Homeward bound

June 21, 2017

One hour left on this 17-hour flight to D.C. I am so relieved!!

Currently Luke and Dave are asleep. Luke is still on Dave’s lap (where he has been the last 16 hours, refusing to go anywhere else!). An adorable sight. Two of my three boys resting peacefully. Luke’s perfect, dark skin contrasting beautifully against his green shirt that says “I’m the big brother.” He’s snuggled up with his big pillow and soft elephant blanket gifted specially to him by the Hulls before our trip. Headphones in ears playing familiar Ethiopian tunes. Lord, I cannot thank You enough for Your help in getting us through this long leg of our journey!!

So much has happened in three days.

Our flight departed D.C. Sunday at 11:30 in the morning. We flew for 13 hours, but in Ethiopian time it was 7:30 Monday morning when we arrived so essentially we just skipped Sunday night. Our faithful driver Tedi was a welcomed sight waiting in the parking lot of the airport. Around 9:00 we checked in at the same hotel we stayed at the last time— Addis View. Ate a quick breakfast. Dave showered; I splashed some water on my face and reapplied makeup. Maybe that will hide my fatigue. :) And it was off to the races. Time to take custody of Luke before our 2:00 pm appointment at the U.S. Embassy.

It’s at least a 45-minute drive to his orphanage, Edget. We soaked in the sights, sounds, and smells of Addis, now somewhat familiar to us. I just kept thinking about how crazy this day is for Luke. Leaving the only home he has ever known. In the last year and a half, he probably only left this compound 4 or 5 times for various appointments.  And one morning, out of nowhere, he is taken by a white couple and Ethiopian driver, never to return.  Wow.  

Dave and I talked about how he’s kind of at a tough age for this.  If he was a little bit younger, he probably wouldn’t be too aware of what’s happening.  If he was a little bit older, he could comprehend more of what is going on.  But he’s somewhere in the middle…

When we arrived at Edget, Luke was getting spiffed up by the nannies so we played with the other kids until he was freshly bathed and dressed in clean clothes. When he saw us, he tried to avoid us. We gave him his space and hung out with him and the other children for about two hours. 

With the help of Tedi’s translating skills, I was able to ask the nannies a few basic questions about Luke. What kinds of things do you think are important for us to know? What is his normal routine? What does he usually eat? What do you do to soothe him? Does he have any objects or belongings that are special to him? Do you bathe him in a tub or shower? I can’t say I got a lot of information but we did the best we could given the time constraints and language barrier. There were so many other things I’d like to ask… What Amharic words does he say most frequently? What techniques do you use to get him to eat or drink or go to sleep? What kinds of things is he afraid of? What do you see as his strengths? weaknesses? The list goes on, but I guess we’ll just figure it out as we get to know each other over the coming weeks and months!

When it was time to leave the orphanage, we took one last picture of him and his friends together. We gave big hugs to the nannies and said “thank you” over and over. We left a written letter to the staff to express our immense gratitude. Hopefully the orphanage director will translate it for them so that they will know how thankful we are for their incredible love and care to Luke over the last year and a half. He was truly loved; this we know. 

Luke sat in the back seat between me and a staff worker from our agency. He inched his way as close to her and as far away from me as he could. We drove to the embassy with our quiet and wide-eyed Luke. After a little while, he let me put my hand on his arm and then hold his hand.

The embassy was set up like the DMV. A large waiting room with workers behind windows. After a short wait, Megan called our name. We were glad we got to meet Megan. She advocated on our behalf in a big way when the Ethiopian government announced the suspension. We told her that her work will not be forgotten. Poor Luke was still quiet and scared. He clung to the lady from our agency the whole time. 

With a large immigration packet in hand, we returned to the hotel. Shockingly, Luke let me carry him out of the car without a fuss. We brought him to our room and showed him the toys and books in his new Lightening McQueen backpack. He was so brave. No tears or crying. He was just very still and didn’t make a peep. You could see he was just trying to process everything. 

We tried to get him to eat some pasta for lunch, but weren’t too successful. It is easy to understand why he is so skinny. He doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite and he has this funny habit of holding food in his mouth instead of chewing and swallowing. (During our travels home, there were times he would hold the same bite of food in his mouth for over 20 minutes at a time!) We know that getting this boy some good nutrition and improved eating habits will be a HUGE part of our parenting job at the start.

Per the nannies, Luke usually takes a nap from 12:00-2:00, but on this day he slept from 3:00-7:00!! Poor kiddo was worn out… understandably… what a day! We were grateful for the time to nap as well since we had been awake for a couple days straight. We just hung out together that evening and he slept through the night in a comfy little crib. 

The whole thing is so surreal. We’ve been pinching ourselves constantly. We can’t believe he is our son! Such a huge blessing!! Just like we did when Ben was born, we find ourselves just staring at him saying to each other, “He is so cute!”

Yesterday we had a pretty low key day. We visited the care center (the one that is run by our adoption agency) to say goodbye to Yared and tell him how thankful we are for everything he and his staff did to fight for our families and bring these children home! They did a coffee ceremony for us which is their custom for families going home. They roasted the coffee beans right there in front of us on a charcoal fire. Delicious coffee! And they made the freshest, best tasting french fries I’ve ever had!! Ethiopians definitely have the gift of hospitality.

It was remarkable to see Luke come out of his shell even in the first 24 hours. Slowly but surely, you could see him loosening up. Starting to play and laugh and run around. When we were out and about, he stayed within three feet of me at all times and wanted to be on my lap for the car rides.

That afternoon I took a little nap while Dave and Luke had fun playing together. Since then Luke has really shown a preference for Dave. If Dave leaves him with me for even a minute, Luke just screams and cries until his dad comes back. Except for 20 minutes when he was sleeping in the chair next to us, he sat on Dave’s lap for the entire 17 hours of our first flight!!! It’s so precious and it made our trip much smoother since he is so comfortable with Dave, but it’s a little overwhelming too. Dave said he feels like he’s going through Daddy Boot Camp and I feel sort of helpless. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when Dave goes back to work! But I know in time Luke and I will bond as well…