Christmas Letter 2012

Yep, I cheated. completely. Instead of a beautifully written Christmas letter on holiday themed stationary you get this. However, considering that the choices were no letter at all or this I think this is an acceptable compromise. I will start off with a yearly recap and then catch you up on how the boys are doing.

Just short of a year ago, Karl's and my life changed in the most frustratingly and amazing way. First let me explain. Just short of one year ago, we saw pictures of two little boys in Ethiopia who were looking for a family. The oldest, Ajura, is five, his name means "don't worry about me." He has a shy, hesitant smile, but even with that smile his dimples sneak out. Ahmi has just turned three. He always has his shoes on the wrong feet (still does) and a runny nose. All we really know about the boys is they are from Gambella, Ethiopia which is on the border of Sudan. The boys will be very dark skinned, tall, and will sweat a lot (Ajura most certainly does). We knew they were the boys we were searching for. We accepted the referral and then were told to expect to go to court in March and bring the boys home in May. Very funny. We watied and waited and waited to receive a court date. Finally, beginning of May, I received a phone call in the OR as I was just finishing a case. We had a court date on May 31st! We had to plan a trip to Africa in just a few short weeks. While waiting in the airport to leave Bismarck we realized we would be meeting our son for the first time on his sixth birthday! Meeting the boys and holding them was such an overwhelming and surreal experience and we were able to share this time with another family, the Rackaways, whom have become very special to us over this last year. Five short days after holding them in our arms for the first time we had to leave them in Africa while we headed home. Again we were told to expect to pick them up the end of July. Sure. We finally received the ok from the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia to bring our boys home the end of August. They have been in the U.S. with us since August 31st.

Ajura is still the quieter one of the two. He loves to ride his bike and really enjoys playing basketball with the kids at his school. He is in first grade and is doing very well. His English level is amazing to us and he consistently uses 5 words sentences at this point. He has wonderful, supportive kids in his class and his two teachers understand this little boy so well. He looks out for his little brother even bringing extras treats from school home to him. Ajura loves animals and helps look after our two dogs Nali (Barski as the kids call her) and Kinde (Peanut Butter). Ajura welcomes the snow and cold with open arms.

Ahmi is the wild man. He is the one who dances around and due to his age and lack of refrain says the silliest things. He will charm you so fast you won't know what hit you. Believe me. He just started preschool in December and hasn't been kicked out yet so we are thankful. He loves his big brother and will follow him to the ends of the earth. Ahmi isn't as sold on the cold and snow but loves to sled and push his trucks around for a little while.

Nali and Kinde have also had a huge adjustment to their lives and have been so amazing with the boys. We wouldn't be a family without them.

Karl is adjusting beautifully to fatherhood. Big shocker, I know, we all knew he would be great at it. When he isn't being Daddy, he works at Bobcat as a design engineer.  He still spends as much time with his girlfriend, Mother Nature, as possible. Hunting, fish hunting (as the kids call it), and any other activity you can do outside are his favorites. He is two boys and a wife's dream come true.

Lura is still working for St. Alexius as a nurse anesthetist in addition to being Mommy. Thanks to a wonderful support system she was able to go back to Milot, Haiti again this year were she assisted in the delivery of many babies and the tumor removal on a three day old. When she isn't doing laundry or cleaning up after the many boys in the house, Lura enjoys playing outside (when it isn't too cold) and spending time with friends (usually over a beer).

Thank you all for being such an important part of our lives this year and for the continued support for our new family. Cheers and blessings this holiday season and throughout the new year!

The Spears
(Karl, Lura, Ajura, Ahmi, Nali and Kinde)

After Thanksgiving we have been so busy with Christmas preparation, school program, soccer, basketball, Ahmi's 4th birthday... It really seems like there is no end to the madness. Ajura started to really participate in soccer and Ahmi's participation somewhat dwindled. Funny how that works. Ajura's real sport love is basketball. He started at the beginning of this month and really loves playing. Looking forward to his first game coming up in January. Ajura had his first holiday program at school and we were so nervous. Music class is not his favorite to say the least. There was a lot of, "Ajura if you link arms with the other kids and sway back and forth Daddy will take you on a dozer ride after school" situations occurring. Ajura kept telling me, "Mommy, Ajura scary." We encouraged him to do his best and he got on that stage and did the WHOLE thing!!! We and his teachers were so proud.

Ahmi's 4th birthday was on the 19th. We did a small party for him at Space Aliens restaurant the last Saturday and he had a great time there. The kids ran around and played games and then we went to our friend's house to open his presents. Ahmi was seriously overwhelmed by all the commotion and gift part of his birthday and Ajura wasn't too thrilled with all of the gift giving for Ahmi but we made it. One of his favorite gifts is a birthday card that sings, "Move It" from Madagascar. We hear that song a lot. On his actual birthday we had just family over for a dinner and birthday cake. Ahmi wanted tacos and ate 3 of them.

The four of us as a family went out to eat for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize this was the first time since we were in Ethiopia together so when the waitress came to the table and asked us for our drink orders Ajura looked at her and said, "Avocado juice please." Well, avocado juice really isn't on tap in Bismarck, ND so we had to explain that to him and then we remembered that is what we would all order in Ethiopia. Ajura's English is developing so quickly and it is so fun right now to be able to talk to him about life in Ethiopia. His stories get very elaborate and exciting. It is so fun to be able to talk with each other.

Ahmi and Ajura went ice fish hunting (haha) for the first time this week with Daddy and as Karl puts it not much fish hunting was accomplished. As soon as he got the fish house set up Ajura had to caca and just like his mom he took one look at the porta potty he bailed. While this was occurring, Ahmi proceeded to step in the ice fishing hole and getting his foot and boot soaked up to his kneecap. They had a blast with each other and I got to hear a bunch of stories from their adventure when I was done with work that day. They like to eat smoked oysters and brownies on their ice fishing journeys. Weirdos.

This foot she's tired

It has been a long time since I last posted. Life just kinda gets away from you. Shocking right? It has been an extremely busy last month. Our calender is enough to make you want to turn right back around and pull the covers over your head. We trudge ahead with smiles on our faces.

Halloween went well. Ajura decided he wanted to be a fireman and I decided that Ahmi wanted to be Mr. T. I am completely taking advantage of the fact that at this point Ahmi still lets me dress him. We went to my friend Kelli's house and went house to house with her daughter Ella. They both did amazingly well in the frigid cold. Ahmi was kinda that awkward kid that stood in the doorway and stared at the people like "So...are you going to invite me in?" It was pretty cute. The boys English is amazing and although sad they don't speak to each other in Amharic at all anymore. I can easily talk with the boys and they are starting to be able to tell me about Ethiopia. It is so fun to be able to communicate. Especially when Ajura tries to explain things like, "Mommy, this foot (pointing at his right foot) she's tired."

Just when you think the process is over you get to start all new paperwork. YIPPEE! Not really. Just something you need to do. We started the readoption process at the beginning of November and we also have had our first post adoption report. Our social worker came over to our house while I was in Haiti. Karl said, "Good thing she was really only looking to be sure the kids had been fed and they have a room to sleep in!" He was on day 6 of single parenthood. I was so proud of him!!! The boys actually did really well with my trip. We talked about Mommy going to Haiti everyday up to the day I left and then Karl showed the boys on the calendar when I was coming home and they would cross a day off everyday. I was able to email them and FaceTime. Karl's parents came to help Karl out and the boys were able to spend quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Spears. It was a difficult decision to make but I want to teach the boys we need to continue to help others. Karl and I were also both very comfortable with how the boys were doing at home. Again, we are so lucky. We had a big snowstorm when I left and the boys were really excited yelling, "The snow she's coming!" Everything is a she. Speaking of funny things, Ahmi calls his backpack a "pappyock."

Thanksgiving was so fun! My dad scheduled a hayride, the best part of the hayride were the two ponies that came with it. Ajura and Ahmi both rode a horse/pony for the first time. Ahmi just said, "scary!" the whole time but Ajura said, "Mommy, no scary." I asked him if he wanted to ride a pony to school and right away he said, "yes... well maybe not." He told me later riding the pony wasn't scary but, "Ajura has to look for animals." He was so darn cute on that horse. At the end he said, "Ajura she's tired." Such a great idea for the kids, they all loved it! On Thanksgiving day it was very cold but we needed to get our family photos taken for our post adoption report and my cousin (who is a talented photographer) was able to take our photos. Check out my facebook for the link. We got all those pictures in less than 15 minutes!!! The boys did such a great job cooperating, even though we were all so cold. I like the last  photo where they are sitting on the deck and Ahmi has his hand in Ajura's pocket because his hand is so cold. Great time with family and friends that day. The kids played really well with my cousins' kids. I am amazed by these kids every single day.

Next Monday Ahmi is going to start preschool. It is pretty funny currently because when we tell Ahmi he is too little to do something we often say the reasoning is because he is too "teenish" (little). Well now since he gets to go to school he thinks he is big. He is pretty proud. This kid LOVES to play Just Dance on the Wii. He is a dancing machine. He takes after his mommy. ;)

Ajura is doing very well in school and on his third week of soccer he finally decided to participate. Ahmi (although he isn't signed up) has been participating in his place and now that he has everyone wrapped around his finger they are continuing to let him participate. Goober. Ajura is opening up more and more everyday. He cleaned the ENTIRE basement by himself yesterday. Seriously it was better than Karl does (sorry honey). He is such a sweet boy who works so hard.

Wow, now on to Christmas... This should be interesting.

The Dunk Hunter and the Entertainer

It has been awhile since my last post. Mostly due to the settling in our routine so things have been running quite smoothly around here. We shall see how things this week go because as of tomorrow I am back to working full time. To be honest, I am excited to get back to work, also a little nervous. I also know that tomorrow around 2:30 I will be missing my little Ahmi climbing down the stairs after his nap wanting to cuddle with his mommy. I will also be missing picking Ajura up from school, which is my favorite part of the day. I love listening to Ajura catch Ahmi up with what he did in school and the interaction Ajura has with me at this time of day. I will be very strange waking up and not even seeing them until I get home in the afternoon. I need to leave for work at 6 in the morning and Karl needs to be at work at 8 so Anne is picking the kids up and helping Karl get them ready for their day. Anne will then drop Ajura off at school and Ahmi off at my friend Danielle's. After school, depending on if I am still working, Autumn will pick Ahmi up from Danielle's and then get Ajura from school. We are so thankful for this help that I could almost cry. Trying to get all that arranged was a huge headache and it is amazing what people will do for you when you need it the most.

