Hello blog friends! I’m sorry I haven’t posted already. We’re in a different part of the hotel this time around, and our internet doesn’t seem to be working as well. I’ve been trying to upload pictures for two days now, and it’s just SUPER slow and gets stuck every time. I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it here safely and that we’re enjoying our time with Yohannes!!! I’ll update more details later when our internet service is better, but he was really glad to see us yesterday. He saw us in the van and came RUNNING! It was amazing! We had a great day yesterday, a little rough time last night at bed time, and we’re having another great day today. He is WONDERFUL and seems to be bonding with us really well. He’s picking up on English faster than we expected and has already learned his brothers’ names. It melts my heart completely to hear him say, “mommy!” We had our Embassy appointment this afternoon, and everything went well. I got a little choked up when the man behind the counter had us raise our right hands and made sure we understood that the adoption is final and that it’s hard to be “undone.” Yohannes has been our son legally since August 4th, but something about today made it really seem official (even though it already was). We love him to pieces and can’t wait to bring him home! I’ll keep trying to post pictures, and I can’t wait to share more about him and our trip when I get a chance and some decent internet!
Category Archives: Adoption
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two more days
Life is crazy busy around here this week. Brad and I have both been a little under-the-weather, and he just went to the doctor this morning to get medicine for a nasty sinus infection. I’ve been running around purchasing last minute things we’ll need for little man as well as things the grandparents and big boys will need while we’re gone. I’ve been typing out lists for the grandparents and letters for the teachers and packing lists, etc. Our little guy’s bed is covered with suitcases and things to be packed in them. I think I’ll just be glad to get on the plane and sit for a while on Saturday (I’m sure I’ll eat those words when we’re about 15 hours into the trip & I’m sick of sitting on that airplane)! I’ve got so much to do before we leave, but at the same time, I’m so ready!
We’ll arrive in Addis Ababa Sunday evening, and we’ll go to Hannah’s Hope to get him Monday morning. Our Embassy appointment is Tuesday morning, and we’ll leave Ethiopia to come home late Thursday night. We’re not allowed to go out in public much at all with him, so we’ll spend a lot of time at the hotel. I’m sure that we’ll be very ready to start the journey home on Thursday. We’ll arrive in Nashville Friday afternoon, and we’re inviting any friends and family that would like to greet us at the airport to do so (I’ll share all of those details in a later post).
When I think about the number of people involved in helping to bring him home, I’m completely overwhelmed with emotion. There are literally about 300 people who have contributed financially, and so many people have prayed for us over the past eight months. We will never be able to adequately thank you all. Please know that every little donation and every little word of encouragement and support has been SUCH a HUGE blessing to us. Our small group threw a “toddler shower” for us last night, and they gave so generously. Now our little guy has plenty of clothes to wear and new, fun things to play with! We are so grateful for all of you for partnering with us on this crazy journey God has taken our family on.
We know the real journey is just about to begin, so we would truly appreciate your prayers as we transition to being a family of five. We know that there will certainly be tough days ahead as he grieves the loss of everything familiar. There will possibly (if not probably) be times when he shuts down and rejects us, when he gets angry and frustrated, when he cries and we don’t know why or what to do. There will be a language barrier for a while since he doesn’t speak English. In many ways, the hard part is ahead of us as we learn to parent him well.
We’ll be “cocooning” for a couple of months while he transitions to being a part of our family. I’ll do a separate post on that soon describing what that means and what we think it will look like for us. Again, thank you all so much. I CANNOT WAIT to show you his beautiful face and smile. We are incredibly blessed to have the privilege of being his family, and we can’t wait to bring him home!
Girls Night Out with Anjelah Johnson!
Last night I met some girlfriends at Zanie’s to see Anjelah Johnson do a little stand up comedy, and it was great! She did a little Bon Qui Qui for us . . . which was pretty much awesome . . .
I’m not usually a big stand up comedy fan because I don’t particularly love crudeness or poking fun of other people. Anjelah, however, has a very clean show & I would definitely go see her live again. I didn’t realize how much I needed to just get out and have fun and laugh until I was there. The past few months have been kind of emotional and a little more stressful than usual, and it was SO good to just laugh for 2 hours!
