Shepherd gets a hair cut!!

This took about 30 minutes! I think I'll do it at home next time!

Look what we got in the mail!!!!

This cute scarf and hat were knit by one of Steve's students and her mom. Thank you, Lowerys!  The bear and blankie were courtesy of the Ballards. The beautiful handmade quilt below is an heirloom from the my dear friend, Mrs. Copp.

How is she adjusting?

She's still washing her hands and playing in the water a lot!

She's eating and eating. Her malnourished tummy, whuch was very round, is diminishing. Although she eats well, her manners are surprisingly good! It's sweet to see her enjoy her food. I'm so grateful to be able to give it to her!

I was a little skeptical about tacos, but she loved them! She gathered the filling that had fallen out in her hand and ate it too...Ethiopian style (those of you who have seen how they eat injera understand what I'm saying!).

Shepherd seems to enjoy Mihret so much! He asks for her when he wakes and looks for her when she's not in the same room.

...such an engaging Dad, building puzzles with them. Mihret likes Papa (where did THAT come from?) and Rachel best out of all of us.

It's a Blizzard Here!

Steve, GraceAnn and Faith on the back porch. The inlet behind our house was frozen solid! Steve says we've gotten 45" in the past three weeks....10" inches today, 5" another day, 15" last Saturday and the Saturday before that!

Stirling has been faithful to manage getting the firewood in!

Mihret and Shepherd have stayed indoors but enjoyed a snowball "fight" through the back door...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Shepherd!

Thanks to Rachel for the birthday cupcakes :).

Curious George and new clothes from Aunt Chris were a hit!

Shepherd is such a joy to our whole family. He is a great blessing to us all!!!

First Commissary Trip!

I could not help but ponder the abundance Mihret must have noticed during her first shopping experience in America. Only five months ago she was in a hut, probably eating one meal of injera per day. One of the biggest complaints I heard while visiting the orphanages was they have little money to spend on protein for their diets. Mihret has been eating and eating. Yesterday she had two bowls of pasta with sauce and three rolls...for one meal! We'll create some eating boundaries soon, but for now, I was her to be reassured there is a next meal.

...feeding Faith one of her crackers :).

Fascinated with Running Water!

Mihret spent over an hour today feeling the clean, warm water on her hands and playing with the bubbles in the sink. We should not take this gift for granted!

Day 10: A 2:35am Flight Home!

On Saturday morning we hired a driver to take us to meet Levi and his family. They run an organization called Drawn from Water. They rescue children from cultually mandated genocide. The child in his arms is one of the children from the orphanage they have personally adopted. Very salty!

Mihret did NOT like the stroller, but it was helpful containment!

Departing in the middle of the night was perfect for Mihret. She fell alseep upon take off and slept for 5 hours with only a few more hours remaining ot Frankfurt.

She was pretty fired up with the drinks and food. She eats EVERYTHING given to her. There's no complaining about food with her.

This is what we saw as soon as we passed through immigration and customs.