Doctor and Superman Ice Cream

Today, Ephraim and Silas had their first American check up at the doctor's office. We knew this could be a delicate matter...so tell him or not to tell him what was on the agenda today???

We chose to tell thinking this would build trust. It stirred up a lot of emotion to begin with and Ephraim right away wanted to know if there would be shots. SMART KID. Get down to the bottom line... and all we could say was maybe and we would be with him and he would be OK. He made the request for his older siblings to come with him for support.

Dr. appt. went very well. Very easy...no shots...just an order to get blood drawn at the hospital for routine test to be done. Hmm... Ephraim was pumped as he walked out of the Ped. office with no shots and thinking American Doctors are not so bad.  Then we got to the hospital and the Lab. BUT he did GREAT. Afterward he said it didn't really even hurt. He also got Lots of stickers and praise...and the promise of Ice Cream !  Poor little Silas was not so calm for the blood draw but we made it. He fell asleep shortly after. whew...

Here are the ICE CREAM photos. Madeline told me I should have seen his face when he saw all the flavors at Carl's. (I was holding him up to the counter so he could see.) Ephraim picked Superman ice cream.

Feb. 4th at Home

cozy on the couch

Mild day- getting outside is a good thing :o)  !!!

the Good, Bad and the Ugly

Sunset in Addis Ababa

Ready to go to America ! Waiting for take off in Ethiopia.

This is what Silas and I look like at 1:30 a.m.... our departure time. Hhmmm... Wish I was in a pouch sleeping. ;o)

Tram to our connecting flight in London.

Lovin my Big Sis.

London Airport

Shark bait...Haha

Hi .... yes! We are home. I well write an update on that on a later post. Here are some more photos from our trip and way home. Sorry it has been a long time since posting. Life is a bit BUSIER in the Snyder house right now. :o)

Overall, our flight home was long, exhausting but do-able. Silas slept on and off and only had a few really rough spots. We were worried the other people on the flights would be angry with us but when we got to Chicago, two different passengers (and they were middle aged men...maybe Dads) said the boys did really well. Thank you, Jesus.

Chicago Airport... change of cloths and waiting for flight to Peoria

Mom calling to check in and reconnecting.

We had one major meltdown in London but- Hey... what can you expect? Wake a kid up in the middle of the night put him on his 1st airplane ride where the food is weird, get little to no sleep and get to an amazing toy store in another airport and your Mom and Dad won't buy you anything and you have made yourself very clear by pointing to EVERYTHING you want. Hmmm.  Luckily... we were late to our next flight and had to RUN through the airport as they were calling our name over the loud speaker to see if we were going to board...This helped him forget about needing to be mad.  The next flight was our flight to Chicago.

We made it in to the Peoria Airport around 6 p.m. to an amazing welcome of family and friends. It was a WONDERFUL, heart filling sight to see those we loved and loved us after such a long journey.  It was really healing to see the support. Thank you. Thank you.

A Few More

brief update

Tues. We went to a park outside the Hilton Hotel. Had fun playing. We could tell Ephraim was a bit reserved due to all the other children there. We think it was an after school program. Dan had to pay a fee to take photos at the park. There were also guards around the park. One made the other children get off the swing so Ephraim could have a turn. We felt a little uncomfortable but said Thanks and took our turn. He was trying to be kind. We definitely stuck out as being a bit different. We got some fun photos though.
We also tried to do some more shopping but it is a big challenge for us. Dan and I may just be market place challenged....not our specialty.
Sisay is really moving. He can even walk a short distance without help but usually holds a hand....most of the time carried. He is preferring Mommy and has started showing his likes and DISLIKES. He has a bit of a temper and would like to challenge us on diaper changes, bed time and ?? who knows. The first day he really didn't eat or take much of a bottle...but started back to normal yesterday.
Ephraim is doing well... coming along on his English and Madeline is a favorite. He saves the chair for her at mealtime. He came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek when he was playing last night. :o) yea!

Today - Wed. we are laying low... and resting. Madeline had a rough night last night and so did Sisay, which means Mom and Dad didn't get as much either. We took a little walk earlier and have just been hanging out playing Connect Four, Punching Ballons, Cars and chatting. Dan is trying to convince Sisay to take a nap since he is obviously tired but he is not easily convinced.
Better go.
Love you Toby and Mae. SO Looking forward to seeing you and hugging you - big time!

Guest House

Guest House where we are staying.

Club sandwich. Lunch at Grace Guest House.

Dinning Room

Shopping for Madeline an Ethiopian Traditional Dress

Relaxing after Embassy and Shopping.

Tired little man....mommy too.

Photos 2

Blue Nile Gorge

Blue Nile Gorge - Shelly, Madeline, Ephraim, Emanuel, Zebene



Zebene taking good care of us - telling us not to get to close to edge.

Traditional meal.

Madeline and Ephraim playing thumb wars on the way back in van.

Belatu, Sisay's nanny at the Transition House. Saying goodbye.

Just thought this was funny with the hanging mouse and it had Ephraim's name on it.

Photos 1

One of MANY photos of Ethiopia country-side

Road to Monastery

Debre Libanos

Inside Debre Libanos. Holy of Holies far back. Men to lft. Women to rt. or stay in back.
Stain glass windows in back and also on both sides. Old Testament heros on one side and Disciples on other. 

Super size me! ordered water for lunch and got a 2 L bottle :) I shared.
Dan says only in Ethiopia.

Eating a traditional Ethiopian Meal at the site of the Gorge.

Injera and Tibbs (beef tips with herbs) Eat with your fingers but no napkins.
You pull off a piece of injera and scoop up the tibbs with fingers and enjoy.