Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Pictures

Here are some pictures of our time in Ethiopia so far.

The first few are of Lalibela- the landscape, churches, and faces

The last is of our friend Yosef and Bethleham's family, who we visited
with today. We had a great time with them.

I forgot to mention in my last post that my lost suitcase did arrive
in Addis yesterday, so I have clean clothes now.

Tomorrow, we will spend the day in Addis and then meet up with the
other 7 families in our adoption group tomorrow night.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Live from Ethiopia

We arrived safely in Ethiopia on Saturday night. Our trip over was
smooth. One of suitcases didn't arrive (of course it was mine), but
the airport in Addis was very nice and helpful. It took a while to
get through the visa line and customs, and by the time we got to our
guest house, it was about 11PM. We got up the following morning,
Sunday, at 5AM for our trip to Lalibela. We arrived in Lalibela late
in the morning. We had a great tour guide, Gashaw, that picked us up
at the airport. He took us to our guest house, let us get settled and
grab lunch, and then we started our tour. Lalibela is famous for its
rock hewn churches, which were built by King Lalibela in the 11th
century. The churches were very ornate and everything is symbolic-
the number of windows in each church, the different crosses for each
church, the pillars in the churches. We had to remove our shoes to
enter each church, and we had a shoekeeper who followed us from church
to church and removed our shoes, and then put them back on as we
traveled to the next church. The following day, Monday, we visited
two cave churches. We enjoyed our time in Lalibela. It is a much
smaller city and much slower paced than Addis. The landscape is quite
different from Addis- very mountainous and dry, more rural and not as
modern. It was great to soak in some of Ethiopia's rich history and
Christian heritage. I'll try to post some pictures of our trip so far
later.

Today we returned to Addis and toured the city. We went to Trinity
Cathedral, the national museum, and Entoto Mountain- which is the
highest point and overlooks the city. There was a group of elementary
school students touring the national museum, and I think that Paul and
I were a more exciting attraction to them than the museum was. We are
staying at a wonderful guest house, the owners are a sweet Ethiopian
couple that have grown children that live in the US.

Tomorrow is a national holiday in Ethiopia- something to do with
celebrating the new government. We will be meeting our friend Yosef's
family and spending time with them. We are not sure of our plans on
Thursday, but will be meeting up with our adoption travel group on
Thursday night. Then on Friday morning, we will meet Kenyon Belachew!
It is hard to believe that we will meet him in less than 3 days.
We did find out today that his name is actually pronounced Bell-a-cho
(the last syllable rhymes with show).

We are glad that we came to Ethiopia early- to catch up on the time
and to enjoy more of our son's country and culture. They are still
having power cuts in Ethiopia, so I am not sure how often we will be
able to update our blog, but we will do our best to update it on
Friday (after meeting Belachew).

Friday, May 23, 2008

And we're off!

14 hours from now, we will be leaving for the airport. Our bags are packed (kind of) and we are ready (as ready as we are going to be).

Here's our schedule:
May 23- Depart, from through Amsterdan to Addis Ababa
May 24-Arrive in Addis Ababa, stay at a hotel for the evening
May 25-26- Visit Lalibela, a city north of Addis and famous for it's rock hewn churches (it is considered one of the top Christian historical sites in the world)
May 27-Return to Addis Ababa, tour and explore Addis for a couple days. We are hoping to meet up with the family of some of our Ethiopian friends from here
May 29- Meet up with our adoption group. There are a total of 8 families in our group who are adopting children from the same care center that week
May 30- Meet Kenyon! We will spend a couple hours with him this day
May 31- More visiting with Kenyon!
June 1- Travel south to the area of the country where Kenyon is from and meet people that have been important in his life, prior to coming to the care center
June 2-More Kenyon
June 3- Going away ceremony at the care center- all of the children who are being adopted that week will have a chance to say good bye to the other children and nannies at the care center. Kenyon will come with us to stay at guest house for the remainder of our time in Ethiopia. Visit the US Embassy with Kenyon to finalize his US Visa.
June 4-Free day
June 5-Depart on an evening flight
June 6- Return home!

