Joseph, Faith & Eve

Faith's 5th Birthday

>> Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Faith turned five years old on January 4th!

She was really blessed this year to have her Nammy & Papa here to celebrate with her!

She also got several different celebrations this year because the Christmas Reading had to be scheduled on her actual birthday. The day after her birthday was her big party at her school!!

>> Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Isn't it fun to see how much kids change in just one year?

Faith Day 2013

>> Sunday, November 24, 2013

Every year we celebrate "Faith Day," which is the anniversary of Faith's adoption. This is a special day for our family as we remember the day that we became a family of four! It's tradition for the kids to put on their Ethiopian clothes. We're thankful for our precious Ethiopian born children!

We had a short photo shoot at a beach before dinner. I love taking pictures of these kiddos!

There's something really special about Faith's smile! It's hard not to smile when she's smiling. Her laugh is also contagious! This picture was probably my favorite from the photo shoot. What a great girl!!

Joseph's 6th birthday

>> Saturday, September 7, 2013

Joseph's birthday is September 4th and this year he turned 6!! Yesterday it was fun to hear him walking around the house saying, "I'm six years old now!"

We had a Spiderman theme this year and we invited a bunch of his friends from his preschool class and from the village. It was the first time I had done a birthday party with local kids...I was pretty nervous.

Faith started preschool

>> Thursday, September 5, 2013

Faith's first day of preschool was Wednesday this week. She was so excited to go back to the local preschool and be with her friends again! She has a new teacher this year. Joseph's teacher from last year (whom we LOVE) is her teacher this year!

Starting Homeschool

>> Thursday, August 22, 2013

We have officially finished our second week of homeschooling!! It's definitely been an adjustment for all of us, but it's been so good! We're all enjoying learning!

Joseph is doing kindergarten at homeschool and Faith will be going to preschool again this year. So, she's been coming in and out of our schooling time. It's fun to see that they're both learning!

I have missed teaching, so I've been looking forward to this! I guess I didn't realize how much I'd really enjoy it. I feel so blessed to be able to do this! We start our day with prayer (something I didn't get to do as a classroom teacher) and both kids want to pray! I have finished prayer time with tears in my eyes a few times now. They have such a simple faith I love to hear them ask God for help! He's been good to us!

Here's a few pictures from our first couple of weeks of school:

Preschool Graduation

>> Saturday, June 8, 2013

On Tuesday, June 4th, Joseph graduated from preschool!

They took this picture of him in a cap & gown and put it in a frame for a gift! I love this picture!!! The sash he's wearing says "Congratulations on graduating from The Little Dears Preschool!"

Below you can see some pictures and videos of his little graduation ceremony!

outdoor fun

>> Sunday, May 26, 2013

The days have been pretty hot lately, but the evenings are still cool enough to be outside. We've had some fun times outside during this time! One day we found a really great park! We didn't even know it existed and it's very close to us!

Random Preschool Post

It seems that there's been a lot happening at the preschool lately. They've been learning a lot and having lots of special days too! They've had field trips and party days...most of it I don't have pictures of. bummer.

Joseph's teacher started a chat group with all of the mom's of the boys in his class. That's been fun! She'll post pictures sometimes!

Faith's teacher has gotten sick and had to leave, so they have a sub for the rest of the year. It doesn't seem to bother Faith at all. She's got so many friends, that's the best part for her!

New Cats!

>> Friday, May 17, 2013

Aunt Melissa got new kittens and we were so excited to meet them!

I talked with the kids before we got there about how to be gentle with them since they're still new and they're babies. They did a pretty good job! There was one time that they did something to make Faith laugh really hard! (He laugh can be really loud.) It made the kittens scared and they ran off! haha!!

Here's a few pictures and one video of the kids and the kittens.

Jojo Day!

>> Monday, May 6, 2013

April 28th is Jojo Day! It's the date that we officially had Joseph in our arms. We took him from the orphanage and he was no longer an orphan! That is the date that our lives changed forever! We were no longer just the two of us. We became a family of three. What a ride it has been! We are so amazed at what a blessing this boy has been and continues to be! His personality is so much fun. He keeps us entertained at all times.

This year we celebrated 5 years with him! Five wonderful years with my favorite boy!

Another tooth is gone!

>> Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Joseph lost his second tooth the same day as the Easter Reading. We were all exhausted that evening. The kids went to bed and I laid down on the couch. I was surprised when he got up after he was down for the night. He came out and brought me his tooth! I couldn't believe it! His first adult tooth came in and pushed his second baby tooth out.

Easter Baskets at Preschool

>> Monday, April 22, 2013

Joseph and Faith were so excited about Easter! They brought Easter Baskets to give to their friends at
school. Their friends didn't understand what it was, but they were happy about their gifts. Inside to baskets they got candy and a picture of Jesus with a verse on it.

Here's a few pictures of their classmates with their baskets! What fun it was to give these out!

