Car Wash

Luke spent some of yesterday afternoon outside helping mom washing the car and I got a couple cute pictures! Enjoy!

Helping mom clean the Yukon

Rubbing soap into his eyes

Reaction to having soap in his eyes

Making sure the bottom of the car is clean

Scrubbin

Trying to spray off the car

we have arrived at 7 weeks

This week marks the 7th week since Luke has been home! We have seen him grow like crazy and we have loved every step of it! As the weeks have passed the near bald head he arrived with has started to grow into a mini afro (Mom could not be more excited about it!). He is also starting to speak some English! (Momma, Daddy, LaurLaur, Hunt, CaCa, Ryan, wa (water), more, please, thank you, hi, bye, no, yes, Avery, on, hot, off, ouch) He is also getting really good at imitating what he hears! At this point he can count to three, he knows he is two, he gets to 'B' in the alphabet, and knows Moms favorite sooo big! He never spoke a lot of Amharic besides for quaz (ball) and on-day, we don't really know what it means or obviously how to spell it. But if I was to guess its something like I want or mine. It has been a wonderful 7 weeks!

Thank you to the family members, friends, and everyone else who came around our family throughout the course of these 3 years! Thank you for the clothes, toys, and most of all prayers. We are so thankful for the support group we have! It was amazing to see how excited people got about the new addition to our family. God Bless!

-Lauren 

Luke trying mustard, he gagged. 

Food of the Week: Watermelon

More mustard pictures... 

Dad and Luke

Gotta love that big smile!

Sooo Big!

Lawrence Street Park

On Friday night we took Luke to his first adventure to the park. He love almost every second of it. At first he was very unsure about the slides, but  quickly catched   on. We spent a hour there and it still wasn't enough for Luke. He screamed when we took him back to the car and most of the way to McDonalds.  Also another big thing he learned this past week was to drink out of a straw, which he thinks is pretty cool.

His first time down the slide

                                                             Climbing up the stairs

                                                       Ready. set. go.

                                                          Going through the tunnel

Down the big slide with Dad 

His ice cream mustache

Kisses From Luke

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today, being moms 25ish birthday (hehe) we hit up the beach with some pizza. Tonight was Luke's first time at one of our great lakes. At first he was super unsure about the sand, the loud sea gulls, all the water, and of course the noise the boat motors made. After eating a whole piece of pizza, Luke sat on my lap and watched me play with the sand. Slowly he was pushing his fingers down into the sand and before we knew it he had his shoes off and was wiggling his toes. We played with Luke, watched the boats go through the channel, and slowly urged him to walk on the sand. There was a couple a few picnic tables away from us also playing with there two sons in the sand. The father and oldest boy (who was about a foot taller then Luke) came over to us. The man and his wife had adopted two boys from Detriot, ages 3 1/2 and 11 months. He wished us and Luke luck on his first time at the beach and he said he hoped Luke wouldn't give us to much trouble. Its amazing how big the community surround adoption actually is. After we packed up supper we walked towards the swings, down the beach, and to the pier. Since pictures always say it better then words; here you go.
-Lauren

Luke praying for us. 

He was digging the swings, and I kinda was too.. 

Luke, Hunter, and Mom getting their toes wet. 

The water was a bit cold!

Luke and Mom 

Just gotta love that smile.

Daddy and his girls. 

Mom and Luke again. 

Happy Birthday Mom!

Big Brother 

Wet and sandy!

Labor Day Weekend

This Labor Day weekend we took Luke away from home! Yeah, he has been out of the house here and there but this was his first big outing. The whole family packed up the yukon and we headed up north to Grandma and Grandpa Kalkman's cabin for Labor Day weekend. (I drove for 2 hours to get there, and we all survived (: ) The ride went pretty well and Luke slept on a and off, and by the time we got there he was ready to get out. He got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa all weekend. He loved being outside and watching Avery and Scout run around. He was unsure about the noises the motors on the cars, quads, and golf cart made and would come and grasp on to the nearest person. We took him on a ride and he didn't seem to hate it or love it. Overall, the weekend was a lot of fun and it was good for everyone including Luke to get out of the house for a while.
-Lauren

Our Little Luke

As the weeks have begun to past quicker Luke has grown into and onto this family. He has more energy now then ever before and he is curious about everything, just like any healthy two year old. Recently, he has insisted on clearing the table with us kids, helping mom with the wash, and praying with us as a family. Its the simple things in life that mean the most. He has grown on us with his giggles, smiles, and endless kisses. And he has grown with us. We are growing used to his routine and he is used to be the center of attention. God has blessed us with happy little boy that completes us as a family.

