Drumroll Please....

And now for the biggest news...

We have decided to adopt again...

From Ethiopia...

Another little boy...

And we're SO EXCITED!!!


But, the great news doesn't stop there...

We have already...

been matched....

with a sweet 3-year old little boy!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it?!?!?

We were matched on October 21st and have been busy paperchasing ever since.  We have everything in for our homestudy and are only waiting on 2 things for the dossier, one of those being the approved home study!

WOOHOO!!! We're going to Africa again and I can hardly wait. We will have to travel twice this time; Once for court and stay in country for abour 48 hours and then the second trip we stay for almost a week for the embassy date. Brad and I will travel together for the first trip and I will go back alone to bring home our new little one.

PLEASE keep us all in your prayers as we go through this journey again. Somedays, I'm so excited I could just burst and other days, I get so down about how long everything takes, that I could just cry. We all pray for him to stay healthy and be happy, but it's so hard not to see him and let him know we're coming. We just need to keep the faith!

We love you sweet child!

Lots of Updates & Pictures

Where do I begin...

Let's see, we've missed soccer, football, volleyball, homecoming, Halloween, and more. So, I will share the pics...



Muluken playing soccer in New London in August thru early October.

He LOVED it and couldn't wait for Saturday mornings!

Noah played junior pee-wee football (#17) on Saturdays in August thru October too! His favorite guy (DAD) was his head coach!

Cassie's homecoming dance was on October 9th. She went with a group of friends to Ihop for dinner (really?!) and then danced the night away. The top picture is of Cassie, Mark and Hailee. The next photo was Cassie and Mark, and the last one of course, is Cassie & Muluken! She was so pretty!

Jordan played her first year of volleyball for the 7th grade girls team. She loved it and I LOVED watching all the games. Cassie actually was mad that I traveled to the "away" games and accused me of not making it to all of her softball games last spring. UGH!

And of course Brad had to get into all of the fun and excitement this fall. Brad had knee surgery in September and was on crutches. He thought he would be a "tough guy" so he wouldn't use his crutches to coach football the day after surgery and boy did he pay for it. So, I made him use the lovely motorized cart at Walmart. He wasn't happy when I took away the crutches!

Really?! It's Been Two Whole Months...

Where has the time gone?!?!? I just can't believe I haven't been here to share all the happenings of the Rucks family. Before I get to all the exciting stuff, I want to share another blogger's thoughts. Again, I could have written this post but not so eloquently as her. PLEASE take the time to read this.

Taken from http://godwilladd.blogspot.com/

Celebrate National Adoption Month By Making a Difference

Speaking of November, did you know November is National Adoption Month? I'm sure it is also a month for a bunch of other (way lamer) stuff.


James 1:27 says "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." Pure and faultless ... does it get any better than that? In our churches we spend lots of time, energy and money on FAR less important things. So, in honor of National Adoption Month, let's brainstorm some ways we could all "look after orphans in their distress." I certainly don't believe everyone is called to adopt an orphan. But, we ARE all called to, in some form or fashion, look after orphans. How can we do this? I'd love for folks to chime in, as I'm sure I'm just barely scratching the surface of ideas.


Adoption. Obviously, one awesome way to look after an orphan is to make one (or two or three) less.

Sponsor a child. There are lots of great programs, like Compassion International and World Vision (and I'm sure lots of others that I'm not familiar with) who address the issue of orphans in one of the most crucial points ... before they become orphans. Programs like these help with the needs of kids while they are still with their parents. Due to some of these sponsorship programs, good parents are able to continue to parent their dearly loved kiddos because they are getting assistance with basic needs (needs we cannot even fathom here in the good ol USA).


Become a foster parent. Our country needs good, loving foster parents BAD.


PRAY for the orphans. BEWARE, sometimes God does crazy things with your heart when you do this.


Help a family trying to adopt. I know lots and lots and lots of amazing adoptive families that would never have been able to adopt had it not been for people to come along side them with generous donations. Don't know anyone trying to adopt? Donate to an organization like Show Hope who helps adoptive families pay for some of the costs along the way


Educate yourself. Did you know there are an estimated 150 million orphans in the world? Did you know there is a horrible outbreak of Cholera in Haiti right now, probably creating many more orphans? Americans spend more time talking (and reading) about one drug-crazed, in and out of jail, 20-something, used-to-be movie star than they do about 150 MILLION orphans! If this is you (been there, done that), change your news source. Read about missionaries like this (and support them).


