Ethiopia and Virginia collide

I figured that since the foster boys were fitting in well at our house that it probably would be o.k. to take them on a short trip to visit my friend in Virginia for my birthday. Well, it was immensely more than o.k.
We all had such a wonderful time. This is a hard-working family (5 loads of dishes a DAY when company is around!), willing to include others in their lives and laughter. We slept in a tent in the front yard (a BRAND new experience for the boys) and all four kids: Allen, Emily, Tsegaw and Eyayu spent all day chasing after the Hillery children from one adventure to another and helping as they could with farm chores.
The whole family is good with languages and we all took turns practicing our Amharic. Allen pointed out:"I'm TIRED of speaking another language all the time!" (It really wasn't all the time, but I guess to a kid who studies Mandarin and French in school, asking him to study Amharic during summer break kinda is rough...) The boys' English improved daily. Ginger was a good sport at how unused to American food they still are and whipped up at least three Ethiopian dishes that were greeted with enthusiasm and empty plates. The rest of the time, they ate the injera we brought from the Ethiopian grocery and the shurro they made for themselves. (And a few bananas, oranges and freshly made french fries to fill in the gap!)
The high points of the trip for me were:
-Gazing up at the stars during a 4AM potty run to the house. Almost forgot I had to go. Magnificent. And I get LOVELY stars where I live, just not so many, and not framed so beautifully by the mountains.
-Tasting homemade custard Ice cream I had made with just cream, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla.
-Eating vegetable curry and blackberry pound cake birthday cake.
-Watching the Ethiopian boys blow bubbles endlessly on the front porch.
-The entire group of us howling in laughter as Ginger accidentally dumped a cup of sugar in Tsegaw's coffee, after I had just said they really like their coffee sweet in Ethiopia. Thus far, the boys had NOT had any coffee and were just agreeing to try some. The jar of sugar she was pouring from just went Trickle, trickle, GOOSH and suddenly we had coffee syrup. We started over with fresh cups of coffee and used the first one for sweetener for the new ones. But I have honestly never seen the boys laugh so hard. There was absolutely no language needed for the absurdity of the moment. And the coffee ended up being greatly enjoyed by all.
-Lying in the tent, listening to my kids complain, "Mom, the boys won't quit talking!" I was able to inform them that their first times in a tent they actually talked for HOURS. The boys barely lasted 10 minutes each night before completely passing out. (After first verifying that their flashlight batteries were still fresh and could reach every corner of the tent.....)
-I loved introducing my kids to tent camping and I loved introducing these boys to tent camping.
-Lying in the tent, listening to the thunder roar and the rain pour down. Praising God for dry tents and warm sleeping bags.
-Sitting in the full hayloft, smelling the sweet hay and watching the barn swallow feeding her young.
-Gawking at the amazing froth on the top of the milking bucket as Ginger milked Cocoa.
-Listening to Cocoa graze the yard around our tent early in the morning.
-Watching the boys fly down the hill on bicycles.
-Sitting in the corner of the kitchen and watching Ginger work her magic.
-Being Ginger's sous-chef on a day when she worked herself half to death weeding the garden and harvesting potatoes.
-Just being loved for who I am by people who really know who I am.

The worst part was knowing that parting comes much sooner than desired. I absolutely don't know what I'll do as I miss these sweet boys' faces with their ready smiles and tender hearts. Keep praying, I suppose. God brought them this way for a reason and I am trusting in Him to make his purpose known. Until then, I'll just keep loving, praying and working on my Amharic.

Ciao! (Amharic for good-bye)