A Really Big Day!

Today was a very important day. We had our appointment at the Embassy. She is now legally ours. Hooray!! And she is legal to leave the country. It was a really hard visit at the Embassy. Jeff and I slept in some this morning and then went to get Kassie and go to the Guest house at WHFC. We filled out paperwork for our appointments and all the families and their children had lunch together. Kassie ate so much!! We couldn't believe it. At the kids house they have injera everyday with some sort of stew. She got to eat pasta, rice and french fries today. What a carb filled meal. Anyway then we all went in a van to the Embassy. We had to go through gate after gate with security checks and rechecks. As soon as we got there Kassie started getting really nervous and crying. She was scared. We later found out that she had been there 2 weeks before for an HIV test in order to process her Visa application. Luckily we were the first ones called up for our interview. It took maybe 5 minutes and she was ours!! We decided to go back to the van with the driver and wait there for everyone else because she wouldn't calm down. Everyone was trying to help us but what we really needed to do was get her out of that building. As soon as we got to the van she was OK. We waited in the van for 1 and 1/2 hours for everyone to finish.

After the Embassy we took her back to our hotel with us. We really didn't want to drop her off at Horizon House yet after such a traumatic afternoon. It was so sweet when we walked in the hotel she started to walk like she was a model. Very dainty and excited. When we got into our room she couldn't stop giggling. It was nice to she that she was comfortable in a new environment. We had a great time with her. She looked around and explored for about 15 minutes. Then she found the drawer with all of her clothes in it. She started to laugh, and proceeded to look at every piece of clothing. She then went through them again and picked out her favorite ones and was putting them on the bed. She started ripping her clothes off and started trying all of them on. We would try on one outfit, then she would run to the mirror and look at herself. Then she ran back to the bed and ripped that outfit off as quick as she could to try the next outfit on. Then she folded all the cloths back into the drawer in a neat pile. We were shocked at how well she folded her clothes! She walked around for a minute in her new outfit and then ran back to the drawer and started trying to stuff one of the skirts in her pocket. I think she was afraid she wouldn't be able to keep them. We kept saying Kasech's clothes and pointing to them and then to her and I think she finally understood. It was so funny watching her with the clothes. She was literally squealing with delight.

She and Jeff were playing for a long time on the floor, she loved the bathroom and brushed her teeth about 3 times. She washed her hands and face a ton of times too. I think she probably has never been anywhere this nice and with a big mirror to watch herself. But the best part about this visit with her at the hotel is that she called me mommy for the first time! It was such a huge exciting moment for me. I didn't think it would happen so soon. It happened when I was out on the balcony of our hotel room. She came out with me and got nervous and went back in she was trying to shut the doors and was yelling for me to come in. She was very worried about me. It was so cute!! It was a nightmare changing her into her pajamas before we brought her back to Wide Horizons. She did not want to take any of her new clothes off.

We got picked up at 7:30 to go out to dinner with all the families to celebrate the finalization of everything. Mulat took us to an Ethiopian restaurant with dancing shows from each region. Our favorite one coincidentally was the dance from Sidama. We had a great time. Jeff absolutely loved the food. I didn't eat too much of it. But I did try everything. There were a couple of things I did like a lot. But, too spicy! The dinner was really neat to experience and it will be a nice thing for Kasech.

Lots of love to you all and we do love reading your comments. We are leaving for Sidama tomorrow morning at 6:30 AM. We won't be able to blog at all until we get home on Wednesday. Enjoy your day!

Day Two

Today when we drove in through the gate the kids were outside playing everywhere. We spotted Kasech right away. She was smiling ear to ear when she saw it was us. Never mind that all the kids were yelling to Kasech that we were there. After Jeff & Kasech had their usual 45 minute playtime of Hide-n-Seek, Throwing Kasech in the air, Riding on his shoulders and jumping they finally came outside and we played ball for the rest of the morning. She really does well throwing, catching and kicking the ball. We are working through the communication barrier fairly well. Kasech would stop from throwing the ball and show me how she wanted me to hold my hands. And she would not throw the ball until I had my hands cupped and together in order to catch the ball. When we were done playing ball we went in the house, Kasech was suddenly very tired and I got about 1/2 hour of snuggle time before lunch. The nanny came into our room twice to tell me that it was time for Kasech's lunch. I really didn't want to give her up so finally the nanny came in and took her from me. We said goodbye to her. She was upset we were leaving. It is very hard to leave her but we are trying to be careful to not be there all day since we have to go to Sidama to meet her birth family all day Tuesday and half day Wednesday. It is going to be hard to leave her but I know the trip to Sidama is important and required. Our driver, Yonas, was there and he took us to the market to do a little bit of shopping. He knew right where to take us. We were able to buy some jewelry and a few other goodies to put away for Kasech for special holidays over the years.

