Yesterday we spent the day at the museum where "Lucy, the first human remains, is displayed. Kind of creepy. No, REALLY creepy. We were able to shop quite a bit and take many more pictures. Ava is such a sweetie. She cries to go to sleep now...fighting it like every other baby I know. But she is saying "da-da" and many, many of her own words. She still sleeps all night, 11-13 hours! That's my girl! She wakes up, stands up in the pack-n-play, and starts talking to us. We've had to keep her off of the floor, so I can't wait to turn her loose at the house. She wants to explore so bad. Kennady, Landon, and Carson, I've been talking to her about you so that maybe she'll recognize your names when I say them. Hide your toys...she'll eat them! :)
Gary is upstairs right now trying to pack the suitcases with all of the souvenirs I bought. It's a lot like garage saling, except much more aggressive. I was intimidated at first, but I got over that and got some DEALS. I knew this might be the last time in Ethiopia (hopefully not), so I wanted to get several things for Ava from her country. Gary is going out with Fitsum today to get more antacids (we've given several to new arrivals at the guesthome), some fresh coffee to bring home, and possibly a suitcase! :) I get my one-hour massage today...on the house. Right now it is 9:30 a.m. and Ava and I are staying her all day while Gary goes out. I've been sick to my stomach since dinner last night. We have to be at the airport by 10:00 pm tonight. We are set to return Tuesday, 7:45 your time!!!
Can't wait to come home! Loved the adventure, but ready to see my babies!
Mom/Tammy
Monday, February 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Oh My!
I missed writing last night because we went to bed at 5:30! It was the most emotional day I have ever had. I suggested Gladney NOT have us meet the family AND visit the orphanges in the same day. I don't remember crying this hard. No amount of prozac in the world would have helped.
So, the social worker introduced us. There were two translators...one from his language and then one to translate that language to Amharic and then she translated to us in English. I got it all on video, but I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again. It will be for Ava. As soon as he saw her he yelled, "Kantale, Kantale, Kantale" and started kissing her hands. She cried. I handed her over immediately. He hugged her and cried. I lost it. I hugged grandfather. Gary cried. It was awful. The first question we asked was, "What would you like Kantale to know about you and her family." He replied, "That she comes from a Christian home. That her parents were well respected in the community, very sociable, and very happy." They were married for 13 years and mom was only 35 when she died of Malaria. Not sure how old dad was when he died. We told grandfather that we knew it was a hard choice, but that we believed God had a plan for Kantale. That He knew that plan before the earth was formed and that we would do everything we could to make sure she lives for Christ." He cried and said he believed, too, that God had a plan for her and that he was thankful she was with a Christian family. He loved the idea of Kantale having siblings. He loved the pictures. We hugged, took pictures, and left. Next stop...take Kantale to the guesthouse with her caregiver and start visiting orphanges.
I wish I were a good writer. This is where I get lost. How can I possibly explain what I saw? I can't start crying again because my eyes just now opened up. First government orphanage...boys ages 7-12. The government orphanges have no private sponsors to help run the place properly. Don't bring humanitarian aide. The biggest, strongest boys will simply take it from the younger ones. The director hands our aide evenly. A Gladney family started a farm for the boys to run.
Next, a government children's orphanges. Again, no private sponsors. I can't begin to write about it. Last, a girl's orphanage ages 7-12. On a beautiful compound donated by a queen many years ago. Huge mature trees. The girls shower outdoors. In the back was one building with toddlers and babies. Many, many toddlers and babies. Some special needs babies. Again, I can't write.
Landon, I hope you had a great tournament!!! I've been thinking about it because I've been thinking so much about you. Kennady, I can't not tell you how much I miss you! Ms. Tanya told me the news. I know you are in good hands! Carson, I know you're ready for us to come home. It's only a few more days. I think about you a lot!!! We're going souvenir shopping today to get you some surprises! Then we have dinner tonight at a special "Crater Lake" about an hour away! It's supposed to be the most beautiful point in Ethiopia!
