And We're OFF!

Well, almost...in about 17.5 hours, that is!!!!

Our bags are (almsot) packed and everything is (almost) in order. Okay, there's still a lot to do, but that's why everyone has been assigned jobs to complete before tomorrow. I single-handedly cleaned ALL of the old toys with baby wipes and set up a little playroom in the room off of my parents' bedroom, and got her own room in order (I'm kind of proud of myself!) I now have a few odds and ends here and there to do, and once my brothers come back from the neighbors' house, I'll start videotaping the home portion of our adoption adventure- I'll interview the boys on what they think of our trip/the adoption, and include shots of her nursery and playroom. As long as everything goes smoothly and I figure out how to do it, I'll try to post it, or at least parts of it, here when we get back. I also hope to set up a picture montage and recount exactly how the trip was day by day!

I hope that I can post from ET and Dubai, but I'm not making any promises since I don't know if I'll have the time or resources. I definetely won't be able to post pictures, but maybe I can post a few brief updates on how everything is going.

The day I've been waiting for for two years is finally right around the corner- it seemed like it would never happen!! It's amazing to think about how my dreams are about to come true- I've wanted a sister ever since Kristian was born (believe it or not, I actually did want him to be a boy!) Thank you so much for letting me share my emotions and experiences so far on this journey...I can't WAIT to share the rest of it!

Three Days!!!!!!!!

I can't believe how soon it is! Our house has been busy, busy, busy, and yet we always find much more to do. School finished up for me on Friday, so fortunately, finals are out of the way. But there's still packing and all kinds of preparing- I spent a good chunk of today cleaning the baby/toddler toys we had in the attic (we had TONS accumulated from my, K's, and C's babyhoods- this kid is going to be so spoiled :-)) These next two days are going to be jam-packed of things to do here and there- but come Wednesday, our big adventure begins!!!!

Here is the itinerary of our trip, so if/when you think of us, you know where we are! :-)

Wednesday, 6/20-We leave the house early in the morning for our 11:30am flight out of New York to Dubai

Thursday, 6/21- Arrive early morning, Dubai time. Go to our hotel and relax; go to the beach, re-pack, and take it easy

Friday, 6/22- Spend the day in Dubai

Saturday, 6/23- On another morning flight, fly to Addis Ababa (arrive approx. 11:30am.) Go to the care center and meet Sasha Eraye for the first time!!!!

Sunday, 6/24- My dad goes on the trip south to meet the birth family, while the rest of us remain behind and play with Sasha and the other kids at the care center

Monday, 6/25- I think we have free time on this day; we'll tour the city and go to some museums, and of course, visit the baby. If all goes well, we may take custody of her on this day!

Tuesday, 6/26- Go to the Embassy; I'm not really sure what happens after this, but I THINK the dinner ceremony at the Crown Hotel is in the evening

Wednesday and Thursday, 6/27 and 6/28- More sight-seeing and hanging around the Hilton. We'll definetely have full custody of Sasha at this point!

Friday, 6/29- Our last full day; attend going-away coffee ceremony at the care center

Saturday, 6/30- Leave Addis in the evening for Dubai

Sunday, 7/1- Arrive in Dubai very early in the morning (12:45am). Go to our hotel and sleep before spending the rest of the day taking it easy, going to the beach, and spending time with SE

Monday, 7/2- Spend the entire day in Dubai

Tuesday, 7/3- Leave Dubai on another early morning flight; arrive home with Sasha Eraye some time in the afternoon U.S. time! (Though of course it will feel like night time to us and we'll all be exhausted!)

I'm sooooo excited for this trip and I'm even more excited to spend the rest of my life with our amazing little girl!!!!

Forget the BC photo! Here are some REAL photoes of SE!!!!

This is incredible: we just received, from our agency, a SEVENTEEN PAGE update on our baby!!!!!!!! Included were describtions of her health, temperament, her likes and dislikes, her daily schedule, milestones, EVERYTHING!!!!!! And of course, the best part was the pictures! We do not think we could possibly be more blessed to be getting this little girl. I have to admit that I haven't ever seen a more beautiful child!!!!

I will post more about what the packet said about her later- but I just can't wait to post these amazing pictures! I will say, though, that they said she loves getting her picture taken- but that pretty much goes without saying :-)

She has hair!!!! (And other musings)

Yesterday we received SE (not LG anymore!)'s birth certificate. Her pretty little face is now crowned with a mop of curly hair! As adorable as she was in her referral pictures, she looks more femininely cute in this new picture. I want to post it so badly, but I don't know how to post the picture without posting the whole birth certificate. (Anyone know how to do this????)

I cannot believe we leave in 10 days. It's completely surreal. I'm superexcited, of course, but also overwhelmed by the things I have to do (if I didn't have finals to worry about, it would be so much better! The studying is going pretty well though.) Since I got a video camera for my birthday, I want to document this trip as closely as I can, but I want to do an at-home segment before we leave (to show life before/after Sasha) and I also want to start a journal made as a compilation of letters addressed to SE, which I hope to publish someday. The problem is, I think, that I get too ahead of myself- I started thinking last night about what would happen if publishers rejected my work, which is ridiculous since I haven't even started it yet!

In addition to these emotions, I have a bit of underlying nervousness. A friend asked me yesterday if I was nervous, and when I asked her what she meant, she said, "Well, I mean, this person is a complete stranger to you..." and without her finishing her sentence, I knew what she meant. I'm not afraid that she won't like us- I know she will, however long it takes her to adjust. But it's true. Here we are, making this child a part of our family, and we know next to nothing about her. Sure, we know her history, but we don't know the things family members typically know about each other- what she likes and doesn't like; what her fears are; how she would react if I did or said this to her... It's a very weird feeling.

More than anything, though, I'm looking forward to seeing who she is as a person and the kind of person she's going to become.

It really will be an adventure of a lifetime.

Introducing Sasha Eraye

Click the pictures to make them bigger!!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!

Our SW called us on Monday with the most amazing news: contrary to what they thought, it turns out that we did make it through court last week! Our baby is officially OURS!!!!

But do you know what THE most amazing news is?

We're traveling...

(Drum roll here please)...

WITH THE JUNE 22nd GROUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It turns out the agency pulled some strings to get people there earlier! The timing couldn't be better, since we leave 5 days after school's out (flights aren't booked yet, but it looks like we'll leave the 20th) but that's still just TWO WEEKS AWAY!!!! I could not be more thrilled!!!!!!

The problem now will be focusing on studying for final exams next week. I keep thinking that the baby should rightfully be my biggest concern right now, but of course, that reasoning is illogical since bad grades will come back to haunt me. I think I can do it though. Only nine days till school is over, and then I can think about the baby, and our trip, as much as I want!!!!

Oh, and now that LG is ours (I still can't believe that!) I can post her referral pictures now! Stand by for one incredibly adorable little girl!!!!

Nothing.

But at this rate, why would we expect anything different?