Posts of Camp Wife Blog

Father/Son Camp

2011-04-11T19:04:36.877Z

This past weekend was Father/Son weekend at camp. Zach and I had decided awhile ago that we'd just have "The big 3" boys go this weekend until Binyam gets a little older and a littler steadier on his feet. Once we told the boys what was happening they were really excited.

It started Saturday morning with check in. Zach told me one boy, who is really into movies and DS, told Papa Smurf he was "skeptical" of a weekend at camp with his dad. We could understand that, even as adults we get quite skeptical at new ideas and changes in routine. When I heard that though, I was immediately excited to watch that boy's transition most of all.

Zach had told me it was a boys only deal, but I asked him if Dailah and I could go up to dinner with him "so I can take pictures for the Camp Wife Blog". He grudgingly obliged.

Papa Smurf was hard to work at the grill (even grilling veggie burgers for Zach and myself, how sweet).

Tariku commented that Smurf's grilled hot dogs were the best he's ever eaten. So perhaps Smurf put a little extra love (or sweat ;)) into his grilling.

As the other sons were finishing up their food I watched as these boys who were strangers just a few short hours before asked each other to play basketball and baseball. They were laughing together and I even saw a few hugs between pre-teen boys. I couldn't help but believe Camp might just have a little bit of magic in the water.

I don't know much about what they did (it was all very top secret. What happens at father/son camp apparently stays at father/son camp). I do know they made bird feeders. I do know they had goldfish races. I know this only because my porch now sports 3 new bird feeders and 2 new goldfish (who, at press time, recently died-may they rest in peace).

As we were heading to church yesterday I told Zach that as Dailah grows up I may let her only pick future boyfriends from the boys who come to father/son camp. As weird as it sounds, I think my logic stands. Watching other dads care about their boys that much, nurture their relationship that much, I knew they'd be good to Dailah. It was remarkable to see how many dads and sons still hold hands, laugh and hug freely. It made my heart happy to see my husband isn't the last great man on earth.

Father/son camp, for this mom anyway, was a great reminder that nurturing our relationships with our kids is a vital task. If you think I'm lying, I would suggest you ask any of the kids there this weekend. The only negative comment we got on the weekend was that it wasn't long enough. And that was from a dad. Oh, and that boy that was "skeptical"? He asked to come back next weekend.

All of that to say I can't wait for mom/daughter weekend at camp! Mark your calendars, it will be sometime this fall. I've been (kind of) asked to lead a yoga session, I might have heard whispers about manis and pedis. But really, all of that will just act as a way to bond with my only daughter. To say I'm excited would be a huge understatement.

If you missed father/son camp please don't miss mother/daughter. If that weekend doesn't work, then hit up family camp. The first one is coming up at the end of May but we also have one in the fall.

We'll be there. I'll be the one with the camera hanging from her neck and joy pouring out of her skin.

The Garden

2011-03-30T19:54:41.186Z

As I mentioned last post, we've been busy out here at camp. Last Monday Zach (Camp Director), Prancer and myself decided we should start the garden that I've been planning for the last few years.

Last year Zach and Boomer brought old railroad ties to our front yard to start raised beds. I was excited to get the ball rolling until I found out that we'd be traveling to Ethiopia during the summer. Adding a garden to my growing list of things to do before Ethiopia just sounded like a little much.

So we had to start from scratch.

Our first task was to just pull up all of the grass. Not as easy as it sounds, we learned! Zach kept it classy even through the hard physical labor.

I actually did too, though my idea of classy is slightly different. Basketball shorts and cowboy boots anyone? Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of Prancer, who was wearing a vest, jeans and cheap version of TOMS. Another classic outfit.

After a few hours, things were looking pretty good.

This week we'll head up to the patch of horse poo/dirt with Papa Smurf's truck and fill in the rest of the beds. We are hoping to do the early planting this week as well and see if anything shows up. My mouth is already watering with anticipation!

If any of you out there are avid gardeners and have advice/free hands please email camp and let us know! We are not above advice...or willing hands!

But certainly as you come out to drop your kids off at camp take a gander at the garden, if it looks full and plentiful then celebrate-if it looks barren and sad then bring coffee. :)

I'm Baaaaack!

2011-03-29T00:10:18.589Z

Hello all!

I could hardly believe myself when I logged on to the Camp Wife blog and found I hadn't written ANYTHING since we got back from Ethiopia (July! Gulp). I must apologize to the 2 of you reading this (hey, mom! Hey, dad!), time just got away from me. I was busy hunkering down, trying to figure out how to be a good mom to 5 little people and kind of forgot that I was also a camp director's wife (well I didn't forget I was his wife, just forgot that I had a "duty" to the camp world, as it were).

Though I'm aware that I'll never have this mothering thing completely figured out, I do feel like our family has comfortably hit our stride. The kids are amazing. All of them play well together, love each other and just tonight were promising to live together until they die. Zach and I spend our nights asking how we got so blessed. 5 healthy, loving, beautiful kids and then of course each other. That husband of mine is actually even more amazing as a dad to 5.

It's easy to count our numerous blessings even more so when the weather starts turning nicer. Spring break for "The big 3" was last week and this week so we've been doing a lot of spring cleaning around here (more to come on that!) The big 3 also had their birthdays all within the last month. One of their favorite presents...

CAMP!!!!

They are so very excited. It will be Tomas's first time at camp (obviously) but Tariku's first time at Resident camp. Trysten is old hat at the whole thing but still jumped for joy when he saw that present in his pile.

I too find myself most excited for this season of camp. It seems the staff just keeps getting better and better and the programs follow suite. I find my husband getting more and more passionate about this camp living and notice my passions have started to align with his as well. It really is remarkable that we get this life. That we get to experience summer camp and all that it has to offer. That we get to be a witness to some of these lifelong memories of these kids and their parents. Truly an honor.

So raise your cup of coffee (side note: you must come see the new cups we just bought at SIS International-a local free trade store in Davenport, IA!) to the next camp season! Salut!

Home

2010-07-04T13:25:53.044Z

How great it feels to type those words! Home has never felt better, let me just tell you that.

To catch you up...

Our last few hours in Ethiopia dragged out. We were just ready to be home. Finally, at about 6:30 we left the hotel and headed to Bole Airport.

Our last picture in Ethiopia before we left (this is a pretty big deal because Tonya and Kevin took this whilst having 2 little habeshas strapped to them along with many packpacks, bread and other goodies).

The first flight (about 8 hours) was great, both boys giggled during take off then slept the whole way. I slept fitfully, with Binyam's head on my lap it was hard to get comfortable. We got to Amsterdam about 5:45 their time so we just kind of walked around stretching our legs. With only 3 or so hours of layover we had just enough time to stretch and recenter. The boys had just enough time to gaze out the window for almost the entire 3 hours.

The flight to Detroit (about 8 hours)was also good. We let the boys watch one movie (which they only kind of watched) and then we had them sleep again. Both of them did, with Binyam sleeping almost 6 hours. I slept better this flight as well. The flight was delayed an hour and we knew we didn't have a very long layover in Detroit so we were hoping to make up time in the air. Zach kept telling me, "Prepare yourself that we miss the connecting flight, just prepare." I told myself that I did, but...

