Our Amazing Journey to Ethiopia

We have now been home a week, a week! How weird. The wait to bring home Nathan seemed like forever and now it has come and gone and we are settling into our daily routine of life. I am way past due for this post sharing all of our experiences in Ethiopia and our first week with our sweet baby boy.

Saturday - May 23rd:
We spent the day finishing packing, making final arrangements, and getting Austin and Olivia settled in for us to leave. We needed to be at the ATL airport that night at 3:00 am for our Sunday 6:00 am flight to D.C. We decided to just pull an all niter, my poor Mom was recruited to take us to the airport so that included her. :) At 2:30 am we head for the airport, get there in perfect timing, walk up to the United desk and there is a sign saying they don't open until 4:30 am! What!?!? We had been specifically told to be there at 3:00 am by United Arlines. Oh well, we found a table to hang out at for a while and prayed that out entire trip would not have similar bumps. Our United flight was great, especially since I was scared to death it would be a little propeller plane since I knew it was "United Express". The plane was actually very nice and the flight was smooth.



Sunday - May 24th:
We arrive in D.C and get checked in to our Ethiopian Airlines flight with time to spare. We got a bite to eat and waited for boarding to begin. The plane was huge and I started getting butterflies in my stomach just looking at the plane. Wow, we would be on there for 16 hours and flying over the ocean. This was the first time Nick and I had ever been out of the country. We boarded the plane and off we went. We thought for sure we would sleep the majority of the time but nope, we both were wide awake. We did toss and turn through a few hours of sleep somewhere along the way. I don't know if it was trying to sleep sitting up in squishy seats or the excitement of the journey that kept us awake. I was convinced I was getting blood clots in my legs. Half way during the trip we landed in Rome to fuel up. Unfortunately it was dark so we could only see the lights from the city. Bummer... As we approached the continent of Africa the sun started to rise. It was amazing! The horizon turned orange against the black sky and then suddenly the sun peeked over the edge of the earth. It rose over the horizon so fast and looked like a huge red fire ball. It was so beautiful!

Monday - May 25th:We finally arrive in Ethiopia at Bole International Airport at about 9:00 am. The view as we landed was surreal and I choked back tears in awe at the beauty and the thoughts of Nathan waiting for us somewhere out that window. It was then that everything really hit me (tears in my eyes). We were really in Ethiopia and would really be holding Nathan in just a few short hours. Wow, the moment that we had waited almost 16 months for. The airport was nice but very small. I was so nervous; what if we did something wrong, what if we can't find our luggage, what if our driver does not arrive? We get U.S. dollars exchanged to Birr, get our Visa, make it through customs, and thankfully find all of our luggage. As we approach the doors going outside the view was a little overwhelming. There were so many people... Nick spots our driver, the owner of our guesthouse and our good friend Zeyede, whew. We takes us and our luggage to his van, a few young men come up and eagerly help put our luggage into the van and then turn for a tip. I later find out I tipped too low. :(
We arrive at our guesthouse, Melkam, which was in a nicer part of Addis. The house was surrounded by a large concrete wall topped with barbed wire and a large metal door with a guard posted there 24 hours a day. All of the nicer homes in Addis have walls around them and metal gates with guards. You will have small shacks nestled between these homes. After we settled into our room we walked with Zeyede onto the streets and to a little coffee shop were he treated us to a famous cup of Ethiopian coffee. The House of Hope driver was due to pick is up at about 2:30 pm to go meet Nathan. As we eagerly waited in our room I started feeling nauseous from being so nervous and excited. Tesfu, the HOH driver, arrived right on time and drove us through the busy streets to the HOH. That drive was quite an experience. This took us through some of the most poverty stricken areas of Addis. Small shacks made of sheet metal held together with sticks, mud, and wire were everywhere. They seemed to be connected to each other sharing walls. Thousands of people were on the streets walking, sitting, or working. Cars EVERYWHERE! There are no street lights, stop signs, or even lines to keep traffic separated. There are lots of blue and white taxis busting at the seams with people. Cattle, sheep, goats, and donkeys freely walk the streets as if they know where they are going. We came close to hitting a cow, 30 people, and 50 cars while on the way to the HOH. You basically close your eyes and pray you make it there in one piece. Cars honk at each other constantly, but not to be mean, just to let other cars know they are there. People walk right in front of vehicles and come within inches of being hit and don't even flinch. The sights, sounds, and smells while driving through Addis are something I will never forget and I will share more later.






After driving down a bumpy dirt road we arrive at the HOH gates, I don't think I was even breathing at this point. We are here! Nathan is here! The gates open and there are lines of laundry, kids clothing, and cloth diapers hung out to dry. We are led into Teseguy's office, he is the director for our agency and the HOH in Ethiopia Teseguy is very nice and it amazes me how he knows even the smallest details about each and every child. There were about 56 children there at that time. I felt uneasy and unsure of how the events will unfold. Then he tells me his wife Almaz has gone to get Nathan or "Naty" as they called him. Then she appears in the door with him. I don't even know how to put into words that first time seeing him (sniff). Amazing... He was a chunky, healthy, little boy not the scrawny, malnourished, tiny baby we had expected. He have us his big, gummy, grin and came right to us. I held him and kissed him and was in absolute disbelief that I was really holding him. I felt instantly bonded to him. He was very relaxed with us, he would stare at our faces, smile, and coo at us. I felt like he knew Mommy and Daddy were finally there. After spending a few minutes with him Almaz gave us a can of formula, feeding instructions, and said we could go to the HOH guesthouse where we would be more comfortable to spend time with him. What? That was it? Do I need to like sign him out or something? It was so weird, they hand him over with a can of formula and he is all ours! He seemed a little zoned out in the car and falls asleep in Nick's arms soon after arriving at the HOH guesthouse. After his nap we changed his clothes so we could return the outfit for them to use with other babies. He was in a Mickey Mouse Baseball outfit, I got that off and he had a toddler size Batman muscle tee underneath. It was so cute! :) Wow, he had rolls everywhere and his 6-9 months clothing fit great! Not what I had expected. At dinner that night we met another family; Lorrie, her sister Sherry, and baby Elias. Nathan was very quiet at dinner and just starred at everyone. We returned to our guesthouse and once alone with Nathan he seemed to really open up and show his true personality. He smiled, laughed, and screeched in excitement. We had a sleepless first night. There was constant music from a nearby night club and it was noisy both outside and inside at all hours of the night. Nathan was a little restless as well and woke up numerous times through out the night.




Nathan is awake from his nap now and I am taking the kids to the movies today. I will resume this post on our trip shortly! :)