A Good Reason to Moderate Comments.........

Someone (or automated program) tried to post a "no prescription pharmacy" link on my blog. REJECTED!!

Michael.......

As I got ready for work this morning, I found myself gazing at Michael (as I often do when he sleeps, I love that peaceful look). Today, I couldn't help but focus on how much he has grown & changed. He is no longer the baby boy I have spent hours snuggling with. Not the toddler learning to walk. Not even the pre-schooler learning to swim. He is a full fledged "big kid". Little brother, and all.

This morning, I was filled with the emotion that comes with the realization the the precious baby years have passed. And pride in the person he is becoming. He has experienced many changes through the summer, including two biggies: a new baby in the house, and kindergarten. While I will greatly miss "baby" Michael, I look forward to what is in store for him. I occurs to me today that raising kids is like getting a present on a regular basis. Each day, week, & year holds a surprise gift in the form of growth, accomplishment, learning, and caring. All of this, along with some outside influence, will determine who and what our kids will grow up to be. The ultimate surprise........

Thoughts on Ethiopia

It is hard to put to words the thoughts and feelings experienced while we were in Ethiopia. The capital city, Addis Ababa, is a very large metropolitan area. You wouldn't see anything like it in the US. Despite the many modern conveniences available, there is a lot of poverty. There were very few areas that we didn't see people obviously living on the street. You want to help everyone you see, but it is just not possible. You see a lot of people doing physical labor. Things that we would expect to be done with backhoes, jackhammers, etc. The people are very friendly, and we felt pretty safe in all the areas we visited. Because the reservoirs were low (Ethiopia's power is hydro electric), we had power every other day. In the city, life pretty much goes on as normal without power.

The country side was beautiful. Ethiopia has what it called "green drought". Enough rain for things to be green and beautiful, not necessarily enough to grow crops that are necessary. Driving out of Addis Ababa, was a gentle descent through rolling hills. As the scenery goes by, you easily observe the signs & effects of deforestation. The trees have not been harvested by companies & expansion, but by people heating & building their modest homes.

It was a life changing & perspective changing journey. Many of us think we need a bigger home if children have to share a room, or we don't have enough bathrooms. Rural families in Ethiopia may reside in a 100 or 200 square foot hut, where the animals live with the family. This experience has cemented what is really important in life: friends, family, and taking care of the ones you love.

The Long Way Home, Thursday, August 13- 14

Today we spent more time being a family of 4. WOW. I also spent a lot of time packing. Emotions were mixed between being anxious to get home & settled, and the sadness of leaving the place where we became a family with our new son. We will never forget our time in Ethiopia.

Our journey home was an experience of many frustrations. When you arrive at the Bole Airport in Addis Ababa, you go through security to enter the airport. Because of the power outages, we had purchase a "portable" battery pack for Pete's CPAP. It took us at least 30 minutes before they decided that they would allow Pete to bring it, but only if it was in his checked luggage.

When we got to our departure gate, we passed through security fairly quickly. Then found out our flight was delayed. We found a seating area where Michael was able to stretch out, and both boys fell asleep. We were awake. The flight ended up being delayed about 3 hours. The boys slept. We were awake.

We finally got going, and made the fuel stop in Khartoum, Sudan. This stop was supposed to be less than an hour. It ended up being about 2.5 hours. 77 + degrees outside the airplane, no AC inside the airplane. They had oversold & taken on too many passengers in Khartoum, then had to find and remove the luggage of those who they needed to de-plane. Melting, we were finally on our way. We were assured that all of our flight arrangements would be taken care of by the time we arrived in Amsterdam.

Our flight arrangements were not taken care of. We went to what they call the "transfer desk" (for people with connections). I was first in line, aside from the people already working with agents. The agent advised me that they were "too busy" at that station, and I would have to go to the next one. Got to the next station, and there was a long line. When I finally got up to an agent, she said that the changes were already made, and that she would just need to print boarding passes. During conversation, I discovered that she had 40 years working with KLM. Yet, somehow, it managed to take her 45 minutes to print our boarding passes; with the wrong seat assignments. She also gave us a bunch of coupons that would be worthless to us, because we no longer had time to use them. We had to rush to our gate, through security, and have the gate agents fix the boarding passes. Apparently, European airports are not air conditioned (according to another traveller). Amsterdam was no exception.

We were originally to go through Minneapolis. Due to our delays, we went through Detroit instead. We were sitting at the bulk head behind the first class cabin. Michael had to go potty, and both aisles behind us were blocked by service carts. I did what I expect any mom would do, and tried to take him to the forward lav. The flight attendant actually turned us away! I couldn't believe it (I know that this lav is generally reserved for first class, but I expect exceptions for handicapped, elderly, and children). For any of you that have had a child that is bashful about using the potty, you probably understand that this meant Michael wouldn't be going potty at this time. I was just lucky he didn't wet his pants. Then, when we landed, they actually made the coach class wait to get off the plane until first class (maybe they always do this, but I don't recall seeing it before). UGH! I thought stearage sank with the Titanic.

