September 21: Embassy Day

Tuesday morning, we had to wake up bright and early because we were being picked up at 7:00 a.m. to head to the U.S. Embassy to apply for our visa to take Isaiah home. We were in a unique situation because most families go to the embassy on Tuesday and wait until Thursday to receive their visas. Then, most head home on Thursdays. Our situation was a little bit different because the embassy was closing on Wednesday for the rest of the week for remodeling or moving or something. They had told us they would try to get our visas completed by Tuesday evening; however, they were not going to promise! So, if we didn't get them that day, we would be staying a little longer in Ethiopia!

So, to help the process, we were able to go early. We arrived and were the first big group. We made our way into the waiting area. We were prepared for a long wait; we had heard it may be a couple of hours. Fortunately, there is a little play area for the kids, so that helped. It had a slipper slide and play house with some toys, so that entertained Isaiah for a bit; although, he was a little overwhelmed by it all. After about an hour or so--I really think I lost track if the time--our group started being called, one family at a time, up the stairs. We were able to go right to the window to be interviewed instead of waiting in the upstairs waiting room.

When it was our turn, we made our way up. The lady was so nice. I had expected the opposite, so it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. She asked us some basic questions about the adoption and then said they would try to get it processed by that night. We headed back down the stairs and outside to wait for the rest of the families.

Yeah! This last hurdle seemed to be finished. Now, we just had to wait for the actual piece of paper saying we could take Isaiah to the U.S. :) Unfortunately, three families in our group ran into some issues, so they had to stay until noon or something. I felt so sad for them. The rest of us went ahead and returned to the guest house to eat lunch. Here we are when we returned to Ethiopia Guest Home, tired but thankful that all of the logistics were finished!

Our friends were finally able to finish their process, so they arrived back late. The guys had planned on going to do some quick shopping for all of us wives since we were not supposed to take out the kiddos. They got a late start, but they headed out at about 4:00ish. Sometime in there, the visas arrived! Yeah! They returned at 5:00, and three of our travel families/friends were heading back home that night. They had to leave at 6:00! It was a whirlwind afternoon, but we got them all sent off.

I just have to take a second to thank Jesus for orchestrating the process so that I would have a friend to walk through the entire process with me. Shannon and I met in the summer/fall 2009 when we had both just started the waiting process. I had gone on the prowl for other CWA families. We discovered each other and started forming a CWA support group via e-mail. Many of our new friends proceeded through the process ahead of us, and we were so excited when it would be our turn. For different reasons, our processes did not go as planned, and they both stretched out far longer than we hoped. One silver lining has been that we have been able to journey this entire process together!

So, it was so bittersweet to say goodbye that Tuesday evening. I am so thankful that we were able to pray each other through the past year and see each other to the completion of our adoptions!

Shannon, Mark and Addia!

When we traveled to Addis the first time, we met up with the Graves Family and the Erickson Family. We have also become fast friends, and we were thrilled that we got to travel with them a second time!

Meggan and Bereket

Noah, Susan and Seth

This was one last picture of our travel group, minus a few parents! At least we got all the kids! (That is Kristy on the right. There will be more about her and her twins in the next two days' recap!)

Here are a few parting shots of Isaiah as we mourned the exit of our sweet friends! :)Isaiah's favorite toy was the alarm clock!

Celebrating with Friends at CWA (Revised)

After leaving the orphanage, we headed right over to the CWA offices where all of our friends were getting their kids. It was a sweet time for us because it was the first time we had gotten to see their kiddos.Julie talking with Shannon

Susan with her little bundle

Meggan and Bereket

After we got the kids, we had to sign a bunch of paperwork. This was a little crazy because we already had them! But, it went pretty quickly since we had most of our embassy paperwork completed.

All of this wore out the kids, so it was back to the Ethiopia Guest Home to relax and get to know each other more.

Isaiah in his glasses.

He loves the telephone! His first English word we heard was "hello"!He also likes to "cheese" when he sees the camera.

He seemed to like his bath! He likes reading sports magazines with Daddy!
We could tell he was somewhat overwhelmed with all the changes, but he seemed to handle it all as well as can be expected from a 16-month-old. Here is his tired look!This first day together was pretty sweet.
We were just so excited to finally have him.
How sweet it was to see a little someone sleeping in this crib. :)

Gotcha Day!

Oh, how I have yearned for the day when I could do this post! I have watched endless videos on others' Gotcha Days, and it was finally our turn. The whole experience was so surreal. I wish there was another word. I'm sure there is. I just can't think of it now. As we woke up, I felt nervous, excited, out of breath, fidgety, like I was in a dream, weird--in a good way!
We had arranged the room to be ready for Isaiah because, after all, we were bringing him with us this time! There would be no leaving him at the orphanage. We would see him and take him with us. It still gives me shivers to think of it.

When we arrived at the orphanage, we drove up to the now familiar black gate. It all seemed so normal in a way since we had already been there numerous times. We thought we would have a camera man there to film everything, but it turned out that he wasn't. So, sadly, we don't have that moment on video. But, I did manage to snap this picture--the first view we got of Isaiah!
Yes! He was holding out his arms to us. I don't know if he did that to everyone, but it made this Mommy so happy! It seemed like he remembered us. This video was taken right at I picked him up and after Chris had had a chance to hug him.

