Week 8 - March 7, 2009

Well today we have been here for exactly two months. Things seemed to move a little slowly after the adoption was final (the court took a few days to write up the proceedings) but when they were finally completed on Wednesday, our wonderful agency (Children’s Hope International), specifically the director and his wife, worked very hard to get ALL the Ethiopian documents rushed for us, including the boys’ Ethiopian passports. These are all complete now so now we are just waiting on the US embassy (which is closed for 4 days, Friday-Monday?) and hopefully they will have received our paperwork from the national visa center in the US who will supply the boys with their visas. These visas will make them US citizens upon arrival in the country. Last week they had not received the paperwork yet even though it was sent in January so this weekend I am a bit nervous. If I have not learned patience by now though, I have missed something important through this process!

The boys are doing well. They are about 19 lbs each and are more active and able to stay up longer during the day. We had to move back into a small room as a couple had reserved the suite here weeks before we arrived, so we are a bit cramped but have everything we need. Caleb is LOVING to stand up. He holds on to our hands and just wants to stand there and look around. He looks very proud and happy not to be so low to the ground. He can stand for several minutes but has absolutely no balance yet, but strong legs! Eli has been bringing his feet to his mouth for several weeks which I think strengthens his core. He has been able to sit pretty well without being in the tripod position (both arms out) for a couple weeks. He has just started wanting to stand like his brother. Caleb is just now learning to balance without his hands forward. When sitting he carefully lifts one hand and puts it out in the air to balance, then lifts the other. It is amazing to see how much coordination and practice these steps take and it is interesting to see that they are learning them in different orders. Caleb has just started bring his feet to his mouth while on his back so this maybe is associated with being able to sit without being in the tripod position? Eli is very joyful and smiles so easily with people who he doesn’t know. Caleb is more cautious and holds on very tight when we are in the car or around strangers and sometimes even cries a little. They both are talking more and more and seem to even go back and forth with each other. The sounds are not very distinguishable, mostly, ah, ah, ah, ah, ba, ba, ah ah…

Sean went to visit an Area Development Program overnight this week and was able to visit with a child that my father sponsors through World Vision. Sean says it was a really fun experience, the boy was very excited but very nervous to meet with an American. Sean gave him a soccer ball and provided his mother and father with a bit of extra money. They gave Sean some local flowers, some of which I am pressing. The boy looked at pictures of my parents on his computer, likely the first time he had seen a computer. The family was very happy and thankful and I think my Dad will have fun seeing pictures/videos of his sponsored child.

I am sending some more pictures and again they are in time order (I’m sure you figured out that last weeks pictures were actually in opposite order with the one on top being the most recent). The first picture is of the boys sleeping in the pack and play. For the past few weeks, they each have their own as Sean’s parents brought us an extra P&P (thank goodness, they were well over the maximum weight capacity!). The next two pictures were taken in early Feb. because EVERYONE here kept telling us that the boys must be cold, even though it is always about 85 degrees here, and their skin is not cold at all. The people here dress their children VERY warmly so I decided, since we are in Ethiopia, do as the Ethiopians. Since then, however the boys are usually just in a onesie and they seem just fine-but they sure looked cute in their warm clothes, although not very happy (Caleb is on the left, Eli on the right in these pictures). In the next picture, Eli is on the left, you can see them playing together (they love to chew on each others hands and toes). Eli is next, playing with one of his favorite toys (thank you Chet and Katie), doing one of his favorite activities, feet to mouth Caleb is next in his tripod sitting position (a few weeks ago). The boys are then seen outside American style in their shorts, with their Dad during our guesthouse’s BBQ and finally you can see how we feed these boys often, in chairs, a very messy process (Eli)! I also have included a recent picture of the boys sunning in our new room (I am standing at our door to the hallway) you can see it is quite a tight fit for all 4 of us!

The Lord gave me this verse on the day before our court day and it was very comforting for me:

“The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all who live it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters” Psalm 24:1-2.

These children were his from the beginning! He is in control and he is a good God, how comforting it is to place our trust in Him.

Hopefully we will be coming home in a week if all goes well with the embassy. We are getting excited about this possibility; we miss so many of you!