Okay, okay, we've been home a few days now, and I keep getting asked when I'm going to update the blog! Well, we are JET-LAGGED and realizing we don't know any Amharic (ha! should've figured that out months ago!!!) so we have our hands full! But Grace is doing sooooo good. As if to say, "so this is how it is to have a family!!!" She absolutely loves her sister and brothers, and follows them all over the house. And they graciously allow it, and even enjoy it! She still has moments of being a scared little lady, and understandably so, but she comes a little farther out of her shell each time. Now if we could just get the hours of the day straightened out...

I want to try to put to words our experience in Ethiopia. I just don't even know if I can begin to do it justice. It is truly the most amazing place I have ever experienced. Still working on processing it all... please stay tuned. As my head clears, maybe the thoughts will get organized too!

We are now just DAYS away from leaving to get Gracie! We got this picture from some AWAA friends that just got back this weekend. I have started laying out the things that we will need to take for her. Eventually, I'll need to actually start PACKING!!! Also trying to get things ready for the kids here, so life stays as normal as possible while we are gone. We will officially meet Grace for the very first time in... 8 days!

We're leaving next Friday!!!

Well, we finally got the visas all taken care of, and we will be leaving out of JFK Int'l Airport next Friday!!! (Good Friday!!!) We have a VERY busy week ahead of us.

Our Congressman's office helped us get the visas ironed out this week and sent off to Addis Ababa in plenty of time for our appointment at the Consulate.

We'll post more when we can!

Visas!!!!!

Well, we are DOWN TO THE LAST MINUTE again! If National Visa Center doesn't expedite our paperwork by this Wednesday, we won't be traveling until the end of April. As of this morning, our stuff was apparently still sitting in a mail room somewhere. So tomorrow I am going to call and hopefully find someone who will help us! Please pray for the hands that our papers will pass through.

Tentative Travel Dates

No concrete travel dates yet. They are still in the process of filing all of our paperwork in Ethiopia, and on this end, we are trying to expedite our paperwork through USCIS as well. Our update has been approved here in Fresno, now we've got to try to get this stuff to D.C. as soon as possible, and then on to the Consulate in Addis (that's the trick--regular mail can take weeks to get there). So please PRAY that our papers are expedited all the way there. If that happens, we may be able to leave on April 11. If not, we will most likely depart on April 25.

To Be Continued.........

Introducing...Grace!

We passed court!!!!!!!!!!!! Our agency just called and Grace is officially ours! I'll post more soon!

Delay...

Well, court on March 17 in Ethiopia has come and gone, and we did not pass this time. Turns out the court would like a little more background information, and our agency now is working on getting that together. We are kind of in limbo for now... to be continued...