We went back to see Kasech at 5:30 PM. Once again the kids were all outside playing. When we got out of the car we were surrounded by all the kids wanting hugs and to be picked up. It is so amazing how warm and affectionate all these kids are. They love to hold your hand or be next to you and be held all the time. Beside getting Kasech, this is one of our favorite things about visiting Horizon House. What a warm welcome we get every time. We hugged them all while scanning the play area for Kasech but she wasn't there. The nanny said she was inside. We went in the house and were looking all around for her. When walking down the hallway towards a small living room we could hear her giggling really hard. She was hiding on us. She is so funny. Her Hide-n-Seek game is more like Hide-n-Go-Seek The Giggle. After hugs and kisses we showed her the picture book we brought to show her birth family. She giggled really hard when she saw Duncan and Douglas pictures. I think she is excited to meet them. She took the picture book and ran outside to show all of the kids and the nannies. It seemed like she was worried about when we were going to leave and was very clingy all night. Jeff was rubbing her leg while she was sitting on his lap. When Jeff stopped she grabbed his hand and started moving it back & forth. She didn't want him to stop. She was either on our laps or we held her all the way until dinnertime. (See dinnertime post and pictures). After dinner she was really acting sad and tired. After getting cleaned up in the bathroom with Jeff she walked into the guest room where I was and I held her until we left. She was actually falling asleep in my arms. How Awesome! It was a moment I have been waiting for many years. I got to sing a lullaby and rock her until she fell asleep.

It's Dinnertime!

At dinnertime, we sat next to Kasech and she keeps feeding us while she eats. Oh Boy was their food spicy!! Jeff was laughing at me because I was choking down these fire balls without anything to drink and I wouldn't say no to Kasech. I was sweating and these kids just eat it without having drinks until their food is gone. Jeff absolutely loves the food and could eat it everyday. There are 25 kids total eating at the same time with 3 nannies making and serving the food. The nannies have unbelievable patience! But these kids are so well behaved.

A Dream Comes True!

When arriving at Horizon House this morning we were driven down this long thin muddy road that was right in the middle of the city. The driver beeped his horn at a big metal gate that we couldn't see through. A guard peeked out through the door, shut it quickly and opened the gate. As we drove in, their were children and nannies everywhere. It was a tarred area with tall bricked walls and the house. We got out of the car and a nanny walked up with Kasech immediately. She gave me a big hug and had a huge smile! I picked her up and gave her a hug and she smiled and laughed. I gave her to Jeff and they hugged and Jeff not surprisingly started jumping around with her in his arms and she laughed so hard. They kept doing that for about 5 or 10 minutes. She kept looking over at me and smiling. Jeff handed her back to me and she started touching my face all over. Almost like it was her way of getting to know me. She touched my cheeks, forehead, eyes and lips. Then she grabbed my nose and pinched it tight and started shaking it. She started laughing so hard with a sparkle in her eye. It was such a perfect meeting after all the warning we received that it could be hard and frustrating. We played with her for a few more minutes and then it was potty time. The kids all sat in their potty chairs lined up in a row. Kassie actually went into the "Big Girl" bathroom and I followed her to help. She did great so maybe she is ready for the big potties. We were told she was not potty trained on her paperwork that we got with her referral. So we were happy later in the day when she rubbed her belly and we asked her if she had to go potty and she nodded yes and Jeff took her and she did great. That is good news! After potty time we went in and all the kids ate lunch. After her lunch we brought her to the guest house with us while we ate lunch. We ate with a few other families. Jeff and I took turns eating and playing with Kassie on the floor. We discovered that she really likes playing catch and kicking balls. We played with her for a few more hours indoors. There was a huge thunderstorm all afternoon. In fact it has been raining since we got here. And its supposed to rain until we leave. Kassie is very curious and looked through our bag and my pocket book. She found my sunglasses, put them on her eyes and then slid them up on top of her head just like I had my regular glasses on. She was mimicking our actions all afternoon. When we finally brought her back to the bigger kids home and said goodbye she got sad and upset! She didn't want us to leave. She kept grabbing our hands and clinging to us. So, we had a difficult time leaving. We eventually did after saying goodbye to her 3 or 4 times. We went back to the hotel to take a nap. We were out within 10 minutes of getting back since we still only got about 4 hours of sleep last night.

