Awassa

Yesterday, we traveled from Addis to Awassa.  The trip was incredible!  The countryside and its people are very beautiful!  In our book, Ethiopia must be home to the most beautiful people in the world! 

We met with our children's aunt yesterday.  This was more emotional than we were prepared for, but was one of the most amazing moments of this process so far.  Although tomorrow we will be picking up Sofie and Sam from the orphanage, so it only gets better from here on out.  We can hardly wait!

 

We started today off by attending the Festival of St. Gabriel (outside St. Gabriel's Church).  There were tens of thousands of people there.  It was hot, and very packed, but it was an emotionally moving experience. After lunch we headed south to a coffee farm.  Let's just say that driving in Ethiopia is near-death experience.  You are constantly stopping or swirving to avoid farm animals, bicyclists, pedestrians, or vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road.  There is almost no traffic control at all, so it is certainly an adventure!    While at the coffee farm we trekked through  the forests and toured a cave, which was once a five-year hideout for the former emperor's daughter during the Italian occupation. We followed this by having Machioto's in a beautifully crafted coffee hut.  
 
Sorry, for the short posts, but the internet is too slow when it does work.  We will post more details and pictures when we get home.  We will TRY to post some pictures of our children when we get back to Addis.

Incredible Ethiopia

Just wanted to drop a quick post and let everyone know we are here and safe. Sorry for taking so long to post but the internet is not very cooperative here. Ethiopia is incredible! The people are beautiful. As we drive down the streets there is an incredible mix of poverty, joy and beauty. On the same corner you will see homeless children and wealthy business people. Some are dressed in rags, others in traditional ethnic attire, and others in the most expensive business suits you would find in the US. We had an extremely busy day today. We went shopping, toured two museums, and went to an amazing traditional Ethiopian dinner with dance displays from all over Ethiopia. Africa has made a terrific impact on us so far. We have never seen such a mix of beauty, joy and despair in one place.

Tomorrow we will be traveling to our children's home town of Awassa where we will have a chance to meet our children's aunt. When we are on our way back to Addis Abbaba, on Monday, we will stop and pick up our children from their orphanage which is about an hour outside of the capital. Once we have them back we will not be able to leave the hotel with them until we leave on Friday.

The power has gone out in the middle of trying to send this email so I will save the text and send it when the power comes back on (I am now posting this Saturday morning).

Next post.... from Addis Ababa

Well there are only a few last things to pack and a lot of travel lies ahead of us, but it is a great feeling that our next post will be from Ethiopia!! I am sure we will get as much sleep tonight as we have every other night for the last week or so (NONE) as we wait in anticipation of the wonderful journey that awaits us. We will try to keep our blog updated with pictures.

Only days are left!!!

When you start the adoption process, the timeline starts off being measured in years. After the paperwork is complete, you count the waiting in months until you receive a referral, then in weeks until your court date, and there is always another countdown. Well here we are in the midst of our final countdown, only days away from holding these beautiful children in our arms! It is hard to believe it is really happening. I find myself looking at their bedrooms wondering what it will be like to finally fill our home and complete our family. I can not wait for our quiet home to be filled with the sounds of children.

We are going through a whole range of emotions. We are very excited to meet our children for the first time. We also have all the nerves of first time parents with the added anxiety of the potential communication problems and the emotions of the already complex lives that our children have endured. How will our children react as we swoop in and turn their lives upside down once again? In the end we try to remain confident in our preparations and the love we share for our children.

Through it all, our family and friends have been very supportive. The community that surrounds adoption continues to amaze me. Our lives have been enriched through this process in so many ways. Everything we have learned has lead to a deep love for Ethiopia and its people.

As we prepare to travel, it has been difficult to sleep as I have been going through checklists in my head of everything that needs to be finished in the house, the final pieces of paperwork to gather, the preparations for being off from work (Colleen for three months), talking to our school district, getting the last of our shots, making sure the children are added to our insurance, making doctor's appointment for the children, making travel arrangements..... and the packing. But when I do sleep, I often dream of our children. Soon I won't have to fall asleep to see their beautiful faces. Our life is about to change in ways we can only begin to imagine and we can't wait!!!

Best Chirstmas Ever!!!

If anyone ever asked me before now, how I would feel about spending all day Christmas Eve and all day Christmas on an airplane, I know my response would not have been what it is today. Today as our plans have been finalized and we now know that we will spend Christmas on an airplane, my answer is... there is no place I would rather be. This will go down as the best Christmas ... so far!!! I can only begin to imagine the joys of spending the holidays with our children.

As the new year dawns here in the US we will be hunkered in a guest home in Addis Ababa enjoying our new beginning. I still have to stop and remind myself every once in a while that I am now a father to two beautiful children!!!

Praying for a confirmed embassy appointment!

Hopefully we can confirm our embassy appointment tomorrow and then we will be able to post our travel dates. The wait between referral and travel continues to be difficult for us. We find ourselves hanging on every bit of information we can get from those who have travelled to Ethiopia and met our children. We can not wait to hold them in our arms and see their beautiful country!

In the meantime here is a great video I saw on another blog.

New pictures!

Our adoption agency program director travelled to Ethiopia last week and took some new pictures for us.

We are close to having travel dates set. We have airline tickets on hold but are waiting for firm confirmation of our embassy appointment. Of course, if we do not have a firm confirmation by the end of the week we are going to have to book the tickets anyway. Luckily, adoption fair tickets can be changed and are refundable.

Well here are the pictures: