An amazing day

Yesterday I knew was going to be a tough day emotionally. It was my 50th birthday. There are no words to describe the feelings around this. I thought of family all day. I felt alone even though I am definitely not alone. I just wanted to ignore my birthday so I wouldn't have to deal with all the emotions that would follow. The day started by joining all of our friends for a trip up the nearby mountain. I think it's called intoto. Spelling not sure. Unfortunately it rained the entire time so the view was lost to the fog. We visited a museum where I learned a little bit of the history of Addis Ababa. We toured an old palace and a church. A little freaked out now, the power just went off and it is completely dark except for the light on my phone and the light from the tablet where Ibssa is watching a movie. Oh well, this is Africa. We decided to cut our trip short angled go for dinner at oh Canada. The food was good but this was the time Ibssa decided to turn into a monster. Someone ordered a coke and he wanted one. He did manage to calm down but it put me in a sour mood. I picked up a bunch of takeout dessert to curb my mood. We got back to the guesthouse and he went to bed. I guess he needed a sleep. I skyped Paul and told him I had a pretty crappy day so far. I also told him that the boys invited bus out for dinner. He signed off saying the day would get better....and it did. All of my Canadian friends came up with a cake and sang happy birthday. I agreed to eat cake before dinner because that is just how it should be on your birthday. Lol. They gave me an ethiopian cookbook. How perfect!I told them I didn't have much time because Tilahun was picking us up for dinner. Heather told me that I need to hang around until 5:30 because Paul had a surprise for me. Heather had told Tilahun to come later. I sensed some sneakiness here. The wheels started turning and I knew Paul was going to Skype during church. I knew then that I couldn't slide through my birthday. I would have to deal with the boatload of emotions that would come. I was right, Paul skyped and the whole church sang happy birthday. It was amazing! And there in the front row were all of my family and friends. Now the waterworks started. It was also worldwide communion day so we had communion along with the church. The connection wasn't great but we hung on for awhile. I told Paul I had to go because the boys were waiting in the van. So Ibssa and I left. For some reason I thought I was going to the boys house but I soon realized we were going out for dinner. We went to island breezes. That was where we went with the boys when Paul was here. They like it because it is American food. While we were waiting for our order Getcho called. Wow. He wished me a happy birthday and wished he was with us. Apparently he was outside of the city somewhere. After the meal the boys brought in a cake. Wow. Also they made me cards and gave me a gift of earrings. I was speechless but very happy. They are so awesome I wish all of you could meet them. It was getting late so we soon headed home. The whole night was the boys treat so I thought. I found out later that my bible study group had a hand in this outing. I ANSI blessed to have such great friends. I felt Gods presence this day. He was taking care of me. I skyped my family when we got back. Again awesome. I always cry when I see my kids. Today we had to go to try and adjust my plane ticket. The agent told me that when I knew my date that I could just book and pay the penalty. This was a different story than what I had heard before. I thought I had to pick a date. I had him explain it two times. I kept saying that I wouldn't be there on the 9th. He kept saying my ticket would still be valid. Well this was great just had to book when I knew. When I told Paul this scenario he didn't believe I had interpreted it right. So, I had lee call the number he gave me and try and figure this out. Well I was right my ticket will still be valid. It is valid for a year! That just rocks! at 4:30 Tilahun picked us up along with Candra and Riley. We went to visit mission Ethiopia again while the women were there. After our visit to Korah we went to tilahuns house Nd visited the boys. They were all doing homework at the coffee table. They showed is their work and I tried to help but couldn't. I have been out of school far too long. Their homework was hard. Again these boys amazed me. They fed Ibssa and then we were on our way. Another late night but a pretty good day. I think tomorrow we will just lay low. Well gotta get my wee one to bed. Chow for now, Karen