Better late than Never...

My friend Cat took some great pictures of us at the airport. I'm going to have to confess here, since you will se evidence. YES we had family and friends waiting for us at the airport. YES I know they say that will warp your child for all eternity. YES I was so tired and ready to settle in and sleep. NO I would not do it any other way. It meant the world to us that they were there. And I think little Charlie Fekadu is recovering juuuuust fine. ;)

Get this mutha$%#@! snake out of my.....

Okay, sorry for the implied profanity in today's title, but I have to quote Sam Jackson on this one. I still cannot believe this happened to me!
Yesterday Charlie and I were sitting around, and he sweetly asked "banana"? Which I did not have. So I thought, okay I could use a little outing, let's go to the grocery store. La la la, we get there, buy some stuff, and head out to the car. Charlie was happily riding in the front of the buggy, and so I head the the back of my SUV to load the groceries. As I approached, I saw a long black SOMETHING sticking out the back door of the car. My first thought was that a piece of rubber or something had come loose. Then I saw the long pink tongue slither out and I thought...no way. I am hallucinating!! I flagged down a couple walking to their car and frantically asked them to tell me, please tell me that there is not a snake coming out of the back of my freaking car. Please.
Yes, people....And I am not one of those people who is deathly afraid of snakes, but still, I was freaked. I was ABOUT to open the back. Can you imagine?? Even if it wasn't poisonous, I really think I would have had a heart attack! And the worst thought is, since we live by a pond, we must have picked him up here at home which means....oh, yes. I DROVE TO THE STORE WITH A SNAKE IN THE CAR WITH MYSELF AND MY SON. Ohhhhh it still makes me all huefbbfkhbfuiewfewfb inside.
Anyway, then the comedy ensued. Three men were coming at the snake with a stick and a blanket...trying to catch it, not hurt it. So of course, the snake retreats INTO THE CAR. bleeeeeeeehhhhhh. After about 15 minutes of watching these brave men poke at my bumper and lie under my car, the heat was getting to Charlie and my frozen burritos had melted, so I called my in-laws. At this point, there are 4 patrol cars, including the sheriff of our county...haha....and a huge crowd of people watching the action. Employees were coming out, people were sitting in their cars, standing around...told you we live in a small town.
Finally, the snake drops down out from under the front of the car and starts slithering his way around the parking lot. The policemen had a time catching him, running around with their snake-capturing sticks (how handy). At last, he was caught and put in the woods near the grocery store. I could not have been more happy, because there was NO WAY I was going to get in there until he was not.
Anyway, that was my adventure for the day. And I thought I would be bored staying home. Ha!

It's hard to see in the pic, but all I had was my phone, and I was not getting too close. See him????

Home AGAIN!

Well, the wedding was awesome. The weather cooperated, the house was amazing, and we had a blast with friends and family. We ate some great seafood, (Charlie loves shrimp), played at the beach, and relaxed....until wedding day that is. The wedding....oh, it was so beautiful. It felt like being in a movie. I am so happy it went well, and my little sis looked gorgeous and so happy. Maybe we won't have to wait long before Charlie has a little cousin! heheeee....
Things are going well here! I think Charlie Fekadu is really bonding with us. He still has meltdowns, mostly just when visitors leave, but he is really doing better. He is sweet, affectionate, and full of love. I am going to have to start posting videos, because I can't describe his sweet laugh, or how darn cute he is when he dances (which he does ALL the time now). I can't even seem to get a picture of him that really shows who he is. I am constantly amazed by this little boy. We have been given such a gift. I could not be happier!
This week I am working on getting into a routine, finally. I made his nap earlier today, because we had a really rough time getting him to sleep last night. It seems like the closer he and I get, the worse the sleeping gets. He's okay once he is down, but MAN he can fight sleep for such a long time. Hopefully we will be able to get that 8:30 betime down this week. Once we DO get settled in, I am so excited about getting out of the house. The zoo, the aquarium, MAX'S HOUSE! Here we come...It's amazing to see how excited he gets.
I am excited to see some referrals come in on the CHS forum. I feel really anxious and excited for you guys! Especially VA. I know how hard it is at this point, and I can't WAIT to hear your news. It will be so soon! It seems like forever ago I was so upset and sick of the wait. It's hard to believe we really did it. Hang in there, gals!! It really WILL happen!!!
Okay, so soon I should have some interesting updates and blog entries. For now, we are playing in the yard and watching the Disney Channel. Mwauh!!

Home sweet Home!

