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

Sheep anyone?

TODD WRITING FOR THE BLOG This trip has been one incredible day after another. Riley, Emily and I feel like we have been able to really enjoy Addis Ababa because we have had a bunch of time to go sightseeing with the girls, hang out with the eighty kids at the transition house, and just hang out with other families at the guest house. As I write this, the girls are spending time with many of the former house-mates stringing beads together..and coughing. Did I mention that ALL of the kids are getting over a respiratory bug? That doesn't seem to bother any of them, but the mommies are all watching very carefully. The girls are quickly finding their place in our family and seem to be SO happy, smart, and responsive. It is obvious how well they have been loved by the caregivers at the transition home. We have seen their love for the children first-hand, and we are amazed. As a sort of thank-you gesture, we bought a sheep (yes, a sheep) and delivered it (in the trunk of our taxi) to the transition home earlier today. No doubt by the time I have written this, the caregivers and kids have feasted on a VERY fresh meal of sheep. (Riley couldn't even look at the sheep and I kept my eye on him fearing that he'd sneak out to the courtyard and set it free. We did catch him feeding it a last meal of fresh green grass.) Please continue to pray for us. Tomorrow, Wednesday @ 1:30 p.m. (6:30 a.m. EST), we will report to the US Embassy to complete the process, allowing us to bring the girls home. We are already very anxious to get them home and are SO LOOKING FORWARD to getting them into their new lives. Until then, we are enjoying Addis Ababa and the sweet time of getting to know each other. We are continually in awe of God, His presence in this process, and His presence on this trip. He has truly gone before us and prepared the way. What a ride!!! I wish I had more opportunity to write, but internet connections are unreliable over here (thus the continuing DT's). I've tried to upload a bunch of pictures, but was only able to get one of them to go through. It's on my Facebook page and I'll try to put more up in a day or two. I'll also try to write again as soon as possible. Again, we love you all and remain mindful and thankful for your support in this roller coaster of a ride. It aint over yet and we need your prayers! Peace & (Crazy) Love, Todd, Em, Riles, Misrak & Little Bitty (Misti)

Hugs and Tears

The past three days have been absolutely amazing. Nothing could have prepared us for the experience of meeting our girls for the first time. Until 08-21-09, Misrak and Mistire had only been faces in pictures, and then…there they were standing in front of us. Hugs and tears flowed freely in that first few minutes and in many times throughout the past three days. We have all fallen in love with each other and it feels almost like we have always been together. We have so many stories to share with you once we return and we look forward to sharing a meal with as many of you as we can when we get settled in. You will love Misrak & Mistire.

Many of you reading this blog have given us letters/cards to read during our trip and we have read one of them per day, all at very significant times in the journey. I cannot even begin to tell you how these notes have spoken to us DEEPLY in those times. Your words of wisdom, encouragement and support have ALL come at precisely the right time even though the cards have been chosen at “random.”

We are absolutely awestruck by Ethiopia, its people, the people working for us at Hope Adoption Agency and of course recognizing the ONE who made all of this possible. We feel that we are standing on the side of an 18-year prayer where it has been answered. For all of those years, we stood on the other side and we wondered what God was thinking. We can see clearly at least a small part of His plan for our lives, for the lives of Misrak & Mistire and for the lives of our extended family and local community. Thank him with us! He is God and He is good.

Amasaganolo!!!

Todd, Emily, Riley,Misrak & Mistire

Life at The Beach House

Well, tonight we are at Lake Langano and just finished a day of hanging out with the Ethiopian kids that are staying there for the week, the Ethiopian leaders that are getting them through the week, and the team from our church who is here to volunteer. WHAT A DAY!!! There is so much to tell and my internet connection will probably not last that long. All of this was awesome, but the day was topped off by a great home-cooked Ethiopian meal and a night worshipping and praying with our friends. They prayed over us for the adoption process and for the girls. The tears flowed...sniff sniff.

Tomorrow will likely be a very interesting day as we will get to hang out at the camp, see Mike's agricultural project, and even head out with a team from Water Is Life to some local villages that they helped access good clean well water. God is active here. He is on the move in an unbelievably compassionate way here. We love it here! Send our things to us later (hahaha).

Peace & (Crazy) Love,
Todd

We're Here!!

Hey. We're here in Addis. We were delayed a bit out of Washington D.C., but everything was very smooth, allowing us to get here as planned. We were BEAT after the 24 hours of travel and got a quick nap on Tuesday before heading out for dinner last night. Our first excusrion was interesting since it was after nightfall and there was no power in Addis (long story). This is literally the first time we have had the chance to get a message out since we've been here...I've had the DT's without my constant braodband access.

As I write this, we are waiting on our driver to take us down to Lake Langano. He is apparently on Ethiopian time where 10:00 actually means sometime soon. We're finding it difficult to leave Addis without first seeing teh girls, but we agree that it is better (and less confusing to them) for us to wait until Friday or Saturday. Between now and then we will be staying at the camp and hanging out with the team from UCF. We are thrilled with the opportunity to do this on our truly once-in-a-lifetime trip.

Thanks again to all of you who are reading this. We love you all more than words can express. We would not be here without your love, prayer, support etc. We are truly in awe of you and even moreso of God. Please keep praying for us as we travel. Please keep praying for our girls as they are on the virge of a HUGE life change.

Peace & (Crazy) Love,

tm