Making Injera and Other Adventures!

Hi everyone!

Once again I am writing from the beautiful country of Ethiopia. We had a pleasant day. Nothing too crazy and we had some down time which was SO nice. We again spent some very fun time with Tesfahun and Zenete. We are getting to know more of their personalities all the time.

Tesfahun is more laid back than I originally thought. He doesn't tend to get upset very easily. And when he wants something he makes this funny, "uhhh, uhhh" grunting noise. I would totally recognize it if I heard it now. :) He seems to get upset over waiting for food and doesn't really like having his diaper changed (he'd rather be moving), but otherwise he is kind of a content little man. This isn't to say he isn't super duper active. He IS! He zooms from place to place and seems so curious and concentrates on whatever he is doing. He is quite the hit around here and all the staff tell me how much they love him.

Zenete is sweet and cuddly and LOVES to be held, but don't let it fool you too much. She is also quite strong-willed and has a fast temper (comes on quickly and over just as soon). She knows how to stand her ground when Tesfahun tries to take something from her and it seems like she usually wins! She has a very funny personality....it is like she KNOWS she is funny and is always teasing people with her smiles and her eyes. She gets A LOT of attention around here, so she may be our little Drama Queen #2. She talks ALL THE TIME (what am I going to do with 2 chatterbox girls?) and seems to really like music.

Anyway, they are honeys and a lot of FUN. We are nervous about the flight home, but I think they will do OK.

Otherwise today we went over to the older kids home that holds toddlers and up. We had brought a gift for a little girl from her mom. It was SO fun to give it to her. She loved the gift. Then we watched them make injera and we even got to try making it. It was SO cool. In case you don't know, injera is like a sourdough pancake like flatbread. When you eat Ethiopian food you tear pieces of the injera off and scoop up the food with it. YUM. Anyway, it was really fun to try. The old ladies cooking thought it was a real hoot to see a man doing it! They have 2 colors of batter so you can make patterns. I made mine in rings like they usually do, but Tony got creative and put a cross in the middle of his!

Later, when the babies were sleeping, we went shopping for awhile. We got them some traditional Ethiopian outfits and other gifts. Our biggest and best purchase was a mesob (I think it is called that). It is a table woven in bright colors of wicker and in the shape of a vase with a lid. You take the lid off and the top is flat and you put the injera on that and eat. Well, when we got home and Sinadu, the cook, saw it she was SO excited! She served us our supper using the table. It was very cool. And there on top of it was the injera that Tony made in the shape of a cross....they all thought it was SO funny when he did that. We had a fun night and She is a fun lady.

So, now it is off to bed because we go to see the Blue Nile Gorge tomorrow. I guess it is beautiful. It is hard to leave the babies for the day, but this will be our last trip.

Selam!!!
Tony and Jill

Sunday and Monday's Adventures!!!

On Sunday morning bright and early we left for a trip to the southern part of Ethiopia. We traveled to a remote region called Kembata where the twins are from. It was a beautiful (and eventful) drive. Driving here is quite the experience. It seems like it is somewhat of a free for all. We were dodging people, goats, cows, kids, potholes, and horses the entire trip! We got a flat tire along the way and it seemed like half the village came out to watch us change it. Pretty funny. We had fun taking pictures of the kids and then showing them the picture on the camera's screen. They got SOOOO excited! It was so wonderful to see more of Ethiopia. It was amazing. I can't wait until we are home and able to more easily post pictures and info. The internet connection here is very unreliable and shuts down often. But, it was an unforgettable experience and one that we are SO grateful to have gotten. We will have so much to tell our children about the amazing beauty of their homeland and their culture.

We stayed overnight in Awasa by the shores of a huge beautiful lake. The lake apparently has hippos in it! Tony and I were dying to see them, but we weren't able to travel to that area. We left early in the morning on Monday to drive back to Addis (a 4 hour drive). We saw many people bringing things to market on ox or donkey carts. You see even little children (maybe 5 or 6) driving them! It was very cool.

We got home from the trip just in time to quickly get ready for the US Embassy appointment. We filled out the paperwork and traveled there as a group. It was SOOO cute because the nannies had dressed Tesfahun and Zenete so that they were coordinating in red and white. Zenete had on this adorable red and white polka dot dress with a matching headband. She was such a doll! Everything went great at the Embassy and they are officially ours! They did great being with us....very smiley and fun. And we got to feed them their first bottles and they fell asleep in our arms. It was perfect.

Tonight they took us out (just the parents) to an Ethiopian restaurant for food and music and dancing. It was so great. We had so much fun and it was relaxing and so fun to see so much of their cultural music and dance.

So, now it is off to bed for a fun day tomorrow. We are planning on watching the cook make injera tomorrow (the national bread which is like a huge sourdough pancake) and maybe go to the market.

