Gotcha Day Video

We just celebrated our one year with the kids. The video says it all.
Click Here to Watch

Marya turns six

quick note about Marya. She turned 6 today and last night as I was getting ready for bed I was just thinking over the last year with her. I have wrote a lot about what the Lord has done in Addie, Abreham and Petros's life. But he has equally worked in Marya and Ezra's life. As I thought back about Marya I just wanted to cry. God has grown her and changed her so much. Since we got home last Feb with our three new children Marya has had to totally be in the background. We have spent so much time working with the new children, hours upon hours of talks, hugs, discipline, tears, so so much. So much extra work for them in school, in everything we do they need extra attention right now. There has been a cost to adopt these children and it has not only been for Jake and I. May I say though it is a cost that we counted and stepped into knowing that it was God who would do this. Marya has so beautifully taken an encouraging role. Enouraging them when they are afraid, upset, sad, working through hard stuff. She has not demanded from me. She wakes up with a smile and goes to bed with a smile. Now she is still a crazy wild little girl that is strong willed, but I am amazed at what God has done. Those of you that are close to us know how hard she has been for us. I spent a large part of her toddler life at home working on obedience and her spirit was hard to break. I barely remember Ezra's infancy because I spent most of it in the bathroom with Marya giving spanks. But through it all our love for each other grew and I am so thankful!!! Today I was remembering when she was born and how much I cried because I was so overwhelmed with love. I once called a nurse into my room while I was crying just to tell her how much I loved Marya. Today we thank God for all He has done in her life and in ours through her and we beg God for wisdom as we continue to raise this wild horse.
love love
Jen

Adanech turns 9!!

Yesterday was a special day. To all of you that have gone on the journey with us I want to bring you back to the first day I saw a picture of Adanech. We were first matched with the boys and couple days later we were told they had an older sister and we needed to pray about doing all three or none. We accepted all three but that little girl scared me to death. I had never parented a 7 or 8 year old. How would I be a mom to a little girl with so much sadness and a little girl that would remember so much. How would I be a mother to a little girl that has a mother that she loves. As we accepted all three anxiety took over, I would be up at night literally shaking and sick with fear, fear of the unknown. I would sometimes be running and praying and I would feel God say, Jeni, this is going to be so hard, harder then anything you have ever done. You will have to give more of yourself then you ever have, and it will hurt, hurt real bad. I would cry and run and tell God, I will not give up God, I know that I cannot do this, but I am trusting that you will give me wisdom and equip me. I was so worn out from not trusting God, but slowly God was teaching me to trust him. Not trying to leave the boys out of this, I was just not as scared to be their mother. The truth of the word of God began a work in my heart as we got closer and closer to getting the children. I will never forget the first day with the children. I will never forget my first thought as Adanech walked towards me. I thought, oh my she is beautiful and she is so brave. She told me this month that when we came to get her she was very scared, but you never would of known. She walked right up to me and gave me a big hug. We were both scared. I cannot put into words how hard it has been, but without the hardness we would not be witnessing the miracle of God, in this little girl. She has come so far!!!
So, yesterday, it was just a day of beauty and a view of God's work in Adanech's life. She was so excited for this day, it would be the first time she celebrated her birthday. She said her mom in Ethiopia used to celebrate her birthday with bread, but they had no money for gifts. We started the morning with a trip to the beauty shop. Now I love Addie's natural hair, it is awesome, but she always talks about wanting it straight. So I took her to our favorite girl Sharmelle and she oiled that baby up and flat ironed it. Addie was speechless and so happy. She just kept running her fingers through her hair and saying, mom, my hair is like yours. Marya just kept telling her how beautiful if was but to make sure to tell her she loves it in braids too. We came home to the boys and they all told her how lovely she looked as she just smiled from ear to ear. Then Jake and I took her out to eat at an Ethiopian restaurant here. Ellie stayed back with the others, thank you Ellie! Jake opened her door and held her hand or had his arm around her while we walked. She was loving it. She loved her injera and was unusually speechless, she just kept smiling. When we were driving home she said, mom this is a very very good day, I never have a day like this before. Then Jake and I told her in Amharic that she was our daughter and that we loved her and she spoke back in Amharic and told us that we were her mother and father and that she loved us. Now we do this often but yesterday it was like she was saying it with a new trust for us. We have had some huge steps forward with her. She told us about a month ago crying, thank you for adopting me. She knows how much we love her and she is trusting us, so awesome. we then spent the afternoon cleaning and cooking her birthday dinner. She wanted me to cook minestrone with garlic bread. Our tradition is to have kids wine and share toasts about the person celebrating their birthday. So we took turns doing that, which is very funny and sweet. Then we had cake and opened presents. She was beyond thankful and went to bed beaming and thanking God for her family. It was a joy to watch this little girl today. I loved watching her brothers and and sister just love her and be so happy for her.


