Ethiopian Adoption-11 months Post- Changes

Princess Sweetness now

Our girl looking at us for the first time in a photo album we sent to her.

Her friends from Emmanuel Children's Home (Orphanage)...

look on, 

as she meets us for the first time.

and then...

Then we came to bring her home. 

We traveled all the way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to make her ours. 

What an amazing girl.  

She speaks three languages now (Oromo, Amharic and English).  

Today on our way home from the library

(one of our favorite things to do in all this world), 

we were discussing how someday she will be big and perhaps fall in love. 

I told her that I will buy her

a mitad 

for a wedding present, maybe two (a mitad is the flat grill that they make the injera on (injera is the flat bread they eat, like the rice they eat in China).  

She smiled at me and said she would come use my mitad, she could bring her injera home with her, 

BUT that she would really like if I would buy her a *PASTA MAKER!*  

Laughing out loud. 

This is the same girl who ate almost 100% Ethiopian food for the first 9 months of her coming to our family.  Mama was happy to do it for her (and for us...we love it too).  It wasn't until last week that she ate her first bowl of salad.  I nearly cried when she asked for a bowl to put it into (like the rest of us.) 

The first salad for her was just the salad, no dressing.  But the next night (we eat a mixed salad, romaine, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, red pepper, red onion, cucumber, red cabbage)  she put on dressing (her choice was French dressing, which I told her that many children like because it is sweet).  I looked at her an smiled, abigsmile.  She ate it all. 

The next night she added croutons and she said, "After all, I am just like you."

Yes, my daughter, you are.  And I will happily buy you an Atlas pasta maker for a wedding gift.  I will look back and remember this time, perhaps with a tear running down my cheek.  I will remember how when I retold the story to your Papa, how he laughed and asked if you too were becoming a bit Italian

(like your Papa).  

My God is amazing. 

And if you think 13 years old is too old to be adopted, I'd ask you to take a look at me and step out in faith.  Life is full of all kinds of wonderful surprises. 

My new daughter is certainly one of them!