Beanie Baby Bonanza

Less than 24 hours and we are off. I can not believe it. We got all these funny beanie babies from our friends Bert and Benny in DC. And my sister gave me even more that once belonged to my nephew who just graduated from UNC. So we have tons of tiny creatures to delight the little ones, plus some clothes, arts supplies, balloons and such. We were also happy to make a donation to help purchase furniture at our agency's care center in Addis. They really need it. We have so much stuff for little Phoebe and Pat and I are challenging our selves to one suitcase - and its not a huge one, hoping that those couple of laundry dates work. I just don't want to schlep 4 bags and carry ons across country.

I can NOT believe we leave on Thursday. Still so much to do including a trip to Immigration tomorrow. Maybe a trip to the store for last minute items and then to make sure we have contact info to all the people who need it including us! Whew!

But my eye is on the prize. Our beautiful little daughter. I cannot believe that our adoption journey is close to being realized. I talk to her daily in hopes that the wind picks up my voice and somehow she feels it. I can't wait to hold her in my arms, watch her sleep and to comfort her when she cries. Sob. I just have to keep my happy face when I meet her because I know I will be overcome with joy.

More to come.

Count Down

I can hardly believe we leave in just over one week. I guess we are fairly ready. Will we ever be? The nursery is basically set up. Our child un-friendly home is somewhat made more child friendly. Phoebe has her first pediatrician appointment two days after she returns. My FMLA was approved at work, I have two showers before I leave even though we don't need much. We wired the money to our tour agency in Addis.

But its the small details that are yet to be completed. Filling out paperwork for the embassy date, getting cards ready for the 32+ people who have taken care of our little girl so well. How can we ever repay them? We need to call our bank and credit card company, the US Embassy and make copies of things. Lots of details but all doable. Glad I have a day or two off to study and do!

The listserve folks are wonderful. Friends you will have for life as you share an incredible experience together. They have been an ear, a shoulder and an invaluable resource.

Off to bed. We'll need to rest as we count down the final week.

15 hour flight?

We bought our tickets last night. They were not cheap, but what I was guessing anyhow. We also have a direct flight from DC to Addis with just a stop for gas in Rome. 15 hours on the plane with a little person. I know that will be an experience within itself, but we will survive!

Seems like there has been a big lull in referrals until this past week. So nice to see families finally getting word about their children. I know too well what is like to wait. And now it seems like every day flies by. I cannot believe we will leave in 2 weeks. So much to do, finish up FMLA paperwork, finish my last stuff at work as I am leaving, an exam and two more small papers for school. I feel like I am running towards that flight and when I sit down, I will totally crash. Need to make sure not to get myself sick from stress before we go.

My nephew Tripp moves in with us tomorrow and I am really excited to spend more time with him. We had such a great time with our nephew Theo lived with us for 3 months. Tripp will definitely get his fill of Phoebe time.

Well, off to bed. I have been staying up way late, going on totally adrenaline lately. Need to sleep!

Phoebe and Ethiopia, Here we come!

Praise God.

Got the email yesterday that we are set for our July 7th Embassy Date. Court date on Aunt Katy and Uncle Ted's anniversary and Embassy Date on Aunt Denise's birthday. Woo hoo! Okay, perspective. Times and events can change, but it does not seem likely. We plan to arrive in country around June 24/25 to travel and see some of our little one's home. We are going to use Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris at the recommendation of a IAG family and tour the Omo Valley Region which takes us through the part of the country where Phoebe is originally from. While we will not be seeing all of the amazing historical sites on the North, we opted to go to markets, villages and take a more southwestern cultural swing.

Best of all, we get to bring home our baby girl and spend some time seeing where she has lived since October. She will be handed to us on Tuesday the 6th and in our care from there on it. I hope I know what to do. We are excited and terrified all at the same time. I guess all new parents are. We are traveling with another family from NC and that is it so far, a very small travel group. The last couple of travel groups have been large, 5 or more families. But we have emailed back and forth and I am looking forward to sharing this amazing time with them. They have an 8 year old daughter adopted from Kazakhstan and will be adopting a 3 and 4 year old from Ethiopia.

As I mentioned before, we were able to pick her birthday which was going to be Grandma Fitz' birthday as it was so close to birthday that was assigned to her. Somehow, they picked another date, June 28th, for her birthday. I am not really sure how this happened, but its done and not a big deal.

Got lots of paperwork to do, bags to pack, things to tie up at work, yoga classes to find subs for, etc. Oh yeah and a summer school social work exam to pass. Life is busy! Life is good.

More waiting

Yes, more waiting as we hope to hear our Embassy date soon. Maybe July 7 and maybe July 21. Just hope we know soon so we can get our tickets and plan our pre-Phoebe travel in Ethiopia. Looking forward to seeing the country a bit, but know it will be difficult too as we'll be thinking of our little one in Addis. I must confess that this waiting is easy as the judge has already said "yes." So while I am impatient, I know there is an end in sight. Have petitioned immigration to get our fingerprints redone. They expire in early August and while I don't think that will affect us, we are not taking any chances! Just want to know the dates so I can make all the changes that need to happen before that. Seems like life is a bit of a dance know as one thing affects the other, etc.

I have also been sorting through clothes, toys and such. Folks have been so generous. Its is wonderfully strange to hold up some of the clothes, thinking about putting them on Phoebe soon. It seems so surreal that she will be here soon! We can't wait for her to be a part of life and our family. Ready for the next stage of life to be here and grateful for our blessings.

Ouch!

Six+ shots - ouch that hurts. Not just your arm muscles but your pocketbook. I think the Travel Clinic stuff alone is over $1,000. I hope we can file for some of it. Oh, well. Part of the process to getting our little girl Phebes - so all worth it! Cost aside, the Travel Clinic and the Student Health Center at NCSU rock. Everyone there is so nice and interested in our adoption. Its been a pleasure going in there. Even if it does mean being poked.

IAG said they may have an embassy/travel date for us by end of week so we could be leaving very soon. We went ahead and contacted immigration as our fingerprints expire august 8th. Just don't want to be in a jam so moving ahead with updating that even though we probably don't need it and its an extra $160. Better safe than sorry.

Had a fun time with Beth and Aly Khalifa tonight, getting their good advice on the trip and best of all, visiting with Mr. Mica. He is quite the dancer! They gave us lots of great and practical gifts. So nice.

Can't wait for our little one to be here too. Very soon!