We have been experiencing Christmas again here. Yesterday was Christmas at the Rees house. We all woke up before Tad. Jeremy went in and slept on Zadyn's bunk till Tad woke up so he wasn't lost since he fell asleep in the car on the way home from the airport. We decided not to wake him and just let him sleep.
But he slept great! And he woke up about 9:30 as if he had been asking for over a year for one thing... a family. He came sliding out ready to explore his new house! He was most excited about the wosha's our dogs. His favorite is "Buna". He can carry Buna. But hasn't gotten the concept that the wosha has a name.The first thing he asks for before he even gets out of bed is his shoes. He has to have shoes on no matter what! And is so excited about clothes. He didn't get to take anything with him. He brought a pillowcase with him and that is it. So he is thrilled that he gets to pick what shoes or clothes he gets to wear! Zadyn decided to go out and bring in a cup of sleet to show him and Tad kept saying co cazza!!! Which is COLD!! Tad is adjusting so well. Each moment for Tad is as if he is unwrapping a new package. He likes getting water out of our refrigerator, he likes light switches, and is excited that water comes out of facets. He likes feeding his food to the wosha's the dogs. LOL I got him a tooth brush which he had never had. He had only used his finger. It scared Zadyn because Tad's teeth are so sensitive he started brushing and his teeth started bleeding, and Zadyn freaked out. But he's a good big brother and was there to help Tad! Awe! But Tad's tooth brush is a Thomas the train and it plays a song, it has been going since I brought it home. Tad has the song memorized now. He keeps singing it. How cute! We gave Buna a bath and then he decided he needed one too! And loves baths! He likes to be head first blowing bubbles.
I am amazed with his transition. He is so happy. He loves us so much and us him. Zadyn has had some issues losing his spot as the baby of the family, but we are hanging out today. Lexie came today to take Awan to a movie so she was thrilled! And Tadios is watching his first movie Veggie Tales and is laughing and giggling! My aunt and uncle and cousin and Mam-maw came yesterday and Tad was so great with them. He colored a beautiful picture, better than I could do! He can count 1-10 in English and Amharic and knows most of his colors. He acts older at times than 4 but he has times he acts younger too.
He is silly! He runs outside when he has the chance! Around the bushes and has no regard for the road. We run after him and chase him down! LOL.
Tad has brought us back to the simple things. He is showing us joy in the simple things of cleaning up dishes and the joy he finds in doing it for his Family. He is loving it! It's his excitement in things he's never seen, like ceiling fans, slides and certain food. Yesterday and today has been Christmas again through the eyes of Tadios and the joy of a little boy who has wanted only one thing. His family.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Recap of an Amazing Trip!
So much has happen over the last 5 days I can't begin to capture it all in words for you but I will try! Before we started our journey to Ethiopia, my emotions were going crazy. The US Embassy had just changed things. Before they would assign a date for you and then you would travel accordingly. The Embassy in Ethiopia was only doing adoption work on Tuesdays every other week. We received a call from our agency that we were approved for travel to the country but they Embassy wanted us to give them three dates so we did but they only work half days on Fridays so we didn't get a return call confirming a date. So Friday morning Jeremy talked to our agency director and decided it might be in our best interest to just get to Ethiopia in case the Embassy decides and picks Wednesday for our date. So we called our travel agent and booked 4 tickets for Jeremy and my parents for Monday morning!
In the meantime, Zadyn had just been diagnosed with pneumonia, and a double ear infection. We took Awan to the ER on Sunday morning, for a 104 temp and I felt like a horrible Mom for leaving them both! But they both insisted that they wanted Tad to come home and wanted me to go! How awesome are they! I too was sick. I had a sinus infection, and ear infection, and my doctor told me if I wasn't going to get my son there was no way she would let me travel. But she understood that I had waited this long for my son and she wasn't going to be the one to tell me not to go! So I decided to buck up and suffer through it and go. But there was a part of me that was in denial. All the way even to the airport I felt as if I was just pretending. I didn't have confidence that this trip was going to be successful. I was for sure something was going to fall through. I was trying to prepare myself for a malfunction of the adoption process I guess. I was for sure the Embassy was going to postpone our appointment once we got there or something was just going to fall through. So I had some large emotions that I packed along with me even before we got started.
