Here the kids are modeling the gifts we brought them with Ryan
Picking up MAC at Layla
On the flight from Dubai to Addis Ababa...we're can hardly wait to hug MAC
With my good friend and her son. We met on the Sonlight forums and ended up traveling together. She and her husband were WONDERFUL to be traveling with!
Here we all are with another family we traveled with. They were also wonderful to spend time with and live within a couple hours of us. Their son was roomates with MAC at Layla and also in his class. We hope to get together throughout the year. This picture was taken just before we went to the Crown Hotel for dinner where we watched a show with Ethiopian dancing.
We got a letter from MAC today! 
Dear family,How are you? I am doing very well. I miss you very much. My favorite films are George of the Jungle and Spiderman. I like Hindu music. What films do you like? My favorite foods are chicken and hamburgers and pizza. I want to know everything about you. How are my brother and sisters? My favorite subjects in school are math and english. My favorite sports are basketball and swimming.I LOVE YOU!
Love,
MAC
We picked Splat up from camp today. It's his 9th birthday so I delivered some balloons to the dining hall before breakfast this morning and then we went back and had lunch with him at the camp. He had such a great time and is looking forward to going back. I was expecting a tired and cranky kid but so far he's been pleasant, loving and patient with his sisters. Ryan's glad to have another "man" in the house again. LOL! Next week we'll go get MAC and the household will be even between the sexes.Splat wanted pan fried trout for his birthday dinner but we asked him if he'd be okay with going out to dinner at a restaurant instead. We need to drive to the N end of the Island so Ryan can exchange some boots. We'll make an afternoon of it. Then we'll come home for dessert and presents this evening. We'll also have a kid party on Tuesday afternoon so Splat should feel plenty celebrated!I've unpacked his stuff and started the first load of wash. One thing that was fun to find was a letter that he wrote me at camp. He never mailed it but it's still fun to have. Ryan and I were both LOL. Here's what he wrote (missing punctuation & all):Dear Mom I'm sorry but the flag stickers nobody wanted them and they made a mess on my bunk so I threw them away are you mad? Anser me with another letter anyway let's change the subject I miss you I do BMX bikeing every day I didn't pass the swiming test so I can't go to the water trampoline but there is other things to do I'll try to send you another letter if Matt my cabin leader will let me borrow his pen again oh thats right I better return his pen bylove,SplatRyan wants to know if he CAN write better than this. I assured him he CAN but that I'm just happy he took time to write me at all so I'm not about to correct his punctuation and spelling on THIS. After all, he WAS on vacation! ;o)Even though he didn't like the stickers I sent, he assured me that he LOVED the cookies and candy. BTW, Mom...he LOVED the notes and the $1 you sent him too. ;o)
That's my life right now and yet it's exciting because we leave in ONE WEEK. We're SO excited to go get MAC.Other misc. news:Splat has been at camp for the week. We pick him up tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is also his 9th birthday. Happy Birthday Splat!VBS starts on Monday so the kids are VERY excited about that.Whooping Cough has become a bit of an epidemic on the Island right now. We've even hit the news! I now know of 3 families who've had confirmed diagnosis. There's been more but we personally know 3. One of them has had the kids playing at their house AND has been playing in our house. As a result we are ALL currently taking medicine to make sure we don't get it and then spread it. We HAVE been immunized but so have some of the kids who've come down with it SO...we do what we can to make sure we stay healthy!Cat has learned to ride her bike w/o training wheels in the last month. She LOVES that.KitCat is anxious to start kindergarten and been enjoying several "sleepovers" in Cat's room this week while Splat is away.Well, I better go get some rest. Tomorrow we have a son to reclaim from camp along with a suitcase full of dirty laundry (I hope), his birthday to celebrate and more packing to do... ;o)
Here the kids are modeling the gifts we brought them with Ryan
Picking up MAC at Layla
On the flight from Dubai to Addis Ababa...we're can hardly wait to hug MAC
With my good friend and her son. We met on the Sonlight forums and ended up traveling together. She and her husband were WONDERFUL to be traveling with!
Here we all are with another family we traveled with. They were also wonderful to spend time with and live within a couple hours of us. Their son was roomates with MAC at Layla and also in his class. We hope to get together throughout the year. This picture was taken just before we went to the Crown Hotel for dinner where we watched a show with Ethiopian dancing.