Saturday, December 25, 2010 - CHRISTMAS DAY

Celebrating Christmas in Ethiopia
Lunch and the "mall"
Visit to KVI orphanage
Christmas dinner

We got up, got dressed, and ate breakfast downstairs at the Guest House. Afterwards we went back to the room and began our Christmas celebration. First, we read the Christmas Story from Luke 2. Then, Mattea read The Tale of Three Trees for everyone. We read it every year. We LOVE that book!

Mattea reading Tale of Three Trees and her sweet big bro Eli holding it open for her

Next we watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” which Steve and Lorena let us borrow. (They are a couple from the US staying in Addis for 6 months. He works for Pfizer, which is donating millions of dollars in medicines and resources to help with some health and disease issues in Ethiopia. We met them on our first trip and were glad we were able to visit with them again this time.)

Note: Ethiopia uses the Gregorian calendar which has 13 thirty-day months plus an additional 5 or 6 day month at the end of the year. It is 7 years “behind” our calendar. It won’t be Christmas in Ethiopia until January 7th on our calendar, so this is just a normal Saturday here.

We went to lunch at the Lime Tree and then walked over to Friendship City Center for some shopping (mostly looking). Friendship City Center is a multi-level “mall”. It’s very modern with lots of stores. In the lower level is a store which is likely the Addis equivalent of Wal-Mart. Some food, personal care items, household goods, furniture, jewelry, a few toys, etc. Wyatt bought some hot sauce for Lorena because she used it every morning on her eggs, and he noticed she was running low.  (That's SO Wyatt!)


Friendship City Center

Sisters at Lime Tree

Deke at Lime Tree

Deke's pizza with 2 bites out of a slice - it made a heart, so we had to have a photo

When we arrived back at the Guest House we loaded up all the red bins full of donations and headed over to KVI orphanage for a few hours. We took diapers, wipes, clothes for all ages, shoes, blankets, sheets, soccer balls, American football, jump rope, and a home-made version of cup-ponk. We joined T’s youth group from the International Evangelical Church there for fun with the kids. (T works for America World, is the youth pastor at the church, and is attending seminary, as well. Such a great guy! ) We made bracelets with the kids, painted fingernails, played soccer and football with the kids. However, kids in Ethiopia aren’t that interested in playing with American footballs because they’ve never seen football played on TV and don’t understand the game. (Honestly, what good is an American football if you haven’t seen that crazy sport? The ball is just weird and not good for much if you don’t “know” what to do with it. So, American footballs are not such a big hit with the kids!)

Making bracelets

A student from the church painting nails



The kids swarmed us for bracelets. They were pushing and shoving, and grabbing beads and hoarding them. It was chaos, but no one was hurting anyone else – they just all wanted to be sure to get one. Deke and some of the boys from the International Church played soccer and tossed the football around. Mattea, Eli and Wyatt helped with bracelet making then just spent time playing with the kids. It was a great experience for all of us. All the kids called me “Mommy”, and I was so heartbroken for them. I pray they will all have a real mommy of their own soon. We didn’t go inside to visit with the babies and toddlers because it was nap time. I didn’t see what the conditions were this time, but I do know that lots of people have taken donations recently so they should be better. Plus, with all of ours they should be doing a little better. I also know that others are planning to take more in the future. Hopefully, the kids are able to have their basic physical needs met now. Now, to get them all families…



Mattea

In the evening, the Guest House hosted a Christmas party for all the guests. Michael told the kids there was a Christmas party that we would be going down to for dinner and tried to get Brielle to say “Christmas party”. She tried really hard, but all she could ever come up with was “Christmas FARTY”. Oh my goodness, we laughed SO hard! I’m sure that is one that will forever be a part of our Christmas vocabulary! We went to the party, the food was DELICIOUS, and we had a great time visiting with all the other families who were there.

The kids' table at the Christmas "farty"

BEFORE



AFTER

It was a special Christmas day we will never forget. We gave no gifts to each other. We only gave to Jesus today. BEST celebration ever!

