The flight and the beginning.. oh my

“Let your mind start a journey thru a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the world you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be...Close your eyes let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live as you've never lived before.” ~ Erich Fromm

Jon on the planeOur room at the guest house


Stop in London



Leaving AZ, half asleep!

Our feet, Syria

Ok I have traveled a lot and all over the place but this trip had to be the longest and the most exhausting. We left Friday, got to Addis on Sunday at 3 am after going through the longest line in the world for our Visa, then the driver was not there to get us, so we had to call and wake him up. We couldn't figure out the phone system and a taxi driver let us use his phone, it was nice. Then we got picked up and headed to the guest house, we decided not to even sleep since we got in, unpacked, and then it was time that everyone was waking up for the day and we wanted to head to the orphanage as soon as possible.

I got to meet Tania and Lisa from the AA board, it was really neat to meet them in person and experience the adoption with them. We all got our girls at the same time, it was great, and going to the Embassy together. The time just flew by so fast, 1 day we were at the orphanage, the next at the embassy, then it was time for us to fly home, after our Visa got processed early for Aslynn. There was glitches in the paperwork, some bumps in the road, but in the end we got our baby.

We went to the doctor when we got home yesterday... she has a hernia, chicken pox, earache, a cold, and the list goes on.

I had to scrub her down at the guesthouse and home because she was dirty! They said they don't give them baths only wipe them down, SO I BROKE OUT THE BABY SOAP and gave Aslynn her first bath in the guesthouse sink! She was splashing and just loved it!

The orphanage was a shock, when I got Aslynn she has a plastic bag on over a cloth diaper, she was hot and has a huge rash under her neck. She is so calm, happy and just excited to be out of there. She took to Jon so great, they were attached and the whole flight home she slept,played and was the perfect baby.

Makenzie and Logan just love her, they give her love kisses and hugs and just want to play with her, we are trying to get on AZ time, so its a work in progress, but if we get baby #2 I don't think I will fly there. I am so burnt out on the flight, we had little layovers only about 1 hr was the longest, it was the flights that were so bad. The one leaving Addis to London stopped in Syria for pick up and refueling, OMG the whole plane smelled like B.O. the bathroom was stinkin, and then they locked it for half the flight, and Aslynn had diarrhea,people were throwing up, and they had no COOL air blowing. It was the worst flight in the world, besides having the security go through the plane, getting told Jihad was in Ethiopia, getting searched, frisked, taken out of the car at check points in Ethiopia for them to search US the CAR and driver. It was the strangest thing, and I guess US warning on high alert there.

Fast pace to and from places, our driver was wonderful, the guest house was nice the cooks and staff were a joy, we had a good time, but KNEW we were ready to head home the minute we unpacked.

I feel like there is so much to tell so as the day goes on, I will write and post and update...