I like to think that I have the power over my kids to enact a change in attitude by sheer will power.

Typically if they’re especially sassy one day I’ll win them over with enthusiasm, laughter and lots of love. 60% of the time it works every time (just a quick movie quote there, anyway name that movie?)

Today was not one of those days. Today will forever go down as the day of tattletailing. Not just tattletailing, but incessant, ridiculous tattletailing. That was just one of the many indiscretions committed by my babies today.

By 5pm I was convincing myself they NEEDED sleep enough that a 6:30pm bedtime was not just warranted but necessary.

Alas, 7pm it was and they were in bed.

Now, I wish I was laughing with them and snuggling them.

Such is the life of a mom.

Today Christmas (ganna) is being celebrated in Ethiopia. Because over half of the population is Orthodox Christians there, they go by the Julian Calendar. This puts today (the day of Epiphany) as the day to celebrate Christ’s birth!

Very exciting to think about that beautiful country celebrating. I hope one day we can be over there to watch the festivities commence. Though I understand they celebrate more at Easter than Christmas, it would still be a good time.

This Saturday we’re having family over to celebrate with us. We’re hoping to make it an annual thing to continue to link Tariku with his culture.

We’ve saved some coffee beans from Ethiopia to roast. I’ll be making doro wot, injera, lentil stew and homemade pizza. The pizza is for a couple reasons 1) it’s Tariku’s favorite “American” (one could argue it’s Italian) food, so I thought we could join the cultures and 2) there are a few in our inner circle who dry heave when they eat Ethiopian food…party poopers. 🙂

During ganna (we’re combining ganna and timkat celebrations, by the way) they don’t exchange gifts but do drink homemade wine and beer all day. Which sounded good to me.

They also play a traditional game called…you guessed it, ganna, that is a lot like our field hockey. So we’ll be trying that a bit. The Ethiopians believe this game was played after Christ’s birth in celebration, so I’ll go with that.

Another tradition is to wear all white so our family will be in our traditional Ethiopian attire and I’ve asked guests to wear as much white as possible.

Lastly, from my “extensive research” (meaning, I googled it), I found the Ethiopians burn incense as legend has it the “wise man” that brought frankincense was in fact King Balthazar of Ethiopia. So I’m presently on the market for some oil frankincense.

Should be a good time, stay tuned for pictures!

Until then, Melkam Ganna!

It’s in. It’s more spectacular than I could’ve hoped for. You ready?

$59,000.

Did you catch that?

$59,000

I’m blown away by it, really. Truth be told I was skeptical we’d hit $50,000. Not because I didn’t believe in you all (I did) but because of various reasons and I kept thinking about just how much $50,000 is.

But you all got it. You gave out of your poverty and wealth. You gave with joy and hope. It was truly awesome.

Suffice it to say this campaign for water changed my entire perspective on money. We’re entering the new year which means redoing budgets, looking at the last year with a magnifying glass.

It’s incredible to see before Ethiopia and after as far as our spending habits go. We tightened our budget for extra curricular things and spent it more on pursing God’s heart. Then, like a lot of humans, we slipped back a little. Until Water for Christmas.

Our budget looks downright monastic right now. Which I love.

We’re not saints, so we’ll mess up, surely. It’s undoubtedly a lot less than what you guys are doing.

I really want to work on this. So much of our lives have been spent on hoarding and collecting and all of that. I’ve found such pleasure from giving instead of taking (though truth be told I do enjoy my fair share of taking, see that in next post).

I hope it changed you too. We’re going to continue to rely on you every month. 🙂 You good with that?

$59,000

Thank you, thank you.

So…I was looking at the map at the bottom of my screen a few weeks ago. You can move over the little stars and see more specifics on the location, and noticed one at the very top. Hmmm, which part of Alaska is this? (We have friends in Alaska, you see). Low and behold it’s Wasilla. So, I can’t prove this, but I think it’s Sarah Palin. Either way, whoever you are, happy you’re here.

That map is cool but I think mine reboots every week or so. It’s rarely working right but I enjoy it nonetheless.

Anywho, my mind is just consumed lately. It’s times like this when I’m really happy I don’t have access to internet 24/7. Well, actually, I’m really upset I don’t but also know my children wouldn’t know who I was if I did have full access.

So, I guess, with that said I’m happy.

Yeah, I’m happy about it, we’ll go with that.

Rocks my world.

I love it. I seriously love it.

It’s amazing. That little thing makes me believe it’s possible that in just a few years we’ll all have little GPS things embedded in our skin.

It’s awesome and scary all at the same time. I hate it and love it all at once.

But mostly just love it. And my abs hurt, which is officially a good start to my New Year’s resolution (see previous post).

Now…it’s time for “Superstars of Dance”. It’s just what this ethnocentric lady needs. ahem. 🙂

We just watched that movie. I’m kind of baffled…that it won so many awards. Didn’t get that at all. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it but I think I was more convincing than Al Gore when I told Zach to start turning off the lights or I’ll punch his nose with a rubber hose.

Perhaps also it’s because I’m already on the side of “we gotta do it because it’s the right thing to do.” I didn’t necessarily need to see dudes taking camera phone pictures of the ex-VP or him holding babies. For some reason that stuff made him lose some street cred from me. And the fact that he didn’t mention how to SOLVE the problem until the very end. During the credits, which I couldn’t read anyway.

I don’t know, what’d you think? There’s always at least a small percentage of possibility I’m wrong but it rarely goes over a small percentage.

What else? Life, just life is happening. I still can’t believe it’s 2009.

