Overstimulation!!!!

Today we decided to hit the pool for one last time before the end of summer. We knew it was probably too soon for OE, and we planned to make it a quick trip. We were right! She was majorly overstimulated! She got so excited & was flopping all over the place. She had no clue about how to hold her body in the water or anything. People were looking at us like we were crazy. As bad as this sounds, I was so glad we experienced the overstimulation. She has been doing so well...almost too well, & it showed me that we are doing things right by making things as simple & small as possible. It also helped us to see that she does have the capacity to react negatively to stimulation. Hope this makes sense. We came home & gave a relaxing bath & a massage with lotion & she's feeling much better. She feels so comfortable in our home & with us. It's such a blessing. For now, we'll just take things slow & keep things small & enjoy our new family! God is so good!

1 Week Home~Fav Photos

Today marks our first week home. We are so surprised how well things are going....just waiting for the honeymoon period to end & trying to continue to maintain low expectations & hoping to continue to be surprised! It has still been a week of adjusting, but we are having fun learning about each other & enjoying the blessing of one another! Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the week.

Daddy & OE on Sunday morning enjoying Mrs. Kim's yummy lemon cake (it's her take on Olive Garden's lemon cake & it's even better)!

Sweet dreams with big brother, L!

1st playdate with Mommy's Biblestudy buddies

1st bike & gator ride in the culdesac with some of our sweet neighbors (OE seemed very glad to have some girl time)!

1st mall trip for a quick shopping trip (the girl needed some tennis shoes to fit her little narrow feet...she spotted Godiva, so we endulged in her favorite treat, as well...chocolate)!

Showing off our traditional Ethiopian attire!

Two Lists & Pictures

Here are two lists that I made while in Ethiopia:

Things I'm Really Glad I Had


~Baby K'tan--for bonding & carrying around our daughter


~beach ball--for playing in the hotel room


~washclothes & handtowels--the hotel only gave us bath towels


~tp, ab gel, wipes, & kleenex---no explanation needed!!


~saline nose spray--for the dry airplane air


~Melatonin--we got this from our healthfood store & used it to treat/prevent jetlag (definately worked in country & I think it decreased the severity of it once back home)


~Ambien--great for those LONG airplane rides & nights in Ethiopia


~pillowcases--not provided by hotel...much better than sleeping on the shams


~lots of rest before we traveled--some great blog buddies helped me plan ahead & by the time we got our travel call 11 days before departure I was packed & ready to go; we used the last week to tie up loose ends, be with our boys, & rest up for a great trip





Things I Wish I Had Taken


~Bengay--for the achey muscles from carrying around our daughter


~More advil & arthritis medicine--I have RA, so the physical strain of the trip added up. I thought I had taken enough medicine, but I needed way more. Take A LOT more than you think you will need.


~Azithromax--We only took Amoxicillin for our daughter. It worked for her ear infection/sinus junk, but we wished we had taken Azithromax for tough respiratory infections like the little girl in our travel group experienced. And, there was NONE available in country for emergencies.


~real chocoalte--all we had were tootsie rolls (thanks to Janet & Todd since our one of our bags got lost); tootsie rolls were good, but I CRAVED m&m's & dark chocolate; now I know why chocolate is such a treat for Almaz


~balls for HH--They are on the donation list, but I overlooked them or focused on other items. The balls they have get used A LOT & worn out quickly. We looked all over Addis for some but came up empty handed.


~MORE diapers & formula--We were so blessed by our friends who helped us collect donations. We took a lot of diapers & formula. But once we were other there & saw the huge number of babies, we wished we had paid for another piece or two of luggage & taken more diapers & formula.

I know what most of you want is the pictures. Here's the story behind these. One morning, on our way to HH, we asked the hotel guards if they would take a picture of the three of us together on the steps of the Union Hotel. They didn't understand English very well & we were trying to help them understand what we wanted. They thought we wanted them to pose for a picture. Nathan kept trying to explain it, but they just kept posing. Finally, Nathan just took their picture & then we did our own pictures....seperately. :-)

Gotcha Day Pictures

Eating lunch at the hotel before Almaz arrived to take us to meet our daughter.


The Union Hotel as we left to walk to HH!Walking the road to HH (it was very surreal to actually be walking "the walk")!

