1 month and 3 days

So...I'm still working on a day-by-day synopsis of our latest trip, aka, second trip to Ethiopia. But until I finish that, I might as well post some real time updates. Katelyn is doing great. The first two weeks were very traumatic for all of us, obviously mostly for her :), but things have settled down. She is sleeping through the night and takes two naps a day. She has always been funny about her naps, sleeping only 30 minutes, or if we're lucky, a glorious hour-and-a-half. She has far fewer meltdowns, and is generally a wonderful ball of happy energy. Katelyn goes to me for comfort and to her dad for laughs. Sometimes by merely looking at her, Nate can dissolve her into a pile of giggles. Katelyn is becoming increasingly affectionate as she relaxes.
The last few days, however, we have been seeing a bit more of the screaming/tantrums and poor sleeping from what we hoped was the distant past. But in between she is still our sweet girl.

Aurora Plush Baby Sierra Doll

My baby's baby came in the mail today! Sooooo cute! :)

Court Date!

We received our tentative court date yesterday! Tentative, meaning, go ahead and book tickets! (We may never get confirmation, we've been told... :) We have tickets on hold and plan to purchase Monday. Only 17 days and Katelyn will be with us.

To Ethiopia and Back in 6 Days

Saturday (night)

After 24 hours of travel, we arrived in Ethiopia! The driver greeted us with a "Holt" sign, and we met another couple adopting from Holt. We all piled into the van and careened around a dark, busy city before picking up Miruk who informed us that our hotel had been changed. We bumped our way through pothole infested "paved" road, twisted through dirty road alleys, passed rusted corrguated tin walls and gates topped with barbed wire and broken shards of glass, until our driver suddenly stopped in front of a narrow black and white gate, honked 3 times, and entered. Five men surrounded the car and the gate shut behind us. Later Nate told me that he thought we would likely die that night.

The hotel was gorgeous, five stories high with valuted ceilings and floor-to-ceiling curtains, marble entry, incense-scented rooms, and large flat screen tv's. Definitely not what we were expecting. Still, however, there were constant reminders that we were still in the third world. Though the hotel was brand new, the plumbing, caulking, light fixtures, and hand rails looked like I had helped with the installation. That night, 36 hours after we awoke Friday morning, we crawled atop our two-box spring bed and slept for 4 hours until awakened at 3:00 am by a barking dog, crowing roosters, and a men's choir singing morning prayers.

DAY ONE Sunday

Two cooks served breakfast promptly at 8:00 am. We met 2 more couples that morning, making our group a total of 4 couples. At separate round tables each couple feasted on mango banana smoothies, toast, oatmeal, eggs, and potatoes. Our driver picked us up at 9:30 and took us to a Holt orientation. After Miruk and the head of the Holt Ethipian branch explained Holt's family preservation programs and the new medical center opening in the southern region, we ate a traditional Ethipian lunch. I felt sick to my stomach all day, so I only ate a little of the very delicious lamb and injera.

Then we visited the care center. We ascended a twisting staircase to the shoe-removal landing. After entering, I first noticed the dinosaur figurines set atop blue cloth backed by long mirrors. Random! Nate and I are still scratching out heads about that! The walls were painted red, yellow, blue, and green in varying shades. Nervously, we sat in the long row of wooden rocking chairs facing a clean, empty play room and waited. One by one 4 nannies brought 4 babies. At first we thought baby-N was Tirfe, but when we saw her descending the staircase with her nanny, there was no mistaking her. We felt overwhelmed with emotion, and I immediately broke into tears. We played with her for 3 hours during which she fell asleep in Nate's arms and let me feed her a bottle. Tirfe never did. We were struck by her curiosity, squirminess, and low-key attitude.

Before heading back to the hotel, we visited a large town-square-type area where hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians (maybe a million?) were celebrating Meskel, a festival commemorating the finding of a piece of the true cross. We could hardly see the church choirs singing in the center of the crowd, but after nearly two hours they lit an enormous bonfire that erupted in an explosion of fire and smoke. Shortly before it was lit, the people began lighting tightly twisted bits of rope until candle-like flames surrounded us (and blinked from tree-tops where people struggled to get a better view!).

That night we feasted on traditional Ethiopian food (injera, lamb and veggies, and "spaghetti"). The peppercinis filled with chopped shallots and dipped in hot sauce was a bit much, though, for my American taste buds. OUCH!

DAY TWO Monday

After another 3:00 am dog barking wake-up call, we trudged into the showers (which were, amazingly, HOT! :) Breakfast was an all-out Ethiopian feast in celebration of Meskel. The cooks wore traditional dress and performed a coffee ceremony for us. Literally the coffee was heaven on earth. Ethopians serve it in tiny cups with lots of sugar and a side of popcorn! Yum!

