more about Michael

Got-cha! 14 years!

2011-11-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

(*Last year's GOT-CHA Day.)

Michael's Got-cha Day is November 5th 1997.

The day I arrived in Haiti and saw him for the first time.

He was two days shy of four months old.

He looked like this:

(*hey Beth McHoul - remember this couch!?)

Today he looks like this:

His Got-cha day this year was on Sat. and he (and Zion) had a swim meet.
I was timing at the meet - and didn't get to take any photos except for the warm-ups.

But he had a good day.

After the meet, he chil-laxed at home:
mostly playing video games and checking up on friends with Facebook.

We always offer to take Michael out for his Got-cha Day.
But he is a "home-body" kind of guy.
So he always request the same dinner.
Pasta, sauce and garlic bread.
It makes my job easy.

He wanted to invite two friends from the neighborhood.
Joe and Ben Cook came down to have dinner with us.

After dinner, the boys played video games for a while.

How cute is Zion sitting with the "big boys" trying to get in on the action?

And then Mike took them out for dessert to YogurtLand.
The van won't hold all of us, plus friends* -
so the "girls" stayed home.
(me, Meleah and Mia, the dog)

*It was one of Michael's complaints about adding a family member.
(no room in the van to take a friend - so I hope one day, he understands why I stayed home)

Michael,
You changed my identity from Melda to Mama.
You changed my career from nurse to your personal assistant.
You changed my ride from a 2-door to a sliding door.
You changed my music from Alan Jackson to Raffi.
You changed my TV from ER to Blues Clues.
You changed my reading choices from novels to "GoodNight Moon"
You changed my life.
You changed my heart.
I love being your mother
and I love you.
Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tomorrow is Orphan Sunday and we will be celebrating with friends the adoption and dedication of their son Devin. What an awesome day for a dedication and celebration.

We are so blessed to be a family of six through adoption and foster care. How different our lives would be without Michael, Isaac and our foster kids (past and present)

and more importantly,
how different our lives would be without God adopting us into His family.

Thank you God for Michael.
And thank you God for adopting me.

To learn more about the missionaries that we adopted Michael from:
Click here

If you have any questions about orphan care, foster care, or adoption.
Please email me: MikenMelda@aol.com

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

2011-07-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

To my big,
little boy............

who loves his iPod touch

and his dog

and sometimes his mother..............

and loves playing soccer,

and playing it cool too.

and needs to have a plan.

and because your brother looks up to you in more ways than one,

I wish you a wonderful birthday

and a wonderful year at being 14

(the same as your feet!)

I love you so much.

Thank you for making me a mother.

Michael tries Racquetball

2011-05-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

Michael hangs out at the gym while Isaac and Zion are doing aikido.

Sometimes he plays basketball.

Last week, we saw some friends from church there, and the dad invited him to try his hand at racquetball.

Lesson one - how to serve

Honor Roll

2011-04-28T02:32:00.000-07:00

Great job Michael!

Middle School is tough, but he is hanging in there!

Jonah had a half-day on the afternoon of the awards assembly.

So he went with me.

We got a big chuckle at Michael as he walked on the stage,

he actually looked up at the guy on his right with his little half smile.

The only other kid in 7th grade taller than Michael.

Maybe he likes soccer!

Speaking of soccer,

the season is over.

Michael is back in the pool with Tsunami Swim Club

and will swim with them through the summer.

Soccer will begin again in August.

swimmer no more

2011-03-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

Michael is back on the soccer field.

I was loading some photos from my camera and remembered that Mike had taken photos at the swim meet while I did the video.

He makes a scrapbooking woman proud!

He got some good photos of Michael's one and only swim meet!

Sidekicks soccer / game 3

2011-03-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Saturdays = soccer

I am thankful to say, the first three games have been sunny.

Sports in Guam are "rain or shine"

You might have seen photos of the MUD BOWL.

(*click here if you missed it)

It was by far, the most miserable soccer game I have ever sat through.

But I love my boys, and I will do my best to be at every event they have, rain or shine.

Even if they act embarrassed, I am convinced they are really glad I am there.

So once again, I have soccer photos of my ROCK STAR.

Always so proud of you Michael!

You give 100% on the field, without a break and without complaint.

