And that's the rest of the story (for now).

Yes, I am old enough to remember Paul Harvey.

Sunday was a fun day to see more of Ethiopia.  In the morning we had breakfast and enjoyed a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.  They roast the beans fresh on a skillet, grind them and then boil the grounds for ten minutes.  It makes a strong brew but without any of the bitterness that we get when we make strong coffee.

It was the best coffee I have ever had, but I don't think my heart could handle 20 ozs of it!

After coffee we headed out on a day trip to the Blue Nile River Canyon.  It was a two hour drive west of Addis Ababa into the countryside.  It was nice to get out of the city to see how those in the country live.  We saw a big group of kids playing futbol. 

Here are some of the traditional houses.  Where we drove was a mountain plateau that was mostly grazing land.  We saw many people taking their goats or cows out to graze in the pastures.

The scenery is nothing like what you would expect from Africa if you don't know anything about Ethiopia.  Addis Ababa is 7,546 feet above sea level and it is in a valley surrounded by mountains.  For this trip we climbed out of the valley to the west and drove for two hours through grasslands.  Our driver said the mountain plateau is a stable grassland and doesn't suffer nearly as much from the droughts that the lowlands often do.  We saw bee hives and baboons as well (look closely).

At the end of the drive was the Blue Nile Canyon.  There is a very old monastery in the cliffs overlooking the canyon, a museum of old church artifacts, and a church that is still used for services.  Then we drove down the road to see the Portuguese Bridge that is several hundred years old.  The bridge is not that impressive, but the valley itself is amazing.  It is like the Grand Canyon.  It is the beginning of the Great Rift Valley and is formed by the Blue Nile River, which is the source of the Nile River.

I was incredibly impressed by the people farming along the slopes of the canyon.  I hope they all had donkeys to bring their goods to market or float them down the river, but I'm guessing many of them haul it out themselves.  There is a hotel on the edge of the canyon rim that is owned by a German couple.  It would be a spectacular sunset.  We ate lunch (tibs and injerra) at the hotel overlooking the canyon.  Meal with a view!

Along the way we bought some trinkets from kids selling things along the road.  When life is hard everyone scraps to make it, so I liked buying stuff from the individuals more than the shops when we could.  On the drive back we saw these cool rock carvings.  A student group from Addis Ababa carved them as some sort of beautification project.  Very cool.

That was it for Sunday.  Then Monday....  Monday was an emotional roller coaster.  We were scheduled to spend two more hours at the care center to say goodbye to the kiddos and then for our court hearing  in the afternoon.  So me and the other families met in the lobby at the appointed time...and waited...and waited....had the receptionist confirm the driver was on the way and waited...and waited.  After an hour he was finally there!!  He was very apologetic and it wasn't his fault, sometimes the traffic is crazy and sometimes it is not.  So we lost out on some of our time at the care center, but he drove us there as fast as we could!! 

When we drove through the gates I saw our son right away.  One of the nannies was holding him (someone is always holding him it seems!).  He saw me step out of the van and reached his arms out to me, it was great and amazing that he remembered me and wasn't mad at me for leaving him there.  We played around again, mostly with matchbox cars and kicking a soccer ball around.  He still liked to be held but was OK running around a bit more this visit.  After what seemed like only a few minutes but was probably an hour and a half, we had to leave so we could do lunch and  get changed for court.  Our son was crying and reaching out for me and so was another 2-3 year old who was being adopted by one of our families.  The nannies held them where they could watch us leave, I just kept wanting them to bring  him inside so he didn't have to watch us leave.  I hope he knows it was hard on me too.  The trip back to the guesthouse was quiet, we were all pretty down at that point.  I'm almost glad Kristel missed that part of the trip, she might still be crying. 

We had a quick lunch at the guesthouse and changed for court.  We were all antsy again.  We were the first group called in to meet with the judge.  She asked for my power of attorney since I was the only parent attending the hearing.  She asked us some basic questions about whether we had other kids, did they know about the adoption, what did they think, had I met my son, how did I feel, and was I educating myself on Ethiopia.  Yes, yes, excited, yes, excited, yes.  Do you still want to adopt the child?  YES!  They just want to make sure you have seen the child and are still wanting to proceed with the adoption before the court approves the adoption because under Ethiopian law the adoption is complete with court approval and is irreversible.  She says "He is yours" and that's it!!  We were all really excited and then our Holt attorney says something about expired paperwork.

Excuse me? What are you talking about?

Turns out a few minor forms were over two years old so they needed to be updated before the court would issue its order.  Like air being let out of a balloon, just completing deflating.  There was no objection to our adoption and no substantive problem, just a few forms that needed resigned.  Still, it will likely delay us a few weeks to pull all of that together so it can be translated and submitted to the court.  How frustrating.  So my text to Kristel (side note-I had incredible cell phone reception everywhere I went in Ethiopia.  Data was nonexistent and wireless Internet coverage was spotty at the hotel, but texts were not that expensive so I was able to connect with Kristel immediately when needed-the modern world is amazing) was not as joyous as we would have hoped.  She immediately called Holt to find out what we need and it is almost all a non-issue.  We do need an updated Dr's. letter confirming we have no communicable diseases, including tuberculosis and HIV.  The Dr's. office wanted to schedule us for physicals in January!! Hello people, we are adopting here!  After dealing with the wrath of an angry adopting momma, they got us in early next week and have already done the blood draws for the necessary tests.  So Wednesday next week we should have everything that is needed so they can get the court order and work on the next steps to get us submitted to the US Embassy.

After all that drama we were all exhausted.  Ate dinner at the guesthouse and crashed.  Tuesday was spent lounging around the guesthouse and doing some last minute shopping.  It was nice to chat with the other families, drink coffee and basically relax before the grueling flights home. 

Our flights were awesome, no problems with any of the flights, transfers, customs or baggage.  It really was amazing and a gift because we were so tired I might have broken down if there was a problem.  Erik kept misreading signs and trying to get off the tram at the wrong stop, it was fairly hilarious.  We were worn out and we are healthy men in the prime of our lives (yes Kristel, this is prime.  Sorry it doesn't get better!).  Just a reminder for us of how hard it will be for our son to make that trip while being exposed to a million new experiences, sounds and smells.  Be patient mom and dad!!

After we get our Dr's. letter we sit and wait.  They estimate 8-10 weeks to get an embassy appointment.  We have seen as short as 2 weeks and I don't want to think about the longest wait we have seen.  Barring any unexpected problems we hope to make our second trip late December or in January.  You will know when we know, that I can guarantee!!

Justin