Playtime at the Union Hotel

Here is a picture of Jeremiah playing at the Union Hotel. The rest of our travel group had already gone home, and the hotel was pretty much vacant besides us. The wait staff was extremely friendly and held Jeremiah for us while we ate. One night they brought a mat out for him to crawl around on.

Farewell Ceremony

Here is a picture of Jeremiah at the Farewell Ceremony that Holt had for the children. They were each wearing traditional Ethiopian clothing and a headband (the girls wore wristbands) with the colors of the Ethiopian flag on them.

We're home!!

Our flight back to Charlotte arrived on Father's Day, June 21st. It has taken us awhile to get used to the time change and catch up on lost sleep due to flying all night. Thanks for you patience in waiting to hear from us and to see pictures. I'm working on a slide show of our journey, but that might take awhile. For now I will just post a few pictures of our son, Jeremiah Tesfahun Hull.

Preparations

So, we have less than a week before our plane takes off. There have been many ups and downs since we got our travel dates and lots of sleepless nights (for me at least!). There was some confusion last week about what flight to take and although we chose the right one for our needs, it might not have been the right one for our agency's needs. They have been gracious enough to accomodate us regardless and we are very happy about that.

When leaving Ethiopia, we will need to have a transit visa for our son. This can be difficult so we will covet your prayers for a smooth process. We will also be in Ethiopia - bored out of our minds and ready to come home - while waiting for this paperwork to go through.

We hope to meet our Compassion International sponsored child while we're in Ethiopia. We have been his sponsor for 11 years or so and would LOVE to actually get to see him. He will be 17 this summer!! Pray that Compassion is able to arrange a visit that will not interfere with the schedule that our adoption agency has for us.

In the meantime, we are busy downloading forms, signing them, and sending them to Holt or to Compassion. We are second guessing ourselves about what we need to buy and to pack. Does he need bottles or sippy cups? Shorts or long pants? 9 months or 12 months? What size diaper? We are trying to find some extra cash to buy the kids little gifts to open while we are gone. We are arranging play dates so the kids won't over-burden their grandparents who will be watching them!! We are coming up with grocery ideas so the grandparents will know what to feed our picky eaters!! We are collecting last minute prescriptions from the doctor for both us and our son - even though we have NO IDEA how much he weighs!!

Our house is on the market and we are trying to keep it clean for showings. We had a second showing yesterday. It would be wonderful if they would like to buy it and we could close on if after returning from Ethiopia!!

Of course then there are the regular end of the school year functions to keep us busy - kindergarten graduation, 3rd grade end of year party, etc. I also have some birthday gifts to purchase today for birthdays I will miss while I'm away. And then there's tying up loose ends at work. BUT... I DO have a massage scheduled for this Friday!! HOORAY!!

So, thanks for letting me rant. I thought it might be helpful for those of you who are curious about what we are doing right now and to give other families in process a glimpse into what to expect your life to look like after you receive your travel dates!!