Getting Delylah

After my first bath

Delylah and one of her nannies

Mommy getting me dressed

Delylah and Emebet

When I first saw Delylah

Abel

I did not enjoy my flight from Duabi to Ethiopia. The plane probably came out of the Soviet Era it was so old. I got off the plane and it took forever to receive my luggage and almost noone else was waiting so I thought my luggage was either lost or stolen but finally after a long wait it showed up. Then to really get me worried our agency reps were not at the airport when I first got out. I totally freaked and did not know what to do. When I finally found a way to call the states and waste ten bucks to make one phone call our rep showed up apologizing about the wait. I just did not want to be in a foreign country with no where to go or not knowing what to do. I checked into the guest house, took a shower, and was off the meet our newest angel. I did not know what to expect and was probably delirious from exictement, fear from traveling alone and everything else one could imagine. When I got to the orphanage the first child I saw was my very good friend Jamie's child Abel who is a hoot. I was so excited to see him because in our last adoption she got to meet Lennah first so this time I will not have to go a long time without meeting her newest addition. I took pics of some of the kids while I waited for Delylah. They finally brought her in and I have to say I think I was more in shock. The first adoption I was overwhelmed and this time I think I was more in surprise that yes now I am a mommy of two. I got to change her into one of her new outfits and hang out with more of the kids. Honestly, I left quite depressed because I wanted to take the kids with me. Delylah and I spent the rest of the day hanging out and getting to know each other. I was really sad that Keith and Lennah were not there for the experience.

Dubai

I guess I will catch everyone up as best as I can post by post. I left Atlanta on Thursday evening and arrived in Dubai Friday night. I have to say I actually slept fairly well on the plane. Tylenol PM can work wonders when you are anxious to get to your new baby. I get off the plane and was extremely nervous but decided to catch a taxi to at least see a bit of Dubai since I had nine hours to kill. I have to say this was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I spent an hour or so just having the taxi drive me to see the city. I got to see the tallest building in the world and the famous sailboat hotel in Dubai. I was amazed at how modern Dubai is and how much western influence was there. They had all the same food chains like we have such as TGIFridays,McDonalds, etc. I even passed by the mall that has the indoor skis resort. Yep in 106 degree weather in Dubai you can ski in the middle of a mall behind a glass wall that keeps the man made snow frozen. I was in total awe and cannot wait to return there someday with Keith. I also have to say it was the cleaniest airport I had ever been in. I really am glad I chose this flight rather than doing two shorter stops because it was so beautiful. If I ever have to have a long layover again Dubai is the place to be. Here are some pics of my short visit to the Middle East. Sorry they are not better since it was night time and I was in a taxi.

Leaving Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the big day. In less than 24 hours I will be heading to Ethiopia to get our new princess. I am still in the midst of packing which I always wait to last minute which means I will still be packing in the morning which is ok because my flight does not leave until 9pm and heads straight to Dubai. I am excited and extremely scared all at the same time. So please pray that everything goes well and I am back next Friday morning safe and sound. I know the worst part about the trip is being away from Lennah and Keith for a whole week. Please pray that Lennah is on her best behavior for the days she is at Grandma and Big Ba's house. This will probably be my last post until I get back since I am sadly not carrying the laptop with me.

3 Days and Counting

I leave in exactly three days, actually in a little under 72 hours, and the anxiety is kicking in. I have never been so nervous in my life. I know I would not have these worries if Keith was going with me. I am just worried about every possible thing that could go wrong; lost passport, stolen money, not getting my visa in time, and just about any thing else that could go wrong. This is not going good for my insomnia. Last night I only had 4 hours sleep and had my first day back at work today. Yes! I decided to work the first 3 days of pre-planning before I leave to prepare my supply teacher. I am sure that I will not sleep a wink on the plane and I do plan on leaving the airport in Dubai for a bit to get a taxi and take a few photos of the city. So I probably will not have sleep for at least 2 days once I leave. AHHHHH! Please pray for me.

Our Delylah

Only Six Days and What a Week

Six More days until I leave for Ethiopia. It is exciting and scary all at the same time. I am so nervous about going alone this time and sad. I really do wish we could both go. I am just so worried about what if something goes wrong and I get stuck there without Keith or Lennah. I know I cannot be away from my other baby for long. But I have to be positive because I will soon be holding our newest bundle of joy. I am still in the midst of packing which is not going well because I am traveling alone. I want to be able to check two bags going and return with one because of donations and that is just not working out. What ever happened to duffle bags? My plan was to have a soft bag that I could fold up on the way home and stuff in my other luggage but I have not been successful at finding something like that. I still have to wash some more clothes for Delylah because I have bought her several fall outfits that I will probably need to take with me because it is not that hot there.

