One Year Anniversary

 Today is the one year anniversary of landing in Ethiopia for Embassy to bring Selah and Bella home. Alei and Alyssa, 18 and 13, traveled with us to meet their new sisters for the first time. We landed late and slept a few hours before morning and heading out to the courtyard to get the girls. Selah, however, somehow knew something was going on and headed in to the living room to meet us. She was quite pleased to meet her sisters that she only recognized in pictures. 

After a few minutes with Selah, we headed out and found Bella. She ran as fast as her little legs could go to get to us when she saw us.

We discovered that first breakfast their love of peanut butter!

Since we had Brooke with us later that week, it is amazing to look back and realize that I had five of my daughters all together in Ethiopia that week. I never dreamed that Brooke wouldn't be home at this point!

This picture was the taken on the way to Embassy. Selah seemed very nervous and kind of shut down. We fed her the rolls that the nannies packed to help ease her nervousness. While we were all focused on Selah, Bella threw up all over Alei without any warning. I would like to say this was a one of a kind incident, but she has gotten car sick several times in America as well and thrown up with no warning.

Alei gathered a bit of a crowd as our driver attempted to clean the vomit off her skirt with a rag that was in the van. Good times! Ironically, I picked Julia up from school early today because her stomach hurt; she finally threw up this evening and is currently asleep on my couch with a big vomit bowl. October 29th 2012 - vomit in Ethiopia...Oct. 29, 2013 - vomit in America. Some people may have just had cake!

Here are some recent pictures of my happy, happy girls well settled into their lives in America. I have to say that my experience of adopting them together has been amazing. I really think the transition has been so much easier for them having a little friend, turned sister, along for the journey!