The day our friends moved

There was a lot of hustle and bustle around here yesterday. All of the Finland group are here now and are waiting for their rooms. Our Canadian friends were moving to their new home. About a 20 min walk for Ibssa and I. Probably 10 min for most people. Lol. Faith came up here while they were loading up their stuff. I attempted to have a shower in my little square shower but there was no hot water. Ugh! I managed to mostly wash and then did my hair in the kitchen sink. We decided to skip Ibssa's shower until it gets fixed. 11:00 came before we knew it. I decided to take Ibssa down and have Lee explain what was happening. He was very sad which in turn made me sad. Funny how your emotions are so sensitive here. We said our soy of goodbyes. Too funny because Ibssa and I are joining them for lunch. We lakes over and heather showed us their room. It is much smaller than GT but I am sure they will make it work. They had a few bumps but got through them. Their Internet has been down since they got there so if her family is reading my blog, I want you to know they are just fine. Upset about the Internet but fine otherwise. Lunch was good. Ibssa and I had French toast and eggs with goodies. It was very yummy. We walked back and Ibssa played hard with Ashu for a while. We returned upstairs for lunch and then a nap. I watched an episode of Joel osteen call peace in the storm. It was like God directed me here to feed my soul. It was wonderful. I have a fresh mind. Although no longer being sick and all of the sunshine sure helps as well. Ibssa woke and had wet the bed. That was a first. I wonder if it was because of all of the recent change. We played again downstairs and them I made leftover Indian food for him and pasta for me. Of course he wanted my pasta so I had noodles with butter and Parmesan. It was soon bed time again and another day under our belt. I had the best sleep I have had in a couple of nights. Ibssa and I are just getting closer and closer. He wanted me to put my arm around him while he fell asleep. Awwwww. Everyone here can't believe how much he has changed since he got here. You can hear his laugh all over the guesthouse. He is so happy here. I remember when we saw him at the orphanage he would just quietly walk around with a small toy in his hand. It seems like forever ago now. Now he is a social butterfly with Paul's sense of humor. I can't tell you how proud I am of him. He is such a blessing. Today we ventured to the bank and found out the wire transfer from Paul didn't go through for some reason. I guess Lee will have to be paid tomorrow till we figure this out. I think I will go back to doing debit. I have the control that way. Today I get my haircut. I am getting picked up by Marlo's at 2:15 and then dropping Ibssa off with Dave and picking up candy. She is going for a massage. Heather will have left earlier because she wants more spa treatments. Chow for now Karen

Just an overall good day

Today started out on a good note. When Ibssa woke up at six so I bring the tablet into the bed and let him watch a movie for a bit while I wake up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw on my phone that Paul was trying to Skype me. I told Ibssa no more movie, it was time to talk to dad. When the screen opened I noticed Pam and Mike were there too. Awesome. Except one thing, I WAS IN MY PYJAMAS! And also I had bed head. It was so good to see and talk to them. The were able to see Ibssa live for the first time. Pam is so awesome, she brought the blanket she had made to show Ibssa. When she emailed a picture of it earlier Ibssa had kissed the phone when I told her it was for him. He was pretty excited. Paul played the "hey is this my blanket game with him". She also showed me her first attempt at making injera. Paul said she did a pretty good job except that it was a little thick. What a great start to my day. We had our usual breakfast and then Thomas came up to play. They did the 100 piece car puzzle together. They also played marbles. I said to them that I think we should go outside and play. So away they went. The other kids came out to and they all played for a good hour. It was so nice that the sun is shining. No rain. Maybe the story about the cross ceremony is true. No more rain now for 6 months. I guess God just turns the tap off. We came up and I made pasta for lunch. I let him play for a bit and the HE said it was time for a nap. He is getting so independent these days. He is now staying in the living room while I do the dishes. He is blossoming like you would not believe. We never seem to have any communication problems. However, I must say we lead pretty simple days. Lol. While he napped I was able to Skype my sister Marg. I hadn't talked to her for so long it was so good to catch up. We must have talked for over an hour. We were interrupted by a Skype from Paul. Wow, two times in one day! Awesome. Ibssa has woke up by then and was able to talk to daddy again. It was getting close to 4pm and I told Heather I would give her some take out containers. She was hosting the boys that her friends Rebecca and Arnie take care of. They are street boys that they met here last spring and took action to find them a home of their own. Marko's brought them over. All the Canadians came together and had an Ethiopian meal together. I chose not to eat. My body is saying no more Ethiopian food. I had a big lunch. The whole point of of the evening was so the boys and Marko's could Skype with Rebecca and Arnie back in Canada. For some reason wires got crossed and they weren't able to make it happen. Heather is so awesome, she made a video message for them to watch later. Who knows, maybe they will be able to try again before they leave. It was now 6:30 an jammie time for Ibssa. He is watching toy story AGAIN! So I have a few minutes to write this blog. I met the film crew who are staying here for a week. They are from Finland. The are producing a documentary on teaching high school students here how to make solar cells. Some teens from Findland are coming tomorrow and are going to help teach the students here. What a great example of positive ministry. Teaching the young minds of Ethiopia to make their country a better place. Praise God. We can all learn from this. Well time to put Ibssa to bed. Chow for now Karen

The move

Well, it is Friday here now and when I woke up this morning I actually felt a lot better. I did not have such a heavy chest and I felt like I had some energy to give today. Hurray!!! This country is hard enough to deal with, you don't need sickness on top of it. We had no Internet yesterday and part of today. It was strange not talking to Paul for that long. He really gets me through every day here. I was supposed to Skype my son at 2pm. I missed that date :-( Yesterday Ibssa and I just played most of the morning. I let him have an hour long bath because I was certain there would be no tub for awhile. We went to Kaldis with the Reich's for lunch. It was nice to get out. We had to skip our haircuts because this is the day that the Holy Cross ceremony takes place and the city shuts down. Marlo's thought we should join the 4 million people in meskal square. I said are you crazy I can't even stand to be around 100 people. We moved our haircut plans to Monday. After Ibssa's nap I sent him down to play with the other boys while I started to pack up. We have to move upstairs to move up to a standard room on the third floor for a week. There is a film crew coming and are taking up most of the house. I packed up everything except the kitchen. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate in two months. Candy and Rob invited us all for soup and sandwiches for supper. Yeah, I don't have to cook! We all gathered together. It was fun chat with everyone. Ibssa came home,we watched a movie and went to bed. Still no Internet. Bummer! We got up this morning and went through our routines. We had to be move by noon. Out of nowhere Rob and Dave came and moved all of our stuff. Praise God. I am feeling better but that is quite a job. We met Victoria who is from Great Britain. She is currently renting the large suite. I am afraid she is going to be a little overwhelmed by her new roommates. I guess we will have to keep everything clean now that we are sharing common spaces. Ibssa once again went down to play with the boys while I unpacked. I am going to miss them when they are gone. They are going to a new guesthouse on Sunday. Ibssa was very excited about our new home. We skyped Paul after lunch. It was good to hear from him after a day of not seeing him. It was time for Ibssa's nap. It started out ok but it took him a long time to fall asleep. Now we are in the same bed which is also new. I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce during his nap. I had to use up the ingredients before they went bad. I will just have to freeze it. We are ordering in Indian food for supper. Butter chicken and Naan. Mmmmmmmm. I hope bedtime goes a little easier than nap time. I know it is going to be a challenge when we have to have a shower. It is just a little square with a curtain around it. I can see us flooding the bathroom. Overall the third floor is actually nicer than the second floor. It has a bigger kitchen and bigger balconies. We are all trying very hard to fill our days now. We are all running out of things to do that doesn't cost money. It a holiday here today so everything is closed .....store wise. Oh well, chow for now Karen

