I Pad Raffle and Apologies

HI all
I first want to send you over to this site to get to know the  Chetham's and have an opportunity to participate in a great raffle for an I Pad to help fund thier trip for thier little one!!!

Second, I want to apologize for not posting.....Hana's been home since October 9th--Yeah---overall things are going well, just hectic.  I've been ruminating about designing a new blog that represents all of our family happenings...I've just not decided what I want to do.

So, stay tuned---either for an update on the last few travel days of our first trip and details of our 2nd trip--or for the 'new' and hopefully more frequently updated blog :)

Dawn

Travel Days 10-11 Lalibela to Addis Ababa (aka July 24-25)

On travel day 10, we were supposed to have a 'short hike' (read here about 2 hours) up Lalibela mountain to see the city from the mountain top.  We would have also had the option to ride a donkey instead of walk.  Its rumored to be an absolutely beautiful hike and majestic views....praise God it came a monsoon the night before and was still raining the morning so we had an excuse were unable to do the hike.  I was NOT looking forward in my ill state to a long hike...although I was feeling more human by this point.  The girls were a bit disappointed as they wanted to ride the donkey.  We assured them we'd find a donkey at some point for them to sit on. 

It takes 2 days by private car to get from Lalibela back to Addis (about three for those souls who brave bus travel).  It is about 600 kn or 372 miles...you might be thinking a days drive..with a couple of stops.....but these aren't normal miles.  These miles look like this

Going thorugh a larger town on our way to Kombolcha, where we spent the night on our way back to Addis.

Such a familiar sight, people walk EVERYWHERE, miles and miles to get to the next village or market.  It was rare to see a personal car.

These small 2-3 person motor taxis were a very common sight especially in villages.

Everyone gets a little tired after walking....note this is a two lane road!

More walking

More twists and turns...and for weary travelers prone to car sickness...God created Dramamine!

Finally, on our last day we saw some camels!  The girls had been hoping to see some since we read you can often buy them in a town marketplace. 

We did make it back to Addis though (though delayed a little by a flat tire and a harrowing short detour up and over a mountain due to a closed road.  We made it to our hotel Green Valley where we got changed and headed to meet Hana!

Our hotel is on the right.  We wer on the top floor, third window from the left.  This wasn't our photo, it was from someone who previously stayed at the green valley....I stole from a wikipedia entry :)  I'm all about full disclosure.

(for those of you paying attention, you'll note a change in the spelling of Hana's name from Hanna to Hana.  We found out a few days ago, that the official spelling of her name is only with 1 'n'. So we'll spell it this way from now on unless she wants to change it.)

Travel Day 8-9--Gondar to Lalibela and a Day in Lalibela (aka July 22-23)

Travel Day 8 started out with feeling sligtly better than the day before. This is when the upper respiratory symptoms started to set in for me (sore throat, cough). I also insisted Tony and I start the Cipro today.  We still both hada bit of a stomach thing going this morning too.  We had a great breakfast--I couldn't eat it, but it was good. Mangos are quite proliferative in this region so fresh squeezed mango juice quickly became a favorite of Sarah's...We'll forever remember Sarah's catchy tune every meal after that while we were waiting for her order of mango....
I want my MANGO juice....
I Want my mango juice.....
I want MY mango juice...
I WANT IT NOW....

The trip from Gondar to Lalibela also brought us in contact with a squat toilet.  If you want more information about this....feel free to google it.  Find the worst example you can...insert that picture in your brain.  The girls were smart  yet unaffected with the upset stomach portion of this illness so they refused chose not to go near the thing.  Tony and I had no choice.  I had to visit 2 separate ones on 2 separate occassions.  Fortunately our tummy woes were not long lived.

We arrived at the Mountain View Hotel after a several hour drive from Gondar. The landscape was amazing and we saw many small villages along the way.  We also spent about 2 hours on a VERY bumpy rocky road that did lots of twisting and winding in order to get to Lalibela.  The scenery was worth it though.  Also, this was probablly the nicest hotel we stayed at throughout our journey.  If we go back, we'll definitely stay here agian. The restaurant was phenomenal as well.  Here are some views...

a Gelada babboon we saw on our way to Lalibela

A typical village we saw as we were nearing Lalibela

up close picture of a completed dwelling (right) and an in process dwelling (left)

The view from our hotel...Yes, really.  There was a tunderstorm moving in.

We pretty much just hung out on the hotel on Thursday afternoon.  We all took naps, played cards. I started getting a lot sicker here, fever, chills, body aches and the upper respiratory thing was really taking off. The girls and Tony had dinner in the restaurant and I rested. They did bring me some great bread and a coke though :) 

The next morning, I was thinking I officially had either contracted the plague or Typhoid Fever and was completely bedredden.  This was unfortunately the part of the trip I was looking most forward to, but the upper respiratory thing had really set in and I was coughing and with the altitude, had difficulty catching my breath...yes, the thought that I was several hours (even 2 hours by plane) from a 'real' even remotely westernized hospital did cross my mind. Tony was feeling much better and the girls were as ready to get moving as ever. I opted to stay put in the hotel and sleep (and look out the window) and they went to visit the rock hewn churches of Lalibela. Fortunately they took LOTS of pictures.  Their day was broken in 2 parts....churches, a break for lunch, then more churches.  Take a look....

Tony and the girls really loved visiting all the churches and seeing not only the architecture but the art too.  I'm hoping one day when we go back to visit Ethiopia, that I'll be able to return to Lalibela to visit the churches myself. It took 23 years to carve out these churches. They are carved DOWN into the rock--out of solid stone....what a remarkable tribute to our God.

