First of all, let me say how absolutely thrilled I am that it is fall! It’s time for pumpkins, warm soups, bonfires and if you’re lucky high school marching band! The summer heat seems to be taking a break and crisp fall mornings and days are on tap for the foreseeable future. It’s been so dry around here that Jason hasn’t needed to mow the lawn for nearly three weeks and the leaves are turning brown and dropping from the trees early. I don’t put it past the weather to heat back up again though, living in Cincinnati we’re used to the weather changing on a whim!

Things around here seem to be routine. I love routine, it’s the backbone of my life. It gives me the illusion of control. I say illusion because I know that I am not in control of anything but my own actions. God is in control and I thank Him for that, He knows what He’s doing a lot better than any of the rest of us! Routine however gives me comfort and lets me think I know what is going to happen. So with that, I’ll let you know what has been happening around here!

I ordered some shirts awhile ago to help support the feeding and clothing of Ethiopians. I loved the shirts they were selling and actually bought one in three different sizes for Masamo. It says “I am loved” both in English and Amharic (the dominant language of Ethiopia). Here he is modeling the smallest of the bunch!

Here is a link to the site http://lobstersintherough.wordpress.com/

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In less than two weeks we will get away for a long weekend to camp with our good friends the Apthorpes! Beforehand, I wanted to set up our new tent so that we were familiar with how to do this and not discovering the quirks that it entails at the time of setup! This tent is a replacement for the one we used last year because when I got that one out of the box (for the first time) to set it up ahead of time I discovered a big rip in one of the seams. Thankfully it’s a Coleman and has a guarantee so we were able to get a replacement free of charge! My only complaint is that the old one was a nice green color and the new one is bright orange! Guess we won’t be losing that tent easily! Here’s our adventure in pictures….

How does such a large thing fit into such a small box AND how are we going to get it back in there?

The best part .... playing in the tent!

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Jason took a Saturday recently to go play race cars again. Here is a link to the blog that one of the guys keeps up about their cars and their excursions when they drive them!

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http://bearcatfsae.blogspot.com/

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Although none of the rest of us went Jason did have plenty of help loading one of them!

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I surprised Ella this past Friday with a date night with her mom! As soon as she got off the bus from school I told her to put down her bookbag, get a snack and we were leaving! She was a little confused but I told her she and I were going on a date! We went to the movie theater and watched the new movie (in 3D) The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole. Ella had read the first two books of this series and really enjoyed them. She and I enjoyed the movie together but I’m not sold on this whole 3D thing, I’m not sure it enhanced the experience. Afterwards we went to Wendy’s for dinner and then a used bookstore to browse. All my kids are readers, something I am very proud of, and it’s great to be able to share a good story with them. Most recently Ella and I have been reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. I am also reading through the Little House on the Prairie series with both Ella and David, they really enjoy it and I love reading to them!

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The next day, our family went to the Lebanon Apple Festival. We arrived early as it usually gets crowded quickly. It is usually filled with all types of wonderful crafts and food. It seems though that the past few years that it has slowly been getting less and less appealing. The crafts are the same and there isn’t anything new to really look at. On the other hand, Ella and David like to go because there is a booth there that sells sand filled (as apposed to stuffed) animals. They each get a certain amount of money to spend and always buy an animal from this vendor. Here are their purchases for this year, Masamo joined in and got an animal too!

Masamo and Ella got snakes, David got a mermaid.

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That Saturday evening Jason played in an outdoor soccer game, subbing for a friend’s team. He usually plays just indoor soccer on Thursday nights but was excited to get the opportunity to stretch his legs and abilities by playing outdoor again. The younger kids and I tagged along and they played on the park play set while I watched Jason work up a sweat!

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This past Sunday was the annual Cincinnati VW and Porsche family reunion show. Jason and David headed to the show to check out the cars and connect with old VW buddies. It used to be a highlight of the year for Jason to go to this show but now it seems that all the same stuff is being sold and cars are showing up for the show. Jason and David did drive our 1950 split window bug. Although it is very rough around the edges it always gathers a crowd because of it’s rarity (I know Jason enjoys the attention too!).

Our 1950 splitwindow bug

Jason informed me that we actully owned this blue truck at one time. I wonder what aircooled VW in Cincinnati we didn't own at one time!

Of course, no show would not be complete with out a bug painted like Herbie!

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Kid Updates:

Emily is discovering that high school can be hard! She started out the year with the usual attitude toward her classes but quickly discovered that this year (her sophomore year) the teachers have really upped the ante as far as the amount and quality of work that is expected. Emily takes honors in three out of her five classes and so has a hard load but she’s learning to deal with the pressure and balancing personal time/wants and school demands.

Ella has been very insightful during her bedtime prayers recently. It is interesting to see what is on her heart as she pours it out before God. Here are a couple quotes from her recent prayers….

