Happy 10th Birthday, Kaylee Bugg

Kaylee Turns 10 on 9/8/08, she was born on 9/8/98 (cool birthdate, huh!)

She enjoyed having her friends over this weekend for a Spa party and they were pampered!!
Then we surprised her Sat. night and took her to the mall to get her ears pierced! She has been floating on a cloud all weekend. She looks so much older!

Comment to tell Kaylee Happy Birthday!!

Summer Happenings...........

It has been a while since I (Tanya) have blogged. I must admit Layne has been the regular blogger on our site, but for some reason tonight I feel the urge to jot some things that have been happening in our home.

1. God blessed us with a wonderful family vacation in July. We traveled to northern Minnesota and shared a cabin on a lake with my sister and her family. Many other extended family members on my mom's side rented cabins also. There were 10 little ones all under the age of 9years. We love this vacation because we truly relax while the kids swim at the beach, canoe ride, ride paddle boats, tube behind my uncle's ski boat and jet ski. Three of my highlight were double skiing with Layne, watching Levi paddle a boat around the swim area non-stop, and Layne and I pulling Kaylee and Isaac around the lake on a tube behind a jet ski. We came away refreshed and reminded of all the grace He has given our family this past year. A year ago we could hardly leave the house because we were adjusting to having 5 kids and poor Levi struggled so much because he spoke no English.

2. I was able to attend a Beth Moore Christian Women's conference with my sister, mom, aunt, cousin and dear friend. What a powerful girl's weekend. God reminded me that HE alone is our rock and refuge and we need to cling to him. Beth used a word picture that makes me smile and I relate to. We need to be like cling wrap stuck to a mountain. This is how close we need to stay to Jesus. On the days I feel the walls crumbling in and am anxious I try to thing of sticking to my Saviour this way.

3. School decisions..............We have prayed and decided to dual enroll Kaylee an Isaac in public school some while primarily homeschooling again. Levi will go 3 afternoons to a preschool in a church nearby.

4. We camped in our driveway with my grandma's pop up camper. We invited friends over to cook a campfire meal of Indian pizza pies and hot apple pies for dessert. The kids played board games in the camper and flash light tag in the dark. When our guests left Layne slept with all the kids in the camper except Jesse. He and momma were comfy in our own beds. Smile..........My grandparents brought over, fruit, donut holes and choc milk for b'fast.

5. We are trying to think of creative ways of promoting attachment and bonding between Isaac and Levi. They have made pancakes, played board games, legos and this is all under mommy's close supervision and coaching with encouragement. God has laid it on my heart that I need to spend more time with the two of them together "teaching and showing them what brotherhood can be like. We seem to be making small but encouraging steps.

Finally, we have been taking Levi to a Christian counselor who specializes in bonding and attachment in adoption. I will update more later at the many ways God is blessing all of our family through this. Levi is sharing memories and pain that he has never expressed before. It has been hard for him, but we see some healing taking place. Levi remembers many things about his life and family in Ethiopia and we feel so very thankful that he feels close enough and loved by us enough to open up his pain so we can grieve with him.

Walle

We went to the movie the other day. It is really cute, the kids love this little clip of the curious little robot.

I DO!

Are we dreaming!!

How could 13 years of passed so quickly?

We celebrated our anniversary last night with a wonderful date and the time spent together alone was so valuable!

We reflected on things God has taught us together over the years, places He has taken us, and things we've done. We both agreed that we have a lot of growing to do.

I don't think you ever stop learning how to be married! I am soooo thankful for Tanya and the person God has made her. She is the most AMAZING wife/mother/friend! I thank God for her everyday!

Layne

Finally Finalized!

We had our court date today at 1:30. It went really well. We were a little early getting there so took some pictures. Then Grandpa showed up-What a blessing from God. Shortly after our lawyer showed up. She informed us that the judge wanted us to testify on the stand about how children are decreed orphans in Ethiopia. He allowed us to both testify. Most of the questions were yes or no, but she asked Tanya, "Tell me about your trip to Ethiopia to meet your sons."
Needless to say the tears were flowing, Tanya grabbed the Kleenex box and answered the question. The judge was great and I loved hearing him say that "Layne and Tanya are deemed the legal parents of Levi Geremu Henn and Jesse Habtamu Henn."
We were so glad that Wally could be there because Levi and Jesse were up with us in the area in front of the bench, but Kaylee, Isaac and Erin had to sit in the audience area. They were able to sit with Bompa, Isaac took some video, but I haven't seen how it came out yet :)
I took the rest of the afternoon off and we went to Minerva's (fancy restaurant) for a late lunch celebration (it was about 2:30). The kids were sooooo good and soooooooo hungry! Levi at a whole 10" pizza, Erin ate a huge grilled cheese sandwich on Texas Toast! We went home and napped- Jesse fell asleep before we got out of Minerva's parking lot.
After naps, we went swimming at Cook Pool, then came home and watched movies on airbeds!
What a wonderful day!
Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me!

