Thanksgiving

Hi Everyone,

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were just overjoyed to have Talo, we told him how we dreamed of the day that we would be parents at the Holidays! Talo was such a joy to all of us this weekend. We were able to stay up with our families and see both sets of grandparents. Talo's favorite names to say are "Grandpa" "Auntie Jamie" and "Uncle Ben", he loves his Grammys too we just don't think their names are are fun for him to pronounce.

As we have come home and started to get back into our routine I just wanted to share some of today. It is freezing out (in the high 30's) but I went running anyways and took Talo in the stroller. It is quite the workout trying to push a 35lb toddler while running, not to mention he talks to me much of the way and expects responses. I am so out of breath and he continues to remind me what I am doing, "Mommy running", he says as I push him along. Then of course there is the stopping to open more of his granola bar or fix the blanket that he is kicking off or find his water! Ahh it's fun though and gets us out in this winter weather. After running Talo and I went up and down our street as he would run, then stop and count to 10 as loud as he could, then run again. We also found sticks along the way that he pulled out of the edge of people's yards. I swear people must have been watching us as it looked like Talo was taking me on walk! He just was so proud to be exploring and dragging his big sticks behind him. My job was to keep him on the sidewalk and not the road!

What a joy it is to be home with Talo, it is very hard but also so rewarding and I wouldn't trade it for any job. We may not have a falt screen TV or new cars but I get to be home with our son and be there for the stick collecting moments and that's all that really matters in the end! We just see such growth in our bonding as a family since he has come home two plus months ago. It is truly miraculous to have him know we are mommy and daddy amidst all of our family at Thanksgiving. As Talo's mommy I just feared he may want someone else in the family at Thanksgiving but no, he wanted me as Mommy and that is what I am so Thankful for this Holiday season. That God has worked in such a way that after only 2 months we would be so knit together as a family. That after only 2 months Talo understands we are Mommy and Daddy!

Just before eating dinner at Thanksgiving, Talo getting ready to pray!


Jumping off the couch onto Daddy after Thanksgiving Dinner!


This was Talo's Favorite part of Friday! He loves his hot Chocolate!


Talo and Grammy!


"Hey Talo look at the camera and don't fake smile!"


Still Trying!!!


Still not his natural smile but its the best one we got!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

What we have to be Thankful for

The three of us are doing great and we look forward to Thanksgiving. As you prepare for Thanksgiving please read this post from an amazing woman of the Lord. She is serving orphans in Uganda.
It is the November 20th post.
kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com

Please just don't forget what you read as we try not to forget either. Happy Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for as our son was one of those very sick children at one time.

Talo and Jesus!

I was sitting in bed doing my Bible Study and Talo decided it was time for him to read too. He wanted his blanket and his books to read like Mommies! Needless to say my alone time with God quickly ended but the Lord reminds me time with my little man is worshiping Him!


Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to share a few very cute and awesome things about Talo. Just this past week Talo has been showing us his love for Jesus! Ever since we met Talo we have been praying with him at meals and all throughout the day. We tell him Jesus loves him and that Jesus lives in his heart and all he has to say is "Come to my heart Jesus!"



Well, the other day I asked Talo where does Jesus live? Where is Jesus's home and he pointed to his heart! Then as we were driving in the car I said "Talo should we pray" and he said yes so I prayed, "Dear Jesus. . . In Jesus's Name Amen!" Then Talo said "Yena Pray (yena means me/I) and I said ok go and out came the most precious words I ever heard. My eyes welled up with tears as my little son said "Jesus (then some murmuring i couldn't make out) then a loud Amen!" Oh I was overjoyed, my son was beginning his first conversations with Jesus, he was starting to pray! He is starting to understand who God is, what prayer is and that God loves us. (Trust me a 2 1/2 year old is not going to talk to someone they don't like or believe likes them.) Talo is growing to know Jesus loves him and the praying is also continuing to grow. He tells me all the time "Yena pray" and I say ok go and tonight as we cuddled in his bed his prayer went a little like this.


"Jesus ahh, Daddy, Mommy, Froggie (his best stuffed friend), Bear (his second best stuffed friend), Talo, ahh, Daddy, Talo, AMEN!"