School is still going very well for Ajura. He is learning so rapidly and I am proud of him. He was tested to see if he needed ELL services (ummm, DUH!) and shockingly he needs them. The funny or maybe not so funny (I think my sense of humor is slightly warped) is that just prior to taking the test he had a little scuffle with his teacher and refused to participate in taking the test so the whole test just says "no response" on it. I think it is funny because we adoptive parents deal with this everyday. I just think that it is interesting that he gets that score although he refused to participate. We already knew he need ELL services so who really cares I guess. He is finally participating in PE. His ELL teacher told me, "Ajura was the last to start running, but the first to finish." "All the other kids yell, Go Ajura!" Perhaps we have a runner on our hands. He is now finally showing interest in soccer and basketball again. We got home from school one day and he said, "Mommy, basketball, soccer?" I said sure thing buddy! He will start both in November so that should put a wrench in all our scheduling but I am so excited to see him participate and learn to be part of a a team. Another funny Ajura experience is the loss of his first tooth here in America. He had a very loose bottom tooth that his teacher was encouraging him to get rid of. So one day at school he simple pulled it out, showed her, and then opened the classroom door and threw it into the gravel saying simply, "Garbage." Well there goes that. We attempted to explain the tooth fairy to him and he is looking at us like, you crazy white people what are you trying to trick me with now. He wasn't convinced in the least and since we had no tooth for showing him we just simply skipped the tooth fairy. Yes, I know, you are all appalled. Don't worry, the tooth fairy is still open for negotiation. 

Here in North Dakota the season is not fall it is hunting. Or as Ahmi explains it is "dunk" (the first hunting Karl did was duck hunting so all hunting is now just dunk). Ajura has been able to go hunting with Karl and is a good little participant.  He loves it so much! Yesterday he dunked all day and then jumped on the trampoline at my parents' for at least an hour so when he fell asleep on the ride home last night we weren't surprised. What we were surprised about was how hard he sleeps. We got him out of the car, up the stairs, through a bath, and hoisted onto his top bunk without him waking up! We could even stand him up as long as we held on to him and he was still asleep. When asked this morning, he states he, "sleep in Makina."

Ajura eats everything! Except apple pie, which we tried to explain that I may have to send back his certificate of citizenship (which we received this week, yeah!) for this act. 

Now to little Ahmi. Finally when he says his 20 minute questioning in the morning on where everyone he possibly knows is (Daddy work?, Grandma work? Pops work? Ajura school? etc...) Karl will be able to say, yes mommy is at work. Otherwise he would get to me and look at me funny like I have no idea where to put you in this line up. He went for a 3 mile walk with me yesterday while Daddy and Ajura were dunking. I was pretty proud of the little trooper. He is also starting to help around the house. He clears the table after we eat and he kennels up our dog Kinde. This was slightly problematic when he kenneled Kinde up with his train, lincoln log set, and a drum which left no room for poor Kinde to lay down. He simply said, "Mommy, Kinde play." Good intentions. 

Our most hilarious Ahmi moment this week was a dinner the other night in which we were eating chili. The boys wanted to know if we were eating chicken or cow and Karl explain we were eating cow and if you know Karl this next part won't surprise you at all. Karl then decides to explain that I hunt cows. Ahmi, taking after his dad, then decides that I hunt cows by running them over with my makina (car). He said this through interpretive dance so it was quite a show. Ahmi is definitely the entertainer of this bunch. Our advice is usually just sit back, relax and enjoy the show. 

This week may be rough with us all transitioning into new roles and letting others pick up for the duties Karl and I have been doing independently but I am hopeful and know that we will get through this just like we got through other MAJOR transitions. To my co-workers, I may be a little rusty tomorrow so as Ahmi would say, Be Nice (sounding more like 'penis'). 

Uninspired

That is my word for today when sitting down to write out this new blog posting. Believe it or not, although it sounds negative, it is not. Blogging is easier and more entertaining (at least I think) when there are crisis and chaos and funny disasters happening and it has been so peaceful around here that I am scared to ruin the calm by daring to mention it. My best friend asked me what I was doing this afternoon while Ahmi naps and I said,

"Umm, no idea."

His response: "You should blog."

Me: "I have nothing funny to say."

His response: "You should blog."

Me: "I'm boring right now and uninspired."

His response: "All the more reason to blog."

Me: "Fine."

So here I am blogging about peace.

We have finally really settled into a rhythm. On weekdays, Karl gets up at 6:30 and gets ready for the day. Wakes the kids at 6:45, dresses Ajura in the clothes we picked out last night (otherwise I have a feeling the olive green sweat pants and Viking shirt ensemble would make another horrid appearance), I get up at 7, shower while the kids are eating with Karl. After breakfast, I dress Ahmi and deal with the hair while Karl leaves for work. I pack a snack for Ajura and makes sure he has warm clothes in his backpack so I do not appear like an inept mother (funny that that is a beacon for poor parenting), and then drop Ajura off at school. He LOVES school. We actually drove by the school this weekend and he blew it a kiss. Wow have things changed. Then Ahmi and I hang out all day. We try to stay busy running errands and visiting friends because entertaining a 3 year old with an attention span of a squirrel for 8 hours is exhausting. Then at 1 ish, Ahmi has his nap and I have my free time. Usually spent doing laundry. My favorite part of the day (besides picking Ajura up from school) is when Ahmi wakes from his nap and just wants to snuggle. LOVE IT!!! Then we pick Ajura up. Ajura is so excited about his day at school that he talks nonstop about it on the way home and we talk about it during their afternoon snacktime. Then the boys play until Karl gets home and I make dinner. We eat, relax as a family for a bit, and then showers and bedtime. Of course, on occasion, we get babysitters so Karl and I will go out in the evening and the boys are doing really well even with that transition. We truly are doing well. I received an unprompted, spontaneous hug AND kiss from Ajura last Friday!!! Huge step for both of us.

We have been practicing for how things will change when I go back to work and talking the boys through it. In addition, I will be going to Haiti again this year in November (Karl is going to stay home this time and his parents are going to stay with Karl and the boys and get to snuggle with them while I am gone). We are already starting to teach the boys about this and preparing them. Preparation is key in this household.

Funny things this week: Ahmi was explaining to me that he should get to ride a "tinish"(small) bus since Ajura gets to ride a big bus at school. I suggested to him that I wouldn't brag about riding on the small bus. As the Vikings are actually not completely sucking this year Karl is wanting the kids to learn all his cheers. My suggestions was "How about teaching them their last names before, "Go Vikings!" Ahmi still goes by Amen. Ahmi is really fun to scare...not entirely on purpose...I don't do it all the time anyway. Ajura was able to go duck hunting with Karl. We carved pumpkins on Sunday with our friends the Leier's. Little did I realize but all these projects we do "for the kids" really just end up with the parents doing the whole thing. Ok, Karl does the whole thing. I was getting carpal tunnel carving my pumpkin.

On an interesting, kinda sad note, Ajura went to a classmates birthday party last week and did really well until he got cold. He refuses to wear gloves currently. I know, bad parent. After the party, we were at my parents' house and Ajura was trying to warm his hands up so he went to the bathroom and put warm water on his hands. The prickling and uncomfortable sensation scared the crap out of him, he literally started to scream and cry, flinging his hands in the air and scratching them. We calmed him down and I grabbed a warm (not hot) heating pack and slowly warmed his hands back up. Poor kid, and it is hard to explain to him what happened and why. Hopefully he makes friends with his gloves.

Well I think I did pretty well for being uninspired this week. Cheers to another uninspiring week as they seem to be the easiest. ;) Oh and one last thing, 3 year olds don't do well at movies...

Cold, Coat, or Kota?

Winter has officially started in North Dakota. We are getting snow! I LOVE IT!! I am such a snow girl but unfortunately I believe I may have a cold-blooded son. Ahmi literally slows down in the cold. We were getting out of the pool the other day and walked into the cool hallway and he stops dead in his tracks and says, "Momma, Kota." Shivers. Then continues walking but is doing it robot style. Like serious pop and locking. He has turned into a chameleon that had its heating lamp turned off. This may be an interesting winter. I should also explain the Kota part. Kota is my parent's dog and Ahmi and Kota have had a few misunderstandings. You see, Kota likes to bark (charming quality that my dad has instilled in her) and she will chase moving things (she is a hunting dog). Neither of the qualities mix well with a 3 year old. So the name Kota is well imprinted in Ahmi's brain. Therefore anything that sounds like Kota, like for instance cold or coat, is just Kota. Leaves a lot up for translation.

We are on week two of school and things are going really well. We have our issues with getting dressed in the morning. Although I let him pick out most of his attire we still somehow end up with a battle and that leads to Ajura sitting in his bedroom in complete shut down mode which sometimes then leads to me dressing him like a life sized "My Buddy" doll (remember those, ha) and then dragging/carrying him to the car so we aren't late for school while Ahmi is dancing and circling us both like a cat singing, "Momma's makina!" I am pretty sure our dogs are looking at me like, "Wow, why do people cage up animals for entertainment when they could be witnessing this." Luckily for him, Karl is gone by this time in the morning. Don't you worry buddy, your time is coming up when I go back to work. Insert evil laugh. This week, thankfully, I have not had to drag him to the car because he actually really looks forward to school. Once I start the car and back out of the garage he runs downstairs and puts his shoes on and gets in the car. After the pouting is over, I always ask Ajura to look me in the eyes (which is a big thing for him), tell him we are a family and that we will always love him and be together, even when we have bad days, and he will say sorry to me and then I give him a hug. He definitely does not hug or kiss me without prompting and definitely will not hug me back but we are getting there. Getting him to look me in the eyes is huge. Yesterday, after school, we were driving home and Ajura said, "Momma, window down, please." It almost brought tears to my eyes because this is coming from my son who usually just demands things. I know it sounds crazy that this small gesture meant so much but it was a genuine please that didn't need prompting. We definitely have our ups and downs every single day but they are getting better and better. Today for instance we got ready for school without the smallest of hiccup. Well, let me rephrase, we got dressed without a hiccup, the hiccup was more of a belch that occurred at 5:30 this morning that included kids out of bed and a dog peeing on the floor but you know, small victories. We get to school and Ajura wants to bring a noise maker he received from my friend's birthday party the night before. Ajura wanted to bring it to school which knowing my son as I do would only result in blown eardrums and a phone call. Therefore I refused, unfortunately my timing was poor as he had already exited the car and is standing pretty much in the middle of the school's parking lot. So he shuts down and sits down in the middle of the parking lot where parents are dropping their children off left and right. Here I am holding a backpack and using my best mom voice trying to get him up before we both loose all dignity. This may be crude, but for those of you who have seen the movie "Bridesmaids" and the bride is pooping in the street due to food poisoning and she is waving other cars on is pretty much how I felt in this instance. Yep, I am totally not in control and I have no idea when it will end and did I mention my 3 year old is in the car still? I'm just smiling and waving at all the other families with their children that drive by us. Thankfully, this goes on for only about 5 minutes and he gets up and allows us to go into the school.

