Friendly Reminder :-)

I am posting now on my family blog...

If you have me in your blog roll, please switch the address to
www.theanceletfamily.blogspot.com

Thanks a bunch!

TOGETHER AGAIN!!!

Josh and Julie made it home yesterday!!! We were so excited to go and greet them at the airport. It was so fun to see them walking through those doors with sweet Maya.

Today Abel and I went over to the Beelers for a visit.

First Kiss... On the cheek of course.

We were over so long the kids even took a nap together in Maya's Crib. HOW FUN!

I have a new HERO... his name is Benjamin

Who is Benjamin? He is the man who works at Children's Hospital in the blood lab. This morning we had to take Abel to have his blood taken (just normal tests). I heard from a friend who also adopted, that it was not an easy thing to draw blood from a baby. Well, I learned that SHE WAS RIGHT! First, a woman came in and tried. Poor Abel, he cried and cried. She then said "I am gonna get someone who is a pro". THANK YOU! In comes Benjamin. He has worked at Children's for 15 years. He looks at Abels arm. Abel was just looking up at his glasses... then in goes the needle and NO CRYING.. AT ALL. And then the blood starts coming out (sorry for the details) and he filled 3 viles. Then he poked Abel's finger and got some more blood (this time.. HE CRIED).

My favorite thing... as he is looking at Abel's arm he said "these veins are so tiny... please pray"... we took him very SERIOUSLY.. I started praying... Ted started praying (not out loud) and when the blood came out... I WAS BEYOND GRATEFUL TO JESUS! and I was so thankful that Benjamin said that!!! THANK YOU LORD!

So... now Abel is so worn out from his morning, he slept through his lunch feeding.

OH... I posted on JULIE and JOSH'S BLOG! MAYA is in her mommy and daddy's arms! ANOTHER PRAISE TO THE LORD

GIGGLE BOY

Here is our boy's video debut ... Enjoy

Good Bye to my Julie!

So yesterday I went and said Good Bye to Julie. She actually leaves tomorrow but I won't see her before she goes and it's a good thing because I think I have the flu. This morning I woke up with a tickle in my chest which led to a cough... then later a massive head ache then mid afternoon... aches. OH MY! Ted just went to get me some Tamiflu.

(SIDE NOTE... JULIE TOO GOT SOME TAMIFLU just incase we got a little too close the day before I broke out with the flu. She is taking one a day for 10 days as a preventative... how horrible would I feel if she got the flu in ET).

So.. Julie is off tomorrow for the TRIP OF A LIFE TIME. She leaves to get her precious Maya. I can't wait to post pictures of her!

So here's a little dilemma of mine... I have a family blog and I feel like I should be doing my post about Abel on my family blog since our adoption is DONE and he is HOME! Please visit my family blog at http://www.theanceletfamily.blogspot.com/

Pray for Josh and Julie as they travel to Ethiopia!

Yes, we are great big dorks!

and here is a picture of our precious boy!

Saucer FUN!

Just remembered we had the saucer (Thank you Stacy!). Abel loves it.

I took a little video clip of him in it and I can not figure out how to share it... any suggestions?

BLOG LIFT :-)

So I got a blog lift.. did you notice?

Isn't it amazing?!

A friend gave me a gift certificate to have my blog redesigned. I was having some issues and she gave me this gift that just keeps on giving. HOW COOL IS THAT?

Nikki does these amazing blogs for a cause to raise money for a mission trip and also gives money to a different charity each month. HOW COOL IS THAT? (I keep saying that).

It is really reasonable and your blog look great, she gets to give her life away on the mission field, and a charity gets a donation... HOW COOL IS THAT?

Enat Alam

Enat Alam is one of the local orphanages in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Abel spent some time at one of the locations of Enat Alam. There are two different locations. On the second day we visited one of the sites and on the last day, we visited the site where Abel was.


These pictures are from the first location.

This little girl grabbed onto my legs and we just swayed and held onto each other. (I showed this picture in an earlier post).

The kids love having their pictures taken. We would take their pictures and then show them the camera so they could see what they looked like.

How precious is this little girl.


The kids all sang songs in Amharic. It was so sweet to hear.


That is Julie Salwasser in this picture. She's only the best case worker in the WORLD! She loves orphans in a BIG way! Did I mention how amazing I think All God's Children International is? That is the agency we used and I would use them over and over again! I can't recommend them more highly!



