Attachment - What you need to understand

Although we don't have "official" travel notice yet, the countdown is on. There is still a chance that we could receive word on Monday or Tuesday that we have been submitted for the December 28th embassy appointment. That is very unlikely, but it could happen. The 1st embassy appointment in January has definitely been canceled due to Ethiopian Christmas. So, the most likely case is that we will leave on or around January 19th to travel for the January 25th embassy appointment, returning to the US with Markos on my 40th birthday! What an amazing birthday present! In that case, we leave in 39 days to go pick up our son. In the meantime, there are things that our friends and family need to understand. Things about our son. Things about our parenting him. Things that are DIFFERENT from what you know about "good parenting practices" and that are different from how we parent Mackenzie and Daniel. I know that you're all in the midst of busy Christmas preparations, so I am hoping to just post a few short posts that you will have time to read over the next few weeks before we bring Markos home. This is the first. To get you thinking about what Markos will be going through/have gone through, please read the following story. A Different Perspective Immense Loss; Walk a Mile in Baby’s Booties Imagine for a moment… You have met the person you've dreamed about all your life. He has every quality that you desire in a spouse. You plan for the wedding, enjoying every free moment with your fiancée. You love his touch, his smell, the way he looks into your eyes. For the first time in your life, you understand what is meant by "soul mate," for this person understands you in a way that no one else does. Your heart beats in rhythm with his. Your emotions are intimately tied to his every joy, his every sorrow. The wedding comes. It is a happy celebration, but the best part is that you are finally the wife of this wonderful man. You fall asleep that night, exhausted from the day's events, but relaxed and joyful in the knowledge that you are next to the person who loves you more than anyone in the world…the person who will be with you for the rest of your life. The next morning you wake up, nestled in your partner's arms. You open your eyes and immediately look for his face. But IT'S NOT HIM! You are in the arms of another man. You recoil in horror. Who is this man? Where is your beloved? You ask questions of the new man, but it quickly becomes apparent that he doesn't understand you. You search every room in the house, calling and calling for your husband. The new guy follows you around, trying to hug you, pat you on the back,...even trying to stroke your arm, acting like everything is okay. But you know that nothing is okay. Your beloved is gone. Where is he? Will he return? When? What has happened to him? Weeks pass. You cry and cry over the loss of your beloved. Sometimes you ache silently, in shock over what has happened. The new guy tries to comfort you. You appreciate his attempts, but he doesn't speak your language-either verbally or emotionally. He doesn't seem to realize the terrible thing that has happened...that your sweetheart is gone. You find it difficult to sleep. The new guy tries to comfort you at bedtime with soft words and gentle touches, but you avoid him, preferring to sleep alone, away from him and any intimate words or contact. Months later, you still ache for your beloved, but gradually you are learning to trust this new guy. He's finally learned that you like your coffee black, not doctored up with cream and sugar. Although you still don't understand his bedtime songs, you like the lilt of his voice and take some comfort in it. More time passes. One morning, you wake up to find a full suitcase sitting next to the front door. You try to ask him about it, but he just takes you by the hand and leads you to the car. You drive and drive and drive. Nothing is familiar. Where are you? Where is he taking you? You pull up to a large building. He leads you to an elevator and up to a room filled with people. Many are crying. Some are ecstatic with joy. You are confused. And worried. The man leads you over to the corner. Another man opens his arms and sweeps you up in an embrace. He rubs your back and kisses your cheeks, obviously thrilled to see you. You are anything but thrilled to see him. Who in the world is he? Where is your beloved? You reach for the man who brought you, but he just smiles (although he seems to be tearing up, which concerns you), pats you on the back, and puts your hand in the hands of the new guy. The new guy picks up your suitcase and leads you to the door. The familiar face starts openly crying, waving and waving as the elevator doors close on you and the new guy. The new guy drives you to an airport and you follow him, not knowing what else to do. Sometimes you cry, but then the new guy tries to make you smile, so you grin back, wanting to "get along." You board a plane. The flight is long. You sleep a lot, wanting to mentally escape from the situation. Hours later, the plane touches down. The new guy is very excited and leads you into the airport where dozens of people are there to greet you. Light bulbs flash as your photo is taken again and again. The new guy takes you to another guy who hugs you. Who is this one? You smile at him. Then you are taken to another man who pats your back and kisses your cheek. Then yet another fellow gives you a big hug and messes your hair. Finally, someone (which guy is this?) pulls you into his arms with the biggest hug you've ever had. He kisses you all over your cheeks and croons to you in some language you've never heard before. He leads you to a car and drives you to another location. Everything here looks different. The climate is not what you're used to. The smells are strange. Nothing tastes familiar, except for the black coffee. You wonder if someone told him that you like your coffee black. You find it nearly impossible to sleep. Sometimes you lie in bed for hours, staring into the blackness, furious with your husband for leaving you, yet aching from the loss. The new guy checks on you. He seems concerned and tries to comfort you with soft words and a mug of warm milk. You turn away, pretending to go to sleep. People come to the house. You can feel the anxiety start to bubble over as you look into the faces of all the new people. You tightly grasp the new guy's hand. He pulls you closer. People smile and nudge one other, marveling at how quickly you've fallen in love. Strangers reach for you, wanting to be a part of the happiness. Each time a man hugs you, you wonder if he will be the one to take you away. Just in case, you keep your suitcase packed and ready. Although the man at this house is nice and you're hanging on for dear life, you've learned from experience that men come and go, so you just wait in expectation for the next one to come along. Each morning, the new guy hands you a cup of coffee and looks at you expectantly. A couple of times the pain and anger for your husband is so great that you lash out, sending hot coffee across the room, causing the new guy to yelp in pain. He just looks at you, bewildered. But most of the time you calmly take the cup. You give him a smile. And wait. And wait. And wait. --Written by Cynthia Hockman-Chupp, analogy courtesy of Dr. Kali Miller

