Day 3

Today was spent learning some cultural and other aspects of Ethiopian life, as well as time with the boys!  The next morning we will be heading to a village called Durame, about 5 hours outside of Addis. There we will see where the boys first lived when they came into care, as well as where they grew up and meet their birth Mom.

We started by visiting the Ethiopian museum, which is famous for the skeleton of Lucy. It was actually on loan to some other museum so we did not get to see it. The afternoon was spent at the transition center, and just hanging out with the boys. It is such an amazing feeling to know that they recognize us and love us and want to see us. Knowing that we will not see them again until Monday afternoon is hard, but going to Durame and meeting the birth Mother is something that we must do, and something that will pay off in the long run.

Some people went to a Cultural dinner that explained a little more about the traditions, but we were so tired, we just went to bed.

Day 2

Our day began really early. We could not sleep, so around 6:30 we went outside and explored the area around our hotel. It was in a residential area, so we got a feel of what real life is more like. We got back to the hotel, and just counted down the hours till we could see our boys for the first time.

Our hotel is right next to the transition center, where the kids were living. So we could lean out of our 3rd story window, and look right onto the balcony of their house. So of course we did that, hoping that we could catch a glimpse of the boys. We did not really expect to, but we could hope right! Well, a group of toddler boys came out, and much to our surprise we saw this boy holding a book that we recognized. It was actually the family book we sent the boys in June. So realized it was Tegan Mesfin and got so excited. He had seen us hanging out the window, recognized us, and ran and gotten his book. We started crying, and could not wait to see them.

Finally the time came. They took us to the rooms where the kids were, opened the door and told us your youngest boy, Preston Amama is in here. I saw him instantly, and he ran over and gave us a huge hug. As we are hugging and crying, his big brother Tegan Mesfin comes in as well. He jumps into my arms, and for the very first time we are a family.

We spent some time with them just playing and hugging, and getting to know each other. Tegan actually has a good command of English. He understands a lot, and can count to 11, say his A.B,C's and can copy me when I say " I love you." They are amazing boys....

We went to dinner at this authentic Chinese restaurant, and we ate great Chinese food. We asked the chef in Chinese if they could cook us some of our favorite dishes that were not on the menu, and they did. We later found out that the reason Ethiopia has such a Chinese feel, is that China is building their roads and over passes and sidewalks. China has a lot of people who live and work there. It was fun to use our Chinese in Africa.

Day 1

Today was the day we had finally dreamed about. After all this planning and frustration, and excitement we were on our way to Ethiopia! We left Portland very early, so we checked into a hotel at the airport the night before, and we actually got some sleep.

Our flight to Min. and then onto Amsterdam was very uneventful and I actually got quite a bit of rest, something that never happens for me on a plane. We thought that each step of the way, we would get more excited, but I guess the face that we were almost there was not hitting us yet. Finally after about 20 hours in the air, we are almost there. We just had to stop in Sudan for one hour. We did not have to get off the plane, but some people did get off. One thing I realized, is that from the air, Sudan looks like you imagine it does. We had to circle for a while, as the one runway in that airport was closed due to some important person there. It was also filled with UN planes, which was kinda cool.

Finally we landed in Addis Ababa, and stepped out into the Africa air. Before we could go meet our group, we had to get our visa and go through customs. We live and work in a very crowded country, and are used to pushing our way through crowds, but this was un-like anything we had done before. The lines to do these things were just a solid mass of humanity. It was so much fun.

Eventually we work our way through everything, and ,meet up with the other 9 families from Holt who are there to pick up their kids as well.

The drive to the hotel was at night, so my fist impression of Africa was hindered. But the one thing that stood out was it felt and looked like China. We found out later there is a reason for that...

We got to our hotel, unpacked and went to sleep knowing in the moring we would meet our boys!

Our Final Day

On Our Way....

It is so hard to believe that the time to travel to pick up our boys is FINALLY here. We are all checked into our hotel, and have a 4:00 am wake-up call. I doubt will will sleep much, so its not a big deal.

We leave in the morning about 6:30 am and fly to Minneapolis then onto Amsterdam, and finally arrive in Addis about 22 hours after we leave Oregon.

Our schedule for our time in Africa will be as follows:

Friday: Meet our boys and spend the day with them

Saturday: Time with the boys, as well as sightseeing around the city and visit to some important places.

Sunday: Travel to Durame and meet the birth Mom

Monday: Travel back to Addis and then see the boys

Tuesday: We have our Embassy interview, and officially take custody of the boys

Wednesday: Stay in the hotel with the boys, and shopping

Thursday: Pick up their US visa's and begin the long flights back

We will not be able to update this blog or our facebook, simply because outside the major hotels, electricity is not a constant, and the internet is dependent upon electricity! We will be going to some internet cafe's, but the speed there is dial-up, so we can not do much!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We will be posting pictures to photobucket.com/ransomfamily

Feel free to look there once we get back! It so hard to imagine the next time we post, we will have the boys!

5 more days

We are getting close now, only 5 more days. I really hope they don't go to slow, I don't think I can take much more waiting. I think it will be okay though, this week has gone by really fast, so I am confident the last few days will as well.

We are all done packing, and I am so proud of myself and Renee. We have everything we need in 2 forty-five pound suitcases.  We pride ourselves on traveling light, and even with a lot of stuff for the boys we have done it again.

A friend of ours called us the other day, she and her husband has picked up their daughter in China a few months ago, and she asked is we were ready and if everything was done, but then she said, "Wait, look who I am asking, of course you are done." So I guess we have a bit of a reputation, but we have waited for this time for so long, and we are so ready. We are a little scared about actually having the kids, and being parents; but excited to begin this journey.

I will post a picture of us and our luggage later today. Its early and Renee has not even woken up yet. I will also update after we have the conference call with the people we are traveling with.

New Clothes

We saw these today, and just had to have them So cute!

My Mom made these for the boys, they will love them. We are bringing these with us, so they can enjoy them immediately.