Days 4 and 5

On Monday we spent the morning with Jacob! He is more active in the mornings, so we got to play with him. Each day we go to the Transition Home, we spend 2 ½-3 hours playing with him on the porch or in the little grassy area. They have 2 couches on the porch and we have our own blanket to sit on too. We spend lots of time holding him and playing with the toys we brought. We try to get him some tummy time too! He really likes when we let him spread out and reach for things. His bed is a very small space, so I don’t think he spends much time sprawled out. Each day I get to feed him a bottle too! The first day we met Jacob he didn’t fall asleep, but he has slept in my arms every day since. It’s so sweet to watch him sleeping! He is so happy! He is constantly smiling and laughing!! His smiles just melt my heart!! I can’t wait to be a full time mama to this precious boy!! This morning we also got to deliver care packages for 4 families waiting to come meet their children and take photos to email home to 8 families!! These kids are so cute!! I can’t wait for their families to come and meet them!! Thankfully the internet worked well enough one night, Brad helped me email these precious photos to the waiting families. Receiving pictures of Jacob while we waited for a court date was such a gift, I was so glad that I could do this for these families!
In the afternoon we visited two orphanages in Addis. I have heard horror stories, but both Kids Care and KVI were clean and the kids all had diapers on. Many families in the US have been working hard at getting cloth diapers over here so these babies can have diapers, and I was so happy to see tons of cloth diapers on the clothes lines and all the babies covered!! The big kids were at school so we didn’t get to see them, but at Kid’s Care we were able to play with a ball and some of the 5-8 year olds. The workers at Kid’s Care had a coffee ceremony for us too! It was so kind of them to show their love this way. Brad took a cup, but I don’t think he drank any, and Randy (Brad’s dad) wasn’t too interested. I tried mine and it was REALLY strong. I did the best I could with an already upset stomach. Mary (Brad’s mom) did the best, she finished it all!!
On Tuesday morning we visited a coffee factory. There is a drought right now, so we didn’t get to see a lot, but they showed us around. There are usually hundreds of women who sit and sort coffee beans, but with the shortage of beans there were only 3 women working today. I forget the exact amount, but I think I’ve heard that the women work all day long and make less than $1. It’s amazing the hard workers here that get paid next to nothing. Just heartbreaking to think about some of the hard work they do, most of us wouldn’t even consider doing, especially without good pay. Each day I am constantly reminded how thankful I am for a good paying job and my house that is starting to look larger and larger each day that I am here.