Joy's First Week

Exactly one week and three hours ago we landed at Portland International Airport aboard Delta Flight #179. It was a beautiful sunny day and as we started descending from our 11-hour flight, I looked out the window in time to see the Seattle, WA skyline zip by 30,000 feet below. I knew the moment was near, the moment Joy's life would forever be changed, officially with the government that is. Twenty minutes later as the wheels made contact with the runway concrete it was official, Joy was no longer an Ethiopian national. Ethiopia doesn't recognize dual citizenship and as soon as we were on American soil, her status changed from Ethiopian to Resident Immigrant of the United States of America. It was a... no pun intended... joyous time for us, and hopefully for her.

The past week has gone by so fast. Fortunately we have been able to savor every moment since then. As you can tell by the previous two posts, Joy is adapting very well to this American life. We have come back to people wrapped up in health care "crisis" (is it really that bad people?) and still economic uncertainty, but we were calmed in knowing that we had each other.

Besides adapting unbelievably well, here's some highlights of week one:

- She goes to bed around 8:30pm and wakes at 8:00am (sometimes later) the next morning.
- Naptime, again like clockwork, is about 2:00pm where she catches about two hours of sleep.
- Any food is good food, albeit some better than others. She especially likes those carbs.
- Super-Mommy has somehow managed to potty train her. Seriously, she walks over to her "little potty" and starts taking off her pants when she has to go. I'm sure the reward of a chocolate chip helps. But really? Potty trained? Believe it or not she is getting there and has even #2'd a couple times in there. (Shawna says panties by baby time)
- Pediatrician says she is super healthy and is in the 45% for weight and 10% for height. Short and chubby.

Today we had her first check-up at the pediatrician. She had to get four shots, ugh. Luckily Super-Mommy was there while daddy was eating ice cream with the two older kiddos down the street at McDonalds. Shots and poopy diapers are Super-Mommy's specialty this week. Daddy's is "Goochy-goochy-goochy!" She weighed in at 25 pounds which is in the 45% for her age. Her height however was in the 10%. The pediatrician (like the one in Ethiopia) says the markings on her eyelids are most likely tribal (couldn't they just do a secret handshake or something?). It's something that we embrace well and she will carry from her culture.

Super-Mommy is starting to feel a little better, still feeling a little nauseous but hopefully that will pass soon. Daddy had a Malaria scare early in the week but the blood work came back ok, just something viral. Mataya is such a help and enjoys getting Joy into her booster seat at meal time and buckles her in her car seat during outings. Katie is also doing well, we have noticed a marked change in her personality (especially when she's upset) and we will work very hard to figure it out and help her during this time of transition. To go from the little girl of the house to the big girl over a two year old must be something I can't even imagine. She is so sweet nonetheless and all three have equal parts of our hearts.

So I guess that sums it up. I've been playing around with some of the Ethiopian coffee I brought back and found a way to make it almost identical to the way Ethiopians make it (with the help of an old coffee/espresso steamer) but quickly realized that it still tastes different over there... something about the surroundings and environment. Maybe I'll get to have some more if we go back to adopt a second someday...? :)

Here's a few more pictures from this week. It was a good week. Lots of adjustment, lots of laughs, lots of love. So far so good...

What a Girl!

The past couple of days with Joy have been pretty amazing. We have spent a lot of time inside playing and have ventured outside to enjoy some sunny afternoons. We even took our first grocery shopping trip to Fred Meyer. She enjoyed the sights and pointed to just about everything with a huge smile (even the "larger" people on the motorized "disabled" scooters. Oh ma'am, honestly, she points and smiles at everything.) And no people of Klamath Falls, she's not from Haiti... Joy loves the grass and to stand on the scooter while dad pushes it up and down the sidewalk (Joy, get out of the street!). Her bigger sisters absolutely adore her and Matty has really taken on a nurturing "little" mama role and wants to help whenever she can with whatever it is. Katie loves the new role of big sister and loves to play dolls with her. Joy also has a funny way of adding laughter to times when we didn't think we could. Shawna got sick yesterday afternoon and Joy somehow knew Shawna felt bad and came up to her and slowly put her cheek to Shawna's and gave her a hug. And when I was sitting on the couch in front of my laptop computer frustrated at some college stuff, I found a toy bottle being pushed into my mouth and I heard Joy going "Num, num." I looked at her to see a huge smile on her face as she was trying to nurse me back to laughter. It's times like those and about a million other things that make us love her more and more as time goes on. She has the cutest smile and most infectious laugh, and of course, that heart of gold.

So as you can tell she is doing fine, better than we could have ever imagined a week ago. She is taking to or "American" food extremely well and loves chicken enchiladas (thank you Murphy family for dinner last night!). This morning it's Daddy's Pancake Espeseeal.

Here's some random pics from the past couple of days.

Oh, and just for notes, if you're adopting a child internationally, you might want to introduce a bubble bath by starting with very few bubbles. Ask Joy about that.

