The simple things

Everyday in our home is a new learning experience. People keep asking "how is it going and how are the kids doing." I pause and think for a minute and then usually say "All things considered, it is going pretty well." When you prepare for an adoption you are required to read various books, take several different training programs and they prepare you for the worst(scare you to death, quite frankly!) Although, each day poses it own set of challenges whether it is with the food, going to the store, going to bed, brushing teeth, flushing the toilet, or the language barrier,it, at times, can be trying and frustrating. You stop and think.Wow! what a change we have thrown everyone in this house into!

But then, there are simple things that put it all in perspective.. Like last night. We had had a long day of playing, kids not getting along, shopping, dad screwing up the breakfast, and just being worn out(that happens a lot more these days.) It came time for dinner and neither Susan nor I felt like cooking or trying to figure out what to get the girls to try next. So we made PB&J and everyone ate their dinner and we all sat down and had ice cream. If you are wondering how many flavors you need to satisfy this family of six. Well it is Six! Chocalate, Cookies N Cream, Strawberry with real strawberries, strawberry yogurt, Vanilla Bean, and Sherbert. Everyone ate their cones and as I sat looked at the table of 4 cute kids and 1 wonderful wife, and thought, well among all of this change and sometimes chaos, these are the moments like this that remind me of why we made this decision to grow our family. The food will get better, the communication will get better, and being a family will grow stronger. In the mean time, it is the simple things, like PB&J and ice cream,that will help to bridge that gap.

Baby Steps....

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, we explained to the girls what a holiday was...well we tried.. Hannah understood as we discussed holidays with her.

Tigist is feeling much better and is pretty much back to herself. The "Tigist Tude" is back as we like to call it. She is eating some today and hopefully will continue to get back to normal. What a challenge it has been to care for someone you can't communicate with verbally. You can only go off her facial expressions and what Hannah is able to translate or explain for us. Tigist is posing quite a challenge for us but Susan is quite good with her and firm in her directions. I am getting better(I am the pushover in the parenting.HA!)

The picture is a good example of progress. Susan was able to sit down with Tigist, while watching Clifford the Big Red Dog, and do her hair. She has not been able to do this since we were in Ethiopia and the ladies at the guest house were able to help her. Hannah is doing great and is a big help to us. She is learning the ways of our household and is a very good girl. We went to WalMart yesterday and I think Hannah was overwhelmed by all of the stuff, but she listened to me very well and although she wanted to put a ton of stuff in the wagon, I would tell her no, and she would put it back. So, as the title says, we are taking baby steps and things are going well with Hannah and today has been a good day with Tigist. It won't always be easy and we will have high's and low's, but I know we will get through it. Please pray for us and the girls that God leads us and gives us the wisdom and grace to work through it all.

Video Diary of our Trip

Here is a video of the pics from our trip. We took tons of pics but these are the ones we thought were the best of the kids. The song is "Beautiful Day" by U2 which is a song I saw on a friends video and I couldn't think of a better song to describe these pics.

We are home

Not much more I can think of saying right now.  36 hours of travelling and over 9000 miles. We are home. Lots of snow for the girls to have fun in tomorrow.  They love their room.   

Day 11: Leaving Ethiopia in a couple of hours

Today has been a day to say goodbye to our friends who live in Addis, the staff of the guest homes which we have called home for the last 11 days, and for our girls to understand they are leaving their homelenad.  Tigist doesn't seem to be phased by it, but Hannah(Rahel) has been sad most of the day. She finally cried which was good because she doesn't like to show her emotions.

 

Thanks to everyone for praying for us and helping out if we asked.  This has been a great trip but now we are coming home and we are thrilled.

 

God Bless,

 

Chris and Susan

 

 

Day 10: A breath of fresh air

This morning we took a drive out to the girls home village of Holotta. It is about 40km from where we are staying and what a nice relaxing drive it was for us.  We couldn't take the girls but we took the boys so they could see the countryside.  It was very cool today because it rained last night which kept the dust down as well and that made the drive even nicer.  We got some wonderful pictures and video for the girls when they get older so they can remember where they were born.  

This afternoon we just hung out and began packing up everything for tomorrow.  We are ready to come home and we think Hannah is too because of some comments she has made when the translators talk to her about the trip.  Tigist knows she is going on a plane but we are a little worried about how she will react once we get going.  

We read about the blizzards in the northeast. I hope JFK does not get hit!!!

Day 9: Shopping and Mt. Entoto

Saturday was a relatively quiet day. We went shopping in the morning and in the afternoon we went to Mt. Entoto the highest point in Addis and one that has a ton of historical significance to both Addis and Ethiopia.  It is quite beautiful and free from the smog and pollution of the city.  It is about 9300 ft. above sea level. The city itself is above 8000 ft.  

