Court Trip - Post 5 - God is Good, All the Time

We were all up, bright and early, ready for court. Thankfully, we woke up early because Eric had accidentally unplugged his phone and turned it off the night before in order to recharge our video-camera so we had no alarm! I woke up so early that I actually managed to get some hot water! YAHOO! This was going to be a great day!

Hot water is very hard to come by, apparently. The first morning, Eric and I both got freezing cold showers -- very, very, very quick showers! Makes my teeth chatter to think about how cold that first shower was! I tried to tell Eric to get up quickly so he could possibly have some hot water the second morning, but nooooooo....he had to sleep longer. Frigid shower for him!

We all dressed up, as we were instructed to do. We wore shoes that didn't make a lot of noise, (or, at least, we planned to tip-toe if we didn't.) :-) We enjoyed another nice breakfast at the guest house before the Holt driver arrived to pick us up. Surprisingly, he was on time. (We were warned ahead of time that Ethiopians aren't in a rush and this is a rarity!)

When we arrived at the court house, we sat in the van, waiting for the lawyer to arrive to walk in with us. While we waited, a few of our group ran across the street to buy a bottle of water. Eric asked one of them to buy him a Coke Light if they had it. They managed to find Coke, not Coke Light, but when they brought it, they reported, "I hope this is ok. They wanted to keep the bottle." Turns out this wouldn't be the first time this happened while we were there. Glass is worth more when it's recycled than plastic, so the shopkeepers insisted on keeping the bottles when you bought a soda. They would pour it into an empty water bottle and give it to you or if you were in a restaurant, just keep it when you were finished. (uh, yea, again, no wonder we got sick.) But, when you need some caffeine, you need some caffeine - especially when you don't drink coffee!

We were all very anxious and nervous about court. The Holt families were amongst the first to arrive. We filed into a waiting room surrounded by chairs and all sat on the side furthest from the door to the judge's chambers. The room quickly filled with more people than chairs.

While we waited, we saw a couple across the room. When a man approached and there were no chairs left, the husband said something to his wife (who was dressed very conservatively, with a scarf covering her face) and she quickly got off the chair and sat on the floor to give the chair to the man. Again, I thought, "hmmm. Now, there's something you don't see in America." (thank goodness!) ;-)

The first family was called. They were from another agency. In a matter of minutes, they exited the room and the next family (from the same agency) was called. As they passed, the entering family asked the exiting family, "well?", and the exiting lady replied, "I don't know what the outcome was" as she shrugged her shoulders and looked concerned. This kind of freaked me out a little, as I have heard from nearly all Holt families that have attended court that the judge has always ended the hearing with "he/she is yours". Was there some problem with this families case? Did they NOT pass for some reason? Was there a chance that we wouldn't pass? Was there a chance that we wouldn't hear today and would have to wait to find out? As I sat and contemplated such things, the second family was finished and happily exited the judge's chambers with big smiles on their faces. "We passed", they reported. They were the only two families from that agency, so the first family asked the attorney, "did we pass?". "She said that they are yours", he replied. "oh, I didn't hear her," the woman answered with relief.

In the meantime, the first Holt family was called. In what seemed like only seconds, Brian and Mariah returned to the waiting room with smiles on their faces. We all gathered around to ask our panicked questions -- "how was it?", "what did she ask?".... They reported that she only asked about 5 or 6 questions and that she really pretty much just wanted yes or no answers, that it wasn't bad at all, that the worst part of the whole thing was that you could barely hear her. At first, I thought Brian was kidding, but he assured me that he was serious and that whoever hears the best, better sit as close as they can to the judge. Eric and I agreed that he hears better than I do so he would sit closest (and just for the record, he might HEAR better than I do, but he definitely does not LISTEN better than I do) ;-)

One by one, each Holt family returned to the waiting room with smiles and relief on their faces. Finally, Eric and I were called. We were the last Holt family of the day to be called. We went in and Eric sat closest to the judge. Brian wasn't kidding! When we first went in, I know the judge said something. I could see her lips moving, but I seriously didn't hear a single peep. It was very fast and very painless -- just a few questions, all of which were on the list that the attorney had prepped us with. We gave our short answers and, after ensuring that we realized this was irrevocable and permanent, she stated, "Markos is yours."

