the yonan family

outbreak #3.....

yep.... it's arrived!!!!
madeleine the great care taker of jonah has finally got the spots.
we are glad that we are progressing along here with checking off this box of childhood illness that we have tried
to get for years.

just praying that the other 2 come down quickly.

check out my favorite back pack!

"wooshaw wooshaw!"= "Doggie Doggie"

nope not a dog but he sure does love this back pack.....

his new favorite after bath attire.

favorite sentence of the day:

as abigail was picking (yep with a pick) out fitsum's hair

she said "mom, i just love that we have jonah and fits!"

thank you Lord!

the best time of the day.....

the boys are stripping before they even reach the bath tub, screaming all the way- and they never stop smiling the entire bath. wish everyone could see this joy. and to think we couldn't even get them to sit in the bath tub less than a month ago!

not sure if you can see it from there but yes Jonah has a HUGE cavity on the front of his right eye tooth. yeeks, it matches all the other cavities, maybe 9 or so!

first harvest!

exciting news!!!!

it's july 24 and we have finally had something to harvest in the garden.

dixon the diligent gardener has been faithful in every way to our dear garden; watering,

fertilizing, weeding, pruning, staking, and such.

our mouths water when we gaze upon the pending fruits of his labor.

thank you popsie for all the love and attention+ the good tomato gardener genes.

talk to yourself, don't listen to yourself....

we encourage you to watch this video. so much of what it shows gives testimony to how we have felt about our time in Ethiopia. we have so much in america, don't get me wrong, i'm the girl that sang "God bless America" upon my return home, but we have to think everyday and tell ourselves the truth about where does joy come from? how do we find joy?

it can't be based on circumstance.... it can't! there just would be no hope to ever have joy.

our joy and hope is in the one who came to save us.... matt and amanda, the lost. Jesus came to earth and gave His life to show us how to know the Father. we don't have to have organized closets, obedient children, money in the bank, a wheat free diet, a dog that sits on command, or any other sign of success, we just have to trust that He is the one that saves us from our sin and gives us a future with Him for eternity.

that's joy!

the current yonan top 10.....

1. the sound the car makes when it unlocks.

2. automatic doors... that's a mystery.

3. shopping carts!!! big fun.

4. butterflies

5. BANANAS...... way too many of them.

6. being rubbed down with oil every night and having lots of products applied to different spots.

7. mom and dad kissing

8. peeing on the toilet seat.

9. plasma car... the problem is we don't have 5!

10. opening the car door at high speeds.

have to add #11. having dinners brought to my house every night. what a true act of kindness.

mission accomplished!

sign of a great weekend, sunshine, front yard,

plasma car, speeding down the hill, dad watering the front flowers,

kids soaked to their undies, screaming for joy

begging for more, perfect peace and unity,

memories like this.... priceless!

today at the pool.....

just a normal day at the downing house pool (a local house donated for ministry with a pool), a few moms meet there for some pool time in a low key environment. i was in the pool and this mom that i had not met and i started talking. she had also adopted from ethiopia. she asked what agency we used... i said "all gods children!"

she quickly said "me toooo!" and the screaming began.

both of us hugging and amazed.

our boys, the same age as fits had been at the same orphanage. the same special mother.

the SAME habits, tendencies. we had the best time sharing stories and advice.

this was such an amazing gift to me today!

thank you Lord. He knows what we need, and this was such a blessing to me today.

man can not live on bread alone.....

can you see the love in his eyes?

this picture doesn't do the event justice. but fit's was in his "happy place" stuffing corn muffins into his mouth. he had eaten a large dinner of salmon, edamame beans and corn salad- seriously, i'm not joking!

his dessert... dabo/bread/corn muffins.

he's a lucky guy isn't he?

he said it.....

not sure if he meant it but tonight.....

jonah said " i love you!" to me.

i was shocked. i am honest about our situation.

not his favorite parent. maybe don't even make the list.

but tonight he showed me the sign language and then said.... " i love you".

big day. i'm gonna right this one down. july 18th, 2009!

it's not all about food, but it sure helps!

huge huge huge night for these boys....

they ate salmon, corn salad, and edamame beans. yep three colors. can you believe it?

hand over fist into their mouths.

"gobez"/"brilliant" all around!

also big... jonah is calling himself "jonah" not Yonas.

you could say he's found himself. can you imagine how hard this is? little does he know it's the same name, but he is adjusting and we love him.

he called "mommy" today when he got hurt!

yep, today was a big day!

to any of you who wonder.... yep, five is constant. i'll never be the same.

and i am praying matt becomes ill, paralyzed or dumb before monday so he never has to go back to work. shhhh. don't tell i said those terrible things!

just can't say it ever gets boring around here.....

NOPE, never does!

today we began phase II of the never ending kitchen remodel nightmare.

so we have begun our time with no kitchen and it is just so funnnnnnn.

just kidding. no it's not fun.

AND.... drum roll please- phase II of the chicken pox from Addis Ababa!

so fun.

just kidding, not so fun!

especially for poor Jonah, who can't figure out what is happening to his body.

i'll be sure to send pictures in the AM. his body is COVERED, way worse than Fitsum.

only upside.... he needs me. daddy's boy will have to turn to "Amaye"/mom.

my only prayer at this point is that we don't have these darn pox for the rest of the summer. please Lord let the three big kids get them at the same time....

mercy mercy mercy please.

break throughs everywhere.......

wow. this is a big one!

last night, jonah ate SALAD. yep.... you are reading right.

the boy that won't even eat a blueberry, plum, peach, melon, or tomato.....

big bites of spring mix, no less. that squirly kind of lettuce that tickles the inside of your mouth.... watch out sushi here we come.

two worlds coming together......

when the boys came home, we quickly started playing the one and only cd that we had from ethiopia. it was a sort of traditional praise music. the kids and i played it every day for months as we waited for "our missing parts". we certainly did have a favorite song, although never knowing the meaning, it was a heartfelt song with an upbeat tempo.

low and behold...... guess who knows every single word and even adds in the drum beats?
yep, jonah yonan!
isn't that amazing..... as we were pining for him in ethiopia he was listening to "our song".

why are we surprised..... i have no idea. this was His story for our family before time, but it's oh so sweet to be the recipient of gifts like this dear boy singing his heart out(in amharic), Lord willing truths that are already written on his heart.
thank you Lord, for you are good. ps.... at the end when he starts whispering.... do you think this might be because the song talks about making a latte... maybe he'll be my next barista!

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.