 

It was a tough day with Tigist as she is very hot tempered.  The nannies have been a big help but they say she did the same when she came to the transition home. We don't know what they said to her but she had a pretty good day after that.  

 

More to come on that topic I am sure.

 

 

Day 8: Another good day

Today was another good day.  We spent the morning at the Lion Zoo in Addis.  It literally has about 20 lions from the countryside of Ethiopia and a few monkeys and some birds, and that is it. I must admit though the lions are nothing like the ones you see in our zoo's at least for me they weren't. They were huge and you could get within 1 foot of their cage.  The older lions each had a male and female in them and the older ones where anywhere from 10-15 years old.  Their cage bars were you're normal cage bars and then their was a chain linked fence about 1 foot from that.  When they feed these lions they throw the meat in between the cage and the fence and the lions use their paws(huge paws) to drag it into the cage.  As you can imagine we kept the kids a few feet away and made sure they weren't feeding while we were there. Beautiful animals and very big. 

 

We had a traditional Ethiopian lunch and Coffee Ceremony at our agency's house in the middle of the day.  The food was good and the coffee was good too(I am not a coffee drinker). It was good for the girls as it is probably the last time they will see their former nannies and friends. 

 

After lunch we went to the orphanage. Wow, what an emotional hour for us.  We met their mother, uncle, and 2 great aunts.  We asked a lot of questions but did not get a lot of answer's.  It was  very awkward at times but we made it through it.    

 

So, we are very tired this evening and have to pack up our stuff because we have to move in the morning to another guest house for the last 2 nights.  Tomorrow is a shopping and going to Mt. Entoto the highest point in Addis Ababa which has a lot of historical significance for Addis Ababa and it also has a lot of sadness which I will write about tomorrow.  It is a beautiful view of the city which is basically in a valley. 

 

3 more days to go...

 

 

Day 7: Another step closer

Today was a good day for us in Addis.  We started the day at the HOH transition home where all of the children who are waiting for their new parents live.  We had 3 families from our agency ask us to take pictures so we spent the morning doing that and letting the girls spend a morning with their friends at the home.  There will be only one more opportunity for the girls to do this so we were glad they could do it. 

One of the children we took pictures of was a boy who is 2 years old.  His new mother sent us a teddy bear to give to him.  When he got the bear he cried and was very upset for about 30 minutes. We felt bad because the pictures were not going to be reassuring to the mother and father that their son was doing well.  I know how Susan and I felt after we got the first set of pictures of our girls.  Fortunately, the nannies got him calmed down and a bit of cheerios from us and he was doing much better. He sat with me for a long time and we got lots of good pics an vid clips for the parents.  What broke my heart is when we had to leave and he clearly didn't understand why we were leaving. Never having our girls have to feel like that again is the blessing of the whole process.  We know this young boy and all of those children are going to loving homes and that is a comfort as well.  Please pray for all of these children and their new families.

 

The afternoon was spent at the embassy and we PASSED and as the women behind the glass asked Susan and I if we understand that this adoption if final ..... we said YES!!!  So now , we are done with the paperwork, the notary's, the signatures, the copies and tons of documents and in the eye's of Uncle Sam these girls are officially ours and will be legal residents when we hit the ground in JFK. The last step is to go through immigration and handover one more envelope that must have the seal of the embassy on it and remain sealed until the INS Officer opens it.  Thank you God for leading us through this process!

 

Tomorrow is another big day as we will go have some fun with the kids in the morning at the Ethiopia Zoo! The afternoon will be an emotional one as we go to the girls' orphanage and we are supposed to meet their birth mother. 

 

We are missing everyone and hope you are well.

 

 

Day 6: A good day in Addis Ababa

Today was a good day for us.  Everybody was feeling good. Dramamene was the trick for Andrew.  He felt pretty good all day and ate a good bit. 

 

In the morning we went to the National Museum when we thought we were going to the zoo, but it was great to see all of the history and the kids were very good. In the afternoon we went shopping at the HIlton..yes the Hilton.  This hotel is the largest Hilton in the world and is literally an oasis in the middle of the desert.  We bought some souvenirs and exchanged some money. Next we went to the Addis version of a mall. It was pretty cool and we bought some stuff for family and friends.  We bought the girls their first pair of dress up shoes for the embassy appointment tomorrow. Please say a prayer for us on that one as that is the last big hurdle to getting everyone home on Monday.

 

The girls are starting to interact more with the boys which is good.  At one point, I turned my head while we were walking and they all were holding hands with Susan walking down the sidewalk. It made my day and I could tell Susan was loving it as well.  At lunch today, we had our translator tell the girls their American names we have picked for their name.  The girl's names will be: Gabrielle Tigist and Hannah Rahel. We told them it was their choice as to what they wanted to be called. Rahel chose Hannah rather quickly.  Tigist she wants to remain Tigist.  Tigist may change her mind as she is so young but Rahel was very quick to choose Hannah and was actually correcting Susan and I later in the day if we called her Rahel. 

