Ethiopia Days 4, 5, 6 - Meeting Our Sons

On Sunday there was a fish market we wanted to see in Awassa but if we were going to meet our sons that day we needed to get on the road early. After waiting two long years we just weren't in the mood to wait another day so we high-tailed it back to Addis, making only one stop for breakfast at a beautiful resort on Lake Langano.

We arrived at the Bejoe Guest house, where we stayed for the remainder of our trip, and did a little unpacking and got some toys ready.

Nervous new daddy...

...and mommy waiting for the car to arrive with our sons. I have never been that excited or nervous before.

I had these grand plans to wait in the garden for Travis to bring the boys to us so that we wouldn't overwhelm them. I had grand plans of not crying too but as soon as that car drove through the gates all grand plans went out the window.

I hurried down to the car to meet our sons!

They came right to us without a single tear (on their part anyway!).

We took them up to the lawn where we had laid out a blanket and their little backpacks full of toys.

They were a little uncertain at first but I showed them some pictures of us that we had sent over in care packages and it broke the ice when they recongnized that we were the Mommy and Daddy in those pictures. They sang us a little song about Mommy and Daddy and America.

Legos helped break the ice too!

We spent the next couple days at the guest house getting to know each other. Looking back on it I can see now how nervous they were but they were also full of giggles, songs and not a single tear. They were sleeping through the night. They were eating whatever we put in front of them. We couldn't believe how well things were going. It all changed on Wednesday but those first few days were definitely our long awaited honeymoon!

We were living in the moment during this time and these are the only photos I took!

Ethiopia Day 2 - The Road to Awassa

Yes, I'm still here and this blog is still alive! Finding time to write isn't quite what it used to be but I am determined to document our trip to Ethiopia and the amazing progress the boys have been making, for us if for no one else. These posts will probably be more pictures than words so if you get this blog via email you might want to click through to the blog itself.

We spent our second day in Ethiopia traveling six hours by car to Awassa in the Sidamo region. Awassa is approximately one hour north of where our boys are from, and they spent a brief seven days in an orphanage in Awassa, all of which we thought were important to see. I worried that the long drive would be grueling after such a long plane ride the day before, especially for someone like me who gets motion sick fairly easily, but to my surprise we had a wonderful day. The road was straight as an arrow which meant no motion sickness and the sights, people and beautiful countryside were well worth the time. I highly recommend making this trip if you can!

The montage below doesn't do justice to all this, but you'll get the idea. I know several of you are waiting for my pictures of Awassa and other towns in Sidamo. I promise they are coming!

And last but not least...if your children were with Gladney they might enjoy singing along to this one!

Ethiopia Day 1 - Addis Ababa

After an overnight layover in Dubai, where Mark slept like a baby and I hardly slept a wink because I was so excited, we finally boarded the plane that would take us to Ethiopia. We had been thinking and reading and dreaming about this country for two long years and it was hard to believe that we were about to see it with our own eyes!

Yes, I was THAT excited. I took pictures of just about everything, even our visa form!

Travis from Gladney and our driver, Solomon (above), met us at the airport. Side note: the title "driver" does not reveal a fraction of what this man did for us, or the friend that he became over the next two weeks. We miss you, Solomon!

If you are a Gladney family, take note that you will want to have all your immigration forms and paperwork in your carry-on bags, ready to hand over to Travis along with your humanitarian aid.

Since we were only staying in Addis for one night before heading down to the Sidama region where our boys were born, we splurged and spent that first night at the Sheraton. The people of Addis Ababa are very proud of this hotel, and I agree that it is quite a nice place. The cost is steep, even by US standards, but after such a long trip we were glad for a little luxury.

 We didn't spend much time in the hotel before Solomon launched into the perfect first day tour of Addis Ababa. First stop, Tomoca! The air in this place is thick with smoke from freshly roasted coffee beans and the coffee is unbelievably good.

We then took a tour of the Merkato, Africa's largest open air market.

Men buying chat, a legal form of speed. This stuff was everywhere, but surprisingly I didn't see or smell cigarette smoke the entire time we were in country.

It was a couple days before the General Election so we saw lots of demonstrations, fortunately all peaceful.

Then we took a tour of the National History museum, the home of Lucy and other Ethiopian treasures. This is a replica of Lucy, who was out of town on a museum tour.

