Ethiopia Day 4 part 1..the birthmom meeting.

Ok so here we are on our next to last day in Ethiopia..Wednesday was an emotionally charged busy day. I have given alot of thought to how I would talk about this day on my blog and what pictures I would post. The first thing on our agenda today was of course the birthmom meeting and we have decided that we will not post any pictures of her online. We do have them in our house but other then that they are Noah Tamirats.

So when we arrived in Ethiopia we were given a schedule for the week. We were happy to see that we did indeed have a birthmom meeting scheduled as did a few other families from our agency. Our meeting was schedule for 11am so the morning was a little bit tense. Noah Tamirat fell asleep not long before it was time to leave for Hannah's Hope so we ended up carrying a sleeping baby down all those stairs and over the rocky path. When we got there nobody was outside (babies were all inside for naps) so we just sat out in the shade and waited. Almaz came out and said that she didn't know how things would go because of the two earlier meetings one birthmom showed up and the other one they waited for but she didn't come. I silently said a prayer that she would have the courage to come so that we could meet her and share more about her with Noah later on. Sean was walking around taking pictures and I had my back to the gate when he came over and said she is here lets go. We walked into Almaz' office and I had butterflies in my stomach. Noah was now awake and I just stood and waited for his birthmom to come in. I handed Noah Tamirat to her and he went without a fuss. I'm not sure if he remembered her or if it was just a brown face like his so he was ok but i'm so happy for her sake that she was able to hold him again. His birthmom is a beautiful young woman and I see alot of her in Tamirat . It was very clear how much she loved him by the look on her face.


Noah played on the floor while we asked our questions . We didn't get all the answers we wanted but we got the important ones and we can talk to him about those when he is old enough to understand. We could tell his mom wanted to know us and know our faces but she didn't want us to see her looking so we tried to focus on Almaz and on Noah. I was perfectly willing to let her study the faces of the family that would be raising her child. Almaz gave her the photo album we brought and read the letter we wrote and you could see her overwelming emotions. I held it togeather the best I could hoping it would make it easier on everyone if i wasn't a blubbering mess. After we had our questions answered we went outside and took pictures of Tamirat with his birthmom and then of all of us togeather. We went back into the office and hugged his birthmom and said goodbye I whispered thank you and we love you(not sure if she understood but I had to say something) and then waited as Almaz walked her to the gate. We know from another family that saw this it was a very emotional time for his birthmom. We will always keep this amazing woman in our prayers, we know that she loved Tamirat very much long before he was born . When we asked why she named him what she did we were told because he was her "miracle" it was always her dream to have a child. That was the first question she answered and it tore my heart out because I have also always dreamed of having a child and I can't imagine the pain it causes to give him up. Someday we hope to bring him back to Ethiopia to see his birthmom if he wants to..We know this is her dream as well. After the meeting was over we talked with Almaz a little bit and then left to go back to the hotel to unwind. Noah needed a nap and we needed to process everything that had happened. We had to be back at Hannah's Hope at 2 to go over more paperwork.

Back at the hotel Daddy & Noah took naps. I was sitting looking out the window just thinking about his birthmom and the pain she must be feeling and it all became to much and I finally broke down. Sean was awake at this point and we just hugged and let me cry it out. I went to dry my eyes and then came back to the window as Sean was telling me to look out. Noah Tamirats birthmom was walking past our hotel. I truly belive this was a sign from god. He knew that I was thinking about her and my heart was hurting for her and to see her one more time as she walked past our hotel was a true blessing. Noah Tamirat's beautiful birthmom will always be part of our family.

*next up part 2. paperwork and some more amazing women that loved my son before I did.*