Eric Ludy - Depraved Indifference

This is powerful stuff...get ready and get a tissue!

Our First Christmas Together

We had a wonderful, peaceful first Christmas together bit was a little harder than we had thought it would be. While we watched people bussel and hurry around gathering gifts for Christmas our hearts were in Ethiopia. There are little or no gifts for the Children of Toukoul or the families living in the streets. There is no Christmas dinner or family gathering for them either. All they have is FAITH if they have heard of Jesus Christ. How happy would we be if all we had was faith to go on? No home or food, no family but just a dirty streets to live in.....would we still even celebrate? It would be hard wouldn't it? Maybe this is the first Christmas that we TRULY understood what its about. I guess that is one of the best gifts that we have ever received!

6 months together

Yes it has been 6 months today that we have been a family! To celebrate Luke started walking today. He had done some small steps here and there but today he took off! I thought I would be sad but instead we were proud of how far he has come in just 6 months. I love being home with him and it completed the boning and attachment. It seems that now he is just a normal American kid =O)

Fall

This is my favorite time of year and this year is even better! I am home with Luke and I am helping friends and family by helping take care of thier childern when they are at work. I feel so blessed!!!

All is Good!

Well, Luke has been home for 4 months now...I don't think his past life is with him anymore. He is so at home and happy here. He knows where his toys are and always has a car or a ball in his hand. He is not a picky eater and never misses a meal. He is finally relaxing and letting us hold him with out stiffing his body. He can say Da Da, Ma Ma, Ball, Na Na (night night) and Sampson (anson)!

Yesterday Luke went to Cardinal Glennon and had a circumcision done. He was an angel at the hospital....he was put under and given a block from the waist down. Last night when he tried to crawl he would fall to the side...he would just look and us and his legs like he was magic? Our little clown! Today he had just a little pain when we changed his diaper but other than that he is just fine!

Three weeks from today will be my last day working at the Medical Park. I am going to stay home with Luke every day! I have never felt more blessed. I am going to take care of a 2 of my friends kids and Luke's cousin Max (who is the same age as Luke).I will also start to help my mom in Real Estate again...Life is good!

Progress

Luke is making major progress in his development! He is crawling and as of today he is pulling himself up. Our little man is so strong it is almost unbelievable. He is happy and healthy. He is going to a sitter now that I am back at work and he LOVES it there. They have 6 kids of their own and the kids greet him on the porch each morning. He was baptized last week and we chose 5 very special people to be his God parents! All is good!!!

Two months home!

I can't believe its been 2 months! Luke is doing very well. As Wes says "I have never seen you happier which makes me happier"! As long as we waited for a child...I would do it again to have Luke! He is a perfect fit in our family. I love being a mom and Wes loves being a dad. This is so much fun...now that the first month is over.

Luke has been sitting up on his own for about 1 month he has been eating with his fingers for about 3 weeks and he is finally starting to crawl like a wounded solider within the last week or so. Yesterday he went for laying to sitting ....He is eating like his daddy and has turned his nose at nothing. He is finally taking 6-8 ounce bottles instead of 4-6 and as of the last week he is sleeping through the night!!! He take 2-3 naps a day 2 for 1 & 1/2-2 hours and the 3rd for about 45 minuets. He does not have to be asleep or have a bottle just his blanket and its off to dream land. He does still have an occasional night terror :o(

The bonding is going well but he still won't look us in the eyes very much. He will look at other children before adults. We have found that Luke LOVES water. This seems to be the best way to get him to relax. We can lay him on his back in my parents pool and he will just lay there trusting us to keep him afloat. He will float around in a life jacket on his back for hours and he loves to splash and play in the water. He will even put his face in the water and come up all smiles. We have found that this creates wonderful bonding for him. The water not only relaxes him but it tires him out enough to let us hold him for longer periods of time. Luke loved being held in Ethiopia but at home he would rather not unless being fed a bottle. This is hard for me at times but the social worker says its from not being use to it. He needs to get used to it because its all I want to do!