Be an advocate in your church. Don't know how? Check out some of these great websites:


Cry of the Orphan


Orphan Sunday (which is NEXT SUNDAY, by the way)


The Global Orphan Project


"While many American churches are worrying about the lighting on their stage, or fussing over the displays in their foyer, children are suffering in orphanages, groaning...aching...for someone to come redeem their lives."

School Begins & So Does the Fun…

All of us (4 kids & myself) all went back to school on September 1st. I leave home about 6:15am, in order to get in early and make sure I’m ready for my day. Brad takes all of the kids to school and then heads to work. I have the EASY part. I get up at 5:30am and am pretty much ready to go by 6am. Brad on the other hand, has to get the kids up and moving. He has to put up with tired, crabby, and grouchy kids. UGH! Nobody wants to feed the horses and alpacas. Nobody wants to share a bathroom. Nobody wants to eat fast. Nobody wants to do much of anything. This would drive me CRAZY every day and really start my day off on a bad note. But somehow, Brad just goes with the flow. Yes, the arguing gets to him after a while, but he really does let it roll of his shoulders. I’m SO LUCKY to have this schedule!



At work, I share an office with 2 other teachers. Even though they’re both great (love ya), it’s pretty hard to get any work done when they are there. I have a hard time focusing on my work. If I’m doing computer work, I really have to concentrate on what I’m looking for and if I need to write a report, I have to REALLY shut out everything around me to get anything accomplished. I do go to my classroom to set up and do prep work, but my computer is in my office and I’m lost without it.


After school, I am either picking up Jordan from volleyball practice or going to a volleyball game. If Grandma Lenz is unable to help me out, I have to hurry home and pick up Noah and take him back to Wega for football practice. I then make dinner, check homework, clean up kitchen, throw in a wash, make sure everyone takes a shower, and watch TV while surfing the internet, all while lying in bed. I can hardly keep my eyes open until 10pm.

Muluken was the most excited for school to start. Since I had left so early for work, Muluken thought they should leave by 6:30am. Even though Brad knew it was way too early, they still left before 7am to go to school. They all endedup waiting in the van until some other kids arrived at school.

First Day in First Grade for Muluken

First Day in Fifth Grade for Noah

First Day in Seventh Grade for Jordan

First Day in 10th Grade for Cassie!

Picture with backpack is so yesterday and "un-cool", so we have a group shot of the first day of school!!

Happy New Year!

Melkam Addis Amet!

Ethiopia follows the Julian calendar. There are 12 months of 30 days, followed by a 13th month of five or six days (depending on leap year). This means that it’s now they are now celebrating 2003 in Ethiopia!

In Ethiopia on New Year’s Eve, families set small torches of dry leaves and wood bundles in front of their homes and sing together. The next morning, families go to Church and then have injera and wat. Children go from house to house singing New Year songs. In the evening, families go to visit their friends and share their hopes for the New Year.

When I talked to Muluken about the New Year holiday in Ethiopia, he started telling me about one time when men and women came to their home, carrying a large tray of food in the air and singing. Even though his house was not that big, they put chairs around and people came into their home for a party. He said after everyone was done eating the people left. He was so excited to tell me about the "party" but I have no idea if it was for New Year's or not.

Something to think about...

I LOVE reading blogs. Blogs about adoption, Ethiopia, teaching, scrapbooking, and families. I look forward to sitting with my laptop, and just surfing the internet for my favorite blogs and new ones.

So, today I ran across this post on a fellow blogger's site and totally agree with everything she said! I actually could have written this post myself...

"We attended evening mass last night, and my brain is still all wrapped around yesterday's Gospel. It was from Luke, chapter 14, and it really struck me as having a ton of relevance to our adoption plan.



In it, Jesus said, "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." As I pondered this quote, I began to think about those of our friends and family who have suggested this task (adopting a little boy who's sick and from another country) is just too hard. There have been a few, and although I know they are well intentioned, that continues to rub me the wrong way. After all, we know this will be hard; in fact, that's one of the primary reasons we've chosen to do it.


Father Bob wrote in the church bulletin, "To be a true disciple is costly. Jesus does not want or need superficial disciples. He wants men and women willing to sacrifice, willing to follow all His commands.” In his spoken and written homily, Bob mentions how we, as a people, have come to relish our comfort and how so many of our choices flow from a desire to maintain that comfort. "Discipleship demands that in the face of all this we keep our priorities straight. True wisdom is knowing where to put our energies, how to focus our attention, with whom to commit ourselves. It may be demanding but it is not impossible for we are given the grace of God to sustain us."


