amazing kids... all 4!

Hi all,
I has been an interesting almost two weeks home. I have been SOOOO sick. Then Phoebe got it, Keds got it, Dave got it and something else. No one got it as bad as me. Now it is August allergies setting in for me, so I doubt I will fully recover any time soon. But, I am feeling pretty good, and almost normal, which is more than I can say for the first 6 months after the birth of our two daughters. :)

I have been playing some games with the boys to test their ages. I am convinced that Kedus' sister is accurate in her age and birthday for Kedus, not that I ever doubted it. Kedus is an overachiever. Nate is right up there with Keds as we are pretty sure that he is actually 3 and likely 4 next SPRING. His personality is not as type A, so he lacks motivation and he is very casual and layed back. He tends to be average to underachiever. Since this discovery, they will be in the same grade. We think due to their personalities being so very different they will do best in different classrooms. So, do I have twins, well almost! Nate was given Aug as an estimate when we first got his papers. Not likely. On his newly issued Ethiopian Birth certificate it says he is 3 in November. But, he is already 3 as best as we can figure.

Last night I went to the parent orientation for Phoebe and Olivia's classes. There are some great changes at TCA this year and I would guess at a credit going to our new curriculum-character director, who was Olivia's second grade teacher. She is AWESOME! Most schools do not have this position, she works with the staff and oversees and directs the material and how it is presented, she makes the school cohesive in educational material and presentation, anyway good things this year! The teachers we are blessed to have this year are phenomenal. We are so excited for the year.

When I left home everyone was fine with that. Dave said that it was ok with the boys until it was bed time. The lights out and kisses ended with crying for mommy. Ok, that is sad and all, but I was happy that they BOTH wanted me! Kedus is now napping on my lap to be sure I do not go anywhere at this sleeping time. This morning Keds and Nate were talking and we got the idea that they were recounting last night and mommy going and not there at bed time and now look she is here! Then daddy will go to work and he comes home when we are awake seemed to be the next part of the story. Well, I am sure they will get used to that idea soon enough. They are very happy when everyone comes home from school and work each day.

Phoebe and Olivia have exceeded our hopes for them in big sisterhood and big big sisterhood. Phoebe is very nurturing and motherly, but that seems to work ok. They still know mommy vs. sister. Olivia is fun and she plays, she is exuberantly sought after. Oluvia is what they call her. They are both a big help. We are glad that we can still talk at dinner and other times. It is good to have the boys go to be early and then we have time with the girls. So far so good.

Here are a few photos.
Jill

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

home at last!

Hi all. We traveled home and made it, all people are in tact and all bags are home. We were so happy to see friendly faces at the airport! Thanks Mama and Daddy, Aunt Holly, May, Irene and Jane for coming to see us!
We are totally exhausted. Nate slept all night in his own bed, happily! Ked was not so sleepy as he slept on nearly every flight. That was nice for me, but not so good for Daddy in the night. He came up to our room three times and ended up staying in our bed very early in the morining. I am certifiably sick. So, slept heavily. We have the monitor all the way up and i still did not hear anything except for Dave one time get up. I did hear myself coughing! :( Anyway, other than the little dog -Jigs- tinish woosha, all is well. They are just going to have to get used to him. He is still our fuzzy baby.
I am looking forward to nap time and hope all will sleep.
It is all cloudy and rainy here, just like it is in Ethiopia now as it is the rainy season. Same temp. too. Interesting. I was looking forward to warm weather.
Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. We appreciate it. See you all eventually!
I have tons of thoughts and will try to post them here as i can. So, if you are interested keep checking in here. I will also post photos when we get to them. First it is laundry time. I have 5 bags and they all have stinky, damp, dirty clothes needing washed. I will have to un roll them from all the loot we brought back!

have a great day.

Update 8-15

Hello,
First things first. We got the American Visas for the boys yesterday and the German trasit visas for them today. good news!