Minus the shut downs he is really doing quite well. He rides his bike without training wheels. Takes the garbage out.  Is really doing well with English, although hesitant to use it. His understanding amazes me. The birthday party invites have already begun which freaks me out as he literally knows like 11 kids. We went to the pumpkin patch last Friday and when leaving the car he said, "No, No, No Momma." Now I see these words more like a challenge, well let's be honest, I totally ignore them, and carry on. He ended up having a great time. Duh, told ya. Karl gave the kids the business about constantly saying "No" last night and then when we (yes just Karl and myself, woohoo!) went out to dinner last night we decided that we may need to clarify the "never say no" rule. It kind of goes against the whole "say no to drugs/strangers/backwash."

Ahmi has a future in rodeo we think. Thankfully he wears his helmet everywhere he goes (truly, he doesn't know how to get it off so when outside he wears it the entire time he is out there). Back to the rodeo, Ahmi was trying to keep our wild dog Nali in the house while he was opening the back door and wrapped his arms in a choke hold around her neck. Ahmi weighs less than a flea to Nali so she just dashes out the door with Ahmi hanging on around her neck, legs dragging. He finally let go when they got to the steps. Not even a tear shed. So proud. He is full of kisses and hugs. His "be nice" sounds a lot like "penis" which my sister and her fiancee giggle about constantly (ok, I do too, especially when he says "Pe-nice Brett").

I have to say one of the best things currently about being a parent is that right now we can choose so easily what are kids are exposed to. I have to admit I secretly relish in the fact that Ahmi thinks the merry-go-round horses at the mall just sit there and don't move, not understanding that they move once mom puts money in them. All video games are currently "broken." Evil you may think, yep, probably, but they will be exposed to all those things in time and it is fun to watch them love the simple things. Also currently the word "tomorrow" is magical. Seriously, the boys will be watching a cartoon and it is time for shower and bed and they ask, "TV tomorrow?" we say yes and up they jump. Perhaps it just shows they have hope and faith that tomorrow is going to be another crazy but wonderful day. Me too.

My first days in first grade

I know it has been awhile again. Things were going really well last week and I really didn't have a ton to write about because chaos is much more entertaining to read about (unless it is your family). Highlights of the last week included: started our first day (out of 60!!!) of oral antifungal meds, had 2 playdates, and checked out Ajura's school. Playdates went well and I was proud of both boys working on interacting with other children. But the real big deal of the week has been school. Yep, Ajura and I started first grade this week. This is how it is going...

Last Wednesday we gave school a test drive, meaning we went to the school when all the other kids were gone and Karl and I went with Ajura. He met Sparky the fish is what he would probably tell you about that first encounter. We had a really good experience though. We are going to Apple Creek school and for those of you who don't know it is a small country school. Seriously, there are only 4 students in 6th grade and Ajura's class is the largest with 12. Not only are the small class sizes a bonus, but Ajura is the only student that needs an ELL (English Language Learner) teacher and therefore he has a ELL teacher one-on-one in addition to his 1st grade teacher. AWESOME!! Kinda funny thing is his ELL teacher came here from South Korea last year and has a bit of an accent. She is so wonderful with Ajura and the first thing she said to me is, "I remember being scared and overwhelmed coming here, so my first order of business is to get him to feel that I am his safe person and he is safe at school. Then we work on the language portion of things." She deals so gracefully with his breakdowns and doesn't baby him but makes him feel safe. Pretty good for a little country school. This first time in the school he was really excited about his desk and like I said Sparky the fish, but he wasn't too keen on leaving his items from his backpack in his desk.

Day 2 of school: BAD!!!! We arrived at recess time and we were going to give him a test to see if he needed us at school. Well the fact that when he saw Karl start to drive away and FREAKED out would probably point to the fact that we aren't ready for going to school solo. Kind of a set-back but his teacher is ready for day 3 so here we go...

Day 3 of school: Somewhat of success, we actually were able to enter the school for a brief moment but there was no escape for those of us that have passed first grade previously. He watched the other children play at recess but would not participate. Understandable. However, I will mention that he is bigger than even some of the 6th grade girls and it makes me giggle.

Phew the weekend, tough week at school since we put a total of maybe 3 hours in. However, this weekend the boys went to the pool for the first time. Anne was so excited to take them swimming and we were a bit anxious because all other experiences with water have caused them to be nervous (they think crocodiles are going to eat them on the river). The kids literally RAN into the swimming pool. Mind you, neither one can swim or float at all but they LOVED the water and playing around. Too bad the lifeguards were Nazis about everything. I mean really we have 5 people in the pool for 2 kids. One is a anesthesiologist, a nurse anesthetist, two lifeguards, and an engineer (Karl can build a better life jacket or something). I think the children were well guarded to say the least. Sweet, now we have an awesome manipulation tool.

Monday morning Ajura was actually excited for school because Karl promised him a ride on the tractor (which they call a dozer) if he went to school. Perhaps we should have specified that he had to stay there all day and not cry. Minor detail. So I get him into the building without a hassle and he sits in his desk and I learn about homophones. Ajura gets to play with a puzzle. My favorite part of first grade was when a little girl brought her caterpillar to show and tell and the interesting fact was that she thought the caterpillar was dead. My least favorite part was the total meltdown in the middle of the day where Ajura cried for about 1 hour straight. Thankfully, his teacher was great about the whole ordeal and I was eventually able to leave the school for the last part of the day after I ate lunch with him. I did participate in after lunch recess and Ajura was running around and he had a harem of girls following him from place to place. Everyone at school is very interested in him. I find it interesting that due to childhood obesity rates the schools will not provide 2% milk for the kids but they still feed them breaded chicken sandwiches. After school, while I was driving Ajura home, he was just jabbering in the back seat about his day so excitedly. Too bad I couldn't understand even a third of it but is was still so fun to hear him be so animated. Since he stayed at school all day, Karl gave him a ride on the tractor when he got home. Ajura sat on the tractor for an hour waiting for Karl to get home! Fairly good first day.

Tuesday didn't start out well at all. I got up and again we let Ajura pick his outfit to avoid any meltdowns. Then I tried to use the Nudred in his hair (which worked GREAT!) and he got angry and sat down on the step and wouldn't move which makes it very difficult for me to get him into the car and into the school. So we are late for school and I have to literally carry him in. His teacher brings out a stack of pictures that girls in other grades made for him to try to get him to participate. FINALLY he will get up and walk to his desk. After about 30 minutes I am excused and I get NO phone calls! Ajura stayed in school all day without me on the second day! I am very impressed. Therefore, after school we went to the fire station where my friend works. The boys had such a great time! Then when Karl got home it was another ride on the tractor. Anne brought pizza out for us last night which was YUMMY.

Well this whole post is about Ajura but a few things about Ahmi: he currently thinks his name is Amen, he is a disaster at the dinner table, and he told the dogs he loved them yesterday when we were leaving the house (without prompting). He is such a good little guy. He has been able to hang out with our friend Bill the last couple of days while I was experiencing 1st grade and Karl is back at work. He is doing well with this adjustment however he really wants to go to school too with Ajura. No tears but always has the bummed out look when we say we are just dropping Ajura off.

No, Ay, Ah-deh-lem, shoulder shrug, any way you slice it, it is my least favorite word right now. Why, you may ask? Because I feel like that is all I have heard today. "Is the food good Ajura?" Ay Ay Ay (as he continues to devour it). "Ride in the car/makina?" (favorite thing for them to do) Gambellan shoulders shrugs all around. Fantastic. I have been griping about this all day. Being told "no" constantly regardless of when if they want or don't want, like or don't like makes me feel like I am boarding the crazy train.  Tonight while at my parents' for dinner the "nos" we're flying back and forth and although my parents and Teha and Brett understand it embarrasses me a little when my mom asks the kids if they like the food that they have spent a bunch of time on and their response is "no" (of any kind) with a smirky smile. I try to smooth it over by trying to explain to them that that is not nice and it hurts people's feelings. Yep, too complex when your vocabulary with your children is about 30 words. Brett did bring up a good point, he said something along the lines of, I bet they hear no a lot too and are probably just getting you back. Jerk, but darn you are probably right. During a day it does feel like a ton of "no" a bit of "yes" and even a few "hell no" (well not really but the inflection in ones voice applies the hell portion). So tomorrow I am going to try to decrease my no and redirect instead and maybe, just maybe they will throw me a bone.

We are functioning pretty well. Poor little Ahmi had more bloodwork drawn on Friday. I was still feeling sick until yesterday so we had a laid back Friday. Saturday was a blast! I hit up Folkfest with Kelli and then we went to get Ella from riding horse. On the way back to my house, we picked up a clipper for the boys' hair. You guessed it! Ahmi is now rocking a mohawk. Love it! Ajura will be getting his cut tomorrow. Also on our way home, we saw two dogs running down the middle of the highway so we stopped to pick them up for fear of them getting run over. So for an hour or so I had 4 dogs and three kids at my house. One of the dogs was just a puppy and Ajura was so in love. He was trying to get the puppy untangled from under the table and the puppy was kissing his face like crazy and he was just giggling. Once the dogs left, Ella went to go play in the tree house and after a minute or so Ajura followed her and they played the rest of the evening. Ahmi participated as well but Ella and Ajura are closer in age. I was so happy to see my little boy laughing and playing and letting go a little with this awesome little girl. They played until the sun went down and then we put the boys to bed and my parents and sister joined us for conversation out on our back deck. Beautiful night and so much fun.

