Saturday morning we all awoke with a spring in our step after about 11 hours of sleep for each one of us. It is much colder here than Ethiopia, so we enjoyed being cold and snuggling under down comforters and blankets. We woke up and took a walk along the side of the Feavearyear’s property, along an ancient “footpath” which has been there for over a thousand years.
We came home and had a bit to eat while we wrote emails and our blog post. Then we took off for a tour of North Norfolk area, including the estate village of Heydon (owned by one family for over a thousand years. you should see their "house"--a gigantic castle-like home you would see in a movie). We had a light lunch in a ridiculously overpriced little tea shop, and although it was tasty and lovely, all the money we saved with the low exchange rate in Ethiopia was spent in this one location!
After that we drove to the market town of Holt where Savannah’s new hobby of collecting teacups was born. We tried to convince her that you don’t actually complete an entire collection in one spot, but she wanted to start her collection with a bang! Although it was now growing late in the afternoon, the Feav’s drove us to the English seaside to view the ocean and walk along the sandy beach.
The kids ran off to explore and find starfish, while Robynne and Alison huddled in jackets and under blankets. No need for swimsuits or sunscreen here. Brrrr! While we walked to the cars, we bought a few fresh, hot donuts from a seaside shop, which Ian tells us is a very British thing to do. We could embrace that tradition! Savannah was tickled to eat the donuts after seeing them come right out of the vat of boiling fat, into a bag of sugar. Her kind of dessert! :o)
The Feavearyears were quite patient as we kept asking them to pull over so we could look at some amazing sight on the side of the road... a church that was hundreds of years old, a graveyard with markers dating back to the 1300s, an amazing green pasture surrounded by hedges and flowers, etc. Thanks for your patience, Feavearyears (especially you, Nathan and Noah!)
One of the fun parts of traveling is to see the amazing sights as well as funny things unique to the location. One sign that made Alison laugh hysterically was the “Watch out for old people crossing the road” sign. Classic!
We got back to the Feav’s house just in time to Skype Ashlyn and Laramie before we had a late dinner. We all enjoyed our British dinner of Bangers and Mash (mashed potatoes and English sausages with caramelized onion gravy), then the girls cleaned the kitchen and we all hit the sack. A fun day in England we won’t soon forget. Hugs to all...
(scroll down for pictures)
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thursday/Friday (April 7-8)
Thursday was a long and emotional day for us. Thursday morning we were taken by a driver for one last shopping trip in the same district we had been to briefly before, so the group had time to finish up finding any special treasures they wanted to take home. Then out to lunch one last time, where Alison had to resist shouting, “WOULD YOU ALL JUST FINISH EATING SO WE CAN GO SEE OUR KIDS???”
Once we arrived they brought the boys over for our last visit. Both the boys entered the gate, saw us and smiled and came right over. We had our best visit with them that afternoon…they were friendly and affectionate, which made the fact it was our last visit all the more difficult to comprehend. Scott and I were able to take the boys and visit with the social worker who is familiar with them. She told us her insights of the boys and assured us she would continue to explain to them that we had to go home, and then we would be back to see them again and take them home with us.
She had Scott lift up Gezahegn and point out California on a big map of the USA to show where he would live. Scott did, and a few minutes later Gezahegn was able to go back to the map and show us where he would be living some day. After the meeting we just played with the boys as long as we could. Scott pointed out an airplane flying overhead to Gezahegn and gestured to him that both Gezahegn and Daddy would fly on a plane to go home, to which G. broke into a big grin.
The nannies and guides will ask the kids thoughout the week while we are there visiting (in Amheric), “Who is your mommy and daddy?”, and it was fun to see G. and Y. point to us and smile. Yishak is a snuggler…he would walk around a bit and then come to me and hold his arms open wide to be picked up. We spent a lot of time just snuggling and walking around. Today Gezahegn wanted to share his fruit snacks with us…he took one out of the package and handed it to me and said, “Mommy”..and gestured to my mouth. Then he looked around for Scott, grabbed my hand and we walked over to Scott. G. waited impatiently for Scott to finish playing with Yishak (he was holding him up high to see over the fence), and then happily said, “Daddy!” and plunked the snack into Scott’s mouth with a smile.
We played until 4:30 when the time came to prepare to leave. We had the guide explain to Gezahegn that today we wanted to leave the goodies and toys we had been playing with during the week with him, and tell him we would bring him back some more things when we returned. He nodded yes and smiled, which made us feel like he understood what was going on, at least in a small way. The first two days when we left and wanted to pack up the toys he would grow sullen and walk away, but by day three he understood that the things he put in the backpack came back safely the next day (as opposed to if we left them, where the guide tells us any special goodies like that would last 1-3 days before it was taken away, lost or broken). So, each of the ensuing days he would not keep anything… not even the water bottles we brought for him! He would shake his head no, and place everything back into the backpack.
This afternoon we gave him all his “loot” in a bag to carry and we all walked down to his transition home. We went to his and Yishak’s bed (G. told us that he and Y. share a bed…how cute is that?) and had him tape a picture of all of us there (we had a picture printed out at a local shop). So many little things remind us of how fortunate we are in the U.S. – when we asked for a piece of tape a nanny returned with medical tape, which of course worked, but just served to remind me that she could not go over to her “office supply box”, like the one I keep in my closet, and fetch Scotch tape, staples, post-it notes, etc.
