Lots of celebrating!!!

Over the last couple weeks we've had several celebrations in our home.  There is so much to be thankful for . . . isn't it worth celebrating!  Though the effort of celebrations sometimes does dishwade me, I'm always glad I took the time, gave the energy and committed to celebrating.  The act of celebrating is an act of gratitude.  Really it is worship, as we celebrate the One who has given such good gifts; who has faithfully brought us this far!

In cultural form, we celebrated the finishing of first grade, and a little early birthday celebration, with some of Ethan's buddies and Osh. 

 

Elli was thrilled to have a little girl from Ethan's class come.  They painted finger nails and played on the pink scooter, before joining in on the water gun fight.  It's fun to watch Elli grow more and more confident in language and culture interaction, even when Ethan's not around!

Ethan's best friend at school!

Can you read the hat?  In English: "I'm Muslim." 

Celebrating the countdown until we get on the plane.  The anticipation itself has been so much fun.  And the family and friend time . . . less than a week now, and we can't wait!

The celebration of growing bigger and a new bike.  He was riding his other bike with his legs out to the side of the handle bars . . . the kid keeps growing.  Elli is also excited, as she inherits Ethan's old red bike.  She's already removed the stickers and is calling it a Strawberry Shortcake Bike.  It's all in the perspective!

 And an early birthday camp out with his best buds!  Even though they DESPERATELY wanted to, the little siblings didn't sleep in the tent that night.  Poor Ethan didn't sleep the whole night out there either; as he started throwing up with a stomach bug halfway through. 
 

Enjoying water guns sent by Gogo.  We saved them for end of school/birthday celebrations!

 

Enjoying smores!  Elias is giving a tasty review for Zeke, who didn't get to sample one.  

Fun special treats!

Friday several women friends came for a pizza party.  They came to celebrate with me the opportunity to travel and see my family.  They'll be back to celebrate my return, hear a full report and see pictures.  Though the timing wasn't ideal, I'm so grateful to have sweet friends who want to be a part of my life!

 

A concert!

For a fun mother daughter outing, Elli and I went to a concert of our favorite local artist; Nagina!  For the K-State readers, the concert was in a room the size of Forum Hall.  But it was packed out well over capacity.  Apparently children, up to an unclarified age, don't need their own ticket.  So almost ever seat had another on their lap.  There was no air conditioning and we were the second concert that day; so it quickly got very hot!  But it sure was a fun time!  And a sweet memory.

The pictures aren't the greatest, as I only took our phone.  I didn't want to be the tourist with the big camera.  But in hindsight it probably wouldn't have mattered.  It was so fun to join in alongside local friends.  Without planning, we were on the same row as members in our local host family; a sweet sister; and the lady who does my eye brows.  What fun to just be one of them.

Elli hasn't stopped dancing since the concert.  She's really getting good and her confidence is growing.  We've already packed our DVD of her music videos, so we can dance with our friends/cousins in America. :)  Throughout the concert little girls, dressed in their pretty new dress for the year, brought flowers to the artist.  Many of them would then take the opportunity to dance behind her while she kept singing.  I told Elli, we'll bring flowers for the next concert and she can do some dancing! 

Nagina, a native of our village town, is growing  in popularity.  Obviously a concert in her home town was packed out and she was very warmly received.  The tickets were quite expensive, at the equivalent of $10 each.  And come to find out, she lip-synced the whole concert.  Local friends weren't disappointed, "how could she sing and dance in that kind of heat?" was their logic.  I was a little disappointed, joking that I have the DVD, if I want to just watch her sing to a recording. 

So glad we were here for the concert and that we have this special memory.

Big boy school

As time and energy have permitted, I continue to tweak our daily schedule.  Though I'm seeing that with my personality, it is less of a schedule and more of a flow to the day .  One of the things the author encouraged was to plan in 30 minutes of preschool time with the younger kiddos.  So Elias and I are doing school, and he loves it!!!  He asks for it almost daily and is so proud of what he learns.  He's quick to report to Daddy when he comes home for lunch. 

His school work is posted on our fridge and he points it out to all who enter. 

So grateful for the purposed time to invest in each one of them!

In honor of Father's Day

 I took this picture when we were in Wichita, for my photography class.  A fun glance at Daddy that I happened to catch on film.

It's the same little boy, but man he's grown and changed.  And the 2 1/2 years between then and now have changed and deepened Austin too.  He is a faithful, Godly man who loves and serves his family and friends so well.  I'm so blessed (as are our four kids) to cared for and selflessly loved by him!

 

Sleepers Update

Thanks to many of you for your emails, words of encouragement but most of all for your coming alongside kind of praying!  It has been felt and so warmly received!  It is so encouraging to not feel like we are carrying a burden alone.  I guess it's been over a week since I asked for your help.  Sleeping remained much the same, with frequent night wakings that roused siblings.  But I have felt your prayers in the ability to love patiently during the day despite weariness.

Saturday night Zeke was up 6 times, waking each of his siblings at alternating times.  Out of desperation for sleep for our family, we decided to move Zeke into our guesting room, across the way.  The first night was great, only waking for 10 minutes.  The second night, not so fabulous, as he cried for almost 2 hours.  But last night . . . he slept all night long.  Praise be to God!!!  And even better, his siblings have had 3 nights of undisturbed sleep. 

So as long as guesting and weather permits, I think we'll sleep him in the living room.  Granted, tonight may be a different story.  Let alone what jet lag and sleeping in various locations all over the Midwest?!  But I'm celebrating in last nights sweet gift!

Thanks again for joining with us!

Last Day of school and some quotables

This is how the year began.  He was the new thing and there was a whole lot of unknowns before us.

