Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! We had a good nights sleep last night and we needed it! Friday night we only slept about 5 hours after being up for 36….needless to say, Matt was falling asleep sitting up while visiting with the baby yesterday. Jet lag is no joke!!! Suddenly jumping ahead 9 hours after watching the sun set, rise, and set again from planes is strange!
We woke up yesterday in awe that we had actually made it here! When we got here Friday night, it was about 9:30pm so we couldn’t see the city….waking up yesterday and opening the curtains to the massive windows in our hotel room was amazing!
The mountains in the distance are so beautiful, but they are quickly covered up by the haze. We had a good breakfast here at the hotel….coffee is SOOOO good! Thick and black, but not bitter at all! Matt was shocked that I like it.
Our driver/translator/bodyguard, David, was to arrive at 10:00am to take up to meet our baby and my goodness, I don’t know if the clock ever crept by as slow as it did to 10:00! But, he was right on time and off we went. We went down this little alley and he pulled up to a tall gate….every house has a tall solid fence around it with a gate entry. Our driver knocked on the gate and this cute old man opened the door and into the courtyard we went, where all these little kids were playing.
Our baby is already at the transition house and has been for two month, which we did not know but were happy about. The kids at the transition house already have families waiting on them, which is so comforting. We went into a little office where they told us they would go tell the nannies we were here to see her. She was sleeping, so they had to wake her up….I felt kinda bad about that! Then, just like that, she said, “ok, you can go see your baby!” We walked into the infant room and there she was, being held by a sweet nanny just beaming as she handed her over to me! (gosh, now I’m crying again!) She looked just like the picture I have shown so many of you since August! So beautiful…huge eyes, beautiful skin, a little bit of curly soft hair, and SOOOOO tiny!!! She was wearing a newborn outfit! I was shocked.
The scale there is broken, but I’m guessing she is about 10 pounds at 7 months old. Also, the first thing this mommy felt was the serious rattle in her chest as I had my hands around her tiny body and her breathing sounded like a slow cat purr. After a few minutes, I said something to the nanny about it, and she went and got the nurse/doctor that is there everyday but Sunday. She listened to her and said she definitely has fluid in her lungs and immediately went and got her an antibiotic to start her on twice a day. I was so relieved. I just couldn’t believe she was finally in my arms! She was so good and definitely fine with us loving her to pieces. We weren’t there 30 minutes and she was already sleeping again while Matt was holding her. It was so amazing!!!
She is so beautiful!!! ….and I’m not just being biased! They let us take her outside for some “just us” time and it was wonderful. She loves being outside and looking at everything.
We stayed for a couple of hours and then let her eat and take a nap, while we went to get some lunch….yummy pizza….and went driving around looking for an electrical converter. (side note – we have not had good luck with our electrical converters – we’ve burned up two of the 220 to 110 boxes, our fan, and my beloved flat iron. Looks like it frizzy hair and pony tails for me for the rest of the week!) Driving around in this city is beyond overwhelming! I thought the plane ride would be scary….that wasn’t anything compared to the driving in this city!! There are no traffic rules….it’s just kind of a free-for-all and whoever pushes ahead first, much to the other driver’s dismay, you win the right to go first. Oh my!!! Everyone is honking at everyone, people just walk right out into the street without looking for cars….it’s like slowing down or yielding shows weakness or something.
And there are NO seatbelts for Matt and I in the driver’s car! After a while, all the beggers and mothers on the street with their babies was really getting to me….I was ready to get out of that car and back to the transition house. I know it’s the reality here and I want to experience it, but goodness it’s sad. But the people are so beautiful, though and I’m so glad we are here!
Today, we are going to the International Evangelical Church….the pastor is apparently from North Carolina. Then we will change and grab a quick lunch, then it’s off for more baby girl time!!! YAY!!!
Court is at 9:00am Tuesday morning….12am Texas time. Please be in prayer for that before you go to bed Monday night, that all would go well and hopefully we will be able to pass that same day. It’s very common for people to not pass on their court date due to any little reason, but is usually resolved quickly and without the family having to be here. Oh, but it would be nice to hear the judge say “she is yours!” on Tuesday!
We love you all and can feel you prayers! Thank you so much!! Please keep them coming. We miss the boys like crazy, but know they are in good hands with Honey. I’m off to breakfast and to get ready for church!
….baby girl, you are everything and more than we dreamed of. You are were meant for us….our gift from God. Thank you for the few sweet little smiles and for letting us love on you. We are so blessed to be yours!!!
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