Home again- home again!

View outside our guesthouse-notice stick scaffolding with man on top!

Yonas and Dawit (our America World guide and driver-they were great!!)

our guest house where we lived for 10 days!

view outside our guest house- we were on 3 rd floor

a van like we drove everywhere in

former palace-now Ethiopian museum on University campus

country side on way to Sodo

Beautiful!

Every place had high walls and gates

All on way to Sodo - south of Addis

No traffic lights :) People, cars, goats everywhere!

a store- notice veggies on porch

Always people walking in the roads-

goats walking in roads too :)

a town we stopped in for breakfast on way back to Addis

We went in this hut! The family was very gracious to allow us in-

Randall ducking in-

funny little taxis-3 wheels - fit 3 or 4 people--looked like to me out of Star Wars!

coffee tree behind Randall

Ethiopian girls

ping pong along side of road- 3 or 4 tables set up. Zach, Nick and I played.
Didn't realize we were supposed to pay to play--oops! :)

road along street in Sodo-big drainage ditch- our hotel was along here as well as ping pong

The BIG Question: 

Did we pass court?

Nope!

We were missing our MOWCYA letters

which the Ministry of Women Children and Youth Affairs (like our social services here)

must write a recommendation for each family.

We expected this so it wasn't too big of a surprise but was hoping they would be there!

Our time with the kids was amazing and exhausting! :)  They greeted us on the first day with big hugs and kisses. Can't wait to share pictures with you when we pass court! 

Even though we don't speak the same language we communicated quite well! 

Soccer was played everyday! Stickers, coloring, running around, painting nails and toes, etc.

We were SO thankful to have Zach and Nick with us!! With one of us always holding the baby that left 1 person basically for each kid.

Ethiopia is a beautiful country! I will post more later but wanted to just say 

THANK YOU to all of you praying for us and our children.

We have lots of stories to tell and precious memories.

Please continue to pray we pass court soon. Court closes Aug. 7th (for 2 months) and if we don't receive letters by then we are looking at around mid-Nov. to bring the kids home.

We wouldn't have been able to come this far without each of you...

More to come!! :)