Well, I do believe the jet-lag has finally gone! Man it was a tough week. I think you realize that when you NEVER travel, you come back and it takes you twice as long to get your life back to normal. But YES, it was absolutely worth it!!!! WE ARE OFFICIALLY THE PROUD PARENTS OF 4!! We arrived in Addis Ababa on Christmas afternoon. After dropping our luggage off at the guest house we were staying at, we headed to the transition house to pick up our kids! Lets just say the ride over was amazing! We were so intrigued to see cars driving literally 4 inches away from each other! People walking through the streets would get within 1 inch of moving vehicles. We were in love with Addis right away! The city was so alive! Even in the midst of poverty, people were hanging out everywhere. When Ashli told us we were approaching the transition house, I began to sweat and my heart was beating so fast! I couldn't believe that the children that I had so grown to love through their pictures, were about to be in my arms! We pulled up to the gate. As Rick and I were getting out of the van, the gates swung open and our Abenet's face was the first one we saw! He absolutely took my breath away!!!! I walked right up to him and kneeled to hug him. I was obviously balling! But I never could have imagined what would happen next! WHEN ABENET LOOKED UP HE YELLED
"DADDY" AND JUMPED IN HIS ARMS!!!!!!
They both began to cry! What an amazing, amazing boy he is! After the emotional introduction, he took us upstairs to go see Hanna! When we walked into her sweet nursery, there she was standing there starring at us!!! With much caution, Rick approached her and picked her up! She started screaming and it lasted all of 20 seconds. Then she was fine. I brought little snacks to give to her for brownie points. Let's just say, that was my in!!! Rick handed her to me and the rest is bliss!!!!!! We had the best 5 days with them! Abenet was so curious about every single thing he came in contact with! He is obsessed with electronics! Every time we turned around, he was taking you picture or listening to you ipod! He couldnt wait to see all the stuff we brought for he and Hanna! We were so amazed just watching him experience so many new things! He was so happy the entire trip. Hanna had a cough and a lot of congestion which made it difficult for her to sleep through the night. However, Abenet slept ALL NIGHT EVERY NIGHT!!! They were both such a joy and the family connection was INSTANT!!!!! What a picture of our relationship with our heavenly Father! From the moment we are adopted in Christ, we feel that connection with God! It was really incredible! Our court process was flawless and we knew within a few hours that our case had passed and that Abenet and Hanna were officially OURS!!!! What a joyous day! We had such a great time with all of the families that stayed with us in our guest house. All the kids loved each other and selfishly, we are excited because 4 of the children we were with, are moving to Nashville!!! Woohoo!! Departure day was very difficult but Abenet understood that we were only coming home for a short time, then we would be bringing them home FOREVER!!!!! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us that week! We felt it! As of right now, we don't know anything about our Embassy date! Please pray that all of our families from our trip will get a quick date! We are hoping for February. Either the 10th or 24th! Again, thank you for all your support and we love you all!!!!!
