Road trips and explosions....

On Thursday we took our first big road trip with the twins.

Back in the summer, we started sponsoring a 14 year old boy named, Brihaney,
through Project 61.  Our sponsorship allows him to go to a private school in
Shashamani where he is getting an education, 3 meals a day, clothing, and a
chance at a life he wouldn’t have had otherwise.  We feel so privileged to
be able to sponsor Brihaney.  It has been a true blessing to us.  So
needless to say, when Sumer told us she was taking a group up to Shashamani
on Thursday, we jumped at the chance to go, so we could finally meet
Brihaney in person.

Outside of Wes and I, 6 other Americans came along.  It was refreshing to
share this time with them, especially since we all sponsored children at
Project 61.  We all packed into a little mini bus, which seats about 12
people.  Shashamani is about 3 ½ hours away, so we settled into our seats,
and braced ourselves for the drive ahead with two 8 month olds in our laps
(no car seats required in this country!).

Alex & Eliana were fantastic!  As we drove through the Ethiopian
countryside, we saw beautiful landscapes covered in trees and camels.  I can
only imagine what it all must look like during the rainy season.  It must be
so lush and green.

I have never seen so many camels.  They were everywhere!

some of the gardens at the school in Shashamani.

About half way through the ride, Eliana had a nice little explosion in her
pants.  The pillow I was comfortably resting her on was now covered in it
too.  So much for riding in comfort!  It was quite the scene to watch as Wes
tried to move over 2 inches so I could somehow get a changing pad underneath
her and clean her off.  I was working in about 2 feet of space, so it was
nice and challenging.  But don’t worry.  There was victory.  She was changed
and in a new outfit in no time (okay, it took a little time, but thankfully
I had the help of several people in the bus).

We finally made it to the school at about 10:30 in the morning.  We met
Brihaney about an hour later once he got out of classes.  He is a sweet and
quiet boy.  He is polite and very respectful.  He just has a kind and gentle
spirit about him.  He doesn’t speak much English, but we had a few of the
other kids translate a few things for us.  We asked him what he wanted to do
once he was finished with school.  He said he wanted to be a doctor.

All the boys wanted to hang out with Wes.  These are several of the
kids from Project 61.

In the meanwhile, Eliana was being passed around from one student to
another.  Every once in awhile she would realize she wasn’t with me, and
would whimper to get back in my arms, but for the most part she allowed all
the kids to enjoy her company with ease.

At about noon, we went to eat lunch with Brihaney in the cafeteria.  I
brought a HUGE plate of injera and sheero to share with us.  As I was
finishing my first bite, I was alerted to a very precarious situation.
Kelly, one of the Americans with us, motioned to Eliana (who I was carrying
on my back at the time), and then told me not to move.  Yup.  You guessed
it.  Another explosion.  Lucky me.  ☺  Only this time it was worse.  Because
she had already had one earlier that day, I had wrapped an extra scarf
around me between myself and the Ergo, just in case of leakage from my
little girl.  Well, apparently, poo was leaking down the side of the Ergo,
and yes….there was even a pool of poop on the floor.  I mean seriously…that
takes some talent.  How in the world?!!!

Family picture.

Well, Kelly was my rescuer, and she walked carefully with me outside.  We
stopped under a tree, took the changing pad out, and she delicately helped
me get the Ergo off along with Eliana, without getting too much goo on me.
☺  I think the kids really enjoyed the sight.  Then Ben (another American
with us) joined the fun.  He’s also a father, and was SO gracious and helped
cleaned all the nastiness off of the Ergo and my scarf, as Kelly and I
worked on myself and Eliana.  They were my saviors!  Thank you, dear
experienced parents/friends!

So that was the excitement of my day.  Wes held Alex close in the Ergo the
entire day, and yet Alex decided to be kind and create no messes.  So nice
of him.

Doesn't Wes look good in a baby carrier?

Alex is also much more sensitive than Eliana, so he doesn’t do too well when
other people hold him for too long.  He is a complete Daddy’s boy, and
doesn’t want to be away from him too long.

Brihaney was really good with the twins.  He was the only one who got to
hold both of them, and he was very gentle and kind to them.  I love the
pictures of him helping Alex walk.  It is not uncommon for the kids to think
of their sponsors as family, so everyone was calling Alex & Eliana
Brihaney’s brother and sister.  It was really sweet.

I LOVE this one of the two of them.  Eliana is our little
smiler.

So that was our Thursday adventure.  Totally worth it.

okay, could that onesie be any cuter.  It's our favorite one for
Alex.

As for updates on embassy (I know you are all waiting to hear SOME news from
us), there isn’t much.  We are still waiting on one document in order to
submit all of our paperwork to the U.S. embassy.  It is not a difficult one
to obtain, though.  We should have it this week, and then perhaps we can
come home in 2 weeks or less.  Wouldn’t that be awesome?!  We think so.  We
will just wait and see, and trust that God has all things under control.  Of
course, we covet your prayers so keep them coming.  We are definitely ready
to come home, but are trusting that God knows what He’s doing.  He’s pretty
wise, after all.  ☺