Doctors Appointment

Today I made our appointment with the Pediatrician for when we return. Check that off my list.
I keep adding more to the list than I'm checking off:)
I have been soliciting advice from people that have made this trip before us. Please let me know what you think is a must for the trip and what you wished you had brought with you.

We got our first baby present in the mail today. A musical activity center for Haven now and for Alec when he is older. That was fun to finally be able to open a baby gift.

Tickets Bought

Today we bought our tickets for Ethiopia. Once step closer. Our friend Debbie, is going to take us to and pick us up from the airport. Thanks Deb, luv ya! I know we will be too wiped out to drive.
I'm just making a list of everything I need to have done so I can make sure I don't forget anything. But I guess if I forget to put it on the list, then it won't get done:)
The bitter sweet side of this is I had to tell my employer when my last day will be. Still seems unreal that I won't be in charge of the clinic any longer.

Embassy Date

We have gotten our embassy date, Sept 17th. Now we are working on the plane tickets. It seems so close now. 3 weeks to get everything ready and the house projects finished...mostly finished.
Wow in just 3 weeks we will be with our babies. Dreams do come true.

Meet our Daughter and Son

(I took the pictures out because we haven't signed our official paperwork yet. I will repost when that is all done)

Alec Aaron Beri

Haven Amarech

Yes we passed court today. YEAH, now I can breathe again. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I hope to sleep tonight. Sleep has been elusive the last few nights.

Here are their referral pictures and newer pictures.

I just want to thank everyone we have met along this long journey to our children. All ya'll have been so wonderful, from the people I have meet on the Yahoo group, to the local families that have adopted from Ethiopia. Your support and guidance through this process has meant the world to me. I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you.

Thank you to our family and friends for their support, emotionally and also financially for all those T-shirts bought.

Special thank you to my sister, Donna. She was a superstar in selling shirts for me. Good thing she has so many great friends!

I can't believe we are parents of these two sweet babies. Now we wait until Friday to hear what our Embassy date will be.

ONE

One more day, tomorrow at this time our court case will be in process and we should know by Wed AM if we passed. My stomach is just tied into knots.

Hard Day

Today was a very sad day. We put the cat who lived at the clinic to sleep today. When I started that job 10 years ago, we bonded over my long work hours. Boots would sleep on my lap or on my desk while I worked. A lot of changes happened over the 10 years we were together. The one consistent thing at my clinic was my kitty. Boots was a sassy kitty, but I loved his sass!
I will miss her dearly. It will be hard to walk back into work Friday and not see him sleeping in his basket, or hear him talk to me.
His passing just seems to make my leaving the clinic more real. With all the excitement of the adoption there is a underlying sadness of leaving my life at the clinic.

One More Week

Yikes!! Just one more week until our court date. How will I get any sleep this week. I'm so excited and nervous all rolled into one. Everyone at work asks me every day, "How many more days?" and then they giggle and answer for me.

New Pictures

This afternoon we got new pictures of our sweet, sweet babies. Haven is smiling big for the camera and her hair has grown alot. Alec just looks longer! He looks like a long skinny boy. He is also smiling for his pictures. This time instead of the vulcan sign he has his pinky up.
I am so happy and relieved to see them happy and growing.
Haven looked so sad in her last picture. I worried about how sad she looked. I knew that she has just be relocated to Toukoul in May after being at the Meki orphanage for a little over a year.
But she seems to be happy and growing.
Alec just seems to be happy all around.
I have a hard time turing my mind off. I worry about how they will bond. What kind of parents we will be and will we be able to help them through the loss that they will feel not knowing their birth parents.
At least we have Haven's birth Mom's name that maybe some day she can find some of her relatives. Alec has no information of his birth family and his birth date is not even known. How will he process this information and deal with the that loss. Will he have the desire to find out where he came from??
We now have 11 more days until court. So close but so far away.
I just want to bring them home.

14 days

just 14 days until court. I'm so nervous, worried and excited all rolled into one. Can't believe we are so close to being parents. I have waited so long to be a Mom. Fours years of fertility and 2 years of waiting for the adoption... We can finally see the finish line!
I so want to hold our babies, hear their laughs, see them smile and just be with them.

Donated Clothes

This afternoon I went through the bags of donated clothes for Toukoul. Our church gave us a lot of clothes for the Toukoul orphans. I went through all of it and wrote down what it was and what size. I was able to get all of it in two big vacuum bags and in the storage container we are bringing with us. I think there is going to be room left in the storage bin for all the school supplies as well.
Our friend Tania who has done the trip to Toukoul, suggested the big plastic storage bin. What a great idea. We can pack it full, drill a few wholes for zip ties and leave the bin at Toukoul. They want them for storage at the orphanage. We are packing all that we can pack in it since we have to pay for it to be checked in by the airlines.
Oh yeah in case you have forgotten only 17 more days until court!!!