We got to Detroit and literally sprinted down the halls. At one point I was so frustrated that Tomas wasn't running that I kind of half kicked his butt (in a playful manner, but it probably didn't look that way). The guy at immigration took his sweet, sweet time and, when hearing that we needed to make our connecting flight, still wouldn't let Zach go get our bags ready. "This is a big airport, I'm sure there will be plenty of flights". Ugh and ugh. So then we get to customs, where we decided to report that we brought dirt back and coffee beans. Shoudln't have. Took FOREVER. By the time we got to the check in point for our next flight we had just 15 minutes until the flight was supposed to take off. I asked the woman if she could call to the gate and tell them we were coming.

She said she couldn't do that.

And so I lost it.

Bad.

In hindsight, I probably looked like a really crazy person. My hair was askew, I had started the ugly cry, I was tired, I wanted to get home. It was ugly, I was ugly. But I wanted someone to pay for our current situation.

"That's bull! You can call them, you can tell them we're coming. I've been at gates where they are calling people to catch the flight, I've waited on planes when they've held it for people. Don't tell me you can't do anything, because I know that's bull! Make this right. Make this right. We've been on a plane for over a day, these boys want to get home, I want to get home. Don't tell me you can't do anything, this is your fault, MAKE IT RIGHT!!!!!"

It went something like that but was probably not that audible seeings I was ugly crying at the same time. I did get an "Amen" from the guy next to me, so that was nice.

She was kind of not a nice person, and clearly felt no compassion which probably made it worse. Zach took me aside, "Get yourself together dear, you're scaring the boys." And I was, but, honestly I didn't care.

So she told us of a flight a few hours later that was a direct to Moline, IL, otherwise we'd have to wait longer and go from Detroit to Minneapolis to Moline, getting home at almost 9pm. We headed to the gate that we were waiting on stand by knowing it was an almost hopeless cause.

We found out that we needed just 1 person to not show up. So I ate almost the whole thing of this.

Over the loudspeakers we keep hearing "If you are not at your gate 20 minutes before take off, you will lose your seat." At 20 minutes to take off there were still 8 people who had not shown up. To say we were praying would be an understatement. They didn't close the gate until about 5 minutes before take off, which was super frustrating. Lucky for us, a family of 4 didn't show, so we were in. When they gave us our tickets we sprinted to the plane, hoping that if we got on and buckled they would definitely not be able to take our seats. :) At one point Binyam tripped so I just yelled something like, "Save yourselves, get the seats, we'll catch up!" to Zach. I might have been certifiable at that point. But we were on, it took off.

Interestingly enough, our waitress had a connection to Ethiopia and spoke Amharic so the boys enjoyed their last taste of that. She asked us to wait until last in the airplane (are you serious lady? My kids are on the other side of this plane!) so she could have the boys check out the pilot's seat. Ok, fair enough.

Finally, the moment we saw our kids. It was awesome, it felt so good to hold them. Felt so good to hug our families. Just felt so good to be on Iowa soil. The boys actually were quite shy (surprising for Tomas, not so for Binyam). All Dailah wanted to do was hug and kiss Bini but he was less than thrilled. :) We did end up getting our first family picture, we thought it appropriate to do it by the "Men's" sign seeings there is so stinkin' many men/boys in our family.

Did I mention it was great to see our families and cry/laugh/love with them? Some of the loving people who showed up.

The moment we were all in the Pilot, the kids were besties. Talking, laughing, not letting language be a barrier. It was beautiful, a witness to what heaven might feel like. When we got home it was more of the same, the three boys went right downstairs to play and the two littles got to work in their room playing and hugging and wrestling. Amazing.

We got one snap of our babes before bed. I pretty much make summer the "undies only" season. So this is what that looked like.

Seriously great to be a family of 7.

Day 5- Last Day in Ethiopia

2010-07-02T19:46:39.441Z

Woke up to two happy boys today. I swear you can feel their relief at finally having a family. It’s the same thing for breakfast every morning (which is actually pretty good, but after the 5th day it’s getting old) :-). Tomas didn’t like it the first day, so you can imagine his delight on the 3rd. :-) He decided to ask the waiter for some injera, which they obviously don’t serve for breakfast. So he choked down a bit. When we dismissed the boys and they walked by the buffet line they both did this little hand wave. I asked Mesfin later what the hand wave meant, “It means ‘I hate you’ or ‘I don’t like it’”. Thankfully we have yet to witness that little wave towards us!

We played for just a bit because at 10 it was off next door where we had the goodbye ceremony. We actually have a pastor in our travel group so Sister Martha (the head nurse at the care center) asked him to say a few words. He read from the Bible and did a mini sermon. It was terrific, and perfect. He thanked the entire staff on our behalf for taking such good care of our kids. Nathan (the pastor) made sure to emphasize the fact that, yes, God did ask us to take care of the widow and the orphan, but in so doing, God has blessed us beyond measure. Too many people concentrate on only one half of the equation and forget completely the other half. Truly, being able to mommy these babies is one of the greatest blessings of my life.

One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when Sister Martha asked someone to sing an American good bye song. Since our travel group knows Zach is a director of a camp they offered him. We all wanted to hear an Ethiopian good bye song but she insisted. So, you guessed it, we sang Kum-bah-ya. I insisted he explain what it means, because it really was fitting for the occasion. In case you weren’t aware, it means “Come by me” so when you sing it you’re asking God to come with you in everything you do. Anyway, what was really cool was that the Ethiopians knew the song and one of them had even heard it when she visited Nairobi. Tomas and Bini glowed when their daddy led them in song. Oh, and it was also cool because to start the ceremony off they had the kids from the center sing a song and do you know who led that? Yup, Tomas. His voice is heaven sent I tell you.

The boys were very interesting at the care center. Tomas’ chest puffed out and he walked around demanding things from everyone. This is a stark contrast to the Tomas we see in the hotel. This outgoing, sweet boy who likes to wrestle and likes to give kisses turns into someone who is, as we say “too cool for school”.
Binyam, on the other hand, completely regressed into himself. He said something to Mesfin so when I asked him what he said, Mesfin replied, “Binyam said he is done with this place, he wants to go back to the hotel with his mom and dad”. Though this made me feel really good I felt awful that he was there again in the first place. Binyam walked around for most of those few hours in an obvious haze.
The hardest part was leaving them there. This is my one negative comment about the week. We had the goodbye ceremony and then we were supposed to go shopping, well we are not allowed to take the kids out very far so…you guessed it, we had to leave the kids at the center for lunch/naps. Tomas was ok, he still is not real attached to us (how could he be, it’s been just a week) and he’s seen this happen many times. Binyam, on the other hand, is already forming bonds with us and as soon as I handed him off to his nanny was screaming and reaching for us. Ugh. Took everything in me not to just take him back.

But I knew once we came back that they’d be able to see we’ll always come back for them so I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to shop. :-) We got lots of good things that we hadn’t gotten last time, including a traditional coffee ceremony set. So I was thrilled.

When we got back to the hotel we decided we would have the ladies go get the kiddos and the men go get pizza from a golf club down the road a bit. We were all kind of sick of the food from the hotel as it is the same menu every time and after a week we needed a change of pace. When I walked up the steps of the center Binyam opened the front door and hurled himself at me. “Mommy!” The best feeling, the best feeling. Tomas even looked excited to see me and came out on his own fruition, without the nannies telling him to! Zach had heard me scream “Bini” so he came over to say hello before getting the pizza.

