Our last day, Friday, in Ethiopia was crazy!! We arrived at Layla in the morning around the time we normally did expecting to go on a field trip with Derartu's class and A. There was another group of families scheduled for court that afternoon at around 2:00. So it is around 9 am and the Director of Layla informs the families that court just called and they are to go now (remember the "Ethiopian Way" I have talked about). She then turns to us and tells us that we are going to court today again. Needless to say, we were completely puzzled and then she explained the the lawyer said we should go and consent to A's adoption and that there was no reason we couldn't have done that the day before. It became apparent at this point that the court wasn't aware at all that we were coming back. We were to trust that somehow the lawyer would get it all straightened out before we got there. She told us that the children weren't aware of the field trip so they wouldn't be disappointed.
So we hurried back to the guesthouse and changed into our "court" clothes from the day before. Respect and formality are a big deal in Ethiopia, so it is expected that you dress nicely when meeting with officials there. In other words, the jeans and t-shirt weren't going to cut it. We got back to Layla and off we went to court hoping that they would actually be ready for us.
As we were waiting we were approached by a university student who was doing a project on adoption. He asked our permission to ask us some questions about our experience thus far and our agency. He started asking very pointed questions about what type of information we were provided by our agency, etc. I whispered to Tami to "be careful" because it started to feel like this guy was a government official doing some investigating. The representative from our agency approached the man when she noticed us looking uncomfortable with the situation. She asked him for his student ID and he produced it. So we felt better and finished the interview. He was very nice and informed us that there are a lot of allegations in Ethiopia with corruption and he has found some evidence to support that. This was not surprising to us because we have heard of "shady" agencies who have no reputation that have popped up over there and have done some bad things. That is why we were very careful in choosing an agency. AAI was one of the first in Ethiopia 16 years ago, they partner with the government and have awards from the government and they do a lot of humanitarian work there. They are invested in Ethiopia and the well-being of all it's children, whether orphans or not.
We finally are called into the courtroom and the same judge from the previous day acknoweldges that she is aware we had already been there. She told us there was no need to ask the same questions again, so she simply asked us if we consented to A's adoption and we replied that we did. Unlike Derartu, this wasn't A's official court date. This was simply an opportunity for us to be there in-person to consent to the adoption and have it become an official court record. His court date is on January 17th and as long as his biological family shows up, then things should be finalized then.
When we got back to Layla we found out that the children had, in fact, been informed of the field trip so we were going to do it in the afternoon. It was around 11 am so we talked with our friends, John and Marty, about going to lunch. They said they wanted to go to Yad Abyssinia which is very well known for it's traditional Ethiopian cuisine. We agreed that we could walk there since it wasn't too far beyond a local hotel that many were staying at that was within walking distance. Well, we got past the hotel and still didn't see the restaurant so we stopped to ask for directions. The friendly young man told us to keep going about 300 meters and it was up on the right. We walked well past 300 meters and still nothing. We happened to be in front of a grocery where John and Marty had been earlier in the week. While they asked for directions we bought a couple of spices that are used in almost all Ethiopian cooking. We have been told by families that they sometimes sprinkle these spices in some of their food or even just put it out in a bowl on the counter. This is comforting to the adopted children because the smell and taste are something that they are very accustomed to. I will tell you that every time I go to where we are keeping it in our house, I smell the aroma and it immediately takes me back to Ethiopia. Back to the story, the grocery store people told us to go 300 meters and it is on the right (I am not kidding). So we walk a long way again and still nothing. We ask a guard on the street and he tells us 300 meters and it is on the right (this is not a joke). We again walked well past 300 meters and saw the restaurant up on the right. At this point we had probably walked 1.5 miles. I am glad we went because the food was very good and the company was even better. We had a great time talking with John and Marty on the walk and as we were eating.
