The 'Hightlights'....

8 April: Easter Sunday... Flew Home 1st Class from Ethiopia with Ava! She slept through the night as soon as we had her home.

10 April: Ava's 1st appointment with Doctor on Base. Caught up on Shots, and received a referral to the Kinderclinic in Nuerenburg to run tests for the seizure diagnosis.

17-19 April: Ava admitted to Kinderclinic for the tests. Everything comes back normal. They recommend some physical/occupational therapy to get her on track, and an MRI when we return from the States.

26 April: 1st Postplacement visit.

2-4 May: Ava & Mandie went to Holland for a long time friends wedding.... Introducing Martine and Arvid.





5 May: We flew to Detroit where Ava went through immigration and became a citizen.

6 May: We finally made it to Ohio, after a 7.5 hour layover. Off to see Oma and Opa.










9 May: Ava gets her first tooth!



15 May: We head to PA to spend some time with the Doaks.

17-20 May: The Gilbert's come for a visit... and the Doaks throw a big party to welcome us home.








22 May: We met up with the Vedder's, another family that adopted while we were in Addis in February. They adopted Bisrat, Yabsira, and Mihret. It was great to see them, and hear them speak English... after such a short time. Today Jon also took a flight on a tiny plane....








24 May: We left Pitt for Germany.

30 May: Jon received his final orders. He leaves on Tuesday.

My Long Absence.... Sorry...

I just wanted to post a short note, to let you all know that we haven't fallen off the face of the earth. It has been a crazy couple of weeks, months really, and I just haven't been online. We are all doing fine, and I promise a 'Highlights' Post in the next few days. So, hang in there, and check back! I'll be back in business again soon!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

5 April... German Embassy... Thank God for computers...

We got up with the alarm at 5:30am this morning. Dawit picked us up at 7am, to make it to the US Embassy by 7:45. We arrived at 7:30, and and I went straight to the Visa section and asked for Helena. Thank God, Gail called last night. After handing her my paperwork and passport, it took about 10 minutes. I double - checked that it was correct, and was out the door by 7:45.

The German Embassy wasn't far, and we were there by 8am. We handed in our passports to be registered and waited for them to call our names at 9am. I'm so glad that I came prepared with copies of the email correspondence between me and Mr. Grimm (Consular Official). He tried to say that he couldn't do Sidisse's visa in one day, because he didn't know that she would be staying in Germany. I pulled out our email conversation, and he agreed to do a 3 month tourist visa. I filled out the papers, and they said to come back at 3pm to pick it up. Dawit drove us back to the guest house, where we hung out till 2:30pm, when he came back to get us. We waited about an hour and were finally given our visa.... Now we just have to get on the plane.

4 April... The Big, Bad Embassy Appointment...

I got up at 8:30 this morning, after sort of a long night with Ava. She woke up at 2:30am, had her bottle, and didn't want to go back to sleep. Finally, I just laid with her on the spare bed, until we both fell asleep. I woke up to Bill getting in the shower at around 7am, but went back to sleep. When we did get out of bed, I gave Ava to Bill with a bottle and I jumped in the shower - Note to self: Improve Time management skills...

We all got ready and hung out waiting for our US Embassy appointment (to get Ava's American Visa) at 1pm. Kim and I were both nervous. It turns out that there is nothing it.... After going through security, we gave our money and paperwork to Gail. She took it upstairs and got us on the list, when she came back, we waited in the waiting area to be called. Ava was called first - we went up to the window, handed her the photo of us with Ava from February, our passports with visas, and swore that all of our info was true.. the Officer said that she would have it for us shortly, and we were done... the next kids went through.

It wasn't bad at all, until I got back to the guest house, and started to collect the documents that I needed for the German Embassy on Thursday. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the US had given us the wrong visa. They gave us an IR-4 visa, instead of the IR-3 (which we need for her to become a citizen automatically). Of course, I freaked out, and called Gail. She called the Embassy and made arrangements for us to be there when they opened on Thursday, to get it straightened out. With any luck, it will be done in time to get to the German Embassy on time.

