Very Very Behind on Posting

Okay so I've been very very very behind on posting so let me give you the highlights:

1. Addie celebrated her 1st birthday

2. Addie loved the beach . . . ate sand, salt water, and sea shells

3. Addie likes riding the bike with her Daddy

4. Addie is walking!!!

5. Addie loved the fireworks on the 4th

More Pictures of the HOH

Here are some more pictures of the House of Hope. The scripture verse below was painted on the wall of the room that Addie stayed in. The next is Addie in her crib at HOH. The last few pictures are of the HOH courtyard.

Day Six and Seven

Day Six and Seven -Friday & Saturday

On Friday we spent pretty much the entire day in the hotel. I had begun to feel very fatigued and it was great once again to just stay calm and peaceful (as much as you can with a 10 month old!) We were also anxious to get Addie's passport back so we wanted to be around when the package arrived. The HOH staff showed up about 5pm with our immigration package and our baby girl's passport -it was so cute! We all breathed a huge sigh of relief when the package finally came. Saturday, March 7th: We spent the morning in the hotel. Close to lunch time, we went to the HOH. We wanted to get pictures of the CHI staff, the other families and the HOH. For lunch the staff served a very traditional Ethiopian meal and even dressed in the traditional Ethiopian attire. After lunch, pictures, and saying bye to everyone, we headed back to the hotel. (In the pictures: one of the staff members making traditional Ethiopian coffee; two of the other families; big group picture including Tsegay and his wife; and the House of Hope.) We originally were scheduled to fly out Tuesday evening. However, due to Addie still having problems with diarrhea, a runny nose, and an increasingly worse cough, we began discussing the idea of leaving early. However, I had heard many times that you have to confirm and reconfirm your tickets once you're in Ethiopia because your seats could be given to someone else. My concern was in trying to change our tickets and losing our seats in the process. I was also concerned about any potential translation problems. We had heard that the Sheraton in Addis had a ticket office for Ethiopia Air (which we were scheduled to fly on.) We discussed contacting our travel agent with Susan Parr Travels. However, they are in Washington state and are on 12 hours time difference with Ethiopia. So, we knew it would be difficult to get in touch with anyone. One of the other couples staying at the HOH, Lisa and Jason, were also scheduled to travel with us on the same Tuesday flight with Ethiopia Air. They went to the Sheraton Thursday evening and managed to get their flight changed to Sunday evening. After hearing this, we decided to try the same thing. That evening, we secured a driver to take us to the Sheraton. At this time, Pansy was not feeling well, so she decided to stay home. The rest of us loaded up and headed out. To save time, the driver dropped the three of us off at the hotel while my mother went with the driver to find us some dinner. Actually changing our tickets to Sunday was suprisingly easy. They also changed our connecting flights with United Airlines. We met my mother and the driver back outside the hotel. I think my mom had the most fun that evening. She got to meet a lot of people and sit and chat with the driver at the restaurant while they waited on the food. For those of you who know her, you will have to ask her about it! You know, I have to say this, Ethiopia can be a beautiful country and the people are kind and courteous, but when you are exhausted and your baby is sick, all you want to do is get back home. We were both relieved and nervous about the new closer flight.

Day Four and Five

Days Four and Five -March 4 & 5, 2009

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!

