1 Fish, 2 Fish!!

Well, with school and soccer season coming to an end and a few last appointments for Seth this week, I can say that I am really looking forward to slowing down, resting my taxi driver duties and taking on my life guard responsibilities by the pool!! I did say really looking forward to, right? I now wake up to Mama swim or Mama bicycle but swimming seems to be number 1 now. I honestly did not think that Seth would love to swim as much as Maiah, it just could not have worked out any better. He just loves it and is making great progress in the pool. We started out with a vest, a tube around the vest and floaties on his arms(yes, all at once) and he was scared for his face to touch the water....one week later, we are only in arm floaties and today he got brave and used 1 floatie for a bit.....he is also holding his breath, putting his face in the water and trying to swim under water.....for a kid that has never seen a pool, we are quite impressed!!! I must say, he and Maiah are both very competitive and I knew it would not take long. He can't stand watching Maiah swim and float around like a fish......at the end of the day, I pull my 2 raisins out of the pool.

Well, we also had our first post placement visit this week, which went well. Seth had a first visit to the beach too. We spent the weekend cheering on big brother in a sand soccer tournament. He loved the sand and the ocean. Seth's English is coming along very well. He surprises us with new words everyday and is putting 2-3 words phrases together. School has been uneventful which is good. I actually went on a field trip with Seth this past week and got to meet and spend time with the little boy that hit Seth. They are friends now and the little boy just loved some Mommy time, Seth was happy to share me but made sure everyone knew who his Mom was!!! I actually felt sorry for this little boy as he just craves attention and will do whatever it takes to get it. Very sad:( I also found out that my little Asian sensation is quite popular with the little girls too. I am not sure how he handles it everyday, the little girls wore me out in 10 minutes with the Seth, Seth, Seth. Anyway, Seth is doing excellent in school, he is very smart and has a great memory. He also has 17 little female helpers at all times. Well, I also think Seth likes the camera as much as Maiah.....he asks for it all the time!!! So, here are a few new pics....and Seth's new smile, all scrunched up saying cheese.

Love,
Stacy

Happy 1 month Home!!

 

Home 1 month today, swimming and Spiderman!!

2 posts in one weekend, I am on a roll!! We so needed this long weekend break, my body is not sure what is going on...I have been still for 45 minutes now. We can't believe that we have been home from Mongolia for 1 month today. It has been an amazing, trying, growth filled, exhausting, crazy month. We are all making it and are all growing in our relationships with Seth. He is our sweet son and craves acceptance, love and affection and with Jesus at the center,we are trying to meet all of those needs and then some. We have certainly come a long way in a month. We know that it is because of all the prayers going up on our behalf, thank you. Well, here are a couple of pictures of Seth swimming at night and sporting his new Spiderman tube!! Seth just loves everything and anything Spiderman. He could not get over the fact that the pool does not close at our house:) Seth to Mommy: swim....night....sun no.....yes, yes, yes!!!!! He loves the water and wants to swim so bad.....he can't stand the fact that Maiah can do something that he can't do yet!! You can see it on his face, he just wants to throw the ring and swim....I give him a couple of weeks!! We thought that Maiah had determination when she first came home (still does), well Seth has determination plus the Maiah competition factor:) Anyway, hope everyone is having a blessed Memorial Day weekend!! We are enjoying our many blessings.

A moment to post......

Well, I can certainly say that life is never dull being a Mommy of 4 now!! I have not had a chance to check email never mind update this blog. However, after a few emails asking if everything was ok, I figured a post was needed.

Everyday life is getting a bit easier as Seth learns more English and accepts his place in his family. We have certainly had our struggles/challenges but are overcoming them one at a time. Seth had an unfortunate incident at school as a little bully put him in a headlock and punched him in the head. We were all horrified by this incident and it has left Seth a bit traumatized. We connected with a man from our sister church that speaks Mongolian and we were able to talk with Seth about this and assure him that Mommy and Daddy were going to take care of it. My first thought was "We are supposed to be protecting him".....anyway, we knew exactly which student it was when the little boys eyes popped out of his head as Seth's daddy walked into the cafeteria. My husband is not a small guy:) All of students knew exactly what had happened and Seth pointed out the little boy. This little bully was dealt with accordingly. Yes, this is a fellow K5 student!! I was going to home school Seth for the next 4 weeks but after much prayer and talking with Seth, he wanted to go back to school as they have lots of fun end of the year activities going on. It would almost like punishing Seth. So, he is happily back in school but all of the teachers are really watching out for Seth now and were very apologetic, even asking for forgiveness for missing this. Needless to say, Seth will start at the Christian school with Nate, Kate and Maiah in the fall. We are confident that his English will be good enough for him to keep up by then. He is very smart and a quick learner.

