More Pieces of the Puzzle.....

Recently, we were thrilled to receive some photos and videos of Jalen and Jordan that were taken at Brother's and Sister's Orphanage in Gambella, Ethiopia. This was the first orphanage that the boys lived in before they made the long journey to Hannah's Hope in the capital city of Addis Ababa. These photos were taken in the beginning of June, 2011, a few weeks before we got their referral. They are the earliest pictures that we have of them, and we were so glad to see a little of what their life was like in Gambella. I am always so excited to fill in a little more of the puzzle of their background.

My little buddies!

 A mango tree

 A house in the village nearby

Just sittin' around.....

 Local farm ground

A women's farming co-op. The orphanage helps these women to raise food for their families. 

A church in the village 

Traditional coffee ceremony

 Here, they are dancing. We know this because of one of the videos we received.

Such sweet boys!

And here is a recent picture of the twins. They've certainly changed in the last year and a half!

LOVE these guys! We are so blessed to call them our sons, and so thankful to All God's Children International for helping us through the adoption process and for sending us these valuable pictures! What a treasure.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Precious in His Sight.....

Colorful cousins: Zavier, Yikealo, Sintayehu, and Jordan.

Jesus loves the little children

All the children of the world

Red, brown, yellow, black, and white

They are precious in His sight

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Florida.....

Last week, Chris had some business in Pensacola, Florida, so Ashton, Jalen, Jordan and I went along. Here are a few, ok - a lot, of photos from our trip (they are in no particular order).

Pensacola has beautiful beaches with pure white sand and aquamarine water:

 

We collected seashells:

We visited an old lighthouse, which is still working today:

We toured the National Naval Aviation Museum, home of the Blue Angels:

We enjoyed a wonderful meal at Landry's Seafood house:

The boys had a ball exploring an old fort:

Jordan loved this hat that we found at a gas station in Alabama:

Bales of cotton in an Alabama field (something we don't see up north!):

One night we ate at McGuire's Irish restaurant in Pensacola. The meal was delicious, but the interior decor bothered me a little. Every bare surface on the walls and ceilings was covered with one dollar bills. It is tradition that when you eat there, you leave a bill behind. I don't know how many hundreds of thousands of dollar bills were hanging there, but I had to think that here we were, surrounded with tons of money that was being used for no purpose other than decoration, while there are millions of starving people in the world. In America, our streets (and walls and ceilings) are literally paved with gold, and I know it could be put to better use. This is just one small section of ceiling:

We had a wonderful week in Florida, and it was filled with the refreshment and relaxation that my soul needs from time to time. We had a little accident on the way home, but no one was seriously hurt. For that we are thankful. God is good.