New Appreciation for the Gabi

Gabi Blankets are something I have come to love and find comfort on cold days from. My mother in-law has always kept me well-supplied. When we were in Ethiopia the cotton used on these blankets and clothing is everywhere. We were able to go to a factory where they make these creations and it was amazing. It was all men who worked in this big warehouse with poor lighting and hard working conditions. They do not have modern machines to make this process quick, but take great pride in what they do. They make intricate patterns and it is all done by their hands. The hours it must take for one blanket are hard to guess, yet they cost about $10.00 in US dollars. I would not think this could pay for their efforts and skill.

This man is spooling the thread or cotton. They were so kind to let us in and you could tell it was unusual to have visitors.

I don't think I have any idea how hard and tedious this work must be-- This was an experience.

Glimpses of Ethiopia

Touching my heart--

These were some of our favorite boys--full of fun and smiles...they had control of the play area!

This is Rebekah hanging out with some of the kids. I don't think they could talk with each other, but she loved being near the children living at Toukoul.

Two Grandmas in Ethiopia-- What are the chances?

This is Aser and I waiting at the meeting room door as they bring Malachi for the first time... those few minutes seemed like a whole day. It was amazing as we saw them enter though:)

This is Aser's mom who lives in Addis Ababa. She was very taken with Malachi and he knew just how to snuggle with her--too cute! It was such a blessing to have her there for support and also made our entire trip so perfect. She even outfitted our guesthouse with a coffee pot and Ethiopian coffee for me. She had even bought new bedspreads for each bed-- better than a hotel:) Such love in her planning!

This is my mom who traveled from Oregon with us to meet Malachi. Have I mentioned how much she loved Ethiopia??? She took meticulous notes during our entire trip--only somehow did not return home with them. She had even written down what we ate and what we did each day and hour--- we are very sad about this. It was a treat and blessing to have her with us. The kids have said they can never go back to Ethiopia without grandma too. Thank you Mom!!!

First Introductions-- Our Five Children

This was our first time meeting Malachi! How exciting to be together as a family.

Wishing I could Bleach all of this away--

Hello:
Sickness has continued to be a struggle for our family. I would buy gallons of bleach if it could take away whatever it is that seems to have taken hold of us. I know God is giving us the strength to maintain, but there are moments where I lift my hands asking, " How much more? " Today Nehemiah woke up with a headache and then by 1:00 school had called saying he had a temp of 102f --poor guy has really been hit hard! By tonight we were in emergency because of severe headaches. Our ped. thought we should be closer to more tests so off we went... Thankfully Aser met me there and took the other four kids home for dinner and baths. We are waiting for MALARIA testing---however, I am 99.9% sure this is not what he has. They were only entertaining this because of where we have been and because his fever was not responding to normal meds. Meanwhile Mr. Malachi had his first dr. appt this morning--this entailed him receiving his first shot on American soil. He has been throwing up since that and it seems to have a direct correlation to this??? It is so sad because it is hard to know how to make him feel better and he has no idea what has hit his little body. He is almost 20lbs though:) He is in the 15th percentile and overall is very healthly!

Thank you for your prayers-- I will continue to need them:) It is hard because we do eat healthy, sleep regularly and overall take good care of our bodies so it is hard to see my family so sick lately. After our visit to the emergency room in Ethiopia I realize how blessed we are here in the states. It is quite striking the difference-- for one quick difference they still use mercury thermometers under the arm. I believe those are no longer available here in the states. However, for our visit to the emergency in Africa we only had to pay $10.00--talk about a difference!

It was so so special to share Malachi with the classes at the school today. Thank you for your love and sweetness to our family. The 1st grade teavher said how precious the prayers of her students have been while we were gone. It was special to let a couple of the kids in that class know that Malachi sleeps on their bed and rides in their carseat:) I have so cherished the prayers from our family at school.

Kimberly

Home and at peace

Thank you for your prayers... how special to see friends and family at the airport tonight! It was so special to round the corner and see the familiar faces, balloons and signs:) Thank you!

It is so wonderful to be home-- I will post pictures of Malachi very soon!