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Facebook posts from today:

Merry Christmas from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! :)

Celebrating Christmas in Ethiopia today: Breakfast. Reading THE Christmas Story. Reading Tale of Three Trees. Watching Charlie Brown Christmas. Gifts (AKA candy bars!). Lunch at Lime Tree. Delivering 6 full bins of donations plus a big bag of toys to KVI orphanage and playing with the kids this aftenoon. Christmas dinner at the Guest House. An awesome day, indeed!

Just came back from a couple of hours at KVI. It was fun to see the excitement of the kids, but so sad to think that there are so many children in the world today - not just those we saw today - who have no family, no one to love them and keep them safe, and no happy expectation of wonderful things on Christmas day. "To whom much is given, much is required." Lord, let us be good stewards of YOUR blessings.

When offered some goldfish crackers, my newest daughter just said with her cute little accent, "I don't want no fish!" while laughing hysterically. Then we all were laughing hystertically! :)

Just came back from the Guest House "Christmas Farty" (as Brielle called it). It was great - amazingly delicious food and fun visiting with new friends - a really fun farty, indeed!

Well, our Christmas day is coming to a close now... hope your day is blessed and filled with worship of the King of heaven and earth!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Shoe shopping for Brielle
Pottery shopping
Lunch at Makush
Transition homes

We walked to shops around the Guest House looking for some shoes for Brielle since she only had the ones we picked her up in. They were okay but bordered on being too small, and I knew she wouldn’t wear them after we got home.   We finally found some and bought them -VERY cute but a little big.  We also went to a small shop that had pottery pieces at some really great prices and bought a coffe pot and a couple more things.  I just hope they make it to the States intact.

We went to lunch at Makush again then to the Transition Homes for the afternoon. As we turned on the street to the Transition Home, TJ knew exactly where we were and started cheering! They just couldn’t wait to see their friends and the nannies. I am so glad they loved it there so much. It really says a lot about the quality of care and the atmosphere our agency has established there.

Our kids were SO loved and cared for at the Transition Home... We are incredibly grateful to all the wonderful people there!

We delivered care packages for 3 families and had so much fun playing with the kids. Since we’ve had ours with us for over a week and will have them leaving with us, we felt free to play and have fun with everyone else’s kids. Deke, Eli, Mattea and Wyatt enjoyed playing with all the kids, too. It was so much fun! The kids are amazing, and I so enjoyed watching all of mine love on the kids in the Transition Home. I am so glad they were able to have that experience. It was priceless and life-changing for them.

TJ being TJ

Brielle being Brielle

By the time we left, Deke was insisting that we adopt a wonderful sibling group of 3, but I just don’t know where in the world we would put 3 more kids in our house. They are all wonderful kids, and I am praying for their forever family to come soon. Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has a plan for them, and I believe He does. I hope I get to follow their story – I know it’s going to be a great one!

At the end of our visit, the kids sang Christmas carols for us. Those without an earthly father singing songs to their Heavenly Father… nothing better on this earth.

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Facebook posts from today:

Another great day with the family... Shoe shopping for Brielle this morning, then lunch with the other adoption families who are here. Transition Homes this afternoon delivering care packages and loving on kids. TJ and Brielle were so excited when we started down the road to the TH. They just couldn't wait to see all their friends. It was so sweet! :)

Forgot to mention that the kids at the Transition Home sang Christmas carols for us! It was amazing... those with no earthly father singing songs about the One who came to give Himself so that we could have a relationship with our Heavenly Father - now, THIS is how Christmas should be celebrated!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merkato
Amsterdam
Bora Amusement Park

We drove through the Merkato – the largest market in Africa. VERY interesting. You can buy anything there. There are different areas for different types of items. There are areas for clothing, shoes, building supplies, plumbing, accessories, car repair, windshields, food, etc. We only drove through and didn’t get out because we were told we should stay in the van. Once we left the Merkato area, we went to a street with a lot of upscale shops and jewelry stores. We bought Mattea some silver hoop earrings for the equivalent of about $4.20.

