Update.

Here are some news from my mom; she sent this to us.

Agnoti is very small. Did I tell you that yet? She is wearing some of the 3-6 month old clothes and 6-9 month clothes. She has very tiny hands with long fingers. She pulls at her bottom lip when she feels nervous. She does not make ANY noise. I've never met such a quiet baby. I am sure she still feels surprised and sad about leaving the orphanage. We did get her to smile today though. She likes it when we take her socks off and blow on her toes. You are going to love her soooo much!

It has been Muslim holiday for the last two days. I am not sure how long it lasts. There is singing over a loudspeaker that reaches the city of Addis. Our hotel is very close to the Orthodox Church (where the Muslims are gathering) and it is VERY loud. I am so glad that Terri (another mom from Hope) told us to bring ear plugs.

It is hard to get used to the time change. Last night was the first time we slept and I woke up feeling so much better. Between the high altitude (climbing stairs to our room is a killer) and the lack of sleep, last night I was feeling a little crazy. I felt homesick and had been struggling to eat. Sleep was what I needed! Today has been wonderful.The guesthouse is very nice. It has a pool, fully-staffed spa, restaurant, deli, laundry service, transportation, balconies off of the rooms, and on and on. We are very glad to be staying here.Our trip to the orphanage to get Agnoti was incredible and overwhelming! When we pulled up kids mobbed the car. They were shouting "Poppa, Poppa!" at Clark. As soon as we were out of the car, they were hugging us and climbing our legs. We crouched down and the children flocked to us taking turns for hugs. They were beautiful and so, so sweet.

A couple of kids stick out in my mind: A little boy about 4 years old wanted to play catch with me. He had a soft ball that was losing it's stuffing, which I think he would have thrown back and forth all day long. Another boy about 2 years old would run up to me and stick his tummy out. If I would touch his tummy, he would squeal and break into peals of laughter. He was so cute. Daniel was very quiet and serious. He came up for a hug and Clark took a couple of pictures. He was wearing a cap with Pooh Bear on it. The nannies sure love him; he was held and cuddled almost the whole time we were there.

Clark's camera stopped working, so we are going to go back to give kids packages from their parents and take pictures today. When we got our donation bags out, the kids all came inside to see what we had brought for them. We took out the Twizzlers and balloons. They all sat so still waiting for their turn for a treat. If we forgot someone, one of the little girls would tap my arm and point to the child that got skipped. In one of the donations bags were pairs of socks with cherries on them. A little girl, about 7 years old asked if she could have a pair. I gave her one and she asked for another and pointed at her sister. They took the socks and put them on their chairs and sat on them. We went upstairs to visit the toddler room that Aganoti has been staying in. It is very small and about 10 kiddos stay in there. It is amazing how quiet they all are. The nannies had given them big Lego's and they were playing with them on the floor in a big circle. I also visited the tiny baby room. So many babies and they are so little. The nannies do such a good job caring for all of the kids. It is a really nice environment. I have so much to say but I don't know how long my computer connection will last I will write as soon as possible.