Ellie Demonstrates That She Can Feed Herself

Weekend Picts

Ellie is drawn like a magnet to Marshall's drum as you can see in the photo above. This was taken during warm ups prior to Sunday evening's Global Cafe at the student center. I love how fearless and comfortable she is with the college students who come through here and they love her for it. Plus, she was adorable carrying around this Kroger balloon she was given earlier that day. It hardly left her hand and conveniently coordinated with her outfit. Sorry I couldn't get her to turn around for the camera!

Ellie and I enjoying a swim at the lake during Cabinet retreat on Saturday. One of my favorite memories of her during retreat was wanting in the middle of a pile of giggling, college girls stacked like pancakes on the couch. She wanted right in the middle of it, laughing along with the rest of them.

Laundry help

I heard some 'unusual' noises coming from the washing machine this evening. Here's what I discovered (these are not 'posed' photos). Ellie's unspoken dialogue went something like this...

"Look, Mom. I can run the washing machine like you!"

"You push this button and all the lights come on and I hear pretty bells!"

"Then you push this button and the door lock makes a loud clicking noise."

"Then you push this button and you can hear water gushing!"

"Now I can watch my clothes spin!"

Oh the joys of growing independence. :-)

Ellie & Beth

To help Ellie better communicate her desires, Ellie's speech therapist recommended that we make her a photo book of her favorite things (foods, toys, activities like swinging or bath time) along with photos of significant people in her life, including her therapists so we could prepare her for their arrival for therapy.

Here is Ellie with her physical therapist, Beth. Last night we practiced walking on grass! I think it was Ellie's favorite session to date!

Book Review -- Albanian Escape.

I realize that we have a lot of different types of visitors to this blog -- some who know us personally, some who read it for the adoption angle, and some who share our connection with Albania. This post is primarily going to appeal to the latter group, but I think really anyone would find this book interesting!

When it comes to finding books at your local bookstore about Albania, well, you will most likely come up disappointed. I don't know that I've even found so much as a travel guide, let alone an historical account. Many books on Albanian culture that were recommended to us by Bethany are special order books, or books related to the Balkans in general and not specific to Albania.

A few weeks ago I was reading the little Google news ticker in the right hand margin of this blog which had a link to a column in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the book, 'Albanian Escape' by Agnes Jensen Mangerich. The book has actually been in print for about 10 years, but I suppose that since it was released by a small publisher, it was in limited distribution. I don't remember why it was on the radar of this particular columnist to be writing about the book now, but anyway, I was thrilled to be able to find it on Amazon and promptly ordered a copy.

The book lived up to it's reviews and then some! Contrary to what you might think from the title, it's not the account of anyone evading capture from Albanians. Rather, it's the true story of 30 American military personnel who crash-landed in Nazi occupied Albania in the fall of 1943. Miraculously, all of the passengers (including 13 female nurses) survived the crash (which occured in the mountains between Elbason and Berat). What was more tenuous was the 800-mile, 2-month-long hike (they got re-routed several times) through the Albanian country side trying to evade the Nazis and German sympathizers. This was at a time when Albania only had 26 miles of paved roads.

It's hard to sum up why I liked this book so much! First of all, I'm ashamed that I know so little about the extent of Albania's involvement in WWII! I think my studies of WWII centered primarily on the central-eastern European theaters of Austria, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslavakia, Russia, etc. I've even seen memorials in Albania about WWII, but didn't realize how brutal the Nazis were to Albanians, burning villages down with the occupants locked inside or even 'just' stealing their livestock and winter's supply of food.

Secondly, it was fascinating to read accounts like when the Nazis attacked Berat, a beautiful city I have had the privilege of visiting on multiple occasions. Knowing how the city is laid out, I could envision the account vividly! The same with other places like Gjirokaster, and key rendezvous rescue points along the Adriatic coast (Becca & Bookers, remember the coastal drive down to Saranda?).

More significantly, it was humbling to read how graciously most Albanians received (at great personal risk) this rag-tag group of hungry, sick, weary American service men and women who didn't even know where they were when their flight to Bari, Italy crash-landed 'just' a few miles off course. The mountainous terrain made an air rescue impossible, so thanks to a few English-speaking Albanian guides, they hiked through rain, sleet, and snow, often arriving in villages unannounced just looking for a place to sleep, all in an effort to get to the coast for a sea rescue. (The book contains wonderful descriptions of the journey -- including the homes in which they stayed and what they ate -- thanks to the author's detailed diary which she kept at the time.)

Needless to say, I read through the book quickly. I was so excited to come across such an uplifting book to share with Ellie when she grows up. It portrays Albanians in such a possitive (non-condescending) light and shares a story of their sacrifice to help others from whom they would have no means of being repaid. What a lesson for all of us.

Goin' to the chapel...

Ellie got all prettied up for Emily and Thomas' wedding this evening.

This photo doesn't do justice to the beautiful courtyard at this church. Ellie LOVED the fountain (of course).

Think she'd make a good cheerleader?

College Football Season is Here!

Ellie, Queen of Styrofoam

This week we got one of those build-it-yourself furniture pieces, which of course came packed in lots of protective material -- which Ellie quickly learned had pieces just her size and that were fun to disintegrate.