Our First Week Back

Thanks for being patient with this updated blog. This is the first time we’ve had a chance since we’ve been home. It has been an amazing journey so far, and we have just begun! Girma is perfect for us. I can’t imagine any other child bringing so much joy, laughter, love and wonder to our lives. We have been busy playing and seeing the family. Here is the rundown of this week, with some gaps.
Love you all!
Steve, Denise, Tyler, Taelyn and Girma! :O)

Tuesday…
Flight got in at 10:30, met by friends and family. A joyous homecoming for all. Jeff drove us to Steve’s truck. Girma hopped into the front and sat on the middle console. He pointed to the driver’s seat and said “Babba”, pointed to the passenger seat, said “Momma” and pointed to the console and said “Girma”. He was not happy when we put him in the car seat in back. He was mad until we went through Wendy’s drive-through and got food. Once Girma was done with lunch, he went back to complaining about being stuck in his seat. We got home to Auntie Val and Uncle Alan at the house, with a new teddy bear and balloons. We brought our luggage in and let Girma explore his new home. He is very interested in everything, but also gentle with things. He will try everything, food and games. After playing with many new toys and games, Val left, Alan went back to work on the addition, and Momma, Babba & Girma took a very long nap. Momma and Babba woke up at 6pm and unpacked and tried to get their bearings. Girma didn’t wake up the rest of the night, which led to…

Wednesday.
…1 a.m. Girma wakes up and is up to stay. Denise took the first shift and played with Dominoes (he loved to stack them) and a counting game on her I-Phone and tried to be quiet. At 5am Steve took over and Denise went back to sleep for a few more hours. Babba and Girma played some more with the Dominoes making shapes and stacks, then went outside and played catch and swung in the hanging chair. After that we took the wagon to the playground. Girma was more interested in watching the kids at the pool than playing on the slides. But, he did do the kid’s climbing wall and loved the swing. Our son loves to dance and sing! We put on a CD of Ethiopian children's music that Girma took to at once. He grabbed his drum we bought in Ethiopia and happily gave us a performance!

Thursday…
Girma woke up at 5am, much better than 1am but still early for Momma & Babba. Denise took the first shift again. We took Girma to Denver Academy to drop off insurance paperwork and show Girma off. Once again he was not happy with the car seat. On the way home we just used the regular shoulder and lap belt across his car seat instead of the 5-point harness. That helped a little, and playing with Babba’s cell phone helped more. For lunch, Girma ate a PBJ and some fruit. After lunch, it was naptime for Momma and Girma, while Babba picked up Tyler. When we got back, Girma was immediately in love with his big brother. He follows him everywhere, wants to do and say everything just like him. It’s very cute, and Tyler takes it well even though he’s a little embarrassed by it, and definitely doesn’t want to hold hands with his little brother! :O)

Friday…
We took Girma to our adoption agency for a fundraising meeting and to show him off. Of course, everyone loved him to death. During the meeting I asked him to be quiet and gave him the “Shhh” sign. He then walked around the conference table and told everyone else to ‘shhh’ too. It’s hard to do anything when everyone is laughing, including us. On the way out, I handed Denise’s purse to him, and he put it on his shoulders and strutted out the room with a huge smile and looking back to make sure everyone saw him. We have a little show off on our hands! When we got back Taelyn was now at the house and Girma got to meet and play with his big sister. It’s really fun to watch them all interact. Girma kept trying to repeat everything they say. The best way to get Girma to put his shoes and socks on is to have Tyler do it, and voila! We walked to ‘Smugs’ for dinner and Girma following his brother and sister and didn’t want to hold hands with us. That was fine until we got to Evans St and had to cross. He just doesn’t get traffic yet and we have to make sure we have a firm grip on him.

Saturday…
We took Girma to the pool and met Steve’s brother Jeff and his girls, Kailey (12), Paige (9) and Jenna (5). He slept in the truck on the way and was very groggy when we woke him up. He didn’t want to go in the pool or do anything for a while. Finally Taelyn and Kailey took him to the playground and he had fun on the swing and did the slides. Then, we got him in the pool and it was all over. He loved it once again. Jenna let him use a blow up tube, then the noodle and finally arm floaties. Those worked the best and he could do his own thing. Using the tube he would slide out on purpose and not even care he didn’t know how to swim. The kid is fearless! This will be good in a lot of ways for him, trying new things etc. But, it really makes us need to keep a keen eye on him at all times. He loved playing in the water, splashing and getting dunked by Uncle Jeff and really had a blast with Jenna and blowing water on each other and everyone else.

We went out for an early dinner to Habesha, our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, and met our friends Javier & Christie, Selamawit and Savannah, and also a couple from Utah that Denise’s foundation gave a grant to Dave & Wendi, who have 2 boys, have adopted a baby boy Simon and are in the process of adopting one of Selamawit’s best friends, Kalkidon. All 3 Ethiopian kids were at the same Sele Enat Orphanage. It was amazing to watch Selamawit’s face light up and run to hug and hold Simon. She was crying tears of joy. The restaurant is great, and the owner told us he is having a special night for all adoptive families for a free buffet dinner. It was a blast and the food was amazing as usual.

Sunday
We are getting into a routine, which is nice. Girma loves to play board games with us, sculpting with play doh, playing catch, hide and go seek, playing with the animals, and just about anything! We are meeting Denise's famly for Dim Sum and later going over to our friends' Kristy and Javier's. They are having a party for

Words cannot describe how beautiful, kind and open the Ethiopian people are, whether here in the U.S. or there. They are majestic and humble at the same time. I love our country and am proud to be an American, but sometimes it’s also embarrassing to see how selfish, rude, obnoxious, ignorant and uncaring some of us can be. We could all learn so much from Ethiopia and other countries. They have so little, yet are so loving to their children, family, friends and community. The families that have adopted and flown over there really ‘get it’. I hope more and more people learn that all of the problems of the human race, both locally and global, are ALL of our problems, affecting us all directly and indirectly. Until we unite as a species we cannot move forward. Sorry for the soap box moment, but we really feel part of our responsibility of adopting from a foreign country is teaching others the need there and also trying to bring 2 different cultures together. We love our lives, our country, our friends and our family. Thanks for the incredible support and love you have all given us. We are so blessed and grateful for everything and everyone one in our lives.