Turning Off the Heat - Update

Well, our month-long challenge to heat our home entirely with our wood stove was a success ~ sort of. We did keep the heat off most of the time, and for that I am proud. But, several times our wood burning got ahead of our wood cutting, hauling, and stacking. And other times, even with the stove as hot as a pistol,  it still got too nippy in the back off the house. So, on those nights we had to crank on the system for a few hours to keep everyone comfortable while sleeping. Overall, though, I think we did pretty well at our pioneer living challenge.

The garden and herb beds are greening up with onions and garlic and salad fixings and we should enjoy some early spring veggies pretty soon (if the flooding rains don't drown the whole thing) . I'd like to have an "Eat What You Grow" challenge next. But, since we could use a little more practice on this whole heating-with-wood thing, I'll think we'll give it another go, first.

For January's little experiment I'll give the Pecan Bluff crew a B+. But I like A's better than B's any day, and I think we can do better. So, for the month of February we will reinstate the challenge, and see if we can keep that heat off! We'll see how we do this time around.

My Comedian

Mike and I met up in the living room tonight after the kids were all finally tucked in bed. I snuggled up on the couch and asked him sweetly, "Can you stoke the fire? It's chilly."

He handed me a throw and grinned, "Here, take a blanket. Firewood doesn't grow on trees, you know."

Fuzzies

Turns out, that if two little boys happen to leave one of these

 on the floor of their bedroom,

 and their Mama steps on it barefooted in the dark,

 she can jump really, really high.

Journey to Ethiopia - Day Ten

HAPPY HOMECOMING, SWEET BABY S!

One year ago today: 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

We landed in Istanbul and scurried to our next connection. All of our connections for the return trip were very tight, and we knew if we missed our last connection we would be in big trouble, because it was the last flight of the day to our little hometown airport. We didn't even want to think about that happening.

My dear friend had loaned me a "Hug A Bub" baby carrier for the trip.  I never would have made it without that! Sweet baby S weathered all our racing around very well, snugged up close to me, just watching all our craziness.

We raced our carry-ons through the airport and tried to figure out which line we should stand in for a transit visa. We found one and settled in to wait, then got the sinking feeling that we might not be in the correct place after all.  There were lots and lots of security personnel around, but none could understand our questions. I finally struck out down the airport walkway and waved down a security guard who did speak English. I pointed toward the rest of family waiting in line and asked if we were going the right way. He shook his head, "Oh, no! You are about to get a visa to stay in Turkey!" Yikes. We scrambled out of the long, weaving lanes and followed his directions to another long line. Time was ticking and our one hour to connect was almost gone.

As we waited, R was absolutely miserable. She'd started turning grayish green somewhere over Egypt, and by now she looked like she felt~ terrible. Standing in line she made several hurried trips to a nearby trash can, just in case. The line took forever, we all chewed our nails, and finally got the paperwork we needed to pass through the first, of many, security checks back into the airport. We then proceeded through three more security checks, each with its own infuriating requirements: take off all jackets and overshirts, remove all headbands and clips and belts, dump purses and bags completely into trays for close inspection, dump out all of the kids snacks and the baby's supplies. One inspector even broke the seal on the little bottles of formula I had as emergency backup for the baby and then proceeded to stick her nose in them! I was seething inside, but we talked nice because the whole thing was so intense and the guards were so frightening.

Then began the scrutinization of our passports. We thought it would never end, and as we waited and answered questions, again and again, we could see the last of our flight's passengers loading and we heard the last call being made. And still, we waded through more and more and more security checks. It was beyond anything we've ever seen in any airport, and I hope I never have to go through that again. The adults finished the whole fiasco frustrated and angry, and the kids were downright exhausted. But we raced down the jetway in the nick of time and were the very last passengers to board. There was an audible groan from the other passengers when we walked onto the plane with all our children, plus a baby, for an 11 hour flight!

We crammed our carry-ons into the compartments and wearily slumped into our seats, and once again our family was scattered to the four winds. For reasons that are still not clear, the guard from the final security checkpoint boarded the plane not once, but twice to look at Mike's passport. Each time he compared it to some sort of hand-written list he'd brought with him. Scary!

