The kids

"They can't find me over here, right?"

He so reminds me of the rabbi that I used to work for... in my memory he, the rabbi, has two phones, conversing on both at once.

"Selamnesh!"

What GRITS says

Whoa. So, this morning GRITS kept asking for the bristle blocks, to which I replied, "No," because we were already playing with the Legos. (I don't believe in mixing blocks. The thought!) He kept saying that he needed them for a "nvspsllnamasyA." I kept repeating it, trying to understand, all of the while thinking of what we normally construct with the bristle blocks: savannah scenes, microphones to sing "Alelu alelu alelu aleluia," and planes that fly to Ethiopia. After about five very frustrating minutes, for both of us, it clicked: una nave espacial para ir a la luna y mas allA! Of course! Duh. Yesterday he made a strange flying machine out of the bristle blocks and when I asked him what it was, he said that he didn't know. So, I offered up the previous idea, which he took. Ay.


A couple of days ago, we were having a dance party, when all of the sudden GRITS starting jumping around even more wildly and singing, "High energy! High energy!" Now, some times PapA H asks GRITS if his energy level is high or low, so this made sense. It wasn't until we were done and GRITS asked if we could listen to the song that said "high energy" again that I understood. The words of the chorus are actually "I am redeemed! I am redeemed!" and of course, not knowing that word, "high energy" sounded close enough. Whoa! After a day of working on it though, he can now properly sing the chorus.

Finally, the other day GRITS told me that Ty had taken something from him. When I asked him what, he replied, "mi zhwinga zhwinga zhwinga amarilla." Alrighty then.

An homage

Every time I put this cardigan on one of our children, I can't help but think that Tito (Or say we call him Tato?) Dru would approve... and even maybe want to try it on. To the next generation of hipsters!

Ah, Jesus, where are you?

Due to yesterday's birthday festivities for Jesus, GRITS was full of questions; or better said, repetitious with a couple of questions. PapA H explained to him what day it was and why we were having happy birthday pancakes, we read a portion out of the Bible, and then it began. "Where is Jesus?" "Uh... He is here. He is everywhere." "Why can't I see Him?" "Well... you just can't. His presence is like that of a spirit, which is everywhere like air. You know, air?" (Right.) "Can I not see Him because it's dark outside?" "No, that isn't why." "Where is Jesus?" And we began all over again.

I think that we failed. I say "I think" because some good came out of our unsatisfying conversation: At least GRITS spent a lot of yesterday thinking about Jesus. That's something, right?

Passive aggression

Because of some loud alley rats, I've decided to let them all know how I feel... even though they'll never understand. Ah, I love the French! We now live at:

A busy big brother

La boda

Check out the blog entry for 21 December on the Brown Street Studio's blog link to the right and down a bit.

Where is Carlton?

Our friends sent us some photos of their Milwaukee-an hen house and with it was a name. Why hadn't I thought of naming ours? I love to name things. Quickly, it hit me: the Poule House. Perfect!

What we do

Hen update

They live!

Style

Our children are working out their styles. I hope that these are passing phases and that they aren't making any lasting statements.

I don't know what he meant, but...

Yesterday, GRITS pointed at the picture of this elephant and said, "Es como MatMap (my brother)." When I asked him why, he said, "Porque es un bebE." Alrighty then.

Déjà vu

Many, many moons ago, I had a run-in (Ha! Literally!) with a horse named Joe. He was a paint, which should have been my first clue never to ride him, considering my history with such horses. (Ah, Patches.) Back to Joe... upon being startled, Joe took off, jolting me from my securely seated position, forcing me to hold on for dear life, by the least stable means possible, lest I fall off and be trampled. (That is a run-on, for sure, but it just seems right. Sorry.) I remember thinking, "If I can just hold on, he'll eventually have to stop. Just hold on!"

Such is life now.

Eventually, we reached the barnyard and Joe came to an abrupt halt. I shakily dismounted and ran away crying... never to ride him again.

With God, our present story will have a different ending!

El Mapache

That just sounds menacing, doesn't it? El Mapache!



So, our back yarden mapache has returned... either because he really does like to sleep up in the wisteria's trellis; or more likely, because he can smell our egg-layers. Poor Dotte, Ymo, Al-y-Orp and Aster are being stalked.

Upon arrival home today I saw the fresh tracks in the dusting of snow that we had received. Hopefully, Rob's super-heavy-duty chicken coop will withstand the mapache's ravenous efforts. If not? Hhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I really don't want to start another batch of chicks, so we'll see.

Oooo! El Mapache!

Twonce

Oh yeah, I can feed twonce!

