May in Review!

May was another fantastic month of *FIRSTS* for Negash and our adjustments to being a family of Four!!  My 8 week Family Leave drew to an end...  Negash and I had a great time together and we were able to get out and do lots of things each day!  We worked on school things too and I felt like we had made some good progress!  When it was time to enroll him in school, I had no idea I would face such opposition.  Apparently, TN state law for BOTH private and public schools states that ALL children must complete a Kindergarten program.  Because Ethiopian schools (and the rest of the non-American world) run on a January to December school calendar, he had only started Kindergarten.  They were requiring Negash start Kindergarten in August... when he would be 7 years old.  No negotiating even the possibility of moving him up once language was acquired... was told "we can catch him up in Junior high".  Nice...  BUT, the LORD KNOWS, and He had planned a different environment for him!  We found a Montessori school that was willing to help him out during the summer to get him as caught up as possible and for him to start 1st grade in August!!  AND... when I toured... found out that HIS TEACHER is ETHIOPIAN!!  Isn't GOD so GOOD!!!  We have been blessed by his little school that has a HUGE Personal interest in his learning and his growth!! 

He started his school in early May and loves it!!

We got to visit my brother and my niece in St. Louis!  The boys had a BALL!!  We went to City Museum (all these pics) where the kids got to climb in and through EVERYTHING!  It was incredible!!

This pic is from the 10 story slide through the middle of the building!

 Caleb and Brooklyn fearlessly went into every Nook and Cranny in that place with Negash right behind them!  Caleb has always loved climbing like a little monkey, and this place is the MECCA for that!! :)

 This was at the pool at the hotel!  We are pretty sure this was the first swimming experience for Negash!  He is FEARLESS!  Once in the water for 15 mins, he was jumping and putting his head under!!  Awesome!!

We also went to Six Flags in St. Louis.  Negash rode one of the fastest roller coasters in the nation and did SO GREAT!!  He was lovin' it and laughing the whole time! So Precious!

 My precious friend Stacy, her husband, and son came up to Memphis and we went to the Children's Museum.  Negash had the BEST time riding the police motorcycle and climbing all over the fire truck!

We are seeing more and more of the Negash's precious personality coming out as each day passes!!! He and Caleb have just about figured each other out and are getting along great! Of course, there is tattling... and more tattling... but we are very careful to make sure we hear Negash's side of the story too! :) Getting back to work and getting into a Routine was also nice... It took some adjusting, but we all did great through it all!