Your wish has been granted!!!

 Ha!! Kate has been praying for a new sister for a few months now...She's feeling a bit outnumbered!! So, when the boys decided to play "princess" this morning, I had to snap a few pic's!! They are even cute girls!! Sorry boys...I know one day you will not think this is too funny...but for today, you loved it!!
                                                     Keep up the prayers sweet Kate!!!
                                                                    xoxo

Fantastic Friday!!

                                                   how cute is this ???

Well, a fun Friday was had by all!! Like I said in a previous post...Kate had her school Christmas party at Creative Clay, and then we went to her teachers house for snacks & games!! Grant had a buddy's birthday party after school....sledding & pizza were a hit!! And, I went to the Carrie Underwood Concert with my sister, mom & dad!! What a fun day!! And now today, we've been enjoying a nice relaxing saturday together!! enjoy a few pics from our fun yesterday, and the silliness happening today:)

No more excuses...

My wife usually does the posting on our blog, so this will probably be a little more choppy than normal.  She is tired from her Carrie Underwood concert so I will fill in for her.  Kris and I talked tonight about our plans for the future, the feeling that we have to do more, and what that means for our family.  I listened to her as she explained what she had on her heart (we will share more of that when the time is right) and I found myself thinking, "can I keep up with this woman" & "man I love my wife".  Our adoption this year changed our lives and why would we want to go back to having our eyes closed to what is around us after God clearly opened them for us.  It is amazing how a person can come up with excuses as to why we should not do something a little risky and out of our comfort zone.  And as some of  these excuses were trying to work there way into my thoughts, I ran across this below and wanted to share it. 
    

I may not have much money,

but I have hands that can go and hold them

I may not be able to adopt them all,

but I can give my time,

I can be a voice when they have none,

I may not have a semi to bring tons of food,

but I can roll up my sleeves and stir pots,

I can go into their villages and bring what my two hands can carry.

I may not be able to take away all of the hurt and loneliness,

But I can step into their lives,

learn more about how to love and pray.

I may not have all of the answers,

but I can go prayerfully with my God who does.

We all have so much to give...

and even more to gain....

NuDred...it really works!!!

                                                      here's the simple little tool!!!

Okay, so I'm sure I'm not the only one...but the whole hair issue has been a tough one for me!! I mean, Ageze & Tesfa are adorable no matter what, but their Do's definitely needed a little help!! And that's where NuDred & Jen Briola come in!! As I was looking at Jen's blog, I saw the cutest sight ....her little guy Eli Shimeles & his beautiful loc's..oh my...what a cutie!! So, I sent her a message, asking her how she did it...and I got like 3 pages of info from her...not kidding!!! Jen-the info has been sooo helpful, even if it took an hour to read it..ha!! So, we went ahead & ordered the nudred...go to  www.nudred.com  and find it there!! It took Kasey & I to figure out exactly how to make it work the best way..but, we did it!! The boys keep saying.."Ageze & Tesfa Beautiful Ethiopia hair!!" Check out this cuteness!! The kids were thrilled this morning as they went off to school...Kate has her Christmas Party & Grant has a friend's Birthday party after school...and this momma is being treated to The Carrie Underwood Concert tonight...thanks Mom & Dad!! Hope your Friday is Fabulous!!                             xo Kristen

snowy, special days:)

Saturday we literally just played around all morning...Bismarck received plenty of snow...perfect for playing in the yard with the kiddos...we played outside till noon or so...then ran a few errands...as a family!!! Yep, Kasey was even with us!!! It was such a treat to have him home on a Saturday....and looking forward to many more Saturdays just like this one!! Today was a special day...Ageze & Tesfa were baptized at our church. They were all thrilled to dress up in their holiday clothes, but not as thrilled about being in front of our church!!! Grant gets so very nervous in front of so many people...wonder where he gets that?? Ageze & Tesfa did great...they had the biggest smiles I've ever seen...the whole time, even while being Baptized. It was an emotional morning for me...about every song I sang, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes...and wouldn't you guess it...not only were these songs beautiful, they also had the words " african plain, god's children"...perfect for this day!! Kasey said a bit about our last year, the journey and all...and then the microphone was handed to me...aaaahh!! Have so much to say, and would really love to share...but my tears got the best of me, so this is all I could get out..." Something that just stands out to me today, amidst my tears, is that about 5 short months ago we met our boys' birth families....and on that day we promised to raise our boys...their boys' in a christian home...to Ageze's BirthFather, that was an important question he asked us...a few times over...so here we are...baptizing them to our Lord, so this day is extra special to us." I so wish Ageze's birthfather could have seen today...seen Ageze's beautiful, smiling face...he is happy, he is loved, and he is indeed, God's Child!!! So, there you have it, like I said, I wish I could've said more..because I have so much I could talk about...but I'll leave that for another day!!! Enjoy a few pic's...xo kristen 
                                               p.s. stay tuned for something exciting!!!!

our very own....

African Children's Choir!!! You see, each & every morning I wake up to the most precious little voices!!! Ageze & Tesfa wake so very quietly, can hear them whispering back & forth, and then all of a sudden you'd think we had the whole African Childrens Choir in our home!!! They jump on their beds, singing their little hearts out(in amharic!!) And us other 4, well, we sit their wondering what this song might be, taking in every little word they say...Grant & Kate trying so hard to figure out what they are saying...ha!! Funny thing is, a few years back...we went to the African Children's Choir performance here in Bismarck, and remember saying..."man, how could we sponsor one of these children, or have one or two of them stay with us while they are here...just to get a glimpse of their lives within this organization...and beyond." Well, we are sure getting our very own glimpse here in our home!!! Oh, how I love the sound of childrens' voices...there's nothing sweeter!!!
On a different note: for the first time in a very long time(like years!) Kasey is home with us on a Saturday!!!! Yay for that!!! Kasey will be starting a new job on December 15th!!! We are so excited for this opportunity, and feel like our prayer has been answered...yay God!!!   happy saturday...xo kristen

Makush & a must-have!!

 

          While in Addis Ababa, we went to a restaurant/art gallery.....Makush( it's on Bole Rd.) We had a fantastic time...you walk into a very nice building, go upstairs and you find this art gallery, which is Makush...an Italian restaurant with an art gallery!! We would highly recommend spending one of your evenings there...we had pizza & pasta...delish!! It overlooks the busy Bole Rd...so fun to watch all the busy-ness...which is exactly why we chose the above painting...it's Busy!!! There are truly cars, people, buildings everywhere!!! This painting totally takes me back to this beautiful place that I long for. So, if you're wondering how to get a canvas painting back...well, they take it off the frame, roll it up and put it into a cardboard roll...we just carried it on the plane, and once home we took it to a Art Framing Gallery and had it stretched over a new frame!! WE are so glad we bought something that was not breakable...would highly recommend packing your breakable stuff very good...most of our stuff broke on the flight home:( So, consider filling your carry-on full of your souvenirs!!
    And, you see that above CD...we ordered it directly from www.AfricanChildrensChoir.com We all love listening to it...it has English speaking songs & a few Ugandan songs(i think??)...would be a great Christmas idea for your children!!!                                         xo kristen