We then headed outside to give hugs and say goodbye. I am not sure I can adequately describe that moment, because unless you have been through it you cannot understand the total breaking of your heart, and what it feels like to know that you are now leaving your sons in this transition home and in this country, away from the love and care and all things that you can’t wait to give him. We hugged and hugged, and kissed the boys, and when the translator told G. that it was time for us to go, but we would return, he walked back to us and kissed us each on the cheek.
I hoisted Yishak up over my head one last time, tickling him and playing with him until he giggled and squealed with glee, and then handed him back to the nanny and walked out of the compound to go sob my heart out outside. Scott remained a minute or two longer, hugging G. and loving on him., and seeing a tear slide down Gezahegn’s cheek. A nanny gave him a Kleenex and walked away with him, with Scott waving and blowing kisses to him. He turned and waved and blew a kiss back, and they both walked away.
We all climbed in the van to leave, with all of us doing our best at putting on our “brave” faces and trying to smile. One of the older girls Victoria had enjoyed playing with came up to the van door and looked in at Victoria to say goodbye. She saw that Victoria was crying and she spoke with our guide and asked him to tell Victoria, “Please don’t cry!”.
This, of course, made me cry even harder…here is a sweet, lovely older girl who is an orphan and living in a difficult environment, and she was trying to encourage us and cheer us up. I wanted to scream, “No! No – it is NOT going to be okay! You shouldn’t be living here! You should have parents and be taken care of!”, which of course I could not say, so we tried to smile and wave and give a thumb’s up as we drove away. All four of us sat in silence, crying and taking in all the sights as we drove from the transition home for the last time, leaving parts of our hearts there as well.
Once back at the Yebsabi (our guest house), Scott began packing while our guide walked with Victoria, Savannah and I down the street to a local beauty salon. One of the girl’s things on their Ethiopia “wish list” was to have their hair cornrowed. They have enjoyed helping braid and cornrow our friend’s Ethiopian hair, and they thought it would be fun to have their own done.
Our guide told us once we arrived that it would not be proper for him to come inside the salon (that would have been nice to know before we arrived!), but he briefly explained what we wanted and how much it would cost (I didn’t want to pay one million birr because I am lame!), and then he left. That was an awkward moment…all the Ethiopian beauticians looking at us, the three of us looking at them.
So…thus began our funny Ethiopian hair adventure. I am pretty sure we were the freak show for the next hour and a half, but they washed and conditioned our hair, brushed it out (Savannah swears she lost at least 1/8th of her hair from the brushing out process!), and then began asking what style we wanted. Almost all of their pictures in the salon involved hair extensions, which they were surprised we did not want.
We communicated that Savannah and I only wanted a few braids in the front and the rest left undone, while Victoria wanted all her hair braided. They finished up our hair within an hour, with Savannah and I getting some tight curls with a curling iron in our unbraided hair while they finished up Victoria’s hair. We will have to tell you all the funnies of this process later…the ladies feeling our hair and snickering, the large scrunchies they tried to use to keep our hair up while they braided that would just fall out on the floor, etc. etc. The whole thing was funny.
We sprinted back to the hotel when they were done, finished packing, and the van picked us up at 9:30 p.m. to head to the airport. We drove one last time through town, past SO many taxis, hordes of people everywhere, and all the sights and sounds of Ethiopia. We were so tired and emotionally drained by this time that the process of getting through the airport was so taxing and tiresome I did not think we would make it. We finally boarded our plane and put our ear plugs in and sleeping masks on, and promised one another that life would be better tomorrow.
When we landed in London we all had two priorities: bathroom and coffee! The first bathroom (sorry…”toilet” here in England) was found and we all giggled with glee at the sight of toilet paper, clean running water, soap, and hand dryers! Joy, joy, joy!
Next we went through customs, more lines, etc. and finally saw Robynne’s smiling face in the crowd. She took us right to a coffee shop in the airport (ahhhh! Coffee, chocolate and whip cream!) , and then we made our way to her van and drove about three hours to her lovely home in the countryside. It is unbelievable to me that a mere eight hour flight from Ethiopia and now we are in lovely, green countryside, flowers and trees are all around.
The Feavearyear’s took us to their favorite picnic spot…we walked on public footpaths, through picturesque pastures and along a winding river, and to a lovely grassy spot to set blankets down and eat. They treated us to yummy (and safe!) English foods to eat, and we watched the kids play while we chatted. It was wonderful to rest and relax, although my heart and mind alternate between enjoying the moment and feeling so torn and sad about not being with my kids.
A third of my heart is in the U.S. with my younger girls, a third of my heart is in Ethiopia with my boys, and a third of my heart is here in the U.K. with Scott, the older girls and our friends. It will be a blessing when all parts are joined together again.
Once we arrived they brought the boys over for our last visit. Both the boys entered the gate, saw us and smiled and came right over. We had our best visit with them that afternoon…they were friendly and affectionate, which made the fact it was our last visit all the more difficult to comprehend. Scott and I were able to take the boys and visit with the social worker who is familiar with them. She told us her insights of the boys and assured us she would continue to explain to them that we had to go home, and then we would be back to see them again and take them home with us.