More delays

We just don't seem to have much luck here in Ethiopia. Because of the shootings in Nairobi last week the High Commision is only open one day this week. That means our paperwork is pushed back another week and I will probably have to rebook my flight again. It is now looking pretty grim for October 9 for me. I guess I will be spending thanksgiving here as well. So much for seeing my other two kids :-( Well I am so thankful for my little Ibssa that I am sure I can take it for another week. My cold is getting better slowly and I am getting more energy. I think next week I will visit Shelley's mission in Korah. They make necklaces to sell in Canada. This year they are making earrings as well. Shelley is sending 200 pairs home with me for her to sell in Canada. That will break up the week somewhat. My friends are moving on the 29th but they found A place close by so we can still visit. I picked up the sandels that I ordered from the factory. She made me three pairs to pick from. They were all great and it was hard to choose. So of course I bought 2 pairs and will give a pair to Kate since we have the same shoe size. I have to stop shopping. I am not sure where I will put everything. It is just so cheap here and you just want to help as much as you can. Wish me luck tomorrow. I think I will take heather up on going for haircuts. She saw somewhat of a salon by the lime tree restaurant so I think we will try it. My hair is getting long and my blow dryer died the first day I was here. And do you believe they do not sell blow dryers in this city! At least I haven't found any. My grey hairs are really coming through now, but I don't think I will attempt a colour. Well chow for now. Have to think about supper. God bless Karen

Correction

I said epiglottis but I meant uvula

Recovering

I just want to thank all those people out there who are praying for mine and Ibssa's health. It has worked for Ibssa and now it is starting to work for me. Yesterday I decided to go with the Reich family for lunch and a movie. I thought how hard could it be it is just sitting. We went to a place called My Burger for lunch. This is where I have to give a shout out to my friend Teresa V. Over the years I have watched her communicate with Joshua, who is mostly deaf and has down syndrome. I find myself using alot of her techniqes with signing and talking. It is truly amazing how he picks up on this so quickly. I ordered him a hamburger and fries...he just wanted the fries. He pointed to the hamburger and to my bag and signed and said later. Too funny! God puts people in your path for a reason and I am sure Joshua gave us the gift of learning and communicating. We went to see the movie Turbo. This was Ibssa's first big screen experience. I am not sure if he liked it or not. He kept telling me to turn it off. I think it was too loud. But he made it through. It took everything I had to make it through this day. I was really short of breath. Should have stayed home. We had a pretty quiet evening. I have been letting him have a lot of video game time lately because I can't really do much with him. That will change. Today we went to the doctor. He wanted to see Ibssa's x-ray. He said he didn't have pneumonia and that the radiologist was wrong. He said Ibssa has asthma and he got a chest cold which makes it a whole lot worse. He said his lungs are clear now and that he can be taken off all of his medicines. Hallelujah!!! What a relief. He didn't have time to look at me because he was very busy. One of the good things about Ethiopia is that you can go to a pharmacy and tell them you want an antibiotic. You don't need a perscription. The one thing the doctor did say was that his eppiglotis...you know the thing that hangs at the back of your throat, had been cut out. WHAT!!!! He said this is a common practice. When they are babies and they are problem eaters they think that this part of your anatomy is the problem, so they cut it out. It is their traditonal way of solving things. He said it is a very painful procedure and that some babie die from it. He said it won't really affect him now and not to worry. He asked me how Ibssa was communicating so I told him my hamburger story. He was amazed how well he was doing. That's right, cute and smart! On our way back I picked up some groceries and met the rest of the gang for lunch at their new guesthouse....at least I think they are going to stay there. The restaurant is run by an Ethiopian who has lived in Canada. The food was really good. I wil definately be going back there. I was a little hesitant at first because it is on the 5th floor and right now I can barely make it 2 floors without coughing up a storm, but they had an elevator! God has been with us all day and I am sure it is because of all of all of your prayers. I skyped my mom and dad when Ibssa was having his nap. It was so great to see and speak to them. They are with Paul right now. My mom is making him some meals. They are also celebrating my nephews birthday. My sister is coming there tonight to. I hope they have a great time. Also, I just wanted to give a shout out to my Endo family. I haven't heard from any of you. Steve, I am having withdrawel from your "any news" questions. Here is my email once again so you can let me know if you are still alive and who is doing my job and what is happening with the roche!!!! pgresty@sympatico.ca Miss all you guys, Karen

God is taking care of me

Yesterday was a pretty dull day. Ibssa had a lot of play time in the morning. I made a pork roast with potatoes and corn for supper. I made a homemade bbq sauce and cooked it really slowly for 3 hours because the meat here is sometimes pretty tough. My chest cold has now turned into a full blown head cold. I have just about totally lost my voice and my nose is running non stop. I feel like crap. Ibssa on the other hand appears to be doing very well. He still has a rattley cough. We are going back to the doctor for him on Tuesday. Rob came up last night to see if we wanted to go to Yaya village today. This is where the Olympic atheletes go to train in the high altitudes. It is about a half hour drive from here. I said we were in but I knew that if I didn't feel much better then I may have to back out. I was hoping a good night sleep would be the trick. When I woke up this morning I was in the worst shape yet. Ibssa had us up at 5 so I made him lay in my bed until 6. My nose just would not stop running. I coughed up phlegmn again and again. I was even having a tough time breathing. I skyped Paul. He could barely hear me because my voice had pretty much disappeared. When we finished I had decided that there was no way I could go away today. I needed a day to sleep this thing off. I texted the other couples to see if they would still take Ibssa with them. I didn't get any replies right away so I called Candy. She said no problem. What a relief. Although this is something I said I wouldn't do. I didn't want Ibssa to think I was abandoning him, but I really had no choice. TG brought my coffee this morning and when she heard me speak she said she would bring me some ginger tea later. What a sweetheart she is. The troops left at 9am and I quickly returned to bed. I slept until 2pm. I got up and had a shower and came out to see if Paul was up yet for skyping. Just then TG came up with some ginger tea and some toaseted barely. She said she would be bringing up some hot soup for me for supper. I am telling you this has got to be the best guest house in Ethiopia. The gang returned from their outing and said Ibssa was ready for his nap. I let him play a couple of video games first to unwind and now he is sleeping. I hope for not too long or elese he wont go to bed easily tonight. Well, I am going to sit here and enjoy my tea, and relax until he gets up. My throat is already feeling better from the tea. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Keep us in your prayers, Karen

Finally!

Well we have finally received our Letter of no objection from The ministry of child and youth services. I read my email at 3am and I just wanted to get up and do the happy dance. It was the persistence of Paul and my social worker that made it happen. Praise God! It is on its way to Nairobi as I am writing. It just feels like a humongous weight has been lifted from my shogbulders. The end is now near....I hope. Ibssa woke up in good spirits. He is so funny sometimes. He made me play worship music while he was in the shower and he started dancing. He then wanted me to take his picture. Crazy kid. He makes me laugh when he gets in those goofy moods. Markos picked up Ibssa's chest X-ray for me and the result is that he has bronchial pneumonia. Good grief one more hurdle to overcome. The doctor had given me some steroids to start him on. I also called him again to tell him about the pneumonia. He wasn't too concerned because there was no fever bit wants to see him on Monday or Tuesday. I think the steroids are making him hyper and he seems to be always hungry and thirsty. Not looking forward to the next few days. He had his first accident in his pants. Hoping that is the steroids. Lol. We are going out for dinner where they have a bouncy castle, I think I will bring a change of clothes just in case. Funny story at lunch today. I had picked up some hot sauce at Ibssa's request this morning. We were having egg salad for the first time. I let him try a little bit to see if he wanted a sandwich. He liked it but pulled the hot sauce out of my bag and made me add it to the egg salad. So I did. He ate his whole sandwich. He just loves spicy things. Lol. The guest house held a coffee ceremony for us this afternoon. It was fabulous. They served all kinds of cake and coffee along with fruit and popcorn. You have to drink three cups. It starts out very strong and then gets lighter each time. The last cup is the blessing cup. The kids lost interest very quickly but it was a great time for the women to just chat. The men went on a man date to the movies so they missed out. Not much else happening today. I am just smiling still from our good news. The end is near. God bless Karen