Home At Last

Woohoo! We made it home! After Chris spent all day Saturday in bed with what can only be described as the flu and Shawna still fighting nausea, we loaded up the minivan and headed south to Klamath Falls. We decided not to stop through Medford and potentially share any ailments we had with Gramma and Grampa Fox which was a hard decision as they have been such a blessing during this adoption. But we will see them in less than two weeks for Easter and they are VERY anxious to see their new great granddaughter (lucky number 13 I believe).

We made a quick stop in Salem for gas and Taco Bell and quickly discovered Joy loves those $.99 burritos. A little further down the road a Dairy Queen stop was in order. After being unable to drink some of the awesome slushy drink Katie had ordered because she didn't know how to drink from a straw, Joy carefully watched Katie drink for about a minute. Shawna tried to give Joy some more and with extreme determination, Joy managed to get the hang of the straw within 10 seconds! She was so excited to get to some of that grape slushy nectar!!!

We decided to go over Willamette Pass because the roads appeared dry when Chris checked online earlier that morning but of course a common early spring snow storm was dumping a slushy mix on top by the time we arrived. We made it through that with no problem and didn't stop again until home (and Joy didn't even fuss once the entire trip!).

At home, Joy immediately started walking through the house getting to know her new turf. We ate some dinner that the Morgan's had graciously left in the fridge, then it was more play time. Joy has really come out of her shell, and with the help of some slow introduction to discipline (ie timeouts for unnecessary fussing), she is definitely a happier girl. She loves her big sisters and walks around the house with a permanent smile. She is such a good little girl and as we watched her and the other two girls, we realized that she was the missing piece to our family.

Something else hit us we were watching the kids play. Although their skin was so different, it didn't feel different. I don't know what I'm trying to say exactly, maybe I thought I would initially feel, "Wow, there's a dark skinned child here," but no thoughts of that ever came to be. It's like we were one as a family, there was no difference, only the fact that we had missed her for the first two years of her life. Again, we had no doubt there would be no weird feelings, but to feel an immediate and personal connection was something beyond description (and something we had hoped for since our first meeting over a week ago). We can easily see now why the nurses and nannies at the orphanage love her so much. She has such a contagious and beautiful personality. It's great to have finally left them behind to build the bridge to getting to know each other, and since we left Addis Ababa, the connection and closeness has been tremendous.

She sees us as her caregivers now and shows love without hesitation (especially if she's tired). We are so blessed to have her as part of our family and know God has a special plan for her, us, and her birth family.

So we will relax at home for the next little while and get used to how we each operate, enjoy some sunny days outside, and I'm sure spend a lot of time laughing. This is such an amazing adventure!

Welcome to Jet Lag City, Population 3

Awesome, I just spent the last 30 minutes typing and Explorer decided to shut down. Maybe I should go to one of the other browsers...

Anyway, what I was saying was that although I have spent many a cold nights in the field without sleep back in my Army days, I have NEVER been as tired as I was yesterday afternoon. It is all a blur. Shawna and I layed down around 4:30pm with the kids in the room playing. Of course we were sleeping before our heads touched the pillows. I woke up around 7pm, Shawna was sleeping next to me, Matty and Katie were playing, but Joy... where was Joy? I looked and saw her in the middle of the floor in a ball sleeping soundly. It's like she was playing and mid-game she said, "Yeah, this looks like a good place to sleep..." Shawna got up and put the kiddos to bed (what a Super-Mom, I had no legitimate thought at that point!) She stayed up for a while but Joy and I stayed knocked out. Joy has gotten up a couple times and fussed but fell back asleep everytime. What a good little girl.

So now it's 4am and I've been up for a few hours. I've already shaved and showered, ready for a beautiful Oregon day. It's 2pm in Addis after all. We hope it's nice enough to take Joy to the park down the road and let her run around the acres of grass there.

Here's a few pics:

Minutes after meeting Joy for the first time.














Mommy and Joy playing at the Care Center.













For those that have seen Zoolander, she is perfecting Blue Steel.














Back in Oregon with her sisters!

We Made It

I am posting this from the comforts of modernized western civilization. We landed in Portland just before 1pm PDT and are now chillin at my parents house. We have been up for about 45 hours now and are feeling the effects of it. We'll call and visit everyone soon. We need to catch up on some sleep and to unwind a bit. We will head to Klamath most likely Sunday, but we will see how Joy is doing. Joy has a perma-smile hanging out with her new big sisters but DOES NOT care much for mom's little dogs! We'll get some pics posted tomorrow for all to see.

Thanks to everyone for the prayers. The Lord has blessed us in two areas we were hoping to have some extra help in, bonding and travelling. Today as we were nearing Portland I reflected on our trip home. Joy was laying next to me looking up at me with her big brown eyes and reached out for me to hold her hand. The past 24 hours have been incredible, we have bonded so much. We had a great time in Amsterdam walking around exploring for several hours and I think that was a big key. She wouldn't want to walk anywhere without holding my hand (or momma's). Then on the plane she snuggled with us the entire trip. In fact, that leads to the second answer to prayer, the travelling part. She was incredible. We had a couple minutes of total fuss time on the entire 11-hour flight. It was absolutely incredible, she was the best two year old I have ever seen for those 11 hours! I'm serious, maybe two or three minutes total, in 11 hours!!! SHE WAS AWESOME!