She had Scott lift up Gezahegn and point out California on a big map of the USA to show where he would live. Scott did, and a few minutes later Gezahegn was able to go back to the map and show us where he would be living some day. After the meeting we just played with the boys as long as we could. Scott pointed out an airplane flying overhead to Gezahegn and gestured to him that both Gezahegn and Daddy would fly on a plane to go home, to which G. broke into a big grin.
The nannies and guides will ask the kids thoughout the week while we are there visiting (in Amheric), “Who is your mommy and daddy?”, and it was fun to see G. and Y. point to us and smile. Yishak is a snuggler…he would walk around a bit and then come to me and hold his arms open wide to be picked up. We spent a lot of time just snuggling and walking around. Today Gezahegn wanted to share his fruit snacks with us…he took one out of the package and handed it to me and said, “Mommy”..and gestured to my mouth. Then he looked around for Scott, grabbed my hand and we walked over to Scott. G. waited impatiently for Scott to finish playing with Yishak (he was holding him up high to see over the fence), and then happily said, “Daddy!” and plunked the snack into Scott’s mouth with a smile.
We played until 4:30 when the time came to prepare to leave. We had the guide explain to Gezahegn that today we wanted to leave the goodies and toys we had been playing with during the week with him, and tell him we would bring him back some more things when we returned. He nodded yes and smiled, which made us feel like he understood what was going on, at least in a small way. The first two days when we left and wanted to pack up the toys he would grow sullen and walk away, but by day three he understood that the things he put in the backpack came back safely the next day (as opposed to if we left them, where the guide tells us any special goodies like that would last 1-3 days before it was taken away, lost or broken). So, each of the ensuing days he would not keep anything… not even the water bottles we brought for him! He would shake his head no, and place everything back into the backpack.
This afternoon we gave him all his “loot” in a bag to carry and we all walked down to his transition home. We went to his and Yishak’s bed (G. told us that he and Y. share a bed…how cute is that?) and had him tape a picture of all of us there (we had a picture printed out at a local shop). So many little things remind us of how fortunate we are in the U.S. – when we asked for a piece of tape a nanny returned with medical tape, which of course worked, but just served to remind me that she could not go over to her “office supply box”, like the one I keep in my closet, and fetch Scotch tape, staples, post-it notes, etc.
We then headed outside to give hugs and say goodbye. I am not sure I can adequately describe that moment, because unless you have been through it you cannot understand the total breaking of your heart, and what it feels like to know that you are now leaving your sons in this transition home and in this country, away from the love and care and all things that you can’t wait to give him. We hugged and hugged, and kissed the boys, and when the translator told G. that it was time for us to go, but we would return, he walked back to us and kissed us each on the cheek.
I hoisted Yishak up over my head one last time, tickling him and playing with him until he giggled and squealed with glee, and then handed him back to the nanny and walked out of the compound to go sob my heart out outside. Scott remained a minute or two longer, hugging G. and loving on him., and seeing a tear slide down Gezahegn’s cheek. A nanny gave him a Kleenex and walked away with him, with Scott waving and blowing kisses to him. He turned and waved and blew a kiss back, and they both walked away.
We all climbed in the van to leave, with all of us doing our best at putting on our “brave” faces and trying to smile. One of the older girls Victoria had enjoyed playing with came up to the van door and looked in at Victoria to say goodbye. She saw that Victoria was crying and she spoke with our guide and asked him to tell Victoria, “Please don’t cry!”.
This, of course, made me cry even harder…here is a sweet, lovely older girl who is an orphan and living in a difficult environment, and she was trying to encourage us and cheer us up. I wanted to scream, “No! No – it is NOT going to be okay! You shouldn’t be living here! You should have parents and be taken care of!”, which of course I could not say, so we tried to smile and wave and give a thumb’s up as we drove away. All four of us sat in silence, crying and taking in all the sights as we drove from the transition home for the last time, leaving parts of our hearts there as well.
Once back at the Yebsabi (our guest house), Scott began packing while our guide walked with Victoria, Savannah and I down the street to a local beauty salon. One of the girl’s things on their Ethiopia “wish list” was to have their hair cornrowed. They have enjoyed helping braid and cornrow our friend’s Ethiopian hair, and they thought it would be fun to have their own done.
Our guide told us once we arrived that it would not be proper for him to come inside the salon (that would have been nice to know before we arrived!), but he briefly explained what we wanted and how much it would cost (I didn’t want to pay one million birr because I am lame!), and then he left. That was an awkward moment…all the Ethiopian beauticians looking at us, the three of us looking at them.
So…thus began our funny Ethiopian hair adventure. I am pretty sure we were the freak show for the next hour and a half, but they washed and conditioned our hair, brushed it out (Savannah swears she lost at least 1/8th of her hair from the brushing out process!), and then began asking what style we wanted. Almost all of their pictures in the salon involved hair extensions, which they were surprised we did not want.
We communicated that Savannah and I only wanted a few braids in the front and the rest left undone, while Victoria wanted all her hair braided. They finished up our hair within an hour, with Savannah and I getting some tight curls with a curling iron in our unbraided hair while they finished up Victoria’s hair. We will have to tell you all the funnies of this process later…the ladies feeling our hair and snickering, the large scrunchies they tried to use to keep our hair up while they braided that would just fall out on the floor, etc. etc. The whole thing was funny.
We sprinted back to the hotel when they were done, finished packing, and the van picked us up at 9:30 p.m. to head to the airport. We drove one last time through town, past SO many taxis, hordes of people everywhere, and all the sights and sounds of Ethiopia. We were so tired and emotionally drained by this time that the process of getting through the airport was so taxing and tiresome I did not think we would make it. We finally boarded our plane and put our ear plugs in and sleeping masks on, and promised one another that life would be better tomorrow.
When we landed in London we all had two priorities: bathroom and coffee! The first bathroom (sorry…”toilet” here in England) was found and we all giggled with glee at the sight of toilet paper, clean running water, soap, and hand dryers! Joy, joy, joy!
Next we went through customs, more lines, etc. and finally saw Robynne’s smiling face in the crowd. She took us right to a coffee shop in the airport (ahhhh! Coffee, chocolate and whip cream!) , and then we made our way to her van and drove about three hours to her lovely home in the countryside. It is unbelievable to me that a mere eight hour flight from Ethiopia and now we are in lovely, green countryside, flowers and trees are all around.
The Feavearyear’s took us to their favorite picnic spot…we walked on public footpaths, through picturesque pastures and along a winding river, and to a lovely grassy spot to set blankets down and eat. They treated us to yummy (and safe!) English foods to eat, and we watched the kids play while we chatted. It was wonderful to rest and relax, although my heart and mind alternate between enjoying the moment and feeling so torn and sad about not being with my kids.
A third of my heart is in the U.S. with my younger girls, a third of my heart is in Ethiopia with my boys, and a third of my heart is here in the U.K. with Scott, the older girls and our friends. It will be a blessing when all parts are joined together again.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
We Passed Court!
Our prayers have been heard--we passed court today the very first time. This morning was surreal. Our whole group gathered together in the lobby at 8:30 a.m. for prayer, and that was awesome. What a wonderful experience to be here with so many amazing, Christian families, and a total blessing to be able to pray with one another as each day unfolds.
Then we were driven to court. The courthouse was a three-story building just minutes away. We arrived and walked into the waiting room full of birth family members. How strange it was--all of them looking at us, wondering who was adopting their kids--and all of us looking at them, wondering who our kids' dad and mom were. Every emotion was there: anxiety, fear, joy, sadness. The family members were diverse--some dressed fairly nicely, others not even wearing shoes.
We were called in with three other families to see the judge, who asked us a few brief questions that we simply answered "yes" to, and then she started reading the names and giving the status. Just a minute later she calls out "Gezahegn and Yishak... Your case is approved, they are yours" and then she proceeds to the next family. Scott and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and a lump in my throat. We just couldn't believe it. Just a few minutes earlier in the waiting room Scott looked at me and said, "How any family passes court and all the documents arrive in conditions like this is unbelievable". Of our group of eight today three families passed, one family passed on one child but not the other, and four did not. Those that didn't pass were missing either a MOWA letter or death/birth certificates.
While still in shock, we drove back to the guest house and prepared to meet with birth family members. We were called down quickly to meet the dad and walked down the stairs. We round the corner and see him. He was the same man who had been sitting next to Scott for a portion of the time in the waiting room!
He looks old to us, but we know by the paperwork that he is in his early thirties if we are remembering correctly. He was dressed nicely, and Scott wonders if he borrowed the clothes from someone, considering he lives far away in the farming area and is very poor. He looked healthy, and he had on slacks and shoes, a polo shirt and an older sports jacket. We think he spoke to the interpreter in Amharic, but we will have to wait and ask when he is done with the other families as well, as the dad is from the southern region that speaks the Sidama language.
He was friendly to us and we shook hands, and gave him our small photo album of pictures. He looked through them and when he came to the picture of our family we told him two of our daughters were here if he wanted to meet them. He said he did, so we called them down and they shook his hand and sat down. We finished showing him the pictures, and then asked our questions through the interpreter. He did not have a lot of information to share with us, but it was really nice to communicate to him that we appreciated his sacrifice and will raise the boys to honor and respect both his country and ours, and get some simple information from him.
We also took a picture of him by himself, and with the four of us, and then we shook hands and returned to our room. So here we sit, knowing we now are the parents of two more children--the parents of six. And now the birth father will be taken to the transition home to say his final goodbye to the boys. It has already been challenging to deal with the boys' emotions as they meet us. Today they will see their birth dad and have to say goodbye, then see us shortly thereafter. I imagine their minds will not be able to wrap around that, as mine barely can as an adult. It is sure to be a difficult day for them, and I ask you to pray for them.
Then we were driven to court. The courthouse was a three-story building just minutes away. We arrived and walked into the waiting room full of birth family members. How strange it was--all of them looking at us, wondering who was adopting their kids--and all of us looking at them, wondering who our kids' dad and mom were. Every emotion was there: anxiety, fear, joy, sadness. The family members were diverse--some dressed fairly nicely, others not even wearing shoes.
We were called in with three other families to see the judge, who asked us a few brief questions that we simply answered "yes" to, and then she started reading the names and giving the status. Just a minute later she calls out "Gezahegn and Yishak... Your case is approved, they are yours" and then she proceeds to the next family. Scott and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes and a lump in my throat. We just couldn't believe it. Just a few minutes earlier in the waiting room Scott looked at me and said, "How any family passes court and all the documents arrive in conditions like this is unbelievable". Of our group of eight today three families passed, one family passed on one child but not the other, and four did not. Those that didn't pass were missing either a MOWA letter or death/birth certificates.
