Next Year I'm Getting One of These...

Yep, we all have the flu...all that is except my genius husband who got the flu shot back in the fall. Live and learn. :) (i promise to update as soon as we are all better)

Day 6 - November 29th (Thursday)

Okay, I know, I know, we've been home now for 6 weeks, and I'm still writing about our trip. I just need to finish for myself, and then I'll move on...I promise. :) (& I promise Tracie, I'll have more of an update of how it's been since we've been home)

Today was our last day in Ethiopia. I couldn't believe it. The first few days, were really hard emotionally, but now I felt better, and i wanted to see more. Half of us wanted to get out a bit and see more of Addis. Almaz arranged a driver for us, and he took us to "lookout mountain". The drive out there was great. I felt like we really got to see more of Addis. Jesse got some great pictures! On our way up there we saw these women carrying these HUGE loads of branches...here's a picture.


It reminded Jesse & I of the tea pickers in Sri Lanka. These tiny women carrying all this weight! I probably couldn't even lift it, let alone carry it down a huge mountain!
The view of course was spectacular!


& of course we had to get a group shot in. (although we were short 2 families) :(


After we caught our breath from being up 10,000 feet, we went to the National Museum.




The main reason we all wanted to come here was so we could all see Lucy. Lucy is said to be about 3 million years old. The museum itself, was interesting, Jesse made the comment that it was like walking around in someone's basement. But very cool that we got to see it.


& of course, since we were all getting ready to leave, we had to start taking more group shots...but unfortunately we never did get one with all of us!





Our flight was that evening along with Steve, Heather, & Ben's. Terribly though Heather got really sick at the airport, so they decided to wait a day to travel. So we were all alone. The flight went really well. Since it was a night flight Abinet slept almost the whole first leg of the flight. We also lucked out, because we asked for the 2 aisle seats in the middle section, and just hoped that no one would book the middle seat...and no one did, so we had a row to ourselves, which really helped so Abinet could lay down.

Our flight was late getting in, and after waiting forever on Homeland security, we finally got through! My family was there as well as our good friend Neil. Rachel came running up. She looked huge! (this is when I started crying too) :) It was just such a great feeling to all be together again.

Well there you have it...our trip. We can't wait to go back!

Day 5 - November 28th (Wednesday)

Today we got to get out just a little bit. Almaz took us so we could pick up some great Ethiopian Coffee. Now I'm not a coffee drinker, but of what I've been told Ethiopia has the best coffee in the world. When others would order it at breakfast, it would pour out like black tar....it was that thick. It didn't look very appetizing to me, but everyone else said that it was amazing. So of course we had to pick some up for some of our family & friends.


We all ordered A LOT!


While we were there a huge group of kids that were just getting out of school came walking by. Of course they were all interested in getting their pictures taken. Their smiles are priceless!



This evening we got to go to a traditional Ethiopian dinner. There was also dancing. Abinet fell asleep during the dinner, but he loved the dancers! He just bobbed his head along. Jesse & I really enjoyed the food. The injera alone can be a lot, but if you smother it enough with other stuff it's not too bad.





& what's dinner without trying some of the local drink? Jesse & Brandon ordered some, they said it was fermented honey....yummm?!


Each day Abinet is coming more and more out of his shell. He's getting more active, and responding to us a little more. I'm still exhausted, but our trip is going great!

The Name Game

okay, I'm a little slow, but i just realized that I never talked about our struggle with what to do with Abinet's name.

All through the process we were told that his name was Abnet. I loved the name, it was different, but yet, not impossible to say. My husband on the other hand, liked the name, but still wanted to give him a new first name, and move Abnet to his middle name. I think I've said this in the past, but just to remind you all, I AM TERRIBLE WITH DECISIONS. So I kept putting it off. We had a short list of about 8 names when we left for Ethiopia. We decided to try to narrow it down to 2 or 3 by the time we landed and just spend some time with Abnet to see what name best suited him.

Well we were in for a little bit of a shock...when we got to the orphanage we found out his name is Abinet. And although I know it's close to Abnet, it was really weird to think we've been calling him by the wrong name this whole time. :) We did feel that Abinet could be really mispronounced...it's hard to write it out how it sounds...but it swayed me more to maybe move it to his middle name.