When we got back to Layla it was time for the field trip. We got into two vans with all the children and a few adults and headed to the Sheraton. Now I have never been an out-in-front bleeding heart, social justice kind of person. This doesn't mean that social issues and injustices aren't important to me, but I just haven't been outspoken or active in fighting these types of things. But I have to tell you that the fire inside of me flared a bit when we pulled up to this unbelievable jewel of a resort and hotel in the middle of all the abject poverty that we had been in all week. So it was quite amusing to me to walk through the lobby and the gardens with 20 orphans in tow so that they could take advantage of this facility at no cost.
The playground was beautiful and the kids all had a blast. It was amazing to see the things they were overjoyed with on the playground that we take for granted. Something as simple as a slide that most of us have in our backyard was the hit of the field trip and had a line waiting for the entire hour we were there. After the playground we headed up to the restaurant by the pool to get the kids french fries and soda. This is a huge treat for them because they don't get these types of things at Layla. Again, I was amused at bringing 20 orphans to sit and enjoy this treat around many wealthy people that were staying there. These children were absolute angels! all of them sat patiently and quietly for the most part while waiting for their food. Our 4 kids from Indiana would have been loud and all over the place.
It was fun to see the kids enjoy their food and drink. We found out that A doesn't like ketchup. He tried it on a couple of fries and then handed the saugy, ketchup drenched fry to Tami so that he could have one without ketchup. Derartu looked at me and held her throat when she took her first sip of soda. She didn't know what to think about the carbonation. It didn't stop her from drinking the rest of it, though.
When we were done we loaded up and headed back to Layla. When we walked into the part of Layla where A lives, he had to cross a courtyard to get to the area where his age mates were eating. There is a window by the table that was open so his age mates saw him enter the courtyard. As soon as they saw him they started to chant his name. They continued to do it as he crossed the entire courtyard. He was so funny because he got a sly smile on his face and started to kind of strut. He then let out a big belly laugh. He was absolutely eating it up!! We wish we could have gotten video of it because it was a perfect picture of A's personality and how the other kids and caregivers feel about him at Layla.
At this point we were running short on time so we didn't have much time to say goodbye, which ended up being a good thing. We had an older boy at Layla translate for us to Derartu explaining that we would be back in a few weeks to bring her home. A walked straight into meal time so our goodbye to him was short and sweet. We thought this goodbye would be really hard but it wasn't as hard as we expected. They are happy kids living in a safe environment where they are loved and well taken care of. That combined with the fact that we desparately missed our kids back in Indiana took the edge off a bit.
We had to hustle back to the guesthouse to get packed and changed for the journey home. We got to the airport in plenty of time and had dinner there. The plane ride was once again very long but we were able to sleep somwhere around 6-8 hours because it was the middle of the night Ethiopia time. We were thrilled to finally get home around 32 hours after the trip began. Our homecoming with the kids was awesome, although we felt and still feel like a little bit of us is half way around the world.
I will follow up with a post about our time since our return.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Ethiopia Day 3
We were still having trouble with sleep. We were up in the middle of the night again for an hour or two but managed to sleep until 8:30. It is amazing what this type of travel does to your internal clock. We had ear plugs and tylenol PM but still couldn't manage to sleep through the night. The random dogs in the neighborhood that barked ALL night didn't help either. We never heard them during the day but man were they noisy at night.
We spent the morning with Derartu and A again. Most of this time each day was just spent playing with them and all of their classmates. We had a blast doing this because all of the children were just so engaged and happy to play whatever. The director of Layla asked us to sponsor a field trip for Derartu's class for the following day. We readily agreed. Their field trips consist of going to the Sheraton Hotel in Addis, playing on the playground there and then having french fries and soda as a treat. We had learned throughout the week that these children rarely get out of the Layla compound so this was a great thing for them. We were also happy to hear that we could bring A along to. We figured this might give us a good opportunity to get even the smallest amount of one-on-one time that we wanted.
