Ellie has a new cousin!!!

We are excited to welcome Ellie's cousin, Tua Esther Shaw, born this morning at 12:47AM! Weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 ozs and 21 inches long, she reportedly looks like her mommy (though born with a full head of hair which her mommy did not have at birth). We'll post some photos as soon as we get some! Mom and baby are doing well! What an exciting way to end 2006 with 2 little girls joining the vanOrman family within weeks of each other. Aunt Hannah is beside herself.

A little bit of Ellie news: our little girl cashed in her chips at 6:30 PM last night and as of this posting (7:45 AM) is still sleeping! I think her marathon day of travel has caught up with her!

Homecoming photos

Cousins, Leah and Ellie evaluate each other (they're just a month apart in age)

Nonna & Ellie

The Waggoner grandkids (next to the baggage carousel)

Aunt Rebecca

This morning Ellie got showered with gifts! Here's one that really caught her attention!

We're home...and just as surprised as you!

Thursday night after getting the visa in hand, we called Michigan and confirmed seats we had put on hold with the travel agent "just in case" we could get Ellie's visa and be free to leave the next day (today)! It was a whirlwind from that point on as we hastily packed up our bags, wrote thank you notes to individuals who had been of assistance to us in Albania, and tried to clean the apartment that has been our home for the past month. At one point we lost power, but continued packing by head-lamp light! Fortunately Ellie is a heavy sleeper and was blissfully unaware of our frenzy which we finally quit at midnight to take a quick nap until 2AM.

Mandi picked us up at 3AM to take us to Rinas (the airport) and made a speedy trip thanks to light traffic. Though it was around 3:30 when we arrived at the airport, it was bustling! Our flight for Vienna left at 5.

The blur in brown (foreground) is Nathan pushing Ellie in her stroller to board the flight to Vienna

Ellie was a trooper and fussed only when hungry, wet/dirty, or tired (which was frequently since she seemed to have a knack for falling asleep just a short time before a transition. I couldn't believe this was the same girl who panicked leaving the orphanage to get her passport photos taken just a matter of weeks ago. The crowds at the airport didn't seem to phase her one bit! When we boarded our last flight to Cincinnati, she fell asleep before take-off and slept soundly the entire flight. When meeting the family gathered at the airport to meet us (we filled in Nathan's parents as to our plans), Ellie not only took in the attention with ease, she even gave out several unsolicited smiles! This girl knows how to start things out on the right foot!


Nathan and Ellie somewhere over the Atlantic

We would have posted our travel plans to the blog however due to Nathan's extended family celebrating Christmas together this weekend in Wilmore, we thought it would be fun to surprise them! We'll post photos of our homecoming later (they're all on other folks' cameras), but I wanted to close with a few more comments about today before I forget.


Various milestones in this adoption process have reinforced the reality of what we've been doing, but nothing compared to sitting on the airplane with Ellie in our lap and feeling the plane taxi-ing down the runway. I have to admit it was a little bittersweet. Probably because we wrapped up our time here so quickly and left earlier than originally planned, but also because this phase in the adoption experience is now over. It was a phase we dreamed about and planned for so many months. Now we're beginning a new chapter!

As the plane lifted off, Ellie stared intently out the window as the lights below got smaller and smaller and finally disappeared below the clouds. She had no idea she was leaving her homeland behind and about to assume new citizenship when her feet would touch the ground at Dulles Int'l Airport at 2:08 this afternoon! The image was pretty powerful. Albania has given us a priceless gift! There is no question that she will return. Even during this trip I was already making mental notes about the places we want to bring her back to, some day when she is old enough to understand and appreciate. In the mean time, we marvel at answered prayer and can't believe we're sleeping tonight in our own beds, home at last.

Got it!

This morning we rose with the knowledge that our adoption task list was quickly shrinking! This morning Ellie got her MMR shot, then we came home for a quick lunch and nap, then left again for the meeting at the Embassy! All in all, it was pretty easy, since we applied for her visa last February! After submitting the balance of our documents and paying the fee, we just had to answer a few questions and leave Ellie's passport to which they would affix the visa. A few hours later we got a phone call that it was done and Alma delivered the passport containing the precious visa, along with a folder of other documents! We still can hardly believe that it's all done! Thank you for your prayers on our behalf! We give God the glory! Thank Him with us!

