One year ago

One year ago today we received the call. Our caseworker called me late afternoon letting me know she had our referral. We were not expecting our referral so soon. I proceeded to call Kellar, he was meeting with some other ministers and there response to my call was that it sounded like a "your wife is in labor call". He came home and we sat at the computer screen as we were given all the information on our potential new son, Tewodros. We accepted our referral a couple days later.
We are currently enjoying our summer vacation. We just returned from a trip to the midwest to visit our families and friends.
I am busy cleaning our school area and our bedroom (it becomes the dumping ground for paper). I am getting ready for our annual homeschool curriculum sale; hopefully I can make some purchases for next year. I know what I plan on using, just need to find it at the best price.
Ashleigh completed the 5th grade, I now have a middle schooler. She took part in Smiles and Frowns Playhouse again in the performance of Scheherazade; Legend of the Arabian Nights. She also played spring soccer and her team placed 1st in the tournament. She has recently started sewing and knitting.
Elijah has finished 1st grade. He really enjoyed his math as well as doing map work. He has had a huge year adjusting to being a big brother.
Tewodros finished kindergarten. He enjoyed his school time and wanted to do everything Elijah was doing. He also played spring soccer (he is our all around athlete). He can hardly wait till he can play with a team again. He loved scoring goals, drop kicking, heading... The first time he drop kicked the ball was during a game and all the parents thought we taught it to him. He learned it by watching Ashleigh's team. He wants to play baseball next year as well as soccer.

New Year

2009 what a year! Now that it is 2010, what does God have in store for our family. The easiest way for me to share what is happening is to share some pictures. The first picture shows Tewodros in snow for the first time. He called it "snowing throwing". We had recently seen the movie Elf and he imagined that he could throw snow as fast as Elf. He gave it a try. He loved the snow. Next you see him digging into his first Christmas stocking. Ashleigh is holding her newest cousin Bryce. Then Elijah and Tewodros are laying up on the steps watching as Travis and Connie have their first dance. Then a snow scene from our first snow Saturday January 30th. Okay I hit the preview button and the pictures are in reverse order, sorry about that.

Cardboard Testimony

Last Sunday, January 10th, Christ's Church celebrated 10 years. Our family was asked to participate in the cardboard testimonies. Check out the video.

Quick Stem Update

We are doing okay. There are still many really hard days. With God all things are possible. Our family is so blessed by the things we have. It's amazing how quickly one small lego can cause a huge problem/ mess for mommy to fix.
Homeschool status: Ashleigh is doing great in her 5th grade studies. She is currently reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins. She is doing something with decimals and division in math. We are on a plant unit in science (we do this with the boys).
Elijah our booming 1st grader is catching on to all the letters/ sounds. This is a huge answer to prayer. In math he can count past 100, the 1st time he did it I think he scared himself; he stopped at 106 as though that was to far.
Tewodros is in kindergarten. I went on and put him here as he was observing Elijah and seemed ready to start. He loves the letter/ sound book he does with Elijah. He can count to 11. He loves to sing our ABC song. He can tell you the days of the week. His ability to speak English is amazing, language immersion.
Daddy update: He knows when to take mommy on a date night. Thanks dear! He goes on and gets 2 babysitters (yes we now use 2, hopefully not for long). Our sitters are awesome helpful college students.
Please continue to pray for our family.

Afternoon at Briley's

Saturday October 17 while daddy was at a CCF board meeting the kids and I went to Briley's to pick out some pumpkins.

Orphan Sunday in 4 weeks

Orphan Sunday from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

ED is no fun

Wow, what a week at the Stem house. The pictures in the previous post were taken a few hours before the following happened. Teddy fell off the bunk bed ladder Wednesday night, and when he did he busted his lip and knocked some teeth loose. I was in the room in a flash had him in my arms and the other 2 are getting a cloth, ice, and the phone to call Kellar who is at CCF. I tell Kellar to meet me at the emergency room because Teddy has cut his lip. We go to urgent care arriving around 9:15 pm. The wound is to deep for them to treat so we are driven to the ED. Kellar stays with him, I take Ashleigh and Eli home to bed; by this time it is 10:30. Teddy ended up having several stitches inside and outside his mouth. Kellar says he was a trooper. Teddy and Kellar arrived back home at 2:45am.
Thursday afternoon we go to the dentist for them to xray any damage. No visible damage. Yeah! He will Just have soreness for awhile.
Last night (Friday) Teddy wakes up diarrhea, vomiting, and a fever of 104. We tend to those needs at home during the wee hours of the morning. At 9:15 when he wakes (2 hours later than usual) he is still with fever. We call our pediatrician and they want to see him. They run a flu test (negative). They think he has developed an infection and will have to be sedated again for them to tend to his mouth. Thank you Brent and Emelie for staying with Ashleigh and Eli while I go to the ED with them. We are discharged at 3pm. Another long day at the hospital. Teddy is such a good sport to allow the doctors and nurses to poke him where he hurts.
Please continue to pray for our family as we cross the language barrier. I bet in these first 4 1/2 weeks Teddy has learned over 100 words and we have continued to learn and use his Amharic. There is a big part of me that does not what him to loose his native tongue (although in actuality he already has). You see Teddy grew up in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. He knew Tigrayan and spoke Tigrayan until February of 2009 when he entered the Gladney foster care center. Where he quickly learned Amharic.