More from Thailand earlier this month...

Aubrey had to point out the sign that informed us the plaything was danger to 66% of us.

Finally some pics....

We are finally back in our apartment in Asia, after a grand adventure through Africa and Thailand! Navigating the airports to get back here was a challenge, especially the security checkpoints where all strollers had to be collapsed and sent through the machine and little people wandered every which way. But we got home safely, and now are just trying to get healthy. Emily and Aubrey have fevers and some sort of stomach bug. We've been up at night doing laundry if you know what I mean. Eliana still has a touch of pneumonia, and Zac is the best off with only a cold. But we are together, and are enjoying that a lot. I love to hear Emily when Zac wanders into her room. She gets a huge smile and says, "Hey there buddy!" Aubrey loves to play with little Eliana too, and thinks she is her baby. She brings me wipes and diaper cream and helps me take care of Eliana (who weighs more than Aubrey). :) They all seem to like being together so far!




My dad takes Emily on her first paddle boat ride in Thailand. My parents took great care of our girls while we were away, and great care of all of us when we got back! Thanks for taking 3 weeks vacation just to come serve us mom and dad! You're the best!



In the Orchid Garden in Thailand.




The family photo opportunity is always extremely brief! And then it looks like this....



The songtao is the mode of transportation of choice in Chiang Mai Thailand. I reckon it's not that safe, but the kids think it's fun! :)




My parent with the kids at the zoo.... see the lion?? My parents were such a huge help as we adjusted to our new family dynamics. The 8 of us stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment in Thailand. The weather there was perfect! We sooooooooo enjoyed the sunshine there.... since we rarely see it here!




Our two one year olds! In a few more weeks we'll have 3 one year olds!! Wild and crazy fun!




The bushes behind us are shaped like a mommy elephant and her baby elephant following her holding on to her tail. :) Fun botanical gardens.... Tweechol Gardens outside of Chiang Mai.



Now that Zac is used to us he is full of expression! He is super sweet and loves security guards.... at airports especially. His best buddies at the orphanage were the men who worked security at the front gate. Zac bonded with my dad instantly, and is obviously missing him since he left yesterday! He has started bonding with me now too, which I am very thankful for! He's so smart and such a quick learner! He's already mimicking the girls English phrases almost perfectly! He is already a joy to our hearts!

Together at last!

We flew to Thailand and left our little gals with Nana and Papa to explore Thailand while we went to Africa.


We spent 6 nights in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. It is a very poor country and most of the homes in the capital city look like this. But the taxi drivers told us that a poor person in Addis Ababa is richer than a rich person in the city where our kids were born.






Thailand is the place to be in the winter!!



Together at last! We'll try to get a pic where everyone is looking and some people are smiling.... but until we are able to accomplish that very challenging feat, here is proof that we are indeed all together!



Emily -3 years and 7 months old
Zac - 1 year and 8 months old
Aubrey - 1 year and 7 months old (20 pounds)
Eliana - 10 months old (22 pounds!)

A few pics from a few weeks ago....

You could have a promising career here as an English teacher. Just sayin

Exactly how scared, I'm not sure.


So, if I'm a disability, what do I do again?



What's your favorite kind of sand?

Well, we made it back home last night after a tiring 30 hours of travel from Ethiopia. We are not looking forward to the travel next time, but at least we will be able to take our little ones home with us after our embassy appointment hopefully in January sometime. The time went by so quickly last week!

Here are a few more pictures of Zac and Eliana at the transition home in Addis Ababa.





This is another adorable little gal whom we would have loved to take with us, but is going with another wonderful family.

A few pics of yesterday

Here are a few more shots of our time yesterday hanging out at the orphanage. Such beautiful children it breaks our heart that we cannot adopt more!

Check out her dimple! This is our beautiful Eliana.... we are enjoying spending this week with her and lots of her little friends!



Zac teaches Scott how to play ball in the courtyard of the orphanage. They have a nice grassy yard to play in, and the weather is beautiful here! We've been enjoying the sunshine and fresh air! Zac is friends with anyone who has food to share. :) He loves his caretakers, and follows them around and jabbers at them like only a one year old can. They give him lots of tender attention. We are really impressed with the ladies who care for these kids! (14 ladies for 24 kids)



So, I complain all the time to Scott about how skinny Aubrey is... so you know how blessed I felt to show up and find little Eliana in this healthy chunky condition!! She is a super sweet and contented baby! Her caretakers and the older kids at the orphanage all love her and hold her a lot. I haven't seen her cry, but she can definitely smile!

Our internet connection is spotty here, but we will try to post a little more when we can! Thanks to all of you who are keeping all this in your prayers!

Leaving in the morning

Well, we are taking off in the morning heading to Dubai to spend the night and then to Addis Ababa on Sunday morning. Carey's mom arrived today jet-lagged, but ready to hang out with her granddaughters for the week, and they were ready to have her. We are sure they will have a good time together after leaving a list of instructions! Living in a foreign country is even more difficult when you cannot read or understand! But Emily can help with the translation if Nana needs a translator.

We were not sure what to pack, so it feels like we are not taking anything with us. But I guess it is just for court, so as long as we show up, that is the most important thing. The next trip we will probably have to take more. We got everything into one suitcase this time, so we should be traveling light!

Hopefully we will post from Ethiopia . . .

Aubrey waving bye. Ha!

November cruising by

Well, we continue to have great weather these days. Here's Em playing out and about this week.


Hard to believe that it is already November 15. And in just 12 more days we will head off to Ethiopia for our upcoming court date, getting to visit Bangladesh and Dubai along the way to Addis Ababa. We will have like an 8 hour lay over in Dubai, but apparently cannot exit the airport due to an Israeli stamp in our passport from a trip 5 years ago. Go figure. So, from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM we will have to try and sleep in the airport. We have only seen that they have a 5 star hotel in the airport for like $240 at the cheapest. So, I guess we will try and sleep in an airport seat if at all possible. Yuck!

But, we are looking forward to getting to meet our newest additions to the family, and see how much they have changed since we received their referral pictures several months ago! I am sure that they have changed quite a bit over the last 4 months. It will be such a blessing to begin to get to know them, even though they probably will not remember us when we go back to pick them up in a couple months. So many changes coming in their little lives. We are grateful the Lord has picked them out to be a part of our family.

Our little girls have been having fun playing together and I am sure they will enjoy having more friends to play with too once their little brother and sister arrive!



And then here are a couple more pics from last week's photo shoot.

a few hours of our Saturday....

These were all taken today... enjoying one of the last nice days we'll have for awhile I think.