Part 2

So after visiting the babies and peeking in on the toddlers who were supposed to be laying down in their beds (Solomon was teasing them about laying down) we went in the back of the big house to a beautiful hut with very comfy chairs for a traditional coffee ceremony. The first thing you notice is the smell. You smell this georgous incense burning, and there is a woman sitting on a little wee stool in front of a burner where she is roasting the coffee beans. They are green. You can also smell a kind of burnt coffee smell. She fans the beans and burner with leaves. There is a little tray with small cups and saucers, and a bowl of popcorn (tradition to have it with the ceremony) and a bowl of roasted grains. These were really good! We sat down and then Solomon announced we were going to have a traditional Ethiopian lunch! We did not expect that! So out came the injera and wat and salad! It was so good! He had thought we hadn't had Ethiopian food before, I said we had and then he said, "But not as good as this." We said that was very true. Solomon is wonderful, and a very well dressed, well spoken educated man who is passionate about his job and the children. He is very interesting to listen to. While we were sitting in this hut I saw out of the corner of my eye Ayana in the arms of various care givers, including one very nice man. I loved how they kept her close so we could look at her and talk to her without scaring her. I picked her up a couple of times but as soon as she fussed I would give her right back. At one point Meseret was trying to eat so I picked her up and let her play with my watch and she sat on my lap as happy as a clam and chewed away on it. Everyone was watching, and Solomon said, "She is happy playing with Mommy's watch." I could tell they liked that. Solomon was very worried about Ayana being fussy with us. He said several times that she was a very normal baby, and not at all like that normally. I told him not to worry, it is good news, it means she is attached to her caregivers. It is normal for her to be cautious. Then Meseret came to me and said Ayana needed her bottle. I said okay, and started to hand her back to her, but she said, "No, you can do it!" And I said, "REally??!! Great!" And I very seriously paid attention to the instructions on how much formula verses how much water. There is a picture of me looking very serious as I was watching her. To this day everytime I fix her bottle I can hear her beautiful voice telling me with her soothing Ethiopian accent, "3 scoops to 180 milliliters." I sat down and fed her her bottle for the first time ever. She settled in and laid heavily in my arms. She was exactly the size I had imagined having her. Exactly. I looked at mom and said, "She is just how I imagined her to be!" Just right. She fell asleep and kind of pursed her lips to spit the bottle out. I tried to give it back and she got mad. So then Meseret took her and said, "Now she will have a looong nap." I said okay. We were very tired, and Solomon said, "I think you all need some rest." And we piled in the car or van, to be honest I really do not remember the drive at all. I am wracking my brain to try to remember what happened after that. I really don't. Weird. When we got back we moved into our rooms on the top floor. We were all so tired and liked our rooms fine. There was a great view of the neighborhood, and we watched people going about their daily business. There was a guy with a truck and an Ethiopian flag on top with a loud speaker attached yelling something in Amharic. The ladies directly accross from our rooms were endlessly doing laundry. So that night we all went to bed very early, and I laid with Ellie in her bed under the mosquito netting and we took some very silly pictures. I felt a little bit sad. This was our last time together just the two of us for all time. It's hard to explain. The way our lifestyle is, it's been Ellie and I always. Regan works and Ellie and I are a total team. So we laughed and hugged, and I laid there for a long time after she fell asleep feeling excited, sad, scared, tired. The whole gammet. Then the barking started. There were so many damn dogs in this stupid neighborhood they did not shut up all night long. I finally fell asleep and then woke up at 5 am just before the chanting started. This chanting is yelled over a loud speaker accross the whole city. It was very very cool. It was not quite light out yet and I just laid there and listened to it and the intermittent dogs barking. Once it was dawn I snuck into the room I was supposed to be in (I wanted to sleep with Ellie, and her room was quieter anyway), and stood in the open window and breathed in Addis at dawn. It was amazing. Between the chanting, the smell of wood and incense, the sunrise, and the people all cloaked in white heading to prayers. Wow. I thought, "Our daughter is here. This is her home. We are going to get to take her today." Finally we all woke up and Solomon phoned to say he would be there at 10am. I was very nervous, good nervous. Like when I got married. Butterflies. Let's go! Let's go! I was feeling. Finally they came and we drove to the transition home. On the drive we told Solomon that we did not like our guesthouse as it was too noisy. And we wanted a place that had a kitchen and was close to restaurants. He said he had the perfect place for us. Bole Rock. We would move that afternoon as there was the Timket Celebration and the roads would be a madhouse of people. It is a famous religious celebration and different religious leaders come from all over the world to participate. This is the most important Christian Orthodox holiday in Ethiopia, and it is the Ethiopian Epiphany. The day we recieved our Ayana Heven was the Epiphany. Solomon thought it was very appropriate. Anyway, this is a huge festival where the church leaders take the tabots (the tablets symbolizing the ten commandments) and parade them thru town to the church that we could actually see from the window of Bole Rock. But more about that later.

