A Day of Firsts

Well, we have had a good first day together.  Makeda slept well last night and when it came time to wake up and she knew we were up, she buried her face in her pillow and pretended she wasn't there.  I'm sure this had to be pretty rough for her, waking without the familar sights and sounds of an orphanage.  She is absolutely fine with mommy and has no problem hanging on to me every waking moment of the day.  Everyone else though can forget about it.  Hopefully she will begin to trust a bit more and warm up soon :)  She has every right to take her time to trust again, that is for sure!  I am getting small new breakthroughs all the time.  A smile that she will quickly try to hide or a new understanding of my ahmaric.  This is a time to be cherished as she will be making great strides in development every day and we look forward to it.  For now, she is just checking out the world from the arms of mom.

This morning we made our return trip to Mission Ethiopia.  We had such a wonderful visit there last time with the women and minstering to the kids.  This time we brought back about 40 inflatable balls, 40 little stuffed animals and 12 coloring books with crayons and trail mix packed together.  A swarm of  eagar children approached us as we entered the compound.  Within a matter of 30 seconds, all had been handed out in a great frenzy.  It was fun to see all the children checking out their newfound treasures of sharing some of their trail mix with their moms as they made the necklaces they create to earn a living.  Thanks to the Manges family and the Walk's for helping us bless these kiddoes :) .

After our fun at Mission Ethiopia we headed over to a shoe store to buy ethiopian shoes for dad and Keda and a tee shirt for me from Shoes for Hope :)

Lunch was ready shortly after we arrived back at the guest house and then Keda and I were ready for a good afternoon's nap :)

It is after 10:00pm here as I type this.  Makeda is sitting on my lap.  That must have been one incredible nap as we don't even have so much as a yawn out of her right now.  She is playing for the very first time though.  She started with a pen and paper as I was typing and moved onto crayons and a coloring book and now she is busy playing with her tinkertoys.  We've got to shut this party down though as it is time to sleep.

Blessings to all !!  Tomorrow night at this time we will be boarding our plane for our trip home :)

It's my party and i'll cry if i want to...

...you would cry too if this happened to you =) ...

Today was our "gotcha day".  We headed to the orphanage around 9am and after we arrived we waited in a room as they prepared "Birtukan's" farewell party.  Finally they were ready and they escorted us to a small room I believe they may use as a school room as it had numbers and letters on the wall.  We sat in two of the four chairs in the front of the room while we awaited the arrival of the guest of honor.  There was popcorn, a bakery cake, injera, and soda pop.  This was all being video taped by our agency  as we are not permitted to take pictures in the orphanage.  Suddenly Tim and I glance out the door to our right and a heavenly sight appears, more beautiful than any earthly sight we have seen.  Makeda was dressed in a traditional Ethiopian dress and her hair was done just so and she was being escorted to the party over the dirt ground by one of her caretakers.  It was impossible when taking in that sight not to just be overwhelmed with emotion.  Four years of wondering, waiting and hoping and now this beautiful princess of ours was being brought into our care.  We will never forget that moment.

Well, Makeda was fine as long as we did not approach her.  They tried to hand her to our care, which upset her so we asked they hold onto her for her party, as it was HER party and she should at least be able to enjoy some of it =) .  So, they did hold onto her and we enjoyed a few songs sung to us by the other orphanage kids, they brought Makeda pictures they made for her and kissed her farewell.  The orphanage staff said a prayer over her and the other kids joined in and then we prayed over her together as well.  It was a beautiful farewell ceremony full of love and rich emotion.  Then it was time to go.  They handed Makeda to me and the tears and protest kicked in.  She cried for awhile and then once again surrendered to this new life that she has been called to.  We returned to our guest home.

Once back at the guest home we changed Makeda into one of her new dresses and went to the dining room to eat lunch.  Though she does not have a big appetite, she does eat well enough and we have also been successful in communicating about the potty.  I will say "shintabait" (potty?) and she will nod  her head yes or shake it no.  She still hasn't said a word, but we were assured at the orphanage she DOES talk and I am sure we will be privy to that side of her in due time :) .

After lunch it was off to our Embassy appointment.  Makeda took a nap on our way to Embassy as it was a long ride, made much longer by the mourners (many, many, many Ethiopian mourners) lined up along the streets slowly making their way to the palace to show their respects for the late Prime Minister.  It was quite a sight.  Embassy went well and they are doing the final preparations for her visa which we will get on Thursday.  