As we approached HH, we heard children laughing & playing. Almaz grinned & said, "That's our children.". I lost it! It was the most beautiful sound!

We still have not had time to look at the video N took of the gate opening & OE running into my arms, but this was one of my favorite pictures from our first few minutes together. We took a small backpack for her with a few toys in it & she loved it. The phone & sunglasses were her favorites...especially the sunglasses. For the rest of the week, anytime we got ready to leave the room to venture out, she would ask for her glasses. I would highly recommend that future travelers, who are picking up toddlers especially, take sunglasses for their kiddos. She seemed to find comfort in being able to kind of hide behind her glasses. The other families in our travel group noted observing this with her, as well. Sunglasses seemed to help her feel safe as she took in all the new experiences.

A few minutes after we first met & played with her backpack, she became very sad. She is very smart & loved HH & realized that since we were there to get her, she would soon be leaving. It was so hard to see her hurting so much. She sobbed very loudly & it broke my heart. Everyone at HH was an amazing support to her, as I held her, they spoke words of encouragement & support. It helped us to see the hearts of the caregivers & other children at HH. It is such a special place! We are so thankful for HH & the fact that our daughter's birth family brought her directly to HH, so she did not have to experience an ordinary orphanage. HH is filled with hope & God's love!

As she was coming to terms with her sadness & feeling some relief, she began playing with the other children. We have observed first hand how therapeutic play is in helping children cope with grief. Running around, laughing, & getting the chemicals flowing, is such great therapy to hurting chidren. As she played ball with the other kids, several of the older kids kept lifting her up to help her try to make a basketball goal. We seized the opportunity to have her Daddy meet this need & he lifted her up & she put the ball in the basket! Swoosh! It really helped her see how strong her father is & how available he is to meet her needs. I will always remember this sweet interaction between the two of them.

Here we are leaving the gates of HH for the first time together to head to the hotel. What a strong, brave little girl God has given us. Through out our adoption process, we have prayed & prayed that God would show His grace & mercies to our daughter & give her a resilency to help her deal with & overcome the difficult life circumstances she has faced in her short life. We feel like we are seeing those prayers answered. What a great God we have...He is so good & loves His children so much. We are so thankful that He is sharing L, C, R, & OE with us!

Pictures....

Here are a few pictures without too many words. We are doing great....she is eating, sleeping, & communicating much better than we could have ever hoped for. She loves her brothers, and fits into our family perfectly. She & the boys are all best friends already. It is so fun to watch them together. Honestly, it's a little overwhelming at times...if you know our boys personally, you know how much energy they have & she is just like them. Whoever said that going from 3 to 4 would be a piece of cake, didn't know this amazing girl...she is VERY spririted! We love her like crazy & it seems like she's already been with us forever. The sweet hugs we were greeted with when we first walked into Hannah's Hope & into our girl's life FOREVER!All dolled up for our Embassy appointment. This girl loves to look cute & strikes the cutest poses for pictures (without any prompting...it's too funny).






Lotion!!!! She loves her bath time & LOVES lotion! In fact, we didn't take enough with us to Ethiopia. Now she is in heaven with full reign over a whole drawer full of lotion. This girl's skin just glows!



Olivia Eyerus trying on her traditional Ethiopian dress that we bought for her. Notice the color we chose for her....orange. Go Vols...it's almost football time in Tennessee.




This girl loves her balloons!!!!


Silly faces! One of the best communication & bonding tools we have had has been humor & just plain silliness. It is amazing how universal laughter is.


Weight training in the Union Hotel workout room (& more silliness). This girl has got personality!!!!This picture was taken in the Amsterdam airport & pretty much marks the beginning of her warming up to her Daddy. Her first morning here, she began expressing her love to her Daddy & playing with him. There has been no looking back ever since. One of the sweetest sounds is her saying, "Daddy", in the her beautiful accent! They have so much fun together now! This girl's heavenly Father has given her an amazing earthly father. Thank you, Jesus!

These are the hands of one big family...mine & N's & our newest additions...OE's Ethiopian family. All of these hands together are a glimpse into a family that is formed by the bonds of love for one sweet girl.

More stories & pictures soon! Thank you for your love, support, & prayers. God is so good!

Where to start???

