THE KURTZ FAMILY........OUR ADOPTION JOURNEY

It’s not that I didn’t want to write the past few days, we just haven’t had time and we’ve both been bagged at night. But I have to say it’s been incredible watching the girls start to come out of their shells.
I’m looking at them right now, asleep in the bed beside me and I can’t help but feel thankful. Thankful for lives we enjoy back home, thankful for our kids, including the two new ones. Thankful that God has blessed us so richly. I know I will come home appreciating that a lot more.
The girls are so great. Denaye has been such a little trooper. She has scabies, but on her left foot it turned into impentago, and then that got infected. We took her to the doctor today and he prescribed some medications, so hopefully those will work and at least keep her comfortable on the trip home.
The girls are starting to attach to us. They’re more open and cuddly, which of course I love....but we saw a little defiance out of Denaye today and that’s good sign. That might sound strange but it’s true. When we first got them they would do whatever we said. When they start to trust you more...then they’re more comfortable being themselves.

We were visiting our friends Jim and Heather Blake at their hotel. Denaye and Maya were playing on the balcony and I told them to come in so we could go down to the pool. Maya came in but Denaye did not. When asked her nicely...she refused. Trust me she knew what I wanted, it had nothing to do with the language barrier. I finally picked her up and brought her inside. She threw a fit...but moments later, she was fine. I’m sure there’ll be many more moments like that.
The girls are also leaving food on their plates. That’s also a good sign that shows they’re starting to understand there will always be more so the don’t need to gorge. All we seem to be doing these days is taking the girls to the bathroom.....they both have the runs.....hopefully that will end soon.
There are times when they’re quiet, even a little sad, Maya more so than Denaye. We’re trying not to over-think or worry about what that might be about. Maya is afraid at night and she wakes with night terrors. It could be any number of things and we just let it runs it’s course. We just hold them and let them know as best we can that we love them.
But we are certainly enjoying the smiles and playfulness.

We drove out of Addis yesterday to a hot springs. It’s inside a resort. But the entrance into the resort was flooded because of heavy rains. Thanks goodness our vehicles were diesel.
In the hot spring were a couple of hundreds Africans and four white people with black kids. Needless to say we felt a little strange at first but it was fine. The African people were all very friendly and kind. Maya loved the water, it was her first time swimming and she especially loves sticking her head underwater. We’ll have to do more swimming when we get home.

Everyday has been an amazing experience. One of my favourite parts of the trip so far was the drive to and from the resort. I loved just watching the people as we drove through towns and villages. Africa is just an amazingly beautiful country. It’s hard to put into words.
We’re taking lots of pictures and will have many stories to tell when we get home. We’re looking very forward to that now. We want to get home and share our beautiful girls with everyone.
More thought later.

Rod

O.K. I missed a day of journelling but what a day. We got up yesterday morning and went over to the foster home to meet the girls. There were seven families all meeting their kids in one large room at the same time. Talk about emotional and chaotic all at the same time.
Those of you who know Deb know that she is not crier, but we no sooner drove through the gates of the foster home and she started to cry. And when she saw Haregewain, the woman who runs the foster home....they embraced each other and balled.
After herding us into the meeting room they brought out the kids. When we saw Denaye and Maya for the first time we both lost it. I’m sure the girls were wondering ,"Who are these people,and why are they crying?"
We cried, we hugged...the girls were a little shell-shocked by the whole thing, But the meeting room quickly turned into a playroom when the balloons and bubbles and balls came out.
I have to say it was incredible to look around the room and just see the absolute joy on the faces of the children and their new families. It’s something I know I’ll never forget.
I’m not sure how long the play session lasted....but some workers came to take the children and we all looked at each other and said "You can’t take them now." We were then told they were just going to have lunch. Whew!!
But shortly after, the discussion began as to whether this was going to be a visit or pick-up. As you might expect the parents all voted for pick-up. After some discussions with Haregewain it was decided we could all take our kids.
During the playtime and as we go them ready to leave, even though we had only known them for a couple of hours....there were moments of unexpected hugs and kisses from the girls. And I’ll take all of those I can get.
Driving back to the guest house with Maya on my lap....looking out the window at the sad looking sea of humanity that is Addis,
I knew we were doing a good thing for Denaye and Maya. But that of course is not why we did it. We did this to complete our family....and is feels "VERY" complete

We spent the day with the girls just getting acquainted. The language barrier can be frustrating at times but we’ve learned a few words that help us communicate. We’ve got the one figured out for when they have to go to the bathroom....so that’s good.

A loud party near the guest house kept us awake for a good chunk of the night last night. We’re still adapting to the clock so we were both a little wiped out today. But the girls seemed to have a good sleep.
This morning before breakfast we bathed our girls for the first time. The bathroom next to our room has only stand-up shower, so we went to someone elses room and borrowed their tub. But their taps didn’t work so we ended up using showerhead anyway.
I think we all handled it great. I must say, so far the girls have been agreeable about everything. They are both really good eaters...so that’s been a blessing.

After we inhaled breakfast we did a little touring and shopping.
But our drivers took us to a pottery place off the beaten path...down a back road that you could barely drive down. It was our first up close look at the poverty in Addis. Children came up to the van begging for Birr..which is Ethiopian money. Luckily Jim and Heather Blake came stocked with granola bars so the kids got food instead of money.
The pottery was incredible, but I think it was a little much for some of the children, maybe a little too familiar. As soon as we entered the place some of the kids held on tighter than ever to the parents. And some wanted to leave. Who knows, maybe it was too vivid a reminder of their earlier lives. We quickly bought some pottery and moved on.
Driving from the pottery place to a weaving shop we saw more of the poverty in Addis. There were endless shanty-towns and road-side shops. But the irony for me was in the middle of all this were lots of happy people. I guess it’s true.....if life gives you lemons..make lemonade.

The women at the weavers were using old foot-operated looms and creating the most gorgeous blankets. When you visit these places you don’t just watch...you buy. We had great fun and the old woman doing the weaving loved inter-acting with our kids.
After an afternoon nap...tonight Selemnah took us to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant, complete with a band and singers and dancers. The food was amazing, the dancers were incredible and of course I forgot to bring our video camera.

Deb and the girls are already fast asleep. And I just wanted to catch you up on what’s been happening. We’re enjoying our time here but we’re eager to get home and show off our amazing daughters.
After being pretty quiet yesterday, they started to come out of their shells today....especially Denaye. She was laughing and playing with Maya and the others. When we first got pictures of the girls they looked so sad and all we wanted to do was to make them smile.
This morning when Deb was dressing them up.....in pink of course.....she put a really pretty headband on Maya, and she broke out in the biggest smile. That alone made all of this worth it. I am extremely happy and extremely tired.
More thoughts tomorrow.

Rod