Ethiopia - June 10

Hello everybody!

It is now 5 days after we have returned home and things are finally getting back to our 'new' normal.

We left Salt Lake very early Sunday morning (June 8). We managed to fit 4 suitcases in the trunk of the car. Inside the car were our carry-on bags and the 2 strollers we were bringing. Inside the car were also some books that Matt needed to return to the University of Utah library (because they were going to be due while we're gone). So we had to make a stop at the library which took about 40 minutes total and we arrived at the airport at 6am for our international flight at 7:30am. Matt attempted to do online checking before we left home but it did not really go thru (probably because it is an international flight?). So we arrived at the airport with my Stress Level on HIGH.

But we made it and we were off to O'hare for our first stop. We had about 3 hours before our next flight. We were able to have a quick lunch and call Mama and Mom and Dad to say that we were on our way.

Next stop Frankfurt (June 9, 6:30am). We had to go thru several security checks and then we were ready to board the flight to Addis. The flight to Addis had a stopover (for refueling) at Kartoum, Sudan.

We finally made it to the Hotel de Leopol in Addis at about 10pm (June 9). We were all set to sleep when I asked Matt where the adoption agency's Addis Ababa lawyer's phone number is. He would be our first contact the following day because we needed to sign some US Embassy documents and he will contact the orphanage of our arrival.

Guess what! The list of contact numbers is in a blue folder sitting on the front passenger seat of our car parked in the Salt Lake City International Airport. Ha-ha-ha! (we had to keep our sense of humor or lose our sanity!)

PANIC emails were immediately sent to our Adoption coordinator in Oregon. We also sent an email to Mom and Dad in California so they could a follow-up phone call on our request. Addis is about 10 hours ahead so we had time. Internet connection in the hotel was spotty and slow so we were hoping that we'll get the response on time. Whew! What a day!


JUNE 10, 2008. GOTCHA DAY!

We called the lawyer after breakfast (the Adoption coordinator replied within a couple of hours of us sending the email) at the hotel and he sent his driver to pick us up and bring us to the Dove Adoptions International Office in Addis. We signed some documents that he will be bringing to the US Embassy prior to our embassy interview. Then our driver Wendi arrived and he brought us to the orphanage.

We met the administrative assistant of the adoption agency in Addis and within a few minutes, the nanny brought Angela into the room. She is so tiny and cuddly and so much prettier in person. She did cry a bit but eventually warmed up to all of us. We were ushered to the private living room where we had a chance to relax and bond with Angela more. We checked her out of the orphanage that morning.

We were in the orphanage for maybe a couple of hours that morning. At round 10am, the orphanage kids had their school recess and Ben was able to play with them. It was quite a sight seeing him play ball with kids bigger than him. The kids were very nice to him and kept touching and kissing him on the face.

We went back to the orphanage in the afternoon to bring in the suitcase of donations that we had prepared and also to meet with the orphanage doctor. We passed by the supermarket on the way back to the hotel to get some supplies (bottled water, powdered milk for Angela). We had dinner at the hotel and went to bed early. And that was how we spent our first day with Angela.

The slideshow below has pictures of us at the airport in Frankfurt, our first meeting with Angela, Ben playing with the kids from the orphanage and Ben and Angela in the hotel room.

I will post more pictures as soon as my schedule allows.

Enjoy the pictures (you can hover the cursor on the pictures and you'll see the comments I put in)!

It's official - We Have a DAUGHTER !

Last May 19, 2008, our adoption agency gave us a call at 11 am to congratulate us on our successful adoption of our daughter ANGELA CHRISTINA (born April 3, 2007).

The adoption was ratified on May 19 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

We started working on this adoption Fall of last year. For those interested in timelines, below are some milestone dates:

Nov 5, 2007 - Acceptance to the Ethiopia Program of Dove Adoptions
Nov 27, 2007 - Filed I600A
Jan 4, 2008 - Got I600A Approval
Jan 25, 2008 - Mailed dossier to Dove Adoptions
Jan 29, 2008 - Dove sent email confirming receipt of dossier
Feb 8, 2008 - Our dossier was sent to Ethiopia
Mar 18, 2008 - Phone call and email of referral of Tarikua
May 19, 2008 - Court date
June 12, 2008 - Embassy Appointment, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

After bringing Ben home, we felt that it would be good for our family if Ben had a younger sibling. They could be playmates and they could be each other's buddy. Since Matt had served with the Peace Corp in Zimbabwe in the early 1990s, we initially looked at adoption in Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, they didn't have an established adoption program so we decided to look at Ethiopia. Since we already had a boy, we requested for a girl younger than Ben.

Below is Angela's referral picture.



We are very excited to bring her home. Matt, Ben and myself will be leaving on June 8 for Ethiopia. We hope to see her on the morning of June 10. We have our Embassy appointment on June 12 and we will stay there for a few more days before we fly home on June 16. Hopefully, we can see some sights in Addis and the surrounding areas.

We would like to thank our immediate family for all their love and support with our 2nd adoption. We would also like to thank our special friends (you know who you are) who helped us in completing our homestudy. We are very grateful for your help.

Till the next update.

Weekend Trip To Houston

Last May 9-11, we flew to Houston for the weekend.

Our primary purpose of going there was to see the traveling exhibit of Lucy's Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The exhibit introduces the visitor to the wonderful and culturally-rich country of Ethiopia, also known as the Cradle of Mankind. It is also the first-ever display of the 3.2 million year old hominid known as Lucy, outside of Ethiopia. We are very much interested in the culture and history of Ethiopia because somebody very special to us was born there.

