"Play kites?"

Someone gave the boys kites at one of our parties and despite my hiding efforts (I need to get better at that...), Charlie found the kites and knew what they were Week 1. And despite his incessant requesting to "Play kites?", I have done my best to explain that in order to "play kites" we have to have wind. Big wind. And it has been nothing less than windy in the 'Ville lately.

Well, he obviously has understood because today he went outside and came bolting back in yelling, "Kite! Kite! Kite!!!!" Sure enough, on our first real day of fall weather, it was actually pretty windy. (Smart kid.)

I promised we would "play kite" after we had lunch and Charlie always holds you to your word. He hadn't even finished chewing up his peanut butter & jelly before he was spewing crumbs trying to ask for the kites!


They had a blast with the kites although we had a hard time staying away from the trees. I lost count of how many times Charlie's kite ended up in a tree. Each time, he was able to retrieve it. Until his string broke. He pouted for about 2 hours as he stood under the tree throwing sticks, rocks and even at one point yelling at the tree, which I had to laugh at! Fortunately, Daddy came to the rescue and was able to retrieve it once he got home tonight.




Sam just ended up with a huge, knotted mess once his kite came down. I don't know why I am surprised. He would gasp and yell, "Oh! Mommy!" each time his kite came down. Funny kid.



We'll try again tomorrow. I'm going to try the field beside the Jolly's house tomorrow...no trees within kite trapping distance. Hopefully.

And just a note to all you who probably thoroughly enjoyed today's cool fall weather (with a high of about 65, I believe)...the boys were absolutely freezing today!! If they thought today was cold, we are in for a long, hard winter...

Suckers. At bedtime. Thanks, Dad.

Several of you have requested a "Charlie" video...so, here's one with both of them, but Charlie is doing the talking. Well, as much talking as we do these days! He understands a lot, verbalizes a little and does his fair share of ignoring us, too. I think he is still trying to play the "I don't understand" card, but Mom & Dad aren't dummies...that only works for so long...

Enjoy! They were watching Extreme Home Makeover. I had it on, but they got totally wrapped up in it as well. I think they liked seeing the house being built. Maybe this will be a Sunday night tradition...the show, NOT the suckers! (Sam was beyond sticky after he finished.)

Super Cuts

I've never claimed to know much about doing hair...my own, let alone someone else's. Namely, the hair of the two precious little boys I love so much. (Let's just thank the Lord they aren't girls!)

So, Aunt Tera to the rescue! The boys were getting a little fuzzy-headed and so Tera came by earlier this week to give Mom a lesson on cutting hair. Her little guy needed a cut too, so we set up all the boys outside on the carport and gave Jonas a cut first so that the boys could see what was going to happen. Charlie jumped right up on the stool for his turn, followed by Sam! They did great!



That was Monday night. On Wednesday morning, Charlie cried all morning, while holding his head. I asked a million questions trying to find out what was wrong...Are you in pain? Did you hit your head? He even sat for a while on the couch with a cold washcloth propped on his head (a cold cloth fixes everything!), and all the while he was probably thinking, "My mom is a moron." Just as I was about to give him some Tylenol, thinking perhaps he had a headache, he informed me he did not like his haircut! WHAT?? That's what all these tears are about?? I simply informed him that part of my job as his mommy was to take care of all of him and sometimes that means we have to cut our hair so that he looks his best. That was it...tears gone, back to playing.

Sigh. Did we just cry for 3 hours over a haircut? That's okay...also part of my job as mommy. :)


The boys checking out their new do's in the bathroom mirror!

Bicycle.

The week the boys came home, I made the unfortunate mistake of running into Walmart with them for just one little item...

Twenty-four hours later, I was still hearing, "Bicycle. Bicycle. Bicycle. Bicycle..." Seems our oldest had seen a bicycle while in the store (still don't know where, since we only went to the food side and then came right out...) and now that was all his little brain could think about. It didn't help that our friend Danny from Ethiopia told us one day during lunch, "Just so you know, I tell him, you buy him red bicycle when you get home." [read with Ethiopian accent] Thanks Danny. So far, Charlie forgets NOTHING that you tell him and I'm sure his little mind went back to that conversation and he just knew he was going to get a shiny, new, red bike!!