I'm struggling to find the right place to start on sharing more about our journey to Ethiopia. It was just the most amazing experience! I thought I'd begin by sharing about the new picture I put as our signature pic (see above). It's of our daughter as we were driving through Addis for the last time on the way to the airport. What a tough drive that was....I cried the entire way. I can't tell you how hard it was to leave Ethiopia. I felt so guilty taking her from her country. I wish things were not so hard there. I wish that her Ethiopian family could have cared for her....I know they love her so much. I pray that we will return to Ethiopia. My heart is huge for that country & who knows where God will take us, but I know our journey of love for Ethiopia has not ended with our trip to pick up our daughter. I believe it's only the beginning. Tonight, the boys were talking about what they want to be when they grow up & Logan & Connor both said they want to be doctors. I told them about the huge need for doctors in Ethiopia & they said they want to go there to help the people there when they become doctors. Riley wants to be a policeman & said he figured they probably need policeman, too. He is right...the need there is so great! As for OE, I pray that one day she especially will be able to return to her country & serve God there. Maybe she will be the next Almaz! Regardless, I know God has great plans for her. She is such an amazing, strong little girl! God is so good!

We're Home!!!!

Sorry to not post for so long! We made it home & are loving being together as a family. OE is doing amazing! She fits in our family perfectly! It is so clear that God made her for our family & us for her. It already seems like she has been with us forever. Thank you for all your prayers & support. We are so blessed! More soon!

Right on Schedule

N, K, and OE have arrived in Memphis! Just heard throught the grapevine that they are back in the great state of Tennessee. All is on schedule for a 9:55 EST landing in Knoxville. If you are in the area, come by the airport to celebrate!! Just a few more hours til the boys meeet their sister!

Leaving Ethiopia

Good morning!!! This is going to be super quick. Nathan is carrying down our bags & we are getting ready to check out of the Union Hotel! Woohoo!!!! I will share more about our good-byes at HH later. It was soooo hard. OE did great, but she had to give EVERYONE many, many kisses. She is very affectionate, just as we were told. She is amazing! The little girl who was sick in our travel group is improving. The girls are having so much fun playing together. OE has given her two of her hairbows b/c she didn't have any. Every girl needs her bows...right! They are so sweet together! Mom or Beth, Can you call Dr. Shults & see if we can get our appointment changed from Tuesday to Monday. Eyerus has a little cough & we aren't sure if it's lingering from previous illness or something that is coming on. We started her on the Amoxicillin that you gave us, Cynthia. Thank you. We got three doses in her before leaving & aren't going to be able to take it with us b/c it has to be refridgerated. Can you see if Dr. Shults wants to go ahead & call her in more Amoxicillin, so she can finish the sequence or if she wants to wait to check her Monday (whatever she thinks). Okay, I think that's all. We are soooo ready to be home. We miss the boys like crazy. Please tell them we will never go away again!!!!!!! Remind them that we've never done this before & will never again (but when they are older, we will all go back as a family). Okay, love you all tons!!!!!!!! See you tomorrow!!!!!

It's Thursday!

