Emily Without Sugar

This is what happens to our sweet little girl after being stuck in an apartment for days with a cold.

Our hearts' desire

Before we were married, adoption was in our hearts. We've been lovingly adopted into HIS forever family, and know that adoption is in the heart of HIM who is love. With about 150 million orphans in the world, the vastness of the need is heart-wrenching.

Yes, the process is long, complicated, and expensive, but we are excited to enter into it by faith!

Please see the video below for some sweet clips of precious faces. It focuses on the country we are requesting a sibling set from. :)

Also, please think of us as we face much paperwork, many large fees (to the tune of $30,000), and months of waiting. We are trusting HIM to provide, and to equip us to be a wonderful home to some little ones who need a family!

Ethiopian Orphans

Ethiopian Orphans from Simon Scionka on Vimeo.

Emily's favorite bucket which she uses for many things.... "cooking" rice in it for us, wearing it as a helmet, giving her babies a bath in it, and all sorts of other imaginative things.
Aubrey Mei, living the good life on mom and daddy's bed while mommy studies the language. She found her thumb awhile back.... a blessing and a curse. These days she lays on her tummy, sucks her right thumb, and plays with her hair with her left hand until she falls asleep. Right now she is suffering through her first cold. Poor stuffy baby.

ouch

Scott got hit by a motorcycle yesterday on his way to school. He seems to be okay, just sore. Please think of him, especially with his already problematic back issues. We are thankful it wasn't any worse, and also thankful he wasn't carrying one of the girls! He went ahead and went to class after it happened... what a trooper! I'm hoping today will be a less eventful day for him than the previous ones have been! He's at class from 8-4:30 today, so we'll see.....

Cool things your WalMart probably doesn't have

In not so comical news, Scott had his first pick-pocketing adventure today. (As the victim, not the perpetrator.) His mobile phone was in a zipped up pocket on the front of his jacket which was on his body! These people are good! And bad. We told a local friend about it, and in trying to have a good attitude, I said, "well, maybe he was hungry, and now he can buy some food". She told us, "on the contrary, it would almost certainly go towards someone's drug use, and if they used too much they could die." So much for the attempted optimistic spin. Scott is out now shopping for a very cheap phone.... maybe he'll run across his own... up for resale.

October already?

Emily had fun celebrating National Day with these flags the locals gave her. We had fun watching the city's firework show out our bedroom window. It went on and on for at least 30 minutes. Each part was as grandiose as a finale in the states would be! I guess since fireworks were invented here they had to make an impressive display of them. It was beautiful!
This place is right behind our apartment building. Our "backyard" of sorts. :) I'm not sure why it looks like I have a wooden pirate leg....?? arrrrgggg.