On a side note, Tim decided we should take a picture of me holding Makeda outside of the Embassy to mark the moment.  I said "Are you sure we are allowed?" to which he replied, "Hey, it's our embassy" and snapped the picture.  Well not two seconds later he was called over to a security guard who explained it WAS NOT acceptable to take any photos of the embassy building and had Tim delete the photo.  Making memories indeed, but not photographic ones if you are outside the US Embassy :)

When we finally made it back to the guest house we watched Zoie play with some of the guest house workers and kids that the family that i mentioned in our first blog brought back to the guest house to hang out for awhile.  Tim tossed a football in the street with them and they had a fun game of "hit the target" (it being a water bottle sitting upright on a wooden stool).  Makeda loves to be outside.  The above photo shows some of the neighborhood children that came by to watch.  We brought some inflatable balls and little stuffed animals to share with the kids at Mission Ethiopia and Tim shared a few with them to their delight.  It was a full and fun day.  Makeda is asleep now and we will see what great adventures tomorrow holds for us come morning.  Blessings to all!

We meet Again

Today, August 27, was the day we met again.  We were picked up at our guest house at 9:30 am by our agency and off we went through the city roads then some pretty bumpy back road terrain until we arrived at her orphanage.  We are not permitted to take pictures at the orphanage, but our agency sends along a camera man to capture it for us.  We walked into the toddler room and said hello to all the little bumpkins in the room.  Most of them slowly moved closer to their caretaker until they had her cornered between two beds.  The caretaker eventually scooted out and sat on the floor next to me to encourage Makeda to come sit by me.  Makeda was VERY VERY unsure and was in tears a few times as the caretakers tried to make her sit on my lap.  We just played with all the other little ones that wanted to play and patiently waited on Keda.  I quietly cried at one point hurting for her little heart, knowing how much she has had to endure in her short little life.  This just doesn't seem right, as it is so very painful, but the alternative of living a life without a family and in an orphanage is certainly much much worse.  So finally, as our time there was getting closer to ending, with the encouragement of the caretakers, I scooped her up as she flailed and fought and screamed and cried.  We went to another room where I held her and rocked her and whispered "ishee, ishee" in her ear (ahmaric for "okay") and said "wadeshelo" to her ("I love you").  Within time, her sweet little spirit surrendered and she melded into me.  We then headed to the van for the ride back to our guest house together.  She did cling to me thereafter.

We were at the guest house together from about 11am until 4pm.  She watched as we explored some of her new toys and books. We put her new sandals on her feet and she took to her bottle of "wahoo" (water) .  She also really liked the popcorn cakes we have.  She had spaghetti for lunch and when I said "shintabait" (toilet) she would shake her head yes if she had to go.  We successfully had two trips today.  Phew!  We even took a good nap together.We sat outside and watched Zoie play with the guest home workers and Keda sat quietly in my lap, continuing to take it all in, just not so sure what to do with it all.  We were picked up around 4pm to make the trip back to the orphanage.  She would look out the window with overwhelmed eyes at the world as it quickly passed by on our trip.  Her life has mainly consisted of living behind a gated orphanage and these sights on the street are something most children her age have been exposed to years ago.  So very much to absorb all at one time.

(oops, trouble with underline and text...oh well...)  She seemed to be a bit more at peace as she saw her caretakers at the orphanage again, but I must share I am pleased she did not JUMP back into their arms and was happy to share hugs goodbye with us.  Another encouraging moment today occurred today at the guest house.  One of the house workers (a very sweet girl) called Makeda by her birth name "Birtukan"and spoke sweetly to her in ahmaric and put out her hands to see if she would come to her.  Though I gently encouraged her, she clung to me.  That spoke to my heart that God is creating the bond necessary for us in her little heart.  Praise His Name!
So, tomorrow morning at 9am we go back again.  We will talk to the caretakers to get as much info as we can on Makeda and her routines and they are to have a farewell ceremony for her.  Then we will head back to the guest house, this time for good.  Our embassy appointment is at noon.  Getting all our ducks in order for our Thursday evening departure.