Pregnancy vs Adoption

Ok--this is NOT going to be a controversial post...just comparing some of the milestones of pregnancy to milestones to adoption....Here it goes...Below are some of the "biggies" in pregnancy, followed by their adoption milestones, followed by when they happened to us, followed by what week it would correlate to in the pregnancy....check it out

Have your last period = Mail in your application = 1/4 = Wk 0

Conception = Agency contract = 1/11 = Wk 2

Positive Pregnancy Test = Get your dossier packet in the mail = 2/11 = Wk 5

Morning Sickness = Homestudy visit = 3/5 = Wk 8

First hear the heartbeat = Dossier mailed to agency = 4/3 = Wk 12.5

Ultrasound time = First see the picture and info of your child = 4/5 = Wk 13

Feel flutters of movement = Mail your acceptance papers to agency = 4/28 = Wk 16
"Big" ultrasound mid pregnancy = Case submitted for court = 6/14 = Week 22
Diabetic screening = Appeared in court = 7/28 = Week 27
Braxton Hicks contractions = New Birth Certificate issued = 8/19 = Week 31
Labor = Leave to bring your child home =   +/- 10/4 = Week 39
Delivery = Moment you step into your home and have all your kiddos with you  +/- 10/10 = Week 40


I think everyone has thier own equivalent milestones....What are your?

Travel Day 7--Bahir Dar to Gondar (aka July 21)

So...this is the day where the sickness set it.  It started off innocently enough...we got up to our alarm. Tony didn't feel too well...tummy troubles...But we were chalking it up to our previous night's dinner while excellent--and NOT too spicy--we live in Texas for goodness sakes--the spices are very different and are said to upset the delicate tummies of Americans.  "I" felt ok other than not hungry...not unusual for me in the early morning.  The girls ate better than morning than any other one!  We headed out for Gondar. The ride was lovely, pretty countryside and uneventful.  Tony's tummy troubles appeared to resolve by the time we got into Gondar.  Mine, however, kicked in the moment we stepped out of the car to visit the wonderful castles of Gondar.  We were able to see the castles and enjoyed them, but by the time we got to the hotel a short time later, we were both achey, upset tummies, fever and chills. Tony and the girls went to lunch and to visit another church, I stayed in bed under much covers shivering.  Remembr, its cold here and Gondar had the worst weather in terms of temperature. But, this day was not ALL lost...here are some pics...

 

We naturally played it low key in Gondar.  Like I said, I slept all afternoon and evening too.  We both started feeling better but it was just a cruel joke. Fortunately, the girls were happy having a dinner of peanut butter and crackers that night.  More to come 'tomorrow.'

Travel Day 6--Bahir Dar and Blue Nile Falls (aka July 20)

This day will be infamous in our trip, but we won't know it for another day or two.  It started out great enough. Good pancakes in the restaurant in our hotel---the Summerland Hotel.  The girls liked them and gobbled them down faster than you can say 'pass the syrup.'  We headed out then for our boat tour of Lake Tana.  Bahir Dar actually means next to the lake.  Lake Tana is HUGE.  It is the largest lake in Ethiopia and Bahir Dar is often referred to as the Riveria of Ethiopia.  It has many hotels, several on the lake, and many Ethiopians visit here during the year for vacations and weekend getaways.

It was raining this morning so our boat tour started late.  I had imagined pontoon like boats but NO.  They aren't bad...here is a picture of  a similiar boat...

This boat is nicer.  Ours had a blue tarp covering that had seen many better days as well as a motor that was severely underpowered.  Not bad but the motor kept sounding like it was going to die at any moment so somewhat scarry.  It took abut 30 minutes on the boat to reach our destination.

What destination you might ask?  The monastaries.  There are several monasteries that were built on the islands and coast of Lake Tana as early as the 14th century.  There were 4 stops with 5 monastaries to see.  We did not visit the first (as we were told the 3rd and 4th were the best).  Tony visited the 2nd (as men only are allowed there) and we all visited the 3rd and 4th.  The fifth was a brief stop and none of us saw that one.

Monastaries on Lake Tana

The Good---they are beautiful.  The artwork/paintings that depict the Word of God are very easy to interpret and I was fascinated how they transcended culture, language and generations.

The Bad:

This is the muddy rainy season.  It is wet, it is slick. Yes, I fell.  Luckily I was NOT carrying any camera equipment in my back pocket as that is what cushioned my fall.  It was a wet and slippery walk up hill and a trecherous treck down hill as the rain really began in ernest once we reached the top of our 20ish minute hike.

We were able to see where the Nile River starts at the outlet of Lake Tana....

and the boat we could have been riding on.....

After finishing our boat tour (in the driving rain) we got back to the hotel, had a snack and a brief rest then set out for Blue Nile Falls.  This was the highlight of the trip in terms of scenery.  The drive there was an hour on a VERY bad dirt road full of potholes and your teeth were rattling by the time you stopped.  But, the trip was well worth it. It was a 20 minute light hike to the falls.....

There are actually 3 falls, and they are NOT blue and rarely are.  Since this is the rainy season, there is a lot of runoff into Lake Tana from the higher elevations so the water is very churned up and BROWN--just like the lake.

We got back to our hotel and had a great meal of traditional Ethiopian food and Ethiopian Beer....St George's.  It was great. It was also the first time we had 'national' food since arriving to Ethiopia.

Plan to test my memory...

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is all I actually real timed wrote while in Ethiopia.  Yes, I journaled 5 day of my 12 day trip.  Better than I actually thought.  I'm hoping to keep doing some "late entry" journaling about our trip before I forget any special points so check back soon.....

Travel Day 5--Addis Ababa to Bahir Darvia Debre Libanos and Debre Markos (aka July 19th)

So today the call to pray came on time about 5am and the rooster, believe it or not did not wake up from that call…he did however wake up after hearing the mating cats and loud howls from the dogs. We got up about 530 and finished packing as we’re leaving for our trip about 7am. We tried to combine bags last night so we’d have fewer bags to take but that was easier said than done…we did loose one bag but that was it.


I’m anxious to get out of the city. It has been very different than what I had imagined and honestly difficult to see. I had seen images of the streets of Addis Ababa, with many people just sitting about, shack houses and shops, very few ‘western’ looking buildings in the photos. I had assumed that there were ‘bad’ areas that were poverty ridden, and ‘good’ areas that were newer development. I had expected much fewer of these ‘newer’ areas than we’d see in western countries, but I have been shocked to see that even the good areas (nicer hotels, restaurants, shops) resembled western ‘bad’ areas and were not many in number.

