We’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of our arrival home with Ayub and Lucy, so I thought it was about time I finished up this video. I posted a lot of photos during and after our trips, but I have never gotten around to posting any videos. I’m really more of a still photo kind of gal and owe big thanks to Uncle Davey, who shot most of the video clips.
I made this video for my us, and I thought hard about whether to post it at all. But then I remembered how when we were in the waiting stages, I would often scour the internet looking for videos of others’ Ethiopian adoptions. I would watch their videos and dream about what our own video would look like. Well, here it is. But first, a disclaimer. If you are a potential adoptive parent, this will all look like sunshine and roses to you. It was not that way. There were some very hard times mixed in here. I don’t have video of the 1 hour and 20 minute tantrum at the top of the Horizon House steps. I don’t have photos of the bite marks and bruises that we were given. I don’t have the grief-filled sobs that echoed through our house early on. Those are not the memories I want my family to keep. I want to remember the things in this video: the early days, the smiles, the firsts, the hope. But I want others to be aware that those things existed and they are a part of our journey as much as anything else.
Another disclaimer. I really tried to cut this down to a manageable length. But I couldn’t do it. So, I don’t really expect anyone to watch this whole thing, other than maybe my mom. If you have 25 minutes, go pop some popcorn and settle in for a viewing. For those of you who would just like to see certain parts of the journey, here’s a guide to where you will find them.
- Referral – :21
- Meeting the Kids – 1:51
- Addis Ababa – 6:30
- Trip #2 & All 4 Together – 8:18
- Horizon House – 13:59
- Trip to Afar – 16:39
- Trip Home & First Few Months – 22:49
Without further ado…Our Adoption Story
Our Adoption Story from Kristin W on Vimeo.
2 + 2 
I love that you did this. Because I still troll the internet looking for Ethiopia adoption videos! And I forgot that you are the family who had the family shirts made up! What a trip down memory lane! Thank you for sharing your story.
I LOVED those shirts! Made it seem like somehow we were all a team. And, boy did we need some teamwork to get those kids across the Atlantic!
Thanks for sharing. We’ve been home for almost 2 yrs with our Ethiopian daughter. I still love watching adoption videos!
Amanda
That Fisher Price car…..played a part in so many of our stories :). And every time we remember being at the big kids house, my husband and I remember tracing A’s foot for you guys. Loved the video.
I still have that little footprint. He’s gone up 4.5 shoe sizes since then!
Watched from beginning to end and LOVED it! Thank you for sharing and letting your friends live these moments with you all this time later. I think the thing that struck me most is how much your kids (all of them!) have grown up since then. I also think this is one of the most amazing and lifelong adventures your family will have to remember, and to have such a beautiful video/photographic record of it is wonderful. Beautifully done!!
I watched every single minute of it! What a wonderful story of two people willing to open their hearts and home up to two beautiful children! I’m amazed at how much all four of them have grown in the last year. All of them will love looking at this over the years. Thank you for opening your family up to all of us!
It took me a week and 3 viewings to watch it all, and I loved every minute of it! I started to tear up at the first video of a drive through Addis. Oh, that place will always be our second home, won’t it?
Some totally random comments (plus a few more that I’ve already forgotten):
1. You had a fancy toilet at HH! Now I see why you called it the Brad and Angelina suite. 🙂 I went in there a couple of times to talk with another family we were with, but clearly never saw the ooh-la-la commode.
2. I love that Brad made it into your video. Thinking of those photos still totally cracks me up.
3. Your trip to Awash looks so amazing. You really got to see a very different part of the country. We did, too, in many respects, but we didn’t have any wildlife and since it was only a 2-hour drive to Woliso we didn’t do an overnight, which would have afforded us more time to see more.
4. K as the same Baby Legs as worn by Lucy in one shot, and the same “Worth the Wait” onesie, too.
5. Over the past few months whenever I’ve heard that last song (“Home”) I’ve thought it would be perfect for an adoption video. I’m glad to see it put to good use!
Thanks for sharing!
Yes, I loved our toilet. So not-Ethiopian. And, yes, I am so grateful that we got to do the overnight in Afar. It was truly incredible to get to see the “real” Ethiopia. Glad you liked the song – the minute I heard it, I knew it had to be a part of our video.