We’ve been telling the boys about snow and anxiously awaiting the day they’d get their first experience of it. Naturally, that experience came when we were in a hurry to get somewhere and really did not want to take the time to play. But then we came to our senses and grabbed the camcorder! Enjoy a couple minutes of video.
Category Archives: Family
Who Knew??? Boys and Girls are Different…
As we get to know our boys and their personalities, we are filled with wonder. But at times we just kind of stare in desbelief. A couple days ago as Randy was working on the computer, the boys were across the room practicing their addition and subtraction flash cards at the table. Randy was monitoring mostly by listening, and for several minutes they did a great job with the flash cards. Then it got a bit quiet, and then the sounds changed. Since the camcorder was handy, I thought you might like to see what the boys were doing. Not terribly surprising for any boys – or parents of boys – but our girls never did this to my knowledge.
Christmas Decorating
The boys enjoyed putting up Christmas lights, decorating the tree, and talking about our Christmas traditions. We’ve been watching Christmas videos almost daily (Charlie Brown Christmas, Polar Express, etc.) and talking about our family traditions as well as the true meaning of Christmas, the Christ child. We are gratified that they are able to contribute to the conversations with meaningful questions and insights. Here are a few pictures of us decorating the outside of the house. Note: the boys behaved very appropriately and cautiously on the roof, and I think they benefitted from the experience.
The final product
Bowling
We met Sarah and Ilaria to take the boys bowling. We all had a great time and the boys did exceptionally well. We took a little video, including the first frame that each of them bowled. They each developed their own style, with Daniel using a two-handed approach because the ball was a bit too heavy for him. David, on the other hand, slid up to the line like a baseball player. It was adorable.
I almost forgot to mention that Daniel bowled a 112, including a strike in his second frame (when the camera was not rolling)!!!
Two Month Update
New 11/20: Click here for pictures at the park.
Two months ago today we returned from Ethiopia with Fraol and Behayelu. We are completely amazed that so much has transpired so quickly. We are settling into life as a family and, as with all families, this requires a lot of hard work – on everybody’s part. The boys are adjusting to a radically different life and there is virtually nothing that is familiar for them – including their names!
In so many ways, our boys are adjusting incredibly well. They seem comfortable in the home, the neighborhood, the shopping centers… many things that we were very concerned about. They love church and Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). They have no problems calling us “Mom” and “Dad” and they are very affectionate toward us. Their ability to speak and understand English is progressing beyond our wildest hopes! They have much better reading ability than we expected them to develop by this time. Their comprehension is evident when we do their BSF homework and memory verses – we notice improvement every week. All these things are a great relief and a blessing to us.
But parenting is still a full-time job that is filled with challenges. Imagining how the boys see things – and trying to understand their frame of reference – is our best tool and one we sometimes forget to use. Daniel, for instance, has never really had an authority figure in his immediate family. In fact, he was probably the authority figure for David. So he’s having to make big adjustments. He’s doing very well, but this is clearly a long road we’re on. David is happy-go-lucky and extremely expressive. He enjoys using his full body and amazing facial expressions to make his point! They’re both incredible kids and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to be their parents.
We really can’t remember what life was like two and a half months ago! We do know that life is very fulfilling right now (tiring also). Please keep us in your prayers for the following:
- Adapting to new roles in the family
- The boys will know they are loved unconditionally
- Energy for the parents (and maybe less energy for the boys – no, that’s not right)
- Wisdom and discernment so that we know how to correct them in a way that encourages them
- Employment for Randy
The weather improved dramatically today so we went back to the park. Here’s a little video to mark the two month milestone.
Daniel Tells About His Dream
This morning, Daniel came to us to tell us about a dream he had. We think it’s a great example of how well he (and David) can communicate with us so we asked him to tell the story with the camera rolling. Enjoy this short video.
Names
The boys’ ability to communicate in English continues to grow at an incredible pace. We are able to tackle subjects that we did not imagine we would be addressing so soon. Tonight at dinner we started talking about the boys’ names and I really don’t recall how the conversation moved on to the topic, but along the way we asked them each what names (Ethiopian or American) they would like us to use at home. We had assumed they would prefer the names they had used all their lives, but they each asked us to call them by their American names. So from now on, we will refer to the oldest as Daniel and the youngest as David. Except when we forget!
Halloween 2009
Heading out for goodies
With over 200 costumes to choose from, the boys stuck with what was familiar to them – Spiderman… in duplicate. They enjoyed their matching costumes. On the 30th, we went to the carnival at Karshner School and played games, ate a corn dog, and met many of the kids and staff. On the 31st, Dad took the kids (including Sarah and Ilaria) Trick or Treating while Mom stayed home to hand out treats to the many dozens of Trick or Treaters who came by. Click the picture to see more. And watch the video.
Batting Practice
Randy and the boys spent some time at the park hitting whiffle balls. It was quite interesting because the boys had not seen baseball a month ago. You can see that they have natural eye-hand coordination, but they need some coaching on technique. We had a blast and captured some video. Please note that they took turns running the video camera and they need more practice on that as well. It’s worth watching.
David Behayelu:
Daniel Fraol
Pumpkin Carving
We had our first experience carving pumpkins! The boys enjoyed the experience as each designed the face for their pumpkin. Dad did the carving at their direction. They got a bit gooey cleaning out the insides. Click the picture to see a few more.
Finished Product