Well, we got on the road shortly after 7am. Our driver Kiddir seems very nice. Our first day took us from Addis Ababa to Debra Libanos (a monastery) through Debra Markos (where we had lunch), the Blue Nile Gorge (where we took some great pictures) and onto Bahir Dar. The trip was at once beautiful and had a feeling of danger at the same time. We were out of the city and were able to see some spectacular views, even with the over cast skies. We came close to hitting several people (again pedestrians are very brave people) and actually did hit a donkey.   I am sad to say that we do not believe the donkey survived the encounter. People tend to walk in the roads as cars passing are not overly frequent. Animals crossing the road are common too. In the case of the poor donkey, it ran out from behind some bushes into the road. Our driver tried to stop but it was either swerve off the road (into a muddy ditch) or hit the donkey.

Debre Libanos—This is a monastery for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was named after one of their saints.  When you drive up, there is a large open courtyard with a museum/offices on the left and the church right in front of you.  The stained glass windows were the highlight of this visit.  The guide (a priest) discussed at length the history of the monastary and the saint for whom it was named.  We were able to see some of the art work inside the monastery and also were able to go down to the basement where there were many men praying and singing.  We also saw the baptistry which gave me a strong feeling of being closer to those men and women that were praying in the monastary...that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we all share that same passage.

Debre Markos--We stopped here at a restaurant/hotel for a late breakfast. Interesting French Toast.  Not bad, just made from a sweet bread and no syrup.  We weren't here very long.

Blue Nile Gorge--WOW.WOW.WOW.  What else can I say...I think the pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

We arrived at our hotel about 6 in the evening.  We didn't see much of the town as it was almost dark.  We pretty much crashed in preparation for Day 6.....

Travel Day 4--Addis Ababa (aka July 18)

This morning the rooster was late (didn’t start crowing until about 530) in waking everyone up—but the Islamic call to prayer was right on time about 5am. I believe that woke up the rooster. A short while later there was some commotion downstairs maybe at the family compound next to us. I hate not knowing the language. During the commotion outside, there was a man yelling (and laying on a car horn). The tone of the man seemed either urgent or angry, I couldn’t tell which (not knowing the language). That was a bit distressing. Was someone ill, injured, trying to break into a house or to the hotel? In the dark, not knowing the language and being separated from your kids (albeit by a 2 doors and about 10 feet), I don’t think being a little nervous is unwarranted. Anyway, as the light came up, it seemed business as usual everywhere.

Our driver for the day, Dawit, arrived right on time at 10am. He was recommended by Gail at AAI—mostly because he had a van that could comfortably seat several people. We were a bit more comfortable today. We delivered a package to Layla House for one of the volunteers from her mom. We then went and booked our hotel at the Green Valley Hotel for when we get back from our tour. Green Valley is just down the road from Kidane Mihret (5-10 min walk with only one big street to cross). We drove up to the gates of Kidane Mihret and I so wanted to go visit, but we weren’t expected and I don’t think It’s fair for Hanna to see us for a little today, not again for a week then for another few days. I also don’t think I’d handle that very well either.

We went to a market and I was able to buy some cloth--one silk piece and one cotton piece. I probably paid more than a local would have paid, 1000 Birr for both pieces ($73). I think it is a better price than I would have paid in the states though so I’m happy. The shopkeeper was going to charge me 2400 Birr for both, so at least I haggled some. We wanted to go by a book store today because I wanted some books in Amharic but they were closed. We were able to buy an Amharic Bible. It was interesting in that you buy Bibles not necessarily from a bookstore but around a church. There was a roadside stand with sellers set up to sell Amharic gospel music, Bibles and Christian literature. We paid about 80 Birr ($6).

We went next to the Ethnological Museum. That has been the most interesting place other than seeing the Lucy bones yesterday. The museum was sectioned off by life stages, childbirth, adolescence, adulthood and death. There was also a lot of interesting art work from the 16th century on, a lot of them religious paintings that were vibrant in color and painted on wood or canvas. Our driver took us back to the same restaurant we ate at yesterday, but as the menu was different, it was fine. The weather today was a bit chillier…maybe in the high 60s as compared to the low 70s yesterday. Not cold, just a slight chill in the air that made a long sleeve cotton shirt comfortable.

When we got back, everyone took another of those long naps…even the girls were ready for a nap today! Sarah and I both felt the altitude more today. I’ve been feeling a little more short of breath that comes and goes. Sarah was notably out of breath and breathing hard after going up a flight of stairs.

Travel Day 3--Addis Ababa (aka July 17)

I forgot that roosters crow at daybreak…or sometimes before. That was our ‘alarm clock’ this morning. Following that was the Islamic call to prayer—there must be a mosque nearby. I had heard about the call to prayer, not the roosters. We laid around in bed for a while (Tony still sleeping, me somewhere between awake and asleep). It would be about 930pm Texas time when that rooster started crowing. The girls came and knocked on the door about 630 or so dressed and giggly…they said they’d been up since 5ish this morning. It’s now about 730 am. We’re waiting on breakfast. We asked for breakfast about 745-800am but now I’m thinking the 730-745am time would have been better. We also just realized that you have to turn on the hot water heater in the bathrooms so we’re waiting on that now so we can shower. I’ve also been thankful that there was a water boiler (this neat coffee pot looking thing that boils about 1.5 liters of water in about 2 minutes) that we used last night to fix our noodles and this morning to make instant coffee.


So our first order of business (after waiting for that hot water heater to heat up) was to call Gail with AAI to find out how to deliver those packages. It was a little odd, we can’t make calls from our room to an outside line, we had to go to reception and have the receptionist dial the number. We finally got through and found out all we need to do is drop the packages at Layla. She suggested we call Dawit, a driver, to show us around and get those things to Layla. Dawit wasn’t available today but he’s meeting us at 10am tomorrow.

