Ethiopia Day 4

We had another wonderful day today with Kad!  He was in a really good mood, and he seemed to be feeling much better than he was on Friday.  He liked to sit on Mike's lap while I played with his feet,  He would smile and giggle -- so cute!  I got to feed him for the first time today.  He isn't able to eat a lot at one time, but we noticed that he liked to chew on the bottle and rub it against his gums.  We opened his mouth, and we saw that he has two tiny little teeth (the bottom front two)!  He's such a big boy!   After he ate, he got really tired and fell asleep again.  He's such a good baby!!

 

Another highlight today was meeting with Dr. Daniel.  He is the doctor who has been taking such good care of Kad here.  It was actually his day off, but he's leaving the country for a conference and wanted to make sure he met us before he left.  He was unbelievable!  He shared all that Kad has been through and about all of the prayer services that were held for him while he was in the hospital.  It really hit us just how sick he really was.  We told Dr. Daniel that we would tell Kad that he saved him, and Dr. Daniel said, "You tell him that God saved him".  So true!  We were able to get a picture of Dr. Daniel holding Kad that we will always treasure.  He has been such a blessing to our family.

 

Now, we're leaving for court.  The cards are definitely stacked against us, but we know that if its God's will we'll have everything we need to pass,   Please pray!! We found out yesterday that there may be some complications with us taking custody of Kad if we don't pass, so we're having faith that everything will work out just as it needs to.

 

Internet has been very limited the past two days, but I'll post again as soon as I can.  Thank you for your prayers!!

Ethiopia Days 2 & 3

Since we couldn't visit Kad on Saturday, our agency let us do a little site seeing and shopping around Addis.  We were able to visit Entoto Mountain and the first Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  It was BEAUTIFUL!  This church site was on the top of the mountain and was over 700 years old.  The original church was chiseled by hand out of the limestone mountain side.  The king ordered the building of the current church structure nearly 200 years ago. Every wall inside was covered with paintings of various scenes from the Bible.  The guide walked us through and explained the symbolism and significance of every detail.  It was incredible!

 

At the top of the mountain, you could really see just how beautiful the city of Addis truly is.  Of course, all we kept wondering is where Kad's orphanage is amongst all of the tiny little buildings we could see.  We never stop thinking about our little boy!

 

Today (Sunday) we went to the International Evangelical Church.  It was unbelievable!  They have five services every Sunday morning, each one in a different language.  We went to the English service, of course, and there were so many Americans & Europeans there!  Most of them were missionaries who serve here in Ethiopia, but there were also several other adoptive family groups there with their kids.  I think this church is going to be a blessing to me while I'm here without Mike in the coming weeks.  It really felt like you were at church back home! 

 

After church we went out for lunch, where I had pizza..yes, PIZZA!  Loved it!   I can't complain about the food here at all. Our host family makes the BEST meals and you never leave the table hungry.  Even when you tell Birtukan that you can't eat another bite, she scoops more food on your plate and says, "here just a little more".  We love her! 

 

First thing tomorrow morning we get to go back to Kad's orphanage and spend at least FOUR HOURS with him!   We can't wait to see him again!  We also get the blessing of delivering packages to our dear friend's three little ones here in the city.  So excited to meet these precious kids and tell them all about their family who loves them so much!  Its going to be such an amazing day!

In Ethiopia

...and we couldn't be more excited!

 

Internet connection isn't the best, so I'll keep this post brief.  We just wanted to let you all know that we made it safe, all of our bags have arrived, and......

 

WE HAVE HELD OUR LITTLE BOY!!

 

At 4:00 this afternoon we arrived at the orphanage and were able to spend two hours with Kad.  Our first meeting couldn't have been more perfect.  He was smiling, giggling, and he even fell asleep in my arms.  We're so in love!

 

We aren't able to visit the orphanage on weekends, so we had to say goodbye until Monday.  It was so hard leaving him, but it helps to know he will soon be in our arms for good.  

 

Thank you so much for your prayers.  PLEASE keep praying that we pass court on Tuesday so this process can move forward quickly and we can get Kad home.  Our court date is at 9:00 AM Ethiopia-time, so that's 1:00 AM at home. 

Ethiopia Bound

We're all packed and ready to go meet our little boy!! We leave in an hour to start our journey to Ethiopia!