Ella prayed and thanked God for "our own thinking, because the world would be a boring place if only one person came up with the ideas and everyone else just agreed."

Ella also prayed and thanked God “for being artistic and everything artistic, or else things would also be boring to look at.”

David’s first grade teacher called after the first few weeks of school and left a message on our answering machine saying that David is doing great and making friends but seems to be a bit perfectionistic in his work. Hmmmm, I wonder where that comes from?! David was also told that since he can already read all of the sight word cards that the teacher has he will be getting a special surprise!

As wonderful as this is, first grade and the schedule it entails seems to be quite the change for David to get used to. It’s not going to school all day that is getting to him but going EVERY day that he does not like. He’s also been objecting to having to do his homework after school everyday. For kindergarten, David had school all day Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday. Because of this it was hard for him to keep track of what was and was not a school day (it was hard for me too sometimes)! He is doing well academically but is exhausted by the end of the day, it makes for a cranky little boy!

Masamo
I recently picked up an extra day at work to help the schedule there (just for the one day). I did not think much of it but when I got home it was quite apparent that it threw Masamo off. He was out of sorts and very objectionable for a couple of days. It was confirmation to me that I really am needed at home and my presence is essential to this little guy’s continued coping and transition.

Masamo seems to want to challenge authority a lot recently too. It’s akin to the terrible two’s but without so many temper tantrums (thank goodness!) He says “no” just to disagree and insists on HIS way for everything. Thankfully I have dealt with this a time or two (or three) so it’s not a big deal, just a trial of patience (something God knows that I struggle with).

I’ve also been thinking about the fact that it has also been one year since Masamo’s birth father put into action one of the hardest decisions I’m sure he’s ever made. Almost one year ago, Masamo left his birth father’s arms and was set on his journey toward us. I wonder if his birth father is thinking of him, of the fact that he about to turn four years old, wondering where and how Masamo is doing. I think of and pray for Masamo’s birth family everyday. We know virtually nothing about them but they are vitally linked to us. Do they know this? Do they know we pray for them? Do they know the role they play in who Masamo is and who he is going to be? I rest in the fact that God knows the plans He has made for Masamo and why things have happened in his life. That He has orchestrated Masamo becoming our son, brother, grandson, and nephew. He has expanded our family to the other side of the world. Ethiopia is no longer a poor country on the other side of the world, it is now connected to us in a very familiar way.

End of Summer Videos

I figured out why the videos I was trying to load were not doing so, they were too large. I have partitioned them down so that I could include them on the blog.

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This video is of "Quad Training". Jason is running behind Masamo with a good thick dog leash attached to the back of the quad. The quad's engine is small enought that even with the gas at full throttle you can hold the quad in place with the leash. Ella is also zooming around on the larger quad here, you can tell her excitement!

Here is some footage from the last day we went to my parent's pool. In the first video David is sharing some of his "tricks" with us.

Here Masamo is jumping into the pool to Jason, and then making faces at himself in the video camera.

Ella wows us with her "pool tricks"

One of Masamo's favorite things to do at the pool was to play with a "noodle". Here he is entertaining himself and my mom!!

Another few weeks have flown by. I can hardly keep up with all that has been happening around here but in the interest of posterity, I’m going to maintain my updates. Without further ado, here is what our past few weeks have held……..

Back to school time! Here are some pictures from the kid’s first day back to their respective schools. Neither Jason nor I was able to be present to get them off to school so these photos are courtesy of my father.

Emily started 10th grade, a sophomore (ugh, where does the time go?)

Ella started at the intermediate school in 4th grade

David started at the elementary school in 1st grade

We are not sending Masamo to any type of preschool yet, unless you count the “school of mom”. We were not quite sure he was ready for that type of environment yet, and as he is to turn four in mid-October, we believe the delay will only help him.


We decided to celebrate the event of back to school with a trip to a special ice cream shop nearby called Aglamesis Brothers. I have very fond memories of going to Aglamesis with my family to celebrate special events and it is almost like taking a step back in time. They make their own candy and ice cream, if you take a look at their photos, the ice cream parlor hasn’t changed much since they opened for business in 1908!

Masamo "enjoying" banana chip, he's still slow to eat ice cream, it's COLD!

Jason has had an exciting event happen at his company, American Air Balance, it got it's own office! Jason’s business is an off shoot (in a way) of National Heating and Air and for the past two and a half years he has had his office down in the West End of downtown Cincinnati (a 30-45 minute commute depending on traffic). However, now his office is only 15 minutes away! We went by one weekend to check it out. It’s bare but its AAB’s “home”!