My cousin posted this to a family blog we have and it brought tears to my eyes. I thought I would share it with those of you who read our blog. May it be and encouragement to you.

July 7th was 1 year Anniversary

On 7/7/07 the became a family of 7!
What an exciting year it has been.
We snapped a picture of the kids all together at church on Sunday.
There is so much more that we want to write about. Hopefully, this will be a 2-3 part post. However, it is VERY late, so off to bed I go!

Home Improvement

We're trying to expand our house and make our porch more usable.
First step was All-season windows, next was an all weather door.
Now we are changing the way you get into the room and putting in french doors to the dining room.
It's really jazzing this place up!

Radish Harvest

We have our first harvests from the garden, radishes! They are plump and beautiful. Too bad nobody in our family is a big radish lover, but the kids LOVE to grow them. We have little green balls on our tomato plants. Our jalepenos are looking a little ragged, but the cantaloupe is flourishing.

pics from chicago trip

Here's some pics from our weekend trek (as promised). The shady ones are from a downtown park with fountains in Chicago. The boys met up with the girls right after they finished their shopping at American Girl. Needless to say, they were a bit delayed after getting an "unplanned" bus tour of the city :)
We ate a lunch (that the MEN packed and brought) The girls were way hungry. We then proceeded to the Taste of Chicago (big waste of time, don't do it with kids, especially on a 90 degree day, 100%humidity) The best part was Isaac coming out of the spot a pot screaming "DAD, you gotta see those things!! they have their own washing system for your hands where you pump with your feet and the water trickles out!!) Levi was baffled by the BLUE water in the bottom and why we couldn't flush away the big piles! We spent $22 on some tickets for 3.5 oz of frozen gelatin/yogurt. Oh, did we mention we didn't bring enough water for eleven people and a baby. The $5 water bottle was rationed very sparingly!! We ended our city time by walking another 12 blocks back to the train station. The lines for the busses were INSANE and getting all of us on one bus with our ginormous strollers was too much to ask. We needed our OWN bus!

The picture in the racecar was from the Downer's Grove Heritage Festival on Sun. This was a homerun! It even rained, but the kids didn't care!

Where ever we go, we seem to be a bit of a conversation piece. It is fun though, because we get to talk about Christ and the reasons behind our family. For example, at McDonalds on Sat., a woman asked us if we had a daycare! The conversation started there but continued towards adoption and why we adopted from Ethiopia. What a blessing our kids are!! What a testament of Gods grace and the joy He brings!

Windy City

We have been on a vacation to visit family near Chicago. We have had a great time!!
Just spending time with cousins is so fun for the kids.
Sat. we went into the city. The girls all went to the American Girl doll store. The boys came a little later. We all met at Taste of Chicago. It was a huge event, thousands upon thousands of people, and with 8 kids it was an experience to remember. Very hot outside! We stayed just a little while, and didn't taste much of the food.
We were well equipped, 2 strollers that hold three kids, bus passes and water.
I think the highlight for the kids was riding the train.
Sunday we went to Downer's Grove to the Heritage Festival. The kids really loved this. We managed to get free food at a church and they let the kids play in these big blow up jumper things in their parking lot. Then, we went into the festival and rode the kiddie rides. It was much cooler, even rained a little, but the kids didn't mind at all. They had soooo much fun.
I'll put some pictures up later.
Layne

We have a court date!!!

We are ready for finalization and have received a court date. It just happens to be the day before our wedding anniversary!

Layne

Family News

Lea called today and announced she is coming to visit. Since she lives in the Chicago area and has 3 kids now, I was very impressed. I admire her.........she is very adventuresome we all can't wait to see them. She and her husband have a new baby. God has blessed them again through the miracle of adoption. Kaylee, Erin and I have met the baby but now everyone here will get to meet her.

Another piece of news in our house...........Layne is back in school for another Master's degree. He wants an administration masters so he would be able to be a school principal or do more administrative duties in the field of educational technology. Anyway, this means his nights are filled with paper writing and on-line classes. This is a huge time commitment for the month of June and July and he should be able to complete the degree in about 2 years. God has opened doors for this opportunity and we are excited to see what He has in store.

Our dear Ethiopian friends are moving. We are sad to see them go, but he was offered a job teaching agriculture at a state school here in Iowa. Thankfully they will still live in Iowa and we will keep in touch. I am going to help watch their kids this week as they get some packing done. Tess, my friend has been so kind to supply with Ethiopian food. Levi will miss this tremendously. They have family that live near the village the boys were born. Lord willing, we hope to travel back to Ethiopia some day and would love to go with this family.

I Think it is the Chicken!!!

Oh my, was I cracking up at Levi tonight. They kids were getting ready for bed and I was overseeing the flossing routine. As I was flossing Levi's teeth he cried out in pain. He explained his mouth hurt. I looked inside and discovered yet another canker sore. He had one about two months ago too.

