Quiet Book 2

I thought this page turned out really well. I made the tree from fabric backed with fusible web. The grass is made from felt. The basket is also made from fabric. The apples snap onto the tree. I hope to make some cards telling them how many apples to put on the tree and to also make some birds to switch out with the apples. Although I drew my own tree there is a nice pattern here: http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/search?q=quiet+book

Quiet Book 1

I'm going to start showing you the finished quiet book pages (even though they're not sewn back to back yet.) Here's the ark. To make this I cut out the ark, rainbow, and waves. I installed the zipper and words on the ark before sewing it down. Next I hand sewed on the rainbow, then the ark parts, and finally the waves. The ark holds two animal memory games or "matching" as Ana calls them and lots of pairs of animals. I plan to change out what's in the ark on a regular basis to keep this page interesting!!

We watched tv and other happenings...

Watching tv is a rarity in our house, but because the F1 race is held here in Singapore, we tuned in to catch all the fun. Matt was glued to it the whole time--I lasted about 15 minutes mostly because there was popcorn! We are so close to the city that we can even hear the cars!

I took Ana to Chinatown the other day and on the way back she stepped into the gap between the train and the platform. There was a collective gasp from the train car and then a couple of guys helped release her foot. She didn't lose her shoe or anything, but you should see her "mind the gap" now!! She even claps for me when I step over it.

We had a great dinner with our cell group the other night. Almost all the kids are within are year of each other. They had a super time running and jumping. Ana was trying to help the maid water the plants too!

We went to Arab Street and got material. I was able to finish a skirt and China's quilt. They had both been sitting there a while--so it was nice to get them out of the way. The quiet book has taken over all existing space. Right now I'm working on the ocean pages. Matt will be so glad when it's done. I'm happy I still have 6 weeks--it's taking a long time!

Birthday Pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was an all around nice day. I did have to bake the cake twice though--the first one failed to rise. Oh well, Mustafa's has the mixes for 3.40--the cheapest price in Singapore! It all turned out well in the end!

In My Cabinet...

I have animal crackers from Germany, garbanzo beans from Spain, graham crackers from America, olives from Italy, noodles from China, rice crackers from Taiwan, green curry from Thailand, chocolate cookies from Malaysia, miso paste from Japan, chocolate from Australia...and that's just off the top of my head! It's amazing how the world's products are so available here. We are very blessed to have such an international pantry!

Where to Stay

We're thinking of staying at this guest house.

http://www.ethiopiaguesthome.com/home.html

It came with three high recommendations from families that have just traveled and is only 10-15 minutes from the Ark Home. Of course we'd stay in the cheapest room, because we're cheap!! This is about 30 dollars more per day than other guest houses, but that hour massage might just make up for it!! Having a play room and a yard for Ana to run in will be a big plus too!

Look at This Smile!

Suprise! We got more pictures of China. I think we'll have to get a soccer ball!!

New Pictures

We got some new pictures today from some of the families that traveled to Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago. I hope to put some more up later! (Analia is cutting her two bottom molars and is very grouchy!) There were very few pictures of China and most of them were dark--so this is it for him! Behailu was said to be very calm and willing to sit in the chair for quite a while--He's in for a shock with Ana. You never see him smiling unless one of the care takers is playing with him. China looked pretty happy in a lot of the pictures--this is something that I've been praying for--that God would give them peace/patience/happiness while they're there.

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

We've been receiving a lot of nice hand me downs from some very kind people at church and school. Analia thought she hit the jackpot when she saw the two pairs of rain boats. She's been clunking around in them ever since! You never know what will strike her fancy.

Adoption Craziness

I know some of you think that we are CRAZY to adopt TWO at once, but as I listened to the Stephen Curtis Chapman song "Something Crazy," I found words to what I'm feeling. "And it's crazy when love gets a hold of you, And it's crazy things that love will make you do, And it's crazy but it's true, You really don't know love at all, 'Til it's making you do something crazy." Although it seems crazy to most, God has given us a great love for these boys we've never met and so we know that this venture though deemed by the world to be crazy is of Him!

Here's a post from another adoptive family. It really challenged my thinking!!

...That is 168.8 million needy children like Michael and Patricia. Seems like a big number, huh? It shouldn't, because there are 2.1 BILLION people on this earth who profess to be Christians. Jesus followers. Servants. Gospel live-ers. And if only 8 percent of those Christians would care for just ONE of these needy children, they would all be taken care of. And now I'm just sad again. And I want to take care of all 169 million. But as I look into Patricia's eyes, that since just 48 hours ago have turned bright and smiley, as I smell her hair freshly washed with baby shampoo and snuggle her into her new footie pajamas (side note: is their ANYTHING cuter than a baby in soft cotton footie pajamas?!) God tells me that this one is enough. That He will hold the others while they wait for someone to come along and hold them tight and give them their milk and their medicine. That He doesn't ask me to take them all but to stop for the ONE because that one is Jesus, His son. Stop for the little boy with white head and scabs covering his body, stop for the baby with feces covering her dress, so weak she can't hold up her head. Stop and take the ones right in front of me and trust Him with the rest. He whispers that it will be ok and that I can smile because tonight 2 less children are hungry and that is good for today.

Fun Ideas to Keep an Active Kid Busy

Ana is very busy, BUT she can sit still if she is engaged in an activity. I've been working on a few more light weight activities that we can take on the plane with us.

1. I made a color game with origami/scrapbook paper on the back. It's helped us practice: colors, matching, and memory. I plan to add more colors as she masters these.

2. I took some simple animal pictures Matt and I had colored, cut them out, mounted them on cardstock, punched holes and then laminated them. I then set eylets in each hole to (hopefully) make them last longer. The good thing about this project is that it can be used for a while.

3. We took our very large set of dominoes and helped Ana set them up in different patterns--circles, lines, etc. This also teaches patience as they have to wait to push it down!

I've started something called a quiet book--but I'll do more on that later!! We hope to have some Ethiopian pictures soon!