My parents made the trip with us, which I am so thankful for. I can't even imagine making that trip without the extra hands and emotional support. It was amazing for them to get to see Ethiopia and experience Tad's culture. As I mentioned before our first experience in Addis was the yellow taxi's with our luggage packed to the sky, as they pushed my parents in and off they went! So funny! But we all made it to our guest house just fine. We stayed at a different Guest house, it was a new experience the area around the guest house was very poor. Where the guest house we stayed in November was in a more business area. The kids would wave at us every morning from our balcony and it was fun seeing them drive the cattle down the street to the local butcher market that was near by. The dogs in the city run wild or they are there to protect the family territory but at night they bark and bark, especially when the hyenas make it into the city then it sounds like a dog amusement park! My dad was ready to stuff them by the end of the trip for the lack of sleep they caused!
The trip to Addis, takes a 12 hour plane ride there from Washington DC. There an 8 hour time difference and once we arrived we had no idea what our week or week and a half was going to look like. That made me a nervous wreck. I like to have the plan! We left Monday morning at 6 am and arrived to Addis at 7am their time Tuesday morning. We spent the first day showing my parents around the city. They were surprised by how much poverty there really is there as well as how modern some parts of the city is as well. We finally found out that we would be able to go get Tad on Wednesday and my emotions started to take a change to more excited instead of skeptic. And sure enough we woke up Wednesday and early that morning we headed first to the CWAE offices to finish our paper work so it would be ready for Embassy. Once we got to the offices they told us our Embassy date was that day! That we would go see Tad, and they go straight to Embassy! We were so excited we wouldn't have to wait till the following week! But once we got to the transition home where Tad was the Embassy had postponed our appointment till the following afternoon. Which turned out to be a huge blessing. We got to spend most the morning and afternoon at the transition home with Tad. He came in to see us again and walked straight for Jeremy! He was shy, but happy! We got him his own pair of sunglasses to match Jeremy's and he was so excited and wore them all day! CWA asked us to sign the release form for Tadios and it brought tears to me. I guess I had so many walls up I didn't think we'd get to this point. I was expecting it to fall through. But here we were, getting ready to take our Tad. The nanny got scissors and cut off Tad's name band and Tad giggled with excitement, he was going home, he now had a forever family.
Tad had almost nothing of his own. Other than the stuff we had sent after court the only thing he had to take with him was his name band from the transition home, and his pillow case he slept on. We brought him close and undies and changed him so they could keep the cloths to use for other kids. He was so excited to have his own clothes. And his shoes, let me tell you. The first thing he asks for every morning is his shoes, they are on before his feet hit the floor! He had only one little friend that he wanted to say bye to, who will be moving to Wisconsin soon! We can't wait to let them get together once Levi comes home to his forever family! Once he said his good byes, we headed for the guest house. Tad has always been shy and quiet with us. The first trip he said maybe three words. And all so quiet we had to guess what he was saying. So we assumed his transition with us would be very slow and hard. We expected tears and emotions of him being scared and unsure. But it was more a story of Christmas morning. A little boy who had been waiting for a family for a year day after day and well today was his day. He was finally...happy!
Our first night with him felt like a dream. We asked him where he wanted to sleep and he chose to sleep in between us and he slept so good! He cuddled with us and the next morning we tickled and poked him to wake him up! The next morning, he played soccer with Jeremy for hours! He kicked the ball, bounced it, threw it. He ran and sometime mid morning, he began singing, and dancing! He would stop playing soccer to dance and sing a Walyatta dance he must have been taught from his life in Sodo before his days as an orphan. We assume he had decided it was okay to sing and dance again, he was home again. Jeremy finally got it on video for me and my parents to see, because he was still being shy with us. But later that day once he saw himself on video he decided it was okay for him to be Tad with us too!
We took the trip to the US Embassy. It was a little intimidating showing our passports going through security just to get to the first gate. But we made it to what I would say looked like an extra large BMV area. We took a number and waited for over an hour. Tad sat on my lap for a while and then my Mom's and for over an hour remained well behaved and quiet. And finally we heard our name called. I didn't expect the emotions to follow. Our adoption was complete. And amazing enough they would have his passport and visa ready the next day! Here we were thinking we might have to say another week, and we could go home in a day or two! WOW how God Works.