Ibssa's Birthday

Hello again - Sept 18th We started out the day by going shopping for Ibssa's birthday . Candy and Heather came along as well. They were shopping for last minute things before they go home. Ibssa wanted to come with us rather than stay with Dave. I think it was because he wanted to see Markos. Our first stop was a toy store. It was way cheaper than the one the other day. I bought a knapsack full of plastic groceries and dishes and two types of Thomas the train toys. I did notice that they had a lot of wheels and I would find out later why. I spent just under $50. Candy bought him a toy motorcycle which he spotted in the store. He instantly fell in love with it. I told him it was for Markos. We then went to the blind market. I picked up a lot of toys and different thing there that I should have bought before. It is very cheap. I am going to decorate his room in a jungle theme so I picked up a few stuffies. After that we went to the sole rebel shoe store. Apparently it is known for being 100% fair trade material. The soles of the shoes are made of recycled tires. I ended up purchasing a pair for Jake. They are completely leather for $50. Christmas present I think. We then went to a shoe factory. They were literally making shoes in front of us. Heather was the only one who bought some for her daughter. However, we found one pair were two left feet. Lol. I returned them for her today and ordered a pair for myself. It was then time to take Ibssa and Candy home for a nap. Heather and I then went to the traditional market for jerseys. I found a set of shorts and a jersey for Ibssa bit nothing for Paul yet. It was a bust for Heather because her husband is an extra large Canadian size which is pretty much non existent in Ethiopia. We then went to a grocery store where I purchased a fair bit since I will be staying for a while longer. They didn't have chickens this time. Bugger. When we got back Ibssa was still sleeping. The guesthouse had totally decorated the dining and living room. They are just so good to us. Ibssa awoke so I showed him the decorations. He was crying because he wanted the motorcycle that he had seen in the morning. I cheered him up somewhat by pulling out the decorations I had brought. I really don't think he knew what a birthday was. I ordered six small pizzas for supper and I put frosting on my cake. I pulled out some nuts and candy that I had left in my stash. Tigi brought Ibssa up a gift and popcorn and cookies compliments of the guesthouse. Man oh man they are good here. Our friends started to arrive and Dave picked up the pizzas. Ashee came up as well. The party went really well. It turns out the trains I bought are the kind that hit a wall and flip over and go again. He was so excited. We saved the motorcycle for last. He was so happy. The kids played for a long time and then it was bedtime. What a great day. However still no news about our letter. I am starting to get depressed again. After the 29th we have to change to a small room because the guesthouse is fully booked. Sept 19th This morning was busy again. Markos picked is up at around 8 so I could go to a ticket office and get my flight changed. About halfway there I realized I had forgotten my reservation paper. Back we went. This is very tough in morning traffic but Markos wanted to get there early because the line up gets long and we had to go back to the doctor at 10. We had to wait awhile but I made my change to October 9. This as free of charge but hopefully I won't have to change it again. If I do it will cost $200. Still cheaper than buying a new ticket. I took Ibssa back to the doctor. He decided he needed a chest X-ray and if that is normal than I am to give him steroids. He gave me the medicine in the office. Honestly I think Ibssa,Paul and I all have the same miserable cold. We then tricked off to go get an X-ray. Dr Alan said I would get the results right away but we have to wait until 4. Markos was my angel today. He stayed with Ibssa in the X-ray room to calm him. He can speak Amharic and I can't. After that we went looking for Heathers coffee set. No luck. We then went to take back her shoes with two left feet and exchange them for another pair. It was now lunch time so we headed back to the guest house. Ashee immediately took him for his Injera lunch. At 1 I told him it was time for a nap. He was up at 5:30 this morning. This has given me the the time to write but the nap was short lived because there are too many toys to play with. I am sure I will have to do another battery run shortly. Chow for now Karen

An improvement in my Ibssa

Ibssa woke up today in really good spirits. He actually ate some ri e pudding that Candy gave us and a hard boiled egg. He started dancing after breakfast. His mood continued all day. We walked to the bank and then he played with Ashee for a long time. He came back to me fed and ready for his nap. Life is gods today. The ventilin is really working. We had no power and Internet all morning so we had to be creative with play. After his nap he wanted to pop some popcorn and bring it to Faith. That just means the kids downstairs but he really has connected with Faith. We played for a while and then went to the Greek restaurant for supper. I didn't want Ibssa to walk that far with his cold so Dave carried him on his back in backpack sort of thing. Thanks Dave! Now it is Jammie time a bit of a movie and then bed! Tomorrow I am shopping for Ibssa's birthday in the morning. The other families offered to watch him so I could finish quickly. I made his cake today. We are going to have a pizza party for him tomorrow with the other families. Not much to report today EXCEPT THAT I STILL HAVE NO LETTER! Okay God I have done everything you asked me to. Please help me here. Chow for now Karen

Bonding day and then the doctor day

Ibssa's cold is sounding pretty bad. He had a rough night on Saturday so we decided to lay low and just chill. I really didn't want him going outside, I knew he needed to rest. So, we spent most of the day in our Jammie's. we had a rough start put I prayed really hard and then we ended up having a really good day. I just wanted him to relax so we basically watched movies and played video games all day. I was even able to find teletubbies on my iPhone. I was the coolest mom ever after that. Thanks you tube. His appetite is pretty much nonexistent these last couple of days so he has been drinking a lot and having peanut butter sandwiches. Just like dad. Lol. We had a couple of Skype tries with Paul but we never seem to have any quality conversation. Either we get a bad connection or Ibssa just wants to continually press buttons which makes our chat very distracted. We just can't seem to find the perfect time to connect. I think it is wearing on both of us. Stay strong Paul I can do this. Because Ibssa had a late nap I decided to let him stay up a little later and we watched another movie and then went to bed. I woke up a midnight after just going to lay down with him. So just put my Jammie's on and went to bed. Today we were up and going early. We both had showers before breakfast because I wanted to call the do toe early to get an appointment. Breakfast was a bust once again. Hope he feels better soon. Breakfast was always the most enjoyable part of our day. We managed to get an appointment at 10:30. Perfect for Ibssa's daily timeline. I tried Markos our driver but didn't get an answer. I had to call Lee the guest house manager to arrange a ride for is. Too bad we couldn't get Markos because he knew exactly where this clinic was. Lee called the doctor to get directions because they had never been there before. There are very few street names and no numbers. They use landmarks. Anyway, I knew from candy and rob that it wasn't too far away. We loaded up in the nice Toyota. Cushy seat and seat belts. Ibssa thought that was pretty cool. Away we went. I could tell we were getting close because he slowed down and stopped by a big building. I had seen a paediatric clinic sign just before the building. My driver didn't speak English. He asked people on the street and they said they didn't know. I pointed backwards but he didn't understand. We drove around for a while and asked lots of people and ended up at a dead end street. He finally called. Men. Turns out it was the building that I saw. We went in and it kind of felt like home. I was greeted immediately by the nurse and in English. This place cost $40 compared to $5 but with every penny. Ibssa's oxygen sats were on the low side. He gave him some ventilin right in the office. He has loaned me a chamber to use so it can be administrated easily. He gave me prescriptions for ventilin, an antibiotic and an antihistamine. I guess he is covering all the bases. He wants to see him again in 3 days to make sure is oxygen level is better. Wow someone who cares. He also looked in his ears and said they were not infected. It is probably just fluid behind the eardrum. He said the rubbing may also be an orphanage comfort tool. Who knows. As for the warts he said to leave them alone they will go away on their own. If we intervene he may end up with scarring. He said since Ibssa wouldn't be going to school until January that I should really wait. It is just esthtic anyway. I had the driver stop at the pharmacy. All three medicines cost me about $16. Cool. We got back to the guest house and heather approached us about going out for lunch and to the lion zoo. I said ok but I knew it would be a challenge because he would miss his nap and he is sick. But we have to eat! The restaurant was in a fancy mall. The food was good. I ordered a variety plate for Ibssa and I to share. He pretty much turned his nose at it. Heather gave home some of her child's hamburger. Thank goodness. He are the meat part anyway. Everyone finally got to see the side if Ibssa that I have the pleasure of seeing. He wanted to put his knife in his drink. After several no's I took the knife away. He got angry and tried to bite me a few times. It just went downhill from there. Dave finally offered to take him and the other two boys for a walk while the girls waited for the bill. After dinner I headed to the toy store while rob took Ibssa. It was in the same mall. It is Ibssa's on Wednesday and I wanted to get him something. Heather came with me. She picked out a bus that has music and spins. I picked up a "cars" puzzle and a miniature fuse ball table. My two items came to almost $50 so I put the fuse ball table toy back. I wouldn't pay that much at home and it was pretty cheaply made anyway. I will ask Markos to find me something. We were going to go to the lion zoo but lee called and said it was closed because a worker was attacked by a lion. Crazy huh. Ibssa was tired anyway. He was so crabby he may have fed me to the lions. Lol. Oh well. Maybe another time. We got back and I gave Ibssa his ventilin. He thinks it is fun, I wonder how long that will last. Now he is hungry. He wanted a ham sandwich and a banana. That was easy enough. Now he is watching his "cars" movie fix and it will be bed time. I think for both of us. No news yet on our letter. Ugh! Hopefully sometime today. Chow for now. Take care of my Paul Karen

