Does the word IMMIGRATION give anyone else diarrhea, or is it just me.....
I'm on edge, just slightly....getting nervous about the possibility of getting my letter today (the mail lady just pulled up, yet I'm too much of a chicken to go and see if my letter is there), tomorrow or the first of the week.
What do I do when I get nervous? I organize. A lot. Plus with the stinky stomach bug that has invaded my house, I'm feeling bleach coming on. My first and foremost job was my rooster (yes, rooster, not kids...I know...mother of the year). I made him a make shift home, while he is recovering from being beat up by my bitties (that would be my hens). Not sure what is going on there, but doctored him up, gave him a little home, outside the coop, yet protected from the cool weather. He is eating and he is strutting just a bit more because he is getting some one on one love.
Next...laundry...massive amounts of laundry. It is an ongoing battle that I face, but I count it as joy that we have clothes to wear (okay, so let's say that I count it as joy because Bug is feeling well enough to fold the massive amounts I washed, yesterday). Dishes are done...with the exception of 1 puke bowl, which I will be scalding shortly.
I have since attacked my mantle. It is full of "pretties" and it is a pain in my butt to dust. It is also a collect all of things that I don't want to deal with or things the kids find. I have them put it on the mantle. Bad, I know, but at least it is a centralized location, where stuff doesn't get lost....it just gets covered up. I tackled that beast and now it is shiny...I will now move onto my adoption basket and then matriculate into the laundry room to do some paperwork.
BTW, Bug is fighting the being sick the previous day, hangover. She is pretty pathetic. Boo and Catfish are better.....till they move. G is down with the cooties and secluded in her room. Peach...I just won't share what is coming our of her, right now...she wouldn't appreciate it.
So....I'm gonna woman up and head to the mailbox. It will either be disappoint because there is no letter or fear because there is a letter and what it might say. Not sure what I'm hoping for....
**to be continued**
NO LETTER :(
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Again....we interrupt this Ethiopian diatribe to discuss the complexities of life
It is a beautiful fall day....the wind is whippin' through the trees, the clouds are floating around like huge cotton balls, the smell of burning leaves outside, the smell of vomit inside. Ahhhh, gotta love these little moments of life.
As I was in a peaceful slumber, this morning at 1:30 am, my sweet stud of a husband crawls in bed...cuddles up....with what I thought was the whisperings of sweet nothings in my ear. Alas, it was the whisperings of "Peach just puked in her bed." He sure does know how to get a girl moving :) Bless his precious pea-pickin' heart, he took care of the "mess". He actually shook out the chunks off the blanket, close to the patio and onto the boxwood, out back. He even washed the blanket for me.
I went downstairs to check on said puker and she was pretty pathetic. She had a puke bowl and was looking a bit gross. I asked her if she wanted to come upstairs and sleep on the couch. She wanted too, so we made her a bed and settled in for the night. All was well in the world...everyone sleeping, B headed off to work....then there came a whirlwind in my bedroom...it was Boo. "Catfish just puked up some sort of vegetables in his bed!" Alrighty, then...that's nasty. Me, I don't do vomit. I'm a great kind of "after the puke" kind of momma, but the grody stuff...I'd just asoon forego. I walk into his room and there it is, chunky wads of green beans/corn and some other foreign substance. I'm trying not to complete blow chunks, while cleaning this nastiness up.
I gathered what I could and took it out front (I'm an equal opportunity gal, since Peach's chunks were out back, I thought it would be a good choice to throw Catfish's chunks out front) and shook out what I could, behind the boxwood. I walk through the house and realized that my feet were sticking to the floor. My sweet husband (I really am thankful), when he cleaned out Peach's bed, he carried the blanket out, without being ubber careful not to drop vomit droplet's all down the hall, through the dining room, then back through the kitchen, onto the laundry room floor. Gross isn't even the word to describe this moment. I mop, mop again and then mop for a third time. I *thought* I had it all cleaned up...that's what I get for thinking.
