Salam!

I have lost track of the days here--it is easy to do!

Adopting friends, if you are packing right now for Ethiopia, go immediately to your suitcases and leave half of what you have packed at home. Seriously. You do not need all that stuff. We packed WAY TOO MUCH! Also, the thing I have been most grateful for is travel-size packs of tissues. There is no TP here in public places, and your child WILL have a runny nose that needs to be wiped constantly. And the nannies will expect YOU to wipe your child's nose ALL THE TIME. Do not be lax in this. I'm not kidding.

When you get here, do not be alarmed if your child is given orange soda at meals. I don't know about y'all, but my kids didn't get soda until they were in kindergarten, and then sparingly. I was shocked to see Spud enjoying pop at every meal. That will end soon enough.

Spud, by the way, is a serious boy as we were told. But yesterday Almaz, the HOH director's wife, had him belly laughing! It was so good to see. He was squealing with delight because she was being so silly. Of course, he will not crack a smile yet in my direction, but all in good time. The nannies chant "ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma," when I am near him. I don't tink this is helping. :)

My son, Tater, has been so wonderful. He is patient, and gracious, and brave. I know he is often bored but he does not let on. He has not complained once. He plays with all the children at the HOH. He misses his father terribly.

My top five things for traveling parents to know:

1. Like I said, pack sparingly, at least clothes-wise. We brought way too many clothes. It is warm this time of year--I have not needed one of my 3 jackets I brought yet--even in the evening.

2. It is very, very dusty here. I have had a bloody nose every day. I have eaten at least 20 lbs. of dirt. Of course with the dry weather, it is to be expected. Even though it is so dusty, the Ethiopian people are fastidious. They are always sweeping and cleaning. Our driver cleans our rented car several times a day even though it is a losing battle.

3. When you bring toys for the children at the HOH, hand out just one to each child at a time. The nannies do not like chaos and will frown upon a free-for-all. Everything must be done in an orderly fashion. I have learned my lesson.

4. Everyone told us before we left to avoid eating certain things. This is nearly impossible. When the cook puts lettuce or fresh vegetables in front of us, we eat it. Our stomachs have been okay so far (well, a little queasy, but nothing else--yet).

5. Be prepared when you are in a car for people to approach you. Be ready with money or chocolate if you are willing--I keep burying stuff in my backpack and can't find it when I need it. Our driver shakes his head. Also, they do not want you to give to the able-bodied children because it encourages begging behavior. Today a child offered to sell me a box of tissues. I gave him money, but told him to keep the tissues. This is a no-no. Take the tissues.

Oh, one more thing. Bring Lotramin--the ringworm is awful. Bring extra--all you can gather together as they desperately need it--a caseload if you can manage it.

Your are in our prayers.

Peace

WE ARE HERE!

We are here! The country is beautiful, and the people are amazing. Our Spud is so, so cute! He is a little man. He is slow to smile, but is warming up to us. He is also stubborn--but that runs in the family! The language barrier is the worst part. We miss everyone and we are grateful for your thoughts and prayers.

Peace

Last Post Before Take-Off!

Dear Friends,

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.

It's hard to believe we're almost on our way -- Tater and I fly out Sunday @ 11:35. I'm feeling a bit numb at the moment -- I'm guessing that's pretty normal.

I'll try to some posts up while I'm gone, but you know how that goes.

Have a glorious Easter. He is risen -- He is risen indeed!

I have to stop now because I'm starting to cry.

Peace.

Hooray!

It's confirmed -- our embassy date will be April 3rd! Spud and I are still planning to leave this Sunday (we have tickets on hold but not yet purchased), but WMWM is having second thoughts about us traveling separately from him and Racer. I understand his concerns, even though I'm really anxious to hold Spud. We'll talk about it more tonight, and I'll keep you posted. Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes.

Peace.

Say Cheese!

Yes, friends, he's SMILING! I received these updated pictures from our agency today. And it looks like our embassy date will be April 3, but we'll have to wait until next week for confirmation.

As of now, Tater and I will be departing the states on Easter Sunday, March 24, to go over early to get to know Spud. Racer & WMWM will leave the following Sunday, the 30th. And all 5 of us will be home on April 8. Amen.

Feelin' good!

I got nothin'

Thanks to all who are tuning in to see if we heard today about our embassy date. Our social worker thought we would have news today, but we don't. Please send chocolate.

Racer Rocks!

The Speed Racer is in a bit of a snit because she has been woefully neglected on this blog. She has a point; I’ve blogged a lot about Spud, a bit about Tater, and none about her.



In the interest of balance, I must tell you . . . my daughter is AMAZING. I'm pretty sure this song was written about her.




Our Racer is self-motivated, self-disciplined, smart, and kind. She’s quite confident in herself and her abilities, and sometimes I feel embarrassed by that. Yet confidence is the quality I admire most in her, and the one I worry she’ll lose first when she hits puberty, as happened to many of us as young girls. (Can someome please explain to me why that happens? And what we as mothers can do to help prevent it?)











Racer isn't just mentally strong, she's also kick-ass strong. This chick is a rock of sheer muscle who happily out-runs, out-push-ups, and out-pull-ups the boys in her class.







As strong as Racer is, she’s easily hurt. It's hard raising a girl, and I remember it was hard being a girl. The fact is girls aren’t always nice to each other. My daughter asks me why this is, and I have no answer for her. Why are we as girls/women the first to point out each other’s flaws and smack each other down?


Can you imagine the difference it would make in our daughters’ lives if we consciously taught our daughters to support and encourage each other? To confront each other respectfully instead of talking behind each other’s backs? To include each other instead of exclude? To value our differences instead of ridiculing them? I want to be that kind of mom. I want to be that kind of woman. Some days I hit the mark, but most days I fall short.

The other day I was thinking that I want Racer to have it all when she grows up – a great career, a beautiful family, a fabulous shoe collection. But women pay a steep price to have it all. We're expected to be all things to all people. I guess I really want Racer to have just enough. Just enough to love being herself.




Rock on, Racer.

NEWS FLASH!

The orphanage review that has been delaying our travel is now complete, and our paperwork is off to the Ministry of Women's Affairs to be scheduled for an embassy date. At the embassy appointment we will receive Spud's visa and all the other necessary paperwork to bring him home. We are hoping that date will be April 3, but we won't have confirmation until Thursday. If the embassy appointment is April 3, we'll be home the week of April 7th with our son! Yippeeeeee!

Thank you again for all your prayers; please don't stop yet!

Peace.

Unsolicited Advice for Waiting Mommies

Do not listen to Dixie Chicks' Godspeed while eating chocolate chip cookie dough. It will not make you feel better. And snot and dough is a very messy combo.