We went to a hot springs today. It was about 2 hours out of town. It was a beautiful drive through Africa. here it is winter with rain. eveything is soo green. we enjoyed a swim in a nice pool at a resort that would make a great secluded honeymoon retrat for any couple.
Nate is having a hard time with mommy. I think he is feeling a divided loyalty to his birthmom and me. IT will take some time, but it will be ok. he really just wants daddy, as he never knew his dad that would make sense. poor little guy. it has got to be rough. keds had this at first but seems to be over that for now. for now is they key phrase. it will be ok.
the boys have never swam, nor had water for fun , here children are told to stay away from water because it is dangerous and dirty. a lady there interpreted for us and nate said that it must have rained and rained adn now the river is full. daddy is goin in there and his shorts are going to get dirty and I am not going. kedus just sat on my lap and huddled. it was too scary to think of. nate then said that he would not want to take a bath with all the people in that, he wants to just take one in the house we are staying at. :) What a silly boy. they did eventually get in , lured by a big ball. they had a lot of fun splashing, but at first acted like it was a bath, cleaning their face adn hair. it was really funny. when it was time to get out, they both said they did not want to go. Kedus shows ability in swiming, he automatically kicked and such, nate, he just splaashed.
we have been observing a lot of difference in behaviour between them. we feel that Kedus is truly 3 1/2 and that nate is 2 1/2 . the ladies here at the guest house agree. they are the same size, but keds was 2 months early when he was born and that would account for his size. His sister is tiny too, so he just inherits small genes.
well, that is all for tonight. we will leave here sun night. tomorrow is saturday.
please pray for us in our preparation for travel. for the flight with the boys, phoebe and olivia to get the attention they need....

Thanks!~

If you have been praying for the tiny baby: his mom got all his paperwork two weeks early and tickes and they will leave for US on monday. thank you.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Embassy appointment

We had our US embassy appointment today. Wed. 8-13. It all went well and there were no questions. We Will get the boys Ethiopian passport adn visas tomorrow. We will then take all the papers to the Germany embasy to get the german transit visa. So, all is good. Pray that we get the visas all done tomorrow Thursday 8-13. Thank you.

That is really all we did today. We did get photos done for traveling through Germany.

The little tiny 4 month old baby who is 5 pounds is out of the hospital and they are trying to expedidte the papers for him to go home earlier. pray for a speedy embassy date and that they can find flight home very soon. Thanks.

The guest house did a coffee ceremony for us all tonight. It was very nice. I am so allergic to the air here. I have a terrible sore throat and a cough. Same as I had in Bolivia. Anyway, the coffeee ceremnoy is very smokey and there is incence, my throat is worse now. oh well.

Dave is having a great time with a pastor who is here from New York. I think he has a new friend. He is so good at making friends. I am having a nice time talking to moms in the evening.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

no tantrums today

We had a day of no temper tantrums from the boys! Yeah. We drove around the town, with permission, and did not get out of the car. we took photos of landmarks and the big market. it was really very neat. Oliva was squished and obsessed with it. that was bad. by the time we were on our way home she had pretty much lost it. Nati threw up, ate too many gummy bears, and it was the end of happiness. but it is good now!!
We met with our agecy rep adn got our papers in order. OUr embassy appointmetn is tomorrow. Please pray for the following : that everything would go smoothly at the US embassy, that we will get teh visas thursday am. That we will get our Germany transit visas finished Thursday also.
Thanks!!

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

update

hi all,
There are a lot of families here! All of us have boys, some are babies, then a set of twins 12-18 months old. Just doing the army crawl. Small!!! I am sooo glad our boys are older than that. Then another just 3 year old who is tiny. Then our boys. i saw a 4 year old adn he is for sure older than our boys in every way. Two families are from Denmark! Please pray for the youngest baby. 4 months old, he is only 5 pounds. He is bonding well with mommy and eating high calorie formula! :) alert and well. However, he has shigelia and dehydration and has been admited to the hospital. Dave had shigelia in Bolivia. It is bad, but very common. waterborn bacterial infection. Please pray for his recovery and his momma and auntie to feel reassured.