Good morning from Ethiopia! We are so glad it's Thursday! We have been so glad to have the extra time in our daughter's birthcountry, but we are thankful to be leaving tomorrow for home & the boys & everyone else. Tuesday was our toughest day. We were just emotionally drained & I think that's why we had tummy aches. It didn't feel like travelers sickness...thank you, God! Yesterday (Wednesday) was wonderful. We let OE play at HH while we went to another orphanage to hand out candy, clothing, & shoes. As we walked through the gate, I said to myself, "Thank you, Lord, for HH & AGCI". Any frustrations we have had with AGCI along the way have melted away. The care & love the children receive there is beyond description! We may not get court dates, but our children are cared for better in ways that seem humanly impossible in the midst of a country filled with such despair. God is all over HH! Almaz explained to us that there are really no state run orphanages b/c there is no government support for orphan care, so all orphanages are privately run (just some are better managed & run than others ;-) ). The most memorable moments at that orphanage came from going through donations to find shoes that fit for the children. One boy, was insistant that a pair of tennis shoes would fit him even though it looked to be a tight squeeze. I brushed the dirt off his fit & squeezed them in. He was so excited. Later, N noticed he had on a St. Louis Cardinals shirt, so they became buddies (Go Cardinals!). After the orphanage, we went shopping. We were so glad that Eyerus was able to be playing at HH with her friends, so we could concetrate on shopping & gathering little gifts for OE from her birthcountry to give to her throughout her life. My favorite purchases were some jewelry that we plan to save for her 16th birthday, wedding day, etc. I liked one shop in particular & the ladies in there told me I was their favorite customer & gave me a beautiful basket for a gift & gave N a keychain (N said, "I bet your their favorite customer ;-) ). Afterwards, we went to a wonderful restaraunt for a delicious lunch of foccasia & pizza! Yummo! It was at an art gallery & I found the most amazing piece of artwork for our room. I have had a picture in my head of a beach picture I would want for above our bed & I found one that is just what I envisioned (color & style), but it's of an African village! Wow! We splurged & got it! Although, I was sick when we left, as we drove away with all the hungry women & children reaching into the window & begging for food. That darn painting would have fed them many meals! Hmmm...lots to take in & digest. We love the families we are traveling with & have laughed & laughed with them. The guys all have the same sense of humor as N, so we are having a blast. Okay, I must wrap this up. We are off to HH to help Almaz organize clothes (Yes, she is a woman after my own heart!). Then we will go back to the art museum for another familiy to look for their own Ethiopian art treasure. We will go to Kaldi's (the Ethiopian Starbucks) on the way home to eat hamburgers & ice cream! Boys, we can't wait for you to meet your sister. She is soooo much like you all. We are going to have so much fun together! Get ready & rest up. She has as much energy as you boys do!!!!!! We love you & will see you so soon!!!!!!!!

It's Hump Day!

We are SO excited that we've reached Wednesday. Monday's embassy appointment has come & gone, as has Tuesday's birthfamily visit. Wow! What an emotional couple of days! I know N shared glimpses of both of these challenges, & I'll go into more detail after we're home. Last night we went to the traditional Ethiopian meal & that was just what I needed! OE & I both had tummy aches yesterday afternoon, but we took a nap & some Pepto & started feeling better right before we left. The meal was wonderful. It was so enjoyable. Boys, we wished you were there. The dancers were amazing! We thought you would think they were the Ethiopian Jonas brothers! They were good! We took lots of video! Maybe you boys can learn to dance like them. Ethiopians dance with their shoulders & talk with their eyes. It's the most beautiful thing ever! We love Ethiopia! We definately miss America & some of the comforts there, but this country & it's people are unbelievable. Of the countries N & I have traveled (Nicaragua, Poland, & Russis), we love this one the most. I'm sure we're a bit partial since our daughter is from here, but there is something amazing about the spirits of these people. OE is doing amazing. She is attached to me & not as fond of N, but we know that will come. She has never had a man in her life, so it is understandable. She knows her Daddy meets her physical needs, but she's not ready for the hugs. It's tough on N, so please pray for that. We feel that when she sees Daddy playing & loving on the boys this will chage quickly. There is so much I want to share, but I realized yesterday that I misunderstood the cost of internet use. I thought it was $.05 USD, but it's $.50 USD. Nathan even had checked his fantasy baseball team. Ooops! Okay, we're off to go shopping! Future travelers...bring bengay if you are adpopting an older child. The baby ktan is a huge help, but my arm muscles still ache. Lots of love to you all!!!!!

Birthmother Visit

The birthmother visit went very very well this morning. The birthmother's sister, aunt (who is basically OE's grandma due to having such a big part in raising her), and cousin came too. We had a good time talking to them and taking pictures and videos. They wanted us to understand how important it was to them that we knew that they had given her up because they loved her and wanted her to have a better life because they could no longer care for her. Lots of hugs, kisses, and tears as we said goodbye and they left thru the gate at HH.

The meeting lasted about 25 minutes and could not have been better!! Thanks for all the prayers offered up on this meeting. We could sense the presence of God

uyuy u byo

OE titled this post! We are having fun but we miss America. This will be short because OE wants to do all the typing and it is quite a chore to keep her precious little fingers off the keyboard. She is called Eyerus by her friends. (eeyaroos - roll the r) Please pray for one of the other families here with us because their 3 year old is sick. :( It appears to be whooping cough. Thankfully, two of the other parents are doctors and have started her on antibiotics and are monitoring her closely. OE has a little cough so please pray that it doesn't turn into anything more but we have good care if it does. To all the other families who are waiting to bring children home, your children are beautiful, amazing spirits and we have lots of pictures to share!
OE is such a girly girl! She was looking thru K's stuff and found fingernail polish. She wanted it to be put on immediately. She even knew how to blow her nails to dry them!! Then, she found sparkly lip gloss and had to have that on too. Everytime that K puts on lipstick, OE must have lipgloss.
Our Embassy appointment went well. We were the last of 4 families to be called up to the window (kind of like going to the bank and walking up to the drive thru teller) so that built up the suspense to where we could almost not stand it. We have the documents and then on Wednesday we will get her passport and visa.
She loved talking to everyone on the phone yesterday. She continues to look at all of your pictures and is memorizing everyone's name!

