Posted on :
11/23/2010
| By :
Joanna
We're heading back to Ethiopia today! Finally!
We'll be there for about 10 days and will be bringing our daughter home....finally! :)
Please keep us in your prayers for safe travel, good health, and easy transitions for us all.
We are absolutely over the moon!
Thank you all very much for your love, prayers, and support...not just during our adoption journey...but always.
We'll do our best to post/email/facebook updates, but we really can't post pictures of her until we are home...so here are a few glimpses until you see her in person.
(Tiny little hand)
(Skinny long feet) :)
(Beautiful curls) :)
When we see you next, we'll be a full fledged family of three!
God bless! (Joanna & Mark)
Posted on :
11/07/2010
| By :
Joanna
We found out on Friday that we being submitted for the November 30th Embassy appointment.
That means we'll be with our daughter in Ethiopia for Thanksgiving and bringing her homing during the first week of December! Praise the Lord! We are so Thankful and just can't wait to see her again.
Posted on :
11/07/2010
| By :
Joanna
Hand-carved Ethiopian crosses
(background is a scarf I bought there).
Hand-painted, hand-carved art, depicting biblical scenes
(my favorite piece).
Traditional Ethiopian coffee pot
Bracelets
Coffee
Injera baskets (Ethiopian bread, kind of like a thick, slightly sour crepe)
Traditional scene made from banana leaves
(we bought 3 different ones)
Silver Ethiopian cross charm for Maeve when she's older.
I liked it because the top looks like a four leaf clover.
Posted on :
11/07/2010
| By :
Joanna
"Friends" shower at our house.
I made these cookie favors for everyone (the heart is over Ethiopia).
Isn't Mark so cute in his Ethiopia T-Shirt?
"Family" shower given by my sister and step-mom. (Lily is the national flower of Ethiopia)
Family :)
"Work Friends" shower.
That's us behind that big pile of gifts.
Thank you everyone!
Posted on :
11/07/2010
| By :
Joanna
Here we are at the beginning of an 18 hour journey.
Approaching Ethiopia. So much anticipation looking out across the darkness, knowing our daughter is there.
This is the view from the roof top of our guest house (smog in the distance).
We were lucky enough to be there during a very big Christian holiday "Meskel"- Finding of the True Cross. You can learn more about it
here. We went to the city center and celebrated with the locals. We were struck by how peaceful it all was. I doubt you'd be able to gather a few hundred thousand American in one place without a few issues.
At the culmination of the celebration, they light a huge bon fire.
It was amazing. We felt so blessed to be in our daughter's country, celebrating this special day.
Since it was a holiday, the guest house staff put on a large breakfast for us that morning and a traditional coffee ceremony.
This was my view at breakfast :). For the record, my hubby only drinks tea, but asked for seconds when served the best coffee in the world.
We made a pit stop to bring a ton of coffee home with us.
View from the golf course near the care center.
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