lately...

BROTHERS. Robbie and Tem have been greatly improving in their ability to get along. And we are so thankful for this! Most of their time is spent either...Wrestling. Playing World Cup soccer in the backyard (Romania vs. Ethiopia...its a pretty fair competition). Watching movies. Taking pictures of themselves to hang up in their room. Or Tem trying to teach Robbie how to speak Amharic. Its all pretty comical.
This video, from a few days ago, is Tem trying to sing "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas" from a musical greeting card. He doesn't quite get it :)

Tessa on the Phone...

Frogs and Bird Nests

Yesterday, Tem and Tessa spent the majority of the afternoon in the backyard. Tessa was busy chasing a frog around the yard, attempting to catch it in her small toy net. Tem decided he was going to build a bird nest and got busy making mud and finding grass.

Yesterday Abby and I were bringing Tem and Tessa out to Muskegon to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa. So we were almost there when a deer ran across the road and this is the conversation between them that followed........

Tessa: Does he bite?

Tem: We can eat him. Yummy! I love chicken!!

Playground. Pizza. Picnic.

Its Been A While...

We have been home from Ethiopia for about three months.

Wow. Three months of laughter. Transition. Joy. Paperwork. Fun. Stress. Love.

And for some reason, we can't find time to ever update the blog :)

The latest update...

-Tem and Tessa love their scooters. The other night, they brought their scooters to Dad so he could "fix" them with his tools. Tessa was getting kinda warm because of the start of a Michigan summer, so she just decided to take her shirt off in the front yard. No big deal.

-They are starting to use English a lot more than at first. Tessa's latest thing is, "Hey Mama. Hey Mama. Hey look." anytime she needs attention. Tem's favorite phrase seems to be, "What is this?" He uses it for anything..."Rumble strips. What is this?" or when he saw a guy with his shirt off, he said, "No shirt. What is this?"

-We are learning over and over again that adoption is not easy. It is loaded full of emotion and up-and-downs and craziness and transitions and hard work. But its so worth it. And its what God did for us. That's a humbling thought.

"In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will -- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Ephesians 1:4-6