Communication there is impossible! The internet was dial up but worse. And most days it never connected. Using phones are impossible unless you can find a phone that is unlocked for international use. We finally got it figured out but got our tickets moved for Friday night so we could get Tad home and adjusted to life with the Rees family!
My favorite moment with Tad in Ethiopia was Thursday night, Bath time! I was nervous about how he would act! We are new to him how awkward for him! But we managed to get about 2 inches of water in the bath, they had some water problems there, and threw some toys in and I have never seen a boy take his clothes off so fast and get in! He loved it! He had water everywhere! He was splashing and kicking and even had his little face under the water blowing bubbles. And giggling and snorting water out his nose! Then he shivered and shivered getting him out of the tub and got him in his new pjs and hung out on the bed talking and giggling together. He started mumbling something to Jeremy. As we listened closer I started to cry, he was saying.. I love you. In a short 48 he had fallen in love with his daddy. ( I can't blame him.)
The flight home was hard. I'd lie if I said the trip was bliss. The trip was way more emotional than I ever expected. I was overwhelmed just as any parent would be with a new child. But I had this overwhelmed feeling over me that was hard to shake! I can't explain it but it was hard. As we got on the plane our seats were not all together, Jeremy had to beg some people to switch which is hard to do on a 17 hour flight home. But we got it done. I started the flight out in tears though. Not sure why. I guess a brief bit of loss for what we had at home that would never be the same again. Don't take me wrong. I love Tad! I am so excited about him in our life and the new family we are, but there is a loss you feel for the family of 4 you once were, there is fear, that your kids will hate you for it all! But I also know it was Satan trying to pull me down.
Tad was so excited about everything with the plane. He was wide eyed! He was most fascinated with the TV screens on the seat backs and wanted to play on off with them. We let him for a while but once he started pushing buttons and getting rated R movies popping up we decided we better turn them off. Well then our battles started. He is 4 like any other kid. He wanted to the TV ON! So we played battle of the wills for about 2 hours. Keep in mind he is with two stangers on a plane he has never seen and it is 3 hours past his normal bed time. He began kicking and crying and huge tears started pouring out.. the same from his Mama too. I began to realize that these were not tears from a strong willed child they were more tears of a child that was fearful, and a child not sure where he was going with two strange people on this strange machine with weird noises. He finally cried himself to sleep and we began our 17 hour flight home.
Our flight was more like labor for me. The hours grew long, Tad grew restless and so did I. I just wanted to be home. The flight was rough because of turbanlance about 6 hours left to go Jeremy got air sick, and several people on board began getting sick. I just started praying that Tad and I could hang in there. Washington Dullas even made the news for record winds and planes getting damaged on landings it was so rough! But we finally after 17 hours with over 40 children under the age of 5 and a sold out plane of over 300 people packed full we landed in the US. I just wanted to kiss the ground. I always thought watching parents with their kids entering the US with tears of joy was all about them finally having their kids and the adoption being at the close. Now I know they are tears of Praise GOD we made it HOME!!! LOL!!! Immigration went like a breeze, no problems, and now Tadios is not only our forever little boy but American as well. A feeling of relief set over me. I was still overwhelmed we had two more flights, one to Chicago and and one last one to Indy, but we were getting close.
We waited in more lines, going through customs and more security, and on to more waiting for more planes, and all the while our little Tadios was as good as he could be. We sat in Washington at a restaurant where a waitress was from Ethiopia, and started a conversation with Tadios! It was great. We showed her the video of his dance he had been doing and she told us it was a wedding dance that had been done at her wedding a few weeks earlier from the area he is from. She told him he would have two more planes that would be small flights and then he would be home! It was great to see how God planed things for Tadios all the way home! On our flight from Washington to Chicago we took our seats and Tadios went crazy with two small girls in front of us. Started talking and playing. I talked to their mom and they had been in his orphanage in Sodo! He acted as if he were their big brother! It was so sweet. He was so happy to see them it was a small homecoming celebration in this small airplane.
On we went. We almost ran to our next plane in Chicago. I had to go so bad so my mom waited for me! LOL A girl has to do what a girl has to do! LOL But we made it just before they closed the door. Took our seats and in a short 25 minutes later we landed in INDY! I started crying just at the thought of being home hand in hand with my boy! Is this a dream?