We left the room and all the Holt families happily got up to leave. Brian informed us that he had timed us and we were only in the judge's chambers for 72 seconds. So strange for all those months and months of paper-chasing and waiting and more paper-chasing and more waiting to culminate in 72 seconds!

As we filed outside and piled back into the van, Mariah asked if anyone sang. She was hoping for some praise songs. No one was willing to belt out some tunes alone, but the driver turned on the CD player in the van. And, we heard,

"God is good all the time
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
God is good all the time
Through the darkest night, His light will shine
God is good, God is good all the time..."

A perfect song. (and I'm not sure, but I think, possibly, the only song that the driver had on that CD in his van.)

But God IS good, all the time!

Court Trip - Post 4 - Meeting our Babes & Celebrating

After our sightseeing on Sunday morning, we returned to the guest house for some lunch - yummy little pizzas...lots of pizzas - and anxiously awaited the Holt driver picking us up for orientation and our first meeting with our children. He arrived around 2:15 or 2:30 and we all piled into the van. Our first stop was the Holt offices for orientation and a meeting with our attorney to prepare us for court.



We were introduced to some of the people at Holt Ethiopia (whose names I don't have handy & can't remember). We were given the do's and don'ts of meeting with our children. Do take all the pictures that you want of your own child. Do NOT take any photos of anyone else's children. (darn) We also sat through a short presentation by Holt's legal advisor. He gave us the run down of the do's and don'ts of court. He also gave us 2 pages of possible questions that we needed to be prepared to answer, and then 2 of the ladies from Holt went around and quizzed each family on the one page. (oh, the pressure!) ;-) Because it was a Sunday, and most of the staff were off work, we did not tour the Holt offices at this time. We got to get back into the vans and drive off to Care Center 2 -- the infant & younger children's care center next to the Union Hotel. When we were first told this is where we were going, I asked if they had brought Markos to CC2 for our meeting, or if they'd be taking us to CC3 -- the preschool care center. The lady from Holt informed me that I was mistaken and that Markos was at CC2. Eric and I were a little worried, because we knew that he had previously NOT been at CC2, so we thought he was moved again and the fewer transitions, the better for the kids.

Care Center 2, by the Union:


The inside of the gate at CC2:


The play area off the main lobby inside CC2:


The stairway inside CC2 where the nannies bring the kids down to meet their new families:


Upon arriving at CC2, the lady from Holt talked with the head nanny who was there at the time and discovered that we were correct and that Markos was not, in fact, at CC2. So, she called for a driver to take us to CC3. While we waited, we have the privilege of seeing all the other families unite with their kiddos for the first time. What a beautiful thing to witness! Only a few tears (from the children), many more tears from the parents! Of course, as we are not allowed to post pictures of our own kids, we also aren't allowed to post pictures of others kids, so no pictures to show you. Since Eric and I didn't have Markos yet, he was able to videotape the whole thing for the other families so that was nice. Such sweet, sweet unions.

Mariah & Brian were the only ones picking up an infant, but were still caught off-guard when the nannies just brought their little one down without any warning and he was wearing a purple sleeper.

Kendra & Dic united with their 2 year old little girl. Daddy's girl ran from the nanny and threw her arms around Dic who was trying to videotape while Kendra sat by and fought back the tears, patiently waiting for her turn to give her little girl a squeeze.

Stephanie & Mike were adopting 2 year old twin boys who had some super big smiles when they were handed some little wooden cars.

Amanda & Justin were also adopting siblings -- a 2 year old boy and a 3 year old girl -- who both ran from the nanny and threw their arms around them. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Heather & Tyler were adopting a toddler aged boy. He was darling - just taking everything in - very relaxed and sweet.

And, Jolie was adopting a little girl. She was the serious, thinker of the kids. She wasn't upset and didn't seem scared, she was just serious. She sat and stared for some time, just checking Jolie out. Very funny to watch.

Then, they told Eric and I it was time to go meet Markos, so we headed off to CC3. I posted a few "teaser pics" and shared a little about our meeting here, but can't post anymore pics, unfortunately.

He was really adorable. A little shy when we first met up with him in the court yard area, but he warmed up quickly inside the room where we were playing. He loved the car we gave him and played with it almost the entire time (or at least, ran around with it in his hand while he played with the balls & balloons). He was allowed to choose a friend to come and join us, so the 4 of us played for a few hours. It was a lot of fun. He is extremely curious & independent. He is an awesome kicker. After watching some of our videos, my dad was joking that the Steelers could really use him. There is just so much to tell, that I don't know where to begin really.