Sean came over today and met the kids for the first time. We had a great time with him. The boys are starting to take to visitors more quickly. They are shy and hang on to Karl or I for only about 5 minutes now and then they are starting to interact with the visitors. Ahmi has become very affectionate and will give kisses and when I put him down for a nap today he just laid with my and softly rubbed my face. Ahmi also helped me fold laundry and put it away tonight which was a fun task and it was so nice to get the help! Ajura is still our more difficult nut to crack and I think sometimes it is hard for everyone because Ahmi (for many reasons) is more outgoing and affectionate and charming so one easily bonds with him but you have to be persistent without being overbearing to get Ajura. He is just figuring out this whole trust thing. Seeing him reach out and play with Ella was a wonderful sight. I love it when people get to see the side of Ajura that Karl and I get to see. The boy with the belly laugh and protective nature, who loves animals and soaks up every bit of information that goes past him. Like all things, it is so worth the time and effort, because you get paid back infinitely.

More Ca Ca

Well I left off on Sunday with a feeling of celebration regarding ca ca. I guess that means we will start on Monday. Oh and by the way, don't get too spoiled, these daily updates are going to eventually go away because most of the time our life is really not this exciting. You would have been so bored had a posted a lot before the kids because Karl, myself, and the dogs were pretty tame. In fact, half the time I think we all forgot about each other. I was at Walmart and was for some reason standing by the fish department (?) and was thinking to myself, "I should get the boys some fish so they can have a pet." Ummm duh, we have two dogs. The dogs are just so wonderful and meld into our lives so much that they aren't seen as pets. The boys absolutely love them and Ajura will try out more English on Kinde than he will with either Karl or myself. But again I digressed...

Monday: Yep still sick. Called MY doctor this time and scheduled an appointment for tomorrow because this simply cannot go on. I had a HUGE list of things to do today. 1. Call Dr. Anderson's office to schedule Ahmi's TB test. 2. Drop the ca ca off at the clinic (which may I just state was improperly labeled, all vials had Ajura's name and none for Ahmi, and since I work in health care I knew that my scribbling Ahmi's name on the other vial wouldn't suffice so I had to call into the clinic and get the labels all redone before I dropped them off) 3. Call the school and talk to Ajura's teacher to see when he can start. 4. Call Burleigh County Public Health (BCPH) to schedule their immunization appointments. Completed all tasks. Ajura's teacher is wanting him to stop by next Wednesday to see his classroom and see his desk. I tried to talk to Ajura about school but all I get is "Ay Ay Ay" a.k.a. "No No No." This may be a tough transition but he will make it. We have been blessed by very few meltdowns since last week. Karl and I realized that Ajura has literally no pants so I get to go shopping again this week sometime. Joy. Anyway, we have been following our same routine and things are going pretty well. We had the boys blood drawn today which was icky. Mom doesn't like it in the least. Ahmi was kicking so hard his shoes flew across the room. The ladies really did do a nice job though. It is amazing how powerful stickers are. It was as if nothing had happened. Prior to drawing labs, Karl and I plus the boys all visited the surgicenter where I work sometimes and showed off the boys. Of course, my co-workers did what they do best and sugared the kids up as much as possible. Their glucose levels on their blood tests will probably be sky high. The boys did really well with meeting quite a group of people. I was proud of them. After labs we went home and played. Karl and I decided I needed a mini break and so I met some friends out for a margarita in the afternoon. As I am leaving, I give each boy a kiss and say, "See ya later, I love you." To Karl I say, "See ya later babe." As I walk away Ajura calls out to me, "See ya later babe." Bonus. While out for margaritas and complaining about our poop scooping weekend, I get a phone call from the lab. They didn't give us the correct vials for the tests that we need done so they destroyed (?!) our samples and at our convenience we can come and pick up a whole new bag of supplies to start over. I almost started to sob. My one friend suggested I demand my poop back and pour the ca ca into the "new" vials on their desks with a TaDAAA! His hopes were crushed when I said our ca ca had been destroyed already. Alas. I called and left a nasty message on our pediatrician's voicemail for her to return my call the next day. Other than that life was pretty dandy.

Tuesday: Still sick. Thankfully my doctor's appointment is today so I get to get drugs. Yippee. Also the cleaning lady comes today so I can pretend I keep a tight ship running! It is about time too, the boys hair picks up dog hair which is pretty embarrassing. When people stop over we rapidly wipe boogers and practically Furrminate the boys. We all head out to my parent's to let the cleaning lady work. I would live in a van before I would give up my cleaning lady, I know, very spoiled. The boys play with bubbles and jump on the trampoline. I leave for my appointment. Shockingly (sarcastic), I have a sinus infection. So I drive to our pharmacy to get my antibiotics and want to pick up the boys anti fungal meds. The pharmacist is saying that the insurance company is denying that we have children. Dear Insurance company, you are welcome to come to my house and see that we indeed have children, we will even allow you to get a stool sample of your own if you like. Because, believe me, I would not do this for any random children. Oh well, we will get that straightened out. Our adoption coordinator helped us with that and hopefully all will be straightened out by Friday or Monday. Ajura has been worried about one of his teeth so I also scheduled a dentist appointment for Wednesday. I know, we are nuts right! I guess I am just looking forward to getting all of this out of the way. My aunt and uncle bought the boys a wagon and it was delivered today. We are going to open it tomorrow and set it up as we are all tired after the day.

Wednesday: Still sick. We get up and get ready to go to the dentist at 8:30. Wow, totally did a horrible job guessing how long it takes to get ready to go anywhere. We were 5 minutes late so not too bad and I called them and gave them a heads up. Another lesson learned. I am beyond amazed at how well the boys did at the dentist. Granted, we took them to a pediatric dentist who I have worked with for years and adore. He and his staff were so incredible. The boys both tolerated a brushing lesson and a cleaning and polishing. Ahmi wasn't too keen on the flossing. Ahmi's teeth got a perfect bill of health. Ajura's also looked good and our dentist believes his age (according to his teeth) looks spot on. Interestingly though, the dentist pointed out how amazed he was at how calm Ajura was with the exam and cleaning due to his "previous trauma." I was kinda perplexed and although I work with him occasionally I know absolutely nothing about teeth. I thought that Ajura had lost all his front primary teeth already due to the fact he was missing all four incisors. Not so, says the dentist. He has lost only one primary tooth on the bottom (another is loose) but his four incisors were removed at a young age (apparently it is a cultural thing he has seen from other children from Ethiopia). Interesting, poor kiddo. Karl had to run Ahmi to his TB test appointment so our friend Bill picked Ajura and I up from the dentist to meet at home. As Ajura and I were waiting, Ajura looks out the window and says, "Bill's makina (sp?)." I was like, yeah sure kid, like you can remember what Bill's car looks like. To appease him we go outside and sure enough it was Bill. Ajura never ceases to amaze me with how much he retains. He is a sponge. We had a very busy morning but the afternoon was very relaxed. I was solo with the kids all afternoon as Karl went back to work for the last half of the day. Wow have we all made progress. Oh and the wagon is a HUGE hit. I have even taught Ahmi how to pull mom in the wagon :)

Thursday: Still sick. Dreading today, because it is immunization day. Trying to start the day out better my mother and I went shopping for school supplies and clothes for the boys that have more substance. It is getting colder and athletic shorts aren't going to make it much longer. Found some great stuff at Old Navy. Got home around noon and Karl headed to work while I entertained the boys for some time before we went to the dreaded shots appointment. Anne came over to help and Ahmi did what any normal child would do by farting at her. Nice moves kid. Two of the three ca ca tests are back and they do have some friends growing in there so we will be starting some meds as soon as the insurance company believes we have kids. Until then, go bleach! We leave a bit early to the appointment so I can drop off our final ca ca sample. As we are leaving the clinic, somewhat in a rush, I am buckling Ahmi in and apparently, while Ajura is trying to get in the car and buckling up, our car door hit the neighboring car. This old man (mind you, he is wearing a three piece suit on a Thursday to the clinic) gets out and starts giving me the business about my son hitting his shnazy Chevy Impala with our car door. I apologize and examine the Impala to see if he indeed made a door ding and cannot find anything, while this old man continues to give me the business about he is old enough to know not to be slamming car doors into other people's cars. I finally turn to him and say, "Again, sir (like vinegar in my mouth trying to be polite), I am very sorry, I can give you my insurance information." He continues to complain and again I apologize but add, "my son has been in the country for less than 2 weeks, he has doesn't even speak English yet and currently I am just working on teaching him not to run into the street in front of a car, do you want my insurance information or not." He grumbles no and I get into the car, just fuming. We get to the appointment barely on time due to my altercation with Impala guy. Then I get to sit and hold my screaming Ahmi while they poke him with multiple needles. Poor guy, however, couldn't have been too bad because again they throw some stickers in and tears are immediately gone. Kinda like me with ice cream. Ajura has a tougher time with it and is pretty angry with us after it is all done. We go home and they both nap and mom has a beer with Anne. Ahmi wakes up and comes downstairs and cries. Don't quite get why but he does this sometimes after his nap. Just whimpers and cries for about 20 minutes. We play outside and then have dinner. Karl and I both received spontaneous kiss from Ajura today. He was a happy boy until bedtime when I was setting him up to brush his teeth and he was angry because I didn't use his new toothpaste from the dentist. I explained that we were going to use that when we went on vacation. He then pouted, wouldn't move (which made brushing his hair much easier) and then Karl just put him in bed and he was mad and cried. He quickly came around though. Now off to bed for us all.

Till the next time...

First week as the 4 Spears...

Well you have survived my meandering mind so far and have obviously come back for more so here it goes. I have to agree with my friend Arnell who posted to me on facebook that it's hopefully at least entertaining for all you to read but it is therapeutic to write as well. Yes, I am kinda off the cuff and pretty brutally honest but the other adoption blogs that I look up to aren't all about unicorns and rainbows. They are about real families having real struggles and really good times too.

I have never watched more cartoons in my life. Like Karl said yesterday, "Didn't cartoons only used to be on Saturdays and if you missed them you were screwed?" Well, all I can say is thank you NickJr, Sprout, and Cartoon network because otherwise I would be in serious therapy. The Lorax is an awesome movie!! Don't get me wrong, the TV is completely raising our kids. It gives Karl and myself a second to actually talk to each other besides the usual, "Grab that kid!" or "Your turn to get the poop sample!" Which by the way is done thanks to Ajura's final ca ca (poop) this evening so Yippee!!! Okay sorry, I have digressed.