Since I couldn't properly get the chunks out of his bed, by his mattress or on the floor, I had to resort to the vacuum cleaner. Doctored up his bed, sprinkled baking soda on the mattress and the carpet and turned around to see Bug, green...not so much with envy, either. She was blowing chunks, as well. I gave her and D some phenergan and they laid back down. Boo was good, so I let him play the wii while I laid back down. He took the dogs out and said that the "cold air made his belly hurt." UGH. I had the 4 sicklys, upstairs resting and the one well one, we cleaned house and took care of business.
She was moping, again..and I went out to check the chickens. The 4 hens and Big Red rooster were waiting for their breakfast and some fresh water. I obliged, with joy. I do enjoy my chickens. The boxes that my kids and neighbors made were ready for some wood chips, so I brought them into the bedroom/bathroom section of our coop. There he was, Nugget aka Einstein (depending on the kid who is doing the talking)....he was perched way up top of some shelves. I got to looking at him and realized that something was different...he was totally missing an eyeball. He has always been the small one of the bunch and the hens didn't care for him, very much, so I'm guessing that they pecked pecked pecked on him.
All of this while I'm STILL hoping and praying that immigration approves us, but that is a whole nother story....today is strictly vomit and one eyed roosters.
The fun never ends, does it....
As I was in a peaceful slumber, this morning at 1:30 am, my sweet stud of a husband crawls in bed...cuddles up....with what I thought was the whisperings of sweet nothings in my ear. Alas, it was the whisperings of "Peach just puked in her bed." He sure does know how to get a girl moving :) Bless his precious pea-pickin' heart, he took care of the "mess". He actually shook out the chunks off the blanket, close to the patio and onto the boxwood, out back. He even washed the blanket for me.
I went downstairs to check on said puker and she was pretty pathetic. She had a puke bowl and was looking a bit gross. I asked her if she wanted to come upstairs and sleep on the couch. She wanted too, so we made her a bed and settled in for the night. All was well in the world...everyone sleeping, B headed off to work....then there came a whirlwind in my bedroom...it was Boo. "Catfish just puked up some sort of vegetables in his bed!" Alrighty, then...that's nasty. Me, I don't do vomit. I'm a great kind of "after the puke" kind of momma, but the grody stuff...I'd just asoon forego. I walk into his room and there it is, chunky wads of green beans/corn and some other foreign substance. I'm trying not to complete blow chunks, while cleaning this nastiness up.
I gathered what I could and took it out front (I'm an equal opportunity gal, since Peach's chunks were out back, I thought it would be a good choice to throw Catfish's chunks out front) and shook out what I could, behind the boxwood. I walk through the house and realized that my feet were sticking to the floor. My sweet husband (I really am thankful), when he cleaned out Peach's bed, he carried the blanket out, without being ubber careful not to drop vomit droplet's all down the hall, through the dining room, then back through the kitchen, onto the laundry room floor. Gross isn't even the word to describe this moment. I mop, mop again and then mop for a third time. I *thought* I had it all cleaned up...that's what I get for thinking.
Since I couldn't properly get the chunks out of his bed, by his mattress or on the floor, I had to resort to the vacuum cleaner. Doctored up his bed, sprinkled baking soda on the mattress and the carpet and turned around to see Bug, green...not so much with envy, either. She was blowing chunks, as well. I gave her and D some phenergan and they laid back down. Boo was good, so I let him play the wii while I laid back down. He took the dogs out and said that the "cold air made his belly hurt." UGH. I had the 4 sicklys, upstairs resting and the one well one, we cleaned house and took care of business.
She was moping, again..and I went out to check the chickens. The 4 hens and Big Red rooster were waiting for their breakfast and some fresh water. I obliged, with joy. I do enjoy my chickens. The boxes that my kids and neighbors made were ready for some wood chips, so I brought them into the bedroom/bathroom section of our coop. There he was, Nugget aka Einstein (depending on the kid who is doing the talking)....he was perched way up top of some shelves. I got to looking at him and realized that something was different...he was totally missing an eyeball. He has always been the small one of the bunch and the hens didn't care for him, very much, so I'm guessing that they pecked pecked pecked on him.
All of this while I'm STILL hoping and praying that immigration approves us, but that is a whole nother story....today is strictly vomit and one eyed roosters.