Kenny & I had full intentions of buying the kid a bike, just had no timeline to get it done on. Seems Charlie made his own timeline which consisted of NOW. We put him off a few days, but on Labor Day, Kenny & Dwayne loaded up and returned shortly with a shiny, new, red bike!! And a little one for Sam, who certainly couldn't be left out of the whole process!

Unfortunately, Charlie has ridden Sam's bike more than his own. Combine no leg strength with a serious lack of balance and it makes it really hard to ride a bike! He's getting better everyday but has to have lots of help to ride his bike. He practices everyday on Sam's bike and one day soon, we'll get the gist of riding a big bike...



Holy Cow...look what I just got!!


Little Man checking out his new wheels...


How many people does it take to put on a pair of training wheels??


Look at me...!


Someone just hold me. I never asked for a new bike and now you are making me wear this silly hat...

Saturday (8/29)--Homecoming!!

Sometime during the longest flight of my life, it turned into Saturday. And that day was nothing short of how I had imagined it would be for over a year and a half...


Taken by a sweet soul who emailed these to me just today...we had just gotten off the plane and were on a shuttle to the actual airport. Just looking at that picture makes me tired...

We landed in Washington DC around 8:30 am, zoomed through customs and immigration (Praise the Lord!) and went on a mission to find our gate for our flight to Chicago. We were all starving, but a little confused as to whether we should have eaten breakfast or lunch. We opted for lunch since the first thing we came across was a Wendy's...Welcome to America boys!! Sam downed a cheeseburger and a half and totally avoided the fries. (He'll learn soon enough!)
My favorite part of that morning was Kenny leaning back to tell me that Charlie had just exclaimed, "Yes, America!" as we landed in DC. I still get chills just typing it! He was SO excited and despite what we thought, had a pretty good grasp on what was going on. And for some reason, this landing was quite emotional for both Kenny and I...I don't know if it was extreme exhaustion from a 17 hour flight or just the emotions of the whole week coming crashing down, but we both shed our share of tears as the wheels touched down in the great US of A! I really had a hard time holding it together! And to top it off, after being awake for almost 10 hours straight, Sam had decided to drift off to sleep 20 minutes before landing...little stinker!

We had the stewardess on Ethiopian Air tell Charlie before we got off the plane that he had 2 more flights before he got home. Our flight to Chicago was quick and uneventful and the 3 hour lay over seemed to last forever. Sam and I rode the same moving sidewalk back and forth probably about 47 times. And Charlie and Kenny took their share of walks as well to help the time pass.



When we got on the plane to Louisville, we could barely contain Charlie! He was SO excited and kept letting out little yelps of joy! Not to mention he was a wiggle worm...Kenny probably apologized to the lady in front of Charlie 10 times during the 45 minute flight because he was bouncing around so much. And of course, I cried again when we landed in Louisville!

I don't know why, but I was jumbled mess of nervous and anxious as we made our way through the airport with the boys. I was SO excited to have the boys meet all their family and friends and was in desperate need of hugs from several select people! (Mommy, Nicole, etc...) It seemed like we were the only ones in the airport and we could see (and hear!) the crowd as we came down the long hallway! I wanted to run, but since Sam had fallen asleep again, that was out of the question!


It was SOOOOO good to see ALL of your smiling faces as we rounded the corner...I didn't know who to go to first, but y'all solved that problem for me as we were covered in hugs! The boys...well, Charlie...did amazingly well with this big reception! He was passing out hugs left and right to all who wanted them, surprising me and Kenny! Sam, on the other hand, was a little disturbed that we had woken him up (again!) and wasn't quite as happy about the overzealous greetings he was receiving. I personally couldn't have been happier that so many people cared enough to come to the airport on a Saturday night to welcome us home!! We felt so loved and blessed to know that you all cared so much for us and the boys!

There is no way to put all the pics from the airport on here, so if you care, they are ALL HERE... but here's a few of our favorites...


