Anniversary

Today, Michael and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary.

I never could have dreamed, seven years ago, that our life would look the way that it does today. We are living proof that God's plans are ALWAYS better than our own. And, there is no one I would rather live this wonderful life with than my sweet, sincere, just-the-right-amount-of-crazy husband!


There's no way we could exclude Mr. Kad from our anniversary plans, so the three of us went out to dinner to celebrate.



Okay...so Kad may have been a little bored:



Happy anniversary, Michael. I love you, and I can't wait to see what our family looks like seven years from now!!

Cincinnati Children's

Anyone who has been following our adoption story at all, will know that we absolutely love, love, love Dr. Mary Staat and the team at the International Adoption Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They have walked through this with us, illness by illness, since we accepted our referral. They have reviewed hospital reports, guided us on what tests to request, analyzed results that often made absolutely no sense, comforted us when we felt that we couldn't handle anymore, told us the straight-up honest truth even when it was difficult, and wrote letter after letter to the Ethiopian government & the US Embassy to get our little boy home.

Did I mention that they're AMAZING?!?!?

And, today, we finally got to introduce Kad to the team that has fought so hard to get him healthy and get him home. We arrived at the Children's Hospital this morning for a multi-day evaluation extravaganza. Poor baby Kad is not going to love this team as much as we do for the next few days as he gets evaluations, injections, blood draws, etc. But..its all necessary as we work with CCH to finally understand everything that's going on with our little guy's health and work to put together a plan of treatment.

And, I just have to share how wonderful my husband is for holding Kad during the 11-vial blood draw. I couldn't even watch them take his blood as he screamed and cried. Way to go dad..you're the best!!

Here's our brave little man after his first day of evaluations. Yes...he cried himself to sleep...poor baby.



Oh, and did I mention that today is my birthday? This is what we did to celebrate:



Not many people can say that they spent their birthday taking their child's stool samples, huh?

In His Crib

Kad is asleep right now --- in in our house --- in the crib that has been set up and waiting for him for months. I used to sit in his room and dream of the day when I would be rocking him to sleep and laying him in this bed, and now here he is.

All of the emotions of this journey are finally hitting me. Its actually over. The waiting, the longing, the wondering if its REALLY going to happen. Its over.

He's home.

This poem sums up my thoughts tonight perfectly:

WELCOME HOME

Tonight as you lay sleeping
for the first time in your bed
There must be something lasting
and profound that must be said.

But as your face is gazed upon
Framed by your black hair
No words can tell or quite express
the feelings that we share.

The wait is finally over
You're home, at last, to stay
And there will always be the memories
of the joy that filled this day.

With a love that's running over
By the sight of you alone
Welcome home, dear cherished child
At long last...welcome home!

~ Author Unknown

Here is a picture of me putting sweet baby Kad in his crib for the very first time:

Welcome Home, Kad!

I can't even express in words how AMAZING it was to step off of the airplane and into the Indianapolis airport this morning!!! I will truly never forget turning the corner and seeing our friends and family with signs and cameras, tears in their eyes, ready to meet our little boy for the first time.

Joining us at the airport were:

Mom & Dad Elliott
Mom & Dad Williams
Jenny & Jeremy
Grandma Dorthy & Pop Williams
Jen, Justin & Sadie
Mary & Bob
Donna & Ms. May

(...and of course Darla & Todd, Jill & Jeff, Jenny & Matt who were all in the terminal waiting but had to miss "the big moment" to head for Guatemala)

Thank you all so much for coming to support our little family of three and to witness us crossing the finish line of this long adoption journey!

Here are a few pictures of our airport welcome:

Coming Home

...and even Kad is helping us pack!

 

I can't believe that we're actually leaving Ethiopia tonight!  We're so excited to be coming home, but a little sad to be leaving Ethiopia behind.  These are just a few of the things we'll miss about this beautiful country:

 

10.  Long walks with goats and donkeys

9.   The sound of roosters in the morning

8.   THE FOOD (especially shiro  & "real" injera)

7.   Orange Mirenda and Apple Ambo

6.   The amazing Bethany staff (Sisay, Frio, Abel, Netsanet, Sanite...just to name a few)

5.   Morning Coffee Guesthouse

4.   The smell of Berbere

3.   pick-up basketball games with Ethiopian locals

2.   Getting to know so many adoptive families coming for court & embassy

1.   Birtukan, Nesibu & their beautiful children -- our Ethiopian family

 

This very long adoption chapter is coming to a close, and now real life is going to start.  We are so, so blessed to have had this time with our little man in his birth country, but we can't wait to see his little feet on American soil.

 

One more thing....I was wrong about our flight information.  We will actually be arriving in Indianapolis at 1:50 pm EST on Saturday.  Sorry about the confusion, and we look forward to seeing you all soon!!

 

Introducing....

 

BEFEKADUGETA ("KAD") MICHAEL WILLIAMS

 

 

We're so happy to announce that we completed our embassy interview this morning and finally heard the words we've been so longing to hear..."You're adoption is now complete and final!"

 

Not only does this mean that Kad is officially ours in the eyes of Ethiopia and the United States, but it also means that:

 

WE'RE COMING HOME!!!!   

 

Our flight will leave Ethiopia on Friday night and we'll arrive in Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST.    Its so hard to believe that our adoption is final and our stay in Ethiopia is coming to a close.  These seven weeks in Kad's birth country have been a life-changing experience that we will always treasure, but we are so excited to come home WITH OUR SON!

 

Anyone who is willing to make the drive to Indy is more than welcome to come to the airport, but we also understand that its a long drive for a very short visit and we completely understand if you would rather wait and meet Kad after we settle in at home.  We'll be keeping close to our house for a while when we get back just to let Kad get used to his new environment (trust me...the sights and smells of Ethiopia are MUCH different than Haubstadt!), but we'll be sure to let you all know when he's ready to have visitors. 

 

Thank you all so much for praying us through this process.  Kad is truly a miracle and we are so blessed to officially be his parents! 

Sorry to keep you all waiting....

I know its been a LONG time since I've posted, and SO much has happened!  We were advised not to post he details at the time, but I can now tell you that we have had custody of Kad for nearly one month now, and on June 14th he officially became a Williams!   We have passed court and our case has now been submitted to the US Embassy for review.

 

This last month has been wonderful, frustrating, difficult and emotional.  On June 7th, I was handed a tiny, weak little boy who had no idea how to respond to a mother's love.  Now, four weeks later, this same child is smiling, crawling and reaching for his mama.  He has gained nearly five pounds in the last month and, once again, has those chubby little cheeks that we saw at referral time.  He is truly a miracle! 

 

I had every intention of posting about each day that I've had with him here in Ethiopia, but looking back, these days have been so precious and personal and I think they're better left unpublished.  I would, however, love to share with you some of the things that I've learned and loved about my son:

 

1.)  He has the cutest little dimple under his right eye when he smiles

2.)  He holds my index finger when he eats his bottle

3.)  He laughs the hardest when his daddy kisses his belly

4.)  He loves to have his socks off so he can play with his toes

5.)  He knows and responds to his name (his Ethiopian name)

6.)  He has a soft mess of black curls on the top of his head, but the sides are straight

7.)  He already has a blankie that he loves and he refuses to sleep without it

8.)  He loves for his mom to rock him to sleep

9.)  He barely fits into his 9-month clothes anymore....his getting too chubby!

10.)  He already has his bottom two front teeth and he loves to show them off

 

Thank you again for all of your prayers.  We love our little boy more than words can express and we're so, so excited for you all to meet him.   We are praying for an embassy date soon.  I have enjoyed my time in Ethiopia, but I really can not wait to be home!