Crazy Hair Night at Awana. Marissa had the craziest hair in her group. Nobody else thought to put a diaper on her head!

William and Jeremy are both leaders in Kindergarten this year, and Mema is working with Marissa's group in Truth & Training.

Meteku Becomes Benaiah

2009-09-13T17:37:00.003-04:00

Our friend Kari met our Meteku last summer in the transition home and took LOTS of photos and video! It was such a gift to receive those from her -especially since we had such a long wait before we could bring him home!

This weekend, Kari and Meteku were reunited. He has grown so much! He looked like a sickly little doll in last year's photo! Kari looks great in both!

When the mail carrier brought all of our held mail after our trip, in the pile was our DECREE OF ADOPTION from the state of North Carolina! Our son's name has been officially changed from "Meteku Wiliam Schmidt" to "Benaiah Meteku Schmidt," and our adoption has now been formally recognized in the United States.

Now, we need to pursue his birth certificate, Social Security number, and a Certificate of Citizenship. Most people thought that this was over when we came home with our baby! Ha!

BIG TRIP 2009 -Part 4: Nashville, TN

2009-09-12T20:13:00.002-04:00

09.08.09 Nashville, TN

We got up very early and began the day driving along one of the ridges of the Ozarks on Rt. 160. William just about needed some Bonine to help him deal with the snaky roads. We got freaked out 3 times by big ol' turkey buzzards or something eating road kill. They'd take off right in front of the van as we rounded the curve! Yikes! We also saw two cows all of the way up to their shoulders in a large puddle of water. It was pretty funny!

We arrived in Nashville in time for dinner with Rachel. Rachel was the director of the transitional home in Ethiopia while Benaiah lived there. He was in under her care for 5 of the first 9 months of his life, so they're old friends. He seemed to remember her or at least he liked her. She was impressed by how big he has gotten.

We had a really nice visit with Rachel. It seemed like we just saw her last week rather than almost a year ago! She and her husband, Barrett, are waiting for their referral for 1 or 2 children from Ethiopia!

09.09.09 We drove. It rained hard. We finished listening to "The Time Machine" and began "The Wind in the Willows." We picked up pizza and ate it at HOME!

BIG TRIP 2009 -Part 3 : Branson, MO

2009-09-12T13:21:00.008-04:00

09.04.09 Branson, MO AWAA Africa Reunion

We finally arrived in Branson about an hour after the party began where we "met" many friends who we have known for about 2 1/2 years! We have been through a lot with these people, and a lot of times, they were the ones who really knew first-hand what we were going through.

09.05.09

On Saturday, we met the WHOLE crew, 25 families with many children, at a bakery where we had gloriously, wonderful cinnamon rolls! We connected with many friends, and afterward, we went walking along the Branson Landing and had lunch with the Laughners and the Juvinalls. We were able to share a parenting tip with the Juvinalls... You can use Daddy's belt to tie a kid down to a high chair!

Later that night, we met to see the outdoor drama, "Shepherd of the Hills." Everyone really enjoyed it. Benaiah even liked the shooting and running horses!

09.06.09 Silver Dollar City

So, I was a little skeptical about going to Silver Dollar City. I knew that there would be lots of shows, but we closed the park down and didn't see a single one! We spent our time riding. They have 3 good roller coasters, several other thrill rides, and things that Jeremy and the little ones liked too. Marissa is our rider and rode 2 BIG coasters! Pete talked Jeremy into riding the tamest of the coasters, and Jeremy was pretty proud of himself! Check out the photo of Jeremy, Marissa, with me on the log ride. We got really wet. They had craftspeople making things, and we bought the girls' sun bonnets from a milliner there. We had a really fun day.

Oh, the shirts! I tie-dyed the shirts in the color of the Ethiopian flag so that we could keep track of everybody. Well, it worked, but we couldn't believe how many comments we got! People kept pointing at us! We heard over and over what a good idea that was and how bright they were. At the end of the day, somebody said something about how we couldn't lose anybody, so I told them that there were 10 of us when we started!

That night, we gathered with the Laughners, Steigers, Harbaughs, Melissa, and Jill in our hotel's breakfast room for ice cream.

09.07.09 Farewell Picnic

On Labor Day, those of us who didn't have to boogie home got together to say, "Good-bye until next time in Nashville!" All of the kids enjoyed playing together again, and our kids had a little party under the playground with the rare can of soda that we allowed them!

We just couldn't get enough, so after a nap for Benaiah and a little shopping, we met up with the Juvinalls and the Steigers for dinner at Danna's BBQ. The food was really tasty, and the company was wonderful!

We miss you all already!! I wish that we all lived closer!

Thank-you to all of the precious families who made this trip so wonderful! It was great for the parents to see the other parents, for the siblings to see the other siblings who have African brothers or sisters, and for our African sweeties to see each other!

BIG TRIP 2009 -Part 2: St. Louis

2009-09-11T20:56:00.005-04:00

09.04.09 St. Louis, MO

We left IN bright and early and began listening to "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls. The story takes place in the Ozarks, so it was pretty appropriate for our trip.

We mapped our way to an Ethiopian restaurant called, "Meskerem." We killed it! (See photo below. You can click on the collage to embiggen.)

After lunch, we made our way to the Gateway Arch where we all piled into a dryer drum and rode up to the top. The kids LOVED it!

At the arch, Annika looked up at me and announce, "This trip is more funner that I thought it was going to be!"

Back into the car for 4 more hours of driving to get to Branson, MO.

BIG TRIP 2009 -Part 1

2009-09-11T17:28:00.002-04:00

We left home early on Wednesday, September 2 and drove for 12 1/2 hours! We arrived at Maria and Bruce's house and were greeted with a wonderful meal and two very excited cousins!

Thursday morning, William was the "Mystery Reader" for Marta's 1st-grade class! He chose "Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel." (Marta has the yellow kerchief on her head.)