He's right; it's easy to just say no or ignore the hard work of being a real follower of Christ. It's way easier to let others do the hard work and make excuses like, "I already have four children; between my two full time jobs, I just won't have time; someone in our family already has a serious health condition; it'll be expensive; we don't speak Amharic; it'll be physically, mentally and emotionally demanding"


Well, we've decided not to say no. This is just too important an opportunity to pass up! True, Tommy needs a family, and we'll do a superb job at that for him. But equally important is the opportunity that Tommy brings to us; in our comfortable home, with our 3+ meals a day, and virtually limitless freedoms.


Making Tommy a member of our family will change more than just how we appear. Just think of the lessons he can teach us; about struggling and hardship; compassion and humility; love and commitment; walking a mile in anothers' shoes. I believe God called us to Tommy for our benefit as much as for his. He needs us for sure. But God knows we need him just as much. And like Bob shared in the closing today, "If we make the right choices, our lives will unfold in ways that will enrich us and all those around us. Living in right relationships, thinking of the needs of others not just ourselves, following the straight path, lifting one another up as a brother or sister, is the only way to spend the brief time we have here on earth. Nothing else is really worth it." Posted on bringinghimhome.blogspot.com

We're not adopting a special needs child, but I sure haven't given up hope that we will adopt another older child. I know we have our hands full with 4 children and our zoo of animals, but I just can't shake that feeling that we could do so much more. What would one more child do to our home life? Make it hectic, but what else?! Share our life and our love with a child who desperately needs a chance. Another child will also remind us how unbelievably blessed we are. If God is asking us to open our hearts to another child, who are we to turn away???

More Summer Pictures

Muluken's first boat ride! Grandma Lenz was happy to share her boat and of course, Noah was more than willing to go for a ride too!

What a beautiful day on the lake!

The birthday girl!

Jordan celebrating her 12th birthday at Grandma's house on the lake!

What a party group!

Jewelry for the princess!!

Muluken playing Little League. He was awesome!! He could hit the ball to the outfield. He could field the ball and throw it to first base and get kids out. He was fun to watch and really looked forward to Monday nights!

Tia and Tiger. They will be parents once again (probably very soon).

This is where I could usually find them this summer. Sitting on the back of the couch, watching me work on my computer! They look so sad in this picture...like I'm really ignoring them. But that's SO FAR from the truth. Tia would put her ball in my lap, and I would continuously throw the ball in the kitchen and down the hallway. Tiger would stand on my lap and look into my eyes, telling me he wanted to go out. They were my shadows all summer!

Finally Some Pictures...

Muluken went to swimming lessons this summer at the park in Wega. Once a week, Muluken was able to jump off the diving board (with life jacket on)! He was one of two boys that really wanted to JUMP!

What a peanut!

Noah played on 2 baseball teams. He played on a AAA traveling team and also on a Wednesday night in-city league team. The traveling team played games every Tuesday and Thursday at noon, and they had practice every Monday and Wednesday from 9 to 10am.

What a little man I have!

Introducing our newest member of the Rucks' home, Joy, our Sun Conure! She is such a character and fun to watch in her cage or on your shoulder. She does have a VERY loud squak when she wants your attention but will also make clicking noises when she's happy.

Joy likes to eat sunflower seeds right out of your hand and also can take out your diamond earrings in a split second! She's been known to give everybody kisses and really likes to have the stereo playing when everybody leaves the house. I'm so glad we got her, but I think Brad thinks I'm crazy!!

 

This was our (Jordan & I) first attempt at making a birthday cake using fondant. After watching all of the awesome cooking and cake shows on TV, we thought we would try our luck on baking Jordan's 12th birthday cake! It actually turned out looking pretty good and tasted great!

First Time at the FAIR…

Muluken had his first experience with our county fair this past Friday. Noah had been talking it up and getting Muluken excited for a few days, but it was very hard to really “explain” what a FAIR was all about.



We used the Fair as our last family day of our summer vacation. We arrived around 11 in the morning and started in the rabbit and poultry barn. Muluken was telling us which rabbits were “cool” or “cute”. He couldn’t believe that we actually had our two rabbits there last year. He liked looking at all of the chickens and ducks, and even pointed out a rooster that looked like the one he had in Africa.


