Last Post from Addis Ababa

Well T minus 14 hours to take off...! The last couple of days have been a bit rough as Ciara, Hunter, Ruby, and Mahlia were invaded by Ethiopian tummy buggies that resulted in some pretty sick kiddo's... but thanks to the wonderful local Ethiopian doctor who came to our hotel room and got us set up with the right meds, the kids are on the mend :) So the last few days have been pretty quiet and boring as we spent a lot of time in the hotel nursing kids.

The hightlight of the last couple of days was the Thomas Center going away party. They do such a great job with that celebration! Its a farewell party for the children who are leaving, and a chance for the new parents, the nannies, and the older children to exchange goodbyes and thank you's. The party starts with the Thomas Center staff singing and dancing to wonderful Ethiopian music. The Ethiopians sure know how to celebrate as was very evident with the joy and enthusiasm that they danced and sang. Again, something to be learned from these wonderful people...! Next Abdissa asked each of the parents to say something about their experience here. This is a very emotional part of the evening, as there are many tears shed by adoptive families and staff alike as they give heartfelt thanks to the Thomas Center staff for the care, love, and dedication that these wonderful people have given our children. Lots of clapping and cheering as well, as the Ethiopians are such encouraging and happy people! Abdissa continues the evening with a wonderful sermon about the blessings of adoption, etc. He is also a preacher, on his day off (Sunday), and he is a very passionate one at that. Lots of 'Praise the Lord!' and 'Halleluia!', very fun to be a part of :) While the party was such fun, the goodbye, as we expected was very hard on little Jonah. Lots of wailing and screaming and sadness, poor little guy. We got back to the hotel late and fell into bed, but were all awoken by Jonah screaming at the top of his little lungs a couple of hours later. Not sure if it was a night terror or just more grief, but it was intense.... Luckily we got him back to sleep :)

Tonight the flight leaves at 11:30pm....yuck! For the little guy who does not sit still, this trip home is going to be a challenge..... and we probably won't be super popular with the other passengers either ;) We set it up so we fly to Frankfurt, spend a day and a night there, then tackle the 11 hour flight to Seattle, then on to Spokane, and then finally home...We decided to tackle it all in one chunk would be less then intelligent on our part.

I am quite sad to be leaving Ethiopia, I do so love it here, but I am also looking forward to being home :) I miss my other kids and my wonderful town and friends, so it will be good to be back home, just wish it wasn't quite so far away....:)

Signing off from Addis!

Love,

Jennifer

Days 2 and 3 in Addis Ababa

With all the kids here and our newest little wild man on the constant go, finding time to do my daily adoption journey journal is a challenge! Day 2 was a wonderful day. Jonah was happy for the most part, and really enjoying his siblings. So sweet to watch them with him....and him with them! With no adoption paperwork to do, we got to spend some time sight seeing in Addis. We started off going to the National Museum which was very cool. We have all wanted to see "Lucy" for a long time and it was so nice to finally meet her! So neat to have the kids here in this country so rich with history and culture, so much to learn! After meeting Lucy we were off to the Lion Zoo where you can get waaaay to close to the lions... You can walk up to the lion cages, which have huge holes in the wire fence.... Apparently there have been some folks recently who have tried to reach in and pet the lions....and it hasn't turned out very well.... Its sad to see the lions in such small cages, and I could get feeling a little upset about it, but when I realize the conditions that most people here live in, the lions have it better then most.... And we were followed around the zoo by a band of little Oliver Twists looking to get pretty up close and personal with our pockets, but thankfully we were on to them, and they were darn cute anyway. After escaping the lion zoo with all limbs in tact and our wallets still on us, it was off to Mt. Entoto. As we drove up the winding road to the top, passing many women carrying their loads of wood down from the eucalyptus trees that flourish atop the mountain, and the children tending their goat herds, our rather old and tired car really struggled to keep climbing. Mike made the comment that he hoped its breaks were better then its engine, just as we passed a totally squashed van that had obviously rolled off the side and not fared so well. On top of the mountain was King Meneliks palace and a beautiful church, it is intriguing to see the orthodox Christians here and their devout beliefs and the public display they make of their beliefs. There is a lot of kissing the walls of the churches and the floor all around it, as well as some loud praying while bowing down in front of the churches. The kids were a little weirded out by the scene there, but good for them to see and learn about none the less...