Well I'm going to close. My words are probably running together and my grammars most likely off. I have a feeling I will read this tomorrow and ask myself, what was I thinking? Thanks again everyone and talk with you all soon!

Awm-Shterdam, Ja!

Me made it to Amsterdam! We ended up not stopping in Sudan because of a sand storm so it made the trip faster. Joy did pretty good. She fussed here and there but managed some decent sleep. Mom and dad who were on "Preventing Joy from falling off the seat" duty however did not. We had four seats in the middle for the four of us (we had only bought Joy a lap ticket), so that was awesome! Thanks Erle from Azamuno Travel! He planned that one just right for us, we got a $1400 seat for only $250! Now for the long leg. 12 hours, ugh. We leave in a few hours and hope Joy does well. We will arrive in Portland approximately 15 hours from now and are more than excited to see our precious Matty and Katie (and the rest of the fam).

Joy is digging all these new sights, sounds, and smells (or lack thereof!). She has been walking all over this airport and shared a fruit cup with me which I believe might have been the first time she has had some fruit (especially the canteloupe and watermelon). We are so excited to get home.

Portland here we come!

Portland Bound

Good morning everybody.  The past couple of days have been pretty busy.  Tuesday morning we took full custody of Joy (YAY!).  Later that afternoon we had her visa appointment at the US Embassy.  That went well and she is officially an Ethiopian/American!  Well, a resident immigrant of America from Ethiopia.  We will pick up her passport and paperwork this afternoon and then it's off to the airport this evening to catch an 11:30pm flight to Amsterdam.  We are there for three hours then we are on a direct flight from Amsterdam to Portland.  We will arrive in Portland, OR on Friday at 1:30pm local time there.  That's about 22 hours of flying (Our Father, Which Art In Heaven...).

Like I mentioned, Joy has been with us since Tuesday and everything is great... when she's sleeping.  When she's awake she wants everything but what she has and fusses consistently.  We can't blame her though.  Although the nannies at the orphanage loved her so much, they gave her everything she wanted whenever she wanted it (a cultural thing too).  She is not taking to not getting what she wants on demand and she LOVES to let us know.  She has been sleeping a lot though, I think she enjoys the quietness without being surrounded by other crying children.  She is definitely catching up on her sleep.

Shawna and I are doing great.  Although our child is definitely the most fussy of the group, we are blessed to have her and are proud she is ours.  She is so beautiful (koncho) and takes our breath away every time we look at her.  We are doing fine with the fact that she doesn't care for us too much and are encouraged to see her starting to trust us more.

We had the official send-off ceremony at the orphanage yesterday which consisted of some Kaldi's Cafe cake (best cake I ever had!) and a coffee ceremony.  We were then able to go downtown and do a little shopping for some trinkets.  I stocked up on Ethiopian coffee and Shawna got some cute Ethiopian made stuff.  The hotel staff will give us a coffee ceremony (another one!) and we will head to the airport early evening.

We will let everyone know of our travel safety when we can (hopefully from Amsterdam).  Thank you so much for joining us and please pray for Joy that she takes to the flight well.  I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of ticked off people on the plane by the time we land.  We love you all so much and will talk to you soon!

Back from Durame

This is a re-post.  Apparently when I posted this earlier it did not work.


FROM EARLIER TODAY:

Selam and good morning!  I have heard that the email messages are not visible, I can't open the blog website to change any settings.  But if you're reading this you've already figured out the highlighting trick, so I won't go any further. 

We made it back safe and sound from Durame yesterday afternoon.  That experience is one of the most single life changing experiences I have ever been through.  We loaded up into two vans and started the trek through Addis.  We made it to the highway (two lane road no wider than the residential street we live on) and the scenery quickly changed from urban to rural.  The entire trip was just about six hours with a little coke break about midway through.  The trip definitely tests your trust in God.  The vans lack an important safety item, seatbelts, and there seems to be no speed limit.  Staying to the right is optional here, and passing an exhaust pumping truck uphill around a blind curve is the norm.  I cannot even count the times we slammed on our brakes to avoid hitting a cow, goat, or child.  Seriously, it happened every 5 or 10 minutes.  People and animals are everywhere, even in areas that look like no one is there.  There is no 2x6 construction here.  These beautiful people live in circular huts made of sticks and mud.  If you think I may be exaggerating, I'm not.  The only 'buildings' I saw were in the two dozen or so main villages/towns we passed through, and those were mostly made of rocks.  Farmers were busy plowing their fields, there was however something else I'm used to seeing that was missing, tractors and other machinery.  These farmers were plowing their fields with oxen (is that the correct plural form?  I can't remember from The Oregon Trail computer game).  It was not uncommon to see little children that can barely walk standing near the road with no one around, usually naked.  Another common site was to see children as young as four (a few I saw seemed younger) herding their livestock down the middle of the road, alone.  The farms consisted of banana trees, chat (a stimulant), sweet potatoes, and coffee.

