Our week in Ethiopia with Gracie.

The week was filled with activities and down time. The time really did fly by. Sitting here now, I can't believe it is over. Of course our jouney has just begun, but all the planning, paperwork, praying, waiting, visiting blogs to try to figure out the approximate time we might travel.......that is over. The anticipation is over. In most ways I am very glad for that but in some ways am sad. I think it's the same feeling I had sitting in the whirlpool tub at the hospital after delivering my boys and running my hand over my belly, knowing I was not pregnant anymore. Life is made up of moments, these are the moments....the feelings I will never forget.
Let me first say that Hannah's Hope is wonderful ( I think as wonderful as a transition home can be). That is all because of Almaz. She has dedicated her life to these children and she really does consider them her children. She is so easy to talk to, so knowledgable and understanding. She has such a strong sense of self and I aspire to be like her. She runs a tight ship. The special mothers are caring and loving to the children. I thought they did a great job. The home is decorated nicely. It was great fun to play with the older children. I played volleyball with the older girls and John played soccer with the boys. One day I couldn't find John...and then one of the kids told me he was eating with the toddlers. Sure enough, there he was sitting on a toddler chair, at the toddler's table, eating Injera with the kids.
We went to Habesha... a great restaurnat with great Injera...twice. They had some dancers and singers doing native dancing. The women were beautiful... I'll post a pic. I wish I could have gotten just a head shot with them looking right at the camera. I have to say that the women of Ethiopia are some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen and I am not just saying that because my daughter is Ethiopian. I find it funny that our Lonely Planet, Ethiopia, books cover page shows 2 men with paint on their faces and barely clothed. I think a lot of people think that this is what people look like in Africa. Almaz said National Geographic goes and finds the remotest tribal people and then photgraphs them. This is not what people in Addis look like. They are just like us.
We went shopping...we got coffee, and I got a scarf, tapesty, bracelet and cross and a bowl with Mary painted in it for Gracie. We bought the boys spacesuits from the Smithsonian store at the Dullas Airport in D.C. They love them... I think they'll use them more than any souvenier I could have found in Addis. We got Casey some colorful rocks from the Smithsonian and a bracelet from Addis.
Almaz sent us to the Hilton on our last day for a massage. 45 minutes for about 12 dollars. It was great. A bit immodest but great. They massage your front and back...of course avoiding the taboo areas.
We basically spent our days partially at Hannah's Hope, then some activity, then some time at the hotel. Gracie slept in the Moses basket that Almaz let us use while at our Hotel. She slept in the closet for some of the night. (It's a large closet and the doors were open) otherwise John and I would have had to be up with all the lights off.
The embassy appointment was on day 2. Seemed kind of funny that the whole appointment took about 5 minutes. All the work.....for 5 minutes. Oh well, It was fine.
The day we left was hard. I think Almaz tried to make it easier by not having us say good by to the staff and kids. The special mothers had already been crying during the week knowing Gracie was leaving. She thought saying good by would just bring on more tears. She was right. It was hard to see the older children as we first walked into Hannah's Hope. I am sure they are dissapointed when most of the people come to adopt the babies. I so would like to adopt an older child. We are already thinking about this.
How fortunate we have been to have been led to adoption. From the start of this tiny soul to the reality of bringing her home.
She has truly changed us all. We have returned different people. Not only because of her, but the people and places we have met and gone because of her. Africa, Ethiopia, the special mothers, Danny and Welde, Almaz, and the children of Hannah's Hope. They have all changed us as well. Love really is the answer. We're here only to teach love. When we're doing that, our souls are singing and dancing (Gerald Jampolsky M.D.)