A cooking day

Yesterday was my day to make supper for everyone. If you know me at all you know cooking is therapeutic for me. The problem is that is it not Ibssa's cup of tea. The day started well. We had to go to the grocery store to buy apples for the apple crisp. Apples are crazy expensive but worth it to have a taste if home. Ibssa did really well up until nap time. He said on the kitchen floor with the tablet and a drink and patiently watched a movie. I managed to peel and chop everything I needed except the apples. After Ibssa went down for a nap ibskyped Paul. It was early morning for him. We chatted for a bit and I told him all of my woes. I didn't have much time left before Ibssa woke up so we said goodbye and I headed back to the kitchen. I started frying up my meat and cooking the veggies for my shepherds pie. No frozen veggies here. It wasn't long before Ibssa woke up. He wasn't as happy about being on the kitchen. I tried to get him to help. I had cooked a big pot of potatoes and I had to mash them. Of course there is no potato masher so I would transfer a few at a time and mash them with a fork. Ibssa tried to help but easily got frustrated. Nothing seemed to work. The clock was ticking. I had to feed 10 people in two hours. I finally decided to bring Ibssa over to rob and candies. Rob was more then happy to watch him while I finished up. Thank heaven they are here. I am really starting to get a handle on what single moms go through. We love each other to pieces but sometimes we just need a break from each other. Today it really hot me how he much loss he must be feeling. No kids to play with. He had a ton of friends at the orphanage. Paul is now gone. His new best bud. And we all know that there is no way on earth I will ever be as fun as Paul. I was able to finish everything and clean the kitchen up before everyone came over. We all had a good visit and a good meal. While heather and candy were out today they bought me some awesome books for Ibssa. I am so blessed to have such good friends here. I stayed up waiting for Paul to Skype me buy got nothing. He was supposed to be at my sisters for supper. Maybe Skype just wasn't working. Bugger. I had a pretty sleepless night. Both Ibssa and I have terrible colds. I think he needs to go back to the doctor. According to my nurse friends it is time. I will try to go on Monday. I am going to go to the more expensive doctor where you don't have to wait and his English is good. Maybe he will give me some better answers on his ears and warts on his face. This morning started good but quickly went downhill. Ibssa was being difficult at breakfast. My patience wasn't stellar either. More food for the garbage. We both had a good cry and now we are buddies again. I found a new game for the tablet and he actually said "good job mommy". He cracks me u sometimes. Now he is stick to me like glue. Well time to clean up and start our day. Keep praying for us. Chow for now Karen

Still no letter

Jocelyn from MOT emailed me yesterday and we still have no letter of no objection from our ministry. I just want to scream! Why is it always our country that drags their feet. This is in no way good for our children. Rob and candyschiele documents will be going out Monday. So it is official. There will be a time where I am by myself. I may have to move from our guesthouse for two reasons. One is it is too expensive and two they may be booked solid as of September 29. Maybe we will head to Afroland. Although there is no where for Ibssa to play outside there. We had a pretty quiet day here yesterday. Ibssa played outside a lot with Ashee who lives here. He has been an Angel to me. He absolutely loves Ibssa and so does his whole family. They are always pampering him with food. I gave rob and candy some money to buy me groceries for today. We are holding supper here today. I am going to make shepherds pie and apple crisp. I think. Last night the power went out for a very long time. Hence no blog last night. I am having a hard time getting a good time to Skype with Paul. With his work hours and the time difference there is a very small window. I keep missing it by just a bit. Health wise I am feeling much better. I was pretty sure I was dehydrated so I am trying to keep drinking something all day. There is a fine line of how much you want to dri k because you don't want to have to go while you are out. The only one who is awake when I am is jake. Lol. He is my night owl. He quit his job at the restaurant and is looking for more of a big boy job. I think he has learned some life lessons and wants to find something where he can use his brilliant mind for. However, pretty tough without a full degree. I told him his dad could get him a job at Nasg. Somehow my kids think its failure to have to move home. It looks like we may have to delay our thanksgiving reunion. I am not sure if I will be home by then. I keep telling jake that he should come to Ethiopia and spend some time with me. Maybe I planted a seed. Who knows. The rest of the crew are going to the lion zoo today. Since I am making supper for everyone I have to decline. Too bad. We will just have to do it another day. Well Ibssa just had a meltdown. Long enough that Dave came upstairs to see what was wrong. Lol. He just didn't get his way about something. He is now starting to slam and throw things when he is angry. I had him sitting in a chair when Dave came up. Soon he said he was sorry and all is well with the world again. I better go though because I think my window is closing on typing time. We still are in our Jammie's. By for now. Please keep giving me emails. The are like a lifeline. Chow for now Karen

Things are a lttle better

Hi everyone. Just thought I would let you know that I am doing fine. I have absorbed the latest blow and am dealing with it the best I can. Thanks Paul for writing for me last night. I was pretty beat after a very long day that started at 4:30. Paul got almost all of the details right. The place where we gave out the injera was at the Mercato. It is the largest open air market in Africa. It was somewhere we had not visited yet. Being the shopper I am I still don't think I could handle this place on my own. It is the cheapest place to buy things though. Maybe I will just give Markos a list of what I need and send him. This outing was really outreach at its best! The boys were giving back to the boys they hung out with while living on the street. I feel so blessed to be a small part of that day. The part that Paul didn't mention was that the boys were using their own money and we just added to what they had. Unbelievable. We presented them with the bikes and they were very happy. It was kind of funny, the youngest one came out near the end, he had been sleeping and he just kept staring at them with that "Christmas morning look" on his face. Disbelief and happiness all at the same time. I wish I had taken a picture to show his sponsor The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Ibssa and I took a walk around supper time and bought a pizza to go. He just at it at home. I got the best sleep ever last night since Paul left. Sweet! This morning had a funny moment. I put Ibssa on the toilet for a "caca" and all of a sudden I felt something very warm on my leg. You guessed it, he pee'd all over the floor while he was doing job #2. That was totally off my radar since he had just gone not too much earlier. So, showers became the next step, instead of our usual routine. LOL. We played outside for a bit. We were going out for lunch at the "Oh Canada" restaurant. This meant giving up my skype time with Paul. :-( However, this gave my morral a huge boost. The menu was full of Canadian items. The walls had pictures of famous Canadian sites. It was just so comforting to be there. I ordered poutine for me and a Justin Bieber pizza for Ibssa. I also ordered ravioli to go for supper. Ibssa ate about a quarter of my poutine. I know we will be able to make a Canadian out of him yet! LOL. This is the first time since I have been in Ethiopia that I have eaten my entire meal. I think we will definately go there again. It is funny how God puts people in your path that you need to encounter. A gentleman at a nearby table had heard me saying Ibssa do this, Ibssa do that....he came up to me later and said do you know what the meaning of Ibssa is? Great question since Pam and I looked like crazy when we got our referral but couldn't find the meaning because it is muslim. The man said it meant "light" Wow, that gave me shivers. He definately has a light that shines brightly in him and I am sure you will all see it when you meet him. Some of the bad news today is that the other couples are having problems with bites. They were told they were mosquitos, then fleas because there is a dog here. But the answer is bed bugs. They don't bite everyone apparently but they do bite some people. The Gresty's have been bite free. What luck. Rob actually found one today so they are going to officially complain. Too bad because this is really a great place to stay. Candy went out and bought some lemons to treat her bed and herself. What a downer. Ibssa is now having a well deserved nap but it is almost 4:30 so I had better get him up. I don't expect much else to happen today so this will be my official post. Keep praying for us. Karen and Ibssa

