The Redding Rodeo

Rodeo or Circus

We’re thinking that maybe we should have titled this blog the Redding Circus.  On the Sunday before last, David and I were settling in for our Sunday nap.  This tradition has been established since our first year of marriage.  The boys were asleep and the girls were doing homework.  Now, we take nap time very seriously.  If you are going to do it right, you must get down to your skivvies(underwear).  Anyway, we were finishing a conversation and we still had the lights on.  Suddenly, Victoria appears at our door with a knock, and asks to come in.  She has the weirdest look on her face.  She tells us that there is a police officer at the door and he wants to make sure everyone is alright.  At which point, he actaully steps out from behind Victoria(she was taller) and comes into our bedroom.  David and I are frozen and we have that very confused look on our faces.  Apparently, when she was trying to call our friend, Robel, in Ethiopia she accidentally called 911.  Robel’s number is about 12 digits long and it does have the sequence 911 in it, but it is in the middle of the sequence.  She heard a woman’s voice, that she didn’t pay attention to what she was saying, and figured she called the wrong number and hung up. F.Y.I. - 911 hangup calls are taking very seriously. Needless to say, we were too weirded out to take a nap.  The funny part is that I actaully felt guilty when the officer came into the room. Even though David and I are married, it felt like we had been caught doing something bad. It was very awkward.  It does make for a great story!!

On a different note, everyone is doing great.  Victoria started club volleyball and is learning a ton.  Levi is doing great in school.  Emma is getting all her projects and school work ready to be out on Friday for her surgery.  Seto is just growing in size, his vocabulary is incredible, and he is so loving.  I was getting ready one morning and he came into my bathroom.  He  crawled up the back of the stool that I ws sitting on and said, “Mommy-you are beautiful!”  I just melted.  

Halloween

The day the boys thought would never arrive, finally came on Saturday.  I don’t think they thought we were serious when we told them that all they had to do was dress up in costume, knock on the doors of people we don’t know, say trick-or-treat and they would get FREE candy.  However, after the first house, I could see it in Mamush’s eyes, I love America!  It was a dream come true, they had a blast and would have gone on till dawn, but we had to get them to bed.  They both collected about 5 lbs of candy and will have a stash until Christmas at the limit of two pieces a day.  Victoria was a big help and walked around the neighborhood with the boys and I, while Nancy held down the fort and passed out the candy.  Emma spent the evening with her friend Jade and they collected a huge portion of candy as well.

After trick-or-treating, Nancy took the girls to a party at one of Victoria’s friends house and they had a great time over there.  All in all, it was a great time at the Redding House.

The boys continue to adapt and learn English.  It is very sad to see Mamush loosing his native tongue.  We are trying everything we can to help him keep some of it, but it is obvious that he is losing what little mastery he had of the language when he came here.  Even with the contact with Fanta and his family and the few Amharic DVD’s that we have, we aren’t sure he will be able to do both languages without using the Amharic.  Very sad.  Setotaw has lost all ability to communicate in Amharic.  He was just learning the language when we took him away, so that is not unusual, but still sad.  He just looks and smiles at Fanta when he speaks Amharic.  We knew this day would come, but didn’t think it would come so quickly.  It has been 5 1/1 months since we got home from Ethiopia, seems like yesterday.

Volleyball update: Both girls teams won their first game of the V-ball tourney tonight.  We are very proud of both of them and the Championship will be tomorrow.  Both Victoria and Emma are leaders on their team, couldn’t ask for more.

Cute story, we ran out of waffles yesterday - frozen eggo type, the boys love them.  We told them last night no waffles for breakfast - there was wailing and gnashing of teeth.  I ended up having to go to the store after they went to bed and got some waffles.  Seto got up early and stumbled into the kitchen.  He barely had his eyes open and said, “No waffles, Daddy”.  I told him that I went to the store last night and got him some waffles.  He perked up immediately and said, “Oh Daddy, that’s so nice!”  You had to see his face and hear the little Ethiopian accent.  Priceless.

Our pastor is doing a sermon series on gratitude, the lost virtue.  One of the points he made yesterday is that we have lost our awe and appreciation for all the wonderful things that happen around us on a daily basis.  Cell phones, planes, computers, a hot shower, all the modern conveniences that we take for granted  - (not to mention all of creation!) these things are amazing and awe inspiring, but we’ve lost that sense of gratitude.  Our boys have brought that sense of awe back to this family and teach us daily to appreciate and be amazed by the awesome things that surround us.  I thank God and am grateful daily that he brought these two boys to be a part of our family. 

