We Made It Home

We made it home on Wednesday night after another crazy air travel day.  Due to all the bad weather still in some areas of the country our in coming plane was late & that made us late.  It was one of the more "bumpy" rides but we made it.  I have lots to catch up on & will add pics hopefully this weekend, if not then next week.  My grandfather had a medical scare yesterday & I ended up going over there to help with him.  We have our SW coming on Monday for HG's 1 yr post placement (can you believe it's been a year?).  So, once I get through all of this I will have more time to sit down & work on the blog.  Thanks for all your prayers.  It was an amazing trip.

For those of you going - "No Jet Lag" really does work.  I haven't had the dizzy problems or other issues that I normally have.  I highly recommend it (& they taste good too.)

Forgot One Thing

The one thing that I have been most intrigued about (besides the country, the people, my daughter, etc...)

LIVESTOCK HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY HERE!!!!!  Just wanted you all to know. ;0)  (I've got lots of pics & funny stories to share once we are home.)

Sunday

Happy Easter 2011!!!!!

Right now everyone is taking their Sunday afternoon nap. ;0)  Another family has moved in to the Guest House.  They have their embassy appointment tomorrow so they have their children with them.  We met them when we came in & I think HG is a little excited about having someone else to play with.  Since the other little girl left on Wed. she’s had all the attention of everyone all to herself. 

Today we went to Nagash’s (from IOI) church.  It’s funny in the states we have our largest attendance on Easter where they have their lowest.  They were down about 20 people because of the holiday.  They were all so gracious.  We learned they have activities & services about 4 times a week.  Can you imagine us going to church 4 times a week?

After church he invited us over to his house for a quick bite to eat & to meet his family.  His wife isn’t able to attend that church with him because she can’t climb the hill during the walk to church (Paulie drove us the entire way – THANK YOU PAULIE!!!!)  She walks to a church that is right by their home.  Negash walks about an hour & a half just to get up the mountain to the church. 

On our way to his home he took us to visit a man who had been in a bad car accident over 12 years ago.  He’s paralyzed from the waist down.  He lies in his bed which is in the living room.  But God used that tragic event to draw him to Him.  He is now a believer & teaches about 38 kids every single week there in his living room.  He admits he is happier now than he ever was.  We all prayed with him before leaving.

Negash asked Andy to share the pulpit with him.  So, after the sermon he asked Andy to come & speak what the Lord led him to say.  Andy brought it!!!!!  It was fun seeing him so excited.  Like we said though, it’s easy to get pumped up when you have people excited & agreeing with what you are saying.  The people were on fire this morning praising the LIVING Jesus.

Tonight I guess we are just going to chill here at the guest house & probably start packing up our stuff.

Tomorrow we plan to visit Genet one last time & go shopping one last time before getting ready to get on that FOREVER long plane ride.  Yep, there’s the prayer request – we are all dreading it.  We fly for about 6 hours & then will have a gas up in Rome before flying another 10 hours to DC.  We have plenty of time to get through customs & such before getting on the next plane to Chicago.  There we have about a 5 hour layover – look out CHILI’s here I come!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, we spent some time with Genet & then went shopping.  We got lots of things but I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the selection.  I am hoping the place we go tomorrow will help with that. ;0)

I guess that’s all for this post.  We can’t wait to get home & see everybody.  We miss you all.  Boys I love you & can’t wait to spend some time with you.  I hope you are ready for some tired parents.  LOL

                                                

Good Friday Update

April 20 – Part 3

After all the ups & downs I’ve already told you about, we still weren’t finished with that day.  Earlier one of the other guests in our guest house had just warned us to really watch our money.  She was missing 700 birr (about $42).  She didn’t want to say anything because she wasn’t definite that it wasn’t her miscalculations & they were getting ready to leave.  Well, DURING our supper our friends had even more taken from them.  So, now we are on high alert & actually feel really weird about being here.  We are never away from our cash now, but it still a creepy feeling.

Yesterday – Thursday, A. from our agency took us to Hawassa.  It was an amazing trip.  It was so good to get out of the city & see the real Ethiopia.  It ended up being about a 4 hour drive.  We took a ton of pics & learned a lot.  All of the different tribes in ET have a different way of building their homes.  I’ll post some of those pics when we get back.  (By the way, Cande was able to post about 100 pics last night to FB if you happen to be friends with her.)

We stayed at the Haile Resort Hotel, Haile being the famous ET runner.  Oh it is so quiet there.  It is situated on a huge lake.  We could have spent a lot more time there.

