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!