The kids were pretty wiped by the running around so it was back to the hotel and to the ice cream shop for Jonah's first ice cream cone. He thoroughly enjoyed it :) He also went on a slide for the first time and laughed out load all 50 times he came down it!

Day 3 was a tough one....all around. After breakfast we headed back to the Thomas Center for paper work and ended up being there for 4 hours. When we got there, at first, Jonah clung to me. Then I could see his sadness mounting and his anxiety taking over. Jonah has lived at the Thomas Center since he was 2 months old, it was his home, and the nannies were his family. Its a very warm and loving place, as far as orphanages go, and it was apparent that Jonah was a favorite there. His grief over leaving was very overwhelming. He started to cry and scream about 15 minutes after we got there, and clung to the nannies. He got very agitated and hyper active, alternating between running all over the place and screaming and crying. After getting through all the paperwork which took hours, and having a very tasty lunch of local wat and injera (which our kids even ate!), Jonah got even more agitated, and just started to scream and wail and cry. I have to say we were all totally exhausted, and emotionally overwhelmed by this point... Watching your new child experience the deep pain and anguish that Jonah went through was heart wrenching, and exhausting, and hard for the kids to experience. But I think its good for them to go through this with Jonah and learn and grow from it, hard as it is. It looked like we would still be there for quite some time, but I went to Abdissa and said, we have to go....NOW please. Jonah was just about to pass out, and we just needed to get back to the hotel, STAT! Thankfully Adunye came to the rescue and we were released. Jonah passed out as soon as the car started, and woke up in much better shape. Mike and I were ready for a glass of wine (or more!) and it was only 2pm! So no such luck... Anyway, Jonah was fine after he woke up and was back at the hotel, and after an afternoon snack of ice cream cones he was back to his happy bouncy self. As hard as it was to watch Jonah express all that grief and pain, I do believe the fact that he is releasing it is very healthy and a good thing....When we adopted Holly she was the opposite, she was completely shut down emotionally for the first few days and even weeks, and in hind sight I think that made her process longer and more difficult.

Bed time is hard for Jonah....but he is so tired by the end of the day that he generally passes out after crying for about 10 minutes. We gave up on the nap idea as it was a total failure, and that sure makes bet time easier.... So last night was the giardia nightmare.... Sorry to be graphic here, but if any of you have ever experiences giardia (we went through this with Mahlia last year) it has to be experienced to be believed... In the middle of the night I woke up to Jonah's face about 3 inches from mine and figured that he had climbed out of his crib for some reason, and then the aroma hit..... And when I snapped the light on, the horror of the situation became apparent all to quickly.... (Catherine, think Mahlia explosion in the RV....:) I won't give you all the gory details, but let me tell you it was gory.. :)All the kids ended up awake, from the aroma alone, and it was quite the exciting clean up process....thankfully I have never had to deal with anything quite like that, but I fear its not the last run in we'll have before we can get this kid some giardia meds.... I fear the flight home....must remember to pack accordingly!

And our energetic boy, who slept next to me the rest of the night (all cleaned up:) was up and running by 6am! Its only 11am and I need a nap! Ha, not likely... Today is the Consulate Appointment where we go to the American Embassy to get Jonah's US entrance visa, and wait, and wait, and wait around....again.... This time the kids will be very interested to see the machine gun clad very serious guards patrolling the place though.... Then this afternoon its off to the park with the gang :)

Love from Addis Ababa,

Jennifer

Getting to Addis Ababa and Jonah's Gotcha Day

We left Princeton Thursday at 2ish and about 24 hours later made it to our hotel in Addis Ababa. Leaving Holly, Kai, and Catherine was sad.....but knowing they are well and happy and having fun makes it a little better :) Mike, Ciara, Hunter, Ruby, Sophie, Mahlia and I are here in Ethiopia though, and thrilled to be here!