From there we headed to the goat and horse barns. I had fun looking at the goats and started asking a lot of questions about how much space a goat needs, what a goat eats, what type of fencing is needed for the goats, and what type of goat is best for our family. Brad just stood there and listened. Not really excited about my questions, but tolerating them.


Then we headed to the horse barns. The girls were already talking to all of their friends and checking out the horses. Muluken was a little short, so we had to lift him up to check them out. He had a hard time believing that Kjell and Snickers were in this barn last year.


So, by the time we finished in the horse barn, Noah could see the midway rides moving. We were off to buy wristbands and try out a few rides. Muluken wanted to start on the small car and motorcycle ride. Noah’s face was in disbelief. We had to explain to Noah that it was good for Muluken to start with smaller rides and move up to the bigger and scarier rides. He was OK with that but not real happy. Muluken turned into a little daredevil and wanted to try all of the rides. But, of course, that didn’t happen because Muluken was too short for the 48” height requirement. Muluken is just pushing 44”, so we had to split the kids up for awhile. Muluken rode some rides with Justin and Kendra, while Jordan and Noah headed down to the bigger rides with MaKayla. Cassie just watched until I had her take the kids up on the ferris wheel.

We ate a few slices of pizza (almost $25) and drank LOTS of water and root beer. It was REALLY hot out and not a cloud in the sky. Brad found a bench in some shade at one point, and all of us crowded around it.


Muluken and I wandered off for a while on our own and looked at the cows, sheep, and pigs. He pointed out a cow that might have looked like his cow in Africa, but this one was much bigger. He liked the littler cows the best. He also liked the baby piggies all sleeping in a row. He really didn’t understand that the sheep weren’t goats, because the sheep looked so much like the goats because they were shaved.

Cassie, Jordan, and I left the fair early and walked to the middle school for Jordan’s volleyball practice. Brad and the boys stayed for another hour to ride some more rides and even play some games. (Brad is such a push over!)


Muluken’s first experience of the county fair was a success! He can’t wait for next year and hopes he can go on more BIG rides too!

Summer’s End…Bittersweet!

I just can’t believe that our summer vacation is coming to an end. All of us need to head back to school on Wednesday, September 1st. We were off for almost 3 months and a new routine and schedule were in place. We went from baseball, softball, swimming lessons, vision therapy sessions, dog project, sleeping-in, and lots of swimming at Grandma’s house, to starting the football, volleyball, and soccer seasons and going to band practices, back-to-school shopping, and last-minute doctor and dentist appointments.



This summer I was able to spend a LOT more time with all 4 kids and really enjoy my time with them. Yes, they still had their typical sibling arguments, that drive me crazy, but overall, it was FUN! I was watching my kids grow up right before my eyes.


I watched the girls actually have fun together and share non-parent information with each other. You know what I’m talking about…boy stories and more!


I watched Noah work through not being the youngest or only boy anymore. He learned that a little 6-year old brother can be fun at times, especially when it comes to wrestling, snuggling on the couch to watch TV, play the Wii and Nintendo DS games, ride bikes, ride the 4-wheeler, play baseball, jump on the trampoline, take showers together, and swim together! He still liked his one-on-one time with Mom and Dad, and he really liked being older, so he wasn’t the first one with the early bedtime! Noah has really sprouted this summer ~ I can’t believe how tall he is. Looks like I’ll be buying all new pants for school this year. He’s so proud that he weighs 82 pounds for football. But that means he weighs 82 pounds with all of his pads on. He actually only weighs 74 pounds.


Muluken just soaked in EVERYTHING this summer!! His language skills have multiplied and he’s just so much fun when he wants to tell you something that he’s excited about and can hardly contain himself to say the words. He has a very infectious belly laugh and loves to try new things. He likes to watch “some” TV but would rather draw, color, build with Legos, play with cars, or ride his bike. Muluken’s jobs were to fill the little dogs’ food dishes and their water dish, and the cat’s dishes. He also watered the flowers and picked up poops by the garage. He actually liked pulling weeds around the house (NOT a favorite of anybody else in our home!). Muluken was a fan of taking walks to Grandma Rucks’ house. He rode his bike while I walked.


I LOVED watching the kids play ball all summer and even learned a few back roads to new towns I‘ve never been too. I was a taxi cab driver every day but was able to listen to LOTS of great music on my Ipod. Muluken would always ask me, “Is this your song, Mom?” He always knows who likes which song.


