Here is a picture for you…I had it emailed to me today by my sweet friend Keely, so that is why I have it on my computer. In the picture from left to right are Denise (the AAI volunteer with the awesome blog), Belane and I, Josh (mine), Tesfaye (the famed CHSFS driver and our dear friend), Keely (adoptive mom who is also staying here in Addis for awhile), Josh (Keely’s hubby) and Nate, the volunteer coordinator for AAI, and an all around awesome guy. This picture was taken after a dinner we all had at the Hilton.

And here is the update…... more

The officer at the Department of Homeland Security in Nairobi Kenya lied to officials in Washington DC regarding our waiver. She said it was approved on Friday and mailed on Monday. It was not.

We just got a tracking number, and found that the waiver was only mailed tonight, after she was pushed by other immigration personnel for a tracking number.

So we have no hope for tomorrow (no flight either)...and we're praying that somehow DHL can get it here by Friday before noon so I can fork out $1500 and get on our way home...otherwise...otherwise is too rotten to talk about right now.

That is the sound I am making after an entire day of sitting by the phone, suitcases packed, full of hope and happiness, that slowly drained away throughout the day as we came to the realization that the waiver did not arrive today.

We even, at the suggestion of our agency rep, made a trip to the Embassy to ensure that it did not arrive...that was a waste of time and energy.

Everyone...from the DHL woman downstairs, to the Embassy, to our agency rep, said it SHOULD have arrived today. Yes...thank you... I know. I am kicking myself for getting my hopes up, and really starting to feel a bit cursed in this whole mess. So now we are back to sitting and waiting and wondering...

I... more

What a long and emotional day today was. Let me start from the end, and then I’ll tell it in order (it’s less painful that way). We just heard that our waiver is finally, DONE. It was done on Friday. (We know this thanks to our Senator’s office, who got Immigration in Washington DC involved…). There was no outgoing mail on Friday, so it went out first thing Monday morning. We’re hoping and praying that it arrives in the morning, so we can make the flight tomorrow evening.

If we miss tomorrow night’s flight, we can fork out $1500 to upgrade to business class for the Friday flight. I am not waiting any longer than I have to to go home, so if that it our only option, that is what we’ll... more

I’m not much in the mood to blog tonight, but here goes.

Last night turned out to be nice. One of the families staying here needed help with their kids, so I volunteered. They have the mom and sixteen year old twins here along with their two new Ethiopian children who are 3 and 6 years old. The mom had to go to the airport last night to get her husband, who was joining them for the second week of their stay, and didn’t want to take the kids.

It was their first night in this hotel, so she wanted me to help the older girls get dinner ordered, get the kids fed, etc. Their two new kiddos were going bonkers in the hotel room at first…pushing buttons, flipping switches, jumping on... more

Well, it’s Sunday and it’s been sort of a yucky day. I had a dream last night that I was home, and it was Monday, and we had made it home in time for Halloween. I was having so much for carving pumpkins with the kids and was just ecstatic that Belane was home.

And then I woke up…still here.

I just miss the rest of my family today. I have been reading other blogs to entertain myself when Belane is sleeping, and I had to stop, because hearing about all my friends taking their kids to Halloween parties, and carving pumpkins and making caramel apples just got to be too much. I hope that Josh and my aunt are having fun with the kids…

Belane and I spent an entire hour sitting... more

I almost didn’t get a post up today… I typically write after I get Belane asleep, and tonight I fell asleep with her.

I am sitting here in the dark of our hotel room, listening to the Muslim prayer chanting over the loud speaker outside and to the rhythmic sound of Belane’s breathing (which gets quieter every night as her cold gets better and better).

We had a fun day today. Another family and I took all of the AHOPE kids on a field trip to Vera Wonderland, an amusement park of sorts. It rained a ton yesterday and again this morning, and it was a big muddy mess. As we pulled up at the park, all of the kids started calling out Belane’s name and running towards us. Some of... more

It’s Friday night here in Addis, and I have had two full days of Belane all to myself. She is an amazing little person.

She definitely can hear, as she has started repeating things that I say, even things that I say in a quiet voice. She may have a mild hearing loss as I do notice sometimes that she doesn’t hear things when there is a lot of background noise…and it could be that she had ear infections along the way that affected her hearing and caused others to worry. Whatever the deal is, it is a minor issue and not a major one. She is a chatterbox!

She is still potty trained…not a single accident day or night. She does enjoy trips to the bathroom, and has quite the routine... more

Today has been a good day. Not a great day (no waiver news) but a good day. The last news I heard on the waiver was that our contact in the Senator’s office was going to have her superior call DHS in Nairobi and try to get an update/put pressure on. I put a call into the Embassy here and they were very encouraging (they are the ones that will receive the waiver and then issue the visa). They understand the situation, and have promised to keep checking the mail, and said that the moment it is received, they will issue her visa and call us (there is no more processing that will need to be done). So, there is not much more we can do at this point.

Belane has been awesome today…she is... more

As emotionally and financially hard as it is, it is a risk we knew we were taking when we left. And honestly, I don’t think I would change what we did. Belane needed us. She has several minor conditions that really needed attention and treatment before they became something major. She needed us…she needed her parents. And as awful as it is being away from my kids at home, they are safe and warm and fed and loved, in their home, with their family (minus me). Belane was alone… AHOPE is great and the nannies are great and very kind, but an orphanage just cannot even come close to a parent's love. We took the risk we did because she needed us the most.

And I have to say that I am surrounded... more