By the time we got through immigration, we had just enough time to get to our flight. This was challenging, because by now, the zipper was broken on one of our back packs. As we neared the gate, we saw that the flight was to be delayed. Michael was quite hungry, so he & Pete went to get a burger. I settled in at the gate, and approached the agent to ask about correcting our seat assignments. She told me I would have to wait for the other agent to arrive. When the gate agent arrive, she walked up and said "Get in line people, we're boarding". I walked up and asked her about our seating, to which her response was "You'll have to take care of that yourself onboard". So, I asked if she could at least make a general boarding call, since my husband and son left the boarding area (I thought this was a VERY reasonable request). She said "That's not my problem".

The highlight of this flight was definately the other passengers going to our city. One went to see if Pete & Michael were coming, many others helped carry our stuff (and the food Pete & Michael had gotten), and by the time we were on the airplane there were 3 seats (one in front of the other two) waiting for us.

Just to top it off, Sid let loose with a blowout while we were on final. So, before we could get off the last airplane, we changed a diaper. It was so nice to be home! We were greeted by Pete's sister Barb & her family, as well as our neighbor Molly & her girls. It was very nice to have them there. We went home, and Barb made us a nice supper. Thankfully, that first night home, Sid slept very well.........

A Day as A Family, Wednesday, August 12

This was our first full day together as a family. We spent the day getting to know Sid and his schedule. We also hung out at the guest house and visited with other families. Michael and his new friends did some plays & a talent show to entertain the families. I went out shopping for a brief time with a few of the others. We went to ALERT, which is a Leper Hospital. To support the hospital, they have a store there with goods that are made on site. We got to see them spinning thread and weaving fabric. The people there were so thankful that we visited their store, it was very touching.

Family Day, Tuesday, August 11

This was a big day with the Goodbye Ceremony in the morning, and US Embassy appointments in the afternoon, and at the end of the Embassy appointments, Sid is in our arms forever. No more visiting & saying goodbye.

At the Goodbye Ceremony, the nannies brought the children in wearing traditional clothes. The nannies also wore traditional clothing. The families circled the nannies, while they prayed in Amharic. It was a sad feeling to then be taking the children from the nannies who had obviously shown them so much love & affection. Handprints were made of each child for rememberance. Next was the cake cutting. By tradition, the 2 oldest children cut the cake. There were a lot of tears.

We returned with the kids to the guest house for lunch. After lunch, we loaded ino the "Magic Bus" for the trip to the Embassy for the children's US Immigrant Visas. While time consuming, the process was fairly smooth. The rest of the day, we spent time relaxing with OUR kids.

I will have to see if there are any pictures from the Goodbye Ceremony I can copy and paste here. We were not able to take any, as cameras are not allowed in the Care Center. Cameras/Electronics are also not allowed at the Embassy.

Tired mom giving Sid his bedtime bottle:

Touring Day, Monday, August 10

We were supposed to get to spend time with the kiddos this morning. Instead, they had to go to their final Embassy check-up. Many of us used the spare time to get our formula & baby cereal. They use different products in Ethiopia than we do in the US, and many children need time to adjust to the change in flavor/texture of what they are eating. In the late morning, we saw the kids for about an hour, had lunch with them, and had to drop them off at the Care Center.

The afternoon and evening proved to be busy. First, we toured some of the CHS projects in Addis Ababa. We went to Sipara Special Mother & Child Health Center. Considering the small size of the facility, what they do is amazing. The doctor estimated that they deliver 200 babies a month. On top of that, they provide pediatric care and vaccinations for children well into their youth. Payments are based on family income & ability to pay, patients are not turned away do to lack of income. In order to maintain a strict line between humanitarian & adoption services, parents may not relinquish their children at Sipara.

We then visited the school, convention, & conference center. This is clearly placed in a higher income area of Addis Ababa. This is important, because the goal of this project is to become income producing, in order to support projects such as the school in Hosanna. Children's families pay tuition for them to attend the school in Addis. They are adding a grade a year to the school, and currently serve K-6.

Next up was the Ethiopian National Museum. We didn't spend a lot of time here, and Michael was ready for a break by this time. He was having a hard time listening, and we spoke stearnly to him. He still wasn't listening, and at this point, I noticed we were being watched & followed. I got to Michael's level, and stressed how important it was that he listen to us and stay close, as there was obvious risk of someone believing that he did not belong with us. We visited the bones of "Lucy" there, although we aren't sure if they were the real thing or a recreation. There was a window in the room, so they could be exposed to sunlight. Seemed odd.

On the way back to the Guest House, a portion of our group stopped at Kaldi Coffee. The Starbucks of Ethiopia. As I understand it, the service was better. I think it was cheaper, too.

In the evening, we went to Yod Abyssinia for traditional Ethiopian Food & dancing. Michael actually liked the Zil Xil Tibs. Everyone enjoyed the music & dancers, too.