Discouragement and Celebration - 2 Different Days

Well this is different! It’s been 2 days since the blog has been updated, I’m doing the blog instead of Karen tonight as she has been busy and overwhelmed with the activities going on. I skype Karen every morning at 6am EST which is 1pm in Ethiopia. She has been updating me on her days which I will do the best to sum up. She didn’t want it to go another day without an update but was skyping Kate til 10:30pm tonight and didn’t have the energy to write one. Well, Tuesday started like normal as any other morning, the usual routine for breakfast, bath and playtime. Unfortunately the day would get worse . Heather and Candy were notified that their letters of no objection were received and would now go with the passports to apply for the visas in Nairobi. Karen waited but no call for her. Her patience is growing thin. She called Martha to inquire but much to our displeasure, Martha had not received our letter and therefore could not forward on to start the visa process. The letter of no objection comes from the Ethiopian courts to the Canadian government who reviews and then returns the Ok to Ethiopia so the visa can proceed. Karen emailed Mission of Tears to understand the delay. MoT contacted the ministry but was awaiting a response which MoT would let us know when they get it. As you can imagine, this upset Karen very much as the timing could not be worse given the Ethiopian New Year starting on Wednesday. Karen and I emailed back and forth but I could do nothing to help her feel better. Karen was not in the mood to write the blog and went off to bed as it was going to be an early morning. I waited for a response from MOT but did not see one so I called them before their office closed in Toronto. I expressed my confusion, that we all went to court together, we all completed birth certificates together, we did passport application together and received passports together. Why did the other couples get their letters and we didn’t. MoT was able at least to shed some light as the reviews that are done here are provincial reviews. Each province may review differently and the amount of workload may diff which affects it. I was told that it should be more than 2 weeks from the time they received. That would mean we should get by end of this week. As I said before that would mean that at the earliest, our paperwork will not be in the Ethiopian hands til the 16th when the government offices reopen because of the New Years.  Karen was able to talk to Jake before she went to bed. As Karen was sleeping I emailed Karen the sad news. I knew that is not the news she would want to wake up to but that what it is. We just have to remember that it’s God’s timing – not ours!! That will not make it any easier, knowing that most likely our visa will be one week later than the other couples. This will likely also mean, Karen and Ibssa will be a week longer, and be alone as the other couples will be returning home. I ask all to pray, for speedy paperwork as Karen’s booked flight is Sept 25th but of course this will be tight and we will likely have to re-book. Wednesday was an early start. Getcho was picking everyone up at 5:30am for the New Year trek. From an earlier blog, Karen mentioned about getting the boys bikes and feeding the homeless. This was the day. Karen & Ibssa must have been up at 4am or they wouldn’t have been ready. They loaded up the bikes on top of the van and headed out. It was just the girls that went along with Ibssa and I believe Faith. The men stayed behind to babysit. They arrived at the boy’s place to quite a sight. The boys were up most of the night cooking the goat that would be distributed to the homeless people. Just inside that gate, there was the head of the goat sitting on the ground – yummy!!! The meat and whatever else was prepared was put into baggies so they could give out. The food and everyone loaded up and away they went. I’m not sure where they went but once there, the ladies were advised to stay in the van and let the boys give out the food. Karen mentioned that she got out of the van so she could help. That’s my wife. She told me that they fed about 70 people. I forgot to mention, the boys were very thankful for the gifts of the bikes. These boys are unbelievable!! Giving back to where they started. God has taken care of them and they are helping take care of God’s people. They returned back to the guesthouse around noon, so she skyped me this morning which was around 1:15 their time. She mentioned Ibssa was already napping due to the early morning but he got up a couple minutes later. We were only able to talk for about 10 minutes as I had to go to work. I could see she was in better spirits but obviously still not happy with yesterday’s news. Karen mentioned that he was testing his limits and hers the last couple of days. She also told me about another Ibssa moment. While she was in the bathroom, Ibssa came in and decided to rinse off the TV remote in the sink. Oops – not sure if that’s going to work again. I’m not sure what Karen did for the rest of the day but I know she talked to a couple people over skype which included Kate. Hopefully a talk with both her kids over the last 2 days hopefully lifted her spirits even the slightest amount. Stay strong honey. I know it’s easy for me to say being back in Canada . We both know everything happens for a reason and God must have a reason. We may never know what it is, but you can bet that Ibssa is worth it. Stay safe, I Love You Chow for now Paul

The final paperwork step

Sorry for the blog showing up as one big paragrapha. I swear I put them in but the post compresses it. When Paul was here we would type it out on word first and then post it on the blog. With just my tablet I type directly on blogspot. I will try not to write too much so it isn't too hard to read. Today started off pretty routine. After we got all cleaned up we went for a walk to the bank on our own for the first time. I was like the guy was expecting me. He knew my husband had gone back to Canada. It was like Paul prepped him that I would be showing up alone and may not know what to do. Well Paul, I did just fine. Thanks for looking out for me. I needed to get more money because the guys were going out to purchase bikes today for Shelleys boys. Ibssa and I walked back and played in the courtyard for a bit. He was really pushing my buttons today. He wanted to play on my Africa phone. I told him this may cost mommy money. I gave him my iphone to play on. He kept going to my phone dialing page and would start pressing numbers. I kept saying no but he kept it up. Finally I took it away and he started to cry. The gate man was washing one of the cars and said, does he miss daddy. Good grief. NO. I was just disciplining and he didn't like it. We came back up and had lunch. I had ordered an extra meal yesterday when we ate out so he could eat it today. It was lamb tikka. He loves meat, unfortunately not much else when there is meat on the scene. I will let it go for now but things will change when we get home. After lunch we decided to skype Paul before he went to work. Ibssa was good at the beginning but would not stop pushing buttons. It was very difficult. This being my only time to see Paul made me a little cranky. We had to cut our conversation short because it was obviously someones bedtime. I was feeling a little melancholly. I am starting to get homesick. I have lost a lot of weight I think because my pants are starting to get a little too loose. I haven't had much of an appetite for almost 2 weeks now. I just can't get used to the food here. As much as Ibssa loves it I dislike just as much. I could never handle spice....and I still can't. I have come to realize that it is harder than I thought it would be. I have a limited amount of toys, very little communication, and going outside means just playing in the courtyard..no grass. Its hard to come up with new ideas. I am also starting to get really lonely. The other Canadians here are great but nothing can replace the friends I have at home. I started to question myself. When I prayed to God about me being lonely and giving me strength Ibssa woke up and started calling Mommy! My heart melted. God was telling me that how can I be lonely when you have the sweetest most loving little boy out there. He is so right. I am so blessed. I dug out some balloons for Ibssa to play with. Candy was making supper for everyone tonight so after a while we headed over. Ibssa was delighted. A change of scenery is always good. Heather soon came over as well with her gang. It was nice with just the girls. The guys were out purchasing the bikes. A huge undertaking. I am so thankful that they did it. Nothing is easy in this city. New bikes were about $150 each. After a conference call with the men we decided to go ahead with the purchase. Used bikes are harder to find and apparently are sold at a Sunday market. We wanted to surprise the boys on New Years which is Wednesday. During supper Heather got an email from Mission of Tears saying that Berekets passport was in and that the paperwork for his visa would be heading to Nairobi tomorrow. She shrieked out loud with joy. Shortly after Candy got the same email. I didn't get anything....Being the patient woman I am LOL, after half an hour I emailed MOT more or less asking what about me? Shortly after I got a reponse back with a picture of Ibssa's passport. Ibssa Paul Gresty. Phew!!! It looks like I may have been bang on with my estimate. The visas always arrive on Mondays so hopefully they will come on September 23. My flight is booked for the 25th. Keep praying for this to happen. It's getting late and I am very tired. So good night all. Hopefully tomorrow goes a little better than today. God Bless, Karen

