Wordless Wednesday...

One Year Home...

Today marks the one year anniversary of Muluken's arrival home in America! What a very special and blessed event for the Rucks family.

Things we know for sure:

* We made it! Not that it was horrible or terrible. Just that we brought a new member into our family and for the most part, we have all grown and adjusted to have a little five year old boy become our son or brother.

* I really don't think we could love him anymore than we do. Most of the time, it feels like Muluken has been with us for much longer than a year. But then an event comes up and we are reminded that Muluken does not have that previous experience and we need to explain and introduce new things to him. (Example: Muluken has NO IDEA what a Super Bowl is or why everyone is talking about his beloved Packers maybe going to the Super Bowl)

* He has made huge strides in his communication in English. It's just amazing to think we only had a few words that we all could understand at this time last year and now, we can hardly keep up with the motor mouth! LOL! Muluken doesn't remember much Amharic but we've been asking him more words lately, knowing we need to refresh our memories for Tinsae's arrival.

* He's willing to try anything. It can be a game, dance, song, food, sport, etc. It really doesn't matter. If he gets the approval of his Mom (if it's OK to try it) he is more than willing to give it a whirl. He's found out that he LOVES soccer, football, swimming, bike riding, fishing, boating, lego building, hunting, and four-wheeling!

* We would be a VERY RICH family if we were given a dollar for every time somebody tells us what a great smile Muluken has. Since Muluken came home, people would come up to us all over, in church, restaurants, sporting events, stores, etc., and just tell us how cute he is. Nothing we didn't know...LOL!

* He loves to draw pictures, write words and numbers, read books, and continue to learn everything he can get his hands onto. He is somewhat of a perfectionist and prints everything perfectly. He likes to get his homework done and makes corrections before we can even see the mistakes.

* Muluken likes to watch football, baseball, and basketball on television the most. He will watch some tv, but nothing like the other kids. He would rather play with his legos or draw while the tv is on. He does like to snuggle with Noah under a blanket on the love seat to watch special shows or movies.

* Muluken is a very "routine" type person. I don't know if this is from the care center in Ethiopia or just his personality, but he's very particular on how and when he does things. An example of this would be his bedtime routine. He gets his pajamas from his room, takes a bath, lotions his body, gets dressed, brushes his teeth, throws down his dirty clothes, puts lotion in hair, and then goes to the bathroom right before he goes to bed. Now if only the older three would be able to remember to do all of that every night, my life would be so much easier!

* Every now and then, Muluken will tell us something new about his life in Africa. It can be something that he did or something that he had seen. You never know what he's going to tell you. Sometimes it just rips your heart out and tears it into pieces and other times, it just warms you all over. It's amazing all of the things this little boy has experienced in his short life. He's just amazing!

* Muluken's Stats after the First Year:

      Favorite Color:  orange

      Favorite Food:  spaghetti

      Best Friend:     Bailey

      Favorite Sport:  football

      Favorite Sports Player:  John Clay - Badgers #32

      Favorite Number:  17

      Favorite Toy:  trucks

      Favorite Subject at School:  art

      Favorite Season:  Winter

      Favorite Holiday:  Christmas

      Favorite Day of the Week:  Saturday

      Favorite TV Show:  Tom & Jerry

      Favorite Drink:  Dad's Juice

      Favorite Game:  Cars' Nintendo DS
 
      Favorite Sports Team:  Packers

      Future Occupation:  Bus Driver
        

Wow, he's come SO FAR in just one year! It's been a fun ride and hope to see him follow his dreams...wherever that might take him!

How can you not LOVE that smile! We LOVE you Muluken and are so thankful that you joined our family. You are a blessing to us all!

Dad Takes the Boys to the Barber...

Noah had the biggest adjustment when Muluken came home from Africa. Noah had to give up being “the only boy”, “the youngest child” and “daddy’s shadow” all in one day. That’s rough. Noah liked the idea of having a little brother and grew fonder of having a little brother do anything he said. Noah would have Muluken help him with his chores, get up early together, play rough and tumble games, take showers together, watch television together on the couch, ride the four-wheeler together, and play the Wii and Nintendo DS games together.



One of the best things about getting a new little brother from Africa though, has to be the haircuts. Brad and I are not able to cut Muluken’s hair and it took quite a long time to actually find the right person that knew what a little chocolate brown boy’s hair should look like.


So, after attending UMOJA in Green Lake this past October, we found our new barber for the boys. The man who cut their hair at UMOJA actually has a shop in Appleton. Yeah for us! So, about three weeks ago, I ventured out with Muluken and found the shop. I was the minority. That would be the ONLY white person in the place. The man who cut Muluken’s hair before remembered us and welcomed us. We had to wait for about 20 to 30 minutes, but the smile on Muluken’s face was priceless. When it was his turn, he was all smiles. $5 later, we were all done and it looked awesome.


So, on New Year’s Eve, Brad took the two boys to the shop, Executive Cuts. Both boys got their haircuts with designs. Noah was so excited and can’t wait to go again for another new design. Check out the new hairdos:

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!