We told Tadios, no more planes! He smiled! We told him Awan and Zadyn and he almost took off running. He was so excited. As we walked towards the bagging area I couldn't believe we were at this point after all this waiting. That God had taken us this far, even in the midst of the pain of waiting he had overcome all and here we were. I will never forget seeing our family waiting for us... All of them. We are so blessed. They all wanted to come. They asked. They called and wanted to be apart of this moment with us. With Tad. To have a family that cares so much about us and Tad and want to be apart of this journey with us priceless. We traveled with a family that wasn't so blessed. Neither had parents that supported their decision to adopt from Ethiopia because of race issues. We can't express our gratitude for their love and understanding. I started cracking up at little Zadyn. Awaiting his new little brother, just like he would. With shark glasses on and smiling. That is my Zadyn. Nothing has changed. And Awan, there ready to be big sister and the first to be friend her brother and accept him every part of him. Even the cousins were there. Kevin and Tucker. They could reject Tad, and not care, but instead they brought hot wheels and sat in the bagging area and played cars with him while we waited for lost baggage. The amazing thing.... we were a family. All of us. We were home.
In the meantime, Zadyn had just been diagnosed with pneumonia, and a double ear infection. We took Awan to the ER on Sunday morning, for a 104 temp and I felt like a horrible Mom for leaving them both! But they both insisted that they wanted Tad to come home and wanted me to go! How awesome are they! I too was sick. I had a sinus infection, and ear infection, and my doctor told me if I wasn't going to get my son there was no way she would let me travel. But she understood that I had waited this long for my son and she wasn't going to be the one to tell me not to go! So I decided to buck up and suffer through it and go. But there was a part of me that was in denial. All the way even to the airport I felt as if I was just pretending. I didn't have confidence that this trip was going to be successful. I was for sure something was going to fall through. I was trying to prepare myself for a malfunction of the adoption process I guess. I was for sure the Embassy was going to postpone our appointment once we got there or something was just going to fall through. So I had some large emotions that I packed along with me even before we got started.
My parents made the trip with us, which I am so thankful for. I can't even imagine making that trip without the extra hands and emotional support. It was amazing for them to get to see Ethiopia and experience Tad's culture. As I mentioned before our first experience in Addis was the yellow taxi's with our luggage packed to the sky, as they pushed my parents in and off they went! So funny! But we all made it to our guest house just fine. We stayed at a different Guest house, it was a new experience the area around the guest house was very poor. Where the guest house we stayed in November was in a more business area. The kids would wave at us every morning from our balcony and it was fun seeing them drive the cattle down the street to the local butcher market that was near by. The dogs in the city run wild or they are there to protect the family territory but at night they bark and bark, especially when the hyenas make it into the city then it sounds like a dog amusement park! My dad was ready to stuff them by the end of the trip for the lack of sleep they caused!
The trip to Addis, takes a 12 hour plane ride there from Washington DC. There an 8 hour time difference and once we arrived we had no idea what our week or week and a half was going to look like. That made me a nervous wreck. I like to have the plan! We left Monday morning at 6 am and arrived to Addis at 7am their time Tuesday morning. We spent the first day showing my parents around the city. They were surprised by how much poverty there really is there as well as how modern some parts of the city is as well. We finally found out that we would be able to go get Tad on Wednesday and my emotions started to take a change to more excited instead of skeptic. And sure enough we woke up Wednesday and early that morning we headed first to the CWAE offices to finish our paper work so it would be ready for Embassy. Once we got to the offices they told us our Embassy date was that day! That we would go see Tad, and they go straight to Embassy! We were so excited we wouldn't have to wait till the following week! But once we got to the transition home where Tad was the Embassy had postponed our appointment till the following afternoon. Which turned out to be a huge blessing. We got to spend most the morning and afternoon at the transition home with Tad. He came in to see us again and walked straight for Jeremy! He was shy, but happy! We got him his own pair of sunglasses to match Jeremy's and he was so excited and wore them all day! CWA asked us to sign the release form for Tadios and it brought tears to me. I guess I had so many walls up I didn't think we'd get to this point. I was expecting it to fall through. But here we were, getting ready to take our Tad. The nanny got scissors and cut off Tad's name band and Tad giggled with excitement, he was going home, he now had a forever family.
