Made it

We arrived safe and sound in Addis Abba this morning at 7 am. Which is 1 am EST 12 am CST. After taking advice from other adoptive parents we met on the way and our adoption agency we decided to go and see Liam today but not to bring him back to the hotel with us since we have not really had any sleep and he is still adjusting to us. So today we went and fed him lunch, played a little, he fell fast asleep for his nap, we got to experience an Ethiopian coffee ceremony which was pretty neat and delicious! Plus the coffee was much needed! Now we are back in our hotel room which has wifi yes! We have had a nap and a shower and are ready for tomorrow to get here so we can go and spend more time with our little man and bring him back to our hotel! Before we leave the agency is going to do some type of small ceremony for us after we receive his Visa. 

The kiddos were not very happy today, they all cried as soon as we walked in the gate the nurse said they always do that now since they are used to their friends leaving when people come....that was hard but they didn't cry long. Liam took some time warming up to us today, he never really smiled or seemed comfortable which is to be expected since I am sure he has no clue who we are. But I think he was also very sleepy since he was falling asleep eating his rice and then was fast asleep in about 10 minutes after lunch. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. 

We got to see photos of his birth mother, the first thing I said was "wow, she is really young" she is around 16 years old, in there village it is unacceptable and a great dishonor to be a mother at such a young age and and even greater dishonor to be an unwed mother. In the picture was his mother, a very beautiful young girl, her father, who is a very tall man, and her younger sister. Her father apparently was very embarrassed to have a grandchild without his daughter being married and being that it is such a great dishonor he was the one to decided that Liam would be put up for adoption. This breaks my heart, I had always imagined a young mother who was just not able to care for her child and had no other option....I have a really hard time understanding the culture in that area where it is better to give a child us than to be dishonored by your village. I am very thankful that we will have the opportunity to give Liam so much love, a family, a church, a group of friends, that love him so much already and have never even had the chance to meet him. We are so blessed! 

He looks great! He has a chubby little tummy and the cutest bottom lip that he already know how to use to melt his mama's heart. He is a big eater :) but doesn't complain when the bowl is empty. He even had on shoes today, they were a little big and on the wrong feet but yay he was wearing shoes thank goodness because it is a little chilly, I have been wearing a jacket. The transition home looks like a totally new place under the new management. The kids really seem to be doing great and they are so loved by all of the workers, these caregivers are truly a gift from God, they treat each child as if they were the only child in the whole place, everyone is known by name and hugged and kiss, I know this is not just a front because Liam knows how to give "lots of love" (kisses).

We had a good flight, I did not have any issues, I did not sleep since I had to walk every hour by the time I got back to my seat and settled in I was afraid I would miss my next walk and ended up taking about 5, 10 minute naps. I also wore a ThermaCare heat wrap for my back which has to be the greatest invention of all time! 13 hour flight with 0 back pain it was wonderful. We ended up and the same row with another man from KY, thought that was kinda funny with hundreds of people on board from all over the world and all the KY people sit together.

Sorry for such a long post, just wanted to update you since I am not sure how often I will be able to. Today is Monday at 6:12pm in Ethiopia hopefully this will post on time this time :) Thanks for the prayers!