These are the "good 'ole days"

Our first Christmas together as a family of five was fantastic. Oh sure, we have had our ups and downs over these last few months, but overall, I know we'll look back on this as a SWEET, SWEET time! These are the good 'ole days, right?

Here are a few highlights of our first Christmas together:

Obviously the American symbol for Christmas is the Christmas tree so EVERY time we saw a Christmas tree ANYWHERE, the girls would point and say "look, Christmas!" Even now, nearly four weeks post Christmas, the girls see regular trees that are shaped like Christmas trees and say "look, Christmas!"

We didn't go with the whole Santa routine with them because, one) Misrak is just too old to start it. Two) we really wanted to instill the TRUE meaning of Christmas and Three) the girls are really relying on us to tell them TRUTH about everything and we are building trust with them. Even though we TOLD her the truth she still kept asking questions.... how he was going to get in "though the fireplace?" "Do the reindeer really fly?" Poor thing didn't know what to believe.

We are really trying hard to keep "America" and "the world" at bay but man, it is really tough. I think we did great at having a modest Christmas and making sure to give to Christ at Christmas. It is, after all, His birthday! And since He isn't here in the flesh to give to, we give to the least of these. We gave Him a portion of a well for clean drinking water in Ethiopia. This is one of Druarto's children (benefitting from the well) that we met while we were there in August. See our giving blog at www.lifeforlangano.blogspot.com I think between our family a few other families we raised enough for an entire well!

Our Christmas eve service at church was cute. All of the children were given costumes as part of the Christmas story. The girls were angels of course. When they got to the part of the story where the angels appeared to the shepherds, the girls had to go up on the stage. They weren't nervous though because they were only 2 of about 20 angels.

We asked the girls what their favorite part of Christmas was. They both answered they loved being all together on Christmas morning and opening gifts together.

Christmas day was spent just the five of us playing with gifts and toys and cooking! whew! Todd cooked a turkey and I made all the sides. We make a pretty good team. I (Emily) cannot IMAGINE doing any of this without him!
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O Christmas Tree.......

Each year, I know it's coming. Todd starts talking about it......the DAY that we need to set aside to go choose and cut our Christmas tree in the mountains.

Now, this year I knew would be special because it would be the girls first tree (EVER) and our first year as a family of FIVE! But I don't want to spend an ENTIRE DAY just traveling to Boone, NC to get the tree that looks the SAME as the tree at Lowes Home Improvement that takes one hour to pick out, strap to the car, get in the tree stand and at least get the lights on! I mean, we have stuff to do people!

OK, I tried to be a good sport this year and not argue too much, because after all, it was supposed to SNOW that day in Boone. God blessed us with a beautiful snow, another FIRST for the girls and we had a blast. Misrak was convinced that she would carry the tree back in her lap on the way home. We finally talked her out of it when she realized how COLD and WET the snow coating the tree was. The day of fun began at the tree farm, complete with hot apple cider, a hay ride and Todd nearly killing Riley over their attempt at cutting down the tree with a hand saw. After working up an intense hunger, we had a shepherds pie for lunch at Six Pence Pub in downtown Blowing Rock and then a walk through town complete with a snowball fight! It was c-c-c-cold but f-f-fun.

Memories were made and I guess there will still be time to "get our stuff done!"

Thanksgiving and our first trip to the Beach!

Wow, how time is flying. The holidays are upon us and we are just swimming to catch up. In November, we got to visit with Todd's family on Ft. Meyers beach in Florida. It was a great time of hanging with the family and enjoying the BEACH for the first time with the girls. They really loved playing in the pool, building sand castles and collecting shells (just like their Grandma)! They LOVED the feeling of the sand in their toes (don't we ALL) but had a hard time standing in the surf because the ground looked like it was moving out from underneath them!

Thanksgiving was a fantastic time of reflection over the past incredibly hard nine months! We have learned to lean a little (ok....a LOT) harder on Him when we didn't know when or IF the girls would ever come to us. There were times when we thought it might all go south and we may never, ever meet them. Today, I can say most assuredly that I cannot imagine our lives without them and that every ounce of prayer, fasting, heartache, heartbreak, growing closer to Him and to each other was WORTH IT! Thank you, God, for bringing these sweet little girls into our lives. We are SO blessed to have them and will try to never take for granted what YOU have done!