Tonya (she and her husband, Kevin, have become friends of ours as they have 3 kids at home and are picking up 2 siblings, and are just terrifically cool) :-) and I headed back to the hotel to wait for the men to bring back the pizzas…almost 2 hours later (!) they were back. Had lots to do with Zach and Kevin not knowing where they were going, let me just say that. But those few hours in the hotel were some of the hardest here. Lots of reasons, but I’ll just say sometimes it’s hard to parent kids from other cultures who speak a different language when there are people from that same culture who speak the same language around. What I love about Ethiopians is how much they care for all of the kids. The women cooking were just bringing the kids back with them and having them sit on their laps. This is great, and I typically don’t have a problem with it because soon enough they’ll be in America, but last night was just more difficult for various reasons. Needless to say, we were all happy to see daddy with pizza boxes!

Zach and I shared a bottle of wine and then headed to bed, to what would be our very last night in Ethiopia. My prayers were mostly about the boys I was laying next to, the kids we are so excited to see home and a non-turbulent airplane ride.

Today (Thursday) we decided to have some oatmeal I brought instead. It was a great idea, it gave a little change up to the menu. Then Tonya and I hired our driver Tsegaw to take us to the Holt offices to drop some of Tonya’s donations off and then back to the shopping center. I wanted an injera basket and hadn’t gotten one yet (and apparently I needed 3 more scarves?!?!?!?!?) and she wanted a coffee ceremony set. It was a lot of fun, and made the morning go a bit faster.

When we got back we headed to the golf club as a family, since Holt said we could go that far with the kids. Bini insisted on walking the whole way so it took us awhile but it was worth it! The food was AMAZING and it was actually cheaper than our hotel. ($20 for 4 meals, 5 drinks). It was so much fun just hanging with our family and Kevin and Tonya and girls. Tomas entertained us by teaching us Amharic. We would point to something and say, for instance, “In America, this is called ‘glass’, in Ethiopia?” And he would tell us what it’s called in Ethiopia. It was an awesome game. This kid is wicked smart.

A nice walk on the way back as it started to get a bit warmer (it’s still cold here in ET, every day I’m wearing either jeans or a sweatshirt or both) and wasn’t raining. Now in the hotel room the boys are napping peacefully, Zach is reading and I’m blogging. Sounds like a great time to me!

Few more things on the boys: Tomas talks in his sleep! So precious. I hadn’t heard an Amharic night talker before but I gotta say it’s too cute…and loud! Binyam “Bini” or “Bini Boy” as I call him, has a huge stye on one of his eyes, looks so painful. But his smile, ohmygoodness, it’s so big it even pulls that swollen eye all the way up!

In a few hours Zach will head to the Holt office to pick up our Visa packets for the boys. A quick dinner and then we’re off to the airport. We take off at 10:50pm Ethiopia time which is 2:50pm CST. Please, please pray for safe flights that are on time and the reunion for the whole family. We are so very thankful for another great week in Ethiopia and two more angels to add to our brood.

Thanks for hanging in. “Talk” to you in America!!!!

Day 4

2010-06-30T18:06:41.745Z

Everyone slept really well from about 7pm to 6am. (Yes, that includes Zach and me, we’ve been so exhausted!) I took the large bed with the kids and Zach took the twin bed by himself. It felt really good to cuddle up to the boys last night and this morning.

When we woke up we knew we had about 6 hours to entertain them. We are not allowed to take the boys out and about in Ethiopia. Some Ethiopians are not fond of seeing their babies leave with Americans all the time (which you can understand) and walking them around town could be seen as “parading” them. When we were here 2 years ago this was not a problem but over time Americans have not been respecting the culture (they cover babies completely, etc) and it just looks/is disrespectful. We understand this rule but are severely limited in ways we can entertain the boys.

After breakfast we went up to the room in hopes of letting the boys watch a cartoon while we both showered and got ready for the day but the power went up as we were climbing our many flights of stairs. Hmmmm. We did as best as we could but within a few hours Tomas was literally so bored he was cleaning our room. Yes, cleaning our room. Straightening out the shoes, making our beds, etc. So Zach and I bit the bullet and wrestled for the next few hours.

At noon it was time to make up the car and head to the embassy. As we were telling Tomas it was time to get in the car he said, “Car, America?” “No, not yet Tomas”. We wonder what he thinks America will be like? Streets of chocolate? Seats of cheese? :-) We got to the embassy no problem and sat in the waiting area for our names to be called. We were the first group there but after about 30 minutes more groups came. 2 years ago we were the only group the whole time, I think this is a testament to how many more agencies are working in Ethiopia now.

When we got to the Visa window the woman (American) was really great. We had to sign off saying we knew these boys and wanted them with everything we had which was absolutely no problem. :-) She then asked us if we thought there was any fraud in this case. Knowing the details of the boys’ story has made it that much easier to say we have no doubts there was no fraud. We feel very blessed that we can say that with our conscience clean.

Stamp, stamp. “Ok you’re done” she says. And that’s that. They’re Klipschs! We got their original birth certificates and saw their passports, their Visas will be done and able to be picked up in the Holt office Thursday morning.

After that we headed to the Hilton to confirm our flights. We were there for only about 20 minutes but when we were walking out Tomas says something to our driver Tsegaw (Seg-au). Tsegaw starts laughing. “You have a very smart boy here. Tomas says, ‘They took me to America and brought me back to Ethiopia?’” The Hilton is very nice but if that’s his only expectation of America I think we’ll be just fine. :-)

During the day we had a knock on the door and an Ethiopian was there asking for Tomas. He said that Tomas needed to go next door to the care center to the administration. We were a little worried and confused so I sent Zach (having just gotten out of the shower). When Bini and I joined them a few minutes later Zach explained that he walked in to 4 nannies and the head nurse almost in tears missing Tomas. The head guy hadn’t seen Tomas yesterday and missed him, he needed to see Tomas. :-) So Tomas was given sunglasses and lots of hugs and kisses and sent on his way. I can’t tell you how good it feels to know for the last year and a half they have been so loved, so well cared for. God is good for sure, especially in this case.

After the Hilton is was just home for dinner. We gave them their first showers, which they loved. I personally loved lotioning them down, it’s a fun way to bond with them somehow. We decided after that to head to our other travel mates who are bringing home 2 little girls to watch a cartoon before bed. It felt like the longest day ever but when we were about to say it’s bedtime it was only 6:30. Ok, 1 more cartoon. :-)

Zach was in the big bed with the boys this time and me in the smaller. We are just loving these boys, I can’t even tell you. They are so smart, so funny, so beautiful.

So, so thankful tonight as we get ready to give goodnight kisses to the newest Klipschs.

Love to you,
Tesi

(No pictures today, the embassy won’t allow it so we didn’t even bring our camera anywhere!)

Day 3 and 4

2010-06-29T14:46:11.855Z

Early wake up call this morning so that we could be on the road to Durame by 7am. The trip was to last about 6 hours with most of the road paved. This was the same road that led to Hossanna when we went 2 years ago so I was really excited to get out of the city and see the country again.

The ride there was terrific. I was so happy we got to see this country during dry season (last time) and rainy season (this time). It is even more beautiful than I remember. The trip surprised a lot of our travel mates because most people think of Africa and think of dessert for miles and miles. Ethiopia is not like that at all. It is green and lush and just absolutely beautiful. Zach took some amazing pictures with the camera but it really is hard to capture.

