Beam me outta here!

A stomach bug has attacked Slomp huis! 5 down.. how many more? We're starting to run seriously short of ice cream buckets.

Add in a sick pony outside, and this Mama is pretty busy!

Obviously, prayers would be appreciated.

Funny comment of the day: After accidentally slamming B's fingers in the kitchen door, L exclaimed, "It was an 'askident' Mom!"

Most confusing translation moment: M spouts in frustration, "Everyone pig me, Mom!" It took a bit of questioning and deciphering to figure out what she really meant to say... "Everyone is picking on me, Mom!"

And another Eye Opening note:

http://nomorecountingthecost.blogspot.com/2008/06/cup-of-sorrow.html

Things which I should obsess about, rather than obsessing about finding a swimsuit to fit my chubby, American butt.

Food Shortage

We are quite conerned about how this affects our family in Ethiopia - Me, Ed, and L's Grandmother, Great-Grandmother, and the girl's older brother. We love them dearly. I have included a link at the bottom of this post for those who are moved to help. We are hoping to find a way to help our family in particular. Once we can find a way to sponsor them... or at least the girl's brother, Getahun... we will need to raise the money to send in monthly.
Read on (written by a man in our agency's adoptive family forum):

"Since we are living and working in Ethiopia we can confirm that things are getting very tough. The government just released June '07-June '08 inflation figures with overall inflation at 55%, food inflation at 78%, and grain/cereals inflation at 132%. The short rains failed (those that come in February - May) which combined with raising world food prices has been the real culprit of the difficult times Ethiopia now faces. The short rains usually provide enough crops that get people through the "hungry season"generally May to August. This is when people are planting and are waitingfor the harvest from the longer rains. Unfortunately, due to the failure of the short rains, and the delay of the longer rains, most of the current harvests are about two months behind. Most families dependent on agriculture will not see a harvest until mid-to-late September at the earliest.

What I have heard in my travels and in meetings is that there is food in most markets, however the prices are so high that people cannot afford to purchase it. This is especially true for the small holder farmer and the very poor, who are most severely affected. The most deceiving part is that the fields are planted and the countryside looks green and beautiful, however these farmers (especially in the south where I recently traveled)will not receive their first crop (green maize) until at least Sept or Oct. This is why people are referring to this as a green famine - beautiful, plenty growing right now, but there is no access to food for a large number of people.

On the ration side - the government and donors are trying to meet food needs for the 4.6 million people at risk, but due to the inadequate food stocks in country for July, they have decided to reduce the normal ration of 15 KG perperson to 10KG per person. It's a tough decision, give some of the people in need a full ration and nothing to the rest, or spread the in-country foodstock among all who need it at a reduced ration. There is a lot of food coming into country in late/July and August and will be available to distribute quickly. All that said, the government is in the process of buying 150,000 tons of wheat to sell at a subsidized rate in 12 urban centers around the country to reduce the food inflation impacts on the urban poor who do not have land and are solely dependent on purchased food to survive. "
http://awop.org/ - African Widows and Orphans Project

http://adoptionadvocates.org/human/human_sponsor_project.php

http://adoptionadvocates.org/human/human_sponsor_ed.php

Climber Kid ~ Posted by E

Joy

Joy

3+ Months Home

Time for a wordy update, copied from a note to our adoption forum/support group:

Our transition is 'almost' dreamy! It's going extremely well most of the time. We have some minor struggles here and there, but most have been only slightly more difficult than dealing with typical teen/preteen issues (and with 7 girls from 7-16, some of these issues are bound to surface!)... with a bit of extra emotion and grief attached.

I tell people that we do have tantrums in our house... but I just put myself in my room until I'm done with my fit. ;)

Our girls are affectionate, fun loving, kind (unless in the middle of sibling conflict... they can bicker with the best) - so many positives. Occasionally they are a little moody, and sometimes quite homesick. The 7 year old can be so active for attention, that she nearly sucks the air out of a room. The girls have been learning to trust us, and open up more each week. They have been giving us glimpses of their life and struggles in Ethiopia... some real eye openers. I am amazed by some of the things they've endured.

The other children have had some big adjustments too, but after 3 months things are already settling quite a bit. The big brew-ha-ha starts when the siblings run into the language stuff/misunderstandings ~ the US kids are just certain that the Eth kids are babbling on in Amharic to get away with saying rude things about them. The US kids then start speaking pig-latin, which ticks off the Eth kids. It can be quite something to behold, but it's pretty funny at the same time. It's now becoming a joke between them.

The kids have started singing together during our travels. Our van now sounds like a camp bus, with kids singing at top volume. The first-aid kit makes an effective drum.

I have to choose to look into the future, and picture all three girls doing well. When I start to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of catching up with their schooling, it can feel like there's an elephant on my dinner plate... A friend has encouraged me to take one thing at a time - only focus on eating the tail, instead of letting myself panic over devouring the whole elephant at once. :) So, we're plodding gently through some summer school, focusing on critical thinking skills, reading, and basic math.

Remembering the wait:
I remember longing for the pre-court-closure court date. We waited for quite some time (felt like an eternity), but our turn came and now the wait is a fairly distant memory. Our total process was only about 9-10 months... a decent gestation for our 'triplets.'

Smile

The girls continue improving their English skills at an amazing rate!
Today's comment from L (she's looking at some drawings on our kitchen windows), in her raspy, Amharic accented voice:

"I know EVERYTHING! This is sun. This is cloud. This is frowel, frowel, FROWEL!"

Flower.