The last several days....

We spent the next day caring for Olivia and trying to get to know her. We had our Embassy appointment on Tuesday (sorry, no pics, as cameras were not allowed), which was an exciting day, as we got to see Olivia's Ethiopian visa and hear confirmation that the US is recognizing her adoption, but we had to wait two more days for her visa to be issued to allow her to enter the United States.

We spent Wednesday hanging out with some new friends who live in Ethiopia -Henoch and Theresa. They both were born in Ethiopia, but Theresa grew up in Canada and Henoch went to college in CA. It was so good to spend time with them to get their perspective on Ethiopia from a more American point of view, as they had a pretty good understanding of both cultures. Theresa took us shopping in the morning to pick up a few more items to help us remember Ethiopia and in the afternoon she took us to an orphanage outside of the city which they are trying to support. This orphanage houses 53 children -from toddlers up to teens, and helps to support other children who live elsewhere as well. They have a building consisting of two rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls. Each room has rows of bunk beds. The children are trying to grow their own gardens to help with food. But this orphanage needs help. They have volunteers who care for them when they can. They do not have any permanent full-time care. They are in desperate need of food and a kitchen in which to prepare food. I was told all of these children are adoptable, but their is no focus on finding families for these children, as they first need food to sustain them. These children need help.

Our dear friends Jeff and Bethany are working with Henoch and Theresa to find supporters for this orphanage, to find sponsors for these children, and to find donors to help them be able to build a kitchen. If you are interested in helping these children, please visit theperpetualchange.me for more information and to donate.


The rest of the time we spent loving on Olivia, hanging out with some of the other families in our travel group, going for short walks and packing of course.

This is the view from our hotel room!

Another view from our hotel room. These boys are employed as shoe shiners. They check out every pair of shoes which walks by and even wants to shine shoes which aren't shinable.

A man walking by. I like the view of this picture. We were on the fourth floor, so this is a pretty good zoom.

Nap time.

We received Olivia's passport and visa on Thursday morning and departed for home that night.

Custody!

On Sunday we took custody of our precious baby Olivia. It was an exciting and joyous day for the adopting families. All seven families in our travel group were so excited for this day. We started out by filling out some paperwork together as a group for our appointments at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Tuesday. Then we got some lunch while we waited. We all returned to the Guest House to wait for our special deliveries. Then we waited some more. And finally the van arrived with the nannies and our children. The nannies handed over our precious children and said their good-byes to all the kids. These were kids that they had spent at least two months caring for. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for them to have to say good-bye to these kids -knowing how the kids were pretty scared and unsure of what was in store for them. Remember, for each of these kids, their lives were turning upside down. New parents (of course), but also new clothes, new foods, new scents, new homes, new language, new sights, first airplane rides. These children had to leave absolutely EVERYTHING they knew behind except for memories. This is a part of adoption which makes my heart ache. Adoption is a beautiful thing -an amazing blessing to families who are welcoming children, but it is so heart-breaking for the children to have to suffer so much loss.

Nanny handing Olivia over to me.

Sean having a moment with Olivia!

Nanny saying her good-byes to Olivia for the last time.

Some kisses for baby Olivia!
These are some of the families traveling with us to get our precious children.

After we all loved on and played with our children, we headed back to our hotel -very anxious to change Olivia's clothes into something pink and girly and to play with her.

Daddy and Olivia smiling at each other!

Traveling out of the city

We spent two days of our trip outside of the city, which I must say was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so beautiful to see the scenery in the southern area of Ethiopia. We took a five hour van ride to Awassa, and we couldn't capture enough of the scenery. It was just gorgeous....much more what I pictured when I thought of Ethiopia. We saw farm-land, lots of animals -cows, goats, donkeys and chickens. We saw green lush land, fields of crops, gorgeous trees, massive termite hills, fields being plowed with oxen, and children herding animals. We saw grass homes, rolling hills and beautiful people.


We arrived in Awassa and visited the orphanage where Olivia was originally taken by her birth mom. We got a brief tour and were able to see some of the other children who are there still waiting to be matched with their adoptive families. We saw many babies -from just a few days old to older babies and toddlers primarily. When we visited the area where the toddlers were, as they poured out of the room, each one of them greeted us with amazing hugs and kisses. It was just heart-breaking. These children were longing for love. Some of them gave brief hugs and moved on and others held on much longer, with a tight grip. It was overwhelming to me to see these children and see their huge need for a family.

This is Esther, who was Olivia's nanny while she was at this orphanage. Look how tall Sean and I look next to her!!!

In this picture Esther is standing next to the bed which was Olivia's while she was there, which was just a few days more than a month.

After our tour of the facility, we waited to meet Olivia's birth mom. It was a bit awkward. Afterall, what do you really say to a woman who gave birth to your daughter? Other than, "Thank you for the amazing gift you've given to our family" of course. We had the opportunity, via two interpreters (to cover three languages) to ask her some questions about herself, her family and the brief time she was able to spend with Olivia. It was a bit surreal and a bit impersonal with so many people involved in the conversation, but we were so grateful that she was willing and strong enough to travel to meet us and share information with us, which will be so special to Olivia as she grows up. This was an amazing experience.