Atlanta Bound!

We had a great weekend in Atlanta visiting our family! It was the girl's first trip away. A long drive, five hours to be exact but that is nothing compared to the marathon car ride we'll take next week to Florida! NOT looking forward to that drive!

They did great in the car and only had to make 2 bathroom stops! Here are some fun pics from our weekend away! You know they had a great time when they cried because they didn't want to leave Grandma!

Pajama Dance Party

It was a rainy Halloween weekend, five people in a small house and small car, together the whole time, having a lot of fun, yet driving each other just a little bit crazy...bedtime on Sunday night...and a Pajama Dance Party breaks out in the office.

Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch and Fall Parties, Oh My!

We've been busy lately exploring and enjoying all that Fall has to offer here in North Carolina.

We enjoyed the corn maize one sunny Saturday afternoon. I think it took us 2 hours to get through which is a LONG time to be staring at corn while you are hopelessly, frustratingly lost! The girls weren't sure what the point was at first but eventually came around.

Misrak had a Fall Party at school and the whole family (including Grandma and Grandpa from FL) got to join her and her classmates for cookie decorating and other fun fall festivities!

Misti and I took a visit to the pumpkin patch yesterday with her preschool class. She loved the wagon ride through the farm, picking out a pumpkin and playing in the corn pit and playground. It really took me back to the early days of Riley's visits to the pumpkin patch with friends!

Grandma and Grandpa Murphy

We had a great weekend in the cooooool weather this past weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Murphy! They had come up from Florida for the weekend to enjoy some fall festivities and to spend some time with their grandchildren! The girls were so excited to sing




Happy Birthday to Grandpa and to have cake! We traveled on Saturday to Blowing Rock. While we were there it was SO cold that it even spitted some snow on us! Wasn't enough for the girls to even notice but it still came down!

It's all about the hair........YAY! We did it!

Well, after a month of thinking about it and preparing myself, I finally took the plunge into the huge unknown world of hair! My friend Carmen gave me some tips and sent me on my way. Oh boy! My first attempt was with Mist's hair which is interestingly very soft and much like my own but very curly. I couldn't believe it, but she sat very still for about 45 minutes! It turned out okay and looked pretty cute (She loved it!) but in about 8 hours it was coming out all over the place. I had to take it out the next morning so I'm not sure 45 minutes was worth it if I couldn't leave it in for at least a day or so!

Next attempt....Misrak, who has enough hair to give to five children! I knew it would be tough but I felt up to the challenge. She was SO happy that I was going to try. I didn't braid her whole head this time. I thought I would try just a few this time to see how hard it would be. It turned out great and she was very pleased! Yay! I am so psyched!

Finding my way....

It is interesting being a new Mom of three. In some ways, I think this is really easy and in some ways it is REALLY hard. The girls are not infants and don't need me for every thing they do but this is the very thing I have the complaint about! They do not NEED ME for every thing they do! I really enjoy the alone time that I get with Misti. She isn't in school as long or as many days as Riley and Misrak. She still NEEDs me for a lot of things and it makes me reminisce about the early days with Riley. I think I am grieving that lost time with Misrak. I didn't get to bond with her in her early years and it makes it harder for me to bond with her now. I know, I know....it has only been a month! It just comes easier with Misti because she needs me.

Don't get me wrong, Misrak is SWEET SWEET SWEET! She tells me a hundred times a day that she loves me AND she writes it on little slips of paper. The latest one says "mam and DaD anD riley and Misti I Love you Thanks so maTch I Love you" complete with hearts of course! And another one says "Mam. I Love you Thank you. Fou clothes and play and Book. MaM I Love you" ......how cute and sweet is that??? Her eyes are always watching me to see if I am pleased with her. She is always watching to see if there is a way she can be useful. She loves to help by sweeping or tidying up, opening doors for me or carrying my purse. I am so blessed!

I am praying today for ways that Misrak and I can bond and so I do not feel distant or estranged from her. I know she wants it badly, too.

