First Week Success (Pictures Added!)

We've made it through an entire first week successfully! Everyone seems to be on some type of normal sleep schedule (at least pretty close to the correct time zone). There has been some pouting and battle of wills--on all sides, but we have been amazed at how easy-going Josiah and Elizabeth have been.

It's been amazing to watch the growth in Josiah, even after only a week. He is eating well, taking to all sorts of different food, expanding his menu daily. We went to an Ethiopian restaurant on Saturday, and he pretty much showed us how to eat cultural food (and he ate more than his fill). I suspect he'll be growing quickly based on the rate he eats.

He has even progressed to getting in the big bathtub with Elizabeth!...even if he stands up the whole time. We've gone from sponge bathing, to standing in the toddler tub next to Elizabeth in the big tub, and now to standing in the big tub!

Our week ended with Josiah sharing kisses and bonding with sister on Sunday. He was more than happy to go to each person and give them a kiss. He enjoyed tackling Elizabeth first before giving her several. mmmMAH Elizabeth!

Is there anything sweeter than watching new siblings loving on each other AND getting kisses initiated by your sweet son? Not much, if anything!

It was good to have Demarie's family in town for the weekend. They were a tremendous help. Mom Allen was here a few days before we left, went to Ethiopia with us, and then was here for a week after we returned. We would be singing a totally different song right now if we had not had her help all this time! (This is Uncle Brandon and Josiah)

Now the honeymoon week is ending somewhat. All the extended family is gone, Elizabeth starts preschool, and David begins heading back to work. The new normalcy will be defined and life begins as a bigger family. We WILL someday get some more details about our time in Ethiopia. There were so many amazing people, and I think we're still trying to process it all somewhat. I'm also realizing some of the pictures I thought I had are on my mom and dad's cameras, so we'll have to get those to share with you, too!

We want to pass out a "Welcome" to Lily, and say "Congratulations" to the new mom and dad. We are excited for them and this new precious life God has blessed us all with! She is just BEAUTIFUL! So is Mommy! :-)

First Few Days Home - by David

Ahhh... the first few days home. Time shifting is so much fun. We've been working on getting bed time later and waking up later, but we still have early risers (before 5am) children. Demarie has been waking up with them, and hopefully it doesn't take to much longer to get them to adjust.

Josiah likes to eat. We are finding all sorts of different foods he'll eat. The variety is large enough that it shouldn't be too hard to meet the need. He does a good job drinking plenty of fluids.

Josiah is afraid of the cat. And his screaming reaction has generated a fear in the cat of him. Hopefully they get along soon. He's a little scared of the dogs as well. But they both are bigger than he is (one is 2.5 times larger) that it makes sense.

Uncle Brandon made it into town Wednesday night, and Grandpa should be here tomorrow evening.

Tie Over Photos

Here are some photos to tie you over until we get more posts.

Our very first meeting.

Our second meeting started with waking him from a nap.
The third day, he started taking to us, and showing us his charm.
Here's a shot of Elizabeth showing us how much she enjoys Ethiopia.Daddy and Josiah relaxing at the hotel.
And last, but not least, his first CFA experience.

We Are Back in the U.S.A.

Below is the short on the rest of our week (follow-up to the last post). Additional posts will have pictures and expanded information.

- Thursday David started with a few hours of computer support at the Bethany office. Lunch saw us and the other family at Milkyas' house with his family and most of the Bethany staff. The afternoon consisted of us at Yezalelam Minch and a chance to observe a good-bye ceremony for the young lady and other Bethany family. There was shopping at Birtukan's shop, good-byes to the other family, and resting at the hotel.

- Friday started again with David continuing computer support at Bethany. After lunch we did several hours of shopping and then visited "Lucy" at the museum. We enjoyed a cultural dinner with several of our new Christian friends.

- Saturday was the last day in which it started with David performing computer support for Bethany. After lunch, we went to Bora (a children's amusement park) near the airport. Then back to the hotel to begin preparations for home.

- Sunday started with Demarie having been sick overnight. She spent most of the morning and afternoon resting in the hotel room. The rest of us went to the church Nesibu's family attends. We finished packing and rested at the hotel before heading to the airport to travel home.

We safely landed Monday morning, got through customs and immigration, and enjoyed the warm welcome of friends and family. Josiah has already enjoyed his first Chick-fil-A. Most of us were asleep before 6pm, and have started waking up this morning (Tuesday) after 3:30a.

Embassy Success

Here is a quick update of our week so far.

- Monday, we went up to the Embassy to do some "prep" work, but it was
easily forgotten that in America it was Labor Day and the Embassy is
closed. We spent the afternoon with Josiah, and ultimately brought
him back to the hotel to spend the night with us in preparation for an
early rise and trip to the Embassy. He slept most of the night except
3:30a to 5:00a where he enjoyed the experience of a flashlight.

