Charity: Water

I should have added this to our blog a long time ago! Please check out Charity: Water (on the sidebar). One of our good friends has had the opportunity to work with Scott, the founder of the charity. Right before we traveled, they told us that this year's campaign was for Ethiopia. I watched the trailer & was thrilled, but I just took a minute to watch the trailer & other videos & let me say it is so different now that we've traveled & brought home our amazing daughter. I see her in the face of each of the Ethiopian people. I am reminded of all the amazing people we met while we were in country. It makes my heart ache & miss our time there. It makes me want to do more for Ethiopia & it's amazing people. Yes, I know I use the word "amazing" ALL THE TIME, but every aspect of this journey has been so AMAZING (even the hard times b/c God has been so good to reveal Himself to us through the struggles). Enough already! We love Ethiopia, & we love Charity: Water. P.S.--Their daughter turned 2 last week & celebrated Charity: Water style by asking friends & family to take part in the campaign. OE's 1st birthday party to attend in America was their daughter's & how appropriate....celebrating the birthday of a special little friend while raising money & awareness for the needs of OE's birthcountry! Here are some pictures of the fun! If you want to donate, please consider doing so on Caroline's birthday page.

5 Weeks Home!!!!

I do believe we have survived & are celebrating 5 weeks home! Woohoo! This week has been a week of crazy ups & downs. My knee is doing MUCH BETTER! However, we are realizing more & more that twisting it funny in the car did not cause my problem. I'm in the midst of a all-out RA flare-up. Now my other knee is starting to swell. It is frustrating, but I know it can be so much worse & I am so thankful that this is my first flare-up in over a year.

R got his stiches out this morning & has been so brave through it all. He is going to have a pretty good scar. Thank goodness it's right under his chin! L & C are being great big brothers! C is struggling some with jealousy. He & R have always been two peas in a pod (especially when L is at school). Now OE has thrown some triangulation into the picture. He also tries very hard to take care of her & ends up tattling on her A LOT. She is much more independent than we expected, so the roles we had a prepped the boys for are a little skewed! She doesn't need the extra guidance & help from her big brothers as we had expected. He's adjusting...just needs a little extra TLC! OE seems to have already overcome the little attachement regressing that we experienced during my couch time! Tonight, as I was watching her play, I was totally struck by her resillency & strength. I am so thankful that God blessed her with these characteristics that are helping her overcome hard times! God is amazing!


Friday morning we had our first post-placement visit with the social worker. It was very challenging, but we survived. C & R were in a funk that morning, enough said! N was able to take the kids upstairs, so we could have some extra time to talk about some issues we are dealing with & that was a huge help!


Overall, our socialworker said OE is doing amazingly well! She was blown away by her English & the fact that she seems to have absolutely no developmental delays. You know, you read about & prepare for so many development delays in adopted children, & we are thrilled that we do not have any to work through. Even though OE turned 4 in May & could technically start Kindergarten next year, we had assumed that she would need an extra year to catch up. No way, jose! This girl is ready for kindergarten! So, this means we will have 3 kindergarteners! Oh, boy! Now, of course, things could change. We had already been thinking along those lines, but after our social worker spent some time with her, she confirmed that we probably had no choice but to send her on to school next year. She truly is one smart girl, just as Almaz said! We've had to adjust our thinking some, but now I've already called the school to get an ELL evaluation & I'm going to start "doing preschool" at home with her on Tuesdays & Thursdays while the boys are at school. We're just rolling with the punches!


We are also seeing a few behaviors that may be a result of some possible trauma she has experience, but we are going to watch things for a month or so. At that point, we have the name of a local therapist who is very experienced with helping children with attachment & trauma issues. These behaviors are nothing huge or scary...just some things we've noticed as we've been analyzing EVERYTHING---we know how important it is to catch things very early on & get her the help she may need.


As for attaching, we are making it--definately not "there", but we are chugging along. Our social worker encouraged us to continue "keeping our world small" for several more months. We have noticed some indescriminate affection with strangers, so we still must work hard to limit contact with people outside of our home. It really helps when I carry her in the sling. It seems to help her feel safe & remind her that I'm her mommy (but riding in the sling all the time isn't very realistic for an active little girl). So, if you are local & see us out. Please help us by not picking her up if she reaches for you & only let her hug you if she is in my arms. Everyone has been so good with this. We really thought we would be past this point by now, but we realize that this process is much slower with older children.


