Day 12 & 13

Day 12
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDDY!!!! Today is daddy’s birthday!! He is the big 29! What a present…the first birthday as daddy! We got up this morning…running late (having a baby seems to do that to us) and met Tafesse to go to Entoto Mountain. It is the highest point in Addis Ababa. It is about 10,000 feet above sea level. As we were going up the mountain we saw some of the most heartbreaking things. We saw women of all ages carrying very heavy loads of wood, leaves, and dried cow manure. The loads that they carried were from 150 to 170 lbs and they carried them about 18 miles a day. Most of these women weren’t more than 120 lbs themselves! It was so terrible, they used sticks to keep themselves from toppling over forward as they trekked down the mountain. I couldn’t believe the work ethic of these miraculous individuals! It was inspiring to say the least. I complain about standing at Rite Aid for 12 hours a day and in some places of the world these things are happening. I quickly got perspective. After our trip up the mountain we went to the Lion Zoo. The conditions for the animals were very inhumane. It was kind of like lions at the circus in cages. They had no place to roam or be out of the public sight. They were truly in captivity and they knew it. We watched them pace back and forth in their small concrete cage and they had nothing to look forward to until the daily feeding. I felt so sorry for those poor creatures. We went back to the hotel and hung out until dinner. Cortney had a massage at the Hilton for his birthday. Mommy and Ian stayed in the room and waited for Belay to call with the best news ever!! He called from the lobby where he was waiting with Ian’s passport, visa, and immigration documents!!! WOO HOO!!!! Nothing else left!!! Just get on the plane tomorrow!!! Cortney was very excited when he got back to the room!!

We had dinner with Renee and Geert and the children for Cortney’s birthday dinner. We had the best time and I am so thankful that we were able to meet up with our wonderful friends! The children stole the show for dinner. Everyone sitting near our table and the waiters just loved the kids and everyone has a smile for these little Ethiopian beauties!! A gentleman even paid our bill for dinner. WOW you’ve got to love this place!!!!!

Day 13
13 days. Thirteen days of being in Ethiopia, prefaced with 3 of the worst days of travel that we could have anticipated. As I reflect back on the news of Cortney’s dad having a heart attack, open heart surgery, and making it through I think of how horrific the outcome could have been. We stood there in the airport waiting to see if he would make it. Waiting as he fought for his life and for the phone call saying that he had made it through surgery. Cortney’s best friend was fighting for his life and his son was waiting for his parents. We were physically fatigued but emotionally exhausted after waiting for 4 long hours to hear the outcome of the surgery. Then after hearing the news that he did great during the surgery and everything went the best it could have gone, we were on an emotional high. Our next few days of travel were exhausting and then the climax…holding our son for the first time. Seeing his beautiful face and knowing that we were finally at the end. It was the end of months of waiting for him to be with us and years of wanting a child. We had him, his beautiful smile, his captivating laugh, and the most sincere eyes that his mommy has ever seen!
Now we were going to depart this country that gave us this most precious treasure. Saying good bye to the people who made us feel so at home and good bye to the only home Ian has known.
We went to the airport in Addis, hugged Tafesse and said our farewells. We stood in a very long line and got boarding passes for our family of three. We traveled to the states and were united with some very eager family members!