So the boys woke up at 6:45 last Saturday morning rearing to go and mom was like please, no!!! Thankfully, her lovely husband is a morning person so Karl pops out of bed, which was easy since he was so worried the boys would be disorientated if they woke up in the middle of the night that he slept on an air mattress on the floor of their bedroom. My reasoning to solve that problem, if they fall down the stairs they will never do it again. Thank goodness Karl is around. I got up shortly there after and Karl's mom and sister came over for breakfast. It was very fun having them around and for them to get to spend some time with the boys before they headed back home. We spend the rest of the day following the boys around the house putting out fires and turning off light switches. Every light switch is a beacon and I know am a firm believer that all light switches should be installed at a height of seven feet. I told Karl that all we do is turn off light switches, wipe butts, and wipe boogers. He agreed. My sister and Brett came over that evening to make us dinner and played with the kids a bit and after the kids went to bed we had a beer with them and my parents stopped by because my dad has a sixth sense for beer and BS. Sweet, adult conversation and beverages. Unfortunately, I was falling asleep at the table by 9 so I kicked everyone out.

Sunday, hmmm, what did we do? The boys decide 5 a.m. is an appropriate wake up time. And oh yes, we decided to learn to ride a bike. Helmets applied, check. Bikes attained, check. Training wheels..., seriously Karl, you forgot training wheels?! And of course it is a Sunday so no training wheel stores are open so guess what we did. Pushed the kids on bikes for 4 hours. No LIE!!! Ahmi is so over learning to pedal because why would one when someone else will just push you. So we finally get training wheels and Ajura is doing pretty good with the bike. Ahmi still would rather sit on the bike and smile and wave. Gosh he is too cute. Maybe that is why he gets away with it. We stick close to home these two days but decide tomorrow to maybe venture out to my parents house. The boys have been doing overall pretty well. Ahmi still has naughty moments and tantrums but there is no more having to hold him down, until nap time. That is a menace, however, it is far worse when he is overtired so it is worth the 15 minutes of screaming. He literally lays there in my arms, kinda wrapped up, and screams for Ajura. It is really difficult that my child screams for his brother instead of Karl or myself. However, as the days went on he would start to scream for Karl, whom he calls either Father or Karl currently which is hilarious. I guess he doesn't scream for me because I am the evil witch holding him down. However, by Thursday, we can get him to nap by just reading to him and out he goes. School is going to be successful for him, haha. Ajura is still painfully quiet with the occasional fits, but also the occasional sweet smile and contagious laugh. His fits are always more extreme and longer lasting. They are icky. We keep to a pretty tight schedule. Wake up, eat breakfast, watch Seasame Street while mom and father discuss the days events, play outside, eat lunch, play inside, Ahmi naps/Ajura has quiet play time, Ahmi wakes and we play outside again until dinner, then we watch a movie, then baths and bedtime. Speaking of dinner, the kids are like vultures, you so much as enter the kitchen and they want to hover and eat everything. We have to watch them because otherwise you notice teeth marks in our uncooked squash that was sitting on the counter. They also don't realize that food has to be prepared and it doesn't just fall from the sky. Ahmi has major crying fits in the evening as we are trying to cook supper because he thinks it should be ready instantaneously.

Monday, another 5 a.m. wake-up call. However, no one has peed the bed so that is good. Karl again does the morning shift. Ajura has a cough and runny nose going on but doesn't seem to sick otherwise. We decide to go over to my parents in the late morning to check out the trampoline and jump on the trampoline with Teha and Brett. Ahmi jumped right onto the trampoline and giggled his cute little butt off and Ajura was more hesitant but eventually with Karl, Ahmi, and me on the trampoline he would jump. Then we were awarded with his fantastic laugh. Ahmi has a great laugh too, it is very Woody the Woodpeckerish. We jumped and then went on a ride in the golf cart. Then my mom made tacos which the boys devoured. Interestingly, we are not having ANY issues with food except that we can't seem to have enough. They eat like crazy! We truly have to limit their eating otherwise they will say they are hungry all the time. Karl needs to start donating plasma... Anyway, after our visit we headed home and did our daily routine. It is nice because during nap time, Karl will usually go and have some time to himself while I spend time with Ajura. Then he gives back by letting me sleep in a bit in the mornings. Works for us.

Tuesday, yet again 5 a.m. After the morning routine we decide to go to the zoo and have our friend Bill take some family photos as we don't have any pictures of the 4 of us yet. The boys enjoy the zoo, Ajura is very nervous and sticks close to Karl without showing to much interest in the animals. We only do about half the zoo so as not to overstimulate the boys. We decide to stay at the park and eat sandwiches for lunch. Ajura just wanted to go home. We decided to make him stay with us (well, duh, it isn't like he can drive yet) and have him realize that once in awhile we need to be outside our comfort zone but know we are here for him and we will always go home. He did finally play on some equipment and sit down to eat with us, however, during lunch we split a bag of chips for the boys to share. Ajura started to steal Ahmi's chips (new parent mistake number 1, never let your two kids sit next to each other), then I said, no share your chips and started taking chips from Ajura's plate and putting them on Ahmi's (probably shouldn't have done that either), Ajura flips out ripping his plate and throwing all of his remaining food on the ground. Thank goodness we were outside at the park. Then he sits there and pouts, refusing to move, talk, anything. So we calmly finish eating and decide it is time to go home. We tell Ajura we are going to all go home but we can't leave until he picks up his mess. He doesn't move. So I take Ahmi and we go into the car and Karl and Ajura sit together and after about 5 minutes he gets him to pick up his mess and get into the car. He refuses to look at us or talk to us for at least another hour once we are home. He snaps out of it shortly after Ahmi wakes up from his nap. The rest of the night is fairly uneventful. I get a phone call from my awesome cousin Kopper who has adopted two children from Haiti a couple of years ago. She is a great support system to us, along with many of our other friends who have traveled this journey. The great piece of advice she gave me was basically this, you can tell those kids that cars fly and they will believe you, you have a great responsibility with this overwhelming power but you also can then set the limits. Your kids should not be getting up at 5 in the morning. They can get up, but they can lay in their beds until you are ready to get up. So I was empowered and when the boys got up at midnight, I calmly put them back to bed and said, "You stay in bed until mom or dad comes to get you in the morning." Amazingly, it works. Most nights. However, the sentence had to be made longer to, "You stay in bed until mom or dad comes to get you in the morning, or if you need to shinty (pee) or ca ca (poop)." We did have our first bed wetting experience after I first laid down the law. This has been amazing for us. Finally we are getting our ca ca together.

Wednesday. The boys got up when Karl went in to get them at 7. Amazing. Not amazing, the fact that I have woken up with the cold from hell. My throat is on fire and my head feels like a bowling ball. Great, I am sure to be an awesome mom under these conditions. Thankfully, Father/Dad/Karl of the year, Karl took the reins and I slept most of the day. I honestly couldn't even really tell you what happened except that we ate dinner together.

Thursday. I am still feeling horrible and apparently Ajura is having a rough one too. This morning, while outside playing Ahmi was having a tantrum so Karl brought him inside to his cold medicine overdosed wife, prior to bringing him in Ajura asked if he could ride bike on the road, Karl said no. As soon as Karl stepped inside he was off to the road. Karl ran out, stopped him and took his bike away. He got mad, took his helmet off and threw it in the ditch and refused to pick it up or walk to the house. Karl then threw him over his shoulder and carried him to the driveway were he pouted. He refused to talk, walk, anything. He has been doing this a lot the past couple of days. Then Karl finally carried him inside and sat him down in the entryway. Ajura then grabbed a beach ball and bit a hole in in so Karl grabbed him and did the hold on him and he just fought for a few minutes and then burst into tears. Tears that lasted for about one hour. This happened repeatedly throughout the day. I asked for help from the adoptive parents on facebook and they stepped up to the task. I was also directed to read a blog from another adoptive mother (who writes much better than I) called "After the Airport." It is an amazing article and it reaffirmed everything the other adoptive parents are telling us. This is normal, this is ok. This defiance, pouting, grudge holding, breakdowns are all normal and will go away. We stayed close to home due to my cold and Ajura's rough day.

Friday. Still sick. Seriously. At this point, when I don't go outside with the boys and Karl, Ahmi points and asks, "Momma Go?" Karl's so, "No, Momma's sick." Ahmi makes the sign for sleep. Great, he thinks he has a narcoleptic for a mom. Ajura is doing much better today. We have worked out our schedule much better and have set firmer guidelines and rules. There is no more chasing the boys in and out of the house. If they go out, it is for at least a half hour (excludes any shinty or ca ca emergencies of course). They have to play either in the rooms or living room. No kitchen loitering. And if you want to watch a movie, you have to watch the movie and not play your leap pad and legos at the same time. This has really helped Karl and I and I think the boys needed it too to help the overstimulation. Our mantra currently is "One thing at a time." The boys had their pediatrician check ups today. All was well but for minor skin stuff and yippee we have to get stool samples. Lab work and shots are coming up next week. Not looking forward to that. The boys played independently in the backyard today, which was a first. They really enjoyed pushing the canoe out from the woods and paddling it in the grass. And to think we bought the hot wheels track...

Saturday. Still sick. Same as Friday for the most part. Went to my parents to jump on the tramp and ride on the golf cart. We took the boys and Kota (my parent's dog) to Misty Waters so they could see her fetch a stick from the water. Ajura is interested in the water but will not get close because he thinks something is going to jump out of the water and eat him, he shakes his head 'no' and takes his arm and goes chomp chomp. Guess that is what they have to teach their children in Africa about rivers and lakes. Interesting. We went back to my parents to eat and after eating the boys are jumping on the tramp and while Ajura is coming down, Ahmi is coming up and hits Ajura in the jaw with his head. Ajura screams and falls down and starts to sob. I am thinking great, we have just broken our son's jaw with the other kids head. Thankfully, the tears are short lived and he will open and close his mouth for me. Ahmi is crying because he feels bad. Time to get back in the car and go home. We get home and both boys nap. When Ajura gets up he eats some fruit snacks which I feel should be a diagnostic test for jaw fractures with how sticky and gummy they are. Later on in the evening Karl takes the boys out with him to help him set up his deer stand. Ajura gets super excited and totally understands that Karl is going to hunt, however, he thinks Karl is going to hide behind a tree and grab the deer by the legs when it walks past. I challenge you Karl to get a deer by Ajura's plan. They thought that was pretty cool.