He laughed and talked to his friend, but he didn't talk to us at all. He did seem to understand English a good bit, but we never heard him speak it. His friend, on the other hand, seemed to know a fair amount. In fact, his friend was so adorable and excited for Markos, that everytime someone would walk by the windows, he'd yell out, "Markos America!". When the nannies would walk by and would see us with him and knew that we were his family, they would poke their heads in and congratulate him, kiss him, and hug him. The love between the nannies and the kids was so very obvious and beautiful.

They brought Markos' favorite nanny in to talk to us and answer any questions that we had. We also met with the pediatrician for a short time. We discovered that Markos had pneumonia a few months ago, but he's finished the treatments now and is fully recovered. Aside from that, he is very healthy.

After a few short hours, the Holt lady peeked her head in and told us it was time to go. She took Markos outside and talked to him. She explained that we were his family and that we were going to take him to America, but that we couldn't take him yet, that we still had to do some paperwork and that we would come back to take him later. I hope he understood.

We returned to the guest house and all quickly freshened up (or spent some time crying tears of joy alone in our rooms...), and then we had the driver for the guest house take five of the couples who were there to dinner at an Ethiopian Restaurant to celebrate. We went to a place called Yad Abyssinian.

We laughed because we had to go through some security to get into the restaurant, having our purses checked, etc. This was funny because to get into Ethiopia through customs and such, we weren't asked a single question. Regardless, it was a lot of fun. We ordered the sampler platter (I forget what they called it), and of course, some of the guys just HAD to try the goat so we got some of it, too.

Stephanie & Mike having their hands washed before our meal.


Dinner is served:


And, here's the goat:


Justin, Amanda, Heather & Tyler:


Brian, Mariah, me & Eric:


We aren't really sure what that was that Eric ate (yep, don't know why Eric got sick...):


The entire time we ate, there were traditional Ethiopian singers and dancers on the stage in the middle of the restaurant. At one point, I recognized the music from a previous Holt families' videos and knew it was a dance where the dancers come out into the audience & pull audience members to come up on stage and dance with them. Of course, I was shrinking back in my seat (and thankful I was back in the back, near the corner!). Eric thought he'd be funny and he had his hand over Mariah's head, pointing for the dancer to pick her. Instead the dancer came and tried to get Brian to do some weird shoulder dancing thing. He tried, but it just made the dancer (and the rest of us) laugh. I have it on video, but will spare Brian the humiliation. (you can thank me later, Brian)



All in all, it was a wonderful, emotional, exhausting day. I don't think too many of us had a hard time falling asleep after we returned to the guest house and hopped online for a few minutes (when the computers would work). Tomorrow morning, COURT!

Court Trip - Post 3 - Coffee, Churches, and Overwhelming Need

Once we discovered that Holt would not be picking us up until 2:00 pm, we made arrangements with the guest house staff for them to take us to do some sightseeing. After we ate breakfast, we gathered in the lobby for an authentic coffee ceremony that the guest house had prepared for us. In Ethiopia, women prepare coffee for their husbands anywhere from 1 - 3 times a day. As part of a traditional coffee ceremony, they take green coffee beans and roast them over a small fire.

Once the beans are roasted, they walk around and allow people to smell the freshly roasted beans.


Then, they grind the beans and add them to a pot of heating water. When the coffee is finished, each person is served a small cup of coffee to enjoy together. We only had one cup; however, some traditions call for a total of 3 cups to be served.



After we finished the delightful coffee ceremony and played soccer with the neighborhood boys, we all loaded into the van and set out through the streets of Addis. We passed the runners who were all participating in "The Great Ethiopian Run" - the largest 10 K held in Africa.



As we drove to the top of Mt. Entoto, the side of every street was lined with beggars and people living on the streets, with adolescent boys working as shoe shines, and piles of trash.





There were animals walking along the roads and shanty-like "houses" on every spare piece of land.




We wound higher and higher up to the top of the mountain. Our van seemed to barely make it higher and higher up the steep, winding road, and yet there were people walking the steep incline carrying their yellow water bottles to get water for their families.

At the top, we visited a museum which contained Emperor Menilik and Empress Tutu's royal clothes, Bibles, drums, and other historical items from when the capital of Addis Ababa was first organized as a city.