We had the receptionist call a driver for us today Yonas, who took us to the National Museum and the Museum of Natural History. He then took us to the Blue Top restaurant for lunch. It seemed to be some sort of Italian/American/Worldly mix of cuisine. It was Pizza for the girls, pasta for me and some kind of pepper steak with veggies for Tony. The pepper steak was odd, but had a great spicy sauce. We then went to a shopping center where we were able to buy some ‘traditional’ Ethiopian clothing (ceremonial type) and probably paid too much for them although all in all it was much less than we’d have paid in the states. There was also a grocery store there where we were able to buy some bottled water and soda.

Points so far:

Altitude. While no one has been sick, I’m definitely exhausted. I don’t know if it’s jet lag or if it’s the altitude. I felt a little winded going up the stairs in the museum but that could just be me. I also now have a headache that is getting worse by the minute—but that could be my kids that are causing that. I’m very thankful now that the girls have another room where they hang out and we have one that is quieter where we can sleep. Right now I’d love to go lay down and rest but our room is being cleaned—hence we are all spending ‘family time’ together. That’s great in theory, but the girls haven’t caught up on sleep either so they are either giggly or at each other’s throat.

Driving. You couldn’t pay me enough to drive in this city. Few street signs, no traffic signals and it appears to be a free for all for both pedestrians and for drivers. I don’t think I’d like to cross any streets either, especially any of the big ones. I will say I feel safer in the car than I would walking on the street (for the simple fact that the pedestrians appear to be at risk of being hit by one of the drivers).

Children. Everywhere you go there are kids begging. At your car window when you slow down, especially if they are rolled down. At the entrances to the museums, stores, etc. We even encountered women begging with their small babies. You want to do something. You want to give them money but you also know that you can’t help all the kids. All the travel guides caution that giving to kids (or adults for that matter) only perpetuates the behavior of begging and urges would be ‘givers’ to use agencies or services that provide things like food and shelter to those in need. Even though I felt like I was warned about the begging children, I am still surprised at how widespread it is. I can remember being in Mexico and around the outdoor shopping areas, airports and ‘touristy’ areas, it was worse than in the indoor shopping centers and hotels. We didn’t encounter any kids asking for money (or as is more popular trying to sell you something like Kleenex or gum) once inside the gates of the museum, restaurant or inside the shopping center. While we were there, one little child, maybe 10-12, was thrown out of the shopping center for shoplifting. We had seen him outside earlier asking for money. This shopping center appeared to be a mix of shops designed for travelers and for locals. I kept wondering what hardships our daughter and her family had experienced. Had they been begging like these families, did they decide they couldn’t care for Hanna before they got that destitute? I guess with time we will know but probably not until Hanna decides to tell us.

We were finally able to lay down and take a nap after they finished cleaning our room. We ended up sleeping about 4 hours. We got up and decided to ‘order in’. When we asked for a to go menu from local restaurants, we were given a basically American menu. I am wondering if there are any Ethiopian restaurants in Ethiopia.

Travel Day 1 & 2 Houston to Addis Ababa (aka July 15-16)

So, as of now, it is 1557 (Ethiopia time) we are over Al-Kharijah, Egypt, about 1294 miles (just about 2.5 hours) from Addis Ababa. Just an FYI, we are flying at about 533 mph (ground speed) at 37000 feet. The temperature outside our plane is -40 degrees Celsius. If you count the time since we left Houston, we have been traveling now 15.5 hours. Mostly in the 'economy' class seat hosted by Lufthansa with about 1 hr 45 min transiting through the Frankfurt airport. I have decided that in the future if it doesn't cause me to go too much in to debt, Business Class is the way to go. I was honestly hoping more from our layover in Germany, like we'd get to wonder around the gift shops but we barely had time to make our way off the plane (took 20-30 min to debark from the plane), get onto the transport bus, go back into the terminal, back through security (at least security here was more efficient than in the states)—note to other travelers, if you have a REALLY thick book in your bag, be prepared for your screener to check it out. After security, it was down more hallways and stairs, a quick stop at the ladies room, back on a transit bus, then LONG wait on said transit bus until it was full, then back to another plane.

I do have to say that Xanax has been wonderful. Just a little dose has kept me quite calm this trip. We've had more turbulence that I'd imagined you'd have flying this high on a larger plane. Even Tony says it's a bit much for the circumstances, but I guess jet streams are a crazy thing. I'm certainly not looking forward to spending even longer in the air on our way back. The girls have done pretty well too. Hailey was a little nervous on the first takeoff but has done great since. Sarah just wants to sleep (that's what they're both doing now). Tony and I napped a bit too on this flight, in fact we both slept through what I'm sure was a lovely airline lunch. Our previous breakfast and dinner were both very good.

I'm not sure what all I'm feeling right now. I'm tired, that's for sure. I'm excited about seeing the country where my daughter is from and getting to know more about her culture. I'm very anxious to meet Hanna, but I'm trying not to get too worked up about this or let myself think about it TOO much, since I won't be able to see her for 9 more days. I think it would be harder to visit early then be here in the country with her and not be able to visit more. I understand why the directors of the orphanages don't want us to spend a really long amount of time with our kids before they are ready to come home. It must really be hard for them to see us and then we disappear for who know how long—maybe 4 weeks, maybe 8 weeks—maybe longer. I also know that the younger the child, the more difficult the visits must be. It's easier to explain to a 12 year old what the situation is than it is a 12 month old.