Tad had almost nothing of his own. Other than the stuff we had sent after court the only thing he had to take with him was his name band from the transition home, and his pillow case he slept on. We brought him close and undies and changed him so they could keep the cloths to use for other kids. He was so excited to have his own clothes. And his shoes, let me tell you. The first thing he asks for every morning is his shoes, they are on before his feet hit the floor! He had only one little friend that he wanted to say bye to, who will be moving to Wisconsin soon! We can't wait to let them get together once Levi comes home to his forever family! Once he said his good byes, we headed for the guest house. Tad has always been shy and quiet with us. The first trip he said maybe three words. And all so quiet we had to guess what he was saying. So we assumed his transition with us would be very slow and hard. We expected tears and emotions of him being scared and unsure. But it was more a story of Christmas morning. A little boy who had been waiting for a family for a year day after day and well today was his day. He was finally...happy!
Our first night with him felt like a dream. We asked him where he wanted to sleep and he chose to sleep in between us and he slept so good! He cuddled with us and the next morning we tickled and poked him to wake him up! The next morning, he played soccer with Jeremy for hours! He kicked the ball, bounced it, threw it. He ran and sometime mid morning, he began singing, and dancing! He would stop playing soccer to dance and sing a Walyatta dance he must have been taught from his life in Sodo before his days as an orphan. We assume he had decided it was okay to sing and dance again, he was home again. Jeremy finally got it on video for me and my parents to see, because he was still being shy with us. But later that day once he saw himself on video he decided it was okay for him to be Tad with us too!
We took the trip to the US Embassy. It was a little intimidating showing our passports going through security just to get to the first gate. But we made it to what I would say looked like an extra large BMV area. We took a number and waited for over an hour. Tad sat on my lap for a while and then my Mom's and for over an hour remained well behaved and quiet. And finally we heard our name called. I didn't expect the emotions to follow. Our adoption was complete. And amazing enough they would have his passport and visa ready the next day! Here we were thinking we might have to say another week, and we could go home in a day or two! WOW how God Works.
Communication there is impossible! The internet was dial up but worse. And most days it never connected. Using phones are impossible unless you can find a phone that is unlocked for international use. We finally got it figured out but got our tickets moved for Friday night so we could get Tad home and adjusted to life with the Rees family!
My favorite moment with Tad in Ethiopia was Thursday night, Bath time! I was nervous about how he would act! We are new to him how awkward for him! But we managed to get about 2 inches of water in the bath, they had some water problems there, and threw some toys in and I have never seen a boy take his clothes off so fast and get in! He loved it! He had water everywhere! He was splashing and kicking and even had his little face under the water blowing bubbles. And giggling and snorting water out his nose! Then he shivered and shivered getting him out of the tub and got him in his new pjs and hung out on the bed talking and giggling together. He started mumbling something to Jeremy. As we listened closer I started to cry, he was saying.. I love you. In a short 48 he had fallen in love with his daddy. ( I can't blame him.)
The flight home was hard. I'd lie if I said the trip was bliss. The trip was way more emotional than I ever expected. I was overwhelmed just as any parent would be with a new child. But I had this overwhelmed feeling over me that was hard to shake! I can't explain it but it was hard. As we got on the plane our seats were not all together, Jeremy had to beg some people to switch which is hard to do on a 17 hour flight home. But we got it done. I started the flight out in tears though. Not sure why. I guess a brief bit of loss for what we had at home that would never be the same again. Don't take me wrong. I love Tad! I am so excited about him in our life and the new family we are, but there is a loss you feel for the family of 4 you once were, there is fear, that your kids will hate you for it all! But I also know it was Satan trying to pull me down.
Tad was so excited about everything with the plane. He was wide eyed! He was most fascinated with the TV screens on the seat backs and wanted to play on off with them. We let him for a while but once he started pushing buttons and getting rated R movies popping up we decided we better turn them off. Well then our battles started. He is 4 like any other kid. He wanted to the TV ON! So we played battle of the wills for about 2 hours. Keep in mind he is with two stangers on a plane he has never seen and it is 3 hours past his normal bed time. He began kicking and crying and huge tears started pouring out.. the same from his Mama too. I began to realize that these were not tears from a strong willed child they were more tears of a child that was fearful, and a child not sure where he was going with two strange people on this strange machine with weird noises. He finally cried himself to sleep and we began our 17 hour flight home.
