farewell old friend

Well, this will be the last post on Chasing Jace.

Megersa is home and we're now a family of 4.

He's been here 3 weeks and I feel as though I'm no longer on the "adoption train ride."

We got off and now we're just hanging out in the jam-packed family theme park. :)

All kinds of fun adventures lie ahead and I'll blog all about them in our new family blog:

Box of Chocolates

Hope you've enjoyed being here with me.

Stay as long as you like; catch up if you need to, or...follow us to the next ride!!

2+1

Today we had extra time before church (I can't believe it either!!)...so I decided on an impromptu photo shoot of the boys in their Sunday best!
Those two are so stinkin' cute - I just can't wait for the day that Cale voluntarily plays with Megersa! :)

Cale's best angle is NOT this one. :) ha ha! Megs is super excited though! Can you see the candy behind Cale's cheek? Bribery.
He kept YELLING "cheese!" He would hold it out so long it often looked forced.

This one is plain cute. Megersa is fascinated by Cale.

Do you see the little baggy of small candies next to Cale's leg? Incentive.

I WISH this picture wasn't fuzzy. It's so cute.

The best one, though I wish Megersa was smiling!!

Cale didn't care for this positioning.

One of the better ones, though it's a little 'yellowy.'

WELL...It's been 2 weeks and 1 day since Megersa came home.

I forgot to post yesterday...or I was too busy. Probably both.

Either way though, I'd like to make a quick post to tell you more about Megersa:

1. Megersa can now sit up alone.

About a week or so after he came up I could tell that it was coming soon. His back was getting much stronger, and now I dont really have to worry about him falling over when I put him down on his butt. SOMETIMES he'll lunge for something and then fall face down, but he's usually pretty steady.

2. Megersa is a PIGGY!

He's totally chowing down these days. I think he went from 3, 6oz bottles and mushed up crackers to 3 full baby food meals (and various bottles) in such a short time, I'm still trying to catch up to his appetite! BUT, I really love making baby food. Cooking, in general, soothes me...so this process is always fun to me. Plus, I'm a huge bargain shopper, so the thought that a 1 lb bag of carrots could feed him for several meals, and only cost $.99, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy - just like when I find things on clearance for 75% off or more! I'm so proud of his weight gain. He was such a tiny little thing when I first picked him up, but he's catching up to where he probably should be faster than I can shovel the food in!

3. His sleep is...a work-in-progress.

Tim and I weren't necessarily "blessed" with much of a sleeper in Cale, but even with that, so you'd think that we'd be used to getting up at night -but to add another "adjustment" in an infant is harder than we remembered. I guess to bottom line it - he's doing better at the night wakings than the first week. Usually it's about once a night (around 2-4) and then early morning for a bottle. Where Tim and I struggle is the early morning alarm clock. We did a pretty good job of programming Cale's body clock for a wake up after 7:30a (and sometimes even till 8:30a!!!), but we are still working on Megersa. He must be an early bird...which Tim and I are NOT. We love to stay up late...but that kicks us in the butt when we have to get up early. Ugh.

4. Megersa doesn't really care much for stroller rides.

I mean, sure, he's only had 3 in his life...but when he's not tired, he doesn't seem to enjoy it very much. Maybe it was because despite the cold, we decided to go for a family walk yesterday...My little man was NOT digging it! We will have to work on this one. I like carrying him in the ERGO, but before you know it, he won't fit in it anymore.

5. He gets CRAZY energetic when he's tired.

A few days ago I started catching on to his "tired" signals. You'd NEVER think it, but when he's tired and totally ready for bed - he'll start to squeal, and giggle and move his body as if he just drank a bottle of 5 hr energy. Most people would think that he just woke up, but Nope! He is ready to go down...the sooner the better. It's so strange, isn't it? Anyway, I think I'm starting to understand what he wants more and more as the time goes on. I'm happy for that!

We love him and love to watch his continued transition into our family.

boogie picker

Judging by the title, you'd probably think this post was about Cale, huh?
You're WRONG!
I'M the boogie picker. I pick my kids boogies.
There. I said it. :)
It's true.
I had just been thinking that I might not be able to come up with something to post about today; when I opened the car door to get Megersa out, and spotted a stray, dried booger.
I HAD to get it! It's a compulsion.

So what if this is a grosse post! The reason behind it is pretty.

See, one of my biggest pet peeves is when kids walk around with crusty snot everywhere....or when their hair is all snarled up (mainly girls, of course).

So, I pledged to Tim and myself (because clearly it's my issue), AND YOU!! that our children will NOT walk around with boogers - wet or dry - on their nose...or their cheeks...or hair...
I mean, seriously...
Have you seen those children with the dried snot on their faces, everywhere? It grosses me out!
YUCK!
I also will make sure that our girls' hair is combed...every day. I'll teach them to comb it and make sure there are no knots.
I will braid it tight or put it in ponytails if they can't handle having it down. (All of this will some day be more of an issue I'm sure...boys hair is pretty easy.)

Anyway, I can't even post a picture of my kids with boogies, because I will not allow it.
It's SNOT an option!! (HA HA HA)

I know Cale is more accustomed to the picking, but I sometimes think that Megersa thinks I'm coming at his nose with a tissue, or my fingernail (Yes, I DO this...it's fine. I wash my hands after) JUST to torture him.
But with both of them having colds, I'm CONSTANTLY picking and wiping their noses.

Megs has come a long way though.
The first time I touched his nose in ET he started whimpering.
That poor kid had something going on with his nose the first day I picked him up. It was either dried and cracked skin - or BOOGIES!!!!!!!
Since then, I've scraped away the mess and realized that it is dried skin.
He also is currently battling with eczema on his cheeks.
It's gotten much better recently...I've been massaging his face with lotion/hydrocortisone ointment every day...several times a day.
He's getting better at receiving these "massages" now.
He certainly prefers it to the nose picking, for sure!

Anyway. That's my boogie picking post.
Does anyone else have this strange quality that is attached to their mothering style, or lifestyle?
I know even if I didn't have kids...I'd be happy to say, that I am usually 100% boogie free. :)

me...alone?

GUESS WHAT?

I'm going out tonight! Alone!!

Can you believe it?

Sure, it's only to a MOPS meeting....but I can hardly contain my excitement!

Dont get me wrong, I love all the testosterone that fills the bodies of the boys/men in my life very much, but sometimes it makes me forget I'm a girl.

A "WOMEN!" (chuckle, chuckle)

Basically, it's hard to remember that I'm more than just a Mom.

I change diapers, feed children and clean all day.

I haven't taken care of myself as much recently....girly-wise anyway. Poor Tim.

((I'll try and step it up for ya, baby!))

Sure, I get the occasional shower and shave...but tonight I'll take time to wear:

MAKEUP (when you're home alone with 2 boys without a car, why bother?)

