let's be honest...

at this point i don't remember much of day 4 & 5. i had typed out lengthy, detailed emails to family and friends for both days, but the internet cut out when i was ready to hit send and for some reason the email didn't save to my drafts. so, i gave up. i do know that we went to the orphanage both days. thursday we had to pick up levi's passport and visa. and since the nannies are there different days, i wanted them to all have the chance to tell levi bye. and i wanted the chance to tell them thank you for taking such good care of my baby boy. i cried both days as we were leaving. jason made fun of me. but what's new? :) we did take danny out to lunch on friday at Top View. i highly recommend this restaurant if you're ever in Addis. we ate there twice. really good food with a really good view. 

with our favorite nanny

with our second favorite nanny

lunch with Danny, Levi slept the whole time!

the view from Top View

the staff at the orphanage

side note: i am a blog stalker. i usually stalk silently, meaning i read blogs and never "follow" and never comment. however, i did find a blog and emailed the girl because i thought her agency used my agency and was hoping for a chance at more pictures of Levi when she traveled for court. come to find out, her agency uses a different agency now, but we stayed in contact...and ended up having the same embassy appointments. we met at the airport in DC and saw each other at the embassy and then hung out at the airport in Addis before boarding our flight. it was such a treat to meet a blog friend and make that connection. (shout out to Lesli!!) 

anyway, back to our flight. it went as well as could be expected. levi did sleep. and he slept for a while in the bassinet, but really he preferred to be held. all in all the flight was 17 hours...with a pit stop in rome for fuel. it was pretty miserable. my entire body hurt. i was hungry. and tired from not sleeping. but we made it. our good friend nick picked us up in DC and took us back to their house for a nice hot breakfast and a wonderful visit. can i just say how much i love the Fiore's. it was nice to wash my face, change my clothes, and let Levi crawl around on the floor before heading back to the airport for two more flights. 

the next two flights went well. levi slept almost the entire second flight and stayed asleep until we boarded our final flight. that flight was miserable. levi was cranky. we were in the back. the flight attendant was cranky. levi pee'd on us. but, we made it. and were welcomed home by many friends. more on that tomorrow. this is long enough. :)

Day 3

Hi! We had a fun night...Levi was up several times. I'm not sure what the deal was but we are very tired today. He woke up for his normal nighttime bottle and then woke up around 2. He woke up around 4 also, and it was much harder to get him to go back to sleep. I had to stand
and rock him. Every time I tried to sit on the bed he would cry. I am longing for the glider at home in the nursery!! He woke once more at 5 and finally fell asleep on mommy...and we all slept until 7:30.

Some very generous friends gave us money to use while we were here to help out where needed. Jason and I thought it best that I stay here at the guest house this morning while he and Danny, our driver did the shopping. It worked out very well. Jason left around 9 and I gave Levi a bath. The owner of the guest house gave us a baby bathtub last night...which is MUCH better than using the little bity sink we have in our bathroom. He LOVED his bath. He smiled and laughed and wiggled the whole time. After his bath, I fed him some cereal and fruit, which
he chowed down. We are determined to make him a fat baby!! The whole staff at the guest house tells us he is not strong. :) They tell us everyday that he will be better once we get him to America! After eating, Levi and I went downstairs to hang out while they cleaned our
room. Fun fact...while changing Levi's diaper in the middle of the night, our bed (on my side) became soaked with pee. YAY!!! I slept the rest of the night on top of the covers. :) The guest house has a living room and so we hung out there and chatted with a german family. They are very nice. At one point they told their 3 year old son that our baby is now a Texas boy...which is appropriate because his outfit today had a tractor on it! Once the room was clean, we went back upstairs and both us took a big nap! We woke up right before Jason and Danny got back. We went to lunch at a great restaurant with an awesome view of Addis...but of course we left our camera at the guest house. Ethiopians LOVE their babies. One of the waiters took Levi from us so that we could eat. I've learned that its typical...the staff always hold him for us at the guest house during dinner. After lunch, we stopped by the store to get a few more things for the orphanage. We were able to buy several things off the list that the staff at Hope gave us. They are sooooo grateful. They told our driver that we are awesome people...and they said to thank our friends very much. You know who you are...so thank you!!! One of the things on their list was a vacuum, but it came without the hose. Jason and Danny went back to
get it while Levi stayed and hung out with the other babies. It has been much colder than we anticipated and has rained on and off everyday. We are now back at the guest house. We are hanging out in the room until dinner, and then I'm sure its early to bed for this tired family!!

Overall Levi has been a super great baby. I'm amazed at how calm he is and easy going. I'm so thankful for that. He is almost crawling...he kind of does an inch worm thing which is adorable. And I'm amazed at what a great daddy Jason is. He is helpful (except the time when Levi woke up at 4 and 5) which is ok...he needs his sleep too. He has changed every poopy diaper so far. And lights up when Levi smiles at him. I love watching them together. :)

Tomorrow we will pick up Levi's passport and visa. Carrie pointed out that I should have said the last biggest hurdle will be the 30 hour trip home. She was right!! I am dreading that first flight. 17.5 hours will be awful. For all three of us.

