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- Blurry Pictures
- Party in the ET
- One of the Best Days of My Life
The list could go on...
As cliche as it sounds, I honestly can't believe it's been one year since Steve and I were reunited with our little man, strapped him to me in Baby Ergo, and walked out of the gates of the amazing Hannah's Hope. It was out of this world.
After a 24 hour flight with some of the most awesome people I've had the pleasure of knowing (our gaggle of other adoptive families whom we quickly loved and adored!), we arrived at our "home away from home" in Addis Ababa: The Riviera, where we were warmly re-greeted by the familiar faces that made us feel so comfortable a few weeks earlier. I was so happy.
There was time to shower and possibly close our eyes for an hour before Wass picked us up, giddy and exhausted to bring our babies home.
I remember singing Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time" in the van as we approached the gates; I was out of my mind! I didn't care about cameras, videos, nothing...I just wanted my Jesse Getiso. I just wanted him in my arms. So, as soon as the gate opened, I just went in with an utter abandonment that this would be a moment I would want to record. I have a blurry picture of Steve holding Jesse. It's hysterical. That's how I remember this day: blurry, giddy, running on absolute adrenaline. My boy was coming home.
With all of the joy, came the sadness too. When we arrived at the hotel, we brought Jesse up to our room to just have time to bond. He began to cry that could only be described as utter loss. Jesse was unmistakably grieving. He was just torn from all that he knew. But he held me, wailed, allowed me to love him, and I was not letting go. After about two hours, he was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. The mama in me just knew he needed us more than anything. Steve and I took turns holding this emotionally exhausted boy as he slept.
When he woke up, he was happy again. Amazing. That week in ET was sleep deprived, joyous, full of laughter, and tons of community as we hung close with the other adoptive families. I'm so grateful to have shared this journey with them. My fondest memory was how Jesse would literally take my face while he was in the Baby Ergo and hold it right in front of his to peer into my eyes over and over and over with the biggest smile on his face. He was memorizing me, taking me in, holding me tight. Since then, we have always been close like peas and carrots. He's a mama's boy, and I don't have one apology for it!
We love our boy, we love his big smiles and laughter. We love the ups and downs that we have had as a family. We are in awe of his heritage. We think of his birth mama every day. We are humbled to be on this journey.
Happy Gotcha Day, Jesse. We love you more than you can imagine. We dream big for you: to grow more dependent on God, to love with all of your heart, take risks, and know all along how much you are loved.
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy
As cliche as it sounds, I honestly can't believe it's been one year since Steve and I were reunited with our little man, strapped him to me in Baby Ergo, and walked out of the gates of the amazing Hannah's Hope. It was out of this world.
After a 24 hour flight with some of the most awesome people I've had the pleasure of knowing (our gaggle of other adoptive families whom we quickly loved and adored!), we arrived at our "home away from home" in Addis Ababa: The Riviera, where we were warmly re-greeted by the familiar faces that made us feel so comfortable a few weeks earlier. I was so happy.
There was time to shower and possibly close our eyes for an hour before Wass picked us up, giddy and exhausted to bring our babies home.
I remember singing Whitney Houston's "One Moment in Time" in the van as we approached the gates; I was out of my mind! I didn't care about cameras, videos, nothing...I just wanted my Jesse Getiso. I just wanted him in my arms. So, as soon as the gate opened, I just went in with an utter abandonment that this would be a moment I would want to record. I have a blurry picture of Steve holding Jesse. It's hysterical. That's how I remember this day: blurry, giddy, running on absolute adrenaline. My boy was coming home.
With all of the joy, came the sadness too. When we arrived at the hotel, we brought Jesse up to our room to just have time to bond. He began to cry that could only be described as utter loss. Jesse was unmistakably grieving. He was just torn from all that he knew. But he held me, wailed, allowed me to love him, and I was not letting go. After about two hours, he was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. The mama in me just knew he needed us more than anything. Steve and I took turns holding this emotionally exhausted boy as he slept.
When he woke up, he was happy again. Amazing. That week in ET was sleep deprived, joyous, full of laughter, and tons of community as we hung close with the other adoptive families. I'm so grateful to have shared this journey with them. My fondest memory was how Jesse would literally take my face while he was in the Baby Ergo and hold it right in front of his to peer into my eyes over and over and over with the biggest smile on his face. He was memorizing me, taking me in, holding me tight. Since then, we have always been close like peas and carrots. He's a mama's boy, and I don't have one apology for it!
We love our boy, we love his big smiles and laughter. We love the ups and downs that we have had as a family. We are in awe of his heritage. We think of his birth mama every day. We are humbled to be on this journey.
Happy Gotcha Day, Jesse. We love you more than you can imagine. We dream big for you: to grow more dependent on God, to love with all of your heart, take risks, and know all along how much you are loved.
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Sissy
Love this Kathy!!! And Laughed out loud at the One Moment in Time, who has that video??? I'm hunting it down! And Jesse did grab your face over and over and over again that week, it was so precious! Did't he also get a nice handful of spaghetti one night or am I making that up??? Can't believe it's been a year sweet friend! Blessed that we got to journey together!
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