The Sweetest of Lives

I don't have any pictures, but we've just returned from an Eritrean (the country that borders Ethiopia...the Eritreans declared their independence in the early 90s, but the border dispute continues to today...sorry, the History teacher in me dies hard) baptismal party!  I was shopping at Costco earlier this week and a nice woman commented upon how cute Sammy was.  She was very Eritrean-looking, so I asked her if she was Eritrean.  She said yes and I told her that Sammy was Ethiopian-American.  She called her Mother over to meet Sammy (her Mom is Ethiopian) and they invited us over to their nephew's/grandson's baptismal party today! 

The party was AMAZING!  I feel blessed beyond belief by Sammy's mere existence in my life...but, the gifts just keep on coming!  An unexpected blessing is to be so embraced by our local Eritrean population...everyone we meet makes sure to tell us that we are now a part of their family b/c of Sammy's adoption.  This works well for me because, let's be honest, I don't really like that many members of my own family...so adding an extended one sounds fab!  ;)
They also make sure to emphasize how important it is that Sammy knows his people so that he can be proud to be both Ethiopian and American!  We couldn't agree more! 

Anyway, the party was great...the people were amazing and "Salem," Sammy's new Ethiopian-American Grandma (no offense Mom, Sharon and Dana...Salem is self-appointed...I had nothing to do with it) sent us home with "a little bit of food for dinner"...this little bit of food could feed an army and is DELICIOUS!  Don't worry Ashley, I've already requested classes for BOTH OF US...and we're soon to schedule!

Sammy's two front teeth are coming in...that's been...interesting. ;)  Here's a photo to document the progress.  The thing I found so surprising was the joy that I felt when I first saw the little guys peep through.  I was SO EXCITED that his bad mood was decisively due to new teeth...not just a new personality!

On another note...we had our first concrete poured since Sammy's arrival and could now "mark" our property (Mr. Jinx approves of this activity...he loves marking territory) with our family's handprints!
Nick's is on the left, mine is next (yes, this is unabashedly sexist [if you only knew how disheartened I become when I see those family bumperstickers on the back of cars where the Dad is always the first one as the "head of the family"], but it did seem appropriate for such a traditional occasion), Sammy's is next, followed by Mr. Jinx's and then Bella's pawprints (this order is not due to the fact that I favor Mr. Jinx...he is the oldest, after all).