With much love--Kimberly for the Heyes

one small update!

Thank you to our friends, the Sjogrens, we realized we will actually be landing at 8:55 tonight! I am so excited to be home and to have clean clothes--our luggage had gone all the way to PDX! So can you say Dirty Clothes without a stinky face??? My sister in-law, Sophie, brought Malachi the skyscraper version of formula so we have had enough for him thankfully!!!

Rebekah did get sick after she ate today, but I think she is on the mend now. I hope to never hear or see vom.... for several months at least now:) I have had my fill!!! :) I am just thankful that we were able to stay in our room for a bit longer to help Rebekah and we are off to the shuttle now for the airport! Did I mention we are coming home tonight??? YEAH!!!

Love--The Heyes

On Our Way We Hope

Thank you Andre for your help with the change of plans. We had such a wonderful time seeing Aser's family here in DC. His brother Yafet and family drove here from Atlanta too-- Truly treasured times! We just love you guys!

We were able to get a bit of sleep last night and it was WONDERFUL! Grandma and Anna were up early and so happy to play with Malachi so Aser and I could sleep. Aser is still not feeling like himself and Rebekah seems to have the bad weather now--but at least I can carry her....

After almost four hours in line to reschedule our flight last night we will be on the same flight tonight arriving in Portland at 9:22pm. The employees at the airport were not feeling too happy last night and as each customer was taking about 1 1/2 hours to process. However, other people in line were so so sweet to us and let Aser lay down and then me watch the kids and they kept our place in line. I am not sure what we would have done without these angels:) WONDERFUL!
My brother, Jan, went to pick up our luggage last night in Portland-- thank you does not cover it! He was able to get all 13 bags in his car--quite the feat!

Malachi LOVES LOVES table food. He was refusing to eat baby food and I was so worried about him being hungry, but now I know why-- he does not think he is a baby and so he was not eating. This morning he ate so so much and loved each bite as long as it was Real Food:)

Thank you --With Love--The Heyes

Travel Travails

Well, I'm not Kimberly -- I'm her brother-in-law -- but I'm posting this brief update on her behalf.  As I type, she and her family are at the Dulles airport trying to rearrange their travel plans back to Portland this evening.  Unfortunately Aser wasn't feeling too well and as a result they ended up missing their scheduled flight into Portland this evening.  I just got the phone call from Kimberly saying that they are still at the airport and working feverishly to get another flight.  Of course, this being Friday evening, that can be a little tough.  There are no more direct flights on United so it'll be a matter of trying to patch together another route that will hopefully get them into Portland either very late tonight or (more likely in my opinion) tomorrow morning.  Of course we would be happy to have them stay with us for the night, but I know they're eager to get home tonight.  Please keep them in your prayers.

Andre

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Coming Home

Tonight we leave at 10:00 pm for America. Our time has been rich and so
memorable! We will TRULY miss Ethiopia. The kids can't believe it is
over as they have done so well adapting and being flexible. I must
admit I am surprised with how much they love it here despite the
restrooms and things just being so different from what they know. I am
so happy that God has made Ethiopia close to their hearts. They are
proud of their heritage and that warms me over. Malachi is a gem and I
hope he likes planes:) The babypack has been very helpful as there are
not a lot of places for him to crawl around. He is very active and will
fit in perfect with my other four active ones:)

We can't thank you enough for your prayers and support. We have felt
covered in prayer-- more than at any other time in my life that I can
recall. God has truly blessed us and I am humbled by His love.

Our drivers have said it will be hard to have us leave. I would think
they would be relieved as we have put the miles on their van. They have
been beyond drivers, but friends. We will miss them.

it is hard to leave Aser's family. They have been so so kind and
helpful to us.

See you so soon!!! Friday at 9:22pm we land in Oregon and home again...

Love--Kimberly for Heye Family

Together at last

Today is our first full day with Malachi as a Heye! We are thrilled and
he is SO SO good-- he woke up Aser and I this morning cooing and
smiling:) What a treasure! I was very tired, but somehow it did not
matter:) We were up late as Anna has food poisoning... we let her eat
some soup and are pretty sure that is where it came from:( Poor girl!
I think we have had enough sick kids for awhile now -- God is good and
she is up and around today.