CLOTHES (that aren't sweats, or shouldn't end up with boogers or spit up on them!)

NICE HAIR (I've had no time to straighten my hair - so it lays limp, or goes hog wild.)

PERFUME (this will, of course, be just for fun!)

Yay!

And you know what? Since the meeting isn't until 7pm, I won't feel antsy to get back by bedtime, because I certainly won't make it in time....so, I'm off the hook. :)

Hopefully I'll get to know some other moms...and maybe I'll even hit a store on the way back!

Although, if I know myself...I'll get all hyped up about this night out, and though I love to be alone, after a few hours, I'll be like...humph...I miss my boys.

It always happens.

They're messy, stinky and LOUD...but I couldn't live without them. Even Tim. :)

And just because I can hardly contain my laughter, I HAVE to post this picture a family friend sent to Tim. This picture was taken while I was in ET and Cale was being babysat so Tim could work.

Looks like I'm not COMPLETELY alone with wanting to dress up and look "pretty."

A hahahahahahahaha!!!!

Blackmail...pure blackmail. :)

The poop.

To say that Megersa's diarrhea is gone is quite the understatement. Check out these pics:

And the video: (Observe the effort he puts behind the push...I thought his head was gonna explode!!)

And to answer your question - "Yes, it's okay to be scared after watching this." :)

Thank goodness for solid food!! Remember when I said he eats like a horse?

Well...what goes in, must come out. I feel like I'm up to my elbows in diapers again. JUST when I thought I was nearing the end of it for awhile....Cale picked up where Megersa left off. He's trying to make it to the potty....but, lets just say we'll give him a 'B' for effort. Not an A, because I heard him state the other day "I have a diaper on"...and then I caught him as he proceeded to start pushing. Thankfully we got him to the potty, but I was NOT pleased with his uncaring attitude toward his mother that would need to clean up yet another poopy mess!

And just because I decided to take the time to post videos, I'll upload one of Cale too! Don't worry, it's not recent. I think he's about 8 or 9 months in this one (I know, I know...he's a CHUNK):

(Sorry it's sideways...sometimes I forget I'm taking a video with a camera.)

Where are we now?

I've concluded the posts about the trip.
So where are we now? What are we up to? Well, we're adjusting to being a family of 4.

I feel like I've heard the statement that 'going from 1 child to 2 children is harder than any other addition' in your family. And, I'm starting to feel it.

Nap times are often scattered and I don't shower until the late afternoon most days.

Megersa is becoming more and more vocal with his needs, which is a GOOD thing (that means he's starting to trust us) but its making me feel like I'm ignoring Cale more and more.

I know that this is silliness, and that every family that goes from 3 to 4 feels something to this exent...but having it be MY experience this time...it's just that - what I'm experiencing.

I'm still figuring out how to parent Megersa. I know this sounds crazy...but my parenting style feels shaken - at least from the way I parented Cale (as a baby anyway). See, I KNEW Cale from the moment of birth...even the 9 months before that...so when he came home, I felt more prepared.

I'm still trying to win Megersa over, so it's a bit different. And not always easy (don't let his adorableness fool you - he can, and WILL turn on the pitiful water works when he wants something! :).

Maybe I'm too hard on myself. Maybe I'm too hard on Megs....maybe I'm just used to having a toddler who can talk, and understand what I mean when I say "hang on" (while I change him) or "calm down" (when I'm getting his food ready)- someone that understands my soothing techniques.......

We are all adjusting. We are sleep deprived and the house is a mess...but there is JOY.

Some days I feel overwhelmed...and I wonder what I got myself into, but then other times it all feels like a dream. Did we really adopt?

Was this baby born in Ethiopia? In AFRICA?

I mean, what a story for him to tell someday!

My 'topper' experience is always "I've had brain surgery" but how many people do you know that can say they were born in Africa? That they've experienced more tradegy, transition, and change in their first 7 months of life than most people do in their lifetime?

Life isn't bad by any means...just slower AND quicker, if that makes sense. Each day seems prolonged before I get a break to myself, but because I'm running around changing this diaper, feeding this one, I'll turn around, the day is done and I got NOTHING accomplished.

It's not all bad. I dont want this post to get anyone down.

Megersa has been doing wonderfully! We've only had a few more throwing up episodes, and his poo is SOLID now - yay!! He's eating like a HORSE! I swear he's gained a couple pounds already...he's starting to get rolls on his legs!

He's getting stronger and stronger by the day, and he LOVES watching his crazy big brother run around all day. But, if wearing my heart on my sleeve here, I have to say that I wish I were back in Illinois, surrounded by my close friends. I do not regret being in Maryland, and I'm sure that in time, I will form close bonds and this will certainly feel like home.

I LOVE being back on the East coast, I love our new house...the fact that there are several play grounds nearby, and that we have a community pool that opens in a month!

I like our new church and the people I've met...but I miss my girlfriends very much.

I'm itchy to settle back in to play dates and girl nights.

But things have certainly changed in the past month!

I'm SO glad that I unpacked completely before I left, otherwise those things wouldn't have exited their boxes...I'm sure of it.

I want to keep posting as often as I can. I enjoy the outlet, because I don't as tied to the cyber part of the adoption world right now. I dont feel the need to be on the computer checking my email 1000 times a day for updates on stuff now, so that sort of odd 'excitment' is gone...but so much has taken it's place.

We do hope to adopt a little girl soon. (And when I say soon, I mean relatively-speaking of course...the wait for a baby girl is getting longer by the minute. I think they're up to 15 months now for a referral?) If we started the process now, we'd have her home in 2 years at best!

But, I think we'll get adjusted here first... :)

THE TRIP - Day 5 and homecoming

Alrighty!! We're at the end of the Ethiopia trip log.
Last stop: Plane ride.
This one's gonna be a doosy!
Where did I leave off?