These are pictures from the second location (I believe it's an older location). This is the one our Abel was at. The guy on the far left.. his name is Tesfaye. He is the one who taught me how to say it correctly. I was saying "Tes-fI" - with a long i - and he said it is "Tes-fI (long i) - e (short e)"





The orphanage director is amazing! He remembered Tesfaye "Abel". The kids would all run to him when he came into the orphanage. He seems so loved and he seems so loving!

HOW CUTE IS HE?

Just thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures.

Oops... I was trying to get him to smile and take the picture at the same time.

This is my all time favorite pic of our little guy!

He rolled over today for the first time. From tummy to back! GO ABEL!

This is Charlotte with Abel. I just think that face is too cute that he is making.

Addison is in love with her little brother!

Trains, Planes and Automobiles...

Ok.. so we didn't ride a train while in Ethiopia. Just seemed like a fun title.

DeeDee asked me how our travel went so I thought I would share. We left on Saturday the 16th of Feb from the Knoxville Airport. The Mazons picked us up and took us to the airport. Charlotte kept our kids here at the house so we said good bye and left in the Mazon's car. Avery stood at the garage door and waved until we were out of sight. OH MY (that was tugging at the heart strings). Charlotte was the one that was a mess. She was crying and very emotional. SO SWEET. (Charlotte is my little sister... not by blood but given to me by God.. she's amazing!).

So we got to the airport a few hours early. It was so simple to get checked in. Tyson McGee airport is small and that was NICE! Ted and I had our bags weighed and we were PUMPED that they weighed (drum roll please).. 49 lbs, 48 lbs, 47 lbs and 46 1/2 lbs. For those of you who don't know, you have to pay if you go over 50 lbs. Our packing was so strategic and I was thrilled that we hit the limit! Ted gave me the title of "Master Packer" and I was wearing it proudly :-)

We arrived in Washington DC on time and had about 4 hours until our Ethiopian Air flight took off. We met Jen and Caleb right away. They too were adopting with All God's Children. We went and grab some dinner together. Then when we came back we met Molly and Aaron (also adopting). We boarded the plane around 8pm and took off for a 15 hour flight. I slept the first 5 hours of that flight. Well, I crashed right after they fed us dinner (which was SO GOOD by the way). Then I stayed awake the last 10 hours. I read, crocheted, talked with Jen for hours, wrote thank you notes. It didn't go by super fast but it wasn't miserable either.

We arrived in Addis at 9-something (we didn't have a watch) and the airport there was a little chaotic. Lots of people trying to get through the same lines which led OUT. I accidentally tipped a luggage guy (who didn't even help with our luggage... he just put our bags on the rolly xray machine table thingy) $10. I didn't know my Burr (which is Ethiopian money) just yet and he said "tip tip" and I looked at my money and he said "100" and I handed it to him. Then I realized I had a sign on my forehead that said "AMERICAN"... haha! I realized after we got out of the craziness that I tipped him $10.00. OOPS... oh well.

NOW... this is where the FUN BEGINS! Those of you who have been to Ethiopia know that the transportation is DIFFERENT. I am not sure how the road rules work. This is what I gathered.... Drive defensively ALWAYS. Make sure your horn works because you will use it about 100 times a day. Praise God that you have a GOOD DRIVER like Danny. Praise GOD AGAIN for Danny. Wear your seat belt.. OH WAIT.. there aren't any. For fun, count how many times the passengers say "oh my" because we again are amazed by our driver's sixth sense! Danny will forever be one of my heroes because of his keeping us safe in Ethiopia :-)

Danny our driver is on the left. He is holding one of the couples who adopted ... their little baby. Yohanis (is that how you spell that) is on the right. He came along as well. These guys were so fun. They went with us every where and took care of us. What a blessing they were! and will be to those of you who will be traveling with All God's Children.

On the way home we arrived at the airport at night. Our flight left at 10pm. We got to the airport at about 6:30pm. We got all checked in and then just waited. When we got there we asked for a bassinet seat and we got it! yay! The lady said that Ted could not sit with me but would have to sit behind me. This totally ended up working out because he got the entire row to himself. So we were able to switch out and sleep. Abel had a bassinet and he slept A LOT! I think he slept for 15 of those 17 hours. He did amazing!!!!

