Oath of Allegiance

Because he's over 14 (the "age of understanding" according to U.S. Immigration, I guess), Z was required to go to the Immigration office in Charlotte today to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States before he could receive his Certificate of Citizenship. He officially became a citizen when our plane touched down back in July; he just didn't receive the certificate.

This is the oath he had to swear:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

I thought it was interesting that they use such difficult words, when this is an oath that usually non-native English speakers have to say to become a citizen. I asked the officer about it; she said yes, it's hard for most people. She said they had a Chinese guy there today that didn't speak any English, and they had to have him repeat it one word at a time (with no understanding, obviously).

Anyway, yay Z!

Entrepreneur

I took some pictures of Melaku for a headshot, because he wants to try acting, like his big brothers. He is very motivated to earn money right now -- Justin took him for a ride on his motorcycle, and Melaku immediately decided he wants/needs a dirt bike. I told him they are pretty expensive, and he would have to be at least 13 before he could get one. So, he is counting down the months until he is 13 (conveniently not hearing the "at least" part of my statement), and trying to find as much work as he can. When he heard how much Justin, Trevor and Alex sometimes were able to make acting, he was sold on the career.

He is also trolling for work all over our neighborhood. He cleaned all my baseboards and windows, then went to our neighbor's house and cleaned her windows, and he pet-sat a guinea pig over Christmas for some other neighbors. He pretty much asks me on a daily basis if I have any jobs for him, if he can go knock on some other neighbors' doors and ask them for work, and if anyone has responded to the email I sent out about pet-sitting. He is a hard worker, and extremely persistent, I will give him that. :)

Just Dance

We got the Wii game "Just Dance 3" today, and Justin, Z, Melaku, and Justin's friend, Justin, tried it out. It was extremely entertaining for me, watching these big guys shaking their booties. :)

First Christmas

First Christmas with Z and Melaku -- Christmas Eve candlelight service...

And Christmas morning presents...what a blessing to have these boys in our family!

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8 Stockings

It warms my heart every time I see 8 stockings hanging on our mantle -- and it give me a little jolt as well -- "Wow, we have 8 people in our family now!" It doesn't always hit me since all the kids aren't living at home, but I love it when we're all together, like we are now.

And lest you think my family is all sweetness and light -- this is the gingerbread house the kids put together last night. Lindsay is smiling, but I think it's kind of forced, because despite her attempts to make it "pretty," the house ended up with an "Occupy" theme, a dead snowman lying by the front door with icing blood and gummy brains spread around, and other things I won't mention. The fact that it actually looks like a normal house is only because they couldn't get it to stick together when they tried to build it lying on its side. She is simply outnumbered 5 to 1 by testosterone, unfortunately. And notice Z with icing "blood" all over his face -- just joining right in to our Phillips family boy dynamic. Nice.

New Format

I didn't realize it's been 3 1/2 months since I posted anything here! I had planned to blog regularly about adjusting to life with our two new sons after we arrived home, but I guess I've been too busy adjusting to write about it. :)

It has been almost five months now since Z and Melaku arrived, and it's been good! Not all easy by any means -- figuring out how best to parent each of them (and they are completely different!), teaching them about how things work in our family, helping them through so many transitions and new experiences -- but so special gradually getting to know one another better and love one another more and more, watching them become woven into the fabric of our family.

I started this blog more than two years ago (!), when God first spoke to us about adopting, because I wanted to make a record of the process, for us and for others that might want to follow in our footsteps. I feel like with the boys here now, a lot of the "process" is more personal, and not something I need to share in a public place.

But I would like to continue to blog, and to share our life as an adoptive family with you, so I think I'm going to try out a format which I've thought about using before, which is to post a picture every day or so with a brief description or thought (sort of like Project 365, which I did several years ago and really enjoyed).

So, here is the first installment:

One of our family Christmas traditions is to read aloud "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" (complete with silly voices and accents) over the few nights before Christmas; everyone takes turns reading. It has been fun and so special this year to introduce Z and Melaku to the book, and have them take a turn reading too. Here Melaku is gamely taking his turn (wearing the reader's hat), with occasional pronunciation help from Alex or Lindsay. :)

First Month Home

Wow, it's hard to believe that Z and Melaku have been here over a month now! It has been such a great time of getting to know each other and bonding.

They have had lots of new experiences, like learning to ride bikes, family game night, and learning the manly art of grilling...

 

 ...to eating lots of new foods like donuts (!) and Dad's waffles...

...to starting homeschool...

 ...to playing on soccer teams...

...to going on their first road-trip/family vacation...

...to meeting lots of new relatives. 

I have been so impressed with how both boys have coped with all these new experiences, with good attitudes, willingness to try pretty much anything, and in general just jumping right into our family life. 

There have been a lot of transitions already their first month here - Justin and Trevor moving to UNC (though thankfully they're not too far away), and Lindsay moving back to New York - so they definitely miss having their older siblings around, and we miss them too. :( Lindsay set Melaku up on Skype before she left, and he loves to talk to her. He's so funny - he yells so loudly to her, even though we told him he can talk in a regular voice. :)

The standard adoption analogy is that when you add children to your family, it's like adding on to a mobile that has been perfectly balanced before -- you'll have swings back and forth as it readjusts to a new balance (actually, that's the case even when you give birth to new kids). I can definitely see how that's true, as we adjust to having two new family members, and they adjust to having a new family as well. 

I'm very thankful for our other four kids, for being so welcoming and loving to Z and Melaku, because their kindness and graciousness has helped the transition tremendously; and especially for Alex, since he is the one still at home now. I have been so impressed with his maturity in handling this, especially since he also had to deal with his best friend moving away right after the boys came here. 

I know there will continue to be swings as our family mobile re-balances itself, but I am so thankful for the grace and wisdom that God continually gives us.