Thanks for the prayers and we're looking forward to seeing everyone soon! I heard about a little airport party...we are excited to see you all!! :)

much love,
Lindsay

Day 2

So, first things first, there is an issue with our embassy date. please pray now that it will get resolved. A guy from our agency showed up at the guest house this morning to tell me that they took our payment to the embassy and the embassy said we weren't scheduled for today and that they never sent the email. Luckily, they've already called the director in St. Louis, and he has already emailed the proof. We plan on showing up at the embassy anyway, so pray that it gets resolved quickly.

In other news, we had a great night last night. We ate dinner and then went back upstairs and fed Levi some baby food, which he ate like a champ. We got him ready for bed and he fell asleep so easily. He did finally cry yesterday...but its the sweetest little cry you've ever heard. It was soft and sweet and he was frustrated. The nurse at the orphanage wrote his current schedule down for me and it said that they put the babies to bed at 6:30 and then they get a bottle at 10:30. He went to bed around 7:30 and woke up around 11, took a bottle, and went right back to sleep. He woke up around 6:30 this morning, happy as he could be. He is sick...so pray that he gets better. The owner of the guest house suggested we take him to a doctor before we leave. I am going to talk the nurse today. He is congested, has a little cough, and a runny nose. But, all the babies were that way yesterday at the orphanage. He was only getting 2 bottles a day at the orphanage, so we've changed that. He's still the same size as when we were here in January. But, he can put weight on his little legs now!! We gave him a bottle this morning, went to breakfast, then went back up to the room. He had a lovely poopy diaper, which Jason changed because I was gagging. Rookie mom...give me a break. We got the new diaper on, and then he pooped again. He is now sleeping. I don't think he feels well and other parents have warned me that they sense a huge change and are sometimes just this way. But, overall, he's very happy and content. Jason and I both slept well last night. We went to bed right after Levi. I got up with him at 11 and did the bottle, but went right back to sleep. I did wake up around 2 and had trouble falling back asleep. But, all in all, it was a great night. We love just staring at him, listening to his sweet baby sounds, and admiring what a precious gift God has given us. I think its safe to say we're obsessed. :)

I will try to email again tonight to let you know how the embassy turned out. I'm not super worried at this point because we have the email proving that we have a date.

Thanks for the prayers and well wishes. 
***
update:
Hey! We cleared the Embassy!!! We arrived early at the embassy and our agency had already cleared things up. We were interviewed and then he said, congrats! We will pick up his passport and visa Thursday morning. We are so relieved. :) We had a great day. We took our agency rep out to lunch after the Embassy appointment and then spent some time at Hope. Jason is in dire need of diet coke, and after we left Hope, we spent an hour driving around trying to find "coca cola light" but did not find it. We came back, fed Levi and then ate dinner. We are the only americans at our guest house this time and we are enjoying talking with the germans. Jason is giving Levi a bottle and then we're all off to bed. Levi got a good nap this morning, but then never really napped this afternoon. You would think he would be fussy...but not one cry. He's such a good baby!!

Thanks for praying. The last hurdle is to actually get the passport
and visa in our hands. We are looking forward to getting home and
getting settled.

ready to head to the embassy appointment

 a series of pictures capturing Levi's personality:

trip recap: Day 1

Hello from Ethiopia!
We arrived safely this morning around 8:00 Ethiopia time. Wow...we were tired, hungry, and crabby. We had a 6 hour layover Sunday morning in Washington DC, so our wonderful friends, The Fiore's, graciously picked us up and took us to their house. They used to be stationed in El Paso and moved almost a year ago. It was soooo great to see them.
And great to leave the airport and have real food too. :)

Our flight from DC to Ethiopia was long and uneventful. We were able to score bulkhead seats which means there was no one sitting in front of us and we had extra leg room. Neither one of us slept very well and the flight seemed never-ending. We made it through customs and got our visas fairly quickly and then headed to our guest house. Its amazing how the smells and sights of Ethiopia greeted us the second we stepped out of the airport...it was like we never left. We checked into our guest house and called Hope. They did not answer and since we were both starving, we left for lunch shortly after getting showers. We finally made our way to Hope at 1:00 this afternoon. Levi is forever in our arms!!! What a great feeling!!! His hair has grown a lot since we were here last time. 