Oh yes...we we're both sick...Megersa and I. I had taken anti-diarrheal with minimal help from it, and Megersa was going on kisses and hugs.
I have to tell you that as we waited for the taxi I was DREADING the trip home.
We scheduled our driver to come super early (5:30p) for a flight that didn't leave until 10:15p. We wanted to get there and get in line to request a bassinet in the bulkhead seating.
Megersa slept in the carrier on the way over. We shared a shuttle bus with another AAI family leaving with their daughter Tigist, age 8. It was fun to talk with them and it was good to have people to spend time with in the airport as we waited to board.
We got to the airport and were able to quickly check-in and then walk through security. We saw that we would be the first ones in line to check our bags. We had an airport attendant tell us that the check-in counter didn't even open until 6:30p but we decided to stay and wait anyway. We were taking no chances with the bassinet. I was feeling pretty poorly at this point. I had been to the bathroom and back several times...and Megs diapers kept filling up.
When we got to the counter we requested a bassinet seat and she told me I could have one, but that Mom and I wouldn't be able to get seats together. She said that Mom would be in the seat in the same aisle, but not right next to me. She said she could get us seats together, but they wouldn't be bassinet...so she asked us to decide. After a small discussion, we decided it would be best to take the bassinet seat and then just try and switch seats with whoever was assigned a seat next to me.
After checking in we still had several hours before our flight took off, so the consensus from everyone else was to get dinner. I passed on it...but sat there groaning and moaning in pain. My stomach was killing me!
Kristy (Tigist's mom) offered me a diarrheal antibiotic she got from her doc. She said it would kill the bacteria I had in my system...and she also offered me some tums. I took them gladly, but they didn't really work for me.
They all ordered food and I sat in silence. I was really wanting to just get on the plane and get home. I was glad Tim's mom was with me. I think it would have been BRUTAL to have to go alone. After dinner Mom exchanged our birr back into dollars and we headed toward our gate.
Mom told me that there was a rumor going around that there was no bathroom at our gate. I was NOT thinking I would be able to sit there for the last hour without a bathroom, so I was reluctant to go through the last security point.
But...there's something about being at "the gate" even if you aren't called to board for awhile, isn't there? It FEELS like it's gonna happen soon.
So, I held my breath, and we walked through toward the gate. Turns out there WERE bathrooms just outside the gate...so we waited until the last 1/2 hour to get in line to get our bags xrayed again.
THIS was were it got worse.
We sat outside the gate. I was feeling bad.
I kept visualizing getting off the plane. Seeing Tim. Seeing Cale. I miss them SO much...especially Cale. (I had only ever been away from him for one night.)
I wanted to fast forward the next 20 hours. Mom was very concerned for me and asked me if I was okay. But all I could say was "this is the kinda sick that you just want to curl up on the couch and hold your belly."
Then I started crying.
Not bawling, nothing hysterical...just pitiful.
I closed my eyes and hot, wet, painful tears came out.
I could tell she was watching, and judging by her 'sniffling' she started crying too.
This all happened while I was feeding Megersa, so I just held him a little tighter.
I didn't want to think that this was a mistake...even mentally. I was SO happy to have this baby in my arms finally...but at the exact moment in time it was REALLY hard to have him in my arms, taking care of him as I was falling apart.
I gave Megersa a bottle and he seemed to be getting sleepy. I thought it would be a good idea to give him some infant tylenol...maybe to help his tummy and to help him sleep?
WRONG.
It helped him BARF! And not just a little bit - it kept coming and coming...ALL the formula that we had been giving him over the past few DAYS came up (okay...maybe not THAT much...but it was a TON!). I was really concerned for him. He seemed to choke on the puke as it came out.
He threw up on himself, his clothes, my carrier, and my jacket sleeve.
I quickly ran to the bathroom with him to try and clean him up...change his diaper (oh, bonus - he poops when he throws up!), and change his clothes. Mom came in to help as I tried my best to wash my sleeve and clean off the ERGO.
Once this was cleaned up, I just felt myself "suck it up" - I needed to take care of my baby. There was no time for myself right now.
We packed away the pukey stuff and got in line to get to the gate.
For whatever reason we had to send our carry-ons through security again. This was when I noticed HOW MANY adoptive families were going to be on this flight.
Soooo many babies and toddlers. I was glad we reserved a bassinet, no matter where we ended up sitting.
The security guard wasn't allowing liquids to pass through - even ones bought in the airport...but the family ahead of us told the guard that the water was "for the baby - for his bottle," so they allowed 1 bottle of water.
She had 2 bottles in hand, so she put one down and passed through.
I thought - HEY! We didn't buy any water to take, so let's just grab this one!
We told the guard the same thing, so he allowed it.
Then we waited some more.
We got seats toward the back of the gate and I noticed that WHOA! THis flight was gonna be PACKED. Jam packed.
And it was.
We had a green sticker on our boarding pass, so we were able to board first.
We found our seats and I was suppose to be sitting in the middle of the middle of the aisle. Mom was to be on the side, near the aisle. She was also seated in the bulkhead, by what looked like a spot for a bassinet.
We asked the stewardess if this was a spot for a bassinet and she said yes. I switched with Mom because at least I wouldn't be shoved in the middle with Megs.
We stuck to our plan and when the person who was suppose to sit down next to me came, we asked the steward if she could switch with Mom.
The man told us that she needed special assistance and couldn't sit in the middle...but they asked the man who was in the aisle middle row to move over and she said in his seat.
Mom came to sit with me. PRAISE GOD!
Seriously, it made the trip SO much better to know that I could count on her help. I told her too. I said to her that I'd really need her help this trip. I was feeling really bad.
As the plane filled up we discussed how annoyed we were that there was no baby sitting in the row bassinet seat while family after family went toward the back with their babies (and no bassinet). After awhile though, seats were moved around, and a man came up to sit there with his young toddler.
So, we sat and chatted until we took off.
The bassinets were not allowed to be attached until we were way in the air and the seat belt sign was off. Megs was a champ. I'm pretty sure he fell asleep in Mom's arms and when we were finally up high enough, we were able to transfer him to the bassinet.
He slept REALLY well when he WAS asleep. Briefly waking up from time to time, but nothing a little butt pat couldn't fix.
It was annoying that the lights would come on from time to time and BRIGHT as day in our eyes as we tried to sleep.
Thankfully though, we were able to get some sleep. I'm not sure how the families who didn't get a bassinet did it...but I know for myself, I can't fully fall asleep if I'm holding a baby. I'd be too afraid to loosen my grip and then have him fall.
Well...the flight was LONG. Megs woke up and we fed him more bottle. He vomited again. EVERYWHERE. We changed him. We were down 2 outifts now, 2 airplane blankets, 1 baby blanket, my jacket again (this time nothing could save it), and another diaper.
Not sure where we are with the diaper change count...but I'll tell you - when we got OFF the plane we used up all 5 outfits and 11 diapers, and messed through 5 airplane blankets...and the bassinet. YIKES!
Well, I dont feel like I should hash out the airplane ride any more than that.
God blessed us with some sleep when we could. And when Megs wasn't barfing or having diarrhea, he was smiling or sleeping.
I counted down each hour and could feel myself getting smellier and smellier.
If I started thinking about Cale and Tim and how we were getting closer, my stomach would act up again (it had settled some after some sleep). I focused on where we were and what task was at hand...but I wanted Tim to bring some pedialyte, more clothes for me and the kind of bottles Megs liked. I sent him probably like 12 texts from the air, but none went through.
Reading them back through, they sounded like I was a hysterical mess....
Good thing they DIDN'T go through.
Anyway, throughout the ride, Mom and I chatted a bit, but for the most part, our eyes were closed in sleep...or at least in the attempt for sleep.
The meals they served on the plane were correct with the time in Ethiopia...but it was REALLY bizarre to be fed beef & noodles when it was only 6am Eastern time and the sun was rising.
I passed on the first 2 meals on the plane, asking only for crackers...but by morning time, my stomach was so empty that I thought I might try something more solid....I think I did try that beef. Only a few peices...and it stayed down!
Well...................after all that (and more), we landed.
PRAISE THE LORD!!
We were ushered off the plane (after all the first class and Cloud 9 people, of course) into a shuttle bus. EVERYONE had to get on that shuttle, and it was hot.
Hot, and stinky.
Megs pooed on another outfit when we were landing, but we had none left, so I wrapped him in the dirty outfit, and an airplane blanket. We sat on that shuttle for over 20 minutes.
I was very concerned with Megs. He was feeling really sweaty, and I couldn't imagine how much longer we'd have to wait until we could change his diaper.
After what seemed like WAY TOO LONG, the doors to the shuttle opened. We were taken off that shuttle and asked to get on another.
People were WAY grumpy, talking about how they're gonna miss their connections, and how this is crazy, etc, etc.
I told Mom we should hang back and used the bench seating on the 1st shuttle to change Megs. Culturally acceptable or not...this kid needed to be cleaned up.
I snapped his outfit shut and strapped him in the ERGO. We were both so dirty, how much worse could it be............. (just wait...)
Luckily, because we were last to get on the new shuttle, we were first to get off of it!
We were the first in the immigration line!
The man that passed us through was pretty dang grumpy.
"Oh gee...adoption Saturday is today?" he said.
WHOA! What an nice guy.
He explained how the Friday night and Saturday night flights were packed with adoptive families and that it made the morning too busy.
Suck it up man!

