More of our Ethiopia Adventure....

So, we have been home for a couple of days now. Still very tired and pretty much drained in every way! I have no appetite so, I'm sure not eating enough it contributing to the exhaustion! But it seem that I am recovering pretty well from the jet lag which felt like slamming into a brick wall at about 3:30 pm on Friday!

Once we took custody of Desi on Monday, I didn't have much time or energy for anything that I wanted to do, let alone update the blog! I've had a chance to read all the comments and appreciate all the wonderful words of encouragement and congratulations! They truly do uplift my spirits, which are up and down.

I'm noticing how much bringing home an adopted child feels a lot like giving birth! The wait and anticipation is like a pregnancy, the labor of traveling and then the exhaustion of new parenthood once you're home with this tiny stranger. It's very reminiscent of when Jake was born...in fact, the hardship of that time over 6 years ago has proved to me once again that you never know what God will do with the experiences of your life, good and bad, down the road.

My last post left off on the night before we took custody of Desi. On Monday we started the day with much anticipation! We were finally going to bring her home...we were pretty fearful of how she would react. We had, as you know, only spent about 3 hours with her and it wasn't perfect...especially the part where she wouldn't let me feed her. But we knew that we would manage.

Our first stop of the day was at the Bethany offices to speak with her social worker and a nurse who knew her case. We were also given a presentation of the programs that Bethany Christian Services are working on in Ethiopia to promote healthy families. The most noteworthy is there new Foster Care/Kinship Care program that they are launching. I found it amazing that there was an effort and an interest in this. BCS is about to launch their foster care program with, I believe, 25-30 families from churches in ET! They are also working on a mentoring program with adoptive families. I was also intrigued to know that our experience of taking non-biological children and also children from another race into our homes could translate and help an Ethiopian family fostering a child who is not their own or from another tribal background. So, I hope that we hear more of the opportunities to be involved in this program. We were also encouraged to see that World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and other organizations are present in ET.

Our conversation with Desi's social worker, Blen, revealed what we expected, that she was going to need time...maybe a lot of time to get used to us and especially Ryan. According to Blen, Desi was very weak and wasn't walking or even really standing much. So we were expecting a long road ahead.

After the BCS office we stopped for lunch at a Tex Mex restaurant! I had a burrito, Ryan had a big fat juicy cheeseburger! He was pretty happy!

Then it was off the the orphanage for the farewell ceremony. I was actually more emotional at this ceremony than when we met her for the first time. A small choir of kids awaiting the finalization of their adoptions sang to us and they were fantastic! When each child was brought into the room to join their new parents the children chanted their name, it was so sweet! Desi was dressed in a traditional Ethiopian dress with a scarf around her head...she was so beautiful. There was also an enormous cake that they had baked and each family cut a slice and fed it to their child. Perhaps she was in shock, but she let Ryan feed her the cake! We were very encouraged by that. She didn't cry at all, so our hopes were high. We gave her nannies a thank you gift and got pictures and hugs! Her main nanny was so sweet and I could tell that she loved Desi and had taken great care of her. I look forward to showing Des the photos of her some day and assuring her that even during her most traumatic times, there were people who loved and cared for her.

Des was pretty quiet for the next couple of days. She ate well and slept well. She was pretty uncomfortable with Ryan, so she spent most of her time strapped onto me in a baby wrap or on my lap. There were times that she would sit on our bed and I played her Praise Baby and Baby Einstein videos on my laptop.

One day, I was pretty tired, I wanted to put her down and just watch TV. Ryan was reading an adoption book, so he left the room. I had noticed that Desi relaxed a lot when he wasn't there. I got a lot of smiles and playfulness from her in those moments where it was just the 2 of us. It was bittersweet to see her open up, but know that it was because Ryan was not there. I prayed a lot that she would see him as a safe person...we even tried hugging in front of her, which brought her to tears! She did the most remarkable thing that day...she shimmied down off the bed and started walking! I was stunned! I grabbed the video camera and taped her joyfully cruising around the room. Later we showed the video to her social worker, Blen, and she was stunned! I was so excited and also so sad that Ryan had missed her first steps with us! At this point, I really started to feel the weight of the knowing that I was going to bear a lot of the responsibility of caring for her.

As the days went on I was so ready to come home! We had Embassy on Tuesday, which was just a short exit interview and a lot of waiting! It was a great time to be with all of the 8 other families that were traveling in our group. We celebrated and clapped as each family reentered the waiting room...the final step in this process complete! It would take until Thursday morning to get our visa and be cleared to leave the country. I started to become an emotional wreck. I was weary of carrying a child around on me all the time! I was so homesick for Jake and Emily. At one point we called home and I could hear them as Ryan spoke to each of them on the phone. Em's tiny sweet voice range over the phone "hi daddy" and I burst into tears! I wanted to hug them so badly! I wanted them in my arms! I just wanted to go home. I cried a lot on Wednesday and Thursday! There are only so many goats and sheep and funny billboards to keep you entertained in a foreign country...there is nothing like your house and your BED!! I was giddy to pack our bags and prepare to head to the airport on Thursday night...giddy!

...To Be Continued....

(Our trip home is worthy of it's own post for sure! )