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One month countdown to Ethiopia
Only one month to go in till we leave as a family for our first “homecoming” trip to Ethiopia. Who is on board? Me and daddy Jason, Sugar and Spice as well as Grandma and Grandpa. The six of us will...
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One week until Ethiopia…
Well, it’s only one week to go… And we will be taking our girls back to visit eat Ethiopia for the first time. It’s funny because they are seven years old, and their priorities for this trip have...
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On the Road to Nakemt
Hello, jet lag. The girls were first awake at 1:30am. I managed to get them to go back to sleep until 3:30, when the rooster started crowing next door. They snuck out int the living room to whisper at...
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The big big day: visiting our Ethiopian family
Yesterday was a big big day for our family. We don’t share the details of our girls’ Ethiopian family publicly, but suffice to say, we have an open adoption, and huge extended family in Ethiopia. With...
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Morning greetings in the Ethiopian Outback
Not thirty seconds after Jason and Sugar left for an early morning walk, I saw a shape at the door. I thought it was Sugar, but it was shorter, wider, and harrier. “Get out!” I hissed! With a smile on...
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Rediscovering Habeshaness: Ethiopian Language
Over the past week, it’s been fascinating to see the girls adding mannerisms and language, to embrace their Habesha-ness. On the road, in the van, instead of arguing, “Yes!” “No!” “Yes!” “No!” They,...
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On the Road between Nakemte and Addis Ababa
After a couple of eventful, but emotionally exhausting days in Nakemt’, our crew was ready to head back to Addis. Nakemt’ isn’t really a destination for anyone… Its sole attraction is our extended...
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Crafting, Reading and Meeting at the Love and Hope Centre in Addis Ababa
On March 10, I had the delight of spending the day at Vulnerable Children Society‘s Love and Hope Centre in Kality, on the outskirts of Addis. In fact, a whole gaggle of us met at the centre. My...
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The road to Lake Langano
I resume our travel blog … … as we were heading south of Addis Ababa towards Lake Langano. The best times in our lives, and certainly the best vacations, have been by ourselves in the bush somewhere....
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Rats, cats, and three wheat-free chocolate cakes
Last weekend ended up as a five day driving marathon. The goal? A weekend away for mommy with her mommy friends. But to accomplish this, I had to arrange for babysitters. The closest candidates, since...
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Wine Wednesday: OMG, I Love Chablis
There are few wines in the world that I enjoy more than Chablis. I think it’s no coincidence that it’s also one of my favourite wine villages. Let you take you back almost ten years… Jason and I were...
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Family Forest Fun: Bishangari Lodge at Lake Langano
In February 2014, we took our daughters back to Ethiopia for the first time, since their adoption in 2009. This is one of many blog posts we have written about our family’s homeland trip. I also go to...
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Visiting, Shopping and the Spa: our last relaxing days in Ethiopia
In February 2014, we took our daughters back to Ethiopia for the first time, since their adoption in 2009. This is one of many blog posts we have written about our family’s homeland trip. I also go to...
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Frugal Fridays: 5 Tips for Homeland Travel on a Budget
I’ve had so many questions about travel logistics, that I thought I would restart my Frugal Friday blog posts with this one on budget homeland travel to Ethiopia. We were gone for two weeks total,...
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5 Tips for Successful Adoption Homeland Travel in Ethiopia
By popular request, I have compiled some of our family’s tips on successful homeland travel in Ethiopia. Not that I am an authority on the subject!… Others travel much more often than we did. But we...
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Happy Birding Birthday to my Dad
Today my father officially was allowed to buy a senior’s fishing license. What a day to celebrate! For the long weekend, we made the trek out to Creston, to see my parents and celebrate my father’s...
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Mother Earth News Fair… Here we come!
Next weekend, we are so excited to be going to the Mother Earth News Fair in Washington. It was a crazy idea that my husband went along with… First, we will be spending three days in Vancouver. We are...
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Sushi, halal donairs, and Vij’s: we eat our way through Vancouver
Jason, the girls and I enjoyed a lovely three day business trip to Vancouver, including visits to herbal dispensaries, meetings with herbal medicine practitioners, a pet food kitchen visit, a trip to...
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Mother Earth News Fair: Herbal Tinctures, Goat Milking and Cider Making
A couple of weeks ago we drove down to the Washington State Fairgrounds for the Mother Earth News Fair, organized by the famous granola-crunching magazine. I pitched it to my husband as a learning...
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Harambee 2014
Another year, another fabulous week long culture camp. This year had its truly special moments… And some unexpected surprises. The two biggest changes from previous years were events that took place...
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