Joshua Gebeyehu's Baptism

We celebrated Joshua Gebeyehu Chad's baptism this past Sunday, February 6.

We decorated our home for the post-baptism bash with all the posters that Joshua's siblings and cousins had hung throughout our home when we arrived home from Ethiopia - exactly 8 mo. to the day earlier. Joshua did not understand them at the time, but Sunday he was thrilled! He kept going from one to another and exclaiming, "OH! SO NICE!"

He is pictured in front of the biggest Welcome Home Gebeyehu banner. He was so proud and excited to wear his "Ethiopia clothes."
Check out that proud stance... and the sandals! It is really hard to find sandals this far north in February. Joshua and I were thrilled when we located these. As he told me, "Ethiopia clothes no so good faster faster shoes (tennis shoes). Joshua need sandals. Mommy carry you Joshua sandals. Too cold walk sandals. Joshua freezing!" (I was thrilled to carry Joshua through the snow!)
Joshua requested a picture with mommy. Notice his beautiful blanket? It was a gift from someone very special. Thank you! I was happy to have your blessing in this special way on Joshua's baptism day! Joshua made sure it was on my shoulder all morning.

Now, before I get to pictures of the actual baptism, I have to share how excited we were to have Joshua baptized. He had watched many baptisms and told me under no uncertain terms, "Pastor Maury NO water Joshua's head!" He was terrified of the idea. While it was the desire of our hearts to have him baptized as we had his older siblings, we had decided that we would not force the issue. So we waited for his consent. He finally decided that, "It OK Pastor Maury water Joshua head." We were thrilled to oblige!
Chad and I both spoke just a little a bit. While we spoke, Joshua smiled and waved to his Sharlene. He was incredibly cute.

Daddy shared (in my paraphrase) that starting the adoption process he wanted to help a little child, but in the end we were blessed beyond anything he could have imagined. He shared how much it means to him to have Joshua be so excited to visit him at work. How much fun it is to have Joshua push snow with him. How beautiful it is to have Joshua reach up and kiss his cheek and say, "I lub you Daddy." Chad expressed what a sweet son Joshua is and how excited he is to see the plans God has for Joshua's life.

I have shared our adoption story to our church family on a couple of occasions, but I did take the opportunity to thank our amazing friends and family for their prayers and support. It took God, two governments, and the prayers of many people to bring our sweet son home. I am so grateful. Because of the journey we have all traveled to get to this baptism day it was extra- special and totally beautiful to publicly dedicate Joshua to Jesus.
We asked all of our kids to be on stage with us and join in Joshua's baptism ceremony. We also asked Luke and Ashlee to be his Godparents. I love the concept of Godparents. We have chosen the Godparents for each of our kids with great prayer and care. We want them to have another set of parents mentoring them and praying for them as they grow. The relationships that have formed between our kids and their Godparents are really beautiful. They each love having special adults that are theirs. I so appreciate being able to call on these special people to love on their godchild when I can see a little boost is needed. Godparents, you are a blessing!

"Joshua Gebeyehu (our pastor is Texan, he did a great gubbya like George W.) Chad D. I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son

(and then Joshua cried a little so mommy ended up cheek to cheek) and the Holy Spirit.

Joshua receiving Pastor Maury's blessing.

Our family receiving Luke's blessing.

I am so thankful for the friendships with which God has blessed me.

Joshua's baptism blanket

Beautiful, isn't it?

Joshua was really snugly and a bit pouty after he had been baptized. I was not sure what was going on... until we snuck out of church to use the restroom. When I set him down in the bathroom he told me angrily, "Pastor Maury water Joshua Ethiopia clothes!" (Pastor Maury uses A LOT of water when he baptized children - no light sprinkle for him. Some water had ran down Joshua's neck and onto his beloved Ethiopia clothes. Add to that the fact that Joshua HATES wet or dirty clothes and I had a mad toddler!) He went on to exclaim, "Pastor Maury water Joshua's HEAD! NO Joshua's clothes! Wet clothes YUCKY!" Luckily Ethiopia clothes dry quickly, because Joshua had forgotten all about the offense by the end of the service. He even gave Pastor Maury a good-bye kiss later.

We have always had our closest friends and family over for dinner after baptism. For our babies I planned a "proper Sunday dinner." For Joshua... it was PIZZA! I wanted us to eat something Joshua would enjoy and his very favorite food is pizza! So we celebrated Joshua's baptism with a pizza party! I would highly recommend it!

Abby is a girl after my heart. She did not play, she was too busy eating every last bight of her pizza and cookie!

Our basement was filled with kids in motion!

"the men's table"

It was a wonderful, relaxing party filled with noise, smiles, laughter, and friendship. Thank you for sharing Joshua's baptism day with us.

We are so blessed!

High School Orientation

We are about to enter a whole new phase of parenting... Krissy is off to high school next year!

She will attend the very same high school that her father and I did (classes of '92 and '93), so going to orientation was loaded with memories. The most overwhelming memory that returned as I sat and listened to both new and old (as in they were there when we were) teachers was the sense of freedom that came with High School.