While we were walking, TJ decided he didn’t want to walk with us anymore and decided to just stop on the sidewalk. We kept on going because we don’t beg kids to do what they should do. He began to cry, and people began to stare, but we just kept on going. Someone stopped Michael and asked what was wrong with TJ. Michael told them and they thought we were horrible parents. Oh, well. Eventually, he decided to walk with us and ran to catch up.

We had lunch at Amsterdam where Job told us that our embassy paperwork was waiting for us at the Guest House. After lunch we went to Bora Amusement Park. It’s a small amusement park with a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a merry-go-round, a chair swing ride, and a small train ride. They were just typical carnival rides except that there was no music (so we could hear all the grinding and squeaking noises all the rides made). We were the only people there, so there were no lines except for the one we created. We only spent about $12 total for 6 kids to ride all the rides they could for an hour. Not a bad deal at all! They had a great time.  (Camera battery ran out, so no other photos.  Got some video - maybe I can get that posted later.)

A relatively quiet night in the room. The V family left this afternoon, so it was just us for the evening...

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Facebook post from today:

Anoother fun day! We are so blessed to be the parents of 6 fantastic kids. :)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - ONE WEEK TOGETHER!

Embassy
Market at bottom of Entoto
Post office market
Dinner in the room
“Performance” for us and the V. family

This was the first day TJ didn’t get up and put his shoes on right away with his pajamas.

While I was putting on make-up, TJ came to me bleeding.  The little "bump" over his lip had been bumped or rubbed off and was bleeding like crazy.  We tried and tried to get it to stop bleeding, but it just wouldn't quit so we put a band-aid over it so we could go down to breakfast.

band-aid mustache

Embassy appointment was super easy. Since there were only two AWAA families, it didn’t take us long at all. They have a little play area for kids, and it was a great way to keep them occupied. The bathroom was AWESOME! Okay, it was just a “normal” American bathroom, but it was such a reminder of home. No broken tiles, sink worked properly, plenty of TP, super clean, paper towels. Just plain “aaaahhhhh….” I think I enjoyed that bathroom just a little TOO much!

We joined the other families at Blue Tops for lunch. (We didn’t eat there during out court trip. If we had, I don’t think I would have gone back. The food wasn’t good and neither was the service. Absolutely the worst restaurant we’ve eaten at in Addis.)

Saw Samuel at the post office market today. We hadn’t originally planned to go there, so I hadn’t packed the gum to take to him today. Bought a few more things. Told Samuel we’d be back on Monday or Tuesday to see him and bring some things for him.

Jumping rope!

The kids played outside while I hand washed jeans today.  My family wouldn't wear jeans if I always had to hand wash them.  It's incredibly hard!  So thankful for my washer and dryer!

15 pairs of jeans!

After dinner in the room, Matt & Kathy V. came back over to visit. TJ and Brielle put on a real show. It started with some singing and dancing then progressed to some kind of skits and drama. It went on for about an hour and a half. We laughed SO hard at them, and they totally enjoyed our attention. It was the night that all the court families went to the traditional restaurant, so the building was rather empty. It’s a good thing, because they were LOUD! We are so glad we got to share the fun with our friends!

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Facebook posts from today:

Hand washed 15 pairs of blue jeans in the outside basins and hung them on the line to dry at our guest house... so much more thankful now for my washer and dryer at home! :) (And, yes, I did get photos as proof for those of you who may be "doubters"! LOL)

We were blessed with the most amazing "show" by our two new ones tonight. We heard songs, watched dances, and saw some skits. I have no idea what any of it meant, but it was VERY entertaining - WOW! It was wild AND wonderful! Glad our friends the VanCleaves were here to share it with us... :)

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Embassy paperwork
Makush
Africa Park
Washing clothes

T came by the Guest House to help with pre-embassy paperwork in the morning, then we met everyone at Makush for lunch. (Makush is a restaurant which has beautiful Ethiopian art for sale.) I am starting to get tired of restaurant food and soft drinks.