Yesterday as they removed Malachi's card from the orphanage check-in
roster I just cried. Tears of joy that he is ours, tears of pain
thinking of his parents and the fact that he will not know them, and
tears for the nannies who were so attached to him. It was very
emotional and full of joy at the same time. Aser's mom had a Welcome
Home cake for him so we had a party after--that was very special to us
to have both grandmas here. They gave us his complete medical file. He
has been on antibiotics pretty much every two weeks for resp.
problems:( I am anxious to get that sorted out. He is so happy despite
not feeling well. He eats well--

Last night we met up with Porter, another American adopting, for
dinner. She is adopting from Toukoul as well. It was very nice to
finally meet her as we have been corresponding for several months now.
She is actually here traveling with her best friend from Oregon.

The kids are sad this is our last full day here. It has flown , but I
am anxious to start life now! I am looking forward to pushing him in a
stroller, feeding him in a highchair and introducing him to cheerios
and just getting into our groove. The kids have been WONDERFUL with him
and they are so patient as ASer and I figure this out.

Thank you for your prayers-- Kimberly

Roasted Coffee

The smell of coffee roasting is everywhere! We are amazed at the love
and "specialness" of each coffee ceremony. They roast the coffee in
front of you and then the lady doing the work is sitting on a small
stool working. After all of the work they "present" you with a small
shot -sized drink. It is rich and savory-- They can't believe I take no
sugar. :) I love the coffee. It is cheap as well! Sorry Starbucks--

We have our embassy date tomorrow and get to bring Malachi with us:)
There are no carseats or seatbelts here so off we go! We have two appts
tomorrow there. This is our last hurdle and then on Tuesday we get him
forever! I can hardly wait... He is doing well and we are smitten with
him!

Today we went shopping some. It is so nice to have Aser and our drivers
getting us local prices most of the time:) Big difference! Today we
went to the lions-- that was a bit scary and they are not all too
secure! They are amazing and make me long for Heaven to see them next
to the lambs...

We are loving each moment here and so feel your prayers.

Thank you--Love, Heyes

Loving Ethiopia

We have been able to meet with our lawyer now and after some scary
paperwork issues I think we are on track. He even has his own
passport--so precious! Malachi is doing much better now with his
breathing. We are so thankful! He is so so happy and a joy to be with.
He laughs and laughs as the kids and has even fallen asleep in my arms.
I can hardly wait until we can have him all of the time. I think
overall he is doing very well and the staff at the orphanage are
amazing. There are over 240 kids at the care center--amazing! Anna
loves playing with the kids and taking suckers and balloons for them.
Rebekah follows her and is very involved with the kids. Lydia is busy
learning Amharic and doing well:) Nehemiah is our paparazzi--Actually
they all are:)

I will miss the smells, sounds,and colors of Ethiopia I know. It is so
rich here. I am having a hard time with the poverty, yet the pride is
evident still. The love for children is clear everywhere we go.... they
are very tender to the young and to the elderly. We are growing
attached to our drivers as well-- they are even playing with the kids
at the care center now. We have been so blessed with our safety and
health. My mom was very sick one day ago, but doing much better now.
She is amazing us all and loves it here as well.

We are thankful for your prayers and comments. We will be home in one
more week. Rebekah turns 7 this Sunday--our first big birthday here. We
are planning to swim at the HIlton that day-- It is very nice there!

We miss you and can hardly wait for you to meet Mr. Malachi:) We are so
in love! I tear up whenever I think of God's blessings to us.

