We have some catching up to do on our blog so I think we'll just hit the highlights of the last few weeks. We last left off with collection donations for our first trip. Since then we have traveled, went to court for the adoption, returned home and have begun getting ready for our children to arrive home. What an amazing first trip we had!! If I had to summarize our trip in one word it would be AWE. In Awe of God. We are in awe of the children God has placed in our family, we are in awe of the wonderful people He has taking care of them at HH, we are in awe of how are children responded to us (an answer to prayer), we are in awe of the gift of PASSING COURT!!!!!, we are in awe of the generosity of God's people who poured out donations to HH...so much so that we will be bringing donations on our second trip as well. We are humbled by God's blessing of smooth flights, good health while traveling and for the most part, good sleep through major time changes. :-) We are in awe of God's sustaining hand as we saw many people who live in hard places, filled with great joy. The Ethiopian people are truly beautiful people. We LOVED our time in Ethiopia for many different reasons. The whole week felt as though we had front row seats to the marvelous unveiling of God's great plan. We were very aware of His presence and His sovereign hand. Truly a humbling...awe inspiring journey.
The greatest joy was meeting little man and baby girl. Oh! How I wish each of you could meet these precious children. I do not think our time with them could have been any better than it was. Little man was very engaging. He is full of life, laughter and fun. He has a very caring spirit about him and is amazing with baby girl. ( Less you think I'm unrealistic about little man, we did witness him teasing baby girl so yes, he is NORMAL! ) We were able to communicate fairly well even though we did not speak each others language. Through hand motions and eye contact, were able to have great fun swinging, playing soccer, coloring, doing puzzles, giving piggy back rides, dancing, singing and learning about each other. We were concerned with what little man knew/understood about the adoption process but again, God answered our prayer. At one point, someone asked little man "who are these people?" pointing to my husband and daughters. Little man says, "this is my father and those are my sisters". (Thank you, Lord!!!) Such huge transitions for their young minds, yet, God in His kindness, is preparing them.
We also enjoyed our time with baby girl. She was not so excited about us at first which is to be expected. I find it very normal that a two year old is leery of strangers. However, after some time of calming her and little man reassuring her, baby girl warmed up to us...and whatever treats we had. :-)Vegie puffs, pez candy, and bread are big hits with baby girl. She wooed us all with her adorable scrunchy nose smile, her giggle and her two year old Amharic. She was a dress up diva who loved the camera! I was able to put her down for a nap a few days and to give her a bath. Both which were easy breezy thanks to the wonderful guidance she receives from the special mothers at HH. Those special mothers should be called SPECTACULAR mothers. They are amazing with all the children. It is very evident that healing begins in the hearts of the children because of the love of all the staff at HH.
Since returning home, we have stared at their picture, finished getting their rooms ready, purhased BOY clothes (a new thing for me), looked at their pictures, ordered crib sheets, made Ethiopian foods and been mesmerized by their pictures. (seeing a theme here?) This waiting part is VERY hard. We miss them and long to weave them into our family life, just as they have been woven into our hearts.
We are currently waiting for new birth certificates for our kiddos which will bear our last name. Once these are received and visa physicals occur, our file will be submitted to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. At that point, we WAIT for the embassy to either grant us a visa appointment, request more information or refer our file to a USCIS office in Niarobi. We are praying an appointment is granted without further delay. We will then return to Ethiopia and bring our sweet children HOME!!!.
The greatest joy was meeting little man and baby girl. Oh! How I wish each of you could meet these precious children. I do not think our time with them could have been any better than it was. Little man was very engaging. He is full of life, laughter and fun. He has a very caring spirit about him and is amazing with baby girl. ( Less you think I'm unrealistic about little man, we did witness him teasing baby girl so yes, he is NORMAL! ) We were able to communicate fairly well even though we did not speak each others language. Through hand motions and eye contact, were able to have great fun swinging, playing soccer, coloring, doing puzzles, giving piggy back rides, dancing, singing and learning about each other. We were concerned with what little man knew/understood about the adoption process but again, God answered our prayer. At one point, someone asked little man "who are these people?" pointing to my husband and daughters. Little man says, "this is my father and those are my sisters". (Thank you, Lord!!!) Such huge transitions for their young minds, yet, God in His kindness, is preparing them.
We also enjoyed our time with baby girl. She was not so excited about us at first which is to be expected. I find it very normal that a two year old is leery of strangers. However, after some time of calming her and little man reassuring her, baby girl warmed up to us...and whatever treats we had. :-)Vegie puffs, pez candy, and bread are big hits with baby girl. She wooed us all with her adorable scrunchy nose smile, her giggle and her two year old Amharic. She was a dress up diva who loved the camera! I was able to put her down for a nap a few days and to give her a bath. Both which were easy breezy thanks to the wonderful guidance she receives from the special mothers at HH. Those special mothers should be called SPECTACULAR mothers. They are amazing with all the children. It is very evident that healing begins in the hearts of the children because of the love of all the staff at HH.
Since returning home, we have stared at their picture, finished getting their rooms ready, purhased BOY clothes (a new thing for me), looked at their pictures, ordered crib sheets, made Ethiopian foods and been mesmerized by their pictures. (seeing a theme here?) This waiting part is VERY hard. We miss them and long to weave them into our family life, just as they have been woven into our hearts.
We are currently waiting for new birth certificates for our kiddos which will bear our last name. Once these are received and visa physicals occur, our file will be submitted to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. At that point, we WAIT for the embassy to either grant us a visa appointment, request more information or refer our file to a USCIS office in Niarobi. We are praying an appointment is granted without further delay. We will then return to Ethiopia and bring our sweet children HOME!!!.
What a beautiful note to read - I am so thrilled for your family and the blessings you all are continuing to receive. Cannot wait to hear of your next appointment and subsequent homecoming. :)
ReplyDelete