You and Me Go Fishin...

Gave Tariku another first...fishing. It was great, though he was scared poopless of fish. He liked pretending but wanted nothing to do with the real thing. Zach went and bought all 3 kids a little package that had sunglasses, a fishing pole, and a tackle box. Trysten got Transformers (of course), Tariku got Cars (of course), Dailah got Barbie (of course), I got a purple one (of course).

Here are some pics because their cuteness speaks much louder than my attempt at cute words.

Tariku pretending to cast. He ended up losing 2 fishing lines and 2 bobbers. NIIIICE.



A fish that Zach caught but Tariku wanted to pretend was his. Wouldn't let it get any closer.



I mean, really.



I caught the first fish and it was pretty exciting. My pole was THE pole this time around, caught the most fish. By the way, mom, your generosity on mom's day paid for this hair cut. AND that fish was bigger in real life than it looks. Teehee.



Trysten casting, pretty good form.



First fish for Tman, could he be anymore excited?



Again with the fish.



Just a couple of brothers contemplating life, love and why fish are "so nasty" according to Trysten.



Look at that cute little fish. Sorry daddy, mommy's got game tonight.



Dailah casting, good form, poor patience (wonder where she gets that from...)



How many 22 month olds do you know who get put in timeout at a place like this and just sit there? Crazy.



Had to add this because it's too cute. Doozie in her toddler bed.


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Prayers

Firstly, Jody's kids are in desperate need of prayer. Please pray/send out good thoughts for them as their adoption is certainly running a course where there are unthinkable possibilities at the end.

Also, please go here and read about how the drought in Ethiopia is affecting the children. The area they are talking about in this article is VERY close to where our Tariku is from. In America we cannot fathom what this might be like. Even having been there, I have no idea what it would feel like to see your children slowly dying in front of you. There are no food shelters or YMCAs there to take care of these kids (not in the south anyway) and the entire thing is just tragic. Last night as we got a thunderstorm with torrential downpours I couldn't help but look at the overflowing Mississippi with a little bit of animosity. There is no reason that rain isn't going over there. Please, God let it get over there!

I Believe

So for book club we read a book called, "I Believe....(somethin, somethin, somethin)." Can't remember it all, but it was a collection of essays that was a feature on NPR as well as a number of places. It was just people writing in talking about what they believe in. Some were funny, some inspirational (I particularly liked, "I believe in chocolate" because only a fool would disagree). So we book clubers, being the really smart, awesome women we are, decided we should write our own. We're going to read them tonight in front of the rest of the club but I thought I'd post mine for my blog club. :)

I Believe in the Power of Presence

Job was a man whose suffering was intense; in a short space of time, he lost his children, his wealth, and his health. His bitter wife provided him no comfort; instead, she prodded him to “curse God and die”. Comfort arrived when three of his friends showed up: “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.” (Job 2:13)

The Bible later goes on to say that once his friends started talking and trying to soothe him, Job became even more distressed. Sometimes words are not enough to break the ugliness of suffering.

In my times of suffering: deaths, miscarriage, adoption, and just random valleys I have found hope only in the presence of my loved ones. Those same loved ones do really nice things for me as well; clean my house, make us food, paint our house, give us clothes, make us coffee. I appreciate those things immensely but I value so much their time and their sacrifice for just being there with me.

Time is definitely one of this world’s most valuable resources. No one has enough of it and it’s constantly slipping between our fingers. There are never enough hours in the day for me to get all the things I want to get done. It is the knowledge of this that makes me believe that for someone to sit with me while I figure things out or have a good cry, they are truly sacrificing a great deal for me.

It’s common knowledge that we all have different love languages. So I was surprised when I met a special person in Ethiopia who told me that us being there meant the world to him. It wasn’t what we said, it wasn’t the donations we brought or the medications. Our presence, our time, our hand resting on his; he was so very thankful for that.

It made me realize that perhaps it is somewhat of a universal love language, this valuable thing we call time. Whether Ethiopian or American, man or woman, God or human, dog or cat; we all seem to long for someone to love us enough to be there. Love us enough to cut out just a few minutes of our precious days to show up. We don’t need comforting words or presents, we don’t even need philosophical or theological reasons for what we’re going through. Sometimes, we just simply need each other’s presence.

He's BAAAAAACK

Zach made it back. We're a family again and it feels great. One reminder of why I missed him? He just took Trysten grocery shopping while the other two nap so I can nap. MMM, I love him.