Passing through Shinchicho was perhaps the toughest for me. This was Tariku’s home village. It was hard picturing our little guy who was probably consuming his weight in pizza at that moment, playing naked soccer with his friends. Or carrying younger siblings on his back. It was hard picturing him running to the car yelling “ferenge” (white man) and waving frantically at the car. But that’s exactly what he would’ve been doing, if he wasn’t dead, if he wasn’t with us. This is a really tough concept to wrap my head around. But I see Tariku’s eyes in all of these kids and it makes me miss him so much.

When we were getting to Durame we were amazed at the view. We were pleasantly surprised at the hotel in Durame. I’d heard such awful things (people told me to think of it as camping) but it was a nice hotel. The bed was definitely hard, we thought perhaps we were sleeping on the box springs, and the toilet didn’t flush unless you poured the water from the red bucket in the toilet. But, it had a toilet, it had a bed, it had a TV and a fridge and ours had a balcony with a view we would pay hundreds to see in the States.

We had time for lunch before meeting some special people. Meals here take fairly long as they make each meal one at a time. Very delicious though. We were all anxious to meet the special people so we struggled when lunch was running late to not press our American anal time deadlines on the Ethiopians.

After we met the special people we came back to the hotel to kind of release a little steam (i.e. drink some St. George’s beer). Zach and I were happy to see another Ethiopian we had been waiting to see was already at the hotel. We talked to him for awhile, which was definitely one of the best parts of the trip.

After dinner we just went up to the room to process a bit. Zach and I had some great moments trying to figure out the toilet (which we didn’t until the morning). Our travel group slept surprisingly well but that could’ve been because of the emotional stuff we had all been through or because we had all taken advantage of Tyelenol PM/Zanax. :-)

Up early again to head back to Addis Ababa. We had split our group with one group (the one who had brought kids from home) in one van and the other group (kidless for now) in the other. Our group (the kidless) had a lot of fun with the driver and media guy. We taught them lots of American things. Their favorite was by far the beef jerky, their least favorite might have been poptarts. :-) After eating the poptart they were begging for water. ;) Mesfin, the media guy, turns and says, “We love this group, we will always remember you.” Mesfin was great at answering all of my questions and pointing out different things about the country, a blessing to be sure.

We got back to Addis and had just a few hours to take showers and prepare our rooms to bring the kiddos back to the hotel with us. Zach decided to lay down and I decided to go shopping. We went to a little bead shop. This shop was terrific. Over 30 women who used to live on the streets now make the stuff in the shop. All proceeds go to them. One of the women was very proud that none of them live in the street anymore, they all have homes and are able to eat finally. I was more than happy to buy lots of goodies from them. :-)

Then, time to pick up the boys. Zach and I were both half excited, half nervous. I remember the first night with Tariku when we had nothing to do but look at him. We had toys, sure, but we couldn’t communicate with him so there was a lot of staring and then giggling. This proved to be true for us and the boys as well. We gave them a few thing, which they hoarded and counted a number of times. Then it was downstairs for dinner. Tomas eats like Tariku, which is to say, more than any little person should probably eat. Binyam barely ate anything but did enjoy the granola bar I gave them when we returned to the room.
Sleep was actually pretty great. We put them down a little after 7 and they had no problems falling asleep. At one point I heard them talking in the middle of the night but then Tomas scooted down to the foot of the bed and fell right back asleep. Everyone slept great until 6am which I think is pretty amazing.

Now to breakfast.

Today we hang out a lot and then head to our embassy appointment which is the final step to the boys becoming ours. We are incredibly excited about this. I find myself wanting to come home now that the boys are with us. They got to talk to our 3 at home and it sounded like everyone was excited. Makes me want us all together so badly!

More later. Much love to you!

Day 2... with pictures!

2010-06-27T18:40:49.225Z

This morning Zach and I went with another family to a shopping centre. We decided against going to the National Museum again since we’ve been before. It was nice to be able to go shopping and think about the gifts we were getting and the people they would go to as opposed to our last shopping trip in ET that was so cutthroat we just started throwing stuff frantically in bags. :-) Our driver we hired gave us a really awesome tour/running commentary on the country on our way to the centre. Most of it we knew already but his language was so colorful (even explaining the reason why boys and girls are given their Christian names at different times-because Eve was to blame for the fall of man and thus women wait longer for their Christian names…they also, in case you didn’t know, have menses and childbirth because of their tempting ways). :-)

After the shopping trip we came back and both fell asleep, we seem to be struggling a bit more with the altitude this time around. Going from the flat plains of Iowa to the mountains of Ethiopia is harder on this body than I remember!

We just got back from hanging with the boys. To be quite honest, it’s exhausting. This is because we are all in the same room with the other kids in our travel group and so everyone is running around distracted. It’s really hard to hang with the boys when there’s so much else to do! We did notice that they kept coming back to us, which we think is a really good sign. Tomas, at the beginning of our time, wants nothing to do with me. He shrugs his shoulder at me and only gives Zach love. But I take him away from everyone else or read a book or wrestle him and by the end he has no problem holding my hand and sitting on my lap. Binyam appears to have fallen in love with us. One of our travel group peeps said “Binyam has the best personality of all the kids, I think.” I think he’s on to something.

Both boys are just supremely smart. I taught Tomas how to take pictures and he sat on my lap for quite some time taking his own pictures, a photographer in the making? Then he looked at the back of the camera and knew just how to play the pictures back to me. He then identified everyone in the picture. Tomas loves seeing his brothers and sister at home. The way he says “Dailah” melts my heart.

Though our time with them is fun and exciting, we are looking forward more to the time we will have with them in our hotel when we can come back into our room and just start the parenting part of this. Zach described our time in the care center with them as a play date, and that’s an appropriate description I think.

Tonight we go to the Crown Hotel for the cultural dinner and dancing. Though we’ve been there before we plan on going again because it’s terrific authentic Ethiopian food and just a fun atmosphere. Plus we have a better camera this time around (thanks Frank) and hope to get better pictures of the dancing.

We are starting to miss the kids and look forward to Tuesday when we have the boys in our care. We plan on calling home then so the kids can talk to the boys.

Tomorrow we leave for our trip south to Durame. We are looking forward to seeing the countryside of Ethiopia again and meeting various people who have touched our hearts. We will be staying the night in Durame so no blogging tomorrow.

It will be a long day tomorrow but one that typically makes the entire trip worth it.

Love you Trysten, Tariku and Dailah!

An Update from Ethiopia!

2010-06-25T22:15:28.308Z

Woke up to a breakfast of French toast, terrific rice and an egg/peppers combo. So good. Oh, and lots of coffee. I had forgotten how great this country is when it comes to it’s “buna”-coffee.

After breakfast we were off to the Holt offices for orientation. Too hard to sit still when we know in an hour we’ll be meeting our babies. In fact, I’m not quite sure what they said in that whole meeting.

Finally, time to meet the boys. At the care center they have the families sit in chairs surrounding this large area rug. On the area rug they put a few stuffed animals. The plan is to have the child/ren come to the stuffed animal in the middle and then the adoptive parents (APs) get to look at them and then say, “He/she is ours”, something to that affect. We were about last in line so I snapped a few precious pictures of the APs first meeting with their babes.

