It's a (busy) Wonderful Life!

I know that I have not updated lately but we have been very busy!! We started school and it is actually going better than I had thought it would. Tarike is now sleeping typically two one-hour naps each day so we do our reading time then. The boys are SO amazing with her and are always offering to help. We even made it to a movie tonight, all seven of us! I can't believe we have only been home for one month - Tarike fits so perfectly into our lives. I give a lot of credit to all of our wonderful, supportive friends and family who have been lifting us up in prayer! Thank you!!

So, these photos consist of Jack's first Twins game (it was a great win!), the boys' birthdays, our latest family photos, and our new friend. We watched this fox listen to and pounce on a mouse until he finally caught it! It was so much fun - I love living in the woods!!

Photos of Ethiopia Guest Houses

Here are some pictures of the CHSFS guest houses where we stayed in Ethiopia. This post is primarily for those who are going to Ethiopia to bring home thier child(ren) although others may be interested to see the luxury to which we were treated (as compared to the majority of Ethiopians. The first photos are of the "traditional" guest house starting with the kitchen. The bedrooms shown are 209 and 210. The bathroom is the private bathroom in the first bedroom. Finally, the living area. The next photo is of the dining area in the large guest house - which really is very large! There are two pictures of the gathering (living) areas, one of the common kitchen and, finally, the area in which they prepare our meals. I hope it helps those of you who are about to travel!! Have a wonderful trip!!!

We are home!

We are finally home! It was an amazing trip - with ups and downs. From our experience it was not a "vacation" but we learned a lot and brought back a fantastic souvenir!! Tarike is wonderful! She has a bit of a cold and we are all working on getting our schedules set but she is still typically quite happy and content. All of the boys are doing a wonderful job helping with their little sister - she is a very popular member of our family! I can't wait to introduce her to everyone!

The pictures that I have posted (somewhat randomly) are of some of the sights and people that we saw on our trip. The drive south was beautiful! It is truly amazing how lush and green Ethiopia is. Unfortunately, the population is so high that each families individual land is not enough to feed them adequately - it is known as "the green famine". One of the pictures is of part of a buffet that we were taken to - yes, it is a plate full of hunks of raw meet! Not terribly appetizing! But, we were able to watch some beautiful Ethiopian dancers! The people of Ethiopia were all very friendly, especially the children who, despite all that they are going through, tend to be very happy and LOVE to have their picture taken and then see themselves on the camara! We toured two orphanages in addition to the care center where Tarike was. So many children and babies who need homes - it was hard to come home with just one!! There were babies there as young as 1 month old! All of the children were extremely well cared for and very loved! Thank you all who helped with donations. It was so much fun to give so much to a place that I know will use it well!

So much happened in just one week! I'm sure that it will be an experience that none of us will ever forget!

Introducing Tarike Daudt

Introducing Tarike Daudt!

Here are the first pictures of our daughter! She is SO amazing! Tarike has a smile or a funny face for everyone at the care center and all of the nannies just love her!! We were able to take her to our guest house today and she was great. She has become attached to us already and is, so far, always happy. We just hope that continues for our 22 hour trip home. We can't wait to share her with everyone!

An amazing experience!

We have been having an amazing experience! Almost everyone is totally healthy again after small bouts with stomache upsets and we are finally starting to adjust to Ethiopia's time. We have had VERY busy days and are exhausted by the end of each. Tomorrow we get to bring Tarike back to the guest house where we are staying and Tuesday she comes into our care forever! She is so beautiful and very happy! Yesterday when our visit was over, she actually cried when we left - she likes us!! Today we all drove south to meet the birth families of our children and we were able to say thank you for blessing us with a daughter. It was extremely emotional, painful, and wonderful at the same time!! To do this, we drove 4 hours south of Addis Ababa! Driving in Ethiopia is a life threatening act! Since we made it there and back in one piece, I can enjoy all of the memories and photos of that trip. We were able to go through a typical hut, photograph many, many beautiful children who LOVE to see their photos on digital camaras, and see how beautiful the countryside of Ethiopia really is. It is amazingly green and fertile-looking. It is hard to believe that there is so much hunger but the hills, huge population, and dependance on rain makes this area known as "the green famine". So far, this has been a life-changing experience for all of us. Ethiopia is beautiful and the people are very welcoming, but we are looking forward to coming home!!

We are here!!!!

Greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! After what feels like many days in the airplane, we made it safely and uneventfully to Ethiopia. There is not too much to tell yet as we arrived late and it was dark for our travel through Addis Ababa to our guest house. So far, we have only seen a lot of poverty and begging. On the other hand, our house is very nice and we received a large update on our daughter. She is doing VERY well, is growing, and melting the hearts of all of the nannies! We also received a number of pictures of her at the care center and I am amazed at how beautiful she is. It is truly amazing to think that she is a 10 minute walk from here and we can't see her until tomorrow morning!! It is 11:40 p.m. here so almost 3:00 p.m. for all of you. Well, we are going to go to bed!!

Ethiopia - here we come!

We are leaving today to meet and bring home our beautiful baby girl!!!! I can't believe it is finally here. The car is packed, we are going to try to go to bed and get some sleep (yeah, right!). We were able to pack FOUR suitcases full of donations! Thank you all so much for donating all of the great, and needed, stuff.



There isn't too much to say as we are such a mix of emotions - excitement, fear, anticipation, anxiety, more excitement, etc. I will SOOO miss Connor and Jack as we have never been away this long or this far from them before. I know they are in great hands but I will miss them very much! I have posted our last family picture before our new addition and photos of our donation bags. Thank you again and I will try to keep everyone posted during our trip!! God bless!