Welcome Home Cupcakes

We have had a really busy spring break and I will post about all of it over the next few days. In the meantime our boys got home today from father and son camp and the girls wanted to make welcome home cupcakes. This is what we came up with....They turned out really cute and I have to say my personal favorite is Sophia's. Notice she is the only cupcake at the sleepover that is awake!! How fitting!?

The Wandering Butterflies

It was a rainy Saturday, so we had the kids write and act in their very own play. We started with characters, letting each of them choose their own costume and name.

Catherine wanted to be a ladybug princess named Butterfly Belle. Sophie chose tinkerbell, and Easton wanted to be spiderman. They all determined that Addis should be a fireman, because he likes to wear hats. Seems like a logical choice.

So, how do you get lady bug princesses, spiderman, and a fireman in the same story? Leave it to the imagination of four year olds and they will figure out a way. Here is the plot in case you can't follow it.

The ladybug princesses are flying to see their friends, the birdies. They stop for a drink at a water fountain and a fire breaks out. Enter fireman Addis to save the day. Then, Bittem, the miniature stuffed dog/bad guy enters the scene from stage left. Spiderman to the rescue. Physically assault stuffed dog/bad guy. Everyone (mom) cheers. The end.

Lost? Maybe the video will help.

Not much to say...

I really don't have much to say but I had to post these pictures. Sophie didn't make the post this time since she was sound asleep this morning when I took the pictures.

So this is what Addis looks like each morning after his usual hair picking out process. I have to say it is pretty impressive. His brothers and sisters think it is hilarious.



Every time we take out a camera he poses and says "cheese!!!" Today he used his brother and sister as a prop for his pose. I have to say he is pretty sweet.

The Indoor Tent

About once a week, Easton and Catherine beg to have a sleep over. No, we do not invite other kids to our house EVERY week. Since they were born, they slept in the same room. Now that they are older and in separate rooms, they miss each other every once in a while.

This time, Sophie was invited and we made them a tent in the girl's room. A king sized sheet and some rubber bands can make for hours of fun.

No, Addis was not invited. Once it was bedtime, he had to head off to his crib.


This is a random picture of the craziness that 4 kids create. In the picture below, Easton and Catherine are playing mom & dad, complete with baby Sophie in the stroller. Addis is looking a little like the crazy uncle.


Sophie has a baby doll's pacifier in her mouth to complete the look. Catherine gets it for her everytime they play the game.

Love is here...

Here is a video I created today to show some of the ministries of our church...

Learning Spanish

Easton and Catherine are learning Spanish at preschool. We were going over our colors and the conversation went something like this.

Dad: What is Red in Spanish?
Catherine: Rojo!
Dad: What is amarillo?
Easton: Yellow!
Catherine: Dad, what is black in spanish?
Dad: Negro.
Catherine: Addis, you're negro!

Brilliant. Who would have known learning a foreign language would bring up discussions of racism among 4-year-olds.

From Ashes to Africa

AJ and Sara sent me a copy of the Bottomly's new book, From Ashes to Africa, for my birthday. I picked it up around 11:30 one night to read a few pages, and I turned the light off at 2:00 am after reading the whole thing. I kept thinking, one more chapter and I will go to bed.

What I appreciated most about the book was the raw honesty. I felt like I was reading my own journal as they detailed their experience while in Ethiopia. I only wish I could have read it before I left, as it would have prepared me for so many life altering experiences.


I had no idea what visiting the orphanages would do to me. I initially thought it would be fun to see the kids and play with them, bringing a smile for the day. I did not expect to see Addis' eyes in theirs, an experience Amy describes in detail. She writes:

"I could see Silas at 10 years old, with holes in his jeans and lice in his hair. I could see him at 18, with no education, no marketable skill, and no job prospects. Through such glimpses I felt more full the gravity of our decision to adopt."

I wish I could have been more prepared...


I had not processed what meeting Addis' birth mother might be like. Ashes to Africa dives into the deep feelings that you don't expect. Feelings of guilt and great sadness as you see the final goodbyes. Then the process your heart and mind go through in the hours after as feelings of gratitude and love flood back in.

"Part of me felt the rightness of adoption, the rightness of Hermela's courage and sacrifice. The other part of me felt the the wrongness of adoption, the wrongness of broken families and abject poverty."

I wish I could have been more prepared...

This memoir is so important to both the adoption community and the world of Christians who have no idea what it means to care for "the least of these." If you are alive, you should read it. (I tried to condense this down to certain groups that should read it, but wasn't successful, hence the all inclusive mandate.) Just make sure you start reading in the morning and not at 11:30 at night.

fromashestoafrica.com