Then it was our turn. The nannies led Tomas and Binyam down the stairs; Binyam was slower so the first person we saw was Tomas. I think I started crying when I heard Zach say, “Ohmygoodness, it’s them”. So surreal to see these boys in the flesh. Zach and I immediately got down on our knees and moved towards them. At that time Tomas ran and jumped into Zach’s arms and Binyam hesitantly came into mine. We did the ole’ switcheroo and Tomas tackled me with probably the biggest cheek kiss I’ve ever had and a “Hello mommy, I love you” (clearly prompted). :-)

We had just 1 precious hour with them so we tried to soak everything in. What we learned that first hour about Tomas: he can sing the Barney song, which is annoying when American kids sing it, totally cute when Ethiopian ones do. :-) Tomas understands an incredible amount of English. He doesn’t really speak it well, or use it but when we talk and hand gesture wildly he almost always comprehends it. Also, he likes to laugh when he speaks Amharic to us and we clearly don’t know what he’s talking about. We also realize why another travel group nicknamed him “Mayor Tomas”; boy does he have a run of the place! Walking wherever he wants, entering rooms and then just leaving. The head nurse pointed to one toilet and said, “That is kids’ toilet”, she pointed to another toilet in a different room, “and that is Tomas’s toilet”. So if that tells you anything…One of the first things he said to us was, “My family, America, brother Tariku”. Meaning, “my family is here, let’s go to America so I can see my brother Tariku”. It was precious. He was excited to go get the photos we sent him and point out each family member. He struggles with saying Trysten but has got Tariku and Dailah (and of course mommy and daddy) down pat.

Binyam, oh Binyam! He was just really shy at first. He didn’t say anything for the first 45 minutes we were there, probably. We would play with him and then when he clearly wanted us to do something we would say, “Say ‘please mommy’” and he would just lift his eyebrows (how Ethiopians say “yes”). After a bit of that he finally learned he’d get it sooner if he spoke and started to talk. This opened the floodgates and he could soon be found mumbling, “Please mommy” to himself and then giggling. Binyam/Bini fell down and started crying at one point so I scooped him up and just kind of rocked him while walking around. Until this point he would have his body kind of far from me if I held him. After a bit of walking he slowly let his chest fall on me, then his arms went slack and then finally he rested his head on my shoulder. It was a super sweet few minutes. After that, he was a cuddler, running and climbing onto my lap. When it was time to leave he kept looking back at us with his puppy dog eyes, hard to leave that one!

Lunch at the hotel and then off to do more paperwork at the Holt office (more paperwork!). After that, finally we get 2 good hours with the boys.

Tomas during this time would stray less, and stay longer with us. I ticked him off once (we brought water bottles for them and he lost his so just grabbed the closest kids’ and I made him give it back) and he tried giving me the silent treatment. I pulled him on my lap and when he made eye contact with me I just gave him a quick command “ishi (it’s ok), sami mommy (give mommy a kiss)” and then he liked me. :-) He clearly prefers Zach, always going to him first. Thankfully Zach is good about pointing him towards me too. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Zach can throw him in the air and I, despite all my hard work in the gym, find him to be too heavy. He is tall, but I think Trysten is still taller. The head nurse described Tomas as “easily distracted” and Zach and I would have to agree wholeheartedly. He reminds us so much of Tariku that I called him Tariku at least a handful of times, jeesch. He hesitated a bit when we were leaving but, for the most part, I think he is enjoying his last few days as king of the castle. ;)

Binyam went right for us this time. Cuddled onto our laps and stayed around us the whole time for the most part. If he went to get a toy he would bring it back to us (unlike this morning when he would just wonder off to play by himself). He kept dragging nannies over to “introduce” us. Binyam talked nonstop and would try to get me to understand him with all his might, poor guy. The head nurse described Binyam as “full of concentration” and, again, she was right. He could stay with the same toy the whole time, unlike his brother who cycled through a good 200. :-) You can constantly see the wheels turning on this one. Binyam has an incredibly infections laugh, at one point he and I were laughing so hard we both had tears and I have absolutely no idea why. There’s a decent chance he just said, “I can’t believe I got a crazy-woman for a mom!” Whatever it was, it had the both of us on the floor holding our sides, a precious moment amongst many precious moments.

At about 6:15pm we headed back to the hotel for the night. I am writing this at 8:30 our time and Zach has been asleep for an hour. :-) I will not be posting this until tomorrow, but I want to write it all down while it’s still fresh.

We just talked to the kiddos at home. Trysten told me he prayed for us to not get sick on the plane and that he was sorry to hear I still threw up. My sweet baby. Tariku was excited to hear Tomas knew his name. Dailah just asked to talk to Binyam and when I couldn’t produce she was no longer interested. I miss those three incredibly already and can’t wait to have the family together in just 7 days.

I guess I should end, this being the start of my 3rd page on Word. This time around in Ethiopia I find myself anxious to get the boys in the hotel with us. I know so many of the behaviors we saw in the care center will change even as early as their first few days with us in the hotel. I am biting at the bit to learn everything I can about them. From what we can see so far, we know God hand picked them for our family (which is messy and complicated and-a lot of times-completely incomprehensible because of the tremendous amount of loss that took place for them to be “ours”). It’s easy to get wrapped up in the adoption part of this and forget about the God part of this until you get here and meet your kids. It’s a God thing, it really is.

Time to go snuggle up to this hubby of mine who has, again, earned the nickname “child whisperer” kids freakin love him. I kinda do too.

Love to you all.

We Made It!

2010-06-25T22:14:12.647Z

We made it! 12:31am Addis time and we're here. Flights were ok. Lots of turbulance and avoiding storms right over Addis. This meant I filled 2 puke bags with...well, puke. Not good times.

But we're here at the hotel. The boys are sleeping at the care center mere feet away. How I wish I could pole vault the wall and give them sweet dream kisses. Tomorrow, just a few more hours.

I'm not sure how I can put into words what it feels like to come back to the country of some of your children's birth but it is something that's for sure. We are so happy to be back to a place that feels a little bit like home.

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and love. I get all of your comments emailed to me so we read each one of them.

Off to brush teeth and dream dreams of two little habeshas we get to hold in a few hours.

Love from Ethiopia,
Tesi

Can't Believe

2010-06-23T17:12:35.761Z

it's today. At the Quad City International Airport waiting for our first flight to Detroit. Said our tearful goodbyes to our babies. It was tearful indeed because it was a rough night.

We're thinking the kids ate/drank something that didn't sit well and it was about a billion degrees outside and inside our house (no air conditioning remember) and so Trysten threw up all night last night. Dailah woke up and also threw up. They all seem to be better now but it's hard leaving them like that.

But it's for a good reason. Remember the reason?

You ready for it?

It's for these two.

Tomas (toe-mas) age 6.

and Binyam (Bin-yum) age 3.

We will meet them in a few short days.

Until then, a day and a half of flights for my beloved and me.

Pray for the whole deal, including my babes who aren't quite at par.

On Preparing

2010-06-22T02:41:29.922Z

So in case you all are just tuning in, Zach and I are adopting from Ethiopia again. We were planning on traveling to pick up our two newest sons (aged 6 and 3-yrs-old) sometime in August, after camp was finished. But about a month ago we got a call letting us know that the Ethiopian government was ready for us to come pick up our sons...July 23rd.

