sawyer

this was the last bag sawyer opened - the day we were coming HOME!

waiting for us

the moment.
i dreamed of it.
i planned it (figured out how to have both my arms free to HOLD him!)

these 2 missed each other SO much.
bailey started BAWLING twice the day before - just talking about seeing sawyer so soon!

oh, how we missed him!!!
his voice is the most precious thing to my ears.

loved

there will be multiple posts to capture yesterday - the day we came home.

none of the pictures are mine. people are emailing them to me (if you have some, i'd love to have them!!!)

i just love the above picture of my dad.
he worked SO hard to make our arrival perfect for us. so hard. THANK YOU, dad!!!

we felt SO loved as we arrived.
i will NEVER forget that moment! walking through those doors and hearing the screams before i even saw anyone.
it was amazing.
SO many precious people to us were there.
the PERFECT ending to a LONG LONG night/day

his first bath in america

guess what was {really} happening while everyone was waiting for us to get through customs?!?

lincoln was getting his first bath in america! :-)

he came out of the orphanage in a diaper. we quickly learned he was totally potty-trained {whoo-hoo!!!}

he only had 1 accident the ENTIRE trip.

until the plane ride home. he went #2 IN.HIS.PANTS a few hours in. he was sound asleep. woke up and just couldn't get it all figured out fast enough.

so. that's bad. but it was even WORSE because he had some ISSUES in that department. like, the SMELL was not your normal #2 smell {we have since had that diagnosed and treated and it's SO much better!!!}

i was way up in the front of the plane with levi (in a seat that had a little crib thing in front of it.)
pat was back with lincoln.
hannah and the other 3 were close to him.

bailey comes running up to me and says, "dad needs the wipes. NOW." i hand them over.
and try to not think about what it happening.

pat took him in the bathroom. threw lincoln's underwear away. and tries to clean him up with the wipes as much as he can. but the smell is NOT going anywhere.

the poor man on the other side of lincoln the rest of the plane ride...ugh.

so, we get off the plane and i can not even stand to walk NEXT to him! it's THAT bad. so, when we got our luggage, i tear threw them to find a change of clothes for him. hannah and i find a family restroom and strip him down and put him in the sink. we give him a bath right there in the sink of the bathroom in the customs area of the airport.


but i knew what was waiting for us. i wanted him to smell good :-) and i'm so glad he did!

8

a beautiful day.
so beautiful!

ethiopia day 10

 we made the most of our last day in ethiopia.

evan and stacey had met a family last time they were here that have lived in ethiopia for about 1 1/2 years.
they are living in an area called korah (those that live there call it kore)

it's near a dump that many people live on...and make their living off of.

this family is running a day care for women to allow them to work better jobs so that they can provide for their families - and also teaching them about hygiene and giving them many other skills. it was amazing to hear about.

these are the children in their day care.

 you can sponsor the children...and this is the little girl stacey sponsered for evan as his father's day gift!

 the area in the distance is the dump.
many people search the dump for food for themselves...or for things to sell.

 our kids and their kids became friends instantly

 us and the snyders

 we drove around the corner, and were able to meet the women involved with a ministry called mission ethiopia. they make amazing jewelry. a few of them shared their testimonies...so humbling and beautiful! we loved a new necklace that there was only 1 of. so, they got to work and brought about 30 of them by our guest house later that afternoon for us to buy!

 handing out granola bars and candy

 i'm going to be honest.
the sights and smells we saw were VERY hard to process. i still haven't really been able to.
between seeing it, knowing my kids were seeing it and wondering what was going on in their hearts, plus the always there emotion of issues with our 2 new ones...it was just a lot going on in my mind and heart.

pat, hannah and i all 3 came home literally feeling ILL.
i don't know what else to say about it.
not ill,  like "that was gross and i never want to go back." but ill, like "how is it that some people live like this? why????"

 the necklaces that were brought that afternoon

 we finished packing, ate an early dinner, and took a couple pics before being driven to the AIRPORT TO COME HOME!!!!

 i love this picture!

 the beginning of a very long trip home...

ethiopia day 10 (last day!)

Friday July 1

WE ARE GOING HOME TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We ALL woke up with smiles on our faces!!

We don't leave our guest house until 5:30 tonight...and our flight doesn't leave until 10 pm
We fly through Rome and then to Dulles, arriving sat morning at 8:40 am

Pat's first words to me this morning were, "we made it"
I don't think either of us can believe we have survived this...
We could NOT have done it without Hannah
And HE has carried us through some pretty overwhelming moments

Can't WAIT to be home....to my hot shower, big bed, space to go running, diet coke, computer with fast Internet, and food that doesn't make me sick!!!

ethiopia days 8 and 9 (days 17 and 18)

day 8 - wednesday, june 29

our mornings at the guest house go pretty much the same - everyone takes showers, we eat breakfast and pack our backpacks for whatever we are doing later that morning

on wed morning, we asked to be driven to a playground we had seen when we were driving around. you have to pay to get in. it was worth it. it was SO wonderful! we were there a little over an hour.

i wore levi on my back and hannah and i speedwalked around the park (a BIG hill) for about 45 minutes.

it was amazing to watch lincoln - when we first got there he didn't know how to play.

by the time we left, he was having a blast.

it's amazing to watch him learn "normal" things - like using a fork, wiping his hands after he eats

ate lunch with the group

and spend the rest of the day/evening at the guest house.

pat and evan went and played basketball with one of the guys that helps us here and some of his studens (he's a youth pastor)

that was SO fun for him

day 9 - thursday, june 30

pat and i did jillian on rooftop before breakfast

midmorning our packets arrived with the boys passports/visa's - the RIGHT visa's!!!!! hip hip hooray!!!!

i started packing - which felt SO good

we went out to lunch and then were at the guest house for the afternoon/evening

as i put levi in his crib, and kissed the others goodnight, it was amazing to realize that the NEXT time i put them to bed we will be HOME!!!!! (sleeping tomorrow night on the plane doesn't count :-))

after we put the kids to bed, we hang out in the common area of the main floor of the guest house - it is so amazing to sit there with hannah and evan and stacey - such favor from Him to give us them at the end of our day!

our last night in ethiopia....wow...we've almost made it!