Random Feb/Mar pics

>> Thursday, April 18, 2013

This is a pic of the kids' first face painting experience! So fun!

friends at school

Here's a few pictures of Joseph and Faith with their friends at school! They really love their friends! When they come home talking about the fun times that they have with their friends at preschool, it makes us happy! Even thought it's hard to send them.

Joseph has only boys in his class.

Joseph lost his first tooth!

>> Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Joseph lost his first tooth at the end of February!!

It was sort of shocking how it happened. The tooth wasn't loose that we knew of. He used his teeth to open the top of his water bottle and it came out. He was so confused that he picked it up and threw it away.

He didn't know that it was even possible for teeth to come out. So, when Tim and I got excited for him he was even more confused! haha!

Winter Break

>> Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Joseph and Faith had a Winter Break for 2 1/2 weeks. It was so much fun to have time together as a family! We had a sort of "staycation," and enjoyed doing things close to home!

We found some fun parks to play at with just our family as well as with friends. The kids rode their bikes and they both got better at riding! We also went to the beach and to the fort...since the weather was so great!

Check out some of our pictures over these couple of weeks...

Faith turned 4

>> Sunday, January 6, 2013

Faith's birthday was on January 4th and we were all so excited to be celebrating this precious girl! She's our little princess and she has been such a blessing in our family in so many ways!

We had everyone over to our house for lunch that day! Faith was so excited that it was her turn to have her birthday. I still can't believe she turned 4!

Belle is her favorite princess and she had asked me to make a Belle cake for her. She also got to wear a special shirt with Belle!

Faith's first stitches

>> Sunday, December 30, 2012

I got a phone call from the preschool and the director said, "Faith fell down and you need to take her to the hospital!" I got into the car as fast as I could and soon found out that Faith had a cut on the back of her head. It was obvious that she would need a couple of stitches, but I knew she'd be ok.

I'm actually surprised that Faith hasn't had any other major injuries until now. She's quite clumsy, always falling down or bumping into things. Often times when she's running I find myself yelling, "Faith! Be careful!"

Faith Day

>> Sunday, December 2, 2012

November 21st is Faith Day at the Saltzman house!! It's the anniversary of when we went to Ethiopia and had her in our arms. A few days later we left Ethiopia with this tiny, precious little bundle! Our lives have never been the same. This girl is such a blessing in our lives!! She's full of spunk and laughter, which is so much fun!

She had been so excited about this day for a while. We had decided that we would go to Johnny Rockets and Faith was ready to order Chocolate flavored Coke! What a treat for her!

It's our tradition for Joseph and Faith to wear Ethiopian clothes on this special day. We talk about how we went to the orphanage in Ethiopia on this day and how happy we were to bring Faith into our family!! Faith got a new name that day! She went from being "Bethlehem" to "Faith Bethlehem!"

Preschool Update

>> Saturday, November 10, 2012

It's been more than a month since I've written about the preschool. It seems like so much has happened in this last month! It's been a huge learning curve for the kids and for us. But, thankfully, Joseph and Faith really love going to school!

Halloween in the Middle East

>> Sunday, November 4, 2012

Last Wednesday before the kids went to preschool, Joseph announced, "Today is Halloween and we need to dress up!" I'm not sure where he got the idea that it's Halloween since it's not a public holiday. Stores don't have decorations. Only a few restaurants are decorated. I know his friends at preschool don't talk about it, they don't know what it is.

So, we found a couple of costumes that we have and pretended like we were in America, dressing up for Halloween. Joseph was Spiderman and Faith was princess Reepunzel (as she calls her).

Preschool Happenings

>> Friday, October 5, 2012

Joseph and Faith love school! It's such a joy to hear them say, "I love school, Mommy!" They wear uniforms three days a week and "sports clothes" on the other two days. One day they came home with a note that said they should wear "party clothes" on Thursday, since they were having a party. Here they are in their party clothes.

Of course they were excited about a party, who isn't? They came home that day full of sugar, but very happy! It was a special day for the preschool.

Fun at the Beach

Last week we decided to pack sandwiches and go to the beach. We brought snacks and sand toys to share! Even though we live on an island we have to drive 45 minutes to get to a beach. It was a fun time.

I couldn't help but compare this beach time to previous years when our kids were younger. Now Joseph is one of the oldest kids and they're swimming out farther in the water! It's fun to watch them grow up!

swimming weather

It's cooling off a little here in the Middle East...enough to go swimming again! There were a couple of months that were just too hot to go swimming. The water temperature had risen to where it wasn't refreshing to be swimming.

Joseph and Faith love swimming and it's so much fun to watch them continue to improve in their swimming abilities! Faith loves wearing her swimming suit without floaties, but she's not quite confident to swim without help. She watches Joseph swimming all over the pool, though, and wants to be able to do what he does!

Enjoy some of our swimming pictures below...

School Started!!

>> Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Joseph & Faith started school on Sunday at the local preschool/kindergarten. (Sunday is the first day of the work week here.) Both of the kids were so excited that they hardly slept the night before the first day!! They had picked out their backpacks and their uniforms were ready!

