Love from Wisconsin

A hearty hello to you all! It is great to read about your families and see pictures. We miss you guys every day, wish we all lived closer so we could pop over to your houses and say hello in person. This weekend we do get to see Jason, Mac, Mitiku, Mommy Kim, and Brother TJ at Fasika, and enjoy some yummy wat and injera.

Things at our house are going really well. Our trip home was pretty smooth, Tirfe hung out (literally) strapped to Andy in the ergo. I only recall one crying fit, when the flight attendant insisted she sit with her back to our chest as we took off. T wanted to snuggle in and lay her head on our shoulder, so as soon as we reached altitude (or as soon as the flight attendants sat down :) we flipped her around and she was appeased. It took me about a week to get over jetlag and we all got a bit of a cold upon return, but we are feeling better and finding our groove now. I just wish I could find someone to do dishes, fold laundry and put it away...we'd be set.

Tirfe is a tiny little wonderwoman. She is an amazing soul, so so so amazing. Her brothers' think she is pretty fabulous so far, I am sure things will change a bit once she is on the move, but for now all is well. She has consistantly slept through the night since we got home, which to me is about 85% of what is challenging with parenting an infant. She is a joy. We are starting to get better glimpses of her real personality day by day. We are seeing big huge gummy smiles, belly laughs, and noticed the fact that she really doesn't suck her thumb constantly, like she did while we were in Ethiopia. Now she sucks her thumb only while she sleeps. She has mastered the bottle and slams them in one minute flat. She had a double ear infection and some nasty congestion for the first week we were home, but seems to be feeling much better.

The family's adjustment has been great, better than we expected. It feels right, perfect, even sublime. I assume we will be working through some more grief in future weeks and months. We are ready. We are family.

I am so humbled that we were able to share that awesome week in Ethiopia with you all, so honored to know you and your children. You are the only people in our lives who experienced that week with us, saw us meet our daughter and shared those moments with us. That is cool...or gobez maybe? Give all your konjo kids a kiss from us. Hope everyone is well. Feel free to email us anytime :)

Here are some pictures of the kids since we've been home!

xoxo Sara