3 April... Postcards and Lollipops...

Ava woke up around 2:45am for a bottle and was up for about an hour before she went back to sleep... There was a lot of noise in the building. There were 2 new families who arrived, and there were people talking all night outside. We got up again around 7, and got ready for our day. Dawit took us to the Hilton to exchange some money, and to the post office to send Bill's 40 postcards. We also stopped by the Haille Selassie shop again. I picked up some nice pendants, a few crosses and a carved stone seal (for wax, not the animal!). I also found a couple more wool animals.

We hung around the Ritmo awhile when we returned, and Bill went to Merry Fam for dinner - he brought me back a plate of spaghetti complete with an Ethiopian delivery guy, Teddy. The spaghetti was good, but spicy. As I was eating, I saw Alex walking around in the driveway. I totally forgot about our 6pm meeting. I ran out with his bag of medicine, and we made the exchange... he brought my cd's and a gift for Ava, a Baby Gabi blanket. He also brought a pic of Julian in the blanket I made for him. He could only stay a minute, he had somewhere else to go, but it was nice to see him. After Alex left, we walked with Kim and Bedrea Williams to Layla.

Bill Passing Out Lollipops...



We took lollipops and laffy taffy for the kids. Bedrea helped us pass them out. The kids were so cute! We got a bunch of pics of Bill being mobbed. After that, the kids were called to get ready for bed. We headed back to the Ritmo.


Everybody Loves Bill...



Children Enjoying thier treats...







Me... me... me....





Laffy Taffy, and Spaghetti Faces...



Kim and Bedrea were hungry, so they went with Bill to the Arcobaleno. Ava and I got ready for bed, and hung out in an empty, quiet house. Bill and Kim came back around 8:30pm. and we started the night time routine. We were all so tired, that we went to bed right after Ava went down.

Ava Hanging Out...

2 April... Needle Sticks and Bearing Gifts.

Ava woke up at 2:30am for a bottle - she went right back to sleep, and we slept till 7:30! It was heaven, or close to it, anyway! This morning we were supposed to head to Tilahun's, but Gail called and said someone would be by to take Ava and I to the Embassy for her HIV test. So I sent Bill to be the bearer of gifts. He took a lot of great pictures, got to see the schools, and sit inside and visit. He said that they were very appreciative and especially loved the balls.

Tefera, Tilahun, Million & Yeninesh



School Grounds



Enjoying a little Soccer





Meanwhile, I was in the back of a hot van, being driven all over town... first to pick up Ava's passport (so cute!) and then to the doctor for some medical paper, and then to the US Embassy, where my poor baby was poked like a pin cushion, in both arms! I couldn't watch, it was so bad - she was crying. I was crying, the workers looked at me like I was insane. Thank Goodness we were able to get the passport today, so our Embassy appointment on Wednesday should be good.

Whe I got back to the guest house, Bill was already there. He filled me in on the trip, and said that there were a couple of times when he almost cried. He's going to talk to Monika about sponsoring a child when we get back to Germany. (One person at a time- )

Ava laid down for a nap, and when she woke, we walked to Adam's Pavilion did a little shopping, (Baby Gabi, Gondar Angels) and had lunch at the Garden Paradise Restaraunt. We stopped at the store with the brown awning on the way back, so that Bill could buy some more tuna. The ladies there are so nice.
We came home to Ritmo, in all it's quiet emptiness, and relaxed for the night. It was nice to have Bill to keep me company. I put Ava down again, at 9pm, Hopefully the routine continues!

1 April... A Trip to the Hospital, and the Wetlands.

Ava woke up around 9:15, Bill jumped in the shower while I got her fed, and dressed. Her chicken pox looked worse today, and she had a nasty diaper rash. We decided to take her to the Hayat Hospital, to have her checked out. We went to the receptionist, paid 40 Birr (Just under $5), and were called in to see the Doctor. He barely looked at her, and decided it was a fungal infection, and prescribed some cream. He said it didn't look like chicken pox at all... hmmm... made me wonder where the 40 Birr was going....