As for Mom & Dad, we are surviving. There are those moments when we get very bogged down in the difficulty of this part of the journey. We knew that adopting an older child would be hard, but we also knew that God called us to this path. We were right! This is extremely hard, but God is here with us! We are so thankful for this huge blessing in our life! We are thankful that God chose us to be OE's forever family! We are so in love with her!

Thank you, thank you for all your prayers & support! They are a huge rock for us! Here are some pictures of our week! Enjoy! Looking back on the week, my greatest victories came when she started asking me for hugs & when she thanked God for bringing her to America in one of her prayers!

Being silly with my knee brace once she got over being scared of it!

Our 1st "do"....not much to it & you may not even be able to see it, but there are two little teeny puffs on each side of her head (& one on the back of her head). This girl is so ready to for her hair to grow. She is really grieving her lack of hair! She looks in the mirror & pretends to brush out long hair & braid it...just pitiful! She was so proud of her little puffs...the hairbands with bows are just getting plain old...this girlie girl wants some styles!

Along with realizing how good her motor skills are, we realized she was ready for a big-girl bike! She loves it! She is so proud of herself & wants to be outside riding her bike ALL THE TIME! We are proud of her, too...isn't she just the cutest little bike rider..lovin all the pink!

She has been wanting to have a birthday so bad! Since her's isn't until May, we decided to celebrate the birthday's we've missed in her sweet life! We wanted to have a big party at the park & invite friends, but for the purpose of "keeping our world small" we celebrated at home. She had a blast decorating for "Rusie's Happy Birthday Princess Party" (in her words). She was so excited all day long! We went out for dinner to eat her favorite HAMBURGER (no dabo or bread) & FRENCH FRIES! She was all smiles ! What an amazing little girl God has given us!

Please Pray (if you aren't already)

I have been following this family's blog for quite sometime, & they are in need of bigtime prayer. Many of you are probably well aware of the situation, but for those of you who aren't, please check out their story & lift this family up in prayers. Thoughout this week, as I've found myself in the midst of moments of self-pitty, remembering sweet Abby's pain & suffering (and that of her family) has been such a reminder to me of how easy we have it & how minimal our worries are. Please pray for this family! http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/

Surviving & Seeing the Light

First I have to say "thank you"!!! It has been so obvious that we have been totally surrounded by prayer! I got very good news at the doctor today. MRI showed no structural damage, only swelling & fluid in areas through out my knee. The aspiration (of 1000 cc's of fluid) & steriod injection have done the trick for now. I'm going to do some physical therapy & go back to get it rechecked in 3 weeks. Yesterday, OE told me that my brace scared her, so I tried to only wear it when she wasn't noticing. Today, the orthopedic just gave me a compression-type brace & OE thinks it is funny b/c it looks like I have a big sock going all the way up my leg! Silly, silly! It is so good to be off the couch & up with my kiddos! They are amazing...I missed them like nuts! N has not enjoyed his time as "single-Dad" (in his words)! He said that I do this job with much more grace than him. He, he, he! He better believe it! I think this has been a good chance for him to see that keeping things running smoothly on the homefront isn't too easy. God has a funny sense of humor if you ask me! I got some extra rest & he learned a lesson as well! Lol! Thank you, again, for all your prayers, support, & help! We are so blessed by the most amazing friends!

When it Rains it Pours

Look what happened right after my last post! R busted his chin open & off to the ER we went! Your prayers are very much needed & appreciated right now.

Tough Times

This a very challenging time for us! I'm still laid up on the couch, but I got some relief today as I saw an orthopedic & he drained it & gave me a steroid shot. I also had a MRI, and I go Wednesday to discuss the results with the orthopedic. It looks like my RA had weakened the joint & made it suseptible to injury. God has been so good to work out the details such as getting me into the orthopedic in record time & making it possible for me to get a MRI so quickly. It has reminded me that He is working in this situation & is in control. I am having a hard time understanding the timing for this--we are still at such a crucial time for bonding. The disruption in routine & my injury seems to really be affecting OE. I'm sure it has to be very scary for her & hard for her to understand. Her security seems to have been rocked. I am trusting that God can help us overcome this.

