Fun, Fun, Fun

Today was the shower for China and Behailu. Matt's secretary, Cindy worked really hard to make it cute. It's hard to do here--there aren't party stores. You have to use a lot of imagination! She did! She used a wagon theme and made a wagon cake as well as as a small wagon to collect cards. She used cute clothes hangers to hang the balloons and lined the table with ducks! There were some great veggies and sandwiches along with some yummy cake and cheesecake. I had a great time catching up with people I don't usually see. As you can see all the little duckies went home very happy.

We're so thankful for our Christian family. You've been so supportive. We couldn't make it without you!

Adoption Update

We have been told that if the mothers do not show up at the next court hearing that they can get a letter from the province where the boys came from clearing them for adoption. My question is how long will that take??? Keep praying that the director finds the mothers soon and that they're willing to travel to Addis Ababa.

The Great Bean Explosion

Now, I've been meaning to do some thorough cleaning in the kitchen for a while--and today I got my chance. I have a trusty old pressure cooker that was my grandma's. I've used it many, many times as refried beans are $5.00 a can here. It's been a great asset--I'm so thankful for it! But today, while cooking a pot of black beans, everything changed. The pressure valve became clogged with a bean skin and the safety valve blew. It was sooooo loud and there was so much pressure it blew the shelf off above it (along with all the spices). All the dishes and wash had to be rewashed. We had to pull out the oven and scrub the floors and the walls. A little overwhelmed I called Matt and he came home around noon and helped wash dishes and watch Ana. 4 hours later I have a VERY clean kitchen and an aching body! Ana just keeps saying "What happened? and so sorry!" Me too!

Chopsticks

These training chopsticks were a gift from Auntie Ivy. Ana took to them right away, probably because she sees us using them frequently. It's great for fine motor skills too! Here, she's moving beads from tray to tray. In a week or so we'll try some food!

Our Weekend

Friday was parent teacher conferences. Matt didn't get home until 9:00--so Ana and I watched Charlotte's Web in three parts. I really liked it. Julia Roberts did a great job as the voice of Charlotte. Saturday morning we went out to get a couple of birthday presents. Matt found a new tie. We ate at McDonalds :( We haven't ate there in a year probably. (That's about as much McDonalds as I can handle.) Later in the afternoon we went to the Wong's. Ana had a swim with Joshua. Ivy had got Ana some practice chopsticks. So, after 9 years in Asia I officially learned how to correctly hold chopsticks. We had a nice dinner and then finished off Michael's birthday cake and Godiva chocolates. Talk about full!!! On Sunday we went to church and had a small birthday party for a boy a month younger than Ana. They brought cute blueberry muffins topped with sesame street characters. They were made out of something like marzipan. Ana downed her while other sweet children loved the characters so much they wouldn't eat it. Then there was a sale at church to help raise funds for the mission trip. Uncle Michael bought Ana more fish balls (she'd had THREE the night before). She's definitely an Asian child :). Then we went out to a restaurant that specializes in roast duck. It was VERY good, but that's not the only thing we had. We also had pork, a nice fish, mushrooms, greens, shark fin soup (which Ana also loved), a pork broth with lotus root, rice, and tea. We didn't even have to eat dinner! We're going out tomorrow night too because our Indian friend is in town. I see a low calorie week coming up thereafter!

Adoption Update

Well, I'd like to have some GOOD news (for once) BUT I don't have any!! That said I'm so thankful for all the prayers that went up for us. I can feel them sustaining me!

Here's what happened... The orphanage director, from where the boys were staying previously, showed up without the mothers. (Both boys have living mothers that could not afford to keep them.) Because of the recent scandal in which a director was thought to have "bought" children, the judge REALLY wants to speak with the mothers. So, the director said she was "sure" she could find them in a month. So, we have yet another court hearing on
NOVEMBER 23.
We've already asked the question, "What if the mothers don't show up again?" Guess, we'll have to wait and see!

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I've found this to be TRUE! I'm really NOT anxious. We've been prayed for by students (in Korean), family, supporters, and people we don't even know. It is helping--keep it up and Thank you for praying! It's in God's hands.

Today's the Day!

Today is our court date. Please pray for favor with the judge! We appreciate you thinking of us! We'll hopefully let you know what happened tomorrow!

A Strange Happening!

This was NOT planned, but don't they look great in their matching outfits?

