Melkam Gena!!

I can't think of any better way to re-enter my blog than to celebrate Ethiopian Christmas! That is exactly what we did last night! We invited all the local YWAM families who either had adopted or were in process of adopting from Ethiopia. We delighted in having 10 adults and 15 children (7 adopted ,5 from Ethiopia, 1 from China and 1 from Guatemala) to celebrate here last night. What a great time we had! We began the evening by roasting green coffee beans over an open fire on our patio...

The kids also enjoyed watching Battle pop the popcorn over the fire and listening for the first "POP"!

We all enjoyed wearing our traditional Ethiopian clothing...

And Sena even had her hair braided for the special occasion...Sooo beautiful!!

Daddys and daughters.....

Mothers and sons...

It was a true family celebration!!

5 North Carolina families were represented.....

We piled the food on top of the injera lined plates in the center of the tables like this....

and yes, the food was homemade by each of the families...so yummy!!!

The aromas filled the house and along with some traditional ethiopian music playing in the background, transported us back to a country we all love...

But nothing reminds us of the country of our children's birth more than their smiling, joy filled faces...

Here is Corrie, telling us proudly where she was born.."Opia!!!"

And even helping herself to a cup of buna(coffee)....

Yes, we tried to incorporate the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony into the evening...

In conversations heard throughout the evening , one could frequently hear words of thanksgiving being offered up to the ONE who we were celebrating!!! Jesus, the name above all names!! The ONE who brought us our children, the ONE who brought our families together in some amazing ways, the ONE who adopted each of us as HIS OWN!!! Yes, He ALONE is worthy of such a wonderful celebration!!!!

Melkam Gena!!! Merry Christmas from our family to yours!! That's what the handmade ornaments read that each family went home with at the end of the celebration.My boys helped to make them as gifts for the families to remember our first Ethiopian Christmas celebration.

Such fun!!!

Melkam Gena to ALL!!!

Wedding Bells

 In October, we enjoyed attending the wedding reception for my younger cousin (she was the flower girl in my own wedding) and her new husband. They had a beautiful reception at the home of my aunt and uncle. There was good food, good music and everyone had a delightful time celebrating the new marriage!

Here is the bride and her daddy...

And with her groom....

And our kiddos enjoying the dance....

The four older cousins enjoying hanging out...

And all seven of my parents grandchildren...

And just because she is the baby and too cute!!!

And ALL too soon she will be dancing with her daddy on her own wedding night....

Oh be still my heart...

Soccer Anyone?

Back in the fall, Lottie decided she wanted to try out soccer. Unfortunately she only was able to participate in a couple games as she developed pneumonia during the short season. I think she enjoyed dressing the part more than anything else and she still enjoys kicking the ball around in the front yard. She may surprise me ,but I think gymnastics may be more her "thing". We hope to get her back into a gymnastics class soon as she so enjoys that.  But here she is lookin awfully cute in her soccer gear....

Twin Pins

On September 11th, Our twin pins(Graham and Noah) turned twin pins!(11 years old!) And what better way to celebrate than with a bowling party!! We took them along with several of their friends to the lanes for the afternoon.

They each enjoyed attempts at making the perfect strike or even a spare....

Their sisters tried to get in on the action too....

They especially enjoyed hanging out with their friends....

And no party is complete without the cake....

And a wish for the birthday boys.....

Happy Birthday Graham and Noah!! We Love You!!!

                               

The Great Wolf Lodge

We celebrated the end of the dog days of summer with Battle's family at the Great Wolf Lodge for Labor Day Weekend.  Battle's parents and brother and sister in law joined in on the fun! I was struggling with the CMV virus after returning from Ethiopia and Battle had a staph infection in his leg so we were thankful for his family being able to entertain the kids and they all had a blast!! I did get out of the room to take a few pictures!!

Corrie was mesmerized by all the water toys!!

Liz took her out into the shallow pool to ride some of them...

Lottie enjoyed the bigger pool with Papa Frank...

while the boys braved the lines with Hardin and Liz for the water slides...

They are all little water bugs...

It was a great way to celebrate the end of summer! Thanks to Battle's family for making it possible!!

   

Too Cute!!!

And while Lottie and the boys were all doing school, this bundle of joy was enlarging my heart more by the day!

The difficult days of her first 18 months of life would always be part of her life story but they certainly could not be seen in her seamless transition into our family.