Bob and Larry

Ana had a great time meeting Bob and Larry AND playing with a complete stranger!

Paperwork

The social worker from the orphanage is somewhere on the southern Ethiopian/Sudanese border getting the much desired registration number. Please pray for her safety and a speedy return! (We were told by our agency it could take several--how vague is that??--more days.)

I Heart What????

The other day I was proudly wearing my I Heart SG shirt into WalMart. (I was in Hernando Mississippi--probably not the most world savvy place in the US!) While I was checking out one of the employees came up and said, "What's that SG stand for on your shirt?" "Singapore, I live there," I replied. "She nodded, pursed her lips, and stated, "Hmmm, I thought it was Saginaw, Michigan!" (I did my best not to laugh--honest!)

Ana Says...

"Have you got any barley water?" to the sales person at Arbys (a fast food chain). Blank Stare.

"No one understood me today in Sunday School."
"Why not?"
"I was was speaking Singaporean."

(After church) (me) "What did your teacher ask you?"
"How old I am. When is my birthday? Where do I live."
"What did you tell her?"
"I live in Afghanistan." (sigh)

(At McDonalds) "Do they have any fishballs?"

Pear Pie Anyone?

Believe it or not I made a pear pie--it was great! They have a nice flavor and retain their form when baked. Basically I think you could use it in any recipe that calls for apples--apple rolls are next on the agenda! This is what happens when you have a tree dripping with pears. Can't bear to waste them!

What to Do?

Today after a serious of strong showers/storms the electricity went off. We were thankful it was only in the lower 70's! After playing a few games in the house we headed outdoors and ...



walked in the rain. She loves her Veggie Tale umbrella! practiced taking photos!

made mud pies! And believe it or not, she did not get dirty at all. She played in the mud for at least 45 minutes pretending to feed bunnies, make soup, and bake pies!

watched the hummingbirds. They are amazing. At one time there were eight on the feeder!
Sorry I haven't blogged much. I've been doing a lot of sewing--more on that later!

It Is FINISHED!

Mitike's quilt. So glad I'm done. I have a lot of other projects that I haven't been able to work on because this was my top priority. I love how it turned out even though it is too busy and bright for me!

Who Knew?

Who knew this is what a hazelnut looks like and that my parents have them in their yard? We wanted to try to make our own "nutella" but that was a dismal failure. We tried!

Adoption Update

How do you like that hair?

New hair cut!!

We have been REALLY frustrated with how long it is taking to get the new documents required by the embassy. (So much so, I was seriously considering going to Ethiopia and standing there every day until they get them!) But, there is some good news. All China's documents are now in order (We THOUGHT his would be harder than Mitike's!) Just waiting on two things for Mitike. That orphanage has said they have a person working on it--pray they work a little harder!!

Museum 2

Ana loved the "skyscraper." All it was was carpeted levels with a hole cut out so that the child could climb as high as they wanted. It had wire all around it so that there was no way anyone could fall. (the arrow points to Ana) One boy wouldn't come down and his mother had to climb up to get him. We were afraid she'd get stuck as the openings aren't very wide.
We also enjoyed watching the bees for a while.

She had fun driving the fire truck, motorcycle, and police car. It was nice that they had dress up clothes for each piece of equipment. I think the kids liked it most because they were "real" cars!

There was a fun costume area. She had a hard time choosing what she wanted to wear. Then you could go up to the green stage and be filmed. While she was dancing only castles were showing up, but they had everything from Bollywood dancing to rap!

If Only...

If only adults were so easily entertained!

Children's Museum of Memphis Part 1

We had a great time at the local Children's Museum. It's about a quarter of the size of Indianapolis', BUT Ana loved almost every exhibit. In fact, she visited several exhibits two or three times. I was impressed with how everything was very hands on which holds the child's interest.
The Kroger's grocery store was one of her favorite exhibits. She loved the little carts and being able to pick out what she wanted to eat. The scanners really worked. It was a challenge at times to find the bar code on the packaging, but she loved getting her receipt! What did she put in her cart-cookies, pasta, or ice cream? No way--it's calamari rings for this girl!
There was a dentist's office which showed all the teeth and the proper way to brush. Ana enjoyed the car exhibit which talked about seat belt/car seat safety. There was an actual full size car (minus doors) that allowed the kids to "drive" and try different car seats. She loved the bank where you could write checks and get money (that you could keep). She also really "got down" in the disco room. It's too bad my camera doesn't take videos--pretty funny!
Memphis, being the home of FedEx, of course had to have a FedEx plane! Ana loved sitting in the pilot's seat and pushing buttons to her heat's content. There was also a mini wind tunnel which allowed her to see what the flaps do on the plane. We also enjoyed watching a waterspout form. The kids can actually touch it and see how that disrupts the flow of air.

Ethiopian Food

I haven't had a lot of success getting people to eat Ethiopian with me--so when my dad expressed interest we headed out to the east side of Memphis for lunch. We had a yummy buffet meal. You should have seen Ana eat the rice. WOW! (It was the best rice we've had in a while!) Most Ethiopian meals include a bread injera (made from teff--a very fibrous grain), lots of vegetables including chickpeas, green beans, beets, and carrots, and usually a stew with some meat. It was delicious--nice to have some spice in my food :)

How to Entertain Your Child

After going through a lot of boxes of junk--I mean important heirlooms, I came across my band box. I put this beautiful flag on a small pole and turned her loose in the yard. She whirled, twirled and ran to her heart's content. Hooray for old junk!