Kindred Spirits

* Duplicate entry as seen on adoptethiopia.zoomshare.com. Too important to not publish twice.

There is something about going through this adoption experience which really binds people together. I feel I have made some really great friends over the past 6 months, whom I have never set eyes on. But there's a bond there, a sense of kindred spirits. There is another family traveling at the same time as us to adopt from the same orphanage. Shimellis sent me an email with an email address for Julia in Colorado. Julia and I just spoke on the phone. She and her husband are going to pick up Michael, a 7 month old boy, the same day we are picking up Felimon* and Merkeb.

For those of you grammar freaks (like me), I received Merkeb and Felimon's birth certificates via email today and this is how it is spelled. FELIMON. Their middle names are spelled Willam instead of William. *In an Ethiopian adoption, the children's middle names are the first name of the adoptive father... is that confusing enough?

So anyway Julia and I hooked up via email and then on the phone. They are one of the families I told you about whose baby died in November. They were getting twins. My heart broke for them then, and it still breaks for them. She seems extraordinarily nice and has a really great outlook. They are very anxious to get Michael home and make sure he's well. We hit it off right away and it was awesome to share this excitement with someone who is REALLY feeling it. At one point, we were screaming "We're leaving in a week and a half!" It quite truthfully sounded like a junior high slumber party... YEAH! Anyway, so we start talking about our flights and when we're leaving and getting there etc. They live in Colorado. So, get this, we are on the same flight leaving Frankfurt and arriving in Addis at the same time! YEAH! Our embassy appointments will be at the same time and we will be traveling to meet the kids on the same day. So I already spilled the beans about the birth certificates.

I am on my way now to go pay for and pick up our airline tickets from Great Southern Travel. Still waiting to hear from New Flower. If that's not available, which I hope it is, Kristy in KC gave me the name of 2 other guesthouses where they have stayed, the TDS guesthouse and the Yekka guesthouse. We are looking at the guesthouse option because by the end of the first day, there will be 5 of us, and a regular hotel room will be a little crowded. So I will continue to keep you updated!