At 3:00 our driver & A. picked us up to go to Shalom orphanage to have our birth family meeting.  The director there is an amazing man.  You can tell he does a good job & loves the kids genuinely.  He said “it’s the hardest work ever.”  They have an amazing staff which includes 2 full time nurses & 2 part time nurses.  He showed us a couple of babies that are results of their work & lots of prayers.  During the tour he even let us take a picture of the bed that Genet slept in when she was there.  Currently there are a set of twins in that bed & the one beside it.  They are dolls!!!!!!!!

The birth family meeting went amazingly.  Andy & I have decided not to share what all was said because that meeting was really for Genet even though we received the blessing for now.  I will tell this, she is an amazing woman.  She loves Genet & wants the best for her.  And the best part for me was when we found out she is a Christian.  Praising God for that extra blessing today.  I am still in awe of how the meeting went.  I was a nervous wreck & of course the waterworks & sniffles didn’t stop.  I will never forget that day or that meeting.  Besides Genet, that was the most priceless couple of hours of this entire trip.  If you have the chance to meet the birth family – even if it means you must travel then I highly recommend you do it.  It’s worth every penny & then some.

We learned a lot about the tribe that Genet is from.  She has 2 that we were told about.  One I am familiar with & the other I will learn about.  We are going shopping tomorrow & I hope to find more things from both of those tribes. ;0)

A. took us to a government run beach park.  There we got some amazing pics & saw a traditional Sidamo (Genet’s tribe) house & very friendly monkeys and birds.  Of course there were the begging children who followed us the entire walk of the park because no here doesn’t mean the same thing that it does to us no matter how many times you say it.  Then we found a clothing shop where I could buy Genet a traditional clothing outfit from her tribe.  It’s too big for her now, but I can’t wait to see her put it on one day.

Then he took us to the other resort on the lake to watch the sunset.  We had coffee & drinks (good COLD waters & cokes) while we watched the sun go down over the lake.  It was fun to sit there & chat with him.  We had already asked him a million questions but we were able to learn a lot more about Ethiopian culture.  He found it funny that we Americans would ski on lakes like that.  I think he wants to try it when he comes to the states. He wants to come to the US to study more law.  He has a law degree & is a social worker for our agency.  He’s the one that does the paperwork for the Embassy portion of the process.  He told us how things are constantly changing.  You could have everything correct & then the requirements change as you are bringing it to the embassy.  Side note – we drove by the Embassy.  Why is it that the American Embassy is at least 10 times larger than all the other countries?  I mean really?  You should see it – it’s quite the spectical.  I would have taken pics of it but you can be arrested for doing so, even in the moving van – it’s that way for most of the big official buildings & the locals here know it!!!!

We drove home this morning from Hawassa (by the way, it used to be Awassa but they added the H just a few years ago & that’s the official spelling.)  I think we are all emotionally & physically drained.  We are so tired.  They drove us to the care center so we could see Genet & then we came back to the guest house.  We ate some lunch & then decided to have some quiet time before we go to the convenient store next door to get ice cream – yes I am extremely excited. ;0)  HG played on her Vreader & when I woke up she was asleep.  I am getting ready to wake her up.  She slept some on the van & I don’t want her not sleeping tonight.

Today is Good Friday.  It’s been really neat to watch everyone preparing for Holy Week.  A. was fasting the entire time.  The people are all heading to the Orthodox church in their whites – either white clothing or they put a white shawl over themselves.  We passed by many of them & all of them are covered with people inside & outside the gates.  They seem to be very ritualistic in that they all have this chanting thing they do while bowing & making certain hand movements.  The country as a whole are all celebrating.  The sale of lambs & chickens right now is unbelievable, which will be the main dishes served on Sunday.  I am so thankful that Ethiopia is such a Christian nation.  We Americans could learn a lot from them. 

Fekadu

The other couple that traveled with us (they left earlier today & we didn’t get to say goodbye.  We really thought we’d catch them at lunch – I guess that just means we HAVE to go to Ohio for a visit sometime soon. ;0)  They already had connections here in the country.  That’s how we’ve met.  He is an amazing guy.  He was sponsored by Compassion International as a child & then went to work for them later.  He grew up Orthodox Christian but came to the conclusion that all you have to do is have the relationship with Jesus, plain & simple.  Oh how I like him!!!!!  He’s the one who took us the other night to the traditional Ethiopian restaurant, Yob Abyssinia & to Entoto Mountain.  We are calling him tonight so he can take us shopping tomorrow – I can’t wait!  He laughs a lot & of course is fascinated by HG.  It’s amazing how she can capture people.  It’s like she has this power where she draws them to her & then she pulls the reigns tight and doesn’t let go.