We had lunch at the guesthouse which was outstanding. After that we returned to Layla to travel to the court hearing. We got there around an hour before we needed to be back and figured we would just hang out and talk with people. Well, we learned the "Ethiopian" way. When we got back we were informed that the court had called and the power was back on and that we needed to go now. Good thing we showed up an hour early. There was another family back at their hotel that the director couldn't get in contact with. The power situation there is very iffy. They have rolling blackouts there but there is no schedule. So we were told to prepare for random power outages that could last from a couple of hours to all day. At the guest house they had candles and matches in all the rooms for these occasions. Amazingly enough we were never without power while we were there. They make it sound like it happens every couple of days at the least.
So we go on another adventurous drive to court. I say adventurous because any driving there is exactly that. No lanes, no stop signs, no lights. Just tons of cars zipping in and out of traffic with no apparent rhyme or reason. I finally videotaped on of our drives so I could prove to people here that I am not exaggerating. So we get to the courthouse and it is like a typical government building, very drab and unattractive. We walk into the waiting room which is dominated by white people who are adopting. It may seem a little odd to point out the color of the people in the room but in Ethiopia it is rare to see white people. Slowly but surely we all got called into the court room, which was about a 15X15 plain room with a table covered in files and a judge sitting behind a small table. We showed our passports to the judge and she asked us a few questions. The last question was whether or not we had met Derartu and we were willing to move forward with the adoption. We obviously answered yes and she responded with, "Well then, she is yours." It was a little surreal and still is to be quite honest. We were in the room with the judge no more than 2 minutes and that was it. We felt fortunate because there were 5 families that went and only 2 of us "passed" court. The others had paperwork issues or signatures missing. We felt really bad for them because it does delay the process of bringing your child home.
After we left the courthouse we went back to the guest house and called a cab to take us to the Hilton. The reason we went to the Hilton was to visit the Ethiopian Air office there to confirm our flight for the next evening. We had been told by our travel agency that you must do this or Ethiopian Air will re-sell your seats. Seems crazy but this was confirmed by everyone we talked to in country. So the day before I called the number we were given for Ethiopian Air to confirm our flights and the rep on the phone told me that I didn't need to do that. So I took him for his word. But then I talked with the director of Layla and she said that we should still do it because, no matter what they said, they WILL re-sell your seats. So anyway, we go to the Hilton and the gentlman in the Ethiopian office was very nice and confirmed everything for us in about 30 seconds. There is no other way to explain this madness other than to say that this is another example of the "Ethiopian" way. The best way I can explain it is that you might get 10 different responses when you ask how to do something. Well, you better try all 10 of those things because one of them is true. The baffling thing is that probably most of them are true, but it always depends on the time and who you are talking to. We found ourselves dealing with this during our whole time there.
The Hilton was a very nice hotel and very Americanized. So we decided we would just stay there for dinner and it was good. After dinner we headed back to the guest house and met up wtih some of the new families that were in that day and headed for court the next. They were all great people, but we especially connected with a couple from Albuquerque, NM. They were there adopting an infant. Little did we know that we would end up going to court again on Friday with them.
We spent the morning with Derartu and A again. Most of this time each day was just spent playing with them and all of their classmates. We had a blast doing this because all of the children were just so engaged and happy to play whatever. The director of Layla asked us to sponsor a field trip for Derartu's class for the following day. We readily agreed. Their field trips consist of going to the Sheraton Hotel in Addis, playing on the playground there and then having french fries and soda as a treat. We had learned throughout the week that these children rarely get out of the Layla compound so this was a great thing for them. We were also happy to hear that we could bring A along to. We figured this might give us a good opportunity to get even the smallest amount of one-on-one time that we wanted.