Lots of Love,
Tony and Jill

We made it!!!

Well, we have made it here! It was a very long flight, but it went without any problems. It took a long time to get through customs (the lines were moving very slowly), so we didn't get to Horizon House to see the babies until nearly 11.
They are just beautiful. They look different than their pictures, I think. They look more alike in person. They are extremely smilely and active. Tesfahun is quite a bit bigger. He feels strong and muscular and he can stand independently and almost take a few steps on his own. Zenete is smaller and quite light. She has tiny feet and hands and everything like Eliana did. So, the good news is all those cute shoes I had from Eliana will still fit! :) Tesfahun seems like he is strong-willed. They were feeding all the babies a mush mixture...taking turns, and he kept getting mad when they didn't feed him fast enough! It was pretty funny. He also seems very curious and determined and he likes exploring how things work.
Zenete has the hugest smile ever! She seems more shy and tender-hearted, though. She seems a little more attached to the nannies and a bit nervous to be away from them. But she loves to snuggle. It is hard to see them feeling anxious at all, so we are taking it slow. We have had a lot of fun with them so far.
It is all very emotional and overwhelming in a lot of ways, but it is so good to finally be here to meet them. We leave tomorrow for our trip to the south and so we won't be able to write again for a few days.
They are healthy, small, active, with huge eyes and curly hair....7-8 teeth each. Just darling. I feel so excited and nervous all in one. It is starting to feel real....we are going to have our hands full!

A beautiful picture of Ethiopia

And one more thing....here is a beautiful picture of Ethiopian countryside that another family send to me...

Ethiopia here we come!

We're partway there....

We are officially part of the way to Ethiopia! Yeah! We are in Washington DC. It is 10 at night and we are planning on going to bed pretty soon. With all the excitement of packing and everything it has been a lot of short nights! We are pretty worn out. Our trip from Minneapolis was delayed 1.5 hours because the plane's A/C broke down. They tried to fix it for awhile and then sent us to a new gate. So, we waited at the new gate for a plane to come in. Then they had to clean it, etc. We were feeling really happy that we weren't trying to make a connecting flight! Tomrrow is going to be a LOOOONG day. 18+ hours on the plane. Oh, I hope it isn't too miserable.

So, I am in the hotel's business center leaving this last little update before we arrive. I hope that I can write more later. Another family sent us a couple of new pics of the babies. They are holding the toys that we sent to them, so that is fun to see. I will post one here.

Lots of Love to Everyone!
Tony and Jill

1 Day and Counting...

Well, family and friends! The day has finally arrived! We leave tomorrow! Our house is piled high with boxes and things to bring and we are in a flurry of excitement! Just today I received more pictures of the babies and they look so joyful and cute. I can hardly wait to see them. God is SO good.

Please pray for our safe travel, for easy transition for the babies, and for Eliana at home. Wish I could write more or put up some pictures, but I gotta run! I will try to write one more time before we go!

Love,
Tony, Jill and Eliana :)

One of those "Oh my Goodness" Moments...

I talked to another mom yesterday who recently got back from Ethiopia. She went to go pick up her toddlers, but while she was there she met our twins. She said they were SOOOO cute, and she sent us some pictures. I thought I would post one. They look kind of serious in it, but it is a nice strait on picture. It's funny 'cuz Tesfahun looks so dazed by the camera flash. I remember how Eliana's pictures used to always look like that, too. The whole deer in the headlights look.

Tonight we are going out for supper with my parents, and then we are going shopping for car seats! I am really excited. Every thing we get done is just one step closer to leaving!

Last night after we got in bed and turned out the lights I had an, "Oh my Goodness!" moment. I think I was just realizing again that this is REALLY happening. We are actually bringing home twins and everything is about to change. Forever. Wow. It's kinda like how you feel the night before your wedding, or the birth/adoption of your first child. It's like....OK, this is a BIG moment. Yeah, so I had one of those moments.

I asked Tony if he was freaking out, too, and he said, "No. I'm excited! We've been wanting this for a long time and it is finally here." And that's all I really needed to hear. Such a calm and peaceful statement. So, I rolled over and went to bed!

4 days to travel!
Jill

Just Passing Time.

Today I am at work & as usual, I am actually thinking of all the things that I need to do at home. I have to admit. My mind isn't really on work anymore. It's on Ethiopia and two little babies there waiting for their Daddy & Mommy to come get them; and a little girl, by the name of Eliana, who needs to feel secure and loved while we are gone...

But here I am doing the big countdown before I am out of here for 12 whole weeks! Yipee! I work today, tomorrow and Sunday and then I am done, done, done.

I brought the stroller home last night to show Tony, and he loved it. So, I think we have a winner! Now we just need to track down car seats and a few bajillion other odds and ends and we are set!