Day Three -Tour of the City

I got to dress her in some of her super girly outfits. After getting dressed we went down for breakfast. She looked so cute. Addie loved all kinds of food. I couldn’t feed her fast enough. (Although, we were all worried because of the previous night.) We gave her the formula the HOH had given us. Although she continued to have diarrhea, she was smiley and happy. We went to the HOH after breakfast. We told Tsegay about the diarrhea and he brought us some electrolyte liquids to keep her hydrated. (NOTE: For anyone that is reading this blog and in the process of adopting: All of the babies are sick. It seemed they all took two or three days to get better. For Addie, she had problems until we got back but she still seemed to sleep better after the first couple of days. And, I would also take a ridiculous amount of supplies. I was the only one to do so and I was able to help several other families.) Okay moving on . . . shortly after we arrived at HOH, another set of parents came into the room ready to meet their baby. Lisa and Jason asked us to take pictures and film them meeting their son. I cannot explain to you how amazing it was to see it from the outside. I think it really made me appreciate what we had just been given. Later that afternoon we went on a tour of the city. The city and the buildings all had the same feel as areas like Mexico and the Caymans. But something major stood out. There were three lanes to any road and whoever got to the middle lane was the one who got to use the lane! There were very few lights and/or stop signs. Anytime you did come to a stop, you were immediately surrounded by beggars. They could spot white people pretty quickly. Most of them were children or mothers carrying babies. They were so skinny. It broke your heart. The children called me, “Mother, Please, Mother.” It is so strange and disturbing to see an international airport, skyscrapers, and droves of homeless and starving people. The Ethiopians seem to accept this as part of how their city is. One man told my mother that homeless and starving Ethiopians come to the capitol looking for work. However, there are not enough jobs. The whole experience is surreal. You have to distance yourself from it. There is a definite sense of a much harsher way of life. Amidst all of this, there is a lot of new construction. The new buildings were surrounded by scaffolding made of sticks. Specifically the sticks were Eucalyptus trees! It all looked so flimsy but I guess it worked. I have included several of the photos we took. We also noted that Ethiopians dress like it is 50 degrees outside. It was not unusual to see someone in a long sleeved shirt, sweater and toboggan. The other thing we noticed were Ethiopian males holding hands. Apparently it is a sign of friendship and nothing more. However, it definitely caught our attention. Ethiopia is definitely a strange and beautiful land. I hope to learn more and teach Addie a great appreciation of her birth country. . . Later that afternoon, Daddy got a little quality time with his girl. Enjoy the photos!

Day Two Continued -Initiation to Motherhood

Events of March 2, 2009: Okay, so I've told several of you about this but I thought you would appreciate the reality of motherhood situation. Anyway . . . we took Addie home that afternoon. We were so excited. The HOH director had suspected that she would not be ready to go home with us the first day. But, she was. It was very odd to take a baby and sit her in your lap while riding on the road. And again the side roads are worse than any construction road you could possibly drive on. So, it was quite nerve-racking to try to hold this small child and feel she would be safe. Anyway, we did arrive home safe. I proudly showed her off to the staff as we entered our hotel. The other family staying at the Guest House was so please to see her. When we got up to our room, we showed her around the suite and worked on making her feel comfortable. Close to bedtime we gave her a bath. I filled up the kitchen sink and she had a blast! She really had very little time for us because she was so focused on the water. He hair was so soft and I shampooed it with Johnson's. I took her out of the sink and fed her some Gerber carrots for dinner. (The HOH director said she could eat carrots.) She loved them so much that she would pull my hand towards her when I wasn't moving fast enough. She finished the whole jar (sense of foreboding setting in . . .) That evening we also gave her the antibiotic she was taking for her cold (yes, you can see it coming.) Apparently, antibiotics cause things such as diarrhea. Also based on the advice of the HOH director, right before bedtime, we gave her some formula. She gulped it down in 2.5 seconds. The lid for the sippy cup was practically inverted! Have you heard about the new app for the Iphone that makes "fart" noises. Well they could take a lesson from this little girl! Given the noise and the smell, I knew the structural integrity of the diaper was in question. I threw her down on the bed to change the diaper as quickly as possible. Okay, I've changed diapers before but all I have to say is I will never . . . never . . . feed my daughter carrots again. Anyway, I was so quick to change the diaper, I neglected to do one small thing -burp her. Before I could fully clean up the um . . . carrots, Addie threw up all of her formula. It spouted out of her in at least a 16-18 inch fountain. It went in her nose and her eyes. I jerked her up immediately so she wouldn't choke on the formula. As I did this, it startled her so much that how bowels loosened once again and more carrots showed up. I was vaguely aware of both grandmas running to help and Ben chanting, "Oh My God, Oh My God!" Have you seen the Exorcist? You know the scene where the girl is vomiting on everything and her head is spinning. Yep, it was pretty much like that! But wait . . . there's more! While trying to clean up what Ben chose to call, " Butt Juices" we ran to the kitchen to get some clean water -only to find that our clean water was spraying out of the water heater directly above the sink. Ben tried to slow the leak but succeeded in only making the spray worse. He went downstairs to find one of the staff members to help. All had gone home to begin celebrating early, "Victory over the Italians Day." So when Addie woke up every hour on the hour, I changed her diaper (yes every hour) and Ben changed the bucket in the kitchen. . . Welcome to Motherhood!

