Wrap Up

I think it is time to wrap up this blog. I always wondered about people who adopted and then never blogged again. I thought things must have gone terribly wrong for them. But for me, I know that once we had our child home, I seldom have time to sit at the computer and blog. This little person fills up every empty space in my life and its a good thing.

Ella is thriving! She is now 16 months old. She is walking, running, and saying lots of words. She is very smart and can follow simple instructions. She loves to play with her baby dolls and is so sweet to them. She also loves to clean house. She fights me for the Swiffer, so for Christmas she got her own little broom and mop. She gets into everything and hides things like the tv remote in "her" drawer in the kitchen. I often find missing toys etc. in that drawer. She gives hugs and kisses. Seeing her little kissy lips and closed eyes moving in for a kiss is truly the cutest thing. We are completely smitten with her and wonder how we could have been so blessed to parent her.

Since I am not planning on blogging anymore (at least not at this spot) I just wanted leave you with a few recent photos of our girl and encourage you to care for orphans.....whatever that means to you. It could be simply praying, giving money , sponsoring, or even adopting.

Our last day in Ethiopia....and flight home!

The last day in Ethiopia was filled with shopping, packing, and goodbyes. We spent the morning shopping for things for dresses for Ella. I got several dresses in different sizes. We bought some silver crosses. I bought one for each of my girls. I love shopping in Ethiopia. You can find so many treasures for a small price. I even like bargaining with the shopkeepers..something that I grew accustomed to in Doha.

We then went back to the Layla house for the goodbye party. Every time a child leaves Layla there is a goodbye party. The party is in the cafeteria and all the children from PreK to teens attend. They always start off singing and drumming. It is so moving to hear all the kids singing in unison. They sing Amharic church songs and sing in English. This time they sang "Amazing Grace" in English and I don't think you could have been there and not cried. I always think about the children that stay at Layla for many months and wonder how they feel at the goodbye parties seeing their friends leave to go home to a family. It was really hard for me to tell some of the teenage girls that I love so much that I was there to adopt a baby and not one of them. I am so happy to report that they now both have families. In fact one of them is on facebook and I get to chat with her often. I let the nannies and older girls hold Wubeski and tell her goodbye. Everyone seemed so happy for her and for us.

Not long after the party it was time to go to the airport. Looking back I way overpacked. I think I took a diaper for every hour in transit. At least we were prepared. Joan and I checked in and unfortunately did not have a bassinet seat for the flight from Doha to Dubai, but didn't really need it because the baby was no problem. The flight left at 7:30pm and we were on the same flight with some of other AAI families. Honestly I can't remember a lot about that flight...so it must have been uneventful. I was so grateful to have my sister with me. I don't think I would have done well alone. The layover in Dubai was short and soon we were on the flight to Doha. It was the middle of the night and we were sleepy and tired, but again the flight must have been fine, because I can't remember the details. When we arrived in Doha, we were greeted by the Al Maha service at the plane and were taken to a lounge where we waited several hours for Bill and the kids to arrive. The lounge was a welcome sight and we pulled up chairs to make makeshift beds and slept. Joan has a funny picture of me sleeping posted above. It illustrates the exhaustion we were feeling. I think Joan got a shower, but I slept the whole time. The entire time the baby was Perfect. She was a great traveler.

Early that morning, Bill and the kids arrived at the airport and we were all reunited. It was so good to see them. The kids were so happy to have their little sister with them at long last. We were able to stay in the Qatar Airways lounge until time for our flight. Bill's boss was also there for another flight and she got to meet the baby.

Soon after, we were checking in for our flight to the Houston. As we were getting our boarding passes, Bill shocked me with news that we were moving, probably back to Texas. This memory is seared in my mind. So many changes. A new baby...and now repatriating back to the US. Little did we know that the entire summer would be spent wondering if we were moving and where we were moving and when we were moving. Ultimately, we didn't know for sure until 2 weeks before we would have returned to Doha. I finally reached the point of completely trusting God to direct our paths. HE had led us and protected us and loved us for my first 40 years, surely we could trust him with the years to come.

