Life at the Bejoe House

Our first few days as parents took place at the Bejoe House in Addis Ababa, ET. It is a modest house, surrounded by a wall lined with barbed wire and manned by a guard (as is most residences in Addis), but it is a place of comfort and love.

We happened to travel with two great families - the Mullins and the Kopchas. They only added to the wonderful atmosphere of the Bejoe House.

Each morning the ladies made a delicious breakfast. They set the table for us, served us just like mom would and then held our babies so we could enjoy the nice breakfast in peace.

If you leave a random piece of clothing on the floor, you will find it hanging on the line out back after the ladies of Bejoe have HANDWASHED it and hung it out to dry.

When I was sick, the sweet ladies offered to make me plain rice to help settle my tummy.

Each night we had turn down service.

Once I washed Zadie's bottles in the kitchen. When the manager of the house found out that I had washed the bottles myself she put her foot down. From then on out, we had clean bottles delivered to our room on a tray.

The small yard is immaculately kept with green grass, lovely flowers and crisp landscaping. It was lovely to sit outside in the California like weather in the charming yard chatting with the other families and playing with our new children.

Ethiopia was an adventure. Bejoe House was a home away from home.

home

And we're home...

We arrived at RDU yesterday around 3:30pm to meet both grandmas, grandpa, a few aunts and uncles and one super cousin! After we deplaned, we snuck into the family restroom at RDU and put her traditional Ethiopian dress on to meet everyone. She was so cute!

Little Zadie Hayat slept from Addis to Amsterdam in the most extraordinary fashion. She could have qualified for a contortionist! This was an overnight flight so i thought this might happen and luckily is did... From Amsterdam to Detroit though, she stayed up the majority of the time but took a few naps. From Detroit to RDU, she really crashed hard. At this point, it was 10pm her time so Leanne and I both thought that she had been excellent under the circumstances. She met everyone and was a really happy little girl.

After all of that excitement, she crashed hard. She ate a new bottle and crashed out just after 5pm her time and slept until about 1am.

Very special thanks to the lady at the KLM desk in Addis Ababa. We had good window seats and I didn't notice a change until we boarded in Amsterdam. She had moved us to the bulkhead/bassinet seat and this made a huge huge difference! No one reclined into our space and we had plenty of room to move around and make the trip home... We didn't use the bassinet at all but just being on the bulkhead made the trip so much more enjoyable!

More later, we're still unpacking... Zadie had her first bath at home this morning and we conditioned her hair so the back isn't so crazy from sleep!

Last Night in Africa

We start our journey home tomorrow. I just can't believe it's almost over.

Our sweet little lady doesn't know what' s about to hit her!

I have loved every minute of this trip - well except for that 24 hours of torture that we call mystery disease.

Gondar was amazing. I think I learned more about myself and the world in those two days than I have in years. What a welcome to Africa. It was heartbreaking to see the hospital where our little girl was born. Never have I seen such need. It was uplifting to see the orphanage where Zadie was first relinquished. The man who runs that place is as close to a saint as I have ever met. He loves children and his town so much. We plan to get involved in some way to support this amazing, uplifting place full of hope.

Addis Ababa is a mix of old and new. You can see a 5 star hotel beside a herd of goats being led to slaughter on just about every street corner. The best coffee I have ever tasted with little children begging outside the coffee shop.

We plan to bring Zadie back once she is old enough to understand. What will Ethiopia look like then?

But for now, leaving will be bittersweet. The journey has been amazing.

A Different Sort of Day

Today we visited an Ethiopian resort. Gorgeous. Abundant. Amazing. The crazy part is the resort is juxtaposed to deep poverty. Welcome to Ethiopia.

The bonding is continuing. What a sweet pea. She is definitely letting us know what she wants when she wants its. And her daddy comes running! Isn't that the way it's supposed to be!?!

I handed her over to one of the ladies who works in our guest house for a photo of them together. Zadie started crying. Then the sweet lady handed her back to me, and she stopped. The lady commented that it was amazing that she has bonded with her mommy so quickly. Priceless!

WOW!

So much has happened!!!

1. Zadie Hayat Williams is perfect. She is a doll.

2. We have visited Gladney foster care centers. Wonderful places! Met Zadie's special mother and cried many tears.

3. I (Leanne) got deathly sick. But it lasted about 24 hours and now am back to nearly normal.

4. We had our embassy appointment. It was a breeze. Travis and Joanna were such great supports. (I threw up in the trashcans while waiting to be called.)

5. Met Zadie's birth mom and great aunt. Very special. Priceless.

6. Visited 3 orphanages. Very overwhelming. One little guy followed us to the car and cried and cried when we pulled away. He didn't know where we were going but he wanted to go with us.

I will fill in with more details later, but for now all the waiting for Zadie is done. She is perfect. A doll. A sweetheart. We are blessed beyond words.

She is Perfect!

We visited our sweet little lady's hometown during our first two days in ET. It was a wonderful experience that has changed us forever. Gondar Town is full of kind, generous people who taught me so much about myself. We visited the hospital where Zadie was born, which was unlike anything I would have been able to imagine before setting foot in that room. The filth, the lines of people waiting, the hopelessness. We visited the orphanage where she was first relinquished. It was a wonderful place of hope - more about that later. Then we visited one of the poorest places on earth. People who have nothing. Nothing. And who have no hope of anything.

Our plan was to fly back today, meet Zadie at 1pm or so.

But, our flight was delayed in Gondar by 3 hours! And when we called the agency to tell them about the delay, the first reaction was that we would do placement tomorrow, but my motherly instincts set in. AND, when we pulled up to the guest house where we are staying in Addis Ababa, Zadie was waiting in the living room!!!!! She is perfect! She is tiny, and her hair is crazy and her smile is contagious, but she is PERFECT!!!!

She fell asleep on my chest, then took a bottle from me, the peed on her daddy, then fell asleep on his shoulder.. so all in all... we are on our our way to parenthood!!!!!

WE ARE IN LOVE WITH HER. Photos to follow.

Amsterdam

Well, everything that you've heard about Amsterdam is true! It's dirty, old, rambunctious, seedy (hahaha), but it's also full of the nicest people you've ever met!

What a lovely stop over on our way to Ethiopia. We are having a blast. Many more photos available at our gallery. (See the link in previous post.)