Take a Hike

One of our favorite past times is hiking. We have always just loved getting out and enjoying cool mountain air, beautiful views and just being together! The kids had a day off from school on Friday and we decided we needed to take a hike on South Mountain, NC! The girls had never been on a Murphy hike so we were a bit worried they would not be up for the challenge but they SO rose to the occasion. Here are pics to prove it! Afterwards, we had some fabulous homemade ice cream at Redbone Willy's. A day to remember!

Cycling anyone?

Fun days are here now that it is a little cooler and we can play outside without sweating up a storm :) Misti loves being pushed around on the little Kettler. Her legs barely reach the pedals, bless her heart and Misrak is a little more daring with going down the big hill......only with Riley at the wheel! She's crazy for trusting that dare devil!

Is this how you get into school in America?

So, Friday the girls had to go to the doctor for the first time. He was great and took an HOUR with us! Unheard of in this day and time, right? He decided it would be best to have blood drawn and come back for vaccinations. Monday we went back for vaccinations and more tests...oh joy! More tears! I told them they had to have these shots in order to go to school here. They each had five! Misti couldn't even walk the whole next day! I know they were thinking....."what in the world?!?!? Why would we WANT to go to school in America?!?!?"

Today was their first day of school - whooo hooo! They both did wonderful. Misrak's school has even offered an English tutor for 30 minutes every day to strengthen her English! She is a wonderful older lady who sees this as a mission opportunity! We are SO blessed as this is unheard of in our school. It is a private school and not publicly funded so we figured we would have to figure out our own tutor and arrange transportation to and from, etc! Way to go God and HGBCS! You've blown us away!

The teacher was so cute, she confessed that she had been practicing saying her name at home the night before so she could make her feel welcome. Here's an except from her email to me today. I'm so proud! "She is so sweet and did such a great job today. I hope that she was not overwhelmed with all of the stuff we had going on. She did great in all areas and I know that we are going to have a great year."

So we are into ALL things girlie. We had our first nail extravaganza. I told them I would do toes this time and then we'd go for the full mani and pedi next time! Whew, not sure why I promised that! Between painting and RE-touching little bitty's several times I was exhausted. They did look cute though and they thanked me over and over. Too sweet. It was fun I have to admit.

Sweet Siblings

The girls had to go to the doctor today for some tests and vaccinations. We got through the blood tests and then decided vaccinations could wait until another day. There were tears (but then Mom was okay) and then there was our first McDonalds Happy Meals. This made us all happy.

Riley and Misrak have decided they would like to tease each other.....constantly. Riley told me today he really enjoys having sisters. I'm not sure if this is so he has someone to pick or not but for now, it's working.

In Honor of Todd and a chicken wing

We must post the first chicken wing. Chicken wings are a stabple in the Murphy household. Misti took the plunge and was excited to see what all the comotion was about. Check her out! She went AFTER it. A true girl after her Daddy's heart.

Good times

Labor day weekend's weather turned out so nice. We spent a ton of time outdoors enjoying it all. Here are some shots from our weekend.

SO many "firsts"

There are and will be SO many "firsts" as we get to know and love our girls. This is one I had to blog about.

You should have seen their faces as the pink bathing suits were pulled out of the drawer. You should have heard the squeals of joy as they looked at each others scantily clad figures. You should have seen their expressions when they saw themselves in the mirror.........pure delight.

Let me back up. When we were in Addis, we took a day trip to the Hilton Hotel (where ONLY the wealthy people stay) where they had a playground and a swimming pool. We ate lunch on the patio there and as we ate we could see the pool. I do not think they had ever seen such a thing but I think they thought it looked fun as there was a good crowd there that day. They had obviously never been on a playground either..............but the pool.............they kept looking longingly at.

Today was the day. After lunch, we loaded up the car and headed to the local YMCA Waterpark. Not sure where everyone went this weekend but it was deserted! YES! We practically had the place to ourselves! The girls warmed up quickly to the ankle deep water and then moved on to some slightly knee deep fun. Misti happily went down the duck slide over and over. Misrak was thrilled to finally let the various water sprayers completely soak her!

