Blogging marathon

I've been too busy to keep up with my blog, so am doing a posting marathon today.

Once the kids got out of school we entertained each other all day so not so much time for computers! And now I am back to work so even crazier! Of course, no matter how much we do they are still bored. They miss their friends in Ethiopia and the activities they did there. It sounds like they had a very active lifestyle with lots of socializing, friends, foos ball, sports and games.

The amount of laundry has been the one surprise in the new realm of parenting. How can two little kids go through sooo many clothes? And get them sooo dirty? One bonus ... as I work at an appliance showroom we have a working laundry display. They have always said I could do my laundry at work and now with the kids I have taken them up on the offer. I get it all sorted and pre-treated at home, then pop it in the machines at work and voila! ... all done. What a lifesaver.

Snippets of life in America ...

Happy Birthday! -- the twins turn 9 ...

We had a FUN FUN FUN first birthday in America! We had a pool party at the townhouse complex with family , friends, and neighbors. It was a gorgeous warm, sunny day and we all had a great time. It was hard getting the kids out of the water long enough to take a quick photo with their cake before before we cut it and served it up. I did learn a lesson about outdoor parties ... the candles wouldn't stay lit long enough to blow them out! And it was too chaotic to open gifts ... always a guest favorite ... so we took all the presents to the house and those still there got to witness the storm of paper ripping and flying.

Learning to Swim

The kids' first swim experience was when I went to get them in Ethiopia. They now have two weeks of lessons under their belts and are practically pros. They can both swim all the way across the deep end of the pool in my townhouse complex. The love it! We swim every day!

Road Trip

For Memorial Day weekend we went to Montana so the kids could meet Grandma - "mommies mom" in Montana. I tried to prepare them for the drive, telling them it was a long, long way ... a "big go" as they say. It was great having my little GPS, because whenever they would ask how far we would just reply in miles. That was much more satisfying to them than "it's still a long ways." My typical 8-1/4 hour trip took 9-1/2 hours on the way up and 9 hours on the way back (guess we learned a bit). We took a portable DVD player thinking it would be a lifesaver for the long ride, but it made them both carsick. So much for techno-travel! But we had a good time and they loved Grandma. They were a big hit at the retirement home as well. Everyone thought they were so well behaved. Wish they'd act like that for Mama! At church my mom likes to sit further back as her mobility is diminished, but the kids like to sit up front -- they LOVE Jesus! So we sat 4 rows from the back and the kids 3 rows from the front. Again I got rave reviews for their behavior. Sigh!

It was a Happy Mother's Day

It was a whole different experience celebrating Mother's Day as a mom. I got to stand up in church when they honored the moms - which was the first time being a mom felt odd. And my sweet, wonderful children had beautiful cards and a new camera (to replace the one I lost en route to pick them up in Ethiopia). OK, maybe they had some help from their uncle, but it was still so much fun and a blessing to me.