We had lunch at the guesthouse which was outstanding. After that we returned to Layla to travel to the court hearing. We got there around an hour before we needed to be back and figured we would just hang out and talk with people. Well, we learned the "Ethiopian" way. When we got back we were informed that the court had called and the power was back on and that we needed to go now. Good thing we showed up an hour early. There was another family back at their hotel that the director couldn't get in contact with. The power situation there is very iffy. They have rolling blackouts there but there is no schedule. So we were told to prepare for random power outages that could last from a couple of hours to all day. At the guest house they had candles and matches in all the rooms for these occasions. Amazingly enough we were never without power while we were there. They make it sound like it happens every couple of days at the least.
So we go on another adventurous drive to court. I say adventurous because any driving there is exactly that. No lanes, no stop signs, no lights. Just tons of cars zipping in and out of traffic with no apparent rhyme or reason. I finally videotaped on of our drives so I could prove to people here that I am not exaggerating. So we get to the courthouse and it is like a typical government building, very drab and unattractive. We walk into the waiting room which is dominated by white people who are adopting. It may seem a little odd to point out the color of the people in the room but in Ethiopia it is rare to see white people. Slowly but surely we all got called into the court room, which was about a 15X15 plain room with a table covered in files and a judge sitting behind a small table. We showed our passports to the judge and she asked us a few questions. The last question was whether or not we had met Derartu and we were willing to move forward with the adoption. We obviously answered yes and she responded with, "Well then, she is yours." It was a little surreal and still is to be quite honest. We were in the room with the judge no more than 2 minutes and that was it. We felt fortunate because there were 5 families that went and only 2 of us "passed" court. The others had paperwork issues or signatures missing. We felt really bad for them because it does delay the process of bringing your child home.
After we left the courthouse we went back to the guest house and called a cab to take us to the Hilton. The reason we went to the Hilton was to visit the Ethiopian Air office there to confirm our flight for the next evening. We had been told by our travel agency that you must do this or Ethiopian Air will re-sell your seats. Seems crazy but this was confirmed by everyone we talked to in country. So the day before I called the number we were given for Ethiopian Air to confirm our flights and the rep on the phone told me that I didn't need to do that. So I took him for his word. But then I talked with the director of Layla and she said that we should still do it because, no matter what they said, they WILL re-sell your seats. So anyway, we go to the Hilton and the gentlman in the Ethiopian office was very nice and confirmed everything for us in about 30 seconds. There is no other way to explain this madness other than to say that this is another example of the "Ethiopian" way. The best way I can explain it is that you might get 10 different responses when you ask how to do something. Well, you better try all 10 of those things because one of them is true. The baffling thing is that probably most of them are true, but it always depends on the time and who you are talking to. We found ourselves dealing with this during our whole time there.
The Hilton was a very nice hotel and very Americanized. So we decided we would just stay there for dinner and it was good. After dinner we headed back to the guest house and met up wtih some of the new families that were in that day and headed for court the next. They were all great people, but we especially connected with a couple from Albuquerque, NM. They were there adopting an infant. Little did we know that we would end up going to court again on Friday with them.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Ethiopia Day 2
We had a rough night of sleep. I woke up at one point and it was still dark. I assumed it was close to sunrise because we were so tired the night before that I must have slept a good 8 hours. After laying there for a while I decided to check the clock and it was 2:15 AM!!!! I was wide awake and ready for the day and now scared to death that i wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. Tami woke up around the same time. I think we laid there for the better part of an hour or two and then fell back asleep until 8:30. Thanks goodness!!
Our time at Layla House that day was good. Derartu was still pretty apprehensive about opening up although she was much more open to Tami than I. This didn't bother me too much because I already have 4 children who were apprehensive of me at one time or another, so I am accustomed to it:) Finally in the afternoon she sat on my lap although she completely ignored me while she was doing it. I didn't care. It was just so great to have her opening up to me in any way.
A did a lot of smiling and laughing. He just has a lot of personality and didn't take long to warm up to us. We played and played with him during his outside time.