I was not a huge fan of high school. I do not remember it as "the glory days!" I keep in close contact with about 2 people from my high school days, one of which I married! I remember feeling awkward, self-conscience, too mature, and at times lonely during my years at CHS. I remember dreading gym class. I also remember some fun and laughter. I remember discovering more of who I was and who I was not. I remember falling in love - for real, forever.

I realized tonight that what I loved (other than Chad) about high school was the feeling of freedom. I was free to drive myself places. I was free to arrive early or late... it was all up to me. I was free to choose my own lunch, leaving to eat out if I so chose. I was free to pick some of my classes and explore my interests. I was free to find a job and make some money! I was free to spend my own money.

Yet that freedom was safe because of the boundaries at home. While I was free to go out with friends, I had a curfew. My parents would be paying attention to when and in what condition I arrived home. While I had my own money, my parents paid for everything truly necessary. It was, as Hanna Montana would say, "the best of both worlds!" freedom and few responsibilities, combined with some support and accountability.

For Chad and I more responsibilities came quickly. I spent my freshman year of college in the dorm learning to balance doing my own laundry with classes, homework, work, and dating my soon to be husband. Chad and I were married the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college. We moved into the world's tiniest campus apartment. We then learned to balance marriage with bills, work, college, and housekeeping. I would NEVER change a minute of any of it! I was SO ready to be Mrs. Chad D. The transition was quite easy, but the sense of freedom that I had in high school was gone forever.

I hope Krissy enjoys her high school years. I hope she revels in both the freedom and safety. I hope she takes advantage of the many opportunities - there are currently about 200 classes to choose from at her high school along with clubs and extra curricular activities. I hope she has fun and friends and laughter. I hope she learns a lot. I hope she discovers all kinds of new things about herself. I hope she makes good choices. I hope we get to have at least one more African adventure together before she graduates. I pray she stays safe. I pray she continues to grow in faith, a hard thing to do surrounded by all the temptations and distractions high school can bring.

She is so ready to be a high school student. I am trying to be ready to be a high school parent. I am so proud of the amazing, responsible, mature young lady my daughter is - yet letting go and giving her the freedom she has earned is hard sometimes. I am reminded once again that IT IS NOT ABOUT ME! This transition is all about Krissy and I vow to enjoy it!

Krissy, as the oldest, you are always the "test kid." I am sorry in advance for the mistakes we will make. We learn so much with and through you. I am so excited to watch you discover the woman God is shaping you to be. You are so beautiful inside and out. I am proud to be your mom. Enjoy the freedom that is high school, Krissy. Be patient when it all seems pointless and silly, the pressures of adulthood are just around the corner, enjoy where you are today.

Africa Sugar Cookies

Today we celebrated Joshua's baptism. I will post all about that soon. In the meantime, I will share the recipe for the sugar cookies we served as dessert.

Sour Cream Sugar Cookies:

5 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

Sift together and set aside.

1 c. shortening (I used butter flavor Crisco)

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 c. sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Chill several hours. Roll out. Bake 375* for 8 or 9 minutes.

(If you roll them thick and bake them 7 to 8 min. they are soft like Lofthouse sugar cookies. Roll them thinner and they will be crispy.)

I decided to bake cookies because I had purchased an Africa shaped cookie cutter from some fund raiser or another last year. When I saw the heart shaped Valentine candies at the store, I decided to copy my beloved Africa necklace onto sugar cookies. They were cute and yummy!

(Yep, I know Africa is backwards... we frosted them on the "wrong side" to correct my mistake! Hey, it was before 7 AM and I was baking, give me a break!)

Our decorating supplies.

I confess, I am not into decorating cookies. So I phoned a friend! Ashlee helped me frost and decorate about 70 cookies. Thank YOU, Ashlee!

Our finished product (or what is left of it!) I forgot to take a picture of them cutely displayed at Joshua's baptism dinner - but you get the idea!

Joshua loved them... before we put the (dis)'gusting frosting on them. We kept a couple naked ones for him!

More on the actual baptism soon. I am off to fold laundry and perhaps sneak in a nap during the Super Bowl!

Think on this...

"We can do no great things,

Only small things with great love."

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Wonderfully Made

I have been thinking a lot lately about the fact that kids ask whatever is on their mind. They have no filter. They do not ask things to be mean or rude, they simply want to know.


The first time I had a surprising question from a kid about MY KID, is a story I have laughed at for the past 14+ years.


When Krissy was a baby she had very little hair, except for on the very top of her head. On the very top of her head she had soft reddish curls. They were adorable.

There she is at 7 mo. old.

One day I had her at the State Fair. We were sitting on the bleachers. I was watching a horse show. She was sleeping in my arms. A cute little guy, who was about three years old, came to sit by us. He was telling me all about himself. When he finally ran out of stories he asked me what my baby's name was. I told him that her name was Krissy. He had a surprised look on his face. He thought about it a minute and then he asked, "Isn't Krissy a girl's name?" I assured him that it was a girl's name, which was perfect because my baby was a girl. He looked even more confused at that point. He finally blurted out, "Well if your baby is a girl, why did you cut her hair so short like a boy's?"