We will not be coming home early. Because it is such a long flight, we do not want to be separated or without a bassinet. Right now, our flight set up is perfect. We love and miss you all!
Mom/Tammy
So, the social worker introduced us. There were two translators...one from his language and then one to translate that language to Amharic and then she translated to us in English. I got it all on video, but I'm not sure I'll ever watch it again. It will be for Ava. As soon as he saw her he yelled, "Kantale, Kantale, Kantale" and started kissing her hands. She cried. I handed her over immediately. He hugged her and cried. I lost it. I hugged grandfather. Gary cried. It was awful. The first question we asked was, "What would you like Kantale to know about you and her family." He replied, "That she comes from a Christian home. That her parents were well respected in the community, very sociable, and very happy." They were married for 13 years and mom was only 35 when she died of Malaria. Not sure how old dad was when he died. We told grandfather that we knew it was a hard choice, but that we believed God had a plan for Kantale. That He knew that plan before the earth was formed and that we would do everything we could to make sure she lives for Christ." He cried and said he believed, too, that God had a plan for her and that he was thankful she was with a Christian family. He loved the idea of Kantale having siblings. He loved the pictures. We hugged, took pictures, and left. Next stop...take Kantale to the guesthouse with her caregiver and start visiting orphanges.
I wish I were a good writer. This is where I get lost. How can I possibly explain what I saw? I can't start crying again because my eyes just now opened up. First government orphanage...boys ages 7-12. The government orphanges have no private sponsors to help run the place properly. Don't bring humanitarian aide. The biggest, strongest boys will simply take it from the younger ones. The director hands our aide evenly. A Gladney family started a farm for the boys to run.
Next, a government children's orphanges. Again, no private sponsors. I can't begin to write about it. Last, a girl's orphanage ages 7-12. On a beautiful compound donated by a queen many years ago. Huge mature trees. The girls shower outdoors. In the back was one building with toddlers and babies. Many, many toddlers and babies. Some special needs babies. Again, I can't write.
Landon, I hope you had a great tournament!!! I've been thinking about it because I've been thinking so much about you. Kennady, I can't not tell you how much I miss you! Ms. Tanya told me the news. I know you are in good hands! Carson, I know you're ready for us to come home. It's only a few more days. I think about you a lot!!! We're going souvenir shopping today to get you some surprises! Then we have dinner tonight at a special "Crater Lake" about an hour away! It's supposed to be the most beautiful point in Ethiopia!
We will not be coming home early. Because it is such a long flight, we do not want to be separated or without a bassinet. Right now, our flight set up is perfect. We love and miss you all!
Mom/Tammy
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Bitter Sweet Day
I MISS MY KIDS!!!! I WANNA COME HOME!!!
Bad news first...All of the flights are booked through the ENTIRE weekend. If we want to cancel our flight and book with Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines would keep 80% of our fee. Yikes. We are on a waiting list, so if there are any cancellations, we could get out of here earlier, but right now we have to keep our original flight, arriving home at 7:45 Tuesday evening. Kennady, Landon, and Carson...we have prayed and prayed together as a family about Ava's adoption for 15 months, right? So, God is in control. If we can't come home until Tuesday, God has a reason for it. So we are sad, but we are trusting God.
Good news next...Ava is a U.S. citizen. Our embassy appointment went very well. Travis and Joanna (his wife) went to each appointment with the 12 couples and walked us through everything. We learned that Ava can never again be an Ethiopian citizen. That kind of upset me because I don't feel we should be the ones to make that decision for her. When she gets older, she may want to return to Ethiopia (hopefully as a missionary :) If she does, she'll still be a U.S. citizen.
We began the day at the Holy Trinity Church. A replica of the Ark of the Covenant sits behind a red curtain, only to be opened by the priest on Sunday. Why that rule? In the Old Testament, no one but the priest was allowed to even see the Ark of the Covenant. Obviously, it wasn't Sunday, but we were asking Travis to please hold our cameras behind the red curtain, without opening it, and snap a few pictures. Priests were humming in Ge'ez (the root of Amharic like Latin is the root of English) in one corner of the church while Christians lined the pews praying, so Travis didn't think it was appropriate.
