Adopting the Waiting Child

A fellow adoptive mom has been doing a "series" of guest posts on Adopting the Older Child. We were one of her guests.  Hop (click) over here: teamchase4andcounting to check them out.
Please pray for us that the Embassy gives us clearance to travel.  Our travel buddies from trip #1 are traveling this weekend and we were hoping to share trip #2 with them.  Unfortunately we won't be able to, but are really praying to be able to leave next Saturday.  Pray for our babes also as they wait.   Thank You.

Ethiopian Art

I love blogs!  Yes, they can steal my time, but I do learn so much from them.  One tip I found was to visit this place if you are interested in cultural art.  So, it was towards the top of my to do list while in ET our first trip.  I found a piece I LOVE, and I just picked it up from being framed and had to share this great find and give an unpaid advertisement for this place:
Makush Gallery and Italian restaurant.  If you will be traveling and are interested in oil on canvas Ethiopian art, I highly recommend visiting this place.  Here's what I found:

Three Ethiopian women sharing a Coffee ceremony; a very cultural event in Ethiopia.  The coffee bean was discovered in Ethiopia and we have a great story book depicting how that happened.  At the gallery it was stretched on a frame, but due to its size I had them take it off the frame and rolled the canvas up and they put it in a tube for me.  Make sure to stop by on your next trip to Addis Ababa.

Speaking of next trips to Addis:  I think we will be getting our call next week to "invite" us for our Embassy appt. and bring our babes home!!!  Please continue to pray that Dave can get the time off.

Getting Ready

Thanks to Deena and Kristi for their recent blog entries about hair care, I now have a good starter pack:

Also wanted to show this great dresser I found for the kid's room at our second hand store:

It's "Thomasville", in wonderful shape and oh such a great deal!!!
And the kid's piles are ready to be thrown into the suitcase because I'm feeling like my "water" is about to rupture and that travel phone call could come any day:

PRAYING everything works out for my hubby to be able to get off work when it's time to go.

Adoption Decree

Yesterday we received our Adoption Decree i.e. the official/translated paper stating that Abel and Feven are our children.  We knew we had passed court, but this is the official paperwork.  This means we are that much closer to trip#2 to bring them home.  In fact, 4 of the 10 families in our group are either home already with their new joy or are in the process!  Better get packing!!!

Trip #1 Day 6 & 7

On Monday morning we flew back to Addis so we could be there for our court appointment on Tuesday.  We had the added bonus of Connie flying with us as she too needed to appear in court with the birth family.
Another added, very grateful for bonus, was that my missing luggage was waiting for me at the Addis airport when we returned...YEAH!!!  Again, so thankful I had used those TSA approved travel locks, and so thankful to get into fresh clothes!!
 We returned to our guesthouse and were delighted to meet two of the traveling families in our group who were staying at the same house.  We quickly became friends, had lunch together and decided to go shopping for cultural gifts for our kids before we headed to the transition house.
At the transition house we were blessed to meet all of the other wonderful families in our group.  We really enjoyed getting to know them and meeting their kids.  Since our kids were still in Mekelle, we had fun visiting, playing and loving on the kids whose parents were not there.  The staff here seem wonderful too and the kids are well cared for.  We had an entire group dinner at the HOH that evening at one BIG table:

Then it was back to our guesthouse to go to bed and be ready for our big day:  Court.

Our Court appointments turned out to be earlier than we thought and that was a good thing.  Everyone was a little nervous going to court, just not knowing what to expect.
It turned out to be a non stressful experience, and we were all elated when everyone PASSED!!  (Here's the EGH clan)

The afternoon was spent meeting birth families, which for us was a very wonderful experience, and returning to the transition house to have our last visit for now with the kids and each other.
We headed back to our guesthouse and dined with our friends and quickly participated in the coffee ceremony they had for us before leaving for the airport to head home.

Our flight home was packed!!!  No extra seats and a very LONG flight.  We were exhausted by the time we landed in D.C.  Thankfully Grandma and Grandpa were up for watching the kids one more night so we could crash in a hotel before driving home...Thank You!!!

This trip was AMAZING!!!  WE will NEVER forget it.  God has added to our quiver and we are so blessed!!   Looking forward to trip #2.

Trip #1 Day 5 and a little Basketball

This is always a very busy season around our house as both boys play basketball.  Today, congratulations goes out to my son's middle school team as they finished the season undefeated and were conference champs for the second year in a row....Yeah!!!  Also a bit sad as the realization hit that this was his last middle school game!  High School orientation was last night..ugh!!!

