We did not pass again today
Just got a call from the agency that once again, our letter was not there. I find myself super irritated about it. I just want to get my little boy home. Wish some people would work a little overtime. There were 7 families in Ethiopia for court today and it doesn't look like any of them passed, plus the 4 of us from last week. Some families posted that they found out their letters were written, they just didn't make it today to the court. Hopefully our letter is also written, and just hasn't made it there and will tomorrow. Our agency is going to try again tomorrow to see if the letter is there for us. Pray for a Merry Christmas Eve for us tomorrow!
Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow, we will be celebrating our Saviours birth, and praising Him that he is in conrol. I can't post pictures yet, but hopefully I can tomorrow! Will have to settle for a picture of his hand grabbing his daddy's shirt :)
Final day, and we made it home!
After a looooong plane ride, delays and missed flights, we are home safe and sound. So glad to be home and sleep in our own beds, but part of our heart is still in Ethiopia. I miss him so much already .
Our last day there was great. In the morning, we went to the transition home and saw Kaiser. He was sicker, which made me very sad. Not only do I have to leave my child, but I have to leave him when he is sick. The tears were flowing. Despite his fever, coughs and stuffy nose, he was cheerful and laughed quite a bit. We had to say goodbye, which was a lot more painful than I thought it would be. We did it with Lilia, so I thought I was prepared. We only spent about 2 hours with Lilia before we left, but we probably spent close to 18 hours with Kaiser, so I think that was the difference. The only peace in my heart came from knowing God will protect him, and that the nannies in the transition home love him dearly. He was cleaner than my own kid usually is. We said goodbye, and that we would be back soon to bring him home.
After lunch, we went to a coffee factory. Did you know that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee? I knew there was a reason we chose Ethiopia! Specifically the Sidamo region where Kaiser is from. It was a pretty neat factory. Then we pretty much packed and went to the airport.
We are getting ready to lay down our heads. God is good. He has given us such a gift, and we hope we can show God that he chose the right people to be Kai's parents. Embassy here we come! We need to bring our baby home! We are hoping for Jan. 19th, but are prepared for a later date if it happens. The first thing we need is that darn letter from MOWA. Pray for the 23rd!
Ethiopia Day 5
WE DIDN"T PASS COURT TODAY :(
Unfortunately, the letter we needed from the Ministry of Women's Affairs was not written and in Kaiser's file when we went in front of the judge. They write 30 letters a day and only had time to write 20 and ours happened to be one that they didn't have time to write. So don't take a lunch break! Stay an extra hour later! Come in early or something people! We were a little sad about it, but God is in control. We have a new court date for December 23rd. The rest of court went fine, and as soon as that letter arrives, we will pass. Out of the 6 families from our agency, only 2 passed. We were glad that at least someone did. God has his hand upon the situation, he is in control and he knows what he is doing. Otherwise we would be going crazy right now.
After court we came back to our guest house and met with Kaiser's birth mom. It was quite an experience. She is young and was scared. It was a good conversation. All I wanted to hear is for her to say that she loved him. She did! So my heart was happy. She hugged me and Lee, which was also great. It lasted maybe 10 minutes. It has been such an emotional day.
We then went to lunch and it was pretty good. Gorgonzola pasta and lasagna. We have had a lot of italian food here, which for me has been pretty good. We brought granola bars in case we got hungry, but haven't eaten any because we have been handing them out to the kids at the transition home.
After lunch we went to spend some time with Kaiser. He was as mellow as can be. They woke him up from a nap, which I kind of feel bad about, but then again, how often do you come to Ethiopia to see your only son? We just held him, fed him a bottle and tried to make him laugh. He is such a cutie pie. Curious as ever. He will eat for a sec and then just look around at everyone to see what's happening. We are so in love with the little guy. Even though he is not officially ours on paper, he is officially ours in our hearts. We will be leaving knowing that he IS ours, and that stupid letter is just a formality.
After we saw the little guy, we went to the transition home for the older kids. That was such a blast!! I sat on the wall with them and they all wanted to sit by me. Two of my favorite little boys were kids I took care packages to. My friend Jackie M.'s little boy is a sweet heart and hugged me all day. Also my friend Jennifer H.'s oldest little boy is so sweet and the smiliest little guy!! We handed out the rest of our 150 matchbox cars to them, which was awesome, and then we handed out their very own pack of gum to each of them. They were so excited! For the rest of my adoption friends, the 5 piece packs of gum were loved, along with matchbox cars. Pretty much anything you give them, they love. It is funny because we are such hoarders in America. When we gave stuff to the orphans, most of them would come up to us and try to share what we just gave them. It really was amazing to see that. They are selfless little people!! My favorite little girl was L*** who is on the waiting child list. What a sweetie! She is 10 and absolutely beautiful! I had a brand new lipgloss from bath and body in my pocket and when no other kids were looking, I gave it to her. She had a smile on her face that I will never forget. Can't wait till she gets a family!! All the kids sang songs to us and smiled. After not passing court, the afternoon completely made up for it.