Coloring in the morning

 After lunch, the V family went with us to the Africa Park. It’s a playground park in front of the Hilton. We had tried to go yesterday but it was closed for cleaning. It costs 10 birr for kids under 12 and 25 birr for kids 12 and up. And it costs 50 more birr to keep your camera with you to take photos! (If you don’t want to pay they take your camera from you and lock it up until you leave.)

We really needed some clothes washed, but some of our laundry I sent out the other day came back with spots that looked like bleach spots so I only sent some of it out and decided to wash the rest myself. There is a rule at the Guest House that you can’t wash clothes in your room, but I washed some anyway. It was a big mistake. I had a huge pile of soaking wet clothes and no way to get them dry before the cleaning staff would come in the morning. I hung up everything I could, laid some out on couches, chairs, etc. and just hoped they would be dry by morning. They weren’t. (It took days before they were all dry…)


One of the ladies at the Guest House washing some of our clothes

Our clothes...

The clothes I washed (and the reason the washing of clothes in rooms is forbidden!)

While I was washing clothes, the rest of the family was downstairs playing. The boys all stayed downstairs a long time talking to T and hearing all kinds of fun stories about growing up in Ethiopia (like skinning goats, etc.). Then Matt & Kathy V. came over to visit for a while. We love visiting with them!

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Facebook post from today:

When do you know you're really someone's "Mommy"?  When they call you over so they can spit their gum in your hand(!) or when they proudly bring you their latest coloring creation...  Yep! I'm "Mommy" to two more! :)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Cathedral Museum
Lunch at Metro Pizza
Played at Guest House

Dinner at Kaldi’s

We visited the Cathedral in Addis which was built by Haile Selassie. It is an Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral. We had to take off our shoes before we entered, and TJ and Brielle already knew what to do. The Ethiopian Orthodox religion has much ritual involved in it, and they obviously had been taken to church often by their birth family.

There are beautiful stained glass windows and beautiful décor inside. Haile Selassie and his wife are entombed inside. We met a priest in the area of the tombs who asked if I wanted to take his photo. I said, “Yes”, took the photo, and then he held out his hand and said, “Money.” There was a very nice lady who gave us the tour and explained much of the detail to us. There are many paintings of Haile Selassie on the walls and ceiling and many paintings and depictions of saints.

The Cathedral

The priest who wanted to be paid for his photo

A domed ceiling in the Cathedral

One of the stained glass windows - "Noah"

After the tour of the cathedral, we went to a small building which housed the “museum” part. About the time we went in there was a power failure (very common in Addis), so the guide used a scepter, which later he told the great significance of, as a rod to reach the curtains to open them and let in sunlight. There were many solid gold items covered with precious jewels, many historically important clothing and fabric items and several books and other delicate items. Even those in cases were not in air-tight cases, and many were just sitting out in the open with little more than a string as a boundary to keep people from touching. We were shocked at the lack of security, the lack of appropriate protection from elements, and the allowance of sunlight which could quickly destroy the aging objects. I just hated that their important historical items were in the process of decay before our very eyes because of the lack of proper preservation techniques. It was so sad.





A funny billboard next to Metro Pizza




The sisters at Metro Pizza

  We went to the Hilton to exchange some money and then joined other AWAA families at Metro Pizza for lunch. Afterwards, we went back to the Guest House for some rest and play time. Then we walked to Kaldi’s for dinner. We were seated in a dark corner at two tiny tables, and we were short one chair. Mattea and I moved our chairs together, and Brielle sat on a corner of each of them. In spite of not even having a chair, Brielle fell asleep at the table while waiting on her food. And being the true “brother” that he is, when she woke up TJ made fun of her for falling asleep and told her he ate her food while she was sleeping! After dinner, we went back to the room for baths and bed. Whew… long day!

