Final Days

This was our Christmas miracle. We took Meaza into our arms forever on Jan. 7th, which was Ethiopian Christmas. When we didn't pass court, we were told that there was no way that we would have her by Christmas, and even so, I felt compelled to pray for a miracle. God answered in an amazing way, and allowed us to have 2 Christmases this year, one with Noah on Dec. 25 and then one with Meaza in Ethiopia on Jan. 7th. We were under the impression that we would either travel before Dec. 24 or after Jan. 22nd, as Ethiopian holidays made things close down and our agencies Embassy dates were only on Thursdays, but God provided a Monday date for us, which allowed our Christmas miracle. :)

It was a very special day for me; not only did I have my little one in my arms forever, but I got to dress her up in the Christmas dress I had bought her, got to experience Ethiopian Christmas traditions and just had a fun time hanging out with Meaza and Brent, taking pictures.

We enjoyed the staff who all got dressed up in traditional clothing, danced and served a traditional meal to us. We woke up to the cow we had seen the night before who was tied to the gate, now butchered (by Wendi, by the way who is an all around jack of all trades apparently) and being carved up by the chef.....things work so differently there.

This video also shows our arrival at the airport. This is one of my favorite parts because it shows how many people were a part of our adoption process....and how loved Meaza was even before she came home. We had a huge turnout and felt so loved and welcomed. I loved the feeling of triumph I felt as I walked towards everyone, holding my precious little girl high for all to see, knowing we were finally home and that all the waiting and pain were most definitely worth this beautiful, precious gift that could have only come from God.

Day 4

Today we picked up the kids VISA's and passports! It's official, we have everything we need to go home!

The most fun I had that day was people watching as we waited for our VISA's near the Embassy. Someone walked by the van and tried to sell us a live chicken, others walked by and asked for money, but mostly they just walked by and it was interesting to see the variety of dress and occupations represented in the people we saw.

We later went to a traditional Ethiopian Orthodox church. It was a beautiful building, built only 4 years ago, and so amazing to be part of their Christmas Eve service. The service went from 9 pm to 6 am (we only stayed an hour or so), and people seemed genuinely warm and welcoming to us. I expected to slip in the back and observe from afar, but we were ushered to the front and stood on the outside of the aisle. There was a lot of chanting, and incense, and every once in awhile, a wedding ceremony would come through. People were free to stand, sit, kneel or lay down as they wanted, which I thought was neat...people felt free to worship in their own way, as they felt led. It was hard for me to join in, as I didn't know what was being said, but an amazing experience.

Day 3

On Tuesday we went to the National Museum, which was really interesting. I was amazed that there were so many things that were so ancient that were just behind ropes, not enclosed in glass, etc. It once again goes to show the respect that Ethiopian people have for things, that it's not really needed....although I am sure there are probably some issues with preservation, etc. We saw "Lucy", and lots of artwork, artifacts and robes and crowns from various Emporers. The best part was that our driver, Wendi acted as our tour guide and told us the meaning behind things and why different pieces in the museum were important. I am amazed at how much symbolism is involved in the culture.

We enjoyed just driving around and looking at the sights, and once again spent as much time as possible with the kiddos. It is weird to be in the "receiving" room so much of the time. We expected to spend more time actually seeing the normal goings on of the orphanage, but were pretty much asked to stay in one room.

We crack up every time they bring her to us: she is always dressed in like 4 layers, with a huge sweater and stocking hat....and it is 65 degrees. They keep talking about the cold weather--but to us it feels like spring! It is nice to walk around with a t-shirt and not be cold....

At night we went to a traditional Ethiopian restraunt, and were in for a real treat. We had the full experience, including honeywine (which none of us enjoyed so much), injera with all kinds of different dishes, and our host, Aster even fed us the last 2 rounds of the meal. We were treated to entertainment and dancing, and even had to get up and dance at one point in the meal....Quite a good laugh....and of course had some delicious coffee and popcorn at the end of the meal.

It was a definite "tourist" restraunt, but a good time, and a fun experience.

Day 2 Video

Embassy Day-

We drove to the orphanage to pick up the kids, and then headed to the Embassy. I have to say even though we were warned about it, it was so weird to just hold her in the car with no carseat...We were given a bottle, as she hadn't finished her breakfast, and so I fed her her first bottle from mommy in the range rover on the way to the embassy. We then hit a traffic jam on the way....they were laying a pipe acrossed the road, and since there were no flaggers, it turned into a crazy mess of cars all at weird angles trying to get past. One bus was completely blocked in that we passed, but for the most part again we were amazed at how it just sort of all worked and came together. I got a little stressed as our appointment time drew near and we weren't there yet, but it didn't end up being a big deal. We went through several security checkpoints, where we had to surrender our camera, and a tense moment when they found a big cylindrical metal/wood object in Brent's bag.....the look the guard gave me said, he suspected it was something really bad, but in fact it was our hotel key, and they put it on a huge keyring so you don't loose it.....

We then went to a small room where there were about 50 people waiting, hoping to receive VISA's to come to the US, and after about 20 minutes were called upstairs for our interview. It lasted a maybe 3 minutes and was exactly what we were told to expect. The lady said, "no takebacks, this is final", which struck us as odd...... Of course this is final....But there was a huge moment of relief as we walked down the stairs, and felt like she was "officially" ours now.

We then took her back to our room to just hang out. It was nice to be able to dress her up, change her diaper, feed her, and just relax with her. We then took her back to the orphanage and had lunch, and went to the Hilton to email and exchange some money and did some shopping. We were taken to a store that had a lot of variety, and Wendi was wonderful at helping us barter and figure out the exchange rates. I had a hard time doing the conversions in my head, and didn't end up getting much. We later went back to the orphanage and checked out the shopping at Toukoul, and found the prices better, and felt more relaxed and good that we were helping the orphanage out....that is where I bought most of my souveniers.... I bought a lot of things to give to Meaza as she gets older....dolls, aprons, traditional dresses, a table cloth, a coffee ceremony set, etc.

We again tried to stay awake that night, and ended up just hanging out in the lobby with the Theis and the Chambers, and did manage to stay awake until at least 8:30 or 9....I still woke up at 12:30 thinking it was morning, but slept a bit more that night...