Mr. CafE con leche

Each morning, GRITS usually has a "yatte" with Tita. Here he is, in all of his caffeinated glory!

"My precious"... my thoughts about GRITS and his thoughts about his latte.

"I must get that last drop!"

What ails us

ear infections x2
tonsilitis x1 (Make that x2.)
general cold x1
molluscum contagiosum x2
runny noses x2
stomach issues x1
hand-foot-mouth disease x1

Ay, ay, ay!

P.S. I have decided that the probable cause of our ailments is the reduced intake of garlic since we left for Ethiopia. I haven't cooked much since our return, making for the lack of garlic intake. Interestingly, the French word for garlic is "ail," making me all the more certain that this is the key to our recovery. I'll begin tomorrow: Garlic for all!

Beautiful

What a good idea.

Some views of Ethiopia

Traffic jam!

A country house and garden, which, of course, set me to daydreaming for some hours... alright, days... fine! I'm still dreaming about it and imagining if I could make it there. My current decision is that we'd have about a 40% chance of survival.

Beautiful fields.

Some more views of Ethiopia

Yes, that's a giant Ethiopian coffee pot. I could use some of that right about now!

The red dirt of the south. (You should watch the movie Live and Become.)

A nice stand of eucalyptus.

Road construction. Genius!

Our room's view.

Sleep

So, what do you do when you are taken from your home and brought to a new one? Our little Mita, amongst other coping mechanisms, decided to conquer a small area and make it her own. Yesterday, she removed nearly all of the toys from one of the baskets and then gave it her own touch... of drool! (Why do I always want to misspell that word?)



GRITS was playing with some toys on the floor while I sat on his bed, rocking Ty, when I realized that Mita was not moving. Of course, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Ah! I gave her some peanut butter! What if she is allergic?!" But, upon further inspection, she was just asleep. You have to take it when you can get it, I guess.

As for Rob and me, our new theme song is, "Who needs sleep? You're never going to get it! Who needs sleep? What's that for?..." by the Bare Naked Ladies. This too shall pass, I know.

Of course, we are thrilled to have our family together at last. Each day we work to seem more like the family that we are.

Introducing...

Ty and Mita!

It's 1:37AM and I am done!

Unfortunately, the coffee that I used to stay awake this long is not done with me. Ay.

GRITS' doings

Diapering his stuffed dog... GRITS is so ready to help take care of his bro and sis!

Did you know that Tupperware covers make great steering wheels?

The sewing machine*

One down, one to go!

Sharing is going to be GRITS' intense work for the next several months. Ah!


*That's me, by the way.

Status of the cactus

Boxes of fun

Thanks to a recent wedding shower thrown in our house, we have boxes and boxes. This especially large one has been hours of fun!

"Coming in, Tita!"


King of the... laugh-attack!

Babies...

Here we come! We have been cleared and leave in a week! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted!

Our case has been submitted to the U.S. Embassy! They will review everything and once they are satisfied that everything is in order, we should be invited to go.

*(But no, we don't know when this will be. We can't even guess.)

Back yarden kale

It is still producing and beautiful! I made spanakopita with it for the latest feast. (Sorry, I don't know the Greek for kale!)

One more, for Tita!

I had to give one more frabjous feast. I mean, the kids aren't here yet!

Hm...

I may be more Ethiopian than I think! Not only are all of my children from there, but my dad bears an uncanny resemblance to this, one Haile Selassie. This may explain my paternal family's missing link...

Wahoo!

We have birth certificates and passports for our children in Ethiopia! Wahoo! They even spelled our last name correctly on the kids' passports this time! Wahoo, again! Soon we'll be submitted to the U.S. Embassy and the rest is up to them.

What a great idea

Wackie Jackie, are you out there? Check this out!

A flowering cactus

Our far-away friends left us their Thanksgiving Cactus a bit over a year ago. After some ugly but necessary pruning and rest, it's about to:

Stay tuned.

A frabjous feast

This may have been my last frabjous feast for a long time. I can't imagine being able to pull this off with THREE little ones pulling on my legs! What a dinner to go out on, though. As GRITS would say, "It was delicious AND good!"

We started with a brie amandine en croute, eaten with pear and apple slices. The main dinner consisted of beef cooked in Venetian spices (and coffee and wine and chocolate in the sauce); the Uzbek carrots; scalloped potatoes in a cheesy, white wine sauce; a Romaine salad with oranges and pine nuts; and a honey-flaxseed challah. And then we had chocolate cake!

The mixy,not-so-matchy table.

My favorite plate, bowl and super-spicy, Uzbekistani carrots.

The mad cooker, working on her nearly-perfect sauce for scalloped potatoes.

"Challah!"