Getting into the Holidays!

Hello everybody! This is Rebecca writing. My dad asked me to write a quick update this time! I think he's planning on having all the kids share some thoughts eventually.

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and it was Luke's first American holiday with us! (Halloween not counting) It was so special to be able to sit around the table as a complete family of seven talking about what we were thankful for! We told Luke about how at this time last year we were all a little bit heartbroken because he was not home with us. Even though we were early in the adoption, we knew he was supposed to be around the table with us as our son and brother. We prayed earnestly that he would be home soon! It was so special to thank God for another brother this year! We also thanked God once again for our health. Just before Thanksgiving last year my mom was just getting out of the hospital after about a week of health scares. There is just so much to be thankful for this year.

For a couple weeks now Luke has been earnest in asking us "How many days until Christmas?!" He is BEYOND excited for the Christmas season. A few days ago we went out and looked at Christmas lights in the neighborhood. None of us thought it was anything special, but Luke was ecstatic! He was singing and dancing at the Christmas music playing in the car and practically jumping out of the car looking at all the lights! Everyone says Christmas is magical, but for a 13 year old new to America, it really is! Last weekend was our weekend to decorate the house and once again, he was ecstatic! That morning my mom started clearing some room for the tree and decorations. He just sat there and said with a HUGE smile on his face "You guys, I am happy." I wish you could all hear his cute accent, but it was priceless. We told him that we would put lights up on the house (BIG smile), then decorate the tree (BIG smile) then watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas (BIG smile). I do not understand my Dad, but he always seems to bring home the ugliest tree he can find. We always end up with a 'Charlie Brown Tree' because "they need love too" Dad says. Luke seemed okay with it, but went with dad to pick out the tree, just in case!

Needless to say, I am crazy about Luke! It feels like I have always been his sister. The very first thing I ever worried about, going into this adoption, was him not being able to bond with his sisters. It was so sweet to see the Lord reassure me and Molly as we moved closer to having him home. I can't even tell you all how scared I was that I might have a brother who didn't bond to me or love me. Molly and I spent plenty a night fretting over the possibilities that this year would bring. If there have ever been to sisters that love having brothers, it'd be us and the thought that Luke would reject us, was absolutely terrifying. However, God completely took care of those worries. During the year we waited for him, the Lord did some really special things to my heart. I am opened up to adoption and am so touched by Ethiopia. I absolutely fell in love with that country!! I think a big part of it is that I fell in love with my little brother, who is Ethiopian. He's now been home for about 3 months! Although its definitely not easy, we are doing really well. I'm not going to lie, we fight. I don't know if Luke has me completely figured out yet. Sisters are really hard!! Every now and then, I get a look from him and I can tell he thinks I'm an alien. However, I also get those looks from my biological brothers. The going's not always easy, but it is priceless! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have been chosen to be Luke's big sister.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acclimating!

Well...we have another teenager in the house, WOW!  Luke is acclimating to being a part of the Vondra family quite nicely.  Now he's teasing his siblings, he can be indifferent, obstinate, obnoxious, and argumentative!  And guess what?  He's like everyone of our other children.  We have a place for him in our home and in our hearts.  This kid is no dummy, he's very intuitive, smart, inciteful and intellgent!  We love having him around, pain in the butt and all! 

Let's run through some of the things that Luke has been up to or through!

LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL - Sorry for the course language but this guy on a bike- watch out!  Luke didn't ride a lot of bikes in his former life, and man does it show!  Luke knows he's dangerous on a bike and he's not much better on a four-wheeler.  We'll shoot for him to actually get his drivers license at about 21 years old! 

SOCCER IS OVER - Luke did great, but he didn't have enought games to get any real "mo--jo" going.  Luke did make MAGIC CITY SOCCER for the spring.  He made the U14 White team, which is the better of the two teams.   In the orphage system in Ethiopia, they played their soccer on concrete in a small courtyard and they didn't have the opportunity to do the open-field running so Luke has to get his lungs". 


ON TO BASKETBALL! Luke is now playing basketball at Trinity Lutheran School. He never played basketball till Jake and Mike started working with him in our culdesac. Luke is so athletic that he's already trying to accomplish a level of proficiency that will help his team.























SPLIT PEA SOUP - Luke DOES NOT like split pea soup!  And he didn't even know that the chunks of meat are not chicken. (ham... With 35% of Ethiopia being Muslim, not a lot of ham in Ethiopia)  Well it was a bad day for Luke and I.  He did not want to eat that soup, not ONE bite!  And...he didn't! 

WORSHIP MUSIC - Before we left Ethiopia, we bought about 10-15 cd's and dvd's and man does luke dig his worship music.  It's fun to listen to him singing out his amharic worship music.  Luke loves the Lord and talks about either being a pastor or professional soccer play when he grows up. 