The clinic where Ellie got her shot this morning

An Apple A Day...

...does not keep the doctor away...when you have an appointment at the US Embassy for a visa!

This morning saw us whisked away to the sole clinic in Tirana approved by the Embassy to draw blood for the required medical tests. Upon arrival we learned that the United States is preparing to have one of their rare lottery drawings in which Albanians may enter their names for a chance at a Greencard. To be eligible for the drawing, one must show proof from this specific clinic that they are HIV & syphilis free. What that meant to us was that we entered the clinic to a standing room only crowd in the large waiting room. Fortunately, the receptionist was kindly and escorted us straight into the first available examination room! It wasn't easy to be with Ellie for what happened next, but thankfully the nurse was quite quick!

Ellie holds up her bruised hand from which the blood was drawn (see the blue spot above the wrist)

The doctor was likewise just as busy (again, the list of embassy-approved physicians is quite short), but agreed to see us tonight at 6:45! We were able to walk right in and the doctor confirmed what we already knew: that Ellie is a girl, and has all 10 fingers and all 10 toes! That is all she checked in her 30-second examination. What we didn't know was that she is lacking her mumps and rubella vaccine and will have to get that in the morning at 9:30. Yay! Another appointment with a needle!

One of the nice aspects to this evening's doctor's appointment was the chance to see Tirana after dark decorated with lights! We've spent most of our evenings close to home so this made the trip a little more enjoyable with the usual sites all dressed up for the holidays.

Our appointment at the embassy will take place at 1PM (7AM E.S.T.). Pray that all goes smoothly for us! So far, everything looks to be on track!

Passport In-Transit!

We got word a few minutes ago that Tahir JUST received the passport (7 hours later than promised)! Alma was able to drop off our paperwork at the Embassy (minus Ellie's passport which they said wasn't necessary just yet). Today has been a quiet one here at "home". We've been helping Mom, Dad and Hannah tie up loose ends before they leave for the States tomorrow (they're going back for end-of-the-year bookkeeping as well as to squeeze in a visit to my sister and brother-in-law who are expecting their first baby any day now). It's been so nice to have their company these days here in Tirana! This afternoon Mom and Hannah have been working with Ellie, teaching her how to master some of the features of her Christmas toys while I have been working at the computer and Nathan's been on the phone tracking the status of the passport.

If we are able to get our medical appointments scheduled for tomorrow, we can possibly get the visa issued Thursday! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

This wasn't staged! Nathan later told me that Ellie wasn't falling asleep in her crib, so he laid her down in bed with him. After some quiet rocking, she was asleep in less than 2 minutes! This was how I found them when I came to get them for lunch...

Here's a rare moment -- Ellie standing on her legs!
She's not so sure it's worth it yet.

Merry Christmas from Tirana!

We continue to try to introduce Ellie to new foods. We're finding she's not super adventurous in the area of trying new tastes!

Since installing high speed this last week, we didn't waste any time setting up a Skype account so we could call the States! We found a webcam and have been doing video conferences with family in Ohio and Vermont today! Ellie was fascinated with the green light on the webcam and cried if she couldn't hold it. Nonna and Pappa Waggoner got some up-close-and-personal views of Ellie's face.

Ellie enjoyed getting some new toys to play with!

It reads, "My first Ohio State T-shirt"

This morning we woke up to the sounds of jack hammers operating outside our bedroom window. Down the alley way I could see that our neighborhood food shop was open for business. It sure didn't "feel" like Christmas day! Though there was little evidence from the behavior of our neighborhood, we nevertheless took the time to set the day apart. After a Christmas breakfast which included Mom's traditional swedish coffee bread, we had a very short-lived attempt at opening gifts (only gifts for Ellie this year)! We put Ellie down for a morning nap and when she awoke in better spirits we tried to see if we could get her to cooperate for some video conferences so family would have the opportunity to see her live and in action. We still can hardly believe that it's a FREE service to anyone with a Skype account! And with the ability to view video at fullscreen size, we saw on the computer monitor that Ellie should be getting a cousin in Vermont any day now!
We are so grateful that though we're thousands of miles away from home, we're enjoying the opportunity that we have to be here with my parents and sister. And, thanks to modern technology, be connected to family so far away!