I had never left Luke until last week Thursday when Wes ended up in the hospital. He had been tired for about 4 weeks and then last Monday developed muscle aches, joint pain and fever. He was given an antibiotic and then on Thursday he had server chest pain. His blood work came back and one of his heart enzymes were super elevated. The ER doctors were all freaked out that we had been in Ethiopia but he also had a tick bite about a week after we got home. He had a heart cath on Friday and it turned out normal. The infectious disease doctor has run test for all tick related diseases but feels that he has Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Ahhh he could have died!! It was attacking his heart muscle along with all his other muscles and joints. After 4 days in the hospital Yesterday I brought him home. I had to rely on family and friend to care for Luke while I was with Wes in the hospital so when I went back to work today and it was not so hard to leave him. He is staying with a friend that has 6 kids and he loves it there! Of course I missed him badly...

Sooo I am ready to do this again....I loved Ethiopia and I want to go back and get baby #2!! I think Wes may need a little more time. We shall see...

Lukes first 4th of July!!

Luke is doing wonderful and he never stops smiling...take a look! He has even learned a fake laugh that he uses to get us to smile and laugh right back at him. He is still not crawling like a big boy but instead crawling like a wounded soldier...so sweet.

Another Good Night

Look at this sweet baby! He loves his blanket and it goes with us everywhere. I need to find some more.......

Oh baby

This is the most fun we have ever had...Luke is the sweetest baby on earth. Every day is filled with excitement and fun. Today Luke discovered pickles!!! Does life get any better than this?

Beauty

Look at this!

Falling into place

At last everything is falling into place. We are at peace with the world. Luke is doing well and so are we. We are a family of our own and loving every minuet of it!!! Gods love is great...he knows just what we need!

The sleeping part...

We got it down to a science!!!! The first week was the hardest, we were all tired and exausted but as you can see its no longer an issue!

After a week at home!!

Wow....I can't believe its been a whole week already. Things have been good for Luke with the exception of one bad day. I think that is better than anyone could have expected out of him. He is still in our room so that I can hear every breath he takes. He gets up on average once a night for some yummy American formula. We give him rice cereal (that beats the pureed fish and egg that he got at Toukoul) and bananas. We are loving being parents and a family but we are exhausted!!! Tomorrow all three of us will head to church for the first time as a family.

The days of being in Ethiopia still are with us daily. You don't just come back from a third world country and forget what we have seen. You don't forget what people live like and what they don't have. I can tell you that they do have something that we don't...I can't quite put my finger on what it is but they are happy people. They are bathing in streams and lakes, beating clothes on a board and hanging them to dry in the fuel,trash and smog filled air with smiles on there faces. We almost had to numb ourselves to get through it. You can't take them all home. The young children that came to our car window begging for food or asking us to be there parents will forever haunt us. The poverty is unreal but again they go about life with smiles on their faces. We are missing something here in America, that much we have learned. Like I said before Ethiopia will never leave us.

A family at last....

We don't have words to describe what Ethiopia was like..... The 9 days was a roller coaster of emotion. Our son is perfect in every way. He has been through so much in his first few months of life. God is good that is all I can say. He knows what we need and when. Ethiopia has forever changed us.....we will never be the same. As one of our coordinators told us ....we will forever be a part of Ethiopia.

They are home!

What a beautiful reception from friends and family at the airport on their arrival home. I'll let Dawn tell more about that once things begin to settle down. About Luke...HE IS BEAUTIFUL and definetly worth the wait!

We're so proud of our daughter and son-in-law! Few will ever know what they have gone through these past years but they keep fighting. Every set-back was met with a new determination. They never gave up but simply prayed harder. One thing got them through...their faith in God. Family and friends were always there for them but God has been watching over them and gave them peace to endure. And now a most beautiful reward...Luke.

