To say coming home and leaving Ethiopia was bittersweet would be a lie. Coming home was all sweet, sweet, sweet. It was the best gift ever!!! And for about the last month in Ethiopia, Wes swore that once we got back to the States, he would kiss the ground. This is very uncharacteristic of Wes, so I held him to this promise. It was fantastic. Once we got outside in Chicago, he knelt down, with Alex strapped to his chest in the Ergo, he knelt down and kissed that sidewalk. Woohoo!!!
While we were in Ethiopia, we made lots of new friends. Many families came and went while we were there. The Kohls were one of the first families we spent time with. Their little Amanuel was in the same room at the same orphanage as Alex & Eliana. We became instant friends, and Christina and Amanu met us in Chicago. I totally cried. Seeing a familiar face on American soil was so good for my soul. We missed seeing Kevin, but I guess somebody has to work. :)
A huge thank you to Cara Dee Photography and Cydil Waggoner Photography for catching one of the most special moments of our lives!
While we were in Ethiopia, we made lots of new friends. Many families came and went while we were there. The Kohls were one of the first families we spent time with. Their little Amanuel was in the same room at the same orphanage as Alex & Eliana. We became instant friends, and Christina and Amanu met us in Chicago. I totally cried. Seeing a familiar face on American soil was so good for my soul. We missed seeing Kevin, but I guess somebody has to work. :)
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| Here are all three of them before they left the orphanage. |
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| Amanuel and Christina. |
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| Friendships that will last a lifetime. |
And then came the moment....it was time to go down that escalator at the Bluegrass Airport in Lexington, KY. I had been dreaming about this moment for the last 3 months. Who would be there? Would there be a lot of people or a few? Would I cry? Well, all the questions were finally answered.
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| Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
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| Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
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| Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
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| Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
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| We got interviewed by the local news. Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| The fabulous Marty Vaughan of www.martinrayvaughan.com is going to be making a video about our adoption. Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Seeing Bestemor again. Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Meeting Sam. Alex loved Sam. Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Cindy and Wes grew up together. As a matter of fact, they were born in the same hospital on the same weekend. We were so glad that she could make it to the homecoming! Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Alex loved the children. Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Photo by Cydil Waggoner Photography. |
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| Here are just some of the people that showed up to welcome us home. Photo by Cara Dee Photography. |
so sweet, you do such a great job of expressing yourself that I feel like I understand a little bit of what you went through. Thanks for sharing.. I wish you much much joy with your family, Nina and Wes!!
ReplyDeletelove it..happy you are home..I will be stopping by in august to meet you and the babies!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!!! Love reading about all your adventures, and the babies are so beautiful and sweet! :)
ReplyDeleteso sweet! My heart is overflowing for you both. Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteJaci
Congratulations on the twins!!!!! They are super cute and I love all of your photos. They bring tears to my eyes and also bring hope to my heart that there is in fact a happy ending to this adoption journey. I have been following your blog and musing videos on u-tube since before you left for Ethiopia. You and Wes have given my husband and I hope and a good laugh. We have just finished our homestudy and hopefully will be submitting our dossier soon. So the wait begins....!! I just keep telling myself that each step is a day closer. I just wanted to let you know that you guys are a great inspiration and that I am so happy that you are home safe with your bundles of joy!!!! Megan :)
ReplyDeletebeautiful. Simply beautiful. Alex and Eliana are completly blessed to have such a wonderful family. Thanks so much for sharing your journey...what a great testimony of the powerful work of God! BEAUTIFUL!
ReplyDeleteEWww...does Wes have any idea how many people have walked there? And those shoes have undoubtedly touched urine and more! You kiss pee lips?
ReplyDeleteOh...and welcome home! ;)
ReplyDelete