Monday Melodies

Monday morning we were awakened by the soft buzzing of Chris' phone alarm. To be honest, I had already been up an hour tossing and turning with the sun peeping through the curtains. So, when his alarm went off, I was thrilled!!! TIME TO GET UP AND SEE OUR BABY!! We enjoyed a homemade sweet roll breakfast accompanied by yummy ET coffee and got our things together. The sweet thing about this trip, is that we are sharing this same experience with two other couples. Both couples are parents for the first time with their sweet boys. All of our kiddies are in the same orphanage, Tikeret. They have been together for the past month or so. So, we will experience bringing our babes into our care and bringing them home. Emotions were high this morning as we piled into the bus that carried us to the orphanage. We prepared ourselves for a pretty long ride, only to find ourselves pulling into the entrance not even 7 minutes later. SO CLOSE!! Sweet Syra Tadu has been this close!! We got out and gathered into a welcome room that housed just us. There was a sitting area and then a large carpet area for playtime. Chris paced the room. I sat with the other couples. We tried to make small talk..but seriously...what in the world is there to talk about it. My mind was racing with how my life was getting ready to change withing MINUTES!! ...and with that said, within about 4 minutes, they called for "Tadelech family". HEART pounds. Chris and I walked out the doorway into another room that was lined wall to wall with little toddler beds. THere were no children on any of the beds except one. A sweet, precious little girl was sitting so perfectly with her eyes glued to us. When my eyes met hers, my heart melted. That's our girl!!! That's our baby!! I am not sure what I was expecting but it was totally awesome the way they set this up. She was our girl. The only one in the room, waiting for her momma and daddy. She knew we were there for her. She smiled. I gave her a moment to connect with me. We smiled together. Then, I picked her up. What beautiful weight on my arms. Her precious curly hair. She noticed my necklace. Yes, Lord! I had bought this cute chew necklace at a baby store made specifically for baby's to chew on. And that is exactly what she did. Go ahead baby girl. It is just for you. After a few moments of bonding, we were ushered back into the welcome room to visit while the other two families had their sweet moments to meet their babes. We all found ourselves back in the waiting room loving, holding, kissing, laughing, exploring, comforting, playing, smiling, and adoring our babes. What an awesome thing to experience. I am so so so glad we were able to join other families in this once in a lifetime experience. so very thankful. We fed our babes a snack of milky cereal and then hopped back on the bus to take them back to the guest house. We have spent the rest of the day getting to know Syra Tadu more. She took a sweet nap on my chest before lunch. I enjoyed every little breathe and sweaty moment of it. We had lunch, Syra took a bottle and enjoyed some bread bites and mushed carrots. More play time with her pals from the orphanage and her pal from the Ajuuja orphanage, Mihiret. It was sweet to see them reunited. There seemed to be a comfortableness there. So cute together. Syra explored the grass outside and then we took another nap..all of us this time. She went down in her crib. We woke up an hour and half later for some more bottle time and play time before returning to the orphanage. SO VERY HARD TO TAKE HER BACK. But this time...it is her last night in an orphanage. She will never have to do that again.never. Lord, I am humbled that You have chosen this path for our family. That you have chosen sweet Syra Tadelech to bless our home. I look forward to our new life and the positive changes that are coming. I am grateful Lord. Can't wait til tomorrow. A big celebration day!! hip hip hooray!!