Day 1 in Ethiopia

Day 1 in Ethiopia (Monday)I'm counting today as day one here in Ethiopia since yesterday was just a late night. Seeing our baby for the first time is beyond words. She is adorable...but it wasn't like she jumped into our arms crying mommy and daddy. I was prepared for that, so it wasn't that big of a deal. She had just eaten and was not feeling well. She was also ready for a nap, so you can imagine how happy she was. Our first meeting was busy, as we taped it and photographed it. We did have a few glorious minutes when she feel asleep and we were all alone with her. It was wonderful finally being together as a family, even if she doesn't realize it yet! She has some medicine she's on and was a bit cranky all day. My husband was a real trooper. We took turns trying to soothe her. So today, in addition to gaining a child, we switched rooms at the New Flower, went to lunch with the Gladney reps, stopped by the Hilton, and went to Dreamland. I think we are all on a little bit of sensory overload! Luckily, they had a larger room with private bath available at the New Flower. It is awesome here. The people are fabulous. However, since we flooded the shared bathroom yesterday and couldn't move around our own stuff in the room, it made all the difference to move rooms. Dreamland was also really neat. It usually happens at the end of your stay, but there were many families here so we went tonight. It is a restaurant overlooking a huge crater lake.Good food and company! Tomorrow we are taking the baby to the doctors. She has what looks like a skin fungal infection on her face. It should be OK, I hope. I haven't figured out how to post pics, but will have C. look at it tomorrow.

We're Here!

We've finally arrived in Ethiopia. The flight was long but uneventful. The plane was crowded and we are just hoping for a babybed on the way back. We couldn't imagine having a little one on that long flight home. It was rainy today and we think it may be like that all week. Of course I didn't bring my rain boots or an umbrella (note for future travellers). On to more exciting news...we go to get the baby tomorrow morning!! I was ready tonight, but I'll just have to live with a good night's sleep. Travis (the in country staff) said he just thinks of her as the gerber baby because she is so darn cute

Almost there!

Less than one week before we leave for Ethiopia!!! I can’t wait and yet we have so much to do. Our belongings are strewn through the house. We have packed our humanitarian aid (diapers, wipes, AD ointment) and the suitcase feels like it weighs over a hundred pounds. We booked our tickets right away and were able to get a room at the New Flower Guest House. We have a shared bathroom and I’m a little nervous about that. Normally, I wouldn’t mind but I have a track record for getting really sick on vacations. We are going to give it a try because they seem very on top of things. They were the only place we could get in touch with when we were looking for a place to stay. My husband’s friend at work is from Ethiopia. His mom owns another guest house in the neighborhood we are staying. What a small world! Anyway, they may also have availability in case we can’t deal. Check back because we will be trying to update in Ethiopia!

In all of this craziness, I can’t stop thinking about our sweet girl and what it will be like to meet her. I am so thankful for this whole journey. One of the great things through this process has been receiving updates from traveling families. If anyone has a child at the Gladney Foster Home, we would love to take some pictures for you. Just leave a message or email us (dauray@gmail.com) with some info and we would be glad to pass on the favor.



Here are some pics we got from the Atwoods. They were some of our favorites!



Ok, I’m off to finish my adoption training (yes, we did wait till the last minute to do this!) and our packing!

The Home Stretch!

Unexpectedly, we became parents today!! I’m still in a state of shock. Our court date (or so we thought) was scheduled for tomorrow. Of course, when the phone rang with the special ring today I answered it figuring it was something last minute. I had all of my students with me as I heard the most fabulous news. Court was actually today and we made it. It was the best feeling ever to know that this beautiful child was ours…that’s right, we are now the proud parents of this sweet baby. This also means I can post pictures, so here she is…



I will try to post more later...or a slide show if I can figure it out!

Court Date!!

Natalie called today. Of course, I answered the phone in the middle of class when I heard that special unknown caller ring. It is scheduled for April 17th. I'll be holding my breath until then, hoping that the adoption goes through on the first try.

Baby Updates!

So my plan to post this week almost got thwarted with the tornado that blew through town this weekend. The power went off on Friday night. Luckily we escaped to my mother-in-law’s house. It is back two days later. Luckily we didn’t have any damage to our house. It did leave many trees down around the area. Interestingly enough the power never went off at my mother-in-law’s even though she is a mere mile from the hardest hit part of the city. Anyway, here we are at our fourth week of waiting for a court date. I’ve been going crazy lately, as I am aware that many of our blog friends have been waiting about 8 weeks and still have not heard anything about their court dates. This makes me incredibly sad. We have gotten 1 update so far from Gladney with a new picture. But more exciting, is our most recent update (we got it today!!) from a fellow Gladney family, the Atwoods, that traveled to pick up their son. They did us an amazing favor by bringing the baby a care package from us to Ethiopia and taking some pictures of the little angel for us. She had her new bear, blanket, and pictures of us with her in the photos. Thank you, Atwoods! Both of the comments we’ve received about her mention her gorgeous eyes. I have to say, she really is so beautiful. The Gladney representative said she was a very sweet and calm baby. That sounds wonderful to me! This has brightened my day and left me more hopeful. I am just so thankful for this whole experience and hope that we can have that baby in our arms sooner rather than later.

What's next??

Well, it has been a week since our referral. It has been a relief to finally have that picture and know some information about our future little girl. I’ve been asked by everyone, what will happen next? Also, when are you leaving? The next step in the process is to wait for a court date. When we accepted the referral last Friday, Natalie said she would inform the in country staff so that they can schedule a date. It is taking about a month to find out the date, which is usually a month from then. Doing the math, it will be about two months until a court date. This is a lot longer than we originally expected. Last spring, it was only about a month between referral and travel. How quickly things change in the world of adoption! I can only assume that this is because there are many more cases to hear as Ethiopian adoptions are growing in popularity. If the court date is successful the first time, we would leave about a month later. Many cases are postponed and rescheduled for a variety of reasons. Hopefully it will be about three months until we travel. I know that this will be the real wait. We are staying positive (so far) and trying to remain patient. I just hope everything works out and she stays happy and healthy at The Gladney Foster Home.