Secondary purpose of the trip was to visit my cousin and her family. Last time we saw them was in Denver in July 2004 when they came for our wedding. That was close to 4 years ago so it was nice to visit with them and catch up on things.

Some highlights -

Since Ben is already 2 years old, we had to get him his own seat in the plane. He had his milk and his blanket so he was quite happy during the trip.

Matt's birthday was the 10th so my cousin surprised him with a yummy birthday cake.

During our stay at my cousin's house, Ben was able to bond with their dog, Max. Ben was not comfortable at first but by the time we left, he was petting and playing with Max.

Below are the pictures from our trip.

Enjoy!

Ben's 2nd Birthday Parties

Ben celebrated his 2nd birthday last April 15. Since it was a school day, we had a little party at school. I brought cake and ice cream for the Toddler class. The 2 year olds were also invited. Nana and Papa drove from California to be with us for his birthday.

Then on April 19, we had a party at the Treehouse Museum. We invited the kids from the Church's Mothers' Group. Here are the pictures from both parties.

This time last year

Friday, March 30, 2007. I remember Matt and I still went to work that day because our flight was not until late that night. Our bags were packed (almost) but being the crammer that I am, I still had a few things to put in the bags at the last minute. I remember we had a few stressful minutes as we left the house later than we had originally planned. Not a good way to start the long trip to Taiwan.

We got to the airport just in time and after checking in 4 bags and 1 stroller, we were on our way. We had a stopover at San Francisco. We met up with Mom and Dad and Patrick - they drove up to the airport just to see us. We spent a few minutes relaxing and talking and with good wishes they sent us off to our 14-hour trip to Taiwan.




April 1, 2007. 6:30am. We arrived in Taipei. Note that with the time change, we lost 1 day. We had arranged for a limousine pick-up from the airport to the hotel. The limo driver with the sign for Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Smith was a very welcome sight. We checked-in at the hotel, took a quick shower and then we were off to the domestic airport in Taipei. We were going to take a 1-hour domestic flight to Tainan where the St. Lucy Center is located. This orphanage had been Ben's home for the first 12 months of his life.








April 1, 2007. 1pm. St. Lucy Center. They had an Open House that day in preparation for their Grand Re-Opening the following day. There were a lot of people around and we were overwhelmed and very anxious to meet Ben. From the 2nd floor balcony, I looked down below and I saw Ben. I just knew it was him. This is the first picture I took of him. Several guests of the orphanage were talking to him.




In a few minutes, he was brought to us. Here are the pictures of that first meeting. Included also on the slide show are the pictures taken on April 2. That was the Grand Re-opening of the orphanage and there was a nice program prepared for the guests. There were also dignitaries from the orphanage, the community and the American Institute if Taiwan.

We flew back to Taipei on April 2. We spent a few days there - we had our AIT appointment to get Ben's US visa and then we tried to go and see some sights in the city. I remember that it was always cloudy/raining the whole time we were there. Here are some pictures we took when we were there. Someday, it would be nice to be able to go back there and visit.

We went home on Friday, April 6. We had a stopover again in San Francisco. This time, Kelly and Ben joined Mom and Dad and Patrick to welcome all of us home.




I'll end this entry with this close-up picture I took of Ben on the morning of April 2. We were having breakfast at the hotel in Tainan and I was looking (more staring, I guess) at his face. I wanted to capture that exact moment.




It has been a good year for our family. Although the first few weeks were quite challenging due to adjustment issues both on Ben and our part, we've overcome those first few hurdles. Ben is now a happy, healthy toddler and we are so blessed and grateful to have him in our lives.

Ben Goes Sledding and Skiing

Hello Everybody!

It's been ages since my last post. Sorry about that. I'll try to make up for the long silence by posting more entries in the next few weeks.

Anyway, these are pictures taken this last winter. We went to Snow Basin in Ogden, Utah. Ogden is north of where we live and the ski resort is about 30 minutes drive from the house. We went there so Matt and I can go snowshoeing and we can put Ben in the sled. Then we put him on skis for the first time. Snowbasin has a little area for toddlers who are first learning how to ski. Ben loved the experience and we will definitely plan on doing more skiing next winter when he's a little bit older.

Enjoy the pictures and warm regards to everyone!

Until the next update. Take care.

May

Merry Christmas !

Dear Family and Friends,

This Christmas is very special for us. It is the first year that we are celebrating it as a family. Last year, we celebrated Christmas day as a couple and then I spent several days in Toronto, Canada while Matt nursed his flu and cold (which he got Christmas eve) here in Utah.

This year, we have Ben. Most of the gifts under the tree are his. We brought him to the mall to see Santa but he got scared and cried when it was our turn to sit with him. Oh, well ... maybe next year.

A few weeks ago, we got a big dump of snow and we brought him outside so he could experience his first taste of snow. He was a bit unsure at first but he got used to it and is now comfortable playing in the snow. He has his sled, his snow boots and his snow suit all ready for when we go to Durango after Christmas.









As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we specially thank God for Ben and we are grateful to you all for your prayers and support. To our parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and our old friends, thank you for welcoming Ben into your hearts. It means so much to us.

We also remember the little angels who went home with their forever families this year.

Anna Bennett
Chloe Davis Link
Liberti Hughes Link
Laney Lewis Link
Malone Peterson
LiErh Wheeler Link
Faith Workman Link


The list above is only a partial list. There are lots more. We also remember our friends in the AdoptTaiwan yahoo group - those who've been in the journey before and who've given us so much support. We also remember those still waiting to bring their angels home, we hope that 'Gotcha Day' comes very soon.

We wish you and your families a very MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Love,

Matt, May and Ben