600mph poopie diaper!

From the beginning, bringing home two unfamiliar infants half way across the world seemed to be the most concerning part of our adventure... and it was. Every day of our trip seemed to be a big day or a big step toward our end goal. Just getting there and finding our ride to our guesthouse/hotel; getting to see our new kids for the first time; meeting with our Ethiopian lawyer to go over the multiple forms and documents to file with the Embassy; filing our papers with the Embassy and paying our fees; singing out our kids from the orphanage and seeing thier cribs and meeting their nannays; actually recieving our kids visas and passports; celebrating the Ethiopian new year; packing up and preparing for the long arduious flight home.
My dredded fears confirmed - the ride home was no fun at all. Camille has been on antibiotics which cause very runny stools. She also can't eat solids for some reason and tends to gag and vomit - put those ingredients in a metal tube with 180 of my fellow humans going 600 mph at 36,000 feet - yeeeha - an experience I shall not soon forget. 5 poopie blowouts between Addis Ababa and Washington DC - thanks to a plastic liner - no clothes had to be disposed of. Camille was not a happy child. She did not sleep more than 15 minutes at a time before she had to change positions in my lap. My knees were up aginst the seat in front of me and the older woman next to me had a terrible cough. They wouldn't let Morgan and I set together due to some 'rule' that a row can't hold more than 1 lap infant at a time - she was only 2 seats away however. I counted 52 hours between sleeping in a bed. with only 15 minute naps between... Exhausted! Then we had to clear customs, immigration and reclaim our luggage - a bueracratic ordeal. Our flight out of DC was delayed 2 hours to add to the fun - that made a 9 hour layover in Dulles airport - but they do have a Chipotle and a Duncan Donuts - I think I could live there for a while. One step at a time and we made it! Camille and Henry are here in America - quite a first birthday for Camille! It was sooo good to see my family at the airport to greet us - Little Maggie went crazy about seeing her morgan once again.
An unexpected joy of the week was meeting some fellow adoptive parents from across the nation with the same hearts for kids - truly some wonderful people - Tom and Annie from Colorado, Travis and Shannon from Michigan, and even from just up our road, the Peoples form Lawrence Kansas.

And now the easy part is over. On to helping our kids to blossom into the Christ centered, serving people they were ment to be.

None of our adventure could have been possible without the help and prayers of so many of you
out there. From the unknown lady in Dulles airport who I talked with and who prayed for my family, to my friends who prayed and supported us, to organizations like Shohanna's Hope foundation and woods chappel church, and Reeces Rainbow, and many many many other folks out there who also have a heart for orphans. I can't thank you all enough - America is full of very good people who care. We took over 3 full suitcases of donations - 135 lbs of items such as ziplock bags, medicine, clothes, toys,vitamens and school supplies. The orphanage workers were so amazed how much we were able to bring over - thank you all!!!! You have made a difference.

There are so many sights and experiences which have changed my preception of our world. How can you not be changed by watching a man butt scoot down the sidewalk in tattered clothes because he is crippled. Men uriniting in public because there are no facilities. People begging for our protien bars through our van windows, goats, sheep and cattle marching down the street in this country's capitol, major intersections without working streetlights, hords of people walking the streets - everywhere... YET the people of Ethiopia are tough and mostly very polite and kind. Our guesthouse staff were great! I did not loose any weight thanks to our Italian trained chef 'Wendy'. The country is not a desert, yet a beautiful country of palm trees, exotic birds, and mild tempratures. I would have loved to stay longer to see some more of the countryside and some of the beginnings of civilization on this earth - now this is the old part of the world. It is my dream to see Camille and perhaps Henry to go back to their homeland and serve the people of Ethiopia and experience the world from which they have come.

I am still Exhausted but excited for the future

May God bless you as he has blessed our country and my family...


Big Dad