oh, africa.

our take on adopting lulu is that ethiopia is now a part of our family identity because it is a part of her. i honestly don't know if that is the "right" approach since i haven't read as many adoption books as i should, but it is what feels the most right to us.

we have had lots of opportunities to express this as a family over the past couple of weeks. the first was gathering with other families in our town who have adopted from ethiopia. i so enjoy these families...
the newest addition to our little club...

adorable!

some of the girls playing in the sandbox...

(it was fun despite the sand remnants left in their hair for days to come)

junie and lulu were in the same orphanage in addis...

connections with those kids will be some of the only connections we will have from her life in ethiopia. it's so neat to have a family locally that we share that bond with.

some of the boys...
lulu may have been working the boy crowd a bit...
and I may have been trying to work the connection between lulu and one particular boy. she can marry whoever she wants of any ethnicity, of course, but we would like to put in our vote for mussie...
his name is pronounced "moose-y". so even if he wasn't incredibly cute and cool (which he is), it makes perfect sense that they belong together with rhyming names...
though the above picture may look like they are hugging, they are actually fighting over a push toy. their budding arranged romance was not exactly going as i planned at this point. but then there was a legit hug...
and finally found a child who is not afraid of lulu's hugs. a match made in heaven, i tell you.


we also attended "taste of africa" sponsored by the african student association on campus...

it was so yummy! lulu and jack were all about it. though the older two were a little unsure. mr. "food sensitivities" ate very little, but was perfectly happy to snag some of lulu's sweet bread...
and bill and i were more than happy to graze on everyone's leftovers...
someone ran, jumped and danced around like she owned the place...
we thought there would be african dancers, but it turned out lulu was the african dancer. there was just a dance floor with african music playing and nobody dancing. that is, until "you are my african queen" came on. bill and his african queen had to take the floor...
he had two dance partners...
and i now have a new favorite song. it was such a fun night to be a part of. we love that lulu has opened up our eyes and hearts to africa...
and inspired us in so many different ways. even in our choice of jewelry...
can you tell that they are silly bands in the shape of africa? i had told my children that i would not be funding any purchases of silly bands because i find the fad to be, well, silly. but that changed when rachel called saying this, "did you know they have silly bands in the shape of the continents?". my ban against silly bands was immediately lifted.

honestly, it can be easy for me to love africa with an affectionate kind of love. but i want my love to be more than that.

"dear children, let us not love in words or tongue but with actions and in truth." 1 john 3:18.

this is the kind of love i want to have for everyone. this is the love i want to have for ethiopia. i want to love with action and in truth. not just using africa as a fashion statement on my shirt or a bumper sticker on my van. but remembering what we saw and experienced. remembering our daughter's heritage. embracing our new family identity. refusing to sell out to "the american dream". and living out our love as compassionate citizens of the world.