We played at 2 different parks and had dinner at a wonderful Mexican restaurant! The cousins enjoyed playing in the basement and just being together!

Thank-you, Bruce, Maria, Greta, & Marta! We love you!

Something to Make You Laugh

2009-09-01T17:48:00.000-04:00

He would make a pretty girl.

Africa Reunion, Here We Come!

2009-08-30T17:44:00.004-04:00

This summer, you may have noticed the zebra-striped button to the right of your screen. A bunch of families with whom we have shared adoption journeys are getting together on Labor Day weekend to celebrate what God has done in our lives!

It is really funny that we have shared the intimate moments of paperchasing, waiting, getting our children, and adjusting with our friends that we have never met in person! We are really looking forward to "meeting" our friends!

We're taking the opportunity to visit with William's sister, her husband, and our two nieces on our way and are hoping to see the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

This is our BIG VACATION of the year, so we're hoping to have lots fun! Please pray for our good health and safety. We're hoping to begin the fun car ride at 6 am on Wednesday morning. Google maps estimates that we will be in the car for 1 day and 11 hours! Again... PRAY FOR US!

Jeremy's Trip to New York

2009-08-18T11:33:00.004-04:00

My Trip to New York

By Jeremy Paul Schmidt

August 14, 2009

Last year on my birthday, Grandma & Grandpa told me that the next year they would take me on a trip to anywhere I wanted to go in the continental United States. I choose New York City because there are a lot of things there I would like to see.

On the day we arrived, we went on a double-decker hop on/hop off bus tour. The bus drives around stopping at famous sights. We rode on that for a while,and then we got off at the Empire State Building.

The line at the Empire State Building was very long, but we soon got through it. We took the elevator all the way to the 102^nd floor. The view was amazing! We could see The Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Chrysler Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

The next day we went to F.A.O. Schwarz. It has more toys than I've ever seen in my life!(That's a lot of toys!) It was overwhelming!

Later that day, we went to the Statue of Liberty. We had to wait in the sweltering heat for hours and go through security twice. Finally after an exhausting wait, we made it into the air conditioned Statue of Liberty. We took the elevator to the observation deck. The view was spectacular!

After the Statue of Liberty, we went to Katz's Deli. I had the most delicious, mouthwatering, 1-pound, pastrami sandwich. I ate the whole thing! It was really, really, really, really, really, really yummilicious!

The following day, we went to the New York Hall of Science. It had some really cool exhibits. My favorite one drops dry ice into a bowl of liquid and lets off gas which propels it so it spins and zips and bounces around the bowl. We had a lot of fun and spent most of the day there.

Later that day, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant. We had the best Ethiopian food I've ever had in a restaurant. Mmmmmmmm.

That evening, we went to see The Lion King. We had really good seats in row E!! The show was very well-performed, the costumes were elaborate, and I enjoyed it a lot.

On our final day in New York City, we went to Madame Tussaud's wax museum, and I got my picture taken with Superman, Elvis, Neil Armstrong, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Mark Spitz, and Albert Einstein. It was very cool.

Over all I had a wonderful trip and enjoyed the time with my grandparents.

Happy World Breastfeeding Week!

2009-08-07T12:18:00.003-04:00

I was counting up how much of my life I have spent making milk for my little ones. In just a few days, I will have been pumping milk for Benaiah for a whole year! I nursed each of our biological children for 3 + years. That is a total of over 10 years of lactating!!!! I have been making milk for ONE QUARTER OF MY LIFE!!!

Kudos to all of you mamas who are nursing or have nursed!!

Catching Up

2009-07-30T14:01:00.002-04:00

A lot has happened since our last post. During most of that time, our family computer has been down. It is limping along right now on an old hard drive, and I don't know what is going to happen, but I know better than to upload our newest photos!

Summer swim team has finished. Jeremy and Marissa both swam in the Cary City Meet. It is the largest swim meet of any kind in the state! Our pool hosts it, and it is a big, hairy deal! They were both excited to earn ribbons for their relays, Marissa won her heat in breast stroke, and Jeremy placed in breast stoke earning points for the team! It was a fun day! We were there from 7 am until 8:30 pm!

The season was finished off with the swim team "banquet." It was a carry-in. Annika was awarded "Most-Improved Six and Under Girl" right before the thunder and lightening began. We moved the festivities to the church across the street and finished up. It is so sad to say good-bye our coaches and friends.

We began our new year of home schooling on Monday, July 27. Things are going well. We began with what we have as we waited for the rest of it to arrive. The children are really enjoying painting with watercolors! It helps to motivate them to get through the other necessities. Annika is especially excited to be doing school!

We're all taking Friday off to go to the pool!

Mozombites in the House!

2009-07-14T14:52:00.005-04:00

We were recently blessed to have some special visitors! The Mozombite family was nearby for missionary training and spent a fun afternoon with us! They brought their son Asher home from Ethiopia this spring are going into the field in Bolivia this fall with SAMS (South American Missionary Society).

Since it was the weekend of the 4th of July, we thought it would be fun to make a Jello-O flag cake. YUM! Marissa and Annika decorated it!

Annika and Lily had fun playing dress up together! (I think Annika wanted to keep Lily!)

Jeremy and Isaiah hung out together and enjoyed exploring Jeremy's room and the tree in the front yard.

We really enjoyed our visit with the David, Amy, and their crew!

To other AWAA families: Please, let us know when you'll be nearby! We'd love to meet you too!

The Grocery Inquisition

2009-07-12T13:28:00.003-04:00

Last night on a normal grocery run, our family was stopped by an older lady who was also shopping who was quite interested in figuring us out.

Her first question was, "Is HE adopted?" Well, duh.

She was also blown away that we would go all the way to Africa to get him.

I'm sure she is a nice lady (but terribly nosey). She just kept firing away with the questions, and her brain was trying to process our answers.

We feel kind of conflicted because on one hand, it is our business... on the other hand, we feel obligated to help educate people about adoption and caring for others... even if they may look different.