The fun never ends, does it....
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Ethiopia: Day 5 (in pictures)
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| View of the city |
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| Pepsi truck :) |
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| Some of the many taxis that peppered the city. |
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| View of the city |
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| Heading up the mountain |
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| The burros go up and down the mountain with their owners |
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| House that was about 1/2 way up the mountain |
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| Another house |
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| Doing a tribal jig inside the church at the top of the mountain |
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| Yonas, the best driver EVER. |
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| Outside the church, with Woudneh. |
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| View |
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| This place was indescribably beautiful. |
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| The girls :) |
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| The men were bonding |
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| Stunning views |
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| Heading to the market....not allowed to get out due to the pick pockets, but it was fun to drive through. |
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| One of many shoe shine businesses |
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| Breezes Restaurant at the Sheraton....look, there's TOILET PAPER :) |
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| This was my lunch. |
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| The kitchen and eating area |
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| This was the door man! |
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| Later, we had dinner at Woudneh's...this is the whole gang! |
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| The shower at our room (the little hole in the wall was the shower spout) |
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| Happiness in a bottle. |
Ethiopia: Day 4
After a whirlwind day, yesterday...today promised to be another day of great happenings! As you can see, from the pictures I posted, the views of Ethiopia from our van was humbling, sad, glorious and beautiful....all at the same time. So many heartbreaking scenes, yet so much beauty. The women were modest, in their dress, and their eyes could tell a beautiful story. The men (and women) were hard working and were very diligent in what they did. There were a lot of unfinished buildings, so many make shift homes on the side of the road and so many people laying, asleep, in the median.
We all met, at the restaurant and had breakfast, but instead of anticipation, we were elated and eager to share our individual stories with the other couples. I believe we were all still processing the things that we had seen and heart and the touches we felt by so many children. Once breakfast was over, we headed down the same path, as we did the previous day, heading to the orphanage. The Monks' safely headed back to Nazret to see their boys and we loaded up the van, with the Veal's to see our kids.
When we got there, it was a much different scene from the previous day. There was a nanny there, who made the kiddoes tow the line. We backed in and all the kids were sitting down, on the curb, quiet as little mice :) We walked up to Abinet and sat on the ground, in front of him. He instantly knew that we belonged to him :) His smile said it all. He started looking for his picture book, so we tracked that down and we sat and went through it, over and over again.
We played soccer and he loved on us....we didn't know that the slide was off limits, so we started to gather some children and play on the equipment. There were several little boys who had the most fun....Mebrate, well she was a different story. She had no use for that slide, at all :) The stricter nanny informed us that we were killing the grass and to go play elsewhere :/ Oops. Luckily, the Veal's brought bubbles and WOW the kids loved loved loved them! We were blowing bubbles, eating peanut butter crackers and singing Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord. These kids are so loved and so well taken care of. I'm so thankful for each and every nanny there! As well as, Yonas, the director.
Speaking of crackers...I didn't post about this yesterday. As we sat, I got out my PB crackers. I handed one to Abinet and he was so gentle with it. Like it was a great great treasure. He cracked it open and gently picked the peanut butter off of both halves, then gingerly, he ate the cracker. It was so precious. Once the crackers were gone, I introduced him to M & M's. He looked at it, like it was some sort of foreign object. Mebrate immediately said "chocolate" in her precious voice, with her dimples just shining. She knew exactly what to do. Abinet placed *an* M & M on his tongue and then proceeded to stick it out and show everyone...he had no clue what to do with it. I ate one and showed him how to chew it...he started chomping like there was no tomorrow LOL. On this day, he *knew* there was food in my bag. After much loving, playing soccer and cuddling...he wanted some food. I handed him a cracker and thought that he would repeat yesterday's event of eating it. Well, not so much :) He shoved the whole thing in his mouth and laughed hysterically! It was so funny.
He is a gently child, when I'm cuddling him, but if gets up for a moment and someone else steals his seat....he grabs them by the collar and slings them out. Then he reclaims his throne and just pats and rubs my arm. He preferred us to be standing up and holding him, but he is so darn heavy that it makes it almost impossible.
