This Just Feels Better

After a flight back to Phoenix, some take out from Pei Wei, and a much needed night's sleep, Brian (Ty's Dad) woke Kathi up at 3:08am, and was already showered, dressed and ready to go. After all, we had to leave the house an hour and a half later.

Paige came over at 0'dark-thirty to help us transport all the huge donations bags back to the airport since we and the donations wouldn't all fit in one car. (Thanks Paiger!)
We caught the 6am flight to Chicago, quick stop there and then on to Washington DC. Since we were the last on the flight (that's the joy of Stand-by), we were scattered all over the plane. I sat Max with a couple with a baby, they looked pretty safe, and I sat in between two big guys. I don't know where everyone else sat. We were a little worried about Max by himself, but he did great! I fell right to sleep, and about half way through, I woke up and saw Ty take Max to the restroom.

I sat there thinking, since I was alone, and all these thoughts were running through my mind. I started writing in my journal (thank you Angel!) and had so many emotions, I didn't know where to start. I was thinking about how excited I am to meet and hold my little guys, how I hope they will adapt well, how much I will miss my one on one time with Max, how Max will adapt, how crazy yet wonderful our lives will be, how grateful I am to be making this adventure with Ty, the love of my life, how the birth family must be feeling, how much I am looking forward to getting to see the country our little guys will come from, how grateful and overwhelmed I feel for all the support and love we have received from people close to us and people who don't really know us, how grateful I am to have in-laws who are so loving and willing to take this journey with us which is WAY out of their comfort zone yet they are doing it anyway, how much Angel and Rob are giving up to let Kathi, their main Charlie holder, come with us, its all just wonderful and crazy and well, just ....CRAZY!! I started tearing up writing all of this and the guys next to me kept joking about all the pot holes in the sky we were hitting.
But I have to say, even though not making the flight yesterday was a little disappointing, going this way just feels better. It's more relaxed, and just feels better for some reason. And we won't have a twelve hour layover in Dubai in the middle of the night.
Tomorrow we will catch our flight to Rome on our way to Addis Ababa and we won't even have to get off the plane.

Since we had some time to kill here in DC, Max, Kathi and I went to the Smithsonian close to the airport that is all about air travel while Ty and Brian took all the monster luggage to the hotel and got us all checked in. Max got to see the space shuttle, the Enola Gay (the first atomic bomb dropper) and tons of other cool aviation feats.
We'll be "up and at 'em" in the morning, leaving for the airport at 7am local, so we'll be up by 4am when Brian wakes us up. ---Ann

Hot Diggity

Well our adventure has started. My parents got on a plane out of SLC at 6:55 to LAX and arrived at 8am. We met them there with no real problems. We got in the line for Emirates Airlines to go to Dubai at 1:45. The line continued to grow which made us, especially my dad, nervous. In case you didn't't know we are flying standby. Flying standby for us on Emirates cost us $400 a piece for the adults, Max was about $350 and the twins one way are about $100 including taxes. Normal confirmed tickets are roughly $1600 to $3000 a piece. Needless to say we are all about saving money. Unfortunately Emirates was full and we didn't't make it. What did look like a good option getting there changed as they are beginning every day service from LAX May 1 and started running very cheap flights to fill them and started a few days before the every day service. So we went to plan B and are flying to Washington DC to fly out of there on Ethiopian Air. They told me on the phone that the flight looks good but we will have to see. We have until May 8 to get there so we will be fine. Everyone is doing great. On the way to the airport in Phoenix Max said he was bored. I thought that was funny as we were looking at 36 more hours before we got to Addis Ababa(turns out it is going to be a few more than that). After talking to him a little I was able to understand that what he meant to say he anxious and couldn't wait to meet his brothers. I asked him as I was videoing him if he had anything to say and he said let me think about that (he thought for about 5 sec.) and said "Hot Digity". The kid cracks me up, so that is the word of the day. We are on our way. Again.

Donations

Donations

We did not expect this and are deeply humbled by your genorosity. Just a sample of what we received to take with us. Over 1,300 diapers, puzzles, toys, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, all different size of clothing, lotion, pian reliever bandaids, shoes, etc. And for those of you that donated money Ann went to Costco and bought a ton of medicine tylonal cold meds etc. thank you thank you thank you. It is very moving to see the genorosity of so many, many don't even know us. All in all we will be taking over 400lbs of donations. Incredible in this bad economy how much people still give. We are off in the morning. Hope it all works out. Blogspot apparently doesnt work in Ethiopia, so I will be emailing my sister to update the blog. I hope it works. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers. Well be back around the middle of May.