SO, on to Day #5  Sunday January 24th, 2011
   We woke up early again this a.m., not because we had to today, but because it was starting to feel normal.  There was also the 4:00 a.m. chanting that was especially long today, probably because it was Sunday.  I wish I knew what they were saying.
   We read, rested, had our own private church, ate breakfast with Charlie and were READY to visit the kids again.  Today, Charlie, Kathleen, Sammy and the girls were visiting too.
   When we arrived, Feven Faith and Abel along with a friend of theirs were waiting for us.  They were SO cute!  Abel was holding the soccer ball we had brought yesterday.  Feven Faith and her friend had decided the night before that they wanted to have a coffee ceremony for me. So they had their play set out and were busy preparing the ceremony.  Just precious!!
   We had another fabulous day with the kids and it was fun to have the others with us as well.  We soaked it in..appreciating all that Connie and Gabe have made here.  Every detail down to each plant planted has purpose...and to see the green amidst the desert is remarkable.  They planted everything!  It was all brown dirt when they started.  We so enjoyed being with the all the kids again and especially connecting with Abel and Feven Faith again.  It was VERY hard leaving!  The only thing that made it tolerable was knowing that Connie would lovingly explain and prepare them for what was next.  See you soon SWEET darlings.

      After lunch at the Axum hotel we had the privilege of meeting Alison, the co-producer of the documentary "A Walk to Beautiful".  This film tells of the plight of women with fistulas and the hope that is theirs when they learn of the possibility of healing.  She took us to the Mekelle branch Fistula hospital which is something to be proud of.  It is a beautiful facility!  Then she took us to the home which is new and is where a pilot group of post surgical women are living on a short term basis to be loved, educated, and trained to return to their communities and teach the women there how to avoid the tragedy of fistula.  It was an unexpected blessing to meet Alison and learn of her work and ministry.  You walk away from there humbled, sad, grateful and moved.  Actually, Ethiopia and probably most of Africa has that effect on you.  We had a quiet evening reflecting on our day.

  I love this next picture.  It speaks of the loving, affectionate culture in  Ethiopia:

A farewell to our Mekelle companions:

Trip #1 Day 4 Part 2

While our entire trip was really amazing, these next two parts were our FAVORITE and of course the reason why we were there:
   On the way to the orphanage Gabe advised us to play it calm as he wasn't sure if the kids had been told that we were going to be their family yet.  So, when the gate to the orphanage was opened and we entered the property our hearts began fluttering.

Then we saw THEM!!!  Abel and Feven along with Connie, Gabe's wife, came to the car as we were getting out.  We did as instructed and attempted to remain cool and unbiased, but then Connie said to the children, "Say hi to your mommy and daddy", and they came to us with hugs and kisses!!!
   "Oh my!!  They know who we are?"  With my arms wide open to receive them!
  "Yes", Connie replied.  "We spent the morning going over the photo albums you sent them and they have been expecting you."
   "Yeah!!!"   All barriers down and flood gates lifted high so the love could come pouring through!!  It was a NEVER to be forgotten moment!

   With introductions over (oh my, I CANT wait for trip #2!!!...How do you leave that???), they took us inside the house to show us around.  Wow!!!  Is this place amazing!!  It is large and light filled, calm, peaceful, CLEAN and ordered.  Abel and Feven showed us everything and it was ALL impressive!

   After our time alone with them, they took us outside to meet their friends.  We spent the remainder of our time there enjoying ALL the children, playing together with the toys we brought them.  These children are ALL precious and it is evident that Connie and Gabe do an outstanding job with them.  Our first day with them was Awesome and we can't wait to go back tomorrow.

Trip#1 Day 4 Part 1

  Another early morning.  Our alarm went off at 4:00 a.m., although I'm not sure one was needed because at this time every morning the dogs bark, roosters crow, and the chanting begins (both orthodox and muslim).  Actually, the dogs bark the majority of the night.
   Our driver picked us up at 4:30a.m. to make our 6:00a.m. flight to Mekele...Home of our babes!!!
  On the 50 minute flight up to Mekele, Dave sat next to Charlie, who turns out to be a friend and supporter of Gabe's(our orphanage director).  He is a single man in his late 50's/early 60's who has a non-profit through which he built the cow barn for Hope Community Serveices (Gabe's orphanage).

Charlie turned out to be our friend and companion while we were in Mekele.  Love how he is spending his retirement serving and giving to those most in need.  Thanks Charlie for the example!!
   Mekele is like Addis in that it is high, but different in that it feels more like a town/village rather than a city.  It also sits right on the southern edge of the Sahara desert so it is much more brown and dusty/sandy than Addis.