This was the day that we found out that A's court hearing wasn't until January 17th. We thought there was an outside chance it could be squeezed in so that we could bring them both home at the same time. Well that didn't even come close to happening. We also found out that Derartu's tentative Embassy appointment is January 12th. This could change depending on how the paperwork process goes post-court, but we are hopeful that it will stick. This appointment will be when she gets her visa to come home. It is likely that A's Embassy appointment won't be until March based on his court date:(
On this day we ventured out a little bit for food. We had a very "interesting" lunch at a Chinese restaurant close to Layla House. There was quite a "variety" of foods on the menu. We decided what we were going to have, which included some chicken. As we are getting ready to order we hear a chicken "clucking" and see the staff carrying live chickens into the kitchen. Needless to say, we didn't hear the "clucking" for long but our food sure tasted fresh! One of the things we ordered was a chicken and mushroom soup and when they say that some cultures don't waste any part of the animal they don't lie. We figured out quickly that you are only supposed to eat the broth (which was very good) because there was skin, bones and whatever else in that soup. We did have bottled Pepsi which took us back to our childhood. We had dinner with another couple from Michigan who is adopting from Layla house at an American restaurant. I had a burger and fries which was good but definitely seasoned differently than what we are accustomed to.
This day we also met a wonderful couple, John and Marti, from Colorado. They are adopting 6 and 10 year old brothers from Layla House. We really hit it off with them. We had a lot in common with them and just seemed to have an easy time getting to know one another. That is a big thing for me who rarely feels comfortable around new acquaintances. Part of it is probably because we have gone through and are going through the same things as it relates to our adoptions. There were more couples coming in the next day that we hit it off with as well. That's for future posts.
I want to say again how the culture and way of life in Ethiopia greatly impacted our vision of the world. I think we have always, and I am sure still will, take things for granted. The Ethiopian people are wonderful even though, by American standards, they don't have a lot. They are happy because they rely on the important things. I don't think you can ever say materialism doesn't exist, but it exists to a much, much smaller extent there. It made us wonder why we worry sometimes and re-evaluate what truly are wants vs. needs. I am glad I get to go back there a couple more times to have this drilled into me because I don't want to forget it. As a matter of fact, I want it to have an impact on how I live my life moving forward.
Our time at Layla House that day was good. Derartu was still pretty apprehensive about opening up although she was much more open to Tami than I. This didn't bother me too much because I already have 4 children who were apprehensive of me at one time or another, so I am accustomed to it:) Finally in the afternoon she sat on my lap although she completely ignored me while she was doing it. I didn't care. It was just so great to have her opening up to me in any way.
A did a lot of smiling and laughing. He just has a lot of personality and didn't take long to warm up to us. We played and played with him during his outside time.
This was the day that we found out that A's court hearing wasn't until January 17th. We thought there was an outside chance it could be squeezed in so that we could bring them both home at the same time. Well that didn't even come close to happening. We also found out that Derartu's tentative Embassy appointment is January 12th. This could change depending on how the paperwork process goes post-court, but we are hopeful that it will stick. This appointment will be when she gets her visa to come home. It is likely that A's Embassy appointment won't be until March based on his court date:(
On this day we ventured out a little bit for food. We had a very "interesting" lunch at a Chinese restaurant close to Layla House. There was quite a "variety" of foods on the menu. We decided what we were going to have, which included some chicken. As we are getting ready to order we hear a chicken "clucking" and see the staff carrying live chickens into the kitchen. Needless to say, we didn't hear the "clucking" for long but our food sure tasted fresh! One of the things we ordered was a chicken and mushroom soup and when they say that some cultures don't waste any part of the animal they don't lie. We figured out quickly that you are only supposed to eat the broth (which was very good) because there was skin, bones and whatever else in that soup. We did have bottled Pepsi which took us back to our childhood. We had dinner with another couple from Michigan who is adopting from Layla house at an American restaurant. I had a burger and fries which was good but definitely seasoned differently than what we are accustomed to.