We love you all so much and appreciate your prayers.

Good Morning!

After we initially met, we hugged & loved on each other for a while. Then we sat down to show her backpack to her with some of her toys. The Minnie Mouse phone & pink sunglasses were her favorites. Then she wanted to color in her Strawberrry Shortcake coloring book. We gave her the crayon box & guess what color she chose....ORANGE!!! She's already a Tennessee Vol Girl! Go UT!!!! We were very proud. We will have her singing Rocky Top by the time we are home! After playing, she teared up & became very sad. Her grief was very apparent. She sobbed! It was so hard to see her hurting so much! Almaz suggested that she might need one more night at Hannah's Hope. Almaz knows these children so well & her love for them is AMAZING! We held OE as she grieved. Soon an older boy, T, came to her after hearing her crying. Jenni, this was your son! He is amazing!!! He spent the rest of the afternoon helping OE understand that we were her new parents & that we would take good care of her. OE & T love each other very much! Eventually, OE told T that she wanted to go with us to the hotel! We were so relieved! At the hotel, we gave her suitcase to her with her clothes & shoes. She chose to wear the ORANGE shirt, flower pants, & brown shoes. I didn't put socks on her at first & she was quick to remind us that she needed socks! Then we played ball (the beach ball was a huge it). This girl can play soccer! Watch out, boys! You better practice your skills. She is good! Then we went downstairs for dinner. We ordered the stir fry chicken & spagetti. OE LOVED the fried rice. She ate the entire portion & we were thinking about ordering her more when we noticed her turning GREEN. Oh, how we had forgotten that we have to control how much food she eats! ;-) She pulled through without spewing & we learned a great lesson (which we should have already learned from R)! Then we went back to the room, gave her a bath, & she brushed her teeth! We sat in bed for a minute & snuggled & she brushed her My Little Pony's hair. Then she asked for her chapstick (which she loves) & a drink of water. Then she fell asleep in my arms! We are so blessed! We cannot wait for everyone to meet her. She is an absolute angel!!!!! We slept ok. She slept great, but it was a long night for us. It seemed never-ending! I kept dreaming of our time at HH & of home! We decided that from now on we will alternate nights taking Ambien (neither of us took any last night)! Ambien is our best friend!!!!!! Now we are up for the day on Monday. We ate breakfast & are going back up to the room to play. Eyerus prefers being in the room playing with us as opposed to being downstairs with the other families. It is clear she feels very safe with us! We have our embassy appointment this afternoon & we will go back to HH to play for a little while. We love you all very much & miss you tons!

Guess Who's Sitting On My Lap

OE is in our arms forever!!!!!! jghggg That's from her! We had a lazy morning then ate a delicious lunch of pasta with tomato sauce! Yummo! We visited with the other families while we waited for Almaz! She arrived about 1:30 pm. I thought I was going to scream, but I controled myself! We casually sit & talked while the other families finished their lunch. Almaz sipped a cappaciuno & shared of the desperate time the Ethiopians are facing & the worries of what is to come because of the famine. She told us about when she sought refuge in Sudan following the famine of 1984 (or at least that's what I understood). Then we finished our embassy paperwork & discussed the visa appointment. We asked a few questions about our children & she shared things about our children. Most notable was that she told us OE bubbly, smart, & THE BOSS! Oh, boy! Then we made the wonderful walk to Hannah's Hope. As Almaz opened the gate, I was at the front of the group with Nathan behind me recording. As soon as the gate opened, I saw a group of children sitting just beyond the gate. OE was sitting in the middle of the group & waved at me & came running. Well, our dinner is here now....more later! Love to you all!

