pictures!

Home Sweet Home

Well, this is news from a distant country!! While up quite early this morning with Blake and Jonathan who are suffering from nasty head colds, I realized that the blog had never been updated. And then a few hours later, my mother told me that some dear friends had emailed her wondering if we were still stranded in Ethiopia. I am quite sorry for our delinquency, however, it is an indicator of life around here lately. We ended up landing 48 hours later than originally planned, but were just so thankful to finally be home. I felt like kissing the runway in Detroit when we touched down on USA soil. The one huge blessing on our trip home was a youth group from North Carolina who had been in Ethiopia for 2 weeks. They were also stranded for the 2 nights in Addis as well as the night we spent in Frankfurt. They were a great group of young people, and were such a help and encouragement. I don't know what we would have done without them. While in Ethiopia we were unable to access the blog, and we were without electricity over half of our visit, so communication with home was even sketchy. We did take many photos, so I'm sure Jeff will be placing some on the blog.

Life on the homefront has had some great moments, but also many challenging ones. To begin with, we were physically and emotionally exhausted on our return home, and Jeff and I both ended up being under the weather for a few days. The girls in many ways are adjusting well. The communication and eating factors have not been as big of issues as we had anticipated. For that we are thankful. The little boys are proving to be great big brothers, and have introduced the girls to swinging, legos, the sand box, and biking. They have been patient teachers! Both girls have great smiles and giggles and both can be real teases! They will fit in well! We are having major challenges in the area of sleep. When we are able to get this issue resolved, I think we will all have a new outlook on life. Sleeping was not a problem at the guest house in Ethiopia, so it has something to do with the new transition.

We have given the girls some American/family names which we are adding to their given names. The oldest, Selame, is going to be AmySue Selame. We were told that she is 5, and I think that is fairly accurate. Amy is a name we really like, and Sue is after my aunt who passed away when I was only 7. I have such fond and wonderful memories of her. We go back and forth here at home with the names, but when we call her Selame, she always corrects us and says "AmySue." Debritu is going to be AnnaJoyce Debritu. Joyce is Jeff's mother who passed away 2 years ago this coming September, and Anna was Joyce's mother's first name. We were told that Debritu was 3, however, we have a 2 year old on our hands for sure. She is most definitely still a toddler who was given enormous amounts of love, attention, and affection in the toddler room of the orphanage. Both girls have upcoming medical/dental appts which will help us more accurately determine ages.

One major prayer request for next week would be that Erika is needing to be back at school by Wed the 26th. The girls have both really bonded to her, so this is going to be quite devastating to have her leave on Tuesday. Because of the distance, she might not be home until Thanksgiving.

Other news on the home front is that we celebrated Caleb's birthday yesterday. We are very thankful for his 11 years in our family. And also, Stewart will have just about completed his private pilot's license by the time he begins his senior year in high school in a little over a week. Yesterday marked his first cross country solo flight. Life is never dull around here!!

I am going to bring this blog to a close, but be assured that we will post pictures as life returns to normal (whatever that means). AmySue and AnnaJoyce are both going to be huge blessings in our home. We are so thankful for all your prayers and love shown, and we will continue to share the journey with you.

are we there yet?

This morning I was able to contact our travel agent. I learned that my family has confirmed seats on a flight leaving Ethiopia at 2:10am (which is 7:10am EST). Lord willing, we will be picking them up at the aiport tomorrow late afternoon/early evening. Please pray continue to lift them up in prayer. They are exhausted and ready to be home. Thank you for your prayers!

urgent prayer request

This morning my mom called with the news that they are stuck in Ethiopia as their flight home was cancelled due to maintenance issues. We had been eagerly anticipating their arrival home tonight, and this news is quite discouraging! Please keep my family in your prayers. My parents have no idea when they will be able to get a flight home. Currently they are in a hotel waiting to hear from the airlines. I will keep the blog updated...

Erika

news from Ethiopia

My parents have been unable to update the blog more because of internet difficulties, so I thought I would send out a quick update. We have had a little bit of email contact with my parents every day, and it sounds like things are going well! They have had the girls since Sunday, and they are loving them! We are looking forward to hearing all about their time! Here at home things are going well. The boys and I have been getting along, and having fun times with Grandpa and Grandma! Please continue to pray for our family in Ethiopia.

Erika

Are you CRAZY??!!

Are you CRAZY??!!

It was an honest question. Several months ago I had explained to Bill (a coworker) what it was that we were doing. He looked me straight in the eye, shook his head, and asked this penetrating question. I have replayed it often in my mind.

Last night we arrived in Addis Ababa. Door to door, the total travel time was about 27 hours. Everything went smoothly from a travel standpoint, and we were justifiably exhausted. All the way here I kept thinking..."I can't believe this is happening." Our gracious and kind hosts greeted us at the airport, and gave us fresh, new photos of our girls. What a change from the first photos we received! It would appear that Selame and Debritu have blossomed in the last few months at the orphanage. Our already full hearts exploded at the sight of their big, bright brown eyes and huge smiles. Today we are looking forward to attending the international church. After lunch, the plan is to meet our girls--in person--for the first time. The anticipation of this event is beyond explanation.

If this is what it's like to be crazy, count me in!

Jeff

And they're off!

This is Blake, Jonathan, Stewart, and Erika reporting live. Earlier today Dad, Mom, Abigail, and Caleb began their 24-hour trek to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Back on the home front, we are enjoying fun times with Grandpa and Grandma. We plan to keep you updated with the latest news from Africa, so stay tuned!