We came back to the guest house and went shopping briefly on the street. I got a little coffee pot that is used for coffee ceremonies. 35 burr, which is about $2.25. We had plans to go to a Thai restaurant at 7 pm for dinner. I got up at 1:30 am just worrying about court, etc. So when we got back from shopping, I laid down at 6:30 and never woke up for dinner! Soooooo exausted. Emotionally and physically. We have one more day with our sweet little Kai Pie, then home to our little girl, who I miss so bad. Can't wait to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her.
This trip for me has been way more emotional than I ever thought it would be. My heart is tired of feeling, to be honest. When you are in the US, the situation in the rest of the world is kind of out-of-site, out-of-mind. But here it stares you in the face every waking moment. How lucky we are. How blessed to have the hand of God's blessing in our lives. How much we have to give, but don't do it. If a little orphan can share their only pack of fruit snacks with me, why can't I? That leads me to our new campaign that Lee thought of. Shoes for Ethiopia. Pretty much all the kids wear crocs, or knock-off crocks, and probably 90% have holes where their toes are sticking out, or torn up, way too small, way too big. So if every family we know reading this would send us a pair of knock-off crocks. how may kids could we give a new pair of shoes to? We need sizes probably for toddler 2-3, all the way up to a kid about 14 years old. If God lays it on your heart, which I am praying he will, please send it to us so we can bring it over when we come to pick up Kaiser. This country has given us so much more than we could ever hope or ask. All we want to do is give back. All we want is to put a smile on the face of a little orphan kid.
Here is the address to send the shoes to:
Lee and Amy Adkins
5644 S Ingalls St
Littleton, CO 80123
God bless you a million times in return.
We love all of you!!
One more day.....................my heart is already sad to leave him. Pray for a quick return.
Ethiopia Day 4
Today was the most emotional day yet. We spent the morning talking with our coordinator Duni about court proceedings, meeting Kaiser's birth mother, etc. It made me feel so sad, a little anxious and uneasy about tomorrow. Pray for peace. Peace for us, and peace for her. I can't even imagine what is going through her mind and heart. I hope we give her a little hope that her son is going to be loved and adored, and possibly that she did the right thing.
We then went to visit 2 separate orphanages. I left in complete tears. I questioned....Why God? Why so many? Why can't you bring parents for them all? Why can't you just snap your fingers and just change the way things are?
We brought 150 matchbox cars to hand out and eaqch and every kid lit up when we gave them one, and carried it around like it was their prized posession. The smiles made our hearts melt. Even with all the loss and poverty in their lives, it is so amazing to see that all of the kids had smiles on their faces. About 5 little kids came up to me when we left and gave me a hung and kissed my cheek. I told them all that Jesus loved them. I don't know if they understood, but I am hoping maybe they felt the love of Jesus through us.
It is also amazing because back in November, some of the families from our agency visited one of the orphanages and it was in dire need. It looks like people heard and helped because we felt like it was in better shape today than it was a month ago. The question of "Why God?" haunted me all day long, but in the end, I understood that things are, just because they are. I can only do as the Lord tells me to do, and let Him figure out all the rest. He is in control, and even though I don't understand, He still holds each and every child in his hand. He is their ultimate Father. But, tomorrow, I am hoping that Ethiopia has one less orphan :)
After the orphanage visits, we went to lunch at the Blue Top restaurant. Americanized food and Ethiopian food. It was a lot of fun, and a little distraction from the morning.
Then to the transition home to see our bugaboo. He was smiling, and we got him to laugh today playing peek-a-boo and tossing him in the air. I put him in his little Christmas outfit and took his picture with his "Ho Ho Ho" hat and "Santa's little man" onesie. What a cute little doll. He loves to be held while we are standing up. He gets fussy if you hold him too long sitting down and as soon as you stand up, he is happy as can be. He got his hair washed and had some oil in it today, which made it super curly! Like mama like son. He has the most mild temperament so far. He just goes with the flow. A lot like his big sister.
We are done for the day! We get to rest and take a nap before dinner. Fish for dinner, so I will probably be eating cinnamon nuts and caramel again :)
Tomorrow we are supposed to meet Kaiser's mom after she goes to court. Pray for that meeting, and please pray that we pass court!! I don't want to go home without knowing he is officially ours!
Ethopia Day #3
We love our little boy!! He is so sweet and smiley. He really has a pretty calm personality. The only time he got fussy was when we layed him down and when he was tired.
We spent the morning shopping for a little while. We went to a street with a lot of little shops kind of like Mexico. There were little kids coming up to us wanting to shine our shoes and asking for food. We had a lot of granola bars to hand out and it made them happy. We got some cute stuff.