Very Powerful - Please watch

Ready to Get Off This Crazy Ride!

Wow! This is one crazy ride - this International Adoption thing! (and more often than not, my face has looked like Daniel's in the above picture!!)

On November 22nd, we went to court and were told, "Markos is yours." Awesome!

On November 28th, we heard rumors that there were troubles with licensing renewals of the orphanages in the Southern Region of Ethiopia. Very scary!

On December 1st, we received official word from our agency that there were, in fact, delays and that we would be affected, that nothing would be able to proceed with our adoption (or most other people's either) until after license renewals were complete AT THE END OF DECEMBER! Frustrating and upsetting!

On December 2nd, we heard news that another Holt families' referred baby daughter got sick and passed away in Ethiopia before they had a chance to meet her or hold her. Heart-breaking!

This morning, we officially received word that the orphanage license had been renewed already!! So surprising and exciting!

Then, this afternoon, we heard from two Holt families that are just returning from their court dates. Both of their babies -- one boy and one girl -- were hospitalized while they were there and remain in the hospital. So sad for them!

This is why the waiting is exhausting. The 'ups' and 'downs' seem extreme when they're all beyond your control, when there's nothing you can do, and when you're so far away. But our God is faithful and I'm trying hard to trust Him more and more.

To trust Him to care for Markos when we can't.

To trust Him to strengthen friends who are also on this journey when their 'downs' come.

To trust Him to work out every detail, to oversee the paperwork, to plan the perfect timing.

To trust Him to grow my faith so that I can trust Him.

In the ups and in the downs.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

WHAT?!! Are. You. Kidding. Me!?!

I am very, very frustrated right now. I know this is all in God's time, I really do. And, I know that His timing is perfect. But, I am still very frustrated and trying hard to remain calm and not get too upset.

When we were just home from Ethiopia, I received an email from another family who was in Ethiopia for court. She was asking for prayers because they did not pass court. Seems that there was some issue with the orphanages' license expiring a few days before her court date. I felt terrible for the families that were affected because I just couldn't imagine walking out of that court room and not having heard those words, "Markos is yours."

Now, information has finally made it's way from Holt to all of us parents in process and here's the deal. The intake orphanages that Holt uses (they do not run the orphanages, they help to 'support' them so as to avoid any conflicts of interest) are primarily in the Southern region of Ethiopia. Their licenses were set to expire so they were in the process of renewing their license, however, the Southern region decided to do a mass internal audit of all the orphanages in the area and is refusing to renew any licenses until the process is complete.

Holt assures us that they do not foresee any problems with the license renewal, it's just a matter of time, waiting for the government to finish the audits. However, until the license is renewed, the judge is refusing to issue any court decrees. So, despite the fact that the orphanage still had a license when we went to court and the fact that the judge declared that Markos was ours, because it usually takes a week or so for the official decree to be issued, we are now stuck in the mess waiting along with all the other families.

I know - I don't get it either. As Eric said, "what part of 'Markos is yours' don't they understand?"