 

We met two other families and exchanged info with them. We did our paperwork at the Hope office for tomorrow's Embassy appointment and paid a few fees. We ended our day at Hope with a coffee ceremony with the other family. I loved our time there but was anxious to get Levi to the guest house. Jason and I both are running on fumes. Which is why this email is so choppy. I'm forcing myself to stay awake for dinner and then hopefully we'll get some good sleep tonight. I was a little emotional driving back to the guest house with Levi...I kept thinking...this is really it!!! We've been back for about 2 hours and have successfully given Levi a bath, a bottle and a nap. I'd say we're off to a good start. :) Tomorrow is the embassy appointment and after talking with one of the families today, who had their appointment this morning, I'm not worried.

I can't hardly see to type this email, so I'll let you go. The bottom line is we made it and Levi is with us forever!!!  A great day for the Glover family. :)

home

well, we've been home since saturday. levi is napping so i'm taking advantage of some me time. although, as soon as i finish this post i need to fold laundry and mop the floor.

how are we doing? hanging in there. not because he's a bad baby but because I. AM. TIRED. wow! i think i'm over the jet-lag and he has slept all night 2 nights this week. so i don't really have a good excuse, but man am i tired. i guess its because there is a really cute little guy who needs me all day long. :) all things considered, Levi is doing great. people keep asking me how he's adjusting...but its really hard to tell. i think he's doing ok. he seems to still be that same happy baby we met in Ethiopia. he does want to be held all day long. but, i see that as a sign of attachment and maybe he's making up for lost time of being on his own. i don't know...i try to not pick him up every time he cries. he is sometimes content in his exersaucer, but not for too long. and sometimes he's ok in his high chair if he has things to play with. but again, not for too long. its hard to get things done unless he is napping. yesterday i came to the realization, that he isn't being a bad baby...i was just overly tired and out of my normal routine. plus, we came home to water damage. the hot water heater boiler (or something) busted while we were gone and the house smelled like mildew and there was water damage throughout our kitchen/hall bathroom/dining room. housing was able to come out and make the repairs on sunday afternoon, but they sent a cleaning service to dry up the water. that meant for the last 5 days we've had big blowers everywhere. that didn't help my mood. i like for my house to be clean and orderly for the most part. but, the blowers and repairmen in and out kept me from being able to clean. the guy finally came yesterday and picked up the blowers and i was able to mop! i hate mopping...but i felt SO much better after i had a clean floor and peace and quiet. those blowers are LOUD. so we're adjusting and getting used to our new routine. Levi is a cutie and we are in love with him. i feel bad for taking my frustrations with jet-lag and the water issues out on him. i probably gave some people the impression that he's a bad baby. he's not. i was just a mommy with a bad attitude. but...things are looking up!!

in other news: we took him to the doctor yesterday. i was anxious to get him checked out by a doctor here. he of course pooped on the way there and i had to change his diaper in the car. but, he was so good at the doctor's office. he babbled, smiled, and showed off for the nurses and the doctor. his scabies are all cleared up. he does have an ear infection now. and his congestion that he had when we got him from Hope is much better. he weighs 14.8 pounds. he is 25.6 inches long. and i forget how big his head is. he is under the 5th percentile in every category. the doctor was not worried and neither are we. he loves to eat and i'm sure will catch up in no time.

hopefully, i'll be able to post about the trip soon. i just wanted to recap how things were going since we've been home. our lives have changed big time, but we are loving every minute. he's such a sweet baby and his smile melts my heart. :)

the blowers

in the exersaucer. and yes. he got a haircut. jason cut it a couple of days ago. 

breakfast his first morning at home

headed to church on our first full day home. we were up, we figured we might as well go to church!

tomorrow!!

i can't believe we leave tomorrow!! i have surprisingly not stressed out for this trip like i did for the last one. maybe because i was so focused on jason getting leave approved. btw, we have a signed leave form!! there are lots of last minute things to do today. mostly pack. i know, we leave tomorrow. but i do better at packing last minute. i already have some things laid out. jeans are in the washer. and i never fully unpacked from the last trip. basically, anything besides clothing stayed in the suitcase. i need to check the amounts of shampoo and whatnot, but for the most part, that little stuff is taken care of. everything i need for levi is out, folded, and ready to go into the suitcase. i have struggled with how much to take for him. i tend to overpack, but this time, i think its a good thing to overdo it a little.

even though we are leaving tomorrow, i still don't know if it has totally sunk in yet. i mean, in 3 days, levi biniam will be with us...forever! everything about our life is going to change. obviously for the better! i am so stinkin' excited to see his precious little face again. i look at the pictures from our last trip everyday. i watch the videos everyday. but, i can't wait until he's IN my arms. i often think about what that moment will be like. however it ends up going, i know it will be AMAZING.

so, Levi Biniam, momma and daddy are coming for you!! we love you and cannot wait to see you and love on you. and bring you home. forever!! your little world is about to be rocked. and so is our's. we can't wait!! 

