Something new everyday!

(Sorry about the spelling again, I'm not sure what is going on!)

For about the last two weeks Kyah has really been opening up and telling us more and more about her life in Ethiopia. Sometimes it is sad and hard for us to hear, and sometimes her stories are hystericaly funny! Last night she was sharing with us about the day before she was taken to the orphanage and as she was telling us the story she said she asked her grandmother on that day, "How old am me?" (I love the way she talks:) ) She said her grandmother said 11, but you must say 6. (This most of you already new), but then my husband and I looked at each other.....we both then realized that that was December 2006! That means that our little girl is 12!!! This made more sence because the dentist had said if she was 11 that she was very far along in dental maturity as she has lost all of her teeth and already has her 12 year molers. Because she has no understanding of the months we pulled out the calander and showed her. She just laughed and laughed and went upstairs and told each of the kids, "I 12"! In a weird way it is kinda of sad for us because we went to pick up our little 6 year old in December and she has already aged 6 years!:) I am happy that we are finally getting this all figured out, especially for her sake, I would want to know how old I truely was if I was in her shoes. Yesterday she also rode a bike for the first time! It is amazing all of the firsts this girl is having. And for any of you who have adopted older children you know that it is much harder to teach an older child to swim and ride a bike than a toddler! I think it is a fear thing and that we get smarter with age ( and further from the ground)!!!! I'm sure that we will have many more surprises around the corner:)

Busy Busy Weekend!

I think we crammed in as much in 4 days as humanly possible!!! We just returned home from a road trip to Portland for Chloee's gymnasitics competion. Along the way we stopped at the largest duck pond I have ever seen,Kyah went swimming for the 1st time,we hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls~ in Danskos and Uggs (Chloee & I), saw a million family members, ate way too much, toured AGCI, had dinner with Martha and Christy, watched Chloee compete and drove home! I have to say that this has been the most enjoyable road trip we have ever had. It must be because the kids are getting older, but no tears were shed and none of the kids even argued! Halleluja:) Here are some pictures from our little excursion. (I don't have any of Chloee competing beause Grandma took them with her fancy camara!

{I know I probably have a million spelling errors, but the spell check won't work right now! SORRY!}

Can you say "Americanized"!!!!!

Wow, in 7 weeks how things change!
Everyday there seems to be new growth and new challenges! As I had posted before, Kyah started school pretty much right after we returned home, with our reluctance I might add..... and it has been wonderful! Last weekend we let her go to one of her school friends birthday party and to a movie. The movie was a 3D Hannah Montana concert and she came home singing at the top of her lungs, too funny. The funniest part is that she sings with an American accent!!!!! I am so amazed at her English, the school has an Ethiopian tutor that comes 5 days a week to class with her to help her with her English and also so she can keep speaking Amharic. I do have to admit I am a little sad at how quickly she is becoming Americanized. I guess I was nieve thinking it would take a little longer, but she is just a typical 11 year old girl, she even has a crush on a little boy in her class:)
All in all things have been coming right along with bonding... (everyone keeps asking) From the begining she has been very close with her daddy. Every moment she could spend with him she did and he is still her favorite person. It took a little longer for us. I'm not sure if it was a guilt she felt for her mother, or just a personality conflict, but now we are on our way! She is a very compassionate, loving and very strong willed young lady who knows exactly what she wants! We are enjoying this time of amazing growth and learning, and I hope we can hold onto these memories to laugh about later:)

Our little weed!

On Monday morning I stumbled into the kitchen to grab my morning cup of coffee and went to give the kids a kiss good morning. I was sure it was through my sleepy eyes that Kyah over night looked like she had grown a foot, so I had to check. We have a wall that we measure the kids on and mark, so I grabbed a ruler and shuffled her to the wall. I was not loosing it, she had grown almost 2 inches!!! Keep in mind we have only been home for a month! Next onto the scale, a whopping 6 lbs! I have to say that all of the kids were a little jealous because in our house it's a contest who grows the most on the wall:) I guess making her suffer through the vegetables at meal times is worth it:) I need to do like Jen and take some pictures in her pants now to show the growth!

Sorry:(

I truly have not had time to write, but here are a few pics of the kids:) Haha, I mean a couple of the kids!!!!

1st Trip to the Dr. and Dentist!

This week was a busy one! For some reason I had scheduled Kyah's 1st visit to the Dr. and the Dentist in the same week! What was I thinking!?! I kept thinking....this poor girl is going to feel like a test experiment by the time she is done being searched over from head to toe, and how do you even explain the dentist? If I re-scheduled it would have taken almost 6 months to get an appointment with the Pediatric dentist my kids see. It turned out well in that my other children had their teeth cleaned the day before Kyah, so she was able to watch them and I had to have a blood draw so she held my hand first:) And again she surprised us by being such a trooper!!! I have to brag.... No cavities!! Yeah! And she is healthy as can be, God is good:)

Sisterly love

During the whole adoption process we both worried about our youngest daughter Chloee and how she would respond to a new sister. We thought about this with all of our kids, but she was the one who would be sharing a room and having to make the most sacrifices. Chloee has always been a stubborn girl that doesn't let many people in close, so we have been just in awe with the grace and compassion she has shown to her new sister.

From the moment the girls met it was an instant friendship. Kyah follows Chloee everywhere and the two of them laugh almost constantly. What joy this has brought us! Chloee is teaching Kyah English, and Kyah is teaching Chloee Amharic, it is hilarious to hear them trying to speak with each others accents:) And yes, they have many disagreements too:)