The kids playing in the new office

It was a month overdue but Ella finally had her birthday sleepover with four of her friends from school. We had the girls over the first Friday after school started and got the party started with tye-dying some t-shirts. The girls then played for awhile with our guinea pigs and in Ella’s room. Once it got dark and they had their pj’s on, Jason and I had them go outside for a “glow in the dark” hunt. We had put a number of glow in the dark bracelets, etc outside and the girls had to hunt for them. They had a great time doing this and l think it helped burn off some energy. Once back inside they settled down to watch a movie and eat some popcorn and brownies (YUM)! When the movie was over it was lights out and it took until midnight to get the girls to stop talking and giggling. Actually I was surprised that they quieted down so quickly! Unfortunately they were up again at 7am (YAWN). Ella seemed to have a great time and the girls were so well behaved that I would not hesitate to have any of them over again.

David started his soccer games the weekend before Labor Day. His team won both their Saturday and Sunday games. This really helped bolster the boy’s confidence. David is a better player this year but needs to keep his head in the game, he’s very easily distracted. I can’t say that a lot of the other boys weren't the same way. He played fullback, midfield and forward. They’re probably just trying to find his fit. He does have a lot of endurance so maybe midfield would work. I look forward to seeing how he develops as a player this year.

We had one last hurrah at my parent’s pool the weekend after school started. Seeing how the temperatures were in 90’s, it was a welcome relief! I will try and include some video later, when the blog website isn't acting up!

This past weekend we spent the long weekend at our property in Kentucky, The Land. We didn’t do much of anything except to relax and enjoy the mild afternoons and cool, clear evenings. It was absolutely PERFECT weather for camping!

Emily did not join us, she decided to spend the weekend with a friend and although we missed her, Ella took the opportunity to learn how to drive her larger quad, “Abe”. Ella has been on one of the two smaller quads we have but since Masamo is so excited about riding we’re moving Ella up and onto the larger size quad. We weren’t sure how she’d do having to learn to shift with her left foot and push the gas with her right thumb but in a matter of 10-15 minutes she was zooming around! Jason also took this opportunity to do some more teaching with Masamo on the little quad. We are able to use a sturdy dog leash hooked onto the back of the quad to keep him from any danger. He pushes the gas with his right thumb and lets go to slow down. He’s doing very well and you can tell how much he is concentrating when he is driving his quad. Even when the quad is off and parked Masamo climbs aboard and pretends he’s driving (this is nothing new, he’s been doing it from the start).

I did notice a lot of butterflies this past weekend. I found that they are called “Red Spotted Purple” butterflies. They did not bother us but were easily caught and we had one sipping from a beer can at one point (my camera was too far away to get the picture in time). Next we had one sipping from a popsicle! David even took one for a ride on his quad when it landed there!

Holding my little girl as she fell asleep by the campfire

Masamo relaxing in the hammock with Papaw

Ella spent a large part of the weekend constructing this "nest"

Ella reading a book to her siblings and cousin

Masamo and Mamaw singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" to all the stars above

Masamo

We had our official 6 month visit with the International Adoption Clinic last week and I was excited to hear how far Masamo has come in the past six months. Here is the breakdown…..

He’s grown 2 shoe sizes, 9 pounds in weight but only ½ inch in height. They say he has a “short stature”. He’s at 90th percentile for weight and less than 5th percentile for height. This doesn’t bother us though, he’s as happy as can be!

He is right on target with his language development (in other words he speaks just like a child who is the same age and was born to English speaking parents). They were absolutely amazed at how far he has come in this area. He was scoring anywhere from 33-46 months on all his development assessments. The doctor said either they didn’t do a good evaluation the first time or his progress has just been amazing! I do believe that their first assessment was an accurate picture of Masamo at the time. Currently, he a very bright and happy child. God has blessed us in so many ways through this little guy, it’s just amazing to watch His hand at work.

One recent story I have to share is when he sat down to eat lunch and Emily was sitting down at the same time. Emily bent her head and prayed silently. Masamo, being the helper that he is, decided to tell Emily what she should say in her prayer and started to prompt her with “Thank you for this day….” When Emily finished she let Masamo know that she had been praying “in her head”. Masamo thought about this for a moment and said to Emily, “You pray in your head?” Emily replied “Yes”. “Oh”, said Masamo, “I pray with my face.” Emily and I started to laugh and that got a smile out of him. He loves to make people laugh, his sense of humor is really starting to bloom.

I also took the dive and cut Masamo’s hair this past weekend. I had been reluctant to do so because of the hysterical reaction we had to getting his haircut the last time (his first time with us). But as Jason put it, his hair was looking “fluff-a –licious”. Although I love his curls, the fro was getting a little out of hand. So, despite the fact that these look like mug shots (something I didn't realize until putting together this post), here are Masamo’s before and after photos.

Can you say "fluff-a-licious"?

Ahhhh, much better and we still have the curls!