This is what it looks like to pack for a 10-week stay in another country with a baby:



I wish we could call, text, visit, or email ALL of you one last time before we leave, but I'm realizing its just not possible. So...for our sanity, take this post as your official "THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND LOVE!" We will be emailing and blogging while we're in Ethiopia, so check back here for updates.

We're praying to have LOTS of great news to share soon!

8 Months Old

Kad is 8-months old today!

I woke up this morning a little sad that this is yet another little milestone that we're not able to share with our Little Guy, but then I realized....this is THE LAST little milestone that we will miss -- because, we leave for Ethiopia one week from today!!

I never want to forget exactly how I feel in these days leading up to our trip. I am excited, anxious, exhausted, and a little stressed about the details to be honest. I find myself second guessing each little decision I've made....what formula to take, what brand of diapers to buy, what type of bottles to use.

Its also started to sink in that, from this day forward, my trips to Target will look like this:



Oh, how our lives are about to change!

The only thing that makes the anxious feelings go away is when I close my eyes and think about THAT MOMENT...the one when Mike and I are standing in an orphanage room and a nanny comes down the hall and hands me this sweet, tiny, beautiful 8-month old baby boy...my baby boy!

Dreaming about THAT MOMENT makes all of the anxiety melt away and turn to pure joy.

...and THAT MOMENT is only a week away!

What have we been doing??

We've been doing this:






Because...

WE LEAVE FOR ETHIOPIA IN 10 DAYS!!!!

Oh...and it gets better...I have absolutely no idea how long I'll be there!

Since Kad's been so sick, our international pediatrician has stressed that he needs to be removed from the orphanage environment as soon as possible. His little immune system just can't handle some of the viruses & infections that inevitably get passed around. The only way to help him get healthy is to stay in Ethiopia between our court appointment and our embassy appointment so he can stay with us in our guest house. So, that's exactly what we're going to do!

Since it could take up to three months to pass court and get cleared by the U.S. Embassy, I'm going to stay in Ethiopia with Kad while Mike comes back home and finishes preparing for Kad's arrival (besides, one of us has to make a living!). He'll fly back to Ethiopia once we get our embassy appointment scheduled (which we're PRAYING is much faster than expected). Then, we'll fly home together as a family of three!

I never thought I would potentially be spending the entire summer in Ethiopia, but there is no place on Earth that I would rather be!

Status Update

Oh my...I have sat in front of this computer screen so many times to write this week but as soon as I get a post drafted, things change and start going in an entirely different direction. So, I'm going to attempt to fill you in on the current status with us and with Kad.

First, Kad is sick. Really sick. He was admitted to the hospital on Easter Sunday and he's still there. His little immune system is just so weak that he can't fully recover from one illness, infection or virus before he gets ANOTHER illness, infection or virus. Our little guy has been through a lot, but EVERY DAY he proves that he's a fighter, and he has given us such perspective on what it means to be strong and courageous.

Of course, when he gets hospitalized it sparks a flurry of activity. This is pretty much the routine (which we sadly know all too well!):

Step 1: Our wonderful agency coordinator, Kim, calls to tell us he's sick and gives us a brief overview from the nurse on his status

Step 2: Kim forwards us an email from Kad's doctor in Ethiopia detailing his symptoms and initial diagnosis

Step 3: We forward the email to our international pediatrician in Cincinnati

Step 4: Our pediatrician calls / emails with comments, questions & requests for various tests

Step 5: We call our coordinator to pass along our pediatrician's feedback

Step 6: She contacts his doctor in Ethiopia to share the information. He then gives her Kad's current status (which has usually changed drastically from the initial information)

Step 7: Our coordinator calls us to give us the new information

....and the cycle repeats and repeats and repeats.

As you can imagine, its like the telephone game only with medical terms in two languages. Couple that with the emotional impact of learning how sick your child is on the other side of the globe, and it adds up to EXHAUSTED PARENTS!

We are so grateful to have so many friends, family and perfect strangers PRAYING for our little boy and for our family. We can tell you with absolute certainty that your prayers are being answered!

The good news is that we are closer than ever to meeting our little boy. We can't share details yet, but as soon as plans get a little more clear I'll fill you all in! In the meantime, please continue to pray for little Kad and for his doctors here and in Ethiopia who are making decisions on his treatment and for the people here and in Ethiopia who are making decisions on our case.

Stay tuned..things are about to get REALLY exciting!