We gave all the kids Indian names
Adanech- Brave Willow, because she is so brave and elegant like a willow tree. She loves her name. She is my helper at home and cleans better then I do. The girls room is always clean and that is not because of Marya although Marya is learning a lot from her big sister about cleaning. Addie, is loving, loving school. If I would work with her all day she would do it. This little girl loves to pray and literally cries out to Jesus. She is mature beyond her years in so many ways and she is full of compassion. She senses when I am sad and wants to hug me and take care of me. She is going to be an amazing wife and mother someday.
Marya- Wild Horse, what else is there to say, she is wild and loves horses. This little girl is me!! She still gets the most spanks but the fruit in her life is amazing, God has been so faithful. She does school like me, fast and messy and doesn't mind doing it wrong. She is not a perfectionist. Her passion for life is sweet and so funny to watch. She feels things very deeply.
Abreham- Servant heart, do I need to say more. This boy is a gifted servant. he just beams as he helps anyone and everyone. He loves to help his little brothers and anyone else who asks. I have never seen anything like it. About a month ago this little boy wanted to tell me about the day he went to the orphanage. Which was strange because he never ever talks about stuff like that. So I said, yes son tell me. He then went on to tell me some very sad things with tears in his eyes. I picked him up from the table and took him out to the front porch away from everyone. I said, baby I am so sorry that you had to go through that, as I said that he started to wail and cry like I had never seen. I just held him until he was done. He sweetly then rubbed my arm as i assured him of our love for him and that he did not have to ever leave us. This little boy has a lot of pain in his heart and I am thankful that he is letting it out and letting me hold him as he does.
Ezra- Crooked Arrow, ok this little boy is out there. You never know what he is going to say and it is always so random. He is so funny. I also think he has the gift of encouragement. He often just randomly says the sweetest things. Like when Adanech comes down fro breakfast, Addie, you look pretty. Or if all the kids are racing he will be way behind the older kids and he will be yelling good job to the ones way up front and he just keeps smiling until he finishes and tells everyone good job. I love it. Ezra, loves school and surprisingly pays very good attention.
Petros- Smiles A lot, yes we took the name from Dances with Wolves, it just fits him too good. This boy smiles all day. No matter how sad or mad he is he quickly returns to a smile. This little boy has been lying a lot and been getting spanked a lot, it was really bad this last week so friday night me and the kids all sat around him and prayed for him and Petros was very touched by it, especially when Addie prayed while she was crying and Petros got tears in his eyes. Well yesterday we went a whole day without lying and it was so wonderful. His speech is still very hard to understand but every once in a while he says something so clearly. This guy is a comedy act!!
Jake, Ellie, and I continue to grow as a family. Ellie is such a blessing to have here. There are eight of us and each meal is big with a lot of work but hey our table is full of smiles, stories, laughing, tears, and most importantly the word of God. We are so blessed, the Lord has been faithful through each trial to teach us and refine us and push us along. We all are so excited for Thanksgiving, Benjah is coming, my mom and Grandma Edna, Seth and his wife Lindsey and our new friend Antwone, we are so looking forward to this time. We are already listening to Christmas music and loving it!! We all can't wait to visit the great state of Nebraska for Christmas.
love love
Jen