The flight! was tough. Poor R sat by me to help with the baby, but she was sick as a dog over the entire Atlantic. The boys did OK, and they enjoyed sitting with their Daddy, but they were all several rows up from us so it made communication almost impossible. I was, once again, in the very middle of the center aisle, next to a very grumpy person. Whatever one kid needed was invariably in the bag tucked under the seat an adult on another aisle, and our bags were such a mess after security it made it hard to take care of everyone. DaddyDon was on another row, but he was able to reach back and pass the baby back and forth. Gram even folded down her tray table and we made a little bassinet on top of it with our jackets so sweet baby could stretch out a little. We all did our best, took turns helping the kids, dealt with several dirty diapers in flight, discovered the restrooms were overflowing about half-way to Chicago, and just ignored the attendants who were overworked and less than helpful.

But the highlight of the trip was sweet baby S. For the entire 11 hour flight, she either looked like this:

or like this:

Seriously. She was the happiest, sweetest little traveler you can imagine. I know lots of adoptive parents who've suffered through long, exhausting trip home with screaming children ~ and I bet they really want to throw tomatoes at us!

It was funny, because several hours into the flight, those same folks who groaned when we boarded stopped by our seats and chatted with the children and smiled at the baby. They said they couldn't believe how wonderful all our kids were! What a treat to talk to folks from all the over world about our great kids!

Chicago finally came into view, and we again had an uncomfortably tight connection. We braced ourselves to run out of the plane, snag our luggage (yes, for our convenience, our luggage was again NOT checked through, so we had to retrieve it all and recheck it all), hit customs, and then make our gate to head to Texas. It was a scramble, but customs went by quickly and we made the long trek to our departure gate. We even got to ride the trams again, so that was a highlight of the trip for my little train-loving guys. Plus, it was snowing outside the airport windows!

We boarded and fell into our seats again, then got ready for a 3 hour leg of the trip. We would be in Dallas by evening, and home was getting closer and closer. Baby S was still doing just great, though she was obviously tired. I'm sure she wondered if this was what her new family did~ just run through airports, hop on planes, sit for hours, then do it all over again. Poor baby. We couldn't wait to get her home and show her the grass and the trees and her own soft bed. And I was still itching to give her a good, soaking bath in clean water!

By the time we landed in Dallas the baby had wet through her clothes and despite several Dramamines,  R was sicker than ever. HA was nauseated from low blood sugar (he needs to eat a lot and often), and HW was so tired he was teary. We pushed the kids to drink some juice, at least, changed the baby in record time, stuffed our carry-ons back together, and boarded that last plane. We'd made every tight connection, and we were just minutes from home turf now. What a relief.

Our little plane made the hop  so quickly we barely had time to get settled. HW was sleeping as if he was unconscious.

R got to try out the airplane sick bag just a few minutes from landing. Notice the gray tinge~ it stayed with her the entire trip home.

Sweet baby slept, and we all praised the Lord for getting us home from halfway around the world.

Our loved ones waited with signs and good cheer to welcome the weary travelers home, and to get their first peek at baby S. It was such a blessing to see all their smiling faces when we walked through those doors.

After four flights, 36 hours through airports and on planes, and travel across four continents, we were finally, finally all home.

Happy, Happy Homecoming, Sweet Baby! We are so blessed!

Journey to Ethiopia - Day Nine

One year ago today: 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

We had one day left to pack our crew up and get ready for the long journey home. I was dreading those flights like a tooth extraction, but I was so ready to come home, and the only way to get there was on those exhausting flights.

Incredibly, the Good Lord had blessed our entire family with good health for our whole trip. All the things that could have happened, didn't. We were so thankful, and to be quite honest, I simply cannot imagine getting us all packed and home if we had been ill. It was almost too exhausting while we were well! Our only problems had been a few headaches due to lack of sleep and smog, swollen ankles due to altitude and salty snack foods, scratchy throats from the smog, and one more throw up incident.*

*Note to self: Kudos for bringing the Ziploc bags in the backpack

 in case of car-sick kids while our driver navigated the nauseating traffic in Addis! 

It would have been perfect if your reaction time had been about 2 seconds faster.

