A Warm Welcome Home~

Greetings -
This journey to family has been nothing short of amazing! As you know what was supposed to be a 4 day trip to Ethiopia turned into 16 days! So you can imagine that by the time I got to Washington D.C. I was pretty spent. Now Teddy was amazing on the flight and did just great but still we had been traveling for close to 20 hours at that point with another 11 to go! But there was this amazing light at light at the end of the tunnel (otherwise known as Dulles international airport) and that light was the Taylor Family. Now Bethany and I had never met, never talked on the phone, never sent a christmas card, but we have adopted with the same agency, are friends on facebook and belong to the same yahoo chat so when I saw her and her family waiting to see us it was like seeing a part of my family. Bethany and her incredible husband have adopted 4 from Ethiopia with the most recent one knowing Teddy. So on that cold cold Jan day Bethany loaded the kiddo's into the car and headed out to greet us on our layover! Teddy was beside himself excited to see someone he knew in the airport. Bethany and I talked for close to 2 hours before she had to get the kiddo's home for lunch and all I can say is THANK YOU and that does not seem like enough! So the moral of my story is if you get a chance to go to an airport homecoming or even an airport stopover GO GO GO GO! They family coming in needs you more than you will ever know!

Here are all the kiddo's at the airport!!!

Wishing you a MAGICAL Day ~
Courtney

Gotcha Day~

Greetings -

Well we have been home almost 4 weeks and I am finally getting around to writing about this experience in Ethiopia! I guess it is better late than never!
So Gotcha Day was the same as arrival day in Ethiopia!!!!! Since I had left Sunday evening (with a stay-over in Washington D.C.) it took until Tuesday morning (Monday night in America) to reach Ethiopia! The amazing Dawit was at the airport to greet Elle and I. Once the Grant's joined us it was off to the Yebsabi Guest House to drop off our luggage before heading to lunch and the Transition House!

As we drove to the Transition House I wondered what would be Teddy's reaction? It had been 4 weeks since I had seen him last! Would he know me? Would he want to come with me? Would he want to stay with his friends? Would he miss the fact that Kenneth was not with me on this trip? Would he understand what was happening?

As the van pulled in past the blue and white sign - I saw him - Waiting - as though he knew what was about to happen! Sitting on the rock wall with Poppy (the gate greeter)!! As he looked in the van and saw me his eyes lit up! He did know!!!!!!! He ran around to the door and waited for me to get out - I got the biggest hug and lots of kisses!!!!Here are some photos from our first day together
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