- Tuesday Morning, we went to the Embassy to take care of all the
work. We got there early and got some prep stuff out of the way prior
to our interview. Due to the unfortunate tardiness of another agency,
we had to do our interviews early. (So sad when we were looking
forward to waiting a couple hours). The interview was short, and by
the time it was all done we were informed that we would have Josiah's
visa by Thursday. Thank you for all your prayers for this time.
God's presence was surely felt.

- Tuesday Afternoon, we went to Yezelalem Minch. It is an awesome
ministry, and we were very fortunate to be able to watch them at work,
visit some of the children homes, and make new friends. We even had a
unique experience in seeing God work in the community and through the
community out into greater members of the city. We plan on sharing
more about this ministry later and our special experience later.

- On Wednesday, we went to Gelgela Integrated Orphans & Destitue
Family Support Association. This is where Josiah spent the last 3
months. Here we got to learn about the amazing work that God is doing
through this group. We also got to spend time with the children here
at the headquarters branch, enjoying songs of praise in several
different Ethiopian languages and English. They even counted to 10 in
Italian. They enjoyed the antics of Grandma Allen. Aftwards we ate
at a restaurant within the palace known as the Sheraton Hotel. We
enjoyed a relaxing evening in the hotel.

All in all, the week has been very good. We've met some amazing
peole, made awesome new Christian friends and have enjoyed unique
experiences only available in Ethiopia. Josiah seems to be adjusting
well, and each new day brings additional signs of trust and love
between us and him. We want to thank all of you for your continued
pray and support. We look forward to coming home and sharing this
wonderful new person with you.

Love,
Babers

Just In Case

I'm not sure we'll be able to post anything in Ethiopia, but wanted to make sure all you waiters were able to see our sweet boy. When you are reading this, we should already have our son and hopefully we have made it through the embassy appoinment with flying colors.

We have safely arrived

All,

 

We have safely made it to Addis.  On our first day here, we got to meet Josiah and spend an hour getting to know him.  He's full of personality and we are excited about the direction he'll grow.  Yesterday (Sunday) we enjoyed a church service and spent several hours with him.  Today we'll bring him back to the hotel and get to enjoy him with us for the rest of the week.  Please keep us in your prayers for our Embassy appointment tomorrow.

 

- Dad, sorry we didn't contact you sooner.  We'll try to call later.

 

- Holly, sorry if we made things harder for your travel home.  We pray all is well.

 

- Tracy, happy anniversary tomorrow!

 

- Gareth, we apologize our driver is an Italia Football fan.

 

We miss you all, and we'll try to find another opportunity to post later in the week.

 

Love,  The Babers

We're OFF!!!!

We're Leaving TODAY to go get Josiah!!! We got into the hotel way later last night than planned (thanks to procrastination and nightime construction--seriously, three lanes down to one WITH stalled trucks???)

Elizabeth is so excited! My mom has been a LIFESAVER!!! She is part superwoman. We definitely would have been in trouble without her!

We appreciate your prayers!!! For safety, for Josiah, for Elizabeth, for our Embassy appointment on Tuesday!!!

Blessings,
The Babers

I want to GO!!!

Today, I received the BEST gift I could receive right now...pictures of my son! Thank you SO much, Beth!!! (And yes, it is definitely him...I wasn't totally sure until I saw one with his cute little grin, and then I had NO doubt :-))

Right now, the nerves and anxiety are melting away. I just want to go meet my son NOW!!! Not the best thing, but I really couldn't care less what my house looks like right now or what I have packed or where we'll be staying. I just want to go...

Tonight we have Elizabeth's pre-school open house. We registered her, but haven't heard anything all summer. So, I hope she's on the list! She'll end up probably missing the first two weeks anyway, though. And I don't have all the documents I need with me yet. I've just been kind of focused elsewhere. And right now...as you probably guessed...I just don't care. It'll all be figured out at some point.

Tomorrow we go up to pick up my mom. Wednesday we are probably going to be doing last minute shopping and packing everything. We'll be cleaning and doing laundry in-between. (Sorry Uncle Dan and Moms if the house is not as clean as it should be.) I am actually concerned about one thing with the shopping...I need to find good hair stuff for him. I wasn't so concerned before, as they had his hair cut pretty close. But now, my boy has got some hair! I think I'm going to be taking a picture into the supply shop and saying, HELP!

BIG Smile

I have a big smile on my face this evening. :-D Some of our friends through our agency's boards are currently in Ethiopia bringing home their daughter. (Please keep her in your prayers, as this is a difficult transition for a child.) They included this message about Josiah in their blog:

Demarie, your little Josiah is a peanut too! His eyes are just gorgeous! He was actually moved from Gelgela to the transition house today!! We saw him at Gelgela yesterday and then again today at the transition house... I got some really cute pictures of him for you too...!

This time next week, we will be in Ethiopia--hopefully still sleeping our first night there. Josiah will not be in the hotel with us yet, but I'm hoping we will have met our sweet boy!