Amani Ya Juu

Another Adoption Update

We've been trying for about a week to get in touch with the USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) here in Nairobi. Nathan was finally able to talk to someone this morning and we have an appointment for 8am next Friday morning at the US Embassy. We have to file an I-600A form and get fingerprinted to be checked by the FBI. The USCIS must grant permission for us to bring a foreign-born orphan to the US. Since we are adopting from Ethiopia, a non-Hague country, we obtain approval by submitting an I-600A.

This is the last of the paperwork that we have to obtain before we can say we are done gathering papers. Of course, we still have grant applications, but the last of the paperwork that has to be done before we can say we are done with the paper chase!

UPDATE: Our dossier made it past the Department of State and is now at the Ethiopian Embassy. Too bad they are closed tomorrow to celebrate the prophet Muhammad's birthday. Our courier hopes it will be done Monday since Tuesday is another holiday. :) Praise the Lord! One step closer!

Pumpkin Pancakes

I wasn't really in the mood to cook a big meal last night so we had pumpkin pancakes. I had found some pumpkin in the freezer and was trying to figure out what to make with it. So I found this recipe here. It was yummy for something different. Don't think we'll have these every time we want pancakes but they were good and we all enjoyed them. Nathan suggested putting some chocolate chips in them and that sounds like a great idea. I did read some reviews on them and made some modifications to the recipe.

So, here's the recipe:

2 c. all purpose flour (I used 1 c. whole wheat flour.)

3 T. brown sugar (I used unrefined sugar.)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. allspice (I don't have any so I just added more cinnamon and some cloves.)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt.)

1 1/2 c. milk (I used soymilk.)

1 c. pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 T. vegetable oil

2 T. vinegar

Mix milk, pumpkin, egg, oil, and vinegar in blender and blend until smooth. Mix dry ingredients and pour milk mixture in. Combine just until moistened. I added a little extra milk. Some of the reviews said they were thick and to add a little milk and then spread them out in the pan with a spoon so you don't take away from the flavor. I also let the batter sit for 5 minutes before starting to cook them so the soda would activate. Cook in a skillet until brown on both sides. 

Excitement in the Air

Our paperwork is on it's way to DC!! I've been skyping with my father-in-law who is taking care of getting our adoption paperwork on its way. He just informed me that he sent our dossier next day air to Assistant Stork, the courier, who will then hand carry it to DC and wait for it to be authenticated by the Department of State. Then they will hand carry it to the Ethiopian Embassy for it to be authenticated there, too. From there, it will go to CWA. Then we pay our last payment to CWA and it's on it's way to Ethiopia!! Whoohoo! We are getting closer! A great big THANKS to Nana and Poppy for taking over for us since we didn't get it all done while we were in the US!!

Wordless Wednesday

Kid Quotes

John: "I like yeast." He was helping me make bread and we had just put in the yeast.

Dinah: "There is pili pili (Kiswahili for hot pepper) on my pizza." It was really just pili pili ho ho (green pepper) that jumped over on her piece.

John: "I'm getting really, really big."

Ruth: "Whoa."

Dinah: "That's why we don't give her (Ruth) tuna, Dad." Nathan fixed Dinah a tuna sandwich on Sunday and let Ruth have a bite of it. She walked into the living room and spit it out on the carpet. Dinah was so matter of fact; it was hilarious.

Mommy: "Ruth, can you say purple?"
Ruth: "Purr-ple."

Dinah: "I've got a booger, guys." We were in the van with the Neuenschwanders last night on the way home from the farewell dinner. Everyone busted out laughing. Crazy girl.

John: "My fingers are getting long."
Dinah: "I can cut them off for you."

John: "Ruh-roh."

Ruth: She shakes her head "no" for both "yes" and "no." We are trying to teach her "yes," too.

Dinah: "John we have chapatis, rice, and porridge. What do you want?"
John: Looks around and doesn't see any food.
Dinah: "It's just pretend."

Tuesday Treats

Nathan is such a huge help around the house and with the kids. I'm so blessed to have such an unselfish Hubbie.

One night last week John got sick during dinner. Nathan took him to the bathroom and cleaned up the mess. He knows I don't handle that sort of thing very well.

He took such good care of me this past weekend. I was supposed to be off my foot as much as possible so he took care of feeding the kids, putting them to bed, doing the dishes, and making sure I had my medicine when I needed it.

Last night after we got home from the farewell dinner, we got the kids in bed, and then got in bed ourselves. We were laying in the dark (since the power was out) and he told me I looked pretty tonight and was the prettiest one at the dinner. I tried to argue with him, but there was no changing his mind. How sweet!

I love you, Nathan! Thanks for being such a great Husband!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

This morning the kids and I made a fresh batch of Honey Whole Wheat Bread and a batch of Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Even though I'm trying to loose weight, my Honey still likes a little snack in the evening. I don't like raisins so it's a pretty sure thing that I'll stay away from these. :) 

The recipe is actually for Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, but I put raisins instead to insure I would stay away. 

So, here's the recipe:

1 c. shortening (I used 1/2 shortening and 1/2 margarine.)

1/4 c. peanut butter (I used fresh almond butter.)

1/2 c. sugar 

1/2 c. brown sugar (I combined the sugars and used 1 c. natural, unrefined sugar.)

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour (I used 3/4 c. whole wheat flour.)

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt (I used sea salt.)

2 c. rolled oats

1-2 c. chocolate chips (I used 1 c. raisins.)

1 c. nuts, chopped, optional

Cream 1st six ingredients. Add flour, soda, salt, oats. Mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes (mine took about 12 minutes and my oven was closer to 400.) 

Thanks to the More-with-Less cookbook! Enjoy! I think my Honey will!

