Day 6 was Monday, the day we met our baby boy!!!!!!!!
We barely slept the night before and woke up early for breakfast with the other families in our travel group before we started the big day. As we sat around the table at the guest house eating...or trying to anyway due to nerves...we talked about how we were feeling. Some of us were excited and for some others, the nerves had already kicked in. I was definitely nervous. I just wanted to go to the Transition House so we could see Bereket face to face. Two years of paperwork and waiting, several years before that of heartbreak and trials and we were finally here, finally to the day we would meet this precious boy that God was placing in our family. Let's get this going!
We met up with our driver and guide and drove to the Hilton for our paperwork party before we could do anything else. This paperwork had to be done in order for the Embassy to process Bereket's visa to come home with us, which we would get on Wednesday when we went for our court date...very important stuff. It was stressful making sure we had everything filled out correctly and took some time. We had lunch at the hotel once we were done. I think most everyone was just so ready to get over to the Transition House by this time.
After lunch we got in the vans and headed out. It was pretty quiet as we got closer and closer. We turned down this alley way and that alley way and our guide joked that now we were going to take a tour of the city. That little joke was met with lots of groans and lots of "haha, that's not funny". :-)
As we made the final turn and could see the America World sign, there was a nervous silence. We pulled up to the silver gate, honked and the gate swung open. We were there!!! Our kids were there!!! Was this really happening or was this a dream??!!
We all climbed out of the vans and huddled around together figuring out who was going to take pictures for whom and what order we were going in. They called the first family's name and I started shaking. I literally could not stop shaking. I'd seen this moment on several families blogs but being there in person was unreal. Watching families come together for the first time was an honor and something I'll never forget. Our Lord is an amazing orchestrator of life and each of those children were placed in the perfect home for them. No one could have done that. Only Him. It's simply amazing.
By the time they were close to our name it started to rain so we all moved up onto the porch. It was even more surreal now. We walked up the stairs I'd seen in so many pictures. The stairs to the front door of the house that our son was in!
It was our turn!!! They called our name!!!! We handed our cameras over to another family and stood ready. Shaking and feeling like we were dreaming we watched one of the nannies walk out of the doorway carrying this beautiful sleeping boy in green overalls. She handed him to me and all I could do was stare at his precious face. So peaceful. It took everything I had not to burst into tears but I didn't want to freak him out so I held it together as best as I could.
We took turns holding him while he slept and when he awoke, we were able to give him a bottle and spend some time playing with him. We didn't know how he'd react to us and had been praying that it would be a positive experience for him. He didn't cry but just sat back and took everything in. We got some big smiles out of him and some good cuddle time too. We got to give him a bottle and a snack. He fell asleep in my arms and then it was time to go.
The time flew by! We were filled with a mix of emotions about leaving him after just meeting him but in the end knew it was what was best for him. We'd be back tomorrow and then we'd be together for good. Our family of three.
That evening we went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant for an amazing dinner and some incredible dancing. It was fabulous and a great end to a great day!
1 comment:
Thanks Love for blogging this. It made me tear up just remembering our experience there and that God delivered us a son.
Post a Comment