A New Beginning

Whew....we touched down at Dulles Airport around 7:55 AM on Wednesday, June 10. The long plane ride was over and all of us were pretty tired. While the plane was still approaching the gate, we called the boys to let them know we landed before they took off to school.

We must have been walking pretty slow, because we ended up at the end of the line to get through customs. The line was not moving very fast so we knew we were in for a wait before we could get out of the airport. Gabriella wanted to be carried, but the line was so long and we were pretty tired from all the events of the previous weeks. There was just no way we could carry her for the whole time (probably 45 - 60 minutes), so we set her down. Gabriella didn't like that and let everyone know about it in her own special way. The line monitors quickly picked up on it and escorted us to nearly the beginning of the line. It didn't take much time before we were outside the airport waiting for our ride home.

As we were driving to the house, Gabriella was quiet and soaking it all in. That is, except for when she pointed out buses, motorcycles, and trucks. Meeting her brothers would have to wait until they got home from school, but we were excited about showing Gabriella her home, her room, her extended family, and her dogs. At first she was not very happy to see the dogs (screams of terror greeted the dogs), but over time she has slowly begun to warm up to them. She now lets Tiny and Izzy lick her fingers and sit in her lap. She will touch/almost pet Magic if he is lying down and enjoys throwing the ball for him, but still doesn't like to be close when he is standing (they are close to the same height).

Corey came home first. He was so excited and when the met, they were both wearing the biggest smiles. We had been showing Gabriella pictures of Corey and Casey, so she recognized
him right away. (As a side note: I think Laura and I had the biggest surprise, however, Corey grew 3 inches while we were away. We couldn't believe it.)



Corey hugged her and picked her up. Then they took each others hand and walked out to the swing set and played. They looked so happy.




A short time after that we walked down to the bus stop to get Casey, and there was a similar reaction. Gabriella recognized Casey, and gave him a big hug.









The 3 of them walked back to the house and just left the parents behind like we weren't even there.










At dinner we all toasted (sparkling cider for the young ones) our new lives together. The kids were amazing. All 3 were excited about being together, and they all looked so comfortable together.

Casey was scheduled to have a baseball game in the evening, so Gabriella was treated to her first evening out. The game was cancelled just prior to the start due to the weather, however, Corey and Gabriella still had a great time playing with a rubber ball and running around.

Gabriella had her doctor's appointment on Friday. She put on about 2 lbs over the past week or so. She weighs 37 lbs. and is 41 1/2 inches tall (Right about average for a 4 year 8 month old little girl based on US standards.

The Stars Are Lining Up

Today was a very successful day. We got up very early (around 4:30) so we could be at the US Embassy for what we thought was a 7:00 AM appointment. What we soon found out was that they meant for us to be there at 7:00 so that we could get through security and in line when a representative for Immagrant Visas would appear at the window at 8:00 AM. Oh well, we are glad we did get there by 6:30 because we were the first in line. We handed in all our paper work and waited a few minutes longer for our "Interview". The interview consisted of another representative looking at all the documents and having us swear that all the information was true and correct. He asked when our flight was and we explained our situation and that we really wanted to leave as soon as possible because we had two wonderful sons at home and we had been in Nairobi for a week and a half. Of course, as soon as possible meant the next flight out on Tuesday evening. He said he couldn't guarentee it, but if one of us came back at 3:00 PM, it might be done. If not, it should be done on Tuesday. We loved that answer and with smiles on our faces, we packed up our stuff and were walking out the door at around 9:00 AM.



In the taxi back to the hotel, we decided to take a detour and head to the Ethiopian Airlines Office in downtown Nairobi to see what the Tuesday evening flight looked like. We were taking a chance because in an e-mail from our ticket agent, we found out that the Tuesday flight was full, but that some cancellations could happen. We found out that the Tuesday flight had 3 seats open, so we grabbed them. Laura went to the US Embassy this afternoon, and was back by 4:00 p.m. with Gabriella's visa in hand. So, as of now we are planning on checking out of the hotel Tuesday morning, heading to the airport in the afternoon, flying for a very long time and arriving at Dulles Wednesday morning. Now we just need to know what to do with ourselves for the next 22 hours and 28 minutes (and even less by the time you read this), but who is counting.


We had a great reason for making this trip, but it really has been an exhausting adventure. We have met alot of very nice people from around the world and swapped stories with them all. We wish we could have done more site-seeing, but with not knowing what would happen next, we just couldn't plan much. We are hoping to return to Africa within the next couple of years with the whole family and then see some Africa we did not get see this time.

Name Recognition...

We took Gabriella back to the hospital this morning for a followup to yesterday's visit. This time we were able to get the test we needed and it turned out that she has just a small parasite in her stomach that we can treat with a little medicine. That was a big relief to us.

