I've mentioned that most of our days are consistent...what does consistent look like? Observe.
7am - Little Miss wakes up/bottle (Jason and I get ready for the day)
8am - Delicious breakfast compliments of Yeshi ;)
8:45am - Little Miss gets dressed/lotion/hair fixed then play, play, play
10:30am - Bottle and nap
Noon - Lunch, playing and nearby walking outing (Kaldi's, store, Britton's wifi)
3:30pm - Call the kiddos at home (7:30am for them)
4pm - Bottle and nap
5pm - Playing, playing, playing
6:30pm - Dinner (THIS is the meal that Little Miss eats like crazy at, she LOVES Yeshi's food!)
8pm - Getting ready for bedtime, night bottle and normally she is asleep by 8:30.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat :) Funny how life away from home can fall into it's own "normal" schedule. It helps that we love where we are staying. Not only is it a beautiful home with western amenities, it is located in a good part of town with things within walking distance and the host family (Ephrim & Yeshi) are amazing. They have two kiddos who are 4yrs & 2yrs. old. I think it has helped Little Miss immensely, to have other young ones around for to interact with (since she is used to being around so many kids, that a totally kid free environment would have been hard)
Little Miss has finally started "talking" more when we are around others and we found out yesterday that she IS saying some actual words in Amharic, it isn't just baby babble. At breakfast yesterday Little Miss was hiding her eyes and playing peek a boo - and thanks to Yeshi, we found out that she was actually saying "I see you" (Abayesh) each time she would uncover her eyes......she also says dadi dadi when crawling, which basically means "crawling crawling". She has only just started to talk around others, so I can't wait to hear what else she is really saying - because this little gal talks ALL THE TIME ;) She has recently started to say mama - definitely knowing what the meaning is in English - as she is saying it straight at me when she wants me or is wanting to get my attention to get her something (i.e. bottle). She is adjusting well to having parents and seeks us out immediately for comfort (if she gets hurt) or for security (when someone new arrives or when we are somewhere new, clinging to us) - all very good things attachment wise. We are struggling a little bit with the sleeping.....and are hopeful that we will turn a corner soon. Your prayers would be much appreciated in this department!!!
We were able to break the above mentioned routine Saturday and go on a 9 hour outing, a bit longer than expected, but truly go with the flow kind of outing that happens here. The plan was to be picked up by our friends T.J & Leah (and kiddos) and head to a rock-hewn church that was located in Addis, then grab lunch and head off to Shalom ministries to visit with the kiddos that they work with. Sounds like a great plan, right? However as we all know, memories are made when plans go awry. Well. We made memories :) We left at 10am and were headed to phase 1 of the plan, the rock-hewn church when the brakes began to smoke on the Land Cruiser we were in (which had just gotten out of the shop the day before for a different reason), so instead we headed across town (and crazy traffic) to the car repair place.....while T.J. was waiting for the car to get fixed, the rest of us decided to utilize that time, adjust the schedule and go to lunch. There was a good (a.k.a. safe for ferenge) place to eat about a 10 min. walk away, so off we went - picture us - 5 adults (because another couple Judd & Becky joined us on this excursion), 5 kids (three ferenge, 2 habesha) walking along a road.....no sidewalks, just worn out grass at best, between a ditch and the road. Oh, and then add fun things to walk by - a man scooping out the ditch with a shovel and chucking it on the side of the ditch we are walking on.....not just regular stuff. Think goat head :) Walking by entrails of what was probably IN a goat less than a day or two ago (remember, Easter here was last week and LOTS of goats were consumed.....which are of course bought fresh, as in alive, and then slaughtered, cooked and eaten). We finally got to the restaurant and ate - about half way through the meal T.J. joined us with the fixed vehicle. After lunch we were on the hunt to find this church, which was up at a much higher elevation. The road to get there? To say it was bumpy would be an understatement.....hold on for dear life! (remember, no seat belts here OR car seats) All we could see was T.J. in the front smiling enjoying this trek. We finally got to the church and got a tour. Incredible. 300AD - supposedly older than the churches in Lalibela. (I will post pics sometime later when I have the chance). We didn't leave the church until around 4pm and then headed to Shalom ministry which is a refuge for street kids and kids whose families need a bit of support. We met lots of kiddos (and a teenage girl with the same name as Little Miss) and learned about this ministry - the heart of the woman that runs it is incredible. We didn't leave until after 6pm and then made the journey back to Lafto (sub-city area where we are staying) almost totally in the dark - which is an adventure in itself when you mix highway speed driving with pedestrians crazily crossing the road and no street lights. Oh my. Normally driving here doesn't scare me - but the thought of hitting someone? This was one of those times where it is just better to keep your eyes shut. We got back to the house after 7pm and then sat down with everyone to a traditional meal - complete with my FAVORITE dish, shiro. Yum. Whew. Busy day. Little Miss was a trooper through it all. Ate, napped and did fine through it everything.....
Also, I would like to officially declare victory on the war with mosquitos, it might seem premature, since we still have time left here - but I think it is safe to say that we now have the upper-hand (the fan was the key weapon in this victory). We are now able to sleep peacefully at night without the enemy buzzing in our ears. Praise the Lord!
Please continue to pray for our process - things are moving and we are so hopeful to be home the week after next. Hard to believe that we are coming up on two weeks that we have been gone from home, time has gone quickly but there are still times I can't believe that we are here, that we are living out what we had anticipated for so long.
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