First picture with Daddy.
This video shows his first moments with Chris.

We spent a few minutes getting to know each other again. We were able to give him a drink. We played with the picture book again. The orphanage staff gave us some valuable gifts: a scrapbook and a CD with 100 pictures of Isaiah during his time in the orphanage. Wow. I was so amazed at how they went above and beyond for us. In these are pictures of his first birthday party. Yes, they had a birthday party for him. There are also pictures of his play time. This was so great!

Then, it was time to change him into different clothes. Some of our friends reminded us that this is so similar to when we are adopted by God into His family. He has to strip us of everything we have in order to give us the good stuff. We would never want to imply that the clothes Isaiah had while in the orphanage were not good. They were. It was just a symbolic act to us.Here he is. . . ready to go!
And, just like that, we were off! We made our way out of the building, through the courtyard, out the gate, and into the van taking us back to the CWA transition home where all of the other families were meeting their kids.
Isaiah was now our child, legally and physically.

It's Time to Travel (Recapping our Second Trip!)

It was a Tuesday morning. We were hoping that we would hear that day if we were going to be able to travel to Ethiopia for the September 21 Embassy Date. I was getting ready for my small group, and it was actually going to be our first meeting! Raegan and I were just getting home from taking Jackson when the phone rang. I actually missed it because I was on my cell phone, but I heard enough to hear Patricia's (CWA case worker) voice! I quickly called her back, and she told me that we were cleared to travel!!! We had the option to go for September 21 or October 5. Of course, I told her we would go this week! So, I hung up the phone and tried calling Chris. He was outside doing p.e. with the students, so I couldn't get a hold of him. So, I called my sister because she needed to get a plane ticket to come to Kansas! At this point, women were starting to arrive for our small group! Oh yeah. I was supposed to lead a group this morning. Yikes!

I kept trying to get a hold of Chris and finally got him. He was so excited, and he affirmed that we would leave this week. So, I finished leading group and then worked to get a hold of our travel agent to book tickets and start packing. . . our clothes and little boy clothes!The next few days were a flurry as we tried to get organized for going to Ethiopia. Then, on Thursday, Melissa arrived! It was so incredibly good to see her. We hadn't seen her in over 1 1/2 years. (Too long!) She had been waiting with us to get this call because she had committed to come watch our other kids while we traveled. We originally thought this call would have come last year, so the months stretched into 1 1/2 years. So--it was good to see her!

She was so kind to help me with my final nesting project and plant a few bushes. :)

Saturday morning, we were packed and ready to head back to Africa.

Here is our last family picture of 5!

In Washington D.C., we met up with our travel partners and friends from our first trip. It was so sweet to meet again, just 6 1/2 weeks after saying goodbye.

After a long flight, we arrived in Addis. Zewdu picked us up in the CWA van, and we all piled in. He took us all to Ethiopia Guest Home, and we made ourselves at home! We were one day away from getting our kids!

Quick Update

We are home! I have not had much time at all to update, so I want to give a quick update until I can do more of a "play-by-play".

We arrived home Friday night to a great crowd at the airport. We were so thankful to be home, and I wished I could spend more time with everyone who was able to come. But, Isaiah was so tired and ready to see his home, so we had to dash after just a few minutes.

Here are a few pics of our time in Addis. This is right after our embassy appointment. Everything was official. We were ready to head home! Here, Isaiah is cheesing! He has the most playful personality, and it is pretty easy to get him to grin at us!

"Juice mustache" at breakfast!

We are so glad to be home, and I will try to get our trip documented soon!

THE DAY!

UPDATE: THE FLIGHTS ARE ALL ON TIME AND THEY ARE SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE AT 5:27 PM ON UNITED! PRAISE GOD FOR A CHAPTER CLOSED AND A NEW BEGINNING!

Today is the day! This house is a buzz with excitement! And Balloons!!

As far as I know (Melissa) they are still scheduled to arrive in Wichita at 5:30 this evening!

If you would like to bring anything festive (balloons, signs, etc.) feel free! Or you can "just" come and bring your open arms and hearts to welcome them home!

Keep praying as the day comes and goes that Isaiah will feel loved and safe and adjust to his new home quickly! Pray for good sleep-filled nights and for jet-lag to pass quickly for all 3 of them.

The countdown is so on...what's that they say about a watched pot never boils? Oh well! Can't help but watch that clock in anticipation and prayer!

Wednesday Update:

I just talked to Chris and today was a long but pretty good day! They had the opportunity to leave earlier, but chose to keep the time there in order to spend some time loving on some friends' babies and to visit with Levi from Drawn from Water.

The first trip to love on some babies, Chris was able to stay with Isaiah. It seems Isaiah has some pretty impressive tantrums! It seems that he is fine during the day when he is busy and entertained, but when it's time for bed, it begins. The unfamiliarity shakes his certainty and then it seems that the fear and sadness come out as well. I think this is pretty normal, as I remember hearing about similar circumstances with my other nephew when he first came home from China.

Chris was able to visit with Levi and encourage him! Keep praying for that incredible ministry as God is using them to bring light into very dark communities.

They are ready and excited to come home! They will leave Ethiopia tomorrow night to begin their journey and so far, we still anticipate them to arrive in Wichita at 5:30 PM Friday! Come and celebrate at the airport with us as we welcome them all home!