Oh, how I miss blogging...and IM....and email. But I am having so much fun hanging out with our awesome boy. I FINALLY got a few of our pictures ready from the trip! Next I will be posting the ones Catherine took at the airport, but right now, this is all I could get in during the nap! We have been settling in nicely....We have our little meltdowns, but for the most part, Charlie Fekadu is adjusting well, and with this many people who love him, he is having a blast. Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early for the beach for my sister's wedding. Phew! It is is BIG month. We are going to have so much fun this weekend, and when I get back I want to catch up with my friends. Thanks for ALL the sweet comments, and support and friendship. I am so excited for Renee and Geert on their referral!! If you are reading this, we have to talk soon! I want to know all the details! Congrats.
Love to all of you. Enjoy the pics...Oh, they are a little fuzzy, I had to shrink them to upload that many, and then the slideshow goes and blows them up too large. Whatever. See you sooooon!!!!
All my love,
Charlie's mommy (or "ninny" as he is calling me these days. ha!)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

UPDATE UPDATE!!

The Beauchamp's flight is landing at 2:35pm today! Some people are still going to get there at 1:00 (mostly because they can NOT sit still with excitement!). Most of the crowd will be there by baggage claim by 2:00. See you there!

*Laura-I hope you get this before you leave!!!!

Almost Home!!

This is still Jessica, but this is my last post for Heather and Adam! They have so many wonderful things to say about ET and their trip, and they are ready to bring their boy home! Heather wanted me to make sure everyone knows about the new flight arrangements! The Beauchamp family will be arriving in Atlanta around 1pm on Sunday, Sept. 9th! There are going to be alot of people there so look for us at baggage claim! Email me if you have any other questions! thejess730@yahoo.com

Another Update from ET!

We just walked down to the office to send you guys an update and HOPEFULLY some pics. Last night was our first night together as a family, and it went pretty well. Fekadu is all boy, so full of energy, so it was hard to get him to stop playing soccer in the living room and get ready for bed. He seems very attached to Adam and I, and it's so amazing. Adam was the one to actually get him to sleep. I can't wait for you guys to meet him! Oh, and he ate about 5 scrambled eggs for breakfast. The kid eats like a trucker. :)

Now for the bad news...Our flight from Rome to Atlanta turned out to be unusable, the same thing as with Amsterdam. We were told as long as we did not leave the airport we were fine, apparently, we cant even leave the plane. So, we were taken to Ethiopian Airlines yesterday and booked a flight, but we can't come home now until Saturday night....Don't worry, with the time difference it will only be a few hours later we arrive. We will land in DC at 810 am, and leave for ATL at 12 noon. So I think we will land around 1. Please make sure everyone who was planning on coming knows about this, I would feel awful if someone came the wrong day. I hope you can still make it. We will go through customs in DC, so we should be able to meet you right after we land.

I will try to some back tomorrow. Yesterday was shopping day and we got so much cool stuff. Fekadu is in the conference room laughing at Daddy, so I better go see what is so funny! Love from ethiopia!!!

Heather

PS- Beware, this boys smile will MELT you!!!

I got an email!!

I got an email from Heather this morning! The time showed around 4am-so I'm figuring it was around noon in ET. I am just going to copy and paste what she put!!

I had this great long email all typed up on my laptop, but after one hour, I cannot get the wireless to work. argh! So here is a quick email to check in with you guys. The first meeting with Fekadu was wonderful, he really loves his daddy and he likes me okay too. He seems to cuddle with me more and play with and look at Adam. Then again, all the little kids want to play with Adam! We saw him again today, and we played and then I rocked him and he fell asleep. He had this one toy that he refused to put down. The doctor came in today and told us he has an ear infection, so they put him on antibiotics. His official doctor appointment is on monday. We get to go visit him again in 30 minutes! yaaaay.....Last time we got there, the babies were all outside playing, and he ran right up to us. He talks alot, but the only word I know he is saying is kook-a-loo, which means rooster. (he points to a picture when he says it.) Anyway, he is perfect and we are SO in love!!!

I cant wait for you guys to meet him....

Our travel group is wonderful. We have already started making friends. Everyone is excited for Wednesday when we get to bring the kids to the house. :)

Adam and I are both feeling great. The food is AMAZING (you were right, Cindy!) and there is tons of bottled water for us. We are actually pretty spoiled!

I love you guys and can't wait to see you soon!!

Do NOT work too hard on the house....You know who you are. I will feel guilty!

I will try to send a pic really soon!

Love,

Heather