We had s cheduled to visit our compasion child today all of us. With the new regulation s we had to leav the boys at the house with a baby sitter when this was posed to them as an idea, it was wildly unpopular!!!!!! so, daddy stayed. It was SOOOOOOOO Dissappointing to not be able to all go. But, it is the way it is. We took at taxi to the main office, met the translator and went to the chuch where the center is. We met the boy we s ponsor and his mother there. they asked to to their home. we went in the taxi part of the way and walked in on a hiking path the rest of the way. it was slippery with the mud of rainy season. Their home is a one room smaller than our room at the house here. There was a cot and three beches and a small table. Behind a curtain was the box of kitchen items and more blankets. They gave us bread and tea. the bread is getting expensive, what a sacrifice for them. Also the tea was quite possibly the best tea i
have every had. of course they use a ton of sugar here in all the tea adn coffee. It had a cinnamon taste. I will t ry to buy some. In bolvia we only saw this sort of poverty from a distance . I had never been in the home. Beautiful family, I believe the mom had been to high school as she spoke english some. I was so blessed to see them and to know they all attend the evangelical church there. We gave all the gifts and they were very happy. We are not allowed to give money so when we get home we will give the gift we intended to give. The family was previously homeless, living in a shelter of scavenged plastic taped together. They saved up and bought the supplies to build the house they liv in now. it is not government owned but not really owned by anyone. they could be kicked out of the area any time along with the hundeds of neighbors. I suspect it is not likely. However they may be given a fine repeatedly. the view from their house "yard" is
stunning. It looks down on lush vally with a river you can hear well. eucaplitice trees adn all sorts of foliage. it was so b eautiful. i said how much i liked it and they thought that was odd. :) ALL THE children go to school. We walked out and back to the taxi. Children wanted to talk english. one question they ask is how old are you? I told them 36! They look at me with wide eyes. I don't know what they think.
This afternoon i stayed with the boys adn Dave and the girls went to confirm our tickets home-good., and to the museum where Lucy is. oldest human remains - well almost. they were allowed to take photos so we will trade stories this evening after the boys go to bed.
Today the boys were very very good. Fun, cute loving. We read a book that is a my fisrst words book. They say all the words afer me. So cute.

dinner is nearly ready and the boys are wild with excitemten this evening. so by for now.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Hello from Ethiopia

So, you wonder what we have been doing. We have been playing a lot of kwaas. that is ball. The girls and I went to shoping yesterday, Dave stayed with the boys. We went to several different areas and bought many things. They mine silver here. One place was twice as expensive as the next. Too bad I did not know before. The drivers don't take you to places where you have to barter. Too bad. I like doing it. This week Dave will go out and I will stay wit;h; the boys. Tomorrow we visit Compassion but can not take the boys. This is the only time we will use a baby sitter. One of the girls here will watch them in the morning. We had this planned a long time ago, so did not know. Wed. we have the embassy appointmetn. Apparently it goes quickly but we still covet your prayers. Thank you.

Today Naty told Kedus that if he did not eat his dinner he would not go to america. Then Kedus sulked. This was very silly and we had help ensuring that this was not so. They are testing us too. today they each disobeyed purposfully and the item had to be taken away. but, they each had a melt down. This ha acctually happend a few times. but not too bad except once. We are grateful to have those around who speak Amharic>

We did get to go to church today... approved. It was great! It was an english service. There is a cafe called Denver Cafe in the same building. Their logo is the Denver Bronco logo. Very cool.

All for now.

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Daddy MOmmy sister!