We also saw the very first church that was built on the site by the Emperor, as well as the current St. Mary's Church.




We toured the Emperor's Palace from 1883. It was amazing given the time when it was built. My favorite part was the horns protruding from the walls of the dining room that were meant for hanging meat!

Eric and I at the overlook area on the grounds

I was smiling on the outside, but my heart was breaking on the inside. You see, after we toured the museum, Kendra and I were walking up the hill to the church and 3 little girls had approached us. They kept begging, "pen", "pen", "please, pen". We weren't sure if they were asking for a pen or if that was Amharic for something else.

Without thinking, I opened my purse and pulled out my pen. Their faces lit up. "Pen!" "Pen!" they cheered as their little hands darted out for the pen. I handed the first girl my pen and the other 2 kept begging, "pen", "pen". Kendra handed one of the other girls her pen, but we had no other pens. The third girl looked devastated. "Pen", "Pen", she begged.

"We don't have anymore", we apologized. Devastation on her face. "Can you share?", Kendra asked. Heartbreak.

I failed to notice the growing crowd behind the 3 girls as we watched her sad little face. In an effort to give her something, I pulled a pack of crackers from my purse. Her face lit up. Then the other two girls' hands darted out. "Hungry", "food", "hungry". I handed them each something, then noticed hands shooting in from everywhere. Children, women with tiny babies, elderly women. "Food", "hungry", "food", "please", they all begged. I handed out the granola bars and crackers that I had as fast as I could, but I ran out long before the outstretched hands were gone. Our driver saw the commotion and came to our rescue.

But, as the crowd dispersed, I saw a little girl, about 7 or 8 years old. She was standing back from the crowd. She had her little brother on her back. He looked to be about 2 or 3 years old. Her eyes were sad and pleading. She was dirty and alone with her brother. Her little hand was held tentatively out a little at her side. "Please, food", she mouthed. Fighting the tears, I mouthed, "I'm so sorry. I don't have any more." "Please, food", she begged. "I can't," I said, "I'm so sorry." She followed us for a while. She hung back a few feet behind us, but when our eyes would meet, she would plead as she moved her hand out a little and mouthed, "please, food".

I walked up the hill with the others, and as I attempted to zip my purse back up, I noticed 2 nutri-grain bars in the bottom of my purse. It took every bit of strength that I had not to go back and give them to the little girl, but I couldn't. I had already disregarded the warning about giving out food or money to beggars in public, thereby causing a near riot. I felt guilty for involving our driver and didn't want to create any more problems, yet my insides were ripping apart. It was all I could do not to completely lose it and burst into tears. I literally hurt inside. That little girl, caring for her baby brother. She was starving and alone. A little girl who should have been playing and attending school. Instead, she was caring for her brother and begging for food for the two of them to survive. But the worst part was, I HAD SOME right there in my purse and couldn't give it to them. My small contribution couldn't begin to touch the overwhelming need. It was one of the saddest moments of the entire trip for me. Their little faces still haunt me. The desperate, pleading little girl and her brother. The girls faces lighting up over a pen. A cheap pen that I probably have hundreds of laying around my house. Not even a fancy pen. Just one of those free pens from the bank or the insurance agent, and their eyes lit up. Like we had given them a pony or something.

I know it sounds stupid, but the heaviness in my heart was lightened just a little bit later that night when I found out that one of the guys in our travel group had slipped the 3rd girl a pen during the chaos.

We are so blessed. There is so much need around the world. One person can't fix it, but together we all can help.

Court Trip - Post 2 - In the Morning Light

I suspect that when many of you looked at our pictures of the inside of the guest house yesterday, you thought -- "well, THAT doesn't look bad!". And, you're right. It wasn't. It was beautiful. But, it was a guest house for visitors. These, on the other hand, are the views out our windows when we awoke the next morning.

Looking out our bedroom window toward the back/side of the guest house

One of the women who lived there was doing laundry by hand

Looking off the side of the balcony of the family room

One of the women who lived there was drying all kinds of peppers and other veggies in the sun on sheets of corregated tin.

(God, forgive me for whining and complaining when I have to walk down the stairs and throw clothes in the washer, add detergent, and turn on the machine. I could have to walk for miles, carrying a large jug of water every day, wash the clothes by hand, and hang them out to dry in the dirty, dusty air. Forgive me for whining and complaining when I have to open a can of veggies and toss them in the microwave. I could have to grow them myself, dry them in the sun in order to save them, and then cook them over an open fire made from fire wood that I have to collect myself.)