This is our row that we had to ourselves :-)


This is the bassinet on the plane. It was great!

When we were on the flight to America, a couple told us they heard that the weather in Washington DC was bad. Ice and freezing rain. When we got to DC we saw one flight after another being cancelled. Ours was on time. When we asked the guy about it he said "I can't promise you anything". OH MY... by this time, I wanted our family ALL TOGETHER. I was a little anxious during this lay over. Our flight did get delayed 2 hours but then when we arrived in Knoxville, a flight attendant told me they canceled all other flights to Knoxville for the day. THANK YOU JESUS! We had made it home.... and what an amazing HOME COMING it was!

Coffee anyone?

So... I am not a coffee drinker but coffee is a pretty big deal in Ethiopia. We went to the place where they roast the coffee. Ted asked to go in the back to check it out.

We left with A LOT of coffee. We got it as a "thank you" and a souvenir to all those who have cheered us on through this amazing journey! I hear it's GOOD coffee. Ok.. I WILL TRY IT SOON! (Lauri H... are you dying that I have all this coffee?)

We went shopping and to get the coffee on the first full day we were there. Our embassy appointment got moved back a day because of President's Day so plans changed a bit. It was a great day. I loved seeing the sights of Ethiopia.

Here's what Abel was doing while we were waiting for the coffee to be roasted. YES, it was roasted while we were there!

FIRST DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT

We took Abel to the Doctor today. He was absolutely WONDERFUL! The Doctor and the Nurses all came out to see him. They were saying what a pretty baby he is and how smooth his skin is. It is like silk. SO SWEET! It's all those "spa treatments" he got at Hannah's Hope. They are so good to the babies (and children) there. I will forever be grateful to All God's Children, Hannah's Hope, Almaz, the Special Mothers... all of those who take EXCELLENT CARE of these children!

Abel weighs 14 lbs (even though that scale looks like it's 13-something).

He is 24 inches long.

He is right at average for everything... height, weight and head circumference. But in looks and personality.... ABOVE AVERAGE! (am I a proud momma or what??)

Keeping the baby warm while he waits to for the Doctor.

She said he looks great! Next, we have to go and have test run at Children's Hospital. They have to do all the tests that are normally done when a baby is born. Since Abel didn't have those done, we have to do them all. So, we are going to do that next week. Back to the Dr. in 6 weeks for more shots. Poor guy. He got 3 shots today and he cried so hard. I held him and he immediately calmed down and just let me love on him. I was heart broken hearing him cry over the shots.

This shirt says "Hi, I'm new here."... how cute is that? Thank you to Kay Lusby and her mom for this cute onesie. I actually saw it at Target and wanted it... so I was excited to get it from you guys.

Do you see his mohawk?

Thanks to Aunt Charli who kept Avery, Aidan and Addie. They were so concerned about their baby brother getting shots. Addie sent a stuffed puppy dog for Abel. They all were giving their love to him when we were done. What sweet siblings...

Here is a picture I took of the 4 of them today.

The Ethiopian Scoop

I LOVE this about the Ethiopian culture. They get the saying "It takes a village". The Ethiopian scoop is when you are just holding your baby and some one comes and scoops him up. Strangers want to hold your baby in Ethiopia. It's so sweet. Of course, we would freak out if that happened in America... but it is just part of the culutre there. I was eating at the hotel (which the food was

so good!) and Abel was a little fussy. Next thing I know, Lilly, who works at the hotel, has him in her arms and is playing with him. The staff from the kitchen comes to the window to get a look at him and he's being passed around.

This would happen at Hannah's Hope too on the days that we came back to visit. The special mothers would scoop him up. They love those babies. They are absolultely gorgeous women (on the inside and out).

So much to blog about!

I have so much to blog about... so I am just putting several things in this one post.

So... here are some FIRSTS

Charlotte and I gave sweet Abel a bath on Saturday morning. He loves his baths. I didn't take pictures of him getting a bath in Ethiopia but he always digs a good bath!

His first time in the car seat was actually on the way home from the hospital.. I mean, airport :-)

But after our first night at home, Charlotte and I took him for his first outting. To Babies R Us... and guess who we ran into...

JULIE BEELER and HER MOM!

