Book - Page 4 & 5

Alexa proving she can “sleep anywhere.” The kids somewhat enjoyed the first 8 hours – playing cards, watching movies, etc. After that, they were ready to get off!

We literally rode into the sunrise. We landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 7:45 AM on Wednesday, November 13. The flight time was 13 hours and 30 minutes.

Africa from the plane looked like a beautiful patchwork quilt.

Ethiopian Air: They fed us so many times we lost count of what meal it was supposed to be. They had a blanket, eye mask, socks, toothbrush and headphones in each seat. We felt like royalty!

After the harrowing experience of getting off the plane and finding our driver, we made it to where we were staying – The Bethel Guesthouse. It is in a neighborhood directly in Addis. Our driver beeped and the guard came and opened the gate door.

After unloading and making it inside, it began pouring rain. We had no idea what that pounding sound was! All the people who worked at the guesthouse were so shocked. Apparently, it very rarely rains outside of the rainy season. This our view from the surrounding sides of the guesthouse.

Book Page 2 & 3

4:OO AM – We are heading to the airport!

We got to the airport at 4:30 AM. We had 8 bags and 5 carry ons. Everyone had their backpack and a couple of suitcases to drag along!

Saying goodbye to Aiden’s bag for its first trip. This trip, it was filled with humanitarian aid for the government orphanages. Next trip, it will be filled with clothes and supplies needed for Aiden’s homecoming!

Ian taking “Emily” through her favorite part – security!

Owen and “Emily” on our first flight. We had to fly from RDU to the Dulles/Washington airport. We left RDU at 6:00AM and were in DC by 7:30 AM.

Taking the shuttle in DC to our next gate to get ready for the “big” one. Our flight left DC at 10:15 AM.

Our first meal with Ethiopian Air. The meals going were much better than the meals on the return flight home.

The monitor was very cool. It told us how many miles, the time, the elevation, etc. We were all a bit obsessed with them.

Book Page 1

November 6 - The day we received the call that our court date was November 15, 2013. Meaning we had to be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by Tuesday, November 13, and would meet our son for the first time on November 14! We had a crazy amount of stuff to do and a short amount of time in which to do it! Haircuts were important. I didn't want the kids to appear "unkept". Alexa needed a wardrobe overhaul. Finding clothes that were Africa appropriate as well "Alexa" appropriate proved itself to be quite the challenge - Especially enough for 10 days! In addition to all the craziness, we decided to throw together a last minute fundraiser to "tag his bag". Friends sent donations and we added their names to his suitcase. We were so incredibly blessed by the donations and completely humbled by the outpouring of love, support and encouragement we received.

Life back in America

Well, we've been home 5 days. It has been a whirlwind of "welcome back to life" days. A hard thing is that now it's Thanksgiving. It was a surreal feeling to step off the plane in DC to Christmas music and Christmas trees. I love Black Friday. All the girls over 18 go out. We have hats, matching shirts. We had out candy canes to the downtrodden. I will admit - I'm struggling. Luckily, my kids have never been one to make list after list of their Christmas wants. They are just as likely to pour over a Compassion or World Vision magazine as the Target catalog. So it's not that. I looked through the sales papers. They had balls (soccer, basketball, and football) for $5. My first thought was "That's a great price - I wonder if they have any deflated ones?" I saw some tabletop games - pingpong, foosball, etc. The boys at Onesimus would love that - "would it fit in my suitcase?" I went to Bath and Body Works to get Solomon (our driver) some cookie dough hand sanitizer. I'm not sure if I'm so conflicted because I know I'm going back soon. I know my son is still there. I know how little so many kids there have. I have always had the type of brain that never stopped and my flittings have always concerned Ryan and usually given him a headache :) But this is worse, way worse. And the thing about it - I see it in all of us. We just respond / react in different ways. When we got home, I worked hard to put together a scrapbook of sorts. I wanted to be able to take it to show our family and friends over the holidays. However, Wal-Mart had other plans and the book was not ready on time - despite their one day guarantee. So, I'm going to start posting the book - page by page here. It will take a bit of time but I'll get it all done, eventually. :) Enjoy

They Had to Leave Without Me!

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to go to Africa. I have a strong love and passion for Africa. When my parents began the adoption process (I was 16 years old) it was MY plan to travel with them. When the waiting began, one day went by, then a week, then a month, and eventually four years. I finally had to come to terms with the fact that MY plan wasn't going to work out. I was now a Junior in college and couldn't miss 10 days worth of school. I will admit, I was angry. I was hurt and upset. I was jealous because my entire family was going to get to go, but I wasn't. I was never angry that my family left me. I was also never angry with my family for having to go without me. I was just angry that I didn't get to go. I felt that because adoption was something I had hoped for and prayed for my family that I should get to go.

