Five Months Old!

There has been so much stirring in my heart as I continue to process our time in Ethiopia and the extreme poverty there. I hope to do a post soon to talk about some of that. In the meantime I thought I would share some fresh pics of Mo taken on August 19th - 5 month birthday!

"Cacooning"

Our adoption agency talked to us a lot about the idea of "cacooning" for the first few weeks or months home. With 3 older active kids that will be impossible once fall hits but we have taken it to heart for the remainder of our summer. We are staying home lots and just getting along together. We have had lovely days though I feel weary at times. Moges feels like a natural part of our family and it does my momma's heart so much good to see Silas, Kate and Maria love on him so well. So, here are some of our home "cacooning" pics. Life is full, beautiful, rich, and tiring but Mike and I know so well how truly blessed we are. Our early days of cacooning with Mike home were the best but he is back at work and the kids and I are figuring it out at home.

Introducing Joseph Moges

The only reason I have time to sit and write this is thanks to a dear friend who just dropped off dinner (it is in the oven!) and my two junior babysitters (Kate and Maria) who are happily entertaining baby. Mike and I are so thankful for the two extra weeks he now has off work and both of our bodies are slowly returning to normal after all the traveling, unusual food, time change, and who knows what in the water! We even ventured out on our first family outing to a local park with a splash pad. Baby Mo is doing great (we are officially naming him Joseph but we are still calling him Mo or Moges most of the time). He is beginning to adjust to the time change and not getting up at 3:30am anymore. He is delighting all of us with his easy smile and laugh and the way he kicks in the bouncy seat. Plus he is just so darn cute! He still has a bit of a nasty deep cough and will have his first Dr. appt in a couple days.

There is an element from our trip that will take me a while to recover from. The proverty in Ethiopia is akin to what I saw years ago in Haiti, so much more than what we have seen in Mexico and Guatemala. There is a deep humbleness that comes to me when I ask why I get to be a full time mom who never worries about meeting the needs of my children. I never worry to pay the mortgage or the safeway bill. The women in Ethiopia are often forced to relinquish their children or allow them to be malnourished. There are no answers to the whys and it is troubling to my soul at times. All we can each do is say yes to those promptings of God's spirit that in this journey for Mike and I has ended with a beautiful baby boy who we get to call our own. Praise God.

Moges is Home!

We are exhausted beyond what I can describe but so happy to be home with our whole family. I will post again soon but wanted you all to see that Moges is home. He is healthy, happy and such a joy to all of us. Moges means "grace" and he is certainly a gift that we did nothing to deserve.

We are in Amsterdam Netherlands!!!

We had an amazing trip over Greenland and saw icebergs and all!

Almost on our Way!

Bottles are bought, diapers are packed, child care arrangements are made, shots have been taken, tickets are bought, documents are gathered, and our arms are aching to hold baby Mo. Lots of little details still keep popping up but we for all practical purposes are ready and eager to go. Please pray for Mo that God would prepare his little heart and that we could have a sweet bonding time before we get on that plane to come home. We appreciate so many of you who have encouraged us by walking through this process with us. A special thanks to Julee, Megan, and Lindsay who were eager through this whole process and ready to lend out their baby stuff! We are having a baby ~ again! The Lord's goodness continues to surprise us and we truly are basking in His blessings.
I will post while in Ethiopia if possible but that is a big if so keep praying and I will update for sure after the 17th!

Bogus Weather

Today it again says 109 in Addis with sand. There seems to be a malfunction. I checked out the BBC weather forcast for Addis Ababa and it says a high of 68 and heavy rains for the next 5 days. Rainy season has officially set in!