Last Day in Rwanda

Today was devoted to seeing and experiencing more of Rwandan life before we have to depart for Addis tomorrow. We enjoyed driving out to a lake/park area and having a PB and Jelly picnic we the Himes and Limmers, the other adoptive families and good friends (we've done everything together thus far!) The scenery feels as though is hasn't ever changed. Ryan and I were talking about how seeing dirt huts and barefoot children on the side of the road didn't feel sad at all, just that life is different but no less whole. Nyanga, our guide, invited us to her son's birthday party tonight in her mother's home. Her mom wanted to cook for us and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable evenings and definately the best food we've had! All of us (17) were welcomed into a warm family gathering with tons of kids and food. The children grabbed Molly and Blake for tag and soccer, and both kids had a blast. When it was time to eat, the kids ate off of two giant dishes on the floor. With their hands, just like on the travel channel! We'll have pics, of course. During dinner, Molly told me that she felt like the Little Mermaid-interpret how you may. And every time I checked on Blake, another little Rwandan was rubbing his mop of hair. I know that the two of them will probably remember this night for a long time. We worked today on not carrying Etienne everywhere because he is SO heavy. Didn't go so well. I find it so hard because I know that in his little life, he hasn't ever received much TLC and that right now we have to focus on bonding and trust. HOWEVER, despite what the experts say, we can already see him getting a tiny bit naughty about the whole thing and want to be consistent with rules for all 4 kids. Wish us luck! We didn't sleep much last night because Zeke woke up frequently, but tonight they both went down like pros. Yippee! Tomorrow we say goodbye to the orphanage and then head to Addis. We're told that the temps there are much cooler-looking forward to that.