So . . . . in other news . . . . we leave for Ethiopia on SATURDAY!!! Only SIX more days until we’re on our way to get our boy! It will be a busy week, but we’re soooooo ready. And guess what I got for my birthday? This little gem! Except mine has three heartstrings & all three of our boys’ names on it. I love it & I’ve been wearing it ever since it came in the mail. It came from Lisa Leonard Designs. Her stuff is really cute.
Okay, I’m tired so that’s all I have for tonight. I hope you all have a great week!
fun at the airport
This afternoon we joined a big group of people at the airport to welcome the Bonner family. They are HOME, and their family is finally TOGETHER! Their son “G” is one of our son’s Hannah’s Hope buddies, and we were able to get to know him and play with him a lot when we were in Ethiopia a few weeks ago. We just LOVE him, and it was SOOOOO good to see him again . . . this time here in Nashville! I had to fight tears the whole time we were there because seeing him made me miss our little guy terribly. Two weeks from today we’ll be at the airport again – this time on the other side of things – bringing our boy home. I absolutely cannot wait . . . it’s making me crazy! Here’s the Stavnes family. They live in the area and just got home with their son a few weeks ago. He is adorable!
Of course Lucy Lane and her crew were there!
Riley & Cole were excited because I checked them out of school a little early to join in the fun. I can’t get a “normal” picture of Cole for anything right now – he is just plain crazy! I think it was good for them to get a little taste of what they’ll experience in a couple of weeks so they’ll know what to expect.
And here they come!!!!! Vanessa was overcome with emotion, and who can blame her??? Their journey has been a long one filled with many unexpected twists and turns.
There was a big crowd there to celebrate with them (including the Peters family) . . .
Lots of love and attention . . .
Here he is playing peek-a-boo with Brad. He remembered him from our time at Hannah’s Hope (who can forget that big goatee?!?!) Welcome home little guy! We love you so much & can’t wait for a playdate really soon!!!
WOW!
I didn’t know what title to give this post . . . “WOW!” was all I could come up with after sitting in front of my computer screen for several minutes. The “Facebook/Twitter/Blog-a-thon” fundraiser was a huge success this weekend, and we are incredibly grateful for ALL who participated. It is amazing how a lot of people giving a little can add up! There are still a few donations coming in the mail later this week (and some are still coming in online), so I don’t have a grand total just yet. BUT, as of this morning we are up to $4,000. FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! Can you believe that?!
We don’t have the words to express our appreciation to everyone who donated and got the word out. We knew going into this adoption that we would have to ask for help financially at some point. It’s often humbling (especially in our society) to have to ask for help, but we know that God wants to use others and doesn’t want us to carry our burdens alone. He hasn’t called all Christians to adopt children, but I DO believe that he calls ALL Christians to love and care for orphans and others in need. So for those of you who contributed last weekend, you did just that – and we thank you.
We received an email yesterday from friends who are in Ethiopia right now picking up their little boy. It read, “We saw [him] again yesterday. I think he is definitely missing you guys. Even Almaz said that he was missing his mom and dad when our group was there. I think he will definitely be ready for you.” As I read it, tears rolled down my cheeks. On one hand, I was glad to hear that he remembers us and love us already and misses us. At the same time, though, my heart broke for him (once again). I’m praying that he really believes we’re coming back for him and that we love him so much. We leave in ELEVEN days, and while there’s still a lot left to be done before we travel, September 4th can’t get here fast enough!
I’ll leave you with this verse because I really do believe it’s true – we’re living proof!
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19
I hope you all are having a great week, and thanks for reading!
HELP RAISE $4800 in 48 HOURS!
{Scroll to bottom of post for updates!}
Our case manager called this morning and told us to go ahead and book tickets for our next trip to Ethiopia – which will be in TWO WEEKS! We leave Nashville on Saturday, September 4th, go to our Embassy appointment on Tuesday, September 7th, and arrive back home on Friday, September 10th WITH OUR SON!!!
