Home Stretch...

I think we're gonna make it! This morning (Thursday morning), Christine went out to do a little shopping, and Biruk and I hung out outside, kicking balls around and getting into whatever we could find. We're getting to be buds.

Watching some of the other littler kids, we're beginning to realize that
the meltdowns are "normal" for this stage in the process. There's another little boy a year older, and he reacts just about the same way to "no". Our guess is that while the kids have had a lot of structure to their days, they haven't had much in the way of boundaries. The nanny-to-kid ratio at the orphanage seems like 1 to 20 or so, so the kids haven't heard the N word much, nor have they had an adult intervening when they fight. With Biruk, the meltdowns are already less frequent (at least today) and much lower in intensity.

Yesterday was a final doctor checkup and sweet farewell party at the
orphanage, where the kids sang songs to us, and gave us gifts, and Abdissa (our in-country representative) gave a powerful message about how adoption is bringing life and hope to these kids and this is the "pure religion" that the Bible talks about in the book of James.

The doctor pronounced Biruk just fine overall. He has a common cold
that's been getting worse, and the stuffy nose might make the flight pretty painful. But other than that, and a little bit of scalp fungus, he's in great shape.

Afterward was a fabulous banquet at what must have been one of the nicest restaurants in Addis, with a band and dancers, and the best hot sauce I've had in a long time. It's amazing, I've seen 5-year old kids here eating food that would be pretty spicy even for me.

Today was such a relief! All the other days, we've been shuttled from place to place, and then sat waiting endlessly as each family went through some part of the process. And it always seemed to happen during nap time, so the kids have been on the ragged edge.

In an hour, we have a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony, where they literally roast the beans and grind them to make the coffee. I'm sure that will be a highlight for me :) Then we pack up and head for the airport. I'm not thinking it will be the funnest flight ever, but feeling confident that Biruk trusts us enough by now that the trip won't be much more of a nightmare than it would have been with Joey or Celie at that age.

More soon!