Anyway, our flight in to Addis Ababa was on time but it did take us a couple of hours to get out of the airport. The line 'visa on arrival' was a little on the long side, but not as long or as slow as the line to get our 'visa stamped' in order to leave the airport. We managed to get through those lines uneventfully then to the bank to get some dollars exchanged for Birr--$400 for 5428 Birr. That felt awkward holding such a stack of cash. The exchange rate is 13.55 Birr to $1. I do find it somewhat interesting that the fastest line the whole trip was the final one to get out of the airport through customs. Our driver from the hotel was waiting for us (I felt bad because I think he had been waiting since shortly after our flight arrived—but it took us a long time to get through the airport). The drive from the airport to the hotel was pretty short—10 minutes maybe? It was already dark so it was hard to see much of what was going on. There were a lot of people out for 830-900 at night (both pedestrians and cars). It seemed that a lot of the shops were closing up, especially street vendors. I'm not sure what the traffic rules were—I'm just glad so far that I'm not driving in the city.
Our hotel is pretty nice. I've been very surprised as I was looking around online before the trip that rooms with 2 double beds for families are nonexistent. You can have cribs brought in or sometimes a rollaway bed, but certainly not for girls the ages of Sarah and Hailey…they get their own room. And, they are so hyped up from the trip, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Our hotel, the Afro Land Lodge, is a newer guest house/bed and breakfast. Our room rates are pretty good by American standard although slightly higher than what we had hoped for. Our rooms do 'connect' albeit by an outdoor 2^nd floor patio. There are also only 3 rooms on the 2^nd floor, two of them being ours. There is also someone at the desk 24 hrs/day and there is apparently security. Which from what I read having a security person is very common although crime is pretty low here.
Everyone was happy that we had packed snacks (ramen noodles, oatmeal, peanut butter crackers) so we didn't have to go out for dinner last night. Our dinner consisted of ramen noodles, peanut butter crackers, trail mix and soda. So--not the dinner of champions, but we all just wanted a little something before we went to bed. By the way, temperatures here are in the 50s at night.

Back....

So, we're back, have been since July 29th. I just haven't gotten around to posting anything yet.  As an update, we've passed court (officially).  We're just waiting on our adoption decree. That will be sent to the embassy and we'll be working on a passport and hopefully returning to Ethiopia to attend our embassy appointment early October.  I've decided to post my 'journal' if you can call it that...ramblings is more like it.  I only journaled the first few days then we were traveling so much (then I contracted the plague) and the journaling sort of fell by the wayside. I'm hoping to catch up and some some 'late entry' journaling about the rest of our trip.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Yes....after much packing and many WalMart and Target runs....we are leaving for our first court visit and some Ethiopia travel.

Stay tuned..

Dawn

Tuesday's Thoughts

YEAH--yesterday we recived the photo of H with her Welcome Bag.  For those of you that don't know, the Welcome Bag is traditionally how kids find out they have a family waiting to bring them home.  I am pretty sure H had some idea she had a waiting family because other traveling moms have taken a couple of picturs of her.  I would imagine that when this happens, kids have a clue that someone is wanting to see them and probablly that someone is thier new family.  Also, in the past, sometimes the orphanage director would tell the kids about thier new family as soon as they knew.  We were told it didn't happen like that anymore, but we can now be assured that H knows she has a family since she has our Welcome Bag in hand.  In case you are wondering....our Welcome Bag included a photo album with pictures of our family and a map pointing out where we live, a t-shirt (of which we all are wearing matching ones in the family photo we sent), a disposable camera where she can take pictures of her friends, a paint your own magnet kit, a small puzzle, crayons and a drawing pad and of course the letter that tells her about us.

I wonder what her reaction really is.  She looks happy in the photo.  She has a beautiful smile. Someone who saw her picture once said that a true smile can't be faked, it is a sign of a beautiful heart.  That's what I really feel too.  I am so anxious to learn WHO she is.  We've seen a little snippit of her personality on video and she seemed a bit shy.  There is something about her that makes me think she might be a little like Hailey.  Seeing her in her t-shirt she apppears to be about the same size as Hailey is (as thier shirts are the same size and fit the same way).  I still want to know who she really is though.  What makes her happy, sad, laugh..what is her favorite color, can she ride a bicycle, is she scared of the dark.

As we're packing to go to meet her, I'm becoming an excited kind of nervous.  Will we click immediately as a family, will there be awkward silence?  Will she be happy to have 2 sisters, will she decide that she would rather not have a new family?  What will I say to her the first time I meet her?  "Hello" at once seems like a good start and at the same time insufficient.  I suppose I'll trust that the right words will come at the right time. 

I've still got tons to do before we leave in 2 days.  Today is my last day of work (a call day) and I'm hoping it will be slow.  So far so good as I'm sitting in the middle of my bed typing this. I plan to get up and get going, shower, get some laundry started and then head into work to do rounds.  Hopefully I'l be able to get back home and do more laundry and start picking up the bedroom and clean the bathroom.  I really want to come home to a clean house when we get back.  It sounds good in theory but not necessarily in practice :)  I also have small group tonite so we'll see what happens. At least the living room and kitchen will be clean tonite.

I'm planning to post a 'what did I pack post' so stay tuned !!!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Ok...so I'm hoping that our adventure to Ethiopia doesn't run too much like that movie "Planes Trains and Automobiles" did.  I suppose in the end everything worked out, but WAAAYYYY too much drama in the middle.

I'm pretty overwhelmed by my lack of  travel preparations.  I have tickets to Ethiopia.  I have an itinerary for a tour in the middle of our trip that I haven't confirmed yet because it just seems a little too expensive.  I think I know where we're staying when we get there, but I've not confirmed a hotel room yet. I know where I want to stay at the end of the trip but haven't heard yet if I can stay there.

Everytime I look at travel information I realize there is something I hadn't considered yet.  On the bright side I do have 24 ridiculously expensive and better be worth it lithiom ion 'AA' batteries to run my sister's asesome camera.  I have also received the replacement chargers for both my camera and Sarah's camera.  Of course the first time I plugged in Sarah's battery charger it overheated but still managed to charge the battery.

A short to do list:

• Call FEMA to help clean my house since it appears a tornado has been through the middle of it--you know your house needs professional help when your kids rooms are the neatest in the whole place
• Figure out what needs to go in my suitcases so I can determine if I need to beg, borrow or steal new ones
• Laundry so I have something clean to put into said suitcases
• Locate all chargers, buy memory cards, etc
• Locate and make copies of all important docuements
• Go to bank for 'crisp new bills' so I can exchange them for Birr (Ethiopia's national currency)
• Book hotel rooms

My schedule over the next 5 days...

