Family Pictures

We had Family pictures taken last week with our friend Brian Armas of Armas Photography. He did a great job. Our new blog header is one of the pictures from the shoot!

Besides Sophie screaming her head off for most of the photo shoot, Addis eating leaves, and Easton smiling the cheesiest smiles ever seen, it was a success. At least Catherine is always cooperative.

Camping Trip

We have finally settled into life with four kids. I told Zach, this week was the first time I felt like I had some breathing room. Of course, there are still crazy days of driving kids all over the world and back, but we decided that we need to get used to that. I don't think it is going to slow down any time soon.

Sunday night, we decided to take the kids camping. I know, it sounds crazy, but it was only in the back yard and Addis wasn't invited. We had a monitor, so don't call SCAN on us. The kids were pumped up about camping, and they wanted to help with everything.


Zach made some ribbons to bring a little modesty to this blog post. Sorry, our kids prefer to be as unclothed as possible. The ribbons are for you Sara.

It was pretty hilarious in the tent. Each one of them had their funny moments, but Sophie definitely won the prize for funniest joke. In the silence, once we thought everyone had gone to sleep, Sophie whispered, "Passie tooted!"

Everyone was rolling laughing, including her. They finally went to sleep around 11.

All the kids had breakfast together in the tent the next morning. We will definitely do another camping trip soon, as it was a huge success.

AND... Before you go... One last funny picture of Sophie.

Flashback

Last week, cousin Mackenzie had her 5th birthday party at the skating rink. Everything was just as I remembered it. The flashing colored lights, the worn out skates, the wood paneling in the party room, the metal fence that guarded the "snack bar" from the nearby skaters... The crazy thing is, this wasn't the skating rink we grew up going to. I think every skating rink is built exactly the same.

Even the bathroom was in tip-top shape.
Actually, it felt like we were back in Ethiopia for a second.

Grammy and Poppa were swarmed by the kids. Here is a shot of poppa with all four.

Easton, Harrison, and Aiden skated around several times together. I say skated, but it was really more like ran. The wheels on their skates were tightened down so much that they were more like heavy shoes than roller skates.

Easton even joined in the race around the track. Besides the 8 year old that actually skated, he held his own out there.

Catherine got in on the skating action as well, broken arm and all. I am not sure that it was the wise thing to do, but she had a great time doing it!

Sophie only made it one lap around before she had enough.


Nine of the ten grandkids on Erin's side of the family...

Things have been pretty crazy around here lately. From collecting what seems like endless stool samples for Addis' lab work to potty training Sophie, it has been a bit stinky as well. Sophie is finally catching on after ruining the carpet in several rooms of the house. Being the stubborn one of the four, we knew that once she decided she was ready, she would do it. And, she has done it. Yea Sophie! She is even sleeping and napping in panties.

Catherine's Arm

So I guess, since there have been so many requests, we should tell what happened to Catherine. While she was visiting Lovey and Poppa during our trip to Ethiopia, she fell out of the hot tub and broke her arm. We, the parents of the year, didn't fill out any sort of medical release form before we left, so they had a hard time finding her a place to go. The first doc in Hot Springs said it didn't look broken, but after a trip to our friend Dr. Silvey and then to a specialist up here, it was confirmed to be broken.

Big thanks to Dr. Silvey for working her in and taking good care of her while we were gone. If you are looking for a good pediatrician in Northwest Arkansas, go give him a visit.

The specialist asked if we wanted a hard cast on it, in case she might take off the soft one. Erin said, "Oh no! She won't take it off." Well, that night she took it off. To her credit, she was having a sleep over with her brother and apparently he asked her if he could see what her arm looked like.

Easton yelled from the bedroom, "But I didn't tell her to take it off! I just wanted to see it." Clever son. Clever.

She is tougher than anyone else around here, so she is really doing well with the whole thing.

Off to School

When we were in Ethiopia, I told Catherine that Addis didn't like the bath. She said, "That's because he hasn't taken a bath with me yet daddy!" Well, it turns out, she was right. He loves to take a bath with his brother and sisters. Now that his fear of the bath is gone, he really is the best baby ever.

The twins had their first day of school yesterday. They were so excited and did not want us to hang around their classroom. Catherine told us bye 20 times before we actually left. We didn't get much out of them concerning their first day. They must have liked it, cause they went back without a fuss today.

And, the backpacks are required. Not our choice. Because every preschooler needs to learn what it feels like to carry your own body weight to school...

Home Again

We arrived home to a flood of people at the airport waiting to greet Baby Addis to Northwest Arkansas. We are so blessed to have such great friends and family, giving up their evening to wait around at an airport to welcome us home.

The kids LOVE their new brother. Sophie even likes him, surprisingly enough! I think Catherine has fed him every bottle since he got home. She is a great helper.





Addis has adjusted well to his new home. We joke that he got more adult attention at the Foster Care Center than he does at home. He still rarely cries and sleeps through the night every night. We are blessed to call him our son.

There is so much to write about and reflect on from our time in Ethiopia, and those posts will come soon. For now, jet lag is calling me to bed.

Final Update? Maybe...