Today is the Day

We slept very good last night. The beds were hard, but WAY softer than sleeping in a tent. We went to sleep about 1 a.m., & I didn't move until 8:30! It feel amazing! I did it hear it rain during the night but that's the only thing I remember! When I woke up, I could hear cars driving around beeping their horns. N was still fast asleep, but I felt rested, so I woke up & start ORGANIZING all of our stuff (imagine that ;-) ). After I got us all settled in & got ready for the day, I tried to get Nathan to go eat breakfast with me. He was still sleeping very sound, so I went on downstairs to eat with the other families. We met the third family in our travel group, who had been in Kenya for two weeks prior to their arrival here. They are adopting a 14 month old who's Ethiopian name is the same as our daughters! I had a lovely breakfast complete with cappacuino. Boys, we watched Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs during breakfast! We were you were here. Then, the news came on the tv, & were watched the hightlights of several Ethiopians winning Olympics medals. The images on the tv were of huge groups of Ethiopians gathered in an outdoor area around a tv watching the Olympics & cheering for their people! It was so exciting. Then, they showed the medals ceremony where an Ethiopian woman was awarded the gold medal! I was moved nearly to tears, as I watched her cry her eyes out on the podium while singing her nation's anthem! Wow! Now, N is up & we are less than 2 hours from meeting Almaz & walking the road to Hannah's Hope to meet our daughter! We love you all! Can't wait to share more! We love Ethiopia!!!! Miss you!!!!!

Hello From Ethiopia

We had the most wonderful trip here! A wonderful Northwest worker allowed us to check our 5th bag of luggage without additional charge. We were so thankful. As we went through security, the only thing we had confiscated was my jar of peanut butter. I really almost cried, but I reminded myself to keep perspective...at least, they let us through with the extra bag of medicine for OE! Mom, I will be fine & won't starve! The food at the Union hotel is wonderful! The pancakes are just like everyone described...very similar to funnel cakes! Yummo! We met up with one of the other traveling families as we waited in Detroit for our flight to Amsterdam. We had not arranged for how we would meet up, but I noticed a couple who I thought might be them. I went out on a limb & said her name & it was them! We were so glad to be meeting in person. Our flights over went very smoothly, other than some mild turbulence on the flight from Sudan to Ethiopia. I slept the majority of our time spent flying. Nathan didn't sleep very much. Mom, this is your fault (LOL!)...as you reminded him in your note to us to be on guard at all times...he did just as you said! Boys, we found the coolest toy & candy stores in Amsterdam, so we will check them out on the way home! When we arrived in Addis, we boarded a bus from the airplane to the airport terminal. Visa & customs took a lot longer than I expected but still very smoothly. Danny & Yohannes, the AGCI guys, were waiting for us as we went through the security checkpoint to leave the airport (yes, you read correctly...after we got our luggage we went through security to leave). We were so excited to see them with their "AGCI Families" sign! One of of bags did not arrive with us, but we were so thankful that all the others did. The workers located it in Detroit, so we are still hoping it may find it's way here. Don't worry..we have all that we need & OE has ALL her clothes, shoes, toys, & hairbows! We waited at the airport for over an hour for another familiy (who ended up not arriving until well into the night on their scheduled flight from Kenya). During that time we were in awe at the absolute beauty of the Ehiopians...just stunning!! We met a little girl who said she was nine. The other couple gave her some candy & I tried out my amharic, asking her name & telling her she was beautiful. I could have swooped her up & taken her with me. Her eyes just sparked! Then headed to the vans for the trip to the Union Hotel. The ride to the hotel was much as I had envisioned....saddness & despair all around. It reminded me a lot of the slume in Managua, Nicaragua. At redlights, children were knocking on the van windows begging for money. I wanted to have the words to tell them that I loved them & cared for them and God did as well! It was a relatively short ride to the hotel. We checked in & found our selves in a SUITE! I checked out the shower, which was one of the spa showers like I heard about...complete with hot water! However, when we went back downstairs to try to get online, they told had given us the wrong room. Oh, well! Then we settled into our regular room that still had hot water! Whew! We were starving, so we found our snacks & worked on unpacking. It felt so good to be so close to our daughter! I looked out the window thinking of OE & wondering which direction was Hannah's Hope. I was too exhausted to think of wanting to walk there at that time to get her. We showered, took our Ambien, & hit the sack!