While still in shock, we drove back to the guest house and prepared to meet with birth family members. We were called down quickly to meet the dad and walked down the stairs. We round the corner and see him. He was the same man who had been sitting next to Scott for a portion of the time in the waiting room!
He looks old to us, but we know by the paperwork that he is in his early thirties if we are remembering correctly. He was dressed nicely, and Scott wonders if he borrowed the clothes from someone, considering he lives far away in the farming area and is very poor. He looked healthy, and he had on slacks and shoes, a polo shirt and an older sports jacket. We think he spoke to the interpreter in Amharic, but we will have to wait and ask when he is done with the other families as well, as the dad is from the southern region that speaks the Sidama language.
He was friendly to us and we shook hands, and gave him our small photo album of pictures. He looked through them and when he came to the picture of our family we told him two of our daughters were here if he wanted to meet them. He said he did, so we called them down and they shook his hand and sat down. We finished showing him the pictures, and then asked our questions through the interpreter. He did not have a lot of information to share with us, but it was really nice to communicate to him that we appreciated his sacrifice and will raise the boys to honor and respect both his country and ours, and get some simple information from him.
We also took a picture of him by himself, and with the four of us, and then we shook hands and returned to our room. So here we sit, knowing we now are the parents of two more children--the parents of six. And now the birth father will be taken to the transition home to say his final goodbye to the boys. It has already been challenging to deal with the boys' emotions as they meet us. Today they will see their birth dad and have to say goodbye, then see us shortly thereafter. I imagine their minds will not be able to wrap around that, as mine barely can as an adult. It is sure to be a difficult day for them, and I ask you to pray for them.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, April 04, 2011
We have had a long, busy, great day! I certainly thought we would have more time to visit with the boys, keep you all updated via our blog, Skype with our daughters, etc., but our pace has been fast and furious since we arrived.
This morning we headed over to the transition home to meet with the doctor and visit with the boys. Yishak was so much fun today! He was belly laughing with Savannah and Victoria, and talked some today- not sure what language? Victoria and Savannah had an incredibly awesome time playing with some of the other kids at the transition home.
The meeting with the doctor was not overly informative, but still a good meeting. We then walked down the street to the younger kids’ part of the transition home and saw where Gezahegn and Yishak slept. G. had been playing with us earlier in the day, but each time we pack up our backpack full of goodies (including his favorite electronic alphabet phone we brought with us), he grows sullen and distances himself from us.
It was special to be able to see where the boys sleep and where they eat. As we prepared the leave the nanny had G., Y. and a couple other kids sit down and she served them a plate of injera with one liquid item in the middle. I thought it was funny when Y. didn’t eat his food and tried to throw a couple pieces of the injera on the table and the nanny took it away. I guess two year olds are the same no matter where you are in the world!
Next we headed over to a nice lunch at a restaurant that was part of the Ethiopian museum in Addis, then squeezed in a 45 minutes of souvenir shopping (bartering) before it was time to head back to the guest house. A pre-court meeting was supposed to happen then but was cancelled, so we are heading into our big court day completely clueless. Not good! Pray for us. We parents are having a prayer meeting at 8:30 tomorrow morning in lieu of the meeting, so please join with us as we pray that all of us will pass court, that all of our documents will be there, and that birth family members are present. We would also appreciate prayer for the meetings with the birth dad which will take place at the guest house after court tomorrow (Monday night for you all).
The day wrapped up with a luxury… all four of us (as well as the other adoptive parents) went to a fancy spa for one-hour massages and manicures (well, Scott didn’t get the manicure!) I can’t tell you how this bit of down time and R & R rejuvenated all of us. We had just said this morning it felt like we had been here for a month and a half…not good when you are starting day three!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support- they are greatly appreciated. We love you all and will try to update you tomorrow.
This morning we headed over to the transition home to meet with the doctor and visit with the boys. Yishak was so much fun today! He was belly laughing with Savannah and Victoria, and talked some today- not sure what language? Victoria and Savannah had an incredibly awesome time playing with some of the other kids at the transition home.
The meeting with the doctor was not overly informative, but still a good meeting. We then walked down the street to the younger kids’ part of the transition home and saw where Gezahegn and Yishak slept. G. had been playing with us earlier in the day, but each time we pack up our backpack full of goodies (including his favorite electronic alphabet phone we brought with us), he grows sullen and distances himself from us.
It was special to be able to see where the boys sleep and where they eat. As we prepared the leave the nanny had G., Y. and a couple other kids sit down and she served them a plate of injera with one liquid item in the middle. I thought it was funny when Y. didn’t eat his food and tried to throw a couple pieces of the injera on the table and the nanny took it away. I guess two year olds are the same no matter where you are in the world!
Next we headed over to a nice lunch at a restaurant that was part of the Ethiopian museum in Addis, then squeezed in a 45 minutes of souvenir shopping (bartering) before it was time to head back to the guest house. A pre-court meeting was supposed to happen then but was cancelled, so we are heading into our big court day completely clueless. Not good! Pray for us. We parents are having a prayer meeting at 8:30 tomorrow morning in lieu of the meeting, so please join with us as we pray that all of us will pass court, that all of our documents will be there, and that birth family members are present. We would also appreciate prayer for the meetings with the birth dad which will take place at the guest house after court tomorrow (Monday night for you all).