The ceremony lasted 45 minutes longer than we expected, so we were a little late getting to the care center. We were so happy to see Katelyn again! This time the toddlers and young children played in the room with us. The nannies clearly doted on them and were quick to notice when a child needed comfort. During Katelyn's feeding time, she fell asleep despite heaping spoonfuls of oatmeal being shoved into her mouth. The nannies whisked her away, and, much to our surprise, they returned only a minute or two later. Katelyn's eyes were wide and her face was wet. They splashed water on her face to wake her up. The nannies continued feeding her, calling her name, laughing, and shaking her feet to keep her awake. Later, Katelyn fell asleep in my arms as nannies blew bubbles to screaming, jumping children, Nate and a boy played catch over her head, and the tv chanted on the dancing channel! Very amazing.

We had lunch at the golf course, a lovely grassy area that looked like a large backyard, and almost everyone ordered chicken nuggets with fries! I guess we were ready for something familiar. We returned to the guest house early, took a nap, ate dinner, and went back to bed.

DAY THREE Tuesday

Wide awake at 1:00 am, we watched the BBC and snacked on mentos until the morning arrived. Then we dressed in our dressy clothes and noiseless shoes and practiced our answers to questions the judge might ask. Everyone in our group was ready early, so we posed for pictures before our driver arrived.

Before we left, someone in our group mentioned that when deciding which country to adopt from, he and his wife had prayed that God would show them where their children were. In all the rushing and spending over the last months, I realized that I had somehow started to lose sight of the fact that God always intended Katelyn to be our firstborn daughter and that I could trust Him to work out all the details. During that conversation, I also learned that the court date would legally make us Katelyn's parents according to the Ethiopian government. So it was with great peace and excitement that I stepped into the van that would take us to court.

Once there, Holt's lawyer led us upstairs into the small waiting room. We were prepared to wait for hours, but since we were the first to arrive, our total wait time was less then 30 minutes. When it was our turn, we entered the little room, answered questions like "Has your agency prepared you to integrate a child from another culture?" and "Have you seen Tirfe?" The interview lasted 3 minutes and ended with "Then she is yours." Overwhelmed with emotion, I started crying. We hugged everyone in our group and, through tears, repeated "Congratulations, Mommy!" "Congratulations, Daddy!" to each other. Smiling and sniffling, we got back into the van. Our driver blasted "God Is Good" in English as we drove through the sunny streets. Hands down, that was one of the highlights of my life as I relished in the pure joy of God and all that He had done for us in His goodness.

Then we began a whirlwind shopping trip that ended with a visit to the leper's home. Fortunately, we arrived when they were open (as one of Holt's representatives had tried to visit twice before but found them closed). The compound was large and seemed well cared for. More than in other areas of Addis, I saw eyes that seemed wary, unhappy, and maybe even unloved. A sign hung from one of the doors that said something like "people with disabilities are people too" (don't ask me why it was in English). I then got a glimpse of how many social and political obstacles these people face. I almost felt like I had been transported back in time, when people fought in America for rights that now seem so basic that we can't imagine a world without them. But that world still exists for many people, Ethiopians with leprosy, for example.

At lunch, we celebrated our parenthood.

Later when we arrived at the care center, I held Katelyn with new understanding, with the understanding that I was her mother. And I was her mother and Nate was her father, not because Holt randomly assigned her to us, but because God ordained it long ago for our joy and His glory. I soaked in every gesture, sound, expression, touch. And one hour later I laid her in her orange bed and walked away.

But God gave me a special gift in the last moments we spent with her. Katelyn looked in my eyes for several minutes and smiled big eruptions of happiness whenever I smiled at her. Until that moment she had not looked at me in the eyes, and she would look worried whenever I laughed. It was a beautiful, hope-filled way to say "goodbye."

After the greatest emotional roller coaster of our lifetime, we returned to the hotel, ate pizza for dinner, and packed our belongings and latest purchases. Our airline's luggage weight limit was 50 lbs, and my bag weighed in at 50 and Nate's at 49.8! Talk about cutting it close!

36 hours later we arrived home, emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausted. It was the trip of a lifetime, and we can truly say we left a part of our heart behind. We can't wait to go back!

Ethiopian Coffee and Our Baby Girl

You know it's bad when a customer hands you a bag of coffee to grind and you start crying (not that anyone noticed, thankfully). And when your heart goes pitter patter every time a black person walks in to the store, just because he or she vaguely resembles your daughter. Well I started back at Starbucks 3 weeks ago, and that's exactly the kind of soppy mess I have been.

That's right - we have a daugher! She is 3 months, 1 week, and 1 day old, born on March 26. We received her referral on May 25, the day after returning from getting fingerprinted in Portland. Her Ethiopian name is Tirfe Abera, meaning "saved from death." We are naming her Katelyn Joy Tirfe Harp.

Though we were told we would not receive new pictures for months, less than a week after our referral we received a surprise update! What a cutie! Apparently they woke her from a nap for picture time (notice the drool spot) :)

Number 5!

Wow! Holt said they did not expect to receive any referrals until the end of May, but we moved from 14th to 5th in only 24 days! :) We're getting closer and closer . . . fingerprints Monday!

Help the Orphans and Win and IPod!

Visit send.Megan2Africa.com to help my sister become a missionary AIDS orphans in Ethiopia and Uganda this summer. Get 1 raffle ticket entered into the drawing for an ipod nano 16 g for each $10 you donate!