Court Trip - Day 4 - June 23rd

Day 4 was hard for us. It was the last day that we were able to visit Keane at the orphanage. We arrived there about 10am, and (thanks to horrible traffic) we were able to stay for about 2 1/2 hours. It was amazing, because we spent almost the entire time alone with him. We passed him back and forth, took pictures and video, and shared some time together as a FAMILY. When Abel arrived to pick us up, we were really disappointed and didn't want to leave. We crawled in to the very back seat of the bus, cried, and talked about how it was the hardest thing we ever had to do. It's really incredible how attached you can get to a baby in 4 short days!

We all went to lunch at the Addis Ababa Golf Club and then went to the Bethany Christian Services office to have our court orientation. We met with our court representative (Sisay), filled out a bunch of paperwork, met with Keane's social worker (Netsanet), and met with the nurse. All good news from them - everyone says that he is just a charming boy with a great personality. He laughs A LOT!

Some of the families who had children at the older childrens' orphanage were not able to spend much time with their children, so they granted additional time that afternoon. Mike asked if we could go with them, so that we could see the other orphanage, and I am so glad that he did! It was so fun! They let all of the kids out and it was pure chaos - we were playing with bubbles, bouncy balls, and frisbees. :) The children were so sweet and loving - it was a great experience for us and we were able to better understand how the other couples were feeling about their time with their children.

That evening, we went to dinner at a Traditional Ethiopian Restaurant. The food was fantastic, the wine was fantastic, the dancing was fantastic, and the company was fantastic. Afterward, we were ready to go to bed so that we could wake up bright and early for our court date on Friday! :)