I just can't believe that we received our referral on June 11th and we possibly won't bring him home until February! That's 8 months! I shouldn't complain too much because I know there are families who went to court a few days ahead of us who are now also caught up in this mess who have been waiting even longer. It just stinks that we were caught in the change from 1 trip to 2 trips, then we were caught in the LONG court closures, now this!!! Come. On!

Anyway, sorry for the downer post after all my excitement about our trip. Maybe that's why this is hitting me so hard. I was on such a high after our trip, and now I've been knocked all the way back down, lower than I was before.

Please pray that the orphanage license is renewed as quickly as possible so that we can proceed with getting Markos home. I hate thinking that we left there saying that we would be back for him as soon as we could, and now it might be 3 months before we can get back to him! That's a long time for a 4 year old to wait and understand that we ARE coming!

Court Trip - Post 10 - A LONG Trip Home

Our first flight from Ethiopia to Frankfort, Germany was pretty uneventful. Eric and I were both starting to feel kind of rough, but we thought we were just tired. After all, we had left Ethiopia at 11:25 PM and landed in Frankfort very early in the morning. We had about a 4 hour lay-over, so we found the McDonalds that we had seen on the way over to ET and parked ourselves at a comfy table (comfy might be a bit of an over-statement, but it was the best we could find!). Eric played games on his phone and I journaled some about our trip.

We were so confused from all the time changes, that we rarely knew what time it was during the entire trip. This stop was no exception. However, at one point, I went to walk around and looked at the departure board. The local time was listed so I knew that we had two hours left to wait. When I went back into McDonalds, Eric snapped out of his game-induced trance and said, "what time is it?! We still need to get our boarding passes." I assured him that we had 2 hours, but he wasn't convinced. He gathered up our stuff and started hustling us through the airport. As we hurried, an announcement came over the PA system that we needed to report to our gate. He was further convinced that he was right and we needed to hurry. I was confused (and annoyed) because I knew we had 2 hours. When we arrived at our gate, there was a line forming to get boarding passes, while FIVE extra security people were standing at a separate counter next to the line we were in.

What in the world?! We were only about 10 people back in the line and it took us 50 minutes to get our boarding passes. When we were at the counter, they quizzed us about our bags and our trip. They got on the computer and tracked down exactly where our bags were. (at least we knew THEY knew where they were!) While we were in that line, they continued to make announcements about the "extra document check" at our gate. Hmmmm. Eric has traveled internationally a LOT, and he said he has never seen that before. We listened as they grilled people about their passports, their tickets, how much money they had, why they wanted to go to Canada, how much they paid for their tickets, why they hadn't booked a return flight. On another day, I might have been nervous, but this day, I was just annoyed and tired. "GREAT! Just what we need, another line to stand in! I just want to sit down!!" Eric was getting annoyed with my crappy attitude and I was already annoyed with him booking through the airport and not believing me that I knew what time it was! ;-) Yep, it was time to be home!

It seemed that there were a majority of people on the flight who were from other countries. There were two men who were traveling from some African nations who were really questioned. They were allowed on the flight, but were pulled aside again when we arrived in Canada. There was another man from Bosnia or Estonia - we were a little fuzzy by then. They really, really grilled that guy. They asked him about his English, he said he spoke whatever other language. They pulled out his papers and started asking him about the information on it, "what is this number?". "My driver's license number", the guy answered. "Read this to us," they commanded. He seemed to struggle to read the information on his form, written in whatever other language. Another security person came over. The guy said something that I didn't catch. They pulled out a piece of paper, "well, then, write the letter D". On and on this went. We did not see him board the plane and did not see him again after we moved up and he was still being questioned.

We have no idea what the deal was with the extra security and added "document check", but we figure that the poor flight attendant's were already on guard and aware of whatever the situation was so they were probably THRILLED when Eric got sick mid-flight and I informed them that it was ok, that we were just returning from Africa and I was sure it was something that he ate. :-)

