6 years ago
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Going private
We’re making our blog private in the next week or so. If you’re interested in following along in our journey, please leave us a message with your email and we’ll gladly add you.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Birthday and Fall fun
We have to take a quick break from the trip report because somebody had a birthday:
Who could that be?
Our little Juniper turned 1 on the 15th! What a big girl!
She was the first of our three kids to actually eat her birthday cake in her highchair with her hands. Paisley fell asleep on her 1st birthday; Majil didn't want to get dirty, so she kept her hands away from that pesky cake. Junie? Dove in...full fist of cake, right to the mouth. The picture above was about the 2nd bite. It was totally worth it...until I tried to get her out of the seat. Do you know how much frosting can be absorbed in the webbing of the seatbelt thing?
Her birthday party was pretty low-key; the majority of our family (immediate and extended) were sick. All except Juniper! We elected to postpone her party until everyone was better to try to prevent her from catching it. However, she seems to be a total immunological champion. I don't know if it's the orphanage effect or something, but she's tough!
We also played outside today, which was a great change from a surprisingly cold few weeks of October and the nice weather helped the girls feel better than they have been feeling. They had a great time jumping in the leaves and we possibly got our Christmas card photo! In the past, it's always a challenge to get the girls looking cute, hair in place, BOTH looking at the camera for the picture. Now that we have 3, we have an automatic pass to use "artistic license" and have thrown all that out the window. Pretty...darn...cute...I'd say.
Also, I love this picture below. This was the first morning after I got home from Ethiopia.
More trip info soon!
Who could that be?
Our little Juniper turned 1 on the 15th! What a big girl!
She was the first of our three kids to actually eat her birthday cake in her highchair with her hands. Paisley fell asleep on her 1st birthday; Majil didn't want to get dirty, so she kept her hands away from that pesky cake. Junie? Dove in...full fist of cake, right to the mouth. The picture above was about the 2nd bite. It was totally worth it...until I tried to get her out of the seat. Do you know how much frosting can be absorbed in the webbing of the seatbelt thing?
Her birthday party was pretty low-key; the majority of our family (immediate and extended) were sick. All except Juniper! We elected to postpone her party until everyone was better to try to prevent her from catching it. However, she seems to be a total immunological champion. I don't know if it's the orphanage effect or something, but she's tough!
We also played outside today, which was a great change from a surprisingly cold few weeks of October and the nice weather helped the girls feel better than they have been feeling. They had a great time jumping in the leaves and we possibly got our Christmas card photo! In the past, it's always a challenge to get the girls looking cute, hair in place, BOTH looking at the camera for the picture. Now that we have 3, we have an automatic pass to use "artistic license" and have thrown all that out the window. Pretty...darn...cute...I'd say.
Also, I love this picture below. This was the first morning after I got home from Ethiopia.
More trip info soon!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Day 3 (Part 2-Gotcha Day still!)
After meeting our Juniper Tesfanesh, we loaded on a bus to go shopping. It was a strange experience; I wanted to stay at Hannah's Hope so much to see everything and take it all in, but because Junie's reaction was so scared and afraid, I thought it was okay to give her a break for a little bit!
We drove through the city to a small shopping area. This was probably the first time we were out in the city in the daylight. I've read of the poverty. I've seen pictures and videos. NOTHING can do it justice other than being there. Being surrounded by it. As we drove, my eyes darted from scene to scene, trying to remember everything I saw and process the situations that so many people are living in. There were tons of people everywhere; people in business suits walking alongside people in rags.
The worst was seeing people on the sidewalk stepping over piles of blankets. I thought this was weird until I realized that a person, a human being, someone created in God's image, was lying under those blankets. I caught a glimpse of some of their faces; hollow, sunken faces. Tired faces. And I'm on a bus with two cameras in my bag and 3600 Birr in an envelope to go shopping (side note: way too much shopping money, but the left over can be paid toward the hotel fee for those of you traveling soon!) all while texting my wife on a Blackberry the news that I met our daughter. What on Earth? Why such a difference in the world? I have NO reason to complain about anything. My heart was moved for these people. But I still struggle with how to help...
We went shopping for a short time. I don't know how long we were there because it was crazy busy. It was like using Monopoly money for things....a scarf was 40 birr...but I had no idea how much that was in US currency. (Later I figured out 40 birr is $3.30 or so, but the math in my head was just too much!) The AGCI staff encouraged bargaining with the shopkeepers, as most sales are negotiated, but I felt so bad trying to get something cheaper, I didn't do much negotiating. I had made a list of what I wanted to get for Jana, the girls, parents, nieces, etc. I had grand ideas of buying something for Junie's birthdays each year, for her wedding, etc. but I wasn't that organized. I did get several dresses of various sizes for the girls to wear, jewelry for everyone, candlesticks, a tablecloth, and some other things.
