Difficult Day

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Friday had a much different tone as we knew this would be the day that we would visit several government orphanages. While there, we learned that out of the 63 agencies worldwide who are licensed to adopt children from Ethiopia, Gladney (our agency) is one of three who encourage/require you to visit the government orphanages. And although we knew it would be difficult, my heart was just not prepared...I don't think anyone's can be.

The needs we saw were vast and most conditions, heartbreaking. Some of the details I've yet to talk about with anyone, but let's just say I spent most of the afternoon in tears. However, there were moments of smiles, laughter, and hope. Some of the older children had quite the personalities, making us laugh and putting on "shows" for us. I will never forget the moment when I was buried in my husband's chest sobbing loudly, only to look up to find a pre-teen staring at me with the most confused look. I felt like she was thinking, "I wonder why that lady is crying? She looks so silly!" You see, for many of the older children this is the only life they've known, and for some it seemed to be okay as they do not know any other way.

The sights, smells, sounds, touches are forever etched in my memory. Although heart-wrenching, I am grateful for these memories because Jeff and I will never forget. In fact, we will dedicate our time and finances in the future for many many years to come...we were forever changed by this day, and we can only hope and pray that we can be a small part of positive change in the future for these beautiful children. Needless to say, that night we returned to our guest house and hugged Judah a little tighter. 

Driving up to one of the orphanages

Kechene Girls' Orphanage

Jeff giving out suckers to the children

This little boy took to Jeff immediately. This picture was taken right after he gestured that he wanted Jeff to fix his shoe. With torn clothes and no diaper, we still saw glimpses of a smile.

If you would like to to help, please check out this sweet family's blog to see a current project that is underway to hire more caregivers in one of the orphanages we visited.

Finally Final and Time to Celebrate!

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Thursday was the day of our interview with the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. Here we go!

 This is a critical (and final!) step in the adoption process, as this secured Judah's entry back into the United States by giving us his visa and passport, along with all of his legal documents such as the judicial review of our case, birth certificate, etc. We were a little nervous and didn't really know what to expect. Fortunately, though, it was much easier than what we imagined. After a really nice lady asked us a couple of simple questions through a glass window, she had us sign something and then said "Congratulations!" It was a huge relief to have those documents in hand. Now time to celebrate!

That evening, our group went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant where we enjoyed amazing food and some unbelievable African dancing.  The Ethiopian stews (wat) on freshly baked injera was definitely the best meal of the week!

Our meal was accompanied with great conversation and incredible music by a live band.

And we enjoyed even more coffee after our meal...always served with popcorn, by the way.

Following the meal, we all enjoyed a wonderful sampling of traditional Ethiopian dances. Here are the dancers performing a dance from the Tigray region, which is where Judah is from. Belay told us that the Tigrayans are know for their moves, so Mommy is hoping that is true for Judah ;-)

And much to our surprise, the dancers pulled people from the audience to try the dances. And of course, I was all about it...so much fun!

Jeff busted a move as well! 

 What an incredible day...writing about it made me miss Ethiopia terribly.

Can't wait to go back someday!

Busy Day in Ethiopia

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

The day after we met our son proved to be a busy one! We began the day with a visit to the Gladney Foster Care Centers, which is where Judah lived from the age of three weeks old until the day we met him.  I was really looking forward to this day, as we would get to meet his primary caregivers as well as give lots of love to other Gladney children who were waiting to be united with their forever families.

The morning was a joyous, yet sad one as Judah's "Special Mother," a Gladney employee who took care of him while at the foster center, had to say good-bye. She was beautiful and sweet, and I couldn't hug her tightly enough! This picture was taken when we arrived there with him, and you can already see the tears in her eyes.

While Judah's Special Mother had her last moments with him and dressed him in traditional Ethiopian clothing that she made, Jeff and I had a chance to tour three of the centers and meet the precious children waiting to be adopted. It was such a joy to love these children, take pictures and video for families, and deliver care packages. After the tours, we were invited to join in a traditional coffee ceremony. For those of you who don't know, legend has it that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia...so Ethiopians take pride in this fact hand roast the best coffee I've ever had. These ceremonies are very special, and it is considered an honor to be invited to one. The longer the beans are roasted, the more the host is believed to like you :-)

Overall, it was a great morning and we are so very thankful for the wonderful care that Gladney provides at their Care Centers before the children are united with their families.

After our wonderful morning, we had lunch at a great restaurant called "Top View." And although it was rainy and foggy that day, the view of the city from our table was still beautiful. 

 

Judah enjoyed the outing as well!

 

He looked adorable in his traditional Ethiopian attire!

After lunch, we visited the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, which was absolutely beautiful and full of some amazing history. We were so fortunate to have Gladney's own, Belay Tafesse, to give us a tour of this incredible house of worship. Belay's father was a general who worked for Emperor Haile Selassie, so Belay had such interesting insight and knowledge.

 

 

 

Overall, it was a busy but wonderful day. After the church tour, all we wanted to do was snuggle with our little man...and that we did!