We were sitting in a 3 seat row. Of course, some guy we didn't know had the aisle seat. Eric had the window seat and I was in the middle. He started to give me 'the look' -- the 'uh oh, this isn't going to be good' look. Then, he started to sweat, then shiver. I kept looking at him and saying, "do you want out?", "are you sure?", "maybe you should go to the bathroom". He just sat, motionless. Finally, when it was inevitable that he was going to throw up, we got out and just stood in the bulkhead area. Problem was that it was a BIG plane so there was still a whole big section of plane behind us and we were kind of 'on display' where we were. Eric was standing there with a hoodie on, with the hood pulled up over his head and his barf bag in his hand, but there was always a line for the bathrooms and he didn't want to just go in there and hang out waiting. I went back to talk to the stewardess to see if they would let us stand back there in the open area so he'd at least have a little more privacy. On the way, a nice lady approached me (no doubt having seen Eric standing there looking very ill) and informed me that there was a bathroom in the back and it was open. Thank God! It was right off the open area where I wanted to stand. The stewardess said that they were getting the drink carts ready to go out but as soon as they moved out of that area, we could stand there. Eric didn't make it that long, but he went into that back bathroom and I squeezed into the corner so they could get their drink carts by.

The stewardesses were very nice. They WERE concerned about the whole Africa/illness thing, but when I explained that he had eaten a steak, medium-rare, and that we were pretty sure that was the problem, they relaxed. She said that they are required to be on the look out for any communicable illnesses during the flight. She kept checking with us to see if we needed anything. I said, "do you have Diet Coke?". She laughed. They did! yahoo! FINALLY! She said that she knew we were from America because us Americans love our pop. :-) That we do! She gave me a Ginger Ale for Eric. When I checked on him, he looked very bad. He was literally covered with big drops of sweat. I toweled him off and gave him a little bit of the Ginger Ale. This was going to be a LONG flight!

On the bright side, because I stood so much, my back didn't hurt hardly at all on the way home and I didn't even take any muscle relaxers! I was so tired, I was afraid that if I did, I'd pass out! After Eric finally recovered a little, we ventured back to our seats. The rest of the flight was a little touch and go, as we hit turbulence (of course!) for the last 20 minutes of the flight, just at the same time that they served dinner -- chicken fajita roll things that smelled....BAD! Poor Eric, every time a smell wafted his way, he'd get a panicked look on his face and cover his face with his sweat hirt. Oy.

We made it to Canada, had another layover, then made it home to Pittsburgh around dinner time that night. Eric didn't get sick anymore until we were home. I started feeling rough and getting the shakes when we hit Canada, but I never got sick -- thank goodness! We were both SO HAPPY to climb into our comfy bed that night!!

The kids were at my parent's house. Since their school district was still on strike, they were able to go down early for Thanksgiving. It was nice for Eric and I to have a night at home to recover and sleep before jumping back into life at home. We unpacked, repacked, and ran a few errands the next morning and hopped into the car to drive to Maryland to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had a LOT to be thankful for!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

Court Trip - Post 9 - Packing Up and Heading Out

Because Jolie and her friend, Stephanie and Mike, and Eric and I were flying out that evening, after our shopping, we quickly returned to the guest house to pack up and get ready to go to dinner. We made arrangements to all go out to dinner one last time together to an Italian restaurant called Avanti. It would be rushed, but we could do it.

It was a very nice restaurant. Very relaxing atmosphere. A large flat-screen TV hung on the wall above our table. There was a fire burning in a fireplace on it. Someone remarked, "oh look, they built a fire for us." Funny. We ordered drinks and appetizers. It was hard to be in an Italian restaurant ordering pasta without getting a salad, but we were trying to heed the warnings about avoiding raw veggies that had been washed in the water. Unfortunately, Eric saw that Filet Mignon on the menu and decided not to heed Kendra's friend's advice to avoid the beef because it is NOT U.S.D.A. grade beef that we are used to eating. Not only did Eric fail to heed that warning, but he also ordered his steak his usual medium-rare. Oh boy.

Our food was delicious. Eric's steak was not bad, but he said it really didn't taste like steak. Uh oh. We all laughed and talked about our families back home and about our adventures in Ethiopia. The portions of some of the meals were enormous. A few of the guys tried local beers. I enjoyed my Mirinda. (again no Diet coke, *sigh*) When the bill came, we again couldn't refrain from doing the conversions to U.S. dollars. I think my meal cost a total of about $3. Brian remarked that he could take his 401K now, and they could move to Ethiopia and live on it for the rest of their lives.