Seth also had his first visit to the pediatrician and came away with a clean bill of health. No signs of Ricketts or any other health issues we thought we may have to deal with. Thank you Jesus!!

As things have been so busy, with appts, paperwork and school....we decided that some fun was in order. So, we all skipped school/work yesterday and went to Busch Gardens. To our surprise, Seth was willing to ride everything that moved. He even went on the Big Bad Wolf, an adult roller coaster that he and Maiah both just met the height requirement for. Fun was had by all and we are looking forward to some much needed rest on this long holiday weekend. Seth will enjoy riding his bike and swimming in the pool with his sisters and brother:)

A special thank you to our Meiming friends for the awesome meals we have had delivered over the last 2 weeks. They were yummy and very much a blessing to us in the midst of transition craziness!!!

Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers. I am posting some new pics in the photo section if you would like to take a peek at our growing boy!! They are under Seth at home.

Please keep Derek and all the service men and women in your prayers this Memorial Day weekend. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice for us and they are not to be forgotten.

God Bless,
Stacy

Seth is in school!!!!

Well, I just dropped a very happy little boy off to school this morning....Mommy is happy because Seth is happy!! He has been there for over an hour and no phone calls yet so I am praying this is what he needed. We know that some of the behavior we have struggled with over the last couple of weeks has been because Nathan, Kaytlin and Maiah all get dropped off at school in the morning and poor Seth rides home with Mommy sad and angry not understanding why he can't go as well. Not a good way to start to the day:(

Anyway, the more English Seth learns and the more he is able to communicate his thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes etc....the better things are getting for all of us. He and Maiah are doing well, it warmed my mothers heart to see them playing and laughing together yesterday. There is a bit of competition going on between them that is not really healthy. We are working through this with both of them. Seth is also bonding well with Nathan and Kaytlin.

As for Derek and I, we are taking it one day at a time. We certainly feel that Nate, Kate and Maiah have been at a loss the last few weeks as Seth has been so demanding, requiring constant attention. I have shed a few tears out of frustration and exhaustion this past week but am really hoping that prayer, school and pure unconditional love will begin to overtake our sweet Seth. We trust that God has a plan for him and that we are part of that plan and that God is going to see us through this season of transition for Seth. We are thankful that His mercy and grace are new every morning......

“Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning” (Lamentations 3:23)

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.....
Stacy

Spelling 101 for Mommy!!

I was reading my post from earlier today and realized several spelling
mistakes.....I guess they offer spell check for a reason......my head is running
a hundred miles an hour and my typing cannot keep up....I am really smarter than
a fifth grader:)

What, No Tooth Fairy in Mongolia??

Well, Seth has had a loose tooth since we met him in Mongolia and last night, he finally just yanked it out.....he went running in the other direction toward the bathroom with Maiah and I chasing behind. While I was attempting to rinse out his blood filled mouth, Maiah was just devastated as he was throwing the tooth in the trash can. Maiah picked it out, wrapped it in tissue for him and put it in the pocket of the tooth pillow that we have had since Nathan started losing teeth. Ever since she found out what the pillow was for, Maiah has been waiting to use this pillow, no loose teeth yet but she cant wait until they start falling out. How quickly they become Americanized!! Anyway, she was very cute trying to explain to Seth that he will have MONEY for his piggy bank when he wakes up but he can't throw the tooth away. He just looked at her like she was crazy for saving it. So, with the tooth pillow by his head and Maiah tucked in too....they wait with anticipation for the tooth fairy. 30 minutes goes by and Maiah comes walking out of the room, she says Seth is sleeping but I cant sleep.....right away my Mommy mode kicks in and says "Are you trying to see the tooth fairy"? She said "Yes" with a sweet smile on her face. But she had another concern....... she was also concerned about the kids in Mongolia and wanted to know why the tooth fairy does not go to Mongolia? Do all the kids in the orphanage just throw their teeth away? I quickly said that maybe she was not aware of where some of the children lived.....with so many kids, she may miss a few.....oh, to be a child again!!!

