Last post in the USA

My heart skips a beat every time I realize how close I am to leaving the country. We will be in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Sunday morning (for those reading) which will actually be evening in ET. We'll get a good nights' sleep and hopefully be meeting our son on Monday. It's becoming more real the closer I get to that plane. I am praying we haven't forgotten anything and that all our luggage will meet the weight requirements.

The Lord has been so good to us through this journey. We've hit many bumps along the way and many human errors that have delayed our trip but we never once doubted that this little boy was our son. We've always known that God called us to this and even in the hard moments I knew it would be worth it all in the end. God's amazing and we are so thankful to be called HIS!

I will update again as soon as I can. I am thankful for all who read this blog, have supported us along the way and are praying for us now. God bless you for blessing us!

We're packed

. . .and sadly, we have to leave some donations behind because we can't go over the weight limits. :( We have 4 suitcases weighing 50 lbs. each and 4 carry-ons weighing 15 lbs. each. Most of what we are bringing is donations which means we'll have plenty of room for souvenirs coming home. I hope that our scale is correct and we don't go over on anything. I am a little nervous. I am thrilled to have so many clothes, shoes, diapers and formula to give to the orphanage. It's a blessing!

I got a massage this morning, which was fabulous. It loosens everything up and I feel so amazing now! I am drinking a ton of water and I'm going to do some yoga before bed.

Just some random tidbits

So, our agency got us an embassy date before having confirmation that the National Visa Center has processed our request. So, Dave and I spent over an hour calling them tonight . . .there wasn't a waiting queue so we had to keep calling back. Finally I pressed 1 instead of 2 for the Haiti line. . .I got a hold of someone in no time. They checked and it was sent to the embassy 3 days ago. . YEA!

I downloaded the Beth Moore audio book Breaking Free. I am excited to listen to it on one of our many flights. I have heard good things about the study but haven't had a chance to do it. This will be good for me.

We had a plastic bag with J's undies and sox in it. . .I can't find it anywhere. I know it's in the house but one of the boys probably got a hold of it. Who knows where it is now. So, tomorrow we may have to go purchase some more to take on the trip.

I started to crochet a blanket for a friend. It's a long overdue gift. I hope I have room in my carry on cause I want to work on it on the plane. It'll help keep me awake while listening to my book on my ipod. Otherwise, I will fall asleep while listening.

Started Packing

So, I gathered my clothes together for our trip and started to work on organizing and packing. It's a little over whelming. There is actually a weight limit on the carry-ons. I suppose it's only on international flights but it makes packing tough. In the past, we'd always save heavier items such as shoes for the carry-ons so we could easily stay under the limit on the checked luggage. I must say I am thankful that we each get two free checked bags which is what is allowing us to take so many donations for the orphanage.

Packing is making all this so much more real. There are a lot of little things that just make the reality sink in a little more. Like, when our travel packet from our travel agency arrived. It was so awesome to see our names on those little slips along with the details of our trip. I am just ready to go!

Nice! It's time to start packing

To-Do

DONE >Pick up prescriptions
DONE >organize documents
DONE >call insurance company about what name they'll use for Judah's coverage
DONE >call pediatrician's office to give correct name
DONE >finish setting up child care for Andrea
>clean house
>laundry
>pack our 4 suitcases and 4 carry-ons
DONE >get someone to clean the church for us
DONE >get tons of cash from the bank
DONE >get another car seat
>get J's mattress from friends
DONE >get passport/money belt from friends
DONE >pick up Beth Moore book from the bookstore
>finish play lists for ipods

Slowly getting things done

To-Do

>Pick up prescriptions
DONE >organize documents
>call insurance company about what name they'll use for Judah's coverage
>call pediatrician's office to give correct name
>finish setting up child care for Andrea
>clean house
>laundry
>pack our 4 suitcases and 4 carry-ons
DONE >get someone to clean the church for us
>get tons of cash from the bank
DONE >get another car seat
>get J's mattress from friends
DONE >get passport/money belt from friends
>pick up Beth Moore book from the bookstore
>finish play lists for ipods

"To-Do" and "Finished" lists

Done:

>tickets booked
>accommodations booked
>pets are covered
>mail is covered
>groceries for My brother's family (where our boys are staying)
>prescriptions are filled

To-Do

>Pick up prescriptions
>organize documents
>call insurance company about what name they'll use for Judah's coverage
>call pediatrician's office to give correct name
>finish setting up child care for Andrea
>clean house
>laundry
>pack our 4 suitcases and 4 carry-ons
>get someone to clean the church for us
>get tons of cash from the bank
>get another car seat
>get J's mattress from friends
>get passport/money belt from friends
>pick up Beth Moore book from the bookstore
>finish play lists for ipods

Tickets are booked!

We have paid for our tickets so this is it! We are flying out of Grand Junction in the morning on Saturday the 30th and we'll be getting back on Saturday the 6th of February. We have a lot to get done between now and then and we still are both in shock and it's so over whelming. If you're interested in meeting us at the airport when we arrive let us now and we'll try to remember to put you on an email list. :-) No promises.

I get to meet my son SOON!! AHHHH!

No more delays. . .PRAISE the LORD!!

We found out today that we got the February 2nd embassy date and we will be leaving in a week and a half! It's been quite an emotional day. I couldn't stop crying with excitement over the fact that I will be holding my son in less then two weeks! AHH! I have a hard time describing the emotion I have been feeling today. It's over whelming but in a good way. :-) Dave is in communication with a travel agency and we're working on plane tickets. We will most likely be leaving on the 29th and returning on the 6th. I've been reading "gotcha" stories (when families meet their kids for the first time and forever) on the BCS discussion boards. It's such a beautiful thing and always makes me cry. I know there is so much to get done in the next 10 days but today I am just trying to let it soak in and become a reality.

our congressman and travel prep

So, Dave made the call to our Congressman and they are ON IT! I don't know what the status is as Dave's busy at work and we haven't communitated a ton today. I hope they call him back to let him know what they found out. Like I said before, I hope the letter's in the mail today and that this was merely over-kill. I think it's neat that they're sensitive about adoption and wanted to take the time to help us. It's all we can do now so we conintue to wait.