I LOVED surfing the internet all summer. Checking out blogs, facebook, message boards, and just searching for new things. I liked having my laptop wherever I went in the house. Wireless is AWESOME!!


I also LOVED playing with all of my animals. My puppies, my kitties, my alpacas, my horses, my rabbits, and my birds. I’m so SPOILED when it comes to my zoo!


I also LOVED having date nights with Brad. We usually went out for dinner somewhere and just had fun talking without any extra ears around. Sometimes we went grocery shopping or running errands, but it was still nice to get away together and catch up. I also liked swimming with Brad and the kids. It was so much fun playing tag in the water or hitting a beach ball to each other.


Yes, it was an awesome summer…not so much LAZY days of summer…but still a lot of FUN!!

Wonderful Weekend!

This must have been one of the best weekends of the entire summer.



A few things that made this weekend AWESOME:

• We have our school shopping complete!

• Muluken played his first soccer game and scored 8 goals!

• Cassie competed at the Fair for dog project and “graduated” onto the next class for next summer!

• Noah played in a scrimmage for junior pee-wee football and was a tackling machine!

• The hot, humid weather has lifted and Sunday’s weather was so wonderful!

• We got the lawn cut and filled the kitchen with groceries!

• I was able to sit outside in the sun and just relax!

• We were able to turn the air conditioning off and open all the windows ~ love the fresh air!

• Sammy, the St. Bernard, spent the entire day outside!

• The “big boys” (horses) stayed in their paddock for over 24 hours!

• I’m getting excited to go back to school and try new activities in our new classroom!

• Brad and I went out to dinner all by ourselves!

• Spent all weekend with the family!

15 Hours ~ No WATER

We take so much for granted in America and that became so apparent this past Wednesday night. Cassie was taking a shower (last person for the evening) and the water stopped. Nothing. She started yelling. Brad checked the water in the kitchen and we had nothing. He went downstairs and checked things out. Yep. He confirmed. No water! (I think Cassie already told us that!)



He called a plumber the next morning and told us they would be here around noon. Umm. No water. 4 kids, 5 dogs, 2 cats, 3 horses, 3 alpacas, 2 rabbits, and NO WATER! And, it was THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE SUMMER!! The heat index was up to 103 degrees! Now that’s HOT for Wisconsin!


First things first. The animals outside were fed. The horses must have known about the water problem and became nervous. They drank their entire water tank. The kids needed to go to the bathroom. Off to Grandma’s house. We used her bathroom and started filling up 5-gallon pails of water. We loaded in my truck, drove down the road, carried them across the ditch and lawn to the horses. First trip wasn’t enough. Do it again. Did I happen to mention how HOT it was?!?! The kids were dripping wet with sweat. They were crabby and bickering back and forth. REALLY?!? Now that’s so surprising…NOT!


There were quite a few 4-wheeler trips to Grandma’s house for potty breaks, water bottles, and even 2 showers. I had to go to Poy Sippi to buy some milk and 2 big jugs of water. (Can’t believe we were even out of milk!)


Throughout this whole evening and morning of no water, all I could think of was Ethiopia and Muluken. I thought about his stories about taking his cow down a big mountain to the nearest water. How they never had clean water. How the little bit of dirty water they had, they would wash themselves outside of their home. How they ALWAYS had to walk to get some water, no matter what the weather. There was no running water in any home, so they all went potty outside in the trees and bushes.


No water in Ethiopia was an everyday occurrence. Not just 15 hours.

Six Minutes...

That’s all it took. SIX minutes for our county courthouse judge to make the final decision on Muluken’s adoption. He’s OURS FOREVER!!



It’s kind of funny if you really think about it though. The country of Ethiopia has already made this ruling back on December 4, 2009. Since that date, Ethiopia has given us the title of “parents” to Muluken. We have given our promise to Ethiopia that we will care, love, and raise him in our family. So, what would our county, state, or federal government do if we said “no, we don’t want him”? Not that it will EVER happen, but seriously, what if?


We are SO EXCITED that this final event has taken place in our adoption process. We still have to file one more piece of paperwork to receive his Certificate of Citizenship, and pay another $400 or so, but at least, it won’t disrupt the daily life happenings in our family!


