We decided on Wednesday that we would just hang out at the hotel and try to get Addie on a 
little bit better schedule. Things were pretty calm and we just enjoyed playing with her. We did come to the HOH to meet with Tsegay to go over the paperwork and information for our Embassy appointment the next day. On Thursday, we all three dressed up and headed to the House of Hope to meet up with the other parents. Before we left we tried to get Addie to pose for a picture with the Grandmas! She was really interested in all the ruffles and bows. She kept playing with her lacy socks! She is soooo girly! At the HOH we waited for the other families. We all loaded up in the van and headed to the Embassy. The area around the Embassy was quite different from the rest 
of the city. The main road expanded to about 10 lanes. There were even a few skyscrapers. You could almost believe you were back in the states. You also saw fewer beggars. The van pulled up on the opposite side of the street from the Embassy (you are not allowed to stop in front of it.) We all unloaded and crossed the very wide street. Addie decided she wanted Daddy, so I was the only mother not carrying my child. Instead, I got to carry the bags! Anyway we entered a small entryroom with a metal detector. All our bags were searched. Once through the entryway, we had to wait outside. There were several rows of Ethiopians waiting on benches to go into the Embassy. Apparently the US 
government had called them there. While we were standing outside, Tsegay came up and talked with us. Addie just loved to play with him. He glanced down at her leg and noticed what I thought was a birth mark. There is a patch of lighter skin on her right leg. Tsegay explained that this was a scar. When she was abandoned on the side of the road, she wiggled on the rocks so much that she was cut up by the time she was found. To think that someone could do that to such a sweet little baby just breaks your heart. I think hearing this made me realize how profound this whole experience was for all of us. God has a plan and Addie has always belonged to us! She was so happy and playful and looked so cute dressed up. It was hard to think about where she came from. Once we entered the building, we had to go through another metal detector. We also had to check any electronics. Since I was the one holding the bags, I had to search through the bag to pull out the electronic toys, video camera, camera, and after a few tense moments -find the IPOD! I guess I looked suspicious being the only mother not carrying a baby, because, while Ben and Addie watched, I had to be padded down. . . next time, I carry the baby and Ben carries the stuff! After the second security check, we were allowed to enter the Embassy. We followed the signs to a waiting area. Tsegay and the other families came through after us. Once we found the right building, we waited in a downstairs waiting room (since the upstairs one was full.) Tsegay kept watch upstairs for us. They called us first. We walked upstairs and went to what looked like a glassed in teller window. There was a young american man on the other side of the glass. He asked us a few quesions: "Is this the child you were expecting?" "Where was she found?" "Have you met the parents?" and so on. He walked away for about 5 minutes to check on some piece of paperwork. I think that was the longest 5 minutes in my life. I was so afraid that something was misspelled, typed out wrong, missing, etc. In the 
meantime, Addie just waived and smiled at all the people waiting in the seating area. He did finally come back and gave us a small stack of paperwork and congratulated us. (The paperwork included her birth certificate with our names listed as the parents.) Whew! One more thing done! We walked back downstairs and the three other families waiting cheered when they saw us. Once all the families were through, we headed back to the HOH. Tsegay told us that Addie's passport and visa should be ready the next day. They said they would bring it to us. We made it back home in the middle of the afternoon. Both Grandmas were waiting on the balcony for us. We all decided it was time to celebrate! We had heard that the Hilton had a good internet connection and several nice restaurants to choose from. After a nap, we loaded up and headed to the hotel. The Hilton was like no other Hilton I had seen. It was more like an all inclusive luxury resort. Like most of the other places in Ethiopia we went to, they also were serious about their security. They used mirrors to look under our van (I assume for bombs!) Once inside, the driver dropped 
us off and agreed to pick us up in a few hours. At the door was another metal detector. THIS time, I was holding the baby. Ben had to unload the bags! Hah! We went inside and quickly found out that we were under-dressed for most of the restaurants. We did find one (but we were still underdress.) Addie dined on Puffs and small pieces of bread. She stayed in the baby carrier and behaved so well. Grandma Missy showed her the reflection in the silver charger and I thought her eyes were going to pop out! (See the pic.) She immediately tried to kiss the baby. She then turned the plate around to see if the baby was on the other side. It was so cute. After what seemed like our first good meal in a week, we headed upstairs to the business center with the computers and apparently high speed internet connection. As you know already, this didn't work out too well. The high speed internet was slower than the dial up we had when I was a kid. After about 30 minutes of trying to post at least one picture, we managed to get one email out with the pics most of you saw. All in all it was a good day!
