Getting Settled

Here is a quick overview of our past month. In some ways, the month went so quickly. In others, it seems like we have been home for a year vs. a month. Lots of runny noses and colds this month, but even buggery noses are sweet!

Isaiah LOVES to play in the dirt.
Hanging out with Sydney
Isaiah having fun wrestling with Jackson
Getting a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch with Raegan
Hanging out in the Ergo. (Note: This has been the greatest carrier. I tried the wrap, and Isaiah just didn't seem to "fit". It was tough for me to carry him on my front, so this has been a great alternative. When he needs to be near me, I can still get things done like cook supper, vacuum, clean bathrooms, fold laundry, etc! If you are adopting an older baby--over a year--I would encourage you to at least check this out.)
More dirt!Lots of my sweet friends threw me a baby shower this past month. My camera battery was dead, so I only have this picture. (If any of you have any pics, can you e-mail them to me?) This was such a sweet, sweet day for me. It was one of the most meaningful baby showers I have ever been to, and I was so encouraged and blessed.
The serious look. I just love this face.
First taste of Gambinos with Uncle Marc and Aunt KatyCarving Jack-o-lanturns!

Bedtime stories. That's it for now!

First Family Moments with Isaiah and Saying Goodbye to Aunt Melli

I can't reiterate how good it was to be home. While we were in Ethiopia, it was difficult to know how much to start establishing our own routines. We pretty much decided to just wait until we got home for most of that. So, when we arrived home, it felt like we could finally start being Isaiah's Mommy and Daddy.

The kids were so excited to have him home--finally! They have been praying and waiting with us for almost two years which is a long time for kids who are 10 years and younger. This is a significant percent of their lives! I heard that Raegan became an expert balloon-blower-upper as they worked to decorate our house. :)

Sydney made pancakes for our first morning home.

Isaiah's first breakfast!

I wish I had taken more pictures of those first days; however, it was just a little crazy. We were all adjusting to having another member of the family. So, lots of pictures didn't get taken! Here are a few I have:
During these days, I was so fortunate to have my sister helping. She stayed for an extra week, and I was so thankful for her presence! She stepped in to help with the other three kids, and she was my constant encourager during this time of crazy transition. I will blog about this more later, but I will say that I was so sad to have her leave. She is a selfless aunt to my kids--and all her nieces and nephews--and we are so blessed to have her in our lives. It is hard to have her live so far away --in Alaska!--but we are also blessed because when she comes, it is for chunks of quality time. As a quality time person, I love that!
So yes. The day quickly came when I had to say goodbye to my little sister. In a way, I hated that she had to be around me during a tough time. I wasn't a lot of fun, and there was a lot of hard stuff that she had to witness. At the same time, I was selfishly thankful that she was there because she truly helped me through each of those tough transitions. I'm so thankful that I could be real--and not always so pretty--and she still loved and encouraged me.
I love her so, and I am so glad she already has plane tickets to come back in December!

Thursday: Wrapping up in Ethiopia

Thursday came, and we were excited to be able to pack our bags and head home. In the morning, we did take one quick excursion to the ALERT Leper colony again. Our friend, Kristy, wanted to buy some souvenirs for her other children, and we hadn't had a chance to do that so far. So, we headed to the colony since it was pretty low-key and not crowded. I mentioned after our last trip how I loved this place. I love that I was able to buy items made by those who live with leprosy in that colony. And, the prices were so reasonable. And, I didn't have to bargain for them! Yeah. So, we headed there. I was so excited to find wooden coffee sets, another woven rug, and a Christmas ornament for Isaiah. If you are going to Ethiopia, I highly recommend going to ALERT.
Here is Chris, Isaiah, and Neb (our driver) just outside of the shop by some coffee plants.
Here is a study in contrasts, similar to what we saw over and over in the city. One minute, we would see donkeys walking down the sidewalk. . .

. . .the next minute, it looked like a scene from modern-day U.S. It just never got old to see.

After that, we headed back to the guest house for lunch. Have I mentioned anything about the food? This trip, we did not lose any weight! The food was great at the guest house, and we ate most of our meals there. So, if you are going to stay at Ethiopia Guest Home, know that they prepare pretty good meals that are safe for us.

Juice mustache!

Oh, and Isaiah ate what we ate. He was just over 16 months, and they had plenty of good food for him. One night, he was really hungry before supper was ready, so they even made him some scrambled eggs. They are so accommodating!

After lunch, we started packing, and I had my complimentary massage. Again, I highly recommend that you take advantage of this perk if you can. Before we could leave, the guest house performed our last coffee ceremony. Here is the lady roasting the coffee beans before making coffee. As you can see, pop corn is traditionally served with the coffee.
Here is Kristy with her two kiddos. It was so encouraging and helpful to have her at the guest house with us! She is an experienced adoptive mom (these are #9 & 10!), so her insight and encouragement was much appreciated! Chris and I were so glad to spend these days with her, her dad, and her two three-year-olds.

Kristy and kiddos waiting for our ride to the airport.