Our agency has planned some tours for us during this week, ro help us understand more of the history and culture of Ethiopia. We will also visit some of our agency's humanitarian projects in the area. It will be a busy, amazing couple weeks.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel and prepare to meet Kenyon. Here are some things that we are praying for:
-A safe and smooth trip- that we would make all of our flights and that our luggage would make it to Ethiopia
-That we would have a positive travel experience and be able to absorb some of Ethiopia's beauty and culture (and that we would stay healthy)
-For Kenyon, that God would be preparing his heart for his new home and family
-For our interactions with Kenyon, that we would be sensitive to his needs and patient with him, that he would grow to trust us, and that we would bond together as a family
-For wisdom for Paul and I, as we parent a child for the first time

We will try our best to update our blog from Ethiopia and hope to be able to post pictures!

Monday, May 19, 2008

4 days (and more pictures)


The countdown continues, 4 days until we leave! Last night our church had a shower for Paul and I, as well as another couple that is expecting a baby. We got some fun toys and cute clothes for Kenyon. Thank you, Crossing community, for your love and support!

Our plane tickets are purchased, our itinerary is set, we are getting things done around the house, and we have started packing.

Here are some new pictures of Kenyon. He looks like he has really grown at the care center. After reading his social report we got from our adoption agency last week, some of the reality of the transition he will experience set in. We were told he is very verbal and loves to tell stories. The language barrier is going to be a challenge and frustration, for Kenyon as well as for Paul and I. He is very loved at the care center and has bonded with the staff there and some of the children. We think he will like having our full attention, but it will be hard for him to say good-bye (understandably) to the people who have loved and cared for him for the past few months.

We are expecting some challenges the first few days, weeks, and months and will do our best to love Kenyon, be patient with him, and earn his trust. We will need our friends and family to be patient with Kenyon, and with us, for awhile. We are so grateful for the love and support we have been shown so far.

Friday, May 16, 2008

7 days until...



7 days until we leave for Ethiopia! Our flights are booked, we're crossing things off our to-do list, and are so excited to travel! We got an amazing update on Kenyon Belachew yesterday. We got several pictures of him and information on his schedule and personality. Here are a few fun things we found out about Kenyon:

-He is sensitive and likes to cuddle. He comforts other children in the room when they cry

-He is active and likes to play soccer and wrestle

-He likes to talk and tell stories, repeats what people say, and describes events in detail

-He is a good sleeper, although he talks sometimes in his sleep and moves around until he is comfortable

Kenyon sounds so fun and his new pictures were great- they really seemed to capture his personality!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Ethiopia, here we come!

We got the call today that Kenyon's paperwork is ready and we can arrive in Ethiopia on May 29!  We could not be happier! The wait has been hard, especially after receiving an email a few days ago preparing us for the fact that our process may be delayed because of a severe draught in Ethiopia that has been affecting power. 
 
We can not wait to meet Kenyon! We are working on our flights and itinerary. We would like to spend a few days in Ethiopia prior to our official adoption week. We'll meet up with our travel group on May 29, and then get to meet Kenyon on the 30th. 
 
Here is an updated picture of our little guy, that came on his birth certificate.
 
 

Thursday, May 1, 2008

My Fabulous Toddler Shower

This past weekend, some of my friends threw a "Fabulous Toddler Shower" for Kenyon and I. It was so special and fun. I feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many people who support our adoption and are excited to welcome Kenyon into our community.

We had cake that was decorated with the Ethiopian flag, African music (African musicians singing U2 songs), and a fun trivia game on adoption and Ethiopia. I got lots of great books for Kenyon and some fun toys- like a tricycle and a wagon. One of my friends, who makes jewelry, made a beautiful pendant with the colors of the Ethiopian flag. We closed our time together in prayer- for Paul and I, and for Kenyon.

Below are a couple pictures from the shower and Kenyon's room.