Sidekicks soccer

2011-02-27T00:23:00.000-08:00

Michael's biggest fans

Yes he did block that shot!

I don't think #10 thought Michael would save it.
He was already out of bounds for the throw in.

The middle school only plays soccer in the fall, but there is a spring league off base as part of the Guam Football Association.

Michael has been practicing with the Sidekicks Soccer Team for over a month now and they had their first soccer game last weekend.

It was a good, close game.

Michael played goalie for the first half, which shocked us.

He did well.

Finally score: 1-1

First Swim Meet

2011-01-08T03:28:00.000-08:00

Today was Michael's first swim meet.

I had WAY more anxiety than he did.

Mr. "even-stephen" ........

His usual answer to anything is, "yeah, it was good"

this is the case if you ask him about the day at school or a week at DisneyWorld

The island of Guam is somewhat limited in Olympic quality swim facilities.

In fact, the pool where Michael and Zion practice is 15 meters,
so it is somewhat difficult to know if they are working up their endurance.

They also don't have starting blocks - so Michael has only had one practice going off blocks.

Michael has also not practiced turns in the water.

Those are the things I had anxiety about.

Now, two months ago - I had no idea about any kind of swimmer speech -
There are short course meets and long course meets.

Short course meets run the short side of the pool - 25 meters
Long course meets - the long side of the pool - 50 meters

Today was a long course meet - 50 meters

Michael was entered into the 50free and the 50back

So he only had to swim one length of the pool without a turn - freestyle (which is how most people swim after the move past "doggie paddle")
and then backstroke.

He did a great job and we were so proud of him.
Especially since he didn't even want to swim between soccer seasons and I made him do it. :)

Here are the videos:

Tsunami Swim Club - Guam - Time Trials

2010-12-26T04:13:00.000-08:00

Michael has only been swimming with the Swim Club for a couple months, since soccer finished, and he is really just doing it for the exercise between soccer seasons. (that translates to, I make him go and he complains every time)

But.......like anything athletic, Michael is a natural in the water as well as the soccer field. So after only two months swimming, he was asked to come to the time trial to check his speed in the water. To see if he is close to a competitive speed.

I am so very proud of him! He really didn't even want go, but once we got there, he got in the water and swam with everyone else.

He has never gone off a starting block before, but again, he just got up there and tried it. It wasn't pretty, but not bad for a first time the coach said.

I think the swim coaches are still hopeful that Michael will love swimming. He has potential with those long legs and arms. We will see how that works out since soccer starts again in only two weeks!

So proud of you Michael!

I love you!

MOM

Michael is growing!

2010-11-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

Despite his grumpy face about me taking his photo in a public place..........(*GASP!!!!!!!)

I just wanted to show that he is almost as tall as Mike.
(*or maybe he is, if he would stand up straight!)

quick funny

2010-11-11T20:40:00.000-08:00

Michael comes home from school and checks his grades on the school computer program called, "GradeSpeed".

He says, "HEY MOM! I got all A+ in this quarter of school!"

I poked my head in the computer room, and asked, "you mean the quarter that just started yesterday?"

"YEAH!" he says with a big grin

Goof ball!

GOT-CHA Michael!~ 13 years........

2010-11-09T04:19:00.000-08:00

WOW!

Time does fly when you're having fun.

I really can't believe it has been 13 years since I arrived in Haiti,

GREEN TO THE BONE

27 years old

to pick up little Hebreux Jules

aka Michael Hebreux Thornton

We cebrated Michael's GOT-CHA day in style this year.

Mike took the day off and we went to Tarza Water Park

Later in the afternoon,

Kevin, Maddy and Ellie caught up to us for a few hours of fun as well.

Maddy coming out of the BLACK HOLE

Ellie in line for the FLOW RIDER

A great day to celebrate!

We love you Michael!

and we love being your parents!

Michael was the PRO on the wave rider!!

He likes to play with my camera.........

2008-12-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

I think he took these more than a week ago when some friends were over......... but I just found them today on my memory card.
(*his dog, Mia, under his bed)

(*his dog, Mia, attacking one of his friends, which, I am sorry to admit, he probably laughed about while taking the photo from the window)

(same friend, being a boy!)

(and the one that got him busted for using my camera.......the self portrait!)