Clearly that wasn't in our plan but was most definitely in God's plan, so there you go. We take off for Ethiopia on Wednesday, that's just (rounding up) in one day. And it's crazy to think about.

But on to the title of this post...the preparations. They are a little different this time around. Camp season is hard because Zach works long hours (typically up before we are and comes home just before my bedtime-sometimes after). So the travel prep has fallen squarely on my shoulders. Now, I'm a pretty laid back person, not a whole lot riles me up but this preparation has thrown me for a loop.

I'm kind of checked out of here already at this point. Side from throwing a few of Zach's stuff in a bag (he has yet to pack, obviously) we're pretty much ready to go!

So tomorrow will be spent teaching a few classes on my part, Zach will wrap up things at camp. Should the rain hold off tomorrow night the boys will have one last baseball game, and then...

SLUMBER PARTY!!! We're spoiling the kids with a little slumber party in our bedroom tomorrow night. I'm excited about it, save for the part about my middle child being quite the snore-er.

Please, stay tuned over the next week and a half. I will be updating this blog while in Ethiopia (with the help of Prancer, thank you Prancer!) to keep you posted on our time there.

If your kids are going to camp this week or next, you will have already received or will receive a letter from Zach letting you know what's going on while he's gone. I'm here to tell you though, as a mom, you can rest easy. The staff out here is incredible, your kids will have the time of their lives.

Oh, and so will we. :)

1 Down

2010-06-19T02:42:53.085Z

Well it's Friday night just before 10pm which means the first week of camp is officially done. It felt very good to have Trysten run and jump in my arms at the closing ceremonies tonight. So good, in fact, that I didn't pull up a chair at the table for him, instead I offered my lap for the duration of the meal. :)

I had the great pleasure of talking to a few families tonight who found themselves next to my family. That is certainly a perk to this whole "Camp Director's WIfe" gig, the people I meet enrich the experience that much more.

I do love watching the reunions, watching the kids win their awards from the counselors. I love hearing, "Mom, I'm happy to see you but I want to go sit with my friends for dinner, ok?"

These are all very good things. But not as good as having my family under my roof again. :)

My (and Your!) Campers

2010-06-17T01:01:08.379Z

I'm going to tell you, even with no kids during the day, somehow my days keep drifting by at quite the clip!

I've enjoyed spending so much time at camp this week. If your kids are here, be assured they are having loads of fun. I love watching the kids when they're with their cabins. It's really impressive to watch friendships being formed. Even today, I saw two girls with their arms locked sharing secrets who had not met before Sunday. How cool is that?

As for my eldest, he seems to have met a few friends himself. I know it sounds ridiculous but I really miss the guy. I still get to see him most meals but it's not the same as when he's at home. I miss pulling him onto my lap and giving him hugs or just praying with him before we go to bed. Simple things, those are what's missed the most, right?

My day campers are enjoying themselves as well. Not a day goes by without harrowing stories of barely missing "Fuzzy" the tiger or a new shark that has overtaken the pool (though no one has been able to corraborate my daughter's shark tale, so that could be something she's enjoying all by her lonesome). :) My day campers, as I'm sure yours too, come back filthy, exhausted and happy beyond belief.

If you come Friday to pick up your "baby" please introduce yourself to me! I'll be the mama with a twinkle in my eye and a *hopeful* walkin' taco in my hand!

Next Week

2010-06-10T01:36:05.605Z

Camp officially begins next week. Sunday will be the start of resident camp and Monday marks the beginning of day camp. This may not seem like a big deal to you but it is to me. Why?

Because all three of my kids will be there!

Trysten will be in resident camp, Tariku and Dailah will be toting backpacks and water bottles at day camp.

If you're a mom you can understand the various emotions I'm feeling right now. First one up would, of course, be excitement. They get to have an entire week of extreme fun and I will be childless during the day! That's kind of a big deal as it hasn't been done for 7 years! I'm sure I'll manage to find something to do and have fun as well but I will miss them terribly.

If you're a camp mom you'll also understand another one of my emotions, we call this one "fear". Will Trysten get enough sleep? Will Tariku be able to focus on his counselor? Will Dailah remember to put sunscreen on? Honestly a few nights ago I couldn't fall asleep letting the fear take hold of me.

But I think that is a really important message for us as moms (and dads), right? I've got to get over myself so that I can enable my kids to have the experience of a lifetime.

It's not easy but it's worth it!

So that's where I'm at for now, if I blog on Monday you might hear a completely different story. :)

How Did I Not Mention...

2010-06-10T01:22:54.201Z

FAMILY CAMP!!!

It was over a week and a half ago and I forgot to blog about it! Have no fear, the blog is here. :)

Family camp was even better than I imagined. For locals you'll remember that Memorial Day weekend brought the best weather we've had perhaps all year. Sunny, small breeze, not too hot, no rain-it really doesn't get any better than that.

But the people! I couldn't believe how after just a few hours all the families were mingling playing volleyball, horseshoes and GaGa. By the end of the weekend I couldn't remember which kids belonged to which adults and vice versa. I have no doubts there were email and phone numbers exchanged and relationships built to last.

As I've mentioned before, that is one of my very favorite parts of camp. Watching relationships start out awkwardly (you remember Junior High, right?) and develop into something organically amazing is truly a sight to see. When you take into consideration the fact that these relationships are built on the Y's 4 core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility, well...that's exactly the foundation I want my kids to build their lifelong friendships.

So family camp, it's a must do when visiting the Quad Cities. If you missed this one, check out the one coming Labor Day weekend. I'll see you there.

And did I mention I'll have 5 kids by then?!?!?!?!?

And So It Begins

2010-06-03T19:56:06.702Z

Camp season, that is. Papa Smurf got back this morning from picking up a few of the international staff and John is on his way to pick up the remaining international counselors in Chicago. Nacho brought some goodies straight from Columbia (I do so love gifts!) which is definitely one of the perks of being a Camp Wife!

I really do love this time of year. A lot of people look at me with sympathy in their eyes knowing we don't get to see our dad/husband as much in summer, but truly it's so worth it. Zach loves what he does, he loves seeing lives changed by this whole thing and that makes the hours we miss him that much easier. Zach's excitement is palpable and, frankly, I miss the counselors a bit myself in the long stretches of winter.

When getting the mail today it was spilling over with camper registrations, those moms and dads "get it". They know there really is something to this camping bit. Forgetting the cell phones, the texts, the TVs and getting back to where it all started. I'm telling you this much, no amount of American Idol can come close to comparing to the song birds we hear outside our house every morning.

So June brings summer, which brings counselors, which brings kids from all walks of life, all different stages of their growth. I'm excited to meet your kids, to be their "mama" for a week (or two or three). I've met the people who will take care of them and I would trust them with my own kids (I actually am, all 3 are going to camp the first week and each one is counting down the days!)

You've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times, I'll see you-and your kids- at camp!

Family Camp!

2010-05-18T19:23:01.229Z

I'm getting so excited for family camp next weekend (Memorial Day weekend).

Last year was my first taste of family camp and can I just tell you how amazing it is? We've become good friends with many of the families who camped with us that weekend.