For all the other people so desperate to be loving parents and give a child a happy and secure home...don't give up, keep fighting, God will bring you through.

Dawn's parents

One more leg of their journey...then HOME!

Their plane has landed in Detroit, actually a little ahead of schedule so they are back in the USA!!! They have not called yet but I'm sure they are currently going through customs and will call ASAP. Their flight from Detroit to St Louis may be landing just a few minutes early, according to the Delta flight tracker, possibly at 1:14PM instead of 1:25PM this afternoon. We'll be there!!! Concourse A at the security gate anxious to see Dawn and Wes and meet LUKE! God is good!

Flight on schedule...so far!

According to the on-line flight tracker, they left Ethoipia as scheduled for Amsterdam. From Amsterdam they head for Detorit, then St Louis landing at 1:25 PM Sunday afternoon. If you'd like to greet Dawn, Wes and Luke at the airport, we are meeting at the security check-in on Concourse A. They will get off the plane and head in the direction of the security check-in to get to their luggage so we should be able to catch them as soon as they pass through the security area.

If their arrival changes, I will try to post it to her blog ASAP but feel free to call us at 314-308-6912. We pray for their safe return.

Countdown to the flight home

They called today and sounded wonderful! Dawn was sick and Luke is cutting TWO teeth...so previously, Wes was up all night with one or the other but today, they are all fine. As Wes said, they are still homesick but they leave tomorrow afternoon, our time, to come home! Amsterdam is currently open so they should not have a problem with volcanic ash.

Today, Dawn put the phone by Luke and he cooed and giggled, how beautiful is that! But she said he has voiced his opinion with a little temper...maybe the previous Italian influence on Ethiopia...yea familia, I am of Italian descent, it seems appropriate that my grandson could also be! They were so excited today that coming home was so soon. Dawn said Luke has soft curly hair...they are so totally in love!

So far everything is on schedule. Dawn will call when they get to Detroit to let me know if they are still on target for a 1:25 PM landing Sunday in St Louis. As Dawn said in her last blog posting, all are welcome to come to the airport. When I took them to the airport, they left on Concourse A and I assume it will be the same with another Delta flight. Their flight number is Delta 2771 from Detorit. You may be able to actually follow the progress of their their flight on-line once they are in US airspace. If there is a change in the status of their flight, I will try to update the blog ASAP.

Waiting to come home!!!!

Wes and Dawn can't get an earlier flight home. They are disappointed. They're tired and just ready to come home and get back to normal...and Central Standard time!!!! I think they are just exhausted from the long flight there and eight hour difference in time. They will be so happy to hit that Midwest pavement that leads them home! Phone calls are limited to about a minute and then we seem to lose reception so it's hard to gather much information other than all is well with Luke and they're anxious to be home.

Last night left little sleep for any of them but happily, Luke is with them 24/7 and has his own crib. They have switched him to a slow flow bottle so he is relaxing a little more and not feeling the need to hurry with the bottle. With so many babies to care for, there just wasn't much time for a leisure bottle in the orphanage. He is doing better with the new bottle and starting to take more formula.

Hopefully the ash from the volcano will not disrupt the first leg of their scheduled flight to Amsterdam. If all goes as planned, they will arrive home Sunday afternoon...stay tuned!

Luke is legally theirs!!!!

Wes and Dawn just called...Luke is THEIR baby! Getting the Visa was a long ordeal with 10 other couples crowded into a small room for three hours with babies crying (not Luke!) but they made it and Luke has his Visa to come home with them.

They love being with Luke, "he is amazing"! They said he is so good and just laughs and giggles. If he isn't laughing or giggling, he is sitting with them holding onto one of them! He is just now cutting his first tooth and they gave him his first bath today. They have not heard him cry yet, he just "chills out".

Dawn said they have made life long friends with some of the other couples and they have all been helping each other out. The people there are wonderful and they took pictures of the Nannies today. But now, they are very anxious to come home. Wes is planning on staying up until midnight to contact their travel company in California to see if they can come home sooner.