***We ask that you continue to lift up Ellie's passport situation. First the printer was down, then the office staff closed the office to attend a Christmas party, then we learned they couldn't print it because the technician was ill. Supposedly it's "guarenteed" to be ready by 10AM tomorrow morning. If it's ready tomorrow, we may possibly be able to change our tickets to come home earlier than planned. If it's ready Wednesday, we should be able to come home on January 5 as planned. If it's not ready until Thursday, we will have to postpone our tickets to return sometime around January 10. As you can see, every day makes a BIG difference!

Thank you for praying! We pray you have had a special Christmas with your family!

Ellie's Christmas Eve Visitors

This afternoon and evening Mom and Dad invited some friends over who have been very helpful to us these past weeks as we've worked to bring Ellie home. Having the company of friends made it feel a bit more like Christmas!

Ellie showing that she not only knows how to chug on a sippy cup, but that she can hold it, one handed!

Ellie & Grandma Van having a moment together before company arrived...

Ellie with her honorary aunt, Tesa (Aunt) Vera, our neighbor and sister in Christ

Ellie with Altin & Beth
Altin provided some valuable legal advice during the days we had our hearings with the judge and the scary afternoon when we were concerned the adoption decree wouldn't get issued as planned! Beth is a sweet lady who holds up well under Dad's teasing remarks about her home state of Michigan (though I see here that she's wearing Illini orange, hmmm). Adorable daughter Jannamaria got a little shy when the camera came out.

Mandi and Xhina with Ellie
Mandi (Armand) serves as Planters' Albanian Director. As you can see, he has a great knack with kids!

Perparim & Ellie
Perparim (Pepper) and Aferdita have been some of our family's earliest Albanian friends. We introduced Pepper in our 2nd or 3rd blog post (see Archives)

Aferdita and Ellie
Afterdita's soaking up some baby-lovin'. Her grandson is Ellie's age but living in Boston!

Nina & Ellie
Nina, along with her husband and daughter, are Mom and Dad's next-door neighbors!

Amanda (Nina's daughter) & Ellie

First Birthday as a Mommy!

Today was another first--Cydil's first birthday as a mommy. This afternoon as we stood over the crib and watched Ellie sleep we were struck with how blessed we are and how strange it has been to go straight to being parents of a 18 month old baby!

The transition for Elisona has seemed to go pretty smoothly, but we are still learning and feeling each other out. She has been a little moody today, but we think she is somewhat under the weather and her teething doesn't help matters either. One breakthrough today was that she finally took a sippy cup! Maybe that doesn't sound like a big deal, but for us it was monumental especially considering the amount of traveling we will be doing soon. We also had her Visa picture taken today which was complicated by the fact that the two most direct bridges to get to the photo shop were closed for construction! She was a little fussy especially if the bright sunlight hit her, but overall I think the trip went well, and even though I don't think she was smiling for the pictures all that much, she sure wasn't crying which was good.

Below is one of my favorite pictures I have taken of my girls! It was taken tonight right before bedtime when Cydil and Ellie were playing on our bed.

A passport in the hand is worth two in the police station

Well, we don’t have Ellie’s passport in hand tonight, but we have been informed that the printer is fixed and her passport will be completed tomorrow.  Yeah!  Tahir, Bethany’s driver, and his 1983 red Mercedes will be making one more trek to Vlore and back to pick it up for us.  On the way back yesterday, I asked Tahir if he could make the trip with his eyes closed now that he had done it so many times in the last 3 weeks.  He replied, “The car can drive its self now.”

Tomorrow we will be getting some more pictures of Elisona for the US Visa which has a different criteria than the Albanian passport and birth certificate pictures we took in Volre last week.  We have scheduled this trip for 2:00 PM to be just after Ellie’s nap which tends to be her most happy part of the day.  Hopefully her Visa picture doesn’t match the crying picture on her passport.

Thanks for Continuing to pray!

Baby photo of Ellie

Before we left the orphanage for the last time, we asked the Director if she had any photos of Ellie. This was all she had. How precious it is and will be even more so as the years go by!

