Life is good so far

Mari'An- While we were eating tonight, in her broken English, she said, "Mommy, Daddy, Joshua, Kayleb, J'Dyn, Amelia, Nadia, Luke-- I love " TOOO CUTE!!!
I took all the girls dress shopping for the first time. We were semi successful and the girls were WOWED at the stores with all the clothes. Mari'An loves to be a princess and dress up in frills and necklaces. She has been truly a joy.
Luke- His comment this week was when Mari'An was speaking to him in AmHaric. He looked at her and said, "NO Amharic, speak English. " YEH!!! They are trying. He has been such a good little man. He is so smily and happy all the time. He is a bit quiet for the Gillmore home, but he will come out of that. :) He loves to snuggle and hug and tonight gave Dan a big kiss right on the lips and said, "Good night daddy. Love you." TOOO CUTE!!!!
Amelia- She is getting so much better at her whiney - ness. When she does not get what she wants, she is SOOO pouty. She is not screaming bloody murder any longer so there is progress. Her smile lights up a room and her laughter is wonderful. She is learning more words and repeats everything.
Nadia- This girl is crazy! She loves to laugh and tries to get everyone else to laugh too as well. She struts around the house like she owns the house and demands everyones attention. She loves to be held and if we don't she will find someone who will- anyone. Her ear infections took a toll on her sleeping but she is back sleeping thru the night. YEH!!
Josh- Wants to go to Africa again soon to get another sibling. We are not quite ready for that. :)
Kayleb- Loves to play with the kiddos and has been a huge help with things around the house.
J'Dyn- Loves her new sisters but cannot figure out why Nadia cries so much. She wants them to speak English and does not quite understand the 2 yr old thing.

OUr washer went out on Saturday and I went into panic mode. AH! Our friend, Jim clark, graciously came over and fixed it immediately. We are so grateful to him. The laundry piles up quickly.

Anyway, things are going better than expected. The kids are as precious as can be and have really been going with the flow of our family. We are waiting for the bomb to drop but I guess that can happen with any kid. :) Continued prayers for them as they get used to our family and become a Gillmore. YEH!!!

WoW! ONe more week gone

I cannot believe that another week has flown by. There have been so many things that have happened; where do I start.
* All of the kids went to get their teeth cleaned. Mari'An had her final dental visit with one tooth extraction. Her mouth looks fantastic and she is excited about it too. YEH! Amelia has 5 cavitites that need to be filled but the others are good. We are so thankful for our dentist!
* Mari'An and Nadia went to the doctor and got their vaccinations. OH MY!!! It was not pretty but a necessity. That evening, I got Nadia out of her high chair and she had this crazy look on her face, grabbed her legs and said "OOOOOOHHHHHHHH" No translation needed, they hurt.
* Luke is such a cute little guy. He is not learning much English- just repeats stuff. He relies on his sister to translate. He is doing great!!!
* Amelia is completely over her screaming tantrums for not getting what she wants. She has succumbed to a pouty whimper. Mommy can handle that. She is learning the right way to take things from her sib's. Much progress in her. She is as cute as ever. She walks around shakes her hips and says, "What's up girl!" Cracks us up.
* Mari'an is so precious. She is opening up and trying to share about her home city and orphanage - SHe she mane We have been able to catch on to a few things. She says Afric mommy...... I cannot wait to be able to hear about her life and share that wonderful part with her. I hope I did a good job about telling her how wonderful her mommy in Africa was to her.
* Nadia is a cuddler, lovey, and kissy. She has an amazing personality that she can turn off like a light switch. She had an ear infection and is on antibiotics. Takes the med like a pro.
* Prayers are needed for sickness to stay away from us. For what the kids have to go away. For all to get well!
* Prayers for the language. They are doing great considering they know very little English. But, they are really trying. Life will get much easier for them once they pick up on more.
* Grandma Sharon and PaPa David where down this week. They were amazing help as we had so much going on. The laundray was done, the dishes were picked up and the house was cleaned. WOW!! We are SOO thankful for their help and willingness to come down to work their butts off. :)
* Prayers for Daddy. Tests came back this week as they are trying to find a cause for his high blood pressure. There are some abnormal issues that need to be looked into. Prayers for positive results.