SCHOOL IS HARD  We're in an acedemic marathon, we're way behind, but we're definitely gaining ground!  Luke is working so hard, we're very proud of him. 









TRICK OR TREAT - And what a treat! It's a little childish and Luke said he doesn't want to do it next year but for one year, Luke wanted to do Holloween!  His costume was spectacular, and he's a cute girl!  Notice his big brother, the Allen boys and Jacob who were REAL troopers for doing this with luke!


















SNOW & DAYLIGHT SAVINGS!  In early October, Luke had his first opportunity with snow!  Last weekend we were hunting antelope and we stopped by a snow bank for he and Jake to mix it up with, what might be his first "snow-ball fight"!  As for the concept of daylight savings, Ethiopia is close enough to the equator, this was a VERY foreign concept.  The turning dark at 5pm, also very hard to understand. 

Gym--time with Mom!

Wow!  The Gym! 

Luke had no homework today so I (Jolee) decided it was time to show him "Granite", the place where we have a membership and regularly go to work out. From the minute we walked in, Luke was mesmerized by the place. He kept saying "WOW" and "Gosh". Also, "Can I come here, mom? Do I have to pay money everytime?" As we began our tour of the place, he rooted himself to the floor at each stop and wanted to stay there and do everything in that section. He had no idea that such places existed! First there was  the illiptical machines, treadmills, stairmasters, and  stationary bikes (all with their own TV's)! He  just stopped and stared! I had to practically push him to continue the tour. Next were the weight machines and free weights...Oh my gosh!! Sheer JOY on his face to know that this was a place he could come to and work out so as to get big and strong. (He has mentioned several times that he wants a 6-pack. What 13 year old doesnt??) Again, he was rooted to the ground watching some of the men lifting weights. Then he had  to try several machines himself. He loved it! Again, I had a hard time getting him to move on to the next part of the tour... the swimming pool and hot tub. When I opened the door and he entered the pool area, he immediately asked if he could "swimming right now." I said no because we did not have our swimsuits to which he replied that he could just swim in his underwear!  To make a long story short, we ended up coming home, grabbing our suits and returning to the pool for a very FUN one and a half hour swimming extravaganza!  It was an experience with Luke that I will never forget and treasure always.

 Since this is my (Jolee) first time writing on the blog, I just want to add a few more comments. This month home with Luke has been amazing! Every afternoon I pick him up from school at about 12 and we come home! From home, while everyone else is still at school, we have Mom and Luke time! We play and then do some homeschooling! It is a great joy of my life getting to be a mom to my boy. The times I have with him are dear to my heart! Although I do love having the whole family together and watching them all interact, the times alone with Luke are equally special. I love getting to know him and his heart. What makes him laugh and what makes him sad. I love hearing him open up. I love silently giggling at the cute things he says and hearing him struggle with English (and then trying to remember those things so I can tell John when he walks in the door). Things aren't always easy! So many things are new- for both of us! Mothering a boy who has never had a mother is an interesting transition. Sometimes I feel (very!)discouraged, but tomorrow is always a new day! To cut to the chase, I am madly in love with Luke and loving every moment of being a mom to 5 great kids!

Life with the Vondra's

As I was writing this post from my point of view, Luke plopped down beside me and asked me what I was doing. He liked the looks of it, so he helped me write it! He said some cute things so I made sure to include those. I tried to convey his cute accent and broken English! The writing in "" are Luke's words!

LIFE AS A PART OF THE VONDRA FAMILY!:  "WOW!  I pray to God, I wanted a family, I want for two brothers and two sisters, a Mom and Dad, and God give me dis".  Luke told us shortly after he got home that he had prayed for two brothers and two sisters for years before we met him. He remembers last summer his joy at finding out his new family was just that! Well, God answered his prayers, but be careful what you pray for Luke, cause "this family a crazy family". What he didn't  know is that Dad has 8 siblings. He has met most of them but only briefly. He also doesn't realize is that he is the 38th grand child of Gramma Vondra. There are nearly as many great grand children now. SO, Luke you have know idea the crazy loving that's coming your way!

Luke likes playing with the girls hair, but he's not so gentle!

This is one of the Ethiopian meals Jo made! Its called Tibs and it is delicious! Luke was thrilled to have this meal! He was dancing in his chair while eating!

School: One of the biggest things going on in Luke's life is of course his introduction to the teachers and classmates at Trininty Lutheran School.  Mr. Loomans, Mrs. Kanning(before he could remember her name it was "lady who crys"), Mrs Jackson, Mrs. Michaels, Mr. Thomas: "I love them verrrrry very much!"  The kids in the classroom have been fantastic to Luke and very welcoming to him. We know school is going to be a challenge. We have all experienced bit of frustration already, but Luke is such a driven kid that we are positive he will catch up.

