We arrived in Ethiopia the evening of the 26^th with anticipation to reunite with the kids and have them with us again – for good. We went to Hannah’s Hope orphanage in the morning around 9:30. A few other families were there for their first trip so we got to meet them and share in the excitement. When we arrived we walked in the gates and were guided to Axum who was straight ahead on the steps with a special mother. Without delay we went directly to him and picked him up. He was all smiles and happy to see us. We were then told that Abriha was just around the corner. We walked over and she came up to us and we picked her up and gave her a big hug. She also had a smile on her face.  She was timid but we could tell she remembered us and was excited.

We spent more time than expected at HH because the other families were there with us. We just used the time to play and observe the kids. We asked again about their sleeping and eating schedules so we could stick to them when we took them to the hotel.

When it was time to leave, Abriha started acting really excited. Over the course of those few hours, Nate heard other kids and special mothers talk to Abriha about her new mommy and daddy, and riding on an airplane. He couldn’t understand what they were saying, but caught those few words and gestures. The special mothers would occasionally ask her a question, probably something like ‘Are you going on a plane ride with your mommy and daddy?’, because she would shake her head yes and act happy about it.

Right before we left, Wass told them we were going so Nate carried Abriha around to everybody we could see to say goodbye. We were surprised again at how happy she was acting. She gave everybody kisses and told them ciao. The kids were really excited for her. They were smiling and laughing and nobody acted sad. We’re sure it was tough for the special mothers who took care of her, but they acted happy.

So Abriha gave her kisses, then we walked over to the gate and went out onto the street. Nate was observing her face this whole time and she still seemed excited for what we’re sure she was told would be a fun adventure. We got in the van that she called “Wass maquina”, got on our seatbelts, and were off from Hannah’s Hope for almost the last time.

April had Axum this whole time, and he was just acting like his usual happy self. He really is a happy baby, and he behaved so well on the trip back to the hotel.

Mom and Axum Tariku

Mom and “Miss Shy” Abriha

Dad and Abriha

Dad and Axum

We found out last week that the US Embassy has cleared our case.  They would like us to appear for a visa appointment on November 28th.  That means we leave for Ethiopia this Friday.  WOW!!!  We are so excited to be reunited with A and T.  We are grateful the time between our trips has gone by quickly.  We have kept ourselves busy with moving, work, cleaning, adoption showers, etc.  We have a lot to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.  We know A and T are very special and are honored to be their parents.  Just a few more days babies.  We’re coming!!!!

Day 4, Part 1 (Nate)

Today was our last day of the first trip with our kids. A was sitting on the corner steps playing when we got there. We picked her up and took her over to the baby area where they were all sunning. T was with one of the special mothers and he looked happy. The first thing I did was to take out A’s and T’s photobooks that we made them. I sat down with A on my lap and went through hers with her, which she really seemed to like. After a few pages, she was pointing out mine and April’s faces. Then she removed my hand from supporting the book, and she took over and started turning pages. A lot of the other kids and even the special mothers seemed really interested in the book too. After we were done with it, it got passed around for a while.

After that, I went and got out the accessories to the My Little Pony we gave A on the first day. She loved those. She took the little basket accessory, put all the small pieces in it and carried it around for most of the time we were there until she had to go eat lunch. Oh, and she was still wearing her necklace today. I’m not sure where her ring went, but I’d bet that one of the other kids took it.

I also spent some time with T today, walking around the grounds, looking at things. Every once in a while, I would lift him up so he would make eye contact. I can always get him to smile by doing that. April played with him for quite a while too. He really is a happy baby. The more eye contact we can get out of him, the more smiles.

We get to go back one more time today before we leave for the airport. Our schedule said we would have from 8:30am to 7:00 pm with the kids, but apparently there was an error and we had to leave at 1:30. We’ll have from 3:00 to 4:30 before we have to leave.

Day 4 Part 2 (April)

We then went back to the hotel to rest and wait for the kids to eat and take naps.  I was exhausted so I took a nap. Nate wrote in his journal.  At 3:00 we were picked up again for our final visit to Hannah’s Hope. We brought a blanket and sat the kids down with us. A colored, played with stickers and interacted with us.  We took out the picture book we made and she was pointing everyone out.  She would point to Nate and say “daddy” and would point to me and say “Mommy.”  We brought some baby cheetos and she loved them. We were happy that she was feeding some to us.  At one point she went to put one in my mouth and then quickly took it away and put it in her mouth.  She started laughing really hard.  She then took the box of crayons and hid it under her shirt. I said “Oh no, where are the crayons?”  She would then pull them out quickly and start laughing. She played that game with me for about 5 minutes. T was happy. He was babbling and observing what we were doing. We gave each kid a small Lion King stuffed animal. T was reaching for it. He also played with my necklace. We wanted to get a few more pictures so Nate took the camera and ran to the babies and older kids. He got great pictures. The parents will be very happy. He came back and we played a bit more. At 4:30 we were told it was time to say goodbye. It came very fast and didn’t feel real. We took T up to his crib. We gave him kisses. He started crying so one of the special mothers took him. We then walked A back outside. Wass told her it was time to go to another room and that she should give us kisses goodbye. She then ran off. We then gathered our things and left.