Blessings,

David

Fall is Here

We are enjoying our Fall weather.  I spent four hours today trying to find gloves or mittens that would fit Seto.  I finally found some at Ross, and they came with a matching ski cap.  He loves his glubs.  We were walking into the second store and he was telling me that we were going to buy his glubs in there.  I told him that I didn’t know if they had them or not, he said, “Well ask.”  That’s what I did. We are going to Levi’s school fall fest tomorrow and he is so excited.  He wanted to make sure I had enough money to pay for things.  I assure him we would be alright.  School continues to be great in the academic realm, and challenging in the social area.  I picked him up on Tuesday and he was barely in the car before he could start telling me the events of the day.  He was very upset and handed me my phone to call his teacher.  He told me that some boys will accuse him of doing things that he doesn’t do on the playground, but because they can speak better English the teacher believes them.  I had a huge lump in my throat.  I know it will all get better in time, but it hurts to watch him go through these hardships.  We had a discussion on picking good friends.  Ones that are nice to him and won’t lie to the teacher about him.  Today is October 23rd and he has not been invited to a birthday party, yet.  I realized that he might not get invited all year long.  I hope that is not the case, but it is a possibility.  Not because he doesn’t have friends, but because of the language barrier.  On a positive note, he has become very physically affectionate and loving.  He gives out kisses quite regularly, even to his sisters. 

Nancy

So Far, So Good

Well, Victoria ended up getting the flu last week, as well.  It was a rough couple of days playing nurse to 2 girls not feeling well.  So far, the boys and David and I are o.k.  Both girls are back at school.  they both still have coughs that could last for awhile.  We had Levi’s first teacher conference on Monday.  He is doing great.  He is sounding out words and can recognize numbers from 1-100.  HE is very eager to learn.  When the teacher asked him what he wants to be able to do by the end of the year, hes said, “Read books and write stories.”  She thinks he may be reading by Christmas.  His behavior is much better, too.  She found out why Levi was doing some strange things in the class.  This will break your heart- there were some children that were telling him to do and say things, because they knew he would do it and thought it was funny.  Well, she laid into the class.  She made it clear that they are his friends and that he trusts them.  And, if she finds out that someone tells him to do something for a laugh, they will get into trouble, not Levi.  Momma bear wanted names, to go and kick some 3rd grade butts!  Praise God for Mrs. Zunker.  She is sensitive to the situation and really looks out for him, without enabling him.  Her standard for him is high, which we appreciate.  She does not pity him, she is aiming for the moon with him.  It is so obvious why God chose her to be his teacher. 

As we were leaving for school this morning, he ran back into the house.  I looked up at him as he was getting into the car.  He had gone into his room and put on his Ehtiopian headband and writst bands.  Remember the ones he wore with this friend while playing the DS?  Yep, those.  I am not sure how the kids at school will respond to him today. It was a big step for him.  It shows that he is proud of his country and wants to show the kids at school.  Depending on what happens, he may never wear them again, or he might be wearing them everyday. His latest obsession is “Tom and Jerry.”  He laughs from the gut. 

Asher has discovered t.v.  Unfortunately, when the girls were home sick last week, the t.v. was on alot.  They were on the couch watching t.v. for most of the day.  He loves Dora and Diego. He just started riding a three wheeled scooter and pedaling his tricycle.  He will interact with other kids now, when we go to a park.  He will even start the conversation.  He wakes up talking.  His eyes will still be shut and he will be telling you what he wants for breakfast. It’s pretty cute. 

The girls are keeping us busy with volleyball.  Emma grew while she was sick last week.  We have also scheduled her first foot surgery for Friday, November 20th.  Her school has the whole week of Thanksgiving off, so this will give her 9 days to recover before going back to school.  The school also has a wheel chair and a scooter for her to use.  She is so ready to be able to walk and play volleyball without her ankles and knees hurting.

Victoria is doing great in volleyball, and still trying to find the balance between schoolwork and downtime.  We are praying that she will figure out time management before she enters high school next year.  She has made huge progress, even from last year.  I think I am to blame for alot of it.  I have enabled her too much.  She was tested when she was in 2nd grade.  The neurologist said that she has a slight learning disability.  There is a delay when she is taking information in and then processing it.  This mainly occurs when she is reading infomation.  Thus, he said she is an auditory learner.  He said that it can be corrected.  The more she reads, the better it will get.  So, we decided not to tell her.  She has the type of personality that would use it as a crutch.  However, lately she has recognized that something is not right.  I told her what the doctor had said.  She felt relieved, but also realized that she could have made things better for herself over the last 6 years, if she had read more often. I have felt sorry for her and told myself that she couldn’t do it on her own.  Which, is not true nor helpful to her.  Therefore, this is the year to help teach her the technics to help her do everything on her own. Please pray for us.