After that, we went to church and then to our favorite mall (the Sarit Center) for lunch and a quick trip to the games arcade. On the way back we stopped at the local souvenir market to pick up a few things, and then back to the hotel to do some swimming. A funny thing happened while we were at the pool. By coincidence, another couple we met at the orphanage in Rwanda, is also staying at the Holiday Inn and they came down to the pool. They mentioned that they were also at the Sarit Center and they also went by the souvenir market on their way back to the hotel. They said some of the vendors stopped them to strike up a conversation and try to sell them some of their stuff. They also mentioned that "Brian, Laura, and Gabriella, were also adopting, and they bought some things from them earlier in the day." We had stopped at the market a few times this week, and they did say they remembered us, but we never thought our names would be used as a marketing pitch....I guess we have been in Kenya way too long, either that or we have made their preferred customer list....

Finally some Touring...

Well, today we actually did get to see some of the wildlife Africa has. We hired a taxi driver to take us to 2 animal parks. The first was the Giraffe Center where they have 1 male, 6 female, and 2 baby female giraffes; all of them being from the endangered Rothschild sub-species. They breed this type and then release back into the wild when appropriate. The neat aspect about this park is that we got to feed the giraffes from our hands. They are incredibly gentle and are very careful as they take the feed pellets from your hand with their long, blue tongues. Some may think this is gross, but Laura and I actually "kissed" a giraffe as well. We put a pellet between our lips and the giraffe licks it right out. As it turns out, it is not really all that gross, because we learned that giraffe saliva is a natural antiseptic and sun screen. Unfortunately, we did not have our camera, but there was a couple there who took a lot of pictures. I gave them our e-mail address and he will be sending them to us soon, we hope.

Gabriella was very scared at first and she did not really want to get very close. After watching a few of us do some feeding, she decided to give it a try. After a couple of attempts, she did get a few pellets into the mouth. That, however, was as far as she was going to go. Kissing a giraffe was not going to happen today.

Next, our driver took us to a baby elephant orphanage. There are about 16 baby elephants under 2 years of age who had lost their mothers from any of a variety of reasons. This facility is only open to the public from 11 a.m. to noon each day as a way to limit the amount of human contact. Once they reach 2 years of age they are moved to another facility until they are 10 years old. After that they are returned to the wild.

The caretakers brought out about 8 at a time to an observation point where they feed them formula and let them play in a mud hole while other caretakers talked about the elephants and the facility itself. We were not able to go up to them, but if they came close to us we were allowed to reach out and touch them. They were so cute.

They also have 3 baby rhinoceros's, but since rhino's can be very aggressive, they only brought out the youngest which is 5 weeks old. Another cutie, and about the size of Magic, our Golden Retriever mix. He seemed very playful and actually ran into the crowd twice, but just to have a little fun. No one was hurt, and there were a lot of smiling faces.

That was a good morning for us, so we decided to just come back to the hotel. The hotel was hosting a craft festival so we walked around to see if there was anything of interest. Gabriella found a bracelet and a necklace, but that was about all we could find.

Later in the afternoon, we decided to take Gabriella to a hospital. Nothing serious, however over the time we have had her, her stomach has been giving her some problems. We assume it is because of the new diet she has, but we just wanted to have it checked out anyway. We were not able to get the tests we were hoping for, but the doctor said she looks good. We will be monitoring her now, because a stomach problem is the last thing we need as we prepare for our 18 hour return flight.

We went back to one of the malls near the hotel to check out another pizza place...Chicago's. Not the Uno's we are used to back in the US, but this pizza had a thicker crust than the one we had last. We ordered a large, because the last medium we had was pretty small. This was actually a large, and we had some leftover. However, just our luck, we walked off without the pizza box. Oh well, no cold pizza for breakfast....

One Long, but Successful Day

We left the hotel this morning at 7:15 a.m. to go for Gabriella's medical appointment and got back at 6:00 p.m.. We won't go into all the nitty gritty details, but Gabriella is healthy, no TB, HIV, Hepatitis, or anything like that. She got 6 (count 'em 6) immunizations, 2 in each arm and 1 in each leg; she is one brave little girl. You could tell it hurt her, but she never cried. The nurses were amazed and said that she was the hero of the day.

Most of the time today was spent waiting around to go see the next nurse or doctor, but some time was spent paying for the services. The process for paying for the services caught us by surprise. You see, the doctor first figures out what needs to be done and writes out the list of services, then the nurse creates a payment coupon. We then had to walk half a mile or so, usually up hill, to the specified bank where we present the teller with the payment coupon and the money. Once the payment is credited and the payment coupon is stamped, you take it and the receipt back to the medical office and have the services done. Once you get back to the office, the world revolves around the receipt. I think that we had to show it no less than 10 times today. It is a good thing that we didn't lose it. This is done for all services, because we had to do the same thing this past Tuesday for Gabriella's blood work.

While the procedures at the medical office were not very efficient, the people were very nice and agreed to give us the medical report today instead of Monday at 4 p.m. like everyone else. We just had to be back at 4 p.m. So, during the 2 hour break we ran to the translator and picked up the translation (yes, when we had to pay for it we took a coupon up 2 flights of stairs, paid the bill, and then later presented the receipt). We also managed to squeeze in a late lunch (we knew to bring munchies and water for Gabriella). We got back to the medical office early and then waited until after 5 p.m. to get the medical results. We needed these now because we must present them to the U.S. embassy at 7 a.m. on Monday morning. It was a long wait, but we really can't complain being they were doing us a favor.

