Life has definitely changed. Ayantu has been home with us for over 6 months. Crazy. And we also moved into a new home about 2 blocks south of where we used to live. We absolutely love the new house. It's a little bit bigger and the girls have their own rooms. Ayantu loves to give people a tour of the house and show them "Tu-Tu's" room! So cute.

Ayantu's language has grown exponentially over the past several weeks. She's so funny too, when she says a new word that she has never spoken before. She gasps for air like it's the biggest thing next to sliced cheese and then waits for our praise! Here are a few of her newest words/phrases: "Petey time-out, Sissy come, time for numa num [food], I wanna come with you, Daddy at work body shop [that's one of my favorites]! Ayantu is signed up for pre-school this fall and will be going in the mornings two days a week. She has also grown up in terms of her ability to be separated from me. At church, she crys for about 1 minute when we drop her off and then plays the rest of the time. When we pick her up from her Sunday School class her response has been "mama, I had fun at church. I played with Lula [one of her Ethiopian friends]. And when it comes to hanging out with Daddy when I'm at work...it's safe to say without exaggerating that she adores him. She jumps on Brian, asks him to rock her like a baby, chases him, and loves it when he tickles her. I am so blessed to see their relationship completely change since she's been home.

The next 4 weeks will be interesting with getting ready for back to school and preparing for Sahara's 6th Birthday. When I think about Sahara turning 6 already and going into the first grade I want to grab right on to her and make her stop growing. God's got stuff for this kid to do and we can't wait to find out what it's going to be. Her heart is so good and she has a genuine passion for learning about God, who He is, how He made everything and most recently the details of heaven. Sahara keeps me on my toes!!