last night in vienna.

our last night in vienna and we were able to see the laughlin gang one more time. this time we meet at a ethiopian restaurant and enjoyed some great food together. tomorrow morning we are headed back to dc where we will meet up with john and elizabeth and the twins for a coffee ceremony at the ethiopian embassy. after that we are on our way back to mn. it has been so great to see everyone!

i tried to get one group picture of all of the kids...this was a little harder than i thought :-)

get together II (laughlin home)

tonight the laughlin's hosted our second get together. fun was had by all. here are few pictures from the night.

dc get together

it was great to see our dc friends. the kids had so much fun playing together. looking forward to seeing everyone again on thursday!

packing for dc.

we are almost all packed up and ready to go!

travel plans.

We are less than a week away from traveling to Washington DC. The whole family is excited to visit DC as none of us have been there before. And of course if all of the history, museums, monuments and other sites weren't enough we are so excited to be able to have a reunion with Meaza, Abu, Degefa and Hizkiel (and of course the rest of there families).

We will be sure to post lots of pictures from the trip.

This picture of Mitiku was taken prior to his spring choir concert a couple of weeks ago.

Hello, Hello!!

First, my disclaimer- in no way is my sad number of posts on this site a reflection of the amount of love I have for all of you. I cherish you all. Even though, in so many ways we are all still strangers- we share an intimate bond with eachother that I can't express in words, a deep, enduring, profound bond- and I honor that and miss you all more than you might know!

I have been intending to post for months- I can't believe how time has flown! The kids are doing great! I can't believe how big Abu and Meaza have gotten, and that tehy are walking!! I love the chub on their cheeks- far to cute for me to handle!! Mitiku lost his first tooth, Degefa too, and Denbele is thriving!! I love all the pictures, oh the pictures, of your precious little ones who are growing and changing so much I hardly recognize them from last summer!!

Tirfe is still as amazing as ever. She is so happy, silly, and loving. She loves her brothers. She seems to feel more and more confident in her needs, her desires, and her ability to express them to us every day. She is a huge charmer with her gummy smile and wrinkled nose. She is just a sweetie, really- she is. And I can say that without feeling like I am (totally) tooting my own horn, because this is who she was when we met her in Ethiopia. Every day when I revel in the well of happiness and beauty that resides in her little soul, I think to myself- this is what Ethiopia gave her. This beauty, this amazing beauty, in Ethiopia's daughter is a reflection of the love and richness that Ethiopia exudes. She was and is loved in Ethiopia, she was and is loved here, and it shows. She is konjo (and gobez, of course!!)

The boys are doing well also. The love they have for Tirfe is spectacular to me. I was prepared for more strife, but they truly and deeply love her in the fierce manner expected by older brothers already. She is their queen, the one they hug and kiss with delight, the one they coax laughs out of with silly antics. Arlo especially, I think because he is a bit older than Aesa, has embraced his role as Tirfe's nurterer. He reads her books, holds her hand, tells her she's beautiful- he just cherishes her. Aesa is our family comedian, procucing fits of uncontrolable laughter from T every day. It's amazing, heartwarming, and such a priviledge to be mother to these three, somebody pinch me (but not when I'm zoning out during one of their tri-fecta tantrum fests- :) )

miss you all, love and hugs, Sara