Ethiopia Day 3 - Meeting Grace Hiwot

So where to begin day 3...the most important day of our trip - the day we met Grace Hiwot. We were beyond excited when we woke up on Monday morning. We had bags packed with supplies to bring to KVI (our daughter's orphanage). We brought along a few soccer balls too - that proved to be a really good idea...I would recommend that to those of you traveling in the future.

We enjoyed breakfast with the two other families that would also be meeting their kids. We had a hard time eating - so many butterflies in our stomachs. We talked about how hard it was to believe that we would be meeting our kids in an hour or two.

Here is a picture of our hotel. The Panorama has a very nice restaurant and we were able to enjoy a breakfast buffet each morning.

This is the kind lady who made us all our omelets every morning. Eggs have proven to be a very big hit with our little girl...So, enough about our food. We were picked up by our drivers - we needed two cars because we had three families driving to KVI. We had a "plan" all figured out so that the children would be brought out to us one at a time. We wanted to make sure that we would be able to take pictures and videos for each other, so we didnt' want all three kids to come flying out of the orphanage doors at once. So, off we went, driving a short distance to the most important building in all of Addis - the orphanage that held our daughter.

This is the first glimpse of the KVI sign. I had seen the sign in a photo, but there was so much excitement and joy when I saw it in person for the first time! Notice the woman sitting outside of the orphanage...we do not know where she came from or what she was doing. It was so common to see people all over the streets in Addis. It is heartbreaking when I see her in this picture. I can only imagine her story.

This is the alley that we drove down to get to KVI. You would never guess what was behind the large metal gate securing KVI when you drive down this dirt road. We were in the first car to arrive at the orphanage. We drove up to the gate. Our driver beeped the car horn and someone opened the gate to let us in. It is the start of the rainy season in Ethiopia, so it had been raining off and on each of the days we had been there. When we drove into KVI, it seemed as though the clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining and bright. The first thing I saw was a couple of kids...it was two of the three kids we were coming to meet. Wait! This was not how we had "planned" it. Then, I glanced into a window and inside I could see our little Hiwot! Wait!!!! I was not ready to see her yet. Of course, I started to get emotional and then "Natty", one of the directors of KVI came out to talk to us. I think he thought we were crazy when we told him not to bring the kids out yet. We weren't quite ready. I was able to regain my composure and then he brought Hiwot out to us.

Hiwot was so shy and quiet when he brought her to us. I wanted so badly to scoop her up and give her a huge hug, but I didn't want to scare her even more than she was. She was so tiny and seemed to be in such deep thought about what was going on. We let Natty hold her and explain to her who we were. It was so sweet the way he was telling her that I was her "mommy." We wanted to show her that we knew her and loved her, so we did what any new parent would do...we whipped out the iphone and showed her that we had pictures of her on our phone. She was interested in the iphone, so we were able to get close to her and then Natty told me that I should pick her up.

It was so amazing to be holding this little doll that we had been looking at in pictures for so many months. She was so precious. She let me hug her and hold her and she was so brave!

We have only known Grace Hiwot for a couple of weeks, and it is already strange to see her serious expressions in these pictures. She is so outgoing (with us) now and is so smiley and joyful. She was a trooper the day we met her. She allowed us to get close to her and she ended up being so comfortable with us right away. It was so obvious that she was chosen to be part of our family - we have been blessed with a very smooth transition so far.

Grace was wearing these adorable shoes when we met her. They are the same shoes that she had on in the referral picture that we received. I really wanted to bring the shoes home with us, but it was obvious that they would be put to good use at the orphanage, so we left them in Ethiopia.

Natty, Hiwot and Mom

We were able to spend most of the day at KVI. It was so nice to be able to see her interact with her friends and caregivers. We were able to learn about her meal times, naps, routine, etc. KVI was such a nice orphanage. We truly feel blessed that she was at KVI for the time that she was. The facility was so clean and organized. The yard was very nice and I can't say enough good things about the staff that we met.

A few of the workers in the kitchen at KVI. Imagine cooking for 5o kids in this kitchen.

We were able to tour a few different orphanages while we were in Ethiopia. I am so grateful that Hiwot was at KVI. It was, by far, the nicest of the orphanages that we visited.