We also were able to find out what Abinet means --"for a reason". I love it! It's just perfect. So then I was torn again, if we should change it or not. See I told you I'm terrible at decisions.

okay, so to quit boring you all... we finally decided that we would call him Isaac Abinet. Rachel at first didn't like that, she said that she would still call him Abinet...i said that was fine. :) In fact, it's been a little weird to start calling him something different. So we kind of call him both right now. I still have regrets sometimes...am I doing something terrible changing his name? I don't know...Maybe I'm making too much of it?! but anyway now you know.

Isaac Abinet:

Day 4 - November 27, Tuesday

This morning we brought everyone's donations over to Hannah's Hope. (thanks to our homegroup for all the donations!) We emptied out I think about 10 suitcases full of donations & started sorting them. It was great to see everything that people had donated. But even with all those donations, there were things that Hannah's Hope is always lacking in...diapers & formula. They also really need scrubs for the special mothers to wear...So if your travelling soon there's some suggestions for you. :) It was hard too, b/c there were about 40 pairs of shoes there, and a little girl came in to get a new pair of shoes, and we did not have her size. It's hard b/c of course AGCI can't keep up on specifics of exactly what size shoe each child needs, so they say "bring shoes" or "bring pants" but it's hard then when we have 10 pairs of size 3T pants but no size 6 for a little boy. I think it was also hard b/c we were the first travel group to have come since early August, so there hadn't been a lot of donations brought over, but now that people are moving through the courts a little more on a regular basis, donations should be more regular, and if something doesn't fit with one group, the next group will be here in 2 weeks, and hopefully there will be something in that group.

(Abinet with one of the special mothers)

This afternoon Almaz had set up a tour at a special hospital in Addis. We decided to leave the babies at Hannah's Hope. Which the special mothers were happy about. I don't think I've talked about the special mothers yet...Hannah's Hope hires women to take care of the children. They are given the appropriate title of "special mothers". They are wonderful. They love these children, and even though they know all these children will leave to go one day with their families, they still completely bond and love on these kids, even though they know goodbyes will be hard. At first when Almaz would mention that we should just leave our kids there, we thought oh the special mothers will think we are being lazy or just expecting them to take them on a whim. But Almaz assured us that the mothers actually love having some time with the kids right before they leave. It's hard on them, if we just come in and take them & don't let them have their goodbyes. So anyway, the special mom's were very happy that they had Abinet for the afternoon. We thank God that Abinet was so loved on and cared for! These women are truly angels!

The hospital was only a couple of blocks from Hannah's Hope. It's called the Hamlin Fistula Hospital. I had never heard of fistula before. So what is it? I've copied below the information from the Fistula Foundation website. (please go there for more information)

WHAT IS FISTULA?
The most devastating of all childbirth injuries
An obstetric fistula develops when blood supply to the tissues of the vagina and the bladder (and/or rectum) is cut off during prolonged obstructed labor. The tissues die and a hole forms through which urine and/or feces pass uncontrollably. Women who develop fistulas are often abandoned by their husbands, rejected by their communities, and forced to live an isolated existence.

More than two million women live with fistula
Eradicated in western countries at the end of the 19th century when cesarean section became widely available, obstetric fistula continues to plague women throughout the developing world. It is estimated that there are 100,000 new fistula cases each year, but the international capacity to treat fistula remains at only 6,500 per year. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates the world's population of fistula sufferers at more than two million.

Nerve damage and psychological trauma
The WHO has called fistula “the single most dramatic aftermath of neglected childbirth”. In addition to complete incontinence, a fistula victim may develop nerve damage to the lower extremities after a multi-day labor in a squatting position. Fistula victims also suffer profound psychological trauma resulting from their utter loss of status and dignity.
************************************************************************

The hospital itself was very clean & very well run. The gardens were beautiful! The stories of the women are heartbreaking, but it is great to see how 2 doctors gave their lives to helping these women. The explanation leaves out a couple of things that I think is important to know about the women that come to this hospital. For one, most of them are 14 or 15 years old. Most girls are given to men in engagement when they are 11 and then married off at 14/15. Also most of these women were in labor for over 3 days! some up to 2 weeks, just to end up having a stillbirth. So not only are these women dealing with physical pain, but they are obviously dealing with the loss of their child as well. Any way if you want to find out more like I said before go to their website or there is a book about their story. I've just ordered it & can't wait to read it. It's called "The Hospital By the River" by Dr. Catherine Hamlin.