I loved all the paintings on the top floor.

We ended our day by driving up Entoto Mountain, where we got our first glimpse at how hard people work in this country. These women are firewood gatherers. They collect firewood all day and carry these incredibly large bundles down the mountain to sell in the market. We saw women with huge smiles as well as women in tears.

We also saw young boys either collecting water, like these boys, or tending to livestock. For some reason I did not get a picture of the livestock on our first day even though we saw many herd of goat and cattle throughout the streets of Addis. I guess I had heard about it from so many people that it didn't feel like a novelty!

We also got our first glimpse at some of the many churches throughout the country.

And because it is all about the boys and a post wouldn't be complete without them, here is a glimpse at how hard we have been working around here...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

One Week Home - The Unexpected

Time has taken on new dimensions around here as we adjust to being a family. We are dealing with some behavioral issues, as one would expect, and bed time/meal time have been somewhat challenging as the boys adjust to the many new things in their lives. We have one boy who will eat anything and everything and another who spits out anything and everything that isn't made of bread or bananas, but overall they are doing great and are full of kisses, giggles and lots of mischief. When people told us we were going to have our hands full, they weren't kidding!

They always tell you to expect the unexpected in International Adoption. For us the unexpected has come in two forms. One, they appear to be quite a bit younger than we thought they were. We have seen several doctors over the past two weeks and all, including those at the International Adoption Clinic at Yale, think they are closer to two than three years of age. It is not uncommon for the ages of older adopted children to be off but usually the children are older, not younger, than expected!

The other surprise is that they both think their name is Degaye and neither respond to nor can even pronounce the name Derebe. They even call each other Degaye! A birth family member was able to confirm who is who (and it is the opposite of what Gladney thought) but in the interest of minimizing confusion we have decided to transition them to their middle names. They are responding suprisingly well to these new names already; Dash (short for Dashura which was their birth father's name) and Taye (a shortened version of an Ethiopian name chosen by us).

Oh, and a third surprise! In spite of what we were told six months ago, they are definitely NOT potty trained!

As for me, unfortunately I brought home more than two cute little boys from Africa and have been battling a nasty respiratory infection, a fever (which is finally gone), a mysterious rash (which thankfully is also subsiding) as well as a few of the more common ailments people return from Ethiopia with. Good times! I am still very much on a sleep when they sleep schedule and probably will continue to be until these health issues clear up but don't give up on me. I promise at some point I will write about our trip!

For now I leave you with this...

P.S. The camera survived!

Three Days Home - Firsts

First Touch

First Family Photo

First Lego Tower

First Bath

First Hospital Stay

(He's fine now, thank God. Will write more about this one later...)

First Hour at Home

First Breakfast

First Nap

We're Home!

We got home yesterday and slept most of the afternoon/night after an exhausting 24 hours of travel. The boys did amazingly well on the trip and we are all feeling great today and happy to be home. Ethiopia was wonderful and extremely hard all at the same time. There is so much to say about the trip but for now I can only say one thing; twin toddlers! I promise to say more once I can manage to stay awake during nap time. For now, suffice it to say that they are everything we dreamed of and more...

What a Difference a Year Makes

Last year

This year!

SOMEBODY PINCH ME

We passed! We passed we passed we passed we passed !!!!!!!!!!
I can hardly believe it but they are OURS and we are THEIRS!!!!!!

HALLELUJAH!

It is with overwhelming joy that I introduce you to our boys.

OUR SONS!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

ONE

Two years ago this month, a tragic and defining event occurred in the boys’ young lives that ultimately led to their relinquishment.

One month after that event, in June of 2008, Mark and I began our journey toward them, a decision that will define and bless us the rest of our lives.

For so long, delays and unfortunate timing seemed to be the name of the game when it came to starting our family. The delays started long before we began our adoption, and our adoption process itself has not exactly been a smooth or expeditious one. Many times I have wondered why this one thing, the thing I want more than any other thing, has been so difficult to achieve.

One look at the boys was all it took for me to understand why.

I may not be their mother yet, but I feel deeply that I am meant to be. These two boys, born in my heart long ago, are meant to be my sons. Maybe it will be tomorrow, maybe not. If not, at least we have come far enough to think that it will be soon.

That makes me feel like the luckiest person on earth.

Totally worth waiting for.