I woke up with the alarm at 7:00am, only to find that the electricity was out, and there was no hot water. I decided to make do with a facewash and bottled water tooth brushing. Gail met us at 10am, and drove us to Wanna to meet Ava Sidisse. We walked through the Winnie the Pooh gate, into a flurry of toddlers and preschoolers... hanging laundry... women handwashing tubs of clothes, while kids splashed in the streams of water that poured out. We stepped up into the baby rooom, where babies played on the floor and were cuddled by the caregivers. After a few words between Gail and the workers, it was discovered that Sidisse had been returned to her original orphanage, Sele Enat, by mistake.
We loaded into Gails van, and headed across town to get her. On our way, Gail announced that we could keep Sidisse with us at the guest house during the day, and only return her to Wanna at night. When we arrived at SE, the gate was opened by three little boys. They welcomed us in, waving and introducing themselves. There aren't many children at SE, and the ones who are there, are waiting desperately for the day that the van pulls up to take them away to Layla House and to America.
We follow Gail into a tiny room, dark and lined with cribs. Gail speaks to the two house mothers, and they point her to a crib in the corner. Gail bends in and turns around with our sweet girl. She hands her to me- it seems sureal that we are here in Addis, meeting our daughter for the first time. Her sweet little face just like the photo.
I don't think I held her for more than a minute, when she spit-up everywhere. One of the nanny's took her and walked across the room to change her clothes. When she finished, she handed her back to me, and we left. Gail drove us back to Layla, so that we could visit with the kids and have lunch. The kids surrounded Leyton, touching his arms and hair, following him everywhere.
Jon and the older boys played basketball, Ava Sidisse and I sat in the shade and watched some of the girls practice flips, handstands, and back bends. Amharic music blaring through the courtyard. We visited for a couple of hours, and Leyton became overwhelmed- we decided to head back to the guest house early.
After our short walk to Ritmo, we stripped Ava down for a bath, to get that neglected orphanage smell off of her. When we removed the sleeper the nanny had put on her, we were shocked to find her 'wearing' a plastic bag with a piece of cloth in the bottom. My heart breaks, thinking that she will have to go back there. I pray that Gail can find a way to keep her at Wanna.
It was a great day visiting with Sidisse. She doesn't make many noises, and getting her to make eye contact is difficult. She like to be in the sling, and loves to be outside or near a window. She has the cutest little feet, and the most beautiful chocolate brown skin... She is adorable. She rolled over today...
It is hard to believe that this tiny person can come into our lives, and we can love her like she has always been with us.
Today we also met Danette Quinlan... She is here picking up her sweet little girl, Zinnia. She leaves tonight for America.... Here are the girls.
Around six o'clock, we walked her back to Wanna, and handed her over for the night to the house mothers.
No comments:
Post a Comment