One year ago today, we landed in Ethiopia and met our son! I can't believe how quickly the year has flown by or how much has changed in a year. I have thought many times about posting the details of our meeting, but have never done it. Part of the reason is that it is very emotional for me. But I'm going to try to post it today. It is probably going to be pretty long.
We arrived at the airport in Addis Ababa Saturday, August 30, 2008. Our plane was already about an hour late, and then we were a little bit confused on how to get the Visa and where to go after that. We were expecting to have our luggage scanned and looked through before we left the airport, but they just waved us through. The (then) agency director and our driver had been waiting for us for probably over two hours past what they had expected. I felt bad about keeping them, but we had no way of contacting them to let them know the plane had delayed a bit. The driver loaded our many things onto a cart and we walked out to the van. We were, of course, greeted by many "helpful" men out in the parking lot who wanted to help us with our things. The director waved them away until we got to the van. A few helped unload our things, and then expected to be rewarded. I probably only gave them enough tip for one person, but I was in a daze and a bit disoriented. (I kind of felt like I was just observing things from the outside rather than just being a participant. It was somewhat because of excitement, somewhat fear, and somewhat extreme lack of sleep--I had only slept about two hours the night before we left and not at all on the plane.)
We hopped in the van to head to our hotel. It was an interesting drive, just trying to take everything in. They mentioned that they would just drop us off to let us rest for the day, and we would meet Josiah the next day. While I was a bit disappointed with this, I though maybe it was for the best. I did mention that we had talked previously talked with the Kladders about meeting up with them before they flew out that evening, but wasn't sure if it would work. Their next stop after dropping us off was to pick up the other family, so it was decided we would take our things to the hotel, and then go along with them to pick up the Kladders. We tried to sign in as quickly as we could, drop our things off, use the restrooms, and reapply deodorant. Then we headed out again.
We met the Kladders at their guest house and were able to meet their beautiful daughter Bereket. (She has just grown more and more beautiful as she has been home with her family!) She and Elizabeth hit it off pretty well and played for a bit. Elizabeth was happy to give her a doll we had brought for her. We all drove together to the Bethany office and were given a bit of a tour. Then the director said we would go over to meet Josiah. Everything kind of halted for me. We didn't have any of the toys or fun things we were hoping to bring to make the meeting easier. More than that, my emotions had shifted to preparing to meet him the next day. I was nervous and kind of scared, but also excited to meet our son! What was he going to think? How was he going to react to us? I felt totally unprepared!
Okay, I'm going to post this even though it is not finished; I'm too tired/scatter-brained to finish tonight....
why do I have the "Cliff Hangar" song running through my head? :-)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Elizabeth Growing Up
Today Elizabeth wrongly* displayed actions of her growing up. It all started...
David and Elizabeth were headed to Elizabeth's school. When it was time for Elizabeth to get out of the car, she wanted to open her own door, get out, close the door, and head into school. She wouldn't allow David to get out of the car, and wanted to deny him a hug and kiss good-bye.
Later, after coming home from school, she had a sandwich to eat. While eating the sandwich, she noticed that there was something hard and set it aside. A few minutes later, she realized she had lost her first tooth. Thank goodness we then realized that she had it sitting at the table.
... she's not so much a little kid anymore. She is definitely moved to the next stage in her life, and she's taking command and purposefully moving forward.
*(Mommy note: Can you tell Daddy is not so happy for his little girl to be growing and changing without his permission?;-))
David and Elizabeth were headed to Elizabeth's school. When it was time for Elizabeth to get out of the car, she wanted to open her own door, get out, close the door, and head into school. She wouldn't allow David to get out of the car, and wanted to deny him a hug and kiss good-bye.
Later, after coming home from school, she had a sandwich to eat. While eating the sandwich, she noticed that there was something hard and set it aside. A few minutes later, she realized she had lost her first tooth. Thank goodness we then realized that she had it sitting at the table.
... she's not so much a little kid anymore. She is definitely moved to the next stage in her life, and she's taking command and purposefully moving forward.
*(Mommy note: Can you tell Daddy is not so happy for his little girl to be growing and changing without his permission?;-))
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Briana Update
She is 13 inches long. The past two days have been good! Her heart is healing, and she is breathing more and more on her own. They tried to put in a feeding tube, but were unable. They will try tomorrow after they give her a small...er breathing tube. She will have another brain scan Friday to monitor the blood. Chrissy came home Tuesday and said it was her best day, and she's feeling stronger.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Elizabeth Is Off to School
Today is Elizabeth's first day of Kindergarten. Her school is all day, so mommy and Josiah are going to have plenty of bonding time until the baby comes.