Mom chatted with him as he went through our paperwork. I felt Megersa's head. It was clammy. He looked as though he was trying to fall asleep (the way he kept rubbing his head against my chest)...but he was restless. Mom thought he must just be too hot from being in the ERGO and all the excitment, but I was hesistant to believe that was the only reason.

We passed through the line without a hitch and then entered International baggage claim. We searched through the bags on the conveyor belt and the ones already pulled off...but our bags were not there. A man told us that these were the bags for people with connecting flights and that our bags would come out after, on another conveyor belt.

We stationed ourselves by the bag entry of the new belt, and Megs started coughing...then gagging, then vomiting. In the ERGO, facing me. I was afraid he would choke, so I quickly pulled him out of it and faced him forward so that the rest could land on the floor. This all happened frantically, but not ONE person looked my way. No one offered help (even if they didn't mean it)...nothing. It was like the twighlight zone.

I suppose most people couldn't be bothered by anyone else and were just glad to finally be off the plane, but still..............

Our bags hadn't come out yet, so I couldn't change Megersa or myself.

I went over to the side of the room and stripped off his clothes and tried my best to clean him up with some wipes I asked another adoptive mom for because I was out. I tried as best I could to wipe off my shirt. Finally, we saw our bags!! YAY!! Mom got them on our cart and I got them off just as quickly so I could rummage through them and get us some clean clothes. Well...Megersa's outfit was clean. I brought a ton for him...but I had to put on the outfit I wore the day before...which wasn't clean, but at least it wasn't puked on!

So I changed in the bathroom,f we and we packed away the pukey stuff and put it on the cart.

One LAST line to get in.

I could hardly stand waiting one more second. I knew that Cale and Tim were on the other side of the doors, but they felt like a world apart. I had been keeping in contact with Tim since we landed, and as soon as I heard Cale's voice...my stomach started back up with nervous excitement.

Cale kept asking "Mommy? Where are you?" And it was PAINFUL to be stuck going through line after line...I just wanted us to all be together already!

So, the security guard checked our passports, our tickets, our baby, then asked if we had a connecting flight. "No."

So, right through those double doors.

Mom had the cart, and I was holding Megs in my arms. I think I RAN through the doors.

When the opened automatically I saw Cale in Tim's arms. They were both waving at me and yelling "Mommy!!"

I stepped up the pace and ran round the corner to them....thrust Megersa in Tim's arms and gave him a kiss.

I was able to capture the glimpse of Tim meeting his son for the first time and it was sweet. Tim was as forgetful as I was at how small babies ACTUALLY can be!Then I scooped up Cale! I think I kissed him a million times telling him "Mommy MISSED you!" "Mommy LOVES you!!" It felt surreal for us all to be together.

I bawled like a baby as I looked in his face and squeezed his body.

How much had he grown in a week? He was talking to me! He knew I was his Mommy!

We were all together. A family of four...FINALLY!

I saw Tim's mom and noticed she was crying too. The time was so intimate that I felt bad leaving her out...but she was able to enjoy our reunion.

No pictures or video from it. No one else came to the airport, which was fine. Not EVERYTHING needs to be public, ya know?

But, as Cale and I walked hand in hand toward our car and he told me about his week and the new things he learned....I thought back over to the verses that God showed me at the beginning of my week in Ethiopia:

Psalm 108:1 - ¹O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. ³I will praise thee, O LORD, among the people: and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations. ⁴For thy mercy is great above the heavens: and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. ⁵Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: and thy glory above all the earth.

Different translations may have slightly different wording on that beginning verse, but I like the King James.

Perhaps David is talking about something else entirely when he was "my heart is fixed" but the first day that I met Megersa and I was able to hold him in my arms, and I knew that shortly our family would be together - this verse rang true for me.

My heart is fixed, Lord - and I will give praise!

God has taught me so much through this journey and truthfully, now is only the beginning. As we transition to a family of 4, the Lord has been opening my eyes to new things. This entire process was orchestrated by him and FOR Him. I am thankful that we were and are able to experience it.

THE TRIP - Day 4, 5a

Okay...I want to start off by saying that Megersa has been home for 1 week!
I can't believe it's been so long already! He's fit into our family like a jello mold made specifically for him. He's doing EXCELLENT. He's eating like a champ, attaching to me really well...enjoying his brother and Daddy and sleeping better each night!
He's a gift from God, for sure. Thank you Jesus for his precious boy.
Thank you for teaching us to reach out to you and follow your lead in life.

