Playground

Today was a good day. We are learning. Learning about the girls, their personalities, what they need and about ourselves. We still make mistakes and I know we will be for the rest of our lives but I hate them. I hate when my mistakes hurt the girls. It makes my heart sad.
Yesterday, they discovered swings. They played on them for an hour and didn't want to try anything else. Today we returned and after being on the swings for about 45 minutes, they began to branch out and try new stuff. But it took awhile. I love watching them just watch what's going on around them, watching the other kids and eventually trying things. It's been so fun watching them learn and grow.
They also LOVE baths! Man, they look forward to the end of the day. Today they tried a real tub with jets and they couldn't get over how awesome it was. May they always look at life that way. It's the little things...

Forgive the Delay

We had such slow internet in Ethiopia that I couldn't get on the blog sight. So, lots of people have been waiting with baited breath...
We have them and are home! What a story. We arrived on Friday night and that began my lack of sleep. We shopped all day on Saturday until we were dead on our feet. We wanted to get lots of pictures and things to put around the house that would remind the girls of Ethiopia. That night, we were awake from 11-4 or so as we anticipated what the next day would bring. We had a quiet breakfast and I said to Curt, "Welcome to the rest of your life." :)
The van arrived to get us and we drove to the orphanage. It was an amazing feeling. Awkward, nervous, excited, reserved. We walked in and the girls were waiting for us in a room full of 20 other kids and 2 nannies. The girls walked up and hugged us and the first thing I thought was, "They look smaller than I thought." but I was too busy greeting others and looking at everything as they gave us their tour. It was a weird feeling to have 3 girls following us around, almost expecting something, but we didn't know what. Do they know who we are? Are they afraid? Have they been told to act a certain way and we aren't seeing their true emotions? We got them changed into the clothes that we brought for them, which basically fit (phew!), got back in the van and left. We were dropped back off at our guesthouse and we said goodbye to the driver and suddenly we have three kids staring at us and we don't speak their language. So, we got our the Frisbee. They liked that. I thought things would be more awkward than I thought but you know, we just started to fit together.
The next two days were so tiring. They were slowly attaching to us (already! thanks for praying!) and didn't want us out of their sight. They wanted to do everything together. We slowly began learning their personalities and how to react to them. The first week was a huge learning curve but was awesome.
The short end was everything turned out well. We had all of our appointments and that went fine. The one hitch was when we found out that the girls, with Ethiopian passports, were not even allowed to fly through Germany without an airport transit visa. They could not land in Germany and switch planes. How crazy is that? We had an amazing day of running around getting their passports and getting to the German embassy with 45 minutes to spare. We finished all the paperwork there with 5 minutes left before they closed. But we did get those visas and left on time.
The girls are doing amazing. They really are. They are just kids. They fight with each other and us. They are stubborn, disobedient, fun, lovable and just plain fun. They are adjusting well, playing well, eating well, sleeping well and yes, fighting well.
Before we had kids, everyone said, "You have no idea. You're life is going to completely change." Sure, it has. I get less done, get less sleep and somehow never seem to get enough to eat. But, as we were pushing the kids on their first swings this afternoon I thought, "You know, I don't think I'd want to be anywhere else."

The Day Has Arrived

We slept pretty well, actually. Were awakened this morning by a phone call and are off and running. Made a last minute run to a Meijer (like a Target) last night and picked up the last remaining needed items....like bubble bath. We feel really calm and settled, not at all like me before an international flight. As many of you know, we travel a lot and usually I am nervous. But today? Just excited and a little apprehensive. I think it's all your prayers.
Pray for us. For our flights, connections and luggage, of course. For our day we have free before we get the girls, that we would get all our shopping done and lots of pictures taken. For Sunday morning, your time. We will be meeting the girls then and from that time on, they will be living with us. Pray for a good week of bonding and creativity for Curt and I to get involved in their lives without language. Pray for our Embassy appointment, Tuesday morning, your time. That all would go smoothly and that we would get the girls' visas on Thursday, as planned, to catch our Friday night flight. And pray as the Lord leads :).
We will not bring our computer (one more thing to carry) but will try to get on someone else's to keep you posted. But we are heading to a third world country so don't expect much. Next time you hear from us, we'll have our girls!

24 hours left before we fly

I laugh as I think about yesterday. I took the afternoon, and what turned into the evening too, and took all the clothes that anyone had given us and began sorting them. Then I tried to pack for 3 kids whom I've never met and don't have sizes for. So, I have clothing from 4T all the way to a few 9/10's and everything in between. I am racing against the clock now trying to make sure I have everything that I "need". Phew! Pray for us.

48 Hours

This is the bunk bed that Curt's dad built for the girls and I set it up this afternoon. The teddy bears were sent by our agency as a welcome home present.


The clock ticks down as we race ahead. We arrived in OH last night, our final destination. We slept well and are now up and about trying to check off the lists. The problem is that the lists are endless.
We cannot believe we are actually going. Cannot believe that this is the last Tuesday Curt and I will spend as only the two of us. From now on, it'll be the five of us. And then the six of us. And then? Who knows where the Father will lead.
Pray for us today as we unpack the cars, pack the suitcases and shop for last minute items. Pray that our minds would be clear to see everything that needs to get done. Thank you!

