Hen update

They are still alive!

New little charges

Dotte, Al, Orp, Ymo and Aster have just arrived to our house. I am so convinced that I'm going to do something wrong and that I'll go down there next to find them all perished. Yikes! Kids? No problem. Chicks? Uh...

Ethiopia

We arrived from Ethiopia last night. We spent about 38 hours flying (round trip)and only about 58 hours in country. Shoo! We had a wonderful time, for sure.

Our kids are doing very well. They are being very well taken care of by several loving people, for whom we are so grateful. We were able to spend about an hour and a half playing with them, which was wonderful.

Like last time, we barely took any photos. It's a very difficult place to do so, for a couple of reasons. I, however, just found a video on our agency's website, which will give you a taste. For example, the colorful church that you'll see in the very beginning of the video: We went there on Tuesday afternoon. It is on top of Mount Entoto, which is 10,000 feet above sea level. (I think.) The air was so refreshing up there, thanks, in part, to a forest of eucalyptus trees, brought to Ethiopia from Australia by Menelik II (Again, I think.) It is the most wonderful smell.

Anyways, here is a taste of what we saw:

Bethany: Ethiopia from Bethany Christian Services on Vimeo.

And here is a video of the people that run Yezelalem Minch and the Morning Coffee Guesthouse, which is where we stayed. They are such an example of being available to do God's work.

Future Hope Campaign from Joelle Melissa on Vimeo.

Clearly, we cannot wait to return, which could happen in the next two to three months. May God's will be done!

The most interesting mail that we've ever received

We are chicken farmers!

Family photos... as usual

Beauty: relaxed vs. very careful

This garden combination has grabbed my attention all summer: cosmos, broccoli, cabbage and Swiss chard.

Our recent evenings' work:

Placement!

Garlic!

THIS morning, he said, exactly,

"Yo hablé con papá y… papá me dijo que… la tita no toca las plantas suavemente."

Our car

Tita always tells GRITS that her car is "our car." He decided to reciprocate the other afternoon by insisting that she drive:

Definite progress on the coop

... which is important, because the chicks arrive some time next week!

Thank God!

It's garlic planting season. I love that there is still planting to do in October. I think that I have around 90 potential heads of garlic next summer. It will not be enough to even last the season, I'm sure, but it will help.

His daily three gotas of buna

Hen house progress, I think

Critter sightings

This little hummingbird (that little dot to the right of the right-most tree) captivated me. It was pirouette-ing to the right and to the left, as it snacked on a swarm of miniature insects.


This artist was moved to its new, luscious home by way of a long shovel. Initially I wasn't nervous at all, but my skittish sister convinced me that it could be a "jumper," so I took the safe route.

And this little treat is why I plant so much parsley. Yes, I love the herb and my Spanish mamA convinced me that it would help any stomach complaint, but... It's so pretty!

Hide and seek: the Lime-O version

Today, GRITS and I had our first real game of hide and seek, complete with covering eyes and counting to ten. We both really enjoyed ourselves!