• Friday--finish this post, pick up the kids from swim, clean my bedroom/bathroom so I have a packing station--consider moving the packing station to the dining room that isn't too messy right now, start putting things in suitcases, laundry, continue putting things in suitcases, cook 10 pounds of pasta for a swim meet concessions stand tomorrow (yes, in my post call hazeI volunteered), start making a list of stuff I need from target, maybe try to go to target to get said list, continue to recover from severe indigestion secondary to tasty rib dinner on previous night
• Saturday--maybe try to do some more cleaning, go to Reserve Swim meet with the girls and spend all afternoon making lists and sitting and waiting for the girls to spend about 3 minutes each in the pool for thier races
• Sunday--get up too early, spend all day at the Championship meet and come home exhausted, too tired to do anything else except talk about what else needs to be done
• Monday--work in the office all day, probablly with an overbooked schedule.
• Tuesday--another day of call, fight off Satan as he sends me complicated things in the middle of the night keeping me from sleeping
• Wednesday--recover from whatever Satan had planned for my previous call day, finish packing, going to target (I'm betting at least 3 trips)
• Thurday---finish up last minute stuff and LEAVE

I'm planning on having a very exciting post following our trip entitled "What I Forgot to Pack" so stay tuned.  On the bright side, maybe I'll be so tired by the time we leave, I won't need anything to help me sleep on the plane.

Mental Meldtdown

So let me tell you about my day......Yes it's July 2nd. Yes, according to my 'Adoption Timeline' our case was heard in court today. Yes, since the title of this post includes the word 'meltdown' then it is correct to assume that we did NOT pass court today.  My entire day hasn't really been great...  Want to see what lead to the meltdown??

• Woke up--well that was ok, too early for my taste, but expected since today is a work day
• Drove in the after effects of hurricaine Alex (ie rain) all the way to work---normal commute time--not to bad
• 1st patient of the day---a lovely woman---I had to give her bad news--bad #1
• Spent a lot of time trying to get her plan of care situated with my backup doctor and nurses, etc--bad #2
• Recieved news of not passing court---bad #3,4 and 5
• Realized not passing court was because our letter said we were physically fit to parent a child but did not include "mentally fit"--bad #6 and the begnning of the meltdown
• Called my doctor to see if I could get in today for a new letter--told yes...at 130pm...its 1130, I'm backed up in the office with at least half a dozen waiting patients--bad #7
• Called my husband to see if he could go at 130---couldn't---bad #8
• Called my AAI social worker--found out H has STILL NOT recieved her Welcome Bag--bad #9--was rude to our social worker
• Called the doctor then my husband back to schedule HIS appt for next week---bad #10
• Walked out and saw a patient that I did NOT want to see, mainly because she takes a MASSIVE amount of my time in the office (not to mention my emotional energy) and I just didn't have the mental strength to deal with it today--bad #11--meltdown is beginning
• Everyone I"m seeing in the office was due to have thier baby LAST week, but are still pregnant AND I'm on call this weekend bad #12
• Grabbed the other 2 CNMs in the office to explain what was happening--and was told to LEAVE NOW and forget about the office (yes, I'm at the beginning of the meltdown with crying--ok starting to sob), got a great hug--so good #1, 2, 3 and 4 (brings us back down to bad #8)
• Get in car, in the continued reminants of hurricaine Alex rain and phone rings, kids, fighting about who was NOT doing what they were supposed to be doing---bad #8,9,10,11 and 12
• MENTAL MELTDOWN--started sobbing, yelled at the kids, hung up the phone, called husband sobbing, hung up the phone, called my sister sobbing, had my sister call the kids to explain what was happening
• Managed to make it safely to the Dr's office for the new letter

I am doing a bit better now.  I guess I was so hyped up on the fact that everything had been going so well so far.  I know about 40% (or some number like that) doesn't pass court on the first try.  I guess because it is over something so seemingly STUPID, compounded with the bad day, I just lost it.  I think I'd have handeled it better had it been a big issue.

We are so close to meeting Hanna. So close to having her home.  So close to leaving on our trip and I feel like I have NO time or energy left to put into the planning of the trip, which I feel like I'll be doing alone.  Yes, mostly because I dont want to let anyone else have control. Control is my security blanket.

I did call our AAI rep back and apologized for my rudeness and got some questions answered and some questions passed on to someone who can answer them.  It's almost 5 pm here?  Is it too early for a glass of wine?

Older Child Adoption

First, I know that I've been very delinquent even for an 'occassional' blogger.  As you can tell by the 'adoption timeline' on my blog, it hasn't been like nothing is happening.  I guess the biggest news we've had is obtaining a copy of H's baptismal certificate that gives us a birthdate making H just over 12 years old.

12 years old.  I have to admit that is a couple of years older than we hoped, 2 years older than we said we'd ever adopt, and would make H a 7th grader by age.

But....when we heard the news, I also have to admit that I wasn't too bothered by it.  I wasn't that suprised. I wasn't disappointed.  I also would have fought the idea of adopting H if we'd known this before.  I'm not sure why it would have made a difference before, but not now.  Maybe its because we'd already committed to her no matter what challenges lay ahead and this is just the first of what will probablly be many unexpected occurrences. 

It is interesting that my biggest concern regarding her age is not that she is going to be about 6 months shy of her 13th birthday by the time she moves into our home, or the fact that we've adopted out of birth order (H is almost exactly in between Sarah and Hailey as far as age goes).  My biggest concern is that she should be in 7th grade by her birthday.  If I hold her back to 5th, that will make her 16 her 8th grade year and 20 when she graduates high school.  If I put her in middle school, I"m afraid that she will have a difficult time not only with academics because she needs to catch up, but also that the social drama of the american preteen is enough to drive anyone to madness!  At least keeping her in 5th grade will afford her an ally to help nevigate the system---Hailey.  Of course placing a 12 year old in the same grade as her 10 year old 'little' sister has its own set of challenges. 

