My Boys Playing Basketball

I got a new camera. 

My boys played some father-son basketball.

Enjoy the results!

(I will not even try to comment.  My sports commentary is THE worst!)

 Jay blocked little man's first shot.  It was NOT a popular move!  Read tears and "it not fair!"  Jamison was quick to say sorry, and give Joshua the hoop.

Believe it or not my small son made this shot!

Fun times!

The other BIG news tonight is that my/Jamison's Jeep is done!

He took it for a spin tonight.

Chad made a video of the event - Jamison's first driving experience.

His commentary is hillarious!

But, alas, posting it has been forbidden!

Guess you will have to settle for a photo.

(For the record, Jamison did great driving!

The video was only funny because of Chad's sound effects.)



Embrace the Adventure

It has been a crazy week, filled with so much to do that the EXCITING moments have been lost in the busyness.  I am trying to fight that, but in all honesty I have often been sucked down by the busy.

It was a week of beginnings.  Krissy began summer school.  She is taking Chemistry from 7:30 to 12:30 each day.  Jamison began summer training for cross country.  Our sleep-a-holic has to run every morning this summer (and I so mean every morning, save Saturdays) at 6:15 am.  Which means mom or dad have to drive him to practice each morning at 6:00.  So, instead of summer mornings being quiet and sleepy, they are busy!

It was a week of choices.  I have spent hours and hours this week choosing stuff (or at least tying to choose stuff) for the new house.  Each of the kids have chosen bedding sets.  Rugs and shower curtains have been ordered for the kitchen and 2 of the bathrooms in the new house.  That is fun and exciting.  Yet it is still taxing.  Trying to help the kids make choices that are truly THEIRS, yet they will be satisfied with for several years to come, AND working within a budget is interesting.  I feel really good about the choices we have made and the deals we found.  However, my brain is still spinning!

We have been spending a lot of time trying to locate the right second camper at the right  price and in the right location.  It is a puzzle that is not yet solved.  Thinking through where we will set up campers, who will sleep where, how much stuff we will keep with us, and how much stuff we will store it frying my brain.  We have to be out in 21 days, and there are so many loose ends.  I am not sure how it will all come together, but somehow it will.  Chad is magic like that.  He always pulls "it" off in the end.

I am quite honestly overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by all the choices.  Overwhelmed by all the possibilities.  Overwhelmed by the thought of camper showers, laundromats, driving across town for kids' activities (the camper will be down south, the kids' stuff is up north), packing, constructing, working, volunteering.  Overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work there is to do.  Overwhelmed wondering how long it will be before we are home, settled, and back into a "normal" routine.

But really, it is time for me to just GET OVER IT!

Being overwhelmed is helping NOTHING.  Like it or not, this is our reality.  So I am going to need to become more flexible than I ever imagined possible, and roll with all that is to come.  I may need to paint that on the side of my van or hang a BIG, HUGE sign up in our camper to remind me though.  "Embrace the Adventure" will need to be my motto for the summer and right on into the fall.

The HIGHLIGHT of the week was Vacation Bible School.

Many years I help to lead worship at VBS.  It is always so fun because we have a full band.  The rest of the year the kids worship via DVD, but at VBS we have a live band.  The kids love it!  Which makes me love it too.

This year was extra special because all my girls helped as well.  (I have terrible pictures snapped with my phone, but they are better than none!)

 Sierra was the drummer for VBS.  She was amazing.  She played her little heart out and smiled every minute.  The rest of the musicians were quite talented and experienced, and they were so encouraging to her.  She learned so much this week, while growing in confidence under the leadership of Brad, Tom, and Scott.  As a mom, it is such a gift to see other adults pouring themselves into my daughter - causing her to absolutely glow.  Thanks guys for building our Sierra up this week!  It was gift she will benefit from for many years to come. 

Sierra has dreamed of being a drummer for so long.  It makes me a bit teary to realize that her sisters and I were able to be a part of the first band she played for.

I have no doubt we will watch Sierra play for years and years to come.  She loves it.

In fact, her dad is trying to figure out how to make one of the rooms in our new home soundproof so that she can jam away without the rest of us losing our minds!

Brenna- girl also saved the day.

