Thursday - Busy and difficult

Thursday was the day we visited the orphanage. I was disappointed that we weren't going to Kid's Care as planned, because that's where Zoie was for a short while. I don't remember the reason why it was not open that day. So, we went to Gelgela instead. I was very saddened at what I saw there. It seemed dirty and run-down. The swings were broken, there were piles of rocks/trash. I saw little to no toys. There were some men out front playing with a ball, but I'm not sure why the kids weren't playing with it??? The kids were happy to see us and really enjoyed the candy that was passed out, but the living conditions were sad. However, I'm certain it's better than living on the street. The kids have friends, they appear to be safe, but I believe they are getting the necessities in life and not much more.















This is the potty that one of the visiting families used.














Useless swings...


I don't believe that these kids have been referred to families, yet. So, their future is uncertain.






I also saw the saddest thing I've ever seen in my life. Now, I've seen starving kids on t.v., but not right in front of my eyes. I went into the baby room and in the corner crib were 2 very thin babies. One had a very sharp jaw line and I pulled back the covers to discover basically skin and bones. This baby couldn't have weighted more than 2 pounds at the most. If this baby were in the U.S., it would have been on 24 hr. monitoring, i.v. feeding, probably in critical care. But, this baby was just laying there. No one was holding it. Katie said the baby's bottle was laying next to it. No one was bothered that we were in there. I had to leave. Why wasn't this baby the priority above everything else? Why wasn't this baby in the hospital? Why wasn't this baby getting the love it deserved? It's so unfair.

Wednesday - Embassy Day

We rode to the U.S. Embassy and went through security. There are NO cameras, I-pods or anything like that allowed in the building, so I have no pictures to show. After security, we sat in a room that was too small for the amount of people in it. We made ourselves comfortable on the floor or wherever we could find a spot and we waited and waited and waited. We had been told it could be 2, 3 hrs. and sure enough it was around 2 1/2. They called our family name and upstairs we went to a window where a very nice lady asked us a bunch of questions. I had to raise my hand and promise that I would answer the questions honestly. It was a very easy process once our name was called. She said Zoie's visa would be available soon and off we went.

We had lunch at a place called Lucy's. It's a nice restaurant and I had delicious lasagna (with cinammon).

We asked for ketchup to go with Katie's lunch and we thought the size of this ketchup was funny. We are used to using a LOT of ketchup.














A side note....Not sure when this injury occurred, but Katie opened one of the Guest House doors into her head and created a rather large goose egg on her forehead. I heard what I thought was her crying and here she came. The bump was huge and had a dent right down the middle of it. I grabbed a cold Fanta from the fridge (only thing cold I could find right away) and walked her downstairs where I asked for ice. It took quite a while for ice to appear, but the Fanta really helped. By the time I took this picture, the swelling had gone down, but I had to take a picture for the record.

Tuesday - Gotcha Day!!!

Before we got Zoie, we went shopping, which was quick, but great fun. We shopped at a place with tons of souvenirs that were inexpensive. We only had about an hour, so we ran out of time, but got a great start on shopping. We then had lunch and off to get my girl! They brought her out in a cute little dress this time. Much different than yesterday's brown sweater and blue clothes. She was beautiful.







It was also a busy time because we were privileged to be able to take pictures/give care packages to children of parents who are waiting to travel. This was fun. We were able to meet the children of 6 other families. Katie and I took their pictures. Then, 3 of those kids got small care packages. All the kids are adorable, but it was a little bit hectic. I wouldn't change a thing, though. I think 6 is a lot to squeeze in, but I just couldn't say no to the families who wanted pictures of their kids. I really appreciated it when I got pics of Zoie and I was so happy to be able to pass on the favor.




By the way, no car seats for kids in Ethiopia. Yikes! The driving is a bit crazy, too, so I would think it would be a requirement.

During Meetcha Day, we got a chance to meet with the Transition Home Dr. to go over Zoie's medical info. Then, we said our goodbye's. The ladies went to Boston Spa and had a wonderful time. They passed out a spa sign up sheet at lunch for us to check off if we wanted a massage, pedicure, manicure, etc. I got a wonderful 1 hr. massage and pedicure and Katie got a 1/2 hr. massage, a pedicure and a manicure. They did a great job and I think our total was around $80.


A great value for the services and much appreciated because it was an emotional day. This was also the last time we were able to do activities before we brought the kids "home" with us. So, I highly advise any future travelers to go to the Spa!!!

Then, after that, we went to a traditional Ethiopian dinner. We were very tired by that point and although I'm very glad that I went now, at the time I was super tired and just wanted to get to bed. The dinner was fun because there was lots of traditional dancing and music.




