Interrupted

So I just had to interrupt the flow of our trip pictures to show how our little peanut is doing now. It is amazing to see the transformation of this little girl in just two weeks, and hopefully it is an encouragement for other families to consider adopting just one of the millions of orphans worldwide.

When we took custody of Haley, she had an ear infection and a sinus infection. This all caused her to vomit (projectile!) at every feeding with a horrible, gagging cough. And, yes, this continued on our 30+ hours of plane rides. Let's just say we where not the most valued passengers on those cramped planes. Eight of her outfits later, I gave up and just decided to let the smell engulf me, praying for a quick trip. At first, Haley was a bit lethargic and would not look at me. She could not sit up by herself, and she exhibited certain self-soothing behaviors whenever she got upset. My sweet girl was gorging constantly. Then vomiting it all up.

But two weeks later, she is a different child. And I'm getting to know her all over again. After several doctor visits and an indulgence in modern medication, she is now happy and healthy. She lights up when David is around and gets pretty cranky if I'm not holding her when I'm around. She no longer gorges, but instead seems to have built a confidence in her surroundings that I didn't expect for another few months. She sleeps through the night - sleep, glorious sleep! She not only sits up on her own, but she has also started to crawl. And my favorite part: she stares and coos at me all day long.

Someone once told me that I was lucky to get my children "the easy way." It's a ridiculous statement, really. But in the end, it is always worth it. The years of paperwork, jumping through someone else's hoops, the sickness, the travel, the horrific plane rides that drive you to the edge of madness. But we know a truth that will never change: God created Haley to be our daughter from the beginning of time. Her story and ours is neither a coincidence nor a surprise to Him. We went to Ethiopia because that's where our daughter was. And we would walk through that fire again and again, as many times as it took to bring her home.

A Half Pint Birthday Present

The day after our long trip to Kambata, we got to meet Haley in person for the first time. It just so happened to be my birthday! They brought her out to us and we just sat with her in the courtyard for 2 hours. She had just woken up from a nap and was quite lethargic; she opened up a bit, but we could tell she was sick and needed medical attention. Leaving there that afternoon without her was the hardest thing we had to do all week. We knew we would be back the next morning to take her, but we had a long 12 hours ahead of us. Here are a few of my favorite photos from that day.

A Little Late

As you can see, blogging did not go so well in Ethiopia. We had sporadic internet connection and no power on some days. Sooooooo, now that we are home, I can post a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

The first set is from the two day trip after my initial post. We traveled south of Addis Ababa to the Kambata region and stayed in the "town" of Hosanna. From there we traveled into the countryside to see the village that is important to Haley's past. What was supposed to be a three-hour trip turned into an eight-hour trip, swerving along as we dodged goats, mules and cows wandering in the one and only long road. I won't go into detail on how I lost my lunch and dinner along the road; as curious Ethiopians gathered around watching the foreigner vomit, I couldn't help but wonder if I would retain any dignity by the end of this trip. The answer came over the course of the next few days: no.

I regret not being able to take more photos, but the camera was the last thing on my mind at the time. Hope and David traveled well, and although they were tired from the trip, they did not get sick at all. In fact they sat in the back of the bus and played Go Fish!

Beautiful faces.

Dennis Roth visiting the wandering cow as we stopped along the road for a break.

A variety of dwellings throughout the Ethiopian countryside.

The view from our hotel "suite"in Hosanna.

Shoe shining for a living.

Traditional grass hut.

Recycling?

Hope coerced T and Dawit into a game of Uno at lunch.

One very tired little girl!

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!

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.