Ethiopia - Day 2 - Meeting our Boys

For me, this was definitely the most memorable day of our trip. It's not everyday that you get to meet your children!!! We arrived at the Gladney care center around 9:30 am, and we went right upstairs to the baby room. Immediately, I saw our baby being fed a bottle by his care giver. We stepped into the room, and she put him in my arms. It was a beautiful moment. Just like that, I was a mother.

Here are some other photos of our day:

After we had spent a few minutes with our baby Zachary Biruk, someone brought over our big boy Jeremy Robel from his room. He was crying and upset before he even came in the room. I think he wasn't too happy to be taken out of his room with his caregivers and little friends. And the poor little guy didn't know who we were either. He just cried and cried until he fell asleep in my arms exhausted. Once he fell asleep, I started to cry because I was so relieved that he was calmed down, and also because of the joy I was feeling that I was holding my older son in my arms!

Me and my boys:

After a while, we took Jeremy back to his room. We spent a little bit more time with Zachary, and then we put him in his crib and said goodbye. Then we went back over to Jeremy's room to check on him. He was happy as could be. They were playing dress-up with the kids. This is Jeremy with his "special mother" (his principal caregiver). Her name is Mami, and she loves him sooooo much!