little bit better schedule. Things were pretty calm and we just enjoyed playing with her. We did come to the HOH to meet with Tsegay to go over the paperwork and information for our Embassy appointment the next day. On Thursday, we all three dressed up and headed to the House of Hope to meet up with the other parents. Before we left we tried to get Addie to pose for a picture with the Grandmas! She was really interested in all the ruffles and bows. She kept playing with her lacy socks! She is soooo girly! At the HOH we waited for the other families. We all loaded up in the van and headed to the Embassy. The area around the Embassy was quite different from the rest 
of the city. The main road expanded to about 10 lanes. There were even a few skyscrapers. You could almost believe you were back in the states. You also saw fewer beggars. The van pulled up on the opposite side of the street from the Embassy (you are not allowed to stop in front of it.) We all unloaded and crossed the very wide street. Addie decided she wanted Daddy, so I was the only mother not carrying my child. Instead, I got to carry the bags! Anyway we entered a small entryroom with a metal detector. All our bags were searched. Once through the entryway, we had to wait outside. There were several rows of Ethiopians waiting on benches to go into the Embassy. Apparently the US 
government had called them there. While we were standing outside, Tsegay came up and talked with us. Addie just loved to play with him. He glanced down at her leg and noticed what I thought was a birth mark. There is a patch of lighter skin on her right leg. Tsegay explained that this was a scar. When she was abandoned on the side of the road, she wiggled on the rocks so much that she was cut up by the time she was found. To think that someone could do that to such a sweet little baby just breaks your heart. I think hearing this made me realize how profound this whole experience was for all of us. God has a plan and Addie has always belonged to us! She was so happy and playful and looked so cute dressed up. It was hard to think about where she came from. Once we entered the building, we had to go through another metal detector. We also had to check any electronics. Since I was the one holding the bags, I had to search through the bag to pull out the electronic toys, video camera, camera, and after a few tense moments -find the IPOD! I guess I looked suspicious being the only mother not carrying a baby, because, while Ben and Addie watched, I had to be padded down. . . next time, I carry the baby and Ben carries the stuff! After the second security check, we were allowed to enter the Embassy. We followed the signs to a waiting area. Tsegay and the other families came through after us. Once we found the right building, we waited in a downstairs waiting room (since the upstairs one was full.) Tsegay kept watch upstairs for us. They called us first. We walked upstairs and went to what looked like a glassed in teller window. There was a young american man on the other side of the glass. He asked us a few quesions: "Is this the child you were expecting?" "Where was she found?" "Have you met the parents?" and so on. He walked away for about 5 minutes to check on some piece of paperwork. I think that was the longest 5 minutes in my life. I was so afraid that something was misspelled, typed out wrong, missing, etc. In the 
meantime, Addie just waived and smiled at all the people waiting in the seating area. He did finally come back and gave us a small stack of paperwork and congratulated us. (The paperwork included her birth certificate with our names listed as the parents.) Whew! One more thing done! We walked back downstairs and the three other families waiting cheered when they saw us. Once all the families were through, we headed back to the HOH. Tsegay told us that Addie's passport and visa should be ready the next day. They said they would bring it to us. We made it back home in the middle of the afternoon. Both Grandmas were waiting on the balcony for us. We all decided it was time to celebrate! We had heard that the Hilton had a good internet connection and several nice restaurants to choose from. After a nap, we loaded up and headed to the hotel. The Hilton was like no other Hilton I had seen. It was more like an all inclusive luxury resort. Like most of the other places in Ethiopia we went to, they also were serious about their security. They used mirrors to look under our van (I assume for bombs!) Once inside, the driver dropped 
us off and agreed to pick us up in a few hours. At the door was another metal detector. THIS time, I was holding the baby. Ben had to unload the bags! Hah! We went inside and quickly found out that we were under-dressed for most of the restaurants. We did find one (but we were still underdress.) Addie dined on Puffs and small pieces of bread. She stayed in the baby carrier and behaved so well. Grandma Missy showed her the reflection in the silver charger and I thought her eyes were going to pop out! (See the pic.) She immediately tried to kiss the baby. She then turned the plate around to see if the baby was on the other side. It was so cute. After what seemed like our first good meal in a week, we headed upstairs to the business center with the computers and apparently high speed internet connection. As you know already, this didn't work out too well. The high speed internet was slower than the dial up we had when I was a kid. After about 30 minutes of trying to post at least one picture, we managed to get one email out with the pics most of you saw. All in all it was a good day!
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