In the evening two couples from Almaz's church invited us over for dinner. The couples are missionaries from America. One of the couples has been over there for about 1 1/2 the other only 4 months. They cooked us an amazing dinner. It was great to hear some of their experiences as well. There is a chance that we might end up in Ethiopia in the future, & so Jesse & I clung to everything they were saying.


Brandon telling another one of his jokes! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Christmas! We are!

I know this has been going around....but if you ever wanted to see us as elves & have a good laugh...click here. :)

I'll be updating soon.

Love,
amy

Day 3 - November 26, Monday

Today was another emotional day. On the schedule for the day was to go visit the government run orphanage, Enat Alem, and then go to the U.S. embassy for our interview. I had to go to Hannah's Hope in the morning so I could fill out all our paperwork before we went to the embassy. Jesse stayed at the hotel with Abinet so he could nap. After we were all done filling out the paper work I went back to the hotel, so we could quickly eat before we had to leave. While we are sitting at lunch Kim (one of the women we were travelling with) comes in & tells us that we are going to be meeting with Abinet's birthmom at Enat Alem --where we were going in about 30 minutes! Originally we were going to meet with her on Tuesday, and so it definitely threw me for a loop when I realized we would be meeting her in less than an hour. So Jesse & I tried to write down all the questions we had, so we wouldn't forget when we were with her.

Once we got to Enat Alem we all piled out of the van, and there were kids everywhere. They all wanted their picture taken, and then to look at them. (thank God for digital cameras!) As you can see they are beautiful, and we loved seeing their smiles! But they need families! ***this is where you all get the feeling that you need to adopt from Ethiopia!*** :)








I think that most if not all of the children that come to Hannah's Hope come from this orphanage. Abinet was here, we think for about 3 weeks. Going into the babies rooms was hard. There were about 3 to 4 babies to a crib, and they were so lifeless. Some were so little...all looked underfed.


Now I must say this isn't the worst orphanage I have ever seen. It was actually pretty clean, and there were workers in each of the rooms. But it's still hard to see that there are so many children that need families.

We had only been there about 15 minutes when Almaz quickly escorted us to an office. We walked in & there was a young woman standing there. Abinet looked right at her & even reached a little for her. It was very sweet. We could see that he had her eyes. She had such a kind face, and we could tell how much love she had for her son. I'm not going to give any more details, because I believe those are for Abinet. But I will say that the meeting was way too short! We were a little rushed, b/c we had to make sure we made it to our appointments at the embassy. & even though I wrote questions down, I didn't ask half of them. We did tape it, we haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but I hope it turned out. And thanks to our friend Suzy, who let us borrow her Polaroid camera, and so we were able to take pictures of her & Abinet and give them to her right away. Needless to say this was a very emotional meeting, but I am so grateful and honored that we were able to meet her.

We were then rushed off to the U.S. embassy. After going through lots of security. We waited. Then one by one were called up to this window, and asked about 4 questions....and that's it. Very easy. Well at least for most of us. Unfortunately one guy in our group got very sick the night before, and so was not having a very good day, but he was a trooper, but not fun being sick & having to wait around all day.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just resting a bit. That evening, we went with Brandon, Traci, Almaz & Danny to this great Italian restaurant, Makush. It had art work up all over, very beautiful paintings. It was definitely a place for expats. Almost everyone in there was white. So even though it wasn't much of a cultural experience it was fun to get out of the hotel for a while. & just in case you get to got there, I had the tortellini with cream sauce & ham...it was very good! :)

Day 2 - November 25 (Sunday)

Today we got up early..thanks to the chanting coming from the Christian Orthodox church (it started at 4am and went till 9am!). Don't worry if your travelling though it's only this bad on Sundays...the rest of the week you only have to deal with the rooster who's crows every 15 minutes starting at 5am! :)