We finished eating just in time for our driver to arrive to pick us up to take us back to the guest house to grab our bags and head to the airport. Things went well at the airport. Poor, sweet Jolie caused a hold up at the baggage check. Apparently, her Scrabble tiles looked dangerous on the x-ray. Plus, she had arrived in Ethiopia a week early and traveled south to explore her daughter's birth country more. She had picked up a rock in her daughter's village to give to her when she is older. The security tech nearly wouldn't let her take it through, until she burst into tears and launched into her story about how she's adopting and she traveled hours and hours down south to get this rock, etc., etc. He eventually let her through with it, but we don't think it was out of compassion. He rolled his eyes and just motioned for her to go through. We laughed about it in line. That perhaps anytime we get stopped, we should just burst into tears and launch into our stories. :-)

Aside from that little hang-up, everything went well. We had some time, so I scoured the airport, still in search of a Diet Coke. We found a place that had Coke Light, but they were sold out. So, I got my last bottle of Mirinda to drink. When we were boarding our flight, somehow we got between an older gentleman and his wife. The wife was in front of me, the husband behind Eric. Eric said to him, "you can go ahead", and he looked at Eric kind of funny, so Eric asked, "she is your wife, isn't she?". The older guy joked, "I've never seen her before in my life." and Eric played along, "well, she looks like a nice lady. You should go up there and talk to her." He asked, "you think?", and Eric said, "oh yea, she looks like you'd have a lot in common." At this point, the lady piped up and said, "yes, about 50 years worth!". We all laughed and began talking. They asked where we were from and why we were in Ethiopia. We told them of our adoptions. Then, we asked them where they were from and were surprised to hear that they were from Ethiopia now. But, they were returning to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with their family.

Turns out that the man was a retired Orthopedic surgeon. When he retired, his friend contacted him asking for his help starting an Orthopedic practice in Ethiopia to serve the Ethiopian people. He agreed to go and help and ended up loving it there, so he and his wife packed up and moved to Ethiopia a year and a half prior. He told us of how he bought a car from the U.S. Embassy there and he now drives. His wife assured us that she does not! He cleared loved what he was doing. He told us of how he was happy to see his family, but that he knew that he'd only be there a few days before he couldn't help but think, "I wonder what I'm missing. I wonder what they're doing there without me." and every time he left, he couldn't wait to get back!

So sweet. And, so understandable. It is so amazing how our God blesses us more than we can ever bless others! As our friend Peter always says, "You can't out-give God."

Court Trip - Post 8 - On The Streets

When we were finished eating lunch, we headed out again to do some more shopping. The driver took us to a row of shops near the post office. Traffic was a little worse (if that's possible). It was Monday. People were back to work and school was in session. Vans drove around loaded with sweet little children in their matching uniforms. Children walked down the streets in groups -- the lucky ones -- who got to attend school. We noticed that their "uniforms" seemed to be by age groups. The 7/8 year olds all wore a green sweater vest. The older kids all wore a red sweater, etc. They were all happy and skipping along. They knew they were blessed to be able to attend school. How I wish my children could see and understand how blessed they are!!

At one particularly horrendous intersection, with cars, vans, and trucks going in all different directions, I was in the back row of seats in the van and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the very top of someone's head, going out INTO the middle of traffic. My heart lurched and I exclaimed, "Is that a little kid?!" (because it was so low to the ground that I thought it had to be a TINY little kid!). Amanda looked out the side window, looked back with a devastated look on her face and replied, "No. It's a crippled man."

We looked out the side window and were shocked. Never have I seen anything like it in my life. Both of his legs were completely bent, like he was squatting as low as he could, but they bent in a strange way so that he was walking on the sides of his feet, with his hands behind him -- like a sort of twisted crab walk. He was weaving his way through the crowded, crazy streets. It was heart-breaking and amazing at the same time. How had he survived to this age in that condition? What caused his deformity? Was it something easily treatable or correctable if he only lived someplace where he had access to medical care? What strength of spirit drives someone in that condition, in that poverty, in that state of life to carry on, to go out and do whatever he can to survive?!

There was no shortage of things to marvel at on the streets in Addis.

We saw meat hanging in the open, dirty air.

There was, at times, amazing beauty -- trees covered with beautiful lavender blooms, exotic colorful blooms, smiles on faces that would light up a room. There was life! But, there was also death, decay, and destitution -- a dead dog just laying in the middle of the sidewalk decaying, people laying and living on the streets, deformed and crippled men and women laying on the street corners begging to survive. I saw a woman laying asleep on the street with her bare breast hanging out of her shirt, her nursing baby sitting next to her awake and alone.

Beautiful trees tucked amidst the shacks.

Gorgeous countryside

With children running out to chase the van and beg for food.