And now to the trip. Thursday, March 11, 2010, Ethiopia.
On Thursday we woke up and got showered, then decided to go downstairs to eat some breakfast at the Kings Hotel. If you're reading this and you're planning on staying there...I'd recommend skipping breakfast. And that's quite a statement to make considering it's part of the hotel fee. It was GROSSE!
Food that was suppose to be cold, was warm. Food that was suppose to be hot, was cold. It was nasty. I won't waste the rest of my time going into it. Yuck.
So...after breakfast (which I got, but didn't eat), we walked to Layla. We stopped at Kaldi's again so I could get a mocha frappuchino. It wasn't the same as Amanda's, but it was still good!
When we got to Layla, I was so happy to see my boy was up and had LOTS of smiles for me! I picked him up and noticed he was soaking wet. I changed his clothes and strapped him into the ERGO. He, of course, fell asleep minutes after I strapped him in, so I decided to walk around with him, taking more pictures until we could meet up with Amanda. She told us about her night with Tsehaye and I was so happy they were making such great progress! We decided to go to the Ritmo early that day. We walked over there and hung out. I'm pretty sure that we just ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (that they had at the Ritmo for free) for lunch. I planned to give Megersa a bath, but they still didn't have water. Oh well. We just hung out. We were thinking of watching a movie...but the electricity was also out. Oh well. I wish I had written down specifics of that day, but I dont think there were many. I know that we just spent time together and for dinner we called Jemal to get a pizza from the Hilton hotel. We split the cost with Amanda and Joe (the other adoptive Dad that was at the Ritmo) and had an Ethiopian style American pizza. NOT at all what you would eat here, but still, it looked like home. Thursday was when I noticed 2 things. Megersa was staring to play with my hair/earrings when I gave him a bottle (which I took as a GREAT sign!)...but also that Megersa really wasn't taking much of the bottle. It seemed like he barely drank anything and had VERY few wet diapers. All I was changing was diarrhea. And it was A LOT! I seemed concerned about it...but I didn't know how much they really fed him before. I think on his chart it said something about 3 - 6oz bottles, but by the time we returned to Layla to drop him off, I think all he had taken for me was 11 oz or something like that.
I was certainly concerned for that, the diarrhea and the lack of wet diapers.
When I dropped him off that night I was sad. I had used the last diaper I brought so he was dirty and the clothes I changed him from were dirty, so I left him in the outfit I brought for him (if you're going there but staying at a hotel...I'd suggest keeping the outfit your child had on in the morning, and putting it back on at night - you won't see the outfit you brought again).
Anyway, when I walked into his baby room, ALL the babies were upset. Most were crying and I could tell the nannies were overwhelmed. I mentioned to him that he was dirty, they nodded and then motioned for me to put him on the floor.
It didn't feel right. I scooped him back up and told them I'd be right back.
I told Mom how I was feeling and we were lucky enough to be able to catch the nurse as she was walking around. I explained to her that he wasn't really drinking much for me, didn't have many wet diapers and that he had diarrhea. As best I could tell she understood and then she said something to me. It took both Mom and I several minutes for us to understand that she said "isolation."
HUH?
We followed her to Megersa's old baby room where 5 other babies were. They weren't the tiny babies that are normally in the room. She said that they all had diarrhea. 2 of the babies in there were from Megersa's room. Perhaps with the cloth diapers that were being washed out by hand...this germ had been passed.
When I dropped him off he looked alright, but I felt super sad.
I walked back out into the room where we decided to wait for our taxi. We still had 15 minutes before the driver got there. Mom asked me if I wanted to pick up any of the babies for a little while and I said that if I was gonna hold anyone, it'd be Megersa. So she told me to go get him.
When I walked back in the room he was crying. I scooped him up and talked to the nurse again. She saw me trying to feed him again and then told me that he didn't like the bottle I had brought.
I brought the Playtex drop-ins for easy clean-up. With no access to clean water, I thought these would be best...but the nurse said that the babies don't drink well from any other type of bottle than the standard ones they have there. She gave me one of their bottles to use, and also said that she'd give him some pedialyte to make sure he wasn't dehydrated.
That made me feel better, but the concern for him put me in a huge funk.
Our plan was to go see the traditional Ethiopian dancing and eat the food...meet Anna at 8pm, but I didn't feel like going.
Mom coaxed me into it, and I realized that it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and I owed it to Megersa to experience his culture.
I'm glad I went. We really enjoyed watching the dancing and it was fun to hang out with Anna and her roommate Eden (pronounced Ay-den). I even ate the food!!
I enjoyed the hand washing ceremony and how they layed out the food...it was very neat.
I didn't really enjoy later on that night. I got sick. Not sure if it was from Megersa or from the food...but it wasn't any good. And, if you'd believe this - Immodium AD was the ONLY drug I needed that I didn't bring. Luckily I was able to sleep that night, after carefully going through my belongings and trying to pack what was dirty, what was clean, what was needed for my carry-on for the plane, for the diaper bag that day, and extra stuff to replenish the bag for the night.

Okay, let's try and get as much done of Friday as possible.
Woke up early to get finished packing, then went downstairs to meet our driver to pick us up. Mom checked us out and I know she paid more than we should have. Since we moved from a "suite" room to a standard room with 2 beds, it should have been more around 50 US than 60...but I guess Mom paid the full amount (though I specifically told her NOT to be taken for a ride!! :)...oh well. She also asked what she should pay the "porter" (which is the guy who carries luggage up and down - in case you didn't know! :) and the ladies who cleaned the room.
Needless to say, I was cleaned out after paying for that! LOL!
BUT...we did enjoy our stay there for the most part.
Mom went downstairs for breakfast which I SKIPPED! I still was feeling very yucky and I didn't want to repeat the breakfast experience there.
We went to Layla and when I walked into Megersa's room I saw one of the nannies pick him up. He looked at me with snot covered all over his face and cried. I like to think he was crying because he wanted me, so I'll leave it at that!
He did perk up when I held him close, cleaned off his face and arms, and changed his clothes. I strapped him in, despite feeling ill myself and we began our day. We had much planned for our last day.
Luckily I was able to get my hands on some liquid anti-diarrheal for me. It worked a little bit and I was able to withstand our shopping trip. In the car, as we drove around, we took many scenery shots. It'd be hard to really remember ET without them.
We were going to the places we found out we were able to bring our children. We got a taxi driver to take us to a basket weaving shop (though you aren't allowed to take your children there - I stayed in the car), the leprocacy hospital gift shop - where I got some BEAUTIFUL blankets, and a table runner...and then to the silk factory called Sab....sab something.
See...it's getting too far away from the trip to remember! Ugh!
Well, it WAS beautiful there with wonderful flowers and green leafy trees, but the prices on the scarfs and necklaces were WAY out of our range. My money was dwindling and I was ready to head back. We decided to stop outside the Caribou restaurant to order take out.
This...took forever. Megersa finally woke up (after almost 3 hours alseep in the ERGO) and we hung out in the taxi.
Why? Well, I guess it's not 'cultural' to take children out in public, and with the 'taboos' of American families coming to take away Ethiopian children, our agency advices us to keep a low profile from public places. The above mentioned places are very touristy and are enclosed compounds...so they're okay.
In ET fast food isn't really fast. We waited in the car for what seemed like FOREVER. My stomach was still hurting so I only ordered soup (which I didn't eat) and it was HOT.
I guess I've failed so far to mention how darn hot it is in ET. This of course, comes from someone who always seems hot...so weather in the upper 70s was hard to take with a warm body strapped to you...and having the runs. (there, I said it!)
Amanda and Mom finally came out with their food, and we went back to the Ritmo.
I ate some of Amanda's french fries and passed on the soup. I think someone else ate it. The other adoptive family, Joe & Lisa came back from swimming at the Hilton with their kids hungry...so they helped us eat our food.
I think this was around 2p or so, ET time.
The goodbye party at Layla was scheduled for 3pm. Mom walked over to take some pictures. I got on the internet at the Ritmo and it felt SO good to update Tim on what was going on. I was starting to feel homesick.
I walked over with Amanda to see the ceremony.
We got there early and I took Megs to his old room to tell his nannies goodbye. They said, Megersa...America? I said "Yes...today." Then I snapped pictures with all the nannies that were there.
They were so sweet to get him to smile and love on him for the last time.
This seemed surreal to me.
I was taking him from the only faces he could remember.
He was still sick. I was sick. And I knew an 18 hour plane ride awaited me.
Despite all that was going on in my head and both of our stomachs...he remained the sweetest baby you could imagine.