We were able to stay and listen to the teacher teaching the children...what a blessing to hear all these kids singing praises to our God! After school (which they let Abinet stay with us, so we could have some alone time), the kids starting cleaning up for lunch. They would all, so diligently, wash their hands and then head off to the school room, which was soon transformed into the lunch room. Everyone had their spots and quietly waited for their lunch to be served. There was no grabbing of food, there was simply patience. They ate injera and a type of red sauce on it and the kids ate every last bit. If eneded, they could have seconds. It was a joy to watch all these children eat and be satisified.
Once lunch was over, there was a short playtime. The babies, stayed in their room (2 infants per bed, there were 7 cribs) and the toddlers went onto bed. The 3-6 yr old kids played some soccer and enjoyed the love the Americans were there to offer. The kids were clearly tired because they were getting grumpy. They wake up when the sun comes up (about 6 am) and they go to bed when the sun goes down (about 6 pm), so it makes for a long day. They do take a 3 hr. nap, after lunch. Everywhere we looked, there were kids on one of the many potty chairs that were scattered throughout the orphanage or they were scrambling to pick up the prizes that they found (a pipe, a bottle cap, trash, it didn't really matter), then they'd go and line up their shoes, by the door and find their spot. Each child shared a bed with another child. Abinet was no different from the other children...he did as he had done every other day for the last, however long, he had been at the orphanage. Just like clockwork. It was a sad joy to tuck him in because we thought that was the last time we would see him, for a while.
When we were picked up, we headed to lunch at Lucy's Restaurant. It was like an oasis in the middle of the busyness of the city. We ordered pizza, there. We ate, laughed and ate some more! After lunch was over, we walked over to the Ethiopian National Museum, where Yonas awaited us. He was our guide throughout the 4 story museum. I didn't bore anyone with the pictures, I took alot. I really like museums :)
After all of that...we headed back to the Crown. We cleaned up and then we all met and chatted in the restaurant, for supper. We were able to somewhat communicate with our families through the internet in our hotel. We shared our events of the day and our nervousness about our court date the next day. It was another gloriously busy day in Ethiopia....
We all met, at the restaurant and had breakfast, but instead of anticipation, we were elated and eager to share our individual stories with the other couples. I believe we were all still processing the things that we had seen and heart and the touches we felt by so many children. Once breakfast was over, we headed down the same path, as we did the previous day, heading to the orphanage. The Monks' safely headed back to Nazret to see their boys and we loaded up the van, with the Veal's to see our kids.
When we got there, it was a much different scene from the previous day. There was a nanny there, who made the kiddoes tow the line. We backed in and all the kids were sitting down, on the curb, quiet as little mice :) We walked up to Abinet and sat on the ground, in front of him. He instantly knew that we belonged to him :) His smile said it all. He started looking for his picture book, so we tracked that down and we sat and went through it, over and over again.
We played soccer and he loved on us....we didn't know that the slide was off limits, so we started to gather some children and play on the equipment. There were several little boys who had the most fun....Mebrate, well she was a different story. She had no use for that slide, at all :) The stricter nanny informed us that we were killing the grass and to go play elsewhere :/ Oops. Luckily, the Veal's brought bubbles and WOW the kids loved loved loved them! We were blowing bubbles, eating peanut butter crackers and singing Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord. These kids are so loved and so well taken care of. I'm so thankful for each and every nanny there! As well as, Yonas, the director.
Speaking of crackers...I didn't post about this yesterday. As we sat, I got out my PB crackers. I handed one to Abinet and he was so gentle with it. Like it was a great great treasure. He cracked it open and gently picked the peanut butter off of both halves, then gingerly, he ate the cracker. It was so precious. Once the crackers were gone, I introduced him to M & M's. He looked at it, like it was some sort of foreign object. Mebrate immediately said "chocolate" in her precious voice, with her dimples just shining. She knew exactly what to do. Abinet placed *an* M & M on his tongue and then proceeded to stick it out and show everyone...he had no clue what to do with it. I ate one and showed him how to chew it...he started chomping like there was no tomorrow LOL. On this day, he *knew* there was food in my bag. After much loving, playing soccer and cuddling...he wanted some food. I handed him a cracker and thought that he would repeat yesterday's event of eating it. Well, not so much :) He shoved the whole thing in his mouth and laughed hysterically! It was so funny.
