Life these days

I decided to take a short break from sharing our travel story to share how things are going now. As you can see from the picture, the kids are playing together and really enjoying one another's company these days.

It was a hard transition for Anna. She seemed to be feeling some intense emotions for maybe the first four days we were back, which was extra devastating for us as we'd missed her so much while we were gone. It was hard having missed her so much and wanting to be close with her, yet having her so upset and seemingly unreachable.

But all of a sudden, things went back to normal. She loves playing with the boys, especially Ezra Yosef, as he is walking and she loves when he chases her around. I took the above picture yesterday while I was emptying the dishwasher, which is far more difficult with three little "helpers."

And the boys adore Anna. Ezra is always seeking Anna out to play with her and they do a lot of laughing. (Biniam seems to be having a tough time right now; I think he is grieving the loss of everything familiar to him, so he mostly spends a lot of time being held by me. Yosef went through a similar time right when we got here, but he seems back to normal now. I feel so bad for them! It is our biggest challenge right now.)

We feel blessed beyond measure these days. I have never been so busy, but my life has also never felt so full. We took the boys to church for the first time on Sunday, which was exciting because so many people have been praying for us and for the boys. Here is a picture of the kids in the car on the way:

I find myself falling more and more in love with these kids every day. I feel completely overwhelmed most of the time, and God is teaching me how much I need to rely on Him to do even the simplest things (like emptying the dishwasher, for example.) It's been a pretty humbling experience overall, realizing my own limitations and also having to accept help from people (making meals, cleaning, etc.) But it is SO worth it! It is also so rewarding, watching these boys accomplish little things here and there. Thankfully their health is improving; Isaiah Biniam has about conquered his two ear infections (thank goodness for antibiotics!), which I am SO happy about. I think he'd had them for quite some time, poor thing. We also completed their samples to be tested for parasites, and should hear back soon. Unfortunately both boys had lice, so we treated them for that and then Daddy gave them super short haircuts, which they did not particularly enjoy, but at least the lice are long gone:

So that is the latest. This weekend is low-key; tomorrow my parents are coming over and bringing lunch, and then Sunday is church and a BBQ that afternoon at another couple's house. We'll see how the kids do!

And that is all for now. Someone's diaper needs to be changed and I've been on here way too long. :) I'll try to post more about our trip at some point this weekend!