More bad news...Gary got sick from our Ethiopian traditional dinner tonight. You only get sick when you eat large portions of food that your body is not use to! I can't even begin to describe the flavor. We had to eat with our hands using this sour bread to grab the food. I had about three bites so as not to offend anyone. Gary thought he kind of liked it, so away he went! We got to see some traditional Ethiopian dancing. Interesting.
Ava's diarrhea must be gone. I hope. She slept 11 hours again last night and went down tonight at 6:30 when we left for dinner. She was wearing Old Navy pajamas when we left. When we got back to the guest house, her caregiver had put her in a thick blanket pajama suit and had her wrapped in a blanket with a blanket on top! She was sweating! Culturally, Ethiopians believe cold and wind will make their babies sick, so they keep them wrapped year round. Sounds like my mom! :) It was 80 degrees today and I saw several babies with hats on wrapped in big fuzzy blankets!
I will never forget the things I have seen here. Gary and I have been talking about the 2 million orphans and extreme poverty. There are government schools that all children are SUPPOSED to attend. Even if they graduate (and when they do they will be bilingual...Amharic and English), there are no jobs for them. After talking with several people, the root of the problem here is 1) WAY too many people...almost 6 million, and 2) no jobs. There are hundreds and hundreds of mud houses, shacks, or tents set up along the roads where people sell things. Fruits, shoes, coke, bread, etc just to try to make a little money. Everything is negotiable. No set prices. We'll learn more about this when we go souvenir shopping!
In the morning we meet Ava's grandfather. Hopefully he'll allow us to video. I'm nervous about that. How do you meet a grandfather who had to give up his daughter's daughter because he couldn't feed her? These families do not give up their children because they don't want them. They can't feed them. How can we help him understand that before the world began, God knew Kantale would be a Butler. He had a plan for her life. I just know, as I do for Kennady, Landon, and Carson, that Ava will make a difference for Christ. Not a Sunday pew warmer. Not a lukewarm Christian. Someone who will change the lives of others for Christ. Someone who will leave a void when she's gone. That's what I pray for my children. Nothing less.
One thing I have noticed about the children here...They are so incredibly happy. Mommas keep them close, holding their hands or carrying them on their backs. No strollers, no kids wondering around alone. Everyone holds hands. Men hold hands with other men or have their arms around each other. Women, too. The girls that work at our guest house always have their arms around one another or they are sitting on each other's laps. Another bitter sweet feeling. In some ways, I envy the Ethiopians. They seem to have the right frame of mind...people focused, hard workers, and content. If there were jobs here, they would be working hard. You can see them trying. Building mud homes, selling what they can, working in construction (there is a lot of road construction right now that has created more jobs.) Mules are packed down with cement blocks or bags of grain. Little ones following right behind! I haven't taken many pictures of this. They don't like to have their picture taken by Americans. I can understand.
Landon, in a few hours from me writing this, you will be in the archery tournament! I'm thinking about you. I can't wait to hear all about it! Carson, I know you miss us, and we miss you too. It won't be too long! Kennady, we love you. Have fun with Michaela. After this, you may not be spending the night with her for a while! :)
I'm tired. I love you all. Good night!
Tammy
Bad news first...All of the flights are booked through the ENTIRE weekend. If we want to cancel our flight and book with Ethiopian Airlines, Turkish Airlines would keep 80% of our fee. Yikes. We are on a waiting list, so if there are any cancellations, we could get out of here earlier, but right now we have to keep our original flight, arriving home at 7:45 Tuesday evening. Kennady, Landon, and Carson...we have prayed and prayed together as a family about Ava's adoption for 15 months, right? So, God is in control. If we can't come home until Tuesday, God has a reason for it. So we are sad, but we are trusting God.
Good news next...Ava is a U.S. citizen. Our embassy appointment went very well. Travis and Joanna (his wife) went to each appointment with the 12 couples and walked us through everything. We learned that Ava can never again be an Ethiopian citizen. That kind of upset me because I don't feel we should be the ones to make that decision for her. When she gets older, she may want to return to Ethiopia (hopefully as a missionary :) If she does, she'll still be a U.S. citizen.