Here we are...We have doubled in size!


Love this! Daddy & Charlie...


Someone gave Sam a sucker...made things better since we had just woke him up...it was, after all, 12 AM in Ethiopia...


Emma kept coming up to me and saying, "Put him down so I can see him!" Poor kid had just waited so long to meet Sam, she couldn't stand that she couldn't see his face!


Eli came to welcome his friends home...Love this since 9 months ago he came home from the same orphanage!

Friday (8/28)

FRIDAY! Despite the fact that we had come to Ethiopia on a long awaited trip to pick up the boys, the new had worn off and we were both MORE than ready to get back home with the them. Fast.

We really didn't do anything on Friday but pack. The boys played outside, watched a movie, played in the room, watched "mekinas" (cars) from the windows...they had really done fabulous all week as we had been confined to a small space.


We forced naps on them in the afternoon (I say forced, because it definitely wasn't done willingly). Our flight didn't leave that evening until 10:15 pm. We had to be at the airport around 6:00. And they were used to going to bed at 8:00 pm...figured it would be a long night...

They both actually did really well...I'm not sure if it was the excitement of all things new or what, but they did fantastic at the airport that night. I took them to the bathroom while Kenny was filling out some paperwork for us and just about couldn't get them out. Imagine taking 2 little boys that have lived in an orphanage for the past 18 months into a bathroom with automatic soap, automatic water, automatic hand dryers...they were in heaven! And we made quite the mess while we were in there...who can resist turning the water on just one more time??!!

We took turns just walking the airport once we got settled. Charlie found the "Duty Free" shop and somehow we ended up with a massive bag of fun size Snickers. The bad part is, neither one of us remember what we did with it after boarding the plane. The good part is, someone took a picture of Sam enjoying his first Snickers...if you can't tell, he is loving it, but picking out the nuts, one by one, and placing them in my hand. We were both quite sticky after this ordeal.


We passed through security about 47 times before we acutally ended up in the area waiting to board the plane. I wish you could have seen the boy's faces the first time they saw the plane. Facinated! They literally sat right in front of Kenny the entire time, just watching. And it was dark, so they could barely see anything. If you can't tell, they are both holding toy airplanes. Those were very instrumental in our trip home and they stayed close by the whole way. (Thanks First Steps!)


Sam passed out as soon as we got on the plane and slept about 7 hours. Charlie finally calmed down around 1:00 am and slept for a while. Kenny & I slept on and off and tried to constantly figure out what meal we were being served. It seemed like every hour they were bringing more food. I can honestly say that was the longest 17 hours of my life......

Our current obsession...

Since we received the boys referral on December 1 of last year, Grace & Emma have been thoroughly obsessed with all things Charlie & Sam. They were one of the first to see the boys pictures. They prayed for the boys, they looked at pictures of the boys, they asked about the boys, helped paint rooms for the boys, planned for the boys...and above all wondered when the boys would get to come home!! Emma was apparently even more excited about the boys arrival than her upcoming trip to Disney World!

Well, now the obsession is being reciprocated...The boys wake up talking about Grace & Emma, when can we see Grace & Emma, when can we play with Grace & Emma, anytime we get in the car they think we are going to see Grace & Emma...They are wearing me out asking about Grace & Emma all day long!! Unfortunately, Grace is in school all day long, so Charlie and I had a little lesson the other day about what later, tonight, and tomorrow means. I think he understands... Sam even made up a new song...it has one word...Emma! And he just repeats her name over and over and over...It's really quite cute! He busted into tears the other night when she left and then proceeded to pray for her...and only her, at bedtime! And Charlie does have a tendency to lean more towards Grace...somehow the two of them communicate and it includes Grace doing a lot of talking and Charlie making a lot of facial expressions!

We love for the boys to be around the girls because they do talk SO MUCH, we figured that was a great way for them to pick up English. Wrong. Emma has reverted to using grunts and one-word phrases along with pointing. When questioned she innocently said, "I just want to talk like Charlie." (Side note: A lot of Charlie's current communication is a mixture of Amharic, English and charades. And a lot of single words as he is learning more everyday!)

Obviously, I couldn't be happier in the boys selection of best friends!! (It was my selection for them, too!) It's not like they really had a choice! Emma had them all tagged as "cousins" long before they even joined our family! Hope Dwayne & Nicole are okay with this set up, because they are in for the long haul! I don't know what we will do when they actually go to Disney in a couple of weeks...I've requested life size cut outs of the girls to replace the real versions for the week...


Today at Taylorsville Lake State Park. We were all in need of a snack, so no one is very happy. We went to the park to help Grace look for leaves for a school project, which we were successful at. And Charlie learned what leaves were. Later at dinnertime at the Jolly's, there was a bag of salad laying on the table in front of him. He pointed to the bag and said, "Mom. Leaves. No." Which was his way of telling me, he had had enough of the leaves for the day and certainly didn't want them for dinner!

Wonder what that button does...?

Well, we have done it.

I've been told that little Ethiopians can't seem to keep their hands off of the fire alarms and it seems that we have proven that point today.

We were running errands and ran by my old office to visit for a few minutes. The boys did great...probably had something to do with the trampoline and the toys that Mary bought them!! As we were leaving, I saw Charlie eyeing the magic red button on the wall. It was partially my fault because I just quickly said, "Don't touch that" and went back to my conversation. Next thing I know, we have flashing lights, alarms and a big grin from Charlie.


The WHOLE building had to be evacuated and they sent two fire engines to investigate. That was way cool to the boys too, since we have never seen fire trucks and sirens. I just need to stress to Charlie that if he wants to see a fire truck, just ask...don't push the red button!! We just really wanted our prescence to be known...didn't want anyone to miss the fact that we were visiting! Sorry Seven Counties!!

Thursday (8/27)

Thursday was our last full day in Ethiopia. We had some blankets to deliver to one of the new orphanages that our agency is working with, so we took off that morning in search of the orphanage. Kenny turned around a few minutes after we left the guesthouse and said, "We are crazy!" We had just left with a driver who knew little English and had put him in contact with Endris, who worked at the orphanage, to tell him where to go. We had NO idea where the orphanage was and we were totally depending on the 2 of them to get us where we needed to be. Two different times, we just stopped and sat on the side of the road until our driver's phone rang and then he took off again. Eventually, we actually picked up Endris and headed to the orphanage, but our driver didn't know enough English to be able to tell us that was what we were waiting on the whole time!

The babies were beautiful at the orphanage...and SO tiny!! Some of them only weeks old!



After this first stop, we headed back to KVI to see Dawit! Praise the Lord he was finally there and I got my hands on him! The kids were all awake this time, so I got to take pictures of all the kids. The nurse was so kind to us and the boys while we were there.



After the stops at the orphanages, our driver took us to a traditional Ethiopian market so we could buy a few things (read as: tourist purchases). We stopped at one store front and he hooked us up with Ethiopian artifacts, postcards for Grace and as always, a flag...Kenny has a flag for every country he has visited, so Ethiopia was no exception. Don't ask me what we are going to do with all these flags!

I took a video while we were driving on Thursday, just so you could see the streets of Ethiopia. It's about 5 minutes long and really does no justice to how things look over there. Keep an eye out for the massive scaffolding made only out of tree limbs (that can't be safe!) and also for the huge herd of goats walking down the street. I was shocked by the amount of animals just walking down the streets and didn't understand how they kept up with what goat belong to who, until I noticed one day that they are all spray painted down their backs. I guess that's one what to do it...

Sam... and his new shoes!

Okay, just to clarify...I AM NOT making fun of my son, but he was being quite humorous tonight!

The boys got a few shots today and needless to say, this morning, they were not a fan of doctors, needles and probably even their parents...but a ice cream cone made life all better again! After the painful trip to the doctor, we went to buy new shoes. The boys have worn Crocs or flip flops for probably at least the last two years...and who knows about before then. We wanted to get their little feet used to wearing something other than Crocs since cold weather will be moving in soon and we need to be able to wear socks and shoes! Plus, Charlie is going to start playing soccer at the end of the month and I doubt they let him play in Crocs! (Rack Room Shoes is have a huge sale, by the way!)

Back to the doctor's office...they got a few shots in their little legs and they are understandably sore and have both let me know about it this afternoon. Let me preface all this by saying that Sam is a total and complete drama queen...or king...whichever! He can get the tiniest bump or scrape and he is gasping and grabbing the afflicted area. If he ever really gets hurt, he may pass out. So, while I'm sure he is in pain, his pain tolerance is ZERO! Sam hobbled around here all afternoon, looking like he needed a walker. I felt so bad for him that I usually just carried him where ever he wanted to go.

Now the video...(part of the reason for the video was that I'm just messing around trying to learn how to load a video and this is what I had to "mess" around with)... The actual purpose of the video is for Sam to show off his new shoes, which he was ecstatic over! (He cried when I took them off in the store and the only remedy was to let him carry them out himself!) The 2nd purpose of the video was so that you can see the "hobble"...he was so funny and knew he was funny, too. I don't doubt that he was hurting, but it seemed a little over the top to me! Love this kid...

"Water!"

Kenny's parents visited this weekend and the hotel they stayed at had an indoor pool. So, the boys were introduced to swimming on Saturday! Or "Water!" accompanied with swimming arm motions as Charlie communicates to us. Not to be confused with just "Water!" which is sometimes needed in a cup. If you do confuse the two (which I did several times), be ready to have an unhappy little boy on your hands!


The boys had a blast in the water, although Sam found the hot tub and much preferred it over the big pool. I'm not sure if it was the size of the pool that intimidated him or that the hot tub felt more like a bath and despite being an indoor pool, the water was quite chilly. Charlie didn't care and stayed in the water even though he was shivering! He did great in the water and even learned how to blow bubbles and go underwater. Although, most people hold their noses when they go under. Charlie holds his ears. Who knows...maybe it's a cultural thing...

Wednesday (8/26)

Wednesday we went to the United States Embassy. My biggest concern was if we would actually GET there! As I said earlier, we were not staying where we initially thought we would be and it seems that they forgot on a regular basis that they had 3 other families at this other guesthouse!! So, I was a little worried that we might not have a driver to get us to the Embassy!

We ended up making it to the Embassy and on time! (No pictures because apparently you can't take ANY pictures near ANY government buildings. Couldn't even have a camera in my bag that day.) They hearded us through several security check points and into a large room where we waited with all the other adoptive famlies from our agency. It was neat to see all the kids that were getting to go home and to see the kids interact...a lot of the older kids obviously knew each other and got to play together one last time before being scattered across the United States!

Our time at the window was short lived and everything went smoothly and according to plan. The paperwork was processed and would be delivered to us Friday morning along with the boys passports and visas. It's really funny to think back now that we all worry so much about that appointment with the Embassy. Obviously, things can go much differently if all the paperwork isn't in place, but if everything is done, it's a quick 5 minutes with an employee of the Embassy and then on your way!

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out at the guesthouse, playing and getting to know our boys better!!




When I took this picture, I said "1...2...3...Smile!" Sam looked at me and said, "...4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!" Ha! Didn't know the kid could count until then!!

Roll Tide Roll!

That's all I have to say about that...

Tuesday (8/25)

This was our first full day with the boys! The boys slept well the night before, but I can't say the same for Kenny and I. Sam was coughing ALL night long and while it didn't keep him up, it did me and Kenny. Mainly because I was just worrying about how to take care of him for an entire week before I could get him home!!

We played around the guesthouse in the morning and headed downstairs for lunch, which is where we met Danny, the man who I believe God sent just to us, at just the right time! Danny owned the cafe next to our guesthouse and had spent 15 years in Washington DC, so needless to say, his English was probably better than ours! When we initially met him, Kenny explained a little to him about how sick Sam was. He didn't miss a beat and offered to walk with Kenny down the street to the pharmacy while our food was cooking. Holy cow, we are down the street from a pharmacy??!! Ten minutes and $6 later, Kenny returned with an antibiotic and cough medicine, just like that! No doctor's appointment needed! (Why don't we do that in America??) The pharmacist of course spoke Amharic, but Danny explained to him exactly what was going on with little Sam and he knew exactly what he needed!

Danny also told Kenny a little bit about his heart while they were walking...he really wants to be able to help families while they are in Ethiopia that are adopting! He thinks that adoption is just an amazing thing and can't wait for more families to come over that he can help. He was truly our life saver all week long...for one, he kept us fed GREAT food all week! We didn't go anywhere else to eat all week! He spoiled the boys too, giving them cake after most lunches...which is why they were terribly disappointed to arrive in the United States where mom's kitchen doesn't come complete with fresh baked goodies after every meal! And he was able to help Kenny on more than one occasion with communicating with others that we needed to talk to!

We gave Sam his first dose after lunch and I could tell a difference in him after just one dose!! Imagine what an antibiotic would have done for this kid if he had gotten it 18 months ago!! (Side note: EVERY picture we have of Sam from his time at the orphanage comes complete with a snotty nose! He had probably been sick for a very long time.)

Riding in the car!

That afternoon, we made a trip to Kingdom Vision International Orphanage, which is another orphanage that our agency works with and where many of the kids are that have been referred to our friends here in Louisville. We went to check on these kids, but had a special mission as well...Our friends, the Armstrongs, were expecting their little boy, Dawit, to be transferred from Nazareth and we really wanted to check on him!! He is tiny, tiny...I wish I could post a picture of how cute he is, but same rules apply as did to our boys! Long story short, he was on his way when we arrived, but wasn't going to be there anytime soon. Bummer! (Don't fret, we came back on Thursday JUST to see him!) We hung out for a while, made some new friends, had some coffee and bread and headed back to the guesthouse to get ready for a good night's rest.

Ready for bed...not sure why Sam looks as if he has just seen a ghost!

Embassy appointment was on Wednesday...

Firsts...

We broke out the Wii this weekend! It was a huge hit and our 5-year-old is officially better at bowling than me and Kenny. That's just sad, especially since we've been practicing so that we wouldn't be embarrassed by a 5-year-old and he didn't even know what a Wii was until Saturday! Sam didn't quite get the gist, but was content to hold a remote with no batteries and yell, "Yes!" every time Charlie bowled!




Call me on child labor laws because I put the youngest one to work! We worked Saturday afternoon on cleaning up a picnic table--great Goodwill find (Thanks Adrienne!). Sam is a great helper and probably played for 2 hours in the water and bubbles. And used a toothbrush to get in the cracks!




They can hate me later for this, but we took our first bath this weekend...as in, not a shower! I don't think that they had taken a bath before, since the first time I tried to give Sam a bath in Ethiopia he wouldn't actually sit down. We won't be able to do this for long...it was a little crowded with all those legs in there!



Charlie learned to write his name...and was super excited about it, too!



And Sam discovered the legos. He loves stacking blocks, but especially likes that these blocks "stick" together!



And I don't have pictures of this, but Kenny started teaching Charlie how to play catch. Working on the stepping when you throw part and for some reason he feels the need to fall down every time he tries to catch the ball! :) Must be a cultural thing, because he falls down half the time when he kicks a soccer ball, too. Even if there is no one near him.

We've also discovered that we love chips and salsa, carrots, chicken fingers, apples (Charlie), grilled cheese (Sam), and ice cream & cinnamon rolls (both). We DO NOT like yogurt and for Sam...most anything that isn't a bread product! Got to get some fruits and veggies in that kid!

Monday (8/24)

The day we've all been waiting for...

We met another family that was working with our orphanage on Monday morning at breakfast, which made us feel better about being at such an unfamiliar place. A driver was to come around 10:00 am to pick us up and go to the orphanage office to fill out paperwork before going to the big kid house to see the boys.

Long story short, the driver didn't come at 10:00 and by the time we did actually make it to the office, the person we were to meet wasn't even there! I kept thinking...we have waited this long, I guess another hour or two won't hurt, but I was super anxious to meet the boys! We hung out a little while with the babies at the orphanage...I just wanted to put them all in my bag and bring them home!! So cute!