The day wrapped up with a luxury… all four of us (as well as the other adoptive parents) went to a fancy spa for one-hour massages and manicures (well, Scott didn’t get the manicure!) I can’t tell you how this bit of down time and R & R rejuvenated all of us. We had just said this morning it felt like we had been here for a month and a half…not good when you are starting day three!
Thank you so much for your prayers and support- they are greatly appreciated. We love you all and will try to update you tomorrow.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
We wake up praising the Lord for several hours of sleep last night! What a difference a few hours of sleep can make on your outlook and attitude.
We headed downstairs this morning for the group breakfast, where you can sit and visit with other families who are here. We have a full house at the guest house, so there are quite a few people. We all packed an extra comfy, lightweight outfit in our carry-on bags, which mean Scott had sweats, but nothing else he felt comfortable about wearing to the church service this morning. If Scott won’t wear his jeans, you know they must be bad! I think they are standing up in the corner by themselves.
So, my adventurous hubby decides to head down the alley to the main street to purchase some jeans from one of the gazillion small shops. He finds one with jeans and motions to the man, pointing to his legs and saying, “pants – pants!”. The man goes to back and brings back sweats. Scott shakes his head no, “pants-pants” and points to the mans jeans. Ahh...the man pulls out some dark denim jeans. Scott had taken the time to calculate his size in centimeters, since they use metric, but the man disregarded that and asked, “32?”, so he understands our sizing system too. Scott bought his size 34 jeans for 500 birr ($30 American dollars) , which one of our guides said he could have gotten for 400 birr if he had been there, but Scott felt good about doing it himself. He comes back to the room with his new jeans and slides them on…a little tight in the legs, a little low in the waist, and also emblazoned with fancy script writing on the back he had not previously seen, but clean and able to be worn to church. Sweet! Now my white Irish man is a styling Ethiopian in his dark new jeans.
One of the guides (Job) arrived this morning to help us call the airport to check on the status of our missing bags. We found out they had arrived! Scott and Job took a van to go fetch them, while Victoria and I joined the group to head to an International Church Service. Savannah was still not feeling well, so she opted to stay in our room to rest and recuperate some more. We’re not sure if she has some altitude sickness, or nausea from the fumes/smoggy air, but she is still not ready to head out of the room.
There is SO much I want to describe about what it is to drive around the city…my mind is completely blown away with the sadness of it all. I am going to have to process the whole thing and then devote an entire blog post to that alone. Homeless people everywhere, sleeping along the streets. Women holding little babies, coming up to our van windows as we are stuck in traffic at an intersection (think one hundred cars/taxis, no stoplights or signs, no rules or designated lanes..enter the intersection and honk until other cars let you through. Unbelievable.) Donkeys eating grass on a middle road divide and carrying loads down the streets; crippled, deformed men and boys laying in the ground or using sticks as crutches; a young boy with a badly burned face looking at you as you drink your healthy, clean water in a water bottle; old men and women with hands out for money sitting everywhere.
But at the same time you also have to imagine beautiful, smiling children waving at you as you drive everywhere, little kids coming up to you as you walk shouting “hello! hello!”, a beautifully dressed woman sweeping her dirt entrance to her home and coming outside to light a fire to cook on for dinner. There is just so much to say and not enough time. As I said…more on that to come.
SO…the church service was awesome, and I really felt refreshed after worshipping with an amazing mixed congregation. I think that is a little bit of what heaven will be like…all nations and people praising the Lord together. After church the group was taken to a restaurant to eat lunch (a tropical theme restaurant serving burgers, quesadillas, kebobs, etc. All stuff we know and like), and then we stopped by the Guest House to see if Savannah felt ready to head to the Transition Home. She still was not up to the outing, so the rest of us went on to visit our kids.
It is a very weird situation to be in, having new children whom you can’t talk to, and you want them to know things will eventually all be okay, and that you love them and want to help them. Things seem to be going well and the boys are responding happily, but then their mood will change and they are suddenly sad or sullen or withdrawn. G’s whole face will change from smiles to sadness, and he may walk away for a few minutes or go sit by himself. We are trying to figure out how long to let him “process”..do we go sit with him? Give him space? Hug him? Leave him alone? Who knows…we are flying by the seat of our pants and praying God will give us wisdom.
Y. was not happy today, but he also has some bowel “issues”, so I have now officially changed my son’s first disgusting diaper. Yeah for me! As I changed his diaper in the baby room, what should totally surprise me but a beautiful picture hanging on the wall right there of….Samuel Alldrin! Victoria points at it and says, “MOM!”..we both can’t believe it. We motion to the nannies and say, “Biruk? We know Biruk!” They light up and begin saying, “You – Biruk? You – family?”..so over the next 15 minutes we explain how we know little Samuel, we fetch our picture album from our backpack and show them little Biruk now, a year later, smiling with his family, hugging his sister, driving in his fancy little car with a huge smile. They just eat it up, kissing the pictures and chattering excitedly to one another. I told them I will leave them those pictures when we leave, and they told me to kiss him and make sure he is okay. So, beware, Samuel…lots of kisses are coming!