Our adoption of Ella complete, I am amazed at the miracle of it all. She is a wonderful addition to our family. She is exactly what we needed. As a whole we tend to be a little too serious and she has brought an amazing light and joy to us. She has an effect on everyone who meets her. She smiles and laughs easily. She talks to strangers...with a sweet "Hi" to everyone she meets. We all are completely in love with our baby!

And as for Ethiopia...I have no doubt that I will be going back. Back to do what I can to help those in need and back to show Ella the beautiful country that is her home.

Day 4 in Ethiopia

Joan babysat Ella while I was at the airport straightening out my cargo problem.

This is one of the guards at the guesthouse. We gave him an ExxonMobil cap and he loved it. He is so sweet with all the children.

Mekdalawit kept Ella this night so Joan and I could go out to dinner.

The cargo...the van is full of boxes too.

This was the most frustrating day I had in Ethiopia. I had sent tons of donations to Ethiopia by cargo when our whole family went at the end of April to visit Ella. Unfortunately the donations did not make it before we had to return in Doha. So bright and early Thursday morning I set out with a driver in a van to go to the cargo place at the airport and collect the donations. Joan stayed with baby Ella and took extra good care of her while I spent hours at the airport getting the cargo. The bright spot in the whole affair was a great macchiato I got at a cafe in the cargo terminal of the airport. I ended up having to pay lots of money since they had to store my items for so long. In the end, I successfully collected the donations...after going through a multi-step process, which includes the inspectors digging through your stuff and then stuffing it back in your containers.

Joan and I had planned to go out that night to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant, but after the long day I had we decided to just go to a local cafe near the guest house, Caribo. I had invited our driver to go to the restaurant to Ethiopian restaurant with us and serve as a guide. I didn't figure he would go with us to the Caribo restaurant. To my surprise he did and we ended up enjoying his company very much. He told us the story of how he met his wife and it was very sweet.

Wubeski stayed with Mekdalawit, the manager of the guest house while we were out and was sleeping when we got back. Mekdalawit is just one of the amazing young women that works for AAI.

The next day would be our last in Ethiopia.

Day 3 Embassy Day

Ella doesn't seem too concerned about the embassy interview. She slept on the drive to the Embassy.

On our way to the appointment.

One of the sweet friends we met at the guest house. She and her husband and two children were there adopting an older boy.

I wanted to document our days in Ethiopia before I forget all the details. On Day 3, we decided Ella needed to see the doctor so we walked to Wanna. The doctor confirmed that she had an ear infection and gave her a prescription antibiotic. We hung around Wanna house and took pictures of some of the waiting babies.

Suddenly it was time to go to the Embassy interview, where we would be given the visa for Ella to enter the US. We ended up having to rush to catch the van back to the guest house and Joan ran into the guest house to get supplies (diapers, etc) for the trip to the Embassy. The funniest thing , she slipped right as she was going into the guest house and wiped out, but it didn't hurt her and she got up laughing. I know one day when we tell this story to Ella she will appreciate her Aunt Joan sacrificing her body to get her baby stuff for her.

We piled into the van with the other families and together we all went to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa. We had to go thru all the typical security and baggage check to get inside and silly me, I let them keep Ella's diaper bag at check in. We ended up having to go ask for it back when she needed a diaper change.

We all waited in a holding room with people from our agency and other agencies. AAI definitely had the most families there. I think there were 9 families. Our families were some of the first called and the first 2AAI families came back from the interview with sad faces. Due to missing information their children were not granted visas. This made all of us a little nervous.

When our name was called, we walked with Gail upstairs to interview with an embassy employee at a window. As we were walking, I asked Gail what they would be asking us and she said it was too late to ask that now~thanks Gail.

We were interviewed by a nice, young man who only asked three questions. Was this the baby we were expecting? When Gail told him we were an IR3 case, we had to show proof of our pre court visit to Ethiopia where we first met Wubeski. He asked "What happened to the child's parents?" and if we knew anything about how she was found.

The funniest thing that happened during the interview, was that he asked if the man in our photos from our "visit" trip was my husband, and I was all nervous and said "yes, he's the daddy" He was a little confused and thought I was saying Bill was my daddy. We all had a chuckle about that and it really lightened up the otherwise serious moment.