I'm telling myself that there are so many other more important issues (which I wholeheartedly believe there will be) related to leaving her home country and her friends and everthing she knows.  I guess that I'm just thinking about the age thing a bunch because it is information that we have that is concrete and can mull around in my brain . Right now, we know so little about H's past, I can only speculate about everything else.

I have to admit, God has certainly led us in a different direction that we thought we would go.  We planned going into this to bring a young boy--preferably aged 4-6 (but NO older than 10) into our lives.  Instead we have a beautiful daughter named H that was born 12 years ago.  And we can't wait to meet her!

Now...as far as other updates....
Our case was submitted to court June 14th.
Our agency is checking in to whether or not we can go ahead and travel to Ethiopia for the first court date or VERY shortly there after to meet H so maybe we can get through court before the rainy season forces the court closed until September.  If we can get through court by August, then we may be able to have H home as early as September of October.....so pray away that this happens!

First Impressions

I'm stressed.  I need to compose a letter to my daughter (yes, I am already considering H to be my daughter) but I don't know how to start off the letter to her.  This will be her first impression of her mom and dad.  I know what I want to tell her, about her home, about her sisters, about her town, about what we do as a family.....I just can't figure out how to start it.  I'm afraid that she will misinterpret anything I say....

What a Wonderful Wednesday

We are so pleased to announce that we have officially accepted the referral of a little girl that we will for now call "H."  H is 10 years old and absolutely beautiful.  We would love to show you a picture of our newest little girl, but blogging guidelines for adoptive parents prohibit us from showing her off via our blogs until we pass court. For those followers from AAI, you can see our H on the last waiting child video (2009)....she is the first little girl!

H already has something in common with her sisters....swimming is her favorite activity! While I know that she shares something in common, she also has a completely different life experience than Sarah and Hailey.  We are preparing for a little girl that has suffered a great deal of loss and trauma in her 10 short years.  We are praying that as we are preparing for her, that God is preparing her heart for joining our family.  We are lining out doctors, reading on attachment, have a plan to visit the school to talk about learning options for her and looking for a therapist (just in case).

I am so excited and at the same time sad.  I won't get to meet her and hug her and really get to know her for several more months.  We're hoping--best case scenario--that we will be able to travel to meet her in late July and she will be home with us by October....but the world of international adoption is unpredictable.  We'll keep you posted as we know more.  Right now, we'd love prayer!  Pray about everything or anything related to this adoption, there isn't any part of it that we couldn't use God's hand in :)  It seems so far that he's been pretty involved!  We hope to keep it that way!

Stuck Like Glue....

Yes, it has happend, I've become attached.  I've become attached to a little girl but I cannot assure yet that she will join our family.  I told myself not to do this. Not to think of her being in our home, not to think of her in pictures on our wall, not to think of her playing with her sisters, but I can't help it.  We are very close to being able to request that she join our family, and I keep telling myself that if it is meant to be, she will join our family. If God has other plans for her, then she will be where He wants her to be. 

But, you know me (and if you don't let me assure you that those who do will all agree). I am IMPATIENT.  Especially when I make up my mind.  Tony has not committed ("I'm thinking about it") but at the same time, he says that it just doesn't seem right to subject a little boy to a "house full of estrogen" and her profile is the only profile of a girl we've reviewed. So I think he is hooked to, but is doing a bit of a better job than I am about distancing myself.  He is trying to stay unattached.

In a few days, we will have all of our documents to AAI (Yes, the previous post showed our dossier had arrived at AAI, but they want an updated tax form for 2009 that we hadn't filed yet).  Also, our notarized homestudy hasn't gotten to AAI yet either due to some changes in the background check system.  But, the tax form should arrive Monday and the homestudy not far behind that.  As soon as all the paperwork is recieved (and Tony gives the OK) then hopefully I can let myself become more attached.  We can request that the little girl join our family.

Yes, I know court has to happen too, but I'm faithful that if God led us this far, he will keep things moving toward his goal. 

I'm faithful that God has plans for this little girl and that she will do great things where ever she goes. So, I will pray for patience and peace in His plan and timing.  Our social worker reminded me that God is preparing us and our heart for the child he wants with us.  He is also preparing the heart of the child that is to become part of our family.  I try to tell myself that by personally taking on the properties of gum stuck in hair that even if this little girl doesn't join our family, that the preparation in my heart that she made was God's work.

So, since I know I can't completely fight the attachment, I'll just pray that God continues to move things forward (like the Fed Ex truck and Tony getting home early enough to get the tax form notarized tomorrow).

Houston......The Eagle has Landed

Imagine my happiness when I decided to check and see where our dossier was on it's route to Washington and I saw this.....

That's right....Our Dossier arrived a day early!!!

Thanks Fed Ex!

Dossier

So, after 6 weeks and much coordination, we've finally finished the Dossier!!!! It was placed into the hands of a very reassuring Fed Ex packaging gentleman this afternoon about 2:30 pm. Our VIP (Very Important Package) is set to arrive in Port Angeles Washington on Tuesday! Debra came with me for moral support! And we celebrated with a little Starbucks afterward. I am amazed that the Dossier took us this long, it didn't seem to complicated at the start..but all the coordinating of signatures, and then finding out that 4 of our forms were signed by notaries with expiring commissions within the next 6 months!!!!


So after much collection, sorting and triple checking the documents......

 

OUR DOSSIER
all 25 pages and 16 photos
(packing envelope and mailing label not included!)

Giveaway!

Here's a great GIVEAWAY from another Texas family headed to Ethiopia to bring home a little girl.

Check out thier blog, follow thier story and sign up for a chance to win a beautiful piece of African art.

Visit this great family's website HERE!