We drove up to the transition house and piled out of the van. After we picked Ayana up we would go to the grocery store to pick up her formula and baby cereal. We walked in and all of the babies were laying out in the sun with the caregivers. It was SO CUTE! I would post a pic, but I really can't as I do not have the permission of the parents. But it was very cute. And on the little swing seat was our little wee baby getting her hair done. She looked so adorable. Regan went up to her and said "hello!!" And we all stole a little kiss. We then went into Solomon's office to sign a couple of papers and to give our donations to Meseret. He was very serious. But seemed pleased. They brought Ayana in and I took her and she fussed. It was okay. I expected it. Solomon took her for a minute. So between all of us and the caregivers we held her and she fussed. Still all okay. We went upstairs to where her empty crib was and took some pictures. I gave her to one of the caregivers. She was crying very hard silently in Ayana's shirt. It made me so sad, but happy to know that she was so loved there. I went with Meseret to get her health records and feeding schedule. We went over everything in great detail. I also went to take a couple of pictures of some more babies that I could find. When we came back into Ayana's room she was in my Mom's arms resting on my Mom's chest!!! We were just flabbergasted!! "How did you do that??!!" We asked her! She was smiling so wide, it was so cute, she said, "She just reached her arms out to me, I took her and she rested her head against me!!" It made me feel so good to see my Mom so happy and again so grateful that she could come with us. The rest is a bit of a blur. We went for another coffee ceremony. And I think the caregivers had her. I can't remember. How strange. And Regan asked this one lady about different things. It was cute. Or maybe that was the day before? Ugh. Bad Blogger, Bad blogger! Anyway, my Mom was gone for a bit and then she came back just gushing! She told us that she was taken into the bigger kids house and they all sang for her!! And then they introduced themselves to her and told her their ages. She was all teary eyed. It was just a beautiful moment to see her like that, and know that she would hold that memory forever. We don't have any pictures or video of it. Which makes it even more special somehow. She also got very teary when she talked of how Ayana went to her and relaxed with her like, "I know you. You'll keep me safe." Anyway, it was beautiful. The other Solomon was there and said we better get going because we needed to move hotels right away before Timket started. I did have Ayana in my arms then. I remember. We went to sit on the little swing seat and we had another family photo taken. My Mom said, "What about her stuff?" And I kind of looked down at this little bundle with her little white outfit on and all of her special little ponytails the caregivers made her look so beautiful for us, and I said, "She doesn't have anything." And that moment was very profound. She had no possessions of her own. Just her little self. Just her. In my arms joining our family. Her spirit, her soul, her future and the heart print of her birthmother who could not care for her. This beautiful beautiful baby. Ellie said, "Mom! What about the teddy bear we sent her!" But by then we were already half out the door, and I realized that it was not in her crib and I thought maybe they did not know where it was. I said, "It's okay, Ellie, they may not know where it is right now. " And that satisfied her. We piled in the van and I thought, okay, I hope she doesn't cry hysterically the whole time. And from that point forward, this little perfect human being sat in my lap facing me, snuggled up to me and her somber dark brown eyes watched her birth country pass her by in the van as we drove through the city of Addis.

To be continued.