Wednesday, November 6, 2013

A New Canadian Journey Starts


Well where did the week go?  Ibssa has been in Canada for almost a week.

The flight home was fairly uneventful – not what we expecting at all.  We got to the airport 3 hours early as suggested. 
Normally I would think was way too early, but given I had left Ethiopia already, it made sense.  The last time I left by myself, it took the full 3 hours.  This time we had three times more luggage, a child with an Ethiopian passport but it only took us just over an hour to get through.  We were able to walk around and sit down for a coffee before going through security to get to our gate.  Ibssa was very patient going through all the lines.  Once we got through to our gate, we had about another 45 minutes to wait.  Ibssa played a game on the tablet and made a friend while we waited.  He was amazed at the big plane outside the window.  There was about a half hour delay boarding, but even that went fairly smooth. 
 The plane ride was fantastic for Ibssa.  He was excited about the TV in the chairs; he could turn lights off and on, volume up and down and even call the flight attendant by turning another light on.  We were concerned about the pressure in his ears but there was no issue there.  The flight attendant always brought a glass of water before taking off or landing.  Ibssa only slept about 4 hours total during the 16 hour flight.  He was up most of day before as the plane took off at 10pm.  There was another slight delay once we landed.  We were all ready to get off when there was an announcement that the liftway that comes out and attaches to plane, had malfunctioned and they were repairing it.  This took another half an hour and they actually used the forward doors to unload the plane.  We went through customs but found out officially Ibssa doesn’t have his Canadian citizenship until we get it stamped in Canada.  We had to go to the immigration counter to get this stamp. We were worried that we would encounter more red tape but it was literally just a stamp and a “Welcome to Canada”.  He now has his Canadian citizenship but we have to wait for the official government paperwork to come in the mail and then we can start applying for Canadian passports etc.  Jake was the first to officially meet the little guy as he picked us up at the airport.  He was comfortable with Jake in no time – I loaded up the luggage while he sat in the truck with Jake and played on Jake’s phone.

His firsts started right away – his first time in a car seat, his first time in a vehicle moving quickly (traffic in Ethiopia never moved more than 30mph I think), his first Timmies stop – timbits are yummy.  We thought he would have fallen asleep in the truck but there was too much to see.

We arrived home and he was greeted by Rosie and Rocky right away.  He wasn’t sure at first about these overly excited animals.  It didn’t take long before they somewhat calmed down and Ibssa was able to sit with them and pet them.  Later in the afternoon, Ibssa was comfortable enough with them that he could lay his head on them while he watched TV.  We decided that there was no way, we were taking him out for Halloween as it was too exhausting.  As the night went on, he had no issues adjusting to the weird kids coming to the door.  He handed out the candy without being scared.

He was so comfortable, a man from the church dropped over and he kept saying “C’mon, C’mon” and motioning him to come upstairs to see his room.  Rob obliged and Ibssa told him a story that only Ibssa understood.  I’m kind of glad it was cold and rainy as all the trick and treaters were done by 8pm.  It didn’t come soon enough as I think Ibssa, Karen and I were all in bed by 8:30. 

Friday started rather early.  Three a.m. came early and Ibssa was wide awake.  Ibssa and I went downstairs to watch cartoons while mommy went back to sleep.  Thank God that after an hour and a half it was time to go back to bed.  We were going to take it easy today but we realized Karen’s license sticker had expired (Oct 6th) and since it was now Nov 1st, the boys in blue would easily pickup on this.  We got her new sticker, did a quick stop at work to get some paperwork printed off and proceeded to London to get Ibssa a health card so we could book an appointment with the doctor.  Again an uneventful afternoon as the process went quite easy and only took an hour to complete.

Karen’s mom called and it wasn’t long to see that Ibssa was going to get acquainted with anyone who called from that point forward.  He had a conversation with Gamma which I think Grandma appreciated it more than we will know.  Karen and her mom made a date for the weekend so Karen’s mom, dad and sister could meet Ibssa. 

Saturday, we ventured out for our first walk with the dogs.  Ibssa took Rosie and I took Rocky.  He thought it was fun until he decided he would run off sidewalk onto the road.  He laughed about it til Dad explained to him that it was not funny but bad as a car could hit him.  He became sad in a hurry and started to cry.  I comforted him and the rest of the walk was Ok.  I think he understood as he told mom when we got home.  We have been on subsequent walks and he will point to road and say “no road”.  A lesson, I think he learned quickly.