 Since you missed it, kudos for bringing that extra shirt in the backpack, as well. 

That day we took turns playing with baby S throughout the day, and she was her cheerful sweet self. Her sinus infection was already improving.

R and baby S in the Union Hotel

We tried to follow the care center schedule as best we could, which meant frequent naps for her. Our other babes had all been pretty light sleepers, but not little miss. We could go on packing all around her during her naps and she slept until she was ready to wake up. What a dream. R sang Jesus Loves Me to Baby S, and got the biggest smiles from her. It was precious. HA was my best helper, scurrying to bring me a burp cloth or a blanket or a diaper whenever I needed something. And HW was best at making S squeal with his silly faces. The kids had been so, so great on the trip, and Mike and I were happy we'd been able to experience Ethiopia together, as a family.

The hardest part of packing was trying to fit in some breakables and large items we bought at the market. We finally succeeded in getting them properly cushioned. We were also certain that we should leave as much of our extras behind, along with any suitcases we didn't need. It turned out that we were able to fill two giant bags and one smaller one with all our medicines, toiletries, extra snack foods, and extra baby supplies that didn't fit S or that we no longer needed. We were glad to pare down our luggage totals to much more manageable amounts for our travels home.

The staff was glad to get the extra donations, and we passed out gifts we'd brought from home, and said our goodbyes to everyone who had taken care of our sweet baby S for us. We thanked them for working so hard for the children, and for all the wonderful experiences they provide for families like ours while we are in country. It was great to be heading home, but we were so sad to leave our new friends and the all the precious children. Tenderhearted R staid many times during our trip that she wished we could just scoop up all the children we saw and take them home with us. Me too.

We ate lots of snacks that day, then gave the rest of our goodies to the hotel gateman and his crew of handy helpers, always ready to lend a hand. Mike and DaddyDon made special rounds to visit with people who'd been especially kind to us and they were able to tip them and thank them again before we left. We bid farewell to our travel buddies, and we were glad both our baby girls were feeling good for the trips home. We also took some more pictures and video of the area around the Care Center and the Union Hotel. Then we ate room service one last time, bathed the kids and dressed for travel, then stacked our bags in the hall and waited for our drivers to pick us up for our late night flight.

HA with our luggage in the hall

At every leg of our return trip we always specially requested seating together, bulkhead, bassinets, aisle seats~ basically anything to make caring for a baby easier. We already knew what it takes to survive a long flight with a new baby ~ after all, the boys were born in Korea, and that is no short flight home, either. So, we made a special effort to request special favors at each leg.

Well, our hopes were dashed when we boarded Turkish Air for the first leg from Addis to Istanbul, and our family was split up all over the stuffed airplane. Two of the kids had to sit several rows up from me where I couldn't even see them, squashed next to a grouchy man, then Mike was with the other child several rows away, DaddyDon and Gram were way in the back, and I was alone with the baby on the inside by the window. Nice. We were packed in like sardines and the traveler beside me let it be known he was none too pleased to be stuck on the row with a baby. I tried my best to stay out of his way, and baby S did her usual charm job by smiling at him every chance she could, so we made it OK for that first 5 hour leg. We'd missed an entire night's sleep, so by the time we landed in Istanbul it was early Friday morning, and we were all thoroughly exhausted. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning.

Journey to Ethiopia - Day Eight

One year ago today: 

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Our first night with baby S went so well. She got sleepy early, then fell asleep in my arms. I put her in the make-shift cradle beside our bed, and she slept all night. I got up and checked on her several times, especially because when she slept she made lots of gurgling, goopy sounds due to her sinus infection. We'd brought every medication we could think of, and we were so glad to be able to start her feeling better right when we took custody. We put her on an antibiotic and an over-the-counter medication to thin and clear out the secretions, so we hoped for some rapid improvement. We were particularly concerned that we clear up her ears a little before our flight home. The air pressure changes of flying home with so much infection in her head would have been miserable, and could have damaged her ears.

