God willing, by this time tomorrow...

... we will be waiting at our gate at the airport, probably sharing a tall, soy mocha with no whip cream. AH!!!!!!

Tomorrow we leave for France for a bit of a vacation; and then later in the week, we will fly to Ethiopia to pick up our son. I canNOT believe that this is happening. It is a good thing that there are piles of lists and scattered suitcases everywhere to tell me that this is real... that once we leave tomorrow, the next time that we are in the U.S. will be with our son.

And, by the way, our son is THE BEST LOOKING BABY IN THE WORLD! Yes, I made that superlative statement, and I will not retract it. We received updated photos of him this morning, and... wow. He has the most beautiful eyes with these expressive, quirky eyebrows.

Please pray. Please pray that we, along with the other four families, have safe and efficient travels; that I've packed enough formula and diapers; that all of our paperwork is in order; that we three stay healthy; and that we can learn a lot about Ethiopia. I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Just so you know, I will not be updating our blog while in Ethiopia. It is possible, but I just do not want to. I love being away, unplugged... no phones, no computers. So, until we return as a family of three...

Duérmete niño, duérmete ya...

Cradle? Check!

Auntie LACA, do you remember those sheets? I've recycled them to fit the mattress from GranD.

We are almost ready.

We have one small list of things we still need to buy before finishing packing, which includes formula. I am so scared that I am going to run out, and I hear that they do not sell it in airports. So, although I probably have enough, I'm going to buy and pack more. We have copies of our e-tickets, even one for G! It's so weird to see his name, printed on a ticket with mine. We have a shnazzy ticket holder from Susan Parr's travel agency with even shnazzier baggage tags. We have rides to and from the airport. (Thanks Mr. T. and Uncle Matty with Auntie KK!) And, we have hotel reservations. What else? Am I forgetting anything?

Je viens mon fils!

We have tickets! And, we leave in just over a week! Wahoo!

And, do you know what sweetens this already sugary deal? Paris... for three days! Je viens ma ville, je viens... enfin.

Africa

When I read the word Africa, I hear it as if Val Kilmer in The Saint were pronouncing it... weak vowels and a slightly rolled "r."

I wonder how Ethiopians pronounce Africa. It's a good thing that we'll be there in just under two weeks to find out, or the suspense would drive me nuts!

Wahoo! Hallelu Yah! God is too good to us!

Our social worker just called to tell us that our embassy date is 04 August! Ah! It is finally going to happen! G is coming home! I am going to be a mother! Yikes! I have a lot to do!

Too many exclamation points!

AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A.E.S.

Rob and I are definitely suffering from Adoption Exhaustion Syndrome. Yes, I made that up, but only out of necessity. Ugh.

We're still here and busily waiting.

It's been a while. Thankfully, it's because God has provided both of us with some (wonderful) distraction during this wait for a travel date. My distraction is in the first photo, and Rob's is in the second. (Lucky me, poor Rob.)



(Yes, that's a tamping-the-road jig!)



What's new, then? We know that G's birth certificate is ready, which means that they're now working on getting his passport and last TB test done. Pray that he's healthy, please. Once those two pieces of this giant, unfinished puzzle are in place, then we should get the travel date. The next possible embassy date is 04 August, which would have us leaving sometime during the last week of July. That's only two weeks away, more or less! Wahoo!

Other news is that we just received another photo of G, from a family that just returned. He is too cute! His face looks a bit thinner than it did in the last chunky-faced photos, but his fingers are soy-sausages, for sure! His hair also looks to have grown a bit. I canNOT wait to snuggle with our son!

Please pray. Gracias.

A package

An old camp friend sent us a box, which I received yesterday, filled with such fun things for G. Just a couple of days ago, a different friend asked if I had any toys for him for the plane ride home. "No." Well, there were some in the box. Thank you, M. And look at this cute little outfit with matching haus-shue! (I'm sure I misspelled that. Sorry, SK.)

Fun with G

Have you ever taken an oral foreign language test for which you are given several photos or cartoons to arrange into a story to tell? I'm sure that that is where the idea came from and what a hit!

As I posted earlier, we received three photos of G yesterday. Now, in each of the photos, he has a slightly different expression. In one he is serious, totally straight-faced. In the next one, he is slightly quizzical, with a bit of longing. And in the third, he is smiling slightly, with a very happy look in his eyes. (Ah. Sweet child.) Auntie KK and I have had so much fun arranging the photos, talking out G's thoughts, in different accents no less. KK's Irish accent is the best so far. And, for sure, he has a belly laugh... at least all of my G-stories end with him belly-laughing.

If we are having this much fun with his photos, I can't imagine the times we'll have once he's home. Come home, baby!

Chunky... and happy!

He smiles!

He's chunky!

Thank you God, and then thank you, K. A family just returned from Ethiopia with their daughter AND with photos of our son. Ah! He's chunky! All we've had is the original photo for all of these weeks, so it's a shock to see how different he is now. Two things are for sure: He is being well-fed and he is not going to catch a chill. He looks like he's wearing a few layers of clothes. His eyes are the same, though... especially the right eye. Our sweet son! We're coming soon!

Baby G needs a tub!

When is the best time to re-do your bathroom? Two weeks, God willing, before leaving for Ethiopia! Mama, ugh, I mean, the baby will need a bathtub, right? Yes.