4 Weeks Home Favorite Photos

4 weeks home, & it seems like life is getting back to normal (well, until I hurt my knee...that's another story). We've got our routine down & everyone seems to be adjusting to the new family dynamics. The dog is no longer throwing up, having accidents everywhere, & running away! C still likes to tattle a lot on OE, which opens him up to a lot of criticism from the other siblings, but we're working on that. OE still throws some tantrums, but nothing too out of the ordinary for kids her age when they don't get their way. Hopefully, she is starting to learn that tantrums don't help her get what she wants. Her English is also progressing quite well, so the communication is helping to avert problems. She is starting to learn to use proper grammar (such as "Rusie loves ice cream" instead of "Rusie ice cream loves") and is working very hard to pronouce words correctly. She is such a smart little girl! Here are a few pictures from our week! Enjoy!

OE loves to shop! My boys love to shop, as well, but they are into looking at toys, getting gumballs, etc. OE, on the otherhand, loves to shop for CLOTHES...especially JEANS! She thinks manicans are hilarious & always wants to wave at them, shake their hands, & talk to them. She especially loves the headless ones :-).

Monday was my Mom's 5 year anniversary as a Cancer Survivor. Every year, we surprise her with a visit at work & give her a pink rose for each year (so this year she got 5 pink roses...hard to believe it's been 5 years). We are so thankful for my mother! She has been a tremendous support to us!

OE had her first Wasabi (Japanese steakhouse) experience this week. Cayla (my flowergirl & dear friend) & I love to have girl time there, & we are so excited to have a new girl to share the fun with us (L had to join us, as well, b/c he was home from school with an ear infection...I think God just knew he needed some special time with his sis while the other two boys were at preschool). OE loved watching the chef do our food & then chowed on the rice & chicken!

This picture probably looks a little strange...a mom with 4 young kids should never have time to lounge on the couch...right!? Well, the couch as been my new best friend over the past few days b/c I injured my knee on Thursday. No exciting story...I was just knealing on the seat in the car & turning around to help OE when I heard a pop & had a little pain. Through out the day, it got more & more swollen & painful and by Thursday evening I could barely walk. My regular doc said it's a meniscus tear, & I go the Orthopedic on Monday. Woohoo! I don't know how we're going to manage this one! Please pray for a miracle! I know God knows all that we have on us right now, & I know that He has promised not to give us any more than we can handle. I'm trusting that He will give us the grace & strength to carry on through surgery &/or whatever recouperation time this requires! So much for feeling like life was getting back to normal!

Prayers

My baby girl just fell asleep in my arms after saying the sweetest prayer in her native tongue. Usually, in her prayers, she mainly gives thanks for her food over & over again (which is a tear jerker in & of itself knowing that she spent her first four years of life in a third world country). Tonight, however, she also thanked God for R, C, L, Mommy, Daddy, Gee-Gee, Bubba, Grandma Gee-Gee, Grandpa, Nanny, Papa, Cayla, Uncle Chuck, shoes, socks, & God knows whatelse. It was a very sincere & heartfelt prayer. She began with her hands folded & then lifted her hands towards the heavens in thanks. Oh my goodness...what an amazing girl we have been given! Once again, we are in awe of God's greatness!

Fun Times in the Union Hotel

The Union Hotel would not be the nicest hotel by American standards, but when you keep in mind that you are in a third world country you cannot help but be thankful for all the ammenities (hot water, meal, no bugs or rodents, indoor plumbing, etc.). The hotel staff are amazing...very helpful, patient, & great translators for the kids. Here's the view from our room...

Here's the view from the stairwell landing between the floors. If you look closely, in the upper lefthand corner of the picture, you will see a burgondy brick building with tan trim...that's HH! On our first morning, we looked out the windows wondering which direction HH was in & we had no idea we could see it!

We spent A LOT of time in our room just being plain silly. Silliness & laughter are huge keys to bonding, so we used every moment as an opportunity to teach our daughter to trust us & to show her our love. I am a person who likes to "go, go, go", but I can say that I never once grew tired of being couped up in the hotel with our sweet girl. Yes, it took creativity & a sense of humor, but we tried to make every second count. We spent lots of time making silly faces at one another & taking pictures of us doing silly things. She thought it was hilarious that we had brought pull-ups for her to wear at night &/or on the airplane, so she decided to wear them on the outside of her clothes. She thought this was hesterical! Playing with the beach ball, blowing bubbles, writing on the moisture that collected on the windows, and doing girly things like painting nails & brushing Mommy's hair were other activities OE enjoyed. Future travelers who are adopting older children, bring lists of good bonding activities & just work your way through the lists during your down time in the hotel room. This helped us remain focused on bonding & gave us lots of good ideas for activities.