Sparklers!

2009-07-05T18:41:00.003-04:00

For the first time ever, I got the kids some sparklers to help celebrate our independence. They were so excited! Annika freaked out a little when hers began to sputter and some of the paper landed on her arm and now, she has a blister. William also found himself on fire, and now, his thumb is twice its normal size with a blister. YUCK. Jeremy and Marissa enjoyed them and are intact.

Our First Pro Soccer Match

2009-07-04T12:30:00.005-04:00

Carolina Railhawks 3, Wilmington Hammerheads 0

We were very brave (or stupid) and ventured to our first professional soccer match last night with all 4 children. It was Hope night... Our "roadies" who help park cars at church worked to park cars at the soccer field, and our church family was given the opportunity to purchase discount tickets AND there were fireworks to celebrate Independence Day!

All of the kids were good! Benaiah was mostly content in the Ergo, Annika played with our empty water bottles and with Lily who sat behind her, Marissa actually watched the game, and Jeremy split his attention between the game and Benaiah. They were all quite pleasant!

The weather was beautiful! It was not too hot or humid, and there was a nice breeze.

We got to see lots of friends from church -some who we hadn't seen for quite a while since they had no idea who Benaiah was or how he came to be part of our family! One of my friends, Gayle, introduced me to a friend who will be traveling to Ethiopia soon with her sister to bring a child home! Very exciting! Siobhan who is from England laughed about how it wasn't a REAL football match... the crowd was too tame, and there were no hooligans! (Hee hee! I'm glad that there aren't hooligans here!)

Happy Independence Day!!!

Summer Sizzle

2009-06-28T13:08:00.000-04:00

Jeremy swam in RSA's Summer Sizzle, his first long course swim meet of the season. ("Long course" is when the pool is set up to be 50 meters across -the long way- rather than 25 yards which is "short course.")

He swam 3 events on Saturday while I got to watch, and 3 more on Sunday while William was there. Jeremy won one of his heats on Saturday and another one on Sunday, and he was awarded with ducks. He loves to get ducks!

Jeremy has "B" cut times for his 50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke, and 50 freestyle! This qualifies him to swim in meet for which cut times for those events are required.

Way to go, Jeremy!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-22T12:58:00.003-04:00

William had a great Father's Day. We of course, he the annual Father's Day water fight. The kids and I filled around 125 water balloons, and water pistols were armed for the ocassion. This is everybody's favorite part of the day!

He enjoyed a steak dinner and a giant homemade iced cookie for his special dinner.

I am so thankful that God has blessed me and my children with such a wonderful daddy!

I FLEW A HELICOPTER!

2009-06-21T18:25:00.008-04:00

Susan has been telling me for a couple of weeks that when I saw by birthday present, I was going to "pee my pants." I had NO IDEA What she had in store, and while I did manage to stay dry, I was very excited when I found out what it was.

My story starts the night before my birthday. Susan and I were up late turning the house upside-down looking for the charger for the video camera because she assured me I would want video of my big day (she was right). Well, we never did find the charger, so I headed out first-thing Wednesday morning to buy a new charger.

While I was gone, the children put a bath towel on my chair, and brought down a change of underpants for me . . . Just in case. Then Susan gave me a small gift bag and I started opening things.

The first thing out of the bag was motion sickness pills. I was at a total loss for why I would want these as a gift. They do remind me of Ethiopia though since they saved my lunch many days from the rough and bumpy "roads."

The next thing I opened was a matchbox helicopter. This is when I started to think I was going on a helicopter ride, but Susan insisted I keep opening. The next item was a helicopter pilot manual and I finally figured out I was going to fly the helicopter. I really was excited about this. I also got a hat and a t-Shirt like the brand of helicopter I was going to fly. This is really cool since the flight was only 30 minutes, but I still have the shirt and hat.

So, later that day, we headed out to the airport. I sat with the instructor for about an hour to cover some items required by the FAA and a few pointers to make the flight more fun and successful. Then we went up in the helicopter. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time. About 15 years ago, someone asked me what my dream job would be and I told them I always wanted to fly the helicopter and report on the traffic. Susan was totally shocked when I told her this, and I think it has taken her this long to work up the courage to let me try it out.

We went up in the air, a couple miles away from the airport, then the instructor let me take control of the helicopter for a little while. I was surprised how small the helicopter was and the views were AMAZING. We stayed fairly close to the ground and below the clouds so you could really take it all in.

I guided us back to the airport where we went over to a field for hover practice. The instructor warned me I would not be able to hover and even demonstrated how the helicopter would shake, rattle, and roll when I took control. We practiced a few maneuvers where he would demonstrate something then I would attempt the same thing. Susan told me there was no doubt when I was flying verses when the instructor was flying. Apparently, it takes about 10 hours of flying before you get even semi-decent at hovering.

After the hovering, we headed back to land which felt kinda funny under my feet. The flight was over, but the memory of it will last a lifetime. I will never forget flying a helicopter for my fortieth birthday. I have the most amazing wife and she really hit the jackpot on this birthday gift.

Later that evening, we went out to dinner at the local BBQ place. They have the second-best bbq in the area :-). Then we went to Susan's mothers house to celebrate with her family including more gifts, and the cake which had 40 candles as I had requested.

It was an all around great day, and my family really made me feel special.

Then...and Now

2009-06-14T14:18:00.002-04:00

Meteku & Bethlehem
June 2008
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Mercy Bethlehem & Benaiah Meteku
June 2009
North Carolina, USA

Africa Hope

2009-06-07T13:57:00.003-04:00

I've been looking for about 2 months for a ladies t-shirt that supports either an adopting family or a cause in Africa, and I finally found something!

Africa Hope Apparel has some really cool designs, and the best part is that after you pick your shirt, you choose an organization in Africa to which the proceeds of your shirt will go!

I chose Elpis International in Awassa, Ethiopia. This is near where Benaiah is from. The organization provides hope through Jesus Christ in helping to meet physical and spiritual needs.

