before diving into all the excitement that has been our lives lately, I will just tell you why I haven't been around. I have been spending all my time trying to memorize this verse :)
First, we went to Kentucky and saw all our family we have been missing out on seeing since we joined the army 7 years ago. Now that we are out we wanted to take advantage. We went to Lexington, where our families are, and our friends (the sweeneys) who also adopted from Ethiopia came to see us. Our friend Kevin from the Army happened to be nearby so we got to see him too. Just awesome! We went to Ashland KY to see B's mom's side of the family. I was introduced to Zumba. :) WE went to London, KY to the family farm. We saw Briar's tree and his spot. I loved it. We hiked around the hills surrounding the farm as a family of three (four with briar...). It was wonderful.
Directly following the trip to Kentucky, we flew to Dallas, TX for one of my best friend's weddings (my sweet Hayley). It was beautiful, gorgeous, just a dreamy day and weekend. We loved all of it. We enjoyed meeting all of Hayley's friends (the six chicks) who we have been dying to meet as a group for years. If I lived in Dallas, I would be best buds with all of them. She has a wonderful group of godly women in her life! Finn got two pink eyes while we were there and Brandon ended up in the ER for a bad skin infection. No problem, but it did complicate things a bit. our sweet friends (the flynns) moved to Texas and came to visit us, and it was AMAZING to see them again. Such a wonderful blessing to see and spend time with them.
We got back, pooped out from all the travel, and left five days later for Ethiopia to meet our son. No big deal. 2 hr drive to Atlanta. 2 hour flight to DC. 12 hour flight to Ethiopia. 1 hour drive to guest house. Shoooo. Finn was a trooper. The fligth home was the same, except 17 hours for the main flight.
I will post about 20 more times to explain how that went. But to sum it up, it was wonderful. Right now, I am fighting jet lag and dealing with my sweet finn who has been cheery but throwing up and pooping quite a bit. I think we've got a stomach virus, maybe even a parasite called giardia, that is very common in Ethiopia. It is supposed to naturally rid itself ...but can take a couple weeks.
Oh, and did I mention that when we arrived home we thought we might have bed bugs (a girl had them after staying at our guest house a couple months ago, and then I had some suspicious bug bites)...so we have been boiling all our clothes and washing them...then drying them twice ...before bringing them in the house.
All this to say....life is out of control :)
I have not touched any of my Ethiopia pics, although I am dying to!
My heart hurts and misses my boy. B's heart seems to be in "block it out" Army mode. So, that can make things tough. Sort of grieving in my own weird way.
Our house is on the market and someone is coming to look this afternoon....so I am trying to rid myself of pukey clothes, boiled clothes, trashbags full of things to unpack that have been quarrantined....all while cleaning (which I am not the best at, self admittedly).
In other news, our beloved University of Kentucky Wildcats brought home another national champtionship the night we returned. Which was AMAZINGLY EXCITING.
Photos and lots of details to come.
Thanks for checking in!!!
God is so good.
We are so blessed and thankful to be a part of the Lord's huge plan for eternity...for all of us.
because I miss him.
I have tons more pics of him, but I haven't gotten to them at all yet.
Introducing our third son. Elijah Yosef Whitis.
LOTS MORE ON THIS. :) Couldn't hold back on this photo though.
First, we went to Kentucky and saw all our family we have been missing out on seeing since we joined the army 7 years ago. Now that we are out we wanted to take advantage. We went to Lexington, where our families are, and our friends (the sweeneys) who also adopted from Ethiopia came to see us. Our friend Kevin from the Army happened to be nearby so we got to see him too. Just awesome! We went to Ashland KY to see B's mom's side of the family. I was introduced to Zumba. :) WE went to London, KY to the family farm. We saw Briar's tree and his spot. I loved it. We hiked around the hills surrounding the farm as a family of three (four with briar...). It was wonderful.
