We have arrived!

January 13, 2009
Hello from Addis Ababa. We have now been here one week. On Monday we had the court date that we had hoped would finalize the adoption, unfortunately it was not successful and was rescheduled for February 26th, we would then travel home about 3 weeks later. We are now in the process of deciding whether or not to stay here and wait it out for many weeks or to go home and absorb the cost of another flight out here in March. We are hoping to stay here and Sean is talking to World Vision about the possibility of working for the office here in Ethiopia. Apparently there is much he could do from here. I then would spend the days with the children as I have been since we have gotten here.
It is WONDERFUL to be spending this time with them. They change so much every day and I think they are really benefiting from the one on one interaction. They are adorable, very healthy-16.5 and 17 lbs at 5 months. Caleb was born first and has maintained a ½ lb lead on his brother. They smile and coo and giggle. It is a delight to be getting to know them. So far we have been there from about 9:30 in the morning (before this they get a sun bath and water bath from their nannies) and then we stay until it is getting dark around 6. Sean is going into the office today so we should have some answers as to whether or not he can work from there, and I am going alone to the HOH for the first day. I am a bit nervous to care for two at once, so far we have been able to each have one of them. People at the transition home (HOH) are wonderful and have invited us to stay as long as we need to. We will get to meet many families if we are here for 10 weeks, come and leave with their children. So far we have met two families and it is a delight to see them during such a special time. So there are many wonderful things about being here.
It is hard to be away from family and friends, especially as I have many baby questions to ask, and to get use to figuring out everything here. Sometimes I get quite frustrated but if I can sit back and really reflect on all the blessings I have in my life, which are more apparent than ever, I am thankful. We are trying to save money where we can so we have begun cooking for ourselves. This is a challenge in itself as the food here is quite different. Also we have not figured out daily transportation so we have been taking cabs back and forth from our guesthouse to the HOH (we get one free week of transportation as every family does through our agency but the rest is on our own). Now if Sean starts working here, we would like to hire a driver to take me to and from so I am not trying to negotiate by myself with strangers. Also the guest house is about 15 minutes away from the HOH so we may also look at alternative housing closer to the HOH. The other challenge I need to figure out is washing clothes, we can pay for this, but if I can hand wash the clothes myself (which there are many with two babies) I can save money. I just need to find a place to dry the clothes as our room is quite small and we currently are sharing a bathroom with other guests. I know we are "roughing it" in American standards but I really don't mind, I just like to have all of this worked out and to be on a schedule, then I can relax into it a bit. Anyway, I am off for another day with the babies! Sean is off to World Vision and will send this from there. I have not been able to reach my blog on internet connections around here but World Vision has broad band so that will be very nice. They also are giving him a cell phone today for local calls which will also be quite helpful. God is taking care of us and I am very thankful for his provision. I hope you all are well back in the states! I hear there has been flooding in Washington near our home, I pray everyone is safe.
We were able to take a trip to see some of the countryside this weekend. This was SO great and I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be traveling here. I will try to have Sean post some of the pictures here, this country is SO beautiful.