As our new 11-year-old carried her 2-year-old sister proudly off to find our other new daughter, I was overjoyed to see she seemed so glad to have a little sister. We soon arrived at the right classroom, and upon our older daughter's call, out came our other daughter. She was even tinier-- 58 lbs at age 9, fitting perfectly into size 7 slim clothing.

She came for a hug with a shy but radiant smile, and curved her body responsively into mine at my tearful hug. Then she moved around to greet our 5 and 2 year olds joyfully, and then get a hug from dad. Her smile shone, and as we walked off to see their bedrooms, I walked between them to be touching them both. It was surreal to be... more

At 5 am the chanting from the mosque woke us up. Our 2 year old said, "I don't like that man. He's mean." We tried to convince her it was okay, but she didn't think any reason was good enough to talk that loud that early in the morning. Daddy agreed.

We were so awake that we decided to just get baths and breakfast and dress. Our agency's guesthouse provides breakfast fixings, so we made scrambled eggs and rolls for breakfast, and got everyone dressed. By 8 AM both the 2 and 5 year olds were melting down, and I was wondering how on earth they would ever be ok when it was time to meet our new girls. I laid them both back down to sleep some more.

At 9:00 Nate, our... more

We made it to Ethiopia!!! The trip began in our airport at home with our two year old whining and refusing to walk or cooperate or even ride in the stroller. All she wanted was mom to carry her. John and I kept looking at each other shaking our heads and wondering what we were getting into. She shaped up after a trip to McDonald’s for some breakfast food. I think the two strawberries she ate for breakfast at home just didn’t cut it! The flight to San Francisco was blessedly short. The girls were both entertained by looking out the window and getting snacks and playing with the goodies in their fanny packs. The girls' fanny packs were perhaps the best things we packed for... more

Many families traveling to Ethiopia to adopt a child don't have the luxury of staying for an extended amount of time. If you are fortunate enough to have enough time in Ethiopia to do some touring outside of Addis, there are some sites in Ethiopia that you should not miss.

Gondar If you've always dreamed of seeing a real castle up close and personal, you'll love visiting Gondar. Gondar with its Portugese-influenced architecture was built in the 17th century, and was a political and cultural hub of Ethiopia for over two centuries. The two-story... more

The day before I travel for an adoption is always difficult. No matter how organized I’ve been, there’s always a little scurry at the end to get last things done. Today we had to go buy a dryer, of all things, since ours broke earlier in the week. Though the clothesline has been working admirably for the past three days, I didn’t relish the idea of keeping up with laundry for 12 people without a dryer. So off we went to price dryers-- big ones. The there was a package to mail, a check to cash, and a new jump drive to be bought since yesterday I managed to break mine.

All that errand-running left the little kids tired. One of them was then unkind to a sibling, causing them... more

The excitement is building here! We are packed and ready to go. A few days ago my eldest was teasing me that I'd better stop shopping because I kept coming back with more to pack. But now that I've actually been zipping bags shut, I'm going the other direction and kicking things out.

The microwave popcorn is out-- turns out there's no microwave anyway. The battery-powered fan is gone -- we decided that a little radio tuned to fuzz would be almost as good for white noise at night at 1/10 of the weight. And the orphanage donations that ended up overflowing the bounds of my bins will be heading to Ethiopia in a couple weeks with a friend. ... more

You have three days before you travel to the other side of the world to bring home two school-aged girls who are total strangers, and yet they are your children. You exist in a whirl of things you need to do before you can finally leave. You're not only preparing for a trip halfway across the world but you're preparing to bring two children home!

There are too many things to do. There are things to do at home for your other children and their caregivers. There are things to buy, and never all at the same store. There are things to scrub, with each clean item bringing to mind another to scrub. There are things to bag and never enough bags. There are things to bring and luggage... more

In a previous post I discussed the pros and cons of the Playtex Hip hammock and the NoJo sling. In this post I'll give you my impressions of the Hug A Bub, the Ergo, and the Snugli frame-style backpack.

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The Snugli backpack is a high... more

We live in a fairly 'white' area of the United States, and I am always on the lookout for experiences in our area that will skew the local demographic a little, at least in our daughters' eyes.

A few days ago I found out that the African Children's Choir would be performing in a nearby town. I was disappointed to realize that both of the performances were happening on days that we planned to be out of town. But after a little thought and discussion, my husband and I decided to come back from half a day early just so that we... more

In planning to go to Ethiopia, I have been trying to decide what might be the best way to carry our 28 pound 2 year old. She can walk, but in strange situations she insists on being carried, and does not have the stamina for walking long distances. In Addis the roads are rough (and often muddy)making a stroller an impractical option, except maybe for wheeling around in a hotel.

Over my years of parenting I have tried a variety of carriers. In the next two posts, I'll be giving you my impressions of the NoJo sling, the Snugli frame-style backpack, the Hug A Bub, the Hip Hammock, and the Ergo. All of these are decent carriers with plenty of good points. I'll try to explain what I... more