We haven't updated in a while, because there hasn't been much to update everyone about. We shopped most of the day Saturday, so that wasn't overly thrilling. At least not for me.
Yesterday, (Sunday) we went to church at the International Evangelical Church. It is an English speaking congregation, and we enjoyed getting to worship with the people of Ethiopia. In the evening, we went to Dreamland. It is a restaurant/resort that overlooks a crater lake about an hour south of the city. As you can see from the pictures, it was beautiful.
We went back to the foster care center today and spent some time with the babies. When we went into Addis' old house, they took him away to the upstairs baby room. When we made it up there, the caregivers had made him some food and he was eating away. They then gave him formula with a little cup. Who knew an 8 month old could use a cup? They put him back in his bed so that we could take a picture, and he freaked out. I think he thought we were going to leave him there.
Tomorrow is our last day in the country, and we are more than ready to go home. It has been a great visit, but it is too long to be away from the other three kids. Our flight leaves at 10:15 tomorrow night. Hopefully, Addis will sleep the whole way home.
Since we have to check out by noon tomorrow, this will probably be our last post from Ethiopia. Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout this process. God has blessed us richly, and Yeabsera has more than lived up to his name, which means "the work of God the Father." NWA, we will see you soon!

Orphanages and Futbol

I can't post many pictures from our day yesterday, since most of the pictures include kids from the three orphanages we visited. It was a tough day, seeing so many kids that didn't have a family to go home to every night. I played soccer at the older boys orphanage on their mud field. Yes, it really was a mud field. I fell about 10 minutes in and covered my backside and shoes with "chica" or mud. Word to those traveling during the rainy season... Two pairs of tennis shoes are necessary if your activities will include soccer.
So, for the pictures we can post...
The first is of Addis making his silly sniffing face. Since he now has a sinus infection, it serves other purposes as well as you can see from the picture.
The people at the Hilton have been so great and friendly. The man that opens our door every day LOVES Addis and plays with him every time. Also in the picture is one of the drivers, Solomon.
The silly white people are Travis and Ryan, your fearless in-country coordinators. You will love them. They are great fun.
And, once again, the bath was not his favorite. If you want to hear his cry, put him in the water.

Church and Traditional Dinner

Yesterday, we toured an Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was built in the 30s and 40s during the Italian invasion. There were several events going on there, since it was one of their major fasting weeks and there was a large funeral. Due to all of the people that showed up after we had gone in to tour, our cars were blocked in when it was time to leave. And I don't mean like one car parked behind us. I mean like 60.
We decided to walk to a taxi to take us to lunch. The taxi driver was pretty pumped to see a bunch of lost Americans, and he charged us 10 birr each to get to the restaurant. Average fair is between 70c and 2 birr, so he made his days wage off of our group alone.
We went to the lion zoo, or lion cages, after lunch. It was pretty entertaining, because there wasn't a giant pit between us an the lions, and the locals would hit on the fence to get the lions to growl at them.
Last night was the traditional dinner. The food was interesting. I ate a lot more than Erin. I was a little disappointed because they didn't ask anyone from our group to dance. I guess they could tell that we had some moves and didn't want to be embarrassed.
Today, we go to the older kids orphanage and play a little futbol. Addis is still the bomb. He sleeps like a champ, 12 hours at night without waking up. He goes to everyone, though he clings to his mom and dad when he is tired. He crawls all over the place, entertaining himself with water bottles and magazines. We couldn't have asked for a better baby.
Keep praying for a safe flight home. 4.5 days and counting…

A Very Long Day...

*** The internet was down yesterday. Sorry for the delay in the post! ***

Today, we visited the Gladney Foster Care centers where Addis has lived for the last 6 months. The minute we walked in the door, his primary caregiver found him and stole him away for most of the morning. When he left, he was in an outfit we had brought for him, and when he returned, he was in traditional Ethiopian wear. It was a gift from his caregiver, and incredibly cute.
It was great to see him interact with her, because we learned so much about his personality by watching them play. The faces he makes, his sniffing obsession, and the way he crawls towards you when he is happy. Other caregivers in the house tried to take him from her, and she coaxed him back every time. He loved her very much, and he was obviously her favorite. (She is in the yellow coat in the picture.) When he was about 5 months old, we received a lot of pictures of Addis with her and we were able to give her copies of all of them. She was very grateful. We will always love her for loving our son so much.
We then went across the street to the older babies home where he has spent the last month or so. We met his caregiver there as well, maybe 19 or 20 years old, who still lives at the girls orphanage in town. She was wonderful as well, and both asked to receive pictures and updates on how he is doing.
After lunch, we had our Embassy appointment. Everything went as planned, and we should have our Visa by Friday if all continues to go well. As I type this, it is 7:30 and we are hearing him cry FOR REAL for the first time. He is in his bed, not wanting to go to sleep. Maybe it has finally worn off… We will see! Actually, 5 minutes in and he is asleep. Perfect…
When we get back, we will give a better play by play of the days. For now, this will have to do.

No Really... It has to be...

Ok, so he really is the best baby ever. Although we did hear him cry today, it was because he fell over and hit his head on the floor. Even then, it only lasted 10 seconds. To add to his "Best Baby Ever" campaign write-up, we laid him in his crib wide awake tonight with the lights on and he laid himself down and went sleep. Really? Can it get any easier than this?

We had some free time this afternoon, so I set up a mini-studio in our room using some sheets and suitcases. As you can see, the pictures were awesome. Tomorrow, we head to the Gladney foster care centers and we will be delivering care packages to a few of the kids whose parents sent them to us before we left. Also, in the afternoon we will have our Embassy appointment, (which will be early morning your time.)