We finally got our paperwork completed around 1:30 and hopped in the car to head to the big kid house to meet the boys. I was a big ball of anxious the whole way there. I didn't really know what to expect when we got there, but as we pulled up, they opened the big gate and we hopped out and went in. It was nap time so all the kids were asleep with the exception of the kids being picked up that day. They were all playing on the stairs and in the front of the orphanage...I can only imagine if I was nervous, what Charlie was thinking. Charlie made eye contact with both of us when we walked in and made a bee line down the stairs to Kenny first, then me. We got a hug and a smile that wouldn't stop! I got busy looking around for Sam and found him playing with a ball on the stairs. He could have really cared less that a strange lady had just scooped him up and was giving him huge hugs and kisses and was totally more concerned that he had dropped his ball! Charlie started rattling off something in Amharic to Sam and I can only imagine that he was possibly filling him in on the whole situation! Charlie took our hands and dragged us up the stairs into the orphanage office where we plopped down and proceeded to play for the next couple of hours.


We had brought backpacks with a few goodies in them for the boys and they both put on the backpacks and would hardly take them off the whole time we were there! As soon as Sam got a little more comfortable with me and I got him to sit in my lap, I realized that we probably had a pretty sick little boy. He was SO hot and coughing continuously. You could tell that he just didn't feel good.


The orphanage staff was great and filled out sheets on both the boys with their schedule, favorites, dislikes, etc and even printed us out a phrase sheet with some things that might be helpful to ask the boys. They were able to answer lots of questions and tell us more about the boys and their habits. They also took me around and showed me the orphanage and where the boys ate, slept, etc. They had a coffee ceremony for us before we left, which was my first experience with a tradition that I discovered I'm not very fond of! For one, all the roasting of the coffee beans and the smoke, just made Sam cough more. And secondly, I'm not a big coffee drinker and I'm terribly sorry, but what they call coffee was just plain yucky! Fortunately Kenny was there and after a few forced sips, I could pass on my little saucer to him to finish it off so I didn't look ungrateful! (Thanks Pookie!)



As we got ready to leave, we discovered that a second driver had not arrived like we had expected and that the tiny yellow car that we had arrived in, now needed to get 8 people back to our guesthouse. All 8 of us piled into a car that should have probably only had 4 people in it...and no seat belts, mind you. Who needs a seat belt when you are crammed so tight in a car that you can't move anyway??

I let the tears flow as we put the boys in the car. We looked up and all of their friends we hanging out of the windows yelling, "Bye Nuredin! Bye Edaso!" They were SO stinking cute and just a reminder that all four of our lives were changing forever!


I'll be honest...Monday night may have been one of the hardest nights of my life. We got back to the guesthouse, attempted to find dinner for all four of us (Kenny and I hadn't had a real meal since Wendy's in the DC airport on Saturday) and started the bedtime routine. The boys were actually doing really well with this huge transition, but their mommy had just had a really emotional day and had kept it ALL bottled in and it was just below the surface, ready to come out! Sam did end up having a pretty high fever once we got back and was coughing to the point that he would almost stop breathing because he would gag himself, which would scare him more, causing him to cry and start the coughing all over again. I felt totally and completely helpless because there was absolutely nothing that I could do to help him. No doctor. No meds. No one to tell me what to do. Just Kenny & I with a kid we had just met only getting like half the oxygen he probably needed! Couple this with the fact that I hadn't been able to get in touch with anyone back home and I was really just needed a short contact with America to know that all was going to be okay! (We did eventually get in touch with Nicole around midnight, which did wonders for my "lack-of-America syndrome"!)

The boys slept great the first night, with the exception of Sam's coughing all night, which kept me up, but didn't seem to phase him! (Can't say the same for Kenny since he slept on a tiny love seat, while the boys slept with me...we had requested an extra twin bed for the boys, but received a crib and a bassinet instead! Yeah, right...like they were gonna sleep in that!)

Next day, Tuesday...our first full day with the boys...