I guess that’s enough for now.  I hope I’ve put enough on here for me to remember once I get home.  I’m sorry we haven’t been able to post like we would have liked.  The internet isn’t like it is at home.  I can’t wait to share all the pics we have with all of you.  It really is beautiful here.

Have a wonderful Good Friday & remember to thank Jesus for what He did for you today. 

April 20 - part 2

We visited Genet (Oh I just love being able to type her name on here!!!!) for a couple of hours.  She was asleep & they wanted to wake her up.  This time I stood my ground and didn't let them wake her up.  We just stood there starring at her listening to her little snore (too cute by the way).  We were totally amazed & in awe that we are the parents of 5 children!  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I would say that.
She spit up & coughed which woke her up.  She was a little confused & startled at first but warmed up to us fairly quickly.  We had a great visit.  We played with our friends, went outside for almost an hour, & then took a bottle.  Then it was time for a diaper change.  Ms. Carol - I now know!!!  Under her pants were 3 (yes counted them twice) cloth diapers trifolded into one of those nicer snap cloth diapers which was under a diaper cover.  I watched her put it all back on & counted again just to make sure I wasn't seeing things.  No wonder these kids take so long to sit up.  They just can't.

After that we came back for lunch to find that Miss Hannah Grace didn't wake up until 11:15. I guess she was tired. ;0)  We tried to check up on everyone at home - yes we were all praying for you guys during the storms too.  Facebook has been about the only thing we can do here.  I haven't even tried to check my emails.  Shocker I know.

This afternoon we (the other family & Fecado - will give COOL explanations about them soon) went up to Entoto Mountain.  We had gorgeous weather.  On our way we went to the National Museum.  Now, if you know me you know I've been excited about seeing Lucy - the oldest remains of a human.  God's sense of humor - LUCY is on tour in the USA.  Isn't that great?  I got so tickled at that.  But, I have some really good pics of her duplicate. ;0)

Then we started up the mountain.  We visited a ministry that the wives of the emperors/presidents from many countries have all began to go shopping.  It is a ministry where these women make scarves to earn a living.  We toured the shop & was amazed at how fast they work & how well they were done.  It takes 4 hours of work to make one scarf, so they make about 2 a day.  We bought several for gifts because we wanted to help these women & we knew the folks (you) at home would love them.  BUT, let me share with you why I love them. 
They are saving these women from some major work.  These women are being rescued from carrying trees down the mountain.  They walk up the mountain & yes, I mean a mountain.  A few times I didn't think our van was going to make it.  They then chop smaller trees, take some of the smaller branches off, & clear the leaves & remains off the ground.  They they bind them up into the largest bunch I"ve ever seen.  These things stick out about 3 feet on each side of the women.  They then tie these monsters onto their back & they walk them back down the mountain.  Some do it for money & some do it to provide firewood for their families (yes, it's their cold season)  I have pics but probably won't be able to get them attached tonight.  Yes, cried again.

Entoto is speechless.  It's so beautiful & gorgeous.  None of my words would ever do it justice.  I'll put up pics once home.  Seeing this beautiful work of our Lord was another blessing.  He really did create us an amazing planet to live on.

On the ride home we were humbled.  Andy & I noticed a man who if lived in the US would be taken care of by our system.  Even with all the flaws that our government has we at least don't see people lying on the sides of the road hurting the way you do here.  And yes, I've seen lots of people: blind people, disfigured bodied people, "untouchable" people, unwanted people....etc.  This one particular man was scooting on his bottom with one normal leg & one that looked like a bone for a child's arm.  I looked at Andy & told him I just couldn't look anymore.  This man in all of his apparent pain & misery was just a smiling away.  I am choking up just thinking about it.  We have tried to compare seeing a 3rd world country to what the boys will see when they visit Costa Rica.  We can imagine some of the things will be very similar.  And for that I know God is going to change my children just as He is changing me.  I will never be the same.  I have no more excuses.  I have seen the pain of this world, but yet THANKFULLY we serve a Righteous, Loving, Compassionate God who loves us all.  It's time for us as Christians to get off our comfy pews & get out into the world.  There is a huge need out there & we have the answer.

