Life in America for All!

My great grandparents on my mother's side came to this country from Poland many years ago to make better lives for themselves and their children. It worked! My grandparents had great lives and five terrific kids. From those came 22 grandkids (of which I am one), and from there came 32 (or is it now 33? I lost track) great grandkids. Both of my grandparents have now passed away, but I know that they were proud of their family. We are so blessed by their parents' decision to pursue a life in this wonderful country! Kudos to my cousin Hilary for planning this year's 4th biennial Frank & Mary Mlynarczyk Family reunion in Brown County, Indiana! She went through a lot of hard work to bring our family together, and I am truly sorry that we are not able to attend this year. We pray that our time with our new Ethiopian "family" will bring these same types of results for these kids ... a new life in this country of opportunity and the chance to create a legacy!

Genet enjoying a cool Texas evening on the lake, about to experience her first S'more (she didn't like it, but she ate the chocolate!)

Yesalemush loves the water!

Aschalo thinking "Ah, this is the life!"

Carson and Kali

Our two weeks with our kids from Ethiopia have almost come to an end, and what a two weeks it has been! Last weekend, we attended the Ethiopian Sports Federation of North America's soccer tournament in Garland (Rachel, I am so sorry to hear about your "Vacation" type adventures on your way home, but you will look back some day and laugh!!). The clouds parted and it was a gloriously sunny, albeit HOT day! The kids thoroughly enjoyed the event and seeing some of their friends who are also with host families. We left the tournament and headed for Rick's sister's lakehouse on Cedar Creek Lake, and the kids were so animated and talkative all the way there. And what a fun time we had on Cedar Creek Lake! In addition to meeting Rick's wonderful family (you guys are the best - Sandra, Terry, Kaci, Bill & Sandy!!), they got to experience boat rides, swimming (or floating, depending on how you want to look at it) in the lake, jet ski rides, and good old Texas brisket! Genet stayed up late enough with us on Saturday evening to enjoy a campfire ... S'mores and fireworks across the lake included! We barely got Aschalo out of the lake, he loved it so much. Yes, he was quite "pruney" when he finally gave up the water.

On Sunday we headed back to Dallas to my sister's house where they met the Bruiser Brothers (my one year old twin nephews who already look like linebackers!) and their older almost-3 year old brother. We spent the day at the Arboretum and it was so nice ... there were very few people there and we had the place almost to ourselves. We took a tour of one of the homes on the property and the docent gave us the history of the house and the owners. Aschalo listened intently and would ask me a question every now and then. When we left the house, I asked him if he understood most of what she said and he said yes. His favorite room in the house was the library! He walked in and you could see the twinkle in his eye! Thanks for a great day, Jenny and Mark!

Monday was a quiet day spent at home in the morning and then seeing the movie "Evan Almighty" in the afternoon. Tuesday was the best! I took all 3 to Six Flags and they had the time of their lives. Unfortunately, I lost the SD chip from my camera in WalMart the evening before when I went in to order photos for the kids, so I did not have my camera with me. But if you could only see the photo taken while we were on the Texas Giant (yes, we bought the photo) ... you see smile, smile, smile, total terror! The smiling faces were mine, Aschalo, Genet and the terrorized one was Yesalemush. But what a trooper! Even though that roller coaster left her a bit queezy, she still wanted to go on every other ride with us. And it was Yesalemush herself who decided she wanted to ride on the Superman Tower of Power! I waited with the kids until we got to the front of the line, and then I quickly bowed out. I watched as they shot up into the air on the ride and could hear Yesalemush scream! Despite her screams of terror, she came down with the biggest smile on her face. She took my hand and pressed it to her heart and it was beating faster than Superman himself can fly. What a fantastic day!

Wednesday saw us load up in the car once more. These poor kids ... living 30 minutes from the nearest ANYTHING, I can only imagine what they are thinking every time we ask them if they are ready to go ... "Oh no, grab a book, it's going to be another long journey!" We drove to Denton to visit my other sister and her friends. Aschalo and Genet got to go fishing and both caught fairly sizeable fish. Thanks so very much to our gracious hosts, my sister Beth and her friends Jim and Maureen. Again, no photos from my camera, but I hope that Maureen will pass on to us the ones she took. Another long and great day followed by another long car ride home! We all slept very well last night.

Only a few more days and then Aschalo, Genet and Yesalemush head home to Ethiopia. They have told us more than once that they do not want to go home. Aschalo told me last night on the drive home that he loves Ethiopia, but he wants to leave and live in the U.S. The opportunities for all of them to further their education are boundless here! It is such a shame that we take these opportunities for granted. Oprah got it right when she opened her school in Africa where education is valued so highly. To many of our American kids, school is just another thing they have to endure until they can get out. Cell phones, video games, and new cars on their 16th birthdays are all things our kids think are their RIGHT! What about a good home, a loving family, and an education? Luxuries to some, taken for granted by others.

Dear Readers: Please pass this message on to everyone you know ... HELP US FIND A LOVING FAMILY AND HOME FOR THESE THREE WONDERFUL KIDS!!