Coming to America

     An overview- we will go back and be a little more specific about our trip but for now here is an overview of how things are going...

    We are home!  We love the USA. We were in Addis Ababa for most of our visit and went down to Awassa (the south) to  meet Jonah's mom. Awassa is what you would think of when you think of Africa. Hut houses, herds of animals, African villages and naked people! We loved it there. There was fresh air and Erin had her head out the window like a dog the whole time. Addis is the city. It smells of diesel fuel and fire burning from all the cooking that is taking place outdoors. Erin was nauseous the whole time.

     We spent time at the Horizon house and spent time with the other families as all the families came and went on their birth family visit. The plane ride home was made fun with the two other couples we traveled home with. We took up the whole front row of the plane and had bassinets for the babies. The kids all did awesome on the way home. Jonah slept, ate and laughed until we reached Dulles. As soon as we landed Jonah was officially a US citizen. We couldn't have been more happy to be home. Unless you have been to a 3rd world country and to Ethiopia you have no idea how great the US is. Even the poorest person in US is so lucky. Ethiopia is in the top ten of poorest countries in the world. That includes all of Africa. There was a couple on the trip with us who had been to several places in Africa and she still couldn't believe how poor Ethiopia was. The people are wonderful but the surroundings are not.

     Estelle, Al, JT, Meredith, Kiara, Taliya, Roney and Alani all met us at the airport. JT was happy to see us and looked at Jonah in confusion. He knew him on paper but there he was in the flesh. He was real. JT stared at him and when we got home we all just hung out. Erin took JT to Panera to enjoy some fresh food and we all enjoyed drinking water and having drinks with ice.

     JT has been awesome. We didn't really expect that. I guess we don't give him enough credit! He loves to help out and loves giving Jonah his bottle and taking baths with him. Other times he just ignores him, which is fine too.

      Jonah has been adjusting well. Other than the lack of sleep we are all doing great. Jonah went to the doctor. He is using a nebulizer and otherwise in in perfect health. He is wonderful. He is eating well but we know he is missing his injera and Ethiopian spices! He loves to  laugh and wants to be held a lot.

      We have enjoyed having visitors and we are not being too crazy about who holds him and other stuff. Some say to lay low and not to leave the house but that is not possible for us. Jonah and Erin enjoyed their first outing to the doctor and to Panera on Monday. We decided that the only thing we will be anal about is that we will be the only ones to feed him. We need him to know that we are his parents and even though it seems like he is easy going and we know he will go to anybody that is not good for kids who are being adopted. They need to know who their parents are and realize they are stuck with us forever!

      Enjoy the pictures.......

Jonah enjoying his first plane ride.

JT meets Jonah and says hello to Daddy.

Our Journey To Jonah at OneTrueMedia.com

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Ocean Isle/Trip #2

We just got back from our annual trip to Ocean Isle Beach, NC. JT was great in the car both to and from NC. We had a chance to stop in Raleigh and visit with Cindy, Ben and Carter. Teresa and Emily joined in for a pizza dinner. It was nice to see everyone. 

The beach was great as usual. The first day there as we were unpacking, Taliya informed us that "JT was doing something bad." As JT came out of the room he sported his new hairdo. He got a hold of Kevin's clippers that he left sitting in the bed. JT took it upon himself to shave his head. JT said his hair looked pretty and seemed happy with his work.We went crabbing and our skills were never lost. We caught 27 crabs in less than 2 hours and Jason cooked them as always and we all indulged in eating the crabs. JT improved on his swimming skills and after a few days decided it was fun to jump over the waves. He loved collecting shells as well. Hopefully next year he will enjoy the beach a little more. Kevin and I also had fun, although tired from having JT sleeping in a room with us and a tap on the shoulder each evening around 4am. He has not done that since we have been back home. We look forward to next summer and having Jonah join us.

Kevin and I head back to Ethiopia on August 14th. Our Embassy apt. is August 16th. At some point during the week we will visit Jonah's birth mother and family. We will be back on August 21st. 

JT has been wanting to "see" Jonah on a regular basis. (looking at his pictures) He kisses him. He will talk to us and say that we are going on a plane to Africa and Jonah will come home and sleep in the baby's crib. Kevin and I try to talk about Jonah a lot and JT helped me put some clothes in Jonah's dresser. As much as we do these things we both know JT doesn't really "get it." I don't have a big belly and we left him for a week and will be leaving him again. He did great with Estelle and Al but it was hard for him. He won't be visiting in a hospital to see a baby and we will step out of a plane with a 1 year old in our arms. Again, after leaving him for a week. He has had a hard time with Kevin and I leaving him now. That was never an issue for him. So we hope that this will all pass and once we get home and settled in, we can return to somewhat a normal life and JT will adjust as do all siblings. I do think leaving for a long time makes things very difficult. I have read many blogs and they seem to say the same thing and their older child adjusted after a few weeks.

We will be staying at the Horizon House for this trip and will not have Internet access. We will be in touch after we get home with Jonah!