I MUST talk about our trip! We stayed with a couple I friend'd on FB. They have a son from Ethiopia too. I LOVE getting to know other families with Ethiopian children, I like the common bond me and the moms share and I want my children to know and have relationship (as much as possible) with other Ethiopian children. Michael & Amy offered to put my family of SIX up four nights in their home (which they just moved into the week prior)!!!! It reminds me of God's word encouraging us to be hospitable to one another. Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." They were amazing hosts. I don't think we are angels (haha) but I'm sure we have angels among us! They were incredibly kind to us and made us feel very welcome. They took time to show us Nashville and she let me cook in her kitchen! And we shopped Goodwill for TWO HOURS! We played in their community pool (and managed to get all the way home with their pool key...opps). And Michael entertained Eli for some hours with Playstation, and a crazy game of Life...Eli was in "heaven." He even cried when we left. (I love that he bonds with people and feels the loss when its time to go...so sweet). Amy was kind enough to snap some pics of me and my kids together because I really don't have many. (A nice thunderstorm is moving in...I love it!!!)
On Sunday we went further south to meet another friend I met on FB who has 12 children, only four bio and the rest were adopted a sibling groups from Ethiopia. This jewel has been precious to me from day one on FB. She is committed to her children and I love reading about her adventures. Her children are wonderful. We took them a blessing basket (that is a basket me and my children fill with goodies we think people will be blessed by, they are always FUN to give, its always FUN to be a BLESSING). I wish I would have had more time to get to know each of the children, but it was truly fun. Z got to meet two of the girls she has been pen pals with, she introduced them to Polly Pockets. They played with side walk chalk and explored the woods. Miss. Z managed to make it home with two tickets and two legs covered with chigger bites (hey...thats country living sister, I remember!) Eli lego'd it out with the boys. Brett & I chatted with the Momma for awhile while the kids played and she gave me samples of her wonderful homemade products...I MUST say the Ouchie Butter is worth ordering. Kenenisa LOVES it on his scrapes! "Put ouchie butter on my blood!" And it works!
Ok back to a super cool part of this trip. I friend this Momma of 12 on FB probably b/c we have ONE mutual friend, maybe, and well come on...she has a LOT of beautiful Ethiopian children and I'm so inspired by such wonderful people (some would say crazy, but no me...I think she is an angel). Brett gets to talking to her about their adoption timeline and asks when she brought her second sibling group home, b/c he thinks he recognizes her. Brett had met her on the flight bringing our children home...they all came home on the same plane!! He chatted with her on the plane about her big family and remembered her well!! How crazy is that? What are the chances of Brett having met her BEFORE I facebook'd her 1 1/2 yrs ago!?! For me...it was a God moment. God doesn't do coincidences, he does devine blessings! Moments that make you go Wow. Moments where you know the hand of God orchestrated the whole thing. I must say too because we have yet to ever tell our whole adoption story, this is NOT the 1st time God has moved like this in our adoption. We have many more magical God moments. This gets me so pumped up, I have now lost my focus....so I'll add pictures now. :)
Oh I did I mention my childhood friend Cassie? She lives right down the street from Amy & Michael, I did not know this til I texted her...so I got to meet up with her too. I got to meet her triplets for the first time. So cool, so God!
Anniversary Kayak float
The coolest baseball team ever!
All of us at Amy & Michael's right before we headed home.
Duckling
Penpals! I can't wait to hear more from them!
Blessing Basket dig in.
Group photo
This is a photo of Brett showing them Haile (the famous Ethiopian runner) that Brett met at the airport. They didn't believe him, so he showed them the pic of him and Brett together. Then when the boys realized Haile was on the flight with all of them, "MOM...WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!" Mom, "Uhhhh I didn't know who he was! How am I suppose to know?" (Poor Mom!) Its kinda like finding out you were on the plan with Michael Jordan and didn't know it, its kinda a big deal. I told him I would send him a picture of Haile if he wanted one. :)
Farmer's Market!
Opryland Hotel Gardens, my favorite spot.
Family pool pic!
Amy is such a gentle sweet precious soul.
Me and Cassie and all of our children-Micayla. Its a bit weird when you think about having grown up with someone from the beginning of time and moving through life with them, but not really with them. Cassie has always been special to me. She has always treated me with kindness. She too is a precious soul.
I'm so glad we didn't spend two hours in the car to see the Hendersonville Freedom Fireworks because let me tell you...this subdivision was having their own little (I mean BIG) Firework Wars and it was AHHHMAZING! I have been to tons of firework shows in my lifetime, my Dad always took us, but this was incredible. BIG works from almost every angle. They would light up the whole sky right above our heads. Super impressive!
One of my favorite shots!
Oh and a super special THANK YOU to my Girl Amy Plummer and Lakers for taking care of our furry family while we were away.
Oh and a super special THANK YOU to my Girl Amy Plummer and Lakers for taking care of our furry family while we were away.
I love this story!
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