This weekend we’re doing a FACEBOOK/TWITTER/BLOG-A-THON to raise the money needed to purchase our airline tickets, and we could use YOUR help! Here are the details:
Our goal is $4800 in 48 HOURS!
Begins TONIGHT at 11:59 and ends at 11:59 PM on Sunday.
If 480 people each contribute $10 . . . our goal will be met!
Donations will be run through the Paypal “Donate” button here on the blog (top, left-hand side).
***Please consider donating $10 or more & help us spread the word exponentially using Facebook, Twitter, blog posts & any other forms of social media you use! It’s easy – just copy and paste this information:***
$4800 in 48 HOURS: Help bring a little boy in Ethiopia home to his forever family for only $10! Visit www.dunlapadoption.com to donate online! Re-post this to help spread the word!
Your help is GREATLY appreciated! Check back here for progress updates throughout the weekend!
We can’t post {full} pictures of our son yet, but these will give you an idea of how PRECIOUS he is! . . .
**UPDATES:**
Friday 8/20 @ 9 PM: $800!!!
Friday 8/20 @ 11 PM: $1,045!!!
Saturday 8/21 @ 8 AM: $1,220!!!
Saturday 8/21 @ 2 PM: $1,510!!!
Saturday 8/21 @ 8 PM: $1,720 (one ticket down, two more to go)!!!
Sunday, 8/22 @ 8 AM: $2,175!!!
Sunday, 8/22 @ 1 PM: $2,535!!!
Sunday, 8/22 @ 9 PM: $3,030 (two tickets down & one to go)!!!
Sunday, 8/22 @ 10 PM: $3,445!!!
Sunday, 8/22 @ 12 PM: $3,500!!!
Monday, 8/23 @ 4 PM: $3,910 (donations are still coming in . . . WOW)!!!
getting ready
Who knew it would be so much work getting ready for little man to come home?! It’s worth every single minute of thinking through the details, but my to-do/to-buy list seems to grow a little each day! I really don’t like clutter (and have even been accused on occasion quite often of getting rid of too much stuff) so it’s no surprise that we gave away most of our little boy clothes and toys a while back. So . . . we’re kind of starting over, and I’ve been buying little things here and there for him. A few days ago I bought Toy Story and Cars underwear. Yesterday I ordered his backpack (we’ll pack it full of goodies to help keep him preoccupied on the LONG flight). Today I got pajamas and an outfit for him to wear to our Embassy appointment. We also bought him shoes last week (see previous post). Here are a few of the things on my list . . .
Notice the hair products at the top . . . that’s definitely something new for me! There have been multiple things recommended to me, so we’ll just have to play around and see what works best once he’s here. He has really cute hair, though . . . see??? . . .
I’ve been wanting to blog the past couple of days but haven’t been able to come up with words for how I’m feeling right now. Riley and Cole have started back to school, so I’ve been kind of busy (and somewhat distracted) with that. I’ve really been trying to live in the moment and enjoy Riley and Cole, too. But I miss him. I think about him multiple times everyday. It’s usually a random, fleeting thought, but in those moments my heart aches. I miss his grin and kissing his cheeks. I miss kicking the soccer ball with him and blowing bubbles. I miss holding him and feeling his head rest on my shoulder.
Yesterday I was in the bank and noticed a little boy with his mom. He reminded me of our little boy, and I asked how old he was and what country she’s from (thankfully the part of town we live in is very diverse, and there are people literally from all over the world that live close to us). She said that she is from Ethiopia, and I got to tell her about our son. I asked what area of Ethiopia she’s from, and she said “the Tigray region” (where little man was born!). We talked for a few minutes, and then I went back out to my car with tears in my eyes. Seeing her son made me miss mine terribly. I was thankful, though, for meeting her and having a conversation with her. It’s encouraging to meet Ethiopians in our area.
We’re still waiting to hear that we can purchase our airline tickets for the second trip. We have an Embassy appointment on Tuesday, September 7, so we should travel September 4 – 10. We’re waiting to hear the results of his TB test, and we should know something by the end of the week. Please continue to pray that everything works out for us to travel then. That’s only EIGHTEEN DAYS AWAY!!! I can’t wait to see him again and bring him HOME!