She didn't wake in the night, despite some coughing and gagging in her sleep. When she woke her face was covered in dried on green stuff~ it was truly pitiful. I wanted so badly to soak her whole little body in a bubbly tub of warm water and let the steam really help loosen things up. But, at this point in our trip we didn't even have running water in our own room, much less a way to make a nice steamy bath for her. Again, I just couldn't wait to get this sweet child to the comforts of our home.

In spite of how yucky she must have felt, she was a pure delight. She gave us tons of smiles, put up with her quick bath (thankfully my parents' room next door did have warm water just then), and then let me slather her all over with Burt's Bees apricot oil. She lay on the bed on a towel as we all stared and oohed and aaahed over her beautiful, glowing skin. She was so precious, and we felt so blessed at that moment to know she was our daughter. The boys played on the bed with her, trying to make her smile. R couldn't keep her hands off of her, of course. Lots and lots of snuggling was going on and she enjoyed the attention.

We mostly ordered room service for our meals after baby S was with us, so we wouldn't have to get her out and about. Also, power outages were frequent and when the power was out the hotel cranked up a very loud generator near the restaurant. It belched out noxious fumes that wafted through the lower levels of the hotel causing headaches and nausea among various family members. So, we avoided the restaurant and opted for room service. The hotel staff was so very kind and prompt and tried very hard to meet our every need. We truly appreciated their kind attention during our entire stay.

Union Hotel staff

I had to hurry that morning and get presentable for our Farewell Ceremony at the Care Center. I had only been able to wash my hair once the whole week. At times the water outages affected all the rooms on our floor, and our water heaters had to be unplugged. So, even though Gram and DaddyDon's room had water that morning, it was ice cold. I decided to just grit my teeth and go for it, and boy was it a jolt! Our hairdryer had been lost in the two missing bags (despite multiple long visits with airline staff, DaddyDon and Mike had been unable to find those bags. For our convenience, the airline finally found them just hours before we were to fly home~ just in time to check them back in.) So, I had to go with a single wet braid down the back. Lovely. But at least it was clean.

We went next door to the Care Center and found a beautiful party had been arranged for the two sweet babies who were going home. Little chairs lined the room, and we were seated on the other side. At the front of the room was the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, and tables with treats for our celebration. The nannies grabbed baby S from me and hugged her to pieces as they whisked her upstairs.

Children from the care center were carried and herded in and were seated in the little plastic chairs. Then they sat quietly and waited. For a long time. They were so patient! It was probably 15 minutes before the staff was all assembled, and those precious kids and babies just waited like little ladies and gentlemen~ even with a big white cake on the table within reach. They were so sweet.

We were so surprised when the nannies brought baby S down in her traditional Ethiopian dress. She looked so beautiful, and my tears started flowing then. They didn't stop any time soon.

Several staff members spoke, then we were given an opportunity to speak. I was too broken up, though there were lots of things I would have loved to tell the staff. Thankfully, Mike is my rock and he spoke for both of us. He thanked the staff for their loving care of S, for their dedication to all the needy children who come into their care, and he prayed God's blessings on the work that Holt does to relieve suffering in Ethiopia. He did a wonderful job, as usual. But he had tears running down his cheeks through the whole thing, too. My guy is the manliest of men, but he's not shy about expressing his feelings. I love him for that.

The kids enjoyed popcorn and sodas and cake, and we adults watched the coffee ceremony with fascination. We were thrilled that the Holt staff tried so hard to make our daughter's day a very special one.

Traditional Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

HA enjoying some popcorn

HA and his baby sister. Throughout the trip he continually told us how much he loved baby S. However, he was a little unsure about how to relate to her. At one point I told him he should come talk to her and he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Sorry, he replied. " I don't speak baby. I only speak human."

Some more of those precious smiles

Dr. Fikru, baby S, HW, Mike, HA, Brenna, R

We were so impressed with Dr. Fikru. He does an amazing job of caring for the children, and we were thankful that he took extra time out of his busy day earlier in the week to discuss some specific questions we had. In that conversation it became apparent that he loves the children of Ethiopia, and he works very hard to do his best for each child.

Per Holt's instructions, after the ceremony we left baby S with the nannies for a nap (I had worried myself silly over leaving her. Turns out, it was fine, because at that stage she didn't know who in the world we were yet anyway.) Then our travel group went shopping.

