Irish...

My husband's father is Irish and his mother is Polish.  He has always claimed that he got all of the Irish DNA and his brother got all of the Polish DNA.  Having just had a delicious meal of corned beef and cabbage in celebration of this 100% Irish heritage and St. Patrick's Day, it is good to see that we have passed this Irish DNA on to our fifth child...

Not to be forgotten is our fourth Irish child.....

With the arrival of St. Patrick's Day we are starting to believe spring is on its way.  With the sun shining, we have been able to play outside on several occasions now, giving us all hope the better weather is around the corner.  Mekdes lived outside in Ethiopia and the indoor living that she has been forced to experience here has left her longing to be outside again.  She giggles with delight when we are able to play outside and starts talking a mile a minute about what exactly she wants to do.  Margo has been shooting hoops every chance she gets and this brings a twinkle to her father's eye!  Her determination and work ethic is rather impressive for a five almost six year old.  To see her out there putting up a shot and chasing down her own rebound in her little pig tails and glasses is so adorable!  Mekdes wants nothing to do with basketball, however,  and would prefer to ride her scooter around the drive way while staring down any passer bys.

Another home visit has come and gone and I am happy to report that it went off without any alarming behaviors and/or comments.  Our social worker was able to see the bond that has formed between Margo and Mekdes as she was asking Mekdes a series of questions.  With each question, Mekdes would lean into Margo so Margo could whisper the answer in her ear.  "So, tell me what you ate for lunch, Mekdes," would be the conversation starter.  Mekdes would think for a moment and then lean into her teammate and wait for her to share the proper response.  "Grilled cheese," Margo would quietly whisper in Mekdes' ear.  It was so wonderful!  Margo proudly enumerated the many things that Mekdes is able to do now....count to ten, name some colors, know the letters in her name....to the social worker.  The proud big sister was a real champion for her little sister and it filled their mother with pure joy.  These moments are really what we live for as parents!

The longer Mekdes is with us, the more she becomes herself.  She is blossoming into a funny, affectionate, feisty, smart little girl.  It is such a privilege to see this transformation develop.  The question of nature vs. nurture is one that adoptive parents will ask themselves over and over again, I am told.  We have been able to seamlessly add Mekdes' birth mother into our daily lives and this makes me very happy.  I made a photo book for Mekdes and included her birth mother in the book.  We are able to read the book and talk about how beautiful her birth mother is and how much we love her.  The only thing Mekdes says when she sees a picture of Arbe is "outside".  I try to press for more information...did you live outside, do you remember seeing her outside at the orphanage...but I am unable to decipher what she is thinking or describing.  My goal has always been to have Arbe a part of our lives in such a way that Mekdes will never remember a MOMENT when she learned she was adopted or who her birth mother was.  We want it to always be a part of family dialogue and story and I hope that we are on our way to starting just that.

time....

It has been too long since my last post....I don't know where the time has gone.  Mekdes has been with us for almost four months now!  The time, in some ways, seems to have flown by.  And in other ways, I feel as if I have aged 10 years in the six months!  Wrinkles are sprouting up at every corner of my face and the wire coils of grey hair that used to contain themselves to such a small portion of my head, have now taken over.   The good news is, I feel as if I have earned these aging markers and with them comes some peace and understanding.  The bad news is, I AM EXHAUSTED!!!!  An example of this irony of age comes as I sit waiting to pick up Mekdes from her park district class.   I am surrounded by young moms who seem to have an abundance of energy, however  the mindless drivel that permiates their conversations  makes me want to plunge a fork in my eye!   The concern over whether the treasure chest should open or if it should just be a prop at their son's birthday party is so all encompassing that you would think the lives of all the people who  inhabit Algeria depend on the outcome!

Mekdes continues to amaze us with her language development.  She understands over 90% of what we say.  It is so hard for me to imagine how her brain absorbs and processes everything she is hearing.  She can communicate anything she is feeling, needing or wanting--for the most part, so there is little to no frustration as a result of lack of understanding.  It saddens me a little as her Amharic words are slowly starting to disappear.  She now says water instead of woohaa and sleep instead of tehnya.  Ruby is now dog and not woosha.  Yesterday she used the word "remember" for the first time.  A new word seems to pop up in her vocabulary every week.  Margo got a charge out of teaching Mekdes the word BABOOSHKA and telling her it means bottom.  Now Mekdes runs around pointing to everyones behind and shouting babooshka!  I think the actual meaning of the Russian or Polish word is grandmother, so I have no idea where this strange translation came from.

Margo and Mekdes are starting to play together now.  I will find them playing dolls or store together and it fills me with such joy!  They genuinely seem to have fun with each other in these moments.  Of course, we still have our pinching episodes, but they seem to be fewer and farther in between.  We have had a couple of nice days that have allowed us to go down the street to our neighborhood park.  Mekdes still talks about when she and I would swing at the orphanage before she would go down for a nap.  Discovering the swings at the park was a thrill for her!  Her face lit up when Shawn took her to the park and she saw a whole row of swings!

My mom was just here for a visit and to help as we have been having some medical "situations" as of late.  Mekdes had a rather bad case of pneumonia and Kate had to have surgery on her her elbow as a result of a softball injury.  Everyone is on the mend and we are hoping for a healthy spring!  A big thanks to mom for all of her help and to everyone who sent their well wishes for our ladies!

On the Ethiopian front, we have secured a placement for "the gum girl" in a local school starting in September.  She will receive lunch each day she is in school and that is more vital than any of us will ever know!  Her education will cost $35/month and it will get her off of the streets and on her way to a better future.  If any of you saw the Lisa Ling coverage of what is happening to young girls in Ethiopia, you know how crucial it is to get these girls off the streets.   By going to:
tp://stores.ebay.com/ethiopianblessings
you will find a store I have set up selling items from Ethiopia and Africa.  The proceeds of these sales will go towards funding the education for this young girl.  I hope to grow this mission and be able to send many street children to school!  You will find a LOVE t-shirt for sale at the store and this particular item has the greatest profit to go towards this mission.   I am also trying to figure out how to set up a pure donation through my ebay store.  Hopefully, I will figure that out soon.

Here is our "gum girl" with some clothes we sent.  She has just learned that she will be going to school in the fall.

!