1 full day home

It's Sunday morning here and we were all up at about 6am. I am actually sleeping at night, Doug is having a little bit harder time adjusting to the time, but really we are doing quite well.

Yesterday was our first full day home. She is still sick, so it's been tough for her in that aspect. It dosn't take long to wear her out. I think the antibiotics are finally kicking in though. She is a bit of a drama queen I am afraid, but wouldn't you be if someone rescued you and gave you hugs and rocked you when you complained your throat hurt. :-) I am pretty sure not much of that went on at the orphanage.

We finally decided to tackle her hair yesterday. It took 2 hours to undo her braids, but mostly because she didn't want to cooperate. Then we finally were able to really see she did in fact have lice. We got out the shampoo and then it was time to sit and work on getting them all out. Well, she has beautiful, yet thick hair. After 1/2 an hour of her throwing her head back and forth and nothing getting done we decided we had no choice but to shave her head. They shaved their heads in the orphange, so it didn't seem too traumatic at first. Ha! it was definately the calm before the storm. I held her in a bear hug, while Doug tried to shave her head as it is flaying about. She cried for almost 2 hours before passing out. Not sure if it the trauma of just the change, or if they were not nice about shaving their heads in the orphanage or if it was losing her hair. In a way I am glad we shaved it, because it was so damaged from not being taken care of.

This morning she woke up early with me and we snuggled on the couch for about an hour. Doug got her to eat some eggs. That is another thing, she has not had anything except Ethiopian food her entire life. The Ehiopians rarely use sugar and they have no "desserts". We are trying to limit giving her these items as I am sure she will be introduced to them soon enough. She doesn't even like apple juice. She loves carbs though. Will eat lots of bread if you let her.

She really doesn't like Keesha (our dog), but is warming up to her as well. She doesn't shriek loud enough to shatter windows anymore when Keesha walks into a the same room as her. It's progress.

She does get quite shy and scared whenever there are more than 3 strangers in a room. So, we will definatley be staying close to home for awhile. She had no outside world experiences, as the orphange never took them anywhere, so everything is new. Things we take for granted everyday, like walking into the kitchen for a glass of milke or opening the drawers and pulling out clean clothes and actually have choices. These are all so new. Plus, living in a family environment, learning the rules of just being part of a family. We have no language to explain anything that is happening, but surprising smiles and hugs mean the same thing in every language.

I still can't believe we have only been home for 2 days. We are excited that the kids have a long weekend and then soon summer vacation in 8 days.

The next 2 weeks will be filled with doctors appointments and just laying as low as possible without going nuts.

Happy Memorial Day and thank you to all of you who are serving and have served our great country. We also thank the families who have had to make sacrifices for our country. God Bless you ALL!

We are home

We left Thursday night at 11pm. All the flights were on time and went well (at least the pilots portion). We arrived in the cities at noon on Friday. However, technically we had been traveling like 21 hours and we have been up for 36 hours (then). Doug finally crashed-I think he plans to take the second shift. We did not get to sit together on the flight, so he sat next to Mahlet... I think he deserve a break.

I am really tired and have so much to say, but I know everyone is really just dying to hear about Mahlet. Well, first things first, we are calling her Mahlet...for now. She is very proud of her name and it fits her so well. Plus it's easier to say then we thought. We haven't given up on Emma, just still working out the details.

When we picked Mahlet up from the orphanage she had a pretty icky nose cold. But no fever and didn't seem slowed down in the least, not to mention almost all the kids in our group had a nose cold thing going on. However, it was obvious on Wednesday it wasn't getting better. We tried Benedryl and that at least helped her sleep. By the time we hit the second plane ride today she had a fever. She slept a lot and just didn't look like herself. I really did not want to expose her to the culture shock of a doctors office and tests, but with the long weekend I was getting nervous to wait.

Doctor took a quick peek and was nice enough NOT to draw any blood or do a throat culture or anything that might scare her since we did not have the language to tell her what was going on. He found enough things to justify starting her on antibiotics. Her fever was at 102, her throat is red, her ear is red and a I think he was just thinking there was a million other things. ha! poor kid.

