Love at First Sight - Day 1

Today was the day we had been waiting for for months.  And it was the perfect day.  Everything about it was absolutely perfect.  

And I fell in love.  A little hole in my heart, that I didn’t even realize was there, was filled today.   By two amazing little boys.  

We drove the bumpy rode to Hannah’s Hope.  I was a bucket full of tears.  I knew this day was finally here and I would get to hold two perfect little bundles.  

Dave and I in the van.  Super pumped.

We drove up to the gates and honked the horn.  There was bunch of sweet children to greet us.  They were all yelling and chanting.  Later we found out they were chanting "farengi" which is the word for foreigner or white people.  Which we totally are.  Then we got out of the van and saw all the babies outside.  I wanted to run my little britches over there, but we were led into a building instead.  

Luckily we were only there about 20 seconds for some introductions when we were asked if we wanted to see the babies.  Which of course we did.  We went right out there, and I saw little W.  So sweet as can be.  I went up to him and the Special Mother handed him off to me.  I could tell he was a little anxious about it because he started breathing all funny and fast, but no tears.  I held him for about a minute and asked Dave if he wanted to hold him but then another Special Mother walked up with P and David took him right away.  It was so wonderful!  Their perfect little selves finally in our arms.  I can’t even describe what it felt like.  It was everything good and wonderful all at once.

David holding sweet little W's hand.

When the babies nap at Hannah's Hope, the special mothers put a blanket on them as they're falling asleep.  Totally covering their face and everything!!  I was constantly moving the blanket away from their little mouths and noses.  It was definitely a routine they were used to though, and it gives them comfort.  They'd go right to sleep, usually.  So good to know the little things the Special Mothers do that I can do at home for the boys too!

And the whole day we got to spend rocking, feeding and playing with our boys.  They slept in our arms, and giggled, and smiled.  It was amazing.  And then the most wonderful thing happened.  We got to give them a bath.  This was the most incredible part of my day.  As a first time mom, I really had no idea what I was doing.  The Special Mothers know limited English, but they were so patient and kind in showing me how they bathe the sweet boys.  I bathed W, and lotioned him up, and put him in his jammies.  David got to do the same with P.  It was the most intimate and special moment between us, and our boys, and the woman who care for them and love them so much.  It was incredible.

P's Crib.

W's crib.

They're in the "turtle room".

Then it was time to go. Which was hard, but we know we get to see those little honeys in the morning.  

We came back to the hotel and had a very late lunch of delicious Ethiopia food at the hotel restaurant, and uploaded some pictures and video.  Cannot WAIT until I get to hold my boys again tomorrow.

Arrival in Ethiopia

Um.

The plane rides were horrible.  

Not bumpy or anything, JUST. SO. LONG.

It is so stinkin' hard to sit in a plane seat for that long.  And all I could think about was how we would manage with two little bundles of perfect on our laps.

When we got to the airport in Ethiopia we had to get Visas, and then go through customs.  That ended up being a little hectic, but WAY easier than in Chicago.  After waiting in line to get our paperwork checked out, we basically just stuck our bags/totes through this X-ray machine and picked them up on the other side.  Done and done.

Then we walked out the door and found the guy holding our names written on a piece of paper.  Can I say that I've ALWAYS wanted to have somebody holding my name on a piece of paper after getting off a plane?  But it was very anti-climactic because I walked right by the guy.  Good thing Dave saw him.

We loaded up the van and were on our way.  The drive was a little wild.  At one moment, some guy ran out in front of the van and we were 1 millimeter away from hitting him.  It was so weird.  Almost like he was joking around with is friends because we were the only car around, and there is no way he didn't see us coming.  There were no blind spots or hills or anything.  Luckily our driver brought his A game.  We slammed on our breaks and missed him.  And my heart was beating wildly.

We couldn't really see anything because it was late and really dark.  But lets just say that we knew we weren't in Kansas (er…. Michigan) anymore.

We got to the hotel and weren't sure what to do.  It was dark, but it wasn't really nighttime according to our biological clocks.  But… we had just had the worst sleep ever on the planes, so we were sort of tired.

We tried to sleep and did our best not to stay up and giggle about the fun to come in the morning :)

In Frankfurt, Germany.  Tired.

David, looking much more chipper than me.

Yes, we were THOSE people with the neck things.  But those neck things SAVED us!

We're in Ethiopia!!  We made it!  We're in line for our Visas. 

Finito!!

Hooray, Hooray!!  The Mural is done, the mural is done!!

Words cannot describe how much I love this piece of art.  And I can't wait until my boys are old enough to tell me which animal is their favorite.  Its so, so perfect.

I love to hang out in this room.  And I'm going to be spending a LOT of time there once the boys are home, so its a good thing I love it.  :)  So here  you go - pictures of the masterpiece.  Let me know what your favorite part is!  I'd love to hear it!

Look at me!  I'm so fast!

Do you like my curly horns?  

My Fave  Or  It.

King and Queen of the jungle.

Monkey. Baboon. Shadow Lion.

Water Stampede and birds on Hippo.  LOVE birds on Hippo!

My Zebra friends and the very beautiful water that I love.

The elephant! The elephant!  The long awaited elephant!!  I LOVE the purple in this guy!

The Whole Sha-Bang.  LOVE this wall.  Absolutely LOVE it.  SO SO much I love this wall! 

Have I mentioned that I really love this wall?  Because I do :)

One Week

 I haven't been posting.