There are other worthy causes from which to choose and some COOL shirts that will help raise awareness and help us help those in need! Go get one or two!

Happy Referralversary!

2009-06-04T14:19:00.003-04:00

One year ago today, we got the call and met our new son via photographs and family history! So much has happened since then! We are so blessed to have Benaiah Meteku in our lives. He is so full of joy and love!

At the gym this morning, I listened to the Daily Audio Bible passage from II Samuel 22 through which God spoke to us to name him "Benaiah." I know that God his BIG plans for this little man!

God is SO GOOD!

What's been going on

2009-05-30T10:29:00.008-04:00

Summer swim team season has started which means by far the busiest time of the year. EVERYONE loves summer swimming.

For Memorial day, we went to a picnic at the pool. This was Benaiah's first adventure into the pool. He doesn't look too happy in the picture but he did like it as long as he was attached to Susan.

One day last week, Susan took Jeremy out of the house for his end-of-grade testing. I had the chance to hang out with the younger three. When Benaiah took a nap, I asked the girls what they wanted to do and they overwhelmingly stated "BEAD CRAFT". I am not a crafty person, but I got out the instructions some newspaper and we painted, twisted, glued, etc. and generally had a good time. We made a heart-shaped box (Annika is holding), a picture frame (Marissa is holding), and a flower pot picture tree (Between the girls). We had a really good time and they kept saying "Thank you for doing this". I guess I need to find ways to spend more time with my girls.

Last night, Susan gave both boys a haircut. Jeremy was itching for a summer swimming cut and Benaiah's hair was getting pretty long again. We call this style the "Ethio-poof". It's very short on the sides, and longer on the top. One of the early pictures we had of Benaiah from the transition home, he had a similar style and we loved it. Somewhere along the line, we were told that it was a style common to children from his part of the country (Kembata). We are very happy with this style and he actually seemed to enjoy the haircut.

Here is Benaiah's birth certificate photo where you can see his original Ethio-poof and also see how much he has changed in 8 months.

FOUR EYES!

2009-05-24T14:18:00.002-04:00

Isn't he cute?

Happy Amazing Mother's Day Race!

2009-05-16T15:19:00.005-04:00

It has been 2 weeks since Mother's Day, but I couldn't let it just go by without blogging about it.

As soon as I woke up, the kids presented me with my first clue for "The Amazing Race!" From there, I encountered a "Road Bl0ck" which required me to say tongue twisters presented by each child. They had me running outside in my nightgown to get a clue out of a tree in the back yard, and I even encountered a "Detour" where I had to choose between two challenges: folding pants or cup stacking. I chose the cup stacking because I thought it would be a harder challenge, but who knew how good I would be? The final clue let me to the "Pit Stop" in the bathroom (hahaha!), where I received my present from the kids: a pink camo Webkinz carrier containing a Webkinz pink poodle! I named her "Philine" after Phil on "The Amazing Race!" That was so much fun! The kids really put a lot of planning into it!

We had a nice strawberry pancake brunch after that, and we all just enjoyed hanging out around the house. The kids were even happy not to be running anywhere!

William had more presents for me including my new tiara (a real silver-plated one!) and the Willow Tree figure on which he painted the baby to match our Benaiah! Funny fact: William took Benaiah to the craft store in order to match his skin with the paint color!!! How appropriate that our little, strong, and fast Ethiopian's skin color is "Espresso!"

Late in the afternoon after our pancakes and bacon wore off, we were ready for our steak dinner. I was so happy that my mom could come over and eat with us! William made a delicious meal of filet mignon and baked potatoes, and we got to use the new crystal that William received for being with IBM for 10 years! William also prepared lactose-free chocolate eclairs! It had been a long, long time since I had eaten an eclair! They were tres bien!

Thank-you, Mom, William, Jeremy, Marissa, Annika, and Benaiah for making my Mother's Day so special! I love you all!

Better Than Sour Cream!

2009-05-08T20:36:00.004-04:00

I am such happy lactose-intolerant girl! When we were in Ohio, my Aunt Jane had bought some Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream for us to dip our vegetables, and IT IS GOOD!

It has been YEARS since I have had sour cream! We have made:

chip dip made with onion soup mix
"AJP" (a potato casserole)
Poppy Seed Chicken
and we've topped our potatoes with more than just margarine!!!

Now, if I could only find a good, dairy-free or lactose-free cream cheese...

Filing for Re-adoption

2009-05-08T18:50:00.003-04:00

Today, we went to the county court house to file papers to re-adopt Benaiah. Yes, he is ours, the country of Ethiopia has granted us full, legal custody of our baby, but in the U.S. he is a resident alien with an Ethiopian birth certificate.

We had to fill out and notarize even more paperwork, and our social worker is writing up another report to submit to the court. We should receive an adoption decree with his name change, and then we can get his NC birth certificate.

We should hear something in the next six months.

After we get our adoption decree and birth certificate, we will get a social security number, a passport, and a certificate of citizenship. We may get that all finished this year...

Help Malnourished Babies

2009-05-06T00:00:00.005-04:00

5/8/09 UPDATE: YOU DID IT! We raised all $12,500 as of this morning. Thanks to everyone who made this happen. We'll keep this post up for now and send you additional details on this project. Thank you Thank you! We can now provide 400 cans of Nutramigen to malnourished babies in Ethiopia.

On the right of our blog, I have added a button that takes you to a blog by Tom Davis. He is a man with a HUGE heart for orphans. He is the author of "Fields of the Fatherless" and "Red Letters" and founder of Children's HopeChest.

In the May 4 entry, Duni who was our family coordinator, tells Tom the sad facts about how the babies end up in her care.

Right now, Tom is running a formula drive to supply the AWAA transition home where Benaiah lived for 5 months with a special formula that helps severely malnourished babies.

$30 will buy a can of formula and get it there, but anything will help.

