We're off to the races!!!!

Oh my gosh! What is the world's best Mother's Day surprise?! Finding out you're beginning your journey towards motherhood! But, in order for you to fully understand how this news came about, I've got to give you the whole story!

Joe and I were determined to get our moms great gifts this year for Mother's Day. Too many Mother's Days have passed with us getting them little more than a card or a phone call. This year was going to be different. So, we finally decided on the right gift for my mom, but then were stumped as to what to get Lee (Joe's mom). A few weeks before it crossed my mind that it'd be fun to surprise Lee with a visit from Joe for Mother's Day, but lately Joe's been super busy at work trying to meet some deadlines, so I didn't think it'd work and kept thinking. Then, on Wednesday evening, as Joe and I discussed what we'd do for Lee (I mean, we now only had DAYS to make it happen), Joe casually suggested he thought maybe he should go out and see her for gift. We discussed what days he could afford to take off work, and I began to price flights. Nothing seemed to be working out. Ticket fares were high and he didn't have enough flexibility in his work schedule to get anything to work out. Bummer. All evening long, Joe and I were bummed that the idea had flopped. Thursday morning (yesterday) I was still so disappointed I hadn't been able to find a winning ticket fare/schedule, I decided to give it another look. This time, I took I bit more initiative with Joe's work calendar and found something that would work... he'd just have to miss a meeting he'd told me he couldn't miss. (I know... shame on me!). So, I bought the ticket and called Joe. Here's the way our call went:

Joe: Hello
Jesi: Hi. You're on a flight today at 3:40, so you need to be home by 2:00 to pack and let me take you to the airport.
Joe: What?
Jesi: You're flying to Colorado this afternoon to see your mom for Mother's Day. I'm sorry you'll have to miss your meeting, but you haven't seen your mom in a year and a half, so you're getting on a plane at 3:40 today!
Joe: Wow, ok.

And so on... he was home by 2:00 to pack an then off to the airport. As I drove him to the Orange County airport, he told me I was going to have a busy weekend too. I asked why, and he said that he was going to tell me on Mother's Day, but since he'd be gone, thought he should tell me now. He wanted us to finally start the adoption!!!!! Let me tell you, the last mile or two of the drive was quite perilous! I was crying/misty eyed, shocked, and generally having a tough time paying enough attention to the road. I couldn't believe it! After that slab leak, I figured it'd be another 6 months before Joe would consider moving ahead... silly me!

So, as you can all guess, I've been VERY busy since yesterday afternoon. Despite all the agency research I'd done starting in September 2006, I was totally unsure of what agency we'd use to do our Homestudy and Placement. Since there are no agencies in the state of California that do Ethiopian placements, we have to work with two different agencies. Yikes... it's such a difficult decision to make. I really like certain things about different agencies, but in the end what is most important to us is the flexibility in what they let us specify as to the child(ren) we want to adopt and our ages (still aren't 25... but we're getting there!). I'm hoping/planning to have the agencies selected by Monday. The biggest reason I haven't decided on the Homestudy Agency yet is that the one I THINK we're going to use is CLOSED on Fridays. Go figure. I have some questions to ask, and no one but an answering machine to tell them to! Rats.

So, that's it for now. I'm beyond elated that I'm finally on my way to being a mommy! I think the fun we had at the last potluck may have broken Joe's final thread of patience... what do you think? Anyway, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to you all! Please keep us in your thoughts as we begin this whirlwind experience! The race to finish the paperchase has officially begun!