We had a wonderful opportunity two weeks ago to meet in Indianapolis with other families that adopted from Ethiopia. On top of that we were able to get together with one of the families from our travel group when we were in Ethiopia picking up Masamo. A small Ethiopian church in Indianapolis was putting on an “Ethiopian Cultural Festival”. I believe this is the first one that this church attempted to host and the response that they got was overwhelming! A week or so before the event they had to send out an email to all of us who had RSVP’d and told us that they were at maximum capacity and couldn't accept anymore people.

Early that Saturday morning Emily, Ella, Masamo and I drove to Indianapolis. Jason and David did not attend due to David having a stomach bug that was causing him to get sick. We met with several other families that morning for a brunch and hang out time. Ella found another little girl close to her age and made fast friends. Emily spent her time hanging out with the moms and learned a lot about adoptive parenting.

I must confess that this time was the highlight of the trip for me. I was able to let down and let loose with other adoptive mothers and share joy, pain, and lessons from our precious little ones. Masamo spent his time playing with Abush, another one of the little boys, one that he had been with the orphanage in Ethiopia. It was amazing to see him play. He interacted with Abush like they were best friends. Not even with his own siblings have I seen Masamo play so well. They played trucks, tossed grass on one another and chased one another around. It was pure joy to witness.

After a couple of hours we split up to let the little ones rest. We went to Fazoli’s for lunch, a big treat for our kids, and then checked out a Super Target and Half Price Books. By the time we were done it was time for the main event. As soon as we got in and settled Masamo fell asleep. But there were so many adoptive families there it was incredible! The pastor of the Ethiopian church introduced himself and their church and then some of their congregation treated us to some traditional worship music. It was then time to eat. They women of this church went all out and had been cooking (we were told) for over two weeks. The food was delicious and Masamo woke up and got his fill of his favorite, red lentils and injera. There wasn’t much time after the meal for a whole lot more due to the number of people there and the time it took to serve them. The children were encouraged to come up on stage and be taught a traditional Ethiopian children’s song and then the pastor got up again and shared his heart for the people of Ethiopia and our families who were adopting from their home country.

It was hard to say goodbye to new and old friends. It is amazing how close you can get to others who can relate to you so well in such a small amount of time. God truly is amazing and must have something very special planned for each one of these special children and their families.

The very next day, Sunday, Masamo informed us that he was going to make us lunch when we got home from church. What was he planning on making you ask? Why, brownies of course! Here he is standing on a stool after getting himself prepared to make “lunch” for our family!

While Masamo was busying himself in the kitchen, David decided to serenade us with Jason’s trombone. We’ll have to work on his form; puffy cheeks are a no no when playing the trombone.

I have a good friend at work that was kind enough to make Masamo a very comfy fleece blanket. Masamo took right to it and it has become his favorite blanket to snuggle with when he is lying on the couch or reading a book with Mommy. Here he is wrapped in it in the kitchen!

This past Sunday we participated in Operation Christmas Child at our church. This is the third year that our family has volunteered and I look forward to it every year. Our church is a drop off location for shoe boxes that people put together for distribution to needy and impoverished children around the world. Our responsibilities while volunteering are checking the boxes, making sure they are put together appropriately, labeled and counted. The boxes are filled with all types of goodies for the children, from soap and washcloths to candy, flashlights and little toys. These boxes bring so much joy to so many children that otherwise have never had anything new in their lives. For more info on this visit this website... http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/

Masamo and I accomplished a big job this past Monday, cleaning up the garden for winter. We spent 3 ½ hours cutting down perennials, raking leaves and bringing in outside toys and things. The garden looks so bare and sad when it’s cut down. It just leaves me to look forward to the small green shoots coming up in the spring.

Thanksgiving in pictures

Scanning the ads and making lists for Black Friday shopping

Our line-up of pies:

Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Caramel Brownie, Pumpkin, Custard and Apple

Masamo loving his pumpkin pie!

Kid Updates:

As you might recall, Emily had a rough start to her school year. It took a couple weeks and a test or two for her to figure out that the performance level that was expected of her had been increased. Subjects were harder and more studying was required this year. Fortunately Emily is a self motivator and it didn’t take any nagging on our parts to get her to up her “game”. By the end of the term Emily had earned straight A’s! Jason and I are very proud of her. I am because I know the time and effort she put into her schoolwork and because it was a rare occasion when I came home with straight A’s on my report card.

Emily is also progressing as a driver. Just last night she got on the highway for the first time (at night no less)! Although very nervous, she did wonderfully. Jason and I coached her through what she would need to be watching for and when to do what was necessary. I have also been amused by some of the things she has been saying while driving. Once, when flustered, she asked me when she should put on her “get over” signal. Fortunately she saw the comedy in her question and laughed about it too.

