Monday in Ethiopia

Today was an amazing day. The morning wait was long, but at 1:30 Ethiopia time today (Monday), we reached the transition home. The plan when we got there was to line up alphabetically to meet our kids. There were 4 families in all, and of course Weber was the last name on the list. But guess what...when the guard swung open those silver gates for our van to enter, guess who was standing right there looking at us? Yep, it was Abrham Weber! Everyone in the van said, "There he is, Webers!". It was the cutest thing. He had been waiting right there for us to drive up. They hustled him away, then we waited by the stairs as we were supposed to, and they brought him out alphabetically. He came right up to us and hugged all of us. Oh my gosh he is so cute and sweet! We spent 3 hours there playing with him and the other kids. We brought a soccer ball with us so that we would have something fun to play with him....wow!!! What a soccer player for being only 6 years old and wearing crocs on his feet! Ted and Abrham kicked that ball back and forth for at least an hour and a half. Hannah and I were no match for that skill and had to stand out of the way. They would stop from time to time and we would all play other things together. He is very quiet but also very attentive. He is always watching and listening and is so affectionate. He loved seeing himself on our cameras as we took pictures of him. He and Hannah took turns taking pictures of eachother and then laughing at the results. We learned a lot about him from his nanny and from the doctor. All the doctor had to say was that he is very healthy - yay! We have an appointment to take him to our own pediatrician at home, but this was a good start. At one point when Abrham and Ted were playing soccer, he just stopped and walked away. My thought was, "uh oh!". The three of us looked at eachother then decided to go around the corner where he had disappeared. Ted had caught a glimpse of him entering a room. We watched and soon he came out carrying the photo album and a teddy bear that we had sent him!!! Oh my gosh that was a big moment. He came running up with them smiling, and handed the photo album to Hannah. He opened it up to a picture of her, and then pointed at her and smiled. We looked all through the album together naming the different people and pets. Then, back to soccer it was! Funny thing is that whenever he needed something, he would come up and tap me (Judi) and call me Daddy. We'll get that one worked out by tomorrow, I think! Too funny. And by the way, he and Hannah are already very attached. Both of them seem to love eachother already. When it was time to go....oh, the sad face we saw. I asked three different people to explain to him that we were coming back tomorrow and he nodded to them, but the sad face didn't change. Can't wait until tomorrow....they call it "gotcha day". That is the day we get our kids and have them with us forever!!! Tonight was very long. Our guide dropped all of us girls off at a spa to be pampered. This was the fanciest spa I have ever seen. Beverly Hills style all the way. I got my first pedicure ever, and Hannah got a manicure and her hair braided Ethiopia style. It's real cute. The other girls in the group got massages, etc. Then we met up with the guys and were taken to a traditional Ethiopian food restaurant. What an adventure. I actually loved the food, but I'll tell you more about that another time. It's already 11:40pm and I need sleep. We got great pictures today but I have to post them when I get home, due to the fact that I left one little important cable at home to connect the camera to the computer! Will post again as soon as we can.