Just when we didn't think our hearts could swell anymore, they did. Yesterday started out slow, which was perfect since we were all waking up from our first night's sleep in a few days. After breakfast and quiet times, the boys threw a football outside, Regan and I stayed in to read (she did school work), and post lunch, we watched "Beauty and the Beast"together. It was a perfect lazy day in pajama pants! Seemed to be just what we needed coming off such crazy sleep schedules.
Around lunch we started checking our watches more often, counting down the hours until we could go visit Tyson again. After an hour long nap from 2:15-3:15pm, we all began getting ready for the evening. The plan was for Mengistu to pick us up at 5:30pm, take us to the orphanage for 30 minutes, and then go to dinner. So, that's what we did. We arrived at the orphanage around 6pm and no children were playing outside. We had come just as dinner was starting. We hopped out of the van, hoping to see the routine of dinner. As we got closer to the building, we spotted Tyson waiting for us at the front window. I mean....day made. As we meandered through the children in the kitchen to get to his room, we spoke to the other children and gave high-fives. When we walked into the room where he was, his nannie wanted us to know he had been asking where we were since he had gotten home from school at 3:30pm. When he saw us walk in, he ran to us, giving each of us hugs. But, Brycen was carrying a new green soccer ball, so before we knew it, Tyson grabbed the closest shoes to him (which happened to be pink flip flops), took Brycen by the hand, and off we went. We went outside and kicked the ball around, asking him about his day and what he learned at school. He pointed to his eye and said, "eye," then "ear," then "teeth," and so on. He had learned body parts yesterday and knew them all perfectly (even "tongue!"). Next, we gave him sidewalk chalk. He and Regan drew moons together (after I drew a sun that he copied) and just when I thought he was going to write his Ethiopian name, I realized he was writing his alphabet! We were all saying the letters with him as he wrote them on the ground in rainbow sidewalk chalk. If he needed help on a letter, Regan was sitting, waiting to show him. Turns out he only needed help with K, Q, U, V, and W. It was so cute, when he got to "W" he drew an "m" and then motioned in a circle as if to indicate it needed to be upside down! Smart boy. When he had finished the alphabet, numbers, flowers, etc he stood up and walked across his masterpieces saying, "I did all of this." Then, he pointed at Mengistu and said, "You did not do anything." We all laughed. We wrote the names of each member of our family and then he wrote his numbers 0-12. He continued to ask about Corbin and Hudson. I know it may not sound like a big deal, but (here come the tears) we have specifically prayed for God to knit our hearts together in a profound way for years. We have simply asked Him to unite us in a supernatural way. So, for us to hear Tyson ask about his brothers and tell Mengistu he is excited to meet them, I couldn't help but thank God for His faithfulness to bond these boys before they've even met!
After getting dirty with sidewalk chalk, we played chase around the vans. We got to hear the biggest, most genuine laughs you've ever heard. We would take off toward him to try to catch him and when he slowed just enough, wanting us to catch him, he would just laugh and laugh. We taught him about taking silly face photos. So, we each did silly selfies with him. It was fun to see the playfulness in him. We showed him once and off he went.... blowing up his cheeks, sticking out his tongue, opening his arms wide with crazy faces. Such special memories.
After selfies and silly faces, we were just playing around and because all the other children were inside eating, we were able to ask Tyson a few questions to try to get to know him. Some of the questions I will keep private, but I would like to share a few. His personality is so fun. We asked about his favorite foods (turns out he loves carbs... potatoes, rice, and macaroni ranked among the favorites). Doubt he's ever had mac 'n' cheese, but we can remedy that! We asked about his favorite color (red...so this might be a good color to wear if you come to the airport!) and about what he's afraid of (not a fan of big dogs, which is common among Africans). Then, we asked if he'd ever been swimming. He said, "I would like to go swimming if there is ground and no water or I would go under and die." We all laughed and told him his grandparents have a pool and next summer, we will go swimming. We assured him we would stay with him and keep him safe. Then, he showed us how he would dive into the pool. Turned out to be a front handspring, that was actually very good, but he didn't quite stick the landing. He is a funny boy! He delighted us by singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" in English and then he told us his favorite TV show to watch is "Scooby Doo." Again, it's the smallest things that make us know God is in the details. Scooby Doo is our little boys FAVORITE. They are going to be
It was much harder to leave him this time. It was obvious he didn't want us to leave. He kept hanging onto all of us, constantly wanting one of us touching him. We are grateful of how welcoming he already is to our hugs and kisses. But oh the surprise when we were wrapping things up and as he came to me, Mark said, "give Mommy hugs and kisses" (I had forgotten Mark said that and thought it was all spontaneous, but it was still THE SWEETEST THING EVER) when he leaned it and gave me the biggest hug and kiss. It was the first time I squeezed him and literally thought, "I'm never letting go." It was just so sincere to feel how tightly he hugged each of us and for the longest time!