The Union Hotel has a workout room on the main floor near the front desk. It was a great place for the kids to play while we waited for meals or just to run off energy. Physical activity is great for dealing with grief & stress, so this was very therapeutic as well.

If you're hoping to pass your time by watching tv, think twice. The tv programming is pretty slim. One thing I was hoping to be able to do was watch BBC or Al Jezeera (I'm a news person okay...a big dork...I know!). However, we only had one channel in our room & that channel showed repeats of one of the Olympics races that the Ethiopians won. It was exciting to see the first couple of times, but it got very old. Another family in our group only had a travel channel, but another one had three channels...not sure how it works, but your choice of programming will depend on your room....Lol! Regardless, when we return for our homeland tour, I can't wait to stay in the Union again...being so close to HH is worth it!

Flashback to Our Thursday in Ethiopia

Thursday morning some of our travel group went to the Fistula Hospital to visit & the rest of us spent time at Hannah's Hope. The guys showed the HH guys how to use their new power tools & built shelves for a closet in one of the baby rooms. The girls played with the kiddos. It was a very relaxing morning. We were there for the children's lunch & were excited to experience that. They put little tables & chairs in the schoolroom. The kids were so cute as they ate. OE decided to give me a bite of her lunch, and that spured some of the other kids to want to share their lunch with me. Someone gave me a bite of something that had a strange texture, &, as I tried to swallow it quickly, I ended up getting choked. I left the room to try to avoid throwing up & to regain my composure (it was one of those moments when I needed a drink of water, and couldn't find my water bottle quickly enough...future travelers~always keep your water bottle with you...you never know when you'll need it!). When N came to check on me he said all the kids were wondering if I was okay. When I went back in they were all laughing, so I guess N was able to explain to them that I was fine & just being silly. N & several of the kids starting mimicky my silly choking & we all just laughed & laughed. All the HH children are amazing--what fun times! For our lunch we went to Kaldi's Coffee (the Ethiopian version of Starbucks). It was nice, but OE was not in the mood to sit still & eat so it was not too enjoyable for me ;-) . We decided to walk back to the hotel thinking we might find some of the chammas (shoes) OE was wanting. It started raining hard as we walked back, and it was a pretty long walk (we were pretty wet & tired by the time we made it back). When we got back to the hotel, OE outwardly expressed the grief that she was bound to be feeling. It seemed as if she realized that our time in Ethiopia was coming to a close. I held her, & she ended up falling asleep. After her nap, it was time for us to walk over to Hannah's Hope to help fold the clothes for the shelve the guys made. Some of the other ladies had done most of the work by the time we got there, but we helped them wrap things up. We hated to miss out on helping, but Almaz makes it very clear that the adoptive parents should be intune to their children's needs & help them whereever they are...future travelers~flexiblity is SO important. We really wanted to spend more time out & about around Addis taking in our daughter's birthcountry, but we came to a realization before we traveled that the primary purpose of this trip was bond with our daughter & help her through this transition. God-willing, there will be another time to experience more of her amazing birthplace. We are so thankful for all the time we got to spend at Hannah's Hope & were so sad to see our time there come to a close. As we said goodbye, we had special moments with several of our favorite people there (Almaz, OE's special mothers, kids we had grown close to, etc.). Then, it was time to walk back to the hotel. It was a quiet walk back. I cried most of the way. At the hotel, it was time to say goodbye to one of the families we traveled with--the family we began our trip with in Detroit. We were so sad to see them go. There is a special bond that is formed between the families that you share all these life-changing moments with. After we waved goodbye, we sat down for dinner & the lights went out for the first time. We enjoyed a candlelight dinner & OE had fun playing with her lightstick that we had brought for power outages. Then it was time to go up to our room to get ready for bed. OE searched through her suitcase for a hairbow she wanted to give to one of the other girls in our travel group. She is such a giving little girl...throughout our time in Ethiopia, she was constantly sharing her new things with her HH friends. Then it was off to sleep for the last time in Ethiopia. We were excited to be going home to the boys but sad to be leaving our daughter's birthcountry.