What is her personality like? Well, she is a ham. Once she warms up to you. She is very shy around any more than 2 people in a room. She is super smart. Learned how to run the computer to run her DVD in the first sitting. And she is fabulous with babies. She LOVES them. I am guessing she was a caregiver of sorts to the younger children at the orphanage.

She HATES Keesha, our dog. But that doesn't surprise me. Dogs in Ethiopia are not considered part of the family. Some do have them as pets, but they most run around wild and cause foreigners a lot of headaches at night with all of their barking. I sure hope she comes around soon.

Hmm, I know there is lots to say and I will try to get my thoughts more organized in the next few days.

Thank you so much for everyone, for support, prayers, food, and childcare. This was definately a group effort.

Of course...

the second I post about not hearing from them...I get a text from Katy.

They are home as in, in their house. I do not have any other details, but the main point is that they are all 3 home safe and sound.

I am signing off.

The next post will be from Katy whenever she feels up to it.


WELCOME HOME GRABER FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update!

Today was the embassy day. It was a very long day, but successful. We are approved and don't see that anything that would prevent us from leaving on time.

Today we bought coffee, tea, and Ethiopian spice. And some jewelry as a mission work through the guest house.

Tomorrow we are going shopping. The election went well in the fact that there are no riots. Then we will attend the other families farewell party at the orphanage.

We are almost done. Really, the Bethany staff has been really, really good. The guide is amazing and always with us and they all know Emma for a while so she is comfortable talking with them for us. The staff was really very good at the paperwork and keeping organized.

I will say ,I have not met any Ethiopian people that are not friendly. We are enjoying our time, but ready to be back home. I really miss the girls.

Emma has a great personality. She shares everything. She is acting appropriate,not overly affectionate, but trusting us slowly. She is very smart as well.

Okay, I have to jump off.

Hugs the girls. Tell them We love them and miss then. Almost there ladies! Mommy is almost home!!

HUGS AND KISSES,

MOM AND DAD

They are now a Family of 6!!!

Wow, where do I start? First we slept like nothing last night. We were wide awake from 2-5am. Not jet lag, nervous energy about meeting Emma.

We got to the orphanage at 8:30am. She was there at the door waiting. We also had a cameraman from the Lifebook following us around. I know I will really appreciate it, but at the time it felt a little claustrophobic. ha! She was standing next to the nanny and apprehensive. We gave her the doll we brought but definitely was just a thing she took with a smile. We gave her a bag of candy to hand out to her friends. They all liked it very much! She even shared with the Bethany guide and the cameraman. Very sharing little girl. There were 6 nannies and they were all in tears giving her hugs good bye. I didn't cry until then. It seemed they all loved her , as well as the children. They were sad to see her go.

She shook our hands - it was cute. On the bus to pick up everyone else, we bonded well over the book Brown Bear. The nannies told me no English at all. She quickly squashed that when were looked at the picture dictionary. She said, Fish, Policeman, Physician. She counted to twenty in English and said half the alphabet. We have a great start to work with.

Next we headed to the Bethany office to fill out the I600. ALL of the staff (about 8) knew her and she knew them. Since we had a long delay it turns out they went to check on her a lot. The head Bethany staff came over and thanked us for waiting and still adopting her. It took about 2 hours here but very organized. We bought some handmade blankets and an outfit to put away for her. It's the only shopping we have done and maybe all we will get. I will be disappointed, but not the purpose of the trip.

We went out to lunch and she ate a lot. Lamb stew with injera. She was very tired, so by the time we got back to the guest house I had her lay down in her bed and I in mine and she quickly fell asleep.

She is so smiley. She has taken our hands and goes with us. She laughs when we tickle her and she loves to play with balloons. She had the photo album we sent in Feb. and kept pointing to her sisters and saying, "my sisters. I am excited to have sisters," That is what the guide said she was saying.

I wish I could send a picture but the internet is terribly slow and I get worried I will lose this whole email. ha!

My girls-you are going to love Emma/Mahlet. She is smiley happy girl. She is excited to meet you. Samantha she is excited to see your room. She is adjusting really well! We miss you so, so much, but can't believe our trip is almost over.

