Re: Update

We were reminded this morning that with Ethiopia, nothing is definite and the details are not so important. Apparently, the orphanage in Ethiopia told our agency the wrong day! Not to big of a deal though, it's tomorrow.

As I have mentioned to most of you, I was worried about the birth-parent court date.Their  family lives about 9 hours away, so I was worried that it would be hard for them to come to Addis. . I thought this was supposed to happen on the same day as our court date. Apparently that rule has not been enacted yet and it took place a month ago and everything went great! Tomorrow's court date is just a formality.

We also found out a lot more about Chera and Kenenisa's story and about the area they are from. Most of their story is quite different than we thought. We will share more details once we learn a little more ourselves.

We had a great day hanging out at the transition house. I brought bubbles and all the kids had a great time. A lot of the kids thought they would make their bubbles last longer by adding some water. This led to no more bubbles.

All the kids at the transition house are so wonderful. We are particularly impressed by the older girls. They have such a maturity and sweet spirit. I could talk to them all day. Since they are at the transition house, this means they will all go home soon. Everytime I get to know another one of the kids I just think about how blessed their new families are going to be.

Today we tried to include Zoey in our interactions with Chera and Kenenisa. When we walked through the gates today Chera ran up to us and patted Zoey on the head and said "sister." Later Justin tried to teach Chera how to say Zoey. He would point at her and say "Zoey." Chera looked at him like he was crazy and said "thats Hiwot"!

We had fun playing soccer, passing and dribbling. The sun was very bright, but it wasn't too hot. I think all the hard playing and the sun made the boys really tired. Chera fell asleep in Justin's lap and Kenenisa was exhausted.

We are off to dinner now. All of us are pretty hungry. Hopefully we will have good news to report tomorrow! Thanks for all the prayers!

----- Original Message -----
From: Donna B Brown <donnamt@insightbb.com>
Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010 10:36
Subject: Update!
To: donaldparker@vzw.blackberry.net,lesleys@ariseforchildren.com>, susank.ariseforchildren@gmail.com,susancallander@gmail.com>, ronda.cosby@jefferson.kyschools.us,lupitacross@hotmail.com, rebecca.edney@yahoo.com,jessicanaber@yahoo.com, brittneyj.armstrong@gmail.com,<kdozier@sobmlegal.com>
Cc: drae48@insightbb.com>,donnamt.ethiopia@blogger.com,coram deo abf <coramdeoabf@yahoogroups.com

> Two seperate updates. I tried to send  the first one this
> morning but the internet wasn't working.
>
> Update 1
> We made it to our hotel last night at around 3:30 am. This was
> about 6 hours later than we expected. All of the flights except
> our flight from Louisville to Detroit had delays. One for snow,
> one for mechanical reasons, and one  becuase of another
> passengers medical needs. The snow was so bad in Amsterdam that
> the airport was shut down. Once it opened back up there was only
> one runway. We sat in the plane for around 3 hours waiting. The
> KLM staff were wonderful though. There was plenty to eat, drink,
> and lots of movies to watch. Zoey was great. she didn't sleep
> much, but was pretty happy most of the way. The only time she
> got cranky was after our stop in Sudan. It was only an hour trip
> from Sudan to Ethiopia, so it wasn't too bad.
>
> We only got around 5 hours of sleep so I am sure we will sleep
> good tonight. In a half hour we are going to go visit the boys!
> I am very nervous and excited. I just wonder how much they
> understand and what they will be thinking when they see us.
> Justin is ready to play some soccer with them. We even brought a
> ball with us.
>
> Please keep us in your prayers. I really want us all to stay
> healthy. Also, our court date is tomorrow afternoon. Which will
> be early in the morning your time.
>
> Brittney-Justin gave Jared your gifts. He liked them very much.
> We also gave him some paper and a pen so he can write a letter
> to you. We will take a little video of him as well.
>
> Haley-I will probably give the boys your book on Tuesday after
> we know how the court date went! I know they are going to love
> it!
>
> Update 2
> We spent a lot of time with the boys today! They have already
> been moved to the transition house. This is where all the kids
> that are close to coming home go. When we got there, they were
> both napping. It took them a little while to warm up to us since
> they had just woke up from a nap, but that changed quickly. We
> were having fun and were covered in stickers in no time! 
> Both said they remembered us from our previous trip
> Words can't describe how beautiful these boys are! Its just so
> amazing to actually get to know them after only looking at
> pictures for so long. Justin took his football(soccer for you
> Americans!) and played with all the kids. Suprisingly they also
> like basketball. Not sure if they have played with an actual
> basket, but they like to dribble and pass. Justin had such a
> great time coaching them, it was fun to watch. I video taped
> them with our flip and both boys cracked up watching themselves.
> I have  a feeling we will be doing that a lot!
> We brought dum-dums for all the kids. Big Hit! I learned today
> that it makes the caretakers happy to get the candy as well.
> They were very appreciative to get some candy. Chera wanted to
> make sure everyone got a sucker. He asked for extras and took
> them to staff who hadn't gotten any yet. I was very proud of
> him. There are many negative behaviors that come from living in
> the orphanage, but I think there are just as many if not more
> positive behaviors. All the kids are looking out for each other
> and love to share with others.
> Zoey did great. The response when the nannies saw her was worth
> any trouble that it took to get her here. They were so happy to
> see her doing well. When we walked in the gates we heard many
> high pitched exclamations that "Hiwot is here"!
>
> Going to eat dinner now. Ready for some Ethiopian food! Then, a
> lot of sleep! 
>
>
>
>  
>
>  Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
> Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
> (502)376-9064
> DonnaMT@insightbb.com
> www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
> www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com
>

Donna Brown MM, MT-BC
Louisville Music Therapy, LLC
(502)376-9064
DonnaMT@insightbb.com
www.louisvillemusictherapy.com
www.justinanddonna.blogspot.com