Going to Meet our Son...

I had to pick up one from school early today who was not feeling well. After running the the dentist for a personal cleaning, and grilled cheeses for lunch, the kids are semi-preoccupied with Sid the Science Kid so I thought I'd try to post a few pictures...

We arrived in Addis Ababa last Wednesday morning around 3 AM... Our fabulous driver, Alazar, picked us up at the airport, along with new friend, Matt, who had traveled with us from New York through Cairo. As soon as we arrived at our guest house, Tony and I hit the pillow hard for a few hours. Alazar picked us back up at 1 PM to head to the transition house...

We jumped in the van joining a few other families: Matt (whose wife Amy couldn't make the trip because of caring for their twin girls back home in Kentucky); Brent & Becky (from Tennessee); and another Matt & Amy (from Indiana). One blessing among many was making new friends sharing the same journey. I instantly fell in love with these folks, hope to be lifelong friends and wish they lived a bit closer. :) Our first stop was to allow Brent & Becky's two children to say one last goodbye to their orphanage with a few gifts to share with them. It was tearful for us all, especially when Indiana Matt led us all in a prayer before leaving... Oh the beautiful children coupled with such heartbreaking conditions... There is no way to describe the sights and sounds and smells...

We loaded back up and drove on...

Some sights along the way...

Then it was time... We stood in the entry way as each child came out... First Kentucky Matt's two boys... then out came our son, Eyasu (mostly pronounced "eh YAH soo"... English version "YAH shoo uh" or "Joshua"... although, he's not really feelin Joshua just yet...anyways...:-) He walked straight up to me and put his arms around my neck... precious... then he said "mama" and then hugged Tony, "papa"... what words could accurately convey what the heart and mind were experiencing at that point?!... Not even going to try...

Tony handed him a baseball glove and ball. He just grinned ear to ear. Earlier, Alazar had picked it up in the van when we had stopped at the orphanage. He was looking at it curiously, then looked at us asking, "Cricket?" It was hilarious. "No. Baseball." America's past-time, ha.

I thought of Mary in Scripture, "she treasured up all these things in her heart..."

We went inside and Eyasu waved goodbye to his bunk bed...

Matt & Amy from Indiana meeting their two little ones for the first time... dry eyes were hard to come by...

I had mailed a picture book ahead of time to give him a glimpse of us. He had looked at the book so many times it was missing pages. He had to show it to everyone...

What a day! One I have treasured up in my heart... tears still welling up as I remember it...

He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 113:9

I will post more as time permits... Thank you for your continued prayers as we make this transition....