Ethiopian Food

For my birthday my mom flew down and took us to dinner. I wanted to go to an Ethiopian restaurant. I wanted Max to start to get used to what we were going to eat over there(to make sure we didn't have to pack more peanut butter). Before this adoption journey I had never been to an Ethiopian restaurant. We went to Cafe Lalibela in Tempe 833 west University. It was great. It is a different style of eating. It is family style. the picture shows what it looks like. It isn't much to look at if you've never had it.
The giant tray is covered even overlapping in a gray cloth looking thing. The cloth looking thing is actually Injera, it is a sourdough pancake like bread, it reminds me of a spongy crepe. It is covered with an assortment of stews etc. We got a extra piece of Injera and ripped a 3 inch piece off and pinched the different samples. It is eaten with your fingers. Traditionally you sit on couches around a table like this one. There was chicken and lamb wat, i think it is called Dora(chicken) wat. Some lentil beans stuff. You do eat the table cloth underneath as well. Max loved it. He would run to different spots to try the different samples. and say "This one is Delicious"

Pre-adoption week trip itinerary

Day 01 Sat 02 May
Addis Ababa – Bahir Dar
- AM 07:10-08:10 ET122 flight to Bahir Dar
- On arrival you’ll be met at Bahir Dar Airport and taken to Tana Hotel
- After hotel check-in AM visit Bahir Dar town’s weekly open market
- PM boat ride over Lake Tana to visit one of the old island monasteries Ura Kidane Mihret.
Here we’ll arrange a priest dressed in traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Church attire to renew your wedding vows as well bless your son and the rings. Our 10 year anniversary is May 1
- Stay 2 nights Bahir Dar Tana Hotel

Day 02 Sun 03 May
Bahir Dar
- AM excursion to Blue Nile Falls situated 30 km out of Bahir Dar town
- PM sunset viewing on Lake Tana from the hill nearby Late Emperor’s palace

Day 03 Mon 04 May
Bahir Dar – Gondar
- AM 08:30-08:50 ET122 flight to Gondar and on arrival transfer to Goha Hotel
- PM sightseeing of Gondar and visit the walled Royal Enclosure that contains 17th century castles; Debre Berhane Selassie Church; Fasiledese's Bathing Pool; abbey of Empress Mentewab and finally Felasha (Black Jews) Village
- Overnight Gondar Goha Hotel


Day 04 Tue 05 May
Gondar – Lalibela
- AM 09:00-09:40 ET122 flight to Lalibela and on arrival transfer to Jerusalem Hotel
- The rest of the day will be spent in Lalibela town exploring the eleven 13th century rock-hewn churches
- Overnight Lalibela Jerusalem Hotel

Day 05 Wed 06 May
Lalibela – Axum
- AM 10:00-10:40 ET122 flight to Axum and on arrival transfer to Yeha Hotel
- PM visit in Axum town Archaeological Museum; Stele Square; 6th century Kings Gebre-Meskel & Kaleb Necropolis; Tsion Mariam Church; Epitaph of King Ezana and finally ruins of Queen Sheba’s Palace
- Overnight Axum Yeha Hotel

The big 40

Yes today I turn 40 with 3 little kids. wow. I am so excited for this trip I can hardly stand it. Thought I'd share a typical house that we expect to see in the country. These are the homes of the farmers outside of the city the smoke coming from the roof is some cooking that is being done.
I guess the kids like to come out and wave to all the passerby.

5 days until we leave wow

8 days left

This is a picture of the capitol Addis Ababa

With our first 100 degree day of the year yes 100, I thought id say what the weather is like in Ethiopia. When many people think of Africa they think hot. Ethiopia is close to the equator But the Capital Addis Ababa is actually very high in elevation. From its lowest point, around Bole International Airport, at 2,326 meters (7,630 ft) above sea level in the southern periphery, the city rises to over 3,000 meters (9,800 ft) in the Entoto Mountains to the north. right now tempatures are running about high 70's but since it is so high it cools off and the lows are in the low 50's. The rainy season in the capitol is around August although it is starting to get a little moisture around this time of year.

9 days until we leave

Things are coming together. Ann has been working on packing and buying supplies etc. and I have been working on gathering all of the paperwork we left for the last minute. Everything needs to be done twice(once for each kid. In fact we took Saturday off and did Pat's run A 4.2 mile fun run honoring Pat Tillman the Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan. There were over 20,000 runners and it ended on the 42 yard line at ASU. That is fun to run on the field.

I also wanted to answer a couple questions that come up and might be on your mind.

Why do Ethiopians terminate their parental rights?

•Most children who need adoptive homes in Ethiopia are placed due to the illness of one or both parents, abandonment, or extreme poverty. When a parent(s) dies often the extended family members will try to parent the children, but often cannot do so because of their own level of poverty.

•Birth control is not common in this area so the remaining family members have many of their own children to care for, making it difficult to care for the additional children. It is socially unacceptable for women to have children before marriage and a young mother will have much difficulty trying to parent on her own.

Do we know know about the birth parents?

Yes we know a lot of information However we have learned through all of the reading and social workers etc. that the confidential information that has been and may be exchanged belongs to our kids. Once this information is heard by others it is no longer ours to be shared with our kids when we choose and feel it is appropriate.

