A few pics from our trip...

Ava, asleep in a make-shift bassinet, while Mimi (another volunteer) and I wrap gifts for the Christmas Celebration...



At the Christmas Celebration, Ava and Hickma...




A retake with Santa...




Christmas Babies...



Coffee Ceremony put on by the older girls...



Leyton's favorite guards...



Eschetu


Asrat

The Kindergarten kids.... It doesn't get much cuter than that!



We had the pleasure of meeting Ava's Uncle Dereje while we were in Addis this time around. It was a great, and humbling experience. I'm so glad that we had this opportunity.





Leyton and his favorite baby... If I couldn't find him, I knew to check the baby room... he just loved her.



Leyton after a long day at Layla.... and our guard cat.




Babies and little kids are so well loved in Ethiopia... One of the older boys, doting on Ava...



Reading a book with Immanuel at Opportunity House.




Another favorite baby...



My favorite part of each of our trips, is being able to see the kids that we sponsor to stay in Ethiopia and go to school. The kids are doing so well in school, I am so very proud of them. This is Leyton and Yeninesh, After her and her brothers chased our car for 1/2 mile, she was left behind.... Leyton went to walk her to the house.



Inside their small home, Yeninesh and Million.



A group shot.... Tefera, Million, Yeninesh and Tilahun.




Leyton and his entourage on our last day, at Layla.




Its very hard to say goodbye...

We're Home...

After two great, but busy weeks, we are home again! I'm glad to see that my email post worked out okay. I wasn't able to log onto the blog from Addis at all. The kids were great on the flights down and back. We spent a lot of time at Layla, and really had a great time. I took a ton of pics, that I will be downsizing and posting over the next few days... I am already planning our next visit.

A Quick Hi From Addis!

Well, we are in Addis, and having a great time. I'm so glad that we decided to make the trip. It has been a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too! I was hoping to be able to post more often, but the internet connection here is shaky, at best. This is the first time, that I have really been able to get on, and stay on. I'm sending this from my email, so hopefully it will post okay.
I've taken a ton of pics, as usual... and I can't wait to get home, and get them downloaded.
Christmas was a great success... and it was worth all the effort that went into it! Thank you all so much for your contributions to the project!
 
The kids and I are scheduled to return home on Sunday. Though it has been a great trip, it would have been nice to have Jon here with us. We are looking forward to getting home, and being able to chat with him online!
 
More to come when we get home!
 
Love,
Mandie, Leyton & Ava
in Addis Ababa for a few more days!

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Merry Christmas!

Well, Christmas day has come and is now on its way out... but I thought I would post a few pics from today... More to come tomorrow.

Our tiny tree, right after Santa left...



Ava, really getting into the whole present thing...





Leyton, enjoying his new jersey! For someone who has never actually seen the Steeler's, and probably doesn't even know what sport they play, He LOVES them!

New Glasses...

We went today to pick up Ava's glasses. There really aren't a lot of options over here for infant/toddler frames, but I think the ones we picked are pretty cute. Here she is, showing them off.... Now lets just see if we can get her to keep them on!

The Birthday BOY! WOW.... 5!!!!!

His big day started out with a special cinnamon roll breakfast, before heading off to school where the day belonged to him! He took Pirate (skull/crossbones) brownies to share with his class, and had a great time getting to pick a special story/game. After school, he had his last soccer practice before winter break. And then we headed out to the 'soup castle' for cheese wine soup. When we returned home, he was anxious to dig into his presents, and have a little cake.

Christmas... Breakfast with Santa...

Our battalion, hosted a Breakfast with Santa this past weekend.... Here are a few pics... and of course a pic of our (very pathetic) tiny Christmas Tree.... I just can't haul the big one, and all our holiday decorations up 4 flights of stairs by myself! After Breakfast, we hung out with the Richter-Williams' for a bit... the rest of the pics are from there.

Some Random Pics From the Past Few Weeks...

I'm a Schmuck... and catching up.

I just finished complaining that one of my favorite bloggers hasn't posted anything new in over a week... and then I opened this one, to see that I haven't posted anything in more than two! Sorry, for those of you that are following along!

The last two weeks have been busy, to say the least. Trying to squeeze in as many appointments, etc that I can in the few weeks before the holidays (and we head out)...

(Its official, the kids and I will be headed to Addis on the 29th for two weeks to help out with the Holiday Gift Project that our agency sponsors.... And a Really BIG Thank You, to those of you, who contributed to the fund! You don't know how much it means to me! Your gift will go a long way down there!)

The past two weeks, we have had something going on every single day. I feel like a mother of teenagers, who are into every sport/activity.... and my kids are both under 5... okay, so Leyton turned 5 today...

Anyway... Last week, Ava had an appointment at the Pediatric eye clinic, to have her eyes checked out... The doctor has recommended 'therapy' glasses, to strengthen the muscles... We have to go back in 8 weeks.... Hopefully they will help!

She also had an appointment at the Consulate, to get her US Passport! Whoo hoo! They really came through for us this time! We got it back in less than a week, and this means that we will not need to drive to Berlin (6+ hours away) to get a visa to change planes in Amsterdam!

By the way, her walking is steadily improving.... She walks everywhere... room to room... picks things up, and carries it from one place to another... its so cute. And she really is proud of herself! Its so funny to see her walking all around...

Leyton has been in Heaven for the past two weeks, as gifts have been arriving for his big day... Hard to believe that he is 5!
Tuesdays are our long days, with work, school & soccer...but after it was all over, we headed out to Colmberg Castle for his special birthday dinner... cheese and wine soup (and Coke... he declared on the ride there, that since he was 5 now, he should be allowed to have soda.... And not just any soda, Cola, like mine. Wow, He's 5.). After, we came home to open presents...

I have pics that I will post tomorrow...

And She's Off!

My sweet girl has been gaining more confidence everyday, in the walking department... In the last two days, she has simply 'taken off'... She is so proud of herself, when she finally ends up where she wants to be! Its so cute! Here are a few pics for your viewing enjoyment! (Don't mind the mess!)