Everyone in the family knew this was just a formality, or so I thought. Muluken had surgery the day before and wasn’t feeling so great on our court day. The family all got up at 6am and we left the house at 7:30am. We arrived at the courthouse within minutes of our scheduled time of 8:15am. Muluken walked SO SLOW all the way. We thought he was in pain. We went up to the second floor and found the room. We all went in and sat down. Except for Muluken. He just stood in front of me and held my hands. His eyes welled up with tears. We really thought he was in pain. The judge talked and asked Brad and I some questions and that was it. He gave his ruling that Muluken is officially ours for life! YEAHHH!


We were told to walk out of the court room and around a corner to pick up the certified copies of the ruling. Right before we rounded the corner I heard Muluken say, “Dad, am I staying?” He thought we were sending him back to Africa! WOW! Even when we think we have talked through everything and we all know what’s going to happen, there still is that fear in him that he might have to go back. My heart broke! We hugged and kissed him and told him that he was here forever!


He had the biggest smile on his face and even started walking better (no pain from surgery). The judge came back in normal clothing and even talked to all of us. Everything was PERFECT!!

Eye-Opening Statistics on Ethiopia...

Children:

• 80% of the population subsists on less than $2/day (2006)

• 1 in 10 children dies before their first birthday, 1 in 6 dies before their 5th birthday (main causes: Diarrhea and pneumonia ). 1 in 16 dies from AIDS. 1 child dies every 45 seconds from Malaria.

• 60% of children are stunted because of malnutrition

• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone and there are 4.6 million total orphans now in Ethiopia

• 50% of the children will never attend school.

• The doctor to child ratio is 1:24,000

• Every 45 seconds, a child in Africa dies from Malaria

Women:

• 94% of women still give birth at home without a trained attendant.

• Average births per woman 6.14 (2004)

• 1 in 14 women die from pregnancy-related causes, possibly higher if including abortions.

• Percentage of females seeking abortions who are under age 18 - Over 50%

Summertime Fun

It's been a LONG time since my last post! So much fun, but so little time to type. There were so many things I wanted to share the past 2 months but never took the time to put it in words.

Since my last post...

* the kids finished up school and everybody will be moving onto the next grade; Cassie will be in 10th, Jordan in 7th, Noah in 5th, and Muluken in 1st.

* Brad and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. I can't believe we've been married that long. We've been together for a total of 20 years. Now that's a LONG time!

* Cassie celebrated her 15th birthday by getting a pedicure, going to a movie, and having a friend sleep over. The actual party was on Memorial Day.

* Jordan celebrated her 12th birthday by starting on a Thursday (day before birthday) and continued on through Sunday. She got a total of 3 cakes, a pedicure, swimming at Grandma's, eating out at TGIFridays, and having a party at Grandma Lenz' house.

* Noah played on 2 different baseball teams. He played on a traveling team which practiced every Monday and Wednesday morning and then had games every Tuesday and Thursday at noon. On Wednesday nights, he played middle league in Weyauwega with the in-city league.

* Muluken played Little League on Monday nights in Weyauwega. Brad and I coached his team and had a lot of fun teaching Muluken about the game of baseball. Muluken really liked playing and figured out "winning" pretty quick.

* Jordan played on a traveling softball team. She played on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings all over the area, from Shawano, Shiocton, Iola, Clintonville, to Weyauwega. She also played 3 weekend tournaments in Omro, Winneconne, and Allouez.

* Cassie was busy with FFA and went to the state convention one week and officer camp another weekend. She also did dog project and worked with Tiger all summer. Graduation is coming up in August, so we'll see all her hard work pay off.

* Muluken also took swimming lessons at the Weyauwega Pool for 6 weeks. He passed Level I after the first 3 weeks and then started in Level II. He worked on kicking, floating, going under, and just doing some swim strokes. He LOVED jumping off the high dive (in 12ft of water) the most. Of course, he was wearing a life jacket. :)

* Cassie also took her driver's education course this summer. She'll take her temps test in December and won't be able to take her actual driver's licensing road test until next June. Looks like a LONG wait!!

* We spent a LOT of time at Grandma Lenz' house and swimming this summer. Everybody LOVES to swim in our family and there's no better place to go than Grandma's! We also went swimming at the Fremont beach and Weyauwega pool. Still not as nice as Grandma's!