"Elkhomjoni Arif" (Austin's Dear Ethan- Ethan's registered name at school; what is written on all his books and the in the Teacher's grade book)

Class photo.  The boys have to hang together!

 Ethan's penmanship is excellent.  He's well on his way to beautiful cursive 

as a result of this year in local school.

 Ethan was one of the first to master reading in his class.  Though he can't understand the meaning of all the words he reads, he is able to read very well!

 And this is how the year ended, he's just one of the class.  The front row is no longer reserved for the token foreign kid.  At the graduation ceremony, he brought up the rear.

 

 He stood, with his class, for a 2 hour assembly in the sun celebrating the graduation of the 11th graders and the graduation of the 1st grade class.  The graduation is called "the last bell" and is filled with it's share of "Last Bell" poems recited by representatives from both classes and several teachers.  

 White birds were released at the beginning of the ceremony, representing the freeing and releasing of the graduating class.

And just like at the "First Bell" ceremony, 2 1st graders were carried around the grounds ringing the bell.  After the ceremony Ethan expressed disappointment that he wasn't chosen to ring the bell.  We decided it was because he is significantly bigger than the boys in his class, and the "Martial Arts Champ" (see the metals he's wearing) wouldn't have been able to lift him.  That would have been embarrassing for the Champ.


Some lessons learned:

Toilet paper isn't provided and some days it's just better to come home at recess to use the bathroom.

De-worming medication is given routinely, whether you deem it necessary or not.

When the teacher says "Take a bath, the Dr. is coming tomorrow," it often means there is a standard lice and scrotum check the next day.  We opted to skip that day of school.

Poems are always recited well at a louder than normal volume.

The neatness of one's work is of equal, sometimes greater importance, than the correct answer.

One can learn to read in another language and only understand a fraction of the words you're reading.

Alphabets are different: p=r; n=e; h=n; g=d etc.

Every celebration is better acknowledged with fresh flowers.

There are countless acceptable reasons to miss school.


We also learned that a typical tool teachers/parents use to motivate students is to use threats.  It's been comical to hear the stories Ethan comes home with.  Some of the memorable ones have been:

• If you don't read this (portion of the book) you will stay with me all weekend until you can read it. 
• Stop talking, or I'll rip your lips off.
• I'm going to hit you, and you'll die.
• Memorize this poem, tomorrow special visitors are coming and you must say it.  (Yet, the visitors never come.)
• Tonight, it's going to rain spiders.
• Children thieves who are caught are turned into kielbasa (processed meat product).
• Don't run on the street.  You will break your arm.  
• If you don't do this correctly, we will throw you in jail and spiders will eat you.

There have been many differences and the learning curve for Ethan, and our entire family, has been a steep one.  But the experience was all in all very positive.  He has some good friends as a result and really loves his teacher.  As it stands now, we are hoping to tackle 2nd grade come September.  In the meantime, Ethan will be playing lots of local games with his friends on the street!

A weary call for prayer

It's been a long time since I can remember sleeping through the night.  There's the pregnant bladder that wakes you, screaming for relief.  And then the very pregnant tossing and turning, a swollen body looking for a comfortable way to rest.  The restlessness of winter 2012. 

Then the frequent cries of a newborn.  Always hungry.  And if it wasn't hunger, the tummy pain that would leave him writhing and screaming for hours.  Sometimes the only thing that would pacify him in the middle of the night, was a walk in our courtyard, looking at the moon.  It pacified my heart, to remember again that the God of the Universe is bigger than even this right now. 

And then ear pain.  Digging hard at his ears.  Crying for relief.

Older brother's transition to a "big boy bed" brought on middle of the night terrors and more screaming and thrashing.  Countless nights where he ended up tucked in tight next to me.  Too tired from being up with the little one, to carry him back to his bed. 

Then there's the normal summer time tummy sickness; nights given to violent vomiting.  Or the winter nights; sleep given to keeping warm and coughing siblings; "please don't wake the baby!"

I struggle with my own issues of guilt; "maybe if I was a more disciplined mama, and had him cry it out sooner, we wouldn't be still struggling with this."  But to cry it out in a room of four, the siblings wake and are soon in our bed.

There have been nights I have physically felt the heaviness of exhaustion.  Nights I have to say it out loud, that God is here and this darkness is not dark to Him.  

And what is normal?  Isn't this part of the "call" of motherhood with young children.  So many times I hold back sharing, knowing so many other young mothers are weary in a similar, or even more chronic way. 

But the last two weeks, the wakings have been significantly longer.  Huge chunks of the night, given to one child or the other.  The youngest has found his voice from 12:30-3:30 several nights; crying, talking, playing.  The others can't seem to sleep through it like they used to.  It as though the family finally surrenders to sleep around 4:30 a.m., often with one of them in our bed.  My planned 6:00 a.m. wake up, for coffee and my quiet time has proved near impossible these last handful of days. 

So my heart was spurred to ask for help by this word.
            "She found God’s presence amidst God’s people.  Do you need to do likewise?
             Tough times stir the hermit within us.
              We want to hide out, run away and avoid human contact. In reality, we need community.
              Lean on God’s people. Cancel your escape to the Himalayas. Forget the deserted island. 
              Be a barnacle on the boat of God’s church."

I don't know what the cause of the sleeplessness in our home is.  I don't know if it is spiritual attack, if it is my lack of will power to suffer through crying it out, or just normal life with four small kids in a small room.  But today our church time ended with all the adults crowded in our children's room, praying!

And I'm asking you, would you pray with us.  For us.  Cause I honestly feel like I'm sinking, and I need the help of His people!