Her Shootin' Face

Take a look at this intense face! Scares me!! By the way she did squirt me!

The Carnival

Every year ICS hosts a Carnival in some form or another. This year Ana had a GREAT time. She's still telling everybody all about it! We started off our day by swinging. This is a pretty usual occurrence, but what's unusual is me getting a good picture of it. Maybe I'm starting to understand my camera a little!! When the games started we quickly headed to the bouncing castle. We knew she had to get in there early to avoid her being smashed by the older kids. She had a great time hopping around with daddy. She played lots of other games and really enjoyed kicking the soccer ball (even though there was NO CHANCE she would get it in one of the holes). The little kids got tickets for prizes just for trying. She was force fed a piece of a candy bracelet by some elementary students. The only problem was that she couldn't bite it off! I had to stifle my laughter! The high light of her day though was watching daddy in the dunking booth. She literally sat there for a half an hour and watched. Now she tells everybody, "Daddy goes splash everyday. Daddy's so funny!!" We had some great food for lunch, watched a talent show, and helped clean up at the end. (She even had a nap in her port-a-crib which made the whole day bearable!) A super day--we're looking forward to next year!

Fun With Photoshop

Here in Singapore Adobe recently ran this promotion where you were getting 2500 dollars worth of software for 99 dollars! Photoshop CS4 would normally be way out of my price range, but with this deal I got it and many other programs. I've finally started playing around with it. I love all the things it can do, but I'm thinking about buying Photoshop CS4 for Dummies--it's so complicated! It's amazing how it can turn a so-so picture into something great!! Here's two I've worked on recently.

Shoeboxes

We've finished packing up around 275 shoeboxes that will go to India this week. It was a lot of work and I'm glad I don't have to see another one 'till next year! We're thankful for our school community participating in this with us. I love seeing the students give with enthusiasm!!

Ana did have some babysitters during study hall, but most of the time she was "helping" me. Here's one activity that kept her busy for a long while. Like her bracelets?

Two Gifts

A nice American family gave away these bikes for free. Although Ana is still a little too short, she'll soon be able to pedal away. We're hoping that the big bike can keep China occupied too!!

A Sad, Sad Day

As you know our court date was supposed to be today, BUT the courts decided to reopen on the 12th instead of the 6th. Apparently, instead of putting hearings that were first at the beginning, they moved them to the end of the line. So our new court date is:
October 22!
Of course (for all you in the States) this will most definitely affect our travel time. We're really going to have to rethink our plans now.
Pray for PATIENCE for us. I've had about enough of this process!

A Chance Sighting

Now we see many creatures that you would NEVER see in the States from huge monitor lizards, to geckos, to many interesting birds (we've had toucans at school!). It still amazes me when I see a beautiful bird that would normally be in a cage wild and free in the midst of a densely populated city. Ana and I watched this one for a while at school. She LOVES birds--even pigeons! So, this beautiful creature (although it has an obnoxious squawk) was a BIG hit!

The Adoption Rollercoaster

Well, we had a Friday update from our case worker and were surprised to hear that there was a hold up that could affect us. The Ethiopian government just installed a new computer program for issuing birth certificates. The only problem is that it only processes in Amharic, the main language. The difficulty lies in the fact that the children take a Western last name which cannot be processed in this program. A lot of different adoption agencies are working with the government to get this resolved.

PRAY that this challenge is overcome within the next week. The birth certificate is necessary for the passport and medical exam. These all need to be completed before we (and many others) can travel. Thanks for praying with us!!

At 2

Ana definitely is her own person at 2. She hardly goes anywhere without her blankie, horsie, and baby. She prefers the baby not to have any clothes on, but I make her get dressed when we take her out. She loves shoes--esp. other peoples shoes. The other day we were in the new mall and I went in a shoe store--BIG mistake. She wanted to show me all the ones she liked and was taking off her shoes to try them on! She definitely has her own fashion sense. She knows what dresses and shoes she wants to wear. She told me yesterday on the bus that she wants to be a builder and go high, high, high in a crane. She has a fixation with cranes--Singapore is full of them. Her food tastes are Asian. She loves rice, tofu, fish balls, greens, and jello. And finally she favors two books which sometimes I read (although I really have them memorized) 6 or 7 times a day!

It's fun to see her personality emerging. She's definitely strong willed, a leader, a people person, and a lot of fun!