As I stay home wiht Talo each day and think about what do we really want for Talo and our future children my mind turns to Jesus! All we want is for Talo to lead a life that follows Jesus. That life may take him back to Ethiopia someday or it may keep him close to home but wherever it leads we just want Him to follow God and do His will. For then whatever he does or wherever he goes it will always be the Best! Notice I didn't say easiest but the best. Throughout adopting Talo and other things God has taken us through in our short lives so far, we have come to know one thing to be true. Following the Lord and doing His will (not our own) is never the simple easy way but, it is always the best, most perfect and most glorifying to God.



Someday we will not look at Talo's success based on what career he chooses, the car he drives or the size home he lives in with 2.5 children and a dog. You won't find us rejoicing in these temporary things that he may or may not have, but you will find us praising God when we see Talo develop to be a Man after God's own heart. We will praise God to see Talo be a man who loves his wife and children, provides for his family, is honest, respectful and hardworking for the Lord. For us as parents our sucess will be determined by if we raised Talo to know Jesus develop that eternal relationship with God his Father. Even though it may be totally contrary to our culture our worth as parents will not be based on if we raised Talo to have some short lived earthly success. For in the Kingdom of God and eternity that will never matter.



What do you want for your children?

"Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrafice, accetable to God, which of your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed be the renewing fo your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

Life with our little Man

Hi Everyone,

So it looks like I am a twice a month blog updater. I look at other people's blogs and I am amazed at all their links, designs, pictures and frequent posts! When do they have the time?? Speaking of time I will try to make this quick before Talo wakes up from his nap.

Tomorrow will mark 6 weeks of us having been with Talo. We can hardly believe it. Over these 6 weeks we have seen Talo not only grow so much physically but also confidently as his strong and beautiful personality emerges. He is quite the little man with very dramatic expressions, laughter, different tones of voice and high energy play. We are loving growing more as a family everyday. Today was our first time back at church since Talo came home and we were talking about how much better we know Talo and he knows us compared to when we went to church only 6 days after having him in Ethiopia. We couldn't even help him understand yet what we were doing or how to be quiet in church. But today we kept telling him we were going to sing to Jesus and he just kept saying "Desus" "Desus". He also did so well when we told him to be quiet during church and he made it all the way until the middle of the sermon.

I feel like there is so much to talk about and where to begin but let us tell you what we are learning after 6 weeks. . .

Orphaned children have lots of grief and fear so trusting a loving caregiver takes a long time. . . how does Talo know we aren't just temporary until the next set of "caregivers" comes along?

A child who has been through starvation has many trust issues with food. Will there be enough? When will my next meal come? How can I know these people will feed me?

We have to bond to Talo just like he has to bond to us and every day we become more of a family!

Routine and structure truly do build safety, trust and security for an adopted child.

The more we see Talo trust and feel secure with us the more we see his behavior become more natural and his personality more real.

Here are some picture of Talo's first month home. Enjoy them and thank you to all of you who have given support to bring Talo home. Through your prayers and financial gifts we have been blessed beyond measure!

Talo and his favorite friend "Froggie" out for a night walk.

Apple picking! He loved it!

Auntie Jamie loves her little nephew!

Talo Juggling and Grampy trying to save the apple! Talo learned this from Grampy!

Talo and Mommy making Apple Sauce, he is a good helper!

Talo's first look at the ocean, not sure what to think!

It didn't take long for him to love it!

Look out here comes the water!

Just the three of us!

Ohhh, a crab!

After Mommy runs it's Talo's turn!

Doggie "one, two" as Talo calls them!

Just a typical morning of chasing the birds. Notice the one on the top right!

I am a brave little man!

My new best friends from Viginia, trying to take a picture of 3 children under 3 isn't easy!

Outside on a warm fall day!

I love my new ball from Grammy and Grampy!

I love these leaves!

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures of our time in Ethiopia.

Talo's first evening with us. We had just started to show him some of his things we brought and he immediately started lining them up!

This is the part of the transition home where he was staying.

Jolene, Talo and his nanny.

Talo's room at the TH.

This is the crib where he slept.

A typical fruit stand on the way back from the TH.

Residential apartments. Check out the clothesline 8 stories up!

Who has the best marketing campaign the world over.....COKE!

This was a local butcher shop near our guest house. Usually the meat is eaten raw. I actually saw someone once have the butcher cut some meat right off the slab and the customer immediately popped it into his mouth!

This is the main road our guest house was off of. After turning right at the sign the gate was about 200 yards down the alley on the left.
A picture of the guest house. It was very nice especially considering the surroundings!