Dailah fell asleep...in her toddler bed. So sad, she didn't even blink twice at the bed before she crawled in it, turned over and dismissed us out of her room to take her afternoon nap. Hilarious.

Here are some pictures just because they're fun people.









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Grocery Shopping

We went shopping last night in preparation for operation a-weekend-without-daddy. This is what we came home with.




Contents:
2 bottles of wine
apple juice
waffles
pizza rolls (a box and a bag)
cream cheese
cinnamon rolls
lunch meat
movie...27 dresses
toaster strudel
hot dogs
12 pack of pop (which I don't even really drink!)

And I call myself a personal trainer. Pfff!

Crap....Literally

So Dailah is sick. She's had the big "D" and vomit coming out like it's her business. This is the longest we've went without some sort of explosiveness...and it's been 1 hour and 45 minutes. She's had 2 baths since about 2 am. She's running a slight fever but nothing too alarming. Gross. Poor thing just sits on my lap and leans her head on my shoulder. If she wasn't so sick I'd rather enjoy it, but I feel bad for her.

Other than that, we're doing well. I rented the very essence of a chick flick last night in 27 Dresses and enjoyed not being hounded for my poor taste in movies. :)

Here's hoping a few things: 1) Dailah gets feeling better fast and 2) no one else gets it.

Single Mommin' It

So Zach is gone this weekend to a camping trip. Thankfully he left one of his shotguns lest anyone get any ideas while he's gone. :)

I normally wouldn't mind that he's going, in fact, I'd be downright happy for him. BUT camp starts in 2 weeks. There's just one weekend after this where I'll have a husband and the kids will have a father. After that, he's gone from sunup to sundown (and beyond) every night.

We knew this going into it and for all the perks of his job, I don't mind 3 out of the 12 months of this but it doesn't make it any easier. So I was struggling putting on my happy face while he trucked out with some dudes this weekend. But I'm sucking it up and pulled out all of our summer toys for the kids, even reassembling a few myself (shock!).

On the plus side, he left the computer this time. :) So I'm sure you'll hear a lot from me.

On another lighter note, he's on a local TV show in about a half hour. You'll find him chatting with a woman, undoubtedly being charming as ever.

And here I'll sit. Unshowered, in my pajamas (I did get up and go to the Y today but haven't found time to shower since, I know...oversharing) and eating chips and dip. The life of a single, stay-at-home mom has MANY MANY MANY perks, but today it's very unglamorous and I feel quite sorry for myself for it.

To all the bonafide single mothers, I salute you!

Emotional

I'm emotional today for unknown reasons. Jody's fight for her kids is reaching a critical point and all day today I'm reminded of being in that position just a few short months ago (though hers is a bit tougher as it's been much longer) and I know there seems to be no end to the darkness.

Then I get a card from my sister. Nothing real special about it....
Happy Mother's Day Sis

(on inside)
great sister...
great friend...
great mom...

You really put your heart into everyone you love.

(Her message, scribbled in her Doctor's script)
Sis, I thought this card was pretty perfect.

This may not seem out of the ordinary but it came from a gal who still hugs with just her chest up and rarely cries (basically, I got all the emotions in the family).

So it was perfect. I love her, I love Jody and right now I'm just emotional for two of my favorite gals in all the world.

'Cuz This is Ladies Night!

Ladies Night last night. Jody and Leslie and myself went to a great restaurant downtown and stayed chatting for 3 hours. The "waterboy" kept coming up asking us what kind of lives we had that we didn't want to go home. I commented that we had 30 kids between us (not quite, but 11 kids is A LOT for 3, young, beautiful women such as ourselves). He seemed to get REALLY scared about that.

Our post-placement report went well. Tariku forgot to mention the fact that I was the best mom but he was his normal adorable self and so we passed with flying colors. She even commented on how he seems to be bonded so well and I must admit that it's true. We are forever impressed with his ability to love us regardless of how many times I mess up. He's starting to give kisses and "I love yous" without any prompting and he allows himself to melt into my arms when he gets hurt or is sad. No more rigidness for this kid.

