Josanna learned how to clap today and it is SO cute! She is such a happy baby and has started rolling all over the floor now. She can also sit up for about 10-15 seconds. I am just amazed at how well she has adjusted and fit right into our family. What an amazing little girl she is and I know that God has great and wonderful plans for her.

Josanna started rolling over both ways! She is developing SO quickly. We have only had her for two weeks and she was not even close to rolling over then. SHe has also gained probably about a pound and is starting to get a little baby chub. I love it!

Today is Saturday and our last day here in Ethiopia. Our flight is at 10:50pm tonight. I have really enjoyed our time here getting to know the culture. We are staying here at the guest house today getting packed and getting rested for our long 23 hour journey home. I am ready to go home. I really miss Mekiah and Abrielle and it has been the hardest part of this trip, being away from them for so long.
Several more people have arrived here at the guest house today. So far it has only been us and the Fiekens, which has been pretty nice. We have gotten lots of special treatment from the staff here. The staff has been awesome and so helpful. They are always smiling and willing to help.

After breakfast this morning Tiffany and I went shopping for a few more tings that we wanted to get. Jim and Todd stayed at the guest house with the babies. We first exchanged some money. Ibrahim was our driver and Tigist went to help us in the shops. We went to a few shops in the “post office” to get traditional coffee pots, art work, and a few more gifts. They call it the post office because all the stores are around the post office. We also went to the Sheritan hotel to look around. It was very beautiful and fancy. We went to a coffee shop and bought coffee grounds (smashed coffee) and coffee beans. Lastly we stopped on the side of the road and bought some tooth sticks they use for cleaning their teeth. Tigist and Ibrahim are a lot of fun and we had many laughs.
We went out for a traditional dinner this evening. There were ten people in all, including us, the Fiekens, Tigist, Michelle, Ibrahim, the french IT guy, Syntayou, and Aster. The food was very good and I tried a traditional honey beer. There was live music and dancers. The dancers pulled a few of the dinner guests up to dance and Jim went. He did pretty well and it was funny to watch. He got really winded though since the air here is so thin. We gave everyone gifts that we had brought, and they liked that. It was a fun evening. We left the babies here at our guest house with two babysitters. They babies were both sound asleep when we got back from dinner.

Today was our Embassy appointment. We did not do a lot in the morning. Just ate and watched Josanna. Our appointment was at 3:00pm so we left for it after lunch. We met Sintayou, our lawyer, at the Embassy. We had to go through two check points and put our bags through the scanners and show our passports. Then we went to a waiting room to await our turn. There were several other American adoptive families there also, so it was fun to talk and share our stories. After about 45 minutes, Smith Family was called and we went upstairs to a counter where a woman sat behind a window. The woman was very nice and just asked us a few simple questions and we had to sign Josanna’s visa papers. It took only a few minutes and it was over. Her visa will be ready for her tomorrow, and a driver will bring it to our guest house. The Embassy apptment was much esier than I thought, so I am releaved about it.