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Facebook post from today:
Things we take for granted: Kids playing in the tub. Tonight is the first night that TJ didn't rush to get done and out of the shower. He sat down, then laid down on the bottom of the shower and giggled, giggled, giggled! I'm sure he never got to do that when there were dozens of other kids waiting to get a shower, too. Can't wait until we're home and he can play in the tub - wonder what he'll think of that! :)

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Church
Island Breeze
A little discipline
Mirinda melt-down

Electricity was out for about 2 hours while everyone was trying to get ready to go to church.

The G family arrived last night with the shoes they bought for TJ. He tried them on and said, “bigger!” He loves them.

Went to International Evangelical Church for worship. The regular pastor was not there because he was visiting family in the US.

Fork and toothpick trick

"Island Breeze Pirate Burger" - need I say more?

Ate lunch at Island Breeze… AWESOME! My new favorite Addis restaurant! Deke entertained (himself and others) with his "fork and toothpick trick". TJ had to go to time-out at the restaurant because he refused to obey and come out from under the table. When we got back to the Guest House, Brielle had a time-out because she just refused to change her clothes. I was helping her get dressed, and she didn’t like the shirt I told her to wear so she just refused to put her arms in. In time-out she cried just a little but still refused to put her arms in her shirt so she just sat there with it hanging around her neck. Finally, she put her arms in, apologized, and was able to get out of time-out.
Back to the Guest House, rested for a while, then the kids played outside until after dark. They love playing soccer and jumping rope. Ate microwave mac and cheese for dinner with soft drinks and Teddy Grahams for dessert. TJ had a melt-down at dinner time because he thought Brielle got a tiny bit more Mirinda (Sunkist) in her cup than he did. A total melt-down. He pouted, cried, screamed, hid behind a chair, and then threw up. After he cleaned up his mess, he quit all the drama, ate his cold mac and cheese (which had been sitting on the table for about 20 minutes and was even worse cold than hot). He grimaced with every bite but ate it all, drank his Mirinda, and ate his Teddy Grahams.

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Facebook posts from today:

A good day. Church at the International Evangelical Church - 62 nations represented on a typical Sunday... a little taste of heaven. Glorious!

"Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:4

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Church, lunch at Island Breeze Cafe (delicious!), back to guest house for a little rest and outside play, then microwave mac and cheese for dinner (not so delicious) with chocolate Teddy Grahams for dessert. Kids had a few pouting sessions today: one was over not wanting to change clothes and one was because someone got more coke in their glass than they did. The new two act a whole lot like the first four! LOL

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Picked up late luggage
Entoto Mountain
An interesting walk
“Ding-dong-ditch”

Michael went to the airport to pick up our 5 donation bins that finally arrived. After breakfast we all got ready and went to Entoto Mountain. The kids loved seeing all the people and donkeys that carry things up and down the mountain. It’s amazing, really. We ate at Lucy restaurant with some of the other families and while we were there, our sweet friends the V family arrived. It was so good to see them again! We went back to the Guest House where the kids played outside again and played on their Fisher Price iXLs, which they absolutely LOVE!

A field of dirt and rocks where there are usually guys playing soccer

On the way to Entoto, there is a market that is open on Saturdays only.  They close down one half of the 4-lane road so people set up their "shops".

Market again

There are ALWAYS people and animals everywhere you look in Addis.  This is a shot out the windshield of the van on the way to Entoto.

Two of the amazing women who carry things up and down Entoto Mountain every day.  These two are carrying dung for fuel for fires.





Another... she is carrying eucalyptus



A donkey carrying hay



"Security system" on the top of many of the walls around houses

 



One of the rare traffic signs in Addis.  (Notice that the "STOP" sign actually appears to say "go" at the top... yeah, that's about right!) 