Day Two -Meeting Addie

The next morning, CHI sent a tiny car to pick us up. I packed a diaper bag the best I could. It took us about 15 minutes of wild driving to arrive at the House of Hope. We were beginning to see the poverty. Once again we pulled up to the walled in compound, the driver honked, and a guard opened the gates. The House of Hope is very simple but very colorful. We saw smiling faces of children peeking out of every window. The director of the HOH, Tsegay, met us and took us into a dining room/ living room area. He sat us down and said that one of the nannies would be bringing her shortly. I can honestly say that those few minutes waiting for them to bring her were the longest in my life. After an eternity I spotted a lady carrying a small child to the door of the room. I jumped up pretty quickly. Addie was wearing a red corduroy outfit and her hair was in four cute ponytails. The nanny was just going to hand her to me, but I hesitated because I thought should we be scared. I think my Mom said, “Take her Stef!” When I picked her up, she immediately dropped her head on my shoulder and wrapped her little hands around my neck. I patted her for a minute and turned to Ben. She actually reached for him and hugged him around the neck. The HOH staff all clapped. I couldn’t believe she was so receptive to us! I think she was as overwhelmed as we were, because she began to cry. However, she clung tight to Ben and I both. She just cried and cried and eventually fell asleep on Ben. He handed her to me (since both of them were sweating so much.) She slept for about an hour. When she woke up, she turned into little miss sunshine and really showed us her awesome personality. She laughed and giggled and cooed and played like you wouldn’t believe. By this time, two other families had come in for lunch. She definitely stoled the show. Tsegay’s wife, Almaz, told us that her caretakers at her original orphanage would say, “Lidya, Za Qua Lay!” Granted this is a phonetic spelling. I’m not really sure how it is actually spelled. Anyway, it means, “Lidya my daughter.” I learned to say it. Now, if she is being fussy, I can use the phrase and she breaks out into a big toothless smile!

Day One of our Trip

We boarded our plane and arrived in D.C. around 2:45pm. After eating dinner, we found the gate for Ethiopian Air. We were definitely in the minority. There was an Orthodox priest and several women dressed in traditional Ethiopian attire also waiting for the plane. (The style looks very similar to the type of clothing worn by Indian women.) One of the older women approached the priest and bent down to kiss a cross in his hand. It was very interesting to observe. Of course we were also being watched. When we got in line to board the plane, some of the passengers got the nerve up to ask us why we were on the flight. Mom jumped right in and made friends with many of the passengers before the flight was over. We were on the plane for 7 hours before we stopped in Rome to refuel. I actually tried the internet connection there (but I didn’t have a password.) Our 45 minute scheduled stop turned into 2.5 hours. They wouldn’t even let us stand up! We finally got underway and most of us got a little sleep before we landed in Ethiopia. On the plane we hooked up with another family that was also adopting. The husband couldn’t come so the mother and grandmother were traveling. We had to first get our visa to enter the country. Next we went through customs. Because our refueling stop in Rome took longer than expected, we didn’t arrive in Ethiopia until about 9:30pm. It took about an hour and a half to get through customs. We changed US cash for birr and claimed our luggage. Of course before we do anything about it, a very pushy gentleman had collected all our luggage and was standing there waiting for a tip! Welcome to Ethiopia. He insisted on pushing our luggage out of the airport and had already told us he we get us a ride. We had to get downright rude with him to get him to listen to us. We had already arranged transportation with the Ethiopia Guest House. Thank God there was a man there holding up a sign with my name on it. He took over and shooed the other man away. His vehicle was an old Toyota van. He and his partner proceeded to toss our luggage on top of the van and strap it down (through the open windows) with rope. Before we were out of the parking lot, beggars were approaching the vehicle, asking for money. After a long and dark car ride we turned onto a very rocky dirt road. All of us were very nervous. The van pulled up to a walled in compound with barbed wire atop the walls. The driver honked the horn and the gates opened. On the inside it looked like a very nice bed and breakfast. They helped us carry our stuff up to our room, which by the way, was on the fourth floor. Ethiopians don’t have elevators. Once we settled into our room, we pretty much passed out. This last picture is our room in Ethiopia.

