Since Yabsira has been home we have learned so much about Ethiopia and her life there. If it wasn't for our daughter we would still think that the "We are the World" pictures and videos we saw in the 80's just simply COULDN'T be happening NOW. But it is. The details of my daughter's life are her's, and her's to tell. But what I will tell is that it is common to many people, especially children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to live in conditions that are nothing like the ones I live in. Many do not have bathrooms, running water, electricity or even kitchens in their homes.(Over 80% of Addis Ababa is slums) Three meals a day(or even one) and a second set of clothes and shoes that you don't have to share can be a luxury.
When I asked my daughter for ideas of items to bring with me for the children in Ethiopia our conversation went like this.
"So, Yab. Before you went to the Orphanage, if there was one thing you could have that you didn't have what would it be?"
She stopped playing with her happy meal toy and looked right in my eyes.
"A Mommy and Daddy."
Whoa, once again a response I wasn't expecting. I felt tears well up in my eyes. Out of all the things in the world that she could have said the thing that was most important was a Mommy and Daddy.
16.2 million children are orphans in this world. Think about what that means, really think about. If you are a parent start thinking about what you do for your child. Hugs and kisses, reading stories, tucking them in bed at night, being there if they have a bad dream, feeding them, disciplining them the list could go on and on. If you are a child(and we all are)think about what a Mommy and Daddy is. Someone who loves you even if you throw up on them. Someone who lays in bed with you at night listening to all of life's tough questions and the silly ones too.Loving and being loved. The smell of your mother as she puts her arms around you in a hug. You feel relaxed and safe. But 16.2 million children grow up with out that kind of love.
So, what can we do? God has called us all to take care of the orphans and widows but not all the same way. To some He says,"This orphan is no longer an orphan, she is your daughter." To others He says take care of my children by sponsoring a child in Sierra Leone to go to school,have clothes and a meal. And to others He says, "GO!" be my hands and feet in Haiti, love on my little ones. The women of my church are collecting underwear, the Jr. highers, toothbrushes. Nothing is too small or too big. You would not even imagine how something as small as a toothbrush can make such a big difference in the life of a child. For others they are donating directly to Children's Hope chest for our specific trip to meet the immediate needs of the children and Care Centers and Orphanages we will be visiting. If you would like to do this please go to http://www.hopechest.org/ and click on GIVE and please put "Ethiopia Vision Trip" in the notes section to make a tax deductible donation.
Our team leaves in just over a month to answer the call that God has given us. Could you please pray for us so that we may be HIS hands and feet to all that we meet in Ethiopia.

"This is the best day ever!"

Yabsira has been in love with the fall! The cool weather, the fire pit, pumpkins, "wollyworms", and especially the trees with their bright beautiful colors.
This morning before church we looked out the window and saw the leaves falling off the trees and I made the statement that after lunch we could jump in the leaves. Yabby made a squely girly noise.
It is so much fun because things like this are firsts for Yabsira. And what is really fun is that her firsts she can express with the words of a six year old not a small child that doesn't have the vocabulary yet.
So I was wondering what she thought jumping in the leaves was.
"Mommy, Do we climb in the branches and jump?"
"No, we rake them into a big pile and jump in them."
"Mommy, rake?"
"I'll show you after lunch."
After lunch came. And just like sled riding she got the hang of it quick. After a while she decided the pile of leaves wasn't big enough and made it her mission to hand pick every leave off the tree. She would be still out there working on it now if we didn't spot her new pet, a cute fuzzy wollyworm. The whole afternoon she had the biggest smile on her face and she kept saying "Mommy, this is the best day ever!"

My Buddy is 10!

Today my buddy turns 10!
Happy Birthday, Joel!
Our son has been gifted with the ability to love more, laugh more, notice more then anyone I know. So many times we cannot believe God trusted us with such a blessing!

DIVE!