The last couple of days

Sorry I didn't post last night. I was tired and cranky. For some reason my skype was only working with sound and not video. I was heartbroken because I knew that skype was going to be my lifeline while I am here and I was pretty bummed out that there was no video. I am using my tablet now and I thought that this was going to be a permanent thing. I really must depend on the internet conncection because I had the video feed today. Yay! Yesterday Ibssa and I had a really good day. We started with the usual breakfast. I decided to try and skype Paul, or did he skype me, I can't remember...anyway we were able to connect for the firest time since he got home...but no video link only sound. WE caught up on a few things before I told him to go to bed. We watched some cartoons, and then I decided to let Ibssa have a fun time in the tub. He must have been in there for over an hour splashing and playing and just having a great old time. I think it was 11:30 before we were both dressed and cleaned up. For lunch Ibssa had a lot of peanut butter toast from breakfast that he wanted to eat. I made myself a toasted ham sandwich and rolled up some ham to let him nibble on. Ham is kind of a delicasy here. I paid through the nose for it but I knew it was something my body wouldn't reject. LOL. It was so funny, before I knew it he had unrolled his ham and placed it between his two peanut butter toast. He ate the whole thing! Ham and peanut butter.....who knew! LOL. I am now starting to teach Ibssa the little things. Like manners...although there is not much work needed there. Today was trying to get him to put his hand in front of his mouth when he coughs. We are both fighting a cold. Now he kind of exaggerates his cough sometimes to try and be funny while putting his hand in front of his mouth. I think his cold is actually starting to break up. It is kind of cool in a way that you can go to the pharmacy and ask for what you need without a prescription. I picked up an elixer and cough syrup for him. My only problem now is that he actually likes tylenol. I have been giving it to him at night to help the pain of his ear...which I am really starting to think is fluid. It really seems to help him sleep, but I do want him to have a liver when we return. I think when the bottle is empty I will just say we don't have anymore and save it for the really rough times. After Ibssa's nap we headed outside for some play time and plus I needed to get a couple of things at the store. He has such a great time is Ashne, Lees brother. I think he is maybe 13 or so. Ibssa loves him to pieces. The other day he gave him a wheel with a wire hooked to it to roll around in the courtyard. Such a simple toy but so much fun for Ibssa. Today he coloured with him, made paper airplanes, and gave him 3 marbles. It is so much easier for him to play with Ibssa because there is no language barrier and Ibssa can relax and just have plain old fun. We then toddled to the store where we bought juice, butter, and our luxury item of the day...honey. I also bought him an ice cream bar that he ate in the courtyard of the guesthouse when we got back. This was like heaven for Ibssa. Just as we left the guest house a guy was walking by with some documents with a picture of some guy. He was saying money, money, money, and I kept saying no. He persistant and kept showing me the picture. I just said no, and that I don't understand. He made a crazy sign with his finger that was meant for me. I was a little creeped out, but I was close enough to the gate that if he gave me much more grief I could just hollar to the guard. For supper I made lentil soup. It was far too salty even for my liking. Ibssa just kept putting pieces of ham in it and then just mostly ate the ham. Candy and Rob popped over for a quick visit. I know they are just checking up on me and that is very appreciated. I love their visits. Candy later made chocolate chip cookies and brought some over. Yummmmmm. Ibssa didn't like his so I had to eat it. Oh yeah, another funny story. Earlier today Ibssa got onto my tablet and skyped Candy all on his own. It was so funny. I turned around to hear her voice coming from the computer. He must have been watching me when I skyped Paul earlier. LOL. My little techno wizard. The day ended peacefully and it was time to put Ibssa to bed. I could keep hearing these load horn noises kind of like from the world cup. I found out today that there was a huge soccer game happening with the Ethiopia team and that they had won. Sorry if this is getting wordy, I tend to babble. Today was a church day. We decided to go to Beza church. Tilahun's church. Our driver and Tilahun picked us all of at 9:15 because we thought church started at 10. When Ibssa saw Tilahun he just ran into his arms. I truly believe that spiritually they are brothers. For the rest of the day I was chopped liver. I really didn't mind giving up my hold over Ibssa because I know that he needs to bond to Tilahun as well. I know the adoption world says this is an attachment no no but I know what I feel and this just feels right. There paths will run deep someday and I don't want to hinder that. Church didn't actually start until 11:15. Ugh! We had to wait an hour. There was at least and hour or more of worship time which I thought was awesome, and then the message was anohter hour or so. The whole service was 2 1/2 hours long. Ibssa was a trooper. He clung to Tilahun the whole time. After church we went to lunch at Lucy's, a restaurant just outside the museum. Tilahun chuckled, he said this was the exact restaurant and table that he sat at with Shelley. What an awesome God we have. On our way back to the guesthouse we asked Tilahun about Ethiopian New Years on Wednesday. We are invited to the boys house. He said that they are preparing meat to bring to the Mercato to give to the homeless boys that live on the street. They, the six boys that Shelley and other sponsors take care of, are providing meat because this is something these boys never get and that this is a special holiday and that they deserve to have something special to. I was absolutely floored. These boys were all homeless 3 short years ago. Shelley had met Tilahun at the Mercato when she was here picking up her daughter. Now they have been blessed with a place to live, food to eat, being able to attend school, and now they have their own sense of family. They have not forgotten what it was like to be homeless. They have the means to give back to boys who are just like them. How awesome thier story is. We could all learn alot from them. I immediately asked if I could give them food to. He said that they would just like meat. So I offered to give them more money to purchase more meat. He gladly accepted. They plan to feed over a hundred street children. May God continue to bless these boys. I know they will all be leaders somewhere, someday. God's light shines brightly through them. When we got up to our room, we skyped Paul and had video this time. Praise God! Ibssa was so excited to see Paul. He kept talking on and on and neither of us had a clue what he was talking about. LOL. Well guys, I am starting to get sleepy. I need to get my rest so I can keep up with Ibssa. LOL Hopefully I will have time to blog tomorrow. Chow for now, Karen

Our first Paulless Day

Well Ibssa is sleeping and I managed to stay awake until he fell aleep. Shocker! Our morning routine was pretty much the same except it took me until 10:30 instead of 9:30 before all of our morning chores were done. I don't know what I am going to do when we actually have to be somewhere on time.LOL. We went downstairs to play. Ibssa was looking for his little wheel he pushes around with a wire but it wasn't there. No one was around. I wanted to play soccer but he just wouldn't do it. We headed back upstairs because it started to rain. I caved and let hime play temple doom on my iphone. He is actually starting to get pretty good at it. He almost reached 50000 today. He is pretty proud of himself. Not bad for only using one hand to hold the phone and play the game. We had leftover tuna casserole for lunch. He mostly just picked out the tuna. By 1:30 he went down for his nap. This came after a small meltdown because his cookie was broken up the wrong way and he wanted a new one. Sorry baby...tough love, no new cookie. I decided to make some lentil soup. I was doing dishes and I heard him wail for me so I just ran in. It was just that I needed to wipe his nose, I think he was still alseep. A few minutes later I went back to the kitchen and realized I had left the water running in the kitchen sink. There was a small flood under the sink. I have haven't heard anything from Heather about leaking water from above so I guess I caught it in time. I had to use a big towel from the bathroom to clean it up. Towels are scarce as it is so now I am less one until cleaning day. When Ibssa woke up Heather came in and started telling us about their day at KVI orphanage. They were having the farewell party for Bereket and they had rented a bouncy castle. Tilahun (Shelley's boy) met them there. He used to teach there 3 days a week before they moved so he wanted to see all of the children. She invited us for supper. She had texted me earlier but my phone was dead. Time to put the new minutes on the phone. We gladly accepted so I put my soup in the fridge until tomorrow. We decided to go back downstairs and play. He was ready for the soccer ball now. Shortly after Candy and Rob pulled in with Markos's taxi. They had been to the Holy market purchasing souveniers. Ibssa spotted some muffins and immediately invited himself up for a taste test. Candy did a show and tell for me. She had bought some great deals. He also took her to buy some soccer jerseys....something still on my list to pick up. Back upstairs we went. Our toy supply is now being stretched since it has been a month. It is getting increatingly difficult to entertain him. I decided to pull out some glow stick wands that I was saving for his birthday. He was thrilled. We cracked all 4 of them. Without missing a beat he wanted to go downstairs and share them with Faith, Thomas and Bereket. Proud mommy moment. It turned out it was almost supper time so we stayed and had a meal with all of our Canadian friends. By 7 we left and had some wind down time before bed. It amazes me how well he takes medicine. We have ear drops and cold medicine to take and he actually gets excited...not for the ear drops though. But he puts his head on the bed and just waits for you to put them in. I am sure this is an orphanage drill which I am glad about. Well honey, I know you are not home yet but I hope you get a chance to read this during your long wait in Washington. Ibssa is thrilled you left your watch. He has asked about you a few times and I keep telling him that you went to Canada and that Ibssa and mommy will be going to Canada soon to. Keep sending me emails everyone....it helps the lonliness. Chow for now Karen

