All About Hana

Meet our daughter Hana Colleen.
*Again. Photos except for last two, on this post. By Wes and Nina Mullins.*
Hana is the name she was given to her at birth. We've chosen the name Colleen for her middle name after my Grandmother who is a very special woman and who served a mission in Africa.
Hana is a total sweetheart! She loves openly and easily without fear.

Little things make her incredibly happy and grateful.

I never introduced myself to these kids as "Mommy" and I never asked them to call me that. So when Hana just started spontaneously calling me Mommy on the third day, it melted my heart. I would hear her saying it all the time. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" while she reached out for me to hold her hand, or to play with her. It was like she was just so happy to have someone she could actually call mother again. I felt lucky I get to be the one to do it. She was somewhat possessive of me and although she was willing to share my attention with the other children, she tried to enjoy as much of it herself as she could.

We met Hana's Grandmother on our second day there. She lives hours away but made the journey to Addis to see Hana, and come to court and meet us as well. We spent a few hours with her on the 2nd day, even more on the 3rd day and another few hours on the 4th day. She is an incredible woman. Her gentleness combined with utter strength and just the right dose of humor reminded me of my Grandma Bailey. So it was so easy to fall in love with this woman. We had lots of time interviewing her and learned so much about Hana's history.
This is Hana modeling her new dress I brought her. She pranced out of that changing room like a princess on cloud 9. Too cute.
Now I will tell you about Hana's life and history.
Hana was born in either December or January 5 years ago. She was born in the home of her parents. She was a very sweet and easy baby. She did not cry much. She grew to be happy and fun and spunky. She had several little friends she'd spend her day with. We got their names and information about their families as well.
She was the youngest of 4 children. Two brothers that have a different father. They are 12 and 13. Then she has a sister who shares both the same mother and father. She is 10. Hana loves her sister Liyu, which means "Unique" in their language.
They have lots of aunts and uncles and cousins. Hana's Grandparents are alive as well.
When Hana was 3 years old, her father fell quite ill for 2 months. He soon died of AIDS. He was a Taylor by profession. Her mother who had only stayed home to care for the home and children, soon got quite sick herself. But she went to work as a maid to support the family. It was only 6 months later that Hana's mother died. This time Hana took it much harder. She cried for days.
Hana's Mother's Mother, (the woman pictured above that we met,) took the children home with her to care for them. This Grandmother did not have the money to bury her daughter. Her daughter didn't have the money to bury her husband. In both cases, family and friends rallied around and gave what little money they could as they were all in desperate need themselves, and paid for these people to be buried. They were buried at St. George Church there in the town/village they lived in. There was not enough money to eat her grandmother told us, so there was certainly not enough money to put a gravemarker at their graves to indicate who they were and where they were laid to rest. But she knows.
Hana's Grandmother is old and frail. She is uneducated. She does not even know how to write her own name. She was in awe and thrilled by the hustle and bustle of the big city there in Addis. She was not use to seeing cars and traffic. Those three days were quite the adventure for her and I think she relished it. She just stayed at the orphanage much of the time where she slept with her sweet granddaughter and was well fed. At home to earn money, she gathers firewood and sells it. She also needs to beg for the leftover food the local hotel has to throw out.
This past Fall, she decided she needed to give up Hana. One of the brother's currently lives with an aunt or cousin. None of the family is in a great position to become the guardians of these children. So in September Hana was taken to Addis by an older friend and brought to the same orphanage that our son is in. She's been happy and well.
We asked Hana's grandmother what she wanted us to tell Hana as she grows, what she wants us to teach her and if she had any requests of us. She asked that I love her like I love my own children. Easy! She asked that we teach her and educate her well about everything that we can. She asked that we tell her about her Grandmother. She said the family is faithfully Christian and she wants that tradition continued as well. All of those requests were simple and we were happy to agree to it all.
This child has a very loving personality. She is fun and playful, yet kind and gentle. She loves babies and often liked to carry the babies in the orphanage around. She easily attaches and bonds to those around her and easily gets past trials that have come her way. You will all love her as well!