#1 Ethiopia

details details...

so we left home for Ethiopia on Friday 7/2. fly fly and more fly...

we arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia about 7pm Ethiopia Time. we only had 2 bags and 1 of them was a no show. big bummer, but we manage. everyone said we'd get our bags Monday nite?! crazy God moment happens next...the first person we see after coming out of the secure area in the airport is Sumer Yates (a missionary from our area who just recently moved with her family to Addis to work in Korah- the leper colony). God is so good! we got her phone number and told her we would met up with her later in the week. then it was on to our guest house for a shower and bed!

awoke Sunday morning 7/4 bright and early (like 4am ish...tossed around until 7ish). Met the staff, enjoyed bfast, and the sites and sounds of Ethiopia from the upstairs balcony...poverty, crazy big satelite dishes on shanty homes, dirt and muddy roads, cattle roaming the street, clothes lines, some type of little store, kids playing. people wandering and working...

this would be the day we would meet our daughter. we weren't sure it would happen on Sunday considering this was most of the staff's day off, but it did. around 9:30 am on 7/4/10 we met our Bristol for the first time. words can not explain. the little angel we prayed for was finally forever in our arms. this baby girl who comes from nothing is now ours to love and provide for. i didn't cry like i thought i would. i think i was just so caught up in the moment and checking her out and soaking it all in so i wouldn't forget a thing and the joy was so great...

the nanny just handed her to us with mimimal instructions (she couldn't speak English) about a 6 oz bottle and box of rice cereal and that was it. Bristol didn't cry or fuss...she just came to us and stared at us with a serious expression. we loaded back in the van after some pics and Bristol fell asleep immediately on me. when she awoke she was still just checking us out, we played with her, changed her from the big kid pullup she had on to a diaper, fed her a bottle and the bonding process began..

after our yummy Ethiopian lunch, Bristol goes down for a nap. when she awakes she is a new baby. she was given the label of "serious" from her nanny. well, nope...not anymore. she starts laughing and playing, touching our faces, crawls around a little, responds to name "Bristol", shows us how inquistive she is, and makes us fall more and more in love with her. and a fave thing of mine...the coke in a bottle with every lunch and dinner:)

tidbits from the day...she goes to nap and bed without a hitch. sleeps like a champ! she sits in her highchair and eats her cereal no prob. doesn't cry. shows us her bubbly personality. very busy during- but doesn't mind- diaper changes.

remarkable day. blessed day. emotionally draining day. easy transition.

it honestly couldn't have been any more perfect.
God has answered our prayers.

Bristol is in our arms and it feels so good!