We began the day at the Holy Trinity Church. A replica of the Ark of the Covenant sits behind a red curtain, only to be opened by the priest on Sunday. Why that rule? In the Old Testament, no one but the priest was allowed to even see the Ark of the Covenant. Obviously, it wasn't Sunday, but we were asking Travis to please hold our cameras behind the red curtain, without opening it, and snap a few pictures. Priests were humming in Ge'ez (the root of Amharic like Latin is the root of English) in one corner of the church while Christians lined the pews praying, so Travis didn't think it was appropriate.
More bad news...Gary got sick from our Ethiopian traditional dinner tonight. You only get sick when you eat large portions of food that your body is not use to! I can't even begin to describe the flavor. We had to eat with our hands using this sour bread to grab the food. I had about three bites so as not to offend anyone. Gary thought he kind of liked it, so away he went! We got to see some traditional Ethiopian dancing. Interesting.
Ava's diarrhea must be gone. I hope. She slept 11 hours again last night and went down tonight at 6:30 when we left for dinner. She was wearing Old Navy pajamas when we left. When we got back to the guest house, her caregiver had put her in a thick blanket pajama suit and had her wrapped in a blanket with a blanket on top! She was sweating! Culturally, Ethiopians believe cold and wind will make their babies sick, so they keep them wrapped year round. Sounds like my mom! :) It was 80 degrees today and I saw several babies with hats on wrapped in big fuzzy blankets!
I will never forget the things I have seen here. Gary and I have been talking about the 2 million orphans and extreme poverty. There are government schools that all children are SUPPOSED to attend. Even if they graduate (and when they do they will be bilingual...Amharic and English), there are no jobs for them. After talking with several people, the root of the problem here is 1) WAY too many people...almost 6 million, and 2) no jobs. There are hundreds and hundreds of mud houses, shacks, or tents set up along the roads where people sell things. Fruits, shoes, coke, bread, etc just to try to make a little money. Everything is negotiable. No set prices. We'll learn more about this when we go souvenir shopping!
In the morning we meet Ava's grandfather. Hopefully he'll allow us to video. I'm nervous about that. How do you meet a grandfather who had to give up his daughter's daughter because he couldn't feed her? These families do not give up their children because they don't want them. They can't feed them. How can we help him understand that before the world began, God knew Kantale would be a Butler. He had a plan for her life. I just know, as I do for Kennady, Landon, and Carson, that Ava will make a difference for Christ. Not a Sunday pew warmer. Not a lukewarm Christian. Someone who will change the lives of others for Christ. Someone who will leave a void when she's gone. That's what I pray for my children. Nothing less.
One thing I have noticed about the children here...They are so incredibly happy. Mommas keep them close, holding their hands or carrying them on their backs. No strollers, no kids wondering around alone. Everyone holds hands. Men hold hands with other men or have their arms around each other. Women, too. The girls that work at our guest house always have their arms around one another or they are sitting on each other's laps. Another bitter sweet feeling. In some ways, I envy the Ethiopians. They seem to have the right frame of mind...people focused, hard workers, and content. If there were jobs here, they would be working hard. You can see them trying. Building mud homes, selling what they can, working in construction (there is a lot of road construction right now that has created more jobs.) Mules are packed down with cement blocks or bags of grain. Little ones following right behind! I haven't taken many pictures of this. They don't like to have their picture taken by Americans. I can understand.
Landon, in a few hours from me writing this, you will be in the archery tournament! I'm thinking about you. I can't wait to hear all about it! Carson, I know you miss us, and we miss you too. It won't be too long! Kennady, we love you. Have fun with Michaela. After this, you may not be spending the night with her for a while! :)
I'm tired. I love you all. Good night!