not gonna get me down

so, it's wednesday. our issue with Jason being cleared to leave isn't totally resolved. i'll save you from the details and from me speaking badly of commanders and the army. the bottom line is that we have verbal confirmation that Jason can leave. we will believe it when we have a signed leave form. all i can say is i am thankful for friends who are there to help and to encourage and to hug. one thing i will say about the army is it is family. living 19 hours away from family definitely has its down side, BUT, the friends i've made here are as good as family. one friend today told me that Satan is trying to steal my joy. and until she said it, i had never really thought about it. i just let him steal it. it helps knowing that things are looking up. but, i'm changing my perspective and focusing on this sweet face:

Add caption

in all the stress of worrying about Jason getting to go and booking flights and confirming flights and worrying about Jason getting to go, (did I already say that?) I lost sight of what is really important. in 3 days, we are on a flight to go pick up our precious baby boy. on Monday, Levi will be FOREVER in our arms. we are not leaving him there this time. he is coming HOME!!! i don't know about you, but that makes me smile. :) 

our travel agency called me today to tell me that when he was trying to do our seat assignments, he discovered our flight was full. we had held off booking the flights until yesterday, because we were unsure of Jason's leave status. and, these flights aren't cheap! so, we are now leaving on saturday, which puts us there monday morning. i was trying to avoid arriving the day before our embassy appointment, but maybe this is the way is was meant to be. it does work out better for Jason's work situation. i'm still waiting on a total confirmation that those flights are booked. i have had a headache for 3 days now...i wonder why. 

but...there i go again. shame on me. I know that God is in control and for whatever reason, I am needing to learn that lesson. Satan will not get this victory...it belongs to Jesus! 

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

drama & weekend recap

well, here we are, 4 days away from leaving. our flights at this point are just reservations. why? because Jason's commander told him he can't go. he's in a new unit and when we found out friday that we had our embassy appointment, he went straight to the S2 to ask for leave. (in my opinion, the army sometimes has too much control on personal matters) anyway. its a long story and not very exciting. today is monday. we still don't have a definite answer. jason spent his entire day tracking down higher-ups, trying to get approval. the brigade commander said yes, as long as the brigade S2 says yes. we're still waiting to hear that final yes. i called our travel agent this afternoon and told him the deal...he said we could hold off on payment until tomorrow morning. it's just cutting it a little too close for me!

in other news, we had a low key weekend. jason helped out with a work day for church on saturday, and i organized, did laundry, and got most of levi's stuff set out to pack. saturday night we went out to dinner with our friends, Pace & Emily. sunday was church and a church baby shower. we had a great time! yes, i said we! all the men were there too. it was a small, intimate group, but i think even the guys had fun. levi is already spoiled rotten! 

i've been making lists like crazy. thinking of all kinds of weird things that we need to do. for instance, we need to put the car seat in the car. :) some how i remembered to call the dog sitter this morning, and she is looking forward to keeping rudy. i did a target run today. there were so many little things i needed: a bottle brush, formula dispenser, pacifier (just in case we need it on the plane), extra bibs, vitamins (because i ran out of mine), dog biscuits, toothpaste, etc. 

i don't know if it has really sunk in yet. i find myself thinking about how levi constantly. has he grown since we saw him last? will he sleep through the night? how will the flight home be? and then other times i find myself thinking about what it will be like once we're home. getting ready for church on sunday mornings will be so different than it is now. i am beyond excited to bring my baby home. i know that life is about to change big time for us...but we're ready for it. we've waited a long time for this. 

hopefully i survive this week. i think the suitcases with the donations for the orphanage are mostly packed. i just need to pack for us. levi's stuff is all laid out, i just need to put it in his suitcase!!

that's all for now. a bunch of random rambling. i can't really focus on one thing for too long these days...

what i can focus on...is i'm gonna see my baby SOON!!! 

We have a date!!

I got an email early this morning...we have an embassy date of March 15. :) I have a mix of emotions right now!! We are in the process of booking flights, guest house, etc. I will update when things settle down a bit.

Levi, momma is coming for you!!! 

WHAT?!?! We're clear?!?!

We received news this morning that WE ARE CLEARED by the US Embassy!!! I almost fell out of my chair when I saw the email. I am still shocked. It happened so much more quickly than I thought. We officially passed court only 3 weeks ago. Our agency director said he needed our choices for them to schedule an interview. Jason and I kind of laughed...we were like duh...as soon as we can possibly get it. :) He told us next week is already booked, so we asked for the following week. I am hoping that we hear something tomorrow morning. If we can get an interview for the week of the 14th, we could be leaving as early as next weekend. CRAZY!!!

I went to the gym and pounded out a little over 4 miles on the treadmill...I guess I was going on adrenaline. :)  While I was running, I couldn't help but think about how our baby is FINALLY coming home. Oh how we have longed for the day he will be in our arms FOREVER. It's weird that we are almost to the finish line when I think back to when we first started this race. And I can look back and see God's hand in it all. He has chosen the perfect child for us and the perfect time to bring him home...and that happens to be very soon!!!

