Transition: A Baby on the way!

Today I was driving with Tadios and he noticed a tree that had already turned for fall. He shouted, “Mom, look that tree it’s a rainbow!” Then it came to me that for Tad this is not normal, trees stay green all year they don’t turn colors, he has never experience this new season called Fall! 

There have been many new seasons in our life lately! More than most families could handle I would say! LOL Tad has been apart of our family now 7 months and we all would agree we don’t remember life without him. It’s as if he has always been here. We moved about a month ago downtown and absolutely love our new community and home. It has been a transition but a wonderful one! Zadyn started Kindergarten, and Tad started preschool. I thought I wasn’t going to be super emotional but when my shy Ethiopian boy walked into his preschool room, and greeted everyone with a huge smile and said, “ HI! I am Tad, what is your name?” And ran to give his teacher a hug, I burst into tears! My little boy had transitioned beautifully.  So many changes some fast some slow. Just like the leaves we forget to see the gradual transition of things in our life. Sometimes they just happen because we forget to see things with eyes like Tad new ones. We miss out on the excitement of the slow transition of the colors changing and merging us into this new season called Fall! 

This week we received an answer to prayer that has been 6 years in the making. One that has taken many years to see change and now we are finally seeing the colors of this coming into our lives! We as a family yet again enter on another journey to Ethiopia together! This time to finally meet this little sister that Awan since she was 2 years old has been praying for. I remember her so small praying her sweet words, “ Be with my sister.” Awan. You don’t have a sister. “Yes, my sister in Africa.” She prayed these words for 4 more years until we as a family made the decision to adopt two children from Africa. Tad just happen to come to us first! But Tuesday this prayer was answered. We got to see for the first time Awan’s sister in Africa. She is a beautiful wide-eyed 4 month old little girl. Words can say how excited we are! We have decided to call her Samiah. I love one of the photos her eyes are as wide as they can be she is in complete awe of the camera flash! lol We bursted out laughing at her the poor thing, being humiliated at age 4 months!  Zadyn thinks it's her response to having him as a brother! We laughed and laughed! 

We now wait! We don’t expect a court date till after the first of the year but we don’t know for sure. We will travel to Ethiopia the first trip to meet her and go to court, and visit we hope her area and Tad’s area out of the city which we have yet to do.  Once we have approval at court and she is legally ours. I can't post photos until then. So no photos! Sorry! Then we wait for an Embassy Appointment, that could be 4 months or as we have known others who have waited much longer. So I guess all in all she will get here when she is good and ready! LOL We in the mean time will continue to poor out love for our other three kids and anticipate the changes that will redefine us as a family tree once again! 

Moving On. Finally.

It was three and a half years ago that one Sunday Jeremy and I took a drive down some downtown streets and it ended us up on 5th street. We noticed a man and a boy about 7 moving furniture out by themselves. We couldn't help but pull over and see if they needed some help. Jeremy jumped out to see what he could do. I noticed that Jeremy wasn't picking up anything. About 30 min later not moving anything for this man he got back in the car. I was confused. Why didn't you help him? Jeremy said, quietly... I think I did. I listened.

Come to find out, he had been paying payments to a lady for his home and well, she didn't. She lost the home and took his money.

 To be honest with you, growing up most of my life on the farm and in our newer housing addition, I was embarrassed that I had first of all never been down half the streets in my own town, but also had ignored the heart ache that was happening just miles in my own town. You see Jeremy I we were on the only path we knew. The American Dream. We had a home in a great housing addition,  were working hard for us. This moment was redefining for me. I remember sitting in the car thinking. Oh no, what if God calls me to move downtown?

What happened next was an extreme passion to help people like this man. To listen, bring them hope and help bring a renewed spirit to the hopeless. We began building relationships downtown, little by little, and soon enough we even found ourselves switching to a Church downtown. Our whole lives in a short time had been not so focused on the dream we had once thought was the only option for us, but found that bringing hope was a better dream for us.

Three years ago we decided to sell our house. We placed the sign in the yard, and to my immature faith I assumed that overnight the offers would roll in and our new dream to move downtown would be just minutes away. Isn't that always the stories you hear? I was called and before we could put that sign in the yard we had an offer! Year one, year two, and this spring.. year three past. No offers. Not even one.

The battle raged inside me. Why at first did I not want to move there and now it is my hearts desire? We had placed our whole calling on one thing. Our house selling. Just when I would give up someone would call to see the house. Jeremy and I still felt like God was asking us to move. And we wanted to be listen. But how if this house would not sell?


I started reading a book that challenged logical decision vs emotional decision according to what God asks you to do. Point in case. David and Goliath. Not logical, emotional.  I began to see that maybe God wanted us to just move. Today in the economy logical advice would be NEVER do two mortgages. There was a voice in our hearts that said we should. We should GO.