Class trip to Great Falls: This past week Luke's class took their annual trip to Great Falls MT. Conveniently, that is where Jolee's parents live. So, Luke and Jo went up and spent a little time with the class, but a lot of time with Jolee's wonderful parents. Jake and I had to stay back because Jake had a football game, but Molly and Rebecca drove up to spend the weekend. Luke loves his sisters, but they don't play quite as rough as his brothers. The girls tried to play soccer with him, tried to wrestle him, and tried to make up for his first weekend away from his brothers. But when Luke got home he was THRILLED to be among his older brothers who made sure to rough him up a bit right away.. Those sisters are good for some things I suppose!

Staying connected: Luke has made many lasting and meaningful friendships in his years the orphanage in the past years. The bond created between these kids is absolutely amazing! Before going to be their forever families, the children are each other's family. Luke was one of the last kiddos to make it home, so when he did get here, he was so excited to be able to catch up with a few pals. Me, Jolee, and Rebecca have tried to find as many families adopting from Ethiopia as possible in order to track down his friends (via Facebook). Wow is it fun to get to see the look on his face as he Skypes with his sweet pals. WE LOVE HEARING AMHARIC IN OUR HOUSE! We have such an amazing new community of friends with amazing kids!

SOCCER SOCCER SOCCER: Luke is playing YSA( developmental league), with girls and boys.  Luke didn't want to have girls on his team but he does and now he likes the girls. "They're good."  Luke tried out for Magic City which is a very competitive league. He will play on this league in the spring and is anxious for the added competitiveness.

Tidbits from our Time so far:
Dentist Appointment: We thought Luke might have lots of cavities, but only one!  Yeah!

Bicycle: Wild man!  Luke hasn't ridden a bicycle very much and is always about 2 seconds from a "firey crash"!  You might see a scuffed chin in some of the pics, Luke fell riding too close to a wall, wall kind of reached out and grabbed him. 

Luke is a picky eater unless he has berbere on it. Berbere is a very common spice in Ethiopia. They put it on everything! We can usually coax Luke into trying something if we put a dash of berbere on it! As a family, we really dont  mind Ethiopian food! It's really quite good. So Jolee tries to prepare at least one Ethiopian meal every couple weeks.

Swim parties: "One for the class and one for Mom and Dad's friends"

Basketball, football:  "Michael and Jacob have been teaching me" He knows he'll have to play basketball for Mr. Thomas at Trinity Lutheran so he's trying very hard to learn it. He doesn't love football though!

Sisters - "They kill me ha ha. They love me.  My sisters are Stinky!  (but very beautiful...)" Hmm. Seems like he's a little conflicted on this one?

Brothers - "My brothers are handsome and stinky"

"Walter  (the dog) likes playing with me but he doesn't want to listen to me.  My Dad told me to MAKE him listen to me, and he will."

Mom - "Mom is good, she love me very much. I love her!  She take good care of me!"

Dad - "Dad is good, always saying to me to do good, and helping me."

I think this is a kind of confusing post! Sorry about that. I tried to make it easy to follow! We LOVE Luke and Luke LOVES us. It has been fun to see how we are all being challenged- in almost every way! FYI: This is challenging at times folks! Its not all smiles and giggles all the time. But we know this is the Lord's will and that since he led us to it, he will also lead us through it! God is good all the time!

Finally! Homecoming!

Wow, what a journey home from Ethiopia.  You start with a 17 hour flight from Addis Ababa to Washington DC-Dulles, via Rome Italy.  The elevation in Addis is so high, they can't get the plane off the tarmac if they completely fill the fuel tanks on the plane.  They fill them half full, and stop off in Rome to then completely fill up to make it to Washington DC-Dulles.

By the time we'd made DC, Luke's stomach was hurting him pretty good so when we finally had got through customs and immigration (yes we did it LEGALLY) we hit the first place we could find chicken.  Luke has a favorable impression of "American chicken" so we stopped by Wendy's and had a couple of chicken on a biscuit breakfast sandwich.  After some breakfast, Luke met some local politicians campaigning.  It was nice for them to come to meet Luke. 

44 hours!  Other than a couple of cat naps on the different planes on our way home, Luke, Mike and myself were had been up for 44 hours, and we were feeling it!!  Luke was now falling asleep at the drop of a had and falling asleep HARD.  Landing into Billings, just within 30 minutes of touch down, Luke said he was going to sleep, and sleep he did.  He fell into such a deep sleep, I had to pat him on his leg for 5 minutes before he'd wake up. 