Luke with our neighbor girl Emma (4 years). 

Luke loves his water and containers. 

Luke giving Avery kisses. She loves him even though takes her toys and then runs away from her.

A Long Overdue Update

This upcoming saturday will mark our 5th week with Luke! I have to say that the time has flown by and he has grown quickly as the days pass. The first two weeks were complicated because we often didn't understand what he wanted and we were visiting the doctor multiple times a week! But he has been getting better and has been getting more and more active.

 Luke had/has a ear infection in just his right ear, pneumonia(which he is over!), he has low iron, and Giardia. At times we still think that his ear is bothering him but we will find out at the next doctors appointment if the infection is still there. The pneumonia was more complicated. Luke did not want to take the medication so my mom was bringing him to the doctors to get shots for it. She was bringing him everyday, so we pulled out our secret weapon. Carrie and Todd Klaasen came over and held Luke down and showed my parents how to give him his medication. It mad him pretty upset but it was something that had to happen! And man were we thankful for the help! After doing this a few times he would take the medication like a big boy and not throw a fit. Since then he has finished taking the medication and has so much energy! Its amazing how active he is when he isnt always tired. He is currently taking medication for his low iron, which he takes without a problem (Thanks again Klaasens!), and is getting healthier! As for the Giardia (a Ethiopian disease with his stool) it has been getting better! I wont go into details but we are definitely making progress in getting rid of that nasty disease.

He sleeps about 12 hours a night and takes a 3 hours nap in the after noon, which seems like a lot of sleep but it works for him! Since he sleeps so long every night, he gets up and eats like a bear. Normally 2 packets of oatmeal, eggs, toast, and maybe yogurt are enough to fill him up. But he is always hungry about 2 hours later! He digs anything that is white bread, buns, potatoes, chips, tortillas, etc. He eats grapes and strawberries but we havent tried much of anything else. (Blueberries were a little but to sour for him! haha) He has eaten chicken but not consistantly, he will eat venison, hotdogs, and bologna. The list goes on and on so we cant complain about the eating! Although the only thing we can get him to drink is water we aren't too worried since he drinks a lot of it! 

Speaking of water the boy loves it! If you ever drive by you will probably see him on the drive way with buckets of water, shovels, and rocks (from the landscaping!). He loves playing with the water and he loves containers more then he loves clothes! As he plays he keeps a eye on mom making sure she doesnt leave him and he talks like crazy. Everyday he is saying more and more. He is really good at repeating what he hears! Mom is still his favorite word though! 

Along with teaching him words, he has learned to give fist bumps, high fives, kisses, wave goodbye, and pray. Mom prays a simple prayer with him before he eats and just recently he has started to join hands with the family around the table, make sure we have our eyes closed and then he closes his and bows his head. He may not understand it but in some ways i think he does. He gets that it is important and we all do it, including him. Its one of those moments that I'm not planning on forgetting. To see that sweet little boy understand something in such a simple way. To hold my parents hands and close his eyes means the world. Its amazing how God works. 

We have fallen so in love with this little boy over the course of almost 5 weeks. He has been such a blessing to us and our family and friends. His giggle and his smile make every day of that long wait worth it! 

I know that we haven't been great at updating the blog but I will seriously try to start updating this consistently. Thank you for all the prayers, support, and gifts that have been helping us through this journey! God Bless!

Love,

Lauren 

Welcoming Home Luke

We made it to Washington DC. Luke did great on the flight. The only real problem we had was one he couldn't  control - he pooped through 3 outfits.

