Home Coming

Lots to share from the trip home but for now...this picture sits well with our souls!

Stay Tuned...

The good, the bad, and the ugly...

The good:
1.) I think we have stabilized Hambisa's digestive system
2.) Our friends arrived as expected and picked up their beautiful daughter.  Hambisa had his first play date on our hotel floor.
3.) We took two naps today...all of us...from 8:40 to 10:00 AM and again from 1:30 - 2:45PM. That likely won't ever happen again...ever!
4.) We found some ticklish spots!

The bad:
1.) We broke out and took a walk around the block, careful to keep Hambisa covered.  Fresh air was nice.  Who knew taking a walk could feel so bad ass!
2.) As we get closer to departure, both our enthusiasm and anxiety grow.  The thought of being home is wonderful, however the thought of 17 hours in flight time with stop overs in Sudan and Germany, not as exciting.  We are positioned to take it one small step at a time, which we hope to start with a good night's sleep.
3.) Yeah...didn't get that sleep we were hoping for.

The ugly:

60 hours and gone...

Guess what's inside the walls of the US Embassy that I didn't realize I missed?  Grass!  And it was being cut with a lawnmower!  Fresh cut grass and the clean smell of a 4 cycle engine...even better!  20 minutes through security.  4 minutes wait. A 2 minute conversation and we received a birth certificate and promise of passport on Wednesday by 10AM.

On the way home we were reminded that we are strongly encouraged  not to leave the hotel with Hambisa.  So we have started our 60 hours of "house arrest".  It was nice spending a large part of today with our Aunt Mary, Uncle John, and Cousin Heidi who are also in Ethiopia visiting a soon to be adoptive daughter and grand daughter.  The company is therapeutic and quite honestly, more deliberate than our frenzied family gatherings back in the states.  Who knew we'd have to travel half way around the globe to spend some quality time with relatives.  They headed back to the states tonight and now, with Hambisa in hand, we were envious.  60 hours and we're gone as well.

I took a stroll to the market for the necessities...Pringles, Snickers, Ramen noodles, baby soap and a small box of laundry detergent for my laundering activities (note Hambisa does not have the same outfit on in any two pictures).  Managed to let Hambisa soak in the sink and give him his first bath.  Actually, as is evidenced by his love for the water, this is not his first bath, but the first one I've been priviledged to give him.

Bath time was perfectly timed as we were dressing him, we were able to enjoy an unexpected visit from Pastor James, the gentlemen who, along with his wife took Hambisa into their orphanage in Western Ethiopia.  He was in Addis for one more day before heading back and we asked if we could see him.  He came to the hotel, where we could properly thank him and trade one more round of stories about where Hambisa came from and the life he is heading towards.  Pastor James really liked hearing about and picturing Hambisa with his two brothers. 

Hambisa is tired of dragging his knees on the carpet, something that is new to him, so he's pretty much decided he should walk around the hotel room to spare his knees. He's gone from a shaky celebrated step when we got here yesterday, to 10 or so succesful steps. What's impressive is when he gets to his destination, he can easily bend down and pickup a water bottle or my shoe and maintain his balance.  Not bad for an 11 month old.

We managed to get our hands on some pedialyte for Hambisa, so we stopped his formula and are instead going with a clear liquids diet.  We are determined to get his tummy to feel better in the next 60 hours.  Two wet diapers tonight before bed and the absence of diarrhea are leaving us feeling optimistic.  We'll see what the night brings!  We're looking forward to the arrival of some families tomorrow whom we met on our first trip to help us push through our "house arrest".