Besides impending travel Lennah has had a busy week. We have been playing with kids almost everyday and she is wore out. That is a rarity for my big girl because she is so full of energy. I am also proud of her because she has been kind of a bully lately and today she was really nice to baby Meron.

Yeah!!!!!!

Today was a wonderful day for 4 families that I had been praying for they passed court and their kiddos are officially theirs. All the families leave the week after me to bring their babies home which makes me a little sad because I am solo in my group but today was a make or break day since today was the last day before courts closed for two months in Ethiopia. As for me I am just trying to get situated before I leave and make sure all our papers are in order, packing, etc. I wish I was leaving right now but I will have Delylah soon enough. Unfortunately, I will not be taking my laptop because I am going alone so I will have to blog everyone up when I return. I will just have too much to carry for being by myself. I really wish Keith was coming it would be a lot more enjoyable.

Pray for Friends

Ok. I was very fortunate to have somehow passed court and to have Delylah become our daughter. In the midst of my case several other Illien families did not make it through court and all of their cases were rescheuled for tomorrow. Please keep these families in your prayers. My friend Jamie has tried to pass court several times and I cannot imagine her disappointement and heartbreak if things do not go well tomorrow. There are also three other families Mary, Mary, and Jenn's families who will also be waiting to hear. Please say some extra prayers.

5 Years 1 Day and Counting Blessings

I guess let me start off by mentioning that 5 years ago yesterday I married the most awesome man in the world. I cannot explain how wonderful my life is because I married such a great man who is one of the most devoted fathers I have seen. Not everyone gets lucky the first time out and I have and that truly is a blessing. We had a quiet day as a family and that was a perfect way to celebrate 5 years of bliss.

Let me back track to Friday in order to count some more blessings. Friday was our First Friday's meeting night. I decided to bring a friend who has struggled being able to conceive a second child. I was hoping that seeing so many other families with adopted children from families of all different situations may play on her heart. What I left with was this; adoption truly is not for everyone. I guess it was a hard concept for me to grasp because I can't imagine why anyone would not want to bring a beautiful child into their life regardless of a biological connection. But obviously God does not place the burden of adoption on everyone's heart and it took me time to see that. Which essentially leads me back to what I wanted to count my blessings for. Years ago God just opened my eyes to the possibly of adopting. Granted it did not turn out the way I thought it would, but he did. I said before Keith came into my life I wanted to have biological children and then adopt a little girl from China because I knew about their orphan situation. Keith came into my life and we were faced with the problems that are common for millions of other couples; infertility. But now I count my blessings for this. Yes we could have tried other options to have children but I knew that adoption was on my heart anyway. God did not send me to China because my daughters were not meant to come from there but he sent me my beautiful girls. I prayed for a child and Yes! God was listening. I know so many of us think at the lowest points of our lives that God was not listening but he was, he did give me children just not the way I thought he would have. Regardless of genetic traits, biological connections they are my little girls and will be until the day Keith and I die. So I want to thank God for blessing us with infertility. His burden years ago made it easy for my to take the news because he knew what was in store for me and he prepared me. Yes! I wish every infertile or even non-infertile couple out there wanted to adopt so every child would have a home but that is not in God's plan. I just need to celebrate the fact that it was his plan for me.

Potty Anyone?

Today was a huge milestone for our now big girl. Yes! She used the potty. Lennah often tells us that she needs a diaper change. I, of course, think this is advanced. So today she was in the bath tub and she told me she had to go by pointing and saying potty. It is right next to the tub so I pulled her out and put her on the potty and she went. Of course she received a big cheer and lots of clapping which is which she likes; to be cheered on. Later on she again pointed at her diaper and starting going towards the potty. I took her diaper off. Well needless to say she began to go to the potty but on the floor and I picked her up put her on the potty and she finished (by the way this was number 2 for those of you thinking she left a puddle across the floor). Still a big step for us because she is not quite 20 months old yet. It would be nice if she was potty trained before Delylah gets home because I have been calculating the cost of two in diapers and no it is not pretty.