Court Date!!

We didn't need to prove our patience for long. Shortly after my last post, we received our court date for November 4th!! On October 29th, in only 9 days, we are heading to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to meet our adorable little boy for the first time.

So here's the plan - or at least part of a plan:

We depart St. Louis on October 29 around noon and travel to Washington DC. From DC, we fly across the Atlantic to Frankfurt, Germany, arriving on the morning of October 30. From Germany we fly south, crossing over the Mediterranean Sea, and arrive in Addis Ababa at 6:35 pm. The total trip time, including 5 hours and 51 minutes for layovers, will have us at our destination in 22 hours and 41 minutes (hopefully). The kids are going to be sooo excited...for the first 45 minutes.

When we arrive at Bole International Airport in Addis, we will gather our luggage (hopefully) and pick up our visas. A staff member with America World Adoption Association will meet us at the airport, whom we will identify by the AWAA sign they will be holding. (I've always wanted to have someone holding a sign for me at the airport.) We will be taken to the Yebsabi Guest House, where we will stay during our trip along with four other families from the US who are also adopting through our agency.

We are still waiting on our itinerary for the seven days we will actually be in-country. Apparently, it is a little bit tricky to finalize plans for four families visiting a foreign country, all arriving and departing on different dates. However, we know that our court date is scheduled for Thursday, November 4, and we depart for home on Saturday, November 6.

We will also be able to meet "C" on Monday and will be able to spend time with him at the Transition Home throughout the week. I can't imagine what that first interaction will be like and try to stop myself from thinking about it too much. Before we leave we will have to say a temporary good-bye until Dave is allowed to return 5-8 weeks later for our embassy appointment. It will be during this second trip that Dave will bring "C" home to his anxiously awaiting new family.

AWAA will be coordinating other activities for us during our stay, including some sight-seeing and visits to nearby orphanages. I'll be sure to write a new post once we have the details. In the meanwhile, I'll be making lots of lists, packing a few suitcases, getting my ducks in a row, and breathing into a brown paper bag.