We turned off on a dirt road and drove another twenty minutes to Durame.  This country is so mountainous, so breathtaking.  It is honestly the most beautiful place I have ever been.  We made it into Durame and quickly drew a crowd.  People surrounded us patting their stomachs hoping for some food or birr (Ethiopian currency).  They knew we had both.  The ones that did not surround us simply stared.  The hotel was again, unlike anything I have ever experienced.  Some of the windows were broken, the doors barely shut, and there was no running water.  The bed was of plywood and lacked springs.  The hotel could barely be called that to our standards, but it was the best building they had in town and they were happy to share it with us, and we were happy and honored to accept.

We all regrouped and met with our guide who told us all of the birth families had arrived.  It suddenly hit me that I would be looking at Joy's father face to face.  I felt both inadequate and at a loss for words.  We drove the dirt streets to the Holt intake center (where the children are relinquished) and enjoyed the constant company of children running along side the vans saying Selam! Selam! (Hello, Hello!).  We sat in the waiting area and one of the birth father's came in and the family that had adopted his son stood up and shook his hand.  They gave him a picture of his son and he teared up and raised his hands to the sky to say God Bless.  He repeatedly kissed the picture.  They were taken to a back office to talk.  All of us remaining couldn't help but shed some tears.

The translator called our names and we were taken to another back office where a handsome, tall man was sitting.  He wouldn't give us immediate eye contact as we sat down.  We had two translators in the office with us.  One that would translate English to Amharic (Ethiopian language) to another translator who then translated the Amharic to the local dialect.  We began by introducing ourselves and what we did, where we lived, and about our family.  We spoke for quite a while to Abera (as we learned his name).  There was a lot of questions we asked, but I will highlight what got to us.  I asked if he was religious.  He responded that he was a faithful Christian.  I responded that we were too.  Praise God for that.  I then asked him what he wants Joy to know growing up.

Now before I go on, I have to confess something.  My western mind that knows nothing of the struggles that these people face every day had the shallow idea that he relinquished Joy to Holt because he could not care for her and she was another mouth to feed.  Joy's mom had passed away from Malaria and he was now a single father to eight children ranging from 16 to 14 months (Joy's age at relinquishment).  I was quickly released from that from his response as this was only the surface to the real reason.

He told me to tell Joy that he loves her very much.  He said that she was given up for adoption because he loved her so much.  He said, "I love her so much and didn't want her to die."  That hit me.  I had glimpsed into someone that loved a child so much, someone that could not live with the fact that he couldn't properly care for her, and someone that understood both of these and decided to let someone else that could care and love for her do both.

He also wanted her to have great opportunities, but more importantly, to know where she came from.  He wanted her to know her heritage, her culture.  We promised that we would do everything he asked.  It was the least we could do.  At our close, I told him that as Christians, we all have one Father, and through Him we are all one family, and that he is part of our family and that we love him.  At the end of the meeting, he gave us a clay bowl and some grass that symbolized him releasing the care of his daughter to us.

It was an emotional experience.  We both shared some tears.  He seemed like a good man.  His dirty, calloused hands gave proof to a hard working man.  And most importantly, his heart shared a love of God.  Joy will know who he was, and one day we will all meet again.

I could go on, but it is really hard to even write about it, the emotions have a way of bombarding me.  It was something that I'm glad we did and couldn't imagine not doing it.

On our way back the next day, we stopped by a hospital built by Holt.  The hospital was like something we wouldn't see in the US.  The conditions were what we as Americans would see as dirty and unsanitary.  We spoke with the only physician there and he said that besides the sick and injured, he delivers on average seven babies a day.  Again, he is the only physician for this rural hospital.  These are people that live close enough to walk there.  When you're in the middle of labor, walking two or more hours is not feasible, so only a very small percentage visit the hospital.

The rest of the drive back was much like the drive there, a lot of prayer involved.  We got to the hotel in Addis and cleaned up. Then we went to spend a few hours with Joy.  I can see much of her father in her now.  She was great.  She did not fuss at us and seemed to enjoy playing with us.  She also snuggled with me for quite a while.  She wanted to play with something dangerous and was fussing because I wouldn't let her (apparently I'm a bad father).  A nanny walked by and Joy reached out for her so I handed her over.  Joy then motioned to the nanny to give her what I wouldn't.  Of course the nanny refused and Joy began fussing again.  It was great to see her fuss with both us and the nannies!  Funny I know.  I reached out for her and she came back to me, another huge step.

In just a couple of hours we take custody of Joy, forever.  We will spend the morning with her here in the hotel and then we have her Visa appointment at the US Embassy at 2pm (4am Tuesday for you west coasters).  We are looking forward to having her away from the care center.  We also look forward to letting her sleep with us tonight!  She was so fun to play with and incredibly smart and methodical.  We love her so much.

I have gained more life experience these past few days than I have the past 30 years.  These people are loving and affectionate.  They are family oriented and yet have so little.  They may be impoverished, but they have so much love.  What they lack in money and belongings they possess in their hearts.  We as Americans can learn a lot from this country that until a few days ago I thought was one of the poorest.  We can learn that it is not the material possessions that we have, but the love and family that we can share.