The whole interview only took 3 minutes and we went back to the holding room with big smiles. Ella was granted a visa to enter the US and everything would be ready to pick up on Friday.

All the other families sailed thru the Embassy appointments and we learned later that day that the first two cases were also granted visas when Gail was able to get the needed information. Everyone in the guest house was relieved that evening. All our children were coming home to the US.

We spent the evening visiting with the other families and thoroughly enjoyed being together. Even with her ear infection, baby Ella was just perfect and sweet!

Photos for you!

Our crazy summer!

This is a letter I sent to my Bible Study group updating them on our lives. I hope to finish posting about Ethiopia soon and get back to blogging!

Dear sweet friends,

I just got home from Bible Study at my new church. It really made me miss all of you. We are doing the Ester study again. You are a very special group of women and you all mean so much to me. Thanks so much for all the love and prayers during the adoption of little miss Ella.

Most of you probably know by now that we are not coming back to Doha. Bill told me when we met him in the airport on the way home from picking up Ella Grace that we were moving to Houston. What a surprise! We later found out that the job would eventually move us first to Australia (we were happy) and then to Papau New Guinea. Because there are no schools for our older children in PNG, Bill ended up turning that job down.

The plan was for us to stay in Doha until December and then move on to his new job (where ever that might be). Two weeks before we were to travel back to Doha, Bill called and said he was offered a job in Sabine Pass, Texas. There is a new LNG plant starting up there. The job was actually a blessing because we had not been able to get Ella a US passport and she was denied automatic citizenship upon entering the US because we were living overseas. Up to this point we were unsure how we were going to get her into Doha.

We thought initially that he would be working out of Houston, and we would be returning to live in the Woodlands Texas. A few days later, we found out we needed to live near Sabine Pass, Texas. Sabine Pass is a tiny town that was nearly blown away by Hurricane Ike. Only 5 houses remained livable after this hurricane. It feels like coming home to me, since I grew up in Southeast Texas in the small town of Spurger, which is only about an hour from where we will be living. My mom is thrilled that we will be so close.

I had two weeks to figure out where we would living and what schools our children would be attending. I believe God led me to a nearby small town. It is a rural community outside of Beaumont, Texas. The school district actually serves 4 communities. The schools are highly rated and have alot of school spirit. It is funny, I remarked to my sister while we were in Ethiopia that someday I would like to live in a town like the one portrayed on Friday Night Lights where everyone goes to the football games on Friday nights and that is exactly the kind of place we are living. I have a sister and niece living here. We are living with my sister until we close on a home. It is working out really well. We have a contract on a house, and are waiting now for the appraisal.

The kids have started school and like it. It is a huge change from ASD. There are a lot more rules to follow. Cole, our 8th grader, is playing football for the first time. It has been fun for him to learn a new sport. Abbey is hoping to take horse riding lessons. Will is just happy to tend his farm on Farmville (a facebook game) but I suspect he will play soccer when it rolls around.

We are still waiting on Daddy to come home. He is supposed to arrive mid Sept, right around the time we will close on the house (god willing).

Ella is doing amazingly well. She is a HAPPY, healthy baby girl. She will be one year old tomorrow, but they goofed on her birth certificate and made her birthday Nov. 3. We will wait and celebrate then. She has been a JOY to our family. She is pulling up everywhere and I hope she waits for Bill to get here to take her first steps. When we go out she smiles and waves and says "HI" to everyone. She sleeps good, which is nice for this tired mama. She says "mom", "bye bye" "hi doggie" She really is the sweetest baby girl! I wish you could meet her. If you are in Texas next summer or over Christmas, please contact us and we will get together.

I just wanted to fill all of you in...I pray for God richest blessings on you today!

Much love, Lynn

Ethiopia Day 2: Day trip to Adama

Seen in and around Adama.

We were picked up early in the morning by a driver and an AAI social worker to go to Adama, also known as Nazret. This is the place where Ella's story began. We wanted to go there and get as much information as possible for her to have as she grows.

