Day #2 - US Embassy Appointment

Today all of Group 84 went to the US Embassy and we all made it through our brief interviews in record time! WHFC makes sure you have all the necessary documents with you and filled out correctly before you leave for the Embassy. We were supposed to have our Embassy visits this afternoon, so we stayed busy with all the little ones at Horizon House 1 - I was able to get some photos of some of the kids. However, right before we were all to sit down and eat lunch Sister Tirhas came in and profusely apologized for the inconvenience, but for some reason the Embassy had switched our appointment to this morning and we had missed it! WHFC worked it out with the Embassy and we immediately all boarded the bus and went to the Embassy. We were fed a very tasty lunch when we returned.

What was cute was that we had brought a little "going to the Embassy" outfit for Mesfin (Giovanni) and we gave it to Sister Tirhas to give to the nannies at the big kids house. We didn't know if they would have had time to dress him with the quick Embassy change...but, sure enough when we pulled up outside HH2, out walked our little Mesfin (Giovanni) with his button-down shirt, pants, belt, and new leather sandals! My heart just melted (if that possible from the big meltdown that happened yesterday when we saw him for the first time!)

We have now met all of the children at Horizon House 1 & 2 - and with the exception of one little (and I mean teeny, tiny) boy (who we don't think has been matched with his forever family) all the children look amazingly healthy. There is, of course, the sniffles and coughs (and a couple of fevers) that are indicative of day cares, schools, and orphanages...but we have yet to see any serious health problems. Sister Tirhas is a super nurse and is quick to respond to the childrens needs. And, boy do the kids adore her!! I do think our little Mesfin (Giovanni) may have two little spots of ringworm on his head - harmless, but will get it looked at and treated when we get home.

The families we are traveling with are terrific! A few have already had their birth family visits and have come back with great reviews of the experience. Our birth family visit is on Thursday. Since that is the day most of the families will be going shopping and to the museums - my sister and her son went to the museums today while we were at the Embassy. (I went last year and the one at the university is really worth seeing).

Oh, I forgot to mention that I completely forgot that our almost 5 year old has not had many - if any - stairs in his life. I carried him up to the second floor for our appointment. Then not thinking I was holding his hand as we went downstairs to join the others. I wasn't aware until we were almost half way down that he was going super slow. I then looked down and saw that he was gripping the railing with his free hand in a vice grip and slowly going down the steps like a little toddler learning for the first time. He wasn't afraid and seemed to have the hang of it by the time we reached the bottom. I did make a mental note to work on that with him in the coming weeks!

That's it for now...tonight we are all heading to the Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate as a Group!