Ella also came home with straight A’s on her report card! It does not seem to be academics that Ella has a harder time with at school but sitting still and paying attention. Although not a huge problem, it is something that she struggles with. Luckily, Ella has had very understanding and patient teachers the past few years. They take the extra time with her that she may require and seem to have a better understanding of her needs.

Ella had a science assignment where she was to build a flower, label some of it’s parts and write some information on the reproductive cycle of plants. I tried my hardest to help Ella with this project, she had a specific design in mind but unfortunately I was unable to help her see it to fruition. I gave up in a huff of exasperation (not a good example I know) and told her to wait until her father got home, he’s the engineer right? To my delight he and Ella had no trouble putting her flower together and labeling it. Here is the finished project and I am happy to report Ella got a 100% on it!

David found himself sick recently and was not able to attend school. It was interesting to me that the one thing David was worried about was not the work he would have to make up but the fact that he would not be seeing his teacher, Mr. G. He asked me with desperation in his voice, “Please call Mr.G and let him know that I won’t be at school today!” David was worried about what Mr. G would think if David did not turn up for school and wanted to make sure his teacher was kept up to date as to his situation.

Masamo has developed a certain habit that I have come to find out is pretty typical of four year old boys. He feels the need to inform me, and everyone else, EVERYTIME he toots. We can be eating dinner, walking through a store or just watching TV and he pipes up with “I tooted!” This announcement is usually accompanied with a big smile and giggles. I don’t understand it but it’s hard not to join him in giggling, it’s just contagious.

Masamo also had a recent development; he has just about mastered pedaling a tricycle. This is a skill that he has been working on for months. It has been hard for him to understand how to push one foot at a time, and in a forward motion. Although he is not speeding around on the tricycle yet he is creeping along and this is a big step forward for him!

I had a compliment of sorts from Masamo this past week. We were on our way home in the early evening and Masamo was watching the moon in the sky as we traveled along. The moon ended up going behind the clouds and this upset him. He asked me to please get the moon out from the clouds, a feat that he assumed I was capable of as his mother. It is nice to think that he sees me as having the ability to do such a thing. I suggested that we sing to the moon to make it come out and to ask Mr. Moon to please come out from behind the clouds. Fortunately, God must have taken pity on me and allowed the clouds to move so that the moon was again shining brightly for Masamo and I kept my status as supermom, mover of clouds.

Masamo has recently become aware of the Christmas decoration in the stores and the lights going up on people’s houses. As a result he has expressed a lot of excitement and interest in both of these things. The first time our neighbors, who own a large house, had their Christmas light lit up at night it was a thrill for Masamo to see! It is funny how something as innocuous as Christmas lights can be so exciting to a child who has never seen them. He was delighted to see the different colors, see them in different forms and see them blinking! This has made him very excited for Christmas. He does not assume to know what it is all about but does know that it is something exciting if we decorate so wonderfully for it! As a result, Masamo has been campaigning for us to put up a Christmas tree (he’s seeing them everywhere in the stores) and of course, lights!

Here’s the update on the Hartman family!

We spent one recent Sunday afternoon raking leaves despite the wind that was blowing them around. Ella and David made up a game with the leaves and wind pretending that they were rounding up sheep (the leaves) and that the sheep bandit (the wind) was trying to steal the sheep. It was entertaining watching them have so much fun helping. After a long time of hard raking our pile was in place and the kids got to jump in and enjoy one of the best parts of fall – messing up a leaf pile! The only problem with this year’s leaf pile was that the leaves were so dry that they literally just disintegrated. The leaf pile was only a fraction of its original size by the time the kids were done playing.

I recently found David and Masamo busy scanning the Toys R Us catalog that came in the Sunday paper. They were busy pointing things out to one another, I’m just glad they didn’t have a pen to circle everything they wanted!

We had a levy on the ballot for voters to decide on for our school district. This was the seventh time our levy had been up for approval and for the seventh time it was defeated. The chairman for the state oversight commision that was formed to get our district solvent even said that our emergency financial crisis is due to "lack of funding" and not reckless spending. This is a cause for concern for all of the parents and students in the district. The state took over control of the school board in August and the longer they are in control the more money our district is going to have to repay the state. I do not profess to understand all the details but I do know that more cuts are coming to our already stripped schools. So many cuts have already been made and there is talk of split schedules and no extra curricular activities at all next year. My fear is for the quality of education that will be provided with the teachers that are left. I would not blame any of the teachers for leaving a district whose citizens do not support it. This is something that is weighing on my heart, please be in prayer for wisdom for all involved.


Well, now that I’ve said all that I’ll move onto something more exciting, Halloween!