 After a while we went for a walk in the area around the Guest House, but we turned left out of the gate rather than right. We walked down some back streets without much on them. A man in a red car stopped to talk to us. He had two kids in the back seat of his car, and asked us about TJ and Brielle. He was very nice and seemed genuinely happy about them being adopted by us. Then we walked on some more. We made our way out to a main street and actually passed by the building where the Federal High Court is located. That is where we went to court to officially adopt them in November. I took a picture of a meat market, and then we met two older gentlemen. They were also happy about us adopting the kids. They asked where we were from in the USA, and we told them Alabama. One of them sang, “I come from Alabama with a banjo on my knee!” It was hilarious!

Meat market

My little friend.  A boy who followed us and talked to us almost our entire walk today.  We gave him some birr.  (He came by the Guest House many more times during our stay, and we were able to give him some food, some treats, and a flashlight.)

We had NO time-outs today. Behavior was great.

TJ and Brielle played “ding-dong-ditch” on Wyatt. He had the other bedroom door closed and they would run up, knock, scream something, and run away laughing hysterically. It was SO funny!

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Facebook post from today:

"Funny stuff: TJ & Brielle sing "Wheels on the Bus" in Amharic until the get to "all through the town". They compete to see who can sing the alphabet song the LOUDEST! They were ding-dong-ditching Wyatt - Wyatt had the door closed, they would run up and knock and say something they obviously thought was absolutely hilarious and then run away screaming and laughing. We've had a great day so far! :)"

Friday, December 17, 2010

Light-up shoes
Discipline drama*
Shopping at the market
Dinner at Guest House
Toy Story2 and Cars

Brielle got up first today. We heard her in her room, so Michael went in to get her. We got out some books to look at together. Then we heard Wyatt and TJ get up, so they came in to join us. After a few minutes TJ left the room and we heard banging on the floor in the other room. He was banging his new light-up shoes on the floor to light them up. Then he put them back on – with his PJs.

We went down to breakfast and introduced them to hot chocolate. We had brought some instant hot chocolate packets from home, and it was a huge hit – maybe too much of a hit! We didn’t get showers until after breakfast because there was no hot water again, and one cold shower this week was enough. We stayed around the Guest House for the morning, had what I am sure is the first of many “Who’s the boss?” meeting with TJ, and the kids played outside for a while, and then walked to Zebra Grill for lunch. (This makes 3 out of our last 4 meals at Zebra.  Think we'll wait a while before going again.)

The “Who’s the boss?” meeting was about TJ not wanting to come to us when he is called. We call his name and he just keeps on doing whatever it was he was doing before – completely ignoring us. Michael had just gone outside with the other kids so TJ and I were left inside for a few minutes before going out to join them. He refused to come when called so I put him in time-out. He HATES time-out! He screamed, cried, and rolled on the floor. He even made himself throw up – twice – but it still didn’t get him out of time-out. It was obvious that he was trying to make himself throw up so I made him clean it up himself. I sat on the bed about 3 feet away from him the entire 15 minutes or so that this episode lasted and after he calmed down I told him that he could come give me a hug and then go outside. He stubbornly refused so he had to sit there about 5 more minutes until he finally smiled and gave me a hug. About 20 minutes later we had a round 2 (without the throw up), and about 20 minutes after that we had round 3. His daddy was present for round 3, so TJ had to up the drama level to see if he could get his way from his dad. He did try to throw up again, but apparently there was no more “ammo” after round 1. When his time-out time was up and he was calm, I called him over to the bed to give me a hug, but he refused again. I got up and walked out of the room. He screamed, cried, and pitched another fit. I let him calm down and then went back in and sat on the corner of the bed again. I called him over to me. He refused and sulked. I left again. This happened about 5 or 6 more times before he got the idea that Mom was not going to give in. We hugged, laughed, and giggled, and all was forgotten. The rest of the day was great with no issues at all. He’s a super-sweet and super-smart kid who is just testing us to see where the boundaries are. If only he knew how many times we been tested by kids before – and passed. God has prepared us so well for this kid. It’s so obvious that TJ and Brielle have been planned for our family from the beginning of time, and God has been so faithful in the process of bringing them to us. God is so good!