We took a step of faith and made an offer on a beautiful home, on yes, you guessed it. Beloved 5th street. A street I have had the opportunity to pray daily for, over the past 3 years. It has become my hearts desire, and this home is more than anything I could have ever imagined for Jeremy and I to raise our family in. I am amazed at this journey. It has been so painful at times. Wondering if God had been mistaken, was that call for us? Where we to move there?

The day after we received an accepted offer on our new home. We leased our current home for 3 years. It's almost comical to me how one step of faith leads to an open window. The whole time  I was looking for this wide open door of our house selling. It never happened.  But what did happen was greater. I have learned that it takes a mixture of dependence on God and a confidence in his calling big enough just go where he asks even if it requires waiting. I am so glad we did.

We will finally be closing on our new house this Friday. And this long journey of moving downtown will be behind us. But a new journey begins. Our life on 5th street is about to open up new doors, and new windows and we are so excited to see where they will lead us!

Where Does Grace Fall

I have read many heart felt posts about the verdict for Casey Anthony.  I think as Mom's we want justice especially when children are involved. But I tend to think that as we poke aim at this woman for something really we are speculating or guessing or we think we have a gut feeling about.  So often our sense of justice means taking life for life. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth? Don't we always forget to read on.... it gives us more hints to help heal our hurt for our injustice we feel.  For some reason inside us we think that our hearts will mend if someone else pays for an injustice that happened to someone else. The reality is. It does nothing. We only lose another life. I know this is controversial and my opinion will not be accepted by very many, but I do tend to feel that in our need to seek justice we forget why we wanted it in the first place.

We degrade the people who took time out of their lives to sit on the jury stand away from their families who sit and listened to this day in and day out and say they made a wrong choice. We say they had the easy job of terminating another life. Hum. Not so sure I would have been able to with stand being away from my kids, listening to that information, dealing with what they have to deal with for now and forever and now the rest of America criticizing their time, while we sit back and say we have more information and better discernment then them? 

I think we forget that people good or bad all deserve life. If we choose that we are pro life people we  should stand by that for people of all ages. The unborn and mothers that make mistake.  I we believe in Christ's resurrection power then we believe that life for her is the winning solution here, she has a second chance here to relive a legacy for her little girl, to change her choices and to find the Grace she so deserves. The Grace we get every morning. The grace we get when we have "murdered" someones character without knowing the full truth to the story or what really happened.  If this sweet girl's life was taken by her mother well, we know what kind of hell she is living in every day, with the loss of missing her laugh, her dancing feet, seeing her smile, don't we forget that in the systems of life in general there is a "justice" of our own torture that we face. I think that is true for this mom. My fear is that we as the American public have offered her no life beyond this, given her no hope that she can be more than a murderer, and given her no chance at grace. I will be the first to say, I am praying for restoration. I am not praying for justice. I am praying for grace. For someone to offer open arms of love, forgiveness, and support to family that is living in a world that hates them.  I guess I hope that grace falls before justice this time.

Beauty instead of Ashes. ( Through the eyes of Tadios)

"to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:3 

I have been on a life long journey unsure of my own beauty. Not that I thought I was repulsive or anything, but I guess for me my self confidence and freedom to be me has been a life long struggle. It has been a pursuit or rather battle field of the mind. I battle with what people think of me a lot! Wondering if they like me or what they really are thinking of me and how I am "put together".  I think as  girls we probably all would admit some kind of insecurity. But for me I guess mine has gone deeper to my spiritual life. I have begun to see myself as only ashes. Ashes of sin. Day after day looking in the mirror I would see the reflection of a burnt pile of ashes. I would be reminded of my sinful nature and the humble stature that I must repent and admit my sin to God in fear of judgement. Maybe it is the message that is so often thrown our way. Repent, be saved. YA DA YADA...

Sounds pretty grey. I began to wonder why is this called the "Good News"? It doesn't feel so good. I felt so dead, and if this life was to feel abundant why did I feel so bad? 

I think so often in our society we begin to focus so much on  sin and judgement. We would rather debate who is right and who is wrong, That we end up forgetting the real Gospel. God is on our side. (Period.) If you are poor. God is on your side. If you are sick. He is on your side. If you are confused. He is on your side. If you are alone. He is on your side. If you are depressed. He is on your side. If you are insecure. He is on your side. If you are angry with him. He is on your side. If you are addicted to something. He is on your side.  The reality of the good news is that God is on our side. He is for US. Why do we miss that? Why do we only hear the doom and gloom? Why is the message so grey? Why do we only hear sin and judgement and hell?

The good news is about trading our ashes for a crown of beauty. It is about God restoring us not him demolishing us. Why do we forget that this story is about restoration.

The reality of my life in Christ has become so real in the last week and half. The good news has been a reality lived out in a 4 year old boy who has been given a second chance at living again. 

I can't tell you how enslaved I have been. How I have been reluctant to move my arms in the air in case I look silly, afraid of what would others might think! My insecurities had overtaken me. Not sure who has been given the good news. Tad or us. I think we are experiencing as a family what Christ said in John 10:10 

" I came so that they may have life more abundantly." 

