#2 Ethiopia

Monday 7/5/10

Bristol slept all nite our first nite together. Which didn't seem to amaze anyone there, as they say..."Ethiopian baby full belly...sleep all nite." I pulled her into bed with me for her early am bottle and she slept and drank and i dozed. She awoke a bit later smiling. Melt my heart:)



Late yesterday eve my newest Nashville acquaintance, Gina, arrived (yep...crazy stuff...she and i used the same agency, put on the wait list same day, were referred daughters side by side in orphanage , and are now in Ethiopia at same time to get our daughters, AND will actually fly back to Nashville on the same flight)!!!! Gina brought her sister Angie and these ladies were a hoot. So glad we were able to share this time with them!

Gina's precious baby Eden surprised us Monday morn when she showed up with her Nanny at our guest house. I can now say with experience meeting the children you have prayed so long for is beyond amazing.


We also met Tseguy this morning. He is in charge over here and is such an incredible man. He brought phones we could buy and also cardds with minutes. Yeah...we could call our kiddos at home. It had been 3 days since we had talked to them. This was a nice treat!



(me, Bristol, Tseguy, Eden and Gina)



This afternoon we went on a van tour of the city of Addis.

Best description...people (millions...walking all hours of the day...I've never seen so many people just walking the streets) and fumes (disel fumes), taxis everywhere (again -packed with people), lots of honking and cutting off -but yet everyone seems quite cordial about it.

Addis was a city like nothing i had ever seen. Lots of construction started but left undone. Goats and cattle grazing in the median. Homeless, blind beggars, children on the streets. Beautiful people, people in the depths of poverty, genuine and kind hearted people, proud people.


It's hard to describe. I want to go back.












(Just a small remeinder of home...though I don't go to Sally's Beauty Supply at home it was a refreshing reminder)

We enjoyed getting to know our Bristol and her country today.
I want to remember it all for her. Lots of pictures and journaling (thanks Aunt Tiff for the journal back at Christmas time... I saved it just for this!)

A big first for us tonite...Bristol's first bath with me. She did great. Didn't really play but didn't cry. She was just taking it all in.




This would be the nite Joey would go back to the airport to hopefully find our lost bag. We had tried calling the past few days but the line was always busy. Our driver, Fikr, takes him around 7 to the airport to pick up our newest adopting friend, Meg, and to check for our bags. I stay back with Bristol (she's s dreaming in her bed) and of course, w/in 30 mins of him leaving we lose our power. dark. dark. dark. Flashlights are a must. Joey arives several hours later with a story of meeting a man with an incredible heart for God and mission for orphans and with our bag! Praising God...we have clean clothes!

*****

Day #2.. amazing. Each day is so full of blessings.