We spent time with the boys, and then were taken back to the guest house to get ready for our traditional, Ethiopian meal at a local restaurant. Savannah finally felt up to heading out, so all four Grants plus about 16 others left for a fun night of loud Ethiopian singing and music, dancing, food, and fun. It was a good day!
We headed downstairs this morning for the group breakfast, where you can sit and visit with other families who are here. We have a full house at the guest house, so there are quite a few people. We all packed an extra comfy, lightweight outfit in our carry-on bags, which mean Scott had sweats, but nothing else he felt comfortable about wearing to the church service this morning. If Scott won’t wear his jeans, you know they must be bad! I think they are standing up in the corner by themselves.
So, my adventurous hubby decides to head down the alley to the main street to purchase some jeans from one of the gazillion small shops. He finds one with jeans and motions to the man, pointing to his legs and saying, “pants – pants!”. The man goes to back and brings back sweats. Scott shakes his head no, “pants-pants” and points to the mans jeans. Ahh...the man pulls out some dark denim jeans. Scott had taken the time to calculate his size in centimeters, since they use metric, but the man disregarded that and asked, “32?”, so he understands our sizing system too. Scott bought his size 34 jeans for 500 birr ($30 American dollars) , which one of our guides said he could have gotten for 400 birr if he had been there, but Scott felt good about doing it himself. He comes back to the room with his new jeans and slides them on…a little tight in the legs, a little low in the waist, and also emblazoned with fancy script writing on the back he had not previously seen, but clean and able to be worn to church. Sweet! Now my white Irish man is a styling Ethiopian in his dark new jeans.
One of the guides (Job) arrived this morning to help us call the airport to check on the status of our missing bags. We found out they had arrived! Scott and Job took a van to go fetch them, while Victoria and I joined the group to head to an International Church Service. Savannah was still not feeling well, so she opted to stay in our room to rest and recuperate some more. We’re not sure if she has some altitude sickness, or nausea from the fumes/smoggy air, but she is still not ready to head out of the room.
There is SO much I want to describe about what it is to drive around the city…my mind is completely blown away with the sadness of it all. I am going to have to process the whole thing and then devote an entire blog post to that alone. Homeless people everywhere, sleeping along the streets. Women holding little babies, coming up to our van windows as we are stuck in traffic at an intersection (think one hundred cars/taxis, no stoplights or signs, no rules or designated lanes..enter the intersection and honk until other cars let you through. Unbelievable.) Donkeys eating grass on a middle road divide and carrying loads down the streets; crippled, deformed men and boys laying in the ground or using sticks as crutches; a young boy with a badly burned face looking at you as you drink your healthy, clean water in a water bottle; old men and women with hands out for money sitting everywhere.
But at the same time you also have to imagine beautiful, smiling children waving at you as you drive everywhere, little kids coming up to you as you walk shouting “hello! hello!”, a beautifully dressed woman sweeping her dirt entrance to her home and coming outside to light a fire to cook on for dinner. There is just so much to say and not enough time. As I said…more on that to come.
SO…the church service was awesome, and I really felt refreshed after worshipping with an amazing mixed congregation. I think that is a little bit of what heaven will be like…all nations and people praising the Lord together. After church the group was taken to a restaurant to eat lunch (a tropical theme restaurant serving burgers, quesadillas, kebobs, etc. All stuff we know and like), and then we stopped by the Guest House to see if Savannah felt ready to head to the Transition Home. She still was not up to the outing, so the rest of us went on to visit our kids.
It is a very weird situation to be in, having new children whom you can’t talk to, and you want them to know things will eventually all be okay, and that you love them and want to help them. Things seem to be going well and the boys are responding happily, but then their mood will change and they are suddenly sad or sullen or withdrawn. G’s whole face will change from smiles to sadness, and he may walk away for a few minutes or go sit by himself. We are trying to figure out how long to let him “process”..do we go sit with him? Give him space? Hug him? Leave him alone? Who knows…we are flying by the seat of our pants and praying God will give us wisdom.
Y. was not happy today, but he also has some bowel “issues”, so I have now officially changed my son’s first disgusting diaper. Yeah for me! As I changed his diaper in the baby room, what should totally surprise me but a beautiful picture hanging on the wall right there of….Samuel Alldrin! Victoria points at it and says, “MOM!”..we both can’t believe it. We motion to the nannies and say, “Biruk? We know Biruk!” They light up and begin saying, “You – Biruk? You – family?”..so over the next 15 minutes we explain how we know little Samuel, we fetch our picture album from our backpack and show them little Biruk now, a year later, smiling with his family, hugging his sister, driving in his fancy little car with a huge smile. They just eat it up, kissing the pictures and chattering excitedly to one another. I told them I will leave them those pictures when we leave, and they told me to kiss him and make sure he is okay. So, beware, Samuel…lots of kisses are coming!
We spent time with the boys, and then were taken back to the guest house to get ready for our traditional, Ethiopian meal at a local restaurant. Savannah finally felt up to heading out, so all four Grants plus about 16 others left for a fun night of loud Ethiopian singing and music, dancing, food, and fun. It was a good day!