My husband made the great decision (in my humble opinion) to extend the weekend a bit longer so it's now 2 full days of all the good stuff at camp.

The horses came just over a week ago so the excitement has been building since!

So have you signed up yet? I'm not sure there are many spots left in cabins, but there are plenty of spots in tents.

But truly, ALL of our kids are counting the days so sign up quickly so your kids can have something to look forward to as well!

See you at (family) camp!

Falling In Love

2010-04-09T21:05:25.514Z

After being a Camp Director's wife for almost 3 years, I've learned to love almost everything about nature. It's amazing to me how living and being in nature has become the only place I want to be (even after I found a tick in my hair last week!).

It turns out, though, camp has a way of changing your whole outlook on life. I have dedicated this year to becoming more and more earth friendly in my household cleaning products. I've switched our everyday cleaner and our laundry detergent to natural (homemade) kinds. And today, I finally made the move away from napkins and paper towels and towards a more sustainable/less filling-the-dump kind of waste.

So I bought a tablecloth today and used my favorite mother-in-law's sewing supplies. I consulted my favorite camp director on size of napkin and commenced to measuring and cutting. In the end, I came up with over 20 reusable napkins.

I think they turned out terrific (though not perfect). I'm still a novice at this, but I dare you to come out to camp and not let these surroundings affect you in every possible way!

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-09T20:27:45.184Z

Last week the kids were on spring break. Other than summer, this is my most favorite time of the year because I LOVE having my kids around me. This year was even more special because the temperatures were in the 80s some days! So the kids spent the entire days/nights outside and I spent a lot of my time spring cleaning (inside and out as well!)

Spring cleaning at camp is a bit different. The house we live in was the first structure on camp so it's oooooold, but it has recently been renovated. There are still a few rooms that were not renovated that have become the catch-all for years worth of stuff that was in the house pre-us. So when I cleaned last week, it was maybe a bit different than what you might have done. For instance, did you have anything that looked like this coming out of your rooms?

Oh I was on a mission to be sure!

But really, it was a perfect week with perfect weather, perfect family and the perfect setting.

Spring is Upon Us

2010-03-13T00:45:06.412Z

Hallelu! I'm not sure about you but I couldn't be more excited to see the snow melt and the temperatures rise. This past week brought temps in the 60s which meant we were outside more than we were inside. Living at camp truly only gets better this time of year. Where else can you send your kids out to frog hunt, find nature's slides, seek the perfect place for a fort and spend hours of bonding time with brothers and sisters? Sometimes I can't believe we get to call this place "home".

I assure you, it's not just me who gets all excited watching my kids interact with nature, they simply can't help but love it either.

2 New Campers!

2010-02-24T02:18:39.945Z

But not just any campers...Klipsch campers!

Last Friday we found out we were to be parents again. To two boys, waiting for us in Ethiopia, Africa.

Tomas (Toe-mas), age 5
Binyam (Bin-yum), age 3 - just younger than Dailah

And they are beautiful, and precious and sound amazing and I'm in love.

Our social worker called last Friday while Zach and I were running errands before heading out of town. We were in separate cars but heading to the same place (the Y, of course!). Our social worker told me the good news, and that was it. Zach was pulling into the parking lot at the time. I wanted to try to act neutral to not give it away but I saw that man I love so much and just started jumping up and down screaming. When he rolled down his window all I could say was simply.

"They're ours."

Now, I cannot post pictures of them until after we pass court (another few months) but let me describe them to you.

Tomas. Is beautiful. He actually looks remarkably like Tariku and not really at all like Binyam. He has Tariku's cheeks and chin. You can tell in his eyes he is ready for a family in the way Tariku did as well. His measurements put him just shorter than Trysten and just taller than Tariku. He is said to be playful and sociable with an eye always on his little brother.

Binyam. Also beautiful. HUGE eyes. Loose curls that frame his face. In a lot of the pictures it looks like he's been so active he's visibly sweating. In a few of his expressions it's easy to tell he's got a spunk to him that reminds us of his big sister. He is said to be very close with his older brother. His measurements put him just shorter than Dailah and slightly lighter. He is said to love playing with dolls.

So yes, they sound perfect! Our entire family is so excited.

As a Camp Director's wife, it's hard not to see everything through the lens of camp. We knew we wouldn't be able to travel to Ethiopia to pick up our newest sons until after camp season was done. This is actually good because summer is so busy with our family, it's a relief to know they won't be thrown into the middle of that!

On the other hand, it will be nearly impossible to refrain from picturing them on their first trail ride or their first shot in archery. Our family is almost big enough now that we could have a pretty intense game of Gaga! I already long for the day when all 5 of my kids are running through our front yard full speed to the swimming pool.

In the end, we are very excited about our newest "camp director's kids!" So next summer keep an eye out for a loose Klipsch running around and, if you see one, please bring him/her back home, I'll have coffee waiting!

Winter at Camp

2010-01-26T00:36:14.608Z

Honestly, at the beginning of each season at camp I look at Zach and say, "I LOVE (season) at camp, it's my favorite."

I love spring because the trees start getting new leaves, the air is crisp. It's nice enough outside that we can take hikes as a family and go camping by the lake. The smell of homemade bread fills the house while we play outside so that when we come back inside we're met with that most satisfying smell.

Summer...well that's obvious, isn't it? I get to meet counselors from all walks of life and all different countries and nations. We get to learn new cultures and new ways of living. Our neighborhood farmers equip us with local, delicious and beautiful fruits and vegetables. Did I mention the perks of living just a few feet from a swimming pool? And meeting all the new kids who are transformed by camp. Of course you, the parents who trust us with your most beloved little ones. Watching the reunions with your little ones each Friday consistently brings a tear to my eye.

Fall. Oh, beautiful fall! Leaves are falling. Kids are diving into piles of leaves and I don't have to rake them up afterwards. :) Still great fruits and veggies from our farmers. We get to see more of daddy once fall hits and we celebrate that by family trips, copious amounts of camping and lots of snuggle time on the couch with blankets and socks.

Then there's winter. Though I, like most of you, wouldn't mind seeing the sun come out and the snow be gone come February, winter at camp reafirms my belief that God is an artist. There is just nothing like seeing the blanket of snow over all of camp. Often when feeling a little gloomy I open the front door to let a little fresh air in and feel like I've entered a painting. The other reason I love camp is because I get to see all of the camp staff's ideas and improvements come to fruition. I can't wait for you to see some of the good stuff waiting for you and your kids!

Needless to say, living here is beyond amazing. Zach is blessed to work with a terrific staff who now feels like family. So much so that I no longer feel the need to get out of my PJs when stopping in to the office (much to their dismay, I'm sure).

In the future I hope to get a photographer out here for all seasons so we can hang some pictures up in the lodge for you to see (and possibly purchase!) then you can bring a little bit of camp into your home!

Until then, enjoy these pictures from a novice photographer.

Poor Me

2010-01-26T00:35:44.396Z

All last week Zach was gone at the Mid American Camping Conference. I didn't blog last week because it would've sounded like this:

"Waaa, waaaa, waaa, poor me, feel sorry for me, it's ugly outside and I haven't gotten out of sweatpants in 4 days."

But Zach's back, which in essence means the best part of me is back too, so I blog.