As you can see, Benaiah was a skinny, skinny guy, but there are babies there right now who are teetering between life and death. Please, help if you can.

Awarnaval!

2009-05-03T19:58:00.006-04:00

Tonight we celebrated the end of another year of Awana with the combined awards with carnival. We are all so glad to have a long break ahead of us!

Marissa finished her 3rd and final year as a Spark and was awarded the Sparky award! She and Mema are both moving up to Truth & Training next year.

Annika finished her 2nd and final year as a Cubbie! She looks forward to being a Spark next year! After working in all three clubs, William has declared Cubbies to be the most challenging with which to work!

Jeremy helped with Kindergarten Sparks this year and really enjoyed it. He got to work the rubber duck pond at the Awarnaval.

Benaiah enjoyed hanging out and munching on snow cones.

These are the skirts that I made for the girls!

Melkam Fasika!

2009-04-22T20:04:00.002-04:00

Happy Easter! This past Sunday, we celebrated Ethiopian Easter, Fasika.

Since we weren't home for Easter, we decided to give the kids baskets this week and have an Ethiopian feast!

The kids got new pj's, goggles, a bpa-free water bottle, clearance Easter candy, and Kinz Clips. Benaiah got pj's and a "2 in 1 Harness Buddy" a.k.a. a leash that looks like a monkey on his back! He also got his Longaberger Easter basket.

We tried two new dishes: fasolia (green beans) and the beef tibs (in the center). Of course, it was delicious, and of course, we ate too much! Jeremy also made brownies for dessert. YUM!

Oh, Happy Day!

2009-04-21T19:49:00.001-04:00

As we finished unloading the car Monday night after our 13 hours on the road, Annika told me that she wanted to ask Jesus to wash her heart clean! We all gathered in the living room, and William asked her if she had sinned and if she wanted to ask Jesus her heart. She prayed with her daddy, and afterward, we all shared our experiences of when we gave our hearts to God.

We are so happy for our little sister!

Happy Day! Tim Hughes

The greatest day in history,
Death is beaten You have rescued me
Sing it out Jesus is alive
The empty cross,
The empty grave
Life eternal You have won the day
Shout it out Jesus is alive
He's alive

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I'll never be the same
Forever I am changed

When I stand, in that place
Free at last, meeting face to face
I am Yours Jesus You are mine
Endless joy, perfect peace
Earthly pain finally will cease
Celebrate Jesus is alive
He's alive

Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious way
That You have saved me
Oh what a glorious day
What a glorious name

Oh happy day, happy day
You washed my sin away
Oh happy day, happy day
I'll never be the same
Forever I am changed

Easter in Ohio

2009-04-20T19:06:00.005-04:00

We got to see lots of family and friends when were in Ohio for Easter! Mom went with us and got to catch up with some of her old friends also!

On Thursday, we needed to take it easy. We had just come off of our beach trip, one day of work, a solid day of packing, and a solid day of traveling. We walked to a local park and had fun there with Cousin Lia. She is a hoot!

On Friday, we had Cassano's pizza with Susan's Uncle John and Aunt Jane followed by a trip to IKEA!

There was an egg hunt, Easter dinner, and an open house to meet Benaiah on Saturday. Thanks to all who came to see us! We had fun visiting with everybody!

On Sunday, we were able to go back to the chuch in which Susan grew up to see lots of old friends who are now also Facebook friends! We also had a nice visit with William's Aunt Jan and Uncle Dale.

On the way home, we finally got to introduce Benaiah to his Great-grandma Jo. We all adore her!

Birthday Beach Trip!

2009-04-19T17:57:00.008-04:00

Saturday, April 4th was my birthday - my 40th birthday.

Marissa had a soccer game.

Annika had her first day of instructional soccer.

We grabbed lunch at Bojangle's and headed for Carolina Beach. It was about a 2 hour, 45 minute trip.

Finally around 4 pm, we hit the beach!

Benaiah was on a mission! He took his bucket and shovel and attempted to shovel into the bucket! Mema had fun chasing him. We got some really priceless looks. We could tell that some people were looking for Benaiah's brown-skinned family.

Annika liked to hold me hand and let the waves hit us. The water was very cold. At first, it hurt, but after you go numb, it is fine!

Marissa ventured in a little deeper.... and Jeremy ended up totally in the water. He also enjoyed flying his kite.

On Sunday, we woke to watch the sun rise. After we got up again, we enjoyed the beach and went to the Fort Fisher Aquarium. It is very nice. We went to a presentation about snakes, and the kids all got to pet some snakes.

We all had a really nice time and wished that it would have lasted longer!

Birthday Party!

2009-04-18T18:00:00.000-04:00

The day before my birthday, my mom treated the whole family to dinner at Red Robin. It was a lot of fun, and of course, the food was great!

After dinner, we went back to Mom's for cake...

I don't drink alcohol, but I did have a little too much Coke at dinner. I saw this cake and just died laughing until I cried. I almost barfed, I laughed so much!

It was a fun birthday party. I don't think I'll forget this one!

Thank-you!!

Storage Solutions

2009-03-27T16:30:00.004-04:00

For those families out there who would like to add more children to your family but don't know where you would put them, here is the solution.

Just kidding! Benaiah has claimed this plastic bin as a resting spot. He has stopped moving for brief periods of time, and parks it in the bin! He gets in and out of it over and over, and today, Marissa was pushing him across the floor in it. He just beamed, loving it! (Look at his sweet, little piggy-toes!)

We trimmed his hair this morning. I was curious to see what it would do. It was so poofy. He does look more like a boy, but I will admit that I miss those big curls on top. They will be back very soon, I'm sure! (I realize you can't see his hair very well in the photos. I'll try to get some better ones soon.) (See the tulip tree out the window?!)

Bike Riding

2009-03-22T16:57:00.003-04:00

Preceding Video

2009-03-22T12:36:00.002-04:00

The preceding video was created by Renee' VanDruff. She created it to show at an adoption shower that her church threw for her family.

