Prayers

My baby girl just fell asleep in my arms after saying the sweetest prayer in her native tongue. Usually, in her prayers, she mainly gives thanks for her food over & over again (which is a tear jerker in & of itself knowing that she spent her first four years of life in a third world country). Tonight, however, she also thanked God for R, C, L, Mommy, Daddy, Gee-Gee, Bubba, Grandma Gee-Gee, Grandpa, Nanny, Papa, Cayla, Uncle Chuck, shoes, socks, & God knows whatelse. It was a very sincere & heartfelt prayer. She began with her hands folded & then lifted her hands towards the heavens in thanks. Oh my goodness...what an amazing girl we have been given! Once again, we are in awe of God's greatness!

Fun Times in the Union Hotel

The Union Hotel would not be the nicest hotel by American standards, but when you keep in mind that you are in a third world country you cannot help but be thankful for all the ammenities (hot water, meal, no bugs or rodents, indoor plumbing, etc.). The hotel staff are amazing...very helpful, patient, & great translators for the kids. Here's the view from our room...

Here's the view from the stairwell landing between the floors. If you look closely, in the upper lefthand corner of the picture, you will see a burgondy brick building with tan trim...that's HH! On our first morning, we looked out the windows wondering which direction HH was in & we had no idea we could see it!

We spent A LOT of time in our room just being plain silly. Silliness & laughter are huge keys to bonding, so we used every moment as an opportunity to teach our daughter to trust us & to show her our love. I am a person who likes to "go, go, go", but I can say that I never once grew tired of being couped up in the hotel with our sweet girl. Yes, it took creativity & a sense of humor, but we tried to make every second count. We spent lots of time making silly faces at one another & taking pictures of us doing silly things. She thought it was hilarious that we had brought pull-ups for her to wear at night &/or on the airplane, so she decided to wear them on the outside of her clothes. She thought this was hesterical! Playing with the beach ball, blowing bubbles, writing on the moisture that collected on the windows, and doing girly things like painting nails & brushing Mommy's hair were other activities OE enjoyed. Future travelers who are adopting older children, bring lists of good bonding activities & just work your way through the lists during your down time in the hotel room. This helped us remain focused on bonding & gave us lots of good ideas for activities.

The Union Hotel has a workout room on the main floor near the front desk. It was a great place for the kids to play while we waited for meals or just to run off energy. Physical activity is great for dealing with grief & stress, so this was very therapeutic as well.

If you're hoping to pass your time by watching tv, think twice. The tv programming is pretty slim. One thing I was hoping to be able to do was watch BBC or Al Jezeera (I'm a news person okay...a big dork...I know!). However, we only had one channel in our room & that channel showed repeats of one of the Olympics races that the Ethiopians won. It was exciting to see the first couple of times, but it got very old. Another family in our group only had a travel channel, but another one had three channels...not sure how it works, but your choice of programming will depend on your room....Lol! Regardless, when we return for our homeland tour, I can't wait to stay in the Union again...being so close to HH is worth it!

Flashback to Our Thursday in Ethiopia

Thursday morning some of our travel group went to the Fistula Hospital to visit & the rest of us spent time at Hannah's Hope. The guys showed the HH guys how to use their new power tools & built shelves for a closet in one of the baby rooms. The girls played with the kiddos. It was a very relaxing morning. We were there for the children's lunch & were excited to experience that. They put little tables & chairs in the schoolroom. The kids were so cute as they ate. OE decided to give me a bite of her lunch, and that spured some of the other kids to want to share their lunch with me. Someone gave me a bite of something that had a strange texture, &, as I tried to swallow it quickly, I ended up getting choked. I left the room to try to avoid throwing up & to regain my composure (it was one of those moments when I needed a drink of water, and couldn't find my water bottle quickly enough...future travelers~always keep your water bottle with you...you never know when you'll need it!). When N came to check on me he said all the kids were wondering if I was okay. When I went back in they were all laughing, so I guess N was able to explain to them that I was fine & just being silly. N & several of the kids starting mimicky my silly choking & we all just laughed & laughed. All the HH children are amazing--what fun times! For our lunch we went to Kaldi's Coffee (the Ethiopian version of Starbucks). It was nice, but OE was not in the mood to sit still & eat so it was not too enjoyable for me ;-) . We decided to walk back to the hotel thinking we might find some of the chammas (shoes) OE was wanting. It started raining hard as we walked back, and it was a pretty long walk (we were pretty wet & tired by the time we made it back). When we got back to the hotel, OE outwardly expressed the grief that she was bound to be feeling. It seemed as if she realized that our time in Ethiopia was coming to a close. I held her, & she ended up falling asleep. After her nap, it was time for us to walk over to Hannah's Hope to help fold the clothes for the shelve the guys made. Some of the other ladies had done most of the work by the time we got there, but we helped them wrap things up. We hated to miss out on helping, but Almaz makes it very clear that the adoptive parents should be intune to their children's needs & help them whereever they are...future travelers~flexiblity is SO important. We really wanted to spend more time out & about around Addis taking in our daughter's birthcountry, but we came to a realization before we traveled that the primary purpose of this trip was bond with our daughter & help her through this transition. God-willing, there will be another time to experience more of her amazing birthplace. We are so thankful for all the time we got to spend at Hannah's Hope & were so sad to see our time there come to a close. As we said goodbye, we had special moments with several of our favorite people there (Almaz, OE's special mothers, kids we had grown close to, etc.). Then, it was time to walk back to the hotel. It was a quiet walk back. I cried most of the way. At the hotel, it was time to say goodbye to one of the families we traveled with--the family we began our trip with in Detroit. We were so sad to see them go. There is a special bond that is formed between the families that you share all these life-changing moments with. After we waved goodbye, we sat down for dinner & the lights went out for the first time. We enjoyed a candlelight dinner & OE had fun playing with her lightstick that we had brought for power outages. Then it was time to go up to our room to get ready for bed. OE searched through her suitcase for a hairbow she wanted to give to one of the other girls in our travel group. She is such a giving little girl...throughout our time in Ethiopia, she was constantly sharing her new things with her HH friends. Then it was off to sleep for the last time in Ethiopia. We were excited to be going home to the boys but sad to be leaving our daughter's birthcountry.