We made it to Virginia

We made it to Virginia!!
Jake drove two days with the boys and Kota. I flew with the girls. All the kids did great with the travel. some of you may not know that Jake's sister Ellie is living with us so we were so blessed to have Sheila and Buzz help her move here which in turn was very very helpful to us. I got a bad viral eye infection two weeks before we had to leave for VA and it was bad stuff. It continued into our time traveling and when we got here, it actually got worse. I had to go to the ER our first Sunday here and miss church. I was left with scaring on my cornea and was told that it was serious and that I may loose my sight. As I sat there in the doctors office I started to bawl and I thought of not seeing God's creation anymore, about not seeing my children's faces as they grew, thinking how soon could I learn braille so I could read the bible. I had a lot of thoughts just flying through my mind. The Lord impressed on my heart that even if the worst was to happen and I would loose my sight, that one day I would see His face. I clung to that as I went through a very scary week as we waited to see what would happen. I could not read, I could not drive and I could not really unpack. Sheila just jumped right in and helped so very much. The Lord knew we would need them with us during this time. So after some time my eyes have improved. My left eye is 20/30 and my right eye is 20/60. The specialist says it may take two months for my eyes to heal. There are other options if it does not improve. I am so thankful for the healing that has happened. Thank you to any of you that prayed for us. During this time I would say to God, this is too much. I would have times of peace and time of panic, but through it all God had a purpose. I had another chance to trust Him and to battle my sin of unbelief.
*Virginia is very beautiful. It has endless places to run, hike, and bike. Ellie and I have been exploring the trails.

*The church here is such a blessing. We had friends bringing us wonderful food during our struggles and it was such a blessing. Church has been great. WE are loving the preaching and the fellowship.

*We found a college student from Ethiopia to tutor Adanech and Abreham in Amharic, we are so excited. WE went to a park last Friday and there was an entire soccer field of guys from Ethiopia speaking Amharic and Addie and Abreham just lit up. Addie walked up to a couple girls and asked them if they were from Ethiopia and they said yes and got really excited and said we can tell you are too. They all started hugging and kissing on the children. Addie got to practice Amharic with the girls and they sang some together. Two of the girls kept thanking me for adopting the children, she got all teary eyed. She said, she could not believe that we adopted all three of them. Addie asked one of the girls, Did your mom put you in an orphanage? It broke my heart. We hope to see them again soon.

*We started home school and there really are no words to express the reality of the work ahead. AS we go through the days and we not only work on school, but character issues and talk about Christ in every situation. I think how I could not do that if they were away from me all day. I am not committing to home school until graduation. I will commit a semester at a time. We will see what the Lord does. Jake is doing a lot and he is such a better teacher then I am. Addie loves school and would go all day if we would do it with her. Marya loves school too and she gets the most spanks. Abreham, is a perfectionist and is very timid and hard on himself. He has come a long way in a short time though. I am also doing some stuff with Ezra and Petros too. They are so funny. Petros turned three this month and is growing and growing some more. I am getting the chance once again to trust God and face some sin that comes up as I am working with the kids.

HIGHLIGHTS
*Ellie has made us some amazing food!!!!
*the trees are starting to change color and it is amazing
*the Lord provided a home for us in a way that the only explanation is it was all Him
*The kids are transitioning beautifully
*The Lord is continuing to convict us and push us as a family
*Jake has many coffee shops to choose from
*There is an Ethiopian resturant here yum!!

love love
Jen

moving

Hello all
We are moving to Virginia. Jake and I have struggled and prayed through this for a long, long time. Jake feels that our next step is to Virginia. I am looking forward to see what God is going to do in our lives.

