The Rest of the story!

Monday Morning in Africa
It is 6 am. After a very good night sleep, I am ready to go! Today we get to bring Meron back to the guest house for the morning. I am so excited to have her all to ourselves for a few hours and see how she is with us in unfamiliar surroundings. We didn’t get to see her yesterday as we traveled south. That was really hard because once we were back, I so wanted to give her some extra hugs and kisses.

I am in love with Africa. It is not an easy place. The level of poverty is mind blowing and has rocked me to my core. However, the spirit here, the tenacity and the genuine love for life are what make it so amazing. I especially love the children. As we traveled south yesterday, our bus was greeted by children in every town we passed through and when we stopped in Hosanna, we were surrounded by children wanting their pictures taken and then to look at them on the camera. I would love to spend more time here actually seeing more of the day to day life. Our trip is very focused and we are definitely catered to, which is hard and helpful all at the same time. I can see so much out the windows of the bus and experience it all from a distance, but would love to have the time to really sit down and talk with people, hear their stories and their dreams, It is because of this that I know I will be back to Africa to do more, to experience more, to learn more. And somehow in my life back home, I will do something for the children of this country, because they have touched me in a way I cannot easily explain.

A little more about Miss Meron. She is so very snuggly and whether or not she has figured out who we are, she is definitely attached. When we have been with her she has wanted to be held and to stare into our faces and touch our hair.(she has loved running her fingers through my hair and rubbing Eric’s beard.) She doesn’t want to explore too far away from us and will scoot to get a toy, but come right back. She LOVES looking outside and waving. We are anxious to take her outside today. We stood by an open window on Sat and she got the sweetest expression and reached out to touch the air, joy all over her face. The only time we have heard her really cry is when we had to put her down to have her diaper changed by the nanny. She didn’t like that one bit! Otherwise she has been very mellow so far. I am sure the other shoe may drop, but it sounds like she has adjusted well so far with her transitions, so we hope this will be the same. We’ll see how today goes, away from the familiar, and just with us. I can’t wait!!

Monday Evening
The morning was a joy! Meron Shita was so fun to be with. We loaded the bus and headed to the care center. When we got there Ato Girma said “Go get them and come right back “ So we headed into the care center. Meron Shita was standing in the first crib by the door and got a huge smile when we walked in! I scooped her up and she snuggled in for a kiss. Then we said goodbye to the nannies and headed outside. She LOVED being outside and giggled and smiled a ton. We loaded back on to the bus and she took her spot on my lap looking out the window. She liked sitting in my lap, looking at dad the best. She was sweet and chatty and very snuggly. We came back and came to our house to bond. It was sooo nice to have her all to ourselves without anyone else around. She was very chatty and playful, and had fun with all the toys. We got her to take a bottle which was a huge relief. We gave her just 4 oz to start so as not to waste any formula. She downed it and wanted more! So dad made another 4 oz which she also downed. She crawled around some and snuggled more. It was a great start! It started to pour rain right about the time we needed to go to the other guest house to eat. We bundled her up in the moby and a rain jacket and hat and headed out. Ato Girma met us with umbrellas. On the quick walk over in the rain, she fell sound asleep. When we got the house, the nannies where waiting there to feed her. They took that sleeping baby and tried their hardest to wake her up…ending up splashing her head and feet with cold water! She did wake up and they quickly fed her her soup. Then it was back on the bus to the care center. As we were leaving, a car pulled up and said they needed Shita for her embassy medical exam, so I handed off an almost asleep child to a nanny who took her away. Kinda strange, but the last time we will have to part.

In the afternoon, we toured the Sipra MCH center. It was amazing to see all they are doing without much to work with. Then we toured the CHSFS school. It is a beautiful schoool and Eric and I made a commitment to send them supplies etc. Then we went to the ET history museum. For a non museum loving girl it was not too exciting, but it was quick. Then we faced a very long drive through insane traffic back to the guest house. After a great dinner of pizza, we came back to our guest house to pack up for tomorrow. We get the kids right away in the am, and then we go to the Embassy. It has been a long time since I packed a diaper bag…but so fun. We cleaned up our room and got all the baby gear arranged…cause tomorrow baby girl is ours!!!

9/15
Didn’t sleep well last night. My brain was torn between home and here. I am really missing the boys today. I need to hug them and inhale their scent. I miss then so very much!

Today I become a mother to 4. WOW! I am looking forward to having the next two days to focus on Meron and figure her out a bit more before we hit 17 hours on a plane together!! It is Embassy this afternoon and then she is ours!!! Can’t wait!

9/16
It is6 am, and I am watching my sweet pink-footie pajama’d girl sleep. She is perfection! Yesterday was a long day, but wonderful all the same! The Good Bye ceremony at the Care Center was wonderful. She was very, very loved! She was brought to us dressed in a traditional dress in blue and white with a big bow on her head. She immediately searched us out andzeroed in as soon as she saw us! She knows we are hers! After the party, it was a quick lunch then off to the Embassy. It was crowded, but went off without a hitch. One more step done! We were able to confirm flights and reserve a bassinet for the way home. that will be a huge help! After all the running around, we came back and just hung out. She pooped out of her first outfit, had a bath, pooded out the next outfit, had a change, then snuggled into sleep. She woke up for a bottle, took it,then fell back asleep and is still sleeping now! Wish I could say the same for myself. I think I heard every wiggle, cough and turn she made all night!

We are hoping to hire a driver later today to go and finish shopping. Can't come home empty handed! We'll prob also start to pack because tomorrow we go home!!!

9/17-Thursday
How can I be so in love already?? Little miss continues to be amazing. We have had a few good cries...she has a horrible diaper rash and diarreah which isn't helping! But, after a few good snuggles she is great. She started saying mama today...she has had daddy down pat since the get go. She is so fun, animated, andsilly. She is going to have so much fun entertaining those boys at home!

We are almost packed. Meskala is ready to clean the room, so we need to move the suitcases out. We are hoping they are all under weight! I am hoping I have enough outfits saved out for little miss...we are big on blow outs! Also seems to have helped that we moved up a size in diapers...thank goodness for the left behinds of other travelers!

This is prob the last post till we are home, then I promise pictures!