First Time for Everything

We have been home for one week and this first week has been full of first time experiences.

In their orphanage they were literally within the four walls of the orphanage all the time. Until three or four years ago they were even tutored inside the walls. But as soon as ebola was cleared out they decided that sending them to school would broaden their experiences. The only outside the walls time they have had is time at school and time at church, so they didn't even have experiences in their own culture.

Firsts in Liberia:

First flush toilets...and why are there so many different types of flush toilet? Every new toilet was a learning experience. The automatic flush toilets in the U.S. Embassy almost caused a streaking incidence because they were so surprised and scared.

Working indoor plumbing. They didn't know how to turn on the faucets because the faucets in their orphanage hadn't worked since before the war and had been removed.

Showers. "Mom, it's raining inside!" They loved the shower because they bathe with a bucket pumped from their outside cistern and a wash cloth at the orphanage. Kumba giggled through the whole thing and refused to get out. Gifty, is my scaredy cat and she refused to put her face under the water and took a 30 second shower the first time. Now, of course, I can't get any of them out.

Their own market place. Not using street markets myself, it was a bit overwhelming, but for the kids who had never been in such a crowded area or seen so many items for sale it was a bit too much.

Grocery stores. They have grocery stores in Liberia but they are relatively new and mostly for foreigners and the wealthy. Just like my other daughters, they asked for everything on the shelves whether they knew what it was or not.

This was the girls' first time in a hair salon (Gifty getting her hair washed in a salon). We went in Liberia for the girls to have their washed and styled because I certainly can't do it yet.

Firsts in Travel:

Airplane ride, of course! They did such a great job with this. The weren't afraid of the plane at all and enjoyed the in-flight entertainment. Kumba called the flight-attendant several times. Again it was the toilet that was daunting...it is so loud and sudden that it frightened them. They were so afraid that they began hiding while I went in to flush it.

Airport. The airport in Amsterdam is like a giant mall and we were in a hurry. All decorated for Christmas and with shiny toys and things for sale they have never imagined, I literally had to drag Kumba through the airport. She was so overwhelmed by all there was to see that her legs just stopped moving.

Straight out of a scene in Elf, the escalators were an airport challenge. Kumba was immediately up for the challenge and loved it. Kai was nervous but made it happen. A flight attendant had to help with Gifty who refused to get on. From that point on we had to take the elevator (which was also a first but they found it amazing that the doors closed to one room and opened to another). Kumba kept begging to go on the moving sidewalks but Gifty flat out would not.

Traffic lights have a running status report. From the backseat we hear the constant, "Green light means go. Yellow means slow. Red light, MOM! Red light, MOM!" Even if it is two blocks away.

Firsts in Oregon (America as they call it):

First puzzles. This was an interesting educational experience. The kids had no idea about problem solving and pattern recognition skills. 

 Playdough! They loved play dough and spent a long time playing with it. They had seen advertisements for it on TV in Liberia but never touched it. We will do this again soon.

 Their first time in a restaurant went much smoother than I anticipated. We went to a local pizza place with an informal setting. They liked the elevated seating but not the pizza. This was also their first experience with cheese and with pizza. Kumba eats anything and ate it right up. Kai will eat anything if you add red pepper flakes to it but Gifty is a picky eater and went hungry for the night.

 This one was a bit of a surprise but it was their first use of scissors! Kai is a lefty and there were no left handed scissors at our craft event so it was a little rough for him. They attempted to make snowflakes but really we just had fun chopping things into bits.

 The much anticipated snow. Here are our first snow angels. They love the snow and have adjusted to the cold remarkably well. One day it was 40 degrees and I had to fight them to keep their coats on. We also had a first snowball fight, first teeny-tiny snowmen, and first snow eating.

 The wagon ride wasn't that big of a hit. This was their first time staying out in the cold for an extended length of time. The seats were cold and so were our bums.

 Craft time was fun and they acted like old pros. The glue stick posed a bit of a surprise for Gifty who thought it was chapstick and liberally applied it.

 Hot cocoa after the snow was a favorite.

 Bike riding was the first thing that they asked for. This is Kumba in the picture who thought it was just okay but Kai was an instant success. He literally could balance, peddle and turn his very first time out.

Four girls in a row with newly painted pink toenails.

Addi's first school performance. This was also our first time out of the house as a family of 7.

The were surprised that we could check out books at the library and take them home with us. We also let them use the computer with a mouse for the first time. They typed all their friends' names from the orphanage and pushed all kinds of random buttons. The mouse was definitely a challenge.

We had to take them to buy snow boots and it will be a long time before I take them all to the store again. They ran wild and took the little girls with them. Luckily there weren't many people in the store.

We saw Santa Claus at an event we attended and they were interested and surprised. They asked many, many questions about him. They are now firm believers and have already sworn they are not going to sleep on Christmas Eve. Gifty asked Santa for a gift. Kai asked for candy. Kumba was too afraid to ask. Addison wants a life-sized princess castle and a $400 princess carriage that she is not going to get. Shiloh wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever.

The bounce house was probably the biggest hit yet. Yesterday it was only 19 degrees at 10:30 am and we needed to get these kids out of the house. So, we braved the bounce house. Kai worked up a sweat and Gifty hasn't laughed so much. Kumba was the quietest of all and spent most of her time throwing balls with Addison. Shiloh was the bravest and we spent most of the time chasing her.

The bath tub is a new playground. If they get bored in the evening, I just run some water and they play in the bath until it is cold then they are clean too.

While a playground is not new, they had one at the orphanage, the twisty slide and the tire swing were. They thought the twisty slide was the best thing since sliced bread and kept trying to explain it to me. Then the saw the tire swing....it was the new sliced bread...Kumba went on it until she got sick to her stomach.

Coming up Next: We are waiting to try the movies and the ice cream parlor and I'm feeling a little anxious about Costco and iPads.

The kids in general are doing great. All the kids are getting along surprisingly well with a few basic sibling rivalries and territorial squabbles. They are used to having little kids around and are kind and helpful with the little girls. The older kids aren't used to being inside and we find that we have to keep them busy or they get hyper and loud. While it took me a long time to adjust to the time difference, the kids were so tired from the travel and new experiences they have slid right into our time.

Kai is getting lessons in wood working. Kumba has fallen in love with milk (only given to babies in Liberia). Gifty eats ice from the ice-maker like crazy (also a rarity because they don't have electricity to keep it frozen).