THE TRIP - Day 3

Okay, this might be a bit tricky. Not just physically as I try to juggle holding Megersa, feeding him a bottle while typing...but because it seems as though it was forever ago that Ethiopia happened.
Actually, sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes, like forever ago.
But, I'll try to recap things perfectly:

So, we're headed out shopping. We had our lunch at Kaldi's right?
Okay. We all piled in the small taxi car and Anna led the way (by telling the driver where to go). Our first stop: a nice shop, located in a nicer area. Anna said that the prices were more than the other places, but they were fixed. No haggling.
The shop was filled with many beautiful things. All kinds of scarfs, blankets, pillows, clothing, wood things...I mean, great looking stuff!
I bought a pretty green scarf (though to be completely honest, I wish I hadn't paid that price because where we went next, we could get things WAY WAY cheaper) for 170 birr...about $15. Mom got a scarf there too I think, but no one else got anything. A bit pricey.
We went next to Churchill St. Now HERE is where you get the bargains...and haggle.
Thank goodness Anna knows Amharic (for the most part) and could try and haggle for us. She did tell us they didn't budge as much for her as they would for an Ethiopian, but she was able to help us out a bit. Without her help though, things were still dirt cheap.
Lets see if I can remember all the things I purchased on Churchill St:
1 colorful scarf (60 birr)
1 Ethiopian hat (60 birr)
2 traditional Ethiopian outfits - for Cale & Megs (70 birr each)
1 traditional Ethiopian shirt - for Tim (70 birr)
2 hand woven/crafted animal toys for Megersa (25 birr each)
1 necklace (40 birr)
1 purse with small matching scarf (80 birr)
1 hand drum toy - for Cale (20 birr)
1 beaded bracelet (10 birr)

Gosh, I THINK that's it! We brought in some good loot! It was a little crazy with everyone trying to get us to purchase things. We'd buy something, and then they'd guessture for us to go into the back where they had other things. It was hard to say "no" but we had to! What was ALSO hard was trying to conceal the big wad of birr we had... It was also hard to avoid the beggars.
I mean, I know there are beggars everywhere, but it still pains me to see them.
We walked up and down the streets and went in countless amount of 'shops' - but we weren't done yet!
I felt tired and ready to see Megersa again, but when would we get this experience again?? Probably never (or until we adopt again).
Anna took us to where she works. She works with women who are HIV positive...and instead of them leading destitute lives...they make and sell jewelry. It's WAY cheap, and REALLY beautiful. I think their speciality is making jewelry with coffee beans as the accessory because I saw tons of bracelets and necklaces (even earrings) with coffee beans as the beads. A cool idea, but not exactly my taste. I was TOTALLY digging the beaded necklaces and earings. I bought 2 necklaces there for 70 birr each and then 2 pairs of earrings (30 birr each).
Her shop was REALLY neat. With each item purchased, they would attach a "card" with the person who made it and how old they were...a little bit about their story. It was such an awesome thing to see. The Lord is really blessing this ministry!
After her jewelry shop, we were done shopping. It seemed as though we were out of money (though I did have quite a bit left), and Amanda and I were itching to get our hands back on our kids!
When we came back to Layla (treasures in hand) I walked into the baby room, and the nannies informed me that Megersa was sleeping. I picked him up anyway.
I figured I didn't care, and would just hold him while he slept.
But he woke up. I went out into the little "lobby" area, and started to get a bottle ready...but one of the nannies came out with a bowl/spoon/bib in hand and said "Megersa? Snack!" He looked at the nanny and grinned. I could tell he recognizes most of them and is oh, so generous with his smiles!
She handed me the stuff and walked back into the room.
When I looked into the bowl I saw what looked like crackers - graham crackers (or a variation of it) crushed up in water. I thought...wait? Is this the "cerelac" they are talking about? Cookies?
I couldn't imagine that he was eating cookies as his other form of nourishment...and that he was eating from a thin metal adult spoon. But he did.
Not a lot. He didn't seem to really want it.
Mom went in to the baby room and asked if there was anyone who needed feeding.
They handed her Minalush and a bowl, spoon and bib.
Minalush did NOT want to eat for my MIL....or maybe just in general. She's a skinny little thing too...and she just took one bite, but wouldn't swallow it.
Mom waited for awhile and tried to coax her into taking another bite, but she didn't. When one of the nannies came out, Mom tried to explain to her that she didn't seem hungry; but the nannies motioned for her to keep shoveling it in. They said something to Minalush in Amharic and it got a smile out of her - then they took the spoon, and gave her more while her mouth was open. Maybe she just recognized the nanny...because I'm not sure if she ate more for mom.
Megersa ate probably half of it, and then I decided to give him a bottle. He was fine after that.
It was nearing dinner time, and we decided that we'd walk back to the Ritmo with Amanda and Tsehaye. We were told by the group of volunteers at Layla (who were staying at Ritmo) that they had extra lasangna made and we were welcome to join them.
So, I strapped Megs in the carrier, and we went to the guest house.
It's really nice there. Very homey. The walk there is 1/2 on pavement, and 1/2 gravel (which is a bit tricky when you've got bags, you're wearing flip flops, and you're carrying a baby on your chest). We got to see Amanda's room, and I looked around the compound a bit. It's enclosed by gate and guarded 24/7, which is very nice.
Why didn't we opt to stay there? Well, several reasons:
I wanted to be able to sleep. It's a sweet place there, but it is kinda loud with all of the people and excitement there. Amanda said she can hear the "call to prayer" at 5am. There are rolling power outages there which wouldn't allow me to use my fan at night.
The bonus would have been to have Megersa with me...but then we wouldn't have been able to go out at night.
Secondly, I wanted a SHOWER! 3 days in a row they didn't have hot water - or much running water at all. They were collecting some cold water to be able to flush down poop...but even then, the bathrooms were getting pretty dang nasty with all the pee. Oh, and you're not allowed to flush the toilet paper there. I think it's kinda icky, though I understand that people dont really use toilet paper in 3rd world countries, so the plumbing system can't handle it.
It WAS great to visit though.
The lasangna was okay. The food there is of course, not what we are used to, but it was nice to have "home cook" style dinner. We stayed and chatted with the high school volunteers (Susan PD brought a group of teenagers who were volunteering for a week) and the other adoptive family that was there.
When it was time to leave, we packed everyone back up, and went back to the Ritmo.
Amanda intended to let Tsehaye stay at the Ritmo, but T didn't want to stay. That was a HUGE step in the right direction for them!! Yay!
We dropped of Megersa, then walked back to the King's Hotel.
Tim called that night and I was telling him what we bought and where we went...but he cut me off and said "I dont care about that, how is Megersa?" I guess I would have been mad, but I WAS totally rambling on!! :)
Wednesday night was PACKED with excitement, so it was very easy to swallow 2 tylenol pm, and a melatonin, and head to bed.
I slept great.

