Wow! time goes so fast and yet so slow

We have been home over a year now and it seems like we have been together forever, accept......  when we miss Ethiopia.  That happens frequently.  We have had conversations that no parent should have to have with a child and most parents don't have with their kids when they are adults.  Every day we are reminded of what life was like for our boys before America.  Every day we try to put ourselves in their shoes and we fail miserably.  God reminds us daily that we were chosen to parent and Love our sons and yet at times it seems an unsurmountable choice.  Then I have a day like Tuesday and Today and I try to place them in Ethiopia as they are and my mind gets lost with the wonderment of who they are and the amazing kids they are becoming as well.  I give Thanks daily to our Father and to their father in Ethiopia.  I ask for blessings on their Ethiopian mother and pray she is watching down on them, and us, smiling.

This year we have met and Loved two special tutors Teacher M and Teacher T who helped Fikadu get to first grade.  Without them it wouldn't have happened.  We have played soccer, baseball, and football.  We have learned about the Wii and we have talked about our Ethiopian family.   Our oldest son and I have had lengthy discussions on Heaven and who we think is there.  The conversation started about mommy's horse, Salty, being in heaven.  Then it proceeded to her daddy and then their mommy.  The conversations are frank and honest and very raw, yet so amazingly blessed.  We have talked about hurts, fears, bad dreams and they have asked if it hurts when a baby comes out.  (That was a doozer of a conversation).  Yet, in the wisdom that our Father has given me, I seem to come up with the right answers.  The answers that are so brutally truthful they hurt, yet so touching and filled with Love they heal.

My prayer for this next year is continued healing, continued bonding and continued wisdom.  I pray this for all of our adoptive families and their children as well.  Our journey to have children has been nothing less than a miracle and nothing my wildest imagination could have dreamed up.

Two Fathers that Love you Very Much

Life continues to be wild and crazy.  We had the boys dedicated at the church on Saturday night.  It was an amazing ceremony and the Love from our congregation, family and friends was felt throughout the church.  The boys were exhilerated but somewhat apprehensive to be up on "stage" in front of so many people.

At times Fikadu, our oldest seems more distant.  Mostly when he is tired at the end of the day.  He keeps his photo album close at hand and looks at the pictures frequently.  The other day while they were playing at Grandma's, mom saw him looking at the pictures and asked him about them.  (She already knew most of them) but then he got to the small obscure picture of Daddy Asayda.  Mom asked him about it and he told her who it was, the discussion went something like this, "it's o.k. to miss Daddy Asayda but you are such a special little boy to have two Daddy's who Love you so very much."  He smiled, put up his photo album and once more he was reassured he was safe and Loved.

And Life continues in the Ewing household.

  

Home sweet Home

We arrived home as a family of four on January 28th.  Delays in the Embassy kept us in Ethiopia a week longer than planned but we knew it was all in God's timing.  We miss the precious friends we have made and are trying to stay in touch with them.  The boys speak frequently of their friends from the transition house and guest house.

We have been so blessed with two precious boys.  They have settled in well, have completely gotten over their fear of the dogs, to the point they torment them now.  They sleep in their own beds and are not afraid to.  They have already seen so many "firsts".  It is difficult to even put them down in writing.

Monday they start school.  Fekadu is very excited and wants to continue working with his English, and Abinet, well, what can I say about a three year old in school.

Fekadu had his first dentist appointment and we will be starting on his extensive dental work the first of March.  Abinet has his first dental visit scheduled about that same time but we aren't sure he will be able to sit still long enough to let the dentist look at his teeth.

Last weekend we spent at the cabin with some precious dear friends and their two daughters.  It was the first time the boys had been in the snow for any length of time.  We couldn't get them in the cabin at all even when they were wet and cold!  The first words before breakfast in the morning were boots, coat mommy boots, coat mommy!

All is well, what a change.  Blessed are we, Thank you Lord for the gift. 

Six days and counting

We have made our final travel arrangements to pick up our sons, Fikadu and Abinet.  Although we have not been "officially" cleared for an Embassy appointment we are taking another leap of Faith and showing up.  The Embassy will have had our paperwork for two weeks.  We pray this is enough time for them to approve and issue their visas.  My husband and I have never traveled with children.  This is going to be an interesting and absolutely marvelous time.  It will be a learning experience for all four of us.  We know that God's hand is in this and we will be protected through the time.
It is difficult to pack personal things for the boys.  We were only able to spend 15 hours over 5 days with them a month ago.  It was a start to get to know them but so much more to learn!  Clothes are the easy one, toys? not so easy due to limited space books, lots of books and coloring things.  Boys, here we come!
This is a venture God has designed and blessed.  It will be a  lesson in trust and faith for each and every one of us and in the end, all four of us will be forever changed.  