Most years my girls help me choose the music for VBS.  The curriculum comes with "camp songs" and we choose one or two to do with the kids.  The rest of the music is stuff they know and love - but the VBS theme songs are always a hit.

This year, I put Brenna in charge of the music selection.  She listened to the songs.  She chose the best ones.  She learned all the actions.  Then she taught them to the rest of us!  I do not exaggerate when I say this.  35 minutes before our first worship team rehearsal Brenna taught me the music and actions.  She then agreed to stand in front of me - along with Krissy - so I could watch them.

They did an amazing job.  The kids loved singing and dancing with them!

So there you go.  That was my week.  Craziness.  Feeling totally completely overwhelmed.  Working toward embracing the adventure. And some moments I want to hide in my heart forever.

Life is hard, but God is good.

A Most Difficult Writing Assignment

I love to write - you all know that.  It relaxes me.  It centers me.  It brings me peace and clarity.

However this week I have been given a writing assignment that I just can not get right.  It is keeping me up at night.  It is always looming close to the surface of my brain.  Yet no matter how often I think about it, I just can not decide where to start.

The assignment that has brought on this writers block is Joshua Gebeyehu's 2 year post-placement report.  It sounded so simple at first.  Write one page about how Joshua is doing, add a couple of photos, and email it off to our agency.

But how do I capture all that Joshua is and all that he means to us in ONE measly page?

How do I communicate:
our love for him,
his love for us,
his contagious laugh,
his incredible driving skills,
his love for pizza,
and books,
and the guitar,
how strong he has become,
how my heart sings when he kisses my cheek,
how he adores his siblings,
how they adore him,
his love of horses,
and construction equipment,
his growing independence,
his tender, thoughtful heart,
how his eyes sparkle when he tells a joke,
how proud we are that he can jump and jump and jump,
how much we love Ethiopia,
our adoration for his Ethiopian family. . .

How can I explain the absolute, complete treasure Joshua Gebeyehu Chad Dietrich is?

The truth is, I can not. 

We are totally blessed by this child every single day.  It breaks my heart that half a world away there are family members that love him just as much as we do, and while we know the treasure that is Joshua. . .they undoubtedly wonder about their little Gebeyehu.

I am praying tonight that God will give me the words that our son's family needs.  I pray He will give me words for them to hide in their hearts.  The words that will give them confidence and pride and hope and joy and peace throughout the coming year- assuming they will read them at all.  And if they never, ever read my words - I pray that God will grant them that same confidence and pride and hope and joy and peace as only He can.

Construction Update: Floor Joist

It was not an incredibly productive construction week.  Monday was a holiday.  Tuesday and half of Wednesday, it rained.  But, they were able to get the floor joist in place.  Chad also finished the water line and has all the rough grading done in the yard as well. 

Take a look!

This is a view of the floor joist from below.

Having a "ceiling" is fun because it gives us a better idea how each room will feel.

 This is a photo of the living room from the outside, looking inside.

On top of this big window (opening) will be another window exactly the same size, and above that will be a triangular window.  I am anxious to see how it all fits together!

 Here is Jay testing the ceiling height.

He approves.

 And here he is literally climbing the walls!

He climbed the studs and was on the "roof" before we knew it.

He is proud to be the first member of our family to walk upstairs!

 Brenna was right on his heels.

 She loves to climb!

 Isn't she a cute monkey!?!

 Brenna waited to climb onto the upper floor until Chad was there to spot her.

Here they are!  Way up high!

Joshua and I could not stand to be left out.

 So we were soon up, too!

 We did not climb.  We took a ride on the "forklift elevator!"

Daddy was a good sport letting us explore while he waited below!

 Silly or not, each baby step is super fun!

(Don't you love Joshua's look?  Boots and shorts make perfect sense to him!)

There is just something fun about being way up high!

We all rode the forklift elevator on the way back down.

And where, oh where was Krissy during all this excitement?

She was sunbathing on the top of a pile of floor joist.

She might just be a contractor's daughter after all!

Lovin' the Zoo

We have been going to the Dakota Zoo my whole entire life.

Since I have been a mom, it is a summer tradition.  We always buy a membership and spend many hours watching stinky animals sleep in the shade (as my non-zoo-loving husband likes to say).  It is not too big and not too little. It is a great place to wander for an afternoon and explore.

Joshua came home TERRIFIED of animals.