We decided since her temperature was normal, and she seemed to be feeling okay, that we could continue on our way to the Akaki Wetlands. Dawit took us off-roading in his little Toyota car.



We saw the Awash River and Dam, we passed by farmers in fields, miles of livestock without fences, traditional tukuls, and fields of lava rock. It was beautiful weather, and we had a great time. It was nice to get out of the city and breathe some clean air for once.

Akaki Bridge...



Awash River...



The Road less traveled... we actually drove through fields, and herds of cattle and donkeys....





Serenghetti Cyprus...



Akaki Resevoir and Dam...



The biggest Aloe plant I have ever seen.... They were ginormous!



Traditional Tukul village...



We returned to the Guest House, and hung out for the evening. I don't even think that we had dinner. I got Ava on a feeding schedule that made her bedtime meal at 9pm. With any luck, we will have a good night...

31 March... I forgot what it was like to parent a baby...

Wow... I've been out of the baby loop for awhile, and I could feel it this morning at 2:30am, when my day began. The caregivers told me that Ava would wake up twice during the night - I was hoping that was an exaggeration! She woke up around 2:30am, I fed her, changed her, and put her back down - she wasn't having it.
2 hours later, she finally fell asleep beside me on the spare bed... I know, I know... I don't want to start that again, but I physically couldn't hold her anymore, and I didn't want her crying to keep Bill up all night. I woke up at 7am, and jumped in the shower. I had just enough time, before Ava started to stir.

We got ourselves together quickly this morning, since we were supposed to meet the Layla Doctor at his office at 9am. Shelly, one of the volunteers (a librarian from WI) made us scrambled eggs for breakfast. We waited at Wanna for Dr. Debela for awhile, but he didn't show. One of the caregivers called him, and he told me that he was sick, and would meet us Monday instead. While we waited, I took some photos of the preschoolers and babies - Bill sat on the step outside, and was immediately swarmed by the kids. He enjoyed it, but was ready to go, when we left.











We walked back to Ritmo, where we were set to meet Dawit for some shopping/sight seeing. Ava went down for a short nap, and woke up just in time. Dawit took us to the Hilton to exchange some money, to the Haile Selassie shop, Loyal Supermarket to buy a gift certificate for Tilahun's family, The Lion of Judah statue & the Train station. While we were at Loyal, a group of beggars, kids and old men, approached us. I didn't want to hand out money, so I bought a bag of apples and passed them out. The poverty breaks my heart, I wish I had more to give.

We came back to the Guest house and Ava was tired. I put her down for a nap and only let her sleep an hour and 30 minutes, in hope of not having a repeat of last night.

We decided to try some Ethiopian cuisine, and walked down the street to Abyssinian. We ordered injera and wat, not thinking, I ordered the vegetarian one. It came cold, and I could only eat 2 of the 6 types of wat. After dinner, we headed back to the Ritmo, and spent a few hours hanging out with Ann and Shelly from WI. Ava went down to sleep around 7:30pm, Bill and I headed to be around 9:30.... and that is when Ava woke up. She was awake till about 2:30 am, fussing, crying, tossing & turning... She continued to fuss in her sleep, till 4:30, when I got up, gave her a bottle, and she fell asleep in my arms. I was afraid to put her down, so we both laid on the couch til around 6:30am. I put her on the spare bed and climbed back in my own bed, hopeful to get a few hours of sleep before we had to meet Dawit.

