The Sounds of Sleep

We have now been here for over 5 weeks. We have lived in 3 different places and moved 4 different times.  Each place has been unique in its own right.  Our first and current guest house is what I would say is rather posh! The second and forth place we stayed in is homey and summer camp like (although still in the heart of Addis). The third place we stayed was comfortable and relaxing (to a certain extent, there was a 4 and 6 year old living in the house).  But the one thing that ties all of these places together is the night time.  Every night as we lay down to sleep with the lights off, we could be anywhere. The only thing that was certain each night is that the bed we lay in is not our own.  And some nights that is very hard. 

At the first place we were lulled to sleep by cows mooing and awaken by the loud speakers at the mosque.  The bed was very hard, but overall the newness of being here and jetlag helped us to sleep fairly well. 

At the second and fourth place we sung ourselves to sleep by singing along to the American music that was blasted every night from the bar adjacent.  And we were awoken by the hustle and bustle of the people outside on one of the busiest streets in Addis.  The bed was much more comfortable but the air always thick with smells and smog. 

At the third place we stayed we would mark the time in the night with the sound of the 11:00pm Ethiopian Air departure to D.C.  And we were awaken by a knock on the door with a four year old saying “Mike, Mandy are you awake?”  The bed was nice but being able to stay with a family was even better.  It felt a little bit more like home. 

At the fifth place we stayed things changed!  We no longer lay in bed at night being lulled by the uncertainty of our time here.  Nor were we kept awake by the aching to have our son with us.  But instead last night we experienced the most amazing sound we have heard since we arrived.  A sound that we felt we would never hear!  Yes, last night around midnight we were awaken by the sound of our son!  He cooed to himself then rolled over and smiled at us.  He is finally with us to stay!  We brought him home yesterday afternoon! 

We don’t know when we will be home!  We don’t know when we will go to court!  We don’t when we will receive B's passport! We don’t know when we will get a full night’s sleep again!  But we do know that none of that matters anymore!  We are complete now, our family is together forever!

Happy Mother's Day

As I stood up this morning in church with all the other mothers I felt tears roar to the surface.  So many emotions going through my head. And just as I thought my pain was caused by the absence of my sonY, I was handed a yellow rose. It was then that I understood with tears in my eyes and my mom favorite flower in my hand, it was my mom that I missed so much!  I stared at that yellow flower all service and thought of what an amazing mom I am blessed to have. And how I wish I could give her a yellow rose on this day. You see I miss my son, no I ache for my son everyday! But that emotion has become normal, recognizable, expected. The emotion I felt today was an aching for my mommy, for all the amazing women in my life that I have been missing while we have been here. It has been a month now since we arrived and on this day I felt sadness and joy together. As I think of how blessed excited and thankful I am for the many many great examples I have in my life of what a great mother looks like. And on this day Mike and I are especially reminded of our mothers. Of two women who would do anything and have already done so much for us. We love you both so much and we can't wait for Baby B to meet you both. And to our Grandmas and sisters and friends thank you also for showing us what motherhood is about. We love each of you, and miss you all so much. And in honor of my mother and mother in law I send each of you a (virtual) yellow rose. And I pray that you feel as honored and blessed as I did this morning.

Reminders

One of the greatest blessings of this journey has been the opportunity to spend time with each other. Any of you who know what our life has been like the last 3 years can understand that quality time together usually consisted of photoshoots and basketball games. Or school dances and wedding shoots. But here we have had the chance to just be.  Something both of us struggle with.  We are trying to enjoy and soak in this time before our lives are turned upside down.  And for the most part we are. But we are also still us, serving every morning and afternoon at two different missions, and now possibly three.  But in each one I see and appreciate even more why i married Mike and why I can't wait to raise a family with him.  I see him playing soccer with the boys in the morning and i know he will do the same with our kids some day.  I see him helping the kids in the afternoon with their homework and i know he will do the same with our kids. I see him " flying" our friends little boy around the church after service and i know he will do the same with our kids. I see him dancing around our room to celebrate our court decree and i know he will do the same for every celebration we have with our kids.  So again i am reminded that god has a plan for this time and many blessing to pour on us. But he also has some reminders for us. And one of the greatest reminders i have gotten on this trip is that there is no greater feeling than knowing your husband's love for his child is second only to his love for you.  And that reminder makes every day in Africa that much sweeter.  To quote one of my favorite movies, " my cup runith over"