The guys working on the shelves...

The HH guys checking out their new power tools!

Kind of random, but I just love how the kids always lined their shoes up all neatly in the schoolroom area.

OE loving on the baby in our travel group.

The big container of Injera that the kids chowed on for lunch!

OE loving her "Mirinda" (the Ethiopian orange soda drink) at Kaldi's.

The view from the bridge we walked across on our way back to the hotel from Kaldi's (just minutes before the down pour came)!

The finished product of our group's shelf project.

The Hannah's Hope gate after we walked out of it for the last time....so sad!

Our travel buddies heading off in the van to the airport...more tears!

Fun times with our candles & lightsticks during the power outage!

3 Weeks Home~Fav Photos of the Week

As I write this tonight, I am in absolute awe of God's greatness! We are so humbled to be apart of this amazing journey! This past week was a great week! OE is adjusting beautifully, & we all love each other more & more each day. We are so blessed to have all four of our children! Here's a glimpse into our week...

Wednesday we celebrated my mom's birthday. I never realized how therapeutic baking a birthday cake could be. It opened up the way for our first conversation where OE shared with us about Ethiopia. She told us about how they celebrated birthdays...drinking sodas, singing "Happy Birthday", blowing out the candles, & eating chocolate-caramel cake.
OE flowers & helped me plant my fall Mums. She loves being "Mommy's helper". We have realized that OE LOVES Christmas! She doesn't seem to recognize Santa Claus, but she sure does know about Christmas trees. She spotted ours up in the attic when we went up to get something else & insisted that we bring one down. I declined at first, but then I thought, "Why not?..Life is short!" (that's is often my moto in life)! She immediately wanted to plug it in & see the lights. She was having so much fun with it that C & R decided we needed to watch a Christmas movie, too! What a fun morning we had...Christmas in September! Just wait, sister! Your momma loves Christmas & you will love all my trees!!!!! What a fun & special Christmas this will be!!
This picture is very special to me. She loves her babies & takes very good care of them. She asked me for my sling (that always I carry her in), so she could carry her baby around. It makes me feel good to see that she thinks that holding her babies in the sling helps her take care of them.
Here are all of my sleeping angels. We do co-sleeping with OE to help with bonding, but we allow all the kids to fall asleep in our bed together then we "transport" them all (except OE)to their appropriate beds. This way no one feels left out. Aren't they so stinkin' cute!
OE loves to swing & slide, so we go to the playground at L's school a lot in the evenings to play & be together as a family. Friday night we were there until after dark...we were having so much fun we didn't want the evening to end!
We love the beach, so we have quite a few shells around our home. When OE first started having "melt-downs", I took her out on the deck to help her relax. I showed her the shells & showed her how you can hold them to your ear & hear the ocean. Now she loves to do this. It is very calming for her & helps her relax as she focuses on the soft whisper that comes from inside them. Lots of hugs & kisses. These boys sure love their sister! (Side note~Notice her pierced ears...her Ethiopian family pierced her ears, but she had not had earrings in since coming the the orphanage...we were so excited when we realized her holes had not closed...we were so excited that this piece of her life in Ethiopia will always be with her!)

Today was amazing! OE & I spent the afternoon at the home of a local family from Ethiopia. Wow! God is so good to have brought our families together. It was such a blessing for OE to have someone to speak Amharic with, & we had a sweet time together. Then, we went to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year with our local Ethiopian adoptive families group. This group is growing like crazy. Through out both of these gatherings it was evident that God is moving & doing something huge here. It is no coincidence! God is awakening so many hearts in & around our area to the needs of Ethiopia!

Photo Shoot

My friend (& fellow Ethiopian adoptive momma) did a photo shoot with OE this morning! Check it out!

Happy New Year!

Today is Ethiopia's New Years...we will celebrate Saturday evening will our East TN Ethiopia Families Group. Can't wait!!!!!