Karen’s family came to visit.  It was like he knew them all along.  Grandma was doing a puzzle with him, and then Grandpa started working on lego like blocks.  Karen and her sister got re-acquainted over a bottle of wine.  Jake went off to Ottawa for a visit, so it was just Mom, Dad and the dogs for the weekend. 

Ibssa was adjusting more and more.  It is amazing how comfortable he is after just two days.  We have kept his routine the same as it was in Ethiopia.  He gets up, has a little TV time, get breakfast, gets washed up, dressed and teeth brushed before he plays.  We get his lunch around 12:30 and then his nap around 1:30 for 1 ½ hours.  Supper is around 5:30 – 6:00 and then to bed around eight.  Although sometimes he doesn’t really want his nap or bedtime, he usually can tell us when it’s time as he is used to the routine.  When it is time to nap or bedtime, he usually goes without complaining and falls asleep within 10 minutes.

Sunday was church where Ibssa was quiet most of the time.  I did an update of our journey as I did most Sundays when I was there.  It was amazing to see so many smiles as I updated everyone holding our precious gift from God.  Many people shook his hand as we passed the peace.  Karen asked Ibssa if he wanted to go downstairs with the other kids and he did so the both of them went down.  Karen said he was pretty quiet at Sunday School.  When I went down, he was having a drink and cookie at coffee hour.  It wasn’t long til he seen our blog was printed all out and hanging downstairs.  He was over there with many people pointing out pictures and telling them stories about them.  There was also a “Welcome Ibssa” poster where many members had their names written on hearts and stuck to it.

Monday was total relaxing day.  We called the doctor but can’t get in till Thursday, so we worked on trying to get the house back in order.  For a small little boy, he seems to take up a lot of room.  There is always toys to pick up and laundry to do.  I must have forgotten how such small individuals can make a mess in a hurry.  Karen went through 2 bags of clothes we were given to see what fits.  There was a lot that fits him, so Karen washed them up and put them away.  A funny thing happened after lunch.  Ibssa was standing in the kitchen, turning round and round.  Karen asked him what he was doing.  He said, “I’m thinking”.  Karen and I both started to laugh as we realized he was imitating the computer.  When he uses the computer and the circle is going round while loading, we tell him the computer is thinking.

I installed the second car seat into the car while Ibssa napped.  There’s not much head room in the back seat of a Honda Civic once you get car seat in it.  Once car seat was in, I cut the grass as it had been three weeks and it needed it.  Once Ibssa got up, we went outside and played for a bit in the afternoon but it was quite windy and cold.  That is not Africa like weather so it didn’t last long.

 After supper, we did a quick trip to Wal-Mart.  We had to get mitts, a hat, a booster seat and a step stool – just a couple of things we forgot.  Since we were there, I thought I would introduce him to ice cream in Canada.  He was used to going to Kaldi’s where he would get a small scoop in a small cup and eat with a plastic spoon.  We got a soft cone at the McDonalds.  He loved it, although mom didn’t love the mess on his winter jacket that was washed earlier in the day.  Oh well, what’s another washing.

Tuesday’s weather was much better so we spent more time outside.  We kicked the ball around and watched Rosie attack it.  I think Ibssa liked the grass.  He would kick the ball then fall down and lay there laughing until Rosie came over to lick his face.  That seemed to make him get up quickly.

Nap time was a new first as Ibssa napped in his own bed in his room.  So far, he has been sleeping with us. 

He definitely is becoming accustomed to his new life.  Every day there seems to be a new experience for Ibssa to conquer.  He has met many people in these few days.  He starts out quiet but quickly starts talking.  When he is startled by something such as the dogs barking when someone rings the doorbell, he quickly comes to mom or dad for protection.  As hard as it was in Ethiopia for three months, God knew what he was doing.  Ibssa and Karen had the time to bond without any distractions.  This has made the transition almost too easy.  I know there will be harder times to come, but I know we will all get through it with God’s help.  Some days it was hard to keep the faith as our journey progressed, but we know now, we are reaping the rewards.            
 



Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Final Ethiopian Blog



Well today will be the day we have been waiting for.  The embassy said they would call us this morning.  We were sitting at breakfast and I told Karen, I would call them at ten as I didn’t really figure it would be on their priority list but it sure was on ours.  Just after I said that the phone rang at 8:30 and it was the embassy.  It was the right news this time.  Ibssa’s visa was sitting there waiting to get picked up.  As soon as I got off the phone, Karen called Martha to let her know it had to be picked up this morning.  Martha is usually hard to get hold of but this morning it was the first attempt.  Martha picked up  our visa and came to our guesthouse to drop it off.  We received the final paperwork from Martha and signed off their papers that makes everything final.  We will need to do annual reports and our adoption practioner comes to see us for 3 years but all that is a drop in the bucket. 