We went to an Italian restaurant/art gallery for lunch. It was great to sit down and talk with other families on such an important day. We had great pizza and my first Ethiopian Coke; it was good time.
We went back to Hannah's Hope where I saw Junie's room, met more of her special moms, and finally got to take her back to the hotel! She was finishing a bottle when I got there, so she was fairly happy until I picked her up. She started screaming and Almaz said..."You, go..." and, um, "escorted" me to the door of her room. I asked a few quick questions, things that I thought may come in handy, such as "is she on regular or soy formula?" and "how much does she eat?". Given the fact Jana nursed both our girls, I had NEVER given a bottle, nor did I know how to mix one. They said, "Yes, soy. Um...about 4 or 6 or 8 ounces, sometimes more..." and that was it. I had intended on talking with the special moms (even though they don't speak much English) about how to calm her down, likes, dislikes, etc. but this was cut short because of the constant shrieking that my little princess had started.
I tried to calm her down outside, but she showed how tough she could be. Most families walked their kids back to the hotel, but because our little lady was making such a commotion, Almaz came out and put me in a van! She couldn't keep this screaming up for long, right?
Yep. She sure could. 2 hours and 20 minutes to be exact. Once back at the hotel, I put her on the floor on a blanket and tried to play with her, change her, feed her, soothe her. Nope. No go. This crazy guy was staring at her and she wanted nothing to do with it! Finally, she would stop for a second, then look up at me and start crying again. These pauses were longer and longer until she finally fell asleep on me in our Ergo baby carrier. In true Dad form, I thought I'd just lay her on the bed and we'd all get some rest. Ha ha...yeah right, it started all over again!
After awhile, we went downstairs for some dinner and the walking around and the commotion of the restaurant entertained her until she fell asleep again at about 7:30 her time. That night, she got up 4 times and started her fearful cry again, but I would take her into the bathroom (we left the light on) and she'd look at me in the mirror, lay her head back down, drink a little more formula, and go back to sleep. I was so enamored with her, I didn't sleep between the 2nd and 3rd wakings. I just stared at her, amazed that I was laying next to our baby!
So glad you're home sweetheart!
We drove through the city to a small shopping area. This was probably the first time we were out in the city in the daylight. I've read of the poverty. I've seen pictures and videos. NOTHING can do it justice other than being there. Being surrounded by it. As we drove, my eyes darted from scene to scene, trying to remember everything I saw and process the situations that so many people are living in. There were tons of people everywhere; people in business suits walking alongside people in rags.
The worst was seeing people on the sidewalk stepping over piles of blankets. I thought this was weird until I realized that a person, a human being, someone created in God's image, was lying under those blankets. I caught a glimpse of some of their faces; hollow, sunken faces. Tired faces. And I'm on a bus with two cameras in my bag and 3600 Birr in an envelope to go shopping (side note: way too much shopping money, but the left over can be paid toward the hotel fee for those of you traveling soon!) all while texting my wife on a Blackberry the news that I met our daughter. What on Earth? Why such a difference in the world? I have NO reason to complain about anything. My heart was moved for these people. But I still struggle with how to help...
We went shopping for a short time. I don't know how long we were there because it was crazy busy. It was like using Monopoly money for things....a scarf was 40 birr...but I had no idea how much that was in US currency. (Later I figured out 40 birr is $3.30 or so, but the math in my head was just too much!) The AGCI staff encouraged bargaining with the shopkeepers, as most sales are negotiated, but I felt so bad trying to get something cheaper, I didn't do much negotiating. I had made a list of what I wanted to get for Jana, the girls, parents, nieces, etc. I had grand ideas of buying something for Junie's birthdays each year, for her wedding, etc. but I wasn't that organized. I did get several dresses of various sizes for the girls to wear, jewelry for everyone, candlesticks, a tablecloth, and some other things.
We went to an Italian restaurant/art gallery for lunch. It was great to sit down and talk with other families on such an important day. We had great pizza and my first Ethiopian Coke; it was good time.
