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