After supper, we were off! We headed to the airport with Kristy and her crew. We did not bring enough toys, so Isaiah entertained himself with our water bottles!

We were excited to know that we had a seat with a baby bassinet, so we thought Isaiah would sleep so well. Well, we got on the airplane around 11:00 p.m. Once we finally took off, it was late, so he fell asleep right away on Chris. (He hadn't really liked the bassinet, so Chris was just holding him. Unfortunately, a well-meaning African lady thought that Isaiah should be sleeping in the bassinet, so she came over and took Isaiah out of Chris's arms. We had been dozing already, so we weren't sure what was happening at first. By the time we came to, Isaiah was wide awake, scared, and quickly escalating into one of his major fits! He continued to scream for about 30 minutes, enraging most of the other passengers around us. We were flustered and extremely frustrated. Finally, I got up to walk him around, and he eventually fell back asleep. This all happened within the first hour of flight, so we were wound up and very anxious. The rest of the 16 hour flight was long and exhausting, so we were so relieved to finally reach U.S. soil.Sleeping soundly in Daddy's arms. . . for a while!

In Chicago, we did take a quick detour to the outside of the airport security to see Chris's brother, Shaun, and his wife, Kathy. They brought us lunch, and we were able to introduce them to Isaiah. We were so excited to see familiar faces--and eat yummy food! We almost missed our last flight home; luckily, we found a short security line and made it in the nick of time. Whew!

The last flight home was tough. Isaiah was done, so he screamed/threw a fit for about 30 minutes of the hour home. Again, we were just relieved to get to Wichita.

We were blessed by a crowd of people who came to welcome us. I didn't have my camera out, so I have to borrow some pics from friends!Introducing Isaiah to the kids first.

Happy Tears!

Adding a crowd as we got closer. . .

Lots of introductions!

We were so excited to be home and introduce Isaiah to so many friends and family who have walked with us over the past two years. It was so fun to come home to such open arms!

Wednesday: Good Deeds Day, Part Two

When I returned to Chris and Isaiah at the Guest House, I found out that Isaiah had had his first major melt-down. While he was eating, something triggered him, and he morphed into a major tantrum-throwing toddler. I heard that Chris handled it so well, but it was just a bit unsettling for him, considering he had to face it alone. We were going to face several of these, usually when Isaiah was tired and didn't get his way. We also saw how he was grieving in this process. His cries went beyond "I'm-not-getting-my-way-cries", so it was helpful to remember that this was his way of coping with all of these changes. Isaiah ended up falling asleep and taking a good nap, so that was good!

After his nap, we headed to go visit Levi from Drawn from Water. If you haven't looked at their ministry, I'd encourage you to do so. God has led them to work with several tribes in southern Ethiopia. These tribes take part in an ancient ritual which includes ending the lives of any children they deem "mingi" or cursed by throwing them in the river. Thus, Drawn from Water seeks to rescue these children before they are killed.

While rescuing the lives of these innocent children is definitely a priority, their top priority is spreading the gospel among the tribes. Levi explained, "There is such spiritual warfare out there. Really, the only long-term answer is Jesus transforming their lives." (paraphrased as I remember it!) Lale, a native of one of the tribes who is a Christian, is the link to these people. He has started a church, and I think I remember Levi saying that over 50 people have been baptized! Wow. It just sends shivers down my arms every time I think of how Jesus wants to rescue these precious people from such fear and evil.

In the meantime, Drawn from Water continues to try to rescue the innocent children. They have recently been blessed to find a great deal for a new orphanage. Here is the new facility in Addis. But, if you are like me, you are probably more interested in what is inside! Levi gave us permission to take any and all pictures. First, let me show you some of the inside of the building. Here is the kitchen where they make the meals. This first picture shows where they make the injera.

Here is the other side of the kitchen. Here are some of the bedrooms, shown by Levi and Jessie's son. Here is Levi with their youngest daughter. She was once "mingi", but she now is part of their family.

Here are their other two daughters, playing on the tire swing outside.
One really fun "errand" we got to be a part of was delivering some goodies. Each year, Chris challenges his students to be a part of some sort of service project. One of his students this year is passionate about books, so she conducted a book drive. She gathered about 300 books and sent a bunch of those with us to deliver to the kids at the orphanage. I wish we would have been there when the older kids arrived from school because I know they would have been so excited! As you can see, the kids who were there were pumped!
Here is their son with one of the little girls. They were showing us their new pet, a little puppy who had a lame leg. Next, this sweet girl followed us to the rooms so that I could take pictures of the little kids who were there. (I didn't get any pictures of the older kids because they were still at school.) Here is one little girl. Isn't she so sweet?
Here is another with one of the nannies:

I just can't explain how amazing it was to see these little lives that have been saved. Levi and Jessie--and another couple or two--have given up their comforts in the U.S. to go serve. Life is not easy there. After just three days, we were ready to come home! But, they do it so that they can be the hands and feet of Jesus.

As with every non-profit organization, money is always an issue, so they are trusting God to provide all they need. Do you want to be a part of saving and caring for these sweet lives? If so, just go to their blog. You can be a part of it. Give if you can and be blessed.