REJOICING!!!
You guys must REALLY be praying for us or something!
The big boys and I were out doing some back-to-school shopping this afternoon when I got a call from our case manager. She said the magic words we love to hear . . . “Well, I have some good news for you . . . ” and proceeded to tell me that we have an Embassy appointment on Tuesday, September 7th!!! She told us to go ahead and start looking into flights for September 4th – 10th. These are tentative travel dates at this point, and there are still a number of things that could slow the process and cause a delay. Please continue to pray that everything goes smoothly and that we indeed get to bring our little boy home very SOON! I just about broke into a dance in the middle of Target, and I’m completely overwhelmed with thankfulness this afternoon. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support! To commemorate the occasion, we decided to buy him these! . . .
In other news, Riley and Cole started back to school today! Riley is a FOURTH grader now & Cole is in SECOND grade . . . yikes! They only went for half of the day, and their first full day is on Monday. They both came home in good spirits and enjoyed their teachers and their classmates. Riley’s excited because they have a hamster, some fish, a frog, a guinea pig, etc. in their classroom. They get to be on “pet patrol” and even take one of the little critters home for the weekend every now and then – whoo hoo! Cole said his teacher is cool because “she has good Legos and good books in her classroom.” I’m praying that it’s a good year for both of them – especially with all of the changes going on at home with little man coming into the family. I’m really proud of Riley and Cole, and they are going to be such great big brothers!
Well, I have to go get ready for 2.5 hours of “Parent Night” at the school. Our sweet friend, Jessie, is coming to hang out with the guys last minute so we can both go . . . thanks, Jessie!!! I just had to share our good news and a school update while I had a minute. I am a lousy mom and didn’t even take pictures today (mostly because Riley would be mortified and completely embarrassed!), but I’ll try to sneak some in on Monday and post them (especially for the grandparents!). Until then . . .
Hannah’s Hope pictures & an update
I’ve sung the praises of Hannah’s Hope over and over since we were there, so I thought I’d post a few more pictures of the facility. There is always LOTS of work going on both inside and outside . . .
(For all listserv friends, the files I mentioned in a previous post are on the bookshelf on the left side of the first image.)
A couple of the “big” kids’ rooms . . .
This is the room where our son sleeps (below). That’s his bed in the photo on the right side. (Yes, it looks like a girl’s room, but there are some boys that sleep in there, too!)
This is the view from the upstairs balcony. The facility is located in a newer part of the city, and there is a lot of new construction going on all around.
Some of the baby rooms . . . 
It really is a GREAT place, and we’re so thankful for everyone who put in many hours making it so fun and kid-friendly!
In other news . . .
I spoke with our case manager today, and she said it will probably be late September or early October before we travel back to Ethiopia to bring our son home – which is a little longer than we were hoping. The timing of that trip revolves around when our Embassy appointment is scheduled. For an Embassy date to be given, a court decree & his passport have to issued, and some (more) paperwork has to be submitted. Our agency is allotted two Embassy dates per month, so our travel plans will be affected by those assigned dates as well. Lastly, since we’re adopting an “older” child, he has to go through TB testing (required by the CDC for him to enter the US). Sometimes that slows the process as well. The group that traveled prior to us got their Embassy dates REALLY quickly, so I had hoped we would as well. They all adopted little babies, though, and the timing of their trip, etc. just lined up perfectly for an earlier Embassy date.
Please pray that God makes a way for us to bring our son home as quickly as possible. This afternoon and tonight I found myself missing him so much. I stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes and just had a little quiet cry. I KNOW him now, and it breaks my heart to think of him wondering whether we’re really coming back for him. It makes me sad to think about him sleeping in his little bed at night thinking about his time with us and being confused. Pray that God will give him (and us) peace during this time of separation.
saying goodbye
We made it back to Nashville yesterday afternoon after 30 hours of traveling and about 21 hours on an airplane. While I miss being in Ethiopia, at this point I’m just really glad to be on the ground!
