What I've Been Doing

I've been trying to finish up some projects that need to get finished. I painted the well used table in the play room and made some small pockets to hold crayons, markers, paintbrushes, etc. when the kids are old enough I can trust them. I made one for the other side, but the hubby can't find the staples for his staple gun :(

I finished quilting and binding Behailu's quilt. I like how it turned out--hopefully he does too!

I cut off the sleeves of this shirt (my shoulders were just a little too wide for them) and made a matching headband. It turned out well!

Lastly I picked out the pattern for China's quilt (which I will not get done, but will hopefully get pieced!) You can see it here: http://www.unitednotions.com/fp_posh.pdf Of course it will be more manly. I'm using a blue batik sarong from Indonesia that's been sitting in my wardrobe for years!

A Big (Official) Announcement

As many of you know we've been working on a second adoption in Ethiopia. The judge allowed us to use the same paperwork for both children which saves enormous amounts of time, effort, and money. God kept the power on and got our revised home study to Ethiopia via e-mail on the last possible day it could be submitted to court.

We chose to do this because many older children sit in these homes and watch the younger children adopted out. We can't adopt them all, but we can help this one. We're also not getting any younger!!

So... without further ado we introduce China (I LAUGHED when I saw his first name--I can't find it in any of the Ethiopian name indexes either!) Adane (means He saves). He is six and the only older child in this home.

P.S. When I saw this picture I thought "Man, these people really need to work on their photgraphy skills." But, a good newsletter from our caseworker reminded me that none of these kids have ever seen a camera and are probably pretty confused about having been recently moved to this new home.

2 Quick Kids Ideas

Ana loves to play with beads. She is now into dumping them into different pots, pans, and cups. This is a MESSY activity. So, I let her sit in one of her boxes and dump away. It saves tons of time during clean up because the beads can be poured into the container.

Ana was playing with a large clip and I thought "What great fine motor skill practice!" I dug through one of my drawers and pulled out some small clips from Daiso and had her clip them to the side of the bowl. She has great fun taking them all off too. Such a simple activity kept her attention for 20 minutes!

The Dancing Duo

Happy Viewing!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hzv5AE989c

Joshua's Birthday

We had great fun at the Seah Street Deli with the Wongs. They have activity pages and crayons to keep the kids busy! We ordered tasty American sandwiches and a chocolate milkshake. Ana and Joshua split an omelet. The waitresses figured out that it was Joshua's birthday and played the SONG on the jukebox. But, later they brought both kids a huge scoop of ice cream, with smarties (like m & ms), AND marshmallows--and played the song again! Talk about sugar overload! This is after both kids had had more than enough milkshake. They soon grew tired of ice cream and went over to listen to and dance to the music. Ivy took a great video of them dancing. I'll try to get it and post it for you all!! We agreed to meet at Chili's (newly opened) for Ana's birthday next month!!

Photo Shoot

The light was so great yesterday that I couldn't resist trying to get some photos! As usual I had trouble getting the ham to stand still, smile nicely, and/or not eat her dress! It did turn out to be good practice for some pictures of eating with the Wongs--next post!

National Day At The Wongs

We had a good time on Monday with the Wongs. Ana went swimming with Matt. We had some good food including curry fish head and century eggs. You eat those with pickled ginger. The eggs actually don't have a lot of flavor and the pickled ginger has a citrus taste. We also had vegetables, rice, and a beef dish. Of course there were fruits and chocolates for dessert. Ana and Joshua had a great time running and yelling their loudest (knowing that this is the only place they could get away with it!)

Happy National Day Singapore!

It's Singapore's 44th birthday! Along with a National Day Parade they have fireworks, food, and hang out flags. This country has achieved much in it's short history. I thought I'd try to get Ana to pose with a little flag she got at church. You can see her idea of "holding the flag up!"

This Week We've...

-went to a yummy Taiwanese restaurant and ate noodles, dumplings, pau, and some nice ice desserts.
-went to school and helped in the library. The librarian's son (a middle schooler) built Ana a tunnel from boxes.
-went for walks. The new mall near us is nearing completion. It should be open in October!!
-read travel information sent to us by the agency. You really only have to stay in Ethiopia for 5 business days! It could be a quick trip!!
-went to a staff cookout and ate hamburgers, chips, and cookies--a rare American meal for us!