We are just finalizing our travel plans what we are going to see etc. We are probably flying over on Eremites to Dubai and have a 12 hr layover. Which will be fun to see. then on to Addis arriving on May 1st. I'll post our schedule when i finalize it.

May 7th is confirmed

We have been confirmed for Meeting with our travel group at the airport on May 7th. We get to see and hold them for the first time the next day. We are going to leave either April 29th or 30th. We will tour the country for the first week then the adoption week. We'll be home about the 16th. I'll tell you more about the trip as i work out the details. We're pretty damn excited needless to say.

Donations for orphanage

Some people have asked about taking donations to Ethiopia with us I got this donation list from the staff. We will have 5 of us traveling and can take a two basgs 50 lb each so we will have some room if anyone would like to donate. Sorry to put this so last minute. right now if things stay the same we are going to leave around the 29th and should be confirmed this week. Thank you all for any help.


Hi Ty and Annabelle. Attached is the Donation List. The most needed items right now are formula (soy and similac - can be generic version), diapers (all sizes), wipes, and hand sanitizer.


Donation List
~ Bedding- sheets and bedcovers for twin and full sized beds
~Digital Scale
~Measurement Meter
~Length Board

Pampers (all sizes, especially for newborns)
Baby Wipes
Baby Lotion
Baby Shampoo
Baby Oil
Vaseline
Hand Sanitizer (self-pump bottles)
Soy Formula
Surgical Masks
Latex Gloves
Gauze
Bandages
Cotton
Tip Applicator
Paper for Changing Tables
Shoes (Toddler and Infant)
Clothes (all sizes needed, especially infant and toddler)
NG Tubes, #5, #6, #8

List of Medicines Needed

Ibuprofer drops or syrups (children’s ibuprofen) 400mg
Anti Acid Tablet
Anti Acid Syrup
Foban Ointment
Clotrimazol Cream
Antibiotic Ointment
Baby Suppository
Children’s Pain Reliever tablets & drops
Multi Vitamin Syrup and Capsules
Vitamin D Injection
Iron Drops


Items needed for brain development:

Building blocks
Coloring Books
Puzzles with big pieces
Big Legos
Books
Big cars to sit in and push around
Any toys they can walk under (tunnel type toys)

May 7th is our tentative date

We have a tentative date of May 7th(my sisters b-day) to meet and hold those little guys. They gave us a tentative date to be confirmed next week. We plan to go over about a week early around May 1 (which happens to be our 10 year anniversary)to tour the country but that is when our adoption week will begin. Things are going great with us just frantically packing, paperwork,planning flights, more paperwork, planning the tour,more paperwork, revising travel because the twins will be traveling on a Ethiopian passport and adoption visa(some countries require a transit visa even just transferring airplanes for non US citizens), non-revving, checklists, etc.

Birth Certificates

Things are moving fast. We didn't expect these for another week. Wow it is neat to see it in writing that we're the parents of these babies.

Can't wait to feel just welmed instead of overwelmed

Ann and i are frantically trying to get ready for the trip getting all of the paperwork together packing preparing the house, planning the extra trip we plan to stay and see the country the week before we can pick up the twins. Just want to get the kids home as soon as possible. I am worried about Fetene not gaining much weight. Although it is very cute i wonder if it has anything to do with them drinking out of a cup. I don't know. Just thoughts that are going through my little head.I'm super excited but worry about the kids, trying to remember how to take care of a baby, staring at their pictures, rereading the social report, hoping i don't forget to do some paperwork issue to take.

The good thing about my job and working as much as i have been lately is I get a new group of people to bore and show pictures to every flight so they at least seem interested. Where else can the go, or how can they make up an excuse that they have to be somewhere, It is a very captive audience. needless to say Ann and I are very excited.
I found someone who saw our babies in Jan. while picking up their child. Anyway this is what she sent me about the kids.

When we met your twins they were in the upstairs room, right next to the nanny's station for the teeny tiny babies. The nannies were so proud and held them each up and said, "look at these twins!". They were very swaddled and in that room they were kept very warm (there was an extra space heater or two in the room since the babies were all so young). They were so adorable and so sweet. I'm so happy for you! You better get packing.

One thing is for sure: the children at CHSFS are so loved and so cared for. I think the best thing the nannies do is teach the children to be happy- did you know there is a laugh therapist at the care center? supposedly this laugh therapist holds the world record for laughing!

Best,
Mindy
________

court approved!!!!!

we got a phone call and this email today so we should be there in 3 to 6 weeks. we were both crying as this is a big milestone and a long wait

Hello Ty and Annabelle! Hooray! We have received verbal confirmation today that your case has made it through court in Ethiopia. The written court order and a written letter from the Ministry of Women's Affairs needs to be obtained by our staff in order for your child's birth certificate to be issued and sent to us via e-mail attachment. This process has been taking about 2 weeks. Once we receive and review the birth certificate to confirm that everything is correct, we will forward a copy to you and you will receive a travel date for about 3 weeks from this time and then can confirm your tickets to travel. Please let me know if you have any questions.

I hope you have a wonderful day!