no more good-byes!!

we just tucked in our new son!!! huge surprise today! i'll start at the beginning, because i know at least a few readers are "detail people" like me.as we talked about our upcoming visit with AJ this morning, Jeff mentioned that he hoped they'd let us take him with us today. never really occurred to me that they would. well, they did!! we left late morning for a trip to the KidsLink office where we received all of AJ's required paperwork. court documents, birth certificate, passport and THE visa. that was an amazing moment as the sum of 2.5 years was gathered in one beige envelope. so special to talk to the adoption facilitator here in Ethiopia, and to get her blessing as we proceed as AJ's parents. then it was off to the transition house with another family where we watched our two cutie pies walk into a room and greet us with warm hugs. so crazy emotional. seriously, no words...AJ nuzzled right in, and had obviously been well prepared that we were mommy and daddy and were here just for him....we stayed and played and learned of his routine. we took pictures, participated in a coffee ceremony and just enjoyed the moment. AJ was definitely warm and comfortable. we also heard him speak for the first time. he does have a pretty extensive Amharic vocabulary, and we heard him mention the name of his friend when looking at pictures taken of their side-by-side cribs. he enjoyed any form of ball~ kicking, throwing and bouncing...maybe a baseball player yet, mom?! Hudson will love his new playmate because they seem to have so many similarities already. the nurse observed lots of the visit and at one point said to us "Solomon said you were hoping to bring him with you today, is this true?" we were like "yes, we'd love that"............"that's fine" she said, and gathered his things and told us all the info we'd need to get started. his teacher Rebecca also came and wanted
pictures taken with him. she gave us his first school workbook and told us what she did with him during each daily session of "school". the transition home staff obviously love these children and i was blessed to observe their care and nurturing. so off we went in the van and spent the afternoon here at KVI, just relaxing and connecting. at one point this afternoon AJ fell asleep lying snuggled against me. it was divine. he's playing great with the toys we brought, repeating words from the books we took along, and generally seems to be reaching out to Jeff and i for affection already. so much more than we expected on day one....or maybe i should clarify, so much more than I expected on day one. jeff knew it would go like this :)....remember, cup-always-half-full-guy! a small tangent here~ he is
amazing with this child and i couldn't imagine sharing this without my best friend...enough of the sappy stuff...back to the facts...ok, where was I? yes, just when we thought the day couldn't get any better, the dear neighbour kids
returned home from school. Rikik, Fikru, Soliana (yes, that's it Joelle) and all the rest were thrilled to see us. lots of hugs and kisses. we then systematically called in one at a time to be fitted with a soccer shirt, shorts, and/or crocs/flipflops, and the pictures we'd brought along. the excitement was delightful and then there was a huge round of new photos to be taken, all posing in different positions in their new attire. J&H, the three that received letters were thrilled, and they say they will write you back. they want to know when you'll be returning to visit and i told them when you save enough allowance, so maybe in like thirty years ?! :) who knows...hopefully before then.

overall, it was pretty much the best day ever. the perfect ending was when we had our "first" bath with AJ (oops, we didn't have the bath with him, we gave him the bath) and i lubed him up with baby lotion (yes i did Barb! figured we'd missed those newborn days, so why not now?). he could barely keep his eyes open while i rubbed lotion into his skin. i put on clean PJ's and rocked him in my arms while we prayed before bed. his eyes were so heavy. he smelled so nice. we laid him down in his crib and covered him with the tie blanket (thanks Maria R.!)and within five minutes he was off to a happy place. not to mention daddy just beside him in his own bed... sorry for sharing the long version, if any of you are still reading! personally, it is good for me to write it down because in many ways this will be like a journal to keep and remember the early days...I'll try to post some pictures as well, but am not positive i'll figure it out! i need you Joelle!! :) hope all at home are well. we are following the ongoing craziness of the snowstorm. also praying for you Leisha and your family. hugs to J, H, A, L and H...miss you!