I have been praying,"Holy Spirit, You are going to have to have to prove it to me that you want me to go to Ethiopia in a BIG way!"
As if my daughter coming from a place where she went long stretches of days without food wasn't enough!! He spoke through children, song, scripture, friends, websites and a very generous family that has given me the exact amount of money needed for the trip! I am so blessed and unworthy of the attention the Spirit has given me.
So, here I go "I'm divin in!!!" I will be going back to Ethiopia at the end of November. The trip will be a way to see how we can get involved in God's plan for loving orphans in Ethiopia.
Off go my water wings and pop goes the baby pool!

"Deep water faith in the shallow end."

When your heart breaks...really breaks, you can never forget. It is actually still in pieces. When we left to bring our daughter home from a third world country I had no idea what I would experience. Even before we got there I knew that God wanted me to do more.
It would seem then that it would be a no brainier that when given the opportunity to go back to Ethiopia that I would jump at the chance! But I haven't. I hate the word "but" it is full of meaning that I hate. For me in this case it means distrust in the God of the universe that isn't short on protection, cash or anything else needed for His will to happen. But(Ahh, I'm using that word again!) I am afraid to dive in, to get out of the boat. At least I think that is why I can't commit to the trip. I'm afraid of how God will change me through it. It is hard when you are a selfish person like I am to let go of that behavior.
I was in the car with our three children last week(before they knew I was considering going back to ET)and I asked them"If we could do anything to help the people in ET what would it be?" Wow, I wasn't ready for their answers. Yabby told them about people living on the streets and as she told them"even babies sleep on the streets." The other two were flabbergasted! The talked about ways they could help,and they dreamed big. Then Isabelle said to me,"Mommy, You should get a team of people and go there and find out what they need and then come back and help them."
I remember thinking, Did she really say that?!
The trip I was asked to go on is exactly that! It is a vision trip through Children's Hope Chest.
"Deep water faith in the shallow end." That is from a song that the Holy Spirit is
using to change me. I need to get out of the boat, dive in without water wings! It is easy to have faith standing on the edge of a blow up baby pool.God is asking me to take off the water wings and dive in, dive in deep. Deep into the unknown and much bigger than a baby pool.
Is God asking you to dive deep? I know I am not alone out here! What is your baby pool. Where is that comfortable place that you feel restless in?

We are FAMILY!

Yes, this is a shirt from 1979!lol Wishful thinking for 2009!

I friend of mine just recently wrote in her blog that "they didn't feel like a family yet." I want to thank her for saying that. So many times in and out of the adoption community we want things to look like everything is going perfect! But the reality is that we as adoptive families face many challenges that seem like any other challenges that any family would face but what in fact seems to be "typical" isn't always "typical."
Right now we are stuck in the " It is not as tough as it was but it is not as good as it is going to get." We are in between "We are Family!"(sing it Pirate fans!!) to "When are we going to feel like family?" So, I have figured out that family "feels" different in different stages of our family. Every time we have added someone to our family, the idea of what our family feels like has changed. As my friend, Candy has put it, we have a "new normal." So, I think we are on the verge of it(meaning our new normal). But that means giving up the old normal. We cannot put new wine in old wine skins as God says it. But we have been trying to do just that, which has made this transition a lot harder than it needs to be.
Some people have said(even myself at one point) that everything you have been experiencing would have happened if you would have added another biological child. Yes and No! Typical isn't always typical. We added a 6 year old baby to our family. She came with a past and a present and she was living with both. And then we come along and give her a promise of a future in Christ. That is a lot for a family to deal with. That is a lot for a little girl to deal with.
So right now we are singing "We are Family!" It doesn't sound really pretty, But in God's grace we WILL get there.

Family Pictures

All summer we TRIED to have our family picture taken. And every time we tried to get our outside picture taken it rained. So finally we had a partly cloudy day so that we could get it in!
Candace and Lori at Magic Moments Photography have been photographing our family for a long time. http://www.magicmomentsstudio.com We have a tradition that on your 5th birthday the kids have a big solo portrait done. So since Yabsira turned 6 shortly after she arrived home, she had her 6 year old portrait done.