However, I finally had to see that it must not be GOD'S plan for me to go. I was focused on what I wanted and not what God had planned for me. I went home the weekend before my family left and I helped them pack and prepare for the trip. I was trying really hard to not show what I was feeling because I wanted to be the strong 20 year old that I know I can be. It finally all hit me one night while my mom was making her lists of what to pack. I broke down. I cried and cried and cried. I apologized over and over for feeling the way that I did/do.

My mom wrapped me in her arms and told me that what I was feeling was normal. That I should be sad that I couldn't go. I should be jealous that my siblings were going to get to hold my baby brother before I was. I should have all of these feelings because that is the kind of big sister I am. I will do absolutely anything for my siblings and their happiness is very important to me. I was broken and hurt that our family wouldn't be whole from the very beginning.

When I hugged my mom for the last time before heading back to school, I cried again. I had such mixed emotions about the whole ordeal. Then I decided that I was going to take my job as the only Nemitz stateside very seriously. God had to have a reason for me staying here. I kept everyone up to date and informed about what was going on with my family across the world. It was hard to see all of the pictures of my family with Yohannes. However, I realized that I was no longer angry or upset. When I saw my mom hold Yohannes for the first time, I knew that everyone was right where God intended them to be.

I am so unbelievably thankful for everyone who has called, texted, and facebooked me. I am so encouraged by the love and support that our family has received through this adventure.

The Nemitz Family (minus one) are on their way home. They board their flight in Ethiopia at 10:15pm their time. They will return to RDU at 5:07pm on Saturday night. I don't get to see them until Tuesday, but I can't wait to see their many many pictures and hear the stories and experiences that I haven't heard yet.

Random Thoughts on Africa

I feel like a pingpong ball - my thoughts going from place to place. Yesterday, I read back over my journal entries of the past few days and they are the most ADD entries I have ever seen. Hopefully, ten years from now, my brain will be able to keep up! We have been all over. We have a wonderful, kind, knowledgable driver that has taken us all over the city.

On Thursday we went to the National Museum and met "Lucy" - proof that evolution exists. Ian was flabbergasted that people would believe such and wanted to leave immediately. He is so his father's child. On Friday, as you know, we went to court and then to see Yohannes. That was about all I could take that day! On Saturday we had planned to go to a nearby lake but our guest house was hosting a fundraiser for Oneisimus - a program working to get the 100,000 street children off the street.

We are going Wednesday to volunteer in their drop-off center for the day. We are super excited about that opportunity. Several of the kids that are further in their program came to meet us and give their testimony. It was neat for my kids to have the interaction. Several of them kept kissing Ian. Saturday was also the Ethiopian / Nigerian soccer game. Owen and Ryan piled in with everyone here to watch the game. It was a fun experience.

On Sunday we went to church. We went to an Evangelical Church. The service was similar to home - just the congregation was different. The sermon was on "The Older Son" from Luke when the Prodigal, younger son came home. It hit me during that service that by exposing my children to Africa at such a young age, I have to be prepared if/when they fall in love with the African culture and leave me. It was a humbling thought - made me question could/would I be happy for them; short-term - yes, long-term - no. Yet if God called them here, who am I to stop them?

Sunday after church we went to lunch and then to the top of the mountain (I cannot remember the name - I'll post that when I post pictures). Then we went to a cultural dinner. Alexa decided she would like to have an authentic dress (remember that love thing I was talking about) to wear so after the mountain our driver took us to a market to get her a dress. I have no words to describe that experience. Let's just say Solomon's tip at the end of the week went up significantly! The cultural dinner was fun. We are discovering that we do not love the traditional Ethiopian foods. A lot of the textures are interesting to our palate. We all gave it a go - Ian ate cow intestine! There were dancers and music. It was a lot of fun.

Today (Monday) we went to visit Yohannes. Ryan wanted to take some toys to make us look more friendly. We stopped at a supermarket to get a few rattles. I have to admit, it did help. We used them to play with him but will leave them there for everyone to enjoy after we leave. Today was better, he didn't cry when he saw me. You could tell he would still prefer the caregivers but he looked more curious than scared. When I walked into his room another child started screaming at the top of his lungs. I really try not to be scary. :)

After a good visit with Yohannes, in which everyone got to hold him, we went to another private orphanage. It is very similar to the orphanage Yohannes is in. They served us cookies and soda, took us on a tour of all the rooms. There was a little boy in the special needs room - he was deaf- that took a serious liking to Owen. He had his little legs wrapped around Owen's waist so tightly. Owen had to just carry him around.

