Ethiopia Day Five

March 29, 2012

Today is court day!  So thankful Josh woke up feeling much better (not 100%, but functional).  Danny picked us up from the hotel at 8:30 and it took us almost an hour to drive to the court building.  The traffic was insane!  The four of us (Jessica and Steve and Josh and me) arrived nervously and walked up three flights of stairs to enter a crowded room and sit down and wait our turn.  We were surrounded by other adoptive families, child advocates from various agencies, and some birth family members.  It was very strange because some people were filled with joy and others with much sadness and anxiety.  I watched one woman who was being comforted by another lady and it was obvious she was very saddened by the decision she was having to make for her child.  We prayed to ourselves for these other people in the room while we waited our turn in front of the judge for about an hour.  When we were called in, we were surprised by the judge’s age (maybe in her thirties or early forties).  She spoke good English and was very attractive. We were asked five or six questions (including if we had any other children and how they felt about the adoption, had we done any education, do we know other families or children from Ethiopia, among others), and we answered yes to all of them.  She told us that our paperwork was all in order (thank you AGCI) and our little man is now our son!  What an exciting statement!  We all went outside and hugged each other and took pictures in front of the courthouse. 

Danny took us shopping after that, and that was a whirlwind.  We were thankful we had done some shopping beforehand because the time went so quickly.  We did get a lot of great things for family members and especially for him, so that he will have something from his home country each year to open. It was sad because there are street children surrounding the marketplace asking you to buy a toothbrush or stick of gum.  They were calling me “beautiful” and it made me quite emotional to see their tattered clothes and bare feet. 

After our shopping was over, we got to go celebrate our court news at Antica, an Italian restaurant.  Danny helped us and the Bloodsworths choose three pizzas to split between the table, and they were delicious!  We had a great time talking and learning more about Danny and Ethiopia in general. 

A quick nap back at the hotel and then it was time for a visit at Hannah’s Hope.  When we arrived around 4:00, our little man had just gotten a bath and was getting lathered up with lotion.  It was so sweet how the special mother was talking to him in a sing-song voice.  He looked so content and happy.  Once she got him in his sleeper, she handed him to us and Josh got to rock him with a bottle and he quickly fell asleep.  I put him in his crib and gave him a kiss, knowing he would sleep peacefully for a while. 

Josh and I went out to play with the kids and all of them were there since it was after school.  Josh was the hit of the group again, playing tag, soccer, and doing push ups with kids on his back once again.  He also built towers with blocks and then made all the kids clap and laugh when he would jump over them.  We had special mothers, Tsiege, Wass, Danny, and even Almaz out there enjoying the fun time with the kids.  I was sitting on the ground with five girls braiding little braids into my hair while we watched the jumping over blocks, jump roping, etc. etc.  What an amazing time this was.  Despite their circumstances, the children are so full of life and joy.  Hannah’s Hope is truly a magical place, there is no other way to describe it. 

It was time to leave after that and we were exhausted from a long, emotional day.  I think I ate a plate of French fries for dinner (by this point in the trip most things weren’t sounding great) and we spent the rest of the night relaxing and talking about our wonderful day. 

Wish I could show these beautiful girls faces', but they were kind of like little butterflies all fluttering around braiding my hair.  So precious!