short and sweet

day two we went to the US Embassy (which is the whole reason we are here)  and waited for about ten minutes - and they say congratulations,, sign here......we do and whim-bam-boom it's final....she is ours even by US standards now!!!  Hooray!

The even better news - no car sickness for lil miss Maggie Hilina on the way to and fro!

Our girl is QUITE the talker....honest to goodness - she doesn't stop.  Ashu our driver laughed and talked to her the whole time.  He told us that she said she loved her family, she loves her mommy and poppy and that she is excited to have a brother and sister.  Also she is excited about coming to America - not so much as excited about taking a plane - she wants to take a big bus to America and can't seem to understand why that isn't possible...since the bus takes you where you need to go.

Here is the funniest part - she realizes that we currently have a communication barrier....she asked Ashu to tell us that she doesn't like rice and that she likes to drink Coke.....good try baby girl, but no.  Ashu laughed so hard when he told us she said that.....its so funny.

Today was a tad bit on the stressful/sad/heartbreaking/stomach hurting day for me.....we went to Birhan Orphanage here and we saw so many children.....this is a real orphanage and one that had kids that were waiting to be adopted....we walked into the room where all the kids where - they were watching a movie.....let me just say - it.broke.my.heart.

the older kids looked at us and as soon as someone looked at one of the toddlers there face went right back to watching tv......they knew they weren't even an option.......I feel confident in saying this because, I tried to take their picture - (the kids love to see themselves and I thought it might get them going)  they had no interest in me.....it was like a light was gone from their eyes.....broke me into pieces.

We are also traveling with a lady and her son (25) - he has a sweet soul (in a very masculine way - don't get mad at me MA)  and he had to walk away.....he just couldn't be in there....it was so tough....

so when we arrived back at the transition house I went out to paint the nannies and nurses fingernails just cause I thought that it could be something nice I do for them......they were so thankful and so excited to have them done.  Then all the kids wanted theirs too and it became a paint everyone's nails party....it was fun!

Then finally today we took a two hour (one way) trip to the Portuguese Bridge somewhere outside of Addis.....far out.....but we saw amazing things....very cool.  so now I'm exhausted and we are going to go to sleep.  Tomorrow is a big day!  We start the two day journey to bring our baby girl home!!!

Here are just a few pics from the last two days

Two more things....cool things we saw today
1.  baboons in the wild
2.  a dead real live cheetah looking thing......(they called it something else) but let me tell you that kitty cat was MEAN looking....even dead I wouldn't get near it.....

funny....I said I was gonna be short and you believed me....when will you all learn :)

miss you all  like crazy!  I can't wait to love on my babies and see you all soon!