Tammy
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Coffee Ceremony and Gladney Tour
Today was incredible. We got to meet all of Ava's caregivers and you could tell she was a favorite in the foster home. I'm surprised her cheeks aren't raw from all of the kisses she received. We gave her "special mother" a photo album of our family. The "special mothers" took their babies and dressed them in Ethiopian clothing. Then we all gathered in the living area while an Ethiopian woman roasted coffee beans and incense. (No, we didn't get high, although I DID need my inhaler afterward.) Then we drank coffee. Gary will be awake the rest of the trip.
We toured the three Gladney infant and toddler homes, but not the one for older children. We took pictures of babies and caregivers and even held the babies. There are many, many caregivers, all wearing white lab coats and pants. They take their job very seriously. Even when Ava had yet another bad diaper, the caregive insisted on changing her. It was comforting to see them interacting so well with the babies and how happy the babies were. There were about 6-8 babies per bedroom and 2-3 workers in each bedroom. Of the 114 children Gladney has in their care right now, 10 do not have assigned placements. Travis said this is because they fall between age groups 14-16 months. Many people ask for infants younger than 12 months and others ask for 18-24 months.
I kept thinking about the number of babies in the orphanages who do not have the caregivers that Ava had. I've heard there are dozens of babies for each caregiver. We'll get to see on Friday. THere is no way they are able to take care of the babies like they need to.
Ava saw the doctor again while we were on our visit. She is still having bad diarrhea. Her lab results came back as a possible bacterial infection, but she has already started an antibiotic for her ear infection. She acts fine, though. Gary started doing his famous "airplane with the bad motor," flying her around the room. She wasn't too sure about it. Even before the motor went out.
We had lunch with the Gladney staff at a really nice restaurant. I stayed safe with a salad and Gary had lasagna. Ethiopian food is very spicy and very oily. Our meals at the guest house have been great until tonight. Neither Gary nor I ate. We had Fitsum go get us a CHEESE pizza.
Tomorrow much of the day is without Ava. One of the caregivers is coming to our guest house while we go to the Holy Trinity Church and souvenir shopping. Thursday night is a traditional Ethiopian meal and dancing. Hmmm.
Kennady, Carson, and Landon...WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!! Can't wait for you to meet Ava. She's one lucky girl for having siblings like you. Carson, hope you're having fun with Papa, Granny, and Nana. Landon, if I can't get on the internet for some reason tomorrow, good luck at the archery tournament. I sure wish I could be there. Kennady, don't worry about your homework! Just have fun!!! We're bring home some cool looking money!
Love you all! Fitsum just arrived with our pizza! 55 birrs! (About $4.00). Very oily.
Tammy/Mom
We toured the three Gladney infant and toddler homes, but not the one for older children. We took pictures of babies and caregivers and even held the babies. There are many, many caregivers, all wearing white lab coats and pants. They take their job very seriously. Even when Ava had yet another bad diaper, the caregive insisted on changing her. It was comforting to see them interacting so well with the babies and how happy the babies were. There were about 6-8 babies per bedroom and 2-3 workers in each bedroom. Of the 114 children Gladney has in their care right now, 10 do not have assigned placements. Travis said this is because they fall between age groups 14-16 months. Many people ask for infants younger than 12 months and others ask for 18-24 months.
I kept thinking about the number of babies in the orphanages who do not have the caregivers that Ava had. I've heard there are dozens of babies for each caregiver. We'll get to see on Friday. THere is no way they are able to take care of the babies like they need to.
Ava saw the doctor again while we were on our visit. She is still having bad diarrhea. Her lab results came back as a possible bacterial infection, but she has already started an antibiotic for her ear infection. She acts fine, though. Gary started doing his famous "airplane with the bad motor," flying her around the room. She wasn't too sure about it. Even before the motor went out.
We had lunch with the Gladney staff at a really nice restaurant. I stayed safe with a salad and Gary had lasagna. Ethiopian food is very spicy and very oily. Our meals at the guest house have been great until tonight. Neither Gary nor I ate. We had Fitsum go get us a CHEESE pizza.
Tomorrow much of the day is without Ava. One of the caregivers is coming to our guest house while we go to the Holy Trinity Church and souvenir shopping. Thursday night is a traditional Ethiopian meal and dancing. Hmmm.