Actually we knew they were going to be there. I planned on going at some point and when Julie told me her and her mom were going, we decided to meet them there. Her mom had never seen sweet Abel (only in pictures). I mean, he had only been in the US for like 18 hours.

We didn't take a picture but we went to Moes for lunch and then we went to the Christian book store (where I was asked if I was baby sitting Abel).

Good day of firsts!

So moving on to something else I think is just stinkin' CUTE!

When the Lord led us to adopt from Ethiopia, we went out and got baby dolls for the girls. Of course we got us some beautiful brown babies. Well, Addie went and got the doll and put it right next to Abel. Kinda freaky how much it looks like him huh?

Of course, Abel is MUCH MUCH CUTER than the doll!

This little girl is pretty crazy about her little brother. I was worried about how she would handle it but she can't get enough of him. It could just be the honey moon stage but I will take it! They are delighting SO MUCH in this precious babe! I loved this picture!

ok... until later! This is like scrap booking for me. Can I get this blogger stuff printed in book form? What an incredible thing if Blogger would do that... right?

Amazing Moments

Ted and I kept asking each other while we were in ET.. "Tell me your top five moments". It was so hard to do. OF COURSE, #! is meeting Abel. I loved sweet smiles he gave to us. We had moments we will forever cherish looking into his eyes and him looking into ours during this trip. He gives the sweetest smiles and is a talker. So of course that is both of our number one!

I wanted to share a few others. There are so many... many I do not even have pictures of but will forever remember in my heart!

So... here are a few that I can share with you...

Right before we left, I got an e-mail that a girl needed PJs, undies and some shoes. I went out and got those things for her. Sweet Savanna had donated some shoes that were the perfect size for her. On our second full day there, we went through our donations and I was able to give them directly to this precious girl. My guess is that she is around 12 years old. She had tears in her eyes as I gave them to her. She hugged my neck with such gratitude. She had tears of joy and she kissed me so sweetly on my neck. My eyes filled with tears during our embrace and we both held on. What a sweet moment.

I absolutely loved the hotel staff. Especially Rosa. They were so warm and I just spent time talking with them each day. I was so sad to tell them good bye. Rosa and I are going to write through e-mails. I had sweet moments with these girls in the hotel lobby.

This is Rosa :-)

(This is kind of a funny story. I found this really cool African shirt at the market place and I thought... how fun! So I wore it the night we went to our Ethiopian traditional meal. When I came back the girls giggled because it's a shirt that you always wear with a skirt. They said "You only have on half the outfit". They were giggling at me. I thought "How stylish ... I'll wear it with jeans" and they were thinking "Silly (american) girl.. she messed up a good outfit"

I enjoyed getting to know the families we traveled with. As we were parting at the airport I said to one couple "We'll always have Ethiopia".. haha. I saw it on a t-shirt on Cafe Press but it is so true. We will be forever connected because of this experience.

Our last night in Ethiopia we went to a traditional dinner and watched traditional dancing. I enjoyed EVERY MOMENT of this time. It was so fun! Ted and I loved the food. The entertainment was amazing! We were able to really visit with Almaz during this time. ... and Julie too. Julie is our case worker... she happen to be on this trip. It was so much fun to just enjoy each other's company. It was a delightful night!

This little girl grabbed onto my legs at Enat Alam (an orphanage is Addis). She held onto my legs and I held onto her. We swayed and giggled. She ministered to my heart as much as I did to hers. The children of Ethiopia are beautiful... the people are beautiful!

Our sweet Abel was at Enat Alam for the first 3 weeks of his life. There are two different locations of Enat Alam. We went to the one where Abel was on the very last day. The director knew him. He said "Tesfaye!" when he saw him. He asked if we wanted to see his bed that he slept in while he was there. He took us back and showed us his crib. I was over come with emotion. I just started crying. I was so grateful. I am still processing through all we saw and how our son came to be with us. What an experience...

Of course, I loved taking pictures of every one's kids. I loved finding Maya's tickle spot. I loved seeing the older kids play in the court yard. I loved passing out the candy that S's mom sent for me to give out. I can't post pictures of those moments in respect for those families for who those precious kids belong to.

Thanks for reading. Abel and I are just sitting here. We are so off right now. I just slept 4 hours (from 6 to 10) and now I am wide awake. So what do you when you are wide awake when you should be fast asleep... YOU BLOG! :-)