We went shopping at the post office area market after lunch. I bought a table cloth, a few gift birds, a knife, some wooden zebras, and some small baskets to use when we have an Ethiopian dinner. Then we stopped at Kaldi’s for some coffee and ice cream. The kids loved it, and TJ drank Michael’s caramel macchiato instead of his own soft drink. Then back to the Guest House for the evening.

TJ and "his" caramel macchiato

All enjoying Kaldi's ice cream

After baths for kids and dinner at the Guest House, I put in Toy Story for the kids to watch. They were excited at first, but then for some reason they not happy with it. I remembered reading on someone’s blog that their son loved Woody and Jessie, so I took out T.S. #1 and put in T.S. #2. THAT was what they wanted. Then they watched “Cars” which was a super big hit with TJ since he loves any kind of “machinas” – even CG ones.

At one point in the evening TJ told Brielle, with lip-zipping motions and all, “Zip your mouth!” They do know some English!

*I am sharing some of our discipline stories not to embarrass our children, but to let others know that we all go through some of the same things. Adopted kids are the same as any other kids – they’ve all got to test where the limits are and see how far they will be allowed to go. But with firm, loving, and consistent discipline, we've seen things get better already. It’s all just a part of being a parent, whether the kids are bio or adopted. So, I hope you enjoy reading some of our adventures. And if you’ve been a parent for longer than 5 minutes, you’ve probably been through some of the same things! 

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Facebook post from today:

"Just had a "who's the boss?" meeting with my newest son. He got put in time-out, cried so hard he threw up - twice - and finally we came to an agreement that Mommy is the boss, not TJ. One meeting down, only 999,999 to go! (Good to know he's just a "regular" kid!) :)"

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

Quiet day
Addis stores
Shoe shopping
First burgers and fries
Playing outside
Hair

We decided to stay around the Guest House all day. We felt like it was necessary to just be together and having some quiet fun. We went walking along the busy street near the Guest House and visited some shops.

I love the stores in Addis. Many of them are smaller than a U.S. walk-in closet, and are just filled to the top with stuff. There is store after store after store with adult clothes or shoes or kids’ clothes and shoes. And every single one has at least 6 or 8 mannequins outside to display some of their items. They have very modern clothes and shoes that are really stylish and even some actual name brands to go along with the knock-off brands. (The kids’ favorite “fake” brand was “Zeropostale”, which would be pronounced there as “Zeh-ro-pos-tal” – just like Aeropostale but with a Z.) There are also many shops with water, soft drinks, toilet paper, soap and all kinds of miscellaneous things.

Deke went into one of the shoe stores to see if he could find some shoes. Since the U.S. sizes are different than sizes in Ethiopia, we couldn’t just say, “Do you have a 13 in this?” They guy kept grabbing shoes and showing Deke to see if he liked them. Deke kept saying, “Too small, too small.” The guy didn’t understand so we just pointed to Deke’s feet. His eyes got really big as if to say, “Wow, those are BIG!” He reached over to the side and grabbed what I assume was the biggest pair of shoes in the store – the whitest, puffiest, grandpa-looking shoes I’ve ever seen! Deke’s expression was priceless as he was trying to figure out how to refuse them. The guy kept insisting Deke try them on, so he did. They were too small, but the guy insisted they fit him since he could get his foot in them. It was quite entertaining to see Deke try to get the guy to understand that he didn’t want them, even though they “fit”!

We walked on some more and found a kids’ store where we could get TJ some new shoes. I had assumed that he would come to us with a pair of tennis shoes that would at least do until we got home, but he only had on sandals, and they were too small. I FB messaged the G family who would be arriving in a few days to see if they could bring some tennis shoes to him, and they were gracious enough to agree to do so. But this morning he found some size 9 tennis shoes that were to be donated and tried to put them on. Actually, he did put them on, but since his too-small sandals were size 11, he had trouble walking. It was so sad to see him limp around in those shoes, especially when he was out front trying to play soccer with the bigger boys, but there was no way we could convince him to wear the sandals for a few days until he got the new ones the G family was bringing. He did eventually put his sandals back on for a little while because those tennis shoes were just hurting way too much. At the kids’ store, he found some light-up Spider-Man that he LOVED, so that’s what he got (even though I can’t stand character clothing and shoes!). He was SO excited! They just barely fit, and there’s no way we would have bought shoes that close to being too small if we were at home, but he loved them so much we just gave in. So now TJ has light-up Spider-Man shoes!