Tomorrow we are going to a government orphanage. They had told us we were going to 4 but our director said that since we (the agency) don't give as much money - foreigners are not as welcome. He was going to call and talk to the directors and then decide tomorrow where we will go. I am very appreciative that everyone is taking such special considerations of how things will affect my children. 

After the orphanage, we went to lunch with another couple from Texas that we have met that have their court date tomorrow. Their son will be their fourth child. They have one other child adopted from Nigeria. After lunch we went to the Lion's zoo. As soon as I am able to post pictures you will see it is not a zoo like you have ever seen. One lion was in a cage over by himself and we were told he was over there because last month he mauled (our driver said ate) a guard. He was a huge lion. We didn't loiter there long!

Now we are back at our guest house just taking a break. We've been going to bed around 10 pm because the mosque next door wakes us (Ian - which might as well be everyone) at 5 am. This morning, finally 5 days after being here, he finally slept through it. Hopefully, he will for the rest of the week.

Introducing.....Aiden Yohannes!!!

I now have a new baby brother. He is officially ours and we are so very thankful. It took the judge about 10 minutes to finalize the adoption (that is very quick).

On the first day they met him, he was afraid of my family. He would tolerate Ian and my mom. He was indifferent towards Alexa, but would not allow Owen or my dad to touch him. 

On the second day (after the courtdate), he got upset when my mom initially held him, but finally fell asleep and was comfortable in her arms. Owen was able to touch him, but he is still getting used to my dad. We are slowly making progress.

I could not imagine what is going through his mind, when FIVE people who he has never seen in his life come in and invade his personal space. 

Our social worker said that the visits went very well because he is a very shy baby so he did very well under the circumstances. 

We made him a picture book with our family inside for him to look at between the first and second trips. I know that he will very soon love to be held by my mom and giggle and laugh when my dad walks in the room.

I don't have much other information so I am going to leave you with tons and tons of pictures!

This was one of the first pictures we saw of him!

These pictures were taken in May.

This is one of my absolute favorites! I feel like it shows his personality.

These were taken in June.
We received the May and June pictures in our official referral email.

My mom said he has a deep, rumbly laugh!

This picture was from August. 

I love his expression!

I love my parents so very much and am so thankful for
the amazing example they are to me and my FOUR siblings!

Her two "book ends."

My mom and her FIVE kids (at least in spirit)!

My mom loves every single one of her FIVE children.
She has waited a LONG time for this one and I am glad he is finally ours!

Life in Africa

From the very moment we flew over Addis Ababa, we knew we were in a different place. The landscape below looked like a beautiful patchwork quilt.

We landed, gathered our suitcases, got our visas and made it through customs. It was funny when we went to get our Visas. We were all standing there and the man was verifying who was whom. He got done and told me I was missing one. I looked at his stack - saw there were 5 passports so I politely told him he had all 5. He pointed to Owen and said that he didn't have his. Owen's passport is about to expire so his picture is nearly 5 years old. He's changed a lot during that time! The man had counted Ian twice - once as Ian and once as Owen. I didn't even think about that happening. So when we got to customs and it happened again, I was more prepared. The lady said "Big boy needs new passport." We got a pretty good laugh out of that.

After leaving the airport, our driver, Solomon, picked us up and took us to the guesthouse where we are staying. It's a very nice place and the people are super friendly and very helpful. Because we didn't have enough time to make reservations, we had difficulty in finding a place to stay. Traveling with 5 people presents a challenge. So, the lady here at the guest house was gracious enough to let us stay in a couple of rooms one night and then move to a bigger room once it opens up. Ryan and Owen are behind the house in the servant's quarters(nice rooms - just not in the house).

On our way to the guest house.

This is the view from our room!

We had been having trouble with the door sticking and being very hard to unlock. This morning Aiden's caseworker was going to be here at 9:30. Last night the hot water hadn't heated well so I decided to wait until this morning to shower. I set my alarm for 7:30am in order to have plenty of time. Well, when I got up at 7:30 we couldn't unlock the door! Ian, Alexa and I tried for almost an hour. We were on a floor alone so no one heard all the banging going on. Ryan's phone would not pick up the wi-fi connection in the servant's quarters. Finally, in a moment of desperation, I got the door unlocked (I just put all my weight behind it!) It was funny after the fact. I was more worried about not getting ready on time than I was about the door. Ryan felt terrible that he didn't get all of our calls and texts.