Day One in Ethiopia
We arrived in Addis at 7:30 a.m. and made it through the visa line, the money exchanging line, and the passport line, but then we really got bogged down waiting in the baggage claim line because our baggage never showed up! After filing a claim (which took forever!) we got to the Yebsabi Guest House about 10:00, and after a quick room check we left for lunch at an Italian restaurant (Avanti) with the other new arrivals.
Poor Savannah was overcome with tiredness, a nasty cold, little sleep, and then a harrowing, diesel-smoke filled ride to the restaurant. She barely made it out of the bathroom before it was time to head to the TH (transition home) to meet our boys. Once there, our turn came very quickly to meet our boys face-to-face. We had seen them peeking around the corner as they waited, and it was surreal to walk up the stairs and then wait as they led them out.
Our first reaction was, "Wow - they are so little!" Our four-year-old is just barely bigger than the two-year-old. The boys walked out quietly and then stood in front of us, and we knelt down and gave them hugs, had a couple pictures taken, and then walked over to a nearby grassy area. When you don't speak the same language it is a little difficult to "break the ice", but we found gestures, tickling, and playing soccer to do the trick.
We enjoyed a couple hours of just watching the boys, getting to know them, and trying to interact. Our little one was more friendly than we thought he would be and didn't cry, so that was a treat for day #1, and older brother seemed to enjoy most of the time. We did not have our nifty bag of fun gifts to give the boys, as that was in our missing luggage, but some other families gave us a few goodies to play with.
By the time we left the Transition Home, we were one bunch of wiped out folks. Two nights of very little sleep, coupled with taking in all the sights and sounds of this country, coupled with the emotions of meeting our new kids made it an amazing but exhausting day.
Poor Savannah was overcome with tiredness, a nasty cold, little sleep, and then a harrowing, diesel-smoke filled ride to the restaurant. She barely made it out of the bathroom before it was time to head to the TH (transition home) to meet our boys. Once there, our turn came very quickly to meet our boys face-to-face. We had seen them peeking around the corner as they waited, and it was surreal to walk up the stairs and then wait as they led them out.
Our first reaction was, "Wow - they are so little!" Our four-year-old is just barely bigger than the two-year-old. The boys walked out quietly and then stood in front of us, and we knelt down and gave them hugs, had a couple pictures taken, and then walked over to a nearby grassy area. When you don't speak the same language it is a little difficult to "break the ice", but we found gestures, tickling, and playing soccer to do the trick.
We enjoyed a couple hours of just watching the boys, getting to know them, and trying to interact. Our little one was more friendly than we thought he would be and didn't cry, so that was a treat for day #1, and older brother seemed to enjoy most of the time. We did not have our nifty bag of fun gifts to give the boys, as that was in our missing luggage, but some other families gave us a few goodies to play with.
By the time we left the Transition Home, we were one bunch of wiped out folks. Two nights of very little sleep, coupled with taking in all the sights and sounds of this country, coupled with the emotions of meeting our new kids made it an amazing but exhausting day.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Travel Days: March 31-April 1-April 2
Greetings from the Grants!
Our long-awaited trip to Ethiopia started with leaving the younger Grants in the very capable and loving hands of our dear friends. Well, actually, it started the night before when Laramie began holding her ear and proclaiming,"My ear hurts!" Oh no!
It seems her week-long bout of the cold and cough morphed into an ear infection, but our doctor was able to get us in at 8:45 Thursday morning, and 10 minutes later we were leaving with prescription in-hand and on our way to our friend's home. God is good!
After prayers and a very tearful goodbye, we loaded up and headed out. It took Mom an hour or so to finish shedding her tears and get a grip, but after that the excitement began to build as we got closer to San Francisco. We enjoyed a few hearty bowls of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (perhaps one of the finest things about SF, in our opinion) and took to the skies via Virgin Atlantic.
Our first flight was uneventful and seemed to pass quickly but, by the time we disembarked eleven hours later, we were certainly ready to stretch and walk about a bit. Our time at Heathrow also passed quickly. Perhaps this is due to usually being quite busy at home, but having time to read or for the girls to play the gameboy, has made the time fly.
We are now checked in and waiting to board our Ethiopian Airline flight, and by the time we land in Addis, we will be just a few hours away from meeting our boys.
Life is good!
Our long-awaited trip to Ethiopia started with leaving the younger Grants in the very capable and loving hands of our dear friends. Well, actually, it started the night before when Laramie began holding her ear and proclaiming,"My ear hurts!" Oh no!
It seems her week-long bout of the cold and cough morphed into an ear infection, but our doctor was able to get us in at 8:45 Thursday morning, and 10 minutes later we were leaving with prescription in-hand and on our way to our friend's home. God is good!
After prayers and a very tearful goodbye, we loaded up and headed out. It took Mom an hour or so to finish shedding her tears and get a grip, but after that the excitement began to build as we got closer to San Francisco. We enjoyed a few hearty bowls of clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl (perhaps one of the finest things about SF, in our opinion) and took to the skies via Virgin Atlantic.
Our first flight was uneventful and seemed to pass quickly but, by the time we disembarked eleven hours later, we were certainly ready to stretch and walk about a bit. Our time at Heathrow also passed quickly. Perhaps this is due to usually being quite busy at home, but having time to read or for the girls to play the gameboy, has made the time fly.
We are now checked in and waiting to board our Ethiopian Airline flight, and by the time we land in Addis, we will be just a few hours away from meeting our boys.
Life is good!
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