Here are a few photos of Elizabeth starting off her first day.
Here are a few photos of Elizabeth starting off her first day.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Update and Prayer Request - *UPDATED*
It's been a while since we've posted. The move and settling between homes has consumed most of our time. We will catch up on that, but right now we have an update on David's sister Chrissy and prayers needed for her pregnancy situation.
Chrissy went to the hospital today. She is around the 24/25 week mark into her pregnancy. Her body decided that it was time to birth the twins (they had passed away several weeks ago). This obviously poses a health risk to the third baby. The initial attempts to halt contractions did not work. So, Chrissy has recieved shots to help Briana's lungs develop and shots to hold off the birthing of the twins until after midnight (to give Briana time to get the medicine). The doctor said that Chrissy's body may stabilize ones the twins are birthed, and Briana will be able to stay in longer. However, her body may begin to birth Briana, and they will need to perform a C-section to reduce the trauma to Briana's little body. Though we would love to get to meet our first niece, we pray she is able to stay safe inside for a while longer!
Please pray for Chrissy, Brad and the baby as they go through this time.
** UPDATE **
Briana was delivered tonight (after 8pm). She's just over a pound, and the neo-natal doctor says she appears very healthy. Thank you for continued thoughts and prayers.
Chrissy went to the hospital today. She is around the 24/25 week mark into her pregnancy. Her body decided that it was time to birth the twins (they had passed away several weeks ago). This obviously poses a health risk to the third baby. The initial attempts to halt contractions did not work. So, Chrissy has recieved shots to help Briana's lungs develop and shots to hold off the birthing of the twins until after midnight (to give Briana time to get the medicine). The doctor said that Chrissy's body may stabilize ones the twins are birthed, and Briana will be able to stay in longer. However, her body may begin to birth Briana, and they will need to perform a C-section to reduce the trauma to Briana's little body. Though we would love to get to meet our first niece, we pray she is able to stay safe inside for a while longer!
Please pray for Chrissy, Brad and the baby as they go through this time.
** UPDATE **
Briana was delivered tonight (after 8pm). She's just over a pound, and the neo-natal doctor says she appears very healthy. Thank you for continued thoughts and prayers.
Friday, August 7, 2009
11 Months
I have so many posts to catch up on...but it's not going to happen tonight! We are busy packing and cleaning to move to the next townhouse.
But I did want to post that tomorrow is 11 Months of having our sweet boy home! And he's not even here to celebrate with us...he is off having a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa, though. :-)
But I did want to post that tomorrow is 11 Months of having our sweet boy home! And he's not even here to celebrate with us...he is off having a wonderful time with Grandma and Grandpa, though. :-)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Update on Chrissy
Asking for your prayers for David's sister, Chrissy. About three weeks ago, Chrissy went to a weekly Dr. visit and found out that two (the identical twins) of her triplets had passed away. They were about 20 weeks along. The Dr. could not find a reason. The news was understandably very hard to hear!
Thankfully, the third baby seems to be strong and doing well. They have chosen to name her Briana Marie. They will continue to do weekly visits with ultrasounds to closely monitor Briana. And Chrissy will most likely have a C-section due to the complications of delivering with the other babies still present.
Chrissy called yesterday and told David that the next month is a critical time in her pregnancy. The doctor is watching very closely for signs of infection (due to the second sac). If there is any sign of infection, they will take her in for a C-section immediately. We are praying there will be no infection, especially as her chances of reaching full-term increase after the month.
Thankfully, the third baby seems to be strong and doing well. They have chosen to name her Briana Marie. They will continue to do weekly visits with ultrasounds to closely monitor Briana. And Chrissy will most likely have a C-section due to the complications of delivering with the other babies still present.
Chrissy called yesterday and told David that the next month is a critical time in her pregnancy. The doctor is watching very closely for signs of infection (due to the second sac). If there is any sign of infection, they will take her in for a C-section immediately. We are praying there will be no infection, especially as her chances of reaching full-term increase after the month.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Anniversary
My beautiful bride and I have been married for a full on 6 years now. Today, we completed the first day of the 7th year. It is amazing the things God has done in our lives. We've lived in our first place for over 5 years... we went on our first (and second) cruise together... have been blessed with a beautiful daughter... experience the process of God through adoption and the blessing of a handsome son... We have lost some loved ones, but we have also gained many more, and many more friends in Christ...
I am very grateful that God has given me 6 years with my wife, and am very excited about the many, many, many more years we will be together, and the things he has planned for us.
I am very grateful that God has given me 6 years with my wife, and am very excited about the many, many, many more years we will be together, and the things he has planned for us.