We look forward to coming home but will miss this place greatly.  We love you all and will talk to you soon.  Matty and Katie: we love you kiddos!  See you in three days!

Durame

This is a re-post.  Apparently when I posted this Sunday it did not work.


FROM SUNDAY:

Good morning.

It's 5am Sunday (6pm Sat in Oregon) and I find myself unable to sleep, yet again.  Yesterday morning we visited a museum at the University of Addis Ababa.  That was an awesome experience.  The culture of this country and people is amazing.  After that we went to lunch at a GREAT Ethiopian restaurant.  I took plenty of pics.  It, like everything else here, will take too long to describe (and someone else is waiting to use the computer).  The building was beautiful, the food was great, and we had a coffee ceremony (ancient tradition of roasting coffee beans and making coffee).  That was a very unique and special experience.  The pictures we took are amazing.

After we lunch we spent a few hours with Joy.  It is so great see everyone's children in our group having fun.  Everyone except Joy that is.  We call her our diamond in the rough.  We're curious to see how she does when we get her away from the nannies.  Long story short, she is doing great, we spent some time coloring and putting stickers on paper, but she is still very fussy.  I'm not going to lie and say it's easy, we prepared ourselves for the worst, but you can only prepare so much for a child you love so much that doesn't want much to do with you.  But we are making great steps and have a good feeling she will warm up to us (after all we've only spent about 4 hours with her).  Please say a little prayer, because although we're strong, we can only find this strength through God.  She is a very funny girl, VERY independent.  She is a sweetheart though and can't wait for you all to meet her.

We will head out to Durame in an hour or so and will return tomorrow.  We'll try to post and let everyone know how that trip went.  We hope we are able to meet Joy's birth-father.  We're a little nervous though...

Matty and Katie, we love you very much and can't wait to come home.  See you soon!

Coffee

This is a re-post.  Apparently when I posted this Saturday it did not work.


ALSO FROM SATURDAY:

I believe my last message was sent.  I cannot log onto the blog site but was able to email the message.  Hopefully it posted.  There was one more thing that is AWESOME here.  The COFFEE!!!  It comes in cups no bigger those found in Matty and Katie's tea party set, but oh boy does it pack a punch!  Simply awesome coffee!  Good stuff.  Ok, that's it.  I better let somebody else on here.

Joy Day!

This is a re-post.  Apparently when I posted this Saturday it did not work.


FROM SATURDAY:

Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!

 

I'm not sure if this is going to work, but I'll give it a try anyway.  It's 3:30am and I've spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to get Yahoo Mail to open in the hotel lobby.  I'm fighting jet lag, nerves, and emotions, so I've been wide awake for some time and don't mind the wait.  As I mentioned before, email/internet here is like finding a maintained bathroom at WalMart, few and far between.

 

Our flight from Amsterdam to Addis Ababa was a tough one.  We had already been up for over 20 hours, 14 of them sitting in a cramped plane with a child who was not very happy.  He felt like I did but he was better able to convey that message to the entire plane.  The European couple sitting behind us were really frustrated at the wailing child and even pushed the attendant button to summon the flight attendant.  When she came to check on them they told her to do something about it.  She looked at him (the husband) like he was stupid (because he was) and said, "What can I do about it?!?"  I was moments from turning around to ask the guy if he wanted me to ask the child's father if he could take the child outside (but watch that first step, 39,000 feet is a long way to fall).  Luckily that two-way valve was working and I kept the thoughts to myself.  I consider myself a loving and understanding person, but my fuse runs short on inconsiderate, selfish, rude people who think this marvelous and miraculous world revolves around them.  Stupid people shouldn't breed.  Everyone on the flight is miserable, (except maybe the pukes in first class that are sitting on thrones made of goose down and baby laughs with 20-foot wide armrests, and the ability to throw a baseball as hard as they possibly can just to reach the person sitting in front of them), make the best out of it buddy!

 

Somehow all three of us were able to doze off here and there, but the seating was cramped and our bodies were not up to the task of being confined for another eight hours.  We made a brief stop in Sudan, then it was the hour and a half flight into Ethiopia.

 

We arrived and proceeded to the Visa line.  After about an hour of standing in line (which was a great break from the sitting we had just endured) we had our stamped Visas and were were able to leave.  We quickly found our luggage (all pieces made it!) and went to leave the baggage claim to find the Holt rep.  I was surprised to find out I had to pass all pieces of luggage (checked on carry-on) through a scanning system (like at the TSA checkpoints in American airports) before I can leave the "secured" area.  Shouldn't they scan the pieces coming onto the plane, not off?  It was like the Wonka factory, you had to go backwards to go forwards I guess.  Somehow the military guys in fatigues holding fully automatic machine guns convinced me that I shouldn't make light of this oversight though.

 

We found the Holt rep and met the other nine couples.  We then went into the parking lot to get into the vans.  We were surprised to see the front of the airport lined with what resembled to be weird Christmas trees (no easier way to explain it).  I wanted to take a picture of them but remembered the stern warning from the captain before we landed about not taking pictures at the airport and again thought of those dudes in the fatigues and thought I better not.  Once we reached the vans were were overwhelmed with porters that loaded our bags into the van very quickly and held out their hand for a tip even quicker.  We paid them and it was off for the 20-30 minute van ride across the city.  It was after midnight at this point and I was impressed by the city.  It is so different from what I have ever experienced it would take another hour or more of typing.