Safe in Ethiopia

Just got a call from C, K's mom. N and K have safely arrived in Ethiopia. They are at their hotel. K said all of the flights were good and on time. They will go to bed now and wake up tomorrow to meet their darling daughter, OE. C said K will email. As soon as I ge the email, I will update the blog.

Good News From The Airport

This is A, a friend of N and K. I will be updating their blog for them while they are in Ethiopia picking up their precious princess!

N and K are at the airport waiting on their flight. I just recieved a text from her that said "Just got a call... visa is ok". Praise God. All of the immigration paperwork is fine and ready for them to bring their daughter home.

And We're Off...

I can not believe that today is the day we leave to pick up our daughter! Wooohoooo!!!! A couple of notes to future travelers....really plan to not have anything left to do on your check list the day prior to departure. I had just a couple of little things to do, but the day quickly filled up with picking up last minute donation requests from Almaz & working with USCIS (the first of which was a pure joy...running around like a mad woman looking for flax seed oil (in liquid form that didn't need to be refridgerated) to take to HH...the second of which NOT SO MUCH). Last night we recorded a CD of us talking to the boys with a different track for each day. We made them super fun & light-hearted. We had fun doing them & HOPEFULLY the boys will like listening to them. We used a program I downloaded online called "RecordPad". We plan to use the same program to record O.E. talking in Amharic, so she will have that sweet reminder of our her heritage. Okay...we'll update SOON from Africa! Ciao!

Ugh!!!

It looks like the whole immigration thing is not worked out afterall. We are having a very difficult time communicating with the "powers that be". Please, please pray that this gets worked out ASAP. N, AGCI, & Sen. Lamar Alexander's office have been working so hard, but it's just not happening as quickly as is needed! Uggggghhhh!!!!!! Oh, USCIS..... :-(

SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!

The excitement is building. It's difficult to describe, but, in the midst of all the planning & packing, it was easy to lose sight of the reason for our trip. I think it had something to do with the fact that I had TONS to do & couldn't sit a the computer watching video clips of O.E. repeatedly & looking through her pictures! All of the wonderful thoughts & comments from my blog buddies have been a huge help, as well! What a huge support network we are blessed with! Here is a sneak peak at our sweet daughter! I can't wait to have her in my arms. We are so close! God is so good!

Caution: Very Emotional

Today has been a tough day for me! There is definately still excitement about our impending travel, but it's really starting to hit me that we're leaving the boys! It makes me so sad. We've never been on a trip by ourselves, much less a 8 night trip to the other side of the world. I know this is what God has called us to do & I know He will take care of ALL of us while we are apart, but it still is heart wrenching. Please pray for this for us! N talked to the National Visa Center today & it looks like things are squared away there, so praise the Lord for working that out. Now, please pray for peace as we prepare to leave.

Bags Packed...Check!

I was shooting for having our bags packed by Wednesday night, but N told me late last week that he thought we should be done Sunday night! I took him up on the challenge & we just got finished! Woohoo! Now, we just need to do notes, CDs, & fun stuff for the boys, do a few random errands & tasks, & spend time with the boys! We are hoping to hear good news from USCIS (immigration) any day now! Our contact seemed very capable of getting it done quick! T minus 5 days & counting...

O.E. Celebration

Tonight we were showered with love, support, & gifts by our friends & family! We were so humbled by their outpouring & the excitement they share with us!

Thank you ALL! God has blessed us with the most amazing group of people to share this journey with! It is so hard to believe that this time next week, we will be getting ready to meet our daughter for the first time! God is so good!

Yellow Fever

This afternoon we went to our local travel clinic to get our yellow fever immunization. With all the crazy flight stuff, we just thought we better make sure we had that base covered in case we got stuck somewhere like Kenya or Sudan! I called the travel clinic this morning to see what their thoughts were & as soon as I filled them in on our itinerary, they said to come today & get the shot b/c it takes 10 days for it to reach full effectiveness (we definitely don't have 10 days)! So, word to future travelers, you know how there's the disclaimer that yellow fever is not necessary for Ethiopia travel unless you get rerouted through certain other countries. Well, you never know where you may end up!

My Little Helpers

The boys are being amazing big brothers already! They love to help us pack & are okay with tagging along on all the errands we have to run! This is our last week of summer before school starts next week, so we are also making sure we squeeze in some fun times for them, as well!

