More of Day 3 (Meetcha Day)

So that you can see her smile....a little more for your viewing pleasure.....

 

 

 

 

So we had limited resources in our little room for the day.....

so we are well aware that she has "food" on her face.  :) 

Ethiopia: Day 3 of 9. August 2nd.

MEETCHA DAY!

 

 We arrived a bit late at 8 am or so.  We made it through customs & immigration.  All of our luggage was there (praise!) and headed outside to meet our driver.  It was rainy.  (Rainy season in full swing). 

 

By the time we make it to our guest house, the adrenaline is rushing and we think we are going to meet Miss Chloe any minute.  We meet another CHI family right off the bat (actually had met online and communicated and were able to bring some motion sickness medicine for their sweet 10 year old).  Then our driver told us we would be picked up by our agency at 3:30-4:00.  What?  We had to wait 6+ hours???  We were a bit frustrated, but didn't want to rock any boat and start off our trip with complaints.  So we settled into our room and laid down to take a nap.  About the time we fell asleep (maybe 30 minutes later), we get a call from the front desk that our driver was waiting on us!  Apparently, Addis has it's own time!  So 3:30 meant 9:30 and we were on our way, albeit very tired now after a tease of a nap.  What we had waited for.........................................................

 

  

 



Daddy's little girl!

Little Miss Serious

  


As you can see she cried for about 20 seconds.  Then we cuddled, she fell asleep on us, we slept a little ourselves, we fed her, we changed her, we played, we may have dozed off again (remember the 24 hour like flight)  all in all the day was perfect. 

 

 

 

 



Ethiopia: Day 2 of 9. August 1st.

Well this is kind of our "lost" day.  We flew from DC (Dulles International Airport) directly to Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines.  The flight itself was (only) 14 hours.  But add the 8 hours we lost to the time change and you have almost a full day.  We arrived in Ethiopia on the 2nd.  So this was a lot of movie watching, music listening, should have been reading time. 



Our gate was right below the Ethiopian flag!  How convenient!

          

Ready to board in 10 minutes.  Ethiopia or bust!

Our airline.

Just getting started!

 So by far our favorite movie was 42. We had not seen it yet and watched it for the first time.  Here we were headed to Africa.  I couldn't help but be grateful for how far we've come.  And I sincerely THANK courageous people like Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey who paved the way. And that was 15 some years before Martin Luther King's famous freedom speech. I am so grateful for MLK and his dream:

 

 

"I have a dream that one day....little black boys and black girls will be able

 to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

MLK 8.28.63

 

This sister and these brothers are ready to join hands, Miss Chloe.  We are coming!

 

Ethiopia: Day 1 of 9. July 31st

OK, well on day 1 we actually were not yet in Ethiopia.  But as I am wanting to share details of our trip I feel like I can't leave out day 1.

Day 1 is when we left Missouri.  Sure we only made it to DC, but we were starting on our adventure.  Is this really happening?  We've been waiting for 2.5 years and now we are on our way !!!  Pinch me.  Lots of emotions running through me.  Will we like our guest house?  Will they have electricity?  Does our luggage weigh too much?  What did I forget to pack? 

Also we left Missouri and our 3 big kids were still there.  So blessed to have the Gerdel family (truly our family) take care of my babies.  I wouldn't have it any other way---well except for maybe their doting grandparents :)  (which plan to on trip 2).  I knew we were going to be away from them for what seemed like a long while and that was going to be hard.

Day 1: Sitting at STL airport ready to board for DC!

This post (as we headed to DC) is to simply say THANK YOU.  Thank you to those that have gotten us here.  These past 2 years, you've encouraged, supported, financed, helped, baked, ran,  bought, donated, prayed, and encouraged some more.  The time had finally come.    We do have one adoptive friend who at one point said we should have called our 5K, C.H.L.O.E's run (or fund)....CHLOE standing for  the Church Helping Love Others for Eternity!!!  What a great reminder of when we give, tell, offer hope, encourage we are making an eternal difference.  Not only is Chloe receiving her forever family....she has the opportunity to receive Jesus as Lord & Savior and to have a new family for all eternity (and that does mean most of YOU will be her family)!

So to all of you thankyou....But on the 31st special thanks to Missy and Andrew who love my kids like their own, Jessica and Ryan who sacrificially kept our dog (huge sacrifice of yard and perhaps of non-scratched legs), Tyann Marcink and Amy Lanemann for watching our kids when Missy couldn't, Mark and Becky Baxa, Dr. Turner, and everyone else sending up prayers on our behalf as we headed off to meet our daughter!!!

We're on our way, Chloe!