Thank you Nancy and Perry!!

Our sweet friends Nancy and Perry Alshul were so generous and donated 50 backpacks for our trip to Ethiopia. CWA sponsors 250 local kids to go to school in their village. We will get these backpacks to them so they can carry their things to and from school. Our friend who does ministry in South Africa told us they actually end up using the backpacks as a dresser to hold their clothes and shoes inside their huts...So thank you N & P for making a differnce in these kids lives!! OXO

Tess and the boys

We heat up the new jaccuzzi just about everyday. Since it has been a bit chilly for the pool-everyone ends up in the jaccuzzi. It makes me laugh because it ends up being a bunch of boys and Tess. She doesn't seem to mind one bit...she's always the first one in and the last one out!!

Date Night...John Mayer concert in L.A.

Jeff and I had a great date night this week!! We went up to LA to meet a friend who is giving us 50 backpacks for Ethiopia. Then we checked into the Chateau Marmont on Sunset Blvd and just relaxed by the pool before heading off to a John Mayer concert...row 4...amazing music...the best company ever!...the perfect date night!!

11 days and counting...til Ethiopia

...the donations are pouring in!! It feels like every surface of our house is covered in donations....Thank you to Dr. Godino and Dr. Reishel for each donating 200 toothbrushes and toothpaste! Thanks to lots of friends for the clothes and supplies and thanks to Rainbow Sandals for the 50 pairs of leather flip flops!! AND we collected money from those farther away that will be used to buy supplies when we get to Ethiopia. It is feeling very real now and we are excited. Ally and I designed the team t-shirts for our group today. Jeff and Marco bought bug repelent, power bars and a gadget that will boil our bottled water to make tea while we are there...

such a beautiful day!!

This is the street I drive down everyday to leave my home...there are not enough hours in the day to give thanks for such an amazing blessing! Thank you God!!

2 years ago today...life changing

2 years ago today, Cameron and I walked over to an unknown neighbors house because I heard they had adopted a baby boy. We rang the doorbell and our lives would be changed forever!! I did not know the power of that moment. Christy welcomed us in and Kidus was running around. My heart was so full of God's spirit I felt such a clear message that day. We left an hour later and I went right home and got on the CWA website.

Above are the 2 original photos that I saw of Tess on the waiting children's list. As soon as I saw her sweet face I knew she was meant to be our daughter. I couldn't wait for Jeff to get home so I could talk to him about Tess. As always he was so loving and supportive about our adoption. His exact words were "with the millions of orphaned children in Ethiopia, it is not a coincidence that Tess's picture came into our home on the other side of the world...It is the path God is choosing for us."

The next morning I called CWA and in 4 months we were in Ethiopia picking up Tess. I am so humbled and thankful that God gave us so much patience and clarity during the 2 1/2 years we waited for our China adoption...he kept our hearts open and willing to wait for his sign...2 years ago today it was so clear on what He wanted for our family...Tesfanesh Grace Duarte Jonas.

Back from Paris...

Cam's and Christine in front of the LOUVRE
...Just hangin' with Mona!!!
...in Place de la Concorde...

Taking Cameron to NOTRE DAME...
Parisian graffitti...

We are just back from Paris where we took Cameron to visit Christine. We had a great 5 days in sunny Paris visiting all our favorite monumental places! It just makes my heart sing to spend these precious days with our kids building amazing memories! Jeff and I had such great talks about trips we look forward to taking with our kids as we grow older!! It was fun to show Cameron and Christine our old metro stop where we lived in Paris...and all the places we loved to go. It brings us such great pleasure to share our special places with our children...next time Tess and Bennett will come too! I felt humbled to stand in places so rich with history and am filled with gratitude to be able to do it with Jeff and the kids!!