United as a family!!

 Our new friends we traveled with. We couldn't wait to get this shot of our families.

Our first family photo with Kewogo.  Matt mustered enough energy to smile for this picture.

They were immediately drawn to one another. The boys were too, but alas, Brooke probably did end up "hogging"her a little.

Sweet sisters!

Kewogo might very well indeed be a Buckeye someday because as soon as she stepped on the plane to Columbus the pilot was playing the OSU fight song.  She seemed to like it.  I told her that we were going to Ohio and she said, "Andrew, Luke, Brooke."As soon as we stepped off the airplane my stomach started not feeling well.  I truly think it had been a case of mind over matter that I didn't get sick one second sooner.  Who would have taken care of Kewogo if both of us had been sick?  Matt was still feeling horrible as we deboarded and I was very worried about him.  We had been so excited for this moment for so long but now part of my focus was getting Matt taken care of immediately. We walked what felt like the longest walk to baggage claim and as we got closer we saw everyone.  We saw the kids first as they were eagerly stretching their necks to see us.  Before we left for our trip the kids had gotten into an argument over who would get to say hi to Kewogo first.  The boys thought it should be them because Brooke always "hogs the cousins" and they were worried that she would also "hog Kewogo."  That is fair.  I was worried about that as well.  I had told them let's just let things happen naturally and see how she reacts.  When we were finally standing in front of the kids and my parents she simply stood there and smiled.  We introduced each of them one at a time and then introduced my parents.  She continued to just stand there and smile so I told the kids to give them a hug.  One by one they did and that was all she wrote!  From that moment on it was as if she had always been a part of our family.  She held their hands and began laughing and playing with them right away.  It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.  I never expected that.  I thought that there would be a slow warm up time over a matter of days. As we were collecting our bags they were now running around like they had not just hours ago been a world apart never having met. The only thing I can think of is that we had talked ad nausea about the kids and had shown her their pictures over and over again. I guess she felt like she already knew them.  After we snapped a few quick pictures my mom took Matt to the hospital.  We knew that he was dehydrated and needed some fluids and to be checked out. 

 

My dad and I headed home with the kids and Kewogo laughed with her new brothers and sister all the way home in between looking out the window at all of the new sights.  When we pulled up to our house she just acted like it was the most natural thing in the world to be here.  We got out of the van and when we walked in through the front door she took off her shoes and the kids led her upstairs to her room.  It was as though she had been through that door dozens of times.  She was not nervous, anxious, hesitant, shy, scared, nothing!  Just completely comfortable and at home.  My dad and I watched in amazement.  When she walked into her room she began touching the stuffed animals and then went straight for the dollhouse.  It was Brooke's old dollhouse with tiny pieces and a lot of them and she immediately proceeded to remove every piece from it and place it in little rooms around the perimeter of her room.  The kids played with her for about an hour and then something funny happened.  She heard our dog bark.  Now i had been very worried about how she would react with our very large overly friendly Golden Retriever.  We had put her up before we let Kewogo in the house but now Macy wanted out. When she heard Macy bark her eyes got as big as saucers and I thought, "Oh no.  Here we go.  She is going to be terrified of Macy."  Instead she grabbed my hand and stood up and motioned for us to go see her.  I had Andrew hold Macy back and then Kewogo squealed with delight at the sight of her.  She bent down and instructed Macy to kiss all sides of her face.  Macy has no problem giving big wet kisses so both Kewogo and Macy loved this game.  This went on for awhile and then we let Andrew let loose of Macy and Kewogo and Macy got better acquainted through some play.  Macy didn't even jump which if you knew our dog you would say that is a miracle.  Kewogo did get a little scared a couple of times and quickly jumped in my arms as Macy became too playful. But only a couple of minutes later they were best friends.  Kewogo then began to explore some more of our house.  She walked through the family room and it was the first time I saw her somewhat taken aback.  I don't know what it was about that room but she stopped and stared for a second or two.  Then she made her way into the sun room and began looking out all of the windows into our backyard.  She quickly spotted our trampoline and got very excited and started jumping!  Now how in the world does she know that??!!

The only thing I could think is that she had seen picture of one from other families or in a book.  She and the kids jumped for about the next hour and a half.  She loved it!  It was the most wonderful sound in the world to hear their laughter. Her laughter and voice mixed in with theirs was like pure joy being pumped through my veins. It was also the most beautiful day outside 75 and sunny without a cloud in the sky. I had to stop and thank Jesus for this day and the fact that it had finally come. I couldn't believe that we were all together....except Matt who was at the hospital missing all of these firsts. (Hadn't we missed enough firsts?) He got 3 bags of fluids and they ran a bunch of tests but the doctors diagnosed it as basically, "You drank bad water."  He came home later that evening and we both started on Cipro which we had gotten for our first trip but never needed.  I wasn't near as bad off as Matt had been but I was not able to eat anything. 

The day continued beautifully and after playing outside for a long time we came in and ate dinner.  We still had some injera from our trip so we gave her that and some banana.  She loves bananas! My mom had made a beautiful meal of brisket and I cooked up some potatoes and green beans. Kewogo tried some of it but wasn't a fan. Unfortunately, Matt and I couldn't eat any of it.  Big bummer. We knew that Kewogo was exhausted from the day so I (Matt still wasn't home) put her to bed by 7:30 and she slept 12 hours!  We had decided in advance that she would sleep in our room the first few weeks so we put an air mattress in our room and had her sleep at he foot of the bed.  Many people have asked us how we communicate with her since she doesn't speak English and she doesn't speak fluent Amharic.  From day one we have never had trouble communicating with her.  We do a lot of gesturing and we are able to read each others faces and emotions.  In fact, sometimes I forget that we don't speak the same language.  It just goes to show you that love, joy, sadness, fear, happiness, hunger, tiredness, anticipation, the need for affection, and even the potty dance is all universal.

After I put her to bed I was able to soak in being back home and stand humbled and amazed at so many kind gestures people had made while we were gone.  Two families form our Grace Group at church had brought meals over for my family while we were away. They had done that during our last trip as well.  Our Copley friends had sent the kids a box of cookies and a congratulations balloon.  My Bible Study Fellowship class had put together a huge bag of goodies for Kewogo. I couldn't wait to share it with her and someday tell her all about how these women had been praying for her for so long. I was left speechless at all of this kindness.  I also have to add that I was overwhelmed with gratitude towards my parents for coming back a second time to take the most wonderful care of our children.  They do the most amazing job keeping up with our kids' schedules, feeding them, loving them, and making them feel secure.  All of this allowed Matt and I not to ever worry about what was going on at home.  They are truly spectacular. Thank you Mom and Dad!

Matt returned home looking more alive than when we last saw him and we relished our time back with our family.  As we lay our heads down we listened to Kewogo breathing and felt true peace in our souls.  It was the most peaceful I had felt in months.  Finally, I slept.