Looking off the family room balcony toward the front/side of the guest house

As the time grew a little later (we were up early!), more and more people were out walking around the alley by the guest house. These boys were playing soccer. They were wearing worn out flip flops and other sandals and playing with a beat up, half flat ball. We had taken some new soccer balls with us to donate to Holt and AHOPE so we got one and headed out to play with the neighborhood boys.







The boys were surprisingly good. They laughed at Eric when he TWICE let the ball roll into "hazards" that we don't have to deal with in the United States on a soccer field. First, he let the ball roll (and then he nearly stepped into) a giant dung pile from the animals.

Second, he let it roll to the other side of the street where it landed in an open sewer drainage ditch. Excited to have a new ball, one of the little boys jumped right down into it despite the women around yelling at him, but thankfully, sweet Workineh from the guest house took it and washed it at the guest house for us after that. At that point, it was time for us to leave, so Eric gave the ball to one of the boys to keep and I gave them all snacks that I had in my purse - just little individual sized packs of granola. We know that they will all share the ball and play together, because that's how they are. Loving, community-oriented, and kind. There is no me-centeredness in Ethiopia like there is in the U.S. It's a beautiful thing! And, these boys were sweet, beautiful boys who deserve so much more than a new soccer ball and a pack of granola!

Court Trip - Post 1 - Leaving on a Jet Plane

We had been waiting for this day for a LOOONG time, and finally it had arrived! Our departure date! The day we'd be leaving to head to Ethiopia to meet our new son.

My parents arrived Thursday evening around 8:00. Daniel was at ice hockey practice with Eric while I finished up last minute packing & list-making. Meals were prepared and in the freezer for the kids while we were gone. Emergency numbers were compiled and amongst the other papers containing schedules, directions to the various hockey rinks where Daniel had games while we were gone, and medication, doctors, and insurance information. We were as ready as we were going to be.

Friday morning, we awoke early and left for the airport before anyone else was awake. We had 4 large suitcases packed to the maximum weight - all containing donations for AHOPE and Holt. Then, we each had a personal carry-on item and another small carry-on which contained all of our clothes and stuff for our trip. Good thing we were only staying in Ethiopia for 2 days total!

At the airport in Pittsburgh, things went very smoothly and we were happy to discover that once we had successfully managed to haul our luggage to the check-in point in Pittsburgh, we did not have to retrieve it again until we landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! Yay! Somehow 50 lbs. in a suitcase seems a lot heavier than picking up a 50 lb. child.

Our first flight went very smoothly and we landed in Toronto an hour and 1/2 later. Then we had a few hours lay-over before boarding another flight to Frankfort Germany. Aside from having to sit on the tarmac for close to 30 minutes to wait for the crew to dig through the luggage to find someone's bags that had to be pulled from the plane, it also went off without a hitch. Despite the length of sitting on the flights, my back held up amazingly well. Again, in Frankfort, we had a few hours lay-over, but we just got something to eat and sat around, trying to rest before our final flight.



Finally! It was time for our last flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! We're coming, Markos! We boarded our final flight from outside due to construction in the Frankfort airport. That was a little strange, but I didn't care as long as we got there ASAP.



Although we were exhausted by this point, adrenaline, anxiety, and excitement kept us going. Not to mention, with views like these, who could sleep?!



When we were ready to land in Ethiopia, the pilot announced that there was a backlog of flights waiting to land and so we would have to circle for a while before we could land. Yuck. We circled for about 20 minutes, before we finally landed at 9:35 pm, Saturday night.

Once in the airport, we anxiously made our way through customs (which could not have been easier!) Neither of us was asked a single question. Then, we happily retrieved all 4 of our bags from baggage claim and exchanged our U.S. dollars for Ethiopian burr. We exchanged $400 U.S. and received a huge pile of Ethiopian burr -- 6,587.84. The exchange rate is $1 to 16.4696 burr. You know how you see those commercials asking for your donations and they claim that you can feed a child for only $1 a day? Well, it really IS true and that is why! Our money goes a long way over there!!