Hugs to all! Miss you tons!!!

They are in Addis

Katy just sent me an email about their arrival in Ethiopia. I have copied it below, but first I did want to give aunts, uncles, grandparents and whoever else might be interested an update on the girls. They are doing fabulous. I have no idea is they are enjoying their time with me, but I am enjoying them tremendously. Bright, sweet, funny girls, who clearly are their parents children. I know that while I am thankful to be here and having a great time, I miss my family. There is just no substitute for one's own family, so I suspect the girls are feeling the same and are anxious to get their parents back home, but they are being real troopers. For the most part they are keeping busy. Samantha has had friends over and we have played many, many, many hands of UNO. Briana went to the movies with a friend and has been running around like all almost 17 year olds do. She and Bella went to a Bon Fire with their church youth group last night and seemed to have a great time. We have yummy dinners and delightful dinner conversations. I love listening to them talk and laugh and I espcially love to see them interact with each other. We had plans to head to the local outdoor zoo, but the weather is not cooperating, so we have not had much outdoor time. In an effort to not feel cooped up, we are going to head to Katy's favorite place...The Mall Of America. In all my visits I have had one whirlwind mad dash through the mall as Katy despises the place. Since the girls and I are in no hurry, we don't really care about the crowds and whatnot, so we will stroll and perhaps get shoved a bit and grab a bite to eat and just enjoy being out and about. Ok, enough of that, onto the real news... Hello from Addis. It is raining here as well, but just this afternoon. It is the rainy season. We had a good flight to Addis, but there was a storm so the last 10 minutes, not so fun. Was thinking Katie was going to be a mom sooner than later. :-) Our bags showed up. Phew! Getting the Visa was super easy. The driver was at the airport and ready to take us to the guest house. Abel is our Bethany guide. He seems very, very nice and knowlegeable. We didn't get to the guest house until 11:30pm. We got to our room and just crashed. I slept very hard, did not hear a thing and they had to wake us up for breakfast. Doug said he didn't sleep as well, barking dogs and pray chants over megaphones kept him awake. Doug is doing stupendously. Thank you for the prayers. Staying the room in Amsterdam was probably the best decision. I think he slept probaby 16 hours. This morning we had pancakes for breatkfast and then went to church. Church was amazing. The singing and the passion were incredible. Didn't understand a darned thing, but could feel the passion and spirit of God through these people. The people are so gracious. Excepting and nice. For lunch we had Doro wat which is a chicken stew. It takes a day and a half to prepare. It is spicy, but very good. They are treating us like kings and queens. There are two families at the guest house and they got their babies yesterday. Ethiopians are literraly a gorgeous people. One more family arrives late tonight. Tomorrow morning we leave at 8am and meet Emma. We will not get much time, like a snatch and run thing according to Abel and we are the only family adopting from Gelegela. Orphaange. We then will accompanying the other families to their orphanges to meet their childen and participate in their farewell ceremony. I am torn about this, as I am sure it will not be a good time for Emma to see all the babies getting special treatment and she gets shoved on a bus. We will try to make it good. We will head to the Bethany office in the afternoon and fill out paperwork and see the nurse. I guess their is a medical check up. We are anxious excited and nervous for tomorrow. Prayers are appreciated. Oh, the elections are today, but nothing exciting happening outside. Thank Goodness! Okay, I had better get off as I might be pushing it. HUGS AND LOVE TO ALL! Katy

Amsterdam

I got a quick email from Katy this afternoon. They made it to Amsterdam!!!!!

Things are for the most part good. As with most international travel and all adoption journeys, there were some bumps in the road. I have copied a bit of her email...

The flight here was smooth. However we were stuck in the middle of the middle row, so no sleep for either of us. We landed on time (about 10:30am their time). We ran into a couple from Hugo, MN that is also staying overnight here. They are adopting a 7 month old AND 61/2 month old baby girls. They are not siblings. They have a 13 month old at home. The process went super fast for them, so they thought they would have 9 more months. ha! They seemed so young, but very, very sweet. We departed ways as they were heading out to find a hotel. We head down to baggage claim to discover that neither of our bags where there. Off to file a lost report. We are so, so hoping that they just routed them straight through to Addis. Thankfully, I packed underwear and socks in the carry on and we will probably go by cheesy Netherland t-shirts for the trip tomorrow.