Mostly its because I've been doing EVERYTHING I could think of to keep myself busy so our court date would be here soon.  Also - I've been teaching, and taking a grad class and thinking about my boys 24 hours a day.

I'm beYOND excited about holding those sweet little bundles for the first time.  Its all I think about ever.  How soft and squishy and lovey they will be the second I hold them.  Breathing in their sweet baby smells, and feeling their little bodies breathing while they sleep in my arms.

I'm trying to decide which toys they might like to play with.  We've been sleeping with baby blankets for each of them.  That way the blankets will smell like us, and our house.  When we go see the boys, we'll wrap them in the blankets each day we're there, in hopes that they'll start to associate those blankets with us.  Then when we have to leave, we'll leave those blankets behind.  We're hoping this little step will help ease their anxiety once we are gone, and when we come back again.  And when they take those blankets home, they will smell like their Ethiopian home, so hopefully it will comfort them in that way as well.

Oh, and donations.  David and I have each received RIDICULOUS amounts of donations from our schools for the orphanage.  Its insane.  I am so humbled by what all these families have given for the benefit of others.  We have been sorting and packing donations all night, and aren't even half done.  Plus, David piled LOADS of things in a bin to travel with.  It should have weighed 500 pounds based on all the wipes, diapers, lotions, soaps, medicine, clothes, diaper rash cream, bottles and other great stuff.  But no.  It weighs 45 pounds.  A safe amount below the 50 pound weight limit.

So perfect.

This weekend we're packing our bags.  We're trying to put all of our personal items and things for the boys in our carry on items, and save our checked bags for donation bins.  I'm going to really have to organize my bag well because I ALWAYS over pack.

I have all my lesson plans done for when I'm gone, and done for the week I am back.  Copies are made.  Things are sorted.  So I'm set there.  I have report cards due the week I'm gone, and I'm just about done with those.  And I'm getting all my parent teacher conference things done this week too because conferences are the very day I'm back at work.  Oh - and on Tuesday I am being observed by my grad class professor.  Because why not pack it all into the last week before my trip?

And yes, I know this post is about nothing and everything at the same time.  But that is pretty much what is going on in my head right now.  I have SO much to do.  But its kind of perfect because its making the time go fast before our trip.  So thanks for bearing with me.

Oh - And the MURAL IS DONE!!!  Its finally done.   And its so amazing I could cry.  I'll take pictures before we leave. (Maybe.)  If I have time.  But I probably will.  So check back.

And I had another shower - so pictures of that are coming too :)

And now I'm going to bed.  If I can shut my mind off….

Our friends Ben and Trisha have two beautiful twin girls.  David and I had the pleasure of watching these precious girls for a few hours one Saturday.  It was SUCH great practice for taking care of twins.

I felt really bad for Ben and Trisha because I felt like I didn't know anything when they dropped the girls off.

"How do you put the car seats in the stroller?"
"How do you know when they are hungry?"
"Do they nap after every time they eat?"
"Do I heat up their bottle?"
"You want them to nap on their tummies?"
"How often do they eat?"

They answered all the questions patiently, and then went on their way.

The only problem was that those girls spoiled us.  They were so easy!  They had a schedule, and they stuck to it like clockwork.  They were happy and sweet and wonderful.  The only time it got tough was when David left to pick us some pizza for our dinner and they both wanted a bottle.  But I managed to get 2 bottles ready and feed them while they laid on the floor.

I'm a pro.

Here are some highlights from our day :)

A LONG overdue Thanks

Look what came in the mail for me!!  My friend Bekah, who is also adopting from Ethiopia, sent me this great gift after hearing about our referral!  She is quite crafty, and has a LOT of talents.  She is currently #2 on the boy list with AGCI, but really she's #1 because the family above her has different parameters.  You can read about their adoption journey here.


I'm so excited to use these great burp cloths with my boys!  Its going to make spitting up SO much more glamorous and wonderful.  Thank you Bekah!!

More Sneak Peaks

Here are some more pictures from the mural!  I'm HOPING…. it is almost done.  It looks almost done to me, but Adrian is a perfectionist - which is why I LOVE this mural. So its hard to tell if he's almost done or not.

But from now on, I am only going to post little peaks until its all done.  Then I'll show the whole sha-bang, once its totally done.

So here are those peaks.  Some are new, but some are just my favorites :)

 

Sluiter Baby Shower!

 Yesterday my 2 sisters threw me a beautiful shower.   It was at Liz's house, and my aunts and lady cousins on my dad's side were there, as well as my mom, my step mom, and David's mom.

It was a "double-header" theme!  Each game had to do with "doubles" or "pairs" since I'm going to have a pair of boys :)  There was popcorn as a parting gift for everyone, and baseball theme all around.  It was so cute and so fun!  I had a great time, and got some wonderful gifts from some very important woman in my life.

It was so fun to imagine my boys in the sweet little outfits!

Thanks to my amazing sisters, and my amazing Sluiter family for such a GREAT day!!

Here is some of my sweet extended family.

Tiger's Swag...

Katie - explaining that you need to find your "pair" in the diaper bag.

Found mine ;)

Grandma Stefanich searching for her pair.

My Aunts - cheating at the game.

Sweet.  Soft. Cozy.  LOVE it.

Books :)  Mommy Hugs and Daddy Kisses.  Or maybe the other way around… 

Grandma Sluiter made a stocking for one of the boys!!  She's working on the other one :)

Check out her ridiculous handiwork!

She also made me a Moby/type wrap in an African animal pattern :)  Can't wait to figure it out!!