We walked outside the baggage area and there was a large crowd waiting outside. Almost immediately, we saw our driver holding the "Holt International" sign. Then, we saw the others in our travel group who had also just arrived. At this point, Mariah and Brian from South Dakota, Stephanie and Mike from Vermont, Heather and Tyler from Oregon, Amanda and Justin from Oregon, and Eric and I were there. We waited and waited for Kendra and Dic (also from South Dakota) but they were stuck in an unusually long visa line, so our driver decided to take us to the guest house and come back for them later. The rest of us had gotten our visas through the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, DC before we left the states.

We quickly realized, after loading all the luggage and all the people into two vans, what the other families meant went they warned us about the roads and the driving there. It is controlled insanity. The roads are awful; and there are few, if any, traffic laws, signs, or stop lights. It was dark when we arrived, so we couldn't see much, but as we turned and began driving out of the airport, I looked out the window to see a man walking down the sidewalk with a machine gun strapped on his chest. Hmmm. "Now, there's something we don't see in the U.S.", I thought.

The guest house was not far from the airport, although it WAS definitely tucked away off the road. We eventually figured out that this was the sign that marked the turn for us:



The Jemimah Guest House (pronounced Gem-e-mah, not Jemimah like the syrup!) was surrounded by a large, gated wall. There were guards working the gate all the time. Each time we approached, the van honked the horn and they opened the gate so we could get in. The staff working the desk were extremely friendly and helpful, as were the drivers. They always insisted on helping with your bags and helping you carry things to your room -- not because they wanted tips, just because that is how the Ethiopian people are. Very caring, very helpful, very service-oriented.

There was a family room off the lobby, and another family room on the first floor. Our bedroom was very simple, but very beautiful. Our bathroom was also very nice. It had only a stand-up shower, but it was very nice and clean. We were thankful that our room was only up one flight of stairs because Addis is at almost 8000 feet above sea level -- a very high altitude -- so just climbing one set of stairs nearly killed each of us. Our hearts would be beating out of our chests and we'd be completely out of breath. Tidbit for those who like trivia: This is why so many Ethiopians are good long distance runners! Their bodies get very good at processing oxygen due to the altitude! Ours, not so much. ;-)

We explored the guest house a little, tried (unsuccessfully) to get the internet in the upstairs family room to work, talked with the other families a little, then went to our rooms to unpack a little and crash in bed, anxiously awaiting our orientation and trip to the care center to meet Markos for the first time!

Our room

Our bathroom

The upstairs family room

The other side of the upstairs family room

Tomorrow, we meet Markos!!! Oh happy day!

"Markos is yours"

We are home, and now a family of 5. Our trip was absolutely amazing. It is so very hard to put everything into words. And, frankly, I am still so tired that I am not even going to try right now. Over the next few weeks, I will blog about our trip in detail, but for now, I will just say it was truly life-changing.

Markos was absolutely darling. He is a tiny little thing, full of personality with a little touch of ornery that we got to see. He is very curious, very active, very athletic, and reminds us a great deal of Daniel. Those two working together might spell trouble! ;-) We were able to spend about 3 hours with him the first day and an hour the second day. We had a great time playing together. We gave him a little car that talks when you push the light on the top and he absolutely loved it. When we arrived the second day, he ran to me and gave me a big hug (** heart melting **) then he smiled really big and said, "machina?" ("car" in Amharic) hee hee. So, I'm not sure if he was happy to see us or just happy to get his car back, but either way, we were happy!

I know you are all dying to see pictures (and believe me, I'm dying to share them), but our agency is very conservative and asks that we not share them on public forums until we travel to pick him up. But, copying the ideas of some of our creative adoption friends, we took this one to share with you now.



We gave Markos a bracelet and Eric and I each had one. We all put them on together at the care center and will wear them until he comes home. Mine says "Faith". Eric's says "Dream" and Markos' says "Courage". I was glad we had them because when Markos noticed my watch and was pushing all the buttons on it and then tried to take it off of me, I was able to say, "oh wait, I have something for you". (and keep my watch!)

Our travel group was AWESOME! We so very much hope that we get to travel again with the same group of families. We had a lot of fun getting to know some of my online buddies in person and getting to meet their husbands. There is something special about getting to share something like this with others. Here is one of the pictures our driver took for us when we were visiting St. Mary's Church, built in 1885, on top of Mt. Entoto.



