Ethiopia - Meeting our sons!

Wow. What an awesome, amazing, overwhelming 3 days we have had here in Ethiopia so far. We arrived late Saturday night here, and we are staying at a guest house quite near Layla House, where our boys are.

Sunday morning we we went to Layla, walked in, taking in the compound, seeing a few kids hanging out - and then there was Melaku and his big smile! He came up and gave us each big hugs - so awesome to hold my son for the first time! Then, here came Zerihun! And again, big hugs all around, and another round of hugs, then a family hug :) - we were all teary-eyed.

We were able to spend most of that day with the boys, which was great - they were out of school, with no schedule, so we could just hang out and get to know them. The boys gave us a tour of Layla, showing us their rooms - Zerihun and Melaku are next door to each other in bunk bed rooms of about 10 beds each, and Z put a label on his bed that says, "Zerihun Philips" :) - the dining hall/TV room, the classrooms, the playground. We were pretty much surrounded by tons of kids all day, so there wasn't a lot of time alone with the boys, but it was still great (and all of the kids there are so sweet and funny and playful).

After the tour, we started a soccer game (well, I took pictures), which was so fun to watch. Z and Melaku really are good players - especially their footwork, crazy. Melaku is so small, but fast and agile. I guess we'll be back in the soccer world again. :)

The rest of the day we talked, played guitar and sang, played games, talked some more, played with all the cute toddlers (who climb all over you, competing for attention, calling us Mommy and Daddy - so sweet, but also sad), etc. I asked Z to show me his school books, so I went to his room with him for a bit and we had some good time talking alone. He speaks English really well, and is just so sharp, with a kind of quiet, laid-back sense of humor. (And don't worry, Trevor - he's not taller than you - he's probably around 5'3", something like that - but probably not for long - there are some tall men here!).

It is so great to have Lindsay and Alex here, to see them interacting with the kids, and getting to know Zerihun and Melaku. Melaku is already Alex's little buddy, gravitating to him, joking around with him. He is little - so cute, and with a great husky laugh.

I know everyone wants updates, but it has been hard for me to write, because everything is just so overwhelming and emotional. Even though I'm just writing about what happened, overlaid on all of this is the fact that these are our two new sons that we are getting to know, opening our hearts and lives to. God's grace has been so evident, and we all feel so bonded to them already. It is so cool to hear them call Darren and me Mom and Dad. We were out walking with a group of the older kids from Layla yesterday, and everyone had to have a "buddy" to keep together. Alex was Zerihun's buddy, and they were walking with arms around each other's shoulders, and I walked up and put my arm around Z too. Alex was joking with me, saying, "He's MY buddy, not yours," and Zerihun said, "But she's my mom!" :)