We're Home

Hello all, we were able to come home a little bit early. As you found out, our internet connection was next to nothing. We tried several times to post to the blog but we couldn't get anything through. My mom spent 30 minutes to send an email to my father! We have lots of photos, info, etc. So I think I will post about each day of the trip so everyone can get caught up. Details coming up shortly!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

We made it safely on the drive to Atlanta -which is quite a feat given our track record driving through the ATL. We are getting ready to get on the shuttle to take us to the airport. We have so many suitcases, it's embarressing -oh well! Once we arrive in DC, we have a 6 hour layover. Then we leave this evening around 8:30pm to fly out to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Mom keeps telling me it's "two more sleeps!" until we get our girl! We will be landing in Addis around 12:00pm our time (back home) -so think about us when you're getting out of church! If I have an internet connection, I'll try to post in the airport!

We're Going!!!!!!!

Its official, we found out this morning that our paperwork has arrived in Addis Ababa (the capitol of Ethiopia.) We are schedule to fly out on Saturday the 28th at 12:50pm from Atlanta. I think our plan now is to drive down the night before and stay in a hotel. We should be arriving in Ethiopia about 8:30pm local time which for us is about 12:30pm. we're busy trying to pack and get everything ready. Who knew how much a baby could require in luggage! I may have said this before but our 17lb little baby girl has 37 lbs of luggage! I swear I haven't overpacked for her either, although, I was really tempted to bring some "cute as can be" dresses along. Several other families working with Children's Hope are fighting the same battle with red tape that we have. Please pray for them. One family in particular seems to be a couple of weeks away from traveling and their little girl is waiting for them.

We are staying at the Ethiopian Guest House while we're there. I just found out that Pansy and Mom are supposed to sleep downstairs. I'm not sure how that's gonna work out but I'm sure it will be an adventure.

We land on Sunday evening as stated above. At around 9am the next mornng, which will be about 1am here, a driver is supposed to pick us up and take us to the House of Hope to finally meet Addie. The CHI staff has told us that Addie may be a little disconcerted by us (the strangers.) They warned us that the staff at the House of Hope may recommend that we leave her with them for a night or two while she adjusts. Please pray that she will grow very comfortable with us and she will be ready to come with us the first day.

I guess I should update you on the information we recieved from the director of the Orphanage, Gebe. He and his wife have taken care of Addie since she was two months old. It broke my heart to find out that she was found along the side of the road. Gebe, however, explained that this was really an act of mercy. She was placed in a heavily traveled area. He believes that Addie's birth mother could no longer take care of her and wanted a better life for her. Gebe went into detail about the devestating poverty in the Tigrai region (where Addie was found.) This area is at the very nothern corner of Ethiopia and has been engaged in a long running border dispute with a country called Eritea. The Tigrai region is not a particularly safe area because of this. Hearing all of this, I think Ben and I both were overcome with the very concept of the journey this little girl has already taken. I do believe it is in God's plan that she would wind up in Sevier County Tennessee!

I can't wait to hold my little girl! For now though, I've got to get back to packing!

