AFRICA DAY!

Want to know how SWEET, CARING and PRECIOUS my friends at work are!?!?!?!?!?.........

They decided that they wanted to have an "AFRICA DAY", where we all wear our family's adoption t-shirts and everyone tries to bring some form of African food ~ didn't have to be Ethiopian, specific, but we were to try to bring African food.  We have two clinics, and I work at both on alternate days, so there was actually TWO Africa Days last week!

The intent of this day was to send good vibes, prayers and love to our little one(s), in hopes of bringing our referral soon!!!!!

GREAT, IDEA, RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?

I AM SO BLESSED TO WORK WITH SUCH AMAZING FRIENDS!!!

Well, my dear DEAR friend, Allison, heard of this special event and wanted to contribute!  She wanted everyone to be able to experience authentic Ethiopian cuisine, so she volunteered to make us lentils!  As she started making them, her enthusiasm took over and she made us TWO different kinds ~ one Alecha (?), (which looks like baby poop but tastes amazing) and Mesir (which is more spicy because of the berberre...everyone loved the "kick" it had)!  BLESS HER HUGE HEART!!!!!

My awesome friend, Caycee, gave me the number to a local precious native Ethiopian woman, Baylenesh ~ "B"~ (totally not sure if I spelled that correctly).  "B" is the woman who demonstrated how to make a variety of ET foods the morning of our ET Christmas in January.  Very sweet lady.  She makes a lot of authentic Ethiopian cuisine for her own family as well as for purchase, so I ordered some injera to go with the lentils.  I also requested an item or two that goes well with injera.

Injera still in plastic wrap

Well............Baylenesh made us FOUR foods to go with the injera:  ATKILT WOT (curried vegetable stew....she made two versions, one spicier with jalepeno peppers); GOMEN (collard greens), MISIR WOT (split lentils with ET spices).

THANK YOU, Baylenesh!

Yummy cookies that reflect all the LOVE 

showered on our babe(s) on Africa Days!

It was an INCREDIBLE array of food!  It was so FUN for everyone to try each one and RAVE about the flavor!  Jeff even stopped by both days and got to be a part of all the FUN, GREAT FOOD and GOOD WISHES to our babe(s)!!!!

 Brian (fellow therapist) and Hubby!

Oh, but that wasn't the end of our awesome African cuisine!  Heidi made Bobotie and yellow rice.......it ROCKED!!!  Danielle made this churizo/carmelized onion sandwich that was to-die-for good, and Tawnya made African Peanut Soup that was soooo yummy!  There was fresh fruit, desserts ~ Sweet

Shara even made Coconut Macaroon cookies (yes, SHE made them......not her mom!  ha!)

Heidi (one of our massage therapists)

Bobotie and yellow rice are the 

first two items in this picture

Danyelle's African chorizo dish!

Tawnya's African Peanut Soup!

I just LOVE how everyone googled "African food" and really went to town with this!  There was SO MUCH each day that I hope I didn't leave anything out!  

Getting a picture of all of us at one time in a physical therapy clinic is rather difficult, but here are some of the photos I was able to get on our Africa days!

Kathy~sweet friend and fellow PT

(yes, in middle of treatment)

Part of the downtown clinic crew!

(had a patient take the photo ~ didn't realize we were so far away!)

(From R) Front Row: Teresa, Danyelle, Pam, Teresa
Back Row: me, Frank, Brian, Michelle

Please know that Jeff and I THANK EACH and EVERY ONE OF YOU!!!!  For your friendship, love, good vibes, prayers, continued support and encouragement on this journey to our babe(s)!  

WE.CHERISH.YOU!!!!!

Here's hoping all this positive energy and prayers 

brings our babe(s) referral SOON!!!!!!