Last Post

Now that we've been home a week, this will be the final post on the adoption blog. From here on out, catch up with us at our family blog, No Man's Land.

Will be posting pics from our DC trip there, as well as just day to day stuff (when I get half a second, that is!).

Thank you to everyone that has been keeping up with this amazing journey. Feel free to pass this along to anyone that may be feeling a tug toward international adoption...it truly is an amazing experience!

Day 4 -- THE DAY

Wow is all I can say.

We are in complete shock here in DC. The feeling is like the one I had when we first got our referral back in September. I was excited but in complete and utter shock for about two weeks. Then the unabashed excitement kicked in. I am currently in the beginning of the two weeks of shock, I think!

Our meeting yesterday went better than I expected (the Lord is to be praised). After a few minutes in her stroller, Susan (her escort) picked her up and handed her to me just to see how she would respond. She was a bit hesitant, but was soon comfortable. Susan handed over her paperwork and after a few more minutes, said that everything looked great and that she was gonna leave. I thought, "that's it?"...yep!!

We walked over to where my Grandma was sitting, and then headed out of the airport. That was it. No ceremony, no forms to sign. Just hand her over and we were on our way!

Putting her in the carseat was a bit of a challenge, which I knew it would be. We got a movie started and soon she was distracted. She fell asleep about 10 minutes after we drove off.

Next stop? Walmart. Crazy, I know. Her diaper had leaked all over the place and she needed a new outfit. We also picked up some eggs and dinner for the rest of us.

Her dinner consisted of eggs, a banana, and water. She's a good eater...downed the banana in about 60 seconds flat.

Bedtime was smooth, too. She fell asleep in my arms and we put her in our bed at around 10pm, and we all slept until about 7 this morning. It was wonderful! I'm sure that we will have some trying nights ahead, but the first night was great!

We praise the Lord for bringing this amazing girl into our family! Can't believe she's here!!

Day 3

Today was a great day. I was so excited to be in DC. I have always wanted to come here to this place where so much history has taken place.

We started off the day in bed. Slept in until 8:20. It was nice. We made it to the metro station around 11 and headed into the city (after getting the metro passes figured out). The girls were very excited about the train and couldn't wait to ride it.

Made it into the city around noon and headed for the Museum of Natural History. Once we got in, it was time for lunch. We paid out the wazoo for food, but oh well. We were hungry and didn't feel like hunting down anything else.

Spent the next few hours checking out dinosaur bones, African animals and spent some time in a butterfly habitat. We also saw the Hope Diamond...that was pretty cool. JK announced that she wanted some Hope Diamond earrings. Several women around chuckled at that. The kid has big dreams...can't fault her for that!

After the museum (which we didn't even scratch the surface of), we headed down the Mall at a leisurely pace toward the Washington Monument. That thing is impressive from a distance, but up close...wow! We had a great time taking photos...we could see the Capitol Building, White House and Lincoln Memorial in the distance. It was an absolutely beautiful day. Perfect for walking around. Can't imagine what it will look like once the cherry trees bloom!

We got back to the hotel around 7:30, got some Subway, bathed the girls and they are now in bed heading for dreamland.

Early day tomorrow...tour of the Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, WWII Memorial...and the real reason we're here...

EG'S FLIGHT GETS IN AT 4:50 IN THE AFTERNOON!!!

So unreal to think that this time tomorrow night, she will be snug as a bug in our hotel room. It hasn't really sunk in yet. It may sink in when I see her lying next to the girls. Or it may not sink in until next week sometime!

We are so excited and have no idea what to expect for tomorrow. Please be in prayer for us and for her, as we work to help her adjust.

A small photo collage of the today!

Day Two

Sorry for the lack of post yesterday. Internet issues at the hotel. They are resolved now.

The day started good...easy start. Lunch was another story. We pulled off at this random (though we know now that it wasn't so random) exit to get gas and get eating so that we could get back on the road.

As we were filling up the van, I called AAI to ask a question about a final health report for EG. Good thing I called. Turns out that there was another POA form that needed to be filled out before EG's travel on Thursday, since another escort was bringing her home. It also needed be notarized...and faxed to AAI...that day. Wow. The prayers went up immediately.

We immediately thought, okay, Lord, how do we take care of this? We were in the middle of nowhere. Looked down the street and saw a bank...they weren't able to help. Phooey. So we drove up the street to a Comfort Suites and asked to use their business center to print the POA form. They were amazingly generous, even though we weren't guests. Next stop...a postal store that did FedEx, DHL and sold mail supplies. They notarized and faxed the form. Wow.

AAI had the signed and notarized POA in less than 10 min, and it was on the way to Ethiopia shortly after. Amazing how the Lord is still taking care of this journey...even 2 days before EG gets home.

So after that craziness, we headed to Baltimore. GPS freaked out as we were heading through DC. Got to Baltimore. Got lost. Got lost again. Finally made it to Charm City Cakes at around 8 pm.

They were filming a show at the time (we were peeking through the windows). The next thing you know, Jeff walks out! To say that we were excited was an understatement. He is one of my faves...love his completely dry sense of humor! He took a few pics (the girls were extremely shy) and we had a little chit-chat, then it was time to head on. We peeked through the windows for a few more minutes and left for Fairfax. We got lost again. GPS was still freaking out. Billie accidentally turned down a one way street...got honked at by 3 vehicles including one very large white truck whose lane we were in (he didn't get very far). Crazy.

We finally made it to the hotel and got settled, had a short visit with my dad and grandma and finally got the girls to bed at around midnight. Yuck.

Here's a few pics from the day! Enjoy!

Day 1

We finally made it to Columbia, SC, for the night.

It's 11:00 pm and we're worn out.

The girls had ballet and gymnastics this afternoon, so we headed out after they were done. Made a stop at Chick-Fil-A, ate dinner and hit the road!

Tomorrow is our long travel day. 8 1/2 hrs to Baltimore, where (if all goes well) we'll stop by the Charm City Cakes storefront for a photo op...it's one of our favorite shows!

After that, we'll head on to our home for the week in Fairfax, VA. Dad and my Grandma (Grandma PolkaDot to the girls) will meet us there to join in the fun of the week!

No pics today. Just sleep.

3 days and counting!!!

She's coming HOME!!

We are overjoyed to announce that our sweet girl will be on a plane bound for DC, next Thursday! Her flight comes in at 4:50, and we will be there to meet it!

To say that we are excited is the understatement of the century!

Just knowing that we will be holding our girl in 10 days is crazy. We are still somewhat shocked by how quickly everything is coming together here at the end!

Her Embassy appoinment is This Wednesday, the 10th. She will recieve her passport and travel visa on Friday.

We got word this past Thursday that the ET Embassy had received the approval form from the NVC and that everything was good to go!

So here we start a new chapter in our family!

We will be blogging about our trip, so check back next week for pics and updates!