The last day & travel home

Our last day in Ethiopia was (again) a beautiful sunny day.  It was tough to play along knowing full well that we were not going to be back to visit the Care Center in the morning... =(    Wondi came out in a deep blue zip up jacket with two pockets which perfectly held two rubber balls each.  He was quite talkative today.  Today's activity primarily centered around the yellowish slide - had to try to teach him how to slide down that thing.  The first few runs were pretty conservative.  He soon started to pat his belly which meant I needed to hold his tummy as he travelled down.  Each trip down the slide was a bit more daring than the last.  At the bottom, he would let out an, "Ahhhhh" like after a refreshing drink of ...something refreshing.  He was yapping all the way back to the bottom of the ladder.  I had NO idea what he was telling me, but he sure was talkative.  By reading his hand gestures, we got along pretty well I'd say.  He'd climb half way up and point at the bottom rung which meant, you climb up with me white ferangie.  He wanted me to go down with him which proved to be a great photo-op.  We said a prayer together as a family - asking for these next few weeks to pass quickly, for God's Will be done here, lifting up Wondi's care givers and the other children in the Care Center & their adoptive families. 

We held each other and rocked him back and forth in the shade from the warm sun.  He rested his head on my shoulder.  It was so peaceful... he drifted off to sleep.  That was our good bye.  When he woke, we were gone.  He had his picture book zipped up tightly inside his jacket.  Tucked away close to his heart.  We told him that we were his momma and pappa, but how can you explain that we are going away for 40 or 50 blasted days ...   aaaaauuuuuurrrrrrggggggghhhhh.  This stinks.    

So now we are home back in Oklahoma, but we would leave tomorrow for another 36 hour one way trip around the world to go get him.  There are five hurdles to be cleared before traveling back for the embassy visit and bring him home.  This all could take anywhere from five to ten weeks best we can tell.  Bout the best we could hope for is to travel sometime in late January.  WAY too far away if you ask me, but that is the way it works...my rules would be different.