J and L

I know a lot of you reading this also read Leslie's blog but in case you were wondering a bit more (or just wanted to hear my sister-in-law's magical writing) I blogged for her over at her blog. I'll paste it below. But I miss them, I miss my nephews and I ache for my niece and for Ethiopia. So excited to have some Habesha coffee with Leslie and listen to every word she has to say about the whole thing.


It's Saturday morning in Addis. I woke up to the call of prayer this morning at 5:30am. I got up because sleep is not easy here yet, even for me who can sleep anywhere. I sat on the porch of our complex and was surrounded by the sounds of prayer chants, church bells and barking dogs. It was a really beautiful experience.


I got a small window of computer time here, but it is limited. However, I wanted to blog about yesterday, one of the most wonderful days of my life. We met Baby Girl and spent over three hours staring at her, whispering to her and cuddling with her.


Friday morning we were told that we would actually get to see our baby twice, rather than the one time we were expecting. A driver picked us up from the guest house and drove us to the care center, which is a sprawling gorgeous building. We were led inside and right away found baby girl sitting in a group of three children. She was sitting up chewing on a purple link toy. Right away her huge brown eyes looked up at Jake and I as we cooed and cooed over her. She is absolutely beautiful. She has dark, wispy curls, huge brown eyes and Klipsch-length eye lashes. She was wearing a pink sweater and a denim jumper. A jumper! A jumper, dear readers! I have a child who wears a jumper!


She warmed up to us right away and played with the toys we brought. We tickled her and played peek-a-boo and she giggled softly. I held her and sang to her and she kicked and kicked. (A dancer!)


She is very even tempered. A really relaxed little girl. We came back in the afternoon and she really just wanted to be held. We happily obliged and quite literally spent about two hours taking turns holding her and listening to her sweet little noises as she rested on our chests. Several nannies lit up when they saw her and commented on
how lucky we were. I would have to agree!! :-)


She has a beautiful name that I'll reveal after we pass court. Hopefully I can post pics then too. Any doubt or insecurity that I've ever had about this adoption or about mothering three children washed away during those wonderful moments yesterday. What an experience!!


We're off to a museum and to do some shopping today. Of course, nothing can compare to yesterday. (I cannot wait to see her again.) We are really enjoying our time here and falling in love all over the place!!