We met them!!!!

Our new sons are awesome!!!  We spent over 2 hours there this afternoon!

We pulled thru the gates and as soon as we got out of the van, there were 2 boys instantly standing by the van.  One of them was our oldest - and his eyes were alive & sparkling and he was smiling ear to ear.  I'm guessing he knew why we were there.  I smiled and nodded - then greeted him in Amharic.  The social worker was very clear with us that we couldn't single out the boys from the group at all but had to include everyone, so we moved on to a play room.  On they way there our middle son popped up out of nowhere - looking mysterious with a quizzical expression.  Later our youngest appeared, but wouldn't look at us or say a word to anyone - he was INCREDIBLY shy.

The workers gathered all of the older boys (our 3 were the younger ones) and they each went thru introducing themselves in English and telling us what grade they are in.  Then they sang us a song in English - 'Our God is so great'.  Then things got a little awkward.  Everyone was just there sitting & staring at each other.  So I asked them to teach me some words in Amharic - they laughed at my stumbling around words.  I asked how to say 'football (soccer)' and our older 2 boys eyes shot up at me.  The minute I said the amharic word & pointed to the door, the room instantly emptied!

I'm pretty sure Candra impressed the boys very quickly - she was playing alongside of all of us constantly (mostly boys).  She was also able to draw our youngest out fairly quickly and soon found out how much he likes goofing around.  I played pass with our middle son here & he is quite a character with his facial expressions and fun.  I played a lot of soccer with the oldest & his friends - he looks to have a couple really close friends.  The oldest seemed to understand the drill of first time visit better than we did.  He would hang out for a bit, play with his friends while we played with other kids, and then subtly keep moving closer & closer to play with us again.  By the end Candra & I had broken into a sweat and the staff had gotten us some water.  Apparently they asked Candra regularly if she was tired from playing with the kids….

The day at the orphanage ended with the boys showing us where they sleep (7-8 bunks) - they were pretty proud to show us.  I got to pat their shoulders, smile & nod as they were showing us around.  Then we went to the youngest’s room which he shares with 7-8 other boys.  He was nowhere to be found, but as we came out he came running up, so we asked him to show us his bed (again, he was very proud).  Then with actions I teased him about going to bed now - he looked to the orphanage director & back at me - I smiled & shook my head and made some sounds to show I was being silly and he broke into a wide grin and shook his head.

The boys disappeared to eat, but we asked if we could go find them to say goodbye - them & no one else.  And the social worker said yes.  So we found them, shook their hands & said goodbye in Amharic.  The oldest was back to beaming with his understanding smile, the middle one made a goofy face that we had made at each other earlier while playing, and the youngest jumped up to shake my hand (no more shy)!

There's a lot more I could post, but the bottom line was that it was an awesome first meeting & so amazing that we met them!!!  Can't wait to see them on Wednesday - and only focus on them & be able to offer a hug or hold a hand or pick them up or speak more direct words to them!

We leave for court at 1:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday).  Our court appt is at 2pm (5am your time).

We’ll post pictures after Wednesday's visit when we are finally allowed to take pictures with them.  That’s the day where we'll also show the boys pictures of their new brothers & sisters and some video of them too!

One of the smaller joys I’ve had since getting back from the orphanage is regularly scaring Candra to keep her awake - you can pray for patience for her!  I had the jump of adjusting to different time zones a week ago, and she’s trying to do her best after a 3:30am arrival & us not getting settled until 4:30, only to be kept awake by the call for morning prayers....
Riley