Well, not much else going on today. Just passing time...

Jill

Pluggin' Along...

Well, we have been working hard all week on getting things done. I started with a huge list, and I am slowly whittling it down. Whew! This adoption thing is kinda hard work! I am getting ready to just be home with the babies and to settle into our new routine. If all goes as planned with my leave from work, then I will be off until Oct 22nd or so. :)

My sister, April, went shopping with me today and we picked out a stroller for the babies (see pic of stoller above). My sister-in-law, who has twins, recommended the side by side since I guess when they are front and back they pull each other's hair. Plus, when I was pushing around the front and back stroller I kinda felt like I was driving a Semi! Hopefully this one will be compact and easy to use, I hope. Plus, my sister is da bomb because she had a 15% off coupon...cha-ching! Can anyone say "savings?!"

Sometime this weekend, Tony and I are going to do the big Target run to get all the other things we are going to need....formula, diapers, babyfood, etc. Trying to think of what we need, but wanting to keep the packing light! Good luck when we are packing for 2 babies of relatively unknown size and dietary status! And yesterday I washed and folded their little clothes. I spent the time dreaming about them and what they will be like.

Meanwhile, Eliana is all excited to go visit her grandparents while we are gone...She keeps repeating, "Mommy, Daddy go on plane. Ana (that's what she calls herself) go see Grammy and Grandpa and Riley." I guess I don't need to worry about her as much as I thought! After 4 days with the Beckman grandparents, she heads over to the Geselle grandparents. What a lucky kid!

Anyway, I thought I would post our travel itinerary so you would all know where we are and when.

We leave on Thursday, July 26th, on a NW flight out of MN at 4pm
We arrive in Washington DC at 7pm or so. We will be spending the night in DC at a hotel.
Then, we leave from Washington Dulles airport at 9:25am on Friday, July 27th, on the Ethiopian Airlines.

The flight goes to Rome where it refuels and then we continue on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We get into Ethiopia at 8am or so their time on Saturday, July 28th. And we will be picked up and brought to the guest house (where we will be staying), which is in the same compound as the baby home. So, we will be meeting our sweet little babies on that first day!

Monday is the US embassy appointment, and Friday we have the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony where the nannies say goodbye to the kids. We stay at the guest house until Saturday, Aug 4th, when we will head for home at around 10:30 pm Ethiopian time (this should be good for the babies 'cuz hopefully they will sleep!), and then we fly the same path home through Rome.

We get to Washington, Dulles at around 8am on Sunday, Aug 5th, and it is there we will go through customs, etc. Then, our NW flight leaves for MN at 2pm or so, and we get in at Minneapolis at 4:09pm on Sunday, Aug 5th!

Of course, all of this is "God willin' and the crik don't rise", as my Mom would say. You never know what might happen, but this whole thing is a great big God adventure anyway. He's the One is charge!

By the time we arrive I am sure we will be VERY tired and ready for bed!

Love ya,
Jill and Tony and Eliana

New pictures and the Babies' Nanny at Horizon House!

A family that just got back from Ethiopia sent us some new pictures of the babies! They are so cute, but they are starting to look so big! It is fun to see in this picture because their hair is starting to grow out and they are being held by their Nanny! I can't wait to meet her and to hear all the things she knows about our babies.

Tesfahun

I thought since the adoption is now official and it is OK to post pictures galore, I would post a few pictures and things about each baby. We have gotten some idea of their personalities from other parents that have traveled to get their children and also from our Social Worker.

Tesfahun is our little boy's Ethiopian name. Tesfahun is pronounced, "Tess-fa (as in do, re, mi, fa)- hoon", and his name means "be my hope."He is the bigger of the two babies, and by all accounts he is the one who is in charge! Everyone tells us that he is so happy and full of smiles. This is a great thing to hear since you worry about them when they are so far away from you. They say he is crawling (very fast) and pulling up on things and that it looks like he will walk soon! I am secretly hoping that he waits for us to get there!

Our Social Worker said that he is a total kick in the pants, loves the camera, and that people are really "drawn" to him. I think you can see this in the multitude of goofy grin pictures we have of him.

People always comment on his big eyes and beautiful lips and say he looks very healthy. Here are a couple of our favorite pictures of him!

Zenete

I am so excited that we are getting twins! And especially that we will be getting a boy and a girl! It will be fun to see how things are different with boys, but as Eliana has proved....girls are awesome! So, Zenete is our 2nd beautiful little girl. Her Ethiopian name is pronounced "Zen-ah-tay". As far as I can figure out, Zenete is a tribal language of the Berber people of the Sahara, and perhaps has something to do with her heritage.

People have described Zenete to us as very happy and smilely and sweet. One adoptive Mom who brought her older daughters with said that they just fell in love with Zenete. In many of her pictures she seems very thoughtful and calm.

