Happy to be Home, but left part of our HEARTS in Ethiopia!

Well, we are back home! Man, that is a longer flight coming home. We clocked over 24 hours of travel time between the last 2 days! We only lost 3 bags this flight (I don't know what it is with our family and loosing luggage, but we are becoming quite the experts at this! LOL) 2 of the 3 lost bags were delivered tonight and the 3rd bag went to Texas (which has my laptop charger in it((Argh!!!)) Oh well, what do you do?

Overall the trip was FANTASTIC! You know it was a success and we have an email asking for our last payment to our Adoption Agency! Woo Hoo!So after this check is written this morning all we have left are our travel fee's for the next journey over and our Embassy fees!!!

WE PASSED COURT if you didn't already catch that in the last post! So, the way I understand it all (room for error- so there is my disclaimer), is that we NEED to get that stinking piece of paper back from Immigration with an Approval (it was entered into the system sometime last week, so we just wait that all of that gets approved.) Also, in the next few weeks our agency staff in Ethiopia will be obtaining his birth certificate, his passport, and submitting our case to the Embassy for review. After they approve everything, then we can book our travel for our return trip once a spot is available within our agency. More than likely, it looks like our travel time will be in January, IF all continues to move along smoothly.


That seems like a REALLY long time to us, that was until we talked to people that we met in Ethiopia that have been wrapped in their adoption process for years (NOT with our agency)...

Literally YEARS... I can't even imagine!

We met another couple who went to travel for their court date like we did (also NOT with our agency) and they found out when they got there that there was a problem with the paperwork; they were planning on staying in country until the adoption was complete, and are now staring at a March 2011 timeframe. And they are staying in country until then! Wow, ok, no more whining from me. BUT we desperately MISS our little guy!


We are just praying so hard that God will protect his heart. We are here with so many distractions(like getting his room ready, preparing for the holdiays, running our kids around everywhere and living life, etc)and he just WAITS in the orphange for us to come back and get him. Man, I hope he really BELIEVES we are coming! We LOVED the orphanage where he is staying (as much as you can love an orphange) and all the people and the kids there, BUT it is really so hard when he tells the orphange director that he doesn't want us to go and that he wants to go with us. And SOMEHOW you have to walk away and trust that is really WILL all happen. We definitely left a LARGE chunk of our hearts in Ethiopia. It was all we could really leave with him and we pray he doesn'f forget our promise to come back for him. It was a VERY emotional plane ride, half way around the world yesterday, for both of us, actually probably for all 3 of us. (Here come the tears again...) We already miss him so!!!

Look at this sweet face-- how do you NOT fall in LOVE with him instantly?

He just has the sweetest heart, and the sweetest smile, and the sweetest ooh's and ahhh's.... We miss that so much already. He has the sweetest baby boy voice, and is overcome with emotion and lights up like a Christmas tree when he sees his Daddy!


He picked out jeans to wear the last day we were there because he wanted pants like his daddy's! :) He pees more than anyone we have ever met (14 stairs one way, everytime he needs to go!) He knows to push up his sleeves and wash his hands afterwards without even being prompted. He LOVES to brush his teeth-- can't rememeber that last time I saw anyone that EXCITED about a toothbrush and toothpaste (Thanks Lily!)
He loves to talk about cars and dogs (makeeena's and woo-sha's). He LOVED looking at his pictures and reciting who was who in his picture book! While we were in court, he took the nanny to our room to show her his things. He showed her his toys, his blanket, his pajamas, his sippy cup, and his photo album. She said he was so sweet, and wanted to show her his mommy, his daddy, his brother, his sister and his doggies! The staff just fell in love with him- almost as much as we did! :)



His english was very limited, but by the end of the week we had made HUGE strides! We had learned some Amharic and he had learned a lot of English! He got lots of practice counting to 14 (remember those 14 steps to our bathroom?-LOL) He could say Robby and Caitlin's names and he pretty much was copying everything we said! "You are so silly" was one of my favorites!!!

He loved taking a bath and playing with his tub toys and getting the lotion and oil rub down aftewards!

He LOVES pajamas, his underwear, and socks, and shoes. All the things that we take for granted here in America were such a BIG deal!!! He kept ALL of his stuff stashed in his backpack and he carried it around with him EVERYWHERE around the guesthome!

We joked thinking he would try to sleep with his backpack in his bed! (It rested next to his bed,and was the first thing he checked on each morning he woke up to make sure it was still there!) He is a REALLY good sleeper (10-11 hours each night!)

He LOVES injeria, pizza, pasta, grilled cheese, frenchfries, eggs, peanut butter crackers,egg and cheese crossiants, bananna's, tea and Mirandas. Ok, he had a taste of a SNICKERS bar too. :)

The "what he will eat part once he gets home" should be easy!! Yay! I was a little worried about that!

He loves his teddy bear too (his baby!)

His "baby" loves to kiss and was kept warm by his blanket during the day! He loves to color, watch Thomas the Train, look at his view finder,play with his makena's (cars) and play with playdough! Hours among hours of play and fun!



There are just so many things that I want to share with all of you, but these are just a few memories that stand out with the little sleep that I have had in the last few days! Man, I can't wait to be more tired than this when we make that trek back home with him! I know that kind of travel with a toddler doesn't sound like fun, but we would jump on a plane tomorrow to go get him and bring him home forever!!!

Thanks to all of your prayers!! Thanks for all of your support!!

If you would continue to pray that the rest of our process moves swiftly, then we would be forever greatful!!

We know GOD has had his hand in this adoption from the beginning, so we are leaning on his strength and his timing of bringing this little boy into our home forever!

Love you bunhces little Mamo and we are praying sooo hard that you will be with us VERY soon...and FOREVER!!!! You are already part of this family and it is soo hard to be away from you!!! We will be there soon!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy!