Category Archives: Africa & Ethiopia

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Hannah’s Hope pictures & an update

August 10, 2010 – 11:22 PM

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.

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, News | Comments (9)

saying goodbye

August 8, 2010 – 9:53 PM

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!)

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, Family, News | Comments (7)

We have THREE boys!!!

August 5, 2010 – 2:57 PM

We found out this morning that our case was approved in court yesterday, so our little guy is legally our son now!!!  We’re officially a family of FIVE!  We had a good visit with him this morning.  He was playing inside because it had rained, and he ran up to greet us when he realized we were in the room.  We stayed for about 2.5 hours, and tears were streaming down his cheeks when we left – broke my heart.  We’ll see him one last time tomorrow before we fly out later tomorrow evening.  I can’t believe our time in Ethiopia is coming to a close already.  The week has flown by, and tomorrow will be a hard day for sure.  The group that was here last week before us already has travel dates for their second trip/Embassy appointment.  They will be coming back in about TWO WEEKS!  We don’t know yet if our second trip will happen as quickly, but we’re ready for our little man to be HOME and for our family to be under ONE roof!

Tonight we went to dinner with Wass at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant.  It was a cultural experience for sure!  There was a live band, and traditional dances were performed for entertainment.  I’ll post a video from tonight here on the blog once we get home.  We got to Skype with the big boys back home today, and it made me miss them!  As incredibly hard as leaving will be, I’m really ready to see Riley and Cole!  They’ve been such troopers throughout this whole process and especially during our time apart.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from today.  This is our hotel . . .

Wass & Brad . . .

There’s a lot of new construction going on in this part of town (and all over Addis Ababa really).  The scaffolding is made out of wood . . .

There are goats, sheep, cows, donkeys & horses all over the place here!  They just hang out beside or IN the roads and even nap while cars and people steadily pass by!  At night they all leave the streets and go home!

This is Hannah’s Hope – such a wonderful place!  I took a lot of pictures inside of the buildings today and will do a separate post on them sometime soon . . .

This is the van we’ve been riding around in all week.  Wass has been a great chauffeur!Please pray for us as we say goodbye to our little boy tomorrow.  I’m going to try REALLY, REALLY hard to not cry in front of him.  I want his memories of our last day together to be happy ones.  Pray that God fills his heart with peace and that we’re able to bring him home soon.  We’ll fly out tomorrow evening and arrive back in Nashville Saturday afternoon.  Thanks for following our journey as we’ve been in Ethiopia!

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, News | Comments (7)

court & pictures

August 4, 2010 – 3:56 PM

Wass (Hannah’s Hope staff) picked us up at the hotel this morning at 7:30 to drive downtown for our court appointment.  We had some extra time, so we stopped by a CD store to pick up some traditional music from our son’s region.  We also went to visit the largest church in Ethiopia (see pictures below).  Then we headed to court, where Haile (our case processor) met us.  We walked up four flights of stairs and into a small room lined with chairs where we waited for two hours.  There were LOTS of people crowded into the little room at times, and we saw the couple I mentioned a few days ago from Texas that we met in the Dubai airport.  It was good to see them again & hear about their visit with their babies!  Finally we were called in, and we spent about 3 minutes sitting in front of the judge (a lady behind a little desk).  She asked us some basic questions, and then we were done!  We haven’t heard about the results of court yet, but hopefully Almaz will know something when we visit Hannah’s Hope tomorrow.

We then went with Wass to do some shopping at a little market area.  We got several things, and one of them is a traditional outfit for our little man.  It’s something that would be worn for a special occasion – like a wedding or holiday.  I can’t wait to do a little photo shoot with him wearing it!  We also bought some berbere and shiro (spices used for cooking Ethiopian food).  After shopping, we went to lunch at Makush, an Italian restaurant, and then we came back to the hotel and rested some.  It was a good day, but we’re really ready to get back to Hannah’s Hope to spend some more time with our little guy tomorrow.  Here are some pictures from our day . . . enjoy!

. . . and this last one describes how we feel about our little boy . . . he is just . . .

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, News | Comments (3)

another great day!

August 3, 2010 – 12:58 PM

Today we woke up, got ready, ate breakfast & headed to Hannah’s Hope.  I wasn’t feeling great, so I took some anti-nausea medicine right before we left.  Thankfully it worked, and by the time we arrived about 10 minutes later, I felt good (SO thankful we decided to get that prescription filled the morning we left Nashville!).

We didn’t know how our little guy (it’s so hard to not use his name on here – can’t wait until we can!) would react to us, but he was really happy to see us again!!!  I spotted him as the gate opened, and he ran up to the van as our driver pulled in with a huge grin on his face!  He jumped up in Brad’s arms right away and didn’t want Brad to put him down.  Then he came to me, and I sat down and held him for a while.  He was facing me with his head on my chest, and he just hugged me and wouldn’t let go.  It was an incredible feeling, and one that I’ll never ever forget!

We stayed at Hannah’s Hope for about 2.5 hours and decided to leave earlier than yesterday so he could nap.  He seems to do really great until lunch time and then he gets tired and a little more sensitive and emotional.  We pushed him in the swing for a while, played soccer (he only wanted to use the soccer ball we brought yesterday and not any of the other ones – sweet!), played with Play-Doh, blew bubbles, ate lunch, and read a book.  After lunch he didn’t want to share us with the other kids and got upset and started crying when they interfered with our play time.  Almaz came out and invited us to go sit with him and read to him on the porch.  She also gave him a piece of candy, which never hurts with kids!  His tears soon dried up, but he seemed tired so we decided to leave and let him take a nap (which is part of his typical schedule).  Both days we’ve left, Almaz has made the transition by letting him pass out suckers to the kids, and that seems to distract him pretty well.

We noticed several things about him today:  1) He’s really observant and takes everything in around him.  2) He did NOT want to “squish” up his Play-Doh and wanted to leave it in the neat little block it was in when we opened it.  We eventually “squished” up another color and let him hold both of them.  He seems to want to hold onto whatever we give him so the other kids can’t get it!  I’m sure we’ll have to work on sharing once he’s home and it’s the appropriate time.  3) He built a little tower with big legos and wanted to make sure we both saw it.  He even carefully carried it to the other side of the courtyard to show it to Brad.  We made a big deal out of it like we were really proud, and he just lit up!  4) He’s a good eater.  Yesterday they had injera and gomen, and today that had pasta that looked kind of like spaghetti.  He ate well with his fork and has good coordination.  He likes to drink mango juice, too.  6) He’s pretty quiet around us and doesn’t talk much like some of his buddies.  There are probably a lot of factors behind that, but he’s pretty good about communicating what he wants non-verbally.  The language barrier is definitely tough at times.  He does talk every now and then when he gets excited about something (like when we replayed the video we had taken of him – he just chatted away pointing to the screen and telling me all about it!).

We did some sightseeing yesterday so I decided to include a few pictures.  It’s so hard to not post pictures of him or of our time at Hannah’s Hope (which is most of our pictures), but we can’t legally.

These were taken in the airport as we traveled over . . .

The first one of these was taken on our sightseeing trip yesterday.  The second one is the view from our hotel window . . .

Inside of Sisay’s taxi & a view of the city from the highest point in Addis Ababa.  It was really cloudy & rained, but it was still beautiful . . .

We went to a really nice traditional Ethiopian restaurant with Sisay after we toured the city.  I think we’ll be going back here Thursday evening, too, with a couple of staff members from Hannah’s Hope.  (That’s Sisay with Brad) . . . .

Well, I guess that’s it for today.  It’s getting close to 9 PM here, and we have our court appointment tomorrow.  Pray that it goes well.  We’ve been told what to expect, and it’s not nearly as intimidating as I had imagined.  After court, we’ll go out to lunch with a couple of Hannah’s Hope staff & then do some shopping.  We’ll be back at Hannah’s Hope on Thursday & I think we might get to go back on Friday – I’m hoping so anyway!  Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, Family, News | Comments (10)

WE MADE IT!

August 1, 2010 – 2:23 PM

We made it to Addis Ababa around 11:30 AM today after 21 hours of flight time and an overnight stay in Dubai.  A couple of highlights so far:

1) We met Brian & Tracy (sorry if I misspelled your names) in the airport in Dubai this morning.  They’re adopting siblings, and they live in Texas.  He’s a pastor, and she is a photographer AND our kids are from the same region in Ethiopia – LOTS in common!  We don’t know if we’ll run into them when we both attend court on Wednesday, but we hope to see them again.  Either way, we’ll be sure to keep in touch!  (I’ll post a link to their blog later.  For some reason I can’t get it to link now).

2) Most families with our agency travel with a group.  This just means that several AGCI families are here at the same time, and they get to walk through this phase of the process together.  We, however, are here alone.  While I was a little disappointed about that at first, we’ve also been looking forward to hanging out together – just the two of us.  We’ve been so busy lately that spending all this time together gives us a chance to reconnect and talk about our plans for attachment and bonding, etc. once we get our little guy home.  There were about 10 AGCI couples here last week, and we were very excited to be able to have lunch at the hotel with the last couple left before they flew out later in the day.  They told us about their experiences and what to expect – super nice!  Thank you, Michael & Leslie, for making sure to find us!  We really appreciate it!

Tomorrow morning at 9:30 AM we will go to Hannah’s Hope and meet our little boy for the first time!  We’ll try to update the blog as much as we can, so stay tuned!  Here we are early this morning in our hotel room in Dubai:

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, News | Comments (3)

leavin’ on a jet plane

July 30, 2010 – 10:23 AM

Well, today’s the day we’ve been waiting for . . . we’re going to Ethiopia!!!  We booked our flights three weeks ago, and those three weeks have FLOWN by.