The VanDruffs are waiting for court next week. Hopefully, they will be on their way to bring home their 2 new children in just a few weeks!

Thanks also to all of the beautiful families who gave her permission to include them!

AWAA Families at Home (including us!)

2009-03-20T19:30:00.001-04:00

The Tale of Our New Van

2009-03-16T12:25:00.004-04:00

I am happy to report that on Friday of last week, we got ourselves a "new" minivan. Our new van is a 2006 Honda Odyssey (see pictures below). More on that later. First, I want to tell you how God made it abundantly clear to us that it was time to replace the old van.

Our previous van was a 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager which I must admit gave us many years of good service since we bought it in 2001. In the last couple of years we have had a couple of very expensive repairs including a botched job replacing the engine mounts. First, the mechanic replaced the wrong part, then he did not replace the full engine mount so while the engine was sound the van rumbled something awful.

We have been planning on replacing the van sometime this spring and been sort of on the lookout for the next great ride for our growing family. We began our search in earnest a couple of weeks ago. We prayed for God to direct us to the van He had for our family -and to make it clear. Every search we did for a new van turned up this one: Craig's List, Autotrader, and some local search tools as well. So finally on Friday, I took the day off and we headed to the nearby town (about 40 miles) to check it out.

The excitement began on the way. It was a cold, rainy day, and as we drove down the highway, suddenly the speedometer, tachometer and fuel gauge went to zero and the dash lights went off. Since the rain was so loud I assumed the van had stalled and I pulled off the highway only to find that it was running but the dashboard had quit on me.

I stopped at an auto parts store and replaced some fuses. This worked for about 10 seconds. Then the dash died again. Closer inspection revealed the fuses were not blown, so I assumed it must be a short in the electrical system of some sort.

We checked out the new van (which everyone immediately loved) then took a break for lunch. During lunch, the old van decided to stop shifting gears. This was the final message to us from God that we were not going home in the old van.

The new van is just what we all wanted. It has all the right features and we were able to settle on a good price and drive home that day. Everyone is so excited, and after all the drama of the day nobody really misses the old van anymore.

We did get to make a return trip to the car dealer the next day because we are so inexperienced at buying cars we forgot the title to the old van, the second key, and the checkbook. It turns out you need those things; however, they were kind enough to send us home in the new van with dealer plates after we signed 100 documents.

We have decided to name our van Rocket, like the star of Little Einsteins.

Check out the irony of where we bought our Honda in the pictures -- at a Toyota dealer!

Meeting the Carpenters!

2009-03-16T11:33:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, we joined Candy, Marshall, Jill, and their little guys to meet the legendary Carpenter family! Gabe and Penelope were one of the very early families to sign up with our agency and traveled back in January of last year to pick up their adorable son and daughter.

The Carpenters are vacationing and let us know they were in the area, so we met at the Boston Market for lunch. The kids were so cute together.

We had such a wonderful time seeing everyone! We have known all of these people since we joined America World's Yahoo! group in May 2007, so we feel like we're old friends even though we don't see each other often or just met! They are all such a blessing to us!

Our Scheduled Baby

2009-03-11T18:56:00.002-04:00

We had to go all of the way to Ethiopia to get a baby who has a schedule. We obviously can't make that kind at home.

Benaiah has a schedule on which he KEEPS US! I guess it was from all of those months in the orphanage setting that makes him cling to the predictability of knowing he is going to get what he needs at a certain time.

7:45 am Wake up!
10:45 am Bottle and nap
12:30 pm Wake up!
3:30 pm Bottle and nap
4:30 pm Wake up!
9:30 pm Bottle and bed
2:00 am Get in bed with "Mumum" and "Dahdah"

Today, I had to leave the house -twice. William did good at getting him his morning bottle and nap, but when it came time for the second one, I was needed to leave again, and William needed to tend to things at work. Now, the little guy is a slobbery, stumbling mess, and I don't expect to have a good night's sleep tonight. (I'm not blaming William!)

We have found that we cannot do more than one event in a day. On Saturday, our event is church. Benaiah runs around and shows off. (We do not put him in the nursery yet.) Church is during the 2nd nap, he doesn't settle well to eat or take a bottle, and by the end of the night and all night long, he is just a mess!

Our biological children, learned to run around town and be around a lot of people early because we eased them into it as infants. Jeremy was "high-need" and running around was harder on him, and we've noticed that Benaiah is also not so laid-back and flexible. I would guess that this is because of the way he is wired and because his first year of life was very different.

I'll always remember the first time we took him to Kroger to grocery shop a month after we brought him home. We all went together. He started out in William's cart, but we quickly figured out that I needed to push him. He grabbed onto me for much of the trip, and I needed to keep talking to him and assuring him that things were OK. There were just too many colors and things there for him to process.

Between Benaiah's schedule and his temperament, we can't handle a lot of activity and excitement right now. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with him, I'm just saying that we need to be selective and conservative about the activity we expose him to outside of our home.

A lovely date

2009-03-05T22:18:00.003-05:00

I had a wonderful date with my lovely bride tonight. We went out to the local Ethiopian restaurant and enjoyed a great dinner. After Dinner, Susan had the great idea to go to the Krispy Kreme for dessert. The "HOT NOW" sign was on, and you can actually see the doughnuts being made on the conveyor.

We saw several people come in and Drool over the fresh, hot doughnuts. We met one girl who said her name was "Bizz -- but that's not my real name, my parents weren't on crack". Today was Bizz's birthday, and her friends brought her in to enjoy the tasty goodness. She was a first-timer too. Another gentleman came in with his children and commented that they cost twice as much as they do at the grocery, but nobody cares.

There is nothing quite like a fresh, hot doughnut, and to see them plucked right off the conveyor . . . well, it doesn't get any fresher then that. This was my first trip to the actual factory, but it will certainly not be my last.

Long Recess!

