Home, sweet home!

We returned home on Thursday already, and the hustle and bustle of everyday life seems to be already taking over as I haven't found time to post our return home story until now.
The flight home was great, we got into Toronto right on time and everything went very smooth as far as getting all of our luggage and through immigration. Deborah gave a big smile for the immigration officer who officially welcomed her to Canada. It is still hard to believe that she is here with us after 3 long years of waiting for her!
After going through customs, we went out to the lobby where Curtis was the first to come running up the ramp to hugs us! A large group of well-wishers was also there to greet us on our return home. What an awesome reception, to be welcomed home by family and friends who have walked alongside us and prayed for us throughout this adoption journey. Thanks to all of you who were there, it meant a lot to us.
We then returned home to find this beautiful welcome home sign on our lawn, wonderful, loving chalk graffiti on our driveway, and a fruit basket and soup ready to eat in our kitchen. Thank you again to everyone who helped make our return home an event we will never forget.


I will close with a passage from the psalms that reminds us of just how great and awesome God and His creation are:

ASV - Psalms 95

Oh come, let us sing unto Jehovah; Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; Let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

For Jehovah is a great God, And a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, and he made it; And his hands formed the dry land.


Thank you, Lord for bringing us home from this wonderful journey, and thank you for blessing us with Deborah to add to our family.








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Eer we aar dans l'aeroporte du Paris!

We are already beginning to experience the perks of traveling with an infant! At the airport in Addis, we were brought to the front of every line we were in because we were traveling with an infant. The icing on the cake was when we asked for a basinet for Deborah, and the lady said to wait for our boarding passes because they didn't think they had room for a basinet for her in coach class. When we got our boarding passes, they upgraded all six of us to First class! What a treat, to be able to stretch our legs out and be waited on hand and foot for the whole flight!
Deborah did amazingly on the flight, she slept almost all 7.5 hours to Paris on my chest and then on anna for the last 4 hours. We are hoping to be as fortunate on the leg to Toronto.(although we already know we are not in first class this time. Too bad, we were enjoying the fancy foo foo life).
We can't wait to get home to see everyone, and try to share all of our experiences with you.

"Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, His love endures forever."

(One of) the reasons we took Aunt Trish along!

To take beautiful pictures of Africa and our daughter. As you can see, she is doing an amazing job.

Today Trish and I visited Ahope, an orphanage in addis that is for children who have been orphaned because of AIDS. Heartbreaking, but these were some of the most beautiful children you could ever meet. They were so friendly, and were thrilled that each of them got a small stuffed animal from us.
Thanks again to all who donated shoes, blankets, knitted hats, toys, and more, a suitcase full of these items were brought here.

"there will always be poor in the land, therefore be openhanded towards the poor and the needy.". Deut. 15:11

Visiting day

Today we went on a visit with Compassion International to see the little boy we have sponsored for a few years. Biruk is the same age as Jesse, and they had a great time together. We even brought him a mini stick set, so maybe he will be on the Ethiopian Olympic hockey team in a few years! What a blessing today was, we were moved by this visit to some very wonderful people. Compassion is a great organization, doing amazing things in the name of Christ. If you are not sponsoring a child already, please consider it, it will open your eyes and heart to helping the needs of others.

Anna usually closes with a text, I will close with this poster that was hanging in Biruks kitchen/living room:
"I asked Jesus how much He loved me, and He answered by stretching out His arms and dying on the cross for me."




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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.

The Vos family Photo (minus Curtis)

So much to say, not enough words to do justice to them, so a picture instead (for now).
We are well, and having a journey that will change us forever, no doubt about that.

Thank God from whom all blessings flow!

Miss you, Curtis, hugs and kisses from all of us, especially your new sister.

Gotcha Day!!

We  just got back from bring Deborah home from the transition home.  What an experience, we are way above cloud 9 right now!  Deborah cried a little when Anna took her from Hanna's arms (her nurse for the past few months at the home), but then Deborah got to hold some of the toys and musical stuffed toy that we sent her way back in April after the referral, and Deborah settled right in.  She was enthralled by all the traffic in the city, her little eyes were looking everywhere!  By the time we returned to the Weygoss, Deborah was sound asleep in Anna's arms and that is where she is right now as I type this message at an internet cafe across the street. (internet is done at the weygoss, I think a common theme in these parts:)

All of us are doing well, everyone is healthy even though a little sleep depraved (for me and Trish, believe it our not, everyone else had slept like logs!)

We will get pictures posted once we have a more stable internet connection, but rest assured that she is the most beautiful baby that has been born in the past 6 years!  

God is good, we are so thankful to Him for making our lives and Deborah's become one.