Wow. Catching up. Synopsis- Days 4 and 5

SO LAME.  I can't believe that I still have so much of the trip to document.  In my defense, I have this to blame:

I mean... AAAAAUGH!!!  She is really THAT adorable!!!  She's funny and fun and loves to be silly and laugh and sing... someone pinch me.  Am I asleep and just dreaming that she is this amazing???  

But I want to get some things down on "paper", so to speak.  

So where were we... Day 4.  Tuesday.  I woke up with a cold.  Can you believe it?  Such a bummer.  I was totally blocked up and I HATE that feeling.  Luckily I brought every medicine that there was any remote chance we might possibly need, and so I sprayed some decongestant up my nose and went on with life.  Life that day pretty much consisted of one thing:  getting to know Lilah Abeba.

She woke up next to us and just sat up in her crib.  Mick was closer to her, so he reached out to see if she wanted to come to him.  She gave him what we now commonly refer to as "The Eyebrows".  The girl has the most communicative face EVER.  Who needs language when you have eyebrows???  The look definitely said, "I am less than thrilled to see you."  So then I sat up in bed so that she could see me, and the look went away.  She reluctantly went to Mick but scrambled over to me as soon as she got into bed.  Mick was a champion about it all.  He knew that she just needed time and that they would have their own special bond- the fact that it didn't happen right away really didn't bother him.  

She chose her own clothes that day (and pretty much every day since then!  girl has opinions!) and we spent the day hanging out and playing.  I think Mick and the boys went with Abiey to a restaurant for lunch or went shopping or something... can't really remember.  I just hung out w/ my LA LA girl all day.  

OH WAIT!!!  I do remember that I took Jack and Ben to go visit our two kids that we sponsor through Children's Hope Chest!  How could I forget that???  I think it's okay for me to post their pix b/c they are not adoptable... I hope I'm right b/c I want you to meet them. 

Here are Adanech and Dagem:

They live with their mother, but she can't afford to send them to school.  So Children's Hope Chest provides them with a school for free and also a sort of "after school care" program for them to go to until their mom gets off work.  It's a pretty spartan place, but providing such an amazing chance for these kids who would otherwise be street kids during the day.

More than anything, I was just glad that Jack and Ben got to see these things and play with these kids who are, of course, just like them.

Despite the look on Ben's face, he had a really good time hanging out and playing with the kids.  Oh, wait.  I also think he threw up twice that day.  Maybe that's why he looks so bad...

Day 5- Wednesday.  This was the day we went to the Gladney Foster Care Center to visit/tour, see where she had been living for 8 months.  And guess what?  MY CAMERA STOPPED WORKING ON THE WAY THERE!!!  And guess what else?  MY VIDEO CAMERA'S BATTERY DIED A FEW MINUTES AFTER ARRIVING!!!  Ug.  So annoying.  I felt like the biggest loser b/c I had promised to take pix and video of so many waiting kids and I knew I was letting these families down.  :-(  I have no idea what happened to my camera.  It started working the next day, then quit again for a day, and now that we are back it has been fine.  ???  So strange and so annoying.  That combined w/ totally not feeling well and being on cold medicine made the visit to Gladney a bit of a fog for me.  That's too bad.  But back to the story.

Here's a pic of me and my 3 kids before we left that morning:

The people at the Bejoe were concerned that Lilah was not going to do well visiting the Gladney center b/c she had so quickly bonded w/ us.  I asked Genet to explain to her that morning what was going to happen so that she would not think we were taking her back there to stay- that it was just a visit and then we would bring her back with us.  And I guess she got the message b/c she was fine!  Her special mother gave her a traditional Ethiopian outfit, but unfortunately I didn't get a pic of her with her special mother.  I do regret that.  But on the other hand, Lilah didn't exactly act like any particular mother was very special to her.  She just drug me by the hand from room to room and outside again.  

A few pix:

The Gladney Foster Care Center

Lilah getting her dress from her special mother.

Walking down the street w/ Genet and Belay.  Yeah, she knows she's rockin' that dress and those headbands...

At the coffee ceremony

Those are all pix that people graciously gave me since my camera was out, or that I just stole from someone.  ;-)

Then off to a yummy lunch at a restaurant called Top View.

Seriously.  I could have spread her on a cracker and had her for lunch.