Ethiopia {day 3}

Ethiopia {day 3}

We are heading to bed tonight at the conclusion of our third day here in Ethiopia with a bit of frustration.  We will attend court in less than 12 hours and we were told today that we are the only family in our travel group that does not have our letter from the federal ministry of women, youth, and children's affairs {MOWYCA}.   This is the letter that shows that our dossier has been reviewed and that we are approved to adopt in Ethiopia.  If this letter is not at court, we will have done our part and will have to wait until the letter is written to be considered his parents.  I am thankful for the heads up, thankful for the prayers of our friends and family through our request on Facebook, and thankful for the prayer circle comprised of our new friends here in Ethiopia on our behalf.  We are very blessed even in our frustrations.  

We visited Bek today for a couple of hours.  He was still uneasy, but is getting more used to us.  We found a good tickle spot and used it to get several smiles today.  Though he still obviously prefers his nannies and friends, he is warming up to us and I don't think he was as scared today.  He ate all his cereal at lunch time today, but was fussier about it than yesterday.  Once he was done with his lunch, Trevor scooped him up and he fell asleep quickly in his daddy's arms.  I am a little emotional today anticipating leaving him in just two days.  It does not feel like we've had long enough with him, yet I miss my kids at home terribly.  I'm ready to be home, but long so badly for us to all be together as a complete family.  Soon.

One thing we got to do today was bring all the donations that we brought to the House of Hope {thank you so much to those of you who donated!!}.  Between the four families, we had six crib mobiles which we put together and placed on cribs before getting the babies this morning.  We also had cocoa butter, lotion, about a bazillion pairs of socks, and tons of wipes along with some toys we brought for the older kids.  I also got to take my friend, Emily's little guy his presents from his parents.  He loved the presents, but his favorite, by far, was the book she made for him with their pictures in it.  He pointed and said "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" as if he knew them.  It was so incredibly precious!

We left for lunch at about 2:00 and our in-country contact, Hermella, joined us for lunch and shopping.  We ate at a yummy restaurant called Island Breeze and then went shopping at the post office area.  We bought some souvenirs and then headed back to the guest house.  Once we got back, we walked to the hotel to check for wifi {which was non-existent again} and then came back for a while before going out to dinner.  We ate at a place called MKs, where we had burgers and crepes {really taking in the Ethiopian culture;) }.  It was pretty good, though it feels like we eat too much around here!  Food prices are amazing here...at a nice restaurant, we pay about what we'd pay for one of us to eat in the US. 

Ethiopia is such an interesting country.  In some ways what we've experienced in Addis Ababa reminds me of Chinatown in NYC, particularly the shopping experience.  However, it is a huge city!  It's pretty dusty and dirty {it has rained here so it's been muddy in some places}, but they have great pride.  The people here are so friendly and make us feel so welcome, even though we are obviously tourists.  There are some things that have struck us as funny...the rationed toilet paper and expected tipping for everything, the food (bobo sandwich), the bargaining while shopping, the donkeys, oxen, and goats along the road; and some things that have struck us as sad...the beggars and general poverty peppered in amongst large, beautiful buildings.  We gleaned a lot of information about our son's birth country from Hermella today at lunch.  It was such a pleasure to be able to spend some time with someone who has worked so hard on our behalf and who loves our children day to day. I also have to say that we are so blessed with our travel group.  We have had a blast with Leslie and Ryan, Julie and Jay, and Kristine.  It is obvious that God orchestrated our group to be together for this portion of the journey and we are so thankful for our new friends!