August 8th Post

OK, I am going to attempt to pull the posts from Facebook so I can have a pretty good journal for our family to have in the future. It will be a lot, but for those who haven't been following facebook, this will help catch you up.
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Saturday, August 8, 2009

Hey Everyone! We made it to Ethiopia on Thursday! Wow! What a different world! We have much to share about our trip already, but can't post on our blog from here as of yet! If we had internet capability like this in the states, we are so spoiled, I doubt anyone would use it. Am so glad to get some connection. Facebook seems to be our only outlet. We can't even send emails. I will try to post a little here!

We have seen some of the most beautiful sights and some of the saddest sights since being here. It will take me a while to process it all! The people, in spite of their circumstances are warm and friendly and seem to all be willing to work very hard to glean the little bit of a living that they can. The exhaust fumes were a big part of today for us and every day for most of the 6 million people in Addis Abbaba.


Addis is the city we have come to to pick up our new son Teshale. Our travel guide and driver know him and have share some about him with us. The travel guide is his English teacher and bible teacher. He says that because Teshale has had to learn Amharic (the native language) of the country, he hasn't learned a lot of english yet, but he is willing!

Yesterday (Friday), I was in a fog all day long, but we went to see some sites. We went to the Rock Hewn Church which was the location that 5 replicas of the Arc of the Covenant were kept. We also went to a local Museum, to a Lion Zoo and a nice restaurant. So far so good on the digestion, but it is early yet! Smile! We just keep pouring down the JP+ and probiotics in hopes that we will be able to bypass that!

Today I woke up feeling much better and more coherent. Our driver and travel guide went all out for us today since we said that we would like to get out of the city to see the country. It took almost 2 hours to get out of the city. We all fared pretty well for the trip out. We had food on our stomachs and some motion sickness meds in us. It was beautiful once we got out of the city. We saw many colored birds and sites too many to elaborate on right now, but the guides were dedicated. You should have seen the mud holes they went through to get us to the tops of these mountains. We were not in a 4 wheel drive vehicle either. We were in a minivan! (Smile...)

With only a few scratches to the van, we made it and it was worth it. The drive back was green of a different kind. It made me so appreciative of the fresh air that I often take for granted in America. The poverty here is beyond belief and the people live right in the exhaust and mud. I have much more to pray about after the past few days! Anyway, we survived the trip back and are looking forward to tomorrow. We will be going to a local church that has services in English. It is the one Teshale has been attending, but unfortunately, he will not be there tomorrow.

August 9th Backpost

August 9th

Today's update: We went to an English speaking church service this morning. The pastor amazingly enough was last assigned to a church in Appomattox VA, right down the road from us. He spoke a lot about not just believing in Jesus, but knowing... Him. He said if his mother hadn't taught him how important that was early on in life, he wouldn't have felt the need to venture over to a place like Addis. I am glad she
taught him about that, because that is what he wanted to bring to Ethiopia and he has done that. Many more like him are needed here to show people Christ's love and hope! After that, we went to a wonderful restaurant and had Pizza and Calzones.... It was great! Tomorrow is our big day to meet our newest son and Noah's little brother! It will be about 8 am your time so please keep all of the details in prayer!

I am sure we will all be excited, but I am sure that it will be tough for Teshale to sort it all out himself, but he knows his forever family is coming for him. I am just not sure he can conceive of what forever means with all he has been through. ...After we spend a few hours with him tomorrow, we will go get him Tuesday around 8 am your time. Stay tuned!

August 10th Backpost

August 10th

Ok Everyone! Day I met Brett - HUGE & AWESOME; Day we got married - AMAZING; Day we had Noah - The Ultimate - So we thought! Today, bar none, as a family was the most indescribably incredible day ever! Teshale is beyond words! He is well, see... for yourself, but just know that pictures don't tell the story! He is fun, funny and seems very happy to be coming to be part of our family! Well, the photos may have to
wait until this connection allows us to load, if it will even while we are here in Ethiopia. The ladies were taken to a spa where we got a pedicure and a sumo wrestling - oops, I mean a Swedish massage after wards. Those of you who have had one, may know what I am referring to. I was just about to excited to lay still, but managed! Can you believe both of those for several hours and only $35. I know! It was worth much more.

Afterwards, we went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant that had music and entertainment also. A dancer even got Brett up and dancing! It was wonderful to experience some of Teshale's culture! Well, today was Meetcha day a...nd tomorrow is, you guessed it, Gotcha Day! After tomorrow he will be with us all the time! Praise the Lord, for He is Beyond Good!

