I know I've show this picture before, but it was taken in the van on our way to the Embassy appointment. It's one of my favorites. I promise - it wasn't staged!

Tuesday (9/22)

Embassy Day!

We drove to the U.S. Embassy for our interviews with the U.S. government and for our final hurdle before taking Mihret home with us. There was some drama in the moments leading up to our appointment because one of the families had been informed that the Embassy did not have all of their paperwork. Without the paperwork, no visa approval. Without the visa aproval, no flight home with their daughter. Not good.

We arrived at the Embassy and were told very explicitly, “No pictures.” This is true with all government buildings in Ethiopia, but they were especially serious when it came to the Embassy. No cameras. No cell phones. No potential weapons of any kind.

We entered a small holding area where we went through secrurity one by one  This included putting any large items like diaper bags and purses through an x-ray machine. Without thought, I put the diaper bag onto the conveyor belt. A few seconds later, the security guard asked, “Sir – do you have any cameras or cell phones in your bag?”

“No,” I replied.

“Are you sure?” She asked. “I saw a cell phone in your bag.”

So I stood there and emptied the diaper bag, looking for the elusive cell phone. I couldn’t find it. After what was probably just a minute or two (although it felt like decades), I finally looked in a hidden pocket in the diaper bag and found it under a bib, some tissues, and a packet of formula mix. Christy and I had completely forgotten about her phone. I’m glad they were understanding and didn’t send the guys carrying the big guns after me.

With the cell phone safely placed in their care, I quickly threw the stuff back into the diaper bag and entered the Embassy. As I was walking out of the security area, I heard the guard ask another member of our travel group if he’d left a cell phone in his bag. He was just as flustered as I was when they asked me.

“Just say yes,” I said with a smile. “Because she knows you forgot about it.”

The waiting area was similar to a visit to any Bureau (or Department) of Motor Vehicles. A bunch of stiff chairs with drab walls and an intercom that was so muffled you could only understand every-other word. But at least there was a play area for the kids.

Mihret sat with me and I discovered all of her tickle spots and played peek-a-boo with her. She also pulled up on my arms and stood on my lap. I was almost in tears when she did this because doctors had warned that she might not ever have the strength to even consider standing and walking.

As we waited for our turn with the representative from the Embassy, many of us gathered with the family that was having visa issues and prayed that the bureaucratic mess would be resolved. While we were praying with them, our name was called and we went in for our interview.

The interview probably lasted 5-10 minutes. And that was it. We were approved. We went back into the waiting area and the rest of the families applauded. We did that for every family as they came back in. We had jumped through every hoop that was before us and now we were on the brink of bringing our children home with us! There was definite cause for celebration.

At the last minute, the family’s visa problems were resolved. Yet another confirmation that God was at work through this process!

After the Embassy appointments, we stayed in the hotel for the rest of the evening; eating dinner with some of the other families and beginning to prepare for the long flight home.

There’s nothing like rocking your child to sleep and joining her in her slumber. I did it all the time with Aiden and also with Alyson. I even fell asleep holding Caedmon a time or two.

And now the tradition continues…

A few weeks back, I got to take Aiden to a Pacers game. It was Cub Scout Night and Family Night – so the tickets were cheap and we got some pretty cool stuff, like free t-shirts and hot dogs and drinks. Uncle Kevin came along too for a guys’ night out. This was my third Pacers game and the first one since Thanksgiving, 2002.

Remember a few years ago when Aiden played for the Tar Heels? He’s been a fan of Carolina since then – much to my chagrin. But at least he’s not a Boilermaker or Wildcats fan. He’d have to sleep out in the shed if that were the case.

Anyway, Aiden was super-excited to learn that Pacers rookie, Tyler Hansbrough, was a Tar Heel last year. He was also pretty excited to see how big Psycho T’s hands and feet are compared with his own.

He just had to buy something, so he got a hat and foam finger (with his own money). Looks like  he’s starting to gather a collection of foam fingers. I guess there’s worse things…

Then, at the end of the game, we got to walk on the floor and Aiden got to shoot a basket. While it doesn’t have the same aura as Hinkle Fieldhouse, it was still a pretty neat experience.

Oh yeah – and the Pacers beat Boston, which made it all the more sweet. That started the weekend’s sweep of Indy teams against New England teams that weekend. The Colts game was much more dramatic, though.

A grand time was had by all. Hopefully, it won’t be 7 years before I go to another Pacers game.

The Vs have come to celebrate five years of blogging excellence.

Five years ago…

• I didn’t have any children in elementary school.
• I’d never heard of a place called Cowan, Indiana.
• The idea of adopting internationally was still a pipe dream.
• I was convinced that I was going to be involved in planting a church in Evansville.
• I was wrapping up my first semester of seminary and probably questioning my sanity as I studied for OTI and Elementary Greek.
• We were still adjusting back to life in Tennessee’s fair eastern mountains.
• We were active members of Sonlife Community Church.
• Mike Davis was the coach of the Hoosiers.
• I had never seen a computer catch fire.

My, how things have changed over the past five years. And I think it’s safe to say the nature of Life in the Fishbowl has changed considerably since I dipped my toes in the blogging pond and tested the waters with these two posts five years ago.

I’m thinking about compiling a list of my favorite posts from the past five years. Any suggestions? If you do share one, please include a link (if possible).

Moments after taking custody of our Little Girl

Monday (9/21)

The drive back to Addis from Durame lasted entirely too long.