Life is different. We are living life through the eyes of a child who is living life as if he is apart of the kingdom of heaven. He is wide eyed. Everything for him is a miracle here. Life here is a blessing just to wake up and know that his shoes are there waiting on him every morning when he awakes. 

It's time stopping. Just to run outside to experience snow falling and really feeling it hit your face and feeling the cold as if you have never felt what cold feels like. And laughing, with joy, with each flake as it hits your nose because you can.  He is teaching us how to really live. How silly we were to think we were going to teach him.

For me the good news is in watching him eat his first bite of ice cream, and grinning with excitement and confusion of brain freeze. You see two weeks ago Tadios was in Addis Ababa, alone. Yes he had us waiting for him but he was still 7,000 miles from us waiting, shy and not talking or interacting very much. One year ago in his three year old little life his mother, out of desperation, had to say good bye to him. Had to kiss his forehead and squeeze him one last time. I can't comprehend the heart ache for her and the devastation for Tadios. He was not only poor, alone, and lost, but he was an orphan. He was ashes.

They say that when he came to the orphanage his hair was yellow because of starvation. I don't share these details of his background lightly. They are personal. But I want you to understand where he was in his little life. At the bottom. I am sure some of us have felt like God has given up on us. Or maybe like me I am insecure at times and unsure he has enough love for me. But the essence of the good news is in the adoption story of Tadios. 

We are all adopted. Tadios has a choice to accept us. He can reject me as a mom or accept me. He can deny my love and my gifts or accept them it's up to him. There are times he hates me when I am holding him body locked in bed and he is kicking and screaming and rivers of tears are flooding his bed because he does not trust I know what is best for him, I get that. That is the same with God though, I think he gets that too. He understands our immaturity. But loves us all the same. 

The good news is that God is ready to wake up to do life with you. Like we are with life with Tad. God is ready to experience it with you. Tonight we did a bubble bath in my garden tub! Hilarious! We filled it to the top and warned him it would be loud! Started the jets, and he went wild! He started slapping the water or wahoo, as if it were attacking him personally, screaming like a wild man, until he realized it was making the bubbles in tub grow, then with more joy then I have ever seen in my life, he began to laugh and yell, bubbles!!!! bubbles!!! I started crying over his joy. I have never seen joy like this before. This is the good news. 

Once he got out of the tub I noticed he had a cut and was bleeding I kissed his knee grabbed a box of bandaids and grabbed a blue one and fixed it up for him. With pride he ran to Daddy and showed him his knee. I told Jeremy. That bandaid, is more than a bandaid to him you know.  He smiled and said, yes, " It's means he has a Mom." 

Tadios finds joy in the tinish "little" things. He started this morning playing with a yellow balloon he got from Tree of Life with his favorite animal a lion on it, and as of 7pm this evening it was still in his hands. He cherishes everything. 

He spent one evening with a small paper airplane and Uncle Layne flying them off our balcony over and over again, excited for another new adventure with life with his family. 

Daddy to Tad is his favorite thing. He is always making sure he is in sight or nearby watching. He runs up his bunk bed ladder and down just to have Jeremy catch him and to do it all over again, and repeat for hours. He is happy. He is joyful. 

My favorite thing about Tadios is that he breaks into dancing. When he gets really excited he stops everything and does a 20 second tribal dance. He has begun to break the chains that have been so tightly bound around my arms and legs. I notice that I start to dance with him. He doesn't laugh and say you are to silly Mama. Or someone might think you are stupid. He says, "GOBEZ!!" MAMA" GOBEZ! and shows me a new move to try. Each day he is breaking the chains of my insecurities and showing me a life of freedom in Christ. One not bound by what others think but one dancing in joy in front of his Savior. Why? Good. News. 

Tadios, is no longer living a life of ashes. He is not starving. He is no longer on a pathway to death, he is no longer alone, he is not poor, he is not an orphan anymore. Tadios has traded his ashes for a crown of beauty and is now a Child of God. Adopted and accepted to the kingdom of heaven. We too,can live and breath and participate in  his kingdom everyday if we just decide to experience it with God.  Heaven is not just when we die, heaven is now. Tadios, understands this. He is living there.

Because of Tadios I am ready to trade my ashes for a crown of beauty. I am no longer going to act as if I am an abandoned rejected orphan not good enough for anyone, questioning myself and being insecure. I am going to step boldly with my son, leading me, dancing, experiencing what my Father has to give me. He has adopted me just the same. And the same joy that Tadios is experiencing is the same joy we can experience as we follow Christ. How exciting! 

What new things will we all do and be apart of tomorrow! I can't wait! Life = joy.  God has traded Tadios's morning for joy. This little shy boy we picked up a week and half ago is now a new creation, he is a beautiful in every way. And teaching me more about who God is, his loving restoration, acceptance and love for us all.   

Christmas Day, Again.

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.

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.

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!