On Saturday May 29th I boarded a plane and made my way to DC. When I arrived my dear friend Heather had already arrived at our hotel. Heather flew all the way from Phoenix to make this incredible journey to get our Samuel. On Sunday at noon we took off for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I seriously slept most of the 13 hours... We arrived and were greeted by 3 of the nicest friends. Yonas, David and Job. They all work for America World Adoption and during this process they have become special friends to us.
After a quick lunch we made our ways to the transition house where Samuel has been living for the last 5+ months. Here he is in his room.
Heather gave Sam love for the first time.
Over the past few months Sam has really struggled with all kinds of skin conditions. Scabies, fungal infections and lice to name a few... Today it looked WORSE THAN EVER! The people in charge informed me that he was too sick to be taken from the home that day. Although I was heartbroken I was actually relieved to have him under the doctors care for one more night.
This is the last sleep Sam ever had without us.
Early the next morning (Tuesday) me were back at the home meeting with the staff doctor. She gave us a lesson on how to care for Sam's skin. After a bath (with urine) and lot scraping and rubbing...
Scraping his skin....
Applying medicine.
I love his little chunky tummy here...
We were DONE and OUT OF THERE!! This is the final picture of Samuel at the Transition Home.
We joined a couple of other adoptive families and took a tour of Entoto Mountian .
The views were amazing.
Looking over the whole city. (rainy season started)
Countryside.
The most amazing part was seeing the wood carrying women. They make an incredible long journey down the mountain with bundle of wood twice their size. We were told the earn between 50 cents and a dollar a day. Check HERE.
The second we got back to our room we let Samuel stretch out on the bed.
Love.
Love.
Tickles.
More love.
His first biter biscuit.
More love.
First bath!!
He was not a fan.
Taking care of his skin.
Love.
I laid him down and he was sleeping about 2 seconds later.
MORNING!!!
His skin was amazingly better. (steroids are amazing)
These are the wonderful cooks who also became dear friends.
Hat.
A common looking corner.
Raw meat at room temperature.
Produce.
We toured a coffee factory.
These women were amazing. They sorted coffee beans all day long.
Sammy and 2 of his friends who are also being adopted.
Back to our room for some crawling practice.
Having Heather with me for the week was the best blessing. She was a lifesaver!
Here's a picture of several of the other families who were adopting from Ethiopia.
Heather and Sam are buddies for life.
We visited some ruins.
After hiking through a forest we came to this amazing view.
Garbage and a donkey.
Last sunset over Ethiopia.
On the plane.
The newest American citizen.
From DC to Chicago.
The airport! Our family!
HOME!!
Sweet signs in the yard.
The new big brother.
Nanny and Papa
Father and son.
Our sweethearts, together at last!! Thank you, Lord!!
My name is Katie and I've been married to my crazy and wonderful husband Scott(a student ministry pastor) for 13 years. We have 4 kids. Amelia 9, Scott Jr.(aka Junie) who's 6, McCoy (Mac) 4 and Sam, 2. Scotty is our little miracle boy who had more than 1/2 his small intesines removed at 30 hours old. You'd never know it now. He's a big time miracle. Sam is our precious gift from Ethiopia. We love our life!