Time Control

Have you ever noticed that when you are having a great time, TIME goes by very quickly.  When you are sad, angry, sick, tired, WAITING....well, the time space continuum changes and time begins to move by slowly--I'm sure its got to have something to do with parallel universe theory and plasma physics.  You've had the experience.  Think about how fast a great weekend speeds by contrasted with standing in the ONE check out line open in WalMart at 9 at night buying tylenol for a sick kid...maybe stopped in the midst of traffic when you are trying to get somewhere and you're already 30 minutes late.....waiting for those little pieces of paper to come in the mail so that your homestudy packet will be complete and can be put back in the mail to the agency so you can WAIT for your homestudy appointment and then WAIT for the report, then WAIT for whatever comes next.

I guess when you get started with all the adoption stuff, you know you'll have to wait.  You know that it takes time to get a referral, that it takes time to get your paperwork in, that it takes time to get things in order so you can travel to meet you new child.  I really feel like time has started to move slower than I ever thought possible before we started this process.  At least it is moving slower, EARLIER than I ever thought it would.  I expected waiting pains once we had our referral and knew the name of our child.  I didn't expect that the waiting pains would come so soon, I think it has to do with KNOWING that we have a son or daughter that we will be meeting in a few months.  I think it has to do with WONDERING who that little boy or girl is and where they are sleeping tonite.  I think it has to do with needing CONTROL, something I shouldn't want nor have any business looking for.

TIME is such a pesky little creature for the main reason that we can't CONTROL it.  IT passes whether we want it to or not, and despite our perceptions, moves along at a steady rate. So what can we do?  Well....

I for one am going to keep reminding myself that I am NOT in CONTROL of TIME or this ADOPTION process.  I am going to remind myself that I do NOT WANT to be in CONTROL.  I am going to tell myself that GOD is in CONTROL and that I want him to be.  HE knows my son or daughter and has since before TIME existed.  HE has led me THIS far at THIS time, HE will make sure I get to where I need to be WHEN I need to be there.  GOD will have the patience to lead me through HIS plan, even if that means I have to give up CONTROL (kicking and screaming as time goes by too slow for my taste).

"There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven"

Ecclesiastes 3:1

 

"O LORD, you are my God;

I will exalt you and praise your name,

for in perfect faithfulness

you have done marvelous things,

things planned long ago."

Isiah 25:1

 

 God's plan is WAY better than mine could ever be.  I suppose since he designed the whole TIME thing--- I guess his TIMEline is better than mine too.  So, now we are in the season of WAITING.  I have a feeling it might be a long one (anything slower than 45 minutes would be too long in my book).  But in the end....our seasons here on earthare limited so I suppose we should enjoy TIME as it flies and TIME as it crawls.  I wonder what our wait on Earth will feel like when we wake up one day to all ETERNITY ahead of us?

Excuses

I have been following Chrissy's Blog for several weeks (they are waiting on 3 little ones from Ethiopia).  Today, she copied a post from Amy's Blog that I think sums up what not only goes through our mind when we are faced with making a life changing decision, but also what really should be in our heart.  It certainly hits on most of the excuses that have gone through my head quite often.

I've had my share of excuses in the past....

Too busy

Not enough money

Not enough time

Too young

Too old

Can't afford it

Already have 4 children

Not sure if it's God's will

Not sure

Can't afford it

What will others say?

What will others think?

People will think we are crazy

What if they are right?

Can't afford it.

What if it's hard on our other kids?

It's not the right time

Not sure if I would be good at it.

House is too small.

Can't afford it.

Not sure if I want to start all over again.

What would we drive?

What if it's to much work?

What if it's too hard?

Can't afford it.

Yet for every excuse God has the answer-

Him.

It's all about Him- period.

He must increase,

but I must decrease.

John 3:30

We limit God with our excuses.

We limit God with our fears.

We limit God by putting Him inside a box-

A box we have designed on our own.

But by doing this we are actually robbing ourselves-

robbing ourselves of the blessings.

Robbing ourselves of true joy

Robbing ourselves of truly living.

Because you see when we take 'us' out of the picture

Our worries,

Our fears,

Our excuses,

And we put God in the center of our lives

The possibilities are endless.

He has the way...

He IS the way...

And all you have to do is

stop making excuses and take that first step.

Stop listening to the world.

Stop being afraid of the what ifs-

And listen to the one who knows.

The one who has the answers.

The one who really matters.

The truth is

we don't have to be perfect

because He is.

We don't have to have all of the answers

because He already does.

We don't have to know how

because He will show us.

Each day you wait

is a day that they wait too...

The cost of your excuse is a lot higher than the cost of an adoption

because look at what it's costing them.

Stop making excuses.

They are waiting

And so is He...

To show you the way.

"Fun"raisor supporting Haiti and Congo

Yes, cheesy title, but GREAT cause with a chance to win a week's stay in Florida.  Just hope on over to THIS blog and check out the details!

Basketball

Basketball....I know nothing about it other than the main objective is for your team to get an orange ball into your team's assigned basket as frequently as possible and more times than your opponent does.  I suppose I also know that there are a lot of rules related to how one's team should and should not go about doing this, but I don't really know the ins and outs.  While I'm not opposed to basketball or have any moral issues with the game, it is just not a sport I ever bothered learning anything about.  Until now....well, I really don't know much about it, but am in process of learning...since....Sarah decided to try out for the team this year.

If you didn't know that Sarah was a basketball fan, you are not alone. Apparently, Sarah didn't know she enjoyed basketball until she was asked to try out for the team by a friend (who didn't want to try out alone).  Well, you guessed it.  She made the first cut, then the second cut....then earned a place on the Seabrook Spartans Girls Basketball Team!!  YEAH SARAH!  They've only played a couple of games and are in the midst of thier first tournament this year (I'm at home on break typing this up). 

I've attached a video of Sarah playing in the game. She's in the white jersey, number 20. Its from my phone so its hard to follow her....but when you see someone with a white jersey making a basket a good distance away from the said basket (in my opinion)..Yup..that's Sarah!




By the way....all those other "Sarah's Basketball Game" YouTube videos that come up at the end of this one....belong to someone else's Sarah.