It was especially fun carving pumpkins this year, it was Masamo’s first time! It was amusing to watch him stick his hand inside the pumpkin and pull out its “guts”. He wasn’t so sure he wanted to do that and needed some encouragement. Once he had tried it out he was very enthusiastic about it, especially if he could use a spoon instead of his hand! I must say that Jason has become quite the quick pumpkin carver. He had all four pumpkins carved (to certain specifications) in no time flat! Here are some video and photos from our time!

Masamo with his "You want me to stick my hand in where?!" look

The finished products!

Halloween was more fun this year too! It was hard trying to explain to Masamo what we do on Halloween. Dressing up in costume and getting candy is just a strange concept to explain to a four year old. I guess it’s just one of those things you have to experience to understand. Masamo’s costume was a bee costume that my mother had originally made for Emily but that all our other children have worn at some point when they were younger. It was important to me to keep that tradition alive, I felt so blessed to be able to find this costume, which I thought was lost, and have Masamo wear it too!

Emily, Fall 1997

Ella, Fall 2004

David, Fall 2006

Masamo, Fall 2010

I can tell you that once Masamo got to his first house and saw that people were giving candy to him he became a HUGE fan of Halloween! He was so excited to go up and say “Happy Halloween” and then to have candy lavished upon him, he was squealing with delight for the first few houses. We went trick or treating in Jason’s parent’s neighborhood instead of our own due to the lack of houses around us. Ella, David and their cousin Nataliya took off a lot more quickly than Masamo could go, so Nataliya’s parents went along with the older ones while Jason and I stuck with Masamo. It was fun to take our time and enjoy the experience with him. Emily, meanwhile, was at Mamaw and Papaw’s house handing out candy, she’s an expert!

The trick or treating crew

Ella wore a hodgepodge of things and called herself an "animal dancer"

David was Batman

Masamo broke into his candy halfway through our trick or treating. His favorite candy? "Big lollipops" (Tootsie Pops)!

Here's a post candy collecting interview with Masamo...

Jason and I went to the UC Homecoming game with my sister Carolyn, her husband and a good friend of ours from high school and college and her husband too (that’s six of us total if you’re keeping track). Unfortunately UC didn’t play a very good game and we ended up leaving at the end of the third quarter. We decided to go to Skyline in Clifton and enjoyed some good Cincinnati chili. It was a good thing we got there when we did because it was almost standing room only by the time we left!

Just this past week Jason used some of his many skills and fixed our furnace. It was making some horrible noises and was so loud it was even waking me up from a sound sleep! Jason tried to explain the problem to me but the only thing that made sense to me was that new bearings were needed. Masamo was happy to help when he saw Jason going for his tools. Masamo loves to help Jason with anything technical, especially if tools are involved!

Aren't you glad they weren't working on the plumbing?!

I had a very challenging day at work recently. It was one of those unwanted and unexpected events that nurses are trained to deal with but secretly pray don’t actually happen. Thankfully things seemed to be alright after awhile but it was a trial and pointed out to me that I am not in control of my situations. I was amazed at how God gave me exactly what I needed at exact the moment I needed it and not a second sooner. I saw how I much I need to stretch my faith and trust in Him more.

I’ll end this update with recent news on some the kids….

Here is the picture I promised of the artwork that Emily did that her art teacher sent us a postcard about.....

Emily got her learner’s permit for a driver’s license! She has been driving for about a week and a half now. She found out when we first went for the test that she could not even pass the visual test without her glasses and unfortunately she had failed to bring them! They would not let her complete the written exam without having passed the visual test. The second time she went she passed the visual with flying colors (with her glasses on) and passed the written exam as well. She has a large amount of time she is required to spend behind the wheel and so now I am being chauffeured around whenever she is in the car. I am happy to report that she is a very careful and cautious driver. She has not hit anything and I've only had to grab the wheel a couple of times. It will just take time and practice to refine her skills.

David has recently been calling me “Ma’am” and Jason “Sir” whenever asked to do something. I asked him why he was doing this since it is not anything we taught him to say. He informed me that he decided to start using those titles because he thought they were more polite! What a gentleman!

Lately Masamo has been on a roller coaster of emotions. For some time it was like we were on a teeter totter. We would be having a good time together and then all of a sudden and without any warning or provocation he would get a hurt look on his face and pull away (emotionally and sometimes even physically). He would get emotionally close and then quickly pull away (the teeter totter). He is also all of a sudden having a hard time separating from me and won’t look at or address strangers anymore. I was able to discuss this with some other adoptive mothers and looked some stuff up in some of the adoption books that I have and found out that this is not so uncommon. The important thing is for me (and Jason) not to pull away as Masamo has seemed to do but to pursue him lovingly. Patience is the key. He has a lot to process, and although things may seem to be wonderful on the outside, he still has so many things to make sense of and sort out.