Two Months Home

Yesterday was our two month anniversary of being home.  The exhaustion and frustration of the trip home still seem so recent.  But every time I look at Eyob, I'm struck by how far we've already come.  His eyes sparkle, he smiles all the time, and we're starting to understand why everyone in Ethiopia kept telling us he was funny.  This boy is mischievous!  He fits into this family perfectly.  He's also extremely compassionate and affectionate.  What an amazing boy we have!

We've had many ups and downs so far, but now that Eyob has a bit of English things are getting easier.  Yesterday he told me "yes ma'am" at an appropriate time.  Earlier this week he told his doctor "no hurt Eyob" followed by a long string of emphatic Amharic and then he hid his arm from her.  He didn't want any more blood draws, which thankfully they didn't have to do.  On Sunday, he was being so silly in church that I giggled through most of the sermon.  Life is good. 

I'm so far behind on blogging our trip that it's not even funny.  But, five kids keep me busy so I'm not gonna bust my own chops too much.  Here are some pictures, which are probably much more fun anyway.

Fun with Tatum

Mama cuddles

So darn cute!

Those eyes!  Be still my heart!

Playing cowboy at our old fashioned family picnic

Our Story

I took custody of our sweet boy two months ago today!  Here's a video montage that tells our story.

Days 6 & 7

Our bed net, which probably swayed while we slept

Cade and I got up the next morning and headed down to breakfast with my dad.  I discovered that my phone could get a wifi connection in the breakfast area and Justin was online, so we immediately started chatting.  So when my dad asked if we felt the earthquake during the night, I didn't really pay much attention.  I kind of laughed, thinking he was joking.  But, he said the net above his bed was rocking back and forth and even the bed itself was swaying.  Ummmmm..... no.  I didn't notice anything like that.  How well does that Advil PM work?  Good grief!  As we met up with our group to head out, they were all talking about the earthquake, too.  The hotel staff said it was the first one in thirty years.  Just our luck to be there when it happened.  Cade is so bummed that we slept through it!  I'm extremely glad that it wasn't major.  

Lewi Resort in Awassa

Off we went in the van.  We stopped at a resort in Awassa to look around.  Lake Awassa was beautiful and the resort was lovely.  We enjoyed seeing the monkeys running around everywhere!  We piled back in and drove the six or so hours back to Addis.  We arrived two hours before we were scheduled to take custody of the children.

Most of the families went to their rooms to rest, but we and another couple called for a taxi and went on a quick shopping trip.  We made it back just in time to jump in the Holt van [it was early!] and drive to the care center.  I was so drained at that point, after the emotional meeting with Eyob's Abat and all of the driving, that I don't think it really sank in that this was actually it!

Cutting the cake at the ceremony

We walked in and the kids were dressed in their traditional outfits.  So. Stinkin. Cute.  They were tailor made over the weekend for each child.  What a wonderful keepsake!  My dad prayed for all of the families and children, then everyone took turns cutting the cake.  Of course, there was also a coffee ceremony.  

Eyob didn't want anything to do with us.  He was terrified.  He kept wanting to sit with the kids who were observing, not with the other guests of honor.  I started thinking about it and realized that he had been at the care center in Addis for almost two years.  He'd probably sat through at least 30 going away ceremonies and didn't know how to act now that it was finally his turn to leave.  We let him wander and talked to the nannies and the director.  Cade made friends with the director's son and they had a lot of fun talking and playing.

My terrified new son

Before long, it was time to leave.  Eyob was ready for that part.  We walked down the steps, got in the van, he waved and yelled "ciao" to everyone, and we headed back to the Jemimah.  They had dinner waiting for us, but Eyob wouldn't eat.  There was a mirrored support pillar in the dining room and he stood in front of it staring at his reflection the whole time.  I wasn't too worried about him not eating, since he had cake and popcorn at the ceremony.

Leaving the care center

We got him to sleep pretty easily and he only woke up crying once in the night.  It was a pretty successful start to our relationship, but soon I was extremely grateful to be a seasoned parent.

We got up early the next morning to head to the embassy.  Eyob was quiet and wouldn't eat breakfast but did drink a little of the powdered milk I'd purchased.  I was a bit concerned, but there was no time to spare.  We got in the vans and headed to the embassy.  Suddenly, Eyob threw up all over me and himself.  A lot of puke!  Seriously how could all of that be in his stomach since he's hardly ingested anything!  All we had were kleenex and wet wipes and they weren't doing the job.  We were both soaked.  So my awesome father took off the t-shirt he had on under his button down and gave it to me to clean up the mess.  I did the best I could, but we reeked.  The driver said that a lot of kids get car sick at first, so that's what we assumed it was.  

When we got to the embassy, I cleaned us up the best I could in the bathroom and we waited for our turn.  It didn't take too long and all of our paperwork was in order.  Relief!!!  Now all we had to do was wait for the visa to be ready in 48 hours and we could head home.

After embassy - our official paperwork!

We went back to the guesthouse and hung out for the rest of the day.  Eyob loved blowing bubbles and he played a little bit of soccer with the other kids.  He didn't eat anything for the rest of the day, even though he told the guard he was hungry and the kitchen made some injera just for him.

Playing the day away

As we were getting ready for bed, he threw up again.  Uh oh.  I really hadn't thought any more about it.  Maybe he wasn't car sick after all...

Watching a DVD after we realized something was wrong