 

Big day tomorrow as we will be taking pics for 3 families who will be travelling in the coming weeks. Those pics really helped Susan and I during the waiting period between court and travel. The afternoon is dedicated to the Embassy.  

 

P.S. - Kathy , Susan told me to write you that Tigist does things on Tigist Time. She said you would understand.

 

 

Day 5: Farrell's - 4, Ethiopia - 1

The day is over and the kids are asleep and today is the first day Ethiopia (and all of its chaos) got the best of the Farrell Clan.  The paperwork meeting was very frustrating and I found out I needed about 1/5 of the information we were told to bring.  Tigist had a tough afternoon and evening. Andrew is feeling better and eating which is great. I am hopeful tomorrow will be a better day for him.  Rahel and William have had good days. 

 

We have been without running water for the past 10 hours, the whole area of town we are in is out.  Going to the bathroom has been quite interesting. Our guest home has been great and they are actually filling up some back up tanks right now so we will have water in the morning and the toilets will be working again.  I am laughing as I am writing this because I think it was the one thing we didn't plan for(or better said Susan didn't plan for) on this trip. We expected no hot water, power outages, sick stomachs, food issues, lice, every fungus known to man, but not this one. 

 

It is days like this Susan and I always say "God only gives you what you can handle."  We have survived this day and our trip is halfway complete. Tomorrow we actually don't know what we are doing because the agency has changed the itinerary but we know it will be busy.  Please keep praying for us. 

 

God Bless,

 

Chris

 

Day 5: A slow start to the day

We had a great plan this morning to go to the HIlton for a bit of Western Living and to find the girls some tennis shoes, but it didn't work out as they gov't had the roads into the hotel closed. Whenever there is a meeting at the hotel no one is allowed in or out.  When we got back Andrew got sick again.  He is being a trooper but I think the roads are too bumpy for him. Next trip out we are going to try some motion sickness medicine.  Please pray for Andrew and he is having a tough time with the food as well. 

 

This afternoon we work with our agency and finalize all of the paperwork for the Embassy visit. I am going to go and Susan and the kids are going to stay at the guest home. Our frends, the Bridges, are going to stop by and meet the girls while I am gone. 

 

  

 

 

Day 4: Meeting the other families and seeing the City

Today was a busy day as we went back to the Transition home to meet the other families who were travelling this week. Our agency scheduled 8 famlies this week.  We were the last 2 be picked up because we already had the girls. The rest of the families were seeing their children for the first time. It was good for our girls because they got to see everyone who they spent the last 4 months with again.  They will only get one more opportunity before we leave so they were very happy.  We got to talk to the nurse to see if there was anything we should be aware of. Rahel has stomach problems periodically but the nurse said it was common with children who come from the country into the city. Tigist has not had any problems that she noted.  We put them on antibiotics yesterday because they both had runny noses, and Tigist was tugging on her ear. 

 

 Tigist has been full of emotions today...Happy , Sad, Silly, Mad.  She has them all and we love it.  We could tell she didn't want to leave the HOH today and think that is what drove her mood swings but all is good now.  Andrew and William had a pretty good day.  We started Andrew on antibiotics because his stomach had been bothering him but he is eating and drinking.  William is doing fine and has had no issues. Mom and Dad are good just sleeping is a challenge still.

 

We toured the city this afternoon which was nice, but the city is so spread out, we only got to see a glimpse of what I saw last year. We are going to take a longer tour on Saturday.  There is so much to see and I am impressed at how much building is going on. Last year I did not see as much. The tour guide told us the gov't is building more and more subsidized high rise apartments because they want to clean up the shanty towns(my term for the current living conditions of most people).  I pray it works because that is what is so sad about the city.....the poverty, pollution, sewage, and housing just makes you very sad. 

 

We finished the day off with a traditional Ethiopian meal of Enjera and Wat(like a stew) with vegetables.  Fun to eat because you don't use silverware.  The boys tried it and that is all we wanted.  Hopefully they will get used to it because it will now be a part of our meals at home. 

 

Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. 

 

Tomorrow is the National Museum tour and preparing for our Embassy visit on Thursday.  Wendesay we are going to the orphanage and hopefully will meet the birth mother. 

 

 

Day 3: Afternoon went much better

Yesterday started rough, but by the end of the day, everyone was doing great.  The boys and girls were playing with each other and having a blast. Rolling down a hill for at least an hour and kicking a soccer ball.  They also learned how to "gargle" water. Our resident comedian Andrew taught the girls. They had fun, got really dirty, and it was great to watch them have fun.

 

Monday starts our week long schedule with the agency. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring because we already have the girls and that was the agenda for Monday.  So we will see.

 

Chris

 

P.S. - Susan wanted me to post that there sizes are 4T for Tigist and 6 for Rahel.