O.E.'s new room is our staging area for all the trip stuff! Thanks to some seasoned travelers, I had lots of tips early on & I've been packing & preparing for quite some time. I figured, if we didn't make it in August, I would lock the door & readdress it closer to travel. I'm so thankful I started early! It has really helped me not feel too overwhelmed. All you who are waiting until the fall, I wish I could fit you all in my suitcase & take you to your children! While you wait, get started on preparations...it will be here before you know it & you'll be so glad you did! I can't wait to love on your kiddos for you & take lots of pictures!

As far as USCIS (immigration), N just talked to the most wonderful lady at Sen. Lamar Alexander's office. She seemed very knowledgeable about situations like ours, & we are hoping she makes it happen! Please keep praying!

Flights & USCIS

Nathan is booking our flights as we speak! This is so surreal & amazing! August is a very busy time to travel to Ethiopia, plus the Olympics are making things even more difficult! We are ending up having to leave Friday the 15th & won't return until Saturday the 23rd. So, a little longer trip, BUT it looks like we may meet our daughter a day earlier (on Sunday) since we will arrive in Ethiopia a day earlier than expected!

Please pray extra hard for the immigration situation! We have still gotten no where, so I just contacted the first congressman! :-( Please, please pray for God to move this mountain quick! If anyone knows of a good congressional contact, please let us know. We need all the help we can get at this point! Thank you!!!!!

Famine Video

I found this video on CNN tonight. It is very graphic, but it definately explains the dire situation in Ethiopia. Ignorantly, I've thought, "If it's rainy season, doesn't that mean the drought is over & things should be improving?". This slapped me in the face! Duh...stupid spoiled American. Check out the video...

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/08/05/geissler.ethiopia.famine.ITN

Africa Here We Come

We just got our travel dates! We have to be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Sunday, August 17th! O.E. here we come!!!!!!!!!

To Top It Off

As if the news we heard today wasn't enough to bring us pure joy...we just heard our daughter speak for the first time. Karen found our daughter in some of her video from her trip to HH & she shared it with us (thank you Karen :-) )! Wow! We are in awe once again! Thank you, Lord, for this blessing!

2-3 Weeks

Just got the most wonderful call from Kate. We will be traveling in 2-3 weeks!!!!!! Now is crunch time with immigration. We are still trying to get them to process approval for our updated age. Please, please pray that this will be resolved within the next couple of days!!!!!!

Weekend Waiting

This weekend has been so refreshing. It's amazing how better you feel when you know THE CALL can't come b/c it's the weekend. Plus, the updates on our girl have really helped us out! As Monday quickly approaches we are filled with apprehension & excitement. We pray that this is the week we find out that we passed court & get our travel date! Thank you for all of your prayers for us & the other families waiting with us!

More About Our Girl

We heard more wonderful things about our daughter this morning! Check it out!

"She is so sweet. She was handing out candy and when she only had one piece left and it came to keeping it for herself or giving it to another child, she quickly gave the lollipop to the other child with a big smile. I can't say enough sweet things about her. You are just drawn into her kindness and gentle spirit. She loves having her photo taken as is evidenced by the three videos and about 25 pictures I took of her. She was comfortable playing by herself, but often other children would come to her to play....Finally, did I mention that you have an absolute angel? I'm not just saying that, because I can be cynical. But she truly was so sweet and has the best smile in the world--next to Grace of course. She was somewhat shy, but just because of her gentle spirit."~in Sharon's words :-)

Look What We Just Got

We just received an email from one of the families who just returned today from HH with their daughter who is 4...just like O.E.! First of all, I have to say that Sharon is my hero tonight. I'm sure she's exhausted from the trip & she took time to send me an update & a preview of the pictures (of which she will be sending me a whole disk of by snail mail)! She also sent us an update from Ethiopia...what a blessing! Here is what she said, "OMG(osh)! Your daughter just lights up the play yard at HH. I couldn't take my eyes of her shining face. I wanted to snatch her up myself. She is so gentle and sweet. Not a mean bone in her body. I watched her carefully for a long time and found her to be the girl that everyone flocks to for comfort. What an angel she is." So, now we are sitting here reading this over & over again & looking at the new pictures & VIDEO! This is first video we have seen & let me say that we are in absolute awe. Thank you, Sharon!!!!!!