Your prayers for Keda's little heart and wisdom from beyond for both Tim and myself would be greatly appreciated.  She is quiet and certainly overwhelmed.  God bless her with peace, the kind of peace only He can give.
So, it's off to bed.  We will post more tomorrow night!  Blessings to all!

More than an adoption

Just an amazing little side story to give God some awesome glory.  This adorable picture was on the wall of the last room we stayed in on our court trip visit in May.  It was so sweet to see it every day.  We even took this picture of it to remember it.

Well, as God would have it (and He is such a FUN God), we met this family staying here at the guest house we are at this time.  They just sold their house a few months ago and have moved here with their two daughters to immerse themselves in the calling God has placed upon their lives.  You can find out more about them and their ministries on Kari's blog www.mycrazyadoption.com.  Roger's ministry is called Man up and can be found at ManUpAndGo.com.  Such a blessing to get to know these amazing people.  

So, here is where it gets fun.  As we were looking over some of their videos this morning, we noticed this picture on one of Kari's blog posts.

"We know that picture!!" we say!  "We love that picture!"  "We stayed in that room last time!"  Isn't this the sweetest...that is their adopted daughter Zoie!!!!  She is 5 now and is just such an amazing little girl and she is HERE.  We are having a blast together and trust she is going to be a little blessing in Makeda's transition over these next few days.

  OH MY, WHAT A BEAUTY!

I love our awesome God and the sweet surprises He always has in store for us!  All glory to HIM! :)

A Room with a View

We are here and settling in.  This view is phenomenal and is from the back balcony of our room.  We arrived early Saturday morning, took a nap for a bit and tried to acclimate to the time difference.  I started an antibiotic as my congestion decided to develop into a sinus infection with a nasty headache, but as of this evening (Sunday) I am feeling much better.  

Today (Sunday) we started the day off with church.  The Prime Minister of Ethiopia passed away this last week, so the service was centered around much of this (not very good when I was still very close to   snoozing)!  When service was over we went to lunch at THE LIME TREE with AB then shopping for a jacket for Makeda (it's colder this time than last and we were not properly prepared...brrr).  We then came back to our room and slept for a few more hours.

Here is Makeda's bed in our room.  We will get to see her tomorrow morning.  We will spend one hour with her at the orphanage and then she will come back to the guest house with us until 4pm.  Praying all goes well :)  Looking forward to tomorrow night's posting!

Sure would appreciate prayer for health (i am queasy and kinda off from sinus issue and belly confusion :) and of course Makeda's heart is ready for this big transition!

HER ROYAL RIDE HOME AWAITS

Well, it is 3am and after a whopping 2 hours of rest we are up and almost on our way.  Thank you soo much everyone for your prayers over this next week.  Our flight to DC is at 5:45am and then we fly out of DC to Ethiopia at 11am arriving around 12:45 am (which is 7:45am in Ethiopia).  We arrive home next friday the 31st.  We will do our best to post once a day, providing the internet is up and running (often a luxury in ethiopia).  Here we go... :)

A Tiny Tour

Hello all :)  We are in the final stretch of preparations for bringing home Makeda and realizing a dream God placed in our hearts long ago.  It has been so much fun preparing a room for our princess.  I did a video tour today for those of you who'd like to take a peek.  It is detailed as it is meant to be a rememberance for her.
As it stands, we will be taking off from Pgh to head to DC on Friday August 24th at 5:45am.  From there we will head to Ethiopia.  We will certainly keep you posted as you all know how we really appreciate the prayer covering :)  Enjoy the tour as we wait for "Something Beautiful" :)

THE DATE IS SET

We received word this morning that our Embassy date has been set for August 28, 2012.  It was a tough Tuesday having to concede that we would have to go to get her later rather than sooner.  It seems all the Ethiopian Airline flights out of Ethiopia are booked until the end of august (that is except for first class with tickets costing over $3,000 one way ...x3!)  And having to do transfers with her flying on another airline just seems possibly too painful for her (me too!! :)  Sooo, the end of August it is.  Thank you for all of you who prayed and those of you who called to remind me of the sovereignity of our God.  We plan to fly to Ethiopia on Friday August 24th and hope to be home the following Friday.  Some finishing touches need to be done on her room, then I hope to post a little video tour to share.  Thanks for prayerfully sharing this journey with us!  Blessings to all!