Finally!!! (Ethiopia Embassy Trip Days 2 and 3)

As I sit here I still can't believe it's real!  Kevin is standing in front of me rocking our precious girl who is contently staring back up at him trying to fight the urge to zonk out.  What a kodak moment!  Allow me to recap:

Our flight from Washington D.C. was relatively smooth.  We had a few minor instances of turbulence, but that was it.  Unfortunately, neither of us slept very much.  I cannot imagine why.......  Despite that, we still felt pretty good upon arrival in Addis Ababa.  We got through the visa line and immigration pretty quickly and were very happy to see all of our luggage on the carousel!  Abel snuck up on us as we walked out to look for him.  Once the other family with us was set, we headed to the guest house.  We unpacked and settled in and decided to try to take a little nap.  We slept for about 2 hours before getting up for lunch.  We definitely could have slept longer, but we knew we needed to get ready to go get M! :-)

At 3:30PM, he hopped into the van to go to the orphanage.  We played with all of the kids in the infant room for about an hour while they gave M a bath and changed her into a traditional Ethiopian outfit.  The farewell ceremony was held in one of the main rooms with all of the nannies and others kids.  They started by asking some of the children to share something about M and also share their wish for her.  The children asked us to speak Amharic to M, make sure she comes back to visit, and writes letters.  It was very sweet.  They also asked the nannies to do the same.  It was so evident the love that they have for her!  Next, they asked us to speak.  As you can imagine if you know me, I cried.  It is very hard to express gratitude to those who have cared for her without the water works!  The ceremony ended with special treats for the kids.  We took a group picture with all the kids and said our final goodbyes.  What an amazing blessing!

She didn't seem to mind the van ride back to the guest house at all.  In fact, all the bumpiness put her to sleep within a matter of minutes.  When she awoke, we were standing in the dining room at the guest house.  Her eyes got big as she looked around.  I imagine if she could have told us what she was thinking she would have said "Where am I???!!!"  She was a little fussy during dinner, but was quite content playing with her new toys.  She especially likes Daddy's phone :-)

It will be interesting to see how she does in her first full day away from the orphanage (and in her first night with us).  We are praying that God will calm her spirit and help her to feel comfortable and secure with us.  So far, that prayer has been answered.  God is good!!

We are about to put her down for the night and my guess is that we will not be far behind her.  It has been an awesome first day back in Ethiopia and we are feeling so blessed!  We will be able to post pictures Wednesday afternoon :-)

Good night!!!