July 18th, 2010..tired boys, plane rides, pink-eye...oh my!!

Woke that sunday morning, still on the plane, still hours to go till we were home, and still had a sweet little boy on my lap, who had peed his pants(yep, on me), thankfully still sleeping(in his peed pants:) thats right, this momma forgot to pack an extra outfit for the trip home...to those of you who are traveling soon: take an extra change of clothes for them and you...i'm sure aisle 28abcd didn't smell too good!! In fact, the best i could do was, take off his pants, undies, and lay them to dry on the floor beneath our seat...i mean, who wants to lay in wet pants...but, how embarrassing...when we finally landed in Mpls, the kind woman behind me leaned down and carefully handed me the dry, yellow undies...oops!! Anyhow, we landed in Mpls around noon, and didn't leave there till 5:30 or so...a few hours late, but felt so nice to be back home,or close to it anyhow!! We arrived home around 7p.m...We could hardly wait to get off the plane, see the kids, and of course all of our family and friends!! That day is one I wont forget...the joy in so many faces, grant & kates excitement with meeting their brothers for the 1st time, the sense of relief to know that we were all together...safe & sound. After getting off the plane, Tesfa in Kasey's arms...poor little guy had a bad case of pink-eye.. Ageze holding my hand...we were welcomed by so many...how loved we felt, and continue to feel by all of you....There you have it....our trip to Addis & back(in a nut-shell)...if you even have the slightest urge to go to ET...GO!! It was a life-changing experience, and hope to go back someday soon...who knows?? xo kristen

Final Day in ET...July 17th,2010

We spent the majority of our day on a city tour in Addis...we were obviously feeling a bit brave going on a very in-depth tour with two little guys, however, considering how long it took..we all enjoyed it, and the boys were very patient!! We ate at a very cool restaurant called...Lucy's restaurant(highly recommend) It was an outdoor restaurant, somewhat tropical, and delicious food!! After our tour ended around 3p.m...we headed back to our guest house, had dinner, and tried to keep the boys content while we waited to leave for the airport!! As much as we looked forward to being back home with our WHOLE family, it was also a bit hard to leave, say good-bye(for now!!) to the country our boys were born and raised thus far, and definitely dreaded our flight home(18 hrs. in air...aaahhhh) But we made it!! Enjoy a few pics from our final day in Addis!!   xo kristen

wedding & the "patch"= fun times

Well, all of the kiddos(& their momma) made it thru this crazy weekend...not bad crazy though!! One of my very good friends Kari got married on Saturday, which meant our pre-wedding stuff started on friday morning!! Can't complain though, we had pedicures, and that evening we had rehearsal, pizza, and made it back into town around 9:30...so not too late!! You have to remember though, I have not left the kids since we returned home from ET..so a bit hard for me!! And then Saturday started bright & early, hair done, make-up done, pic's and wedding ceremony, party bus, reception & dance, and we called it a night:) Kari was absolutely stunning, perfect sun-shiny day, and her husband adores her!! They are such a sweet couple!! So, thanks Kari & Casey for allowing me to be a part of one of the best day's of your lives, and thanks everyone for helping out with our crew while I was busy!! Appreciate it!! Sunday we happened to make it to the "patch" once again!! My WHOLE family went...8 kids & 9 adults...and perhaps the rest of Bismarck!! The weather was perfect...wasps were in full swing, and pumpkin pie was delish:) Here's to a great week!!    Enjoy a few pics from our weekend:)    xo kristen