They were trying to figure a way out.
Their reasoning was quite comical!

I got ready in plenty of time. We went to the orphanage. We met the director and some other ladies that work in the office there. Everyone was so friendly. The caseworker on the way over told us not to expect much because he is extremely shy. We went into the room and he began to cry. His caregiver came over and took him out of his bed and sat with him on the floor. He was playing with some toys but didn't want to let go of the caregiver. If she tried to move away, he cried or chased after her. Eventually, he let me sit beside him and play a little bit. He tried to hand Ian a toy. After a bit it was lunch time and they offered to let me feed him. He let me for a while. He would get upset if his caregiver came back into the room. He started to cry and I picked him up. At first neither of us was sure of what to expect. He let me hold him and bounce him a bit. I got a few kisses in. Then our hour was up and he was ready for a nap. We have our court date in the morning so hopefully, I'll be able to post (or Emily will) pictures tomorrow.

Let the Adventure Begin!

This morning at 3:00am, my family got ready to embark on a journey that will never be forgotten. My pawpaw drove them to RDU and they (and their many many bags) checked in and waited for their flight to depart at 6:00am.

We have been so blessed by our many faithful supporters, family, and friends. Our "tag the bag" fundraiser was a complete success! Aiden's bag now holds the signatures of 122 people who have graciously loved us, prayed for us, and helped us in this crazy, hectic, and amazing journey called adoption.

Because I was unable to travel with them to Ethiopia, my family are carrying around a "Flat Emily" to make sure our family of 7 can all be on one continent together! :-)

Here "we" are at 3am getting ready to leave!

This was Alexa and Ian's first time ever on an airplane! They were a little nervous, but they both did great!

Checking in at security.

The flight to D.C. was a short one, but it was just long enough to prepare Alexa and Ian for their super long flight to Addis Ababa.

Owen and "I" on the flight to D.C.

They landed in D.C. at 7:00am and had a 3 hour layover. They had to catch a shuttle from one terminal to the next.

Can you tell that the Nemitz kids are not morning people?

My mom went and checked to make sure their flight was on time. It left promptly at 10:15am.

The Ethiopian airlines prepared the passengers for the long 13 1/2 hour flight. 

A pillow, blanket, eye mask, earphones, and a pair of socks were provided.

My mom said it was one of the biggest planes she had ever been on. There were 3 people in each row and 3 rows across.

My dad had to get in one last look at his Fantasy football roster! ;)

They have now been in route for 5 hours and 53 minutes. They are currently somewhere over Spain and have 6 hours and 16 minutes left. They will land in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at 6:35am ET time (Ethiopia is 8 hours ahead of us) and 10:35pm our time.

I can't wait to hear from them again, but that won't be for some time! My mom said she would let me know once they are settled and at their guest house (provided the internet is working).

For now, Lillie and I are holding down the fort!

Leaving one Behind

While I am ecstatic about finally, finally going to meet my son, I am terribly sad over leaving my first-born behind. When we began this process - we made our first inquiring phone call in 2009, she

was 16 years old. We never imagined when we finally got that call that she would be a junior in college. In the beginning, it was always Emily and Owen that would go with us to pick him/her up. It was Emily that kept pushing us forward when there were times in our process that we really wanted to stop and just give up. It was Emily that kept pushing forward/reminding us how/why we had gotten to this point and that a "wait" from God doesn't necessarily mean "no". I know that God's timing is perfect. He is not surprised by the fact that she is unable to attend this trip. I don't understand it, I don't even like it but it is what it is. His plans for Emily are way better than my plans for her could ever be.

Emily is a great big sister. She was 3 1/2 when Owen was born. I remember fretting and worrying that she would resent a new baby. She didn't. She was instantly a better person because of being a big sister. It is a role she has taken seriously since the day Owen was born. All of my kids have a tight bond, despite their age differences. Not only do they love each other, most of the time they actually like each other. So, to leave the continent

without her seems like there is a big, gaping hole in her "spot". Tonight we were talking about navigating the airport when we land. I realized for the first time in a long, long, time - we aren't evenly matched, not everyone has a partner. It took some reconfiguring to come up with our "game plan". I have told my kids - nearly since birth - "You are not one of one, you are one of

six." That's how we raised our family, that's how we roll. I guess this is just preparing me for when I have to leave my newest addition on the other side of the pond. I will be so relieved and thankful when I can have all my little chick-a-dees in the nest, for as long as they'll let me. At least even if they aren't all in my nest, they'll all be on one continent! Then, finally, I can say "You are not one of one, you are one of seven!"