(We estimate it was taken when she was admitted to the orphanage as a 2-month-old, or perhaps earlier?)

Bath time!

It seems like photos are enjoyed and appreciated here so I thought some might be interested in one of this morning's activities... Grandpa and Grandma were great helpers!

All clean!

To Vlore and Back one last time...

What a day! Today was the day we were dreading for Ellie’s sake. The rough six hours in a car to Vlore and back is hard enough for the seasoned traveler, but for a baby who has only been in a car seat one other time in her life (and pretty much hated that time too), this day was pure torture. Both directions saw Elisona crying for the first 1.5 hours and then sleeping from the exhaustion of crying for the last 1.5 hours. On top of the ride itself, she is teething and we wouldn’t be surprised if she is getting what all of us have been passing around and trying desperately to avoid sharing with her, a sore throat and cold.

But the ride was just the means to an ends which was applying for Ellie’s Albanian passport. This process could take up to two weeks (though for adoptions it is usually closer to 7 days), and we have been asking for your prayers in having this process expedited. Well, today we felt like the way had been paved for us before we arrived. In fact, we would have the passport in our hands right now if the printer was working today. Only in Albania! It is supposed to be finished tomorrow and our Bethany representative will be traveling down for us to pick it up (assuming the printer is fixed). This means for the first time we may be ahead of our projected schedule and not behind! Thank you for your prayers!

Ellie bounced back quickly from her car ride tonight and has spent the rest of the evening happily playing on the living room floor. It’s really starting to sink in now that she is ours! Though we have had her two full days, we’ve not had much extended time with her here at home doing regular family-time stuff. Adoption-wise, we don’t have anything more we can do until December 26 at the Embassy! Thanks for your prayers! We hope to have a good report of a completed passport on our next blog update!

One day on the walk back from Elisona's orphanage in Vlore, Cydil took a minute to write Ellie's name in the sand. Though the water has long since washed away any sign of it, the memories of it and so many other things have been stored away in our minds and hearts. As we close the chapter of Vlore and approach Christmas, we further understand what Mary must have felt in Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Photos from Ellie's last day in Coldwater Orphanage

For the update on Wednesday's activities, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Organized chaos at Ellie's going-away party
Zania and Nathan feeding chocolate pudding

Alma wants to blow bubbles herself!

Ellie finds the balloons to have an interesting texture!

Mom and Dad changing Ellie into her going-away outfit!

Ellie was in great spirits

Our girl is seriously fascinated with video cameras of any kind -- a good sign for the daughter of media nuts. Thank goodness for Mandi on Tuesday -- he got some priceless video for us which allowed us to just "live" the day and not worry about recording it ourselves.

Buckled in and ready to hit the road!

Ellie didn't care too much for the supper we prepared for her at this little pit-stop in the trip, though the next morning she downed it...after we put it in a cup more similar to what she was used to using

Exausted after 30 seconds of "work"

Cydil is working on getting some pictures ready to post from yesterday, so I am going to give a brief report on today's activities in Albania.

Our first day as parents, and we have only seen Elisona for a couple of hours. Instead, we traveled 3+ hours one way in a 1983 Mercedes sedan only to wait 2 more hours to sign our names to 8 pieces of paper (because the First Lady of Albania was visiting Ellie's orphanage today and the director couldn't meet us at the notary's office until the First Lady & her entourage left, go figure), and then wait 3 more hours while being shuttled back and forth between offices where we never saw the insides, trying to find officials who were either at lunch (at 2:45) or attending birthday parties (seriously), and finally another 3-hour return trip to Tirane. We arrived back in time to see the last 30 minutes of Ellie's playing before she curled up on the blanket on the floor to go to sleep. Tonight will be our first experiment in moving a sleeping baby to her crib.

Grandma and Aunt Hannah were in their glory babysitting today. They not only gave Ellie a bath, but were successful in getting Ellie to drink an entire cup of water (this is amazing because the young children in the orphanage are not given water to drink and Ellie has been strongly resistant of taking anything by mouth that she hasn't had before) and down a meal of rice, chicken & carrot soup that didn't contain 3 tablespoons of sugar! Grandma also surmised that Ellie is getting some more teeth which would account for her occasional low-grade fevers and un-settled tummy.