The hotel is connected to the airport, so it literally a 2 minute walk. We head to the room and decide to sleep 2 hours before taking the train to the city center. Doug woke up and is not feeling well. He has had a slight fever and seems clammy, so we are staying close to the room. Makes for a long day, especially when there really is no TV.

But by the time we got to the room we have made lots of jokes about wearing the same shirt for the next five days. We have no idea what Emma will get to wear. LOL! I have never, ever have had my luggage lost and the weird thing is both bags??? So we are really being optimistic and thinking they just routed the bags ahead to Addis.

Tomorrow our flight is at 10am ish.

P.S. Tell the girls we love them and miss them terribly already!!!

They're Off

Howdy all, Shelby here, Graber family friend. Wanted to let everyone know that Katy and Doug got off to the airport just fine and their plane left at 8pm this evening. Next stop Amsterdam.

Internet and phone reception are spotty at best in Ethiopia, so I can't guarantee daily updates, but I will post as I hear from them.

I am sure they would appreciate every one's prayers.

4 days and counting...

Okay the weird thing about this. I am still working and plan on being at work thru Wednesday. The packing is done. (mostly). We have decided to go with cash donations instead of bringing stuff. We have a few pairs of tennis shoes but other than that, cash it is. (I hear they prefer that anyway, so they can get what they really need).

We had a scare this weekened and didn't have a sitter for the girls. I have to admit, I handled it with grace, style and dignaty....as long as that means, crying, fetal position, yelling and screaming. :-)
Uber thank you to Shelby for flying halfway across the country to stay with the kiddos for a week. My brother Dirk and his wife, Brandi will cover the last two days. After that, they are on their own. :-)

Another scare this morning, the ash cloud over London will affect our travel if it keeps up. So pray that goes away. Far, far away!!!

We are feeling good. prepared (as we can be) and glad that it is finally here!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

The Power of Prayer! It works (now duh!)

We got our travel call yesterday morning. We are so, so excited to finally be going. We are leaving next Thursday...one week. yesterday I spent a lot of time on the phone with travel agents and airlines to find tickets. First we were going for price, then ease of return flights and then it was, "Ok, what can we actually get?". After 55 minutes on the phone with Delta (the second time-I won't go into the first time) we actually got pretty decent flights and the price was rockin'.
Doug and I leave on Thursday the 20th at 7:50pm. We fly to Amsterdam and then have a 24 hour layover. We fly from Amersterdam the following night to Addis, Ethiopia. So we actually arrive in Ethiopia the late night of the the 22nd. My guess is we will meet our daughter on Monday. Our embassy date is the 25th and then we can pick up her Visa on the 27th. We will fly out on the night of the 27th and arrive home on Friday, May 28th around noon. It's a fast trip, but our main focus is to get Emma. Site seeing will come on a later trip.

We ask for continued prayers for our children left at home, safe travels, and of course for Emma. Who is leaving a life of knowns to come to a big world of unknowns. How scared she is going to feel can not be put into words.

I will be posting more the next week with more information on where we are staying and a better iternary schedule. My friend has graciously agreed to keep up the blog while we are Ethiopia. The internet connection is very sketchy at times so having one point of contact is the best.

I can't believe we are really going!?!?!?!!

I am asking everyone I know; family, friends, church members, and people I don't even know to intercede on our behalf with prayer.
Saturday morning at 9AM, whatever you are doing we are asking that everyone stop and say a prayer on behalf of our family. That we may get our daughter's Visa and finally travel. On Monday it will be 14 weeks since we passed court.

God has had his hand in this entire adoption. I could write a book (and maybe one day I will) on how this adoption is all GOD. He was the beginning, the middle and he will be the end. If we started it with prayer, we need to end it with prayer.

Please join us on Saturday, May 8th at 9AM, to pray for the Graber family and *M* to be brought together on one continent, one house, and one family.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phillipians 4:6