Now before I explain what he said, I must tell you we had chicken, potatoes, and carrots tonight for supper. Levi is not a huge fan of meat, especially larger pieces that have to be chewed. I really think this is just a result of not being familiar with eating much meat in Ethiopia. His diet for four years consisted of corn bread and occasional roasted grain. ANYWAY, he did eat supper, but was not to excited about the chicken.

Now back to the flossing and canker sore.................
As I examined his sore he looked me straight in the eye with the most SERIOUS face. He said, "Mom, eating chicken gives me the sore in my mouth!" This just caught me so off guard and made me giggle. I said, "Really?!" We ended up both giggling about it and he explained again that he did not like chicken very much.

Posted by Tanya

Erin turned 4 today! Happy Birthday!!

These pictures are from her party on Sunday with Mema, Bumpakk, Bopie and Bompa. She wanted to wear her bonnet and her tutu for most of the party, until she opened the pretty twirly dress that's in the bottom picture. She had a beautiful princess castle cake made by a very special professional cake maker (mommy) Erin was so happy about her cake. She kept telling Tanya, "you did such a good job mommy, thank you!!"
Today she had a special day too. She went to Drama camp, ate a lunch at McDonald land playplace, had a special outing with bopie and attempted to go to "Horton hears a Who" but showtimes got mixed up and it didn't work out. She then played with her friend Helena at Isaac's baseball game. I can't believe she is already 4! What is a Daddy to do?????

Boys at the Safety Fair

Coach Pitch schedule:

1. 5/27 7:15 Hinton field 2
2. 5/31 10am Hinton field 1
3. 6/3 7:15pm Headid field 3
4. 6/7 Sat. 12:30 pm Hinton field 2
5. 6/12 thurs. 7:15pm Headid field 3
6. 6/14 Sat. 12:30 Headid field 3
7. 6/16 Mon. 6pm Headid 3
8. 6/21 Sat. 2pm headid 3

video from Isaacs Birthday Party 5/3/08

It took longer than I had planned but i finally put a little video together from Isaac's B'day party.
The first part is the Calesthenics, then Isaac running the obstacle course (double-time).
enjoy

Happy birthday, Isaac!!

Isaac turns 7 years old today! He had a party last weekend with a bunch of his friends. They were all dressed in camouflage and we did soldier drills and played football. It was super fun. We are doing some very special stuff this weekend for his birthday.
Comment to wish him a happy bday!

difficult to describe

We had a date night and some very dear friends of ours met with us. 2 of their children babysat the kids while Tanya and I had some valuable time to talk, connect and laugh together. I say laugh together because that is what felt so good. So often when we are home together, the busyness of our house doesn't allow us to really connect, be goofy and just enjoy each other. It was good to do that tonight.
The couple that met with us was encouraging to us in a deep way. They too have experienced adoption and the difficult to describe emotions that come with it. They understood so many things and graciously, lovingly ministered to us. Here's some of the verses God used in our conversation tonight:

Matthew 5:39 Jesus teaching us about being "non-reactive"
John 8 --- Jesus gentle handling of the woman is a testimony to his kindness and truth.
Romans 2:2-4 - 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Leviticus 19:34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. 35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.”

Dueteronomy 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

What a gift of grace to have these people who care deeply for our souls and for the spiritual well being of our children. They acted out 1 Thess. 2:12 by Exhorting us and encouraging us to walk as parents in a manner worthy of God.

Levi and the bike

Ever since we got home last July - Levi has loved riding his bike with training wheels. It was a sad day last winter when we put it in the shed and said goodbye to it for a few months. Well, now that it is getting nicer outside and he is 5, I decided that we would try to get him to ride without training wheels. I really had built this up in my head to be a major event. Full of hardship, tears, possibly bleeding and bruises. Perhaps some real powerful teaching moments about perservering and then, in the end accomplishment, joy and success! Almost metaphorical as to what we have been through together in the last 8 mos. I had Isaac help in the process. He used the crescent wrench to remove the training wheels. I held the back of the seat for balance as Levi got on the bike. I reassured him that I wouldn't let go and not to be afraid.
However... His feet merely touched the pedals and he sped away from me across the front lawn. perfectly balanced, quickly- like he'd done it a million times. He attempted to turn and gently fell to the grass. Levi turned to look for me as I came running towards him. I exclaimed " You DID IT! you can ride your bike!!" and he looked up at me with that HUGE Levi smile and said "Yup, and you didn't even help me."
There went my metaphor, right out the window. Or did it?
I told Tanya this story and she explained that maybe what God is showing me is that I just need to "Let go and let God" and she's right. I tend to try to shape things into what I think they should be. I know that I'm guilty of this with our kids. Trying to get them to behave a certain way so they look right, instead of really addressing their hearts and encouraging them.
The bike, well, lets just say the tires are going bald and were putting some serious miles on during these sunny days! He rides like a champ and keeps up with Isaac, which is no easy task.

Layne