    Gabe met us at the airport and took us all to breakfast.  He is the same fun-loving, jokster of a guy that I remember him to be.  He also remains a man on a mission to serve God every second of every day!
   After breakfast Gabe took us to the Ethiopian Bible Society that I think he started or helps operate.  It is there that scripture translation is occurring and almost complete.  This will provide God's word in Tigrinya (our kid's first language) for the first time in thousands of years.  There have been parts, but not the whole.  They have also added a library.  This is a place where anyone can come to read and check out books.  Books are VERY rare!  Gabe is very purposeful and intentional in everything he does!

     Our next stop was our hotel where we met another group of people who are friends/visitors of Gabes.

  This group, Kathleen from CA, Sammy from Addis and 3 lovely young American women who are teaching at a school in Addis, would be joining us on our next stop:  The School for the Blind.  Although Gabe didn't start and doesn't run this school, he is responsible for making it a MUCH better place than it was when he first visited.He shared how HORRIBLE the conditions were when he first checked it out and even now there is much room for improvement.  Kathleen has a huge heart for this place and would love to take over operation of this school, but has run into red tape with the government.  She does hope to open a house for the boys who age out of the school and are left to the street (A girl's house has already been established).  The Blind school really touched us.  Most of these kids are blind due to a preventable eye disease that went untreated...how sad!!  They are all so kind and good mannered and are so grateful to meet you!  They have very few visitors.  We spent the morning and afternoon just being with them.  God I pray for your protection and provision for these very vulnerable sweet souls.
  Dave's entry about the Blind School:
We also visited a blind school compound for orphans. The conditions were better than a few years ago but a far cry worse than America. I was amazed at how well these kids got around without stumbling or falling. For most of the children there, the blindness was cause by a preventable process such as infection. They all helped each other walking arm in arm in pairs of two or three. Kids with nothing other than dilapidated living conditions could see more than many of us with vision because the eyes of their heart are open.
   By the end of our time at the Blind School, Charlie was barely hanging on.  He is on the tail end of a around the world (literally) trip and he is being sacked with the hit of plane travel along with picking something up that is wearing him down.  So we took Charlie back to the hotel to rest.  But for us...NOW IS THE TIME TO GO TO THE ORPHANAGE AND MEET OUR KIDS!!!!!

Trip #1 Day 3

January 21, 2011
About 8:00a.m. ET time (8 hours ahead of EST)we landed.  Loved the warm, clean wash cloth they handed out prior to landing to freshen up with.  Once off the plane, we got our visas and exchanged money, went through customs and went to baggage claim.  We had 4 bags checked.  Dave quickly saw his bags on one carousel and I saw mine on another.  My yellow bag came first and I took it off and refastened the straps.  Then I stood up to spot my second bag which I saw earlier only to find that it was no longer there!  Turns out someone thought it was theirs and in their defense it looked very similar to the one bag that was left spinning when all others were gone!  I DO NOT recommend BLACK luggage!  Even with a colorful ribbon tied on!  I AM so thankful I was using TSA approved travel locks.  At least it wouldn't be easy to search through my luggage. So, all my clothes were missing.  Filled out all the paperwork for missing bags and after 2 hours, met our very patient driver.  Beautiful Addis day, 70 degrees, sunny with awesome blue sky.  This is the windy season and it is windy...feels like Kansas.
Addis reminds me a bit of Mexico.  The main roads are paved, but side streets and alleys are rugged, rocky, hilly passages.  There are also no line markers on the streets and there doesn't appear to be any speed limit or rules.  The road is shared by cars, bikes, pedestrians, 3-wheel taxis, cabs, donkey pulled carts, and sheep, goat and camel herds which have the right of way.  Cars are constantly passing one another with a honk of notification, and there are not seat belts in most cars.
  Our guest house is very nice and the staff are extremely kind.  It is like a bed and breakfast.
After unloading our bags and resting a bit we headed out with Masti (our translator) and Gechow (our driver) to meet up with Birtukan and her husband.  We ate outside and got to know them more.  Gladly delivered their camera bag and money.  So grateful I had it on my carry-on and not in my checked, missing luggage!!!
  It turns out that Masti is part of ministering to Korah (the city dump which is home to way too many people) and serves with Project 61 (a project that reaches out to the children of korah offering sponsorships and encouragement and love).  It was feeling like a small world.
After lunch we went to Makush gallery where I found an awesome piece of art.  Then with the help of Birtukan we went in search of a few necessities and clothes.  I quickly felt like a fatty compared to these beautiful, tiny Ethiopian women.  After several stops and a visit to their mall, I found a pair of jeans, two tops and a dress for court.  Not exactly what Dave had up his sleeve for the first day in Addis.  He was so thankful for Masti's company!
Birtukan and Nesbit  in front of their guesthouse:

 Masti:

me in the SAME gross clothes I had on for what felt like a week.