We were able to give him the family album that I made for him. He was so darling as he looked through it. He had a very proud little smile as we looked through, and when we finished looking, he jumped up to play, but tucked the album under his arm and tried to play while holding it. When he realized that would be too hard, he went over and hid the book under the TV stand shelf. Then occasionally, he would go over, get it out, sit against the wall and look at a few pages, then hide it back under the shelf and play some more. He would also slam the door shut anytime someone would leave it open, as if to say "stay out - mine".



The nannies were wonderful and when each would see him in with us, they knew we were his family. They would come and stick their heads in and congratulate him, shake his little hand & kiss him on both cheeks and hug him. His little friend who was able to come and play with us the first day was equally thrilled for Markos. He would actually yell and tell anyone who came near the door, "Markos America!". So heart-warming to see a child be so genuinely happy and thrilled for another child.

Lastly, of course, as you have figured by now, we passed court. It was unbelievably fast. In fact, we were the last family to go in to the judges chambers and one of the other families timed us. We were in the room for 72 seconds, at the end of which, the judge proclaimed, "Markos is yours."

Praise God!

Can Hardly Believe It!

Oh. My. Goodness. I can hardly believe that the time has finally come. Early Friday morning, we are leaving to go meet M. and go to court to legally become his parents. This has been such a long process, yet, now it seems like...."WOW! Seriously?! We're really doing this?!"

In my normal, neurotic fashion, I have been preparing for this trip for weeks...err, months. And yet, now I feel panicked and certain that I've forgotten something terribly important. Not to mention that I am not a fan of traveling. I'm not afraid to fly, per se. I just hate the rushing, hate the connections, hate the crowds, hate the security checks and the customs procedures. And, honestly, hate everything being out of my control. (Yes, I know, silly to even think that I'm EVER in control - God's been working on me about that for years.)

Anyway....

Please pray for us during our trip. It will truly be a whirlwind of a trip -- exhausting physically and emotionally. Please pray:

• Thursday, Nov. 18th - for my parent’s safety as they travel to our house to watch the kids.
• Friday, Nov. 19th- for our flights - that we make our connections, that my back holds up during 24 hours of traveling, and that we make it through customs without problem with all the donations that we have for the orphanages
• Saturday, Nov. 20th - that we arrive safely in Addis Ababa, ET (and that our bags ALSO make it to ET), that our transport is waiting for us, and that we make it safely to the guest house
• Sunday, Nov. 21st in AM - THE DAY!! We meet M.! Please pray for his comfort - that he would not be afraid, that we will react in a way that is not frightening to him (hey, it could happen!) ;-) - and that we would all be able to soak in and enjoy every moment of this blessed few hours that we will have together!
• Sunday, Nov. 21st in PM- that our meeting with M.'s pediatrician goes well, that we remember to ask any questions that we should, and that we gather all information that we need; Also that our meeting with the attorney goes well, that we, again, get all information that is needed for a successful day in court!
• Monday, Nov. 22nd in AM- COURT!! that I am not a complete bundle of nerves, that we speak from the heart but don't say anything that might jeopardize our adoption, and that the judge grants us favor
• Monday, Nov. 22nd in PM- that our final meeting with M. will again be comforting to him, that he will understand that we WILL be coming back for him, and that we can go through the family album that we made him before we leave so that he will have something to hold onto until we come back to get him
• Monday, Nov. 22nd, late - that our flights home are, again, safe and smooth

BTW, Ethiopia is about 8 hours ahead of EST, so we will actually be going to court around 1 - 2 AM your time Monday morning.

Also, please pray for:

• our health - that we wouldn’t get sick while in ET, that Eric’s allergies aren’t horrible there, that my back doesn’t flare up, and that we are able to get some sleep during the time we're traveling and in ET
  
• our kids back home - that they would not be nervous & worrying about us, that they have fun and have all their needs met, that they are well-behaved and don’t give Grammy and Pappy a hard time! (not that they’d EVER do THAT!) ;-)
• Grammy & Pappy - that they’d have the energy to keep up with the kids and their schedules, that they have fun and enjoy the time with, and that they also have peace and don't worry about Eric and I
• our paperwork - that everything is in order, that we have everything we need, and that the people who are handling our adoption case do so with speed and accuracy!!
  

Thank you all so very much for praying for our family during this time. We are so excited, nervous, thrilled, awe-struck, amazed, afraid, humbled.....the waves of emotion go on and on!!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7