Married Mulls: Day 2

Once we touched down in Addis Ababa we headed to get our visas. In line we met another Gladney family. It was nice to instantly be in the company of others anticipating the same things that we were. We claimed our luggage, exchanged a little money, and headed to find those meeting us at arrival. In country staff met us in the lobby and we met our drivers as well. Yoftahe made us feel welcome immediately and we headed to his car with our things. I remember commenting on how nice it felt outside. It just felt so unbelievably good to be walking around outside knowing that we had finally arrived in a place we'd hoped to be for so long. Yoftahe drove us to the Yebsabi, our guesthouse for the week. He and Ross were busy talking about what we were seeing as we drove along but I could hardly pay attention. I was just on sensory overload- taking it all in- new sights, sounds and smells. We arrived at Yebsabi and the power was out (pretty common in Ethiopia). The generator was on so there were a few lights. We were greeted and our bags were taken to our room. Our room- and this place- were wonderful! Everything was so clean, the guesthouse staff were so welcoming- we instantly felt at ease. We decided that night that we would be staying there for our second trip as well. We unpacked some things and tried to sleep. Our adrenaline kept us awake for a bit- knowing that tomorrow we would meet our boy.

We woke up excited, to say the least. We headed downstairs for breakfast and it was delicious. Fresh pineapple juice, bread, eggs, Ethiopian pancakes, and the best bananas ever, awaited us. Shortly after, Yoftahe picked us up and we were headed to the care center. We were able to see the city in the daylight- again, people everywhere. Walking, working, herding animals, etc. It was very sunny and dusty on the unpaved roads. We just took it all in. We arrived to the care centers and missed the introduction of what was about to happen but it didn't seem to matter. Our travel group had about 10 different families and everyone started dispersing to the homes that held their little one(s). (All of the homes are within walking distance.) We walked to # 2 and headed inside. We went upstairs with a few other couples but quickly realized Miles Amanuel's room was downstairs. Within moments we walked in and quickly spotted him. We could not believe that we were looking at him! Seeing him in pictures for months prior - and then there he was. Poor little guy was sick with a fever and very clingy to his caregivers. We did not was to freak him out- we told them it was fine- just to let us play with his roommates and let him warm up to us. Honestly, I would have sat there and just watched him all day long. I thought I'd have this overwhelming urge to rush to him pick him up and cover him with kisses, but he was sick and scared. We didn't want to add to that. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't wait to hold him, but I knew that would come. We passed out stickers and played with all of his friends. We offered him a sticker and he showed us what a good pouty face he can have when he wants to. After a few minutes another caregiver came in (I will refer to her as the baby whisperer!) She asked which child was ours and we told her. She went to him, picked him up, whispered something to him and put him in my arms. I'm so glad my wonderful husband happened to have the video camera rolling at that moment.

Our hour visit with him went by so quickly, yet I have so many memories burnt into my mind of our time together. We passed him back and forth many times, playing with him, taking turns taking pictures and video of our son with us. He got really sleepy (he had some medicine for the fever) while Ross was holding him, and Ross passed him back to me. He fell asleep in my arms that day. I just remember how right it felt. I'm glad Ross was filming, I don't remember crying but I am clearly wiping my eyes with a smile on my face.

We met up with the other families as we left the care center and Ross pointed out the collection of drool on my shoulder courtesy of our snoozing boy. We laughed and a new friend said "Don't wash it!" There was a lot of joy going around with all of us that had just met our children for the first time.

Once we met back up with our fabulous driver we headed to Kaldis (the original Starbucks- and the BEST COFFEE EVER). We enjoyed insanely good macchiatos and headed up to Entoto Mountain. We saw the city from above and enjoyed the fragrance of the eucalyptus growing around us. We toured the museum at the top of the mountain and headed down for some lunch. We ate at Makush, an italian restaurant/art gallery. We headed back to the guesthouse and relaxed together for the rest of the afternoon, replaying the morning back and forth to eachother.

A bit of my letter to Miles that I wrote while back at the guesthouse:

What an amazing day we had because of you! We were told only to spend an hour with you, but that hour changed our world! We love you so much already and we have so much to learn about you. So far we know that you have a great pouty face that makes us laugh! And now I know that your Dad lights up a room when holding you. I know that when you fell asleep on my shoulder that I knew that I was your mom. We can hardly wait to see again.