THE TRIP - Day 2-3

Man, SO much has been happening the past few days now that we're home, I gotta haul hiney here to finish up about the trip:

8pm Wed, ET time, 3/10/10
It's been really long since I journaled!
Here is what's been going on -
After getting off the plane we went to the visa line. We were probably one of the 7 people in line (the last ones, but still!). Took about 20-30 minutes to get through. Not bad at all! Then we went to immigration and got our ET stamps (yay!). Didn't take long either! Then a guy volunteered to grab our bags for us. So "mom" said it was okay. We exchaged our money to birr. 13.36 birr to 1 US dollar. We exchanged about $600 - which was A LOT of birr! I guess the guy saw us with the gignatic amount of money we had and he expected more than the 20 birr we gave him as a tip. This is what we were told to tip though.
I mean, yeah, that's cheap - but all he did was take our bags from the coveyer belt to the cart! I didn't want to get a guy; I would have done it myself. Oh well. Anyway, he put up a stink about it and I didn't care. I just ignored him, but Mom kept saying "No, this is what we were told to give." THEN she asked another lady! :) haha. This ET lady said "Yes, it's fine. - 5 birr per bag."
HA!
She even said he should have brought our bags to the xray (which he didn't). We waited in that line for awhile, because our donation tub had zip ties, and it took FOREVER for someone to come over and cut through the zip ties & "ok" them. We waited with another AAI couple (Joe & Lisa) adopting 4 1/2 year old boy/girl twins...they also had donations with zip ties. When someone finally came over to cut through them, the men asked Lisa what the pads were. I thought it was very funny and told her she should demonstrate them! :) haha.
Anyway, after we got through Xray, we met the AAI driver, Jemal. He said he'd take us all, but as we walked to the parking lot, he said his car was small & couldn't fit us all. Joe & Lisa went to Ritmo with another man & Mom and I went in another taxi with Jemal to the King's Hotel. It cost 100 birr to ride there.
The Kings Hotel is basic. They initially put us in a suite room, but it only had one bed, so I said, "No, sorry...we asked for 2 beds."
Now we have a smaller, less fancy room, but it gets the job done. A hot shower. 2 beds that are surprisiginly comfy. A toilet, big towels and it's generally quiet. The window in the bathroom stays open (it's their ventilation system here)...so at night it does get cooler, but def not bad. The windows & curtains are sheer, so we change in the bathroom.
The TV's broken & you can hear the cars going by, beeping at each other, but my convertor works, so the fan gets to stay on ALL night!!
When we got in and somewhat unpacked, we decided we'd take a 2 hour nap...and then shower, THEN go to layla to meet Megersa.
At first, even though I was dead tired, I couldn't relax my mind or drown out the outside noise (which is MUCH louder during the day) but I kept praying & I did eventually fall asleep.
I probably slept 1-1 1/2 hours. Then we showered and got a taxi to Layla. We were both feeling loopy and we were tired from dragging around that dumb tub, so we decided we'd haul it there and leave it.
As soon as we walked in Layla, we were met by Jessica (Gail's assistant who works for AAI) and she said, "Hi! Are you Megersa's mommy? Are you ready to meet him?"
WHOA!
I quickly saw Amanda Cadman and gave her a hug, then handed her the video camera. Mom got the camera and followed me in. Jessica went over, grabbed Megersa (who was belly down on the floor with his buddies)...then said "Megersa - Here is your mommy!" She handed him to me, and honestly - I was prepared for him to not make eye contact or arch his back or something, but I got a smile out of him, THEN he just nuzzeld into me. BLISS.
I REALLY couldn't have dreamed of it going so smoothly! He is a beautiful baby. I got so many smiles and giggles out of him in the next few hours. He seemed totally content to be with me! I changed his clothes (The size 3-6 clothes that I put on his are still a little big and the size 2 diapers are tightened as far as they will go - he's a SKINNY, long baby!)
I went around with my camera (and him) to take pics of all the other babies. The nannies are SO sweet. They kept asking me "Megersa's mommy?" and then they wanted to grab him to get a picture with him. I could tell they really love all the babies. I fed him a bottle, and just walked around with him, inside and outside.
Ivy gave us a tour of the compound and Megs fell asleep in my arms. I forgot my ERGO (if you can believe that!) and had to hold him, but it was soooo sweet!
After about 30 minutes I switched with Mom and she held him until he woke up.
By the way, the nannies think it's great that she's the grandma.
He took more bottle and then we played a little more, but it was about 6:45p, so we left. We were meeting Anna Faulker - a Cedarville grad that live in ET - at Kaldis (ET starbucks that also has some American style food) for dinner.
Amanda came too. She's GREAT! I ordered some sort of chicken club salad (which it wasn't...so I didn't eat it) and fries (yum!) and a chocolate milkshake. Double yum!
It was good to meet Anna and she said she'd love to take us shopping on Wednesday after lunch!
Leaving Megs wasn't as hard as I thought. That sounds bad, but he's still getting used to me, so I want the transition to be as smooth as possible. And, I want to experience ET while I'm here.
He watched me leave, and I looked at him to see if he was upset, but he wasn't. He knows his crib. He's familiar with the sounds, sights and smells of his room, and his world will be rocked soon enough...so I didn't mind.
He will sleep well and see me the next day.
I was totally okay with it...plus it was fun going out with the girls at night.
The walk to and from the King's Hotel takes about 15 minutes...some of it is uphill and that's not fun with a giant diaper bag and shopping stuff, but it's good for me. At night it makes me more nervous. But that's my nature.
When I can't understand the language, it puts me even more "on guard" - but the Lord has been SO good to us. No sickness, not really feeling jet-lag, EXCELLENT, AMAZING, ADORABLE little boy; and safety.
When we got home, we putzed around waiting for Tim and Dad to call.
It was great to hear Tim's voice.
He was SO happy to hear about Megersa! We chatted for awhile and I felt good knowing he was keeping Cale busy. After that, I got my bed ready, took 2 tylenol PM, put the fan on, covered my face and fell asleep.
7 am, Thursday, March 11
Backtracking here to yesterday morning. Hopefully I can get caught up - there's just SO much to remember!
