the yonan family

so much wondering......

sometimes, when the boys get a foggy look in their eyes, and it is obvious that they aren't "here"- i can't help but wonder what they are thinking.

do they wonder where all the sights and sounds of home have gone? no chanting or dogs barking in 10 days, no goats waundering around the streets, smells of B.O. are limited, all these white people, english everywhere, crazy food, so many people wanting to hug and kiss me, saying "thank you" all the time...... come on that's alot!

when we were in addis, i tried to let them soak it all in.... letting them just watch life around them as it went by outside our gates, praying they would remember the life that would quickly fade away and be replaced by all that is the u.s. i will always remind them that they should be so proud to be ethiopian- for all the crazy things that are this "homeland" of theirs, there is a beauty and gentleness that they will certainly miss.

learning something new everyday.....

madeleine took it upon herself to introduce jonah to his bike.

she got out the bike- the one she learned to ride.

she went to the hill- the same one she learned on.

she put on the helmet- not the same one his head is too big.

and she went about teaching him- the same way all 3 yonans learned.

sooooo cute! love love love her.

dabo!

this is my son.... an hour or 2 before meal times, he goes to the cabinet, gets a plate out and starts following me around with it, saying "Dabo"/"Bread"! starts off the same way every time, subtle and quiet and then it increases into an all out panic of desperation.

honestly i think his brain might be detoxing from all the wheat he ingested in the last 6 months- is that possible? the first thing he does when i get him out of the crib is point and say "dabo".

thoughts?

miller girls, love from ethiopia heading your way........ keep a look out!

The "Coming Home" video!!!

I thought this would be fun for you to see. It's a slideshow of the photos of when my mom, dad & brothers got to the airport. I hope you enjoy it. Dixon

family, friends,forever

wish you all could have been there today as Jonah met George. they sat down right away on the same chair and started talking; george asking questions and jonah answering. mind you they do NOT speak the same language. what could be better? and sweet molly gray loved up fitsum with too many kisses to count.

what a treat for kids to have cousins.

the pool- BIG HIT! the boys were in hog heaven.

can you hear it......?

the screaming that is.....

yep we've checked that box.

our first big screaming tantrum. Fitsum wrestled with that car seat for 20 minutes on the way to the pool. the poor other 4 just sat quietly praying he'd stop and the noise would go away!

yonans.... do you see the double ll farm stand t?

today is a very sad day for our family! we recieved the call you never want to get.... our dear friend jimmy nakama, husband to grae, father to emmitt(12) and eva(9), friend to everyone- died yesterday in a tragic rafting accident. we are heartbroken and overwhelmed with sadness for our friends. these 2 little sweeties on the right of the above picture are now without a daddy and my friend grae will spend her remainding days without her husband, high school sweatheart, the only man she's loved!

what do you say? what can you do? what will ever make this better?

things that matter to us and to Him!

this video puts faces to the facts. it's worth every penny of support they receive. we visited while in Addis and it's the real thing. these kids need us- need support, advocates and prayer. these sweet children truly are the "least of these". take a minute!

our prayer is that He will move us and break our hearts for these little ones....

this ones a keeper!

my sweet dixon, who was a big catalyst for this adoption and cheerleader through the process, while passing me in the kitchen

said "mom, i'm living my dream!.... having brothers, it's great!"

thank you Lord!

i just love my kids- they have such clear perspective and big hearts filled with grace as we all learn what it is to live as a party of 7! they are teaching me what love looks like.

ok seriously......

children all over africa are starving.... did fitsum eat all of their food?

but kidding aside, this is picture proof of what happens to your body if you eat too many simple carbs. look he has celulite on his chest and he's only 2!

2 easy words........ bootcamp baby!!!!

promising...... pictures of the yonan 5 tomorrow. (it's really a hard task..... don't know amharic for " line up" and "smile"- although i do find myself saying...."queso" alot!)

Ode to Childhood!

BUBBLES, BUBBLES and more BUBBLES! is there anything that is better for kids; especially when you don't have to share with 40 other young children. We are having fun playing and exploring daily life together. Chicken pox are

on the mend, and last night was our first night of 9 hours of sleep. Amazing what that will do for a gal!

full once more......!

I ALWAYS sit my little ones on the counter. Against many complaints, advice and suggestions I have always done it this way... and once more my counter is FULL!

Today, we off to see Dr. Jerry, our favorite pediatrician. We can't wait to hear what he has to say about the boys. Maybe we should take Madeleine along as it seems we have a bit of the stomach flu around here, or maybe food poisoning... not sure.

xoxo- amanda

We are home!

After 30 hours of travel (almost to the minute), we are home. We'll update soon....but you can click under gallery at the top right to see our photo album. When you click it takes you to another site and choose the "Ethiopia Trip" album.

M

We are on the way!

Today was better. We are on our way to the airport in just 30 minutes. We are very excited. It was sunny nearly all day. We mainly stayed at the hotel but had a very nice visit with Samuel (pronounced samwell). This is the man whose agency partners with ours to bring kids to better places. He gave us a tour of his orphanage. It was a blessing.

Fits is doing a bit better but is holding out on eating for the most part. Nothing serious. Just being willful.

We are thankful that today has come.

A Big Surprise

#1 Pox Mania- all over Fits’s face this morning:), very sad.

#2 Meeting had a big surprise…Mesfin the birth dad, did a surprise drop by. Yep! We were shocked! Meeting was extremely emotional, but in all things the Lord was there in big ways. Mimi, the birth mom, prayed over the boys and she shared their stories, dreams and history. She is truly AMAZING. We will have no trouble loving her and sharing her goodness with our boys. The boys handled all of this amazingly.

#3 When asked why they chose the name Yonas, Mesfin said “well, because I love the story of Jonah in the Bible!” Of course, I burst out crying because of the 3 names that have the same meaning as Yonas in English, we chose Jonah. See what I mean? Blessing upon blessing despite the heartbreak and drama.

We are stretched and tired. We’ll never be the same but we’re ready to be home. Our kids, normal food, no nighttime chanting (praise Jesus), normal shower- we’ll share more, my kids, clean pj’s. God bless America land that I love! Can’t wait to share it all!

Did I mention I miss my three yo yo’s?

Love overflowing,

Amanda and Co.