Our flight was more like labor for me. The hours grew long, Tad grew restless and so did I. I just wanted to be home. The flight was rough because of turbanlance about 6 hours left to go Jeremy got air sick, and several people on board began getting sick. I just started praying that Tad and I could hang in there. Washington Dullas even made the news for record winds and planes getting damaged on landings it was so rough! But we finally after 17 hours with over 40 children under the age of 5 and a sold out plane of over 300 people packed full we landed in the US. I just wanted to kiss the ground. I always thought watching parents with their kids entering the US with tears of joy was all about them finally having their kids and the adoption being at the close. Now I know they are tears of Praise GOD we made it HOME!!! LOL!!! Immigration went like a breeze, no problems, and now Tadios is not only our forever little boy but American as well. A feeling of relief set over me. I was still overwhelmed we had two more flights, one to Chicago and and one last one to Indy, but we were getting close.
We waited in more lines, going through customs and more security, and on to more waiting for more planes, and all the while our little Tadios was as good as he could be. We sat in Washington at a restaurant where a waitress was from Ethiopia, and started a conversation with Tadios! It was great. We showed her the video of his dance he had been doing and she told us it was a wedding dance that had been done at her wedding a few weeks earlier from the area he is from. She told him he would have two more planes that would be small flights and then he would be home! It was great to see how God planed things for Tadios all the way home! On our flight from Washington to Chicago we took our seats and Tadios went crazy with two small girls in front of us. Started talking and playing. I talked to their mom and they had been in his orphanage in Sodo! He acted as if he were their big brother! It was so sweet. He was so happy to see them it was a small homecoming celebration in this small airplane.
On we went. We almost ran to our next plane in Chicago. I had to go so bad so my mom waited for me! LOL A girl has to do what a girl has to do! LOL But we made it just before they closed the door. Took our seats and in a short 25 minutes later we landed in INDY! I started crying just at the thought of being home hand in hand with my boy! Is this a dream?
We told Tadios, no more planes! He smiled! We told him Awan and Zadyn and he almost took off running. He was so excited. As we walked towards the bagging area I couldn't believe we were at this point after all this waiting. That God had taken us this far, even in the midst of the pain of waiting he had overcome all and here we were. I will never forget seeing our family waiting for us... All of them. We are so blessed. They all wanted to come. They asked. They called and wanted to be apart of this moment with us. With Tad. To have a family that cares so much about us and Tad and want to be apart of this journey with us priceless. We traveled with a family that wasn't so blessed. Neither had parents that supported their decision to adopt from Ethiopia because of race issues. We can't express our gratitude for their love and understanding. I started cracking up at little Zadyn. Awaiting his new little brother, just like he would. With shark glasses on and smiling. That is my Zadyn. Nothing has changed. And Awan, there ready to be big sister and the first to be friend her brother and accept him every part of him. Even the cousins were there. Kevin and Tucker. They could reject Tad, and not care, but instead they brought hot wheels and sat in the bagging area and played cars with him while we waited for lost baggage. The amazing thing.... we were a family. All of us. We were home.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Addis Another New Adventure
We made it here! After a 12 hour flight we arrived early this morning with little problem other than one missing bag of donations that will be here tomorrow. I assumed that since Jeremy and I had been here before it would be an old adventure just showing the sights to my parents again, but not in Addis, every moment is a new adventure.
My favorite moment is walking out the airport and seeing the beauty of the country the mountains the warm air with the cool breeze.... the culture hits you almost immediately. As my parents found out! We are laughing about it this evening. Our driver came but because we were so behind with the luggage delay he had to send the van on back to the guest house so we were left with two very small yellow lemon taxi's! Keep in mind you we have a ton of luggage.So they are throwing it on top of the cars yelling in amharic and pushing my parents into a taxi and ops off they go!!!! Welcome TO ADDIS, Mom and Dad, so glad you came.
Today has been exhausting we are all jet lagged and droopy but it has been great showing them some of our favorite spots that were easy to get to. I was dissapointed that we couldn't stay at our other guest house but God has provision, everyone was kicked out today from it because of bed bugs! So God knew! Our place is great, and have already made ourselves at home.
We took a trip to Bole the area we stayed last Novemeber and on our way back Jeremy decided to be stubborn and not book a taxi for 45 brr which is 3.00, so we walked 20 minutes through Addis to our guest house! So we huffed and puffed up the hill to our hill and enjoyed the kids walking beside us either asking us for money or just wanting to walk with us for company. Our favorite moment today was when 8 boys ages 3-9 came up behind up on the street clapping they walked up stood in front of us and began singing. Our hearts broke! They crowded around Papa and Nana, they started handing out America coins and the kids went wild, you thought they had won the lottery! It's moments like these that you realize that Addis is a place that will always be a New Adventure!