WOW! today the boys said Daddy Mommy sister! Daddy, Daddy daddy is very fun to say. Very cool. We are learing a lot of Amharic. Many things. We have extreamely happy boys. I will try to tell you a little about each. Kedus, I think he is really 3 almost 4. his real birthday is near Christmas which is Jan 7 here. We will see. But, his sister is quite sure he is not 4. He colors in the lines, he choses colors deliberately. He is silly and willful. but he obeys very well w hen he udnerstands. he likes to show off and is quite good a soccer. he stops, catches and kicks adn he NEVER misses. He can kick to a certain place purposfully and well. He can spin the ball with his hand. he runs fast. He props his little foot up on the ball and puts his hand on his hip and looks at you sideways like "i am really something!" He has a little wimper when he does not ge t his way adn he pouts. but, that is not working on mommy daddy and he is starting to get that. He is
small at 2T and sometimes a 3T but 3 is large on him. He will be a a3 soon. He is left handed. he sings alot of the time. he is delightlfu.
Both boys are comming to mommy daddy for help and to show us things and to cuddle up in the morining. Today The girls and i went out to shop. The boys aked where is mommy? And were happy to have us home. They both love kwaass! Ball adn Makinas! cars. They are both potty trained, but wear a pull up at night. They can eat with a fork and spoon! They both talk constantly. like we know whta they are sying. :)
Nati (that is what he is called) is quieter in some ways and not such a show off. He is super cuddly and likes to snuggle in the moring. HE colors like a younger kid, he stays in the lines but it is more of a scribble, he is sttarting to select cloras on purpose. He also is small. size 2T or some 3. he needs 3 in the shirt fo his big tummy, That boy can eat for sure. He is delightful and cute as can be. he is righ t handed and loves soccer. he kicks hard and can spin the ball. he uses the fork well but does somehow get food eveywhere, jigs is going to love him. he love milk. everything he eats.

They were well cared for at Sele Enat. very loved and well fed and everything. they had a little shool in the moring for counting and bible songs adn stories.

i need to try to send this now. maybe it will work.
more later.
sorry fo the bad typing this is a stiff board and if i take time to correct it i loose the connection. !
Jill

"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

update

Hi all,
We got here just fine. all our bags came together. We were happily met at the airport Tue. Wed we went to the orphanage to get our sons. we took them home that day. they were called out to meet us and they gave us hugs, shy ones. they had the photos we sent around their necks on the lanyards we put them on. they were well worn they showed us them. we spent some time there. (i am using the dial up and old keyboard here, it is stiff and hard to write, pardon my mistakes). The boys hav a scheule and it is good and they go to "school' i the morning to count, and sing bible song s and stories, etc. when we went back to the house they were quiet. they aked hana if this was the time. they had asked her if she would take them in the van when their parents came. yes this is the time.
so far they talk to eachother a lot in amharic. we are picking up on soem needed phrases and words that are helpful. it is good. they talk to us. come to and with us willingly. ask to b picked up and for food, etc.... they sleep fine so far, day nap and night. they love soccer adn play pretty well. they love cars and coloring. they DO NOT like stuffed animals. scarry!
new rules, we can not go in public places with them because there is gossip among the people of child trafficing. not true, but still a concern for the govt. regarding public relations. they need time to e ducate the populace on adoption. so, it is best that we are stayiang in a guest house . those in hotels are not allowed to take their kids out of the orphanage to stay with them. guest house is ok right now. it is ok. it is ok to go to not much populatted places and out of town. we will do that. better anywy. we will have to do a bab sitter for certain things , but one of us will stay with them at the house when the other and the gilrs go out sometim es. ok.
guest house is good. they are moving to a better location after we go. It will be good. The people here are nice and friendly. it is a lot like bolivia. e veryone is doing well and no one is sick. it is good. phoebe loves it here. olivia is doing ok. the camera card is full adn we can not load it to the computer so i am glad we all have our cameras and the video which we can download and 6 disopsable cameras just in case!
thank you for your continued prayers. so far so good. still waiting for them to realize this is fo r reals., Kedus hsa a few sad times when wakign up. it is ok .
love,
Jill Dave, POKN
:)
"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

we are here

 we are here. 22.5 hour plane ride. tired. all our bags came, we were met by Abebe! We have our rooms. so, all is well. we will go to the      boys tomorrow.
Good night for now.  it is 10 pm
Jill"When all the chores are done, the avid gardener will invent some new ones." Unknown Gardener

Basement and we are off!

So, we are leaving in the morning!!! WOW we can not believe it is actually time. We hope to meet our sons on Wednesday!

Please pray for our safe travels, attachment and bonding time. All four of us are going, we will come home SIX! Thanks for your prayers and all your help.

The basement is ready! My parents, Jerry and Ricki, our girls, Phoebe and Olivia, and a friend Stephan have all pitched in to help us get it ready at the last minute. We are so thankful for these extra hands.

So, off we go to get our sons. We hope to update this blog via e mail. So, stay tuned. Don't know if we can attach photos or not yet.