It was a very good day. Exhausted, they fell happily asleep before 8:30.

Thank you, God, for the little (or big) things in life we take for granted. May we never be so spoiled as to appreciate every little thing you have given us.

Family Matters!

We are glad to be home and adjusting to life in a semi-routine. Riley went back to school on Wednesday and I miss his help and companionship so much. The girls love him and he is SUCH a good big brother. They are super-blessed to have each other. God surely knew what He was up to when He put us all together.

The girls go for their vaccinations next week and then we'll enroll them in school. Misrak will most likely go into 1st grade and Misti will attend a preschool for a few hours a week while I go back to part-time work.

Here are some highlights of things that have happened since we have been home:

The girls are thrilled with their new room! I thought they would sleep together for sure but....NO WAY. They wanted their own space.

We introduced the girls to the dog on the second day we were home and they were Terrified with a capital "T" I have never seen screaming and trembling like I saw that day. Each day has gotten better since then but I don't see them being friends any time soon as they still avoid my sweet Lucy at all costs. **sniff-sniff**

We went to a playground and suffice it to say they have NEVER been on a swing or on a slide. It was fun seeing them slowly open it up to it and have a little fun.

The escalators in the airport were interesting. Little bitty cried when we got near it and Misrak grabbed a hand a let out a little scream when she stepped on and off of it.

So far, our favorite past time is coloring and jumping on the trampoline. I use "jumping" loosely as they barely move and then fall down laughing.

They are VERY intrigued with running water....ie: toilet, faucets, etc. and they run them constantly....hello huge water bill!

Of course when you've never drank out of a bendy straw before, you're not sure what end or whether you should suck or blow .......they happily did both.

The girls are really good eaters. We've had one or two meal protests but they quickly found out that if they didn't eat, they were hungry until the next meal. I hope that doesn't shock anyone. :) They have lots of food that they love but the very favorite is DABO! pronounced da-bo (short a) which is BREAD! Any form, made any way. Oh, and bananas.

We took our first trip to the grocery store today. Misrak pointed at just about every item in the store and asked, "Mom, what is this?" Precious for the first ten or so items..... ;}

Prayer Requests

Well, it's as official as it can get. Just a few minutes ago, the girls' passports and visas were delivered to our guest house. There is no reason for us to be here any longer except for the fact that all outgoing flights are booked and we will have to stick with our scheduled flight leaving Addis Ababa on Saturday night at 10:30 p.m. The reservations are confirmed, tickets are in hand...and my mother-in-law commented on my Facebook status that there is apparently a hurricane headed up the US coast, forcast to take the exact track we took on the way over here. NOT GOOD NEWS FOR A WHITE-KNUCKLED flyer. Please pray for a safe flight. Also please pray for our health since Riley, Emily and I are having a hard time with the food after two weeks of being here. We could use a Chick-Fil-A sandwich.

We are looking forward to coming home. We love you all and can't wait to see you.

Peace & (Crazy) Love,

Todd, Emily, Riley, Misrak and Mistire

Home Stretch

It is 10:45pm here in Ethiopia and we are winding down our time here in ET. We are in the Home Stretch! Pray for our health as the girls are battling coughs and teaching them personal hygene has been interesting (wink wink from Todd).

We have had an incredible time of getting to know each other and our bonding time has been inexplainable! I know we'll have some challenging times to come but really things are going much better than we ever anticipated - Thanks be to God!!. Our oldest, wisest and smartest daughter has been translating for some other adoptive parents here in our guest house. She is most pleased when we notice how smart she is and LOVES being delighted in! Our youngest, most affectionate, socialite loves saying "wudeshallow, Mommy" and wudehallow, Apapa" (I love you) in Amharic. And then she'll translate for us by saying it all in english as well! (after being prompted by her older sister.) We are in LOVE! Everyone comments on happy and well adjusted they seem. I'm in so much trouble as they are by far the most beautiful little girls I have ever layed my eyes on. Little bitty knows it, too.

We have one more full day here and we are emotionally, spiritually and physically drained and are ready to return home to get filled up. We miss you all desperately and cannot wait for you to meet our beautiful, wonderful, most delightful girls!

Love, Emily