Mondays & Wednesdays

People tell you that you should take adoption one day at a time... this is not true. Since being in Addis, our world has existed only for Mondays and Wednesdays. Family court, which we attended while we were there (a very disappointing adventure), occurs on Mondays. Each Monday we wait with anticipation hoping that good news will come. So far we continue to wait. Wednesdays typically bring updates from our agency. An update means a health update and two wonderful photos of our beautiful daughter trapped in her native country until the process works itself out. So the direction to take things one day at a time is complete and utter BS... for us, this process consists of Mondays and Wednesdays.

My beautiful baby!

Oh how I miss her!

We Pray

Please pray that we pass court soon.

Pray until the Answer comes

That was the title of our one minute devotion today.

I should first say that I am not someone who reads the gospel on a daily basis or on a monthly basis for that matter, but my mother-in-law gave my husband a book called "The power of Prayer" for his birthday last night and I can't put it down. I don't know if it's because right now I feel as though I can do nothing but pray or if it's because I've always secretly wanted to know HOW to pray. Either way I feel compelled to read each page and to do what it says...I want my child home and I feel like this book was given to us to help me through this waiting period.

When I opened it up to today's devotional I couldn't help but laugh at the title because I have been questioning whether my prayers were going to be answered or not. We are four weeks and counting past our court date and still have not "passed." It is getting harder everyday to keep the faith, but I am reading these devotions in hopes that I will find the strength I need to continue.

While we did not get news of court today I did get an email that was much needed. Our friend Rachel's, whom we met in Ethiopia (Evi's mom), mother sent me a very sweet and loving message. Reading her words brought tears to my eyes...her email came at a time for me when I was doubting the meaning of this journey. She, Kathy, reminded me just why we chose to go down roads less traveled. We meet people along these roads that change our lives. We meet people that we never knew existed before and we are better for it. Rachel, Joel and Kathy are amazing people and I am so glad to have met them. We now have family in Wisconsin and I couldn't be happier about that.


(Evi, Rachel and her father Joel)

4

Last night we took our last anti- Malaria meds...it marked the fourth week home and still waiting to pass court.

There is alot going on in Ethiopia right now and we are just praying that we pass court and bring our little A.J. home as soon as possible!! Please pray for the children in Ethiopia and that A.J. comes home fast! -Mama 2 be!

Happy 8th month birthday baby girl!! Oh how we miss you!!

He guarded the children with his life! Such generous people.

Just a few pictures of the foster home on laundry day, which was everyday! Also some of the public school kiddos behind the foster home! I want to be back there soooo badly!

Travel day 8 and 9

6:20/6:21

We did not pass court today. Our MOWA letter was not present and we are needing another document in order to pass. Very frustrating and sad to us. We spent most of the day in a bad fog and felt very upset about spending one of our last days with our daughter in this mood. The lawyer tried to persuade us that these documents would be easy to get but we knew better...too many late nights on yahoo groups to get that past us lol! The foster home did not allow visitors until a while after we got out of court so we went to eat lunch first. We went to Island Breeze again and yet again did not feel the breeze. lol. Once lunch was over we got to go see our sweet little girl who was still having some trouble teething..poor thing. (on a side note- our friend Rachel passed court and is now the legal parent of her beautiful Evi!!!! We are so glad for her!!!!)

Last day-Today is our last day with our daughter. I hate even writing those words. I have been sick today and just want to throw up! Not fun on the last day you get to hold your daughter for God knows how long, sigh. Grrrr...today has been terrible! Although it seemed as though being sick kept me from realizing that today was our last day. So that's a plus- I guess...

I said goodbye to my daughter today. I cried in my husbands arms and he cried with me. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do! I became so upset that the illness that had overtaken me reared its ugly head. I got sick right there in the foster home; thankfully I made it to the bathroom just in time. After what seemed like an eternity we all loaded up in Joni's car and drove away. I felt surrounded by love as I looked around and noticed that no one else in the car had a dry eye. It was a very safe place to cry and share our pain. I made friends for life in that car ride. I made friends for life in Ethiopia. I will never forget one second of our trip. It was the trip of a lifetime and I do have to say that I have one gorgeous daughter!!! God bless Ethiopia!



Rachel and Evi, Joel (Rachel's father) and April and Micah.



Joni, Michael, Shaun and April and Me.


Michael and A.J.



