Nana and Gidu

I don't know if I've ever blogged about T's parents, but they are amazing people, and amazing grandparents.

Meet Nana

 Meet Gidu

T and I quickly pushed these two out of their comfort zones when we announced to them that we planned to adopt a child. . . and no less. . . a child from Ethiopia.  Adoption is definitely not the norm in the Muslim faith.  Instead, they think that children and families should be preserved and that a family member should raise the child. . . within that child's own culture.  I can't say I disagree with that at all, unfortunately, that isn't always a possibility. 

Even though Nana and Gidu initially met our adoption with trepidation, they soon became the supportive and loving parents that I knew they would.  And then they met Nur.  Their first and only grandson, and it was love at first sight, and they have been the most wonderful and doting grandparents our kids could ask for. 

This summer, our nanny informed me that she needed to go part time until November.  An internship opportunity came up that she didn't want to miss out on.  I panicked.  Thinking I would need to find a different nanny.  But instead, Nana and Gidu stepped up and offered to help with our children twice a week. And, they refuse payment, and acted insulted when I tried to stick a check in their pockets.  Nana and Gidu live 10 minutes from us in the summer, and then around December, they head to Egypt for the winter.  The timing of all of all of this couldn't have been more perfect.

The kids LOVE them.  They get so excited on their Nana and Gidu days.  They run to them in excitement when they walk through the door, and they behave so well for them.  Nana always brings her own food with, which helps me so much in terms of food prep.  Nana is the BEST cook ever.  She feeds my children her speciality. . . that we fondly call Nana's Soup.  She also brings over other traditional meals.  Nana and Gidu teach my children Arabic, and they are quickly learning some easy phrases.  Nana also has shown TT that she doesn't need a pacifier, and she has started potty training them.

Ramadan began on Friday, and even though Nana and Gidu are fasting from sunrise to sunset, they still find the energy to love on my children, and to feed my children healthy meals when they can't enjoy any of it until the sun sets for the day.

They have been a true blessing in our lives.  They love our children.  They teach our children, and help out with our children.  They are amazing and wonderful people, and they have opened my eyes to other religions, and other ways of living.  We would be lost without them.