July 2, 2009

Thursday, our final day in Ethiopia...it was bittersweet. No real plans for this day. We made our way over to Hannah's Hope for a final goodbye to Almaz and the special mothers. It was quite confusing for Zipporah so we didn't stay long. Almaz explained to Zipporah what was going to happen. She responded with a slight nod and "shh", which means "ok". We made sure that we snapped a lot more pictures today and ate an early dinner since we were leaving for the airport at 6 and they don't cook real fast - especially since we had no power that day. I took a quick cool shower since I would not get another until Friday night in the good ol' USA.
the flight home was agonizing as we probably went thru security 6 plus times between the 2 airports. I do not recommend Ethiopian airlines either. We boarded our plane at 10 p.m. and within 2 hours they thought, as everyone was falling asleep, that we needed dinner. So, on all the lights went and all the kids were awake! Then, after at least 1 and a half hours, the lights went off again. And then, we land in Rome and the cleaning crew gets on and we are not to get out of our seats until they are done...of course all the lights are on again. Finally, we are off again, lights off for maybe an hour and then we need to eat breakfast??? The staff was rude and we were very glad to see D.C. Unfortunetely we had a 9 hour layover - ouch. We made it home about 9 p.m. Friday night and were excited to shower and sleep. Needless to say, I slept on Zipporah's floor but at the time I did not care. It was not an airplane seat! And now, here we are...

July 1, 2009

Wednesday in Addis Ababa...today we met Zipporah's birth mom. It was a difficult day for all. Our meeting was set up for 10:40 a.m. Zipporah's mom, aunt, brother (10 yrs old) and sister (17 yrs old) showed up in Almaz's office. Her mom told us, thru translation, that she wasn't planning on getting pregnant, was sick (HIV) and didn't know what to do. She gave Zipporah up out of sheer desperation. She also said that her oldest daughter doesn't know that she is sick. Zipporah sat on her mom and sister's lap during the meeting but never smiled. She had a very confused look on her face the whole time - and who could blame her. I asked why she named her Kenean? The reason brought us all to tears. She said it was because,in the Bible, when Moses was taking the Israelites to the land of Canaan, it was known as the land of healing - of milk and honey. She was hoping by naming her Kenean (Canaan in English), it would bring her healing from HIV. So, why the tears? We named her Zipporah because in the Bible, she is Moses's wife. Is this child meant to be our's or what? If you are not convinced yet...her brother is deaf!
The aunt and sister hugged us with tears after our meeting..her birth mom could not control her sobbing and could not approach us anymore. My heart broke for her.
So, after an emotional afternoon for all, our group went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant for dinner and took along the kids. There was wonderful dancing, singing, music and food - injera and shiro of course. It was a late night but a wonderful experience.

June 30, 2009

Tuesday in Ethiopia...today was shopping day. After breakfast we brought the kiddos back to HH since the locals do not like to see frengies (white people) with Ethiopian kids. Zipporah was not so thrilled about going back after being with us for the night. She would not look at me and acted very mad. So, off we went, to return after their naps. After a rough and treacherous ride thru the streets of Ethiopia, we arrived at the market. We had an hour and a half to do our shopping. Talk about crazy. It was a marathon shop and we still wish we would have gotten a few more things - we left with 6 bags of stuff. It was fun though. We all loaded on the bus and went to an Italian restaurant with some incredible paintings for sale - too pricey for us. Ethiopian time is not our time...the food took over 2 hours to get - and not everyone got it at the same time. Oh well! We took the bus back to the Union, deposited our loot and went back to HH to get our kiddos. As soon as Zipporah saw me she ran to me with open arms - no longer mad I guess. We relaxed the rest of the day and let the kids play together while we had dinner at the Union again. Jeff snapped a lot of pictures today of what the poverty is really like..devastating.

July 7, 2009

Zipporah is still doing great. All the new things in her life are amazing her...ice makes her giggle, a drinking fountain takes her breath away, and what can I say about the refrigerator? She just keeps opening it and staring, like she cannot believe what she is seeing. Her first lake experience proved that she has no fear - within an hour she was putting her face under. I am going to have to get her a good life jacket! And she is still unfazed by the car seat. Such a contrast to Reese.

I miss Ethiopia and the joy of all the children. As much as the plane ride was awful, I would travel it again. If not simply to experience the contrast to my own life. The extreme poverty is such an eye opener. But the people are absolutely beautiful!

June 29, 2009

Gotcha Day!!
After waiting in line forever in the airport for security, our visas and the rest of our group last night, we crashed at the Union Hotel. This morning we met Almaz in the hotel lobby to go over the day and then headed over to Hannah's Hope on foot. Our hearts were pounding as we trekked up the muddy stone path to our daughter. We were the first to get our child...she toddled up the path and tried to hand Almaz a toy. Almaz told her to give it to her mama. She is absolutely beautiful - snot and all. We spent about 30 minute with her and had to run back to the hotel to drop off our camaras and eat lunch. Then back to HH to retreive our kids and head to the US Embassy. The kids got quite bored and antsy but this was the only appointment we had - unlike China. Afterwards, we just hung out at the Union and got to know our kids. All 15 that found their forever families today are beautiful!

June 27, 2009

We began our grueling trip at 3:30 a.m. We drove to Aunt 'Nita's house and she accompanied us to Detroit and then drove our truck back home. We had a 9 hour layover in D.C. and then a 15 hour plane ride to Addis Ababa, with a 45 minute stop in Rome to change staff. By the time we arrived at our hotel we had been traveling over 30 hours! Very painful. There were 11 other families in our group and we all got along quite well. The fun is just beginning!!!

July 5, 2009

I had to post a picture of Zipporah. For those that traveled with us, you will be shocked - she has curls!! Amazing what a little of the right hair product will do. She is happy most all the time, didn't freak out with the first ride in a car seat, she has been singing since gotcha day, has slept through the night since day one and is simply a joy to be with. I will slowly post some pictures, day by day, of our trip...as much a 2 year old will allow me to.