Another Markquart: Day #4 (We Think)

It's Saturday night here in Addis Ababa. We are tired, but very, very happy. We spent today at the orphanage celebrating Christmas with Eli and the children there. It was mainly a food celebration, different from our gift-giving tradition in the States. We were fed traditional Ethiopian meats with injera, nuts, fruits, candies, popcorn and soda in old-fashioned glass bottles! We also enjoyed another coffee ceremony. It was quite a celebration. After lunch, the children danced in traditional Ethiopian style, which of course Joel quickly joined! They kids thought he was really funny and laughed and laughed. The children were wonderful today. We were able to interact with all of them and show them postcards of Seattle, Mt. Rainier and the forests in WA state. They loved to look at the pictures. They also enjoyed looking through Eli's picture book we made for him. The older children got to the page with the picture of all the kids in the neighborhood and asked, "School?" We smiled and said, "Friends." We are so blessed.

Eli was much more comfortable today. We arrived and he greeted us with a big hug and his "melt-your-heart" smile. We loved watching him come out of his shell a bit more. We are learning that he dotes on the younger children. Anytime one of them cried, Eli was right there hugging them or giving them a treat or something to make them happy. During lunch, he sat next to his 2 year old BFF (who is also coming home next week) and fed her injera and meat. It was really cute. After lunch, without prompting, Eli got up and starting clearing the other children's plates for them. Joel and I couldn't help but to "high-five!" :) He loves our camera and spent most of the afternoon taking pictures of people's feet.

We love to watch Eli's eyes. He is a watcher. An observer. He seems to understand a lot of what is happening around him and how people are feeling. We are impressed with his intuitiveness and interpersonal skills. He is a caring boy. We are loving getting to know him. Tomorrow we get to travel with the kids (Eli and his BFF and her family) to a lake and spend some time there. I am looking forward to getting out of the orphanage for a bit and some more one on one time getting to know our precious boy.

Love to all. We miss you and can't wait to be home!