A Couple of Fun Days

Yesterday we went swimming and enjoyed the luxury of a day at the Sheridan hotel.  Jesse and Nicole were in their glory, they swam in the pool for the entire six hours we were there on a "pool pass".  We enjoyed ice cream and drinks by the pool, and had a nice, relaxing time.  Deborah was enthralled by swimming, she could have stayed in the 32 degree warm water all day.
Apparently no one in Ethiopia will will ever forget that it is the Sabbath, and in case they do, at midnight they sound a signal of wailing music that lasts for at least two hours (trust me, I laid in bed counting the minutes for both of them), which is accompanied by loud chanting over loudspeakers.  Between that and the dogs barking in the streets, it was another sleep-depraved night for me and Trish, but Anna, Jesse, Nicole, and Deborah slept like logs again.  Deborah has been a wonderful sleeper and has gone into a great daily routine already, Anna thinks they must have had the Baby-wise book at the transition home:)
 In the morning we went by taxi to an evangelical church downtown, but we got there just as the service was ending, so we couldn't attend.  Jesse and Nicole were crushed:)  On the way back the the hotel we stopped at the Edna "mall" and the kids went to "Bongo Bobs", the Ethiopian version of Chuck E. Cheese, complete with prizes that don't work or break upon first use.
We then had lunch, and decided to go to the Hilton pool for the afternoon.  Their pools are fed by hot springs, so the water was about 95 degrees, very warm and comfortable.  Once again, all of us loved it and Deborah lounged in the water for a long time after a good nap first (for both of us).
While we were at the Hilton, I went to the Ethiopian airlines desk and changed our flights home.  We will be leaving Wednesday at midnight instead of Friday, which puts us back in Toronto on Thursday afternoon at 3 PM.  It will be nice to sleep in our own beds, and get Deborah settled into her own room.
We have had a wonderful time here so far, seeing many things that we will remember forever and can tell Deborah of for years to come about her birth nation.  Deborah has been terrific, she is such a happy little girl, always ready to give a smile to her big sister and brother who have been smothering her with love.  She even did a few steps of crawling tonight, which we are quite sure has been a first for her!  A milestone that we were able to share with her!
I (Paul) have been doing all the blogging via e-mail, Anna says hello to all of her blogging and e-mail friends and will catch up with you upon our return home when she can get back to regular routine again.  Thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouragement, they have been a blessing to us over here.
God is good!
Paul.