Tomorrow is our big day! We go to get TAD! Still unsure about our Embassy date but was told it is possible it might be tomorrow. We will see! Well this post alone has taken me over an hour to type because it has taken that long to load! Face book is not working because of loading times. Communication here is really hard so we will do our best!
We love you all back home! We miss you Awan and Zadyn and love you tons. You would have loved all the kids today crowded around us on the streets! They wanted NANA too! LOL
So proud of my parents they are quite the Ethiopian Travelers! Miss you Nancy and Dave & Becky and all our family and friends!
Till tomorrow!
My favorite moment is walking out the airport and seeing the beauty of the country the mountains the warm air with the cool breeze.... the culture hits you almost immediately. As my parents found out! We are laughing about it this evening. Our driver came but because we were so behind with the luggage delay he had to send the van on back to the guest house so we were left with two very small yellow lemon taxi's! Keep in mind you we have a ton of luggage.So they are throwing it on top of the cars yelling in amharic and pushing my parents into a taxi and ops off they go!!!! Welcome TO ADDIS, Mom and Dad, so glad you came.
Today has been exhausting we are all jet lagged and droopy but it has been great showing them some of our favorite spots that were easy to get to. I was dissapointed that we couldn't stay at our other guest house but God has provision, everyone was kicked out today from it because of bed bugs! So God knew! Our place is great, and have already made ourselves at home.
We took a trip to Bole the area we stayed last Novemeber and on our way back Jeremy decided to be stubborn and not book a taxi for 45 brr which is 3.00, so we walked 20 minutes through Addis to our guest house! So we huffed and puffed up the hill to our hill and enjoyed the kids walking beside us either asking us for money or just wanting to walk with us for company. Our favorite moment today was when 8 boys ages 3-9 came up behind up on the street clapping they walked up stood in front of us and began singing. Our hearts broke! They crowded around Papa and Nana, they started handing out America coins and the kids went wild, you thought they had won the lottery! It's moments like these that you realize that Addis is a place that will always be a New Adventure!
Tomorrow is our big day! We go to get TAD! Still unsure about our Embassy date but was told it is possible it might be tomorrow. We will see! Well this post alone has taken me over an hour to type because it has taken that long to load! Face book is not working because of loading times. Communication here is really hard so we will do our best!
We love you all back home! We miss you Awan and Zadyn and love you tons. You would have loved all the kids today crowded around us on the streets! They wanted NANA too! LOL
So proud of my parents they are quite the Ethiopian Travelers! Miss you Nancy and Dave & Becky and all our family and friends!
Till tomorrow!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
OUR SON IS COMING HOME!!!!
" I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU AS ORPHANS; I WILL COME TO YOU." JOHN 14:18
This morning we finally got a call! We are cleared for travel!!!! The Embassy gave us our choice to travel as early as NEXT week!!! We submitted three dates 16th, 17th, 21st, to them this morning and will wait for them to respond with our final appointment date but we will be traveling this week! We both are so excited! Both kids were home sick today, so we had a little bed bouncing party this morning!! We are all over joyed to tears today.
In our joy though we don't want to forget those close to our hearts that are still left in waiting. There are many families that are still waiting for paperwork and we ask you continue your prayers for these families. They too have children waiting to come home.
There are families still waiting for referrals, the dreaded months of hearing nothing seeing nothing but darkness and these families need our prayers and encouragement as well. That their children are out there, and soon they will meet their precious faces soon!
We rejoice in the celebration of Tad coming home, but by no means does this mean that we set aside the fact that we forget that others are not in the same spot. We as a family want to not just celebrate in our own victory today but also weep with the families today that didn't get the best news, that got the delays and the postponements. Because we also been that family too. We are praying for those families we invite you too. Take courage and hope, Your day of dancing is near! Jesus says he will leave no orphan behind, he is coming and he will bring your son or daughter home!
We Tad, are finally bringing you home.
Love you so much,
MOM & DAD.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Abiding not Waiting.