ADANECH-we have made some huge strides this summer. The other day she woke up and said, mom I had a dream. She proceeded to tell me about her dream. She dreamed that we went to Ethiopia and I brought her to her birth mom and we all cried. She said I left her with her and that night she was crying for me and wanted me to come and get her. I have never wanted her to feel like she has to choose a mother that she loves more, but that dream showed me that she is starting to truly trust me and love me, it was so sweet. Addie learned how to ride a bike this summer. It was full of DRAMA!!! You have to understand that this girl can turn on the drama like you have never seen. She has learned to use drama to get her way and I am constantly trying to teach her that, that is not ok. So I looked at her and said I don't care if we have to stay up all night you will obey me and learn to ride this bike. I knew she was more then capable. So after a lot of screaming, spanking, and crying, she learned. the other kids were in bed. After she learned she got off her bike and came to me crying and was so thankful. I helped her shower and get ready for bed and she just kept saying she was so thankful. Through this whole episode we quoted scripture and prayed and I think it was a big break through for the both of us. God gave her to me for a very specific reason. I see it ever day!!!
MARYA-Last night we were out to eat and I had told the children not to get up. Well Marya got up and I explained that when we got home she was going to have to have a spank. So by the time we got home I was tired and she reminded me about the spank and I said I am not going to spank you, you did good the rest of the night. I have never said that before, just copped out on a spank. so after I said that Marya said with great passion in her voice, Mom you can not disobey God. He says that you have to spank me if I disobey. MOm, please don't disobey God you can't. You must obey him. I sat down on my bed and just started to cry. I said, baby you are right, you are so right. so I spanked her while I was crying and she hugged me and said,mom I love you so much. Please don't disobey God ever again. WOW!!!!! God taught me a lot through that.
ABREHAM-The other night he was brushing his teeth in my bathroom and he looked at me and said, mom I don't want my mom to die. I said are you talking about your mom in Ethiopia and he said yes. I said, I know baby we will keep praying for her. He said ok mom and gave me a kiss and that was it. He is a thinker, not much of a talker. I wonder what goes on in his little mind sometimes. He continues to be such a joy to parent. This boy loves to ride his bike, so cute!
EZRA-this little guy is coming out of his shell. He make me laugh every day and is starting to have a lot more to say. He loves to wear boots around all day, no matter how hot it is. He sometimes comes to me and says, mom, Abreham loves me and I will say yes he does. Abreham takes care of Ezra and Petros, it is so sweet. Ezra gets braver and tougher by the day. All he needed was an older brother to love and him and push him to get a little tougher.
PETROS-This little boy loves cars. He likes to sit and look for car adds in magazines and sit and look at them and make car noises, it is so funny. The other day he was praying and in the middle of his prayer he just started making car noises. Jake and I have been encouraging the kids to not baby Petros and to help us make him grow up a bit. I keep telling him, Petros you are a big boy and he will look at me and say, no baby, big boy. HE will be three next month. He loves, loves to dance and listen to uncle Benjah, and Lecrae.
Anthony was in Ethiopia this summer and met with their birth mom. We now have video of her talking about why she had to give the kids up for adoption. We found out more about the kids and it is very helpful.

WE are starting homeschooling and it is so hard for me. I love my kids and I love having them home but the whole teaching thing is so hard for me. I love to teach them practical things, but school stuff not really my thing. I am going to try it, but I am not promising anything. It is hard teaching two children that don't totally now English yet. The three of them all learn differently. Each day is so beyond me, the amount of patience, love, compassion, and discipline, is so beyond me. God is showing me his power and faithfulness. This morning I started the day with tears just thinking of everything. I can't spend time thinking about those things, it is too overwhelming. It takes a lot of discipline for me to think on the truth so I don't break down. We just had our six month post placement. These last six months have by far been the hardest of my life. Nothing compares to it. The reality of it is it is very very hard, but I have never questioned our decision to do this. God makes it clear each day that this is exactly what He had for us.
love love
Jen