The guys working on the shelves...

The HH guys checking out their new power tools!

Kind of random, but I just love how the kids always lined their shoes up all neatly in the schoolroom area.

OE loving on the baby in our travel group.

The big container of Injera that the kids chowed on for lunch!

OE loving her "Mirinda" (the Ethiopian orange soda drink) at Kaldi's.

The view from the bridge we walked across on our way back to the hotel from Kaldi's (just minutes before the down pour came)!

The finished product of our group's shelf project.

The Hannah's Hope gate after we walked out of it for the last time....so sad!

Our travel buddies heading off in the van to the airport...more tears!

Fun times with our candles & lightsticks during the power outage!

3 Weeks Home~Fav Photos of the Week

As I write this tonight, I am in absolute awe of God's greatness! We are so humbled to be apart of this amazing journey! This past week was a great week! OE is adjusting beautifully, & we all love each other more & more each day. We are so blessed to have all four of our children! Here's a glimpse into our week...

Wednesday we celebrated my mom's birthday. I never realized how therapeutic baking a birthday cake could be. It opened up the way for our first conversation where OE shared with us about Ethiopia. She told us about how they celebrated birthdays...drinking sodas, singing "Happy Birthday", blowing out the candles, & eating chocolate-caramel cake.
OE flowers & helped me plant my fall Mums. She loves being "Mommy's helper". We have realized that OE LOVES Christmas! She doesn't seem to recognize Santa Claus, but she sure does know about Christmas trees. She spotted ours up in the attic when we went up to get something else & insisted that we bring one down. I declined at first, but then I thought, "Why not?..Life is short!" (that's is often my moto in life)! She immediately wanted to plug it in & see the lights. She was having so much fun with it that C & R decided we needed to watch a Christmas movie, too! What a fun morning we had...Christmas in September! Just wait, sister! Your momma loves Christmas & you will love all my trees!!!!! What a fun & special Christmas this will be!!
This picture is very special to me. She loves her babies & takes very good care of them. She asked me for my sling (that always I carry her in), so she could carry her baby around. It makes me feel good to see that she thinks that holding her babies in the sling helps her take care of them.
Here are all of my sleeping angels. We do co-sleeping with OE to help with bonding, but we allow all the kids to fall asleep in our bed together then we "transport" them all (except OE)to their appropriate beds. This way no one feels left out. Aren't they so stinkin' cute!
OE loves to swing & slide, so we go to the playground at L's school a lot in the evenings to play & be together as a family. Friday night we were there until after dark...we were having so much fun we didn't want the evening to end!
We love the beach, so we have quite a few shells around our home. When OE first started having "melt-downs", I took her out on the deck to help her relax. I showed her the shells & showed her how you can hold them to your ear & hear the ocean. Now she loves to do this. It is very calming for her & helps her relax as she focuses on the soft whisper that comes from inside them. Lots of hugs & kisses. These boys sure love their sister! (Side note~Notice her pierced ears...her Ethiopian family pierced her ears, but she had not had earrings in since coming the the orphanage...we were so excited when we realized her holes had not closed...we were so excited that this piece of her life in Ethiopia will always be with her!)

Today was amazing! OE & I spent the afternoon at the home of a local family from Ethiopia. Wow! God is so good to have brought our families together. It was such a blessing for OE to have someone to speak Amharic with, & we had a sweet time together. Then, we went to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year with our local Ethiopian adoptive families group. This group is growing like crazy. Through out both of these gatherings it was evident that God is moving & doing something huge here. It is no coincidence! God is awakening so many hearts in & around our area to the needs of Ethiopia!