Seriously though, everytime Zach's gone I find my awe in single moms just intensify. Because it's exhausting. It's fun, worth it, but flippin' exhausting. So to the single mommies reading right now, I salute you, and am humbled by everything you do. Seriously. If you need a break, let me know, I'll give you the much needed break you deserve.

In other news, over a week ago we had our adoption classes for our newest adoption agency. Good times. Though we'd obviously been through it and heard most of it before, it was different having "been there done that". Some good reminders in there to be sure.

And, it gets us closer to our newest babies, which is exciting.

That's all I have for tonight. I hope you all have had an amazing, and infinitely more productive week.

Oh, and apparently when Zach is gone for a week, upon his return we dress alike and brush our teeth together and-in general-are the cutest couple you've ever seen.

The Beginning

2010-01-26T00:28:40.827Z

Last Wednesday was a looooong day. Ice storms hit our area and covered everything with a nice inch or so of ice. So we weren't just stuck inside, we were literally stuck inside. Zach was gone at a Camping Conference all last week. So there we were, all day. Together. Even on days when it's really cold I make them go outside for a few minutes. Fresh air does wonders for people. I also have a huge aversion to kids just watching TV, playing the Leapster or playing the Wii most of the day. So we randomly broke out in dance every hour. In summary, it was the longest day I've had in a very long time.

But today, well it was a different day entirely. I got exercise, so did the kids. They were perfect, I was not...but as close as I can be. Tonight I picked them up after my last class at the Y. The boys told me a story.

It was a story about a caucasian kid telling my boys they couldn't be brothers because Trysten was white and Tariku was black. Then this happened.

Trysten said: "Yes he is my brother, we adopted him from Ethiopia, Africa."

Other kid: "There is no such place as Ethiopia."

Tariku: "Yes there is, that's where I'm from. I flew on a plane to come to America."

Other kid: "I'm in 4th grade, I know there's no Ethiopia. If you were brothers you would have to be white (pointing at Tariku) or you would have to be black (pointing at Trysten)."

Tariku: "No, because I'm from Ethiopia and Ethiopians are black and my family is from America and there are white people in America."

Trysten: "He's my brother, so stop saying that."

Tariku: "And he's my brother."

Trysten: "How about you and Tariku race and whoever wins is right?" (yeah, that probably came from me, racing used to be my favorite form of competition too).

Well Tariku being the superb runner he is beats the other kid. The kid tries to say he won and then ran off.

When talking about it later, Trysten says, "It just made me mad that he is older than me and doesn't even know about the world."

Oh buddy, it only gets worse from here.

Then, just to prove he's been paying attention, as I was laying Trysten down to sleep he said:

"I guess that kid doesn't even think Martin Luther King, Jr even gave his speech yet. Because if he knew about his speech he would know that black people and white people can do things together, like be in a family."

Then we talked about how things didn't change completely since Dr. King. How some white people still hate themselves enough to throw that hate on whichever minority is closest. That this is just the beginning of sticking up for his brother and for our family.

It's just the beginning of having each other's backs. Of defending each other against the ignorant and the hateful.

It might be a long road for them but I saw them tonight after their "battle". They were closer, they loved each other more, there was something there that wasn't before.

And it was simply beautiful.

The Players

2010-01-26T00:13:36.791Z

I wanted to give you a more in-depth look at "the players", or in other words, my family. To try to summarize what they're each like in a paragraph is tough but in order for you to understand some of the coming posts, a bit about us all would probably help.

Trysten (6) is the oldest and makes note of that often. He started attending a different school this year and has come home with a more colorful vocabulary as well as a more thorough outlook on life. He continues to be the one to remark that his favorite part of the day is snuggling with me or something sweet like that. There is something about the oldest that brings out the mother bear in us, I think. They were the first ones to bring out this power we didn't know we had. This year brought on him an awareness of how he looks to other people and a new emotion-embarrassment. Whether it be tripping when he didn't mean to or running into a glass door, his tears are more likely attributed to being embarrassed than being hurt, though he would never tell you that. This boy wears his heart on his sleeve, which makes me painfully aware of the fact that I'm fiercely overprotective of that in particular.

Tariku (4) is our "middle" child, adopted from Ethiopia almost 2-years ago. He spends a lot of his day taking care of one thing or the other. More than likely it's his younger sister but he can also be found cleaning or organizing (thus taking care of mommy), trying to feed the dogs or let them out to go to the bathroom. He clearly holds onto the notion that he has to be useful in order to stay, which we're trying to combat on an hourly basis. 2009 has been the year that he clearly is starting to feel he belongs with us. Though I know I shouldn't say this, he has my favorite laugh of anyone I've ever heard. I think it's because he's the only one of our kids who has experienced such great loss and trauma. It's like his laugh is so sweet because he knows the opposite of happiness and so appreciates happiness so much more. For him, I find myself protecting things he cannot protect himself yet-his self-esteem, his truly beautiful nature. 2009 was a witness to my falling in love with this boy over and over again.

Dailah (3) is the mommy of the group. As I type she is giving her baby a bottle, kissing her good morning and burping her. Not a lot has changed in the last year for this one other than she now speaks in full paragraphs, can tell sweet stories and has developed into a full fledged entertainer. Dailah seems to have wholeheartedly embraced her role as the lone female and uses it in every capacity she can, most notably getting whatever she wants from whoever is around her. Though we tease a lot about her being a little diva, she has quite the sweet heart. Should one of her boys fall ill or get even the slightest injury she is the first on the scene, stroking their hands and telling them "it's ok". She holds Tariku's hand every morning as I comb out his hair (there are tears nearly every time, you see). Dailah remains the uncontested best snuggler, she throws herself into our arms with abandon. I think for my life I will be protecting her natural innocence and our pride (I have a feeling when she's doing standup I will have given her quite a bit of ammunition against me).

Aristotle (5) our chocolate lab runs amok on the campgrounds. Stealing food from people's campfires and stealing hearts from the work crew (who recently bought dog treats to give him...and we wonder why he had gained 10 lbs in a few months).

Abe (1) our great dane is the dog version of Dailah. A comedian in his own right. Watching him prance through snow is one of the funniest things we've seen. Though close to 150 lbs he still considers himself a lap dog and truth be told when Zach is away, he can be found on the bed next to me.

Zach has come fully into his own as the Director of Camp. Watching him find the place where his passion and God's provisions meet has been exceptionally wonderful this year. Zach has a natural ability towards leadership which has become increasingly evident as he's been able to get a typically nomadic group (counselors) to sign on year after year. They believe in what he's doing and can't wait to be a part. Zach comes home to a house who eagerly awaits his arrival every day. To a wife who asks incessant questions about his day and to kids waiting to be thrown, wrestled and challenged in the Wii. No matter how hard his day, he always saves even the tiniest bit of patience for his family.

As for me, well I spend most of my days humbled by this life. Raising kids has become the most satisfying work I've ever done which is a complete shock to me. I also truly enjoy my work as a fitness instructor and have become good friends with a lot of my participants as we sweat and sometimes cry together. Being a part of their health journey is a really fantastic place to be as I see them become better versions of themselves.

We have many hopes and dreams for 2010. 2009 was the first year in our lives together when we weren't preparing to have a baby, moving or taking on a new job. We will doubtfully be able to say the same for 2010 but we're ready for whatever might happen. With hands intertwined, we'll face whatever comes our way with love in our hearts and the will to thrive-not just survive.