I could go on & on but everyone is in bed except me.  I will post more tomorrow if we have wifi at the new hotel.  We are traveling to Awassa tomorrow to see the area of Ethiopia that our daughter is from & meet her birth family.  And then we will return on Friday.

Prayer requests:  Continuing to stay healthy, traveling mercies tomorrow during our 3 hr drive, the birth family meeting, & the people of Ethiopia.

I can't wait to tell you more about this amazing trip, these amazing people, my amazing daughter, & our amazing connection with Compassion International.   Nighty night.

We Passed!

April 20.  How do I put this day into words?  (Andy told me to put it into multiple posts to keep from losing any of it so this may be out of order.)
Today began a little better than yesterday.  The roosters decided to sleep in this morning & woke us up at 3:00!!!!!  But, if anyone ever questions if God is in control - let me tell you - He's even in the little details.  We went from 4 neighbor roosters to only 2 today & the funny sounding one wasn't heard today.  I guess supper was really good for someone. ;0)
We all got ready & headed down to breakfast.  We were served oatmeal & hardboiled eggs (2 of my least favorite foods).  Amazingly I got enough down to keep me from getting a headache later in the morning when the stress was sure to come.  Our driver was on time & we raced through traffic well enough that we got to court 30 minutes early.  So, he took us to the outside coffee shop to hang out.  None of us could order anything & for that I felt bad, but it just wasn't happening.  Now let me explain this day is so filled with ups & downs I think it may take me a few days to get over this emotional overload.  Back to the coffee shop.  There were 2 of the CUTEST little boys I have ever seen in my life.  They came up to us.  They were trying to sell kleenex.  And not just any kleenex - they were travel packs.  We kindly told them no but of course they were persistent.  Our driver made them leave but they kept hanging around the corner peeking around at us & smiling the most adorable smiles ever.  That's when the waterworks began.  I couldn't help it.  I so wanted to bring those two home with me.  Why in the world was I given the life I have instead of being on the street begging for change from foreigners?  After 30 minutes of that, it was time to go.  Once around the corner we noticed the boys were not alone.  They were with either their grandmother or mom.  She was using them to beg for her.  I just can't tell you how I am feeling today.

We went into court.  The room was PACKED.  I would guess no less than 50 families were stuffed into this small white room with a few birth families & a bunch of agency workers.  We ended up standing right next to the door so we could watch people come in & out.  With God's divine intervention we ended up being the 3rd group to be called.  My heart just about jumped out of my chest.  We thought we weren't going in with the other couple because their son is from another orphanage (Nikki - they call you by orphanages)  So, once they closed the door Andy suggested we start praying for them when all of a sudden the door opened & they motioned us to come on in also. (Just to mention it's so loud in there but EVERY time that door opens it gets so quiet you could hear a pin drop.)  You walk into a white room - think principal's office - with two ladies at one desk & the judge at another surrounded by mounds of paperwork.  We sat down thinking she (the judge) was just talking to the other couple but she asked us 5 questions together.  We answered each one with a definite YES.  The other couple was told they passed but Genet needed more paperwork - which we knew.  Once our agency worker gave her a sheet of paper she looked over it & all of a sudden she told us it was official.  Ellie-Joy Genet is now a Morris!!!!!!!  It all happened so fast it still feels like a dream.  Immediately the waterworks began & this time I couldn't control them.  We left to leave & of course all eyes are on us - tears and all. 
We went down the hall to give thanks to the one & only God who was gracious & bestowed favor upon us.  We hugged & cried & stood there totally amazed.
Of course we decided to head straight to the babies because it was only 9:30!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Warning!

We CAN NOT see our blog.  We can get the words to pull up (after a long wait) but the pics never come up.  So, I'm not sure if it's actually posting or not.  Sorry - if they don't, we will update once home.  If you are friends with Andy, he's able to post some things to FB.  He's been putting pics from his phone on there. 

Monday's & Morrises Minus 4

It's Tuesday

Yesterday we met our daughter for the first time.  Of course it wasn't the picture perfect meeting that every mother dreams of.  But, that's okay.  When we showed up she was still taking her nap.  We tried to convince Sister to just let us watch her sleep, but she was determined to wake her up.  She didn't cry but you could tell she was still tired & was confused about who we were & what we were doing.  She had a great case of chicken pox.  She is fever free but there's a couple of sores that haven't scabbed over yet. 

