We're Home

Us meeting our son for the first time.

Caleb mimicking the dog and playing with their toys

Our beautiful son

Sorry it has taken so long to post this entry, but life has become very busy with a two year old little boy running around. We arrived home on Friday night about midnight and the girls were so excited to meet their new little brother. It was wonderful. The two older girls cried so hard when they first met them I started crying with them. And Alli was just smiling from ear to ear. It was fun having the girls, my parents and my best friend meet us at the airport with welcome home signs and big hugs. We love you guys!!

In Ethiopia we had a fabulous time and the couples that we met over there were great. It was so wonderful being around people that had such passion about adoption. We seen a lot of stuff and are still trying to process everything, so keep checking the blog and I will be posting a summary of our trip for everyone. Yes even with some pictures.

Caleb is adjusting very well with everyone. He loves to wrestle with his sister and playing catch. He now will call Tom and I mommy and daddy and identifies who is who. He also loves to mimic everything we do and say, so I don't think it will be long and he will be speaking English. He is not quite adjusted to the dogs yet but he will try to play with them for a few minutes before he gets scared and runs away. Well I hear someone waking up so I will update more later.

The Cutest Boy!!

So we are sitting here in the Minneapolis airport waiting for the last leg of our 36 hour journey. We are ready to be home and see everyone and introduce our little man to everyone. I can not post a current picture of us because our cable is packed in our luggage but here is a picture that we received about one week before we left. We love him so much and our love grows everyday.

Traveling Home

We are in Detroit and anxiously ready to get home. Caleb Tariku did great on the plane, but the line to get through customs and verify his paperwork, etc. was a bit much for him. He definately had enough waiting. Tom decided to take him for a "run" around the airport and wear him out for the next leg of the trip. What a great dad!!

We are so ready to sleep in our own bed, and be a family all together! Home will be soooo great!! Please pray for us as we finish our travels today. Caleb had a little motion sickness at the beginning, and we are hoping that he doesn't get sick again. Parenthood can be messy sometimes, but so completely worth it!

"I Love You"

Today was a hard day saying good bye to everyone. Tariku said I love you mommy and daddy today, so exciting.

We are loading the van to go to the airport and are ready to get back home. Thank you for your prayers while we have been away, and we covet them as we finish this last bit of traveling. We will soon be home with out entire family. We are looking forward to being all together with the girls, extended family and church family. Thanks again for all of your prayers.

"Mommy & Daddy"

Well today we had our visa interview and the final stamp of approval the he is coming home with us. We should receive his visa and passport on Thursday and morning and should be home late Friday night. He has totally opened up to us and called us mommy and daddy today. We went to the visa interview and then a celebration lunch. Caleb ate really well and then proceeded to throw up everywhere at the restaurant. (It was the third child that threw up today) We are having a blast and absolutely loving Ethiopia. I can't even explain the poverty that we have seen. Every time I look in the streets and see a little 3 or 4 year old walking the street I thank God that He has blessed us with Caleb. We did get a chance to buy some coffee today and the coffee here is better than you can ever imagine.

Full Time Parents Now!

We are so happy to tell you that Caleb is now with us all the time. He is adjusting very well and we are loving being his full time parents now. We are all having a wonderful time. Thanks for praying for us. We have our embassy appointment in a few days, so please pray for that process and our safe travels home at the end of the week.

An Encouraging Day

Hi everyone, What a busy day. We spent the morning with Caleb Tariku. I think the extra time helped us get past his initial fear. We got to see him laughing and playing. I (Tom) really enjoyed playing catch with him. He fell asleep sitting in Leanne's lap. Today was very encouraging, but tomorrow the center is closed and we won't get to see him. They will keep us busy with church and then a trip out of Addis to a resort.

We also spent the afternoon touring downtown Addis, going to the Museum of National History, and doing some shopping. We bought some coffee, but I'm still looking for a shop that roast it as you buy it. Tonight we went out to eat with 6 other Holt families. We ate at a traditional Ethiopian restaraunt. There was a great buffet with injera ( a traditional Ethiopian flat bread) and traditional dancing (they dance, not us). It was a great day but very long.

We are still working on sending pictures.

Caleb is in our arms!!

We are here in Africa. It was a very long flight and got to our hotel at about 11:30pm on Thursday night. The traffic is crazy everybody goes everywhere and they honk their horn at the time. We were able to sleep last night because we were so exhausted then woke up and met all the other families and ate breakfast. After that we were able to meet Tariku (Caleb). It was so incredible, they had him walk down the stairs by himself to greet us. He was scared and cried for a moment but warmed up when we started playing with him. After about 45 minutes with him he crawled in my lap and fell asleep in my arms (I was overjoyed). Tom got to feed him lunch and then lay him down for his nap. He is very quiet so far and very precious.

This is such an amazing place. Pictures could be difficult to post because of the internet connection and power outages, but we will try. Thanks for praying.

We're Off

So we left today to fly to Ethiopia to pick up our most amazing son. We are sitting here in Minneapolis waiting for our flight to amsterdam. This flight will last 8.5 hours so hopefully we can get some sleep on this flight. We have had 7 hours of sleep in the last three days so hopefully we can do some catch up. We will be trying to update our blog as often as we can so keep checking to get the updates. Please keep us in your prayers for save travel and an easy transition for us and Caleb. Also keep the girls in your prayers as we are away.

Update On Our Sweet Little Man

We received some updated information from a couple that just came home from Ethiopia and had a chance to meet our son. This email just made my day and we can't wait to go and get him and surround him with our love. So this is what is said.

"He is the sweetest child and so adorable with a big heart. He has a very even temper and is eager to have someone pay attention to him and play with him. He loves to be read to and loves the peek a boo books."

I guess I know some things that we will be buying him for the plane trip home.

2 weeks today and we will be on our way to pick him up.