So we headed over to Hannah's Hope to spend some time with Abinet. Almaz had told some of the caregivers we were worried, & so they all came over that morning and surrounded him, trying to get him to laugh or smile. Well as you can imagine, he just looked at them wondering what the he** they were doing. :) So that didn't help. Almaz took me into her office & just talked with me. I can not tell you enough how amazing Almaz is! I'll do a separate post on her later...b/c she has to have one of her own! but just know she is incredible! I felt 100% better after talking with her. She was so understanding, and explained a little more about how there is a real spiritual warfare going on during this time. She sees it all the time. Satan is not happy about adoption, and is looking for any way he can to take the joy of it away. I hadn't thought of this before, but of course like everything else she says it completely made sense.

So after talking with her, we all felt like we needed some time worshipping God, and so we piled into the van to go to church. Oh yeah, and two other couples came this morning. Stan & Stacey, were adopting a beautiful 5 year old little girl, & Colin & Kim were adopting a 2 1/2 yr old & a 9 month old. It was so fun to witness the reunions of these families. We all left our kids at Hannah's Hope for church, except Stan & Stacey they brought their daughter with us. Church was wonderful. I think we were all emotionally worked up that it was nice to just come back and rest in Our Father's arms. & it was so sweet to see Stan & Stacey and their new little daughter just loving on one another. It brought tears to my eyes.

After church we went to a Starbucks knock off. The signs were even the same. After waiting about 2 hours for our food, we got to try their juices. Jesse got the mixed fruit. It was guava, papaya, & guacamole....yes guacamole. It was thick & warm. sounds yummy, huh! ;) TRAVEL TIP: the orange juice is really good!


After our 3 hour lunch we went back to Hannah's Hope. Abinet was in the babies room in a bouncer chair. I went over to him and as soon as he saw me he smiled and started kicking his legs in excitement. When I reached down for him, he reached for me. Needless to say my heart melted. This was the turning point. We played with him the rest of the afternoon & I got to give him a bath. The water was so hot! but he didn't' seem to mind. We had the option to either take him back with us to the hotel or wait until the next day, but we went ahead and decided to bring him with us tonight. He did great only waking up twice to eat & then right back to sleep. He continued to open up to us...still shyly, but completely different from the day before.


It's amazing how different you can feel in 24 hours. the night before my stomach was in such knots, and then tonight, I was watching him sleep peacefully next to me. Again I am so thankful for the wisdom of Alamz & my travel buddies.

Day 1 - November 24th (Saturday)

We left Friday morning for the airport at 7:15am....luckily we live just 5 minutes from the airport, so we didn't have to wake up too early. When we got there we met a couple we were traveling with, Brandon & Traci. We hit it off right away. This is the family that I had been following their story through their blog, & was disappointed b/c they hadn't made it through court at first...but then at the last minute they got through so we were able to travel together! I was very excited about meeting everyone...& it was so great to start our trip knowing that we were going to make some great friends through this experience. Our flight ended up leaving about 1/2 hour late...not too bad. It was a direct flight, just a refueling stop in Rome. We arrived in Addis at 8:30am on Saturday.

Starting the journey!

While we were in the airport we met one other couple, Heather & Steve. They are so fun! We gathered our bags, and saw AGCI's drivers waiting to pick us up! Walking out of the airport was surreal. It was beautiful. Blue sky, bright sun, perfect temperature. They strapped all our bags on the top of the van, and off we went.


Driving through Addis, reminded us a lot of other countries we had been too, especially Kenya...but it still had it's own personality. The driving for us wasn't too bad...nothing like India! I was very grateful that I didn't have to deal with the whole culture shock thing...the week completely spent me, and I can't imagine how I would've been if I had never been out of the country before.

We were dropped off at the Union Hotel, took showers, & ate some lunch. Travel Tip: For those of you travelling with AGCI...stay at the Union! It's clean...yes, the beds are hard as a rock, but it's so worth being close to Hannah's Hope. It was so convenient for Almaz & for us to just be able to walk up there whenever. There was one family who opted to stay at the Hilton..and I feel like we didn't get to know them at all, which is too bad.