Sunday. Getting better but still sick. Laundry day. Dear God, thank you for allowing me to be right when I told Karl that the large capacity washer and dryer were worth the extra money. Somehow, half of Ajura's underwear have disappeared. Interesting... Got the last of the ca ca samples today. Yes!!! My parent's and Anne came out to help today as I really needed a nap and Karl really needed to fish. I have decided to start laying out the boys clothes the night before because I was greeted this morning by Ajura wearing a Vikings jersey with olive green sweatpants. Karl was smiling ear to ear. My parents helped with dinner and ate with us. My mom and dad are amazed at the change that even has occurred in a week. I know that things are going to get good and then back to bad during times or transition but I know we will all be ok.

I may tease and joke about the challenges with the boys but we are such lucky parents. With the amount of changes they have gone through in the last week on top of a rough year for them they are truly amazing to me. I have to thank their birth mother because these boys know what it is like to be loved. Thank you for loving them before we could. We will always remind them of your love for them. Ajura has the best dimples in the world and when he laughs it makes you stop in your tracks and smile from the inside out. Ahmi always has this twinkle in his eye and is just like his mom when it comes to waking up from naps, we just need a second before the world jumps at us again. I remember staring at these boys in Ethiopia and to be honest I was scared of them. I didn't know what they were going to do next and I couldn't read them. I have a ton more to learn but I can already anticipate breakdowns as well as excitement. I no longer am afraid of them, I know how bad things can get but they get oh so very good too.

Yep, we are alive...all of us...barely

Okay. Here we go. Hunker down, cuddle up, sit for a spell because this is going to be a marathon post. It's Saturday night, Karl is finally getting some time with the guys and the kids are in bed. I am also in bed, yep, I am in bed and it is 8:30... on a Saturday (for those of you who know me closely you realize this is quite late for me actually, ha). I am going to try to sum up what has happened since that last post. Unfortunately, everything everyone told me about not having time for myself anymore totally happened so I didn't get to journal as well as I did last time (total lie, I didn't journal at ALL) so this is as much for me as it is for you so someday (if we all survive this) the kids may enjoy reading it. Or not...

So we arrive in Addis early Sunday morning, the 13 hour flight was killer but Ethiopian airlines really is a nice way to fly. We arrived at the Addis View Hotel and while Karl was checking in and getting some money exchanged I ran up to the dining room to see if Rackaways were there. The whole Rackaway family (minus my favorite Maddie) were present and accounted for, including Lowta/Cate. So good to see this beautiful, friendly family who have really become an extension to our family. We have been through some of the toughest stuff together and there has never been anything but kind words, love, and encouragement. Love them! Ok, back to the beginning. We chit chatted with them for a few and then we decided that we needed some sleep before we went to pick up the boys. Being at the Addis View again was very nice. It is wonderful to be in a place that can feel a little like home away from home due to familiarity. The staff here are so courteous and helpful to us throughout our stay with the boys. Karl and I slept until 1ish and then got ready to go to the care center to pick up the boys. Our favorite driver, Benjamin, was there to get us which was another amazing feeling of comfort. We drove to the care center and thankfully Benjamin's English is very good so he was able to tell the nannies we were here to pick up the boys (because we arrived on a Sunday there are no English speaking employees available). The boys were happy to see us and with prompting gave us kisses on the cheeks. Let's be honest, they were WAY more excited about their new clothes. So we changed them and got them in the car and went back to the hotel. At this point the boys and we are in a state of shock and bliss/fear. We color for awhile in the room, play with some dump trucks, and then realize, hmmm what are we going to do for the next 4 days... Being exhausted we went up to eat at 4:30 in the afternoon. This was the first time I witnessed how much these two eat. It is like nothing you have ever seen. I swear. So by 5:30 we are done eating and I decide to take Ahmi (formally known as Obama) downstairs while Karl and Ajura pay our bill. Poor decision. When I get to the room, Ahmi starts this sad whimpering cry that turns into a wail. I just hold him and cuddle him. When Ajura and Karl return he is fine. Ding ding ding, duh, he is terrified of being separated from his brother. Ajura is the only thing in his life that has been stable. So we bathe the boys and all go to bed around 7 (it may have even been 6). The night went pretty good, just a few shinty (pee pees) here and there.

The next day we are still exhausted and to be honest I wake up and see these rambuncous kids and kinda just want to cry. I am pretty sure I did cry. The next section will be putting the next four days all together. Ahmi is really struggling with authority. Then I remember we are these new random white people who all of a sudden pick him up and now are telling him what he can and can't do. Oh yeah, and we don't speak Amharic. When we tell him 'no' he just smiles and continues to do what we told him not to do so finally it resorts to basically holding him still with his arms and legs pinned and he screams and fights. Once he stops fighting us we release him and he continues to cry but eventually falls asleep. Yep, this is a lot of fun. Oh and remember those good table manners I failed to mention above (their table manners the night before were better than Karl's), yep, sometime in the middle of the night those manners got erased. At one point we barely missed losing a entire cutlery set out the window. And once we get Ahmi settled down Ajura has the same defiance fit and Karl has to hold him down. This time Ajura's tantrum lasts for an hour and a half before he finally gives up and falls asleep. So Ajura is crying and Ahmi now starts to cry because Ajura is crying. I start to cry and look at Karl and asks, "How are you dealing with this?" His response, "I am in denial." With a wink, which makes me giggle and then we both continue to comfort the children we have just cattle tied (so to speak). Rackaways get done with Embassy so we all decide to go to Africa Park to let the kids play. Let me tell you something, if Africa Park had not been there we all may not have made it 4 days in a hotel room. Seriously, someone would have died. I don't know who, probably me, I seem to be the weakest link at times. We all pile into the car and deal with the traffic (the prime minister of Ethiopia had died just prior to us arriving and his palace is right across the street from Africa Park so there were miles of lines of mourners paying their respects). Get there and find out they are not open on Mondays. WTF!!!! So we head back to the Addis View and try to entertain the children the best we can on the back patio area of the hotel. Thankfully Rackaways brought a large supply of balloons so the kids had something to play with and on our last day there Karl bought two balls from a local boy and the boys were so excited and happy to play. On the back patio the boys, well okay, Ahmi was a celebrity. Due to his former name, he was the talk of the hotel, the staff even lead him to the back to meet the chef. He had the security guards wrapped around his finger. We all decide to try Africa park the next day after we get through with Embassy. We all go to bed early again, thankfully bath time and bed time are the easiest parts of the day (still are).

Embassy day
We wake up and do the same thing again, eat, cry, sleep, eat, cry, and then go to embassy. At Embassy you wait in a line and then get pushed ahead of the line because we are adoptive parents. Then you go through security (if I had a dollar for every time I went through some sort of security this last two weeks I would not need to work again). Then we wait in this room with a bunch of windows, like the DMV, your family name is called and a English speaking American woman  swears us in behind a window. We can barely hear her. She asks a few questions and then answers many of our questions regarding the childrens' birth parents. In 10 minutes it is over and we are officially done with this adoption. Such a weird feeling. We now just have to wait for our documents to arrive Thursday morning. We get back to the hotel and go to Africa park. Hallelujah!!! This was the first time I heard Ajura's full on belly laugh. He just loved the slide!!! Being the awesome mom that I am, I almost broke my child's legs here. Ajura is a climber (just like his parents) and climbs to the top of a play set (it is at least 9 feet high) and looks as if he is going to stand on the top. I say no and he sits down nicely and then he asks me something in Amharic which I translated to be "Look mom how nice I am sitting" and I say "yes" and then smile. What he was really asking was "Hey mom, can I jump from the top of here?" So he flies through the air and lands on his feet and I am just standing there in shock like a total ass. The Ethiopian girl playing next to us says to me, "You should check his legs." Which I was totally going to do but he was gone already. Guess he was ok and no tib-fib fractures to worry about. We let Ajura, Ahmi, and Lowta/Cate run for about 1.5 hours and then Benjamin picked us up and took us to eat at Lucy's. Very good food again. We went to bed straight after with very tired kids (yeah, we were exhausted too).

Rackaways left us on Wednesday evening. So during the day on Wednesday we had our coffee ceremony at the care center. Prior to the coffee ceremony we played at the hotel on the patio, I received great parenting advice from Andrea, (like don't run after them down the hall, just leave them be, they are looking for attention), and they got to see one of Ahmi's meltdowns. Chapman's words of advice for me, "First phrase to teach these boys when you get home is, TAKE A LAP!" Thank goodness for 3 acres. Now looking back I think this is the last time I had to hold Ahmi down for more than 1 minute before he just relaxes. Wow, that makes me feel like we have accomplished something. Anyway, we all drive together to the coffee ceremony and it is fantastic. We were a little concerned with how excited the boys were to be going back to the care center but once there the boys checked in with us constantly to make sure we didn't leave without them. Good to know that even though we are all having mental breakdowns we are better than their previous life. I am not saying that they were not well cared for, not in the least. When we were saying our goodbyes to the nannies, Sister Almaz, Yared, Abebe, and all the other office staff you can tell they were happy for the boys but would miss them. I was very thankful that Sister Almaz gave the childrens' birth mother one of their photo books because we were not able to meet her when we were in country. Thanks to another traveling family, we do have pictures of her and the boys together which my wonderful friends and family had framed in the boys room when they got there. She is beautiful and SOOOOOO tall. I am going to be thought of as the little person in our family. Thankfully, the boys still wanted to leave with us so after more pictures and all the good byes, we all headed back to the hotel. We had planned to go to Africa Park again to wear Lowta/Cate out for her ride back home, but the weather didn't cooperate. We had to say goodbye to our dear Rackaways. We will see you soon!

