We're home!!!!

Sorry I couldn't post while we were in Addis. It was hard enough to just check email there- I didn't try to update my blog. I'll try to write more later, but I'll give a quick update here now. We got into Addis on Saturday around 10:00 and picked up the boys at 4:00. They were the first ones out the door and both gave us huge hugs. Kalid was a momma's boy from the beginning and Abuzaid really attached to Shane. The first night was amazing- just played, gave them a bath and then put them to bed without a peep from either of them. We had them share a bed, which probably helped their comfort level. They slept all night and woke up in the morning before we did- just waiting patiently for us to wake up. We spent the week hanging out at the Yebsabi, playing soccer in the court yard, playing with toys in the room, going to the care center a couple of times and doing some things around Addis like going up to Entoto Mountain. The boys really did amazing all week. Kalid had some meltdowns which seemed like grief/fear/confusion to us, but that's just a guess.

The language wasn't too big of a deal- it was fun to learn Amharic from them and we just put some Amharic words into English phrases and that worked pretty well. We got to spend the week with the Rogals and Cambrons from our agency and their kids (there were 6 kids between the 3 families). I was so thankful to have people to go with! We met their father on Thursday- that was the most emotional day. He loved them very much and you could tell that. We got some questions answered and still have many more that we don't have answers to, but at least it was something. We got pictures of the boys with him and all 4 of us with him. It was an incredibly special day and one that made Kalid really shut down. When he gets overwhelmed, he shuts down and wants to be held and then fall asleep. He did the same thing after we went to the care center on Friday before we left. They had invited us all to lunch there with Abebe and his son Tomas (who lives in Denver and gave us some great tips on where to eat and shop Ethiopian style!). I think it was hard for the boys to see their friends and nannies for an extra time that week (we had already gone on Monday to take pics of all the kids and visit with Sister).
The trip home was LONG, but the boys did so incredibly well! Kalid slept most of the 24 hours and ABuzaid either slept or played in his seat. We couldn't believe it! There were lots of adoptive families on the flight home so that was fun! I had a feeling leaving Washington DC on the way home that I was nervous to leave there, just because we were leaving the place where there were people who could speak to them in Amharic! But, it's OK- they'll pick it up quickly and be able to communicate with us better soon I'm sure! It really hasn't been too difficult communication-wise.
So I guess that's the week in a nutshell! Once we got home, the boys have played together pretty well. Kalid does his own thing, but has loved playing cars with the boys. ABuzaid has gotten in there with Jonah and Landon a little bit. This is only the first full day home and they've actually slept through a lot of it. They're starting their 8th hour of a nap. I'm thinking the emotional/mental/physical fatigue has set in! It's a quiet 4th of July at our house and it's actually raining tonight so it might be really quiet! Tomorrow's a new day and we'll see how it goes! We really felt all the prayers- the week couldn't have gone better and we really feel that it's because we were just absolutely blanketed in prayer!!!!
Oh, my ears did awesome on all the flights and my back has done great carrying Kalid around all over (even running with him in my arms through the Dulles airport yesterday trying to catch our flight (which we did))!