Life, Love and Laughter: 2013

After a crazy couple of LONG days traveling to Ethiopia, we finally got to meet our sweet smiley girl after months of seeing picture after picture of her sad-looking little face. Friday, July 29th started out like any other day. Another day of waiting for word that the court had our MOWA letter and we had a court date. Not only that but the court was scheduled to close August 6th and on that Friday it looked like we were going to be stuck waiting until the court reopened in the fall for our court date.

But then, at 10:00 am, we got a call from our agency that changed everything. Alicia started off the call with we had a court date! Oh, and could we be in Ethiopia by Wednesday? My reply? "Ummmm, let me see if we can get tickets." I call you back. I immediately got on the phone and called the travel agent we used when we went to get Hannah. She said she'd get right to work on it and call me back with some quotes. After an hour with no word, this determined mamma took matters into her own hands and called ASAP tickets for a quote. After an hour and 20 minutes on the phone with Hakim (love this guy and his determination), he finally found us two tickets to Ethiopia, arriving at 12:15 AM Wednesday morning. It took 3 flights, 3 Countries and 3 five-hour waits (obviously good things come in threes) but we finally arrived and with all our luggage too!

We exited the terminal to find our driver from the guest house. After asking a couple of the many drivers gathered in the parking lot, we finally found Yosef and made our way to the car. As we tried to ~~cram~~ put the luggage in the trunk I was thinking good thing we travel light! Soon we were on our way to the Addis Guest House. We got all checked in and by 2:00 am were finally sleeping. By 7:00 am we were up and getting ready to go meet our girl. Who needs sleep when you are finally this close to holding your child after months of waiting. :) We had a quick breakfast at the guest house and some coffee (definitely needed) and then found our driver Yonas and were of to the Thomas Center.

When we arrived we met Sister Letti. Apparently, our visit was a surprise as she wasn't told we would be arriving Wednesday. No worries though, she told us Blen would be so excited to see us. Sister Lertti told us that she had been asking every day "When are MY mom and dad going to come see me?" Today's the day little girl!

We followed Sister Letti over to the school room and there she was standing in the front row. She was so tiny with a shy little smile creeping across her face. The children sang us a welcome song and then the teacher had her say her ABCs and name all her body parts in English. The teacher also held up various plastic fruits and food and asked what they were in English. She would hold a piece up and ask What is this? Blen would say "this I know, this is ___________, for every piece the teacher held up. Too cute!

After showing us what she was learning, we got to spend time getting to know our little girl. At first she was shy with a just few smiles as we colored and played. Soon she was letting us hold her and running around the room playing hide and seek with Daddy. When he'd find her, she would squeal, laugh and run to Mommy for safety. :) She was so sweet and I loved how when she dropped something she would say "Oy!" I think her favorite thing of the day was the stickers. Her favorite people, mommy, daddy, Simret, her nanny and Sister Letti all got two stickers. Then she doled them out to the other kids. As the kids tried to grab for a sticker, our little girl showed a spunky side of her telling them all to wait and that she would hand them out. Soon it was time to go for the day. Not to worry little girl we'll be back tomorrow.

Next we went shopping. Yonas took us to the market to buy traditional dress for the girls, coffee, a sefed for making injera and a few other things to take back with us. We also made a stop at a local grocery store for berbere, shiro, kolo and other spices and foods to have on hand when Blen comes home. Once we finished our shopping it was back to the Guest House to rest.

The next morning we went back to the Thomas Center after breakfast and spent another couple of hours with Blen. She was so much fun. She colored, showed us how she could jump rope (almost) and played a lot of hide and seek with Daddy. She also figured out iPhones and liked to play on a little preschool app that loaded for her. It took her a little bit to get the swipe motion down. At first she kept tapping hard on the screen with her finger and couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. Soon she got it down and figured out how to play the games all without knowing any English. Smart girl!

Soon it was time for lunch. Blen led the grace and did an amazing job. She was confident and honored. So special to see this side of our girl. After the grace, we gave her kisses and headed off for another day of shopping and sightseeing. Today's shopping highlight was the adorable Ethiopian rag dolls complete with traditional clothes that we bought for each of the girls. :)

Friday, court day, but first another visit to our girl! By now we were settling into a daily playtime routine. More coloring, hide and seek, catch with her care bear and iPhone time. Then we headed back to the Guest House to change and get ready for court. We met Yonas downstairs for the drive to the court. We arrived about 15 minutes later and made our way to the court waiting area. As we waited, we hoped our agency representative would soon arrive. Thankfully Yonas was there which really helped put us more at ease as we waited for Naty. Soon, Naty arrived and a short time later we were ushered into the judge's chambers. She asked about 5 questions and then said the words we had been longing to hear for over a year "Congratulations on your new daughter." :) After court, we went back to the guest house to change clothes and then off to lunch to celebrate!

The next morning arrived too fast as we drove through the city to the Thomas Center one last time to visit Blen. Today, she was more subdued knowing that her new mommy and daddy were going home. Mommy spent as much of our play time as possible holding her girl and giving her hugs trying to fill her up for the weeks ahead. Leaving her was the hardest thing EVER. She looked so sad and my heart was breaking. I held off the tears until we got in the car, and then they came.

Afterward Yonas took us on a city tour. We visited Entoto mountain, the National Museum, the market and a few churches. It was nice to see the sights because last time when we were in Ethiopia to bring Hannah home we did not get the opportunity to see the city. Later we went back to the Guest House, finished up our packing and then headed to the airport to begin the long trek home. Back to Hannah, back to work, back to normal routines , almost. Because it isn't normal when one of your children is half way across the world and you can't hold them, comfort them, be with them. We hope the weeks go by quickly but already we have run into more issues as new processes are implemented at the embassy. One family put it so well, 2 steps forward and 10 back. Sure is how it feels. Praying for miracles and that we are submitted to embassy soon and that the embassy clears our case quickly because there is a little girl who has waited almost 8 months already and is so ready for her family to come and get her! As soon as they say the word baby girl, we are on our way to bring you home!