We will officially board the plane on Wednesday evening at 10:20pm in Ethiopia.  We will land in Toronto on Thursday morning at 8:00am.  We will return to our somewhat normal lives and Ibssa will begin his new life in Canada.  The first 2 days for us will be getting caught up on sleep and everyday life.  For Ibssa from the time he lands there will be a new experience at every turn.  We expect him to be scared at a lot of these changes as it will be totally different for him.  Although he is an outgoing little boy, we expect he will be shy and withdrawn until he starts feeling comfortable around his new settings and new people.  Karen and I don’t expect we will have an issue understanding him as his English has improved tremendously.  He uses English and Amharic words along with sign language that we have come accustom to even if it’s not official sign language. 

There will still be lots to do in the first couple weeks home.  We need to get his Canadian passport, OHIP cards, a medical for him, and setup some physio.

Some wine for Karen, a bottle of beer for Paul to celebrate.  We’ll start packing up tonight as tomorrow will be a busy day.  Checkout is at 11am so we’ll have to keep ourselves busy all day.  Not sure what that will be but it won’t matter as the day will fly by.  We’ll have our final supper out (Ibssa will probably have injera) and then go back to guesthouse and our final good-byes. 
 Ibssa will miss the friends he has made here at the guesthouse.  I can’t imagine better people at any lodging in Addis than the GT Guesthouse.  Lee, TiGi, Ashu, Sentayew, the guards, and several family members have all been more than obliging every time there was a bump in the road.  They treated Karen and I like family and Ibssa like their own son.  Many times we would be playing outside when Ashu would come and take over.  The next thing we would see is Ibssa having injera with the rest of the family.

The people we met in Addis always had a smile and a handshake for Ibssa.  Many times we got a thank you and God bless when someone found out that we adopted Ibssa.  There were some trying times here an Addis but the good far outweighed the bad.

This will probably be the final blog from here in Ethiopia.  We will blog again once we have settled in Canada and keep it updated weekly on Ibssa’s progress.  This blog will be great for Ibssa once he is ready and able to understand the journey we have all been on.

Thank you for all your prayers as we went through this process that has been 4 years long.  An extra special thank you for Dundas St United Church for your constant love, prayers, emails, support for Ibssa’s orphanage and everything else you have done for us.  You will be forever a part of our new family.

Kate and Jake you will be thrilled with your new brother and we thank you for being there even when you may have thought we were nuts.  It was so worth it.  You will see and understand as Ibssa continues to grow on you like he has on us.

God Bless and Chow

Paul & Karen         

Monday, October 28, 2013

It's here!

Praise God!  Our visa is here!  We will leave here tomorrow night at 10:20 and arrive in Toronto at 8:20am Thursday morning. Jake will be picking us up. There are no words to express how happy we are. Now we get to pack and prepare.

See you all soon.

Karen, Paul, and Ibssa

No news today

Hello everyone

We were supposed to hear if our visa was on the pouch today. Martha tried many times today to get an answer without any luck.  She gave us the embassy number and extension.  We got through after about 4 attempts but the lady said unfortunately the only man who is in charge of opening the pouch wasn't there today.  We left a message as he was suppose to return at 4:30.  We also updated Dave Mackenzie our local federal MP.  We called embassy back and talked to him but the best he could do was get our info and he will check and call us in the morning.

Good grief. I am sure this is satan continuing to strut his stuff but he won't win!

I will be home Thursday morning regardless. But I am confident we will be home together!

Indulging in some wine

Karen




Anticipation

As we mentioned in the last blog, we heard no word on Friday which made the weekend harder to take due to the unknown.

Saturday, was basically a dull day.  There was not much to be happy about but our little guys.  It starting to get a little dull day after day awaiting for good news.  It was tub day for Ibssa which he always enjoys.  He'll play for an hour or so before he thinks about getting cleaned up.  He makes us laugh and smile even at the down times.






 

The other day he thought he would put his strawberry syrup in his milk.  Mom kept telling him to be careful and don't squeeze too hard.  He didn't listen and hense the picture.  We all had a good chuckle over his misfortune.















