The Big Day!

Cannot express enough how well this day went! Thank you for all your prayers! We left this morning about 9:00 and headed 2 hours away from Addis in a van, on bumpy roads, dodging cars, monkeys, cows,and it was hot and dirty... BUT guess what? This girl never felt even a smidgen sick!! (that alone is a miracle in itself)  We arrived at the orphanage and they took us all to a back nursey room where "little man Cheatham" was waiting! He was shy and a little timid at first but didn't cry or get upset at all when Heather picked him up! The whole family took turns holding him and he went to all of them- so precious! Then we took him out into the courtyard to sit with him and talk and love on him- he warmed up quickly! but after about 30 minutes you could just tell he was getting SO tired! One of the nannies said it was his nap time but that he could stay with us. So Heather just put in him in her lap and in about 5 minutes he was out! It was the most precious thing! We got to play with him for hours and it was just such an amazing time! We won't post any pictures of him until they pass court but I did get some shots of our drive out there and then some precious ones of his hands and parts of the orphanage- I took 878 pictures just while we were there so rest assured as soon as we can you will see LOTS of little man!....
                             These were all the gifts that were donated for the orphans and widows!

Finally at the orphanage and walking in to see Little Man! Aimee and I took our jobs seriously!!:)

This next picture is one of my favorites- I'm not trying to brag but I had some mad skilzz today!

We got the grand tour of the whole orphanage and it was really nicely run. All of the nannies and widows were so so kind and welcoming. When we were taken to the directors office this was the first thing that caught my eye....

When he went down for a nap, Aimee and I took the girls to go meet and love on the widows. It really is the coolest thing-orphans and widows together, they both benefit from being around each other and those ladies were just so precious and thankful! We brought them nail polish, lotion and bracelets and had such a fun time giving each woman her gift! This next picture is one of my favorites too! She was just absolutely beautiful and was so happy all the time!

This precious lady didn't know what lotion was or what it was for so I just told her I would show her. Well after getting her hands and arms rubbed she pulled up her skirt for me to do her legs as well! It was an honor to me- she was so greatful for something so simple and I was the one who was blessed.

It really was just the perfect day! We were all so tired on the way home but stopped for dinner and then headed to the hotel- which is where we are now and I should go to bed!:)

I am so thankful to be here! Little man is a perfect fit for the Cheatham family and I just can't wait for him to come home with his forever family!  Hopefully Heather will be able to post actual pictures of him soon! They appear at court tomorrow at 1:30 so keep the prayers coming!