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!