So after a bit of a comedy of errors on the second half of our trip including them ditching our seat assignments and trying to split us up all over the aircraft, 3 children throwing up on the plane due to a wild thunderstorm over the Mediterranean, and Mike's bag going MIA, AND the 2 hours it took to deal with the very nice and EXTREMELY mellow gentleman in charge of lost luggage, we made it outside the airport and into the first wonderful evening in Addis Ababa. Thankfully we realized in the parking lot that we had left the diaper bag in the baggage claim and although that about put Mike over the proverbial edge, I was able to get to it before it was detonated :) In Ethiopia, time is not regarded in nearly the same way as it is in the rest of the world. Here they believe that it is much more important to finish what you are doing and be considerate to the person you are with, and not be so caught up in the rush and timelines of the rest of the world.... A challenging adjustment for those of us considered "planners", but I get so mellow when I'm here. I love the effect Ethiopia has on me :) So much to learn here....I love the smell of Africa. I love the people. I just plain love Africa..... Such a magical place. Anyway, we finally made it back to the Hilton and after a quick room service dinner the kids and Mike we asleep in minutes! It took me a while longer, but I followed suite eventually :)

This morning we had to drag the kids out of bed at 9:30ish as we were to meet Biniam in the lobby at 10:30 so he could take us to the Thomas Center to meet Jonah. Well, in typical Ethiopian fashion 10:30 became 11:30, and we amused ourselves taking a tour of the hotel and pools (which are natural hot springs!) and shops, and planning a day trip for later in the week to The Blue Nile Gorge. Biniam showed up eventually and we were off to the Thomas Center. This time I knew what to expect since I did this last year with Mahlia. Jonah and Abdissa's wonderful wife were waiting outside holding the traditional sparkly roses.... He looked rather horrified...! Understandably so....

We all stayed at the Thomas Center for about an hour, playing soccer with Jonah and some other little guys, and hanging out. It was good to be back there, it really is a wonderful place. The nannies were SO excited to see Mahlia (aka. Kidist). They could NOT believe how big she is :) They kept running up and kissing her, but she finally told them to please stop (peeees sop!) which they thought was super funny. Jonah played with our other kids a bit, and Hunter managed to get some smiles out of him (Hunter is always the best in these transitions), but he was still pretty wary. I think he knew what was coming... During all this our wonderful driver from the last trip Adunye showed up. I greeted him with an inside joke greeting we made up when I was here last year and he jumped out and I got the biggest hug. Ethiopian people greet each other so much more genuinely then Americans, another thing to learn from being here.... (And Kim, Adunye sends you the same greeting:) Anyway, it was soon time to head back to the hotel with Jonah, and he wanted no part of that. Poor little guy bolted back inside and up the stairs quick a flash...I had to go extricate him, which he did not appreciate. He was sp scared, it was pretty heart breaking....

Jonah fell asleep in my lap on the way back to the hotel so we thought we should try a nap back at the hotel as he was obviously tired.... After a quick lunch of peanut butter crackers and gold fish (thought we'd break him into American food right of the bat...:) we attempted nap time. FAIL!!! FAIL!!! FAIL!!! After 45 minuted of screaming like he was on fire and climbing out of his crib like a very agile little monkey :) we decided to bail on that plan... and have a second lunch during which Jonah decided that Sprite is the best invention ever.....thanks Hunter..... I called the Thomas Center and asked how he usually naps, and they said nicely in his crib. Yeah right! That guy is a pro crib climber outer I tell you! Oh, and the weekly notes that said potty trained? Ummm, not so much! And what memories it was to change a little one with Giardia, ahh the special aroma of Giardia....LOL. But... we are pleasantly surprised that Jonah comes to us lice free. Score! Especially since all the lice shampoo I brought "just in case" is in Mike's suitcase that is still MIA.... oh and my friend the very nice and extremely mellow luggage man who I had the pleasure of speaking with again today continued to reassure me that "this is not a problem madame, ok?", but still has no idea where the bag is and when and if we will see it again... Ok.... ;-)

After a period of crying and grief where I just held him and rocked him for about 1/2 an hour, things seemed to turn around. We got out the play doh set I brought and all the kids started to play with it, including Jonah. He figured out the scissors and little play doh hair cutting kit and then his fun little personality started to come out. He is quick as a whip, and super funny. He has figured out how to turn on and off all the lights and open, close, and lock all the doors..... He is really coordinated and is speaking up a storm....only its in Amharic so he is sure he has joined a low IQ family due to the somewhat blank stares he gets when he speaks to us ;) He calls me Mama and everyone else Hunter :) He is currently blazing around the room with his new Cars jammies on and Sophie's pink argyl headband as his accessory! Last I saw he was pouring water into the play doh.....I better go....or who knows what havoc he will get into.... Not sure he will ever sleep, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!

Lots of love to all from Addis!

Jennifer

ps, pic's on FB....