I'll keep you posted on the progress on their arrival.

Embassy Day!

Today Wes and Dawn go to the Embassy in Ethiopia to officially sign papers and then Luke is THEIRS!!!!!!!!! They will be trying to move up their return flight...they are so ready to come home. His bed is ready, the room is adorable, a basket full of toys...many years of hope and prayer...so soon now! Please pray for their safe return. I'll keep you posted on their return flight

Baby Luke

They got to see Luke today and he is beautiful! Dawn was holding Luke when he crawled over to Wes and fell asleep on his chest...I don't think bonding will be an issue! Dawn said he is very laid back, he's sitting up but still has no teeth. However Dawn didn't get teeth until she was 13 months old so he sounds just like his mother!

They said it was very hard to leave him but they are still really tired and the orphanage prefers they just "meet" the first day. She's hoping tomorrow they will let them keep him for the remainder of their stay. They will be trying to send pictures later today...stay tuned!

They made it!

3:30 PM St Louis time Dawn called to say they are at the Guest House of the Orphanage and they are exhausted! She said there are other couples at the Guest House and that everything was fine...but they are going to bed! They should see Luke tomorrow, roughly somethime after 3:30 AM our time on Friday morning. What a day that will be!!!!!

Checking in at the airport

Arrival at the airport

Finally the day has come...they are on their way to their dream, bringing home baby Luke. Despite last minute jitters and do we have this and do we have that...they are headed to Ethiopia for a new beginning!

Off to Ethiopia

Hello Everyone,

We will be leaving for Addis Ababa Ethiopia on Wednesday May 12th around 2:00. This is what we have been waiting for for over 4 years now! We can't express the excitement and peace that we are experiencing. We want to thank you for your years of prayer and devotion to us. You may not know it but your comments, interest in adoption and support has meant the world to us. We would not have made it without all of you, even those of you we just recently met, you all played a role!

We can tell you that 4 years ago we were devastated at the thought of a child not being made up from our own DNA. The thought of our child coming from anywhere from my belly was sickening. As you have watched us on our journey through infertility, endometriosis, a hysterectomy and adoption we hope you can see the path God had us on. I will never, NEVER forget the morning that I woke up after days and nights of prayer, the answer... as clear as day was in my head.....ETHIOPIA.....and it never went away. We had never even considered an Ethiopian adoption!

I guess this just goes to show you that God answers prayers not when or what we want but what we need. We can honestly tell you today we would not change one thing that has happened. We are where God wants us to be and that is where we want to be.

Please pray for a safe trip for us and little Luke. We will return on May 23 and you are more than welcome to meet us at the airport. We will be on flight KL8414 with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines arrival time 1:25 PM......

Please understand that we will not be passing Luke around as he has already been through a lot of stress. I listed a video from the orphanage that we are staying at!!

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6xPNbUqmqIfSwfafZ Toukoul Orphanage...Awesome!


Love,

Wes, Dawn and Luke Davidson

One More Day!!

GOD IS GOOD!!

ANXIETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Mothers day!!

Happy Mothers Day to all my friends and families out there!! You have made my journey to motherhood so much sweeter! We are getting ready and each day gets more exciting! Enjoy your day!

Four more days!

I am officially on maternity leave for two months and two days! This is becoming real as we scramble for last minuet packing and preparing! Please keep the prayers going. If you want you can pray specifically for the flight because I HATE to fly.....

Meskerem

We went for Ethiopian food last night at Meskerem restaurant. The food was amazing but a little spicy for me. You eat with your right hand only (no utensils) in Ethiopia so that was a challenge. I will be packing a bottle of tums!

Getting Close

We are getting close...the excitement is building. We are going out for Ethiopian food tonight to see what we will be eating for 11 days. Lets hope its good. Please continue to pray for us we need peace!!

Seven day to take off!!

One week!!