Directly following the trip to Kentucky, we flew to Dallas, TX for one of my best friend's weddings (my sweet Hayley). It was beautiful, gorgeous, just a dreamy day and weekend. We loved all of it. We enjoyed meeting all of Hayley's friends (the six chicks) who we have been dying to meet as a group for years. If I lived in Dallas, I would be best buds with all of them. She has a wonderful group of godly women in her life! Finn got two pink eyes while we were there and Brandon ended up in the ER for a bad skin infection. No problem, but it did complicate things a bit. our sweet friends (the flynns) moved to Texas and came to visit us, and it was AMAZING to see them again. Such a wonderful blessing to see and spend time with them.
We got back, pooped out from all the travel, and left five days later for Ethiopia to meet our son. No big deal. 2 hr drive to Atlanta. 2 hour flight to DC. 12 hour flight to Ethiopia. 1 hour drive to guest house. Shoooo. Finn was a trooper. The fligth home was the same, except 17 hours for the main flight.
I will post about 20 more times to explain how that went. But to sum it up, it was wonderful. Right now, I am fighting jet lag and dealing with my sweet finn who has been cheery but throwing up and pooping quite a bit. I think we've got a stomach virus, maybe even a parasite called giardia, that is very common in Ethiopia. It is supposed to naturally rid itself ...but can take a couple weeks.
Oh, and did I mention that when we arrived home we thought we might have bed bugs (a girl had them after staying at our guest house a couple months ago, and then I had some suspicious bug bites)...so we have been boiling all our clothes and washing them...then drying them twice ...before bringing them in the house.
All this to say....life is out of control :)
I have not touched any of my Ethiopia pics, although I am dying to!
My heart hurts and misses my boy. B's heart seems to be in "block it out" Army mode. So, that can make things tough. Sort of grieving in my own weird way.
Our house is on the market and someone is coming to look this afternoon....so I am trying to rid myself of pukey clothes, boiled clothes, trashbags full of things to unpack that have been quarrantined....all while cleaning (which I am not the best at, self admittedly).
In other news, our beloved University of Kentucky Wildcats brought home another national champtionship the night we returned. Which was AMAZINGLY EXCITING.
Photos and lots of details to come.
Thanks for checking in!!!
God is so good.
We are so blessed and thankful to be a part of the Lord's huge plan for eternity...for all of us.
Oh my goodness! Your 3rd son is beautiful! Congrats! :) What a beautiful little boy! His hair reminds me so much of my K's. :) I can't wait to hear all about your adventures. :)
ReplyDeleteJules and I were looking at pics of Eli all weekend while we were in SC!! I told your story to one of the other girls with us and she was in tears by the end; but happy tears as we told her how your story has eneded up! Eli is SUCH a cutie!! So excited for y'all!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a handsome little man!
ReplyDeleteWhile I haven't had to leave a little one in Ethiopia (yet!), I've been thinking that it must be difficult for God to leave us here after we become His children. I had never contemplated that idea before starting this long adoption journey.
I'll be praying for the virus/parasite to resolve quickly and for the bedbugs to be gone!
he's so beautiful!! praying your back in ET soon! If you suspect giardia I would get tested. It's a nasty little bug and generally takes a lot longer than a couple weeks to get rid of! Take LOTS of pro-biotics!
ReplyDeleteWOW! He is so incredible! You have the cutest boys! Love them all!
ReplyDeleteHe is gorgeous, I am so happy for y'all! Do you listen to Seeds Family Worship? They have a song that is that verse, and it makes it very easy to memorize. You can listen for free on their website.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I saw a pic on FB of y'all in a group in Ethiopia and our friends Reagan and Jonathan were there... what a small world! I hope y'all got to know each other on the trip because they are wonderfully encouraging, fun people to know. :)
Love Eli's picture. I'm so glad that I can now picture him when I pray for him! I'm so excited for y'all to be reunited soon! It sounds like when it rains, it pours! But no worries, for "when you pass through the waters I will be with you" says the Lord. Thanks for the update and all the new ways we can be praying for you family!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful little boy! I pray that you can all be together soon.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI started on COPD Herbal treatment from Ultimate Life Clinic, the treatment worked incredibly for my lungs condition. I used the herbal treatment for almost 4 months, it reversed my COPD. My severe shortness of breath, dry cough, chest tightness gradually disappeared. Reach Ultimate Life Clinic via their website at www.ultimatelifeclinic.com I can breath much better and It feels comfortable!