Prayer Answered

Thank you so much for praying. We just discovered that it's the US Embassy in Ethiopia that requires the TB test. Since we already have a court date and the girls have had chest x-rays, it seems we are good to go. We fly in 72 hours to get our daughters! Please continue to pray for us as we go and stay tuned!!!!

Prayer Needed!!!!!

Today, the US Embassy in Ethiopia held the long-awaited meeting for all adoption agencies. There were some major changes made, one that could seriously effect us. As of March 23rd, the US is requiring all immigrants from Ethiopia to have a TB test before arriving into the States. We arrive just five days after that deadline. Five days! Our girls have not had the TB test since it was not previously required. Please pray that either our agency can find a way around this OR that the girls can be tested quickly and come out negative! If they come out positive, they are required to remain in country 6 months. Thank you so much for your prayers!

never a dull moment

We found out yesterday that someone had gotten our credit card number in Sweden (Sweden!) and had put $4000 worth of charges on it. They were flying somewhere because some travel agency in Germany had booked them a flight. Our bank is great and dropped the charges and sent us a new card. It's just bad timing...
We leave a week from today. 10 days from today (March 22nd) we will go to the orphanage and pick up our three girls. Last night, though exhausted from being booked nightly for the last 4 weeks, I lay awake thinking about our new-life-to-be. How would they sleep? Who will they think we are? What will we do with them? We don't want to bring a lot to entertain them since they are used to having little. We still want them to learn to use their imagination and enjoy making things up.
Yesterday we wandered around the Dollar Store. Bubbles? Good idea. Squirt gun? Bad idea. Frisbee? Good idea. Cheap, plastic flying toy something? Dumb idea.

My Dream

I had a dream last night. It was mass chaos. We had the three girls. Turi, our oldest, was completely fluent in English and talking with me non-stop. Bitsu, the next, kept changing her clothes and putting on her sisters' instead of her own so some were too big and others too small. Tihi, the youngest, kept getting into things; she went to the fridge and got out food instead of eating what was on the table. The funny part is, I think it could be a very real picture of what life could look like! Needless to say, I felt like I was trying to herd cats.
We are spending our days double checking everything and discussing what meds you should have on hand for a 5, 7 and 8 year old. Our agency contact finally told us to chill out and relax. We need to enjoy the last 9 days of "freedom". We are trying although we keep coming up with projects.
Off to the Dollar Store to buy some more fun things for them for the plane :).

the menu

I spent this morning trying to cook some Ethiopian dishes. At least that's one thing we can give the girls that's familiar. Not sure how it all turned out, since I'm missing some of the key spices. But at least I got my practice.
I also just finished making my third batch of Injera, a spongy, fermented, flat bread that is the most common food in Ethiopia. The first one was thick and tasted like pancakes. The second was so fermented and tasted bad. The third was was nice but didn't taste anything like Injera. Back to the drawing board.
And now I am writing out the menu for the first week, so I can have the spices bought and things ready ahead of time. I sit here wondering, "Have they ever actually eaten this?". I put pizza on the menu. It seems to be universal. One can always find a bad pizza somewhere.

2 weeks away

Today marks 2 weeks until we fly out to Ethiopia. We are so excited. Today, I spent the day working on the girls "lifebooks" with my mom. These are like scrapbooks documenting every single thing I know about each of them and putting it in one place. Any picture I have, any medical records, anything that relates to them in any way goes in this so that they can look through it over and over and use it to walk through their grief. Also, it gives them a link to their past. I am glad to do it but it's been hours and hours of work. I know it will pay off the first time I watch them look through it.
Curt spent the week working through all the documents we need to take. Two days straight of 8 hours, papers all over the dining room table, photocopying everything 3 and 4 times and double and triple checking everything. Wouldn't the worst thing be showing up at the US Embassy in Ethiopia with something missing? Ah! Let's check it all again...

If you thought 3 at once was tough...

Last year at this time, I was washing the floors of our kitchen in Siberia with angry tears streaming down my cheeks. I had just miscarried for the second time. At this rate, thinking we would be in Siberia another 3 years, I would never have kids. Now, a year later, I am amazed how the Lord can bless in such a short time. He does give and take away...
Turns out that I am pregnant! Ah! I am due at the end of August and am currently 15 weeks along. We can't really believe it.
The timing of the Lord is amazing, really. First of all, I am just coming out of the first trimester, which means I am starting to feel better and am not throwing up all the time. Definite plus. So, I will have the energy to run around after 3 Ethiopian girls. But I'm not far enough that I don't get some good time with just them. We will have 5 months together before the baby comes and I hope that will be a very focused time on just them.
We have had a lot of people, who have kids, smile, laugh or just stand in shock. Do we not know what we're getting into??
We've also had a few smile and say they can see the Lord's hand in this. Those who have adopted talk about how this baby can be such a bridge between us and them. How they might very much feel like this is their baby and will attach with us through him/her.
Regardless of why the Lord chose to bless us like this at this time, we are grateful. The Bible says that children are a blessing. I hope so. We'll have 4 this year.