The food was very similar to what we had had at a place here in San Diego. We didn't eat much, but it was good. I got lots of great video and saw some types of dancing I had never seen before. Great to have this to show Zoie when she gets older.

We were able to spend about 3 hours with Zoie before we had to leave. I spent some time in her room and with the other babies and her Nannies. I tried to keep mental notes on how they held her, patted her, laid her down for sleep so that I could see what she was used to. There are about 10 babies in this small room and some very, very little ones. There is a mattress against the wall where they put the babies when they are out of their cribs. The Nannies are wonderful. They are very affectionate with the babies, give out tons of kisses and talk to them. They tend to them fairly quickly when they cry. However, 10 babies is a lot to handle. Even though the babies on the mattress are out of their cribs, they kind of just lay there. I didn't see many toys. There are several different baby rooms in the Transition Home. There's Zoie's room, another room with about 13 babies in it and an older toddler room where most of the kids were walking. Katie spent some time in this room and played with the kids in there. You are required to take your shoes off before entering any of the children's rooms. There is a bathroom, a kitchen and a front porch with couches. There's TONS of laundry hanging outside to dry. There's a Dr.'s office and I believe some beds in there for the really sick ones. Overall, this place is nice and I really do believe the kids are getting good care there. But, as good as this place is, it's still an institution. There's only so much attention they can give to each child. Also, most of the kids that met their parents today had a nasty cough and a yucky nose. It must be close to impossible, with that many children, to keep the kids healthy all the time. Here's a video of Zoie's Nanny loving on her.

We are home!!! Praise the Lord!!! We were unable to post to the blog since last time so there is MUCH to say!

Tonight I will just post pictures and go back later and explain everything. It was a great trip overall. It was an absolutely exhausting trip in every way. So glad to be home.

Here's more pictures of Zoie's crib and room and more of "Meetcha Day".















So pleased to see a roll!!!

More pics...

Paperwork party.....












She loves her hands...
















This is one of her 6 Nannies. They take wonderful care of the babies, but there are 2 Nannies to about 10 babies, so they keep busy. They LOVE the babies. They give them lots of kisses and tend to them quickly when they cry.

One of the best days of my life. Words cannot adequately describe what a wonderful and blessed day it was. It was a day filled with activities, but the most important one, of course, was meeting my little girl. She is sweet, soft, smiley, wonderful, little, beautiful. They brought the kids out in family alpha order and we were #3. They brought her down the steps and handed her to me and WOW, what a moment. I was so excited/nervous a lot of the morning beforehand and I did cry a little when we pulled into the America World Transition Home driveway, but I was fairly composed when the big moment came.


Zoie is a dream. She seems very laid back. She rarely cried the entire time we were there. She is easy to smile and she laughed a few times. I am very happy that I spent some time in her room, meeting 2 of her Nannies and watching them with her. I wanted to see how they held her and fed her and put her down for sleep. I asked a few questions and got some great info. I asked if she was 5 or 6 months and one of them quickly said 5 months. She seemed sure of her answer. They both love her so much.


I plan to give a TON of details later, if time and internet connection allow, but for now I am making this short and posting a few pictures. More to come, so stay tuned.

We had breakfast in the Guest House and it was good. There’s plenty to choose from and we really enjoyed the cheese omelete and pineapple juice. Yum! Katie decided to go to church with another family and Pat and I went to Debre Birhan. It’s about 70 miles away, I think, but it took us 3 hours to get there. It was a wonderful day and I’m so glad that I went. I saw so much that it’s really hard to get it all down. The countryside was beautiful and here's some of the pictures I took.


Once we got to Debre Birhan, we went to the orphanage where Zoie was for a short time before being transferred to the Addis Kids Care location. Although I was glad that I visited, it just made me sad. It's just like a small house with a living area and a baby room.

It's bare, I saw no toys and there was nothing really warm about it at all. There are about 7-10 kids there currently and no babies.
The baby room was just cribs and I believe the older kids sleep in another small building in the back. One family handed the kids each a banana and the kids ate them right away. The kids seemed fine, but they wore clothes that didn't fit, some had shoes on the wrong feet, etc. It was depressing. The ladies there were working hard, one was doing laundry in a tub in the back and the other was working in the kitchen (or what we would call a tiny room with a table and a burner.)



The good news is that we went to a building that is under construction and will be the new orphanage as well as clinic and school.
It's a mansion compared to the current one and I belive the kids will be transferred to the new place if they haven't been adopted by then.

I was not able to get any more info. on Zoie. It's been months since she was there and I don't believe she was there very long.