I think it will really sink in when we know our actual interview date and can make our flight arrangements. I have a feeling that I'm in for a sleepless night, praying that we wake up to a date.

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."  

Psalm 107:1

the wait continues...

For several days now I have thought about a new blog post...and then sit down to do it and nothing comes out. Nothing ever seems worthy of blogging about. I am struggling. I'm not good at waiting. I have good days and bad days. Or maybe I should say good times and bad times. But, that's how it is with anything that you're waiting for. I've been trying to get things done. Clothes are washed and put away. The nursery is coming along. I go up there a lot...and just look around. Sometimes I move something to a different shelf. Sometimes I refold the clothes. The other day, I went in and sat down in the glider and cried. There is a longing for my baby that is hard to describe. Rudy followed me up there and wanted to sit on my lap. So I rocked the dog...longing for the day I can rock my baby boy.

I'm no stranger to waiting and longing. This time last year we were closing in on a year long deployment. There were days that I just wanted to throw a fit. I was tired of sleeping alone. I was tired and being in a quiet house all by myself. Tired of eating cereal for dinner. Tired of hearing civilian friends complain that their husband was gone for 2 days. Tired of talking to my husband through a computer. But, low and behold, the day finally came. He was home! In my arms! Eating dinner with me! Going to sleep with me! Talking to me face to face!

So now, as I stare at pictures of sweet Levi...I am reminded that this too shall pass. 

the reason

Right before our trip to Ethiopia, our pastor at church asked us to stand up and talk about our adoption. Jason was preaching that day, so he kindly let me do the adoption talk. The last thing he said to me was, "just don't cry." HA! I think I cried through the whole thing. But, knowing that I would cry, I typed it out so that I didn't babble and would still make sense.

Here is what I said...

So, why adopt? It kind of goes back to Manuel’s message last week when he was talking about the value of human life. Jason and I have talked about adopting since before we got married. But, its not just a way to expand our family. We don’t have any biological children and don’t know that we can’t. But, it’s about saving a life. Its about giving a child a chance. A future.

John Piper did a sermon on adoption, and someone recently read part of it to me. I think it sums up a lot of our view of adoption perfectly.

He starts with Ephesians 1:1-6. I’m gonna skip ahead to verses 5 & 6. In love, he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

I think first and foremost our desire to adopt comes from the fact that we ourselves have been adopted by Christ.  Without this reality we would have no hope or future in this life. 

This sort of leads in to one of the implications he gives for adopting children…which is that we adopt a child for God’s glory, not our own. And that’s where we are. Jason and I want to bring a child into a covenant family and to share our faith with him. To give him hope and a future in the same way that God has given us those things. He will obviously not be ours biologically but, we hope that this will  serve as a testimony that God didn’t adopt us according to the color of our skin or any thing else that he could have seen in us but because he loved us.

today was the second court date...

WE PASSED!!!

We are so so so happy!! Jason told me I can now legitimately call him daddy. :)

God is so good. And now there is one less orphan in this world.

Psalm 7:17 -- I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness

And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Showered with love

Once a month the Chaplain Wives get together for a coffee. A coffee is a military tradition, usually for the wives. Its pretty much a social event. Most units have regular coffees, although our's does not. But, the Chaplain Wives have one every month. Its a great time of fellowship, food, and laughs. We take turns hosting the monthly event. Last month it was a baby shower for me!!! My good friend, Carrie, hosted it at her house. It was simple and low key...and perfect. She had just the right amount of decorations. The perfect assortment of food. And read the most touching sermon about adoption. I was crying before I ever started opening gifts. I was so blessed by the wonderful group of Chaplain Wives at Ft. Bliss. 

The Last Day

Our last day arrived way too quickly. Our flight was at 11:45 Saturday night but we had to check out of our room at noon. Knowing it would be many, many hours before we would shower again, we decided to not rush around Saturday morning. We slept in the best we could, went to breakfast and then packed up our stuff. After getting ready, we checked out of our room. The guest house let us keep our suitcases there instead of lugging them around with us. Knowing that Levi typically napped at this time, we ventured out to the mercato. We wanted to stock up the orphanage with formula and although Danny said there were other places to buy it, he wanted up to experience the mercato. And an experience it was! There aren't really words to describe it. There were people everywhere. Stores everywhere. Cars everywhere. And there didn't really seem to be any order. I have no idea how Danny found a store that sold baby formula, but he did. After some negotiating by Danny, we were able to buy the formula and make our way back to the car. I have to admit, this was the only time I really felt unsafe while we were in Ethiopia. Danny had warned us to watch ourselves and our pockets because if anything would happen, it would be here. I followed closely behind him, with Jason right behind me. Of course, Jason said he was instantly in mission mode. I guess his time in the Army has paid off. At any rate, I was very happy to be back in the car. On our way back to the transition home, we stopped at Kaldi's. This time I had an iced caramel macchiato. They loaded up on the caramel...it was awesome. 


