What an amazing adventure. I haven't written in a while because we didn't have access to our blog while in Ethiopia. The internet connection was not strong enough. We are back, and are the proud parents of our beautiful baby boy. This will be short as I have not been feeling well. Once I am feeling better I will post our story.

Six Days Away

Wow, just six days away, and it feels like we have so much to do before we leave. Unfortunately, Joi's feeling under the weather, so I'm hoping that she gets better before we fly, and that I don't catch what she has. So let's see, where are we. All of our reservations are confirmed, and someone will be at the airport to pick us up, or so we think. It's kind of funny, some of the hotels want a deposit, and when asked how I should put the deposit up, they won't answer. We are working with a gentleman named Netyanet from Alltours. He asked me if I knew anybody in Ethiopia, I replied that my son lives there, but he currently is unemployed and doesn't have any money! He had a good laugh at that I'm sure. Netyanet is very nice, and I am hoping to meet him when we get to Addis to thank him for all his troubles. Thanksgiving was awesome...too much turkey and stuffing. We're so excited.

13 Days

We spent today getting things in order for our trip. We bought coloring books, crayons, and candy to give to the kids in the orphanage. I deflated eight soccer balls that we plan to give to the orphanage in Addis, and the orphanage in Awassa. That's where Graham spent his first couple of days before being transferred to Addis. We are allowed to take two checked bags and one carry-on each, and plan to pack them as full as possible, and empty them while we're there. Every time we get something for the trip, I think about all of the people in our lives that made this possible, and want to take another opportunity to thank each and every one of you. Oh yeah, on Friday, we had homeade Ethiopian food with eight of our closest friends. My new friend Shamissa cooked it for us. What a great time. We are going to take some perfume to Addis for Shamissa's family.

Seven Months Old Today

Graham turns seven months old today. I am so grateful for every photo and medical update we are provided by the orphanage. A couple of days ago we got a new update on him. He now weighs 7100 grams (15.65 pounds) and is 65 cm in length (25.6 inches). They say that he drinks 180-210ml milk 3 times per day and he has also started supplementary feeding. He sits with support, transfers objects from one hand to other, babbles and reaches for familiar people.

There is another family flying to Ethiopia on 11/20 that is going to the same orphanage. We asked if they would take a photo book to Graham for us and they said that they would. I hope that he will be able to keep the book and be shown our pictures often over the next few weeks so that we will seem a little familiar to him when we get there. I am so excited to hold him in my arms and to see his smile for the first time!

Good evening, Just sitting here thinking of Graham. Neither of us has any idea what's about to happen to our lives. It's amazing...I think of the sacrifice that his parents made, and will be forever grateful that they made the decision that they did. We confirmed our travel dates today, and will be in Ethiopia from December 7th until the 18th. Thanks for all of the great comments.

Just under 4 weeks to go

So, we're getting ready for our trip to Ethiopia, and you would be surprised (or maybe not) how much stuff we have to do to get ready. I went to lunch last Friday with one of the ambassador's to Addis Ababa for the City of Portland. The City, through USAID, sends him over to help set up government programs for the Addis municipal government. I am adding a picture of the place we hope to stay at when we travel south to Awassa. Dilla, just south of Awassa, is the town where Graham came from, so we want to make a video documentary for him to have when he gets older.

If you want to check out the lodge (a former coffee plantation) check out http://www.aregashlodge.com/

The Beginning

This blog is a journal of Brad and Joi's journey from Portland, Oregon to Addis Abeba, Ethiopia to adopt Graham. For those of you that do not know, we began our journey in January, and will be traveling in December 2008 to Addis. We cannot begin to thank all of the people who have been instrumental in making our dream a reality, but we can make you a part of our journey, and this blog is just one of the ways that we intend to do that. Over the next several months, we hope to introduce you to Graham, our little boy, and share our laughs, our trials, and our tribulations.