Tomorrow will see us in the same red Mercedes for the same long round-trip only this time with Elisona in the backseat with us. Pray that she will do better in her car seat than she did last night! Pray that we will be able to find a way to feed her! We are on a really tight timeline to get to Vlora before the police station closes at 1:30 and we can't leave Tirana without getting a stamp from the Interior Minister's office. Also pray that the police station in Vlore will expedite our passport so that we can beat the deadlines of the embassy which are closed for an extended time over New Years. Thank you so much!

From party to panic and back

Well, as you know, today was the day we have been counting down to for weeks! (Over a year if you count the entire process) The day started as we expected. Our visit with Elisona in the orphanage was pretty normal with only mommy and daddy knowing what the day really meant. Cydil’s parents arrived at about 9:30 and by 10:15 we were throwing the first of two parties for the orphanage kids (pictures to come tomorrow). The pudding was a hit with some of the kids and a miss with others, but everyone enjoyed the bubbles! We left Ellie for her nap and went to lunch anticipating the afternoon when we would return to pick-up Elisona, sign some paperwork, and head back to Tirana with Elisona Joy Waggoner!

It was a phone call from our Bethany representative during lunch that changed our celebration lunch into one of frustration. We were told that the judge did not have the paperwork done (that he had had 15 days to draw up) and because there was no power at the court house, it would not be completed today, meaning we could not take Elisona home until tomorrow at the earliest. Needless to say, this eliminated our appetite and changed our mindset dramatically. We made phone calls, we prayed, and we made more phone calls. Finally, we decided to return to the court house with our representative to see if there was any way of getting the papers that were promised for today. Our first prayer was answered as we arrived and noticed that the power was back on. To make a long story short, while we got the adoption decree today, we were unable to notarize the custody paperwork today (it turns out that today is the day that all the notaries in Vlora attended a seminar to update their licensure). What that meant was that we could take Ellie home with us, but our first full day of “parenthood” will be spent in the car driving back to Vlora leaving Elisona behind in Tirana with Grandma Van and Aunt Hannah as babysitters while we get a document notarized (it has to be notarized in Vlora because the orphanage director’s signature is also required, not just ours). After tonight’s tortuous ride home, we didn’t want to subject Ellie to 6 more hours in the carseat on Wednesday, only to repeat it again on Thursday when she will make the required trip to apply for her passport.

All this hassle is worth it though as I hear her cute little snore coming from the crib at the foot of our bed while we type this blog. She has seemed quite relaxed and comfortable with us since arriving at the apartment and for that we are very grateful. Provided we return at a decent hour tomorrow, we hope to post photos for you. Meanwhile, we are bushed!

Showers (of tears) today, praying for sunny outlook tomorrow

Dad's copying Ellie's tongue of concentration

Elisona’s mood matched the weather today, slightly overcast with periodic showers. She still hasn’t kicked whatever has been ailing her and today was poking again at her ear which makes us think she may have an ear infection. Her usually voracious appetite was tempered at lunch time as she pushed her cup away after only drinking about a quarter of its contents. Obviously it was hard for mom and dad to know that Ellie wasn’t feeling well and not be able to do much to help her. Supper went a little smoother (it was her favorite banana concoction) and we settled down in the play room for about an hour with a Fisher-Price xylophone/piano toy. The first time she realized she could hit the keys and make a sound was like she had won the lottery. The hour varied between gently plucking the xylophone bars to loudly pounding on the keys interspersed with curious glances at dad’s funny noises.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day with a full entourage of visitors arriving from Tirana at about 10:30 for a farewell party like this orphanage has probably never seen. It is at this time that we will be able to give the gifts that were given by our thoughtful Asbury friends, as well as other gifts we brought to show our appreciation for the orphanage staff. I’m sure there will be plenty of photos and maybe even a video (if we can upload one) from the day’s festivities. We’re a bit concerned about the travel with a sick girl, so you can pray with us about that. We’re also praying about the details of the paper chase involved in getting Ellie’s Albanian passport. God has gone before us every step so far and we believe that he is going before us still.

It may be hard to sleep tonight! Tomorrow is a day for which we’ve been waiting for more than a year!