2010- November/Thanksgiving

2010 Year In Pictures -December

2010 in pictures NEWEST news first!

A few years ago in a far away land called China a precious Baby Girl was born. She was a teeny tiny baby when she was brought to a home as big as a castle to live. At this home called an orphanage there were lots of nannies and other helpers that took care of this Baby Girl.

Because Baby Girl was born with Down syndrome some Nice People from far away in America thought it would be good for Baby Girl to live with a special family called a Foster Family. Nice people in America and other Nice People in China worked very hard for Baby Girl to be able to live with the Foster Family.

Baby Girl loved being with Foster Family. She learned all the things a Baby Girl can do even though this Baby Girl liked to learn them a little slower. She ate like any baby, slept like any baby, and learned to giggle and coo like any baby.

Baby Girl even had a foster sister and foster brother to play with. There was toys for the children and food to eat. Baby Girl was happy. The only thing baby Girl did not have was her very own Mommy and Daddy. Every Baby Girl needs their very own Mommy to rock them and hug them and kiss their toes and tummy. Every Baby Girl needs their very own Daddy to take them on walks and show them amazing things that will make her laugh. Every Baby Girl needs a Mommy and Daddy to teach them about God and how much He loves Baby Girl.


When Baby Girl was working hard growing up in China...in America a Mommy and Daddy were asking God if He would send them a special Baby Girl. The Nice People in America and Nice People in China who had helped Baby Girl told this Mommy and Daddy about how wonderful and beautiful Baby Girl was. In China there are Important People who help the children who need their very own family. The Mommy and Daddy asked the Important People in China if Baby Girl could be their very own Baby Girl. The Mommy and Daddy prayed and waited for the important answer. The Important People said "YES"!!. Mommy and Daddy were going to have their Baby Girl and Baby Girl was going to have her very own Mommy and Daddy plus lots of brothers and sisters.

When Mommy and Daddy got their big "Yes" from Important People in China..they also got new pictures of Baby Girl. Mommy and Daddy were so excited to see how Baby Girl has grown and how happy she looks.

Mommy and Daddy are doing all the jobs they have to do and getting things that Important People need before Baby Girl can come home. Mommy and Daddy and all the brothers and sisters pray to God every day that Baby Girl is healthy and happy. They also thank God every day for Baby Girl and that she will be home soon.

Mommy and Daddy wanted Baby Girl to have a name chosen just for her. They thought and thought for a special name. It took a long time to know just what was the perfect name for Baby Girl. When Daddy and sister were in Ethiopia they met a little girl they loved named "Elshaddaye". Elshaddaye is an Ethiopian-Amharic for the name of God "El Shadday". It means "God Almighty". For a special name from China they chose "Ping" which means "peace". It was the perfect name for Baby Girl. But those names all together are a long name to say and a long name for a girl to learn to write...so Mommy and Daddy say Baby Girl will be called "Elsie" for short. "Elsie Ping Ping" .

New photo of baby girl!!

January 3, 2011

Elsie PingPing Feser

Our new daughter Towabech

Here she is...isn't she beautiful? Towabech is a nine year old darling girl that we've been waiting to bring home from Ethiopia. She is now with her new Daddy Mike and new sister Yasab in Addis Ababa. The U.S. embassy appointment is next Wednesday. If all goes as planned Towabech will have her visa on Friday and the three of them will fly home next Friday night. They will be here a week from today! Here is an earlier photo of her last winter after she found out she had a family...



I love this picture of her swimming at the Hilton on an orphanage field trip. She looks delighted to be in the water. She is post polio and her legs do not function well...Being in the water is something she loves! It give her more freedom of movement. I'm so glad God gave us a home with a nice in ground swimming pool. I just know Towabech will become a "fish" next summer just like the other kids. Once our hot tub is fixed it will be great therapy for her just like it is for Maggie with her CP.



Here I am with my brand new daughter! This was taken last month when Mike, Jarib and I traveled to Ethiopia for the court date for adoption. I just can not wait to love on this girl!

Here is her proud Daddy with her...


Soon we will all be together again and Towabech can get to know the rest of her family. What an amazing Thanksgiving celebration we'll have!

Happy Anniversary~Family Day

Tuesday November 9th was Mike and my 20th wedding anniversary. If you read my previous post you heard about the surprise super duper camera he bought as an anniversary gift. On Tuesday night he came home early from work to finish packing to leave for Ethiopia the next morning. I'd found a prime rib hiding in the freezer to make for dinner and also served giant Costco baked potatoes with all the extras added. The kidlets tummies were huge and bloated with beef when dinner was done. Those guys are all such carnivores. After the kids went to bed Mike and I opened a small bottle of champagne and got to visit just the two of us for about an hour. Not the most romantic anniversary that ever happened...but still a pleasure. I will always remember it as the anniversary that Mike left early the next morning to bring me home a child. As far as I am concerned there is nothing hotter than a man who travels around the world to bring me a new "baby".

As we celebrated our wedding anniversary we were really celebrating our "Family Day". That day twenty years ago Mike and I became a family. At our wedding there were also six children...Mike's two daughters and my four children. But even if we had been childless then, that was the day our family was formed. Mike and I and the Lord ARE the family. The children we had when we married and those we have added since then...are all welcomed members of our family....but Mike and I would be "family" with or without children. And we would NOT be family or anything for that matter without the Lord. I can say with 100% surety that if the Lord was not a member of our marriage...we would not be married. Most likely would never have been married.....but for sure we would not still be married. Mike is an amazing wonderful man but he is just as flawed a human being as I am. When things are going great...there is the Lord showing us it is Him who is blessing us. When things are going horribly , there is God ever ready..showing us grace and mercy. Teaching us about "do overs". In laughter and in sorrow it really always is about Him. All of it. Even when things are so stressful that both Mike and I could just about explode into a million angry pieces...There is our Father..wooing us from the side lines.."Do it My way" "show love" "show patience" "seek peace" "forgive" "Don't give up!" and like always.. "Just lean on Me". So Mike honey...I miss you so badly now when you are half a world away. You are my hero always and forever. Thank you sweetheart for your patience with me all these years. Thank you taking such good care of all of us and being such a good leader. Thank you for making me feel like the prettiest girl at a party. Thank you most of all for loving God and choosing every day to follow Him..on the easy paths and the hard, hard roads. It's all been a grand adventure and there is no one else I'd want to share it with.