Peacefully Prepared

Well, here we are. Less than 24 hours before we are on a plane headed across the big ocean to meet our son. We actually don't get to meet him right when we get there since we arrive on the weekend, but we will be meeting him on just the perfect day. Our days preparing have been very unexpected. I am calm, at peace, and prepared. Not at all what I thought. I saw days of chaos, frazzled, and anxiousness but that's not at all what it's been like. Our bags are completely packed except for the last minute items, my house is pretty well clean (sweeping and mopping will wait til everyones in bed) and I am currently working on getting all the laundry caught up. My kids are at the local water park with their cousins and I'm sitting here in a quiet house resting. How is this possible?! I feel like I'm forgetting something but I have checked, double checked and rechecked my list. Am I a little scared when I think about being on a plane for 14 hours? Yes. Do I worry how people of a foreign country will treat us when we're the foreigners? Slightly. Am I little concerned about my kids staying healthy during the trip? Yes, but I think that is totally normal and none of those concerns are dominating my thoughts or emotions. I truly believe God is granting me a huge blessing by being prepared early. I have slept well, had a good appetite, and overall I feel at peace. I'm trying to allow my body to store up energy that I will need in the coming days. We have to be at the airport bright and early in the morning which means a very early start to our day. 

I would say we did really well at packing. 4 people being gone for 11 days could really cause a lot of luggage. However, we compromised on what we thought we "needed" and are taking things that are really just essentials. We all have a carry-on bag of course, but we fit everything else into two large checked bags. We will check three bags though because one bag is full of donation items we're taking. School supplies, medication, clothes, baby bottles, cloth diapers, bubbles, personal hygiene products and per request of Little Man, footballs and soccer balls. :) I love that kid. He knows what the kids will like. 

And wha-lah! Our luggage is ready and waiting! 

There is one thing that keeps going over in my head, "THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!!" :)

Getting Ready

Well so either the heat got to me or the stress but come about Wednesday, I needed some relief. We still had not heard anything about a court date, the kids were getting pretty grumpy and we were all a little frazzled. So what should we do? Stress relief at it's finest my friend. We prepared our ammunition and waited for big daddy to come home. Then it was every man for themselves.  

Then we got busy with some major stress eating with ice cream and lattes 

A few hours later and we were all feeling better and ready to face whatever Thursday had for us. And of course, that's when we got our court date call. We are traveling to meet our son in 4 days!! Our court date is June 21 and we will arrive in Ethiopia on June 15. I am so excited!! 

After many phone calls, texts, and tears of joy another very wonderful thing happened. My kids gathered up some courage and went down the street to meet some kids hanging out in their front yard. Next thing I know, they are all headed back down to our house and have played together every day since. Two huge prayer requests answered in one day. God is so good. 

So it's amazing the amount of things you realize you need to do before you leave for over a week. One of the first things on the list, get our furry child to the vet and then a hair cut. 

She is the best dog ever!

Then came the packing. We started by picking out everything we wanted to wear and then sprayed it with the same high-powered insect repellent we used when hubby went to Kenya last year. They say mosquitoes are not a big problem in Ethiopia, but I don't want to take any chances since my kids are joining us. 

And so we work. Clothes, medications, food, and anything in between. The key is going to be trying to fit in all in as few as suitcases as possible. I'll let you know how we do. :) 

And just because I can because it's my blog and I wanna, I'm leaving you tonight with some pictures of my sweet niece. I love her. A lot. 

Don't worry, they've already gotten the rights to these pictures and I can publish them. They were merely screen shots from my sis in law anyway. ;)

 Stay tuned because I hope to have enough wifi to journal our trip here. I sure don't want to forget any details of our experience and I don't want to miss sharing all the joys and fun with you!

Day by Day

Well, everything on my checklist is now marked off. We are enjoying a break from school, Princess had her dance recital, 

Ms. Addison is here and healthy 

and my dad had his shoulder surgery and is recovering well. There is just one thing missing...a court date. We learned shortly after my last post that our birth parent court date had been rescheduled for May 31. The letter from the Ethiopian agency, MOWYCA, wasn't at court when it was suppose to be. This letter basically just states that they've reviewed our son's file and agree that he is able to be adopted internationally. We learned yesterday that the letter had made it to court on May 31 and now we literally wait day by day to learn when to appear for court. Our agency's consultant called this morning to hold a travel planning meeting. There wasn't much planning on details since we are still waiting on a date but we went over which documents we need to take, what to wear and how often we will see our son, etc. She said it is entirely possible that the judge has issued our court date but hasn't released it yet. That could mean that by the time our agency finds out when it is, we could have a few days to pack up and get on a plane. Life could get real interesting. I've already got a small pile of stuff together to pack just in anticipation of frenzy. :) So here we are, doing the thing we are getting really good at, waiting. But thankfully my favorite time of year is here and we can enjoy our time in the water and sun while we wait. Happy Summer!