We went back to Hannah's Hope where I saw Junie's room, met more of her special moms, and finally got to take her back to the hotel! She was finishing a bottle when I got there, so she was fairly happy until I picked her up. She started screaming and Almaz said..."You, go..." and, um, "escorted" me to the door of her room. I asked a few quick questions, things that I thought may come in handy, such as "is she on regular or soy formula?" and "how much does she eat?". Given the fact Jana nursed both our girls, I had NEVER given a bottle, nor did I know how to mix one. They said, "Yes, soy. Um...about 4 or 6 or 8 ounces, sometimes more..." and that was it. I had intended on talking with the special moms (even though they don't speak much English) about how to calm her down, likes, dislikes, etc. but this was cut short because of the constant shrieking that my little princess had started.
I tried to calm her down outside, but she showed how tough she could be. Most families walked their kids back to the hotel, but because our little lady was making such a commotion, Almaz came out and put me in a van! She couldn't keep this screaming up for long, right?
Yep. She sure could. 2 hours and 20 minutes to be exact. Once back at the hotel, I put her on the floor on a blanket and tried to play with her, change her, feed her, soothe her. Nope. No go. This crazy guy was staring at her and she wanted nothing to do with it! Finally, she would stop for a second, then look up at me and start crying again. These pauses were longer and longer until she finally fell asleep on me in our Ergo baby carrier. In true Dad form, I thought I'd just lay her on the bed and we'd all get some rest. Ha ha...yeah right, it started all over again!
After awhile, we went downstairs for some dinner and the walking around and the commotion of the restaurant entertained her until she fell asleep again at about 7:30 her time. That night, she got up 4 times and started her fearful cry again, but I would take her into the bathroom (we left the light on) and she'd look at me in the mirror, lay her head back down, drink a little more formula, and go back to sleep. I was so enamored with her, I didn't sleep between the 2nd and 3rd wakings. I just stared at her, amazed that I was laying next to our baby!
So glad you're home sweetheart!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 3! (Part 1-Gotcha day!)
We woke up earlier than we probably wanted to on Monday. We took our time getting ready since, after all, we were just going to do paperwork today and wait until Tuesday to meet our girl. Downstairs at the Union was a fun sight to see: a long table with all the AGCI families that had arrived Sunday evening/night. We met everyone and talked for awhile. It is so great to hear other families stories and how they came to adopt. Every story I heard struck me as amazing and wonderful; I was blessed to be in such wonderful company.
After eating another excellent breakfast (this time it was French Toast....absolutely incredible, like a triangle donut) we finally saw Almaz come to the door! It was kind of like seeing a movie star! I've seen pictures of her, read about her, and heard about her, but I got nervous when I saw her. She was great; she put us at ease while talking about paperwork, exchanging money, etc. I'd heard she would mention each child's name and something about them while talking, but everyone was mentioned except ours! Aaaah...my heart was almost beating out of my chest! (It dawned on me that I was sitting next to a female, so perhaps she thought I was with her?) Afterwards, I asked about Tesfanesh and how she'd react to me. She said, "It'll be hard. Good luck Dad." (!)
At some point, as she was filling us in on the rest of the day's activities (pretty much only shopping as far as we knew), she said "somewhere there's been confusion. We're going to get your kids in like 5 minutes guys, but I need you to listen closely to what I'm going to say next about the Embassy appointment." WHAT!? I was about to meet her? No way! Will she like me? Sleep okay? Take a bottle from me?
In true graduate student form, I took copious notes of the Embassy appointment, none of which were retained in my head the following day at the appointment, and sprinted up the stairs for cameras, batteries, etc. I don't remember talking to anyone or thinking of anything in particular; but suddenly I was on the cobblestone path leading up to Hannah's Hope to meet my daughter!
The Cobblestone Path
"Hey, take the picture vertically so we...CLICK" (Not thinking clearly; meeting daughter soon)
The famous gate
Walking through the gate
Gotcha Juniper Tesfanesh!Yeah, I felt joy. She felt fear. Absolutely gripped with fear. I mentioned earlier that we were warned she was fearful of white faces. "Fearful" is what Jana is in line for a rollercoaster. "Absolutely gripped with terror" was appropriate for the moment. Poor girl. I held her for a second, but the special moms took her back because she was so scared. I was okay with it all; I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible, so I just prayed she'd warm up to me somehow.
I took some pictures of other families which was fun to watch and see. I admired our beautiful girl from a distance, trying to send the "I'm a good guy" vibe to her. I was thinking she got it, but then I tried to hold her again and she cried immediately. The special moms couldn't take it anymore and rushed her inside. (Funny thing is, that was Jana's first reaction to me!)
I enjoyed more of other families' gotcha day moments and we all had to say goodbye to the kids while we made a quick shopping trip....
More to come!
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