We peeked :-)
Last weekend, David and I were sitting on the couch just working on the computer and whatnot. THE envelope was sitting on the table next to me. I turned to David and said, "You know we are going to have to look sometime. Two of the kids will have to share the bedroom. Do you want to look now or wait until right before we move?" David made me promise that he chooses the name for this one. (It's only fair since I've pretty much talked him into the names I wanted for the other two ;-) And we've narrowed down the choices we agree upon pretty well.) After some discussion, I agreed. So we looked...
In about 12 weeks, we will have another BOY!!! He will be named Isaac William.
It was fun having our little secret for a while, but it was hard to keep! It seemed as soon as we found out, everyone was asking if we knew. I'm not great at lying to cover it up. And it was not fun to keep talking in hypotheticals with the kids. We shared the news with them this past Saturday as we were driving to my parents' house. Elizabeth is excited to know. She is actually okay with having two brothers. "We can just adopt a sister! But I hope when we adopt, it's not ANOTHER brother" ;-) Josiah doesn't totally seem to understand. It will be interesting when baby actually comes. So far, he has retained his insistance that he does not want to share his room.
Now we'll actually be able to use the couple of boy outfits I've bought in the past few months. I guess I just knew. ;-)
In about 12 weeks, we will have another BOY!!! He will be named Isaac William.
It was fun having our little secret for a while, but it was hard to keep! It seemed as soon as we found out, everyone was asking if we knew. I'm not great at lying to cover it up. And it was not fun to keep talking in hypotheticals with the kids. We shared the news with them this past Saturday as we were driving to my parents' house. Elizabeth is excited to know. She is actually okay with having two brothers. "We can just adopt a sister! But I hope when we adopt, it's not ANOTHER brother" ;-) Josiah doesn't totally seem to understand. It will be interesting when baby actually comes. So far, he has retained his insistance that he does not want to share his room.
Now we'll actually be able to use the couple of boy outfits I've bought in the past few months. I guess I just knew. ;-)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Pediatrician Visit
Today, both kids had a Peds visit. Elizabeth needed her five year old check-up and Kindergarten physical! (This is coming WAY too soon!!!) She weighed in at about 39 lbs. But somehow I forgot her height. Josiah weighs about 25 lbs (a 5 lb increase from his visit 10 months ago) and is about 33 1/2 inches tall. (A growth of about 3 1/2 inches). He's still not on the growth chart for his age, but is in the 25th percentile if you compare his weight for height. I really thought he had grown more, but I'm glad to see some growth!
The doctor was good with the kids, and actually examined them at the same time, which worked pretty well. He would look at one and then the other. Then it came time for the "fun" part. Elizabeth had to have her finger pricked for an Anemia test and three immunizations. The plan was that she would go first so she could be the example for Josiah. After she did so well with the Yellow Fever vaccine before we went to Ethiopia, I though she would be fine this time. Well, she watched the nurse prick her finger with whimpers. When she lied down to have the shots in her legs, she started crying and carrying on before anything even happened.
We ended up not getting Josiah's shots yet. We thought that we had his medical records transferred from the previous Pediatrician, but apparently not. We have not started Josiah on any of his immunizations yet; with the stress at visiting the doctors when we first came home, we decided to wait a few months to let him become more comfortable. We were going to do it around 6 months, and just put it off because of moving...and then his birthday was just a couple months away...and time has just gotten away from us. But we wanted the records because we did have titres done when he came home. Unfortunately, I don't know those results. So, we'll probably be going in a couple weeks once they have his records. It's probably good he didn't have to go after watching Elizabeth anyway :-)
The doctor was good with the kids, and actually examined them at the same time, which worked pretty well. He would look at one and then the other. Then it came time for the "fun" part. Elizabeth had to have her finger pricked for an Anemia test and three immunizations. The plan was that she would go first so she could be the example for Josiah. After she did so well with the Yellow Fever vaccine before we went to Ethiopia, I though she would be fine this time. Well, she watched the nurse prick her finger with whimpers. When she lied down to have the shots in her legs, she started crying and carrying on before anything even happened.
We ended up not getting Josiah's shots yet. We thought that we had his medical records transferred from the previous Pediatrician, but apparently not. We have not started Josiah on any of his immunizations yet; with the stress at visiting the doctors when we first came home, we decided to wait a few months to let him become more comfortable. We were going to do it around 6 months, and just put it off because of moving...and then his birthday was just a couple months away...and time has just gotten away from us. But we wanted the records because we did have titres done when he came home. Unfortunately, I don't know those results. So, we'll probably be going in a couple weeks once they have his records. It's probably good he didn't have to go after watching Elizabeth anyway :-)
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