Trysten is just getting bigger and bigger right in front of my eyes. During "rest time" (the other kids' nap time) he likes to "work" and often writes stories (I can actually read them decently as he sounds it all out and writes what he thinks, mostly leaves out vowels) and reads books. He drops words like, "obviously" and "delicious" or even "substantial". Trysten also has natural abilities in math (which he must get from his father) and loves telling me what 5+4 equals and things like that. I am constantly enlightened and pleased with our conversations and it seems I don't have to go too far for "adult conversation".

Dailah is actually getting more, and more, and more verbal as well. She just started saying "I wuv oo" which would obviously melt the coldest of hearts. She also enjoys pooping on the potty and we're told often that we could potty train her now. Too bad we're still just too lazy. Besides, as of right now, she only tells us she has to pee after it's happened so we'll wait a bit longer. :) She'll be two at the end of July so we have some time, I'm not in too big of a hurry. One of my favorite things she does right now is to say "poo wee" when I'm changing her diapers. I also love how she calls Trysten "TT" and Tariku "T2". I really do think she'll be a comedienne as she LOVES making her brothers (or anyone else for that matter) laugh and has figured out how to make people laugh quite well. She's a little sponge and will at least attempt any word you try to get her to say. But, above all, she is best at saying, "no".

I realized I've been talking about Tariku a lot (which makes sense since we just brought him home and a lot of my readers are fellow adoptive parents hanging on every word, imagining their lives once their little ones come home) but I'd be remiss not to mention the other two who are doing very well with the whole thing as well. There was a 50/50 chance that, by adopting, we were going to screw up their lives as well and I'm happy to report that as of right now we're all doing swimmingly and I realize a lot of that has to do with my children's respective personalities. Whew, how blessed I am.

Oofta

I just watched "A Walk to Beautiful" on WQPT. It was about women in Ethiopia and the Fistula epidemic. It was emotionally wrenching. Talking about this silent epidemic that is hitting women throughout rural Ethiopia. Go here for more information. It's hard to wrap my head around it to be quite honest. With both of my births, I was in the hospital, got an IV, delivered within 8 hours of going into labor. There was a lot of structure and not too much surprise. I know some choose home births, etc, but after watching this program I was so very thankful for the options we take for granted in the land of the free. I just kept thinking about Tariku's mom who probably had him on the floor of their hut with no help. Scared and laboring with many other things on her mind. So thankful it turned out okay for her (at that time, anyway). I'm just spontaneous enough to go get my doctorate in gynecology and head to the South of Ethiopia where most of these women are affected. Anyone got a couple "Gs" I can borrow to get my doctorate...oh and that whole "time" bit, if I could borrow a few years that'd be great too.

Also, please pray for my friend Andrea whose son (waiting for her in Ethiopia) is VERY sick. Please, please pray that God pulls one of those miracles He alone is capable and heals him. If that's not in the cards, please pray for the little guy to be without pain. Oh God, sometimes the brokeness of this world is just too hard.

I am a pretty happy person but sometimes even I find it hard to see the good in situations. So no funnies here, my apologies.

Tri-lingual at 3?

One month home...that's just hard to believe. Tariku has done so remarkably well, I literally couldn't have written a better beginning to this story of ours.

Did you know this kid can speak English? He hit some sort of turning point this morning and now says complete sentences and phrases. It's quite remarkable. 4 years of French only got me to remember how to say fish, yes please, my name is and I need chocolate and wine. He's a genius, I KNEW it. But truly, I am just so proud of him.

Had a wonderful Mother's day that started with the opening of a gift certificate for a 90 minute massage (Tarah why don't you live closer?) I LOVE massages but it's something I never buy myself so I was greatly pleased with that present. I think Zach's just thankful he won't get asked for a back rub for a few days now.

Had a very productive day today. After training a few clients, we went to get the car estimated finally (only a few months after the accident) then went to Hy Vee to stock up on milk, bread and peanut butter. After all this accomplishing I talked myself into buying fried chicken, mashed potatoes, veggies and...OREO FLUFF!!!!!!!!!

I was first introduced to oreo fluff by the Klipschs. They could purchase 4lbs of it and hammer it down in a single night. Turns out Tariku could keep pace with that as he was quite comfortable stuffing his mouth with it as well. I was particularly proud of Dailah, as she was just as proficient with the fried chicken as she was with the fluff. Love a girl who knows her way around a chicken bone.

Wednesday morning brings our social worker for our first post placement report. In that time I need to restock the pantry, clean, do some laundry, do something cool with Tariku's hair and teach him to say, "My mommy's so great she should teach all other mommy's how to be so good!" Truth be told I'm most nervous about completing the cleaning.

