Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Whew!!!!

Whew!! What a day. We finished our papaerwork partey without too much mess up—we'll see if the US Consulate agrees on Wednesday. Then off to lunch – which no one cared about and finally… the Transition Home. All was fun and jolly until we got close. The silence in the van was telling—we had all waited so long for this moment. Nine overly "pregnant" families about to give birth and you could hear a pin drop.

We were called by alphabetical order and it WAS very orderly. I have heard all kinds of stories about this day—or should I say, read all kinds of stories—so really, I was prepared for some chaos. But, instead it was very orderly and each family had quite a few photo ops before the next kids were brought out. I can't really describe the experience, other than it was surreal. Biruk and Selame came out holding hands and they were timid, but came right to us and accepted our hugs, kisses and incoherent blabbing over them. We each picked up one of them and told them in Amharic, "I love you". Selame just looked at us sorta confused but more than ready to eat up the attention. Biruk looked right in my face and said, "I love you," in English and then looked at Tony and said, "You are my Daddy." Then he looked at me and said, "You are Mommy," and grinned from ear to ear. The tears abounded. Selame was thrilled with us, as long as I
took lots of photos. Then, she was off to capture the love of all the other families. Hmmm… fortunately, I had been a little clued in to this character trait of my girl, and wasn't totally shocked or distraught by her. But… Tony and I DID take turns over the next 2+ hours chasing her around, telling her "No," and trying to keep her attention on us and not every other Daddy she saw there. She definitely favored Tony to me, and that is okay. Of course it was a little stinging… but mostly it was just tiring. I was—and still am—bound and determined that she wouldn't win. ☺ I lost count of the number of times Tony and I looked at each other and said, "Boundaries!" at the same time. The good news is, that within the first two hours, she calmed down a lot, and seemed to accept our "no's"—not testing nearly as much as in the beginning. It is obvious that Selame has had the run of the TH and is a little bully when she
wants something. She also knows how to use her beautiful eyes and striking smile to get whatever she wants from others. I feel sorry for the people on our flight home with us, for sure!!

They both LOVED all the little "tricks" I pulled out of my bag—books, model magic and of course the cameras. But the cameras are a whole other blog—for sure!!

I would be lying if I said I left totally overjoyed. Rather, I left with a mixture of overwhelmed, out of my realm AND overjoyed. They are both too wonderful beyond words—Tony and I can both already see how they were perfectly designed for Team Dragovich. Biruk LOVED playing ball with Tony AND me—soccer, catch, tag, hand clap games. Actually, he just wanted to be with us and was thrilled with anything we suggested. Selame was happy as long as she had a camera in her hand, and when those were taken away—well…. What can I say? She is full of personality!!!! ☺

I'm not sure how many pictures will post. The internet is VERY slow tonight. If I can't get pics to post now, I will post a lot more pictures in the morning—which will be about midnight for y'all.

Grace and Peace,
Shari

PS To my boys: I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!! Biruk cannot WAIT to meet you!! You are going to have the BEST time playing with him—no doubt!!! And you will crack up over Selame… until she tries to steal your cookies. But, don't let her have them and love her anyway ☺ She's gonna come around ☺

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautful! We are so happy for you! What a wonderful reception from the children! Once you come home I know everyone will settle down! I know that they will each love their rooms! They are beautiful! I am glad that they are happy and ready to be with each of you! Makes the moment all that much better! Have a great day today getting to know your newest "team members" All our love and prayers from the USA! :)

kim said...

Yea Team Dragovich!!!! I love seeing the pictures of you all with your kids :) We are truly excited for you. God is good!!!

Love,
Kim

jill coen said...

This rejuvinated me for the day! So good to see you together! Can't wait to see the first picture of the entire team!! Love ya'll!

Erica said...

Congratulations on meeting your kiddos! Your post brought both tears to my ears and a smile to my face. It certainly sounds like you have your work cut-out for you in some areas but you'll be just fine! Can't wait to read more about your journey.

Erica R.
AWAA YG

Susan said...

*Sniff* *Sniff* Emotionally overwhelming, isn't it? I love the photos of your with your newest children!!! It is so exciting!

Love & Prayers, Susan

Jodie said...

(sniveling!)
My first impression from the pictures was that JB looked SOOOO comfortable holding onto Tony and gazing at you...then, when I read on, that was exactly the case! RS is two, right? sounds like she'll get along SWELL w/ Maguire...and they both will learn the word "NO!" together :)
Congrats on the "birth" of your son and daughter!

Anonymous said...

i am just so overjoyed to see you all 4 in one photo! How exciting! I will also be so happy to see all 7 faces in one (if you can pull that off!! - they don't all need to be smiling and looking!!!)
There are just too many emotions and thoughts to post, so just YEAH!

ps, love your shoes?! (had to laugh at you getting those in the midst of all the planning!)

thanks for keeping us updated so well! I feel like I am peeking in on such an amazing time!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo from all of us!
Marcie, Brian, Hayley and Aspen

ethiHOPEia said...

So happy to finally see your journey come to fruition! Keep looking to Jesus...it is hard being in ET with everyone looking on as you try to bond with a toddler! :) May the Lord continue to give you grace.

Love,
Hilary Forrest

Bette said...

This post brought tears of joy! I love the two pictures that posted and especially happy over the telling of meeting Biruk and the "I love you". What an adorable little boy. Salame sounds like you may a hand full. :) I'm sure you're both up for the challenge, though! Think back to your own childhood and I'm sure you'll come up with the need resources. I can't wait until you are all home. God Bless Thee!

Rob and Candy said...

I love the pictures. So glad you have finally met your children and you know they are yours.
xxoo
candy

Becky said...

Shari--
I'm so excited for you, praying that the next few days go well. I remember the chasing and saying "no" constantly while watching my child run around seeking attention from other adults. She'll learn, don't stress (I think this added A LOT of stress to our week), I'm so glad that you can see these two fitting in with the rest of team D :) Can't wait to hear how the past few days have gone!
many hugs!
apryl

Michele said...

Fun to check in and see your two new family members.
blessings