When we got back to the hotel we sent our families an email update and a few pictures from the day. We have heard back from a lot of family and friends who are so excited for us. We are grateful for their support. We know A and T will be loved by so many people when they get home.

We left the hotel at 8:00 PM and headed for the airport. We had time to eat dinner and then got on the plane at 11:00 PM. I tried not to sleep because it was still early afternoon in Utah. I was able to stay awake until 4:00 PM MST. Before too long we landed in Frankfurt. We had a 3 hour layover. The flight from Frankfurt to Chicago was quite long, although we did the best we could to sleep since it was nighttime in Salt Lake by then. Luckily there were two seats behind us that were empty. I went back there and slept better on the two seats. I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of flying. I keep thinking it will be extremely overwhelming to have two kids on the flight with us on the next trip. The final leg of the trip went well.

It does seem strange to leave Ethiopia without A and T. We are trying to be optimistic and will keep ourselves busy until we return.

Today was our much-awaited court appointment.  We didn’t know what to expect since families who appeared in court before the rainy season did not pass because their MOWA letter was not in their file.  Even though MOWA was working during the rainy season, we were told that we should not expect our letter to be there.  They didn’t want us to be disappointed.  However we were REALLY hoping to pass.

We woke up at 6:30, showered, and ate breakfast.  At 8:30 our driver Danny picked us up.  It was rush hour, so the traffic was crazy.  We arrived at the courthouse at 9:15.  We had a representative with us who carried all our documentation.   We walked in a small room that was filled with people (Ethiopians and foreigners).  There were 30 seats around the perimeter of the room and all were taken.  The center of the room was full of people, so we went to a place that had an opening.  There was another couple there so we started talking to them.  We found out they were from Wyoming and were adopting a little girl from another agency.  We enjoyed getting to know them.

One by one, people got called in to the judge’s office and the room thinned out until it was only us and about four European families.  We waited in that room for about two hours.  We found out that our files were missing, so somebody had to go find them.  Somebody finally came in with a stack of files and a few minutes later the court worker opened the door and called “Bethzatha”.  That meant us, though we weren’t sure why our cased was called Bethzatha.  Our kids never spent time there, although others kids from Hannah’s Hope do.

So we went in the judge’s office and took a seat.  She spoke English and asked us questions like, “Since you started the process, have you learned about Ethiopia?”, “Are you prepared to deal with the identity issues your children will have?”, “Are these your first children?”, “Do you know other adoptive families that you can meet with?”  Then she told us that once this is finalized, we cannot change our minds.  We told her we understood.  Then she said the words we were hoping to hear: “Your file is complete. They are yours”.  We were SO happy to hear those words!!!  I thanked her and felt a rush of emotions.  It was one of the happiest moments knowing A and T are officially our children.

After court, Danny took us to an Italian restaurant and then shopping at an outdoor market.  We then returned to Hannah’s Hope, where we spent another couple hours with the kids.  When we got there, the toddlers were in a room with the special mothers.  A ran out to hug us.  She was wearing a ring and necklace that we gave her.  We went over to the swings and Nate went to get T in the baby house.  I held A in my lap and told her that we are now a family.  I knew she didn’t understand me but it was surreal to tell her and to think that she and T are officially part of our family.

After Nate got T we took turns holding him and getting him to interact with us.  He started talking a lot and we took a little video of him.  Once in awhile we would hold him up to get him to make eye contact with us and smile.  We are in LOVE with his smile!!!  He is such a happy and good baby.

A was fascinated with the buttons on my sweater.  I watched as she carefully buttoned each one of them.  I was glad to see she had good fine motor skills and a good attention span.  She would notice when an airplane would go by and point to it.  She would say “ah-roh-PLAHN!” in Amharic and get excited.  Nate and I were happy to know that she loves airplanes.  Hopefully her enthusiasm continues through our long flight to the US!

Right before we left, A was acting very cute towards Nate.  She had her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss before a special mother took her away with the other kids.  Then we went up to the baby room and handed T to his special mother.