rambling

We are still in Alabama. We had an offer on the house and then the
people pulled out the day before we were leaving for NE. Yes, we were
disappointed for just a bit. When our realtor called my eyes welled
up with tears and I was mad. In the midst of these feelings and as my
realtor was talking I felt the Lord say, you can trust me. You don't
have to cry you don't have to be mad you can trust me. So we are
trusting God for his timing. When we drove away from Alabama in
December I said to myself I will never go back again and I said I will
never spend another summer there. Well here I am in Alabama and in
the summer!! I am more then willing to stay as long as we need to.
We don't know how long we will be here living one day at a time. Not
sure where we are going or when we are going. God continues to push
us to let go of this world. Some times I feel like I let go for like
a minute and then I grab it again. We are fighting to let go and not
look back.
As we are here we are fighting much sin. Fighting sin that comes and
stares you in the face as you deal with much stress. I believe the
state of your heart truly comes out when you are pushed and pulled.
Wow, my heart is in bad condition. I am being pushed from every angle
and it is not pretty. God says, you asked me to show you your sin
daily and I am answering you. I say here I am God, how can you love
this. When I have my worst days I picture my unshowered, frowning,
yelling self with the blood of Christ over me. I am so thankful for
Jesus. God continues to show me in such a real way that I have no
hope, not at all, not for one moment. People tell me a lot, God will
not give you more then you can handle and that is a rotten lie. God
has given me way more then I can handle so I can see Him work. If He
never gives me more then I can handle then I would do it all on my
own. I want to see God work so I need more then I can handle, so I
can be broken before God.
We have gotten to spend some time with Anthony and Hannah and it has
been so great. The kids could not wait to see Anthony and they don't
ever want to leave him. Anthony and Hannah could not believe how much
the kids had changed. Abreham often asks, Mom, Anthony's house? We
are so thankful for their friendship through all of this!!! Anthony
and Hannah's daughter Ellie is also from Ethiopia and when her and
Adanech met it was like they always knew each other. They giggled and
talked for hours, very very cute.
The kids are doing great. Adanech loves to run and dislikes the heat.
Pray for her as she struggles to be a child. She does not like being
under authority but we are begging God for his grace as we shepherd
her heart. I am seeing fruit. Abreham loves bright colors and
dislikes to fall down. God has done a miracle with this little boy.
Marya loves adventure and dislikes bananas. She is at the root of
almost every argument with the kids, but she loves to make up. She
still gets the most spanks. We are so much alike!! Ezra loves
snuggle time and dislikes clean up time. He loves to wrestle with his
brothers and is getting tougher. Petros loves just about everything
and dislikes cold things in his mouth. He has come so far in
obedience. We are working on his strength, when he falls down he gets
right back up. The five of them get along so well. I often look at
all of them and think WOW!!
love love
Jen

kitchen window

This morning I stood at my kitchen window in Alabama. I watched all
five of my children play in a little swimming pool, laughing,
squealing, hugging. I cannot explain how I feel. I stood at that
window many times watching Marya and Ezra play outside and I pictured
the other three with them. I stood at the window crying with sadness
as we waited for them to get here and today I stand at that window
crying tears of joy. God has done a miracle!!!
We are in Alabama to do some adoptions stuff. The kids love it here.
All the pictures we sent to the kids in Ethiopia were in this home and
Addie kept asking when we would go to that home. Since we have gotten
here she has asked if we could stay forever. We are selling this
house so we will not be staying, but they are very happy to be here.
We drove from Lincoln to Alabama in one day. THe kids did great!! WE
had no spanks, our van was mostly filled with laughter. As some of
you know Addie gets very car sick. I gave her some dramamine and some
motion sickness bands and she did great. The last hour she asked us
to pull over but she did not vomit. We made it all the way here, she
was so happy. Addie just keeps saying, mom it is so hot.
Marya and Ezra were so happy to see their clothes and toys and they
were more then happy to share it all with their new siblings.