Blessings to all

Luke lost a tooth

2 days ago (posting is not as easy....) Luke showed me a loose tooth. He was eating an apple and I think it made it even more loose. He did not mind and continued to eat the apple. He had the tooth at bath time and one hour later it was gone. When trying to ask him, play charades with him, sign language, and every other method to ask him where his tooth was, he looked at us like we were crazy and kept saying "YES." AHH!! Long story short, we do not know where it went. I guess he does not either. Oh, well. No tooth, no fairy, he does not know the difference, so who cares. :) Life is easy!

WE took the kids to Montgomery Farms today for pumpkin picking. It was aweful. The pumpkins were very bad; mostly green, small and rotten. Do not waste your time if you are going. So, we are on the lookout for good pumpkins at a reasonable price.

Luke and Mari'An are learning their abc's and 123's. YEH! We see progress.

Hubers and Harvest Homecoming

We were brave today and took the kids to Hubers to pick apples. They absolutely loved the tractor ride and even more the apples all over the trees. Don't tell the store, but I think they ate a few. OOPS!:)

Then it was off to Harvest Homecoming. We tried to get some things to eat but it was just too busy. The kids were good and stayed by us but people would cut in front of us and we would get seperated. Too much so we just walked and talked to friends. Lots of fun! The kids did great again. I thought they might have a break down because of the crowds but they did not. They are just good! God is so good to us. We are thankful for everything they are just taking in stride. I pray that this is a testimony to someone thinking about adoption. Getting older children is not that bad.... they seem very thankful! Watch those adoption books....they can scare the dickens right out of you. And, alot of the methods in them to "bond" can actually push a child further away. Read them with the eyes of Jesus and pray for how HE and only HE wants you to care for your child. The books say not to bring your child into crowds and stay home with them to get acclimated. Again, follow your heart. Our kids had tons of fun today and the oldest thanked us for a good day.
Off my soapbox now. The Lord has a plan, I pray for us to follow it. He is watching over each of his children.

Dinner- Delicious!

Our dear friend, Terry Vessels, brought us dinner this evening. She said she was bringing baked spaghetti, which we all like. YEH!! Well, she brought more than that. It was a delicious feast. A huge pan of baked spaghetti, a salad with all the fixings (just like Cyndee likes it- she spoiled me), homemade, ground wheat, organic bread , fruit (which was for the salad but the kids wanted it minus the lettuce), and pumpkin dessert. We were spoiled! Thank you SOOO much T for all you did to prepare a VERY special meal for us. I remember a sermon once that stuck with me about giving. One should always give equal or more to what one would do for themselves. If one gives less than what they would want for themselves, then it is worthless. You definitely over did yourself and we are blessed tremendously. We are so thankful that the Lord brought your family into our lives. Can't wait to be bringing you a meal! (soon!!)
Blessings to all the Vessels.
Cyndee G

Update for the day:
Neima was back at the dentist today. They fixed her upper right side. She was very sore tonight and just wanted to sit in our lap and be loved. :) Luke is coming out of his shell and starting to push the boundaries a bit. He pretends not to know the language, I think. He is still VERY good! Nadia has been doing great. She is so animated and loving. Oh, my! Too cute! Amelia is doing better and better each day with her tantrums. She has realized her pouty, ugly faces only get her timeout. Yeh, she is learning
Nadia is also learning sign language for more, thankyou, and help. She is very smart.
They have taught us their dinner prayer. One person says and the others echo back. We love this and will bring this in as a tradition.

Things are still going fairly well. We put in 5 days of school (praise the Lord) which was beyond my expectation. Mari'An and Luke want to learn which is very exciting. WE will continue to work on the language until they get that, then start school .

Are we a daycare?

Too funny! We told the Josh, Kayleb and J'Dyn that we wanted to take the them out for dinner because they have been SOOOOO good at helping, accepting, and caring for their new sib's. Well, tonight was the night and we went to El Nopal. We sat in the backroom at the table for 9. A waitress came over and asked if we were a daycare. TOO FUNNY! We said, "no, just a large crazy family. " We had to explain since there faces were like, "those kids have different skin than you......?????" They thought it was cool that they were adopted.

We were blessed- only had to order one additional fajita meal and all were fed. YEH!!! Not too bad and mommy did not cook- daddy did not have to clean up.

We went to Jan W visitation tonight too. We will miss her bright and sunny face runny around church at EVERY event. Prayers continue for her family esp her boys. This is hard for many as the memories are numerous and precious.