August 11th Backpost

August 11th

Oh Happy Day! Teshale is officially with us and he is awesome! Oh, I think I said that last night. Well, he is! Noah and he have hit it off wonderfully so far. He so far is very easy going! We didn't have hot water when we got back and wan...ted to get him all cozy, clean and warm, so we waited for several hours, then decided we would just have to make due with water we heated in the kitchen and the cold water in the shower. We took him to the front desk to have them explain it all to him so he wouldn't just feel like we were assaulting him with hot water. He told her, just tell them to bath me with cold water, no problem! How easy can you get! We are loving it and feeling like he has a pretty good grasp on us being his family and that he is going to fly to the US to live with us. I am amazed at his flexibility and calmness through the whole thing. I believe he is at the best age for something like this. There is another Mom with us who picked up a toddler who hasn't stopped crying much yet. Oops! Brett just told me that I wrote assaulting him with Hot... water in the previous post. I meant Cold! Anyway, we will keep you posted as much as we can!

Well, it only took 2 1/2 hours and 2 reboots to load these to you! Hope you enjoy them! Wow will I never complain about slow computers in the US again! Smile! (This was referring to the pictures below posted on August 22nd of us first meeting Teshale).

August 12th Backpost

August 12th

Another Awesome Day with the Boys! Today was hang out and play day until 1pm Embassy appointment to get Teshale's passport. That was about 2 1/2 hours in a waiting room, but the kids did real well with Lego building and playing! After 5 minut...es of questions, we were out of there and off to Teshale's FIRST restaurant ever, we think! He got to see a large fish tank and ate very well for dinner.

By the way, we found out he doesn't like green peppers! Smile! Hopefully that doesn't mean he doesn't like any green veggies. We shall see though! Veggies aren't a common thing for most to eat around here. Fruits are a little... more common, but we have been advised not to eat any fruit you can't peel. We have been fortunate so far with the stomach stuff, so our Juice Plus+ is having to be the fruit and veggie servings until we get back to the states. That is a bit challenging for our bodies because we normally eat lots of salads, fruits and veggies. It doesn't seem to be bothering us too much to have to go without, especially when you see thousands... and thousands in the streets who probably never get any real nutrition. Please pray for these people and all of the countries that aren't as fortunate as the USA.

America is truly in a minority for food and so much more, no matter how bad our economy is!!!! Tomorrow we go to visit a couple of local orphanages. Friday is a Free day that we haven't decided what we will do yet. I am just so anxious to get... Teshale back to his new home and bed! The poor little guy has missed naps for the last 3 days!

Backposting to catch our blog up to date.

August 14th - Back Posting for Journal Record

OK, I am going to attempt to pull the posts from Facebook so I can have a pretty good journal for our family to have in the future. It will be a lot, but for those who haven't been following facebook, this will help catch you up.

One last post before our return trip to the states: Sorry I didn't post last night! We had no power or hot water when we got back from the Orphanages. It was just as well, as it will take me a while before I can begin to express my feelings a...bout that experience. All I can say is that it is a sight no one wants to see, but everyone should see. I only pray that I don't soon put it in the back of my mind and will continue to pray that God gives us some more ideas on how to help with such a HUGE _________________. I can't even give it a word. No one word would due! Brett and I just came back with the kids and told them to play while we laid on the... bed with our hearts and heads aching. Enough said! Please pray for these little ones and the limited number that care for them.

Today was our free day! We got Teshale's passport and VISA! Yeah! We can take him across the border! We then went to a Coffee Factory! I am not a big coffee drinker myself, but this was Great! We also got to tour the factory! That was ver...y interesting! Then we went to lunch, came back to the guest house and watched "Robots". Teshale is only interested about 1/3 of the way through, then he isn't too interested in listening to the English yammering. We then went out in the court yard and played soccer for a couple of hours. Our boy has some moves! We said goodbye to 2 of the four families we have been with, ate dinner, then called it a night.

Tomorrows schedule: Shop a little close by for some Amharic speaking kids videos, have lunch, nap, go to airport at 6:30pm, then fly out a little after 10. We are hoping that will time our sleep well with the time change. We will arrive back in Ro...anoke Sunday afternoon and are really looking forward to many firsts with our little guy. He has said he is excited to be flying to the states with us tomorrow!

What a big world is awaiting him! Blessing to all that are following! Thanks for your prayers! Hopefully we will be posting to our blog more than here when we get back. If you do not have our blog and would like to have the address, please just let me know!

Hello All, I know everyone has been wondering why we haven't posted to our blog. It has been a little hard to know how to begin our first post since we weren't able to post to this blog while in Ethiopia. That and fatigue have hindered our posts!

We are doing Great and slowly getting caught up from jet lag, emotional drain from all we experienced over there...etc. I am so bummed that I wasn't able to post while in country. I was able to post to Facebook, but I am using this as our journal for Teshale to have to look back on, so may end up pulling some of the posts over here. Sorry not to be able to update those of you that only have our blog. It was an amazing trip and Teshale is a wonderful fit for our family! He seems to be adapting pretty well. The language barrier is the source of any challenges we have, but he is so eager to learn English, it won't be long before he is proficient. He has a great laugh, a great sense of humor and he LOVES Daddy! He seems to take to Noah and I really well also, but we can see where we are on the pecking order pretty clearly and we don't mind. We are so blessed to have him.