The Not-So-Smooth Landing

It has been just over a week since our feet landed safely on Ethiopian ground, and given the visa drama that unfolded in the days leading up to our departure, I assure you we haven't yet stopped thanking God for allowing us to be back.

That doesn't mean, however, we are walking with elation on cloud nine. On the contrary, we seem to be very slow in getting into the routines we need to bring order to our world. On the one hand, there is a sense of "Whew, after four months in the States, we are finally in our own space," but the explosion of our allotted NINE suitcases in our tiny living room overwhelms any feeling of having settled.

This "little" pile goes down country,

This "little"pile stays here.

This "little" pile has medicines

For our guts, my nose, your ears.

And this little child goes "Wee, wee, wee, I don't care that its 1am, I'm done sleeping and it's time to play!"

Yes, jet lag has had its way with us this time. The first night Grace and Micah were bouncing off the walls from 11:30pm-3:30am. The second night it was 10:30pm-1:30am, and so on. Micah finally slept through the night on Night #4 but Grace delayed her first until night #6. Lumi has done the best, which  maybe is to be expected, since baby time isn’t yet ordered around the sun as much as ours is.

Woohoo, All night party!

It's funny to look back at what we bought and brought back with us each time we've been in America. We tend to bring way too much of one thing and maybe not enough of another. The first time we came over, in 2009, we brought way too many disposable razors, like, a 6+ year supply as I am still working on that original stash. In 2012, we loaded up on deodorant, which turned out to be wishful thinking that we might actually reinstate the habit of using it on a regular basis. This time, the mound of clothes, especially kids clothes, we brought back was a surprise to both Andrea and me. But then again, as kids grow so also must their clothes, and seeing all of Micah's clothes for the next two and half years (ages 4-7), it was quite a shock. Not only that, we are well set this time on M&Ms thanks to Andrea's mom and friends in Wisconsin (5 bags of mint, 2 bags of PB, 2 bags of peanut, 1 bag of almond, and one HUGE bag of plain). Oh and please, no one send us granola bars. Andrea found a ridiculous deal on granola bars at Pick 'n Save one day and she lost all control. No exaggeration, we smuggled 122 Nature's Valley granola bars into the country, all of which have expiration dates within 6-9 months. 

This is only a portion of them!

Adjusting back to life over here has brought some other challenges. Water and electricity cuts are frequent this time of year, and so we need to re-teach ourselves and our kids our various techniques of conservation. 

Buckets waiting for our water faucet to string to life.

The guests who stayed in our house while we were away apparently didn't take the water conservation course before coming and so they took it upon themselves to buy us another barrel. Except they bought a cheap barrel that is transparent to light. A quick lesson on photosynthesis with Micah and he understood perfectly well why that barrel's water was turning a nasty green color while the other one stayed clear. For our Saturday project, Micah then helped me double wrap a thick tarp around it to block the light.

Our truck seems to have weathered the last four months just fine, only to have a rude awakening. For the first FOUR times I got in and started it up, my left foot forgot to push in the clutch! Kachuck, kachuck! Finally, I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote myself a note. "STICK" 

So, now one week in, are we settled yet? Well if not, we better be soon as we have programs both this week and next. I can't say it was a very smooth landing, but we've landed nevertheless and in a pass-fail situation, we've certainly made the grade. On to the next adventure!