This is a view of the courtyard from our balcony.

Jolene and Talo playing in the courtyard while the housekeepers vigorously washed the windows and the driveway.

Jolene and Talo playing with a beach ball. Just after this was taken it got stuck on the razor wire. A little (or a lot) scotch tape and all was good!

Talo playing with the guards.

Talo and daddy playing with Ooh Aah! (water)

The oldest Christian Orthodox church in Addis Ababa.

David, our driver, modeling a scarf Jolene picked out.

All the kids (and Jon) waiting while the parents shop inside.

Talo's first Sunglasses, stylish little man! Why did they have to be pink!
A very nice bank, we went inside and were very impressed. Seemed just like the US.
A picture while driving in the city.
I (Jolene) took this to show you how even amongst poverty there are teenagers in fashion.
Poverty.
Construction all over the city, notice the stick scaffolding.
This was one of the hardest things to see, people homeless sleeping at the tree.
Talo lining up all our shoes.
The first time Talo was introduced to stickers. He didn't know what to do with them.
Talo and Jolene on the roof at night. Somebody is tired.
Church that we went to, verywesternized.
More of the church classrooms and nice grassy areas.
Notice the cute kids on the left who spoke English!
Robel (our in country guide), Talo and Jon after church. Robel's Dad died when he was 10 years old so he moved to the city at 10 years old to work to support his family. Now he supports like 33 street child so they can go to school.
Talo with his favorite, water bottles, notice the handles Jon made for him!
At the lion Zoo. Talo wanted to climb through the metal Bars! Ahhh!
Nice Lion, yet the child is afraid of dogs??
Packing to go home.
Talo in his traditional Ethiopian attire. He loves it!
Leaving for the airport, saying goodbye to our guest house.
On our last leg of flying!
Arriving home!
And we are headed to the car to go home.
Talo's bed now, no more Transition Home!

Talo is adjusting really well and every day gets better and better. We hope you enjoy these. We miss Ethiopia so much. People seem surprised by that fact however, we loved our time there and cannot wait to return! Being so busy with Talo we have hardly had time to even reflect on any of our trip or time there. But every time we think of Addis Ababa we just long to go back. Even amidist the smell of diesel fumes, garbage filled streets, extreme poverty and unclean bathrooms, we miss it. It is hard to describe the emotions we felt bringing Talo home to America. We truly are so blessed here and our country is one of the most beautiful places there is. However, there is a saying out there that says "I need Africa more than Africa needs me". We didn't really understand what that meant until we were there.

Let us try to explain. Each day we would watch our housekeeper clean our room from top to bottom with such care, concern and perfection. Even remaking our bed after we had already made it. At times we would pop in our room only to find her smiling as she did our leftover dishes or picked up Talo's stray toys. Every time we saw her we would thank her endlessly and tell her to put the dishes down because we would do them, but she would just bow to us and smile so humbly and so gently. On the day we left we wanted to give her something to thank her. After having such a tight budget and being in Ethiopia for 2 weeks we only had had a couple hundred Bir, or around 30 US dollars. So we decided to give it to her. Jon wrap ed it up with a little box of chocolates and we both felt so bad that we didn't have more to give. We had not spent lavishly in Ethiopia, we just didn't have a lot of travel money so it was upsetting to us not to have more to give her. As Jon brought her down the wrapped up box in the midst of all the packing, she just thanked and thanked him. Although it wasn't until a few hours later (when she opened up the package), that we heard a soft knock on our door. Here was our dear housekeeper in tears repeating one of the only English phrases she knew "Thank You", "Thank You", "Thank You" she softly said through her tears as she hugged us and smiled from ear to ear. Thirty dollars and a small box of chocolates meant more than we will ever know to this woman and her joy filled spirit meant more than she will ever know to us.

The people of Africa may not have much and we sometimes think we can go over there and "save" them, make them happier or fill them with more joy. However, the truth is our dear housekeeper was filled with joy even before we as Americans gave her our measly little $30. The spirit of joy that so many of the African people have is positively beautiful. In America we are always looking for the next best thing and waiting for our next material posses ion to make us happy. We think if we only had. . ., then we would be happy. But in Africa they don't have. . ., and their happiness has already arrived. Durring our precious time with Talo in Ethiopia we met many "housekeepers" who reflected the joy and love of Christ to us, making us realize that they may have more to offer us than we have to offer them when talking about our attitude and outlook on life.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8