May 30th....Sex and the City movie....who's in?

Happy Mom's Day

What a great day. Woke up to go to church. Had a great service while there. Then went off to brunch with the in-laws and a few family friends. Came home to get in a good nap (mmmm, naps) and am now bonding with the hubs while the kiddos are tucked tight in their beds. I love being a mom.

Weird today that I have such mixed emotions, emotions I wasn't necessarily prepared for. I'm thinking A LOT of Tariku's mommy. I have this picture in my head of her, though I have no idea what she looks like, never met her, have no idea how she smiles or cries. But with as much love for life as Tariku has, I picture he had to have gotten it from his mom. In the Ethiopian culture the child rearing falls to the mother and so I can't help but imagine he was taught to love life and laugh often from his mommy.

I'm just wishing that she got to see him today. I'm wishing she got to get a mother's day hug from him and I wish she got to see him dance in the car today. Today, more than any of my 5 mother's days, I have some DEEP gratitude for being a mom. Not only a mom to Trysten and Dailah, but a mom to Tariku who I did nothing to deserve but was blessed with anyway.

Sometimes I imagine Tariku's mommy and myself meeting in heaven. There won't be any translators, it will be the two of us sipping Ethiopian coffee laughing at all the funny things Tariku did in life. We'll be holding hands and sitting in a comfortable presence that mothers often do because we already know the secret to a happy life. We'll watch Tariku playing with all of his brothers and sisters and I won't need to say thank you because she'll be able to see I was thankful every day of my life with the way I raised him. She'll see my thankfullness in the man he became. We'll just sit, bonded in our mothering of the same boy that God blessed us both with.

I really can't wait for that day to happen, especially on a day like today. I am so thankful to her for doing such an amazing job in Tariku's first few years and for raising him to be such a delightful little boy. Though I have the reins now, the reins still look and smell like her and I'll do my best to keep it that way. What a delightful mothers day gift I was given.

Other than those incredibly joyous feelings :) I have deep gratitude for my mommy who also raised me quite well if I must say so myself. The mom who I'm quickly becoming like and haven't tried stopping it more than once or twice. Interestingly I was also thinking about all the things I had promised myself I would never do to my kids that she once did to us and I've absolutely done every single one. That's when you know you have a great mom, I think. So thanks for being the best example and a truly loving, beautiful, fun-loving person.

So Happy Mother's Day to everyone out there who is lucky enough to call themselves by that name. May we wear our mom badge's (but not jeans) proudly today!

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Oh, and for those demanding a new family pic, anytime I try to upload one out here at camp it takes too long so I just need to do it when in town. It's coming, I promise!

Too Many to Choose

We just got home from a wedding. I couldn't wait to post these pics and was trying to narrow it down but there were literally too many to choose from. This might be quite a few posts.

P.S.

Jody is doing a pretty awesome thing on her blog. To raise the last bit of funds for her kids, she's having an online auction. Go check it out, the cute purses I mentioned in an earlier blog are back but with goodies inside that you can bid on. Believe me, I want everything!

Does it get any better than giving money to a good cause and getting goodies in return? Me thinks not!

Bikes and Bikes!

My boys love the bike. So the other day we went to the bike path in Davenport complete with the whole fam, one bike, one wagon and one 120 lb lab. It was a lot of fun. Trysten is so weary of anything new. He wanted me to have a continuous hold on his bike/shirt so that he wouldn't tip over, much to Zach's dismay. He took some getting used to it and never really went downhill, just rode the break the whole time.

Then it was Tariku's turn. I kept putting my hand on the bike downhill and he kept brushing it off, "No thanks, mommy." And off he'd go with me hobbling behind him. It was pretty amazing.

Then Trysten decided he was brave too. :) It will be very interesting to see how those different personalities take shape as the kids get older.

The Dutchess, as I'm sure you can guess, was just fine sitting and sunning in the wagon munching snacks and enjoying the scene.