We want to thank all those who have supported us in many ways over the nearly four years since we decided to adopt.  On July 15, 2010 we made a decision to adopt from Ethiopia and began paperwork. Through a long and often frustrating process God has lead us to July 15, 2013 which is the day our son from Ethiopia became ours forever.  Looking back we obviously would have preferred to have this process go much quicker, but we also recognize that God has taught us a new level of patience and reliance on Him because there really was no other options available. 

Because of all your support, it is reluctance that we make the follow request. Based on our intuition and advice from Bethany, we are going to "cocoon" or essentially keep our son to ourselves for several weeks. We feel this is in his best interest. You are more than welcome to be at the airport when we get home from Ethiopia tomorrow

. Brett will be carrying him off the plane and the plan is for him to stay in Brett's arms while at the airport.  You can visit with him at the airport but we will not be passing him around.  Once we are home we ask that you respect our privacy and allow us to lay low as a family for the rest of the summer. 

We are proud to announce ..............

Robin is making an announcement ...........Brett and I are proud to announce we have chosen a name for our youngest child -  Luke Terefe Diepenhorst.  We will be boarding the plane tomorrow at 10:15am and arriving at 7 am Ethiopian time (that would be midnight our time).  Please pray that our flight goes smoothly and we are able to get sleep.  Shortly after we get in Ethiopia we will be going to pick up Luke from the orphanage.  We have been praying that this change for him is not too much.  We will try post some pictures on Monday.  God has blessed us with another child and we can't wait to see what all He has planned for us.  Please remember we are all orphans and children of God.

They're gone....

They left our sight at about 8:50, after looking in the gift shop for a cord that my dad wanted for his glasses, and having breakfast at the aiport. We said our goodbyes and they got in the line for security.   We walked away knowing that the next time we were altogether we would be a family of 6. It wasn't easy we all wanted to go back together back to Ethiopia, Africa together. They have arrived safely at the Washington Dulles Airport. Hopefully now picking out a name for "nameless" a.k.a little "t". Yeah, Mom if you are trying to log into the blog Grandma likes the name Isaac. Yeah and sorry if there are no updates from my mom doesn't have it quite down yet ( blog steps) and it doesn't help that if she is using the computer in Africa when she gets there ( which will be @ 12:00 give or take on Monday) , blogger settings are in Amharic.   

Dates and Times

So a week from today he will be in my parents arms forever. They will pick him up from the Hilawe  orphanage.  Then they have a Embassy appointment at1:00 which is when then sign  papers and show they have him. Some point in the time he will have a doctors appointment there. They will be waiting  for his visa which they could get at any time on Thursday. They will arrive back in Grand Rapids a week from Saturday at 2:10 give or take. Right when he stands on U.S. soil he is a U.S. citizen. Anyone who wants to come to the airport is welcome this is your chance to see him. Little T's suitcase has been pack for almost a week.  

We passed.... again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So there was a little confusion with the U.S. Embassy. They cleared us not knowing that my parents fingerprints were expired, even though they redid them but Bethany didn't send them. Somehow the mistake was found and yesterday we got news that we would have to wait til they were sent digitally to the Embassy. They got them to Embassy but they were already close for the day yesterday. Praying that we would get the news today, and we got it. On Monday the 15 of July my parents will be picking Terefe. And the 16th is the Embassy date which is when they have to show they have little T and sign paperwork. And on the 17th is exactly 3 years since we told our family we were adopting clueing them with the flowers of Ethiopia, Ethiopian coffee, and the #4. Now on this day three years later my  parents  will be holding him in our arms. God is good and we are blessed. We love you little  T. 

He's commin' home 🏠

We passed Embassy today! Now we have submitted dates to Embassy and the chose we which better for them. Then probably monday we will firgure out when my parents are going to Africa. We. are. Blessed. beyond words and can't wait to have little "T" home.  Also I have to clarify that his orphanage didn't close its just that Bethany is no longer partnering  with them.  We will update soon