We toured a medical facility that is supported by our agency. We also had the opportunity to stop and take pictures of Mihret’s actual birth-village.

But the drive back to Addis from Durame still lasted entirely too long.

Because we knew that when we returned to Addis, we’d take custody of our children. The long-awaited moment was finally at hand. We just had to wait through the drive back to the city.

When we finally got back to our hotel, we went over to the Care Center. The children were having their baths and the nannies had redone Mihret’s hair. We watched as they bathed and dried her one last time. She had been at the Center for a long time and it was obvious that the nannies loved her. We brought some pajamas for her to wear to the hotel. The nannies gladly dressed her in her new outfit.

It was tough watching them say goodbye to our Little Girl. They’d loved her for so long. I’m sure they were happy that she has a forever family, but it was also difficult for them to let her go. One of the nannies held her one last time and she was fighting back tears.

“Chaio,” she finally managed to say.

And she handed Mihret back to us for the final time. We did our best to express our heartfelt gratitude to the nannies who cared so much for our daughter. I hope they understood – even with the language barrier. And we walked out the room and closed the door.

She was finally ours!

The Ethiopian Flag

Longtime faithful visitors to Life in the Fishbowl don’t need to be reminded that I’m far from an expert at foreign languages. My linguistic understanding is really more like a stew. SpangDeutschLish stew.

Apparently, my “default” foreign language has reverted back to German. There was obviously a language barrier between us and the nannies at the Care Center in Addis. They spoke very little English. We spoke very little Amharic. So we resorted to pointing and signing quite a bit.

The German flag. It's not THAT different from the Ethiopian flag - right? At least it has yellow. And horizontal lines.

But whenever I’d hear them say something to me in Amharic, my mind would register that they were speaking in a foreign language. So I wanted to respond to them in German.

That’s right. German.

I even caught myself actually responding in German once. A nanny was explaining something to us (I don’t remember what – probably about feeding Mihret) and I understood what she meant. I heard myself say, “Ah, sehr gut,” out loud.

It could be argued that because there’s still a lingering Italian presence (i.e. Chaio = “goodbye”) from the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in the early 20th century, I could have simply been trying to recognize Ethiopia’s cultural heritage. Because, after all, Germany and Italy aren’t that far from each other.

Or maybe I’m just a doofus.

Fortunately, I figured out how to say “Thank you” before I started telling everyone “Danke” or “Gracias.” That would have been embarrassing.

He was such a good dog...

About a year ago, I mentioned how Diego’s health was deteriorating and we didn’t expect him to live much longer.

Today became the dreaded day. The medicines had lost their effectiveness and it was obvious that Diego was constantly in pain or uncomfortable. He was easily irritable and tried to avoid being around the kids for fear they would hurt him.

It’s a sad day in the Todd household. We’re all going to miss Don Diego Velazquez Todd. When we got him (before Aiden was born), his tiny tail looked like a paintbrush with white paint on the tip. That led us to thumb through our Humanities books to find a fitting artist to be his namesake. Since we went on our honeymoon in San Diego, it only seemed fitting to name him after Diego Velazquez.

Bella seems to be quite concerned and confused. She knows we left with him this afternoon. But now she’s wandering the house like she’s looking for something and whining to go outside (even when she doesn’t have to).

He was such a good dog, even in his times of obvious pain. We’re gonna miss him.

Darth Diego. Or maybe Diego Vader. We could never decide.

When I heard the headline last night that Mike Tyson had punched someone in an airport, all I could think of was this song. When I woke up this morning, this song was still running through my head.

If Mr. Tyson really felt his daughter was threatened, I’m not surprised that he did this at all. In fact I don’t think I blame him – especially after the tragic death of his four year old daughter earlier this year. After that, I’d be extra-vigilant about protecting my children.

I think the paparazzo’s experience should be a lesson to all of us: Just listen to Will Smith and don’t mess with Iron Mike (unless you’re playing Punch Out…then you’re safe…I think).

There are so many lines that I love in this song. I think my favorite is “My body’s like a punching bag and Mike’s gonna” (hit it). What’s your favorite?

I was moved by the words of a former professor of mine, Dr. Jim Street:

I pray for the Day when we will beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, when we will study war no more and veterans will be those in our past whom we esteem for their valor and sacrifice. Until that time, my deep regard and respect for all veterans past AND present.

Amen. And amen.

I’m still thinking of what to rename this blog. Actually, I am going to rename it. Just not sure to what name yet.

So, to continue the conversation that began here, I’m gonna throw out a few more name ideas. What do you think?

A Troop (or Skulk) of Todds in Candy Stripe Pants

The Silver Fox in Candy Stripe Pants

For the uninformed, the Indiana basketball Hoosiers wear candy stripe pants when warming up before a game. Since IU tends to dominate the posts come basketball season, I think it might be fitting to use something like this in the name.

Or there’s something like Crimson Fox and Other Toddities.

Or The Fox of Life (thanks, Heather)

I was also thinking of something with the word Ferenji, which is Ethiopian for “foreigner.” But I hesitate to use that because it could easily get confused with Ferengi. And I really don’t want this blog to get confused with a Star Trek blog. I guess I could make a passing reference to Star Wars. What about The Big Walking Carpet in Candy Stripe Pants and Other Toddities? That just rolls of the tongue, doesn’t it?

Any thoughts? Any other suggestions? I really do value your input. Of course, I may choose something regardless of your thoughts. It’s not like this blog is a democracy or anything. More like a benevolent dictatorship, I guess.