Only a few minutes

Just a quick note to let you know everything went well. Ibssa and I both handled it well after we had our teary good bye. I just keep telling him that daddy went to Canada and mommy and Ibssa will go to Canada soon. He seems ok with that. He had a bit of a meltdown this afternoon but a nap was what he needed. We are going outside now to play soccer. Love you Paul wherever you are....I think in Washington hopefully Chow for now Karen

A Day Out of the City

Today is a hard blog to write.  All Paul and I can think about is that it is our last full day as a family of 3 for a while.  We both know that Ibssa will take it very hard when Paul leaves.  I am confident that I can handle it, but it saddens me to lose my best friend and soul mate.  This will be the longest time that we have ever been apart.  Please take care of my honey when he gets back to Canada.  I know Paul has a happy face all of the time but this will be very difficult for him as well.  Please pray for us as we journey through this very last hurdle.

Today was the day we ventured out of town.  Even though we get up at 6:30am, we still struggle to be ready by 9:30am.  I wanted Paul to go up the street and pick up the wired money from the church that was sent for groceries for the orphanage before we left.  Thank goodness that was very simple to do.  He came home with a very thick wad in his shirt.  God bless Dundas church as well as our friends and family for making such a generous donation.  After we all got in the van, the Gresty’s and the Schiele’s, I started trying to reach Elizabeth at Abenezer.  I never seem to have any luck reaching her, so I called Germatchew from Kids-Link, our adoption facilitator from this end.  Germatchew said he would get a hold of Elizabeth and call me back with a time for tomorrow.  Phew!  Communication is always so tough.

We headed out of the city.  Addis Ababa is huge.  It probably took us at least an hour of extremely bumpy roads and massive amounts of diesel fumes before the traffic got somewhat better. We were going through an industrial area so the number of very smoky trucks made it very difficult to keep ourselves together.  Ibssa fell asleep and cuddled in next to me.  This was perfect because we knew he would be missing his afternoon nap.  I really felt bad for Candy and Rob, they have a 7 month old baby who was not very happy with that ride.

As we drove through the countryside you could see a lot of people using horses.  Livestock was everywhere on the roads.  However, they seemed to be easily manipulated by their caretakers.  There were mountains in the distance.  We were heading to the crater lake area.  The first stop was a gorgeous resort just outside of Debra Zet.  We had to pay 250 birr each to get in, less for Ibssa, but that included a huge meal when you got in as well as the use of kayaks, and discounts at the spa. 

 Rob was hungry and it was 12:30 by the time we got there so we decided to head for the restaurant.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We sat at a table next to the rail overlooking the lake.  The menu was a dinner menu.  After that ride, eating was the last thing I wanted to do but I went for it anyway.  Ibssa and Paul seemed less bothered by the fumes.  Our first course was bread and lentil soup.  The bread came with chili sauces to dip in which Ibssa devoured.  Even the waitress was impressed with how much heat he could take.  Most of us had lentil soup for a starter and Candy had roasted vegetables.  Ibssa loved the soup.  Next we had an assortment of entrees.  Ibssa had a chicken nugget kids meal which he basically did not touch.  He managed to eat from Paul’s plate, penne, and Rob’s plate, lamb.  Candy and I had the rosemary chicken.  As delicious as it was I could only manage to eat about a third of my plate.  We finished the meal with dessert…..always room for dessert.  Paul had a fried banana, Ibssa had ice cream, and Candy, Rob and I had brownies with a coffee.  Yummy.  Lunch probably took about an hour and a half.  We all toddled off in different directions to explore the resort.  None of us really wanted to go kayaking. 

Ibssa found the swimming pool.  He has great memories of swimming with Paul the other day and couldn’t really understand why they weren’t doing it again today. Rob found a cinema that was kind of weird - it had cushions that looked like beds so you can lay down and watch the movie.  Of course, Paul and Ibssa had to try it out.  Eventually Candy and I found ourselves at the spa.  It was starting to get late but we decided to just peak.  Of course, it was beautiful as well.  We asked how much it was for a pedicure….the lady said 160…we both looked at each other and said birr?  That is about $7.50 in our money.  We couldn't refuse.  I decided to get a manicure as well.  What’s another 5 bucks LOL.  They did the pedicures first.  Candy was a little worried about how Rob would do with Ephrem since he hadn’t really had much of a sleep all day.  She scurried out while I got my manicure.  My phone kept ringing.  I was sure it was Germatchew about a pickup time for tomorrow.  The spa attendants were not happy that my phone was ringing.  After my manicure I was told to sit and wait for it to dry.  Again my phone rang.  I answered it but really shouldn’t have.  I wrecked my manicure, I managed to get nail polish on my phone and my face LOL.

  Oh well, it was fun anyway.  When we were finished we called Sinteyew, our driver, to pick us up, he was already waiting.  Phew!  Rob was getting cranky.  We all assumed we were heading home, but he actually took us to one more resort with a lake.  It was only a half hour stop to just look at scenery.  They are proud of their lakes in Ethiopia.  Unfortunately, they really don’t hold a candle to anything that you would see in Canada. 

 We were polite and commented on the beauty, but we just wanted to head back.  So, away we went.  The drive outside of the city wasn’t quite as busy as the morning but just as bumpy.  It didn’t agree with Ibssa.  Just as we reached the outskirts,  Ibssa began to hurl.  Good grief.  Good thing Candy and Rob had wipes.  I was completely unprepared for this event.  Paul and I cleaned up the mess as best we could.  Candy and Rob gave us a Zip Lock bag to put Ibssa’s clothes in.  The also gave us a blanket to wrap him up in.  They literally saved the day.  Ibssa’s seemed in much better spirits but you could tell he was very tired.  It took everything Candy and I had to no hurl ourselves.  The diesel fumes were unforgiveable.  It took forever to get to the guest house.  We thanked Sintayew.  He said we could pay Lee in the morning for his fee.  It is supposed to cost $120 that we are splitting with the other couple.

Although it was great to get out of the city, I will NEVER do that again.  It is extremely hard on our lungs.  We as Canadians just can’t take it.  How people survive in this I will never know.  It is now 3 hours later and I feel like I am still detoxing from that ride.  We heading upstairs and immediately put Ibssa’s clothes to soak in the tub.  Bugger, it was only day one for this set.  We put him in his pyjamas.  We decided to give him a little down time before we put him to bed.  All of a sudden he was hungry.  Paul got him a piece of toast and some instant oatmeal.  I guess he wanted supper.  I assumed he felt like us and that food was the last thing on his mind.  Was I wrong.  He ate almost all of it.  He then went to bed and was out like a light in no time.  I laid down with him because I was feeling so crappy.  After about an hour I decided to get up.  Paul was working on downloading a program on my tablet so we would be able to watch the movies on our portable hard drive.  He will be taking the only real computer home with him tomorrow night.  When I walked in the living room he was watching one so he was successful. 

Tomorrow I will get Lee to tell Ibssa that Paul will be leaving.  She thought he would be able to understand.  He cried this morning when Paul went to the bank without him, but it only lasted about 30 seconds.  I hope all goes well.  Paul has a brutal flight home.  He won’t actually get into Toronto until about 11:30pm on Friday.  He is flying to Washington and then on to Toronto after a 12 hour delay.  Pam and Mike will pick him up since they will be in Toronto anyway seeing Joel Osteen, something that we had tickets for and had to give up. 

I forgot to mention, when we got back to our room they had swans made from towels sitting on the bed.  Usually, we just towels folded up.  I think TIGI must know Paul is leaving tomorrow  Awwwww.