This morning when we went to visit her - it was a totally different story!!!! She was happy, giggly, smiley, friendly little G.  She was sitting in her little bumpo chair waiting on us & smiled at us as soon as we walked in the room.  She is a short little thing but she's really chunky.  We were able to play with her for a good 2 hours & then I was able to give her a bottle.  We will have a lot of attatchment to work on with her but that is to be expected.  She loves to watch others.  She's really afraid she might miss something (my grandma used to call that nosey ;0)  Hannah Grace didn't go with us this morning to see her sister.  She decided she wanted to hang back in the room with her little friend Makada & Cande.  Ebaby's scabs looked even better today.

Sleeping is a definite issue here in ET.  If you are coming here (this is especially for you Nikki) you need to be prepared.  We had been told that it would be loud so yes, we have been warned.  But, you can not possibly prepare yourself for what we experienced.  There are a few roosters outside.  OH MY WORD.  They start their thing at 2:00am!!!!!!  And it's like they are having a war to see who can be the loudest.  (One by the way, sounds like he has laringitis)  This begins at 2:00 just as the neighbors across the way have stopped chatting at 1:30.  The dogs bark nonstop & traffic never seems to be slow.  We were all given ear plugs which were wonderful, except they keep falling out of our ears & the noise just wakes you up.  I promise if something doesn't change, we might be eating rooster this week !!!! So, at all costs - no matter what - bring a sound machine as part of your 50lbs.!!!!!!!

The food has been great.  (Yes, I was worried/concerned about that.)  Tonight we are going to be eating at a local authentic restaurant with the other couple that is here with us.  They have a friend here who is local & just happens to be out of work right now.  So, we are happily going to pay him to be our driver.  He's going to take us shopping (yea someone to help us barter!) & then we are going to eat.  A big black cloud came up today & is now raining so that's why we aren't going touring today.

Court is tomorrow!!!!  We leave here at 8:00 & we are praying that we have our MOWA letter so we can pass.  Stay tuned for updates.

Thursday & Friday we are driving 3 hours south to visit Awassa.  We will be meeting Ebaby's birth mom & visiting that area.  We've been told it is beautiful.  I'm really excited about it.

SO our prayer requests:  Stay healthy, court tomorrow, birth family meeting, Ebaby's adjustment, & Hannah Grace's acceptance of all the changes that are happening.

I am going to try to download some pics.  But no promises.  I tried earlier & after about 10 minutes I just gave up.  Talk to you all later.  (I STILL CAN"T BELIEVE I'M IN ETHIOPIA!!!!!!)

We Made It

We are here.  I still can't believe I am here.  It is everything & more of what I expected.  Hannah Grace has met a friend here at the guest house.  They are busy running from room to room.  We are waiting for some lunch & then our agency's guide will be picking us up to meet Ebaby at 2:00!!!!!!!!  We are tired/exhausted & look really yucky but I don't care right now.  I AM GOING TO MEET MY DAUGHTER!!!!  We will work on getting the pics posted from the last couple of days.  Our room has an amazing view - I think Andy has posted it on Facebook if you want to check it out.
We had a wonderful time with our friends the Mondays on Saturday.  They met us at our hotel in DC.  It was storming tremendously so we didn't go into the city.  Instead we headed over to the Air & Space Museum in Dulles, another portion of the Smithsonian.  It was really neat & we had a great time.  Grace has grown up so much.  She has gained  17lbs & 5 1/2inches since we saw her in May.  And we were able to meet their other kids.  The rowdy gang had a great time!!!!!!!
Hopefully we will update tonight when I have more time.  We love you all & are so thankful for all the prayers.  We felt them!!!!!!!!!

Who's holding your hand??

Adoption isn't easy - nothing of any worth is. Adoption is usually compared to a roller coaster with it's ups & downs & highs & SUDDEN drops. I have found the only way to truly hang on - is to put my hand in His hand. The God of the universe is totally in control. He knows before we even experience it what we are going through. Even when the path is uncertain, the road seems scary, the journey is hard & difficult, & roadblocks are set before us - HE IS IN CONTROL. The one thing I have learned over these last 5 years - I need to LET Him be in control.

It is so much easier on myself and others when I let go and put the one in charge who really is in charge. Most of this adoption journey is totally & completely out of my control anyway - why do we try to act like we are in control? Today I am basking in the peace that He has given us.

I love bragging on Him & am thankful for all the blessings (little & big) He has given to us. Hold on sweet baby girl - we leave next week. And then I can hold you. We love you.