Wow. It feels so wonderful to be home with Tizita. Our time in Ethiopia was rich and amazing but home is where she belongs.
Tizita's passport was delivered to us at 4:30pm on Wednesday- just 3.5 hours before we left for the airport. It was a little tense there at the end, wondering if it would all come together at the last minute so we could all fly home together that evening.
The embassy called on Tuesday morning to inform me that they had reviewed all of Tizita's paperwork and had decided to wave the requirement of having the physician correct the missing information. (It was only her birthdate and last name and they could easily fill this information in themselves). This was a huge relief! We all cried tears of joy and jumped around in the reception area of our guesthouse as the Ethiopians looked on in amusement.
We went to the US Embassy that afternoon, I answered a few questions and signed some final documents and an appointment was made for the next day to pick up the visa. Our agency delivered it to us while we were at the orphanage saying our final goodbyes.
I was pretty emotional as I walked out the orphanage gate one final time with Tizita in my arms and all the documents we needed to get her out of the country. This long adoption process was over and we were finally going home!
The travel back took 34 long hours. Tizita was great- it sure is helpful having three adults taking care of one baby! The longest leg of the trip was when I had to part ways with my sisters in immigration and they raced to their flights as I sat in the customs office and missed my flight which required me to then spend another 4 hours in the airport.
But the homecoming was sweet sweet sweet. It was so great to see my family again and the few friends who gathered to greet us. Merin just kept hugging Tizita over and over.
Our hearts are full so full of joy and satisfaction. God has been so good to us and we are so excited to be over the line and into this next season in our family's life. Thank you for all your support and encouragement and prayers!
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| Family photo at the airport |
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| Holding my 2 girls |
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| Sisters first hug! |
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| Merin loves feeding Tizita! |
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| The 3 kiddos together in their PJs |
Dear Mrs. Brown,
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to see that you all made it safe & sound to your home!
I wish you the most wonderful time with your family.
Very lovely kids :-)
I will always remember little Tizita.
All the best to you,
Sandra Eberlein - Lufthansa Crew- Flight 599, ADD-FRA
PRECIOUS! What a beautiful family!
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you! I found you blog on the large ET blog list and couldn't stop checking for updates! Love seeing the photos of all of your kids together!
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