We woke up on Thursday, the day we are going to start our long journey home. We received our documents as promised and played ball on the patio for many many hours. We also visited Africa Park to try to wear the boys out as much as possible. Ajura saw me start to pack their things and asks "America, aeroplane?" I say yes, and unfortunately/fortunately the kids get super pumped and want to leave pronto. How to explain that we leave in 6 hours... While waiting, the sweet mom that lives next to the hotel, Lily, wanted to braid my hair. So we did that for awhile. She is the sweetest thing ever. At 7 p.m. we were dropped off at the airport. We say our goodbyes to Benjamin and get a guy with a cart and haul all our things through security, well all our things except Ajura's backpack...! In his excitement he left it in the car and in our frazzledness we didn't even think about it until Benjamin was long gone. BUT HIS LEAP PAD IS IN THERE!!!!! So thankfully, the very organized person that I am has the phone number to the hotel and the guy with the cart has a cell phone, he calls the hotel, they give him Benjamin's cell number. Benjamin answers and cart guy (who got a HUGE tip) hands the phone to me and I say, "Benjamin! We forgot Ajura's backpack in the van!!" Benjamin replies, "I am coming!!!" So I take both kids to stand in line at check in while Karl leaves with cart guy and gets the bag and cart guy shuffles him through to the front of the line at security. Wow! And to think this is just the beginning. We check in, go through customs, and finally get to bathrooms and water. However, the bathrooms are right next to the prayer rooms and it is prayer time so the men are washing their feet so Karl is standing in a bathroom line with two little boys for 45 minutes trying to get to the bathroom. Then we go through security again and then get to sit down. By the time the flight is ready to go the boys are both asleep but we have to wake them up otherwise we can't get them and the luggage on the plane. So now we have two overstimulated, tired boys to deal with. Due to the three rows of three Karl is planted in between both boys for the 17 hour flight home (it takes longer because we refuel in Rome). I sit next to a very pleasant woman with her daughter. However, the very pleasant woman wants to sleep on my shoulder for a good 5 hours which makes me very uncomfortable. At that point, I think Karl was snickering that he got the good end of the deal because both boys slept most of the long flight. We arrived in D.C. extremely tired. The boys have gone from seeing their first motion activated door and escalator to having flown across the Atlantic ocean and arrived in Washington D.C. To all the employees at Washington Dulles International, you are the best airport staff I have EVER encountered!!! In immigration we handed over the precious documents and Officer Hernandez holds out each boys passport and visas and in turn says, "Hey buddy, this is really cool, (stamps the visa), welcome to America!"We then pick up our luggage and Ahmi is wanting to be held or else is refusing to walk and we need to drag him on the floor. I have a horrific headache and actually at one point think I am going to pass out (I think from dehydration and exhaustion). So Karl has two kids one of which is dragging on the floor plus a cart of luggage and his falling apart every second wife going through the airport. Of course, we need to go through the extra part at customs, then re-check in and re-check our bags, then go through security again. At security Ahmi is just following my lead and when I take my shoes off he takes his off. The security officer then informs me that children under 12 don't have to remove their shoes. I look at him and say, "If you can explain that to him go right ahead, I think this is just easier." Problem solved. Finally we reach our terminal and the boys are totally fit to be tied. Rolling on the ground, crying, messes. All of us, again, except Karl, cried at Dulles. Then we started the Benadryl. Took a bit to work but Ahmi and Ajura were both konked out for our second 4 hour flight to Denver. We all took "ladies of the night" bathes in the family rest room in Denver and then proceeded to our gate, so excited for the last flight and then we get to go home! Many people in the Denver airport stopped us and said, "What a beautiful family!" That was nice to hear especially since we were so exhausted at this point. The boys actually did really well for the insane amount of culture shock they must have been experiencing and exhaustion. Our final flight was only an hour so the boys were awake and did very well. We landed in Bismarck to a wonderful group of friends and family to meet us! It was quick since we were all fading fast. They took to their car seats well and when we got home we showed them the dogs. Ajura was a little nervous but did really well with Kinde and Ahmi screamed his head off. Not the picture perfect meeting we were hoping for. Ajura did pet Kinde and Nali before we went to bed and Ahmi was just fine with the dogs after a little work the next day. It literally took less than 12 hours for him to be okay with the dogs. A huge part of that was Ajura warming up to them so quickly and showing his brother they are nothing to fear. They saw their bedroom and were so excited!!! As wild and wired as they were, we bathed them and they slept.

Okay I have been writing for over an hour so I am going to go to sleep now, but stay tuned, I will write more tomorrow night.

EMBASSY TRIP August 24 and 25 th

Well due to a bum neck, I unfortunately (or thankfully, who knows) had ample time to pack and plan, but thanks to wonderful friends, family, and of course my amazing husband all "required" pre kiddos tasks have been accomplished and I can proceed with a sense of accomplishment. It is difficult for me to sit by and watch everyone else pull my dead weight around. Karl has taken away my luggage  pulling priveledges twice now for what he feels were infractions on the "rules."

Anyway, our flight left Bismarck at 1730. Before dropping us off my dad surprised us and brought a basketball hoop for the boys! Ajura is going to be beyond THRILLED! My mom and dad dropped us off. Security was highly humorous. Bismarck must have recently received their body scanner and they are getting used to it. My hair is up in the normal Lura top knot style and due to the "density" (their words not mine), they needed to pat it (yes, just the top knot) down. Even after I offered to just take it out. We laughed pretty hard. All else was uneventful. Was able to grab my favorite treat in Denver! Caramel apple smothered in nuts and chocolate.  Fight to DC was on time and easy. Checked into the hampton inn and got to sleep around 0230. Alarm awoke us at 0630. Great sleep but really just not long enough. Loved the hampton inn though.  Airport stuff (you know... Security, check in) all uneventful. Just sitting and waiting to get onto our 13 hour flight to addis. We arrive at 0745.  The plan then is to eat breakfast with the rackaways hopefully and then nap and late afternoon head to pick up the boys at the care center!!!

June 2nd

Currently in Frankfurt airport and am annoyed that I need cell phone service in order to use the free internet. Karl had to laugh that we just came from Ethiopia where an entire meal would cost about $5 for both of us and our diet cokes in Frankfurt are 4 Euros each. There is a funny sense of camaraderie in the women's bathroom here as we are all trying to brush our teeth and wash our faces in 1 sink. I fought more with Teha and we each had our own sink.  One more 8 hour flight and we will be in the U.S. Miss the boys but I am homesick too. Can't wait until we are all in one place.

June 1st

Here is the beginning of another never-ending day of travel.  Really not looking forward to the flights. At least we fly Lufthansa until Chicago. We got up at 0800 and slowly get ready. We call Yared to make sure he will be at the care center when we get there. He wants us to wait for another family who has supposedly arrived the day before. We wait around the hotel and eat breakfast. At 1000 we get ahold of Yared again and he tells us not to bother waiting so Benjamin comes to pick us up at 1030.  Benjamin and Karl have become good buddies. I think he might request to drive us :) We arrive at the care center and while we are waiting for the boys to get out of school we ask Yared and Abebe more questions. Yared says that the boys earrings were brought to them from their birth mother at her court date. Ajura's necklace is common amongst people from Gambella. The boys are both very quiet because they don't feel comfortable speaking Amharic or English. Ahmi is in school so early because he simply wanted to go. When the boys arrive they are both still wearing their T-shirts and necklaces. Ajura goes to get their photo books right away and then wants to play with the camera. He really has started to bond with Karl! They played basketball and with balloons and bubbles today. Ahmi bounces bak and forth between Karl and me. He is a busy boy today running and playing. He had his first tantrum with me when I gave him a "time in" because he was hitting another boy. He was NOT happy.  After letting him go he threw the bubbles I gave him on the floor and GLARED at me from across the room. Definitely feel like a mom now! He was over the meltdown in 5 minutes and was back in my lap. We were able to have much more 2 on 2 time today than the previous days. Rackaways little Lowta was in a great mood today so we snuggled with her a lot. When our 2 hours was up it was a bittersweet see-ya-later. Benjamin returns us to the guest house where I spend the rest of the afternoon packing and Skyping. Our flight leaves at 1055 and we need to be at the airport at 1930. A lot of waiting and travel today. Karl goes to see his friends before we leave and ends up being invited to someone's house for a coffee ceremony.  You'll have to check his journal for details. Benjamin drops us off at the airport. We will miss him. Get through security and customs at Bole without any problems. Try to sleep on the flight and maybe got a little rest. 1 hour technical stop in Khartoum again.

May 31- COURT!!!

Woke up at about 0800, slept fairly well after taking Ambien last night. Karl's foot is purple but not too swollen and doesn't hurt. Went to eat at around 0845. Really nervous for court today. Rackaways met us in our room at 0945 to drop off their luggage and we met Benjamin to go shopping at the post office and Tamoca. We spent  $1000 birr on coffee at Tamoca! We have lots of gifts for our friends and family. We bought a beautiful painting, 2 Ethiopian flags, and another giraffe carving. All negotiated by Benjamin of course. He is the best!! We didn't realize how efficient shopping with Benjamin would be. We were back at the Addis View by 1045! The Rackaways and ourselves hung out in our room for a bit, looking at pictures of Haiti and talking. We then decided to have "lunch" (coffee and cake of course) at the cafe. We waited as patiently as possible and at 1330 Benjamin picked us up. We arrived at court at about 1340 and couldn't find our liaison but were guided to the PACKED waiting room. There was nowhere to sit, no A/C, and big signs that said SILENT on the wall. Our liaison showed up shortly thereafter saying, "are you nervous?" We all nodded our heads (silently of course). She said "There is nothing to be afraid of. The judge is a woman and she is gentle." So we waited and waited. At about 1430 an older Ethiopian man offered me his seat and the man next to him let Andrea and Maddie share his. So nice to sit down. EXTREMELY ANXIOUS. Sat next to a woman who has been living in Ethiopia for 3 years with her husband who is a pastor. They are adopting a 17 year old girl who was with them. Hard to talk much due to the SILENCE sign on the wall. Finally at 1500 on the nose, "Brothers and Sisters" was called. The Rackaways, our liaison, and us go into the judges quarters and take a seat. She checks our passports and begins firing questions. "Do you have any kids?" "How long have you been going through the adoption process?" "Have you completed your training?" "Wil you teach your children about Ethiopian culture?" "Have you met the children?" "Do you realize that once the court approves it is final?" "Do you still wish to adopt these children?" We answer appropriately with our hands clasped tightly together and then she says, "All your paperwork for court has been approved, however we are still waiting for a letter from MOWA." Then all of a sudden we are being shuffled out the door. I have no idea is we passed or not. In the hallway our liaison assures us that we passed but we are all still wary. Benjamin is waiting for us and takes us directly to the care center. ALL the kids are playing and surround us. We hug our boys who come running to us! I then go to the office to see if we can call Yared to get a final answer. Yared talks to me and then calls MOWA and calls back and says "They are yours!!!" Both families passed court!! The kids were all eating a snack when we left the office but when they were finished Karl and I snuck Ajura and Ahmi into their room and gave them their T-shirts that matched ours, necklaces, and photo books. They were so excited! Ajura then plays with the camera and was looking at our Haiti pics out of nowhere spelled "B-A-N-K." I then asked him to spell the letters on our T-shirts and he said "S-P-E-A-R-S." We are so proud of him. Ahmi was wild but would run around and then jump into my lap and put his photo book in my purse for safe keeping. Beginning to trust us! I also got another kiss on the cheek. IN LOVE! After two hours our driver picks us up and Rackaways immediately leave for the airport. We will miss them! They have been great traveling companions. We Skype and Facebook to share our good news. Have a good dinner at the hotel (I had fasting firfir- very spicy but good!). At dinner, we ran into the Belgian couple ( who I failed to mention earlier, who we rode to court with). They  also passed so there was congratulations all around. They are adopting a 7 year old and 5 year old. Very nice couple. Phew it has been a day!