She is also crawling and pulling up on things and can take steps with help. She is a bit smaller than Tesfahun, but everyone who visits says she looks really healthy.

Here are a couple of our favorite pics of Zenete.

Ugh.

So, I figured out in the last 3 days that I am NOT cut out to be Travel Agent. Trying to get tickets for our flight to Ethiopia made me want to pull all my hair out and run in circles screaming. Thankfully, I made it through and am NOT bald.

First, we had tickets all set up with Northwest/KLM. Perfectly lovely tickets with bulkhead seats and bassinettes for the babies. A nice little layover where my parents and sister/brother-inlaw/nephew (who are traveling in Europe then) could meet us....and especially the babies. But, one small problem. Apparently the Government of the Netherlands feels that two small Ethiopian babies are a threat to national security. Traveling through Amsterdam (even though we are just in the airport for 4 hours) would require visas for the babies. 80 dollar a piece visas that could lengthen our stay in Ethiopia by 2-5 days. Scratch that idea.

On to number 2. Call British Airways. We flew BA when we went to get Eliana, and even though the food was surprisingly good, we found them way too, well... British. Everything had to be just so. They were extremely picky, they took our bulkhead seats away several times, and we sat by some VERY weird British people. (Ex: the 80-something couple who were hiting, biting and yes, throwing food at each other on the 8 hour flight home from London). We were willing, however, to give it a try. The only problem was that, after being on hold for hours on end, they were on able to give us a quote for seats. Nope, they said, we had to send them about 10 documents and then wait 48 hours for a quote. Scratch that.

So, on to number 3. Ethiopian airlines. This one initially seemed easy. I called, booked very reasonably priced flights, and got set to pay, and NOPE. You can't pay over the phone. You have to have them e-mail you a form, fill it in, and fax them it back along with copies of your card, passport, etc.... OK, FINE! I thought, I will go through the riggermarole and do it. Only, they never sent the e-mail or the itinerary. I called twice (on hold over 30 minutes each time), they would take my e-mail, promise to send it, and then.....NOTHING. UGH.

Number 4 was a nice, pleasant travel agent in the East Coast somewhere. Overall a very painless process, but the outcome....2,600 a piece for the tickets for Tony and Me and 500 or so each for the babies to sit on our laps. The flight included 4 take-offs and landings and plane changes (with 2 infants, let me remind you) and 5 on the way back. Couple that with about 6,500 in charges.... Ok, scratch that one, too.

Enter, Lucky #5. Our winner of a travel agent, Candy, from Seattle. She finally got us on an Ethiopia Air flight for a great price with only one plane change.

So, it only took 3 days, about 500 phone calls and enough "keep holding, your business is important to us..." nonsense to make me crazy, to finally do it!

We leave on July 26th at 4pm and come home on Aug 5th about 4pm. We are on our way....

It's really happening!!!!

We got the CALLLLL! Today I was down at my sister's house when I heard my cell phone ringing. I made a mad race down the stairs trying to find it. I missed the call, but saw that it was from WHFC, our adoption agency. I was barely daring to hope, but thought...."What else could it be but the travel call?!" And so I quickly called back, and it WAS the call I was hoping for. Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!



We travel to get our sweet babies on July 27th! And we are now officially their Mommy and Daddy and we are SOOOO excited and overwhelmed and just full of emotions! Now begins the insanity of finding tickets, arranging babysitting for Eliana (gulp....I hate the idea of leaving her home), and setting things up at work and at church!!! Wow....I am suddenly feeling seriously overwhelmed.


But, this is so awesome, and I am so thankful to God for being in the little things. He knew how much I wanted them home for their first birthday. They will be home. Thanks to God.

We are SOOO blessed.
Love,
Tony, Jill and Eliana Marda (the official BIG sister!)

Tuesdays...

It's another Tuesday....

Tuesday's have become the day by which I mark our weeks waiting. It was 5 weeks ago today that we accepted our referral. Yesterday was a bad day for me. I was having an emotional mommy moment. I just wanted to go get our babies.....right NOW! The suspense of waiting for a referral can be hard at times, but I'm finding the wait to go get them a lot harder. I think partly because I am afraid we won't be able to get through the courts in time. Actually, in my heart I think we will be OK, but there is always that chance. Our SW said yesterday that there might be one more group going in late July (but maybe not), and then probably a couple in Aug. I really hope we make it through!

Other than the waiting and waiting.....we are having fun getting their room ready. It is going to be a safari animal theme....think Lions, and zebras and monkies, oh my! It is looking really great. There is still a lot left to do, though. Including my ambition to make them each a quilt. Hopefully it will be enough to keep my mind off things until we finally hear SOMETHING!

Love from all the Geselles