Some simple truths this morning as I woke up. Jeremy and I have been waiting for our house to sell for about three years so we can move downtown. Something we feel God has been calling us to do for sometime. With the housing market crash it has given us sometime to think about why we are really moving there. At first I thought this was a three year lesson on patience. As would anyone. But I am beginning to see that he is teaching me it is more about abiding. It is about remaining in him even when things don't work out like we think they should or like we think he has promised. It means abiding even when we think the idea is dead. I read the story of Lazarus and a friend of mine pointed out in John Martha. Her response. She says, I know that he will rise again I believe you are the Christ. But here is Mary, saying if you had only been here he would not have died." Martha knew that Christ could resurrect the dead. While Mary is bitter and angry in what Jesus was late for and had not done yet. I know in this process I too forgot that Jesus could resurrect us in our times of need if we only trust and abide in him. Or believe as Martha did. This week I have realized that I am not "waiting" on God to sell our house any more. I am abiding with him. I believe with him he will resurrect this three year old idea and one day we will be living out his calling downtown.
The Israelites moaned and groaned about needing food, and God provided manna. God told them not to take more than a day's amount for he would supply each day for them. Was he teaching them patience? Or teaching them to abide in him. To believe he could take care of them? God today I believe you can sell this house. Today tomorrow or three years from now. What ever the case I believe and I will not wait on you but will "Abide" with you.
One last thought this morning.
I used to get flustered thinking about moving downtown to do ministry and outreach. Here we go to save a community. What!? Who did I think I was? How silly! God forgive me! At church Sunday they showed a video of the Center for Success. The thought occurred to me. Who is doing the saving? I was reading the verse in John 12:25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and who ever hates his live in this world will keep it for eternal life if any one serves me he must follow me and here I am there will my servant be also if anyone serves me the Father will honor him. "
So often in ministry we decide it is our goal or mission to SAVE. We go set and try to conquer. But in the process we fail. Why? We burn out, and no one gets saved. I was thinking about our adoption. Why has it been different?
I never set out to Save Tad. I knew walking into this adoption that it was an equal relationship. That what I have to offer is important but that wasn't all. That I need more love from a little boy too. And that what Tad has to offer me is valuable. In fact Tad may just be doing more of the saving part in this situation.
You see God is teaching me humility about his Good News. I am first and foremost the one Always needing the saving. As I pray to move forward with going downtown, I now am praying that he uses my new neighbors and children and people that come into contact with me to SAVE ME.
In Isaiah 61
61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; [1]
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. [3]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
Dear God.
Allow me not to wait for things, but to abide with you. Allow me not to run out to save others, but allow others to save me. Pour your spirit upon me so I can bring good news to the poor.
Amy.
The Israelites moaned and groaned about needing food, and God provided manna. God told them not to take more than a day's amount for he would supply each day for them. Was he teaching them patience? Or teaching them to abide in him. To believe he could take care of them? God today I believe you can sell this house. Today tomorrow or three years from now. What ever the case I believe and I will not wait on you but will "Abide" with you.
One last thought this morning.
I used to get flustered thinking about moving downtown to do ministry and outreach. Here we go to save a community. What!? Who did I think I was? How silly! God forgive me! At church Sunday they showed a video of the Center for Success. The thought occurred to me. Who is doing the saving? I was reading the verse in John 12:25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and who ever hates his live in this world will keep it for eternal life if any one serves me he must follow me and here I am there will my servant be also if anyone serves me the Father will honor him. "
So often in ministry we decide it is our goal or mission to SAVE. We go set and try to conquer. But in the process we fail. Why? We burn out, and no one gets saved. I was thinking about our adoption. Why has it been different?
I never set out to Save Tad. I knew walking into this adoption that it was an equal relationship. That what I have to offer is important but that wasn't all. That I need more love from a little boy too. And that what Tad has to offer me is valuable. In fact Tad may just be doing more of the saving part in this situation.
You see God is teaching me humility about his Good News. I am first and foremost the one Always needing the saving. As I pray to move forward with going downtown, I now am praying that he uses my new neighbors and children and people that come into contact with me to SAVE ME.
In Isaiah 61
61:1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor; [1]
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [2]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. [3]
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.
Dear God.
Allow me not to wait for things, but to abide with you. Allow me not to run out to save others, but allow others to save me. Pour your spirit upon me so I can bring good news to the poor.
Amy.
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