2009-02-27T13:13:00.005-05:00

Benaiah's Dedication

2009-02-24T09:14:00.005-05:00

Sunday morning, our church held a child dedication ceremony during which we vowed to raise Benaiah up to love God and serve Him.

There were 24 families. It was held in the church's chapel which was really dark, so we didn't get any good photos of the actual ceremony.

Considering that the ceremony was during Benaiah's nap time, he did great! He did need a bottle before it was over, but who can blame him?

We had lots of friends pop in to support us. Part of the ceremony was for our friends and family to vow to support us and Benaiah. That meant so much! Thanks to all who came!

After the ceremony, we had cake with friends and family. It was a really nice time to visit!

Meeting the Vaz Family!

2009-02-23T15:06:00.003-05:00

Saturday, we rushed over to RDU to meet a dear family from our church who was returned home with their newest child from Ethiopia!

There was quite a crowd of family and friends which included church family and families with Ethiopian children! It was very cool!

Their new baby is gorgeous and big brother and big sister seem to be happy to have Mom and Dad home!

Congratulations, Vaz family!

A Busy, Busy Valentine Weekend.

2009-02-16T17:09:00.004-05:00

Happy late Valentine's Day! Marissa made this beauty at church! I always love to tote project dripping with glue onto the shuttle bus to the parking lot and then home. I thought this was really pretty, so it was well-worth it!

We had a full weekend, and I think we're still trying to recover from it!

Jeremy swam on both Saturday and Sunday mornings in the last short-course swim meet of the season. He did very well and took some time off of most of his strokes. It is amazing how much he has improved since September!

Since we ran from the pool to church on Saturday, William prepared a Valentine's feast for Sunday afternoon after Jeremy finished swimming. It was delicious! The cake was coconut with a raspberry-almond filling. YUM!

William makes one craft project a year -my Valentine card. He cuts, stamps, colors, ties, etc... to make something beautiful to give me. (He also wrote a tear-inducing message inside that I'm going to keep to myself!)

Thank-you, William! I love you!

Happy Birthdays!

2009-02-04T17:45:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday to Susan's mom, Barbara. We celebrated with family and grilled hamburgers last Friday.

Today is our nephew Benjamin's 5th birthday! Happy Birthday, Benny-benny-ben-ben!!!

Just an interesting fact we'd like to share.... Our computer desk has the perfect place in which to store small Ethiopians...

Awana Bible Quiz Champs!

2009-01-24T15:03:00.002-05:00

Today was Jeremy's last Awana Bible quiz. He worked hard to prepare for it, and he met his goal!

The first part of the competition was a multiple choice paddle quiz, and he and his teammate, Sophia, got all of their questions correct.

The second part was a speed round with 12 questions. Jeremy answered 3 correctly, was "quizzed out," and was not allowed to answer anymore questions. Sophia also answered a question, and their team had the most points!

William coached the team again. (The other guy in the photo is the Awana missionary. We don't know his name!)

Marissa says that she wants to compete next year... We'll see!

Benaiah Butter

2009-01-23T13:49:00.004-05:00

Since African skin needs a lot of moisture, it becomes the quest of many parents to find a moisturizing product that will work for their child.

When we visited the African market looking for shea butter (story here), one of the African men who is a pharmacist recommended mixing the shea butter with some Aquaphor to give it more viscosity.

So, I came up with a recipe that seems to work for Benaiah. I added the lavender oil to make it smell a little nicer. Shea butter doesn't smell bad (or it shouldn't unless it is rancid!), but neither does it smell good. We butter up Benaiah before bed, so in theory, the lavender scent helps him to relax and get ready to go to sleep. (He does go to sleep well most nights!)

Benaiah Butter

8 oz. 100% shea butter
4 oz. Aquaphor
30 drops lavender oil

I soften the shea butter in the KitchenAid mixer for a few minutes before I add in the Aquaphor. When they look integrated, I drop in the 30 drops of lavender oil.

Every night and after a bath, we butter Benaiah from head to toe. Yes, we butter his head! His scalp needs extra moisture, and his hair is very dry.

Each morning, he needs a little butter on his face because it gets very dry.

Mr. B is so soft and smooth! (He's not the only one using it!)

God bless President Obama

2009-01-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

Although I did not vote for him, I am hoping and praying that our new government administration is a good one!

I am excited to see a non-white person become president in my lifetime, and it is especially good for our African son to see that his skin color will not keep him from doing anything. (Although, he cannot ever be president since he is not a natural born citizen of the United States.) I hope that President Obama will be a good example for him to follow.

God bless America!

SNOW DAY!

2009-01-20T13:49:00.004-05:00

I know that those of you who live in the North aren't amused by this because you see it every day this time of year, but we haven't seen this much snow since 2004. So, this was Annika's first *real* romp in the snow! Jasmine LOVES snow. She goes out and just plops down and eats it. She also likes to make puppy prints all over the back yard. She is so cute!

Last night, Annika wanted Marissa to stay up with her until midnight so that they could watch the snow begin because that is when the weatherman said it would start! They did not stay up, but did awaken to a blanket of snow on everything. Marissa was dying to get out in it!

After a lot of winter gear searching (we don't use it often), the kids went out... Benaiah was quick to bolt out of the back door in his pajamas! He ran around the deck and fell in the snow. Shorty thereafter, he began screaming from the cold wetness he was experiencing! It was a sight to see an Ethiopian baby frolicking in the snow in his pajamas! We'll have to see if we can get a video up!

The kids had one shot at playing out today, so they made the most of it!

Happy 1st Birthday, Benaiah Meteku!!

2009-01-19T20:48:00.009-05:00

We celebrated Benaiah's first birthday at Mom's house with our family. Benaiah enjoyed his noodles, bread, carrots, and peaches. Then, it was time for cake....

He really, really got into the cake! Instead of putting shea butter on himself, he opted for buttercream!

After the cake, he had a bath.

Happy Birthday, Benaiah!!!!

