The Trip

The post that I'd like to write is not bubbling up to the surface.

That amazing post reflecting on the trip...I still haven't written the one I intended to write after my first trip to Ethiopia well over two years ago. I would like to say that I have many brilliant tidbits to share. I don't. This trip was at least as overwhelming as our adoption trip, though for very different reasons. I still haven't just sat down and thought about it. I locked up the raw emotions that might come pouring out. Just like two years ago. Home with two new children, medical issues, attachment and bonding going on, trying to understand how to parent five children...the busyness alone kept us from really trying to understand Ethiopia. Thanksgiving and Black Friday greeted me on this return trip. I had to guard myself against becoming Scrooge to my children. Will Christmas be pared down this year? You betcha. Did our children get an earful of, "The kids in Ethiopia were ecstatic to have a marker..."? I haven't gone there with them. Though it does seem like I mentioned to one of the kids something about lack of clean water and please stop letting that faucet run like that...

I'm so trying not to be a lunatic.

And that means I'm kind of avoiding writing anything meaningful. So, I decided the best way to explain what we did is to just introduce each of the care points that we visited and perhaps one of them will tug on your heart and you'll feel compelled to sponsor one of these beautiful children.