Kennady, Carson, and Landon...WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!! Can't wait for you to meet Ava. She's one lucky girl for having siblings like you. Carson, hope you're having fun with Papa, Granny, and Nana. Landon, if I can't get on the internet for some reason tomorrow, good luck at the archery tournament. I sure wish I could be there. Kennady, don't worry about your homework! Just have fun!!! We're bring home some cool looking money!
Love you all! Fitsum just arrived with our pizza! 55 birrs! (About $4.00). Very oily.
Tammy/Mom
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A Day in the Life of the Butlers...so similar, but so different
Hello, all!
Ava is sick. She had diarrhea once yesterday and three times this morning. We called Travis, who immediately called our driver, Fitsum, to come get us and take us to Gladney's full time doctor. She has a low grade fever, ear infection, and some sort of common intestinal virus. Our driver took us to a pharmacy where we got her antibiotic and prescription pedia-lite. She doesn't act sick. Very, very laid back. She slept 11 hours last night. Probably because of all of the stimulation she is not use to. And being sick. But she's eating okay and LOVES the pedia-lite. This part of the day was just like being at home! Sick kids! :)
Although the Gladney Center wasn't very far away, we spent 1 1/2 hours in the car. If there are traffic laws, they are not enforced. Bumper to bumper traffic and hundreds of people walking the streets AND walking in the middle of the streets. Fitsum just laid on his horn the entire time and made his own road, sometimes driving on the wrong side! Due to the smell of exhaust, the heat, car sickness, and the sight of extreme poverty, I wasn't feeling so good. I still don't. I'm still mixed up on my days and nights and I can't stop thinking about some of the things I have seen.
Fitsum drove the city looking for Coco-Cola Light (aka Diet Coke). He knows it's around here somewhere, but all we could find was RC Cola Light. I guess that rules out ever being a missionary in Ethiopia. I can deal with no Diet Dr. Pepper, but there's not even Diet Coke!
Landon and Carson...HIDE THE LEGOS...HIDE THE K-NEX. Ava wants it all!! Run, Remy, Run....She'll get you, too. She is quite the busy body. Wants EVERYTHING we have and grunts very loudy when she doesn't get it. She's getting use to the way we (especially Gary) plays. Grabbing her thighs, biting her toes...as soon as he stops, she begs for more. She had to get used to peek-a-boo. Scared her to death. And, she does NOT like the hair dryer. It's the first time she really cried!
Kennady, pull back your hair. She loves to yank. She's not use to long soft hair. I've lost several hairs the last few days.
Miss you all! Travis says there is a 99.9% chance she'll get her VISA Friday. I'm checking flight availability tonight for Friday night and Saturday morning flights out. That would put us back sometime Saturday. I'll let you know as soon as I can.
Love you!
Tammy/Mom :)
Hello, all!
Ava is sick. She had diarrhea once yesterday and three times this morning. We called Travis, who immediately called our driver, Fitsum, to come get us and take us to Gladney's full time doctor. She has a low grade fever, ear infection, and some sort of common intestinal virus. Our driver took us to a pharmacy where we got her antibiotic and prescription pedia-lite. She doesn't act sick. Very, very laid back. She slept 11 hours last night. Probably because of all of the stimulation she is not use to. And being sick. But she's eating okay and LOVES the pedia-lite. This part of the day was just like being at home! Sick kids! :)
Although the Gladney Center wasn't very far away, we spent 1 1/2 hours in the car. If there are traffic laws, they are not enforced. Bumper to bumper traffic and hundreds of people walking the streets AND walking in the middle of the streets. Fitsum just laid on his horn the entire time and made his own road, sometimes driving on the wrong side! Due to the smell of exhaust, the heat, car sickness, and the sight of extreme poverty, I wasn't feeling so good. I still don't. I'm still mixed up on my days and nights and I can't stop thinking about some of the things I have seen.
Fitsum drove the city looking for Coco-Cola Light (aka Diet Coke). He knows it's around here somewhere, but all we could find was RC Cola Light. I guess that rules out ever being a missionary in Ethiopia. I can deal with no Diet Dr. Pepper, but there's not even Diet Coke!