Finally it was time to head over to Hope. I'm pretty sure I cried the entire way there knowing this was going to be our last visit with Levi. Actually, I had cried several times throughout the day thinking about leaving him. Anyway, we arrived at Hope to find our sweet little Levi still sleeping. After waiting what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only 15 or 20 minutes, he woke up. We spent the rest of the afternoon with him. It's funny how quickly the hours pass when you're trying to savor every minute with your sweet little baby. For the most part, we just sat there playing with him and loving on him. I tried to not let myself think about every minute that passed by was one minute closer to saying bye. Occasionally I would tear up and Jason would put his arm around me and silently let me know he was feeling the same way. I did my best to enjoy the last moments and tried to remain happy. We were there for a couple of hours and not once did he fuss or cry. After we fed him his bowl of cereal, we headed outside to enjoy some fresh air. Jason played soccer with the older kids, while Levi and I watched. He loves to be outside and he loves watching the older kids play. The older kids love him too. They were constantly running over to us and tickling his tummy or touching his face. Eventually the gate guard told us Danny was back to pick us up. This time I couldn't stop the tears. They were streaming down my face. Jason put his arms around us and we stood there for several minutes in a little family group hug. He told me that it was probably easiest to just hand him over to the nannies and leave quickly. Easier said than done. I did finally hand him over which is one of the hardest things I've done. I noticed the nanny was crying too. UGH! Anyway, we climbed into the car and drove in silence back to the guest house. 


We had such a wonderful time getting to know our son and loving on him. I am in awe that God chose us to be sweet Biniam's parents. I feel so blessed that we have the privilege of raising him and pray that we can be the best parents we can be. We take the calling of raising children seriously and will always try our hardest to be Godly parents to Levi Biniam. 


After loading our suitcases into Danny's car, we made our way through the guest house saying bye to the staff and other families. The guest house was such a wonderful experience. The staff was awesome and we got to know other adoptive families pretty well. I think there were 10 other families staying there. There was only one other American family and she was with our agency. It was such a blessing to spend time with Jennifer and her kids. She was there for Embassy. Her husband came in November for court, so it was just her and the kids. I really enjoyed spending time with her and sharing stories. We ended up eating most of our meals together at the guest house, exchanged info, and cried when we hugged bye. 


Finally we made it to the airport. We were really early, but there was no where else for us to go. We said our goodbyes to Danny and I got teary eyed again. He was such a great driver and we hope to use him again next time. We're already friends on facebook!  


After over 30 hours of traveling, we made it home. 


Thank you for following us on this journey.

We love you all so much.


ps. I hate reading super long posts and seeing no pictures. so, I've included a few pictures of Ethiopia. Hopefully in 5 more days I'll be able to share pictures of Levi!

a random donkey...its not uncommon to pass donkeys or goats as you're driving through the city

looking out of the kitchen at the guest house

a view of the yard at the orphanage

flowers from a tree outside of Levi's room

the sweet gate guard at the orphanage

Day 3: Court

Hi again,
Well...today was court...we did not officially pass. It was a long morning, with many tears and lots of frustration. We arrived at court at 9 and there were tons of other families waiting too. We stood around waiting for them to call us. I've heard you can wait up to 3 hours but we were called back fairly quickly. The judge speaks to the birth family first and then us. She asked us a few questions and I thought she was going to say, ok he's your's. But...she didn't. She said, well that's what I want to hear and then mumbled something else and we were escorted out of the room by our agency rep. It turns out our MOWA letter wasn't there yet. So, we waited for 2 more hours. Then our rep told us that MOWA was very busy and they couldn't do our letter today. Our rep doesn't speak english very well so it was very confusing. We took our driver with us to help translate and it was still confusing. So, after all that, we haven't officially passed court and we now have a second court date. Its not until February 9. :( I am disappointed and frustrated but its not really anyone's fault, I don't guess. The MOWA letter seems to be the biggest issues for families not passing court. ( MOWA (Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs of Ethiopia) must submit a letter to court saying that everything is in order for your adoption. They have had a difficult time getting the letters to court on time, as was the case with us...it is not a reflection of our particular case and we will get our letter eventually...it's just not ready yet.) It was hard though because while we waited we watched many other families walk out of the judge's office happy because they had passed. The other major hard thing about today was meeting Levi's birth mom. We got some information about her the other day, but it was incredibly emotional meeting her. I found myself staring at her, wanting to remember as much about her as I could. I could tell she was uncomfortable though. She does not speak amharic, which is the main language in ET. She had a translator with her, but I didn't realize all of this until we were back in our car. I thought the woman with her was her mother. So, it was a little like playing telephone. I would ask Danny to tell her something, he would tell her translator, who would then tell her. Who knows what she was actually hearing. We did take a picture with her and I hugged her. More like held her. I was almost to the point of sobbing and she began crying too. I heard that Ethiopians don't like to show emotion, especially in public, so I'm sure this was hard for her too. All in all, it was emotional and painful. But, I'm grateful for the chance to have met her and hopefully she knows how much Jason and I already love her precious baby boy.

