13 more days to hold Evan...

I am working to max out every day between now and the 18th when we leave. It seems there is so much to do. Every day I mark 4 or 5 items off my to do list, and then add 6 or 7 back on! Each person I talk to alerts me to another "possibility" of something to pack or bring. I really want to be prepared. Tomorrow I get my hair colored and cut, the last thing I want is for Evan to think he's stuck with some dark-rooted, sloppy hair-wearin' Kentucky Momma!! :)

We still don't have news on Angie and Matt's court date today. All they needed was one paper so surely they have been approved-right? Angie has done her homework and she found a friend of ours who passed court and traveled 10 days later, and so we hold out hope that they will be with us when we leave on the 18th!

We found out our new friends in NY will be traveling with us and even be on our flight from JFK to Dubai and then on to Ethiopia so that should be fun! I warned her that I am a "professional" when it comes to talking and she promised I'd met my match! Do you think we can talk non-stop for 14 hours and 45 minutes from NY to Dubai? Piece of cake. :) They will be meeting their 3 month old son!

Rusty's parents are confirmed to arrive on Tuesday to keep the kids while we're gone. What a relief not to have to pack them to go somewhere as well! They will stay for a few days after we return as well so we can rest a little. Thank you Lord for great in-laws!!

I ordered us more shirts off www.cafepress.com tonight. It is an awesome website with every kind of adoption t-shirt you can imagine. I want to wear them on the plane both ways so that we can easily connect with other adoptive families. Though I guess on the way home we'll be pretty obvious! I made the girls and I Africa shirts this week that they will wear to the airport to meet us. So cute. My mom is going to do the stitching around the Africa outline and put hearts where Ethiopia is.

I must say I would have NEVER imagined all this would be happening. As I look back over this adoption journey I can't believe we've made it to this point. What a LONG road it has been. What a roller coaster ride with such highs and lows. I know this is the highest of highs that we are about to experience. A trip to Africa is HUGE all by itself, let alone meeting our new son and bringing him home for the first time!!! It is just SO big! If you had told me that we would adopt a son from around the world 10 years ago I would have thought you were nuts! But now it brings to mind the song "look what the Lord has done, He healed my body, He touched my mind..He saved me just in time oh I'm gonna praise His name, cause each day He's just the same, come on and praise Him..look what the Lord has done!!!!!" That is the only way to explain this. He started it and He will finish it and I am in awe that He has allowed us to be a part of it! What a privilege and a blessing. And all this before we even meet him! I know the blessing is only beginning!

Right now I am praying for God's grace as we travel. God is reminding me of my tendency toward spoiled self-centeredness. You know, as in "what if I don't get a hot shower?" or "what if I don't like the food, Lord, you know how car sick I get when my tummy isn't full!" There are a lot of "what if's" in this travel, that's for sure. I am told that the electricity goes off for hours at a time in the city. In and of myself, this will be a very difficult trip for me, but I am trusting God to fill me with patience, and love, and peace that passes all understanding. He is able, I am not. My desire is to completely enjoy every aspect of this trip in spite of the way it may challenge my "comforts". My comforts need to be challenged! Will you pray with me?

Thank you Evan for changing our lives. You've already started and I know there is more to come. People say you are blessed to join our family, I know we are blessed to have you.