This day we also met a wonderful couple, John and Marti, from Colorado. They are adopting 6 and 10 year old brothers from Layla House. We really hit it off with them. We had a lot in common with them and just seemed to have an easy time getting to know one another. That is a big thing for me who rarely feels comfortable around new acquaintances. Part of it is probably because we have gone through and are going through the same things as it relates to our adoptions. There were more couples coming in the next day that we hit it off with as well. That's for future posts.
I want to say again how the culture and way of life in Ethiopia greatly impacted our vision of the world. I think we have always, and I am sure still will, take things for granted. The Ethiopian people are wonderful even though, by American standards, they don't have a lot. They are happy because they rely on the important things. I don't think you can ever say materialism doesn't exist, but it exists to a much, much smaller extent there. It made us wonder why we worry sometimes and re-evaluate what truly are wants vs. needs. I am glad I get to go back there a couple more times to have this drilled into me because I don't want to forget it. As a matter of fact, I want it to have an impact on how I live my life moving forward.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Ethiopia Day 1
We flew into Addis Ababa at 8:30 in the morning local time. Keep in mind that we had been traveling since 9:30 EST and had very little sleep on our trip. So we had a whole day ahead of us on basically no sleep. We knew we would meet Derartu and A shortly after arriving so the adrenaline was fueling us. I have to be honest and say that meeting them was a little different than I expected. In all of the reflecting I had done on this moment, you think about the ideal situation of the children smiling and jumping into your arms. The reality is that we are white strangers that they know very little about.
When we arrived at Layla House we went to meet A first. It just so happens that it was "potty time" when we arrived so we met our son for the first time as he sat on the toilet. We took him with us to go meet Derartu. Derartu was a little hesitant at first but then smiled and held our hands. She was very sweet but shy.
The kids at Layla LOVE visitors. Everywhere we went within the compound we were swarmed like rock stars. Although the staff at Layla does a tremendous job of taking care of and loving these kids, they are so eager to have quality one-on-one time with an adult. We enjoyed this part although we would have like to get more quiet time with our kids.
We returned that afternoon after a much needed nap to spend more time with the kids. We are very impressed with Layla House and how it is run. It is a top-notch organization that definitely advocates for the children as opposed to being focused on adoption first.
When we arrived at Layla House we went to meet A first. It just so happens that it was "potty time" when we arrived so we met our son for the first time as he sat on the toilet. We took him with us to go meet Derartu. Derartu was a little hesitant at first but then smiled and held our hands. She was very sweet but shy.
The kids at Layla LOVE visitors. Everywhere we went within the compound we were swarmed like rock stars. Although the staff at Layla does a tremendous job of taking care of and loving these kids, they are so eager to have quality one-on-one time with an adult. We enjoyed this part although we would have like to get more quiet time with our kids.
We returned that afternoon after a much needed nap to spend more time with the kids. We are very impressed with Layla House and how it is run. It is a top-notch organization that definitely advocates for the children as opposed to being focused on adoption first.
Our Ethiopia Trip
I will definitely post subsequent updates about each day of our trip, but the most important thing that happened is that we passed court for Derartu. Passing court means that she is now legally our daughter!! The last words we heard from the judge were, "She is yours." She just turned 5 based on her birth certificate. The biggest reaction we get when people see her picture is that her hair is shaved. This is because she has a fungal infection on her scalp that is being treated. Hopefully that will be resolved soon and they can let her hair grow again. If not, we have been told that it is easy to treat here in the States. Here she is.
Our trip to Ethiopia was amazing. The people there are wonderful and the culture is very interesting. The most stunning thing for us was the poverty. We thought we knew what poverty was, but we didn't have a clue. Here in America our "poor" are much better off than what we saw on our trip. In fact, America's poor would be middle class or better in Ethiopia.
We were also able to go to court to consent to A's adoption. We also received his birth certificate and he just turned 3. He has plenty of personality and will be double trouble with Carson. His official court date isn't until 1/17. This is when someone from his bio family will officially relinquish rights and hopefully everything will be finalized that day. Then he will legally be ours and we will post pictures of him.