Almaz (the in-country director), met us after lunch and walked with us to Hannah's Hope. Walking through the "All God's Children" gates, was unreal. I couldn't believe that in a few short moments I was going to be able to hold my son...my son, in my arms! UNREAL!



At this time there are just the 3 of us families. Almaz brings us into her office, and then leaves to go get Abinet. A couple minutes later she brings him in to us. I thought I would ball uncontrollably. For those of you who know me, you know i cry at everything! but for whatever reason, I didn't cry.



Again, I think it didn't sink in quite yet for me. We spent the afternoon just holding Abinet. He was really quiet. He just sat and looked at us. We went into the baby room, to play a little, and when we were in there I started getting nervous. All the other babies were smiling at me or giving me something...and yet Abinet was giving us nothing, just blank stares. It was about this time that they took him so he could get a nap, and Almaz told us all to go back to the hotel, rest, and come back the next day. She thought it would be best to give the kids another day to get to know us before we took them back to the hotel, & give us a good nights sleep. Very wise advice!

So we all went back to the hotel. Jesse & I started talking...& we started getting worried. It just seemed to us that something wasn't right. Jesse went back to talk with Almaz. She talked with him, & me the next morning, and just explained that Abinet is at a weird age. He's not old enough to scream or cry that we are strangers, and he's also not young enough to not know that we're strangers. So this was his way of dealing with it. Needless to say that night was rough. I tell you all this, b/c I think I had these expectations in my mind of what it was going to be like, and it didn't really happen. I also have read a ton on bonding/attachment, adoption, etc. & most of the things I have read are for older infants or children, so I was never expecting that a baby would react this way. Of course once Almaz told us this, it completely made sense...of course he wouldn't be "acting" normal. I'm not saying that all babies around this age will do this, but just so if it does, know that it is fine, and it will get better. I feel foolish that I even worried, but it's where we were at the time. I also have to give a big thanks for our travel buddies! They were so great when I burst into tears at breakfast--they now know i'm crazy, but they loved on me anyway! I don't know how I would've gotten through the week without them! So there's day one for you...day two coming soon! :)

We're Back!

okay, so we've actually been back since Friday morning, but in my defense, we all got sick! :( Jesse, Rachel, & I all came down with some type of stomach bug...and Abinet has a cold. Jesse & Rachel are feeling better, it's taking a little longer for me, and Abinet is still pretty congested.

I hope to try to update you all on our trip soon, but here's a couple of pictures for you while you wait!

Hello from Ethiopia! We are here & doing great! Internet has been down, and so this is the first i'm able to write. I won't be able to write a lot, but just wanted you all to know that we are okay. One surprise....Abnet is actually Abinet : ) We've been spending a lot of time at Hannah's Hope. And already were able to meet with Abinet's mom...more to come once we get back. The group we have traveled with is WONDERFUL! We are having so much fun! I can't wait to tell you all everything! & for those of you waiting for referalls...oh man, have I taken lots of pictures! please continue to pray for all of the families....there is definitly some sprititual warfare going on. Everyone's doing good, but it is hard & your prayers would be appreciated.

Not sure if i'll be able to update again before we leave...but we love you all & can't wait to fill you in with everything!

~amy

We're Off

We leave for the airport in about 7 hours! It still hasn't completely hit me yet! Rachel is with my sister for Thanksgiving, so I had to say goodbye to her on Wednesday. It was really weird, I just kept thinking how this was the last time it would just be the three of us...it's just weird that the next time we'll see Rachel we'll have her little brother with us! Very exciting!

Here's a schedule to give you a little bit of an idea of what we'll be doing while we are in Ethiopia.

Saturday: we'll arrive Saturday morning, and get to go to Hannah's Hope and meet Abnet!
Sunday: we'll go to church in the morning, and then have some free time in the afternoon.
Monday: Today we'll do all of our paperwork & go to the embassy to apply for Abnet's visa.
Tuesday: We'll have a chance to go the a government run orphanage, and also to a hospital.
Wednesday: Our visa should be ready today.
Thursday: Leave this evening.
Friday: arrive back in D.C. @7:30am

I'm not sure if we will be able to blog while we are in Ethiopia. I've heard rumors that blogger doesn't work while you are there, so we'll have to see.