Okay, so our first night here - I slept okay. Woke up 2-3 times in the early night. Was feeling "awake" at about 2-3am, so I decided to take a melatonin. Slept AWESOME after. The alarm actually had to wake me up at 7 am. Decided to hit snooze and fell right back asleep for 15 more minutes.
But then we got up, and ready for Embassy.
Ivy was having a shuttle bus pick us up and another AAI couple who are staying here at 8:15am. Since I showered late yesterday afternoon, I didn't wash my hair again and to my surprise, the flat iron worked! (Surprised because the day before the blow dryer wouldn't.)
I decided even with that to pull my hair back in a ponytail and wear a headband. Cute! :) I sorta dressed up for Embassy - though it's not required.
It just FEELS like an important event.
We got ready and went downstairs at about 7:55a. We went into the Kings restaurant, but decided we didn't really have enough time for a sit-down breakfast. I ate a B-bar and a fruit roll anyway.
We were then greeted by the other AAI fam in the foyer and chatted about AAI.
Not long after, Susan PD came in (who is AWESOME, btw) and said "Okay, let's go!"
I was second-to-last out the door, but could spot Megersa on Ivy's lap right away.
I sat toward the back and grabbed him to sit with me. Once he was in my arms, he seemed sorta wiggly and restless. I put more hydrocortisone on his cheeks (he's got BAD eczema) - but when I touched his cheeks, he was opening his mouth, so I put a binky in and he fell asleep in seconds. THEY dressed him in a long-sleeved red onesie underneath a blue and pink polo with khacki pants and red socks.
I'm glad he looked like a boy!
The first day I met him, I had to laugh at the onesie he was wearing - "all american girl"...and was hoping that he would be dressed more gender appropriate for Embassy.
We drove over as he slept and when we got out, I put him in the ERGO (I remember he slept for another 10 minutes, but when he woke up he seemed content to just observe and was generally happy in the ERGO.)
I decided to get him out of it in the waiting room. There was a small area for toys for toddlers/young school-aged children and a bunch of chairs - it was very full!
He still seemed squirmy and I thought he might be hungry. I got the bottle out and as soon as he saw it, he started wimpering. Poor baby! I went as quickly as I could but he was starting to get impatient. Never cried, but looked so pitiful!
I had Mom hold him. I'm not great at bottles yet..not much experience - the bottle, the drop-in, the nipple, add the formula & water, shake, screw it on. not hard stuff, but torturous I'm sure to a hungry baby!
He was JAZZED after his bottle. Smily and cooing at the other Ethiopians. There were about 4-5 families from AAI and several from different agencies. We just waitied our turn as we chatted. I went to the bathroom, then came back and put him back in the ERGO (to get ready). We waited probably about 45 minutes overall before our turn. When they called us up (actually, Gail came and got us) we had to walk upstairs.
It was about as anti-climactic as you can imagine. There was another waiting room upstairs, but I was told to walk to the open window with Gail standing beside me.
The American women behind the glass was friendly enough, though I thought it was so bizarre to have the entire thing (except the very bottom) covered in thick-walled plastic. Like at a bank. What's with the security?
Hm. I could barely hear her questions. I can't reember them all, but something like this:
Are you the person on these forms? Yes.
Is this the child you were waiting for? Yes.
Is this the child that was referred to you? Yes.
What happened to the child's parents? He was abandonded.
Who found him? I said a police officer and social worker. But Gail corrected me saying it was an individual walking and a PO.
Is your husband here? No.
Have you met the child before or after you passed court? After.
Do you know this adoption is final? Yes.
You know you must re-adopt him according to your state laws? Yes.
And there may have been one or two other simple questions, but nothing intense. Easy peasy.
She told me we'd get his passport on Friday morning and Gail handed me a red file with all his doctors reports and other paper (haven't opened it yet). Then we walked back downstairs.
Megs seemed kinda stinky, so I changed his diaper (and his outfit) and then we played in the little play area.
He really enjoys rolling around - moving in general. I was surprised the first day I saw him that he likes to be "wrestled with" or tossed around - totally makes him giggle!
He's also very used to being on the floor, so it makes sense.
I think when I hold him a lot, he gets really wiggly and starts to shake his body (partly also because he lacks back/neck/leg strength).
Even still - he was as happy as a clam.
Probably about 15-20 minutes later we left with our group. I had Megersa in the ERGO and he fell asleep again in the car. He slept the whole ride, then about an hour after that when we arrived at Layla. I decided to take more pics of the babies and toddlers. They're always readily available for pics!
The toddlers kinda just play around all day and it's the cutest thing to see them all eating in their cloth high chairs - feet dangling! :)
On Tuesday I heard some little one in one of the baby rooms that was empty. It was filled with broken or unused cribs. I peeked in there and there were these little hands and feet on the floor, and a voice, kinda wimpering. I quickly went to one of the nannies and guestered for her to come to the room. She said "no babies in this room." I nodded my head, but still pointed for her to look. She seemed shocked as she saw the scared little toddler come out from behind the cribs!
Seemed as though she and the other nannies were asking questions (maybe pointing fingers, who knows! :) He's fine though.
Okay, so, I gave Megersa some more bottle when he woke up. He doesn't eat much. Maybe a couple oz at a time. He's a slow eater too - which is fine with me. I've been offering him a bottle a lot. I want him to know I am Mommy and can give him food and comfort.
We played a little then at about 1pm, I gave him to the nannies so we could go out shopping.
We were meeting up with Anna Faulker and Amanda Cadman. She was going to take us to some good places and help us haggle.
She was running late, so we walked to Kaldi's again and ate some quick lunch. This time I took no chances and ordered the french toast Anna had the night before. It looked good. I also had a chocolate shake again. Yum. Amanda got a carmel mocha frap which I fully intend to get before I leave on Friday!
After lunch, we went with Anna and her taxi driver to the shops.

And if you can believe...that's all I journaled by hand while in Ethiopia. I will try my best to remember the specific details from that point on!
Until tomorrow...Thanks for reading!