 

We checked into our hotel which is 30 feet from the care center where Joy was undoubtedly sleeping.  As we walked up the front hotel steps we looked at the windows of the care center wondering which one our baby girl was behind.  After checking in we made it up the four flights of stairs to our room (no elevators here), which after being up for nearly 36 hours and at over 8,000 feet in elevation while carrying your baggage is a little tiring.  We caught our breath (literally), got settled, and fell onto the bed.  I looked at the clock before my eyes shut for the final time, 3:00am and we had to be up by 7:00am.  We easily drifted off to sleep excited for what comes ahead.

 

We woke up, got ready, and went down to the lobby for breakfast.  It was pretty darn tasty, I did however wonder if having not eaten in 24 hours and eating airline food before that had something to do with it.  The hotel staff is awesome, very accommodating.  We then got into the vans and drove to the Holt office for orientation.  After two hours of that it was back into the vans to head to the care center to meet the reason we had come here.

 

The exterior of the care center is beautiful.  I can't describe it but will share picture when I return.  Simply beautiful.  All of us loaded into the front room where they had the chairs set up in a circular fashion.  They then started to bring the children down.  Joy was last.  They called us and we anxiously stood up yearning to hold her.  The nanny gave Joy to Shawna and it was love at first sight (well... for us).  She didn't fuss but we could tell she looked like she was a little sick.  We held her for about five minutes then she told us by actions that she was done with us and wanted to get down.  We spent the next couple of hours playing with her, more like watching her play.  Her independent attitude came out almost immediately (great, another independent rebel like our dear Katie).  She didn't show much emotion, but again, looked a little sick and definitely had a slight fever.  We got to sit next to her during her mealtime.  What an experience!  These kids are fed and they are fed well.  A nanny brought the plate of Ethiopian food out and I thought, "Wow, that's a lot of food for four kids to share." (three other children were sitting at Joy's table).  Then she brought out three more for the other three children.  Wow that was a lot of food!  I think I'm going to experience a little razzing from my sister Tanya when we get back.  Her wee-little kids look like Nordic Strong-Women and I tease them (lovingly of course, they are the cutest!) for being hefty (yet they all manage to grow up lean!).  Well, when I first took Joy I thought, "Holy smokes, does this child eat bricks?"  She has the cutest "baby-beer belly" I have ever seen.  She walks around strutting it (and holding out her behind for balance) wherever she went.  It was a great time.  Right after that the kids were ready for a nap.  We all left a little reluctantly.  If you are following this and are a Holt family waiting to travel here, your kids are under great care with a very loving and nurturing staff.  Trust me, they have it very good here at the care center.

We walked to a golf course nearby for lunch.  It was what I can only describe as the Running-Y Lodge (for Klamath folks), just in a developing country sorta way.  We had a very good meal and it only cost us around $40 Birr (Ethiopian currency) a piece.  That's about $3!

After lunch we walked back to the hotel and got into the vans again to head to the Holt office.  We spend the next couple hours doing paperwork for Tuesday's Visa appt for Joy at the US embassy.  After that we vanned back to the care center and spent the next couple hours being with Joy.  I only got two laughs from her.  Well, one and a half.  The first came when I blew bubbles and she ran around chasing them.  The second came when she was fussing and I tickled her.  It was a fuss/laugh, but I'll still count that as half!  She started warming to us a little better.  She fussed a lot but we found ways to make her happy (at least content).  She kept looking for the nannies and when a nanny walked by, they would pat Shawna and say "mama" for Joy's sake.  That was very encouraging.  We hope and pray that Joy will warm up to us more and more as the days come.  We are very encouraged that only after a few hours she seemed content with us and know she will learn to trust us.  She seems like she is going to be fun (and a little bit of a handful)!  We love this cute little child.  She is simply amazing.

After we took Joy back upstairs it was next door to the hotel.  It was around 7pm and we were exhausted.  All three of us crashed almost immediately without dinner.  What a day.

So here I am, it's now 5:00am (6:00pm on the west coast) and we will spend this morning touring an Ethiopian culture museum and the afternoon with Joy.  Then we have a cultural dinner with the Holt staff.  Tomorrow morning we will travel to Durame to see where Joy was from and hopefully meet her birth father.

There is so much more I want to say but time (and the fact this may not get posted until we get back stateside) limits me.  This is such a unique country.  It is so incredibly populated and underdeveloped to our American standards.  It is amazing and indescribable.  I hope to bring back some pictures of what exactly I cannot describe.  This is truly a mesmerizing, humbling, and beautiful experience.

We love you all and miss you!  See you soon.  Matty and Katie: we miss you girls so much and can't wait to see you.  Thanks for being so good for Gramma!  I'm proud of you girls.  Love you and call you tomorrow!

