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.

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