Friday was a tough day emotionally, but we made it and my heart is actually filled with peace. We headed over to Hannah’s Hope at 9:00 and played just like we did the other days. Our little guy was outside and ran to the van when he saw we were inside. Not long after that, however, he started acting very strangely. He was very clingy and didn’t want anything to do with Brad. He wanted me to carry him the whole time and didn’t want to play (which isn’t like him). He cried a little at one point, and Almaz came out and asked him if he wanted some new shoes. He did, so we went into the storage room, and he picked out a pair. He was SO proud of those shoes and strutted back out to the courtyard to show them off! He just kind of crept out there at first, looking down at them as he walked, and waited to see if any of the kids would notice. When they didn’t, he decided to call each child by name and pointed at them. It was so funny! After that, he was all better, and we had a good time.
* (These are his new shoes & his sweet little hand!)
When it was time for lunch, tears welled up in his eyes, and it was ALL I could do to hold mine in. He’s a smart little guy, and he’d figured out early on that we would leave soon after lunch was over. He finally stopped crying, and Brad and I fed him his lunch (injera and shiro wat). In Ethiopian culture, feeding someone shows that you love them, and I had kind of wanted to feed him all week long. He settled down, and we blew LOTS of bubbles and played soccer after lunch.
Because he had figured out that we are his parents earlier in the week, Almaz was honest with him when it was time for us to go. She told him that we were going back to America to get him some new clothes, some toys & some candy and that we would be back to take him home. He instantly looked sad and wouldn’t look us in the eyes. Almaz said that he agreed with the part about us bringing him new things but didn’t agree with us leaving. We loved on him, and I took his little face in my hands and gave him one last kiss. Then we got in the van. I somehow managed to hold it together until we backed out of the gate, and then I sobbed and did the ugly cry. I’ll never forget him turning to look at us as we backed out.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I suddenly felt a strange sense of peace and had stopped crying. That morning at Hannah’s Hope, Almaz had given us a disc of pictures of our little guy with his birth mom and little sister. When we got in our room, I popped the disc in my laptop. As we looked through all of the pictures and read the interview that was done with her, I just cried and cried. Honestly it was far more emotional than saying goodbye to him. I believe God allowed me to have perspective in that moment and realize that my goodbye was NOTHING in comparison to her goodbye. She said goodbye for forever, and I was only saying goodbye for a few weeks. Her pain was far more agonizing than the pain I felt. My heart broke again for her and for him. In the pictures, he looks so content and comfortable with her. He looks so happy. There are ones of just him and her and ones of him holding and kissing on his little sister. I just sat there and grieved for all of them and thanked God for her and her sacrifice. She loves him so much that she made the decision to let him go so he could live and thrive. She wasn’t able to provide for him, and so she made the choice to give him life. She most certainly did not abandon him. She made the hardest decision of her life because she loves him more than she loves herself. I’m so thankful that we have the pictures, and we will always treasure them and her.
We left the hotel around 4:30 and headed to the airport. As we drove there, I just couldn’t believe that our time was over. I began to realize how much I would miss being there. Our flight from Addis Ababa to Dubai left late, so we had the joy of sprinting through the Dubai airport trying to make our connecting flight to New York. Thankfully we made the final call and then ended up sitting on the runway for over an hour before flying off into the night sky toward the United States. After 14 hours on that plane, we landed in New York early yesterday morning. We felt soooo rough and were just ready to get home at that point. We made it back to Nashville around 1:30 PM and managed to stay awake until about 9:45 last night. It felt SO good to sleep in our bed and get a full 8 hours of sleep! We got Riley & Cole back this afternoon, and it was really good to be back together! It’s strange to know, though, that we have a son half way across the world, and I cannot wait until we’re all under one roof. I’ve thought about him so many times today and wondered what he was doing and what is going through that little head of his. We believe he really understood that we’re coming back, and I’m hoping he’ll trust that it’s true over the next days and weeks until we can get to him again.
We’re hoping to hear about our Embassy appointment this week, and then we’ll have a better idea about when we’ll travel back to Ethiopia. Stay tuned . . . I’ll keep you posted!
* (Almaz & me . . . she is so wonderful & we are thankful for her! My hair looked crazy all week because I fried my flat iron the second day we were there . . . oops!)