Oh, and Zach is the master of rigging up various things in our house to make daily life a little easier. So he tried this harness, leash thing with Aristotle (our dog) pulling the kids but also attaching around his waist. This made for little to no effort on his part...in theory. He didn't take various control issues into account like the fact that there were 400 dogs on the path and Stotle wanted none of walking in a straight line to pull 2 kids in a wagon. So most of the time Zach was just ticked at the dog and pulling him, fixing the rigging device, cussing, yelling at Stotle, etc, etc. I took quite a few pictures but Zach wasn't really happy about it so none of those. :)

A Night Off

I'm off tonight. As a mostly stay-at-home mom we don't really get vacation days do we? We don't get time off for years of service or sick days. We get 24/7 365 full time work and work it is! So tonight is my night off. No cooking, no cleaning, no baths, no bedtime stories or prayers just off. I figure since I'll be reminded of all the joys of motherhood on Sunday I should try to slip out and see if I still have "it".

So I took a shower. A long shower, with no heads peaking around the corner, no inquisitive eyes looking places. A long, hot shower all by myself. I got dressed in my non-mom-jeans jeans, put on some jewelry (no toddlers trying to steal it!), heels (no kids to chase after) and walked out the door WITHOUT picking up first (the horror!).

I went the long way to Jimmy Johns (my favorite sub place) because there were no kids in the backseat encouraging me to get where we need to go quickly. I ate my sub by myself without cutting anything or wiping anything. I stopped by a karoke bar (okay not really, but I did put in my Regina Spektor CD and sing REALLY loud so it's kind of the same) and then went to Borders where I currently am.

I've perused every shelf, weighed my options for mother's day presents (is there a better gift than books?) and now sit to blog with no greasy fingers touching screen or keyboard. In just an hour or so I'll hit up a movie (probably Baby Mama because it's all about women tonight and who doesn't love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler?).

I love being a mom, I really do; but sometimes I wonder if I can still go incognito. I wonder if I can go out in this world without my mom badge and not be blaringly obvious. Do I look like an imposter sitting here with little to do (comparatively)?

I like to think I can still go places sans kids and get accused of being a woman in the land of singledom. Though I would not wish that upon myself in a million years, it's still so interesting to wonder.

And lest you think I'm hankering for a life with no husband or kids, all you must do is take a gander in my purse. The present contents are: a love note to Zach, 2 pacifiers, a baggie of goldfish, 26 pictures of the kids, coupons (that needs no further explanation), a billfold with 12 pictures of the kids. And other things that give me away? Bags under the eyes, stretch marks on the belly, ring I proudly wear on my finger, wrinkles, 6-month-old dye job, split ends and lingering looks at kids (kind of creepy but true nonetheless).

Highlights

Some highlights from our time in Des Moines.

The 'Rents

So me and the three amigos packed up and headed to my parents house last night. We're only here until tomorrow but are able to see my cousin who is in from Alabama tonight so I'm excited for that! Here are a few reasons I like being at the 'rents, in no particular order.

1) Cake brownies. Zach likes fudgie brownies so that's all we ever have at home. Zach doesn't like cake much but loves fudgie brownies. I like cake. When we come to my parents house sans Zach I get cake brownies and they are deeelicious (when I come with Zach, he still somehow gets his brownies and eats them too...get it).

2) They genuinely enjoy seeing us. That sounds silly but whether it's been a day or a month they tell us they've missed us and seem to mean it.

3) Cable TV. I'm not going to lie to you, I was a little gunshy this morning when I went to try to find the Today Show. Since we only have 4 channels out at camp (well really just one, the others are a bit fuzzy) I had the darndest time finding the right channel. The good news is I found 500 other channels I'll peruse after this blog while the kids are down for naps.

4) Chocolate. My parents have always had candy laying everywhere. For some reason when I was younger I rarely partook and now I can't stay away from the stuff. I hid the candy basket "from Dailah" in hopes that I wouldn't be tempted by it either but no such luck. There is very little that could seperate me and my Butterfingers.

5) Good food. My mom is a great cook and she's always doing it and I'm always eating it and always smiling. I'm starting to sense a theme here...

6) New toys. The kids have a land of toys they haven't seen in awhile here so there's more playing, less fighting and even less asking mom what else we could pretend that toy is used for. Ahhh, sweet.

7) Seeing my brother. Tonight we'll get to see him waiting tables at a local restaurant. That will be so very interesting.

8) Target. It's close by instead of 25 minutes away. Already been once, will probably go again.

9) Spending some QT with the 'rents. Since we live a couple hours away it seems like we're always meeting halfway for the day to say hi. Intense bonding happens right here in their home and I love it.

Off to sneak another frosted cake brownie and see what kind of mischief I can find on this little thing they call "cable".