After court, we went to lunch. Our driver has gone home everyday for lunch, but today he let us to take him out. We were on our way back to Hope to hang out with Levi and I was craving Starbucks. :) We passed a Kaldi's, so Danny pulled in. Kaldi's is very similar to Starbucks...they even wear the green aprons. The coffee is amazing in Ethiopia.  After that we went back to the orphanage to see Levi. He was sleeping when we got there so we hung out for a while and played with some of the older kids. It's so nice to love on them too.
Levi woke up a happy little guy. He really is the calmest baby I've ever seen. He is so pleasant and easy going. (I know I keep saying that, but its true!) We had a really great visit with him. We were able to talk with the nurse about him and get some more information. She was really nice and showed me what they feed them. She also answered a few medical questions I had. The staff prepared a coffee ceremony for us. This consists of coffee and popcorn, both are amazing.  We also got to feed Levi a "snack." This time it was green...but smelled like mashed up bananas. We were sitting outside and all of the older kids were hanging around. We brought a little photo album for Levi and the older kids loved looking at our picture and then pointing at us. Shortly after we finished the coffee, Levi had a blowout diaper on Jason! As always, its hard to say bye to him and I cry thinking about how tomorrow is our last day with him.

I think overall, Jason and I are diappointed that we go home tomorrow night not knowing for sure that we will pass court. But, we know its in God's hands and that He is bigger than this problem. We will just have to wait a little bit longer...

There is someone waiting for the computer...she keeps coming in asking if I'm almost done, so I better wrap this up. It takes almost 20 minutes to type this email because the keyboard is broken. :)

I don't know if we'll get to email tomorrow. Our flight leaves late tomorrow night, but we have to check out of the guest house at noon. We'll spend most of our day with Levi. Pray for us as we tell him bye. The next time you hear from us, we should be back in El Paso. Thanks for your prayers and thank you all for your love and support.

Lindsay and Jason

Day 2: spending time with Levi and a traditional meal out!

Hey!

We are back at the guest house and waiting for dinner. Jason isn't sleeping...he's just resting his eyes, so I thought I'd send a little email while the computer was free. Today was a great day. We hung out with our cute little man this morning and again later this afternoon. He is such a sweet baby. We got there this morning during bottle time, so we were able to finish giving him his bottle. He is so happy and sweet and we love him to pieces. We take turns holding him and I hate when I have to hand him over to Jason! Another family from our guest house was at the transition home while we were there so they joined us for lunch. Our driver had his own lunch plans so he dropped us off at a little restaurant down the street from the guest house. The other family is from Ohio and have been such a blessing to be with. Its just the mom and the two kids they're adopting. The little girl is 8 and speaks english very well because she spent a lot of time with some missionaries. She was a huge help to us while ordering our food. It was a traditional Ethiopian meal but I'm not sure exactly what it was. It was a fun experience, that's for sure!! After lunch we had our driver take us to do some shopping. That was a crazy experience too! It was a little overwhelming to be honest with you. There are always people following us asking for money. And the shop owners jack up the prices because we are American. Luckily, Danny is there to help us out. He gets them to come down on their prices and tells us if its a good deal or not. He's very helpful and trustworthy. After that we went back to spend time with Levi. He was napping when we got there and he is soooooo cute when he's sleeping! Luckily he woke up right away. He was again, so happy!! I know I say that a lot, but he's seriously such a happy little guy. I'm amazed a what a good baby he is. I think I was afraid he'd cry the whole time and we wouldn't know what to do!! We played for awhile and just enjoyed being a cute little family of 3!! It's funny how I could just sit and stare at him for hours. One of the nannies brought in some kind of food for all of the babies so we were able to feed him. I have no idea what it was but it smelled like white gravy! He actually ate the whole bowl, which seemed huge to me, and this was the first time we have seen/heard him cry or get mad. Apparently we weren't feeding him fast enough. :) The nanny looked over and said, faster! We managed to feed him and not get too much food on him. But, I'm a real mom now because I'm wearing my son's drool and baby food all over MY shirt! As always, the time comes to leave. I hate saying goodbye to him and miss him the whole time we're not with him. We are really struggling with the jet lag/lack of sleep.

We have court tomorrow morning. Please pray that all goes well and we hear the judge say, "he's your's." We will also be meeting Levi's birth mom. I'm already emotional about meeting her so pray that it goes well and we can communicate our gratitude for her precious baby.