He wore those shoes right out of the store and all day long. Then he put them right back on after his shower, and at bedtime he tucked his socks inside and hid them under his bed. I can’t wait until he understands that some things are “his” and he doesn’t have to protect them from us because we are not going to take them away. I’ve noticed that both TJ and Brielle take good care of their things and always put them away, though – they could sure teach their older siblings a thing or two in that area!

TJ is definitely testing his limits, but he does end up obeying. The hardest part is getting the older four not to laugh at his antics. He’s a showman for sure! And Brielle is so cute and so sweet and very obedient, too. She loves to be held and carried around by her big brothers and sister. Deke put her up on his shoulder while we were walking down the street. At first she wasn’t sure about it because it was SO high, but then she started loving it.

Zebra Grill for lunch. TJ and Brielle’s first hamburgers and fries. Not so sure about them yet and definitely not a fan of ketchup! When the waitress brought other customers their drinks before he got his, he fussed at her. Thankfully, she laughed and thought it was cute.  Oh, my.  We have some work to do...

Brielle and TJ do a little hand-jive rhyme that is so cute!

T, Job, Yonas, and Dawit played soccer in the Guest House courtyard with all the boys.

TJ and Brielle will only call Mattea “Sister”. They call all the boys by their names, but only call her “Sister”.

Deke has been so sweet with his new sister and brother and even with Eli, Mattea, and Wyatt. I love to see him play with them, and he has already learned a few phrases that he uses with them all the time.

We spent some time in the afternoon resting in the room and letting the kids play their video games.  Eli, Mattea, and Wyatt saved all year and bought DSi's for themselves a couple of months ago.  We bought Fisher Price iXL's for TJ and Brielle because we had heard they were a good choice.  They LOVE them!  We put some of our own pictures and music on them, and they have had such a great time playing with them.



Playing her iXL (AFTER I took the braids out...)

TJ, iXL, Monkey, and new Spider-Man shoes

Then we all went out for games in the court yard. FUN!

We went to Zebra grill again for dinner, and TJ and Brielle asked the blessing about 10 times. “Thank You,

God, for giving us this food.” But whenever Michael prays, they giggle and giggle. It was very sweet and touching to think about them thanking God for their food and made us all more thankful for how blessed we are. The waitress tonight insisted we order injera and tibs for them for dinner, so we did. They were SO excited when they saw it, but it was VERY spicy! They kept eating and eating and after every bite they would cringe because it was so hot, but they both ate all of it. We also ordered samosas, and everyone in the family loves them. Definitely something we’ll be having several more times before we leave Addis.

Brielle had little braids all over her head when we got her, but she kept tugging on them so I took them out tonight. It took me about 45 minutes to get them all out – can’t imagine how long it took for someone to put them in. I combed it out and put in her head band which she LOVED! She may even take the sunglasses off her head for a while if she’s wearing a headband. (She has worn those sunglasses on her head constantly, and some of the other families here have started calling her “Hollywood” because she never takes them off!)

A good day overall. Many more to come, I’m sure…

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Facebook post from today:

"Thursday's Update: Another great day! Things are going very well. TJ keeps saying, "Tebarek Jeremiah Pierce!" over and over. Biruk laughs and laughs. They both call Deke, Eli, and Wyatt by their names but will only call Mattea "Sister". When we went to dinner tonight, we asked the blessing about 10 times - just because they wanted to. "Thank You, God, for giving us food. Amen." Now everyone is asleep - yay!"