Just Weird

So we live at camp..in a house..on site. Today we were getting home around 12:30 from the Y. Upon entering our driveway I see random people on our front porch. As I get closer to the house I see they are playing Zach's guitars (One of which is 100 years old) which is not only odd, but just impossible as he makes people sign their lives away before they can touch them.

So I walk up and they say, "Is this your house?" "Um, yes, obviously." So camp had a group out and these 3 adults were the bus drivers who trespassed into our house, got out Zach's guitars and proceeded to play them on our front porch. When I asked in what world they thought that would be okay, they said when they went to camp (30 some years ago) this building was a commons area.

Now, pre-renovations I could understand the confusion. BUT post-renovations they would've seen our wedding pictures, pictures of the kids, a toy room, couches and a TV before getting to the guitars. Do I look like I was born yesterday? (Relatively speaking, I was born yesterday but I'm smarter than I look). Isn't that just weird? So we're putting up a private residence sign with Zach flexing and a little bubble making him sound very life-threatening.

Now that's just crazy, I don't care who you are. As if that wasn't odd enough, even after I lectured them on the laws of trespassing they had the audacity to try and sit on my front porch just shootin the shit. No shit will be shot my friends, tally ho off this front porch before I pump your tookasses right off here.

Jeesch. I may sound all cool and everything but I was scared poopless. I walked around our house for a good hour making sure nothing was taken (it wasn't) and that there weren't surprise bombs (there aren't) or surprises puddles of urine (there were but I'm fairly certain that was compliments of my newest son pre-break-in).

Moral to the story, lock your doors even when hubby is on grounds and look intimidating no matter your age.

Sarah Ferguson's Got Nothin on This Gal

Just a quick montage for this Tuesday morn.

More and More

And more pictures...

The first picture is of the cousins. Oliver, Trysten, Tariku, Dailah and Eli. All Klipschs, all beautiful.

Then it's just more cuteness really. And don't I look like an amazing mom getting a picture of all 3 kids reading during "read time" which typically (by typically I mean sometimes and by sometimes I mean rarely) falls after baths and before bed.

Pictures

So I'm wondering if People magazine ever saw these kids...if they did, I'm fairly certain they would make the Most Beautiful People list every year...but I may be a bit partial.

These pictures are of my two eldest climbing the Alpine Tower the other day. They are the two youngest climbers on it yet and loved every single minute! Dailah gave it a go for two steps with her daddy's full support. She truly wanted to go further but we had to had to draw the line of safety somewhere.

So few words tonight because Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters is on and I know you all are only here for pictures. :) Yippee!

Interesting Perspective

So if you'll notice in my comments from the last post, a blog stranger left me an interesting comment. Apparently not everyone loves everything I say like my mom, who would've thunk that?

I kept it there (after, admittedly, thinking about deleting it) as a reminder of what I believe. Overall, I believe in the power of one. It's the reason I'll vote come November, the reason I pray, the reason I love and so much more. I believe the power and passion of one person can compel 20, which can become 100 then 1,000 and so on (either for good, i.e. Jesus or bad, i.e. Hitler).

So perhaps my last post came off a bit soap boxy but that's fine with me as that was not my intention and since this blog is not really for you all (I know, shocking) but more selfishly for me and mine, I'm okay with interpretations.

I just had to comment to my new interested, stranger blog friend person that I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to question my intentions. My intentions, as always, are to be a little more like Jesus every day and every day I fall short of that but every once in awhile (typically one in every 4,000 minutes or so) I get ever so close. I don't think my thoughts and prayers for Ethiopia are too far from that.

Quite frankly I'm not entirely convinced Ethiopia will be affected by little ole' me but I'm certainly convinced me storming the gates of heaven in prayer for Ethiopia can do a whole hell of a lot. Because that God of ours can change the course of Ethiopia in ways I never thought possible.

So here here to the power of one and let that One be the One to bring Ethiopia to the glory it deserves.

(And in true humanly spirit...how do you like them apples?)

Got Ethiopia On My Mind

LOTS of people ask me what I took from Ethiopia, not literally but ideas, knowledge, etc.

That's a really tough question to answer. I really think there was a Tesi before Ethiopia and a Tesi after Ethiopia. My personality hasn't really changed much (except I like to think I'm more compassionate towards people and their situations) but certainly the way I think of my place in the world and the world in general is different. It's not something we can learn on the sidelines, it's one of those where you just have to be there. In some ways it's both the world's saddest inside joke and most ironic.