 

Well it’s getting late.  The updates may not be as wordy or as often for the next couple of weeks.  I will be using my tablet and it’s a lot harder than typing on a laptop.  Also, when I lay down with Ibssa, I may not get up until morning.  LOL. 

Hugs and Blessings,

Karen

 

Girl's Day Out

Today I got up at the usual time.  Ibssa and I decided to go and have breakfast while Paul slept.  It was the least I could do since I slept for 12 hours.  I was feeling pretty crappy when we got home yesterday from the Sheraton.  I still wasn’t ready to eat breakfast but of course Ibssa was.  After breakfast Paul woke up and we kind of had a lazy morning.  I was supposed to meet Candy and Heather for a girls shopping day at 10am.  Rob came over and said Candy was sick and Heather said Dave was sick.  We postponed our shopping until 1.  Funny how 4 of us were sick and all 4 of us had hamburgers at the Sheraton yesterday.  I guess it doesn’t matter if it’s a fancy place or not, you can get sick from eating anywhere. 

Paul and Ibssa played for the rest of the morning outside while I decided to make pasta for lunch.  The plan was that they would be able to eat this for supper as well if I wasn’t home in time.  No such luck, Paul finished it all.  Oh well, at least he had a good meal. 

The 3 women loaded up in Markos’s car.  Candy and I both filled up on immodium before we left so we wouldn’t have any adventurous bathroom breaks.  Our first stop was the weaving place where Markos and taken me the other day.  The girls wanted scarves, and this was the place to get them.  However, they were having some meeting so they said we had to wait 10 minutes which is really half an hour.  We waited and then Markos got a call saying another 20 minutes.  We decided to walk up the steep hill so Heather could shop for traditional clothes and tablecloths.  Again, I had done this the other day.  So I huffed and puffed and made it up the hill.  The air is very thin here.  Markos just laughs at me, but I did it like a trooper.  The beggers were really bad today.  I didn’t have anything small for money at this point so I couldn’t help them out.  I was the target because the other two ladies were doing all of the shopping.  I really couldn’t wait to get out of there.  Just as we were pulling away in the cab we were able to give a few people money.  It is really hard because once you give one money, you get swarmed by beggers….some in need, some not so much. 

After we had put a dent in this market we headed to the leather market.  I was kind of drooling about this place.  I knew leather was cheap here.  Markos said nothing is a fixed price.  Time to barter.  I ended up picking up a few purses, SURPRISE!, most are gifts.  A wallet for Paul and I, and a belt for Paul.  The purses were larger than what we in Canada prefer for a handbag, at least me anyway.  You can buy a really nice purse for $30.  Completely leather.  The wallets and belts were $5.  Crazy huh.  I would have liked to buy a jacket for Paul but he wasn’t with me and that is too much to spend if they don’t fit.  They are beautiful though.  Markos said they were between $50-$100.  Too bad, they are the really soft leather to.

By this time it was time to head home. We had stopped at a Chinese restaurant by our guest house when we first ventured out, to place an order for supper.  That way we could just pick it up when we were on our way home.  The waiter suggested we call when we are about half an hour away.  Probably the wisest choice because traffic is so bad at this time of day it is hard to know how long it will actually take to get there.  I phoned in our order…..I wasn’t really sure what we ordered, and that maybe we may have enough for a few days.  Once again, communication is tough.  We also had to bring our own take out containers.  So we had to make another pit stop at a grocery store.  We got there after about half an hour.  I made Candy come in with me.  As soon as they saw we had money they started to make our order.  Man oh man, we thought we were so proactive on pre-ordering.  We could have just had our families meet us there and it would have been just as fast.

By the time we got back to the guesthouse it was 7:30.  I said Ibssa would probably be in bed by now.  Almost, he was in his jammies already and had eaten supper.  No worries, he was ready for another supper. LOL.  He loves hanging out at Heather and Daves because they have so much playmobile toys.  Ibssa absolutely loves them.  All the miniature men and pieces.  If we have a shower when I get home we will definitely suggest playmobile stuff.  Also, any yardsale gurus out there, I would love it if you picked up some for me.  I digress!  The food was fantastic!  It was very close to what we have here.  It’s kind of like Russian roulette.  I wonder who will be sick tomorrow. LOL. 

Well, I must say that the Dad’s did a great job today while the mom’s went on their shopping fix.  I think Paul had it the easiest.  It was the first time Rob was left alone with baby Ephrem.  Poor Dave was sick and looked after 3 busy kids.  Now I am yawning as I am writing this so I know that my bedtime isn’t too far away.  Tomorrow is our big adventure going out of the city.  Can’t wait to blow the city stink off of us.

Chow for now,
Karen

Warm and Wet

What a day. There was a quick rain this morning and then sun all day. 

Ibssa started the day with two minor pouts.  The first one was because he wanted to pull out the power bar from the wall.  I told him no, but he thought it was funny and started pulling on it.  I give him a little tap on the hand and he started pouting – no tears – just pouting.  It only lasted 30 seconds.  The second one was just because Karen cut his toast in half which was Ok but then she started cutting them in quarters.  This pout was probably only another 30 seconds.

We seen the power of God again.  Ibssa has been avoiding fruit since the second day he was here.  The first day he ate a banana with no problem and they said at the orphanage that he ate fruit.  For some reason he won’t eat any – maybe because we give him too many choices.  Karen did grace and prayed that Ibssa would start eating fruit.  We had his usual cereal and peanut butter toast on the table.  We had leftover watermelon and pineapple so Karen but some of both on his plate.  Karen told Ibssa to eat the fruit then he could have the cereal and toast.  No problem – no pouting -   he ate it and smiled.  God can help in the little battles too.

We had already booked a driver to take us all (11 Canadians) to the Sheraton.  They have a pool and a play area that you can get a day pass to.  For 250 birr ($12.50) you can use the pool all day.  It was kind of unusual for a hotel.  They had a metal detector you had to walk through and a scanner for your bags just like the airport.  The pool was huge and is heated by a hot spring.  It must have been at least 80 degrees.  Theresa, that would have even been warm enough for Karen.  Karen forgot to pack her bathing suit so she tried to buy one – no go.  Half of the pool was roped off as a shallow end and maybe was 4 ft deep in the middle.  The edges were all slanted so the kids could walk right in and go as deep as they want.  Ibssa absolutely loved it.  He was a little hesitate at first to go in very far.  I carried him in and he was happy but was reluctant to put his feet down.  A little helping from dad and he would stand in it.  It wasn’t long before he put his face in because the other kids were doing it.

They also had a wading pool where the water came up to your ankles and had a small slide.  We tried that out an Ibssa was OK with the slide as long as dad went down with him. 

I think we must have played for over two hours.  Many times he put his face in with no problems even when he took in water.  He loved it when I supported him and he would move his arms and legs like he was swimming.  I also made him go up in down like a dolphin and each time we came down towards the water he would dunk his head.

At about 1:30, we stopped for lunch.  Hawaiian pizza and strawberry shake for Ibssa – Mmmmmm.  After lunch, it was time to play in the play area.  Ibssa didn’t progress much from the last play area.  He still only wanted to ride on the spring animals.  Faith went into a plastic little house so Ibssa (with caution) ventured in.  The second time he did it all by himself.  A half an hour of playtime and then it was time maybe for a nap on the loungers. No wayyyyyy – too much action.  After about 20 minutes of rest, it was time to get back in the pool.  Another hour of water play followed by half an hour of lounging and it was time to go. 

We took a look around the Sheraton before we left.  Unbelievable!!  Somebody said a junior suite was $500 a night.  It was probably right after the quick tour we took.  High class all the way with several shops including a bakery, jewellery store and a bank.  That was just on the main floor that we saw.  Maybe my boss can send me there? 

A quick stop at the grocery store and we went back to guesthouse.  Everyone was bagged and partially sunburned – yes the sun and the water turned us slightly red.  It was about 5:30 when we got home and Karen took a nap.  Ibssa and I just vegged for a while and he had some leftover injera for supper. Ibssa was dogged tired as he didn’t get his nap.  Ibssa went to bed without an issue and Karen went with him.  I think she’s done for the night too.

Chow

Paul