ADDIEA-This little brave girl continues to push me daily. To learn
how to parent better, to go to God more. We have had many
conversations about her birth mom. She feels very responsible to take
care of her. she often talks about taking care of her while she is
sick and how her mom needs her to bring her water and to take care of
her legs. My heart breaks for her. Part of her is so happy to be
here and part of her feels like her birth mom needs her. In the last
month though she has told us a few times that she never wants to leave
us. She said when I get big I will not leave you I want to stay with
you forever. We continue to bond more and more and she adores her
daddy. She also wants to talk about the bible all the time. She has
a real desire to understand sin and what it means to know Jesus. I
love it.
MARYA- She has grown up so much through this process. Her and Addie
talk about wanting to help people on the streets. We came in contact
with another homeless man in Lincoln. The girls gave them their money
and a bible. AFter we pulled away Marya just started to weep and beg
to go back to she could hug him. This went on for some time. Jake
and I talked about how we never want to say no to our girls when they
want to serve someone. We never want to let them touch lives while we
sit back and watch. We have so much to learn from them. Marya is so
happy to be back in Alabama and visit her friends and to go to
Chick-fil-a.
ABREHAM-Our little smiley boy. He got two new front teeth and he is
happy about that. We just celebrated a birthday for this little guy.
He turned five May 20th. My sister gave him his first present ever
all wrapped up. He did not know what to do with it. He just smiled
at the package like that was it. We encouraged him to open it, of
course Marya was happy to show him how to unwrap it. When he
unwrapped it he just stared at the white box like that was his present
and just kept smiling. So we encouraged him to open the box and there
were some books inside, he was so happy. He got other presents for
his birthday and he is taking very good care of them. This morning
when he got up he came and clung to me very tightly and put his head
back and said, I want to stay with you. He seemed very sad. Jake got
home from running and we were trying to get him to talk to us, he
remained silent. Jake held him and sang Praise the name of Jesus,
Abreham's eyes filled with tears and big tears rolled down his cheeks.
We explained to him that he will stay with us. He nodded his head
and seems to me doing better. I don't know what was going through his
little brain but it was burdening him.
EZRA-My mother-in-law put it perfectly. He seems happy to just be
apart of the five. He is our most quiet child. He says the words I
love to hear the most, ok mom, when I ask him to do something. He
calms me down, when he comes to sit with me he does not ask anything
of me and he does not demand he usually just wants to sit and hug me
and give kisses. When it is time to work he is the most lazy so we
are working on that. He loves, loves his brothers. THis morning he
ran and gave Addie and big hug.
PETROS-HE informed us last week that he is not a baby. Addie and
ABreham often call him baby and last week he said no baby. I cannot
say enough how much this little boy has change physically. He is
still mostly smiles. He sings when he goes to bed and sings when he
gets up. Also when we drove here he spent a lot of time looking out
he window and singing.

This morning Ezra disobeyed and was going to get a spank. Marya
pleaded that she wanted to take the spank for him. Jake let her do it
and when it was over Jake took this perfect example to talk about the
gospel. The kids listened and Ezra was stunned with Marya's actions.
After we were done, Addie explained that she wanted to take all the
spanks for her brothers and sister. It was a beautiful time of
explaining the gospel.
Jake and I are so happy to be in Alabama right now. Visiting our
family here and of course we will take full advantage of the ice cream
shop down the road. We are praying for more clarity while we are
here. Our house has not sold and we still do not know where we are
moving. We are learning to be a family in many circumstances and
learning to love each other though it all. Marya and Addie continue
to want to add to our family through adoption. What is ahead for this
family?? Jake and I desire God to use us for His purposes and that we
would be willing to do anything at anytime to accomplish it.
love love
Jen