It's NOT about us ~ through the eyes of an 8 year old!

Greetings ~
 I really had no idea HOW materialistic I was (I actually thought I really wasn't!) until Tariku entered my life.  When you live a life with less than the bare necessities it is AMAZING what you think about on a daily basis.  For Tariku his mind often wanders to how he can do for someone else, what he can share or give to make another person's day.  About 5 or 6 times a year he comes to me and says he has to go through his toys and give some away.  This past week was once again that time and so he did - 1 by 1 he went through toys and books and asked Teddy to go through his.  In the end they had a large bin, a trash bag and a box full of toys.  Typically we load them in the car and off to goodwill we go but being so close to the holiday I took to facebook to see if there was a place we could take them so Tariku could SEE the difference he was making.  Within minutes and thanks to the power of social media I was reminded of a most amazing event happening on Dec 7th called Help Portrait. (please take a moment and check out what this fantastic group is doing around the world)

Fast forward to Dec 7th - I had a wedding in the morning and as I was leaving Tariku reminded me mama today today is the day to deliver the toys to boys who may never have had any.  So just after noon as I returned from my wedding he and I loaded the expedition and off to Cross Point church in Nashville we went.  I wasn't really sure what we would see or if he would actually get to SEE the joy he spreads when he does what he does. But I did not need to worry - the doors opened and there were lots of kiddos having their pictures taken for the very first time!!  With the help of some wonderful elves we brought in Tariku and Teddy's toys and dropped them off at the foot of Santa.  IMMEDIATELY Tariku said look mama look they really like the toys look at them playing.  And in that moment I was reminded in this season it really is NOT ABOUT US.  It is rather about what we do to make someone's day, to feel valued, to feel important, and most importantly to feel loved - all which we so often take for granted.  So thank you Micah, GraceAnn, Jeb, Myrick and Jeremy for allowing Tariku to SEE the true reason for the season with his eyes.  He hasn't stopped talking about since we left!

Some photos from our time @ the Help Portrait event.

Jeb and GraceAnn take a look at the goodies 

A sweet boy already ready to check out the goodies

Tariku and Jeremy (aka Adler's dad from school!)

Mother Son Kickball Tournament - Oct 2013

Greetings Friends ~ We are so blessed at our elementary school every year they host a Father/Daughter Dance as well as a Mother/Son kickball tournament. Though usually in the Spring we were fortunate this year that it happened at the most BEAUTIFUL time of the year FALL!! So after school the moms scoop up their boys and we head to the back of the school for a pizza party and some rockin good music to get us warmed up! And than it is time to hit the fields!!! Boys against the mama's and a few awesome DUGOUT DAD's to be our rollers! It is truly a time I cherish with both my boys. Watching them with their friends and catching up with some of mine all while playing a spirited game of kickball! Without further adieu the photos from KICKBALL 2013!!

Huge congratulations to both the boys classes for once again beating their mamas! And way to go Tariku on your AWESOME homerun!!  

Thank you PTO for putting your heart and soul into our school each and every day so we can continue creating these most amazing memories with our boys!

We tested OUT OF INTERVENTION

Greetings ~
Since coming home with Teddy 2.5 years ago one of the hardest things I have struggled with was how to educate him.  I have scoured and read EVERYTHING I can get my hands on.  I have joined every facebook group I can find and I have badgered the 3 friends with deaf experience (I am probably lucky they are still talking to me!!)  But I made a promise to Teddy's birth mom that I was going to do everything I could to help him succeed in school.  At the end of last year we made the decision to remain in 1st grade for an additional year - truth be told I had made that decision at the start of last school year but alas it would not be until the end of the year when everyone would agree.

You see ASL (American Sign Language) and English are 2 VERY DIFFERENT languages and I just couldn't wrap my mind around how he was going to learn both while knowing his brain still thinks some in Amharic.  At school he works with his teacher, his interpreter, his deaf educator, and his OT.  We also work with an outside speech language pathologist and countless other professionals.  But in my mind we are ALWAYS way behind.  His expressive language skills are that of about a 3 year old while I know he knows so much more the language just is not there YET to see him share it.  So as I prepared for our IEP meeting last week I wondered what this year was gonna hold.  How would we proceed to get him where he needs to be.  And as is ALWAYS the case I should not have worried - you see GOD had it taken care of.  He had placed all of these amazing professionals in our lives and they were working to get him caught up.  And his teacher was so excited to tell us that on the state standard test that he had just taken for reading and comprehension - HE TESTED OUT OF INTERVENTION and at entry level 1st grade!!   

So this post is to thank every single person that has helped us get to this 1st milestone!  I know each and everyone of you were placed on this path with us for a very special reason and please know not a day goes by that I don't pray and thank God that he has placed you on this journey with us.  And to use the words of Meredith (his deaf educator) as she reminded me today - STOP looking at the big picture and ENJOY where he is today - because this my friends is a huge accomplishment.

Way to go sweet boy!  Keep on reading

Neck Tie Tuesday

Well Hello Again ~
We have now successfully completed day 2 of Spirit Week @ Lipscomb Elementary.  And I must say these photos really say it all!  The boys version of how mama wanted the photo taken followed by mama's version of the photo!

Boys will be boys!

Mama's compliant photo

So there you have it another day in the books and now we move on to Wednesday!  Which means the week is halfway complete!!  

1st day of school

Greetings ~
Well this year the first day of school looked a little different at the Hammons house!  There is no cute pinterest worthy photo of the boys.  There were no tears shed as the boys headed to the bus to start 1st and 2nd grade.  Nope not this year ~ GOD had different plans for this mama and boy did he stretch me this year!  You see I am still working in Addis Ababa Ethiopia some 7,300 miles away from the 1st day of school.  And yet I wouldn't change a moment of it for anything - not for me or for the boys.  So alright the outfits they wore were surely chosen by them, and no I didn't pack their lunch (but I did take them to buy lunch boxes before I left!!!) Instead their dad and their papa had this moment with them and for that I am eternally grateful.  The boys ADORE their papa to the ends of the earth and had I not been away he would not have been there for their 1st day of school.  And thanks to modern technology I am blessed to follow their day via email, facebook and twitter.  Their most amazing nanny (who leaves for college this Friday) posts photos and videos of them after school.  Their teachers email me and I facetime with the boys ~ so no the 1st day of school was not a traditional one but it was also not one to soon be forgotten!  Hello 2013/2014 we are soooo excited to see you and cannot wait for all that is in store with Ms. Clark and Ms. Gatlin this year!

New School Year Begins!

WOW oh WOW!  Where did this summer go?  So many things to write about and so much was seen and done and yet there are no posts!!  Leave it to me to keep a list but never actually post!  Sorry about that friends I really do want to be better.  So here is it Aug 17th and the boys have officially been back in school for 1 week!!!  They love school and were so excited to start back - Tariku is getting use to the idea that his classroom friends are different and Teddy is adjusting to a new teacher, new interperter and new hearing teacher!  No homework yet but we are busy with soccer and swimming and of course trips to see Nana and Papa!  Here is a quick photo of the boys in their new classrooms on the 1st day of school!  Enjoy

Wishing you a most MAGICAL Day ~
Courtney