12/4/2006 11:39 AM

Today was another exciting day in a series of extraordinary moments. We woke up at 7:00am, and consumed some delicious porridge and eggs (seriously, the porridge is the most wonderful thing I’ve had in a long time. Sorry Em, Mom, and Mom!)

Em and I then split up, with Em spending the morning with Molla at Care Center C and I went to be with Isayas at school. When I got there with the rest of the parents, we walked around the corner of the building to witness the mass potty break about to happen. All the children who’s parent’s were there, though, kinda skipped the potty and ran over to us with smiles on! We had a great day, learning how to politely respond to “How are you?” and “How old are you?” We left shortly after snacktime.

Emilee got to spend some good time with Molla, holding him and cuddling him. He had to get some shots today, so they whisked him away shortly before Em had to head back to the guest house.

We had a short meeting with the Ethiopian agency director and then had lunch and a short break. All the parents then headed over to Care Center C to visit with the doctors and discuss the boy’s health. Molla hasn’t gained much weight in the past 3 months, so we need to keep on eye on that. Also, he has been sick several times recently, once so bad when we were in Italy that they had to take him to the hospital for IV fluids. Em and I think that they don’t give him his antibiotics long enough to fully help him heal.

Isayas is always very thirsty, most likely because they don’t give the kids much to drink throughout the day, but they also said to test him for diabetes, just to be sure.

Well, Isayas and Molla are staying with us tonight. Molla has done exceptionally well, talking and cooing, being very content, and us now sleeping. Isayas is still the same, doing really well for a while, and then breaking down when he is told not to do something or when a toy is taken away from him by another kid. We had several rough spots, with biting and hitting. Also, putting him down to bed was quite the chore. He quietly wept (more like a whine though) for 25 minutes, before I tried to wipe his nose, at which time he decided to really cry. I quickly picked him up, held him tightly in my arms, patted his back and “shhh-shhh” for 20 minutes until he fell asleep.

Em and I are tired, but very much happy with our boys! We also heard some good news today! The judge pushed our case through today! We only have to wait an extra 5 days for the government to process the boys birth certificates and visas! Yeah!

Good night! And sweet dreams!