The McDaniel Memoirs

Isaiah Tamrat slept very well last night. Probably as a result of sleeping in a house with many other toddlers, he is a VERY sound sleeper. He konks out almost instantaneously and then it seems no amount of noise will wake him up. He will wake up with movement, though.

We started our day with a drive to the US Embassy for our appointment to receive Isaiah Tamrat’s visa. Shortly after we arrived we found out that because of a holiday yesterday, they had moved yesterday’s appointments to this morning, and we were bumped to this afternoon. So we ended up doing our shopping in the a.m. instead, and then spent the afternoon at the US Embassy. It was a long wait, but Isaiah slept on me for about 45 min. and then was tired, so he just kinda sat on our laps for most of the afternoon. The embassy approved us, so we should be getting Isaiah’s passport and visa on Friday. We don’t have many pictures from today because no cameras (or other electronics) are allowed in the embassy, and we did everything back-to-back.

Then, the best part of the day was going to the airport to PICK UP OUR LUGGAGE!!!!!!!!!!! At this point we only have two days left in Ethiopia, so it almost seemed pointless, if it wasn’t for the fact that at least 75% of the 200 lbs of luggage that we brought was gifts and donations for the transition home and orphanages. We got back just before dinner and then went through and organized all of the stuff for where it will go tomorrow. Isaiah was having a ball with the toys we had packed for him, and we're excited to be able to wear something "new" tomorrow! Only two items were missing (that I remember packing anyway) . . . so somewhere between Indiana and Ethiopia, some luggage handler is enjoying a big bag of candy while wearing latex gloves??? A little annoying, but at least everything else is here! Thanks for your prayers for us!