I am finally getting excited!!!! Today our adoption agency had a conference call for all families traveling in the next few weeks and it was good to hear some of the details of what to expect on our trip to Addis Ababa. (Funny enough, I have recently realized that I have been pronouncing the capital's name wrong - with an accent on the middle syllable [in Ababa], instead of the accent on the first syllable!) I got to "meet" some wonderful ladies that are in one of the web-board's I'm in. And even more fascinating is that everyone that was on that call is staying at the SAME guest home. Although we are not all traveling the same week. If you want to check out the website, it is: www.ethiopiaguesthome.com We are very excited to be staying there!

Now that is not to say that I have not been excited since passing court. That day was right up there with the same excitement I felt when we got our referral. The kind of day you just can't eat or sleep because you have so many good endorphines rushing through your body! I think that since then I have had so MANY emotions going on that none of them were really dominant. Excitement would be there one moment and then fear would rear it's head. Anxiety would stop by and peace would pop in. Relief would be quickly followed by nervousness. And any others that you can think of ;). But today, excitement got a big push ahead and is currently in the lead!

If you are wondering, I made a dent in the nasty paperwork I talked about earlier. I consider myself half-way through the revolution and will prevail with complete domination (hopefully) tomorrow!

We are very close to being able to completely finish this adoption without going into debt and as Jamie and I talked this evening about where we are financially and what our costs will be over the trip, we were buoyed by what the Lord has done for us so far. So many people have been so generous to us with their prayers and gifts. I feel like all our friends and people at church and people from work are now honorary family members! To think that our little boy is half-way around the world and has no idea how many people love him.

I think that is all for now. Just a silent shout out to my friend who checks this blog daily. You know who you are :} I owe you a mocha latte!

We just got JWH's birth certificate...it's pretty exciting to see the official document stating us as the Mother and Father! And there is the cutest little picture of our son with this deadpan, straight ahead, serious look on his face. (Kinda like his daddy's driver's license photo! haha)

We also got our "tickets" in the mail today from our travel agent, Susan Parr. While we don't technically need them as they are e-tickets (aren't they all now-a-days), they gave us a nice, yet small zippered holder thing that will be good to keep all our travel documents in!

So now I have to get down to filling in the rest of the paperwork and making sure we have copies of everything we need for our Embassy appointment. I'll admit I am stalling even now. I started filling everything out a few weeks ago and got stuck on some of the information needed and now Queen of Procrastination Land has been reigning. We are trying to de-throne her today! Pray for a successful coup!

We purchased our plane tickets yesterday! We are officially headed to Addis Ababa on Saturday, February 14th! It will definitely be a Valentine's Day to remember! We will be flying on Ethiopian Air and I hope to have an UNeventful plane trip! It takes around 30 hours to get there (that includes stop over time in DC and Rome). We arrive in Addis Sunday evening. Since it will be so late, we will just head to the hotel and sleep. I think we will go to the care center the next day to see/get Joshua! Our Embassy appointment is the following day (Tuesday). Then, we leave to return home late Friday evening, finally returning home on Saturday afternoon. We debated whether or not to get a seat on the plane for Joshua on the return trip. Finances weighed out over sanity, so hopefully the plane will not be full on the way home and no one will be sitting with us, therefore giving us the extra seat without the extra fare (which was pretty significant!). I hear that the airline has a bassinet in the bulkhead that they give to parents traveling with infants, however they will not reserve them and it is first come, first serve when you check in for your flight. There are three available on the plane. We'll see what happens there!

Now we are getting down to the business of preparing for the trip. I need to start packing so I can figure out how to pack what we need in the amount of luggage we can bring and keep the bags under 50lbs. I have gotten used to driving and just packing the whole house in the back of the car! We also want to take over donations for the orphanage in Addis. Our case worker let us know that there are shortages of diapers, wipes and formula in Addis. This then drives the price up for the small supply they do have. We are planning to take a bag of just these items and then have that "extra" bag space to bring back things we may purchase there (coffee!).

Slowly but surely we are getting ready!

Welcome Joshua Wazema!

Pictures go from youngest to oldest (most recent from Dec.)

I can't figure out how to get them in reverse order, or how to move this text to the top. Haha!

But I really don't care! :)

WE PASSED COURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Court date has arrived!

This is our rallying "call to arms." Our adoption court date in Addis Ababa is this Wednesday. Due to the time difference, we are asking for your prayers today. The reality is that 50% of cases pass the first time. There is nothing we can do to control the outcome of this. But we do believe in the power of prayer and are asking that if you happen to think of us as you go about your day, please say a prayer that we would have the opportunity to be united with our son as quickly as possible.

Thank you so much. We will send word as soon as we hear something!

8 days and counting.....that is, until our court date! We are asking friends and family to pray that we will be successful and can bring our son home soon! Since Ethiopia is 7 hours ahead of us, I hope to hear something before lunch time (???) on the 14th. Jamie was called for Jury Duty that whole week, and I will be his "sub" at school. So unless he gets let go from that earlier in the week, there is a good chance I will be working. Now we are not supposed to answer cell phones in the classroom (OBVIOUSLY), but I am hoping to get an exemption for that one call, and that I can get service in the room!

I can't believe how fast the month of December went by. Yesterday I went to Passport Health to get more vaccinations (my total count is 7 so far, and I will get one more in a month!). None of them hurt, but you do get that achey feeling in the arm for a day or so. I wish I would have known about that place before we went to our doctors....as expensive as it is, it is much cheaper than the doctors. Our insurance is still "pending" but seeing as it hardly covers basic visits, I can't imagine it paying for my typhoid shot!

Today I am working on moving closets. We have every nook and cranny of our house filled. I don't think I will clear out the whole closet in the soon-to-be nursery, but I want to get enough room to put the little dresser my sister is giving us in the closet and have the hanging space above it for a few clothing items. Luckily we are adding a son, and all the cutesy clothes temptations are narrowed significantly! (who can resist smocking and peter pan collars on the little girl dresses-I know not me)

Well, I better get back to work....I've got to go to work (school) later this week and today and tomorrow are my only days free!