Shopping Day in Ethiopia

Okay, in my "flashback to Ethiopia" world, it is Wednesday. Wednesday was a fun day for us. I made it over my emotional, kind-of homesick day on Tuesday & felt much better. OE stayed at HH to play while we shopped. We got lots of goodies & treats (I think I've already shared about my "favorite customer gift" I was given in one of the shops...I wanted to make sure I had no regrets about not having bought enough ;-) ). After shopping we went to buy our coffee & then on to Mukash for lunch (the art gallery place). We had a great time there & enjoyed the yummy food. The paintings there are done by students from the Addis Ababa Fine Arts Academy. I struck up a conversation with one of the artists by asking him what his inspirations were for his paintings (if you know me personally, you know this does not sound like something I would ask). He shared all about his work & I enjoyed myself (N didn't hang around for the conversation...I didn't give him any warning about my question & once I asked it, he had to walk away b/c he was about to crack up). When I went back to the table, he said I had morphed into some crazy art person...hey, anything can happen when you're trying to take in every thing you possibly can from your daughter's birthcountry. Our entire travel group was very delirious at this point & we laughed so hard that afternoon the muscles in my stomach hurt (I would share the story about N giving the woman on the street a bag of leftover rolls from Mukash, but no one gets it....at the time we thought it was hilarious...oh, well). Then, we went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases & headed back over to HH to get OE & receive our immigration paperwork & OE's passport. She was very glad to see us & had to give each & every one of her friends several kisses before we left for the hotel. Back at the hotel, we gave her the traditional dress we bought we her. She loved it, but kept looking for the chammas N had promised her. We were so disappointed that we never found them. We found a pair that worked for her but not the exact ones. Future travelers, please, please find my daughter a pair of these shoes. I will be your best friend forever. Last night, we even noticed that her cousin had them on at our meeting. This girl NEEDS a pair of these chamas (see picture above). We turned in early that night, she was exhausted...late, late night at the Traditional meal the night before. After she went to sleep, N & I packed & laughed about all the funny things that happened that day. We could hear the family in the room below us laughing, as well! After we settled into bed that night, I enjoyed the quiet & savored the sounds of Ethiopian nights...barking dogs, religious chanting, & mekinas (cars)...have I mentioned that I love Ethiopia!?!

Me & the girls at my favorite shop!

Loved watching them do the coffee at the place where we bought our bulk coffee!

Our lunch at Mukash...we also had the most amazing Focassia & COLD Cokes!

The painting we purchased...can't wait to get this baby framed...it's on my to-do-list...somewhere!

Our sleepy girl before she hit the sack!

Traditional Ethiopian Dinner

On the night of our meeting with OE's Ethiopian family, our travel group, Almaz, & Danny went to an Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner. I don't know if they planned it on this night for this reason, but it was just what we needed after our emotionally draining day. We had a blast! I sat by Almaz & was starstruck to say the least. She is an absolute angel. At first, I was really kind of nervous, but very quickly it was like I was sitting with an old friend. We laughed & laughed. She said she loved my southern accent & was jealous of it & my English. She also told OE that she loved her clothes & that her mother had a "sense of style". I just love that woman! She helped us through our meal, explaining all the different foods & customs. If you know me personally, you know that I am a super picky eater. Needless to say, all I tried was one bite of the Injera & a sip of the Honey Wine. The Honey Wine is their traditional drink. Everyone had fun trying to drink it while holding the glass properly. OE really enjoyed the meal! It was so fun to watch her chow & enjoy herself so much! N didn't eat much more than me & he is a pretty good eater. I think he lost his appetite after he took a bite of the "slightly under-cooked" meat (as Almaz described it...I would describe it more as opening up a package of ground beef & cooking it for about 2 seconds). The music & dancing was so enjoyable. OE even did a little dancing with her shoulders, but since we've been home I realize that she was holding out on us...she is quite a dancer! Here are some pictures! :-)

The restaraunt as we walked in...

The area where our group sat. We were crowded very close together around the basket in the center which, when the lid was lifted off, served as the plate we all shared.

Some of our evening's entertainment.

OE loving her Ethiopian food!

N loving him some Honey Wine!

Our little dancing girl with Danny (she has a tootsie roll on her front two teeth...that's why her teeth look kind of silly...she loves her chocolate!). Danny & Yohannes are amazing as well! Great guys with great hearts! They love the kiddos, & the kiddos love them!

Very special people & an evening full of memories we will never forget!

BTW, today R decided that for his & C's 10th birthday we are all going back to Ethiopia! Sounds great to me! We'll celebrate 5 years together with our first return trip to our daughter's birthcountry! The boys can't wait to go see what all the fuss is about!

We love Ethiopia!