We enjoyed a coffee ceremony at KVI. It was so wonderful. The coffee was delicious and the experience was beautiful. We felt so much love at KVI. The staff was so kind to us. After we had coffee, they told us that it was time for the kids to nap. We decided to let the kids stay and nap. We thought they might adjust to us better if they were well rested and comfortable. We spent a little time shopping while the kids slept. We also went to buy some fruit for the kids at KVI. They must not have fruit too often, because when we returned with tons of bananas and oranges, it was like we had given them an amazing treat. The cook was so excited to see the fruit. She cut it up immediately and all of the kids at KVI were able to have a celebration of sorts with fresh fruit. This was one of the many times that I was reminded just how much we take for granted in the U.S. It was so much fun to just interact with the kids at KVI. They were so precious. It is so hard knowing that so many of them are still waiting for families of their own.

We loved Natty so much. He was so kind and loving with the children. Doug wanted to give him a pair of his favorite sunglasses. Natty said that they would be a "memorial to Hiwot." So cute.

The kids shoes lined up neatly before they went into their rooms for their naps

Hiwot taking her nap. I couldn't believe how the nannies were able to get all of the kids in her room to sleep in a matter of minutes. Thank you nannies...Hiwot is still a great napper.

This is us with Eyob the director of KVI. We were able to spend some time talking with Eyob about the region of Ethiopia that our children came from. He is from the same region and was able to offer us a little bit of info about the area.

It was so hard to watch the nannies say goodbye to Hiwot. They all gave her kisses and wished her well. It was very so sad to know that they would not see her again.

Our wonderful drivers with Natty and Yonas.

Hiwot getting comfortable with Daddy.

The gate at KVI. It was bittersweet to drive throught the gate and leave at the end of the day. We felt so much joy and were so excited to take Hiwot with us, but we also felt sad to know that we would not be back at KVI (at least not any time soon).
We returned to the Panorama and enjoyed dinner at the hotel bar. The kids enjoyed each others company. We were all so full of adrenaline and excitement. It had been an amazing day.
Our little Grace Hiwot loved her first bath with us!
Hiwot was so content and seemed to be so comfortable with what had happened that day. It was as if she knew we were coming and was ready to be a part of our family. I can not put into words all of the emotion and love that we experienced the day we met Hiwot. All of our lives have changed and will never be the same...and for every person that tells us that Hiwot is so "blessed" to be a part of our family...I tell them that "no...the blessing is all ours."

Ethiopia Days 1 & 2

I never imagined how hard it would be to document our amazing trip to Ethiopia. I have been wanting to write about our journey since we have been home, but I wanted to make sure that I had time to process the trip and remember every last, amazing detail. Here we are at the airport getting ready to board our first flight. I didn't realize just how hard it was going to be to say goodbye to my three kids - hence the need for sunglasses on for the first picture...we were off to Chicago. I was so excited to get to Ethiopia. It was crazy to think that all of our planning, paperwork and preparations had finally come to end we were going to meet our little girl!

When we got to Chicago, we met up with our travel buddy JT.

JT and his wife Natalie adopted a little boy with same agency that we worked with (Arise for Children). JT was a lot of fun to travel with. We missed his wife Natalie on the trip, but she was starting her pediatric residency and couldn't travel to Ethiopia. Doug noticed JT's orange bracelet right away...great minds think alike. The three of us were so excited to board our flight to Frankfurt...

We flew Lufthansa from Chicago to Frankfurt, and then from Frankfurt to Addis. We had a pretty tough flight to Frankfurt...no personal video screens and a full plane - no room to stretch out. After four hours hanging out in Frankfurt (in the middle of the night our time), we were off to Addis. I couldn't believe we were only 8 hours aways from Ethiopia! Our second flight was much better - video screens for everyone! For the most part, we enjoyed Lufthansa - the food was pretty strange though; and nothing was as strange as the entertainment on our flight home ...seriously...we had a plane without personal video screens, so everyone was forced to watch the same thing... music videos from the 1980's. It was so funny! Does anyone remember the original MTV videos that played around 1984 or so? I spent the last two hours home watching videos like "Come on Eileen", "Tainted Love", and "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go." I never thought Duran Duran and Boy George would be my in-flight entertainment...