You can see how excited they are by how they're running to their school in this picture.

I, on the other hand, was nervous. I tried not to show them that I was nervous. I was concerned about the language barrier and cultural differences because this school is in the village and they only speak Arabic there. After the first day I was happy and the second day went even better! Today, the third day, the kids actually came home speaking some Arabic. I was worried for no reason. Both Jojo and Faith have come home each day telling me how much they love their school!

Jojo turned 5!!!

>> Friday, September 7, 2012

Joseph's Birthday was on Tuesday, September 4th. We were all really excited to celebrate this wonderful boy. I'm still so often amazed that we are blessed to have him in our family! He's so vibrant and full of personality!!

He was SO HAPPY all day on Tuesday. Right away when we got up we made sure to make it special! After Tim got home from work and the kids took a nap, we headed to the mall to build-a-bear! This was something that he has been looking forward to for a long time! For dinner Joseph wanted McDonalds...big surprise!

We had a party on Wednesday evening at our house too! I love this boy! I want him to feel loved and honored on his birthday. He's such a special gift from God!

Dancing Pics

>> Saturday, August 25, 2012

Joseph and Faith love to watch SYTYCD (So You Think You Can Dance) with us! Faith says, "Mommy, can we watch 'So We Think We Can Dance'?" They love to try to do the dance moves with the dancers...it's fun to watch!

School Uniforms

>> Wednesday, August 15, 2012

One of the things we needed to do to get ready for school was go to the tailor and get Joseph's and Faith's uniforms made. When I registered them at the local preschool, I paid for uniforms. I thought it was pretty cheap for a uniform and then I realized that I only bought the fabric.

This was a new experience for me. I had to take the fabric to the tailor to make the uniforms. Thankfully I've been to the tailor a few times lately, but I still didn't know which style to ask for. Joseph's was easy, but Faith's was more difficult. I am still hoping that I chose the right style for hers.

Olympic Friday

>> Sunday, August 5, 2012

On Friday I got to teach the kids at Friday School. (We have church on Friday mornings.) I used the Olympics to point the kids to the Bible!

Verses

>> Saturday, July 21, 2012

Joseph and Faith are both very good at learning verses from the Bible! They enjoy it! It keeps me on my toes because I learn the verses with them. Below you can see a couple of videos of them saying their verses!

Swimming in May & June

>> Thursday, June 28, 2012

May & June have been good months for swimming! Both kids have grown so much in their swimming skills, it's been so much fun to watch them!

Just the other day they were holding hands jumping into the pool. Joseph said, "I LOVE swimming, Mommy!" Faith said, "This is fun!" My heart is so full of joy when I see my kids happy!

Below you can see a slide show of some more pictures and a couple videos...

Faith is growing up

>> Friday, June 15, 2012

It's so much fun to watch this girl grow up! She has such a fun personality. I love it when she gets determined to do things that big kids do.

Just this week she blew me away by deciding to jump off of the diving board! After she does these things she feels so empowered and proud of herself!!

B is for butterfly

>> Saturday, May 19, 2012

We're coming to the end of our little preschool group and it sure has been fun! Joseph and Faith can hardly imagine what school is like without Jonathan, Eli, and Morgan!

This week the focus was on B for butterfly. I tried to make it fun since none of us are all that motivated to work hard on academics right now. So, the kids got to play Elefun. They enjoyed catching the butterflies!

Pool Time

>> Friday, May 18, 2012

It sure is heating up here in the Middle East and this week we started swimming at the pool again! It has been fun for the kids and for me.

Superhero Birthday Party

Last week I got to be the photographer at our friend's 3rd birthday party! It was a very fun party with a superhero theme! The kids each got a mask and had to fight ninjas (balloons)! My kids brought their ninjas home with them and kept fighting them for the rest of the day.

J for Juice

>> Saturday, May 12, 2012

Last week the letter of the week in preschool was J! It was especially fun for Joseph and Jonathan! They said, "It's OUR day!!" I agreed with them that the best names start with J! ;)

Part way through the morning I thought it would be fun to take the kids to the village to order some juice! I asked Diana who was in the other room, homeschooling her older daughters. She didn't sign a permission slip or anything, so maybe we shouldn't call it an official "field trip." The kids had a lot of fun!

fun at the park!

>> Tuesday, May 8, 2012

I took the kids to a new park yesterday with some Arab friends. It was fun because there is an aviary with several really big birds! Joseph loved the birds!!! Faith loved running through the fountain. She was soaked when we left.

There's a few pictures and videos below:

comparison

>> Friday, May 4, 2012

Here's a fun comparison of how much these kids have changed in one year. It sure is fun to watch these two grow! Each new stage is so much fun!

Joseph's friends

Joseph is a very social boy and loves to interact with the boys in the village. The problem is that there's a language barrier. They don't understand him when he speaks to them in English. I guess we need to work on teaching him Arabic!

The other day he was at the center of this group of boys. He didn't mind being the center of attention! They were trying to practice their English with him. I told them to teach him Arabic!

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