Coffee ceremony on the last day.

Travel day 5/6 and 7

6/17, 6/18, 6/19

Day 5/6-I forgot to write yesterday...Michael was sick and so I was the only one who was able to go see A.J. in the afternoon. :( Today we went to the foster home and spent some time with our adorable little girl!! She is too cute for words!! Since Michael was sick for the second half of our visits yesterday I "let" him have more time with A.J. than me...lol aren't I nice?? :) After our morning visits we went to have lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant...yes ITALIAN!! IT was delicious!!

After lunch we did a little shopping. We went to the Mercado and bought a traditional dress for A.J. to wear when she is a little older! It is so cute! After our short shopping trip it was time to go back to the foster home and love on our daughter some more! When we said goodbye to her for the night we went to eat at the Island Breeze. The name of the restaurant is a bit of a joke however because it was super hot and cloudy in there!! Food and company was great though! After supper on our way back to the guesthouse we heard music and dancing going on in the streets. It is a whole different city at night.

Tomorrow Joni is going to take us to church! We are very excited to experience this!
We will also get to meet Joni's wife! We have heard such great things about her from Joni that we are super excited to meet her!

Day 7- Today is father's day and we are going to church in Ethiopia-how great is that?? Joni took us to the Orthodox church, his church, and we were able to experience a short bit of that service. The service took place outside and all the women wore white dresses and shawls to cover their heads. It was beautiful! We even got to meet Joni's wife, the boss! She was very very sweet and welcomed us with open arms! Next Joni took us to the church of Michael...My husband, Michael, loved this! lol. In Ethiopia today was the festival of St. Michael and they were having a "party" on the street leading up to the church of Michael. It was amazing to see! The crowd was so large we couldn't even get into the church! After all of the sight-seeing Joni drove us to the foster home to spend some time with our daughter on father's day.

A.J. seemed to be teething today. She kept her fingers in her mouth almost the entire time we saw her. Poor girl, but she kept a smile on her face and laughed like she didn't hurt a bit! She is such a good girl. We just want to get her home already!! -Mama 2 be!

Travel day 3 and 4

6-15-11, 6-16-11

Well the "next" few hours of the flight did not fly by, ugh. My stomach was in knots and it seemed as though it would never settle down. I am severely jet lagged today but am still very excited that today we meet our daughter for the first time!

Today we met our beautiful A.J.!! It was very surreal driving up to the foster home and having them open the gates for us to come in. It didn't seem real until we were ushered up the stairs. Sister showed us up to her room and walked us right over to her crib. She was just lying there awake staring at us. I had to take a step back because she looked so differently than all of the photos we had received thus far. She was far more beautiful than I could've ever imagined! Her big round eyes just kept darting between my husband and myself. I immediately asked if I could pick her up and was told "of course!!" She began smiling as soon as I picked her up; as if she knew who we were already. Despite her being transferred from Awassa, nearly 6 hours away, she was as happy as she could be! Her laugh was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard! The next few hours with her went like a dream. We began to realize that she is definitely our child, she did not want to be put down! She was beginning to become spoiled already!

As we drove back to the guesthouse it became apparent to me that A.J. was a very lucky girl to have been born in Ethiopia but also very lucky to have more than most Ethiopians. She will have a roof over her head and three meals everyday when she comes home. She will not have to worry about clean water or malaria. However, as lucky as she is to be coming to America we are ten times more lucky than she to have her coming into our lives. She is a miracle and we are so grateful to the country of Ethiopia and her birth mother for giving us this little blessing. She is our pride and joy.

The streets of Ethiopia are a sad sight and definitely make me feel grateful for all I have. Even while staying in Ethiopia we are far better off than most because we have bottled water and walls made of concrete. We have a guard who watches over our guest home day and night and we have someone to make our meals for us. We are very grateful to all of the people who have already gone out of their way to make our stay here the best possible stay. Of all of these people we are the most grateful to our driver, translator, body guard and most of all our friend Joni. He has shown us God. He has shown us generosity at its best. We have already been blown away by his caring nature and we haven't even been here three days! He is a great, great man and I must say if you are going to Ethiopia ask for Joni- most people know who he is! He laughs with us and crys with us- he is our "cousin" now as he puts it. We love him like family!

So far Ethiopia has been wonderful! We cannot wait to come back! -Mama 2 be