Here’s an idea of what we think our schedule will be like while we’re gone:

Friday – Fly to Houston and then fly 15 hours to Dubai
Saturday – Arrive in Dubai that evening and spend the night
Sunday – Fly to Addis Ababa early that morning.  Hang out at hotel & stand amazed the rest of the day that we’re actually there!
Monday – Go to Hannah’s Hope around 1:30 & meet our little boy for the first time!  Play with him and the other kids for a few hours
Tuesday – Spend a few more hours at Hannah’s Hope
Wednesday – Attend our court appointment & testify that we certainly DO want him to be our son!
Thursday – Spend a few more hours at Hannah’s Hope & say goodbye until the next trip . . . {tears}
Friday – Soak in our last day in Addis Ababa and fly out that evening to Dubai
Saturday – Fly from Dubai to New York to Nashville . . . home!

We got everything packed last night, and I got so excited about all of the donations we’re taking to Hannah’s Hope!  I was excited before, but to see it all ready to go was really fun!  We tried to pack very light ourselves so that we could fit in as much as possible, and we were able to take almost everything!  The few things that didn’t fit will be saved until the next trip.  Thank so much to those of you who contributed!  It was neat to see how a little here and a little there added up to be A LOT!  This is just some of it . . .

Please pray that our flights go smoothly, that all of our bags arrive when we do, and that we’re able to soak in everything while we’re there.  We’ve grown to love Ethiopia, and we know that experiencing the people and culture first-hand will be an incredible experience.  Also pray that our court appointment goes well on Wednesday and for our time with our little boy.

We’ll try to update the blog while we’re there, but some other AGCI friends who have been there this week had trouble accessing their blogs.  If we’re not able to, we’ll be sure to update lots once we’re home!  Thanks so much for following us on this journey and for supporting us along the way!

By Katie | Also posted in Adoption, News | Comments (3)

Moses

July 17, 2010 – 7:07 PM

Brad and I are blessed to know Travis & Maggie of Global Support Mission. I’m so thankful for the work God is doing through them in Uganda and other parts of Africa. I saw this video a couple of nights ago, and little Moses has been on my mind a lot since then. I’m praying BIG things for him today.  This is an amazing story of hope, and I love these quotes from the video:

One of the things that makes me happy is to know that living HIV+ is not something that kills people….Most people give up on the kids….They give up and wait for the kid to die….One of the things that excites me very much is that this kid is given a chance to live…..A chance to be respected…..A chance to be treated like a human being……A chance to be fed and provided with medical care like any other human being….He has a future…..He’s living with dignity…..He has hope again…..What matters is that he has life.

There are entirely too many children across the world like little Moses.  They’re neglected and basically left to die.  I’m so thankful that he’s been given a second chance at life.  I’m praying that God heals and strengthens his little body.  I’m grateful for organizations like Global Support Mission who help give hope and life.  If you’re not familiar with them, check out their website for lots of great information, some other videos, and to see how you can partner with them.

By Katie | Also posted in Links, Media | Comments (0)

two fun pictures

July 15, 2010 – 11:55 AM

I saw this picture on Facebook yesterday, and it made me smile!  Christie went to high school with Brad & me, and she’s in Uganda right now.  She took one of our shirts and gave it to her new friend there.  I think it looks good on him!

This package arrived yesterday afternoon, and I was so excited to receive it!  It was packed with donations for us to take to Hannah’s Hope.  The thing that made it extra special is that I really don’t even know the people who sent it.  Sarah went to school with my sister and recently heard about our adoption journey.  She and her husband decided they wanted to help, so she emailed to get our mailing address.  I know these things will be MUCH appreciated at Hannah’s Hope.  Thank you so much Brian & Sarah!  For anyone else interested in donating items, please make sure you have them to us by Wednesday, July 28th.  Thanks!

Life around here feels a little crazy right now.  We leave for Ethiopia two weeks from tomorrow, and it seems like my brain is in overdrive.  In some ways it feels like July 30th will never get here, and in some ways it seems like time is flying by and it will be here before I know it.  Yesterday marked one month since we got our referral and saw pictures of our little boy for the first time.  A lot has happened since then, and it still seems surreal that we’ll get to meet him in 18 days!

By Katie | Also posted in You Can Help | Comments (2)

It’s just like God . . .

July 11, 2010 – 6:19 PM

. . . to put us on a street in south Nashville three doors down from an Eritrean family who speaks the same language as our son.  The Tigray region in northern Ethiopia where he’s from borders the small country of Eritrea, and our neighbors speak Tigrinya fluently.  It’s so comforting to know that there’s someone right down the street who can translate for us if needed.  If he’s scared or feeling sad, we can speak words of peace and comfort to him through them.  We can be friends with them and enjoy sharing a love for the Horn of Africa. I mean, what are the chances?  And what are the chances that they have two boys in the same age range as our guys?  Sometimes God is just way too good to us.  Sometimes He gives us so much more than we even need.  Sometimes He chooses to show His love for us in subtle, unexpected ways, and sometimes it seems like He screams it to us so loudly that it’s unmistakably from Him.  Today I’m thanking God for our neighbors and that He knows what we need – even right down to our street number!

And on a side note, our airline tickets have been purchased, and we’ve already started gathering stuff to pack!  Only 19 days until we leave & 22 days until we meet our little boy for the first time!!!

By Katie | Also posted in Family | Comments (4)