January 19th is going to be our magical day

Today we received our sons birth certificates and passports.  At least copies of them.  This means they will be submitted to the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia tomorrow and we will have the next available Embassy appointment.  It should be January 19th.  In just over two weeks we will have our sons in our custody and will be starting our family of four.  Fikadu, your black dog is waiting for you to come home.  Abinet, your kitties, (plural by 12) are waiting for you!  Mom and Dad are coming.

Just catching our breathe

Just catching our breathe vs. just taking our breathe away!  Our trip to Ethiopia was amazing.  We met the most special people.  All of the employees at the guest house, David our driver (very experienced) Job, Jonas, and so many others I can't even single them out. Thank you all!
We arrived in ET on Monday morning, were picked up at the airport and shuffled to meet the other families.  Then off to the transition home to meet our boys.  Fekadu, our oldest, really liked the fact that daddy would play with him, soccer to boot.  Chuck will have to learn the rules but they had a great time together.  Abenet, just wanted to be held.  We swang and went down the slide and he spent just a lot of time looking at my face.  It was incredibly difficult to leave and go back to the guest house but I knew we would see them the next day.
The second day we delivered our care packages, took pictures and delivered our donations.  While we were delivering care packages, the nannies were keeping all the kids in the back of the transition home.  When I looked up here was Abenet and Fekadu peaking around the bush to see if we were there.  When they "spied" us their smiles were just huge!  had to take a break and go kiss and hug on them.  We also met with the teacher, Dr. and psychologist and got some good information.
The third day, Abenet just seemed like he was exhausted.  As exciting as everything was for us, imagine a three year old and the stimulus his little brain had.  He fell asleep in my lap but he wasn't letting go of his photo album and water bottle.  Both highly prized posessions of his.  Their teacher, approached us and asked about a "black dog".  Fekadu was telling everyone he had a black dog!  Then we were able to show her pictures of Miss Pug and sure enough, he has a black dog.  Abenet was very interested in the kitties! so I think we have a couple of animal lovers that will fit right in.
The fourth day was difficult.  We had court and it was very emotional.  Not all the families passed court.  Peter and Christine Coffaro and we passed court.  The others are waiting for "a letter" to be issued and then they will pass as well.  At least there was no need for a deeper investigation.  Fekadu met with his birth father for the final time.  The psychologist was present and we discussed his emotions.  Abenet, ran from his father and would not allow a picture to be taken with him.  I can only imagine the heart break of his father.  The boys mother passed away a year ago November.
The fifth day, was our final day to spend with them as we left Addis late on Friday night.  The psychologist had already prepared the boys for our final visit and their demeanor had clearly changed.  They were almost clingy which made leaving even that much harder. Neither of the boys wanted any of the other children around us and actually went out of the way to isolate us from the other children.   Jonas and Job were quick to assure them we were coming back and we were able to leave a "talking" story book for each of them.  They will be able to hear our voices every day until we return and then they can see our faces as they are listening to our voices when we arrive back in Addis.
So, we left Ethiopia with memories of our two absolutely precious boys, three suitcases, (we took four), an injera basket (Thank you David) three carry ons and one upper respiratory infection.  We landed in San Francisco with an added food poisoning, (didn't hit until we got to the hotel, Praise God) and all of the above.  

Headed home this morning to share our magical news with friends and family.

Perspective

We met our sons this week.  The changes in their smiles and acceptance changed every day.  It was an amazing amazing incredible week.  The boys were nothing less than terrific, right down to the two year old temper tantrum.  We also had the pleasure of meeting the birth father.  His story of just survival is heart rendering.  We learned things about the boys we would never had been able to tell them if we hadn't been on this journey.  The tears, the smiles and the laughter of this week have given us an entirely new perspective on life.  It doesn't matter that we don't have the Christmas tree up or the house decorated or the gift shopping done.  Somehow, the every day events of "keeping up with the Joneses" is no longer important.  Our priorities have changed and God has given us clear direction for those priorities.