* I've spent a lot of time in my classroom too. I had to pack up 2 classrooms and move them into a makeshift classroom (the school boardroom). I asked for shelves up high on the walls, but they don't want to put them up because they want the boardroom back as a meeting room. If a classroom opens up this school year or for sure next school year, I will be moving again. UGH! We have SO MUCH stuff for an EC classroom, so it's a big pain to move. But to have NO storage this school year, is even a bigger problem. I have a lot of it in the hallway right now, which all has to move because it is a fire hazard. I wish all I had to do was set up my new room rather than work on making room for all our storage boxes and supplies.

* Brad and I also went to Vegas for 5 days for a mini-vacation and also to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel and it was awesome. We gambled a lot, went swimming in the lazy river (awesome!), went down to Fremont Street for the first time, went up in the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel, and did a LOT of walking. We had a great time together and the trip really helped us relax for a few days. Too bad Brad got sick our last night and ended up in the bathroom until we left for the airport. He laid down on the floor of the airport for over an hour before our flight took off. It was probably the longest flight of his life. He looked terrible and felt even worse. When we got home, he slept in "his chair" until bedtime!

* Muluken was baptized at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Waupaca. We caused quite a commotion with the older people in the church who thought the baptism was going to be during the actual mass, which in fact it was going to be after everybody left the church. The people thought they would be late for their dinner reservations! Not much concern for a little boy about to be baptized!! Muluken did great with the actual baptism and giggled out loud after the water was poured on his head. What a cutie!

* Noah also went to vision therapy every Monday. It's amazing how well he's doing since he started last March. I really hope it helps Noah this coming school year with his school work and headaches. No more tears would be wonderful!!

* We also sold 3 of Tiger and Tia's puppies. We kept one for our family and named him Toby. He's such a sweetie! We also bought a Sun Conure (bird) and her name is Joy. She is so cool. She hangs out on our shoulders all the time and likes to eat my diamond earrings. She eats food out of your hand, sways back and forth while you hum or sing to her, and really likes to give you kisses on your lips.

* Nobody had to go to summer school this year, but I did do a lot of work with Muluken. He worked on sight words, reading, math problems, patterning, and writing. He really likes to do the work, so it wasn't very hard to get him to do a little bit every day. I just want to make sure he has a good start in first grade!

* So, the new animal count: 3 horses, 3 alpacas, 2 rabbits, 5 dogs, 2 cats (inside), 3 birds, 1 turtle, 1 fish, and LOTS of barn cats and kittens.

* We took Muluken to Animal Haven Zoo in Weyauwega one day. He really liked seeing all of the animals up close but really does NOT LIKE snakes. I think he might have had a bad experience in Africa! He did like feeding all of the animals and wanted to know what everything was, which really showed how little his life experiences have been. Common animals to all of us are totally new and foreign to him.

* I would be a very rich woman if I was given a dollar for everytime somebody tells Muluken how CUTE he is! Just last night, 2 different women came up to him at a restaurant and told him he was such a cutie! He just smiles and laughs!

I will add LOTS of pictures on the next post!

Happy (belated) 10th Birthday Noah!

Noah turned 10 years old on Monday, May 17th, so of course we had to have a birthday party on Sunday the 16th. He requested a "turtle" party but came up short. The store couldn't make a turtle cake and we couldn't find any party decorations with just turtles (unless you want Ninja Turtles!).

So, we switched the party to a "turtle and fish" theme, which suited Noah just fine! Jordan and Noah decorated the entire kitchen and living room area on Saturday evening, and it really turned out great. We picked up a few balloons during the day, such as an enormous fish and seahorse, and they really added to the theme!

We had everybody come over for lunch at noon. We did our usual "deli sandwiches", in which everybody just makes their own sandwiches, from meat, rolls, and fixings. Everybody gets to make what they like and there isn't much for leftovers this way.

Noah had TWO pinatas, thanks to Jordan, who told me that Muluken needed to really feel the excitement from breaking open the pinatas. I think I was had!! The kids LOVED all the candy and we even made it up to Casey in breaking both of them. This is huge, because we usually only make it through the young kids and the pinata breaks. Casey is 16!

Noah's favorite presents: a new compound bow, a fishing bow (to shoot the fish in the water), clothes, money for Brewers' tickets, gift card to Scheel's, more money, Kinex legos, and a new pitching machine to help him practice his batting for baseball. He made quite a haul!!

What a handsome boy!

I LOVE YOU NOAH!!

We have a SECRETARY in the house...

That would be secretary of our FFA. Cassie was named the FFA Secretary for the 2010-2011 school year. She was SO EXCITED!! She also received quite a few awards, including 2 plaques.

Congratulations Cassie!