Thinking of Benaiah's First Mother

2009-01-18T18:50:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Benaiah Meteku's first birthday, and today has been a lot more difficult for me than I ever imagined.

I decided that I wanted to buy a special candle holder so that we can burn and candle and pray for Benaiah's birth mother on his birthday.

I am sad that she had to make the decision to give up her baby boy, Meteku. She carried him for 9 months and named him. "Meteku" means "replacement," and the name is used like we would use "Junior." He probably resembled someone in his family -his father? his grandfather? -his uncle? We think that his birth mother nurtured him for the fist few months of his life.

My heart is just aching for her right now. I can't imagine my life without him.

Melkam Yegenna Be'al (Merry Christmas in Amharic)

2009-01-08T14:42:00.003-05:00

We celebrated the Orthodox Christmas with an Ethiopian feast! The kids were so excited to eat off of the mesob in the living room with Ethiopian music playing.

We didn't get to eat until after Jeremy's swim practice after 8 pm, so we all went at it like piranhas! Benaiah liked the lentils.

While I was in the kitchen getting *more* injera, I heard William tell the kids how happy he was that they all like Ethiopian food! I thought that was pretty cute!

We forgot to burn the frankincense. (If anybody who is traveling to Ethiopia finds a frankincense burner, please, pick it up for us!)

Meeting the Tennants

2009-01-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

Today, we went to RDU to meet our friends Rob and Candy as they arrived home with their new son, Henry!!

We began our adoption process at the same time and have been holding each other's hand along the way.

After knowing Candy for about a year, we realized that we had met her at an adoption fair where she was representing America World! Too funny!

We are so glad to see their family together and pray that their adjustment to being a family of four goes well and that they get caught up on their rest!

Benaiah was happy to meet his new friend!

Happy 5th Birthday, Annika!

2009-01-01T11:16:00.005-05:00

Our baby girl tuned 5 on New Years Eve. *sniff*

Annika requested pancakes for breakfast, and we had another favorite, hot dogs, for lunch.

We celebrated with friends at our church's Funzone. Annika had a BLAST! It is the perfect place for a 5 year-old's birthday!

We had cake, fruit, cheese ball and summer sausage. Annika requested "COKE" to drink. (Remember the World of Coke from last June?)

Thank-you all who helped us celebrate Annika's special day and for all of the happy birthday wishes that were sent!

After much partying and cleaning up, Annika opened more presents at home and had Little Ceasar's pizza with added soy cheese for dinner.

We all went to bed early.

Happy New Year!

Celebrating Christ's Birth!

2008-12-26T21:38:00.008-05:00

Wednesday, we celebrated Christmas Eve at home with Susan's mom, Barbara, a.k.a. "Mema." We had a nice dinner of filet mignon, baked potatoes, asparagus, and pineapple upside-down cake. Oh, we also served Cheerwine, a cherry cola-type beverage found here in the Carolinas that contains caffeine. (We'll get back to that shortly.)

After dinner, William read the Christmas story aloud from the Bible while the children performed a re-enactment. Jeremy was Joseph, Marissa was Mary, Annika was an angel (demoted from baby Jesus in previous years), and Benaiah now had the part of Baby Jesus. Mary didn't labor as hard as she had in previous years, and Baby Jesus fled the scene as fast as he could. The holy scene quickly degraded into chaos! The Cheerwine had kicked in! The cast got too hot since it was over 60 degrees outside, and took off their clothes! We ended up sending them out onto the deck outside in their underwear to cool off and calm down. I'm marking my new calendar with a note to not give them any caffeine for Christmas!

Christmas morning, Mema came back for our gift exchange.

Jeremy was totally stoked to get an iPod shuffle! He is still SO EXCITED!! He only got the one package, and it appeared to be just 2 shirts until he took them out and found the iPod. What a happy boy!

The girls enjoyed wearing their new boots and playing with their umbrellas in the warm outdoors. They also got swimming Ariel mermaid dolls with which they were dying to take a bath!

Benaiah got a rag doll that was made by another adoptive mama. We named the doll "Ezana." Benaiah loves him! I love it when he walks around with Ezana hanging out of his mouth by an arm or leg! Ezana frequently has baby slob on him! Benaiah also got a new top tooth for Christmas!

We were to celebrate with Susan's family later on Christmas day, but Barbara got sick, so we're hoping to see her and Susan's sister and her family on Sunday now. Then, we'll have another Christmas celebration next week with William's parents. We have just begun!

Happy 8th Birthday, Marissa!

2008-12-19T18:32:00.003-05:00

Wednesday was our sweet, beautiful Marissa's birthday. She made blueberry muffins for everybody for breakfast. They were delish, of course!

Mr. Snowman came and rang the doorbell as usual. He likes to visit on Marissa's birthday. He used to be taller than her!

Jeremy gave her a Lil' Kinz cat that he purchased with his own money.

We went to our home school group's Christmas party. There were probably 70 kids there! William got to go too!

We celebrated at Mimi's for dinner. Her friend, Miriam, joined us for the festivities.

After dinner, Marissa opened her gifts. Daddy and Mama give her an add-a pearl and the next nesting doll each year. She got 4 Webkinz and was very, very happy!

Hoof and Mouth

2008-12-19T17:59:00.004-05:00

This week we received some ornaments at our house. First, I had ordered a really cool ornament from another adopting mama, Kara. It came along with the really cool bib Benaiah is sporting in the photo. (It was hard to get a photo with him on the move such as he is!) Both cool items are for sale on her blog HERE! You can help them bring home their baby daughter.

At lunch time, we opened the package from Grandma and Grandpa that contained an ornament for each member of our family. The kids saw to it that they all were hung on the tree.

Later in the day, I caught Benaiah with something in his mouth. This is not unusual. Whatever he had was really good and he didn't want to give it up. Turns out that it was the hoof off of Santa's reindeer -William's ornament. Nobody claims to know what happened. I think the reindeer is in the shop with some super glue...

I just couldn't resist posting about the hoof and mouth.