Wednesday, November 24, 2010

We passed!!!!


We are thrilled to introduce our son Micah Dawit Wengerd!!!!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Oceans Apart

Even though we are oceans apart the love we feel for our son is unchanging. It is hard to believe that 6 days ago we were holding our baby boy. We miss him like crazy and are praying we will be reunited again soon. Our children love looking at the pics and videos we took while in Ethiopia and can't wait to meet him. Our 2nd court date is in two days and we are praying that we pass without anymore complications.
Things have been a bit crazy since we got back from Ethiopia and I am still struggling with a nasty bug I picked up while I was there. I think I am dealing with the same bug most of the babies had while we were there.
Please keep praying for us this week as we wait to hear what the outcome of court is!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Monday in Ethiopia

Well the rain is gone and the sun was back today. The weather here has been 70's during the day and 50's at night. We headed to Layla again after breakfast to see if Micah had improved at all. We were very thankful that my sister is feeling better today and could come with us. She was flat in bed all day yesterday with an upset stomach. There have been alot of parents and volunteers that have come down with a stomach bug on this trip. I have been fighting a sore throat and head cold but think that it probably from kissing and loving on Micah. :)

When we got to Layla we seen that Micah was sleeping in his crib and seemed to be resting peacefully. I hated to wake him right away since he has been sick and I knew the rest would help him recover sooner. We spent some time talking to some of the volunteers that are here from the states and then took more pictures of the other children that are waiting for their families to come take them home. When Micah woke up we could tell that he was in good spirits. He still has a pretty loud rattle in his chest that we are praying clears up. I had the chance to question the doctor that works at Layla when he came into Micah's room to check on him. He assured me that he thought Micah was doing better and that they would keep him on his meds for another week. It blessed my heart when he asked Doran if he was Micah's daddy. When Doran said he was, the doctor told him that he shouldn't worry because he would make sure and take good care of him. :)

We were with Micah until lunchtime then headed out for the afternoon which has been our typical schedule. We went down the street and bought some fresh bread at a local stand that one of the volunteers recommened to us. It was delicious! We also purchased some bananas and oranges from one of the many fruit stands that line the side of the road. We then headed out in a van driven by Dawit, who is a great driver to hire while in Addis, to go up the Entoto Mountains. The views were spectacular! We were able to visit the oldest church in Addis, a museum and tour the original palace. It was a great trip to go on to take in some of the history of Ethiopia. On our way down the mountain we were able to stop and buy some scarves that are made by women who used to haul wood on their backs up and down the mountain to make a living. Now, instead of that they make scarves to sell.

We ended our day by heading back to spend a few hours with Micah. He was so precious, when I walked into the room he got all excited to see me. It definately blessed this mommy's heart! Tomorrow is going to be a hard day. Knowing that we have to say good-bye to Micah for what could be 2 months is heartbreaking. I am praying we pass court on the 24th and that we are given a quick embassy date.
Please keep us in our prayers as we spend our last day in Ethiopia then head to the airport to start our long trip home.

DAY 3 & 4





Well we woke up Saturday to another beautiful sunny day. We were anxious to get back to Layla to see how Micah was doing so we left right after breakfast. When we got there they had all the babies outside under in the shade getting dressed for the day. As soon as I picked Micah up I could tell that his fever was down which was such a relief. He seemed to be feeling better and we managed to get some smiles before he fell asleep in my arms. After awhile we noticed that his breathing was very labored and you could tell that he had to work hard to get each breath which really concerned us. Since it was Saturday the Doctor wasn't there but there was a nurse in the clinic so we took him down for her to check. She watched him breath then called the Doctor to see what he recommended. They decided to put him on an antihistamine to see if it cleared up his chest. When he woke up I tried to give him his bottle but he would just cry and didn't seem to want it at all. I finally got him to drink it by sitting him up in my arms, I think it must have hurt his ears when I laid him back. It has been very hard for us to leave him when we know he is sick but the staff has asked all the parents leave in the afternoon when the kids are napping.

When we seen Micah was settling down we went across the street to a restaurant that served authentic Ethiopian food. It was delicious! After lunch a group of us loaded in a van and went to Churchill Street to do some shopping. We managed to pick up some of the things that I had on our list. After shopping we went and spent a few more hours with Micah, his chest was still rattling but he wasn't feverish.

We finished the day going as a large group to a restaurant that had traditional Ethiopian dancing. It was amazing and fascinating to watch the dancers up on stage. The only humiliating part of the night was when they signaled out ME to come up and try the dance!!! For anyone who knows me you know that me getting up on stage in front of a bunch of people, trying to dance an authentic Ethiopian dance is NOT me! I guess I gave everyone there a good laugh. :)

Today was a rainy day which is unusual for this time of year. We spent time at Layla again with Micah who was running a low grade temperature. We are praying he gets better soon! This afternoon we went out to buy someEthiopian coffee to bring home, stopped at Churchill Street again for a little bit, then headed back to the hotel.

It is hard to believe that we will be leaving to come home in two more days. The time here seems to be going by very fast. We really miss our kids back home but are trying not to think about the fact that we can't bring Micah home with us.

Please keep praying for us!


Friday, November 12, 2010

court



Well this morning we got up and got ready for our court appearance. We were told that we needed to be ready by 1:30 to leave for the courthouse. We had decided that we wanted to go spend some time with Micah before we left so we headed to Layla House.
When we got into Micah's room we were told he was sick and running a temperature. During the night one of the other baby boys in his room had to be taken to the hospital because he was also sick. Doran went to check with the Doctor that works in the clinic to see what could be done for Micah. The Doctor told us that he had actually seen Micah before we came and had started him on an antibiotic that morning for an ear infection.
We weren't at Layla long when we found out that we had to leave because our court time had changed. It really caught everyone off guard, some of the families hadn't gotten dressed for court and were planning on going back to the hotel to change. Thankfully we had decided to just get ready first thing in the morning. Since Micah was sick my sister Rita decided to stay and keep an eye on him for us.
The ride to the courthouse was about 20 minutes long. We were all pretty nervous, wondering what the outcome would be. We entered a room that was full of other adoptive families that were there also waiting for their turn to go in. Before we went in our AAI attorney Temesgen came over to us to let us know that none of the families in our group had the MOWA letter of acceptance, so no one would pass today. :( It was pretty disappointing to hear that news but also nice to know before going in. The judge was a very softspoken lady and the interview went by very quickly. At the end she told us that our adoption would be finalized on Nov. 24th after all paperwork is submitted. We do not have to reappear in court on that day a representative from our agency will represent us. We are praying that everything will be worked out by then so that he will legally become our son!
Please pray that Micah will get better soon, it is so hard to see him sick. Although even though he is sick and feeling poorly he still gives us the biggest smiles and even giggled for his dad. :)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Heading to Ethiopia!

Well the bags are packed and we are planning on leaving for the airport tomorrow at noon! It is hard to believe that our time has finally come and we will be holding our baby soon. We are scheduled to arrive in Ethiopia Wed. at 9:15 p.m. Since we are getting in so late we will have to head to the hotel and wait to see Micah until Thursday morning. I am already wondering if I will be able to sleep knowing that he is only a 10 min walk away from our hotel! Friday is our court date and we would really appreciate your prayers that all goes well and the judge rules in our favor. We are going to try our hardest to post on here while we are in Ethiopia but do not know if it will work or not.
Please pray for health, a safe trip, that our luggage would arrive when we do and most of all that Micah would feel at peace when he is in our arms.