Ethiopia Bound

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind here!!  Earlier today, the kids and I dropped Dave off at the airport so he could catch the first of his flights on his way to Ethiopia!! 

On Tuesday, we received the good news that the US Embassy was finally ready to schedule our interview, grant us a visa, and clear our family for travel.  We were asked to choose three possible dates beginning the following week for the interview.  Without much hesitation, we chose Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  The following day, we were notified that we received our first choice and were scheduled for this coming Monday!!  Sheesh, can we be anymore extreme?  After looking at tickets, we realized that Dave would need to leave St. Louis TODAY in order to arrive before Sunday night.

It's true, we've had hundreds of days to get ready for this trip, and for the most part, we were pretty well prepared.  Still, there are always so many last minute things to do: the paperwork, booking flights, the actual packing, updating my blog, getting all of the electronics ready…you know…stuff.  I also have a habit of putting off a few things until I can barely get it done.  I don’t know why I do that to myself, but I will admit…it’s intentional.  I would say it keeps things exciting!  For me, it makes going on a trip seem like a sport!  Dave would have something different to say.

Anyway, he’s off!!  His flight from St. Louis to Chicago was delayed due to weather, so he had to switch planes last minute in order to make his next flight to Frankfurt, Germany.  Unfortunately, his luggage didn’t follow him and most likely will not arrive in Ethiopia at the same time.  He knows it will show up eventually though, and it’s hard to be too bothered by lost luggage on Good Friday.  After a six-hour layover in Germany, Dave should board his last flight and arrive in Addis Ababa late Saturday night.  Then, on Easter Sunday, he will return to the Transition Home for what is referred to by adoptive parents as Gotcha Day!  This is the day that Trey will leave the Transition Home with Dave and officially become a part of our family forever.  I think I might feel pretty sad about not being there for that.  I felt sad just writing that.  Unless, of course, he screams and cries…then maybe not so much.

They are scheduled to arrive home on Thursday evening.  I’ll be Skyping with Dave throughout the week and he has promised to send me messages as often as possible.  Stop back throughout the week and I’ll try to share his updates here.

(The picture at the top was taken during our first trip to Ethiopia last fall
during our visit to the Kind Hearts care point.)