Busy, Busy, Busy

Wow, there is a lot to do when you have only two weeks to get your life and job in order, pack, have a work shower and celebrate a holiday. Let's just say I've been busy the past couple of days.

Yesterday I did some very mommyish things. I added Grace to my insurance and I made doctor appointments, and I packed her suitcase. I suddenly felt very official. And today I went and did a million errands to pick up the last minute things I need for the trip. I'm also working on her birth family albums. She has a couple of living relatives and I am making an album for each of them. I have been so lucky to receive pictures from traveling families and I have about 45 pictures of Grace alone. I also included pictures of her room, our church, the pre-school she will attend and some of our family. The task I am supposed to be performing now is to write a letter to her birth family. Seriously, I don't even know where to begin. I also need to come up with a list of questions for the birth family visit but that seems less daunting to me.

I received updated pictures of Grace yesterday taken by the WHFC social worker who was in Ethiopia a few weeks ago. My case manager called to warn me that in some of the pictures she had her feeding tube in. I was prepared to see a very sickly baby but aside from the tube up her nose, there was nothing sickly about her. She's even blowing a raspberry in one of them. I'm just excited to get her home and to get her checked out so I know how to best help her.

Next Wednesday I have a two hour travel call with my agency to go over stuff we need to know. I'm really looking forward to that. Should be filled with information that will make my head spin.

All in all, I'm faring pretty well but there is still two weeks to go and plenty of time for me to turn into a stress ball. So wish me luck and as little stress as possible.

So Excited!!

Do you know what I did tonight after I e-mailed and talked with friends and family? I packed a suitcase. For my daughter. I folded her little clothes, packed her bottles, her formula, her little socks, towels. Her cousins helped me roll up her diapers to make more room in her suitcase. I'm preparing to bring my daughter home. After six years of planning and almost two years of waiting she is coming home. It's for real. No one can change their mind. It's really, really happening. My baby girl is coming home.

I bought our tickets today. We leave November 27th at 6:00a.m. and we return on Saturday, December 5th, Grace's 8 month Birthday. We come in on United from Dulles and we arrive in Boston at 2:15p.m. Anyone who would like to come to the airport is welcome.

My sister Kate, my step-mom Judi and I are so excited. In three weeks I'll be home with my punkin baby. This is what it must feel like to have all of your prayers answered.

Give Me A Ticket For An Aeroplane!!!

Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave on Friday, November 27Th. Two weeks from tomorrow! I am finally going to hold my baby girl in my arms. We return on December 5Th which is the day she turns 8months old. THE very, very BEST Thanksgiving gift I will ever receive.

Back to Earth

Well, now that I have spent a wonderful weekend celebrating that I passed court and rejoicing in the news that Grace will soon be home with me, I think I'm slowly coming back to earth. There is so much to do and probably much of it will happen in a very short period of time. I'm hoping that we'll get travel news early this week. From the "unofficial" tally, there are at least 14 families that passed court. There are likely to be a few more that we're not aware of since not every family is part of the e-mail list. We also know that not all of the families will travel at once since there can only be a maximum of 10 families traveling at one time. That's because each agency only gets 10 embassy appointments per week. Some of the families that passed on Friday may not be ready for travel because their immigration paperwork may not have been received by the Ethiopian Government. I know that all of my paperwork has been received and I've had that information verified, but it still doesn't mean that I'll make it in the first wave. But honestly, just to know that I've passed is a huge relief.

There are at least 4 single parent families out of those who passed court last week. I didn't post this much during the process, but there were two scares during this process when I feared that Ethiopia would close to singles and my adoption might not happen. The first scare was when I was about 7 months into the wait and the second was just a couple of weeks after I got my referral. There has not been an official ruling so the fact that singles are passing court means that nothing has changed yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen at some time, thought I sincerely hope that it doesn't. I am eternally grateful for those of us who passed and I pray daily that they continue to keep the program open and that many more singles pass in the future.

So I spent the weekend making lists, panicking, re-reading the lists, panicking, organizing baby stuff, panicking and shopping for things we need and for donations for Horizon House. I think I got a good amount of things together to donate and I also have some new and gently worn children's clothes that I'll donate as well. It's overwhelming with all the things that need to happen in a short period of time and since as of today I don't know if I'll have days to prepare or a couple of weeks. It will get done either way, but did I mention I'm panicking a bit?

On Friday a friend of mine since childhood came to visit and she and her daughter gave me two of the most special gifts I have received.

The first was a white onesie that has the image posted below on it.

The second is a cream tote bag that has the following image on it.

So adorable and so thoughtful of them to get something so specific to Grace. Thanks Laura and Annesia! They got it from a website called cafepress.com. Just type in Ethiopia and you'll be shocked at the options you'll find!

So, now I go into prepare to depart at any minute mode. I have a lot to put in order both at work and at home but it will be worth the lack of sleep since I know in the end, it will bring me to my precious Gracie.