Just a little bit.

Misgana has a cute little way of asking for something and then saying, "just a little bit." It has taken on a life of its own.
Here she is... enjoy.

One year of seeing her face.

Today is the one year anniversary of getting Misgana's referral. A year ago we wondered if the moment would ever come and then there she was!

She has been home with us now for around 8 months and is doing amazing. She loves school and learns so quickly. Her English is great and she smiles a lot.

Misgana has been a blessing and has changed our lives. Our hope is that she will know how much God loves her and she can rest easy in our love.

She has faced much loss and so today also brings remembering issues from her past that we walk through together.

So today we thank God for Misgana and for those who cared for her before she entered our home.

Here is the first picture we received a year ago:


Here she is more recently with Autumn:


Thanks to God. We love you little Miss!

School

Misgana is doing very well in school. She has made a number of friends and is beginning to open up more. The school has been great in making it a wonderful transition for her.
Here are some pics of her first day.




The only person not happy to see Misgana go to school was her little brother Will who missed her terrible and you can see his reaction to her at school below... cute.

Misgana is going to SCHOOL!!

Hip Hip Hooray!! Misgana is starting young five's next week Tues. She is so excited, she has been counting down how many sleeps until school. We are at 5 sleeps until school starts!
Today we went in during class time for her to meet her teacher and her other classmates. They were so wonderful to her. Several girls ran up to her to say Hi. One boy had to take her over to see the big blocks. She looked to me a few times but was beaming with joy(not fear)each time. She played in the kitchen, checked out her cubby and found where to hang up her coat, all with 2-3 girls leading the way. What a blessing!!
I am so excited for her, she is just ripe for learning and making friends of her own. Our school has been so supportive and encouraging through this decision. It is so nice to know that great people are teaching our kids.
We will update next week, hopefully with pics!
Friends of ours are picking up their daughter in ET now and we cannot wait to see them. Their daughter and Misgana were friends at the orphanage. Hopefully Misgana will remember some Amharic to talk with Kidist, we may have to tell her some words to say, how weird is that?
I have to say all in all we are adjusting nicely. There have been some trying times but that seems to be the nature of the beast, the beast called parenting (parenting 4 kids no less).
We are praying for some health issues with Misgana. We should have some answers in the next few months. We have a great Dr. and are thankful for the excellent care at DeVos Children's Hospital.
We will try to be better at updating our journey but what can I say we are slackers!!

Misgana's first real snow...

Misgana really likes playing in the snow. Her first experience with snow even included making a snow ball and throwing it! She still says, "America cold." Now she really gets to see just how cold it can get.

Lots of firsts!

Kid's Hope

I mentor a 3rd grade boy. I'm amazed at how much a difference is made from such little, but faithful and intentional time.

Check out the video. My friend Scott is trying to get a million people to watch it - so please pass it on!

Thanks!
Steve

"Happy" Halloween?

Yesterday we hung out at our kid's elementary school and watched the Halloween costume parade. There are a lot of freaky ones and then the classic 'boy dressed as a girl' costume. Anyways - the parade had become old hat for us, but it was Misgana's first taste of Halloween and costumes. Our kids play dress up, but these costumes were much different and some of them were scary (not to us adults of course). :)

Misgana quietly observed the kids coming and going in their get-ups and didn't say a word. She was still - reserved - trying to fade into the background - probably a little excited/nervous.

Halloween looks mighty bizarre to her. Wait until she gets a bunch of candy (most of which she will not like) from our neighbors.

How many other traditions in our culture will look bizarre and downright scary to her? Santa's lap? Easter Bunny?

Anyways - the adventure of looking through her eyes makes us re-look at our lives and culture in a whole new way.

Have a great and safe Halloween -