Progress and updates

Will is doing much better than I expected. I brought him to the dr. yesterday and got the lab results back today that he tested positive for giardia. I figured he had giardia since he has such loose bm's (but lucky for me he is potty trained and just tells me he has to go) So, I have to try to get some nasty medication down him for the next week. We are going to throw a party when he has a hard kaka! That will be a fun gathering. He is now sitting in the bathtub as compared to when he first came he would only stand. He likes to sit in the basket part of the shopping cart, but only after Jaymie showed him what to do. He loves buttons and switches and flushing the toilet. He is already using the potty less than when we got him and I suspect it is because of the better water! He sings cute little songs in Amharic to himself. It is really cute. He likes to climb and is improving daily on his relationship with Oscar. He actually fed Oscar a treat today. Oscar so badly wants to be his buddy. I have to tuck the little guy in now. Thanks for stopping by and I'll try to catch up more on details later:) He's a keeper!

sit and` spin

Something tells me I'm not in Africa anymore

Little man had his first sledding experience today!

Our first 24 hours in the US are going well. He has already adjusted to the time change with how we adjusted his sleeping pattern when we arrived. The photos speak for themselves! He is watching the slam dunk contest that Jeffrey TIVO'd while we were gone right now. He got his first warm bath with tub tints and bubbles tonight and then we doused him with baby powder. fun fun fun!

We're back

We made it back. Im exhausted and was awake for 36 hours straight. Will did better than could be expected on the plane. That is one long plane ride. I will write more later as I have no time right now. He is taking everything in and is doing great so far. The girls are in heaven! I have lots to tell and can only tell so far that we will have to work on him not being afraid of Oscar. Sorry we did not post in Addis. It was really hard to get a connection. More photos to come!
Susan

Fun in Dubai

Today was spent touring Dubai. At first I was a little scared to go around the city, but as we got used to it, my fears of being in this country went away. It really is a beautiful place that has some great sights and the people are friendly. A lot of differences in lifestyle, but is obvious that everyone is very accepting of everyone else. Wouldn't that be a nice concept for other countries to follow? We rode around on a double decker bus and the weather was beautiful. then we did the sand dune, henna tattoo, belly dancing, camel riding, dinner on a persion rug, flying through the sand dunes with a maniac driver thing. I'd like to go see our son now. Yep tomorrow I will hopefully have internet access and have a few photos of Jeffrey and I with our little sugar. We leave Dubai and 825 am. and should fly into addis around noon. If all goes well we should be at the orphanage by late afternoon. keep us in your prayers. I have to do that mega huge plane again tomorrow.

We landed

Yes, we have a connection. I'm here at the hotel in Dubai. I made it through the airplane flight. I had to close my eyes when we were boarding so I would not actually see how big the plane was. Long story short, by accident my anxiety pills went on the plane as they wouldn't allow us to carry on what we had hoped to carry on and I forgot to shift the pills to my backpack and when I realized it, it was too late. so I took the dramamine and just dug my nails into jeffreys legs on take off. This airplane is quite amazing, they have twinkle starts on the ceiling when the lights dim, a great screen on each seat head to watch movies. I watched two that made me ball my eyes out.... the secret lives of bees and mama mia! they hand out hot towels and birds sounds chirp in the bathrooms in the morning. I did better than I thought I would. Now it will be interesting flying back with a toddler. Little man will have full access to disney when he gets to board the plane with us! I can not believe we are meeting him tomorrow. I have not slept well, and was just falling asleep today when the call to prayer in the city went off and there was chanting going on over the intercom over the city at I think 530am. Interesting! We are off to take our double decker bus tour through Dubai! It is a little overcast, so I hope it warms up for the afternoon. I miss my girls like crazy! I should be able to post more tonight with maybe a photo of jeffrey on a camel! and my henna tattoo. thanks for checking in and keep those prayers coming that the rest of the trip goes smoothly. xoxoxo

Jeffrey and I leave in a few hours. I know I am going to be a wreck saying goodbye to my girls. I didn't sleep too much last night and my stomach is hurting! Alisha arrived yesterday, so the girls have some shopping and outings planned to do with their aunt. I hope they do well while we are gone. Please pray that we have safe travels and arrive home safely with our little man. I hope to post when we arrive in Dubai. We just found out their is a pro tennis tourney in Dubai so we will be on the lookout for Venus and Andy and Roger! Jeffreys fired up!