A Skype call with Karen's mom and sister was the highlight of the day.  Ibssa was so excited we were calling Grandma.  He kept saying Grandma, Grandma as we called but was quiet as a mouse when Grandma was on Skype.  A trip to Kaldi's after his nap for an ice cream and a coffee was even normal.  Order one ice cream and got two - oh well, I had to eat the second.  That was pretty much the excitement for the day.


Sundays was more exciting.  We got a Skype call from Kate but it was cut short due to technical difficulties on Kate's end.  We took a walk to the grocery store to pick up a couple of items as any more this gets to be a way to break up the monotony. 


We had arranged with Shelley to have the boys come over here to Skype with her at 5 pm.  As with most plans the devil tries hard to intervene.

 The hydro went out around 3:30 and therefore no internet. 
We called Tilahun to delay them coming over so hopefully the power came back on.  Tilahun had to deliver some clothes Shelley sent to Ethiopia with me so he would do that first.  Well even the delay wasn't long enough as the hydro wasn't back on when  Little Dejene  (top left), Ahmed (top right), Tilahun (bottom right), and  Dejene (bottom left) arrived at 5:30. 

We decided that we would take our computers to a restaurant, have supper and Skype from there.  Well although they had WiFi, we had no luck with Skype even after a young lady let us use her internet stick.  We got hold of Shelley but kept having issues and after the sixth or seventh attempt, we decided we would try at guesthouse as we received a text saying hydro was back on.  Back to the guesthouse and after 4 attempts we were able to hook up with Shelley.  The boys talked with Shelley for about an hour and then Tilahun skyped a former school buddy that was now in the U.S. 

It was about 8:30 by the time all was done, the boys left and Ibssa was on the way to bed
.
We are praying tomorrow bring all good news and the devil has given up on this journey.  Continue to pray and email with us as we continue our journey.

God Bless and Chow

Paul

Friday, October 25, 2013

Swim Day

Well today was sunny so we made it to the Sheraton.  We started day by having breakfast and slowly getting ready.  We called Markos to pick us up at 11:00 - No problem.  Markos got here at 12:00!  We got to Sheraton at about 12:30 and there were lots of people there.  We all went in and played for an hour or so and then Karen got out while Ibssa and I continued to play.  I noticed quite a difference already since the first time we went.  Ibssa was much more confident in his abilities.  Dad didn't have to hold on him all the time.  It seemed like he wasn't scared of anything.  He had water wings, so he was even attempting to swim.  Get the pool ready Teresa!  After another half hour it was lunch - PIZZA.  It was about 2:30 when we were done lunch so it was quiet time.  Ibbsa nodded off quickly for about half an hour.  Another hour in the pool for Ibssa and I while Karen soaks up the rays.  We got cleaned up, had an ice cream and called Markos for our ride home.  It was about 5 when we got home.  A light supper, a movie and Ibssa was ready for bed.  It was an exhausting day for him.

All around a good day but we didn't hear from Martha.. Karen emailed her this morning so she could check the pouch.  We were expecting an email back today but got nothing.  Now the wait til monday.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Just laying low

Today seemed like a spa day for me. After breakfast we just layed around and played with Ibssa. Well....Paul did all of the playing. All I did was cook and do dishes. I am so grateful to Pam for sending toys that Ibssa has truley fallen in love with. I was able to read a magazine that I had brought from cover to cover. Paul put Ibssa in the tub and he must have been there for an hour and a half.

We are starting to have discussions about school. I still think he will be ready for at least half days in January but Paul is not so sure. I think he needs to be around other kids. Is English is getting better all of the time. He seems to always understand what we are telling him. Lee the guesthouse manager is always saying "I can't believe he just said that". He picks up phrases pretty easily and usually knows when to say them. Funny story, today I had to go to the bank. It was going to close in half an hour and Ibssa was just waking up from his nap. I decided to head out and then the boys would catch up to me later. When Paul told Ibssa that they had to "catch up" to mommy, he pointed to the store at the end of the street and said "ketchup". He thought I was at the store buying ketchup. Lol. When I saw them as I was coming from the bank we all had a good laugh about it.

Tomorrow if the weather is good we are going to the Sheridan for a swim. Paul brought my bathing suit so I can finally join in the fun. I haven't told Ibssa yet because we will see if it is sunny first. He loves the pool. We are also supposed to hook up with Tilahun and hand out some clothes to some street kids. Shelley sent them in the suitcase Paul brought.

Well it is almost bedtime for my sweet little guy. We are one day closer to coming home. Hopefully we will have confirmation from Martha that our visa is at the Canadian embassy here in Ethiopia.

Chow for now

Karen