Delayed Until Next Week

Well we were hoping and praying we could go this week, but it didn't work out. The National Visa Center was a bear to deal with and we couldn't get a straight answer from anyone. But, with the help of Senator Corker's office, we found out yesterday (Friday) that our fingerprints had been processed and mailed out to Ethiopia. Unfortunately, our packet (called a Cable 37) had to be in Ethiopia before we took off. We were supposed to leave this morning. So this puts us back one week. Now our Cable 37 is scheduled to arrive at the US consulate in Ethiopia on Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as everything gets there, we will be flying out next Saturday out of Atlanta (sorry Megan!)

But there has been some good news as well. We have forwarded a list of questions to the director of the Orphanage that cared for Addie. It turns out he is in the states and he wants to talk to us. I have so many questions. I also found out that he and his wife had intended to adopt Addie themselves but decided they could help more children if they allowed her to find a home somewhere else. I just think that is so incredible. I know she was meant to live with us! And it shows just how much she was loved and cherish while she was there.

Please keep praying for us. I'm holding my breath for another week!

One More Hurdle

Well, after making it through all the headaches to be re-fingerprinted (since our fingerprints expired on 2/14/09) last week, we have run into one more hurdle. The Department of Homeland Security in Nashville expedited our fingerprinting appointment and let us go to Nashville instead. This was last Wednesday. They processed our fingerprints and sent them by overnight mail to the NVC, National Visa Center, on Friday. So I called the NVC first thing this morning. I got no where. They also said they had not recieved the package.
I immediately turned around and call Senator Corker's office again. My contact there was very helpful last week. She got on the phone with DHS to confirm they sent our fingerprints. She then used a congressional inquiry line to contact the NVC. She left a message and hopes to hear something in the morning. To explain more, NVC is responsible for sending our fingerprints over to the consolate in Ethiopa. I have heard that on some occasions the NVC will email the file. However, their status quo is to simply mail it. Our fingerprints have to be in Ethiopia by Thursday. I just hope and pray that we can push this through. If this works, Senator Corker has my vote from here on out! More later

Getting Ready to Go

As of now we are aiming at a fly out date of 2/21/09. That is next Saturday. We are flying out of Atlanta to D.C. It is then a 15 hour flight to Addis Ababa (the Capital of Ethiopia.) They are 8 hours ahead of us so we will arrive at about 8pm local time on Sunday 2/22/09. We are supposed to meet Addie the next morning around 9am. She has been moved from the orphanage that has cared for her for the last six months to the house of hope (which is located in the capital.) In the photos she looks so sad. We all know that she will have to adjust to her changing environment. We plan to keep her home and isolated once we're back in the states to ease the adjustment. By the way, we are planning to attempt email contact with my dad, Roy, at 10pm Eastern time on 2/22/09. If this doesn't work we will try again at 8am on 2/23/09. If the "sketchy" internet connection works, we will try to post on this blog as well.

We will be staying at the Ethiopian Guest Home while we are there. My mother, Missy, and my mother-in-law, Pansy, will be going with us. We are all excited and scared to death. The Ethiopian Guest Home has some great amenities and donates a portion of their profits to orphanages in Ethiopia.

We are busy packing and trying to make diapers for 10 days fit into a very small suitcase. More later!

Photos from January

These photos were also taken in November. As you can tell, the photos are labeled with the name Lydia. The orphanage had to name her for the purposes of travel and paperwork. She was abandoned at the orphanage, so sadly we do not have any background or medical information for her. I would always be open to the option of receiving more information about her birth parents. Maybe someday we will!

The next set of photos were taken in January. Can you believe that hair? We have so many pretty bows and headbands!

Next Set of Photos

These photos were taken when she was about six months old, They have her dressed like a little boy. We will change that! I'm just trying to catch everyone up to speed!

First Set of Photos at 3 Months

Welcome all! We have had so many requests to email photos and updates that we broke down and decided to do a blog! Anyway first up: the photos of our girl! Introducing:

Adeline Violet Clabo

These photos were taken when she first arrived in the orphanage. She was about 3 months old. I will post the next set of photos shortly! By the way Addie is now 9 months and 5 days old. We are supposed to go get her in the next two weeks. I'll keep you "posted" -ha!