People keep telling me "I wish you could post on your blog more often, but I know you're busy." I'm right there with you! But since it's Thanksgiving and I have more things to be thankful for than I can even count, I figured I'd squeeze in a quick update.
Thomas spent three days at Fifth Grade Camp earlier this month. It was a terrific time, mostly hands-on science curriculum and it was right up his alley. He came home feeling even cooler than he was before (as if that's possible). It was funny how much Mere, Tinsaye, and Solomon missed him. They kept saying, "I wonder what Thomas is doing now?" and when I told them that they should get used to it because someday he was going to college without them, Tinsaye started crying. She pretty much can't deal with any more family changes right now.
Speaking of Tinsaye, we've been pretty overwhelmed with a big issue for her: her age. Her birth certificate issued by the Ethiopian government said her birthdate was 7/2/2002. The longer she was here, the more convinced we were that she was older than 8. She knows she's older than 8 too, but Ethiopian calendar and tradition of counting birthdays differently made it really hard for us to determine the correct age. Plus she's doing really well in school (2nd grade) and we don't want to change her grade right now. So after a bone scan, a consultation with an international adoption specialist doctor, our pediatrician, a family therapist, and her teachers, we are officially changing her birthdate to 7/2/2001, making her 9 1/2. She seems happy with this and at peace (which is a big relief since she we have had lots of emotional drama surrounding this issue). Thomas is VERY relieved to still be the oldest. We may move her up a grade at some point, but this year she is staying put. We applied for her Michigan birth certificate with the age change and we'll have to go to a hearing in Oakland County court to present the medical reasons, but after we have a new MI birth certificate, we can get federal documentation and be done with it forever.
I keep forgetting to update you all about the kids' medical issues. We've spent a lot of time this fall dealing with doctors, even beyond all the stuff dealing with Tinsaye's age. We saw a geneticist who confirmed that they both have Axenfeld-Riegers Syndrome. We also had full cardiology exams for both kids since the genetic anomaly can lead to cardiac malformation too. They were both completely normal and healthy! We are supposed to see an audiologist also to rule out any ear malformations, but I feel confident that they hear just fine, so we've put that off for now. Both Solomon and Tinsaye's eye pressures continue to improve and Tinsaye's vision has actually improved somewhat (from astonishingly bad to just remarkably bad!). Solomon goes back for a recheck with the ophthalmologist next Friday and if pressures are still good, we will plan a surgery to fix the strabismus (wandering eye). He doesn't know about the surgery, I think he'll be really scared. We'll just deal with it as it comes. Both kids' teeth are a disaster. Many adult teeth never formed in utero, so they will just have to have bridges or implants or something, but they are too young to do anything about it now, so they just look crazy. Solomon actually got his two adult bottom teeth, but never lost his baby ones... the adult teeth just came in behind the babies, so he's a total Shark Boy right now. He cried and cried because the Tooth Fairy never came for him! We are all caught up on their immunizations for now, so that is one less thing to deal with.
All the kids are playing community ed basketball right now and having fun with that. Beyond that, school and church keep us unbelievably busy. The girls are preparing for First Communion in the spring, so they just had their First Reconciliation. Meredith was very worried because she could not think of any sins she needed to confess and if she made any up, she'd be lying, which would be a sin that she needed to confess! Quite a quandary. She eventually decided to own up to "ignoring her dad" and "hitting her brother" and she felt really good about her confession. Tinsaye made a list of about 10 ordinary sins like "fighting with my brother", but then in the heat of the confessional, she told me she panicked and admitted to "pantsing my brother in the front yard, but it was on accident and I said I was sorry ten times, but he no listen to me, he is so angry". It must be hilarious for the priest to hear first confessions! Thomas went to the training to be an altar server. It seemed like a good idea, since we often serve as host family and Thomas helps on the altar frequently. However, when we realized that he was going to have to carry a giant lit candle up the entire aisle and put it in a holder without starting a fire, sit without figiting in front of hundreds of people for the entire hour, and carry wine around without dropping it, I figured that it might not be such a great idea after all. Maybe I could get him an earpiece like the Secret Service guys wear and talk into my sleeve while he's up there, saying things like, "watch where you're going, quit picking your scabs, tie your shoe, hold the chalice with BOTH hands!" Or maybe we can just wait a year or two.
Overall, we are just blessed and blessed and blessed. And tired. But blessed.
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