But then we got home and came over the top of the escalators, we forgot all about being tired.  How honoring, how surprising.  I knew we had about 20 people that had expressed interest in welcoming Luke home, but we had no idea of the size of party waiting for him.  We know there were a lot of other's that wanted to attend but couldn't because of a busy Friday night, but to all of you that could make it, THANK YOU, you totally blessed us all.

 

Our Last Full Day in Ethiopia

Day Four!

Today is our last full day in this country. Those of you who have been to Ethiopia will share these sentiments, but this country has a way of getting in your heart and staying there. We feel forever bonded to this place, and not just because our son was born here. It's hard to explain, but my heart will forever be connected to Ethiopia!

Today we visited an area of the country called "The Gorge". The Gorge is about two hours north of the city. This is the Grand Canyon of Ethiopia. It was so fun to see! And I enjoyed having Luke along because although he was born here, he has yet to see very much of his country. In the area are the famous "bleeding heart" baboons with the red mark on their chest! We saw a few, which was fun!

We passed a few waterfalls...

This is very interesting: These men or women haul dung on their backs or on donkeys. Then they sell it as a fire starter.

We had a really cool experiance in a market along the way. We got out and mingled with the locals while they traded their goods. We were sort of a novelty (being white as snow), so people sort of hung around us. We had fun taking people's pictures and then letting them see themselves digitally. Some had never seen that before. Man are Ethiopians pretty people! The men are very strong and handsome and the ladies are just gorgeous! I'm proud to have a son from here!

And finally, here's Mike and Luke at the Gorge. Its hard to see, but there is a cliff back there. Clearly they are about to fall off...

As I said today is our full day! Tomorrow night (about 1:15 p.m. in Montana, 10:15 p.m. in Addis) we will board to fly to D.C. After a looooonnnngggg flight, we'll have a brand new U.S. citizen with us! Then at about 7:10 Friday night, we'll land in Billings!

Pray for safe and smooth travels with no delays!

 

Embassy Day

Okay here we go! Day 3:

So today was Embassy Day! For those of you who don't know, the first adoption trip is dedicated to going before the Ethiopian Court. Then once all your paperwork is final the kid's all good to go, you fly back and go before the U.S Embassy in Ethiopia! Usually, court is rough with only 50% passing, but Embassy is a breeze! This was true in our case! Not a single problem and I can safely say Luke is coming home! We have jumped the last adoption hoop!

Also today we visited the KVI orphanage in Addis. Luke spent some time in this orphanage and wanted to give the majority of our donations to this particulare orphanage. He met up with some of his good friends who are still waiting on adoption. It is heartbreaking to see some of these older kids who are desperately waiting to hear they have a family. I will forever remember to keep the adoption of older kids in my prayers! Wow! Anyways, Luke had a great time talking and playing with old pals. Before long, a lively game of soccer broke out! Wow can these boys play soccer!!! It was amazing! For privacy reasons, I can't show you the pictures or videos, but I wont ever forget it! I was awestruck!

Tonight we will head to a Traditional Ethiopian Dinner. I was here on the first trip, but it will be Michael and Luke's first time! Its very interesting! The food is very unique and you enjoy dinner while watching VERY talented dancers. Man can Ethiopians dance! So fun! They even come into the audience and ask for participation.. It funny to watch chubby Americans like me try and dance along with these talented Ethiopians! Im going to try and stay out of the spot light while at the same time get Michael to dance.. We'll see!

Sorry for the lack of pictures.. Hopefully more to come!

Thank you all for your continued prayers!
 

A Few Goodbyes

Again, this post will be short...

We're loving spending this time with Luke! He is very comfortable around us and seems very excited about America. I have loved getting to spend my first one on one time with my youngest son!

Today we traveled a bit out of Addis to Luke's hometown (Nazeret). Its very rainy! We traveled there today to say goodbye to Luke's birth father Ayalew. It was a sweet goodbye. Ayalew knows that we care deeply for him. We have told him that when we bring Luke back to Ethiopia some day we will try our very hardest to locate him. He is a very sweet, God-fearing man. I pray for my sons heart through this transition. (his father is fourth from the left)

Reunited

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY EVERYBODY!!!!!

Gotcha day is what adoptive families call the day you can finally take your son/daughter with you. Its the day when you reunite!! We'll remember this day forever!

We finally made it to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! After a very long flight we were exhausted, but nothing could keep us away from Luke! The reunion was AWESOME! I saw his little face peeking out the window before he stepped out. It was great to get to hug my son again and even better for Michael to finally get to meet Luke! Here are a few pictures to show you all of our excitement!

More to come soon....