We then went to lunch at a little italian place that was like an art gallery. The food was pretty good, but took a long time. My stomach started to get sick a little but it passed. After lunch we went to the transition home (our orphanage) and it was great. We spent the first hour taking pictures of other families children and handing out care packages to them that their parents from the US sent with us. They were all so happy to get their little packages. It was a great moment! I wanted to just hold my baby, but Lee reminded me of how important it is when you are back in the US without your kids to just get a picture or video of them! Something we were happy to be a part of.
We then got to hold our little boy. He had a bath because his hair was so soft and smelled really good. He was super smiley today and was trying to talk to us. He is way more congested today than yesterday. His nose was really stuffy and he was coughing a little. But he seemed in good spirits! We gave all the donations to the transition home today also. Kai pie was tired so I rocked him in my arms and he fell asleep almost right away. It was so cute because 2 nannies came up to us throughout the day and said "he is mine." It was so cute because they wanted us to know they were his nannies, and they love him. It was so sweet and we got their pictures. Kaiser had on 0-3 month stuff today and 3-6 month yesterday, both seemed to fit pretty well.
We get about a 2 hour break and then we are heading to a traditional Ethiopian dinner with dancing tonight. Yes, I will be stocking up on cinnamon nuts and caramel before I go :)
The kids at the transitional home are exceptionally happy. They all play soccer together and were dancing and singing today. It is great to see smiles on their faces!
More tomorrow!
Ethiopia Day #2
This was one of the most awesome days of our lives!! We started out at the orphanage, standing there waiting to see our buddy. They broought him out to us in the clothes we sent him in November and he is a little doll. He is beautiful! He has the biggest brown eyes, and the whites of his eyes are super white, just like Lilia's eyes! His hair is awesome. It is soft like cotton candy, and loosely curled. And he has a lot of it. In the morning, he acted like he was sick and not feeling good. We felt the rattling in his chest, and the nurse in me was checking his respiratory rate and watching his nasal flaring. He wasn't real smily, just let us hold him and he pretty much just sat there. He started getting fussy so I stood up and rocked him, and he fell right asleep.
We left and went to lunch at a pizza place that was pretty good, and really inexpensive. Then to a coffee shop that looked like starbucks, and they are everywhere like starbucks. We didn't even feel like we were in Ethiopia for a minute. Our guides and drivers have been great. Super friendly and they know the ropes.
In the afternoon, we went back to see him and he was sleeping in his little crib. They woke him up and gave him to us. He was super happy this afternoon. We fed him a bottle and then he was all happy. Lee got him to smile and giggle a little. He was BUSY! Didn't want to sit. Wanted to jump and squirm. The johnny-jumper is going to be fun for him! He got fussy again so I stood up and rocked him to sleep again. Then we put him down in his crib. We got to do footprints of him today, too.
It was awesome to see him and hold him finally! Woohoo! We think he might be the cutest :)
Tomorrow it is shopping in the morning, then back to see him in the afternoon. We have 8 care packages to deliver to other people's kids tomorrow and take all our donations. We are beat. The hours of sleeplessness are catching up. Goodnight!!
Ethiopia Day 1 (attempt #2)
Sorry about the message! I will try again... We made it finally!! IT was a pretty easy trip overall. Short layovers, nice people! The Ethiopian airlines are really nice and the flight attendants were great. We ate 3 meals, well, kind of. They ran out of chicken so I got my most hated food on the planet.......fish. Overall, it was okay. We made it in last night and had about 4 hour sleep, waking up to wild barking dogs, and a loud muslin prayer guy? It is entertaining, and really interesting to be in someone else's world! We are so excited for the day! We are leaving in an hour to see our sweet baby's face! We can't wait to hold him in our arms!! We get to spend the whole day with him! Hopefully feed him, change him into his Christmas clothes we brought, and play with his toys! Yay!!! We will try to post as soon as we see him! Thank you to all our family and friends for the prayers and the support over the last year and a half. IT is finally here!!!!! Love you! |
Ethiopia Day 1
We made it safe and sound! The flight was not nearly as bas as we thought, and we actually slept a little bit. We both had a TV and Lee watched a couple of movies, however, my TV was broken :( The food was okay. Actually, they ran out of chicken so I got my most despised food in the world..........fish. Needless to say, I ate a salad the size of a deck of cards, a roll, and a teeny piece of cheesecake.
Amy said internet access is slow and her email cut off, so I am pretty sure there was more to her message. Stick with us while we try to work out the kinks!
Operation Ethiopia- Dec. 11th!
We leave Saturday the 11th for Ethiopia. We will arrive at 9:30 am Sunday Denver time. Happy B-day to me! We will get to see Kaiser on Monday the 13th and will get to spend about 3 hours a day with him. Our court day is Thursday the 16th. My sister will hopefully be able to update the blog while we are gone.
Pray for us!
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