It's so fascinating how many comments we get about our adoption being a "good thing to do". This says nothing towards the person saying it, except for perhaps they just don't know us all that well. Zach and I are human, that's why I can say this adoption was purely selfish. Even though we are certain God called us to adopt, we are also certain we did not save Tariku. Truth be told the care center he was in was a very loving, comfortable, beautiful environment. It doesn't make up for a family but it was a lot better than a lot of families kids have to live in these days. I dare say in many ways our adoption of Tariku saved me. I'm certain God called us to do this because of what we would get out of it as well. For all intents and purposes I think God was kind of killing two birds with one stone with us. Sure Tariku could've used a family and we could've used a child but certainly it was more than that.

So with that said, I also cannot erase Ethiopia from my mind (not that I want to necessarily but it is SO PRESENT). When I'm in the car, I think of that special person we were able to meet on Sunday. When I see a food market I think of the Merkato, when I see an African person I think of Ethiopia. I think of Ethiopia when I drink coffee and when I eat a really large meal. I think of Ethiopia when I wear my scarf or look down at my arm. I think of it ALL the time. And I know God's doing it for a reason.

I finished Kay Warren's book, Dangerous Surrender. She has a chapter on becoming gloriously ruined, which is to say seeing the world through the eyes of the "lesser of these". The ones Jesus so obviously has a huge heart for. There are a few points in this chapter that reminded me of why God called us specifically to Ethiopia, though perhaps it will mean something entirely different to you.

"You don't have to go to Africa to prove that you're seriously disturbed and gloriously ruined. That's where dangerous surrender to God led me, but it's not a litmus test of the depth of your obedience to God. What is a litmus test of your surrender and obedience to God is how you treat the least among us."

Love this one..."As long as suffering people are a mere statistic to you, you will never become ruined for life as you know it. When suffering becomes personal--with faces and names--and when you hear their stories, you won't be able to remain disconnected."

And this one is what I'm dealing with now.."It takes time--weeks, even months--to settle into a new equilibrium that allow you to feel the pain and sorrow of our world without being overwhelmed by it."

I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I'm a gloriously ruined by knowing Ethiopia. And in knowing Ethiopia, I know many other nations in the same situations. I've said it before, Ethiopia is so beautiful and it CANNOT be pity we feel towards the country. The fact of the matter is there are people starving there, this cannot be ignored even when they are some of the most beautiful people on this planet. There are crimes against humanity there, this cannot be ignored even when I only saw goodness in their people. Recognizing the ways we might be able to help Ethiopia does not negate the awesomeness of the country.

I just had to put this all down. I haven't slept much wondering how in the world I will be used for this country. I'm both excited and terrified to see what's in store but I love this country with so much depth and passion I know I'll answer "yes" to whatever I'm called to do.

You NEED This

So my dear friend Jody, who I've mentioned one maybe two times should be heading to Sierra Leone to pick up her twins any day now. We are so very excited for her. The problem is, as many of us adoptive parents have found, travel is always so much more expensive than we originally thought it might be. This will be Jody and Andy's second time going over there but this time they are obviously bringing back 2 more! So...we're helping out and you can too.

I posted a picture of the bags we are making. Can you believe how cute it is? And all for the low price of $50. The bag pictured is mine, all mine and I use it all the time. Heading to the shower? It's on me. Heading to the bathroom? There it is. All the time because you just never know when some weirdo will have a camera stalking you and perhaps he needs a bag with the outline of Africa on it.

So there it is. We are, at this time, doing just Africa. We'll put the heart anywhere you like. So even if you're not adopting from a specific country but are particularly troubled with the happenings in Darfur, you can request a heart there. If you don't necessarily have a country to specify, we'll put Sierra Leone on it as we are all hoping and praying this country opens it's borders more widely for adoption (and because this wore torn country needs more prayers and attention!)

SO, if you would like one (and who wouldn't?) go to Jody's blog and click on the sidebar, there is a place to order one. You can also follow their adoption through that and see that they are genuinely good, funny, beautiful people and worth every cent. So dear blogger friends, let's blow this blogosphere up with support for this amazing family and this truly perfect bag. If you have any questions or concerns you can also comment here and/or email me. Thanks in advance. Much love, much, much love.