We went first to the Leprosy/Tuberculosis Hospital nearby. There we met recovered patients who cannot return to their communities because of stigma, so they live at the hospital and earn a living by weaving beautiful textiles. The work was lovely, and we were amazed to see how it was done. What an education for us in craftsmanship and perseverance. We bought some beautiful things to share and some to keep for baby S.

Next we traveled to a small market. We were repeatedly warned against pickpockets, so we were on the watch. As soon as we stepped out of the van a little boy came alongside me. I was holding HA's hand on the other side, and this handsome little boy walked beside me,  as close to me as he could without really getting into my space. I felt him looking up at me, and when we made eye contact I smiled and he asked, "Mama?" Oh, my heart! It broke into a million pieces looking in that little face.

Here on one side was my son, HA, healthy, educated, warmly dressed, well-fed. And on my other side was this little boy with nothing. Nothing. He was dirty and malnourished and so, so precious to our Lord Jesus. He followed us pretty closely, but the shopkeepers all shooed him away from their doors whenever we entered. He would wait outside then walk along with us to the next shop.  I was a tearful mess for the entire rest of the shopping expedition over that little guy.

We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a strong cloudburst, complete with heavy rain and some small hail. We quickly finished our purchases, and headed back. As we dodged puddles back to the van, I realized this was the last time I'd ever see that little boy and I just had to do something. We'd been instructed not to hand out gifts or birr to beggars, because others might be watching and might rush forward if they saw we were giving.  So, after the kids were safely tucked into the van, I asked Tamrat to give the little boy some Cliff Bars from my backpack. It was woefully inadequate, and I cried some more as we pulled away through the muddy street and left him there. He was just one of the countless Ethiopian children we saw roaming the streets alone, hungry and filthy, and needing help. You can't visit Ethiopia and not feel overwhelmed. The need is so great. I pray for that little boy often.

Journey to Ethiopia - Day Seven

One year ago today: 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Today was the day for our appointment at the U.S. Embassy. Having dined on pizza for supper the previous night at the Addis Ababa Golf Club, we were fueled up and ready to go.

After a morning visit with baby S, the Holt staff prepared us for the visit to the embassy. Grace, a sweet, pretty young lady who works in Holt's office,  told us what we could expect including the strict security and the sort of questions we might be asked at our interview with the consulate. We were so excited, because today was the day we would officially take custody of our precious baby!

After a rest and lunch, we walked over to the Holt office where a taxicab was waiting for us. Holt's trusty driver Dawit was ill and would not be able to escort us. We brought Baby S with us, and Grace coached us along the way to prepare us for the interview questions. She explained that the questions were usually very simple, but that nervous parents sometimes panicked and forgot the answers. After a very thorough security check in a very tiny room where I even had to remove my hair barrette, we were ushered into a downstairs waiting room.

Watching  Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on the waiting room television was surreal. It occurred to us, that we were temporarily on U.S. Soil in a foreign land as we watched our new president take office. Mike remarked to Grace, " Many people in America are very happy today because we have our first black president." Her response? - "It doesn't matter what color he is. What matters is, whether he can do the best job for America." We couldn't have agreed more!

Finally our names were called and Grace led us upstairs. We stood in front of a young man who looked to be a recent college graduate. He was situated in a booth that resembled a movie ticket window. He spoke to us from behind glass and passed official documents to us through a sliding metal tray. He was courteous as he asked about the baby including when we first met her. "Oh no!" Panic set in! Our brains locked up, because we couldn't remember the answer. To be honest, so much had happened in the last few days we weren't really sure we could have answered correctly if he had asked, "What day is it today?" After an excruciating mental scramble to recall the correct answer, Grace whispered a reminder in our direction, "Saturday."


"We met her on Saturday" we proclaimed with relief. College boy began pounding papers with his official rubber stamp and we were done. Our sweet girl had been an absolutely angel the entire morning.

Relieved and happy, we left for the hotel and a well-deserved rest with our family. We thanked God for getting us this far and prayed His blessing on the rest of our life-changing adventure.

R relaxes with baby S in our hotel room

A crib for Baby S. lovingly crafted from our air mattress and suitcases