Landon and Carson...HIDE THE LEGOS...HIDE THE K-NEX. Ava wants it all!! Run, Remy, Run....She'll get you, too. She is quite the busy body. Wants EVERYTHING we have and grunts very loudy when she doesn't get it. She's getting use to the way we (especially Gary) plays. Grabbing her thighs, biting her toes...as soon as he stops, she begs for more. She had to get used to peek-a-boo. Scared her to death. And, she does NOT like the hair dryer. It's the first time she really cried!
Kennady, pull back your hair. She loves to yank. She's not use to long soft hair. I've lost several hairs the last few days.
Miss you all! Travis says there is a 99.9% chance she'll get her VISA Friday. I'm checking flight availability tonight for Friday night and Saturday morning flights out. That would put us back sometime Saturday. I'll let you know as soon as I can.
Love you!
Tammy/Mom :)
Monday, February 15, 2010
Well, it was incredible! Travis brought her at 1:30 pm our time. She cried when she met us because she had just woken up from being in the car for 2 hours and she was handed over to pure strangers...poor girl. But within minutes she began taking in all of the surroundings. She is more beautiful than her pictures. I'm not posting a picture just yet because we're having computer problems. I'll try later.
She says "ha-ja" over and over, and loves mocking us...sticking out her tongue to spit or wrinkling up her nose and breathing in and out really fast. We got one laugh/smile out of her.
We met her outside then brought her upstairs to our room when Travis left. We were ready for some big fun and she fell asleep within 10 minutes! I guess she feels comfortable. We've taken lots of cute pictures DESPITE the fact that my hairdryer blew up and our converter is smoking. No good hair day for me. Can't wait to post them, though. What a cutie.
We haven't left the guesthouse today. We decided to call our driver (it's 9:30) and ask him to get us something to eat, get Ava some socks, and me some Diet Coke. He's actually just sitting around waiting for us to call. Unfortunately, Ethiopia shuts down at dark. Hmmm. No SuperCenter. Just water. No Diet Dr. Pepper. And I'm still happy as can be. Kind of unfair...Gary has his fill of Ethiopian coffee...pretty stiff he says.
Kids, you are still at school right now, so this will be posted when you get to the Cobbs. Hope everything is going well. Please know we think about you ALL the time. We can't think about Ava without thinking about how much fun she's going to have with her awesome brothers and sister.
I'm pushing it, writing this much without the internet service going out. So I'm going to stop and post again to the kids, if it will let me.
Love you all. Thanks, Kyle, Tanya, Granny, Papa, and Nana for taking care of the kids. We know they're in good hands!
Tammy
She says "ha-ja" over and over, and loves mocking us...sticking out her tongue to spit or wrinkling up her nose and breathing in and out really fast. We got one laugh/smile out of her.
We met her outside then brought her upstairs to our room when Travis left. We were ready for some big fun and she fell asleep within 10 minutes! I guess she feels comfortable. We've taken lots of cute pictures DESPITE the fact that my hairdryer blew up and our converter is smoking. No good hair day for me. Can't wait to post them, though. What a cutie.
We haven't left the guesthouse today. We decided to call our driver (it's 9:30) and ask him to get us something to eat, get Ava some socks, and me some Diet Coke. He's actually just sitting around waiting for us to call. Unfortunately, Ethiopia shuts down at dark. Hmmm. No SuperCenter. Just water. No Diet Dr. Pepper. And I'm still happy as can be. Kind of unfair...Gary has his fill of Ethiopian coffee...pretty stiff he says.
Kids, you are still at school right now, so this will be posted when you get to the Cobbs. Hope everything is going well. Please know we think about you ALL the time. We can't think about Ava without thinking about how much fun she's going to have with her awesome brothers and sister.
I'm pushing it, writing this much without the internet service going out. So I'm going to stop and post again to the kids, if it will let me.
Love you all. Thanks, Kyle, Tanya, Granny, Papa, and Nana for taking care of the kids. We know they're in good hands!
Tammy
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