30 March... Love at first sight...again!

We woke up around 7am, and got ourselves together. We were supposed to hear from Gail sometime before 10am... We went downstairs for breakfast, which was a buffet of breads, jams, juices, coffe, tea, meats, injera, cheeses and fruits. The waitstaff was attentive and friendly, and breakfast was good.
We returned to the room, but still no word from Gail, so I called her and we made arrangements for Dawit to pick us up and bring us to the Guest House. When we arrived and saw how bad the road directly in front of Ritmo was, we decided it would be easier for us to walk to Layla than have Gail pick us up. We walked the rocky path back to Layla House, and were met at the gate by Gail, who took us right away to see Ava Sidisse. I couldn't believe how much hair she had grown since our trip in February.

The handoff...



She smiled right away when Gail handed her to me... and of course, I cried. It was nice to have Bill there, to get a few pics for me.

Me, snuggling my girl.



The board with all the babies names in English and Amharic...



Ava and Mama...



We hung out at Wanna for a while, and then went to watch the older kids play soccer. It is amazing to watch them run on concrete and rocks in flip-flops, barefoot, or with only one shoe. And they are really good - imagine what they could do with cleats!

Bill was in awe, and even initiated 'adoption talk', on the walk to the store afterward. I don't know if he would actually consider it, but I was happy to educate him on the process. We walked to the little store with the brown awning, to buy Pampers and Formula, and then back to the Ritmo to relax.

I stripped Ava down and gave her a bath - to my surprise, she was covered in spots. When Gail came by later, I asked her about them, and she confirmed my suspicion that Ava had Chicken Pox. I'm hoping it is end stage, and not the beginning... For now, they were mostly in her hair, and on her chest. I got her dressed and fed, and laid her down for a nap...3 hours later, she woke up. By that time, Bill and I were starving, and we headed to Bella Vista for pizza.




After, we walked back to the little store to buy cereal, that I forgot earlier in the day. We stopped by Layla on the way home to watch the older kids bedtime routine - unfortunately, I forgot to grab a bottle of water for Ava's bottle, so we missed the routine. After an hour of fighting Ava to go to sleep, she finally did, at 9 pm. We weren't too far behind.

29 March... The flight.

We left the house on time for once, and picked up Bill at 4am. We made it to the airport with no problems, and got checked in and to our gate, just as the bus was pulling up to take us to the plane.

The flight from Nueremburg to Amsterdam was uneventful, and when we reached AMS, we had nearly 4 hours before our flight to Addis.

Once we boarded the plane and settled in, we knew it would be a LONG flight. There is always that one person on the plane that inevitably sits right next to you, and annoys the heck out of you - in our case, there were 3. The large man in front of me, who would recline his seat and sit up, recline and wiggle around 15 times in 15 minutes; The play-by-play guy, just behind us, who explained every minute of our trip (including " we have to taxi down the runway before we can take off...") to the poor Norwegian woman next to him; And then there was 'sleeping beauty' just across the aisle, who sprawled out across 3 seats and wore a sleeping mask and couldn't find the ON button, on his tv handset. I guess he wasn't really annoying, just weird.

I was lucky to have a window seat, and be able to sleep most of the flight. Of course, KLM had great service as usual, and I couldn't wait to check out Business class on the way back! We arrived on schedule, and Bill and I didn't waste any time getting off the plane and to the VISA line. We were the 2nd ones there!

We were through customs, and out to find a taxi in no time. We negotiated a price, and were dropped off at the lovely Beer Garden Inn... which also happens to have a Brewery on site. The staff was helpful and friendly, and the room nice... with a huge balcony (could have used some patio furniture!). It was nice to relax after such a long trip... We found "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" on tv, watched it, and headed to our beds.

The Beer Garden Inn...



The actual Beer Garden...



Addis from the Balcony...



Construction of hotels for the Millenium... It will probably be the next millenium before they are completed.

A quick note...

This is just a quick note to let you all know that we made it home... We had a great trip, and Ava seems to be adjusting well... It is so good to be home!
I will type more in the next few days about our trip, and of course, I will be posting some new photos... So keep checking back!

Leaving in the Morning!

It is really hard to believe that I will be in Ethiopia tomorrow night. My flight leaves from here at 5:45am, and we should land around 9:55pm. It is going to be a long day... but worth every second!