We assured him we would be back tomorrow (which is today) and that's when he looked at Mengistu and said, "Tomorrow when you come, do not be late. Today you were late." We laughed our heads off. We told him good night and waved good-bye. And I wanted to go curl up in a corner with him and stay forever.
It's an odd thing, this whole emotional process, that is. I have tried to sit and think about the days of significance and what each means. When we have biological kids, the day you meet them is the day they are born to you and it's their birthday. With adoption, the day you meet for the first time is SO important and special, as is your "gotcha day" (the day the child is legally yours. For us, this will be next Tuesday), and then there is the child's birthday. Three different, important, special days. Then, you have days like today where you know you are making progress in bonding. These days aren't sacred and holy because of the circumstances. They are sacred and holy because we know (WITHOUT A DOUBT) God is standing on this soil in these days with us. We just couldn't be more grateful.
After visiting Ty, we went to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant. We took several pictures (if you follow me on Instagram, you already saw them). I will upload pictures to the blog next week (hopefully). One of the differences from American restaurant is that they wash your hands at the table. Someone walks to your table with soap and a large metal basin and pitcher. He squirts soap in your hand (one person at a time), and while you wash your hands, he pours warm water over them. Then, he moves on to the next person. This is very important in Ethiopia because all of the food is eaten with your hands (no utensils). So keeping your eating hand (most just use one hand) clean is top priority. The food was delicious, though Regan had a harder time finding something she loved (thank you, large piece of chicken, for saving the day!). She was THE best sport, trying it all and even liking one or two things. The food is traditionally served on a flat, spongy bread called injera. It is made of Teff flour, so it is totally fine for all of us to eat. Then, the main dish is poured on top of the injera. You tear the injera and grab the main dish(es) with the injera and eat it. We had what is essentially a sampler platter. Mark and Brycen were brave enough to eat the cow esophagus. Regan and I discussed it and felt like one esophagus was enough and we were happy with the one we were born with. So, we politely declined, but Mark really liked it and ate it all.
As we ate, there was singing and dancing on the stage. Traditional Ethiopian instruments graced the stage and every other song represented one of Ethiopia's 86 tribes. So, each dance/song was sung in that native language, wearing the native clothing, all while performing the native dancing. It was beautiful and educational! It was very upbeat and VERY FUN. Mark, Brycen, and Mengistu also enjoyed a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony at our table. Heaven knows I wanted to, but at 10pm, all that buna (coffee) would've kept me up ALL NIGHT (turns out I was up until 1:45am anyway, but who knew?). Brycen drank the strong coffee like a champ! We left the restaurant around 9:15pm. After arriving back at the guesthouse, we were able to FaceTime with Corbin and Hudson for a few minutes. They were happy and having an after school snack (THANK YOU, NINA, FOR PICKING THEM UP EVERY DAY). This time change is so crazy! We were heading to bed and they were just getting home from school! They loved hearing about how Tyson asks for them. And, they laughed and laughed when we told them about him loving Scooby Doo.
The plan for today is to leave around 10:30am (3:30am for you) and go to a church museum, eat lunch, and then do some shopping in the market (Regan has her heart set on a traditional Ethiopian dress and I die thinking about how beautiful she will be in it), and then go to visit Tyson.
We will arrive to see him earlier today because he left us with one instruction:
DON'T BE LATE!
Chat soon!
until he's home,
Carrie
Oh my heart overflows reading this today!! How perfectly God moves and orchestrates!!!!!!!!
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