Prayer and Praise

Prayer~

Please pray for the political situation in Kenya, for peace and stability.

I have tendonitis in my right ankle from exercising. It's been going on for a week now and it's getting old.

We are praying our adoption paperwork will go to Washington, D.C. this week. Please pray for a smooth journey!



Praise~

Ruth was in the nursery at church yesterday for a while without Nathan. It will be nice to be able to be in the worship service together again.

We were hoping to go away for Easter weekend since Nathan gets 2 days off. We called the place we were hoping to go, but they didn't have anything open. Nathan got a sms last night and asked if we still wanted to come. Apparently they had a cancellation. PTL! We are looking forward to getting out of the city for a few days.

We think we finally figured our adoption paperwork out. After getting some info that wasn't correct, our social worker helped us figure out the correct way to finish this up!

What a Cutie!

Two Men and a Baby

I was straining my brain on Friday to come up with a good culture blog and couldn't think of anything so I guess I just skipped out on you. Sorry!

Yesterday we went out to get some dinner at a food court in a nice shopping center and on our way back to the car, I got a couple for you.

We were walking out of the building and there was a young, white family just behind us. I had seen them walking around while we were eating. There was the mom and dad, a 7 or 8 year old girl, a 5 or 6 year old boy, and a 6 month old baby in the mom's arms. These 2 young Kenyan guys were walking out right beside them. I guess they looked over and saw the baby and how cute he was and one of them just took the baby right out of the mom's arms. I was kind of watching over my shoulder and am pretty sure they didn't know each other. The look on the mom's face was one of scared uncertainty. She glanced back at the dad and then saw me and gave me a scared look back. By the time we rounded the corner to head to our car, he had given the baby back. We are definitely the minority here and Kenyans love to look at our babies and hold them and are definitely not afraid to try to take them from a complete strangers arms.

We continued on our way home taking the back roads since there was a lot of traffic on the main ones. We were just driving along and a small car was stopped on the side of the road with 2 men standing next to it facing the hedge just beside the road. Anyone have any idea what they were doing?

Random Cuteness

Adoption Update

Our papers that we had notarized here a couple weeks ago have arrived in Charlotte. A big thanks to the Levanders for carrying them back and mailing them! We have confirmed with our social worker what we need to do to get it sent back to Raleigh. Hopefully it will be going in the mail soon. Please pray it's ok this time! We'd really like to keep going in the process.

The Kids

John Culver @ 33 months~

What a great little guy! He is learning so much and is always ready to learn more.

He:

is the best sharer.

loves to help in the kitchen. 

is really starting to enjoy coloring. 

asks to do school as much as Dinah.

knows his colors.

likes beans, as in to eat.

loves his sisters.

always asks to say Bible verses at bedtime even when we forget. 

is starting to pray with us, and always wants to pray for Zipporah. 

Ruth Amelia Mueni @ 17 months~

I absolutely love this age. She is toddling around with Dinah and John. Exerting her will, but learning there are boundaries. Is independent, yet still loves to be held. 

She:

can put on her sandals.

can peel a baby banana. 

is almost weaned from her paci.

has the cutest curls sticking out above her ears.

is trying to run.

is pretty much down to one nap a day although some it days it catches up to her and she needs two.

will eat just about anything we put in front of her except the lentils we had last night. :) 

follows instructions really well.

puts her dirty clothes in the laundry basket at night.

gives kisses.

Dinah Belle @ 46 months~

This age is pretty great, too. :) What can I say...I just love them all! 

She:

is great at helping me keep up with John and Ruth if I'm in the kitchen and don't hear them.

LOVES, LOVES, LOVES carrot juice. Of course, they all do. 

is doing better at trying new foods although she didn't like the lentils last night either.

is starting to like dogs and is not so afraid around them.

is really enjoying school.

"reads" to John and Ruth when I'm busy.

likes to help with cooking and washing dishes.

talks about baby brother all the time.

Tuesday Treats

Thursday was Nathan's birthday and he came home about an hour early. It was a nice surprise to see him at the gate early. He played outside with the kids while I finished his birthday dinner. Then we had an early dinner and a nice evening together.

Saturday we spent most of the morning and early afternoon at the Williams house for Nathan to help go through Ryan's toolbox and get it ready for storage. I didn't really do anything besides talk and watch the kids, but I was tired by the time we got home. We still had grocery shopping to do after the kids woke up from their naps, so Nathan took us to Java House for dinner at the request of Dinah and John. He's such a giving Hubbie.  

Sunday afternoon, Nathan let me take a nice long nap. We were supposed to make juice while the kids were sleeping, but he let me sleep instead. Then he stayed up with me after the kids went to bed to get the juice made. He also went and got us Ethiopian food so I wouldn't have to mess up the kitchen before we made juice. 

I love you, Nathan!

What has your Hubbie done for you lately??

Preschool

This morning I attempted to start "preschool" with Dinah and John. It was kind of spur of the moment without much planning although I've been thinking about it for a while. We ordered books while we were in the States and brought back some art supplies, too. We started off with coloring a Bible picture while I read a corresponding Bible story. They each have a coloring book that corresponds with my story book so there is no arguing. Then we read a story in Amelia Bedilia. They are starting to enjoy longer stories, and they are much more fun for Mommy to read. Then we did some finger painting. Ruth enjoyed this activity as well. She just didn't like when the paint was all gone and it was time to clean up. We then worked on our ABCs on their magna doodles. We also worked on each of them spelling their names. John was just as interested in all of it as Dinah so I think we'll probably end up with 2 in the same grade for most things. Who knows what the future holds and how much "school" we'll do each day, but it was a fun start. Dinah was excited to tell Daddy what she did at "school" when he got home, so it sounds like I might need to keep it up.