The people were always beautiful though! They had on rags, but they also had smiles on their faces and a twinkle in their eyes. Friends - men, women, boys, and young girls - were so loving to one another. Men embrace one another. They hold hands. Boys and teens walk with their arm slung around their pal next to them. I had read about it in my travel guide, but it was so heart-warming to see. A very conservative country - Ethiopia outlaws homosexuality. Men and women do not ever display romantic affection in public. But same gender affection is common. Friend to friend, brother to brother, sister to sister, they are close. They care for one another and love deeply. A true community.

Workineh and our driver

Men on the streets of Addis

I saw so many grown men, dressed in tattered clothes, stop to have their shoes shined by the adolescent boys trying to earn money for food or for their families. I kept thinking that surely they didn't really have the money to have their shoes shined, but I suspect that many of those men grew up doing the same for their families. They knew what those boys were facing and they wanted to help them.

While we shopped at the row of stores, my other saddest experience in country occurred. A young boy, probably 8 or 9 years old, approached me and said, "shoe shine, miss?" I said, "no thank you" and kept walking but he followed. "Please Miss. Please. Shoe shine?" I looked around and it was crowded. There was a man selling maps on the streets, another 2 selling jewelry, another selling watches and hats. I couldn't. If I did, they'd all come. I couldn't create another near incident! "No thank you, honey." He looked like he could cry. "please Miss," he begged, "the other kids, they get to go to school. I no go to school. I have to do this. Please. No business today." My insides were being shredded. I had to get away before I burst into tears. "I am so sorry, honey. No thank you." I started to duck into the nearest store before I lost it, but not before he lowered his head and said, "it's ok, Miss. God bless you." Ugh. There it was. The final blow. I felt sick. I tried to get myself together. I fought back the tears and tried to catch my breath as I thought about how my sweet Markos, IF he survived, might have been doing this same thing in a few years in order to survive. Thankfully, when I left the store, the crowd had dissipated a little but he was still there. I quickly handed him a pack of peanut butter crackers. His eyes lit up just a tiny bit and he said, "thank you, Miss! thank you!" Oh, how I wish there was more that I could have done for that sweet one!

Eric gave a Nutri-grain bar to a mother holding her infant daughter as she begged, "please sir, food for my baby." and we watched as she really did give the whole thing to her daughter. I wondered what or if she ate that day.

But again, once the word gets out that you have food, that you have money to spend, the beggars come from everywhere. Our driver had gone to round the remaining shoppers of our bunch up. When he was gone, the beggars surrounded the van. They begged. They pleaded. They put their hands in the windows, and after the windows were closed, they began to try to get them open. Quickly a man, dressed in all green, carrying a club came. He yelled at the children and the beggars. They scattered as he picked up a rock to throw at them. We don't know if he was a policeman or a security guard for the shops, but he stayed with us until our driver returned.

As we drove, we saw funny and marvelous things, too. All the men, especially, were amazed by the scaffolding that surrounded all the buildings under construction. It was bamboo poles tied together.





As I have said before, there seemed to be no rules of the road at all. We saw hilarious things tied to the tops of cars or piled into the back of trucks.

One of our favorite pictures of things piled onto the top of a vehicle.

We also saw trucks filled to overflow with giant burlap sacks of potatoes and men just standing on top of them. We only saw one car seat for children in one car. (it was probably some American visiting there!)

And, I was surprised to see VW Beetles everywhere. At first, I was cracking myself up by hitting Eric and exclaiming, "red one!", "blue one!", etc. (because our children insist on playing the 'punch buggy', 'slug bug', or whatever you call it, game ALL THE TIME, thereby driving us NUTS!). I didn't want him to miss them too much! ;-) But, after a while, there were so many that it just became annoying. I took a few pictures of some of them just so when I showed the kids the pictures, I could say "blue one!" and hit them as they looked at the pictures. :-) ha ha!


We also passed little shops all along the roads. And, we saw some open air type "markets" where people just spread their goods out on the side of the road on a blanket to sell them. We saw potatoes, tomatoes, tennis shoes, shirts, bags, just about everything you could imagine. But, I was glad that we didn't shop there. Seemed far too chaotic for me! Like our malls on Black Friday!



Ethiopia was definitely someplace where you saw everything. Shocking, devastating, beautiful, amazing, heart-breaking, heart-warming....in the same day, in a matter of minutes, sometimes in the same moment! It was exhausting, the most crazy emotional roller coaster you can imagine! But, I can't wait to go back. I wouldn't have traded that time for anything!