Thanks for all your prayers! We are so excited and a little nervous, but we just can't wait till we are there!

Metrobaby

I just have to tell you about the sling I just got. I've been talking about getting one for a while, but for one I've been a little overwhelmed with my choices, and two, I'm a procrastinator. :) So even though I'm leave in a few days I hadn't bought one yet. So anyway I'm talking with my friend the other day how I was wanting one, and she tells me how she used to work with a girl who makes them. She forwards me the website. I go on, and am pleasantly surprised. For one they are very cute. There are a lot of different patterns (uh oh, more choices) & they weren't $100 which was what I was finding else where. So I decide to buy one. But as I'm typing in all the details I get nervous that I might not get it in time, so I write an email to the company telling them my situation. I get a call 30 minutes later. The lady tells me that she would be more than willing to meet me at the Target close to my house, and bring me one! So 1 hour later, I'm home with a new beautiful sling, and I even got a free lesson on how to use it! Very cool! Let's just hope Abnet likes it too.

This is the pattern that I got. (it's reversible too!)

What Are You Thankful For?

Rachel came home from school with this today...


it just made me smile.

I'm A Genius!

Not really but according to "The blog readablitly test" you have to be a genius in order to understand my blog. WHAT?! I saw this on my friend Julie's blog. At first I didn't want to try it, b/c I was a little afraid what would come back something like "preschool level"...i was definitely not expecting this. But you know, I just had to face the facts... I mean these things are very reliable, and hey if you're reading my blog... it means your a genius! I knew I had smart friends! :)

7 DAYS!!!!

okay I know it's been a while since I've posted anything...but things are going as you probably figured...CRAZY!!! I can not believe we leave in a week! I'm trying to get our house in order, b/c while we are gone, my parents (who live overseas) are coming into town and will be staying here w/ Rachel. So I also need to have everything written out for them, so they know when & where Rachel needs to be at things that week.

We also have a dog, and being that we are leaving Thanksgiving weekend, but didn't know until a couple of weeks ago, ALL kennels are full. It's crazy...they book up at least 6 weeks before Thanksgiving! But thankfully, we've had a couple of offers from the teenagers we have discipleship with that they would be willing to watch her...let's just hope their parents think it's a good idea too! :) So other than that, this weekend is going to continue to be crazy! We are going to try to get everything packed this weekend, squeezing everything into 4 bags. (hopefully most of the bags will be full of stuff for Hannah's Hope.)

This weekend is also a sad weekend for us, b/c our good friends (who also are our church's youth pastor & wife) are moving. So we are going to a couple of goodbye parties for them, but I just can't seem to get my head around that they are really leaving. It's been hard too, b/c we've been so busy with getting ready for Abnet that I feel like we haven't really been able to be there for them. Please pray for them as they make this transition. (& us too as we will miss them terribly)

Something To Be Thankful For

We have tickets! We are leaving Friday, November 23rd at 9:30am!!!!!!! So we will be nice and stuffed as we get on our long plane ride. We'll get back on Friday the 30th at 7:20am. I can't believe this time has come. & I have so much to do!

For all those of you out there who have already done this...give me advice on what I need to make sure I bring or do! Thanks!

oh yeah, and good job on the 5 of you out there that guessed right!

Big Sis

We got this great shirt in the mail from Jesse's sis. Thank you Melanie!
Rachel is so excited to be a big sister. Yes, her world is going to change more then she realizes, but I think overall she is going to be great. & boy does she need a sibling! She's been an only for a little too long. :)


& speaking of family, we have been truly blessed to have our family support us fully in our journey. Everyone is so excited to meet Abnet & we are so grateful that he will be loved on by everyone. It's heartbreaking to hear others' stories about how they've struggled with families who not only don't understand why they are adopting, but why they would be adopting a child of a different color. So thank you family for loving us (including Rachel & Abnet) in such a wonderful way!

Happy Halloween!

At the pumpkin patch
Cleaning out the pumpkins...it took Rachel a while to think that this was actually going to be fun
The finished product

Rachel's preschool party

Our cute little bunny

Sorting all the candy

Hope you all had a fun day!