It was hard to leave the kids in Ethiopia, but we were anxious to get home and see our kids here. It is weird having kids all around the globe and we just can't wait to get them all under one roof.
The next step for us is to get an Embassy date so we can go back to bring Derartu home. We have been told that it is tentatively scheduled for 1/12 but could be moved up to 12/29 if the process goes smoothly. We will then return to Ethiopia to attend the Embassy appointment, get her passport and visa, and bring her home. We will also get to visit with A while we are there but will have to leave him again until his Embassy date which will likely be in March if the court finalizes things in January.
There is our summary. I will be sure to post about each day of our trip over the next couple of days. This is an awful exciting time for our family. We need all the prayers we can get to keep this process moving forward smoothly and to help us prepare to bring these kids home.
Our trip to Ethiopia was amazing. The people there are wonderful and the culture is very interesting. The most stunning thing for us was the poverty. We thought we knew what poverty was, but we didn't have a clue. Here in America our "poor" are much better off than what we saw on our trip. In fact, America's poor would be middle class or better in Ethiopia.
We were also able to go to court to consent to A's adoption. We also received his birth certificate and he just turned 3. He has plenty of personality and will be double trouble with Carson. His official court date isn't until 1/17. This is when someone from his bio family will officially relinquish rights and hopefully everything will be finalized that day. Then he will legally be ours and we will post pictures of him.
It was hard to leave the kids in Ethiopia, but we were anxious to get home and see our kids here. It is weird having kids all around the globe and we just can't wait to get them all under one roof.
The next step for us is to get an Embassy date so we can go back to bring Derartu home. We have been told that it is tentatively scheduled for 1/12 but could be moved up to 12/29 if the process goes smoothly. We will then return to Ethiopia to attend the Embassy appointment, get her passport and visa, and bring her home. We will also get to visit with A while we are there but will have to leave him again until his Embassy date which will likely be in March if the court finalizes things in January.
There is our summary. I will be sure to post about each day of our trip over the next couple of days. This is an awful exciting time for our family. We need all the prayers we can get to keep this process moving forward smoothly and to help us prepare to bring these kids home.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
We're on Our Way
Tami and I are sitting in the Fort Wayne airport as I type this waiting to start our trip to meet our two new children. We have been so excited to this point, but I think we would both say right now we are really anxious and nervous more than anything. I think it set in over the past couple of days that when we left our 4 kids today that the next time we saw them our family would never be the same. It is much like the feeling people get when having a baby and I don't think it is avoidable. We know that the way our family is going to change will be great, it is just the unknown and the change that brings these feelings to the surface.
If we can get connectivity, we plan to update this blog daily while we are in Ethiopia to keep everyone on top of what we are doing and to "document" our experience there. We will arrive in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on Tuesday morning and will likely meet D and A that morning. We have the court appointment on Thursday and then we fly out late Friday evening to come home.
Please pray for us as we have a lot of emotions swirling at this point. We need prayers especially for all of our children both here and in Ethiopia. This will be a tremendous time of change for all of them and we know that they can't possibly comprehend the magnitude of it. We pray for wisdom and guidance as we navigate this change of our family. May He give us the strength to work through the emotions, the fatigue and our fear to be the best parents we can be.
If we can get connectivity, we plan to update this blog daily while we are in Ethiopia to keep everyone on top of what we are doing and to "document" our experience there. We will arrive in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on Tuesday morning and will likely meet D and A that morning. We have the court appointment on Thursday and then we fly out late Friday evening to come home.
Please pray for us as we have a lot of emotions swirling at this point. We need prayers especially for all of our children both here and in Ethiopia. This will be a tremendous time of change for all of them and we know that they can't possibly comprehend the magnitude of it. We pray for wisdom and guidance as we navigate this change of our family. May He give us the strength to work through the emotions, the fatigue and our fear to be the best parents we can be.
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