Font Color

I hope this font is visible.  I cannot access my blog as I only have the ability to email my messages.  I have heard the messages are not visible so I am attempting another font color since I can't access the settings to the blog.  If you can read this, I have heard that by clicking and dragging (ie highlighting) you can see what I have been posting the past few days.  I hope all is well and God Bless!

Amsterdam!

We made it to Amsterdam safe and sound. All is well and we are walking around (with tired eyes) until we board the plane to Ethiopia in about an hour or so. We probably won't be able to post any updates until at least Friday night for us (Friday morning for you), that is if we can find internet access.

We love and miss you Matty and Katie! We hope you're having fun with Gramma. It's too late to call you or else we would but we will call you when we can from Ethiopia.

About 24 hours or so and we'll have Joy!

We love you all!

Up, Up, and Away

My mom dropped us off at the hotel last night. Matty was sad, so were we. It was not fun. As predicted, Katie didn't seem so concerned. :) But we were all strong and said our goodbyes and by the time my mom got them home, (with the help of some ice cream), the kids were doing fine.

We made it to PDX! We woke up at 3:30am and taking the advice of our travel agent and the airlines we made sure we as "international travelers arrive at least three hours before departure." Once we got to the ticket agent she looked up our flight info. She then told us to "step aside to let other passengers with earlier flights check-in." What? Are you kidding me? We arrived 2 hours and 55 minutes before the flight, per YOUR instructions, then you tell me to step aside to let people that didn't heed your instructions pass by me? Where's the sense here? If you make me wait too long, you'll have to clear the line for me... After watching her clear out the ENTIRE line, she came back over to us. She must have sensed our frustration at the situation but redeemed herself by giving us "coupons" for headsets or drinks. The total delay was only about 20 minutes, but still!

But all is well and God is good. We made it through security with a breeze. Luckily we didn't have to walk more than 50 feet before stumbling upon a Starbucks (where in America can you walk more than 50 feet without accidently hitting one?). Now it was time for a "Breakfast of Champions!" A white chocolate mocha and maple bar for me, a vanilla frapucino and bran muffin for Shawna, and a passion-something-something lemonady thing and maple bar for Michelle. We will board our flight to St. Paul soon and hopefully make it in time to catch our connection to Amsterdam.

Here we go!

300 Miles Down, 8488 More to Go

We made it to Portland yesterday. We decided to go through Medford because of snow and to say farewell to Gramma Fox. Then it was north to Eugene to have lunch with my little(st) sister, Samantha. She's going to UofO but don't hold that against her, she's young and confused. Being in Eugene was like being behind enemy lines, all the ducks everywhere. I felt like I was on display being an Oregon State kinda guy. I had to shower as soon as we got to Portland, what a gross feeling, all that green and yellow... Go Beavers! :)

Ok, back on track. Man I tend to go off on tangents, huh? Oh well, it's my blog.

We arrived mid afternoon (man I hate city traffic). All is well and the kids are getting settled at Gramma Myron's house. When we put the kids to bed last night (and did the traditional tickle/goodnight kiss routine), Matty started to cry. I asked her to tell me why she was sad and she told me through tears, "I'm just thinking about when you and mommy leave and all the fun that we have when you're here." Oh man, that hit me hard. As long as I can be strong for her (and ME!) until we get into the airport. We know Katie will do fine, that little hippy is so nonchalant about everything. She probably won't even notice we're gone and will probably enjoy having domain over Gramma's house.

Shawna will head off to Michelle's apartment this morning (my other little sister and our Ethiopia travel companion) and help her pack (ie. tell her which clothes NOT to take). Our bags are next to the door, and we are as ready as we can be.

We leave tonight to stay in a hotel next to the airport and we will be on a plane early tomorrow!

300 miles down, 8,488 more to go... here we come Joy!

It's Time, Here We Go

Well it's Monday morning and the time to leave home has arrived. It just hit Shawna and I last night as we packed the last of our stuff that the dynamics of this house will be so much different when we return (We're a little slow sometimes). We will leave this house of four and return with five, a new toddler in tow.

It hit us last night as Matty and Katie were at the counter eating pizza (I let Shawna off easy last night and picked up some pizza. We'll call it an early adoption gift). There's three stools at the kitchen bar and only two of them have been filled as of yet. We looked at the empty stool and... wow. Is there really going to be another child here? Will that bar stool be occupied from now on? We have been wishing to bring Joy home for so long and now the time is here, and the reality that she WILL be here is starting to finally set. As my text-crazy younger sisters say (or rather text), OMG, what a feeling! We have been so wrapped up in the mess of paperwork and politics that we haven't afforded ourselves the opportunity to envision her here. Don't get me wrong, we dream of her being here, all the time. We dream of holding her, of her playing in the yard, stealing our hearts. We dream of her running around the hallway (which not only provides 'circular' access to the kids' rooms but also doubles as a race track). We dream of grocery shopping with her, playing hide and seek, coloring, you know, the simple things that mean so much to a parent. But now this dream is a coming into reality, and I have a feeling that those that have adopted know exactly what I'm talking about.

So, here we go. We're off. Adios Klamath Falls. We will soon return a different family. Or shall I say the same family, just more complete.