I have laughed at that innocent story for years. I have been pondering it a bit lately because as Joshua's world becomes larger and we play with more and more kids, surprising questions often arise.

As we are all very aware, Joshua and I do not share eye color, hair color, or skin color.

The thing is Joshua has never made note of that fact. I have told him many times that I love his brown eyes and beautiful skin. I ooh and aah over his cutie curls. We talk about how God made him beautiful all the time. We also talk about how smart he is, how strong he is becoming, how big he is growing. We have books with characters of many colors. In most books he names the people in the pictures after his family and friends. Sometimes Joshua has black skin. sometimes not, but he is always a boy. Sometimes Brenna has black skin. Krissy is always the one with glasses irregardless of skin color, eye color, or hair color. Every dog is Riley. Drew is always smiling and doing something physical. Jamison is the biggest boy on the page. Mommy is the woman closest to Joshua. Although he does recognize differences in people, skin color is not on his radar. I have read that this is totally normal for a child his age.

Recently a little person asked me, "Why is Joshua's skin that color?"


I was not happy about that question. Not because I am ashamed of his skin or because the question caught me by surprise... I have always know it would come up. The question made me cringe because I was forced to answer it in front of Joshua before I answered it to Joshua. It was not the scene I had planned. In "my scene" Joshua would ask me or it would come up in direct conversation before skin color was a public conversation - but that was not to be. (All this passed through my mind, along with "Chill out! Kids ask questions all the time. How you handle this will determine whether or not it is a big issue or not." in the flash it took me to formulate words.)


I looked from Joshua to his friend and simply said,"Joshua's skin is that color because he was born in Ethiopia."


They both smiled and ran to play.


Later... more questions came.


I am grateful I was there to answer those questions. I am thankful Joshua did not have to try to explain on his own. I realize that soon he will be in preschool or Sunday school or at the park and these questions will resurface. Sooner or later he will be forced to answer them all by himself. My job is to provide the example of how to answer them or not answer them answer them. After all, not all questions need to be answered. My job is to help him decipher whether a surprising question is innocent as a little child's or aimed to hurt.


While I admit to feeling really under-qualified and super overwhelmed by all the questions that come our way these days, I remember that I discussed those very feelings with God before we ever decided to begin the adoption process. I remember telling him I would not be able to answer the questions. I reminded him that we do not live in a diverse area. I fretted that a child of another race than my own would struggle with confidence in our small community. I also remember God's response, "Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in Me."

I am reminded that the key to self-esteem is seeing ourselves through God's eyes not the eyes of the world. In moments of doubt I pray Joshua Gebeyehu (and all his older siblings) will be reminded by the words of this Psalm.

Psalm 139:1-18 (New International Version, ©2010)


1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

Father God, please bless my children with confidence. May they always see themselves through Your eyes. Bless them with ears that hear Your voice, hearts that seeks Your will, and feet that follow You wherever You lead.

My Little Jack-o-lantern

Brenna lost another tooth this afternoon. She is 7 and has only lost 3 teeth - very embarrassing according to her! Ms. Brenna DOES NOT believe in anything as silly as the tooth fairy. She does however believe in being paid for losing teeth. She went and got my wallet and politely asked how much her freshly pulled tooth earned her. We agreed on the "price" of $1. Yep, she is my rational child.

Not to be outdone, Joshua requested I take a picture of his teeth. He is quite proud that he has all of his!

I Will Follow

While many things about last year were beyond difficult, the one thing that was SIMPLE was that I knew without a doubt that we were headed on the path God had laid before us. That certainty was a thing of beauty and peace. No matter how hard things became I was totally sure that we were doing what He had called us to do. I did not know then, nor do I know now, why so many things were difficult. I suppose the simple (and complex) answer is that the enemy will do anything and everything he can to throw us off the path the Lord has called us to walk.

Today, things are much easier. I have been able to be mostly at home for the last eight months. That time has been refreshing and healing. I have had more time to spend with my kids, more time to keep our family life in order, more time to talk to God. I am so much more peaceful and rested that I have been in a long time. It feels wonderful.

It also feels just the tiniest bit empty. I know that there are many plans that God still has in mind for me. My heart is full of ideas. Maybe I should organize a mission trip for our church. Maybe I should just keep it simple and go on a mission trip somebody else organizes. Maybe I should be raising money to build wells- oh how my heart hurts for momma's whose children are dying because of dirty water. Maybe we should sell our home and downsize so we could give more. Maybe we should adopt again. Maybe we should look into foster care. Maybe we should propose a church partnership with a village in Ethiopia. Maybe we should...

I am trying to enjoy this peaceful valley. I am trying to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. (No, life is not perfect. My kids fight all. the. time. Especially when it is too cold to get any exercise. Although I am less involved than usual, work is still stressful. I see it all over my hubby.) I am waiting on God to speak. I am on a sabbatical of sorts until I receive my next orders. I am doing my best to be on guard, waiting in readiness, for Him to reveal His plan. Because I know there is so much more work to be done for His kingdom.

As I wait this song has become my anthem to Him.

I will follow You, in the big and in the small, to the best of my ability.