He is a gently child, when I'm cuddling him, but if gets up for a moment and someone else steals his seat....he grabs them by the collar and slings them out. Then he reclaims his throne and just pats and rubs my arm. He preferred us to be standing up and holding him, but he is so darn heavy that it makes it almost impossible.
We were able to stay and listen to the teacher teaching the children...what a blessing to hear all these kids singing praises to our God! After school (which they let Abinet stay with us, so we could have some alone time), the kids starting cleaning up for lunch. They would all, so diligently, wash their hands and then head off to the school room, which was soon transformed into the lunch room. Everyone had their spots and quietly waited for their lunch to be served. There was no grabbing of food, there was simply patience. They ate injera and a type of red sauce on it and the kids ate every last bit. If eneded, they could have seconds. It was a joy to watch all these children eat and be satisified.
Once lunch was over, there was a short playtime. The babies, stayed in their room (2 infants per bed, there were 7 cribs) and the toddlers went onto bed. The 3-6 yr old kids played some soccer and enjoyed the love the Americans were there to offer. The kids were clearly tired because they were getting grumpy. They wake up when the sun comes up (about 6 am) and they go to bed when the sun goes down (about 6 pm), so it makes for a long day. They do take a 3 hr. nap, after lunch. Everywhere we looked, there were kids on one of the many potty chairs that were scattered throughout the orphanage or they were scrambling to pick up the prizes that they found (a pipe, a bottle cap, trash, it didn't really matter), then they'd go and line up their shoes, by the door and find their spot. Each child shared a bed with another child. Abinet was no different from the other children...he did as he had done every other day for the last, however long, he had been at the orphanage. Just like clockwork. It was a sad joy to tuck him in because we thought that was the last time we would see him, for a while.
When we were picked up, we headed to lunch at Lucy's Restaurant. It was like an oasis in the middle of the busyness of the city. We ordered pizza, there. We ate, laughed and ate some more! After lunch was over, we walked over to the Ethiopian National Museum, where Yonas awaited us. He was our guide throughout the 4 story museum. I didn't bore anyone with the pictures, I took alot. I really like museums :)
After all of that...we headed back to the Crown. We cleaned up and then we all met and chatted in the restaurant, for supper. We were able to somewhat communicate with our families through the internet in our hotel. We shared our events of the day and our nervousness about our court date the next day. It was another gloriously busy day in Ethiopia....
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Ethiopia: Day 4 (Pictures)
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| A picture of the love these people have for one another! |
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| A ginormous goat pen. |
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| Hospital |
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| He was pouting :( |
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| He found some chocolate in my bag :) |
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| So so precious |
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| Learning the English alphabet |
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| The boys found me....hiding in the baby room :) |
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| He wanted to get to me...through the window. |
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| Rules of the orphanage |
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| Laundry area |
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| Play yard, that they aren't allowed to play in....oops ;) |
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| Eric watching Abinet and Bart holding Mebrate (she was thrilled with the slide) |
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| The forbidden slide.....he had so much fun, till we got caught ;) |
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| The wonderful kitchen ladies |
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| This is the lady that works with the children in school. |
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| Salaam is the nurse (wonderful) and Yonas is the director of the orphanage. |
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| Family Pic |
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| Big daddy and little man |
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| Cheese |
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| Eric, Denise and Mebrate Veal |
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| All the nannies of the orphanage. |
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| Learning how to blow bubbles. |
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| Another nanny and little man |
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| The lined their shoes up before bed |
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| The Lucy Restaurant (toilet paper here, for those keeping counts of places with and without it) |
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| Random turtles between the Lucy Restaurant and the Lucy Museum |
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| Homes |
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| View of the city. |
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| View of the city |
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| Part of the mural on the ceiling of the traditional restaurant at the Crown. They had the most amazing music, dancing and singing that I've ever seen. |
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