Names, Warts, and Calcium

tow-MOSS has decided he'd like to be called TOM-us (the typical American pronunciation). Who can blame him? He's heard it pronounced every way possible! It's going to be kind of difficult for me at first, since I've been saying it the first way for nearly a year now. But I'll get the hang of it...eventually.

We've got to figure out a way for Tomas to start getting more calcium. He liked milk in Ethiopia, but doesn't like it here. He said in Ethiopia, it was warm and mixed with tea. Does anyone know more about this? He's going to try yogurt, cheese, and fortified OJ. Broccoli and oranges are also sources of calcium. If all else fails, we can use a supplement, but I'm sure he's not anxious to take more pills.

Our doctor froze a wart off Tomas' toe yesterday. He held perfectly still and didn't make a sound. Afterwards, he said it didn't hurt, though I could see from his face that it did! I was very proud of how brave and strong he was. I wonder if boys in Ethiopia are taught those great characteristics.

One Month

A leprechaun and a ninja

Ice skating is hard work


Taekwondo

Meeting Great-Grandma

This past week was full of more firsts. We went to church, went ice skating, started taekwondo classes and visited a gigantic thrift store. Tomas had the experience of having money to spend at Wal-Mart. So many choices! I believe he makes decisions like me. He wants to see ALL his options and deliberate about it for awhile. Once he makes a decision, he second-guesses himself and changes his mind, opting for a less expensive choice!

I'm noticing ways Tomas is like each of us. His positive, happy attitude reminds me of Paul. His creativity reminds me of Levi, along with the way he likes to sing as he goes about his day. His perfectionism and persistence remind me of Wes.

Tomas told us he is happy to be here. It was great to hear him say that. I've had the incredible privilege of learning a little bit about his life before coming to America. I'm looking forward to hearing more, when he's ready.

Adopting an older child has been an amazing experience. The process was difficult with all the waiting and not knowing, but having him here has made it all worthwhile. I would gladly do an entire mountain of paperwork and give every penny we have for him. If anyone reading this blog has ever considered adopting an older child, go for it! It's like falling in love all over again.

It's seeming odd to blog about our son. Before, it was primarily about how I was feeling and what I was thinking. Now that he's here, it seems different somehow. Thanks for sharing this journey. Thank you for the encouragement you've given us along the way.

Love,

Becky

Week 3

At the apple orchard

After a good Ethiopian meal

Playing with Legos at Grandma Ruth's

Major entertainment at home

After three weeks, things are starting to feel "normal." But sometimes I still look at him and am amazed that he's finally here. We're all learning more every day. Tomas has been working like crazy on his Rosetta Stone English software. He either really loves it or was really motivated by my offer to give him a dime for every lesson he completes with a ninety percent or more. I'm going to owe him a bundle this week! Good thing I didn't offer a quarter...

One day this week, we visited Paul's workplace. Tomas enjoyed seeing where his dad goes every day. Afterwards, we ate Ethiopian food and watched an Ohio Dominican soccer game. It was a really fun evening.

Tomas asked, as we were looking at a calendar, if he could go to school in December. I think he really likes being with a lot of people. He's accustomed to a sort of communal living that we don't know. We told him he can go to school in January, but that he needs to work hard on reading, writing, math, and speaking in the meantime. My only misgivings are that we live in a rural district with no ESL programs and VERY little diversity. We keep hoping to move, but the time just hasn't been right yet.

Paul gave Tomas a haircut this week while I was gone. You'll notice he's wearing a toboggan in these pictures. My husband is not a barber. At least he didn't maim our son like he did his friend many years ago, but that's another story.

Week 2

Tomas likes to proudly display both the Ethiopian and American flags.

Working on a Lego project with Wes.

Just being silly!

This has been a good week of learning and adjusting. We started the week with a medical workup at Children's Hospital International Adoption Clinic. Tomas has latent TB. He is not sick or contagious, but the disease is asleep in his body. It might never wake up, but then again...To prevent it from ever waking up he has to take a pill once a day for 9 months. Otherwise, he is perfectly healthy.

Tomas can't stand too much running around in one day. On the day of his medical appointment, we also had to take Wes to the orthodontist for a broken retainer. Then they had their gymnastics class, which they love so much I couldn't make them miss. When Paul came home from work (his first day back), he said we looked like zombies! By the end of the night, Tomas was hiding under the covers. Poor boy. We haven't had any more days like that one. I try very hard to keep errands and appointments at a minimum if he is along. He is not accustomed to riding long distances in vehicles and going from place to place to place to place...

Tomas doesn't ask for too much, but he did ask if we could buy injera in Ohio. Injera is a flat bread made of teff grain which is eaten daily in Ethiopia. We picked some up while we were in Columbus (the same crazy day mentioned in the above paragraph). He ate it every day this week. I made some shiro, which is a spicy paste made of ground chick-peas. It must be quite healthy. I also made siga wat and must've done okay. He asked for seconds :) He is still very open to new foods and has found a favorite snack: Spiderman gummies!

We decided to invest in Rosetta Stone to help Tomas learn English. He probably would've done okay without it, but I hope it will give him a very thorough understanding of the language. I'm rather anxious for him to start talking to us more. I even offered him an extra incentive. For every lesson he completes with a 90 percent or more, he gets an extra dime on allowance day.

Reconnecting in America

To see some fun we had last weekend, visit my friend's blog.

Week One

It's been a great week getting to know Tomas. He has been such a trooper through all these changes. I love to see him smile and hear him laugh. I'm looking forward to the language barrier coming down. He seems to understand quite a bit of what we say to him, but he's been pretty quiet. Even when we had an Amharic interpreter (who was very nice) at his medical check up, he didn't talk much. He has talked to some friends, who were also adopted from Hannah's Hope, over the phone. He's pretty chatty with them, and I'm glad he has a way to get his words out!


Tomas will be homeschooled for a while. He doesn't seem too thrilled about it. I had the interpreter ask him what he thought about it, and he said he'd rather go to school. Apparently, in Ethiopia the lower classes are the ones who homeschool. I asked her to explain to him that it isn't like that here. I also asked her to tell him that he can go to school sometime in the future. He has really impressed me with how much he knows. He can even read in English!

The trampoline has been getting a lot of use recently. Tomas has learned both front and back flips already. He likes to play with his nerf gun and pocket cars. The computer is a big fascination for Tomas. He's been playing games and doing drawings on it. He picks things up so quickly. Tomas really likes watching "films," as he calls them. Any kind of cartoon (as long as it doesn't look too babyish) or any kind of action film gets his vote of approval.

Here are some pictures from our week.

Into a bridge from standing

Working on riding a bike

Brothers

Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Austin

Grandma June and Grandpa Rich

He's Here!

Tomas is home and doing great! He is an amazing boy...so smart, so easy-going, so strong, so handsome. After looking around the house, he was anxious to try out all the musical instruments. Then he and his brothers had a water gun fight and completely soaked each other. He slept like a rock last night and was excited to wake Wes and Levi up this morning. They didn't even mind.

Today he met Grandma and Grandpa Allen. We also watched Spiderman 3, but I think I watched him almost as much as the movie. Tomas has eaten nearly everything we've offered him (except blueberries and garlic bread). So far, so good.