This is the year we’ll celebrate our 7th anniversary (7!?!?!?!), my baby will turn 6, my other baby will turn 4 and the last baby will turn 3. I’ll gain a niece from Ethiopia perhaps another one from Frank and Emily (what do you say guys?). Who knows what else? Zach? What do you think? Another adoption? Possibilities are endless and I sincerely think that’s what I love about the New Year.

Never been one to make New Year’s resolutions but I might change my mind after seeing this.

1st resolution ever: must get these abs and/or must figure out how to get these abs while still enjoying the Peanut m&ms I just consumed.

Zach reading to my nephew, Eli.

Zach putting Tariku where no child belongs.

Saw “Marly & Me” last night. Cried. Lots. Got home and wanted to just love on these two crazy kids but they had no room for me.

The boys shooting each other and, well, Dailah.

Uncle Jake playing with the youngest.

Doozie with Papa Frank.

Um, yeah.

Clearly cute.

So I had good intentions to mail out cards this year but then I decided to cut that expense (even though it would’ve been our first one ever) as part of the Water for Christmas campaign. So instead I’ll put it here on the blog and email it to those who don’t read this (what? there are people who don’t read this?!?!?!?!)

Merry Christmas 2008!

I guess if I’m writing this 7 days after Christmas it hardly warrants a “Merry Christmas” but I hope you had a great one nonetheless! This is my inaugural Christmas letter, you see, so since none of you were expecting one I had plenty of excuses to make it late. ☺

Our year has been filled with more blessings than one family should receive in a lifetime. Though I can’t do them justice in a single letter, I will try.

Trysten (5) started Kindergarten at Buffalo Elementary School. He loved it from the beginning and looks forward to playing with his many friends. Truth be told, he does enjoy a good snow day as we found out just before winter break. He is starting to read quite well which makes his mommy and daddy proud. I’m still holding out hope for one of my children to enjoy reading as much as I do and if his zest for learning is any indication, he’ll be the one. He’s still my emotive one. That apple didn’t fall far from the mommy tree. In so many ways he’s growing (3 inches this year, takes showers by himself, etc) but he still enjoys “mommy and me” time at the end of the night in which we snuggle and talk about our feelings.

Tariku (3) joined our family from Ethiopia on April 11th. Zach and I took the trip of a lifetime early April to go to Ethiopia and learn more about that beautiful country our son came from. Since that trip, our lives have changed in so many ways. Tariku, being the biggest way, is the sweetheart of the bunch. If you need something, Tariku will walk through fire to get it. Always smiling, always laughing he proves that one can choose how they react to rather horrible situations. He has been very patient with mommy when he didn’t understand much English or when he was learning how to go to the bathroom inside the toilet. Above all, he has helped us learn how to be better humans. He too enjoys giving kisses and hugs but typically limits them to two per person because something more fun is bound to come up by then.

Dailah (2) has developed her personality and natural inclination to motherhood over the last year. As I type, she is cradling a cabbage patch baby and giving kisses telling her it’s “okay” and that “she can’t do that again”. Dailah is a constant mothering mirror for me as I hear my words come back to me in the form of a 2-year-old more times than I can count. She has her parents wrapped around that little nail-painted finger and, I’m afraid, knows it full well. She also has her brothers at her beckon call and can get a ride anywhere she wants if she just asks. She has shown me this year that a good sense of humor is often nature and very little nurture. She has been making us laugh since the day she was able to speak (and speak she does!). She is the little girl I didn’t think I needed and proves to me everyday that one smile or one giggle can turn a bad day good in a matter of seconds.

Aristotle (4, chocolate lab) still enjoys bones, food, protecting mommy and babes and running around camp being the mascot of sorts. Mascot, to him anyway, covers all sorts of sin. ☺

Abe (8 months, great dane) joined the family in October. He enjoys eating, bringing home deer antler, chewing on mommy’s snowman decorations and sleeping.

Zach (older) is in his 2nd year as the Executive Director of YMCA Camp Abe Lincoln. He loves his job and happens to be terrific at it. We live on site so he is often called out in the middle of the night to help someone get unstuck or fix a leaky pipe. It has helped getting a great Program Director who also lives on site but he still likes getting his hands dirty as well. The patriarch of this family is where I go for constant laughs, love and joy. He is my sounding board, my ever-present calm in the mommy storm. Truly the light of my life, I have seen a side of him this year that makes me wonder what in the world I did to deserve a guy like him.

Tesi (1-year-older) is still staying-at-home with the babies most of the time. I’ve also enjoyed picking up a few more fitness classes (Bodypump, Bodystep and soon to be Bodyflow) and training just a few special clients. I look at this past year as perhaps the most pivotal one in my short life. I’m fairly certain when they cut my body open when I die (also known as an autopsy) they will find the outline of Africa seared on my heart and brain. I can’t shake it, I can’t forget about it. It’s become not just the place my son was born but also the place that has given me a life anew as well.

Since going to Ethiopia Zach and I have been gloriously ruined in a way we’ve never been. Upon our return home, another adoptive mommy and I started an “orphan ministry” of sorts at our church. Every month we (with many others) try to do something that will positively affect “the least of these” that are so close to God’s heart. Things like raising money for life-saving Plumpy-nut in Ethiopia, delivering backpacks to the local social services for children in the foster care system and, most recently, Water for Christmas. The ministry has now grown international and I couldn’t be more humbled to see everyone’s eyes being opened and hearts growing soft. God works in some pretty awesome ways. Over $50,000 (which translates to about 10 fresh-water wells) is heading to Liberia where it will save many lives.

Above all, this year has been the year that has taught me to rely on God more than ever. To trust in his ever-lasting grace that has yet to disappoint. May you, this year, find the peace that comes with being gloriously ruined.

On that happy note, much love in the New Year!

Zach, Tesi, Trysten, Tariku, Dailah, Aristotle and Abe.