I spend a good portion of my day making a chart of departures and arrivals and prices of tickets. After all was done I realized I hadn't checked those many flights for how many stops they made. Many of them, looking back, made up to two stops just from Washing DC to Addis Ababa. Ugh! That's 4 layovers total. Insane! So, I gave up. We need to just wait until we know for sure when we're going and then let a travel agent do their job. I got excited about some cheaper tickets then very disappointed with all the layovers. So, I quit.

Overview and Update

In April of last year we got our letter of approval from US Citizen and Immigration services to adopt a child up to two years old. In Oct. we accepted a referral for an older boy. We had a court date in Ethiopia in Dec. and were approved to adopt him. After that our agency was going to send in a new request to USCIS to get approved for a child up to 5. After the court date there was a lot of things they needed to get done in Ethiopia as well, like getting our son's medical tests done, getting his Birth certificate etc. Well, 3 weeks after the court date had passed our agency emailed appoligizing that there had been a misscommunication within two of their branches and the USCIS request hadn't been sent.

As of today, everything is ready in Ethiopia and we're merely waiting on the USCIS approval. So, our agency's mistake is what is holding us up. :-( We got an email from an agency worker suggesting that we contact our Colorado State Representative asking them to contact USCIS on our behalf. Dave is working on this now. They said they will contact USCIS for us but are looking for our case number which we do not have. So, once Dave can track down that number the congressman's office will get in touch with USCIS.

Our prayer is that this is all unnecessary and that the letter of approval will be in our mail box today. As soon as we have that letter our agency will contact the embassy in Ethiopia and set up an appointment for us. We're praying it will be Feb. 2nd as another Colorado family just got an ebassy appointment on that date and it would be wonderful to be there the same time as a CO. family.

If we get the Feb. 2nd embassy date then we will most likely be leaving on Jan. 30th. Please pray!

Preparing for the trip

We're realizing how quickly time is passing. It's been 12 days since our court date. . .almost 2 weeks already.

We went to Walmart today and bought a bunch of stuff for the trip. We got some travel size bottles, deodorants, q-tips, Pepto-Bismol, ibuprofen, children's Tylenol, suitcase tags, neck pillows, travel tissues and wipes.

We also bought a few pairs of lightweight, quick dry pants for the trip. They'll be easy to hand wash and dry over night. We've heard it's best to wear pants there even if it's warm. I guess it's culturally respectful which makes sense.

We're going to get a few other like a set of outlet converters, a document organizer some organizing packing cases.

We are going to take up a collection at church of stuff to take and leave at the orphanage. Things like balls, bubbles, toys. We're taking two extra luggage filled with stuff that we'll leave. Then we'll have room to bring home souvenirs.

Waiting. . . like usual

So, it's been almost a week since we got approved and we were told it could be as soon as 4 weeks later we'd travel. That's 3 weeks away but. . .we may not know for another week. We are realizing that we shouldn't wait until we know the date to start getting ready. There is a lot we'll have to pack that isn't typical for our other travels. We're reading a lot online about international travel and making lists. It's a little over whelming but very exciting.

Our pastor just returned from a trip to Kenya (Ethiopia's neighbor). He said he knows how to pray for us now cause the travel part of the trip was tough on him. We should have many fewer layovers which will hopefully make the trip quicker. The flight from DC to Addis will be 15 to 17 hours, ugh! I can't imagine being on a plane nonstop that long but it'll all be worth it.

I think one of the biggest things that makes me anxious and nervous and unsettled is the booking of our tickets. They will most likely be close to $2000 a piece but that all depends on how much time in advance we can get them. Then there is the chance things could go wrong and we have to change them or get new ones. It just makes me nervous. So, if you think about us traveling soon please pray for peace for us before hand and that God would have him hand in it.

Traveling to Ethiopia

No, we're not planning the trip yet. Bummer, huh? We've been thinking and talking a lot about when it's time to go. We always just planned on leaving the boys here with someone and just Dave and I would go. But we've come to realize that it could be very tough on the boys, especially Liam who's old enough to get it, to be away from us for 2 weeks.

When we went to Seattle for 2.5 weeks Liam said numerous times that he wanted to go home and that he missed his home and his dog. I just wonder how much he'll miss us?

For a time we discussed Dave staying with the boys and me going to Ethiopia with a friend. This makes my heart sink. I can't imagine the moments I wouldn't get to share with my husband! AHH! This might end up being a reality though so I have to prepare my heart.

However, we talked today about how even though there may be days when Liam cries himself to sleep at night cause he misses us, he most likely won't remember this, he WILL be safe and with people he loves and who love him. It might just be something he has to go through. On the other hand, this too breaks my heart. To think of my babies being without mommy and daddy for so long and REALLY missing us and not understanding time and when we'll be back. THEN, when we do come back, we bring with us a new baby.

We talk to Liam A LOT about Ethiopia and how some day his mom and dad will have go there to get his baby. He gets excited and wants to meet his new sibling. He loves talking about it and praying for the baby. We pray that all the talk will start to make sense for him and that when it's time for us to leave he is happy about it and excited that we're bringing our baby home to him.

We have some people to talk to about keeping the boys while we're gone. We won't make any for sure decisions about any of this until we hear some responses. Taking 2 kids for 2 weeks is a big under taking and a lot to ask of anyone.