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!
Cycling anyone?
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..... ;}