Luke at the doctor

Luke went to the doctor today and did GREAT!! He got 4 shots and took it VERY well. He had blood drawn and did great again. What a special little man he is! I think the nurses cried more than he did. Bless their hearts. He is doing very well. But, the dr thinks he might have asthma. Too funny! We think he reminds us of Kayleb and Kayleb has asthma. God has such a great sense of humor.

Mari'An did pretty well at her first dentist visit. The left side of her mouth is done and off to the right side on Friday. She has lots of work to do but it will help when all is done.

Nadia and Amelia are quite funny. They put on cinderellla slippers and prance around the house with their hands on their hips. We crack up! They are so much fun.... J'dyn and Mari'An are deep into purses, necklaces and LIPSTICK. Oh, my!

Mari'An's teeth

We took Mari'An to the dentist today. At age 7, she has tons of issues. She will have 3 visits within the next week to repair many cavities, broken teeth, and ..... Poor thing. We feel so bad for her. She did great today. I hope she does just as well tomorrow. I am very thankful for our Dr. Dale and staff. They are so loving and kind to our new kiddos. She needs alot of help and prayer. I know she will feel so much better when it is all over.

New...New....New....

Just thought I would post a quick update and share some of the new things in the kids life. These are things we take for granted and it truly humbles us and makes us realize how abundantly blessed we are:

* Toilet paper goes in the toilet
* Endless supply of water in which they drink 50 glasses of at least a day
* McDonalds french fries look weird but taste great
* Escalators are cool
* Bikes are difficult to ride but are a lot of fun trying to learn
* Using a swing takes a bit of coordination
* Sleeping in a clean bed after a bath in clean pajamas
* So many bracelets, necklaces, and shoes they do not know what to do
* Mommy's food is pretty good most of the time. Mari"An does not like ham or chicken enchiladas
* I am mommy and Mari'An can be a kid
* Amy'lia is learning temper tantrums do not get her anywhere but sitting in the corner alone
* Pickles are gross
* Food is always there
* Luke has found baseball caps and loves them
* Soap dispensers are very cool
* Mommy or Daddy speaking in Amharic is very silly
* Hair on daddy's legs and spiky on his head are very strange
* Cold water is "birr" good
* Can't do a thing with their new families hair
* throwing food on the floor when we are done with it is not acceptable.

But most of all, they have taught us how amazing it is when the Lord calls you to do something, the burden it places on you is far less than the blessing you receive. God is an amazing God. When we stand back and look at our life, we get a bit nervous. Never in a million did I ever think I would be a parent to 7 kids. The Lord has called us to this "mission field" for a reason. I pray that we can raise these children to serve Him with their whole heart, mind, hands, and bodies. He has a purpose for them that is far beyond my wildest dreams. May they grow to know Him, love Him and serve Him. I pray that we can be Godly parents that can lead them where they need to be. We need lots of prayer and guidance. One day at a time.......

Home for 2 days

It is Sunday evening and we have been home for 2 days. Just wanted to write an update on the kids.

* Neima - Mar'An She is doing very well. We have come to find that she knows more English than what we thought. Randomly, she spews out the ABC's, or the days of the week, praise songs in English, her numbers, animal names, etc. She seems very smart and eager to learn. We will see! She has been a huge help in communicating with the others during the rough moments of non-understanding. She is a blessing.

* Luke - This child is just as cute as can be. He is loving all the new toys, his bed, and is learning to ride a bike. They did not know what to do with a bike???? He is very smiley but still quiet. He is very obedient. He has tired and eaten almost everything we have given him. He also knows some English and seems to want to know what things are called in English. The boys just adore him and want to show him everything.

* Am'lia - This is our little princess. She was a bit spoiled in the orphanage we think. She whines and pouts when she does not get her way. She will sit and repeat, "moose" about 100 times in a very soft tone as she whines. Moose is a banana and she would eat 100 of them if she could. When we say no, she does this. It is getting better though. In Ethiopia, she would through herself down on the bed and scream. WE have not had any of that yet. PTL!

* Nat'ia- This one has a smile that will melt your heart. She is a typical 2 year old and into everything. She too has to be taught how to share and not take things away from others. She is cute, loving, and smiley. We are thankful for her.

The kids reaction at first was just running around the house touching everything. When I showed Mar'an her closet, she said, "Oh my God." Too funny!