Glimpse of Heaven

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Although Jeff and I slept a combined total of 4 hours the previous night, we have never felt more awake....the adrenaline was flowing! The feelings I felt the morning I met my son were excited yet peaceful. Here I am waiting for the moment to meet precious Judah, looking toward the door...if you look closely you can see the outline of a smile :-) 

Again, I wasn't really nervous until I saw the gate of our guest house open and someone said that our sweet baby was in this car...my heart was pounding! 

For years I've tried to imagine what my reaction would be when I met my child for the first time. Those who know me well might think I would cry a river, but somehow as the moment drew nearer I had a feeling I may not cry. Instead, I was all smiles and just in awe. I love that we have that moment captured...

But don't be fooled, seconds after I held him a few tears began to flow....gentle, happy tears. I honestly can't describe the first moment when I hugged him tightly. It's as if all of my stress, unrest, and worry from the past several years was washed away immediately. It's like the world stopped just for that moment, and the peace I felt was like a glimpse of heaven.  

Judah immediately noticed his daddy and just couldn't stop looking at him. It was the sweetest!

 My heart then melted when Jeff held him for the first time. 

 It's truly amazing how he immediately loved his daddy. This was moments after Jeff first held him...

 Mommy got smiles as well! 

 We will forever celebrate this day, July 20th, the day our family was FINALLY united! 

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth and righteousness looks down from heaven. ~Psalm 85:11

Trip of a Lifetime

Three weeks ago, we departed for the trip of our lives. There are so many wonderful memories from our time in Africa, that I honestly don't know where to begin! I just want to share all of it with you...the sights, the sounds, the smells of Ethiopia...truly indescribable...but I will do my best. It is my hope to chronicle each day with a new post. So, let's start at the very beginning....

Sunday, July 18th - Monday, July 19th

Well, I thought the packing would NEVER end. I started the process at least one week in advance--days and nights-- and almost ran out of time. Packing for a four month-old for a week in a foreign country with totally different weather than summertime in North Carolina (it was "cold" and rainy in Ethiopia...more on that later) is very, very difficult...especially when you've never packed for a baby before! Thanks to all of my friends with babies who answered my phone calls and questions such as, "How many outfits do I need per day?" and "How many bottles do you think I need?", etc. Between packing for Judah, Jeff, myself, and getting all of our humanitarian aid items together, I thought it was an impossible task. But with the help of Gran'ma, Jeff and I got it done and this was the end result.

Our flight departed on a Sunday afternoon, and I just remember feeling giddy when I woke up that Sunday morning. I get terribly sentimental when leaving something behind or when saying good-bye. Although I knew we were coming back to our house, I also knew that it would be totally different with a new little member of the family moving in (in a good way, of course). Still, I closed the door with a tear especially when I said good-bye to Allie (our sweet little dog) because I knew my relationship with her wouldn't be quite the same when I returned. (Side note for all who are wondering: Allie is doing great with Judah now, but she totally ignored him for the first three days...very interesting, but we are thankful she came around. She even gives him kisses now!) Here is the moment I said good-bye to Allie.

 And obviously, the sentimental moment didn't last too long because look how happy we were to be heading out the door to the airport!

The feelings I had at the airport were an unfamiliar mix of excitement and peace....never really anxious or worried, which is totally unlike me! This is a testament to all of you who were praying for us. I love this picture (not staged, by the way) of me smiling and looking out the window at Dulles at our gigantic Ethiopian Airlines flight...that took us all the way to Addis Ababa nonstop.

Once on the plane, the excitement continued. I just couldn't believe that we would be meeting our son in one day...ahhh!!!

Jeff and I were fortunate enough to sleep many hours on the loonggggg flight from DC to Addis, but when we arrived over Africa I was awake enough to catch moments like this....

And I seriously thought I would jump out of my seat when I saw on the screen in front of us that the plane was over Addis and we were getting ready to land!

Welcome to Ethiopia!

This was taken right when we stepped off the plane at the airport in Addis. At this point, it was Monday evening (in Ethiopia). Crazy to think we started this trip Sunday morning, but we made it! We arrived at our guesthouse around midnight and between the two of us, we got very little sleep knowing that we would FINALLY meet our sweet angel the very next morning....

Blessed

Hello again everyone! Our new family of three has been home for five days and things are going great! Thank you, thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers during this time. We could have never imagined what a perfect angel Judah would be, and we could have never imagined the love we have for our little one. The transition back home has been surprisingly smooth. We are all getting great sleep (thanks to Jeff and I taking shifts), and it has been a tremendous joy to have this time with just the three of us. We've had a week filled with bath time, spit up, Moby wraps, poopie diapers, first visit to the doctor, washing bottles and boiling nipples, rocking to sleep, morning tummy time, evening strolls, few tears, and LOTS of smiles.

We are blessed.

Coming to America

It's Gran'ma again.  The time is here! The family of three is on the plane and headed to America.  Everything is ready here... Well, we do have a few balloons to fill with helium.  Tomorrow we will celebrate.  We are praying for a safe, easy flight. We can't wait for them to arrive tomorrow, July 27.  "What a day that will be!!" Mom and Dad are so excited to be bringing Judah home!  And the rest of us are somewhat "giddy" at this point.