E! E!

So I feel like I should update my blog but I'm exhausted. So here it goes-- "UPDATE!" Hmm. Didn't work. Let's try again:

We're now T-3 and counting. Yes, Wednesday we embark on our grand E-E Adventure. Though it may surprise you (who is 'you' when you're writing a blog?), I'm actually equally excited for both E's. Yes, our two weeks in Ethiopia will be life-changing and we're very excited to meet our girls. But right now the preps have us plumb wored out. Frankly, two-and-a-half week's in the first E--England/the "Tight Little Isle"/the Mother Country--sound absitively posolutely superbbbbb.

To understand our attachment to the British Base, you must understand that our year in London (2004-2005) was one of the greatest years of our lives. Yes it was hard, but it was wonderful--it was healing. It brought us from a dark year into the light. We tightened our bond and spread our wings as a family all at the same time. For me, individually, it was a time of hunkering down and feeding the soul--I read, I walked, I saw, I studied, I talked endlessly with my children on our endless travels. I cherished my sister. Even at the time I knew it was a unique and precious time in my life, one that must nurture and steel me for the hectic and difficult years to come. Boy, was I right!

Yes, I remember the long, dark, cold and dreary winter. I remember the tiny flat, the mice, the foot fatigue, the being alone. But more than that I remember a feeling so strong that a longing for it brings tears to my eyes almost every time I think of our year there. That was my life before--my life before my little kids got big, my life got hectic, and my baby died. It was my life after the dark time of upheaval in Colorado. It was Sara and Dave. Their names say it all. I have always felt I abandoned my little sister in England (though I know she never needed me). I vowed I would return within a year. Here I am--5 years later--finally returning to visit. To bask in the noise and smell and grey of London, and then retire to Sara and Dave's little old cottage: Home Farm Cottage, in Besselsleigh. Once again, I'm off to the "tight little isle," to nurture and steel myself for the adventure ahead. The first E paves the way for the second E.

This post is brought to you by the letter E. E for England, Ethiopia, Evermore.

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This video of Jasper is a good snapshot of our year in London. It is very late at night, and Jasper has just returned from the West End (London's Broadway), where he saw "The Lion King" with Uncle Dave. He refers to it as a "on play with real people," who apparently employed extensive use of "stilt sticks." The fact that he considers his Slush Puppy straw the highlight, fell asleep halfway through, and then had to wake up and walk all the way home perfectly sums up what it's like to try to enjoy the offerings of a world-class city with little kids in tow. (You also get a glimpse of our cramped flat--this reception room served as family room, dining room, guest room, and everything else.)