A family trip to their homeland two years ago brought back faded memories for the Ethiopian kids as well as an appreciation for their lives now. (India is still on the to-go list.) They don't have to eat leaves or beg for food as they once did. Their malnutrition, stomach worms and tuberculosis have been successfully treated. They don't have to fear being abandoned again.

"I'd be dead," Abel says thinking what life might be like in Ethiopia while he and his brother and sisters share plates of injera, an Ethiopian staple, at the African Restaurant and Mini Mart in Salt Lake City.

Injera is spongy, pancake-like bread made from flour ground from teff, a species of grass native to Ethiopia. Small portions of various stews and vegetables are placed on the injera, which is torn off in pieces and used to pick up the food.

The food is one of the few ties to their native country, which has become foreign over the years. Adds Rachelle, "I don't think I'd be alive, or I'd probably be married to an old guy."

Perhaps roll call is in order.

• Briana Bessa Whatcott, 18, a senior, works on the school paper and yearbook staff. She plans to go to college and serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She'd like to be a host on MTV or an ESPN anchor.

• Abel Weston Whatcott, 17, a senior, likes to play basketball and football. He plans to attend college (wherever Briana goes) and serve an LDS mission.

• Rachelle Tiringo Whatcott, 16, a junior, works on the yearbook staff. She loves shopping. "I'm kind of addicted to it." She wants to be a counselor or magazine editor.

• Liya Joy Whatcott, 16, a sophomore and member of the drill team. She hopes to become a member of the University of Utah Crimson Line.

• Raman Joseph Whatcott, 16, also a sophomore, likes seminary, biology and physical education at school. He's the only child not from Ethiopia. "At school, people think I'm black just because my family is." He's legally blind and has some health issues, but he manages to do well.

• Tarikua Mary Whatcott, 15, serves on the student council and was a homecoming queen finalist. She likes basketball, shopping, music and hanging out.

Because birth records in Ethiopia and India are sketchy, Sandra and Wes Whatcott assigned their children birth dates. They don't know if they're off two months or two years. They also maintained the children's given names as either a middle or first name. Briana and Rachelle are biological sisters. Abel and Liya are biological brother and sister.