{injera. 1 month home. prayers.}

 What a fun evening this was!! What started out as a small get together with some friends of ours, we turned it into a fun evening celebrating Ethiopian style! While we were getting everything ready, I realized what a perfect evening this was to celebrate....Ariyat has been home with us for 1 month! She's been letting us know lately how much she loves injera..."momma, injera goooood!!" So, with advice from other adoptive families, we ordered our injera online at http://zelaleminjera.com/ ..... we were so pleased with how it tasted!! Along with our injera, it was our first time making ET food... on our menu was...injera, beef tibs. doro wat & shiro....Ariyat's favorite was the shiro!! The kids also thought bananas & white buns were in order!! Ageze, Tesfa & Ariyat have always loved bananas, so they thought that was appropriate & white buns is a pretty special treat in ET:)

We love incorporating anything Ethiopian into our daily lives here...and, it sure brings plenty of smiles to the kids' faces:)

One month home....wow!!! She is doing amazingly well. She is such a sweet little girl. We continue to lay pretty low... she does not like too much noise or crowds of people. Lately, she has been trying to explain some of her memories from her life in ET. I listen as tears are welling up in my eyes. I hug her. tears stream down her beautiful face. tough. but, so good that she is going through the grieving process.   The kids (yes, all 5 of them!) continue to camp out in our room...Ariyat loves being near us, so we feel that this is whats best for the time being...hoping & praying that when it's time to venture back upstairs, it won't be too hard of a transition. But, for now...everyone loves waking up each morning to all 7 of us in a room:) Like I said, we are really trying to cocoon to the best of our ability & even though it can be tough at times, we certainly can see that it is what is needed. So, thank you for understanding & loving our family during this time. 

We would appreciate your prayers in a few different areas... Ariyat's ear...she is on round 2 of meds & her ear could definitely use healing. We pray that her hearing hasn't been affected. 

We are trying to decide what to do as far as her starting school this fall....should she start or wait, either is an option. Trying to discern whether it's in her best interest or not. Yes, she might pick up more english skills that way, but feeling not so sure about putting her in a classroom setting just yet. 

Pray for healing in her little heart and mind. 

We are so thankful that God chose us to be Ariyats family. What a blessing she is to all of us:) Thankful that after one month home, we are all growing closer to one another and God. xo