(note the caps, bold, and underline above)

He would go to the zoo, but it did not bring him ANY joy.

Slowly as so many prayers were answered, Joshua began to be curious about animals.  First, he tolerated our dog.  That "relationship" blossomed into true love.  And I quote, "I love Riley soooo much!  He is the best dog in the whole world!"

Then he decided horses were WAY cool. (Grandpa rejoiced!)

Slowly, more and more animals were added to his list of likes.

Today, we went to the zoo for the first time this season.  Joshua's reaction shocked, awed, and excited me.  He LOVED the zoo.  He grabbed my hand and walked me from habitat to habitat wanting to know all about each animal.  It was so fun! 

He also shocked us when he WALKED through the whole entire zoo. That is a sign of serious commitment on Joshua Gebeyehu Chad Dietrich's part.  No joke.  He is so strong and fast in comparison to when he arrived.  Yet, he continues to have less stamina than most kids his age.  It is very unusual for him to be able to walk as far and as long as he did today.  He was excited and determined!

He was also completely exhausted by the end of the day! He was asleep before prayers were said tonight!

I know loving the zoo does not seem like  big deal.  Truly, I would not be disappointed if Joshua never liked the zoo.  However, his enjoyment today symbolizes (to me) growth, confidence, and healing and that is HUGE.

Here are a couple of photos of Joshua and Brenna from today that I will hide in my heart forever.

 (When I was a kid the star of the zoo was a bear named "Clyde."  My littles are pictured in front of a life-size sculpture of the bear I grew up going to see.)

This makes my heart sigh.

I am so very thankful for the absolute sibling bond that my white-skinned, blond-haired, blue-eyed Brenna and her brown-skinned, black-haired, brown-eyed brother share.  They may not "match" on the outside, but they are totally, completely siblings in every way that matters.

But God. . .

Muddy!

Last night Sierra and Tishina (one of her BFFs) begged to attend a summer kick-off event at another church in town.  How could I and/or why would I say no to that?

 You can imagine my utter surprise when I returned and found them looking like THIS!?!

They were totally caked with thick, stinky mud!

It was really, really gross!

While this church did have a hose hooked up for kids to spray themselves off, the line was WAY long.  I was tired and the girls were shivering like crazy, so. . .

 I found some garbage bags in my van, and "clothed" the girls in them for the ride home.

I am pausing here to pat my own back.

I have never, ever, ever hauled ANYTHING as messy as these two girls were in ANY vehicle.  Yet, when I saw them walk up to my van 20 minutes later than we had agreed upon, covered in thick, stinky mud - I DID NOT lose it!   I simply told them that they were very lucky that I picked them up rather than Krissy!  They totally agreed, and promised to shampoo the mud out of my van ASAP.

I really like clean.

I also really like ON TIME.

Thus I am really proud of myself!

I must be growing up.

When we arrived home, there was NO choice but to hose her off in the garage.  This was not because we were punishing her.  We just knew that the amount of mud that she was wearing would undoubtedly clog the drain.  Lucky for her, we have warm water in our garage!

 The amount of mud that rolled off of her was totally astonishing.

Chad truly hosed her off for 15+ minutes.

Sierra says she will never, ever, ever, ever play in the mud again.

She is my party-girl (in a sweet, delightful, fun way).

I am more than sure that she will have a few more adventurous surprises in store for me during her teen years! I promise to take LOTS of pictures along the way.  Hers as sure to be the high school graduation DVD you will not want to miss!

Celebrating that Today I am Mommy!

Two Years Ago TODAY

 this beautiful boy was placed in my arms

while

everyone around him declared me "Gebeyehu momma!"

TODAY

that same beautiful boy knows me,

 understands me,

and loves me

as

"mommy!"

We celebrate healing, love, acceptance, sonship, and grace today!

Joshua Gebeyehu Chad Dietrich I am so very thankful that God chose me to be your mommy.

Father God, I thank you that have truly created Joshua Gebeyehu with a spirit of SONSHIP and NOT a spirit fear.  I thank you that you have helped every member of our family to be strong and courageous, to not be terrified or discouraged because You HAVE been with us every step of the way!  Thank you that your make all things new, that you complete the work that you start in each of us, and that when we perservere, You really do keep Your promises.  I am honored to serve You.