'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"Jeremiah 29:11

Leaving these two for a week is going to be another hard part of the trip I have to do. They have school to keep busy with during the week and their Aunt is flying up from FL. to take care of them and spend time with them (thanks Alisha)Having someone to come and stay with the girls instead of having them go to friends seems like it will be a lot easier on the whole planning/packing thing and one less thing to worry about. They have a pretty routine life, so it is pretty easy to write down when they have to be where and such. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to them. It hurts this mamas heart.

Hard to believe in 7 more days we will be meeting our son for the first time. We get to spend the day with him on Tuesday, and on Wednesday we have our Embassy Appt. This will be the first time he will have been out of the orphanage compound since he arrived I believe. He has a lot of catching up to do! On Thursday he gets to leave the compound and come to the guest house to stay with us until we leave. We do return to the orphanage for a goodbye party for him. One of his little friends, Ferham, is being adopted by a family in Illinois, so it will be nice to have the boys see each other once in a while.

flight fear

The fear of actually getting on the huge double decker airplane is starting to set in for me. I have actually asked Jeffrey if he could knock me out and he and June could carry me on the plane. I don't think they allow that, but I do have my little pills I plan on taking. I am also taking an on line fear of flying course to help ease my anxiety. Maybe if I learn a little bit about how a huge aircraft can fly carrying half a million pounds I might come to a bit more understanding of how I will actually get from here to Dubai to Addis. Knowledge is power, and lets hope it is powerful for me! -Susan

more photos

I was sent more photos by another parent who was at the orphange picking up her child. Just thought I'd share. Poor guy probably wonders why all these people are taking his picture all the time! Jaymie brought in the scrapbook we have been making of Will to her 2nd grade class for show and tell today! She was pretty excited to share it! This weekend has us going to movie night at Jaymies school this evening, a basketball game for Jaymie tomorrow and Jacklyn is in another USTA tennis tourney in Elkhorn starting Sat. afternoon. Only 8 more days!!

The slide show has been moved to the bottom of the page, so scroll down if you want to see more pics. of our little guy!

Future Gap Model??

Here is JR. Googins just waiting patiently for him mama and daddy to come and change his world :) Just thought I'd share some new photos we got of him. He is looking so much older than our earlier photos, which is to be expected of course. But we would really rather be seeing him grow up in front of us rather than photos! I met with my human resources today and got all my leave layed out. I am allowed 16 weeks, but am leaving everything open as to how well Will bonds and adjusts to his new life here. I should be able to take the 16 weeks right up until the week before school lets out. I have a long term sub set up to cover some of my hours and then I plan to go to work 12 hours a week after one month as Jeffrey will be working from home 2 days a week and I can maintain my students reading habits and work on the summer school program for the Title One students. I am enrolling him in a preschool program for the Fall as I just finished up the paperwork for that. It is right down the road from where Jaymie goes to school and on my way to my teaching job, so the location is wonderful and it is the same church preschool that Jaymie went to. Wish us luck as we make this transition in our lives! It should be fun!!! and maybe just a little more work than I have been used to! I must say though that Jacklyn and Jaymie are going to be a big help and are anxious to get started!

Jeffrey and I are booked for our desert safari/dune buggy ride/camel ride/henna tattoo adventure in Dubai. Thats our plan for our Valentine's day date I supppose! We have started packing and have ordered our travel guides and confirmed hotel reservations. It is hard to believe that we are really getting on a plane and flying ot Ethiopia. When we started this over a year ago, I wasn't so sure I would be able to get on a plane, but it is amazing how your heart will change over time and do the right thing when the time comes. We will have internet services in Dubai and sometimes in Ethiopia, so we hope to post to the blog on how things are going when we can. We hope the weather warms up here a bit in Wisconsin. I don't want Fraole thinking he has come to live in the frozen tundra. I did find out this week that Fraole is potty trained, so that is one challenge we won't have to tackle. Thanhks for stopping by! Susan