May 30th

I am sorry it has taken me so long to catch up on the blog, it has been a REALLY busy week going back to work right away and trying to start getting things ready for the boys. So here is the catch up!

May 30th
Woke up this morning after sleeping really well through the whole night. However, after eating breakfast I still felt shot so I went to lie down until 0900. Before we left we made sure to have enough money with us to go shopping today. Benjamin gave us a ride to the care center. Karl filmed much of the drive so that was cool. When we arrived the boys were at school so they sent someone over to get them. Seeing them walk through the gates and give us hugs was great. We each sat and held one boy for at least 10 minutes. Ajura loves the camera so he took most of the photos today. Ahmi had a great time with the stickers we brought. I even forgot the Big Bird sticker on my arm so when I took it off at the hotel later I had a nice tan line from it. We were able to ask Yared questions about the boys. They both have scheduled naps in the afternoon, however, he said Ajura is usually too busy and doesn't nap. Ajura prefers bananas, sandwiches over injera, basketball and tea. Yared also said that they are both quite shy and probably know more English than most because of Gambella proximity to Sudan. Really had a good time with the boys again today. Can't wait for court to be over tomorrow so we can give them their gifts. After our time at the care center we went shopping a the open air market. Benjamin went with us and got straight down to business. In half hour both families had traditional outfits and more scarves than I will know what to do with for $75.00. Benjamin did all our bartering for us which was very very nice. We will finish up our shopping tomorrow morning. Now back to the hotel for lunch (coffee and cake) and a siesta.

After a nice 2 hour nap for both of us we ordered more cake for room service. Our favorite waiter arrived. Yummy coffee as usual.  Got ready for dinner. Went to Yod Abyssina for dinner. It is a traditional Ethiopian meal served family style. We ordered doro wot, beef tibs, and lamb something. 1/2 kilo of beef tibs would have been more than sufficient. Oh quick note insert, had to walk through metal detectors to enter restaurant. Food is served on a large platter of injera. So good! The music and dancing was also incredible!!! I was watching the dancers and all I could think of was: "Am I really here experiencing this?" Ethiopian people are beautiful, kind, soft spoken, generous, and quick to smile. I am so thankful that through our children we will have a tie to this country forever. I am eternally grateful for that! I will be so happy to be done with court tomorrow. I pray all goes well.

*of note: while leaving for dinner Karl, in his haste, missed a stair and twisted his ankle. This poor Ethiopian woman tried to catch him on the way down, he would have squashed her. He is okay but icing his foot.

May 29th

Woke up at 0700. Not the greatest sleep last night due to noisy neighbors. Actually falling asleep ok but if I get woken up it is difficult to go back to sleep. That is really the only jet lag I am suffering from. We met the rackaways for breakfast and then at 0915 we head to the care center. On arrival there are no kids to be found because all the little ones are being bathed. We meet Siter Almaz and she sends someone to get BOTH boys out of school. We thought only Ajura was in school but Ahmi goes too I guess. Aura was very shy towards me yesterday but when they came through the gate both boys had big smiles on their faces and came straight to us for hugs. Ajura even reached out for my hand. I was snuggling Ahmi and the nannies told him it was bath time so it was. Great opportunity to spend time alone with Ajura. Karl pointed to Ajura's shirt and Ajura said "tiger"!! This shocked us both because we didn't think he knew any English as of yesterday. After Ajura's bath he had a different shirt on that had dolphins on it, when we pointed he said "fish." Such proud parents!! While waiting for Ahmi, Ajura was pulling Karl's leg hair and cracking his and Karl's knuckles. Then he noticed Karl's ring and my ring and grabbed both our hands and touched our rings together. I welled up with tears. What a touching moment provided by two little hands. We played with bubbles and Karl played soccer N basketball. While I was taking a family photo of the rackaways another little boy was trying to get into the photo. Karl pointed at the boy and asked Ajura in Amharic what the boy's name was and Ajura thought he was pointing at me and said "Mimi." That was the first time my son called me "Mimi." What a feeling. We played some more and for about 5 minutes Ahmi let me rock him and he shut his eyes and just relaxed. We need to get a rocking chair at home. When our two hours was up we went to Yared's office briefly to discuss court and have our visas copied. We made arrangements for a trip up to Entoto mountain today at 1500. Our drive back to the guest house was kinda icky because it was extremely smoggy downtown today. When we got to the Addis View Karl's buddy Abraham showed up so I went to take a nap while he is out exploring. 2135. At 1500 we met up with the rackaways and our driver drove us to Entoto mountain which elevation is 10850 feet. O top of the mountain is a museum, palace, and orthodox catholic church. The women were all dressed in long skirts and head scarves. We paid 50 burr to get into the museum. Our driver accompanied us the whole time and insisted the tour guide to restart the tour in english for us. Very nice gesture but it made me feel like a pushy American and I hate that. All of the items in the museum were catholic religious icons, ceremonial dress and books along with items of the former kings and queens of Ethiopia. After the museum tour our guide then showed us the former palace and overlook of the city. The air is so polluted here that you just see a hazy view of the city. The palace is very interesting because although the crowns and attire of the royal family have diamonds and rubies the palace was very small and humble. Eucalyptus trees are planted everywhere because they grow fast and provide good lumbar, however they need a lot of water so they dig trenches around the trees to collect water. Very interesting. On the drive back we pass through the market where we will go tomorrow. We then go to Top View restaurant. Er nice place but we arrived too early. People eat late here. So the menu was pretty slim so we all had cheeseburgers and fries and coke. It was very good though. Our driver picked us up and we headed to the guest house early to get some good sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day!

Meetcha Day!! May 28th

Alarm rings at 0700 and we get up and get ready and go to breakfast. It is Memorial Day here as well and Ajura's 7th birthday!! We meet the rackaways at breakfast as planned and wait for a phone call from yared. We were told if he doesn't call before 0900 we were to call him...so we did. Waited for a ride together very anxiously. Thought we held thing together pretty well. 1000. The driver picks us up and we start driving through Addis. Still a beautiful city. Air is hazy with pollution. Mre traffic as we get closer into downtown. In about 20 minutes we suddenly turn left down a gravel alleyway and then we stop in front of the gate we have heard about and seen on pictures. The driver honks and the gates open to a courtyard with playground equipment. Around the courtyard in a complete circle are rooms and an office. When the vehicle stops we look to the right and there is a crowd of children. The children pour out and Andrea yells, "That one is mine!" What an awesome moment. Wile this is happening, yared greets Karl and myself as I search for those familiar faces. The children come up one by one to greet us by shacking our hands and saying "hello!" then Yared asks one of the other boys to get Ajura and Obama/Ahmi. I watch as the boy walks to one of the rooms and then our boys emerge. I was in shock! I hugged Ajura first. He is shy and tentative. Yared warned me that Ahmi had tripped this morning so he has a piece of white athletic tape next to his right eye. Ahmi greets me and lets me hold him. Neither boys know that we are their parents at this point I don't think. We start playing with balloons the rackaways brought and then another 7 year old boy who speaks English pretty well told each of our boys in turn "Obama (points to me), Mimi!" "Ajura (points to me), Mimi!" At this point my heart explodes with joy as I see the comprehension on Ajura's face and watch Ahmi mouth the word "Mimi" as if he is trying them out for the first time. Ajura is still shy and more interested in playing basketball but acknowledges us with special looks or try to sit close (especially with Karl). I can't imagine how me feels an dhow scary and exciting and overwhelming it is for all of us. At least we knew this was going to happen today. We played balloons, sunglasses were a hit, and watched them eat lunch and say their prayer together. Those children follow such a tight schedule and behave so well. There is no yelling from the nannies. After they eat, each child goes independently to wash their hands (they do this before dinner too). All except our Ahmi who practically has to be hosed down because he has food on his shirt, pants and even in his pink crocs! So cute! Ahmi loves to snuggle with both Karl and me and even seeks us out and gets jealous when other kids try to get our attention. He even kissed me on the cheek! Ajura Is quick to smile and is really warming up to Karl by the end of our visit. Ahmi seems a little sad when we say "ciao" but Ajura lingers with a smile on his face, understanding that we will be back tomorrow. We leave in almost utter silence in the car. We are all wonderfully overwhelmed. Our wonderful driver Benjamin engages us zombies in conversation. E decide to meet at 1600 to discuss dinner plans. Upon getting back to our room we Skype our families and friends. They are all so excited! At 1600 we meet up with the Rackaways at the cafe. We decide to eat at Lucy's tonight. Benjamin drives us there for $6 a couple round trip. I ordered the chicken tikka and Karl had lamb curry. Both were very good. Our total including two beers for 5 people was $35.00. It has been so nice having the Rackaways traveling with us. We have a lot in common. S i noticed when we were at Lucy's that the emblem of the restaurant was a skeleton that looked familiar and then (DUH!) I realized the restaurant was named after the "missing link" skeleton Lucy. The restaurant is right nex to to Natural History Museum so on the way back I asked Benjamin if Lucy was in there and he said "yes! She is very famous!" We have to add that onto the to do list which currently includes Entoto mountain and shopping. Still love it here and now have fallen in love with two little boys. Can't wait to see them tomorrow! Looking forward to some good sleep tonight after the emotional day!