Still more firsts!

I will never get over the joys of experiencing things for the first time with these kids. The trees changing colors and then dropping leaves to the ground...the high school homecoming game with everyone dressed in purple and gold and balloons released...the parade with painted vans with roofs cut off and full of high schoolers...









...dressing up in costumes to go door to door for bags of candy...and (even on Halloween) orange lights lining the roofs of houses! Pierre said, "Mom, Halloween is beautiful!" Just wait until Christmas! They can't seem to get enough and always appreciate the newness of each holiday.

Life Light Concert

We took the kids and my nieces to the annual LifeLight Christian Concert south of Sioux Falls, SD. We hadn't been to the concert since 2008...the weekend that we decided to sponsor a child online (which resulted in this BIGGER step :). During an intermission from the bands, the speaker showed video of orphans in Ethiopia. He shared that sponsoring them with monthly contributions could truly change lives. Then he asked all 100,000 of us to join hands and pray for these children. As Ange-Laurette held my hand up high with hers, I was almost in tears. Afterward, I asked her, "Did you know that this is the place that we first started on this adoption journey? Haven't you heard us tell how we went online to sponsor a child?" She asked what sponsoring meant. I said that families could send money to the orphanage each month for a certain child while they waited to be adopted. Then I went on to explain in detail how we saw this face on the computer screen that led us to decide to adopt instead. I said, "Do you know whose face that was? YOURS!" (You have to know Ange-Laurette to appreciate her response.) She lightly hit me on the arm and said, "Mom! You should have sent me the money!" We roared with laughter.


That next day in school, the kids all shared what they did fun over their Labor Day weekend. Pierre proudly shared that he got to go to a Justin Bieber concert. The kids were amazed! I explained that actually it was a Christian concert, but not Justin Bieber. Pierre said matter-of-factly, "Oh well. Same thing." :)

"Ange-Laurette is sure aging!"

Bruce thought it would be funny to send this photo to our adoption worker and to say that we are concerned about how quickly Ange-Laurette is aging! They were having fun dressing up at Grandma's, and Bruce took this hilarious photo of her. I especially like the go-go boots....that was one hot grandma in her day!!


The kids absolutely LOVE it at the farm. They love the freedom to roam, the decorated shed where they can finally play "house," and the outdoor fun with cousins and kitties. The night they returned from their 3-night stay there, Ange-Laurette called me into her room after being tucked in. She said, "I feel like I want to cry. I miss Grandma's house already." She has already decided that she is going to live there one day!

Pierre's first birthday party

I wish I could record Pierre's squeal! He turns into a little boy all over again each time he gets excited. Although we try to remind him of "4th grade behavior," it is a precious thing to watch him experience everything for the first time. As quickly as he learned to ride bike, he out grew his bike! That is what he wanted for his birthday: a new big bike and a fishing pole. At 5 feet tall now, he actually "fits" this new bike!


He invited his new friends and cool little brother to a backyard birthday pool party the weekend before school started. It was encouraging to see how he fit in, and it was a joy to see how he enjoyed every single aspect of the afternoon. From the "froggy" ice cream cake, to the timed sports obstacle course (which he easily won), to the bubbles and silly bands he handed out at the end...Pierre was in heaven! He must have thanked and hugged us a dozen times that night. (As you can see in the photo, Ange-Laurette is doing ok with the long wait until her December birthday :)

Summer tutoring success ~

Both Pierre and Ange-Laurette were blessed with this special lady, who offered them tutoring in reading all summer. We found the perfect program (LiPS) to help them both hear the sounds in words by focusing on speech sounds related to the formation of our lips/tongue/teeth...while segmenting those sounds and syllables to form words and sound them out. (Not sure I am explaining this correctly :) The point is that we had the best luck yet in helping Pierre finally focus on sounding out words, rather than guessing. Even more importantly, he LOVED the tutor and continued to work "like a dog," as he likes to put it. For Ange-Laurette, it was tolerable. :) Although she loves books like the Junie B series, she would much rather be out front playing 4-square. Pierre's "pursuit of excellence" is not something she has internalized just yet!


Still, her efforts in other areas are admirable. Ange-Laurette has simply never been taught the skills of being a good friend or of offering encouragement to others, etc. It is not that she is not kind. She just did not receive the coaching we offered our other kids from Day 1. After being with friends, she will still turn to me to ask, "Is THAT being nice, Mom?" She admits that her birthmother did not smile much. Ange-Laurette remembers that she did like babies and little children but says she did not greet or stop to talk with others very often. So many stories like these are surfacing.

As I braided her hair the other day, Ange told about the only time she visited her grandmother. She and her birthmother traveled "about 4 hours" by tap tap (taxi). They had to walk a long ways even once they arrived. Her older birth brother lived there with cousins. She remembers that they had lots of good water and trees to climb. Ange-Laurette's favorite memory was climbing trees for "co co ay" or coconuts. They would throw them down to the ground. If they would break open, all the cousins would run to drink from them. Then, the ladies would take "the inside white and mix it with rice and mmmmm, that was so good!"

Adoptions Finalized !!

The day before school started, we were able to finalize the adoptions in South Dakota. It was a quiet morning at our local court house, with a couple close friends and one of our adoption workers from Sioux Falls present. The judge smiled and commented on our bright colors and smiles...a much happier sight than most mornings! He quickly signed the paperwork as he shared that he had followed our story...."a great story." As we walked out, the kids noticed the single file of the NEXT lucky few to enter the courthouse. Ange-Laurette asked, "Why are those guys all dressed the same?" (in black and white stripes!) Pierre said, "Yeah, why are their hands tied together?" We said, "Let's just say that this morning is the ONLY time you probably want to visit the judge!"

We celebrated with breakfast at Perkins...and looked forward to the much bigger celebration at our house that weekend. The morning only made official what we already felt: these two precious children are definitely already our own. Although we ALWAYS value their past and the sacrifices of their birth families, we feel all the love and responsibility any other parent should. Mostly "love"!!

Top 10 Reasons... this was our Best Family Vacation Yet!

#10. We girls conquered our fears of heights on the aerial tramway and alpine slide
#9. We had a 3 bedroom cabin at Palmer Gulch (rather than our usual 6 to a room)
#8. Dane and Ashley were able to make the trip from Minneapolis and catch up on some heated wiffle ball

#7. We found the balance of large group, family, and alone time over 6 days
#6. The Lears finished strong in the beanbag tournament, dodging waterballoons launched from oversized slingshots
#5. The kids got to finally meet cousin Jack (huggable one-year-old!), my brother, and lots of new extended family...and they were completely themselves at this "over 6 month" point

#4. We got to visit Diana, the adoption coordinator that matched us with Pierre and Ange-Laurette. They amazed her with their English and encouraged her with their healthy happy smiles!
#3. The kids climbed rocks, swam in Sylvan Lake, went on a hayride, toured Mt. Rushmore, rode horses, and just plain enjoyed the beauty of the Black Hills

#2. Our awesome teenage daughter did not so much as roll her eyes :)
#1. No (carsick) ziplocs were needed for either 8-hour ride or the winding mountain roads!