After the emotional birth parent meetings, we visited a nearby park, which was a much needed break from the intensity of the day. I was so excited to see monkeys!!! We were able to feed them from our hands and they enjoyed getting on our laps too. I am a huge monkey fan, so this was an especially special treat for me. We also saw the beautiful Lake Awassa, in which the town is named after. We did a bit of shopping before heading to our hotel for the night.

Lake Awassa!

The following day, after purchasing some raw coffee beans, per Sean's special request, we traveled back to the city, another five hour trip through the beautiful southern part of Ethiopia. That evening we were taken to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant which included some live entertainment with singers and dancers.

At the market. The local kids surrounded us. I guess they weren't used to seeing tourists.

The next few days

The next two days we also visited Olivia at the WACAP House, where she had been since June 1. It was fun to hang out with her and try to get to know her a bit. We were also able to witness another family in our travel group meet their child for the first time. It was such an intense time, and it was an honor to share in the experience with them.

In the afternoons we visited the National Museum of Ethiopia and did some shopping to purchase a few souvenirs.

This was Olivia's bed at the WACAP House where she was from June 1 through August 8, 2010.

The door to her room is the first one on the left, and the windows on the left side of the picture are windows into her room. She shared this room with five other babies and two nannies.

We were able to experience a few traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremonies during our time in Ethiopia. This was one of them. The woman in the picture first roasted the beans in the pan and then made the coffee. Ethiopia is known for their coffee.

Entrance to the National Museum of Ethiopia. The cost to enter was approximately $1.80 per person. Things were very cheap in Ethiopia. Meals typically cost us about $3 per person including drinks.

Us with Ato Teklu who is the representative for our Adoption Agency in Ethiopia. He is a very well-respected man in Ethiopia.

The market. The stores are on the right.

Shopping!

Arriving in Ethiopia

We arrived in Ethiopia on Tuesday morning. Before departing Cairo, we were pretty well adjusted to the time change (10 hours), but since we had a flight in the middle of the night (3:30am-7:30am), we left our hotel around midnight and hoped to sleep on the plane. Unfortunately we weren’t able to. We departed late, then had to make a stop in Khartoum which we didn’t know about, and they also served us two meals on the flight, which means more interruptions. Who serves a full roast beef meal at 4:30am? Ethiopian Airlines I learned!
We arrived at the airport, got our visas, exchanged money, got our passports checked, got our bags and cleared through security without much hassle. We were exhausted after not really sleeping at all the night before. Our driver arrived after a short wait, but the man arrived in an older Toyota Tercel hatch-back which clearly wasn’t going to hold all four of us, our five suitcases and our carry-ons. So we had to split up. Mom & I went in the first ride. The hatch on the car wouldn't open so he had to put our suitcases into the back through the front door and over the back-seat, and they of course then got stuck. Then the car almost didn’t start. It was almost comical. But all was good. Our destination was only about 15-20 minutes away, but Mom and I saw a lot in our short journey. I was shocked. I was told of the exact things I would see, but nothing could have ever prepared me for actually seeing it with my own eyes. We arrived at the guesthouse and the driver and the guards unloaded our suitcases –again through the front door. Mom and I were taken to our room, which wasn't quite what we thought. We had requested a room with two beds, and our room only had one bed. There was enough room to walk around the bed, but not enough room for our suitcases to be opened. Did I mention there was only one bed... for four adults and later a baby too? The room wasn't in the best condition and the toilet wouldn’t flush. Well we were able to get it to flush, but then it wouldn't stop running, so we finally turned the water off completely. We were a bit surprised. Mom laid down on the bed to rest while I went back to explain we really needed two beds. They were so nice and found some rooms for us at the hotel just down the street, which is owned by the same family. Unfortunately the rooms weren't available until 7pm, but that was OK.
Shortly after Sean and Dave arriving, we were told someone would be arriving in a few minutes to take us and some other families in our travel group to meet our kids, which was wonderful, as we weren't SCHEDULED to meet them until the following day, although I was secretly hoping they would fit us in the schedule a day early.
When we arrived, some of the other two families' kids came out right away and greeted them (2,3,4 yearolds). Then one of the nannies came out holding a baby, which we assumed was Olivia. There was some talk in Amharic, and then the nanny took her back in. They wanted to be sure which child was ours and came back out with her again a minute later. As soon as we saw her face we knew it was her! Of course it was pretty intense moment, but we got to see her up close, touch her and then we got to hold her. It was amazing. It was a bit strange to think that the child we were holding was really ours, chosen by God for our family, since we just met her, but it was a wonderful moment. We spent a couple hours there holding Olivia and playing with the other toddlers.
After we left the WACAP house we were taken to an Italian restaurant for a late lunch. This was one of the hardest times of our trip for me. I was exhausted, emotionally spent, shocked at seeing what I was seeing in the city which was so different from anything I am used to with the falling down buildings, the shacks, the poor people, the beggars, the horrid roads, the alley ways, etc. It was amazing. I thought I was prepared for what we were going to see, but I really wasn’t. I was afraid to eat any food for fear of getting sick and wasn't sure how I could live on bottled water for ten days (we were told what not to eat, but what COULD we eat? Turns out we could eat a lot!), unsure I would be able to handle our accommodations, unimpressed by the restrooms everywhere we had been so far (some which didn't flush, many without TP, lots without running water, soap, paper towels, etc). I was weak and broken. I wasn't sure I could do this, but I KNEW God wanted me right there, right where I was. I knew He had bigger plans for me, and that He had a daughter waiting for me. After lunch we headed outside to wait for our driver to pick us up. We waited and waited and waited. Ooops. He got busy at the office and lost track of time. He arrived over an hour later than he quoted. We were all a bit irritated and exhausted. Several of us fell asleep waiting. We finally got back to the guesthouse, but our rooms at the hotel still weren’t ready so the four of us laid sideways on the bed next to each other to take a MUCH NEEDED nap, but as soon as we laid down we got the giggles. It seemed a bit unreal that we were there and everything seemed so overwhelming and impossible, but yet it was very real. After our naps we were able to check into our new rooms at the hotel, which were in much better condition and MUCH larger than our original one-bed room!

