Ethiopia Trip Day 3

I guess I should have finished Day 2....we landed in Addis around 7 pm and made it through the airport with relative ease. Thankfully I had my notes from an online seminar with our adoption agency, and -specifically- I knew that once we went down the escalator, but before immigration and luggage, the place to get our visa would be to the left. It was a small door, seemingly inconspicuous, but it was where we needed to get our visa. There was only one person in front of us and we were able to get our visa in minutes. When we exited the little room, the line was LONG and just about every American from the plane was in it! We made it to our hotel around 9pm and although we were EXHAUSTED we found it very hard (try impossible) to sleep that night. I'm not sure if it was the excitement/anxiety about the next day, the dogs barking somewhere outside (actually they bothered Jamie more than me) or the adrenaline rush needed to take our luggage up 4 flights of stairs!

So we woke up Monday morning (after our nap-seriously felt like that) and needed to be ready for the driver from CWA by 9am. We had a quick breakfast downstairs (our guest home served meals and we ended up eating all of ours there, no time to go out with a baby!) and then it was back upstairs (4 flights...I wish I counted how many times we went up/down a day...it must be why my own stairs don't wind me with a 18 lb. baby attached to the hip!) to pack the baby bag. Due to lack of sleep and trying to drink as much coffee as they had, I was a jittery mess doing this. I think throughout the whole process of adoption, there are always so many details to keep you busy at each stage that I hadn't done any thinking about this next one...and it was minutes away! We also knew that we would be with Joshua for a couple hours, so I frantically tried to make sure we had anything we might need.
Diapers and wipes-check
Bottles, formula, and bottled water-check
Change of clothes (for Joshua that is), make that 2, make that 3-check
Bibs-check
Toys-check
Blanket-check
Changing pad-check
Pacifiers, two types-check
Embassy paperwork-check
Black pens (for said paperwork)-double check (v. important-black ink only!)
Passports-check
US $$-check

After picking up the other family staying at the guest home's other location, we were on our way to CWAE! (Christian World Adoption Ethiopia) We were three families total in the van and we were the only family picking up an infant, and the only family just picking up one child! As we are driving we were taking pictures of Addis Ababa - and these would turn out to be the only pictures we took outside our guest home. When we arrived at the CWAE offices, the children were waiting for all of us. (The children being adopted, that is) The other two families's children came outside for a teary introduction (all us adults being the teary ones!) and we entered the office to see a little baby sleeping on someone's shoulder. I couldn't believe it....this was it!! And like that, they handed baby Joshua to me. He just fit on my shoulder and kept on sleeping. It was a very surreal moment....this baby is ours, from now till forever. He kept on sleeping, even being passed back and forth from Jamie to myself as we completed paperwork and final details.

The pictures here are of those first moments. I'll never forget, he seemed so little! With all the pictures we got through email, I could never tell how big he was. But just curled up on my shoulder, I was speechless with wonder of this little guy.

To be honest, I don't really remember much of the rest of the day. They took us to see the boys and girls homes and we saw the little bed where Joshua had been those past few weeks. I noticed he was in the girls home...I never asked why, maybe that is just where all the babies were. I don't remember seeing any other babies there that day. Lollipops were passed out to the children who were there. (They were all waiting for their new parents....they are moved from outlying CWAE orphanages to Addis once their parents pass court) Joshua got lots of hugs and kisses from the nannies who had taken care of him and I could tell by his smiles for them that he was loved and loved on!

We went back to the guest home and spent the rest of the afternoon just getting to know each other. Jamie and I got lots of practice making bottles (Joshua ate every two hours, even through the night!) and changing diapers...and just spent time gazing into those beautiful brown eyes and eliciting a smile or laugh.