All the kids slept thru the night- 2 nights in a row. This is a huge step in the right direction. We pray that this continues. They just go right to their beds and fall asleep. The naps are a little different and they need a little help getting to sleep. But, that is ok! We are so proud of them.

We went to church this morning and they did very well again. YEH! It was great to see all of our church family- those that prayed for us. This miracle coul dnot have happened without your amazing prayers. It was fun to be able to share our children with you. May the Lord bless each of you richly.

Good night! I will post every couple of days on their progress. Thanks for the prayers.
C

Humbled by the Lord's amazing timing

It is so wonderful to be home and on a computer that works, not on dial-up, and electricity that stays on . AHH!! The things we take for granted.

We have not been able to read all the entries and will do so this week. We thank each and everyone that lifted our children in prayer. Our trip to Africa was full of some stressful moments but the Lord pulled everything together. I wish He would have been a bit sooner-- but all in His timing! Our prayer is that our experience will encourage others to walk out in faith and know that if the Lord has called YOU to adoption, that He will provide everything you need at exactly the right moment.

I have more time to write so I will explain the whole Nadia situation a little more in detail. Nadia is the baby and has a different father than the other 3. On the final court paper, they wrote her last name the same as the others. Even though this was the only place that it was wrong, the US embassy would not give her a visa. Our agency worked on this starting on Monday and was unsuccessful. We were told that we needed the paperwork by 10 or 11 AM on Thursday to complete the process. At around 10:30, our agency representative showed up at the guest house and told us that we would not get the VISA today, asked if Dan could stay until Monday, and told us that the extra days would help in possibly getting the VISA> Cyn was shopping and returned around 12:30. C was not happy with going back home alone and leaving Dan behind. Within a 1/2 hour we recvd a call from our agency stating that a judge had been found and that they were working on getting the document corrected. She said we needed to be at the Embassy at 3PM and this just never happens.
S, our coordinator thru our agency, told us that the head of the judicial system was found and told of the error. Due to the court shut down, a judge was not able to be found. But, the head person, called a judge, office clerk, the registar, and secretary to come in to the courts to redo the paperwork that they messed up. We could not believe all this was being coordinated for Nadia. The Lord loves her so much!
At 4:45 the Embassy staff had asked when the document would arrive. They closed at 5 PM. Well, at 2 minutes to 5, the document arrived and the staff graciously and quickly prepared all the documents needed for us to get the VISA for Nadia.
We raced out of the Embassy, back to the guest house, packed everything, said goodbye to new friends, and quickly took off for the airport. We could not believe the miracle that God had performed. The US Embassy staff could not believe that we got the paper. They said, "this never happens." We have heard that way too much this year. hee hee hee
So, we are humbled by the Lord! We are so thankful that He did not seperate our family and allowed us all to return together. YEH!

WE GOT THE VISA

Literally at 2 minutes to 5 PM, the court document was recvd at the Embassy and they issued the VISA. I have no time we are late for the plane. See you all Friday at 3:30. Pray for the kids and their flights. AHHH

L0ve you@ God gave us a miracle. Praise to HIM! THank you lOrd Jesus.

Cyndee and Dan

Its gonna take a miracle......

The verses in our head right now are:

"Pray without ceasing."
"Do not be anxious about anything." (This is hard)
"I will not leave you...."
"Fear not ..."
"For I know the plans I have for you.... not harm you. "

We as well as many have been praying for a miracle. We were called about 20 minutes ago (well past the 10:00 time frame) and told that a judge has been found. We will go to the embassy and there is a HIGH probability that we will get the VISA for Nadia. We are overwhelmed, excited, humbled, and truly giving the Lord all the praise for this amazing (yet crazy) journey. This one has been much more drama than I think we like to have.

So, it looks like we will be bringing Nadia home. There is still a chance that something will go awry but, it looks VERY good. Praise the Lord for his timing! (My human side really wants to ask why he waited until the last minute. hee hee) Thank you -- ALL of you-- For the prayers. See some of you tomorrow at the airport. YEH!!

I will post when I return from the Embassy. WE need prayers in one hour! We need it to be quick so we can get to the airport in 4 hours. AHH!

Love to all. We are blessed and can't wait to see our Kayleb and J'Dyn. We miss you and love you soo much! Thanks to those who we kept awake. Your prayers have made the difference. We love you!!!!!!
Cyndee