We went back to visit Kassie at 6:30PM. We caught the tale end of their dinner. The kids were eating the exact same meal they had for lunch. We are wondering if that happens everyday? We'll see tomorrow. Anyway, after dinner we played in a private living room just the 3 of us for quite awhile. We played catch with her "Angelina Ballerina" that we brought for her. She kept begging Jeff to lift her up, dance with her and jump around. Of course he happily obliged. Another little boy came in the room and kept asking Jeff and I to tickle him. So we did. Then Kassie layed on her back while pushing the child out of the way so we would only tickle her. She was already possessive but we did end up playing with both of them for awhile. Before we knew it all of the kids were in bed and we had kept Kassie up but the nanny's said not a problem. She knew it was bedtime and started getting sad. So we brought her into her room and she climbed in bed. The room is for the older kids. There were 3 sets of bunk beds and one crib. There were 2 kids in each twin bed. Although, Kassie did have her own bed. We both layed with her for awhile. I think she is going to be a snuggler! Hooray! When she finally started getting sleepy and rolled over, we knew she was ready to sleep. This was a really nice moment for us. We got to put her to bed and snuggle in bed. We left and said "Chow" to each of the kids in the room. It was a lot of fun! What a beautiful day!

We Are Here!

Well, we are in Africa! What a long couple of days we have had. Jeff and I have been up for 33 hours straight except for a few cat naps here and there on the plane. The flights were uneventful except for almost having a delayed arrival to catch our connector to Frankfurt. Somehow The Pilot got us there on time even leaving 45 min late. We are all checked into the Sheraton. It is a beautiful hotel! The ride to the Sheraton was anything but beautiful. We have driven (rode) in Ethiopia for a 15 minute ride and we saw tons of people begging in the streets. A Family pushing their car on the road?? Not to the side, but down the road. Two different people banging on the windows of our taxi to the Sheraton begging for money. A women holding her baby standing at the traffic light begging for money. Yikes. We were relieved to drive into the Sheraton and see the huge wall surrounding the grounds and a guard at the entrance. I also felt a bit guilty driving in to this beautiful place and all the people we saw tonight look so sad and broken. But, on a lighter note, We get to meet our daughter tomorrow morning! We absolutely can't wait! It is 11:41 PM here so we are going to try and finally get some sleep.

A Taste of Whats To Come

We have been crazy busy getting ready to go. Between getting Kassie's room ready, making reservations, organizing the amazing amount of orphanage donations and all else in between, we haven't had much time to stop, process and take time out to enjoy what we are doing. But, on Saturday night we were able to "Have A Taste of whats to Come". Becky & Dave invited us, Deidre & Len and the boys over for an Ethiopian dinner. It was absolutely fabulous! Honestly I was shocked that I loved it. I really don't like spicy food but this was different spicy. Maybe I just don't like Mexican food??
Anyway, Becky made Injera which is the pancake you lay out on your plate and put dollops of your food on. You also take one or two other Injeras and roll them up on the side of your plate. You rip pieces off and use this instead of utensils. Becky also made Doro Wat (Chicken) Wat = Hot, Zil Zil Alecha (Beef) Alecha = Mild, Atakilt (Ethiopian vegetable Bowl), and Yesmir (Lentils). It was really nice to learn about and experience while we are counting down the days before we go. It was especially nice to take a moment and appreciate where we are going, what we are actually doing, and get our hands dirty!
Jeff and I have been overwhelmed with everyone's well wishes and kind gifts, donations to the orphanage and support. It has been a really long haul to get to this point. A lot of sad moments over the last 13 years but we both believe things happen for a reason. And for whatever reason, we feel like Kassie was meant to be our daughter. Its shocking that we are finally at this point. About to go pick up our daughter and we truly feel we wouldn't want it any other way. We are so excited to get to know her. Jeff is really excited to play with her. He of course is hoping she will want to play hockey. I just can't wait to give her a bath, get her in her jammies, read books and of course, snuggle! Lets hope for these things to be able to happen sooner rather than later. It could be a tough first few weeks.

Getting ready to go...

We are getting really excited to go and finally pick up Kassie. I can't even imagine what its going to be like when we first meet her. I keep trying to envision it but I don't know if she will be happy to have a new family, or if she will be upset she is being taken from what she knows AGAIN! It is 6 more days to go until we leave. So much packing to do... I'm trying to figure out what to bring for Kassie to keep her entertained on the plane ride home for 20 hours. Hopefully she will sleep. I have been warned that she will probably be scared and cry a lot of the way. I'm happy our flight home is overnight. Maybe she will sleep??? We are going to keep up on blogging as much as we can while we are in Ethiopia. Enjoy! We'll also try and post some pictures as we go. We leave on Thursday July 26 from Manchester at 2:30 PM and arrive in Addis Ababa at 8:30 PM on Friday July 27th. We are staying at The Sheraton in Addis Ababa until Friday Aug. 3, when we fly out at 10:30 PM and arrive back in Manchester at 7:30 PM on Saturday, Aug. 4.