Gabriella was a real trooper. She got cranky a couple of times, but that is a long time to wait, even with coloring books and some other toys. Casey and Corey, while I wish we were all together, you are so lucky you were not with us today. Gabriella actually colored with another child and played with her dolls with another. She shared crayons and took turns coloring really well. I think that bodes pretty well with sharing with Corey and Casey at home.

All in all, the day was successful. Let's hope Monday goes as well or better.

Down Day

Well, today we only had to wait until Friday for the medical appointment and to pick up the translated documents. So, we went souvenir shopping. It was exhausting, but no comparison to the adoption process. We actually negotiated people down from 2,800 shillings to 400 shillings. Yes, we did our homework before shopping and it paid off. Now we just have to make sure that we have enough room in our suitcases.

We went swimming again today, and Gabriella jumped into the water while holding Brian's hands, can blow bubbles and kick her feet. She will be swimming in no time. While Gabriella still uses both hands to do some things, it is now clear that she is left-handed. Brian says that she will make a fortune as a women pitcher, but we are going to have to buy her a new glove because she won't be able to use Casey's and Corey's old glove. We bought Gabriella a doll, which she does like, but doesn't play with that much. If she gets a choice of what to watch on TV (there aren't many cartoons) she always picks sports (Rugby, soccer, tennis, golf, motocross, it doesn't seem to matter). She is also enamored with babies, motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks and always points them out to us. She does also like her new clothes and would change her clothes often if we would let her.

Here's hoping for a successful tomorrow.

Unexpected Events

When in Rwanda we were warned that getting a entrance Visa from the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, was going to be hard and that most people try to go through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia instead. Now we know why. The websites for the US embassies in Rwanda and Nairobi are overly simplistic at best. They indicate that all you have to do is go the US embassy in Nairobi, get a medical exam at a specific center (the website gives the phone number and email address for the medical center and also states that you can go to the embassy to get the forms), make an appointment for the US embassy when you are expected to get results from the medical exam. It also states that the Visa process should take about 5 days for adoption and in another area a website mentions that the Visa process for immigrant visa (more generic) should take a week or two. We contacted the US embassy and they explained that the process is streamlined now and seemed to restate what was on the website. They also said that the process goes a lot faster if you already have a certified HIV test.

Well, we tried to call the medical center on Friday, Saturday and Monday to make sure we could get an appointment on Tuesday, but no one answered the phone. We went to the US embassy, and everyone kept asking if we had an appointment, we said no, but apparently you are not supposed to go to the embassy without an appointment; the website did not state this. We got seen, but were pretty much just handed the medical forms and told to call a number to make an appointment after we have the medical results.

We went to the medical facility and were told that the first appointment was on Friday, June 5th. We explained that we tried call for 3 days to get an appointment and they said that they don't really answer the phone and that sending an email works a little better. Well, he made a few phone call and we got preliminary blood work done. It seems as though the US embassy doesn't like HIV tests, even certified test, unless they are done in Nairobi, so we had to get it done again. We also found out that a TB test was needed, and that takes 3 days too. Consequently, we have to go back on Friday, June 5 to get the rest of Gabriella's physical. They said that you don't usually get the report until the following day, but they said that we could get it the same day. Also, when we tried to give them the form from the embassy, they said that they didn't use that form, they have their own form and handed it back. They also asked for our Case Number, because apparently some people are also given case numbers by the embassy, but we were not. For now, the medical facility used Gabriella's passport number (let's see if this comes back to bite us later). We then made an appointment to go the US embassy on Monday. We asked if we could get the Visa the same day and they said that it would take 1 -2 to get the visa, if everything was in good shape.

Additionally, we found out that our attorney was wrong and that not only did the civil pronouncement, but also Gabriella's birth certificate and the Act of Adoption had to be translated into English. We spent a day scrambling to find someone who could provide a certified translation from Kinyarwanda (the language spoken most often in Rwanda) to English only to find out there are none in Kenya. Luckily the documents were in both Kinyarwanda and French and we found a place that could provide a certified translation from French to English. By paying extra, we can get the translations on Friday (before our appointment on Monday).

Yes, we are exhausted, but we should have Gabriella's visa on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Unfortunately, our airline does not have any flights out on Wednesday, so we hope to leave for home either next Tuesday or Thursday (arriving Wednesday or Friday morning).

Gabriella is doing well, but it is hard living in a hotel for so long. Her fits seem to be getting smaller and shorter in duration. In general, she is a very happy little girl, but she gets a little cranky, especially when she is hungry or tired. But who doesn't? She just needs a little help in learning how to express her feeling without breaking our ear drums. Gabriella has talked to Casey and Corey a couple of times and has asked to talk to them a lot more, but the timing is hard with the 7 hour time difference. We wish we were home already, but we are doing everything we can to be home as soon as possible.