On the way to Adama, we stopped to eat breakfast at a restaurant on Lake Bishoftu. It was a beautiful, serene place...very calm and peaceful. We ordered french toast and Joan and I agree, it was the best french toast we've ever eaten

After breakfast we drove to Adama, which is in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. It is a desert, but not exactly like the deserts in Qatar. Not as sandy...just dry. It is a big city with lots of businesses and activity going on, not unlike Addis. We went to the hospital in Adama that cares for abandoned children and met two young women that cared for her when she was first brought there. One of them was the person that named our sweet baby, Wubeski. I asked what her name meant, because we haven't been able to find out for sure. It is an unusual name. She said it means "Who is beautiful like you?" Such a fitting name for our beautiful baby. We still call her Wubeski a lot of the time.

This young woman (Meskerem) spent most of the day with us. She helped carry Wubeski and loved on her. I could tell that she really cares about the babies and children that are brought into the hospital care center.

When we left Adama, we went to Sodere, which is a hot springs resort area in Ethiopia. There are also lots and lots of monkeys roaming wild and free around the area. It is strange, as I had only seen monkeys in cages before. We walked through the resort area, among all the monkeys and saw the hot springs pools. We had our lunch here and drove back home.

We found out some information about Wubeski's story, most of which will remain untold. It is her story to tell if she wants to when she is old enough to understand it. I wish we had been able to find out more.

Ella was so good on the long drive and slept a lot, but she was also a little feverish and we began to think she had an ear infection (which was later confirmed by the doctor at Wanna)

Back at the guest house we spent time getting to know the other families that were staying there. We would stay up late at night talking and laughing until the wee hours of the morning.

Ethiopia Day 1

Wanna House-the baby house

The moment we see you!

Aunt Joan thinks you are so special!

Our home for the week!

Hmmm...what to do with all this luggage!

On June 15, my sister and I left in the wee hours of the morning to fly to Dubai and then on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to finally bring home our baby daughter, Ella Grace Wubeski Collins. We were so excited that it didn't really matter that we were leaving in the middle of the night. The first leg of the journey we were in economy, but when we checked in at Dubai we were told we had been upgraded to business class. I was so happy, because I knew we would need a good sleep before we picked up our girl.

We arrived in Ethiopia at 11:30am and were picked up by a taxi sent by AAI. It was pretty funny watching the driver and the unofficial "porters" that lurk around the airport load all our luggage in the tiny little taxi. They managed to somehow get it loaded. We had 4 big bags full of donated blankets and our two carry ons. We labored over getting the carryons under the weight restrictions and in the end they were still a little over. But at the airport in Doha, the baggage checker asked if he could pick up Joan's bag and we both cringed until he said, "Your bag is so light, most woman have heavier bags."

We drove straight to the Ritmo guest house. It was a very busy place. Every room was full of traveling families and their children. There are 7 guest rooms and they were all packed. Our room was the last one left and the smallest. It had one big bed that almost filled the room and luckily some narrow shelves at the end of the bed, which came in handy.

We took a minute to get freshened up and went to Layla and Wanna House (AAI's transition home) When we got there, I led us straight to Wanna house. On hindsight I probably should have checked in at the front office but I didn't think about it since I knew the way. We walked into the baby house and there she was! She was sitting in a bouncy seat, surrounded by friends of mine from our yahoo group who were there to pick up their babies. She was just sitting there looking us over and it took a little while for her to warm up to us and give us an amazing smile. From that moment she was with us the rest of the time. It felt so good and right for her to be in my arms.....this little person that God knew would be our daughter.

We eventually got a ride back over to the Ritmo guest house and spent some time playing with her and loving her. I can't remember eating that day or much of anything else. Only that Gail dropped by and when I gave her our paperwork she said that we needed something notarized. Poor Daddy in Doha had to scramble to get a paper notarized and faxed to Gail by Wednesday morning. In the process, he missed a really big presentation that he had been working on for weeks. Adoption is not easy. We were reminded again!

She slept between us on the big bed that first night and she was so still. It was like she was afraid to move. When she would wake up it would take a minute for her to adjust to her new surroundings. She was quick to accept us and love us though. Sweet, brave baby girl!