So here we are after about 26 hours of travel. We left home on Friday at about 10:00 a.m. and got to Addis at 6:30 p.m. the next day. We were chilled to the bone from our flights...bring extra layers if you fly Lufthansa...super cold planes.

It was surreal to finally be at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. I have seen so many pictures of the airport on other blogs, and here we were. The sights, sounds and smells of Ethiopia hit me the second we stepped out of the plane. Diesel and berbere will forever be smells that remind me of our time in Addis. From the moment we got into the van to drive to our hotel, we knew we were not in America. Driving (riding) in Addis is an adventure to say the least.

We arrived safely at the Panorama Hotel. The hotel was very nice. The workers were very kind and helpful. This is one of the views from our hotel room.

After we got settled in our rooms, we headed to the hotel bar to have dinner and watch a World Cup match - Ghana vs. the US. It was really cool to be in Africa during the World Cup. The locals were so excited about soccer. I was secretly happy that Ghana won the match we watched...they have such a love of soccer! Our food was excellent. After that first meal, we felt pretty good about our food options for the week ahead. Notice Doug's clean plate? He had his first of many steak dinners at the Panorama. Where else could you get an excellent meal for about 58 birr? - only about $6.

The next morning we were off to church. Our new Ethiopian friend Endris picked us up to take us to Beza International Church. It was so much fun! Beza was excellent. The service was in English. In fact, when we pulled up and got out of our van, we heard a familiar song that we actually sing at our church in the US. The music and message were awesome. I am so happy we were able to start our week in Ethiopia at Beza - it was the perfect start to our adventure.

Here we are with our friend Endris outside of Beza International Church. After church, we did a little bit of shopping with Endres. Just driving around Addis was an adventure and was something that I could have done all day. It is impossible to grasp and process everything you see. There are people everywhere. I love how the modern vehicles drive you around and then, out of nowhere, there is a herd of goats to wait for. Or how a large building in Addis is built using the most basic scafolding - wooden sticks.

Next, we met up with the third family that was adopting with Arise. We went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant with Endres and got to experience a memorable Ethiopian dinner and dancing show.

Doug had no fear of the new foods were we trying...he was nicknamed "Ox" for the rest of our trip because he was the only (American) with us that would try the raw ox meat that was part of our dinner.

It is hard to get a still picture of the amazing Ethiopian dancers because they move their heads and bodies so wildly. It was a lot of fun to watch them. Of course, the dancers made their way to our table and some of our group were able to give the Ethiopian dancing a try.

Here is our entire Arise group. Keith and Chrisanna were a lot of fun to spend the week with. We thought this picture was pretty funny...Endris checking his cell phone...I guess you had to be there...

So after an excellent time at Yod Abysinia, we were headed back to our hotel to get ready for the big day...the next day we would all meet our kids for the first time. We were so excited to meet our little girl. Back at the hotel that night, we just said to each other, "can you believe we are really here?" "I can't believe will be actually be meeting our little girl tomorrow..."

Happy Birthday!

It doesn't seem possible, but our first born baby turns 13 today!!! Our sweet little girl is an actual teenager today! Crazy! We are so blessed to have this sweet girl in our lives. She is the best daughter, sister, friend and student that anyone could ask for.

We are so lucky that she is ours! Thank you sweet Alyssa for being such a respectful, generous, and loving person. Your kindness, thoughtfulness, and compassion are so very real. You are always so helpful...from tying your little brother's shoes to sharing your bedroom with your new 3 year old sister without complaint... you are such a blessing. We love you completely - we could not ask for a more wonderful daughter! Thank you for being you.

Have a wonderful birthday sweetie...you deserve it!

We've Known Her One Week!

I can't believe it was only one week ago today that we were driving up to the gate at Hiwot's orphanage. It seems like we have known her for much longer...she is having a great time getting to know her brothers and sister. I am thanking God every day for His loving hand in our adoption journey...He has designed an amazing "mosaic" called our family...

We're Home!

We made it home! We were so excited to see so many family and friends at the airport. Grace Hiwot was a little overwhelmed, but after a night at home, she is doing great! She is truly a little doll! We had an amazing trip - I promise to update soon!