need me some pepto

Tuesday, November 20, 2007:

Let's call this our down day. Since I was feeling a tad crummy in the tummy, we chose not to go on an extended city tour. (Oh, just the thought of getting in the car gave me the oogies.) Instead, it was paperwork day. With our embassy appointment on Wednesday, we needed to make sure we had everything in order. So, that morning I sat down with Tsegay and went through it all. I loved it every time he said, "No, you don't need that one."

We'll move on to a more exciting day.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007:

Embassy Day!! But not until 3:30 in the afternoon, so we went on a couple of adventures with another CHI family. First stop was the National Museum -- the place Lucy is normally kept when she isn't touring the United States. Go figure. Quite an interesting place. It was nice to have both Ephraim and our other driver, Abel, along to help explain some of the displays. I think they were proud to present their country and culture to us.

Our second stop was the Ethiopian Orthodox Museum. We were waiting outside when we saw some important looking people standing about. One was in white robes and hat and seemed to be the center of attention. Someone said, "I wonder if he's someone important." M commented, "Well, considering his picture is on that billboard behind him, I would say, yes, he must be important." He was the Orthodox patriarch -- their Pope.

After a bit of a wait, we made it into the museum gallery. Normally, it is at least a 2 hour tour, but we only had an hour to spare. Our tour guide chose to cram the whole thing into an hour by talking reaaaallly reaaallly fast instead of just giving the highlights. It was fascinating information, but you had to fully concentrate to follow along. Not easy to do when you aren't feeling the greatest and you have little children to attend to. Definitely something to take in, but more time is highly recommended.

After we made our way back to House of Hope, we quickly changed and prepared for our journey to the Embassy. I sat up front this time, and that actually seemed to help a bit. I think it was because I spent a lot of the drive turned toward the back talking to Tsegay. It took my attention away from what was going on outside my window. Anyway, we arrived at the Embassy, made our way through two security points -- sampling the water in the sippy cup to prove we weren't carrying liquid explosives, and found the room we needed to be in. Picture a smaller, nicer version of a BMV. After a short wait, we were called up to the window. Sign here, sign there, answer this question, that question, raise your right hand and say I do. Easy as cake, piece of pie. She gave us copies of documents and we were on our way. Actually, we were on our way to a small courtyard area while we waited for the other family to finish.

As we made our way back outside and crossed the street, a crowd of school children were walking home. I felt like a celebrity. The kids looked and whispered to each other, giving us smiles. When I was standing by the car, holding S and waiting to get in, kids came up to shake my hand. It was so sweet and a little funny. I think that was my five minutes of fame for my lifetime.

We made it back to House of Hope for dinner and settled in for bed. It wasn't an easy task since S had a long moment of grief and sobbed herself to sleep. Reality was setting in, I think, and there was little I could do but hold her while she cried. Our little 3-year-old was experiencing quite a bit, and there is only so much emotion that can be kept in.

The next day we were scheduled to travel to the kids' first orphanage -- a good 3 hours away -- and meet their birthmom. I was more than a little nervous, especially since the kids were coming with us.

How did it go? I'm not sure my words will do it justice, but I will give it a shot. Later. Stay tuned.

:)