Love, The Heye Family

WOW and double WOW

This has been more rich than I could have ever imagined! The kids are
doing great and Lydia already wants to move here -- don't worry we will
bring her back with us:) Today we visited the school Aser's mom heads
up and built. I was truly speechless! Over 400 children now have an
education from what they have done. They provide power and water to
over 65 families locally. The children were so sweet and excited about
learning--truly made my teacher heart warmed.They have several micro
-industries as well to help support families such as a dairy, sewing,
woodworking and honey. Many local women were there working hard. Aser's
childhood friend from the farm, where the school was built, is a guard
there now. Pretty cool to be reunited after all of these years! We are
exhausted, but doing wonderful and are healthy:) Malachi could not be
more special or sweet. Today was were able to see his bed and baby
area. He truly has wonderful care. One of the nannies came out and just
hugged him and was sobbing today with the thought of him leaving. It
was very clear they were very attached. He is so happy and alert! He is
recognizing us now, which is a treat and smiles that cute smile of his
when we arrive. We are still seeing him twice a day and are falling in
love with so many of the children in the orphanage. They are so sweet
and today about 5 French families showed up to meet their children
while we were there. So cool!
Thank you again for your love and prayers--we so need them with the
driving and all here. That is a blog in of itself! We have great
drivers, but it is a Very busy city with lots of pedestrians. Today our
car bumped a man off the road-- it was not a big deal to either
party... The machine guns from police are a bit intimidating.We are so
thankful to be here as a family and my mom is doing great! She is
always saying how much she loves Ethiopia:)

We made it!

We can't thank EACH of you for your prayers and support. We arrived in Ethiopia about 10:00 pm last night. ( we are bit jet-lagged) Our first stop was the emergency room for Nehemiah. He had to be escorted off the plane in a wheelchair and it was rather scary. The doctors were so kind and helped him get back on his feet again. It was nice his mom was here or we would not have known what to do. We only had two of our kids getting sick on the plane--I was just thankful it was not four:) We had such an incredible time in DC as well. We had a quick tour and even saw the Declaration of Ind-- I felt very patriotic walking through the Archives building.

 

OK NOW FOR THE BEST NEWS! Malachi is absolutely WONDERFUL. There are no words for how blessed we feel by this little one. He is very sick, but still laughed and loved the kids. He is such a cuddler and has made me tear up over and over with little pats to my back. He is so quick to want to play and be hugged. He is much more tiny than I thought he would be. I think he has lost weight with being so sick. We are trying to figure out how to help him so he can fly home with ease. He is one happy little guy and did I mention handsome too??? We are able to visit him two times a day and hope we can take him with us very soon. It depends on his health and if we can manage here with limited supplies and all.

 

We had such a great lunch with his mom and family today. We love Ethiopia and my kids are such troopers and enjoying it all. It is a lot to take in, but so wonderful. THANK YOU!

 

With Much Love, The Heye Family

 

ps-- the kids wanted to say hello to their classmates

 

Fwd: We Made It!!

-----Original Message-----
From: kheye4@aol.com
To: heyefamily@selahatlast@blogger.com
Sent: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 4:56 pm
Subject: We Made It!!

We can't thank EACH of you for your prayers and support. We arrived in
Ethiopia about 10:00 pm last night. ( we are bit jet-lagged) Our first
stop was the emergency room for Nehemiah. He had to be escorted off the
plane in a wheelchair and it was rather scary. The doctors were so kind
and helped him get back on his feet again. It was nice his mom was here
or we would not have known what to do. We only had two of our kids
getting sick on the plane--I was just thankful it was not four:) We had
such an incredible time in DC as well. We had a quick tour and even saw
the Declaration of Ind-- I felt very patriotic walking through the
Archives building.

OK NOW FOR THE BEST NEWS! Malachi is absolutely WONDERFUL. There are no
words for how blessed we feel by this little one. He is very sick, but
still laughed and loved the kids. He is such a cuddler and has made me
tear up over and over with little pats to my back. He is so quick to
want to play and be hugged. He is much more tiny than I thought he
would be. I think he has lost weight with being so sick. We are trying
to figure out how to help him so he can fly home with ease. He is one
happy little guy and did I mention handsome too??? We are able to visit
him two times a day and hope we can take him with us very soon. It
depends on his health and if we can manage here with limited supplies
and all.

We had such a great lunch with his mom and family today. We love
Ethiopia and my kids are such troopers and enjoying it all. It is a lot
to take in, but so wonderful. THANK YOU!

With Much Love, The Heye Family

ps-- the kids wanted to say hello to their classmates