E-Day!

The next morning I woke early to the sound of roosters, then the call to prayer from the neighborhood mosque, followed shortly by the call to prayer from the nearby Orthodox church. Nothing tells you that you aren't in Texas anymore like the alarm of farm animals and rivaling religious orders with loudspeakers. Since we arrived after dark the night before, it was also my first daylight view of Ethiopia. The view from Suzanne's window of the courtyard:

This was my view from my window:

What you don't get in this picture is the smell of wood fires for the kitchens - there were fires inside the house at night too for warmth, and I don't know what kind of wood they use but it's like the whole city smells like a Pier 1 store.

Suzanne and I had breakfast and waited for the call from Travis that he was on his way with Ellie from the children's home. He was delayed and had several babies to "deliver" that morning, so Ellie was the last one when he finally arrived.
First glimpse!

Travis handed her off with the comment that she was about the sweetest kid he'd ever met and that he hoped I'd been working out because she was sturdy. This photo pretty much sums up the theme of the week up until we reached the airport: Me - ecstatically happy. Ellie - wondering what the hell I'm so happy about.

Another adopting family was staying at our guesthouse (more about them later), and had one of the Gladney caregivers, Sem, there that day to babysit their daughter. (Families aren't allowed to take the children out in public except to the embassy and to the airport.) After Suzanne and I failed to stop Ellie's tears with any of the toys we'd brought (with the exception of pink sparkle tennis shoes, which while a size too big, were put on immediately,) she came to our room to see if she could help. We spent about an hour playing with her and our neighbor's daughter and not crying. Victory. (Although she's only smiling here because Sem told her to.)


Tomorrow: Back to the Gladney Home and Antsy Pants!