Photo Shoot

My friend (& fellow Ethiopian adoptive momma) did a photo shoot with OE this morning! Check it out!

Happy New Year!

Today is Ethiopia's New Years...we will celebrate Saturday evening will our East TN Ethiopia Families Group. Can't wait!!!!!

Shopping Day in Ethiopia

Okay, in my "flashback to Ethiopia" world, it is Wednesday. Wednesday was a fun day for us. I made it over my emotional, kind-of homesick day on Tuesday & felt much better. OE stayed at HH to play while we shopped. We got lots of goodies & treats (I think I've already shared about my "favorite customer gift" I was given in one of the shops...I wanted to make sure I had no regrets about not having bought enough ;-) ). After shopping we went to buy our coffee & then on to Mukash for lunch (the art gallery place). We had a great time there & enjoyed the yummy food. The paintings there are done by students from the Addis Ababa Fine Arts Academy. I struck up a conversation with one of the artists by asking him what his inspirations were for his paintings (if you know me personally, you know this does not sound like something I would ask). He shared all about his work & I enjoyed myself (N didn't hang around for the conversation...I didn't give him any warning about my question & once I asked it, he had to walk away b/c he was about to crack up). When I went back to the table, he said I had morphed into some crazy art person...hey, anything can happen when you're trying to take in every thing you possibly can from your daughter's birthcountry. Our entire travel group was very delirious at this point & we laughed so hard that afternoon the muscles in my stomach hurt (I would share the story about N giving the woman on the street a bag of leftover rolls from Mukash, but no one gets it....at the time we thought it was hilarious...oh, well). Then, we went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases & headed back over to HH to get OE & receive our immigration paperwork & OE's passport. She was very glad to see us & had to give each & every one of her friends several kisses before we left for the hotel. Back at the hotel, we gave her the traditional dress we bought we her. She loved it, but kept looking for the chammas N had promised her. We were so disappointed that we never found them. We found a pair that worked for her but not the exact ones. Future travelers, please, please find my daughter a pair of these shoes. I will be your best friend forever. Last night, we even noticed that her cousin had them on at our meeting. This girl NEEDS a pair of these chamas (see picture above). We turned in early that night, she was exhausted...late, late night at the Traditional meal the night before. After she went to sleep, N & I packed & laughed about all the funny things that happened that day. We could hear the family in the room below us laughing, as well! After we settled into bed that night, I enjoyed the quiet & savored the sounds of Ethiopian nights...barking dogs, religious chanting, & mekinas (cars)...have I mentioned that I love Ethiopia!?!

Me & the girls at my favorite shop!

Loved watching them do the coffee at the place where we bought our bulk coffee!

Our lunch at Mukash...we also had the most amazing Focassia & COLD Cokes!

The painting we purchased...can't wait to get this baby framed...it's on my to-do-list...somewhere!

Our sleepy girl before she hit the sack!

Traditional Ethiopian Dinner

On the night of our meeting with OE's Ethiopian family, our travel group, Almaz, & Danny went to an Ethiopian Restaurant for dinner. I don't know if they planned it on this night for this reason, but it was just what we needed after our emotionally draining day. We had a blast! I sat by Almaz & was starstruck to say the least. She is an absolute angel. At first, I was really kind of nervous, but very quickly it was like I was sitting with an old friend. We laughed & laughed. She said she loved my southern accent & was jealous of it & my English. She also told OE that she loved her clothes & that her mother had a "sense of style". I just love that woman! She helped us through our meal, explaining all the different foods & customs. If you know me personally, you know that I am a super picky eater. Needless to say, all I tried was one bite of the Injera & a sip of the Honey Wine. The Honey Wine is their traditional drink. Everyone had fun trying to drink it while holding the glass properly. OE really enjoyed the meal! It was so fun to watch her chow & enjoy herself so much! N didn't eat much more than me & he is a pretty good eater. I think he lost his appetite after he took a bite of the "slightly under-cooked" meat (as Almaz described it...I would describe it more as opening up a package of ground beef & cooking it for about 2 seconds). The music & dancing was so enjoyable. OE even did a little dancing with her shoulders, but since we've been home I realize that she was holding out on us...she is quite a dancer! Here are some pictures! :-)

The restaraunt as we walked in...

The area where our group sat. We were crowded very close together around the basket in the center which, when the lid was lifted off, served as the plate we all shared.

Some of our evening's entertainment.

OE loving her Ethiopian food!

N loving him some Honey Wine!

Our little dancing girl with Danny (she has a tootsie roll on her front two teeth...that's why her teeth look kind of silly...she loves her chocolate!). Danny & Yohannes are amazing as well! Great guys with great hearts! They love the kiddos, & the kiddos love them!

Very special people & an evening full of memories we will never forget!

BTW, today R decided that for his & C's 10th birthday we are all going back to Ethiopia! Sounds great to me! We'll celebrate 5 years together with our first return trip to our daughter's birthcountry! The boys can't wait to go see what all the fuss is about!

We love Ethiopia!