There's one more thing weighing on my mind, well, one more thing with multiple parts. One of the elders taught at church yesterday, and it was good. It was really good. He turned what many see as so simple into something so powerful that it got to me somehow. I'm still not sure how, but things are moving. Maybe it was oil in a drying engine, I'm not sure. But I do thank him for it. I think what it boils down to was that I need another vantage point. The second part came at the close. We were called up in front of the congregation to be prayed for. Many came up to be with us during the prayer, whether it was to lend emotional support or to place their hand on us. At the close of the service they held a special offering for us. That was very unexpected and another experience I won't forget and am so very thankful for. I noticed someone that I had never met put something in the tray and leave. I thought, "Who was that?" He didn't see that I noticed him, and he wasn't one bit concerned that I wouldn't know who left that special gift for us. Incredible. Simply incredible. It was him multiplied by many others who gave, mostly anonymously, from their hearts. The total of the offering astounded Shawna and I, what an incredible blessing. The gift will help so very much, more than most realize. To our IBC family: thank you so much. Your offerings (not only of money, but of prayer and support) are humbly accepted here at the Myron Home, which is a home that I will proudly share with all of you. It's amazing to see a church so "little" be so very big. We love you all and can't wait to bring Joy home into our beautiful church family. Thank you and God bless.

Sore Arms, Happy Hearts

We spent yesterday afternoon (and well into the evening!) getting a final checkup and the last rounds of vaccinations. After a four hour visit (don't get me started with the details, ugh) we have the green light to head on out! Poor Shawna (who HATES shots, I mean HATES shots, no... seriously... HATES shots, who HATES shots so much she wondered about the availability of general anesthesia to get the shots) received five more while I snuck away with only two (thanks to the military which has spent the better part of ten years juicing me up full of vaccines). I felt a little crumby today but didn't want to complain too much since Shawna got a few more than I did. Needless to say we have some sore arms (and Shawna has some sore thighs!), but it's all good because it's Saturday night, which means Sunday is tomorrow (final packing day)! That leads us to Monday (drive to Portland day), then on to Tuesday (get the kids settled at my mom's day). Wednesday and Thursday come (Flying, and more flying day). Then.... Friday (JOY DAY!!!). The best part is that we're 11 hours closer already thanks to the time difference!

We are getting so excited. I was lying wide awake this morning around 1am or 2am with my mind running like my old Subaru (refusing to stop) and I sensed Shawna awake. I quietly whispered, "Are you awake?" And without skipping a beat she replied, "Yup!" We talked for a while before managing a couple more hours of sleep. This sweet child is filling our minds, night and day, and we are getting so close to bringing her home.

Tomorrow morning we will head to church, then it's home to finish packing... I can't believe it's almost here!

We'll be there soon Joy!

Testing This Email to Blog...

Due to the very limited access to the internet in Ethiopia, I am setting up a way to blog from email if necessary (might save on some time).  Hope this works!

New Update!!!

We received a new update on Joy today! The report was from February 13. She's a healthy 27 pound little girl. On the scribbled notes which are sometimes hard to read we read that she was treated with meds for pneumonia in January. Our hearts sank briefly for her but rejoiced in knowing that God is (and was) with her and is protecting her! All of her checks were good (mobility, hearing, vision, etc) and as far as this report is concerned, she is doing great and has reached the "expected milestones."

It was hard to decipher, but from the report it sounds that if approached, she is very affectionate. The nurse also wrote on there that she is a "very active and little angel too." Of course another note on there positively identified her as mine. That being, "seems to get more meals than given." Hhhmmmm.... gotta love that food!

The last notes on her made our hearts melt. The nurse wrote that she feels responsible for other children "in their needs." She hands over toys and ensures her friends are happy. Wow. What a sweet little girl. Of course the nurse also wrote that she does not like it very much when others take away her toys. Again, like her daddy.

Getting this medical update was a great treat. A little over a week and we'll be able to hold this sweet angel that God has given us. We are finalizing our travels, getting the last (hopefully) of our vaccines, shopping for the last minute necessities, I even ordered traveler's insurance today. (By the way, if you have access to USAA I HIGHLY recommend it!!! All kinds of things from insurance to credit cards, to home loans, etc. Professional people that truly seem to care about their customers/clients. Also a TON of savings!)

I have also officially worked my last day at the railroad today. I will work a couple of days at the base this weekend (for drill), and after that, it's at least a month off for family time! (Thank you Family Medical Leave Act) I, we, are looking so forward to our trip and better yet, to come back home and learn to bond as a family. We hope that Joy will easily adapt to us and know she will absolutely love her big sisters, they already love her!

God's Gift

Why did we adopt... internationally? The question comes up often. Most people are caring, understanding, and compassionate. When I meet the few people who are not, who compare me to the likes of celebrities who "buy" children for status, I ask: Do country boundary lines on a map make a child less important? Are we not all God's children? Do we limit what children deserve a loving home? My heart is happy, calm and comforted knowing that God gave us the priveledge of caring for our beautiful Joy, and calling her our daughter.