Another Year

It's hard to believe it has been a year since I met Martha.  I have been reflecting on all that she has accomplished this year.  Looking back it shocks me that she has made so much progress.  In the beginning it seemed rough.  I think that was mostly because I didn't know how long the bumpy patch was.  I was never sure if this behaviour was the new normal, or if it would pass.  Great news, it passed.

Today our family feels comfortable.  Martha is as much a part of the fabric of our family as everybody else.  When she gets upset, or frustrated I know she will get through it.  I think she knows that we are hers.  We may not be the family she imagined for herself, but she knows that God has placed her here.  I told her one day, not too long ago, that someday she would feel about me, the way she feels about her brother in Ethiopia.  She will know that I am here for her always, and that I love her just the way she is.  I am so grateful for the family she has in Ethiopia.  They obviously loved her very much, and she is secure in that.  Even now she knows that she is worth being loved.  That knowledge has gotten her through this transition with amazing grace.  She blesses me everyday with her strength and beauty. 

I asked one of my girls the other day if she thought she might adopt children someday.  She said she didn't know.  Martha and Nesradine have been so easy, and she knows that that isn't always the case.  I'm praying that she realizes that all children have great potential, and that she is much more loving than she realizes yet.  I would love to have grandchildren that come to us from hard places.

It has also been two years, almost, since Nesradine joined our happy throng.  I can't imagine life without him.  He is such a thankful little man.  He has a sweet spirit, and tends to be the peacemaker.  He is not a child that you can ignore.  He wants your attention, and will be quite the ham to get it.  But he also loves people.  He wants them to be happy.  He told me the other day that he has two Mommies that love him.  He is absolutely right.

It has been interesting to watch both of our children struggle to learn English.  I think that is their biggest challenge, even bigger than their health issues.  Reading is a lot of work, and motivating Martha to press on is tough sometimes.  She has learned an incredible amount in the last year, which I try to remind her often.  Nesradine has also had to work harder at reading than Helen has.  There are just some sounds that are completely foreign to them.  Th, ch, and sh throw them every time.  The vowel sounds are also hard to differentiate.  It is especially difficult for Martha since she is older, making her more self-conscious.  I keep reminding her that she knows two languages, not just one.  And that the other children in her class have been working at this for 10 years to her 1.  I know that it will come, and I look forward to the day when she looks back and sees the fruit of her labor.

I am missing my winter trip to Ethiopia.  For the last two years I have had a lovely little break from winter.  This year it will be a long, cold, spell.  I have enjoyed pictures of Ethiopia sent from volunteers, and people ministering there.  It is such a lovely country.  I am praying that Madison and Martha will get to go over in 2012 with a group of AHOPE friends.  They are both really desiring to go see Martha's family, and to volunteer to help the kids that are still there.  Until then we will spend time with other Ethiopians here in the US.  It helps Martha and Nesradine to have a little bit of homesickness lifted.  It also reminds them of all the richness of their culture.  I am so grateful for all of my children and the lessons that they teach me everyday.  God has been very good to us, and continues to grow us in new ways.