Sunday, May 24, 2009

Saturday morning:

It’s very early in the morning here in Addis. I can’t sleep and, apparently, neither can all the stray barking dogs. It sounds like an aerobics class is also going on out there, but I haven’t figured out exactly what that is yet.

We arrived here yesterday afternoon after a very long journey. We had spent the night in Dubai during our 12-hour layover there, so it was helpful to have it broken up somewhat. Still, all three of us were pretty exhausted. The 12 hour flight from JFK to Dubai went amazingly fast – Hope slept for most of it since we had boarded at 11pm. By the time she woke up, they were serving breakfast and we only had three hours left. She was pretty spoiled by the cabin crew – when we told them we were traveling to Ethiopia to adopt our daughter, they thought we meant Hope. (Yeah, not sure about that calculation either, but . . . ) They kept coming by every 30 minutes with new gifts for her. This kid left that plane with 2 backpacks, a lunch box, 3 stuffed animals, markers, coloring books, candy, socks, tooth brushes and more. Then one flight attendant told us he had ordered a “special gift” for us on the return flight. I’m afraid we’ll need an extra suitcase for it all!


When we got to Addis we threw our stuff in our room and headed out for sightseeing in an effort to get acclimated quickly to the time change. So our guide, “T” (Hope calls him Mr. T) took us to a local museum of anthropology where Lucy’s bones are kept. As we walked around, several school groups came in, and we soon became the major attraction. T said they rarely ever see foreigners, so we were quite a sight. They loved Hope! Three of the girls practiced their English by asking her name; when she responded and asked them their names, they ran away giggling. Hope couldn’t understand that they were just embarrassed about speaking another language, so she thought they were laughing at her. But in the end, she warmed back up to them. And by the time we had left, 30 children were lined up to kiss her cheek! I stopped it after 4 and waved goodbye. Hope took it amazingly well for a child who – as many of you remember – needs her personal space. Not too mention the jet lag. She’s a trooper!

Our driver, Dewit, is very kind and a little shy. But he loves Hope and is always holding her hand and trying to show her different things. He and his wife are expecting their first baby – a little girl. So I think he’s enjoying imagining his new life as a dad.

After braving the paparazzi at the museum, we headed on over to the lion zoo. Let’s just say that Tote-Em-In zoo in Wilmington looks like a 5-star hotel in comparison. After lots more stares, a few more kisses on the cheek, and a ferris wheel ride, we headed back to the hotel. We met up with the Roth’s, who arrived yesterday. Their son and Haley are the same age and from the same village out in the country. Tomorrow we’ll all take the 3-hour drive out there to visit. We are still on schedule to meet Haley on Monday.


Driving round the city was fascinating. The people are beautiful despite the remarkably impoverished surroundings. T told us it is common for friends to hold hands or walk arm in arm, women with women and men with men. There was something so refreshing in seeing crowds of people being so affectionate like that: warm and open. Of course, it’s probably even more attractive to me since we did just come in from a 2-day stay in NYC. Not so affectionate there.
We’ll be staying overnight in Haley’s village, so I won’t post again until we return. Here’s a few photos:

I only snapped a few shots on our first day; I was a little warn out from the travel and just decided to take it all in before pulling out the camera every other minute.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! Please continue to pray for our health. We want to be strong for the upcoming days so that we can take care of Haley and Hope.


Beautiful faces!



Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Scenes From Yew Nork

A beautiful day in New York City (or if you're Hope, Yew Nork City).

Riding the ferris wheel at Toys R Us.


I could people-watch all day in Central Park!


Transportation: the ubiquitous yellow cab.

Or you could go a little slower . . .


Or a little creepier . . .

That beats a car payment!


We stuck with the filthy yet inexpensive subway.


St. Patrick's Cathedral



Giving Mommy a heart attack.

Because in NYC you need pedestrian safety.






Monday, May 18, 2009

New Nork!

First leg of our trip. Check.

Hope was so excited to be flying on the plane. On take-off she stared out the window at the disappearing NC trees below, singing blue grass music and yelling, "I'm coming New Nork! I'm coming New Nork! If He calls me, I will answer, if He calls me I will aaaaaauuunswer, someday I'll be workin' for my Lord."

Meanwhile I sat at the opposite window fighting the inevitable queeziness that comes from bouncing around on the tiniest plane in the continental US. But we are here in Times Square now and enjoying a brief stay before we head out on Wednesday.

We have a travel meeting conference call on Tuesday afternoon, but we'll spend the rest of the day wandering around Manhattan. Not many pictures today . . . just a few of the area right outside our hotel.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement! We are anxious to get to Addis to hold our little peanut. :)

Our hotel.

Just outside our hotel at Times Square.

So thaaaat's who the king is. Glad we got that cleared up!

David, first thing in the morning.


Friday, May 15, 2009

Spring Shows

On top of getting ready to leave for Ethiopia in 72 hours, we've had a busy week of normal life with Hope's preschool spring concert and gymnastics spring show. She was pretty excited to play the drums in the concert, but her favorite job by far was turning around and telling the other kids what to do. It took some real dedication.



In spite of my lousy photography on this one, you've got to admit the girl has some skills with that spider hang. Here we are at the gymnastics spring show.


The ever-lovely flamingo walk.



I feel old just looking at this one.



Tuesday, May 12, 2009

And So She Is . . .

Ours.

After the second try through court, we have passed and Haley Zamara-Beth is officially and irrevocably our daughter. She is now 8 months old and waiting for us at the transition home in Addis Ababa. We will know on Friday whether or not we leave on Monday to make it to Ethiopia according to our original travel dates. But it is likely that our travel will be delayed as the courts are taking longer this month in processing the post-court paperwork needed for Haley's birth certificate and passport.

So now that we are official, we are able to post her pictures! Starting with her referral pics at 4 months old:

Then we received updated info and photos. This was her 6 month photo session:


And our most recent update revealed CURLS! And a very healthy baby who has gained a considerable amount of weight from the beginning, thanks to the wonderful care she has received at the AWAA transition home. She's also sporting some unique fashion finds . . .



Saturday, May 2, 2009

Strawberry Picking






It's spring at Lewis Farms! Each year we head out to Ogden to plunder the beautiful, juicy strawberries. We made a field trip of it again with our Families with Children from China group. What a beautiful day!

Updates!

We just received our most recent (and final) update on our peanut! She's not such a peanut anymore, though. Thankfully, Haley Z appears to have gained quite a bit of weight - even more so than the two pounds we are told she has gained. She is obviously being very well taken care of at the transition home and looks healthy and happy. So far she has bypassed the outbreak of chicken pox in the home, but we'll see what the next few weeks hold.

My poor girl is sporting a navy and yellow boys' All-Star tshirt with striped pink and green leggings. This ensemble has Mama here a little fidgety, but no worries: I'm coming with a suitcase full of Gymboree, baby! :)

And the best part: she has CURLS! A first for the Heinrichs family. The countdown has begun . . . we have only 9 more days until our court date, and then we ship off on May 18.