5 Million Minus 1

Day 4: Meeting Tedi

(warning: for those of you on our email list, this will be repetitive. I do not have energy to re-invent or be creative since it is after midnight)

At 2:00am JT sent me a text that they were leaving for the orphanage soon. This was 9am in Ethiopia. I dosed off again and suddenly woke up between 3:30a and 4:00 because he told me I would hear from him and hadn't. I called his cell phone and he was at Tedi's orphanage. He had been with Tedi for about 20 minutes. When they brought T to him, T walked up to him nervously and reached out to be held. His nanny asked if JT was his daddy and he shook his head yes. JT took him a foam soccer ball and he played with it all day. All of his friends told him goodbye which JT was so sad because they were kissing and hugging him. They participated in a traditional coffee ceremony and spent more time at the orphanage. Tedi would not speak to me on the phone. The phone was scary and he was busy playing with his soccer ball that he did not want to share. :-)

They returned to the hotel for dinner. JT said Tedi was clinging to him and wanting to be close to him. JT said Tedi was nervous on the car ride. At dinner, JT was nervous about what Tedi would eat. That was NOT a concern. JT ordered a steak for himself that came with rice and vegetables (cauliflower, mushrooms, beans, and others). Tedi ate everything JT ate. JT said he was not picky whatsoever. He held his soccer ball throughout dinner. JT said he did drop the ball at one point and looked nervously at JT as if he were in trouble, so JT had to reassure him that he wasn't.

However, JT said that he was unsure of the elevator and the minute the door closed, he was in JT's arms. He was very leery of the hotel room until he saw the toys and suckers. THEN, it was bath time. JT sat on the edge of the tub and started gently pouring water onto him. He did not have a fit but whimpered. Tears appeared once JT washed his hair. The soccer ball was present for the whole bath! He was fine the minute JT wrapped him in a towel and held him. He let JT put the hair product in his hair and lotion up his little body. They read a story together and he put Tedi to bed. He slept with his soccer ball tucked under his arm like he was running in a touchdown in the other kind of football. He also is sleeping with my teddy bear that my Grandma Stewart made for me.

Unfortunately I have yet to see pictures or videos of them together. I waiting up for them to skype with me this morning. He is going to take Tedi to the hotel business center so hopefully we can have a connection. It stinks that he does not have one in his room. I am dying to see them. Today was not easy for me and I am sure it was difficult for JT.

Tomorrow, they are going to the main orphanage, Hope, for paperwork purposes. We hope to know more about him....family info, birthday....and so on.

I have gotten a few emails about the airport on Saturday. We are welcoming anyone who wants to come to the Louisville Airport at 6p. I am going to try to get a gate pass. If the that is the case, everyone can greet us by security. If not, I would like everyone to wait down the escalator in baggage claim so that I can have a private moment with him. I will also ask to please not ask to hold him or get really close to his face. He is a shy boy and this is will be very overwhelming for him.....not to mention it will actually be 2am his time. Also, it is the first time I will be holding him as well. Again, we welcome everyone and would love to have everyone there.

Thank you again for your support and please continue to pray for our family!


Natalie Henderson