Day 6: Getting Full of Isaiah!

Thursday morning, we woke up somewhat refreshed. We had only two more days in Ethiopia, and we were going to go back to see Isaiah today. We had decided that this would be the last time we would go to see him this trip. Since he was older, we didn't want him to start expecting to see us each day, only for us to be absent for several months.

So, we headed into the orphanage, somewhat nervous about how the day would go. Isaiah seemed to recognize us right away. The nurse commented that he had been looking for us the day before. I am not sure how a 1-yr-old can communicate this, but oh well! She took us to the very top floor of the orphanage. I was nervous as we started to climb the dark stairway. The previous trip up those stairs had unleashed all of my emotions, and I didn't want to cry my time away. We took a quick stop at Isaiah's room. He sat in his bed again, and I was also able to get a picture with one of his nannies. Luckily, we emerged on the top floor where we were led to a big room. We had it all to ourselves! Phew! The nurse took our picture. We hadn't realized CWA had taken one earlier, so I was glad to have a "family picture". We were not sure if Isaiah would stay in this orphanage or be moved to the CWA transition home, so I got a picture with the nurse as well. I wanted to be able to remember her.

Then, we were left to hang out with our little guy.

"Daddy's mouth is so fascinating!"
Dancing with Mommy!

Weeee!

Isaiah loved the Flip!

Right after he ate, he rolled over and zonked out! He was so tired. We wondered if he was teething or not feeling well because he had been a little fussy and had had a big, gooey diaper that leaked all over (thus, the bare legs).

After he fell asleep in my lap, I passed him off to Chris.

Chris held him for almost an hour while he slept. It was such a sweet time!

We were blessed with three hours with Isaiah. We think the drivers forgot about us, but we didn't complain. :) When our driver arrived, we told Isaiah goodbye, kissed his sweet head, and left. I was not as emotional as the other day, probably because I had prepared myself for this goodbye. I kept reminding myself that we were one step closer to taking him to home.

When we returned to the guest house, we took advantage of our free massages. (At Ethiopia Guest Home, every traveling adult gets a free one-hour massage!) It was a fabulous way to relax and enjoy the afternoon. I highly recommend the massage if you have time!

This day was not as full of activities, but it was full of sweet time with the little guy who was the reason we were in Ethiopia in the first place. At this point, we were excited for Friday to come. We were ready to head back home.