I just wanted to post a quick note to say Thank you so much for all of your well-wishes, and thoughts. Keep us in your prayers this week, as so much depends on a smooth Visa process!

I will post about our trip, when we return...

Less than a week... The countdown is on!

It is so hard to believe that in less than a week, I will be holding my sweet baby girl, and won't ever have to let her go! The trip is finally coming together... after a few weeks of uncertainty about where we were going to stay while in Addis, Alex, the friend we met there on our last trip, was able to find us a hotel. Thank goodness! I really thought that we would be spending the night sleeping on benches (or the floor) of Bole International Airport.

We will be staying at "The Beer Garden Inn".... (ahhh... a little taste of home all the way in Addis!) for the first night of our trip, and then will move to the Guest House after picking up Ava the next day.

Please keep us in your thoughts/prayers, that everything goes smoothly at the Embassy appointment... If not, I'm afraid that we might be in Addis longer than expected.... I found out yesterday, that the German Embassy, where we need to get a second visa for Ava, will be closed on Friday.... which means there could be some problems obtaining her German Visa... (It is supposed to be a two day process... and we can't file for it until we have the American visa. Hopefully it will all work out.

I've also just learned that chicken pox might be making its way through the care center.... Please keep Ava in your thoughts, that she doesn't come down with it, and that if she does, that she recovers quickly!

It seems like forever since we left Addis.... I sat and flipped through all of our pics today.... twice... I can't wait to be back there!

Ava's Room

Thought you might enjoy a pic of Ava's room.

Travel Plans!

We received word that our Embassy Appointment (with US Embassy to get Ava's visa) is on 4 April.... So I am packing my bags and heading down there on the 29th of March. I was hoping to get out of Germany sometime over that weekend, the 31st or the 1st of April, but everything was booked.... I ended up having to pay for Business class on the way back! (Although, I'm not totally complaining... )

A good friend of ours is going to make the trip with me, so that I don't have to go by myself... there is just no way that we can afford tickets for all 4 of us, now that they are so high...(I paid more now for just mine, than I did for the 3 of us to go last month....) And we are planning to make the trip home to America in May...
It is nice that he will be able to come along.

I can't believe that I will be there again in just over 2 weeks.... I can't wait to bring her home! I have so many plans for this trip, though I know I should probably just go with the flow... But, after being with Ava Sidisse on the last trip, I know that she is easy-going, and will adapt to whatever we do.
I really want to visit with our Sponsorship kids again. It was heart-breaking to visit them the last time, and I really want to take some clothes, and toys for them.

I would also like to make a trip out of the city this time around... Maybe to the Wetlands, Sodere Hot Springs, or to Awash National Park... Who knows? I guess we will just have to see!

IT'S OFFICIAL! SHE'S OURS!!!

For those of you following along.... It is official... I just received word from our agency's director, who is in Ethiopia right now, that our case passed court today.... We are legally Ava's parents! Of course this short note is cutting into my happy dance time, but I had to let you know!

We should know sometime next week when our Embassy appointment is, and then we can start making travel arrangements! Thanks for all of the good wishes and prayers!

Hopefully I will be posting travel arrangements soon!

Shower time...

A good friend of mine is throwing us a shower, to Welcome Ava.... This is the invite that she is sending out... cute, huh?

Court Dates... and travel plans!

Well, we finally received the word that our official Court date is 9 March. This will be the day that we are officially Ava Sidisse's parents. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers, that everything will go smoothly!

Shortly after the 9th, we should receive our Embassy appointment. And once that happens we will be able to make our travel arrangements. At this point, it is looking like the last week of March or the first week of April, but it really depends on the Embassy date.

We are still not sure if Jon will be able to travel back for the pick up trip, or not... We will have to see what the dates are, and how good of a mood the command is in, when the time comes. He has already missed so much work/field time, with the visit trip, and my surgery...

Keep us in your prayers... I know that everything will work out, but it would be nice if we could make the trip together.