We've taken over 300 pictures! Can't wait to share them with you!! And thanks for all of the people who responded with his weight! :)

There is again a line for the computer, so I'm going to go.

love you all,
Lindsay and Jason

lunch with our new friends

a view of Levi Biniam's room

Day 1: Meeting Levi Biniam

We are home and adjusting back to normal life. The jet lag has taken a toll on us. We arrived back in El Paso Sunday night around 7:00 and were warmly greeted by the youth from our church. That was a fun surprise!! We went to bed around 10:30, beyond exhausted. I woke up around 5:00 am and could not go back to sleep. Jason slept until 1:30...pm!! Last night was much better for me...I went to bed at 7:30 and woke up around 6:30 this morning. Neither one of us slept straight thru the night last night, but I feel much more rested today. Jason is back to work today and I'm doing stuff around the house. I'm ready for things to be bck in order again. While

we were in Ethiopia, I sent a daily email update to family and friends. I will update the blog each day with that email. It's killing me that I cannot post pictures of sweet Levi yet. It's the first thing I am going to do after I hear that we pass court next week. Until then, here are the updates...

--

Hello again!I have waited 45 minutes for the computer and I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.We slept well last night. Jason was wide awake at 5:30...I slept in until 6. :) We got ready for the day and went to breakfast in the dining room of the guest house. There are many families here also adopting, but we are one of the few american families. After breakfast we called our agency's office and arranged to have our driver come assoon as possible.

He picked us up in cute little Toyota and we were off. I was a little nervous as we got in last night while it was dark...so this was our first time seeing the city during daylight. The driving is crazy!!!You just go and basically pray no one hits you. People walk in the street and there are honking horns every second. We only drove for about 10 minutes when we pulled off the main road onto a dirt/gravel/bumpy/doesn't really seem like a real road kind of road. His phone rang and apparently we were at the right spot. They had moved Levi to the Hope Transition Home and we were parked right outside. I have to admit that I got a little teary as we were driving through the city knowing we were on our way to meet our son. I had no idea it would only take 10 minutes to get there!!

We walked into the gate and into the Hope office. We introduced ourselves and then they said we were free to go see our son. We walked over to another building and there was a door that said infant room. We walked in and looked around but didn't see him right away. Then a nanny picked him and showed him to us. Immediately I teared up and stared at his beautiful face. She handed him over to me and I fell in love. He is so sweet. Daddy was busy taking pictures of us. After I kissed him and loved on him for a moment, I handed him off to Jason. (he had tears in his eyes too...and the look on his face, I'll never forget.) I snapped a few pictures of him and Levi together. We made our way over to a couch where we just laughed and smiled and admired our precious baby. We were able to hang out with him for an hour, maybe more. The other babies in the room were demanding attention too, so we took turns holding Levi and playing with the other babies. Jason had the honor of feeding his first bottle from mommy and daddy. He was more interested in playing than eating. After a while, he fell sleep in my arms. Precious!! We put him in his crib and walked outside because they were preparing the coffee ceremony. We met another family who is here for their embassy appointment. We shared the coffee ceremony with them and then joined them for lunch. It was nice to meet another family and share our stories. After lunch we went back to hang out with Levi for a bit. Then because we were dead tired we came backto the guest house, took a nap and then ate dinner here.

one of the nannies preparing the coffee ceremony

Before I go...I'll share some thoughts on Levi. He is super tiny!!! His little legs are so skinny. The nurse weighed him and he was 6.4kg. Someone convert that for me!! (I now know that it converts to a little over 14 pounds!) He may be small but he is beautiful and happy.He didn't cry one time and laughed a lot on the second visit. He loved Jason's hat and we love him. I can't wait to share the pictures. We'll go back tomorrow to hang out and then we'll do some shopping.

We're off to bed. The tylenol pm works great!!!

here are some pics:

our room at the Yeka Guest House

Jason and our driver, Danny on the first day

me in the backseat on the way to meet Levi Biniam

From Friends...

One word. WOW. I am blown away by the generosity my friends have shown over the last few weeks. I put out a message that we were taking donations to the orphanage in Ethiopia and this is what my dining room table now looks like:

Stuff came from friends in El Paso. I got boxes in the mail from Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Wisconsin!

Matthew 25:40, Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

ONE more week!!!

Time is flying bye. We leave one week from today. I feel like I have a lot to do before then. Since today is MLK day, Jason had a four day weekend. (one of the many things I love about the army!) We took advantage of that and went up to Ruidoso to ski. We drove up early Friday morning, skied all day, and then hit up the Dream Catcher for dinner. They cater a lot of the marriage retreats we do up there and always treat us well. Yesterday was church and relaxing at home. Jason watched football. I worked on Levi's nursery. And, we finally put the crib together.

My list of things to do this week included getting our vaccinations. Somehow I missed that step. I like to pride myself on how detailed I am...but this one got overlooked. Luckily we caught it in time and the immunization clinic on post can take us as a walk-in tomorrow morning.

Well, I'm off to do some cleaning and organizing. The donations have over taken my dining room!! But I need to start working on getting that stuff packed!!