The part before arriving in Ethiopia

We departed on Friday, July 30 and flew from Portland to Amsterdam.

We had a 12 hour layover, so headed to the city to see a couple things during this time. We took boat ride through the canals.

We flew from Amsterdam to Cairo, Egypt where we spent two days so we could see the pyramids. We actually got ON the pyramids.

The best part was taking the camels across the desert to see the pyramids.

We also went on a dinner cruise on the Nile River.

We're Back!

Well we made it back. In fact we've been back from our amazing, emotional journey for three weeks. I apologize we weren't able to post on here once we arrived in Ethiopia. We couldn't get onto any blogs. In addition email was a bit unpredictable, but facebook seemed to work well. Those of you who are friends with me on facebook were able to share in our journey as we tried to post there fairly often.

The idea of updating our blog has been daunting, as I feel like I left so many of you hanging for over a month. Where to start? .....I'll share a few highlights and an update.

We met our daughter one month ago today -on August 3. It was such an amazing experience. This is the first time we held our daughter.


We couldn't even begin to describe in words how intense meeting was, but Olivia took it like a champ. She was so calm and cool. She cried for just a bit when Sean first held her, but soon was fine. She seemed to snuggle right in, although she didn't show much expression in the initial days.

We were able to visit her for a few hours on each of three separate days. During these times we held her and played with some of the other kids at the WACAP house.

I'll try to post a bit more on our trip later.

For now, just wanted to let you know that we're home and adjusting. Olivia is a very easy baby. She cries when she's hungry and tired, but otherwise is pretty low-key. She now likes to smile a lot, is getting really good at holding things in her hands and is working on her leg muscles by putting some pressure when we stand her up. At her five month doctor visit she weighed in at 13 pounds, 14 ounces and 26 inches long. She seems very long to me, but I am used to shorter kiddos!!! She loves both of her sisters, tummy time and Mommy snuggles. She loves it when Daddy holds her up in the air. She is a drool monster, so is probably working on getting some teeth, but doesn't have any yet, and she rolls over both from her front to her back and her back to her front.

Abigail & Emma both LOVE her and very much enjoy helping her anytime she makes a sound. They like to make her smile and let me know when she's hungry. Both of the older girls are just amazing with her.

We had two weeks off of work together before Sean went back to work. We tried to make that time together very special for Abigail & Emma. We attended a family reunion in WA the day after we arrived home, we had visitors including Sean's mom from OH (who took care of Abigail and Emma while we were gone), my Dad and step-mom from AZ, and Sean's sister Heidi from NY. We went camping with some amazing friends for four days less than a week after returning home. It was so great to be away from the house and all the things we were needing to get done. We made a trip to the zoo (two times actually), attended a baseball game with some great friends from church and spent a wonderful afternoon playing at Sean's aunt & uncle's house. We also went to the coast for two days where we played on the beach and swam in a pool. It was an amazing couple weeks and so fun to have a more carefree time with the family together. Olivia of course was a trooper through it all.

Sean is now back to work, but I am still off work for a few more weeks, which is WONDERFUL, especially since I still have so many things on my TO DO list to get done. Thank you to my dear long-time friend Edie for helping me to stay accountable -by encouraging me to update my blog, edit our pics, put together the baby announcements, plan our WELCOME HOME OLIVIA Open House, update my status on FB, and schedule a time to make some meals to put in the freezer for the coming weeks. This has really helped! Thank you also to our amazing Sunday School class at SEC for bringing us meals. This has been a wonderful blessing to our family!

Here are a couple more pictures of my Mom and step-dad holding Olivia while we were in Ethiopia.