Anyway, 2 sweet faces emerged this morning with Maiah letting me know that the tooth fairy knows that Seth lives here in Virginia now. Seth placed his 4 quarters in his bank happily, much thanks to Maiah!!

Have a great day!!!

Derek gets the Silver Spoon Moment while.....

Mommy gets the Golden Arches!!! I know most will have a good laugh and so will Seth someday...however Mommy was not laughing yesterday!

Yesterday, Seth and I went to have him tested for an ESL (English as a Second Language) program at at one of the schools in our city. He was very good, the teacher was most impressed with him and his abilities. Being the Mom that I am, I wanted to reward the good behavior so I decided to take Seth to McDonald's for lunch and then let him play in the play place with a few other kids....as he misses having someone to play with all day...

Well, he ate his lunch and all was well, so off to play he goes.....he is playing and there is only one other little boy in the entire play area but he was not able to go up the slides as he had CP(not a good scapegoat)...I place a quick call to Daddy to let him know what a great day we are having and how great Seth has been!! We have had some rough days so this was a huge accomplishment!! Then I realize that Seth does not come down for a bit, so I start calling his name.......next thing I know, there are drips falling from the space ship that is attached to the ceiling. Oh, yes!!! So, I attempt in my head to give my son the benefit of the doubt......maybe some kid brought a drink up there and Seth has spilled it!! Yes, that's it!! So I go over to the dripping to see if by chance the air conditioning is leaking or maybe it is Orange Hi-C........oh no, it is clear to light yellow, ok maybe it is lemonade.....not so much!!! So, I call Seth down and he comes and I proceed to ask him if he went pee pee in the space ship?? He says no with a smile on his sweet "innocent" face and so I ask him again and he says yes, yes pee pee, yes!! The story goes down hill from here as we then had to tell the manager, close the play place and proceed to leave with my screaming, kicking 6 year old!! Trying to carry him, I pulled something in my back and had instant pain in my head and behind my left eye.....oh yes, it was a great day!!

Needless to say The Golden Arches really are Golden!! My perspective today is much different than what is was yesterday. There is much grace as Seth grew up in a country where you just stop and pee where ever you are....however, he does know that we use toilets and has used one in every store/restaurant we have been in both here and in Mongolia. The worst part is that we had to go for shots a couple of hours later and he needed 4 shots and a TB test in order to attend school on Thursday!! As he left the health clinic with bandaids covering his body,the poor kid was probably thinking, I am never gonna pee in the spaceship again!!

Keep those prayers coming, we are trusting Gods grace to be sufficient!!
Love,
Stacy

The Silver Spoon

We have been home for one week now!  I got up and took the kids to school and let Stacy and Seth sleep in.  I returned home to Seth on the couch saying "Daddy, Hug".  I then prepared some Cheerios and cut strawberries on the side, he only said "yes" with a smile.  As I watched over him and enjoyed the aroma of my coffee, the whole scene was put into perspective for me.

 

Here sits a child removed 13,000 miles from all he knows.  His parents, and maybe he feels enemies at times, have struggled with the language barrier and defiant behavior.  Seth has struggled with EVERYTHING new.  All he is surrounded by is new, right down to the very weather.  Yet, in the midst of this torrent of emotions and change, God shows me a boy eating Cheerios and strawberries.  Not only does God show me this child truly content and smiling between bites; He reveals how He cares about every detail. It strikes me that the spoon I grabbed this morning is a silver spoon.  How humbling that our God would watch over every move of this tremendous journey and complete this orphan boys journey, right into the arms of both his fathers with a silver spoon in his mouth.

 

To all of you who have truly labored in this journey with us, THANK YOU!  We are getting better every day and learning so much from a 6 year old, who is the size of a 4 year old, with the curiosity of a 2 year old.  Yet his old soul is very wise and reveals so much love through those almond eyes. 

Warmest Regards,

Derek